The Final Storm

Chapter 9

by Scarlet Eve

Relena spent the next several days in a cloud of her own making, a cloud of excitement and planning. She was in her element. Not only that, she was excited to see her friends, hoping that their arrival would bring about some cheer to the estate. James had sent a letter along saying that he would be detained for a while longer in the city. Though his tone in the letter was upbeat, Relena felt deep in her chest that something wrong was happening with the business. He'd never had to spend this much time in the city before. But with James out of the way, Relena was free to work on the party without him intruding or interrupting her.

As for Heero, Relena had noticed that he continued to read that old, ratty book over and over again, so she told him to take his pick of books among the shelves of the library. Though he said nothing save for a quiet thank you, the light in his eyes shone brightly when he saw the floor to ceiling shelves stuff full of books. After that, Relena mostly ignored him. His comment about being paid to be her companion had hurt, and she'd grew a little cold towards him. She divulged nothing to him except for the most superficial of information, and he didn't seem to mind.

And yet...

When Relena sat alone in her room at night, the vision of him plagued her mind. She continually pushed him away, trying to replace him with her husband, but the idea of James was less exciting than Heero. Relena had to continually keep her mind occupied by reading or having Marge read to her while she knitted.

Mid-morning on Saturday, a week before the party, Relena and Hilde were talking together in the kitchen, discussing the menu for the party. Duo had taken Heero off to the fields to show him what kind of crops the estate produced. Relena suspected that Hilde had put Duo up to it, because Hilde mentioned Heero more than three times during the course of their conversation.

"Hilde, I tell you, there is nothing there," Relena said. "He made it clear when he first arrived that he is being paid to be here."

"That is nonsense," Hilde retorted. Relena raised her eyebrows at her friend. "He is closer to your age, and much more handsome than James. And with your personality, he'd make a better partner for you than James," Relena laughed, a sort of combination of hysteria and unbelief.

"Hilde! I cannot just run away with this stranger! I am married. And pregnant," Relena cried, and as if on cue, a sharp pain coursed up her side. She flinched, but suppressed the pain. "Besides, I hardly know him." Hilde laughed and patted Relena's hand, having missed the flinch of pain.

"Oh, I know, darling, but it does make such an interesting fantasy," Hilde said. "Every girl wants to be whisked away by a gallant knight." Relena sighed, reflecting on what Hilde had said, but knew that she would be forever stuck in her current life, with no possible way out.

"Who is this gallant knight that you're waiting for, Hilde?" a voice came from the door. The two girls turned and saw Duo stepping up into the kitchen with Heero close behind. Hilde laughed and rose, stepping to the counter. She pulled a large loaf of bread towards her and sliced off two large chunks, then sliced some cheese and heaped it on the bread. Hilde handed the two slices over to the men, who both devoured their mid morning snack.

"Oh, you know, just some handsome man who would take me away to Europe, to travel in Paris, London, Berlin..." Hilde said with mock wistfulness. Duo snorted.

"Good luck," he said, stuffing the last of his crust into his mouth. Relena watched Heero as he slipped into the kitchen and took a seat across from her at the table. He nodded in greeting, and she responded with a shy smile. "What have you girls been up to?" Duo asked.

"Planning the menu for the party," Relena answered, absently shifting around her papers in front of her with the ideas. Duo rubbed his belly.

"I love when you have parties. I love those leftovers," he said, grinning at the thought. Hilde punched him in the arm.

"Calm down," Hilde said. "Speaking of which, I'll probably need your help getting the meats from the butcher and cooking that day. So be prepared," she warned. Duo wrapped her in a hug.

"Of course." Relena blushed at their sudden displays of affection and turned away, accidentally catching Heero's eye in the process. He was staring at her, giving a look as if to say, "How ridiculous are they?" She couldn't help but smile in return, then averted her eyes.

"If you need it, I can help," Heero offered. Relena perked up.

"No!" she said, a little too loudly, pulling three pairs of eyes to her. Heero gave her a strange look. "Sorry," she said, blushing. "I mean, Heero is supposed to be a guest at the party. I believe James mentioned it a while ago..."

"I bet Darlian will bring out the good brandy, too. You are lucky, buddy," Duo said, slapping Heero on the shoulder.

"Don't feel obligated to invite me," Heero said.

"It is at my husband's request," Relena replied, feeling the ice in her tone. She didn't know where that came from. Relena ducked her head at the silence that followed her rude tone.

"Do you have a tuxedo or a suit?" Hilde asked, and Relena knew her friend was covering for her.

"Of course not," Heero replied.

"I can take you into town to get fitted for one," Relena said, focusing on keeping her tone level and friendly, even though on the inside she was feeling frustrated and wanted to lash out. But the part of her mind keeping her calm said there was no reason for the anger. Heero nodded in a reserved way. Relena rose, fighting her continued embarrassment, and tried to smile. Muscle memory from years of training pulled Relena into her full height, shoulders back and head held high.

"I will just get dressed, and we can go," Relena said. Heero nodded again, still staring at her. Relena could feel Duo and Hilde's eyes on her, and it was only making her feel worse. Finally, Relena gathered her papers and strode from the kitchen into the house.

Once the door closed behind her, Relena nearly collapsed onto herself. Her breath quickened, a heavy anxiety falling on her shoulders from having acted so strangely. She knew that this wasn't herself. If Heero had come at any other time, she would have welcomed him, and perhaps she and he could have become friends. But she felt like someone different altogether, like she was being possessed by some strange and powerful spirit. Relena took a deep breath to calm herself and continued to walk towards the steps up to her room. She hadn't noticed that she was crying now until she walked past a mirror in the hall. She swiped away the tears and resumed her trek up the steps.

In the dressing room, Relena searched around for something suitable to wear. She didn't know where Marge was. As Relena looked into her closet, a strange feeling that the amount of clothing she had was overwhelming, and she understood why she'd always had someone help her with this. Before she could stop herself, she began to cry again, pressing her hands against her tears as if trying to stop the flood from moving forward.

"Miss Relena, what on earth?" Relena peeked between her fingers and saw Marge at the door. The woman lumbered into the room and sat down beside the girl. "What is wrong?"

"I don't know," Relena sobbed. "Everything and nothing!" Marge seemed to understand.

"It's that baby you're carrying. What you are feeling is normal. Why, when my last mistress was pregnant, she cried every single day about the most innocent of things," Marge said, gently stroking Relena's hair.

"Really?" she asked, sniffling a bit and wiping her eyes on her dress.

"Of course, dear. Now stop this crying and tell me what you need," Marge said.

"We're going to town to get a suit for Heero," Relena replied, calming her racing heart. Marge smiled and nodded.

When Relena descended the steps a bit later, she was put back together and feeling relatively normal. Marge had powdered Relena's face so cover the red blotches from crying, and had dressed her in a lovely spring dress and hat. Heero had been waiting in the parlor, reading as usual, and when she came down the steps, and nodded to her. His face was empty of emotion. Relena took a deep breath.

"Heero, I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I was not in the right state of mind. Please forgive me," she said, ending with a polite bow of the head. She waited, keeping her head lowered, for Heero to say something, but nothing came. Finally, she lifted her head and saw that he was smiling at her with a half smile. Relena's heart fluttered at the smile, and she quickly turned away to hide her blush. "Did you, uh, have a chance to have Pagan call the carriage?"

"Yes," he replied. Together, they stepped out to the front porch, and to the waiting carriage.

-/-\-

-Scarlet Eve