PLEASE NOTE---If you want to keep up with my story, please remember to select ‘sort by updated date’ from the sort menu on the Gundam main page…of course, you could always put me on your author alert [cheesy grin]…
AN: Please note the rating change. It will be PG-13 in the next part because we are approaching the fall of Cinq. You can’t very well destroy a country without a little violence.
The Lilac Princess
Part 9: Chase and Chess…
By Lady Dante
“Luie, child, where are your shoes?” Sister Marguerite stood with her arms crossed looking down at the charming little girl in front of her and tried to sound firm.
“I didn’t want to lose them again, so I put them under the bush.” Luie smiled up at the beautiful lady she had grown to love almost as much as Mrs. Katrina. In appearance, the ladies were as different as night and day. Sister wore dark clothes like the other nuns. Mrs. Katrina usually wore white or pink. Sister had smooth brown skin and chocolate-colored eyes while Mrs. Katrina had creamy pale skin and blueberry-colored eyes. But the ladies were very much alike in other ways. They were both kind and sang to her when she was sad and hugged her a lot. Luie loved them both.
“Which bush?” Marguerite’s dark eyes sparkled in spite of her serious tone. She wasn’t supposed to have favorites among the children, but if it were allowed, Luie would definitely be at the top of the list. Since her arrival almost a year ago, Marguerite had grown to adore the wild little creature who preferred fields of flowers to the company of other children…unless it was a certain prince, of course.
“I forgot,” the little girl continued to smile at the nun sweetly, hoping the sister would drop the shoe thing and let her go back to picking flowers. She liked flowers. She hated shoes. Zechs couldn’t come and play on Saturdays, so she spent most of her time with the flowers. Sister was cutting into prime picking time.
“Really forgot or ‘on purpose’ forgot?” The nun asked the question in a way that made it clear she already knew the answer.
“Um,” Luie started, then sighed, “well…um…Sister, why do I have to wear shoes?” That’s it. Annoy her with questions. Maybe she’ll give up.
“You know very well why you should wear shoes. I’ve explained it many, many times.” Trying to be annoying is she? Won’t work.
“Well, I forgot.” Keep smiling. That always works.
“I doubt that, but…,” the sister paused as Luie smiled, “since it is a sunny day…I suppose you may go without shoes for a little while.” Luie giggled happily. “Just remember to bring your shoes back with you.” Marguerite had trouble resisting Luie’s smile.
“Yes, Sister ma’am!” Luie said, saluting.
“Run along, you wild child,” Marguerite chuckled as she gave the little girl an affectionate swat on the behind.
This had become something of a routine between Sister Marguerite and little Lucretzia. The child loathed shoes. The sister wasn’t completely unsympathetic, she had gone barefoot throughout most of her childhood as well, but this was different. Marguerite was raised in the warm climate of Haiti. Cinq, on the other hand, was damp, and in her opinion, far too cold to justify letting Luie go without shoes. There was also the question of propriety. The child was rowdy enough. The last thing she needed was to be allowed to flit around underdressed. It was difficult not to indulge her on occasion, though. Even after all the months she had spent at the orphanage, the sister knew Luie still hoped to go home someday. The girl still thought of the Peacecraft mansion as ‘home,’ Katrina and Milliardo as her family. It was difficult for her to be away from them.
The nun watched the little girl for a few minutes. Luie talked to the flowers as though they were people, making up stories and singing songs to them. Marguerite tried constantly to convince the little girl to mix more with the other children, but Luie didn’t seem comfortable with anyone but Prince Milliardo. The sister supposed that was understandable, considering the circumstances. Not that the child completely ignored the others. If anyone was sick or sad, Lucretzia volunteered to sing, and tried to help them feel better. Everyone loved to listen to Luie’s sweet voice. The brilliant little girl was always willing to help someone with their homework, easily explaining things that confused children twice her age. The child enjoyed helping with the babies as well, playing peek-a-boo and holding their hands when they tried to walk. Marguerite left the girl to her games and, as she turned to leave, it occurred to the sister that Lucretzia would make a fine teacher some day.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Milliardo and Lucretzia entered school at grade two. The adjustment was difficult for the pair. Neither had ever been in a school setting before and only the fact that they were enrolled in the same class made it bearable in those first few weeks. Academically, they were at the top of the class, earning the resentment of some of the less tolerant of their classmates. They sat together and tried not to disturb the older children too much, just trying to make it to break time when they could play alone. During play break, they often practiced fencing, using sticks for foils. Since Luie had to live at the orphanage, Milli took it upon himself to keep up her lessons. What ever he learned in his last session with Pagan was dutifully passed on to his friend and sparring partner. The girl learned very quickly and did indeed prove to be a good opponent for the young prince.
Today’s class was particularly difficult to stand. Not because the work was too tough, but rather because it was too easy and the youngsters finished before anyone else. That left them with 15 minutes to try to sit still and not disturb the other students. This was especially grueling for Milli, who had trouble with fidgeting on a good day. It didn’t help that Luie entertained herself by trying to get him to laugh. The boy had to bite his lip a couple of times to keep from snorting. When the bell finally rang, he darted out of his chair with relief, grabbing Luie’s hand as he dashed out to the playground.
At break, Milli and Luie amused themselves with a game of chase. The prince was faster, so Luie resorted to putting obstacles in his way to slow him down. When it seemed that would no longer work, she sprinted to the nearest sister. Hurtling towards the unsuspecting young nun, Luie attached herself to the woman’s skirts, giggling. The sister, not realizing she was being used as a human shield, gave the little girl a confused smile and an affectionate pat on the head. Luie giggled at her pursuer from behind her safe wall and, when the sister wasn’t looking, stuck out her tongue. The prince scowled. He hated to lose, even to his friend. The fact that she resorted to the old hide-behind-a-grownup routine irked him a bit as well. A slightly wicked grin covered his face as he thought of a counter attack. Hide behind a grownup? Rookie mistake.
Milliardo opened his mouth as though he were going to greet the sister, but instead sucked in a breath and began coughing. “Aaak,” he said as he started pounding his chest, “Sister! I think I swallowed a bug!” The nun immediately ran to the young prince, much to the chagrin of Luie. She knew he was faking and, quiet frankly, couldn’t believe the sister was silly enough to believe this routine. “Stay put, Your Highness. I’ll get a glass of water.” With that, the young woman hurried inside, Luie watching her incredulously. How could adults be so stupid? She slowly looked back at her opponent, who was smiling evilly. Milli could have tagged her when she wasn’t looking, but he decided that wouldn’t be fair and waited for her to notice him. Luie squealed and took off running again, heading for the trees…
After a few minutes, the little girl somehow managed to lose the prince. She knew this was only temporary, and doubled back towards the schoolyard to find a place to hide. She darted back through the trees, running around to the back of the school building and bumped into another student. She bounced off of the older boy so hard she landed on her rear. Standing up quickly, she was about to apologize when she saw the other student. Karl. He was one of the meanest boys at school. Luie had learned quickly to avoid Karl and his friend Erich. Those two didn’t like children from the orphanage or the “high and mighty” prince to begin with. Add to that the fact that Luie and Milli were both two years younger than everyone else in their grade, and they were prime targets for the bullies.
“Well, well,” Karl snickered, “if is isn’t the prince’s pet.” Luie frowned but didn’t respond. Sister told her to ignore him, so she tried to walk away, but Karl grabbed he arm. “Where you going, freak?”
“I just wanna go inside.” Luie wrenched her arm away and tried to walk the other way, but Erich blocked her path.
“Hey, little nothing, you go when I say,” Erich snickered.
“Maybe the freak don’t understand. She’s one of those orphan kids. No parents, no name, no nothing” Karl leaned forward and looked the little girl in the eye, “she’s nobody.”
“Why are you so mean to me?” Luie asked quietly, fighting back tears. She hated crying. The fact that Karl brought her close to tears made her angry.
“Oh look,” Karl laughed, “She’s gonna cry now. Why don’t we go find your freak prince and see if he will cry with you?” The older boys laughed spitefully. Luie, upset by the fact they were making fun of Milli now as well, shoved at one boy and yelled, “Shut up! You leave my friend alone!”
“Hey, you little freak!” Karl yelled, grabbing Luie’s arms and pushing her to the ground, just as Milli dashed around the corner. Seeing his friend sitting on the ground, he immediately ran over and helped the girl to her feet. “Leave her alone, Karl.” His tone was low but calm.
“Leave her alone? She pushed me!” He took a menacing step toward the two children. “I think the little freak owes me an apology.”
“No,” Milliardo responded calmly, “I think you owe her an apology.”
Karl let out an angry growl and grabbed the prince by his shirt and swung him around. “I don’t want to fight you, Karl,” the prince started. “Too bad, freak,” the older boy interrupted, “cuz, we wanna fight you.”
“You’re the freak!” yelled Lucretzia. The little girl let out a yelp as Erich grabbed her arms and shoved her down again. Milli used the distraction to push away from the older boy. Luie scrambled to her feet and managed to trip Erich as he lunged at her. A scuffle ensued, the two smaller children desperately trying to avoid the blows of the older boys.
Milliardo slammed his fist into the Karl’s stomach with all of his might. The boy doubled over with a grunt, clutching his middle. As he was bent over in pain, Lucretzia kicked the boy in the rear, sending him sprawling. Erich took a swing at the prince, but lost his balance when Luie kicked him on the back of his knee, Milli easily ducked the clumsy blow. Luie dove behind Erich, dropping to her hands and knees. Milli gave the boy a hard shove, sending him falling backwards over the crouching girl. This all occurred in a matter of minutes. Two of the Imperial Guards assigned to secure the school arrived and broke up the fight. As one escorted the group to the inside, the other phoned Captain Damon.
When Damon arrived at the administrator’s office, he found Milli and Luie sitting side by side, arms crossed, the beginnings of matching black eyes visible. The youngsters were glaring across at 2 older boys. Each boy was clearly a head taller than Milli, both were hunched over, nursing various wounds and carefully avoiding eye contact with the pair on the other side of the room. Damon went in to speak with the school administrator and exited a few minutes later.
“Time to go home, Your Highness.”
“I want to stay until Sister Marguerite comes for Luie.” Milliardo said this without taking his eyes off the older boys still cowering on the other side of the room.
“Marguerite asked me to drop Luie off at the Home.” The children looked up and grinned at the captain. “Come on Butch and Sundance, let’s go.” As Damon ushered the children out, he took a look at their eyes. “Wow. Interesting shade of green you got there. Those are gonna be beauts.” Luie laughed but Milli looked grim.
“Am I Butch or Sundance?” giggled the girl.
“Well, if you keep fighting like that, it’ll have to be Butch.” Damon grinned at them as they climbed into the car. Luie laughed but Milliardo still looked solemn.
“Does Father know yet?” The prince asked seriously once they were on their way.
“I believe your mother is talking to him now, Your Highness.” The boy looked down.
Upset at her friend’s reaction, Luie looked from the prince to the captain. “Did I get Milli in trouble, Captain Damon?”
“No,” Milli interrupted quickly, “if I’m in trouble it’s my fault.” He looked out the window. “Besides, Karl’s the one who was wrong, Noin.”
Damon smiled at the use of Luie’s ‘secret’ name. “Aw, don’t worry kid. Everything’s gonna be cool.” He looked at the two in the rear view mirror and winked. That seemed to ease the girl’s concerns a bit, but she took Milli’s hand and gave it a squeeze anyway. The rest of the ride was silent. Marguerite was waiting to meet them in the drive. She had two ice packs ready for the youngsters and fussed over the pair for a moment before scooping Luie up and heading inside. The little girl waved at her friend over the sister’s shoulder. Milli, still rather grim, waved back as they drove away.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Back at the Peacecraft estate, the king and queen discussed their son’s latest predicament. Katrina, as always, took the roll of defense council while Stefan was clearly the prosecutor. It was one of the few areas of their lives in which they were almost always in disagreement. They rarely argued, but when they did it usually had something to do with how much pressure Milliardo was subjected to as heir to the throne. The king believed that the boy should take on more, rather than less, responsibility in order to properly prepare him for his role as King of Cinq. Katrina felt Milli should be allowed to enjoy what little time he had to be a child.
“Stefan, it was just a little fight.”
“There are no ‘little fights.’ Especially when one of the offending parties is the crown prince of a pacifist nation. Especially now, with the political climate as volatile as it is..”
“He was defending his friend…”
“He was joining her in a brawl…”
“I hardly think it qualifies as a brawl, my dear…”
“He should have left it alone.”
“She was being picked on by older boys. Two older boys…”
“And that justifies causing physical harm to another human being? Having your feelings hurt?”
“He did what he thought was right. He was only trying to stop them from hurting the girl…he wanted them to apologize…”
“One can not force another to do the right thing…” The king started.
“No, you can not,” Katrina interrupted quietly. Stefan sighed, realizing exactly what he just said. His wife knelt by his chair and put a comforting hand on his arm. “He must make his own decision, my love. We can teach Milliardo the proper path but we cannot force him to walk that path. If he promotes pacifism, it must be because he truly believes in it, not because he feels obligated to us. He must make his own choice.”
The king sighed heavily. “You are correct,” he smiled affectionately, “as usual.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead against Katrina’s. “My love, I agree with what you are saying, but he is still very impressionable. I think,” he frowned a bit and pulled back, “I think that Milliardo should not spend so much time with Lucretzia.”
“Stefan,” Katrina began to protest but was stopped by her husband’s finger on her lips.
“I know what you are going to say…I agree in principle…but I believe Milliardo should try to mingle more with other children. His dependence on this girl weakens him, and…” he took a deep breath, “and, I am still uncomfortable with the fact that we know nothing of this child. From what you and Milliardo have told me yourselves, she can be unruly at best. At worst, she is a bad influence…”
“They are just children, Stefan,” Katrina began angrily, “and I don’t suppose it has occurred to you that Milli could be a good influence on Luie…”
“You speak with the heart of a mother, as you should, I love that about you, but I must speak with the mind of a king and Milliardo’s duties to his country’s future take precedence. He’s not to spend so much time with the girl.”
“Very well,” Katrina sighed, “I will tell him when he returns.”
“No, I will.” Stefan said heavily, rubbing his eyes. “You had to deal with sending the child away in the first place. I do not want Milliardo to be angry with you again…especially when it is not your fault.” He looked up at his distraught wife. “I am sorry, Katrina.” She smiled softly at him. Stefan kissed his wife’s hand and she left, closing the study door gently.
As she walked slowly down the hall, Katrina struggled to control her emotions. She did not know if she could bear disappointing Milliardo in this manner. His heart would break, she knew that…and so would Lucretzia’s. She turned the corner and found her son sitting patiently in an uncomfortably ornate chair. He looked up and offered his mother a shy smile. “Hi, Mama.” He tried to sound bright, but as Katrina knelt in front of him and looked at his bruise, she could see he was very upset.
“Father wishes to speak with you.”
“Yeah, I figured he would.”
Katrina hugged her little boy and said, “When you and your father finish, I would like to speak to you in my chamber.”
“All right, Mama.” He kissed his mother and walked to his father’s study. He opened the impossibly large oak door and slipped inside. His father was on the vidphone and waved him in as he continued speaking to the ambassador of who-knows-what. “Yes, that will be acceptable.” The king nodded at the screen, “Have your people contact the Captain personally to coordinate security precautions.” As the king spoke, Milliardo walked to the fireplace and looked up at the recently completed portrait of his father. It was a very good likeness, Milliardo decided.
The boy had a very different relationship with his father compared to his mother. Milliardo often forgot that his mother was actually a queen, he thought of her as his mama first. However, he always thought of his father as a king first and a parent second. He loved his father very much, just like he loved his mother, but his father was constantly trying to teach him to act like a king. Milliardo knew that was important and he wanted to make his father proud of him, but sometimes the boy wished his father could stop being king…at least for a little while.
“I am sorry you had to wait, Milliardo, but the conference begins in a few days. We still have many arrangements to make in the capital and here at the estate.”
“Understood, Father.” Yes, he understood. He understood that there would be a swarm of political locusts descending on the country three days before his 6th birthday. Happy birthday, Milli.
Stefan regarded his son for a moment before speaking, “Why don’t you set up the chess board? I’ve been in the mood for a good match.”
“Yes, sir.” Milliardo eagerly pulled out the antique chess set. He loved playing chess with his father. They had good talks over chess. Maybe this meant he wasn’t mad after all.
They played in a comfortable silence for a while before the king spoke, “ ‘From those to whom much has been given, much is expected.’ Do you know what that means, Milliardo?”
The boy thought for a moment. “The more you have, the more you should give.”
“Exactly,” the king replied proudly. “We have been given the great privilege and responsibility of leading Cinq. Therefore, we must be the ones to set the example for our people.”
“Yes sir.” His father wasn’t going to let the fight go after all.
“Tell me what happened at school today.”
“I got in a fight.” He frowned down at the chessboard and finally moved his knight.
The king paused, waiting for his son to elaborate. Milliardo, it seemed, did not feel the need. Stefan had to respect that. The boy made no excuses. When Milliardo made a mistake, he was prepared to pay the consequences. “Why did you fight, Milliardo?”
“Does it matter, sir?” Milliardo asked honestly. He hoped his father was willing to hear his reasons.
“Yes and no. It was wrong to fight, Milliardo, and the reasons do not justify your actions, but,” he paused as he moved a chess piece, “I would like to know why you behaved as you did, so we may discuss the situation.”
“Karl and Erich were picking on Luie and they might have hurt her and they started shoving us and hitting us so we hit and pushed back.” He took a breath and moved his bishop.
Stefan paused a moment, choosing his words carefully. “Milliardo, I am glad you wanted to stand up for your friend, but fighting is never the answer.”
“What was I supposed to do?” The boy started then added, “sir…they were gonna hurt her, we tried to walk away but they grabbed us…”
“You should have found an adult when you saw that there was a problem.”
Milliardo remained silent. Get an adult? Besides the fact that they would have creamed Luie before he got back, there was also the unwritten rule of playgrounds. Never involve a grownup in a fight. It was the quickest way to end up in another fight. A bigger fight.
King Stefan and Prince Milliardo discussed the situation for quite sometime as they continued the match. Every justification Milliardo presented for his behavior was countered by his father, just as every move he made was matched on the chessboard. Stefan had long since stopped allowing his son to win games and instead played as he would with an adult. As difficult as it was for the boy to lose consistently, it made his few victories even more special. Like this game. Milliardo smiled to himself. He had successfully managed to get within two moves of checking his father’s king. The prince was about to proceed when his father said something to make the boy freeze mid-move.
“Milliardo, I want you to start spending more time with the other children at school and less time with the girl.”
Milliardo stared at his father for a minute, trying to think of something to say. He was used to being told to spend more time with the other children. That was common from both parents. They were right about that, he supposed. It was important to get to know someone before you form an opinion about them. But…not play with …
“Lucretzia,” the boy said evenly, finally placing his chess piece and looking up at his father.
“Pardon?”
“Her name is Lucretzia, not ‘the girl,’ Father.”
Stefan rested his chin on his fist as he regarded his son. “I apologize. You are correct. I should refer to her as Lucretzia.”
“Why can’t I play with Lucretzia anymore?” He was trying to sound reasonable, but every childish instinct he had clamored for him to throw a tantrum.
“I do not like how you behave when you are with her,” The king made his next move, sat up straight and continued, “I do not believe she is a suitable playmate for you.”
“You don’t even know her, Father,” he reminded himself not to whine, “you can’t decide if she’s bad if you haven’t even met her yet! That’s not fair. You always say that we should get to know people…that’s how we stop wars and stuff, talk to people and don’t judge them…you’re being,” Milliardo tried to remember the proper word, “prejudiced.”
Stefan was a little taken aback by his son’s speech but could not deny the validity of his argument. “You are right.”
“I am?” He was?
“Yes. I should not judge the girl…Lucretzia…until I have a chance to meet her.”
Milliardo smiled and picked up his bishop. His smile quickly faded as his father continued.
“I will arrange a time to meet with her, but until then, you are to play with the other children and not Lucretzia.”
“You can meet her when we go to the orphanage for the birthday party.”
“I am afraid I will not be able to attend this year. The conference will have started by then.” Milliardo looked down and Stefan quickly continued, “You, your mother, sister and I will have our family party here before you leave for the orphanage.” His son looked up, clearly pleased that his father would at least stay for the family party. “As for meeting Lucretzia, it will have to wait until after the conference. I promise, however, that I will make those arrangements as soon as possible. Until then, you are to do as I say. Understood?”
“Understood, sir.” He understood…but that didn’t mean he agreed. The prince moved his last piece and said, “Checkmate.”
Stefan frowned and looked at the board. A smile spread over his face as he looked at the layout. “Very good, my boy. Your skills are improving. Soon, I’ll be no match for you at all, you will defeat me with ease.”
Milliardo smiled at his father’s compliment. He bid his father goodbye and started for his mother’s chambers. Milliardo thought over what his father said. He thought Luie was a bad influence. Milli knew better than that and was sure his father would change his mind after he met Luie. The problem was figuring out a way to play with her and make sure his father didn’t find out. It didn’t occur to him to actually obey such a silly and unjust order, even from his father. He could never hurt Luie’s feelings like that. He simply had to be careful until he could convince his father of his error. It wasn’t like he actually promised he would do what he was told. If he had given his word that would be different.
When he arrived at his mother’s room, he knocked softly.
“Come in,” Katrina turned from her dressing table and smiled, “Milli, dearest. How was you talk?” She tried to sound pleasant, but she could tell from her son’s demeanor that he was not pleased. He was not as upset as she had expected, however.
“I won the chess match.”
“Wonderful, dearest! I am very proud of you,” she gave him a hug. “and I am certain your father is proud as well.”
“Yeah, he said that, too…” he looked into his mother’s concerned eyes, “Father said I couldn’t play with Luie so much.”
“Yes, I know. I am sorry my dear…” she struggled to find some way of comforting him, but discovered he did not really need to be comforted.
“I convinced Father that he should meet Luie before he decides something like that and he said I was right, so when the peace conference is over, he’s gonna come with us to the orphanage and meet her. I know when he does, he won’t think she’s bad and we can play all we want.”
“I am sure you are right, dearest,” she said hugging him again, “now that is settled, I have something I want to show you.” Katrina reached into her jewelry box and carefully removed an ornate silver locket.
“I remember that, you wear it when you celebrate marrying Father and when you go to the Christmas Ball.”
“That is correct, dearest.” She opened the locket to reveal several sets of initials engraved inside the delicate ornament. Pointing to the ‘KL’ monogrammed in the middle she explained, “Your father gave this to me on the day we married, and his father gave it to his bride,” she pointed to another set, then indicated several other sets, “and so on through the generations.” Milli looked to his mother, waiting for an explanation. “When you grow up,” she smiled and smoothed his hair out of his eyes, “a very long time from now, you will give this to the woman you chose to be your bride. There is a space here for you to have her initials inscribed next to mine. Milli, it is very important that you remember this. It has been a tradition among the men in the Peacecraft family for generations.”
“All right, Mama. I won’t forget.” He lightly touched the silver locket, tracing over his mother’s initials.
“This is for you to keep and save for the fortunate woman who wins your heart.” She smiled at him lovingly and kissed his forehead. He smiled and nodded. “This,” she continued, holding up a delicate gold cross she was wearing, “is for Relena. I want you to promise that you will see to it she receives this when she is older.”
“You’re not gonna give it too her?”
“Yes, of course I will, but,” she fingered the cross, “just in case something prevents me from giving it to her personally, I want you to make certain your sister receives this cross, all right?” He nodded, still confused. “No matter what, you are to keep the locket until you marry and Relena keeps the cross.”
“I got it, Mama.” Milli couldn’t understand why she kept repeating herself. “Do I need to find a place to keep it now?”
“No, dearest, I have decided to wear it more often, so I will keep it for now.” As the queen spoke she put the locket on a thin silver chain and fastened it around her neck. Katrina hugged her son once more. “I love you very much, Milliardo.”
“I love you, too, Mama.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next Sunday, Queen Katrina and Prince Milliardo made their weekly visit to the orphanage. Katrina, still preoccupied with preparations for the conference, greeted everyone briefly, gave Milli and Luie a big hug and left. Several Imperial Guards were left to secure the orphanage grounds while the prince made his visit. Milli wasn’t quite sure why so many were here, they usually only left two or three. All of the grownups at home were acting weirder than usual. Even Captain Damon was being very strict, especially about who came and went and where they were allowed to go in the mansion. He had asked Ingrid about all of the changes, but she just told him not to worry. It was probably because of the peace conference and all of the people coming in from other countries.
Milli waited a few minutes after his mother left before finding a way to sneak away from the other children, Luie in tow. They tugged at their dress clothes. Milli loosened his bow tie and unbuttoned the ridiculously embroidered jacket. Luie immediately rid herself of her hated shoes and stockings, curling her toes in the cool grass. The prince looked around for a good place to hide. He saw the tree behind the main building, the one with a crooked trunk. The dip in that trunk created a natural seat, just big enough for he and his friend.
“Noin, let’s sit in the tree and we can have the snack Cook made.” He held up a brown paper bag.
“O.K.,” Noin grinned, “last one up has to sit on the bumpy side!”
Noin climbed the tree easily with her bare feet. It took longer for Zechs, who was still wearing his dress shoes. “No fair,” he complained when he reached the branch, “you used your toes.” Noin just giggled. The prince seated himself next to his friend, trying to make himself comfortable on the bumpy side of the branch. Zechs opened up the brown sack and pulled out Cook’s special treat. “Cook made apple strudel this time,” he halved the sweet and gave Noin the biggest part. “Goody!” she exclaimed, “I love apple strudel…except all the flakes fall all over my dress and the sisters know I’ve been sneaking food between meals.” They sat there for a while eating and talking about things only important to young children before being interrupted by Sister Marguerite.
“I thought I might find you little monkeys up there…” she stopped noticing the little girl’s feet, “.Luie, child, where are your shoes?” she said with some exasperation. Luie made an unintelligible reply around a mouthful of strudel. The sister sighed and threw her hands up in defeat. The children giggled. “Milliardo, you’re not supposed to be up there. Your father left strict instructions.”
“I don’t remember him saying anything ‘bout sitting in trees.” Milli said stiffly. His tone made Luie look at him with concern. He didn’t bother to look at the sister, he occupied himself with his half of the strudel.
“You know what I’m talking about,” sister replied quietly, “Your father was very specific about,” she paused as she saw Milli look up and frown at her harshly, “…the situation.”
“He didn’t say anything about sitting in trees,” the boy repeated in an even tone. Marguerite looked up at him, crossing her arms. The prince simply stared at her. The sister just spent an hour on the phone with the king trying to convince him that Luie was not a bad influence on his son, but to no avail. The king was firm in his insistence that the prince not spend so much time with the girl. After that, Sister Marguerite was in no mood to have a stare down with a petulant child. Especially when the child was correct. Milli clearly intended to ignore his father’s instructions on this point, no matter what the consequences.
“Very well,” sighed Marguerite, “I haven’t seen you, monkey boy.”
Milli’s mood immediately brightened, “Thanks, Sister Marguerite!”
Marguerite put a hand to her ear, “Did somebody say something,” she said with mock concern, “I don’t SEE anyone…” The children muffled their giggles behind their hands. “Well, I must be getting old…hearing people who aren’t there,” she muttered loudly as she left. Still laughing, Luie turned to Milli and asked, “What are we doing that we’re not s’posed to?”
“Nothing,” he replied solemnly.
“But, Zechs…”
“It’s not important!” He said crossly. He immediately felt bad for that when he saw his companion look at him with wide eyes. “Sorry, Noin. I didn’t mean to yell.” She nodded. “Here,” he said, trying to smile as he handed the girl the rest of his strudel, “I’m full. You can have the rest.”
“Thanks,” she replied, trying to smile in return. Noin knew something was up. His father was probably still mad about the fight. But if Zechs didn’t want to tell her, she would leave it alone. She trusted him. If he wanted her to know what was wrong, he would tell her.
“Sister said that since we don’t know when I was born, I get to share your birthday.”
The change of topic was a relief to the prince, “Yeah! When I was born, they decided to do that…all the kids here who don’t know when they were born get to use my birthday…It’s neat that we’re gonna have the same birthday!”
“We’ve been making stuff for the party…Zechs, what do you do on a birthday?”
The boy smiled, “Well you get presents and cake and people treat you nicer than any other day…except Christmas maybe…the cake’s the best part! They have all kinds so all the kids get their favorite.”
“Chocolate cake, too?”
“Yup!”
“Yeah!” she said, clapping. “I think I’ll like birthdays…except,” Noin started nervously, “Sister is going to make me sing at the party…”
“That’s good! I like how you sing…you sing as pretty as Mama!” Noin beamed at him. “What’re you gonna sing?”
“Sister taught me a French song she used to sing in Haiti.”
“So now you know French…how many languages is that now?”
“Eight.”
They continued to discuss the upcoming party and the prince explained that some of the stuffy old ambassadors were going to show up. Noin remembered some of them and how bored Zechs looked when he had to talk to them. If there were going to be a lot of them around, the party would be no fun at all. So they made their own plans for the party…including sneaking into the bell tower when no one was looking. Between the two of them, they reasoned, they should be able to pick any lock encountered. Now if they could just get their hands on some balloons and a bucket for the water…
+++++++++++++ end of part 9 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Gee…wonder what the balloons are for…?
And yes, obviously I caught Damon and made him come back. He was a little distraught, though so I gave him less to do this time.
I hope I didn’t make Stefan sound too mean. I wanted to show that he was very different from the kind-hearted Katrina. He has an overwhelming sense of duty and Milliardo has inherited that from him, it just comes out in a different way. Zechs shows more personal loyalty than loyalty to an ideal. I like that. Anyway, I think Zechs has some daddy issues to sort out and this is my explanation for it. He’s not quite 6 and already feels he has failed to live up to his father’s expectations. Is it any wonder he gets consumed with guilt later? O.K., I’ll put away my psychology book now…
P.S. Who do you figure is going to get that locket…hmmm….
In case you neglected to read the AN at the top, this fic will become PG-13 in the next part, mainly due to violence and a few bad words. The fall of Cinq is quickly approaching and Duke Dermail shows up along with a certain general…no, not Treize. He comes along later. Besides, he’d be like, 11 or something.
Disclaimers!? We don’ need no stinkin’ Disclaimers!!…..O.K., I guess we do…I do not own the show, I do not get money for this. Haven’t you been paying attention? Don’t make me send Boo-Bear after you…
