Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Maids of Silva ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

Maids of Silva

by Happily Ever After (Goldberry, Iris Anthe & kmf)

Chapter 14 (by kmf)

Lucrezia could sense them coming even when they were miles away. The trees, the earth, the very air itself screamed with the pain that Dorothy's captive felt. The overwhelming sensations forced her to her knees, her head lowered in pain and misery. The trees, for centuries mute after the withdrawal of magic from the land, cried as one for what had been lost to them. And for what had been taken from the captive.

She could not help the tears that welled up in her eyes as she knelt trembling from the sense of loss, reliving her own moments of captivity at the hands of Dorothy's father. She had been careless, preoccupied with the two abandoned human babes she had rescued from the fringes of the forest. He had cared nothing for them, they had not been important to him for they were not fae.

After snapping the hated iron collar around her neck, he had left the babes on the forest floor to die; one fair, one dark, both crying for the sudden lack of warmth and love that she had been giving them. Her last gift to them, with the ebbing of her magic, had been to bless them with small spells of protection and pray that some other soul would find them before they surrendered their lives to the wild. She could still hear their wails echoing through her mind, intermingled with the wild laughter of the hunter.

He had been punished for his acts against the fae and against humanity. A sudden burst of pure white light had been the Hearts kiss, before the overwhelming hatred of the woods behind them had left him reduced. His gift from the Heart of Fae for his deed was the ability to empathise with all magical things. She had thought then that she had been saved. But he was determined and he had retained enough strength to carry her away. And she had not seen her beloved woods since then.

Thereafter, the only times he ever had peace were with his moments with his only daughter, Dorothy. At the thought of the child, a fresh tear rolled down Lucrezia's face. She had been such a tiny thing when Lucrezia had first been dragged to this household, a babe only a few months old, her blue eyes wide and innocent. And Lucrezia could not help but love her, despite that she was the daughter of the one who had torn her from her magical world and her beloved husband. And even when the hated bands of iron around her throat and wrists had caused Lucrezia to loose her own unborn fae child, she still could not hate Dorothy.

Instead, she had loved Dorothy as her own, caring for her after her mother died, whispering tales of the Heart and singing fae songs of love and happiness to her. Dorothy had grown up in the blink of an eye, as all human children did. But she had also grown distant from her. As she grew up, her father encouraged her to love the hunt. Even though he himself no longer participated in it and his eyes still reflecting the fear he felt of all things magic, he played on the child's strong desire to prove herself worthy of her father and to gain his love. In this way he took his revenge against Lucrezia and the Heart; he stole her surrogate child from her and turned her into the monster that she now was.

And now Dorothy was repeating the cycle. She had hunted another fae, and was now approaching with the poor unfortunate being.

Lucrezia raised her head and looked towards the door. She pushed herself slowly to her feet, breathing deeply trying to free herself from the pain that pushed against her. It was fading now, the trees becoming silent as their brief moment of awakening ended and they once again slipped into their endless mortal sleep. Dorothy and her captive had entered the house and were shielded by its aura of hate, loneliness and hurt.

The door handle moved, and Dorothy entered. She immediately saw Lucrezia, and her mouth pulled into a wide smile; not of happiness, but of calculating pride. She yanked on the iron chain that she grasped in her black gloved hand, and a fae stumbled through the door; pale, diminished and on the point of death. Lucrezia could not stifle the cry of dismay that pushed past her lips.

Quatre..

Prince of the Fourth House, a more gentle spirit had never graced the world of the fae. He stood, no swayed, blood seeping from a small wound in his shoulder. Lucrezia could tell instantly from his wavering ill coloured aura that he had been pierced by iron and that iron remained inside his wound. And it was killing him.

Lucrezia moved swiftly forward, casting an arm around the prince, supporting his weight as she drew his head down to her breast in an effort to comfort him. She tried to send her energies to him, to replenish his own seriously depleted reserves, but stumbled against the twin iron barriers of his collar and her own.

"How delightful," Dorothy drawled, her hand carelessly dropping Quatre's chain to the floor, before she crossed her arms and tilted her head to one side.

Lucrezia's gaze snapped up to her mistress, her mouth pulled into a grimace in the effort to speak. She wanted desperately to berate the child, to ask her why she had to be so cruel and to beg her to release the prince back to the woods before it was too late. But the spell that had been cast on her collar stopped even one word from slipping past her lips. Quatre stumbled and fell down to his knees, his head bowed, his face slick from sweat and pale. Lucrezia, unable to hold him upright, fell to her knees too, her gaze once more upon the injured prince, her eyes full of concern for him.

Dorothy watched, and her eyes narrowed. It seemed that Lucrezia was more than a little taken with the fae boy that she had captured. Whilst she should have been pleased, after all she had wanted Lucrezia to be happy and mated, the sight of her embracing the injured boy filled her full of disgust. Disgust and jealousy. How long had it been since Lucrezia had looked at her with such concern? How long had it been since Lucrezia had wrapped her slender arms around her and comforted her?

Shaking her head slightly, she slowly pulled off her gloves, dropping the soiled garments carelessly to the floor. Pulling her dagger from her belt, she peered at its gleaming steel edge, before moving closer to the couple. The boy was now shaking, his teeth clenched as he convulsed in Lucrezia's arms. Strangely, his eyes were calm as he stared up into his carer's concerned eyes. He seemed to recognise the woman who held him, and despite his discomfort radiated joy at the sight of her.

Raising a foot, Dorothy kicked out catching Lucrezia on the shoulder, causing the fae to roll back, wincing in pain from the blow. Dorothy bent down and grasped Quatre by the iron collar around his neck, and dragged him out of Lucrezia's arms. She held her dagger up to his eyes, turning it slowly until he focused on it.

"Time to dig," she whispered into his ear.

* * * * * *

Relena clutched her side as she ran following her sister. Every breath was an effort, every foot fall caused the stitch in her side to bite even deeper. But she would not stop to rest, she would not pause, not when Quatre's life was at stake. Hilde glanced back at her, her face flushed with effort, and gave her an encouraging smile before turning her attention back to the cat that ran in front of them. Even Hilde was having difficulty with the pace that Pooh-oh was setting, and she was the most energetic person Relena knew.

A shadow fell across Relena, and she glanced up to see Zero swooping down towards her, his blue eyes startling against his brown and white plumage. She slowed and raised her arm encased in her cloak for the raptor to land upon. His weight made her stumble, her arm lowering sharply which caused Wing to flap his wings to keep his balance. She murmured an apology, almost incoherent because of her breathlessness.

"We are there," Zero said quietly, turning his feathered head and gazing forward. The cat had also halted, and Hilde was on her knees beside him, her fingers tangled in his coat as she tried to regain her breath. "Quatre's blood trail leads to just beyond those trees."

Relena bit her lip and nodded, hurrying forward so that she was with her sister. Peering through the frosted white branches, she could see a large moated manor house, its drawbridge down and its gates unguarded.

The cat sniffed. "Pie pant spell farts," he murmured.

Hilde winced, then whispered to Relena.

"I think… I hope… he said he can't smell guards," she said, grasping hold of Relena's hands. "Can that be true? Would that girl not have guards on her house?"

Relena frowned, "I don't know, perhaps she does not fear being accosted. She seemed strong enough not to rely on others to protect her," an image of the huntress striding towards them with her arrow trained on Quatre came unbidden into her mind, and she shuddered a little. "We cannot hesitate, we must rescue friend Quatre!"

She moved, walking forward in the direction of the drawbridge and Zero's talons tightened on her arm as if he protested her actions. But before she could step more than a few paces, an anguished scream cut through the still frosty air, freezing all four of them in their tracks. The sound made Relena's heart break, for she knew exactly who it was that was calling out in such agony.

"Quatre!" she called out desperately, before running forward with Hilde on her heels.

And the raptor and the cat had no choice but to follow.

* * * * * *

Dorothy stood looking down at her knife work, the bloody sliver of iron that had been in Quatre's shoulder now held between her thumb and her forefinger. She twirled it as she wondered how something so insignificant could cause so much damage. Glancing down at the fae, she frowned. He lay panting on the table top, his face glistening with sweat, his blue eyes only half open and glazed. His shoulder was a bloody mess. The iron sliver had been small and difficult to locate; Dorothy had had to do a lot of cutting before she managed to locate it.

Flicking the shard into the fire, she turned to look at Lucrezia. The fae woman was staring at her new mate, her eyes pained and sorrowful, her mouth partially open.

"Bind his shoulder," Dorothy instructed, "If you want him to live, that is." She crossed her arms as she watched Lucrezia move slowly towards the stricken fae, "Although now I know just how easy they are to hunt, and where to go to obtain them, it would be an easy matter to replace him with one more to your taste."

Lucrezia had placed her hands against the wound in an effort to stop the blood flowing, careful not to allow her iron bands to touch his raw wound. Blood welled up and through her fingers, trailing down her wrist before dripping to the floor. Paired with Lucrezia's shocked pallor, it almost looked as if she had slit her wrists.

"Quatre!"

Both Lucrezia and Dorothy looked around as the door to the room burst open. A girl tumbled in, her cloak half hanging off her shoulders, her blond hair tangled with what appeared to be bits of leaf and twig. Behind her was another girl, dark as the first was fair, her scarlet red cloak an echo of the blood that decorated the room.

"You two..." Dorothy hissed, pulling out her dagger once again.

She recognised them instantly, the two girls who were in the forest with the fleeing princes. The ones that had tried to interfere with her hunt earlier. The magical ones. And where they were, the princes would not be far behind.

Sure enough, as soon as she had considered it, Dorothy saw the cat that was Prince Duo fly through the door, his claws scrabbling to find purchase on the highly polished wooden floor. He skidded, and came to an ungraceful halt just in front of the maids, his legs askew, his ears laid flat back on his head. He looked up at her and instantly he was back on all fours, his eyes narrowed and his tail poker straight. His mouth pulled back revealing sharp canines. And he growled.

The raptor that was King Heero flew in through the door, landing on the fair maid's shoulder, taking in the scene that was before him. Dorothy smiled. Today was turning out to be more exciting than she had ever imagined it could be. Not only had she successfully hunted fae, she was soon to add a prince and a King to her tally. She held her knife ready as the fair girl moved closer.

But the girl's attention was not on Dorothy at all. Rather, it was on the one who lay as if dead behind her.

"Quatre!" she murmured again, running by Dorothy, almost upsetting the bird on her shoulder who glared a warning at Dorothy not to approach.

Lucrezia was staring at the girl, recognition on her face, and her mouth pulled into a rare beautiful wide smile. Dorothy felt her heart stop at the expression. How many years had it been since Lucrezia had looked at her in that way? How many years had past since Lucrezia's eyes had lit up with love and life at the sight of her? Even when she had hunted a mate so that Lucrezia need not be lonely anymore, all she had been rewarded with were looks of pain and reproach.

"Relena," Lucrezia breathed, "You have grown so beautiful!"

Dorothy's eyes narrowed at the softly spoken words said so quietly that Relena did not hear them, so preoccupied she was with the injured one. But Dorothy heard, and she found her heart grow colder still at the love that was imbued in the words. Raising her dagger high, she approached Relena as she stroked Quatre's hair, her intention to kill the impudent girl that dared do place herself so high in Lucrezia's affections.

The raptor saw her approach, and grated out a warning. The cat saw her approach and snarled, leaping for her with his claws unsheathed and eager for blood. But it was neither the car nor the bird that stopped her. Instead it was the dark insignificant maid, so small and frail that Dorothy had completely disregarded her. She darted forward, her hand outstretched and touched Dorothy lightly on the brow.

"Sleep, huntress, sleep!" she murmured, her eyes narrowed but at the same time unfocused and soft, "I give you sleep so that you harm not the innocent and the pure. Sleep and awake when the sun shines again!"

Dorothy had half turned towards the dark maid as she whispered her incantation, her forehead tingling hot, yet cold at the same time. With all her soul she wanted to raise her knife against the one who had dared to touch her, but found instead that it slipped through her fingers and seemed to fall in slow motion to the floor. Darkness swam around her, pulling her down into its inky depths, and all thoughts of revenge, all thoughts of hurt, all thoughts of loneliness fell away.

And she gave herself up to the dark.

* * * *

Relena did not notice as her sister touched Dorothy on the brow, and she did not notice when Dorothy fell to the floor in a deep sleep. She was too preoccupied with Quatre to notice anything or anyone else. He tried to smile at her reassuringly, but she saw his pale lips, his cloudy eyes and the sweat that glistened on his skin. And she knew instinctively that he was dying.

The willowy woman who was trying to staunch the wound seemed to know too. She gazed up at Relena, her eyes tortured and unhappy, her head bowed down by the weight of the iron collar she wore around her neck; the very twin to the one that Quatre now wore. It was then that Relena realised that the woman was of the same race as Quatre; a fae, immortal and proud. And there was something oddly familiar about this woman that made Relena catch her breath.

"How is he?" Hilde asked quietly, standing beside Relena, gazing down at Quatre.

Relena shook her head, her throat too tight to speak of what she feared most; that they had arrived too late to save Quatre. Tears welled up in her eyes as she trailed her fingers down the side of Quatre's face, down to the wound that bloomed blood so freely. Her fingers paused there, hovering just above the wound, her brow pulling into a small puzzled frown. She almost felt that if she wished hard enough she would be able to reverse the damage.

"No, you must not!" the captive woman suddenly spoke, "He is fae and immortal, your gift is for humans only!"

Relena heard her, but the words meant nothing. All she could think of was the wish that Quatre was well. Her fingers began to burn, but still she held them out over his wound, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation that flowed through them.

"Hilde! Stop her," the dark fae cried out again, "Heero! She may do herself mortal harm!"

The raptor turned his head sharply to look at the captive woman, his blue eyes dilating in shock as she addressed him. He blinked, looking to the brindle cat that sat crouched beside the fallen huntress and recognition suddenly flooded his eyes.

"Duo," he murmured, before turning his attention back to the girl who he had promised to protect. "Relena!" he cried in warning, as he saw her eyes glaze with unbidden power.

But it was too late. Words slipped from Relena's mouth, an incantation of healing that she felt that she had known forever but never heard before, spoken low and incoherently. Her hair lifted and floated through the air as power flowed around her and through her, and her fingers glowed. And then, amazingly, Quatre's wound began to heal. The blood ceased to flow, the wound became less deep as the muscles and tendons began to knit themselves back together. His pale beautiful skin stretched to hide the hurt that had been done, and then all that remained to show that he had ever been injured was the blood that stained the table.

The power ebbed from Relena, her hair slowly falling around her shoulders as she closed her eyes in weariness. Zero, sensing her weakness, spread his wings and relieved her shoulder of his weight. He called out to her as he saw her knees start to bend, his voice full of frustration that he could not catch her as she fell.

But before she crumpled to the floor, another caught her. Relena wearily opened her eyes to see Quatre gazing down at her as he cradled her to his chest. His wide blue eyes were blessedly pain free, and his mouth pulled into a calm smile.

"Thank you," he murmured, touching his lips to her forehead, "You risked much to heal me, though you did not know it. You must promise me never to heal a fae again; our life energies far overwhelm those of mortals. Your gift is for humans only."

Relena smiled, too tired to do anything more than nod at her guardian's words. Her smile broadened as Hilde flung her arms around the both of them, laughing in delight that both were relatively safe and sound. Zero, landing beside Quatre on the table, edged closer to the weary girl, his eyes both concerned and frustrated. Relena lifted a hand to gently stroke the raptor's feathers, trying to soothe the beast and reassure him that she was fine. Quatre, too, looked at him closely noting the glare that the raptor gave him as he tightened his hold of his charge.

"Your spell is unwinding," he observed calmly.

"The caster is weakened, the spell breaks gradually," the fae woman at his side said softly, looking at the bird and cat with love in her eyes. "The speaking of your true name was enough to sever a few more threads, though it cannot be fully undone until such time as the one who cast it revokes it, or dies."

The raptor turned his head to regard her closely.

"I feel I know you," he said shifting closer to Relena, as her hand dropped to her side and her eyes began to close from exhaustion. "Who are you?"

"She is the one most precious to our race," Quatre replied, "She who cared so much for human's that she refused to abandon them when magic was lost to their kind. She who sung into every newborn babe's ear giving them the gift of hope and love. She who is our Queen, of the First House of Fae, Lady Lucrezia Noin, beloved of King Millardo Peacecraft."

Four pairs of eyes swung to regard Lucrezia, as she stood in her rags and her chains, her eyes sorrowful. She lifted her iron bound hands in entreaty.

"Will you set me free?"

Duo bounded forward, sniffing the bands, before turning and running back to Dorothy. The huntress lay on the floor where she had fallen, deeply asleep, her chest rising and lowering rhythmically, her fair hair spread about her in startling contrast to the mahogany floor. Duo growled once, then started to push aside her jacket with his paws, and nuzzling the material with his nose.

Hilde gave a little cry outrage, and approached him with her fists clenched, ready in inflict damage on the molesting cat. Duo, hearing her approach, lifted his eyes and flattened his ears, but did not stop pushing his way through Dorothy's clothes.

"Pee! Pee!" he said nervously as Hilde came within striking distance, then pulled his head up, his feline mouth pulled into a jaunty grin. Hooked around one of his lower canines was an iron key.

Hilde frowned, and unclenched her hands as Duo padded up to her and rubbed his head against her legs. Crouching down, she removed the key from his mouth and gave him a little scratch behind his ear as a reward before turning back to Lucrezia. Duo gave a loud purr of contentment, then bounded after her, snaking his way around her legs in happiness.

With trembling fingers, Hilde slotted the key into the lock that held the iron band around Lucrezia's neck. She grimaced as the key refused to turn at first; the lock had been closed for many years and did not wish to release its prize. But then with a creak, it turned and the band opened allowing Lucrezia to reach up pull it off and cast it onto the ground.

Hilde almost started crying at the welts and bruises that adorned Lucrezia's skin, but the fae Queen stood tall and radiant as Hilde took the rest of her bands off. When she had finished, Lucrezia smiled her thanks and reached down to give the human girl a kiss on her cheek, before turning and twirling, lifting her hands to the sky in happiness at her unexpected freedom.

And then, suddenly, she fell to her knees, her head lowered in homage. Quatre, freed from his bonds swiftly placed Relena upon the table, before he too fell to his knees. Heero's wings flapped in irritation, his eyes darting around the room in anticipation of something approaching, something old and more powerful than imagination. Duo's hackles rose, and he stood protectively in front of Hilde, who looked on in surprise and barely contained anticipation. Relena's sleepy eyes widened sensing the approach of a power, angry and vengeful.

Before all of them, the air shimmered and spun, at its centre a bright white sparkle that expanded swiftly, flooding the room with clear pure light. Eyes blinked rapidly as the light faded, and perceived in the centre of the room two figures. One was the human woman they had last seen in the forest before Quatre and Trowa were attacked. She was hunched over looking pale and sick her hair coming free from the plaits that restrained it. The other stood tall and proud, his silver blond hair falling around his shoulders like moonlight, his face stern and his blue eyes angry. In his hand he held a sword and he stood as one ready to smite down his enemies.

Lucrezia looked up at the warrior in front of her, her mouth curling into a smile, her eyes glistening with tears of happiness.

"My love, my King," she whispered.

TBC