Hey! This is our first Ben 10 fic and yes its' a Bwen fic. To any Gwevin fans, sorry but this isn't for you guys. We got our inspiration from several authors and hope that some of them will read this.
The Meeting of Two
The continent of Sol was a once a peaceful land. The Luna Republic had unified the twelve kingdoms in peace. The Aires, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces kingdoms had put aside their differences for the better of their people. During this time much advances in science were made. To avoid building weapons of war that consumed the world's resources, each nation kept to the ways of the sword, spear, and bow. They still made aerial ships, trains, and glistening cities. Communication and the way of living were greatly affected as well with the technology. This was a great age. The Age of Advancement. But with each great age, it eventually ends.
A radical group known as the Umbra Knights sought to seize power. They sowed distrust and suspicion among the kingdoms. Then when the glorious Luna Guardians went out to repair the damage, the king of Luna was killed. The Umbra knights used this and claimed the Luna Guardians had assassinated him and his family. With the people rallying to the Umbra, they brought down the Luna Guardians and started a full scale war. This war has gone on for nearly four hundred years and continues to this day. Four alliances were made with the Umbra secretly manipulating the four camps. They control scattered areas about the continent and plan for the day they can crush the twelve kingdoms. But the prophets speak of two heroes who will save them and bring in a new age. The last descendants of the Luna Knights.
Gwen looked out over the ramparts of the palace towards the plains in front of the castle. The Gemini kingdom was nestled in a mountain valley. Where the mountains didn't meet there were walls set up to defend the passes into the kingdom. She hated the fact that the Gemini were "trapped" here. Her step-father said this protected them from the evil kingdoms. She recalled how he always said that the Libra and Aquarius kingdoms were the only real allies they had.
She went back into her room and looked in the mirror. Her auburn hair came down to her back and her green eyes shown brilliantly like emeralds. She wore a white skirt that came down to her knees and white boots. Her white blouse was outlined and adorned with gold coloring and jewels. She wore a simple tiara with a sapphire set into the middle of it. Everyone told her of how beautiful she was, but she never really felt that way.
A knock came from the doorway. "Come in." she called out. A tan skinned girl wearing a purple robe with silver symbols on it. Her jewelry and kingdom symbol shown with the aqua colors known by them. Her silver hair flowed freely behind her and her violet eyes shown with joy. "Charmcaster? To what do I owe this visit from the Aquarius ambassador?"
"Gwen, don't we know each other well enough to drop the stupid titles?" Charmcaster inquired as she crossed over to hug the princess. Gwen laughed and returned the hug. "Anyways I'm here to tell you that your step-father is back. He's almost to the palace now and I thought we should be there to greet him."
"Alright, let's go Charm." The two friends left her room and made their way to the palace entrance. Once there, they took their place among the lords, ladies, and knights of the Gemini kingdom. They had just got into place when they saw the king and his personal guard walk up the steps. Gwen saw her stepfather in his gold and blue armor of the kingdom and waited. He approached her and hugged her warmly. She returned the hug and welcomed him home.
As they pulled away, she noticed someone in the middle of the entourage of knights. It looked like a teenage boy about her age. He was flanked by two knights with his hands behind his back. He wore blue and red clothing. He had a gold neck lace with a purple symbol on it. His brown hair was a mess and with his head down she couldn't see his face. She studied the symbol on the necklace and realized it was that of the Leo kingdom.
"My lord, what is a Leo doing here?" Gwen asked.
"Glad to see you know your kingdom symbols and colors. We just made a…pact of sorts with the Leo kingdom. To ensure this pact is kept, we have taken their best knight as a hostage guest." he answered.
"Is that necessary?" Gwen asked. Last she knew, the Leos were creative, generous, warm hearted, and loving.
"Normally no, but they broke their alliance with the Aries and Sagittarius kingdom. This knight was the cause of such and he was captured before he could escape his kingdom."
Gwen looked at the Leo and saw him raise his head a little. He had emerald eyes just like her, but she could see the anger and…something else there.
"Princess, would you be so kind as to monitor this Leo? I know with your powers and those of Ambassador Charmcaster that he will not be any problem."
"Of course my lord." Gwen answered. She motioned for the two knights to bring the Leo with her and left with them and Charmcaster. They continued up to a large study in one of the towers. The knights waited outside and Gwen and Charmcaster were inside with the Leo.
"So, what did you do to earn the hatred of your own kingdom?" Gwen asked.
The Leo sat with his hands bound on the couch in the room and refused to answer. Gwen stared at him with curiosity for a moment before he answered.
"I did nothing but save my people."
"What?" Charmcaster asked.
"I know the truth! The Umbra have taken over my grandfather's kingdom and I was trying to drive them out!" he said, turning to face her with anger on his face. Gwen heard Charmcaster gasp.
Gwen pondered that. The Umbra were said to be the heroes of the old age. She couldn't see why anyone would oppose them. But Leo were faithful to their allies. They never betrayed anyone when their vow was given. She decided to put this to the test.
"If I take off your bonds, do you promise to behave and stay here in this room?"
The boy gave her a quizzical look. Then he nodded. She crossed over and untied his hands. She stood back and watched as he stretched his arms. He got up and bowed to her.
"Thank you Princess. My name is Ben."
"I'm Princess Gwen."
Ben looked to Charmcaster. "I…I'm Ambassador Charmcaster of Aquarius. You can call me Charm."
Ben bowed to her before sitting down again. Gwen saw a look of knowing on his face when he saw Charm. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I'm glad to see that there are kind people outside of Leo. So the rumors are false."
"Rumors?"
"Each allied camp thinks that the others are terrible people correct? Each place I've been that seems to be untrue. I later discovered that it was the Umbra who did all the evil deeds and spread the rumors."
"Impossible. The Umbra are kind people."
"HA! You haven't witnessed what I have. Nor suffered as I have." Ben said.
"Oh yeah? Your allies in the Aries kingdom killed my parents. They even kidnapped my brother." Gwen shot back.
Ben closed his mouth at that. He looked away. "I'm sorry. Leo have many enemies. The Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, Capricorn, and even your allies the Libra and Aquarius kingdoms have sought the destruction of the Leo for centuries. No one else has half of the kingdoms in Sol out to kill them. The only ones that can even come close to understanding that are the Cancer. So I'm sorry about that."
"How do you know this?" Charm asked.
"Before enlisting in the Leo army, I traveled the world with my parents to each kingdom, hiding who I was and spending a year in each kingdom since I was three before returning to Leo. By the way, you're right. Only the Aries seek Gemini's destruction. The Leo seek yours since you attack us."
"Why were you and your parents traveling to the other eleven kingdoms?" Gwen inquired.
"My parents said I needed to have a better understanding of the world and the other kingdoms. We met several people during our stays in each kingdom. Some we even trusted them to know of our status as a Leo. They kept the secret. Some were philosophers, warriors, or scholars so my parents had me learn all I could from them. It was the best years of my life! Except…for the eighth year."
Gwen noticed the sadness in his eyes. "What happened?"
"The Umbra happened. We had run into them before, but they never bothered us. Until we went to the Cancer kingdom. They had laid siege to the palace and getting in was hard. After seven years of training not only under every kingdom we had visited, but under my dad as well, I finally joined my father in my first battle. We rallied the Cancer soldiers to fight the invaders and drove them back day after day after day. I became a sort of figure for them to rally on because of my fighting styles from the other kingdoms. The Umbra discovered this and tried to kidnap me. My father died protecting me.'
"My mother had sent word for a group of Leos in a town nearby to come get me. They came a few days later. The Cancer soldiers had never seen Leo soldiers before and were in awe of them. They got me out, but my mother stayed to distract the Umbra. I…saw her killed as we rode out of sight. Instead of running straight back to Leo, I convinced the soldiers to let me finish going to the last three kingdoms. Then we returned to Leo and I spent the next two years serving in the army."
Gwen and Charm looked at each other. No one had ever traveled to each of the twelve kingdoms, lived there for a year in each, and live to tell the tale. Not to mention losing your parents along the way. Gwen realized he must feel so much rage at the Umbra. But it still didn't make sense to her. The Umbra were supposed to be the protectors of the peace. Trying to find a way to mediate the different sides in this eternal war.
Gwen looked back to Ben to see him deep in thought. He looked up to her and asked, "Who was your brother and how long ago was he kidnapped?"
Surprised by this, Gwen answered, "Two years ago, my older brother Ken was kidnapped during an Aries raid on the farmlands."
"Old Ken! I know him! He's one of the Aries' hostage guests like I am to you guys!"
Gwen's face lit up at this. Her brother was still alive! "Where? Is he ok? How do you…"
"Easy Princess! You forget that the Umbra have control of Aries now. The Leo may have been allies with them, but we broke the alliance remember?"
Gwen looked down in defeat. She thought about it for awhile then decided to leave. "Good day Ben." Charm exited before she did and motioned for her to say something more before leaving out of sight. "Ben, if you could, would you go and rescue my brother?"
For a moment, there was silence. "Yes, my lady." Then she heard a shattering sound. She turned to see a broken window. She ran over to it with the two guards right behind her. Ben was nowhere to be seen.
"That sly Leo! Alert the king!" a guard said. Gwen continued staring down before she saw something in the sky off in the distance. A flock of birds had gathered and were flying off to the northwest. To the Aries kingdom. As they flew, she noticed one seemed different than the others.
She went to her room and sat there. A guard informed her that in the morning the king would lead a legion to attack the Leo for their treachery. She fell asleep with huge fits and dreamt of the strange shaped bird in the distance.
The next day
Gwen woke to the sounds of horns calling out. She waited a second before recognizing the horn calls. She got up and ran as fast as she could. As she left the palace, knights and soldiers were running for the walls of the city. She reached the part of the wall where the Royals could observe if they chose to. She found her step father and Charm there.
"What's happened?" Gwen asked.
"Archers! Loose!" her step father cried out.
Gwen looked out to see a fight raging. Gemini soldiers were fighting…Aries knights! She also saw a third group of people out there. The arrows from the archers reached the battle and hit many of the Aries troops. The Gemini soldiers and the mystery group rushed for the gates. Gwen ran back down with Charm to meet them. They reached the gate just as the troops were rushing in. She scanned the group and saw Ben. She ran over to him and saw that he had a wound in his side.
"Ben! What did you do?!" Gwen asked.
"I kept a Leo promise." he answered. He grabbed the shoulder of the man beside him and turned him around. Gwen inhaled sharply.
"Ken?" she asked.
"Gwen?" Ken returned.
The brother and sister hugged each other tightly. Tears streamed down their faces as they embraced each other. Gwen pulled back with her hands still on his arms. "Ken! I…I can't believe it! I almost lost hope!"
"It's alright Gwen. The Aries military may be brutes, but the people were very kind to me. I was lucky my friend Ben came when he did though. The Umbra were talking of sending me north." Ken answered.
"Prince Ken!"
Her step father walked up to them and wrapped his arms around Ken in a bear hug. Ken was the king's actual son. While they exchanged their heartfelt reunions, Gwen looked back to Ben. He was sitting on the ground with a mystery soldier tending to his wound. She realized that the soldier was a Leo knight. The entire mystery group was.
"Ben? Why'd you rescue him?"
Ben waved the other Leo away before answering. "You asked me to Princess. I knew where he was, how I could get to him, and plus he was my friend. I couldn't lie and say I couldn't get him for you. So I said I could and I did."
"But why did you do it right then and without telling me?"
"Gwen, don't you know what happens to a Leo when they make a promise?" her step father asked. She shook her head. "Their God, the Great Lion of the Sky, made them so faithful that if they can't keep a promise they make to someone, they go through such pain until they fulfill it or die. The closer the person or the more important that person is to them the more pain it is. An empty promise to an enemy does nothing to them however so they can't be forced into swearing an oath or promise to an outsider."
Gwen looked to Ben and saw that her step father spoke the truth. Ben was avoiding her face now. A Gemini royal guard unit stepped forward and picked him up. They bound his hands together.
"What're you doing?!" Ken yelled. The Leo knights stood up and knocked the guards away from Ben. They had their weapons pointed outward.
"By order of King Samson, the Leo is to be sent to the dungeon for attempted escape." the guards answered.
"We rescued your Prince! How dare you accuse…"
"Knights of Leo! Return to your previous assignments or homes! Those who do not will hear from King Max of the Leo Kingdom!" Ben ordered. The knights looked at him in shock. Then they sheathed their weapons and marched to the gate. With surprise on their faces, the gate guards opened the gate and let the Leos out. The Leos broke out into a run so fast that no one could see them after a few minutes.
"Princess Gwen?" Samson asked. Gwen watched as Ben was led away before turning to face him. "You will still be in charge of the Leo, understand?"
"Yes my lord, but why is he being punished?"
"He may have brought my son back to me, but he did so with my consent or informing me of his plans. I am in his debt for this, but he must learn that while he remains here he is under my authority."
Gwen bowed before heading back to the palace. She made her way down to the dungeon and found Ben. He was sitting on the floor in a cell with some furnishings inside as well as a bookcase and table. She approached the cell. When he saw who it was, he stood up and went to the cell bars.
"Even though it got you in trouble, thank you for what you did."
"Glad I could do something for you Princess." he replied with a smirk on his face.
"Would you like some company down here?"
"I don't think another prisoner would be a good idea."
"I meant me. O-o-or Charm or someone else." Gwen said, turning her head so he wouldn't see her blush. Why am I blushing?
"Oh, well yeah it'd be nice to have a friend down here to speak with." Ben answered. Gwen smiled and sat down on a chair near the cell. They talked of their homes and friends, of their likes and dislikes, and even their interests. This would mark the beginning of a great friendship. Or something more?
So what did you guys think? Reviews Please!
