Cagalli
With just one look
Men run from you
It's because you glare too much
And your eyes aren't blueYou can't glare with blue eyes
But your eyes are amber
--XX—
Athrun looked up ahead, he could see Nicol, Yzak and Dearka waiting for him. They all looked disappointed from the day's crushing defeat. Athrun would be in the same mood if it weren't for the cursing princess by his side. When the three others saw her, their faces considerably brightened.
« What ya got there Athrun? » asked Nicol curiously.
« Something helpful, » he answered.
« Helpful, you say? » asked Yzak, raising an eyebrow, « how so? »
« Is she here to take us out of our misery? » said Dearka playfully, « Can I use her first? » Athrun shuddered; his fellow soldier had a sick mind.
« OW! » cried Dearka suddenly. Cagalli had punished him for his comment.
« Now, now, Little Princess, » scolded Athrun, « It's not polite to go around punching people like that. » A stunned silence followed.
« Eh, Athrun? » said Nicol quietly, « Did you just call her princes? »
« Oh, forgive me, » said Athrun with cheek, « This is Cagalli Yula Attha, daughter of Uzumi Nara Attha, princess of Orb. »
--XX--
It was near midnight and there was still no sign of Cagalli. To say that Kira was beginning to get worried would be a lie. He was nearly breaking down with fear. He was afraid that Cagalli had secretly joined the army, once again, and something had gone wrong. What if she was dead and it was his entire fault? His friends had told them that she had escorted him back to his room (though there were no witnesses) so that meant that she had survived the battle. But why wasn't she here then? Where in the world could she be? Suddenly, Kira remembered Kisaka's strange behavior. Ever since Kira's whole panic attack about facing Athrun, Kisaka had become Cagalli's new 'confidante.' If anyone knew where she was, he did.
Forgetting the fact most reasonable people were asleep by now, Kira made his way to the bodyguard's room. It matter anyways, Kisaka was wide-awake. He was restless and just as worried as his prince was. Kira had a feeling he knew why.
« Where's my sister? » he asked, trying not to raise his voice.
« I do not know, » responded Kisaka « forgive me prince. »
« What has happened? » asked Kira, understanding something greater had gone on.
« It's a long story, » said the older man shamefully. He began to explain what had happened over the past twenty-four hours, « I'm sorry Prince, I should've stopped her! I followed her into battle; I should've guarded her more closely! » He said.
« It's fine, we would all be dead if you had. »
« I should've locked her door, I knew she was planning something like this! »
« She would've escaped through the window, you know how determined Cagalli is.»
« I should've tried to talk her out of it sooner! I should've warned Lord Uzumi! »
« What's done is done, Kisaka, you cannot change the past. » Kira got up to leave.
« Wait my Prince! » cried the bodyguard, « Before she disappeared, the princess left this for you! » he handed Kira a note. It read:
Kira
I've made a pact with Zala. Onogoro Island is safe.
And don't worry, I am too, well, as safe as you can
be with that monster.
Cagalli.
--XX--
The return voyage from Onogoro took much longer than the initial one. Some blamed it on the weather, others on silly suppression, but the truth was everyone was afraid of facing their commander. Despite her 'position,' shall we say, Cagalli had to smile at this. The men of ZAFT were no different then the men of Orb. Each of them was a strong warrior with a family to protect, weather sister or wife, daughter or son, mother or father, and would show no limit of courage on the battlefield. But as soon as they were room with their commanding officer, you'd have a hard time believing they could stand up to a 5-year-old. Cagalli sighed, soldiers were simple, easy to figure out. They were courageous lions on the battlefield and cowardly mice when it came to politics. That was why this war taking so long to end.
When they finally reached land, everyone seemed relieved. It wasn't surprising, the trip back had been hell. The men, who already had to deal with the loss, were also forced to live through the silver haired boys temper tantrums, the blondie's hot-headedness and Athrun. The green haired boy didn't seem too like to cause trouble. Along with all those worries, they had Cagalli. Being a public figure, everyone had heard of her, and her personality. All the time spent on the ship, she had been locked up in a small room, and small rooms didn't fit Cagalli. Whichever soldier was sent to bring her meals was always traumatized that she might try to escape and evoke Yzak's wrath. Yes. It was good to be on land.
By mid-afternoon they were well on their way to their 'destination'. Yzak and Nicol led the men top their horses, while Cagalli was transported in a carriage, guarded by Athrun and Dearka. Supposedly they didn't want her knowing the location of their base. The truth was the location didn't matter, what surrounded the location did. To keep her from seeing the area, they had forced her into a carriage with two men she'd have loved to kill. Athrun, because he was Athrun, and Dearka, whose attitude and perverted personality were begining to push Cagalli over the top.
Suddenly he asked something unexpected:
« Hey Princess? Have you ever been kissed? » he had a mischievous grin on his face.
« That doesn't concern you! » she answered blushing.
« What are you so embarrassed about Princess? I'm proud of all the girls I've kissed. Unless of course, you've never been kissed. »
« Of course I've been kissed! » she cried, biting the bait.
« Oh really? By whom? » Dearka's voice was fully of mockery. Cagalli glared at him angrily. Her eyes were so angry that she forced Dearka to turn away.
« And what about you Athrun, have you been kissed? » he asked.
« What are you talking about Dearka? Me and Lacus… »
« I don't been those friendly kisses Lacus give's you on the cheek, » he interrupted
« I mean a real, passionate kiss, on the lips. » Athrun began to blush. His glanced at Cagalli, she glared back at him.
« Hey you guys used to know each other well, did you ever kiss? » asked Dearka evilly.
« No! » they both cried.
« Liars » Dearka smirked. An awkward silence followed. And as always, Cagalli spoke up first.
« Who's Lacus? » she asked.
« No one. » replied Athrun bashfully. Dearka just kept on smiling.
--XX--
When they finally reached their destination Cagalli was surprised to see they were not at some sort of a castle, but an encampment.
« I thought you said you were bringing me 'home' » she said to Athrun, momentarily forgetting her hatred.
« This is my home, unlike some people I don't hide in various castles waiting for the war to come to me. I live here, with the soldiers, as a soldier. I've dedicated my life to this war, » he replied cynically.
« Kira doesn't hide! » screamed Cagalli, the hatred had returned, « he's a prince, he has duties to attend to! He's working harder that anyone to end this war! »
« Your brother is no prince! » screamed Athrun.
« Yo! Athrun, » said a voice, Dearka, « Commander wants to see ya, don't worry, we'll look after this one. » He said pointing to Cagalli. Athrun nodded and left.
--XX--
« You wanted to see me commander? » asked Athrun as he entered Le Creuset's tent.
« Yes, you're latest mission had…interesting results, shall we say » said the older man. Athrun looked away, if you looked hard enough, you could detect a shade of pink in his cheeks.
« You lost the battle, as well as the lives of many men, » began Creuset, « But you did not leave empty handed, despite your loss. »
« Yes, well… » began the younger one.
« You brought us back a hostage, a very useful one as well, Uzumi loves his daughter very much. Despite her lack of femininity,» he said, Athrun laughed.
« I would be interested in learning how you managed to grab her, » said the commander.
« It's…it's…it's complicated » stuttered the lower ranked man as he thought back to their battle.
« Time to die Little Princess » said Athrun.
« You can't kill me! » Cagalli suddenly splurged out.
« I very well can » replied Athrun.
« No » said Cagalli, « you can't. I'm a Princess, remember, and killing me would just be a savage murder, no matter where it happened. » She smiled triumphantly as she watched Athrun sigh and loosen his grip. She got up and prepared to kill him.
« You may be a princess, » said Athrun suddenly, putting his sword to her neck « and I may not be able to kill you, BUT, you are a princess, and a hostage princess is always useful in war. » Cagalli's eyes widened, as she understood what he planned to do. Suddenly, her sword was at his throat.
« I'll go as your hostage if you abandon this battle, » she said. Athrun was impressed by her offer. He looked at the current situation. The ZAFT forces were losing, badly.
« I accept your offer, »
« No matter, it was a wise move on your part, » he continued, the voice tone seemed to imply he knew exactly what had happened, « And no need to worry, we will capture Onogoro another day. At the moment, we must figure out how we want to use Miss Attha, » the young man shuddered at the thought of using Cagalli. « You did an excellent job Athrun, you are your father's boy, I'd never expect anything less, » finished Le Creuset. Athrun's uneasy feelings about using the princess vanished and were replaced with feelings of pride. His father was a great man.
« We still one matter to attend to though: what are we going to do with Miss Attha while she is here? »
« Won't we just send her to Victoria as we do with the others we have captured? »
« The others are prisoners of war, not hostages, after a while, you'll come to see the difference between the two. »
« Then what shall we do with her? »
« She shall stay here, in our care, until we have come to a deal with Uzumi. Until then, she shall have rights to a limited freedom and will always have to be chaperoned by someone or other. »
« Who? »
« Well I thought a few privates would do the job. »
« Are you joking commander? Cagalli isn't the sort of princess who likes to play damsel in distress; she'll easily overpower a private or two and get away! »
« Well then, what do you suppose we do? »
« Let me guard her, I know all her tricks, she won't get away under my watch. »
« Are you sure you can handle this Athrun? The two of you used to be close, she might use that against you… »
« Don't worry commander, with me guarding her, all the princess will do is sit there and mope. » grins appeared on both their faces.
--XX--
It was most likely a good thing Yzak wouldn't have to guard Cagalli any longer, because when Athrun returned, he found the two in a serious fistfight. He chuckled to himself, if those two weren't on opposite sides they'd probably be madly in love by now. But they are on opposite sides, he told himself. Five minutes later, after being forced to bind Cagalli, Athrun finally got them to stop fighting,
« You know Yzak, you really have to watch your tongue around our Little Princess here, she gets offended quite easily. » he said, Yzak just grumbled, his pride obviously hurt. Ignoring him, Athrun turned to the princess, « what did he say? » he asked in an odd tone, it reminded her of Kira when he was playing the part of 'the older brother'. Cagalli glared at him for that, he was not going to manipulate her that easily. Athrun turned to Nicol and Dearka, who had been watching the whole scenario hoping they would help.
« I think he told her she was a 'wench' or something like that, » volunteered Nicol. His friend rolled his eyes. « So what did the commander want? »
« We were arranging Miss Attha's security » said Athrun simply.
« And? » asked Dearka « what's happening? »
Briefly, Athrun explained the deal about how ordinary soldiers couldn't look after the feisty girl (neither could some of the more experienced ones, commented Dearka) and that someone with more skill would have to do the job.
« So? » barked Yzak « who's in charge of the wench? » in the background Cagalli was ready to kill him.
« Normally you learn from mistakes » said Athrun smartly, his counterpart glared.
« So? » said Nicol « who? » Athrun grinned:
« Me » he said.
--XX--
Eventually, after everyone had calmed from the excitement of the victory, people began to realize Cagalli was missing. When they did, panic ran rampant, so did the rumors. One was that she had gone off on a romantic adventure with some young soldier. Another was that she had thought to see her brother die and killed herself in grief. Some believed that she had just run off with some battalion again. While others thought she had given herself up as a love slave to a ZAFT commander in exchange for a victory. The last one was newest rumor to spring up, it was the one furthest from the truth out of all of them, but also the one closest to it as well. Only a select few knew the real story, and even they weren't sure about some bits. For the moment, all there was to do was hope.
Kira was in his room, secluded from the world, alone with his thoughts. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
« Kira, may I come in? » said a high-pitched voice in a flirty manner.
« Yeah, whatever » mumbled Kira, he opened the door and found Fllay, « what's up? » he asked casually.
« Your father wants to see you » she said sweetly « He says he has some news about your sister ». Kira's eyes grew wide in shock.
« Are you sure? » he asked, Fllay nodded.
« Kira, you're scared aren't you? » she said, « you're worried about her » Fllay's sweet tone seemed to die down for a moment, « well you don't have to worry » her voice was sweet again. And before he knew it, she had him locked in a tight and passionate embrace. Kira savored it for as long as he could, but finally broke apart when he remembered Cagalli impersonating Fllay.
« I've got to go… » he said, the girl let him. As he left, he could swear he someone snickers.
--XX--
It had been a long day. By now, each soldier at the encampment had returned to their tent and was preparing for a good night's sleep. Athrun was among them, along with his guest. Unlike the men, Cagalli was not ready for bed. For the night, she had been bound to a pole, (just go with me here, ok?) hands behind her back, and needless to say she wasn't too happy about it. As she sat there fidgeting, she reminded her captor of stubborn 4-year-old who didn't want to go to bed. He told her so, knowing she wouldn't be able to do anything about it but glare. And sure enough, she did glare, angrily.
« You know Little Princess, you're the one who agreed to come with me » he taunted.
« I didn't really have a choice, either I followed you or let Onogoro get captured » she replied, Athrun was shocked by her answer, but choose to ignore it.
« You did have a choice Cagalli, » said Athrun, calling her by her name for the first time in two years. « And you chose to come with me.»
« Yeah, well I didn't choose to be happy about it, » she said. Her captor tried hard to surpress a grin she had a point. « Hey Zala! » she said suddenly.
« Yes? » asked Athrun curiously.
« What were you talking about when you said my brother was no prince? Are you really the madman everyone thinks you are? » cried Cagalli.
« Your brother is not the true prince of Orb, your father is not the true lord, and you, Cagalli, are not the true princess. » replied Athrun.
« What in the hells are you talking about? » she demanded.
« Have you ever heard of Patrick Zala? » he asked testily.
« Patrick Zala…Zala? Is…is he your father? » she stuttered.
« Yes, he is my father, he is the father of all of us. » he answered.
« What are you talking about? » demanded the Princess.
« My father should be lord right now, I should be prince. If things were the way they were supposed to be, there wouldn't be this war! » He exploded.
« Liar! » was all Cagalli could say.
« I am not lying my dear princess, I have never lied to you, rather, it is your father who lies! Constantly! Just like the corrupted fool he is! » Screamed Athrun.
« My father is not corrupted! » yelled the captive, « the one who is truly hungry for power is you! »
« Shut up Wench! » cried Athrun. He had expected another glare, a few insults perhaps, but all he got was a sad gaze, a sad, sincere, gaze. « If only your eyes were blue, » he began, « Then maybe I could forgive you for being Attha's daughter. »
« If only your eyes were red, » said Cagalli, « then everyone could see the demon you really are! »
Their conversation ended there.
--XX--
Athrun
You try to love but
You've forgotten how
But you're right
My father can't be the true ruler
A true ruler has no heart
Neither does his son