Eye of the Beholder
Chapter 2 - A Myth No More
The beast scampered through the dark woods carefully, dodging branches and leaves skillfully. He didn't want to mar their "meal" after all. It had been a good while since any of them had eaten on a human. They had lived on chicken and beef, and occasionally turkey and venison. The forest wasn't very large, but hard to navigate in the dark of the night. He had been through it many times so it wasn't hard for him. He emerged from the trees and trotted up the hill, towards a musty old fortification that sat on a cliff by the sea. It was their dwelling, and they called it their home. The girl was still out cold and her weight became harder to bear with every step.
He walked up to the wooden door and scratched at it, barking and howling. A braided man opened the door and smiled. "Done already?" The man hoisted the girl over his shoulder and chuckled. "She's quite a looker."
The wolf walked into a dark corner, hidden from the flames of the torch and sat down. His legs lengthened, the fur disappearing, his ears being tucked away, and his tail gone. "I haven't done that in awhile," he spoke.
A Chinese man from the doorway tossed him a white shirt and breeches. "Feel better?"
"Yea. At least I wasn't bored for a little bit." He slipped on his shirt and breeches.
"Heero, you're back!!" a small blonde boy chimed.
"What is this? A celebration of sorts?" the wolf man snickered.
"Is the world outside the same as we remember it?" he asked, innocently.
"I didn't go into town," Heero responded simply.
"Why not?" another one asked, with bangs that concealed half his face.
"Hn," he grunted. "I didn't feel like it."
"That's unlike you," the Chinese man said.
"I've changed over the years, Wufei."
"We all have," the blonde boy added. "Being cooped up in here for such a long time."
"It can kill someone." the braided man finished.
"A normal person," the boy with the bangs added.
"So what if we're different, Trowa?" the blonde boy asked. "We're still men."
"Quatre," Heero interrupted, "We're chained to a life of scrounging and hiding. Everyday, we live with a curse.I do not know if we can call ourselves true men."
"Well, I say we still are men in every other aspect, besides those three," he grinned, readjusting the girl into his arms. Relena was still out cold.
"What do you know, Duo?" Wufei smirked.
An awkward silence fell among the five men. They looked at each other, eyes locked with eyes.
"Heero, you're back!" a voice squealed. A petit girl ran up to him and buried her head in his chest. She hugged him tightly as Heero smiled. "Was it nice outside?"
"Very nice, Hilde," he responded softly, hugging her back. "What did you do today?"
"Quatre taught me geography and then Duo taught me anatomy!!" Duo laughed nervously as Heero raised an eyebrow at him. "Heero, did you get me a sister?"
"Aye. She's asleep right now, but you can talk with her later."
Hilde walked over to Duo and looked at the unconscious girl. "She's really pretty."
"Listen - I'll go start dinner. It's been a tiring day for everyone," Quatre suggested.
"Can I help?" Hilde asked.
"Of course."
The girl followed Quatre, leaving the four men alone.
"I'm going to put this lady into a room," Duo said, carrying her up the stairs.
The three men left walked into the dining room. A scarlet fire burned in the wall, crackling. The room was dimly lit with candles that sat on the long dining table. Trowa, the boy with the concealed face, got five glasses and a bottle of aged wine from the cellar. Duo had put the girl into the highest chamber and let her sleep, and then came to join them. Trowa filled the glasses with wine and handed them to the men.
"What now?" Duo asked.
"We eat." Wufei responded sarcastically.
"No! I meant with the girl!"
"Hilde wanted a sister," Trowa responded simply.
"But wouldn't this be classified as a kidnapping or something?" Duo panicked.
"They gave us to her willingly," Heero said. "Besides, Hilde is lonely. She needs someone other than us men."
"True, but."
"Duo. How long has Hilde been with us? Over 5 years. We've raised her since the day we found her half dead at the door. She has come to love us as all and we have come to love her too," Heero reasoned. "She has never asked for anything before this and when she did ask for a sister, she said it with such truth and honesty that it burned a hole through my chest."
Duo sighed and sipped his wine. "I guess we could confine the girl here for a bit. For Hilde."
"I would have never thought that she would have gotten lonely."
"Imagine if you were stuck with 5 women for 5 years, Wufei," Trowa pointed out. Wufei shuddered. He didn't want to imagine the gruesome thought.
"Dinner's ready!!!" Hilde squealed from the kitchen.
Trowa got up and headed there to help carry the food over to the dining room. The three returned with six plates full of meat and vegetables, and a basket of fresh rolls. Once the food was set down, they began to eat.
"Can I go see my new sister after dinner?" Hilde asked, chewing on a piece of chicken.
"Only if you finish your vegetables," Quatre nagged.
"Okay."
Dinner went on as usual, with an unusual silence in the air. When Hilde finished with her meal, she quickly jumped off her chair and ran up the stairs. Heero sighed and ran after Hilde. The halls were dark but he knew his way around it well. It was already dark outside, except for the moon the sat in the sky. It gave off a luminance, which filtered through the window. For an 8 year old, she could run pretty fast.
Relena woke up with a dazed look on her face. Where the hell was she? Sitting up in the large bed, she looked around. A fire burned in the fireplace, emitting warmth and a sense of comfort. Comfort?! Hah! The last thing she remember was a black shadow snarling at her.
Mentally smacking herself, she tossed the covers off dangled her feet from the edge of the bed. It was a stone floor, with a stone wall. The window was opened and a salt breeze had entered through there. She gazed outside the window and saw the endless sea for the first time. She was in pure awe.
"What's your name?" a voice asked.
Relena jumped screamed, "Geezus!" She turned around to see a little girl looking up at her with big eyes.
"My name's Hilde!" she introduced.
"My.mine's Relena. Would you happen to know where I am?"
"Sure! You're at my home! You're my new sister!" The little girl hugged Relena and looked up, grinning. Relena smiled back, not knowing what else to do.
Sister?! The thought raced through her mind like a jolt of electricity.
"Hilde," another voice started. "Come here." Hilde let go of Relena and skipped over to him. "Hilde, go back down to everyone. I have to talk with her in private."
The girl nodded hesitantly and ran back downstairs.
"Relena, is it?" She nodded and watched the man emerge from the shadows. He walked with grace and a calm collected aura. She felt naked in front of him. Summoning up all her courage, she looked him in the eyes and spoke.
"Where in God's name am I?" she demanded. Good job, Relena. You didn't freak out, she thought to herself.
"Please, sit," Heero gestured towards the bed.
Relena sat down on the bed and looked at the man. He stared out the window for a few moments. "You are in castle by the sea, as you can see. It is my home. I found you - or should I say, a wolf found you tied up to a stick. I saw it, shot it, and brought you back here. You fainted from all the excitement." Heero breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that lie sounded believable.
"Well, Mr.umm." she began.
"Yuy. Heero Yuy."
"Well, Mr. Yuy, I thank you for all that you've done. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to leave."
"That's not a smart thing to do," he quickly added.
"And why not?" she retorted.
"For one thing, you've been unconscious for a few hours now. You're probably still weak. And there are wild animals in the woods. Carnivorous wild animals, like the rest of the wolf pack. You were going to be their meal, " he lied some more, not breaking his eye contact with her.
"I feel fine and if you can wander aimlessly through the woods, so can I! So please, if you excuse me!"
Damn, she was persistent. He smirked. "If you leave," he began in a low voice, "Hilde will be sad and start crying." He was pulling out the big guns now.
Relena sighed. She couldn't stand to see little children unhappy. Thinking for a moment, she looked up into Prussian eyes and gave a weak smile. "Tell Hilde that I'll stay. But only for a little bit. I can't stay here forever."
Heero got up and walked towards the door. "You're tired. You need rest," he said stoically. He opened the door and saw a little girl standing with a tray of food.
"I brought her a snack!" Hilde said, holding up the tray.
Heero looked over his shoulder at Relena. She smiled and Heero let Hilde go in. "Just don't bother her too long. She's tired."
Hilde nodded and made her way towards Relena. He closed the door behind him and walked back down the corridor. The four men had moved into the den, reading, playing the chess, and playing the violin.
"How is she?" Quatre asked when Heero walked in. He set his violin aside.
"Fine."
"How did you make her stay?" Duo asked, very curious. He moved his rook forward and took Trowa's bishop.
"I have my ways."
"Aren't we persuasive," Wufei remarked, flipping through a book.
"Very."
"You didn't tell her the truth, did you?" Trowa remarked, looking at the chessboard.
Heero looked into the fire and sighed. "No."
Trowa moved his pawn forward and paused for a moment. "Checkmate."
Yay! Next chapter!! ^^' Oh - and Hilde's a little kid, in case you were wondering. More to come soon because my writer's block has disappeared!! Read.review.yea.
The beast scampered through the dark woods carefully, dodging branches and leaves skillfully. He didn't want to mar their "meal" after all. It had been a good while since any of them had eaten on a human. They had lived on chicken and beef, and occasionally turkey and venison. The forest wasn't very large, but hard to navigate in the dark of the night. He had been through it many times so it wasn't hard for him. He emerged from the trees and trotted up the hill, towards a musty old fortification that sat on a cliff by the sea. It was their dwelling, and they called it their home. The girl was still out cold and her weight became harder to bear with every step.
He walked up to the wooden door and scratched at it, barking and howling. A braided man opened the door and smiled. "Done already?" The man hoisted the girl over his shoulder and chuckled. "She's quite a looker."
The wolf walked into a dark corner, hidden from the flames of the torch and sat down. His legs lengthened, the fur disappearing, his ears being tucked away, and his tail gone. "I haven't done that in awhile," he spoke.
A Chinese man from the doorway tossed him a white shirt and breeches. "Feel better?"
"Yea. At least I wasn't bored for a little bit." He slipped on his shirt and breeches.
"Heero, you're back!!" a small blonde boy chimed.
"What is this? A celebration of sorts?" the wolf man snickered.
"Is the world outside the same as we remember it?" he asked, innocently.
"I didn't go into town," Heero responded simply.
"Why not?" another one asked, with bangs that concealed half his face.
"Hn," he grunted. "I didn't feel like it."
"That's unlike you," the Chinese man said.
"I've changed over the years, Wufei."
"We all have," the blonde boy added. "Being cooped up in here for such a long time."
"It can kill someone." the braided man finished.
"A normal person," the boy with the bangs added.
"So what if we're different, Trowa?" the blonde boy asked. "We're still men."
"Quatre," Heero interrupted, "We're chained to a life of scrounging and hiding. Everyday, we live with a curse.I do not know if we can call ourselves true men."
"Well, I say we still are men in every other aspect, besides those three," he grinned, readjusting the girl into his arms. Relena was still out cold.
"What do you know, Duo?" Wufei smirked.
An awkward silence fell among the five men. They looked at each other, eyes locked with eyes.
"Heero, you're back!" a voice squealed. A petit girl ran up to him and buried her head in his chest. She hugged him tightly as Heero smiled. "Was it nice outside?"
"Very nice, Hilde," he responded softly, hugging her back. "What did you do today?"
"Quatre taught me geography and then Duo taught me anatomy!!" Duo laughed nervously as Heero raised an eyebrow at him. "Heero, did you get me a sister?"
"Aye. She's asleep right now, but you can talk with her later."
Hilde walked over to Duo and looked at the unconscious girl. "She's really pretty."
"Listen - I'll go start dinner. It's been a tiring day for everyone," Quatre suggested.
"Can I help?" Hilde asked.
"Of course."
The girl followed Quatre, leaving the four men alone.
"I'm going to put this lady into a room," Duo said, carrying her up the stairs.
The three men left walked into the dining room. A scarlet fire burned in the wall, crackling. The room was dimly lit with candles that sat on the long dining table. Trowa, the boy with the concealed face, got five glasses and a bottle of aged wine from the cellar. Duo had put the girl into the highest chamber and let her sleep, and then came to join them. Trowa filled the glasses with wine and handed them to the men.
"What now?" Duo asked.
"We eat." Wufei responded sarcastically.
"No! I meant with the girl!"
"Hilde wanted a sister," Trowa responded simply.
"But wouldn't this be classified as a kidnapping or something?" Duo panicked.
"They gave us to her willingly," Heero said. "Besides, Hilde is lonely. She needs someone other than us men."
"True, but."
"Duo. How long has Hilde been with us? Over 5 years. We've raised her since the day we found her half dead at the door. She has come to love us as all and we have come to love her too," Heero reasoned. "She has never asked for anything before this and when she did ask for a sister, she said it with such truth and honesty that it burned a hole through my chest."
Duo sighed and sipped his wine. "I guess we could confine the girl here for a bit. For Hilde."
"I would have never thought that she would have gotten lonely."
"Imagine if you were stuck with 5 women for 5 years, Wufei," Trowa pointed out. Wufei shuddered. He didn't want to imagine the gruesome thought.
"Dinner's ready!!!" Hilde squealed from the kitchen.
Trowa got up and headed there to help carry the food over to the dining room. The three returned with six plates full of meat and vegetables, and a basket of fresh rolls. Once the food was set down, they began to eat.
"Can I go see my new sister after dinner?" Hilde asked, chewing on a piece of chicken.
"Only if you finish your vegetables," Quatre nagged.
"Okay."
Dinner went on as usual, with an unusual silence in the air. When Hilde finished with her meal, she quickly jumped off her chair and ran up the stairs. Heero sighed and ran after Hilde. The halls were dark but he knew his way around it well. It was already dark outside, except for the moon the sat in the sky. It gave off a luminance, which filtered through the window. For an 8 year old, she could run pretty fast.
Relena woke up with a dazed look on her face. Where the hell was she? Sitting up in the large bed, she looked around. A fire burned in the fireplace, emitting warmth and a sense of comfort. Comfort?! Hah! The last thing she remember was a black shadow snarling at her.
Mentally smacking herself, she tossed the covers off dangled her feet from the edge of the bed. It was a stone floor, with a stone wall. The window was opened and a salt breeze had entered through there. She gazed outside the window and saw the endless sea for the first time. She was in pure awe.
"What's your name?" a voice asked.
Relena jumped screamed, "Geezus!" She turned around to see a little girl looking up at her with big eyes.
"My name's Hilde!" she introduced.
"My.mine's Relena. Would you happen to know where I am?"
"Sure! You're at my home! You're my new sister!" The little girl hugged Relena and looked up, grinning. Relena smiled back, not knowing what else to do.
Sister?! The thought raced through her mind like a jolt of electricity.
"Hilde," another voice started. "Come here." Hilde let go of Relena and skipped over to him. "Hilde, go back down to everyone. I have to talk with her in private."
The girl nodded hesitantly and ran back downstairs.
"Relena, is it?" She nodded and watched the man emerge from the shadows. He walked with grace and a calm collected aura. She felt naked in front of him. Summoning up all her courage, she looked him in the eyes and spoke.
"Where in God's name am I?" she demanded. Good job, Relena. You didn't freak out, she thought to herself.
"Please, sit," Heero gestured towards the bed.
Relena sat down on the bed and looked at the man. He stared out the window for a few moments. "You are in castle by the sea, as you can see. It is my home. I found you - or should I say, a wolf found you tied up to a stick. I saw it, shot it, and brought you back here. You fainted from all the excitement." Heero breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that lie sounded believable.
"Well, Mr.umm." she began.
"Yuy. Heero Yuy."
"Well, Mr. Yuy, I thank you for all that you've done. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to leave."
"That's not a smart thing to do," he quickly added.
"And why not?" she retorted.
"For one thing, you've been unconscious for a few hours now. You're probably still weak. And there are wild animals in the woods. Carnivorous wild animals, like the rest of the wolf pack. You were going to be their meal, " he lied some more, not breaking his eye contact with her.
"I feel fine and if you can wander aimlessly through the woods, so can I! So please, if you excuse me!"
Damn, she was persistent. He smirked. "If you leave," he began in a low voice, "Hilde will be sad and start crying." He was pulling out the big guns now.
Relena sighed. She couldn't stand to see little children unhappy. Thinking for a moment, she looked up into Prussian eyes and gave a weak smile. "Tell Hilde that I'll stay. But only for a little bit. I can't stay here forever."
Heero got up and walked towards the door. "You're tired. You need rest," he said stoically. He opened the door and saw a little girl standing with a tray of food.
"I brought her a snack!" Hilde said, holding up the tray.
Heero looked over his shoulder at Relena. She smiled and Heero let Hilde go in. "Just don't bother her too long. She's tired."
Hilde nodded and made her way towards Relena. He closed the door behind him and walked back down the corridor. The four men had moved into the den, reading, playing the chess, and playing the violin.
"How is she?" Quatre asked when Heero walked in. He set his violin aside.
"Fine."
"How did you make her stay?" Duo asked, very curious. He moved his rook forward and took Trowa's bishop.
"I have my ways."
"Aren't we persuasive," Wufei remarked, flipping through a book.
"Very."
"You didn't tell her the truth, did you?" Trowa remarked, looking at the chessboard.
Heero looked into the fire and sighed. "No."
Trowa moved his pawn forward and paused for a moment. "Checkmate."
Yay! Next chapter!! ^^' Oh - and Hilde's a little kid, in case you were wondering. More to come soon because my writer's block has disappeared!! Read.review.yea.