A Palace of Disaster

Chibi Tsuki

A/N: Yay, another chappie even though it's not that good. Btw, I didn't look through it so please forgive me and my mistakes ^.^;;

Chapter 8

Understanding

Once she had assured Milliardo that she would be ok and that he needn't to stay with her, Lucretzia left the room in search of someplace quiet where she could think properly to herself and so she stumbled into the maze. There were only two people who knew the entire structure and routes of the maze off by heart; Lucretzia and Hilde Noin. This was definitely a sanctuary well away from the hustle and bustle of the palace and perhaps the best hiding place ever. She had seated herself in a certain place within the maze that was no where near any capability of being found. As if sensing her distress a particular creature came soaring towards her direction and landed on the top of one of the hedges, peering at her with wide eyes. "Come here Razer," she mumbled under her sniffles. Holding out her hand, the falcon glided over and carefully entrusted his weight on his owner, his talons curled around her hand. Although there was a slight tug of pain by holding the bird bare-handed, Lucretzia didn't care and talked quietly to the bird through her choking and sobs. "I don't understand why they want me to marry. My parents don't seem to realise that I don't want to be married yet, even though Sally will be marrying soon and of all the people, why Milliardo Peacecraft? We're not a match in the inside… even though I must admit he can be quite charming and he is rather handsome." Cocking his head as if he understood what was being said, the bird whistled softly and pecked at Lucretzia's nail softly. Maybe a ride would cheer me up, I'm always calmer in the meadows anyway. Recollecting herself, she wiped away tears and let her bird sail into the sky again as she made her way out of the maze.

Behind the last row of hedges, towards the exit, she heard a muffled weeping of tears and endless sniffles. She dared herself to approach the crying person and found Kievet, hugging his knees and wiping away tears when he noticed her appearance. Not trusting himself, Kievet stayed silent and cast a downward glance at his feet, rocking back and forth. "Kievet, are you ok?" the princess asked, her deep blue eyes hidden in concern. The boy merely nodded and continued to rub the back of his hand against his eyes. "Was it because of my marriage that you were upset?" Again, he turned his eyes away, afraid to look into her eyes. "I didn't know it would make you so upset, I'm sorry."

"It's alright Noin," he uttered after clearing his throat. "I guess all you princesses must marry one day or another to some noble. It's not like you can choose freedom over marriage." He didn't know how he was going to express himself; he knew it was silly of him to cry over his friend's marriage but he couldn't help it. "I don't know how to say it, but I don't want to let you go. You're the best friend I've ever known in my entire life and I'll miss you a lot."

"I'll miss you too Kievet," kneeling beside him, she pulled him into a tight embrace and they stayed like that for a while, both trying to relax over the thought that they might never see each other again. "Come on, let's go for a ride. Now seems to be a good time."

He shook his head gently, a smile on his face. "I can't I should be going to assist my knight, now that I'm a squire."

"You are?" A delightful grin boarded her face as she shook his hand.

"I'm afraid we must part here and now," he looked rather hopeful thought. "Someday, when I'm a knight, I'll come visit you!" Abruptly, he turned around and ran out of the maze leaving Lucretzia yelling words of luck. Sighing, she stood upright and made her way towards the stables, feeling slightly better in spirit. Her falcon continuously circled high above in the sky waiting for its owner's next move.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gleefully, Hilde yelled and waved her arms around when the youngest member of the Peacecraft family approached. "Hey Relena! I didn't see you this morning at breakfast, where were you?" She ushered the girl to join the group, quickly introducing Quatre to Relena. They seemed to have made friends quickly just like the way Hilde and Quatre did. Sally continued to wait for her best friend's return although she had been gone for more than half an hour. Perhaps what they were discussing was fairly important and it was expected of them to talk for quite a while, but something felt wrong. "I wonder where Lu is," the raven-haired girl pouted, waiting anxiously for her sister to come back, "she's taking awfully long."

"Princess Lucretzia's just probably occupied at the moment, that's all," Quatre suggested with a shrug, his bright smiling eyes dancing like always.

"Maybe. Let's go on a tour around the palace. I'm sure Quatre would like to see it."

Sally smiled at the enthusiastic youngsters and told them that she was going to find Lu instead. The four children set off, little Andre up front with his canine companion.

Thundering through the moist track, the stallion's head bobbed up and down, his long slender legs leaping off the earth's surface. For a long time, he hadn't tried to gallop at such a fast pace through such a narrow trail, luckily the track was well worn down and none of the sharp rocks could pierce through the tender meat at the sole of his hooves. Rider, horse and falcon slowed down in their pace, now travelling at a slow gentle rhythm; a slow steady canter. All three knew that they were going to arrive at the wider and more spacious meadow soon enough since they memorised the track so well. When at last they reached the meadow as they had expected, the rider dismounted her horse and rolled onto the green carpet of grass. "That was a great ride Twister," she said in a chopped up sentence, breathing deeply. The horse nickered in reply and turned his head at his rug, tugging it with his teeth. Lucretzia rolled to a sitting position and then stood up so that she could take off the rug and the saddle bag. He then indicated that he wanted release from his reins and bridle gear. She carefully lowered the tack too the ground and fell back against the grass. The breeze blew at her hair and bangs, raven-blue strands flying everywhere. In a second, she had fallen asleep under the blissful sunlight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Frowning, Milliardo stared endlessly at the blue sky, speechless. He was trying to pour his emotions into the empty sky and right now it seemed to be succeeding. At first the thought of their engagement wasn't that serious until now; he was to be married, to be chained to a life where he would have to be devoted to one person and stay loyal to her. Truthfully, it didn't affect him as much as it affected her since he was on the more dominant side of both genders, but still he couldn't process the fact that he would have to live with this girl whom he'd only met two weeks ago.

"Milliardo, I heard the news," Treize uttered as he strode towards the quiet prince. "I came here to congratulate you but it seems as if you aren't celebrating."

Milliardo avoided eye contact with his friend and murmured, "What's the point if the girl doesn't want to marry-"

"And neither does the future bridegroom," Duke Kushrenada finished for him, taking a seat beside him. "I understand how you feel, Anne and I were until we met and finally fell in love. Her smiles, although rare, are always dazzling and her beauty is magnificent. Princess Lucretzia is just alike but her smiles are more frequent. Think positive."

Shaking his head, the prince sat up and looked at his friend. "I don't really mind marrying Lucretzia, it's just that it makes me feel as if I've deprived her of her freedom. It makes me rather guilty and I don't want her hating me for her entire life."

"Someone else will if you don't, there are many nobles out there who wouldn't even think about her except her beauty and body. She'll be grateful that you're marrying her and not some self-centred, snobby noble."

The platinum blonde haired prince chuckled softly and commented, "It seems as if you're an expert in love and emotions. Maybe you want to help people with their emotions, I'm sure the ladies won't mind." They both laughed heartily at Treize's reply,

"Perhaps I should start off with helping my future wife before I help anyone else."

Darkened skies meant lighting candles and with her best friend disappeared, Sally could only worry. She had questioned many maids and servants for the whereabouts of their princess but to Sally's dismay, they didn't know. Where are you Lu? Only a short while after leaving Hilde and her band, Sally had seen Lu's father wandering about the palace with his wife and the present King of the Sanc Kingdom, but there was no trace of Lucretzia. The adults were talking contentedly about arrangements for something and didn't even notice Sally when they passed her. They didn't seem to be frustrated or angry in any way and she knew that Lu would definitely go search for her after the discussion like a good host, but instead she had… vanished. Unable to bring herself to tell anyone of Lu's disappearance in case of causing unwanted trouble, Sally kept the information to herself. But the thing was, dinner was coming up soon and Lu was expected to be dining with her parents. Passing Lucretzia's mother, Sally told her that she and Lucretzia were going to have dinner in the garden instead and Hilde just happened to be there, asking whether she could join in, along with the others. Unable to refuse the hopeful gang, Adelie could only agree and released them from the boredom of the palace for the night although Sally did have other ideas.

When Adelie left the youngsters to talk by themselves, Sally rushed outside followed by the four. "Sally, where are we going to eat for dinner?" Andre piped up, something he hadn't done for a while. "I'm getting hungry."

"You four go get some dinner from the kitchen, I'm just going to go around for a walk before I come," she replied, leaving the young teenagers slightly confused. Once she was out of hearing distance, she cursed to herself and glanced around nervously. Where are you Lu? You never leave like this, not without talking to me; there's something wrong, I know it, but what? Close to yelling out in frustration, Sally suddenly felt a hand settle on her shoulder. Immediately turning around with slight hope, she only frowned when she saw the person.

"What's the matter Lady Po?" Milliardo asked worriedly. "Duke Kushrenada and I have noticed you walking around the entire afternoon, did you lose anything?" Beside him Treize wore the same look on his face.

"It's Lu. I've been looking for her for an entire day and she still hasn't turned up. I know something must be in her mind that must be affecting her really deeply but I just don't know where she is." Both gentlemen glanced away, unable to look at Sally's eyes. "You're both hiding something, please tell me." She had such a worried tone in her voice that neither could keep it away from her because inside, they were afraid even if they didn't show it.

Treize spoke first, his head dipping low but not low enough to hide his eyes from Sally since she was quite a bit shorter than him, "Princess Lucretzia's father has arranged her marriage."

"Who is she marrying- No that's not important right now, let's just find her!" She pressed her sweaty palms against both sides of her head in frustration and quickly released the pressure. "Alright, now where would she be?"

"Perhaps you should ask her sister," Milliardo suggested, supplementing the comment with a shrug. Sally nodded and without another word rushed off. "She might need our help." The pair followed quickly after her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lucretzia sat up as grass bits fell out of her hair and back to the dampened ground, she blinked several times and yawned. "It's dark already and there's dew." She rubbed her eyes gently and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Luckily the sun was still fading which meant there was still a little source of light left. Whistling she stood up and stretched her sore limbs. "Twister," she grinned when at last the horse approached, trotting smoothly. He neighed and instantly rubbed his large face against her arm. "Oi," Lu growled and playfully pushed the head away. "Let's go home." Once she set the rug back in place and emptied the rest of the flask, they left. Above them, a piercing falcon-call sounded through the night sky.

"There's no need to find Lu, she's coming back," Hilde simply replied while trying to hide her subtle hints of awareness to the night sounds. "Bailey cried." She munched delightedly into her roll and ignored the older teens.

"Bailey? Who's Bailey?" Treize asked in an unusually soft voice.

"Shinigami number two!" Andre grinned after gulping down his apple juice. Everyone stared at the siblings in confusion.

Suddenly, Sally's eyes lit up in recognition. "Her falcon!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I decided to release this chapter quickly before I make the next wait long again. I personally thought this chapter was rather pathetically written so please don't mind my rush.