It was going to be a seven-hour flight to the mountains where the next
level of tournaments was to be held. The altitude made it difficult to
function and breath, so Owner prepared the girls by putting them in an
airtight room where he would only let them out when they were barely
conscious. This was a method used by many owners and unfortunately the
girls' owner was one of them. As they were being loaded onto the plane,
they were given a new set of clothing, regular jeans and nice tops. They
were to be a group of girls going on a trip to the mountains, but anyone
who knew anything about the tournaments, knew it was a rouse to transfer
slaves to the games. They were to smile and giggle as any other girls did
and look very excited to go. All the girls could do was cooperate and do
as they were told. Owner was to be their 'chaperone'. The flight was long
and strenuous. Natria absolutely, beyond a doubt, hated being someone she
wasn't. happy. Owner would send her threatening glares whenever Natria
would not return the friendly smiles from one of the stewardesses. She
would, in the end, relent and smile kindly back and accept the drinks
offered, but not drink. It would ruin her diet for the games, as what
Owner would say. P
It wasn't until late in the afternoon when the team and Owner arrived at a
small lodge in the mountains. It looked innocent enough. More like a nice
little getaway for couples just married, or vacationing spot for skiing in
the mountains. What the vacationers didn't realize was that underneath
this sanctuary for the perfect getaway was a terrible setting for the games
of the blood sports, right below. P
Owner stepped in, carrying his large bag, while the girls followed talking
among themselves, giggling and laughing about some made up subject. He
glared at them disapprovingly to silence them immediately. They stood, as
if they were bored next to the counter as Owner talked momentarily with the
clerk at the counter. The polite, inviting smile disappeared from his face
and turned to a grim disposition. He threw glances at the girls and then
returned his attention back to Owner. After a few more moments, he reached
over, nodding, and picked up the phone, and yet another conversation was
introduced as he mumbled something to the person on the receiving end.
Finally, after all was said and done, he hung up the phone, nodded to
Owner, and the girls were told to go to the elevators. Once they were
inside, Owner pushed a button, indicating the basement. A small panel
opened up, revealing a small keypad. He typed in 135 for the team and they
immediately were sent down into the depths of the mountain. The little
yellow light behind those numbers over the door stopped at the letter B,
indicating the basement, but the elevator continued it's decent. All of
the girls stood silently with their heads bowed. Finally, they came to a
stop and the doors of the elevator opened. There was a long tunnel that
lay before them now. A stream of overhead lamps lit the way through the
passages. Owner shoved the girls out of the elevator and proceeded to
order them to take off their coats, revealing their regular playing clothes
for the game. After this was done, they stuffed their jackets into his
large bag and were tied together once again with rope. Cathy was trying
very hard not to let her teeth chatter. She noticed that Hilde had goose
bumps running up and down her arms and bare legs. It wouldn't last long,
she reminded herself. They would be playing soon and that would keep them
warm enough. P
The tunnel was long and they must have walked a good twenty minutes before
reaching the end. On the other side was an ice cavern filled with the same
scene that was at the 1st Level Tournaments. Merchants, buying and selling
slaves and goods. Slaves were being taken to the make shift Cage, its bars
were made of thick ice, impenetrable. Hilde stared on at the other slaves
that were wearing coats and warm clothing. Her eyes nearly teared in
jealousy. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. P
They reached the entrance of the Ice Cage and were immediately thrown in.
Even the guards there had to give pitying looks at the girls that wore
nothing warm. Even the rookies wore warm clothing. Their uniforms had
holes and were nearly in rags. After Owner left, the girls agreed to
spread out and do some running around to warm themselves back up. They
split up soon after. P
Cathy was jogging at a steady pace, slaves turned to stare at her curiously
for a few moments, but soon realized why she was doing so and turned back
to what they were doing. Small puffs of steam came from her mouth as she
tried to warm up her limbs. Her fingers were going numb, as were her toes.
Giving a curse, she sped up her pace. Suddenly, she found that someone
was running along side her and she turned to see who was following her at
this ungodly speed. What she found made her itch to stop and smack him
straight across the face. Trowa. P
"What do you want?" she grumbled between chattering teeth. P
"Just wondering why you're not wearing your coat. It would be much easier
for you to get warm that way instead of this." Cathy glared at him for a
moment, but when she nearly tripped over someone, she returned her gaze
back to in front of her. P
"I decided this would probably get me ready for the games today. Better to
be ready than frozen." Trowa looked skeptical so she quickly tried to
change the subject. P
"Look, if you don't have anything else to do other than bother the hell out
of me, go find someone else to annoy." P
"You sound like you're talking to one of my friends. I wasn't looking to
annoy you, just wondering why you couldn't just ask someone to lend you a
coat, being that you don't have one." That made Cathy stop, her breaths
coming quickly with the exertion of her run. P
"First of all, what I do and what I want is none of your concern. Second,
I don't need charity, especially not from another slave, and third, I would
rather that I didn't have to deal with you today." A corner of Trowa's
mouth twitched in amusement and Cathy saw it. Letting out an exasperated
cry she spun back around and began to stalk off. Unfortunately, Trowa
followed her. Instead of responding, she acted as if he wasn't there.
That was fine with him. It was better if she wasn't yelling at him. P
P
P
Hilde had found another way of keeping herself warm, but at this point, she
had wished she had picked a different method. Another brilliant idea
hatched by Hilde going haywire. She had ignorantly decided to get into the
fight ring and unexpectedly; she realized that the people fighting in the
ring were actually good at what they did. She grit her teeth as a small
trickle of blood fell from a bloodied nose. The fist came flying again,
landing straight in the eye. She fell back as the other woman smiled in
the victory. Hilde wasn't about to let this woman win. That money was for
her and the other girls and not to mention her pride would not permit it as
well. Hilde shot forward with the speed of a tigress and raised her fists
for a blow. Suddenly, the other woman was not there anymore and Hilde
realized she had flipped back behind her. Letting out a growl, Hilde spun
and tried to catch the woman in the head with a roundhouse. Her foot was
grabbed and she was flipped onto her back. She had a moment to register
that a foot was flying towards her stomach and she quickly rolled aside.
Just as she recovered her footing she turned to face the other slave and
once again was caught in the side of the head by a foot. She went flying
and hit a post in the barrier. She sat there stunned for a moment when
warm breath whispered into her ear and made her shiver. P
"You do know you can use weapons in the ring, don't you?" Hilde turned
with wide eyes to find Duo grinning at her. P
"Duo!" His amusement faded as he saw the slave stalking towards Hilde.
Hilde turned quickly to stare at what he saw and used her reflexes to vault
her out of the vulnerable position. Weapons huh? Well that would have
made a difference. This was her first time in the ring and she was not
going to lose. Especially if they could use weapons. Smiling with a bit
of cynicism, Hilde pulled out her knife. She wasn't much with the ways of
hand-to-hand combat, but she felt right at home with sharp objects. P
"Bring it on," hissed the other slave. P
"Your wish is my command," laughed Hilde. She shot forward, warming to the
feeling of the knife in her hand. Her grip was pixie light and the speed
of which her arm moved was incredible. It was as if the knife jumped to
life in her hands and her movements became more confident with every blow.
Everyone stood astounded as Hilde proceeded to drive her opponent literally
out of the ring. Finally, the fight was finished with a roundhouse to the
slave's head and she was sent flying out of the ring. A roar of approval
rang through the slaves and Hilde jumped down, suddenly surrounded with
hands full of money. She laughed joyously as she collected it. A moan
from behind her spun her around and saw the slave she had beaten bloodied
and bruised. She was going to live, but she would not be playing in any of
the games today. Hilde winced at the thought of what she had brought upon
this slave. She was going to step forward to offer some help, but Duo
reached out to stop her before she could even move. She spun on him, but
he dodged her blow and smiled. P
"You know, you really need to control that temper of yours." P
"Leave me alone!" P
"Hey, listen, I'm the one who got you outta that jam back there." P
"I don't believe this. Go away." She began her original course, but Duo
grabbed her again, his face no longer amused. P
"Every person that steps into the ring knows that they're risking their
freedom." He nodded towards the recovering slave. "She lost it, don't
lose yours as well." Hilde bit her lip and threw glances at the other
slave. Duo made her decision by steering her away from the defeated
opponent. P
"What were you doing in there anyway?" P
"I was trying to keep warm. I guess I'll know better next time." It was
then that Duo finally realized why the fight had attracted his attention in
the first place. One of the combatants was wearing only a thin uniform and
shorts. He ran his eyes over her and saw already her teeth were chattering
and her lips were turning blue. He, on the other hand, wore a warm coat
with mittens and long pants that he would get a chance to change out of
once his game came up. P
Seeing he was scrutinizing her she quickened her steps, as if to get away
from him. He reached out and began to drag her over to the far side of the
slave confinements, next to a wall. She protested and dug her heals in all
the way, but Duo ignored her. Finally, he forced her to sit down and he
joined her, leaning against the wall. Her brows were knit together in
frustration. Still pretending he didn't notice this, he pulled off his
jacket and wrapped it over the front of her. He was wearing a short sleeve
t-shirt, but he did not even stop to shiver as he then pulled Hilde, still
protesting, onto his lap, so both were covered. Hilde was outraged. P
"What you think you're doing? Let me go this instant! I mean it, if you
don't let go I'll." P
"Hilde, shut up and just let me be nice to you for once." Hilde grumbled
and found what was the point in arguing? So, instead of complaining more,
she tucked her legs up close to her chest under the jacket. After a few
moments, Duo told her to lean her head on his shoulder so both of them
could keep warm. Rolling her eyes, she did as she was told. They sat
there feeding on their shared warmth, away from the cold. P
P
P
Natria sat at a make shift table, which was actually a large crate,
drinking down some much needed water. The only indication that she was
freezing to death was her lips were running the line of becoming purple.
The water in her glass was chunky almost, due to the cold inside. She felt
as if her insides were becoming ice themselves. Sighing, she took another
sip of her water. Suddenly, someone sat down next to her and a thick
sweatshirt was placed in front of her. She looked over to find Wufei
eyeing her grimly. She acted as if he was just an inconvenience. Her
attention returned to examining her water. P
"What do you want?" she asked as she took another sip. P
"I took the liberties of lending you my extra sweatshirt," he said with
annoyance. He too wore a thick jacket and long pants, as Duo did. Natria
looked over the sweatshirt for a moment, it looked harmless enough. For a
moment, Wufei thought she would refuse, but finally, she picked it up and
slipped it on. It was too big for her, but she obviously didn't seem to
mind. Natria returned to her glass of water, not saying anything. Wufei
wasn't exactly expecting anything in return, although a simple thank you
would have been nice. Wufei cleared his throat once or twice and finally
made to break the silence between them. P
"Why did your owner not allow you to wear your jackets?" P
"He thinks we'll warm ourselves up by doing something physical, like
running or picking fights with other slaves." She smiled wryly. "Some of
us resorted to that, I decided I didn't want to." Wufei frowned at her.
P
"That's kind of stupid, if you ask me." P
"I wasn't asking you." Wufei lifted his eyebrows at the snapped comment.
It was then that someone stepped forward and glared at Natria's sweatshirt.
P
"Hey, that looks like my sweatshirt," he said in an accusing manner. Wufei
stood up, being bigger than the other slave. His glare alone made the
slave back up. He laughed nervously. "Maybe I was wrong. Sorry, my
mistake." Wufei sat back down as the other slave ran away. Natria watched
this exchange and broke up into laughter. P
"Liberties of lending your bextra/b sweatshirt huh?" Then she broke up
into another fit of laughs and giggles. Wufei smiled slightly as he let
her laughter roll over him, warming him to the bone. P
P
P
Dorothy stood near the gate, watching as the other slaves were brought in.
Her eyes were looking for someone, but her mind was wandering to someone
else. He had blue eyes and blond hair and a kind smile. They had sat down
for several hours, waiting to go out and play their games and had managed
to keep up a very pleasant conversation, despite they were slaves and there
wasn't much to talk about. She found out a lot about him and remembering
him sitting before her, showing her humility. It made her heart soften.
P
She was suddenly snapped from her thoughts as the gate was flung open to
the Ice Cage and a young woman, probably a few years older than herself was
shoved with enough force to launch her onto her side. She wore thick and
warm clothing, but the strange thing about her was that she did not walk in
with a team. Her hair was cut short and was so dark that it was almost
purple and her eyes were a violet hue. Those orbs of violet were scanning
the crowds carefully as she got up and shot a vehement look over her
shoulder at the guard who had shoved her in. Her owner was glaring at the
guard as well and began a lecture on how he wanted his slave in the best of
shape for the games and idiotic guards like him were preventing that. The
guard looked thoroughly sheepish after this encounter. The young woman's
owner was probably a little older than herself, but no one else would have
been able to tell one way or another due to the fact that no one would have
cared. He had long blond hair, cut slightly under his shoulders. His eyes
were a piercing icy blue. Dorothy smiled slightly as Lucrezia unknowingly
walked right past her. Dorothy leapt out with the sightless speed. Her
arm went around Lucrezia's neck, putting her in a lock. Her lips came very
close to Lucrezia's ear. Her face was shocked for a moment and then
narrowed in annoyance. P
"I do believe that you must have made a mistake up at the desk,
Lieutenant." Dorothy emphasized the last name given to Lucrezia. P
"It couldn't be helped. We tried to get you a different placing," she
growled back, wrenching out of Dorothy's grasp. Her eyes examined the
other woman. P
"I signed in the conditions that I was not to be placed back into a dirty
outhouse with an abusive owner, especially one who drank. It seems that I
didn't get any of those. I'm about ready to call back out of this
charade." Lucrezia glared at Dorothy. P
"Despite you didn't get your preferences." P
"Preferences?! I was stuck in a goddamn hell hole!" Lucrezia ignored the
interruption. P
"You were placed in a deal and contract none the less. Come on Dorothy.
You were here before, you can finish it again." Dorothy let out a growl
and began to pace wildly. She finally stopped and pointed accursedly at
Lucrezia. P
"You guaranteed a safe placement! I didn't come back here to be smacked
around again and watch others in the same situation." P
"And I told you it couldn't be helped! All you can do now is finish this.
It'll be done and you can go home." Dorothy sighed in exasperation and
finally nodded, looking away. P
"Fine, but I swear, this is going to the chairman and it's not going to be
slipping by unnoticed. I'll finish it, but only because I can't let the
girls down." Lucrezia smiled. "So, I see that Zechs stood as your stand-
in partner." Lucrezia's smile disappeared and replaced by a small nervous
laugh. P
"Uh, yeah, that was the other thing I needed to talk to you about."
Dorothy was immediately suspicious. P
"Really? And what may that be?" P
"Well, you've been transferred to a special unit. Zechs is taking over the
vacant position." Her partner's eyes went wide. P
"What? If you're joking I swear I'll strangle you! What do you mean
special unit?" P
"I mean, the special unit wanted an extra stand in for more of these cases
and." P
"No, uh uh, I agreed to this one case, but I didn't say that." P
"They need more people like you up there. Even if it is painful for you."
P
"No! Forget it! I'm not doing it! This entire thing is going to blow up
in our faces and you know it. I'm not going to do this the rest of the
time when all the damn paperwork gets screwed up so I get stuck in a death
trap!" P
"Dorothy, please, lower your voice. You're." P
"I don't give a flying rat's ass about how loud my voice is. You know I'm
not going back to this!" P
"Dorothy." P
"No! Lucrezia, I'm not doing it!" With that Dorothy spun around and
stalked off into the stunned crowd, leaving a flushed ex-partner. Dorothy
let out a curse, dragging her slim fingers through her hair. She was so
upset and infuriated that she no longer felt the cold. Finally, she
stopped her rampage and took a deep breath, covering her face with her
hands, collecting her thoughts. Her thoughts were almost in order again
when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder and they fell apart in an instant.
Her eyes were fused with Quatre Winner's. Her breath caught in her throat
and she realized what she saw in his eyes was concern and worry. for her.
She slapped on a smile and tried to look as if she wasn't upset. P
"Hey, Winner, what can I do for you?" she asked with uncharacteristic
cheer. He concern turned into a frown. He was onto her. P
"You looked really upset. Who was it that you were talking to back there?"
He nodded his head over his shoulder in the direction from which she had
come. P
"Oh, that. I. I was just discussing the games with her. She, uh, tried to
bribe me into losing the next game." An incredulous eyebrow went up
immediately. P
"It looked like you knew her though, from before." Dorothy tried to shrug
casually. P
"I met her once before." P
"But." P
"Do you want to get something to drink?" P
"You're avoiding the subject. It looked like you two were talking about
something serious. Is something wrong?" P
"Everything is fine." P
"Dorothy." She rolled her eyes and used the only method she knew how to
make him quiet. She grabbed him around the neck and brought their lips
together. She stood there as he was frozen in shock. She relaxed as he
finally gave up his earlier escapade and found something else more
interesting to deal with. P
P
P
Relena had found him quickly. It was quite easy, for she found she had a
knack with Heero Yuy. It was as if he held a magnet that was pulling her
whenever they were in the same general area together. He stood watching
the fight ring, but with little interest. There really was not much else
the slaves could do. Relena smiled slightly as she made her way up to his
side. She had been thinking almost constantly, through the day, through
practice, through any beatings, through the night. It was beginning to get
to her. She decided if it really affected her this much, she has to stop
and see what was making her hesitate. Maybe it deserved a second look
after all, what he had suggested the last time they were alone. She
hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her hand on his arm. He spun
around as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on him. His
eyes were slightly shocked to find her there, but he quickly cooled over.
P
"Hello," he said. P
"Hello, Heero." P
"Are you here for the fight ring?" Relena shrugged, not looking
interested. P
"No, I could win in there, but what's the point? I'm going to be getting
my freedom soon anyway." P
"Just like watching them?" P
"Not really, I saw you standing here and decided I needed to talk to you."
His eyes were alert and cautious now. P
"What is it that you need to talk to me about?" P
"About what you said before, about one of us giving way. I guess you're
right. It might as well be me." His jaw hung open for a long moment,
trying to close it or form words, he wasn't sure himself. She stood there,
almost. almost shyly. P
"Relena." That was the only word he could form for a long moment. Instead
of waiting for the words that weren't to come, Relena stepped forward and
wrapped her arms around his midsection and rested her head on his shoulder.
He was so warm and she felt so very cold, her limbs were beginning to feel
the icy fingers in the air. As she felt Heero's arms come around her, she
allowed herself to slip into that dark oblivion. P