Chapter Twelve
Heero delivered the suitcase to her bedroom after another hour of being isolated. He led her outside to the gardens and hovered over her the entire time. After nearly an hour of silence, Relena decided it was time to test her multi-tasking skills.
"Heero, who are the people that own this home?"
"Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin; I've known Zechs since the military." He answered tonelessly.
"The military? I didn't know you were in the military." She continued reading, shocked by the news nonetheless.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Relena. We haven't exactly had a lot of time to just sit and chat." He surprised her when he sat down on the bench next to her.
"I would like to make this a time to chat, but I have a feeling that we won't get that at this moment."
His dark blue eyes burned into her. She turned her head, sky blue eyes meeting the darker.
"We have plenty of time to get to know each other. I won't be leaving your side any time soon."
Any fantasy she had about him before was trumped by this one single moment. She never imagined him to say something like that to her; even if it was just business. She didn't care at this moment. Her head was spinning and she felt the papers start to slip from her fingers.
"Heero…" She breathed heavily.
"Excuse me, Heero." The woman, Lucrezia Noin said from behind them suddenly.
The moment was gone. They broke their eye contact and she felt tension return back into her fingers.
"Yes?" She heard him say.
"Zechs would like to talk to you for a minute. I can watch over her until you get back, if you'd like."
No response, Heero walked into the mansion. Relena knew her face must have been flushed since Lucrezia gave her a knowing look when she sat beside her.
"Thank you Ms. Noin. I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't offered your home to me." Relena said, changing subjects quickly.
"Anything for a Peacecraft." The woman sighed, stretching her arms over her head.
"Tired?" Relena asked, rereading the previous page.
"Oh, yes. Sorry to seem out of sorts to you. I'm sure you don't want a bodyguard around that isn't on top of everything." Noin apologized.
"It's not a problem. I don't see why I should be hovered over when I'm out here. This is supposed to be safe, right?" Relena glanced up at the woman, curiously.
Noin nodded, smiling slightly before turning her sight towards the gardens. They sat silently for several long minutes, simply enjoying the sounds of nature. Relena hadn't heard a bird chirp peacefully in some time and she realized how much she had actually missed the country quiet.
"This used to be a private estate of the Peacecrafts. We restored it, but have been too busy to actually enjoy the building." Noin said quietly.
"Really? This was a Peacecraft estate? What happened to it that it needed to be restored?"
"A fire, Miss Relena. That's how the Peacecrafts were taken down. Zechs thinks it was a night raid that demolished all of the Peacecrafts. It certainly wasn't anyone that lived within the home." She sighed, "This home, supposedly, was much grander in the past. We've only been able to do so much to it. Maybe you can continue to build onto it as time goes by. I hope this meaningless battle between the two sides ends soon."
"I'm sorry to keep asking questions, but….how is it that you know so much about all of this?"
"I've been in the company of a Peacecraft for a few years." Noin laughed, standing up as the patio door slid open.
"There's another Peacecraft?" Relena yelled, standing up with Noin.
Taken aback by Relena's sudden abrasiveness, Noin nodded and went silently inside. Relena stared at the retreating woman, confused that she would have to take over the monarchy while there was another person that sounded to be more suitable for the position. She didn't want to be in politics. She didn't want that life or the responsibilities. She wanted to go back to her finances and boring calculations.
"They're leaving." Heero's deep voice broke Relena from her thoughts.
She jumped, staring at him blankly. It took only a few more seconds for his words to sink in. "Leaving? Why?"
He cleared his throat, "They have business to attend to. Zechs said they'd be back in a few days and that we should make ourselves comfortable."
Relena was silent, hope blooming in her chest that she might not have to be the one to take over this war. There was another person, someone that sounded more qualified for this task. The only problem was that she had no idea who this other Peacecraft could be.
"Heero, do you know who the other Peacecraft is?"
"No." He said simply, walking back into the mansion.
The following days left the mansion in an awkward silence. Heero wandered the hallways as she sat in the office to go over the mountain of paperwork. However, when she was alone, she searched through all the files in the office for any scrap of evidence of the other Peacecraft. Heero made routinely checks on her, which she was able to figure out a schedule of it all. He came in ten minute intervals. He never said a word, but would just open the office door, watch her for a minute, then leave. When she was hungry, she would stand and walk towards the door so he could escort her to the kitchens.
She wouldn't argue with him, like she promised. All of the small commands he made, she did without retaliation. She was too engrossed in the search of her lost family member to care, either way.
By the end of the third day, she found her mind racing still with the news. She could barely focus on the paperwork, but was still able to retain the little she read. Heero would ask her questions randomly, and she would surprise herself that she knew the answer. She felt like she didn't understand any of it. Now, she looked as Heero's questions like a confidence boost.
As she lay in bed, wide awake, she couldn't help but think she had missed something in the office. There had to be something in the mansion that would give her a clue to whom was her long lost relative. She checked her clock and was frustrated that it was only midnight. She felt as if she had been lying there for hours. However determined she was, she knew she needed her sleep.
But, sleep wasn't coming to her tonight.
She slipped out of the bed and pulled her borrowed robe on. The tile floors of the hallway were frozen underneath the pads of her feet so she kept her stealthy pace quick. The office assigned to her was on the main floor and she would have to pass by Heero's room. She was sure that man never actually slept. Any noise she made, he heard. She had gone to the kitchen on their first night for a glass of water. He knew she left her room and followed her into the kitchen without her knowing. It was only when he turned on the light that she screamed and dropped the glass. She had thought she hadn't made a sound.
If she knew the layout of the mansion, she would have found another way down the stairs. Holding her breath, she tiptoed past his door.
She didn't breathe again until she was halfway down the stairs. Once she knew that she wasn't being followed she bolted down the stairs and into her office. She locked the door behind her. She knew she had gone through all of the papers in the desk and filing cabinets. Now, she felt as if she should just walk the room and scrutinize everything. She began flipping through the small amount of books on the shelves. Tossing them all to the floor, she moved around the room. Anything that resembled paper, she looked at. There was absolutely nothing about Peacecrafts in the room. Most of the papers she found were blueprints and documents of the home's restoration. The only names she came across were Lucrezia Noin and Zechs Merquise.
After an hour of searching, she gave up. Slowly, she unlocked the door and began her journey back into her room. Every so often, out of habit, she would look at the frames mounted on the walls. Some held pictures of the estate, the before and after shots. A scattered amount of photographs of Zechs and Lucrezia together and some of their military days hung on the walls. One picture stood out to Relena for some reason. It was a simple picture of Zechs, smiling and standing next to another blonde man, who was smiling as well. There was nothing unusual about it. Both men were dressed in military uniforms and looked as if they had just returned from a mission. Sweat and dirt covered their faces plainly. Relena looked closer at the blonde man she didn't know. She had seen him before. Perhaps he was in the political arena, since this picture seemed a few years old.
Yawning, she tore her eyes away from the photograph. She could ask Heero about it in the morning. He would more than likely know. As she ascended the staircase, she stopped and looked at the large portrait that hung above the stairs. It was a very large photograph of a family. She had never paid much attention to it, but now, in the moonlight, she knew it was the Peacecrafts.
In the arms of the woman was a baby, dressed in a little pink dress of frills. The man stood behind the woman, a hand resting on her shoulder. A small, blonde headed boy stood next to the woman, frowning. Relena starred at the boy, recognizing him at once.
"Relena?" A deep voice said from behind her suddenly.
She jumped as she turned to see Zechs standing below her on the stairs.
"You? You're the lost Peacecraft?" She whispered.
No surprise there, but it had to written for the story to progress. I'm sorry for such delayed updates. I feel like I had to beat my head against the computer to finally finish this chapter. Hopefully this story will start moving along now….but who knows?