What if: Myth

By Prinder

A gundam wing fan fiction

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

Chapter 5

She continued to sob into her brother's chest while his wife rubbed her back in slow, soothing motions with her hand and whispering comforting words gently.

"There, there… shhh it's okay Relena, it's alright, take it easy, there now, that's it, and take nice, deep breaths what's wrong Relena?" Lucrezia asked softly.

"I… I… I don't know… I'm sorry; I don't know what's come over me… I'm just so confused…what happened? How long was I sick?" Relena murmured.

"Weeks… three weeks, five days, twelve hours and ten minutes" Lucrezia said jokingly.

"It doesn't matter now, you're alive, safe, and well, that's all that matters to us Relena" Milliardo whispered as he kissed his sister's forehead and ran his hand through her hair.

Traize, very much feeling like the odd man out, turned and quietly left the room. He would have to speak with Milliardo later, through letter if possible, he knew of the Peacecraft's strong will, and icy temper, no they would never show it to the outside world but they really did have a spitfire of a temper, no it never burned out of control but in some ways what they did do was far, far worse. They would keep it bottled up, it would slowly grow, and it would keep going until the cork popped off and all hell exploded. Yes, he would leave early and send him a letter; hopefully his kingdom was far enough away to avoid the wrath that would undoubtedly be King Milliardo Peacecraft.

Soon Relena's cries lessened and she pulled away from her bother's warm and protective embrace. "I'm better now, thank you, both of you, I know it must have been hard for you both to see me ill for all that time… thank you Lucrezia and Milliardo, I love you both very much, and had I known that I would have caused you to worry so, I would never have gone for that ride on my horse that day" Relena said solemnly.

Lucrezia smiled and shook her head at the young princess and slowly took her in a hug while Milliardo only nodded and smiled back at his sister weakly.

After a few awkward moments of silence Milliardo cleared his throat and said, "well, now that that's over with, I should inform you both that we will be having some visitors from China in a few weeks to discus trading with them"

"That's wonderful news! Do you know who they're sending?" Lucrezia asked.

"A young scholar named Chang Wufei and his assistant JinChi Wong" he replied.

"Do they speak English?" Relena asked.

"What if they don't? Milliardo, we'll have to learn some Chinese just to be on the safe" Lucrezia said, worried.

"I highly doubt that they would send someone who didn't… hum… but it wouldn't hurt to know what we're up against" Milliardo said thoughtfully.

"Plus, that would show our interest in doing business with them" Relena added.

"Right," Milliardo said as he stood up.

"Where are you going Milliardo?" Lucrezia asked.

"To my library to see if I have any books on it" he replied as he walked out of the room.

"He isn't going to the library but that's fine, he just needs some time to think things out… it's been a busy day for him… and it's not even half over yet… are you going to be okay here alone?" Lucrezia asked.

"Yes, thank you again Lucrezia" Relena said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it Relena, now rest up, it's going to be very busy these next few weeks I think, and I don't know when the next chance you will get at sleep for a long while" she replied with a smile of her own as she kissed her on the forehead and helped her back under the covers of her bed.

"Thank you, goodnight" Relena murmured as she turned over and started drifting off to sleep.

"Goodnight Relena" and with that Lucrezia walked out of the room and closed the door as best as she could before heading down the halls to where her husband, Milliardo had retreated to.

Relena opened her eyes and peered around the room. 'I wonder where he is… he was really terrified of me, why? Oh Heero, whatever happens, I hope only for the best for you, you helped me, saved me, I want to thank you someday, somehow! There just has got be a way! There has just got to! Heero…' she thought just before sleep claimed her body and mind and took them into the land of dreams. From that point on time seemed to pass very quickly for those in the castle of Cinq, the arrival of Chang Wufei and JinChi Wong was drawing ever near.

*****

There they stood. Backs facing each other with their arms crossed in front of them they stood waiting for Master Long to finally make an appearance. Sure they had made a truce with one another but for them to keep it, they would have to avoid talking to each other as much as humanly possible, both of their tempers were dangerously low and may the gods have mercy on the unfortunate soul that got them started.

"Good, you're both here, that will make matters much easier…" Long said as he hobbled over to them.

"Master Long, you should have sent someone else… you are not well today," Wong said as she turned to get something for him to sit on.

"No, I'm fine, besides, we have more important things to worry about then my health" Long said as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder to make her stop.

"But Master Long! I only…"

"Woman stop pestering him with you useless babble!" Wufei said, cutting her off.

"Pestering? Useless? Babble? Why I… I was only looking out for his well being! Unlike you! Master Wufei!" She retorted.

"Be quiet Woman! As long as you are with me, you will follow my orders! Now shut up," Wufei said with a glare.

Wong looked extremely upset, but she swallowed her pride and forced herself to bow to him. "You are correct Master Wufei, I beg your forgiveness," she snarled.

The truce had to be maintained at all costs, even if she was the only one trying to keep it intact.

Master Long blinked in disbelief at the scene before him. 'What had possessed these two, who were at each others throats just a few days ago, to make them try to stop fighting one another and get along?' he thought carefully. 'No, Wufei isn't trying, it's only Wong… but they only question is, why?'

"Well old man? Are you going to tell us just how we are going to get to this Cinq Kingdom or not?" Wufei asked rudely.

"Master Wufei!" Wong gasped. 'The elders are to be spoken to with respect! They have forgotten more then we will ever know! How dare he be this way? How dare he!' Wong's thoughts seethed.

Long merely ignored Wufei's comment. "You travel south, to the sea where you will have a boat waiting for you. From there you well then sail to the Cinq Kingdom…is that understood?" he said calmly.

"Yes Master Long" Wong said bowing politely to Master Long.

"Hum…" was all that was said by Wufei.

"Then you best be off, take care and be well both of you" Long said as he watched them leave with a caravan of supplies and goods for trading.

"Thank you Master Long, and I wish the…"

"WONG! Hurry it up!" Wufei cut her off once again.

Wong sighed. "Goodbye Master Long, I wish you well" and with that she turned and walked over to Wufei and slowly disappeared into the distance.

"They can endure the pains of travel, but I can only hope that they can survive being with each other for that long…" Master Long said as he watched them go before hobbling back into the house for some green tea.

*****

It had been a good month for them it seems. They made so much more money there then they did in past years it was amazing! Many said it was good luck, others said it was god smiling down on them, others still said that it was a miracle and that they should re-name the circus in honor of it, but for Catherine and Trowa they thought it could only have been Felina's magic smile and laughter that drew the crowds for the show that people saw the most in that month was theirs.

Everyone in the circus was gathered around while Manager finished the final count and then he would spilt it up equally between all of them, it was everybody's favorite part of being in the circus, the money, well, almost everybody, Trowa was nowhere to be seen when it came time for everyone's earnings to be given out, Catherine would always take Trowa's share to him. But where did one go at midnight in a small town where every shop and pub was closed down for the night?

Trowa stood on a small Cliffside that over looked the small village below, the wind playing with the fabric of his clothes and hair while the trees behind him laughed softly. 'It sounds just like Felina' he thought sorrowfully as he turned, almost expecting the slender young woman that had chiseled herself into his stone heart, he smiled at himself, at how naive he was thinking such things.

"Trowa?" came the voice if his adoptive sister as she walked over to him.

"Yeah?"

"I have your share of the money we made this month for you" she said as she held out a bag containing copper, silver and gold.

Trowa only nodded his thanks, took the bag and hung in silently from his belt.

"So what have you been going up here?" Cathy asked.

"Looking down at the village," He replied.

"You like it up here, don't you Trowa?"

Trowa shrugged slightly. "I guess" he replied.

"You've seemed so withdrawn lately, I'm really starting to get worried about you Trowa," she said softly.

"You don't need to. I'm fine," He said as he stared blankly in front on him.

"Okay Trowa, I'll be with the others if you need me" she said as she did the same for a long while then quietly walked back to the rest of the troop.

He never answered her back.

On the way back Cathy saw some soldiers talking with Manager; he didn't seem upset at all, in fact it was smiling and laughing with them! Cathy kept a safe distance away from them until Manager shook their hands and watched them climb back onto their horses and ride off.

"What was that all about?" Cathy asked as she walked over to him.

"A change of plans! King Peacecraft wants us to perform for him and his guests that will be arriving in a few weeks and I said yes! I know this will take us off of our route but he has promised us three times the money that we would normally make if we decide to do this. This is a…." Cathy wasn't listening to the rest 'oh no! Poor Trowa!' she thought.

Poor Trowa was right, when Trowa found out that their route would be changing he only walked back into his tent saying that he was tired and lay in his bed, staring at his tent roof for the rest of the night. 'How will I see her now? She won't know what happened… if we go through with this, we wont make it back here until much later next year…' he thought as he soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

And change route they did, by morning everyone was packed and ready to go, everyone except Trowa, this raised a few eyebrows, normally he was the first one ready, Cathy helped him and by noon they were once again on the move. Only this time Trowa was sitting way inside of the bandwagon where no light could reach him and his flute was packed deep at the bottom of his trunk. For once it was a very quiet and sad looking troop, and so it stayed like that all the way to Cinq.

*****

He turned to glare at her slightly before he motioned for her to follow him down one of the many corridors and taking a left into a long narrow hallway.

"What happens if someone spots us? We don't exactly blend in here at the moment. Heero, are you listening to me?" she asked in a whisper as she followed quickly behind him.

"That's fine, I need one of them, this princess Relena to be exact, to see me" he replied calmly.

"This is the worst plan that you've ever come up with Heero…" Felina whimpered.

"Hn…" was the only response that she got.

Felina sighed in defeat as she shook her head at him as they tiptoed their way into a small room and quietly shut the door behind them.

Felina looked at Heero for a moment trying to read the expression on his face, or there lack of, but it was futile in every respect, her cousin simply didn't have any emotions to read!

"Now what do we do?" She asked as she sighed once again.

"We don't do anything, stay here, I'll be back in a bit" Heero replied as he slipped back out the door and down the hall.

'Great, now what am I going to do? This is so BORING! Maybe I should follow him, I mean, anything could happen! What if that Relena person isn't where he thinks she is? What if he gets…' her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door on the far side of the room opening, she quickly hid behind a large potted plant and waited to see who it was.

"…I know you don't like this, I don't like it either! But what Manager says, goes… I'm really sorry Trowa, I know you're disappointed that we might not see her, but…." Felina stopped listening.

'OH MY STARS! Trowa! It's Trowa! What is he doing here? Is this one of their stops? Oh wow, Trowa! I can't believe it!' Felina was practically bouncing with joy, she was so happy!

Trowa said nothing as his sister continued to talk. They had just happened upon this room and agreed that it would be a good place to talk in private. 'Something isn't right about this place' Trowa thought as he scanned the room carefully with his eyes. 'What is with this place that makes me feel like we're being watched?'

"Trowa? Trowa? Are you okay? Hello? Trowa are you in there?" Cathy asked as she tapped her knuckles on his forehead.

"Yeah?" Trowa said as he snapped out of his thoughts looked at her.

"What is it Trowa? You seem worried"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it"

"If you say so…" Catherine said slowly.

Trowa only looked on, suddenly a plant caught his eye and he stared at it for some time. 'Huh… that's odd…' he thought as he started walking over to it.

"Trowa?" Cathy said as she watched him.

Felina held in a gasp. 'Oh no! He saw me! What am I going to do?'

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for her in that very instant as Trowa slowly inched his way over to the potted plant and her hiding place behind it.

Meanwhile, Heero was having troubles of his own. He heard a large group of voices coming down the corridor and he quickly jumped up and grabbed a wooden beam above him and pulled himself up onto in and out of their sight. But that wasn't the worse of his problems, oh no! He not only was he about two feet away from being seen but the one person that he wanted to see him was with that very group!

The group consisted of five or six giggling human women, all about the same age as the princess herself, and while all of their dresses were different colors, they were all the same style!

'Human conformity at its worst!' Heero thought, shaking his head at the girls below him.

"…Did you see the count this morning? He as a preacher's body! When ever I see him I just want to bow down and say OH MY GOD!" one girl swooned as she fanned her face with her hand as several of the others did the same, all except the ever-lovely, Princess Relena, who only looked bored.

"I know what you mean Natalie, it has to be a sin. No being of gods creation could be as beautiful as he!" one of the other girls replied.

"And what of his majesty? King Milliardo? I'm sorry Relena, but I can't help it! Your brother has to be the very devil himself!" yet another girl gasped out with the others following suit.

"It's quite alright, I…" Relena was cut off.

"…And King Traize! I have never seen a man so regal!" the one that cut her off said.

"Oh my! That reminds me!" another girl squealed. "Did you hear the news? The desert prince, Prince Quatre's father passed way! He's going to need a QUEEN! Oh how I do wish it was me!"

"That's terrible! His father just died! I feel sorry for him; I can barely remember my mother and father… Milliardo was only five at the time… we were very fortunate that our royal adviser agreed to take the throne and rule until my brother was older… I…" once again Relena was cut off.

"Yes, yes! You never paid any heed to any of the men in your courts Relena! So many fine men grace your eyes it amazes me that you haven't gone blind from it!" the girl called Natalie quipped wryly.

Relena remained silent this time and slowed down her pace as all of the others in her group started laughing.

Heero saw this and waited until the others were far enough ahead that they wouldn't hear her if she screamed. He was only faintly aware that she was holding back her tears as he dropped down from the wooden beam soundlessly not far behind her.

'Why do I feel so out of place? Was I always like this? Or has that curse affected more then just my health? Was I always this different from the other ladies, duchesses, countesses and princesses of the court?' she asked herself as she continued to walk, fumbling with her silk handkerchief, trying to get it open so that she could dab away the teardrops that were already slipping down her face.

Suddenly he rushed up behind her, wrapped one of his lean and muscular arms around her waist and clapped his other hand over her mouth as he pulled her into a dark empty room before she could scream.

'Oh my god oh my god oh my god! What's going to happen? Who is this? What is he going to do with me?' Relena's mind screamed in her ears as her tears flowed freely down her face and she hands tried in vain to remove her attackers grip on her.

"Stop fighting… I'm not going to hurt you, not unless I have no other choice… I'll only let you go if you promise not to scream or try to run away… got it?" a deep and husky voice whispered in her ear.

Relena didn't respond.

"Got it?" her capture asked once again and this time she nodded quickly.

Slowly he released his vice-like grip on her waist and mouth as he pushed her away roughly.

Relena staggered a bit as she turned around to try and see she attacker but the room was too dark for her so see much of anything.

"Wh-who are you?" She stuttered.

He smirked ever so slightly at this but remained in the shadows. "You don't remember me?"

"I can't see you, how could I remember a face that I can't see?" she demanded.

"Hn…" he replied.

"Why don't you come out where I can see you?" She asked as she searched the room slowly with her eyes, still trying to adjust to the lack of light.

"Hn…" He said once again as he moved out of the shadow and stopped just in front of a patch of light that hit the floor, which streamed in from the only window in the room.

Relena gasped slightly. "You're the Dryad that saved me aren't you? You're Heero!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to him.

Heero backed away slightly when he saw her come running, unsure about what to do next.

"Don't run away! I won't hurt you" Relena said as she reached out her hand to try and stop him from retreating back into the darkness that surrounded them.

Heero stopped and stared at her for a moment then nodded at her before stepping back into the light.

She sighed with relief and smiled at him. "I thought you wouldn't come back" she remarked ruefully

"So did I" Heero replied.

"Why are you here Heero?" Relena asked.

No reply.

"What made you change your mind and come back here?" She questioned.

No answer.

"Heero, I can't help if you don't tell me," she said firmly.

"That was no warlock spell" He replied.

"What?"

"That wasn't just some warlock that cast the spell on you" he stated calmly.

"I wouldn't know, it was my first time being cursed" Relena quipped.

Heero smirked. "I wasn't asking," he said as he walked over the to the window to avoid her gaze.

"I know. Everything is so fuzzy on what happened when I ran into that warlock, I'm sorry, I know I'm not much help" Relena whispered, barely loud enough for Heero to hear.

"It wasn't a warlock. No warlock could have the power to cast that spell," Heero said as he watched the clouds drift over the moon.

"What? Not a warlock? But if he wasn't a warlock, then what was he?" she questioned.

"Are you sure it was a he?"

"I… I… I thought I did…" she stuttered.

"What do you remember?" he asked.

"I was walking in the forest when I heard music; it was a sad, I followed the sound of it until I came to this large rock with an old man sitting on it singing, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at me. I'll never forget his eyes… he had two black orbs for eyes and a long black cloak to cover the rest of him… he started walking over to me, I was scared, I tried to run, but my legs didn't want to move! The last thing I remember was when He reached out to touch my arm… and that's went I remember waking up in my room w- with you there" she replied softly.

Heero nodded slowly as he turned away from the window to look at her. "I have to go," he stated firmly.

"Will you come back, Heero?" she asked as she watched him walk back over to the door.

He didn't answer.

"Heero wait!" she cried.

"Hum?"

"Promise me that I'll see you again, please Heero?" she pleaded.

"I won't have much choice…" he replied as he opened the door and disappeared down the hallway.

'…I wont have much choice…' his words rang out in her head. "What does he mean by that?" she asked herself aloud.

Meanwhile Heero rushed back to where he left Felina only to find her talking with none other then the people from the circus.

"…Anyway, Heero wanted to see this friend of his here and that's why I was hiding in the plants, I didn't want to get caught! So why are you here Trowa?" she asked.

"I'd like to know the same thing" Heero said as he stepped into the room.

"Heero! You're back! So… how did it go?" Felina asked with a wink and smile.

"Fine" Heero replied.

Trowa looked at Felina then Heero, then Felina again. 'There must be more to this friend then either of them are saying…' he thought.

"For a hunter, you have a lot of friends in high places" Trowa remarked.

"Not as many as you would think, I only had one, and I don't consider her a friend" Heero replied coldly.

"Uh! Say… Heero and I should be going, we'll be around here for a while so we should meet again Trowa…" Felina said quickly as she grabbed Heero by the arm and pulled him out of the room while waving goodbye to Trowa and Catherine.

"Um… Goodbye…" Cathy managed to get out just before the door closed behind them.

Trowa smiled slightly as he stared at the door for a moment then turned and walked out the other door.

"Well… what do you suppose that was all about? Trowa?" Cathy said as she looked around for her adopted brother before running after him.

______________________________________________________________________________

Dang I'm good! Now I'm back up to where I should be page wise! Lol you like? ^_^; Okay R&R! Thank you so much! And see? I got Fe and Tro back together again! So happy Ashley! But what about Heero and Relena? Lol guess I'm just going to have to write the next chapter to find out! And as always, send all mail regarding this fanfic to FioraEmbyr@aol.com! Okay… I guess that's all I wanted to say… oh yeah! STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!