Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Tidal Whims ❯ Sweet Dreams ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: If I owned them I would not share.

Pairings: You'll see later. ;)


~*~*~*~ signifies a change in time/place.

"______" signifies speech

'______' signifies thoughts




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The stars were twinkling overhead, as if giggling to one another and sharing a great secret.

 

“Hey Quatre?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Remember that story Miss Helen used to tell us?”

 

“You mean the one that got us hooked to her like kittens to milk?”

 

“That's… a rather sweetened simile.”

 

Quatre chuckled as his adopted brother swallowed a grimace. He hated mushy stuff. Well, most of the time anyway.

 

“Yes, I remember it. Vividly. How could I forget with her telling it to us all through grade school and wondering if the mers ever really knew what they'd done with their well meaning intentions.”

 

“You're awfully wordy for a 7th grader.”

 

“Blame mum.”

 

“Point.”

 

Both boys indulged in a snicker. Quatre would be turning 13 in the next week, a summer baby just like Duo had always suspected. The braided wonder had given himself a birthday in the middle of winter just to balance things out. He'd be turning 14 this time around.

 

“I was just thinking about that king again. About what he did.”

 

“It's sad. And people don't even think they could be that bad.”

 

“Some do.”

 

“Yeah. Some.”

 

The two had grown from small, dirty street urchins to gangly adolescence with nary a bump. Food was plentiful - and yummy if the belly growls were anything to go by - soft beds, running water and loving parents. Duo still found it hard to believe that last one sometimes.

 

The sky was dark, no sign of the moon this night and the clouds were apparently off to some other part of the globe. Nothing obstructed their view of the stars as the boys curled happily into their favorite spots on the statue to watch the sky.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The sea was dark. He need not worry about creatures in the waters, none would bother him this night. There was too much at stake. Instinctively the fishes avoided him. The trident, symbol of the King, glowed softly at his side, casting a soft blue glow around his form.

 

It wasn't hard for him to find the pair of wilds, curled up as they were in their favorite spot, bathed in moonlight. He let himself watch for a time, committing the scene to memory. Trowa and Wufei were curled around each other like small children. In the dark it was hard to tell where one stopped and the other started. The faint movement of the water had blown the black mer's hair around their heads in a graceful cloud.

 

In that moment he almost faltered.

 

“Heero?”

 

The soft sound of Trowa's sleep-confused voice came from somewhere within the dark clouded and curled form.

 

“Shh. Just had a nightmare and wanted to see you two. I'm all right now. Go back to sleep.”

 

The trident was placed behind a patch of weeds as he swam over. Wufei stirred as he swam closer, wondering what had woken them.

 

The Prince hummed softly, gently combing his hands through their hair until both fell into contented slumber again.

 

Seeing the faces of his brothers, relaxed and peaceful, firmed his resolve. He could not let them fall prey to bigotry.

 

“Sweet dreams, my brothers.”

 

As he caught up his trident something shattered inside the Prince.

 

The glow around the tips grew as hero muttered words in a language no human mouth could form. The water around the sleeping mers stilled as the sleeping figures started to glow a dull silver. The chanting quickened, seeming to echo upon itself as the water around the wilds started to spiral, leaving the center calm.

 

Then, just as suddenly as the whirlpool had started it dissipated with a resounding shockwave.

 

In their homes, safe behind their fortified walls and wards, mers startled awake in wonder at the mass of power that flowed over them.

 

In the sanctity of the watery escape Prince Heero watched as the last of the glow dissolved away. For just a moment he saw his brothers, wound around each other, sleeping peacefully. Then cold gray flowed over them, the spell complete.

 

Knowing he had to be sure, it still took him several moments to muster up the courage to swim to the sealed wilds. A shaking hand reached out to touch the faces of his brothers.

 

Instead of warm flesh his fingers encountered cold stone.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

None of the mers in the city could have told you what happened that night when their king left the city.

 

All they knew was a strange power had woken them from outside the city, followed moments later by a sound that could only be a soul breaking.

 

Not a one of the commoners thought to connect those facts to their king, who returned to the city…

 

The edges of his fins pearl white.

 

Only the guard, Milliardo, understood.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The boys watched the sky, entranced as shooting stars swept across the sky. It was one of the most awe-inspiring sights they'd ever seen. They hadn't noticed that they'd curled closer to the statue as they watched.

 

One particularly bright star shot across the sky.

 

Both boys closed their eyes as they would have when they were smaller and wished.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“They've done it again.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

“Are you concerned?”

 

“Not in the least.”

 

“Oh? Surely you joke. They are human, and now have what they wanted for themselves.”

 

“That's just the trick. They did not wish for themselves the first time. And they did not wish for themselves now. Listen.”

 

“… ah, I think I see what you mean. You were right.”

 

“They are the ones.”

 

“That they are. So now what?”

 

“Now they need to find that for themselves.”

 

“And us.”

 

“Hope.”

 

“Always.”

 

In the land where Dream and Waking merge into Fantasy the pairs of eyes locked again, smiles spreading into grins.

 

Soon their children would be free again.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

-I am not lost.

-But I am not found

-I am between

-Around and through

-Don't fret for me

-Don't look in shadows

-Don't look in light

-Nor windows peek

-Or shuttered shades

-Wild cities

-Or quiet seas

-Tracing thoughts

-They can't tell you

-Don't ask in words

-They will deceive you

-Where am I?

-If you couldn't tell

-I'm right behind you

-My fellow Shell