Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Ice Prince ❯ The Ice Prince: Chapter III ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Title: The Ice Prince or Such a Marvelous Rose
Author: Meiran Chang ( bonking_bishies @ swirve.com )
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: DorlianXSylvia, 1+R, 6+2, 3+4, 5+Dorothy, 6x9, 2xH
Warnings: shonen ai, AU, fairy tale, angst, verrrrrrry mild self-insertion in, like, the last sentence. I made Dorlian a total OOC wuss >_<. Also, I've played fast and loose with family relationships and situations.
Comments: Ohhhhh pretty please? --> bonking_bishies @ swirve.com
Archive: 6X2ML Archive can have it. (that's at http://6x2ml.topcities.com) Otherwise, please email me, I don't bite.
Disclaimers: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, they belong to Bandai and Sunrise and the American rights are owned by Cartoon Network. Please don't sue me, I'll just cry a lot. Also, the original story of "Beauty and the Beast" is by Mme Leprince de Beaumont and not mine either. I don't own anything except… the original portions of this piece of fiction…whatever they are.
Dedication: To the 6X2ML, because they're darlings all and the inspiration for this fic.

On Duo's seventeenth birthday, Dorlian received a letter that told him of a ship arriving at Libra Port in White Fang. There was no return address and the letter was unsigned. The merchant was wary at first, but once he read it, all rationality fled him. "The ship holds a precious cargo," said the letter, in crabbed, hasty handwriting. "You can make your fortune once more!"

Dorlian was ecstatic and at once made preparations for the long journey to the heart of Oz. After the initial shock of losing his fortune had worn off, Dorlian had tried, for his children, to appear content. However, he had always remained dissatisfied with their simple life and jumped at this chance to return to the city. Quatre, Relena and Duo tried reasoning with him, telling him that he had no idea from where or whom the letter had come, but their father was deaf to their protests, and eventually they capitulated and helped him pack.

Neither Quatre nor Duo believed that anything would come of the letter, though Relena cherished a hopeful belief that their father would find something of worth. The cottage whirled with activity as the three of them prepared their father with clothing, food, and other small necessities, surreptitiously tucking in little trinkets they had made themselves. "We're doing this for contingency, you understand," Quatre had told Duo as he crammed a woodcut into a bulging leather pack. "This letter is some trickster's idea of a fine prank, and Father will have to sell all he can in the city to buy provisions for the road home." Duo had nodded ruefully. Then, because Quatre was occupied, Duo had gone out to ready their only horse, a grayish mare named Wing. Worked far too hard for far too long, the mare was only halfway decent, but she was easy to work with and did try her best.

It took about a week for Quatre to repair their dilapidated old cart, bartering furiously for paint, wood, and wheels, but finally everything was ready for their father's journey. The evening before he left, Dorlian asked his children what they would have.

"A new dress," Relena said decisively, her blue eyes shining with excitement and hope. She plucked at her own dress, a drab, tired thing. "I've got a grand total of three dresses and a few pairs of pants and shirts. A change of clothing would be so nice. I'd also like some velvet and silk cloths -- please, no more corduroy or gingham! -- and a new sewing kit, or at least replacements for some things I'm missing from the old one…" She continued on in this vein for some time before winding down and allowing Quatre to take the floor.

After a thoughtful silence, Quatre shrugged and said, "I'd like a bunch of new books, if you could. I know that Khushrenada must have come out with some new works while we were away. If you can't get the books, an instrument by Quinze -- like a gittern or a flute -- will be fine. Either way, Father, it'll cost you," he warned, as his father brimmed over with effervescent happiness and assured him that cost would almost certainly be no problem.

Duo was actually in the next room, folding laundry -- the needs of the household did not conveniently cease while Dorlian prepared to leave -- so Dorlian peeked in the door. "Beauty?" he called brightly as he ventured in.

"Wrong guy, I'm Duo," the boy muttered absentmindedly as he folded a sweater Relena had knit and put it on the top of a pile of folded clothing. He frowned for a moment, looked hard at the sweater, then snatched it back and glanced at his father. "Do you think we packed enough sweaters?" he asked, his brows knitting together as he rose and pressed the sweater into Dorlian's hands. "It's close to wintertime, and what if a blizzard gets you? You'll freeze, that's what, unless you've got forty layers of sweaters on. Do you know how cold the winters get around here? I was talking with Heero the other day and he warned me that it can get cold here during the winter, I mean you know it gets cold during winter but he said really seriously cold --"

The man suppressed a chuckle at his son's nervous rambling and draped the proffered sweater over one arm, then raised his free hand, cutting off Duo's stream of words. The youth sank into his chair and picked up another garment, folding it automatically. His fine-boned hands moved jerkily, without their usual unconscious grace. "There's no need to be so anxious," Dorlian assured his son, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Wing's a good horse, if a mite tired out, and there aren't supposed to be any blizzards for a good month yet."

"But it's still a possibility. And a number of other things could happen to you as you run off chasing rainbows. There could be bandits, or robbers, or wolves, or the cart could break down, or Wing could lame herself," Duo insisted, his gaze fixed on the garments he was mechanically folding. Then, in one of his characteristic mercurial mood changes, he looked up at his father with a heartrending expression in his eyes. "Father, I don't like the idea of you haring off into the wilderness on the say-so of an anonymous letter. You're my father and I don't want you hurt!"

"Duo, don't get yourself wrought up over such silly possibilities," Dorlian returned lightly, in too blithe a mood to be discouraged. "Nothing will happen to me. Anyway, I came here to ask you what you want from White Fang. I already asked your older siblings, both of whom gave me quite a lengthy wish list."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "What I want, huh?" He stopped working for a moment, evidently giving the question great consideration. "You know, that's the first time in a long time anyone's asked me that." Before the merchant could respond, Duo continued. "There's nothing I really want, you know, other than your safe, healthy, sane arrival. I'm happy here…" He laughed a little. "I'd be fine with nothing more than a rose."

His father looked at him speculatively. "A rose, Duo?"

Duo nodded emphatically. At least you'll be able to bring one of your children a gift once you realize you're off on a wild mule chase… In a perverse flash of whimsy, he added, "A black one. To match my clothing." His father lifted an eyebrow himself and Duo sighed. "Please, Father, humor me. Black roses don't grow around here, but they don't cost much either. That should appeal to your thrifty side."

Dorlian chuckled. "You're quite right, son. The only thing cheaper is a bottle of air."

At sunrise the next morning, Duo and his siblings gathered outside to bid their father farewell. Quatre checked the cart one last time and pronounced it as good as it was going to get. Relena wrung her hands in filial worry and Duo continued trying to persuade his father to stay until finally Dorlian decided he had stalled enough and, with a smile and a wave, left for White Fang. Duo watched his father disappear into the distance until he could no longer pretend that the speck on the horizon was Wing and her glad cargo. Then he allowed himself a rueful sigh -- this ordeal was provoking a lot of those -- and went back to the cottage to tend to the remainder of the last day's laundry.

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