A Childhood Promise
Chapter 11
Sometimes,
it may take a long time before you realize the truth…
She slipped out of the room and into
the hallways, practicing her stealth skills. It was like a game; she would try
to sneak out with out being caught, but Heero would get her every time and send
her back to bed. Then, she would do it again later on, but not in a particular
time; that was just stupid.
Today, however, Relena found Heero
nodded off down the hallway. Stopping to wait, she saw his head droop and his
breathing even out. Finally! This was her chance! The blonde girl stepped over
the soldier and nearly got into the kitchen when she stopped.
Why was he out there in the first place?
Shouldn't he be in his room, or something…? She decided to look around the
house.
One bedroom, one kitchen with two chairs
and a table, and an empty room. There was a bathroom down the hall too. Relena
looked at Heero again, in an uncomfortable position and felt selfish for not
once thinking of her soldier. She scolded herself over and over as she reached
down and touched him lightly on the arm. He might as well sleep in her bed
tonight.
"Heero, stand up please." She whispered
in her most gentle voice. Her plan was to get him awake enough to understand
orders, but not what he was doing. His head slumped over onto her shoulder and
her felt him stir. "Heero…" she tried again, this time tugging slightly. Heero
stood, and she quickly led him over to her room. He was slid into her bed
swiftly, and the blanket was over his toned body quickly, the entire time
Relena had to force herself not to notice.
A chair sat beside the bed, and Relena,
her first objective forgotten, pulled on her uniform jacket and sat down to
watch him. It felt a little big, but she had lost weight since coming here a
few weeks ago with little food and a fever.
Her eyes trailed over to the sleeping
soldier on her bed. His posture was relaxed, and his face was calm, but not the
kind of calm it had when he was awake. It was peaceful, completely natural,
whereas other times it would seem forced and… well, how would one explain it?
It was calm in a different way, that was all Relena could think of.
Is this what the war did to you? She
thought. There was a dramatic change over him now that he was unconscious.
There was probably the same change on her face when she slept, the force of
responsibility lifted off her shoulders. The war had changed them all, for
worse in many ways. But it had to be fought, as Trieze had said. This was a war
with meaning. Her conscience was bothering her as she tried to convince herself
of this.
This war was important, right?
Hilde was taken in by an elderly couple
whose children had been drafted into the war. They hadn't been heard from
again, and the couple was happy to take Hilde on, whose parents were lost to
her. There was always her mother, but Hilde didn't have the money to get
halfway across mars. She didn't plan on driving, either, with all the oceans
and lakes they were making over there.
"Good morning Hilde." Icari, the kindly
lady, smiled. The raven-haired girl turned on her side and clutched the pillow
to her head a bit, breathing in it's fresh smell.
"Good morning." She replied with a
smile. Icari replied with the same.
"I made some eggs for breakfast. Please
help yourself." With that, she turned and exited, giving Hilde privacy to
change into the clothes she left behind. The ex-soldier smiled again at the
simplicity of this life, and wished she could stay in it. But no, there was too
much to do to hide away forever, and this war would reach the tiny town soon
enough.
A loose tank top and sweats, smelling as
fresh as the pillows. One of the neighbors had probably donated it. She would
have to thank them. Ever since coming here, the town had welcomed her as one of
their own, and the couple, Yasuo and Icari, had taken her in and treated her as
one of their lost daughters. In return, she had done many chores for the town,
and helped out where she was needed for no pay. After all, they were feeding
and clothing her.
"Morning." Yasuo's voice greeted her as
she stepped into the kitchen. She smiled and waved back. Hilde rarely talked, and
avoided it most of the time. It was a habit. The elderly man offered her a dish
with eggs, toast, and some sausages and she graciously accepted. Icari buzzed
around them, cleaning and tending to her husband (he wasn't a morning person).
Hilde watched with amusement as she
fussed about his hair and slouch while he tried repeatedly to wave her off. In
the end, Icari brushed halfway through and let go of the brush, letting it hang
from his mess of a head, as she so lovingly called it. The couple might've been
elderly, but they were fun-loving.
"I'm going to do the dishes." She said
as she finished, Icari turned from her mock-mad position and turned to fuss
about her.
"No, no no, you go sit down, I'll do the
dishes." She stepped forward and scooped the dish from her hand. Hilde looked
at her, surprised, like yesterday and the day before.
"Mrs. Kazii, I insist…"
"Quite calling me that! I've told you,
call me Icari. Also, I insist, sit
down and relax." Frustrated, Hilde smiled and stepped back. Instead, she
grabbed a wet towel and wiped off the table, then squeezing it dry over Icari's
shoulder. "What part of sit down and
relax did you not understand?" She said fiercely. Hilde grinned at her and
place the towel on the counter.
"I'm going to go out." She said to the
both of them, pulling on a sweater she had left on the couch the day before.
They smiled and waved her out. Two children greeted her, and some adults as
well. It was amazing how quickly they had accepted her. Hilde smiled and waved
back. It was a peaceful town, and only when she had started living here, she
had realized how much better it was to live in a peaceful town.
She'd forgotten.
And it was all because of the damned
war. Ridiculous, really. She had also realized how much she didn't want these
people to have to suffer from the war. She would have to stop it, somehow. But
it was currently out of her reach… she couldn't stop any battles in space
without a mobile suit, and even if one side were to stop, would the other? They
killed hundreds everyday, would they stop for one outcast Martian? Lucrezia
would, but Hilde hardly believed that she could stop the Earthlings.
"Miss Hilde!" A little girl ran up to
her, her pigtails bouncing as she did so. Hilde watched her approached with
some flowers in her hands. "Miss Hilde, I picked these for you!" She held them
up and Hilde accepted them. The girl went back to a few others and joined them
in making flowered crowns.
In her mind's eye, show couple see
mobile suits shadowing the town, and the girl stopping to change her course to
her mother, crying from the fear. A red beam shot down, and covered the child,
exploding the ground it hit as well.
Hilde shook her head to relieve herself
of the vision. No, she would have to stop the war, and hope the problem could
be sorted out without the fighting, or else the little girl with pigtails could
very well be killed, just like that.
Heero woke up to see Relena sitting in
the wooden chair he himself had sat in to feed her a few weeks ago. She wore
his jacket, and her head was turned slightly as she slept. He sat up before
realizing he wasn't where he was last night, but in her bed. With a frown, he
stood up, the cool air biting at his skin. Relena was lifted from her seat and
placed on the bed.
He'd have to take her out sometime for
some exercise before she got sick… Relena was growing really light. Not to
mention getting some food, they were starting to run out. Though where he could
get some was the problem, he was sure Relena wouldn't approve of him stealing…
Heero stopped
abruptly just outside the door. Since when did he care what Relena thought? He
was suppose to kill her, after all.
Caring was a weakness for and assassin, one he didn't plan to keep. He'd find a
way around it and finish this job off.
Still, he couldn't shake the idea of
Relena's disapproving, not like it was actually stealing. This town was
recently evacuated, but there was more than likely some food left over in other
homes.
"Heero?" He turned at his name to see
Relena, still in his jacket and her uniform, standing at the door. She was
distracting him now too? From taking care of her? Dear gods…
"Are you alright? You seem stressed."
She said after he had given no reply. Heero shook his head and continued on.
Relena retreated back into her room, probably tired from sleeping in that
chair.
After a few minutes of scrounging up
some old food, he turned back to tell Relena he would be going out for a bit
when he saw her looking out the window, where a playground stood. There was a
swing slowly moving back and forth, the wind having blown it. Relena turned to
face him, grim determination on her face.
"Heero," he stood up straight, as any
good soldier would their mistress when things were going to get rough.
"I need a mobile suit."
Dun dun dun… what does Relena have in mind? I've already decided that the story
is going to end soon (finally) I can't believe I started it in February though.
It's already May! Jeez, thanks so much for reviewing the whole time and being
patient, I couldn't have done it without you! :P
Special thanks to Mama-sama for
reviewing every chapter since the beginning!