The Shrine Maiden 8/? [1xR, PG-13]

[melrose_stormhaven]

WAIT! Before you start reading this chapter, check out the earlier chapters! If you're new, you might get confused! Here's the link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1474715/1/

Now, onward to the new chapter!

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me. The main plot of this fanfiction, however, belongs to me. XD

Free talk: Finally, I have written a NON-Yaoi fanfic. Good to be back. Ahhh! It?s been a while! Gomen, my computer went bust on me, and we just recently bought a new one. Forgive me for the delay! XD This will be a rather short one, so FORGIVE ME, again! Explanation time!

Notes: Milliardo, of course, is Zechs, while Lucrezia is of course, Noin. XD

This fanfic is for Rina craft.

Chapter VIII: The Promises We Make

Milliardo had always hated the Wall.

Even as he stood in front of the window in his study as he gazed into the other side, where he knew his little sister was, he had the irrational urge to tear the wall down with his bare hands.

For as long as Milliardo could remember, the Wall stood between the two kingdoms, dividing the two for centuries beyond counting.

The Wall was not made of stone, nor was it made of iron or wood. The Wall was made of spells and curses cast by powerful wizards from the two kingdoms. It had but one purpose: to keep the two kingdoms from annihilating each other.

For as long as Milliardo could remember, the two kingdoms have been enemies, perpetually at war with each other. According to legend, centuries and centuries ago, before the Wall existed, the war of all wars happened between the two kingdoms. Historians called it the Dance of Death. It was the bloodiest, longest, and most destructive war in known history.

It was strange, or perhaps not, that no one knew why the war started, or why the two kingdoms became enemies. Most of the people of the two kingdoms came from the same roots, even shared traditions. Why would they want to do war upon each other?

One story said that the war began when a man from Milliardo?s kingdom and a woman from the other, fell in love. For undetermined reasons, both of the lovers? families had declared their love as forbidden and undesirable. The resulting conflict from the relationship eventually spread throughout the two kingdoms, and later grew into the Dance of Death.

To prevent another war such as that, the Wall was created. The invisible and invincible Wall surrounded the two kingdoms. Milliardo did not know what sort of magic their ancestors had used, but the Wall prevented a citizen from the any of the two kingdoms to enter their enemy kingdom by becoming a physical barrier that not even an army could pierce through. However, those not from the two kingdoms could freely enter the two kingdoms.

For example, a citizen from Milliardo?s kingdom cannot enter the enemy kingdom. Similarly, a citizen from the enemy kingdom cannot go into Milliardo?s kingdom. But those from other countries or states, could come into the two kingdoms without any sort of barriers.

With this power, the Wall prevented future wars, but it didn?t help the growing hatred between the two kingdoms. Hatred that came from lack of communication and close-mindedness, Milliardo?s younger sister, Relena, had once said.

?Relena,? Milliardo?s voice came out as a tired sigh. His sister had left without a word a few weeks ago. She had done something like that every now and then, but she usually had Lucrezia with her, so he didn?t worry that much. However, this time, Relena left alone, and according to eyewitnesses, she was heading straight to their enemy kingdom. Yes, she had gone there before but?

Dammit! Milliardo swore. Why did the gods have to give Relena the ability to pass through the Wall unhindered? Of course, he could follow her; he had the same ability. It was in their blood, after all.
Like all thing in life, the Wall was not perfect. There were two ways to circumvent the Wall. One was through the tears, and the other, through blood.

The Wall was old, and no matter how strong it was, its magic gradually weakened as time passed. Like new shawl that eventually became frayed and tattered as time passed, the Wall developed tears that allowed the passage of citizens to the two kingdom to go ?into the other side?. These tears appear unpredictably throughout the Wall, and only remain open for a short amount of time before they close.

It was through a tear in a wall that Milliardo and Relena?s mother came into their kingdom; it was also through a tear that she left, years ago, when they were but children.

Through their mixed blood, Milliardo and Relena could pass the Wall freely. A scholar who studied the Wall all his life had a theory why mixed-bloods can go through the Wall. He believed the Wall distinguishes a citizen from another through their blood. How the Wall did that the scholar did not explain, but he believed it had something to do with certain components in the blood.

The Wall could easily distinguish one with pure blood, but someone with mixed blood confuses the Wall, and thus the Wall allows the one with mixed blood to pass through unmolested, the scholar explained in his theory.

There was a third way, and curses of curses, Relena could do that, as well. Milliardo shook his head. Why was his younger sister so gifted with magic? He only had half of her talent, and it was not enough to keep her in line?most of the time.

?Still looking for your younger sister, Your Majesty?? Lucrezia said from behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder, then back at the Wall. ?Did our agents find anything?? he asked.

?Trowa and Catherine should arrive a few minutes from now. I believe they have something.? Lucrezia smiled as Milliardo scowled. ?Don?t worry too much, Your Majesty. Her Highness, Princess Relena, is quite capable of taking care of herself.?

?She is also quite capable of creating trouble, as you well know,? Milliardo muttered. His blue eyes narrowed. ?This is a dangerous time. The Wall is weakening, and there is rebellion afoot. I cannot have her in enemy territory now.? I cannot protect her when is so far away. ?And I still do not know why she left.?

There was a polite knock on the door. ?Enter,? Milliardo commanded. The door was thrown open, revealing a calm Trowa and flustered Catherine. Both were still dressed in their riding clothes, and by the look of them and the dust and sweat on their clothes, they had just come from a hard day?s ride.

After a deep bow, Trowa began his report. ?We know where Her Highness is.?

?Good. Where is she??

Trowa looked at Catherine, who appeared uneasy as she replied, ?As His Majesty had suspected, she is in the Kingdom-Beyond-The-Wall. She is currently in the capital. She is?well.?

?Hn. And what is she doing there? By your hesitation, I can guess she is in some kind of trouble.?

Trowa gazed at Milliardo straight in the eye. ?The Shrine Maiden of the Blue Dragon died a few weeks ago. Apparently, the Lady Alina committed suicide.?

Lucrezia saw Milliardo stiffen at the news. Ah. Now they knew why Relena had left.

Trowa was not finished yet. ?Yesterday, a young woman replaced her. That young woman was Princess Relena. So as of now, Your Majesty, Princess Relena is the new Shrine Maiden of the Blue Dragon.?

~*~*~*~

In her dreams, Relena always wore a pale rose gown made out of yards and yards of intricate laces that trailed behind her like the most delicate of wings.

Relena walked among the soft clouds, her feet brushing against their icy tips. Her long blonde hair rippled behind her as gentle, lilac-scented winds blew past her. She smiled, the sweet sad smile she wore every time she dreamwalked. Today, her smile was touched with bitterness.

It had been here, the dreamworld, where she and her half-sister, Alina, talked. Both of them were gifted with the ability to dreamwalk?the ability to enter the dreamworld, mold it to one?s will, and converse with a fellow dreamwalker.

Dreamwalking was a rare talent. Only a handful of people in the known world had this ability. This handful included Alina, Relena, and of course, their mother, Helena. With the Wall keeping them apart, this had been the only way they had kept in touch.

Today, it was her mother Relena waited for in this world. Once, it had been Alina, but she was dead now.

?It has been a while, hasn?t it, Relena?? Lady Helena, her mother, said gravely as she appeared. Still clad in black, her mother wore her hair down, a sad look on her face.

Relena smiled sadly. ?Yes. It has been two years since we?ve dreamwalked together. And five since we?ve seen each other in person.?

Her mother said nothing. Relena looked around, a faraway look in her eyes as she remembered. ?Alina and I used to talk daily in this place. She always had so many stories to tell. She would always tell me what happened to her. It was the only way we could keep in touch without meeting directly.?

?I should have never contacted you. I should have never introduced Alina to you,? Helena said in a quiet voice. ?But I was weak.?

?Do you regret giving birth to me and my brother so much?? Relena asked. ?Is that why you left when we were but only babes??

Lady Helena shook her head. ?No, Relena, that was not my reason.? Suddenly, she burst into tears. ?Why have you come? Why couldn?t have stayed with your brother? Why did you consent being the Maiden??

Relena took a deep breath. ?Alina was murdered. She would never commit suicide. I talked to her before she died, and she gave no indication she was going to kill herself!?

She could still see Alina, standing in front of her, smiling. She looked so small and frail with that big stomach. Relena had been a little irritated that Heero wasn?t with Alina now that her time was coming. Alina had only smiled at her.

?It?s all right, sister. My Lord has his duties.? Alina smiled wryly. ?Of course, I will still scold him when he arrives. How dare he leave me now! I?m so big now I can barely move!?

?Don?t you have servants to care for you?? Relena asked. She grinned as she thought of the scolding the Blue Dragon General would get from his Maiden.

?Yes, but I gave them the day off today.? Alina?s smiled turned wistful. ?I wish you will be here for the birth, Rel. You should really meet My Lord; you?ll get along fine. And you should meet your niece.?

?Niece?? Relena teased.

Alina laughed. ?Does my preference show? My Lord wishes it to be a girl as well, and so do I?but I fear for my daughter?s future.? She looked saddened for a moment. ?You know how my kingdom treats the women. They repress us so much. You are lucky that your women have so much freedom. It is so bad here that women that have any freedom and independence at all are reviled."

?Even the Maidens??

?Especially us. They envy and hate our ?freedom? and ?independence?, yet they do not know what price we pay to be Maidens. It is not easy, to be what we are.? Then she made a dismissing gesture. ?Ah, but enough of that! A few more days until I give birth! What do you think should I name my child? I have a notion to name her after you!?

Relena felt her eyes burn with unshed tears. Alina had been so happy that night! ?She would never have killed herself. Someone killed her. I know now it couldn?t be the Blue Dragon General. I want to find out who did it and why. I promised I would!?

?But that does not mean you have to be a Maiden! Relena, you do not know what you have gotten yourself into! A Maiden serves for life! Can you bear being bound to the Blue Dragon General forever? If there is war, you will fight beside the General and you are expected to give your life to this Empire. Can you do that??

Her mother?s questions took her aback. ?I?? she began, and then she narrowed her eyes. ?Why does it seem like you care more about the fact I have become a Maiden rather than the possibility that Alina was murdered??

Suddenly, her mother reached out and grabbed her hand. Relena was startled to see the feverish look in her mother?s eyes. Paralyzed, Relena could do nothing but stare back at her mother in shock. ?I have seen the future,? Lady Helena said. ?And there is naught for you and the Blue Dragon General but death and destruction. Mark my words, daughter, your union with him shall rend the world apart.?

~T.B.C.~

Free talk, part 2: Yes! I have updated! Sooo happy! Yay! Milliardo is here, and so are Catherine and Trowa! Hurrah! Finally, after nine chapters, they appear. I hope they weren?t OOC. And now you know why Relena became the new Shrine Maiden. Poor Heero. XD Well, at least Relena didn?t suspect him of killing Alina. XD

The Wall: There, I?ve written it here. XD I hope the explanation was adequate enough. If not, do tell me. It works this way. Heero (who?s pureblooded) can?t get into Milliardo?s kingdom, but Milli, because of his mixed heritage, can. Catherine, who happens to have pureblood, can?t get into Heero?s kingdom. It has something to do with genetics, but of course, back then, genetics wasn?t discovered yet. I got the idea a long, long time ago. Looking at it now, it is similar to Terry Goodkind?s Wall in the Sword of Truth. Weird how people get similar ideas. XD

Milliardo (Zechs): Yes, he does know about Alina, but he doesn?t know she?s dead. Remember, Zechs can?t dreamwalk, and his magic isn?t quite as strong as Relena?s. And there is the lack of communication between the two kingdoms. Plus he doesn?t really like their mother.

Dreamwalking: Forgive the X-1999 reference here. It was the best term I could come up.

Next chapter: Relena tries to unravel the mystery behind Alina?s death. The Wall continues to weaken, threatening to spill forth hostilities it had kept at bay for so long. Heero gets a bit suspicious about his new Maiden?and a little interested as well?and I?m not talking about her powers. XD

[perfectpeach]

OOOOOOOOOOO
more more more more more more more more !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waitigng for this chapter a loooong timee and it was short!
more!

(I hardly have room to talk. my chpaters are about as short as they get ><)

[Morrighan]

Oooh!! Talk about a thickening plot!! I love this!!

...Does Heero know his new Maiden is his former's half-sister?? Oh the interesting things that could happen....

Can't wait to see more, melrose!

[melrose_stormhaven]

No. Heero doesn't know Relena is Alina's older sister.

Yes, lots of interesting things will happen in the future...even a possible lemon. OH MY! XD

Perfectpeach, I'm sorry the chapter was quite short. I tend to write chapters that way. XD But don't worry, there will be more next chapter! XD

Thank you for reading! *huggles*

[Eden]

Yes Yes, I shall echo above ^^ Lovely chapter Melrose!

I loved the Miliardo, Trowa moments just as much as I loved the Relena, Helena moments, but I found myself still wanting to see a lil Heero action

And that wall! OOoo! Its only just be introduced, and already its looking like it will prove to be an interesing addition and element in this ficcy ^^

As always, I can't wait to see more, and know that it'll come all in due time ^^ Keep at it Melrose! This is awesome!

~Eden