Now I am eating lunch, listening to nice musics, and thinking about the deathly cute ASZz side-story I am writing. The chapter showed signs of wanting to be worked on yesterday, but was requesting a scene that, while it would be useful, might also be coincidence abuse — and thus I have not decided. The side-story, however, is something I’ve had in mind for a while and am very happy to have had bite me today.
BTW, I work at 0145 all week. I feel like life is finally back to normal ^__^ Also, Entenmann’s chocolate-frosted donuts are the best items ever.
One of the nose thingies on my glasses broke off, so I glued it back on. Now it is no longer flexible, and that side of the bridge of my nose hurts. Also it seems to have shifted the angle of the lenses slightly, which gives me a faint headache. Time for new glasses. Yay for more putting off of the computer! Except for the “yay” part. OK, no mas.
I was waiting ALL DAY at work to come home and read this! And it was FANTASTIC! But- but! Now with a cliffhanger like that?! WHAAA!!
Thank you! I’m glad you found it fantastic ^__^ Yes, cliffhangers are important sometimes XD
You have got to be kidding?
No way. No how?
Another 2000 years… noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…
Oh! I’ve got to read the next chapter.
But I won’t beg to update early, because this story is helping me keep track of RL things. Thanks for sharing*^_^*
Heh. I’m glad to see it affect you so. And amused that you’re using the updates as a scheduling tool XD Thanks for your comments!
Yay for the reunion! And for giving us so many answers. I really like how the faery turned out to be Une, and the king and lord must have been Treize and Zechs. No wonder she filled the palace with roses. :-) I like the explanation for the Beast, and how Heero and Duo got the information about what happened during their ‘off hours.’ I also liked that they’d had multiple visitors over the years. That makes a lot of sense. I’m glad Trowa and Quatre didn’t get mad that they actually could have left at any time.
Duo talking about Trowa being jealous of the Beast was a hoot.
2000 years… I wonder when that would be in the AC universe? (Just in case this suddenly ends up in the Gundam Wing canon universe, with all the guys trying to find each other again.)
So you were right all along! When I wrote this story, I had no idea whether or not people would be able to figure out the Heero/Duo/Beast thing. Being aware of all the facts myself made it impossible to tell, from rereading my own chapters, whether or not it was really obvious or totally obscure. Zombie Girl said that she didn’t think she would ever have figured it out if she hadn’t known beforehand, but she knew beforehand so her perspective was skewed too XD
In any case, I don’t think I ever expected anyone to figure it out as early as chapter 5! But I guess the fact that you did means I wrote it fairly convincingly, so I’m not complaining, heh. Well done on getting it so early!! I’ve been grinning all along when you kept picking out evidence for the theory.
I’m really glad that the thing with Une and Treize and Zechs was clear without any of their names being mentioned.
You’re right that it would be pretty well the most interesting thing ever if this turned out to be set in the canon universe and the next chapter was them all getting Gundams and they don’t remember everything that came before and then when they meet again they’re like O__O and yeah, that would be awesome. So much that I’m actually kinda tempted to write an alternate ending along those lines. Seriously, that just fills my head with awesome ideas, so well done!!! *__* (As you can surely tell from this paragraph, that’s not what’s going to happen. But it’s an amazing idea.)
Thanks very much for all your comments! I’m happy to have finally gotten to the chapter with most of the answers, and I’m very glad you liked it ^___^
But you know, wouldn’t it be fun if, SURPRISE, the faery was Relena and it was Heero after whom she pined (and hence, the barb about “Gee, Duo, why didn’t you kill yourself so Heero could be free to shack up with me?”) Yeah, that’s got a total anti-Relena color to it…but there is a precedent for that in the fandom (although, generally, the better stories don’t seem to have evil!Relena…)
Heh… I’m not above using evil Relena (though I like her so much that I don’t know if I ever actually will), but today is not her day in the evil spotlight XD
Oh, I was reading this thinking it was the last chapter…but I guess it’s not!
I was thinking that the beast’s “dying” would send Duo’s and Heero’s souls (or whatever) back to their bodies, but I’m still not sure WHY a declaration of love was able to do it since it didn’t seem directly related to Duo or Heero (that is to say, it wasn’t either of them falling in love with someone new). But I guess there doesn’t have to be a real good rhyme and reason for *magic*
I found it very Heero like that he would go converse with the faery when he could find her, wanting to know why, and sad that for all that he seemed able to wheedle some information out of her, she’s still out for blood. How she appears at the end of this chapter makes me think she wouldn’t have given the Beast the time of day…although she DID stick around the castle apparently just to watch them suffer…
Well, up next, will the power of love conquer a raving mad faery?!
The Beast didn’t actually die; the Beast body disappeared because the spell ended, and Trowa and Quatre just thought he died. The mutual declaration of love that was required to end the spell was not limited to Heero or Duo with someone else, as Heero mentioned, because Une was running a little experiment. This was also a big part of the reason she stuck around and watched. And she was a good deal more willing to give either half of the Beast the time of day earlier on before she’d split so distinctly.
Thanks for your comments! I won’t spoil by answering your question, but I’d be willing to bet you can guess the answer already :D
yeah, I wasn’t thinking the spirit of the beast was dead, but I guess you view it as the magical vessel of Ugly through which Heero and Duo were forced to live wasn’t a live entity that even could die…a rose by any other name…
I was a little disappointed that the curse (and correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m STILL not sure if I’ve really “got” what you were trying to say) could be broken just so long as SOMEONE fell in love in…in what? In the vicinity of the Beast? Did this not, then, apply to other mammalia in the area, since it seemed clear that there was an avery on the premises. Or are you perhaps suggesting that birds, while they do mate, are not for-life maters?
I see the faery as a very vindictive woman once scorned and I totally understand her feelings on wanting to thrash out at something and, how convenient, a gay couple just happened to be handy. But it seems incongruous that that same woman would design a curse with such, well, wishy-washy terms of annulment. Perhaps that wasn’t the kind of character she was back when she originally cast the spell (you mentioned that her character dichotomy became a LOT more pronounced over the years and even QT can see it), but she was desperate to hurt something enough to cast that spell in the first place…
Is what I’m saying, but I’m not sure if I’m getting *my* message across (and it’s not like it matters a whole lot, since this chapter is a done deal and there’s no reason why an author needs to appease one pedantic little fan XDDD)
The spell required specific and mutual affirmation of love (romantic love actually truly felt) between two people of human-level intelligence in the Beast’s presence. She left it open to others besides Heero and Duo because that way, if a pair of men declared their love and it broke the spell, it would prove that true love between men is possible (and therefore that it was possible for the man she loved to be happy with the man he’d chosen instead of her). She didn’t think it very likely to happen, obviously, but part of her wanted to know badly enough to allow that into the spell. Sorry if it disappoints you, but, yeah, it’s a pretty important part of the story so it’s definitely not going to change.
The spell required specific and mutual affirmation of love (romantic love actually truly felt) between two people of human-level intelligence in the Beast’s presence.
Aaaaaahahaha, sorry I pissed you off! I got that first part about *how* the spell was broken.
She left it open to others besides Heero and Duo because that way, if a pair of men declared their love and it broke the spell, it would prove that true love between men is possible (and therefore that it was possible for the man she loved to be happy with the man he’d chosen instead of her).
And *that’s* the part that I would have liked to have spelled out a little more clearly in the story! I can totally see how this fits with the faery in the story, but (and this might just be another case of me not reading as carefully/closely as other people) I didn’t translate her back story of getting turned down for another man into using this curse as a test.
Now that I’m thinking about it, though, it was not a perfect test to find out if two men could fall in true love with each other as there were no guarantees two men would ever *find* the castle, let alone fall in love there (unless she was [half-assedly, if the number of visitors to the castle was any indication] “helping” lost travelers find the castle).
BUT the way you have explained it does make more sense than what I got out of my reading of it XDD And how much of a so-and-so IS she if QT clearly met the conditions set by her spell and she’s about to go postal on their lovely arses? (well, assuming she goes postal… maybe she’s pulling in all that magic to put the whole town back to rights, as she has been shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that true love can exist between two men).
I’m sorry if I was snippy. I shouldn’t take my grouchy mood out on other people.
The primary passage that explains what I’ve mentioned is as follows:
“I think it was some of all of that,” Heero replied sadly. “At first it was just about revenge against the first available victims, in the heat of a bad moment. Maybe even a sort of threat to the king she loved. I don’t think she kept up much contact with him after he broke her heart, though. But I think another reason she did it, and the reason she was around so much afterward instead of just having her revenge and moving on, was that it was also a test. She wanted to know whether it was possible that the man she loved could be happy in his choice, or whether he’d gotten himself into something that not only pushed her away but would also hurt him.
“Part of it was to punish us, yes. She pulled us apart and forced us to live forever without each other. But she watched us carefully to see how we would deal with that. And then there were the terms of the spell. She made it very clear that love was what would end it all, but she never said it had to be a man and a woman. Part of her, I think, was hoping one of us would fall in love with a woman and end the spell that way. Or maybe a man and a woman would come along and show us the way things are ‘supposed’ to be done. But another part of her was secretly hoping a couple of men would prove it was possible to be happy, to have real love like that as well.”
Also, back in chapter 12, when we saw Une actually approach Heero and Duo for the first time, her comments were, “I’ll show you what it’s like. I’ll teach you both a lesson,” and then, “If I could only be certain… I wouldn’t mind so much… This should prove it one way or the other.”
And, yeah, you’re right, it definitely wasn’t a perfect test; there were no guarantees that anyone would find the palace or that the spell would ever end. She didn’t exactly set it up to the most scientific of standards XD
So, here I am with attempt #2 for this comment. Having lost the entire comment I wrote out last week for this chapter due to a computer malfunction, it took me a while to retype everything. And I didn’t want to give you a disgruntled little two line comment, either. *nod*
Part 1
Wow. What an intense way to start out the chapter. I was on pins and needles, not really sure if the Beast had actually died or if the spell was broken. And poor Trowa (and Quatre)… what a roller coaster of emotions!! But it’s very cool how you introduce the sound of Duo waking up and moving around. I really liked how it broke into Trowa’s awareness (and mine) and sort of forced a new emotion (like curiosity).
It’s interesting that the vines stayed just as strong as always and didn’t just melt away, since Duo is waking up. They actually had to tear them free and help Duo get out of the thorns. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that Heero got himself out, but of course he’s much bloodier than Duo was.
What a wonderful reunion!! I’m just happy to see Heero and Duo back together again. I love all the little details you throw in there, like their complete lack of awareness of their physical state.
*grin* And then Duo doesn’t know what happened to break the spell! I was so amused at that. XD And then the whole conversation that follows… wow. Well, Sharon sure called it right! Heero and Duo were both the Beast. I thought that might be the case but I was somehow hoping for Wufei somewhere in there. *wistful little sigh* Guess there’s no Wufei in this story, hmm?
And Quatre and Trowa’s reactions are wonderful! I just love the whole ‘dissolving into a happy pile of hugging and talking’ scene. It’s a great atmosphere. ^______^
And of course they have to look back and see what time of day the specific memory was, to see which person they were talking to. *grin* But I still laughed over Duo’s first question. How funny, out of everything they could choose to talk about, he picked Quatre’s family. And of course he wants to meet them.
But I completely agree with Trowa’s statement. It is definitely Duo and Heero’s turn to talk about everything they couldn’t talk about. I would probably have died of excitement and curiosity if they kept right on talking about Quatre’s family for another page or two. *laugh*
The atmosphere between Quatre and Trowa is so believable, too. They have so much to discuss… but they have to put it off for now in view of the greater picture. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t still simmering right there underneath everything, just waiting for them to get a moment alone.
Oh, interesting. Wow… I would have thought that each one was aware of the other during their ‘sleeping’ time. *googly eyes* Wow, that makes it even more lonely! They weren’t even able to share experiences, just a simple little summary of what the other one had done! Like Trowa thought, ‘no wonder the castle was so desperately lonely.’
*silly smile* I think it’s adorable how Heero would find things for Duo to read that also had a message for him. I’m also quite glad that Duo had taught Heero to read before the fairy came into their lives.
Ooh, specifics of the spell. All it took was a declaration of love in front of them to break the spell? That’s it?? How frustrating for both Heero and Duo! Although all the reminiscing about Quatre and Trowa’s actions is so funny. I’m sure they lost all memory of their drunken kitchen spree. *giggle*
Cool, other visitors to the castle! I’m glad that Heero and Duo weren’t alone the entire two hundred years. And wow (I know I’m saying that a lot XD) – the magic only wanted a promise… but didn’t care if it was kept? So Quatre and Trowa could have left the very next day and nothing would have happened to them?! How weird!
It’s interesting that Heero and Duo had considered letting them leave before. And that Heero deliberately kept them there to try and break the spell. Although I really can’t blame him for that, considering everything he and Duo had been through.
Part 2
Tangent: *laugh* I just realized… there won’t be a separate Heero/Duo section to this chapter, will there?? *shakes head* /tangent
And finally we get the story of what actually happened to them in the first place. Wow, it’s so depressing. I recognized them (finally) as Une, Treize and Zechs (hopefully that’s right), which makes her two different appearances make sense.
Whoa, what? KILLED EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE?! *googly eyes* I… kind of thought that all the villagers were magical invisible servants in the castle. You know… when the spell broke, they’d all come back to life too. That’s so sad… to lose the person they love AND everyone they ever knew while being stuck in the body of the Beast. *shiver* I don’t know if I’d be able to forgive that.
And this fairy sounds seriously creepy. Really. I agree with Duo’s assessment of her as a ‘lunatic.’ I can’t imagine being under that spell and having no idea of why it had happened. So Heero talking to her makes sense, in an information gathering sense.
*gasp* And then she just appears!! Whoa, intense. This is the military Une. *nod* Wow, she’s mean, too. What a horrible thing to say! *groan* Heero, don’t give her more ideas!! Two thousand years is NOT a good thing to mention!!
Ack! This is like the third chapter in a row where I end the chapter thinking ‘Noooooo!’ *laugh* That must be a skill of yours. *grin*
Okay, so before I read the next chapter – I’ve had this little fantasy floating around in my head about what happens next. (I’m completely sure it will NOT happen this way, but I want to share it anyway.) So my thoughts are: Treize was really, really worried about Une’s welfare and kept searching for her all that time, after she left him. He even hired a different fairy to do a magic spell on him, to try and find her. But he failed and died without knowing what had happened to his dear friend and advisor. Generations later, it turns out that Trowa is a distant relation to Treize (a line of children that someone never told Treize about from his younger days). And so, the magical spell on Treize kicked in, and took energy from Trowa to bring the statue of Treize to life. That’s why Trowa was sooooo sick for so long. And now that Treize’s spirit has been brought back (temporarily) the statue is going to come striding in and stop the fairy from hurting them. And Une is going to receive a bit of closure for the whole situation, and the four guys won’t be hurt or enspelled any more. *nod*
*laugh* So what do you think? It’s probably nothing like what is actually going to happen. XD
It was super sweet of you to come back and rewrite your comments after you lost them before; losing something you’ve typed out is one of the most frustrating things that can happen in life.
I had considered having the vines melt away once the spell was finished, since technically there’s no such things as rose vines and therefore they must have been created by magic. But I decided to stretch horticulture a little and let them stay, since it was cooler this way XD
No, sorry, no Wufei in this story. He’s in the next two, though!!
All it took was a declaration of love in front of them to break the spell? That’s it?? How frustrating for both Heero and Duo! Yup XD Something that seems so simple, yet isn’t actually all that common… even for someone not a monster alone in an enchanted palace in the middle of a forest (someone like, for example, me), affirmations of mutual romantic love still may not happen in front of you every day!
So Quatre and Trowa could have left the very next day and nothing would have happened to them?! Technically, yes… but, they being men of honor, not really :D
Yeah, poor Une really got the short end of the stick in this story. Not that her lot was particularly wonderful in canon, but I was even meaner to her. Ah, well.
Your idea about Treize is cool, but I have to admit that a twenty-foot white marble statue of Treize would probably scare the shit out of me — and possibly even Une, if it appeared unexpectedly in the courtyard, regardless of how much she loved him XD But I like the idea of Trowa being secretly descended from a king! Maybe then he could stop moping about whether or not he ‘deserves’ Quatre, heh.
Well, thanks for your comments, as always! I very much appreciate them, especially after you lost what you’d typed at first, and also especially after what a grouchy week I had XD