Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Maids of Silva ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Maids of Silva

Chapter 8 by kmf

Holding her lantern up before her, Hilde trudged through the snow following a trail of cat paw prints. The lantern cast bright orange reflections on the snowy ground making the cat's trail an easy one to follow. As she walked, she called softly encouraging the cat and falcon to return to her.

"Here Pooh-oh!"

Why had the beasts suddenly disappeared on her? Admittedly, it was odd that both had wanted to come with her to fetch wood. Both had been restless since their return from the enchanted woods and she had put their behaviour down to disappointment that they had not been able to find Quatre. Moreover, Hilde could well understand that. After their encounter with the elfish Trowa, all four of them had returned a great deal more puzzled than they had been when they had set off.

And now the cat's footprints were leading back in the direction of the enchanted wood. Did the foolish animals seek to talk to Trowa again? Hilde shook her head, pulling her red cloak around her more securely. Surely not. Trowa had been firm in his warning and would not take kindly to a second interruption, of that Hilde was sure.

Hilde sighed again, her breath blowing white in the frosty air and her feet crunching on the frozen snow. Relena had been stricken by the falcon's disappearance and Hilde felt partially at fault. She should have kept a closer eye on both the feline and the raptor, and now felt guilty for the frightened look she had seen in her sister's eyes.

"Pooh-oh!" Hilde called louder this time, her voice carrying true and clear in the quiet cold night. She raised her eyes to the sky hoping to see the foolish animal sitting in the branches of one of the trees and was momentarily distracted by the huge yellow moon that hung low in the sky. It was so bright that the stars paled in comparison. She smiled as she squinted making out the face of the mythical young prince her uncle had told tales of when she and Relena were but children.

It was a beautiful moon this night, almost magical. However, it was one better perceived from within a warm cottage, not traipsing through the cold night searching for wayward animals. Hilde frowned thinking of how cold Relena would be, and what exactly she would say to the rude cat when she found him. She took another deep breath to call again.

"Pooh-"

She stopped mid name as her eyes spied something a little further on that made her heart freeze in horror. The feline paw prints led up to a scattering of feathers. Snow coloured feathers. Falcon feathers.

Hilde dropped the lantern in her shock and it fell into the snow tipping onto its side. Its flame extinguished with a hiss. She blinked a couple of times as her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. Once acclimatised the moon shone brightly enough to reveal a sight that Hilde had hoped she would never see.

Feathers lay all about. Pooh-oh had eaten Zero. The poor bird had been right in its distrust of the cat. Trembling she gently picked up one of the feathers, her cold fingers barely feeling the softness of it as she cradled it in her hand. A tear came to her eye and ran down her cheek. What was she going to tell Relena? Her sister was going to be heartbroken over the loss of the stoic falcon.

"Lady?"

Hilde looked up in surprise to see a man regarding her with concern on his face. He was dressed in black, his high cut tunic tied with a white silk sash, his breeches loose and tied around his calves with leather bindings. His hair was long, smoothed back from his face and braided, his bangs long half covering his eyes. Those eyes were the most beautiful violet that Hilde thought she had ever seen and they were filled with concern and a familiarity that she found disconcerting.

She felt that she knew this youth, although she knew she had never before seen his face.

He crouched before her, his mouth lifted into a half smile, his head tilted to one side. He reached out a gloveless hand and gently wiped the tear from her cheek before asking.

"What ails you, lady?"

Hilde had never before in her life been at a loss to know what to say. However, as she gazed into the young man's face she felt her words disappear from her mouth. She blinked as he continued to wipe the saltiness from her skin, his touch warm and gentle causing tingles to run down her spine as he patiently waited for an answer.

"Pooh." Hilde said, then blushed. The disconcerting feeling she felt by being so close to the man made her speak nonsense. He raised an eyebrow and grinned. She grimaced and tried to explain. "I was searching for a cat." she lifted the feather to show the man.

"That appears to have come from a bird," he said patiently

Hilde nodded gazing at the man, unable to tear her eyes away from his. She knew that she must appear to be slightly dim but could not explain herself, his presence seemed to steal her breath away. He smiled at her and, taking her by her hands, helped her to her feet. Snow clung to her dress and to her red cloak where she had knelt in the snow. The man knelt down again and gently brushed her clothes dislodging the white crystals.

As she felt his hands brush against her calves, Hilde felt an odd feeling well up in her stomach. Before she could help herself she reached down a hand and gently caressed the man's head delighting in the silkiness of his hair. He stopped his movements and peered up at her, a little smile playing at the edge of his mouth.

Hilde's eyes went wide in shock at her actions. She stumbled back a step, her hand to her mouth. Why on earth had she done that? She was caressing the ears of a complete stranger and whilst he did not look offended, she felt complete mortification at what she had done.

"Sorry!" she breathed, unable to look him in the eye. Her face felt hot and she was sure it glowed as red at the cape on her shoulders.

"Lady," the man had stood up and was in front of her. His hands claimed hers and he held her gently to prevent her from fleeing. "I feel I know you so well." he said, his eyes plainly puzzled. "Who are you?"

Hilde made the mistake of looking again into his clear violet eyes and felt her heart race. Her mouth felt a little dry and for a horrible moment she could not recall what her name was, so distracting was his face. He waited patiently for her to answer and when she did not he looked down at her hands. He gazed upon the feather that both she and he now held.

"Zero!" she gasped, remembering her task. She had not found the cat and she still had to take evidence of the falcon's possible demise back to her sister. With an apologetic look to the young man, she bent to retrieve her dropped lantern. "I'm sorry, I must find Relena." she said refusing to look him in the eye again least she loose herself in his gaze.

Her hand was again captured by his and he lifted it to his lips. She felt his breath tickle her skin before his lips, firm and strangely hot, touched her. It was a caress, the kiss he gave her, yet it burnt itself into her skin as if he had branded her.

"I would wish that you would not leave, Lady Zero." he said, his lips brushing against her skin.

Hilde blinked pulling her hand away and lifting the feather once again "Zero is not my name." she said "The falcon is Zero."

"Ah." the youth allowed himself to relinquish his hold of her, his head tilting again as he watched her.

They stared at each other once again as the moon rose higher in the sky, then Hilde turned away trying to break the spell his eyes cast upon her. With an effort she made her legs move knowing that if she did not she would remain spellbound for the rest of the night standing and gazing at the stranger.

"Hilde is my name." she murmured as she ran from him without looking back. She heard him sigh as she moved, and heard his voice float after her.

"Farewell for now." he said softly.

It was only when she was nearly home that she realised that she had not asked him what his name was.

* * * *

Quatre stood watch in the enchanted wood, quiet and unnoticed by the mortals that walked there. Trowa crouched by his side balanced high up in a tree on a slender branch and both watched as the magics swirled and danced around the two men.

He had felt the eldest one's presence as soon as he had entered the magical place, and had sensed the beautiful aura that was Relena's. At once he had travelled to be near them, to protect them if necessary, and had watched as they had spoken quietly to each other.

Few words were uttered, but Quatre's eye had perceived their auras entwined about each other caressing as lovers would. He had smiled softly as he perceived this knowing that their souls declared what their lips could not, and he felt sadness as he knew that soon his guardianship over Relena would end for better or for worse. Soon he would no longer be able to protect her or her sister from the evils of the world and he could only hope that this enchanted man would be strong enough to do so.

When Relena had left, Quatre's curiosity had got the better of him and he appeared before the youth. The spell that bound him was a curiously strong one, and a simple question determined that the youth had no memory of who he was. Quatre had left him alone then, sensing the arrival of the other spell bound man and had returned to his silent vigil in the trees.

Both youths had been drawn to each other, the magical properties of the partially unspun spell pulling them together. When they had found each other they stood and stared and Quatre and Trowa watched as the magics unwound further.

Memories came back to them, brief and fleeting. Both stumbled slightly in the bright moonlight as the heaviness of the curse they endured was remembered. Then they both straightened and as one threw each other into the others embrace.

"Brother!" Both uttered at the same time

"Is it broken?" Trowa asked, his voice dispassionate.

Quatre shook his head. "Whilst the full moon graces the sky they have their human forms. Their memories will only last whilst they are together in this wood. Once the sun rises they will both return to what they were, and their memories will disappear," He tipped his head to one side reading the threads that surrounded them. "This curse can only be broken by it being recanted by the one who cast it, or by his death."

Trowa raised an eyebrow "Interesting." he commented watching as the braided man carefully examined his brother's arm. "And the rose maids?"

Quatre looked troubled "The maids and the men are all bound to the fate of the fairy realm. I see magics weaving into a complicated knot of fate; but to what end I cannot tell." He paused looking to the east where the pink of dawn was beginning to touch the sky. Glancing back at the men he saw the many threads start to tighten again, pushing the men apart. "Their time is over," he said, the sympathy evident in his voice.

The two youths looked puzzled, unable to see the magic weaving about them as Quatre and Trowa did, but they were sensitive to its pull.

"Brother!" The dark one held a hand up to his eyes, his fingers rigid and beginning to elongate.

"No!" the panic was evident in the braided ones voice. He held his own head in apparent pain, crouching down on the ground "It is too soon! We have had no time!"

The dark youth did not reply. His back arched and his arms were outstretched wide. The magics surrounded both men now, swirling glistening tendrils of blackness. Evil magic in the holy wood. Trowa was frowning, his fists clenched at the desecration being performed before his very eyes.

The braided one was reducing in size, fur appearing over his body, his face elongating as he howled in pain. The dark one endured his suffering without uttering a word, although Quatre could see that both men were in significant pain.

Then it was over. The sun had risen bringing light to the golden wood, and on its mossy floor lay a cat and a falcon, both panting heavily. The falcon was first to recover, it flapped its wings several times whilst eyeing the cat in distrust. Turning its head it eyed its wing closely, grooming it with its beak. Then with a grunt of disdain, it launched itself up into the air, carefully manoeuvring through the leafy tree branches.

"Zero!" the cat had recovered and leapt after the raptor "Bum cake!"

The snowy falcon ignored the entreaties of the feline and soared away in the clear morning sky, leaving the despondent cat behind. For a minute or so the cat just sat and stared up to where falcon had been, before it got to its feet and walked away, its tail dragging upon the ground in its unhappiness.

Trowa had by this time recovered from the wave of black magic that had washed through the wood. He shook his head at Quatre. "Nothing good will come of this desecration."

Quatre smiled gently, spreading his hands upon the tree they hid in easing its hurt away with the gentle blessings of his white magic. "We will see." he murmured.

* * * *

Hilde watched as dawn broke bringing the promise of another bright but cold day. She had not slept, instead she had quietly sat and talked to Relena each sharing their experiences of the night.

Relena had been upset when Hilde presented her with the feather she had found, but refused to believe that Zero had been consumed. She had tucked it in her bodice, wiped her eyes and promised that she would search again in the morning for the missing bird. Hilde had hugged her, wondering whether there was much hope to be had. Nevertheless, one confident smile from Relena had her nodding and agreeing that indeed they should search once more once dawn had arrived.

Of course, they had shared with each other their encounters in the night. Peygan had fallen asleep by the fire, and they had covered him with a quilt to keep him warm, then they had retired to their shared closet bed up in the eaves of the cottage. Changing into heavy cotton night-dresses, they wrapped themselves up in their own star decorated quilt and shared their stories in whispers.

Hilde had been surprised that Relena had encountered a youth as well, and listened without interruption to her tale of how he aided her when she twisted her ankle. Relena's voice had been dreamy when she described his eyes and the sensation of his touch, and Hilde had found herself smiling in recollection of her own encounter.

Relena had laughed gently when Hilde told her of her own incapability to put together a coherent sentence. Both had agreed that they had felt a bewildering familiarity for the men, but could not recollect ever encountering them before. They were truly isolated from the world in their little cottage, and every person they had met had been remembered due to its rarity.

As the hours had passed, Relena had fallen into a light sleep as Hilde had stroked her hair soothingly. However, sleep had proven evasive for herself and soon she had felt the need to arise and do something.

Peygan was asleep beside the fire, which had burnt down to dull embers. Carefully she added some more kindling and using the old bellows blew it back into life. Picking up the kettle, she moved to the door intent on fetching some more water. She put her red cloak about her shoulders as protection against the frosty morning air, and pulled her boots onto her bare feet before stepping quickly outside and closing the door behind her.

She breathed deeply, delighting in the clean crisp air of the morning and felt it blow away the muzziness of night that still hung about her. As she walked to the pump, she listened to the dawn chorus in delight. She loved the way the birds celebrated the dawn of a new day and felt the need to explode into song herself. Not wishing to wake the occupants of the cottage, she chose instead to hum as she worked on trying to de-ice the pump. Birds floated down surrounding her as she worked, unafraid of the gentle maid, and eager for the crumbs of bread that they hoped she carried.

Smiling at them, she interrupted her work to cast some bread upon the snow and was satisfied to see more birds fly down to partake in the feast that she bought them. "There you go, my greedy little birds. Be sure to reward me with a song!" she again turned back to the pump.

The sound of many wings flapping drew her attention back to them and she saw that they had suddenly as one taken off, squawking warnings amongst themselves. Hilde straightened, and looked about her trying to see what had given them fright.

Bounding across the snow came the cat, its tail held high, its ears alert. Hilde fancied that she could almost see a grin upon its face.

"Shitty, Shitty!" he purred as he rubbed his head against her legs.

Hilde stood still for a moment before grasping the empty kettle and hurling it at the animal. With a resounding thwack it hit the cat squarely between the eyes. The cat howled in pain and stumbled back a few paces. It looked up at Hilde, confusion and hurt on its face as it rubbed on paw across the lump that was sure to be forming.

"Snot waste shat sore? he demanded, then eyes widening, he saw that Hilde had grabbed her trusty broom and was aiming another blow at him.

Hilde's first blow missed by inches causing the feline to howl in dismay. As she chased him across the icy ground, she demanded "What did you do to Zero? Did you eat him? You horrible cat, you have left poor Relena heart broken!"

The cat encountered a patch of ice and all his four limbs went in different directions, causing him to slump heavily on the ground.

"Pie piss snot!" he declared indignantly, before having to scamper away from another well-aimed blow.

The door to the cottage opened suddenly and Relena ran out into the snow, her long fair hair billowing behind her, her cloak slipping from her shoulders, and her feet bare in her haste to intervene.

"Hilde! Stop please" she begged, placing herself between her sister whose cheeks were red from the effort of trying to flatten the feline, and the cat whose ears were laid back and eyes were wide with indignation. She looked over her shoulder at the cat who tilted its head and attempted to smile up at her "Look at him, poor dear. I am sure he did not hurt Zero."

On cue, the cat nodded its head and sat back on its haunches turning its head away in disdain from the girl who had attacked him. Hilde sighed and lowered the broom, before crouching down and gently tickling the cat's ears.

"I'm sorry Pooh-oh." she whispered "Tell us where Zero is."

The cat, who had started to purr as soon as the maiden had touched him gently, lowered his head and looked depressed.

"You dont know, do you dear Cat." Relena whispered, pulling her cloak around her and looking up into the clear blue winter's sky.

A tear began to form in the corner of her eye as she wondered what had become of her raptor friend. However, as she blinked rapidly to chase it away, she found herself focused on a shape in the sky, a dot that rapidly became bigger showing that it was a bird. A large bird. A white bird. A falcon!

"Zero!" Relena called out, her arms outstretched towards her snowy companion as he circled lazily then landed on the handle of the water pump. She ran to him and gently caressed his snow white feathers with tenderness and concern. "Your wing! It has healed. How could that be?" Removing her cloak from her back, she wound it around her arm, and offered it out to the bird. Carefully the falcon stepped onto her arm, flapping his wings as he got his balance, but refraining from tightening his claws.

He turned his head to one side and looked at her his eyes wide and unblinking "I had a dream." he said "And when I awoke it was healed."

Relena smiled wondering if Quatre had perhaps visited the raptor during the night and healed him of his injury. She leaned her head against his soft feathers and whispered "I am so glad you returned." Turning she walked slowly back to the cottage before her feet became blue from the cold.

The cat had perked up with the arrival of Zero and was now once again rubbing against the legs of Hilde.

"Pie shad a bream floo." he declared, purring loudly. "Pie breamed poof Shitty!"

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Stupid rude cat!" she murmured before swiping it again with her broom.

TBC