***Part 10***

<><>Back at the palace<><>

Relena lay in her bed, still weak from the previous days' events, while Noin had come in with a tray of the princess' favorite afternoon tea. Noin busied herself by tidying up the room as the two friends chatted about how beautiful the day was, Noin and Milliardo's upcoming wedding plans, and the welcome home ball for the princess the following evening. As they were talking, they did not notice a figure hovering outside the slightly cracked open door.

Relena spoke softly, yet seriously, to her friend. "Well, it's finally over. And it seems I am at peace with myself now, no more running off, trying to break free. I belong here, as ruler of the Cinq Kingdom. I feel ready to face whatever the future holds."

"Oh, Relena," Noin replied, "stop being so deep. You were always a good ruler, and I'm glad that now you finally realize you're ready to take on such leadership. You always were ready, in my opinion."

"Thank you Noin. That means a lot. I know that as the ruler of the Cinq Kingdom, I've always had to look calm and composed for all of the meetings and appearances. But really, something inside of me was trying to break free. I craved something different. I needed change. When I finally got it, it was nice for a time, but I found myself looking back to see how lucky I really was, how good a life I really had. I was selfish to have thoughts of abandoning my kingdom, my people, just to satisfy some crazy urge of mine."

Noin looked at the girl so ahead of her years, "Stop being so hard on yourself, Relena"

"No!" She exclaimed, glossy eyed. Relena sat up abruptly. "When I ran away and was captured, I realized I missed the satisfaction of fighting for a cause, a good causePeaceperhaps the greatest cause of all. I grew up that day, when I came to my realizations. I also know now how fortunate I am to have all that I do, not just in wealth, but more importantly in my family and my friendsthe girls, the Gundam pilots."

Relena felt dizziness sweep over her. Noin came to her side and persuaded her to lay back down. The gentle dark-haired woman pulled over a chair next to the bed and sat down by Relena. "Relena, you're weak, you need to get some rest," Noin said softly as she pulled the covers up closer to the drowsy girl.

Relena replied meekly, "Now that things look to be normal again and I'm back home, it seems I have everything I could ever want" Relena's voice began trailing off as she sleepily closed her eyes. Noin smiled at her, care filling her deep eyes. Turning out the lights, and illuminating the room with only a golden glisten from the afternoon sunlight, which was flooding through the window next to the bed, Noin quietly got up and left the room. As she came through the doorway, she was surprised to bump into an intent Heero Yuy, who was pacing back and forth outside of the room. He must have heard every thing which was just said. Noin simply smiled at him and lifted a finger to her mouth, indicating for him to stay silent. As she left the corridor, Noin just shook her head and thought, "I really hope those kids work things out. They compliment each other so well." And with that her mind drifted off as it often did, with images of a certain blond haired, blue-eyed soldier whom sh! e loved so dearly.

<><>Back in Relana's Bedroom<><>

Relena may have begun to trail off as she talked before Noin had left, but she did manage to finish her thoughts before sleep overtook her. "Yes," she mumbled to herself, eyes still shut as a silent Heero slipped through the doorway into her room, "I have everything I could ever want...except his heart."

Heero stopped as he felt his heart miss a beat with her words. She slowly continued before her voice faded away, "And without that, I feel as if I have nothing at all." The young man crept a little closer to the bed, careful not to wake her in this state of being half-awake and dreaming. The girl snuggled under her downy blankets and turned her face slightly to the side from which Heero was approaching. As the sun's rays poured down upon her, Heero felt a perfect calm. She was finally asleep. He sat down on the chair next to the princess and watched her for the rest of the afternoon. As the sunshine gently melted away into shadows, Heero shook his entranced gaze from the peaceful girl to look down at his watch. It was getting late, he should be going. He was glad she had not waken during his visit. He had wanted to see her so badly, but still did not know what to say to her, not yet. Reluctantly he got up and was about to leave when something caught his eye. Across the room! , sitting a bit slouched over on the dresser, was the bear he had given Relena for her birthday a few years ago. Heero went over and picked it up. He went back to the chair beside Relena's bed and sat the bear down while straightening it up. He gave a small smile as he whispered to the bear, "Watch over her for me." But, his smile faded as he noticed how worn and tear-stained the animal was. "I must make up for all the years I've neglected her," Heero thought to himself as he left the room, careful to not make a sound.

When Relena awoke later in the evening, she was surprised to find the teddy bear that Heero had given her sitting in the chair beside her bed. "Why are you over here?" she asked the bear, which only sat silently, gazing at her with a blank stare, reminding her of the person who had given it to her.