Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Ice Prince ❯ The Ice Prince: Chapter V ( Chapter 5 )

[ 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.

Dorlian slept well and awoke around midday. He rose and opened the shutters; the sun was out and glittering over the fallen snow, and birds were chirping again. The manor had weathered the storm rather better than he had, and he spared a thought for Wing, hoping she wouldn't have too difficult a time plowing through the drifts later that day when they got moving. Then he turned away from the view to look around for his clothing and was quite startled to discover that his old garments had been replaced by new ones, far more durable and suited to winter weather than the old.

There was even a magnificent breakfast waiting on the night table beside the bed. The rich food screamed of wealth and quality preparation. One day, perhaps, Relena would learn to cook food like this! After he was done, he carefully put all the dirty plates back on the tray and placed the tray back on the night table.

Dressed in his new clothing, which included a heavy, fur-trimmed cloak and hood, he managed to find his way outside. He found the stables quickly enough and checked on Wing, who was fully rested and ready to ride. He readied her gently and led her out to the courtyard.

The courtyard looked marvelous. An iron fence with intricate designs that reached a story or so high surrounded the imposing manor. Trees arched over him, and he could hear liquid birdsong and occasionally even see one of the bright singers. Somewhere he could hear the gurgling of a small stream. Bright spots of color splashed the area all around the path, and there were roses sprinkled everywhere. It was odd enough that the garden was so alive and healthy in the wintertime; it was odd that the roses lived; it was odder still that every rose was black.

Remembering his youngest son's request, he reached up and carefully picked one rose off of the archway he was passing under, mindful of the thorns. As he fingered one of the soft ebony petals, a small smile touched his lips. At least one of his beloved children would have a gift.

Suddenly Dorlian had the prickly feeling of presence, of someone approaching him from behind. The courtyard quickly lost its tranquility as he whirled around. Terror swamped him. Wing shied, the whites visible all around her eyes, and reared up, then pivoted sharply and fled. It took all the merchant had not to do the same as he forgot himself and clutched the rose so tightly the thorns cut into his flesh.

A beast was coming towards him! The sight of it filled him with panic. The creature had long, sleek black hair covering its entire body and was dressed in a bizarre mockery of Oz royal dress. It was tall and carelessly muscular, sunlight glinting off its claws and the jewels in its clothing. It had an economy of movement that translated itself into an awful predatory grace. Its eyes were a cold crystal blue, with narrow black slits for pupils. Dorlian swallowed hard but stood frozen in the face of those utterly inhuman eyes.

It tilted its head and surveyed him for a moment, quite calmly.

"You miserable wretch," the Beast said softly, almost without inflection. Somehow, that intense, controlled voice was more frightening than any wild roar, and the merchant's heart nearly stopped. "I saved your life by allowing you into my manor, feeding you with my food, warming you by my fire and clothing you in my clothes. Is this any way to show your host how grateful you are? By stealing like a common thief?" The curl of the Beast's lip showed its contempt.

"I -- I --" Dorlian stammered. "I -- I'm sorry -- I -- I didn't -- "

The creature regarded him with hard eyes. "I nurtured those roses from seed to blossom myself. In this lonely, forsaken place, they were my only companions. And now you think to take them away from me?" It snorted scornfully and tossed its head, flipping back its long cascade of black hair. Its voice remained soft as it said, "You shall die for abusing my hospitality in such a way."

Dorlian's knees buckled beneath him. "Please, please, sir, don't kill me!" A distant corner of his mind focused more on honor than survival was indignant at this groveling, but somehow, Dorlian couldn't find it in him to care. "I didn't think you'd be offended, good lord, as you were so kind as to allow me into your home. I only picked this rose for my son, who wanted one dreadfully." His brown eyes, dark with fear, nevertheless bored into the uncaring blue of the Beast's. "Please, sir, I meant you no harm. I never imagined that by taking a rose I would upset you. If I'd known, I would never have taken it! All I wanted to do was bring a gift home to my son!"

The Beast frowned at the merchant, making him cringe. "'Sir'? Don't call me that. I am a Beast; you don't need to mince words, and I will not kill you for speaking the truth near me." The creature sighed and continued. "But I digress. You have a son? An only son, or have you more children?"

The merchant assured the Beast that he had, in fact, three progeny.

The Beast quirked a small, bitter smile. "Here, then, is how I will forgive you your crime. Bring me your youngest son. He can die in your place. He must, however, come willingly. Should he refuse, return to me in three months." The face of the monster grew as impassive and implacable as that of any statue. "I will know whether the youth is of your blood or not, so do not attempt to trick me. And do not think to avoid my punishment. I reach out far to strike those who have wronged me."

There was no way Dorlian would ever allow this terrible Beast to kill his favorite child, his beautiful Duo. Gladly would he offer up his life in place of his son's. "Of the rose?" Dorlian blurted out, immediately cursing himself for the irrelevance of such a question.

The Beast shrugged, a precise gesture. "She is a victim of murder. Bring her to your son. Perhaps he will enjoy her beauty as much as I did." He looked down on the merchant without emotion. "And stop groveling. Get up and find your horse."

Dorlian rose on shaky knees, his heart pounding. "I promise you I will return, Sir Beast. I am a man of honor."

"That's all good and well, but the day is getting older." The Beast glanced at him once more from his lofty height, then turned and walked away, his walk the lithe stalk of a wolf at the hunt.

Back | Home | Next