FLEETING DREAMS: A SECOND CHANCE

PROLOGUE

By ... Divine Selenity

2000, July 27

[REVISED 2001, February 05]

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Author’s Notes:

Bang. Startled out of your wits you followed the noise up into the dreary old attic. It was too dark, you couldn’t see anything at all beyond a foot or so. Then, from right in front of you, black-hooded figure suddenly arises. By this time you have screamed your heart out, awaiting your fate as a bony, skeletal hand reached up to the hood, and ever so slowly, bringing it down to reveal . . . < Dun . . . Dun . . Dun > . . . a short Asian girl with the most stupid grin on her face. She raises her hand, which was by the way covered in a skeleton-designed glove, and reveals the reason for her idiotic grin. Lo and Behold it’s a . . . . a . . . a . . .

. . . ZIP DISK!!!!!

Okay . . okay . . . break it up people. Enough of that silliness. Hi people, the names Selenity . . . Divine Selenity. I guess I shouldn’t have overdone it up there huh? Well if you haven’t guessed yet I’m kind of the new writer on the block. As hinted up there I’ve been looking for my zip disk that happened to store a lot of my stories. It just kinda got lost. Feel free to blame it on me and my bad memory. Those poor stories of mine have been withering away in that big bad disk. I’m in the process of revamping all of them to make them more enjoyable.

This piece is an alternate universe purely centering around Heero and Relena’s love life since I am a devoted fan of this couple. Please, if you don’t like that coupling, don’t waste my time, or for that matter, yours, e-mailing me and ranting about my choice of couples. Of course, you’ll see appearances from our other beloved Gundam pilots and the other girls, I can’t just leave them out. They’re so adorable.

Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] to make any constructive criticisms. Remember, CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms, not flames. I love e-mail so don’t worry I will answer them. Expect it at weekends though. Oh yeah, before I forget, I’m relying on the feed backs to determine whether or not I want to continue publishing this fanfic. So, just remember be responsible, DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. Oops wrong quote, I mean, be a responsible reader, don’t forget to write the reviews [Corny I know! =P].

P. S. I have nothing against yaoi or yuri, but I don’t write along those themes.

Disclaimer: God, I really, as in REALLY wish that Gundam Wing belonged to me, then I could continue the story, [you say: in your DREAMS SELENITY] . . . But, sadly I don’t own GW so <sigh> I can only have Heero in my dreams . . . *sigh* =)

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Relena Peacecraft was DEFINITELY in a happy mood. Anyone could see it in her face. Afar she looked like an ethereal creature sitting upon a majestic steed with the sunshine’s golden rays bathing her graceful figure while she contemplated on the earth and its inhabitants. She was a celestial being in horse-riding clothes, but transmitting an aura of a divinity nonetheless. Even from this distance, one would not mistake the glow of happiness that radiates all around her.

Yes . . . Relena Peacecraft was definitely in a happy mood.

Actually, no . . . erase that . . . she was ecstatic.

No . . . not that either . . .

She was . . . she was . . . she was downright deliriously delighted.

Yes, that’s what she was. For today she had begun the countdown to the day she would start a whole new life . . . after years of dreaming and longing she was soon going to be with the one who had captured her heart the first time she set her eyes on him . . . with the man of her dreams . . .

She broke out of her reverie and realizes that the sun had begun to set. Its play of colors, as it slowly sank down the horizon, matted the earth in a veil of colors, each with its own unique intensity and brilliance. Reluctantly pulling her gaze away from such magnificent view, almost wistful, she pulled the reigns of her horse, who was happily grazing upon the luscious green grass of the meadow.

"Let’s go Fury."

With a kick, Fury was off, running at his mistress’s command to the silhouette of a mansion up ahead, the house of her beloved. With him in her thoughts, she again broke out in a face-splitting grin . . . and she laughed gleefully as the wind fanned her face, blowing soft tendrils of her hair to and fro across her face.

Yep . . . Relena definitely couldn’t wait for the next chapter in her life . . . the day she says ‘I do’ and becomes Mrs. Heero Yuy.

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"You just made things worse than they already were Yuy." That was the first thing Relena heard as she crossed the huge expanse of the foyer, her intent to cut through the living room leading to Heero’s office. Just five minutes ago, after securely tying Fury to a tree just beyond the driveway and walking the half mile driveway by foot like she always enjoyed doing, she had arrived at the Yuy’s Brussels mansion, only to find that none of the usual servants were about. Even Marguerite, the Yuy’s longtime family housekeeper was not in sight. What puzzled her more was that there was a car she was not familiar with in the driveway.

‘Hmm,’ Relena mused as she stopped in the living room to check her appearance on the mirror. ‘. . . must be a visitor and by the sound of things, it must be Wufei.’ For no one else called her fiancé by Yuy other than Wufei, a mutual friend of both their families, and a close personal friend of Heero’s. ‘. . . I guess that explains the car in the driveway,’ Relena thought while she smoothed her hair to bring it to a semblance of what it had been before her wild ride that afternoon. ‘I wonder why he’s here. I guess I’ll just go make my presence known and then bring them some drinks.’ With a final glance she headed to the adjoining sitting room to get to Heero’s office.

"I know damn well that I shouldn’t have proposed to Relena last night, but it just happened."

That stopped Relena at her tracks. ‘What the- That was Heero’s voice.’ She stood immobile in the middle of the room, listening incredulously as the voices got louder than ever.

"Knowing what prior commitments you already have? How could you do such a thing? Have you no honor?" ‘No doubt about it, that is definitely Wufei.’ Even in her anxiety, Relena managed to smile.

"Of course I do. It was something out of the blue, totally unexpected. I didn’t even have a ring since I never planned on proposing to her," Heero angrily retorted.

"So spontaneity huh? That’s not you, Yuy." Then on a somber note, "Have you told her . . . about Hilde?"

Silence. At this point, Relena was still standing in the middle of the room, her face frozen with shock. With each passing second, her face grew whiter and whiter, and her body trembled with trepidation at the mention of the woman’s name. ‘Hilde? Why are they talking about her? What does she have to do with Heero?’ All she could sense throughout the intense silence was foreboding.

"No I haven’t told her . . . about Hilde," came Heero’s hushed reply. "How could I? Every time I tried to tell her, she would cut me off unintentionally by talking to me about her day and so on. Then I could do nothing but just listen to her tales. Sure our families are close, but her family doesn’t know about Hilde. They never even guessed what was happening between me and Relena."

"So when were you planning to tell her of your prior commitments huh? When were you going to tell Relena that you were already engaged – to Hilde of all people!?!?!?"

If one could, they would be able to cut through the air, so full of tension was it. Yet, even in that silence, no one heard Relena, as a single tear fell from her eyes, making its path down the side of her face, followed by another, and another, and another, the flow non-stopping in its descent. Yet through it all she was still silent and undetected. ‘Hilde . . . Hilde is engaged to her Heero. Then what . . . how about me?’

Then, "Tonight. I planned on visiting her tonight and," a sigh, ". . . then I planned on breaking the engagement before she could even tell her parents. She had wanted me to be there with her to tell them."

"Yuy, you know you only have yourself to blame for this right?"

"I’ve known that throughout this whole mess."

There was a shuffle of footsteps and for a moment, Relena thought that the conversation was over. She was afraid that she was going to get caught eavesdropping on a conversation that she was never in a million years supposed to hear, not until she heard Wufei break the bleak silence.

"One more question Yuy. Did you ever love her?"

"I loved being with her. Her companionship provided me with a fresh view of life, way different from those I received from my other female companions. She’s intelligent, beautiful and she has a heart of gold. I don’t open up to her yet somehow she still knows what I’m feeling deep inside."

"Beautiful as that was, it didn’t answer my question. Did you ever love her the way I know she loves you?"

"I . . . honestly Wufei, I don’t know. Sure she’s a fun companion, but she’s still young. She still has a lot to learn and she still has a lot of growing up to do. As of right now, she’s still twenty and I’m already twenty-five. Those five years make a world of difference. She has yet to see what a cruel world it is out there . . . she has yet to see that all her life she’s been sheltered and protected from anything that might cause her harm. She’s still a little girl and I can’t protect her my whole life, I don’t operate that way. You know that as well as I do. You’ve seen that I’m a lone soldier when fighting my battles. We would never work. So, in answer to you question, I guess, no I never did love her."

And that was the last thing Relena heard as she quickly yet carefully and quietly left the Yuy mansion.

Her life, which seemed so much brighter a bare few hours ago, was now bleak. Unadulterated pain assaulted her every senses. Heartbreak. That’s what the shattering of her heart was . . . over a man who was supposed to be the man of her dreams . . . which was exactly what he turned out to be . . . a dream.

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. . . just as a reminder . . . don’t forget them e-mails . . . I’ll still post Chapter 1, but after that I’m going to need some reviews . . . or feel free to e-mail just to say hi . . .