I don't own Gundam Wing or Escaflowne. These are my interpretations of their characters. I don't want to make any money. Etc........
Trowa Barton knocked on the hard metal door, his knuckles creating a sharp bang which seemed to echo along the ship's corridors. Shortly after arriving on Gaea, Heero had called the lesser lord to his private chambers. Trowa looked down as his fine but simple clothing. He was dressed in a black jacket with a high collar with a gold ring along the edge and a epaulet of the same material. Like all members of the inner circle he also wore a costly necklace with a precious red jewel on the end of it. Trowa was just about to knock a second time when the High Lord's cold voice caused him to freeze. "Enter."
Trowa slowly pushed the heavy door ajar and quietly walked through. The room was dimly lit, having no windows, and only two candles currently lit. The room was almost entirely empty except for a large, painstakingly carved wooden desk. The desk itself seemed to tell a story in the carving; many figures, place, and events could be seen jutting out of the woodwork. The surface of the escritoire was empty except for two gold candleholders and the two tall red candles that had been placed in them. Behind the desk, High Lord Heero leaned forward in his chair, staring intently into the flicking flames.
Trowa stood at attention for a few moments. He knew that when Heero was ready, he would speak. After a minute had gone by, Heero leaned back and waved a hand, "Sit."
Trowa sat down quietly in the chair opposite Heero's. Despite having served his lord for over a year, he still found Heero hard to predict. "Tell me," Heero broke the silence, "why I lead our army. All four of you are capable leaders, and all exempting you, were commanding some kind of military force. Even Lord Maxwell had a small regiment under his command. So why is it that I am the leader of our mighty army?"
Trowa chose his words carefully and replied slowly, "Because you are the born leader of the Dragon Clan. You are of the purest blood, untainted by that of normal mortals. Unlike the rest of the inner circle, your family has never been mixed with that of normal men. We, the descendants of the people of Atlantis are destined to rule all of Gaea. We are loyal to you because you are the direct descendant of the Draconian people and their power."
Heero seemed satisfied with Trowa's answer and he leaned back, "Good. You must always remember this, Emperor Barton. We will rule Gaea. It is our destiny to do so. The Draconian people will grow strong again."
"Yes, my lord," Trowa agreed quietly.
Heero sighed, his focus shifting to the matters at hand once more. "I have a mission for you, Trowa of the Barton family."
Trowa waited for his lord to explain. Heero continued, "As you know, several members of our people managed to survive the Mystic Moon's near destruction by transporting to the recently created Gaea. Our people were scattered, however, and soon our blood became diluted with that of the people living on Gaea. My father managed to locate the last members of our race and began creating an army loyal to the Dragon Clan to regain control of our creation. When he died I took it upon myself to fulfill his wishes. It was then that I located you, Emperor Quatre and Lord Duo. Emperor Wufei and his family had already been located by my father. It has been many years since we have been to the outside world which polluted our race. Knowing that we'd need information to plan our invasion, I began sending men loyal to the Dragon Clan out into the rest of Gaea for the sole purpose of reconnaissance. When they returned they reported that in recent events, a great empire known as Zaibach has recently collapsed and the nations have just begun to rebuild themselves after a devastating war."
"This could work to our advantage," Trowa murmured. Heero nodded, his face expressionless.
"Yes, but there may be complications. A great hero has recently arisen. He is rumored to be an unbeatable fighter as well as a wise and kind king. According to my sources he could be a great threat to us. However, rumors have a habit of being embellished. Your mission is to go to his country, the land of Fanelia, and locate this warrior. Go into his country as a poor traveler seeking shelter and assistance. Find out if he is as mighty as the legends say. Report back to me with your discovery."
Trowa stood and bowed his head to his liege. "Of course. I will carry out my mission."
"Good," Heero's face was the epitome of heartlessness, "His name is Van Fanel."
"This is incredible Van," Hitomi breathed, staring down the grassy slope to where Fanelia was situated. The last time she'd seen the countryside, it had been nothing but charred ruins, desolate and empty. Now, though, it was teeming with life. All of the buildings had been completely restored and several new ones had been constructed. The streets were filled with activity as people bustled around, going about their daily business. The sun shone brightly, basking everything with warm light. Even the air had a fresh scent of new life.
"We've worked hard," Van put his hand on Hitomi's shoulder, "to try to make it what it once was."
"It's amazing, Van," Hitomi exclaimed in awe and then, remembering Van's tutor and mentor's last wish, added softly, "Vargas would have been proud of you."
Before Van could reply, however, a high pitched voice from down the road interjected. "Master Van!" Merle cried out, running on all fours towards them, "Hitomi!"
Hitomi laughed as Merle leapt into her arms. The cat-girl was covered in dust after her long dash and Hitomi's school uniform was instantly filthy. Merle licked Hitomi's face happily before springing into Van's arms. "Master Van!" she squealed in delight, "You've brought back Hitomi!"
"That's right," Van confirmed Merle's statement, setting her on the ground gently, "Hitomi is going to be staying with us for a while."
"Fine," Merle flipped her tail, "as long as you two can keep your hands off each other while you're around me."
Hitomi blushed as Van protested violently and Merle giggled seeing the couple's discomfort. "It's good to be back," she thought to herself and let out a deep breath, letting much of the tension she didn't know she had been feeling wash away.
"Are we going to stay here all day?" Merle asked impatiently, tugging on Van's hand, "Let's show Hitomi all the work we've done."
"Right," Van agreed and turning to Hitomi, asked, "Shall we go then?
As Van lead, Hitomi and Merle talked quietly. "Are you sure you don't mind me being here?" Hitomi asked, unsure of what she would do if Merle did have a problem with her presence. Even though the two had come to some sort of an understanding before she had left, Hitomi wanted to be sure there was no tension between them.
"You're not nearly as bad as the Relena girl," Merle replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Hitomi felt a jolt of apprehension and quickly asked, "Who's Relena?"
Still wrinkling her nose, Merle replied, "Relena is a diplomatic person from a little country called the Sanc Kingdom. She's visiting Fanelia so she can talk about some sort of occupation or something boring like that. But I don't want her getting too close to Van." More loudly, Merle called up to Van, "When is Relena leaving?"
Van turned his head and replied, "It depends on how long our peace talks take. She's discussing Zaibach's rule over her country with me." To Hitomi, Van explained, "The remainder of Zaibach's forces have been retreating steadily ever since the big battle. The Sanc Kingdom is a country they took over many years ago. Miss Relena is trying to figure out a way to gain independence without any fighting."
"I see," Hitomi murmured. To herself she added, "I hope this Miss Relena doesn't have her eyes on Van. Maybe I should do a Tarot reading for her and find out." Hitomi quickly rejected that thought, "No, I gave up Tarot reading because it caused nothing but trouble and I will stand by that. I'm sure I have nothing to worry about."
"Oh," Merle piped up again, "and there's a traveler that arrived while you were gone. He wants to stay in Master Van's country for a while."
Van smiled to himself and slowed down so the pair could catch up to him as they reached the town. "I'm sure that will be fine. I'll have to meet this traveler." The triad entered Fanelia and unknown to them, Trowa was watching.
Trowa Barton knocked on the hard metal door, his knuckles creating a sharp bang which seemed to echo along the ship's corridors. Shortly after arriving on Gaea, Heero had called the lesser lord to his private chambers. Trowa looked down as his fine but simple clothing. He was dressed in a black jacket with a high collar with a gold ring along the edge and a epaulet of the same material. Like all members of the inner circle he also wore a costly necklace with a precious red jewel on the end of it. Trowa was just about to knock a second time when the High Lord's cold voice caused him to freeze. "Enter."
Trowa slowly pushed the heavy door ajar and quietly walked through. The room was dimly lit, having no windows, and only two candles currently lit. The room was almost entirely empty except for a large, painstakingly carved wooden desk. The desk itself seemed to tell a story in the carving; many figures, place, and events could be seen jutting out of the woodwork. The surface of the escritoire was empty except for two gold candleholders and the two tall red candles that had been placed in them. Behind the desk, High Lord Heero leaned forward in his chair, staring intently into the flicking flames.
Trowa stood at attention for a few moments. He knew that when Heero was ready, he would speak. After a minute had gone by, Heero leaned back and waved a hand, "Sit."
Trowa sat down quietly in the chair opposite Heero's. Despite having served his lord for over a year, he still found Heero hard to predict. "Tell me," Heero broke the silence, "why I lead our army. All four of you are capable leaders, and all exempting you, were commanding some kind of military force. Even Lord Maxwell had a small regiment under his command. So why is it that I am the leader of our mighty army?"
Trowa chose his words carefully and replied slowly, "Because you are the born leader of the Dragon Clan. You are of the purest blood, untainted by that of normal mortals. Unlike the rest of the inner circle, your family has never been mixed with that of normal men. We, the descendants of the people of Atlantis are destined to rule all of Gaea. We are loyal to you because you are the direct descendant of the Draconian people and their power."
Heero seemed satisfied with Trowa's answer and he leaned back, "Good. You must always remember this, Emperor Barton. We will rule Gaea. It is our destiny to do so. The Draconian people will grow strong again."
"Yes, my lord," Trowa agreed quietly.
Heero sighed, his focus shifting to the matters at hand once more. "I have a mission for you, Trowa of the Barton family."
Trowa waited for his lord to explain. Heero continued, "As you know, several members of our people managed to survive the Mystic Moon's near destruction by transporting to the recently created Gaea. Our people were scattered, however, and soon our blood became diluted with that of the people living on Gaea. My father managed to locate the last members of our race and began creating an army loyal to the Dragon Clan to regain control of our creation. When he died I took it upon myself to fulfill his wishes. It was then that I located you, Emperor Quatre and Lord Duo. Emperor Wufei and his family had already been located by my father. It has been many years since we have been to the outside world which polluted our race. Knowing that we'd need information to plan our invasion, I began sending men loyal to the Dragon Clan out into the rest of Gaea for the sole purpose of reconnaissance. When they returned they reported that in recent events, a great empire known as Zaibach has recently collapsed and the nations have just begun to rebuild themselves after a devastating war."
"This could work to our advantage," Trowa murmured. Heero nodded, his face expressionless.
"Yes, but there may be complications. A great hero has recently arisen. He is rumored to be an unbeatable fighter as well as a wise and kind king. According to my sources he could be a great threat to us. However, rumors have a habit of being embellished. Your mission is to go to his country, the land of Fanelia, and locate this warrior. Go into his country as a poor traveler seeking shelter and assistance. Find out if he is as mighty as the legends say. Report back to me with your discovery."
Trowa stood and bowed his head to his liege. "Of course. I will carry out my mission."
"Good," Heero's face was the epitome of heartlessness, "His name is Van Fanel."
"This is incredible Van," Hitomi breathed, staring down the grassy slope to where Fanelia was situated. The last time she'd seen the countryside, it had been nothing but charred ruins, desolate and empty. Now, though, it was teeming with life. All of the buildings had been completely restored and several new ones had been constructed. The streets were filled with activity as people bustled around, going about their daily business. The sun shone brightly, basking everything with warm light. Even the air had a fresh scent of new life.
"We've worked hard," Van put his hand on Hitomi's shoulder, "to try to make it what it once was."
"It's amazing, Van," Hitomi exclaimed in awe and then, remembering Van's tutor and mentor's last wish, added softly, "Vargas would have been proud of you."
Before Van could reply, however, a high pitched voice from down the road interjected. "Master Van!" Merle cried out, running on all fours towards them, "Hitomi!"
Hitomi laughed as Merle leapt into her arms. The cat-girl was covered in dust after her long dash and Hitomi's school uniform was instantly filthy. Merle licked Hitomi's face happily before springing into Van's arms. "Master Van!" she squealed in delight, "You've brought back Hitomi!"
"That's right," Van confirmed Merle's statement, setting her on the ground gently, "Hitomi is going to be staying with us for a while."
"Fine," Merle flipped her tail, "as long as you two can keep your hands off each other while you're around me."
Hitomi blushed as Van protested violently and Merle giggled seeing the couple's discomfort. "It's good to be back," she thought to herself and let out a deep breath, letting much of the tension she didn't know she had been feeling wash away.
"Are we going to stay here all day?" Merle asked impatiently, tugging on Van's hand, "Let's show Hitomi all the work we've done."
"Right," Van agreed and turning to Hitomi, asked, "Shall we go then?
As Van lead, Hitomi and Merle talked quietly. "Are you sure you don't mind me being here?" Hitomi asked, unsure of what she would do if Merle did have a problem with her presence. Even though the two had come to some sort of an understanding before she had left, Hitomi wanted to be sure there was no tension between them.
"You're not nearly as bad as the Relena girl," Merle replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Hitomi felt a jolt of apprehension and quickly asked, "Who's Relena?"
Still wrinkling her nose, Merle replied, "Relena is a diplomatic person from a little country called the Sanc Kingdom. She's visiting Fanelia so she can talk about some sort of occupation or something boring like that. But I don't want her getting too close to Van." More loudly, Merle called up to Van, "When is Relena leaving?"
Van turned his head and replied, "It depends on how long our peace talks take. She's discussing Zaibach's rule over her country with me." To Hitomi, Van explained, "The remainder of Zaibach's forces have been retreating steadily ever since the big battle. The Sanc Kingdom is a country they took over many years ago. Miss Relena is trying to figure out a way to gain independence without any fighting."
"I see," Hitomi murmured. To herself she added, "I hope this Miss Relena doesn't have her eyes on Van. Maybe I should do a Tarot reading for her and find out." Hitomi quickly rejected that thought, "No, I gave up Tarot reading because it caused nothing but trouble and I will stand by that. I'm sure I have nothing to worry about."
"Oh," Merle piped up again, "and there's a traveler that arrived while you were gone. He wants to stay in Master Van's country for a while."
Van smiled to himself and slowed down so the pair could catch up to him as they reached the town. "I'm sure that will be fine. I'll have to meet this traveler." The triad entered Fanelia and unknown to them, Trowa was watching.