IX
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At first glance, one would imagine the forest to be welcoming and cheerful. However, it's a rule of thumb never to judge something by first glances.
As soon as the three Gundam pilots had entered the large area, the air became cooler and more dense. Most of the sunlight had been swallowed up by the top of the trees, making only small rays touch the leafy ground. Even the chirping of birds had changed to a low mournful call.
"If we keep heading in this direction we should be out of here soon," Trowa judged.
"Hopefully," Wu Fei added as he stared paranoidly at the trees. "It feels like someone's been watching us for hours.."
Trowa felt an odd tickling in the back of his mind. He glanced around, half expecting some sort of creature to jump out and attack them. The silence persisted however, only marred by the slight sound of the crunching of leaves under the weight of the horses.
There it was again.. Trowa halted instantly. A whisper, a warning..
Or was it just his imagination playing tricks on him?
Did he have an imagination?
It took a moment for him to realize that he'd been too deep in his thoughts to keep up with the others. When he'd snapped out of his trance, he was all alone in a thick, musty glade.
"Wu Fei? Duo?" he asked silently.
Nothing. Just the whistling of the wind.
There was a soft whistling and Trowa found himself once again listening to the weird whispers. Trying to steer his horse back from where they came, he could only struggle to keep the horse calm.
Trowa began to consider his options, debating whether to try finding a path or else staying in the same place.
If only he had some sort of direction..
As if in response to his thoughts, some of the tree branches began to very slowly lean towards the left, forming an odd line.
Taking it as a good sign, Trowa followed the pointing branches to whever they led.
Heero stared vacantly at the ocean, his eyes half closed. After a second he turned around and faced the ghostlike figure in front of him.
"I was wondering if you'd try to get in contact with one of us.."
"Sorry," Quatre bowed his head. "I'm not exactly very good with this." he was dressed in his regular khaki pants, but his shirt was white.
"So?"
"I'm not sure." Quatre answered. "I guess I don't have that much time before you wake up.."
"Then it's going to happen? The rest.."
"Yeah." Quatre replied as his expression became sad and tired. "It seems unavoidable now.." he shifted uneasily. "Just keep them away, you're the only one I can trust with this."
"Quatre?" Heero could feel himself slowly waking up from the dream.. already his vision was shifting.
"Hm?"
"You're a damned idiot."
Quatre smiled. "Maybe."
The world blurred and Heero wearily opened his eyes to see himself back in the captain's cabin of the ship. There was a soft smell of breakfast coming from the galley, and he considered making an appearance.
He vacantly wondered how the others were doing on their own.
Elaina stared at the maps and then looked back around the room. Her advisors stood, staring at her calmly.
D'kan, a Goblin, had been under her service for several decades. Then there was Ch'uct, a spidery man who had earned respect for his intellect.
"We should start from the East," D'kan muttered in a gravelly tone. "They don't have enough defense as it is.."
"That's fine," she tapped her nails against the table. "What about the forested areas?"
"What about them?"
"Burn them," she replied boredly. "Save us some trouble."
"Yes m'lady." they bowed. "We'll start working on preparing the armies.."
She glanced at the shadow that was watching them. It blinked and silently drifted off again. Uninterested, she drifted back towards the staircase and ascended quietly to the prisoner's room.
The blonde was sleeping against the bed, his face contorted between stress and sudden peace. She could sense the dark energy drawing towards him like a magnet, but at the same time his own will was pushing it back.
It would be quite fun to watch his strength crack and shatter.
Quite fun indeed..
Trowa continued down the ongoing path, searching each way for some type of indication that soon he'd be back on the right track. However, it kept going and going without any sort of stopping point. As he continued, the whisperings became worse. By now, he'd almost been able to make words out of it.
If one considered a constant mix of rustling leaves and noises 'words'.
"Are you an elf?"
Trowa stopped immediately and turned, finding the source of the noise.
It was a little girl, dressed in a short brown tunic which seemed to change shades as she moved. Her brownish blonde hair was mussed and her eyes were bright green. Physically, she looked no older than 8, but Trowa felt like this girl was much older.
"I said, are you an elf?" she said with a slight giggle. "I haven't seen elves in ages."
"Ages?"
"Yes! But.. if you're not an elf then how could you find your way here?" she frowned. "Unless.. No, not you, but you do have the eyes of one." her face became slightly serious. "Why did you come here?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," Trowa answered calmly. "All I did was follow a path.."
"Then.. yes!! This is perfect!!" the girl seemed to suddenly spring to life. "You're the one! Oh you must excuse me.. I'm not used to formalities. My name is Autumn."
"Autumn.." seemed fitting.
"I'm a spirit of course.. " she smirked. "But you're really not an elf?"
Trowa shook his head.
"That's too bad," she sighed disappointedly. "I was hoping to see an elf, but they are so shy these days."
"Autumn, could you perhaps tell me what you mean by 'the one'?"
"Oh you'll find out soon enough, but you need to rest first. Please, come with me," Autumn motioned towards a small path which Trowa hadn't noticed before. "I'll see what I can do to help you.. But your horse will have to stay here."
Trowa stepped off his horse and tied the reins against a branch. The horse's face became sad, but Trowa gently reassured her that he'd be back soon. Autumn walked off, Trowa following.
Autumn approached a tree and immediately disappeared. Trowa stopped, waiting for her to appear again.
Autumn giggled once again and stuck her head out from the tree. "Don't you want to come inside?" she grabbed onto his hand and pulled him in.
"I'm sorry that this place is so messy, but I can't complain.."
Outisde, all he'd seen was a tree. Inside however, it was much different. A large oak table was the center of the room, around it small wooden stumps that substituted as chairs. On one wall was a leafy curtain, which he believed led to another room.
"Come sit down," Autumn motioned towards one of the wooden seats. "I won't be long."
Trowa sat, examining the area. He tapped his fingers against the wooden table, considering where the others could be.
There was a faint whisper again and Trowa stared back at the wall, noticing how the leaves seemed to shudder.
Is it me? Trowa wondered to himself.
The whisper became softer.
"They like you.." it was Autumn again, but something was definitely different about her.
Instead of the childish girl he'd met on the road, he was suddenly faced with a older version, her hair suddenly growing down to her shoulders.. and looking like some type of beauty queen. "I thought you'd feel more comfortable if I looked your age,"
"A little," Trowa lied.
She came closer, very slowly leaning down and looking him straight in the eye. Before Trowa could made a move, she'd came close and kissed his lips. Suddenly Trowa's eyes widened in surprise as a green hue began to surround him.
There was another long moment of silence, and she drew away, her expression excited. "I knew you were the one!!"
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And as always, thanks to those who reviewed!!