Disclaimer: I don't own gundam wing but I do own Thorn and all other original characters that I have placed in this AU story.
A.N- I'm working on only Mythical Times now because I want to finish one of my stories before I start finishing the rest so I'll place chapters up on this fic more often than others. I just have so many unfinished stories that I'm starting to feel bad about it. Because some people on actually review and like my stories but only some. I'm doing this for those people. Everyone else was mean and didn't review.
Mythical Times
Chapter 5: The Attack of Memories
The small town of Gensha spread out before them as the travelers entered. Thorn looked up in awe at the large elephant statues. It was the towns elephant gods. The people of this region, as Wufei had told her earlier, believed that the moon and the sun were the elephant gods Balme and Narme, brother gods who ruled over a plethora of lesser animal gods. Wufei had also, with a smirk, informed her that this society was completely patriarchal and if she wondered off on her own she would most likely be viewed as a prostitute. He had received a kick in the shin for that.
Quatre strode beside her and Duo was at her other side. He was constantly around her. Especially when Quatre was around her. Wufei was at the front speaking with Heero, the shape shifter that had joined them and Morgyn was at the shape shifters side.
As they walked through the crowded streets of Gensha people moved out of the way for them, whispering and staring at the unfamiliar travelers. Thorn smiled at them while looking around. Everything was so big for a small town it was amazing. Idly, Thorn looked at the carts of clothing. Now that she was back in her old renaissance clothing she was reminded that if would be nice to upgrade to some actual period specific clothes. It would make a great souvenir when she finally found a way home.
Quatre noticed her stares lingering on the clothes and smiled. "You know Thorn, if you would like, Duo and I can buy you a new outfit or dress." He smiled. Thorn slowly craned her head toward him with a slow grin.
"Really?" She asked. Quatre nodded. Duo opened his mouth a few times before Thorns happy clap stopped him. She hugged both of them. "Well what are we waiting for? This is so nice of you two. Lets go now." Said Thorn hyper actively like a child in a candy store. She dragged the blonde wolf and the braided elf over to a clothes shop.
Morgyn looked back to see what the cry had been only to find Thorn, Quatre and Duo missing. She tapped Heero on the shoulder.
"Love, I think we lost our rear." He looked over at her.
"What do you mean?" He asked flatly.
"Thorn, Duo and Quatre aren't behind us anymore." Morgyn said. Wufei slapped his forehead.
"Great I can only imagine what trouble they'll get themselves into."
The store had beautifully crafted clothes but one look at the prices told her that she should try shopping else where. No matter how much she wanted new clothes Thorn wasn't about to let Quatre and Duo spend that much money on her. So…she dragged them back out into the streets to check out the stands and carts that were filled with clothes. These clothes weren't as great but they were affordable and that was all that mattered.
Thorn stopped to stare at one outfit. It had a lovely deep red velvet tie up vest that was hemmed with gold thread and tied with a leather lacing, a black gauzy under dress that slipped off of the shoulders just like the shirt she was wearing now. There was a royal blue wide leather belt that hung low on the waist.
"The color would suit a beautiful lady like you, miss." The man running the shop said with a sleazy smile. She ignored the bad feelings she got from him and nodded.
"It is beautiful. How much is it?" Thorn asked, quite taken with the outfit, regardless of the shop keeper looking like a creep. His smile widened.
"For a lady such as your self, 40 gold coins." Thorn opened the little purse that Duo and Quatre had given her and searched through it. She pulled out 50 gold coins and then placed ten back into to the bag. The man's eyes followed the gold glint. He stopped her from handing him the money. "Why don't you try it on first and see how it fits you."
She nodded, shrugging. "Yeah, I should do that to see that I'm getting my money's worth, no offense to you sir."
"None taken. You can change back there." He smiled and motioned her to behind the cart. She grabbed the dress and as soon as he was out of her sight and was sure no one was watching she began to untie the laces to her bodice dress. It slipped off with ease, leaving her in only her belly shirt and the long skirt she had on. Before she even knew what happened the store owner was pinning her to the ground.
She let out a short scream before his hand covered her mouth.
"It's not very often that I get such a beautiful young maiden to come to my shop. I think I'll make the most of it." He whispered greasily into her ear. She cried out under his hand. God no. Please don't let him do this to me I don't want to lose my innocence to some guy who is going to rape me. Someone help me! She whimpered. The man was slowly lifting her skirt with a grin.
"For shame. Only a man with no honor would go so low as to rape a young woman." A voice said. Two shadows fell over the man. He frowned.
"Leave. It is none of your business." The store owner said. The cloaked men shifted. There were two of them. Thorn took advantage of the man's distraction and bit down on his hand. The man yelped and pulled his hand away. Thorn wiggled out from under him. The store owner made a grab for her and she stumbled backwards in an effort to avoid his fist. She cried out as she was caught from behind and struggled against whoever it was that had caught her.
"Shh…It is okay young miss. We are not here to hurt you." Thorn turned toward the cloaked figure that had spoken to her with wide terrified eyes. All she could see were his brilliant royal blue eyes all the rest of his features were shadowed. He turned to the other cloaked figure. "It seems that this young woman has been traumatized and wronged by this man." The second cloaked figure approached the cart owner and lifted him high into the air by his throat.
"Do not do that again to any women. If I hear that you have, I will kill you." The second one said in a deep voice. Thorn could now tell that both were definitely male. The second one released him and approached his partner and Thorn. They both turned and just as they were leaving…the store owner caught her dress and yanked her back. She screamed.
The cloaked figures turned around and with the quick swish of the second ones cloak there was a dagger imbedded in the store owners head. He gurgled up some blood and then dropped to the ground. Thorn twisted away with soundless scream of shock and landed on her rear a foot away from the corpse. She breathed deeply in and out trying to steady her heart. The figures approached her and the second cloaked man's ice blue eyes glared at the corpse before he looked down at her. His eyes softened.
"I'm sorry, young maiden." He said. The first one nodded.
"Yes, we got blood on that beautiful dress that you wanted to buy. Why don't we bring her to the clothes shop and by her one exactly like it?" The second figure nodded.
"Yes we should. We must make up for giving her such a scare." He pulled her up and brought her away from the stand. Thorn looked up at them in wonder. She had just realized that they had just saved her and now they were bringing her to that expensive shop just so she could get a new dress for the one they got blood on.
"You really don't have to." She whispered. But they just shook their heads.
They bought her an even more beautiful dress that looked very similar to the one that she had wanted to get and paid for the expensive outfit. She told them repeatedly that they didn't have to but they insisted and she walked out of the store with compliments and a new dress. The second man approached her one last time.
"Here." Was all he said as he handed her a small cloth wrapped package and then was gone along with the other cloaked figure. Thorn blinked and unwrapped the package.
She gasped.
There in her hand was a beautiful blood red garnet stone on a gold chain. A necklace. She looked around once more to see if they were still around. This was really too much for her. They had given her clothes and an expensive jeweled necklace. But the cloaked men were gone.
So with a sigh she put the necklace on and clasped it in place. It looked beautiful with the red velvet corset vest that was hemmed with expensive gold thread unlike the cheep stuff the man had tried to sell her. She admired it before tucking it into her shirt.
Duo and Quatre ran up to her.
"Thorn where have you been? We've been looking for you. By the way nice dress. You must have spent all the money we gave you." Thorn shook her head as Duo said those things.
"No I didn't spend a coin of it." The both gave her confused looks. She let out a sigh. "I'll explain later. Right now I'm hungry. Lets go get some food, my treat." Thorn said happily with a wink. They both shrugged at each other and followed her.
The two men watched her leave with the elf and the werewolf.
"Why are we watching her?" The second one asked his ice blue eyes following her. The first one smiled, never taking his eyes of Thorn either.
"There's something about her gold eyes that reminds me of my older sister."
"Ah I see. This is a special matter."
"Yes."
Thorn munched happily on her food and took a small sip of wine. Her and Duo and Quatre still had yet to see Heero, Morgyn or Wufei. They had chosen to eat now and look for the others later. Quatre of course protested but gave in easily when his own stomach rumbled at the delightful smell from the inn.
So far, everything had gone great. Quatre had presented her with a pair of moonstone earrings and Duo had pulled out a gold band that looked like a vine with a ruby set in it like a flower, claiming that he had seen the ring and thought of her. They had been lovely gifts. Thorn once again was struck by how nice everyone was being today. Finally some good Karma had come her way after all that had happened.
Thorn looked out the window at the street as people passed by. Her eyes were soon drawn to one person. He looked about her age walking slowly in a long cloak with the hood pulled down. He had brown hair and what looked like a long bangs. He must have felt her eyes and turned his head to look. One of his forest green eyes was covered by the bangs.
His forest green eyes caught her gold ones and his pace faltered somewhat before he pulled his hood up and quickened his pace.
Her eyes followed him. Why does he look so familiar? His green eyes were so…enchanting. I know they looked familiar. But from where? She mused.
"Thorn? Thorn? Thorn? THORN."
"Huh?" Thorn snapped back to attention as Duo waved his hand in front of her face.
"What were you staring at?"
"Hey blondie I was just going to ask that question." Duo said glaring at Quatre who had been given the honors of sitting next to Thorn.
"Oh it was nothing really, you two, I was just watching people walk by." Thorn said with an enthusiastic anime sweat drop hanging on the back of Thorns head.
"Well we're ready to go. How about you?" Quatre asked. Thorn nodded.
"Yeah I'm ready."
They exited the pub and walked around aimlessly looking for their friends. The street had cleared out a lot. It was getting late and most people had gone home and only few stragglers were still heading home. And there was the occasional group of roudy drunk men, who appeared to be stumbling back to a pub.
Then the wind stopped. There were no sounds at all except for a clinking of something hitting the stone road. An old man became visible, his form seeming to appear from a fine mist. Thorns gold eyes widened. He looked just like that old guy from her dream. They one that had killed the girl that had looked so much like her. He held up an old wrinkled finger.
"You are supposed to be dead. I will not allow you to interfere again, Thalia." He rasped out angrily. Thorn blinked and pointed to herself.
"Me? No you have the wrong girl my name's Th…"
"Do not lie to me." Thorn stepped back. She was afraid. He pointed his staff at her and the tip began to glow with power. This was just like her dream. He was going to kill her just like he killed her look-alike in her dream.
Just then a huge white wolf with aqua blue eyes latched onto the staff and tugged it down and away from her. It snarled up at the old man. With a frown, the old man glared down at the wolf, and the staff was blanketed with electricity. Quatre-wolf was sent flying into a building with a cry.
Thorn screamed.
"Quatre!" The old man's staff was pointed at her again when an arrow whizzed past his head creating a thin line of blood on the man's cheek where the arrow skimmed it. Duo positioned another arrow and let it fly towards the old man's heart. The end of the staff glowed again, stopping the arrow midair, and then sent it back at Duo. The arrows tip imbedded itself in Duo's side.
"Duo!" She screamed. This can't be happening! We were having such a good day. The man had his staff pointed at her and the tip glowed stronger before it let go of the energy and it flew at her in huge blast. Thorn screamed out and covered her eyes. She also heard Quatre and Duo's cries of Thorn as the energy headed right at her…
...only to be intercepted last minute by another. When the light faded, Wufei fell to the ground. Thorn gasped.
"Wu…Wufei?" She gasped out. She reached out to touch him. He had taken the blast for her. Wufei, of all people. She never thought anything like that would ever happen.
The old man was preparing to fire another blast when a jet of water hit him hard and he disappeared like an illusion. She looked over to see Morgyn holding her palms out and eyes glowing sliver with anger. Heero stood beside her in a hybrid Tiger-human form ready in case he was needed. Quatre was in his human form now with a few cuts and a large bruise spreading up his cheek.
"Are you alright, Quatre?" Morgyn asked. He nodded.
"Don't worry. I heal quickly. I should be fully healed in a few hours." He said with a slight smile as he limped over. Duo sat up painfully and plucked out the arrow with a hiss.
"Ouch that hurt a lot." Duo said looking at the hole the arrow had made. It was still leaking blood but slowly. They all looked at Wufei, who was now positioned so his head was in her lap. Thorn ran a hand through his black hair, which had come out of his pony tail. Her eyes looked at the ruby ring then down at the blood red garnet stone on the chair. She knew what she had to do. She had read about it in vampire fiction and seen it in vampire movies. Maybe it would work, and she would have to try.
She brought his head up so it leaned on her shoulder and pulled her hair away and tilted her head to expose her neck.
"Thorn what are you doing?" Duo asked watching, the knowledge of what she was doing growing in his eyes. Wufei's eyes slid open a crack and he wrapped his arms around her before she felt the sharp pierce of his fangs in her neck. She gasped, not out of pain but in surprise. Thorn took deep even breaths and let him drink.
Sleep…
Came the whisper in her mind.
Sleep…
Thorn closed her eyes and went limp, her head lolling on Wufei's shoulder as he shifted to hold them both up.
Sleep…
Wufei's wounds began to heal with every drop of blood he ingested. Finally, he let go of Thorns pale form and pulled her against him, cradling her gently. He was in lost in his own thoughts. She had powerful blood, like a witch's blood but sweeter, and she had risked getting drained completely by him. He realized that in just a few days she trusted him with her life. Only one other had done that for him and he had drained her completely…because he had been so new to being a vampire, he hadn't been able to control himself…
Meiran…
"Its interesting that she would risk that." The second cloaked man said glancing at his partner. The two cloaked men had watched the entire scene from the shadows.
"Yes, but I am more interested in why my father would call her Thalia and then try to kill her."
"Isn't Thalia the name of your older sister…the one that you father put to death?"
The first cloaked man growled. "Yes it was. And don't speak of it. I loved my older sister…she was so kind and gentle, so unlike father. That is why I left after he killed her."
"You did say there was something about her gold eyes."
"Yes…she looks somewhat like my sister. And she had been a powerful sorceress. Do you believe in Reincarnation?"
The second figure nodded. "We should keep an eye on her then, Trieze."
"Yes. I want to know what my father is up to."
Not too far away, in another dark ally a third cloaked figure watched from the shadows. His piercing green eyes stayed on Thorn the entire time. I knew she looked familiar. I can't be her though…I saw her die that day. But maybe, just maybe…
"We will meet again, Thalia, and next time I will protect you."
~Owari
Raven: Yet again another chapter. Wow I sure worked hard and I made it nice and long. It's a little mysterious and a little adult in the blood and fight section. But I hope you like it. I'm glad that I got reviews for the last chapter so quickly. This chapter is for Shadow Fox who was very nice and enthusiastic about me continuing to write more chapters. Thanks to Shadow Fox and my other reviewer Golden I decided to write this chapter so quickly.
I can't wait to finish this story and hopefully I'll get more reviews. I want to keep you all guessing but I think you all know who the three cloaked people are. I even said one of their names in the fic. Well. Review and have a nice day. Bub Bye.