A/N: Here is the third chapter. If anyone has any suggestions, comments or questions, either leave a review or email me at trunks_girl01@hotmail.com.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing characters I am using.

"Like a Dragon Attempting to be a Bunny"

"SALLY LIEN!!!!" a stern and gruff voice called. Sally halted what she had been doing, silently cursing. What could her father want? She had an idea, and feared the worse. She walked swiftly towards the study, which is where the angry voice had come from.

The young woman walked in, seeing her father seated at a chair. The knight Quinze sat across from him, and on either of Quinze's sides stood two men. One she recognized as Duo, and the other caused her to growl angrily. It was the squire that had saved her from Quinze...the same one who saw her as a woman!

"You called, father?" she asked, unable to keep the edge off her voice. The trainee with black hair scoffed softly at her. Instead of getting angry, Lord Shang motioned to the men across from him.

"This is the honorable knight, Quinze," Shang told his daughter. Duo snickered at the 'honorable,' but only Sally and Wufei heard him. The former chuckled, and the latter glared, but couldn't keep his lip from twitching. Shang Po continued. "And these are two squires, Duo Maxwell and Wufei Chang."

'So the little rat's name is Wufei,' she thought angrily, but kept her face almost expressionless.

"Do you have any reason why they are here?" he asked, his anger returning. Sally played innocent.

"It isn't more feudal trouble, is it, father?" she asked, feigning concern. "Lord Treize is not attacking, is he?" She clutched her heart in an act of weakness.

"You are acting like a dragon attempting to be a bunny," Shang said with a growl. "Stop these games, now!" Sally massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Well why are they here?" he reiterated.

"Maybe they're here to accuse me of something? Is that what you want to hear, Lord Shang?" she asked icily, before turning and marching angrily out of the large open doorway of the study. Wufei frowned. She gave in too easily.

"If I may, my lord," Quinze remarked snidely. "Your daughter must learn a woman's place. Perhaps you should bring her back in here, rather than send her off."

"I will do what I please with my daughter, Sir Quinze. But, I believe she does need to learn a woman's place. Young Wufei," Lord Shang commanded, pointing towards the door, "retrieve Sally. Her room is the second one on the left down the east corridor." Wufei bowed stiffly, before turning and walking quickly out of the study.

'Why must I go and get the woman?' Chang thought to himself, a scowl marring his sharp features and contrasting them, when on normal occasion they would be quite handsome.

The east corridor had a lower ceiling than the cathedral-style of the entryway and dining room. The floor was softened by a plush scaralet carpet that cushioned his hurried footfalls. The walls were flat, but sloped slightly to the ceiling, making the hall appear almost tunnel-like. Paintings and tapestries embellished the otherwise bare walls, attempting to add cheer and color to the empty corridor. Sally's room was easy to recognize. It was a mediocre-sized wooden door, equipped with an engraved handle plated in gold. The young squire curiously wondered why Sally was all the way back in this corridor, when the rest of the noble family was in the west wing.

Wufi raised a bronze hand and knocked raptly on the door, his face showing impassiveness as it was immediately thrown back by Sally, her expression anger. Her blue eyes steeled in recognition, and she offered the man a furious glare. She poked him hard in the chest accusingly.

"You had no right," she cried angrily, "to go and blab your mouth like a pathetic two-year old!"

Wufei glared at her in his own arising anger. But before he could get a word out, he was thrown back by a fist that connected with his jaw and snapped his head back. He was prepared, however, when a second fist came flying into view. This time, he grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm so he had her arm twisted around her back.

"Before you accuse me again, woman," he whispered angrily, his breath upsetting the hair that fell against Sally's neck, "I'll have you know that it was not me who spilled your secret." He released her arm and she backed away, turning to face him. He was surprised to see no anger whatsoever showing on her face. In fact...she looked...interested?

"Can you show me how you did that?" she asked, referring to the way he twisted her arm around.

"Fighting is not for women," he said with a shake of his head, wondering where she got such crazy notions and, unlike her, his anger had not yet dissipated.

"Tell that to your jaw, tough-boy," she mocked, before turning and walking away.

"Hey!" Wufei called angrily. "I'm supposed to take you to Lord Shang!" But she was long ahead of him, and he jogged to catch up with her. He would not be bested by a woman.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Wufei!" Duo called, running to catch up with him. Quinze had allowed them to go back to their duties after they had gone with him to the manor house.

"What?" the other man asked gruffly, turning to meet his fellow trainee.

"Whoa," Duo said in awe, before lighting up like a Christmas tree. "What the hell happened to your jaw?" He immediately regretted his words as Wufei chose that moment to shout out angrily.

"That damned woman is what happened!" he cried, filled with indignation. "She thought I was the one who ran tattling to Quinze. What, pray tell, would give her that idea?" Duo backed away, holding his palms up defensively.

"Don't get mad at me," he told the Chinese man innocently. "You never said I couldn't tell. And anyway, you already broke the promise by telling me in the first place!"

"It was never a promise," Wufei said thoughtfully. "I never agreed..." he trailed off.

"So see, you got nothing to worry about," Duo said happily. "Except, maybe your fighting skills," he added, unable to keep from remarking on Wufei's slightly swollen cheek.

"Fighting skills, my ass," he growled, before taking a swing at Duo with his fist. The other young man responded in kind, and soon the two were engaged in a fighting spar that was broken only when duty called.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're what?" Hilde shrieked angrily, her normally pretty features contorted into an angry scowl. "I cannot believe you've been exiled to your room!"

Sally looked angry as well, her fists clenched tightly at her sides so that her knuckles were white. She stopped when her friend was speaking to her, but when she ceased speaking, the young woman immediately took up her pacing once again. Her steps were those of a seething mad person, footsteps falling heavily against the floor, though the carpet muffled the stomps.

"Since I cannot be trusted on my own," Sally said with contempt, "I must stay in my room, and I'm only allowed out if a chaperone comes and walks with me."

"But why such a harsh punishment?" Hilde asked, fearful of what might happen if he found out she had been involved too.

"It must be in relation to the feudal conflict that's been brewing," Sally said thoughtfully, her pacing coming to a slow stop as she stared at the wall in concentration.

"I haven't heard of a feudal conflict arising," said the German woman said in confusion, looking to her friend for an answer.

"My father has been keeping it hushed," Sally admitted, turning to look at her friend, "but I overheard some of the knights talking about it. It seems Lord Treize and my father are having a dispute."

"How bad is it?" asked a fearful Hilde, her thoughts immediately going out to the knights who would engage in such a conflict, if...

"I hear it's about to start a feudal war..." Sally said softly, "and with Lord Treize's vassals and allies...I think it will be a bloody war, indeed..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Prince Zechs walked swiftly along the small path of the garden, his ice blue eyes scanning over the beautiful flowers and topiaries. He was searching for something far more precious...

"Lucrezia," he greeted softly as he spotted his friend. She was seated high in the beech tree, which came as no surprise to him.

"Good morning," she replied, watching with interest as he quickly climbed the tree, seating himself on a branch almost level with hers.

"I overheard our fathers talking at their morning meal," he said conversationally, gauging her reaction.

"And..." she prodded further, turning in the branch so she was fully facing him.

"My father has demanded your father's first allegiance," he told her with a small smile. "Your knights, as well as your noble family, are to move here to further 'protect' the royal family."

"I see," Lucrezia said, her gaze penetrating his. "So Lord Treize would be unable to call for my father's assistance. We would not be forced to fight Lord Shang."

"Exactly," the blonde prince agreed, but frowned when he saw that she still wasn't happy. But before he could ask, she answered his unspoken question.

"It seems," she said softly, "like we are running from our problems, and I fear Lord Treize will see through our plight."

"He most likely will," the young man answered truthfully. "But there is nothing else we can do, and Lord Treize is powerless against my father."

The raven-haired woman conceded with a nod. Zechs studied her expression as a small smile graced her face. He studied her violet eyes for a moment, before questioning.

"Why are you so joyful?" was his question, and her smile widened, and when he saw her happy he wasn't able to stop a smile lifting his own face. For some reason everything seemed surreal to him. The wind rustling the leaves sped up his heart more than the finest orchestras. The scent of the grass and the flowers filled his senses more than any fragrance worn by the finest women.

And the woman in front of him looked more breathtaking than any painting, any flower, and any person he had ever seen. The wind had tousled her raven curls and her eyes were alight with emotions and happiness. She didn't look put-together or fake whatsoever. This must be what natural beauty was.

"So we will be living here from now on," she stated the sentence more than inquired.

"Yes," he agreed, and before he could stop himself, his hand moved of its own accord and stroked her cheek delicately.

His actions were graced with another smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wufei sat astride a burly warhorse, looking almost regal in the way he held himself on top of the large horse. Duo sat on a similar horse, although he looked more relaxed than his companion. Practice swords bounced in their sheaths against the men's thighs, creating a rhythmic sound much like the plate-sized horse hooves did.

"No sooner than we're knighted and we'll already be in the middle of a feudal war," Duo stated solemnly, losing his usual cheer for a more somber attitude much like that of his comrade's.

"Yes," Wufei agreed, studying the land stretching before them. "We will have no time to enjoy the pleasures of ending our squire-ship."

"Yep," said Duo, then took on a wistful grin. "And I'll never get to see that girl again."

"A girl, Maxwell?" Wufei scoffed, turning to glare at the braided man. "I thought better of you!"

Duo chuckled, before slapping Wufei's horse on the rump, causing the animal to start, but luckily the horse did not buck or rear.

"Lighten up, 'Fei," Duo said with a grin. "Not all women are evil, you know." Wufei rolled his eyes.

"Who said women are evil?" he inquired with a shake of his head, the small black ponytail swaying with the movement.

"You never said," Duo said sagely, "but you sure act like it."

"Women are not evil," the Chinese man amended, "but they are weak. They require the care of a man to survive, and they cannot do anything on their own."

"Not all women," Duo replied, then dug his heels into his horse's sides with a shouted 'yah! Wufei grumbled something incoherently before speeding off after his crazy companion.

A/N: Thank you's to everyone who has read thus far. This started out as a small, meaningless plot bunny of mine…and has escalated from there. To those reading "Song of the Phoenix", bear with me; I'm having a little writer's block. I will be getting the next chapter asap, though. Oh yeah, I'll update this story too ~_^ Please review!