Heero Yuy watched the girl out of the corner of his eye. She moved with the grace of the noble-born, a diplomat who had the manners and style to charm anyone on the planet, or the colonies. It was to this girl that the human race owed their peace.
She smiled at Heero shyly, aware of his not-so-secret glances. Relena Peacecraft was used to his observations, taking them in stride with her new and hard won role as Queen of the World.
Relena was also aware of his love for her. She was flattered, but she did not return the affection. Not that Heero wasn't handsome. He was thin but incredibly muscular. He had moss brown hair that was always wind blown and messy and the most intense cobalt blue eyes that she had ever seen. No, he was incredibly desirable.
She did not love him for the fact that he was a soldier. And not just any soldier.
A Gundam Pilot.
The entire planet owed much to this boy for his extraordinary bravery. Relena acknowledged that fact, and accepted the things he'd had to do.
He was a killer.
She could not get over it. Every time she saw him it was like the souls of the dead followed after him. She'd often had nightmares of him covered in blood...and liking it. Heero was a born killer, programmed for the war to do whatever was necessary for the mission.
Relena was terrified of him. Deep in her soul she knew that he could kill again, for any reason. He was unnatural.
At the same time she found that she genuinely liked his personality, what he had of one anyway. He was quiet and withdrawn but when he chose to talk it was very intelligent and thoughtful. Relena found him comforting to talk about affairs of state with. His military training helped her head off any conflicts without bloodshed.
Heero stared into her blue eyes. At some very elemental level, he knew that Relena was scared, not of him, but what he had done and what he could do, if forced to do so again. The war was over...but that didn't make him any less of a soldier.
On the surface, he ignored it. He lived in a world where he could finally have a normal life, be just an ordinary guy with his friends and fellow pilots, Trowa and Quatre. He wished with all his heart that Relena would be a part of his life too.
He broke the silence by clearing his throat. "I should go, Your Majesty. I need to meet up with Trowa and Quatre."
Heero had walked Relena to the wrought gates of her manor house. The huge white mansion lay just beyond, nestled in the middle of a field of well-manicured lawns and landscaped hedges. It was also the most heavily fortified structure on the face of the planet. They may be at peace but that was no reason to take unnecessary risks with Relena's life. There were still those who rather see the Queen of the World dead.
Relena smiled graciously. "I thank you, Heero. Will I see you for brunch tomorrow? I would like to see Trowa and Quatre as well."
Heero nodded, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his blue pants. He longed to touch her, to kiss her, to say something that would change her mind about how she felt about him. Instead he turned away, quickly walking back down the gravel path they had just come up.
Heero berated himself. "Baka. How will she ever love you if you can't say more than two words to her at a time?"
The tall Japanese boy was so absorbed in his guilt that he never noticed that he had stepped from the path and was headed down what was little more than a deer track through the trees. The forest around him was teeming with life, birds and animals going about their simple lives in the undergrowth.
Suddenly, he stumbled, his foot catching on a root that hooked dangerously from the dirt. He fell face first, something digging painfully into his ribs. It was a moment before he caught his breath again, reaching first for the object that was stabbing into his lower abdomen.
It was a figure of a person, a boy, sculpted from what seemed to be obsidian. The carving was exquisite. Heero could make out even the tiniest details. The boy had a scythe in one arm and a long braid draped over the other. He was dressed in what appeared to be only loose pants bound at the ankle and waist and a vest that exposed a muscular chest.
"Beautiful," Heero whispered in awe. He wondered if the figure had been a real person at one time. "I wish I could have seen you..."
"Granted."
Heero whipped around, staring in shock at the sculpture brought to life. The boy was bathed in a strange gold cloud, his body slowly materializing from the mist. He was tall and lithe, his athletic body clothed in pants and vest of filmy black silk. Silver bells were wound about his waist, wrists and ankles, ringing softly. His incredibly long hair was a golden brown, bound in a single braid that reached almost to his knees. Across his head was a headpiece of what looked like fine chain mail, dipping to a triangular pinnacle in the center of his forehead. The ends were lost in the mass of hair at his temples.
Heero had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. His mouth worked silently, trying to form words to express his shock. The boy smiled, his brilliant blue-violet eyes staring into Heero's dark ones.
"Hi. I'm Duo. Your djinn."
On to Part Two