The Beginning

[Sarah Tintagyl]

The moon was already bright in the night sky as the black limousine drove down the darkened road towards the shinning city of Brisbane in the distance. Hannah sat in the back seat alone twiddling her fingers lightly and thinking out loud to herself, a glass shield between her and the driver for privacy. She felt kind of strange at the moment, not anything she hadn't felt before when she was younger, when she had been in China with Luis for a time, though that feeling seemed brief, or when she was much younger, sixteen or seventeen. She liked David, nothing serious, but he was handsome and when she looked at him he smiled, so she knew he was in to her. But was that acceptable? Well she was never one for acceptability so that didn't matter much to her, but he was an arrogant hipster that thought he was an action hero from one of those air force movies. "Yeah, a regular Tom Cruise." She shook her head.

As the road entered into the city, she twirled her fingers in her white hair and smiled. "So, you want to play a game do you Colonel Atkinson?" She chuckled to herself. "Well, I'll play for now, but don't think you're done anything impressive." But deep down, she knew she was lying to herself and knowing that, just made her smile more. Hannah laughed and danced for the rest of the night and for a woman who had a stare that could freeze Hell itself, it was a nice change for her officers. But the nicest change was in her heart.

[Michael McBride]

David watched from about fifty feet away as Tyler Chelchu and Zachary Offer both approached the two Lillian guards standing at the front of the palace. It was night... dark. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a t-shirt. It would be the most casual Hannah had ever seen him... if he made it that far. A small black backpack was slung over his back as he peered through the bushed, smiling nervously. If Tyler and Zachary completed their part of the mission, the rest was up to him.

His two friends made contact with the Lillian guards. David couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell from the way they were standing, plus the small giggles and blushes from the Lillians visible even in the moonlight that he had taught them well; not just as pilots, but as wooers as well. As they continued to talk, the pilots slowly moved so the Lillians would have their back to David as he slowly snuck towards the door. Flattening himself up against the wall, he crept towards the door. Pressing a hand against it, he found it unlocked. David glanced back at his fellow pilots and winked before slipping inside silently.

Now knowing that he was on his own, David moved slowly down the hallways, staying in the shadows where possible, sometimes ducking into empty rooms to let guards pass. The going was slow, tedious, and frustrating. But finally, after almost an hour, he reached a locked door. He knew that there was a passageway and then the Queen's living quarters on the other side. Looking down at his watch, David pulled out the pin that looked like it was used to set the date. Checking around him quickly, he extended the pin. David inserted the pin into the lock and then wiggled it for a moment, and he heard the door unlock. Checking around one more time, he slipped inside. Twenty feet away was the door to the Queen's chambers.

Exhaling, he stood at the door. This was either going to be a very very good idea, or a very very bad one. Regardless, he had made it this far. David reached out his hand, and knocked on the door.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

"Adele." One of the Lillians turned to her fellow guard as the pilots talked to them. "We really should get back to our posts."

"Emile, no one is going to be coming through the front door and we're right here." The guard turned back to the front gate of Lillia Palace. "Isn't that right Mr. Chelchu?"

"Of course. You know for a guard you have beautiful eyes, its a shame you wind up as a soldier with such a pretty face."

"Oh please, you should be the one talking. A pilot..."

David's plan had worked wonders, with Emile and Adele completely distracted the front gate was much easier to walk into, of course this was only the first hurdle he had to jump to make it all the way up to Hannah's private quarters. Lillia Palace was a massive structure, marble hallways, and crystal chandeliers dances in the moonlight that shone through the great windows. There was even the light tinkle of the glass and crystal as they pushed against each other in a inside breeze. He stayed close to the walls, as voices of Royal and Lillian guards walked through the halls on patrol, silently talking to each other, there was no reason to be on one's toes, even the intruder wasn't really an intruder at all. But neither they, nor David would realize that.

The Hall up to the Queen's private quarters was an imposing corridor run with windows on both sides, flushing the entire hallway into a pale white. Literally as white as Hannah's hair and with the last chandelier made specifically from emerald, it gave off the impression of her eyes as well. The door into her living quarters opened with a slight squeak and David would walk up the staircase into a series of rooms decorated in the modern style. A living room, dinning room, kitchen, study, and looking down other corridors, the entrances to a library, music room, and Hannah's personal favorite, a sword room.

Walking down a few other corridors, he would come to another wooden door and after knocking there was the distinct sound of rumbling inside...

Hannah had been fast asleep for over three hours, snoozing away comfortably underneath her blankets. So when the knock on the door, at three in the morning, she couldn't help but think it was going to be bad news.

"Hold on. Hold on I'm coming, I'm coming." She said groggily, rolling out of bed and throwing a robe over her nightgown and slippers on her feet. Her hair was a mess, hanging in strains all over the place, her eyes fuzzy and her skin tone extremely pale without make up on, so when she opened the door and saw David smiling back at her. Hannah's face immediately went from one of concern and fear, to a huge scowl. "If you leave right now, I'll pretend this never happened, I won't kill you in the morning and I won't throw you out of my !@#$@#$ country! The $%&@ you even got into my palace?" Hannah put her hand in the air. "Nevermind, I'm going back to bed, good night and get out of my !@#$@#$ living quarters." She went to close the door.

[Michael McBride]

The reaction had been slightly stronger than expected, but not wholly out of the blue. As she went to close the door, David calmly placed a hand on it to keep it open. "Federation flyboys are trained in the art of evasion in case, by some random act of god, we are ever shot down. Of course, that also serves us well when sneaking into a palace to see our favorite Queen." He knew that his flyboy antics wouldn't work here... this was the angriest he had ever seen the Queen.

"Look, I apologize. I shouldn't have barged in here at three in the morning uninvited. But do you realize how hard it is to get in touch with a Queen these days? So, I had to take some drastic measures." David pulled the backpack off his back and pulled out two bags of popcorn to be popped and a romantic comedy. "Let me make it up to you, huh? Talking, two bags of popcorn, and a movie?"

[Sarah Tintagyl]

"Your favorite Queen?" Hannah stopped as he laid his hand on the door and shook her head. "You're really pushing way too over your head Mr. Atkinson, don't you think?"

"Look, I apologize. I shouldn't have barged in here at three in the morning uninvited. But do you realize how hard it is to get in touch with a Queen these days? So, I had to take some drastic measures."

"No you shouldn't have and I will be giving a very stern talking to my guards tomorrow." But she had to chuckle at the last part. "But yes, I realize how hard it is to get in touch with me. Running a country after all isn't something to be trifled with, I just can't take vacations when ever I want. I'm sure you understand that. Another reason why I should be getting back to bed." Again, before she could shut him away, David pulled out the popcorn and the movie.

"Let me make it up to you, huh? Talking, two bags of popcorn, and a movie?"

"Popcorn and a movie?" Hannah smiled and covered her eyes almost in embarrassment. "You really have to be joking. I really need to get back to bed." But he was a persisting figure. "Well...I mean I guess I don't get many three in the morning visits so I should take them when I can." Hannah ran both of her hands through her hair and yawned. "Seriously though, I'm still pissed at you for waking me up and I'm going to kill you one of these days for it." She walked out of her bedroom and shut the door behind her, walking down the corridor towards where the living room was and plopped onto the couch, holding her legs on the plush cushion. "The kitchen is right over there and I'm sure I don't need to tell you how to work a microwave." Leaning over, Hannah turned on a lamp and yawned again as she put her head on one of the pillows and turned on the television. "So what movie am I going to be trying to keep my eyes open for tonight?"

[Michael McBride]

David didn't even try to hide the sigh of relief as Hannah turned away from him and let him in. He closed the door and dug into his backpack, pulling out the movie and tossing it to her. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days... I thought it would be appropriate." Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed a large bowl and then started popping the two bags.

A few minutes later, he walked out with the large bowl of popcorn and plopped it down in front of her. "So, your Highness, a movie on how to lose me in ten days, a large bowl of popcorn, and talking about our pasts? Sound like a way to forgive me?" He sat down on the couch next to her, swinging his feet up on the table in front of him.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Hannah looked down at the movie when he threw it to her and her eyes closed. "You really have to be kidding me." She sighed and got up off the couch placing the disk into the player and waiting for the movie to come on. In the background she could hear the quiet sounds of the popcorn beginning to pop and yawned again. It was a nice gesture and all, but she wasn't sure of what was really going on. 'Maybe I was too friendly at the air force base', she thought to herself. It was clear that Atkinson was a flirt, that much for sure, but I mean was she really going to be that accepting of a North American coming over to train her soldiers? It sure seemed like she was. "I wonder if this was what Sarah had to go through?" She asked as the movie began to play.

A little bit later, Atkinson walked out from the kitchen with the bowl of popcorn and placed it on the table in front of her. Wasting no time and the fact that she had the late night munchies, Hannah tore into the popcorn like someone who hadn't eaten in days.

"So, your Highness, a movie on how to lose me in ten days, a large bowl of popcorn, and talking about our pasts? Sound like a way to forgive me?"

She looked at David and laughed. "Okay, first off all. If we're going to be sitting here until the wee hours of the morning. No more of this 'Your Highness' and 'Queen' crap, you can call me Hannah, David. I really don't mind. I mean I'm allowing you into my personal quarters, formalities are pretty much out the window at this point. Also, lose you?" She chuckled. "You make it seem like I have something to lose here. I think once again you're getting a bit to far ahead of yourself dear." She sighed and turned back to the television as they relaxed and let the movie take them away for a bit.

Hannah wasn't a huge fan of romantic comedies, she wasn't a huge fan of movies in general. But it was nice to be able to relax again, to lean back and every once in awhile, she could almost feel herself slowly leaning down towards his shoulder to lay next to him. But every time she got close, she stopped herself and nudged back up to sitting straight up on the couch. Though she knew that her force to keep steady was waning. "So David, you said you wanted to talk a bit about yourself." She laughed. "I'm all ears." Hannah nudged a bit close, but still made sure to keep her distance, for fear of showing anything besides that she was still a Queen and he was still a Foreign Colonel.

[Michael McBride]

David smiled for a moment, then looked at her. "Well, Hannah... I've been a pilot since I was 18 and joined the Federation Air Force. I've fought in every major war since the Federation formed. I was given command of the Black Knights once Xaristan formed, and I've fought in every major war since then. I've fought for some people that I wasn't very proud of, and I've fought for some people who I would gladly die for." He stopped for a moment and looked down. "I know my exploits aren't as expansive as yours... you've freed countries and led thousands. The most I've ever led is under a hundred." He frowned for a moment.

"I would guess the most important thing I ever did was fly Tom Dobbs out of the country when the Generals took over. It was strange... the Generals put me in charge of the best squadron in the nation after I had just flown out the man they had sworn to kill... but enough about the doom and gloom. What would you like to know about me?"

[Sarah Tintagyl]

She looked over at him and smiled, looking up a bit from her slumping posture on the couch. "First off, since you're blatantly trying to impress me Mr. Atkinson, stop trying to degrade yourself to me. I'm not a royal, I'm a general, the crown, the robes, the pageantry, nothing that I needed in my life it just happened. So please, you've done amazing things for Pravus Inguro and for Xaristan, both countries that had helped the Hansa, so trust me. I didn't do anything that will gain me immortality, you and I, we're not Michel Martens or Sarah Tintagyl and that makes it special." She laughed. "And getting Tom Dobbs out of the country, as well as being head of the best flight squadron in your country and training my pilots, I think you're doing quite well for yourself Mr. Atkinson."

"But enough about the doom and gloom. What would you like to know about me?"

"Like?" Hannah smiled and finally rested her head against his should and looked up at his face. "What spurred an air force Colonel to try and court a Queen who he knows nothing about besides a few military exploits that I'm neither proud of or that I like bringing up." She laughed, her green eyes dim in the orange light from the lamp and a laughter chorus coming from the characters in the movie.

[Michael McBride]

David paused for a moment. He popped a few pieces of popcorn in his mouth and chewed for a moment, giving him some more time to think. Finally David looked over at Hannah, a slight smile on his lips.

"Well, I am attempting to court you because you are a challenge, Hannah. You're not some girl off the street who is in love with the pilot they see in the movies. You don't take any of my crap. You see right through my facade. And that is... well, refreshing. It really has nothing to do with the fact that you are a Queen, though that does certainly make it more risky and exciting on my end. Your attitude, your strength, your independence... all of that. It's... well, fun."

He smiled at her and looked back at the television. "So why would q Queen be interested enough in a foreign Colonel to let him into her quarters and watch a movie and eat popcorn with him?"

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Hannah smiled and sat up to get off the couch for a moment, she walked over to the kitchen and took out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and chugged half of the bottle before sitting back down and snuggling next to the pilot. "So I'm a challenge am I? That's what people have told me before, the people under me. That I'm either a !@#$%* or someone they'd rather see never come back from the front lines. Like I said, I'm a general, not a royal, I'm a soldier, not a ruler, but I guess someone has to rule this Queendom of ours, right?"

She sighed and looked at the ground. "It wasn't always like this David, I can assure you and since you told me about yourself a few of your personal stories. I guess...I should tell you a little about myself. Why would a Queen be interested in a young foreign colonel from North America? I'll tell you, because, the feeling of being something besides a royal, besides a leader, besides..." She closed her eyes. "To be a human again." Hannah looked up at David and smiled. "Sarah told me that Louis Egon was the one that nuked Brisbane and since that time, this country just hasn't been the same. A civil war began right after the nuking, it was between the Loyalists and the Queenlanders, we Tintagylists were labeled as traitors and me serving as the First Knight of the Commonwealth was in charge of keeping Sarah's dream, her dream of holding peace in our land alive. No, it wasn't allowed to happen, my generals abandoned me, my soldiers were killed and I was forced to leave Australia. I wanted to go to Northan, a refugee." A tear filled her eye and she looked down at the floor as it fell onto the carpet. "No home, no family, everyone I loved either gone or dead. Its hard to imagine."

"The plane...the plane never made it to Northan, it crashed in the Eggman Empire and I was the only survivor. They found me and brought me to the Eggman Emperor and there I was, so filled with grief and rage. I...accepted a gift."

Hannah got up from the couch again and walked over to metal ball on the counter and threw it over to David. It was hollow and on the outside made of a thick steel. "He offered me the chance to take revenge on my enemies and restore the Hansa to with previous glory. But...I don't even think I'm human anymore." She asked for the ball back and with a bit of struggle, she crushed it in her hands. "One would say a super soldier, I personally think I'm nothing more than a demon, but I guess that's up for debate still. That place was terrible, I screamed for hours as they experimented on me and sometimes I wish it never would have happened. But I guess it was necessary, maybe, I the world hasn't judged my actions yet."

She sat back down next to David and hugged him tightly crying lightly into his shirt. "When I came back, we pushed the Queenslanders out, mind you with a bit of death and destruction, Dranagg invaded as well, but finally the Commonwealth was established and then the hate began. Countries refused to recognize me because I wasn't Sarah and we fell into xenophobia, but at this point I didn't care and finally the Queendom was established and we're here now. I like being around you David cause I'm regular again. I'm a normal girl again and there's nothing more that I want in the world than that."

Hannah turned her head from him. "Sorry for being so outward, I'm sure you didn't want to listen to me babble on like that. But its nice for someone to listen. I appreciate it."

[Michael McBride]

David sat in stunned silence for a moment. He had never imagined, not in his wildest dreams, that Hannah would open up to him like this tonight. He also never imagined that he would have heard what he just did. A super soldier? David never would have believed it, but he just saw her crush a steel ball in her hands. There was no doubt about it, he did not know how to respond in this situation, so he went back to his old pastime... humor.

"First of all, remind me never, ever to make you angry. When I say I have abs of steel, it's just a figure of speech. I don't want you to actually test it." A nervous laugh followed and then he looked down at her, a small frown tugging at the corner of his lips. His hand slowly inched up and then he brushed strands of white hair away from her face, his thumb sliding back up to wipe away a tear.

"Listen, beautiful girl... I'm glad you opened up to me. It will make it easier to train your pilots... it will make me push them harder. Because now I know exactly who and what they are fighting for." A moment of hesitation followed, and then David slowly leaned down and placed a light kiss on Hannah's forehead.

"Thank you."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

And for one of the first times in Hannah's life she felt like she belonged somewhere, the warrior-queen that turned people away from her with flames in her eyes, lay in the arms of a foreigner crying her heart to him. She didn't want to do it, but everything just seemed too right, everything seemed to belong and maybe he really did care about her. Maybe he really did care about what happened to her and that was more than she could ask for in a long time.

"First of all, remind me never, ever to make you angry. When I say I have abs of steel, it's just a figure of speech. I don't want you to actually test it."

She laughed nervously through the tears. "Yeah, I promise, they screwed with my head and my body a little bit. But that doesn't mean that I don't have a heart and that doesn't mean I don't have a soul. I really do think I'm very human and very normal, I just need to be reminded sometime."

"Listen, beautiful girl... I'm glad you opened up to me. It will make it easier to train your pilots... it will make me push them harder. Because now I know exactly who and what they are fighting for."

"Thank you David. I...I don't know what to say. I never thought I'd say that I was someone to fight for. But really, I don't know what to say." She cuddled closer to him as he kissed her on the forehead. "Don't let go...." She closed her eyes and then only seconds later as the movie turned off and the two were left in each others arms with only the lamplight shining, he could hear the soft coo and the Queen had fallen to sleep in his arms. Finally settling in to a dreamless sleep of serenity and calm.

[Michael McBride]

With one arm over her back, David smiled as he heard the contented sigh of the sleeping royal. Sliding a hand over, he grabbed a remote and killed the movie before pulling over a blanket on the table next to him. Spreading it slowly, he draped it over Hannah's sleeping body. Looking down once again at her white hair and fair complexion, he realized how innocent she looked while sleeping. So different than the hard, battle hardened mask she wore during the day. Smiling to himself, he adjusted slightly and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep as well.