All the Pretty Little Horses
By: Licorice-Sama
Leia had been dreaming about the mobile suits again. Bulky, mechanical, and in long, straight rows all down the streets of the colony. She didn't want to get up from the bed, dark with shadows from the French doors. But the baby wouldn't strop crying, and the sharp bursts of air echoed in Leia's ears, pounding with the pain in her head, making her aware of her stuffy nose. Sniffling, the brunette rose from her bed.
Leia made her way to the bassinet, looked down at her daughter. Already the baby had a full head of auburn hair. The baby's eyes were shut tight against the darkness, and her mouth was open, toothless gums exposed like an old convict's. Leia picked the baby up, feeling the wailing increase and she held the baby close to her bosom. The child's pale, smooth skin was warm. Leia's chest rose and fell with a sigh.
"Shh... hush, my Mariemeia. Hush, my dearest," Leia said in a voice distorted by the mucus in her nose and at the back of her throat. The baby quieted, but didn't stop crying. The darkness was arms around the two; the warmth keeping them in the shadows. Lamplight from outside sent odd patterns of silver-white and black spilling over the wood floor and the oriental rug Leia stood on. The light shone on Mariemeia's head against Leia's shoulder, her white, silk peignoir soft against the baby's rosy cheek. Mariemeia was only whimpering now, and Leia began to walk her around the room in a slow circle.
"Treize, do you know about her? What would you want of her, if you did?" Leia whispered. Mariemeia gave another splutter of wails, then was nearly quiet. Leia readjusted the way her hand cradled the nape of her baby's neck, the back of the head.
Leia remembered how angry her father, Dekim, had been when he found out she was pregnant. She remembered the yelling, the slap across the face, the months of silent agony as her father ignored her existence. He refused to take meals with her, and when in the same room he would turn away from her, address others, or read. She had been so upset during the pregnancy. She had been too drained to find Treize, or to tell him.
Leia frowned at the muffled resonance of her voice as she found herself singing Mariemeia a lullaby.
"Hush-a-by, don't you cry
Go to sleep little baby.
When you wake, you will take
All the pretty little horses."
Leia began murmuring to herself, looking out the French doors, past the balcony, and at the streets of the colony. The same streets that in her dreams were filled with mobile suits.
"Treize, your father, was a soldier. No, he is a soldier. And he is gaining rank, and he will have the influence, the position he so desperately craves," she murmured to the child.
Leia's mouth closed, and she lifted her head. Her eyes glistened in the shadows, and she backed to the bed. She lay down, and she laid the now-sleeping baby next to her on the bed.
"Treize will never know about her," Leia said quietly, "his influence, his position... no. He'll change my dearest. She won't be a child if he knows her. She would be his Ideal."
Leia turned over to watch her sleeping baby girl. She smiled at the auburn down on Mariemaia's head, and her peaceful face. She stroked the knuckle of her forefinger against her baby's supple cheek. Leia smiled. She closed her eyes. She shuddered at the image of mobile suits behind her eyelids.
When you wake, you will take
All the pretty little horses. ...
FINIS
Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing or related characters, just abusing them for personal enjoyment. I feel like such a pimp.
Un Petit Nota Bene: Oh god this was forced. This was REALLY forced. Tee-hee, can ya tell? Can ya? . Anyway, did you like it or hate it? Was it sentimental, cliché, didactic or politically incorrect? Any constructive criticism would gladly be appreciated. So review. And If you don't have any constructive criticism, review anyway. No flames, please. And none of that "I like it!" crap either. You have a whole palette of material at your disposal right in front of you, right now, you're reading it! Don't tell me you can't think of anything other that "I loved it!" No! I'm not reading it to you aloud! It doesn't work that way!