Changes Through Time, Part 5 by Tomorrow

AN: Here to bring you part 5... this is dedicated to you Cyn. See you tomorrow! Anyway, I just wanted to, you guessed it, thank you all. Keep the e-mails coming.

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing. I'm not important enough to ever do that.
Also, I don't own the song "Let Me Be Your Wings." It's from the movie Thumbelina (I hate that movie, but I LOVE the song).

Changes Through Time, Part 5

Relena and Heero stayed that night, huddled under a tree to stay out of the battle which the skies were currently engrossed in. At this point, it seemed darkness was winning over the light, for the moon had not shown her fair face at all, and only the pompous laughing of the clouds could be heard through those lowly hours. If anything, the storm seemed to be getting worse, and more time was slowly passing.

Heero was using his body as a shield against the needles of the rain that would have otherwise pricked Relena's milky white skin, and also the wind that was threatening to swallow her to satisfy the hunger it suggested. He neither winced nor flinched as the wind bit into his already numbed skin, and the rain pelted him with fury. Protecting her was the only thing that mattered, and if lost his good constitution because of it, even better.

Even though, she still quivered in his grasp as he used his body heat and scalding breath to ease her cold and aching limbs. She had fallen into a deep, recumbent slumber that her mind was not going to let her emerge from easily. She felt chaste satisfaction as she was lying in the arms of the man that she loved with all of her heart... the man which she would die for. Dreams fluttered about in her head as she slept, of her and him as one. In one of them, she envisioned he as a wren and she as an immaculate dove, each of them with eyes that acted as a mirror to their undying souls. They flew in graceful strides that resembled the steps of a cordial dance, each knowing exactly what motion was succeeding the last. They "danced" in sync as white and pale pink rose petals showered their existence. The wren, once ending the prance, lead the little dove to the arm of a tree that had been wounded by the intense lightning's fury. The oak was appalled that this simple wren would have the privilege of waltzing with this gentle creature, which was keeping her from resting her weary wings upon him, while he could only stand still and listen to her sweet song. The wren then put its coarse wing over the dove's tiny frame and began to whistle compassionate hymns into her soft, feathered breast. The little bird lightly cooed soft sounds of acceptance as the grating wren seized her in his overshadowing embrace.

Relena was awoken from this fantasy by the crude voice of Heero telling her that they most move on so they would get home before dusk. The sun had just risen moments ago, and the warmth it spread across her body was ecstasy. It had been so, the light had won over the darkness, which spread a new light over the burrow they were sleeping in moments before. In the dirt was the outline of their bodies, but the quality which was the most enchanting was the fact that there were not two separate outlines. Half of the imprint made was of Relena's sleek frame, while he other half was of Heero's sturdy one. They molded together perfectly as if they were one person.

Heero held out his hand to Relena who reached for it as a support to keep her balanced as she stood up. They walked at a slow pace, for Relena was still sick and he didn't want to push her too far, along the path that would hopefully lead them out of the god-forsaken brush.

It had been about three hours and Relena fell to the ground in exhaustion. Heero ran back to her to try to urge her up, but all of her strength was gone... she had nothing left. Just as she began to close her eyes that pleaded for rest, she felt herself being hoisted into the air. It startled her at first, but she calmed down at once when she realized Heero was carrying her, holding her, up against his firm chest. She felt so at peace, so content, that she drifted off to sleep in his arms, never wanting to leave him.

When she awoke, she was lying in an enormous, lacy bed, wrapped in a down comforter. The bed had so many pillows she felt as if she were drowning, and a genuine smile began to spread across her worn face. Her eyes trailed about the room, gathering in her surroundings. Just as she was about to recline beck into a sleeping position, she noticed a lean figure sprawled out all over a couch that was on the other side of the room. She silently eased her way out from under the covers and began her embark over to him. As she stepped out of the bed, her feet glazing the icy wooden floor, she fell to her knees in agony. She had, by no means, recovered any of her lost strength, and found herself to weak to pick herself up of the floor. Relena just lied there, sulking and crying, tears beginning to glide down her face and onto her lips. Upon a moment of her fall, two strong arms lifted her off the floor and placed her gently back on the bed. She was about to whisper something to him, when he placed his fingers on her lips, shushing her. He began to kiss her along her neck, telling her that she must sleep so she may be ready to spread her wings and soar the heavens with him once more. He laid his hand across her chest and began stroking her neck to unleash its tenseness. He stayed with her all night and never left her side... not even while she slept. He carefully slid his fingers through her velvety strands, held them up to his lips, and kissed them in praise. He just wanted her to be herself again. He wanted to hear her laugh again and see her captivating smile that he held so dear. He wanted to her to be his and no one else's.

It took a while before Relena became well again, but it didn't matter, for Heero and she had all the time they desired to fulfill their dreams... or so they thought. They slowly let the others figure out what was going on between them, and told them about that night they spent together in the woods... leaving out personal details. Each day Heero and Relena grew closer, and each night they had marvelous dreams about what the future would hold for them, but these happy fantasies were not to last. Tediously, fate was disposing of her garments and getting ready to be clothed in new attire that would reflect the times to come.

About three months later, Heero and Relena got engaged and, at first, only the pilots, their girls, and a few important delegates knew about it. One thing was for sure, it was definitely one of the most romantic proposals in the history of time.

On an early evening in June, Relena was lying on a bench in her rose garden reading The Scarlet Letter. She had always wanted to read it, but just never had had the time to do so. In the distance the sun was setting, casting a sleepy haze upon all of the world and its inhabitants that the maturing shadows of nightfall touched. The robins and bluebirds scattered away from their post at Relena's feet, where they were listening to her reading her story aloud-or so it seemed-and departed deep into the bushes to turn-in for the night. But while these families were taking shelter from the apathetic night, the nightingales took their place and began humbly singing her their lullaby. There was no breeze that night, therefore their roundelay echoed through the darkness with a mystical resonance that one can only hear when their heart is truly at peace. The young woman was indeed moved to sleep from their soothing canticle, and her book fell onto the ground and just seemed to vanish from sight by some occult power. It was at this time that her Romeo made his appearance and crept towards her frail body.

She indeed was a sight. A few red roses had fallen from the bushes that grew above her head and landed strewn about her body. One fell close to her face, which brought out the hue of her lips and the crimson of her cheeks, which gave her a look of whimsy. Every time Heero saw her he noticed that she always had the characteristics of a metaphysical creature whose true beauty could never be fathomed by those who didn't believe in them. But Heero believed in her. He knew that she was the person he was meant to have in his life, and tonight, he would profess this founding to her.

As he came closer, she suddenly tensed and woke up from her peaceful repose. The roses that had lain along her body fell to the ground, leaving only a few stray petals in the creases of her gown and in her feathery tresses. She looked at him with bewilderment as he stopped just before the bench, towering over her. She was about to stand up, but as she began to, he placed his hand on her shoulder and eased her back onto the seat. He wasn't dressed in his usual clothes, instead he was wearing a stiff cotton shirt with the collar all in disarray, and black Dockers. One hand was behind his back, holding a rather large object. It was rectangular with deep pink wrapping paper and tied with a florescent ribbon finished with an extraordinary bow. He slowly pulled it out from behind him and placed her fingers around the smooth paper. She looked at him in awe, not having any idea what was inside the package or why he was giving her something. Her birthday was still a little ways off, and Christmas wasn't for a few months yet.

"Open it," he said briskly, waiting to see her reaction to his gift.

She carefully untied the ribbon and placed in on the bench next to her. Then she began undoing the paper from around the box, and because she was being so delicate with this process, it seemed to take her hours to perform. When she finally had the box uncovered, she took a deep breath before she lifted the lid. What she found inside was something so beautiful and meaningful that tears began to form in her eyes as she thought about how much thought, care, and expense went into this present. The gift that she would treasure for the rest of eternity if not longer, was a music box.

Such a thing seems simple enough. People buy, collect, and see them everyday. But if you could have seen this one, any other that you would have ever laid eyes on would seem like just pieces of porcelain glued together on a wooden stand. It was about ten inches high and had an unusual shape to it. The top and bottom of the box were solid gold molded into spectacular, eye-catching designs, and covered with detailed angel feathers. On each feather were little droplets of crystal that looked like dew that had settled upon them. The midsection of the apparatus was in the shaped of an octagon and was made of stainless glass. Inside of the glass were two unicorns, one male and one female. Each one's coat was whiter than snow, and their manes looked as though they were being tasseled by the wind. The horn of the male was made from gold and came to a sharp point at the tip. The female's horn, on the other hand, was made from crystal and was a bit more dull at its peak. In her hair was blown small petals and leaves from flowers of various colors and seemed to make a rainbow halo above her. Her eyes were created from sapphires, and she was reclining on a small tuft of grass with her mate. He was standing over her, the great muscles in his legs showing their bulk, and he had his head bent down, nuzzling her. The two animals seemed to be in undisturbed bliss. The music box was completed with the fairy that sat on its top. Her wings were mad of glass, and she was holding a wand that was topped with what seemed to be a tiny, crystal-like ball. She was sitting over the edge, watching over, protecting the lovers, making sure that no one bothered them. It played the song "Let Me Be Your Wings," and when it began to play, the light inside of the glass was reflected and changed to make the unicorns seem like wings had blossomed on their backs. It was breathtaking, just simply breathtaking.
"Oh Heero," Relena whispered, not being able to believe what she was holding, "where... how did you get this?"

"That doesn't matter now. All that matters is that it's yours now, and yours it shall always be.

Relena gently placed it back in the tissue paper and held him tightly. She wondered how long it took him to save enough money to get that for her. The happiness she felt then was a feeling that is indescribable.

As she was about to bring it to her room, Heero stopped her.

"Wait. I have one more thing I need of you."

She slowly sat back down and waited for his next surprise.

"Close your eyes," he ordered her, and she did so without hesitation.

He reached into his shirt pocket and took out a navy blue velvet box. He then clenched it in his hands and told her to open her eyes. She did so, and when she saw nothing new in front of her, she began wondering why Heero made her close her eyes in the first place. Just as she was about to ask him, he put his finger to her lips to quiet her, and then began his speech.

"Relena, I've known you for almost three years now, and..." Heero said, getting a bit nervous, " I just wanted to say that they have been the happiest years of my life. When I was two years old I was taken from my family and put under Dr. J's supervision. I didn't have a childhood by any means. When I was five years old, as part of my training to build up my strength, I had to carry fifty-pound bags of cement through the streets of the entire colony. It was grueling work, and I remember passing by the park, seeing the other children playing, and wondering why I couldn't do the same things they were. They were smiling and laughing without a care in the world. I don't exactly remember the circumstances, but one day I went to Earth to commence my training. The load felt extremely heavy that day and on most of the streets of the kingdom were not occupied by many people, so I was feeling even more lonely. I was about to stop and rest when I heard the scream of a little girl. I ran towards her shrill cries, hoping I would get to her in time to help. As I turned around the corner at the end of the block, I saw her. She was under a willow tree and two boys were with her. They were a lot taller than she and were tugging at her hair. She kept telling them to leave her alone-tears flowing down her face-wondering why they had to hurt her to show they didn't like what she had said to them a few minutes ago. What seemed to be the older boy pushed her to the ground and was about to hit her, when I jumped in the way and took the strike for her. She immediately stopped crying and just stared at me.

'Hey runt! This is our business, so just leave us alone and we might not cream ya'!' said the older to boy to me.

The little girl had no one else around to help her, and if I didn't protect her, nobody else would have, so I stood my ground. All the training I had undertaken came into good use. The boy threw a punch at me, but I ducked and gave him an uppercut right in his stomach. He fell to the ground, out of breath and tears forming in the corners of his eyes. I still wasn't fully trained, so once I got the one boy on the ground, the other one threw himself into me. He had me pinned down to the ground, there was no way I could have gotten up because he probably weighed a good forty pounds more than I did and had the position advantage. The boy started to jump up and down on my stomach, when the little girl jumped onto him and tried to pull him off. Because she caught him off guard, he and she toppled backwards into the dirt. He pushed her off of him, helped his comrade up, and they ran off in the opposite direction. She limped over to me and helped me off of the ground. As I began to walk away, she stopped me and said, 'you're my hero! You saved me from those awful bullies. But why did you do it?'

'You needed help, and there was no one else around, so I...'

'Well, thank you. What's your name?'

'Adin.'

'Adin... that's a funny name, but I think I like it... Adin,' she said repeating my name to herself. 'My name's Rena, and I'm really glad that you showed up when you did, or I might have been a goner,' she said, great drama in her tone.

'Sure, anytime,' I said, a bit bashful.

I began to pick up my cement bags when she asked me, 'You have to carry those all by yourself?'

I nodded to her and began my trek back to the base when she stopped me again. 'Here, let me help. I'll take one and you take one. It's always better when you have a little help.' She then tried to lift one of the bags and had no such luck.

'Thanks anyway, but I've got to do this on my own.'

'Oh. Well I hope that...'

'Rena! What are you doing? Stay away from that filthy little child!' the girl's caretaker shouted. 'He might try to hurt you dear.' The woman then took the little girl and led her away.

'Good-bye friend Adin. I hope to see you again soon,' she exclaimed, then disappeared around the corner.

She changed me Relena. The only friend I had in the entire world it took away from me, and from that day forward I promised not to get attached to anyone else. But tonight I'm breaking that promise. The way you broke through the barriers I set around my heart is unfathomable. I didn't think I was human anymore until I meant you. I told you that story because that little girl showed me that people can be wonderful, and that's what you've shown me. Relena," he said, taking her right hand and getting down on one knee, "will you do me the honor of becoming my wife"

Relena sat there, and she began to cry hysterically. After about ten minutes, she finally looked into his eyes and said, "Heero, you didn't break your promise to her. You just proved yourself true... Adin."

"Rena..." he whispered, becoming entangled in a soft kiss. He slipped the gold ring on her tiny finger and held her close to him.

He designed the ring himself and expressed his deepest emotions for her. The band was a solid gold, and in the center of the ring was a dove in mid-flight. The dove was made from pearls and priceless diamonds surrounded it, making the dove stand out. Its eye was made of crystal, and the band fit Relena's hand perfectly. Always would they hold that night in a special place in their hearts.

As the months passed, Heero and Relena's engagement became public news. They both seemed happier then, and the rest of the universe could only breath a sigh of relief for their precious princess and faithful soldier. It was at this time that a proposition was presented to the two of them. Basically, Relena was the cause of the peace that beheld the world, through her efforts as minister, and Heero preserved that peace. By this time, many of the delegates from the different countries had come to realize this and thought they had a solution that would keep the peace a lasting one: they offered Relena and Heero the positions as the King and Queen of the Universe, and therefore they would rule both the Earth and colonies. The delegates explained to them that the countries and colonies would continue to govern themselves the way they have been, but any laws that would affect another nation or colony must be approved by them first. Also, Heero and Relena would be responsible for keeping peace between Earth and outer space. They had already asked the people what they wanted, and they approved the delegates' decisions. They wanted to keep peace, and if that meant sacrificing their freedom, Heero and Relena were willing to do so. Their marriage had also now become their coronation. Once they married, they would be crowned and given their highest titles: Emperor and Empress of all Time and Space. The other pilots and their girls knew that this was going to develop into some sort of predicament... and they were correct.

About a month after Relena and Heero had been told about their new vocations, there was a sudden attack on the Sanq Kingdom. The pilots, including Heero, had tried to fight the enemy off, but there were so many and were much more powerful than themselves. The inhabitants of the Sanq Kingdom were exiled into the neighboring county where they have led pretty close to their normal lives since then. Heero, Relena, and their friends went into hiding until they could figure out how to defeat this new adversary which they had never seen. This was a bit of an understatement, for they had seen and encountered the strong militia men of the nemesis, but did not know the identity of their leader.

Not long after, Relena had left the place in hiding without anyone else's knowledge and not even giving an inkling on why she left, and never returned. Things have been silent from that day on...

*End of Flashback*

"So you see, that's what happened," Hilde said, finishing her tale.

"Where did Heero and the other pilots go?" Trowa asked in curiosity.

"When Relena didn't come back, Heero immediately went out to find her. After Heero didn't return, the others went to search for them both," Catherine said, tears threatening to spill.

"We have no idea who this enemy is or what they want. All we do know is that their intentions are pure evil, and they have no compassion or remorse in their hearts. They slaughtered tens of thousands of people in battle before exiling them to Ukraine. When they kill they laugh, and when they take away they find joy," Sally said, tears flowing from her eyes.

"It may sound silly, but ever since Miss Relena left, the wind has seemed to become colder and the darkness seems to blanket the land earlier every day. It doesn't make any sense I know, but I swear it to you. Something wicked, something vile, something sinister is coming, more so than ever before...

AN: Now you know why everything's all messed up. I know it wasn't the best place to end a part, but I am really tired and I need to get some sleep. I have no idea what really happened to Heero as a child, so I made it up to correlate in with the story. On the same note, I have no idea whether the Sanq Kingdom is next to Ukraine... I made that up as well. The next part should be out soon, so watch for it. Thanks... Bye.