Name: Sonflour 
E-mail: sonflour_2001@yahoo.com 
Fanfic title: "Mage" 
Catergory: Alternate Universe 

______________________________________________________________________ 


"Mage" 



Part 1 

     Zechs looked up from his glass of wine and chuckled to himself. 
The Sank Keep was serene as usual.  He got up and streched his 
gorgeous body to get out the kinks which were mercilessily acquired 
from reading in the same position for an hour or two. He went to his 
personal chamber and yawned.  His life had been uneventful for more 
than a few decades.  The balls and social functions which came with 
being a Midnight mage and one of the most beautiful mages to have 
ever graced life itself were jaded to say the least.  Still..... his 
amorous alter ego mused to himself.......the women never ceased to 
amaze or please his appetite. Zechs went into his chambers and 
carelessly chose something to wear. While he did not enjoy over 
worrying about attire, he was quite vain enough to be well concerned 
about his looks. After all, if pleasure was beauty's reward, Zechs 
had never been in danger of being an unsung hero.   
     Zechs walked through his room and the lamps lit without so much 
as a word. He thought to himself about the all but too common 
ability. He had far surpassed the years back when he had to speak in 
order to manipulate his surroundings. It was the marking of a true 
mage, or wizard.  The unexperienced have to yell or shout their 
arcane enchantments, and with their efforts, they often tired easily 
and were subject to weakness only marked by a true novice.  On the 
contrary, Zechs had lived for at least three centuries, and he knew 
he was beyond powerful.  His own enchantments took only the power of 
thought.  Something, the unexperienced had yet to learn.  Zech was 
indeed a powerful man. His fighting skills were above reproach and 
his magery skill were unrivaled to say the least. Some had called him 
a king and some had called him a god. No one yet ever had enough 
power to rival him in the 
least......except............rivalry......when was the last time he 
had had a good ....................rival............the only worthy 
adversary he had ever come across was his archrival......... 

   'Strange, actually'.....he thought to himself as he settled in 
the tub.  'My greatest match was one of the most arrogant, foolish, 
stubborn......and powerful........' My rival.....indeed.....Noin was 
the only true challenge.  As he began to get dressed, he wondered out 
aloud, " Noin, little rival, how is it that you were the toughest 
adversary I've ever faced." 



********************************************************* 



Part 2 

    Zechs stepped into the ballroom with an all too amused smile on 
his face. Treize had invited him to this function and Treize, king of 
the Twilight Fey, was one person even he wouldn't dare refuse. A 
pretty young woman swayed by Zechs with a telltale glance on her 
face. He smiled seductively while thinking to himself, 'Maybe this 
night won't be so bad afterall.' 

                         **************** 

       'How the hell do I get myself into these things?!' Noin 
thought as she fired a blue ball of pure lightning at the blackmage 
behind her. She ran as fast as her legs could to the corner of the 
building.   
   'Stop panicking, Lu' she said to herself. 'You'll never get out 
of here like this.' 

        When her elemental vision showed her two days ago the sight 
of her small province in ashes, she couldn't comprehend the 
possiblity. She was a fool.  For years she had felt the oncoming of 
an evil so ........ strong. It had given her nightmares for longer 
than she cared to remember. Her only companion at her keep was her 
snow white and black spotted falcon, Moon. And while she loved Moon 
to death, there was very little a falcon could do to comfort someone 
who experienced nightmares on a nightly basis. She had warned the 
Archmages of Lorn at the main university in Victoria, but they still 
refused to acknowledge her, just because she was a woman.  Damn it, 
she had beaten some of the most powerful wizards in Carania! 
And now, she was trying to protect the very place that refused to 
accept her. 

    'Moon, please create a destraction.' she implored. 
    The mere wingspan of the bird shadowed the mage.  The blackmage 
raised his left hand and the falcon barely dodged the greenish black 
bolt which was fired. Noin covered her eyes knowing what would come 
next.  Moon slowly began to glow, until the light grew to a point of 
pain to anyone who looked.  The blackmage screamed in agony.   

    "My lord", Noin whispered to herself. 'He has red eyes. The 
Archmages have to know.' 

  The blackmage rubbed his eyes and Noin to this time to  cloak 
herself and her falcon in invisibility and she levetated (spelled 
wrong I think) from the ground. She knew, if she touched anything, 
she would be found. She now floated backwards away from the archmage. 
Her sheilds protected her from being detected by the archmage. It was 
taking every bit of strength she had to stay this way until she was 
far, far, away.  When she knew it was safe she let herself fall to 
the ground. Noin breathed deeply and hard. She called upon her 
element and begged for a rainstorm to cover her tracks.  She would 
have to journey by foot the rest of the way to her keep. Moon circled 
her warily above. As of now, her mage energy was obsolete. However, 
danger was ever present. 






Part 3 

       When Noin reached her keep, it was nightfall.  Moon circled 
cautiously in the sky and she entered.  She sensed everything was 
normal for now, and she fell into her favorite chair in her den. Moon 
landed on the perch and promptly went to sleep. Noin went to the 
cavern underneath her keep. When her mentor had died centuries ago, 
he had left this keep to her. It had been the only permanent home she 
knew, other than the years spent at Victoria Mage Academy. And she 
could hardly count those years as being at home. 

   She went down the stairs of the torch lighted passageway and she 
came to the hot springs. She needed a hot soak more than anything. 
The warm water was exactly what she needed to rejuvenate her aching 
spirit.  Noin legs hurt more than the fiery pits of hell.  She 
stripped all of her clothes and she slipped into the steaming 
waters.  However, as her body began to relax, nothing could stop the 
feeling of danger that lurked closely on the edge of her mind. 

                                  
*************************************** 

Zechs fully took in his surroundings.  The Twilight Castle of 
Treize, king of the Fey, transcended magnificence in both beauty and 
architecture.  Zechs marveled at the richness of the ivory columns 
and the splendor of the setting itself.  The Twilight Castle, 
however, could never match the beauty of the Fey themselves.  Zechs 
could almost willing lose himself in the charms of the lovely women 
of the Fey.  God knows he had gotten more than enough offers. And, it 
had been quite a while since he had enjoyed the pleasures the 
opposite sex had to offer.  Even more, there were many favorable 
rumors about the Fey's  pleasurable activities. This fascinated 
Zechs, who was always a willing 
advocate of creativity and neo possiblilities. 

Zechs was disturbed from his musings when Treize came to stand beside 
him. 

" Are you enjoying yourself, Marquise? A many lovely lady would have 
been very disappointed if the great mage Zechs didn't attend my 
social." Treize drawled . 

" Yes, I'm sure Treize.  As much as I love the attention, You know 
why I came." 

"Curiosity, boredom, and your taste for the finer sex." Treize said 
with an innocent look of pure wickness. 

Zechs replied with an all to common sly half smile, " Indeed….Among 
other things Treize. But you contacted me in a dream Treize. I'm sure 
you didn't interrupt my wonderful dream about a gorgeous woman, just 
to inform me about my many admirers." 

" Your modesty is something to admire."  Treize replied 
drily.  "However, your perception gets sharper each day." 

" What is it you needed to talk about Treize?"  Zechs could barely 
sense the faint underlying urgency in their friendly tête-� -tête. 
However, it was there. 

" Come with me Julian." Treize said, emphasizing his true name. 

A strong being could often control others by the use of their 
true name.  Zechs, being a very strong mage had many names.  However, 
in his centuries of living only three people had ever known his true 
title, much less called it. One of those three were dead by his own 
hand. Treize was the second, because he was his strongest ally. Noin 
was the third, because she was his strongest rival. 
`…..Noin…….' 

"Zechs" , Treize said realizing that his friend had gone into another 
dimension of thought. 

" I'm here", he replied.  " Now, what's the problem?" 

" Have you ever met Lady Une of  Fire Cove, Julian.?" 

"I heard about her  in a mage war once. She killed Ranith the black 
at the age of seven, but you saved her life when she had almost been 
soul stripped. 

"Correct.  In other words, you know that she is a powerful mage. I 
claimed her as mine even though she would not accept it. Did you know 
this as well?" 

" You what?!  Treize, when was this.?" Zech asked in total disbelief. 

It was not everyday that the king of all Fey showed such 
possessiveness towards anyone, much less a woman. Treize was the 
archetype of dalliance. His love for women was only transcended by 
his love of beauty.  For Treize to have shown such want as to claim 
Une as his own….it was unheard of. Furthermore, rumors of Une's 
temperamental personality were nothing less than remarkable. 

" Okay despite my disbelief of what you just said, what does this 
have to do with anything?" 

" A week ago, I went to Fire Cove and I paid a visit to Une. Although 
we are not the best of friends, we do have an uneasy alliance.  When 
I arrived at Fire Cove, it was just that. Someone had almost killed 
Une." 

Zechs could see the signs of Treize's anger. His teeth were clenched 
and his knuckles were almost white.  He wondered who or what would be 
stupid or strong enough to trifle with the anger of the King of Fey. 
Zechs had never seen Une fight, but he hsd witnessed  Treize. One of 
the reason the king had been thrown out of the Academy was because of 
Treize's uncontrollable power. It had yet to be understood. 

" After I found her cowering in the ashes of her former keep, I could 
feel that she was fighting a very powerful and painful spell. Agony 
spells had been put on her to keep her from any communication. Being 
Fey, I took as much of the pain as I could.  It was horrible, 
Julian.  Creator help whoever did that to her, I swear I will send a 
million souls to hell if I find who was responsible." 

"Is she okay now Treize?" 

"Yes.  The reason why I called you so urgently was because of what 
Une kept saying.  All throughout the course of her healing, any one 
word she said would cause torturous pain, Julian.  She risked her 
body and soul just to whisper one word." 

" What was that, Treize?" 

"Noin." 

That name hung in the air like a sweet yet terrible 
catastrophe. Noin. 

" Did Une say she was  in danger? Did she tell you anything about who 
was after her?" 

"Calm down….Julian. You know good and well what an agony spell can do 
to damn person. Une went through hell just to utter Noin's name and 
nothing else.  I knew that you were the first and only person I 
should tell much less trust." 

" I'm sorry.  Thank you old friend. I have to contact Noin somehow. 
Noin is always traveling. Who know what shit she has gotten herself 
into. I have to warn her." 

" Your welcome. Une is recovering slowly, but she is strong. I am 
keeping her here now. If she tells me anything else, I'll contact you 
somehow." 

"Thanks, Treize. Are you sure Une will approve of that when she fully 
recovers? 

"She doesn't have a choice. This is twice I've saved her. My claim is 
only stronger. 

"Understood." 

" Be careful Julian.  The pain I encountered with Une was horrible. A 
mage has to willing endure and know his magic in order to use it. 
Anyone who has that type of focused vice centered around enough power 
to overtake Une, is someone to be wary of." 

" I'll be careful.  But if anyone even thinks of harming her, I'll….." 

" I thought she was your rival," Treize said knowing all too well the 
situation. 

"She is." 

Zechs turned and left. Everyone moved out of the way of the mage. 
Everyone in that room knew that none of them could withstand his 
wrath. 

- 
______________________________________________________________________ 


Part 4 

Although fear lurked right on the edge of her entire being, 
Noin knew that she would be useless in defending herself if she 
didn't get any rest.  Her elemental power had been restored with her 
two hour soak in the hot springs beneath her keep.  However, magic 
was useless energy unless the vessel was strong.  This was the case 
with Noin.  Her body was exhausted, and she definitely wasn't strong 
enough to protect herself against anything.  Much less black-robe 
magic 
"What would you think if you saw me now Julian?"  She smiled a wry 
smile and drifted to sleep hoping the thought of her beautiful, if 
not infuriating arch-nemesis, would push the nightmare away. 

They did not. 


Screams of agony and pain tore through her fevered sleep. She saw a 
beautiful brown haired woman curled in a ball.   She could hear the 
woman's heart-wrenching sobs and tears fell down her dream cheeks.   
Noin looked further into her dream…..it couldn't be.  It was.  Fire 
cove was in flames.  The woman…..it was Une.   

Suddenly her dream changed. She was walking in a barren 
world.  As she walked further the scene began to change and she 
walked upon dead bodies everywhere.  Some were burnt and others had 
been cut down mercilessly.  The others were too horrible to 
describe.  Noin ran past the stink of death, and found a spot where 
she threw up.  She heaved her insides out until there was nothing 
left.  All of a sudden, the day turned night and the sky turned red.   
Eerie voices whispered a chant of some type.   

"Water's touch will not suffice to destroy the fire of evil.  It will 
only be extinguished by the when the cold of twilight and the aqua's 
power unite. However, even when the fire is no more the smoke will 
still remain. It is then…………." 

The chant stopped.  A black which seemed to swallow what little light 
there was in her nightmare advanced towards her.  It touched her.   
The lightest of touches, and Noin fell to her knees.  It brought 
visions of torture, rape, evil, and an utter despair.  As it closed 
around her, she screamed. 

No one could hear her. 


"Noooooooooo!!!!!" she panted as she awoke in a cold sweat.   
And then, Noin did something she had not done in a long time.  She 
cried.  She cried until it seemed as if she could not cry anymore. 
And then she cried again. She cried herself to sleep and this time 
she was too exhausted to even dream. 

************* 

Meanwhile, miles and miles and miles away, the evil that she thought 
she escaped smiled.   

"Lucrezia, must not know what power she possesses.  I'll get her soon 
enough. Sleep well my beauty, your power is mine." 
______________________________________________________________________ 




Part 5   

   Noin had barely gotten any sleep last night. She walked out on 
her balcony and savored the cool breeze of the early morning. The 
dream had left her exhausted and confused. 

"What did it mean?" she murmured to herself.   

When she had woken up, her memory could only salvage pieces of her 
nightmare.  However, she could very well recall the horrid fear of 
that terrible blackness. 

Even more so the image of  Une………..worried her more than anything. If 
her dream was true then Fire Cove was gone.. Une was almost as 
powerful as herself.  It was Une's shields that made her such a force 
to reckoned with. How could anything endanger Une?! 

Damn it Lu….don't concentrate on that, she scolded herself.   
What would Lorn do if he was here?  He'd tell her that the answer to 
all complications was thought and meditation.  He'd keep her safe, 
just as he had done for mostly all of her young life. 

Of all the mages in the world Noin was one of the most powerful.   
First, because she was trained by Lorn himself, second because she 
was born a mage. She didn't need to rely on powers of others or 
ancient relics to give her strength. Her energy came from inside and 
from her element, water.  Because water was everywhere in the world 
her power was extremely potent.  Lorn had taught her to control that 
and for his guidance, she was grateful to him. 

<flashback> 

She never knew her parents. But, living as an orphan only increased 
her wisdom. She learned of her gift at an early age. It was what 
helped her survive. 
Those years had been some of the scariest times of her life When she 
was twelve, Lorn found her a victim of rape.  .  She hadn't known 
what had been happened to her at that young age. Experience was a 
merciless and cruel teacher. The pain of her virginity being ripped 
apart taught her the greater evils of man.  However, something else 
happened.  At that moment of painful shock, her deeper powers lashed 
out and killed her bastard rapist. She had no regrets about killing 
the man. However, the village had a different opinion. They 
imprisoned her. At the tender age of twelve, her teacher, Experience, 
taught her a lesson that she would learn long past her youth. Life 
had no pity or justice for women. 
Noin had been locked up and knocked unconscious.  However, her powers 
were beginning to grow from the painful shock to her being. When Lorn 
passed through the town on his way to his university, he could almost 
touch her inner power. It was so great that it was almost tangible.   
A immense blue energy, that could be soft and as soothing as a 
tranquil lake, yet what mere mortal would ever be able to withstand 
the tide of her fury if ever tried.  Only twice had he come across 
power such as that. The first time, it had been his own.  The second 
time had been the power of a rare platinum haired little boy. The 
young man's kingdom had been destroyed and the shock of the death of 
his family pushed his power to a point that noone had reached since 
the times of old.  What amazing fruits the trees of adversity bears. 

Lorn took her as his ward and enrolled her into the Victoria Mage 
academy. He knew she needed to learn as much as possible about her 
power. 

She was the only female to ever have graced the hall of the 
Archmage's of Lorn's school, and that caused her nothing but trouble. 

Trouble because as she grew into her teenage years, the senior mages 
believed she would cause……………trouble, because she was rivaled only by 
three of the older mages……..trouble, because her body did nothing to 
hide her feminine traits and trouble because she refused to be 
submissive.   

However, the worst occurrence was when that stupid bastard Alex tried 
to dishonor her. Alex had used a sleeping spell on Noin.  His intent 
was to take her in her sleep.  If Zechs had not shown up in time, she 
would have been raped once again.  Alex was a senior mage and he was 
one of the schools most adept. The very much biased Archmages of Lorn 
never even questioned his actions.    She challenged Alex that very 
afternoon.  The archmages would have refused, Zechs insisted. He had 
the respect of some of the older more powerful mages.  Already, she 
was indebted to Zechs.  He had saved her honor once, and now he was 
doing so again. 

That fateful day, Alex refused to believe that a mere female could 
ever rival him. 

"Come, come Noin,  you would have loved it," he said.  However, he 
spoke to her mind. 

"We've all heard about your little street urchin days….slut." 

All the while Noin's emotions went straight to the pit of her 
stomach.  Her anger at the unfairness of the archmages, her anger at 
having to prove herself to them, her anger at her own helplessness to 
stop the man in her past from raping her.  Noin never even noticed 
the faint blue light that started to cover her.  She looked to the 
peaceful stream as her guide. But her vision changed to that of a 
stormy sea.  Thrashing, and angry, and insatiable, she never noticed 
the ends of her glossy black hair beginning to rise. Her body was 
acting without her command.  Her arms rose to the sky.   No one 
noticed the blue light intensify. No one except Zechs.  He saw it and 
could feel the coming of an almost terrible, yet exhilarating power 
starting to shape. It frightened him, yet he relished the thought of 
finally having someone worthy of being his rival. 
  Her attack was too fast for mortal eyes. Alex didn't notice until 
the midnight blue ball of flaming fire flew towards his chest.  He 
didn't have time to put up any shields and no one watching could have 
stopped it.  He never had a chance. 

Noin had released the fatal energy before she knew it. It was like 
some new found power that she knew lived deep down inside her. She 
stood surreal to the world, and then she collapsed from exhaustion. 
She fell to her knees in a damned weakness. 

" She must be eliminated. She has no control over her powers. It was 
a mistake to allow a woman to cultivate the powers that only a man 
could control. Women aren't used to this…it is too much!" Corinth 
immediately barked to the other Archmages.  From mage to mage, each 
face held coldness, bitterness and an utter lack of mercy. 

" Kick me out like you did Treize! Lorn will not allow this!" she 
yelled, tears streaming down her face.   
The voice of the head archmage boomed.  "LORN IS NOT HERE!" The 
Archmage Corinth struck her with a mage chain. She could feel her 
powers draining. This was what a mage chain did. It drained a mage of 
their innate ability. Because Noin was born with her powers, the 
process was torturing painful 

She was still on her knees.  She didn't understand this.  She had 
defended herself, with her own powers. He had threatened her…….she 
had almost been raped again and now she was to die for defending 
herself!  Wrong! Being stripped of her powers was a fate worse than 
death. 

She sobbed into her knees.  Finally the pain of her purging was too 
much, merciful darkness captured her. 

Zechs stepped to her unconscious figure… 

"I challenge her," he said.  It was amazing the way his level and 
even voice could be heard in every ear.   "If I win, then she is 
mine, but if she beats me, then she can go free." 

"Marquise, what is the meaning of this?! We have decided and it has 
been written!"   The older Archmage, Corinth was red with anger. 


"SILENCE!! Release her at once!!" Zechs yelled. 

Corinth furiously nodded his head and the black mage chain 
disappeared. 

Noin slowly and painfully came to consciousness, but moving was a 
feat which pain successfully kept her from achieving. 

 "Who here would dare risk the wrath of Lorn for a mere girl?!  What 
she has done was nothing. Alex allowed his cockiness to get the 
better of him and that is all.  The only power she truly had in this 
battle was her uncontrolled anger. All mages even the youngest novice 
can use anger to enhance even the slightest of ability.  Are the 
great Archmages of Lorn a bunch of cowards, afraid to allow one 
female with a tiny amount of the gift a chance to live?!  I will beat 
her and she will be mine.  From then on I will control her. Is it 
agreed?" 



"Agreed,"  Tor's voice boomed 

" Get her to the infirmary chambers!" Zechs barked his orders and a 
young group of mages scurried to do so. 

"She is very much Lorn's ward.  He created this school and we know 
very well that he has the power to destroy it. But know this 
Marquise, if you win the battle Zechs, she will be your full 
responsibility. If by some luck she does win, she will be purged. 
Lorn has been gone for years and only his presence will be enough to 
stop our will." 


Zechs eyes studied the board of mages coldly, " She will not 
win…..Let that be written." 

With that he turned and left. Not a word was said and the only other 
movement made was Corinth's fist furiously hitting the table. 



Part 6 

"I hope you realize this is only temporary Trieze," Une replied. Her 
teeth grated together in frustrated anger. 

It had been two weeks since Treize had rescued her from Fire Cove. 
Heavens, how she missed that place. Although she couldn't lie to 
herself, the fey court was wonderful.  It was not that she wasn't 
grateful to Treize for saving her life……God knows he had done that 
more than one time. The problem was that now, Treize had claimed her. 
It wouldn't bother her so if the King of the Fey wasn't so damn 
handsome. It wouldn't bother her so if she didn't crave him so. But 
she did. When her nightmares followed the healing of the agony 
spells, Treize had been the one to pad to her chamber and comfort her 
in the darkness. How could she resist his kindness when is body had 
felt so warm and his arms had felt so safe around her. Damn it!  She 
had stayed away from men for a reason, Treize would only control her 
if he got the chance. She couldn't allow that….could she? 

All this and more raced through Une's mind as she stared defiantly at 
the intensely handsome king in front of her. 

Treize stared at her with sapphire eyes that held nothing but 
mischievous taunting. His handsome mouth was raised in a smirk that 
had the ability to give even the most devout nun a dream of the worse 
kind. 

"What, my dear lady, is only temporary?" His face now feigned 
complete innocence. 

Une felt a smile tug at her own mouth. She suppressed the urge to 
laugh and concentrated on more serious matters, like never being 
enslaved to a man again…..like that, oh so, precious freedom. 

" You keeping me here is only temporary. There are you happy? Treize, 
I am fully grown and I can take care of myself. I'll be damned if I 
stay here and waste my life away at the will of an overposessive man, 
who has been indulged too damn much in his life time. This seems to 
amuse you….Your Highness. 

She added the formality to  emphasize distance between them.  Not 
surprising, it had the opposite affect on Treize as he moved closer 
to Une. Her scent intoxicated him, but at the moment he was losing 
his temper fast. His smile, often a signal for trouble, widen. 

" First, Lady, I will never forget seeing you helpless and in pain 
in front of your cove. So as for protection, I will not be satisfied 
with none other than my own." 

" You are being-" 

He caught her face firmly and placed a finger over her lovely mouth. 

"Second, your stay here is quite permanent. Everyone in the kingdom 
recognizes my claim to you, whether you like it or not. Try and fight 
it, Une take it to the highest authority….oh wait….that would be me 
anyway. So there's no use fighting there."  He paused noticing that 
his sarcasm did not go unnoticed. 

She was fuming. Uncaring, he continued. 

" Thirdly, I am willing to let you travel to any part of this world 
you choose. Some places I would enjoy accompanying you. Others, if 
you wish, you may travel alone. However, rest assure that I will 
always be in contact." 

She opened her mouth to possibly refute, and he cut her off once more. 

" Lastly, lady, you are quite right. I have been indulged my entire 
life. It shall be no different in this. So I hope you weren't 
thinking to change that. 

Her entire being was screaming frusratation. She jerked her face away 
from his hand. Why the hell couldn't he see reason?! 

"And what, pray tell, do you expect me to do, while your 
dally on with your court? What am I to be…your servant?! She 
exclaimed. 

More than one image of Une..serving him….entered Treize's 
mind. He brushed those thoughts away and returned to the issue at 
hand. 

"If you would have kept your temper, my lady," he purposely 
emphasized the `my', "then I could have told you my suggestion." 

"I'm waiting." 

He sighed, and prayed to whatever higher being available, 
that it would please her. 

" I want you to be my war advisor." 

" I love it, Trieze. It's a wonderful idea! Let's take a 
woman, who is already feared and hated by the Fey council and the 
Mages of Lorn, and let's put her into a position of power."  She 
drawled. Sarcasm dripped every word. 

"Une…" Treize started. 

"Oh no, there's more. Both councils hate women……that's 
obvious by the way they treated Noin. But let's challenge them 
anyway. At the best, they'll say I got the position on my damned 
back. At worst, they'll……." 

" Une, stop it. You know I, and I alone rule my court. I 
could care less about what the councils say. Them of all people know 
intimately of my disregard for their regulations. Furthermore, I 
truly don't trust the councils anyway. They are a group of senile 
idiots who hate and fear any powers that do not come from themselves." 

" Would you truly trust me with that responsibility?" she 
asked. 

He could see her fortress slowly crumbling. 

" More than anyone else I know Une. Fire cove, was damn near 
impenetrable. The Fey Court has cared more about beauty, than safety 
for longer than I've ruled. It's time to change that. Especially, if 
we have a mage as powerful as the one that attacked you in our land." 

"Fine, I'll do it, but only on one condition…" 

" That is…." He asked cautiously. 

" Please get me something to wear other than  these dresses. 
You can't imagine how much I hate them." She said. 

He laughed. His laughter struck at something deep within her. 
She pushed the unknown feeling aside. Now wasn't the time. 

While still smiling at her he said, "Bargain stuck." 


******************************************************* 
<flashback from Noin's reflection continued.> 

Zechs paced the university chamber. He had never felt that type of 
power. God! If Noin could learn to control it….. Just thinking of her 
sent a host of emotions throughout his being. Worry. He wondered if 
that bastard Corinth's mage chain took too much of Noin's energy. 
Anger. Any fool could see that she had been the victim.  Alex had 
been tried before for harassing a  young merchant's daughter. But 
Zechs would deal with him later.  Right now he had an ignorant 
council to deal with, and a battle to prepare for. If he won, Noin 
would be his. What would he do with her? He smiled sardonically. The 
question was more like what would he do to her?  He shook those 
thoughts away. She was probably ready now. 

He made his way to the central chamber. The chamber was the 
biggest room in the university; if it could be called that. It was 
like a small arena. The council's chairs were above the center of the 
room and each side of the room was decorated in the symbols of 
various types of powers. Zechs was the only mage, since Lorn himself, 
who could control every type of power. Although he knew he could 
defeat Noin, he didn't want to hurt her in any way. He stepped into 
the chamber and wondered at what was to come.