[A.N.]Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter! So sorry it is late! I have been so busy with school stuff getting ready to be a senior next year and all, that I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to do this! I am sorry it's a short chapter but you should still get a chuckle or two out of it. I hope to have the next one out in about two weeks! 'Til then, read, enjoy and please review to let me know what you think or what you might like to see! Thanks!

Pure As Snow Ch. 4

The ride in the wagon had been a long one before they finally stopped for the night. Heero said he had wanted to make certain they were far enough from the queen and her guards that they could safely rest. Relena watched as they all went about their usual chores of laundry and equipment maintenance. Duo was checking the wheels and axels of the wagon, Hilde and Catherine and Dorothy were washing the clothes while Sally took inventory of what they had to make a list for the next town. Trowa and Catherine were tending to the horses and Heero had gone out hunting.

She had asked Sally what she could do to help but the older woman merely smiled and told her that she should rest which confused her. She may have been a Princess but sitting idle was hardly something she enjoyed. Wufei had been out gathering firewood and now, building a fire pit to put it in but that didn't stop him from looking up and glaring at her.

"What?" She asked. "have I done something wrong?"

"It seems to me that if you are going to stay you should pull your weight around here."

"I don't know what I should do."

"Did you ask?"

"Yes. Sally said I should rest, but I want to help."

"What exactly can you do? You are after all, just a princess."

"I can do more than you think."

"Oh really?" He stepped towards her, crossed his arms and stared her down.

"Can you dance?"

"If courtly dances count then yes."

"Can you play an instrument?"

"Yes."

"Which one?"

"The lute."

"Are you any good?"

"You tell me."

"How long have you been playing?"

"Since I was five."

"You might not be a total loss."

"Excuse me?" Now he was getting annoying.

"Can you sew?"

"Why?"

"We make our own costumes; now, can you?"

"A little, I was mostly taught embroidery."

"Well pretty flowers don't keep a jacket together. Can you do anything else?"

"Yes, for your information. I am great with horses. I know how to care for and repair their tack and I know how much food and water they need and when they need groomed."

"Interesting." He paused, looking her over judgmentally, his eyes studying her hands and her arms. She felt like a work horse being appraised at an auction to decide its usefulness. "Can you do anything else?" She stifled a groan of annoyance.

"I can cook."

"You can cook?"

"You sound surprised."

"You're a princess."

"It was a hobby. The kitchen staff loved me."

"Are you any good at it?"

"Are you?" She was getting tired of this.

"Answer the question."

"Well if you must know, Mr. Personality, I've been told I'm good. I studied with the castle chef." Before Wufei could say much more to her Duo walked up giving a ridiculously large stretch and an even more ridiculous yawn.

"Did she say she can cook?" Duo was holding his stomach. I sure hope she can. Dorothy just about killed us with the last stew she made."

"I heard that, you ungrateful glutton!"

"Truth hurts, brows!" Brows was his nickname for the girl due to her strange affinity for petting her long eyebrows. Relena had to stop herself from giggling. "Any woman who can hold her own against Wufei and cook is more than ok in my book! When do we eat?"

Relena smiled at Duo's enthusiasm as he led her over to their cooking supplies. The various ingredients were mixed in multiple baskets, their cookware just as haphazardly packed. She sighed as she began to rummage through to see just what they had, making a mental note of various ingredients and seasonings that they would need to help better prepare and preserve their food.

"What'dya think, Princess? Nice, ain't it?"

"It's certainly something."

"I know it ain't the most glamorous but it's what we got." Realizing he took her comment the wrong way she turned to him apologetically.

"No, I'm sorry. It's fine, really. I'm just making sure we have what I need so that I can start fixing dinner. Heero will most likely be hungry when he gets back."

"Oh yeah. I see what ya' mean. You wanna impress him." She felt her cheeks heat with an uncontrollable blush. "I'll just leave ya to it!" He winked at her and walked away; the blush continuing to burn her cheeks. What he said was partly true. She wanted him to like her, at least enough to continue to let her stay. He was their leader for all intents and purposes and what he said obviously was the last word on any subject. She liked her new home and her new friends and the thought of parting from them was already unbearable.

She looked around the camp and took in the sight of all of them busily at work. Catherine and Sally smiled brightly at her and she felt some of her tension ease which, in turn made her feel guilty, here she was, safe from Une while her people were still suffering. She would return home. She would still set her people free from Une's grasp, but not yet. She needed time, she needed a plan, and the grumbling of her tummy reminded her that she also needed some food. She glanced over and saw Duo carrying a basket of laundry juggling it and an open bottle of wine just to make Hilde and Dorothy nervous. If that wine spilled on the linens they would certainly kill him for the work the resulting stains would cause. She laughed as Hilde chased him away from the baskets with a pair of sheers. He grinned at her and winked. Duo kept the spirits up when things were looking glum. He certainly had helped to keep hers up.

She started to organize the ingredients setting out he ones she needed as she did so, taking time to prepare the ones she would use as the water in the pot was brought to a boil. This stew wouldn't be the most complicated thing she'd ever made but it would be as good as she could make it for the benefit of her friends. Duo walked up and tried to dip a spoon in to taste it and she playfully swatted his hand.

"Not until everyone is here." He simply stated. He frowned at her, faking a pout.

"Oh, I see, Heero gets special treatment. I can see what's on your mind!" He grinned and winked at her causing her to blush again. The others hadn't seemed to hear him, a fact for which she was grateful. As she gathered the bowls and utensils, Heero returned, a nice sized buck slung over his shoulder. She turned to him and smiled as Duo and Wufei walked forward to help him with the deer. He walked past her to wash his hands in the basin where Dorothy had been doing the laundry.

"Hey! There's clothes in there you know?!" Heero only grunted at her and moved towards the fire where the rest of the group was gathering.

"Welcome back." She said to him softly. He looked at her, his eyes locking with hers. As a royal, she was unused to anyone holding her gaze for extended lengths of time, let alone someone who had such a piercing gaze. She felt so exposed whenever their eyes met. "Dinner is ready." She said, and, after a moment, he offered her a small smile.

"Thank you." she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and a tension lifted from her chest. As they sat down on the various logs and makeshift stools Duo was all too happy to sample the first bite.

"Wow!" She paused, glancing around the circle as each person took a bite of her stew. "This is amazing! You weren't lying when you said you knew how to cook!" She smiled as the other echoed his opinion and felt her cheeks heat again. She hadn't felt this welcomed in a long time and it was a feeling she had sorely missed. Taking a bite of her own soup she settled in and listened to the various dinner conversations, feeling that Heero's gaze from time to time as they sat.

The huntsman stopped another traveler on the road to inquire about the young princess and whether or not they had seen her passing through. Each person had been less than helpful with the only piece of information being that they saw a wagon of traveling entertainers passing through. He didn't even bother to thank them. His mission was clear. He had to find the girl for his queen and that was all that mattered. Everything else was merely a trivial detail. He would find her no matter how far he had to travel or how long it took and he would bring her back to his queen. Suddenly he felt her calling him, the tingling sensation he got in his brain resonated through his skull getting stronger. He pulled out the mirror from his bag and held it up so he could see her.

"Huntsman." She said, her voice as smooth and cold as polished ice. "Report to me. Have you found her yet?"

"Not yet, my queen, but I shall not rest until she is within your grasp."

"Oh, I know you won't." She paused. Do you remember what the princess looks like?" He tried to remember but her image wouldn't come to his mind. He shook his head. "Very well then." She showed him an image of her in his mirror, her soft aqua eyes and heney colored hair seemed so familiar. "Bring her to me soon. Or…" He felt a blinding pain in his mind begin and grow more intense until it was almost unbearable. "And that is just a taste of what you'll receive if you fail me. Understand?"

"Yes." As he grunted out those words from gritted teeth he felt the pain suddenly stop.

"Good. Don't disappoint me huntsman. I'm counting on you to deliver her to me soon." With those words her image faded from the mirror and he relaxed, gripping the reigns of his horse a little tighter. He would find the girl, he would bring her to his queen and then his mission would be fulfilled. The peasants had mentioned a wagon of performers that had been traveling around the time she would have fled. There could be a connection. With this new hunch, he clucked at his horse and spurred him forward following the path hoping it would lead him to his quarry.