Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me. This is just for fun and I am not getting paid, nor do I want to.

Beautiful Lie

Meli J Nightly

Chapter 4: Selfless Omission

He who cannot lie does not know what the truth is.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Life never seizes to mystify us, how with one choice it can completely change everything you know.

Whether the change is good or bad, the trick is to maintain one's true self.

The trustworthy schofer Harry, opened the car door and Selena stepped out. She had decided not to take the notorious pink limousine and instead, took a small black car to avoid being followed. As the sunlight hit her, she immediately put on her expensive designer sunglasses to shield her eyes. Gazing forward were four ladies in waiting on the right, three maids, a doctor and a professional stylist on the left; they were all lined up awaiting her arrival just like she had ordered. The people that were lined up all bowed gracefully as Selena walked closer to them. "You all have been called here because one way or another... you have proven to be loyal to me and the Monarchy in more than one occasion," she began to state the reason for their presence while they paid attention with both proud looks and bewilderment. "You four," she pointed to her ladies in waiting and they bowed once more. "You have proven to be the most loyal out of all the ladies. You have always kept quiet and helped me in my escapades; which is why I have chosen you along with the rest to be part of my new project... come on out."

On cue, all eyes were on a figure coming out of the black car and as Harry helped the woman, she gracefully gave her his hand and did her best to pull herself out. The chosen ones stared in wonder; the person's face was covered with a black veil that was attached to an equally black hat. They could tell it was a woman, but she was dressed in ordinary worn out clothes. They couldn't help but be curious as to the meaning of the girl's concealed identity and as to what kind of crazy 'project' their Royal Highness was about to embark on.

"Now, before I let you in on the project, I will give you a chance to back out now. If you are willing to stay then be warned, if anything gets out, I will know who to come after. This is not a game and could very well be dangerous to your lives and that of your families." They all turned to look at each other, the mention of life-threatening danger to themselves and their families wasn't too appealing. To which Selena added, "For your silence and loyalty, should you decide to participate, the reward will be a very handsome one." All of them knew that when she meant 'handsome,' she meant a lot of zero's, all from experience. Their expressions changed from a worried one to a my life is finally fixed one. "So, you have sixty seconds to decide. Oh," she paused with a smirk, "And this goes for you also Harry. You may decide if you want to stay or not, I will not obligate you."

With his usual serious face, he gave her his answer without hesitating. "My loyalty lies with you, your Majesty. I will help you in whatever it is you want to do."

"Very well," she acknowledged, pleased of his loyalty towards her. "So, who will leave?" She asked expectantly. "Speak now." But no one said a word, the thought of the reward was far too enchanting to just say no to. "Good. Since we have gotten that out of the way, let me present to you my new project..." She removed the girl's hat with delicacy revealing her once hidden face.

O.o.o.O

"Where did she go this time?" Duo's question ended with him lifting up his eyebrow as if expecting an answer he already knew. Heero stared coldly at the pen he was holding. His office felt ice cold like his attitude, yet he did not dissimulate his displeased life. "She felt ill. A trip to our villa will make her feel better."

"Yeah specially with people trying to kill her..." Duo humored in a dark manner. Lately that woman had been feeling ill all the time, he told himself. It was true she was a target for everyone and it wasn't easy to have so much on one person's shoulders, but she had managed to gain some bad enemies with her personality alone. She had been acting up lately and avoiding helping out her people while Heero could only do so much.

"She has a lot of pressure lately, specially with the consul talking about her future coronation…" Heero half explained.

It was his coronation also, he would be King. His violet eyes darkened, there Heero went again making up excuses. But he wasn't sure if it was an excuse for her… or for himself. Sometimes he wondered if he could get himself out of it and by 'it' he meant everything that was going on. Their lives didn't get better after the war. It seemed everyone else moved on, but all of them were stuck in the same chaos. They would never be able to get back to those good old days where they used to relax in Wufei's peaceful garden and just do nothing. The life and everything else they knew had all gone to hell. Duo wanted to run away, from everything and everybody… except Heero. But those wonderful thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Maxwell!" The man's voice was precise and tainted with anger.

He recognized the voice oh too well. "Oh crap!" Duo let out. He knew it was time to run when Wufei came menacingly towards him with what seemed like a dangerously sharp sword, Wufei's favorite one in fact.

"You... You!"

"Me... me what? What did I do?" Duo ran all the way behind his best friend's desk and used him as a human shield. Heero raised his hands trying to calm his mad-stricken friend down. "Now... now little dragon, you don't want to do anything hasty now do you? A world without Maxwell would be a sad world..." He then realized he should have left the last part out.

A bloody murderous scream was bellowed out by Wufei, and Heero casually got out of his way. "I will kill you! You damn womanizer! How could you steal my cousin's innocence? You have brought shame to the Chang name!"

Duo had already started looking for another place to hide since his last intent for cover was a bust. When he heard what Wufei had to say, he abruptly stopped. He had finally gained an answer as to why he was going to be murdered, yet for the first time in his life he had no idea of what this person was talking about or what he was at fault with. "Wait... what?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about you... you man whore!"

"Your cousin's innocence... huh... wait which cousin?" Duo was about to burst in laughter. Wufei had the largest family next to Quatre and his 29 sisters.

Wufei did not relinquish his sword, "May! I saw her come late last night. At an indecent hour and when I asked her where she had gone to and with who. Do you know what she said to me with a goofy grin on her face?" He paused daring Duo to say something but instead all he got was a shrug. "Out with Duo Maxwell. She's like a sister to me and you robbing her of her honor... that I will not tolerate." His eyes were as serious as anyone's could ever get.

Poor Duo was still confused, if not more confused than before. "What the hell are you talking about? Me robbing her honor, what is that supposed to mean– oh." A sudden light switched on his brain and made him realize exactly what Wufei meant. "Whoa. Wait. You think that I. That she. That we-" He could've sworn he had never touched that woman in his life, ever. Sure he had slept with many women and maybe one of Wufei's cousins, but not May. He knew he would pay dearly if he ever slept with her.

"Don't try to coward yourself out of this. You have two choices, you will either marry her or you will die under my sword," Wufei said with much pleasure in the last option.

"Look... I swear to you that I never touched May. I know you think I'm a womanizer and that I only play with women, but I've changed."

And that was enough to make Wufei laugh out loud. "You? Duo Maxwell a changed man? You expect me to believe that?" Wufei extended his sword to Duo's throat.

Duo gulped and as he was looking straight ahead he saw Quatre was about to come inside, but as soon as he saw Wufei he turned around and quickly changed his route. It was like an epiphany, he finally saw the light and could almost hear the Gregorian chants of wisdom. "Quatre you sly dog!"

But of course it was perfect, who would ever suspect of sweet and virginal Quatre. Duo had asked Quatre the day before to meet May for him. Besides, the bad experience at the ball and his mixed up feelings not helping, he just didn't want to meet with anyone. May had decided she needed to speak to Duo about changes in her personal designed weapon but in reality, Duo knew very well she had been hinting at other things. But never would he had thought that Quatre would've been taking care of May Chang. After all, everyone knew his real and only crush was Dorothy Catalonia. But even so, Duo was glad his innocent friend was no so innocent anymore. He was not about to rat him out but there was no way he was going to marry into Wufei's family for Quatre's fling.

Heero on the other hand had seen the blonde pass by and leave quickly. He too with his observational skills realized what was going on, he continued to watch in a dissimulating manner. Just to see how his braided friend was planning to get out of that problem he was currently facing.

"Well my little dumpling. I have to insist that I did not have intercourse with your cousin, nor have I ever thought of her that way," Duo began to explain in such an aristocratic and ironic manner.

Wufei scowled and pushed the sword closer to his throat. "I am not joking Maxwell..."

"Neither am I. Seriously. She kind of looks like you–"

"What?" He asked narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah. Haven't you noticed she has a lot of similar features to yours?" He made a gesture with his hand.

Wufei grunted. "Are you implying that my family and my people all look alike!"

Duo waved his hands in front of his face frantically. "That's not what I meant at all Wu!" Duo sighed. "Geez, I'm getting nowhere here with you."

The Chinese man was starting to get aggravated and he showed it very well. "I already gave you the options. Either you restore my cousin's honor by marrying her or we duel. That is the Chang way and you know better then to back down from my family's traditions."

Heero thought of intruding for a moment but stopped when he saw that Quatre was still peeking through his office door. He wondered if he would dare to say anything to Wufei.

"Fine... it's very fucking fine if you don't believe me. But I have news for you Wufei, I... I– I'm in love with someone already!" But instead it was Duo who surprised them all with his confession.

"What?" The three former soldiers said in unison. Even Quatre couldn't help but intrude after hiding out behind the office door.

A faint crimson color formed on Duo's cheeks. It wasn't something he was willing to share with them. At least not yet since he really wasn't sure if it was truly 'love'. But he needed to say something either way and that seemed to help.

Wufei had already dropped his sword just like he dropped his jaw. He could not believe that Duo, the playboy and womanizer had actually fallen in love with somebody. And before him. True he was not the romantic type, but he hoped that he too one day would be able to fall for someone.

"Who is it?" They all turned to look at the blonde man who had a radiant smile plastered on his face. And like Quatre, Heero and Wufei were also wondering the exact same question.

"Yes, Maxwell. Who is this poor soul?"

"Just someone. But I can't really get my hopes up at all. There's so many things that are just screaming 'failure'... utter failure," he relented, last part said in an almost whisper.

"Why? Is she married?" Heero asked nonchalantly. Everyone turned to Heero, amazed to see him actually interested in the matter. Duo just cringed, not only at the fact that the question was asked by him or that he actually hit the spot by saying that the person might be married, but it was more that he had said she. And just like him, Duo knew they would never think that he was gay. Knowing how Wufei was when it came to that matter he wondered if he or Heero would remain his friends, Quatre still would. He was just kind like that. He didn't want to lie to them however, but what was he to do?

O.o.o.O

"I am merely asking the Consul to reconsider your choice of monarchy rulers." With grace and aristocratic spoken words, a man stood in front of a group with authority.

"Lord Khushrenada, are you implying that we do not know what we are doing?" The eldest man in the Consul questioned in a scandalized manner.

"Your Grace, I would be a fool to even think such a thing. But I will not hold my tongue and watch this country go to hell either." Treize countered without hesitation.

Another man, Duke Dermail sitting next to the one who had just asked the question before decided to ask him of his reasons. "Well then. What are you trying to say, that Selena Peacecraft is not fit to be Queen?"

A smirk embedded his face, Dermail had not failed him with the question he was to ask. "I think she is nothing like her mother, former Queen Zechara. She is immature and has proven these past few years she has little interest in her people, not to mention she has made more enemies than any past Monarch. Have you heard of what people are saying? She is the Marie Antoinette of our time."

The first man to see it as a scandal continued to question, "You do realize what you are saying? Her family has been in the Monarchy for ages. They have ruled the Sanc Kingdom for many years."

"With all do respect Baron Gifford, but if you remember correctly, there has been another family also suited to rule the Sanc Kingdom... the Noventa family. They are a royal family also, King Peacecraft's sister married Earl Noventa's son." All the members in the Consul gave each other looks of confusion, it had been a while since Noventa's name had been brought up. It was true he and his family had been considered royalty once, but his great grandfather had decided to give that up to a family he thought would reign better than his, The Peacecraft family, diminishing his family's title to Earl. After all, his only son and heir had made it clear he was not interested in being King at all. He died young, committed suicide as an opposition to the idea of being a ruler.

"The Noventa family has been disintegrated, after Earl Noventa's death." Another distinguished aged man added.

"Yet, Silvia Noventa remains. Should she be punished for her father's crime when it was never proven that he was a traitor to the Monarchy?" Treize half explained.

"She should be joyous that she is still allowed in Court and to be near the Peacecraft's presence. She is after all an illegitimate child and because of her there was that whole scandal-" Baron Gifford who is loyal to the Peacecraft lineage stated before he got caught off by another equally appalled man.

"The death of Diana Peacecraft, King Peacecraft's sister also revolved around her. And you want us to consider her for ruling this kingdom?"

"I think your excellencies are part of the Consul for a reason. All of us care for this country, earth and the colonies. But does Selena Peacecraft really deserve to be called our Queen and join the United Earth Sphere Alliance as our representative? I am asking these questions, because we must see the facts in front of us. "

Duke Dermail decided it was his time to talk and make sure the Consul thought he was on the right side. "We have and we will keep an eye out on Selena Peacecraft, should she prove not to be worth given the title of Queen and representative of Earth, it will not happen so. But you also have to take into account Heero Yuy. He would make an excellent ruler..."

"That I don't doubt. It's princess Selena I am worried about. All of you here know that there are secrets and conspiracies that one way or another have tainted us. The new generation should not have to be tainted also. Do not tell secrets to those whose faith and silence you have not already tested." Treize's words were strong and consistent; never once had he faltered. He knew he had gotten what he wanted...

They discussed it between themselves and Duke Dermail gave them a little shove. Soon most came to agree with that idea and Baron Gifford was the one to deliver it even if he was hesitant to agree on it. "You made your point quite clear. And most of us here agree princess Selena needs to prove a lot more in order to become Queen. Since you have not been the only one who has brought this matter to our hands we have decided to extend the period of the coronation for one year until we are veritably sure she is fit to be Queen."

Treize hid his smile of triumph, but inside he was rejoicing. How great a day it was for honorable Lord Khushrenada. "I thank you for seeing me and taking my concerns into account." He bowed towards them, "Good day your Excellencies." He continued and made his way out of the room. One victory, but the War was yet to be won...

O.o.o.O

She was having second thoughts. Her blue eyes drifted out the window into her lovely garden. Thinking about everything she had achieved so far, granted most of what she had was because of her family name and because of the convenient marriage with Heero Yuy. The luxury, wealth, fame and her crown, she wasn't sure if she wanted to lose it all; sure she didn't care much about the people, but there were perks to being a princess and being Queen could offer her even more.

Relena on the other hand was very confound. She had no idea what she was doing there, her only instructions were to go to the address provided to her where she was going to be picked up by Selena. That's all she knew and what she did. So far Selena had said nothing about what her plans really were, she had a faint idea that she was to do what she had done before at the Hotel where they had met. But, still to what extent was she going to take it was beyond her. All the secrecy and what she had said to the only people in the Villa had made her even more nervous than before.

Both of their thoughts were interrupted by a forced cough. Selena turned to see the final product and gave a pleased nod to the stylist.

"Unbelievable." Relena was amazed all the same, she had only been dressed once in fine clothes and that was in their first meeting. But now with all the expensive make-up and hair style, she looked different, classy even. Her hair had been cut just enough to look like Selena's, her unconventional crown made of two braids was no longer there.

The stylist, Jane, was also left in awe when she saw Selena look back at the same mirror that Relena was looking at. "The similarities are remarkable. You could almost pass off for twins with a few twitches here and there. Has your highness considered that maybe you both could be family?"

"No. It is nothing but a mere coincidence." And that is what Selena Peacecraft kept on telling herself. There was no way on earth that poor, downright forsaken woman could ever be part of her family. Before the stylist could ask anymore questions she handed a check to her, Jane's brown eyes almost popped out and she began to feel faint. Selena gave her a smirk and concluded, "I believe that should be a good amount for your silence."

Jane nodded nervously. She grabbed everything she had used and put it away on her bag. It was time for her to go, she knew better then to meddle in more than she was supposed to.

Selena stared at Relena up and down. Until she finally found something wrong. "Well now you need to eat something. You are just way too thin. And I don't mean that in the fashionable way. You are just skin and bones, you will need to gain at least five pounds."

Relena looked at herself in the mirror a lot more thoroughly. What Selena said was true, she was sickly pale compared to her and about a dress size less than she was. But it wasn't that she aimed to be that thin, between her jobs she barely remembered to eat. And when she did remember all she could do was worry about taking food to her mother. If she was to gain those pounds that Selena was asking for and to wear all that she was wearing she needed to know the purpose of it.

Before she could ask, however, one of the ladies in waiting barged in all agitated. "Your Highness-" she stopped abruptly, she was perplexed at the sight of the two of them. Even though Relena was a bit thinner than Selena, she had no idea who she should direct herself to. She looked back and forth and it wasn't until Selena spoke that she knew who was who.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"Your Highness, Lady Catalonia is requesting to speak to you."

"Tell her that I am not to be bothered when I am resting."

The girl was scared to speak again. Hesitantly she insisted once more, "I apologize, but Lady Catalonia says it is quite urgent. That she needs to speak to your majesty right away."

"Oh alright! I will tend to it..." she said exasperated. Before leaving she turned to her lady in waiting, "Give that girl some food she's all thin, not too many carbs though." The girl stared at her puzzled but immediately bowed to show that she was to follow as she had ordered.

Selena locked her office door and made way to the pink picture phone on her wall. She pressed a button and the image of Dorothy appeared. "Finally. I bet I could get the Pope faster than you."

"Well the Pope is not nearly as important as I am," Selena countered.

"Touché, but it is exactly of your importance I want to talk to you about." Dorothy's eyebrows quirked in the way that had 'juicy gossip' written all over them.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid I have some good news and some bad. Which one would you like me to deliver first?" Dorothy loved to make everything into a game and while Selena was in no mood to play she had to go with it.

"The bad news of course," she answered rolling her eyes.

Dorothy continued, "Okay then, as you wish. Your Coronation has been postponed for a year." She awaited her reaction, but she got none at first. Just a blank stare. "Selena? Are you okay?"

Many things were going through her mind at that moment. Good things mostly, this was exactly what she needed, a year should be enough. She came back to reality and blinked a few times, she realized Dorothy was still on the line and she had to act natural. "Well, I just can't believe it."

"I know those old geezers don't know how to do anything right. They seriously want to put you on a trial year period. Your mother would have never approved of such a thing, it's ghastly outrageous, unbelievably unconceivable–"

"Yes, Dorothy... I get it!" She stopped her friend from her dramatic rant. "If that's what the Consul wants, then I can't do anything about it."

"Someone must be after you. The Consul couldn't have come up with such a decision without having clear reasons," she stated hypothetically.

Selena hadn't really given it a thought, but for a year it wouldn't be her problem, that's all that mattered right now. "I will leave that up to you my dear friend."

"Gladly." Dorothy smiled. Finding who was trying to sabotage the Monarchy sent chills down her spine. It meant treason, which meant death. And she morbidly awaited to see who she was to sentence. There wasn't much action after the war and she was getting pretty bored.

"And what is the good news?"

"Oh. Can't you see, my breast grew a size..." she grinned as she showed her some cleavage.

Selena couldn't help but roll her eyes once more. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Nothing. They're good for me. I never said both news were for you did I?"

She looked at her with annoyance written all over her face and Dorothy was laughing hard. Before she hung up the phone, she knew she had to have the last word and wasn't going to let her get away with it. "They're still smaller than mine. Just so you know." Dorothy looked at her with murderous eyes and Selena made a victory sign with her fingers as she hung up.

O.o.o.O

Duo Maxwell walked to his car, stricken by regret of telling his friends of his true yet somewhat confused sentiments. It wasn't something planned and it definitely wasn't something he was willing to confess right out of the blue. But he very well couldn't have given away Quatre, he was sure he had something to do with it otherwise he wouldn't have hidden himself at the sight of Wufei. "What did I do?" He muttered under his breath. "Seriously, could- I- be- anymore- stupid!" He enunciated each word with growing force while kicking the passenger's side wheel in frustration.

"Hey..." Taken aback by the sudden greeting and his lack of focus, Duo turned quickly to the voice and pointed the gun at whoever it belonged to. "Whoa! Duo, it's me." His violet eyes met with shocked green ones.

"Sorry Q. I'm a little jumpy," he confessed.

Quatre gave him a sympathetic smile which only made the braided man sigh. "I realized you have been acting rather strange, but I never would've thought it was because of-"

"Don't even mention it. I'm not even sure why I said it."

The blonde set his hand over Duo's shoulder, "Thank you." Duo crossed his arms and gave him his sarcastic pose. Making him draw back his hand and stare at him with a quizzical expression. "For... not saying anything to Wufei," he cleared out.

Duo displayed the biggest grin and responded, "I know why you're thanking me. I still was having my doubts ya know? How could someone like Quatre do such a thing, I told myself." He circled around him, arms still crossed in a questioning manner, "I mean. Didn't I ask you for one simple favor? That was to get rid of May for me because I didn't want to deal with her. I don't remember ever saying: 'Please Q-man, sleep with her.' And with Wufei's cousin out of all people! Even I know better than that..."

"I don't know what got into me, okay? I... she was expecting you... and I didn't know she was Wufei's cousin!" He justified himself at the end. Duo couldn't help but laugh out loud and his cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

"That is so not like you Q," he managed to say between laughs. Quatre found himself chuckling, it unquestionably was unlike him, but the past few days he had been acting like so. After the talk he had with that one girl he met on the streets, her words engraved in his mind: 'You only get a once in a lifetime chance. I plan to enjoy and live all my once in a lifetime's. What are you going to do?'

Duo wiped the few tears he gained from laughing and couldn't help but push the matter further. "Man. I still can't believe you didn't realize it was Wufei's cousin, they really look alike."

"They do not!" Quatre quickly denied it, but now that image was forever engraved in his head. "Oh my- you are thinking about it aren't you? You're picturing Wufei?" Duo's laughter became uncontrollable from that point on, his stomach was in pain but Quatre's face was priceless.

"I am not!" He continued to deny, but the fact was that now thanks to the braided idiot he couldn't help but imagine it. "Duo! Aghh! That's just gross."

"Hey. I'm not the one imagining it," he continue to tease. Quatre had about enough and decided to grab Duo. Who by the way did not give in so easy and began to run away from the violent Quatre while he continuously cried out how great it must've been seeing Wufei with breasts and similar remarks.

O.o.o.O

He stumbled from the wall to the pillars inside the never ending castle halls. He did his best to try and recognize the way to his room. A shadow caught his attention, his blurry sight suddenly got better as he recognized whose shadow it belonged to. A small curl formed on his lips, he brushed his platinum blonde bangs and made his way to her.

The young woman's attention was caught by the stumbling royal prince. "Young master! Are you okay?" She went to his aid and placed his arm over her shoulder for leverage.

"Where's my sister?"

"She's not here, she went out, young master."

"I told you to call me Milliardo. I am not a little child anymore to be called young master." Milliardo pinned Catherine to the nearest wall. She gasped and turned away at the smell of whiskey in his breath.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I cannot do that. If Miss Relena heard me calling the young master by his name she would surely..." she pressed herself further onto the wall avoiding Milliardo's lips and gaze. He was far too close for comfort.

Even though he was evidently drunk he did not slur his words. "She's not here, you said so yourself. Besides what she doesn't know, can't hurt you." He grinned as he teased Catherine with his closeness.

"Leave her alone."

"What have we here? My dear brother in law. Why is it you must seek to ruin my fun and be a nuisance when I'm talking to my servant." He removed his hands from the walls, which gave Catherine enough space to move away.

"She is not your property."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot that ever since you saved us from what was it?" He placed a finger to his chin in a thinking manner, his voice tainted with sarcasm. "Almost poverty, social humiliation, etcetera, etcetera. You think you own me and everyone in this forsaken family, that you have a say in my life... well I have news for you. You don't."

Heero stared him down with the same cold eyes the platinum blonde was giving him. "I could care less of what you do with your life Milliardo. Just don't think you can treat people like they are nothing but property and less then you."

Milliardo scoffed at his response and turned his back to Heero for a brief moment. "Funny you should mention that when you killed so many of those in the war. If it weren't because you were married to my sister I would've-" At that exact moment he aimed his custom made golden revolver. Heero however had already anticipated this and he had his pistol aiming at Milliardo's forehead.

"And if it weren't because I was married to your sister, I wouldn't pay your sleazy debts. Your gambling is getting out of hand," he alleged. Hand still firm on his pistol.

"That is none of your concern." Milliardo's hand did not shake either. But he was becoming quite irritated.

"It is my concern when you involve this family. Is that why you left for a good amount of time? Whatever you are up to, it has to stop." Heero warned pressing the weapon harder to the blonde's forehead.

"You have no idea, Yuy." He countered while maintaining composure. He withdrew his revolver and turned to leave.

In fact, Heero had no idea of what was going on with Milliardo Peacecraft. For as long as he could remember they had always been competitive with each other. Both had different views of how to lead the Monarchy. Milliardo believed in liberalism, he wanted nothing to do with the Crown or the Monarchy. Which is why he always thought that the Colonies should be left to do what they pleased, even it meant that they wanted to turn the colonies into private war zones. Even if to obtain such harsh freedom involved war. Heero on the contrary believed war to be used only when necessary, in fact the last option by all means. After being absorbed by his own thoughts he came back to his senses and realized that Catherine was still a few feet away from him.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he walked towards her.

"Yes. I'm fine. I know he would never harm me," she mentioned with a small yet certain smile. "Deep down inside, I'm sure he is a good man. He's just confused and hurt."

Heero nodded, unsure if that was true. He could never trust Milliardo. Leaving that aside Heero took a moment and decided to ask her something that he had been meaning to ask her for a while. "How is your brother?"

Catherine was shcoked by the question. She didn't know how her brother was, or at least what he was up to, which is why she couldn't find any words to answer him right away . Her mind was flooded by the last fights she had, had with her brother. Fights about not being thankful for the Yuy's kindness, for betrayal and love. She remembered the last words she had said to him before he left the Peacecraft residence: "Until you give up your childish and shameful desires you will no longer be my brother!" It had hurt her the most to say that and to watch him with empty eyes leave without uttering a single word back. But she could not accept what her brother Trowa was doing to who was not only an employer but also a friend to them. Catherine's mother had taken Trowa in after seeing him wonder around, dirty and homeless. Catherine had always wanted a brother and gladly shared everything she could with him. Heero's father was taken by the child and treated him as his own son. Heero more or less considered him like a brother too. They all lived with the Yuy's before the massacre which unfortunately took their mother's and other servants lives.

"He... he's doing good. He's following his dream of being an actor." That much was true, Catherine knew he was a natural.

"I'm glad," Heero said sincerely. They stood quiet for a moment. Heero only wished he had said goodbye when he left. He never understood of his sudden reason for leaving, but he never held it against him.

Catherine curtsied, "Please excuse me, I have to prepare a few things for tomorrow."

Heero nodded and excused her, but told her one more thing. "If you see him or talk to him," Catherine turned around as soon as she heard his voice, "tell him that he is always welcomed here." He turned to leave without waiting for her response. She could not help but admire him even more, at the sight of him all she could do was smile.

O.o.o.O

"Your Majesty still hasn't told me what it is exactly that I'm doing here..."

"Oh, true. My, my how inconsiderate of me, I believe I didn't make myself quite clear over the phone didn't I?" But of course she knew she hadn't, Relena just shook her head in response. "Well then my dear, you are in such luck." She twirled once, smiled widely and pressed her hands together. "I have decided to take care of you!" Selena said with excitement in her tone.

Relena stared at her in disbelief. "You? Take care of me?" She could not in her dear life imagine a princess caring for her. Or anyone for that matter.

"You could say, a sort of a 'guardian angel.'" She replied while gently lifting up her new doll's chin. Relena would be a very fun doll. Relena did not flinch, while Selena did have a strong aura that made some people fear her, she was not afraid. "How lucky are you to fill in my shoes, a future Queen to be? It's every girl's dream to be a princess. You won't have to worry about anything anymore, not your mother, I know about the medical expenses and I know that with your job you won't be able to pay them."

She shifted her gaze away in embarrassment, Selena had definitely done her homework. It was true she often wondered what it would be like to be part of that life. Not worrying about having nothing to eat the next day or not being able to pay the bills, it was something that only existed in her imagination. "So you want me to be you?"

"Precisely. For a year you are to live my life."

"A year?"

"Yes," she replied nonchalantly. "And I only have one week to teach you everything you need to know. Should you encounter any problems, you have my ladies in waiting to assist you." She saw the worried look on Relena's face all of a sudden, "What's wrong now?" Selena inquired.

"I'm just curious... what about your husband?"

"What about him?"

"Do you really want me to take your place when you have a husband and two children?" She couldn't quite understand why anyone would want to let someone else take care of their family.

"Is that what you're really worried about? Or is it that your worried about having to sleep with him?" And evidently she hit the spot, she knew when Relena began to get red from embarrassment. This brought her to laugh briefly, which she had not done in while. After regaining her graceful composure she regarded her worries, "Honestly I don't care if you sleep with him."

"I... I would not be able to bring myself to that!" Poor Relena screamed appalled and very frightened of such an idea.

"Calm down silly girl. You won't have to. We have not slept on the same bed for over a year or more since he came back from the war. I wouldn't be surprised if he was sleeping with somebody else."

"You think he's cheating on you?"

"I said it wouldn't surprise me. But I don't have proof."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you having an affair?" Relena boldly asked.

Selena smiled a mischievous smile. "Curiosity killed the cat... but just to muse you my little pet... Yes, he is quite the man actually. Nothing like my husband, he has passion for me and sees me as a woman not as pretty symbol." She bit her lower lip as she remembered Trowa. "Are you going to judge me?" She couldn't help but ask in a mocking way, expecting her to say that she should respect a marriage and so on.

But she received another answer instead. "I am not in the position to judge anyone. Are you in love with this person you are having the affair with?"

"Love? Ha. Love is nothing but a word to make people believe that they can actually get something from the other person. Love doesn't exist."

"Love has nothing to do with what you're expecting to get, it's what you are expecting to give– which is everything."

"How cute and quaint. You speak of love as if it were something magical, just so you know magic is just an illusion. You would think you know the person you love, but at the end of the day you realize you know nothing about them."

"Are you talking about your husband?" She tried to guess.

Selena rested her chin on her hand. "You mean your husband. He's all yours now, at least for a year."

"Do you not care about your husband at all?" Relena wasn't sure why she had the urge to keep on asking her all these questions. But she just couldn't accept going into someone else's life without truly knowing her feelings. She had a huge wall, but she needed to at least find a small crack.

"I do not want a husband who honors me as Queen. If he cannot love me as a woman."

And there it was the unexpected answer, the small crack in Selena's wall. Relena came to the conclusion that she did believe in love; she just hadn't felt it. For the first time she felt sorry for the Royal Princess. "Is this really what you want? A stranger taking your place, in your life?"

"You are just my puppet. You will never truly be me. But even so, let me give you some free advice, heed to it and you might stop being the poor girl that you are. The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Know what you want. You do that and the world indulges your every wish."

To Relena love meant she never had to say sorry. But somehow she felt that Selena had much to apologize for, what she did not take into account however were her own feelings in this charade.

To be continued...

A/N: I apologize for the late update. I am no longer doing the Muse Bunny convention, so now I'm just writing this for pure fun and not for the contest. As most of you know writer's block is really annoying, but it seems to be happening quite often to me. I will try to update a bit faster than before. I was working a while ago so I did not have enough free time. I hope that this chapter was entertaining as the last and that you enjoyed it.

I want to thank all you wonderful people who reviewed, it's because of you that I want to keep on writing this story. Thanks to other people who showed a lot of interest for this fic and kept rooting for it.

Special thanks to:

My beta: UnbalancedNinja, for taking the time, I really appreciate it :) you're the best!

ConquerorAlexander, Illico, Patriot16, MyUnchainedMelody, Dragonfly, Firefly, Kat Cora, Alaskantiger.

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much again for reading and reviewing! Blessings!