Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Journey of a Thousand Miles ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Thank you to every body who reviewed this story

Arana Sureshi - sorry, about the centering. I'm not sure why it happened because the story was not centered originally

GoldenRat - don't worry, this will not be a 13x4 fic

Sandy - You won't find a fic written by me where Treize is a bad guy. After all, he is my favorite character

A special Thank You to Anne Olsen for beta-reading

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Journey of a Thousand Miles

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

-Confucius-

Part 1

When we pulled up in front of the large, Victorian style mansion I noticed a man with ginger-colored hair standing by the entrance. He must have been waiting for us, because he stepped closer as soon as the carriage came to a halt.
"Is this Duke Khushrenada?" I quietly asked the driver as he opened the door for me.

The man nodded in confirmation.

Climbing out of the carriage, I watched the duke walk down the wide staircase. He was young, much younger than I had imagined him to be, tall, and surrounded by an aura of grace and dignity. He wore a pair of ivory colored breeches, knee-high black boots and the most stylish and elegant coat I had ever seen. Its color matched the lights in his hair, and a dark red rose adorned its lapel.

"Cousin Quatre, welcome to Rosehill Manor." He smiled warmly, as if he was greeting an old friend and not a virtual stranger. "I do hope you had a pleasant trip."
I returned his greeting with a respectful bow and expressed my gratitude at his kindness.
"The trip was just wonderful," I told him. "I have never before traveled in such style and comfort, your Excellency."

"Treize."

"I beg your pardon?" I was slightly bewildered.
"My name is Treize," he replied. "There is no need for formalities between the two of us."

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly. I didn't want him to think I was trying to be overly familiar.

"We are cousins after all."

He tilted his head slightly, looking me over with piercing, ice-blue eyes, before stating,
"You have grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you."
"We have met before?"
The duke nodded. "You probably don't remember, you were rather young, maybe four or five years at the time."

He shifted his gaze to where my bags had been unloaded.
"Is that all you have?"
"Yes," I answered, somewhat embarrassed. "Most of my things were destroyed in the fire, and I didn't have the means to replace them."

Treize nodded understandingly.

"Do not worry about it. We will get you everything you need. Now, let me show you to your room," he suggested. "Xander will take care of your bags."

He led the way and I hurried to follow my cousin. At the top of the stairs he waited for me to catch up.
"You must be exhausted from your trip. And I really do feel terrible for not coming to pick you up, and letting you make this long journey all by yourself."
"Oh, it was not really that bad. I have traveled alone before." I assured him. "And I'm really glad that you are feeling well."

He turned his head and looked at me, one eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Why wouldn't I be feeling well?"

"I just…I thought…" I stammered. " When you mentioned in your letter you that you didn't feel up to the task of coming to Wellington I assumed that you were ill."

The duke laughed, it was a very pleasant, deep and rich sound.

"Ill? Well, I suppose you could say I'm highly allergic to that part of the family."

We had reached the second story and he opened a door to his left, waiting for me to step into the room before he followed.

"What do you think?" he murmured, letting his gaze wander. "Will this suit you? I am not much of a morning person, but I thought you might enjoy a room that faces the rising sun."

I couldn't help the gasp of awe that escaped my lips as I glanced around. The room was big; at least twice the size of the small chamber I occupied at my aunt's house, and expensively furnished. The bed was larger than anything I had ever set eyes on, - left and right of the bed were two nightstands of ornately carved mahogany wood. Along the wall to the right stood a tall dresser with matching patterns and a small table with two overstuffed velvet chairs. On the left was a second, smaller dresser, a bookshelf and a writing desk. The massive and lavishly decorated fireplace looked big enough to keep the room comfortably warm during the winter months. Two large bay windows provided a lovely view over the front garden and cobblestone road leading to the house.
"It is beautiful," I breathed. "And it is really for me?"

"Well initially I thought about just keeping you locked away in the dungeon," he remarked teasingly. "But then I realized we don't have a dungeon around here."
I smiled shyly.

There was a knock at the door and then a middle-aged man with graying hair, carrying my bags, walked into the room. He set them down by the bed.

"Quatre, I would like you to meet Xander." Treize introduced. "Xander is my personal servant, and he also takes care of the manor when I'm traveling. If you ever have any problems or questions and you can't find me, ask Xander, he will probably be able to help you."

"I'm pleased to meet you." I gave the man a friendly nod.

"The pleasure is mine, Master Quatre."

I could feel myself blush. "I don't think I'm deserving of that title."
"Don't humble yourself, Quatre," my cousin said firmly. "As long as you live here you are as much a master in the house as I am." He turned toward Xander. "Please make sure Cecilia knows that Quatre has arrived."

"I will see to it right away." the gray-haired servant bowed and discretely retreated.

The duke directed his attention back at me. "Unless you have any questions I'll leave you for now. You probably want to rest for a while."

"I don't think I have any questions right now. Everything is so wonderful, really. Thank you so much, Cousin Treize, for allowing me to come here."

"Then I'll see you for tea." With a curt nod he departed.

For a long moment I just stood there. This was almost too good to be true. I almost couldn't believe that this was real.
The duke was right, taking a nap sounded like an excellent idea at the moment. I stifled a yawn as I removed my cloak and my coat, hanging them neatly over one of the chairs. I slipped out of my shoes, and then, feeling very playful, flung myself across my bed.

******

When I woke up a few hours later I got dressed and went to look for my cousin. When I walked downstairs I ran into Xander and he told me that the duke had left for a ride.
"His Excellency said he would be back around half past four. Do you wish to wait for him to return, or do you want me to serve your tea now, Master Quatre?"

"Oh no," I replied quickly. " I will wait for him of course."
"As you wish."
I went back to my room and after a moment of consideration started to unpack my bags. When I walked passed one of the windows I took a look outside. It was just lovely. Birds were singing, the sun was shining and there was not a single cloud in the sky.
Even the weather here is nicer than in Wellington, I thought cheerfully.

It wasn't long before I saw two riders, accompanied by two large, shaggy dogs, coming up the hill. I recognized one of them as the duke, and as they came closer I realized that the second rider, who I initially thought to be a lady, was actually a young man with long, pale-blond hair. The two men parted just outside the gates, the hounds following the fair-haired stranger, while my cousin steered his mount toward the stables. I stepped away from the window and quickly finished unpacking before I went downstairs to meet Cousin Treize.

*****

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Quatre?" the duke requested. He took a sip from his tea, set the cup down carefully and looked at me expectantly.

"There is really not much to tell," I answered shyly.

"Surely, there has to be something. Tell me about your education. What kind of tutoring did you receive? What subject do you like the best?"
"Aunt Sophia hired a tutor that came twice a week to instruct me in English history, mathematics and reading."

I told him, and with an inward sigh I added,- "Mister Cody said I was more than ready to begin advanced studies like natural science and languages but Aunt Sophia didn't want to waste any money on what she considered useless knowledge."

Treize snorted. "That is Aunt Sophia for you. - Well, unlike her I do understand the importance of a good education. I have hired a tutor for you. Starting on Monday you will study under his guidance 5 times a week from 10:00 through 2:00. He will probably test you at first and then decide what subjects you will be taking. This doesn't sound too much, does it?"
"No, Sir," I assured him quickly. "I've always loved my studies, and I'm really looking forward to it."
The duke nodded, obviously very satisfied with that answer.
"I noticed you brought a violin. Do you play any other instruments?"

I nodded, a smile curving my lips.
"I can play the piano and the flute as well, but my violin has always been my favorite. I just the love the timbre of the instrument, especially the sound of the bow across the strings."
"Excellent! You will have to perform for me some day. I very much enjoy listening to music."
I blushed a little even as I said. "I would love to."
"Well, I think I have interrogated you enough for one afternoon," Treize stated, a mirthful twinkle in his eyes. "Is there anything you would like to know about me?"

I hesitated. As a matter of fact, I had many, many questions; I just wasn't sure how to ask them. Staring into my half-empty teacup for a few moments, I gathered the courage to ask him the one question that troubled me the most.
Taking a deep breath I looked up and straight into his piercing blue eyes.
"Why am I here?" I asked. "Please don't take me wrong. I'm really extremely grateful for being here, but I don't understand... And why now? My parents died nearly two years ago and I have never even heard of you in all that time."
He gave another snort. "I suppose that means you never got my letters. Well, I suspected that much when you didn't answer any of them."
I almost cringed at the outrage in his voice and I kicked myself mentally.
Now I had done it. I had angered him. Why couldn't I have just stayed silent?
"I'm sorry," I offered, but to my surprise he shook his head and smiled at me.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Quatre. It is not your fault that those people intercepted my letters to you. And as for your question, I think it is only fair. Truthfully I would have been surprised if you hadn't asked."

Good, so he wasn't angry with me, but with my aunt and uncle, or those people how he had referred to them. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at him expectantly.

He took another sip of tea before he began:
"I don't know what they have told you about me, or what they didn't tell you. It's true that I have never been very close to anybody in the family. In fact, your father was the only person I always stayed in contact with. - You see, I too lost my parents at an early age; not as early as you I have to add. My situation of course was very different from yours. I had inherited my parents' estate and money so that financially I was well taken care of. Your father, however, gave me something money couldn't buy. He supported me morally in a time when I didn't have anybody else to turn to, and I will always be thankful for that. So, taking you in is just the right thing to do, and it is a way to show my gratitude."

He took a break for another sip from his cup.

"And as for why I didn't come and take care of you earlier… I wish I could have, but I was at sea. In fact I didn't learn about your parents death until I arrived in Bangkok in early October. I contacted a friend here in England and had him find out what had happened to you. It took a while until I knew where you were. Once I did I immediately contacted your aunt and uncle, and sent a first letter to you personally. I have written to you ever since, once or twice a month from every port we anchored at. I'm sorry you never got those letters."

So was I.
"As soon as I got back to England I applied for legal guardianship of you. I didn't want you to have to spend any more time than necessary with those people."
"Thank you. I'm truly grateful for that." Right then and there I swore myself that I would do my best not to disappoint my cousin. He should never have a reason to regret taking me in.

There was a moment of silence before he asked.
"Quatre, I only know that your parents died in a house fire. Can you give me some more detail on what happened?"
"It was just that, a fire that consumed the entire house. Nobody really knows how it started. I just remember father waking me up in the middle of the night and rushing me outside. He told me to stay there while he ran back into the burning house to find my mother…" I cleared my throat, trying hard to fight the sudden tightness in my chest. "But it was already too late. The roof started to collapse. Neither of them made it out alive."

"Somehow this doesn't surprise me." Treize stated solemnly. "Your father was always a very brave man."

"Thank you."

The tightness in my chest was getting worse. I could feel tears trickling in the corners of my eyes. Eventually it became just too hard to fight them, and for the first time in a very long time I cried.

Treize pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me.

"I'm sorry," I sniffed.

He shook his head sadly. "No, I'm sorry for bringing up such painful memories. Please forgive me."
With that he reached out, covering my hand with his in a manner that was very reassuring and comforting. It felt good to know that I wasn't alone anymore; that there was somebody who understood.

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T.B.C.

Author's Note: Feedback is greatly appreciated, constructive criticism is welcome :-)