Flawed Reflections
Part 2

By Mrs Chang

Warnings: Angst, AU, Murder, Shonen-ai, Role Reversing, and slight bastardization of some characters

Pairings: 2x1, 4x3, 5x?, 6x9, 13x11

Disclaimer: The Author does not own Gundam Wing, nor any characters therein. This is a work of fiction, and is not written for profit.

Author's Notes: Well, part 2 is complete! And here it is... Wufei gets a little history lesson...! (And man, this chapter is kinda long...)

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"You truly must be from a far away land to have not heard of King Trieze of Sank."

That jarred Wufei a bit... Actually, it nearly knocked him off the bed. Sank's ruler was traditionally a Peacecraft, not a Khushrenada. And certainly not *Trieze* Khushrenada!

"I'm afraid you're right," he said when he regained is words. "Would you care to tell me about him?" After all, Wufei figured, it was probably not a bad idea to find out as much as he could about... wherever this place was.

Meiran smiled. "It is a long tale, but I suppose you are a captive audience, are you not?"

Wufei nodded.

"First, you should know, that this land is like no other. There is magic here. Strong, rampant magic. The flora, the fauna, everything is manifested with magical properties.

"It began centuries ago. The dominant races in these parts were what are known as 'magical creatures'. Centaurs, chimiras, harpies, and the like. This land was uncharted wilderness.

"The only humanoid populations were far east of this. But soon, the increasing population forced the three humanoid races - angels, demons, and humans - to move westward, into this land."

Meiran paused for a moment, as if to let Wufei digest this information. It was quite a lot to handle. Angels? Demons? She spoke of these as if they were commonplace...

"The demons and the angels divided the land between themselves, each ruling half. Humans were content to live in both lands; the demons and the angels both welcomed them. For though the two winged species were great warriors, poets, and historians, the humans were superior in the arts, and in agriculture. A strong alliance was formed between the 2 kingdoms.

"But things did not stay that way. The demon queen, Alexandra, and angel king, Jason, began a love-affair, and conceived a child. Alexandra gave birth to the baby, a girl. But the Jason, a selfish man, saw that the child would be his undoing, and rebuked Alexandra, and the infant child.

"Now, Alexandra had been blinded to Jason's cruelty by her misguided infatuation with him. But his betrayal brought everything into harsh clarity. She went to her husband, the kind and gentle King Darius, and confessed all that had been done. She knew that her sins were punishable by death, but she pleaded for the child's life."

She paused. By now, Wufei was enraptured by her tale, and he urged her to continue.

"Darius was a forgiving man. He spared the queen, for he loved her dearly, and vowed to protect the child, and even raise it as his own.

"But, inwardly, Alexandra was still filled with anger with Jason, who had so cruely betrayed her. And so she planned vengeance against him. She donned beggar woman's clothes over her queenly robes and wore a hooded cloak. Taking the child, she rode to the Angel kingdom and snuck into the castle; into the king's court, even.

"And there, before all the angelic nobility, she threw back her hood, and in a voice at once regal and sneering, she presented the child and cried, "And here, oh king of angels, is your half-breed bastard child!"

Just then, the door flew open. Standing in the doorway, the brown haired boy's emerald eyes glittered with a love of life. His rather lop-sided hair did nothing to hide his broad smile. "Good morning, Princess," he said cheerfully. "I've brought some clean clothing for your guest."

Meiran smiled and rose from her seat to accept the folded garments. "Thank you, Nanashi," she said.

/Not Trowa, too!/ thought Wufei.

Nanashi turned to go, but before he could, Meiran said, "And don't forget, Nanashi. The journey to the South villiage is tomorrow."

Trowa, or rather, Nanashi, turned, and Wufei saw his eyes light up. Whatever was waiting in the South Villiage, Trowa sure was excited about it.

The cheerful boy turned and exited, leaving Meiran and Wufei once again alone. The black haired girl set the clothing down on the foot of the bed and then returned her attention to Wufei.

"Continue your story?" he asked.

She nodded. "There is still much to tell, though."

"That's alright," Wufei answered, "I don't mind at all."

"In that case," said she as she took her place once again in the chair, "Now, where were we?"

"The child."

"Oh, yes. That's right. The queen escaped," she began again, "by some miracle, and fled to demon lands. Jason, humiliate and enraged, declared war upon the demons; his wounded pride was all he was thinking of.

"Darius, who - as I said - was a kind, gentle man, knew there was no reasoning with Jason. Regretfully, he went to war against his long-time ally.

"Now, both Darius and Jason had several children, the eldest of both families sons. The two had been good friends, but when the war began, they had no choice but to take sides with their respective fathers.

"The war was long; it lasted for years. The streets of the border cities ran red with blood. The demon forces were gaining ground; soon, the army and their king were launching a siege on the angel castle.

"Darius led the entering of the angel castle, and he and Jason battled. Blade to blade, skill to skill, they fought; Darius emerged victorious. Some say Prince Zechs, Jason's son, witnessed his father's death, but I cannot say for sure.

"But I do know that Lily, Jason's queen was there. So overwhelmed with rage was she that she took up Jason's sword and stabbed Darius when he turned away. And so both the kings were dead.

"Queen Lily was not a heartless woman, and when she saw what she had done, and what had become of her husband, she killed herself with the blade that had claimed Darius and Jason's life.

"When the fallen king's sons learned of what had happened, they knew they had no choice but to take up their father's mantle's as king. Zechs, hungry for blood at the death of his parents, was more than pleased to go after Trieze. Trieze, still counting Zechs as a friend, was less willing, but saw there was no choice.

"On the hills surrounding the castle, the princes, Zechs of the angels and Trieze of the demons, faced off. The fought long, but as the battle raged on, it was clear that Trieze, like his father, would be victorious.

"But he spared Zechs. He could not bring himself to kill the man. And so Zechs fled, with his angel forces, to the far edge of his kingdom.

Wufei was, once again enraptured.

"And so, Trieze assumed the throne. His mother still lives, and is his advisor. Queen emeritus Alexandra is most kind, as his her son. And not all the angels are bad. Duo, for example, is rabidly loyal to Trieze."

"And what became of the child?" asked Wufei.

"Queen emeritus Lily and Kind Trieze followed Darius's wishes, and raised the girl as a member of the royal family. She was taught all the things a princess should learn, and Trieze taught her to fight with dozens of different weapons.

"His Excellency is quite protective of her. He loves her as a sister."

"What is her name?" asked Wufei, his curiosity getting the best of him.

The girl smiled. "Meiran."