As I write dis, I've jst posted da 4th chappy. I don't know, but I feel in da writing mood.

It's almost midnight and da night gives me ideas, helping me portray love dat manifests in my own mind.

Read wat I believe to be love in one of its true forms.

Hehe, my meds are really weird. I sound like I just had an out-of-body experience.

Yea, ignore my ranting and enjoy wat I humbly offer.

It was hard to concentrate. The sun was dimly covered by wispy clouds, so it wasn't the sun. The air was clear, even with winter about to roll in, so that couldn't explain it.

And for all the other causes tumbling around, she couldn't find one that clarified the reason for her distress.

"Or maybe it's because you're starting to feel something for him," Maya added, tucking a loose hair behind her ear. The wind had picked up for a bit before settling down.

They had taken advantage of the nice weather before the snow to paint outside, under a canopy.

"No, that's not it," Serenity objected.

She had finally confided to her friend of everything she was feeling, even for Endymion. And though she continually denied any romantic feelings for the man, Maya knew better.

"It's alright if you do, you know. All that's happening is your mind remembering your love for him. It was bound to happen," Maya injected casually, but she anxiously waited for her to respond.

"I feel as if I'm touching another woman's man. It makes me feel dirty," she said in disgust, not wanting to think about it anymore.

"Don't do that Serenity. This is your life, your children, your husband. No one was here except you. It must be strange for you, but in time, all this will be familiar to you," Maya patted her hand and smiled.

"Maya, how is it you know exactly what to say to sooth my nerves?"

"Practice. Having a soldier for a husband leaves me extra work. Gabriel is so picky about everything, it's a wonder he gets out the door everyday," they laughed, lightening the mood.

From afar stood Endymion, Tristan asleep in his arms. After running about for an hour, he fell right to sleep upon the grassy lawn.

He couldn't help but stand there, watching as his wife, his Serenity laughed. It was a lovely sight and brightened his day.

Time might not like him now, but at least Fate did not deny him the simple joys of love.

They went back inside when winds became too strong. Maya said her goodbyes and climbed into her carriage, Gabriel kissing her and yelling promises of coming home in a few hours.

Serenity's insides were in knots. She could still feel the kiss from last night, and since then she hadn't seen Endymion.

Part of her relaxed. The other was disappointed, though she didn't tell that to Maya.

"Your Highness?"

"Yes?" she answered nonchalantly as she spotted Endymion speaking to that man, Gabriel.

"A letter for you," the maid said meekly, producing it on her palm.

"Thank you."

It was plain, with only her name adorning the front. Just her name. Not even her title was added. Just Serenity.

Walking aimlessly toward the dining room, she ripped it open and stopped in her tracks.

It fluttered to the floor, somewhere near her feet. Her fingers were frozen; unable to find the ability to move again.

"Serenity, what's wrong?" Endymion questioned.

He had just left Gabriel when he saw something fall to the ground from Serenity's hands. Then her face turned ashen white.

"Serenity?" she looked at him but didn't answer.

He wearily gaped at her then stooped down to pick up the parchment.

As he was about to ask her what was wrong, his eyes read the words scrawled on the paper.

Mind the blue flowers, for they tell secrets tender ears cannot bear to hear.

He didn't understand what it meant, but it obviously had an effect on Serenity.

She was barely aware of Endymion when it hit her.

The scent was finally gone. She thanked for the Goddess for that. But now, she felt the wind hitting her skin. How did she get outside? She opened her eyes and saw the ground.

Looking around, Serenity realized that she was being carried over someone's shoulder. The man was very burly for she could feel the muscles under her arms.

"She's awake," someone said next to her.

She turned towards the voice but was met with a masked man.

"I hope you don't mind the anonymity, Your Highness. Got to protect ourselves," his voice was deep, almost like that of a leader.

"W-Why-"

"Why are we doing this, you ask?" she nodded.

"All in good time, Your Highness," he walked away from her.

She busied herself with memorizing her surroundings. Left and right, there was only one thing: blue flowers, thousands of them. The color of the sky, they dotted the ground like shiny diamonds.

She knew they were no longer in Vaneri. Her country did not grow this kind of flower. But there was a land that grew it in abundance. It was on the tip of her tongue yet she couldn't place it.

Nuwell had daises, Sahrini had black roses, Wodlend had chrysthamums, Suttian had…

"Put her down," the man said to the one carrying her.

Her bare feet touched a cold floor. She hadn't even realized they entered a house. Looking around, she came to the conclusion that some sort of nobleman lived here.

"Who lives here?" she demanded as a man forced her down on a chair. He began to tie her arms to the armrests.

"You don't have to worry about that, Queen Serenity," he came back into the room, his face still wearing that stupid porcelain mask. It had bright yellow eyes and a red gash meant to be a mouth; it was a jester.

"Do not dare call me by my birth name. Address me correctly," she had to maintain some kind of control, to show she wasn't intimidated by them, by him.

"Forgive my blunder, Your Highness," he said, bowing in mock.

"Now will you answer my question?" she tugged at her hands, hoping she could loosen them a bit.

"Oh, what was that?" He came to sit right in front of her.

She flinched back but recovered.

"Why have you taken me?"

"Let's just say it wasn't just your husband who had been after the ring. But do not think of us as the enemy, Your Highness. We are but a quiet group of men set on righting things," he was so sincere she actually believed him. Almost.

"If that's the case, then you should know that it is held behind my palace's walls," she thought she won the battle.

"Silly, silly royal. Do you actually believe we haven't been watching your kingdom ever since the ring came into its possession?"

"Then what role do I play?"

"We know it no longer resides in your palace. In fact, we know it has left Vaneri soil." Checkmate. The bastard! How did he know?

"Lies," Serenity stated, turning away from his hidden face.

"Now why would I lie to such a beautiful woman?" he slid his hand down her cheek, achingly slow. It disgusted her to have another man touch her like that.

"Stop." Her voice cracked.

"I will grant you that," he moved away from her and crossed his arms.

They continued to stare at each other. The slits in the mask gave her a hint of how he looked; his eyes were dark blue, the same as Endymion.(A/N Remember that tidbit!) It made her heart cry for her husband.

"Look, we know you want to return to your family, especially after the birth of your daughter, so let's just make this easy on all of us," he leaned forward, becoming serious.

"You want me to tell you where the ring is, where I buried it?" Serenity couldn't believe how they knew.

"Yes, and you'll be back in your cozy palace in no time."

"I hope you don't think it'll be that easy," she smirked.

Fluffy dreams. Her head hurt, a throbbing sensation. Her throat was parched, begging for water.

The room was dark when she opened her eyes. She hoped it was her room. The drapes were close from the midday sun. Was it midday?

"How are you feeling?" it was him. She could recognize his voice anywhere.

"What happened?" she tried to sit up but he jumped up from his chair and gently pushed her back down.

"You fainted."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But it looked as if you were having a flashback. Were you?" he asked with hope.

And with a hesitant heart, she poured out her soul to him. She told him everything, every little detail of the memories that came crashing on her.

While she was telling her tales, she could see the relief in his eyes, his face. Serenity was glad for that but knew there was still pain at the lack of intimacy she denied him.

Endymion couldn't believe his ears. She was finally making progress with her healing. He had hoped against hope she would return to him the second she laid eyes on her family. And when that failed, his hope for the future dwindled away everyday. Maya and Gabriel kept it alive, kept him optimistic about Serenity.

Yes, it was wrong of him to almost give up like. Sometimes it seemed like life hated him happy. With the arrival of Bella, things were going good. And when she was gone, everything went in reverse and all he could think about was the lonely life he thought he might have to lead with his children.

When Serenity finally found it in herself to share with him, Endymion's faith was renewed. His eyes held back tears, but they fought through, spilling down his face rapidly.

By the time Serenity finished, she was taken aback by the tears falling from Endymion's eyes. What would Serenity do?

She brushed them away with her palms and she kept them there. With her hands framing his weeping face, she pulled him down to kiss her.

"Serenity, I don't want to push you," he murmured against her lips.

She smiled at him in thanks.

No matter how much he appreciated her gesture, he knew she wasn't ready for it yet. After hearing it all, he was content with waiting. For her, he could wait forever.

He no longer looked at her with expectations. He no longer widened his eyes when it seemed as if she were about to have a flashback, when it really turned out to be a sneeze or something of the sort.

Serenity spent her time with her children, taking long walks with Endymion, and becoming reacquainted with her best friend, Gabriel. He turned out to be a great source of who Serenity really was.

Her kidnapping was still investigated but they had nothing to go on; except the flowers. No one could figure out which country boasted the sky-blue flowers like grass.

"Perhaps some of the locals might know," Maya said as she joined Serenity and Endymion on their walk around the gardens.

"Not unless we want it alerted that we're looking," Endymion said in deep thought.

"Then why send that letter?"

"To torment me," Serenity spat.

"You're right. Maybe they want us to find them, though I don't understand why," griped Endymion.

"Do you know if they have the ring?" Serenity asked.

"They don't. I sent Gabriel to go check. I've had him place it somewhere else, on allied soil," Endymion answered.

One big mystery, aside from who the men were, was how Serenity was able to escape, if they didn't have the ring. Letting her go free wasn't a reason and escape was too farfetched. One thing was for sure: Serenity knew she had been heavily drugged during those two months.

"Let's not let it ruin our day," suggested Endymion as they entered the maze he had grown for Serenity when she became pregnant with Bella.

"Okay, Endy," teased Maya.

Serenity laughed as he charged at Maya, forgetting all about manners. She was grateful that the animosity between them had waned; Maya informed her of her history as Endymion's maid as a paid debt from her drunk and gambling father.

She also marveled at the fact that it had been Serenity who rescued Maya from her sentence and brought her back to her family. (A/N Just adding this for those who didn't read my first story.)

Soon, Tristan joined them after he heard their cries of joy emitting from outside his window. He left his studies and ran for the door. Liam followed right behind him.

"I'm sorry, Your Highnesses. The little prince grew bored of his math," Liam said apoplectically.

"It's alright. Let his tutor know he has the day off today," Serenity said to him.

"Yes, Your Highness," Liam winked at Tristan before going back to the palace.

Tristan squealed with glee at his mother's words and jumped into Endymion's arms. As he was twirled about by his laughing father, Maya turned to Serenity.

"Don't worry, Serenity. We'll find the people who took you away from them," she said, gesturing to Endymion and Tristan.

"And my memories?"

"We'll fix that too. Whoever did this to you, to us, will pay for all the heartache we've felt," Serenity grinned at her, pulling her into a hug.

From over Maya's shoulder, the sun kissed Serenity's cheeks. And when she closed her eyes, it happened again.

Whew! Dat took a lot of me…I think. Anywayz.

Like I mentioned somewhere in da story, remember da guy with the blue eyes; he'll show up again, maybe in flashbacks, maybe not. He plays a big significance to Serenity's family.

Tootles!