Only night will ever know
Why the heavens never show
All the dreams there are to know
Paint the sky with stars
-Lyrics to 'Paint the Sky With Stars' performed by Enya
Elements of Great Design Part 45
Relena paced anxiously back and forth before a certain tent that she had sought out on the same morning that the Alliance fought Mariemaia's forces for the Air Stone.
Biting her lip between whispered reassurances to herself, she subconsciously tugged at the side of her wide trousers, stopping herself when she remembered at the feel of them that she was not wearing a dress of which she needed to lift the hem of its skirt.
Still at odds over the conversation that she'd had with Dorothy the night prior, the young Queen muttered under her breath, "Of course there is no one that would ever compare to Heero, but I am not completely blind to any other Fighter in this world. What would I really be proving by asking Trent to show me around when I have not done anything wrong? He must be terribly busy, what with his being an officer to Firion and having so many things to worry about..."
'...And why am I so nervous in seeing her little bet through?' Peacecraft thought to herself, not daring to put her voice to the question.
Bringing an end to her pacing with a stomped foot, the Sovereign folded her arms across her chest and decided aloud, "This is absolutely ridiculous." She spun on her heels so that her back was to the tent and began to walk off as she huffed, "I should never have agreed to wasting his time or my own by coming here. Surely the Healers could still use assistance with the wound-"
"Relena?" a voice called softly, dripping with confusion and a touch gruff at just being used for the first time that morning.
The Queen turned around to freeze with a soft gasp and wide eyes at the sight that she was granted. His short, brown hair mussed from just stirring awake, Quinze stood before his childhood friend dressed in only a pair of black trousers as the sunlight filtering though the treetops highlighted his muscular torso and arms.
Old scars that warped sections of his exposed skin spoke of his experiences from the fall of Coneria to his weeks with the White Fang... only making the already handsome Fighter that much more attractive in Peacecraft's opinion... something that gave her pause when she acknowledged it.
Instantly alert when the Sovereign remained still, Trent walked with bare feet over the grass to close the distance between them, urging, "Is everything alright?"
Her eyes growing again, Relena shook her head vehemently and stammered, "O-oh, fine. Everything is just fine, Trent. I am sorry for having disturbed you." Smiling, she shrugged, "It was a silly reason for my coming here anyway, so no reason to worry. I was just about to head back-"
Tilting his head, the soldier cut her off by frowning, "Silly or not, I am at your service for whatever you may need." Something about those words had the Queen's heart skipping a couple beats and her cheeks warming with a blush that she fended off. "How can I help you?" Quinze grinned.
"Uh.... W-well... I....," Peacecraft struggled to find the right thing to say through her clouded thoughts over how the rugged young man might be of 'service' to her when she managed, "I have not been at the encampment here for long and so I was hoping that perhaps I might be shown around by someone who knows the land."
Surprised, Trent pointed at his chest and asked, "You mean me? You were wondering if I would be the one to guide you?"
Clearing her throat, Relena nodded, "Yes, but now I have interrupted your much-needed sleep and so I really should ask someone el-"
Once again, the Fighter stopped her train of thought when he smiled brightly, "You are not disturbing me at all. And I would be more than happy to give you a tour of the encampment." Turning back towards his tent, he announced, "I will only need a moment to make myself decent and freshen up. Have you had breakfast yet?"
Now knowing that her attempt to escape had been for naught, the Queen's shoulders slumped a bit and she answered honestly, "No. Not yet."
His head bobbing in a nod, Trent stated, "Then we will find something to eat together." The corner of his lip curling up in a smirk, he said, "We are going to be walking for quite a while, so we will need the nourishment."
"Great," Relena responded cheerfully enough, a convincing grin on her face before her friend disappeared within the confines of his tent. As soon as she was alone, that smile quickly faded and she rubbed her hands together in an anxious gesture. "It's just a little walk," she told herself, "then I will be able to get Dorothy off my case."
And yet... somehow... she was actually looking forward to some time alone with the Fighter.
* * * * * *
"I thought that you were going to take care of the Alliance personally, not leave a machine you had created behind to do the work for you," Dekim Barton sneered at the beast standing at the base of the raised throne. Gripping the arm rest of the exalted seat where his niece sat, he struggled to keep himself in check as he gritted through his teeth, "Now they have two of the four Elemental Stones."
Shrugging nonchalantly, Chaos remained unfazed with his wings folded tight at his back as he replied, "I have learned much in regards to our enemies thanks to the observance my creation had made. And with the guards standing watch over the remaining stones, I will only acquire more information that I will need should they ever be lucky enough to get that far."
Dumbfounded, Barton's jaw dropped and his eyes grew. "Lucky," he repeated in a whisper.
The rage returning full-force and as quickly as any wave surging from the ocean, he snapped, "They have more than luck to thank for the success thus far! There was a time when I, too, had considered their survival little more than a stroke of fortune, but clearly I had underestimated them! You do not have near as much to lose should they be *lucky* enough to reach Paramecia with all four Elemental Stones!"
His black eyes narrowing, a puff of gray smoke plumed from the red monster's wide nostrils. "I would mind your words and your tone when speaking to me, old man," he warned in a low growl. "Remember that I am the right hand of Abaddon. You disrespect our Dark Lord when you disrespect me."
Mariemaia remained still on the throne that was all too large for her, half curled up with Sid close by her side. Biting her lip, she did her best to not look pleased at the expense of her mentor. The Sorcerer had grown far too confident and deserved to be reprimanded by someone... or something that could easily crush him. It had certainly been worth the slash of worry that washed over the otherwise unflappable gifted's face.
Raising a hand to her guest, the redheaded Queen asked kindly, "Please forgive my Uncle, Chaos." Unable to help herself, she smirked, "He tends to... react before thinking at times." She peered from the corner of her eye to gauge Barton's expression that he had trained into blankness.
Oh, Dekim wanted to react right then. He wanted nothing more than to render a spell that would rightfully punish his insolent niece for her snide comment.
However, he did need to heed his place at the moment. And he had stepped out of line by attacking the vile creature standing before them. Silence and remorse were his only options, which he accepted with the deep bow of his head while holding his tongue for the remainder of the meeting.
Chaos had no qualms in smiling outright at the change in the Sorcerer's demeanor. With a bow of his own head to the child, he told her sincerely, "I have no ill feelings towards you, Mistress. Any outlandish behavior or words from your Uncle will by no means have any bearing on the respect or loyalty I have towards you. Clearly, you understand that everything I do is handled with reason."
"Of course," Khushrenada nodded firmly. "As a wielder of all four elements, it would only make sense that you would want to understand everything there is to know about the Alliance before you deal with them, should it come to that." Wings furling, the hoofed demon smiled and dipped his head in appreciation. Dekim bit down on his tongue so hard that he could taste blood in his mouth.
Righting himself, the beast said, "If there is nothing else, then, I will take my leave for the time being so that I may see to the progress of the spreading armies. It will be several days before our little pests will reach either the Fire or Earth Stones, so I best make myself useful where it matters most in snuffing out the rebellion and the remainder of this world that we have yet to conquer."
A tight smile curling her lips, Mariemaia replied, "That would be very helpful, indeed. Thank you, Chaos." That said, the red-skinned monster bowed to his Mistress, opened his impressive wings to their full span and soared through the diamond-shaped window high in the stone wall behind the throne.
There was something in the way that Barton slowly turned towards his niece that had Sid standing up in their shared seat to fix the old man with a glare and a low growl. "How dare you make a mockery of me in front of Abaddon's messenger," the Sorcerer snapped, inwardly relieved to finally let off the steam that had been building up inside of him.
Snorting, the Queen pushed herself onto her feet and descended the short stairs to the floor as she refrained from meeting his gaze and chided, "You were the one who made a mockery of yourself, dear Uncle. I simply did what I had to so that Chaos would not tear you to shreds and call back our forces."
When she reached the middle of the room, she paused to give a stern glare of her own at the stunned gifted. "Perhaps the next time you step out of line I will simply step aside and allow him to have his way with you," she smirked darkly.
'After all... I would never have been in this position... this war would never have happened if I had not been so naive and listened to you,' Mariemaia thought to herself, but kept from passing her lips.
With a smart snap of her body, she walked on again while Sid hurried to fall into step beside her. The guards at the tall-arched doors granted their Mistress passage through before they banged the entrance closed once more in a very clear message to Barton that all matters had been settled.
Dekim gnashed his teeth and clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides. It seemed as though his dear niece's welcome was about to run its course. If she was already demonstrating such boldness in front of Abaddon's most trusted demon, she could very well begin to think for herself if he did not find a way to control her once more.
Already, there was a very real possibility that the girl might have been questioning not only the Sorcerer, but she may have begun to doubt everything that he had enforced through her.
Neither one of those possibilities was acceptable. No... Barton would see to it that Mariemaia would die before he would allow the empire that he had built up to collapse.
And the day of her demise might very well be coming sooner than later.
Out in the hallway, Khushrenada sighed deeply when she came to stop before one of the windows along the way to her private quarters. Folding her arms together on the ledge, she propped her head atop them and stared out to the darkened world that lay before her. Biting her lip, she murmured, "I do miss seeing sunlight."
* * * * * *
What had begun as a bit of a dare that Relena had followed through on reluctantly, had slowly but surely become one of the most pleasant experiences that she had known in a long time in spending her whole day with Trent. Conversation came easily to them from the moment they had sat down to breakfast. Much of their beginning discussions were a mutual catching up between old friends.
Before either of them knew it, the skies were beginning to change to reflect a magnitude of deep colors at the start of the same sunset that the Alliance was watching atop the frozen land high in the heavens following their capture of the Air Stone.
Glancing around to the changing hues of the trees and bushes around, the Queen lowered the canteen that had been offered to her. To her surprise, there was a pain of disappointment in realizing that their day would be drawing to a close soon.
Rather than focus on that notion, Peacecraft glanced over to her guide and commented, "I know that this is going to sound terrible of me... but there have been some good things that have come out of this war."
"Oh?" Trent smiled back at her, holding up a low branch that had partially blocked their path so that she could easily pass through before him. "Mind sharing what they might be?" he asked when he reached the Sovereign's side again.
Shrugging, Relena stared upon the dirt road stretched out before them as she said quietly, "Well, for one, I cannot think of another time in Gaia's history when so many leaders and citizens of the different lands had come together. Once all of this is over, if our kind is fortunate enough to survive this fight, I do not think that the term 'Stranger' will be used nearly as much as the endearment 'Neighbor.' We were all so closed-minded that it would only have taken such extreme circumstances to make us appreciate one another."
The Fighter hummed and nodded firmly, "I cannot argue with you there. And I am personally grateful that it made our paths cross again." Clearing his throat against the nerves that had built up in him, he began, "I do hope that you will not take offense to this, because I do mean it as a compliment when I say that I can tell you have done a lot of maturing into your role as a leader since the last time we saw each other."
Her head falling back, the Queen laughed heartily, "You mean I have finally grown up!" to the horrified expression on the soldier's face, she held up a hand and grinned sincerely, "No offense taken in the truth of that."
"I had always been very childish in my ways... an idealist when it came to how one should rule an entire kingdom. One of the other good aspects of the war that I was going to mention is how it has forced me to understand the great responsibility that I have." In conclusion, she met his gaze and bowed her head while she all but whispered, "Thank you for that compliment, Trent. It means a lot..."
...Somehow, it especially meant a lot coming from him.
Relieved, Quinze smiled anew as their bodies unconsciously drew close enough together that their arms brushed together as they continued to walk the path. "I know that there is something that I am glad for when it comes to the war," he stated softly.
When his friend's blinking blue eyes fell back on him, he smirked, "I never would have ventured out into the Unknown. Everything that we had been taught, fear of the world beyond the walls that protect us, would have kept me from seeing some of the most remarkable things this world has to offer. And it's all been right here for us to just step out of what we knew and were comfortable with to appreciate it."
"Ah," Relena nodded vehemently. "Yes, I could not second that more. It truly makes a person further appreciate life in this world. Some of the sights and creatures that I have seen in my travels were more wonderful than anything that even my most wonderful of dreams could have imagined." By the time she had finished speaking, her ears had picked up on the distinct sound of running water in the distance.
Chuckling, the Fighter raised a finger before her nose and winked, "One such example being right around the bend." Hesitant for only a moment, he dared to reach out for her hand and clasped it in his own as he said, "This way."
Taken aback with the feel of their skin brushing together, Peacecraft blinked widely in surprise then eased with a wide smile and returned the firm squeeze with her own fingers in her wordless readiness to follow him wherever he wished to take her.
As he turned forward, Trent picked up their pace a bit and led them off the beaten path into the thick patches of foliage. Ducking under low vines and branches, feet were lifted higher to avoid snagging on elevated tree roots as the pair traveled along.
Only slightly alarmed when they had been walking long enough that it was becoming noticeably darker around them, the Sovereign giggled nervously over the ever rising sound of bubbling water, "I do hope that we are almost there or we will need to call for help to take us back to the encampment."
"Just another yard or so to go," Quinze reassured over his shoulder while he continued to make as clear a way for his charge as he could. At last, he saw the beginning of the clearing that he had sought out. "Here," he sighed happily, stepping out into the wide open space and moving to the side so that his former leader could have an unobstructed view of the terrain surrounding them.
Pausing at the edge of the greenery with wide eyes, a sharp gasp left Relena as the hand holding hers slipped away.
For everywhere else in Gaia, winter was well settling in. But in this almost untouched ring of miles, the hidden valley fitted with a babbling stream that she lay her gaze on was as warm and vibrant with life as a field in mid-spring. In the fading sunlight, flowers of nearly every kind bloomed while thick grass of the most healthy green swayed gently in the breeze...
...and most captivating of all were the hundreds upon hundreds of night wisps and fairies that glowed in their low flights around the serene scene. Tiny but many, the mystical creatures carried on in their tasks of traveling from plant-to-plant, dancing in the air and humming beautiful tunes in their own little corner of the world.
Night wisps and fairies were the things of folklore for Peacecraft up until that night. A couple of stray tears rolled unchecked down her face as she stood in awe of the amazing picture that she had been blessed to take in. After a long moment, she realized that she had not taken a breath since entering the clearing.
"They bring the spring with them wherever they go," Trent shared in little more than a breath, his own eyes watching the winged creatures of which the shapes of their bodies could only be made out within their natural brilliance. "According to Firion, they have followed the White Fang since the fall of Paramecia..."
Swallowing roughly, he added, "The Commander thinks that they want to give those of us fighting a place to retreat to when we need it... to get away from the horrors that we deal with every day. But whatever their reasons, they always stay close to the army."
Just to prove how comfortable they were with the humans present, a string of glistening lights gracefully swirled around the pair in wide swoops. Laughing, Relena shook her head in wonder and wiped at the wet trails along her face. "They are absolutely remarkable," she breathed.
Darkness had completely fallen by the time the soldier and the Queen decided to move back. Taking up a tall stalk or reeds that rose taller than half his height by the edge of the stream, Trent instinctively raised it and a handful of wisps gathered into the shape of a large, glowing ball to light their way back to the path that they had diverted from.
"Thank you, friends. I can take us back from here," the Fighter smiled kindly to the chiming mystics as they began to disperse so that they may return to their valley. Discarding the reed, he frowned at the growing chill that had set in. Instinctively, he shed his hooded cloak and draped it over his former Sovereign's shoulders to give her an added layer against the elements.
Unconsciously leaning against him when they began to walk again, Peacecraft giggled, "And they say that chivalry is no more." Chuckling quietly, Quinze pressed his side back against hers and they fell into a companionable silence for the remainder of their walk.
Lost deeply in her thoughts, Relena did mentally note how well Trent had shown her around the encampment. Instead of depending solely on his guidance, she picked up on landmarks that even she could recognize in the moonlight trickling through the treetops. Before long, the vibrant light of campfires for every division that had been pointed out to her shone between the thick tree trunks.
Indeed, if ever there was a fitting guide through the maze that was the White Fang's realm, Trent Quinze was the one to seek out. No longer did the Queen feel lost or overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the land, nor by the countless rugged soldiers that lived there...
...and she had not spent a single moment of the time that she had spent with Quinze thinking about a certain Fighter with cobalt eyes and unruly hair. In fact, she had completely forgotten about Heero Yuy all together.
So lost in that realization was Relena that she nearly walked past her tent until a hand rose to catch her arm and stop her. "This appears to be the end of the road," Trent grinned with a hint of sadness and a shrug. Bowing deeply at the waist, he said, "I do hope that you enjoyed the tour."
"O-oh, yes, I did a great deal. Thank you," the Sovereign responded, hoping that the depth of her sincerity came across in her tone. To her surprise, she loathed the thought of shedding his cloak from her person but managed to force her hands into motion that he may have the garment back. As he humbly accepted the shroud back, she was quick to request, "Perhaps you will come by tomorrow morning to have breakfast with me and Dorothy."
A brilliant smile lit the fire-illuminated face of the Fighter as he nodded firmly, "I would like that. Tomorrow, then." Breath hitching in her throat, the young woman could have sworn that the charming young man was considering moving in towards her.
She wanted him to... never before had she wanted anything more.
But, as though a last-minute decision, Quinze kept his place and whispered, "Good night, Relena."
Licking her dry lips that she had hoped might have been covered by his, the Queen returned in kind, "Good night, Trent."
Their bodies turning and parting ways, the familiar acquaintances hurried off without looking back... and with much on their minds that would carry into their restless slumbers that evening.
TBC...
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