Soldier
AnimeCat: Just to make sure no one is confused, Madeira and Mariemaia are two completely separate girls.
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Lying face down in a hospital bed hours later that evening, high on hospital painkillers, Heero thought of the angry Italian girl.
He had second degree burns scattered along his back, first degree burns on his shoulders where the blaze hadn't been that bad, and a long, etched third degree burn for good measure down at his waist where the fire had touched him. All in all, he wasn't in good shape.
At the scene, he'd been too dazed to even realize the pain, but even later, his old training had made it difficult to acknowledge his injuries (1).
It was Relena who had pushed through the crowds and kept him conscious after the girl had punched him square in the face, kneed him in the mid section and took off. He actually hadn't felt much of this, either, only the dull throbbing in both places and the blood on his uniform from his nose proved that he hadn't imagined it.
He was trying to concentrate on healing, God knows he could be walking out of the hospital by tomorrow night if he concentrated hard enough. Damn sedatives!! He thought, mentally cursing the doctors and their mind-numbing drugs.
He tried directing all of his energy to the wounds on his back, but his mind kept drifting to ravens-black hair and bright green eyes, a certain arrogant guard, and…pink bunnies?!
Overcome with a curious sort of wonder, Heero spent a few hours thinking about pink bunnies before the mental and physical fatigue caught up with him and he finally surrendered into sleep.
~*~*~
Relena was sitting in the chair next to Heero's bed when he finally began to move 15 hours later. She'd called her husband to assure him that she was fine, and had arranged the conference to a different date.
"Heero?" She murmured. Heero's head shot up, his eyes wide and face pale.
"Hazel-rah! The Efrafans are coming for us! Take Fiver and run!(2)" He shouted loudly before he could think. Relena blinked at him. Though she could only see one angle of his sharp-featured face, she could see him turning red.
"Interesting dreams, Heero?" She grinned. Heero turned to her, his embarrassment still plainly obvious on his face.
"Er…yeah." He mumbled. He was silent for a moment. "What happened? Did the bomber get away?"
Relena looked away. "No," She said in a small voice. Heero tilted him head, evoking a twinge of pain from his shoulders.
"What happened?"
"Well…the bomber was running by, and we didn't know what to do…"
"We?" Heero asked accusingly, suddenly beginning to understand. Relena didn't stop, she continued as if she hadn't heard him.
"So Lee took out his gun and…" She broke off, watching Heero's infuriated expression.
"He killed the bomber??" Heero demanded loudly.
"Heero," Relena rose to her brother-in-laws defense, "he didn't--"
"That fool!! We needed the bomber alive!! What the hell was he thinking??" Heero shouted. His back was screaming in pain but he couldn't feel anything.
"Heero, he thought the bomber was coming after me!!" Relena cried out.
"Did he say that or is that what you think??" Heero snarled.
Relena's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open wordlessly. "I--"
"Where did he shoot the bomber?" He interrupted her.
"Well…" She averted his gaze.
"Where??"
"The head." She finished. "The bullet killed him on contact."
Heero sighed deeply. "Relena…when you aim for the head, you're aiming to kill. In training Lee should have learned to aim somewhere else, even in a dire emergency."
Relena swallowed hard, her head lowered and she stared harshly at her knees. "Are you going to take him in for this?" She asked softly.
Heero studied her. "For you Relena, no. I will punish him in the method I will decide but I won't take him in."
She looked back up to him, her eyes bright. "Really?" She asked, unsure. Heero nodded. "Thank you, Heero! I'd hug you, but…"
Heero nodded again. "I'd actually prefer it if you didn't."
Relena smiled. "Okay then, when you're healed. So concentrate on healing, Heero. I put the meeting off for next week…will you be ready by then?"
Heero grinned. "Hell yeah."
~*~*~
Madeira paused at the door.
"Anything wrong?" Naiad asked her lightly. Madeira shook her head.
"Nothing wrong…maybe I'm a little nervous." She answered, straightening the collar and sleeves of the green dress that Naiad had loaned to her. Her uncle hadn't been too thrilled when she had come home last week with six inches of her hair singed off and her ceremonial family uniform almost burned off her body. Finding out she'd been near the bombing helped her very little. She hadn't elaborated that she'd been right there and that someone had saved her. Just let him stew over the family uniform that was over 50 years old rather than let him know she hadn't been able to save herself.
Madeira hadn't begged her uncle for two years as a youngster for military training to go and get herself killed in a freak terrorist incident. The first Brindisi female in 100 years to train as a soldier had to keep up to her uncle's rules.
Considering the honor of his ward first, Nicholah Brindisi had said no to letting her attend military academy. The daughter of his dead brother would grow up alongside his own son and heir to his throne, marry some diplomat and live a happy life.
She would not grow up some crazy soldier full of bloodlust.
Not like his brother had.
But after two years of rebellion on Madeira's part when she was just 8, Nicholah finally agreed to watch Madeira in an amateur sword fight. Then he watched her fire a few guns.
He saw that she was very, very talented. An unfortunate twist, bearing in mind that he and his wife had hoped to raise the girl as a true princess, pink ribbons and the works.
He knew that he should let her train after he saw her talent. With a few rules.
One, if she messed up-- it was over. He didn't want to hear about her mishandling her weapons or being a danger to the other soldiers. And she had to be able to put her training to good use. Hence, saving herself in an emergency.
As a request from his wife, who was probably prouder of Madeira's enigmatic and mysterious beauty than Madeira herself, who could care less if she looked like Miss Universe or the bottom of her uncles' boot, Madeira had to keep her hair like a lady should, long and shiny. She couldn't cut it, she had to take care of it. Her thick hair was a constant source of annoyance for her but she dealt with it.
After 12 complete years of training in almost all fields she could possibly imagine, Madeira was ready. She wanted to be a soldier. She'd never been in action, during both wars in the past ten years she hadn't been allowed to participate.
And now her dreams were coming true. If this was the door to oppurtunity, why wasn't she knocking?
"Madeira…come on, just open the door. You've been training for this for a long time…you're ready." Naiad assured her. Madeira turned to the wife of her cousin and smiled.
"I know, Naiad." She said, and took a deep breath before knocking three times lightly. Her uncles' gruff voice called out a quick "Come in!" and she opened the door wide to step in.
Madeira briefly looked around the room. The Vice-Foreign Minister sat opposite her uncle at the long conference table. Nicholah had his guard, and at the other end of the table, Relena Darlian had her own. On his face lit an expression of recognition.
Instantly recognizing him, Madeira sighed. "Damn."
~*~*~
"It's about time you got here, Madeira!" Lord Brindisi said gruffly. "Ms. Darlian has been very patient but I believe it's wearing thin."
Relena shook her head, smiling as Heero stared blankly at Madeira. He didn't know what to think…and this was definitely not the place he expected to see this girl again. She was staring back at him like she couldn't believe it, either.
"Heero?" Relena questioned softly. He broke away from Madeira's bewildered gaze and nodded, a signal to show he was fine and to continue. Lord Brindisi gestured to the ebony-haired girl and she sat down next to him, looking alert.
"My niece, Madeira." He introduced her. Relena murmured her greeting and Heero kept himself from grunting. He didn't even look at her, he kept his dark eyes on Brindisi. "Madeira, this is Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian and her guard."
"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Darlian." Madeira said tonelessly. Brindisi straightened himself and kept eye contact with Relena in a business-like manner.
"Vice-Foreign Minister, I understand your views. However I like the way I'm handling my nation. There's a very low level of poverty--"
"But there is a high level of crime, Lord Brindisi." Relena interrupted stiffly. "I am not proposing that I take over your country, sir. I am suggesting an alliance and the right to teach your people my principles on pacifism and citizenship."
Brindisi studied Relena's fierce expression. Heero almost smirked. This was Relena's element. It was times like these when she showed her true passion for peace that showed how strong she really was. She wouldn't back down and he knew it.
"All right…" Brindisi said, half amused. "Madeira is a fully-trained soldier…take her with you back to the Sanq Kingdom, teach her these 'principles' of yours. If you can convince her, you'll convince me."
Relena paused. "She's a bit old to be one of my students, sir."
"As a guard, Vice-Foreign Minister." Brindisi said. "She will become part of your security, and see how you run things. She doesn't have the patience to sit through classes. Give her a little hands-on."
What?! She's coming with us?? Wonderful, Heero thought grimly, As a bodyguard she'd be under my unit…damn. Just what I need, another rebellious teen.
"Are you sure, Lord Brindisi?" Relena questioned, watching the girl. Madeira was so stiff that the only times she could be defined as living rather than dead was when she blinked or her eyes darted around as she observed the room. Relena could hardly even tell when Madeira was breathing.
"Yes, I'm sure. She's been begging me to let her be a soldier since she was 8."
Relena was silent for a moment longer. "Okay…" She finally said quietly. "I'll take Madeira with me and try to teach her what I can."
Madeira and Brindisi both smiled.
"When will you be ready to go?"
"Ms. Darlian…I've been ready for this for years."
And she grinned.
~*~*~
About an hour later, Heero stood in front of the building with Relena as they waited for Madeira to come back out after saying goodbye to her family.
"What's wrong now, Heero?" She asked. Heero didn't look at her.
"I don't want that kid coming with us." He said coldly. Relena snickered.
"You sound like a child, Heero. Why shouldn't she?"
"She'll be trouble." Was all he could find to say. "We don't need more stress than we already have. And I called Preventers HQ, Zechs and Wufei went up to MO2 to meet up with Sally Po. And Noin is going, too. She'll be gone before we get back."
"Why are they all leaving?" Relena asked, confused. "What about Dorothy? Is she going, too?"
Heero shook his head. "They're doing a follow-up on a few rumors about shipments of Gundanium being sent out. Routine procedure, Relena. Dorothy is still at HQ for all I know. You see what I mean? With everyone gone, we don't need the extra pressure of a little soldier wannabe--"
"I'm ready." Madeira said softly, coming up behind them. Heero and Relena both turned around. Madeira stood alone, out of the dress with a pair of jeans and a red shirt on, carrying only a bag slung over her shoulder. Relena nodded.
"We're catching a flight back to Sanq in 3 hours. There are a few more things Heero and I have to take care of before we leave." She informed her. Madeira cocked an eyebrow. She turned to Heero.
"Well, since I didn't catch your name in there, I'm guessing you're Heero?" She commented. Heero nodded.
"Yes." He responded. Madeira looked down at her watch.
"Ms. Darlian, as anxious as I am to begin working for you, I think I'm going to catch an early flight. You don't really need me now, since you've got your," Madeira smirked and spoke in Italian for a moment, "guardio del corpo here with you."
She brushed past them and walked down the steps to the busy street. "See you in a few hours, Malattia Darlian!"
Madeira disappeared from their sight as she melted into the crowds. Relena turned her head to Heero. They both blinked. At the same time, they spoke.
"What did she call me?"
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AnimeCat: If you've managed to stick around after this…thanks! And I do know the meaning of each and every Italian word I use. I'd have to, ne? Review!
1-Mystic Avalonian priestesses were trained similarly. They could ignore hunger, pain, and sleepiness. So its like they were in a constant stage of mental denial, and they won't feel it unless they want to.
2-If you've read Watership Down…this will make sense. Watership Down is a fictional book about rabbits…Heero has some strange dreams, ne? ^_~