Chapter Five: The Whispers of Memories
Rena was one with the darkness. She had been for quite some time. She moved like a breath of wind, silent and light. The familiar outline of the Sank palace rose before her, and she paused, seized by an assualt of memories. That palace had served as her home for awhile and it was hard to see it filled with A'rateken soldiers. Those walls had been dedicated to peace and now they served to protect those who would bring war to the earth. Ironic, wasn't it? How life put curves in your path and expected you to take them with ease?
She watched the lights of the palace for a few soft moments, noting the movements of the guards. The whole thing was going to be a piece of cake. The A'rateken had no fear of a large, direct assualt on the palace. They knew the rebel's numbers and they outnumbered them 2 to 1, which made it all the more easier for a lone soldier to make her way in, undetected.
Rena snorted to herself.
The A'rateken were too proud, and it would be their downfall.
Breaking into a quick trot, she rounded the side of the palace, keeping herside hard against the side of the building. She kept bushes and trees between her and what guards there were until she had reached the hidden door located what should have been the main hall. It was the entrance to a secret passageway Rena had used when she had lived in the palace. It led to the hallway next to her rooms, but not to the room itself. Which was just as well since everyone seemed to think the empress was using her old rooms. She had not come to assinate the empress, that would come later. She had come for a foolish reason, one of the heart, and she would not complicate that with plans of murder. She wanted to be in and out quickly, without problems, though it was tempting just to end it all now. But she had the rebellion to think of, and she could not die without finding out about Heero.
~It was him, wasn't it?~
Ignoring her thoughts, she entered the secret hallway quickly and made her way up the cramped stairs to the upstairs rooms. She took several calming breaths before emerging from the hidden doorway, the passageway must remain a secret. Luckily, their were no guards nearby and she fitted the door seamlessly back into the wall. Now was the hard part. She had no idea where to find Heero. She had been hoping that her heart would lead her but all it was doing was beating rapidly in her chest. Well, what ever she did, she couldn't keep standing in the hallway waiting for someone to find her.
She slid along the walls carefully, pausing every time she heard footsteps. She went in the opposite direction of her rooms. Surely the empress would keep her best weapon close by.
The Hand of the Empire.
There was something wrong with the title but she couldn't place it, her mind was running too fast. It would come to her sometime, until then-
"You know, I was thinking the same thing. I guess that this Gharial is so spectacular that he has been put in command of the Mages. Imagine Takuya's disappointment."
Relena froze as the voice sounded close by, followed by dry chuckles from another man. She swallowed as the voices came closer accompanied by footsteps. She had to decide what to do, and fast.
"Sparks fly when he and Gharial are in the same room. It's amazing. You can almost see the power radiating off the both of them." The other voice said, almost upon her and she gritted her teeth. Abandoning any idea of hiding, she threw herself in front of the two men and they reeled back in surprise. She assessed their strengths quickly and knew she couldn't take them both at once without one of them making some noise. There was only one alternative.
"Oh my, you scared me." She said, widening her eyes and affecting a frightened look. The two A'rateken guards blinked at her. She stepped quickly out of their way, bowing low to them. "Sorry to get in your way, sirs. Forgive a humble servant of the empress."
They eyed her for a moment and she began to sweat. The only humans in the palace were slaves and if they didn't believe she was one...well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.
"I haven't seen you around before." One of then said, his slanted eyes peering at her. It was strange how they could look so much like humans and yet, be so different.
"I was caught only recently, sir." She said, thinking quickly. The other guard grinned.
"Well then, Basalt, why don't we have some fun with her? She's pretty good looking, for a human, and the empress will never miss her." He said, and she felt her blood run cold at the thought of one of these...men touching her. Her hand itched towards her whip. She wasn't going to be taken without a fight.
"Mary!" A sharp voice scolded, and Rena looked up as another servant came forward, glaring at her. Rena gaped at the sight of her. "What are you doing? The empress told you five minutes ago to fetch that tea for her and here you are, flirting with guards. Get yourself to the kitchens before I beat some sense into you!"
Rena nodded hurriedly as the two guards stepped away uneasily, obviously reluctant to interfere with the empress's servants. They started off again and Rena opened her mouth, her old sense of joy bubbling up within her. The other servant cut her off with a sharp gesture.
"Not here."
Rena shut her mouth with a snap and followed the other woman to the corner of the hallway, half obscured by the shadows. Once they were hidden from view, Rena let go of her restraint.
"Catherine!" She whispered, throwing her arms around the other woman. Catherine smiled through her tears and hugged her back. "I can't believe it's you! I have so many questions for you." Rena stopped abruptly, feeling awkward. The old Relena had welled up in her for a moment, basking in the joy of finding her lost friend, but Rena was there too, impatiently waiting for her to get on with it and complete the mission. It was as if the two sides of herself were battling and Relena had come to the forefront for a second. Rena pushed down her emotions quickly. She needed to be Rena now, this was war. There was no time for fond memories or happiness.
Fortunately, Catherine didn't seem to notice her silent struggle.
"First off, don't worry about me. The empress made me one of her servants. I get to brush her hair and fetch things for her." The blade-throwing circus performer drawled in her relaxed manner. "Being around her all the time let's me in on what's going on in the front lines. I've kept track of the rebellion's movements and I've tried to learn as much as possible, in the hope that one of you would discover that I was here." She paused for a moment, and her face got sad. "How is Trowa?"
Rena made her voice calm. "You are his mission." She said, simply, feeling her heart ache. Anytime she heard the word 'mission' it inevitably led to thoughts of a certain pilot. She went on, composed. "Catherine, I don't have much time. Have you heard of the empress's new weapon? A man in a dark cloak, calls himself the Hand of the Empire?"
Catherine had started nodding before she was even finished. "He's the main topic all over the palace. I haven't seen him but his rooms are two doors down."
Rena let her mind race. "Okay, I have to hurry Catherine. I want you to meet me tomorrow night in the secret passage by my old rooms-you know the one?-and we'll discuss where to go from there. I must go now." She paused. "Take care of yourself."
Catherine nodded and Rena started to leave when she felt her friend's hand on her arm.
"Tell Trowa...tell him I'm all right." She said, tears glittering in her steel colored eyes again. Rena let a brief smile cross her face, a plan forming in her head.
"I will."
She started off again, her sights set on the door that would lead her to the answers she sought. So focused was she that she didn't see the shadow leaning casually against the wall to her right.
"You came."
She whirled around, a lie on her lips, but it died when she saw who had spoken. He straightened from his place against the wall and looked at her with same Prussian blue eyes that had won her heart so long ago. Now that she was closer to him, she noticed that everything was the same. His hair was still dark and unruly and his face could still gain that emotionless mask in a heartbeat.
Her heart wrenched painfully in her chest.
"Is it really you?" She whispered, and a strange look passed across his face. He motioned towards his room.
"Let us talk privately." He opened the door for her and she hesitated. She still wasn't entirely sure this was Heero and the idea that she was walking into a trap popped into her mind.
He seemed to read this in her face and he stiffened angrily. "I do not use hidden tactics to subdue young women."
Strangely, she felt herself nod and step into the room, trusting him. He closed the door behind him and looked to her, standing a few feet away.
"You remember me." He said, abruptly, his voice sending shivers up her spine.
"Yes." She replied, softly. "Do you remember me?"
"I don't know."
Rena felt a tingle behind her eyes, a feeling she hadn't felt in years. She wasn't going to cry, was she? She hadn't cried since... since Heero had died.
She took a deep breath. "Do you know who you are?"
He frowned. "I once had a life other than this one. My mother says she found me close to death and gave me life again. I remember only voices from this other life."
Rena felt faint. "Your mother?
His gaze hardened. "What about you, Rena Bladeheart? Why do you come deep within the enemies fortress to talk to me?"
"The same reason that you do not kill me where I stand." She shot back. Surprisingly, he nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I know I could not kill you. You are connected to me somehow."
Rena felt the tears threaten again and she stepped closer to Heero until they were almost touching. Daringly she looked up into his eyes and reached up a hand to softly trace his strong jaw. He didn't move away from her touch and she felt a tiny tendril of hope curl around her heart. If she could just make him remember...
She let her fingertips brush lightly over his eyes, cheeks, forehead, and lips as if memorizing him all over again. He simply watched her calmly, his eyes on her face. When her fingers touched his hair he reached up and encircled her wrist gently with a strong hand. She paused and looked into his eyes, trying to read what he was feeling.
As their gazes held he felt a tiny spark of...something...ignite in him, and he felt his head lower until his lips were inches away from hers. She watched him with big eyes and he noticed that silver tears filled them, waiting to be shed. It was those tears that pushed him the last distance and when their mouths met, it was like coming home.
Only painful.
A blaze of pain erupted in his mind and he jerked away, clutching his head and falling to his knees. There was a roaring in his ears so loud that all other sound was lost and the throbbing pain beat in time with his heart.
~Going on another mission, Heero?~
He groaned through his teeth as images burned their way into his brain, the pain blinding his sight. He saw himself and another braided boy jumping from a tall building, and the name of the boy came to him. Duo. He saw himself with other people too. Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, even Zechs. And Sally, Noin, Hilde, Dorothy, and Catherine. He saw them all and he remembered...
Relena...
He curled in on himself as the pain brought him the lost memories of his time spent with her. She looked different then she was now. More innocent and more...happy. She smiled at him, laughed and cried...and watched him with horrified eyes as he punched the button that would send her away from him for eternity...or so he had thought.
He remembered how he had died...
Or how he should have died. Somehow, in that great burst of bright light, a tiny fraction of himself had been saved. His love for Relena had kept him alive long enough for an A'rateken cruiser to pick him up. After that it was darkness until he suddenly reawakened in the presence of his mother. That was strange too. He still thought of her as his mother.
"Heero? Please, talk to me, Heero. Please?"
The pain flared once more and faded away, leaving behind a whole other life. It was as if he was two people. Shaking his head to try and clear it, he raised his head slowly to look into a pair of very worried silver-blue eyes. When had her eyes changed color?
"Relena?"
The change was immediate. Her face tightened and her eyes grew dark, as if they were trying to return to their normal color. Her lip quivered and she seemed to struggle with herself for a moment.
Then it all came out.
She burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck, her thin shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs. It was as if she hadn't cried in years and it was all coming out now. An uncontrollable flood of emotions she had kept so deep within herself.
He reached for her and crushed her against his chest as she cried, her tears wetting his shirt. He stroked her dark gold hair, kissed her forehead, and whispered to her that it was all right.
"I'm here." He said, quietly.
She cried for several more minutes, the depths of her grief tearing him. When she finally looked up at him, her look broke his heart.
"You left me." She said, brokenly, and he could never remember her looking so vulnerable. "You died and I couldn't go with you."
He wiped her tears away with his thumb. "I lived to protect you. I still do." He paused. "I never got to say this before and I want to say it before anything else happens...
I love you, Relena."
"Oh, Heero." She said, "I have always loved you."
For the first time, a lump rose in his throat and he found he couldn't speak. Instead, he reached out and hugged her against his chest tightly.
They stayed together for the rest of the night, holding each other so close they could barely breathe, afraid that if they let go they would lose each other once again. Cradled in each other's arms, they forgot that the world was tearing itself apart, forgot that they were different people now.
Forgot that they were enemies.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
whew! * wipes sweat off her forehead * that took a lot out of me! Hmmmmm, hope you all liked it! More 1xR lovey dovey stuff coming up and I'm thinking about putting a drop of lemonade in somewhere, what do you think? * sighs * anyway, tell me what you think! Also I was just wondering if anyone caught the reference to Catherine I made in Chapter Two. (I think it was 2) You actually saw her before with the empress. Just wondering if anyone caught her description! If you did you get a cookie!
Next Chapter: The Return
Please review! * hug *
Rena was one with the darkness. She had been for quite some time. She moved like a breath of wind, silent and light. The familiar outline of the Sank palace rose before her, and she paused, seized by an assualt of memories. That palace had served as her home for awhile and it was hard to see it filled with A'rateken soldiers. Those walls had been dedicated to peace and now they served to protect those who would bring war to the earth. Ironic, wasn't it? How life put curves in your path and expected you to take them with ease?
She watched the lights of the palace for a few soft moments, noting the movements of the guards. The whole thing was going to be a piece of cake. The A'rateken had no fear of a large, direct assualt on the palace. They knew the rebel's numbers and they outnumbered them 2 to 1, which made it all the more easier for a lone soldier to make her way in, undetected.
Rena snorted to herself.
The A'rateken were too proud, and it would be their downfall.
Breaking into a quick trot, she rounded the side of the palace, keeping herside hard against the side of the building. She kept bushes and trees between her and what guards there were until she had reached the hidden door located what should have been the main hall. It was the entrance to a secret passageway Rena had used when she had lived in the palace. It led to the hallway next to her rooms, but not to the room itself. Which was just as well since everyone seemed to think the empress was using her old rooms. She had not come to assinate the empress, that would come later. She had come for a foolish reason, one of the heart, and she would not complicate that with plans of murder. She wanted to be in and out quickly, without problems, though it was tempting just to end it all now. But she had the rebellion to think of, and she could not die without finding out about Heero.
~It was him, wasn't it?~
Ignoring her thoughts, she entered the secret hallway quickly and made her way up the cramped stairs to the upstairs rooms. She took several calming breaths before emerging from the hidden doorway, the passageway must remain a secret. Luckily, their were no guards nearby and she fitted the door seamlessly back into the wall. Now was the hard part. She had no idea where to find Heero. She had been hoping that her heart would lead her but all it was doing was beating rapidly in her chest. Well, what ever she did, she couldn't keep standing in the hallway waiting for someone to find her.
She slid along the walls carefully, pausing every time she heard footsteps. She went in the opposite direction of her rooms. Surely the empress would keep her best weapon close by.
The Hand of the Empire.
There was something wrong with the title but she couldn't place it, her mind was running too fast. It would come to her sometime, until then-
"You know, I was thinking the same thing. I guess that this Gharial is so spectacular that he has been put in command of the Mages. Imagine Takuya's disappointment."
Relena froze as the voice sounded close by, followed by dry chuckles from another man. She swallowed as the voices came closer accompanied by footsteps. She had to decide what to do, and fast.
"Sparks fly when he and Gharial are in the same room. It's amazing. You can almost see the power radiating off the both of them." The other voice said, almost upon her and she gritted her teeth. Abandoning any idea of hiding, she threw herself in front of the two men and they reeled back in surprise. She assessed their strengths quickly and knew she couldn't take them both at once without one of them making some noise. There was only one alternative.
"Oh my, you scared me." She said, widening her eyes and affecting a frightened look. The two A'rateken guards blinked at her. She stepped quickly out of their way, bowing low to them. "Sorry to get in your way, sirs. Forgive a humble servant of the empress."
They eyed her for a moment and she began to sweat. The only humans in the palace were slaves and if they didn't believe she was one...well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.
"I haven't seen you around before." One of then said, his slanted eyes peering at her. It was strange how they could look so much like humans and yet, be so different.
"I was caught only recently, sir." She said, thinking quickly. The other guard grinned.
"Well then, Basalt, why don't we have some fun with her? She's pretty good looking, for a human, and the empress will never miss her." He said, and she felt her blood run cold at the thought of one of these...men touching her. Her hand itched towards her whip. She wasn't going to be taken without a fight.
"Mary!" A sharp voice scolded, and Rena looked up as another servant came forward, glaring at her. Rena gaped at the sight of her. "What are you doing? The empress told you five minutes ago to fetch that tea for her and here you are, flirting with guards. Get yourself to the kitchens before I beat some sense into you!"
Rena nodded hurriedly as the two guards stepped away uneasily, obviously reluctant to interfere with the empress's servants. They started off again and Rena opened her mouth, her old sense of joy bubbling up within her. The other servant cut her off with a sharp gesture.
"Not here."
Rena shut her mouth with a snap and followed the other woman to the corner of the hallway, half obscured by the shadows. Once they were hidden from view, Rena let go of her restraint.
"Catherine!" She whispered, throwing her arms around the other woman. Catherine smiled through her tears and hugged her back. "I can't believe it's you! I have so many questions for you." Rena stopped abruptly, feeling awkward. The old Relena had welled up in her for a moment, basking in the joy of finding her lost friend, but Rena was there too, impatiently waiting for her to get on with it and complete the mission. It was as if the two sides of herself were battling and Relena had come to the forefront for a second. Rena pushed down her emotions quickly. She needed to be Rena now, this was war. There was no time for fond memories or happiness.
Fortunately, Catherine didn't seem to notice her silent struggle.
"First off, don't worry about me. The empress made me one of her servants. I get to brush her hair and fetch things for her." The blade-throwing circus performer drawled in her relaxed manner. "Being around her all the time let's me in on what's going on in the front lines. I've kept track of the rebellion's movements and I've tried to learn as much as possible, in the hope that one of you would discover that I was here." She paused for a moment, and her face got sad. "How is Trowa?"
Rena made her voice calm. "You are his mission." She said, simply, feeling her heart ache. Anytime she heard the word 'mission' it inevitably led to thoughts of a certain pilot. She went on, composed. "Catherine, I don't have much time. Have you heard of the empress's new weapon? A man in a dark cloak, calls himself the Hand of the Empire?"
Catherine had started nodding before she was even finished. "He's the main topic all over the palace. I haven't seen him but his rooms are two doors down."
Rena let her mind race. "Okay, I have to hurry Catherine. I want you to meet me tomorrow night in the secret passage by my old rooms-you know the one?-and we'll discuss where to go from there. I must go now." She paused. "Take care of yourself."
Catherine nodded and Rena started to leave when she felt her friend's hand on her arm.
"Tell Trowa...tell him I'm all right." She said, tears glittering in her steel colored eyes again. Rena let a brief smile cross her face, a plan forming in her head.
"I will."
She started off again, her sights set on the door that would lead her to the answers she sought. So focused was she that she didn't see the shadow leaning casually against the wall to her right.
"You came."
She whirled around, a lie on her lips, but it died when she saw who had spoken. He straightened from his place against the wall and looked at her with same Prussian blue eyes that had won her heart so long ago. Now that she was closer to him, she noticed that everything was the same. His hair was still dark and unruly and his face could still gain that emotionless mask in a heartbeat.
Her heart wrenched painfully in her chest.
"Is it really you?" She whispered, and a strange look passed across his face. He motioned towards his room.
"Let us talk privately." He opened the door for her and she hesitated. She still wasn't entirely sure this was Heero and the idea that she was walking into a trap popped into her mind.
He seemed to read this in her face and he stiffened angrily. "I do not use hidden tactics to subdue young women."
Strangely, she felt herself nod and step into the room, trusting him. He closed the door behind him and looked to her, standing a few feet away.
"You remember me." He said, abruptly, his voice sending shivers up her spine.
"Yes." She replied, softly. "Do you remember me?"
"I don't know."
Rena felt a tingle behind her eyes, a feeling she hadn't felt in years. She wasn't going to cry, was she? She hadn't cried since... since Heero had died.
She took a deep breath. "Do you know who you are?"
He frowned. "I once had a life other than this one. My mother says she found me close to death and gave me life again. I remember only voices from this other life."
Rena felt faint. "Your mother?
His gaze hardened. "What about you, Rena Bladeheart? Why do you come deep within the enemies fortress to talk to me?"
"The same reason that you do not kill me where I stand." She shot back. Surprisingly, he nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I know I could not kill you. You are connected to me somehow."
Rena felt the tears threaten again and she stepped closer to Heero until they were almost touching. Daringly she looked up into his eyes and reached up a hand to softly trace his strong jaw. He didn't move away from her touch and she felt a tiny tendril of hope curl around her heart. If she could just make him remember...
She let her fingertips brush lightly over his eyes, cheeks, forehead, and lips as if memorizing him all over again. He simply watched her calmly, his eyes on her face. When her fingers touched his hair he reached up and encircled her wrist gently with a strong hand. She paused and looked into his eyes, trying to read what he was feeling.
As their gazes held he felt a tiny spark of...something...ignite in him, and he felt his head lower until his lips were inches away from hers. She watched him with big eyes and he noticed that silver tears filled them, waiting to be shed. It was those tears that pushed him the last distance and when their mouths met, it was like coming home.
Only painful.
A blaze of pain erupted in his mind and he jerked away, clutching his head and falling to his knees. There was a roaring in his ears so loud that all other sound was lost and the throbbing pain beat in time with his heart.
~Going on another mission, Heero?~
He groaned through his teeth as images burned their way into his brain, the pain blinding his sight. He saw himself and another braided boy jumping from a tall building, and the name of the boy came to him. Duo. He saw himself with other people too. Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, even Zechs. And Sally, Noin, Hilde, Dorothy, and Catherine. He saw them all and he remembered...
Relena...
He curled in on himself as the pain brought him the lost memories of his time spent with her. She looked different then she was now. More innocent and more...happy. She smiled at him, laughed and cried...and watched him with horrified eyes as he punched the button that would send her away from him for eternity...or so he had thought.
He remembered how he had died...
Or how he should have died. Somehow, in that great burst of bright light, a tiny fraction of himself had been saved. His love for Relena had kept him alive long enough for an A'rateken cruiser to pick him up. After that it was darkness until he suddenly reawakened in the presence of his mother. That was strange too. He still thought of her as his mother.
"Heero? Please, talk to me, Heero. Please?"
The pain flared once more and faded away, leaving behind a whole other life. It was as if he was two people. Shaking his head to try and clear it, he raised his head slowly to look into a pair of very worried silver-blue eyes. When had her eyes changed color?
"Relena?"
The change was immediate. Her face tightened and her eyes grew dark, as if they were trying to return to their normal color. Her lip quivered and she seemed to struggle with herself for a moment.
Then it all came out.
She burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck, her thin shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs. It was as if she hadn't cried in years and it was all coming out now. An uncontrollable flood of emotions she had kept so deep within herself.
He reached for her and crushed her against his chest as she cried, her tears wetting his shirt. He stroked her dark gold hair, kissed her forehead, and whispered to her that it was all right.
"I'm here." He said, quietly.
She cried for several more minutes, the depths of her grief tearing him. When she finally looked up at him, her look broke his heart.
"You left me." She said, brokenly, and he could never remember her looking so vulnerable. "You died and I couldn't go with you."
He wiped her tears away with his thumb. "I lived to protect you. I still do." He paused. "I never got to say this before and I want to say it before anything else happens...
I love you, Relena."
"Oh, Heero." She said, "I have always loved you."
For the first time, a lump rose in his throat and he found he couldn't speak. Instead, he reached out and hugged her against his chest tightly.
They stayed together for the rest of the night, holding each other so close they could barely breathe, afraid that if they let go they would lose each other once again. Cradled in each other's arms, they forgot that the world was tearing itself apart, forgot that they were different people now.
Forgot that they were enemies.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
whew! * wipes sweat off her forehead * that took a lot out of me! Hmmmmm, hope you all liked it! More 1xR lovey dovey stuff coming up and I'm thinking about putting a drop of lemonade in somewhere, what do you think? * sighs * anyway, tell me what you think! Also I was just wondering if anyone caught the reference to Catherine I made in Chapter Two. (I think it was 2) You actually saw her before with the empress. Just wondering if anyone caught her description! If you did you get a cookie!
Next Chapter: The Return
Please review! * hug *