Divided World Chapter 1
By: Ketsurui

Prolog:
Many hundreds of years ago, the world lived in peace. People of all nations worked together in harmony and understanding, and talk of war was infrequent and rarely serious.
Everything was perfect, until the Religious Leaders made a discovery. The amount of Blessed Powers, called magic in ancient times, was alarmingly high among common people, and that simply was not acceptable.
Powerful rulers were mysteriously assassinated. With no one else to blame, the people blamed eachother. As more leaders disappeared, the accusations became conflicts, and the conflicts turned into battles. Finally the battles turned into a war that lasted many decades, leaving the world in waste.
Out of the ashes of the once grand cities new societies were built, but in the people's great distrust for one another, the world was divided into four sections: The Land of Green, where the most elite members of society resided, along with their peasants. The Land of Blue, which was mostly populated by islanders and seafarers. They were considered to be the underbelly of the planet. The Land of Sand, a place that was considered backwards in its liberal ideas, and the Land of Ice, which never allowed outsiders in.
The world is once again at peace, now that the Religious Leaders have been satisfied; it is now a crime punishable by death to have the Blessed Powers. However, the peace is strained and weak, and no one knows how long it will last.
* * *
"Did you hear about Lord Yuy?" A hush voice inquired from behind a fluttering lace fan.
"No, I didn't! Tell me!"
"Well," the first voice replied, a little smugly "they say he was caught in an act of unfaithfulness to his bride-to-be. Not only that, but with one of his underlings!" The speaker smoothed her blond curls, relishing the shocked look on her friend's face.
"Oh, how awful! Lady Relena must be so upset!" The second speaker was a blond woman as well, but plainer in looks. She shook her head, waving her own fan as though to cool her emotions. "Who was it that Lord Yuy was with?"
The curly haired one said in a catty voice "With that braided servant of his."
Shock rapidly turned to disgust. "Another man?! Horrid! Don't they know that thing simply isn't *done*? What did his father say?"
"He was thrown out without a penny to his name, or even his name anymore." Both women nodded slightly at this; after all it was the proper thing to do. It was unbelievably wrong to be with a member of your own sex! Tasteless! Unthinkable!
"What're you two gossiping about today?" a smooth voice inquired behind them. They both turned to see a tall, brunette man standing in the doorway to the garden they had been lunching in.
"Your Lordship looks well today," the plain one said, a sparkle in her eye. Indeed he did; the dark blue jacket and pants perfectly complimented his complexion.
"Thank you, Lady Maser," he replied with a slight bow, the ponytail that had been resting at the nape of his neck falling over his shoulder, blue silk ribbon fluttering in the gentle breeze.
"We were just discussing the former Lord Yuy," Lady Briquette, the curly haired one, purred, smoothly working her way into the conversation. "Have you heard?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I have. Such a tragedy."
"Lord Barton, were you not a friend of his?" Lady Maser asked, daintily nibbling on a tiny cake.
Trowa Barton was careful to reply "he was an acquaintance; my father knew his." In truth, he'd been very close to Heero Yuy, but in this rigid social class, he could become an outcast through suspicion that since they had been friends, it was possible that that more could have gone on, regardless of the fact that there was not truth or evidence behind it.
"Oh." Both women sounded disappointed. The fact that they like Lord Barton was irrelevant; if his family fell out of favor then one of theirs might have room for advancement.
"By the way," Lady Briquette murmured "congratulations on your engagement."
Trowa nodded slightly. Lady Vulpes was from a very wealthy and popular family, nevermind that he'd only met the woman twice and didn't care much for her. Their families had made the arrangements, and a proper wedding would be constructed after the expected "courtship" period of a year. "I thank you, my lady."
A servant slipped into the garden, his eyes fixed on the white stones that paved the ground. "Lord Barton, your carriage is ready."
"Ah, thank you." Turning to the women, he bowed again, right arm held tight against his stomach as he did so. "I hope to meet up with you again." *Bitter, ugly maidens,* he mentally growled as he left the garden, climbing into his black cast-iron carriage and making himself conformable. Though he'd been taught all his life that same-sex pairings were wrong and
unnatural, he did not relish the downfall of others when they were discovered to have the irregularity. *I liked Heero. He was one of the few honest people I know. * Sighing, Trowa closed his eyes as the carriage smoothly rolled along the road.
* * *
"It's rather amusing, don't you think?" Zechs Marquise commented, leaning back into the plush seat.
"What is?" Treize Kushrenada asked, turning towards the blond.
"That even though everyone knows the Blessed Powers have been eradicated, people still waste their money on tarot readers." Zechs shook his head, ice blue eyes flashing in amusement.
"Like we're about to," Trowa added absently, eyes fixed out the window. He'd picked up both men just moments ago; they were old friends of the family. The Kushrenada and Marquise familles had had joint estates for nearly a century, so it wasn't considered at all odd that the current heirs shared a manor.
Treize's hand brushed his taller companion's knee, the subtle action missed by Trowa, who was still staring out the window. "Hopefully we'll get a good reading."
"Everyone has a good reading. Why would people keep coming back if they weren't told exactly what they wanted to hear?" The blond smiled as the carriage stopped. "I do believe we've arrived."
Lord Barton waited until the coachman opened the door, then stepped out, stretching slowly. "I hope this doesn't take long; I have an engagement party to plan."
Treize and Zechs looked at eachother. "Why don't you go first? We'll wait here for you."
* * *
"Welcome, young master!" An ancient woman called in a creaky voice. Her gnarled hands were wrapped around a tattered deck of cards. "I assume you've come for a reading?"
"Yes." Trowa sat down in the chair across from the woman, slender legs crossing. *She'll just say what everyone is told "you'll be rich, you'll be happy", and then I can go. A stupid waste of time and money...*
With surprising swiftness, the cards were shuffled, the tarot reader murmuring a prayer as she did so. Three cards were turned up, laid in a row, and she peered at them intently.
"What do you see?" the young man asked boredly. *Just trying to make it look more authentic I suppose. All the real readers had Blessed Powers, and were exicuted.*
"You are in for quite a trial, young master!"
Trowa blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
A digit tapped the card to the furthest left. "This is the Moon, which represents you. It means you are going to do some serious soul-searching, whether you want to or not. You will find out things about yourself you never knew." She moved to the next card, the one in the center.
"Ten of Swords. Your situation. Things as you know it will be turned upside-down and inside-out. Also, you have no control over it, so don't even try." Finally, she pointed to the third. "Ten of Cups. Eventually, everything will right itself, and you will be happier than you ever were." The reader looked up and stabbed a bony finger at him. "Be careful, young master, or you'll let the weight of everyone's opinion crush you!" She cackled madly, rocking back and fourth in her chair.
*She's as cracked as an old plate!* Furious, Trowa threw a few gold coins on the weathered table, turning on his heel and preparing to storm out.
"Wait one minute, Trowa Barton!" Serious again, the old woman intoned. "Don't take my words lightly. You will see that I am right, though it may be too late then."
"I'm sure." Trowa stalked off to his carriage, not giving a passing thought to the fact that the woman knew who he was. "As I said, a waste of time and money!" He raged as he seated himself. Treize and Zechs looked up, surprised, the former's hand nearly covering the blond's. Trowa didn't think that was so odd; close friends often were so comfortable with eachother's
presence that they barely noticed when they were very close physically. He and Heero were like that. "Let's go home. I have a party to plan."
On To Chapter 2

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