Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cynehelme ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Cynehelme

by kmf

Rating: PG13

Warnings: AU

Standard Disclaimer Applies

Chapter Eleven

Treize was beginning to loose his patience. Most of the men were unaware of it, their leaders demeanour was remarkably cool and collected considering they had failed to catch up with the runaway princess. However, Wufei, who prided himself on knowing his Lord, could tell.

If anything the more annoyed Treize got, the quieter and calmer he appeared. He made no comments when scouts returned reporting that their prey was no nearer, he would quietly inspect his gloves, or smooth his cloak. He would nod to the men and instruct them to continue on, to avoid the small pockets of population, to focus only on the ones they sought. Wufei knew though that inside he was seething with anger at being denied what was rightfully his. And the Shamen knew too.

Everyday, Une became more aggressive, arrogant to the men and to the prisoners. The quieter Treize was, the angrier Une was; it was as if she was a reflection of what he sought to hide. The men were all afraid of Une, afraid of the symbols she carried, and afraid of the veiled threats she would utter. In fact, of all the group only four were unaffected by her increasing belligerence.

Wufei himself was unafraid, Une had no power over him; he did not believe in the spirits that she supposedly communicated with and became possessed by. He didn't believe in any God, not since Meiran had died. Trieze was unafraid; he knew that Une was completely devoted to him. If anything, Wufei thought that Treize enjoyed Une stirring the men up; it increased their devotion to their calm and fearless leader. Trowa, the prisoner, was unafraid. Wufei was not sure whether it was because he was a brave man or just because he was ignorant of the supposed power Une carried. In fact, it seemed to Wufei that Trowa was drawn to the Shamen. And lastly Sally was unafraid.

He watched her as they rode, sitting tall and proud in her saddle. Sally was a defiant prisoner, gloating every time the scouts returned with no new news, openly defiant towards Treize and scathing towards Une. Wufei did not know whether to be impressed by her bravery or annoyed by her stupidity. Sally seemed to have an unwavering faith that God would get her out of the mess she had found herself in, that her friend the princess would be left alone and that she herself would be returned to the nunnery.

That was, unfortunately for her, most unlikely. Trieze was an honourable man, but when he no longer had a use for Sally, or if she annoyed him once too often, the chances were that she would be abandoned in the wilds, or worse; given to the men. Wufei scowled at that thought. Already some of the men had taken to looking at her too closely for Wufei's liking and he had had to warn them off. The problem was that she was a fine looking woman, even dressed in the unflattering dress of a nun and with her hair cropped short. She was very appealing.

Especially when she was angry.

Her eyes would flash and her body would sing with repressed energy that was most appealing. Wufei was sure that in another life she had been a great warrior, perhaps one that was too proud and boastful so that in this life she was paying a penance by being a meek and humble nun. Wufei smirked. Well, not that meek or humble.

He was still smirking when Sally turned her head as they rode and looked at him. Instantly he hid his smile, and turned his eyes away from her, looking instead beyond her to the track ahead. From his peripheral vision he could see that she continued to watch him for a little while, and he felt himself go a little hot despite the cold day. Was she admiring him? Did she find him attractive? She turned away again and Wufei allowed himself to study her profile again. It was ridiculous to think that she regarded the person responsible for her capture with anything other than hate But still he could not help but wonder what it would be like to be looked upon by her with desire in her eyes.

Which was a completely ridiculous and week sentiment to harbour. She had sworn her life to a God, and he had sworn his life to Treize.

A scout returning drew Wufei's attention from Sally. Trieze held a hand up to halt the party and waited for the scout to come close. Wufei urged his horse forward so that he was near enough to Treize to hear the news, as did, he noted, Une. The scout looked grim.

"No closer Lord." was all he said, bowing his head and awaiting instructions.

Trieze stared past the man at the trail ahead for a moment. Then he looked up into the cloud filled sky watching as rook flew over its call harsh and mocking. Une looked at him, her face becoming harsh. She glared at the scout.

"Back in the line solider!" she grated out.

The man nodded and did as she bid without even checking with Treize. Wufei's eyes narrowed as he considered her. Truly that woman was too unstable to have such power over the men.

Trieze stopped his consideration of the sky and looked at Wufei.

"I believe that if we have not caught up with them yet, then we will not catch them," he said, rubbing his chin. "Soon they will be at their stronghold and with such forces as we have here we will have no chance of winning a siege," he looked at Trowa who sat still and straight on his horse. "Am I not correct?" he asked.

Trowa stared at him for a moment, then replied. "Whether they head for the capital direct or for Heero Yuy's estate both will be too strong for you to overpower."

Une smiled thinly "Does that mean you are giving up on the girl, Lord?" she asked, her voice oddly childlike and hopeful.

Trieze shook his head. "You disappoint me Lady Une. I thought you had a better grasp of politics than this," he paused as she bowed her head, her hands trembling slightly as they grasped the reins. "I have two choices. The first is return to Kent and fight to defend my claim to the High Kings throne. The second is to bring a force into Mercia and fight to claim Relena Peacecraft as my bride to hold on to the High Kings throne."

Une said nothing, her head still bowed in her submission. She obviously did not like to be a disappointment to her Lord thought Wufei.

Treize continued. "Either way means war." he said looking to Trowa, who now ignored him and looked directly in front of himself. "I believe that it is up to me to be the aggressor in this matter."

"We declare war on Mercia?" Wufei questioned noting that Trowa's fists were clenching as he worked against the knots that held him.

Treize nodded and dismounted. At that signal, the rest of the men did so too. Wufei swiftly went to Trowa and pulled him from his horse. He shoved him to the ground.

"Guard him closely!" he instructed two of the men "He has more incentive now to try and escape." He turned to Sally and pulled her more gently down from her horse. "You, stay close to me," he said, unwilling to trust any of the men to guarding her.

Une stood close to Sally, smiling. "If she tries to escape I will take great pleasure in slitting the Mercian's throat," she declared.

Sally went pale with the threat and Wufei knew that she would heed it. Treize, however, winced.

"That is very inelegant, Lady," he chided as he opened his saddlebags.

Again, Une lowered her head at the rebuke and moved away from her Lord. Treize spared her no glance at all, instead pulled forth some precious sheets of paper were produced, together with a quill and ink. He looked at Sally "Make yourself useful," he instructed and gestured for her to come over. He handed her the small pottery jar of ink, and told her to uncork it. Once she had done so, he dipped his quill into it, loading the instrument with ink. Using the saddle on his horse as a table he proceeded to write several short notes on one of the pages.

Wufei looked on curiously. He could not read and found the strange images that Treize produced fascinating. Treize noticed him looking and smiled. He looked at Sally. "You can read?" he asked as he tore the paper into strips, each containing a length of writing. He handed one to her, which she accepted after recorking the ink. "Read it," he instructed.

Sally looked down at the spidery writing and read silently. She looked up at Treize, her eyes wide. He nodded at her encouraging before turning walking away to where the rest of the horses were.

"It is an instruction for more men to be sent," Sally said quietly. "They are to be sent at once without waiting for provisions."

Wufei nodded grimly. It took time to assemble provisions for an army, it was more efficient for them to plunder what they needed as they went. It seemed that the civilians were the ones that would be pay the highest price for the capture of Relena Peacecraft.

The sound of a flurry of wings almost made him jump. Trieze had released four of the homing pigeons that they carried, each had a message bound to its foot. Their destinations were the generals waiting back in Trieze's stronghold. Not all would complete their journey, predators such as hawks would claim at least two of the birds, but with luck at least one would complete the journey. The instructions would be followed, troops assembled and dispatched.

"...war," Sally breathed as she watched the birds disappear into the cloudy sky.

Wufei nodded in agreement. It was the beginning of a war.

* * * *

Heero rode his horse hard and fast. He was determined to get Relena to the relative safety of his stronghold as quickly as possible; he had no idea where Dorothy Catalonia was and would not put it past her to try and snatch Relena away from him again. His horse worked hard, hooves slipping on occasion on the icy ground, but it knew it was close to home and Heero trusted it to find the safest possible way with little intervention from himself.

His charge suffered the ride in silence for the most part, occasionally interrupted by bouts of coughing, not helped by the cold winters air. She was indeed a sorry sight; hair matted with blood from the blow Dorothy had given her and face dirty. She had her eyes closed tight, but he knew that she was not sleeping. She was stiff against him, not relaxed as she had when they had ridden together before.

He knew the reasons why, and he could not blame her. She no longer trusted him. But he could not focus on that for now. The most important thing was to get her to safety. He would not allow her to fall into the hands of Kushrinada. For the good of the people it would be better that she die rather than become a pawn in the hands of that man.

Relena started coughing again, clutching at her sides as if they pained her. Heero frowned. He could do nothing to help her now apart from getting her as swiftly as possible to his home where his servants would see to her comforts and his healer druid could see to her health.

She opened her eyes as her coughing eased and looked up at him, her eyes widening slightly to see him frowning at her. She looked apologetic, and lowered her eyes.

"I am sorry," she said, barely audible over the thud if the hoofs of the horse on the road. "I am sorry for being so weak."

His frown deepened to almost a scowl. He did not think that she was weak, but he would not say that out loud to her. He would not make declarations that could be construed by her as flattery. He wanted her to trust him once again, but it would be better for all concerned if he waited until after his father gave his decision as to which of them would wed her. Heero did not want to grow any closer to her when there was every probability that she would be his father's wife.

He tensed again at the thought, and she sensing it raised her eyes again. Seeing his expression she almost recoiled from him, before murmuring again "..so sorry." She closed her eyes again, firmly and did not look at him again .

Heero, irritated that he always seemed to be caught by her when he was having an unpleasant thought, pressed his heels into the horses flank urging it to greater speed.

* * * *

Quatre Winner stood in the hall of his Lord Heero Yuy unable to rid himself of the faint disquiet that he was feeling. The fire blazed hot and fierce in the hearth, but he felt chilled and cold. Pulling his cloak tight around him, he edged closer to the hearth, staring at the flames, his mind reaching out to try and locate what disturbed him so.

"Master..?" Rashid stood beside him, his arms folded across his wide chest. He looked towards his young master with concern on his face, but knew better than to disturb his meditation. When Quatre did not reply, he lapsed into silence, but remained near at hand should anything be required of him.

Quatre, used to his servant's presence, found it reassuring and not distracting. Staring into the flames he allowed himself to drift on the edge of consciousness almost tasting the air that surrounded him. Looking down at his cream tunic he saw the flames reflected upon the light cloth. The orange deepened to red, and then seemed to spread as if he was watching his own blood seep through his robe. The deep sense of foreboding assailed him again, and he stumbled back holding his side. Rashid instantly came forward to support his arm

"What is it master?" Rashid asked, as Quatre straightened and turned from the fire.

Hesitantly he pulled his hand away from his side and felt relief to see that there was no blood staining the fabric; it had been a vision. A warning perhaps. Of what, he was not sure. It could be a number of things, it could be a warning of war or it could be something more personal to him. He would have to meditate over this. He smiled reassuringly to Rashid. There was no point in upsetting his faithful servant.

"It is nothing," he held up a hand in appeasement.

Rashid, however, did not look convinced. Quatre had to smile; the man knew him better than most having almost raised him from the moment he had been dedicated as a healer and a druid. He sighed a little and looked back into the fire.

"Change is coming," Quatre said, staring at the embers before blinking and turning away to look at the hall attracted by approaching footfall.

"I do not know about change, but I hear a rumour that Lord Heero is coming."

Catherine stood regarding him, her hands on her hips, tall and pretty. She alone amongst the serving women was not afraid of the druid Quatre. If anything, he was frightened of her. She had a fiery temper to match her glorious waist length red hair, which she kept neat and braided down her back. She was tall; taller than Quatre and she always seemed to take delight in the way Quatre had to tilt his head to stare her in the eye. Her peplos dress hung only to her thighs, on her legs she wore trousers against the cold. Her arms, however, were bare. She was fresh from the kitchens which was hot from the heat of the great fire there devoted to cooking and baking food for the occupants of the hall. In addition, an excellent cook she was too, although she guarded her wares well and had been known to hurl knives at those who unwarily came into her realm to help themselves to food.

"Is it true, druid?" she raised an eyebrow. "What do you see in your fire?"

Quatre smiled, and turned his head to look back to the hearth "I see coals, ash, wood and sparks. And a lot of smoke," Quatre turned back to the serving woman who was glaring.

"Quatre! Be of some use to me and earn the food that I feed to you," she retorted angrily "Should I be preparing food for my Lord? I do not want him turning up on the doorstep and me having nothing to feed him with!"

The talk of food made Quatre realise he was feeling peckish. He turned back to the fire and frowned deeply. "I see Heero returning. Very soon."

Catherine folded her arms looking that him dubiously. He could tell that she didn't really trust him, but nor did she want to disbelief him. "Is that you or your stomach talking?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

Quatre laughed, but before he could reply another woman approached.

"There is a woman with a babe here seeking work." she said to Catherine after nodding respectfully to Quatre.

Catherine made a small tsking noise whilst peering around to the entrance of the hall. Quatre followed her look and saw standing there; a tallish dark haired woman dressed warmly in a heavy cloak holding a well-swaddled child to her chest. He found himself staring at the woman, drawn to her or more especially the child she carried. There was something about the baby that seemed important. As he tried to delve deeper into the auras that surrounded both mother and child Catherine broke his concentration by speaking.

"Well she doesn't look like she is starving, nor does she look like she is a peasant. What of her husband?" she asked the other woman beside her.

"She says that she had been deserted," came the reply.

Quatre felt a smile tug on the corner of his lips as he watched the sympathy that bloomed in Catherine's eyes. She always had a soft spot for mistreated souls, befriending and helping those less fortunate than herself.

Catherine sighed. "Poor soul," she breathed "Well, she can have a meal and stay the night. However, I have no work for her- "she broke off as she felt Quatre's hand on her arm

"Keep her," he said.

"But-" Catherine protested, gesturing in the direction of the kitchen her movements obvious; they had enough workers already.

"Employ her," Quatre said again. "Times are changing, soon you will be glad for every hand that you have to aid you," As he spoke he again felt the terrible foreboding wash over him.

Catherine frowned at him, but saw that he was serious. She did not argue; after all a Druid was an exhalted figure almost on level with King and Prince. Finally she nodded and gestured the woman over.

She approached hesitantly, looking from Quatre, to Catherine, to Rashid then back to Quatre. She bowed her head respectfully to Quatre detecting from his robes that he was a druid, and she held her baby close and protectively to her. When she raised her eyes Quatre could see that they were fierce and strong, almost the eyes of a warrior.

"What is your name?" Catherine asked kindly, tryng to put the woman at ease.

"Noin," the woman replied, her voice soft. The infant opened its eyes at the voice of its mother and Quatre could see that its eyes were still the blue grey of a newborn child. Noin saw that Quatre was staring at the babe and again held the child close to her, immediately on the defensive.

"And your husband?" Catherine continued, not observing Noin's uneasiness.

Noin blinked and turned to Catherine. "Gone," she whispered.

Catherine nodded her understanding and did not push for more information. "Very well, you may have work here, in return we will give you food and lodgings. Our Lord Heero is-"

"He is here!" came a call, a young boy ran in "Lord Heero is returned!"

Catherine looked quickly to Quatre observing the grin that now adorned his face.

"Hmmm, it seems that you will get our feast after all, Master Druid," she spun around to Noin. "Come!" she said taking hold of her arm. "It seems that you shall be put to work sooner rather than later!"

*Armies then were small. We are talking about a maximum of 500 men.

tbc