( Chapter 5 ) .: Reunions :.
The night passed peacefully. No one shared where they had been or what they had done. Some girls looked dreamy, others thoughtful. Sally, however, had a very determined look in her eyes.
"Black Widow," Dorothy said quietly, approaching her when the other girls were talking. Since Treize had used the name so fondly and Dorothy was very fond of her sword teacher, she had picked up on the habit. "What did you find in the forest?" Sally made no move to speak. She stared intently through an opening in the lush trees where the moonlight shone down in silver ribbons. Dorothy thought for a moment. "Sally," she ventured. The older woman's head turned. "What would you do if you... if you had doubts about killing someon- something?" she asked with her head hung. Sally sighed.
"To each their own morals, Dory," she answered, looking again at the nearly full moon. "I cannot tell you what to do if you do not feel the desire to do it in your heart. I cannot tell you what is right and what is wrong." Dorothy nodded and returned to the other girls. Sally turned her head to watch her go. As the moonbeams fell upon Sally's hair, they turned it nearly silver with their luminosity. "No," Sally whispered. A picture of him flashed through her mind. "I cannot tell you right from wrong, not when I cannot decide for myself."
*~*
Hilde was the first to awaken to a slight thumping sound. Raising her head from the less-than-comfortable "pillow" she had been given, she listened harder and realized that it was hoofbeats, from the main road. They had made camp near there at Count Dekim's suggestion.
"Lucretia," she called softly to her sister, who stirred slightly. "Lucretia!" she called again. The older sister awoke.
"What now, Hilde?" she asked groggily.
"A rider on the road," Hilde said, gesturing. As if to prove her point, a horse whinnied, waking the other girls.
"Well, let's see who it is," Sally said. They ventured to the main road, where a messenger was waiting.
"What news?" Catherine asked.
"From the castle, miladies," the man said with as much of a bow as he could manage while on horseback. "Apparently, someone broke into the captured elven women's quarters last night." Sally looked up.
"And what did this intruder do? Steal? Ravage? Free the women?" she asked dryly.
"That's what confuses me, milady," the messenger said, obviously a little intimidated. "He didn't steal anything, didn't free the women... nothing! From what the elves said, he just spoke with them, asking about the woman who was executed back on the day of the trials." Sally grimaced. It was exactly who she thought it was.
"They wouldn't give the name of who it was?" Relena asked curiously. "If they obviously knew him, couldn't you make them tell who it was?"
"The Count has tried, but to no avail," said the messenger. "I was sent to warn you ladies, per chance you encounter this intruder while on the hunt."
"Thank you," Sally said. "We will be on the watch. I do not think anyone has seen him as of yet." The messenger looked a little suspicious, but said nothing more of the matter.
"Then I bid miladies adieu," he said, tipping his hat. "Giddap!" he commanded his horse, and rider and steed galloped back down the road. Lucretia stretched her arms over her head and tested her bow with an arrow.
"Well ladies, I think that it is time to resume the hunt," she said with a gleam in her eye. The others agreed most enthusiastically, retrieved their necessities, and split their separate ways.
*~*
'He always knows where to find me,' she thought impatiently. 'So where the heck is he?' She had been sitting on the tree stump for nearly half the day. True, they had awoken late and had the talk with the messenger, but it was past time for lunch already! She sighed and pulled her light meal from her sack. As she raised an apple to her mouth, it was snatched from her hand. She looked up to find him chewing, a large chunk missing from the fruit. 'I should have known.'
"Do you always show up for pretty girls, or is just the food?" she asked, almost teasingly. He didn't answer.
"Got anything else in there?" he asked, eyeing the small pack. She sighed again.
"Perhaps for a name," she replied with a grin. He looked surprised. She was being extremely friendly today. It was all Trowa's fault... showing too much compassion to humans could be dangerous...
'But, then again, she's an absolutely gorgeous human,' he reminded himself with a smile. "I'm the god of death," he said. Nothing more and nothing less. He smiled inwardly when he saw that the answer didn't please her.
"That's not a name," she said.
"Then what is yours, princess?" he countered. She halted. Fine. After all, Catherine said that one elf, what was his name? He had been very kind to her... She decided she was not afraid of this elven boy.
"Hilde," she replied. He grinned again.
"A beautiful name," he said. "To go with a very beautiful face." She blushed fiercely.
"And yours?" she asked, trying to hide her flushed cheeks.
"Duo," he said after a pause.
"Duo," she echoed. She looked him over again and decided that the name fit him. She noticed his gaze roving over he body as well and the blush that had been fading returned, full force. He laughed.
"No need to be shy, princess." He approached and sat next to her on the stump. He knew he could have had her if he so desired. He could have his way with any woman he set out to. But he got a strange feeling around this human girl... As he looked over her short, dark hair and slim frame, he didn't feel... normal. It was something different, not lust... something else. He had the sudden urge to...
"Oh!" she gasped as she felt his lips press against her cheek. She turned quickly to find herself staring into his eyes. This had happened before, and she knew how to defend herself... but she did not see his eyes glazed with passion or want, but she looked deep and hard into the endless purple, got closer, closed her eyes, and...
"Come on, princess," he said, standing up. "I want to show you something before nightfall." He grinned and offered her a hand. Surprised again but smiling, she took it and followed him through the woods.
*~*
Dorothy tracked her steps from the day before to reach the sunny little glen. She hoped he would be there with all of her heart. When she did not hear the beautiful music from the previous day, her heart sank, but she continued to walk. She reached the glen and saw no one. Sighing, she sat down on the rock where he had been the day before. And then she saw him, walking away in the forest, through the thick trees, eyes up to the clouds and not paying attention to anything else. 'I wonder if I should call out? Or would he try to run again?' she asked herself. She decided to simply follow him and see where he went. 'Off I go,' she thought. Turning to no one, she whispered as quietly as possible, "I decided the right way, Sally."
*~*
"How is it you find me everywhere?" Lucretia asked him.
"Because you are everywhere," he replied. She said nothing as they continued walking.
"I never thanked you," she said. He turned and raised an eyebrow.
"For?"
"Helping me; saving me from the gremlin." She gazed at the ground. He chuckled.
"You are indeed lucky. It is not just anyone that I can help like that," he said. She was confused. he continued. "I need a special kind of... connection, you might say, to be able to help you in such a way." He frowned. "The gremlin already has others under his control, others that I cannot help." She failed to understand, yet did not ask further questions. The mood was heavy.
"Come," he said lightly, brightening the atmosphere. "I'd like you to meet someone."
*~*
They sat next to each other, backs against a mossy tree. She held a tiny silver fox in her lap.
"He has taken a liking to you, Catherine," Trowa said with a smile. She grinned and continued to stroke the long, luxurious fur.
"He's stunning," she said. "And absolutely adorable!" The baby fox yawned, showing a mouthful of growing teeth, already sharp but possessing no strength as of yet. The small dell where they sat was stunning as well. A pool of rainbow water was near them, with droplets falling into it at intervals and seeming to change the color of the water when and where they fell. No sunlight penetrated the thick cover of the trees, yet there was a soft glow about the place that lit up everything beautifully. She was only somewhat startled when he reached his arms around her from behind and took her hands. He moved them to stroke the newborn fox behind the ears, teaching her what to do. She felt comfortable and safe here... with him. She leaned her head back onto his chest and closed her eyes, still feeling the light and warmth of the grove although she could not see it. His eyes widened at first but he gradually came to like her sitting there like that very much. He nuzzled his face gently into her hair, breathing in and smelling the sent of wildflowers. How she achieved this aroma he did not know, but he liked it. Then he remembered something.
"We may have company in a bit," he said quietly, still moving her hands on the baby fox. She opened her eyes slightly. "Really? Who?" she asked drowsily.
"You'll see, just wait," he replied, resting his chin on the top of her head. Then they both sat there in silence, enjoying the quiet rippling of the water next to them and the occasional small noise from the tiny fox.
*~*
She was absolutely fed up. They had been sitting on opposites sides of the brook for hours now, and he hadn't said a word. She glanced up at him from the flowers she was linking in her lap. He was still staring, she noted. She sighed. "What?" Her head moved this time to look at him. Hearing his voice again was slightly startling, but soothing.
"Pardon?" she said. He met her gaze.
"You seem bothered. What?"
"Never mind." They both went back to what they were doing, him staring and her linking flowers in her lap. She cursed herself. 'You could have told him, Relena,' she scolded. 'At least made polite conversation...' she gazed up at him again. 'My, he's the most handsome man I've ever seen' she thought. Daydreaming about him for a moment left her hands limp in her lap. Pushing the sudden, rather indecent thoughts out of her mind, she tried to concentrate on linking the flowers.
"Beautiful."
"Huh?" The flowers were idle again. 'Great, really articulate, Relena,' she berated herself.
"You are beautiful," he repeated. She smiled. She had never been one for embarrassment. She had a sudden burst of inspiration.
"Have you decided then?" she asked challengingly.
"Decided what?" His eyes followed her as she moved to a kneeling position on the ground.
"Whether to kill me or kiss me?" she asked quite seriously. Their eyes were locked for what seemed like an eternity to her.
"Relena," he half-said, half-growled. In a flash he was on her side of the bank, kissing her with everything he had. She barely had time to note that he remembered her name before she realized that she wasn't daydreaming this time.
*~*
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously as he led her along by the hand.
"To meet one of my friends," he said. "I think he'll like you a lot, Hilde." She smiled proudly.
"And who wouldn't?" she asked. She reached up absentmindedly with her free hand to run it through his hair. He halted. "What're you doing?" he asked, a little perplexed.
"I would die to have hair like this again," she murmured quietly. He grinned and his eyes shone.
"Well, until yours grows then, you can play with mine, how does that sound?" he asked. She looked surprised, then smiled widely.
"Really? Thank you!" she said, leaping toward him and giving him a hug. He laughed as he pulled away.
"All right, little princess. Let's keep moving!" he said, taking her hand again and leading her through the trees.
*~*
"Here, we're close now," he said to her.
"Thank you, Zechs." He smiled.
"You're welcome, Lucretia." They had fun with each other's names, it seemed. She liked saying his and he liked saying hers. He guided her into a small grove with a beautiful pool of many colors. Up against a tree she saw a familiar face. "Catherine?" she asked in disbelief. Was this her dear friend, sitting so comfortably, wrapped in the arms of an elf? But the elf that Catherine was with was handsome and seemed very gentle... Glancing over at Zechs, she decided that being wrapped in his arms couldn't be too bad, either. Looking down into her friend's lap, Lucretia gasped in delight. "Oh, what a darling!" she exclaimed, running to her friend and dropping to her knees. She tentatively stroked the silver creature. Catherine's friend laughed a little, as did Zechs.
"Lucretia, this is Trowa," Zechs said.
"Catherine, this is Zechs," Trowa introduced.
"Nice to meet you," both girls said in unison, then giggled. Just then, another person stepped into the thicket.
"Oh, hello Quatre!" Trowa said to his friend.
"Trowa! Zechs! I thought I might find you here," the new blonde said cheerfully. Lucretia studied him and caught a glimpse of something moving behind a tree. Looking very carefully, she quickly whispered something to Catherine, who looked curiously.
"Dory! Oh, Dory! Come on out, it's Catherine!" she exclaimed when she was sure. The elven boys spun as Dorothy stepped shyly toward them. Quatre looked surprised for a moment, then smiled hospitably.
"You're the girl who followed me yesterday, am I correct?" he asked, stepping toward her and catching her light blue eyes with his darker ones. She nodded, blushing slightly. He took her right hand and kissed it lightly. She was most pleasantly surprised. "My name is Quatre," the blonde boy said, looking up. "You are Dorothy?"
"Yes," she said, finding her voice. "And I believe that these two are... Zechs and Trowa?" she said carefully. She smiled. "From what I overheard, anyway." Lucretia smiled.
"Yes, that's right." To Quatre, she introduced herself and Catherine. Trowa laughed heartily.
"All right, now that we've all been introduced, I think this little one needs to go back to his mother," the brown haired boy said, picking up the tiny fox tenderly. He placed it near a small cove in the rocks near the pool and the baby crawled away to its mother, cooing thanks and good-byes. Catherine was sorry to see her little pet go, but smiled all the same.
"Well, what do you think?" Zechs said. "Shall we introduce them to the others?" he asked his fellow elves.
"I don't see why not, Duo would like them," Quatre pointed out.
"Hiiro might even be friendly," Trowa said.
"But... Wufei," they muttered in unison. The girls looked at the threesome curiously. Quatre smiled.
"Well, perhaps Wufei would even take a liking to them, we never know unless we try!"
"Good point. Shall we, ladies?" Zechs said, offering his arm to Lucretia. She smiled wholeheartedly and took his arm. "Let us be on our way then," she said to Catherine and Dorothy, who followed suite. And off they went again into the forest, a strange mix of elves and humans, brought together, it seemed, by some unseen force.
*~*
"Hiiro," she whispered as they lay on the grassy bank. He propped himself up on one elbow next to her. Reaching out with one hand, he fingered the chain around her neck.
"What's this?" he asked. His voice had become even sweeter. She smiled and sat up, using her arms for support.
"That's my silver necklace, my good luck," she explained. "My mother gave it to me when I was little, and it's a good luck charm," she said.
"It looks like something other than silver," he said thoughtfully. "We have a legend of a princess, who lived long ago, who wore a beautiful necklace like this one that was said to be made of stardust." He smiled. "I would think that you are this mythical elven princess," he began, "but you are much more beautiful that she could ever be." She, in turn, reached up to the stone around his neck.
"And what's this?" she asked. He smiled and closed his hand around hers.
"These are given to us at birth. Each is unique, there are no two the same. We are to give them to our wives on our wedding day," he said. Relena admired the sparkling jewel as he went on softly. "I think it would look lovely on you..." He was about to kiss her again when they heard voices.
"Ow, Duo! These bushes are prickly! Why do we have to go this way?"
'Hilde?" thought Relena. A pair stepped out of the brush near them, Hilde and a boy whom Relena did not know. Upon seeing them lying there and Hiiro bare-chested, the boy's eyes widened and he stifled a giggle.
"Oops... Uh, sorry Hiiro, did we interrupt something?" he asked with a silly grin. Hiiro grunted and shot him a deadly look.
"Duo..." Hiiro muttered. Relena silently thanked the heavens that she had her clothes on. Hilde blushed.
"So I'm guessing you're Hiiro," the dark-haired girl said, trying to ease the tension. "Relena, this is Duo." Relena smiled. "Hello, pleasure to meet you," she said politely. Hiiro rose and pulled on his tunic.
"Let's go," he said.
"What? Where to now?" Duo asked. "We just got here?"
"Wufei wanted to see the girls in the forest, remember? We have specific instructions, and we have to listen to him, at least for now. The elder would have to leave him in charge..." he added under his breath. "Let's go."
"Sorry princess," Duo said, noting Hilde's tired look. He scooped her up off her feet and into his arms. "Maybe this'll make it an easier trip?" Hilde smiled the brightest she had yet.
"Perhaps," she said teasingly. Hiiro took Relena's hand, and they set off into the woods.
:. *~*~* .:
Thanks for waiting for the chapter! I'll have the next one up as soon as I can, I'll work hard! ^.^ Don't expect it too quickly, though, please! ^.-