Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Don't sue.
Chapter II: The Deepest Water, The Clearest Sky
It wasn't supposed end up this way.
Red Phoenix General Duo sat still in his seat, eyes wandering, looking around, observing, and remembering. Beside him sat his Maiden, the Lady Hilde, who was dressed in a gown of the deepest black, like the rest of the maidens. She was sobbing, the sound muffled by her soggy handkerchief that she held in a death grip. Hilde's short, raven-black hair fell over one side of her face, smoky locks brushing softly against her smooth, pale cheek. Her shoulders shook every now and then.
It wasn't supposed to end up this way.
Sitting beside her was the Green Tortoise General Quatre. Quatre's blue-green eyes were dull with pain, his face paler than usual. He was not crying, but Duo could see him gripping tightly the hand of his Maiden, the white-faced Lady Dorothy. Their blonde heads were bowed; their shoulders slumped. Earlier, Dorothy tried to sit up straight, tried to keep the cool look on her face, but one look at the body over the brier swept her mask away.
It wasn't supposed to end up this way.
To Duo's left sat the Lady Meiran, the Maiden of the White Tiger General Wufei, who sat at Meiran's left. Both their faces were calm, cool, collected, although Duo could see that there were, in Wufei's black eyes, a spark of anger, and in Meiran's, a hint of pain. Meiran's dark eyes surveyed the room calmly, rested on Duo briefly, before it focused once again at the High Priest.
The High Priest stood in front of them, a eunuch dressed in his dark blue silk robes that flowed and rippled as he moved. Both of his hands were upraised, calling out to the gods in a droning, loud voice to have mercy on the soul of the dead.
It wasn't supposed to end up this way.
Duo put a hand on Hilde's shaking shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze. It wasn't supposed to end this way, Duo thought, red-hot anger coursing through his veins. His eyes focused on the veined white marble brier in front of him, on the still body on it. It WASN'T supposed to end this way.
Duo's gaze finally rested on the Blue Dragon General Heero, who stood a few feet away the snowy brier, facing them. He wore his special armor, as the rest of the four generals did, the one shaped to the likeness of their respective animals. He was as imposing as ever, his handsome face expressionless. His eyes that were as blue as the deepest waters were cold and hard as he watched the High Priest continue his raving. Anyone watching would have thought he wasn't really affected by what had happened, but Duo knew better. After all, he had been there when Heero discovered the body.
Duo shook his head as he watched Heero march towards the shrine with grim determination. Heero had always been a little too paranoid when it came to his Maiden. He reluctantly followed the Dragon general, falling just a few feet behind him. When they reached the shrine itself, Duo decided to stay behind as Heero entered. He stood there for several seconds, until the eerie silence was pierced by a scream of indescribable loss.
NOOOOOO!!!!!!
Duo rushed inside the shrine, pushing the door open so hard it was nearly torn off its hinges. The sight that greeted him would forever remain in his mind.
Heero was standing in the middle of the floor, looking up. Duo followed his gaze and to his horror, he saw a limp body hanging by a rope tied to one of the rafters. A vast, uncontrollable shock shook his whole body when he focused on swollen stomach and then to the face. Even if her face were slightly obscured by her long, light brown hair, Duo knew that the girl was the Lady Alina.
She was still dressed in the pale blue robes that she wore as the Dragon Maiden. She was so terribly still; the only movement her body made was the swaying of her feet and arms as she swung back and forth in her rope.
A cloud passed over the sun, blocking its light. Once again, the shrine was bathed in darkness.
For several seconds, Duo stood there, shaking, his eyes wild and huge. He could not move from where he was standing, as if he were paralyzed. Then he turned to Heero, who was now picking up his sword from the damp wooden floor. In one swift, single stroke, he cut the rope. Alina's limp body fell into Heero's waiting arms with a dull, sickening thud, like a thick pile of rags falling on the floor.
With a sudden, animal cry of pain that echoed throughout the empty, cold shrine, Heero fell into his knees with a sharp thud, his shaking arms clutching Alina's body tightly to his chest, rocking back and forth. His shoulders shook as sobs wracked his body. "Alina, Alina…" He whispered over and over again in a hoarse voice. He stroked her long, light brown hair, and placed soft kisses on her brow and face. Nevertheless, whatever Heero did, Alina did not respond. She remained still and cold in his arms, unresponsive…dead.
Duo closed his eyes, trying to stop his unshed tears. It wasn't supposed to end this way. Alina should have given birth to a healthy child, and today they should have been celebrating the child's birth.
However, it did not end the way it was supposed to. Instead of celebrating life, they were mourning a death.
It was the Lady Alina's funeral.
Duo let his eyes wander again. The Hall of the Blue Dragon God were filled with hundreds of guttering candles, giving the room and the people in it an eerie look as shadow and light played in the room like naughty children. The cloying perfume of the flowers that filled the room made Duo want to gag.
On the left behind the brier sat in their silver seats the twelve Elders, all of them dressed in white. Composed of six old men and six old women, these frail, doddering ancient beings ruled every aspect of life in the kingdom. It was they who decided what was proper, right and good and what was improper, wrong and bad. Duo fixed his gaze at them, looking at their calm, expressionless faces. His fist unconsciously clenched, and with a slight sneer, he wrenched his gaze away and settled on the man in front of the Elders, the Emperor Treize.
Treize sat in a golden seat decorated by the royal seal of the foul Sacred Animals. He wore a magnificent gold-embroidered white tunic that glinted in the sunlight, blinding those who look at him. A golden crown studded with rubies, diamonds and other jewels was perched rakishly on top of his dark brown hair. Beside him were his wife, the Empress Une, and their daughter, the Princess Mariemaia.
Like the Elders, Trieze’s face was calm, and no emotion showed in his handsome face.
A sudden wailing startled Duo. He turned to his right, and he saw a middle-aged blonde-haired woman sobbing loudly. With a start, Duo recognized the woman as Alina’s mother, the recently widowed Lady Helena. Clad in a gown of black satin and lace, her old but still beautiful face was streaked with tears, her eyes filled with indescribable pain. Alina had been her only child, her only daughter.
He felt someone nudge him by the ribs, and he turned to find Hilde looking at him, her eyes and nose red from crying. "It’s time," she said softly, her eyes filled with grim determination and sadness.
Duo nodded. He saw Heero carefully rise from his seat. Duo and the rest followed him. They slowly approached the brier. When they reached it, they encircled the brier. Maiden and General then joined hands.
A hush fell in the room. No one moved or talked.
It was soft at first, but then grew louder at every word. It began with Heero's soft murmur, followed by Duo's muttering and Hilde's gentle chants. Quatre whispered the words, while Dorothy spoke them distinctly. Wufei recited them fervently, while Meiran mouthed them with quiet dignity in her voice.
Then, slowly but surely, their voice became united, became one–a voice filled with grief, regret and love.
Bless the soul of Your faithful servant,
Guide her in her final rest,
Gather her in Your strong arms
And fill her with Your gentle warmth
May You give her what we can not give
May You love her as we can not have…
As they continue to recite the words, Alina's body began to glow with a pale blue light. Then, she slowly rose into the air, hovering for a few seconds. Her white dressed rippled through an unseen breeze and her light brown hair brushed softly against her pale cheek. A gasp of amazement rippled through the gathered crowd. The air around them grew hotter. Duo felt Hilde tighten her grip on his hand. Duo squeezed back. He knew what was coming as well.
The light grew more intense with every word, until they had to close their eyes to protect themselves from the bright light. Duo could clearly hear Heero recite the most final of words….
For what You have given,
You can take away…
Alina burst into a light brighter than the midday sun. Then, as the light faded away, an empty brier stood in front of them. She was gone.
In the instant the light disappeared, the sky, the color of the clearest blue, turned as black as night. A blinding flash of lightning flashed across the dark sky, and without warning, a thunder as loud as the cracking of the earth struck, shaking the shrine, eliciting cries of fear from the crowd..
Then the clouds wept once more, drenching the earth with their tears.
The Generals and their Maidens lowered their heads in grief. Then Duo heard a voice so soft he couldn't be sure who spoke it, say something that stuck on his mind.
"Rest well, my dear Maiden."
~*~*~*~
They began the moment the news of the Dragon maiden Alina's sudden death came.
The blacksmith who saw the Dragon maiden's body started it. Surrounded by curious friends and passers-by, he related what he saw that stormy night.
He took a swill of ale, peered with bleary eyes at his friends and told his tale. "Aye, I saw her body. I was taking shelter from the storm, you see. I saw the shrine, knocked and no one answered. I noticed the door was a wee bit open so I pushed it, then–" He paused, and took another long drink from his tankard.
"Then what?" one of his friends demanded impatiently.
The blacksmith belched. "Then, I saw her. She was hanging from the ceiling, swinging back and forth. Didn't stay long after that!"
"Maybe you killed her," one of his friends suggested slyly.
He violently shook his head. "No. She killed herself, that's to be sure. Hung herself from the rafters."
The blacksmith's tale spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the kingdom, taking a life of its own in the mouths of every person who related the tale, turning the tale into a vile creature.
"–he murdered her. Yea, he did so," an old woman in another part of town said to her friends, her dark eyes glimmering with malicious glee. "He has a vicious temper, that Dragon General. Oh yes, he does. He killed the poor sweet Lady Alina when he lost his temper. Then he hung her like a sack of potatoes so that everyone would think she took her own life–"
"–she was raped, I tell you. That bastard of a General raped her. She killed herself because she couldn't bear her shame."
"–the child was not his, you see. The little slut was having affair with a local man. The Dragon General found out and decided to do what every man in his position would do. He hung her like the slut that she is. All maidens are sluts. Every one of them," an innkeeper near the town gate whispered to one of his customers as he handed him his tankard of ale. "Cursed women, every one of them."
"Is that so?" a soft voice said from across the bar. Surprised, the innkeeper turned and found himself staring at the most intense blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. Face hidden by the shadows of a dark hood, body covered by a dark, heavy cloak, the owner of the voice sat a few stools away from him. Mesmerized by the gaze, it took the innkeeper a few seconds before he replied, "Yes, what I say is true."
The cloaked person rose from the stool. "Indeed?"
The innkeeper nodded. "Yes." He chuckled evilly. "They'd be looking for a new Maiden by now. They'd have a devil of a time looking for one, to be sure. Everyone's too afraid to be a Maiden now. Cursed position, they say. Not even a roomful of gold would make a girl want to be a maiden."
"I see." Without another word, the cloaked person left the place.
Such stories spread across the kingdom, and soon, almost everyone feared the Blue Dragon General, and decided that the position of being the Dragon's maiden was a cursed one.
~*~*~*~
Fortunately, none of those who suspected the Dragon General of wrongdoing dared to tell it to his face or to the Dragon General. However, that did not mean the Generals did not know about it.
"Injustice! How dare they say such things?" fumed White Tiger General Wufei when he heard the latest rumor about Alina's death. "Cowards! I would like to see them say that in front of my face."
"I rather doubt that, Wu-man," Duo said dryly from his seat. The Four Generals and their Maidens were in the conference hall of the Dragon shrine. It had been a week since Alina's death. "They may be cowards, but they're not fools." He smiled grimly. "If I hear anyone say that, I'd roast him alive." He stretched out his palm, and an instant a bright red flame appeared over it.
"Let us just ignore these foul rumors," Tortoise General Quatre advised them in a quiet voice. "We have other more important matters at hand." He looked pointedly at Heero, who stood not far away, gazing at the water lilies in the water garden that adjoined the conference hall. "He's been like that for a week now. There must be something we could do to ease his pain."
Hilde shook her head sadly. "We all know we can do very little to ease his pain." Instead of black, she now wore a magnificent gown in different shades of red. "Only Alina can ease his pain, and she is not here."
Silence filled the room, and for several seconds all they could hear were the faint splashing sound as the fishes in the ponds in the garden moved and the soft, melancholic cry of distant birds.
Then without warning, the door opened, and a booming voice announced, "All hail our august ruler, His Revered Majesty, Emperor Treize!"
General and Maiden bowed respectfully as the Emperor Treize entered the room, looking very regal in his heavily embroidered silk robes and golden crown. "Rise," he commanded with a wave of his hand. They rose. Though they did not show it, all of them were asking the same question: What are you doing here?
The emperor focused on Heero. "General Heero, I will be very blunt. Time is of the essence. Though I grieve for the loss of your beloved Maiden, our kingdom must still be protected. Duties must still be fulfilled."
Heero bowed low. "My sincerest apologies, my revered emperor. I will attend to my duties at once. I had not meant to neglect them."
The emperor nodded in approval. "I also have brought something that will help you ease your burdens and perhaps, your grief." He waved to his guards, who bowed then disappeared.
"His Revered Majesty is too kind."
The guards returned, this time holding a struggling cloaked figure between them. "Here is my gift. May I present to you your new Maiden, the Lady Relena."
Startled, Heero's head snapped up, and his eyes widened as he stared at Relena. Breaking free from the guards' grip, Relena pushed back the hood of the cloak, revealing a face of incredible beauty and of hair the color of the purest honey.
However, Heero was not looking at her face or her hair. He was looking at her eyes. They were blue, the color of the clearest sky.
They were looking at him with profound anger and hatred.
~T.B.C.~
Free talk, part 2: Ahhhhh…finally they meet. I wonder what will happen next. Hehehehe ^____^ I hope this chapter has been satisfactory.
I'm sorry about the chant. It was the best I could come up with.
Next chapter: Uh, oh. Trouble suddenly comes to town. Will Heero and his new Maiden, Relena, work things out before disaster strikes again?
And you updated it!! I'm so happy! When I saw that you had started this new one on FF.net I thought that the prologe and the first chapter were amazing, and this one is no exception!
Other than that, I'm really looking forward to the next chapter!!