Title:  Serena and Darien:  Much Ado About Nothing, Part One
Author:  Saritaluv 
Rated:  PG
E-mail:  saritaluv@yahoo.com

	Okay, minna-chan, this is a story based on Shakespeare’s play, "Much
Ado About Nothing."  If you are not familiar with the story, it will
reveal itself as you read along.  As you might have guessed, Serena is
Beatrice and Darien is Benedick.  For the sake of my story, they both
attend the same school (it makes things a lot less complicated that
way).  Darien is a senior and about seventeen, going on eighteen and
Serena and the other Sailor Scouts are freshmen, all fourteen years of
age.  It’s a first season romance.  It couldn’t be anything otherwise,
if you look at the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick.  Also,
Greg has never been.  Okay?  I could have incorporated him into my
story, but I somehow couldn’t imagine him as a senior!  (He has to be,
if he’s one of Darien’s closest friends).  So, I had the highly
intelligent and good-looking Juuban High School president, Charles
(Claudio) be Amy’s (Hero) love interest.  There will also be several
references to the Sailor Scouts and the Negaverse, but no actual
fighting will be in it.  Sorry, for all you action lovers.  But enough,
I’m going to go on with the story.

	This whole story is based directly on the play.  Scene for scene, it
is almost the exact same as it was in the play, except my words are
anything but Shakespeare.  And this is the first fanfic I’ve ever
posted, so please, go easy on the flames, please?
Standard disclaimer:  I don’t own Sailor Moon, blah, blah, blah.  But
the story is mine, and the characters that are not in the original
story are also mine.  And the plot is Shakespeare’s.  And, if I have
occupied anyone’s ideas or words and I didn’t give them credit, I
swear, it was unintentional!  Please e-mail me and I’ll gladly give
that person credit!

                     Oh, and arigato to Alicia Blade and Lady Starra
for letting me post this on their Website!

Character Equivalents:  The names are the NA dubbed version’s, except
for the last names, which are Japanese.  I thought that Much Ado About
Nothing would seem more like an American story, ya know?
Beatrice:  Serena Tsukino
Benedick:  Darien Chiba
Hero:  Amy Mizuno
Claudio:  a senior named Charles Fujimatta 
The Prince (Don Pedro):  Andrew Furuhata
John the Bastard:  a junior named John Battamaki(well, I’m at a loss
for creativity here!)

~CHAPTER ONE~  

	"Serena!" a familiar, valley-girlish voice echoed through the hallways
of Juuban High School.  A petite blonde with her hair in an unusual
hairstyle turned.  A short, red-haired girl ran down the halls towardher.
	"Hi, Molly," Serena said.  "What’s up?"
	"I heard that the seniors are coming back from their class trip!"
	"Really?  They’re a week early," Mina said.
	"Yeah.  What’s going on?" Raye asked.
	"Well, they were stranded in an early blizzard (AN:  I don’t if
blizzards exist in Tokyo!) on their way up Mount Fuji.  It’s a really
cool story, they were hiking up when the weather worsened and the class
got lost.  Charles Fujimatta, the school president, managed to somehow
save the whole senior class!"
	Immediately, Mina, Lita, and Amy were giving dreamy looks.  Mina
nudged Amy slightly, but not unnoticed.  Amy blushed.  She had had a
crush on the school president for the longest time now.  
	"Did everyone make it all right?" Serena asked, concerned.
	"Worrying about your man Chiba?" Raye asked slyly.	Serena glared at Raye. 
	"I’m just worried if anyone made it.  Sheesh!  I am NOT worried about
Darien.  Of all people."
	"We all know you’re in love with him, Serena!" Lita taunted.  She
flashed a mischievous smile.
	"Stop it, guys, you know that I’m not dating anyone yet.  My parents
hardly let me out of the house let alone date.  Besides," here Serena
slipped into a happy, dream-like state, "Tuxedo Mask…He’s the only one
for me.  So handsome, romantic, saving me when--- mmphf!"
	Mina clapped a hand over Serena’s mouth before she could say any more.
 Serena blushed.  She had almost spilled their secret.  Molly stared at
them curiously, but let the subject alone.  She changed it instead.
	"Who’s Chiba?"
	"Serena means Darien Chiba, you know, the tall, handsome, dark-haired
senior with dreamy blue eyes?" Mina offered.	Molly smiled broadly.
	"Oh him!  He’s so hot!  Sweet, charming…"
	"You mean, cold-hearted and stuck-up," Serena said.
	Molly looked at Serena strangely.
	"But he’s the hottest catch in Juuban High!  He’s single, you know. 
Every girl would love to go out with him!"
	"You don’t understand," Lita said, smiling, "Whenever Serena and
Darien meet, the sparks fly, and I don’t mean romance.  They have,
like, an unspoken declared war.  They’re always exchanging insults with
each other."	Molly stared at her pretty blonde friend.
	"Well, I think you’re crazy, Serena, this guy is any girl’s dream!"
	Molly glanced at her watch.
	"Well, I’ll see you guys later.  Oh, is anyone trying out for the play
next week?"	"Freshmen are allowed?" Raye asked, surprised.
	"Yeah.  The whole school’s putting on a production to raise money for
a new science building, since it burned down last month."
	"Do you know what it’s going to be about?" Lita asked.  "Hopefully
something with a lot of action!"
	"How about a lecture on the properties of aluminum?"
	"Amy!" five voices shot back at her.  She blushed to the roots of herblue hair.
	"I guess not."
	"How about a romance?" Mina asked, "With lots of make-out scenes. 
People love a good love story."	"Yeah," Serena agreed.
	"No way," Raye argued, "A musical.  Maybe West Side Story.  That would
be a real crowd pleaser."	Molly shrugged.  
	"I don’t know what it’s going to be about.  They’ll supposedly post up
the production thing Monday of next week.  It’s required that everyone
participate, even if it’s just the lighting.  Well, bell’s gonna ring,
gotta go to Algebra.  Mr. Funayaki doesn’t like it if we’re tardy.  See
you girls around!"	"Bye Molly," five voices chorused after the red-haired girl.
	"Well," Mina said, "We’d better follow her example and book it.  My
next class is Chemistry.  See ya later!"
	Mina ran down the halls, her waist-long, pale blond hair flying outbehind her.
	"So, we’ll be studying Shakespeare’s sonnets tomorrow," Ms. Haruna’s
voice said.  "Everyone pick a sonnet and recite and interpret it for
tomorrow’s class.  Understood?"
	"Yes, Ms. Haruna," the restless class answered.  This was their last
period and they couldn’t wait until school was out.
	"Serena?" Ms. Haruna asked, "Serena?  Do you understand?"
	"Yes, Ms. Haruna," she said, mumbling through drool and hair.  She was
sleeping in class again.	"SERENA!"
	"Aack!" Serena shouted, surprised, her pigtails flying about
everywhere.  "What?  What?"
	She looked up to see a very steamed looking Ms. Haruna.  She blushed.
	"Now, I said pick a sonnet of Shakespeare’s and interpret and recite
it tomorrow in class."
	"Yes, Ms. Haruna," Serena said meekly.  She was glad that she had
escaped detention.  Ms. Haruna must have a date tonight.
	"Okay, class dismissed.  Test next Wednesday on Shakespearean
tragedies and their characteristics."
	Ms.  Haruna was talking to an empty classroom.  They had all bolted,
eager for the weekend.
	"Freedom!" Serena yelled happily, skipping down the street, her
meatballs bouncing along with her joyful gait, her two blond pigtails
blowing along in the brisk autumn breeze.  "No detention even!  I
managed to escape one whole day without getting detention from anyone!"
	"That must be a record, Meatball Head," Raye said, her teeth
chattering from the cold.
	Serena turned purple with rage when Raye called her that dreaded name.
	"Ooh, Raye!  Don’t call me that!"
	"You don’t seem to mind when Mr. Darien Chiba calls you that!" Rayetaunted.
	"Ooh, Raye, why do you have to be so mean?"  Tears welled up in
Serena’s blue eyes.  Amy, Mina, and Lita covered their ears,
anticipating an ear-shattering wail.
	"Don’t pout like that, Serena," Raye said calmly, "You look like a
bloated fish!"  And with that, Raye calmly walked on to the arcade. 
Amy, Mina, and Lita winced and covered their eyes.  But Serena was so
surprised that she forgot to cry.
	Andrew was working in the arcade when the door flew open and Darienwalked in.
	"Darien, my man!" he called, "Over here!"
	"Hey Andrew," he said, tired.  He looked worn out.  His clothes were
dirty, his black hair matted and caked, and his dark blue eyes were
rimmed with red from lack of sleep.  His face was also dusky from notshaving.
	"How’d things go?" Andrew asked.  He got his friend a glass of Coke.
	"Not too well," Darien said, slumped over at the counter.
	"Did you just get back?"
	"Yup," Darien groaned.  He was sore.  He had been climbing and walking
through blizzard weather with his friend Charles for the past three
days.  He was bone weary.
	The door opened again and in walked in the Juuban School president,
Charles Fujimatta.
	"Ah, here’s the local hero!" Andrew said cheerily.  Charles smiled. 
For how much physical strain he must have gone through, he didn’t look
that much worse for wear.  His face was clean-shaven, his dark,
emotional brown eyes bright and free of red, and his sandy brown hair
was only slightly ruffled.
	"Aw, it wasn’t anything," he said modestly.  He sat himself down at
the counter next to Darien.  "I’ll have a root beer float."
	"Coming right up," Andrew said.
	"Hey Darien," Charles smiled, giving Darien a friendly whack on the
back, "How’s it going?"	Darien arched his back in pain.	"Ow!"
	They both heard chattering voices and the doors flew open again as
five girls walked through the door.  A chill autumn wind blew threw thedoors.
	"Close it, it’s freezing in here!" Andrew yelled.  Amy and Lita shut
the doors.  Charles smiled.  There was the blue-haired girl.  He had
heard a lot about the incoming freshmen class (mostly from Darien). 
The one with the blue hair, as he understood, was a very smart and
pretty, but shy girl.  He elbowed Darien.	"Hey, who are these girls?"
	"Ow!" Darien yelled again.  He lifted his sleep deprived eyes to the
door.  His eyes brightened.  Meatball Head!
	She was shivering, trying to warm up.  Her golden hair was matted and
windblown.  The two meatballs were unrecognizable.  Instead, they
resembled bird’s nests and the two pigtails that extended down from
them looked like hay.	"Hey Meatball Head," he said genially.
	She flashed him an annoyed look.	"Don’t call me that, Darien!"
	He laughed.  He couldn’t help it, that Meatball Head always brought a
smile or a laugh to his face.  She looked so comical right now, her
lower lip pouting, her face flushed and red from the cold wind, her
hair a mess.  He loved teasing her and she liked to get under his skin
just as much.
	"Well?" Charles asked, impatiently.  "I want to know who they are."
	"Huh?" Darien asked, interrupted from his dreamland, "Oh!  The tall
brunette with green eyes is Lita Kino.  The one with black hair is Raye
Hino, and blue-haired one is Amy Mizuno and…"
	Charles didn’t listen anymore.  ‘Amy, so that’s her name.’
	Darien didn’t notice that Charles wasn’t listening anymore.  Serenasmirked.
	"Who are you talking to, Darien?" she asked.  "Nobody’s listening."
	Darien gave her an icy look through those midnight blue eyes.  Serena
felt chills go all over her body, even though she was in out of thecold.
	‘Those eyes, they’re so blue, and so commanding…’
	"So, Meatball Head," he said, "You’re a sight for sore eyes.  You’re
still around?"	"Where would I be otherwise?" she asked, "Besides, life’s not
interesting if there isn’t a jerk like you around."
	"Ha!  You’re the only one that thinks so.  All the ladies, except you,
love me for my good looks, charm…"	"Aw, ham it up!" Serena said.
	"…But, I give my heart to none."
	"Yeah, since you can’t get a real date," Serena taunted.
	"No," Darien said, narrowing his eyes, "It’s because I’ve decided I’m
too busy to deal with girls."
	"Yeah?  Well, it’s probably better that you don’t date, or some poor
girl with have to deal with the most mean and conceited man in all of
Tokyo.  I can get any date I wanted to, if my dad let me."
	"Really?  I’m sure no one’s good enough for his little girl," he said
sarcastically.  "It’s just as well.  What guy would want to date a girl
with a face like yours?"
	Serena glowed hotly, taking it that Darien was saying she was ugly.
	"Oh?" she asked, coming back, "Ahem, excuse me, may I have your
autograph?  I swear I’ve seen your face before.  Say, you must be the
Beast from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast!"	
Darien was taken aback, stinging from that insult.  Serena smiled
triumphantly.  Everyone watched with interest.  There goes another bout
between Serena and Darien.  His pride shattered, he put up his defenses
and shot back.
	"How about a little creativity, Miss Broken Record?  You’re barbs are
the same day after day.  ‘You’re mean, Darien,’ ‘You’re ugly, Darien,’
‘You’re arrogant, Darien.’  You could teach a parrot to talk, MissMotor-mouth!"
	With composure, Serena struck out at him again.
	"A smoothly running Motor-mouth is better than the rusty old engine
that you are, Mr. Chiba."
	Darien smiled.  ‘I’ve got a good comeback for this one, Meatball
Head.’  "Police officer!  Police officer!  I think we need a ticket for
this speeding Motor-mouth!"  He chuckled.  "If my car could go at the
speed at which you talk, you wouldn’t see me around here.  I’d be on
the race track.  But enough, Meatball Head, I’m going home to take a
shower.  Do you mind if I use your mouth to power my car?"
	With a cocky grin, he walked out the door, Serena blushing a furious
red.  Andrew and Charles laughed heartily.
	"Hey Darien!" Charles called, "Are you going to dance tonight?"
	"Don’t know.  Maybe.  Not likely," he called back.
	Mina, Lita, and Raye were futilely trying to calm an enraged Serena.
	"Let me at him!  Let me at him!  I’ll teach him a lesson or two!"
	Meanwhile, Amy was talking shyly with Charles about what could be
fixed in the education department.  He smiled, taken in her loveliness
and reserve.	"Amy!" Mina yelled, "A little help would be nice!"
	"An after school Chess Club…Huh?" Amy turned around.  "Oh!  Well,
excuse me, Charles, I have to be going."
	Amy went and helped her friends drag the huffing and puffing
meatball-headed blonde home.
	Charles watched them leave, with a little smile on his face.  Andrew
watched him carefully.	"So, what do you think of Amy?" Charles asked.
	"She’s nice," Andrew replied.  "Why?"
	Charles shrugged.  "I don’t know.  Just wondered what you think.  I
think she’s really nice, really smart, and really pretty."	Andrew smiled.
	"Do you like her?"	Again, Charles shrugged.
	"I don’t know.  But I’d definitely want to get to know her better."
	Andrew smiled.
	"Hey, tonight’s dance is definitely a good time to get to know herbetter."
	"Yeah right," Charles said.  "You know I’m just as shy around girls as
she is around boys.  How are we ever going to talk?"
	Andrew came up with a mischievous idea.
	"Say, listen.  Tonight’s the Halloween Ball, right?"	"Yeah."
	"We can dress alike.  I can say that I’d like to dance with her the
next slow song, and when she does look for me, you go dance with her
instead.  She’ll think I’m you!"	Charles hesitated.	"Well…"
	Andrew chuckled.  He loved meddling in the love lives of everyone
else.  Now that he was happily settled down with Rita, he wanted to
settle everyone else down with someone.
	"Come on, I mean, what other chance are you going to get?"
	Charles sighed in resignation.
	"Okay.  But I still have to talk to Darien about this.  Doesn’t he
know the freshman really well?"
	Charles entered the beautiful lobby and walked towards the elevator. 
He pushed the up arrow.  He waited a few seconds.  He gaped at the
lavish furnishing.  Since when is a single, orphaned bachelor able to
afford this?  DING!  
The mirrored doors opened and Charles walked inside.  He pushed the 12
button and felt the elevator glide up.	DING!
	The mirrored doors opened and Charles walked out into the hallway.  At
apartment 12B, Charles rang the doorbell.
	The door opened.  Darien had obviously just stepped out of the shower.
 His black hair was neatly combed and slightly damp.  He had on a fresh
white polo shirt and khaki pants.	"Hey Charles," he said, a little surprised.
	"Hey Darien," Charles said.  He was a little surprised himself that he
was at Darien’s apartment and he didn’t exactly know what he was doing
there.  But he needed to tell someone about how he was feeling at themoment.
	"Want to come in?" Darien asked.	"Sure."
	Both entered Darien’s spotless apartment.  Darien shut the door. 
Charles automatically took off his shoes before entering (AN:  I KNOW
that’s a Japanese custom!  J).
	"So," Darien said, trying to lift the strange silence that had settled
over both of them, "What are you doing here?"
	"Just wanted to talk to you, Dare," he said.  He sat himself down on
the green leather couch.
	Darien tilted his head to one side, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
	"Sure, go right ahead, but you could have called."	"Sorry," Charles apologized.
	"It’s all right.  So, what’s up?"
	"Nothing much."  Charles was quiet for a little while.  "Do you know
Amy Mizuno very well?" he asked at last.
	"Yeah," Darien grinned at his friend.  "Why?"  Darien knew where this
conversation was heading.
	"Well, what do you think of her?  I mean, I want honest opinion, not
some stupid bachelor’s remark."	Darien chuckled.
	"Okay then.  I think that she’s a nice girl, and smart, and pretty…but
she’s too shy, too short, and definitely not the type of girl I’d want
to go out with."  His blue eyes twinkled at his friend.	Charles snorted.
	"You think I’m joking?  No, I’m not!  Tell me what you think of her!"
	Darien shook his head, still smiling.
	"What, you planning to buy her or something?"
	"Can the world buy such a jewel?" Charles sighed, quoting fromShakespeare.
	"Listen, Charles, Amy is a person, not an inanimate object, and she’s
definitely a nice girl, but why on Earth would you want to go out withher?"
	Charles leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
	"She’s sweet, nice, smart, beautiful…"
	"Personally, I think that old Meatball Head is prettier, if she wasn’t
so touchy and temperamental all the time."
	Charles sighed again.  Darien let the matter drop.
	"Are you going to the dance?" he asked his dreaming friend.	"Yeah, are you?"
	"No, I don’t think so.  Besides, isn’t it the Halloween Ball?  You
have to go dressed up and everything.  I don’t have anything to wear."
	"Just do something simple or stupid, like a ghost or a vampire,"Charles said.
	Darien shrugged.	"What are you going as?"	"A ghost," Charles said.
	"Well, have fun I guess.  I might go, I might not.  Most likely not. 
I’m not into those kind of things, you know, right Charles?"	Charles shrugged.
	"But Dare, it’s like the biggest dance except for the Valentine’s
Dance.  And a whole bunch of chicks will be there," he smiled at hisfriend.
	Darien retorted.	"You know that I’m not dating until…"
	"…you find the right girl," finished Charles.  "I know, I know.  Well,
maybe you’ll change your mind.  I gotta go.  See ya around, Dare."
	"See ya," Darien said as his friend walked out the door.  He sighed
and leaned against the wall of his hallway.  He glanced at the clock. 
Only 5:23?  He sighed again.
	‘Well, Darien, another night alone at home, nobody to talk to, just
you, the TV, your roses…’
RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
	He grimaced at the phone.  He walked over to pick it up.  Clearing his
voice, he asked brightly, "Hello?"
	"Hey, Darien, it’s me, Andrew," came the familiar voice.
	"Oh hey," Darien said tiredly.	"Are you going to the dance tonight?"
	‘Why on Earth does everyone want to know that?’
	"Well, I don’t know.  Maybe for a few hours.  Why?"
	"Just wondering.  Everyone’s going.  Don’t be such a loner, Darien,
come on and have some fun once in a while, huh?"	He sighed again.
	"Okay, okay, I’ll go.  But I don’t know what I’ll wear."
	"Just something simple or stupid.  Works every time."
	"Yeah.  Well, I’m going to have dinner, see you at seven."
	"See you," Andrew said and hung up.
	Darien looked around his apartment.  He wasn’t exactly hungry, but he
didn’t feel like talking to Mr.
I’m-going-to-set-everyone-else-up-because-now-I-have-a-girlfriend.  
	‘Well, might as well decide what I’m going to wear,’ he thought.
	He walked to his large bedroom with the full sized bed by the large
picture window.  He threw open his closet.  Nothing that he could
really wear to a Halloween party…wait a minute, he could wear his
tuxedo and wear a white domino mask…no, he shouldn’t.  Wouldn’t people
be suspicious if he looked too much like Tuxedo Mask?  His fingers
roamed over numerous articles of clothing.  His fingers suddenly fell
on a white blouse with balloon sleeves.
	‘Hmm, where did this one come from?’ he thought.  ‘Never seen this onebefore.’
	Pulling it out, he put it on.  He laughed at his reflection.  He
looked like a fruit!  It looked like a woman’s blouse, except that it
fit him perfectly.  Then an idea struck him.  This shirt looked like a
Renaissance blouse.  Taking an "en garde" stance, he pretended to slash
at an imaginary opponent.  He grinned his quirky grin.  
	‘It could work,’ he thought.  Smiling, he pulled out his black
corduroy shorts, the baggy ones that fell just past his knees.  His
friends persuaded him to buy it, although he never wore it.  Putting it
on, he found some knee high athletic socks and tucked in the edges of
his shorts.  He laughed.  He looked like a bigger fruit than before. 
But he was enjoying himself.  It was not often that he went out and did
something like that.	‘A vest would complete the ensemble.’
	He dug into his closet some more before coming up with a red velvet
vest.  He shook his head in wonderment.  When did he ever buy suchclothes?
	He pulled it over his shirt.  He gave himself a dignified air, trying
to emulate a fine old English gentleman (although he knew it wasn’t
exactly in with the time period).
	"A mustache, I need a mustache," he said to himself.  He grinnedwryly.
	"Too bad I shaved," he said.  Then he groaned.
	"Where in the world am I going to find something to draw a mustachewith?"
	He closed his eyes.  A familiar feeling of loneliness washed over him.
 Even something as simple as not having a mother to carry make-up made
him feel left out.  He had been alone as long as he could remember…*flashback*
	A little boy whose head was swathed in bandages lay on a hospital bed.
 A doctor and a nurse hovered over him, not thinking he was awake.
	"Any idea who he might be?" the doctor asked his nurse.  The little
boy listened to the voice of the man beside him.  Deep, soothing, rich,
and oiled.  Not like Father’s…Wait, who is Father?  The little boy
tried to conjure up a face to go with the thought.  None came.
	"No sir, he was alone.  Both of his parents were killed.  No one has
claimed him.  I assume he has no other relations."  The voice of the
nurse was relatively low-pitched for a woman, also pleasant, youngish,
but not adolescent girl young.
	"Has he told you anything about himself?" the doctor asked.
	"No.  The few times he’s woken up, he’s been shocked and asked where
he was.  I asked him several times who he was, but he didn’t answer me.
 He gave me a blank look.  Those blue eyes, they were so sad, so lost…"
the nurse’s voice faded as she gazed pityingly at the small boy.
	"Amnesia," the doctor diagnosed.
	"Most likely, sir," the nurse said.  She reached over and gently shook
his shoulder.	"Wake up, wake up," she coaxed.  The black haired boy reluctantly
opened his eyes.  Two peach colored oval blurs were hovering before
him.  He was frightened.  He closed his eyes again.
	"Wake up," came that insistent voice.  He opened his heavy eyelids. 
Again, those two blurs, but after about two seconds, they came into
focus, showing the face of a middle aged man with a mustache, and young
nurse, in her twenties, with auburn hair and pleasant brown eyes.
	"Hello," the doctor said comfortingly.  "How are you?"
	The boy directed his commanding blue eyes at the man.
	"I don’t know," his midnight blue eyes lost in confusion.
	"Shh," soothed the nurse.  "It’s all right, nothing can hurt you here.
 We just want to help you."
	The boy turned his blue eyes on the nurse.  She gasped.  They were so
deep, so stormy, but now so lost and so scared.	"I don’t know.  Where am I?"
	"The hospital," the doctor said gently.	"What am I doing here?" the boy asked.
	"You were hurt," the doctor said.  The boy tentatively touched his
head, swathed in bandages.	"I was?" he asked.	"Yes.  But you’re better now."
	The boy fell silent.  He narrowed his eyes.  Who was he?  
	As if reading the boy’s thoughts, the doctor asked as tenderly as hecould.
	"What is your name?"	"My name?" the boy asked, confused.
	‘My name,’ he thought.  ‘What is my name?’
	He tried to remember his parents, but nothing came.  No images, no
sounds.  Instead of his parents, however, images of a silver kingdom
flooded before him.  A golden haired princess, two crystal blue eyes…
	‘Endymion," a soft, gentle voice filtered through the cloud that
veiled his memory.
	"Endymion?" he asked.  He tried to say it, but it came out different,
as "Darien."	"Darien?" the doctor pressed eagerly.
	"Darien," the boy turned his eyes on the man again, "Is that my name?"
	The doctor shook his head sadly.  The boy wasn’t sure.  But it was
better that he thought his name was Darien.  It would give the poor boy
some security.	"Yes, your name is Darien," the doctor said softly.  Darien was
puzzled.  The doctor sounded almost…sad.  Why?
	"Let’s leave him alone for now," the doctor murmured to the nurse. 
"He’s had enough for today."
	"Yes sir," the nurse said.  She turned her brown eyes on the black
haired boy on the bed.  "Now, get some rest…Darien."
	The boy leaned back and tried to rest.  He couldn’t.  Why couldn’t he
remember his parents, but images of a strange and foreign place fill
his mind?  Who was that golden haired angel?
	He closed his eyes.  A soft giggle could be heard.  He opened them. 
There was a little girl at the edge of his bed.  He was startled. 
Those eyes were the same crystal blue as the ones in his visions.  She
also had golden hair.  She somehow reminded him of a bunny.
	She held in her hand a red rose.  She offered it to the black haired
boy on the bed.  He took it from her almost shyly.  She gave another
giggle and left, skipping down the hallway.*end of flashback*
	Tears threatened to spill over Darien’s eyes.  He sighed again.
	‘Control yourself, Darien,’ he said.  He examined himself in the
mirror.  Actually, he didn’t look too bad.  He looked almost dashing. 
What he needed (besides of mustache and a small goatee) was a sword. 
An idea struck him.
	He went into the hallway closet.  He pulled out his fencing foil. 
Long ago, when he was interested and actually had the time, he had
taken fencing.  With a few swishes of his blade, he saluted to no one
in particular.  He liked the feel of the blade in his hand.  He went
back into his room.  Pulling out the domino mask from his chest of
drawers (he kept it hidden in the far back), he put it on.  He smiled. 
He was now properly dressed for a Halloween Ball.  The foil (or fake
rapier) added a swashbuckling air to his ensemble.  He jumped andlunged.
	"Fear not, fair damsel, I shall save thee!"
	He laughed.  This was going to be a most interesting night.
	

	Okay, I’m sorry if this chapter was not very interesting and very dull
and prosy, but it will pick up!  Oh, and the scene where Serena
confronts Darien is taken almost completely from the actual play, only
the words have been changed.  Thanx so much to Alicia Blade, who
encouraged me to post this story in the first place.  Read her stuff! 
She’s the best author!  Oh, and e-mail me!