A/N: This is a joint Pizza Hut Challenge of Ladybug Oblivion and Rally, conceived in a day not in Pizza Hut but in Panera Bread, T.G.I. Friday's and in a brief bout before the movie at MJR Theater.
Disclaimer/Warnings: We don't own, nor will we ever own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They are owned by Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. Pairings are completely a secret until a later date. There will be no spoilers or intentional character bashing, but there will be some violence, a little shonen-ai (which means boys kissing boys so, if you don't like that take a hike!), a dash of OOC-ness, a lot of AU-ness, potentially a ton of humor and a likable Relena (you heard me!). And yes, it's based on Swan Lake. That's Lady O's fault. The Relena thing is Rally's.
In the far away kingdom of Ch'Ang there lived a young prince in a palace of jade. The prince was beloved of all his people, though not known for a gentle nature or charming disposition. Rather, he was loved for his ebony locks, snow-white skin and strikingly captivating looks. But it would soon come to pass that his beauty would be his downfall, for one day in the frozen month of December there came a mighty warlock to the palace. With but a single look the wizard took a liking to the fair youth and at once decided to make the prince his very own. At midnight, a mere fortnight later, the prince was lured out of the safety of his palace to a nefarious, and yet to this day, mysterious end.
-Excerpt (Enchanted Princes: Curses Through the Ages)
"Heero Yuy," began a very calm, very steady voice, "Next time, I swear to God, you'll be the one with his face in the dirt and his rump in the air."
The young man known as Heero Yuy reached his hand down to the prone teenager. "Get that whining rump of yours up off the ground, Highness, or I'll really give you something to complain about." He pulled the slight figure upright and then retrieved the lost blade. "If I was really out for your blood, dirt in your mouth would be your last concern."
"Then show me the move to counter that swishy thing you did with your sword."
"Swishy?" He scratched his head before continuing. "How many times do I have to go over this? Highness, swordplay is not a science. There's more than one way to counter any given attack. The key is to see ahead and know what your opponent is going to do before they do it."
"How am I supposed to do that and against you of all people? Your expression never flickers, your eyes give nothing away and you make so many feints that everything ends up all topsy-turvy in my head. If I'm ever up against an assassin of your caliber, I'm done for!"
"Assassins don't come at you head on," Heero pointed out. "Highness—"
"Please stop all that 'Highness' crap. The crowd's gone. We've been bickering for the last thirteen years; nobody's interested in watching us anymore."
"Do you want these extra lessons or not?"
"You don't need to get tetchy. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want them."
"Fine." He held out the extra blade, hilt first. "Then take up your arms, Princess Relena."
"Well?" The King was not a patient man under normal circumstances and he liked indecision even less than he liked waiting, but still Relena couldn't assemble a proper response. The king sliced off a small piece of beef, placed it in his mouth, chewed it exactly thirty-five times and then swallowed. "I'm waiting, Relena."
Relena was glad that her father decided to break the news at a family dinner instead of at court; she didn't need an audience for this. There were just six people at the intimate table in the King's own quarters; King Treize, Prince Milliardo, Princess Relena, Heero Yuy, Lady Anne and Father Maxwell. Milliardo was Relena's older half-brother. Milliardo's mother had married Treize when Milliardo was just two years old and Treize was glad to adopt the boy as soon as Relena was conceived. Lady Anne was the King's tactical advisor and, as the queen had passed away three years prior, his current consort. Father Maxwell had served as the Kushrenada family's personal priest for nearly a generation. Heero Yuy had been Relena's playmate and best friend since the poor little child had been found wandering the palace grounds at the approximate age of five. Instead of having the urchin thrown out onto the streets or into one of the city's notoriously under funded orphanages, Relena and Milliardo's mother convinced her husband to keep him.
Relena was taken with the boy immediately. He was so unlike her older brother, who was so much older and so far excelled her in everything that she couldn't even dream of catching up. Heero was quiet almost to the point of silence, but if she did something he didn't like, he'd let her know about it. Though Heero managed to excel her in everything as well, it was without the haughtiness of her brother. He was more than willing to take a step down to give her a hand up. If she were failing a subject, he'd coach her until she caught on. Likewise if she were doing well, he'd push her hard enough that she could surpass him. He was never too busy to listen to her problems and everyday he would find at least five or ten minutes in his jam packed schedule to greet her a good day. She was eight when she realized she was in love.
When she had turned thirteen, Relena thought she had gotten over her silly crush. It was foolish, really. Heero Yuy was like a brother; they were pals, nothing more.
She was sixteen when it finally hit her that she was still in love and that she intended to spend her life with him, but she had to wait two more years before she could ask him to marry her. Two years would make him eighteen, giving him the legal right to accept a marriage proposal; the law was very clear on that aspect. The two years were up tomorrow. Her father had impeccable timing, which made it shitty timing on her part.
She wanted to scream, "No!" She wanted to rail against her father's carefully laid plan—for it was both carefully laid and in fact a plan—King Treize never did anything without have half a dozen ulterior motives. She wanted to cross around the table, drop to one knee and propose to Heero in front of her family and God. But she couldn't. She could only sit and think of a way to deny her father's wish without setting him off. "Let me get this straight," she began, using the cultivated voice of a leader-in-training. "You want me to go out into an unknown kingdom to try to find this 'Prince Ch'Ang' who may or may not be alive and if he is alive may or may not be cursed, in the hopes that I can break his possibly not-curse and invoke the right of Dragonslayer?"
"I'm glad we're all on the same page, dear." Relena kept herself from snorting. She hated it when Lady Anne called her "dear." It always held the same flavor as "imbecile."
"This was your idea, wasn't it." It wasn't a question.
Lady Anne ignored the venomous tones of the Princess' statement, taking a sip of her blood-red wine before responding. "Indeed. The Ch'Ang Kingdom is wealthy beyond means and at this point has no true heirs. The Empress died without giving birth to a single female. This Prince Wufei is the eldest son. If you can find him, break his curse and invoke Dragonslayer the Kingdom of Ch'Ang becomes yours."
"What is this 'Dragonslayer?'" The question had come from Father Maxwell.
"Dragonslayer," began Relena before anyone else could answer the question and glorify the answer, "Is a barbaric law that states that if a Prince is held captive by a dragon and that dragon is slain by a Lady, the Prince must marry his rescuer and bequeath all that is his unto her upon wedlock. In the years since, it has been extended to rescuing Princes from various captors, curses, curing them of maladies, et cetera, et cetera."
"Ah..." the elderly priest acknowledged, wiping his mouth and then dropping his napkin onto his plate. "So, that's an actual law. I thought it was more of a—" He waved a hand in front of his face. "A friendly suggestion?"
"Good Heavens, no, Father." Milliardo finally decided to comment on the conversation. "Who'd ever bother to rescue the little brats without handsome compensation?"
Father Maxwell smiled gently. "I think the 'Do unto others...' line would be quite appropriate here as is the 'Covet not thy neighbor's wife..."
The blonde prince's brow furrowed. "Who's wife was that again? I thought we were talking about a prince."
"Ah, yes and a very wealthy prince, at that," added the Lady raising her glass in praise.
"Lady Anne," began Relena, clutching her fork a little too tightly, "We are a 'very wealthy' family. What do we need with more money?"
"It's a perfectly sensible plan." Relena dropped her fork, the ensuing clang reverberating off of her half-empty wine goblet like a death knell. "It's a bloodless way to expand your kingdom, Highness. You can more than triple the size of Sanq in the matter of one ceremony, thusly fulfilling your first duty as queen while still maintaining your philosophy of non-violence."
Relena was used to Heero's matter-of-fact tone, but to hear him casually approve her union to a complete stranger saddened her as much as it pissed her off. "Bloodless, Heero? And what about Prince Ch'Ang? It's his freedom, his home and his future I'd be stealing. How is that bloodless? I've already said it once, but I don't mind repeating: Dragonslayer is a barbaric law. I'll have no part of it."
"Well, then..." King Treize stood. "That sounds like a conclusion to me. Dinner is over. You are all dismissed."
"Relena?"
She didn't bother to look; she already knew who it was.
"Do not ignore me." The tone, however, was a bit more indignant that she'd predicted.
Now, she opened her eyes. "I didn't ignore you. I simply chose not to respond. That is one of a Royal's prerogatives, if I remember my protocol lessons correctly."
"It is, but you've never stood on protocol with me before." There was a pause for two heartbeats. "Oh, I see. You're angry."
"Of course I'm angry, Heero." She slapped a fist into the wall. "There's no reason for me to not be angry. Clearly, what my father wants my father gets. Why in God's name did he even bother asking me in the first place? I said no, but I still find myself being packed off to God knows where to find a prince who's probably already dead. Why wouldn't I be hacked off?"
Heero gave her a few seconds to regain her breath before replying. "What I meant was you're angry with me for agreeing with His Majesty."
"Oh." She shook the still stinging hand. "No, I'm not angry with you, Heero." Disappointed? Maybe. Angry? No.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Good." There was a distinct feel of unhappiness in that single word.
"Why?"
"I don't want to leave here on unpleasant terms."
Relena felt her stomach drop. "What do you mean, leave here on unpleasant terms?"
"King Treize has seen fit to send me to Peacemillion, gotten Father Maxwell to authorize my entry into the Officer's Academy and has arranged for my departure at dawn."
Her father was sending Heero away to train in a career that would keep him away indefinitely. Son-of-a-Bitch! Now, she was angry. "And you agreed to this?"
"Of course."
"Of course..." Relena repeated agreeably with a nod. And then she exploded. "What the hell do you mean 'Of course'?"
"It is a prime offer. As an officer, I would have job security and the means to provide for myself." All were good points but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than her.
Relena stepped in closer to get a better view of Heero's eyes. She was still an appropriate three paces away from him, but even with the distance she was confident that if he reacted to her next question she'd be able to spot it. "Heero, do you want to be an officer?" It happened. He reacted. His focus shifted to her eyes for the barest fraction of a moment before regaining a look of bored interest. If his answer was yes, then Relena was resolved to send him off with a smile, but if it was anything other than that three-letter word...
"That is not my decision."
She hadn't gotten a proper answer and already a plan was forming. Relena kept the smile forming in her heart from appearing on her lips. "That wasn't the question. The question was, Heero, do you want to be an officer?"
He considered for a moment before replying, "I don't know."
"Good." The smile broke free. "Then you're coming with me."
If he denied her demand, it would seem that he had only sent her on the quest as a means of separating the two of them. He had, but that was beside the point. If she came back successful from the mission, Heero would still be shipped off to Peacemillion and Relena would have a new husband to fawn over. If she came back unsuccessful he'd deal with that situation as it arises, but with a few well-placed commands to a certain fiercely loyal bodyguard that wasn't a likely outcome.