Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Lost and Found ❯ Chapter X ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter X

(Finally! The last chapter! I'm excited! Aren't you? Of course you are… Or you could be sad... it's all in how you look at it. Anywho, Like I said, there is a sequel to this that isn't quite finished yet. There are 8 chapters to it now, and a few more Emma/Chang scenes. Tee hee. Hey! We all know that there are trivial trials in all relationships! But that's not the point! (inside joke for a few friends of mine tee hee) Anywho.. on with the last chapter! Enjoy!)

Duo sighed as he looked up at the stars. Quatre was welcoming guests as they walked up the stairs to the front entrance to the mansion. The other gundam pilots just stood close to Quatre and nodded to those few people they knew.

It was a formal event so the men wore tails and ties while the ladies wore their fine dresses and jewels. The pilots too were wearing their best. Wufei had his hair pulled and slicked back, and was wearing his full white outfit again. He seemed too be busy at looking up at one of the lit windows of the mansion. Heero was wearing an all black tail suit with a red bow tie and comber bun over a white shirt. Quatre wore an all white three piece suit. The waist length jacket was unbuttoned to reveal a black comber bun and black bow tie. Trowa was in a slate colored three piece suit and the same color bow tie. The buttons of his jacket were done up. Duo adjusted the black bow tie of his black three piece suit, then messed with the white handkerchief that was decoratively placed in the breast pocket of his tailed jacket. He was becoming bored with all of the pleasantries so he started to smooth out Mischief's fur while the little creature sat on his shoulder, it's tail wrapped around Duo's neck.

"Ah! Count Benjamin! How good of you to come all the way from Munic to join us!" Duo heard Quatre exclaim as a middle aged man and a younger man with an ornate wooden box in his hands, approached them. ~Count Benjamin? But I thought that only the Barons who were fighting for the rule of Neo Germany! What's the Count doing here?~ Duo looked intrigued by the two.

"Danke for inviting us Mr. Winner." The man smiled while he spoke with a heavy German accent.

"Please!" Quatre tilted his head, "Call me Quatre! May I ask, what is the box for/"

"Oh!" The man laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Hansel takes that thing with him everywhere." The boy blushed at this, "I is my cousin's crown. I take it with me in case she is there."

"Would you recognize her if you saw her?" Quatre smiled.

The man chuckled. "Of course! Shell have her mother's pallid skin and her father's hair as well as our families golden eyes!"

~Golden eyes?~ Duo sighed and looked back up at the stars. ~Emmer had golden eyes… They shined when he laughed. Like two stars in a pale sky,~ he sighed again.

"Well I hope the two of you have a good time and enjoy the surprise I have set up for this evening!" Quatre gestured towards the open door. The two bowed to them and went inside. Quatre turned to his friends with a smile, "That was the last of the guests… shall we join them?" The pilots all gave their nods and went inside the mansion. They entered to the sounds of music, talking, and laughter. There were already people dancing, as well as people enjoying the company of their peers, even though the Barons of Neo Germany didn't so much as look at each other.

All of the ex-gundam pilots slowly went off on their own to speak with people they knew from the colonies or from different nations. Wufei didn't talk much, but looked as though he was waiting for something. Duo didn't much feel like speaking to anyone, so he went and sat at the head table to watch the ambassadors, dignitaries, and nobles dance.

It wasn't long before Relena, wearing a beautiful red and black gown, made her way over to him. "What's wrong Duo? You haven't done much this evening."

"Oh?" he said as he let his head rest on his hand, "It's nothing. These formal affairs just bore me." He ran the tip of his finger around the rim of his water glass.

"Well will you dance with me?" Relena smiled.

"What's wrong? Heero avoiding you again?" he had no feeling in his words nor did he look at her.

"Well if you're going to act like that!" Relena stormed off. Duo sighed and reached over to pet Mischief who had been sitting on the table but was now gone. "Huh?" Duo blinked as he sat up to look around for the monkey. He saw Wufei looking up towards the stairs and followed his eye line up the stairs. He saw the little monkey running up the banister and jump into someone's arms.

Duo blinked and had to take a second glance to make sure he wasn't seeing things, for the person who was holding and petting Mischief was Emmer, in a black A-line gown, with two sashes, one orange and one red, going across the chest from the right shoulder to the hip where they tied into a bow. Emmer had on shoulder length black sateen gloves and a big red bow at the tail end of the braided hair.

As Emma stood there holding Mischief, Quatre had stopped the music and people were starting to notice the newcomer. Emma slowly and gracefully descended the stairs and smiled when she sighted Duo. She made her way over to the head table and stood there looking down at him. Duo quickly stood, taking a gulp.

"Hello Duo." Emma said without changing her voice.

"E… Emmer?" Duo asked softly.

"Yes, and no." she responded just as softly. "Will you not dance with me?" she blushed at him and he did the same.

Duo made his way around the table. She faced him when he approached her and blushed when he bowed, crossing his right arm over his chest to place his hand over his heart. "May I have the honor?" he asked at a normal volume.

Emma sat Mischief down on the table then turned back to Duo and curtsied to him, then took his hand after he offered it to her. She blushed as he lead her to the middle of the dance floor, and people made room for them. Duo then turned to her and rested his left hand on her hip while the other held her hand. Emma in turn let her other hand rest on his shoulder.

They both blinked when they heard soft music start up and looked over at the performers. They both smiled when they saw Quatre standing there with a microphone in his hand. He started singing Hoshi no Manazashi (Gaze of the Stars). Duo and Emma start to dance as everyone watched, while trying to figure out who the girl was.

Emma smiled when she saw her uncle and her cousin smiling at her in the crowd of people. She also saw Wufei. He didn't look as happy as the other pilots, but then when did he? She then smiled at Duo and spoke softly as theyt danced, "I'm sorry for lying to you this whole time."

"Don't worry about it." Duo smiled.

"You're not angry with me are you?" she blinked.

"Why would I be?" Duo blinked at her.

"Because I'm a girl and my lying about not knowing my past."

"The past is your own, the present and future are ours, and about the part of you being a girl, I'm actually relieved."

"Relieved?"

Duo blushed, "I… it's nothing."

"Oh…" she blushed and they continued to dance in silence, smiling, blushing and laughing at each other.

"Hoshi no Manazashi ni narou…" Quatre finished the song and the two only smiled at each other. Emma blushed more when she took notice of how close he had pulled her to him during the course of their dancing. She pulled away and curtsied to him as he bowed to her. They both blinked and looked around at everyone as they clapped for the two.

"Now," Quatre got everyone's attention by speaking though the microphone, "If everyone will please take their seats for the dinner part of the evening. Your nation or colony name has been placed at a seat at one of the tables. I'm sure that most of you have already found your seats." Quatre smiled and put the microphone down, then went over to the head table to sit in the middle (next to Trowa of course.)

Duo turned to Emma and offered her his left arm. She giggled and took it, then giggled more at the big grin he had on his face. When they had gotten to the head table, Duo pulled out the chair at the end for her that was next to the one he was sitting in before.

The dinner was a six course meal and just as the servers were setting out the plates of dessert, Quatre stood and went to the podium that was set up at the center of the head table. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and smiled. "I would once again like to thank everyone for coming this evening. For tonight is a celebration of two events. The first I would like to mention is the one year anniversary of peace between the Earth Sphere Unified Nations and the Space colonies!" At this everyone clapped and Quatre smiled. "If I could say the names of all of the nations and colonies I would, but I'm sure that you all don't want to hear me talking all night." Everyone laughed at this. "I only wish to say that it saddens me to see the few wars that are still going on within the nations, but after tonight, at least one of those wars will end!"

The dignitaries started to murmur amongst themselves. "That brings me to the second reason for this evenings celebration. I would like to remind you all of the terrible tragedy that had befallen Neo Germany so many years ago. When the ruling house of Schneider was killed and the lovely princess was never found. I would like to introduce to you all that very same princess." He turned and smiled at Emma who was sitting next to the shocked Duo Maxwell. Emma stood and smiled down at Duo then went and stood next to Quatre, she folded her hands in front of her. "May I present to you all the Princess Emma O'Hara Schneider." Quatre stepped aside and smiled at Emma before he went and sat down.

Emma took in a deep breath and stepped up to the podium. "I don't expect all of you to believe that I am who Quatre Winner has said, but I will tell you that I am willing to forgo any genetic testing that any of you may wish to put me under. If this will prove to you that I am the daughter of King Albert Karl Schneider and Lady Mary Jenny O'Hara, and that I am the sole heiress to the throne of Neo Germany." At this people started talking more amongst themselves and the few newspaper reporters started to take her picture. She only stood there until the commotion had died down. "I would also like to bring to light another tragic survivor though he may not know it. I was five when my father announced my betrothal to the son of one of the wealthy families of Neo Germany. His name was Duell Waise. It is sad to say that a year later, while he was traveling with his family to Colony V08750, the rebels of Colony V08744 attacked their ship. It was reported that the entire family was killed, but I did not believe it. I knew that Duell was still alive and I would never give up on him. It was four years later that my own family was killed by a different Rebel Faction." She smiled softly then. "It took me a long time to track Duell down, for he had changed his name because he had forgotten his own after the attack on his ship. I would now like to ask Duo Maxwell to please stand and be known for the first time in so many years as Duell Waise." She turned and smiled at him as he looked at her with wide eyes of amazement. This announcement got the entire room talking and more flashbulbs going.

Duo stood and Mischief climbed up his arm to wrap around his neck. Duo couldn't say anything; for once in his life he was completely speechless. Emma went over to him, just as Quatre stood and went back to the podium. Emma took Duo's hand in hers to calm his nerves.

"I would now like to ask Count Benjamin and his son Hansel to present the Princess Emma with what is rightfully hers." Quatre smiled.

"No!" Emma turned to him. Quatre blinked at her, and Emma sighed. "No, I am not ready to accept that crown. Yes, I have known that my Uncle and cousin have been searching for me and I did my best to avoid them. But I am not yet ready to accept the responsibility that goes with the crown in that box. So I would ask that my Uncle Hansel govern over neo Germany in my place. That is, until I think I am ready to accept that ornament."

Benjamin stood, "Danke Prinzessin." He bowed to her in the same way that Duo had when he had asked her to dance.

She smiled and nodded at him, then turned to Quatre, "Please… let us dance!" She giggled then turned to smile at Duo. Quatre told the musicians to start up the music and people started to dance and have a better time of themselves than before the dinner. Emma had gotten Duo to dance with her again and they could only smile at each other for the first half of the dancing.

"So when you had asked me what I would do if my family was wealthy, were you testing me?" Duo asked with a smile.

"No, I was just curious."

"Did you really spend all of those years looking for me?"

"I did."

"Emma?"

"Yes?"

"Do I have to use that funny name?" he grimaced.

Emma giggled, "No, I am actually quite fond of the name Duo Maxwell."

"And I'm quite fond of you." He smiled.

Emma blushed, "Really?"

"Would I do this if I wasn't?"

"Do what?" She blinked as they danced.

Duo smirked and pulled her closer to him, kissing her softly on the lips. When he had finished, she was blushing. Emma then started giggling, he too was chuckling. They both laughed and danced the rest of the evening until they retired to the same bed.

(A/N- I hope you all enjoyed the finally chapter! And the story as a whole at that! Well anywho…. Send me lots of reviews for this and my Blue Rose story or no sequels for either! Bwahaha! Ahem.. well.. good night minna!)