Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cynehelme ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Thank you so much for all your kind reviews ^^ Sorry that I didn't email you direct this time (those that left email addresses), but I had a close encounter with a hot air gun when stripping some paint and typing was a little painful for a while ^^

Im curious as to what you think about the length of the chapters; one reviewer thought they ought to be shorter. Personally, I like long chapters but I can understand why people don't. It would be easy for me to chop the chapters in half if that is what most people want, so please let me know ^^

Again, special thanks to Iris Anthe for doing a wonderful job beta reading for me ^^

Cynehelme

by kmf

Warning: AU

Rating: PG13

Standard Disclaimer applies

Chapter Seven

After Wufei had landed the blow, Trowa had known nothing until being brought to consciousness by water trickling on his head. As his sight gradually resolved itself to fine focus, he found himself being tended to by a lovely young woman, her dark hair loose around her shoulders, her eyes dreamy, but with a hint of concern, her mouth lifted in a small smile. The smile widened as she realised that he could now focus on her and she had knelt back to regard him. He then saw that around her waist she wore objects of power and knew that she was a Shaman.

"My Lord" she called "he awakes!" twisting her head around to the darkness of the night. A man had then joined her, tall and elegant, his face strangely familiar.

"Your name?" the man demanded.

Trowa, seeing no need to keep his name a secret, told him. The man smiled slightly.

"Trowa, I am Treize Kushrinada, King of Lindsey," he said, rubbing his chin trying to assess Trowa's reaction to his name. Trowa who had suspected that was who he was said nothing keeping his face impassive. "And I need some information from you. Where is my princess?" he asked.

Trowa remained silent and Treize made a gesture. Immediately Sally was brought over held firm by the grim faced Wufei. Treize made no threats, but his meaning was apparent; answer the questions or the woman gets hurt. Trowa's eyes narrowed. He had no desire to cause Sally any harm, nor did he wish to give information away to the enemy. Wufei's look was easily read. He demanded that Trowa pay back the life debt that he had to Sally, she had after all saved his life. Was this how he intended to repay her?

Finally Trowa answered, considering that Heero would have travelled far enough ahead now so that it would be difficult for Treize to catch them up. "She is with Heero Yuy."

Treize nodded, satisfied that Trowa was not lying. "So, she is with the Prince." he said, looking towards Sally as she involuntarily gasped. "Ah, I see the Prince was not forthcoming with his title to you, my dear. And I suppose he said that I was just out to use the Princess for my personal gain." he smiled "Well, I think you understand now that that is exactly what the young prince is doing."

Trowa felt a cup of water pressed to his mouth and found that the Shaman had brought him a drink. He allowed himself to swallow the cold clear water, grateful as his throat had felt sore. She smiled again at him, running her hand through his thick brown hair before moving away to stand by her Lord.

"And they are heading directly for Mercia?" Treize asked smiling again "And I wager that you believe we would never catch them in time. Tell me, Trowa. Was there a young woman with them? Dorothy Catalonia?" Treize laughed a little at the look that was clear on both Trowa's and Sally's faces. He knew that they had suddenly spotted the similarities between Treize and Dorothy; the distinctive eyebrows that marked that they were related. "I am sure that my cousin will do a fine job in delaying them enough for us to make up time and catch them. You two will both travel with us, I have a feeling that you will both come in useful. "Treize turned to his men "Get ready! We ride at once"

* * * *

They had been travelling for several days and each day Heero insisted that he carry Relena Peacecraft with him on his horse. He did not trust the nun Dorothy, not since she had managed to evade his men and get herself lost in the snow with Relena. In fact he was sure that she had shown great cunning in gradually letting her horse drift away and turn back the way they had come.

Heero did not know the reason why. She had been willing enough to come with Relena, and had in fact insisted upon it. If he did no know better, he would have thought she meant to ransom her companion. But were not nuns above worldly possessions? Heero shook his head. He knew little about Christianity, and understood less why a woman would want to secret herself away from men and live a celibate life.

He allowed himself to peer down at the girl in his arms, allowing himself to smile a little. She was asleep again. It seemed that whenever she rode with him, wrapped up in her warm shawl, she would always slip away into dreams. It touched him that she seemed to trust him enough to allow herself to lean in to him and let her eyes close. He wondered why she was so tired during the day, perhaps she was not as well as he thought. He lifted a hand, removing the glove so that he could touch her forehead. It was a little warm, but then she was wrapped in significant layers in an effort to protect her from the cold day.

Relena murmured a little as he touched her, causing him to pull back his hand in alarm. It would not do for her to wake suddenly and find him caressing her face, it would just frighten her. She breathed deeply, pushing her face close to his chest before sighing and slipping back into the deep sleep. Again Heero allowed himself to smile as he put his glove back on.

If he was honest with himself, this was exactly the reason why he would not allow her to travel with any of the other men; especially not Duo. The thought of her sleeping in another mans arms made his heart pound in irritation and his hands go sweaty. It was bad enough that she talked so easily with Duo when they rested the horses or at meal times. But the thought of her pressing her body close to Duo's made him want to reach for his sword. Perhaps it was time to tell her that Duo was betrothed to Hilde and that by flirting with Relena, Duo dishonoured all three of them.

Heero blew an irritating piece of hair out from his eyes, loathed to let go of his charge. He wouldn't tell her, he couldn't tell her. He had scarcely spoken to her at all since they started riding together. It was not that he didn't want to, but he was not one for mindless chatter about weather, scenery and such. She was not either, instead had asked him about himself, the kingdom he was from and his family. All questions he could not answer.

He did not want to tell her that he was the Prince of Mercia, son of King Odin. He knew that if he did, she would instantly treat him differently. She would realise that in all probability Heero was not bringing her back to Mercia to protect her, but rather to wed her. Or even worse, for his father to wed her. King Odin was a peaceful man, but that did not mean he had no ambitions of his own. If presented the key to the High King's throne then of course King Odin would use it.

When first they had been sent out to retrieve the Princess, Heero paid no thought to the possibility that his father might intend to wed her. Nor had he thought of himself wedding her. This was the way that marriage occurred for royalty; love did not come into the equation. It was a matter of politics. But since meeting Relena, since the instant he had held her down and seen her flushed face scared and angry, seen the fire and intelligence in her eyes, seen her delicate beauty and seen the trust that she gave unquestioningly to him, his heart had changed. He cared now and it made his heart freeze to think of what would show in her beautiful eyes when she found out exactly who he was.

That was why he ignored most of her questions. That was why any he answered were grunted yes or no answers. He wanted to put off the moment of her realisation as long as he could. He wanted to distance himself as much as possible from her so that when she did find out, the betrayal in her eyes would not crush him. He wanted not to be in love with her.

And he was very afraid that it was too late.

* * * *

Dorothy was becoming very fed up with the daily grind of travelling into Mercia. She was ignored by the entire warband by day. All of them, she supposed, were irritated that she had managed to out manoeuvre them on the snowy day. Her eyes gleamed in remembrance; she had almost managed to get the Princess away. Another hour or two and she would have been back in the abbey woods and safely on her way to Treize.

She knew that Treize was close. She could sense it, taste it even. That and the scout Trowa had not yet returned from delivering Sally to the abbey. Of course, she was not the only one to have noticed that. Duo in particular was forever back tracking, carefully making sure that they were not being closely pursued. Dorothy wanted to snort in laughter each time he urged his horse back along the trail. She knew that the warband would never know that Treize was there until he was on top of them.

But still, she felt that she could not wait much longer to free herself of these idiot men. They travelled lightly, bringing the barest minimal rations for survival, supplementing this with what they could forage. So far that had been the odd ancient squirrel that Dorothy swore were crispy before even they were placed over the flames on a spit. No one listened to her grumbles though, except of course Relena. When Dorothy had declared that she would rather starve than eat squirrel, Duo had plucked the meat from her hands and downed it in one and Heero had murmured 'starve then' to her.

Relena, however, had slipped Dorothy her own portion of cheese and dried meat and had whispered her sympathy when they bedded down together at night. Out of the trees there were no resources to make a sound little hut for them to sleep in. Instead, on the tops of the downs they had to make do with sheltered hallows and cairns erected there for the sole purpose of sheltering travellers.

Dorothy and Relena still slept alone, this much Dorothy insisted on. Not, of course, to protect the princess's virginity. But rather because Dorothy needed the time to try and convince her that going with Heero was not a good idea. Any delay that Dorothy managed to create would only aid Treize in his pursuit and bring Dorothy her much needed wealth and comfort that much sooner.

She worked slyly. She insinuated that she had heard rumours about who Heero was. She hinted, but she did not come out and say that he was the prince. That Relena must learn direct from Heero or his men. Dorothy would then act surprised and horrified and point the finger saying that Heero had tried to dupe Relena. That way Relena must most certainly feel betrayed to the fullest extent and no longer want to travel with Heero. If he lied to her about his status, perhaps he had lied to her about who killed her father. That way Relena would turn to Treize, pliant and obedient relieved to be saved from the monster that Heero Yuy was.

Dorothy encouraged Relena to talk to Duo, for two reasons. The first was that it irritated Heero exceedingly, enough reason to cause Dorothy great joy. The second was that Duo most certainly had a loose tongue. He talked, skirting around certain subjects, but giving much too much away about others. Duo spoke of the king with fondness and familiarity giving away that he knew him well. He told Relena that he had been fostered as a child into Heero's father's house and from that Relena ascertained that Heero also knew the king well. He told her of Mercia, of its religions, its strengths and its weaknesses.

Relena also tried to talk to Heero and Dorothy was delighted when she saw that Heero would not answer, instead focussing on the horizon as if he wished he could travel as swiftly as possible to their destination and be rid of her. The time was so close. Soon all would be revealed and she and Relena would leave this rag tag band of men and flee to the safety that was Treize Kushrinada.

* * * *

By the end of the third day the landscape had changed. The chalk downs were giving way to more fertile land that was used for arable farming. As they trotted past farmsteads, people would peer out uncertainly from within their little circular hut homes. When they ascertained that the horsemen posed no threat, they would emerge and wave to them calling greetings and offering help and lodgings if needed. Towards the end of the day Duo urged his horse up next to Heero's. Relena instantly felt Heero's arm tighten around her possessively, but after another day of silence she was eager to hear a friends voice.

"Heero, do you plan to stop at a farmstead tonight?" Duo asked, "It would be more comfortable fare than camping out under the stars again." he looked wistfully behind him to the last dwelling they had gone by, its occupants friendly and generous. They had given over two skins of ale, which were now being carefully carried by one of the men.

"No." Heero shook his head. "We will burden no one with our upkeep tonight."

Relena could not help the little sigh that escaped from her lips. As comfortable as she had been at night, she yearned to sleep inside a proper dwelling and eat fresh bread and meat rather than the dried fair she had been eating of late. Heero detected the sigh and frowned down at her disapproving.

"These people are poor and can ill afford to entertain us. They lose much due to raids, would you add to their burden?" he asked.

Relena pushed away from his chest so that she was sitting upright, and shook the cloak away from her head so that her vision of him was unimpeded. "That was the most I have heard from your mouth in three days," she said her eyes flashing crossly. "It seems a shame that when you do decide to talk to me it is to berate me." Heero blinked as she poked a finger into his chest "I did not know their circumstances, but it is harsh of you to think that I should know. I have asked you many times about Mercia and every time you have refused to answer. Do not think ill of me when I react out of ignorance that you helped to create." She crossed her arms and sat as far forward on the horse as she could.

Duo laughed "She has you there, brother" he said. "Come ride with me, fair Relena, and I will tell you all you want to know and more." he held his arms out for her, but Heero shook his head, grasping onto the back of her dress as she shifted.

Relena half twisted about to tell him off, but the stern look in his eyes froze the words on her tongue. He looked like he was about to berate her again, but then he lowered his eyes.

"I'm sorry." he grated.

Duo hooted in his surprise. "Sorry? That has to be the first time that I have ever heard you admit that you were in the wrong." Ignoring Heero's icy gaze, he grinned again "Come now Heero. Each farm we have gone by we have been given a bag of this and a haunch of that. We have more than enough food and drink with us now to make us no burden to any farmstead. Let us accept the next one that offers company so that we may feast tonight in celebration of returning safe to Mercia." He raised and eyebrow endearingly as he saw his foster brother falter.

Heero looked down at Relena, who looked back with a hopeful look in her eye. She gave him a small smile also in an attempt to look endearing. She nodded pointing over his shoulder and he turned to see the other men of the warband all looking equally as hopeful. Heero rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Very well." he said agreeing finally. "We will do as you ask. But for tonight only. We need to be on the road again early if we are to arrive home by tomorrow night."

Relena felt a sense of unease pervade her bones "Home?" she repeated.

Heero said nothing for a little while, instead adjusting his reins. "My home is on the way to the capital and the King." he said. "I thought that it would be a good place to stop."

Duo reached over and patted Relena's leg "You'll love it Princess. Part of it is an old Roman villa. There isn't much left now, but there is a working Roman bath," He sighed "Its the only one that still works that I know of, but Heero wont let me take it apart so I can work out how it works." he shrugged "I can't imagine why."

Relena couldn't help but laugh a little, but Heero was not impressed. He pulled on his rein to make his horse turn sharply and pull Relena's leg away from Duo's hand.

"A working roman bath?" Dorothy had walked her horse forward and was now opposite them "Sounds very royal." She said her eyes upon Relena.

Relena felt her heart sink. Whenever she began to feel comfortable and relaxed, Dorothy would remind her that she knew little of these people. And whenever Duo talked to her, Heero would gaze at her with his furious eyes as if she had made some great indiscretion.

She liked Duo. She liked him a lot. She had known him longer than all the others and whilst it had been as a woman, his personality had not greatly changed. Yes, he carried around a sword now instead of a rosary, but to her he was still the same person. Funny, caring and honest; almost a brother. In fact more of a brother than Millardo had been. She had more memories of Duo as Helen than she did of her father and brother combined. Why then was Heero so adamant that she should not talk to him?

Unless he was jealous?

Relena shook her head a little. Although she had next to no experience of relationships between men and women, she was convinced that Heero was not jealous. How could he be? Men who cared for women talked to them, didn't they? They told them of themselves and their hopes and dreams. Heero had not done that. Anything she had gleaned of Heero was through a third party.

The horse lurching under her startled Relena and she had to twist to grasp around Heero's waist to stop herself falling off. She had been so distracted by her musing that she failed to hear that the conversation had ended and Heero had signalled for the men to move on. Heero peered down at her his mouth twisted in a little smile as she peeled herself away from his chest.

"Dreaming again?" He asked an eyebrow raised as she blushed.

For once it was he who asked the question and she that refused to answer.

TBC

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