Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cynehelme ❯ Chapter 21 ( Chapter 21 )

Cynehelme

by kmf

Rating: PG13

Warnings: AU

Standard Disclaimer applies.

Chapter Twenty One

Wufei led the women to Treize's camp as quickly as he could given all three women were weary. The Peacecraft heir supported Sally as they walked, her arm holding the nun firmly around her waist whilst Sally draped an arm over the girls shoulder. Sally's face was pale, the shock of nearly being violated hanging over her and as much as Wufei would have liked to have reassured the woman that she was safe now, he was not sure that was true.

Treize had said when Trowa and Sally had escaped taking Une with them that their lives were forfeit. However, Sally had returned bringing the prize that Treize so eagerly sought and Wufei hoped that would bring the woman clemency from his Lord. If it did not then it might be that Wufei's own sword would drink her blood today. If he was ordered to execute her, then at least he would make her end swift and pain free, unlike the savages he had fought off her.

Wufei frowned again as he remembered the men's parting words.

..."When Treize hears that you protected that bitch, I am sure that you be back in chains and back in his slave pens."....

Treize had told Wufei on a number of occasions that he abhorred the slave trade and had declared that he would do everything in his power to abolish the practice in the British Isle once he was High King. Wufei wanted to believe that the comment from the warrior was a passing barb, one designed to throw Wufei off his stride but one with no element of truth behind it. The look on the man's face had been one of maliciousness, but there was a confidence there too that showed that the man was sure that he would not be punished for his deeds towards Sally nor the fact that he was insolent to a superior officer.

And it worried Wufei. Could what the man said be true? Could Treize be active in the slave trade? Could it be that the pretty speeches given to Wufei were designed to put him at his ease so that Treize could reap the benefit of Wufei's fighting and tracking skills?

"Wait! You go too fast!"

Wufei almost stumbled at Sally's voice calling to him and he stopped and turned to observe his charges. From the distance they were from him he realised that he must have almost been jogging in his eagerness to get back to camp and confront Treize. As he stood still waiting for the women to catch him up, only years of training prevented him from fidgeting at their slowness.

Sally's colour had improved a little, she was leaning less heavily on Relena, her eyes were beginning to regain some of their former sparkle. He turned away from her gaze uneasy with the intelligent life that shone from her eyes; in another hour or two he might be responsible for extinguishing that life forever.

"Why did you come back?" he murmured before he could stop himself. He turned and took her by the shoulders and shook her slightly pulling her away from Relena's supportive hold.

Sally allowed herself to be shaken, whilst the other two women protested loudly demanding that he stop. He only had ears for Sally though and ignored them.

"Why?" he demanded again. "I cannot protect you if Treize orders your death."

"That is in God's hands," Sally said serenely.

Wufei snorted in disgust and let her go and Relena pushed herself between him and Sally, her face frowning and her hands on her hips.

"I will not allow you to harm her," she said with determination, "and I will not allow Treize to hurt her. If Treize wishes for me to co-operate with him he will do no harm to my friends."

Wufei looked down at the small women who stood in front of him, his expression one of slight bemusement. He raised an eyebrow as she stared up at him with determination in her eyes. Despite himself he felt a grudging respect for this young woman who was willing to give herself for the sake of peace to the man who had in effect killed her father. She was protective of those who followed her as any leader should be, but he wondered just how much attention Treize would pay to her demands. Once Relena Peacecraft was in Treize's hands she would be, in effect, his possession and any requests that she had would only be granted at his whim.

He shrugged and turned, not looking to see whether the three women followed, and began to walk towards the camp again, this time more slowly. Sally's fate, what ever it was to be, was out of his hands.

* * * *

Dorothy made her way through the woods as quickly as she could, her only thought to put as much distance between herself and the Druid as possible. Even the thought of catching up Relena, Sally and Noin did not make her legs move as fast as the thought of Quatre's pained expression as her blade cut into his flesh.

He had been a worthy opponent, his swordsmanship quick and clever. And it had seemed that he had gotten as much pleasure out of their duel as she had; at first that was. However, the initial exuberance of discovering that the Druid had skill had worn off when she had discovered that he was unwilling to use it against her.

She would attack and he would parry. But instead of attacking her, he had kept trying to talk to her. At first his quiet questions about why she was doing this and what she hoped to achieve had amused her and she had answered honestly: power, position and the redeeming of her family name. His expression had turned sad at these answers and he had questioned her as to how she thought her actions would effect the ordinary men and women of both Mercia and Lindsey.

She had laughed, but that laughter had turned to ashes in her mouth as she saw his expressive sad eyes once again look at her. No, not at her; into her, peeling back the layers of her disguise and peering into her very soul itself. And what disgusted her the most was the fact that she was ashamed of what he saw and that she wanted to change so that instead of sadness in his eyes there would be respect and understanding.

She had flinched from this sudden revelation and had almost dropped her sword in her surprise and for a moment Quatre's eyes had brightened and he had lowered his guard. But in that split second she reacted as she had been trained to do; she had taken advantage of his weakness. Her sword arm had flicked out and this time it met no metal resistance. Instead it had slid deep into Quatre's side, its shiny blade dimmed by the quick flow of his blood from his wound.

For a moment they had stood still, regarding each other. Dorothy was still not sure which of them had been more surprised by the hit. And then Quatre had fallen back, his body sliding off the sword, his hand coming instinctively to his wound before his legs failed to support him and he fell to his knees. All the time he kept his eyes in contact with hers, looking at her with such overwhelming sadness and forgiveness.

Dorothy had not been able to endure the look he gave her, and had turned and run away from him. As she did so she had heard his voice calling her name with his failing strength before the woods became silent once again. And as she ran she felt moisture come to her eyes: tears. She had not cried since her grandfather had died, she had sworn that never again would she cry. And yet, as she ran, she cried for the man who was her enemy and whom she had probably killed.

* * * *

Scouts returning on horseback from the battle were the first to report to Treize that other nations had joined the fray. It took all Millardo's training not to grin in outright pleasure that his plan was working. Instead he kept his face neutral as he watched Treize digest the news.

"How many and from where?" he demanded, his voice calm but his distinctive brows drawn into a frown.

His frown deepened as he received the full report, and at his side his Shaman became quite agitated, smoothing her hair back behind her ears and glaring at the men as if she held them personally responsible for the turn of events. Treize made no comment to the reporting soldiers, instead he turned to Millardo.

"It seems that you have been telling me the truth," Treize said, "Although I would be interested in discovering just how you came by your information."

Millardo raised an eyebrow. "I am a traveller, I collect information as I go," he said, "And I find battle fascinating. I am interested to see how you react to this turn of events," he nodded towards the men in the camp, "as are, I suspect, your remaining warriors."

Treize did not spare a glance at the men but remained staring at Millardo, his eyes narrowed and considering. Une watched him closely too and Millardo began to feel uncomfortable with their dual gazes. Then Treize's gaze flicked behind Millardo as sounds of disgruntled mutterings of more scouts arriving back could be heard.

Millardo could not resist taunting Treize a little more "It seems that your men are not entirely happy with the situation they are in."

Treize called over to the men who had just returned. "You there! Report!" he demanded.

But before they could utter a word another group entered the camp. The mutterings of the men stopped as they all observed Wufei lead three women towards Treize. Millardo felt his mouth go dry as he saw one was Lucrezia carrying their son close to her chest in a protective stance.

She stood tall and proud, her eyes flickering over the men in the camp assessing numbers and potential dangers. When her eyes met his they widened slightly, then moved on quickly. He felt pride that she was collected enough not to give any sign that she knew him although he knew that her mind must be reeling with the shock of finding him here. As was his at finding her led to Treize's camp rather than safe and secure in Heero Yuy's stronghold.

Millardo forced his own eyes away from her with difficulty. After their time apart he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and touch her, comfort her and make her safe. He wanted to demand of her just what in the hell she was doing here, what had happened to make her disregard his orders to remain in the villa. Instead he stared at Wufei feeling hate well inside him that this man dared to bring his wife into such danger.

"Treize, this woman wants to meet with you," Wufei said, gesturing behind him.

So preoccupied was he with finding his wife suddenly come to the camp he had ignored the other women in the party. Millardo almost swore out loud as he looked behind Wufei to see his sister standing there. And now he knew why his wife had left the stronghold; Lucrezia had followed Relena straight to the murderer of their father.

Relena pushed back the hood of her cloak and stood as tall as her slight height would allow. She gazed at Treize calmly before speaking in a clear and strong voice.

"I am Relena Peacecraft," she said, "I believe that you have been searching for me."

Treize's look of surprise was mirrored by his Shaman. He recovered quickly and walked up to the girl, cupping her chin with his hand he tilted her head to the left and right examining her closely, before he grinned broadly.

"Indeed I have," he replied, "Indeed I have."

The Shaman's look of surprise turned to a look of dazed confusion as Treize continued to examine Relena pushing back her cloak to look at her figure, running his hand through her hair, before lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing it.

Millardo clenched his fists in anger. Watching Treize assess his sister as if she was a slave for sale almost pushed him over the edge. However, he knew just how much danger all of them were in at this moment; warbands from surrounding Kingdoms were about to bear down on them. There was little or no protection for them out in the open, it was important that he get Relena, Lucrezia and the babe as far away as possible as quickly as possible. If he did not there was every chance of him witnessing the slaughter of the remainder of his family.

Why were they here? What was Relena thinking of? Why had Heero let her go? Millardo frowned thinking of the Mercian Prince.

Heero Yuy had once again demonstrated his inability to protect Relena and for this Millardo would never forgive him. If by some miracle he was able to get Relena and Noin out of Treize's clutches, he would take them both far away where they would all be safe as a family.

Millardo silently swore an oath that Heero Yuy would never be allowed to have possession of Relena again.

* * * *

"I am Relena Peacecraft. I believe you have been looking for me."

The words tumbled out of her mouth sounding confidant and assured. Inside, however, Relena felt sick to her stomach as she looked at the man who she was giving herself to in the name of peace.

Treize Kushrinada was an elegant man, tall and well built. His clothes were clean and neat in direct comparison to those mudsplattered men who served under him. His hair was fair and tied back in a small thong at the base of his skull. Relena had to admit to herself that he was very good looking. But he was a little too neat. She could not help but think that he would look so much better if his hair was a little less tidy and perhaps a little darker and if his eyes were a dark stormy blue.

He moved towards her smiling broadly. "Indeed I have, indeed I have," he said reaching out and touching her face, tilting it up so that she had to look him at him directly.

His hand was icy cold and it made shiver. There seemed to be no warmth about this man at all, even his eyes were cold despite the smile on his face. She almost sighed in relief as he released her, only to stiffen again as he pulled open her cloak and inspected her body.

Relena felt mortified by the inspection, but stood her ground as he walked around her touching her hair as if he was assessing whether she was a suitable purchase. She looked away from Treize trying to ignore what he was doing and found herself looking at Wufei. The warrior was starring at Treize with a look of outrage on his face as if he too could not believe that Treize would assess Relena like she was livestock.

Finally Treize stood before her once again. He reached down and grasped her hand pulling it up to his cold lips and kissed her.

Apparently he found her acceptable.

Relena frowned a little and resisted the urge to pull her hand away from his mouth and wipe it on her dress. Instead, when he had released her, she folded her hands neatly in front of her. She watched as his gaze flicked to her two companions. His eyes narrowed a little as he saw Sally and immediately Relena spoke.

"I am willing to wed you and grant you the High Kings throne but only on two conditions."

Treize looked back at her, his eyebrow rising.

"Conditions?" he said softly, "Do you think you are in a position to demand conditions?"

Relena clenched her hands together tightly, but continued. "You will withdraw from Mercia immediately and cease this war. And you will not harm my companions."

Again Treize glanced at Sally who stared back at him coldly. Turning back to Relena he questioned her again.

"Why do you think you are in a position to demand conditions? You have come unguarded into my camp. There is nothing to stop me taking both you and Mercia."

Relena could not help but frown. "I have been told that you are a man of honour," she said feeling all control of the situation slipping from her fingers, "Your cousin-" she was interrupted by his laugh.

"Ah, Dorothy!" he exclaimed, "That explains it." He looked around the camp, "So where is the brat?" he asked.

"...she follows..." Relena murmured feeling more and more out of her depth.

She looked about herself trying to regain her bearings. Beside Treize stood a woman, a holy woman by the look of the symbols she carried around her neck. Relena instantly thought of Quatre and fleetingly wondered if he was alright before pondering whether this woman could be her ally and friend as Quatre had been.

The woman, however, looked dazed and unhappy. She was staring at Treize with a strange longing in her eyes and Relena wondered if she loved him. If so then she would look upon Relena as competition and Relena knew that she would find no help from her.

Wufei stood back, his arms crossed and his face lowered. He did not look at anything other than his feet and Relena wondered what he was thinking. His earlier anger seemed to have disappeared and he was now ignoring the whole proceedings. As much as Sally seemed to trust the warrior, Relena thought that she would receive little help from him.

The other men all seemed to be leering at her, laughing at their good fortune at having captured the Peacecraft heir without themselves going into battle. Relena's eyes darted around the camp wondering if she would be able to appeal to any that where there. And then her eyes alighted on a tall blond man who stood completely still and was staring directly at her.

For a moment she thought that she must be dreaming, and she resisted her inclination to rub her eyes. After blinking a couple of times and finding that his image did not melt away she realised that Zechs Marquis was indeed standing before her. Her eyes widened and she was about to call out his name when she realised that he was watching her with a cold warning look in his eyes.

A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind. Why was he there? Was he a captive? The warriors around him did not seem to be guarding him; they paid him little attention. So in all probability he was not a captive, but rather he was their ally. And if he was working with Treize, Relena doubted that he would aid her either. She felt a peculiar disappointment well up in her throat as she concluded that Zechs would not be her rescuer this time.

Relena turned back to Treize. It was up to her to get herself and her companions out of this mess.

"I will give myself to you only on those two condition," she repeated. "If you do not agree, I will leave."

Treize laughed out loud, but Relena ignored him and continued.

"If you do not permit me to leave, I will make it known to the other Kings and the church that you have forced me into marriage. Whilst the Kings might tolerate this, the church will not. Lindsey is, I believe, predominately Christian despite you following other religions," she gestured towards the Holy woman at Treize's side. "I am sure that your income is enhanced by agreements with Rome. If it came to their knowledge that you forced a nun to wed..." she trailed off watching him closely.

Relena was not sure that Lindsey had agreements with the church, but it seemed likely given Lindsey was both a mixture of Pagan and Christian beliefs. And by the way Treize's eyes narrowed slightly, she felt sure that she had guessed correctly.

Before he could reply there came a sudden warning cry, cut off abruptly. All eyes turned to the boundary of the camp where another shout of alarm took up after the first. The warriors as one all grasped the pommels of their swords, a few moving forward towards where the warning cries came from.

Relena felt her arm being grasped by Treize's hand and she was pulled back closer to him. Glancing up at him, she saw that his eyes were narrowed and alert and he scanned the edge of their camp for movement.

"It seems that this interesting discussion will have to be continued later on," he said, pushing her behind him. He pulled his own sword out and moved a couple of paces forward.

Movement could be seen around the circumference of the camp, and Relena realised that they had been surrounded. For a moment, her heart leapt as she thought of Heero's reaction to finding her in the midst of battle, but then as the first of the attacking warriors cleared the trees she realised her mistake.

These were not Mercians; their hair was cropped short to their heads, and their tunics were made of animal skins. Their shields were circular with a large brass boss in the centre, which shone brightly. Relena did not know from which region they came, but it was suddenly apparent to her that not only Mercia and Linsey were fighting over her.

She felt her arm being taken again and looked up to see that Zechs Marquis was at her side holding her close, his other hand firmly grasped by Noin who clutched her baby close and looked about her warily. He watched as the Lindsey warriors took up their battle cry and launched themselves at their attackers, Treize fighting along side his men. Relena expected Zechs to follow suit, but instead found that he was pulling her towards the right where the battle was less intense.

"What in God's name is going on?" Sally's strained voice came from behind. "Why is Sussex here?"

"They all seek the prize," Zechs murmured, "Although they will not get it. All they will get is a lesson in the futility of war."

Relena felt her stomach turn. She was the prize, and Kings were willing to sacrifice the lives of their men to gain her.

Zechs let go of her and Noin and drew forth his own sword. Before them Lindsey and Sussex traded blows. Zechs strode forth, swinging his sword biting deep into the back of a Sussex man. His Lindsey opponent grinned his thanks before he too was pierced by Zech's weapon.

Relena held a hand up to her mouth as she watched Zechs hack at all those who stood in his path regardless of which side they fought for. By his actions it was clear to Relena that Zechs was not affiliated with Treize despite her earlier conclusion. But it was equally obvious that the Lindsey warriors considered that he was one of their own. They did not guard themselves from his attacks, and each one fell with a similar look of shock permanently engraved on his face. So engrossed in their own battles, not one of them saw their death approach in the form of Zechs until it was too late.

Bile rose in Relena's throat as she watched him work his way forward.

"He does it for us!" Noin said softly, her voice slightly unsteady as if she was not sure of her own statement. "He does it to give us freedom," she said again.

"Well, God helps those who help themselves!" Sally muttered, brandishing a hefty looking branch of wood that she had picked up from somewhere. She looked about herself, her eyes narrowed and wary for danger. Nudging Relena and Noin forward, she exclaimed. "Follow the man! It is time that we were gone from here!"

Relena could not help but agree. Her attempts to sway Treize to a peaceful conclusion to the war had failed miserably; it would have been better that she had never left the safe confines of the villa. She moved forward with the other two women, stepping over the bodies of the dying and dead, trying to ignore the groans of pain that came from bloodied lips.

Bending down, Sally retrieved a sword from the lifeless fingers of one warrior, and thrust the length of wood into Relena's hands, before moving forward to get closer to where Zechs was still carving his bloody path.

A hand suddenly grasping Relena around the ankle had her toppling forward onto her hands and knees. The grass about her was wet and slippery and pulling her hands up to her face she saw that they were covered in blood. Twisting around, she gasped as she saw that a prone young boy held her ankle, his skin white from blood loss, his eyes wide and full of pain.

"Help me..." he whispered, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth trailing down his chin and his grip of her ankle increasing.

Relena bit her lip and moved as close to him as she could, ignoring the fact that she crawled in blood and gore. He lay on his front, his cloak over him like a blanket, his head twisted to one side, his lips moving as he continued to whisper pleas for help. Relena lifted the cloak to see if she could aide him and could not help but gasp as she saw the wound that had all but killed the lad.

His side was open, and she realised that she knelt in his life's blood; there was nothing that could be done to save this boy. She reached down and stroked his hair away from his face in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. And as she did so, he breathed his last, his lips becoming motionless as his whispers stopped.

Reaching down, she pulled his fingers from her ankle sniffing back tears that threatened to spill over down her cheeks. How many of the warriors lying dead around here were as young as this boy had been? How many were fighting at this very moment for the sake of a title and power that their Kings lusted after. How many more would die today?

She looked up to see Zechs fell yet another man, an arc of blood trailing after his flashing sword. Had he killed this boy? Was he the one that had cut his side open? Relena got to her feet unsteadily, observing that her skirt was now red and wet, sticking to her legs. Sally was at her side, pulling on her arm urging her to move forward, whilst Noin was watching Zechs her mouth stretched in a warning cry as men from both Lindsey and Sussex advanced; both sides realising that Zechs was attacking both.

Zech's face turned grimmer as he held his blade high and ready, his long blond hair streaked with the red blood of his enemies. But before he could engage those advancing on him a whoop came from the trees and two figures emerged cutting a path through the men towards where Zechs, Relena and the other women stood.

Messy dark brown hair swung over cold blue eyes, lips pressed into a determined line, his sword flashing in the setting sun. Relena felt her knees go weak once again as she realised who it was.

...Heero...

His name slipped from her lips, soft and lost amidst the sounds of the battle, but he heard her and his eyes turned to her capturing her in his dark cold gaze. His eyes narrowed as he took in her blood covered hands and dress, and he turned back to his foe with renewed vigour, his mouth pulling into a snarl as he cut his way towards her.

Beside him was Trowa, whose movements were elegant but deadly. He seemed to glide through the battle, men falling to the ground in his wake. His face was calm as he fought, glancing towards where Relena stood and moving towards her with practised ease. His calmness seemed to make Heero's fighting style even more passionate.

Zechs scowled to see Heero, and fell back a few paces so that he was within arms length of Relena and Noin. As Heero approached, Zechs stood firmly in front of Relena, his mouth pulled into a sneer.

Heero panted heavily from the effort of fighting and he glared back at Zechs. "Give her to me!" he demanded.

Zechs pointed his sword at Heero's chest. "I warned you. You have allowed Relena to be in great danger. You have forfeited any right you had to her," he said, "She stays with me!"

He walked forward a pace, and Heero lifted up his sword, hitting Zech's sword to one side with a metallic clank.

"She comes with me!" Heero grated out again, as Zechs settled into a fighting stance.

"You cannot have her!" Zech growled back.

Relena made to move forward, but Noin pulled her back shaking her head. "Its too dangerous to come between them," she said, her own face worried and concerned as she watched the two men face each other, assessing each others strengths.

"She is correct," Trowa was at her side, "But it is too dangerous to stay here," he gestured towards the tree line, "Follow me."

He moved forward, picking his way over bodies. It was only when he moved forward that Relena realised that he was holding firmly onto the arm of the holy woman that had been by Treize's side only minutes earlier. The woman allowed herself to be pulled forward, her eyes dazed as they had been earlier and when Relena had first seen her.

Relena followed Trowa, her eyes on Zechs and Heero as they stood staring at each other on the battlefield. Their voices carried clear to her as she moved away, terse and angry arguing over who should have possession of her. She felt herself tense at the thought that they, too, would argue over her as if she was a toy.

Abruptly Zechs swung his sword at Heero, putting his weight behind the stroke. Heero blocked it, but the way he stepped back a pace betrayed the fact that Zechs had dealt a hefty blow. Before he could recover and retaliate, Zechs swung again and all Heero could do was block again, his face grimacing at the jarring the swords contact with his own blade gave to his arm.

As she watched, Relena suddenly saw the features of the dead boy superimposed upon Heero's face. She imagined Zechs sword coming down past the boy's defences and cutting into his side, before pulling away slick with blood.

She blinked, clearing her vision to see that it was indeed Heero before her and that he was holding his own against Zechs. Zechs was grunting as he swung his sword again and again. Relena thought back to when she had first encountered him and how she had thought of him as a romantic figure; brave, strong and honourable. Now as she watched him she could only see his blade dipping into the young boy's side; she could only see him as a killer.

And this killer was fighting against Heero and had every intention of killing him. And Relena could not stand the thought. Before she knew what she was doing, she stretched out a blood covered hand in their direction.

"Kill him, Heero!" she cried.

Beside her, Noin and Sally froze in shock at her outburst. Trowa turned to look back at her, surprise clearly showing on his face whilst the priestess still looked blankly disinterested in anything.

Zechs froze at her voice, glancing at her briefly, the disbelief clear for anyone to read on his face. Heero heard her too, the slight hesitation in the swing of his blade giving that away. And then he attacked Zechs, his strokes now offensive causing Zechs to react defensively.

Noin's fingers bit into Relena's upper arm as she took a breath to shout encouragement to Heero once again. The older woman leaned close and hissed into Relena's ear.

"How could you! How could you wish your own brother dead!"

Relena choked. She turned to look at Noin, who stood staring at her earnestly. Relena looked at the blond man fighting now for his life, she looked back at Noin and then down at the baby strapped to her front. She felt the colour drain from her face as the epiphany of their identities suddenly came to her, crowding into her brain pushing out all other facts.

Her brother was alive!

"Lucrezia?" Relena whispered the word so softly that Noin would have to read her lips to understand what she said, "Lucrezia?" she repeated, not needing the confirmation Noin's swift nod gave her.

Her brother was alive!

He was alive, and he was fighting Heero - both were trying to kill each other.

Tearing herself away from Lucrezia's grip, she ran towards the two battling men, her shawl slipping from her head, her hair flying out behind her. Both men saw her at the same time, and paused in their sword play. Heero's eyes were startled and angry as she placed herself between them, holding her arms out wide. She faced Heero and put her heart and soul into her plea.

"Please stop this!" she said, turning her head slightly to see Zechs watching her with sad betrayed eyes. "I choose to be with Heero," she said, "I'm sorry.." she trailed off as Zechs shook his head.

Heero snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, and she could feel his ragged breathing hot against the side of her face.

"She chooses me!" he grated out to Zechs before he grabbed a fist full of her hair, pulling so her head tilted up. He bent down, capturing her lips in a crushingly hard kiss.

Relena knew that he was staking a claim over her, demonstrating to the man he had fought against that she belonged to Heero and not to Zechs. She ought to have been offended, angry at being so used in the middle of a battlefield, disgusted by the way he tasted of blood and sweat. Instead a glorious warmth blossomed in the middle of Relena's abdomen the moment his lips touched hers, and intensified into waves of pure bliss as the kiss deepened. Her hands involuntarily rose, tracing the contours of his chest, fisting the material of his tunic. When she felt his tongue flick along the inside of her lower lip, the heat flared even hotter and she felt his arm hold her even more securely as her own legs threatened to give way under her.

As Heero pulled his mouth away from hers, Relena found that she, too, was breathing hard and fast, her cheeks flushed and hot. His arm slid from her waist and grasped her hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand in a soft circular movement, possessive and comforting. Then he spoke again, his voice assured and confidant.

"She chooses me! She is mine!"