Title: Quinque Elementum ch 2?
Author: WickedGame
Rating for this chapter: R or M
Notes: Chapter beta read by Adaina.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.
Chapter Two – If It Be Your Will
The Terra Province is Southwest of Evernight City. Terra is the province of the Earth element: with rocky cliffs and deep forests, its people were trained in all kinds of combat and were masters at each of them. The people were filled with a sense of justice, and were sometimes arrogant. They were well grounded in reality however, and people found them a great voice of reason when there were disagreements to be had. It was there that a young woman and her husband by arranged marriage gave birth to a baby boy that they named Wufei. He was sober even as a baby.
"Wow, what a way to grow up!" Duo grinned, trying to put the Guardian of Earth at ease after he had told the beginning of his story.
"Your parents must have been very proud of you," Relena commented.
"I'm afraid not. They wished for me to be the heir of our family, and being a Guardian has not killed the chance but made it unlikely that I will be able to fulfill that role. A Guardian is a Guardian for life," Wufei said emphatically. It was clear he took his role seriously and Relena nodded as she realized she would need that.
"Trowa? You still haven't told us about where you've come from," Relena prompted. She watched as her Guardian of Air dabbed his mouth with a napkin and cleared his throat.
"I didn't grow up with my real parents. I grew up in a home with a girl I called my sister when we were younger. She and I were in a circus together. Most of the people from Sylphid are involved in music and arts in one way or another," Trowa offered. Relena waited for more and then sighed when she realized she had another non-talkative Guardian on her hands.
"Some of you look like you're heading for the death chambers. While this is not a happy-go-lucky assignment we can have some fun and get to know each other better. We will be tied to each other until the day we die, you know." Relena looked to her two ladies-in-waiting for confirmation and received curt nods in exchange. The Guardians had been surprised to see the two women at the dinner table, one on either side of their Princess. The Queen and her Prince took their dinner in a separate room in order to assure that their Princess had time to adjust to the unit that would become her family once the time came for them to pass on. The bonding process between all of them would be a vital tool for the future of the Realm.
Princess Relena had introduced her ladies-in-waiting as soon as the Guardians had come down for dinner. The girl that sat on her right was her first lady-in-waiting, Lady Dorothy. She had long, blonde hair that she always had down, the ends skirting her thighs. Her eyebrows were an unusual shape but it looked somewhat striking on her aristocratic face. Relena had explained that Dorothy was the niece by adoption of one of her uncles. Dorothy was wearing a sharp dinner suit made of sapphire blue silk that complimented her fair skin. She was inclined in the powers of water like Guardian Duo was, but her power was limited somewhat to simple manipulations as opposed to Duo's utter command of the element.
On Relena's left was her Priestess and lady-in-waiting, Meiran. Meiran had been her friend and companion since they were just toddlers waddling through the castle. Since then Meiran had grown to be very powerful in the ways of fire. She served Relena as best as she could and had been a devoted friend. She wore a loose pair of black pants and a loose white shirt while she left her feet bare and her hair in a loose tail at the base of her neck.
Princess Relena noted in passing that her Guardian of Earth kept giving Meiran casual glances. She hoped that despite Meiran's Salamandan heritage Wufei might be attracted to her. Meiran needed someone; anyone could see that.
"What about you, Heero? We have hardly heard of you and where you come from. How did your family react to the news that you would be serving as a Guardian?" Relena asked. She watched as the Guardian of fire contemplated her words silently before speaking.
"I did not know my mother or my father. The man who raised me was eager to see me go and was quite thrilled with the prospect of it all. He died shortly after I left for training." Heero wiped the corner of his mouth and sat back.
"What happened to him?" Duo asked somewhat softly. There was no pity in his voice, only concern for a fellow man.
Heero looked up a little coldly at Duo before answering. "A morpher killed him."
Relena gasped and her ladies looked equally shocked. Quatre looked almost as floored as Relena and two of her other Guardians looked like the news was at best mildly interesting. Duo, however, looked like he knew exactly what Heero was going through.
"I lost my family when I was young too," he explained to Heero. It was evident from his expression that he was not sure he believed the story about the phoenix, but he would also humor the seemingly moody Guardian of Fire.
Morphers were a type of creature that usually hid in the recesses of the mists that resided between territories. Those spaces were home to many a species that fed off the deepest darkness; the entities that fed off of more than food. You could go into those misty places, but without the proper protection you could fall victim to any one of those creatures. Morphers were such a creature. They looked like humans and talked like humans but they could shift their shape into any number of other creatures. It was said that morphers would suck out your soul through your mouth. It was as if kissing them would leave you helpless.
Relena felt the pain of her Fire Guardian. More than one of her court members had ventured into the mists and had fallen prey to the…things that resided there. No one had gone through there without protection and lived to tell the tale.
There were also other rumors. Rumors that some of the creatures there had…breeded with the females of the Realm. Relena shuddered and refused to believe that those rumors were true.
"Princess, are you well?" Dorothy asked as she reached for Relena's slim hand. Relena nodded briefly and cleared her throat.
"I'm fine Dorothy." Relena wanted to stay strong in front of these boys and in front of Dorothy.
Dorothy had only been her lady-in-waiting for two years now, and Relena found herself nursing a small crush on the blonde. She was past the point of not knowing what to do about it and had given up almost altogether, but she still found herself fantasizing over the body she had seen more than once. She had fantasized about that body as she touched herself at night and whispered Dorothy's name as she approached her small teenage orgasms.
Relena winced as she realized everyone was looking at her to lighten the mood.
"How does everyone like dinner?" she asked with a smile.
"Your chef obviously has talent," Quatre commented.
"Thank you, I'll tell her you said that," Relena smiled.
"So, we have three years until you take the throne Princess. What do we do until then?" Duo asked, twirling his fork.
"Well, there will of course be further training, and some schooling. We will spend a whole lot of time getting to know each other. We will take small trips and you will become acquainted very well with Evernight City. I thought we would start with a tour of the castle and grounds tomorrow, if that's okay with everyone?" She further suggested that they might all go see the horses before their hazy moon Oboroduki set and the deep darkness of Kagetsu covered the Realm.
"I think that's an excellent decision Princess. It would do us a lot of good to know the layout of this castle. We will be studying it from top to bottom every day until we know every way in and out of this place." Wufei said as he cast yet another glance at Meiran.
All of a sudden there was a ruckus, and Queen Amelia preceded Prince Gustaf into the large dining room.
"Guardians, Relena, please go directly upstairs and stay together in Relena's room until told otherwise," the Queen instructed. Meiran and Dorothy flanked Relena as Heero and Duo stood in front of her and the other three Guardians stood behind her. They formed a formidable block as they headed back up the stairs.
"If I could order you to cut your hair I would. Don't you realize that the enemy could grab hold of you with just that?" Heero asked quietly as they walked.
"Gee, love you too. Do you really want to talk about my hair when we're supposed to be concentrating wholly on the Princess?" Duo sneered as they cleared another corner.
Heero smirked but kept the pace anyway.
When they were safe as they could currently be inside Relena's suite they all took positions of relative power. Duo stood near the window with Trowa, Wufei stood near the walls and door, Quatre sat with the girls and Heero stood directly in front of the door, taking the first line of defense.
"Princess, do you have any idea as to what's going on?" Dorothy asked.
"Princess, I can maybe use your fire to scry your family if you wish," Meiran offered.
"No, that won't be necessary. We will just stay still until Mother and Father give the all clear," Relena insisted.
It was an hour, possibly longer, before the group could hear steps in the passageway.
"Wufei, would you please take a look?" Quatre asked cordially. Wufei nodded and placed his hands on the stone wall. With barely a whisper his body sank into the stone until only mere inches of him was still visible. Relena shuddered and the rest watched with some measure of amazement as Wufei came back into the room, whole and intact.
"It is your mother, Princess," he reported.
"Open the door please, Heero." Relena smoothed her hair and stood.
They all bowed as Queen Amelia entered the room.
"Mother, what is going on?" Relena asked.
"It was as we suspected; a death threat letter. It's the second one we have received since you were born," Amelia reported, "I can't say that I'm that surprised. You're one of the most powerful Princesses this Realm has seen in some time. One thing does concern me though. It seems that this letter and the one that we received when you were born dictated that the assassination would take place around the time of your coronation."
"Excuse me, but isn't the point of a death threat letter to let people know that their death is kinda imminent?" Duo asked politely. Amelia smiled at him.
"My, but I do love your hair. Women would kill for your hair. Yes, usually that is the case, but this letter almost seems like it's prophetic. Like it is a certainty that Relena will be killed on this day in particular." Amelia took a seat proffered by Priestess Meiran.
"Any sign of the courier?" Heero asked.
"No. We couldn't find him anywhere. Doesn't mean he's not here anyway. Our species powers could have lent him the ability to disappear, to flow into something else, to make us ignore his presence, or any such thing. Worse case scenario? That he was a Morpher out of the mists." Amelia shuddered and Heero's gaze grew slightly distressed.
"I don't think such a creature would be found here on the castle grounds." Trowa reasoned from the window.
"Well, my Guardians are investigating and we will see how they get on. For now Relena is to stay with her ladies and with all of you. Don't separate until I give you leave to, do you understand? I will send my Guardians in here to relieve you of duty so that you can prepare to spend the night in here. I hope you guys like sleepovers." Amelia left as quickly as she came and the other took turns glancing at each other.
"Well…uh…I just hope you don't snore!" Duo laughed, scratching the top of his head as he looked at Heero.
"Just shut up."
-Two Years and Eight and a Half Months Later-
"Hey 'Lena, you look great!" Duo said enthusiastically as Dorothy was pinning the Princess' hair for dinner.
"In about three months you will have to stop calling me 'Lena' and will have to start calling me 'Queen'," Relena teased. Duo had a nickname for just about everyone, starting from day one by calling Quatre 'Kat'. From there it had grown. Dorothy was 'Doro', Meiran was 'Mei', Wufei was 'Fei', Trowa was 'Tro', and Heero was 'Ro'. Not that all of them were as thrilled with having a nickname like Relena, no sir. Wufei was exasperated by it and Heero plain ignored it. Trowa seemed apathetic and Quatre was pleased. Dorothy was mildly irritated but Relena secretly loved being a part of Duo's little club of nicknames. He even called Amelia 'Amy' whenever she was out of earshot. That one made her snicker.
Tonight was her father's birthday. This would be the last big party before her coronation. They were all dressed very fine. Her Guardians had foregone their loose pants and long coats in favor of slick black suits. Duo's tie was the color of midnight, and his shirt was a light shade of blue. All of the others would be dressed similarly. Relena was wearing a deep green satin ballgown that left her shoulders bare and crossed her chest in a straight line.
"Princess, if I was straight I would definitely hit on you," Duo assured her. She laughed heartily.
"Well, if I was straight I would let you," she winked.
"Touche."
"Where's Heero?" Relena asked slyly. When the Guardians had been here about a year Duo had found a hidden stash of liquor and had confessed drunkenly to Relena that he had a crush on the Guardian of Fire. It had made her laugh to think of fire and water together. But she had to admit that not only were the two a formidable force but also they looked damned good when standing next to each other.
"I have no clue. Probably polishing his guns," Duo shrugged like he didn't care.
"Or polishing his knob," Relena snickered. Duo had a way of bringing out the worst in her it seemed.
"Princess!" Duo exclaimed, shocked. Then they both started to laugh.
They cut a well-dressed path through the castle on the way to the ballroom. The room was already buzzing with people but they all stopped to bow or curtsy before their Princess and future Queen. She nodded and rose to the dais, where her Guardians sat on either side of her and her ladies-in-waiting sat in front of her.
"Don't all of you look handsome? Duo, that blue is lovely on you," Amelia complimented. Duo thanked her and nodded at the Prince.
Dinner was served promptly and everyone partook of the roasted meats, steamed vegetables, fresh salads, and various other dishes that wafted through the hall. It was over all too soon and Amelia rose to get everyone's attention.
"It is time for the gifts!" she announced. Servants in livery brought in the gifts and Gustaf rubbed his hands together excitedly. Relena and her Guardians watched as he opened one gift after another. Soon Gustaf was coming to the end and there were only a small amount of envelopes left.
"Oh ho! A card with no name attached! I wonder who this is from?" Gustaf held the envelope in his hand and then broke the seal. He pulled out the parchment and then some dust made him sneeze.
It was like everything ran in slow motion. All the Guardians that belonged to her and her mother drew their guns and surrounded the royalty. Gustaf was collapsing and started to spasm. Foam came out his mouth and blood came out his nose. Amelia was shouting and crying, and people ran everywhere.
"Get the healer!" people were shouting. Relena was numb as she saw the light leave her father's eyes, and then she was being carried from the hall and back upstairs.
"Relena? Princess? Are you alert?" Heero was asking her as he lay her down on her bed.
"He's dead, isn't he?" Relena asked.
"I believe it's safe to say so." Trowa said softly.
Relena sobbed and was drawn into an embrace by Dorothy and Meiran. Her Guardians took up their posts and waited with baited breath for some news.
Their news came in the form of the Queen, who was let into the room by a cautious Heero.
"Pack your things Relena. All of you pack your things. You're going to the safehouse," Amelia insisted.
"What's going on?" Relena demanded to know.
"That letter was poisoned. The poison was meant for your father but the letter's contents were meant for me and you to see. It tells us that several attempts on your life will be made before the coronation. It gives neither times nor locations. The safehouse is our only option."
"How long?" Relena asked.
"You leave as soon as possible and you must stay until you can travel back for your birthday. You will take your Guardians and the ladies with you. I expect you to leave in the dead of night and come back much the same way." Amelia insisted. "Now pack!"
They all looked at one another and then started to move. If they needed to leave in less than two weeks then something needs to be done.
As the Lady and Lord will it…
