Growing Hearts

By Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: I don't own the GW characters, but the plot is mine. So don't sue me and don't steal it. ^.^

Warnings: None really, maybe a curse word or two, but it's pretty mild stuff at the moment

A/N: Well, here it is. Another chapter of my fic. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but with school and stuff it's hard to find time to do this. ^.^; Anyway thanks for the reviews and please enjoy the story!



"Are you certain about what you saw?"

Duo glanced sideways at Hilde. She had been questioned by all manner of people. Some of them had absolutely no business knowing anything about what she had to say. Others had every right to know. And they had no scruples when it came to exercising those rights.

"I'm sure Sir." She said to the man who had tried to prove them liars earlier.

"About how far away were they?"

"At least ten miles away from where we stopped to rest. I can't be sure though. They were fairly close."

"You must have good eyes, to see that far. How can you be sure it was even an OZ flag you saw flying."

Duo watched as Hilde's blue eyes flashed with indignance at the fact that he doubted her ability.

"It's a large black flag." She started, her eyes hard. "Red flames decorate the four corners of the flag and on the center is a large, silver, skull with small red flames centered in its eye sockets and open mouth. It's garish and horrible and no other kingdom has a flag like it."

"You could just be describing what you remember seeing in the past."

Hilde stood up and slapped her hands on the table in front of her. "I wouldn't lie about something like this dammit!"

He backhanded her viciously, causing her to fall back into her chair. She held a hand to a burning cheek, but didn't say anything else.

"You will cease your presumptuousness and remember your place boy!"

"That's a mighty big word," she said. "Try not to choke on it."

He hit her again. She wiped the corner of her mouth and glared at him.

"I wouldn't lie *Sir*. I saw an OZ flag and they're coming. And when you're lying on the ground screaming for the god of death to take your soul quicker because the OZ soldiers didn't gut you properly, you think of me and you remember what I said. I. Don't. Lie."

He turned red and turned to Duo and Solo. "You take your friend out of here." He hissed through clenched teeth. "You take him and get the hell out before I lose my temper."

Duo complied gladly, and took Hilde's arm. "Come on Deux. I don't think we're welcome."

She nodded, yanked her arm out of Duo's grip, and started out the door. She didn't look back, but Duo did. And the look of hate he saw in the man's eyes sent a stab of fear through his body.

He followed Solo and Hilde out, but didn't walk with them to the end of the hall.

"You should have been more respectful. You wouldn't have been hit if you hadn't been so cheeky."

"I can't help it. He was being an ass. And besides, you and Duo would have done it. Why can't I?"

"Because you're a g . . . hey!" He was cut off by Hilde grabbing his arm.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She inclined her head in Duo's direction. He was standing beside the door his eyes closed. He listened hard and heard the words that the man spoke clearly, even though many yards and thick stonewalls and doors separated them.

Solo and Hilde walked over to him, Hilde laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Is it, you know who?" Solo asked.

Duo shook his head, his eyes wide with fear. "No. It's that man. I could overhear him talking to himself."

"What did he say?" Hilde asked.

"He said that the time was coming soon for this kingdom. That OZ was going to come tonight and murder the royal family and he was going to help them."

"He's an OZ spy." Solo breathed.

Hilde gasped. "We have to tell someone!"

"We can't." Solo said. "They would never believe him."

"But . . ."

Duo took a deep breath. "He's right."

"There has to be something we can do." Hilde insisted.

Duo shook his head. He knew, just as Solo did, that no one would believe he happened to hear a man talking to himself about a treasonous plot. It seemed the man was trusted by the king and to say anything slanderous against him would probably make them a few enemies. Duo would be killed himself, if he said anything like that.

Hilde was glaring at them both. "I didn't take two hits to the mouth during that man's quasi questioning, just so my answers could be used to help the enemy! We've got to make sure that he can't help OZ!"

"But how?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know."

And that was the problem right there. They needed to help. But they didn't know how.



~*~

The castle became shrouded in a blanket of fear that night. Anyone who could leave did. They wanted to help, they said, but they had their own lives to look after. It was disgusting, the number of cowards who turned tail and ran.

Those who stayed did so because they didn't believe in the young squires. They would have taken the word of Milliardo and Treize, but neither of them had seen the flag for themselves. They had believed Hilde and Duo and Solo when they'd told them what they had seen.

For Relena and Lucrezia, seeing Milliardo again became a bittersweet reunion. The king didn't even spend time with his own son except for when he was questioning him or asking for advice in how to guard the castle. The queen wanted to spend time with her only son, but her husband stole him away too many times for her to say more than a handful to words to him.

Quatre was forced away by his father, who refused to be involved in any fighting that may have taken place. Master Zhing Shin left as well, with the married royals of his kingdom. He did leave a few of his own personal soldiers orders to watch after Relena however.

The circus troupe left later that night, a few hours behind schedule, after deciding instead of continuing on to the next kingdom they should just go home. In a way Relena wanted them gone instead of wanting them to stay because she didn't want them to be hurt just because OZ wanted to attack the Sanq Kingdom.

Hilde, Duo, and Solo were forced to stay in a room together with guards posted at both sides of the door. Duo's yelling that they would need all the help they could get when OZ attacked didn't deter them.

Treize remained at Milliardo's side most of the night until his friend left with Lucrezia. He then took over the planning of what to do in case of an emergency.

They posted scouts at the topmost turrets of the castle. They readied their knights. They thought they were prepared for whatever was to come. But they weren't prepared. Not even the slightest.



~*~



That night as Duo slept fitfully, he was visited by an old friend. Death didn't look happy though. He looked almost worried for his young aide.

"What do you want, old specter?" Duo asked, bored.

"Duo, I'm not here because I want to be." He said softly.

Duo raised an eyebrow, suddenly worried. "Why are you here then?"

"Because I have to be. Those people you saw today in the forest are on their way. That man whose aura you inspected sent word that if they disguised themselves, he could let them in the castle. And they could then assassinate the royal family."

"What else?" Duo asked.

Death said nothing.

"I know that isn't all! Tell me what else happened!"

"They came from the forest just outside of Dartslun. They ransacked the entire village. They killed so many people, even I was sickened."

Duo felt dread take hold of his heart and fear twisted his stomach. "What about the church? Are Sister Helen and Father Maxwell okay?"

"No."

The two letter word sent Duo to his knees in front of the cloaked figure before him.

"Did you take them?" He asked, his voice quavering.

"I had no choice."

Duo winced visibly. "Did they suffer?" He asked softly.

"Yes."

Death felt sympathy course through his corpse like being as he gazed down at Duo.

"You were right." Duo whispered. "You do follow me everywhere. You take everyone I love! Why? Why do this to *me*?" His voice rose in crescendo until he was yelling.

There was no answer. Death couldn't explain that Duo had been chosen long before the world had even come to exist. Again Death had no choice.

Duo glared up at him and then shook his head. "Get out of my head. If you won't get out of my life at least get out of my head!"

Death hung his head and disappeared, leaving Duo to grieve.



~*~



Hilde was jolted awake as she heard a soft sound. She sat up and glanced around. Solo was still sleeping soundly. But Duo wasn't. He was sitting up in his makeshift cot and had his head buried in his arms.

Hilde hopped down from the bed they'd insisted she take and moved toward him.

"Duo?" She asked softly.

His head shot up and his eyes skittered around the room, finally landing on her form just behind him. She sat down next to him.

"You're crying? What happened?"

"It was him again." He said softly. "He came to tell me that . . . OZ is coming. They're already here in the kingdom. They went through Dartslun before any other village. They attacked the church and killed Sister Helen and Father Maxwell."

It took a moment for Hilde to fully hear the words. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were dead? That couldn't be possible. Could it? No, most certainly not. Hilde voiced those thoughts.

"No." She breathed. "No, that's not possible. They can't be dead."

Duo snorted. "Better get used to the idea."

Hilde wanted to argue with him and tell him that that was wrong. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were good people. Too good to just die. But OZ didn't much care who was good and who wasn't, did they? They killed for the love of it. And it made sense that they'd want to kill the purest of the pure. Besides, Death had never lied to Duo before and he definitely wouldn't lie about a thing like this . . .

Which meant that Sister Helen and Father Maxwell really were dead.

Hilde's bottom lip trembled and tears filled her eyes before they spilled over and formed rivulets on her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. They'd become a part of her family when she'd left her parents. They'd protected her, taught her, loved her. And now they were gone. And she'd never even gotten to say goodbye.

She shuddered with a silent sob, wrapped her arms around Duo's waist and buried her head in his neck. His own arms closed around her small body, drawing her close. Hilde inhaled, taking in Duo's unique scent and felt instantly comforted. He'd always had this affect on her. He was her protector, he'd saved her so many times that it made sense she'd feel so much better in his arms. But she also felt something else. Something that unsettled her stomach and made it quiver.

She was so close to him, she could hear him breathing near her ear. Could feel his heartbeat against her chest. Holding him like this felt so good. So right. But it wasn't right. She couldn't afford to feel things like this. Not now when she was grieving, and not later when they'd become a liability.

She leaned back and removed a hand from around his neck and framed the side of his face with her palm. She wanted to ignore everything common sense was saying, especially when he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers and their breath mingled between them.

Sister Helen had always told her to listen to the voices inside because they were almost always right. They were the way the gods communicated with them. She'd even laugh and say that Hilde had a habit of ignoring them in favor of what she had to say to herself. But right at that moment, Hilde ignored herself and listened to the voices. And she realized they were chanting that this was okay. This was right. This was *meant*.

Their noses bumped gently as they angled their heads. Their eyes locked for a moment, Duo's looking violet in the low light and filled with so many emotions. Fear and grief and maybe even love. They were so intense . . . Hilde had to close her own and in that moment he captured her lips with his.

Her lips parted on a soft gasp as his warm lips moved over hers. The kiss was gentle at first, soft and fleeting. They leaned back slightly, their breath hitched in their throats. And then they moved forward again, their lips meeting this time in a kiss that was all pain and healing. She could taste tears on his lips, knew that there were some on hers as well . . . But she didn't care. This felt too good.

And just as quickly as the insanity had started, it ended. They pulled back and stared at each other before she looked away, her arms dropping from around Duo's body.

"I'm sorry . . ." she started.

"Don't say that." Duo interrupted.

She looked up at him and then nodded slowly.

"What do we do now?" She asked backing up a little.

"We tell Solo. And then we do everything in our power to try and stop this."

Hilde nodded and watched as Duo stood up and then grabbed the hand he held out to her.

And together they moved woke Solo and then they all spent a few minutes mourning, before they heard a shout from outside.



~*~



What was all that shouting? Relena sighed and stood, wrapping herself in a shift and moved to her window. She pushed back the curtains, unlocked the glass panes, and leaned out to see what was going on.

There was a group of men outside, just beyond the moat surrounding the castle. They were shouting for the night guard to let down the drawbridge.

Relena wrinkled her nose. How odd. Especially at this time of night. She had a horrible feeling about this. Obviously the night guard thought it strange as well, because instead of lowering the drawbridge, he called for one of the nightly sentries.

Relena couldn't hear them, but she did see the sentry leave, and assumed he was going for her father. Well good, at least they were *thinking*. No chances could be taken. Still, Relena would simply have turned them away, telling them that castle rules said that the drawbridge couldn't be opened at night unless they were expected.

Relena, not wanting to sit around and just watch, made her way out of her room, glad that the guards Master Zhing Shin had left her were with her father instead, and sprinted down the halls and to the drawing room. She was nearly hit from behind by three squires who were running down the hall as well. She sped up and fell into step with them.

"How'd you get past your guards?" She asked, the words slightly breathless.

"We aren't a future commoner vigilantes for nothing, Princess." The braided boy said with a wink.

Relena blushed and then catching a glare from the dark-haired boy looked down at her feet.

"Are you going to warn my father as well?" Relena asked.

"Yeah."

"Well good. I'm glad our future knights are intelligent and see as much wrong with this as I do."

In the back of her mind Relena knew they probably thought it odd for a princess to be able to keep up with them step for step and be able to talk as well. And a part of her hoped they were impressed too.

They made it to the large, stone stairway that led to the entry hall. They jogged down the steps careful not to slip. They got to the end and stopped short, their mouths agape. The sentry was running out of open doors, yelling that it was okay for the drawbridge to be dropped.

"No!" The four of them yelled. "No! Don't let him!"

"How did you escape your guards?" A man asked.

Relena turned quickly and recognized him immediately. It was Richard Longhart, Duke of Leighsweigh. At least that was what he said. But Relena didn't like him and she disliked him even more as she watched him approach the four of them.

"You have no business down here!" He yelled. "You're trying to escape aren't you? Maybe you really did see OZ, but only because you're their spies! You'll be whipped for your treason!"

He took a step toward them but Relena stepped in front of the three of them, arms outstretched.

"I think not, Richard. As the princess of this castle, daughter of the king and queen, I say you will not have these three whipped. They feel as I do that this situation is a bit suspicious and those men should *not* be allowed within these castle walls! Now give the night guard the order to keep the drawbridge up!"

The man sneered. "Too late Princess. Too late for that, too late for your family, too late for you."

Her eyes widened as there was a great shout and men came pouring into the castle by the droves, swords raised and blood lust in their eyes.

"You bastard! You lying, sneaking, bastard!" The dark haired squire yelled. "You led them here! Don't try to deny it!"

He shrugged. "That's life." He said before motioning three men forward.

"Now, save your princess if you can." And then he was gone.

Relena stared up with wide eyes as a broad sword made a wide, downward sweep. Just before it hit her, Relena was pushed out of the way. There was a loud clang as two swords connected and glanced off of each other. The blonde squire was fending off a larger man, and doing a pretty good job of it.

She glanced to the side of her and saw that the other two were locked in battles with men as well. She ran out of harm's way as men started down the stairs behind her, ready to protect the royal family at all costs.

It was a pity that none of them knew it was in vain.

~*~

A/N: So, what did you think? Please leave a review and let me know. Thanks a bunch! ^.~