"Oh God," Noin gasped, her mind reeling. Heero lay crumbled on the smooth tiles of the throne room, and it was obvious Odin had taken out his anger on the actor before bringing him before his prince. Noin's hand fluttered over her mouth in utter pain as Heero struggled to his feet, favouring his left leg as if it was fractured. Still, he glared at Henry, his dark blue eyes full of their normal power. He made it seem as if he had simply let Odin capture him and that he was in complete control. Only Heero could do something like that.
"So," Henry said quietly, laughter gone. "You are the man Relena loves."
Heero only looked at him, full of silence. Henry gritted his teeth and there was only the sound of Hilde's sobs. Heero turned his gaze to the handmaiden, and Noin saw his face whiten. Duo remained motionless.
Events were out of control. Heero suddenly lunged at Henry, causing them both to tumble to the floor. Noin cried out, knowing Heero was weaponless. Using speed borne of adrenaline, she raced across the floor and took up Duo's fallen sword. Heero landed flat on his back, hand outstretched towards her as if he had foreseen her every move. She slid the sword to him, and it gave off a silvery note as it skimmed across the floor and fit perfectly into Heero's hand. He raised it immediately to parry Henry's killing blow and somehow got to his feet, his left leg wavering under his weight but he held it. Then prince and actor started the dangerous dance that would lead to one of their deaths. Noin exhaled heavily as she watched them, both having the warrior's grace as they battled. But Heero was bleeding, and it a movement of total stupid fate, he slipped on his own blood and went down, Henry's blade immediately at his throat.
"NO!!!!!"
Noin started and looked around for the source of the shout.
Henry lifted his blade and let it fall, a victorious smile on his face.
A golden blur raced between Heero and impending death.
An odd thud echoed across the chamber and the sound of blood hitting the tiles.
For a moment, Noin thought she was in a nightmare. It could not be happening, it could not. After all she had done, it was not enough. It had saved Relena, as she had so hoped.
Henry's sword was buried in the princess's chest and she looked up at him with glorious blue eyes that were filled with nothing put pity. Henry's face was horrified and he pulled the blade out quickly, as if he could somehow reverse what he had done. Relena lurched forward as the steel left her body and bright life blood stained the front of her ruined dress. Behind her, Heero moved, his arms bringing her close to him.
"Relena?" His voice was shaky, as if he couldn't quite believe that she was there. He cradled her in his arms, his face as vulnerable as Noin had ever seen it. Her face was pale, her lips bloodless, her eyes dark pools in her white face. She gazed at Heero with such love that Noin felt tears come to her eyes.
No…
"I had to…come, Heero," she whispered, reaching up a small hand to touch his temple. "I couldn't let…you go…alone."
"Relena." Her name was the only thing he could say.
"It's alright…" she said, trying to smile. Noin felt sobs catch in her throat and for the first time noticed Quatre standing in the doorway, stricken. "I knew…when I first saw you…in the theater. Do you remember?" Her voice was like a child's.
He nodded, soundless.
"You were…beautiful." She looked past him, eyes wide. "I love you…my Heero."
And she was gone.
Heero buried his face in her neck, his whole body shaking, mumbling her name and sobbing. Even Henry stood quietly, his gaze on Relena's still face. He had loved her too, in his own twisted way. Odin, who had been watching all of this passively, looked up and met Noin's gaze, and smiled. He actually smiled! Cold fury welled up in her and she clenched her dagger in her hand. Death, it was all around her, and she could only give in.
Heero laid Relena's body gently on the floor, smoothing back her gold hair with tenderness. Those same fingers picked up his short sword and levelled it at Henry. He stood, his leg still shaky, his dark eyes bloodshot and his voice harsh with silent sobs.
"You killed her," he said, and Henry visibly flinched. "You killed her," he repeated, with a sob, "The only bit of light in this wretched kingdom and you murdered it. And now, you will die for it." He plunged his sword forward and under Henry's guard straight into his thigh. The prince gasped as blood ran down Heero's blade and he stepped backwards as Heero pulled the blade out again. Odin's blade in his back came as a total surprise and the shock of it registered on Heero's face. Noin screamed with all the pain and fury left in her and threw her dagger, watching as the point buried itself in Odin's throat, the hilt vibrating with the force of her throw. The Captain of the Guard crumbled, but so did Heero, Odin's sword in his back.
Noin surged forward, almost tripping over the folds of her dress, but it was too late. She dropped to her knees beside Heero and saw the light fading from his eyes even as she watched. He stretched out his hand towards Relena's and she took it and pressed his fingers into Relena's cold palm. There was a smile on his face when he died.
She turned her tear-stained face to her brother, wondering how he could still be standing when Relena and Heero were dead. "Why?" she whispered, "Why?" The world no longer made sense to her.
"Noin."
The blessedly familiar voice broke her out of her daze and she turned bottomless eyes to Zechs who stood in the door way. He was standing on his own, one arm tucked against the healing wound in his side, the other holding an ornate long sword. His ice blue eyes were soft as he looked at her, meeting her grief with his own, and she saw the tears in his lashes. She did not see the two figures next to him, for his beauty blinded her to anything else. She made a helpless gesture with her fingers, unable to say anything, and he turned his gaze to Henry.
As if his movement had released her, Sally flew across the room to Noin, her able fingers searching Relena's throat for a pulse, before turning to Heero. Shaking her head, she touched Noin's shoulder before hurrying to Hilde's side and analysing Duo. Noin ignored her, having eyes only for her prince.
"Zechs," she begged, "please."
He nodded and walked forward slowly, concentrating on every step. Quatre reached out a hand to help him as he passed, but Zechs shook his head slightly and Quatre's bandaged hand dropped. He had to do this on his own.
"Ah, the Prince of Lightning," Henry said, one hand pressed against his thigh wound in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. Zechs stopped a few feet away from the wounded prince, just out of sword reach. "Come to kill me?"
"Yes," Zechs said quietly, grief raw his voice. His sister was dead and he had not even been able to say goodbye.
Henry sneered, "You would kill the brother of the woman you love without regret?"
"She is with me in everything, even in this."
Henry's face convulsed and he looked towards Noin. "You would have me dead, dear sister?"
"As you would have me, brother."
Henry drew the dagger from his boot and threw it at her in one swift motion. She saw Zechs lift his sword and run her brother through, grunting with the effort it cost him. The blade was rushing towards her and she could see the point so clearly, so deadly in its silence.
It stopped a foot from her heart.
Quatre breathed out and let the dagger fall to the ground, the sound of it clinking against the floor loud in the quiet air. She looked up into his sea-green eyes and gave her thanks with a look. He nodded.
"It's over," he said, and walked out.
"Noin?" Zech's worried question brought her back and she looked to him, suddenly crumbling under his concerned gaze.
"Zechs," she said, and burst into tears. He came to her as quickly as he could and pulled her away from Heero and Relena, wrapping her securely in his arms. She leaned against him as she wept, supporting him even as he supported her.
"I tried," she sobbed, "I tried."
"I know," he answered, and his eyes closed in pain, white blonde locks of hair falling around her like a shield. She felt him hesitate. "I think…I think it was meant to be this way. Together in death as they could not be in life."
They stayed locked together, drawing strength from each other and it was only Sally's voice that broke them apart.
"He's still alive," she said to Hilde, her fingers holding the wound in Duo's stomach closed. "Barely, but still alive." Wufei, whom Noin had not seen enter, came to Sally's side and lifted Duo in his arms.
"The battle's over."
* * * *
Epilogue
And so it was as it has always been.
People survive and go on though hardships, gaining strength from the trials they live through. I know this because, though my fingers can no longer touch the violin strings, I can still teach.
I know this because of what I have seen, and what I still dream about.
We buried them together by the theater, a place they both loved, though not more than they loved each other. Every year we lay roses on their headstone and clear away the dust off their names as if reawakening some lost story that always lays on the edge of our minds, awaiting the time to be heard again. They are together as they were meant to be and we must be content with that. They would have wished it.
Zechs and Noin married and became King and Queen of a vast empire, for the Count had sent his men against Henry's on the border, and when the invading army learned their prince was dead, they surrendered to a man, swearing fealty to their new king and queen. The two lands were joined and war ended with such a small thing as a vow of love.
Duo did survive that horrible day at the Sanq palace, thanks to Sally's swift surgery and quicker thinking. He carried a large scar over his stomach but Hilde only proclaimed that it was a mark of his courage and a reminder of what had happened that day. Like the scars on my palms, I suppose, cut deeper when I killed two more guards to get Relena into the palace.
Wufei stayed with Sally, finding in her, the calm he needed. Their relationship was tenuous at times, but I could see that it would last forever. They were perfect opposites.
Trowa, Catherine, and Dorothy were the only ones who escaped the palace with their minds intact. Trowa had taken the girls out as soon as they had performed their jobs, wanting to keep them safe. They went back to the theater and it was there that I told them what happened.
You know, the one image that I can't get out of my head is the one when Heero reached for Relena's hand as he died, and Noin placing them together, the one thing that she had been able to do for them. I see it in my dreams at night and even in my waking thoughts. The only thing that has stayed with me as much is the memory of Duo, standing up on the stage as the curtain closed, his hair flung over his shoulder.
"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a tale of true love, both in life and death. I hope you keep with you always, their memories, and the songs that brought them to each other. Thank you, and never doubt the power of love, for it is greater even than the God of Death. Good night."
Flowers fall from the ceiling and the audience gets to its feet, clapping happily, some with tears in their eyes, but happy still.
For it was only a beautiful story.
Right?
THE END.
