Title: Quinque Elementum 1?
Author: WickedGame
See prologue for archiving info, disclaimers, pairings and rating.
Notes: Beta read by Adaina.
Chapter One – Luck of the Draw
Princess Relena stood in front of her mother's throne, wearing sapphire satin and waiting for her Guardians. They would each enter from the door that was accorded to their element, as tradition dictated. She was prim, she was proper, and she was trying to be every inch the Princess even though her heels were killing her feet.
Queen Amelia and Prince Gustaf looked down on their daughter with pride. The whole Realm had been looking forward to Relena's birthday. Her birthday party had been held earlier in the day; and now, as the third moon hung in the sky she would see her Guardians, the ones Destiny had decided to place her trust in.
The seneschal, Lord Pagan, stood next to Relena. He was getting on in age, and Relena was expected to replace him after her coronation in three years. He deserved a nice retirement.
At fifteen, Relena was already an impressive girl to look at and to listen to. Her honey-blonde hair was coiled on top of her oval face. Baby blue eyes were sharp and comprehending. Her mother and father had raised her well for the sake of the Realm.
"Very well Pagan, bring them in," Queen Amelia told her trusted friend. Pagan cleared his voice and announced them.
"Priest Quatre, the Guardian of Spirit, please come forth," Pagan announced. The door with a silver pentagram on it opened, and out stepped a young man with pale blond hair. His aquamarine eyes were fixed on the Princess as he stepped forward. His uniform was in accordance with what had been approved by Relena: heavy black boots, black utility pants that were made of a sturdy material, a black, short-sleeved shirt with a silver pentagram on the front, and a black coat that covered the Guardian from neck to ankle. Fingerless black leather gloves covered his hands with good reason. He walked with authority and power in his step, and he stopped before Relena to kneel, as protocol dictated.
"Priest Duo, the Guardian of Water, please come forth," Pagan's voice sounded unsure. Guardian Duo already had a reputation. He had caused his trainers a number of problems. He had escaped from them three times, and there was no lock he could not get himself out of. Relena felt some apprehension at his presence, but she knew that he was harmless. His pentagram was as blue as the waters of his homeland. He waltzed down the aisle like he didn't have a care in the world and he cheekily grinned at both Relena and Quatre as he kneeled gracefully.
"Priest Heero, the Guardian of Fire, please come forth," Pagan stated. Relena was startled to find that this young man was extremely attractive. This one she had also heard a lot about. He was rumored to be almost perfect in his spell executions, and was known to be extremely strong physically. If she had been interested in men she might have fancied him. Princesses had taken up with their Guardians before after all. But this Heero was achingly beautiful, with deep blue eyes and hair that looked like he had just gotten out of bed. The pentagram on his chest was bright red, and the black looked wonderful against his lightly bronzed skin.
"Priest Wufei, the Guardian of Earth, please come forth," Pagan sounded a little tired. But the young man who showed up in the doorway was anything but tired. He was wound tight, and he took in all his surroundings as he walked down to the Princess. His hair was deep ebony, and his eyes were a dark brown. Relena admired his obvious strength.
"Priest Trowa, the Guardian of Air, please come forth," Relena watched as a tall man with hair the shade of cinnamon came forth from his door. The pentagram on his shirt was yellow, bright like the sun. The man wearing the shirt, however, did not look like he was having any kind of fun. Rather, he looked like he wished he could get out of here as soon as possible. Relena couldn't have agreed with him more.
"Rise, Guardians mine. I wish to see you and speak with you," Relena commanded gently. They all rose and looked her in the eye.
"Today is the day we begin our journey together. I cannot guarantee it will be safe. I cannot guarantee it will be fun. But I pledge to you that I will try my utmost to live up to the ideal of being Queen of Evernight. I love this Realm and everything about her. Each one of you epitomizes the element for which you were trained. We are each individuals, and together we form what must be a perfect circle of protection for this Realm. For now, retire to your rooms. You each have your own room on my floor. I will see you all at dinner, and I hope that we will all manage to get along just fine."
As Relena turned to leave she saw the Guardians all look curiously at one another.
"Your hair is unacceptable," Heero blurted out to Duo. The others all suddenly noticed that the grinning Guardian of Water owned a three-foot long braid that was the same shade as the fallen leaves of the Skybright Forest.
"You ain't touching my god damned hair!" Duo growled reflexively, holding onto his braid like it was all he owned.
"You have to sleep sometime," Wufei smirked. Duo narrowed his gaze at the Guardian of Earth and then left the room.
"We're off to a great start," the Guardian of Spirit said to the Guardian of Air. Said Guardian raised his visible eyebrow and nodded.
&&&
Duo quickly unpacked the minor amount of things he had brought along with him to the castle. His clothing, shoes, and very few trinkets swam in the room, looking like sparse decorations in a place that should be very homey.
He was still stinging from the comments about his hair. His hair was all he had been allowed to take when the other Priests had taken him away from Solo.
"Solo…" Duo whispered, feeling a chill run through him at the memory of his dead adopted brother.
Solo had found him at the edge of the water in Lacuna Creek. Solo told him later than he was still covered in the afterbirth when he had found him. He told Duo that he had brought him back to live with his parents until they could find Duo his own home but that Duo had proved to be such a sweet child that his parents had decided to keep him. Duo had ended up calling them 'Mom' and 'Dad'.
But when Duo was eight and Solo was fifteen something tragic happened. They had gone out picking berries and had left their parents at home. When they came home they found the whole village standing outside their burnt home. Helen and Richard were dead inside. No one ever figured out how the fire started or how the two of them slept through it, but the fact of the matter was that Solo and Duo were orphans and had no home anymore.
They survived on the kindness of the villagers, but were left to mostly fend for themselves. And when Duo hit the age of ten Solo gladly took him to see the Priests. Anywhere other than the village was better for his baby brother. Duo wished for nothing more than to stay with Solo, but the Lord and the Lady had other ideas.
Duo had warily and reluctantly approached the altar and had drunk the potion the Priests offered to him. When he did, a sharp tingle went through him, almost like his whole body had fallen asleep. Then a sharp pain shot throughout his lower back. He held his breath until the pain passed and when it did he had the mark on his lower back. A pentagram was etched into his skin, black like a tattoo and scarred like a brand. Solo had been sad but grateful that there was something more out there for Duo than being stuck in their village.
Duo and Solo had shared a tearful goodbye, and then Duo had proceeded to be a pain in the ass to his instructors. He had run away three times, each time being caught sooner than he would have liked. They tried to get him to cut his long hair and he swore that he would kill them if they tried. They tried to get him to conform to what they wanted but he had always gone his own way.
Luckily he was more proficient than they could have ever hoped. Even though the Guardians were the most adept at their element out of all others the Priests had been surprised when he had created a waterspout after only a month of tutoring. They had declared him a prodigy and had kept throwing more and more difficult spells and manipulations at him. By the time his training was finished it was known that he was as close to a master as any of them had been.
And now here he was, faced with four other guys who all thought they were just as talented as he was. For the rest of his life he would be stuck with the Princess (who was pretty) and these four guys (who were all nice looking even if they had threatened to hack off his braid in his sleep).
"Especially Mister Fire Guardian." Duo murmured as he sat down on his firm mattress. Now that one was just about too nice to look at.
He would have to be careful and not mix business with pleasure.
&&&
A knock on Duo's door woke him from a short nap. He smoothed his braid and made sure his clothing was intact as he walked toward the door. He paused before opening it and placed his hand on the wood.
"Who is it?" he asked calmly. The ready stance he had adopted belied that calmness.
"I'm sorry, but it's Quatre. Could I come in?"
Duo lost the ready stance and opened the door. "What can I do you for?"
The blonde Guardian walked into the room with a friendly smile. "I got kind of bored sitting all alone in my room, so I thought I would come around and introduce myself."
"Was I your first stop?" Duo asked, plopping down in an armchair. Quatre sat himself on the small couch at Duo's welcome gesture.
"No. I went by and knocked on Trowa's door first, but he is a man of few words. Still cute, though." Quatre blushed slightly and Duo chuckled.
"Well, I'm sure you can turn him around," Duo joked, "Anyone else?"
"Wufei answered his door briefly but told me he was meditating and did not wish to be disturbed. Heero, well, he didn't answer his door." Quatre looked puzzled.
"Saved the best for last, eh?" Duo asked, folding his long legs under him.
"I guess you could say that. At least you are holding a conversation with me," Quatre laughed lightly.
"So, what do you think about the Princess?" Duo asked, toying with a loose thread on his shirt.
"She's a beautiful girl. From what I understand she will also make a good ruler. She sure looked interested in Heero."
Duo arched an eyebrow in response. "Really?"
"She was looking at him intently during the introduction. Well, I guess I had better get back to my room. If I am right then they should be fetching us for dinner pretty soon. It was nice to meet you Duo." Quatre shook hands with the Guardian and walked to the door. Duo let him out and then closed the door behind him.
&&&
Quatre had been a strange case before he was selected as a Guardian. His mother had been the Lady of their village until she had died while giving birth to Quatre. His father had passed on command to his eldest daughter, Lady Iria after the unfortunate death. Quatre was the only boy amongst a gaggle of daughters, but he never lacked for love or attention.
Emir changed after the death of Lady Tatiana. Before her death he had loved and supported each of his children in all their endeavors. Quatre had always been interested in serving as a Guardian. It was an opportunity to help the Realm after all. But after Tatiana's death Emir had become very protective of Quatre. He allowed the child to continue his studies but was adamant that the Priests would not take Quatre away when it came time.
Quatre had been eager to approach the altar when it came time. He had been overjoyed even as he had felt the mark go through him.
Emir begged for them not to take Quatre. They told Emir that he had until morning to bring Quatre back with his bags.
"Pack your things, Quatre," Emir told Quatre as he fetched a suitcase from under the bed.
"Father, what is going on?" Quatre asked, alarmed.
"We are leaving, now. They are not taking you from me," Emir said vehemently. Quatre shook his head. He did not wish to go. He wanted to do his duty and be a Guardian. He wished to help protect the Princess Relena.
"Father, I want to do my duty!" Quatre argued. Emir looked at him disdainfully.
"You are my son. I wish for you to remain with the family and fulfill your duty to us. You are my only male heir, and I wish for you to do right by me, not by the Princess," Emir finished packing for Quatre while the boy stood still in shock, "I am going to go pack for myself. Do not leave this room!"
Emir walked away and Quatre looked at his suitcase. He looked at the clock on the wall and noted that the Priests would not have left for the night yet. His mind made up, Quatre grabbed his suitcase and ran. He ran as fast as he could until he reached the altar. A Priest saw him and bade a Goodman to fetch some water.
"What is your name?" the Priest asked.
"I am Quatre. I am the Guardian of Spirit. My father tried to take me away. Please, I just want to do my duty and serve the Princess!" Quatre hoped the man could help him. He was large and imposing to Quatre's ten-year-old mind.
"My name is Priest Rashid. I am one of the men set to train the Guardian of Spirit. We must go quickly before your father comes for you. Even though he has no claim over you at this point I do not wish to cause any trouble," the man stood Quatre up and watched as Quatre collapsed again, "Guardian Quatre! Stand up. It is not right for you to be collapsed on the ground like this. Be proud of who you are."
Quatre struggled to stand. Once he did he followed Priest Rashid into an altar house. Once there they took the traveling slyph to the training house for the Guardian of Spirit.
"Father, I hope you can forgive me someday. This was something only I could do," Quatre whispered as he stared out the window of the training house.
Quatre opened the door to his room and sat down once again. He had been very sociable when he was younger, and it was unusual to now be around so many people that had no urge to speak. Luckily he had found a fast friend in Duo, or else he was sure he would have gone mad.
Quatre had come to the conclusion that he needed to draw Trowa out of his shell. That one had a barrier up for some reason, and Quatre wanted to make sure that they all worked as a cohesive unit. Duo would go a long way towards getting the other three Guardians to talk. With a vivid personality like that he was sure to gather attention.
Duo was good looking too. It was a shame that Quatre found Trowa to be even more attractive or else they could have gotten along just fine in bed too.
&&&
Heero sat in his room polishing his guns. They all had swords too, but that had already been sharpened and polished twice and now sat inside its scabbard over against the wall.
He had heard Quatre knock and call for him earlier but had not been interested in answering his door. He had been trained in almost complete isolation. There was a reason that people said it was not safe to pay with fire. Associating with people was not something he was completely against; it was just not something he was used to.
Heero was capable of things that most people could never dream of. Most people would flee from him if they knew.
If he was ever to keep civil with these people then he needed to guard himself. He needed to maintain a distance and keep up the appearance that he was nothing more than a simple Guardian.
A knock on the door woke Heero from his reverie. He moved to the door, gun in hand and already burning with his power.
"Guardian Heero? I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, but it is time for everyone to go down for the evening meal. Is that acceptable?" The voice was a little old and rough. Heero assumed that it was the voice of the seneschal.
"I will be down in just a minute, thank you."
Heero put his handgun back in its case and closed his care kit. He threw his coat back on and strode out the door. Dinner was waiting.
