Categories > Anime/Manga > Gundam Wing > Mistaken Words
The End of a Dream
0 reviewsA lone tear trailed down her angelic features, and she scrubbed at it harshly , her determination settling into a cold fire. No more would she weep over that man.
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Mistaken Words
Thanks again to Pious Knight for editing this story for me ^_^ wouldn't be here without you! And to neekabe for you're continued suggestions! ^_^
Disclaimer: don't own
The End of a Dream
The screamed died in her throat as a gloved hand closed over her mouth, and the other arm pulled her tightly against a strong chest. She struggled franticly in the dark azure eyes rolling around in pure terror. The grip that held her was like iron, nothing at all seemed to give, her body shrieked at her to continue the struggle, while her mind spoke more sensibly fighting would only drain her strength something she would definitely need for later. Slowly Relena managed to bring her body under her control bit by bit. Her assailant did nothing during this time, but hold her firmly to him, had it not been for the arms, she might have thought she were imagining the whole things.
~/This is the missing man/- Relena thought, terror still causing her heart to race; -/But how had he known about the tree?/~ her mind was not working clear enough to even try and decipher the mystery. Breathing in what was supposed to be a calming breath, Relena caught a scent, which did nothing to ease her racing heart. She knew the scent, had smelled it dozens of times before, it was raw untamed, not something that could be recreated by colognes. It was Heero Yuy.
The realisation of this, sent waves of shock coursing through her veins, and Relena secede to breath, her mind threatened to shut down, and she fought to stay in control. The hand that had been clamped over her mouth withdrew, giving her access to the fresh air, yet for a few scarce seconds; her lungs remained empty, as her eyes focused upon nothing. Heero Yuy, the man she would have given her life to protect, had loved with every ounce of her being, was there, with her, and a part of the Free Born. Her world shattered at that very thought, as three years of hoping came crashing down about her, it was not a dream, and it could never be considered so again.
Heero Yuy was indeed the man, who tried to assassinate her. Relena felt like screaming in defiance of the whole world, and at the same time breaking down in defeat. This was not the way it was supposed to happen, there could be no fairy tale ending now. Reality had taken over, and no matter how she wanted to, she could not just throw it aside. There was nothing else that could be done, but to accept it.
The grip that Heero had around her waist loosened, when the fight had left her body, and slowly he pulled it away, moving back from her. Relena leaned forward for a minute, drawing in deep breaths, which shuddered on the verge of sobs, yet somehow she managed to keep in control. One hand worked its way along the ground through the dark, searching for the flashlight that had been left in easy reach. Once her fingers made contact, Relena pulled the object back to her, and gradually turned to face the man she had once shared so much with. To her cerulean eyes, he was nothing more than a darker shadow, but she intended to see differently, Relena wanted to see him as he was now, so she could stop remembering what he had been.
Switching on the light she aimed it at him, causing his prussian eyes to squint. Relena's breath caught in the back of her throat, at the sight of him. He had not grown all that much since she last lay eyes upon him, and was only perhaps an inch taller than herself, though he had filled out a good deal, appearing amazingly strong, just kneeling there. She could not pull her eyes away from his, as they adjusted to the light and opened more fully. All Relena could notice was how cold and lifeless they were now; more so than they had been during the war. It tore at her heart to look at him, no matter how cold he was or could become; she would always remember what he had been, and the pain that he had caused. Two tears slid down her face as she continued to study him, it hurt so much.
She wondered at how he could have known about the cottage. Relena was positive that it had been Heero to lead the Free Born there. He was the only one who could have known, but how? There had been no records of the building production; the pilots had done everything themselves. Had Heero been there the whole time, had he watched everything? Did he know of their games of hide and seek, which they had ended up playing so often? Relena of course had no answers to these question, probably never would. She could not help speculating, what it was that Heero had sacrificed to become so good, that even the other pilots no longer sensed his presence.
For a long time the merely stared at one another, the tracks of liquid that her tears had caused evaporated, and with them any hope of awakening from this nightmare. He said nothing to her in those moments, and did not even really appear to be looking at her. A tiny portion of Relena actually wanted him to say something anything, but no words left his mouth. He shouldered his assault rifle in a less than subtle gesture, and motioned mutely for her to go back the way she had come. Her light blue eyes fell upon the radio that was her only link to the pilots, if only she could get them a quick message, but that was impossible now. With a sigh of frustration Relena did as her silent captor instructed, forcing the snow-covered board out of the way, and climbing back out into the night.
The forest that enclosed them was not nearly so silent as it had been when she first escaped the cottage, she could see flashes of light through the fog of snow, and men shouted back and forth to one another. Heero coming up behind her without a sound took hold of her arm with a tight grip, and began walking back towards the cottage. There was not a hint of hesitation in his steps, he knew his way as though he had lived her his entire life. Relena remained silent; knowing in her heart that conversation on her part would go nowhere, Heero's clear intention was to deliver her back to Ash. She wondered about that, why would he return her to the man, when three years ago he had wanted her dead? What had changer him during that time?
Soon the voiced, which moments before had been distant, sounded as though they were right on top of her. A soldier, wielding his gun as though it were an extenuation of his body, came into sight then, skidding to a halt when he saw who was with the runaway princess. "Ash, we've found her..." Relena recognised the voice as that of the man who came to speak with Ash in the kitchen.
"Good bring her back to the house," Ash's voice crackled over the radio.
"He's with her..."
Relena caught the sound of what might have been laughter on Ash's end, "Even better."
The soldier motioned for them to go before him, but Heero did not move, his grip upon her arm tightened; and Relena could feel the air about them cool, as the traitor levelled an icy glare at the other man. For several moments she was terrified that the stand-off would come to blows, the soldier did not seem to trust Heero in the least, and the former pilot was not about to relinquish and power that he had. Finally Ash's man turned and walked off into the woods, shoulders set firmly, he was not pleased. This seemed odd to Relena, were they not working on the same side? Should they have not been allies? Ash did not seem to have any problems with the Japanese man; perhaps it was because Ash had some form of respect for Heero. She could not of course say with any certainty, there were simply to many unknowns in this matter.
Heero moved forward once more, pushing her none too gently as he did. She resisted the urge to look over to his face, knowing that it would only cause her more pain, something she had more than enough of. Instead she walked as though she were on her own, nevertheless that was difficult since the snow threatened to trip her at every turn, especially with the pace that he had set. Relena noticed though the corner of one eye that Heero was having no such trouble with his movements. It did not take them long to reach the fair sized cottage, shielded as if it were the only building in the world.
It was not long before Relena once more found herself within the confines of her home, now prison. She had half expected Ash to be there waiting, but the foyer was empty. As Relena slowly removed her coat and carefully hung it on the wall, she glanced up the stairs, and shuddered, as she saw the silhouettes of men bearing arms. This was no dream. The man that had lead them, moved down the flight of stairs, which led to the basement without a word, leaving her alone in Heero's presence. Turning from the closet Relena shook out her wet hair, and came face to face with Heero's dark features. She flinched at the sight of him, she had known he was there, only had not expected him to be that close.
There were no words, just a small gesture with his weapon for her to move forward. Relena tore her eyes away from his, and moved up the stairs, entering the empty kitchen. Sounds of the fire crackling from living room drifted in, along with quiet conversations. They moved on through, to the den, where both Anderson and Ryan jumped to their feet at the sight of her. She smiled reassuringly for them, yet it did little good, when they saw who was following her. As Heero stepped around the corner, there was no moment of surprise, only pure hatred for the man they had once trusted. Anderson looked as though he would attack, had it not been for the numerous weapons aimed at his heart.
"You bastard!!" growled Derrick, as he seethed in rage.
Relena could feel the situation sliding fast down a cliff, which would cost at least two men their lives. She stepped forward quickly, trying to draw their attention to her, "Remember your promise!" They did not seem to hear her, "Tom, Derrick!" forcefully she called their names, this time they did looked to her, and she did not miss the fire that burned in the backs of their eyes. "You promised, no violence."
Seeing her worried face, took some effect on their raging emotions, and their eyes dropped, but Relena could still tell that this was far from ended. One of the guards came forward then, and spoke briefly with Heero; she watched the man's expression, not noting any outward signs of hatred. So Heero was not despised by all. Her stay in the living room was not long, as Heero quickly began walking towards the opposite end, with Relena out in front. She just barely caught the seething looks both guards directed his way, but there was nothing the men could or would do, at least not yet, so she put it from her mind.
They moved up the stairs together in silence, Relena felt a burn in between her shoulder blades; she did not know if is was caused by Heero's eyes or the fact that a attempted assassin was following behind her, armed. Either way she forced that too from her mind, Relena knew she could not afford distractions. The hall upstairs was shadow filled none of the lights turned on, it was not however pitch black; as faint light from one of the sitting rooms spilled out of the half opened doorway. It was to this door that Heero moved her. He still had said nothing to her, or gave any indication that he really saw her, for all his reactions she might have been just any woman he passed. For some reason that tore through her light a knife. Furthermore his presence around her felt more ethereal than real, it was then that she realised why, and how he had slipped the pilots notice; he had sold his soul.
With nowhere to go but forward Relena walked before him, sock feet making not a sound on the polished wood floors. Crossing the threshold of her sitting room, Relena was not at all surprised to find Ash sitting back, looking as relaxed as ever. She noticed that he did not appear to be in the least bit displeased with her, there was even a tiny smile upon his face as they walked in. "Ah princes glad to have you back with us, I had not realised that my company would be so displeasing to you that you would actually try and escape." The worst of it was he actually sounded serious.
Relena returned his smile with one of her own, though hers was a great deal more condescending, and took a seat in the room. Ash turned his attention to Heero who stood by the door, "Where had you been?"
"Covering your mistake," he said in icy tones. His voice sent a shiver down her spine, she had not thought his words could be more devoid of life.
Ash's head came up; "You knew about the escape rout didn't you?" it was less a question and more an accusation. "Why didn't you say anything?"
His broad shoulders lifted in a disinterested shrug, "You never asked."
"Well is there anything else you'd care to add now?" The look Heero directed at the man was death, yet it did not seem to have any effect on Ash; as though he had seen this look more than once before. A few moments passed before the man turned his attention to Relena who had sat silently through it all. "I promised you that we would not harm you."
She nodded, "And I believe you," it was an effort, but she managed to keep from glancing at Heero, yet she found it disconcerting that he could be in the same room and she could not sense his presence.
The simple man leaned forward, "Then why the sudden flight?"
"I might have trust in your promises, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to willingly allow you to take me hostage for some purpose unknown to me." She delivered the words with all the calm and dignity expected in someone of her rank.
"You gave your word princes," he continued voice smooth.
Relena scoffed at that, "No," she shook her head, "I never did, I only got Derrick and Tom to."
Ash thought back for a moment, "So true," he whispered. "Well I hope there will be no more of this, we may be here for a while and I can't be having you running off ever time I turn around. I don't want to confine you, but if I have to I will."
"I understand," she breathed, internally marvelling at Ash's nature, such an unexpected breath of fresh air, to the normal type of men who would want her taken hostage.
He gave her a bright smile, as he stood; his long strides brought him to the door in four steps, "Jake!" he called down the hall to the den. "Unfortunately after this little escapade I can't afford to leave you alone," he said turning back to face her. Second later a plain looking man walked in eyes immediately locking on Ash, whose eyes were still on Relena. "Princes, this gentlemen will be your escort until we can leave. I assure you he is honourable, and will respect your privacy as much as he can give to you." He motioned for her to come over, seeing that she had no other choice she did, "Now if you'll excuse us I need to speak with Heero alone." She nodded mutely, and with a glance at her new bodyguard Relena left the room.
*
Ash stood for a moment in the doorway, silently watching the young woman walk down the hall, back towards the living room. His mind turning over, all that had just happened; he had not expected the princess to be so well equipped. Though he supposed he should have known that there would be some escape, after all Relena was one of the most important people in the world, which put her safety above everything else. Ash found her intriguing, nothing seemed to frighten her, and somehow she always managed to retain some form of control over a situation. He could see now why Dante respected her so much.
With a shake of his head Ash brought himself out of his thoughts and silently closed the door. Though the corner of one eyes he scrutinised Heero, who had not moved an inch since he came into the room. Ash found it unnerving how still he could be; there were times when he was not even aware that Heero had entered a room. In no great rush Ash made his way back across the small room to the seat he had previously occupied. The silence in the room continued as Ash continued to consider the younger man, who seemed not even to acknowledge his presence.
He had known Heero for four years, during that time he had come to know no more about the Japanese man, than that he had fought in the war, and was once Relena's bodyguard.
Until that is, he attempted to assassinate her. On that subject Heero was more closed mouth than on any other, Ash had tried to discover his reasons for her death, yet all he was met with were death glares and utter silence. It was disturbing that someone so young could be so good, so cold; it was almost as if he was not human. Ash often wondered what could have caused Heero to abandon his humanity, or was it stolen from him? Questions floated about the young man, just like silence.
"Dante wants her delivered unharmed..." Ash began breaking the void of silence, which had filled the room.
"What are you getting at?" Heero cut in, voice harsh yet still managing to be lacking in emotion.
Ash put up both hands in a calming gesture; "Nothing just restating the facts, besides the way you look right now I have no idea what your planing next" somehow he had crossed a line, one that he could not see, nor did he know the consequences. "Not that I ever really do," he added more to himself.
"I know my mission!" the cold man turned as if he intended on leaving the room.
"Heero, why didn't you tell me about the escape?" he asked again, halting Heero in his tracks, "And I know it has nothing to do with my not asking, you gave more than enough information on this place without prompting, so why not this?"
Heero moved back to where he had been standing, Ash had long ago become accustom to the younger man's unfeeling eyes, but even he had to shudder at what he found in them today. They were dead, there was no other way to describe them, had Heero not been breathing Ash would have thought him a walking corpse for the amount of life found in those prussian orbs. "I had my reasons."
"What were they?" Ash was quick to ask back truly curious.
Without a word, Heero turned to leave moving for the first time since he had stopped in the room. There was a great tension in his shoulder, something that Ash was able to pick up, but would probably be missed by others; it was not very noticeable. He knew that he had struck something deep within the fighters, but he had no idea what, and knew there was not likely to find out. Heero was not one to share his emotions with other or anything for that matter. "Hey" Ash called to the retreating figure, "How's your hand?"
"What?" Heero stopped, half turning to look back at Ash.
"Your hand, the one you used to slow your fall..." he gestured to the damaged glove, with one hand.
Heero drew the appendage in question up in front of him, slowly drawing the glove off his fingers, revealing angry red burns on both his palm and fingers. "It's fine," he growled pulling the scared material back over his hand.
Ash came to his feet, chair-scraping back on the wood floors; "Can I see it?" the question was delivered with some concern, which only gained him a silent glare.
"Don't worry about it," he grated.
"Alright," Ash agreed as he walked passed, "Just do yourself a favour, put something on that before it gets infected." He did not wait for a response, not expecting one, and simply opened the door and walked out, leaving Heero to his own thoughts. This would not be an easy time, he had no idea how long they would be trapped in the cottage, and Heero was by no means in a mood to be caught in closed quarters with anyone.
His thick boots slammed against the floors echoing down the hall in both directions, unlike Heero Ash did not feel the need to be stealthy at all times. He did not like surprising people when it was not necessary. Ash did not think Heero took some perverse joy out of watching people jump out of their skin, only he did not consider moving in any other way than dead silence. Walking out into the den Ash scanned over the men sitting and standing about the room. He was happy to note that Relena's bodyguards had kept their word, and were still calmly waiting for the situation to change. Ideally Ash wanted to get in and out of this mission without any bloodshed, there was no reason for violence.
As he entered the room Relena came to her feet, from where she had been kneeling before her guards, speaking in quiet tones. The wood in the fireplace sparked and popped as she walked across to stand in front of him. "There are five bedrooms besides mine," she said almost as if she were offering them to him, "I hope you don't intend to stay out here the whole time."
"I thank you," he smiled bowing forward slightly, this earned him a diminutive frown, Relena did not seem to appreciate his polite behaviour. "My men and I are used to sleeping in all kinds of conditions but a bed it always preferred."
She smiled, and he marvelled at its beauty, wondering what fault Heero could have found in her that could only be solved with the taking of her life. "Goodnight then," Relena walked past regally, Jake following three steps behind, he nodded as he passed Ash though his eyes never left the princess.
Ash turned back towards his men, ears listening to Relena's footsteps above, they were light, and graceful, barely perceivable through the thick wood. "Kyle, Toby," he called softly bring his full attention to the room he was standing in, "I want you to take Relena's guards upstairs, let them rest, someone will come in to relieve you during the night." Both men nodded in acceptance of his orders and without words got their charges moving. For their part Derrick and Tom moved without complaint though their eyes said more than enough. Ash kept his fingers crossed that these men would not feel the need to prove their loyalty to Relena, in an act that could very well cost them their lives.
Taking a few steps deeper into the room, Ash reached down lifting into his hands the assault rifle that he had left there more than an hour ago. He did not like the weapon, though he could see it's uses, what he hated most was the idea that he held something in his hands that could take the lives of hundreds without so much as a second thought, if he were so inclined. No he did not like weaponry of this sort, but he had realised long ago that in certain situations, these means were necessary to bring about the changes that you sought. Ash turned his gaze away from the mat black metal, "Alright I want two shifts formed..."
*
Relena made her way slowly down the upper halls of her home, she was not really sure where it was that she was heading, but all the while she was aware of the man following a few steps back. Turning her head just enough to catch the man's movements in her peripheral vision Relena considered him. She did not like the idea of an unknown man trailing her silently; he had done nothing to disprove the assurances that Ash had given to her, yet it was disconcerting. Her thoughts continued to wander as she walked, it was not likely that anything would change with the men holding her hostage for several days. The snow was still falling heavily, and in the mountains it was hard to say how long a storm could last. They would not be able to leave until it cleared.
That gave her time, unfortunately there was nothing that she could do with that gift. The escape that she had used before, was not the only one, the Gundam pilots would not have trusted her safety to only one secret exit. However with the guard trailing her footsteps Relena knew she could have no chance of achieving the desired end. Not to mention the fact that Heero was there, he had known of the first secret, there was nothing saying he did not know of others. A shudder ran down Relena's spine at the thought of the former pilot. In a way she was still in shock from their first meeting, so many distant fears had been realised, and hopes crushed, that she could not yet bring herself to acknowledge it.
The sensible side of Relena urged her to accept what had happened and move on, there was no changing the past, she could only face the future. That was a large step to take, to place aside three years of dreams, half of them never even recognised, yet Relena knew it was something that she would have to do sometime. A soft noise down the hall caught her ear and she looked up away from the dismal thoughts, which had consumed her. Glancing back at her 'shadow' Relena strode forward, in the direction of the sound. The soft lights of the halls had been turned on casting tiny shadows here and there, as the gentle glow admitted its inability to penetrate solid objects.
Relena came to a stop outside the bathroom door which had been closed most of the way. Curiosity too her, as she reached out with one small hand to push the wooden door open further, to reveal, who stood on the other side. To Relena surprise the pale light fell upon Heero, as he rummaged through the drawers and cupboards in search of something. For a time Relena simply stood there watching him, fully knowing that he was aware of her presence, he merely chose to ignore it. Her left hand moved without thought and switched the lights on, causing Heero to stop his search for a brief moment that he used to glance in her direction.
"What are you looking for?" she could not keep the ice from her voice as she spoke to him, one hand moving to her slender hips.
He did not look at her long before he returned to his hunt, eyes nothing more than prussian orbs, no life, feeling, or direction could be glimpsed from their icy depths. Frustration gripped Relena as she studied him, he acted as though she were not standing there, the woman he had attempted to kill. She felt that for that she at least deserved some form of explanation, yet that did not seem likely to happen. "If you tell me what it is you want I can tell you where it is," she grated with a sigh.
Yet whatever it was Heero was searching for, he found, pulling a medium sized bundle out of the back of one cupboard, he gripped it tightly in his hand, as he turned back to the door. Relena did not miss the way his eyes treated her as though she was not even there; they seemed to see around or through her. His lean features were dangerous as he moved to walk past her, almost seeming to dare her to stand in his way. She wisely stepped aside, "Why won't you speak to me?!" Relena demanded as she moved aside to let him pass unhindered, there was simply no way she was willing to stop him.
Out through the corner of one eye Heero regarded her, "Why should I?" he did not wait for a response but walked past carrying the first aid kit in his hand.
Relena scrutinised his back as he disappeared down the hall, her feelings a jumble within her. She wanted answers so badly, and yet was too terrified to find them, ~/Would it not be simpler to just face facts and move on?/~ Relena asked herself, and her anger rose the more that she considered the present situation. A lone tear trailed down her angelic features, and she scrubbed at it harshly, her determination settling into a cold fire. No more would she weep over that man.
Thanks again to everyone who's read this story ^_^
Nowhere To Run:
Cursing in his native tongue Heero raked one hand through his unruly hair. Ash had no doubts that the younger man was aware of his proximity, yet Heero could do a magnificent job ignoring someone. Only a true fool would take this behavior as a sign of distraction, Ash was not aware that anything could distract such an intense man from his goal. The inevitable outcome of this 'mission' was Heero finding what he sought, moments later the young man pulled a bottle of whiskey from off the shelf. He drew the full bottle before his eyes, inspecting it, turning it over slowly in his hands. He was considering, he always did.
Morganeth Taren'drel
Thanks again to Pious Knight for editing this story for me ^_^ wouldn't be here without you! And to neekabe for you're continued suggestions! ^_^
Disclaimer: don't own
The End of a Dream
The screamed died in her throat as a gloved hand closed over her mouth, and the other arm pulled her tightly against a strong chest. She struggled franticly in the dark azure eyes rolling around in pure terror. The grip that held her was like iron, nothing at all seemed to give, her body shrieked at her to continue the struggle, while her mind spoke more sensibly fighting would only drain her strength something she would definitely need for later. Slowly Relena managed to bring her body under her control bit by bit. Her assailant did nothing during this time, but hold her firmly to him, had it not been for the arms, she might have thought she were imagining the whole things.
~/This is the missing man/- Relena thought, terror still causing her heart to race; -/But how had he known about the tree?/~ her mind was not working clear enough to even try and decipher the mystery. Breathing in what was supposed to be a calming breath, Relena caught a scent, which did nothing to ease her racing heart. She knew the scent, had smelled it dozens of times before, it was raw untamed, not something that could be recreated by colognes. It was Heero Yuy.
The realisation of this, sent waves of shock coursing through her veins, and Relena secede to breath, her mind threatened to shut down, and she fought to stay in control. The hand that had been clamped over her mouth withdrew, giving her access to the fresh air, yet for a few scarce seconds; her lungs remained empty, as her eyes focused upon nothing. Heero Yuy, the man she would have given her life to protect, had loved with every ounce of her being, was there, with her, and a part of the Free Born. Her world shattered at that very thought, as three years of hoping came crashing down about her, it was not a dream, and it could never be considered so again.
Heero Yuy was indeed the man, who tried to assassinate her. Relena felt like screaming in defiance of the whole world, and at the same time breaking down in defeat. This was not the way it was supposed to happen, there could be no fairy tale ending now. Reality had taken over, and no matter how she wanted to, she could not just throw it aside. There was nothing else that could be done, but to accept it.
The grip that Heero had around her waist loosened, when the fight had left her body, and slowly he pulled it away, moving back from her. Relena leaned forward for a minute, drawing in deep breaths, which shuddered on the verge of sobs, yet somehow she managed to keep in control. One hand worked its way along the ground through the dark, searching for the flashlight that had been left in easy reach. Once her fingers made contact, Relena pulled the object back to her, and gradually turned to face the man she had once shared so much with. To her cerulean eyes, he was nothing more than a darker shadow, but she intended to see differently, Relena wanted to see him as he was now, so she could stop remembering what he had been.
Switching on the light she aimed it at him, causing his prussian eyes to squint. Relena's breath caught in the back of her throat, at the sight of him. He had not grown all that much since she last lay eyes upon him, and was only perhaps an inch taller than herself, though he had filled out a good deal, appearing amazingly strong, just kneeling there. She could not pull her eyes away from his, as they adjusted to the light and opened more fully. All Relena could notice was how cold and lifeless they were now; more so than they had been during the war. It tore at her heart to look at him, no matter how cold he was or could become; she would always remember what he had been, and the pain that he had caused. Two tears slid down her face as she continued to study him, it hurt so much.
She wondered at how he could have known about the cottage. Relena was positive that it had been Heero to lead the Free Born there. He was the only one who could have known, but how? There had been no records of the building production; the pilots had done everything themselves. Had Heero been there the whole time, had he watched everything? Did he know of their games of hide and seek, which they had ended up playing so often? Relena of course had no answers to these question, probably never would. She could not help speculating, what it was that Heero had sacrificed to become so good, that even the other pilots no longer sensed his presence.
For a long time the merely stared at one another, the tracks of liquid that her tears had caused evaporated, and with them any hope of awakening from this nightmare. He said nothing to her in those moments, and did not even really appear to be looking at her. A tiny portion of Relena actually wanted him to say something anything, but no words left his mouth. He shouldered his assault rifle in a less than subtle gesture, and motioned mutely for her to go back the way she had come. Her light blue eyes fell upon the radio that was her only link to the pilots, if only she could get them a quick message, but that was impossible now. With a sigh of frustration Relena did as her silent captor instructed, forcing the snow-covered board out of the way, and climbing back out into the night.
The forest that enclosed them was not nearly so silent as it had been when she first escaped the cottage, she could see flashes of light through the fog of snow, and men shouted back and forth to one another. Heero coming up behind her without a sound took hold of her arm with a tight grip, and began walking back towards the cottage. There was not a hint of hesitation in his steps, he knew his way as though he had lived her his entire life. Relena remained silent; knowing in her heart that conversation on her part would go nowhere, Heero's clear intention was to deliver her back to Ash. She wondered about that, why would he return her to the man, when three years ago he had wanted her dead? What had changer him during that time?
Soon the voiced, which moments before had been distant, sounded as though they were right on top of her. A soldier, wielding his gun as though it were an extenuation of his body, came into sight then, skidding to a halt when he saw who was with the runaway princess. "Ash, we've found her..." Relena recognised the voice as that of the man who came to speak with Ash in the kitchen.
"Good bring her back to the house," Ash's voice crackled over the radio.
"He's with her..."
Relena caught the sound of what might have been laughter on Ash's end, "Even better."
The soldier motioned for them to go before him, but Heero did not move, his grip upon her arm tightened; and Relena could feel the air about them cool, as the traitor levelled an icy glare at the other man. For several moments she was terrified that the stand-off would come to blows, the soldier did not seem to trust Heero in the least, and the former pilot was not about to relinquish and power that he had. Finally Ash's man turned and walked off into the woods, shoulders set firmly, he was not pleased. This seemed odd to Relena, were they not working on the same side? Should they have not been allies? Ash did not seem to have any problems with the Japanese man; perhaps it was because Ash had some form of respect for Heero. She could not of course say with any certainty, there were simply to many unknowns in this matter.
Heero moved forward once more, pushing her none too gently as he did. She resisted the urge to look over to his face, knowing that it would only cause her more pain, something she had more than enough of. Instead she walked as though she were on her own, nevertheless that was difficult since the snow threatened to trip her at every turn, especially with the pace that he had set. Relena noticed though the corner of one eye that Heero was having no such trouble with his movements. It did not take them long to reach the fair sized cottage, shielded as if it were the only building in the world.
It was not long before Relena once more found herself within the confines of her home, now prison. She had half expected Ash to be there waiting, but the foyer was empty. As Relena slowly removed her coat and carefully hung it on the wall, she glanced up the stairs, and shuddered, as she saw the silhouettes of men bearing arms. This was no dream. The man that had lead them, moved down the flight of stairs, which led to the basement without a word, leaving her alone in Heero's presence. Turning from the closet Relena shook out her wet hair, and came face to face with Heero's dark features. She flinched at the sight of him, she had known he was there, only had not expected him to be that close.
There were no words, just a small gesture with his weapon for her to move forward. Relena tore her eyes away from his, and moved up the stairs, entering the empty kitchen. Sounds of the fire crackling from living room drifted in, along with quiet conversations. They moved on through, to the den, where both Anderson and Ryan jumped to their feet at the sight of her. She smiled reassuringly for them, yet it did little good, when they saw who was following her. As Heero stepped around the corner, there was no moment of surprise, only pure hatred for the man they had once trusted. Anderson looked as though he would attack, had it not been for the numerous weapons aimed at his heart.
"You bastard!!" growled Derrick, as he seethed in rage.
Relena could feel the situation sliding fast down a cliff, which would cost at least two men their lives. She stepped forward quickly, trying to draw their attention to her, "Remember your promise!" They did not seem to hear her, "Tom, Derrick!" forcefully she called their names, this time they did looked to her, and she did not miss the fire that burned in the backs of their eyes. "You promised, no violence."
Seeing her worried face, took some effect on their raging emotions, and their eyes dropped, but Relena could still tell that this was far from ended. One of the guards came forward then, and spoke briefly with Heero; she watched the man's expression, not noting any outward signs of hatred. So Heero was not despised by all. Her stay in the living room was not long, as Heero quickly began walking towards the opposite end, with Relena out in front. She just barely caught the seething looks both guards directed his way, but there was nothing the men could or would do, at least not yet, so she put it from her mind.
They moved up the stairs together in silence, Relena felt a burn in between her shoulder blades; she did not know if is was caused by Heero's eyes or the fact that a attempted assassin was following behind her, armed. Either way she forced that too from her mind, Relena knew she could not afford distractions. The hall upstairs was shadow filled none of the lights turned on, it was not however pitch black; as faint light from one of the sitting rooms spilled out of the half opened doorway. It was to this door that Heero moved her. He still had said nothing to her, or gave any indication that he really saw her, for all his reactions she might have been just any woman he passed. For some reason that tore through her light a knife. Furthermore his presence around her felt more ethereal than real, it was then that she realised why, and how he had slipped the pilots notice; he had sold his soul.
With nowhere to go but forward Relena walked before him, sock feet making not a sound on the polished wood floors. Crossing the threshold of her sitting room, Relena was not at all surprised to find Ash sitting back, looking as relaxed as ever. She noticed that he did not appear to be in the least bit displeased with her, there was even a tiny smile upon his face as they walked in. "Ah princes glad to have you back with us, I had not realised that my company would be so displeasing to you that you would actually try and escape." The worst of it was he actually sounded serious.
Relena returned his smile with one of her own, though hers was a great deal more condescending, and took a seat in the room. Ash turned his attention to Heero who stood by the door, "Where had you been?"
"Covering your mistake," he said in icy tones. His voice sent a shiver down her spine, she had not thought his words could be more devoid of life.
Ash's head came up; "You knew about the escape rout didn't you?" it was less a question and more an accusation. "Why didn't you say anything?"
His broad shoulders lifted in a disinterested shrug, "You never asked."
"Well is there anything else you'd care to add now?" The look Heero directed at the man was death, yet it did not seem to have any effect on Ash; as though he had seen this look more than once before. A few moments passed before the man turned his attention to Relena who had sat silently through it all. "I promised you that we would not harm you."
She nodded, "And I believe you," it was an effort, but she managed to keep from glancing at Heero, yet she found it disconcerting that he could be in the same room and she could not sense his presence.
The simple man leaned forward, "Then why the sudden flight?"
"I might have trust in your promises, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to willingly allow you to take me hostage for some purpose unknown to me." She delivered the words with all the calm and dignity expected in someone of her rank.
"You gave your word princes," he continued voice smooth.
Relena scoffed at that, "No," she shook her head, "I never did, I only got Derrick and Tom to."
Ash thought back for a moment, "So true," he whispered. "Well I hope there will be no more of this, we may be here for a while and I can't be having you running off ever time I turn around. I don't want to confine you, but if I have to I will."
"I understand," she breathed, internally marvelling at Ash's nature, such an unexpected breath of fresh air, to the normal type of men who would want her taken hostage.
He gave her a bright smile, as he stood; his long strides brought him to the door in four steps, "Jake!" he called down the hall to the den. "Unfortunately after this little escapade I can't afford to leave you alone," he said turning back to face her. Second later a plain looking man walked in eyes immediately locking on Ash, whose eyes were still on Relena. "Princes, this gentlemen will be your escort until we can leave. I assure you he is honourable, and will respect your privacy as much as he can give to you." He motioned for her to come over, seeing that she had no other choice she did, "Now if you'll excuse us I need to speak with Heero alone." She nodded mutely, and with a glance at her new bodyguard Relena left the room.
*
Ash stood for a moment in the doorway, silently watching the young woman walk down the hall, back towards the living room. His mind turning over, all that had just happened; he had not expected the princess to be so well equipped. Though he supposed he should have known that there would be some escape, after all Relena was one of the most important people in the world, which put her safety above everything else. Ash found her intriguing, nothing seemed to frighten her, and somehow she always managed to retain some form of control over a situation. He could see now why Dante respected her so much.
With a shake of his head Ash brought himself out of his thoughts and silently closed the door. Though the corner of one eyes he scrutinised Heero, who had not moved an inch since he came into the room. Ash found it unnerving how still he could be; there were times when he was not even aware that Heero had entered a room. In no great rush Ash made his way back across the small room to the seat he had previously occupied. The silence in the room continued as Ash continued to consider the younger man, who seemed not even to acknowledge his presence.
He had known Heero for four years, during that time he had come to know no more about the Japanese man, than that he had fought in the war, and was once Relena's bodyguard.
Until that is, he attempted to assassinate her. On that subject Heero was more closed mouth than on any other, Ash had tried to discover his reasons for her death, yet all he was met with were death glares and utter silence. It was disturbing that someone so young could be so good, so cold; it was almost as if he was not human. Ash often wondered what could have caused Heero to abandon his humanity, or was it stolen from him? Questions floated about the young man, just like silence.
"Dante wants her delivered unharmed..." Ash began breaking the void of silence, which had filled the room.
"What are you getting at?" Heero cut in, voice harsh yet still managing to be lacking in emotion.
Ash put up both hands in a calming gesture; "Nothing just restating the facts, besides the way you look right now I have no idea what your planing next" somehow he had crossed a line, one that he could not see, nor did he know the consequences. "Not that I ever really do," he added more to himself.
"I know my mission!" the cold man turned as if he intended on leaving the room.
"Heero, why didn't you tell me about the escape?" he asked again, halting Heero in his tracks, "And I know it has nothing to do with my not asking, you gave more than enough information on this place without prompting, so why not this?"
Heero moved back to where he had been standing, Ash had long ago become accustom to the younger man's unfeeling eyes, but even he had to shudder at what he found in them today. They were dead, there was no other way to describe them, had Heero not been breathing Ash would have thought him a walking corpse for the amount of life found in those prussian orbs. "I had my reasons."
"What were they?" Ash was quick to ask back truly curious.
Without a word, Heero turned to leave moving for the first time since he had stopped in the room. There was a great tension in his shoulder, something that Ash was able to pick up, but would probably be missed by others; it was not very noticeable. He knew that he had struck something deep within the fighters, but he had no idea what, and knew there was not likely to find out. Heero was not one to share his emotions with other or anything for that matter. "Hey" Ash called to the retreating figure, "How's your hand?"
"What?" Heero stopped, half turning to look back at Ash.
"Your hand, the one you used to slow your fall..." he gestured to the damaged glove, with one hand.
Heero drew the appendage in question up in front of him, slowly drawing the glove off his fingers, revealing angry red burns on both his palm and fingers. "It's fine," he growled pulling the scared material back over his hand.
Ash came to his feet, chair-scraping back on the wood floors; "Can I see it?" the question was delivered with some concern, which only gained him a silent glare.
"Don't worry about it," he grated.
"Alright," Ash agreed as he walked passed, "Just do yourself a favour, put something on that before it gets infected." He did not wait for a response, not expecting one, and simply opened the door and walked out, leaving Heero to his own thoughts. This would not be an easy time, he had no idea how long they would be trapped in the cottage, and Heero was by no means in a mood to be caught in closed quarters with anyone.
His thick boots slammed against the floors echoing down the hall in both directions, unlike Heero Ash did not feel the need to be stealthy at all times. He did not like surprising people when it was not necessary. Ash did not think Heero took some perverse joy out of watching people jump out of their skin, only he did not consider moving in any other way than dead silence. Walking out into the den Ash scanned over the men sitting and standing about the room. He was happy to note that Relena's bodyguards had kept their word, and were still calmly waiting for the situation to change. Ideally Ash wanted to get in and out of this mission without any bloodshed, there was no reason for violence.
As he entered the room Relena came to her feet, from where she had been kneeling before her guards, speaking in quiet tones. The wood in the fireplace sparked and popped as she walked across to stand in front of him. "There are five bedrooms besides mine," she said almost as if she were offering them to him, "I hope you don't intend to stay out here the whole time."
"I thank you," he smiled bowing forward slightly, this earned him a diminutive frown, Relena did not seem to appreciate his polite behaviour. "My men and I are used to sleeping in all kinds of conditions but a bed it always preferred."
She smiled, and he marvelled at its beauty, wondering what fault Heero could have found in her that could only be solved with the taking of her life. "Goodnight then," Relena walked past regally, Jake following three steps behind, he nodded as he passed Ash though his eyes never left the princess.
Ash turned back towards his men, ears listening to Relena's footsteps above, they were light, and graceful, barely perceivable through the thick wood. "Kyle, Toby," he called softly bring his full attention to the room he was standing in, "I want you to take Relena's guards upstairs, let them rest, someone will come in to relieve you during the night." Both men nodded in acceptance of his orders and without words got their charges moving. For their part Derrick and Tom moved without complaint though their eyes said more than enough. Ash kept his fingers crossed that these men would not feel the need to prove their loyalty to Relena, in an act that could very well cost them their lives.
Taking a few steps deeper into the room, Ash reached down lifting into his hands the assault rifle that he had left there more than an hour ago. He did not like the weapon, though he could see it's uses, what he hated most was the idea that he held something in his hands that could take the lives of hundreds without so much as a second thought, if he were so inclined. No he did not like weaponry of this sort, but he had realised long ago that in certain situations, these means were necessary to bring about the changes that you sought. Ash turned his gaze away from the mat black metal, "Alright I want two shifts formed..."
*
Relena made her way slowly down the upper halls of her home, she was not really sure where it was that she was heading, but all the while she was aware of the man following a few steps back. Turning her head just enough to catch the man's movements in her peripheral vision Relena considered him. She did not like the idea of an unknown man trailing her silently; he had done nothing to disprove the assurances that Ash had given to her, yet it was disconcerting. Her thoughts continued to wander as she walked, it was not likely that anything would change with the men holding her hostage for several days. The snow was still falling heavily, and in the mountains it was hard to say how long a storm could last. They would not be able to leave until it cleared.
That gave her time, unfortunately there was nothing that she could do with that gift. The escape that she had used before, was not the only one, the Gundam pilots would not have trusted her safety to only one secret exit. However with the guard trailing her footsteps Relena knew she could have no chance of achieving the desired end. Not to mention the fact that Heero was there, he had known of the first secret, there was nothing saying he did not know of others. A shudder ran down Relena's spine at the thought of the former pilot. In a way she was still in shock from their first meeting, so many distant fears had been realised, and hopes crushed, that she could not yet bring herself to acknowledge it.
The sensible side of Relena urged her to accept what had happened and move on, there was no changing the past, she could only face the future. That was a large step to take, to place aside three years of dreams, half of them never even recognised, yet Relena knew it was something that she would have to do sometime. A soft noise down the hall caught her ear and she looked up away from the dismal thoughts, which had consumed her. Glancing back at her 'shadow' Relena strode forward, in the direction of the sound. The soft lights of the halls had been turned on casting tiny shadows here and there, as the gentle glow admitted its inability to penetrate solid objects.
Relena came to a stop outside the bathroom door which had been closed most of the way. Curiosity too her, as she reached out with one small hand to push the wooden door open further, to reveal, who stood on the other side. To Relena surprise the pale light fell upon Heero, as he rummaged through the drawers and cupboards in search of something. For a time Relena simply stood there watching him, fully knowing that he was aware of her presence, he merely chose to ignore it. Her left hand moved without thought and switched the lights on, causing Heero to stop his search for a brief moment that he used to glance in her direction.
"What are you looking for?" she could not keep the ice from her voice as she spoke to him, one hand moving to her slender hips.
He did not look at her long before he returned to his hunt, eyes nothing more than prussian orbs, no life, feeling, or direction could be glimpsed from their icy depths. Frustration gripped Relena as she studied him, he acted as though she were not standing there, the woman he had attempted to kill. She felt that for that she at least deserved some form of explanation, yet that did not seem likely to happen. "If you tell me what it is you want I can tell you where it is," she grated with a sigh.
Yet whatever it was Heero was searching for, he found, pulling a medium sized bundle out of the back of one cupboard, he gripped it tightly in his hand, as he turned back to the door. Relena did not miss the way his eyes treated her as though she was not even there; they seemed to see around or through her. His lean features were dangerous as he moved to walk past her, almost seeming to dare her to stand in his way. She wisely stepped aside, "Why won't you speak to me?!" Relena demanded as she moved aside to let him pass unhindered, there was simply no way she was willing to stop him.
Out through the corner of one eye Heero regarded her, "Why should I?" he did not wait for a response but walked past carrying the first aid kit in his hand.
Relena scrutinised his back as he disappeared down the hall, her feelings a jumble within her. She wanted answers so badly, and yet was too terrified to find them, ~/Would it not be simpler to just face facts and move on?/~ Relena asked herself, and her anger rose the more that she considered the present situation. A lone tear trailed down her angelic features, and she scrubbed at it harshly, her determination settling into a cold fire. No more would she weep over that man.
Thanks again to everyone who's read this story ^_^
Nowhere To Run:
Cursing in his native tongue Heero raked one hand through his unruly hair. Ash had no doubts that the younger man was aware of his proximity, yet Heero could do a magnificent job ignoring someone. Only a true fool would take this behavior as a sign of distraction, Ash was not aware that anything could distract such an intense man from his goal. The inevitable outcome of this 'mission' was Heero finding what he sought, moments later the young man pulled a bottle of whiskey from off the shelf. He drew the full bottle before his eyes, inspecting it, turning it over slowly in his hands. He was considering, he always did.
Morganeth Taren'drel
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