Freetalk: Ha?this fanfiction is set about nearly twenty years after Endless Waltz. This means the Gundam pilots are around thirty-six of age, and have their own kids. I hope you'll like this. If you don't?well?too bad for me?
Soulless
Chapter I: Spirited Away
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," a fifteen-year old blonde-haired girl muttered out loud as she carefully scaled the tall brick wall that enclosed the exclusive school they studied in, her hands digging into the bricks, her clothes brushing against the ivy that covered the wall. She jumped down, her dark blue skirt flaring slightly as she did. She landed with a soft thump. She pushed back a stray lock of her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. "My parents will not be pleased."
"This was your idea, remember?" her companion, a tall, brown-haired boy of her age pointed out. He stood not far from her, brushing the dust away from his shirt. His hair was long, reaching down to his shoulders. He was quite handsome in the deep blue suit that was their school uniform.
"Well, excuse me, Mister Maxwell!" the girl snapped, glaring at the brown-haired boy, her Prussian blue eyes flashing with irritation. "We wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if you weren't stupid enough to forget our school project in your house."
"Well, excuse me, too, Miss Barton!" the boy shot back, his dark blue eyes glinting with anger. "We wouldn't be here if you had just bothered to take home the damned school project with you like I suggested!"
"Don't swear at me, Maxwell!"
"Don't blame me, Barton! And I wasn't swearing at you!"
"Can you two just please stop arguing about whose fault it was?" their other companion, a boy with pale blonde hair and gentle blue-green eyes, said in a weary voice as he dusted himself. The two stopped talking. "Can we just concentrate on getting the project? We have about an hour and a half to get the project and to go back to school to pass it. Let's not waste it by arguing." He shook his head in exasperation when the two continued to glare at each other, the angry, stubborn look on their faces telling him that the argument was definitely not yet over. Why did I get stuck with these two, anyway? What did I do wrong?
It was no one's fault the three were grouped together. By blind lottery, the three of them got together for a class project. The fair-haired boy didn't have all that many complaints about the grouping. They were childhood friends, after all. During the early parts, things were actually going well, but somewhere along the way, something wrong happened between the two.
"Do you know where how to get to your house?" the girl asked acidly. When the brown-haired boy was about to reply, she interrupted him with a dismissive wave. "Forget it. You probably know every route here, having used it often when skipping class." She gave him a haughty, accusing look.
"I'm sorry I'm not perfect but boring like you," the brown-haired boy replied through clenched teeth.
The blonde boy gave the two a quick look and noted the signs of another argument. He decided to head off that potential argument. "Nobody's perfect, you know, James," he told the brown-haired boy in a placating voice.
"Robert, I know that. Unfortunately, Miss Freya Peacecraft-Barton doesn't seem to be aware of that fact. She's perfectly content with her perfect life, her perfect manners, her perfect clothes?"
Freya glared at James Maxwell, who glared back. For a moment, the air was so thick with hostility that one could walk on it. Robert Mohammed Winner sighed in defeat. The situation was hopeless. Nowadays, it seemed like Freya and James was always at odds with each other, though Robert didn't know why. Robert thought Freya's current attitude with James strange. Freya was usually very gracious to everyone. Besides, as kids, Freya and James got along well. He wondered what James did to incite Freya's wrath.
James smirked at Freya. "As you know, my house is quite far from here. Get set to really walk, goddess. We still have a long way to go."
As they began to walk, Robert felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and was surprised to see Freya, a sad look in her dark blue eyes. Alarmed, he asked, "What's wrong, Freya? Was it something I did?"
Freya shook her head and smiled at him. "No, you haven't done anything wrong. I should be the one to apologize. I'm sorry about what happened a while ago. Maxwell and I haven't been getting along these past few days. I'm sorry you have to endure our bickering."
"Oh." Robert gazed at her for a moment. Freya inherited the delicate features of her mother, but her eyes she inherited from someone else, probably from her father's side. They were pretty eyes, very expressive, as if they contained Freya's soul. "What happened, Freya? Why are you and James arguing?" he asked
Abruptly, she looked away. "Let's go. Maxwell will be waiting for us." Without another word, she left.
~*~*~*~
"You should get some rest, Relena."
Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft-Barton looked up from her pile of paperwork on her desk to meet the green eyes of her husband, Trowa Barton. Dressed in a light green turtleneck shirt and black pants, his brown hair slightly covering one side of his handsome face, he was looking at her with a displeased frown. She shoved some papers away and smiled softly and a little guiltily at him. "I know, Trowa. I'll just finish a few more of these, and then I'll take a break." She then once again focused her attention on her paperwork.
However, Trowa would have none of that. He firmly took the custom Parker fountain pen from Relena's hand and laid it aside. He then firmly grasped both her wrists. "Lena," he began, gazing at her with a gentle, solemn look in his eyes, "you've been buried in paperwork since early this morning. You need rest. Not a break, but a rest. You tire easily nowadays, with the pregnancy and all."
Relena flushed slightly. She sighed. "I know. It's just so hard to get rid of old habits. It's been a long time since I was pregnant." She gently touched her swollen belly, marveling at the miracle of life growing within her, just below her heart. She was about seven months pregnant. It would be her and Trowa's third child.
Trowa gently stroked her hair, his fingers running through the silky honey-blonde locks. "I just want you and the baby to be all right," he murmured.
Relena smiled lovingly at her husband of nearly sixteen years. In all those years, she had never regretted her decision to take up Trowa's marriage proposal. Trowa had proven to be a good husband to her and more importantly, a wonderful father to the children. For beneath his cool and civil exterior lay a heart capable of great and deep love.
Their children. Relena?s smile softened at the thought of her fifteen-year old fraternal twins. Alexander, the eldest of the twins, was studying in a well-known military academy, while Freya was enrolled in an exclusive school along with Duo's and Quatre?s children. The twins were both intelligent and willful individuals. Relena and Trowa loved them to distraction.
Noticing her smile, Trowa took her hand in his, entwining their fingers and asked, "What are you thinking? The children?"
She squeezed his hand. "Our children," she corrected softly. "I hope they?re safe."
Trowa squeezed back. "I?m sure they are, Lena."
~*~*~*~
"Why don't you just face it, Maxwell? We're lost. L-O-S-T." Freya folded her arms across her chest and looked expectantly at James Maxwell. They were standing beside a lamppost in an unusually empty sidewalk somewhere in town.
Freya pointed at the billboard across the sidewalk. "I saw that billboard for the umpteenth time already. We're going in circles, Maxwell."
James reddened, and was about to say something when Robert said, "Freya's telling the truth, James. We've passed this street a hundred times already. Why don't we just ask for directions or just get a cab?"
"We're not lost, all right," James replied through clenched teeth. He glared at Freya, as if challenging her to contradict him. Freya said nothing, but the look on her eyes said it all.
"Look, let's just get a cab, all right? It'll save us time," Robert suggested. Robert stretched out his hand and waved for a cab.
Out of nowhere, a black van with heavily tinted windows screeched into a stop in front of them. The three jumped back, a wary look in their eyes. The van's door slid open, and several men in ski masks fully dressed in black, carrying guns, came out. One of the men from the man grabbed Freya by the hair and the wrists, and yanked her to him, towards the black van. The others then attacked Robert and James, throwing kicks and punches at them, preventing them from coming to Freya's aid. Freya let out a cry, but the man smothered her face with a piece of cloth. Freya struggled in his grasp, managing to land a kick on the man's shin before she suddenly went limp in the man's arms. The man then shoved her into the van.
"No! Freya!" James shouted as he punched a man senseless. Behind him, Robert was doing the same to the others. James tried to reach the van, but before he could, a sudden punch made him fall to the ground. He quickly stood up, but the sight of several guns' nozzle pointing at him and Robert halted him.
"Where are you taking her?" Robert asked, his breath coming in short gasps.
No one spoke. With guns still pointed at the boys, they boarded the van, slid the door shut, and sped away, taking Freya with them.
Robert made a move to chase the car, but James halted him, shaking his head. "We'll never be able to follow them, and if we did, they'd shoot us." Then he savagely punched the sidewalk. "Damn it! Damn it to hell!"
~T.B.C.~
Free talk, part 2: Ohhhh?I could feel some 1xR fans getting a little mad at Trowa. By the way, Freya is not based on Frey of Gundam Seed.
Next chapter: Whoa, Freya's kidnapped! How will Relena take it? But wait, why did Relena end up with Trowa?and where in the world is Heero?
