Blood.

It was everywhere.

And she loved it. Her fingers gripped the borrowed knife harder. There had to be one more person here. Just one more. Her hair floated in front of her face, pure white streaked with dark crimson. She pushed it away, annoyed.

Just one more person...

Chapter 2

How many days it took her to recover was unknown. Relena would wake suddenly for a few seconds, briefly feel confused and almost panicked as darkness dragged her down again, then fall hard back to dreamless sleep. It was almost disturbing in its own right, the fact she had no dreams the entire time.

Finally, she woke for good, her stomach pulling her out of the cycle with a very unladylike growl. Relena placed a hand over it, sitting up slowly. She felt slightly weak, but that would be because of how little food, of course. There was a slightly nervous laugh as she thought that. Of course it was just that.

"My liege." The maid closed the door behind her, a tray in her hands. "I had wondered if you were to wake this time." She put the tray down, a small breakfast with a long box off to one corner. "I am so happy to see you awake."

Relena smiled a little, shaking her head. "You shouldn't have worried, miss..."

"Elaide." The maid - Elaide - she looked almost wounded at that. "But of course I worry, my liege. I fear I've not been completely truthful with you." She picked up the box, and presented it to Relena, almost like a vassal presenting a sword to her lord. "For you see, I know your true birthright."

"What do you mean about that..." Relena whispered. Every part of her screamed not to take the box. Things will change, they said. Your world will become completely different.

"The Sanc Kingdom. I was the keeper... for when you are ready. To find them, and keep them from killing more." Elaide slowly opened the box, bowing into a deep stance. "To hunt the monsters no one else sees."

In the box was a plain knife, handle made of gorgeous pearl.

Relena gasped, dumbstruck. Then, almost furiously: "Get out."

Elaide looked up, surprise slowly crossing her face. "My lady, your-"

"Get out, I said! I don't know who you think I am, but I am not some killer!" Just the sight of the knife made her sick. Elaide closed her eyes, then put the box on the bed.

"If you feel that way, then I would not read the news any time soon. If you wish to keep your head in the sand..." Elaide turned to leave, disappointment written in every movement. Relena watched her leave, then threw the box against the door.

How dare she even pretend the Peacecraft family would have killed like that...!

She had to get out.

There was nothing else to kill here. But out here... there were more. There was a boy right in front of her, alone. A runaway? No, a war orphan. He was scrappy, a fighter.

He would be fun. He would certainly die in the most amusing way.

Necks certainly snapped with a fun crack.

Relena munched on a piece of toast, feeling better than she had in days. The rest had done her well, as well as eating simply for those days. It didn't tax her body, and let her naturally recover. Even her servants had been quiet, leaving food for her without disturbing her in the least. But she would need to get dressed today and get back to her duties. There was still a war going on, and had to stop it.

Her hand hovered over the paper, Elaide's words coming back to her. Not to read the news, not to get involved. But she was already involved with the war. If someone decided to report on the horrors... well, it would only give her more reason to try harder at peace. Elaide had been let go, anyway, and surely security would make sure she couldn't get back in and babble her insane stories about the Peacecraft family. Relena picked up the paper, reading in quick nervous lines.

Nothing. The usual stories about war, about the Gundams (Heero. If only he didn't have to fight like this, if only he could be a normal boy-!) and OZ. There was nothing-

No. A little story. Her eyes caught on it. It was off to the side, buried under the rest of the horrors. It wouldn't even normally be reported about, a little war orphan boy being killed. It was considered normal in these times, but this... the violence against the boy. His throat had been snapped, the final blow that killed him. But his arms had been torn off, his legs ripped to pieces and his intestines wound around his head. Relena felt her meager breakfast come back up as she read. He couldn't have been older than nine. At nine, he should have been going to school. Playing at home. He shouldn't have been out on the streets, fending for himself, trying to stay alive and failing as some crazy person killed him with such-

She felt dizzy again, her stomach starting to hurt. What was crazy was it felt ifamiliar/i. Had she seen something like this before? It couldn't be. She hadn't paid attention to killings like this until she was fully exposed to the horrors that her father had protected her from. What he had taken her from when her birth parents had died. Relena was dimly aware that she had fallen onto the floor, holding her stomach. Something was inside her screaming, telling her what it was if she would only listen-

Arms surrounded her, a subtle perfume tickling her senses and calming her. The arms helped her up, leading her to her room and back to bed. A gentle voice, familiar- "Elaide?" Relena asked in a weak voice as she stumbled down the hall.

The arms tightened on her. "I couldn't leave you alone with that out there," the voice said, apologetically. "No one else knows about them. But you... you can stop it. I couldn't let them find the last of you and kill you."

How did she get in- But her words calmed her, cleared her head. Relena looked up at the older woman, close enough to see the faint wrinkles from a hard life, too deep for a woman of her age. Her curls were streaked with grey, why hadn't she noticed it before? And the scar under her chin, as if she had barely escaped having her throat slit with her life...

"Shh. We can talk later, my lady. We can start your training later."