Soar Through Storms

Physical storms crash around, emotional storms crash over... To soar through them, everyone has to be supported by their loved ones... But will they make it?

This is an AU, written mainly based on Gundam SEED alone, with certain other stuff from Destiny. Set in medieval times, this substitutes MS and Gundams with swords and spears, with a magic popping up somewhere along the storyline. Kira/Lacus and Athrun/Cagalli are confirmed. Random other pairings might appear; it's up to you to suggest it in a review if you want it

The terms like 'Silver Moon' and 'Blue Moon' simply represent certain terms that the characters use to sort their time. For example, our January, February and so on.

Disclaimer: Gundam SEED does not belong to me, and I claim no credit for it. Should you want to sue someone, sue my teacher. Then I can have more time to write.

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Chapter 1: Just the Beginning

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Kira could not believe his eyes.

He read and reread the letter in his fingers, and as the truth fully sank into his mind, the young man groaned. His lips moved slowly as he quietly muttered the last sentence.

'I will be arriving on the first morning of Silver Moon."

The first day of Silver Moon.

Wasn't that today!

Kira crushed the piece of paper and stuffed it into his pocket, bursting out of his room as he did so. His feet thudded lightly on stone as he ran down the stairs and dashed through Castle Zaft. His worries increased as the faint sun through a side window showed that it was already noon.

Kira Yamato Attha, aged sixteen, was the nephew of King Eldorth Attha. The king of Orb had sent him to Zaft two years ago to start his squire training, as well as a goodwill action towards Zaft for trusting them with a prince of Orb. Kira hadn't minded, but his twin sister, Cagalli Yula Attha, had. From young, they had trained together as pages in Orb, because to teach one twin was to teach the other. When Cagalli had heard that Kira was to go to Orb and become a squire, yet she was to stay behind in Orb to study, she had raged and thrown one of her famous tempers. Kira didn't want to be separated from Cagalli either, but the king's word was final. He had bid her and their father goodbye two years ago, and it seemed like a long time would pass before he would see either of them again.

Apparently, that was not to be.

A letter had arrived for Kira five days ago, but because he was already late for morning training, the boy had hurriedly thrown it into a cabinet and ran off for training. Now, he sincerely regretted not opening the letter earlier; had he done so, he could have written back in time to stop the foolish act that was happening today.

"Kira,

It's been some time since our last letter, hasn't it? I suppose it's mostly my fault; I've been extremely busy lately. It's Uncle Eldorth's fault, of course. Couple of days ago, he pointed his stupid finger at me and ordered me to leave the palace.

'My dear niece, you've been all alone in this castle for so long, I fear you must be bored and lonely. I'm sorry not to have thought about you earlier, but country matters were really pressing. So I've made arrangements for you to go to St. Margaret's Convent, where you will be taught how to be a true maiden. You leave on the 29th day of Blue Moon.'

Oh indeed. He just can't wait to get rid of me. I yelled at him, of course, and Father argued as well, but did the prat care? No. No matter how many times I protested and said that I don't want to be a lady, he just wouldn't listen. 'A princess should learn to act like a princess', he says, 'not run around playing at swords with the pages.' I do NOT play with pages, I spar with squires!

Still, I couldn't change his mind. Today, he handed me the letter he wrote to the First Lady of the convent. I tore up the letter and made my plans.

I wrote a letter to your Duke Amarfi, saying that Cagalli is to further his squire training at Zaft. I signed it in Father's name, then made my preparations and pretended to be leaving for the convent. So you'll be seeing me soon!

I know that as a girl, I'm not supposed to be a page. But don't worry, no one will find out. Many mistake me for a male anyway, so I'm pretty safe. I've always wanted to fight on the battlefield, and I know you'll understand.

Don't tell Father, though; he'll have a heart attack. Wish me good luck!

I will be arriving on the first morning of Silver Moon.

Your sister, Cagalli.
From now on, I'm your twin brother Cagalli."

Kira threw open the wooden door in front of him with a bang, and entered the meeting room panting slightly. Three others occupied the room.

I'm too late.

One was Duke Amarfi, a cousin of King Zaft's and a knight of high calibre. He was in charge of the well-being of pages and squires of Castle Zaft, and was feared yet admired by many for being a strict, disciplined but fair leader. Sitting down behind a polished wooden table with his fingers clasped, he was the very picture of a regal lord. The squire that stood behind his chair was his son Nicol, a friendly and peaceloving young man who gave Kira a nice but puzzled look as he entered so noisily.

The last was a familiar young blond dressed in a brown travelling cloak and thick boots that clumped on the ground. It had been two years, and she had changed slightly, but this was Cagalli. Her eyes lit up as she saw her brother for the first time in two years, before she shot Kira a glare that clearly meant 'You're late'. Then she turned back to eye Duke Amarfi uncertainly.

"Squire Kira. Looks like he's telling the truth," Duke Amarfi stated. While Kira stared in confusion, Cagalli spoke up.

"I said Kira would vouch for my identity. He'll tell you that I'm his twin brother, the other son of Uzumi Attha," she said convincingly.

"Um, yes... Yes, that's it, Your Grace," Kira had no idea what else to say. What was he supposed to say? All of a sudden, Cagalli was here in Castle Zaft, demanding to be a squire.

If he told the truth, Duke Amarfi would doubtless report her for her cunning deception, and King Patrick would doubtless show no mercy at all.

For now, he had to play Cagalli's game.

"Very well. I see no reason to doubt you any longer," Duke Amarfi smiled. "Squire Cagalli, welcome to Castle Zaft. Be ever true to the path of goodness, protect always your neighbour, honour always your king."

He held out his hand. Cagalli took the hand without thinking, and shook it. Duke Amarfi raised an eyebrow, and Nicol emitted a muffled giggle. Kira hurriedly raised his own hand to his mouth, and Cagalli caught sight of his anxious face.

Blushing with embarrassment, Cagalli raised her other hand to the duke's, then bent and kissed it timidly.

"Manners is a part of our Code of Chivalry, Squire Cagalli. Remember that too. Now, you may leave with your brother. Doubtless he will want to show you around the place for now, and you may make use of today to learn how to get around. Squire Kira, I leave the newcomer in your hands, until afternoon training, from which you may not be excused."

Both Atthas bowed low. Then Kira grabbed Cagalli's hand and pulled her out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Cagalli hugged her brother.

"Kira! I made it! I made it! He didn't guess that I..."

"Shhhh!" Kira looked around, and thankfully saw no one else. "Listen, Cagalli. This is stupid. There's no point in trying to do this. You don't have to learn how to be a squire; it's really not necessary. Squire training is much tougher and harder than the page training you've taken. And if you make too many mistakes, they send you back to redo page duties. And you shouldn't have lied to Father and Uncle Eldorth. And..."

"Kira! You fret too much," Cagalli interrupted with a grin. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I did watch the other squires back at Orb. I'm not totally useless." Her face turned serious. "You'll support me, won't you?"

Kira sighed. The letters that came previously were full of gloom, complaining about how bored she was, how evil King Eldorth was, and how no one would allow her to go through certain squire training programs. The twins had never been allowed to mix with others of their own age, being royalty, and while Kira had found many friends in squires at Zaft, Cagalli had been suffering at home alone.

Somehow, he had to understand her. Her eyes were filled with excitement, joy and eager anticipation at what was to come. Finally, she was to have the freedom she always wanted. There was no danger, for no squire was needed on a battlefield that did not exist, and it would do Cagalli no harm to train in a peaceful country when war did not exist.

"All right." Kira replied, with a small smile. With a whoop, Cagalli hugged her brother.

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"You're excused from it today, but I'm expected to turn up for afternoon training, so I can't accompany you back," Kira apologised. "Are you sure you can find your way back to the page's wing?"

"I'll be fine," Cagalli replied more confidently than she felt. In truth, she hadn't realised that the palace would be so humongous. Kira had taken her for lunch, then showed her around certain important parts of the castle, saying that the whole castle would take three days to explore.

The page's wing would be where Cagalli would stay, until she was chosen by a knight to be his personal squire. Cagalli was looking forward to that; it meant she would even have a chance to learn from a knightmaster, as well as go onto the battlefield to fight for peace.

Civil wars and violent disagreements happened from time to time, and Cagalli had always admired the knights that set the problems straight. That was the main reason she wanted to become a knight; though the thrill of fighting was an added plus. Others had called her a bloodthirsty child while they laughed at her, but she was willing to bear with it. A knight upholds the Code of Chivalry at all times; being disagreeable was not a good option.

Her dreams vanished momentarily as Cagalli found herself in a totally unfamiliar long corridor. Light shone from windows situated near the ceiling, and the corridor stretched for quite a distance. The only other thing is sight was...

A door! Marked with a green knob! What was it that Kira had said?

A green knob always leads to the outside."

She reached out and turned the green knob. Pushing the wooden door open, Cagalli found herself emerging from a side door.

Outside the palace, a layer of snow covered the earth, courtesy of Silver Moon weather. Leaves were drooping, roofs were groaning after heavy snow, and slushy puddles laid around where snow had melted temporarily. Apart from the green of evergreen plants, and the crimson tunics of the pages and squires, the place was white and grey, with light tints of blue in the snow where the sunlight touched.

Looking upwards, Cagalli scanned the tops of the towers around until she found a grey flag with an egg on it, attached to a single tower near the west. The egg was chosen for the pages' symbol, Kira had explained, because an egg had mysterious stuff inside it that no one knows about, and might be destined for great things after training to its full ability.

Closing the side door behind her, Cagalli kept her eyes on the flag and began walking towards it. So intent was she on not losing her way that she turned a corner of another tower without thinking or looking directly in front of her, and crashed into someone coming around the same corner.

Startled, Cagalli leapt back. The victim of her carelessness had been knocked to the ground, and he glared up at Cagalli with irritation in his cold blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, are you all..."

"Stupid kid!" came the reply. He was dressed in a red tunic and white belt like Kira, and his hair was as white as the snow he sat in.

"I said I'm sorry," Cagalli felt rather annoyed herself. Rude jerk.

The squire picked himself up and glared down at Cagallim using the advantage of height. Then he eyed Cagalli from top to toe.

"What's a lowly peasant like you doing in the palace?" he sneered. "After fame and fortune? You won't get either."

Cagalli felt really annoyed. "For your information, I'm here to be a squire."

"A likely story! Intruders must be turned over to the head guards at once! Why, you're too young even for a page!"

"It's better than being an old man like you!" Cagalli retorted, snorting at white hair.

"Wha... It's natural!" the squire yelled. "Unlike yours, it's clean!"

"Too bad your mouth isn't," Cagalli snapped at once.

Before she could react, the squire slipped to her back and pushed her into the snow, holding her firmly down in a kneeling position. He removed the white belt around his waist and bound Cagalli's wrists behind her. Cagalli struggled hard, but the older boy was stronger. Thinking fast, she swung her head up and backwards, knocking her assaulter on the forehead with the back of her own.

The squire screamed, pulling back. He raised a fist. Cagalli braced herself for the impact.

"Yzak!"

The blow did not land. Turning, Cagalli saw another squire standing beside Yzak and holding his wrist back. Two more squires stood behind them, looking puzzled.

"It's time for afternoon training. What are you doing?" the one holding Yzak's wrist asked. Cagalli stared at him. He had dark blue hair, emerald green eyes and an expression that was both commanding yet slightly informal at the same time.

"Found a trespasser," Yzak snapped, pulling his arm away. He looked down at Cagalli in scorn. "But you're right. I shouldn't be wasting my time with the likes of him."

Yzak waved a skinny, pale young page over.

"Take him to Duke Amarfi, and look sharp about it," he ordered. Then he turned and stalked off. The two other squires that had stood watching interestedly followed.

"Come on, Athrun, let's go!" the one with curly green hair called after his back. The blue haired squire waved him on, then dismissed the page with a light shove on the back and a quiet command. The boy scuttled off thankfully.

Cagalli stared at the remaining squire balefully, still trying to scrape her hands out of the white belt. Athrun, he was called. He stared back at her with stern eyes from which very small hints of curiousity escaped. It was disconcerting to be under such intense scrutiny, and Cagalli squirmed slightly. Also, he looked pretty good with that expression.

No! What on earth was she thinking? She was still tied up and in the snow.

"You look terrible," Athrun said suddenly.

Anger kicked in anew.

"You don't have to rub it in," Cagalli snapped in a tone similar to Yzak's. She tugged hard at the belt again. "So what if I look pathetic?"

Athrun knelt down beside her. "That's not what I meant. I was asking after your well-being. Yzak's too rough for you, after all." He patted her head as if she were a child.

Was he being concerned, or was he poking at her for losing to Yzak? Without taking time to understand the look on Athrun's face, Cagalli moved out from under his hand, then leaned forward and bit down. Hard.

"Arrghhhhhh!" Athrun pulled back, wrenching his hand from between Cagalli's teeth. "Wha-what do you think you're doing!"

His eyes held disbelief and exasperation. Cagalli simply glared back at him. Shaking his hand, which now held red marks, and looking at very fierce eyes, Athrun sighed.

Then quietly, he laughed.

Cagalli felt unnerved. "What's so funny? I don't..."

"Athrun!" Cagalli turned at the voice, and saw Kira run towards them. "Training just started! What are you... doing... here..."

He broke off as he saw Cagalli, still in the wet snow. Athrun pulled Yzak's knots off with several quick twists.

"Cagalli?"

"You know him?" Athrun asked, surprised. "Yzak thought he was a trespasser that snuck into the palace."

"Cagalli's my brother," Kira smiled at Athrun's face. "He's here to be a squire." His eyes looked troubled as he helped Cagalli to her feet. "Did Yzak to that to him?"

"Don't blame him, he was being careful," Athrun said. Cagalli stared at him in annoyance. Covering up for the old man like that! And Kira was being nice to him too.

"He was being disrespectful," Cagalli pointed out. "And so are you."

Throwing back her head, she stalked off towards the page's tower. Utterly bewildered, Kira nodded at Athrun and ran after his sister.

"Cagalli! Wait!"

"Do all squires act like that?" Cagalli demanded softly. "Rude, arrogant, and think they can look down on others?"

"Athrun's not like that," Kira stared at his sister strangely as they walked. It wasn't like Cagalli to get so worked up, even with her temper.

"As if. He was staring at me as if I were beneath his position, when he's just another squire anyway!"

"Actually, he is above you in position," Kira said truthfully. "He's the crown prince."

Blood drained from Cagalli's face.

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The dining hall was only a third filled. Squires, pages and servants sat around in their own groups, talking and eating. Cagalli hovered uncertainly at the large red doors until she spotted Kira waving at her from a table with three other squires.

Walking over, she sat down shyly as Kira gave introductions.

"This is my s... brother, Cagalli. S-He's come to join us as a squire. Cagalli, these are Sothe, Terrence and Kenneth."

All three were dressed in the red squire uniform. Sothe had curly blond hair and an easygoing look. Terrence's eyes were hidden by a pair of green crystal shades, the seeing aid made by some mage. Kenneth was dark skinned, and his blue hair was parted neatly to the side.

Blue hair shifted Cagalli's attention to thoughts of that Athrun, and she made a note to avoid him as much as possible.

"Nice to meet you," Sothe was saying cordially. Cagalli nodded back.

"You'll find the work here tough, but don't worry, it'll be fun," Terrence said, grinning. He put a plate of bread down in front of her. "Best wishes for finding a good knightmaster!"

These squires were nice. Things started looking up. As long as she stayed with Kira and his friends, she would enjoy herself as a squire.

No matter what Yzak said about her abilities.

She finished her tea as quickly as the others, then listened as Terrence suggested a snowball fight outside. Immediately, strategies entered her mind, and as she spoke, Kira left the table and made for another.

Waving his closest friend at Castle Zaft over, Kira greeted Athrun with a soft smack on the shoulder.

"Sorry about just now," he apologised. "Cagalli's very temperamental sometimes. He told me what happened, and I've already explained to him that it was a misunderstanding"

Athrun smiled. He wondered if Cagalli had told Kira about the hand-biting.

"No problem. It kind of surprised me that your brother is here, though. You didn't mention it at all."

So Kira related the forgotten letter sheepishly.

"I guess I'm kind of worried, because I won't be able to run around him that much... The king's sending for me more often nowadays," Kira rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

Athrun understood what he meant. Having been King Patrick's squire for four years, he knew that the king was one who would keep having his squire do miscellaneous chores and jobs. Thankfully, he was due for his knighting soon, and was let off being King Patrick's squire.

"I had thought of picking you for a squire at first, at least for a year," Athrun said. "But you were chosen quickly. Now I have no idea who to pick."

"Your other friends would jump at the chance, wouldn't they?"

"Nicol's serving his father already, Dearka's serving Lord Miguel, and Yzak would rather cut his own throat than serve me as squire," Athrun said with a laugh.

"It isn't really necessary to have a squire for now, is it? Not a sign of battle or war exists anywhere around, after all. Zaft's really peaceful right now."

"Having a squire is more custom than anything else," Athrun agreed. His eyes darkened suddenly. "And I'm not so sure if things will remain peaceful for long..."

Kira stared at him with puzzled violet eyes. "Athrun...?"

"Kira!"

Both squires turned. Cagalli had risen and was running towards them, waving at her brother.

"We're going out to play in the..." Cagalli slowed to a stop as she saw Athrun.

"I don't think you guys have been formally introduced yet. Athrun, this is my brother, Cagalli Attha. Cagalli, this is Athrun Zala, Prince Zaft," Kira said, ferverently hoping that Cagalli would not start being childish again.

Cagalli 's voice was steady as she spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Athrun."

Athrun watched her, bemused. He had been expecting a hasty apology for her behaviour as she addressed him by 'Highness' or something of the sort. Evidently, she wasn't one to take position into consideration. Interesting person. Extending a hand, he smiled.

"Same to you, Cagalli."

Cagalli hesitated. Much to Athrun's surprise, she took his hand between hers, then bent and kissed it.

This time it was Athrun's turn to blush, and he stared in bewilderment at her behaviour.

Cagalli was also flushing as she dropped his hand. It wasn't so weird with Duke Amarfi!

Kira was dumbfounded. Both he and Athrun simply stared at Cagalli as if she had grown an extra head.

"What...? I was... minding my manners..." Cagalli stammered. Athrun continued staring in confusion. He was just another squire. Why was Cagalli treating him like either an elder or a knight?

Kira burst into laughter. "Cagalli! Duke Amarfi meant... he meant... Ahahahahahahah!"

Between chuckles, Kira managed explain to Athrun what had happened that morning, and inform Cagalli that to fellow squires and pages who had not achieved anything to be proud of, a handshake would suffice. Cagalli stomped on Kira's foot, blaming him for not warning her earlier.

It was rare to see Kira laugh aloud, even though he smiled often. Athrun suddenly realised that Cagalli's presence could certainly prove to be very interesting. He smiled to himself, causing one of Cagalli's eyebrows to go up, wondering exactly what he was thinking about.

Weird people.

The three squires went out to join Terrence, Sothe and Kenneth for a snowball fight. Near the end of Blue Moon, snowflakes had begun to drift from the clouds, and a layer of white blanketed the castle grounds. It wasn't extremely thick, but thick enough for a game, so Kira, Cagalli and Terrence formed up on one side behind a horse trench, while Athrun, Kenneth and Sothe knelt behind a large evergreen bush.

"Time limit is 30 minutes. Whoever is entirely soaked through will be taken from the match. Whichever team gets all members booted off first loses," Kenneth announced. "Let's have 5 minutes to build up ammo."

Hence a pile of snowballs appeared steadily on each team. At Terrence's call, Athrun and Sothe began pelting the other team with snowballs, while Kenneth laid low and built up the pile of snowballs.

Evidently, Kira had decided on the same strategy, for Cagalli was lying behind the trench while Kira and Terrence pelted snowballs relentlessly. As Athrun ducked to dodge a flying snowball, he wondered how Kira had gotten Cagalli to back off rather than attack. Cagalli had probably wanted to be an attacker after all.

And since when did you know him so well?

Distraction cost Athrun a wet shoulder.

Snowball fights were childish games. Nonetheless, the squires enjoyed watching each other squirm when wetted, and soon their soaked tunics were dripping with melted snow. Sothe and Terrence had been wetted through, and been sent off to grab blankets before they caught a cold. It wasn't long before Kira and Athrun were both shivering, with Cagalli and Kenneth slightly wetted by flying snowballs that had landed on them from above.

Laughing, Kira raised his hand and called for a truce. "We have to go for dinner soon, and had better get dry before that."

"Okay," Kenneth agreed, squeezing out the front of his red tunic. They began heading towards the side doors.

"If there wasn't dinner we definitely would have won," Cagalli taunted, poking Kenneth on the shoulder. "I'm dryer than you, you know."

Kenneth grinned, then bent down and quickly rolled a snowball with his gloveless fingers. Shivering, he handed the snowball gingerly to Athrun. The latter grinned as Cagalli and Kira continued walking, passing by a pine tree with straight branches.

Snow had collected on the leaves.

Athrun pulled back his arm and threw hard, knocking the branches into swaying. The snow pile fell.

Right onto Kira and Cagalli.

Laughing hard, Athrun and Kenneth entered the palace.

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"We wait on the nobles in turn every night with the pages, unless a knightmaster has chosen you, and then you serve only him and his table," Kira explained, handing Cagalli a plate of stew. "I'm waiting on the royals' table, but Duke Amarfi said that you could work at the mages' one for today, since it's situated near the royals. Then I can show you the ropes."

Cagalli nodded, her mouth dry. If she spilled stew on someone's lap, she might even get sent home. Trembling, she moved out of the corridor and into the dining hall as unobtrusively as possible.

Most of the mages present wore brown, black or dark blue cloaks that covered their bodies from shoulder to foot, with circlets on their heads and pointed hats beneath their chairs. They were conversing quietly in either one language or the other among themselves, and often used magic as if it was a natural ability. Cagalli was already trembling when she put the stew down, but the sudden rearrangement of a plate of fish without the consumer touching it startled her, and the table shook as she jumped. All the mages turned to look at her.

Flushing in embarrassment, she retreated hastily back to the corridor, waiting for the kitchens to send up the next course. Kira soon joined her, smiling comfortingly.

When Cagalli had gone in and out of the dining hall several times, she felt at ease enough to look around her. Quite a few nobles were present at court for dinner, though they seemed to have disappeared during the day. Cagalli eyed the royals' table from the corner of her eye.

King Patrick Zala looked every inch the commanding king that he was. Thick, alarming eyebrows loomed over his calm and collected eyes, excreting an air of majesty. The members on the royal table were silent unlike the others. Four dukes sat next to him, and three duchesses were arranged between and on either side of the others.

And there was Athrun. Strangely enough, he wasn't serving like Kira and three others. He sat next to the king and dined with the other royals. Cagalli felt crossly that it was unfair. Just because he was the prince didn't mean he shouldn't do work like the rest of the squires.

Finally stopping her observations, she carried a turkey dish over to the mages and set it down. The mages hardly batted an eyelid, paying no attention to her at all. Turning to leave, she heard a phrase that made her prick up her ears in attention.

"... will truly be a disaster."

"Yes, indeed. We must watch out. Does King Patrick realise that trouble might come about?"

Disaster? Trouble?

"Everytime I mention it, he just says that he knows what he's doing. That's what the king is like, after all. Keeping all the plans to himself until the last minute."

"But the stormstones. They're due to be awakened anytime now."

"King Orb will probably be making his move soon."

Cagalli froze again. Uncle Eldorth?

"King Patrick has expected that. We'll manage somehow. How is Duchess Rena's curse-fever?"

What were they talking about! Cagalli fretted and worried as she hid in the corridor a few moments later. Kira... I have to tell Kira!

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That concludes the first chapter. Yes, it was boring, but that's just the beginning and the introduction. It'll get better later, I promise!

Although I have planned out the whole story, it is possible that this isn't a very good idea. So if I get very little notice on this story, I might discontinue this after a few chapters. Probably not, since I pretty much like the storyline I drew up.

Review please!

Daidairo

20th August 2006