Part Eight of Two Steps

[Desert Bloom]

Authoresses Note:

I took a lot longer getting this installment out than I had wanted because I had made this vow, you see, to get part six all real and done and not missing like five pages from the middle of it. And, well, I finally did it *jumps up and down and runs in circles* so congratulate me! ^^ Yeah, I?m horrid with Microsoft Word sometimes?*sigh* Though I can type really fast?.I typed like a 104 gwam once in this computer class?now I just have to figure out what gwam is?.but I?m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I think I know how to end this thing now. Yay! Even if it looks like I?m going nowhere with the plot, I actually am, and it should really only be about three more parts now, maybe less. And, just FYI, I?m not a Dorothy hater! I?m a Dorothy lover. But I do personally think that this is very IC for her.

Plus, this chapter was hard. Really, really hard, like harder than hard. You know? Maybe you don?t. I don?t care. :razz:

So, anyway, plz check it out, and if you like it, then plz review.

*servant that was mentioned in part one and several other instances ? was the one that told Relena that a strange man was found on the doorstep of the palace, considerably injured

***Part Eight of Two Steps: Roses Red ***


The first thing I saw were his eyes, subtly gazing down at me with love.

?Milliardo??

?You shouldn?t talk. The drugs are still at work.? He replied, smiling. Then he grabbed my arms and pulled me towards him forcefully, embracing me in possibly the best hug I?d ever had in my entire life, and possibly, the best I would ever have, my chin resting on his shoulder while he held practically my whole body in his one arm.

I blinked sleep-laden eyes slowly, my fingers clutching the cloth of my brother?s shirt tightly. Strange?it felt so real?my brother?s warmth?my brother?s hair cascading down his back and in consequence onto my hands as well?my brother?s love?

I made a wild stab at what was occurring. ?I?m dead.?

When he didn?t answer me, only proceeding to hug me tighter, I ventured further, ?And you?re dead, too. I?m dead and you?re dead. Am I in heaven? I don?t feel any sort of bliss. But it doesn?t burn either. Are we awaiting judgment??

?I thought I told you not to talk.?

I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it, realization coursing through me with shocking speed.

Drugs. He?d smiled, and proven his presence ? and then he?d warned me, I shouldn?t talk, I shouldn?t talk because the drugs are still at work.

Drugs aren?t in heaven, drugs aren?t in hell, and I don?t think they?re in judgment either.

All of a sudden our surroundings seemed to spin way too fast, spiraling out of control. But what I found fascinating was that minutes before, I had had no surroundings, just empty air and my brother and I. But now they were spinning, and there they were ? the same family room was before me, I was sitting on the same couch, I was sitting on the same couch with my brother and I was hugging him for all the world and then it came to me razor sharp just as the spinning slowed to a stop:

?You?re alive. Oh, thank god, you?re alive.?

My words came out in a ragged whisper, and I felt tears spiking at my eyes. Not allowing myself to start a full-blown cry, however, I merely hugged him even tighter, relishing his warmth ? his warmth that only an alive body could emit.

There was a little chuckle in my ear then. ?Yes, and I am seeing things in a new light as well. As soon as I get a hold of Noin I am proposing ? and you, my little baka, are resigning from your position and leading the normal life you always deserved, but never got because of my own damned laziness.?

Normally, I would have argued with him, but his use of ?Noin? and ?proposing? in the same sentence had me too amazed to do so. And, now that I was back to reality, I was beginning to question things:

Well now, wait, just wait a second. None of this made sense. Hadn?t I just been kidnapped by radicals bent on revenge?

Yes, none of this made sense. But I had to make sense of it ? that was my job, my responsibility ? to make sense of such things. So, I asked the question:

?Where?s Heero??

Something changed in my brother then.

He let go of me, and then I, somewhat confusedly, let go of him, and he lay me down on the couch. As I stared up in bewilderment, he positioned a pillow comfortably behind my head, and then got up himself, standing awkwardly by the couch.

My head swam; my chest, heaving up and down with the laborious process of respiration, seemed to be blocked somehow, like each breath that struggled upward and finally rasped out was a wondrous grace bestowed upon me. And it was hot ? so hot ? sweat plastered to my skin. Drugs, yes, if my mind was just a little clearer ? if it didn?t have these damn drugs in it ? I might be able to search my memory and determine what had been forced into me. I had been good in Medicine, after all.

?You need to sleep it off.?

I shook my head, pushing my way up on one elbow. ?NO, I need to figure this out. What?s going on? Why are there drugs in my system?? I argued with myself for a moment, decided to be an ass, and added, ?Brother, I need to know. Brother.?

?Tsk tsk, Miss Relena. You shouldn?t resort to such petty manipulation techniques.?

I couldn?t believe it.

But it was true ? when I surveyed the room all around for that voice, I found her standing in the threshold between the kitchen and the family room, and I saw behind her a group of men standing firmly at attention, dressed all in black, no doubt my supposed captors.

God, there was Sally too, right besides Dorothy.

And Heero. Not at attention ? but he stood behind Dorothy as if awaiting something.

?I have a headache.? I said truthfully, and collapsed back onto the couch?s sagging cushions.




They would not explain things to me immediately. Before I really knew what was happening, Milliardo and Heero had gone off somewhere, god knows where, and Dorothy as well ? only to leave Sally behind to tend to my leg wound.

I tried my hardest to point out that Heero had taken care of it, but she would only smile and sniff and say that he did a damn good temporary job ? temporary being the key word there ? and that if I didn?t want surgery later on or anything like that, I should just lean back and let someone else take charge for once in my life and let her get the cast on.

Which she said so sweetly you would never know it to be lecturing, and god knows how she smiled the whole time.

I don?t know why I said it. I shouldn?t have said it, but I was tired and confused and woozy from whatever had been shot into me. And I, despite my conscience warning me that Sally had a right to live her own life, couldn?t stop feeling this sense of anger. Wufei was, to me, starting to seem like the perfect guy, and Wufei was ga-ga in love with her, ready to drop down on his knees ? what was the problem?

After all, Wufei on his knees for a woman was a rare thing indeed.

But that?s always been my problem, see, that I?m nosy, and, even worse, I don?t have the dignity to keep my own nosiness to myself.

?Wufei needs a cast too.? I said.

She had propped my leg up on the coffee table, and was dabbing some sort of cream at the patch of dried blood and red tissue. Now, however, when I said the words, she stopped dead for a moment, staring very attentively at my leg and not looking up to acknowledge my words for all the world. Yes, she very decidedly kept her gaze on my leg, not on my face whatsoever.

?Okay.? She finally said after that brief pause, ?Turn your leg over a little bit this way.? With that she screwed the cap back on the ointment tube, and I did as asked.

?It was his arm.? I said quietly, after another moment had passed.

She made a little tsk tsk sound, totally ignoring my words. ?Your cuts aren?t very neat at all. A gunshot should only be one neat little hole ? you?ve got scrapes all over the area below your knee. I wonder if there?s more to Heero?s story. It looks kind of like you feel from a long height up and scraped yourself on the concrete pavement below.?

?But Hilde patched it up for him real fine.?

?I wonder if there was a brawl. Heero seemed to have a little bit of a bruise beneath his left eye.?

?Of course, he was very annoyed that he had this injury. You know, he doesn?t like having a weakness of any kind.?

?Okay, just turn that leg a little this way?.ouch. Damn, that looks pretty nasty right there, Relena.?

?He got it while battling with my brother. You could ask him if you want any more details.?

?I love him.?

I stopped my banter where I was, mouth wide open, about to talk about how tired Wufei had looked when I had talked to him last, really stressed out, you know? But she did know, without my asking, and finally she looked up at me, the first time she had looked me in the eye since I had uttered Wufei?s name.

I blinked stupidly. ?My brother??

She shook her head and chuckled, but I think I spotted a wetness in her one eye. ?Try Justice Boy.?

I nodded, and very quickly shut up. She returned to the tending of my wounds. We did not speak until she had gotten the white cast on and jokingly signed it with a pen she pulled out of her pocket ? keep up the love, little Reli.

I watched her as she stood up slowly, like it pained her to move, and then primly smoothed out her skirt.

Once again, my mouth was ahead of my mind.

?He loves you too, Sally. He loves you more than anything. He?? I drew in a breath, ?Is arrogant and feministic and a little bit too honor-ridden, but, you know, I?m also arrogant, and I?m too nosy, and clumsy, and naive, and entirely too story-book romantic. I actually believe in peace ? I am more foolish than his feministic ways could ever be.?

?Are you pleading your own case, Relena?? Sally asked, moving to the kitchen door, her back to me. ?Because I?m not very attracted to you. Don?t take offense or anything.?

I laughed, and it felt wonderful to do so.

?Well, you know, I?m not going through with the marriage.? She said then, and I abruptly stopped laughing. ?If you know about it, that is, and it sounds like you do. I can?t go through with it ? I was about to marry a pig.?

But before I could question her any further, she had disappeared into the kitchen and I had a new visitor with long white hair and eerily blue eyes and a passion for manipulation ? who could also bring me up to date on what the hell was going on around here.




She came with a brush in hand.

?I know what you?re doing.? I said as she sat behind me on the couch and placed me sideways so that I was practically sitting on her lap like a child would do with a mother. And just like a mother would do to a child, she took the brush and used it to it?s full potential, sliding it gently through my hair and working out all the kinks created by the frazzle of the last few days. ?You?re trying to ?bond? with me, work up some little trust thing, make me think that we?re the best of friends now. So, what do you want??

?To not have to look at your hair as it is now, Miss Relena.? She answered with a little musical lilt to her voice, ?Because it?s a horrid crime on everything women and good hair care stand for.?

My leg kept me from stopping her. I no longer had the excuse of the drugs, though, because it had worn off and I could feel myself becoming more and more steadily like myself. Whatever that was like.

Since I said nothing, and was still trying to come up with the choice words to leak some information out of her, she seized the opportunity to speak first. ?Imagine my surprise, Miss Relena, when a certain brother of yours just nearly faints on my doorstep! Why, I almost thought that old song Rainin? Men was coming to life, and specializing in childhood friends that can?t decide if they hate you or love you or just don?t care one thing or the other about you.?

I felt my chest tighten. My brother and Heero seemed to have more in common than they could ever possibly realize or conceive, that being the habit of fainting on people?s doorsteps. Where was Heero, now that I thought about it? I didn?t know, wasn?t sure, and was relieved to let people like Sally and Dorothy take control of my life at the moment, because I was just running in circles anyway, and you know, that?s a pretty pointless way for a politician to operate, because you don?t really know where you?re going and you?re more likely to run into a tree than to solve any problems.

The brush racked through my hair, touching the top of my scalp a little uncomfortably harsh. ?Men DO seem to like those doorsteps, don?t they, Miss Relena? Now, tilt your head back, all right? Please stop looking all around.? She added the little warning but somehow kept a forever-sweetness to her voice, like it was oiled over with honey or something.

For some reason, I had to stop an impulse to defend myself by saying no, I wasn?t moving all around, or looking all around for that matter, but then I did a mental double take and realized the importance of her first sentence.

?What?? I asked, my hands at my sides clenching into fists.

?Thank goodness though, your brother wasn?t shot or anything??

?What?? I asked again, stupidly. I was making a habit out of saying things stupidly, kind of like men?s unnatural habit of fainting in unusual places, like the doorsteps of influential media women. Like, yeah. Heh. Funny. An inside joke made by me that I?m hopelessly out of. Heh heh, real funny, yeah, I?m going crazy.

?Mrs. Catolonia??

Dorothy had started to form the sounds of her next sentence in response to my stupidly asked question, but one of the men seen earlier stopped her, questioning from the doorway. She looked up, smiled, and, after carefully correcting him in the fact that she was not happily married, nor married at all for that matter, said, ?Yes, you can bring it in now.?

He nodded, and disappeared from whence he came.

?Bring in wha ?? I began tentatively, but stopped as she got up very suddenly and very decidedly.

My eyes held a question as they solemnly watched her move to the doorway, and shout some directions into the kitchen. ?The equipment should be handled carefully, I want no clumsiness! The first camera is to be positioned by the closet, all right? And it should be focused on the window. Yes, I know. Thanks!?

Then, she turned to me and flashed a smile.

I checked that my mouth was wide open in such a way that it could catch flies, and very quickly clasped it shut. But my expression of surprise remained, and I wished suddenly with a passion that my leg wasn?t in this damned cast that made it so hard to walk about, so that I could go to the kitchen and see what was going on.

I had had entirely too much of this, of the questions, of the profound sense of unknowing, of the doubt and the weakness and the fear of green eyes and the wonder of persuasiveness being shot down by a white dove.

?Dorothy, who are these men? I could have sworn it was one of them that attacked me.?

?Well, Miss Dorothy,? Dorothy said, began to cross the distance back to the couch, ?You would have sworn correctly. We had to fool Duo because he was about to do something damn foolish. We can?t have another assassination attempt on Billington, now can we??

My eyes flicked from her face to my hands, and then back to her face again, as I silently chastened myself for the momentary nervous waver. ?It?? I stopped, reviewed the facts of the case in my mind again, pronounced it hopelessly confusing, and continued my stupid question, thinking quietly that I very much liked stupid questions anyway, so no bother, ?It was all a set-up? To stop Duo from being rash??

She nodded, stopping where she stood. ?That?s about the size of it. Well, maybe about half the size actually, because, well, it was just a coincidence that we found Duo acting so.? Her smile almost seemed reassuring, as she added; ?We were going to knock you out anyway,? and I wondered if I should reply, Well, thank you Dorothy, I?m so relieved about that.

Dorothy continued on. ?It was quite a journey, Miss Relena ? finding your brother unconscious on my front door, and then getting a vid-call from Quatre??

?Quatre??

Another nod, almost impatient like, except that this was Dorothy and the only time I?d ever seen her impatient was when she had been awaiting war. But she no longer awaited war, and so her rapidness in the nods hadn?t been impatience ? at least not impatience directed at me. No, Dorothy was?

?excited about something.

Should I be scared?

?Yes, Miss Relena, Quatre called me. The poor boy was rather distressed ? but very helpful. He urged me to find you, however unconsciously he may have done it. So, I found you, it was rather easy, actually, because you whereabouts are all over the news ? and I ran into Sally along the way, who was trying, unsuccessfully, to get inside this apartment. The mob would not even let a Preventer agent pass.? There was a pause, where she chuckled, and then continued, ?I trust you needed that information very much. Does it clear some things up??

?Some. But not all. How?d you get in here then, if Sally couldn?t do it alone? Mobs surround every front. And where did all these men?dressed in black?come from??

?Ah, but Miss Relena, that?s the beauty of the entire affair!?

I really doubted there was anything even remotely beautiful about this morose affair.

?I hired them, you see, to pretend to be cult members about to do you in. The mob let us pass for that, and it was all an added bonus when I overheard your and Duo?s conversation, my ability to stop that well-meaning braided God of Death from ruining things. He?d be too distressed worrying about you to try anything so silly.?

God, they?d let her pass for that. Could there be anything more disgusting? Why didn?t they let them pass so that I could be arrested and get a fair trial and everything?

Because Billington is a genius ? he controls this entire city, including the police force ? and he has all the other politicians and Preventer agents, just as Duo had described, All our little Preventer buddies are scurrying around like good little mice, trying to shut Billington up, but it won?t work, because every time he yells, they jump.

The world had been turned upside down, in such a manner that gravity no longer worked, and I fell totally off the planet.

?Things are already ruined.? I returned, trying my best to set my face into an expressionless mask of true leadership and obliviousness to any personal fumbles. ?So you?re the master of this bizarre circus, then??

She swatted away that allegation like it was an annoying fly. ?But I see the question in your eyes, Miss Relena. You?re wondering, where was the Perfect Soldier all this time? Had he anticipated my arrival??

I nodded weakly, urging her to go on.

And then she smiled. Smiled wider than I?d ever seen her smile before.

?You were on television, Miss Relena.? She said in backbreaking honesty from her post by the doorway.




According to Dorothy, I was given the wondrous honor to be tricked by one of the best tricks in the history of tricks, and the best trickster in trickster history committed it, no less.

All I kept thinking was my god: They saw the kiss; the whole world saw the kiss they couldn?t stop. And we mentioned names ? we talked about Duo and Hilde right there in the open. Thank god we didn?t talk about the Gundams, or mention any last names or anything. Thank god, thank god, thank god, and I couldn?t stop thanking and hating that heavenly entity at the same time.

So, a couple little cameras implanted in the walls had watched the entire last few days.

Cameras planted by none other than a Mr. Billington, shrewder than shrewd.

?He?s planted the whole building with cameras, and the buildings besides this one, of course. It may be hard for you to believe, Miss Relena, but he?s really that influential and that smart. He knew you would get cover somewhere, so he made the plans and decided on the most likely area you would take shelter in, a good three mile chunk. Then it was just a matter of trying each camera until he found you. Yes, he?s a genius ? his powers of foreshadowing are unequalled, in my opinion.?

I didn?t want her damn opinion.

I remembered dimly what Billington had said when he had, at the time, turned us loose for no reason at all: Let the game begin, he had said, and then he had smiled a smile that had turned my stomach upside down, almost as upside down as the world was now.

How could I have been so stupid? How could I have not seen?

Televised to, true, only one channel, channel fifteen in most areas and channel twenty one in others ? but the entire world had tuned in to see it, no one caring about the scathing invasion of privacy. They?d watched and they?d heard and they knew that there was no way in hell I could even think of denying my relationship with a Mr. Heero.

Dorothy had to knock Heero out when she first came in because otherwise, the mobs would know that they weren?t really after the death of the politician and her assassin lover. She had to knock me out as well, for the same reason. And then, when channel fifteen and channel twenty one were positive that the bittersweet Relena and Heero couple had met their doom, Dorothy very neatly found the cameras and smashed them into little itsy bitsy bits and pieces.

?No one wants to see murder.? She explained. ?They?d think we were just being courteous.?

Then she threw me a shard of black plastic, cut jaggedly, sort of like someone had taken a hammer to it, which I felt, was most likely the case. I caught it awkwardly, and understood immediately ? there?s your little camera.

?Of course, Heero was very upset about the whole thing. In so many words, he told me so: ?Damn.? and ?Hn.? It caught him totally off-guard, I can assure you.?

I said nothing, staring absently at the little black shard and, after a moment?s pause, turning it over and over in my hand, feeling the coolness of it against my sweaty palms.

She returned to the couch then, seating herself in front of me so that in our positions we faced eye to eye. It took me a moment to work my way through the surprise to realize this new manipulation technique of hers ? she wanted to seem imposing, and dammit she was imposing, even though she was smiling and chuckling a little bit and patting my leg in a maternal manner.

?Sigh.? She still had the brush in hand, and began to make use of it, brushing back my bangs and combing away the hair from my ears. Oddly enough, even though she very carefully kept her gaze and attention on my hair, and her voice seemed to have a tint of I?m-not-really-paying-attention-to-what-I?m-saying kind of thing, there was also a quality to her that said, although-the-thing-is-I?m-paying-you-so-much-attention-you-should-be-blushing-and-hiding-away-somewhere kind of thing. ?Miss Relena, would it be fair to say that your difficult position of the moment is caused by distrust between you and your people??

I faltered for a moment, but then went on to answer readily, ?Yes.?

?And you would want them to be able to trust you again??

I considered my reply for a minute, then felt utterly stupid for even have to consider anything like that. ?Of course.?

?Even if it meant they were to know the truth, the absolute truth??

A sigh marked my reply, blown out by a strange pressure that had been building in my chest ever since Dorothy had said the word trust. ?Yes. Of course.? Then, somewhat tentatively, ?I live for my people.?

She finished her brushing and sat back to admire her work. ?I?ll get you a mirror in a moment, Miss Relena. But, you know, you?ve already mirrored exactly what I thought you would say. Now, here.?

From the coffee table she picked up a mug of something that smelled like tea, handing it to me. I looked at it for a moment, and then looked back at her.

?Go on, drink, it?s good for you.?

Well, it didn?t seem to be poisoned or anything. I honestly wasn?t that good at detecting poison, but it didn?t have any green substance floating on the top ? but then again, the whole thing was green, so maybe it would be pretty worthless to say that. The drink itself was all green, yes, a green bubbly liquid, but it actually seemed very appetizing, with the steam that wafted up practically shrieking of some form of exotic tea. I hesitated and then drank, taking one little sip at a time.

?Do you like it??

I nodded.

?Very good. Now, how do you think you can portray to them the absolute truth? By honestly telling them everything, correct??

I nodded again, noting that I suddenly felt that familiar drugged up wooziness again.

?They already know everything. They saw it.?

She ignored my words. ?So that?s a yes then, Miss Relena??

?Yes, Dorothy, I think I?ve already maintained that I would like them to kn??

I saw her smiling face, and then her crystal blue eyes, and, lastly, my own lap, as my head dropped down with a speed that I had not been expecting, so that I felt the uncomfortable sensation of blood rushing to my head. No, it wasn?t the same drugged up wooziness ? it was just sleepiness. I was so sleepy.

So sleepy.

?Very well. Then you?d understand the importance of a televised event broadcast from this apartment, after all, wouldn?t you? The contents shall be dwelling mainly on you and Heero?s odd relationship, naturally. Words can better explain what they saw, and they saw less than you think.?

This new information dimly reached my mind. ?Nnn.? I mumbled uselessly, and suddenly remember what I had forgotten in the shock of the hidden camera realization ? Dorothy had said, Men have that habit of fainting on doorsteps, and then she had said, at least my brother wasn?t shot.

Dorothy?s eerily kind voice very quickly invaded my last awake thoughts, however, done with that damned musical lilt to it as usual.

?Good night, Miss Relena. Sleep well.?




The equipment was all ready there when I awoke. I mentally kicked myself in the ass for being that stupid to let her make me drink that ? of course, the last thing I had said was yes, I had agreed, and then the drink had put me out long enough to forestall any such disagreement I may voice, just long enough, in fact, to have everything set up.

But things were already set up, with three or four cameras somehow crammed into that small room, all of them focused on one of the windows on the other side of the room, with a black dressed man manning each one.

I understood her game now, somewhat. But I was still confused ? first of all, on Dorothy?s behavior ? I had thought she was over such low tricks ? and, secondly, on the whereabouts of Heero and Sally and my brother. I hadn?t seen Heero nor my brother since I had awoken in my brother?s arms, and now, Sally was nowhere to be seen either.

?Well, I had to make them unconscious, you know, because they wouldn?t go for this at all.? She explained. ?But don?t worry, nothing too severe, just a little bump on the head. They?re sound asleep in the kitchen. Ah, you wonder why I set up these cameras, if there were already cameras in the wall before? Well, with this system, I can invade every single channel, so there?s no need to worry about our audience being too small and petty. We?re only going to say these things once, you know, unless we write a book about it. Actually, I would like to write a book about it. My life is rather fascinating, I think, though people may get the idea that I come off a little manipulative. Well, I guess I do, so never mind. I can always change things to my liking. Though that?s manipulation, isn?t it? My, you look tired, Miss Relena. Let Adam here ? ? She pointed to a man with a make up kit in hand, ?Take control and make you look beautiful.?

Man, she could talk.

I was still trying to get my bearings on my uncomfortable position on the couch when she, to my surprise, urged me to my feet, saying a hurried, ?Come come Miss Relena, this is no time to dawdle, we?re doing this live on every station now.? With that she positioned me in front of the cameras, although I very quickly moved out of that spotlight and into the shadows of the corner of the room.

Gawd, I felt so helpless and weak.

Then she had leaped in front of the cameras herself, allowing me to my momentary cowering, flashed another of her trademark smiles, and it had begun.

?Let me tell you all a wonderful story.?

A smile here, poking delicately at her pink lips, molding her expression into that of the utmost amusement. She looked like she was having fun ? and why not? This was Dorothy we were talking about, THE Dorothy that absolutely thrived on the philosophy that life was one gigantic plot, and her place on Earth, her very existence, was the sole purpose to stir up some trouble and create wonderful plot twists.

?It starts so many years ago, over ten by now, in fact, back when both of our star-crossed lovers were fifteen. Hmmm?. well, to tell the whole thing in complete and utter detail would take so damn long. I know! I?ll write a book about it!?

I could almost see the light bulb pop over her head.

What was she doing? The Dorothy of yesterday seemed to have been left behind, the replacement being a venomous figure bent on destroying everything I held dear. Well, perhaps, not to ?destroy?. But still?frustrations and infuriating anger aside, I was no less than totally bewildered, confused at this odd turn of events.

?Come now, Miss Relena,? She said, her nauseating sweet voice, oiled with persuasiveness, breaking through my thoughts ? before I knew what was happening she had taken hold of my hand and pulled me forward, into direct view of the cameras. I made myself give a smile, but it was a nervous one, despite all my efforts to do otherwise.

?You shouldn?t hide, you know. I never knew you to be camera-shy before. Be more comfortable! The yarn I am about to spin is something truly amazing. Some of the secrets that are going to be uncovered even evaded your watchful eye, especially those that influenced the recent developments in the Billington saga. Oh, yes, my dear??

Her eyes closed, and her expression took on that of dreamy whimsy.

Then, however, she snapped back to attention, and, holding my trembling hand in her own, continued, ?You learn beautiful pieces of information after spending a couple nights with an earnest, plotting politician, who, may I say, has fairly large equipment and knows *just* how to go slow. Don?t seem so shocked! Smile a little, won?t you. You?re on television, Miss Relena.?

Yes, I knew I was on television. I?d been on television for the last few days ? I was sick of television ? I was making a vow, as I stood there, to never ever watch that dratted little bit of screen and electrical cable again.

Then she began talking, as I stood by her and weakly listened, at first wishing I was out of this damn situation.

But then, it became rather interesting, and I found myself listening intently, and finally understand Dorothy?s point, until I knew and I loved and I thanked my lucky stars that I had such a shrewdly good little manipulator by my side, to help me when things got wicked and you had to get a little down and dirty in the politician?s arena.

?Mr. Billington has been kind enough to uncover the little precious secret about a politician?s relationship with an assassin, and, more importantly, an assassin that was a Gundam Wing pilot. I won?t go into the gory details or anything, because, as I said, a book would be much more suited for such an explanation, and I?ve been having a writer?s itch lately anyway. To the point, Relena here developed feelings for the assassin ? and the assassin unwittingly began to feel the same for her.

?They had some adventures behind the scenes during the Eve Wars, but when that was done with, the two found themselves in entirely different positions. Relena had responsibilities ? Heero had none. But time only makes the heart grow fonder, you know.

?Now, Relena had a servant named Anne* that she felt very strongly for. She thought the girl was nice and sweet and caring and just generally wonderful ? she overlooked the girl?s middle name, however.

?Anne Billington Romanos.

?More commonly known as the younger sister of Zachary Billington, a little sister who was on several Broadway shows and other acting gigs before adding the last name Romanos and changing the color of her hair, then going to work as a servant in Miss Relena?s little castle.?

Oh.

Damn, damn, damn, to the damnedest.

So stupid.

?If the pieces? continued Dorothy, ?are slowly coming together for some of you, congratulations. You?re a little smarter than all the rest.

?Now, when Anne knew about Relena and Heero?s little escapade because her brother, very influential as he is in some areas, such as finding out everything about everybody, told her. Then imagine her surprise, to see, one fine, spring morning, about two years after the Eve Wars or so, to find that very assassin as described to her by her brother walking up the pathway to the castle, with a bouquet of red roses in hand!

?For, Heero had been on a little journey of self-discovery, and he had discovered that he loved the Cinq princess for her faith in peace, for the love she felt for everyone, for the deep feeling of responsibility she always carried with her ? for her caring, for her sensitive leadership.

?And no, Miss Relena didn?t ask me to say that, if some of you out there are thinking that. She hadn?t expected this wonderful televised event, in truth. But none of you can say it isn?t true, now can you? Miss Relena may be the most sensitive leader history has ever seen.

?He had realized he loved her, and he went to tell her. But Anne, you see, had some history with him as well, for her father, as well as Zachary Billington?s father, had been a very faithful OZ soldier who was killed in battle by Gundam 01. Naturally, she now knew who had piloted that Gundam, recognized his face, and, well, got a little bit ahead of herself.

?She shot him multiple times from the cover of a bush. He never saw her ? only saw the bullets and then the wounds he got from the bullets.?

From there on, she went on to tell the rest of the whole sad story ? how I had taken care of him. After a while I was afraid she was going to tell the world the other Gundam pilot?s names, and, even though she seemed about to consider it, she refrained from doing so. Everything was told in as full detail as possible ? how Heero had hatched a plot to assassinate (though Wufei and Quatre and my brother were left out of it), and how it had fallen down around our ears.

Then, she told the world how we had been trapped in this apartment, not coming out for a fair trial even if we wanted to.

And besides, according to her, a trial was pointless anyway, because Relena Peacecraft was innocent of the crime.

?Anne was an actress, a damn good one, who had lived with the Vice Foreign Minister for several years. It was easy for her to mimic the crime.?

God, she?d shot her own brother.




?Give me one good reason why I shouldn?t kill you.?

When the cameras had gone off, and while I stood weakly by Dorothy?s side, still trying to process what had just happened, Heero made his presence known by appearing almost instantly with a gun to Dorothy?s head. I guess he?d woken up.

Dorothy smiled one of her trademark I-don?t-give-a-shit smiles, but I could tell that she was very aware of the danger by the way her posture went absolutely rigid. Meanwhile, the camera crew moved around putting everything away, as if their employer didn?t have a gun to her forehead, as if, in fact, she was just sharing a spot of tea and crumpets with dear old friends.

?Because, Mr. Yuy, it would just be scandalous, wouldn?t it? Think about it. I just temporarily cleaned your reputation ? do you really want to throw all that down the drain and soil it again by killing me? It was so very dirty, you know, and I worked so very hard.?

His scowl tightened, as well as his finger on the trigger. ?I don?t care.? He fairly growled. ?You are a threat to peace.?

?No, she?s not.? I said then, surprising myself as well as both of them. Instinctively, my hand went up and grasped his arm, slowly pulling the gun away from Dorothy?s head to point uselessly to the ground.

They both looked at me almost quizzically. I knew I shouldn?t have been joking at a time like that, but I couldn?t stop the cynical thought that sprinted through my mind next: Dorothy, I thought, must be thinking to herself: I?m not? and she must be very disappointed as well.

?Honesty,? I said ruefully, choosing to look meaningfully at Dorothy instead of Heero, ?Is, undoubtedly, the best policy. Dorothy here showed that to me today ? even if they no longer want me as Vice Foreign Minister, they can?t put me in jail for anything, and a minor investigation should prove Dorothy?s point about Anne. Dorothy here may have just saved peace, by putting that asshole Billington?s charade at an end.?

I hesitated, and then added, ?Thank you, Dorothy.?

She nodded; a small smile making it?s way back to replace her quizzical expression. But, it wasn?t manipulative; it was more like, well, an honest smile, saying, thanks Relena, thanks for understanding me.

Without a word, Heero placed the gun in his pocket. He made as if to move away, but, aha, I still had him by the arm, and I would not let him wrestle out his grasp so easily. Dorothy?s words had forced a realization upon me, and I was going to act on it.

?No, Heero, not this time. You?re not pushing me away again or running away or anything like that.? I stopped, paused, and breathed out a deep sigh. ?I want to talk to you. In private.?

He turned to face me, to my subtle surprise. And then, to my even deeper surprise, he raised the arm I did not hold and slowly traced my jaw line with it, sending instant shivers down my spine. ?I think that should happen.? He said.




To be continued?. *evil laugh from authoresses*

[Tsukiyo]

EEEE!!! I can't wait for the next part!! ::sinister voice:: It had better be swift in its arrival!!

Oh, and major snaps on your portrayel of Dorothy. I find her to be a most intriguing character and i am thoroughly enjoying her place in this story.

I'm glad that i'm starting to understand what is going on more! You have been very successful in keeping me as confused as Relena has been. But, i eagerly await Heero and Relena's "private" conversation!!
Happy composing!!

~Tsukiyo

[miaka mouse]

oh man...is this gonna be continued ?? it's sooooo good! so well-written... so action-packed, romantic and thought-provoking... an amazing fic altogether... please please finish it!

[AngelOfDeath]

I remember looking for more parts.... and not really finding any.

Anyone have better luck than I?

[miaka mouse]

well... 4-7 are all in june 2002.. i think the author has an account at FFN as well... but it stopped at part 8 tooo! ::weeps::