Arabic Prince
Chapter Two: Where Am I?

"General Paul." Answered an OZ soldier as he stood in the room's doorway.

A middle-aged man sat next to a tall reading lamp that was lit. He had an open thick novel book in his lap with a silk bookmark in its pages. He glanced up with his light green eyes at the soldier facing him. He wore a dark red OZ uniform with a white cape clipped on at the shoulders.

"Someone's here to see you." Replied the OZ soldier as he stepped out of the way.

A silhouette figure of a man appeared in the doorway.

"Ah, come in! Come in!" Cheered General Paul happily.

"Sir." Ryo answered as he bowed respectfully to him.

"What news do you bring me?" Asked General Paul.

"Upon arriving at the desert, we were confronted by a sandstorm." Ryo answered, walking over to General Paul. "As you said, your daughter wanted to carry on with the misson. That was when we were attacked. Sadly, we lost a few of our men."

"And my daughter?" Asked General Paul as he looked back down at his book.

"Her MS blew up like a rocket on New Year's Day." Ryo answered, sitting down across of him. "I seriously doubt she survived the flames alone."

A smile crossed General Paul's lips.

"Excellent." General Paul answered with a wicked glow in his eyes. "Have you found her body?"

"Not yet sir. But we will find it soon, I promise you." Ryo replied, crossing his legs as a servent placed a cup of tea on the table next to him. "And when we do find her body, what do you want us to do with it?"

"Bury her. Next to her mother." General Paul answered as he closed his book.

"As you wish sir." Ryo answered with a nod.

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The warm air beated down against her face. She could hear several voices around her. Judging by the different tones of them, she guessed there were about 40 of them. All of them men. Ranging from somewhere between 20-40-years old.

She slowly began to sit up. Her arms and head still ached from the time she hit the sand. The tent was huge with a kerosene lattern on the desk. Her sandy jacket was neatly folded and placed on the chair across of the bed she sat on.

Just as she had managed to actually get comfortable, footsteps were heard approaching the tent. She moved back on the bed, reaching for the gun she usually kept tucked in her back pocket. But before she could ever get to her gun, the tent flap opened.

"I see you're up." Replied a young boy.

"Who are you?" Cassie asked, a glare in her eyes.

"I'm Quatre." He answered as he walked up to Cassie. "We found you unconscious in the desert. You were pretty badly hurt."

Cassie touched her right arm and noticed it was bandaged. She looked up at the boy called Quatre and into his deep blue eyes. Caring, noble and proud were only a few words to descirbe what she saw in his arms. Strands of his blonde hair fell across his face, making him look more handsome.

"Were you part of a fleet or something?" Asked Quatre, sitting down at the end of Cassie's bed.

Cassie just looked away, not wanting to say anymore.

"It's all right if you don't want to talk. I understand." Quatre replied, looking up at Cassie.

Cassie just looked at Quatre, who smile back at her.

"Could you at least tell me your name?" Quatre asked.

"Cassie Burin." She replied, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face.

"Master Quatre!" Shouted a middle-aged man as he burst into the tent. "Those helicoptors are back again."

Quatre rose from his seat and walked towards the tent opening. The middle-aged man stepped aside, allowing Quatre to look towards the sky. Sure enough, a large black helicoptor was in the sky. It flew right over the desert campsite and headed towards the distant sand hills.

"That's the third one today. I wonder what they're looking for." Replied the middle-aged man as he watched the helicoptor disappear over the horizon.

Cassie stood next to the bed, looking at Quatre and the middle-aged man standing in the tent's doorway.

"Should we pack up?" Asked the middle-aged.

"Let's wait a little." Quatre replied. "Have some men see what they're up to. If they start getting too close, we'll move out."

"Yes sir." Answered the middle-aged man with a bow.

As he headed back towards the other men, that was when Cassie noticed the gun attached to his side. Her eyes narrowed as she remembered how she had gotten knocked out. Quatre looked back at Cassie, and just smiled reassuringly at her.

"When you're ready, I'll take you to the nearest town." Quatre answered. "You'll be able to contact your friends there."

"Thank you." Cassie replied, hiding the fact that she saw the gun on the man's side.

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Several OZ soldiers tossed scraps of metal aside while others shifted through the sand.

"Did you find anything?" Asked Ryo as he stood inside the helicoptor.

"No sir. Nothing yet." Replied the OZ soldier as he saluted Ryo.

"Keep looking. We'll stay here all night if we have to." Ryo answered, putting a hand on his hip.

"Yes sir." The OZ soldier answered with a bow as he ran off to join the others in their search.

Ryo sat down in he helicoptor fanning himself. He grabbed his glass full of ice cold water and began to drink from it. He then watched as several soldiers began to lift what was left of Cassie's MS out of the sand.

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The sun began to set under the desert horizon. Several of Quatre's bodyguards had set out over the horizon, to watch what the intruders. Cassie stood out in front of her tent, her hair tied back into a tight ponytail. Cassie removed the hairpin from her hair and held it in her hand.

The hairpin was silver and in the shape of a longsteam rose. Cassie looked down at it for a minute before clenching it tight in her fist. She turned around, and there stood Quatre. He walked up next to her and watched the sunset.

"It's quite a beautiful site." Quatre replied, watching the orange sun continue to sink. "But with all this war business and everything, I guess I hardly notice it anymore."

"Do you fight in the war?" Cassie asked, looking at the sun.

"From time to time." Quatre answered. "I try to avoid getting involved, since I can't stand fighting."

"That's how my mother was." Cassie answered, holding the hairpin to her heart. "She hated the war and all this fighting. She was afraid deep down inside, but on the outside, she was strong. She had to be...for me."

Cassie closed her eyes, as a nice cold breeze brushed her skin.

"When I was little, I wanted to be just like her." Cassie replied, looking at the setting sun. "She was beautiful and courageous...everything I wished to be."

"Where is she now?" Asked Quatre, looking at Cassie.

"She's gone." Cassie replied, looking towards the sky. "She died when I was seven. My dad said she had gotten into an accident."

Cassie looked towards the ground, the hairpin still in her hand.

"The only thing I have to remember her by is this hairpin." Cassie spoke. "She gave it to me on my birthday. She said it was once her mother's, until she gave it to her on her birthday."

"Your mother meant alot to you, didn't she?" Quatre asked as he glanced at Cassie.

"I felt like I lost a very percious part of me when she died." Cassie answered as her eyes became teary. "I only wish...I had more memories of her."

"As long as the love for her still exists in your heart, she will always live." Quatre replied. "Memories of her will never die, as you continue to love her."

Cassie just looked at Quatre and smiled.

Gundam Wing © Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and ANB
Arabic Prince - CrystalKeeper 01-02