"He did /WHAT/?!" It was all Dorothy could do to keep from leaping over the desk, grabbing the nearest, hand-held blunt object, and turn Heero Yuy /and/ his Gundam into scrap. "Miss Relena's already at the morning meeting. I believe he informed her before then." "Oh god, Relena." Dorothy ground her fingertips into her forehead, trying to think her way out of this one, trying not to feel like the biggest fool in the universe. //What did I do to you, Relena? I should have known, I should have /known/ he wouldn't do it.// She barely resisted the urge to throw a marble paperweight on her desk through the window behind her. //That little bastard, how could he?! What was I thinking?! Now I've pushed him away from you completely.// The blonde paced back and forth behind her desk, letting all the pieces fall into place, feeling little stabs of pain every few seconds, burning guilt, knowing Relena had to have been torn apart by the betrayal. //Shit. Shit shit, it wasn't supposed to happen like this. Not this fast. I wanted him to think, I wanted him to trip over his own thoughts for a while, stumble through his stupid emotions. It was supposed to take him some time and, God knows, he wasn't supposed to do it like /that/!!// After all Dorothy had told him about Relena's delicate hold on sanity, after everything she had tried to explain to him - for Heero to just walk out on Relena like that, to go far enough into space that there would be /no/ way for Relena to even speak to him... It was unimaginably cruel, and even in the moments that she hated him most, Dorothy hadn't expected that kind of reaction from the Japanese pilot. //I'll never forgive him for this. I'll never, ever forgive him for hurting her like this.// Nothing could have cinched Dorothy's plans as tightly as Heero's rejection. These people didn't deserve the blonde's understanding, and they would receive no more chances to do what she should have done long ago. //The best thing I ever learned. If you want something done right, always do it yourself.// "Thank you for watching her for me." The man smiled politely, and the smile increased as she handed him a small roll of bills wrapped tightly with a rubber band. There were always ways around loyalty, around a security issue. Money was one of the quietest, most successful keys to any door. Unfortunately, for the rest of the task at hand, Dorothy knew she was on her own. But she was filled with a righteous anger now, there was no way even all of the Gundam pilots could stop her. //All I need to do is get Relena alone.// ------------------------- "Here you are." Relena looked up from where she had been leaning over the southern balustrade, staring down into the churning sea, having thoughts that she was sure would get her into trouble with Noin and Zechs, and possibly make some other people very happy. //It wouldn't be that difficult, to slip and fall over the side, into the sea. There'd be no one to catch a person if they fell, and there would be no way to survive hitting the rocks. It probably wouldn't even hurt that much.// She shivered, and was surprised to find a jacket over her shoulders, the man who had approached her now wrapping it around her bare arms. "You're freezing. Maybe you should go inside." Relena blinked, returned to gazing at the sea without comment as she pulled off the jacket, and handed it back to him. After a moment, he leaned against the railing with one hand, staring at her, the cool sea wind teasing at his shoulder length dark hair. //Almost... almost the way it was this morning, with Heero. A way it will never be again... not ever.// The memory of the past, and the sudden, sharp vision of her future hurt, as if someone had stabbed her with a freezing sword. The man must have seen the look of pain on her face, because his features softened, he spoke to her in a low, almost compassionate tone. "Tyse doesn't mean to get so angry. He lost his little sister a while ago during a battle that got... out of hand. It still hurts him a lot. I'm sorry you had to see that." Relena blinked, surprised by his apology. As far as she had been aware, the meeting had gone like any other, with someone yelling at her, accusations being thrown, and nothing being resolved. The only difference was, this time, she hadn't had to think of multiplication tables to distract herself, didn't have to imagine any tiny Heeros or Dorothys to stay calm. Her stomach and head still hurt, sometimes sharply, but there was an emptiness now, a void lacking any sort of substance, gathered in close around her, like a shell. It kept a nice wall between her and the world, so that she didn't have to think about anything. Her responses were still calm, and concise, still upholding the Peacecraft way of life, but were as mechanical as the motions of some clockwork dancer, perfect and utterly devoid of life. //Noin and Zechs took over. I was speaking, and they took over -they started talking for me. I remember that, but I wasn't upset, I was as calm as ever. I didn't mind him yelling at me. It didn't even hurt like it used to. I wonder why they took over.// "Are you all right?" Relena turned, the man gazed at her, blue eyes full of concern. //Blue eyes, but they're too hard, really. Nothing like hers. Dorothy's eyes, so full of secrets... and mystery.// The thought, the memory of Dorothy was beautiful at first. But knowing that the blonde-haired girl was only there, in the end, to hurt her, that she had been placed at the Sank kingdom for the specific purpose of subterfuge tore through Relena's happiness instantly. "We're not supposed to be meeting like this, out in the open with no one around. As the leader of such a small country, you shouldn't be so careless... the Sank kingdom could act against you." The man grinned. "I'm not worried. I heard that you nearly ran the prime minister out on a rail, so I figure I'm as safe here as anywhere." Relena frowned at his teasing tone. "The Sank kingdom cannot side with /anyone/ on this issue. Your country has to work out its differences and disarm peacefully on your own." The dark-haired man shrugged. "Not that easy, Miss Peacecraft. We've got to fight for what we have. If we disarmed, you still wouldn't be able to do anything, and they'd mow us down and plow us under. They'd be sure we were nothing but a memory." "War doesn't solve anything. It's impossible for a war to produce peace." Relena knew she meant the words, but they seemed to fall barren, empty of any emotion, from her lips. "I know that." The man tucked a hand into his coat pocket, pulled out a picture. "Look at her..." The little girl in the picture smiled happily into the camera, the golden field of flowers around her was the same color as her dress. "This is my little niece, Relena Tudor." The brown-haired girl tried to breathe, couldn't, and forced herself to remain still, almost swaying on her feet. It wasn't a coincidence, the little girl's title, the look in the man's eyes told her that. //They're naming their children, naming them after me. Oh, I can't do this. I just can't do this.// "We're fighting this war only because they're fighting this war, Your Highness. As soon as its over, the moment it ends, we'll disarm completely, and gladly join the Sank kingdom in peace. I look forward to that day, and it's what will keep me going, until then." The dark-haired man smiled, tucking the picture back over his heart. "We want an end to war, Miss Peacecraft. We truly want a world with no war. I just have to insure that my family lives long enough to see it." With those words, he turned away from her, and died. ----------------------------------- It happened that fast, without warning, so quickly that Relena couldn't even react. The scream leapt from her throat as a reflexive reaction to the sound of the gunshot, before she even knew what was happening. It hung in the air, as blood, bone and blobs of gray suddenly spattered the front of her dress uniform. The dark-haired man stood motionless for a moment, frozen with Relena and the rest of reality in complete shock, and then slumped to the ground. Relena could hear her breath shivering its way out of her lungs, she heard her own tiny gasps of terror, but it was all strangely distant, almost lost to her. The Relena that was frozen in panic was just not her. All her focus was fixated on the pool of blood, under what was left of the man's head, the thick, red liquid slowly spreading over the gray-white marble, sticking the remaining strands of dark hair to the balcony floor. Relena drew her hands up to her mouth, threw them back down to her side in horror, as she realized she was completely covered in gore. It took only a moment for the scene to turn into total chaos. The brown-haired girl could hear screaming all around her, saw a few blurs as people ran past, looked into the eyes of a few people who turned her way, but she couldn't think, or speak, or move. "Relena! Relena!" Out of a haze of shock, she discovered that Zechs was there. He was shaking her slightly, or maybe he was only trembling as he hugged her, still whispering her name. Relena could feel Noin's hand on her waist, quickly brushing across her body, making sure none of the blood was hers. "Relena?! Relena, are you all right?!" Zechs was staring at her, his blue eyes were wide and frightened. She thought she heard Quatre's voice as well, but couldn't see him, and no more speak to any of them than she could to Heero. //I needed him and he left me. He left me. Everyone leaves. I'm afraid. I'm afraid I'm falling, and there's no one left to catch me.// "Relena!?! Relena, answer me!" --------------------------------------- Zechs swiftly carried her into an inner room, leaving her only after Noin swore to stay by her side and a double guard was posted at both the door and the end of the hall. Relena fumbled with the clasps on her buttoned undercoat until a pair of calm hands brushed hers away, quickly undoing the buttons her trembling hands could barely touch. Noin quickly rid Relena of her bloody clothes, carefully led her to a hot shower, and left her under the water. //I can't feel it. I can't feel anything.// She was still shaking, even under the nearly burning water, and though she knew Noin was standing just outside the door, the brown-haired girl felt as if she were the last person on earth. //I can't feel the water. I can't feel anything. I'm still back there. I can't stop it. I can't make it go away.// The last few seconds of the man's life played over and over in her head like a record skipping, stuck fast on the same groove. All she could see was the sight of him whole one moment, and broken and dead in the next... //I can't handle this. God help me, I can't. I can't handle this - I can't I can't.// Relena stepped out of the shower, slowly dried off. By the time she was done, the brown-haired girl barely had the strength to pull her robe around her, almost couldn't tie the waistband together. "Noin?" Relena watched her friend look up as she walked out of the bathroom. "Relena, I swear, it's going to be fine. We've sealed the palace. You don't have to worry, you're safe." The woman looked terribly shaken, much paler than usual under her dark hair. "Nowhere is safe anymore, Noin. I want to see Dorothy." "Relena." Noin frowned. "Are you sure that's wise?" "Bring her here. Please." ---------------------------- Dorothy took the stairs by twos, didn't bother with the spaces in the walls of the west garden's low hedges and brick walls, vaulting over them as if they weren't there at all. She was grateful that she was wearing her workout clothes, and not her school uniform. Other than that, her thoughts were an unintelligible blur of fear. A soldier's eyes widened as she passed, but she ignored him, even when he called out her name. It could wait, whatever it was, all of it could wait. Her heartbeat timed out the name that thrummed through her veins, roaring in her ears. Relena. Relena. Relena. //I'm coming. Hold on. I'll be there.// "Dorothy!" She halted instantly as Zechs Marquise approached, his stern frown and serious nature not hiding the fact that his calm was barely controlled, and the edges of his expression were hedged in fear. "Where is Relena?" "She's in the second chamber's guest's quarters, in the inner rooms. She requested your presence." He paused. "Of course, you already knew that." Dorothy blinked, eyes narrowing. There was something she didn't like in his tone, in the way his eyes flashed when he looked at her. She had found out about the assassination through her own inner channels, her paid informants - and Zechs knew it. "Do you have something you want to say to me?" The duke of Sank looked up one end of the hallway, and then the other, making sure they were alone. Before Dorothy could move, he reached out and grabbed the back of her head, wrapping his fingers in her hair and nearly pulling her off her feet as he slammed her against the wall. "I guess that's a yes." she croaked, daring a grin. Zechs looked as if he wanted to break every one of her bones, twice. "My sister has too much to handle already, to have to deal with you. Leave her alone, Dorothy. Stop whatever scheme you're thinking of before /I/ have to get involved." He leaned in close, she could see his Adam's apple bob, saw the fear-fired hatred in his eyes. "If you hurt my sister, I swear... whatever it takes, I'll kill you. I'll hunt you for the rest of your life, and I'll make sure you suffer before you die." A soldier suddenly appeared at the end of the hall, yelled his name, and Zechs released her and walked away without looking back. Dorothy stared after him for a moment, slightly surprised, but annoyed rather than afraid. //Great. He's /exactly/ what I need right now. Idiot.// The blonde turned away, and continued running down the hall, following the posts of guards, one after another, all the way to the door, to Relena's side. ---------------------------------------- Lieutenant Noin was standing at Relena's side when Dorothy walked into the room. Dorothy suppressed a silent groan of frustration. //Oh rapture. Now I get to deal with the other guard dog.// Relena looked like hell, the form-fitting silk robe she wore overemphasized her already too-thin frame, and her hair was disheveled, still wet and hanging completely free down her back. The brown-haired girl looked at her dully for a moment, and Dorothy's heart seized up with fear. //She doesn't know me. It's like she doesn't even know me...// After a moment, Relena gave her a pitifully thin, almost painful smile. Her voice was a husky, barren whisper as she turned to the dark-haired woman. "Noin, can you please leave us alone for a while? I'll call you if I need anything." Noin looked at Relena for a moment in surprise, before her eyes turned to Dorothy. The blonde watched them narrow in suspicion, and anger, containing a violence to easily match Zechs. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Relena." "Please." Relena's voice didn't rise, but it contained a note of desperation, the sudden, frightened sound of a woman at the end of her rope. Noin looked at her again, and nodded sharply. "I'll be right outside. If you need... anything." The dark-haired woman gave Dorothy a long warning glance, her eyes as hard as stone chips, and walked out the door, finally leaving the two girls alone.
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