Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cynehelme ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

AN: Thank you very much for all the wonderful reviews! Seems that most of you were delighted to see Millardo enter the story. For those who were confused, all should become clear in this chapter.

A warning now; I wont be updating for a little while. I want to more or less finish this story before posting again to be sure that I am not creating any plot holes. Be assured, I will finish it (Im writing chapter 16 now). I promise! If you want to know when next I update, just add me to your author alerts. I subscribe to ff.net so you ought to get an email when the next chapter is up.

I love to get reviews, so do please let me know what you think of it all so far ^^

Cynehelme

by kmf

Rating: PG13

Warnings: AU

Standard Disclaimer Applies

Chapter Ten

Zechs Marquis led his horse quietly up a heavily wooded hill, mindful of any that might be watching his progress. There would not be many about on such a cold morning, but he would not take any chances. Being cautious had seen him preserve his life thus far; he was not about to throw it all away. Not when he had finally found his sister.

Near the top of the incline he halted. Before him was a little shack of a house, hastily constructed but sound enough to brave the inclement weather. It was partially sunk into the ground to afford better shelter and through the circular roof smoke issued forth. The wind was up so any trace disappeared before it drifted too far, but still it gave the huts position away to Zechs.

He tethered his horse up to a tree and approached the entrance carefully, his feet deliberately avoiding any stray twig or branch that might be in his way. At the entrance he stooped, his hand on his sword, and peered inside. Beside the fire lay a woman, small and dark. She lay on her side upon a rough woollen cloak. One arm was nested under her head, the other lay gentle over a bundle of clothes. Her dress laces were open revealing creamy swollen breasts.

Zechs entered the hut, a small smile on his face. Carefully he removed his cloak and then silently crouched beside the woman. The bundle in her arms began to squirm and little fists appeared reaching upwards, shaking in agitation. A wail issued forth, angry and high pitched before stopping only for a brief snatch of breath. The woman sleepily opened her eyes then scooped the bundle close to her chest, wincing as the babies hungry mouth latched on to her breast. The cries stopped and the woman gave a heartfelt sigh, closing her eyes again.

Zechs knelt behind her and lowered his head so that it was close to hers, then blew gently into her ear. Her eyes instantly snapped open, her arms holding the child to her protectively as she surged to a sitting position. The scream that had been on her lips faded as she saw who it was that had intruded into her little temporary home. Instead the child began to wail as it was startled into removing his mouth from his mother's nipple.

"Millardo!" The woman cried out in irritation, then at the warning frown he gave her bit her lip and amended herself "Zechs!" she paused to attach the baby once more, then threw herself into Zech's arms. "You scared me!"

Zechs chuckled, but didn't apologise. Instead, he luxuriated in holding his wife close to him, smelling the fragrance of her hair, and gazing down on the bald wonder that was his son. Dropping a kiss on her up turned lips he let her go and slowly caressed the cheek of the now contented child who was making wonderfully loud sucking noises.

"Sorry Lucrezia," He apologised, his mouth smiling at the small hands that reached forth to hold on to his mother.

"Did you find her?" Lucrezia Noin had always been a direct woman, and got straight to the point.

"Aye," Zechs nodded "But it was a close thing."

He stared into the flames of the small fire, watching them dance hungrily. Whenever he looked at fire now it always reminded him of the last day that his father was alive and when he, Millardo Peacecraft, was High Prince and heir to the Kingdom of Kent.

He and Lucrezia had been lucky that day. His father, sensing that his forces would not be able to repel the attack from Lindsey, had instructed Millardo to flee with Lucrezia who was heavily pregnant with their first child. Millardo had protested at first but then reluctantly agreed when his father told him in no uncertain terms just what would befall Lucrezia and their unborn child should they be caught.

As it was, they almost left it too late to escape the conflagration that once was the King's residence. Lucrezia could not move fast, so round and heavy with child, and on a number of occasions they had come very close to being detected by enemy patrols. From a distance they had huddled in a ditch and watched as their home was put to the torch, their people rounded up and made to swear new allegiance and questioned as to the whereabouts of the crown prince and his wife.

Most had pointed solemnly to the burning halls believing that he and Lucrezia had been trapped there and eventually Treize accepted that Millardo and his heir had died in the pyre that consumed the High King's body. And that suited Millardo at the time; his priority was to get his wife and child to safety before seeking the revenge he so desperately wanted to achieve.

The birth of his son had changed that. Lucrezia had walked bravely alongside her husband hiding the fact that she was in labour. When she had finally groaned in pain Millardo found to his amazement that the child had already nearly entered the world.

The new prince of Kent had an ignominious entrance into the world. Rather than being born in a well furnished chamber with experienced midwifes aiding the process, he was born in a ditch, his mother biting on a stick to suppress the need to vocalise her pain and his father the first to hold his bloody little form.

They had been extraordinarily lucky that neither mother nor child had taken ill from the experience, the boy had been large and strong pausing only in his cries to latch onto his mother's breast and suckle with vigour. It had been when Millardo had seen his first son in Lucrezia's arms that all thought of vengeance had flown. It had been replaced with the overwhelming need to keep them both safe. The baby would never be safe whilst he was heir to the High Kings throne; to Millardo's throne. So Millardo decided that he and his wife and child would remain dead to the world, they would take on new identities and thus would live a simpler and hopefully safer life.

He had, of course, forgotten about Relena.

He had not seen his only sister since she was a toddler, a tiny little blond thing with huge serious eyes. He had been upset when his father had sent her off to a nunnery, but his father had been adamant that he keep his dead wife's vow.

Millardo had been reminded of the girl when he dreamed of her one night as he and Lucrezia made their way secretively across the lands searching for a place where they could remain safe. She had still been a toddler, smiling up at him as if he was her hero. When he awoke he knew that he could not leave her to be taken by Treize Kushrinada.

Lucrezia had not protested. She had dutifully agreed to all his choices even though he could see that she did not always agree. She had not asked exactly what Millardo planned to do, which was just as well as Millardo himself was not sure. He could not, would not, risk the world knowing that he, his wife and his child were still alive. He would not put them at risk again. However, he needed to make sure that Relena was safe.

His first action was to steal a horse to enable them to move more swiftly. Millardo had felt guilty at doing such a thing, but justified it by observing that the owner of the horse had many others and was a rich man. Time was short and he could not waste time on morals.

Luck was with them once again when they happened upon Heero's warband travelling across the frozen landscape, two women with them. Millardo had crept close at night carefully evading the sentries that patrolled their camp, and had been relieved to see that one was indeed Relena. The other, he recognised as Dorothy Catalonia, a woman with a reputation of deviousness and cousin to Kushrinada himself.

Satisfied that Relena was safe, Millardo had returned to his wife and child safely encamped a little further on and reported to her what he had found. Millardo had felt anger that Mercia had claimed the woman, but then Lucrezia had pointed out that if Relena was now the Queen of Kent then someone was going to claim her. Unless, of course, Millardo was willing to announce to the world that he was in fact alive and well. Millardo had brooded about this all night. He wanted to protect his wife and child and he wanted to protect Relena. It seemed that he could not do both.

In the end he had decided that Mercia was a better choice than Lindsey was and that he would follow to ensure that Relena safely made it to the King of that land. He felt ill at ease that Dorothy Catalonia was travelling with them and had a foreboding feeling that nothing good would come of it.

And, of course, he had been proven correct.

Having found a little abandoned hut he had installed his wife and child there before going to check on his sister. He found his sister not where he expected her to be, safe and protected, but rather unconscious out in the cold. The irritation he felt towards Dorothy for attacking his sister was nothing compared to the irritation he felt towards Heero Yuy for allowing it to happen. He had almost refused to give Relena back to the man, and was completely serious about his warning. If Heero allowed anything else to happen to his sister, then Millardo would take Relena away from him.

"Stop scowling and tell me what happened." Lucrezia prodded him and he blinked rapidly realising that he had been staring too long into the flames and that his eyes were now dry. He did as his wife requested, expressing his worry that Heero might not be strong enough to protect her.

Lucrezia smiled a little as she unlatched the baby from her breast. She sat him on her knee, one hand supporting his chest and head whilst the other rubbed the child's back. The baby was asleep and made no protest other than frowning. "It seems to me that no one is strong enough to protect her other than you." The baby jerked a little at the sound of its mother's voice before letting loose a rather large belch. Its eyes flew open at the noise, before yawning and closing its eyes again. Lucrezia lifted him to her shoulder and he nuzzled into her neck. Again she patted his back as she talked. "Treize is unlikely to give up trying to claim her, even though she is now on Mercia land. This could lead to war."

Millardo sighed and nodded agreeing with her.

"By fleeing from our obligations we put many peoples lives at risk." she continued, looking at him solemnly. "I would not like to be responsible for any bloodshed."

Millardo took her hand in his "I will not put your life at risk again, Lucrezia." he said firmly "And any loss of blood would firmly lay on Treize Kushrinada's head."

Lucrezia squeezed his hand. "So then maybe you should ensure that Treize Kushrinada is no longer a threat."

* * * *

Relena stood and watched the stranger ride away, watching him fade into the greys and blacks of the night. She rolled his name in her mouth, startled by the strangeness of the sounds. There was something so familiar about him, yet she did not know what.

...Zechs Marquis...

Her musings were interrupted by a cold hand grasping on to her arm pulling her so that she spun around. Heero stared down at her, his blue eyes raking over her assessing her for damage. He frowned at what he saw.

Blushing, Relena bought a dirty hand up to her equally dirty face trying to wipe some more of the mud off. Even though she had no control over her current state she felt embarrassed to be seen this way; her face little cleaner than a beggars, her robe torn and, she suddenly realised, one leather slipper was now missing. Her foot cold as ice, she lifted it from the snowy ground attempting to balance on her one shod foot without being obvious about it.

He said nothing, only gently raised his hands and felt the back of her head. Relena winced as he made contact with the bump that Dorothy had inflicted upon her. His hand moved through her hair, ignoring its knotted dirty state, and traced her jaw line; his touch so light that it was almost non-existent. She thought that at any moment he would explain why he had kept the truth of his status from her, give her a reason why he had deceived her. And at that moment any reason he could give would have satisfied her; she just needed to hear the words.

But still he said nothing.

Finally his hands dropped away. Relena breathed a sigh of relief tinged with disappointment before breaking eye contact with him. Why was it that he refused to speak to her even now when she knew all that there was to know? Eager to distance herself from the awkwardness she felt towards Heero, she turned to see if Zechs was still visible. He wasn't, the night had swallowed up all trace of him as if he had never been there.

Heero took the opportunity to retrieve his horse, leading it to her. After breathing a few words into the horse's ear to keep it still, he lifted her up so that she was sitting upon it. He then climbed up himself and placed his arms around her to steady her. He was not warm as Zechs had been, his clothes felt icy in the night air and she realised that he did not have the benefit of a cloak.

A cough welled up once more in Relena's throat, which she tried to suppress. Unfortunately, it was too much for her and she soon found herself doubled over coughing hard, her eyes watering. No comforting hand this time rubbed her back. Indeed, Heero seemed to ignore her. Instead of aiding her he urged his horse into a walk.

Still he said nothing.

Finally, when her spasm had receded she could not maintain the silence any longer. Biting her lip, she asked croakily "Are you angry with me?"

She felt herself shake slightly in anticipation of the answer. He certainly looked angry. But the answer, when it came, was negative.

"No," he said.

There was a pause, Relena felt the silence oppressive and she shivered again. He tightened his arms around her as if he was trying to give her as much of his warmth as he could. She bit her lip, wincing at the gritty taste it gave her. Bowing her head, she asked him another question.

"Am I to marry your father?" she asked.

Heero's arms tightened around her even more. For a moment he did not speak. She could not see his expression, her lap was suddenly far to interesting to look up from.

"If that is what he wishes," Heero said, his voice rough and angry.

Relena knew that she was pushing him, but she had to ask a third question.

"Is it what you want?"

This time there was no response.

* * * *

Duo's head hurt. Badly. Without opening his eyes he lifted his hands to his head and cradled it gently. Experimenting he let out a groan, which instantly made his head throb.

"Gods," he thought, "What was in that beer?"

Attempting to return to the comforting state of unconsciousness, he tried to blank his mind but the sensation of something hugging his back prevented him from achieving that blessed state. Mind muzzy and tongue thick, he tried to work out who or what would be embracing him.

The sudden remembrance of his declaration for Relena made his eyes snap open.

Mistake!

He closed them quickly and waited for the pain to abate a little. Another groan came from his mouth, this time unbidden. He had told Relena he loved her and, given the fact that she was cuddling into his back, she had returned the feeling. What was he going to tell Heero? More importantly what was he going to tell Hilde?

He felt sick. Not just due to the hangover he was experiencing. Why on earth did he tell Relena that he loved her? To a certain extent it was true; he had never met before such a kind and caring woman. She was beautiful, her long pale hair and clear eyes would tempt any man. And Duo had allowed himself to be drawn to her, despite the fact that he was betrothed to Hilde.

...Hilde...

For some reason an image of her dressed as a lad came into his addled brain. He grinned at the thought; the idea was just too cute. Unfortunately moving the muscles in his face made his head feel like it was about to fall apart again and rather than groan this time he whimpered feeling very sorry for the mess that he was in.

Movement sounded behind him and the warmth of the body holding him was gone. Duo willed himself to stay as still as possible as he felt a hand caress his head. Let her think I'm asleep, he willed over and over again. He was unready to confront the now probably not so innocent eyes of Relena Peacecraft. The caress was withdrawn and Duo could hear her moving away. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He did not feel strong enough to talk to her straight away. How was he going to explain this situation? As much as he adored her, she was not destined for him. She was to be Queen of Britain and in all probability Heero was to be her husband. Duo grimaced anticipating what Heero's reaction was going to be. Heero had staked his claim over the young princess for anyone to see and of course by doing so he had made Relena unattainable and just so much more attractive in Duo's eyes.

And what was he going to say to Hilde? How was he to explain to the woman he had loved since childhood that he had declared himself to another? She would not understand his weakness and he did not think she would forgive him either. After all, they were betrothed; they had promised each other that they would wed in the near future. If he had found that Hilde had suddenly declared herself to some man, he would be horrified. He would feel betrayed and disappointed. If he found that she had slept with another man, Duo would probably take great pleasure in beating the crap out of him.

Duo couldn't help the third groan. What on earth was he going to do to resolve this situation. He couldn't bear the thought of either girl's eyes; both hurt and betrayed, both accusing him of lying to them.

Sounds came from outside the hall and a shout of alarm from a sentry alerting the warband of trouble. Around him Duo heard other groans, which almost made Duo smile. At least he wasn't the only one sporting a hangover this morning. Pushing himself up to a sitting position, he scratched an itch in his hair before gradually opening his eyes. What he saw made him blink in surprise and shock.

Sitting cross-legged before him, a grin on her face, was Hilde. Dressed as a lad. Just as he imagined. She thrust a tankard of something hot to him, which he accepted without question, unable to take his eyes off her.

"Hilde?" he asked when he could make his mouth work, ignoring the pounding in his skull scarcely able to believe his eyes. He looked down at the brew he held and saw bark swimming around in the liquid.

"You don't remember, do you?" Hilde's expression was wry. "That doesn't surprise me, you seemed to have drunk the hall dry by the time I arrived last night," she nodded at the drink he held. "Drink it all down now, its willow bark tea and it will help the sore head I am sure you are experiencing."

Duo obeyed, sipping the bitter brew half an ear on the voices that were outside. His eyes never left Hilde "Was that you...?" he asked his voice low and thin even to his ears.

"Holding you?" Hilde smiled gently "Touching you?" she lent closer, her lips dangerously close to his ear "Kissing you?" she breathed softly. She gave him a punch on the arm as she leaned back and glared at him. "Just who else would it be, Duo Maxwell?" she demanded loudly.

Duo winced, his head exploding with her loud words. If there was a God, he wished that He would grant him a swift death.

"Duo!" a man called into the hall, his voice loud and demanding Duo's attention.

"Sorry Hilde," Duo placed the cup back in Hilde's hands, swiftly pressing a kiss to her lips "Duty calls!" he got to his feet unsteadily and weaved his way to the door, narrowing his eyes against the early dawn light which he considered to be remarkably bright.

Outside, Heero's horse was being saddled and bridled. Heero stood next to it, accepting a cloak and provisions from another man. Next to him was Relena, shivering in the morning air and occasionally coughing. She was a sorry bedraggled figure, her face dirty, her hair in tangles, and her gown crumpled and soiled.

"What happened?" Duo was instantly alert, removing his own cloak and wrapping it around the girl who had started to cough. She smiled her thanks to him.

"You are forever surrendering your cloak to me," she murmured her smile bright and brave.

Heero glared at Duo, and put the cloak in his hands about his own shoulders. "Relena and I ride at once for my villa," he said.

Duo suppressed the groan he wanted to mutter; he had no wish to ride hard just yet especially when he was still recovering from the after effects of the heady brew consumed the night before. Heero saw his look and smirked.

"You follow as soon as the troops are ready. Do a sweep to make sure that Treize's men are not near by. If they are, deal with them. I would not leave this village unprotected."

"What-?" Duo started to ask again, but Heero had turned to strap the provisions to his saddle.

"I will not stay and risk Relena being taken again. Treize is close, I can feel it. She will be safer in a stronghold than out in the open," Heero turned to Relena and lifted her up into the saddle.

"Dorothy Catalonia is Treize's cousin," she said between coughs.

Duo watched as Heero climbed up into the saddle beside her. Of course, it made sense now. He had known that there was some element of mystery behind Dorothy. There had been rumours in the nunnery that she had caused someone great offence and that was the reason why she was placed there. And Duo knew from the way she had glared at him when he mentioned it that there was an element of truth in it. He frowned, forcing his hangover-impeded head to work the facts out. His eyes widened.

"Where is she now?" he asked and Heero shrugged. Duo shook his head "Listen, Heero. If she is Treize's cousin, then that raiding party - the one led by Dermail-"

Heero held his hand up. "I know, Duo," he said forestalling his foster brother's words. Relena twisted in his arms looking puzzled, but as usual Heero ignored her questioning looks.

"Heero, take some men with you for protection. Dorothy is a sly one," Duo tried to talk reason into the man who seemed determined to ignore him.

"We will move faster alone. I will meet you at the villa tomorrow," Heero said, before nodding at Duo "Take care of Hilde. You might want to try explaining to her again why it is not a good idea to travel alone; now that you are less drunk."

Duo turned his head to see that Hilde was at his side. She was grinning up at Heero as she grasped Duo's hand in hers. Duo turned back to Heero and saw that Relena was staring at Hilde, her eyes wide and curious. She gave a little smile to him before Heero urged his mount away.

He watched them ride away, Heero's cloak swirling in the dim morning light and he could not but sigh in relief. He had not slept with Relena Peacecraft. True, he had made a declaration of his love for her, but it seemed to him by her gentle expression that she had taken it for what it was; the drink declaring a thing that should never have been said. He grinned slightly, congratulating himself on getting out of what could have been a rather messy situation.

Hilde poked him in the ribs. "Who was that girl?" she demanded.

Duo winced.

Or maybe not…

tbc