Author: Alana Winters
Warnings: this fic contains Yaoi/Yuri/Het, AU, OOC, light angst, strong language, Lemon/Lime. Any other warnings specific to certain chapters will be clearly marked in the beginnings of the said chapters.
Pairings: none for now, 2x1 later
Rating: R
Disclaimers: notminenotminenotminenotmine (think that's enough so they won't sue?? Hn, they'd only get pocket lint and university loans anyway... >.< actually, they can have those, with my blessing. ^_^
Feedback: alanawinters@yahoo.com
*.....* denotes thought or internal struggle
***** denotes change of scene within same time parameters
------ denotes flashback
[1, 2, 3, 4...] denotes author's notes at end of fic
Society's Mirage Prologue
The End of the Dream
Present Time
Prince Heero Yuy of the Hane Kingdom [1] sighed as he stood on the balcony, the cool spring air ruffling the short, wispy ends of his hair. As the breeze gently mingled with his dark, unruly mane, he breathed in the smells of his home. As a kingdom surrounded on three sides by water, the smell of the ocean permeated the air, the salty tang light and refreshing. The smells of home used to be his favorite, used to be a source of relaxation from the rigours of the lifestyle he had been born to.
However, the smells of home had been replaced with other scents. Scents that were more exotic and more intoxicating. Images that once gave him great pleasure to look upon were now reduced to nothing more than meaningless scenes in the endless monotony. Nothing had ever been the same since...
Heero tore his thoughts away from that track. There was no point in continuing that line of thought. It wouldn't help. Nothing could help, not anymore. In a matter of hours his fate would be sealed and he would be trapped within the world he had been born into.
The young prince wished nothing more than to escape from his reality and his duty, to be free of the shackles that bound him to his destiny. But it seemed that fate decided to mock him instead, to offer the wondrous possibilities, only to yank them away in a cruel twist of fate. Letting him believe that he had finally found someone who cared for him, only to learn that he hadn't, that his love hadn't been reciprocated... that he had been... used.
*********************
Amaryllis eyes danced into his, their depths sparkling with inner humor. A dry voice, mocking with slight humor, tossed out, "Oi, don't you get it, Heero? You were a conquest... a challenge... you were the first to ever refuse me and I had to make you mine. And I succeeded. I took that fire within you and tamed it... and now, you're just like all the others... subservient. Obedient. Dull. To put it simply, you... bore me."
*********************
Footsteps behind the young prince dredged him up from his memories. Shaking himself out of his own mind, Heero turned to the servant who had silently moved up behind him. With a slightly raised eyebrow, he said gruffly, "What is it?"
The servant bowed respectfully before he murmured, "It's time, Your Highness. The guests are waiting and the bride is here."
Heero nodded and turned for one last look at the distant horizon. "Hn. Any last guests arrive?"
The servant nodded his head and said, "Hai. Queen Relena Peacecraft of the Sank Kingdom recently arrived with her entourage and consort, Lady Dorothy. But that is all, Your Highness."
Heero closed his eyes briefly, as a swift stab of disappointment streaked through his heart. Then, with a curt shake of his head, he dispelled his regret and turned away from the balcony, heading towards his destination. It was time for him to take up the mantle of his lineage and to abandon the mirages of forbidden dreams.
Having been born to privilege, he was bound by the very threads of his heritage to certain obligations. Forsaking his happiness for his duty was always a possibility, one he had desperately attempted to avert, but it wasn't meant to be. The actions of the past year had been more than sufficient proof of that.
So even as he arrived closer to his fate, he was leaving his dreams and heart behind, buried in the sand dunes of a distant, and now best forgotten, kingdom. One whose moonlight mirages had given him hope, only to completely dash them away with the dawning sun.
His ceremonial boots made sure clicks on the hard marble floors, his stride full of a confidence that did not fill his heart. He knew his responsibility; his duty having been drummed into him by his guardian and minister for years.
He would marry the woman his ministers had chosen for him, the woman they deemed most suitable for a prince of his stature. He would assume the throne of the Hane Kingdom with the dignity and grace expected of the young monarch, ruling his people with a fair and just hand.
But he would not let anything ever touch his heart and soul again. Having once been burned, he was twice shy now, and he couldn't face such rejection and hurt again.
Heero strode through the gorgeous, expertly architectured hallways of the royal palace, each step bringing him closer to the chapel where his bride awaited. He almost felt sorry for the poor woman being trapped into matrimony with him. He almost felt pity, although he knew she was making the match as an advantageous union between the two sea kingdoms. Although the woman had not been his ministers' first choice, the kingdom she brought with her had as many assets as the Sank Kingdom. Not that it mattered much to Heero for he did not have any interest in either one.
It was too late for any regrets now. Although he had found his heart's desire, the other had not wanted him. So instead of a love match, the young ruler must settle for a political one.
After all, love was fine for storybooks and young girls' fancies, but unfortunately in the real world, it was a fact that those in such positions as his cannot rely on the heart to lead them to the most suitable of situations.
A lesson he had painfully learned the hard way.
Heero had no illusions about the upcoming marriage, knowledge of what society was truly like having shattered any previous misconceptions of humanity. He would live his life, his wife would live hers. Outwardly, they would act like a loving couple, but in private, they would be as strangers. Which was fine for Heero. It was better to be alone in this world.
That way, no one could hurt you.
Heero reached the doors that lead into the main chapel, the heavy doors muffling the sounds of the excited occupants inside. With a heavy heart, he straightened his shoulders and prepared to enter.
TBC...
[1] Japanese for wing, feather, plume
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