Dark Secrets

Title: Dark Secrets

Warning: Angst, Yaoi, Adult content

Parings:  13\6

(maybe 2\6 later on in the fic...and no I'm not splitting the 13\6 up.. how is that possible.. you'll find out.

   Just wait...^_~ )

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW or the characters.. the only thing I do own here is Shady Meadows, The Meadows Estate, Donal, Ronale, and Miriald (and no that isn't Zechs!) which are my own creations. If you wish to use them just ask or use them but give credit to me for them at either the beginning or end of the fic. Thank you.

(Started: ) Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Authors Warning:

This is the first time I've written Dorothy in a normal role. Since this begins and spans most of the story.. at least the beginning half in her POV please forgive if she's too OOC...I'm used to doing OZies or the Pilots. Also parts of this, including the very beginning read as if she's giving an interview of the events that happened within this fic. The other parts are either past events told from her or other pov's. and the present told the same way. But the present events won't be until close to the end of this.

  The title is taken from the many small dark secrets that are told\given away in this fic. There are small minor ones and others that are large enough to effect the way history might have went had they been discovered at a much different time...say before the Eve Wars, or before Operation Meteor was ever put into action. Rather than three years after the events of Endless Waltz.

Enough about that though... On to the Fic!

Enjoy!

~*Mirialdo Khushrenada*~

AKA: Treize

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 ( Present :  A little over four years after Endless Waltz )

"Now where was I? ... oh yes.. your question. You know I shouldn't of even said anything, but since I do have permission now. I suppose I should answer it hmm? Well, its always best to start at the beginning so that's where I'll begin." Dorothy straightened her skirt over her legs and then smiled slightly at the man sitting across from her. She closed her eyes for a moment as if trying to recall those events that had happened over the last year. Opening them again she smiled at the man again and he shifted slightly in his seat as if uncomfortable or possibly like a mouse would under the gaze of a snake about to strike.

"Hmm... yes. I believe it was over a year ago in Ukraine where I found both of them. I was following the leads I had received about my cousins whereabouts.. you see after Mr. Milliardo came back a year after he was supposed to have died, I figured my cousin might of had the same stroke of good fortune. I spent two years following false leads until this one came to my attention. According to it, a ginger haired man was supposed to have been admitted to this medical ward, by the name of Shady Meadows, located not far from Kiev." she paused as if thinking or distracted for a moment. Then she shook her head and gave a soft sigh.

"Of course.. when I went I had two goals actually should this lead turn out to be true. One was to get my cousin out of there and find out how he survived. Number two was to prove to Miss Relena and Ms. Une that Mr. Milliardo was not.. how should I put it.. hmm.. mentally unstable might work. You might already have known that the Vice Minister had her brother committed to the Meadows Estate. He like myself, knew that my cousin was still alive, of course he didn't get as bad as they claimed he was back then until he returned to earth. But I digress.."

"As I was saying.. I left for Ukraine hoping that this lead was a true one and my cousin was at the end of this.. but I never expected to find what I did.."

****

(Three years after Endless Waltz, a year before the beginning of this fic)

****

The blonde stepped out of the car and walked up to the gate and after showing her pass continued inside the compound towards the building. She made her way pass the nurses station ignoring the questioning looks she received from them as she walked through the double entrance doors. She calmly walked down the bland off-white dull hallways filled with carts or the elderly making their way slowly down the hall one way or another. The hall ran through a large open room and she stopped stepping out of the hallways path to scan the room for the familiar color of ginger she was hunting for.

It wasn't there. But this was a large Ward or Clinic as the sign outside read. She frowned for a minute before stepping back into the hallways path and glancing down both ways before deciding to continue down it. Finding nothing but an endless hall of continuous doors, all with the same cheap fake wood appearance to them. With a slightly frustrated sigh she turned around and begun to retrace her steps to the large room she had past through, scanning it once more silently. Still not finding what she sought she began to continue down back towards the front of the building when a hand tapping her once on the shoulder caught her attention.

Turning she saw one of the nurses standing behind her. "May I help you Miss?" the woman asked, one hand resting in the large pocket of the mauve smock she wore.

Dorothy smiled slightly at her, already silently beginning to hate this place, and its overhanging cloud of depression and doom. "Yes, I'm looking for someone. He had ginger colored hair, deep blue eyes. About 5'8" tall.. I was told I could find him here. Could you direct me to where he is?"

The nurse frowned, pressing her lips together as if very displeased by the description of the person she had given. "There's no one here like that, you heard wrong. Now if you've kindly leave, I have others who need my help." the woman said in a sullen tone.

The nurse's attitude was the last straw. Dorothy narrowed her eyes and then took a hold of the nurse's wrist and twisted it a little. "I know he's here. If you don't take me to him now.. you won't be *able* to help anyone else here. Understand me?" she hissed softly, twisting the woman's wrist a little more with her last words. The woman winced and then nodded glaring back at her. Dorothy gave the wrist in her hand one last twisting yank before releasing it. "Good. I would hate to have to pull rank on this pathetic little operation you have running here. Now lead the way."

The nurse rubbed her wrist silently giving her another glare before walking down the hall towards the station at the front of the building. Dorothy followed her silently, ignoring it. Just before they reached the station the nurse opened a door way and led her down another hallway, which seemed to mimic the one they just left exactly. Finally the woman stopped in front of a large patio window and opened the door leading her outside and across the pathetic excuse that apparently passed for a garden here.

The path they were on continued on, disappearing behind a stand of tall pines, which the woman finally stopped at. "In here." she said. Her voice cold and clipped. The words sounding more like a curse than anything else. Dorothy nodded and then stepped around the pines her eyes scanning the area and taking in the vast array of roses that seemed to dominate the small space. She heard the voices then and turned towards them to see a group of men speaking softly in one corner of the small rose garden.

"The Rose of Sharon?" an old voice said. Soft laughter followed the statement.

"I'm sorry but the Rose of Sharon isn't a rose at all. ' Hibiscus Syriacus' not is not even close to 'Rosa Dilecta', the Hybrid Tea rose." a soft tenor replied.

A bit more laughter from the other men. "Well what about the Althaea Rosea?" the older man asked, a faint smugness in his tone. A soft laugh followed his question.

"What is this? When did the Hollyhock become a rose?" the tenor again. More laughter.

A disgusted sound. "Well then.. what about the Christmas rose?" The older man seemed determined to win this little battle of knowledge and was losing pitifully.

Another small laugh. "You don't give up do you. Very well then. The Christmas Rose or Helleborus niger is not a true rose either."

Dorothy walked towards the men silently watching the group of four men, two of which were still laughing at the older man's disgusted expression. After thinking a moment she stood behind the one she hoped was who she thought it was and spoke indifferently. "What about the Rosa arkansana?" she asked the man sitting in front of her, his back still towards her.

A soft tenor laugh again and the figure turned to look at her, through the one deep blue eye that wasn't covered by the ginger bangs that fell over one side of his face. "Yes. The Prairie Rose is a true rose as it belongs to the Rosa genus. " A small smile graced his lips. " Hello Dorothy, please sit down unless this is just a short visit and you don't have the time."

Dorothy ignored the sarcastic barb and took a seat beside him taking in his appearance. Besides his hair growing longer, not much else had changed it seemed. "Hello cousin Treize. May I ask how long you've been here?" she asked quietly watching him.

For a moment it seemed he was studying her, then his attention flicked back behind him to take in the glowering figure of the nurse who still stood on the path just inside this small garden. He gave a patronizing smile to the woman and then gestured with hand for her to leave. "We'll be quite alright here, Nurse 'Pratchit'. You can leave us now." the tone he used was sarcastic and held a trace of dry humor in it. The nurse's glower turned into a full-blown glare and she turned sharply on her heel and left, the laughter of the other two men on Treize's right following her departing form.

The man sitting on Dorothy's left sighed. "You shouldn't have done that. Now she'll go get that damned Doctor and we'll be cooped up inside for a week at least, and you to your beloved bed no doubt." the older man's tone held disgust with a faint tremble of fear behind it.

Treize turned back around in his chair and rolled his visible eye. A slight smirk graced his features suddenly. "I doubt they do *that* again.. last time it cost him two CNA's and one RN. And they still haven't replaced the CNA's. Most likely he can't find any who will work here." the tenor voice was had a sarcastic overtone.

There was something in this exchange that made her hair rise on the back of her neck. "Are they holding you here against your will cousin?" she asked quietly.

One of the men across from her gave a disgusted snort. "Honey, no ones here of their own free will. You get put in this hell hole you stay in this hell hole until one of two things happen."

The other man sighed and finished the first ones statement. "Ye either get taken out by the one who put ye in here in the first place or ye die her. Most often its the latter. And ye don't *even* want to think about trying to walk out the front door." The man beside her whimpered slightly and then stood up.

"I'm leaving.. I don't want to hear this. And you -" he turned back to Treize jabbing a bony finger at the bored face watching him with indifference. "You are trouble. It follows you around like a cloud of doom, and I want nothing more to do with it or you!" the man finished and then hurriedly walked away from them towards the path.

The other men watched the retreating form in silence, she looked down at Treize. He was slowly moving one finger down to touch his palm, silently mouthing the number of fingers. After he completed the first hand he started on the second. She frowned faintly and then startled slightly when he suddenly looked up after finishing the second hand and turned to look back towards the path. The old man had just made it onto the path when he gave a small gasping cry and collapsed to his knees holding his chest. She looked back at Treize, and saw nothing in his expression besides the cold indifference as he watched the man finally fall face first onto the stone path.

After a moment he gave a slight bored sigh and turned back around in his chair. "I told him his anger would kill him one of these days.. that was his trouble he never listened to me." Part of her was shocked to see him just sit there after having watched the man die behind him. Looking up at the other men she saw that her cousins actions hadn't fazed them any.

"Does that happen often?" she asked quietly.

The man who had been speaking before the interruption nodded once glancing at Treize. " Yes.. and ye keen somethin' else? He's never wrong. Ye cousin.. he knows when dey be leaving here in the pine box he does. Ye see him counting and ye know someone's a leaving here soon. And it won't be through the front doors I'm telling ye.. but the back ones inside a pine box."

While the man spoke she glanced at Treize, his eye was closed and his face held no expression as he sat there. 

"Treize?" she asked softly. The eye opened slightly looking at her, and she suppressed a small shudder at the thought that the gaze seemed to be looking through her as well. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Of course, cousin. Why shouldn't I be alright?" he said quietly. His eye closed again and then after a moment he opened it and lifted his head slightly as if recalling something. "I haven't introduced you have I.. it seems my manners are slipping. Forgive me. The one on my right is Ronale. The other on his right is Donal. The recently departed was Hawken." He nodded slightly after he finished and glanced at the other two. "This gentlemen is my cousin Dorothy." The other two nodded politely towards her and she smiled faintly. Silently worried for her cousin, considering his current behavior.

Treize seemed to smile slightly for some reason and then glanced at her, lifting an eyebrow slightly. "You needn't be worried cousin.. I'm far from demented, but this place you could say is getting to me." She froze silently in muted shock at his addressing a concern that she hadn't voiced.

She tried to recover and then stood slowly. "I never said I thought you were." she said quietly looking down at him.

Another small smirk and the visible eyebrow lifted again. "Your actions, thoughts implied it." he responded with a faint trace of acid in his tone.

She took a step back away from the chairs and then held onto the back of the chair she had just left. She decided to try and calm him down with the only thing she could hope still possibly held any meaning to him. "I came to find you so I could ask your help." she said watching him, waiting.

"Help with what?"

"Milliardo."

She was surprised at the sudden change in his appearance. He shot up straight in his seat, eye going wide at the name. His features held hope, fear, and a hint of his old self as he studied her. "He's alive?" he asked, the tenor sounding slightly strained.

She nodded. "Yes, but he needs your help. You're the only one who could possibly help him now. Others have tried and failed.. so if I got you out of this place would you help me help him?" she asked. Treize was standing now, one hand holding the arm of his chair as if it were a lifeline.

"Of course.. but how do you plan to do that? Get me out of here I mean.. I can't just walk out of here."

Donal nodded silently behind him. "He's right. Someone already tried that.. lost half his arm. Luckily it wasn't his life...or maybe unlucky since he was dragged back in here to continue living in this hell hole. Show her ye arm Ginger."

She looked back at Treize who was pulling up the sleeve of the sweater he was wearing. A wide black band was wrapped around his wrist with a sinister looking silver circle centered right over the middle of it. After a moment he pulled his sweater back down covering it again.

 

Swearing silently she closed her eyes thinking of how she could get around that and then thought of two things. If the first was a no-go the second would work if only she was able to get it started. She glanced over at Donal. "That band.. what would happen -" she began.

Donal shook his head in a fast no. "If ye try to cut it off him lass, it *will* go boom and very likely to take ye and him both when it does. I wouldn't even begin to try messing with It." he said grimly.

When she looked back towards Treize he wasn't paying any attention to those around him. Once more his attention was centered on his hands and counting silently. Ronale watched him wary. Donal simply closed his eyes as if offering up a brief prayer to the heavens. By the time she looked back at her cousin the 'spell' had ended and he sighed softly. Donal opened his eyes and glanced at Treize an unspoken question in his eyes.

"Rosalie." Treize said softly before sitting down once more. Ronale sighed and lowered his eyes.

"She's in a better place now hmm?" he asked quietly.

Donal nodded silently. Dorothy looked between the three men and finally decided to ask what was foremost on her mind. "How did he *know* who died? I could possibly understand feeling someone die.. but how..?" she trailed off watching them silently, waiting.

Treize didn't answer, he didn't even look up at her to acknowledge he had heard her. Donal glanced at him then at her and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Oi.. lass.. We normally don't speak of that ye see. It just *is*.. Ever since he came here he's been able to do that.. although.." he stalled then and glanced at Treize. "Should I? I won't go further if you don't want me too." he said softly watching the silent ginger-haired man.

The visible sapphire eye glanced up at him briefly. "Go on.. I've heard it enough it doesn't really have any effect anymore." he said quietly.

Donal nodded silently before he looked back at her. "Well, he was in bad shape when he got here. The first year.. ye might say was touch and go until they finally kept him stable and he pulled out of the woods. The second he recovered from the first year and that's when it started. It drove the doctor lads nuts trying to figure out what was going on and finally.." he paused with a small wince and hesitated for a moment before continuing. ".. they did some tests. That wouldn't of been so bad, but the stupid bastards didn't read his files and used electro-shock therapy." Another wince. She spared a glance at Treize, he was paying them no attention. His eyes seemed to be glued to the various roses blooming about the small garden.

Dorothy looked back at Donal. "Go on. Something went awry I take it?" she asked.

"Ye could say that. Terribly so, ye see when they brought him in it was electrocution he was suffering from.. it messed his system up something awful.. so when they did those tests.." Donal swallowed slightly, but was interrupted from continuing by Treize's tenor, quiet sounding with a trace of pain behind it.

"It felt like I was back in that cockpit.. it just made everything worse. Everything felt on fire.. like before.. I thought I'd die from it, but of course I didn't.. instead now I get some kind of *feeling* when some here dies and I *know* who it is.. It's overwhelming that feeling.. that's why I count, it dampens it somewhat until it goes away." he looked away from the roses, towards her, the visible eyes held a haunted look deep within it.  

"It took me a couple months after they finally repaired what they could before I could walk again, another couple of months, before I could talk decently enough to hold a conversation again." he looked down silently then ran a hand through his bangs slowly, brushing them out of his face finally. The eye beneath the bangs was milk white, scars made themselves known as ragged white lines running across his temple around his right eye to finally taper off as they made their way down his neck.

He turned to look at her directly, both eyes watching her silently for a moment before he spoke again. "Before the therapy the doctor said there was a 50\50 chance of my eyesight returning, now its nil. Also I been here for going on three years, thinking no one that I could trust knew of my survival. I couldn't call anyone without revealing myself to the world. Which I still do not want.. I arranged things before so that the War would end and another would not be started.. and while I was mostly in part successful I will *not* ruin it just because of personal discomfort." He leaned back in the chair, arms crossing over his chest silently as he calmed himself down.

"Also.." he looked down, causing the long bangs to fall once more over his face. "I believed Milliard.. had died. It seems everything has conspired to create what you see today. I may be only 27 but I feel like I'm entering 60's.....but if I'm the only one you think can help Milliardo then how can you get me out so that I can help you help him?" he asked quietly looking up at her.

Dorothy closed her eyes trying and failing to suppress a shudder that went through her. After a moment she opened her eyes again and then looked back down at him. "Yes. If everything I have in mind goes correctly I can have you out of her within a week. Possibly sooner. " she said.

He nodded slightly and then closed his eyes. "Is it possible to help any of the others trapped here?" he asked softly not opening his eyes.

Dorothy straightened up, recovering from the multiple shocks she had received this evening. "Cousin, if everything goes the way it should this place will *not* be running after the week is out."

"Good."

Nodding she turned to walk back towards the path and then with one silent glance back she left the clinic.

***

She parked her car along the wall that surrounded Meadow Estate and walked up to the tall iron gate. The guard nodded silently as she took out her pass and showed it to him. "I know who you are Miss Dorothy." he said leaning back in his seat.

"Anyone been here today?" she asked as she placed the pass back in her purse.

"You mean those annoying pressmen or his sister?"

"Miss Relena's here?"

He nodded and rolled his eyes. "If you were an hour earlier you could of heard her. It seems he didn't exactly welcome her visit."

"Is she still here?"

He sighed and nodded. "I think he only let her inside just to shut her up." A snort of amusement came after the statement.

Dorothy smiled slightly. "Maybe." With that she turned away from him, and walked through the gates down the narrow street. Walking down the quiet lane she glanced at the various houses on each side. They were nice homes. Which only the wealthy could afford the price of living in one though. She looked up ahead towards her destination when she heard the sudden screaming.

"Brother! Please you have to get over this. He's gone.."

"SHUT UP! You don't know what I do.. I know he's alive! I can feel it!"

The door to the second house down from where she was swung open and a tall blonde rushed out of the door to be followed closely by a smaller woman dressed in pale pink and white.

"Milliardo! Come back here! Listen to me!"

Milliardo spun around to face Relena still standing in the doorway. "I AM NOT CRAZY! I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!" he screamed back at her fists clenched at his sides.

Relena paled slightly. " I never said you were crazy Brother.."

He glared at her. "THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU FORCE  ME TO LIVE IN THIS PLACE, IF YOU DON'T THINK I'VE LOST IT? YOU TRIED TO HAVE ME COMMITED!"

Dorothy raised an eyebrow slightly and then continued towards them. "Hello Mr. Milliardo... Miss Relena."

Milliardo spun around and upon seeing it was her, slowly calmed down. "Dorothy.. make her leave me alone." the request sounded more like a growl, but she nodded and glanced at Relena.

"Miss Relena, may I borrow your brother for a while?" She turned back to Milliardo without waiting an answer and then continued. "You see there's a mission.. and if I'm not mistaken your still a Preventer yes?"

He nodded, turning to deliver a small glare at Relena. "No thanks to her. It was either move here or resign. What mission?"

"I can explain it on the way to Brussels." she said watching both of them.

Milliardo straightened up and nodded walking back towards the house. Relena stepped out of his way as he walked back inside and moments later he came back out dressed in uniform. His demeanor was calm, and he nodded once towards Relena as he passed her. "I assume your driving?"

Dorothy nodded in answer and then glanced at Relena. "Take care, Miss Relena. Goodbye." She led the way back towards the gate and nodded once to the guard, watching as he gave a glance at Milliardo but did nothing. They climbed back into her car and began the trip towards the airport. The flight to Brussels was uneventful and silent.

 

As they walked up to Une's office, he glanced at her. "You never explained what this mission was."

She glanced at him and then stepped forwards to open the door. "I know. I decided I'd like to only say it once instead of having to repeat myself twice."

Inside the office, Une glanced up at her. "Yes Dorothy? Wind.. something wrong?"

Dorothy smiled slightly and then walked towards the desk and sat down in one of the chairs in front of it. "Nothing's wrong. Well nothing here is wrong. I have something I want to ask.."

"What is it?"

"There's this clinic just outside of Kiev. Its called Shady .. Meadows. Lets just say its shady alright. The place is a disaster. To add to that they're holding a VIP that could create one hell of a bonfire if someone found him and took him away from them." She glanced back at Milliardo and then looked back at Une. "You see.. Milli-"

"Wind."

She looked back at him, the word had been cold and clipped. After a moment she nodded silently before turning back around to face Une once more. "Wind.. and I are correct in something."

Une sighed, a slight frown marring her features. "Please don't go into that again.. we already talked about this."

"I know, but listen and hear me out. Send a team to the Clinic. Inspect it and shut it down. If he's not there, then I spoke to the wrong person for an hour. If he's there then we're proven right. That's all I'm asking."

Une watched her silently for a moment before standing. "Very well. Two teams of two then. Just in case they try to pull a fast one on the inspection. Team one will distract the doctor and nurses. Team two will inspect the building and the residents. Who would you rather work with Wind? Wing, Moon, or Shadow?"

Wind stepped closer to the desk. "Depending on which team. If I am to speak with the doctors, then either Wing or Shadow.. Shadow would be more help though. Leaving Wing and Moon to inspect the place."

Une nodded and then picked up the phone. "You're right. I'll call them and tell them to meet you in Kiev. From there you can plan your moves and then take care of this."

Dorothy stood. "I have a pass from my last visit they can use to get themselves inside. There's a gate you have to  pass through to get to the building. Once they're in they could split up. If the doctor's distracted he shouldn't notice them leave."

"Alright then, fly with Wind to Kiev and give them the pass and then wait for them to finish. *If* he is in there you can help them get him here so we can take care of him right. Dismissed."

Wind nodded and then turned sharply and walked out without another word. Dorothy watched him silently as he left then turned to Une. "You shouldn't of let her do that to him. It only did more harm than good." she said quietly before turning and following him out of the office.