The Complications of Emotions
By: OniiStar
Chapter 8




Author's Notes: I'm back! And I wrote 12 pages just for you all. That doesn't include my author's notes either! So…ha!!! Anyhow, I would have continued but…it would have taken a while longer..since inspiration is hard in coming. Not much else to say..except please review…I'd appreciate motivation! M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-O-N! Does anyone even read this stuff? -.-

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing except the plot..which isn't really original..but it's mine..







She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor, her head resting in her hands. Violet eyes blinked as she sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Princess Hotaru of Saturn was contemplating the badge of Earth she had picked up near the damaged area of her home. Rain poured harshly against her window, as if her mother planet was weeping like a babe without its new pleasure. A knock was heard on the door and she glanced towards the door with her purple eyes.



"Leave me be," commanded the girl, momentarily surprised by her own hoarse voice.



It seemed like an eternity since the day her marriage had ended, and the priestess of Mars and already explained to her about the predicament they were in.







* Flashback *



"Hotaru…can I speak to you for a moment?" asked an unusually timid Rei.



"…Sure Rei…" was the soft answer.



A concerned and curious look was held on Hotaru's face, but carefully hidden as she turned her back to her friend.



"You know you're no longer attached to Heero Yuy now, correct?"



"I know that…"



"Do you know the reasons as to why you aren't?" queried Princess of Mars.



"No…I barely understand," admitted the soldier of destruction.



Rei began to explain their situation to Hotaru, hesitant at first, but as her friend remained calm, she started to speak with more confidence.



"I don't think that Andromedan soldiers--"



"Leave now," came the astringent voice.



"Yes, of course," said Rei, bowing slightly and disappearing without another word.





* End of Flashback *










She felt upset because of what she had lost…an important alliance with the Andromedan galaxy.



'Yes…that is why I am so upset…I feel as if I have not done my duty.' Hotaru assured herself firmly.



As she slipped into her large bed, pulling the covers up over her shoulders, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.









*~~~~~*







Down a dark hall on second floor of the Andromeda palace, behind the fourth door on the left, there stood the Prince of Andromeda himself, Heero Yuy. He held his long sword in his hand, the flat of the blade in front of his face, the top of the hilt near his chin. He turned the blade in his hands, the sharp edge now pointed towards him, and directly down the center of his face.



Thoughts came in and out of his mind as he began to ponder the events of the past few days. He pulled back the arm holding the sharp weapon, his Prussian eyes hard and cold as he thought of the punishment of the soldiers' and their family. Soon, he slashed his sword arm down in a diagonal, letting it twist in his grip as he brought it up in an upper cut, Heero swiftly switched sword hands. He began moving in a regular "I" routine, barely focusing on his movements and the sharp blade no longer slipping from his left hand.



His thoughts soon wandered to violet eyes and a soft voice calling out to him, a light satin gown swirling about her as she twirled in the breeze. Soft crimson rose petals brushed against his skin and swirled about her as she danced a slow, passionate dance of a lost love, and hectic sorrow to come.



A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he blinked, sighing with relief. Or was it disappointment? He shook his head, his dark bangs moving slightly in front of his eyes as he slides his beloved sword into its black sheath, placing both sword and scabbard on his wooden night bureau. Again, another knock, this time for urgent.



"Yes?" Heero finally growled out, surprised by his own tone.



"Oh good. Milady, the Majesty, requests yer presence t'morrow me Lordship," came the heavily accented voice of a butler.



"Very well. That is all." dismissed Heero, then after a moment, went to the door, opened it and looked at the back of the man walking away.



"Come back here," called the prince, pulling out his coin pouch.



The servant boy blinked hesitantly, wanting a reward but fearing cruelty, as he made his way towards the crown prince of Andromeda. He watched bewildered as the cold stolid prince pulled out a few gold coins and handed it to him. The servant boy cautiously reached his hand out to accept the gift, and when Heero shoved the coins into his hand, he closed a fist around the precious treasure.



"Thank ye me lord," murmured the servant boy, bowing at the waist, then turned to head towards his sister, who was also an attendant at the palace.









*~~~~~*









She calmly brushed her strands of hair, staring into the mirror at her own beautiful reflection. Her face held a thoughtful expression as she began to think about her life since the open announcement of the engagement of the prince and princess. Her grip on the silver handle of the brush tightened as she continued to brush her hair with meticulous care. Her thoughts began to wander into her plans for the future, to the slight swell of her belly…the child of Lord Halladsen.



'He was supposed to be mine…I was supposed to rule that galaxy with him…not her.' she thought.



'Because of that girl,' she thought, 'I've had to suffer this insolent man.'



He was heard shouting in the dining hall, and then giggles and loud laughter followed, and she shuddered in disgust. She looked into the mirror and glared at her reflection, her black anger building up in her. No matter how much she brushed her hair, she could never get it to have that wondrous shine she saw that whore, the princess, had. It would never be beautiful again, not after Lord Halladsen cut her hair in one of his tempers.



She remembered that day so well, just like when he rutted into her on their wedding night, filling her and constantly pounding, and pounding, and just continuing that pounding. It made her sick when he spilled his seed in her body, and how he made her get up and demanded that she washed his body.



She had to deal with all that suffering, all that embarrassment as her husband took dozens of mistresses without the least bit of discretion. And the Lady Halladsen blamed it all on that princess…the one that ruined her life.



Finally, she slammed the brush on the vanity table, although she greatly felt like breaking something, her husband's neck being the most preferable. But, she knew she had to bide her time and wait until just the right moment.



What are your best weapons?



Cunning and deception.



And? And? Answer me, you idiot hell cat!



Patience!



Good.



She stood up, looked once more in the mirror, and fixed any wrinkles on her dress before walking to the door, and opening it.



"Guy. Come here." It was a harsh order, a command, something he was used to.



"Yes mistress?" he walked up to her, allowing his eyes to look appreciatively over the close cut of her dress.



"Show me to the study now," she spoke, smiling demurely at him.



Nodding, he began to escort her to the large study in the large manor, and she smiled secretly, thinking to herself.



Ah, yes…patience…then, I will rule again, and be recognized once more by her prince.









*~~~~~*









Her indigo eyes opened to the sound of tapping on her window, and when she blinked a few times from the brightness of the sun, cursing Apollo, as was her usual morning routine, then standing up to have a look at what made the sound.



As she opened the window, another pebble was flying towards its target, the window, and instead hit Hotaru's forehead. Growling, she rubbed the sore spot and looked down at the soon-to-be-dead person.



"Whoops! Sorry about that one Hotaru! I meant to hit the window, you see," came the cheerful words.



"And just what are you doing throwing pebbles at my window in the first place?" she growled out, obviously not being a morning person.



"I was trying to wake you up," the braided man said matter-of-factly.



"Maxwell….get to the point…." Hotaru ground out between clenched teeth.



"Amazing you can do that with your teeth clenched…." mused Duo Maxwell, the Prince of the Underworld.



"Maxwell!" shouted Hotaru, reaching beside her to grab anything to throw at him, which happened to be a vase of roses.



He easily dodged, and looked up at her, a mock hurt expression on his face. But when she growled again, and he saw the dangerous waters he was in, he began to act serious, and suggested she changed so they could talk more comfortably and privately.



A little while later, once Hotaru changed into a light blue dress, they sat together on a marble bench looking out over the ocean. They had been silent for quite some time, each thinking different thoughts.



'How should I start this?' he asked himself.



'What did he want to talk to me about? I wonder if something bad has happened…' she thought.



Finally, Duo spoke up, his voice quiet and thoughtful, a strange thing for Prince Maxwell if you really knew him.



"There is this story I have heard about a girl who was a traveler, moving from town to town looking for something. She would go to one town and wander about, looking for something she didn't know in utter silence, and every time everyone in that town would ask if she needed any help, and every time she would shake her head and block them out.



"She wandered through many towns, and each time the same thing happened, until she came to this one town, where all the townspeople asked if she needed help, all except one boy. When he didn't ask if she needed any help, she began to grow upset, and stalked up to the boy, demanding an answer from him in her usual cold voice.



"What the boy said next surprised her, and it caused to her to feel lonely and understood. He simply told her that he didn't care about whether or not she wanted help, since it was obvious she wouldn't let anyone near anyways.



"She couldn't believe his answer…and soon she found herself staying in the village, yelling at him, and trying to get him to yell back, to do anything. But he simply nodded, smiled faintly and ignored her once more. The traveler didn't understand why he acted this way, and soon enough, she found herself becoming friendly and polite to him, losing her attitude of coldness….."



He drifted off at the last statement, turning his head to look at his rapt listener, he smiled slightly. Her hands were still in her lap, and her gaze seemed focused on the floor thinking, but Duo knew that Hotaru was listening closely to every word. He especially knew when she spoke up…



"That cannot be the end of it."



He nearly laughed at the statement, the way she sounded, and his eyes twinkled merrily as he thought to himself.



'She had always loved stories,' he remembered.



When she used to be sick, he would come over and share stories of all his adventures with her, and she would listen, although she pretended not to care. She had always been the one to pretend not to care, but curiosity usually got the best of her.



"You're right," he said, amusement laced through his voice.



Then continued the tale, "Well, one day, the boy disappeared, and she spent the whole day looking for him, wandering through the woods, near the lake, and basically everywhere she could think of. Finally, she remembered he liked the cliff near the ocean, and she went there, and there she found him.



"He had his back to her but he asked her what she was looking for. And what came out of her mouth surprised her and the boy, though neither dared show it. She simply said 'you'. Realization dawned on her and soon she found she liked him more than she should, and she wept. Although for joy or for sorrow, I do not know.



"Anyhow, they spent the next few days bickering about this and that, but still greatly caring for each other in their own ways. But, alas, good things always come to an end. At least she found what she was looking for though, right Hotaru?"



"Right," and she became quiet again.



He looked at her then stood up, dusting off the front of his pants and preparing to walk away, when she spoke up again.



"Wait. What happened to them, Duo?"



"Ahhh..yes. The ending…well, the girl when to the river to get some water for the house, and meanwhile, the village was raided, and all was killed, even the boy she loved so much. The girl lived though. So see, Hotaru? Not all of the girls die in my tales!"



And he walked away, disappearing at the last possible moment as he stepped over the cliff's edge. Hotaru stood there, staring at the spot where Duo last stood before grumbling.



"Duo! That story had no meaning!" she mumbled, rubbing her temples.



Little did she know that the very man she was grumbling about was watching her through a mirror from his seat on his throne. Shaking his head, the cobalt blue eyed god tilted his head back and laughed throatily.



'Oh how she amuses me,' he thought, looking kindly at his childhood friend.



"Well, it's time I should check on another warrior goddess. Hmm…Jupiter here I come," and he chuckled as he stood up.