Chapter Eighteen
Sunlight streamed through the window of an old farmhouse. The day was hot with no wind and so the wind chime remained silent. An old woman tiptoed into a room where a young and pretty woman lay asleep on the bed. The sleeping woman was frail and pallid but given the constant care of the old lady, she had recovered some of her colour.
" You're awake?" the old woman asked when she noticed her moving.
Slowly, painfully, she opened her eyes. At first, everything was a blur. Then, her vision cleared and she came face-to-face with the kindest expression she had ever seen.
" You have been asleep for nearly four days," the woman told her. She was visibly relieved to see her up at last.
" You…Where…am I?" she muttered, clutching her head.
" My old man found you lying in the field nearby. He brought you here. This is our house. God knows what you were doing out there. That kind of freak weather welcomes no gentle girl like you," she chattered in a friendly manner. " Here, drink the medicine." She fed her the bowl of medicine.
An old man strolled into the room. " Good, she's up. How are you, my sleeping beauty?"
The woman laughed. " He loves to joke, Take no note of him."
The young woman smiled shakily. Even such a small and simple movement was hard for her. " Thank you, thank you so much for saving me. If not, I would have been dead by now."
" It's what we should do," the woman said. " I'm Maria and this old man is Dex. What were you doing out there?"
" Maria, do you have a pen and some papers? I need to pass an important message to someone," she said suddenly.
Maria nodded. She understood. " So that's what you were doing out there. God bless you, child. Dex, get her the papers and pen. You can stay here for as long as you want. Oh, I forgot to ask you your name."
" I'm Noin. Lucrezia Noin."
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Zechs could not get any work done. Not when Noin was missing. Treize had not seen Noin. This means that she had not returned to the headquarters at all. Where are you, Noin? What happened to you? Strange, but he had never felt this feeling before when she was here. This feeling that she was important, very important to him. It's like…as if…he…
A knock came on the door. " Come in," he said.
" Sir, a letter for you," a soldier said.
" From who?" he asked.
" It's not written here. But the handwriting looks like Miss Noin's."
Zechs snatched the letter and ordered the soldier out. He tore open the envelope and took out the two pages long letter. Yes, this is Noin's handwriting. A very weak version of Noin's handwriting. She must be injured! Zechs began reading the letter, word by word.
It was a very ordinary letter about an injured friend, nothing important. But clearly, on the letter, mentioned three times, she wanted him to visit her as soon as possible. Why, why did Noin write such a letter? And neither did she tell him how she was hurt.
Noin must be hiding something, something that she did not want other people to know, in case it fell into the wrong hands. Rest assured Noin, I'll be there soon.
" Are you sure, Miss Relena? You don't want to bid him goodbye?" Dorothy asked.
" No need. He is busy worrying about Noin. It is best this way," Relena answered. She remembered the first time she had met Noin. There was something about her that made Relena's heart go soft and warm inside. It was in her eyes. And now it was in her brother's eyes. She recognized what it was. Love.
They walked in silent and using magic, transported themselves back to Magic Town. Relena smiled at the sight of the peaceful town. Now, all she yearned for was a simple, quiet life in which the most important event in life would be her birthday. She strode ahead. Dorothy did not follow.
" Dorothy?"
" I don't think I want to go back," she told her.
" Why?"
" I want to see more things, things about war and peace. You know I have always loved chaos. This is an opportunity of a lifetime," Dorothy answered smoothly.
Relen had always known that her friend was…different. She would not be able to stop her. " If you want to, I won't stop you. Just be careful, Dorothy."
" Goodbye. I'm sure we will meet again," she said, turned around and vanished into another realm.
The first thing that Relena noticed when she steps in was children playing hopscotch. It was a delightful sight to greet her eyes to. The children recognized her and they waved, shouting her name.
" Relena! Relena!"
" Hello!" she called back cheerfully. Then suddenly, the children took on a fearful manner and bolted indoors. Puzzled, Relena turned round to see what had frightened them so much – four OZ soldiers.
A man who was walking with his head lowered failed to notice the monsters and bumped into them. Hard. He apologized quickly, bowing his body repeatedly. But those monsters were not satisfied. They kicked him on the stomach, punched him in the face and forced him to emulate a dog. One righteous man tried to help, only to be kicked away. Relena could stand it no longer.
" Stop it! Stop it you monsters!"
" Who dare call us monsters?" one of them demanded.
Relena stepped forward. " You monsters, you are worse than rats. No, even a beast behaves better than you. Let the man go."
One of them dropped the man from his hands. He sat on the ground, surprised. Relena's heart was beating wildly. She wondered what they would do to her. Still, she stood firmly on the ground, keeping her face cold and fearless. She must never let them see how scared she actually was.
" Little girl, you are making a big mistake," the tallest of them all said. " For this, you shall be punished." All of them sneered.
" And God will punish you. You will burn in hell and never to be reborn as humans but as worms," she said.
" Get her!"
Relena ran but she was not fast enough. They caught her. " Let me go you monsters! Let me go!" she screamed.
" You will pay for what you have said, wise one!" He knocked her out.
When Relena woke up, she found herself in prison with many other innocent people.
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Duo and Quatre waved to the Maganac people from a distant. The two boys had decided to find the rest of the boys. They knew where Heero and Trowa were but not Wufei. They could only guess his whereabouts.
" I agree with you, Quatre," Duo said.
" Huh?" Quatre looked at him, puzzled.
" That we must be together. Besides, if we stay together, someone else can do the cooking for me." He grinned.
Quatre grinned back. " Duo!"
" Well, Trowa is a better cook than me and you have better housekeeping skills."
" Ha! Really."
" I swear to the God of Death! Hey, you think Wufei can cook?"
" I don't know."
" I bet you'll get food poisoning after eating his food. And Heero is going to be just disastrous as him."
" So do you."
" At least I can cook instant noodles."
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" You're leaving?" Trowa asked.
Heero turned. " Yes. I have impose on you for too long."
" Since when did you turn so polite?" Trowa joked. " Where will you be going?"
" Back to EverlastVille. I want to check things out."
" Ok. I'll be leaving here too. OZ seems to have pretty much leave here alone."
Heero nodded a goodbye. He was about to go when Trowa stopped him. " Can I ask you a question?"
" Go ahead."
" Where did you get that gun of yours? We don't have it here."
Heero paused. " I brought it with me from the planet Earth. It's something I have hold on to ever since I was born."
Trowa watched his friend leave before turning back to pack his things. With Heero gone, the place seems quieter now. He had to admit he sort of missed his company. At least, there was someone to talk to. New footsteps came up behind him. It was not Heero.
Trowa spun around, ready for a fight. His heart stopped. It was Catherine. " Sister," he whispered.
" Trowa!" Catherine cried and ran forward to give her little brother a warm hug. She then held him at an arm's length to study him better. " You have grown thinner."
" What are you doing here?" he questioned. " You shan't be here."
" I just want to see you. You know, I'm so afraid for you. I'm scared I won't see you again. Magic Town is in such a mess now. I left secretly just to see you," she answered, eyes brimming with tears.
" But how do you know I'm here?"
Catherine smiled a little. " I just know. We are family after all. Our hearts are linked."
" Sister, you don't have to worry about me. I want to battle without worries. This will only affect my concentration. I assure you I won't die so easily," he said firmly.
She shook her head. " I know I am only distracting you but I just can't help it. I just need to see you. It's as if…as if…I know something bad is going to happen. The urge is just so strong. I can't help it."
Trowa's eyes bored into hers. " Nothing is going to happen to you or me. I told you I wouldn't die so easily. You just go home. If there is any trouble, go find Heero, He's going back to EverlastVille. Ok?"
His sister lowered her head, shut her eyes for a moment then looked at him again. She managed a feeble smile. " Ok. You just fight those bastards without any worries! You will win!" she chirped.
He nodded. " Go home now."
She refused. " I hardly ever get out of Magic Town. I'll just do some sightseeing on my own. Don't worry, I'm constantly in contact with Hilde. She has infiltrated into OZ. She's hoping to contact you boys to tell you something but so far, she did not dare try for fear of being discovered. After all, you Gundam boys have a strong aura and she doesn't know how strong the security magic is. An ordinary girl like me with little magic is nothing. Too small for them."
" You sure you are going to be all right?"
" You worry too much," she replied brusquely. She noticed his bag on the ground. " You're leaving? Come, let me help you pack."
Trowa knew she was putting on a show for him. So he played along. No point getting her upset and making her cry. He has gone too far now to turn back. He just hoped the war would be over soon.
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Noin had never felt so simple in her life before. Here at the farm, there is no fighting, only peace. She found herself yearning for such a life with Zechs. Dex was a wonderful man, full of humour and sunshine. He did not allow himself to worry and would always brush aside his wife's concerns and fears. Maria was an affable woman with bright eyes and rosy cheeks. She was easy-going but as a woman, she tends to worry more. However with Dex around, he never failed to make her laugh. They were such a lovely couple.
Noin sat on the porch, gazing at the setting sun. Maria was cooking dinner and Dex was taking a shower inside. His songs and whistles were all over the farmhouse. The chickens were resting in the coop and the cow was having her dinner with the horses. Maria and Dex had three adopted children who lived nearby. They often drop by to see their parents and talk to them. Noin sighed.
" Noin," someone called her name.
She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she had not realized someone approaching. The person was none other than Zechs. Noin leapt up in excitement. " Zechs! You are here!"
He smiled at her, a genuine and relived curve on his lips. The two do not touch; they just gazed at each other. And smiled.
" How are your injuries?" he asked.
" I'm fine now. Thanks to my two new friends." Her face became solemn. " There's something I have to tell you, something about OZ."
At that moment, Maria came out. " Noin, dinner's… Hi, is that your friend? Such a gorgeous-looking fellow! Don't just stand there, come on in and join us for dinner."
Seeing no reason to refuse, Zechs joined them for dinner.
After dinner, Noin and Zechs sat in her room. Noin then spilled the beans about everything that had happened to her since she left him. It was a story that Zechs find it hard to swallow. But the faint scars on Noin's arms proved it all and plus the fact that she had never lied to him before, Zechs lost his faith in OZ.
" I never dreamt that it would actually be like this…" he said, shaking his head. He closed his eyes briefly.
" Neither did I," Noin agreed. " What should we do now?"
" You should be asking what we can do now," he said. " We made a mistake in joining OZ. To tell you the truth, at first I was just as enthusiastic as Treize about serving OZ. But as time goes by, after I had my revenge and later finding Relena, I began to ask myself: Is this what I want to do all my life? Is war something that I really hope to see all my life? Do I go on continuing be a murderer? But OZ…You can't just escape from it. Noin." He looked into her eyes. " I made a mistake. I made a mistake by joining OZ."
Noin bit her lip. " I was sold to OZ by my parents. They were poor and they wanted money. I thought I would just have to make the best out of my life in this situation but I guess my heart has never been fully with OZ. The only way to get out of it is to die. We know too much. OZ would never let us off."
Zechs thought for a while. " Then we will just have to fight back. There are also innocent people in OZ who are giving their lives to OZ for nothing. Treize is one of them. He is a good man, just misguided. Like us. He commands a wide support among many soldiers. If we tell him the truth, and if he believes us, he could help us turn this game around on that 'Master'."
" But what if he doesn't believe us?"
" Then we'll be on our own," Zechs answered simply. " Noin, I would like to see Magic Kingdom again. After that, it's time to start planning for the future. Are you afraid of death?"
" Are you kidding?" She grinned. " If I am, I won't have stayed by your side."
Zechs was glad to have a confidante. " You are one great person."
" And so are you."
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The mute servant brought the prisoners' name lists to Master. Relena's name was on it. Master took one look at it and said, " Kill her."
