Wow, I haven't updated this story in a long time. I was a bit disappointed
about how many reviews I got for the last chapter, so I put a lot of time
and effort into this chapter. It's longer then the first two chapters and
I'm hoping that I'll get a lot more reviews for this chapter. Enjoy!
~*~*~*~
"Duo! Look!" Rei grabbed his arm and pointed towards the base of the waterfall where a boy was swimming towards the shore with a girl hanging onto his back. The two of them quickly went over and helped pull the two of them out of the cold river. Rei helped the girl sit up, and patted her on the back as she coughed up some water. "Are you alright?" Rei asked in a concern voice as she helped the girl stand up. The girl nodded weakly, but before she could say anymore, the boy stood up.
"We should get going." He said in a calm voice, acting as if they hadn't just gone over a waterfall.
"You're joking, right?" Duo asked as he looked at the two soaking wet figures.
"You must stay, at least until you dry off." Rei insisted as she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders.
"Please Trowa?" Mina asked as she brushed wet locks of hair out of her eyes.
"...Fine. I'll get the others." Trowa turned and disappeared into the woods, leaving the three of them alone.
"I have some spare clothes that you can borrow until yours are dry." Rei smiled as she led the girl into the cave. Minutes later, as Duo started the fire, Trowa returned with two other people and a cat. By that time, Mina and Rei came back out of the cave, clothes along with a few other things in hand.
"Ami-chan, wanna come bathe with us?" Mina asked with a smile on her face.
"Sure." Ami smiled a bit unsure as she looked at the two strangers. Rei watched her fidget, and she smiled as she stepped forward to shake her hand.
"My name's Rei Hino, and that", she jerked a thumb towards Duo, "is Duo Maxwell."
"Nice to meet ya babe." Duo grinned as he watched her blush.
"As I was saying, we're going to go downstream a bit to bathe. Duo, if you even so much as think about looking, I'll cut that braid of yours off." Rei smile sweetly at him before leading the laughing girls off downstream.
"Threatened by a weak onna." Wufei snorted as he glanced at Duo.
"And what might your name be?" Duo asked, as he looked at him.
"Chang Wufei." Wufei sat down on the ground and began warming his hands on the fire.
"So where are you guys headed?" Duo asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"That's none of your business." Wufei snapped, causing Duo's curiosity to rise.
The three sat in silence around the fire, Duo wondering about where they were going, and the two wondering when the girls would come back. They stayed that way for another twenty minutes before the girls finally returned. Mina was complaining about her tight shirt, which was starting to annoy Rei, and Ami decided to keep quiet about her pants being a bit too big.
"Duo, you haven't started making the food yet?" Rei asked as she brushed out her long raven colored hair.
"Uh...no?" Duo smiled impishly as he watched her.
"It's really hard to believe you're a knight." Rei growled as she stormed back into the cave to get the food for dinner. Rei along with Mina and Ami prepared dinner, while the three guys, sat a bit away from them, talking. Well, it was more like Duo talking and Trowa listening, and Wufei praying that the braided baka would shut up.
"So where are you guys going?" Rei asked as she stirred something in a bowl.
"To the palace where the king lives!" Mina said with mock excitement.
"Really?" Rei stopped what she was doing and turned to face the girl.
"Sadly yes." Ami was putting the food on the separate plates along with getting drinks.
"Is something wrong?" Rei inquired as she glanced back and forth at the two girls.
"No." Mina smiled, trying to reassure Rei.
"Is the food ready? I'm hungry!" Duo whined as he held his stomach.
"Braided baka." Wufei and Rei growled at the same time. The two looked at each other a bit surprised before turning and going back to what they were doing.
"Let's eat!" Mina grinned as she, Ami, and Rei gave the boys their dinner.
~*~
"Man, this sucks!" Serena complained as she stared at the ceiling of the cabin.
"Couldn't we somehow escape?" Makoto asked hopefully as she watched the girl.
"Somehow? We could if we weren't being watched all the time." Serena growled in disgust.
"What about your crew and Shinigami?" Makoto stood up and stretched her sore limbs before going over to the window and looking out.
"Half captured." Serena snorted, causing Makoto to look at her a bit surprised. "The rest are either being eaten alive by sharks in the ocean, or they're with Shinigami and following us." Smiling at the thought, she sat up on her bed and turned to watch her friend.
"If you're a Winner, then why are you a pirate?" Makoto questioned curiously. Serena stared at her for a few minutes before lying back down on the small bed.
"Long story. But, the main reason was because I didn't fit in at all. I met my crew one day at the decks. Their old captain had thrown them off the ship because he was a greedy bastard and wanted all the treasure for himself. It sickens me how people are so greedy anymore. The rich don't care about the poor, and well..." Serena trailed off for a few moments before continuing on. "I killed their captain, gave them the treasure, and the rest is history."
"And what about Heero?" Makoto tilted her head to the side and was studying Serena.
"He's a bounty hunter, I'm a pirate with a bounty on my head. Get it?" Serena grinned at her friend who smiled back.
"Yeah, it all makes sense now." Makoto nodded to herself as she thought about the past events.
"Anyways, it's getting late, we better get some sleep." Serena said as she helped Makoto pull down the spare bed from the wall across from her bed.
"Good night Sere-chan."
"Good night Mako."
*A few days later*
"If I'm stuck in this cabin any longer I'll go crazy!" Serena growled as she kicked the door.
"I think...yes! I see the palace!" Makoto, who was looking out the window, moved over so Serena could look.
"Thank god! I was ready to break outta here and make a run for it." Plopping down on her bed, she motioned for Makoto to sit next to her. "Now, after we dock, you'll probably be left on the ship with some of the crew. Shinigami..." She pushed the window open and stuck her head out, looking behind the ship. "Shinigami is pretty far back, but you'll have enough time." Pulling her head in, she closed the window.
"Enough time for what?" Makoto asked in obvious confusion.
"To free my crew of course!" Serena grinned.
"Oh..." Makoto paled at the idea of getting into more trouble.
"You will help me, won't you?" Serena asked, giving her puppy dog eyes.
"Of course! That's what friends do of course!" Makoto laughed a bit nervously while scratching the back of her head.
"Great! The crew should be up on deck or in the cells below. The key to the cells is usually on a peg by the stairs. Now, to get to the cells, you need to go up on deck, and..." She trailed off as she heard a key being entered in the door. "Go straight across to the set of stairs next to the captain's cabin. It might be guarded, it might not, but if it is, I know you can handle them. Get the crew freed and then come in town and meet me by the palace gates, after that you'll need to show me where.." The door opened and Heero stood there, glaring at her. "Where the flowers are." Serena winked at Makoto before being led away by Heero.
"Oh Sere-chan." Makoto sat back down on the bed, waiting for the footsteps to fade.
~*~
"Wow, the palace is breath taking!" Rei said in awe as she stared up at it.
"Yeah, really breath taking." Mina said in a sarcastic voice.
"Mina." Ami placed her hand on her friend's arm, yet Mina just jerked her arm away from Ami. As they six of them entered the palace court, Ami brought her mare closer to Mina's.
"Ami, unlike you, I'm being sent here to hang!" Mina scowled darkly at a knight who looked at her. As soon as the group had dismounted, soldiers came running and shoved past Rei and Ami to grab Mina.
"What's going on?" Rei asked in confusion as she watched the soldiers. "What are they doing?"
"Hey! Watch what you're grabbing!" Mina snapped as she shoved one of the knights.
"Well well well, if it isn't my old friend Minako Aino." Mina's eyes narrowed to slits as she glared past the soldiers at the princess who was walking towards them.
"Princess." Wufei and Trowa kneeled down respectively before her, along with Duo who pulled Rei and Ami down with him.
"Relena." Mina growled as she continued to glare at the girl in front of her.
"I'm so glad you decided to visit." Relena laughed at the joke, though no one else did.
"Trust me, this is the last place I'd like to be." Mina smiled, though it turned out to be more of a snarl.
"Do I need to remind you who's royalty and who isn't?" Relena asked with a smirk.
"Do I need to remind you who hung whom upside down by the ankles?" Mina grinned as she watched the girl's face turn red in anger and embarrassment.
"Take her to a cell where she'll wait until this afternoon." Relena's eyes drifted over Mina's shoulder to where Quatre, Heero, and Serena were dismounting. "I have more important matters to attend to." Mina glanced over her shoulder, and laughed as she turned back to see Relena straighten her dress.
"You're still in love with Heero?" Mina laughter was cut short as Relena slapped her.
"It's a good thing you'll no longer be a problem." With that said, she glided past Mina without a backwards glance at her. The soldiers dragged the not-so-happy Mina away and into the palace before anyone could do anything about it.
"Why are they taking her?" Rei asked as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants.
"She's a theif." Ami said quietly as she picked up the sleeping white cat off of her horse.
"What?!" Rei yelled in shock, causing a few nobles to turn and look at her.
"You're joking, right?" Duo asked as he turned to face Ami.
"That onna has been a pain in the ass." Wufei growled.
"Oh shut up!" Rei glared at Wufei who just glared back.
"What's going to happen to her?" Duo questioned, his voice full of concern. Ami looked away, not wanting to answer.
"They're going to hang her." Trowa said as he watched Rei's face turn white.
"Hang a...a woman?" Rei asked in disbelief.
"Of course, she's a thief! What do you expect?" Wufei snorted as if it was quite obvious.
~*~
"Master Winner, Master Yuy, what a pleasure it is to have you here." Relena said in a happy voice.
"Princess, it's good to see you again." Quatre replied as she smiled warmly at her.
"Hn." Heero glared at her, yet she seemed unfazed by it.
"Ah, so you're the Princess. What a pleasure it is to meet you." Serena said in a mocking tone as she watched the girl. Relena turned to look at Serena, the smile seeming strained all of a sudden.
"And you are the famous pirate that everyone calls the Angel of Mercy. You look like anything but an angel." Relena laughed as she watched Serena try to jump her, but was restrained by Heero. "You should learn your place." Relena said coolly as she watched Serena struggle to attack her.
"And you should learn some manners." Serena snarled.
"Serena, stop it." Quatre glared at his sister before turning back to face Relena.
"Please forgive her, Princess." Quatre smiled at Relena, who nodded, not even looking at him.
"Now, you came for the bounty on her head, did you not, Master Yuy?" Relena asked as she walked towards him.
"Hn." Heero's glare intensified, stopping her in her tracks. Serena, noticing this, snickered, but quickly started coughing as soon as Relena looked at her.
"I'm here to pay for her release." Quatre said politely as he watched Relena and Serena stare at each other.
"Yes yes, follow me." She turned quickly and led them into the palace. Relena led them down one hallway after another until they came to a room. Opening the door, Relena went across to the desk where scrolls and papers covered the desk. Shuffling through the papers, she picked one up and turned to face them. "Fifteen thousand zeny reward, fifty thousand zeny bail." Nodding to the servants in the corners, they appeared in front Heero and Quatre. The one in front of Heero handed him a bundle of paper (zeny), and Quatre pulled out a few zeny before handing them to the servant in front of him.
A bell began to ring loudly throughout the palace, and Serena began to wonder what it was for. Before she could open her mouth to ask her question, she noticed the smile appearing on Relena's face. Relena waved away the servants and began to usher the three of them out of the room.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I have an...appointment that I can't miss." Relena's smile sent a shiver up Serena's spine, and caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.
"You mean a hanging." Heero grunted, still glaring at her.
"A hanging?" Quatre asked, slightly surprised.
"Why don't you three join me? That way Serena can find out what happens to criminals." Relena's pace was quicker then before as she led them down a few hallways before emerging outside. A crowd had gathered in a circle, where in the middle was something that looked like a stage, yet there was a hangman's noose. Serena scanned the crowd and was surprised to find many familiar faces, one of them being Makoto. She slipped away from Quatre and Heero and quickly made her way over to where Makoto was.
"What are you doing here?" She whispered as she looked around casually, trying to blend in.
"I was waiting for you like you said I should, when a bell rang, and well...I just followed the crowd." Makoto whispered back to her friend. "Oh yeah, I found these in a room." Moving her cloak out of the way, she handed Serena her curved swords.
"Do you still have your bow and arrows?" Serena asked as she pulled Makoto farther away from the crowd.
"Yeah, why?" Makoto asked as she pulled them out. Serena grabbed the bow and an arrow before knocking it and holding it ready.
"I am going to save the poor soul who's supposed to hang." Serena grinned.
~*~*~*~
Review, review, review! ^_^
~*~*~*~
"Duo! Look!" Rei grabbed his arm and pointed towards the base of the waterfall where a boy was swimming towards the shore with a girl hanging onto his back. The two of them quickly went over and helped pull the two of them out of the cold river. Rei helped the girl sit up, and patted her on the back as she coughed up some water. "Are you alright?" Rei asked in a concern voice as she helped the girl stand up. The girl nodded weakly, but before she could say anymore, the boy stood up.
"We should get going." He said in a calm voice, acting as if they hadn't just gone over a waterfall.
"You're joking, right?" Duo asked as he looked at the two soaking wet figures.
"You must stay, at least until you dry off." Rei insisted as she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders.
"Please Trowa?" Mina asked as she brushed wet locks of hair out of her eyes.
"...Fine. I'll get the others." Trowa turned and disappeared into the woods, leaving the three of them alone.
"I have some spare clothes that you can borrow until yours are dry." Rei smiled as she led the girl into the cave. Minutes later, as Duo started the fire, Trowa returned with two other people and a cat. By that time, Mina and Rei came back out of the cave, clothes along with a few other things in hand.
"Ami-chan, wanna come bathe with us?" Mina asked with a smile on her face.
"Sure." Ami smiled a bit unsure as she looked at the two strangers. Rei watched her fidget, and she smiled as she stepped forward to shake her hand.
"My name's Rei Hino, and that", she jerked a thumb towards Duo, "is Duo Maxwell."
"Nice to meet ya babe." Duo grinned as he watched her blush.
"As I was saying, we're going to go downstream a bit to bathe. Duo, if you even so much as think about looking, I'll cut that braid of yours off." Rei smile sweetly at him before leading the laughing girls off downstream.
"Threatened by a weak onna." Wufei snorted as he glanced at Duo.
"And what might your name be?" Duo asked, as he looked at him.
"Chang Wufei." Wufei sat down on the ground and began warming his hands on the fire.
"So where are you guys headed?" Duo asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"That's none of your business." Wufei snapped, causing Duo's curiosity to rise.
The three sat in silence around the fire, Duo wondering about where they were going, and the two wondering when the girls would come back. They stayed that way for another twenty minutes before the girls finally returned. Mina was complaining about her tight shirt, which was starting to annoy Rei, and Ami decided to keep quiet about her pants being a bit too big.
"Duo, you haven't started making the food yet?" Rei asked as she brushed out her long raven colored hair.
"Uh...no?" Duo smiled impishly as he watched her.
"It's really hard to believe you're a knight." Rei growled as she stormed back into the cave to get the food for dinner. Rei along with Mina and Ami prepared dinner, while the three guys, sat a bit away from them, talking. Well, it was more like Duo talking and Trowa listening, and Wufei praying that the braided baka would shut up.
"So where are you guys going?" Rei asked as she stirred something in a bowl.
"To the palace where the king lives!" Mina said with mock excitement.
"Really?" Rei stopped what she was doing and turned to face the girl.
"Sadly yes." Ami was putting the food on the separate plates along with getting drinks.
"Is something wrong?" Rei inquired as she glanced back and forth at the two girls.
"No." Mina smiled, trying to reassure Rei.
"Is the food ready? I'm hungry!" Duo whined as he held his stomach.
"Braided baka." Wufei and Rei growled at the same time. The two looked at each other a bit surprised before turning and going back to what they were doing.
"Let's eat!" Mina grinned as she, Ami, and Rei gave the boys their dinner.
~*~
"Man, this sucks!" Serena complained as she stared at the ceiling of the cabin.
"Couldn't we somehow escape?" Makoto asked hopefully as she watched the girl.
"Somehow? We could if we weren't being watched all the time." Serena growled in disgust.
"What about your crew and Shinigami?" Makoto stood up and stretched her sore limbs before going over to the window and looking out.
"Half captured." Serena snorted, causing Makoto to look at her a bit surprised. "The rest are either being eaten alive by sharks in the ocean, or they're with Shinigami and following us." Smiling at the thought, she sat up on her bed and turned to watch her friend.
"If you're a Winner, then why are you a pirate?" Makoto questioned curiously. Serena stared at her for a few minutes before lying back down on the small bed.
"Long story. But, the main reason was because I didn't fit in at all. I met my crew one day at the decks. Their old captain had thrown them off the ship because he was a greedy bastard and wanted all the treasure for himself. It sickens me how people are so greedy anymore. The rich don't care about the poor, and well..." Serena trailed off for a few moments before continuing on. "I killed their captain, gave them the treasure, and the rest is history."
"And what about Heero?" Makoto tilted her head to the side and was studying Serena.
"He's a bounty hunter, I'm a pirate with a bounty on my head. Get it?" Serena grinned at her friend who smiled back.
"Yeah, it all makes sense now." Makoto nodded to herself as she thought about the past events.
"Anyways, it's getting late, we better get some sleep." Serena said as she helped Makoto pull down the spare bed from the wall across from her bed.
"Good night Sere-chan."
"Good night Mako."
*A few days later*
"If I'm stuck in this cabin any longer I'll go crazy!" Serena growled as she kicked the door.
"I think...yes! I see the palace!" Makoto, who was looking out the window, moved over so Serena could look.
"Thank god! I was ready to break outta here and make a run for it." Plopping down on her bed, she motioned for Makoto to sit next to her. "Now, after we dock, you'll probably be left on the ship with some of the crew. Shinigami..." She pushed the window open and stuck her head out, looking behind the ship. "Shinigami is pretty far back, but you'll have enough time." Pulling her head in, she closed the window.
"Enough time for what?" Makoto asked in obvious confusion.
"To free my crew of course!" Serena grinned.
"Oh..." Makoto paled at the idea of getting into more trouble.
"You will help me, won't you?" Serena asked, giving her puppy dog eyes.
"Of course! That's what friends do of course!" Makoto laughed a bit nervously while scratching the back of her head.
"Great! The crew should be up on deck or in the cells below. The key to the cells is usually on a peg by the stairs. Now, to get to the cells, you need to go up on deck, and..." She trailed off as she heard a key being entered in the door. "Go straight across to the set of stairs next to the captain's cabin. It might be guarded, it might not, but if it is, I know you can handle them. Get the crew freed and then come in town and meet me by the palace gates, after that you'll need to show me where.." The door opened and Heero stood there, glaring at her. "Where the flowers are." Serena winked at Makoto before being led away by Heero.
"Oh Sere-chan." Makoto sat back down on the bed, waiting for the footsteps to fade.
~*~
"Wow, the palace is breath taking!" Rei said in awe as she stared up at it.
"Yeah, really breath taking." Mina said in a sarcastic voice.
"Mina." Ami placed her hand on her friend's arm, yet Mina just jerked her arm away from Ami. As they six of them entered the palace court, Ami brought her mare closer to Mina's.
"Ami, unlike you, I'm being sent here to hang!" Mina scowled darkly at a knight who looked at her. As soon as the group had dismounted, soldiers came running and shoved past Rei and Ami to grab Mina.
"What's going on?" Rei asked in confusion as she watched the soldiers. "What are they doing?"
"Hey! Watch what you're grabbing!" Mina snapped as she shoved one of the knights.
"Well well well, if it isn't my old friend Minako Aino." Mina's eyes narrowed to slits as she glared past the soldiers at the princess who was walking towards them.
"Princess." Wufei and Trowa kneeled down respectively before her, along with Duo who pulled Rei and Ami down with him.
"Relena." Mina growled as she continued to glare at the girl in front of her.
"I'm so glad you decided to visit." Relena laughed at the joke, though no one else did.
"Trust me, this is the last place I'd like to be." Mina smiled, though it turned out to be more of a snarl.
"Do I need to remind you who's royalty and who isn't?" Relena asked with a smirk.
"Do I need to remind you who hung whom upside down by the ankles?" Mina grinned as she watched the girl's face turn red in anger and embarrassment.
"Take her to a cell where she'll wait until this afternoon." Relena's eyes drifted over Mina's shoulder to where Quatre, Heero, and Serena were dismounting. "I have more important matters to attend to." Mina glanced over her shoulder, and laughed as she turned back to see Relena straighten her dress.
"You're still in love with Heero?" Mina laughter was cut short as Relena slapped her.
"It's a good thing you'll no longer be a problem." With that said, she glided past Mina without a backwards glance at her. The soldiers dragged the not-so-happy Mina away and into the palace before anyone could do anything about it.
"Why are they taking her?" Rei asked as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants.
"She's a theif." Ami said quietly as she picked up the sleeping white cat off of her horse.
"What?!" Rei yelled in shock, causing a few nobles to turn and look at her.
"You're joking, right?" Duo asked as he turned to face Ami.
"That onna has been a pain in the ass." Wufei growled.
"Oh shut up!" Rei glared at Wufei who just glared back.
"What's going to happen to her?" Duo questioned, his voice full of concern. Ami looked away, not wanting to answer.
"They're going to hang her." Trowa said as he watched Rei's face turn white.
"Hang a...a woman?" Rei asked in disbelief.
"Of course, she's a thief! What do you expect?" Wufei snorted as if it was quite obvious.
~*~
"Master Winner, Master Yuy, what a pleasure it is to have you here." Relena said in a happy voice.
"Princess, it's good to see you again." Quatre replied as she smiled warmly at her.
"Hn." Heero glared at her, yet she seemed unfazed by it.
"Ah, so you're the Princess. What a pleasure it is to meet you." Serena said in a mocking tone as she watched the girl. Relena turned to look at Serena, the smile seeming strained all of a sudden.
"And you are the famous pirate that everyone calls the Angel of Mercy. You look like anything but an angel." Relena laughed as she watched Serena try to jump her, but was restrained by Heero. "You should learn your place." Relena said coolly as she watched Serena struggle to attack her.
"And you should learn some manners." Serena snarled.
"Serena, stop it." Quatre glared at his sister before turning back to face Relena.
"Please forgive her, Princess." Quatre smiled at Relena, who nodded, not even looking at him.
"Now, you came for the bounty on her head, did you not, Master Yuy?" Relena asked as she walked towards him.
"Hn." Heero's glare intensified, stopping her in her tracks. Serena, noticing this, snickered, but quickly started coughing as soon as Relena looked at her.
"I'm here to pay for her release." Quatre said politely as he watched Relena and Serena stare at each other.
"Yes yes, follow me." She turned quickly and led them into the palace. Relena led them down one hallway after another until they came to a room. Opening the door, Relena went across to the desk where scrolls and papers covered the desk. Shuffling through the papers, she picked one up and turned to face them. "Fifteen thousand zeny reward, fifty thousand zeny bail." Nodding to the servants in the corners, they appeared in front Heero and Quatre. The one in front of Heero handed him a bundle of paper (zeny), and Quatre pulled out a few zeny before handing them to the servant in front of him.
A bell began to ring loudly throughout the palace, and Serena began to wonder what it was for. Before she could open her mouth to ask her question, she noticed the smile appearing on Relena's face. Relena waved away the servants and began to usher the three of them out of the room.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I have an...appointment that I can't miss." Relena's smile sent a shiver up Serena's spine, and caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.
"You mean a hanging." Heero grunted, still glaring at her.
"A hanging?" Quatre asked, slightly surprised.
"Why don't you three join me? That way Serena can find out what happens to criminals." Relena's pace was quicker then before as she led them down a few hallways before emerging outside. A crowd had gathered in a circle, where in the middle was something that looked like a stage, yet there was a hangman's noose. Serena scanned the crowd and was surprised to find many familiar faces, one of them being Makoto. She slipped away from Quatre and Heero and quickly made her way over to where Makoto was.
"What are you doing here?" She whispered as she looked around casually, trying to blend in.
"I was waiting for you like you said I should, when a bell rang, and well...I just followed the crowd." Makoto whispered back to her friend. "Oh yeah, I found these in a room." Moving her cloak out of the way, she handed Serena her curved swords.
"Do you still have your bow and arrows?" Serena asked as she pulled Makoto farther away from the crowd.
"Yeah, why?" Makoto asked as she pulled them out. Serena grabbed the bow and an arrow before knocking it and holding it ready.
"I am going to save the poor soul who's supposed to hang." Serena grinned.
~*~*~*~
Review, review, review! ^_^