Summery: Prince Heero is caught in an arranged marriage with Princess Dorothy. While in the castle gardens, he sees Relena in the trees over the wall. She falls into the castle grounds, and befriends Prince Heero and Lord Quatre. Dorothy finds out about Relena, and she has her thrown into the dungeons. Through some "persuasion," Dorothy gets a soldier to make plans to poison Relena. In addition, Dorothy cut off Relena's hair.
Dancing in the Rain
Chapter 10: Sir Zechs
Dusk. The sun was sinking low beyond the horizon. The two guards at the watch towers on either side of the city gates lazed in their chairs, swords laying across their laps. One of the guards opened his eyes when he thought he heard a noise off in the distance. A cloud of dust rose up from the road about a mile away, signaling the fast approach of horses. He called to his partner. They both squinted against the setting sun. Through the dust, a flag appeared. It bore the symbol of a dove that was holding a red rose in its beak.
The guards looked at each other from across the watch towers. He was coming.
-- -- -- --
Quatre stumbled out of the passageways to the dungeons and into the kitchens. The cooks stopped momentarily and looked at him, then returned to their work. He brushed his clothes off, then hurried out of the kitchens and up the stairs.
He threw open the door at the top of the stairs and stopped dead in his tracks. Dorothy was standing right near the door. Their eyes met.
He knows.
She knows.
"Well Lord Quatre, what might I ask were you doing in the kitchens?" Dorothy asked. Quatre squared his shoulders.
"I could ask you the same thing, Princess Dorothy." They both glared at each other for a moment, then broke out into a run. They both forced their way through the opening leading to the main halls of the castle. Quatre had an advantage, as Dorothy had to wrestle with her skirts to keep from tripping over them. The two of them ran neck and neck to the throne room. They burst through the double doors to find…
…that it was empty. The two looked in disbelief. There was not a soul in the throne room.
"My Lady, and Lord…" A voice said from behind them. They both turned. A servant was standing in the hall, carrying a tray. "If you are looking for the Kings and Queens, they went to wait for the arrival of Sir Zechs." He said. Quatre and Dorothy looked at each other, then forced their way out of the throne room to get to the entrance of the castle.
The servant blinked. He shook his head, then continued to perform his duties.
-- -- -- --
Heero was pacing his room when he heard a knock on the door. He heard the lock click, and the heavy wooden door swung open. A servant stood in the doorway, holding a tray in one hand, and a large key in the other.
"Prince Heero, I have your dinner for you." The servant said. He seemed to be in a hurry. Heero nodded. The servant hastily put it down on a table, then rushed out of the room, and closed the door.
Heero waited.
There was no click of the lock. The servant forgot to lock the door. Heero's eyes widened. He walked over to the door and grasped the handle. He pulled. It moved. He pulled it open all the way. I'm free. He moved into the corridor and pulled the door closed behind him. Relena…
-- -- -- --
"Children! Come quick!" Hildi, Maya and Marshal looked up from their books, and hurried to obey their mother's command. They went through the shop and stood beside their mother.
"What is it?" Hildi asked. Dawn pointed. A large group of horses were walking down the street of the city.
"Sir Zechs has come to visit with the king and queen!" Dawn said. Hildi looked back in the direction of the horses. The foremost one was completely white. Sitting atop it, was a tall man, his chin high. He had long, platinum blond hair that fell down his back. He wore a mail shirt, leggings and boots. He was carrying his shield, with the dove and the red rose. Sir Zechs was the best, and by far the most popular knight, though Hildi had never seen him this close before. As he passed by, she looked up at him. There was something strangely familiar about his profile. She squinted. Relena's face flashed through her mind. That was it! He looked like Relena.
"Ma-ma, Relena had a brother, didn't she?" Hildi asked, still watching him. Dawn nodded.
"His name was Millardo. He disappeared after the raids. No one knows what happened to him." She said, though her voice was distant.
"I do."
-- -- -- --
Quatre and Dorothy stopped short when they saw their parents, as well as Heero's, standing in front of them. Their backs were to the two youths. They hurried to their respective parents' sides, and tried to tell them what they knew. They were hushed.
"Look! Sir Zechs is coming!" Queen Lillian said, gracefully pointing out to the approaching horses.
A moment later, the horses stopped in front of the welcome party. Sir Zechs swung down from his horse and bowed low to the two sets of Kings and Queens, and also to the Lord and Lady of Kent. King Garret moved forward from the line of royals.
"Welcome to Sussex, Sir Zechs Marquise! You are most welcome here!" He said, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. Sir Zechs drew himself up.
"I thank thee, King Garret." He said, bowing again. He moved to Queen Lillian and kissed her hand.
"Sir Zechs, we would be honored if you stayed here with us. And tonight, we shall have a great feast in our honor." King Garret said. Sir Zechs nodded, and followed the royals into the castle, boasting about his travels across England.
Quatre tugged on his mother's sleeve. "Mother." He whispered. She pulled away, intent on listening to Sir Zechs tales. Quatre nearly scoffed at the man for having such control over the females. So he moved to his father. "Father." He waved Quatre away.
"Hush, Quatre!" He said, and moved away to get closer to Sir Zechs. Quatre stopped walked and crossed his arms over his chest. He saw that Dorothy was having an equally as difficult time getting her parents' attention. Quatre shifted his eyes, and they landed on Sir Zechs. He turned his head to smile at Queen Lillian. Quatre narrowed his eyes. There was something familiar about his face, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
There's more important things to be taken care of right now, he reminded himself. While Dorothy was still busy trying to get her parents' attention, Quatre slipped away from the royal party and disappeared down a corridor. He needed to get back to the dungeons and find Relena. He had to warn her not to eat any food that was given to her. Especially if it was from that red-headed soldier.
With a lot of luck, Quatre found his way back to the kitchen. When he was reaching the door, he heard footsteps echoing off the stone walls. It sounded like someone was running. He waited, and smiled when he saw who rounded the corner.
"Heero! How did you get out of your room?" Quatre asked. Heero looked relived to see Quatre.
"The servant who brought my food was careless and forgot to lock the door. Is something going on?" He asked. Quatre nodded.
"Sir Zech Marquise has just arrived." Quatre informed him. Heero's eyes widened slightly.
"Sir Zechs?" Heero had always wanted to meet the man, to hear his tales of adventure and toil throughout England. Relena first. He told himself. "Do you know where Relena is?" Quatre nodded again.
"She's locked in the dungeons. Dorothy's done something horrible to her, and she's convinced a soldier to kill Relena, but make it look accidental." Quatre said.
"Something horrible?" Heero questioned. Quatre shook his head. He motioned for Heero to follow him.
-- -- -- --
Hey there. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm hoping to finish this soon. Thanks to all the reviewers I've had. You guys are great! Keep 'em coming! I love to hear what you think!
-Blue September Rain