Title: New Beginning
Author: Karina
Rating: PG
Pairing: Milliardo + Jamie
Notes: Challenge 229. Baby Series 4 #144. Takes place following No Small Achievement
Spoilers: None
Warnings:
Many thanks to ShenLong Deb for her work betaing this set of fics.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the Characters from the series but the baby is mine.
Title: New Beginning
He could feel the boy's eyes on him, the intensity of that gaze. For a long moment Milliardo stared into the fire and remembered the biting chill of that first winter. The intense pain of his healing injuries. The day he had left the protection of Griselda's Sisterhood, though not their sight. Dangerous days, days mourned by many. The survivors, the refugees who had walked over the mountains... They knew the hardship.
He had not always had the protection of an adult to smooth his way in life.
"I might be the King now, but once I was not. Once I was just a small child who had lost everything and everyone, and who had no place to live. There was nothing to eat, nowhere but crevices, caves and ruins to shelter in. I walked the streets alone. I fought stray dogs for scraps of food. Nor was I the only one to live like that. I have a long memory, Jamie. Some things one never forgets."
"I... didn't know you were... were..."
"Homeless? My parents died in the invasion. I was very lucky to escape with my life. Griselda's Sisterhood got me out of the palace alive, if not unhurt. I am alive today because they stepped in."
"Griselda's Sisterhood?!" Awe infused the young voice. "I thought they were just a bedtime story!"
"So did I, until they rescued me. But they are quite real, I assure you. I don't know about the legendary powers they are said to have, but the Sisterhood itself is quite real. And now, today, I know that they look after Stephen for me, keeping him safe as once they did me."
"So the Moon Festival isn't like Christmas then? It celebrates and honours people who really do exist?"
"You will find that there is generally some small truth to all legends. Christmas honours Jesus Christ, young Jamie, not the Santa Clause of today. At the very least the modern day Santa Clause is a concept that embodies something of the spirit of the occasion, though unfortunately it is commercially driven. Do the old legends interest you?"
"Oh yes. I listen to the fishermen tell stories all the time, and I tell Jess those stories too. Some I don't tell her because I think it would frighten her, but some are good stories. They make her feel good."
"There are many stories we could share. If you chose to stay a while with us, we would have the chance to talk about them. There is a stone circle not too far away from the Palace, if you are interested in seeing it? It's not the Great Circle, but it is much more conveniently placed. We have a little time until the Spring Solstice, but if you would be interested, I might just be able to get you and Jessica a role in the festival to help celebrate the arrival of spring. It could signify a new beginning for you both."
End
Karina Robertson 2014