wtrw3

When the Roses Weep
Three

I know that I promised you, Relena, Heero said gruffly, but I can't let you be afraid of him all your life.

From the front steps, Lawrence Rose bit off the end of a cigar and spat it into the hedges. He lit it and took a drag, hissing it out into the air like a volcano. What am I going to do with her, she's gotten to be a real pain.
Heero's blood boiled. That's him, is it?
Relena shook in his arms. He already hurt me, Heero.
I wont let him touch you ever again, his tone scared Relena, but it also made her feel so safe that not even a wayward breeze would ruffle her hair.
He squeezed her arms assuredly and found her eyes. Trust me.
She nodded and let him go, letting herself slouch to her knees, draped by a French rose bush, its blooms looking at her confidently. Her fingers traced over one of the petals and tears began to fall from her eyes, shameful tears that she couldn't hide. Around the bend of the house, Heero approached Mr. Rose, who made a horribly angry face and ground the cigar in his hand to shreds.
Who in the hell are you?
Heero stormed up the steps and grabbed Lawrence's shirt, yanking him face to face. That's what I'd like to know.
A punch stronger than one he'd ever thrown before knocked him back to his haunches on the marble. Lawrence sputtered and growled. When he found his bearings and stood up, he wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. Heero anticipated his attack and dodged out of the way and let him grab at his clothes. Heero's face showed no remorse or expression when he had Lawrence in a head lock. With a quick jerk, he snapped the pompous man's neck and let him fall to the steps. With that, Zechs came outside to see what the ruckus was.
he said, what in god's name is going on?
He saw Mr. Lawrence Rose's body on the steps and unleashed his fury on Heero. That's that! You show up out of nowhere and now you kill Relena's fiancee? You bastard, I'll make sure you get thrown into prison and never see the light of day again!
Relena bellowed, standing at the pillar that crowned the bottom left side of the steps. You speak like that to Heero again and I swear on the Peacecraft name that I will kill myself.
Heero and Zechs both said in unison.
Don't you dare talk like that.
Don't you dare try to understand what's going on, Miliardo, she began cautiously climbing the steps. That man assaulted me.
Heero stood completely still as she passed him.
Zechs took a faulty step back.
A month before he declared our engagement, he raped me, more tears flowed down her cheeks, do you hear me? He raped me, Miliardo! And ever since he's been controlling me like his godforsaken puppet. My life was in danger, and god knows I couldn't do anything to save myself. Not until Heero showed up.
I finally stood up to him, and do you know what he did to me in the library? He dislocated my shoulder. You never would have known. You wouldn't have known that anything was wrong, not until I'd spared my life. Like I was going to last night.
Losing his literacy, Zechs sputtered and reeled, trapped against the doors. Why didn't you tell me?
Could I? Would you believe me? For all I knew, Rose might have you under duress too!
The roses, Heero finally understood. All the roses had been planted when Mr. Rose took over Relena's life. All shapes and sorts, colors and varieties. He looked over the expanse of the front grounds and saw every single rose staring him in the face. They were there to remind Relena of her captor. To hold her prisoner to her fate to be controlled by Lawrence Rose. Even last night amidst the gardens, they taunted her. If he knew Relena, she'd either have every one of them torn from their roots, or use them as a reminder of her strength. She stood in front of her brother, speechless, and cried her eyes out.
Heero found himself utter, do you still want me to take you away?
Her face showed complete disrespect toward Zechs, and she nodded resolutely. Yes. I expect you to take care of the media, Zechs. Because I'm going to be out of sight for a while.
Making an about face, shaking all over, Relena stepped past Mr. Rose and made her way down the steps to retrieve her bag. Heero sent a last glance at Zechs before following to sweep her away to recover. Zechs looked up at the sky, the scent of roses in the air, and sighed. He'd have to learn to pay better attention to what was going on instead of simply believing that things were as they seemed. As Heero and Relena set off, Zechs watched the roses dance in the breeze and understood that they told the story themselves. From their weeping to their celebration, the roses told the story.

The end.