Lady Princess Katsa of Leinidd
By Animeguera
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Gundam Wing or its characters.
Katsa had dropped her current plans as soon she received the letter from Po requesting in a trusted servant's writing to please come to Leinid. She had heard the rumors across the Middluns as she undertook more training for young girls, but had refused to believe it. Po's letter made it clear that it was not a rumor.
The island kingdom of Leinid had been struck with a shake event that destroyed the west corner of Leinid. It was rumored the entire royal family of Leinid had been killed in the destruction of one of Princes of Leinid castle. It was unknown which castle. The royal family had been celebrating the birthday of their beloved Prince. The Lienid people were upset over the loss of their wonderful King and Queen and wondered who would take the throne if the entire Royal family had perished.
Very few had noticed that the young Prince Greening was hardly in the country of his birth. He was travelling across the Kingdoms, visiting the Queen of Monsea. He was the only living survivor of the royal family besides young Queen Bitterblue and his grandfather Tealiff.
He needed to travel back to Leinid immediately to take control of the situation. Extended members of the royal family were taking residence in the King's castle, wanting to fill the vacuum of power. Po needed to plan the funeral for his father, mother and his six brothers. His grief was intense, his fear was greater. He had never learned to take over from his father. There was never a chance that he would become king with six old brothers to take that seat on the throne.
Po was at a loss most of the day, meeting with advisers who shoved papers in his face. He instituted a new rule that all proposals would have to be read aloud. He felt as his new rule caused his advisers to worry about the leadership a young untrained Prince would bring to the country of Leinid. Po wished he could turn off his grace, if only so he didn't know how much he was disappointing everyone around him.
He wished his family back from the dead.
Katsa arrived with Raffin and Bann in tow. Po ran to the stables as soon as he sensed Katsa's arrival. He picked her up and hugged more tightly than he ever had. He repeated her name, as he showed her all the grief he had been hiding from the world. "They're gone, Katsa."
Katsa held him and let him pour out his emotions. She shut off her own emotions to allow him to relax and focus on himself.
The funeral was a somber event for all of Leinid. Losing their beloved Royal family filled everyone with sadness. The coronation ceremony was being planned in a few weeks. Po had taken his leadership role seriously. With Raffin's assistance in royal matters he had no experience with, Po was falling easily into a daily routine. Katsa was at his side when he needed her support. She slept in his bed and continued with training the young serving girls in the castle self defense. Within the first hour of her first lesson she let it be known that her relationship with Po was never to be discussed. The first young girl that attempted to start that conversation was offered a one on one fight with Katsa herself. No one spoke a word since.
It was a good thing too, it was difficult enough to hide her anxiety from Po when he was near her, she didn't need to be constantly reminded of what Po becoming King meant. She was more than afraid of either scenario. Po needed a Queen and he needed an heir.
One day, she entered the ballroom where she held her session was empty except for a tall Lienid man sitting in a chair. Katsa approached cautiously, contemplating escaping while he hadn't noticed her presence.
"Lady Princess, please have a seat. I arranged the session to be rescheduled so we may speak alone."
"Does your Prince know you are speaking with me?" Katsa countered. Po had warned her to not speak with his advisers alone.
The man shook his head, "He does not, Lady Princess. I believe I should converse with you first to know your feelings before I make a proposal to the future king Lienid."
Katsa took the chair across from him, already predicting where the conversation would lead. She sighed, calmed her mind, shutting down her emotions so she can have a rational discussion about the future.
"Will you be marrying Prince Greening?"
Katsa paused a breath before answering. "I never plan on marrying Po."
The man nodded his head. "Prince Greening will need a queen and an heir."
Katsa nodded, not letting the tears take over her eyes. Po needs a queen and an heir. Neither of which Katsa can provide. "My stance on marriage is clear to Po. I am not willing to give him an heir."
The man nodded his head again. "Thank you for your time, Lady Katsa."
Katsa waited until he exited the ballroom before she sprinted out of the castle. She tried to give Po a message. Po, I'm sorry. I'll be back, I promise. I have to think about this.
Po was fully concentrated in a meeting with ambassadors from various cities about their affairs, taxes and support from the King. Po's heart stopped, hearing Katsa's message clearly. Everything else in the room faded away to obscurity. All he felt was Katsa, getting on a horse and galloping away. She was so sorry and upset, that he knew he shouldn't follow her.
In the forest, Katsa felt her stomach tie itself into knots as she jumped off the horse and fell onto the ground wanting to retch from the anxiety. She wanted to curl up into a ball. She wanted to run as fast she could into the forest to tire herself out. She wanted to sleep, but she knew no dreams would come.
She was lost because of everyone else. She didn't want to lose Po. Marrying him would just chain her to him permanently. Then he would require her to bear him a son. That was more than she could handle. Not only would she belong to Po, she would be owned by any children she gave birth to. She would never be herself again. She would never belong to herself. Any and all decisions would have to be made with Po, Leinid in mind.
She felt her eyes filling with water. She had to leave Po. She could not be the queen he needed. He would find a woman who would give him all the children he desired. Who would run the castle with and be a social creature that Po could lean on.
She wanted to scream in frustration. She wanted to go back to the castle and let Po know how much she cared for him. How she would do anything for Po, anything except what was required of him being King.
As the hours passed by, Katsa felt no more certain than when she left. She knew she had already decided but every minute she spent delaying her return to the castle was a minute she knew she hadn't broken Po's heart. That was she feared the most, that she would make Po unhappy. He had risked unhappiness by choosing to be with her and now she was ready to cause him even more unhappiness. He had already lost him family. He would lose her now too.
Katsa pulled the horse's reins, starting the trek back to King Po's castle. She forced herself to feel numb again. Po didn't need to know how much this was breaking her heart as well. Maybe that would deter some of his unhappiness.
She was certain she would have heard them coming if her mind wasn't in a fragile state. They surprised her and bound her hands, leaving Katsa only her feet to fight back. The group that attacked her attempted to bind her feet next. She kicked a few men away from her and she pulled her arms up and kicked herself backwards, pushing the men to the ground. Five more assailants appeared out of the dark woods.
Since the fight started, Katsa's mind was clear. She knew her goal was to win against them. She would win, there was no question of that. She didn't want to kill anybody. She also wanted to know why they were attacking her. She didn't recognize any of the assailants. She had no enemies left alive that she knew of. Once she stood, she jumped over her bound hands, watching the men carefully, keeping an ear turned behind her in case more appeared.
Once they lost their advantage, the men seemed more wary on attacking her. One brave soul ran at her, his sword raised high above his head. Within seconds, she had cut her bindings, taken the sword and turned the sword on the man.
She turned around, threatening everyone around her. "Who are you?" The man shook with fear, the sword pointed at his neck. "I do not wish to kill you, but I shall if you don't reveal why you attacked me."
"We are sorry, Lady Princess. We were ordered to take you prisoner."
"Why?"
"To force Prince Greening to turn the throne over to his cousin."
Katsa didn't understand his reasoning.
"Katsa!" A familiar voice shouted from beyond the treeline.
Po rushed forward, his sword drawn and stopped short once he realized Katsa didn't need his assistance. A group of royal guards followed behind their Prince, swords drawn as well. Katsa glared at Po, her anger clear. The royal guards rounded of the failed kidnappers, taking them to stand trial for attempting to kidnap the Lady Princess.
Po ordered the royal guard to leave them. Katsa watched as the royal guard left, leaving the Prince and Princess alone.
"Katsa," Po started and paused as Katsa let him she was angry at him. He sighed. "I had nothing to do with that adviser coming to speak with you."
I know that.
"Then why are you angry at me?"
She tried to explain what her anger was about, but realized she wasn't angry. Not truly angry. She was unhappy with herself.
"Katsa, talk to me. I don't understand."
"I wish to not need you." She replied.
"Why?"
"Then it wouldn't be so difficult to refuse to be your queen." Katsa said, looking down to the forest floor, so she wouldn't have to see the sadness. "I want to avoid causing you unhappiness."
Po approached her slowly, "As long as I am near you, I am never unhappy." Po pulled her chin up to look into his eyes, even though she knew that he wasn't able to look back into hers, she found comfort there. "There is no need to become my Queen." Po replied.
I don't understand.
"Katsa, my dear wildcat, I adore you. I would give my life for you. My world starts and ends with you. Do you truly believe I would choose a kingdom over you?" Po shook his head. "I never believed I would become King. Even now, at this great price, I don't wish to be King. I will not abandon Leinid, but I will not sentence myself or you," Po kissed her forehead, "to be tied forever here."
Katsa was crying. "Wildcat, please don't cry."
Tears continued to roll down her face. "Why do you love me so? To give up your kingdom?"
"I could say it is a choice, but that is a falsehood." Po tightened his hold on Katsa. "You have ensnared me since our first fight. By choosing to not be king, I am choosing my own happiness."
"What will be happen to Leinid?"
Po took his gaze away from Katsa. "One of my father's nieces is more than willing to take my place." His face hardened. "Although, I will have to deal with her older brother."
11/26/14
-Guera-