OK, I'm going to go through this fic and edit it, and once I'm done that, I'll start working on the sequel. Can't say I'll have much time though, school's started and you know, math is hard...

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or other materials might have used.

--XX--

Orb was a neutral nation. They did not fight in wars and did not side with either force. But war seemed inevitable and each and every citizen of Orb knew it. None more than Uzumi Nara Attha, the leader of Orb, the man who unintentionally brought them to war. A civil war between the revolutionary ZAFT forces and those who don't want change the Orb forces. War is new to this once peaceful country and everyday it's citizens find out more and more about how gruesome war truly is.

--XX--

Athrun

You take pleasure in stealing mine

You amuse yourself embarrassing me

You smile when you can stop my dreaming

But I wouldn't change you for the world

Not today…

--XX--

Cagalli smiled politely as she watched her brother, Kira, and their friend, Athrun, left to recapture Artemis. It was an important military base, very important.

But Cagalli didn't care about that, many people would die during the upcoming battle: soldiers and civilians, men and women, children. She wasn't about to just sit back and pray simply because she was a princess. She hated being one to start off with. It wasn't even about royalty, Kira commanded his own battalion, The Strike. It was about sex. Cagalli wasn't aloud to fight because she was a girl. Not that it was going to stop her…

Once the soldiers were on their way and everyone else had cleared the courtyard, Cagalli ran to the stables. She quickly changed into the Orb uniform and tied her hair back into a boyish fashion. "Here we go again" she told her horse, Pony (a name she had chosen when she was five), who by now was trained to bring her to the army base and come back on his own.

Just before she mounted him, Cagalli took out her sword, The Maiden's Strength, and shield, Wild Protector. Her father (who now desperately regretted it) had given them to her for her 12th birthday. Kira had also received a pair, but they were meant to be used in battle, Cagalli's were only decorative, but when the civil war erupted a year later, they found a new use. The Maiden's Strength and the Wild Protector weren't exactly fit for war, but they worked just fine for Cagalli. She had fought in many battles and never died (even if she was found out and marched back to one of their many palaces every time).

Soon, she and Pony were at the outskirts of Heliopolis, where the commanding officers awaited new recruits. "Thanks boy" she told him as she got off "you know what to do". And with that, he was off, leaving Cagalli alone with dozens of young men who would instantly take her back to her father if they knew who she was. Not that she was scared, most of these men were too thick to figure it out and the one's who were smart enough, she would avoid. Cagalli walked up to her commander, a certain Lieutenant Smith. 'I'm Private Claiga,' she said in the deepest voice she could muster. 'You're late' said Smith. Cagalli just smiled.

--XX--

I hope she didn't follow us again, thought Kira as he watched the new recruits going about. They were all young, to young. Some could say that at 16, Kira himself was to young to be her, but it was because of his princely duties that he came. But some of the men here weren't even men! He had seen one boy who couldn't of been over than 12, if a day. He searched for his sister's face amongst the crowd of men. She wasn't there. Maybe she stayed at home this time, he told himself, though he didn't really believe it.

He himself hated war, Cagalli, seemed to love it.

That wasn't true, his sister hated war as much as he did, but like every soldier, she believed the only way to peace was through fighting.

--XX--

Athrun hated being on a horse while the lower ranked walked. It made him feel so self-concise and arrogant. Just by looking at Kira, he could tell he hated it too. The others though, looked perfectly comfortable. Commander Laflaga, Lieutenant Smith and the two captains who's names he couldn't remember, were all atop their horses and didn't even seem to notice the men below them. Athrun wondered if they had ever felt self-concise in their early days or if they had always been so good at it.

"Have you seen your sister yet?" he asked Kira, hoping to take his mind off his awkwardness.

"If I had, you would of heard of it by now," replied his friend.

"You know she only follows us because she feels she has to protect her little brother," teased Athrun.

"Not you too!" said Kira annoyed, "we're twins goddamnit! TWINS!"

Athrun laughed, now he understood why the others forgot the men.

"I know," he said, "just messing with you."

Kira fumed, but in his eyes Athrun could see Kira was enjoying this. They continued like this until they reached Artemis. Once they got there, the smiles had disappeared and the laughter was gone. The battle would begin shortly.

Artemis was famous for it's four gates, each pointing to one spot on the compass. It was what made it so important, since with four gates you could attack from any direction. It was also what made it so vulnerable, if you plotted your attack right. The plan was to divide and conquer. Kira and Mwu's battalions would attack the southern entrance, the two unnamable captains' would attack the northern one, Athrun's would take the eastern one and Cagalli's would take the western one. The rebellious princess smiled when she heard the plan and instantly knew it was Athrun's. Kira would've attacked only one gate, the weakest and gone on from there, Mwu would've lured them out, Smith and the others were too thick to come up with a plan of their own.

"You look nervous Claiga," said one solider, Yazo or something like that. On the trip to Artemis, Cagalli had met a handful of soldiers. She always got along well with them. More than she ever did with the pug-nose princes her father had tried to engage her to. More than most of the wimpy princesses she'd been given as playmates too. The things she liked about soldiers were that they were boys, first of all, they were down to earth (accept the newer, more innocent ones who thought war was glorious, something that changed after their first experience in battle). They were all there to defend their beliefs and their country. Not that Orb was a country anymore.

"It's my first time" she said, "course I'm nervous." That wasn't true, but Cagalli wasn't it about to tell Yazo that she was Lord Uzumi's daughter and was worried she would be found out before she had a chance to protect the innocent.

Cagalli never refereed to her actions in battle as « fighting », she was always protecting or saving. But never fighting.

"That's normal," said Yazo, "I'm sure you'll be fine," he added doubtfully.

Cagalli nodded, in the distance she could hear Kira rallying his men and preparing them for battle. "Once we siege Artemis we will be one step closer to peace!" he proclaimed. She smiled at her brother's words, he always went on about peace and never told his men they were going to give the enemy a well-deserved but kicking. Unlike some people…

--XX--

The fighting had begun. So far, Athrun had run blindly into battle, not letting people get in his way, his objective was to find the man in charge, Fredrick Ades, and bring him down. He was now in the heart of Artemis. 'Where is that bastard Ades?' he asked himself. 'Right here' said a voice from behind him. Athrun turned around and saw the very man he was trying to kill about to kill him instead. He braced himself for the impact, hoping it wouldn't be too painful. He was readying himself to die when he heard Ades cry in pain.

Athrun looked up and saw that a sword had been pierced through his gut. It was smaller then most, something about it seemed familiar. Ades fell to the ground.

"You alright captain?" asked someone, Athrun looked up, it was a young man, most likely the one who saved him. He was looking off into the distance.

"Yes," said Athrun "thank you."

"No problem" said the young man, he turned to face Athrun "watch your back," he said. They locked eyes, but not for long. Soon the young man was battling ferociously. They hadn't locked eyes for long, but it was long enough.

The battle was finally over. Artemis now belonged to Orb's forces.

"I think I've found your sister" said Athrun to Kira. There was no doubt, the one who had saved him was Cagalli.

"Really?" asked Kira curiously.

"Yeah," said Athrun "so do you want me to go get her?"

Kira thought for a minute.

"Athrun," he said, "Go find Cagalli and bring her back to Heleopolis, then wait there until I return with the men."

"Got it."

--XX--

Cagalli wasn't that hard to find. Actually it was simpler than Athrun had expected. Cagalli stood amidst a bunch of soldiers telling them some story. As he approached, he realized that Cagalli was telling of how she had saved his life. He also noticed she was drunk, not completely but more than a little tipsy. Suddenly, she was down and it looked like she was telling a secret. Athrun approached slowly.

"…well you see," she said "everyone goes on about how wonderful and brave the great Athrun Zala is, but as he stood there, awaiting death, Athrun Zala was whimpering like a baby!

"Really, I was whimpering like a baby?" asked Athrun, he looked at the men's horrified faces and smiled, "Are you sure you're not making that up…Princess Cagalli?"

There was an extremely awkward silence. As usual, Cagalli was the one to brake it.

"I'm going to kill you Zala!" she screeched.

"Come now Princess," said Athrun, who was in an extremely playful mood, "You can't just go around threatening to kill people, it's so unladylike."

"That wasn't a threat Zala, it's my top priority!"

"And what if someone heard you threatening to kill someone important?" continued Athrun 'imagine what a scandal that would be!"

That earned him a bloody nose, at which point Athrun decided it was time for them to leave. Now that they were gone, the soldiers were free to laugh at what they had just witnessed. Eventually they made it to a clearing.

"Oh you're such a jerk!" cried Cagalli.

"I don't see what I did wrong," said Athrun, "I was simply doing my duty."

"You know very well what you did wrong!" screamed the angered princess, "You know how much I hate the palace! You know how I feel so much more accepted here then there!"

"Yeah, I know," admitted Athrun as he sat down on a stump, "I'm sorry."

"Well it's partly my fault" said Cagalli, joining Athrun on the stump, "I would still be private Claiga if I had just killed Ades and run."

"About that," said Athrun, "Thanks!"

He turned to his princess and kissed her.

--XX--

When they arrived at Heleopolis, Athrun and Cagalli were welcomed as heroes. At least Athrun was. Very few actually believed that a girl like Cagalli brought down the great Ades. They said it was just a story made up by the two of them to get Cagalli out of trouble. Well story or not, it didn't stop her from getting a stern lecture from her father. Soon though, all that was forgotten and everyone was madly running around preparing for the ball that would celebrate the victory at Artemis.

For the past week now, Cagalli, 'Lady' Fllay, and Miriallia (also a lady), had been rushed around the palace preparing for the ball. And while Fllay talked about it excitedly, chattering through every moment of the already painful fittings and dance lessons (at which Cagalli failed at miserably), and Miriallia daydreamed constantly about her Tolle, Cagalli asked herself how this could all be happening. It hadn't even been a month since she was on the front line protecting the innocent, sharing stories with the other soldiers, kissing Athrun. Cagalli blushed at the thought. Ever since he had brought her back, she hadn't had a chance to see him. She found she would ask herself if the kiss was even real.

It was the eve of the ball and Cagalli was expected to choose her dress. Truthfully, she was already supposed to have chosen one, but Cagalli hated them all and had thrown a fit instead. She entered her room and spotted a small piece of paper on her desk. It was a poem:

Your eyes may not be blue

But it still looks good on you

-A

Cagalli smiled. Athrun would be going to the ball! She would finally have the chance to speak to him! And she would wear the blue dress.

--XX--

Athrun stood in the corner of the ballroom, near the servant's entrance, alone. Many young girls had their eyes on him, hoping he would ask them to dance. He barley noticed. He was waiting for someone, someone who would hopefully be wearing a blue dress.

"BOO!" said a voice from behind him. It was Cagalli.

"Cagalli," he questioned "what are you doing? coming in from the servant's entrance?"

"It's simpler," she answered "no one notices you."

"Oh," said Athrun, "nice dress."

"About that…" began Cagalli "how did you know about the dress? You weren't spying on our fitting sessions, were you?"

"No," said Athrun, "I just happened to pass by and saw you in that dress and you were so beautiful."

"Liar!" Cagalli said, but then she kissed him.

--XX--

Not far away, two men watched them closely. "Why is the boss so interested in this guy?" asked the first, "he's not so special."

"What? Are you kidding Yzak?" demanded the second, "he's making out with a princess, that's pretty special if you ask me."

Yzak glared.

"Try and be serious, Dearka."

"Fine, but seriously, this guy's supposed to have ties with Patrick Zala."

"The Patrick Zala?" asked Yzak.

Dearka nodded.

"Let's this plan into action then!" said the first.

"For Zaft!" cried the other.

"For Zaft."

--XX--

Athrun and Cagalli had now made it out to the balcony. They were strolling along casually joking around when Athrun sensed something. He asked Cagalli to go get them some drinks. She went off without even questioning him. Good, he thought, she hasn't noticed anything.

He approached the shadows of two figures. Soon he could see their bodies. He could almost see their faces when he blacked out.

About ten minutes later, after doing her best to avoid being forced to dance, Cagalli finally made it out to the balcony.

"Hey Athrun, I got us some punch," she said. There was no reply. "Athrun?" she called, "Athrun! Athrun! Athrun!" Still no reply. He had disappeared. "ATHRUN!" Cagalli cried into the night.

Cagalli

I've known you forever

You never change

You're always the same

But I like you that way

You never change

Never

--XX--