Upper Class 9/?

[Gundam Girl]

Totally forgot to post this here. I'm an idiot.

And by now, you must all be like, ?Enough of this ?pass around the Relena?! Do something with plot!? Well, I promise to next chapter. Right now, the occurrences going on are necessary for later things. So, in the mean time, I hope you?ll find it in your hearts to suffer through another one of these boring lead-ups. Please?

Disclaimer: GW is not mine. But SOMEDAY, Batman?!

Upper Class ? Chapter 9

By Gundam Girl

Relena stood on the deck of the Belladonna, hands flat on the side of the ship, looking out over the water that glistened in the evening sun. Dorothy had ordered she not be kept below; the captain wanted to keep an eye on her. They had left Diablo close to three hours ago, and the first shimmers of stars were beginning to appear. She inhaled slowly, then sighed. How had she never noticed the grace of nature in London?

?Beautiful, isn?t it?? Relena didn?t react as Dorothy came to lean against the ship beside her with her long, blonder hair waving in the breeze. ?I?ve always thought so, anyway. Especially just when the sun is setting.?

Relena recalled how much more beautiful she had thought it was from the deck of the Ivory Damsel, with Heero standing with her.

?You resent me, I see,? said Dorothy, her voice carrying no insult, ?but I assure you, I bear you no ill will or intend to harm you in any way. You?ll thank me once you realize where we?re going.?

?Why don?t you just tell me?? Relena asked sharply, her aristocratic influence evident in her voice. ?It would surely change my opinion of you, if what you claim is true.?

Dorothy let out a brief, airy chuckle. ?That isn?t necessary, because I honestly take no care for what your opinion of me is, Miss Relena. I do this because someone has asked me to. It is a favor.?

?I do not find it favorable,? the baron?s sister told the captain. ?Do you enjoy confusing people??

?Actually, yes. I think of strategy as an art, Miss Relena.? She turned her face upward, watching the same stars Relena watched. ?I consider art important, as, I?m sure, you do.?

?Well, naturally??

?Then, naturally, I must do what I must for my art, and that involves your kidnapping. Who knows?? Dorothy smiled. ?With so much drama in your life, perhaps your own art can be theater someday.?

Hearing of art, Relena thought of the painting in Quatre?s library. Most likely, it was still sitting against the governor?s desk. He had spoken of it so fondly. Glancing down, she looked at the emerald that glinted on her finger.

?A gift from Mr. Winner?? Dorothy smiled at the questioning in Relena?s eyes. ?It is on your left hand, my dear. T?was no difficult guess. Do you long for him??

Relena?s hands shook. ?No,? she answered honestly.

?No?? There was genuine surprise in the Italian woman?s voice. ?Well. Why, then, do you have such a problem with being here on my ship? If you do not long for your fianc?e, then who do you long to be with? Your brother, is it, or perhaps?? A slow, sassy smile curled Dorothy?s lips. ?A secret lover? Someone you could never have?? She leaned in close, pressed her hand to Relena?s arm, and whispered in the younger woman?s ear: ?Captain Yuy of the Ivory Damsel??

?Poppycock!? Relena exclaimed, her face glowing suddenly bright with embarrassment. ?The very thought of wanting to be with him, with that wretched, boorish man?? Who had saved her from a cruel fate as a one-handed woman, she remembered, by using his own hand to protect her. His concern for her, whether he had realized it was concern or not, was proved by a fresh wound on Heero?s palm, a wound she had wrapped herself.

?Is not,? Dorothy supplied, ?so unbearable, eh?? She laughed again, and next to her, Relena felt oddly disgraceful and non-elegant. She felt like a fool. ?Well, Miss Relena, I do grieve for your tragedy. As things stand now, I do indeed doubt that you will ever see Captain Yuy again. Although,? she said in afterthought, ?I wish it hadn?t been necessary to cut up his ship?s sails. They had been beautiful French sails.?

Relena folded herself onto the floor of the deck as the sun drifted below the horizon. Whether she saw Heero again or not, it seemed she was bound to a fate that had long been out of her control, if it had ever been in her control.

She remembered the outraged look on Heero?s face when she had been swept away from him and wondered how he was faring now.

---

Heero was, in fact, not faring well. He watched with glaring eyes as Trowa tied the final rope to the mast, securing the unreliable Diablo sails to his ship.

?That?s the last of them, Captain!? the green-eyed pirate called down from his place on the lookout post. ?We can set sail anytime you?re ready!?

The captain nodded and turned away, wetting his finger and holding it up to the breeze. Following the wind?s path, he winced. With their sails and the current wind, they?d smash right against Diablo?s mostly surrounding rocks and be left with splinters of wood instead of a ship.

?Give it a half-hour!? he shouted to his crew, receiving several affirming calls. ?Tell Cathy to stop worrying about dinner and get some rest. Once we?re on the water, I?ll be giving each of you hell.?

Trowa slid down the mast as easily as if the wood was no rougher than ice. Level with Heero now, he grinned. ?That?s quite the honest statement, sir. It seems Relena?s kidnapping from her original kidnappers has you being more confessional than you?d usually be.?

Yuy sent his stare right into the slightly taller man?s eyes. ?Your restless tongue has me being more violent towards you than I?d usually be.?

?Now, now, let the man alone, Trowa.? Duo chuckled from a few feet away. ?An angry pirate captain is no one to mess with. Especially since he can order you thrown overboard.?

?He wouldn?t order that while we?re in port,? Wufei told them. ?He?d wait ?til we?re out at sea.?

?Why are you all joking?!? Heero demanded. ?Don?t you realize that our most valuable asset is in the hands of another who is taking our profit??

The three shipmates instantly sobered. But it was Duo who refused to be silent.

?Valuable asset, Heero?? he queried lightly. ?Or valued??

With a grunt, Heero crossed his arms and walked to the side of the ship. ?Certain things I do value, Duo. Not women. Relena was?? His brow furrowed and he struggled to find a phrase that wouldn?t give him away. ?She was a gateway to bigger things.?

?By that do you mean money?? asked Wufei.

The captain snapped out, ?What else would I mean??

?Well.? Wufei let his eyes slide over to Sally, who was speaking with Hilde about how the deck needed waxed. ?There?s other circumstances.?

Heero raked his fingers through his already-mussed brown hair. With an impatient exhale, he walked toward the ramp leading to the beach.

?Where?re you going, Captain?? Trowa called out.

?To buy some beer.? Heero didn?t look back as he walked toward the market. ?I?ll not be late.?

When the Japanese man was out of earshot, Duo leaned against the mast and scratched his head. ?By ?some,? do you think he means only one beer?? When his two comrades shook their heads, Duo sighed. ?Me neither.?

---

Five days after Quatre?s and her husband?s departure, Luchrezia was restless. Leaving Agatha with her staff, she went the post office herself by way of taxi carriage. She was anxious to hear from Milliardo, or at least Dorothy, and if a letter had been sent, it would arrive by now.

She handed the man in charge of the office her own letter addressed to Milliardo?s ship and was handed various items such as bills and several party invitations. She bypassed them all for the letter on the bottom in a plain, yellow envelope addressed to The Baroness, Luchrezia Peacecraft from La Dorothy Catalonia.

It was kind of her, Lu thought with a small smile, to go out of her regular nature and pretend to be the aristocratic heiress again, at least in addresses. If her cousin had stayed with her family instead of gallivanting off with a sea vessel, she?d have quite the hefty sum now without stealing any of it.

Lu walked out of the office and into the cloudy London afternoon when she felt a gloved hand land on her bare forearm. Startled, she nearly dropped the bundle of mail, but instinct tightened her grip on it, and her rounded belly prevented a few enveloped from falling to the ground.

?Excuse me.? Treize smiled widely. ?I?m sorry for frightening you, Luchrezia. I saw you when I was coming out of the law office. Meeting with my attorney, establishing possible hangings?? He retracted her hand. ?Business, you know.?

Luchrezia forced herself to smile. Although there were often many things she liked about Treize, his always-casual way of treating every aspect of life was certainly not one of them. ?I understand,? she nodded. ?The role of a Dover Duke cannot be an easy one.?

The handsome man laughed. ?No harder, my dear, than that of a London Baroness.? He extended his arm. ?Will the baby let you walk??

This time, her pleasant expression was genuine and she took his arm with a soft chuckle. ?I think so. Where is Anne??

?At the inn. Cross-stitching, I believe. She mentioned she wanted to do something domestic today.? He shook his head. ?She is far from domestic. She mostly prefers the court.? He gave her a sly, slanted look. ?Not like you, who is talented enough to juggle both, with what will soon be two children. So tell me, any word from your husband on Relena?s whereabouts??

?I?m afraid not.? It was the truth. If Dorothy knew something, than the likelihood of Milliardo knowing as well was not strong. ?And the navy??

?Nothing to report, I fear. My men are still hunting, of course,? he told her smoothly. ?The best in Europe, probably the world, are on the ship.? A faint gleam holding something Lu couldn?t identify came to his eye. She suddenly felt chilled by his expression. He seemed focused, but not on her; only on something he himself thought of. ?I expect to receive news within the week.?

?Well, that is?good,? the baroness said at last. ?At least we?ll have something.?

?Indeed. Well.? Treize lifted his arm, and within ten seconds a carriage taxi pulled up in front of him. ?My dear Luchrezia, this is wear I leave you.? Bending slightly, he kissed the back of her hand. He helped her into the carriage and gave instructions to the driver to take the woman home, paying the fare himself. Like a true gentleman, Lu thought.

The carriage moved away, and she watched out the window as Treize strolled along the street back toward the inn he and Anne were staying at. Remembering that odd look in his eyes, Luchrezia shuddered.

And for the first time, she wondered if the reason Treize was so eager for Relena?s safe return went beyond friendship to Governor Winner.

Something told her it did. And she shuddered again.

---

An hour was all Gualron needed, he was certain. The Russian man?s warrior heart had jerked when he and the Naval officers had discovered the break in the seemingly-endless line of rock. And, just as he had suspected, an island dwelled in the middle of nowhere.

However, unlike he had suspected, it was filled to the brim with life, not at all deserted like he had originally thought. And by studying the flags of various ships ported at the expansive dock, he could tell that the place was swarmed with pirates.

Of course, a Navy fleet would be too easily identified, and Gualron had told Septum to back the ship out of the bay before they got too far in. Now, he and a virtually large group of men, dressed in regular citizens? clothing instead of Navy uniforms, rowed their way toward the island in three longboats.

It made sense, he thought shrewdly as they neared the beach, for the Ivory Damsel to be docked here. Descriptions from Dover of the ship suggested that it wasn?t large enough to store supplies for especially long voyages. From the time they departed from Dover to recently, they would have restock soon. And, as this was obviously a pirate-friendly place, it would make even more sense yet for them to come here.

Unfortunately, no one knew the design of the Ivory Damsel?s flag and Gaulron was fairly certain that just because of its name, it would be printed with the figure of a woman. What lead they did have was knowing that both stories and Dover citizens had said that two of the crew members were Asian and the captain, Heero Yuy, was at least partially Japanese. Petrov Gaulron knew the different faces of the human race, and he could spot Japanese easily. The problem was whether the crew of the Damsel was here or not.

His group beached and pulled their boats in. It was necessary to explain more than a few times of why their ship was waiting beyond the rocks ? they just meant to buy some oil for their rudder and then they would be on their way. He sent some men to do the falsely needed task, and he stayed to survey the ported ships himself.

There were a great many of them. Of course, in the middle of the summer when richer folk decided a brisk seafaring would be good for their health, it was a prosperous time for water bandits. Scouring the varying design of ships, prints of flags, and even the straightness of masts, Gualron frowned. Nothing seemed particularly unique.

And then, one thing did. Sails. While most of the ships in the port had painstakingly cared-for sails, crisply white and tightly bound, one ship?s sails seemed less than serviceable. Rather than white, the color was cream ? but dirty cream. The sails also seemed just a bit too short to fit correctly.

Gualron?s dark eyes landed on a man walking toward this badly-sailed ship. Well, perhaps walking was not the appropriate word for what he was doing. Staggering worked better, even limping. His path tended to zig-zap, so the mercenary guessed that he was either crippled or drunk. And since there was no particular scarring of disfiguring that Gaulron could make out from looking at the man?s legs, he supposed it was the latter that effected his gait.

Further inspection made the Russian stone still for a moment. While the (supposedly) drunk man was tall and had deep blue irises, there was a familiar slant to the shape of his eyes. Also, his hair was quite dark?dark enough to be Eastern.

Japanese. Not completely, not close to completely, but the ethnicity was readable. Walking further toward the man and the ship he had walked onto, a slow, nearly triumphant grin showed Gualron?s gleaming teeth. Another man, one with a jet-black ponytail falling to the neck of his neck and almond eyes the color of coal, was addressing the staggering man with something like amused concern. There were other people on board, but it were these two that attracted Gualron?s attention the most.

He motioned to a handful of men, beckoning them to follow him. Septum had said to report back if anything was discovered, but it were the successful moments like these that Gualron preferred to handle alone.

Leaving his assigned men standing on the sand, he walked onto the ramp that led to the ship?s deck without invitation and smiled politely. A quick scan showed only vagabonds, with no signs of a rich-blooded woman anywhere. It wouldn?t be hard to believe that they were keeping Relena below deck. ?Good evening!? he called out jovially.

Another man looked up, this one with a chestnut-brown braid that streamed down his black and violet eyes that were currently featuring exasperation ? no doubt for the half-Japanese man who, Gaulron confirmed now, was most definitely intoxicated. ?Yeah, good,? he replied in a voice that was very obviously American. ?Or something like that.?

A petite woman with ebony hair that was as short as a boy?s joined the American?s side. Her eyes were skeptical as she looked at Gualron. ?Is there somethin? you want us to be doing for ya?? she asked, impatient like the American. She kept darting glances at their drunk companion.

?Indeed there is.? Gaulron?s smile widened. ?Forgive my intrusion, but might this be the pirate ship the Ivory Damsel??

?Aye,? the Chinese man answered. ?It?s it, even though it lacks discipline at the moment.? He scowled at the blue-eyed Asian he was currently holding up.

?I see.? Slowly, Gaulron walked over to the drunk pirate. ?Then that means you are Heero Yuy, the captain of this ship. Yes??

Heero raised his head from its resting place with his chin to his chest and nodded briefly. ?More or less,? he admitted in a gruff tone. With determination, he pulled himself free of Wufei and attempted to straighten his posture. It didn?t work that well, and he pressed a hand to the mast for support.

?Well then.? Gaulron quickly placed his hands on either side of Heero?s head and bashed his own skull against the pirate captain?s. The unexpected assault sent the man careening backward until he lost balance three paces away and crashed to the hard wooden deck. The rest of the crew that was standing on the deck, which, Gaulron expected, was everyone, pulled out an assortment of weapons from guns to knives to short swords.

The Russian didn?t flinch and, with a short snort, he thumbed his nose at the fallen Yuy. Then he raised his undaunted eyes to the other. ?I?m looking for a certain woman. She?s the sister of Baron Milliardo Peacecraft, and the young fianc?e of Govenor Quatre Winner. Also the friend of Duke Treize Khushrenada. Dangerous circles to step into, I?m sure you?ll agree.? Gaulron grinned at each of them, his eyes reflecting the flash of their metal weapons. ?I?m here to take her home.?

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Review please!

[Eienvine]

Ooh, this is such a cool story! Poor drunk Heero, went and lost Relena- hee hee. And what's Treize up to? He's a creepy, creepy man. Oh, and I loved Dorothy in this chapter! Normally I don't really like her much, but she's cool as a pirate. Update soon!

[Gundam Girl]

Hey, thanks! I actually know what I'm doing with the next chapter *gasp*, so when it comes time to work on it, it won't take that long. Yay!

[APerfectSoldier87]

GG I'm not sure if I responded on ff.net, but it was great as usual.

[lilac310]

I thought you already abandoned this story but what a relief it was to find out that you didn't.......I'm so glad you posted another chapter of this...I'm really INTO this story...no words can tell how much pleased I am that this story is still going on....

....and as regards to the story itself...I really enjoyed the part wherein Relena favours looking at the sunset with Heero in the Ivory Damsel far better than looking at it with Dorothy in the Belladonna...It was such a sweet scene...Keep it up and keep it coming!..Hurry!!!...lol...Great job!

[lilac310]

btw, it was a very neat thing to say that Heero's partially Japanese 'cuz in reality, it's not possible for any asian to have blue eyes or even green at that unless they're half or something...it added much more genuity to the whole story..

[Gundam Girl]

Hey, thanks, everyone. Lilac, this isn't going to be abandoned. I've never abandoned a story yet, so I won't start here! And thanks, Joe!

[teardropdangel]

OMG! how did I miss this? Great as usual

[Gundam Girl]

Thanks, hon!

[Aristale Wolf]

I thought you already abandoned this story but what a relief it was to find out that you didn't.......I'm so glad you posted another chapter of this...I'm really INTO this story...no words can tell how much pleased I am that this story is still going on....

me wholy agree.....me sooooooooooo glad u continued.....keep it up please