Upon a Moonlit Path
Chapter 1
By: Neo-Queen Serenity
E-Mail: serenausako@hotmail.com
Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/6436


	Serena shivered, not from the chilling breeze that brushed against
her back, but from a rising coldness from the bottom of her heart.  It
hurt,
her heart hurt so much.
	She paced the narrow pathway that led up to the mountain top.  That
piece of unearthly earth beside the cliff is her favorite place,  where
a
universe beyond lies...
	It was a familiar place.
	Small, rounded stones glittered, and a translucent aura of silver
slowly drifted into the area.  Nearly a hundred feet below, the angry
roars
of the raging tides could be heard.  And yet, the silver aura has
increased
its intensity, steadily, discreetly.
	Serena stood still, her eyes transfixed on an imaginary point beyond
the tides, beyond the sea, and beyond life itself.  The wind gathered
and
blew stronger, throwing her golden tendrils into the air, and whipped
back
again to toy with her white robe.
	‘This is the place,’ Serena whispered in her heart.  Something
bitter gnawed at her, and then the strange urge to shed tears reduced
the
girl to a sardonic smile.  This is the place where she could stand
alone,
thinking about herself, thinking about her kingdom, her
responsibilities,
her life and fate.  This is the place she can truly be herself, without
transforming into someone that is...pretended.
	She had pretended all her life.  Not entirely, but nonetheless
pretended.
	If it hadn’t happened eight years ago, then she would be with her
family right now, and princess of Melliva.
	The wind sighed.  The mountain echoed with mournful weeping.
	A pair of sky-blue eyes lowered, watching the black water,
considering.  After all, she could take a step forward and put an end
to
everything:  her life and everything that’s a part of it.  But she
couldn’t,
not when the life of her entire kingdom is tied with hers.
	If she dies, then it dies.

(Eight years ago)

	"No!" Tears slid down a powerful man’s cheeks.  Then he turned
around, battered by the slaughters of his people.  Surrounding him, a
kingdom of ruins, everything that was once a part of it was completely
incapacitated.  Fire and smoke licked it way up into the sky, and crows
screamed darkly.
	The sound of hooves thundering grew louder and louder.  He looked up
and looked back downwards where a man with a black cape and cold blue
eyes
appeared.
	"Seize the rebel." He ordered.
	Rebel...he remembered his uncle’s persistent insistence for a
rebellion against the royal family of Logania.  He had spoken out
against it
with all his heart.  But he wasn’t able to stop it.  And now, the
kingdom
lies in ruin.  The people of Melliva are traitors, other villagers
whispered.
	And now, all he wanted to do was to protect his twelve-years-old
daughter.  ‘She’s innocent of his uncle’s wrong doings,’ he thought.
	He let them hurl him on the ground and tie his hands.  Suddenly, the
King of Logania turned around.  "Seize his daughter, too."
	Afterwards, he begged for the release of the girl.  The king’s reply
was quite puzzling.  He ordered that Princess Serena of Melliva to be
raised
with the royal court of Logania, and called a release to all captured
prisoners in the war.  Everyone cheered for their sudden luck, but he
knew.
He knew why the king insisted on keeping his daughter.
	A hostage is what Serena will become, and he feared for the girl’s
life.

(Present)

	Serena is now the personal guard of the prince: quick, witty, and
brilliant.  But the irony lies in the fact that she wasn’t guarding her
own
kingdom...she’s guarding the family who had kept her hostage for all
these
years.
	Serena remembered a pair of ocean blue eyes, a handsome male face
carved exquisitely like Apollo, and distinct jet-black hair.
	He is the center of her life now.  No, he’s the controller of her
life.
	In front of him, she’s a lowly rebel’s daughter.  But she must not
let her rage take over her mind.  Must remain calm, she always reminded
herself.  The future of Melliva rested on her shoulders, and she must
guard
it well.
	The silvery crescent shape slowly crept out from the cloud, watching
her intently.
	She was a true beauty.  But was too quiet and reserved.  Great
sadness lingered within those delicately arched brows of hers that
never
drifted away; her blue eyes looked too large on her slightly pale
cheeks.
But when her waist-length hair blended with the warm sunlight, the
shiny
halo of molten gold portrayed perfect display of lush beauty.
	However, she is not herself.  She is living, breathing and doing
every single duty for the sake of something she loved.  She’s living
for
them, not for herself.
	Serena sighed.  She felt extremely tired.  There was an invisible
mask that she used to hide away her real feelings.  It was a wall she
placed
between herself and the world.  And hiding behind it, she felt
extremely
safe.  With this fake mask, she could go on, protecting the prince,
obeying
his orders and destroying her own self-respect.
	The same pair of ocean blue eyes plagued her again.  This time, they
were cold.
	She remembered regarding him with wariness and hatred as a
twelve-years old girl who was taken away from her home and parents. But
as
years passed by, there was never a time she could truly interpret the
underlying meaning of his deep gaze.
	‘Had he always looked so unapproachable and so cold?’ Serena
wondered.  Then, she shook her head dejectedly:  it doesn’t matter
anyway.
He’s Prince Darien of Logania, and she is merely his guard and slave.
	She turned around, smiling sadly at the moon.  Her steps soundlessly
headed back towards the distant palace...a lavish and elegant prison
for
her.  But she has to guard a man’s life, and that is her duty and
responsibility.
	Perhaps someday she would be allowed to go back to Melliva.
Perhaps someday...


To be continued...