Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing!!! Although I wish I did own Quatre and Heero.:) (author's eyes turn into big dreamy hearts.) Okay on with the fic.

Valkyrie
By Animefreek
Part Eleven: Revelations and Redemption


New World Memorial Hospital


Milliardo and Heero stood outside Valerie's room talking to the doctor. All the doctors were literally in shock, sure they did their best but no one really expected her to be alive. Not only alive but talking. To say the least they were amazed and frightened.


In the Lounge

Back in the lounge Noin, Une, and Hilde were filling Sally in on what just happened. "Whoa so you're telling me that that's Relena in their?" Sally asked. "Yes and no." Noin said as she told Sally what Peagan had told them. Meanwhile the rest of the Preventor Elites were huddled in a nearby corner trying to make sense of what just happened.

"The Onna is definately not weak." Wufei said. "Nope. I wonder what's she gonna do know that the cat's out of the bag?" Duo asked. "The cat's never getting out of the bag Duo." Trowa said. "It would cause too much confusion in her life and everyone's around her if the truth were to ever leave these walls." Everyone nodded in agreement with Trowa. They cast a questioning look at Peagan or Artemis as he was now. Connie decided to make her entrance as Quatre turned with the others to follow Milliardo and Heero in checking on Valerie.


Quatre's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. Connie was no longer in her casual clothes but was now in a very form fitting black catsuit with thigh high black leather boots and carrying a laptop case with the Storm Industries logo on it. Her hair was now in a high ponytail that only brought the pale green of her eyes. "Whoa baby! The leather clad dominatrix of my dreams." Duo said with a grin. Quatre grinned as Hilde rushed over and slapped him on the back of the head. "Now who is the dominatrix of your dreams?" Hilde asked. "Always you babe." Duo said rubbing his head. "And that would be my dreams Duo." Quatre said with a sly grin and appreciative look at Connie. "Well I suggest that we check on Valerie first and maybe I can make those dreams a reality later." Connie said while sauntering up to Quatre and trailing a finger down his chest. "I'll hold you to that." Quatre said.

Everyone stood still, kind of stunned at the rather frank talk coming from Quatre and the new girl Connie. "Enough flirting with the Onna. We have more important things to attend to like Miss Storm's recovery." Wufei pointed out. Connie sighed. "He's right. There are more important things to attend to." She said as she looked at the laptop she was carrying. "Oh and my name is not ONNA." Connie said while flipping off Wufei. With that said they began walking toward Valerie's room.


Outside of Valerie's Room

"We need to see her." Heero said in his monotone. "Mr. Yuy it can wait until the morning. She may be awake and talking now but she is in no condition to be disturbed." Dr. Redding said in a stern tone. "Dr. Redding could you please talk to Miss Storm she's trying to get out of her bed!" A rather flustered and spooked nurse said poking her head from behind Valerie's door. Dr. Redding, Heero, and Milliardo flooded into the room to find Valerie holding a small nurse by the throat and telling her to get her some clothes. Heero couldn't help but grin a little this was the woman he fell in love with. This was the woman who he wanted in his life and bed for the rest of both their lives.

Valerie caught sight of the trio and glared at them. "I want to see Peagan and Connie now." Valerie said in her own monotone. Milliardo inwardly winced. It was hard to believe that this young woman and his sister were once one in the same. "In due time." Milliardo said. "Why? Why did you play along in this farse?" Milliardo asked. Valerie looked at Dr. Redding and said, "Leave." Dr. Redding gave an exasperated sigh and motioned for the nurses to leave as she did. When the door closed Valerie spoke. "It was my mission. It was the only life I ever knew. I was born to protect the Peacecraft name by any means necessary even it meant never knowing who I really was." Valerie said in a monotone. Milliardo wasn't facing her anymore, instead he was looking out the window at the now desimated Preventor Headquarters. "Times were peaceful why didn't you just stay on as Relena? Why put the people who cared about you through the pain of loosing you?" Milliardo asked. Valerie could see the pain in his eyes through the reflection in the glass.

"Because everything was Relena's. Nothing was mine. Relena's meetings, Relena's family, Relena's clothes! I didn't know who I was, I needed a life, me, Valerie Storm." Valerie said as anger grew inside of her. "Nearly half of my life was wasted pretending to be a dead girl." Valerie stated. Unknown to Valerie and Milliardo the other Preventors were filing into the room and listening intently. Heero stood off in a corner, he'd have his say with her later.

"You wanted to speak with me Valerie." Artemis stated. "Yes and no. I need to ask a question and I need you to answer me truthfully. Who are Ariel and Celeste?" Valerie asked. "That's a complicated story, one you may not be ready to hear. You or Milliardo." Artemis said with a look that almost held shame. "Spill. I'm tired of the secrets. Something tells me that if I cant't get by these secrets we won't be able to squash this threat." Valerie stated. Artemis gave a wary look around at the other Preventors and Connie. "Whatever you have to say you can say it front of them. It won't leave this room." Milliardo said. "Very well but you won't like what I have to tell you and once I'm done its up to you what comes next." Artemis said. They all nodded in agreement.

"Alright I'll start with who Ariel and Celeste were. Their full names were Ariel and Celeste Winters. Celeste Winters in the future became Queen Celeste Peacecraft, Milliardo and Relena's mother. Ariel was her fraternal twin, the older by two hours. Unlike her sister she had raven black hair with blood red streaks while Celeste was Relena's honey blonde." Artemis said. "This is all well and good but there's more to this story than a family tree." Said Milliardo.

"There is sir, there is." Artemis said sadly.

Flashback: The original Cinq Kingdom

Ariel and Celeste sat impatiently to hear the news they'd been dreading their entire lives. They sat on the balcony of Ariel's room on their family's estate at the edge of the Cinq Kingdom. "I hate this. We're old enough to define our destinies, we're old enough to decide who we want to marry." Ariel said as her temper started to show. "I don't know why you are so flustered. I should be the angry one they'll obviously pick me. After all my twin is the 'warmonger' of the family." Celeste said jokingly. "Funny Celeste. How can you be so calm and accepting of this its positively midevil?" Ariel said with a stern look on her face. "Easily. I know they'll pick me. They need a pacifist not a rebel, a figure head to help promote the ideal." Celeste said calmly yet sadly. "You don't love him. You hardly know him." Ariel said. "I'm painfully aware of that dear sister. I may come to love him...Like you already do." Celeste said with a knowing grin. "How did you..Never mind you always seem to know where my heart is. If you must know the truth I did ever since we met at St. Gabriel's. But I can't spend the rest of my life watching my every step and move and gesture, I wasn't meant for that." Ariel said. "So let me do this because I believe in Pacifism and you can live a life that we both can be proud of. A life of freedom." Celeste said leaning over and touching her sister's hand. "I don't deserve you." Ariel said. "True, but I'm stuck with you." Celeste said.


Unbeknownst to the sisters, Artemis, a chief aid and advisor to the young prince was listening intently. **This is an interesting situation the young prince has. One sister loves him but would be unsuitable to help him lead a nation of pacifists. The other doesn't but is perfect to support a cause. One sister is rebelious and a little selfish. The other selfless and would gladly sacrifice her own happiness. Both are completely devoted to the other. In truth either one of them would make a brilliant queen someday but only one was suitable for the direction the Cinq Kingdom was taking.** Artemis thought to himself as he slipped away as quietly as he had come.

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"Isn't Ariel Winters the name of Queen Peacecraft's personal guard?" Duo asked interupting the story. "Yes Mr. Maxwell." Artemis said. "What do either of these women have to do with me?" Valerie asked kind of knowing the answer, but she needed proof. "In good time little one." Artemis said.
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Three weeks later the decision was made Celeste Winters would become Princess Celeste Peacecraft. Much to the heartache of the young lovers and Celeste. Celeste secretly hoped that somehow Ariel would be chosen. She knew how much her sister loved Maxmillian Peacecraft and how much he loved her. Celeste's heart was breaking she had to marry a man that her sister loved.

"There's got to be a way out of this." Ariel said to Celeste. "There isn't. You must live your life and I will live mine." Celeste said in a resolute voice. And in truth there wasn't. Celeste was married to Prince Maxmillian Peacecraft and Ariel was free to live her life as she saw fit.


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"From the first time I met Ariel Winters I recognized something different about her. She was strong and defiant, two things that an aristocrat in those days should never have been. I also felt sorry for her situation and that of their majesties. I knew that she would never be happy away from my prince or her sister and they wouldn't be happy without her so I took her as my apprentice." Artemis said.

"So you're saying that my mother and father never loved each other." Milliardo said with anger in his voice.

"No on the contrary they came to love each other very much, but they weren't in love with each other." "Celeste and Maxmillian loved there children more than each other and I'm afraid that making Ariel my apprentice was the worst thing I could have ever done." Artemis said.

"She was a more competant soldier than I ever could have imagined."
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Three years after the marriage of her sister and the prince of the Cinq Kingdom Ariel Winters was rising in the ranks of the Kingdom's military and intelligence forces. It was there that she met and married Igor Motsky, thinking that she could break the bond she had with the now King of the Cinq Kingdom. She failed miserablely. Igor Motsky was a longtime aid and friend of Maxmillian and was soon assigned to be his personal guard and with her own skills improving everyday Ariel was assigned to her sister and her newborn son.

"Ariel why are you here? You're only torturing yourself. You have a husband now and a chance to start over anywhere." Celeste said holding her son. "My husband is here. He wants to be here and so do I. Maxmillian may not have told you this but I will. His pacifist views aren't getting any more popular among other factions, especially the aristocracy. This week alone there have been three death threats and two averted assasinations, which by the way were against you and Milliardo. Thankfully I was able to get to them before they got to you." Ariel said.

"That may be true but a show of force would make us look like hypacrits to our people and other nations." Celeste said rocking a now cooing Milliardo. Ariel looked on as a twinge of jealousy ran through her. Celeste had the one thing she always wanted Maxmillian's child. Celeste saw the longing in her sister's eyes and sighed. "Ariel you'll end up hurting us both if you stay here." Celeste pleaded. "I have to stay here. I love you too much to trust your safety or his to anyone else." Ariel said. "So be it. Just know that whatever happens from this day on that it was your decision." Celeste said. Celeste had a feeling that no good would come of her sister staying and she was right.

Day by day the tension between Maxmillian and Ariel grew until one fateful night when Ariel was left to guard Maxmillian while Igor was sent with the Queen to one of her many parliment meetings.

Ariel and Maxmillian were going over the security for a colony delegation in his study and trying to deny the growing feelings they still had for each other.

"I can't go on like this Ariel. This has to stop." Maxmillian said. "Can't go on like what? There's nothing between us, not now not ever." Ariel said in a cold voice. "You know that's a lie. We still love each other or at least I still love you." Maxmilllian said. Ariel gave a little sigh. "We could never be together especially not now. You have a son, everything in your life is set. As for me I'm married." Ariel said. "But you don't love him. Not like you love me." Maxmillian said. "It doesn't matter now." Ariel said as she started to walk off. Maxmillian grabbed her and spun her around into his embrace and kissed her.

This scene started their affair and the fall of the Cinq Kingdom. Their affair went on for several years under the nose of Ariel's husband. When young Milliardo was seven it was found that he would have a sister and a child would also be born into into Ariel's household as well. Both would bare Peacecraft blood.


Okay Cliffie! I'm so mean! You hate me I know you do. Okay tell me what you think as always. Do you Like or Do you hate! Much Love readers.