~Where was she??? Where’s everybody??? She was all alone in what seemed a long secluded tunnel, there were no lights…where were her friends??? She heard something…it was a laugh…an evil laugh…she followed the sound as she walked through the dampen and musky tunnel…the sounds grew nearer… She saw a small window that appeared out of nowhere…that’s where the laugh was coming from…she approached it…what she saw next was the most horrendous sight she’s seen…all her friends and family…Trowa, Wufei, Sally, Quatre, Noin, Milliardo, Duo, and even Heero…they were all tied up as if in execution style…and there was blood…so much blood…then she saw the back of the man laughing…such a familiar profile…as he raised his sword and came down vehemently on…~
“AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” she jerked up from her bed, her heart felt as if it was about to break the walls of her chest…she was shaking so violently …she was still intensely absorbed by the vivid nightmare that just haunted her, before she realized that she was leaning against a strong body with her head lying broad shoulders and strong arms holding her, soothing her… “Hee…”
“Relena…shhhh….everything will be ok…I will not let anything harm you…you are my dear little sister, I will be here for you…now, calm down…” Zechs said while rocking her still trembling sister.
“Milliardo…” she whispered… ‘why do I still think of him…no I won’t think of him anymore…I vowed before…no more tears or thoughts about him…no more…’ she thought to herself. “Milliardo, why are you here…I thought that you had an important meeting today…” said a much calmer Relena.
“I’m taking you home, Noin is talking to the doctors and checking you out,” Zechs said, “and yeah, I have an important meeting, a meeting with my beloved sister…I know, the doctor said you should stay for another week, but Noin and I miss you so much, we thought you being home would be much better…you do want to go home, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah, very much, I missed you all so much these past few weeks…” Relena was elated at the wonderful news and she smiled, a true happy smile that has rarely appeared since he left…
‘Oh, that smile’ Zechs thought ‘Relena means so much to me, that smile will be imprinted in my memory for as long as I live…and hope to see her this happy from now on…I’ll get rid of all obstacles for you...’
That smile not only touched the golden colonel, but the secretive individual who saw the entire display by the window. Another tightening of his chest…oh, how much he wished he could have hold her after her nightmare…how much he wished he could make her feel safe and jovial like she has always done for him. “Everything is ready to go” said a smiling Noin by the door.
And with one smooth scoop, Zechs picked up Relena in his arms and held her tight to his chest and walked out. ‘Those icy blues eyes of Zechs full of tenderness and love when they were looking at his sister, the kind of look that nobody would get but Relena’ Noin thought ‘not even she, the wife, ever get that look from him…’ one might think that she would be jealous, but quite the contrary, it was that quality, that devotion and love he held for his family that made him a loving human being, it was that quality that made her fall in love with him in the first place …
It was a military SUV that took the three of them home. Zechs thought that with a limo, things would be too obvious and would raise publicity, the last thing he needed were hungry reporters harassing his sister while she is still so weak, no he was not taking any chances…because with publicity, there was the possibility of another assassination…they had to be inconspicuous to be safe.
They pulled up to the Peacecraft Palace and Zechs still would not let Relena walked, so he took the liberty of carrying her through the fifteen feet high double oak doors that led into the palace.
“SURPRISE!!!” “SURPRISE!!!!”
Relena saw the entire living room, more like a gigantic ballroom, decorated with signs reading “Welcome back Relena.” There were flowers and cards on the table along with gifts that were given and sent to her by the people from the colonies and earth. Most importantly, her friends were all there….Quatre, Trowa, Duo, Hilde, Catherine, Sally, and even Wufei showed up. She was very surprised…and happy…it was so complete to have them all there…well…almost complete except…
Zechs put Relena on a huge velvet sofa and made sure she was comfortable, he then covered her immediately with a thin blanket to avoid her catching any cold, no, he didn’t want any more complications.
“Oh Relena!!! I missed you soooo much” said a teary Hilde and hugged her so hard that Relena thought she was going to suffocate… “Duo wouldn’t let me go see you…but I wanted to, but he just wouldn’t because….”
“Hilde!!! You are suffocating Ojousan!!! Give her some air geez…” said Duo as he tried to pull his fiancé aside, “now, let me see our ojousan…much better, much better, I see that you are not so pale anymore, good good…I’ll keep an eye out for you so that Hilde will not squeeze the air out of you again, she can be quite the…OUCH…what was that for Hilde!!!”… “Keep your mouth shut Duo or you’ll be sleeping in the sofa tonight!!!”
“uh oh…Duo, you better listen to your woman…” Quatre said…
“psst…whipped…because of a woman…shameful” said Wufei “Ouch!!! What was that for woman!!!” Wufei said turning to Sally who just pinched him in the butt. “Wufei, can’t anything nice come out of your chauvinist mouth!!!” Sally said to him.
“We are just happy you are home Miss Relena” said Trowa as he approached her and place a small kiss on her cheeks, followed by Quatre and Sally.
Relena was so happy to see them all, she thought that she even saw Wufei smiled at her but briefly…maybe she was just seeing things because she was tired, nevertheless, she was happy to see them all…but still there was this open wound in her heart she doubt will ever heal… she will just ignored it…maybe for the rest of her life.
Everybody was chatting and talking…all the chatters were becoming indistinct as a wave of drowsiness flooded Relena…she slowly closed her eyes and fell into deep sleep…
“hey hey…keep it quiet would ya all???!!! Our little lady is taking nap…maybe she would like a little silence…” said Duo.
She looked so peaceful and angelic everybody thought, so young and frail yet so full of wisdom and strength. “She is still very weak from the accident, let’s give her some more time to recuperate” said Quatre.
Zechs once again picked up her sister and took her to her bedroom and tucked her under the cream color silk covers on her. Slightly he kissed her forehead, “sleep my dear little sister.” ‘No he wasn’t going to let her know about the Amazon incident just yet, but he eventually will. As he was about to walked out of the door he paused “Take care of her Heero.” And strode out of her room.
In the far dark corner of her room stood a lean yet strong figure. The individual lightly nodded ‘you don’t need to remind me Zechs, I always will,’ thought Heero.