~*~chapter 2- letters recieved~*~



Everyone waited patiently in the grande living room. Heero slowly passed out the letters to everyone, and handed Milliardo his envelope. Sitting down on the reclining la-z-boy he took the wooden carving of Wing-Zero. He marvelled at how exact and precise everything was down to sanding. He carfully opened the cockpit and gently slid out the letter.



Heero,

Heero, Heero, Heero. He seemed to actually hear her sighing his name over and over. What am I to say? I'll miss you. No, I won't. Leaving you will tear my insides apart. I'm sorry for leaving you my love, but to you I never really was your love was I? Just some stupid little mission I was in your eyes. Don't worry, I am not mad at you. Disappointed, slightly. Please don't try and stop me, this is hard on all of us and I understand that this must be difficult for you too. By me leaving this means harder and more dangerous missions for you. But I am giving you a mission. Should you chose to accept, your mission will be to decline every suicidal mission and stay alive. For me. The last request ever asked for by Vice-Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft Dorlain. I know you aren't one to decline missions so I hope you do accept this one. When I said it would be the last request by Relena Dorlain means that I won't be Relena Dorlain when we meet again. Never again. I refuse to go back to a life where I was miserable. You and a few others were the only ones tying me back. But I broke free of those few threads. This isn't what I would call a good-bye, farewell, etc. A good-bye, farewell and etc. are... well... the meaning is not what I mean and as a politician I must chose my words carefully. I suppose the good ending to this letter would be... I'll see you down the road. When we meet again, I'll be different, you may like the new me you might not.

Well,

Je ne Heero,

Till we meet again, my love.

"Mission, accepted... my love." He glanced around the room. Everyone was quiet as their thoughts were deeply wrapped up in reading their letters. He smirked 'she always did have that effect on everyone.'



~*~Duo's point of view~*~



I carefully unwrapped the letter from Jousan.



Dear Duo,

you've been a good friend for the last couple of years. I'm sorry that I've was a little tied up recently but you were there for me through many good and bad times. You gave me a good laugh when I was sad. You gave me a helping hand when I fell and didn't want to get up. You made me relax and have fun when I had been sitting in my office for days on end. I promise that when we see each other again in a couple years we'll have lots of fun. Go to parks, go watch a movie with the gang or just run around like crazy. I know tonight was when we were going to talk about your little love crisis. Just tell Hilde how you feel, you may be surprised about how she felt. I can't wait to hear you lame jokes again Shinigami,

Yours truly,

Relena.



I smiled, "Things just won't be the same around here without you Jousan. A few years it is then. I just hope Heero will survive those few years."



~*~Trowa's point of view~*~



I opened the letter and carefully tucked the ribbon away in my coat pocket.



Dear Trowa,

the ever-silent and watchful Trowa. Little gets by you without being noticed. You may be wondering how I got past you since you were staying in the room right next to mine. Please don't be angry with me after I tell you. Well, I put some sleeping powder on your food. I'm terribly sorry but I just couldn't have you knowing. Well I hope you're not upset with me because I'm going to continue with my letter. You have plenty of good advice, I was one of the few lucky ones to ever receive the grace of your wisdom. The world needs your wisdom, spread it. Let it be known what happens in the mind of the wise Trowa Barton or Triton Bloom as some may call you. I can't wait until I can receive listen to your advice once again, but the next time it won't be on politics or anything of the sort. Stay wise and true to yourself.

Yours truly,

Relena.



A small smirk came to my lips. 'Always was one for words'.



~*~Quatra's point of view~*~



I gently folded the ribbon and held it gently in the palm of my hand.



Dear Quatra,

in so many ways you are so much stronger than I. You manage to hold onto your ideals of peace. Me? I'm all talk some show, but mostly talk. But you. You manage to do it. You pull through with your promises. I was nothing more than false talks. You know me well enough to know the rest of this letter. Over the years we became good friends. Our friendship. I'll always treasure it. Our political careers have allowed us to meet more often than I could meet the others. Thank you for always believing in me. I'll miss you.

Yours truly,

Relena.



I turned my hand into a fist to stop the tears from flowing down my face. Enough tears had been shed today I would try my best not to add to them.



~*~ Wufei's point of view~*~



I placed the ribbon on the coffee table beside me and proceeded to read the letter.



Wufei,

well this move has most likely degraded me back down to stupid onna as you so gracefully put it. I know we weren't the best of friends, but I always held you in high respect and strived to gain your respect. Believe me, it wasn't easy. The first time you called me Relena and not Woman or onna I was jumping up and down inside. I know not many people gain your respect especially woman. But I did it, and I was so proud. Proud of myself for not giving up. Your pride and sense of honor makes you sometimes seem arrogant to others, but to me... I don't know... it makes me hold you in high respect. I guess it makes you... well you. Don't lose your sense of pride and honor, because then who will duo have to taunt? You'll quite literally kill him! If you're not there to taunt he'll resort to taunting Heero and you know where that will put him. Stay proud, stay true, but you might want to place woman in higher respect from now on. Who knows? We might just surprise you.

Yours truly,

Relena Peacecraft.



"I never lost my respect for you Relena, and I never will."



~*~



My hand was trembling as I slowly opened the letter. Breathing in deeply I began to read the letter's content.



Dear Hilde,

I was truly amazed at how fast our friendship bloomed. I never realised it before, but I took our friendship for granted. I'm sorry. Well, since we're best friends you know everything that I'm going to write but there are some things I must write. I'll miss you. A phrase that is so small yet has so much meaning. My last word of advice to you is, 'Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are those... it might have been' by John Greenleaf Whittier. Tell Duo how you feel. I'll see you soon Hilde,

Best friend,

Relena Peacecraft.



I choked back the tears that were welling up and smiled. I smiled, knowing my friend was safe and leading a life that didn't cause her misery.



~*~Milliardo's point of view~*~



To my surprise there was a video chip in the envelope alongside it was a small note which simply stated that I should show this video to all the people who received letters. I placed the small chip onto the video player. The machine began to spin the small round ship. Faster. Faster and faster until it began to play.



~*~Normal point of view~*~



Relena's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Brother. Gundam pilots. Hilde. And I highly doubt you're there but if you are, hello Pegan. I guess I owe all of you an apology. I'm sorry. I say sorry far too much for my own good as Wufei put it so gently once before. Well, you were right Wufei. Let me tell you all a story. Once there was a princess, a young, stupid, naive little girl she was. Happy though, she was happy. Happy because she had a loving family, a loving, handsome father; a loving, beautiful mother; and a loving, caring, handsome and somewhat over-protective older brother." Milliardo felt tears sting his eyes. "Now, being the naive little girl she was she thought the whole world was like this but that all changed in a blink of an eye. Stripped away of her loving family. Warm mansion. Her childhood, taken away. But she was stupid and self-centred that she thought this was the worst thing that had ever happened on the face of this planet." Relena got up from the seat she was sitting on in her room and got up to go to her vanity. Brushing her hair she continued with the story. "But the princess was wrong. Oh so very wrong. Children, her age. Were being taken in to prepare for a war! Now the princess did not entirely lose her childhood, but these children did. They lost everything!" she was pacing across the floor furiously now. Each step she took seemed to echo how she felt. Angry. "Many, many years later when the war was beginning she had the honor to meet these pilots. She found this pilot washed up on the beach. Her stupidity and naivety never left her. She fell in love with this pilot. It was against every rule she had been brought up to believe. All the lies she had been brought up to recognise as the truth. She was betrothed to a handsome man only a year older. Smart. Everything that a princess could want. But he wasn't the pilot. At first she thought that it was only a simple school-girl crush but later realised that her betrothed could never captivate her with just one glance. A simple flick of the hand. Or any small gesture. She followed him everywhere to discover his true personality. What was past that cold exterior. All the travelling cost her many precious things and people. She lost her adopted father. She lost her home. She lost all those gold digging friends of hers. But she gained so much. So very much. She called off the betrothal. The princess found her long-lost brother. She found many true friends. She lost the stupidity, much to the princess's delight. She lost her naivety. She met all the Gundam pilots. She became Queen of the World, not that she really wanted to, but there was still many things she could do to help the world which was in turmoil. And... she fell in love. She fell in love with the most handsome boy. No. He was no boy. He had never been a boy. He simply had a boys body, but his mind. His mind. Oh it was something else. She could see it through his beautiful, deep Prussian-blue eyes. Oh she saw it all much to his dismay. But he never knew. He never knew, no, he never knew how much she loved him. In a way he himself was naive. He refused her feelings thinking he wasn't worth her. But he was. She longed for the day when he would accept her touch and when he would touch her back. She longed for the day when he would say I love you back to her. She longed for that day. But it never came. And never will. Because the princess is gone. Gone forever." She looked down sadly. "Milliardo, I know you are still grieving over the death of Lucretzia. But she is still here. She's everywhere. She whispers, you just have to chose to listen. Don't stand still when the world moves forward. Stay strong Brother. I love you. I'll be watching you Brother, so do be a good boy." she gave a small wink. "Gundam pilots. All I have to say to you is in those letters. Heero, stay strong and alive. Because if you don't it will be an even longer time before I see you. Hilde, ah there's no point in saying anything you're reading my mind at this very moment!" she laughed. Hilde smiled even though tears streamed down her face. "Well, Ja ne for now!" she waved and the video ended. Milliardo removed the chip and slowly walked over to Heero.

"Yuy, I think she wants you to have this." he tossed him the chip and walked out of the room. The others followed suit. Heero stared at it, then placed it on the inside of his wooden Gundam.