Growing Hearts
By: Lady DeathAngel
Disclaimer: Hm, I wonder, do I own Gundam Wing? ::taps head Pooh style:: Think, think, think . . . nope, don't own 'em. Gundam Wing and all its characters, sadly, aren't mine and belong to their respective creators. I am making *no* money off of this, or any other way for that matter, so don't sue me. You wouldn't get anything interesting anyway.
Warnings: OMG! There are none for this chapter! No cussing, no sex, no gore! Wow, I'm getting soft or something. There will be some small words later on maybe, definitely gore, and possible lime situations. But for now, I've only rated it PG-13 for future chapters and some slightly mature subjects.
A/N: Okay, this popped out of NOWHERE. Actually, I think I was reading a novel or something and all of a sudden I thought, 'Hm, Duo and Hilde in really old England . . . Relena a princess . . ." And slowly and steadily a plot was formed. I'm pretty proud of it, mostly because I've never done an AU piece set in a timeline anytime before 2090 AD. I don't like to mess with things that have already happened, and instead opt to create my own worlds. However, this time I decided to tweak things so that it's kind of a fantasy (minus the dragons and fairies).
Sometimes things happen that are unexplainable. Sometimes the explanations are just as farfetched as the stories, making you wonder what's true. And what isn't. But in the little town of Dartslun, a small village that was part of a small kingdom, strange things happened all of the time and they became the norm for its people.
Unfortunately, the stories about the things that happened could never remain contained within the Sanq Kingdom, and other kingdoms and villages heard the tales. And the Sanq Kingdom as well as Dartslun earned reputations as the kingdom and town that birthed witches and the very breeding grounds of evil.
The worst thing was, it was true. Witches did reside in Dartslun as did the god of death himself. But to call it the breeding ground of evil was far off. Because evil's real home wasn't Dartslun at all. Or even the Sanq Kingdom. It was a far off kingdom called OZ, and they would do anything to infect all other kingdoms with that evil.
~*~
"Lady Relena! Lady Relena please put that bird down! It's dirty and disgusting and it will get your dress all dirty!"
A young girl of about ten-years-old turned with a hmph to her nanny. "It's hurt." She said. "I can't leave it here to die."
She held out the sparrow in her tiny hands. It was obvious that the poor creature's wing was broken, and it did look to be in terrible pain. But it wasn't the princess's job to take care of injured animals.
Still, as Anna, the girl's nanny, looked down into her charge's blue-green eyes, she knew that *she* couldn't leave it either.
Anna sighed and then nodded. "All right then. Come with me. We'll take the bird to the town healer."
Relena's smile was radiant. "Thank you Miss Anna!" She cried, cradling the bird in one hand against her body, and gathering her dress into the other.
~*~
It didn't take very long for them to reach Dartslun. A few minutes at the most. But it was Relena's first time in the town, and she was awestruck. And Anna had to constantly remind her that the sooner the bird was given to the town healer, the sooner it would get better.
The fifth time Anna had to admonish her Relena sighed. "I know Anna, but it's brilliant out here! I've never seen so many people."
"Yes you have. At the ball last week. There were plenty of people."
Relena made a face. "But they were all *boring*. These people are interesting."
"They are also poor, and could make a pretty penny off of your head. So let's get moving."
Relena frowned as she followed in Anna's footsteps. She seemed so skittish and frightened. Kind of like the bird had first been when Relena had approached it. She didn't understand why Anna was in such a hurry to leave such a wonderful place. Relena certainly wasn't in a hurry.
Still, she didn't want to get lost. Which was why she dropped her own dress skirt, and wrapped a hand around Anna's. She was traveling so fast though, that Relena was practically sprinting to keep up.
When they finally reached the apothecary, Relena was panting for breath. She opened her mouth to tell, no, order Anna to slow down next time, but Anna had the strangest look on her face. She seemed beyond terrified of going in.
But go in she did, with Relena on her heels.
"Excuse me." Anna called in a tone she dared not use at the castle. "Excuse me but I'm here to see the Old Woman, is she here?"
For a few moments there wasn't an answer. But then a girl around the age of fourteen descended the steps.
Her hair was twisted into two odd pigtails that hung just an inch above her shoulders. She didn't look happy to see either Anna or Relena, and for a moment Relena could understand why. Anna seemed to be being very disrespectful.
"What do you want?" The girl asked.
"We want to speak with the healer of this town."
"She has a name you know. Lin Po. And she is unavailable at the moment."
Relena saw a strange look pass through Anna's eyes and she lifted a hand as if to strike the girl.
"You shouldn't be impertinent in the presence of your elder . . ."
But Relena had already moved in front of the girl and took the blow herself. It hurt, but she wouldn't show it. Instead she glared up at Anna.
"You should stop being so impertinent in the presence of your princess." She said in a low voice her mother had taught her to use.
Anna's eyes widened and filled with fear. "I'm so sorry Lady Relena. I didn't mean . . ."
But Relena wasn't listening. Instead she turned to the other girl.
"What's your name?" She asked her.
"Um, Sally. Sally Po."
Relena nodded. "And I am Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Sanq Kingdom. I'm sorry about Anna, she forgot why we were here."
Relena held out the hand that had held carefully onto the bird. "This poor fellow was found outside the castle. He took a fall, it seems, and broke his wing. None of the castle healers would dare touch him, so we came here to ask Lin Po for help."
Sally's blue-gray eyes were wide as she gazed at the young princess. She couldn't have been older than ten, and yet she held herself with all the grace and dignity of a sixty year old woman. She was kind too, not spoiled as many believed the Peacecraft children to be. And she had taken the slap that had been meant for her.
Sally's face broke into a smile. "I'm sure she'd love to help." She said.
"Thank you!" Relena cried, her mouth curving upward. "Thank you so much!"
Sally held out a hand for the bird, and Relena relinquished it.
"I'll never forget this." Relena said. "You are very kind and I'll never forget that either."
And then she turned to a red-faced Anna. "I wish to go home." The little girl stated. "And this time you won't walk so fast."
Anna could do nothing but comply.
~*~
"Wow! You met the princess?"
Sally smiled at her young friend Hilde. "Yeah. She was so nice too! The woman with her was mean though."
Hilde propped her small, heart-shaped face in her hands and rested her elbows on the ground.
"Wow." She breathed again.
The little girl found it hard to believe that Sally had met royalty. It really wasn't fair. At least she didn't think so. Sally had all the luck.
"So, is she pretty?" Hilde asked.
Sally shrugged. "Not yet. She's still young, like you. But I bet she will be. She'll probably be gorgeous with long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes and beautiful gowns and all the men in the kingdom will love her for it." Sally sighed. "I won't be pretty like that."
Hilde frowned. "Yes you will. You'll have long blonde hair too, and your eyes are sorta blue. And you have a gift she doesn't. You can heal. Just like Lin."
"That's not really a gift. People think we're both evil because we're healing witches."
"Come on, it's wonderful that you can heal. And when they're sick they'll love you for being a healing witch."
Sally smiled softly. "Yeah, I suppose so."
Hilde shook her head, her shoulder length blue-black hair swinging. "No. I *know* so."
Sally opened her mouth to say something more when there was a loud knock on the door. They both stood up and raced down the stairs. It was Hilde's mother. Her blue eyes blazed as she stared up at her daughter.
"Where have you been?" She demanded. "Your father's been worried sick about you and look at you. You've been out playing and having fun."
Hilde bit her lip and looked down at her feet.
"Well? Don't just stand there, get down here right this instant. We're going home."
Hilde nodded and whispered good-bye to Sally. She ran down the stairs and to her mom. The woman grabbed Hilde's arm, her nails biting into her skin. Hilde fought down a whimper and allowed her mother to drag her out and into the street.
Hilde knew people were watching. Everyone knew about Hilde's mother and father and their family problems. They all sympathized with Hilde, but no one ever made a move to help her.
She lowered her beet red face, and tried to ignore the whispers of some of the town women. It didn't work.
"That poor thing." One woman said. "I feel for her, I really do."
"I know. It's terrible, the way her drunkard parents treat her. She visits Lin Po everyday for the bruises and broken bones."
On and on the conversation went, making Hilde feel even more humiliated. Why couldn't they stop talking about it and leave her alone? And why, if they wouldn't leave her alone, didn't they help?
~*~
"You stupid girl! How many times do I have to tell you not to go visit that crack pot old woman and her daughter?"
"Granddaughter." Hilde corrected softly.
She cried out as her father's fist connected with her cheek. "Don't you dare talk to me like that! You aren't some princess and I'm not some servant you can talk down to."
"I didn't mean to." She said earnestly, staring up at her father with wounded blue eyes.
He glared down at her. "Like hell you didn't mean it. You know that you think you can just treat your mother and I like we're lower'n you just because everybody in town feels sorry for you."
He hit her again, her small body slamming into the wall behind her. "But you can't." He hissed. "Because at the end of the day *we're* the ones who are stronger than you are. And *we're* the ones who are older than you are. And *we're* the ones who are smarter than you are."
He walked over to her, and yanked her up by the front of her dress. "Don't you ever," he slapped her. "Ever," again. "*Ever*," twice more. "Go to see them again. Do you hear me?"
When she didn't answer he dropped her and kicked her in the side. "Do you hear me?!"
"Yes!" She cried around the blood filling her mouth.
Her father didn't say anything more. He just walked away, leaving his daughter on the floor. A few minutes later her mother walked by. She tsked.
"You deserved it you know." She said. "Worthless little things like you deserve every bad thing that happens to them."
Hilde glared up at her. "No one deserves something as awful and evil as you." Hilde said.
Her mother's eyes widened and then she ran through the house screaming for Hilde's father.
Hilde forced herself to her feet and ran for all she was worth to the door. She had it opened when she heard a yell. It was her father.
"Get back here!" He cried.
Hilde shook her head.
"No." She said. "I'm leaving. And when I come back, if I come back, I won't be littler or dumber or weaker than you. I'm going to grow up and become strong and smart. And if you've any human left in you, you'll let me go."
They stared at her. At their ten-year-old daughter. And all at once they saw something in her that frightened them both. Maybe it was the fire shining in her eyes, or the tone of voice she used. Or maybe they were just seeing the woman she would become. Whatever it was, whatever they saw, it was enough because it put the fear of God in their hearts, and nearly sent them to their knees praying that she wouldn't remember them, or that she wouldn't think them worth her time when she was grown and intelligent and strong.
Hilde glared at them for a moment more before leaving. She closed the door softly, the soft click of it resounding through the room like a threat. Or a promise of things yet to come.
TBC . . .
A/N: Okay, so what did you think? Was it sucky? Was it wonderful? Please tell, me, I need to know! Anyway, I'm pretty much finished with chap. 2, so it'll be up ASAP. Love ya, bye!