The knock came at the most inopportune time. "Who is it?!" Nathan bellowed,
hoping that if it was one of his roommate's, they would know by his tone that
now was not a good time to decide to sleep, change, whatever.

 "Prince Nathan? I must speak with you." Althea giggled under him as he
cursed, then rolled off the bed, grabbing a sheet as he went, cursed again as
he tripped as his feet got tangled in one end of it as he wrapped it around
his waist.

 "What!" He snarled at the slender official that blinked at him wide eyed as
he flung open the door.

 The man bowed. "Queen Serenity summons you to the throne room. It is
important." He glanced around Nathan's form as a movement inside caught his
attention. He lowered his eyes quickly. "If you happen to see the Princess
Althea, would you tell her that the Queen summons her also?"

 "Yes. Fine. I will tell her. Thank you." He resisted the urge to slam the
door in the mans face, bowed politely, then stepped back and shut the door.

 "It's a plot. They're all in on it." He grumbled as he came back to the bed.
Althea, already back in her shift, handed him his pants.

 She just laughed as she slid on her dress, turning her back for him to do up
the laces. "How would anyone know yet, Nathan?"

 "Oh, they'd now. One of the pages probably saw us come in together, rumor
flies faster here than hawks hunting." He patted her on the rear as he
finished tying the laces, shrugged into his shirt as she fished one of his
boots from under the bed, putting it with the other in easy reach.

 "I think you're exaggerating, just a little." She teased as went to the
mirror and tucked a few wild wisps of hair back into her braids. "I wonder
what's going on?"

 "Shall we find out, Mi'lady?" He offered his left arm, his right hand still
busy with the buttons of his jacket.

 The throne room was crowded, but people made way for them. Althea felt the
first fluttering of alarm as she saw the tense expression on the Queen's
face. Nathan guided her to stand beside Endymion, Julian at his other side.

 "Where's Malikai and Zuriel?" Julian hissed at Nathan.

 "How should I know?" Nathan hissed back just before the Queen's seneschal
banged his staff on the floor, demanding silence.

 "Where are the Princes Malikai and Zuriel?" She asked the official who had
come to summon Nathan.

 "They could not be found, my Queen." The man apologized as he bowed low.

 The Queen looked down at her cats for a moment, then focused on the gathered
Prince's of Earth.

 "We can not wait on them any longer. News has come. Doran has fallen, as has
Mathwyny and Justanian. The fate of the other kings is unknown, but we hold
little hope for them. The Earth has been taken by the Darkness. I am sorry."

 Murmurs of dismay and disbelief rose from the assembled court around them.
Althea reached out and took her brother's hand as he let out a little stunned
gasp, tears rising in both of their eyes. Julian lowered his head with a
whispered curse. Nathan took her hand on the other side, squeezed it
fiercely.

 *Father was dead. And Mathwyny. Where was Malikai? And Justanian. Oh, poor
Julian. Father was dead.*  That just keep circling in her mind.

 "I would like to give you time to be alone with your grief, but I need to
speak with you all in my chambers. Please. The rest of you, finish your
preparations. The Darkness will be upon us soon." The Queen rose and turned,
heading for her private exit.

 People started flowing out of the throne room, many bowing as they passed,
but leaving enough space around the four to give them some small measure of
privacy.

 Endymion turned and wrapped his sister in a fierce hug, buried his face
against her shoulder. She could feel the fine tremor shaking him. Nathan went
to Julian, draped his arm across his shoulders and spoke softly to him. She
couldn't hear what he said, but knew that Julian would take comfort from him
as he would from Julian.

 "'Mion." She hugged her brother back. The bond between him and Father had
been so much different than her own. He had doted on Endymion while he kept
her at arms length. She had understood why at an early age. If he came to
love her, he wouldn't be able to use her as he would need to. The news of his
death to her was a shock, to him it was like a physical blow. "Endymion, you
must keep your grief for another time." She told him firmly. "You are King
now! And a Queen needs you!"

 He nodded against her shoulder, stepped back, his head still down. Then he
raised his head, his face full of anger and determination. The Prince had
been replaced by a King. He took her hand, placed it on his arm and led them
all toward Queen Serenity's chambers.

 The Queen rose as they entered. 'Mion flushed beside her as this courtesy
reminded him again of his new position.

 "I am truly sorry to have to bring you such news and I know your grief is
heavy and hard, but these are difficult times and we must counsel." She
turned her attention to Althea. "Lady Althea, your Uncle wishes to see you.
He is in the Healer's Hall. And then would you find your husband and send him
to me?"

 "I will, Queen Serenity." Althea dropped a low curtsey, giving 'Mion's arm a
final reassuring squeeze then made sure she passed close enough by Nathan to
brush her fingertips against the back of his hand as she left.

 *Where is Malikai and Zuriel?* She frowned as she closed the doors to the
Queen's rooms behind her.

 The six boy's they had brought with them to act as pages where huddled in a
tight group farther down the hallway, waiting. They rushed up to her as she
headed for them, their faces full of distress. Aedon, the youngest, was
crying.

 "Is it true, Princess? The Kings are dead and the Earth has fallen?" They
asked as a group.

 She nodded as she pulled Aedon against her with one arm, letting him cry
against her waist. They all muttered shocked words of disbelief. She could
tell that most of them where fighting against tears. Tears that threatened
her also, but she knew that her grief would only frighten them more so she
forced herself to give them a brave smile.

 "I know you are upset, but I need you all to run a task for me. Can you do
that?" She asked in a coaxing tone, turning Aedon's face up to her.

 They all focused on her, giving little nods, wiping at their eyes with the
backs of their hands or sleeves. "I need you to go and find Pri..." she
stumbled on the word. Malikai, like Endymion, was a Prince no more. "...King
Malikai and tell him the news, if he had not already heard it. And tell him
that Queen Serenity needs to see him, now! If you see Prince Zuriel as you
search, tell him also. I want you to check all the palace and grounds,
especially the secret and secluded spots where the lover's go. When you have
found them, come and tell me. I will be in the Healer's Hall or my or my
brother's room. Corey, you make the assignments of who checks where. Do you
understand?"

 "Yes, Princess Althea." Corey answered, standing straighter. "Come on
Aedon." He told the littlest of them firmly.

 Aedon pushed himself away from her waist. "It should be Queen Althea now,
shouldn't it?" He asked with a sniffle as he looked up at her, wanting an
answer.

 That question, and all that it implied, seemed to focus all of the emotions
she had pushed aside earlier. She went light-headed. *I can't let them see me
faint!* She willed her knees to support her, her smile only wavering for a
moment. She forced herself to answer as she reached down and ruffled his
brown hair. "Yes, I guess it should be. Now, off with you."

 She waited until they were out of her sight before she sagged against the
wall, her knees and hands trembling violently. *Stop it, Althea!* She told
herself fiercely. *So, you are a Queen. It's no different from being a
Princess!* But it was. If something should happen to Malikai, then she would
have to rule in his stead, until the babe she carried, if it was a boy, came
of age. She made herself take slower, deeper breaths, running through the
Guardian's exercise that cleared and calmed the mind. *Nothing will happen to
Malikai.* She told herself firmly. *This is not the time to worry over what
might be's. Uncle needs me.* She pushed her herself upright and headed for
the Healing Hall.

 
 Mara came up to her as she paused at the entrance, taking in the chaos that
reigned inside. She was filthy and covered in blood, her uniform torn in many
places, but Althea was relieved to see that little of the blood appeared to
be her own and she seemed relatively unhurt. So many of the other Guardians
in the Hall before her had not come through the battle so well.

 "Uncle Innish?" She was almost afraid to ask.

 Mara took her arm and led her through the harried Healer's and the wounded.
"None of his wounds are grievous, Lady Althea. But he is exhausted and
being... uncooperative." She warned as they closed on the pallet where her
Uncle lay.

 He turned his face towards them as they came, one hand pressing a blood
stained cloth to the side of his face. His chest had been wrapped in bandages
and the forearm of the hand he held out to her was bound from wrist to elbow.
"Althea!" His voice was nothing more than a hoarse croak from shouting
commands on the field, but she could still hear the relief under it.

 She took her hand into both of her own as she settled beside him. "It's all
right, Uncle. I'm here." She soothed, concerned by the strange, far away look
in his eyes.

 "I tried to reach him, Althea! But there where too many between us. The
Darkness overcame many of our forces, turning them against each other. I
tried, Althea. But he fell and I couldn't reach him...I had no choice. I had
to leave, take the wounded. To stay would have been to die for nothing. And I
have a task to do yet." He closed his eyes, his voice failing him for a
moment, brought her right hand to his cheek, pressed it there.

 He was raving as if in fever, but his skin was cool against her palm. "I'll
tend to him for a while, Mara. You go get cleaned up, have you injuries seen
to."

 Mara nodded at her. "There is a potion." She pointed to the cup that rested
beside the pallet. "The Healer's brought it to help with the pain, but he'll
have none of it. Maybe you'll have better luck getting it down him than I've
had." Her tone was hard, but her eye's reflected the worry she held for him.

 "I'll get it down him." Althea promised, then turned her attention back to
her Uncle as Mara left them.

 "You won't." He growled, his eye's still closed and her hand still pressed
to his cheek.

 "But Uncle, why? You are obviously in pain and it will help you sleep.
You'll be no use to us this way." She said it gently but firmly.

 "All pain has it's purpose, Althea. At the moment, mine is keeping me awake
and focused. It is letting me know I am still alive."

 "Uncle Innish, you're not making sense." She tried to keep the fear out of
her voice as she reached over and moved his hand from the bandage he pressed
against his face, checked under it to see if it had stopped bleeding, worried
that the blow that had opened the gash from temple to the angle of his jaw
had been more sever that the Healer's had assumed.

 "It's not as bad as it looks, though it's going to leave a terrible scar."
He gave her a weak smile.

 She frowned at him, uncertainty reflected on her face. She decided to try to
turn his thoughts to happier things.

 "I'm pregnant, Uncle." She whispered to him with a secret smile.

 "I know." There was something in the tone of his rough whisper, a deeper
vibration  that chilled her to the bone.

 She suddenly knew, understood why he clung to her hand so fiercely. "You
have seen my death, haven't you Uncle?" 

 He opened his eye's slowly, focused on her pale face. "No, Althea. I have
seen your life."

 She blinked at him, confused. "I don't understand, Uncle." Her free hand
went without her conscious thought to cover the small life in her womb.

 He shook his head side to side. "It doesn't matter. I want you to promise me
something, Althea."

 "It depends on what it is Uncle." She answered cautiously back. She was
truly alarmed now. She feared that the sendings of his Gift and the shocks of
the battle had finally tipped him over the edge into madness.

 "I want you here when the Darkness comes. Will you come and stand with the
other Guardian's and defend the Healing Hall?"

 "Yes." It was what she had planned on doing, anyway.

 "Swear it." He locked his fever bright gaze on her.

 "I swear to it, Uncle. You have my oath."

 "Thank-you." He tightened the pressure of his fingers around her hand one
last time, then released her. 

 "It's all right, Uncle." She put as much soothing into her words as she
could. She could only figure that he was in shock. "Now, will you drink this,
if only to soothe your throat?" She offered the cup to him.

 He shook her head at it and her. "No. But I promise I will sleep, Althea.
Now go. You have other things that need your attention. I will see you
tonight."

 "All right Uncle." She patted his hand as his eyes closed with exhaustion.
She waited until Mara came back, clean and in a fresh uniform.

 "Did he drink it?" She asked.

 Althea shook her head no. "But he's asleep anyway. I need to go. Will you
stay with him?"

 Mara nodded, took her hand and helped her up, then settled into the spot she
had just vacated.

 "Call me if you need me. I'll station one of the pages here." She told her,
then hurried from the hall.


 She stood in their room, hands on her hips, trying to figure this puzzle
out. Corey had meet her in the hallway on her way to her room with the news
that they couldn't find Malikai or Zuriel anywhere and that no one had seen
either of them since this morning.

 She had thanked him with a smile, told him to send one of the boy's to stay
in the Healer's Hall under Mara's orders and no other. She wanted to know
where all of the household would be, didn't want any of them sent on errands
not of her or the other's making.

 Then she walked in on the puzzle she now faced. Malikai's clothes from this
morning where draped neatly over the back of one of the chairs, his boots
together under them. She had checked the wardrobe to make sure that he hadn't
changed. His sword was still in it's sheath and in it's accustomed place.
*Did he just walk off naked?* She fumed to herself. She was getting worried.

 She went to Endymion's room, hoping to find Malikai and Zuriel there and
laughing at the fuss they'd caused. She walked in on Nathan, Julian and
'Mion's tense discussion.

 "Did you find him?" 'Mion all but snapped.

 "No." She snapped back, Nathan coming up behind her and putting a soothing
hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath, they were all on edge. "All of
Malikai's clothes are in the room. And his boots. And his sword.

 "Then he has been taken." Julian stated.

 " But there was no sign of a struggle Julian." Althea frowned at him. Then
the pieces fell together. "Zuriel took him? But how? And why?"

 "I don't know." Julian frowned back, traded troubled looks with his friends.

 "Maybe he took him back to Earth." Nathan offered from behind her. "To take
him out of harms way." He gave an amused snort.

 "He can't call the Gates." Endymion shook his head. "And none of the Gate
caster's opened one for him. I asked."

 They all fell silent for a few moments, thinking. Then Julian spoke again.
"Then someone else had to open a Gate for him. Someone or something powerful
enough to do it without the other Caster's noticing." Julian gave voice to
the thing they did not want to accept.

 "I refuse to believe that." Endymion whispered. "I won't believe it."

 Nathan and Julian exchanged knowing looks.

 "However it happened, it has happened. We must accept that both of them are
gone, probably taken by the Darkness and with the knowledge of our plans.
Endymion, come with me. We need to inform the Queen of this." Her brother
followed Julian out of the room, still shaking his head 'no'.

 Nathan turned her around in his arms, pressed her close to his chest. "We'll
be gone to our positions within the hour, I imagine." His voice rumbled
through his chest under her ear.

 She gave him a fierce hug. "Come with me now Nathan. I would be with you one
time before the Darkness falls on us."

 He nodded as he took her hand and hurried with her towards her room.



 The knock came as they cuddled together on the bed, their passion spent.
 
 "Nathan. It's time." Julian called from the hallway.

 "I'll be there." Nathan called back.

 They helped each other dress in silence. Althea unable to speak because she
knew she would cry, Nathan thinking that this might be the last time he saw
her, touched her, heard her sweet voice.

 He kept her pressed tight against his side as they walked to the main
courtyard where his comrades waited. Endymion was off to one side, both of
Princess Serenity's hands in his own as she and Nathan moved into the knot of
people. Althea watched her brother pull the chain and locket over his head,
then averted her eyes, wanting to give them what privacy they could take in
the crowded, noisy place.

 Julian walked towards them, blew a playful kiss over his shoulder to the
Princess Jupiter who was standing with the other Senshi close their Princess
and Endymion.

 His expression was totally serious and focused when he stopped before them.

 Althea gave up Nathan's embrace, stepped forwards and wrapped her arms
around Julian in a loose hug. "Be careful."

 He looked down at her and gave her that devil-may-care smile of his as he
hugged her back gently. "Always, Lady Althea. Don't worry. I'll bring them
both back to you safe and whole."

 "And yourself." She commanded.

 "Yes, my Queen." He grinned back. "Endymion, come on!" He yelled as she
stepped back from him.

 Endymion kissed Serenity one last time, then hurried to them, keeping his
back to his Princess and her tears.

 "'Thea." He held out his arms, returned the hard pressure of her hug.

 "Don't do anything stupid, 'Mion." She leaned back, gave him her best brave
smile. She'd had a lot of practice at it today.

 "Is that any way to address a King, 'Thea?" He teased her gently.

 "When that King is my brother, yes." She teased back.

 He hugged her against him again. "Guard Serenity for me until I get back."

 "I'm going to be at the Healer's Hall with the rest of the Guardian's 'Mion.
You know that." She reminded him.

 "No, you're not." Nathan said from behind her.

 "What?" She turned to him, keeping hold of her brother's hand. Not willing
to let him go just yet.

 "Althea, you are a Queen pregnant with the heir to a missing King. You are
too precious to risk in battle now."

 She stared at him, shocked. "But..."

 "No argument Althea. I command it!" 'Mion said firmly beside her. He sounded
so much like father she almost giggled. Thankfully her shock and good sense
overrode it. "You will go and stay with Princess Serenity during the attack."

 "But..."

 "Promise me, 'Thea." Nathan eye's pleaded with her. "Please."

 "I will." She told him, dropping her eyes, hating to deceive him, but she
had already sworn to her Uncle and she intended to keep that oath.

 Nathan looked at her suspiciously, but was distracted by the booming voice
of the gong that rang through the courtyard, biding those that gathered there
go to their stations at the walls of the city.