1.8

"You wish to become immortal?" she asked looking at him. "What brought this on Wufei?"

"I wish to live forever." He said somberly.

"Will you become my mate then?" the queen asked her face lighting up.

"No." he said simply.

"Oh. . ." she said quietly. "I am sorry but I cannot give a mortal man this gift, if I did. . ."

"That is it then isn't it Dorothy?" he asked. "You will give me immortality only if I become your mate."

"Listen Wufei, I created you. If it wasn't for me you would have been long forgotten."

"No, because of her I wouldn't be." He said. She looked at him confused.

"I will not grant you your immortality." She finished.

"Everything comes with a price doesn't it?" he laughed bitterly.

"Yes everything does." She said turning form him.

"You punish her for doing what you couldn't do." He stated. "You could not make me love you in the span of fifty years and she did in two weeks, and you scorn her for this. I have grown tired of you my queen I will live the life I still have, however brief and still it would be worth more than all the years you have lived."

"How dare you!" she screamed standing up. "You are nothing but a filthy whore!"

Wufei turned around to leave. "Farewell my queen."

"No one walks away from me!" she called but he had already turned his back on her.

***

Milliardo looked at the great walls that surrounded him. Never had he step foot in this castle and now perhaps he would own it. But he did not care about these walls nor of the bounty found within, he had come to this place with only one purpose.

He moved silently in the unguarded halls, Wufei was right, their whole army is already in the western plane.

He stopped in front of the door. His eyes narrowing to slits, he opened it a little and saw a woman brushing her hair on the dresser, her back to him. He entered the room slowly careful so that no one would hear.

"Treize is that you?" she asked turning around. The shadows concealed his hair so that it could not betray him. And for the first time he set eyes on Treize's queen.

"No my queen." He answered.

"I do not know your voice come into the light so as I may see you." she called. And he did. "You are a. . . " she said her eyes widening as his hair caught the candlelight.

"Yes I am a lot of things." He said his anger growing every second he set eyes upon her face.

"You are King Milliardo." She said curtsying.

"And you are Queen Sally." He smiled bowing as well.

"To what do I owe this visit my lord?" she asked.

"I have come to take back what is rightfully mine."

"If I have taken anything form you then you shall have it returned but I know naught of this thing you speak of."

"You know perfectly well what I speak of."

"I am sorry but. . ."

"It was me Sally." He whispered. Confusion showed in Sally's eyes for a moment and suddenly she sat back down as realization dawned on her.

"You are. . ." she choked.

"I was his lover." He said.

"I knew it was a boy but I never thought it would be you." she whispered.

"Now I have come to take him back from you." he stated.

"You can't! Not now that we need him." she pleaded.

"You have no more need of him, you will lose this war." Whether he spoke of the war going on in the western plain or of the war between them she could not tell. But before she could react he had come behind her and had taken her throat in his hands.

"I will take him back now." he smiled.

"Treize would never abandon me." she said boldly. She closed her eyes as his blade bit across her neck. She began to choke on her own blood, trying to pry his hands from her throat. And as her dress began to be dyed her shade of crimson he brought his lips to her ear.

"He loved me Sally. Only me." he whispered into her dying ears. She closed her eyes. Suddenly living was not worth fighting for, and she ceased desiring to live and she let herself die.

"Sally is everything all right?" Treize asked as he entered their room. Milliardo let her body fall from his hands licking her blood from his fingers as he watched the display of emotion on his former lover's face.

"What have you done?" he screamed running to his dead wife's side.

"Can't you see Treize? There is nothing between us now!"

"There is an abyss between us now." he said sadly. "I loved her Milliardo."

"But you loved me."

"I still do."

"I don't understand!"

"I loved her, she was my soul mate as you are my soul." he said cradling her.

"If I am your soul then do not pick her over me again." He said in desperation.

"I will not desecrate my wife's memory by sleeping with her murderer." He said sadly. "I love you more than life itself but I will never forgive you for what you have done."

"Still she wins. I do not understand."

"This woman was my mate. I will not find another; I wish not for another. My love for her will not let me hold you in my arms once more. You have completed our separation beloved."

"Treize please I did it for us!" he begged but Treize did not move.

"I must ask you to leave now and let me mourn my wife." He said not looking at the love of his life.

"It seems the difference between us is too vast to be bridged by love. I mourn for this." He whispered leaving the man lamenting his dead wife, his own tears falling.

Treize stopped his heart from beating, told it not to feel the pain, and he closed his eyes as he felt his heart die a second time. He had loved only twice his entire existence.

***

Wufei stroked her hair, it felt so soft in his fingers as if it was not real.

"You are not real beloved." He whispered to her. She stirred in her sleep murmuring something. Dorothy was the only one that could give him immortality. She had created him and now she was destroying him. No one truly walks away form her.

"I curse the day the world created us to be apart." He would die even before this war will end, his queen would make sure of that.

"I curse my humanity, I curse your kind. For it seems we will never be together now." he said kissing her on the lips.

"What did you say?" she murmured half asleep.

"Nothing, I said nothing." He whispered stroking her back. And as she returned to her dreams, Wufei's own ended. He would not let her see him die.

***

"Gather your men we attack at dawn." Milliardo said shaking the captain form his bed.

"I am tired of this war." He whispered leaving the captain's tent. His tears left no trace, his heart dead.

***

"What is happening?" Quatre called from his tent. His eyes grew wide as he saw his older brother sitting upon his horse.

"They die the moment the sun rises." He pointed toward the opposite camp.

"No! Milliardo don't!" the younger prince pleaded drawing his robe tighter around him.

"It is about time you stopped playing your games Milliardo." Trowa said joining them. Milliardo looked at him and nodded.

"There must be another way!" Quatre shivered in the falling snow.

"There is no other way." Milliardo said coldly turning his back on his brother.

***

Duo shivered in the cold. They stood around her coffin, the castle seemed dead behind them. He placed his hand in Heero's and his lover looked back at him and tightened his grip.

Their whole family gathered about her, all except one. And as the snow danced about them they bade farewell to their Queen.

"I love you mama." he whispered placing a kiss on the cold wooden surface. He did not cry when Heero woke him up that night to tell him their mother was dead. He did not cry when he saw her body, beautiful and pale being carried down from their room by his father. He did not cry when she was placed in her wooden bed. He did not cry as they lowered her beneath the soil.

"Who did this?" Heero asked.

"This is a war Heero, people die in wars." Treize said as he let the rose that he was holding fall on her grave.

"Was she in pain when she died papa?" Catherine asked.

"No."

"Were you there for her?"

"No." he said sadly.

"I am stepping down Heero, you are king now." Treize said concealing a lock of his wife's hair in his hand, Heero pretended not to see it and let his father mourn in his own way.

"Come now papa. Mama would not like it if you stayed too long in the snow." She smiled.

Catherine took her father's hand in hers and placed her head on his shoulder as she led him back towards the castle, both of them sharing the same sorrow.

He turned around and saw Duo's frightened eyes.

"What is the matter Duo?" he asked.

"You are king." He said.

"Yes."

"This is the end of our family isn't it?" he whispered sadly.

"Our family ended long ago." He answered taking the boy in his arms and holding him.

Duo cried then.

***

Trowa sat in his tent polishing his sword, the sliver of light catching on his neck. A reflection glittered back on his blade. His emblem.

He felt it between his fingers, his mind drifted to the moment when it burned into Duo's skin. He closed his eyes inhaling his burning flesh, feeling salty tears fall on his hand, hearing his scream echo forever in his mind.

He shook his head, this was how it should end. He would destroy his family and everything that had hurt him. He will take back everything denied him. He would make them see how much they had hurt him. And when he stands victorious, they will bow down to him. He would become king.

His mind shifted again to Duo. He was but a child when he left him weeping beside the gates. And when he saw Heero take him, never had he seemed so beautiful. And that was why he could not let his brother own him. Heero had taken his life from him, everything he ever was.

Duo was his.

He stood up and sheathed his sword. He stepped out into the cold morning and mounted his horse. His fingers winding itself in his necklace once more.

***

He looked at the horizon. Dawn would break soon.

"Of course you know you will die in this war." He said coming close to him.

"I am counting on it." he answered indifferent.

"How dare you hurt her." Milliardo said not looking at him. "I should kill you for that."

"I cannot let her see me die." He said sadly. Milliardo left him then.

"I love you Meiran." He whispered.

***

Meiran woke up. Something felt different, something was wrong. She sat up and looked at the empty space beside her and saw the letter on the table. She did not need to read it; she knew what it said.

She closed her eyes.

***

The sun was greeted with blood that day. The field was silent, nothing moved. Not even the sky had the will to mourn the thousands that lost their lives that morning.

She moved across the plane. Her eyes distant and unfeeling. She stopped before a body drowning in its own blood, she turned his body and cradled it against her and her hands drew his black hair from his face.

"You left me." she said quietly.

"I am sorry." He muttered pain etched on his face.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked her face void of emotion.

"Not anymore." he smiled bringing his hand to her face and cupping her cheek. "I love you Meiran. . . "

She let her tears fall. As she looked upon his dead eyes once more she felt her heart break. And she drew his body deeper into her embrace and memorized everything she could of him.

"I warned you never to fall in love." She whispered drawing close to her.

"Bring him back Noin! Bring him back." She choked rocking his cold body.

"I can't Meiran, death is stronger than we are." She said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Is this why you killed her? Is this why you killed your own heart?" she asked her tear-stained face upturned to her elder.

"I could not let myself love her. If I did I would die losing her." Noin said drawing her into her embrace. "We are not meant to love." She finished kissing her on the lips.

"End your war Noin. End it now." she whispered as Noin stood up and nodded her head.

Notes: the plot thickens. . .confused? everything will be answered in the next chapter. Oh yeah its safe to look at the timeline now, just don’t scroll too far down and ruin everything.