well, here ya
go! it's darn late and i am TOTALLY
exhausted, but
the next chapter's done!! ^.^ read on,
and tell me
what you think of Hiiro and Relena's uh...
*AHEM-activities-AHEM*
little part in there ^.-
hehehehehe...
kay chicie, see ya tomorrow!!
Sora
*********************************
(
Chapter 5 ) .: Reunions :.
The
night passed peacefully. No one shared where they
had been or
what they had done. Some girls looked
dreamy, others
thoughtful. Sally, however, had a very
determined look
in her eyes.
"Black
Widow," Dorothy said quietly, approaching her
when the other
girls were talking. Since Treize had
used the name
so fondly and Dorothy was very fond of
her sword
teacher, she had picked up on the habit.
"What did
you find in the forest?" Sally made no move
to speak. She
stared intently through an opening in
the lush trees
where the moonlight shone down in
silver ribbons.
Dorothy thought for a moment. "Sally,"
she ventured.
The older woman’s head turned. "What
would you do if
you… if you had doubts about killing
someon-
something?" she asked with her head hung.
Sally sighed.
"To
each their own morals, Dory," she answered,
looking again
at the nearly full moon. "I cannot tell
you what to do
if you do not feel the desire to do it
in your heart.
I cannot tell you what is right and
what is
wrong." Dorothy nodded and returned to the
other girls.
Sally turned her head to watch her go. As
the moonbeams
fell upon Sally’s hair, they turned it
nearly silver
with their luminosity. "No," Sally
whispered. A
picture of him flashed through her mind.
"I cannot
tell you right from wrong, not when I cannot
decide for
myself."
*~*
Hilde
was the first to awaken to a slight thumping
sound. Raising
her head from the less-than-comfortable
"pillow"
she had been given, she listened harder and
realized that
it was hoofbeats, from the main road.
They had made
camp near there at Count Dekim’s
suggestion.
"Lucretia,"
she called softly to her sister, who
stirred
slightly. "Lucretia!" she called again. The
older sister
awoke.
"What
now, Hilde?" she asked groggily.
"A
rider on the road," Hilde said, gesturing. As if
to prove her
point, a horse whinnied, waking the other
girls.
"Well,
let’s see who it is," Sally said. They
ventured to the
main road, where a messenger was
waiting.
"What
news?" Catherine asked.
"From
the castle, miladies," the man said with as
much of a bow
as he could manage while on horseback.
"Apparently,
someone broke into the captured elven
women’s
quarters last night." Sally looked up.
"And
what did this intruder do? Steal? Ravage? Free
the
women?" she asked dryly.
"That’s
what confuses me, milady," the messenger
said, obviously
a little intimidated. "He didn’t steal
anything, didn’t
free the women… nothing! From what
the elves said,
he just spoke with them, asking about
the woman who
was executed back on the day of the
trials."
Sally grimaced. It was exactly who she
thought it was.
"They
wouldn’t give the name of who it was?" Relena
asked
curiously. "If they obviously knew him, couldn’t
you make them
tell who it was?"
"The
Count has tried, but to no avail," said the
messenger.
"I was sent to warn you ladies, per chance
you encounter
this intruder while on the hunt."
"Thank
you," Sally said. "We will be on the watch. I
do not think
anyone has seen him as of yet." The
messenger
looked a little suspicious, but said nothing
more of the
matter.
"Then
I bid miladies adieu," he said, tipping his
hat.
"Giddap!" he commanded his horse, and rider and
steed galloped
back down the road. Lucretia stretched
her arms over
her head and tested her bow with an
arrow.
"Well
ladies, I think that it is time to resume the
hunt," she
said with a gleam in her eye. The others
agreed most enthusiastically,
retrieved their
necessities,
and split their separate ways.
*~*
‘He
always knows where to find me,’ she thought
impatiently.
‘So where the heck is he?’ She had been
sitting on the
tree stump for nearly half the day.
True, they had
awoken late and had the talk with the
messenger, but
it was past time for lunch already! She
sighed and
pulled her light meal from her sack. As she
raised an apple
to her mouth, it was snatched from her
hand. She
looked up to find him chewing, a large chunk
missing from
the fruit. ‘I should have known.’
"Do
you always show up for pretty girls, or is just
the food?"
she asked, almost teasingly. He didn’t
answer.
"Got
anything else in there?" he asked, eyeing the
small pack. She
sighed again.
"Perhaps
for a name," she replied with a grin. He
looked
surprised. She was being extremely friendly
today. It was
all Trowa’s fault… showing too much
compassion to
humans could be dangerous…
‘But,
then again, she’s an absolutely gorgeous human,’
he reminded
himself with a smile. "I’m the god of
death," he
said. Nothing more and nothing less. He
smiled inwardly
when he saw that the answer didn’t
please her.
"That’s
not a name," she said.
"Then what
is yours, princess?" he countered. She
halted. Fine.
After all, Catherine said that one elf,
what was his
name? He had been very kind to her… She
decided she was
not afraid of this elven boy.
"Hilde,"
she replied. He grinned again.
"A
beautiful name," he said. "To go with a very
beautiful
face." She blushed fiercely.
"And
yours?" she asked, trying to hide her flushed
cheeks.
"Duo,"
he said after a pause.
"Duo,"
she echoed. She looked him over again and
decided that
the name fit him. She noticed his gaze
roving over he
body as well and the blush that had
been fading
returned, full force. He laughed.
"No need
to be shy, princess." He approached and sat
next to her on
the stump. He knew he could have had
her if he so
desired. He could have his way with any
woman he set
out to. But he got a strange feeling
around this
human girl… As he looked over her short,
dark hair and
slim frame, he didn’t feel… normal. It
was something
different, not lust… something else. He
had the sudden
urge to…
"Oh!"
she gasped as she felt his lips press against
her cheek. She
turned quickly to find herself staring
into his eyes.
This had happened before, and she knew
how to defend
herself… but she did not see his eyes
glazed with
passion or want, but she looked deep and
hard into the
endless purple, got closer, closed her
eyes,
and…
"Come on,
princess," he said, standing up. "I want to
show you
something before nightfall." He grinned and
offered her a
hand. Surprised again but smiling, she
took it and
followed him through the woods.
*~*
Dorothy tracked
her steps from the day before to reach
the sunny
little glen. She hoped he would be there
with all of her
heart. When she did not hear the
beautiful music
from the previous day, her heart sank,
but she
continued to walk. She reached the glen and
saw no one.
Sighing, she sat down on the rock where he
had been the
day before. And then she saw him, walking
away in the
forest, through the thick trees, eyes up
to the clouds
and not paying attention to anything
else.
‘I wonder
if I should call out? Or would he try to run
again?’
she asked herself. She decided to simply
follow him and
see where he went. ‘Off I go,’ she
thought.
Turning to no one, she whispered as quietly
as possible,
"I decided the right way, Sally."
*~*
"How is it
you find me everywhere?" Lucretia asked
him.
"Because
you are everywhere," he replied. She said
nothing as they
continued walking.
"I never
thanked you," she said. He turned and raised
an eyebrow.
"For?"
"Helping
me; saving me from the gremlin." She gazed at
the ground. He
chuckled.
"You are
indeed lucky. It is not just anyone that I
can help like
that," he said. She was confused. he
continued.
"I need a special kind of… connection, you
might say, to
be able to help you in such a way." He
frowned.
"The gremlin already has others under his
control, others
that I cannot help." She failed to
understand, yet
did not ask further questions. The
mood was heavy.
"Come,"
he said lightly, brightening the atmosphere.
"I’d
like you to meet someone."
*~*
They sat next
to each other, backs against a mossy
tree. She held
a tiny silver fox in her lap.
"He has
taken a liking to you, Catherine," Trowa said
with a smile.
She grinned and continued to stroke the
long, luxurious
fur.
"He’s
stunning," she said. "And absolutely adorable!"
The baby fox
yawned, showing a mouthful of growing
teeth, already
sharp but possessing no strength as of
yet. The small
dell where they sat was stunning as
well. A pool of
rainbow water was near them, with
droplets
falling into it at intervals and seeming to
change the
color of the water when and where they
fell. No
sunlight penetrated the thick cover of the
trees, yet
there was a soft glow about the place that
lit up
everything beautifully. She was only somewhat
startled when
he reached his arms around her from
behind and took
her hands. He moved them to stroke the
newborn fox
behind the ears, teaching her what to do.
She felt
comfortable and safe here… with him. She
leaned her head
back onto his chest and closed her
eyes, still
feeling the light and warmth of the grove
although she could
not see it. His eyes widened at
first but he
gradually came to like her sitting there
like that very
much. He nuzzled his face gently into
her hair,
breathing in and smelling the sent of
wildflowers.
How she achieved this aroma he did not
know, but he
liked it. Then he remembered something.
"We may
have company in a bit," he said quietly, still
moving her
hands on the baby fox. She opened her eyes
slightly.
"Really?
Who?" she asked drowsily.
"You’ll
see, just wait," he replied, resting his chin
on the top of
her head. Then they both sat there in
silence,
enjoying the quiet rippling of the water next
to them and the
occasional small noise from the tiny
fox.
*~*
She was
absolutely fed up. They had been sitting on
opposites sides
of the brook for hours now, and he
hadn’t
said a word. She glanced up at him from the
flowers she was
linking in her lap. He was still
staring, she
noted. She sighed.
"What?"
Her head moved this time to look at him.
Hearing his
voice again was slightly startling, but
soothing.
"Pardon?"
she said. He met her gaze.
"You seem
bothered. What?"
"Never
mind." They both went back to what they were
doing, him
staring and her linking flowers in her lap.
She cursed
herself. ‘You could have told him, Relena,’
she scolded.
‘At least made polite conversation…’ she
gazed up at him
again. ‘My, he’s the most handsome man
I’ve ever
seen’ she thought. Daydreaming about him for
a moment left
her hands limp in her lap. Pushing the
sudden, rather
indecent thoughts out of her mind, she
tried to
concentrate on linking the flowers.
"Beautiful."
"Huh?"
The flowers were idle again. ‘Great, really
articulate,
Relena,’ she berated herself.
"You are
beautiful," he repeated. She smiled. She had
never been one
for embarrassment. She had a sudden
burst of
inspiration.
"Have you
decided then?" she asked challengingly.
"Decided
what?" His eyes followed her as she moved to
a kneeling
position on the ground.
"Whether
to kill me or kiss me?" she asked quite
seriously.
Their eyes were locked for what seemed like
an eternity to
her.
"Relena,"
he half-said, half-growled. In a flash he
was on her side
of the bank, kissing her with
everything he
had. She barely had time to note that he
remembered her
name before she realized that she
wasn’t
daydreaming this time.
*~*
"Where are
we going?" she asked curiously as he led
her along by
the hand.
"To meet
one of my friends," he said. "I think he’ll
like you a lot,
Hilde." She smiled proudly.
"And who
wouldn’t?" she asked. She reached up
absentmindedly
with her free hand to run it through
his hair. He
halted.
"What’re
you doing?" he asked, a little perplexed.
"I would
die to have hair like this again," she
murmured
quietly. He grinned and his eyes shone.
"Well,
until yours grows then, you can play with mine,
how does that
sound?" he asked. She looked surprised,
then smiled
widely.
"Really?
Thank you!" she said, leaping toward him and
giving him a
hug. He laughed as he pulled away.
"All
right, little princess. Let’s keep moving!" he
said, taking
her hand again and leading her through
the trees.
*~*
"Here,
we’re close now," he said to her.
"Thank
you, Zechs." He smiled.
"You’re
welcome, Lucretia." They had fun with each
other’s
names, it seemed. She liked saying his and he
liked saying
hers. He guided her into a small grove
with a
beautiful pool of many colors. Up against a
tree she saw a
familiar face.
"Catherine?"
she asked in disbelief. Was this her dear
friend, sitting
so comfortably, wrapped in the arms of
an elf? But the
elf that Catherine was with was
handsome and
seemed very gentle… Glancing over at
Zechs, she
decided that being wrapped in his arms
couldn’t
be too bad, either. Looking down into her
friend’s
lap, Lucretia gasped in delight. "Oh, what a
darling!"
she exclaimed, running to her friend and
dropping to her
knees. She tentatively stroked the
silver
creature. Catherine’s friend laughed a little,
as did Zechs.
"Lucretia,
this is Trowa," Zechs said.
"Catherine,
this is Zechs," Trowa introduced.
"Nice to
meet you," both girls said in unison, then
giggled. Just
then, another person stepped into the
thicket.
"Oh, hello
Quatre!" Trowa said to his friend.
"Trowa!
Zechs! I thought I might find you here," the
new blonde said
cheerfully. Lucretia studied him and
caught a
glimpse of something moving behind a tree.
Looking very
carefully, she quickly whispered
something to
Catherine, who looked curiously.
"Dory! Oh,
Dory! Come on out, it’s Catherine!" she
exclaimed when
she was sure. The elven boys spun as
Dorothy stepped
shyly toward them. Quatre looked
surprised for a
moment, then smiled hospitably.
"You’re
the girl who followed me yesterday, am I
correct?"
he asked, stepping toward her and catching
her light blue
eyes with his darker ones. She nodded,
blushing
slightly. He took her right hand and kissed
it lightly. She
was most pleasantly surprised. "My
name is
Quatre," the blonde boy said, looking up. "You
are
Dorothy?"
"Yes,"
she said, finding her voice. "And I believe
that these two
are… Zechs and Trowa?" she said
carefully. She
smiled. "From what I overheard,
anyway."
Lucretia smiled.
"Yes,
that’s right." To Quatre, she introduced herself
and Catherine.
Trowa laughed heartily.
"All
right, now that we’ve all been introduced, I
think this
little one needs to go back to his mother,"
the brown
haired boy said, picking up the tiny fox
tenderly. He
placed it near a small cove in the rocks
near the pool
and the baby crawled away to its mother,
cooing thanks
and good-byes. Catherine was sorry to
see her little
pet go, but smiled all the same.
"Well,
what do you think?" Zechs said. "Shall we
introduce them
to the others?" he asked his fellow
elves.
"I
don’t see why not, Duo would like them," Quatre
pointed out.
"Hiiro
might even be friendly," Trowa said.
"But…
Wufei," they muttered in unison. The girls
looked at the
threesome curiously. Quatre smiled.
"Well,
perhaps Wufei would even take a liking to
them, we never
know unless we try!"
"Good
point. Shall we, ladies?" Zechs said, offering
his arm to
Lucretia. She smiled wholeheartedly and
took his arm.
"Let us be
on our way then," she said to Catherine and
Dorothy, who
followed suite. And off they went again
into the
forest, a strange mix of elves and humans,
brought
together, it seemed, by some unseen force.
*~*
"Hiiro,"
she whispered as they lay on the grassy bank.
He propped
himself up on one elbow next to her.
Reaching out
with one hand, he fingered the chain
around her
neck.
"What’s
this?" he asked. His voice had become even
sweeter. She
smiled and sat up, using her arms for
support.
"That’s
my silver necklace, my good luck," she
explained.
"My mother gave it to me when I was little,
and it’s
a good luck charm," she said.
"It looks
like something other than silver," he said
thoughtfully.
"We have a legend of a princess, who
lived long ago,
who wore a beautiful necklace like
this one that
was said to be made of stardust." He
smiled. "I
would think that you are this mythical
elven
princess," he began, "but you are much more
beautiful that
she could ever be." She, in turn,
reached up to
the stone around his neck.
"And
what’s this?" she asked. He smiled and closed his
hand around
hers.
"These are
given to us at birth. Each is unique, there
are no two the
same. We are to give them to our wives
on our wedding
day," he said. Relena admired the
sparkling jewel
as he went on softly. "I think it
would look
lovely on you…" He was about to kiss her
again when they
heard voices.
"Ow, Duo!
These bushes are prickly! Why do we have to
go this
way?"
‘Hilde?"
thought Relena. A pair stepped out of the
brush near
them, Hilde and a boy whom Relena did not
know. Upon
seeing them lying there and Hiiro
bare-chested,
the boy’s eyes widened and he stifled a
giggle.
"Oops…
Uh, sorry Hiiro, did we interrupt something?"
he asked with a
silly grin. Hiiro grunted and shot him
a deadly look.
"Duo…"
Hiiro muttered. Relena silently thanked the
heavens that
she had her clothes on. Hilde blushed.
"So
I’m guessing you’re Hiiro," the dark-haired girl
said, trying to
ease the tension. "Relena, this is
Duo."
Relena smiled.
"Hello,
pleasure to meet you," she said politely.
Hiiro rose and
pulled on his tunic.
"Let’s
go," he said.
"What?
Where to now?" Duo asked. "We just got here?"
"Wufei
wanted to see the girls in the forest,
remember? We
have specific instructions, and we have
to listen to
him, at least for now. The elder would
have to leave
him in charge…" he added under his
breath.
"Let’s go."
"Sorry
princess," Duo said, noting Hilde’s tired look.
He scooped her
up off her feet and into his arms.
"Maybe
this’ll make it an easier trip?" Hilde smiled
the brightest
she had yet.
"Perhaps,"
she said teasingly. Hiiro took Relena’s
hand, and they
set off into the woods.
:. *~*~* .:
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