Note: Gundam Wing and all related characters and materials are the property of Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment.
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The next day, Relena noticed that the village was buzzing with activity. The warriors had brought back a large boar and a deer the previous day, which made Relena curious as to what was being planned. After asking Heero and getting no response, she asked Dr J, the only person who would give any answers. "They are preparing for a feast tonight." He said to her.
"A feast?"
"They have invited members of an ally tribe so that they may discuss political and social matters. This is a major part of our culture. There will be lots of food there."
"That's good; I haven't had a lot of good food lately. No offense, it's just that I'm used to Roman food." She said.
"That's good; I don't want you going hungry, ha ha! But be careful; the feasts can get pretty ugly."
--
The feast began close to sundown. Earlier, the Gundami welcomed the representatives of the Catuvellauni tribe, who were neighbors of the Iceni [1]. The feast included a large boar, venison, beef, game and fish, all of which looked so good that Relena could not wait to try it. Of course, being the proper Roman woman she was, she had to wait to have the food. The feast also included honey, butter, milk, wine, cheese, mead and beer. It was a feast that even proud Romans could enjoy. Relena was introduced to the Catuvellauni as the Gundami's guest and she was to be treated with respect—lest the wrath of the Roman army come down upon them. A bard from a land called "Erin [2]" who called himself Professor G came with the Catuvellauni. He seemed to have some history with Duo, since the warrior wasn't too happy he was there. The bard was eccentric, just like Dr J, but Professor G seemed to be a little more serious.
"Now then, let's see who's here," said Professor G as he prepared to get the feast underway. "I would like to introduce our guests from the west the representatives of the Catuvellauni tribe, as well as a very special guest, Relena Pacisprofessio, daughter of distinguished Roman senator Claudius Pacisprofessio."
"Hurry up, you old fool, I'm hungry!" Shouted Duo. Hilde tried to calm him down saying,
"Duo, be polite."
"Watch your manners, warrior," replied Professor G. "Not everyone else is as impatient as you, so calm down. I'll have you know I'm in a higher caste than you are, so you shouldn't disrespect me [3]."
"Whatever!"
"Alright then, shall we get started?" Asked Dr J.
"Yes, we shall. Let us begin." The feast began as the guests dug in to the food—much to the shock of Relena, who, due to her proper upbringing, saw these people as ravenous beasts that had no table manners. At first she was worried that she wouldn't get any, but that changed when the German girl Hilde handed her some food. Venison, it appeared to be. Then she said a few words in the language of the tribe, which Relena couldn't understand.
"She said 'here, have it'." Said Dr J, who had just sat down next to her. Relena accepted the food graciously especially since she was very hungry anyway. The dish had some bread, venison and a few grains. She was given a dish of milk to drink, which she also appreciated. She took a bite of the venison and—oh, it was so good! Manners pretty much went out the window and gave way to her hunger. Then Hilde asked another question of Relena. "She asked if you like the food." Said Dr J.
"Yes, I do." She replied after taking another bite of venison. Dr J relayed the statement to Hilde who was very appreciative or Relena's compliments.
"She helped cook the food," he said to her.
"She's very good. When I return to Londinium, I'll make sure I'll have her come and cook." Dr J spoke again to Hilde, who laughed. Then Hilde asked another question.
"She's asking if you miss your father." Dr J relayed to her. The happiness of the moment ended and was replaced by stoicism. But that was ruined when the warrior Duo yelled at Professor G. Relena did understand when Hilde yelled Duo's name out, but she could not understand the rest of the conversation. Dr J joined in as well, which infuriated Duo. When he was done harassing the warrior, Dr J turned to Relena.
"Yes, I do miss him," she said with a small tinge of sadness. Hilde asked another question, which Dr J translated as,
"Do you have a brother?"
"Yes, I do. Centurion Mille Pacisprofessio," she replied. Dr J seemed to hesitate before relaying the translation to Hilde. Hilde's expression changed when she heard the name 'Mille Pacisprofessio'. However, she spoke again.
"She wants to know if your brother's a good person."
Relena sighed and decided to fess up. "To tell the truth, I don't know my brother that well. We don't see each other often because he's usually away on military campaigns for the Empire. The longest I get to see him is one or days usually, the longest he's been away is five years. In fact, I barely got to know him when I was young, too. I would like it if we could have a decent relationship, but because of his military career, it might not happen. Plus, he's so focused on his duty that he forgets I really hate war."
--
Hilde listened hard to Dr J's translation of Relena's story. She felt bad for Relena that she never got to spend much time Mille. "Oh, I'm sorry, it must have been hard for you," she said. Dr J translated Hilde's words and then Relena replied in Latin.
"Actually, she didn't have it too bad. After all, she is the daughter of a noblewoman."
"Dr J!" The conversation was interrupted by Professor G. "You need to teach this warrior a lesson, he won't shut up!" He said, referring to Duo.
"Why, I can't help you, you're the story teller here!" Dr J replied. "What's he doing wrong?"
"This insolent little fool thinks he knows the Cattle Raid of Cooley better than I do, and I'm from Erin!"
"Are you kidding me? You can't even get Cuchulainn's name right!"
"Calm down!" Said Heero forcefully, rubbing his temple in exasperation. "Duo just let him tell the story."
"No, he's not getting it right."
"Duo!" Finally, Hilde tried to get Duo to stop so Professor G could tell the story. The story continued on, and the Roman girl (Relena) tried to listen as carefully as she could, although she still could not understand Professor G.
"Hey Trowa, are you having fun?" Catherine said to the young archer. Trowa, however, stayed silent, much to the girl's chagrin. "When will you learn to be considerate?" The young warrior continued to eat, not paying attention to the dancer one bit. "Hilde?" She asked. "How do you deal with Duo?"
"It's a long story," she replied. Speaking of Duo, it was time he reached for the hero's portion of the boar—only to be intercepted by a warrior from the Catuvellauni tribe. Now here's where things get ugly. Duo got angry with the other warrior, saying,
"Hey buddy, get your hands of my portion. It's called the hero's portion for a reason, not the washed-up farmer's portion, buddy!"
"Excuse me, but who made you the greatest hero here? I've killed more men than you have!"
"Oh really?" Duo and his rival were now standing up, directly confronting each other.
"Yes, really, I think you're a piece of cow dung!" Bad idea. Duo was now furious and drew his sword. In one second, the braided warrior thrust it into the man's chest. The other warrior had no chance. Duo removed the sword from his chest and watched him fall to the ground. The rest of the feasting party continued eating, except for the Roman girl, who was now looking at him with utmost horror in her eyes. Duo realized what happened.
The Roman girl stood up and said, "Barbarus [4]! Inhumanus [5]!" Before running away from the feast, leaving the rest of them stunned. No one knows what possessed him to do it, but the chieftain Heero, stood up and followed the Roman girl away from the feast.
--
Mille was right! They are savage! Thought Relena. Although she had come prepared to expect the worst, she did not expect to see someone getting stabbed during dinner! She hid in the only place available to recover from her traumatic experience. She was now seriously considering leaving the tribe. Despite how nice the people here had been, the act of Duo stabbing a member of the Catuvellauni was too much. Just then—
"Are you okay?" Relena turned around, and saw who it was.
"What do you want, Heero?" She said with an almost acidic tone of voice.
"If you're planning on leaving, I would advise against doing so."
"Why?"
"It's too dark out there for you too see very far and if the night doesn't claim you, the beasts or other tuaths might." Although she hated to admit it, Relena knew that he was right. There was no way for her to return to Londinium right now. Overwhelmed by the events of the night and the realization she might not return to Londinium, Relena struggled to hold back her tears. In a strange move, Heero tried to comfort her, placing his hand on the Roman's shoulder. In a reactionary manner, Relena turned around and threw her arms around the chieftain, who wrapped his arms around her as well. For several minutes, the only sound in the roundhouse was the sound of Relena crying into Heero's shoulder.
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[1] They also allied with the Iceni during their revolt on 60/61.
[2] Erin is the name for Ireland in Irish myth, but Relena doesn't know that Ireland exists right now.
[3] Celtic society was divided in a caste system with noblemen at the top.
[4] "Barbarian!"
[5] "Savage!"