Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Sing for me, my Skylark ❯ Just another Requiem ( Prologue )

Sing for me my Skylark

Prologue: Just Another Requiem

Some brothers are just jerks. Their sisters in return are snobbish and this rhapsody continues on until they are grown. However, there is one pair of siblings that meant everything to each other. Let me tell you a story of one brother who made his sister his world. The story of a boy who grew into a man who had to murder and lie. The story of a girl who became a woman in the era where war and death was the only life. This is the story of their love. My story.

A shuriken whistled through the air and thudded in the center of a ring carved into a dead oak tree. Twelve-year-old Kei Talmithin ran the thirty paces to the tree and smiled grimly as he pulled out his blade.

"Another bullseye." He remarked to himself. He didn't see a flash of copper swish behind a nearby tree, but he did catch the giggle.

"Kina." His somber expression gave way top a grin. Her cute little face and adorable aquamarine eyes filled with a 6-year old innocence always made him smile, even when he was supposed to be learning how to kill a man. "What are you doing out here, Skylark?"

The little girl giggled again at her twelve-year-old brother in reply and poked her head out from behind a tree. "Want to come play with me, Kei-kei?" She had wavy and curly copper hair that shown breathtakingly in the summer sun, and was tamed only by a red ribbon. She also wore a matching red skirt, a red tank top, white socks, and while sandals.

He looked at the tree, then at Kina. It didn't take him long to decide. "Of course I'll come play with you Skylark," His ice blue eyes softened and he brushed back his spiky black hair. "How could I resist my favorite girl?" He smiled again and couldn't help but look down at himself. He was wearing a wrinkly white tank top, loose-fitting jeans and specially-made black combat boots.

"Kei," Kina suddenly said with a serious expression on her child's face, "Papa and Mama look worried about something. I don't like it, I'm scared."

Kei knelt down and took her hands. "There's no reason to be scared. Mama and Papa will take care of everything, ok?"

"But when they get worried like this we usually have to move away!" she cried, plaintively.

Kei bit back the urge to run inside and see just what was going down, but he didn't want to worry Kina so he made himself stay. "Well, if we have to move away, I'll still be here for you, Skylark, and we'll still be a family."

Kina bit her lip and looked down, "But I like this place. I haven't even got the chance to make friends here yet."

Kei looked around. He had to admit, the country house had very beautiful scenery. The house was very big, three stories with a lot of windows that had views of the forest starting on the outskirts of their yard, and there was a wide grassy lawn just big enough for a full swing set for little Kina, a grand patio for Maria Talmithin- their mother, and a large shed that served as their father Retaro Talmithin's arsenal. Being an assassin family who had it in for OZ had both its perks and its danger though. The four of them were constantly on the move in the past few weeks. Kei was already almost five years being trained in the family business and Kame's training was just starting. In another year his father promised that he'd be able to run a mission on his own.

They made their way to the swing set. Kina was just climbing onto a swing when Maria called for her daughter from the house and Retaro called for his Kei from the arsenal/shed.

"There are a lot of things needed to be said, son. Earth and the colonies are in great danger from OZ, as you well know. It is our responsibility to do whatever we can to bring OZ down. Promise me, that no matter what happens, you won't forget that." Retaro's ocean eyes pierced through Kei's grass-green ones. The man stood about five-foot-ten with wiry muscles that contributed to speed as much as sheer force. His close-cropped glossy black hair accentuated his handsome features and the light tone of his skin.

"I promise." was the answer he received with all due respect and sincerity.

Retaro paused to inspect his son before continuing. The boy was going to make a wonderful assassin- he was lean and had a great deal of finely tuned muscles already showing- unbelievable for a twelve-year-old. Kei had his grandmother's green eyes and his father's piercing gaze. There was something about him, though. Something about his eyes and the look on his increasingly handsome face. This worried Retaro a great deal, but as there was nothing he could do at that moment, he brushed his darker thoughts aside.

The man moved aside to let his son's gaze fall upon the unholy multitude of blades and firepower. Kei's eyes widened- he had seen the sight before, but it never failed to impress him.

"I fear," Retaro sighed, "that we will be on the move again shortly. I'm sending all this in advance to our next location. If something happens to your mother and I, or if we get separated, your orders are to remember this address," he held out a slip of paper which Kei took with a slightly shaking hand, "take your sister, and reside there. If in fact, there is an emergency there is a number on the back. The man whom you are to speak is named Doctor J, and he will need to be kept informed."

"Yes, sir."

"Kei, OZ has been tracking us." He put bluntly. "They have caught on to our activities and I daresay we have been leaving a trail in our tastes for elegance. The new location will not be much, but Maria and I have taken great care in making sure our trail ends here. We leave tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." Kei held back a sigh with some effort. Kina had been right after all. They were leaving this nice place. It was a pity, but if his father said it was necessary it simply was.

"Also, in the unlikely event that something will happen, there is ample equipment in our new location that has been sent ahead as well- our computer and software, a list of contacts, and a great deal of money- enough for you and your sister to get an unparalleled education. You and Kina both know how to be cautious."

All in all, Kei was slightly disturbed by the way his father talked about `in case something should happen'. He had heard a similar speech with every move, but his father had never seemed so organized and serious about the possibility. He had never mentioned weapons, money, or computers before… he pondered this as his father gave further instructions.

Kina entered the house and clasped her mother's outstretched hand instinctively. The six-year-old had a feeling that something was going on. She was right.

Maria led her into her sunroom and let her sit on the luxurious daybed while she fumbled in some drawers. Kina just watched her quietly. The girls luminous eyes took in everything about her mother, the graceful flow of her copper hair, her long alabaster fingers brushing through her belongings until she found what she sought and held it up for her daughter to see.

It was a small, finely crafted music box. The finish was a deep red mahogany and fit perfectly in Kina's small hands. Engraved on its surface were swan-like swirls. Kina let out a hum of delight as she held it.

"This music box has been in my family for generations." Maria said. Kina happened to know that Maria was solidly French in origin and she had fallen in love with a Japanese-American assassin. As it happened, there was a whole romance story that Kina had begged to hear over and over again and we permanently embedded in her brain. Maria opened the lid of the music box and its melody played into Kina's memories.

"The lullaby!" Kina exclaimed.

"Yes." Was Maria's only answer before starting to sing. It was a beautiful song filled with beauty, pain and sorrow, joy and celebration. The words worked themselves into pictures of emotions, green glades filled with wild and exciting creatures, snow-capped mountains, brightly colored leaves swirling in autumn that reminded Kina of Vivaldi's seasons.

Kina let herself be entranced by her mother's voice and then began to sing with her. They laughed over their favorite parts and discussed the meanings of different verses. After a few hours, mother and daughter fell asleep on the daybed content in each other's company.

At sunset they came. Maria and Kina woke to the sound of their door being knocked clear off its hinges and Retaro shouting in protest. They heard their code names being bellowed as OZ soldiers tore mother and daughter apart and forced them onto a part of the lawn near the forest, along with Kei.

Kina was about to utter a protest herself when she what had to be the leader of these OZ soldiers. The man had the darkest eyes she had ever seen. His gaze was something out of a nightmare. He smiled evilly and muttered to a nearby soldier about the `long awaited Talmithin family'. Kei heard it too. Brother and sister looked at each other before turning back to what was becoming a horrifying scene.

Three soldiers held back Retaro Talmithin as he struggled.

Maria clutched Kei's arm. "When I tell you to run, you take your sister and you get the hell out of here." she hissed and the tone of her voice brought no protests. Tears were now streaming down Kina's face as she watched the leader pull out his gun and aimed it at her father.

Kina choked on three separate sobs as three gunshots rang out and all three thudded into her father's body. However, as she watched the scene she knew automatically from earlier training that none of the shots were meant to kill. One shot had been fired into each shoulder, and another in the thigh. The proud head of a family of assassins fell to his knees, but the commander of the squad wasn't finished. An onslaught of bullets shot into Retaro Talmithin, each time the leader stepped closer and closer until the last one was fired into his head from a distance of six inches. Blood and gray brain matter splattered everywhere, including on the leader, who was soaked, yet he didn't seem to notice. He then turned to Maria.

"Run!" Maria Talmithin leapt at the oncoming bullets in order to shield her children's escape. Kei wasted no time as he hoisted up his sister and ran as fast as his fear and adrenaline carried him.

He didn't have to watch his mother being slain with bullet after bullet. Kina, who's face rested over his shoulder did.

At that moment before they disappeared into the forest, the sun was setting over the horizon and the dusk grew red in Kina's eyes. It misted over the bodies of her dead parents as if in an all-too vivid dream.

Several soldiers were ordered into the woods to bring back the escaped Talmithin children. One such soldier shook his head as he looked around. `This is madness. They are only children and they have lost their parents. What danger could they possibly present the OZ foundation?'

His eyes caught a flicker of movement and he got his answer. He never would have seen the boy's face nine times out of ten had he looked in the same spot. They were that well hidden. The eyes, though... Whom he knew to be called Kei Talmithin glared at him murderously. The madness in his gaze was frightening.

`A child.' he reminded himself. `Who is not deserving of death. I woe OZ who has to face him in the future. But I cannot send a twelve-year-old and six-year-old girl to death. I'm not a monster like some of my fellows.' he studied Kei's face briefly one more time before speaking to his comrades.

"They are gone. I don't see anything. Let's move out."

Kei blinked in confusion, bringing him out of his questionably sane state of mind. He crouched in a ditch between two felled trees where his sister had hidden only yesterday when they were playing hide and seek. He remembered it because it had taken him over a half hour until she giggled and showed him where she had been residing. Why had the soldier let them go? He had never experienced any sort of mercy or kindness from OZ before. He slunk down to cradle his sister who found she still held the music box that their mother had given her. He watched her trace the engraved lines. He curled around her and they lay down together in the ditch. He looked into his sister's eyes and wished fervently he hadn't for there were no words for what he saw there.