Title: The
Ice Prince or Such a Marvelous Rose
Author: Meiran Chang
( bonking_bishies @ swirve.com )
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: DorlianXSylvia,
1+R, 6+2, 3+4, 5+Dorothy, 6x9, 2xH
Warnings: shonen
ai, AU, fairy tale, angst, verrrrrrry mild self-insertion in, like, the
last sentence. I made Dorlian a total OOC wuss >_<. Also, I've
played fast and loose with family relationships and situations.
Comments: Ohhhhh
pretty please? --> bonking_bishies @ swirve.com
Archive: 6X2ML Archive
can have it. Otherwise,
please email me, I don't bite.
Disclaimers: I do
not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, they belong to Bandai and Sunrise
and the American rights are owned by Cartoon Network. Please don't sue
me, I'll just cry a lot. Also, the original story of "Beauty and the Beast"
is by Mme Leprince de Beaumont and not mine either. I don't own anything
except... the original portions of this piece of fiction...whatever
they are.
Dedication: To the
6X2ML, because they're darlings all and the inspiration
for this fic.
The
Ice Prince
Epilogue
They slept together, of course, each resting in the other's
arms and taking comfort from the other's presence. Duo had never felt such
peace in all his life as he felt that night, warmed against his prince's body,
lulled to sleep by his beloved's soft breathing. He could have stayed like
that forever.
Magic aided them through the following morning -- they didn't even have
to get out of bed in order to prepare themselves for the day. "Magic can
make you very lazy, but I'm pampering you," Zechs told Duo with a smile as
the green hands zoomed in and out, bringing water, handy little bowls, towels,
various hair tools, and breakfast.
"Pamper away, m'dear," Duo yawned cheerfully as he washed his face with
the clear, cold water.
They did eventually get out of bed. Zechs did Duo's hair himself, brushing
all the tangles out with gentle strokes and then braiding carefully. For his
part, Duo chose what both of them would wear as the prince waited patiently.
He dressed Zechs in a white silk robe trimmed with gold that was a conscious
yet modest echo of Oz royal dress, and selected for himself a dark blue tunic
with matching pants.
In order to give themselves time to decide what they would say, Zechs
and Duo opted to ride to the Maxwell farm rather than speed themselves there
with the aid of Zechs's magic. They chatted back and forth, rehearsing their
lines. The day was lovely and the horses fit.
They arrived at the Maxwell farm somewhere around three or four o'clock.
Everything went more or less as Wufei had predicted. Relena nearly died on
the spot when she discovered who Zechs was and who he had been, while Quatre
exerted real effort not to stare and apologized to Zechs for his actions.
Duo was proud of how Zechs acted; though he'd confessed to nervousness as
they neared Duo's home, no sign of that nervousness was evident in word or
deed. He was the picture of polite nobility, even to Dorlian. Dorlian was
floored when Duo informed him that Zechs was the lost Peacecraft and stupefied
when told that he and Zechs were engaged and would marry in White Fang.
After these initial shocks, however, the family quickly accepted Zechs
as a person rather than as a curiosity. Quatre, it seemed, had finally met
his intellectual match, and Relena adored her brother-in-law to-be. Dorlian
turned desperate and hopeful eyes on Zechs until finally, the prince took
him aside and asked forgiveness for any pain his actions a year ago had caused
him. Dorlian pardoned him readily and added, while nodding very rapidly, that
he very much approved of the impending match and would dearly love to go
live in White Fang again. Zechs reassured him and promised him economic stability
for the rest of his life, and with that simple pledge, the prince captured
the old man's heart forever.
With many apologies for the poor condition of the cottage, Dorlian hurried
to prepare Duo's bedroom for two people and glowed brilliantly red when Duo
told him that they really only needed the one bed. Zechs thought this was
very entertaining and laughed over it as they talked that night. They fell
asleep in satisfaction.
The next morning, Zechs got Duo and himself ready quickly and efficiently.
Quatre, who liked to keep on top of current events even out here in the hinterlands,
had told them that the King and Queen were still alive, and Zechs was in a
hurry to see his family. They bid Dorlian, Relena, and Quatre farewell, and,
this time with the aid of magic, Zechs got them to White Fang. Although they
hadn't felt the passage of time, due to certain peculiarities of such magic
it was sunset when they arrived.
Their arrival in court caused an immediate stir. Zechs was examined
by all sorts of people to ascertain that he was indeed who he said he was
while Duo waited nervously in the background. Zechs bore this patiently and
was finally granted audience to see the King and Queen. At first the guards
tried to tell him that Duo could not accompany him, but Zechs told them flatly
that was not an acceptable answer.
The royal sovereigns recognized Zechs at once and wept over him, calling
Prince Walker in. Prince Walker, now a stout thirty-five year old, burst into
tears as soon as he saw Zechs and wailed, "Please, please be Heir again! I
don't want to be Heir, it's such hard work and I'm not suited for
it at all!" Looking a bit startled, Zechs consoled him, and the sobbing
King and Queen granted Zechs the title of Heir-Presumptive once again.
Once his family had finally gotten over their initial outpouring of
joy -- which took some time, since it had been nineteen years and Zechs had
long since been given up for dead -- Zechs introduced Duo. Duo was excruciatingly
polite until the Queen, whose cheeks were still wet with tears but who had
a winning impish smile, told him to relax. The elfish old King, beaming and
grateful, thanked Duo for his instrumental role in returning Zechs to his
human body. They remembered Duo as Beauty because of the craze that had swept
the poets in his fifteenth year.
Duo hadn't thought the sovereigns would approve of him or his promise
to Zechs, but to his surprise, they sanctioned the pairing. The Queen thought
Duo a beautiful boy and the story very romantic, and the King didn't see a
single problem. So they stayed in the palace and allowed the news to seep
out that the lost Peacecraft prince had found his way home again, with the
aid of Duo Maxwell, Beauty of old. To Duo's relief, Zechs restrained the poets
from going overboard.
Their marriage was simple, but well-attended. When the King and Queen
died, Zechs and Duo took their places. They proved themselves worthy of their
offices their first year, when intermittent tornadoes and storms rocked the
provinces of Leo and Aries. Their handling of the difficult situation earned
them high praise.
Their reign was golden. Together, they greatly reduced crime and hunger,
sent ambassadors to all pertinent nations, and made Oz a true power in the
world, a modern utopia and an example to other countries. They were the first
to exchange representatives with the non-human races, such as fairies and
elves. (Wufei made quite an impact in the court.) Duo was known and loved
for his patronage of the arts, and Zechs was cherished for his egalitarian
manner, wisdom, and powerful Mage-craft.
Being related to the King's Prince, the Maxwells were offered homes
in White Fang. Quatre declined, saying that he wanted to stay with Trowa
in the country, but Relena and Heero as well as Dorlian all came. Duo gave
them a manor near the royal palace and saw to it that Relena's children were
given all the best.
When the time came that heirs were needed, Duo and Zechs decided to try
for two sons. Zechs chose as the mother of his child a writer and noblewoman,
Lady Lucrezia Noin of the city of Pisces, and Duo picked the mage Hilde Schbeiker
of Aries, both of whom were close friends of the couple. The ladies agreed.
The resulting children were both boys. Zechs's son, the firstborn, was named
Alexander Aramis, and Duo's son was named Solo Amadís. Alexander was a charming
boy who took after his father, with silver-blonde hair and dark blue eyes.
Solo was brown-haired, indigo-eyed, and a bundle of mischief. They were born
only two weeks apart and might as well have been twins; they were as well
coordinated as if they'd been born of the same womb. They made the court a
very interesting place to be, especially since they had both inherited Mage-Gift
from their parents and put it to creative use.
Eventually, as Duo and Zechs knew would happen, the bards and musicians
set their story to paper and music. As Dorothy had predicted, it made quite
a musical, though Duo groaned when his son laughingly informed him that the
performance was entitled "Beauty and the Beast." They went to see the show,
making all the perfectly qualified and capable actors very nervous, and Duo
couldn't help but comment after every other line, giving Zechs great difficulty
in keeping a straight face. Alex and Solo, who had demanded to come, found
the show deeply moving and were much in awe of their fathers afterwards. Zechs
was very much amused by the fact that Duo was played by a woman, but told
the newspapers the next day that he'd found the production "true to what
actually happened and performed with remarkable professionalism." He shrugged
unabashedly when Duo howled with laughter at this.
So they lived, in happiness and love, adored by their people and their children.
They died peacefully in their sleep within a month of each other, after lives
long and well-spent in the service of others, and were mourned with real sincerity
in Oz and its neighboring nations. Alexander took the throne and ruled kindly
and well with Solo as his trusted adviser, both having been taught by their
fathers how to be just and wise. Duo and Zechs's love was forever after remembered
as a tale of honest virtue and perfect passion, and it resounded through
the ages to the present day, when your scribe puts down her quill and says,
a look of satisfaction on her tired face,
"The End."