The Two Who Were Released

Nicol now knew that Athrun Zala and Lacus Clyne's engagement had ended in an awkward estrangement, even a blood feud. Their political marriage had once carried hopes for peace between the Earth Forces and ZAFT, but now seemed destined to stand only as a bitter footnote. He understood, too, that their present circumstances were beyond anything he could imagine.

Gentle and considerate by nature, Nicol felt only grief and regret. Even after fate had made him a prisoner, he had still been touched by this unexpected kindness, while the two people who had once been their symbols and idols had seen everything between them shatter.

That pain seemed sharper than the pain of his own captivity.

After learning the truth, Nicol never again raised the subject of the engagement or anything connected to Athrun Zala. For days, he avoided even a single word that might reopen the wound in Lacus Clyne's heart, until he had buried that bitter memory deep within himself.

He no longer brought up anything so awkward and painful. Instead, he steered their conversations toward lighter subjects.

Several more days passed. One morning, measured, heavy footsteps sounded outside the detention cells again. The prisoners, accustomed to meditating or thinking amid the dust drifting through the light while they waited for their meals, tensed at the familiar sound, then slowly relaxed. It was Xia Ya's unmistakable stride.

Nicol and Michel rose from their beds almost in unison.

They expected him to approach as he had on every other morning visit, deliver their food, and exchange the first words of the day. After all their contact over the past few days, Michel could go through those motions easily enough, though his guard had not dropped at all.

This time, however, Michel spotted something wrong at once. Xia Ya's long,