SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1A handsome young redheaded man walked through the streets of Paris. He was dressed in a pair of loose black pants and a equally black jacket with gold buttons down the front of it, and golden designs embroidered on the cuffs and near the neckline. The jacket itself went down almost to his hips, looking almost like a tunic.
A very thick rain was pouring, drenching the man, and his long violet cape and hood weren't helping much either. He stepped slowly, and thoughtfully. . . his thick black boots splashing carelessly in puddles. People hardly recognized him in this state. The great Gundam Pilot of Neo-France... George DeSand, looked heartbroken and depressed. His violet eyes no longer held their noble and kind sparkle, but instead there was an empty sad gloom.
He passed by store after store, walking wearily on the sidewalk. People gave glances, wondering where they'd seen the man with long red hair. . . but thought only in vain, as they just wouldn't dare think that it was George DeSand. For a while, George kept walking. . . finally coming upon a tidy little park in the middle of the city. Quietly, he walked to the edge of it, where railing was. Past the railing was a sudden drop down, hundreds of feet.
The once-beautiful city of Paris lay before him. In the middle of the sight, stood the Eiffel Tower. A sad sight indeed. It had once been the main attraction of the magnificent city... but now, it barely held itself upright. Pieces of it were laying on the ground beneath it and it was leaning over.
"It looks so. . . sad," the young man finally spoke, thinking aloud.
He gazed upon the sight for a moment, just thinking. What a day had it been. . . his mind wandered back to earlier:
:: George stood, frowning at his glorious Gundam Rose. It had been severely damaged in the last battle. His last opponent was powerful. . . more powerful than he'd ever expect. It was strange. No one besides the shuffle alliance was anywhere near Domon Kasshu's level. . . at least no one that was alive now. Both Schwarz and Master Asia had passed away. Neo-Japan's fighter was the strongest Gundam Fighter alive at the moment. . . at least he had been. George was beginning to suspect that this new fighter, was even stronger. Something was wrong.
"George DeSand!" a shrill voice came from behind.
"Miss Marie Louise, what a pleasant surprise," George turned around, smiling at his lover.
The princess had a frown on her face. "What's wrong George?"
She got no reply, however, as George was lost in thought yet again.
"George!" the blonde girl's green eyes blazed with annoyance. "George!" she got in front of the knight and waved her hand. "Wake up!"
"Oh, I'm so very sorry," George came out of his state of deep though, sighing as he looked into her eyes.
"Look George. . . I'm tired of having to put up with your daydreaming," her voice suddenly sounded fierce and angry.
"Marie?" George's violet eyes widened in surprise.
"You're worried about your Gundam aren't you? And about that barbaric Gundam fighter, Dommon," she fussed.
"Yes, I am," the knight was fairly surprised at her question.
"You never worry about me!" the princess's voice became even more angrier, as her eyes hinted at annoyance.
"That's not tr-"
"Yes it is!" Marie Louise pouted. "Look George, I'm sorry, but. . ." the young woman's eyes softened. "We can't be together, if you can't even do something so simple as to worry about me." With that, she walked off.
"But, Marie Louise!" George started to run after her, but the young woman went inside the nearby mansion before he could reach her.
The redhead was confused beyond reason. He had no clue why she had done that. . .::
"Why?" George murmured as he came back to reality, looking at the vast city of Paris. A lone tear ran down his face, slowly. . . "I don't understand. Why did she get so upset?" His puzzlement was interrupted by a nearby cry of pain.
"Stop it! Please. . ." a young woman's voice cried from nearby. "Ow! Please! I'll help you, just stop!"
George gave a sigh. Maybe rescuing a damsel in distress would help him forget the day's events for a short while. He ran to where he'd heard the cry coming from, through some thick vegetation. Silently, he brushed the huge bush aside and peeked out. There was a large group of burly men, all dressed as bikers, crowded around someone. He could tell that they were kicking at something.
"Hey! You over there!" George called out, rushing into the open and knocking one of the men out before none knew what to think.
"What th-" George had jabbed the next one in the side, and the man began groaning in pain.
"Never, ever. . . harm a lady," his violet eyes looked down and spotted a pretty girl half laying on the ground.
She wore a simple dark green, short sleeveless dress over a pair of loose cacky pants. Black boots covered her pants to her knees, and around her neck was a silver chain. Loose black curls framed her pale face. . . George looked into her eyes. . . Ice blue eyes held a scared and depressed cry for help. Her cheeks were a rosy shade of pink and her lips were an almost dark blood red.
"Mademoiselle, are you alright?" the young knight gave a concerned look.
"I'm fine," she blinked in return, a little surprised.
"Good. I'll ha-oh!" a painful kick had been delivered to George's side, and he flew back against a nearby tree. A small trickle of blood ran down his mouth and he wiped it away and stood.
The girl looked quite concerned. "You leave him alone! He has nothing to do with this!" she stood up and blocked the men's path to George. "You bastards always seem to bring others into your own problems. . . blaming them on you problem instead of dealing with it!" her voice was quite forceful and angry.
"Hoho! The little lady does have a voice!" one of the men laughed, before pushing her out of the way, forcing her into a nearby wall. She groaned as she gently slid down the tree, on the verge of passing out now.
"You bastard," George seethed, now even more agitated than before. He pulled his sword from it's sheath and quickly got into a fighting-stance.
"Little guy thinks he's tough, eh?" the same huge redhead laughed and then threw a punch towards the young knight. George easily dodged, coming out from behind the man and charged at him, slashing down on his right hand.
The sword made contact, severing the man's hand from his body and fell off. Blood spurted from the man's sliced limb.
"AHHHH!!!!" It took his body a moment to recognize the pain.
George was already standing in front of the man, back into his fighting-stance. "Now, who would like to challenge me?"
"You little pesky son-of-a-bitch!" a shorter man growled, drawing a rather long dagger and charged at the redheaded noble.
George shook his head, vanishing from sight and re-appearing behind the now-shocked attacker. The short dagger-holding man gasped as he turned around to see a very satisfied knight standing in front of him. George was deathly close. . . their eyes had met and George's violet ones were studying the man's soul. The man stepped back, almost trembling as George knocked his dagger from his hands.
"Now go!" he commanded, and the left-over men ran, whimpering in fear.
George turned to the girl, who was taking shallow breaths and watched with wide blue eyes. She tensed up as soon as she felt the young knight's piercing violet eyes on her.
"Don't worry," George's eyes softened as he saw that her head was bleeding. "You're hurt. Here, let me help you," he walked over and knelt in front of the girl. "I'm sorry you were in this mess. . . too bad I couldn't have arrived earlier." his hand reached into a pocket and pulled out a white-handkerchief, and gently wiped the blood from her forehead.
Her eyes closed for just a second, almost as if expecting a sting. George laughed.
"I won't hurt you, I promise," he gave a charming smile. "I'm George," the glove on his right hand was removed before he held it out to take hers.
"I'm Elaina," she smiled, taking his hand for a friendly shake, but was surprised as he turned her hand over and gave it a tender kiss. Her cheeks turned an even rosier shade of pink as the gentleman looked up.
"Pleased to make the acquaintance of such a lovely young lady," his voice was so kind and noble. Elaina decided he wasn't dangerous.
"Thankyou. . .I really can't thank-you enough. I owe you," her soft voice was thoroughly grateful.
"You're welcome, Mademoiselle Elaina," the redhead stood up, helping Elaina to her feet. The young lady dusted herself off and then looked back up. "Would you join me for a cappuccino?" he raised a red brow as Elaina blinked in surprise.
"I would. . .but I have no money," she frowned, looking down with embarrassment.
"No need. I'll pay if that's the problem," the young man gave a soft laugh, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder.
"A-alright. I accept," Elaina looked up with a smile and a sparkle in her ice-blue eyes.