Chapter 29

She was surprised when – immediately after walking in – they fell to one knee in front of her, bowing their heads, but then she remembered how Heero had done the exact same thing in that exact same room when they first met as servant and mistress. It was obviously not Quatre's first meeting with her as his mistress, but during the first he had been injured and far too weak for thoughts of protocol. Just like she did then, with Wing's rider, she had a feeling that this was all wrong… They were not supposed to be submitting to her or anyone else for that matter. 'Please, rise.' She asked rather than order and watched as both Quatre and Duo regained their feet. Her eyes met Heero's briefly, as he stood a few steps behind the others, before she began. 'I've summoned you all here for two main reasons… Firstly, I wish to offer my sincerest apologies for being unable to free you.'

'Please, my queen, do not concern yourself with that.' The blonde rider stepped forward, a sympathetic – nearly painful – frown on his face. 'We would have never forgiven ourselves had you sacrificed your own life to free us. It is not only our duty, but our utmost desire to see our mistress alive and well.'

'But it should not have to be!' Relena shook her head, trying to contain her emotions. 'It should not have to be your duty. When I first learned of the contract between Heero and myself I told him I did not want to be his mistress, but his friend. I am telling you the same thing now, Quatre, Duo. I do not want servants, of those I've got plenty – more than I'd like actually, per mother's wishes – I want friends. Friends in whom I can trust to do what they deem best for me and my kingdom.'

'Well…' the braided rider brushed some dust off his knees before raising his eyes to meet hers, his bright smile instantly easing the queen's tension. 'I guess we can do that. What do you think? Quatre? Heero?'

'Hn.' Heero nodded briefly, one hand resting distractedly on the hilt of his sword. Quatre merely smiled, a smile so bright Relena could not help, but correspond.

'Then that brings us to the second topic I wished to discuss with you.' She continued, her hand resting on the windowsill to keep her steady. Talking to people while lying on a bed like an invalid just did not suit her, she was a queen and a young one at that, her image should be one of constant activity, constant work and progress. Her mother had arranged her a bath then and retrieved her crown, which she had left behind during her last stay, so she could look more like the powerful woman she was while she received the dragon riders. It did not mean she was not still physically weak though, her strength was coming back slowly. 'I have given this situation a great deal of thought, but I could not find any real differences between how you are now and how your freed comrades are. Is there anything I should know of?'

'Mmm…' Duo scratched his chin for a moment. 'I don't really think there is much of a difference either.'

'There's not.' Quatre agreed, shaking his head. 'Except our connection to you, that is. Aside from that… As long as we are not frozen in time, we are aging like normal people and our bonds with our dragons do not disappear even after the curse is broken, so…'

'So if I released you…' Relena cut in. 'Simply released you, as is done with ordinary slaves and indebted servants... Would that be enough? You would be free to live your own lives, do as you see fit without ever again feeling obligated to obey my every order. I might request your help as my friends, of course, but you would be allowed to refuse. I would never dismiss you for it, you may rest assured.'

She watched them exchange hopeful glances, albeit still slightly unsure. Heero met her eyes and she could see something akin to admiration in the dark depths of his gaze, there was also respect and gratitude, and Relena knew he trusted her. He trusted her completely, much as she did him, and his faith in her would erase the other's uncertainties. 'There is nothing else we could ask for.' He said simply.

'But… Heero…' the blonde rider turned to him. 'What of our bond to her? If she dies…'

'We will keep looking.' The queen interrupted. 'We'll keep looking for a way to really free you.'

'Yeah, Quatre.' The braided rider smiled widely, showing his approval. 'Besides, we'll look after Relena. Who's going to kill her with dragon riders around?'

'I meant to travel East…' Quatre confessed, staring bashfully at his muddy boots.

'You don't have to stay, Quatre.' Their mistress smiled reassuringly. 'You are free to do whatever you wish to do. I promise I will try not to get killed.'

He met her amused gaze at that and the tension left him as he chuckled. 'I suppose I could look for a way to break the curse while I'm gone.'

'You do that. Heero and I will look after the queen.' Duo leaned against the blonde rider's shoulder with his elbow, he seemed truly excited now. Whether they were cursed or not did not really matter, after all it had been a long time since he had been free to do as he wished. 'I've got to tell Hilde.'

Relena chuckled at the sight of his suddenly serious wide-eyed look. 'Go then. I will provide the necessary documents for you to sign later – we must not allow for any breaches – but for now…' she waved her hand towards the door, indicating they were free to leave, and shared a smile with Duo and Quatre before they stepped out. Only Heero remained, his expression unreadable though she could sense the seriousness in his manner. 'What about you, Heero? What will you do now that you are free?' she asked, her smile dying down slightly. Scythe's rider had assumed he would stay and protect her, it was a natural assumption after all he had done for her, but was that what he truly wanted?

'I do not know.'

'Was there something you wanted to do?' she tried to mask her curiosity, but he could sense it anyway.

A small smirk curved his lips. 'Yes.' He knew he should have denied it, but the thought of taking her and flying away to where no one would be able to reach them did have its appeal, despite the fact that he had already dismissed it as illusory.

'Why not do it? Maybe I could help?' Relena offered hopefully.

'No.' his tone left no room for argument, and she seemed to deflate right there in front of him. Against his better judgement, he stepped forward, closer to her.

'Would you…' she met his eyes. For a moment, the queen appeared uncertain, but soon her eyebrows lowered and her jaw clenched in determination. 'Would you stay if I asked you to?'

'Stay…' Heero's eyes softened as he halted only a foot away from her. 'With you?'

'Yes.' Relena whispered, her voice dragging on as her breath left her. She could not look away from him… His face was completely blank, but his eyes… There was longing there, warm and thick, and there was also pain.

'I would if I could.'

'But you can!' the queen exclaimed passionately momentarily losing her composure, her hands shooting out to grab his arms.

Heero's eyebrows moved lightly as if they would knit together. It was a look of sorrow he gave her, but also of finality. 'You know we cannot, Relena.' He said, hands moving up to hold her gently by the elbows. 'You are a queen and I'm…' with a shake of his head he refused to continue. 'Besides, your people must come first. Only Treize can provide you with the necessary resources to rebuild and restore Sanc Kingdom.'

She wondered how he could look so calm, so unaffected… He was right, of course. Relena knew he was, but it was hard to accept... How could she give up on something she wanted so badly? It was unfair that she even had to make such a choice. Why could things not be simpler? Why could they not all be happy? Her head fell against his shoulder as her eyes filled with tears. She felt his hands travel up her arms and over her shoulders until he had her wrapped in his embrace. 'We would have been happy.' She said with the conviction of a foreseer.

'Hn.' He agreed, letting his cheek rest against her head. This had to be one of the hardest battles he had ever fought… A battle of right and wrong. Relena's hands moved up his back to cling to his shoulders with a strength he had never even imagined she possessed. It was as if she was trying to trap him there, to mould their bodies into one so they would never have to part again. Her tears weighed heavily on his shoulder… 'We would have married.' He said suddenly, surprised at his own words, and he knew it to be true.

'My people would have loved you.'

'And your mother would have killed me.' Heero was nothing but serious and yet – for some unknown reason – she seemed to find that funny. She pulled away to meet his gaze, her eyes sparkling with mirth as she laughed. He could merely frown at her in puzzlement. The idea of Lady Peacecraft turning his life into hell was, to him, anything but amusing.

'You would have made a great king.' Relena smiled brightly through her tears and watched her own hands as they smoothed his tunic over his chest and shoulders. His own hands had fallen to her waist where he held her loosely. He had never considered that possibility… Did he have the makings of a king? He highly doubted it, but he would have tried if only to keep that smile on her face. 'We would have had children.'

Heero could not help but give her a small smile of his own. He pushed a strand of hair away from her shoulder and the young queen closed her eyes, gasping when his fingers brushed against her neck. 'We would have grown old and grey.'

Relena opened her eyes to his heated gaze. All hesitation gone, she allowed her hands to make their way up, caressing the back of his neck until her fingers had buried themselves in his hair. He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes for a long moment, savouring her every touch. When their gazes met again, he knew how wrong it all was and how powerless he was to stop it. Nothing had ever felt so right. The same thoughts seemed to be running through the Relena's head for she pulled his closer to hers and the next thing Heero knew they were forehead to forehead, their noses brushing and their lips a breath away.

'And we would have died in each other's arms.' She finished.

He had to suppress a groan as he crushed his lips against hers. I would have loved you. Her hands were still tugging at his hair, pulling him closer and his arms tightened around her in response. Heero felt every inch of her body pressed against his own, her warmth seeping into him and he ached for her, for all that she was offering, all those things they both wanted so badly… Things that would never be. He pulled away, putting enough distance between them to avoid temptation, and the pain became almost physical when he heard Relena whimper at the loss of him. Their glazed, darkened eyes met and all that had been left unsaid passed between them through that one long look.

'You…' he cleared his throat when his voice came out huskier than usual and turned away from her. It hurt to look at her then… Her flushed cheeks, swollen lips and heavy-lidded eyes. 'You ought to marry Treize.'

Relena averted her eyes from him as well. She wanted him, needed him in a way she had never needed anything in her life. Some people thought queens and kings could have anything their hearts desired, that the sky was the limit for the likes of them… They could not have been more wrong. It was true she could have more than most, she did have more than most, but the only thing she truly wanted… At that moment, she would have given everything she owned, all her titles and even her name if only she could be with him. But it cannot be…

'What will you do?' she repeated her question from earlier, ignoring his admonition, pretending nothing had happened, nothing had changed.

'I do not know.' He too repeated his answer.

'I hope – whatever you decide – I will be the first to know.' Relena suddenly found the strength to not only look at him, but also to smile. She wanted him to be happy, she realised, and that was all that really mattered.

Heero could only nod. He watched as she turned her back to him, to look out the window, and left without another word.

XXX

He halted so suddenly he could barely stop himself from running the physician over… As it was, he did bump into her and Sally's eyes narrowed at him. 'No running in the infirmary, Duo Maxwell.' She casually informed him.

'Yes, ma'am.' The dragon rider smiled sheepishly, trying to look past the woman and into the room where he knew Hilde had spent the night. He had visited with her first thing after his arrival the previous afternoon and had found the short haired maiden with a bandaged forehead and one arm in a sling. That was also when he had met Sally Po who had assured him the young soldier's injuries were minor. Despite that fact, Hilde would not be discharged until the following afternoon to ensure her another night of undisturbed rest or so the assistant physician had told him before gently shoving him out the door.

'Hilde is free to go.' Sally told him, but then examined him a little more closely. 'You have come to escort her, have you not?'

'Er… Yes, ma'am.'

'Sally is fine.' She waved dismissively at him. 'Make sure she takes it easy for a couple more weeks, will you? The war is over after all.'

Duo did not have the time to answer as the physician moved quickly past him and into one of the other large rooms. He turned to the one where he had been heading and stepped in. The small cot where Hilde had spent the night was at the end of the row, across an old lady suffering from consumption and beside a middle-aged knight who had lost an arm. The young lady had briefly told him their stories during their previous encounter and he greeted them now as if he had known them all his life. The knight smirked and waved at him while the old woman's mouth curled in distaste at his unceremonious ways before bursting into a fit of nerve wrecking coughs.

'Duo!' Hilde greeted him excitedly as he pulled her into a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek, mindful of her injuries. She giggled. 'Something happen?'

His smile widened so much, his face seemed to part in half. 'Relena released us. We are to do whatever we want from now on.'

'Oh… Oh!' she grabbed his arm with her uninjured hand, her eyes widening in pleasant surprise. 'That's great!'

'I know!' they hugged again laughing and the old woman glared daggers at their backs. 'Sally said you may leave now. Is it true?'

'Of course, it's true!' she smacked him on the shoulder, looking slightly incredulous. 'Why would she lie to you?'

'Uh… I don't know. Because you're actually dying and she wanted to spare my feelings?' he smiled charmingly at her and she smacked him again.

'Yeah, right.' She said sarcastically before grabbing her coat and sword and dragging him with her to the door. 'Let's go.'

'Where to?' Duo followed her lead, puzzled.

'Celebrate!' Hilde stated as if it was obvious. 'Surely the festivities have not ended yet.'

'Oh, no. I heard the music when I crossed the patio on my way here.'

She smiled, tugging harder at his hand. The main square would be crowded and colourful. There would be dancers and singers and performers of all sorts. There would not be much food, she guessed, given they were currently rationing, but still she could not wait to hear the lute and dance to the sound of the fiddle. It had been so long since Romefeller Kingdom had seen a real feast… 'We're going to not only laugh, but also dance ourselves silly.'

'Oy, Hilde! Sally said you should take it easy for a couple more weeks…' the dragon rider's warning ended in a mumble as the lady glared at him over her shoulder. Sorry, Sally, I did what I could.

'I will be careful.' She promised, turning away as her voice took a more serious tone. 'Is it true Lady Lucrezia has left? Have you heard anything about it?'

'Only rumours… But, yeah, it does seem like she left to look for Zechs or something.'

Hilde paused as they reached the patio and raised her eyes to the sky. The sun was nearing the horizon, soon the clear blues would be tainted by reds and oranges. She smiled. 'I heard your friend challenged His Majesty to a duel. Is it true?'

Duo sighed. 'Yes, it's true.'

If anything happened to Treize, Wufei might not be the only one prosecuted. Did he not realise all dragon riders may have to pay? Hilde and he would have to flee to be able to be together and live good, decent lives… If she agreed to it, that is. He could not see her giving up on her life and everything she had fought so hard for just to be with him. Hell, he did not want her to! She would surely resent him if she did.

'Why the sullen face?' the maiden turned to him, and he could see a glint of amusement in her eyes. 'I bet a golden coin King Treize puts your friend in his place.'

'Hey! Wufei's a dragon rider! There's no way he will lose to an ordinary man like Treize!'

Not again at least…

'His Majesty's anything but ordinary.' Hilde smiled smugly as she started making her way towards the front gates.

'I bet my friend kicks your king's sorry ass.'

He jogged after her.

XXX

Her words repeated over and over inside his head, as if echoing. It made him feel restless, so much so he had left his guarding post as soon as her mother had returned and headed to the forest that lay at the foot of the mount where Romefeller Kingdom had been raised, in the valley behind the castle. Night was already falling, but Heero did not care. There was hardly anything more dangerous than him amidst the ancient elms, except if you counted Wing. He had no idea where Sandrock and Scythe were. The sounds of the wildlife and the refreshing scent of the trees eased his mind somewhat. Still, he could not help but to keep seeking an answer to Relena's question.

He knew what he wanted to do, of course, even though it was something he had never thought he would crave. A life with her. However, what he wanted and what he could, in fact, have were completely different things. Freedom was a very relative term… To live in society means to never be completely free. Suddenly, he understood why Trowa had decided to stay behind… No societal norms to conform to. Maybe if he had realised that sooner he would have stayed at the ruins himself. They could have pretended Relena had died and never returned, but then… If they had not come to Romefeller, he would have never learned how to cure her and she would have indeed died.

What a pointless train of thought.

Wing was lying in a small clearing, hiding under the canopy from the remaining sun rays. There was always something calming about the dragon's ancient gaze and imposing presence. He looked nothing short of majestic as he raised his head to regard his approaching rider with curious eyes. 'You had not expected me back so soon.' Heero translated the body language into words even though it was unnecessary. They understood one another far too well. At times it was almost like they shared the same mind.

The dragon watched his approach quietly and – once they were close enough – leaned forward until his muzzle met the palm of the rider's raised hand. Energy flew between them like the waters of a long sinuous river, strong and intense, but also unhurried and assertive, and both closed their eyes to feel it. It lasted only a moment, still the dragon rumbled satisfactorily. Heero was not so pleased and, when he pulled away, it was with a grimace. It was usually during those exchanges that he received visions from his winged partner. He had needed a vision this time more than ever. Anything to go by, to base his decisions and his future on… There had been no more visions since the war and this time was no different.

Wing showed him nothing.

XXX

'It will be a good thing, Relena.' Her mother spoke up suddenly, just as the young queen prepared to lie down to sleep. She turned away from the mesmerizing sight outside her window – a pitch black sky, sprinkled with thousands of stars, enveloping a full silver moon – and found the older woman still working with her needle.

'What will?' she asked, confused.

'For you to marry Treize.'

Relena did not answer, instead turning back to the view outside. Pagan had returned less than half an hour earlier, bringing very bad news. Very bad news indeed. The royal treasury had been spared – she guessed she owed her brother for that – but even with all the gold and riches they possessed they would barely be able to restore the capital not to mention the colonies… She thought she had already accepted that marrying Romefeller's king was her only option, but, in truth, a large part of her had still been holding on to that silly notion that there might be a chance for Heero and her to be together. Now, she was starting to come to terms with the reality of her situation and her heart felt like lead inside her chest.

'Good for whom?' she whispered to herself, feeling the coolness of the glass beneath her fingers. Yes, she could try to touch the moon, but she knew she would never reach it.

Her mother sighed, putting her embroidery away to watch the young lady's back with a saddened look. 'You know, dear… I did not love your father when I married him. He won my hand in a tournament as I am sure he has told you – it was a story he never tired of telling – and it was nothing but my duty to marry him. Of course he had many admirable traits… He was a handsome man, brave and proud, honourable too. Perhaps a little snobbish at times, but who can truly blame him?

'Time made me appreciate all of his qualities, even some of his faults, and we learned to love each other. It may have never been the passionate explosive kind of love, but it was love none the less…and it gave us you and your brother.' The new queen turned to the former one and the hopeful eyes of the past met the hopeless eyes of the present. It was the future they were looking at however. Would it be a bright future? Or a dark one? 'You will learn to love Treize the same way you love this young man.'

Yes… It was true, was it not? She did love him. Heero… Relena could no longer hold her mother's gaze. She had never been the pessimistic, hopeless kind, but for once she could not see the light. Suddenly, the figure of a dragon appeared in the distance. It flew for the simple pleasure of feeling the wind against its wings, its heart as bright as the full moon it was silhouetted against. Hers was the complete opposite… It was as black as the skies that suffocated those small dots of hope and, just as the young queen resigned herself to her fate, the dragon was swollen by the darkness.