17-Sep-2001
I'm finally posting the next chapter. I had hoped to have it done at the beginning of last week, but I sort of lost my inspiration to write for a few days because I was more or less glued to CNN. Anyway, I should have the final chapter ready for next Monday.
Author: Tigress Pern
Title: Beauty and the Beast
Archive: GW Addiction
Type: Drama/fairy tale
Warning: Une + Treize, slight OOC
Disclaimer: GW isn't mine, never was, never will.
A man stepped from the shadows dressed in a plain white shirt and black breeches. He was tall with ginger colored hair and piercing blue eyes. There was a slight wave to his hair and a few stray pieces fell into his eyes. When Zechs saw him, his jaw dropped, but quickly snapped back into place. Une wished she could do the same. Unfortunately all she could do was stare at his broad shoulders and strong arms.
"Beast?" It was the only thing she could say. Her mind was still trying to sift through the information Zechs had told her. That and the sight of the man that stood before her left her mind numb.
"I was until a short time ago." Treize replied softly. Suddenly he looked unsure of himself. "I hope this little, um alteration won't affect your decision to marry me."
"No, of course not!" Une blurted out. Treize took a step closer. "I..well..Hilde and I, mostly Hilde, oh how to put this? My sister and I before I came here discussed the possibility that there might be some sort of enchanted prince or curse on this castle." Zechs and Treize exchanged looks. "It looks as if she was right. There was a curse on this place. She will be ecstatic that she was right."
"I look forward to seeing her again." Treize replied. "She was a lively girl." Une smiled her nervousness about the man disappearing.
"That she is. Oh! The preparations are under way for the villagers. I need to ride back and retrieve them tomorrow morning."
"Sir." Zechs interjected. "Lady Une's horse is tired from the journey and has not properly rested. May I suggest she take one of your steeds?"
"Now that the curse is completely broken, they should have reappeared too." Treize said nodding his head.
"There were horses in the stable? How come I never noticed them?" Une inquired.
"Because Heero and Trowa do an excellent job." Treize replied. "Trowa has a way with animals that is amazing. Now, I want you to take my steed Tallgeese II. Please don't argue. He is a fresh and hasn't been out for a long ride in years. And take one of the pages with you. They will be of some assistance hopefully." Une nodded.
"Thank you for allowing the villagers to hide here. The enemy will hopefully not find us."
"Let us hope not. Although I have studied sorcery, I'm not very skilled with it and may not be able to fend off a high powered wizard. Now that the spell has been broken, I fear that my old adversary may return. He worked for our country's enemy."
"We will cross that bridge when we come to it." Une stated firmly. Then she took Treize's hands in her's. "Thank you for everything." She caught his lips in a kiss before he could reply. Politely Zechs turned away as the couple shared their first intimate moment as woman and man. Breaking off, Treize gazed into Une's deep brown eyes.
"I can deny you nothing, you are my salvation." He said quietly. "Let us go downstairs and see what needs to be done before our guest's arrival."
"And I'm sure the rest of your servants are anxious to see what has become of you." Une said glancing over at Zechs. "Are they not?"
"Most certainly." Came the manservant's reply. Treize offered Une his arm; she took it then the three left the room together.
There was much rejoicing when they entered the audience hall where everyone was still preparing for the villagers. They talked happily amongst themselves and in turn each came over to offer their congratulations to Treize and Une. Catherine winked at Une.
"I knew you'd break the spell. Isn't he a catch?" she asked a hint of laughter in her voice. Treize tried to hide a smile, but failed. Catherine just gave Une a quick hug then curtsied before Treize before returning to her duties.
"They're more like family than servants at this point." Treize admitted watching Catherine skip off.
"Catherine and Sally have been wonderful to me and Rashid has been nice enough to let me use the kitchen." Une pointed out. Treize laughed.
"Nice had nothing to do with it. You threw his entire staff out. He had to let you use it because the others were too afraid of getting between you and him!"
"AH! Is that why!" Une exclaimed noticing the twinkle of mischief in Trieze's eyes. They were such a beautiful blue; she was glad they hadn't changed. No matter what form he took, she would always know it was him because of his eyes. She prayed that he wouldn't be forced to take another form, she liked this one.
"How much farther?" Duo asked as he rode next to Une. The sun had been barely above the horizon when they had departed. Shoving his long brown braid off his shoulder, Duo waited for an answer.
"Not much now." Une replied. Beneath her, Tallgeese II snorted and tried to break into a canter. Reining in the giant white charger, Une once more pondered the question that had popped into her head late last night. Where had she heard the name Khushrenada before? It hadn't occurred to her when he'd first given his name that she'd heard it before. The problem was she couldn't remember when or where.
Noticing her prolonged silence, Duo tried to strike up a conversation with her.
"How long has your family lived in the village?"
"Less than a year. My father's shipping company went under when his ships didn't return. We fled to my mother's family property that was just outside the village." Une replied.
"I don't mean to pry, but what happened to your mother?"
"She died at the epidemic at the Maxwell Church. She used to volunteer at the orphanage." Duo was silent for a moment.
"Did she have brown hair and eyes like yours? And did she always bring bouquets of flowers for the orphans?"
"Yes, she did." Une replied slowly. Duo was looking down at his horse's ebony mane. "How did you know?"
"I was an orphan there. I remember a lady would always come in and bring flowers. She said she had a greenhouse in which she could grow flowers all year long. Sometimes she brought her daughters. I remember playing with the youngest a few times. I was taken into Treize's service when I was nine. Soon after he was cursed. I never knew what happened to the church."
"I'm sorry." Une said. "The entire church was quarantined, there was nothing anyone could do but watch them die. It broke my father's heart. Mother loved children."
"She was always nice to us." Duo agreed. "I thought you looked familiar when I saw you. It wasn't until I saw your sister that I placed where. She was very brave coming all the way to the chateau for you despite knowing the danger."
"Duo, do you have a crush on my sister?" Une asked half-teasing. Duo didn't answer for a moment.
"I did when I was little. Of course I used to push her into the mud or challenge her to duels with sticks."
"That was you! Why she positively hated you." Une laughed. Duo looked embarrassed. "She'd come over crying about how mean the boys were, especially a little demon. I can only assume she meant you."
"Probably." Duo said. He ran his hand through his bangs. "I was a little brat when I was younger."
"So was she." Une answered laughing as she did. "So was she. Oh! Look, there is the path to our house. Let's pick up the pace now." Urging Tallgeese II into a canter, Une took off with Duo nudging Death Scythe to do the same. The black horse whickered and leapt forward quickly matching the charger's stride. They burst out of the forest and onto the game trail that lead to the cottage. Une bypassed it because her family would be at the Noventa's, so there was no point stopping. Duo kept up with her as they covered the distance to the village. He could see the main buildings come into view and people. There was a crowd of people talking furiously as one elderly gentleman tried to grab their attention by shouting from a make shift platform. Une began to slow Tallgeese II, but the horse fought to maintain a gallop. Someone cried out as they approached and a hole opened as Tallgeese II slid into the square.
"UNE!" Hilde cried fighting through the suddenly silent cried. Duo shoved his way through setting Death Scythe in front of her.
"Here, I can get you to her." Hilde stared at the strange young man dressed finely. When he offered her his hand she took it and he pulled her up onto the horse. Perched behind him, he rode to Une's side.
"Look! It's Une." Someone cried.
"She's back!" another screamed.
"People please listen to me!" Une was saying. Mr. Noventa let her have his spot and quietly descended to the ground. "Please, pack only those things essential to you. I have found a place for us to hide while the enemy marches towards our forces. The old chateau in the Bloodwood." A great cry of shock went up.
"It's haunted!"
"There is evil there!"
"No!" Une exclaimed trying to calm the crowd. "The lord there has simply wanted his privacy. He does not want to see us killed so he is offering his home as a refuge for us until this is over. He has few men to fight, so he will not engage the enemy. Please, we must leave by the time the sun is high in the sky. His servant and I will lead you through the forest to his home safely."
"He is most kind to aid us." Mr. Noventa stated in a loud voice. "To turn him down would be a mark of shame on us. We will gather here in the square before noon and follow you and the young man. Everyone, help each other."
They were afraid of the forest, Une knew this, but they were more afraid of the enemy. In the end the lesser of the two fear won out and people quickly dispersed to their homes. Une, Hilde, and Duo followed Mr. Noventa home to help his family and Une's father pack.
"You know," Hilde muttered as they rode towards the home. "I have the oddest feeling I know you from somewhere." She told Duo.
"Duo is one of the servants for Lord Treize." Then she leaned over to her sister and whispered. "You were right about there being a spell. It's broken and the servants can once again their faces."
"So is he handsome?" Hilde inquired.
"Very." Une admitted. Duo just sighed.
At a bit before noon the entire village had assembled with horses, carts, and oxen. On their backs were their most valued items and anything important they would need. The town notary had an entire cart full of documents along with his wife. Une and Duo rode to the front of the crowd. Une spoke loudly and they listened to her instructions. Near the front were Virgo and Leo hitched to a large wagon with Hilde at the reins. They started off in a huddled mass that slowly elongated as they got going. By the time they entered the woods the line was almost single file. It remained that way for the entire journey because the spaces between the trees would not allow for anything else. After an hour of travel Une saw familiar metal gates. Smiling she urged Tallgeese II into a trot. The charger willingly complied. He pranced towards the gates, which opened easily when he shoved against them. Duo grabbed the other gate and pulled it aside allowing Hilde to lead her horses into the outer yards.
Galloping ahead, Duo pulled Death Scythe up short when he noticed Treize standing at the large oak doors that lead inside. He hadn't expected his master to be outside waiting for them.
"Have they all come?" Treize asked.
"Yes Sir. No one was left behind."
"Good. Alert everyone else. I want to be standing right here when they arrive. I have some explaining to do."
It didn't take long for them to arrive. Yet it was another fifteen minutes before everyone was huddled in the courtyard. At which point Treize addressed them.
"I am the lord of this chateau." He announced. "And you are welcome here. Although this is not the royal palace, I hope it will do for you. My servants will help you; all you have to do is ask. My stables should be able to accommodate all your animals. All the elderly and sick will have beds inside the chateau. Please feel free to set up camp in the courtyard, I have provisions for tents and the like. A hot meal prepared by the kitchen staff will be available in one hour."
Immediately people started calling out for "his lordship" and thanking him for his kindness. It took time, but eventually everyone got settled into tents. The elderly and ill were moved inside along with all the important documents of the village. Everyone pitched in making the work go faster. By nightfall all the families were settled in. Guards were posted by the gates and were to be relieved every two hours. The first night passed without incident.
Banners held high the enemy rode into the small village to find it deserted. Angered the commander ordered the place sacked. Once supplies had been taken they turned towards the forest. It was the quickest way to the Queen's Army and victory. As they started into the Bloodwood they were unaware of the magic sensors that they tripped. In his chateau Treize bolted awake. The enemy was on their way, he needed to gather everyone inside and ready his magic spells.
End Chapter Nine
Tigress Pern