Dark Horse

4: Heart Won't Lie

"Sometimes life gets in the way, but there's one thing that won't change." Reba McEntire

~*~*~*~

*Excerpt from a letter from Princess Marina of Azadistan to a friend*

If one has anything important to accomplish, then Sanq is the place to be. And trying to re-establish an entire country counts as important, at least to me. Something like this, like bringing back Azadistan from the dead, doesn't happen overnight, though. That's why I've been in Sanq for such a long time now.

But at least it is far from boring.

My first day here, the adventure started. My slow introduction to a tightly knit family of friends began. I'd spent hours talking with Relena Darlian, the former Peacecraft princess and the current Vice Foreign Minister. But even that didn't prepare me for what I found. The bodyguard she assigned to me, one Heero Yuy, was interesting. I spent a while walking in the rose garden with him, that first day, after the day's conference was over. We had a splendid chat, before we were interrupted by the capital building blowing up.

Yes. The captial building blew up. I told you it was an adventure, did I not?

Well, Heero takes his duty very seriously, and he pushed me out of the way of a crumbling stone pillar. We were separated from another of our small group, and from the lamentations we heard, Duo Maxwell obviously thought that Heero did not make it out of the path of the pillar.

The poor boy, gripped by emotional pain, proclaimed his love to the pillar of stone rubble. Well, as you and I both know, Heero was not dead. And he heard all of this. By some twist of fate, he actually returned those feelings, and since that day the two have been as inseparable as Trowa and Quatre, or Wufei and Relena.

Quatre, a part-owner and public figurehead of a very large corporation, and Relena the afore-mentioned Vice Foreign Minister, acted very shady about weather or not they had anything to do with the unfortunate bombing that left three dead and several injured. They denied all allegations that either I or their respective lovers threw at them. And it turns out, that despite their guilty-looking smiles, they didn't have anything to do with it. Their plan had been to have me make Duo jealous by spending time with Heero. It might have been a good plan, if not for the bombing. And if I had actually known anything about this plan.

Despite the tradgedies arising from the accident, I prefer to look at it as romantic. Several people that worked with the two bodyguards presented much distress and, need I say disgust, at the thought of two males in a romantic relationship. But they both had the support of two very high ranking public idols, so any opposition was crushed and soon, those that opposed it learned to shut up and accept it. As you know, I myself am not against such relationships, so I find their story touching and romantic.

As romantic as the tale Duo has told me about Quatre and her lover slash bodyguard Trowa. He spoke of how Trowa had fallen in love with someone he thought was a boy, and how Quatre turned out to be a girl, and how they'd fought over the lie. About Trowa saving Quatre's life by donating a kidney, and then leaving. About how they'd finally admitted their true feelings and came together as a couple.

I can't really tell you much about Relena's relationship with her own bodyguard. I don't think anyone truly knows what goes on between those two. Under public eye, it seems almost like animosity or apathy between the two. As if they barely liked each other. But out of the spotlight, they act like the best of friends. Which is odd in and of itself, because of Wufei's rather ancient views. But he seems chivalrous and kind to her, which I guess is all that really counts. I must find out more about how those two got together.

The love lives of the people around me have become my new hobbies! It's embarassing to admit, but it's true. I promise to write more in the future, my dear friend.

Lovingly Yours, Marina

*End Excerpt*

Marina gasped aloud when Wufei gripped her arm. The rubble of the conference room was around her, and she was skinned, bruised. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Relena? Where is she? What happened? Princess... what did they do with her?"

"I... I don't know!" she sobbed. "It was so fast. Oh, Chang... they've taken her! She's gone. They took her."

It didn't take long for everyone to gather. Heero and Duo, Trowa and Quatre. It didn't take long for them to arrive. Even Noin and Une and Sally was there to support Wufei.

"There's not much we can say," Noin was speaking. "A small contingent of mobile suits bombed the conference hall, and apparently, from what we can tell, they kidnapped the Vice Foreign Minister. We weren't able to track their exact path, but we've gathered that they were heading somewhere around here..." she tapped a spot on the map in front of her. "North American continent. And we don't have the firepower to take on their mobile suits."

"We have Nataku," Wufei said. His tears were gone, replaced by a cool, calm hatred.

"You can't take on all of them by yourself, Wufei," Une said reasonably. "And we still need to do recon. We have no idea if she's even there."

"What about the Gundams?" Heero asked.

"We sent them to the sun, remember, love?" Duo reminded him, as if speaking to a child.

"No, he has a point," Quatre said. "They won't have reached the sun yet. If we hurry... we might could stop the shuttle before it gets too close."

"Hn. Possible," Heero said. "But we need to hurry."

"You can't all go chasing them," Noin said. "We need help to find out more about these people and what they want."

"Agreed," Wufei said. "Duo, Quatre. You're the best choices we have for being able to turn that shuttle around."

"You two were the ones who programmed it. And you're both the best at programming and hacking systems- besides myself. You two should be the ones to go. Me and Wufei and Trowa will have ample time to do recon and find Relena's exact location before you return with the Gundams. In the meantime, we can use standard mobile suits."

"Good plan," Noin nodded.

"I don't like it," Trowa said.

All eyes turned to him.

"There's too many holes in this plan. And it's too vague. And I don't want Quatre in that position of danger. Do you realize how many things could go wrong for them?"

Quatre placed a hand on her lover's arm.

"It's alright," she whispered. "It's my choice to make, Trowa. And trust me... I've gone into far more dangerous situations before. I'm a pilot. Always have been, always will be. That's part of me you love, remember?"

"Don't forget," Duo added, "That you fell in love with Quatre the kick-ass pilot long before you fell in love with Quaterina the dainty little lily of Winner Corps."

Quatre rolled her eyes. "Nice usage of words, Duo... but let me handle this, kay?" She turned back to Trowa, wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close.

"Don't hold me back, love," she whispered into his neck, for his ears alone. "Have faith that I'm strong enough to do this... and to come home safe and sound."

"I still don't like this," He whispered back. "But you're right. This is bigger than us, isn't it? I'd just hoped I wouldn't have to fight again. I hoped you wouldn't have to fight again."

She kissed his lips softly. "It's what we were meant to do, love. I know you want to protect me... but life has a tendency of getting in the way, eh?"

"Yeah... but one thing won't change," and he kissed her.

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TBC.......