Jewel Hunters Part 2

Duo snuck up to the well-decorated table and selected a glass of cocktail. Prudently, he lifted it to his lips and took a little sip. Looking at the dancing figures in the center of the ballroom, he vaguely wondered where was Wufei. He had pretty much disappeared after their only dance.

Then suddenly, he saw Wufei waltzing around with a woman. That lady had her hair done in twisted pigtails, and wore an exquisite gown of satin. Duo thought she looked beautiful, and... they actually look like they were together. They looked so right. Then Duo creased his eyebrows. What was he thinking? His boyfriend was dancing away with a vamp, and he actually thought that they looked wonderful together? He knew he should be getting angry, but somehow, he wasn't. He didn't know why though.

Someone called him from behind. "Duo."

The braided boy spun around, and his breathe caught in his throat. "Heero?" He tilted his head as he racked his brains as to why would Heero want to talk to him. But he was grateful for that.

Heero nodded. "How have you been?"

"Fine, I suppose. You?"

"Fine too."

Duo nodded. Then a brief moment of silence fell between them.

Heero fidgeted; he looked genuinely uncomfortable. But then he finally held out a hand. "Duo, would I have the honour of dancing with you?" He asked, seeming casual, but he was nervous inside. He wanted so much to hold the braided beauty in his arms, even if only for a dance.

Without hesitation, Duo smiled dazzlingly. "Sure!"

*****

The music never stopped, and neither did their dancing. One song finished, and another continued its harmonious melody. With each passing moment, Heero found it harder to not hold Duo tighter. Duo, on the other hand, was practically leaning into him after the first song. Both felt an euphoria they never experienced, and wanted the night to never end.

*****

"So, is this your first time here?" Wufei asked, as he looked into the endless pools of cerulean of his dancing partner.

She nodded her head gently. "It's not my first time in this city, but it is my first time at a party hosted by the Winner family. They're really excellent hosts. This party's been fantastic."

"Typical Winner party. Their parties are always fantastic." Wufei replied tersely, and continued to lead the girl in the waltz.

"Really?" Her eyes gleamed. "I wish I could come here more often. I love parties, but I've seldom been to a really nice one. I went to one held by the Peacecraft family before, and god! I almost fell asleep halfway through."

Wufei smiled a little. "You could. I mean, you can come more often. I can ask Quatre to send you an invitation for his parties next time."

"You would?" She squealed excitedly.

"Sure, Sally."

Then she suddenly remembered something. "But you have to prepare one for my girlfriend too."

"Girlfriend?"

"Yup. Her name's Catherine. She's here tonight too."

"Oh." Unbeknownst to her, Wufei's face fell. He didn't like the idea of her having a girlfriend. But then again, he reminded himself grimly that he had a boyfriend too. Speaking of which...

In the corner of his eyes, he saw Duo waltzing away with someone else. He recognized that man as Heero Yuy, the one who was with Relena Peacecraft that day. The Chinese boy almost felt jealousy boiling when he saw how intimate they were. Then looking at Sally, he shrugged it off. He wasn't in any position to comment about their intimacy.

*****

Back at the table, Quatre looked at the two couple dancing in surprise. What was Wufei and Duo doing? Were they having an argument? But it didn't seem like it, for he had seen nothing happen in the afternoon while they were preparing for the party together. Maybe they just wanted to dance with someone else.

Then he felt a sudden jerk behind him, and he almost fell. Almost. He would have, if not for the strong arm that was wrapped around his waist almost immediately. Quatre let out a sigh of relief; he wouldn't want to fell flat on his face in front of everyone. He turned around as soon as he was able to stand up straight again.

"Thank you for your help."

A man with gravity defying bangs answered him, "I knocked into you. Sorry."

Quatre smiled. "It's ok." Then he held out a hand. "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

The man took his hand gently. "Trowa Barton."

"Oh. The Barton family." Quatre nodded understandingly. "So, how's the party been?"

"It's rather lively."

The blonde smiled even wider. "Thank goodness. I thought that it wouldn't be a success."

Trowa cocked an eyebrow. "Why so?"

"You aren't dancing." Quatre quipped.

Trowa couldn't help but smile as well. "I can't dance."

"I can teach you!"

"Teach me?"

Quatre did a little curtsey. "Would I have the honour of having a dance with you, Trowa?"

The emerald-eyed boy shook his head in resignation, but smiled. "My pleasure."

*****

"Well, I'm so glad to have met you, Catherine. I just wanted to dance so badly. But no~! Trowa can't dance, and won't learn to dance!" A dark haired girl pouted.

Catherine smiled. "Me too, Hilde. Sally is dancing, but not with me. She complains that I'm always stepping on her foot!"

They danced for a moment more, then Hilde quirked an eyebrow. "You're not bad at dancing. At least you haven't stepped on me yet!" She teased.

The auburn haired lass giggled. "You're not half bad yourself."

Hilde laughed heartily. "Finally! I get to meet someone who doesn't criticize me about my dancing!"

Catherine joined in the laughter.

*****

Zechs saw Quatre in the dance floor, apparently having fun with a weird banged boy. He sighed. He wanted to dance with Quatre too, but then he decided that he should have a break from him. As much as they were in love, Zechs didn't want to be around him all the time, bugging him. Then he looked around, eyes hunting for a prospective dance partner. His vision landed on the lone figure of a woman standing at the corner of the ballroom.

She had ebony hair that were accented by light shades of purple, and wore an elegant gown of violet silk. This woman is gorgeous, he decided. With a determine look on his face, he ambled up to her.

"Good day, milady. My name is Zechs Marquise. Glad to meet you. May I ask why are you standing alone here?"

She smiled politely. "I'm Noin Lucrezia. Nice to meet you. My girlfriend's dancing with another man, so I'm kinda stuck here alone." Noin scanned the man's features. His looks were bewitchingly attractive, she had to admit.

Then Zechs bowed. "Then shall we have a little dance as well?"

*****

Treize embraced the woman tautly in his arms. God! This woman is absolutely stunning to say the least. Brown hair that flowed down to her waist like a piece of silk, and sparkling eyes that looked back at him coyly.

"Are you having fun, Une?"

She nodded. "Yes. This has been a wonderful night. It's like a dream."

Treize leaned forward, and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "No, it's not a dream."

Then they smiled. No other words were needed.

*****

Dorothy held Relena's docile form close to her, and led her in the waltz. Both were lost in the marvelous euphony, and gazed into the other's eyes.

"Isn't tonight magical?"

Relena breathed. "Yes, it is. I can feel the magic coursing through my veins, as though I can fly!"

"Same here, Relena, same here." Dorothy assured.

*****

Fourteen jinn gathered in a dark corner. They looked at each other helplessly, wondering what had gone wrong with their various masters to love another that they were not destined to.

Une's jinni, Wind, cringed inwardly. "Why is this happening? Why is Une with that Treize guy? She's destined to be with Noin, not him!" Noin's jinni, Rain, nodded tensely and snuggled closer against Wind, wanting comfort and warmth from her counterpart.

Storm, Sally's jinni, looked on at the dancing ground with avid interest. Duo's head was already resting on Heero's chest, and Heero was embracing him so tight Storm was worried that he would cut off his circulation. Quatre was chuckling as Trowa tried his best to dance correctly, but he still ended up bumping into other couples. Even so, both of them were really having fun. Wufei and Sally had stopped dancing some time ago, and had struck up a soft conversation at the side. Catherine and Hilde were generally dancing, and stepping on the other laughingly. Zechs had convinced Noin to dance with him, and they were waltzing across the dance floor dexterously. Treize was apparently seducing Une with his smooth talk. Dorothy and Relena were engaged in a slight conversation as they continued to dance. Cyclone, Catherine's jinni, joined Storm.

Holy and Darkness, Hilde and Trowa's jinn respectively, were both frowning as they looked at the other jinn.

Fire and Ice, Quatre's and Zechs jinn, were arguing gently about the issue.

Finally, Thunder gathered the jinn together. "Why do you think this is happening? Did something go wrong when Destiny created them?"

"I don't think so. This is too serious a matter to mess up. Destiny knows that." Shield answered curtly. Sword nodded vigorously.

"Then what? What could have possibly gone wrong?" Ocean asked. Then she turned to look at her companion. "What do you think, Mountain?"

He thought about the question for a moment, then replied solemnly, "Do you think there might be another force that pulls them to someone whom they are not destined to be with?"

That statement sent the jinn into a frenzy.

"What? Do you mean that there's another being other than Destiny?" Lightning asked curiously.

Mountain shook his head slightly. "I don't know, but there might be." He paused, silently observing everyone. Some wore expressions that spelt of surprise and shock, others of disbelief. Then he continued flatly. "We jinn are supposed to guide our masters in the path which their destiny takes them, so that they may one day find their soul mates. No one should stray away from their destiny. However, look at the situation now. Our masters are all going against Destiny's will. The only thing that can stand against Destiny is another goddess that creates the beings. That, I do not know for sure, but it is only a guess."

After a moment of silent pondering, Fire broke the deafening silence. "You may be right. That is the only thing that can stand against Destiny."

"But if that's the case, then why lead our masters away from their destiny?" Sword asked dryly. He turned away, and looked at the dancing figures of Duo and Heero scornfully.

"I don't know. But I think it's something we can't prevent. Our masters will stray away from their destiny and wander into an unknown territory. All we can do is to help them as much as we can."

TBC...

 

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