When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again
-Lyrics to 'Blest Be the Tie That Binds' Catholic Hymn
Elements of Great Design Part 48
Wufei padded up to the top of the short hill as Anna uncrossed her legs and wiped her face dry. A low whimper of concern escaping the wolf, he leaned in and gave a gentle lick to her cheek with imploring eyes. Giggling quietly, the Fire Keeper wrapped her arms around his thick upper torso, reassuring, "I'm okay, love. Just... remembering."
A soft, understanding grunt rumbled from the beast as he sat back to allow his wife enough room so that she could climb to her feet.
Still surprised at the stretch of land that her gift had touched to melt the frozen surface, Chang shook her head with a low whistle through her teeth. That surprise quickly shifted into pride and she propped her fists on her hips as she smirked to her partner, "Looks like I still got it." The wolf chuckled deeply, nudging the side of her leg affectionately.
Their little moment alone came to an end when three of their 'brothers' came running into the scene, eyes wide with wonder. "Anna," Heero breathed as he reached the redhead first, "that... that was incredible. There was this ball of flame that came from nowhere that did not burn anything it touched except the ground and at just enough to melt everything. I had no idea that you had that power in you."
"Neither did I," she admitted, a sheepish smile playing across her face. "Meditating has been a way of pushing what I think are the boundaries of my abilities. But every time I think that I have reached their end, I find more and things like this happen." Shrugging, the thief commented, "I suppose the Creator did not intend for there to be a true extent in what we Keepers can accomplish for times of war like this."
Quatre slowly scanned the dry terrain that lay ahead of them and stated, "If you are able to accomplish this much without your Elemental Stone, I can only imagine what more you will be able to do." Blinking, he spun to face his 'sister,' begging, "Would you teach me how to touch my gift like that?"
Without hesitating, Anna nodded firmly, "Of course. It will only be able to help you in the end to become more and more familiar to what you need to call upon."
The sound of hooves thundering towards them had the lot turning to watch as Trowa rode Heavy Arms back from the station that he had taken for his last watch. "Oh, I imagine that fireball must have caused him a bit of a start," the redhead snickered under her breath in catching the slightly pale state of the Dragoon's face.
Biting his lip, Duo took in the slightly reddened state of her eyes and moved to her side while the others remained focused on the retuning member of their team. "You okay, sis?" he asked in little more than a whisper as he rubbed her back.
Touched by his worry, the archer met his violet eyes and grinned sadly, her head bowing in a shallow nod as she did not trust her voice at the moment. His own lips falling into a small frown, the son of Shinigami pressed a quick kiss to her temple and squeezed the back of her neck. "It will not be much longer now," he promised by her ear. "We will all see you and Wufei reunited permanently."
Under her breath, Anna released a shuddering sigh and lightly nudged the braided gifted with a soft, "Thank you, brother."
Righting themselves at the same time that Barton brought Heavy Arms to a stop at the base of the hill where they stood, they snickered at how his visible and wide emerald eye scanned over remainder of his team. "Would someone please explain what in the Creator's name just happened?" he managed in an unusually unsteady voice.
And the air practically vibrated with the howls of laughter that responded.
* * * * * *
"I have no idea how you are able to stand it," Relena told the beautiful rebel walking alongside her.
Shaking her head when dark eyes met her gaze, the Queen said quietly, "You have been able to handle the torment of being away from Alex when he has been in harm's way on several occasions now and you are the picture of calmness. Trent and I have only just realized our feelings for each other and I feel like I am coming apart at the seams knowing what danger awaits him."
Meiran smiled sadly, "Well, believe me when I say that my appearance is just that. Alex is never far from my mind, nor is my fear of what may happen to him. And I wish that I could say moments like this get easier the more they come up, but that would be a lie." She shrugged, "In the end, all that we can do for them is see that we are every bit as much help as we can be here."
Gesturing back over her shoulder to the horse drawn cartload of wounded that they were navigating through the forest, the dark-haired girl said, "For the time being, that would mean bringing these brave soldiers to safety. Our boys would be proud of us for seeing to their own in such a way. These are the things that keep me going during our time apart."
'Admirable,' Peacecraft thought to herself. Whatever she had to do from that point forward, she was bound and determined to be that strong.
From far up the line, the caravan of refugees seemed to have come to an abrupt stop as a commotion rose from those that could not see the reason for the delay.
Pulling back on the reins to have the four horses pulling the load that she and the Sovereign were in charge of come to a halt, Meiran frowned deeply, "Now what?" She rose to her feet to see over the miles of heads stretched out before her as she murmured, "We cannot afford long pauses if we want to have a comfortable distance from Mariemaia's forces."
It was the first time since she had come to know the rebel that Relena could ever remember seeing her on edge.
But that tension was not unfounded, considering how they had only been traveling for a couple of hours. A hoard of demons would be able to cross that gap in little time and effort on their part. And what remained of the White Fang would be at their mercy... wiped from the face of Gaia.
A groan from the back of the cart brought the Queen to peer back at her five charges.
The youngest Fighter, a boy no more than the physical age of seventeen, peered up with one visible eye, the other covered beneath thick bandages that had been wrapped around his head. Frowning up at the young woman, he asked, "Is everything okay, your Highness?"
"We should be moving again shortly," Peacecraft reassured, trying to sound confident even as she struggled to keep herself together as the noises of nervous mutterings from the others around them elevated.
Not about to leave the brave soldiers entrusted to her to worry, she hopped down from her perch to the hard ground and called up to Meiran, "I will walk ahead to get some answers. If we begin moving again before I have returned, I will just climb back on when you catch up."
Biting her lip, the raven-haired girl considered for a moment, only to see the logic in trying to see what had stopped the flight further into the south. Reluctantly, she replied with a firm nod, "Alright. Just be careful."
Relena nodded back, turned on her heels and ran forward through the maze of horses, wagons and other modes of transportation that the rest of the rebels could not abandon at the moment. Being able to move on her own two feet at will, she was able to cover ground fast and smoothly by the time she reached what had suddenly become the unexpected end of the tree line.
When she broke into the open space that awaited her to the chorus of warnings that she nearly missed, the Sovereign dug her feet into the rough terrain to bring herself to a grinding halt.
The rocks at her feet shifted in such a way that she nearly toppled forward... into the seemingly bottomless depth of the cliff that had all but appeared from nowhere. Gasping, she hurried back a couple of paces from the ledge. Her breath coming in sharp pants, she stared down into the mist-swirled gully below with a shaky, "Dear Creator."
A strong hand shot out to grab Peacecraft by the back of her pink tunic and pulled her back to even more secured ground.
Spinning around, she was greeted with the pale face of her sister-in-law. "Relena!" Noin cried, "You scared the life out of me! Unless you know what you are running into, never get ahead of yourself like that! Zechs would have killed me if you had gone over that ledge!"
Despite her initial anger, relief took over for the Coneria royal and she pulled the trembling form of her sibling into a fierce embrace.
Swallowing down the lump in her throat and blinking back the tears of panic that flooded her eyes, the Romefeller ruler clung onto her rescuer. "I- I am sorry," she managed brokenly against a strong shoulder. "I w-was as only trying to help the Fighters that I am looking after."
Lucrezia released a deep sigh and pulled back enough to give her a small, understanding smile. Gently rubbing the other Queen's back, she said quietly, "And that was admirable of you, sister. Just always keep in mind that we are still blind when it comes to what there is to be discovered out here in the Unknown."
Her grin faltering, she peered out to the wide-gapped abyss as she sighed, "This being a perfect example. We have lost a couple of dozen wagons, riders and their horses that had taken the lead right over the edge before they realized there was any danger."
The air rushing from her lungs, Relena's stomach lurched at that. Slowly turning to face the cliff, she noted the many miles that there were before the open air became solid ground on the other side again.
Behind them, the caravan was taking a slow crawl at only three riders and horses deep to take the safest path around the obstacle. "This is going to slow us down considerably," Peacecraft murmured, dread dripping from her voice.
Nodding, Noin shuddered in the realization that they were not going to cover near the ground that they had hoped.
"We have no choice but to go around," she stated. "This gully stretches for miles wide and we cannot chance rerouting now when we could easily come into something far more difficult to pass. Along with that, Zechs and the others that stayed back would never be able to find us if we do not stay on the course that we had agreed upon before we parted ways."
An undeniable heaviness in her voice at the mention of her husband was present, though the dark-haired Queen tried to mask it.
Having known her sister-in-law as long as she did, Relena did not miss it. And so her own concerns for her brother along with Trent reemerged. Thinking back to Meiran's courage, the Romefeller royal righted herself and forced a smile as she said, "Well, let us make the boys proud in how we did not allow this little hole in the ground to stop us."
Lucrezia blinked in surprise, her worries subsiding in that moment as she returned the grin and nodded firmly, "A very good idea." together, they headed back to the edge of the forest to work alongside the few scouts and soldiers at their disposal to make the passage around the ridge as quick and smooth as possible.
* * * * * *
"I do not like this," Alex hissed under his breath. Tucked low under the cover of bushes, his breath came out in long puffs of vapor on the chilled air. "They have pushed so hard across the northern reaches of Gaia and yet there is still not a single word that they are looking to move for us yet."
On the other side of Mueller who lay on his stomach between them, Trent raised his head enough to make eye contact with the blonde Fighter as he suggested quietly, "Enjoy the calm before the storm while you can, friend. You know when those monsters do move we will wish that we were still here laying in wait for them."
Several grunts and hums of agreement rose from the other soldiers around. After everything that the first volunteers of the White Fang had endured, no one was really looking forward to another encounter.
Meanwhile, those who had only recently joined the cause lay in anxious wait for the onslaught that would no doubt leave a good number of them injured... or worse. They had been the lucky ones to miss the last attack, but were fully aware of what the dark army was capable of in seeing the waste of a rebel force that remained.
"Besides," Mueller chimed in, "Ever minute they stay back is more time for the others to get away. I would gladly lay here for days if that is how long it takes." Even more voices responded favorably at the sentiment.
Little did any of them know that they would continue to wait through the whole night... and then the next.
* * * * * *
Chaos's hooves clicked against the stone floor of the Paramecia palace as he walked along with Mariemaia. Shuffling at the Queen's other side was her ever present companion Cid.
It did strike the child as funny in how she was able to feel so comfortable in the company of such beasts. But Abaddon's right hand was both kind and respectful towards her and Cid was only too pleased to listen and offer consultation through his always staying close.
Folding his arms behind his muscular back, the red bull of a demon looked over to his small counterpart and said, "Knowing the impatience of your uncle, I thought it wise to consult with you my reasoning to why I have continued to hold back a surge into the southern regions, Mistress. Should the old man feel that he is in place enough to talk back to me, I could not promise his safety should I lose my temper with him again."
'Pity,' Khushrenada thought to herself. 'It would have been better if such a thing were chanced and Uncle Dekim was simply removed from the picture.'
As the days wore on and her conscience becoming only all the more clear, she had begun to see the benefits of losing her mentor. Yes, she owed a great deal to him in guiding her to understand her gift... but he had also robbed her and countless others of far more precious things in life.
Though these were her thoughts, Mariemaia peered up to the leader of her army and smiled, "I appreciate the thoughtfulness. And where your plan is concerned, I completely see the whole logic of it."
Having the plan set to memory, she recited flatly, "The northern, eastern and western lands have been the least effected for the longest time. Their defenses are down and so those who have been foolish enough to stay behind will be unable to defend themselves. Meanwhile, the rebels will tire themselves in waiting for us to move. Once we do, they will be far from their best to be able to stop us."
It was a game of cards that she helped begin. And now all that she could do was continue to play as best she could to preserve herself, choosing every next move carefully along the way.
But whenever the Alliance finally managed to come for the Queen to answer the deck that she had set, they would be surprised to find her a far lesser opponent than what they were expecting... far lesser than what even she knew she was capable of.
Continuing their walk through the castle, the small band came to the end of their journey when they stepped out onto the balcony of one of the tallest towers. With a deep breath hitching in her throat as she took in the progression of the darkness that had spread for dozens upon dozens of kingdoms, Khushrenada swallowed down the lump in her throat.
Months... mere weeks ago her heart would never have been as heavy for the Strangers that would have been affected by the movement.
Now, it took the Sorceress's whole being to not show any of the emotion she was feeling in front of Abaddon's messenger. Weakness in front of him would not only have been intolerable, but punished with brutal and instant death now that the Dark Lord of the damned was on his way to claiming the living world.
But if the sorceress were still in Gaia, biding her time, she could stall her end for the Alliance and perhaps be able to turn the tide of the war in their favor so that what still remained could be spared.
Yes... that was going to be Mariemaia's purpose now. She would atone for her part in this nightmare as best she could by sacrificing herself so that the Creator's beloved children could restore what was still good and pure.
"Mistress?" Chaos called through the child's deep thoughts, causing her to spin and raise her head to him once more. There was a notable measure of control that was laying under the surface of the concern that he had in his voice... and the same could be said by the look in his dark eyes when their gazes met.
It was enough for the redhead to feel as though her hidden reflections had been exposed. And it stopped her heart for a moment.
Drawing a deep breath, the monster pulled his wings around so that they folded around his thick shoulders and torso like the draping of a cape. "You have been very... distant as of late," he declared, again with that fringed concern that bordered on unquestionable control. "You are still willing to go along with what we have set out to do, yes?"
Cid ducked tightly behind the sorceress's legs and shivered.
The feel of that quivering was more than enough to warn Khushrenada that she needed to choose her words very carefully, if her little companion had picked up on the danger that she could be in. With a sweet smile, she straightened her back and replied, "I am just wishing that there was more I could do to help besides sitting here and conjuring a few spells."
Somehow, she had managed to be convincing enough that Chaos returned her grin with a warm one of his own. A clawed hand reached out to gently pat the girl's head as he told her, "You have only been one to come along every so many thousands of years who has been strong enough to create those spells. That you have opened the gates for Abaddon is far more than any of us serving him could ask."
Chuckling deeply, the demon folded his arms and smirked, "There is no reason for you to do anything more but wait to reap the rewards that you have rightfully earned when this war is over. We all admire and appreciate what you have done to make all of this possible."
"Then I will content myself to that," Mariemaia chuckled. Raising her eyebrow, she pressed, "As for my uncle?"
Snorting, Chaos answered, "His hand in the spoils depends on how he conducts himself from now on. Considering the bad footing that he started off on, he should feel fortunate enough that I allow him to walk amongst the living world." Smirking, he stated, "However, even if he were to put on his best behavior from this day forward, he would not have so much as half the power and splendors that will befall you."
Whatever fate the demons had in store for Dekim truly did not matter to the young Queen. On the other hand, it was good to hear that the old man had beyond doubt ruined any chance for Abaddon's respect and favor.
But in the end, she would see that he would never see the end of the war in one piece. At the first opportunity, she would send him from Gaia and into the realm of the damned before she soon followed him into the tormented existence that awaited them.
It was all that Mariemaia had to offer by means of making her most profound apologies for her actions known... taking out the two souls that had brought darkness into their world. She might never see the sun shine over her again, never know its warmth on her face the way that she had reveled in before.
Still... the mere awareness that she'd helped bring the light back as her life was ripped from her would be enough for her.
* * * * * *
Night had nearly fallen when the last of the White Fang rebels had finally completed the long journey around the gully that had caused them a whole day's worth of travel unto the south.
Exhausted and dingy from having to maneuver through mud, downed trees and other obstacles, Queen Noin and Queen Relena sighed deeply as they took in the soft glow of campfires spread throughout the dense forest where their charges had set their temporary camp for the evening.
Their eyes meeting, the sisters laughed quietly and shared a tight embrace of relief in having managed one of their most difficult challenges on their own. Yes, they needed to hope that there would be time when the sun rose for them to continue moving on.
For the time being, however, they simply celebrated in overcoming one great hurdle along the way... knowing that they had it within them to rise to the occasion when the next one came in their path.
TBC...
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