Official Quote : They don't have Gundams, they have wings.
A/N : Does anyone know that we can read all the reviews of any stories openly by just clicking the red link 'reviews' beside the PenName of the author? I have just figured it out recently. Waah… don't give me that look! It may be obvious but how am I supposed to know if no one ever tells me? (mumbles pitiful excuses)
Anyways, I took a time yesterday to check my mailbox and clear my old mails. When I reached the mails of reviews and alerts from the net regarding Wings, I was reluctant. I had known at that time, that we can open the reviews page anytime, but I still couldn't bring myself to push the delete button. Coming fresh in my mind, those times when I found the review emails in my mailbox, how the overflowing joy filled me, how each word in each mail encouraged me. So, I guess I am going to let the whole mails stay in my mailbox as eternal data, or at least until my mailbox overloads because of numerous reviews (ah, such a far away dream…)
I just realize that all readers of Wings are happened to be kind-hearted person. Recently I found out that not every story got positive response, and I somehow felt sad. On the other hand, I am now grateful that I have some keen reviewers, in additional to wonderful readers. Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story!
Special thanks to my latest reviewers : dearest Illico, Storms-winter, Akumetsu, and JasLine. This chapter is especially for you!
This is a long chapter. I decide to not split it to maintain the continuous pace throughout the story. A warning for you, this will contain drastic turn-event and mild angst. But my rating is still K+, so you don't have to worry much. Enjoy!
Wings
-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-
Chapter Four : Shattered
~o~
shatter v (pt, pp shattered) 1 [I,T] break suddenly into small pieces 2 [T] shock 3 [T] (infml) (usu passive) tire
~"For you yourselves know… that the Day will come like a thief in the night."~
Is it because I have seen her that I now believe?
So this was the difference between those who had seen and those who had never seen. At the time, when the elders gave them this mission to find the princess, even though they had stated that she was alive in this place, there was still a minuscule uncertainty in him. In the deepest part of his mind, he wondered whether it was true, or if it was just a well-told rumor.
The elders, who had seen the princess through their divination, had a certain degree of faith. If they didn't, they wouldn't take the risk of sending the best soldiers they had in their possession to a journey with no assurance of return.
And now, he had seen the image himself. As short the image flashed, as impossible as it looked, his eyes had seen it. Causing a change in his belief, the image he saw. Whatever uncertainty he had in him, it all dissolved to evanescence.
And it delivered a new trouble.
Since he saw the girl with a pair of wings on that night, he had been searching without taking a single break. He didn't mean to, really, but every time he got a glimpse of golden hair he went all fired up with the urge to chase. The crazy thing was… he still didn't have any clue to find his target. So all his searching was useless in fact.
This was the first time he couldn't have his mind under control. He was desperate.
This… was illogical. Damn the girl for appearing in front of him when he was just about to call off his search. Instead of waiting the envoy from the Middle Continent as he planned before, he was now searching like crazy.
Heero opened his eyes, abandoning his effort to sleep. The dawn had come, and he had officially spent another night without proper rest. He stood up, watching the orange blur lit the pale horizon, the dim ray touched the town below.
She was here, somewhere. And he wanted to find her, although he didn't know where the obsession came from.
-.-.-
Today was Saturday.
Since she had no school today, Relena had spent her morning together with the employees of her house to make a preparation. For her birthday party, which would be held this afternoon.
She smiled as she continued mixing the pasty mass in the big bowl. Early in the morning, her father had taken his chance to be the first who congratulate her on her bed. The second was, of course, her mother.
Being a gentleman he was, her father bought her a white carnation bouquet – a symbol of pure love, as well as a good luck charm – and placed a kiss on her forehead. Her mother hugged her and kissed both of her cheeks. Her father apologized that he must attend some meetings today, and so he wasn't able to help her with preparation. She was fine with it, actually. But her parents declared that she would go shopping this afternoon, then her father would pick her up and they would come home together, to her party, as compensation.
She stopped stirring, and giggled slightly. They spoiled her too much.
The maids and the chef in the kitchen looked at her smile, feeling grateful for their mistress' good mood. Each time she beamed or laughed cheerily, the entire house was lit by her happiness. Their mistress never realized herself, but she always had that effect to the people around her.
-.-.-
He needed to be extra careful today.
Trowa had contacted the rest of them, stating that the envoys from Middle Continent had finally come. He didn't give any description, but Heero was confident that he could recognize the envoys without much difficulty. Just like their enemies could recognize him as easily.
He should stay low from now on. Or else a fight which couldn't be avoided was going to happen.
Midday was past when the preparation had been completed.
It turned out that their shopping ended earlier than they predicted. So, she and her mother went home by themselves, not waiting for her father like their original plan.
At home, her mother insisted that she should try on her new dress, making herself busy to set her hair style. She obeyed her without complaint, slightly amused with her mother's enthusiasm.
Relena glanced at the clock when she had finished her "modeling session" with her mother. It was almost noon. Her father's meeting should end soon.
"Mother," she called, "May I go with Pagan to meet father?"
"Why, dear," replied her mother, "He will be here immediately, you don't have to…"
"I want to give him surprise," she supplied, cutting her mother's words, smiling innocently, "You both have given me one this morning, with the carnation bouquet."
Her mother smiled at the sentence.
"Then go to the Department of Foreign Affairs, dear," her mother said, "He is most probably in his office now."
-.-.-
Of all the most unfortunate events, Heero cursed in the middle of his run. How can they spot me this fast?
So, it didn't take him long to find the searching group from the Middle Continent. He had decided to trail them, hoping to find some clue. At first he thought that the group would focus all their attention to search for their princess and ignored his presence. Instead, it turned out that they were searching for him and the other four more than the princess herself.
Their dreamseers should have seen this in their vision, and so the envoys had been warned about him and the other four. No wonder Trowa couldn't give more detailed information, he simply couldn't get near enough. If he did stalk them, he would be chased as result. Like him now.
It was a dead-end. Exactly as he wanted.
He stopped his run and turned around to face his pursuers. Now that they had been in a desolate alley, he was permitted to give a fight.
-.-.-
She peeked into her father's office. No one was in there.
Well, that's strange, she thought.
A sound of clearing throat was heard from her back, surprised her. She closed the door and turned around quickly. A man with short platinum blond hair raised a brow at her.
"Sir Charles!"
"To what do I owe the pleasure of an angel's visit this afternoon?" the man asked her, his green eyes glinted with amusement.
She grinned at his excessive choice of words. Charles Trent, her father's personal assistant, was always a smooth-talker.
"I am planning to give my father a surprise visit," she explained, "But it appears that he is not here this afternoon."
"Oh," he replied, "Then you should go to The Embassy of West Asia. And I suggest you hurry, my lady, because his meeting is supposed to be finished soon."
"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, turning around to begin her walk.
"Just a minute, young lady," he stopped her by holding her shoulder.
"Yes, Sir Charles?" she turned curiously.
She was surprised when he took her right hand and bowed to place a kiss on the top of her hand.
"Happy birthday, milady," he gave her a warm smile. She gave him a full curtsey and a 'thank you' before she went out of the building with a grin on her face.
Really, she had begun to think that today was the most perfect day of her life. Now she just hoped that her father was still in the Embassy, so they could come home together.
Pagan had just parked the pink limo at the Embassy's park lot when she saw a glimpse of her father's figure. He was standing near the front doors with some men, bound in a serious conversation. A black Rolls Royce was waiting for them, an attendant in white uniform and black turban opened the doors for the politicians.
"You won't call your father, miss?" Pagan asked her from his seat in the front.
"I think it is better not to disturb him," she replied, watching her father enter the expensive car, "Do you mind if we just follow the car, Pagan?"
"As you wish, miss Relena."
-.-.-
Heero took his step to retreat, as his enemies were trapped in the middle of the smoke. Since he had taken down some men, their force was cut in half. He doubted they would take the risk to pursue him.
But for extra pre-caution, he made sure that he didn't leave any trace behind, before he went from the alley and disappeared into the crowds.
-.-.-
A loud sound of explosion was heard from Mr. Darlian's car.
Relena watched in terror, the black car lost control and spun on the street, then got struck by another car from the opposite direction. She didn't have a chance to scream, because the accident caused the other cars on the street fall into disarray, resulting a chain of cars colliding that instant.
Pagan evaded a dangerous crash with a big truck by making a sudden curve. But the pink limo couldn't escape the collision with the front wall of an apartment. The hard hit forced the car to stop moving, but the front rear of the limo was damaged severely.
She opened her eyes slowly, feeling dizzy. Her head got an impact from the collision, and she needed some seconds to make her eye-sight focused. She went panic when she realized that the front seat was dented, calling her old butler worriedly.
She was relieved when she heard an answer from Pagan. She helped him to go out of the broken limo. Pagan had a difficulty walking, it seemed that his leg was broken when the car crashed into the wall. But she didn't realize the fact, as her mind was occupied with her father's safety.
As soon as she got a sight of her father's black Rolls Royce, she ran to the direction. Pagan tried to stop her, saying it was too dangerous to come near, that the car could explode in any minutes. But with his injured leg, he was not able to restrain his mistress. And he knew better to force another attempt, knowing that when his young lady had that determined look in her eyes, she was unstoppable.
-.-.-
When he heard a loud sound of explosion, Heero went to the source of the noise as fast as possible.
In a single glance, he could tell that the cause of that mess was the black metal cart near the tall pole. Black smoke was coming from its front part, and flame had started to burn some parts of the seat. He, with his knowledge of flame and fire, knew that the thing would explode in a huge blast soon. And the other people surely knew that fact too, as the crowds went to a fair distance, running for a cover, saving their own lives.
Except one girl.
The girl was running towards the spot, looking unfazed with the danger of explosion. He watched her intently. She tried to open the door, but it seemed that the door was locked from inside. He was surprised when the girl took a piece of iron stick and used it to smash the front window. The glass was shattered after some blows, and she quickly stretched her hand – ignoring the injuries which were caused by the sharp edge of the glass – to reach the lock of the back door. He was amazed when the door opened successfully.
Some men came out from the cart, and he could hear the girl's voice calling for her father. Heero held his breath when a pop noise came out from the metal cart. The thing would explode now, and the girl was still inside!
He ran towards the spot, but it was too late. A huge explosion came, the fire went up until it reached the roof height. Some women screamed and the crowds covered their eyes with their hands. He had thought that the girl had been consumed by the fire.
He focused his gaze to the spot, the light was blinding for most of people, but not for him. Since he had been used to flame and explosion, his eyesight was not affected and he could see the spot clearly.
His eyes widened and he couldn't manage to do anything except stare. It was impossible, but there was a figure standing in the middle of the explosion. And the person was not burnt by the fire at all.
Her yellow sweater was torn up, especially the sleeves, smudged by dirt and smeared with blackened blood. He noticed some drops of blood trickled down from the open wound, scrutinizing the lines of blood drying around her right ear as he paid more attention to her face.
His heart stopped when he recognized the girl.
It was her, supporting an unconscious man, barely succeeding to stand straight. Around her, a fade circle of light protecting her from the flame. The fire was bright around her, but her figure illuminated more brightly than any lights. He watched in awe as the man's injuries began to close wherever she touched her hands.
There is no mistake, he thought. It is her.
-.-.-
The ambulance had finally come.
Her father was still unconscious, and she found it hard to let him go from her embrace. She never had a chance to heal him entirely, she only managed to do very little to his wounds when they were in the explosion. Unfortunately, the explosion didn't last long enough, and she couldn't use her powers openly in public like this. It would attract too much unwanted attention.
It was after Pagan held her shoulder and told her to let go, she was able to let the medical staff take her father into the ambulance. Truthfully, she believed in her healing powers more than the entire medical staff. But for now she didn't have any choice except let the medics take care of her dear father.
Oh, they mustn't let him die!
The old butler gave her a backward hug, and she finally let herself cry. More ambulances come to treat the victims' wounds, and at that time she realized that Pagan suffered an open-fractured leg. How did she not see that before?
She was blaming herself during their trip to the hospital, forgetting about her own injury. When they arrived at the hospital, Pagan – understanding his mistress' worry – insisted that they should know about Mr. Darlian's condition before had their wounds treated.
They found out that he was in critical condition. Relena only stared to the ICU's closed doors with a blank expression. Enduring the pain from his leg, Pagan stood beside her, not saying a word. He felt sorry for his young mistress, and for his master too. Such a tragedy occurred on his mistress' birthday.
Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to happen today?
A nurse came a moment later, telling them to have a treatment. He needed to help the nurse force his mistress to go, as she refused to leave the place. It took all his strength to make her obeyed in the end.
-.-.-
Heero stood in front of the hospital, feeling unsure whether he's better to go in or not.
After thinking for a while, he decided to wait outside. The girl wouldn't go anywhere as long as she was in the building, so he just needed to watch over the exits.
Waiting at his hidden spot, he thought about the girl. He was surprised when he found out that the girl was the same girl whom he had met when he first arrived in this world, the one who had blond hair and blue eyes. Was this just a coincidence?
Set the fact aside, he had seen the entire event which was happened during the explosion. Accordingly, he was certain that the girl had strange kind of powers.
She wasn't an ordinary girl. For that he could be sure.
He had no proof of his other speculation. But after his long searching, this was the only clue he got.
He ought not to let it escape.
-.-.-
She couldn't believe this. This plot was too dramatic to be happened.
She had always thought that her father's blood type was A. But when the nurses came and asked her blood type to make a transfusion for her father, they were searching for O positive blood.
An accident, a request for transfusion, exactly like what usually happened in films. And just like that she discovered that her parents might not be her biological parents. Her blood type was A. Her mother's blood type was B. And now it revealed that her father's blood type was O. It was too easy to draw a conclusion.
Relena tried her best not to go into hysteric. Her father's condition was still unstable, and she still needed to make a call to her mother. But inside, she was broken to pieces. She bit her lips, gripping her arms which were trembling slightly with fierce force. She ignored the pain, the bandage around her lower arms was soaked with blood as the wounds opened up again.
She heard footsteps.
She straightened her sitting position, using the back of her hands to wipe some of the tears away. Then she lifted her head to see who was coming. They were some men in blue and black uniform.
The police.
They asked her to go with them to their place, most probably to ask some questions about the details of the accident. She was sure that it was no accident, that a kind of explosive should be the cause of the sudden blast. Her father was the vice foreign minister, there was a high chance of him being a target of assassination. She would make sure the police knew that.
So she stood up and told them that she needed some time before she went with them. She would tell Pagan first, then called her mother… Oh maybe it was better if she asked Pagan to do it for her. She was unsure whether she could maintain calm when she talked with her mother.
No! She shook her head, holding back her tears. Father will survive for sure.
She walked through the silent hall of the hospital in quick steps. She took a breath to calm her emotion before opened the door of Pagan's room. She had decided to hide the fact about the blood type for a while.
-.-.-
She was out.
Heero nearly jumped up in surprise when he saw a glimpse of her. A number of men surrounded her, but he was sure that there was nothing wrong with his eye-sight.
The yellow sweater… long golden hair… those blue eyes… He locked his gaze to her figure, confirming her features. White bandages covered her head and arms, but yes, it was definitely her.
He felt strange to find her with those strangers, not with the old butler from before. But since she didn't show any uneasiness, he guessed it was nothing unusual. He watched her get into another metal cart together with those men. How he supposed to trail after them?
He took a distance, not letting the metal cart out of his sight. He looked up for some way to go to the roof top. Nothing.
So he chose to take a risk.
Making sure no one was around, he spread his wings and quickly soared to the sky. From the up high he stayed a safe distance away and followed the group tightly.
-.-.-
"Where will we go, mister?" Relena asked curiously, "The way to the police station is not this way."
The man beside her looked back at her.
"We will not go there," he answered quietly.
Her blood went cold. These guys were not the cops.
-.-.-
A man broke into his room. Pagan eyed the man cautiously.
"Sir Trent! What are you doing here?"
Instead of answering, he asked in tight voice, "Where is Relena?"
Pagan sensed something wrong had happened. The usually playful Charles Trent never called his mistress by her given name, he always preferred some silly pet names to address her.
"She is not here, sire," Pagan answered, "Some police came and took her to their office."
Those words didn't calm him, he even looked more distressed. He took out his cell phone and barked a command to send a searching team immediately. Pagan knew that this was not a good thing.
"Sire?" the old man asked worriedly, "What's going on?"
"Pagan, where is Mrs. Darlian?" he turned to him, still holding the cell phone.
"She is at home. I called her just now, she was about to go here."
"Call her again now, tell her to wait until I come to fetch her," the urgency in the younger man's voice surprised him.
"Yes sire," he obeyed him faithfully.
But when the young politician went to open the door, he stopped him. He must know what was happening.
"Mr. Darlian's accident did not happen by chance. I just got news that there was a group of police who was beaten down by some strangers," he explained, "Most probably extremists who oppose Mr. Darlian's ideas."
Pagan was shocked, "So miss Relena…?"
He closed his eyes and nodded sadly, "I think she has been kidnapped."
-.-.-
This was strange, really really strange.
Heero followed the group until he arrived in an empty field outside the town. He landed quietly and hid in the shades of some trees as the metal cart parked itself in the middle of the field. He didn't expect the group to go away from the town. What did they want to do in this quiet place?
He choked down his gasp when the metal cart melted down. An illusion. And a neatly hidden one too, since he couldn't see such an obvious magic in front of his eyes.
Who in this world are these people?
The men, still clad in their previous uniform, stood there. The girl, on the other hand, lied down unconsciously. He watched them in suspense as one of the men started to draw a magic circle on the ground. A strong wind blew, and the sky above them opened, revealing a sight of perfect blue sky.
He knew that this wasn't the time for that, but he couldn't stop a sense of longing running through him. He stared at the blue sky, trying to save the view into his memory. So this was the world where the girl from his dream lived in.
But he didn't have time to think about his dream, as the magic circle had been finished. A spell worked almost instantly, opening a blurry crack in the empty air.
A dimensional gate. His eyes widened in realization. The envoys from Middle Continent.
He stared to the group, finding it hard to believe. But they look exactly like normal people from this world!
A man lifted the unconscious girl, and the group walked into the crack. He watched they disappeared one by one. He hesitated for a minute, feeling unsure about his next action. Should he go after them?
He took some seconds to stare to the blue sky again, scowling slightly. So short the time he had spent in this peaceful world. Then he dashed towards the dimensional gate, which was closing slowly.
He still had no valid evidence and he might make a wrong assumption, but he entered the crack in solid determination. He had bet on the slight possibility, following the voice of his mind.
He didn't know that when he made the decision, he had chosen his path of destiny.
-.-.-
…
It was a restless dream she had.
Everything around her was pitch black, and the land on her feet was not solid. The air was hot, as if invisible flame was flaming up everywhere. She tried to run, but her legs felt weak. The darkness surrounded her, and she felt like screaming.
No one was there, no one was going to save her.
…
-.-.-
When Relena opened her eyes again, she saw a foreign pattern of ceiling.
Her mind was still fuzzy. She found it difficult to maintain consciousness. Where was this place?
When she tried to sit up, her head spun, blurring her sight. The flame, the darkness… the dream was coming fresh to her mind. She felt her stomach flipping. Immediately she clasped her hand to her mouth, breathing erratically.
"So you have been awake."
She snapped her head to the source of voice, gasping slightly as her headache went worse because of the sudden movement.
"Take it easy my princess," the man spoke again, "It seems that the sleeping spell hasn't worn off entirely."
She fought to steady her spinning head. "Who are you?"
The man smiled mischievously. "My name is Treize Khushrenada."
"You won't have any profit by keeping me hostage," she said, remembering the group of police who turned out to be terrorists. At least according to her assumption.
"Hostage? What makes you think like that?" he asked, acting to be hurt, "I apologize for my rude invitation, princess, but I don't intend to hurt you at heart."
"I don't believe you," she replied, "…and why do you keep calling me that?"
"Calling you what?" the young man asked, tilting his head towards her, "Princess?"
Relena glared at the man, but not giving him an answer.
"Well apparently we need to have a long talk then," the conceited smirk slipped again, "And the first thing we need to talk about is your title, my princess."
He stood up from his cozy seat and walked towards her place on the huge bed. Relena stiffened in her sitting position.
"My pleasure to assist you," he bowed elegantly, but his eyes showed no respect, just a glint of his obvious self-confidence, "Princess Relena Peacecraft of Sanq."
-.-.-
So the envoys from Middle Continent were Romafeller pawns.
It turned out that his instinct was correct, and the dimensional portal led him back to Terris. He had followed the group until he reached Romafeller land. But now he was stuck outside, having no way to skirt into the castle.
He would come in, he decided. He had spent the night to find a way to go inside, and the dawn was now coming. There was still some time before the sun rose, he would take the advantage of the darkness.
He needed to make sure that the supposed-to-be-princess was in there.
-.-.-
Did the man think that she would believe his story?
Relena stood up from her bed, not being able to sleep in spite of her dizziness. A different dimension, an ancient kingdom, and now she was the princess?
This was ridiculous, either this was a very bad humor or a strange hallucination, she couldn't tell. When the morning came, she would wake up on her own bed, and found that all of this was just a nightmare.
So she stood near the tall glass window, which was half-opened to a wide balcony, watching the scenery outside. It was nearly black, but she could tell that the morning would come soon.
Please, she begged to the sky. Tell me that all of this is not real.
-.-.-
He decided to come in from the upper floor.
The window there was half opened, and it looked like no one was in there. He had beaten two soldiers at the entrance, and now he was hiding in the castle's garden. The other guards were coming, and they would find those unconscious soldiers in no time.
This was the time to go.
He climbed up slowly towards the balcony, noticing the commotion which was heard from below. They had found out about his penetration. Damn.
He swung himself up to the balcony, landing with no sound. Then he widened the opened window, hoping to find a place to hide.
"Who?"
To say that he was scared to death was an understatement. He gave his automatic reaction, swinging his sword to the source of the voice. He forced himself to stop in mid track, realizing that his target didn't give any opposition.
He didn't expect that there was someone hiding in the curtains, moreover that the someone was the girl herself. The result? He froze. No, they both froze.
The girl eyed the edge of his sword which almost touched her neck, then eyed him. He held his breath, didn't dare to move a muscle, she just continued to stare at him. He was amazed to find strength in her stare.
Several knocks were coming from the doors. Heero snapped his head towards the direction, starting to panic. Those were the soldiers.
"Take a place behind the door leaf," he heard the girl speak up, "And stay quiet."
He blinked at her, confused.
"Hurry. Or they will find you, won't they?"
He was still unsure, but he did as he was told. Well, in the worst case he would have to fight his way to flee from here.
He sensed she opened the door, facing the soldiers.
"What do you want?" he heard her ask the soldiers.
"We are sorry to interrupt in this early morning, princess, but there is someone who beat our front guards and come into this castle," one of the soldiers spoke up, "We need to check the room."
She opened the door wider, taking such position between him and the door leaf, so that he couldn't be seen by the soldiers.
"You may look by yourself."
The soldiers were hesitating, but one of them decided to take a peek into the empty room.
"So, now that you have finished your duty, I want you to leave my room," she spoke in a regal tone, "Return to your post. Now."
"Y-yes your highness!" they stuttered in answering.
She closed the doors behind her, and Heero heard the footsteps went farther.
What a show, he thought. So she is a princess after all.
But his calm state didn't last long. Now that the soldiers had gone, he was confronting the girl… alone. Silently he made a comparison in his head. And he decided that it was, somehow, more frightening than facing the whole soldiers of the castle at once. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the position to choose.
He felt nervous when she locked her gaze with his. Those blue eyes were as unabashed as ever.
-.-.-
Relena eyed the sword in his hand, feeling curious about this mysterious boy.
"You may put down the sword," she said slowly.
When the boy didn't response, she spoke up again.
"…or you are here to bring me harm?"
The boy drew in a sharp breath, then put down his sword on the floor. She watched him standing up quietly. Truthfully, she didn't expect him to follow her, just like she didn't expect the soldiers to follow her command before. Inside, Relena breathed a sigh of relief. So he was not a bad guy after all.
"So what will you do now?"
She asked without hoping for an answer. As the matter of fact he hadn't uttered a single word since he came in. So she was a little bit surprised when he spoke up.
"I will…" he paused, looking unsure about his choice of words. "…go."
"Outside?" she asked again. He nodded.
They walked to the balcony again, finding that the commotion down there hadn't died down yet. She faced the boy again.
"So, you should wait."
The boy blinked at her. "If you don't mind."
His serious expression showed that he really meant his words. She wondered whether the boy would really jump off and break through the commotion if she showed any objection.
She wanted to laugh at the thought, and wanted to cry in the same time. This was crazy. Really. Where was her usual bedroom, her usual morning, her usual world?
She averted her gaze to the horizon, noticing that the sun had risen up. Fear stabbed her heart when she saw that the sky was reddish orange, not blue as usual. The morning had come, and she didn't wake up from this dream. She couldn't hold back her tears, thinking about her dear father and mother, her devoted butler, her friends… this was too much for her to take.
She cried her heart out, trying to be as silent as she could. The boy stammered uneasily behind her. Maybe he was surprised of her sudden cry.
"Why do you cry?" he spoke the question in broken words, "Do your wounds hurt?"
She blinked at the question, just realizing that her arms and her head were still bandaged. But she couldn't find her voice, so she just shook her head to say no. But he didn't seem to believe her. His gaze was locked to the white bandages, and he looked like he was thinking about something.
"If it is hurt… can't you… heal it?"
-.-.-
The girl snapped her head up, gaping at him.
Did he choose wrong choice of words?
"You know me," she said with her trembling voice, her tears were still flowing, but she started to calm herself, "Do I know you?"
He felt a pang of disappointment, but cursed the feeling a second later. Of course she didn't recognize him.
Heero continued staring at her, unable to give any answer. The girl scrutinized him, and he was fidgeting uneasily.
"Do you come from my world?"
Well not exactly, but… "I have been there."
"Do you know… a way back? I want to go home."
He hated to break the hopeful stare, but he needed to tell the truth. "No."
The tears rolled down again, she was sobbing slightly.
"Is that why you cry?" he asked, trying to be gentle.
"I-I am worried…" she answered in the middle of her crying. "…about my father…"
Her voice broke in the end and she couldn't manage to say any more words. And so he spent the morning trying to comfort the crying girl. He didn't know if he did the right thing, since he was silent for almost the whole time, but he really tried his best.
-.-.-
Relena stared at the direction where the boy went to a while ago.
He was no longer caught by her eye-sight, but she still stared to the empty space, lost in her thought.
Now after he had left, she began to feel uneasy. She usually didn't talk to strangers, moreover cried in front of them. Then again, she never cried in front of people. Well, with the exception of her parents, and maybe Pagan, but never in front of anybody else. The act was too… private for someone besides her closest ones.
It was true that she had been through such a hard day, a nightmare, a hell. But still… it was… embarrassing to let an outsider see her tears.
She shook the thought out of her head. Those incoherent thoughts wouldn't help her any.
She took a deep breath, averting her eyes to the foreign sky, observing its strange colour. She felt better after crying out her whole burden, although she felt sorry to bother the boy. He was very silent and stiff all the time, a reminiscence to her that he was a stranger. But the boy was kind enough to stay during her cry, and she silently thanked him for that.
-.-.-
He stole another glance at the castle before he walked away.
The infiltration went… unusually, but at least he managed to confirm that the princess was really in the castle.
It was the fact, but he had a feeling of doing something wrong, leaving a mission undone. The feeling disturbed his mind, causing an annoying aggravation. He continued his walk through the forest, trying not to think about the event anymore. The infiltration had taken longer time than his estimation, now he should focus to what to do next.
"Oi, Heero."
Enough.
He had fed up with this kind of unexpected events, just how many surprises happened in one day?
The source of the call was Duo, walking towards his spot. He wanted to spit him at first, but canceled his intention after he saw his face. The guy apparently had the same vexation. "Do you manage to find the princess?"
He nodded. And the braided guy started to wail. He grumbled about being the last who knew the news, about how he had almost been left in another world, about his encounter with the injured envoys who had been beaten by Heero before…
Heero stayed silent during his ravings, not bothering to give him reaction. But when he talked about strange explosion in the middle of the town and the failed attempt of an assassination… the sentence caught his attention.
"What did you say before?" he cut off the rambling.
"Wha?" Duo paused, confused. "About how I chose a wrong thing for my investigation?"
"No, about the assassination," he replied shortly.
"Ha? Well yeah what did I say?"
"You said that it was a failed assassination," Heero supplied impatiently. "Does the man manage to survive?"
"Yeah of course!" Duo pulled a face. "Or else I will call it a successful assassination."
Heero ignored the sarcasm – or the very bad humor, whatever – and turned his back on him. He needed to tell someone about the news.
"Oi! Where are you going?" called the braided guy, totally annoyed. "You insensitive inconsiderate jerk!"
He turned around in his track, walking back towards the guy. Duo sweat-dropped.
"Egh, man… I was only joking…"
"You come with me."
Heero ignored his confused questions as he dragged the braided guy with him towards the castle.
-.-.-
He really couldn't understand this guy, Duo grumbled in his mind. He had practically ignored him when he bewailed about his unfortunate experiences, and then suddenly dragged him without giving a single explanation. Moreover to an enemy base like this Romafeller castle!
Following him to climb up to the balcony, he mentally decided that the guy was an insane man. This guy was dangerous, and he'd better maintain a distance with him.
-.-.-
Relena was surprised when the boy came back again to her room.
"You came back!" she exclaimed, then covered her mouth with her hand as she made sure that her doors were still locked. "Do you have something left here?"
"No," he answered, "But I have news about your father."
-.-.-
Duo's sulking expression fell when he saw the girl whom Heero talked with.
Waow, is she the princess?
The girl had long honey blond hair and a pair of clear blue eyes, exactly like what the old men had told them. But they didn't mention that she was such a pretty girl!
If not for the bandage which covered her head and arms, he would guess that she was a ghost or something. The girl was slender and really, really pale. She wore a white dress, and even the white fabric was still contrast with her porcelain skin. The only colour that could be seen from her was her shimmering blond hair, and her blue eyes. Then the fade rosy colour of her cheeks and her pink lips…
Indeed, her ghostly beauty was stunning.
The girl was eyeing him now, and he was surprised to find such strength in those eyes. Exactly the opposite of her fragile appearance, her focused gaze was undeterred. He found himself stuttering when she asked him.
"Do you know my father?"
Gee, even her voice was melodic. But he didn't have a clue what she was talking about, so he just eyed Heero, pleading for a help.
"Her father." Heero supplied, "The target of the assassination."
He was confused hearing the 'father' part. The girl was the princess, wasn't she? Did she mean… oh! He closed his mouth abruptly when the realization struck in.
Must be her adoptive father in the other world, he thought.
"O-ow…" He finally spoke up, "Well not really but yeah…"
"Is he alive?"
"Eh," he paused, "Yes."
Those blue eyes were blurred with tears. "Really?"
Duo panicked at the sight, rambling unconsciously.
"The tall man, dark brown hair, bushy beard?" He tried to describe, and the girl nodded vigorously. "Yes he is alive."
She broke down crying at the sentence, and Duo felt at loss about what to do. He was surprised when the girl took both of his hands and shook it a little, muttering her gratitude as she continued to cry. He gave an uneasy smile to the princess of the supposed-to-be enemy side and lifted his head to his supposed-to-be comrade, hoping he would give him a hand.
He gaped when he saw what he thought he really saw.
Not just gaping, his jaw simply dropped to the floor.
The stoic, mute and deaf – well he was quiet and impassive for almost the whole time – boy was smiling slightly. His gaze upon the girl was warm and tender, and he almost looked happy seeing her relieved.
Duo wondered inwardly whether a thunder storm would occur today.
-.-.-
Duo didn't say a single word during their walk back.
And Heero felt like he was on his edge. He had thought that the braided guy didn't have the ability to shut his mouth, so it was odd that he was this silent for so long time.
"So…"
Ah, so he began to talk at last. Heero turned around to face the boy, preparing himself for any questions he would throw.
"I am willing to take your position to stalk the princess," he shrugged, "That's if you don't want the job."
Well, he didn't expect that. Accordingly, he replied with a silence.
"Well… she is pretty."
Another silence.
"That's it? No response at all?" Duo dropped his nonchalant expression, looking defeated. "So what did I see before…? A hallucination…? Am I dreaming in the mid-day?"
Heero just blinked confusedly at the guy. Now he started to babble again. But when the braided guy started to walk away, he stopped him immediately.
"Where are you going?"
"Ah, now he is talking," Duo commented, rolling his eyes. "Where do you think? Telling the other three about the princess, then going back to the old men."
"How about your words before?"
Hah! So he does think about it! Duo grinned in victory.
"Isn't it clear, buddy?" He answered the question with another questions. "I said : if you don't want the job. Only if."
Heero still didn't look convinced, so he tried another sentence.
"You were the fastest who found the princess. And the fastest get the job, remember?"
He watched the stoic boy think for a while, registering the fact. He nodded slightly in the end. Duo's grin widened.
"So you're on, man. Enjoy your stalk."
-.-.-
*) turban = a long scarf-like single piece of cloth which wound around either the head itself or an inner hat
End of Chapter Four
~o~
A/N : Okay, that is a long chapter. More than 8000 words. (collapse from exhaustion)
Originally, I want to make this chapter a little bit more angst. The part of Mr. Darlian safety, for example. It may be interesting if I apply the death of him like what happens in the canon, so then Relena will suffer a breakdown and Heero will have a chance to give her a hand. (aw, it will be touching!) But oh no no, Relena will be so sad and Heero will hunt me for making her cry. (ack, they both glare at me!) So, again everybody… if you like – or don't like – my story, please let me know by sending me comments. I am always waiting. (smile)
Short Additional Guidance :
Look below this writing. There are two boxes which you should examine. The green one which is read "Review this Story/Chapter" and the combo box "Add story to Story Alert". Go and try those buttons!
Do you wonder how our couple will fall in love with each other?
They have already attracted to one another, but some quality time together will always be the beginning of true love.
"Even if I am scared, even if I am hurt, I want to face you… but I just can't seem to be honest."
(Chapter Five : Ivy)
Thank you for reading, everyone!