By the way, Gaul was the name of the area of Europe now known as France, as well as parts of Belgium and Italy, in the days of the Roman Empire. I'm playing with names of places, making my own map of Europe…just because I can. ^_^ (AU = Alternate Universe…yeah…)
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to a bunch of companies that I'm too lazy to name.
If Only To Be With YouCinq in the springtime was often related to what the Garden of Eden must have been like at the beginning of creation. Trees and plants were in full bloom and the sweet scent of nectar swirled enticingly through the breezy air. It was the perfect setting for a wedding.
Every day, more nobles and dignitaries from western and eastern Europe arrived for the grand event of the joining of the nations of Cinq and Luxembourg. After the third day of the same monotonous routine of greeting and polite small talk, Milliardo was ready to throw world peace out the window and tell everyone what he really thought of them. He had been able to bear it all with, surprisingly, the help of Anna. He had figured she probably hated him, but instead, she became a pillar of support for him. Their wedding was two weeks away and everyone was relieved that the two had come to some kind of understanding.
This "understanding" stemmed from Anna's knowledge of Lucrezia as well as Milliardo's knowledge of Anna's feelings for Treize Khushrenada. Both their love interests were unattainable for reasons other than their own marriage to each other. Lucrezia was a commoner, and therefore out of the question. Anna had confided to Milliardo that Treize knew nothing of her feelings for him, and that it was just as well, for the young duke was already struggling with various offers from nobles for him to wed their daughters. What Anna didn't know, and what Milliardo wouldn't tell her, to spare her more pain, was that Khushrenada had actually asked Anna's father for permission to marry her. Unfortunately, the King of Luxembourg preferred his daughter in the stable Cinq Kingdom, rather than the tumultuous land of Gaul, where Treize had already acquired sizable holdings and was named Duke by his uncle, the King of Gaul. He had left his native land of Luxembourg to make his own way and had begun in the homeland of his mother. The young man had done impressively well, but some of the older, more conservative men, like Anna's father, still hadn't deemed him worthy yet.
Milliardo and Anna had become close through their acceptance of their lives as royalty, and as such, forced to sacrifice their happiness for the good of their nation. In the six months that had passed since Anna had come to the castle, she had come to respect and care for Milliardo. And in turn, Milliardo now felt reasonably comfortable with the fact he was going to marry this woman in two weeks. He had painfully managed to push any feelings he had for Lucrezia out of his mind and now concentrated on his duties as Prince of Cinq. His mother was proud.
In the ten-day countdown to the wedding ceremony, there were balls every night. Endless mingling and dancing, especially for the bride and groom to be, meant they were the center of attention all the times. Neither liked it.
King Ethan requested Milliardo be present at the foyer when King Antonio of Roma arrived. This was to be his first appearance at a major social gathering since the death of his wife. Ethan was overjoyed that his childhood friend should decide to come to the wedding of Cinq's only Prince.
"Milliardo," whispered Anna, standing beside Milliardo in the receiving line at the foyer. He inclined his head during a break in the line of people to listen to her. "There's a woman at the door with the most ridiculous dress on. She's greeting your father right now."
Milliardo looked up and saw the woman, bedecked in bright yellow lace and puffy bows. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand to muffle a laugh. Anna had better control and managed to conceal her mirth in a small smirk. As the woman passed the two, Milliardo made an exaggerated show of bowing and placing a kiss of her outstretched hand. The older woman giggled delightedly. She moved on through the line and Milliardo and Anna broke into quiet laughter, trying to keep straight faces. Milliardo found that Anna's sense of humor was not completely non-existent and had taken great pains to get her to display it more often. He was rather glad at having succeeded.
"Milliardo," called Ethan, from the front of the hall. The Prince hurried forward, grasping Anna by the wrist and taking her with him. "I would like to present you the King of Roma, Antonio de Noin. Antonio, my son, Milliardo Peacecraft."
The King of Roma was a man who looked far too old for his age. His once dark hair was streaked with gray and his soft brown eyes looked as if they'd seen everything there was to see and found worth in none of it. "I remember you last as a tiny little boy barely learnt to walk," Antonio mused pensively. There was something in his sad smile that struck Milliardo as familiar. He had been to young to remember meeting the King, but…why did he look so familiar?
* * *
Later in the evening, when they could escape and no one would care, Milliardo went for a scroll through the grounds with Anna, the crisp spring air immensely invigorating.
"Are you still angry with Isabelle?" she questioned to break the silence between them. They often walked in silence, but Anna needed to know if her soon to be husband was still intent on hating her little sister. The girl had been sent back home, despite much protesting and begging. Anna imagined that she was under very severe punishment for sneaking out and spying. She had been furious with the girl herself, not only because she was spying on Milliardo, but also because had she robbed him of one of the very few things that had made him happy. Granted it was illicit what he had been doing, but she could sympathize why he would do it. He loved that girl. Isabelle's actions had been nasty, but Anna hoped that Milliardo would forgive her eventually.
He let out a long breath before answering, "Yes, I am. And I'm glad she's gone…But I think that, in time, I could forgive her," he added when he caught her disappointed expression. "But lets not talk about her," he finished softly.
"You're right," she replied.
"I still can't help thinking I've seen King Antonio before," Milliardo continued thoughtfully. "He looked so familiar…"
Anna shrugged as they walked on toward the stables. "I really do doubt that, Milliardo. The man hasn't been seen in public for almost twenty years. Everyone's talking about him being here tonight. In fact, the situation in Roma has increased considerably since he allowed aid from Cinq."
Milliardo nodded in agreement, still mulling over the case of déjà vu.
* * *
"Good afternoon, Lord Duo," Quatre greeted.
Duo rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Jeez, Quatre, I told you to call me Duo. I'm just a lord when I want something from the rich old geezers in the castle, got it?"
Quatre chuckled. "Of course, Duo. Lucrezia's upstairs, by the way. I got Trowa to help me today so she could take the day off. She deserves a break," he added.
"Gotcha, Q," Duo trailed off as he bounded upstairs. Though the door to her room was open, Duo tapped lightly before entering. Lucrezia turned from the window where she stood, greeting Duo with a smile. He entered and plopped himself on her bed. "What do you say to horseback riding? My treat," he offered. "I borrowed a couple of horses from the stables, but we have to get them back before sunset, or else the stable boy will have my head. Up for it?"
Lucrezia joined him on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Sure, why not," she said. "But if I fall again…" she trailed off threateningly. The last time they had gone riding, Duo had said or done something, they still weren't quite sure what, that had caused the horse to rear up, throwing Lucrezia off. She'd escaped with only a couple of bruises to her body as well as her pride and had made Duo chase after the horse when it had run off.
"Fine, I promise I won't do anything to upset the horse," he swore. "Besides, I got you one of the really tame horses this time."
"Okay," she agreed warily.
After meeting properly, Duo and Lucrezia had become fast friends. He had the freedom to come and go through the city as he pleased. He often came with news of Milliardo that he could never bring himself to tell her. It was better for her that he didn't tell her anything about the upcoming wedding. She had been in such a good mood lately that he didn't want to risk having her it plummet. He had really come to care for her, he realized. Not that he minded. She was wonderful company and there were times when even he couldn't keep up with her.
Her riding skills had improved considerably. Duo was amazed at how fast she learned. He trailed behind her as she flew down the riding trails in the woods. She was heading toward where they always ended up, Milliardo's little think-spot by the river. It was really the perfect place to brood. And a lot of brooding they did, though Lucrezia was less than willing to do so. And because Duo was more of the listener, he found that they spent more and more time in silence. There had been times when Lucrezia had tried to pry his problems out of him, but she was rarely successful. He had almost led her to believe that he had no personal problems. In a way, she was right in that he had led a happy, stable life. But there was one problem that caused him the most pain, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone.
Lucrezia jumped off her horse and fell to the soft grass. "Oh, that was great, Duo," she sighed. "Lets do that more often. Providing, of course, that you can manage to weasel your way into getting a couple of horses." There was a challenging gleam in her eye as she spoke. It died upon note of his contemplative gaze and sad smile. "What's wrong?" she asked. Duo without a grin on his face was practically unheard of. He shrugged off her question and sat beside her.
"It's not a big deal," he said pensively. She sat up for a moment, studying him. Then she turned to face west, staring up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, and now she found that she could look upon the sunset and smile. No longer did she frown at the dusk. Deep inside, she felt her hatred for life dying, and she found that she didn't really mind it.
"Why can't you just say that you don't want to marry her?" Lucrezia said suddenly. Duo looked down at her, surprise in his eyes.
"How did you know?"
She shrugged noncommittally. "You never like to talk about it. You've been betrothed to your best friend's love interest. You can't really get more tragic than that. But can't you both just tell your parents that you don't want to marry each other? Is your family really that much more wealthy than the Yuys?"
"It's complicated," Duo replied. "More complicated than I care to relate. Relena and I have no say in the matter. We're expected to do whatever is 'best for Cinq', regardless of what is best for us. King Peacecraft and Heero's father don't exactly get along. The whole wealth thing is just a convenient excuse. I…I don't know what to do. The three of us have spent endless hours conspiring to find a way to stop this. We have about two years to do it…but old man Peacecraft won't even consider letting his daughter marry a Yuy."
Lucrezia had never heard Duo sound so bitter. She remembered Milliardo telling her something of the same thing. Except that he saw it more from his father's view. But even he didn't know why the King didn't like Duke Yuy. Not sure what to say on a matter she had little knowledge of, Lucrezia remained silent. Duo turned the subject to the latest court gossip, deftly avoiding any talk of the huge wedding plans that were going on all over the palace. It seemed that Lucrezia was letting him steer her thoughts away from it, though it was clear by the look on her face she was thinking about it. But Duo refused to give up and launched into the current scandal involving a palace guard and a kitchen maid.
"And then Alex sprouted wings and flew away with the girl," Duo finished.
"Really."
"Yeah, really. He really did sprout wings, Lu."
"Huh?" Her brows knitted in confusion. "Did you just say he flew away?"
Duo shook his head despairingly. "Glad to see you're paying attention there."
She raked her fingers through her hair, moaning. "I'm sorry, Duo. I really am." She sat cross-legged, absently picking at the grass. "That wedding's in exactly a week, huh?"
Duo cringed. Apparently, he'd failed at getting her mind off the dreaded subject. "Yeah," he said dryly.
To that, she said nothing. She continued picking grass blades, assembling them in a little pile before her. Duo decided to give up and lay back in the grass, watching as the pile of grass grew. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and began to doze off. Six months and she was still pining for him. Milliardo was doing the same thing, but he was getting married. Duo felt bad for Lucrezia. She had made no move to find someone else, only immersing herself in her work. That was just as bad as moping. It wasn't like Duo could blame her; he felt exactly the same way. He didn't have someone like Heero had Relena. He felt sometimes like they blamed him, though he knew that wasn't really true. But he did always feel the odd man out.
Duo barely heard the arrow whiz past until he felt a few strands of Lucrezia's dark hair fall into his face. He shot straight up and looked over at her. She was sitting perfectly still, her eyes wide with shock. The arrow stuck out of a tree a few feet away.
"We gotta get the hell outta here," Duo breathed, grabbing Lucrezia by the arm and hauling her away. Her feet began cooperating and she hurried alongside Duo. "It came from the other side of the river. Who the hell would go around shooting arrows?" That didn't matter right then, the only thing that did was that more arrows were flying at them. He shielded Lucrezia's body with his own, even thought he knew that he was likely the target. But what kind of gentleman would he be if he let the lady get hurt?
They made a mad dash for the horses, but an arrow put one of them out of commission while the other disappeared terrified into the brush. Duo cursed as he pushed Lucrezia behind a thick clump of trees and was about to follow, but not before one last arrow tore past the foliage and into his left shoulder. He cried out in pain before falling into Lucrezia's arms. She fell to the ground, trying to hold him still without touching his injured shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he broke off half the length of the arrow, leaving the rest right where it was. "This arrow was meant for you, Lu," he rasped out, gasping as he shifted in her arms. She quickly brushed the thought out of her head as she peered through the trees, trying to spot anything on the other side of the water. She thought she saw a rustle near the shore, but she blinked and it was gone. She turned back to the bleeding man in her arms, beginning to panic. His tunic was quickly going from blue to deep purple in color.
"Duo, we have to get out of here. You're bleeding badly." Lucrezia shrugged out of her overcoat and covered Duo with it. The arrow had gone in deep and she hadn't the slightest idea what she should do. A quick inspection told her that it hadn't hit anywhere vital, but he was still bleeding profusely. An occasional arrow sped past them, but now the assailant was just shooting blindly. They were safe, but Duo needed a doctor right away. She grimaced in frustration. A man with a knife she could handle easily enough, but someone hiding in the shadows with a bow and arrows?
He moaned pitifully. "The sun'll set in about a half hour. If we move before then, we're dead."
"Duo, you're dead if you don't get out of here now." She sighed heavily when Duo rolled his eyes and tried to laugh reassuringly.
"It'll take a little more than this to get rid of me. You don't happen to have any enemies you'd like to tell me about, do you?" She shook her head numbly. Enemies? She'd barely had any friends. She knew little of her family and was quite sure her parents had had no enemies, or at least no one who had ever tried to shoot them down.
Duo's face was gradually growing paler as the blood soaked through his clothing. "Duo, I'm putting you on a horse and we're going. You're not dying on me, okay?" He was too weak to protest now and only nodded.
"Fine, but don't get me thrown off the horse. That'd hurt," he trailed off.
Lucrezia ignored his wisecrack and tried to stand, pulling Duo up with her. His head lolled around before resting against her shoulder, his braid hanging limply, covered with blood. She whistled for the horse that was still alive, praying that it hadn't gone very far. Ducking low, she headed to where she could hear the horse moving about. The arrows were flying again as she heaved Duo onto the horse. It was too dark now for clear aiming. The shooter was just hoping to get lucky at this point. She hopped on behind Duo and spurred the horse further into the forest. She ignored the branches that whipped past her face and arms painfully. Using her inner sense of direction, she headed west, where the forest was thickest. Eventually, she knew she'd end up at the Royal Square and, hopefully, where she could a physician for Duo.
By now she knew her way around enough that she didn't need to use the trails. All the riding trails were far too close to the river. They continued farther until they reached a residential area of the city. Lucrezia wasn't too familiar with the area, but she new she was far away from home. She'd gone too far, way past the Royal Square. So much for her inner sense of direction. She groaned, her situation seemingly hopeless. She knew Sally had medical training, but she'd never reach the Dragon Market in time. Her heart was pounding as she wracked her brain trying to think of a place to take Duo, who was moaning fitfully in front of her. Looking up to the heavens for help, she saw the palace out of the corner of her eye and almost kicked herself for not thinking of it earlier. She turned the horse and sped toward it. She was close enough to the west gates, and the royal physician was the best in Cinq. Or course he was, she berated herself. If he weren't, he wouldn't be he royal physician. Her mind continued the same frantic rambling as she got closer to the palace.
She rode up to the gates, out of breath and frightened for her friend. "Please," she gasped out to the guards. "He's hurt and needs attention right away." The guard regarded her skeptically before eyeing Duo, squinting in the poor light of dusk. His eyes widened when he recognized the lord and he opened the gates, rushing toward the doors to the palace. He sent the call for the royal physician and then turned back to Lucrezia, who had gotten off the horse and was standing shakily beside it. She must have appeared a sight, covered in blood, her hair disheveled and various nicks and cuts covering her arms and face.
"We'll take it from here, you may be on your way." His manner was curt and he signaled for the other guards to help get Duo inside. The doctor came rushing out and took in the state of his patient.
"Now look what Lord Duo's gone and done to himself," the elderly man said sternly. He shook his head impatiently and began giving orders to the guards to have him taken to the infirmary right away.
Lucrezia crossed her arms over her chest stiffly. "I want to go inside with him."
The guard smirked. "I don't think so, lady." His condescending attitude only furthered her resolve.
"Look, I need to know that he's going to be okay." Then her determined expression died as the day's events caught up with her. Her knees went weak and she made a grab for the horse to steady herself. Her hands were shaking so badly that she lost her grip, falling to her knees. She stayed where she was, not caring if the threw her in jail, or if they hauled her out into the streets even though the sun had set and it was completely dark out now. She was too tired and too scared to move. The guard's coldness disappeared and he gently helped her to her feet. One look into her weary eyes and he regretted ever being brusque with her.
He placed a steadying arm around her waist and walked her inside. "I'll have someone tend to you as well," he told her. He spotted one of the maids and had her call for the headwoman. "Do you know Lord Duo?" he asked, trying to keep her from passing out from exhaustion by making her talk. She only nodded weakly. The guard led her down a series of halls until he came to the guest wing. He opened to door to the first room and helped Lucrezia into the bed. As he was lighting a lamp, a heavyset, matronly woman came in.
"What is it, Damon?" she said jadedly. She spotted Lucrezia and frowned worriedly. "Who is this poor, young thing? She's such a pretty girl, though she looks like she's been to hell and back."
Damon rubbed at the back of his neck tiredly. "Um, I'm not quite sure either. Lord Duo's been injured. The doctor is with him now. She brought him here. She's pretty beat up. So I called you."
The woman shot him a chastising scowl and then went to where Lucrezia sat on the bed, gazing up at the two with a vacant stare. "Honey, what's your name?" she said, in a tone that was the complete opposite of the one she had used to address Damon. Lucrezia told the woman her name reluctantly and then added that she had come in to see Duo. She yawned at the end, the woman's soft, mellifluous voice making her sleepy. The lady smiled kindly.
"Lucrezia, is it? My name is Anelle, but everyone around here calls me Nan. Well dear, let's get you into a hot bath and into bed for the night. We can see Lord Duo tomorrow." At Lucrezia's nod, she stood and shooed Damon out of the room. He mock protested but then disappeared when Nan glared daggers at him. At his teasing, Lucrezia unwittingly raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Nan, who was moving about, looking for towels and extra blankets, stopped and gave a short laugh. "That boy is the most shameless rogue in all of Cinq. But I raised him when his mother died twenty years ago." She smiled fondly. "He's a good lad, regardless of how brazen he may seem sometimes."
The bath was immensely relaxing and more than luxuriant for Lucrezia, who was used to cold, quick showers. Afterward, she crawled into the huge four-poster canopy bed, feeling like a small child. The soft cotton nightgown was like silk on her skin. She felt like a princess as she nestled under the thick blankets. It suddenly registered in her brain that she was in the Peacecraft's home, Milliardo's home. But she closed her eyes and all thought of anything left her mind as sleep took over.
* * *
Duo cracked an eye open cautiously, only to shut it again when he saw Nan standing over him.
"Ah, Duo, you're awake." She moved to the window and pulled the shades open, smiling as the sunlight streamed through. Duo hissed dramatically and covered his eyes with his good arm.
"Aw, Nan. I'm close to dying and you won't let me sleep in a little?" he complained. Nan snorted derisively and threw the covers off Duo.
"You're nowhere near dying, boy. Now, up with you. You need a bath and I've still got to clean and change the bandages on your shoulder. Up with you now." Nan was the only non-royalty who could get away with talking like that to anyone. Even the King had a considerable amount of respect for the woman. She had been in the palace since Ethan was a young man and no one dared usurp her claim to headwoman. She had not only earned it, but she had all the qualifications. She was smart, quick-tempered, and extremely bossy.
Nan was helping Duo back into bed after what he called torture when there was a knock at the door. Damon peeked in after a moment, smiling. "Just wanted to make sure Lord Duo was still alive." He stepped in and shut the door behind him. He settled into a chair and regarded Duo. "So, who was the girl that brought you here?"
Duo shook his head in amazement. "Don't tell me you've your sights set on her. Don't you dare try anything, Damon." The guard only laughed.
"Why? You want her?"
"No. I'm just afraid she'd kick your ass if you tried it." Duo allowed himself a snicker at the mental image. He didn't doubt that Lucrezia would give him a good knee in the gut or perhaps a little farther south. He winced at the thought. "Where is she?"
"In one of the guest rooms in the north wing. She practically passed out last night after…what exactly were you doing to get an arrow in the shoulder?"
Duo thought for a moment, recalling all the events of the previous day. "You know…I don't know. I was with Lucrezia at the river and suddenly we're being shot at. We're both still alive, so I imagine the person had some really bad aim." He shrugged. "I don't remember anything else after that. Lu can tell you more, if she was able to bring me here." Damon excused himself, saying he was going to bring her in. Nan tried prying a more detailed explanation from Duo, who couldn't tell her anymore. After a while, the door opened and the King himself walked in, his face grim.
"How are you doing, Duo?" he asked, concerned.
"I'm doing good, Sire. I just wish my shoulder didn't hurt so bad."
Ethan frowned. "Duo, I need to know everything that happened. If someone's targeting you, then that's an attack against Cinq. It won't be tolerated and I'm going to act right away."
"Actually, it wasn't me they were after," he said, almost apologetically. He told the story again, remembering to include the fact that the first arrow was aimed at Lucrezia and that he had been hit when he had shielded her with his body. When he finished, the King's eyebrows furrowed together thoughtfully. He frowned and looked at Duo gravely
"You must be mistaken, Duo. You say she's just a young girl? Why would anyone go to such lengths for just your average maid?" Ethan shook his head. "No, this is an assault against our country. They're probably taking advantage of the fact that there's going to be a wedding in a few days. We've had extra security here at the palace, but I admit that I've been lax about the border regions." He sighed. "I have to call a council meeting on this. And just before Milliardo's wedding."
"But Your Highness, I'm telling you that they were after…"
The door opened and Damon entered with Lucrezia right behind him, clad in a simple gown of deep blue. The King turned and upon spotting her, inhaled sharply. He backed away, almost bumping into Nan. The old woman only looked at her King confusedly before following his line of vision to the young girl who was watching them with bewilderment.
The King paused a moment and then breathed, "Queen Lina?"
~~~
Author's Notes/Comments/Rants: I apologize for the delay. I really got into "My Best Friends Wedding: GW Style!" and couldn't stop until it was finished. Then I opened this back up and hit a huge brick wall. So…sorry if its not up to par. You just don't know how much trouble I've been having with this thing. But we're almost done here! More soon, real soon…promise.