NEXT
Who is to deny that he had met the most beautiful creature he had ever laid his eyes on? He couldn’t admit it in the marketplace. Not when he had his hands on that thief. Not when that chestnut hair lazily brushing against his body. His heart is suppose to be frozen over. Relena is dead! God, how much longer can he keep on living like this? Living in a web of lies and betrayal is killing him, draining his strength and his will to continue to exist. But somehow that pair of violet eyes still linger in his mind. Strangely keeping him sane… even though those eyes had meant to deliver promises of death.. The promise of death, how he has longed for its embrace. Ahh.. and to be killed by such a lovely creature is perhaps not such a bad idea……
Heero doesn’t know why he helped the thief. Surely he had helped a lot of people but nothing like this. It is as if he was drawn to him.. like a moth to a flame. God, that thief is like a flame. So full of liveliness and energy. It is nothing like what he had expected when he stepped into the market, searching for the thief that he had heard about. He meant to be there to capture the thief and bring him to justice until he heard the rumors that the thief is actually helping some orphans in an abandoned church. He did not believe the rumor until he actually saw the thief. Behind that evil grin, those violet eyes betrayed their owner. Heero only recognized a kind person wrapped in thief’s clothing. When he turned away from the thief that afternoon, he had to restrain himself from taking another glance at the beautiful American. Only God knows how much strength he used to drive himself to peel off those delicate fingers from his arm. Only God knows how much effort it took to stop himself from asking the thief his name. Surely he could have found out just like that, for he IS the king. (Thanks to Relena, Heero bitterly smiled at that thought…) but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He doesn’t know what would have happened if he had known the baka’s name. It would be unbearable for him fall in lov...
"King Yuy, I am sorry to disturb you but I would like to discuss tomorrow’s agenda with you."
"Ah" King Heero lightly nods at his advisor. "It’s about the match, isn’t it, Trowa."
Though King Heero has his emotionless mask slipped in place, it does not escape Trowa’s keen observation. He has been with Heero for as long as he could remember. Ever since childhood. Trowa thinks back, Heero was different then. This life has definitely changed his friend. Heero used to smile at even the littlest thing. Throwa could still remember that when a little girl handed him a yellow flower for a confession of love, Heero gracefully accepted the flower and smiled back at the child. God, Trowa himself was supposed to be the quiet and cold one, always standing next to Heero, preventing anything harmful to come to his friend. But now it had seemed that Heero had caught up with him.
So what had caused the change? Trowa tilted his head slightly trying to remember.. .Ah.. it seemed to begin after Heero had been called into the royal Peacecraft family for a bodyguard position. Heero was… what was it? 10 years old? Yes, when heero was 10 years of age, he was sent to the palace to be trained and served as a bodyguard for the future queen of the world, Relena. Trowa himself didn’t get admitted to the palace, which is a big question in his heart for he was far better than Heero at that age. Heero was always the skinniest kid and people had always mistaken him for a female, yet Heero was called, not Trowa. Trowa wasn’t jealous at all, but he was worried. He wasn’t sure if Heero could survive the rumored vigorous training from Dr. J. Actually, not rumored…. For the training was indeed vigorous. What else would explain the fact that Heero had exceeded Trowa in merely 2 years and received the position of the main bodyguard for Relena in 3 years at the tender age of 15? Two years afterwards, Heero marries Relena and becomes the King and immediately called for Trowa to be his advisor. When Trowa finally met his friend 7 years later, Trowa could hardly recognize Heero anymore. Heero had definitely grown taller. His ever present smile was gone. His slender form was still there but he could see the muscles concealed underneath his clothing. His cobalt eyes hardened. Yet Trowa could still feel the old Heero lingering in that protected shell. For he has been catching glimpses of softness every now and then in his eyes…..just like the softness he saw before he disturbed him.
"Heero, what is on your mind?" Trowa speaks softly, as if to a child.
Heero looks at his friend. The sincerity touches his heart, yet he could not bring himself to answer the simple question.
"You have been looking awful ever since Relena past away."
The mention of Relena makes Heero feel the choking tightness in his chest. His face still reveals nothing but his memory comes back to haunt him. Her smell, her hair, her determined eyes. How could Trowa know? How could anyone understand his pain? His suffering? His sin? Sometimes he wishes he could just put a bullet in his head and end it all. But then he sees that pair of violet eyes daring him, challenging him. Heero snaps back from his self-destructing mode.
"Has everything been planned out for the match tomorrow." Heero ignores Trowa’s previous questions.
"Yes, King Yuy, the annual fighting contest is all planned out and ready to go for tomorrow. What would be the prize for this year?" Knowing that Heero doesn’t want to talk about it, Trowa switches back to his advisor position as well.
"A pair of violet diamonds," Damn, those eyes still present in his mind. " And a match with me."
"A match with you?" Trowa hasn’t seen Heero in action at all. He could only guess how good he is. After all, why would a King need to lift his fingers?
Heero could still feel the thief’s challenge. He didn’t fight with the thief, yet his daring eyes has recalled his years of battle training. He could feel he is itching to fight and to release some of the stress and suffering that’s been accumulating in him ever since her death… He need a release. Badly. "Yes, a match with the king. If he wins, he will have the position as my personal guard if he wishes." King Yuy delivers his final words of the prize.
The words travel through the country like a wave. Everyone is excited. The violet diamonds are enticing, but what really gets people going is King Yuy’s appearance. None of them know what King Yuy looks like. Surely there are pictures of him in the newspaper. Yet his brown hair always seems to be in his face. Not only that, Queen Relena was always the person addressing the public. But King Yuy, on the other hand, has always remained in the shadow. There are rumors that King Yuy often disguises as a commoner to help people, but no one has ever recognized him. To fight him and to be his personal guard would be the greatest honor of all. Everyone awaits the match with great anticipation, for each of them is hoping that he will be the lucky one. In an abandoned church, however, a pair of violet eyes also displays such anticipation. But this person is different. Not only does he wants to fight the King, he wants to claim him as well.
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