Symbol of Honor



Chapter: 7



By Lady Saffir





Rating: PG-13





Thought for the day:

"A little alarm now and then keeps life from stagnation. "



DISCLAIMER: me no own...



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Streching in the warm Spring sun, Relena let out a sigh of contentment. She and her mother - she still thought of Helen Darlian as her mother - had spent the day shopping, in the company of Sally. She had insisted on coming with them, citing the need to buy a dress for the wedding, but Relena knew better. She went nowhere without someone playing bodyguard nowadays.

But today, she didn't care. They had finally set the wedding date - both dates - had sent out the invitations, and were now after flowers. And since Heero was still having fits with his allergies, Sally and Helen Darlian had offered to fill in. Needing a major dose of normalness, Relena had quickly agreed. Not that they were just shopping for flowers; what woman would pass up the opportunity to do a little shopping on the side?

Which was how they came to be staggering up the stairs to her mother's house, arms laden with bags and other packages. Along with ordering flowers, Relena had also insisted on giving Sally her first baby gift, a small bear dressed in a bright yellow rain jacket.

Nudging the door open with her foot, Relena quickly swept through to make room for her mother and Sally. However, she quickly stopped when she caught sight of the foyer.

Written with what appeared, to Relena's horror, to be blood, were the words, 'Till Death do us part.' The sloppy scrawl spread up the wall, crossing over to the next without stopping. Spinning around, Relena saw that above the doorway were the words, 'Eternal love.'

Hearing a cry behind her, Relena whirled to see Helen Darlian standing in the doorway. One hand covering her mouth, her blue eyes were wide with shock.

Relena ran forward, just in time to stop her mother from completely collapsing to the ground. Looking up, she caught Sally's grim look.

"Stay here. I'll be right back," Sally ordered, swiftly pulling a gun from her purse.

Watching as the older woman quickly and efficiently checked the surrounding rooms, Relena tried to comfort her mother. The words sounded hollow even to her own ears, although both mother and daughter desperately tried to believe in the false comfort.

Helping her mother to her feet, Relena tried to dampen the rage that was building. An attack against her was acceptable, as was an attack against the soldiers that she called friends. But to come in to her mother's house, and purposely defile the property with such sick thoughts...for the first time in her life Relena truly wished ill on someone.

Waiting until Sally returned, Relena thrust her mother at the older woman, hurrying out of the room before Sally could protest. There was something she needed to retrieve from her foster-father's study.

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Heero set the phone down with an almost inaudible 'click', turning to regard Lady Une.

"Someone broke into Helen Darlian's home and vandalized it. Sally's bringing Relena and her mother here, just in case whoever did it was still hanging around."

Lady Une nodded.

"Perhaps it is time to put into motion the actions that we discussed," she suggested, all ready planning mentally. The plan would have to be executed swiftly, and harshly, in order to finally bring to an end this torment.

Heero simply nodded in agreement before slipping quietly out the office door.

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Relena stalked into the Preventer's main office, oblivious to the nervous stares that were being directed at her. Intent on her destination, she left Sally to take care of her mother. Brushing past Wufei, she turned to regard him when he snaked out an arm to halt her movement. About to speak, Wufei could only close his mouth and nod when she glared at him.

Feeling someone slip up beside him, he turned to regard Sally.

"I'm awefully glad that you haven't tried to perfect your own 'Death Glare'," he said sincerely. Neither laughed as they watched Relena stalk into Heero's office and close the door.





Relena found Heero seated at his desk, typing away furiously at the computer. Pausing to look up, he stopped typing when he saw her expression.

"Relena..."

Cutting him off, Relena pulled something out of her purse, slamming it down on the desktop.

Heero looked up from the sight of the gun lying before him.

"This. Stops. NOW!"

Standing, Heero appraised her silently, trying to figure out the best approach. He had been working on a plan for the last twenty minutes, and had almost completed all of the details. Now he just had to convince Relena to play along.

"Relena - listen to me. We are going to stop this. Lady Une and I have come up with a plan..."



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Outwardly composed, Relena honestly tried to get into the spirit of things. It had been a week since her mother's house had been defiled - a week of putting her acting abilities to the test. She had quickly agreed with Heero and Lady Une's assessment of the situation; someone was trying to mess with her head and make her paranoid of every sound and shadow. She was just as determined not to let the sadistic bastard win.

Now, though, she honestly tried to enjoy the brilliant Spring weather. In one week, she and Heero, along with their closest friends, were heading to Japan for the private wedding ceremony. So this weekend they were frantically trying to cram everything into their new house. It didn't appear to be working though.

It wasn't that they had a lot of 'stuff', or that the house was tiny. While it wasn't as grand as the mansion that Milliardo and Noin presided in, Relena thought that it would suit Heero and her perfectly. Large enough to host small parties, it also included multiple bedrooms, which - as Duo had pointed out, laughing - could either hold the entire gang, or a lot of children.

Peeking into the living room, Relena could only shake her head in amazement. The actual room furniture was in place. However, the multitudes of boxes that covered every available surface had her wincing at the thought of unpacking them.

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The last of the boxes had been brought into the house - now all they had to do was settle everything. After taking a long lunch, a picnic in the backyard, the group had set to work, each couple tackling an area of the house. Duo and Hilde had opted for the kitchen, Hilde teasingly proclaiming that was only so Duo wouldn't interupt anyone with his eating habits. Sally and Wufei were helping Trowa in the living room, as Iria tried to entertain a very hyper Alexis. Quatra was helping Relena set up her office while Heero took care of his own. By mutual agreement, the couple had decided to leave the bedroom for when they were alone.

Straightening up from the neck breaking task of sorting files, Relena glanced around, trying to remember what she was forgetting. Spying the picture of Milliardo and her, she suddenly remembered what seemed out of place.

"Quatra? Where did my brother and Noin disappear to?"

Quatra smiled, shaking his head.

"Can't tell. I promised them I wouldn't. You'll just have to wait and see when they get back," he teased, ignoring her protests.



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"Do you think that she'll like it?" Milliardo Peacecraft asked for the fiftieth time. And for the fifteith time, Lucrezia Noin-Peacecraft replied,

"Of course she will! Heero said that she's been eyeing this thing for weeks now."

Milliardo eyed the present warily. It looked innocent enough, but still...

"All right, but this was all your idea."



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Ok, here's chapter 7. Please let me know what you think. I'm sorry this chapter's so crappy AND short, but I'm trying harder on the next part. E-mail me!



Lady Saffir