Unexpected Arrangements ~ Chapter V, Part 2

[Mandaba]

*grabs a net* shhhh be vewy vewy qwuiet, i'm hunting awthors...*tip toes*

[Andrea]

It's been almost FOUR months! Mandaba, you have Cali and my authorization to go hunt Melrose and drag her back. :evil:

[Mandaba]

mission accepted.




sorry i couldnt help it.

[Caliborn]

It's been five months now! *Clears throat and looks about* Just . . . thought I'd mention that. ^_^

[Kaili Charmer]

What happened to Mel? I hope she's alright... I mean, I know i've been out of the BI loop for the summer and stuff, but I figured that you guys would have had at least one new chapter up when i got back...

[Andrea]

Kaili! You make me feel SO guilty! I swear I'll track Missy Melrose back, and MAKE her write. I swear. *drags Cali into picture* WE will drag her back.

Cali:
Me: :evil:

[Caliborn]

Well, I PMed her, and she -said- she'd try to post by next week! So, let's cross our fingers, ne? She said she was really busy with her school work! Which, of course, I can completely sympathize with . . .

I'm wondering if we might need another person, though . . . to maybe stand in for one of us when we get swamped and can't post, so the RR will move along a bit faster . . .

Hmmm.

Anyway, my fingers and toes are crossed! *Nods!*

[Kaili Charmer]

hehehe...didn't mean to put you through a guilt trip, andrea! but hey, whatever gets you on the job! You and Cali seem to have it under control at least...and I forgive Mel out of empathy. School is just rotting away my freetime...

[melrose_stormhaven]

OOC: REJOICE! For I who have been dead, have risen from my grave! I have posted! You can stop hunting me now.

Heero

I was bored. Terribly bored.

One of the necessary evils of being the crown prince was that I must be able to withstand small talk without falling asleep. And I must say, I was quite skilled at it. I could look interested while in fact I was fighting the instinct to strangle the windy, pompous courtier talking to me about taxation.

I glanced at my flute of champagne, hiding a smile as I imagined my father's reaction when he found out I had strangled one of his courtiers because I was bored. Apoplectic would be an understatement.

"Your Highness? Is anything amiss?" the courtier asked me, looking at me with concern. Then he smiled a knowing smile that irritated me.

"You are missing your Princess, yes?" he teased. "Princess Relena does not seem to be in the party today. She must have been exhausted from your…ah…excursion this afternoon." His smile turned into a smirk.

I swallowed the growl that rose from my throat. I am pleased that our scheme of deception had worked. Everyone was convinced that the Princess Relena and I were falling in love, if not lovers already. I was not pleased, however, that people were making such…suggestive remarks about the two of us. It was quite…uncalled for, perhaps.

At the mention of Relena's name, I began to wonder where she was. Not that I cared. After our little charades, we would go our separate ways, not caring what the other was doing as long as it did not do anything to harm our scheme. She's probably in that bordello, driving everyone mad with desire with that delicious body of hers, I thought. I immediately shook my head. What was I thinking?

"Prince Heero?" I heard a tentative voice ask me. I looked up to see Duo with…Relena's lady-in-waiting, Hilde. I wasn't surprised seeing the two together. It seemed that for these past days, the two were always together. What bothered me was that there was a nervous look in Hilde's eyes, while Duo looked flushed. Despite myself, I felt myself tense.

"Yes, what is it?" I asked, my voice calm.

Hilde stepped forward. "It's about Her Highness." She glanced at the courtier. "May we adjourn to more private quarters?"

I excused myself from the courtier, who to my disbelief, winked at me, then moved away, joining the throng of dancing people.

They led me at the rose garden just outside the ballroom. "Well?" I demanded.

Hilde glanced at Duo, then at me. Licking her lips, she whispered, "Princess Relena is missing."

"That's not unusual."

"Most of her clothes were gone. I've looked for her everywhere, and I can't find her. I fear…she might have been abducted."

Abducted. For a moment, I felt myself go cold. Then, I said, "Perhaps you are mistaken She might have gone on her own–"

"NO!" Hilde said sharply, loudly. Duo shushed her. Lowering her voice, Hilde continued, "Princess Relena would have never gone without me. And I've checked all the places she usually goes to." A look of frustration crossed her face. "She's not there or anywhere!"

I could only stare at the girl. I looked calm on the outside, but I was also starting to worry. I turned to Duo, who shrugged. "I looked with her, and yes, we can't find the princess. But," Duo said, "I did find this in her room when we looked at it." He dug into the pocket of his coat and produced something.

It was a letter.

Hilde eyes widened. "You didn't tell me you've found that!" she nearly shrieked at Duo.

Duo grinned. "Sorry, luv, but the letter's for Prince Heero." Ignoring Hilde's glare, he handed me the letter, which I then snatched out of his grasp.

The letter was made out of expensive material, vellum, perhaps, folded carefully. Written with a delicate, elegant hand was my name. I opened it and scanned the contents. By the time I was through, my hands were trembling with rage.

"What does the letter say?" Duo asked quietly, seeing the look on my face.

I crumpled the letter into a tiny ball. "It seems Princess Relena has eloped. With a stable groom, it seems."

"WHAT?" Hilde nearly screamed. She grabbed the ball, smoothed it, and scanned the contents. "I can't–this isn't–"

"Isn't what?" I snarled. "This is part of your scheme, isn't it? You wish to make my country and me a laughingstock. Pretending to agree on a betrothal then running off at the last minute! Sanq will pay–"

"This isn't my lady's handwriting!" Hilde said. "It is a close imitation, but the Princess doesn't quite loop her l's or her o's that way. This is a forged letter."

"Is it now?" I was seething. To think I had nearly trusted that girl! And all the while–

"You don't understand!" Hilde cried. "Princess Relena would never do something like this." She flinched when I glared daggers at her, but then she lifted her chin proudly. "Her Highness knew how important the alliance was. She would have never consented to any scheme to humiliate Kquest. She loved Sanq too much."

I paused for a moment, taking deep breaths. Then I remembered the conversation Relena and I had as we danced in the Welcoming Feast, before the betrothal was announced.

"Whatever you may think of me, Prince Yuy, I do love my country and my people. I am not some mindless blonde princess who cares for nothing except for her own pleasures. I am very much concerned with my country's welfare and safety."

Relena had been so earnest when she said that, so determined. Was I wrong? "All right," I growled out. "Let us assume Relena had not eloped. What do you propose happened?"

"She might have been abducted, then the letter written to deceive us and cause a rift between Kquest and Sanq," Duo replied in a grim voice. "It would have succeeded too."

I narrowed my eyes. "Kushrenada." It could only be him.

Hilde's eyes widened. "Of course! Lord Kushrenada must have heard about the betrothal and–"

"–decided to do something about it," Duo said. "Damn. That man is a smart son-of-a-whore."

"The king must be told of this!" Hilde said.

I shook my head. "We are not even sure if Relena is abducted. Also, we have no proof that it is indeed Kushrenada who abducted Relena. Even if we did, do you think our armies would be able to do anything against his armies?"

"But we cannot let Princess Relena remain with Kushrenada!" Hilde protested. "You don not propose to leave her–!"

I glared at her. "Of course not. That's why…" I paused, knowing the enormity of what I'm about to do. I was about to take a leap of faith. A HUGE leap of faith.

"That's why what?"

"We're going to Kushrenada's kingdom to find if Relena is there, and if she is, we will bring her back."

OOC: I'M SO SORRY! Anyway, here is the next part. Quite a LOT of people seemed to want to hunt me down. Ehehehehe...I hope you enjoyed this part!

Everyone: FIVE MONTHS. WHAT WERE YOU DOING DURING FIVE MONTHS?!?

Melrose: *looks up from a stack of books* HUH?

Ehehehehe....Sorry. I'll try to be more punctual.

[Mandaba]

hurrah!