A Palace of Disaster

Chibi Tsuki

A/N: I'm back from my holidays! It was more tiring than exciting unless you call shopping everyday and having to walk from place to place exciting, then carrying the stuff ALL the way home. BUT, buying anime was definitely a good thing about where I went. Well anyway, I hope you enjoy this happier chapter. Does it make sense? Noin gets butterflies in her stomach ^.^

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Chapter 11

Amidst the Field of Lilies

Scrambling upstairs in an unruly manner, Hilde tucked several paper-wrapped parcels between arms. The entire palace was as silent as a mouse, except for the occasional whispering between four children. They separated in different ways, scurrying about just as dawn was approaching. Andre skipped up the stairs behind his sister, with bits of blue, red and yellow streamers still in his short amber hair since Hilde had decided against telling him. "Come on, there's twenty more minutes. You go knock on Sally's door and I'll get Lu," she murmured to her brother and gestured at the two different routes to take. The younger of the two nodded and followed Hilde's orders without the slightest hesitation. He passed two closed doors on the left and tapped on first door on the right. A honey-blonde haired teenager opened the door already dressed and seemingly ready to go.

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A familiar fragrance of lilies drifted through the room and lying asleep in her own bed was a wary teenager, her face conveying expressions Hilde had never recognised in her. For a moment Hilde felt that she had betrayed her sister for not being there, for not helping her. "I'm sorry Lu," she whispered into the silent night. Five minutes passed as she continued to stare at her until she realised that Lu had just woken.

"Hilde, is there a problem?" Lucretzia asked, rubbing her eyes groggily. Her long thick hair caressed her left right cheek and her arms in a way that most men would drool over.

Hilde shook her head and smiled. "You better get out of your pyjamas or else you'll miss what we have planned for you!" Quickly she ran into her sister's wardrobe and rummaged through the clothes in search of something suitable. She flung a pair of dark red-brown britches at Lu. A cream-coloured shirt and a long coat followed, landing mercilessly on Lucretzia's head. "Change quickly!" As her sister clumsily donned the clothes, she rushed into the bathroom and dampened a towel, wringing it twice. Water dribbled out of it, falling into the sink. Once satisfied, she handed the towel to Lu, letting her wipe her face with it. Lucretzia was one buttoning the shirt when Sally knocked softly on the door and entered, Andre behind her.

"Good morning," Lucretzia greeted as she fitted on her coat. Dipping her head slightly in respect she responded too with the same words. "Ow!" The brushed tugged at her tangled hair. Another two tugs before the strands of hair disentangled, but unfortunately that was only a small portion of her hair. Hilde was working determinedly at her sister's hair, pulling it up into a high pony tail.

"Where'd you chuck your gloves and boots?" the younger raven-haired teen asked as she began to search around in the wardrobe. "I can't find half of your clothes and your wardrobe seems a bit empty."

"They're all packed, the clothes remaining are the ones I'm leaving behind," Lu said softly and pointed to the trunks in the opposite corner of the room. "The boots are on the top with the rest of the gear." Slowly she stood up and walked towards the two neatly packed trunks and lifted the wooden lid. On the top of the pile of clothes were several pairs of shoes, including her riding gear which had been washed thoroughly before being packed away. She took them out and placed them on the floor, collecting the rest of the items before putting them on. Ready to leave, the four crept out of the room, closing the door behind them ever so silently. Stealthily they walked down the marble steps, passing through the dining room, to the kitchen and out of the building altogether. It was fortunate that the maids, cooks and servant woke at dawn and not before or else they would've been caught, well not exactly 'caught' but more or less sighted.

Quatre and Relena were waiting for them at the stables, dressed up in appropriate riding clothes. They looked no fancier than the other four who were wearing plain clothes too. "Good morning everyone," Quatre and Relena greeted in unison and entered the stable. Neighs sounded throughout the stable, the horses reached out muzzles for a stroke of even better, a scratch on their cheek.

"Hilde, you still haven't told me where we're going," Lu stated as she greeted each horse individually with half a carrot each. Accepting her gift graciously, the horses left a present of slobber in return on her hands. She wiped her hand on a towel hanging by a door stable and placed her gloves on a table so that she could groom and saddle Twister without her gloves turning a different and darker colour. The stallion nickered as she approached, searching her hands for more treats but instead he found brushes in her hands.

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Within fifteen minutes, the horses were ready to leave and in fact were becoming impatient when their riders put away the brushes donned their gloves. "I'm coming Callaba, if only you would stand still!" Hilde chided and nudged the horse over, away from the stable door. The horses filed out in an orderly manner. They mounted and urged the horses forward into a walk and soon into a steady-paced trot.

They had been riding for nearly a full hour now and still they didn't seem to be reaching their destination wherever it was. But luckily Hilde did stop and call for a break; and so they spent ten minutes sitting on the logs just enjoying the serene surrounding them. "We should continue shouldn't we Hilde? Or else they- they… as..as in the horses will er… get tired and we too will be hungry," Relena uttered, trying to repair what she nearly mistakenly said.

"That's why we're having a break at the moment but I understand what you mean Relena," Hilde responded thoughtfully. "Let's go." Everyone obliged and once again mounted their horses, returning to their steady paced travelling.

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The track, having not been used for over six years had become nearly invisible since the grass had grown so thick and tall that it reached knee-height. Twister quickly dipped his head and pulled a mouthful of grass out of its home within the soil, chewing heartily until Lu tightened slightly on his reins. Shining at her eyes, streams of sunlight blinded her momentarily. She brought a gloved hand up and shaded herself from the sun as she glanced around. It was such a beautiful sight. The flowers were attractive even though it was nearing the end of their blossoming and the birds were singing their songs, and she could often hear the scuttling of the tiny insects.

"We're here!" Hilde exclaimed, jumping off her horse before the others had time to react. She raced down the track which was overlapped by a small stream, only five metres wide at the most. The water was visibly clean and fresh for they could see the bottom. With its surface still and unbroken, it appeared to be shimmering.

Once again Hilde was on her horse, riding the gelding through the water which now looked just as amazing as before. Across the water lay a stretch of lilies; these particular specimen called lily of the valley with their white, bell-shaped blossoms. Someone gasped then it changed, nearly sounding like a strangled choking sound. "Hilde! I can't believe you found this place!" Lucretzia squealed in delight as she sat deeply in the saddle, enthralled by the display. They dismounted, letting the horses roam and immediately, Hilde felt herself being lifted upwards whilst hearing chuckling laughter chorusing throughout the sky. Lucretzia gave her a peck on the cheek and placed her back down onto the ground again. "Thank you Hilde, this is absolutely… I don't even know how to describe it."

Shaking her head gently, the younger girl sighed, "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I didn't discover this place."

"It wasn't you?"

"Nope."

Lucretzia felt rather foolish for a moment and then turned to look at Sally, directing a questioning glance at her. "I wasn't me Lu," Sally said innocently before she even asked. "No point asking them either," she added, gesturing at Quatre, Relena and Andre.

"Then who was it?" Lu asked, confused.

A voice spoke up, alarming her instantly. "It was me."

"Milliardo?" she gasped again. Her heart was mysteriously pounding so heavily that she felt that she would faint. Milliardo stood in front of them, holding the reins of the grey stallion in one gloved hand. This time he didn't wear a suit like the previous expeditions but instead something simpler yet at the same time; stunning. His long, wavy, platinum hair tied up high much alike hers, with some longer strands that had fallen out of place dangling beside his ear. Ice blue eyes shone with such gentleness that could have easily melted any girl's heart away. Boldness and courage was depicted through his strong facial features, something that was ideal in a perfect gentleman, and here there was one who could be considered as hers. Snap out of it Lu, why are you drooling over him?! He's the reason why you lost your freedom! No not exactly, he wasn't the one; her parents would've married her off to another anyway, perhaps to one who was much less considerate and cruel.

"Good morning Lucretzia," he greeted her compassionately, his eyes sparkling as he spoke. "Good morning everyone." The sparkle in his eyes disappeared when he turned his head to face the others she barely managed to keep herself from stating this out aloud.

Appearing from nowhere, Treize also greeted everyone, immediately startling her. She let out a cry and stood staring at Treize. "Where did you come from?" she asked slightly too timidly to be herself.

"Princess Lucretzia, you've broken my heart. You only have eyes for Milliardo and none for me," he bowed his head and whispered loud enough for his voice to be audible.

"I'm sorry Duke Kushrenada, I… I…" she stuttered. There were butterflies in her stomach and they where flying madly inside, not to mention that the look on her face was simply priceless.

Milliardo had somehow enclosed the distance between within seconds had placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stop teasing her Treize." A deep blush ran across her cheeks, an unfamiliar heat rose on her face, and so she instantly stared at her boots. Never had she experienced such emotions, well maybe when she was a mere child but this time it was different. Was she falling in… love? "You must be hungry, why don't we find a place and settle down for a picnic?"

A particular and unexpected voice agreed to the proposal. Everyone turned around to look curiously at Quatre, chuckling weakly. "I haven't eaten since last night. I sure am hungry." The group laughed, not unkindly but instead in a good-humoured fashion.  

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"This place is so beautiful, I can spend an entire day just sleeping among the lilies!" Relena admitted as she let herself flop into the flowers.

Hilde merely looked at her and uttered, "You've already spent half a day and the sky seems to be darkening already."

Agreeing with her, Sally said, "Hilde's right, we should be leaving now. It'll be fairly dark when we get back, and we didn't inform Lu's parents where we were going-" Treize intercepted her words, saying that he had already done that even though they hadn't officially received permission.

"I'll carry the leftovers," Lucretzia offered, gathering the wrapped up food in a small piece of material. She called for her Twister who came enthusiastically, his head held high and elegantly. Without further delay, they packed up the rest of the gear and mounted their horses. Suddenly a piercing cry; that of a falcon, could be heard throughout a wide range of distance.

"Is that Razer?" Andre asked, concentrating on the bird's cry. Lu nodded and prepared to lift out her arm for the falcon as it landed harshly on her arm. She let the pressure of the bird pull her arm down so that there was less impact and straining on her arm. She tickled the bird under its chin before launching it back into the air so that she could ride properly. "Father must've sent him out looking for us since we were taking so long."

Responding, Lu muttered, "Probably."

The ride back to the palace was a lot less comfortable than the journey there, perhaps it was because of the dimming sunlight. Unfortunately the heart-warming sun had been hidden by the treetops which proved to be of no help. "I've forgotten something!" Lucretzia suddenly exclaimed as she frantically searched her pocket for a specific object. The ride halted as she clumsily tried to remember where she had left it. "I left it on a stump back there. I'll meet you all at the palace!" With that, she pulled Twister around and ordered him into a fast pace. Luckily she could still see the obstacles before her, as well as the bends and trees.

After discussing for over five minutes, Milliardo decided to accompany Lucretzia just in case anything happened. The others had suggested that they went together as a group but then there was the problem of explaining to the two powerful kings if no one appeared. They just had to trust the pair to come back safely.

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Lucretzia scrambled off Twister and darted to the vaguely outlined tree stump. She picked up the forgotten item and gripped it tightly with her hand, enclosing it with her curled up fingers. Razer had followed her throughout the entire time and she could hear his wings beating around her as he tried to land on her arm again. Heading back to her stallion, she mounted the horse and slowly guided him back to the track. Suddenly there was a flash of lightening yet there wasn't even a drop of rain. But the sky did not look promising with the vivid outline of the clouds appearing above her.  

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A/N: Hehehe… *scratches head* I'm sorry, it's a cliffhanger! Please don't kill me, or at least spare me so that I'll be able to write the next chapter. I'm positive you'll love what I have installed for Zechs and Noin in the next chapter; something that'll bring the pair closer.