Prologue |
Chapter One |
Chapter Two |
Chapter Three |
Chapter Four |
Chapter Five |
Chapter Six |
Chapter Seven |
Chapter Eight |
Chapter Nine |
Chapter Ten |
Chapter Eleven |
Chapter Twelve |
Chapter Thirteen |
Chapter Fourteen |
Chapter Fifteen |
Chapter Sixteen |
Epilogue
"Endymion!" The gray-eyed boy stopped short. His heart sank into his stomach; he knew what command was coming next. "Water." Endymion grumbled as he hopped down from a hay bale and crossed the room to pick up the two heavy wooden buckets. Shooting a sharp glare at the now-grinning Misa, Endymion wrestled the pails through the stable doors and out onto the grounds. The soft grass was cool beneath his bare feet as he lugged the water buckets toward the pond. Water, water, always fetching water. Not that the stables needed it; the cistern was kept perpetually full by the same magic that kept the entire Moon Kingdom running. Endymion knew Miss Amaris only sent the children in her charge to get water from the pond as a punishment. Not that he'd done anything to deserve it. Nothing really bad, anyway. So he'd pulled Misa's braid; so what? He'd done much worse during his time working in Queen Serenity's stables. The rough cord handles of the buckets chafed against Endymion's palms. The boy groaned as he imagined how much worse it would be on the way back when the buckets were full, the splintering wood banging against his legs. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up with more rips in his breeches for Miss Amaris to mend. Endymion stopped to rest beside a corner of the ivy-covered wall surrounding the castle gardens, which marked the halfway point between the stables and the pond. The sunlight seemed unusually warm today; the Queen must have been in the mood for a little humidity. Endymion set the buckets down and wiped his sweaty forehead with his sleeve, brushing his midnight hair out of his eyes. Sighing, the stable boy let his gaze roam the vine-embraced stones of the garden wall. Day after day he made this trip of shame to the pond, and every day he stopped by the wall to wonder what lay in the forbidden garden beyond. As usual, Endymion glanced at the barred and locked gardener's entrance, wishing he could someday work in the castle gardens instead of the stables. The heat was making his mind play tricks on him; for a moment he thought the wooden door was open. Endymion rubbed his gray eyes with both hands. He blinked in the sunshine. The door WAS open. It wasn't an illusion. The gardener must have forgotten to lock it today. The boy's breath caught in his throat and his heart quickened with excitement. At last, a chance to see what the mysterious garden looked like! Eagerly, the boy abandoned the buckets and slipped through the half-open doorway. Ivy hung thick on the other side of the wall, and short as he was, Endymion still had to push it aside to get through. As he shoved through the vines, an amazing sight met his eyes. There was color, color everywhere. On the Moon, a realm of marble and alabaster, Endymion was lucky to occasionally see a few flowers in a vase on Miss Amaris' table. The pale greens of grass and ivy were the main source of color in his life. Here, however, was a kaleidoscope of brilliant, vibrant colors, a vast array of flowers of every type in colors of every shade. Bright petals covered a network of pebbly pathways and stone benches. Endymion stared for a long moment, wide-eyed, drinking in the beauty that surrounded him. He was so awestruck that he almost didn't notice the girl. His eyes finally fell upon her standing in the center of the garden, watching him. She seemed a bit younger than Endymion, and even from where he stood, the boy could see her bright eyes were pure blue. She wore a long white dress that reached the ground and had waist-length pale hair tied in two long pigtails. A gentle breeze flowed through the garden, and the girl's streams of hair waved against the snow-white cloth of her dress. Caught, Endymion gasped and took a step back, but the girl was smiling. "Hi!" she called out in a bright, clear tone. Her voice was sunshine and cool breezes and babbling brooks. Endymion decided it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. "Do you want to play with me?" the long-haired angel asked. Endymion knew he should turn right around and fetch the water like Miss Amaris had instructed him, but the girl seemed so friendly and welcoming, he decided there could be no harm done. After all, she had invited him. Shaking off his nerves, Endymion strode up to the girl, trying to look confident. Soon he stood beside her in all her innocent beauty. Abruptly Endymion felt a wave of shame rise within him as the pretty young girl looked him up and down with her sky-blue eyes. He blushed slightly, acutely aware of his ragged stable-boy's clothes and dirty face and hands. To his relief, the warm, welcoming smile on the girl's face never faded. She reached out with a pale, delicate hand and plucked a flower from the closest bush. "Here," she announced, handing it to Endymion. "This is for you." It was a rose, a perfect rose with a full set of soft petals, the pure, deep red of blood. Endymion accepted it gratefully, inhaling its sweet scent. "Hey!" a sharp voice boomed, making both children jump. "You, boy! What are you doing there?" Endymion whirled around, his pulse accelerating until it pounded in his ears. A tall man with long white hair and a crescent moon emblem hanging around his neck was marching toward them from a nearby hedge maze. A slender woman in a yellow dress followed closely behind the man, her waves of ebony hair rippling to her feet. From the elegance of their clothes, Endymion could tell they were nobility. As if that weren't enough, the man and woman both had the legendary golden crescent moon marks on their foreheads. Endymion swallowed hard, knowing real trouble when he saw it. "Who are you, boy?" the white-haired man demanded, reaching them. "How did you get in here?" His hand darted out and seized Endymion by the arm. "My lord, you're hurting me!" Endymion cried out as the man's grip tightened painfully. "Artemis, stop!" the girl protested in horror. "He didn't do anything wrong!" "Come here, Serenity," the woman ordered. The girl hesitated for a moment, then rushed into the woman's arms. "Luna, make him stop," the white-robed girl wailed into the woman's dress. "Serenity, you know you're not allowed to associate with common children," Luna scolded her gently. Serenity! Endymion nearly choked as he realized the pale-haired girl was Princess Serenity herself. Artemis glared down at him with a face full of fury. His piercing eyes combed Endymion's shabby clothes, gray eyes, and flushed skin. The boy's complexion was rosier than any Lunarian's. "Here, you're an Earth boy, aren't you?" Artemis snarled. "What are you doing in the private gardens?" Endymion's heart sank. Through all ten Earth-standard years of his life, the fact that he was an Earth-child always put him an extra step below even the other servants. "Luna, take Serenity inside and fetch the guards," Artemis called over his shoulder, still keeping a death grip on Endymion's arm. Luna led the girl away into the hedge maze. "Don't hurt him!" the young Princess cried. The sound of her voice, pleading for his safety, fixed itself in Endymion's mind forever. "Endymion! There you are!" Miss Amaris rushed into the garden through the open door, her slightly plump face flushed from exertion. She bustled between the flowerbeds and flung herself to the ground at Artemis' feet. "Please, my lord, the boy is harmless," she pleaded with desperate eyes. "He's one of the orphans in my charge in the castle stables. He wandered away while doing his chores." Endymion could only stare, his panicked breath harsh in his throat. He had never seen the hard-edged matron of the stables act subordinate to anyone before. "Please, my lord, it was only a mistake," Miss Amaris begged. "Please release him." Artemis turned his sharp eyes on Endymion, searching for signs of deception or malice. "Boy?" "It was a mistake," Endymion agreed hurriedly. "The door was open, and I always wanted to see the gardens. I didn't know she was the Princess, honest!" "All right." Artemis didn't let go of the boy's arm. Instead, he pulled Endymion closer and bent down so that his glaring eyes were a hand's length from the child's frightened ones. "Listen here, boy. Don't ever approach forbidden areas of the grounds again. Don't even think about it. Not ever. Do you understand?" "Yes, my lord," Endymion stammered, wanting nothing more in that moment than to get out of there, no matter what it took. Then Artemis released him, and he fell backward, landing hard on the stone path. Miss Amaris hauled him up by his shirt and yanked him toward the door and out of the garden. Woman and boy hustled through the grass toward the stables, each carrying one of the still-empty buckets. Endymion walked in fear, dreading the explosion of scolding and punishment that was soon to come. Sure enough, when they neared the stables, Miss Amaris stopped abruptly and turned to face him. Endymion braced himself. He was caught completely off-guard when Miss Amaris gathered him into a close embrace. Endymion was nearly smothered in the soft warmth of her body as she held him tightly. "Endymion, when I saw the buckets abandoned by the garden wall, I knew where you had gone. I came as quickly as I could. I was so afraid, boy. You could have ended up in prison, or who knows where!" Finally, Miss Amaris let him go. She swiped a few tears from her eyes as Endymion stared at her, openmouthed. "Well," she said in a broken voice, "back to the stables." They picked up the buckets again and resumed their walk to the nearby building. Endymion was too overwhelmed by the day's events to speak. "So," Miss Amaris said after a moment, "you met Princess Serenity?" "Yes," Endymion croaked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "She was beautiful. Nice, too." "Best put her out of your mind, boy," Miss Amaris replied with a chuckle. "You'll never see her again. Besides, a Princess soon forgets an orphaned stable boy." Endymion looked at the vibrant red rose he still clutched in one rough hand. "Yes, you're right," he said softly. "A girl like her deserves a prince." |
