I don't own Gundam Wing or Escaflowne. These are my interpretations of their characters. I don't want to make any money. Etc........
Once again Hitomi found herself in the midst of a great battle. All around her a fierce clash of several mighty armies filled the air with the sounds of suffering. A heavy rain began to fall, completing the atmosphere. A nearby soldier ran, screaming, towards an enemy Guymelef. With a flash of remembrance, Hitomi suddenly realized that she knew what was going to happen next. "No!" she screamed, her feeling of powerlessness melting away. The girl from the Mystic Moon dashed forward, trying to stop the graphic scene that she knew would follow. As her legs pounded along the wet ground, propelling her forward, Hitomi's vision blurred. As her perspective changed, she could still make out the vague figure of the boy being spit by the snake-like shafts.
To her shock, Hitomi found herself at the top of a tall sheer wall of rock. Barely managing to keep herself from charging off the edge, Hitomi stumbled to a hasty halt. Turning, she saw that she was alone on a tall piece of rock overlooking the entire battlefield. "Why am I here?" she said aloud, confused at her sudden change in location. Hitomi reached for her pendant, which she had taken from its secure location in a locked drawer the day before, and squeezed it as if it could give her answers.
Suddenly, without warning, Hitomi felt a heavy gust of wind from behind her, pushing her forward. Barely managing to maintain her balance to keep from falling, Hitomi looked upwards to see a familiar shape soaring overhead. "Escaflowne!" she breathed as the dragon-shaped Guymelef flew swiftly past. To her relief she saw that Van was standing on the barely noticeable platform where the wings met.
Before she could cry his name, however, a second serpent flew overhead. "What?" she exclaimed in surprise and confusion. The other dragon was dark gray, almost black and its wings were blood red. Out of the mouth came spurts of flame and to her surprise, she saw that its crimson eyes seemed to glow with life.
On its back was an unfamiliar figure clad in a eloquent black garment with several red sashes and a belt with an ornate sword sheath complete with a gold handle sticking out. In an instant, the figure and his suit were gone, following Van closely.
The two serpents weaned through the clouds, occasionally making dives at each other. Around them, lightning flashed though the sky was devoid of any rain. Hitomi watched, wide eyed as the strange Guymelef shot a pillar of flame, nearly missing Escaflowne as Van pulled into a sharp turn. Below them, the battle raged on, unaffected by the test of skill going on above them.
Suddenly Hitomi got the feeling she was being watched. She quickly spun round to see the very figure from the strange Guymelef staring at her with an expression of confusion. "Who are you?" he asked bewilderedly.
"What do you mean?" Hitomi stammered, suddenly realizing that she was asleep and dreaming, "How are you in my dream?"
The other figures' eyes narrowed as he began to a get a grip on what was going on. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on Hitomi's necklace. "That pendant!" he asserted, "Where did you get it?"
Hitomi looked down and to her surprise saw that her grandmother's necklace was glowing. "Why do you ask?" she inquired, avoiding the stranger's question. Then she realized that around his neck was a similar piece of jewelry. The ruby that rested against his chest was even larger than hers and it too was glowing.
"Who are you!?" the serious young man demanded again, this time stepping forward and taking hold of her arms and beginning to shake her.
"Hitomi!" the girl cried out, fear gripping her heart.
The boy tightened his grip on her arms and said the name back to her, "Hitomi!" As her vision began to go bleary, Hitomi realized that someone else was calling her name. "Hitomi! Hitomi!"
With a jolt, Hitomi shot up from where she'd been sleeping. Van was holding her arms and repeating her name. When he realized she was awake, he quickly stopped and let go. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that. You just wouldn't wake up!"
"It's all right," Hitomi stammered, regaining a sense of her surroundings, "What is it?"
Van smiled, glad that she was all right. She had once again managed to give him quite a scare. "An airship has been sighted heading this way. It bears the symbol of the dragon."
"Oh!" Hitomi understood the implications almost instantly. "I'll come with you to meet them," she said, getting slowly to her feet.
"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" Van asked with concern, causing a flare of annoyance across Hitomi's face.
"I'm sure!" she informed him, stretching and facing the young king, "Let's go."
As Van led the way out to the courtyard, Hitomi remembered her strange dream. "I wonder what that was all about," she thought to herself. But as soon as Merle appeared the strange figure was pushed out of her mind as her curiosity about the new visitors took precedence.
Despite his strong will, Heero could feel his concentration slipping as the girl's reality began to change. "No!" he thought angrily, reaching with his mind to retain the connection. In spite of his efforts, the mighty lord was unable to preserve link and with an unpleasant jolt, was torn from the girl's mind.
In his private quarters, Heero found himself covered in a cold sweat and gasping for air. Gone was the battlefield and the conflict taking place there. Gone was the girl who called herself Hitomi and who had in her possession one of the few items left over from the Draconian's reign.
Heero took a deep breath, annoyed at himself for getting so flustered. He would remain calm and think through the situation logically. The High Lord had been checking up on his inner circle's progress as he usually did. First he had prepared the necessary ritual and put himself in the right frame of mind to make the link. Next, he had activated the Master Pendant and allowed its energies to flow through him. It was a routine that he had become comfortable with.
The ritual was the method in which Heero checked up on the activities of the inner circle. He would contact the counsel's pendant and establish the necessary link. Once the proper connection had been made Heero would then enter the mind of the wearer. Often he used this to give orders which would be received instantly. Other times he would allow the person to actually "see" him though nobody else would be able to. Most of the time, however, Heero would use the power to check up on his servants and make sure that they were carrying out his orders adequately. It was these times when Heero chose not to make himself known. The only sign of his actions was that both rubies began to glow once contact had been established. During this inspection, the High Lord would simply scan the thoughts of the host. Of course, the inner circle never knew how Heero was able to know what they were doing and thinking and that was how their leader liked it.
This time, however, things went differently. Because he had to contact the pendant before the host himself, Heero couldn't actually tell who he was contacting until after he had proceeded to touch their mind. After checking up on Duo and Wufei, Heero had proceeded to move on to the next pendant. Instead of contacting Trowa's as was the usual pattern, he found himself thrust into the thoughts of a new individual. To his further shock, Heero found that the person could sense his presence. The girl who later identified herself as Hitomi was also able to see Heero's physical presence which had manifested itself against his will.
After the short questioning with the girl, the connection began to fade. Despite Heero's efforts, he was unable to keep control of the magicks that tied the two pendants together and the link was shattered. To his satisfaction, Heero noted his breathing had returned to normal.
The High Lord stood, noting to his irritation that his whole body was sore. Despite the many questions he had, Heero was sure of one thing: Trowa had been right to try and eliminate Hitomi. She was a potential disaster waiting to happen. Already she knew far too much. The High Lord frowned, she had been lucky the first time, but this mere girl would not survive a second assassination attempt. The Draconian lord started to contact Trowa and then stopped short. "No," Heero thought, "I cannot risk another mind link. It is too risky."
To his immense aggravation, Heero realized that he couldn't afford to attempt to contact anyone using the pendant system- not unless Hitomi was dead or her pendant destroyed. "Very well," Heero said aloud, smiling dangerously, "If that's how you want it, Hitomi. Very soon one of my deadliest assassins will be paying you a visit. Then we will see who is stronger." Heero felt his control over the world returning to him and he began to laugh and continued to do so till cruel tears streamed down his face.
Allen looked up at the bright sun, feeling the warm glow of its beautiful light on his face. It was a beautiful day, still and peaceful. "It might be one of the last peaceful days Gaea will see for quite some time," Allen though to himself. He had just come from a serious talk with Dryden, Asturia's king.
Dryden had come back from his life as a merchant after a season and had once again offered to earn Millerna's trust and affections. King Allen had died of an incurable illness shortly after the Gaea War. The period of mourning had been jointed with one of reconstruction as people all over Gaea discovered new unity as they worked together to rebuild the damages caused by war.
Several months later Millerna and Dryden were married. Though Allen was still unsure of his feelings toward the Queen, he bore no feelings of ill will towards Dryden. An initial grudge had turned into newfound respect toward the current King. Despite his somewhat flighty ways, the former merchant had turned out to be a wise and compassionate ruler. The people of Asturia loved him and he in turn loved them, doing his best to strengthen the country in every way.
Now that strength was once again threatened. Dryden had summoned him to tell him of reports from Daedalus. Though they seemed farfetched, the rumors clamed that the kingdom had come under attack by a powerful outside force and its military had been defeated. Furthermore, the army appeared to be large enough to carry on its offensive to other nations. This could mean severe danger to Asturia as well the surrounding kingdoms. Asturia's king had chosen to continue to put all his trust in Allen to defend their nation in times of war as well as peace. This meant that Dryden had chosen to believe the rumors, or at least been unsettled by them. He would once again have to make a decision that would affect the lives of his countrymen, his friends, and most importantly his family.
Now that Serena had returned, Allen had to think about her future as well as his own. This made the knight feel the burden of leadership more heavily than ever before. Though initially reserved and abashed, she had turned into quiet the independent thinker. Serena insisted on being educated as well as any male and planned on becoming one of Asturia's official researchers on fate manipulation. Instead of trying to control destiny and chance, Allen's younger sister wanted to learn about it and understand it. Her drive to discover the new and unknown was a credit to the family.
Allen's thoughts were disrupted when he heard sounds of laughter coming from the courtyard. Glad for a chance to escape from his dismal musing, Allen continued along the path and looked around the corner where the sounds had been coming from. In the center of the large open area in the middle of the castle, Zechs and Noin were playfully having it out in a mock duel.
Allen walked up to his two friends, politely remaining silent as not to disturb their concentration. The pair were each armed with a blunt sabre, Asturian Knights never drew their real weapons except for in events of danger, and facing each other. Through the masks, Allen could barely see that their smiles were gone and had been replaced by looks of profound determination.
Suddenly without warning, Noin lunged only to be parried by Zechs who in turn tried to draw her out by making a slash to her knee. Instead of bringing her sword down to block as her opponent wanted, Noin jumped backwards and stabbed towards Zechs' mask. To his satisfaction, Allen saw that the skillful knight had been prepared for such a move and had time to swing his blade up and knock hers aside. All of this had taken place in a few seconds.
The duel proceeded until eventually Zechs managed to pull off an impressive maneuver which left Noin's left flank open and with quick stab it was all over. Both of the two fencers straightened and saluted, raising their sabres so that the blades were facing up before shaking hands.
Noin took off her mask with a slightly angry expression on her face. "Good match, Zechs," she said with a coldly polite nod.
Zechs nodded back, "You too. If you hadn't been a little bit too eager toward the end you would have beaten me."
"Maybe," Noin agreed, still not satisfied. As Zechs turned to greet their observer, her expression changed and suddenly she leaned forward and jabbed her boyfriend in the rear with the end of her sabre. Startled, Zechs gave a little yelp and stumbled forward, nearly falling over.
Allen struggled to keep a straight face as he saw Zechs' expression. The white-haired knight spun around as Noin burst out laughing. "Oh, aren't we the gracious loser, Miss Noin?" he asked somewhat angrily.
"Oh Zechs, don't be such a bad sport," the female warrior scolded, still chuckling as Zechs rubbed his hurt posterior.
"I'm going to have to get you for this," Zechs said seriously with a glint in his eye. Allen began to get worried. Maybe he should interfere. Zechs let out a growl from the back of his throat and rushed at the smaller figure. Noin gave out a shriek and Allen took a step forward when he realized she was laughing. Zechs grabbed a hold of his lover and spun her in the air, his laughter joining hers. After several more turns, the strong young man set her down and the pair turned somewhat dizzily to Allen.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Noin said cheerily. The long-haired blonde smiled. As long as they weren't on a mission or participating in a briefing, the young woman would drop the title. As soon as they were in an informal context she was one of the friendliest and liveliest people he knew.
"It is fine," Allen waved a hand dismissively, "You two are quite impressive."
"Thank you," Zechs said for both of them. As Noin sat down on one of the stone benches that littered the courtyard, Zechs asked him, "Would you like to have a go?"
Allen smiled at his friend, nodding, "Yes, I would. Thank you," he added as Noin tossed him her sabre and mask. It was a tight fit, but Allen managed to slip the protective headgear over his head.
"Ready?" Noin asked both fencers, deciding to moderate the match between the two skillful swordsmen.
"Yes, ma'am," both fencers replied, assuming an on guard stance.
"Fence!" Noin called out and the match began.
As Noin observed later, it was a close match. Both fencers were extremely skilled. Though their styles were different, Allen and Zechs were dead even in almost every way. Even after half an hour, neither person had managed to score a hit. Frustrated by his lack of progress, Zechs began to get aggressive, his swings becoming less fluid and more like chops than slashes. It was a side of her boyfriend that Noin rarely saw.
Though he was usually charming, well mannered and sometimes even playful, every once in a while Zechs would display this incredible rage. The reason lay in his past, Noin was certain of that. At some point in Zechs' life something terrible had happened to him. Something that had scarred him, maybe forever. Sometimes, when he got a distant look in his eye and stared dreamily off into space, she could see it in his eyes. He harbored a great pain and with it an incredible fury towards someone or something. One of these days he would tell her what it was. She never asked him about it, Noin knew that he would tell her when the time came. And when that happened, she would help him recover from it so that he could finally achieve true peace of mind.
The match was drawing to a close now. Zechs was pushing Allen backwards, though the cost was evident in his form. Finally, her best friend swung mightily, knocking Allen backwards so that he lost his balance. With a roar of triumph, Zechs launched himself into the air, his sword raised over his head. Noin stood quickly and opened her mouth to try to yell something to calm Zechs but Allen was faster. With amazing speed he rolled out of the way and spun round. With a thud, Zechs hit the ground but before he could turn, Allen's blade was at his throat.
"The match is over, Zechs," he said at the younger man who was breathing heavily.
Both men stood now, saluting each other the same way Zechs and Noin had done less than an hour before. Zechs took off his mask, his eyes still holding some of the ferocity he'd had moments before. Allen's expression was unreadable as he reached forward to shake Zechs' hand. "Good job," he congratulated Zechs, though he himself was the victor, "Though you got a little bit too aggressive towards the end. Your anger is what cost you the victory."
The anger faded, to Noin's relief, and the knight smiled at his friend and mentor, "I'll keep that in mind," he replied.
Noin quickly broke the silence that followed, eager to forget Zechs' momentary loss of self-control. "How about if we go and get something to drink?" she asked.
Both men smiled and Zechs took her arm, "That is a good idea," he agreed.
"Shall we?" Allen asked politely, smiling at his friends. But as triad walked he caught Noin's eye and they shared an understanding. Neither of them understood what had happened in Zechs Merquise's past but they both knew that one day they would have to find out.
Once again Hitomi found herself in the midst of a great battle. All around her a fierce clash of several mighty armies filled the air with the sounds of suffering. A heavy rain began to fall, completing the atmosphere. A nearby soldier ran, screaming, towards an enemy Guymelef. With a flash of remembrance, Hitomi suddenly realized that she knew what was going to happen next. "No!" she screamed, her feeling of powerlessness melting away. The girl from the Mystic Moon dashed forward, trying to stop the graphic scene that she knew would follow. As her legs pounded along the wet ground, propelling her forward, Hitomi's vision blurred. As her perspective changed, she could still make out the vague figure of the boy being spit by the snake-like shafts.
To her shock, Hitomi found herself at the top of a tall sheer wall of rock. Barely managing to keep herself from charging off the edge, Hitomi stumbled to a hasty halt. Turning, she saw that she was alone on a tall piece of rock overlooking the entire battlefield. "Why am I here?" she said aloud, confused at her sudden change in location. Hitomi reached for her pendant, which she had taken from its secure location in a locked drawer the day before, and squeezed it as if it could give her answers.
Suddenly, without warning, Hitomi felt a heavy gust of wind from behind her, pushing her forward. Barely managing to maintain her balance to keep from falling, Hitomi looked upwards to see a familiar shape soaring overhead. "Escaflowne!" she breathed as the dragon-shaped Guymelef flew swiftly past. To her relief she saw that Van was standing on the barely noticeable platform where the wings met.
Before she could cry his name, however, a second serpent flew overhead. "What?" she exclaimed in surprise and confusion. The other dragon was dark gray, almost black and its wings were blood red. Out of the mouth came spurts of flame and to her surprise, she saw that its crimson eyes seemed to glow with life.
On its back was an unfamiliar figure clad in a eloquent black garment with several red sashes and a belt with an ornate sword sheath complete with a gold handle sticking out. In an instant, the figure and his suit were gone, following Van closely.
The two serpents weaned through the clouds, occasionally making dives at each other. Around them, lightning flashed though the sky was devoid of any rain. Hitomi watched, wide eyed as the strange Guymelef shot a pillar of flame, nearly missing Escaflowne as Van pulled into a sharp turn. Below them, the battle raged on, unaffected by the test of skill going on above them.
Suddenly Hitomi got the feeling she was being watched. She quickly spun round to see the very figure from the strange Guymelef staring at her with an expression of confusion. "Who are you?" he asked bewilderedly.
"What do you mean?" Hitomi stammered, suddenly realizing that she was asleep and dreaming, "How are you in my dream?"
The other figures' eyes narrowed as he began to a get a grip on what was going on. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on Hitomi's necklace. "That pendant!" he asserted, "Where did you get it?"
Hitomi looked down and to her surprise saw that her grandmother's necklace was glowing. "Why do you ask?" she inquired, avoiding the stranger's question. Then she realized that around his neck was a similar piece of jewelry. The ruby that rested against his chest was even larger than hers and it too was glowing.
"Who are you!?" the serious young man demanded again, this time stepping forward and taking hold of her arms and beginning to shake her.
"Hitomi!" the girl cried out, fear gripping her heart.
The boy tightened his grip on her arms and said the name back to her, "Hitomi!" As her vision began to go bleary, Hitomi realized that someone else was calling her name. "Hitomi! Hitomi!"
With a jolt, Hitomi shot up from where she'd been sleeping. Van was holding her arms and repeating her name. When he realized she was awake, he quickly stopped and let go. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that. You just wouldn't wake up!"
"It's all right," Hitomi stammered, regaining a sense of her surroundings, "What is it?"
Van smiled, glad that she was all right. She had once again managed to give him quite a scare. "An airship has been sighted heading this way. It bears the symbol of the dragon."
"Oh!" Hitomi understood the implications almost instantly. "I'll come with you to meet them," she said, getting slowly to her feet.
"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" Van asked with concern, causing a flare of annoyance across Hitomi's face.
"I'm sure!" she informed him, stretching and facing the young king, "Let's go."
As Van led the way out to the courtyard, Hitomi remembered her strange dream. "I wonder what that was all about," she thought to herself. But as soon as Merle appeared the strange figure was pushed out of her mind as her curiosity about the new visitors took precedence.
Despite his strong will, Heero could feel his concentration slipping as the girl's reality began to change. "No!" he thought angrily, reaching with his mind to retain the connection. In spite of his efforts, the mighty lord was unable to preserve link and with an unpleasant jolt, was torn from the girl's mind.
In his private quarters, Heero found himself covered in a cold sweat and gasping for air. Gone was the battlefield and the conflict taking place there. Gone was the girl who called herself Hitomi and who had in her possession one of the few items left over from the Draconian's reign.
Heero took a deep breath, annoyed at himself for getting so flustered. He would remain calm and think through the situation logically. The High Lord had been checking up on his inner circle's progress as he usually did. First he had prepared the necessary ritual and put himself in the right frame of mind to make the link. Next, he had activated the Master Pendant and allowed its energies to flow through him. It was a routine that he had become comfortable with.
The ritual was the method in which Heero checked up on the activities of the inner circle. He would contact the counsel's pendant and establish the necessary link. Once the proper connection had been made Heero would then enter the mind of the wearer. Often he used this to give orders which would be received instantly. Other times he would allow the person to actually "see" him though nobody else would be able to. Most of the time, however, Heero would use the power to check up on his servants and make sure that they were carrying out his orders adequately. It was these times when Heero chose not to make himself known. The only sign of his actions was that both rubies began to glow once contact had been established. During this inspection, the High Lord would simply scan the thoughts of the host. Of course, the inner circle never knew how Heero was able to know what they were doing and thinking and that was how their leader liked it.
This time, however, things went differently. Because he had to contact the pendant before the host himself, Heero couldn't actually tell who he was contacting until after he had proceeded to touch their mind. After checking up on Duo and Wufei, Heero had proceeded to move on to the next pendant. Instead of contacting Trowa's as was the usual pattern, he found himself thrust into the thoughts of a new individual. To his further shock, Heero found that the person could sense his presence. The girl who later identified herself as Hitomi was also able to see Heero's physical presence which had manifested itself against his will.
After the short questioning with the girl, the connection began to fade. Despite Heero's efforts, he was unable to keep control of the magicks that tied the two pendants together and the link was shattered. To his satisfaction, Heero noted his breathing had returned to normal.
The High Lord stood, noting to his irritation that his whole body was sore. Despite the many questions he had, Heero was sure of one thing: Trowa had been right to try and eliminate Hitomi. She was a potential disaster waiting to happen. Already she knew far too much. The High Lord frowned, she had been lucky the first time, but this mere girl would not survive a second assassination attempt. The Draconian lord started to contact Trowa and then stopped short. "No," Heero thought, "I cannot risk another mind link. It is too risky."
To his immense aggravation, Heero realized that he couldn't afford to attempt to contact anyone using the pendant system- not unless Hitomi was dead or her pendant destroyed. "Very well," Heero said aloud, smiling dangerously, "If that's how you want it, Hitomi. Very soon one of my deadliest assassins will be paying you a visit. Then we will see who is stronger." Heero felt his control over the world returning to him and he began to laugh and continued to do so till cruel tears streamed down his face.
Allen looked up at the bright sun, feeling the warm glow of its beautiful light on his face. It was a beautiful day, still and peaceful. "It might be one of the last peaceful days Gaea will see for quite some time," Allen though to himself. He had just come from a serious talk with Dryden, Asturia's king.
Dryden had come back from his life as a merchant after a season and had once again offered to earn Millerna's trust and affections. King Allen had died of an incurable illness shortly after the Gaea War. The period of mourning had been jointed with one of reconstruction as people all over Gaea discovered new unity as they worked together to rebuild the damages caused by war.
Several months later Millerna and Dryden were married. Though Allen was still unsure of his feelings toward the Queen, he bore no feelings of ill will towards Dryden. An initial grudge had turned into newfound respect toward the current King. Despite his somewhat flighty ways, the former merchant had turned out to be a wise and compassionate ruler. The people of Asturia loved him and he in turn loved them, doing his best to strengthen the country in every way.
Now that strength was once again threatened. Dryden had summoned him to tell him of reports from Daedalus. Though they seemed farfetched, the rumors clamed that the kingdom had come under attack by a powerful outside force and its military had been defeated. Furthermore, the army appeared to be large enough to carry on its offensive to other nations. This could mean severe danger to Asturia as well the surrounding kingdoms. Asturia's king had chosen to continue to put all his trust in Allen to defend their nation in times of war as well as peace. This meant that Dryden had chosen to believe the rumors, or at least been unsettled by them. He would once again have to make a decision that would affect the lives of his countrymen, his friends, and most importantly his family.
Now that Serena had returned, Allen had to think about her future as well as his own. This made the knight feel the burden of leadership more heavily than ever before. Though initially reserved and abashed, she had turned into quiet the independent thinker. Serena insisted on being educated as well as any male and planned on becoming one of Asturia's official researchers on fate manipulation. Instead of trying to control destiny and chance, Allen's younger sister wanted to learn about it and understand it. Her drive to discover the new and unknown was a credit to the family.
Allen's thoughts were disrupted when he heard sounds of laughter coming from the courtyard. Glad for a chance to escape from his dismal musing, Allen continued along the path and looked around the corner where the sounds had been coming from. In the center of the large open area in the middle of the castle, Zechs and Noin were playfully having it out in a mock duel.
Allen walked up to his two friends, politely remaining silent as not to disturb their concentration. The pair were each armed with a blunt sabre, Asturian Knights never drew their real weapons except for in events of danger, and facing each other. Through the masks, Allen could barely see that their smiles were gone and had been replaced by looks of profound determination.
Suddenly without warning, Noin lunged only to be parried by Zechs who in turn tried to draw her out by making a slash to her knee. Instead of bringing her sword down to block as her opponent wanted, Noin jumped backwards and stabbed towards Zechs' mask. To his satisfaction, Allen saw that the skillful knight had been prepared for such a move and had time to swing his blade up and knock hers aside. All of this had taken place in a few seconds.
The duel proceeded until eventually Zechs managed to pull off an impressive maneuver which left Noin's left flank open and with quick stab it was all over. Both of the two fencers straightened and saluted, raising their sabres so that the blades were facing up before shaking hands.
Noin took off her mask with a slightly angry expression on her face. "Good match, Zechs," she said with a coldly polite nod.
Zechs nodded back, "You too. If you hadn't been a little bit too eager toward the end you would have beaten me."
"Maybe," Noin agreed, still not satisfied. As Zechs turned to greet their observer, her expression changed and suddenly she leaned forward and jabbed her boyfriend in the rear with the end of her sabre. Startled, Zechs gave a little yelp and stumbled forward, nearly falling over.
Allen struggled to keep a straight face as he saw Zechs' expression. The white-haired knight spun around as Noin burst out laughing. "Oh, aren't we the gracious loser, Miss Noin?" he asked somewhat angrily.
"Oh Zechs, don't be such a bad sport," the female warrior scolded, still chuckling as Zechs rubbed his hurt posterior.
"I'm going to have to get you for this," Zechs said seriously with a glint in his eye. Allen began to get worried. Maybe he should interfere. Zechs let out a growl from the back of his throat and rushed at the smaller figure. Noin gave out a shriek and Allen took a step forward when he realized she was laughing. Zechs grabbed a hold of his lover and spun her in the air, his laughter joining hers. After several more turns, the strong young man set her down and the pair turned somewhat dizzily to Allen.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Noin said cheerily. The long-haired blonde smiled. As long as they weren't on a mission or participating in a briefing, the young woman would drop the title. As soon as they were in an informal context she was one of the friendliest and liveliest people he knew.
"It is fine," Allen waved a hand dismissively, "You two are quite impressive."
"Thank you," Zechs said for both of them. As Noin sat down on one of the stone benches that littered the courtyard, Zechs asked him, "Would you like to have a go?"
Allen smiled at his friend, nodding, "Yes, I would. Thank you," he added as Noin tossed him her sabre and mask. It was a tight fit, but Allen managed to slip the protective headgear over his head.
"Ready?" Noin asked both fencers, deciding to moderate the match between the two skillful swordsmen.
"Yes, ma'am," both fencers replied, assuming an on guard stance.
"Fence!" Noin called out and the match began.
As Noin observed later, it was a close match. Both fencers were extremely skilled. Though their styles were different, Allen and Zechs were dead even in almost every way. Even after half an hour, neither person had managed to score a hit. Frustrated by his lack of progress, Zechs began to get aggressive, his swings becoming less fluid and more like chops than slashes. It was a side of her boyfriend that Noin rarely saw.
Though he was usually charming, well mannered and sometimes even playful, every once in a while Zechs would display this incredible rage. The reason lay in his past, Noin was certain of that. At some point in Zechs' life something terrible had happened to him. Something that had scarred him, maybe forever. Sometimes, when he got a distant look in his eye and stared dreamily off into space, she could see it in his eyes. He harbored a great pain and with it an incredible fury towards someone or something. One of these days he would tell her what it was. She never asked him about it, Noin knew that he would tell her when the time came. And when that happened, she would help him recover from it so that he could finally achieve true peace of mind.
The match was drawing to a close now. Zechs was pushing Allen backwards, though the cost was evident in his form. Finally, her best friend swung mightily, knocking Allen backwards so that he lost his balance. With a roar of triumph, Zechs launched himself into the air, his sword raised over his head. Noin stood quickly and opened her mouth to try to yell something to calm Zechs but Allen was faster. With amazing speed he rolled out of the way and spun round. With a thud, Zechs hit the ground but before he could turn, Allen's blade was at his throat.
"The match is over, Zechs," he said at the younger man who was breathing heavily.
Both men stood now, saluting each other the same way Zechs and Noin had done less than an hour before. Zechs took off his mask, his eyes still holding some of the ferocity he'd had moments before. Allen's expression was unreadable as he reached forward to shake Zechs' hand. "Good job," he congratulated Zechs, though he himself was the victor, "Though you got a little bit too aggressive towards the end. Your anger is what cost you the victory."
The anger faded, to Noin's relief, and the knight smiled at his friend and mentor, "I'll keep that in mind," he replied.
Noin quickly broke the silence that followed, eager to forget Zechs' momentary loss of self-control. "How about if we go and get something to drink?" she asked.
Both men smiled and Zechs took her arm, "That is a good idea," he agreed.
"Shall we?" Allen asked politely, smiling at his friends. But as triad walked he caught Noin's eye and they shared an understanding. Neither of them understood what had happened in Zechs Merquise's past but they both knew that one day they would have to find out.