AsuCaga01, kwisy Hegodart, princess cythera, cagallifangurl: Thank you so much for the reviews! I'll try updating as fast as I can!
InweTinuviel, Slushieeee: Sorry for the confusion! I've actually changed the name tamashii to revenants. They are more like spirit companions, so to speak, and reflections of their soul. Sorta like the animals from golden compass. I'll explain more as I go along ^___^.
Notes: Orb Union is a "western" style kingdom, while Zaft is "eastern". The Orb military is broken into 5 main Valkyriess, and the system of ranking follows the British system of ranking. Cagalli's Valkyrie is Valkyrie Soleil, and the other girls are part of it. Shiho is the representative of Valkyrie Ciel, which is sort of the head of the military. Gah! I hope I'm not too confusing ___!
First Impressions
Impressionable
Chapter 2: True Is False
The clang of swords grated harshly against the empty corridors of the castle. Very few of the inhabitants had woken yet, and the servants had decided to keep a wide berth of the training area. Muttered curses joined the screech of metal hitting metal, and Athrun walked worriedly closer to the sounds. It was odd to be hearing those sounds coming from the training area, the military had called a day off in honor their guests. A familiar shout of anger echoed down to him, and he heard Yzak's voice, "What the HELL are you two DOING? PUT THOSE DAMN THINGS DOWN BEFORE YOU HURT YOURSELVES!"
By now he was racing down the corridor, knowing that whatever had been going on before, Yzak had made it ten times worse—it was one of those special gifts he had that nobody really wanted. He saw the Princess standing by Yzak, trying to placate the people fighting, and Haro flying anxiously around her pink head. He finally reached them, and the sight that greeted him shocked him into silence. Two women were furiously locked in what appeared to be a deathmatch, their swords flashing in the morning light, their hair glinting in flashes. He watched stunned as the two raged back and forth, in a kind of perverted dance. He eyed the two, trying to see if he could recognize them in the whirling skirts, flashing weaponry, and furious curses. It was the wavy golden hair coming loose from her ponytail that told him who it was. Lady Clyne's hair shone like molten gold in the morning sun, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes flashing with anger. She was wielding a gigantic sword that dwarfed her in comparison, but swung it with ease and confidence. He was impressed, the sword looked like it outweighed her but she used it like an extension of her arms. He wasn't familiar with its make, they looked nothing like the katana's that Zaft used; he could tell that it was a masterpiece, and he thought he saw a lion engraved into its hilt. He snapped out of his daze when he felt Yzak smacking him, "Hey you idiot. Stop them! You're the fucking king aren't you!"
If Athrun hadn't known better, he would have thought that Yzak was impressed by the two. He stood in a trance almost, watching Lady Clyne's opponent who was matching her swing for swing. The long ebony black hair told him instantly who it was, Lady Shiho Hannenfuss, representative of Valkyrie Ciel. She was whirling around with two deadly swords in her hands, parrying and striking, parrying and striking. He would have thought that the two were dancing, if not for their snarls and their deadly eyes. He had always known that the shieldmaidens of Orb were on par with the samurai of Zaft, but he had not really comprehended until now. First he had witnessed Lady Clyne's hand to hand skills, which though not better than his, were better than he expected, and now watching her swing, what must have been her, actual sword he was a little taken aback. If these two were second in command of their respective Valkyrie's he was sure he didn't want to see the actual commanders.
"I DEMAND YOU PUT DOWN YOUR FUCKING WEAPONS!" Yzak was shouting, trembling with anger, though his eyes were focused solely on Lady Shiho. Athrun would have been amused at it, if he hadn't been worried that the two ladies were really going to kill each other. He didn't really want to explain to the Queen of Orb, that the Dame Commanders of Valkyrie Soliel, and Valkyrie Ciel had killed each other, not even a full day after arriving. Gathering all his dignity he was about to step forward and break the two apart, when he hear an angry howl, and fierce barking coming from his feet. Springing back he was startled to find a golden cat, Akatsuki, if he remembered correctly, was rolling around fighting an angry black dog. Startled he was about to try and break the two apart, when he felt an arm dragging him back. "No! You can't!"
He looked up to see the Princess, "Only another revenant can break them apart when they're like this. Otherwise they could hurt you!"
"Why aren't you doing anything then?" he didn't meant for the words to come out as harsh as they did, but she didn't seem to mind. "Haro can't beat them, but I have sent for help."
"But aren't you the Princess? Shouldn't they at least listen to you?"
"Not when they're like this, they won't." Princess Cagalli replied, worry plain in her eyes. He heard the sound of feet behind him and turned to see Dearka and Kira arriving, only to be transfixed by the sight before their eyes. Kira's hair was still messy from waking up, though Dearka looked like he'd been up for hours. Dearka recovered a little quicker than Kira, "What the hell is going on. Why aren't you guys stopping the fight? They'll hurt each other at this rate!"
He was about to reply when they all heard the angry sound of boots striding purposely closer to where they stood. They all turned to see the new arrival, and Athrun would've flinched but his pride got in the way. A furious Lady Ramius stalked angrily towards them. Princess Cagalli hurried over to Lady Haw, who seemed slightly out of breath trying to keep up with the furious lady. Lady Ramius gave him a curt nod, before turning to survey the sight in front of them. Lady Haw, and the Princess stopped and looked too. Athrun was curious to see how this single lady would manage to break them apart.
"Leave this to me, gentleman." She commanded, her voice dripping with barely concealed anger. She turned to the Princess and Lady Haw, and nodded at their nods. "Ready? On the count of three."
"One." He watched as the Princess and Lady Haw circled carefully behind the two, and Lady Ramius strode towards their combatants. Their Revenants were mirroring them.
"Two." He felt a little nervous as they all paused, and he knew Yzak and Dearka both thought that this wasn't going to work. He didn't really either for that matter.
"Three." A blur of action, he wasn't sure what was going on, but Lady Ramius had separated the two. Knocking the golden head and black head together, a little viciously, the Princess and Lady Haw sprang into action when the two were stunned. Just in time too. In the blink of an eye, Lady Clyne was struggling ferociously against the Princess, while Lady Shiho was doing the same to Milly. Yzak was stunned into silence, while Dearka only whistled, muttering so that only they could hear, "I've seen bitch fights, and this leaves all the others in the dust. They take bitch fights to a whole new level."
They couldn't reply, angry screams overpowering anything they could've managed to say.
"You insane BITCH!"
"Oh yeah Shiho? I'm so scared, what are you going to do now??"
"Let me at her! Let me at that fucking whore! You whore! You slut, you-you-bitch! Let me at her Milly, let me GO—!"
Athrun suddenly found that he couldn't move, he was trying to look away, but finding that he couldn't. He suddenly felt frozen to the spot, even though he desperately wanted to get away. He noticed the others staring transfixed like him, and if he didn't know better Yzak actually looked impressed.
"You'll what? I CAN TAKE YOU ANYDAY, Dame Commander!" Lacus screamed angrily. Athrun found himself thinking that she looked more beautiful than any other woman that he had ever seen. Struggling against Princess Cagalli, her golden hair whipping around her face, her face flushed, her head proud. He was crazy, he wondered what she would do if she knew what he was thinking.
"Oh. You're so scared you're hiding behind your rank! You think you scare me Dame Grand Cross, you only have that title because of your da—!" Shiho screamed. A howl of anger erupted from her opponent, and they had both broken out of Lady Haww, and Princess Cagalli's grasp. Kira sprang into action, pulling the Princess away from the raging females, checking to make sure she was alright, and Lady Haw jumped out of the way just in time stumbling into Dearka. Athrun felt as if something wasn't quite right what had Lady Shiho called Lady Clyne again? Dame Grand Cross? He wasn't sure about the way the Orb Military was made up, but he was pretty sure that Dame Grand Cross' outranked Dame Commanders. That wasn't possible was it? Before he could figure it out, he heard the sound of metal clashing and then he reacted just time to see a body hurtling at him. Whirling around he stumbled as he felt the impact, and slammed into the ground. He saw golden hair, and delightfully worried brown eyes.
"Oh shit. My lord I'm sorry. Are you alright?" she breathed, sheathing her sword with a metallic kiss, and tucking her hair behind an ear. Reaching out a hand to help him up, he was amused to see her flushing red from embarrassment. She looked cute like that he decided, and barely registering what he was doing he tucked another strand of her hair behind her ear. A polite cough from behind him made him realize where he was, and what he was doing. Crap. He was amazed that she handed sliced off his hand at the contact. He was more amazed that he had actually done that. He wasn't thinking straight. He was Athrun Zala, king of Zaft, Commander of its armies. He definitely didn't have time for women. No time whatsoever.
"Pardon the intrusion you two, but I think we should give the ladies some time to solve things and call truce before breakfast." A chuckling voice cut through his inner monologue, and he felt sorely tempted to wipe that cheeky grin off of Dearka's face. His advice was good though, so he decided to follow it. Bowing politely at the princess and her companions he turned to leave, the others following him. He noticed that Lady Clyne's face was still flushed, and that she was avoiding his gaze. Smooth move, Zala, he kicked himself and left. What had he been thinking about before the collision? He couldn't remember, but if it was important he'd figure it out later.
Cagalli watched as they left, and noticed Athrun glancing back at her, before quickly averting his gaze. She was embarrassed by the whole thing, and from the looks of it, Murrue was going to skin her alive. Groaning she listened to Lacus worriedly checking her for injuries, all the while watching Ramius' furious back. She'd already called truce with Shiho, but she knew that they were both in for it. Upon entering the Murrue's room, Cagalli sat down on a stool with a sigh, and watched as the doors shut with a definitive bang. Her mind wandered to the king, and the way his cold fingers had felt against her cheek, his green eyes were seared into her memory.
"Cagalli, what do you think you were doing?" Murrue snapped at her the second the door was shut. Well, it wasn't like she didn't know that this was coming. "Do you have any idea what kind of trouble your stupid prank could have caused? And Shiho, I know that the Cagalli's actions can be frustrating, but you didn't need to actually fight her over it. We're not in Orb anymore! Do you know how many spectators were there?"
"Just getting it out of the way Murrue, I assure you." Shiho replied. Cagalli nodded at her, they had called a truce the second the fight was over. "The problem has been solved between the Cagalli and I."
She sighed, "Look, I know the prank was stupid. Look let's just go explain the switch to them and everything should be alright. I'll bear full responsibility for it."
Her heart sank at the idea, even as she was muttering it. Her mind was wandering towards a certain person, and the way his green eyes had looked at her. If they told everything now, she wouldn't have any more time for him, and strangely she wanted to spend a lot more time with him. Damn it Cagalli, you're betrothed! You shouldn't be thinking of any other men, she scolded herself.
"No. For once, one of your prank's has actually worked in our favor." Murrue snapped, though her eyes had softened. Curiously Cagalli peered at Commander Ramius, and then saw her nod to Milly..
"We have information that your life may be in danger. There are quite a few nobility, and citizen alike who do not like the idea of Zaft being allied with Orb. They especially don't like the idea of their beloved Prince Kira marrying a mere barbarian princess. "
"Chauvinist pigs." Cagalli sniffed, too exhausted from earlier to be angry, but grew silent at the true looks of anxiety in Milly, and Murrue's eyes. The truth in Shiho's eyes was what convinced her, Shiho wasn't the type to lie. She was especially not the type of person to worry either, and this time she was.
"They very well may be chauvinist pigs, but for now we will go along with this charade. At least until we have more information." Murrue now sounded tired, and Cagalli felt a little bad to have caused so much trouble, although she hadn't known at the time. "The worst part of the situation, is that we don't know enough about the enemy. It's irritating, but thankfully they're underestimating else as well."
They all nodded a little wryly at the comment, but then Cagalli jumped through the silence, "No. I'm not going with this plan. Lacus can't be my decoy, that's way to dangerous. She has no combat training, how is she going to defend herself in case someone attacks?"
"I know enough to stall for time until Haro can get help." Lacus replied, her voice serene as ever. "Besides, when you're not with me, I'm sure that I'll be with Prince Kira. No one will harm me when I am with him."
"But Lacus…"
"No buts Cagalli, let me do this for you. We're best friends right? You'd do the same for me." Lacus reassured her with one of her calm smiles.
"Don't worry Cagalli, I'll try and get more information, so we can stop the charade as quickly as possible." Milly quickly cut in hopes of comforting her.
"What of the King? And the Prince?" Shiho suddenly asked, as the others fell silent. "Shouldn't we also let them know of our plan?"
They all looked at her, each thinking about it Murrue was the one to speak up, "We should let them know. We can't do this on our own, and they know their subjects better then we do."
Just as she finished talking, a knock on the door caused them to look over, "Excuse my ladies, breakfast has been served."
"Thank you. Tell the gentlemen that we will be down in a moment." Ramius replied. "We'll tell them after breakfast, when there are not so many people around. Now Cagalli, Shiho, wash up and we'll meet you downstairs."
They all obeyed, but as Cagalli sat in front of her mirror, tying her hair back she realized that she didn't want to tell the King. She was afraid of him finding out. When had she wanted to start seeing more of him?"
A soft knock at her door caused her to rise, settling her thoughts. She opened the door with a smile for Lacus, and together they walked to the dining room. Shiho joined them just before they entered, each lost deep in their own thoughts.
Athrun glanced up from his meal when he saw the last three members of their party enter. He was faintly surprised to note the tension radiating off the women like waves, but attributed it to the fight earlier. Maybe they had not smoothed things over yet. Still, he rose from his seat automatically, and helped Lady Clyne into her chair. He had been drilled in etiquette lessons his entire life, he did things automatically now. He was pleased to find the Princess and Kira lost in their own world, and was definitely amused that it had been Yzak that helped Lady Shiho into her chair. The rate things were going, he'd be the only single one left of the bunch, as he had seen Dearka trying to nonchalantly check out Lady Haw.
Lady Clyne sat next to her princess, her eyes hazy, and it was clear that she was lost in thought about something. The talk and chatter rose and fell in waves around him. Still there was silence all around him, and he never realized how much he hated silence until now. It brought back too many memories of empty dining rooms, or stifling dinners with his father. He could almost see it clearly now, the candlelight flickering on the cream tablecloth, the servants scurrying around like mice afraid of light, only the sound of cutlery against a plate, and the pressure of a cup being put down. They never looked at each other, they rarely spoke together, but they both ached from the hole Lenore had left behind After his father died he had had friends to keep him sane, and he wondered if they ever knew how grateful he was for their company. He wouldn't have been able to bear the empty dining room, and the silent halls.
"Hey." He looked up at the sound of a voice that was obviously aimed at him. No one else heard it, but she was looking directly at him with her amber eyes thoughtful. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." He answered quickly, wondering if she could see into his thoughts. After a few more bites of his fruit, he looked up to see her still gazing intently at him. All the others had excused themselves already, well, except for the Princess and Kira, who were both deep in conversation. So, the girl stood up, and walked deliberately around the table to sit next to him. He almost resented the fact that she had sat down confidently next to him, but at the same time was grateful for the company. She was happily attacking her pancakes, and he found himself comparing her to a child. He hadn't seen anyone eat with such joy in a while. He felt obligated to break the silence, feeling as if it was too unnatural when she was around, "Is that how your mornings always start?"
"Hmm?" she was sipping her cup of hot chocolate, "Oh. You mean when Shiho and I were sparring."
He coughed and she flushed a little before continuing on, "Fine. I suppose it was more like watching a death match, but no it doesn't normally start like that. Shiho is actually pretty cool."
He nodded as she continued, "Really it was sorta nice though, I haven't had just a good fight since the end of the war."
"Wait. I thought Orb was neutral during the war," He interrupted her, his eyes furrowing. She was unfazed by the question, "Well, technically yes. We got into a lot of skirmishes along the borders though. There was even a point when the Alliance tried to conquer us, and force us into submission. They underestimated us."
She tossed her head proudly, and he noticed that she was finally done eating. He had known that the Alliance had tried to invade Orb, but she looked to young to have actually seen any action.
"I was trained from a very young age in combat. I needed to be in order to become the leader of Valkyrie Soleil." She was definitely reading his thoughts, he was sure of it. As they both left the room, leaving the Princess and Kira still engrossed in their conversation, she continued, "I only saw action during the second half of the war though."
He felt relief at hearing that, somehow she had escaped the permeating taint of war. She had somehow remained as pure and innocent as before, though he felt that his hands were still stained from those atrocities. He knew almost everybody was still escaping those deeds, and he was relieved that at least she had been shielded from it. "You can't have been that old when you saw your first battle then."
"I guess, but there were younger people who had gone to fight. I was 15." She brushed the comment aside, and then peered up at him. "You were younger then me when you first fought."
It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She was right, he had been very young when he had first joined the army, but his father had wanted it. He remembered how he had been treated like a war machine, taught, beat, and taught again how to fight, how to be perfect. What he couldn't learn, was beat into him, and what he did learn he was forced to excel at. At the time he had wanted to be perfect, in hopes that he would be able to please his father. He had quickly realized that he would never be able to. He remembered being covered in the blood of so many people he couldn't count, he remembered the pleading eyes of enemy soldiers, and then he remembered her dying scream, the soft feel of her body as she lay dying in his arms, and the feeling of being covered in her blood. She had been the second woman that he had failed, had let die, and he wondered if he could ever repent. "Hey, hey Your Majesty? Majesty? Hey. Earth to His majesty. Hey, Athrun, snap out of it!"
The sound of his name on her lips brings him back to her, "Sorry, I was thinking about things."
"You think too much." She muttered, and he grinned at it.
"You called me Athrun." He was amused to see her blushing again. He found that he liked it. When was the last time he had heard a girl say his given name?
"Well, I had too! You were off who knows where you go in that brain of yours." She exclaimed, and stamping her foot.
"Well you have permission to call me by that from now on."
"Wait. What?" she blinked at him, caught off guard. "But that's not proper!"
"That's a poor excuse milady, when have you cared if things are proper or not."
"Jerk." She mutters, before smiling at him. "Hey Athrun, do you have any free time later? I need to talk to you in private, it's important."
"I have things that I must attend to, but tomorrow I will be free." He replied, amused that she wasn't looking at him. This was interesting, had she just asked him out?
"C-Can La-I mean Cagalli and Prince Kira be there to?" she stammered.
"Sure. Give them more time together." He replied with a shrug. Then he saw Yzak stomping towards him, and with an apologetic smile he bid Lady Clyne good bye.
"It's fine. Duty calls and everything right?" she said waving it off, and vanishing in an instant. By this time Yzak had dragged him off and was already yelling at him.
"Good. This will be the time for you two to explain everything." Murrue said with a warm smile at Cagalli. "Make sure that you are clear about everything, and be on your guard while you are with them."
Both Lacus and Cagalli nodded, and watched as Murrue shut the door. Cagalli was helping Lacus brush and braid her hair for the night, as her hair was too thick and long to manage on her own. For once the evening was silent between them, both looking preoccupied about the same problem. They didn't want to tell them the truth tomorrow, as Cagalli found herself strangely intrigued by the King. Lacus was feeling a dull throb in her heart, she had quickly grown attached to Prince Kira, even though she had know that it was just pretend.
Lacus went to bed first, her eyes open and sleepless for a long time. Cagalli stood looking out the window at the silver moon. Whatever the two men were expecting, they were going to have a very rude awakening, to say the least.
A/N: Phew, finished that chapter! Lol. Please R&R!! It makes my day, really it does :3. If there's anything that's confusing, let me know and I'll try and explain ^__^