Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is © to Bandai, Sunrise, and Sotsu Agency. All original characters mentioned within this story--with the exception of Mea, Quatrina, and Kailai--belong to them. This fiction piece is made solely for my own entertainment purposes, as well as for the entertainment of others. I'm not making any money or profit out of this. All rights are reserved. Comments, questions, and constructive criticisms are welcome and can be directed to me at Mishee926(at)gmail(dot)com.

This fiction is rated PG for some violent language and mature themes. You have been warned. Please read at your own discretion.

A Continued Dream: Quatrina's Story
Written by: Mishee

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter II
Thoughts

"Uncle Trowa gives his regards," Quatrina announced quietly that morning. Her mother and brother looked at her in surprise and regarded her silently. She didn't meet their glances and ate another spoonful of oatmeal.

"How is he, Quatrina?" her mother asked softly. She looked radiant that morning with her brown, shoulder-length hair pulled back in a neat bun and wearing a gray silk business suit and white blouse. Her pale, violet eyes reflected from her spectacles.

"He looks fine, Mama."

Her mother looked at her again but said nothing. Then, she nodded and opened the morning newspaper. There, on the front page, the picture of two mobile suits clashing against one another in space stuck out like a sore thumb. Kilai, or Kai as most people tended to call him, stared at the picture in a mixture of both fascination and horror. Quatrina turned away and glanced at her brother curiously. Mrs. Winner put her newspaper down and looked at her watch.

"Time to go, both of you."

Quatrina stood up abruptly and ran upstairs. Her brother, however, lingered on the table and slowly sidled over to where his mother had left the newspaper. Mrs. Winner, busily arranging some papers inside her attaché case, didn't seem to notice him until she heard the rattle of the newspaper being opened. She then looked up. Kai was busily poring over the front page. She glanced at the article, then paused at the picture, somewhat surprised and horrified.

"Kai…" she began hesitatingly.

Kai looked up startled. He saw the sadness and even slight anger in his mother's eyes and didn't say anything. Mrs. Winner looked evenly at him, then took the newspaper gently away and turned it facing back.

"You'll be late for school if you keep dawdling," she admonished softly, not commenting on the newspaper. Kai looked at her, his eyes searching. Finally, he nodded and slowly turned and descended the stairs. Mrs. Winner watched as he disappeared up the staircase, then sighed and turned over the newspaper, glancing again at the picture. Her finger traced the outlines of the mobile suits and her eyes became distant.

"They'll never learn," she whispered, and put the newspaper away in her bag.

---------------

They attended the Darlian Academy, named after Relena Darlian, a student who had once attended the prestigious college and was now the famed peace ambassador for both Earth and space. She often came to visit the academy, sometimes to interact with the students and such. She rarely came, now, however. The war had grown worse in merely a few weeks.

The talk of the war had circulated among the students like a brush fire. Many of the young men attending the academy had dropped their studies to join in the fighting ranks. Even some professors had resigned. Soon, only Kai and a few others remained, but even they were getting a bit uncomfortable by that fact.

'But…why?' wondered Quatrina as she sat alone in a bench that adorned many of the exquisite gardens surrounding the academy. On her hand, she held one of the classics, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, that she had been assigned to read that week by author James Joyce. She wasn't reading, however. Instead, she let her eyes drift over to the many array of flowers and trees surrounding her. She tended to ask the same question over and over these days. 'Why, why, why?'

"Quatrina?"

'Why must there be war? Why was Papa taken away from us?'

Quatrina?"

'Didn't Papa die for peace? Where's that peace? Why must all hurt again?'

"Earth to Quatrina…Hello?"

'Did he die in vain?'

"Quatrina!"

Quatrina looked up and saw the pixie-like face of her best friend, Sadami, looking at her with obvious concern. Quatrina smiled weakly at her, trying to hide her surprise.

"H-hey Sadi. I didn't know you were calling to me."

Sadami frowned in worry.

"Are you okay, Kat?" she asked, calling her by her nickname. "Maybe the heat's bothering you. It's awfully hot today, you know. Why, just a few hours ago, Kyoko fainted from the heat and—"

"No, really, I'm fine, Sadi. I just kind of…zoned out for a minute. People do it all the time." She forced a smile out to prove it. "But I'm fine now, really."

Sadami broke into a relieved grin.

"Great…for a while there, I thought I lost you." She peered at the book. "What's that you're reading?"

"Another of Joyce's works. We're supposed to read it for Monday for Professor Bates' class."

"Professor Bates?" Sadami raised an eyebrow. "She barely has enough to students to have a class."

Quatrina didn't say anything. It was true. The once male-dominated class had declined in number so drastically that Mrs. Bates literally had no class. In fact, it seemed more like a tutoring section more than a regular school course.

"Almost all the guys have gone," Sadami continued.

"And about half of them have died just being a part of this…this senseless war."

Sadami stopped and surveyed Quatrina's usual calm face.

"It's not senseless, Kat. This war is being fought to bring peace!"

"Wars cannot bring peace," Quatrina stated firmly in a soft voice. "When can we ever learn that? Our ancestors have warred with each other countless times, declaring that they were fighting to achieve peace. Well, where's the peace? How many more times must we fight to achieve this 'peace' we so want to have?"

Sadami stared at her and said nothing. Quatrina looked down at her hands, suddenly noticing their paleness in them as they clutched the book tightly. She relaxed them. Sadami put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I won't argue with you," she whispered. "Because I respect your opinions. But…I'm sorry I made you so upset."

Quatrina looked up at Sadami and smiled. She was so understanding! It was for that reason that the two were the best of friends.

"I didn't mean…I'm the one who should be sorry, Sadami." And she was sorry. She hadn't meant to preach to her best friend. Once again, she had let her emotions run away with her. Sadami squeezed her shoulder comfortingly and gave her a knowing smile.

"You look so…so sorry whenever you apologize," she said, her eyes glinting in amusement. "It can bring anyone to tears."

Quatrina laughed. Everyone said that to her. It was always the same remark.

"Come on." Sadami pulled her friend up. "We'll be late for fencing class if we don't hurry."

The two ran off into the distance.

Author's Note: I wanted to use the space here to give a proper tutorial on how to pronounce the names in this story. Kailai, albeit the funny spelling, is pronounced "Kye-lay." Quatrina would be pronounced the same way you would pronounce "Katrina." As you can see, the similarities between her name and her father's are pretty obvious, right down to how they are both pronounced.