AN: AN's are short for a change! Hee hee... Enjoy!

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Overnight Delivery
Chapter 2
Rated PG
By April Rayne
Startear42@aol.com
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	"Serenity! Serenity! Wait!" Endymion called out, almost at her 
heels. She was so close...if he could just get a little closer...
	"Not for you, I won't!" 
	"Fine!" he spit out, sick and tired of wasting his energy. 
Leaping forward, he tackled the lithe girl to the ground as gently as 
he could. Making sure to keep his hold on her, his arms went around 
her waist, and they rolled on the inclined ground a few times, finally 
coming to a stop by the lakeside. He lay on top of her, and both of 
them looked at each other, eyes wide and chests heaving. Realizing 
what a compromising position it turned out to be, he quickly shifted 
and stood up, but not without keeping a hold on her arm. A small blush 
rising on both their cheeks, Endymion tired to stifle that strange 
feeling that he got when he looked into her eyes. "You have to stay 
with me," he stated, trying to sound stern.
	Serenity sighed, looking down at the ground to hide her eyes 
from his gaze. "Well, since you're such a *gentleman* -tackling 
innocent girls into the ground and all- how can I refuse such an 
offer?"
	"Look, Miss Moonshine. You say that you need protection on 
your way to that palace. I need to do this because it's...my job as a 
squire. So for both our sakes, we have to get back there together, and 
the only way we can do that is if we work together."
	'Damn men and their stupid logic,' Serenity thought to herself 
sarcastically. Sighing for what felt like the fiftieth time that 
night, she looked at the sincere expression on his face. "Mother would 
kill me if I didn't," she stated simply. "Then I guess we should go... 
Where are we anyway?"
	"At the Silvermane River. If we follow this, we should be able 
to reach the palace by tomorrow morning."
	She nodded, and looking in the direction in which he pointed, 
she stepped up to his side. "Please lead the way, oh *gracious* one."
	He smirked, and sent her a coy smile and took her hand. "Your 
wish is my command, *princess*."
	Her eyes widened, and she smothered the gasp that had made its 
way to her throat. Endymion noticed her reaction and the blush on her 
cheeks and smiled smugly to himself. 
	He always had a way with the ladies. (AN: ^^;)

	They had traveled along the way in amazed silence, quite the 
contrast from the loud ruckus that couldn't die down when they first 
set off. Serenity decided that the safest route to take was to be 
quiet, and take in the terran atmosphere now, before she would most 
likely have to leave.
	After meeting the oh-so-wonderful Crown Prince of the Earth, 
of course...
	Serenity sighed aloud. She was so sure he would turn out to be 
like the other royalty she had encountered during her lifetime, with 
the exception of the senshi and their royal lineage- 
	Incredibly handsome, and incredibly stupid. 
	Unfortunately for her, in her travels with her mother to other 
sub-kingdoms, they found that rulers were inept and selfish, taking 
control and giving no heed to the needs of the people. But then, Queen 
Serenity would stop by for a visit and the 'meanies', as Serenity used 
to call them when she was younger, would get booted out of office.
	She always loved that part.
	But from what her mother had told her, this visit to the Earth 
was different. It was 'to establish greater connections' with the 
Terran Empire. 
	Serenity just wanted to see the prince…
	Pausing to take a look at the river next to her, she bent over 
and took some of the clear water into her hands, feeling it slip 
between her fingers and drip back into the river.
	
	"Something wrong?" roused her out of her trance.
	"Hmm?" She looked up to find him kneeling on the ground next 
to her. She quickly turned away. "No, just thinking."
	"May I ask about what?"
	"The Prince."
	Endymion smiled. Well, here was a topic he could be an expert 
in. "What do you need to know?"
	"What do you think about him?"
	A million different witty, charming and self-absorbed comments 
ran through his mind, but only one rang out loud and clear.
	"He's okay, I guess."
"That's all, huh?" she said amused, placing her hand in the water and 
splashing around. "A meanie."
	"Excuse me?"
	"Nothing."
	"Oh, it was something. A...'meanie?' you called him?"
	"Look, what I said-"
	"Is my business," he finished for her. Seeing the look of 
confusion on her face, he continued. "I happen to know the prince very 
well."
	"Good for you," Serenity commented, moving to get up.  
Grabbing her wrist, he gently pulled her back down, and towards him.
"You're not going anywhere, princess," he murmured into her ear as she 
landed next to him. "It's about time we took a rest anyway." After she 
shot him and indignant look traced with the hint of a blush, he 
continued. "So, what is your wonderfully nearsighted view on the 
prince?"
	"I resent that remark!"
	Endymion smirked, but said nothing. Growing uncomfortable with 
the silence that made her perfectly aware that he was staring intently 
at her, she took a deep breath, and began. "I think that he'll 
probably be fairly popular among the ladies, considering that he's a 
prince, but his real interest lies in himself, not in the people."
	His smile faded as the words escaped her, and Serenity 
immediately knew that she had hit a nerve. Instead of making a quick 
comeback, he spoke gently. "Serenity, I see you're not a firm believer 
in the 'dashing, debonair prince' theory, huh? What made you think he 
was so selfish?"
	"I've seen enough to know that not all royalty does their job 
right. Sure, I hear the talk about how the Terran Royal family 
consists of strong, yet just and peaceful rulers. I have no doubts 
about the King and Queen. But the Prince..."
	Endymion shook his head. "He's not as bad as you think.The 
Prince lives for his people. One of his goals is make sure that the 
view that you have on royalty is proven wrong. No..." He shook his 
head. "He doesn't try to benefit the people to prove a point. He does 
it because that's the way he is. He has a lot of responsibility on his 
shoulders, and he represents the ideals of the people. He can only try 
his hardest to make sure that he can follow in his parent's footsteps. 
I'm sure it's the same for your princess."
	Serenity looked up again, and met his serious eyes, which 
lightened as her gaze met his. 'How could he know...? He sounds like 
he has a heart!' She scoffed to herself. 'But for just a squire, he 
knows so much...'
	"And I'm not sure if you should be passing judgment on someone 
you haven't met yet. Give him a chance."
	She nodded slowly. "I think I will..." Face flushed, she 
looked down back into the river, and picking up a pebble, tossed it 
in. She watched the ripples try to form through the gently flowing 
water. "You shouldn't talk," she added quickly, remembering what had 
come up earlier. "You speak of the Moon Princess as if you've known 
her for years. And I can assure you, I know that you don't. I'm...her 
handmaiden, and I know that tomorrow would be her first visit to the 
palace."
	Well, tomorrow wouldn't really be her first time on Earth, but 
she did say 'to the *palace*'. Not a complete lie...
	He interrupted her thoughts. "For a handmaiden, shouldn't you 
be with her now?"
	"She will be visiting the palace directly from the Moon, with 
no detours on Earth. She wanted me to scout ahead and tell her about 
it when she arrived. Now stop changing the subject!"
	Endymion laughed. "The princess is only a figment of my 
imagination," he let out with deliberate slowness, following her gaze 
to the river. "I haven't met her anywhere but in my dreams..." 'But I 
will meet her, tomorrow- that is, if I ever survive being with *you* 
for the rest of the night...'
	"In your dreams?" She asked, wide eyed, ignorant of the 
thoughts running through his head.
	"I don't actually see her...just a figure, I suppose. I hear 
stories about her... In fact, my parents can't seem to do anything but 
rave about the generosity and kindness of the things she does with her 
mother. I'm sure she's wonderful...but-"
	"There's a 'but'?"
	"Hold on," he added with a smile. His volume dropping as he 
leaned in closer to her, he whispered, "To be perfectly honest, I 
thought the same thing about her as you did about En- the prince."
	"Now who shouldn't be judging who?" Serenity winked, moving to 
stand up again. Looking up at the night stars, she wrapped her arms 
around herself as a slight night breeze began to blow. He noticed her 
discomfort and stood up as well. Taking the coat, which was attached 
to the bag, he draped it around her, his hands settling on her 
shoulders. Serenity mumbled a thank you as she felt the warmth from 
the coat and from him. Something built up inside both of them, and 
neither moved from their positions.

*

	"Look at that!"
	"Yeah, can you believe it?"
	"Well, if the 'delivery man' was that hot, I'd be doing the 
same thing."
	"Hi-chan!" 
	"Eh, gomen ^^;... Well, I said it, I might as well be the next 
to go. Obstacle C..."
	"Ne, Pyro-chan," Ki-chan joked, "Be careful, you could overdo 
it."
	Stopping before jumping to the next tree, she looked back. 
"I'll be just fine, minna. I have *control*, unlike some other 
people." With that, she jumped off to get closer to her target. 

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End Chapter 3
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