Chapter 35: A Golden Morning
"Master Quatre, are you sure about this?" The voice of Abdul comes from the front driver's seat to the plush passenger end of the lengthy black limousine he was driving.
"To what are you referring to, Abdul? Do you think it's a little too early in the morning?" The small, squeaky voice coming through the clear glass window between the driver's section and the rear of the limo was only concerned with arriving to his destination on time, it seemed----that and the continual spacey comments on what a beautiful morning it was, how beautiful the sky was and all other "beautiful" scenery along the road through Norwegian backroads that led to the Sanc Kingdom's palace.
Now it wasn't that peculiar for kind Master Quatre to get caught up in such flights of fancy that only noblemen and "masters" were permitted. But every once in a while, with a glance in the rear view mirror, the Arabian had observed his master in the far back seat. Abdul was sure he saw unspoken, mouthed words on Quatre's lips. Abdul was fairly shocked to see his youthful master whisper to no one with a certain dreamy, wistful expression pasted all over his delirious face. Abdul strained both ears and adjusted his glasses to catch sight of the resulting whisper that kept escaping Quatre's lips. Nosy Abdul couldn't quite make out the two syllable word said with such a smile and intense feeling until their hour long drive from the classy hotel was almost over.
"Dorothy..."
Abdul's eyebrows raise at the obvious lovestruck look on Quatre's "happy as a clam" face.
The Master's in love with a girl! A girl named 'Dorothy.' Do I know that name from something Mr. Rasid mentioned recently? Why don't I ever pay attention when he---
Abdul was a bit of the absent-minded sort----pleasant in his fezz but always ditzy. He never listened long to one of Mr. Rasid's monotonous lectures.
I'm usually the object of being lectured...ooh...
As for his mind lately, he was far too busy surveying all the gorgeous females throwing themselves at Master Quatre's handsome, wealthy and famous feet.
Literally sometimes! Lucky I'm there to catch them--hee hee hee... I don't know why, they don't look like miner's daughters to me. They look pretty good!
Not one of those "gold-diggers," as Rasid referred to them, were to get through the 40 "Arabian Knights" who swore to uphold Master Quatre's high standards of integrity----
Until now.
I'm sure Mr. Rasid said that this Dorothy has enough money of her own! This one's not one of those gold-digger vipers! I'm sure Master Quatre is just being kind to the honorable representative who has been good enough to accompany us on the shuttle and approve of our shipment's transport to honorable Miss Noin-Peacecraft's Colony. After all, Mr. Rasid can be just an old stick in the mud sometimes! I, for one, don't consider all women evil. And I'm sure this kind and honorable Earth senator is just being-----
As the limo pulls to a stop at the Sanc Palace's front entrance, Abdul almost chokes on his own pleasant thoughts that were passing through his skull as a shrill call comes from the windowsill somewhere overhead.
The screeching, vile sound of its high-pitched whine was similar in tone to the sharpened, metallic shriek of a guillotine coming down.
"YOU'RE LATE, QUATRE RABERBA WINNER! It's certainly taken you long enough! Did you expect a lady to wait for you forever! Hmmm? Come have your little man fetch my bags!"
CHOP!
"Good morning!" Master Quatre, however, seemed quite undaunted by this platinum blonde vixen's barrage of snide introductory comments. He quickly scrambled out of the car, to stand staring up at Dorothy Catalonia in the open window. His hand shaded his eyes from the blinding golden light, pouring down rays, upon his upturned face.
And the sun's morning beams were pretty hot and blinding as well.
"Good morning." Dorothy answers in that annoyed, Miss prissy way. Her well-turned nose was up in the air at her late visitor.
"You were right, Dorothy." Quatre doesn't even notice her snobbish attitude towards him. He only saw the radiance as she walks out onto the open balcony terrace of her room, with her hands on her annoyed hips all the while.
"You do look especially radiant in the morning," It wasn't mere flattery. Quatre truly felt this was fact as he continued to gaze up through the gleaming light towards her. Now what he says next WAS flirtation, pure and simple.
"...Princess..." He finishes with a suave, charming air. Naturally, Dorothy is taken aback by his...forwardness, and yet...her surprised eyes widen at the golden Winner heir who was acting like a casanova, leaning up against his limo and snapping on a pair of designer shades that was hence situated on his golden fluffy blonde forehead. Once over his smiling eyes, a similar smile directed up at her was intensifying.
Well, Mr. Winner, two can play at this game.
"Since you put it that way, Master Winner, I suppose I can deem to overlook your tardiness----today." Dorothy lays on her own interesting brand of flirting. She props her chin up with two elbows on the balcony's stone edge, looking over and down at him. "Why don't you and your manservant both come and fetch me----and a few little things I've packed, so we can begin this little journey of yours that much quicker already?" Dorothy innocently (enough) bats her long eyelashes down at her new suitor. She then simply spins on her heel to await his hopefully timely arrival, begging forgiveness at her doorstep.
"Yes, Dorothy! Right away! But, Abdul's my good friend---not my---Oh, never mind. Come on, Abdul." Master Quatre jauntily calls to his "manservant." He had given up the explanation of his "masterful" connections to his Maguanac Corps of comrades the moment Dorothy Catalonia's figure disappeared from the balcony.
I can explain it all to her later, in detail.
Quatre thinks as he skips up the stone steps leading to the Sanc Kingdom's front entrance.
After all, we're going to be spending a LOT of time together on board the shuttle ride to Mars. A lot of free time...
The happy-go-lucky greeting Quatre bestows upon "dear, dear Pagan" as the elderly gent opens the door for him added to the giddy way he was skipping---almost dancing---up the long winding flight of steps to a certain girl's guest quarters.
The smile that never leaves his handsome face the whole time was evidence enough as it especially lights up with Miss Dorothy Catalonia opens her bedroom door and begins ordering the pair of men around to fetch and carry her little luggage as if she owned the world---
And them along with it, making Abdul wish he was anywhere but here.
Curses on your moustache, Achmed, for giving me this assignment today! Just because I lost one poker game last night...
"Here, take this---GENTLY. That's expensive luggage, boy."
And though Abdul lost his game, his Master Quatre felt like he had won his own pot of gold, striking it rich in the beautiful woman named 'Dorothy.' But it wasn't the gold-plated and rather heavy suitcases and trunks that made this Colony leader think he was a winner.
No, the particular golden Grand Prize was waiting to tantalize him at the front door entrance of the Sanc Kingdom palace. Dorothy Catalonia never looked more radiant as she stepped out onto the stone pathway, bedazzling him in a lovely golden business suit that catches the glimmering rays of the sun when she strode out into the morn.
"Miss Dorothy, I----" Quatre turns from his and Abdul's struggle with the luggage, with an eye at her beauty, begins to profusely apologize for not personally escorting her down the steps from her room.
That's the gentlemanly thing to do, right? Oh, Dorothy, you're so beautiful!
"You don't have to bother collecting little old me! I can walk down the steps just fine on my own, Master Winner." Dorothy airily says, but before one more golden heel takes another step forward, Quatre is at her side, kindly offering his arm out to her, though her nose was upturned towards him.
Quatre didn't seem to notice any testiness on her part, despite all the battering, beating he has had to withstand thus far.
"Please allow me, Miss Dorothy." The golden heir to a billion dollar empire belittles himself at her feet. She takes pity upon him and his stunningly clear eyes that looked like a cute little puppy at her, and suddenly grants him one of her most gorgeous smiles.
And so early in the morning, too. Hee hee hee...
"Of course, Master Winn----Oh, what am I saying!" Looking quite the couple, Dorothy pauses midstride, down the entrance, on his arm as if she owned it and directed her most bewitching eyes upon him. "We ARE going to be in rather close quarters soon aboard your space transport. So we might as well address one another on a more familiar basis." Dorothy states, tugging him along again towards the limo as she speaks. Quatre hung on every word uttered from her tasty---ahem---lovely lips.
I know how I'd like to address you, my princess...
"Quatre." Dorothy's single word, along with her singular raised eyebrow look at the lost-in-his-own-dreamworld young man, making him light up. He was so happy to entice her along with him into the fantasy world he was dreaming up for the two of them.
"Yes, Dorothy." Quatre's eyes lock in hers as he seats her in the limousine. Their tentative hands touch for a brief, but everlasting moment. "I couldn't agree more." His smile turns serious as he slams the ebony door shut behind him. Dorothy Catalonia, of her own doing, unknowingly, unwillingly and half uncertainly, embarked on her fate--her destiny---her new----
"OHHH! Wait, Abdud! Hold the car!"
The brakes screech to a stop as she shrieks out suddenly, breaking both eye and hand with Quatre.
"Go and hand this to Pagan. I almost forgot to leave Miss Relena my note of my leaving---not that I think she'll be needing MY company, however valuable, for the time being." Dorothy rather huffily orders as she leans over Quatre, handing "Abdud" the prewritten message through the limo's glass window.
Abdul puts the ready-to-roll limo in park, while he sighs, rolling his eyes at the evil viper woman and gets out of the car to deliver her mail.
You and I both got what we wanted---and right where we wanted them, too...
Dorothy thinks as her cascading platinum hair was draped all over Quatre's lap, making QRW's expression quite a lovely one to behold. Dorothy smiles back at him as well as Abdul returns and limo takes off at top speed towards the spaceport.