A/N: Well, I know I'm kind of slow, but time constraints stop me from updating earlier. That, and the fact that I have other stories I don't want to abandon.

Disclaimer: You all know it already. And I'm sick of reminding you. I DON'T OWN THE BOOK, PEOPLE! NOR THE SHOW GUNDAM SEED!!!

Chapter 5-The Mountain of Light

Milla took a deep breath and took one last look at the Ruin Ship. Knowing the mission, chances were she might never see it again. All the Shield Maidens were gathered in front of it, sending her off. Her eyes skimmed over the assembled ranks of Icecarls, hoping to see one of them for the last time. She knew it was futile, after the way Miria avoided her after the events of the previous sleep. But she couldn't help but try.

Beside her, Shield Maiden cadet Elza stood silently, waiting for her to begin her trip up the mountain. Milla reluctantly accepted that she would not see her friend for the last time, and gestured to Elza to follow as she shouldered her pack and headed to the mountain path.

Milla didn't even feel the cold as she thought about Miria, forcing herself to remember only the smile on her face as she released five arrows into the air. With a jolt, she recalled that she had not been able to fulfill her end of the bet. She wanted to believe that Miria was upset about that, and that only. She made a bargain with herself, that if she ever saw the Ruin Ship, and Miria again, she would do anything her friend wanted.

Milla's thoughts involuntarily turned to Tal. Her feet padded along the icy path as her mind walked along the road of memories she shared with Tal. It had been four circlings since she had really spoken with him. That other time didn't really count. She tried to recall how his voice had sounded when he asked her to be careful. With another jolt, she realised that his well wishes were now wasted.

So absorbed Milla was in her thoughts that she never felt Elza's presence at all. She hardly paid attention to where she was. That was why, when the Perawl attacked, Milla was taken by surprise.

However, her Shield Maiden guard did not. As the Perawl approached, Elza yanked Milla against the mountain. The Perawl turned to attack, but before it got close enough for it's claws or beak to tear through the two Icecarls, Elza drew her bow and swiftly feathered the Perawl into a pincushion. It was dead even before its body hit the road, barely a few stretches from the pair.

Milla ignored the corpse and looked at Elza with a curious glint in her eye. The way she used her weapon was strangely familiar. Elza saw it coming and blurted, "Alright, stop looking at me like that already! I know when my cover is blown!"

The Shield Maiden slid her face mask up the same time as Milla did, revealing the familiar grin of Miria, who didn't look troubled at all, despite knowing how much trouble she would be in.

"Somebody 'overslept' so I came instead," added Miria, answering Milla's unspoken question.

"You mean you swapped with her," translated Milla. Despite her stern expression, she was feeling better already.

"Basically," agreed Miria airily. "Now that I'm here, how about telling me why we're here and why you look so bothered? I'm sure I have a right to know how much trouble I bargained for." She resumed walking as she said that.

Milla quickly explained the current political situation in the Castle as well as she could. Miria nodded, though she hardly understood. Icecarls didn't like politics.

"I'm sure that His Highness is not having the best time of his reign, but you still haven't explained why you look as though you're going to jump off the peak of this mountain." Miria said, waving her hand around to gesture to Milla to cross the bridge spanning the gap first.

Milla didn't answer. She looked down at the gap as she crossed the bridge. She wondered briefly if Miria would understand, but at the same time, she wanted to unburden herself on Miria. Badly.

"Well?" prompted Miria when she crossed the bridge herself.

Milla answered quickly so she wouldn't have time to regret it. "Well, Kazhua wants to encourage Icecarls and Castle-dwellers to get along better. And he thinks he can do that by…" she cut herself off at this point.

Miria needed no more information to derive. "He thinks that by the union of a leader and a…" at this point she was overcome by anger as her face flushed bright red, rare in the pale faces of Icecarls. She took a deep breath to calm down, and when that didn't work, she picked up a rock and started blunting her arrows. It was useful, both in calming her down and in preparation for the Castle. In an enclosed area, she knew that if she missed, she would be likely to hit someone else, but at least an indirect hit by a blunt arrow should allow the victim to survive. At least, taking Miria's shooting skills into account.

"And what are you going to do about it?" asked Miria when she deemed herself sufficiently calm.

Milla shrugged. "Whatever I can. If I don't go, it will be seen as an insult, and our people will not win if the Castle-dwellers decide to attack. We just don't have enough Shield Maidens at present. We're calling for them, but they won't be able to arrive until many sleeps later."

Miria saw the doubt in her friend's face, even though it was hidden well under a blank expression. Now that she was here, she wasn't about to stand around while Milla went through torture. She kept silent, watching Milla and watching out for danger all the way to the Castle.

As they approached the permanent light in the sky, it became obvious that their presence was expected. Kazhua stood in the middle of the gateway with a host of Imperial Guards. Tal stood to the left looking just like how Milla felt. It was a hundred times worse than imagined.

Kazhua broke into a falsely bright smile as he saw the Icecarls approach. "You've finally arrived, my dear." He shuffled forward, partly due to his great weight and mass, and spread his arms out to welcome her in a way that was unwelcome to Icecarls. Milla stared in shock, but suddenly, he froze, staring over her shoulder. Milla surreptitiously followed his gaze and saw that Miria was aiming her bow at Kazhua, an arrow already fitted. A sharp arrow that she hadn't blunted yet.

Slowly, he backed away from Milla. Miria watched until he was out of attacking range before lowering her weapon. She sensed something not right about Kazhua.

She was right. After backing away, Kazhua said, "Would you like an Imperial Guard instead now that you're at the Castle? You don't have to keep that creature here, after all."

Milla ignored his last sentence, as did Miria. "No, she's fine. I don't need any of the Guard."

"Well then, I'll just leave you to get settled down. Send one of the guards to show the War-Chief to her room." With that the crowd dispersed. Milla met Tal's eyes for a moment, before he left. For the first time in her life, she felt like sitting down and let misery wash over her. Tal looked depressed, even more so than her. But she couldn't break down, least of all now. Pushing the image of Tal from her mind's eye, she followed the guard, with Miria bringing up the rear.

A/N: There you go! I was just wondering, can anyone tell that English is my second language? Is it very obvious? Anyway, I just came in from camping on an island, so to celebrate my return ALIVE I'm posting this up. Also, I'm making fun of my villain here. Know what his name means? Hahaha. What I like about ALL OCs is that I can kill them off fuss-free. Anyway, review, and please tell me if it's obvious English is my second language. REVIEW!!!