Can I Keep You? Chapter 10
By: *Tracey*
/*/*/*/
Relena looked both ways as she quietly slithered past the refreshment table and around the staircase. She did a quick backwards glance to make sure no one was following her, and then proceeded in going upstairs to the second landing.
She then went left to the library, then right after she found the heavy oak doors, and hissed inside the room, "Treize? You here?"
"Relena?" came a musty voice. A pause, then a cough as dust blew up around a darkened corner where the light from the hallway didn't touch.
"Treize," Relena sighed in relief. "There you are. I need to ask you something before I go back to the party."
"What?" he asked slightly miffed that she caught him in the middle of his reading period. He hastily shoved the V.C. Andrews book behind a higher volume of dictionaries and smiled pleasantly at her. "Cat got your tongue?"
"What happened to your wife? And why is Mariemaia Khushrenda so afraid to come into this house?" Relena blurted.
Treize said nothing, but the shocked look on his opaque face was enough. He then sighed and floated slowly to the ground. "I wasn't expecting that."
"I know."
"Do you really want to hear the whole story? It's not something I tell very frequently, so feel special."
"I always do."
Another sigh, a pause, and then, "Fair enough. You know that this house was built a long time ago, correct?"
"Yeah," Relena replied, bunching up her saloon girl skirt and shutting the door behind her with a smart, crack. "Go on." She seated herself in one of the old armchairs.
"Well, the man who built it was Heero's father, Odin Yuy. You know that – I saw your work that you collected. He asked us, his fiancée's brothers, to come and live with him in this house. We were all the younger of an older brother, you see, and he had inherited the estate back in England." Treize sighed and had a dreamy look on his face that showed he was remembering something.
"You came here then, right? And Odin met Heero's mum," Relena supplied.
"Yes," said a wistful Treize, as he smiled in the dark of the study. "She was beautiful, my sister, and Odin was lucky to have met her. They moved in with us here in Yuy Estate.
"Here, they started a family. Everything was great, except for when Trowa got a plan and Wufei and I went along with it… alas, everything was wonderful." Treize grinned, but then his face grew somber. "That is, until my sister was diagnosed with consumption."
"Consumption?" Relena repeated dumbly, until she made an 'o' with her mouth. "Oh, you mean T.B.!"
"T.B.? Is that was it's called now? Two little letters?" Treize asked, frowning.
"No, its called tuberculosis but shortened down to TB." Relena sighed. "I'm sorry. That's what my step-sister died to, too."
"Very sorry, m'dear," Treize sighed. "Shall I continue?"
"Please."
"Right-o. After she died, Heero became more withdrawn from everything around him, since the age of at least eleven. He knew what happened, no one told him different. But after… it seemed like he was completely different."
"Um, pardon for interrupting, but I asked about you, not Heero at the moment," Relena chided.
"I know. But you need to understand that when Heero did this, a friend of his from school stopped by and said how withdrawn he was – well, that 'friend' happened to be his teacher. And well," Treize blushed here, "I had been drinking that night, and she was attractive…"
"Whore?" Relena smirked.
"Not at all! If it wasn't for me…" Treize trailed off. "Annie… that was her name. Well, I called her that. Her true name was Anne. Anne Mariemaia Une. So… err… we fooled…"
"Spare me, get on with it."
"Cheers, Relena. Right to the point, like that in you."
"Please don't hit on me. It's sad," Relena teased.
"Yes, so… after that, she found out she was pregnant and left for New York. Left dear ol' Friendly, Maine."
"And you."
"Yes, she broke my heart, but had every reason. No one should find out what I did, and what she did. So she hired another person to teach, and disappeared one day. Before she left, thought, I made her promise that she tell our child what happened when they were old enough, and for them to pass it down to their children. It was only natural for them to know what I had done," Treize sighed.
"You take complete blame?" Relena nearly shrieked. She ran a hand through her honey hair. "That's wrong, Treize."
"I know. But I needed to say something," Treize said. "No one night stand." He laughed indignantly. There was a pause in the air, and tension was felt. Relena sorted her thoughts before asking quietly, "do the others know?"
"Know? Oh yes, Trowa and Wufei egged me on. Odin…" Treize trailed off. "He knew too – and you can't imagine the guilt I felt. I was one of the most trusted amongst us brothers. I abused that trust, and therefore Odin didn't think highly of me anymore."
"That must have been hard, I'm sorry," Relena said softly.
"It was," Treize said, closing his ghostly eyes against the pain he felt within. "You can't imagine. But I lived with it. I still do. But I never go to tell Odin that I was sorry for breaking his trust in me… it was never the same afterwards…"
"What about Mariemaia?" Relena asked, forcing a smile to Treize.
"I suppose she knows, but wishes not to come here. After all, why come to the place where your Grandmother and Grandfather slept? The same place where her father was conceived?" Treize laughed bitterly, poison behind the words.
"Treize…" Relena trailed off. She bit her lip and suddenly looked at the ground. "I'm so sorry for bringing this all up again. It must be painful to see your Granddaughter down there, enjoying herself without you talking to her."
"It is. But I'm used to it. Used to being screamed at, yelled at, swore at," Treize said, angrily. Not at her, but at people themselves. "You learn and adjust."
"It must hurt," Relena choked, biting back tears.
"It does. More than anyone can imagine," Treize said, choking too, but blinked and looked around the dusty room. "Dusty in here, isn't it? I'm choking up. Well, off you trot. Got a party to host," he smiled, "Cheerio, Relena."
"Bye," she whispered, getting up off the armchair and leaving the room. She opened the door, and stepped out, but peered back in. Treize had his head in his hands, and appeared to be heaving ghostly sobs.
She bit her lip and closed the door. Sorry…
*-*-*-*
"Duo!" Hilde shouted over the noise.
"Yeah, babe?" Duo shouted back, dancing over to her.
"Where'd Rel go? I don't see her talking to the Indiana anymore," Hilde said, pointing at Catherine, who was dressed as an Indian.
"No idea," Duo said, scanning the crowd for her, and suddenly, "Oy! What's she doing up there in the study hallway?"
"Study hallway?" Hilde repeated.
Duo nodded. "Let's go talk to her. She looks upset about something."
"Something," Hilde nodded.
They both walked towards the stairs when they heard a low moan override the stereo system and reverb throughout the entrance hall.
"I thought Treize said all the ghosts were out for tonight," Hilde said to Duo, shakily.
"So did I. D'you think they returned early?" Duo asked, frowning.
"No… Trowa, Wufei and Heero have a better decency than to ruin Rel's party," Hilde said, narrowing her eyes. "I think someone else is behind all this."
"Dorothy?" Duo asked.
"Yeah," Hilde replied. They saw Relena head back towards them, down the stairs with a thoughtful expression on her face. "She hasn't heard it yet."
"Silly thoughtful, studious girl," Duo mumbled.
"Hey!" Hilde smacked him.
"Sorry," answered Duo, rubbing his arm. "Death does not get beaten."
"Say that to the 'ghosts'," Hilde grinned. A large white sheet had appeared at the edge of the entrance hall, where the passage leads to the kitchen. The 'ghost' had pale, pale make up on, and red eyes. It was also an unceremoniously long body.
Hilde raised an eyebrow, and laughed. "Duo, they're pathetic! Dorothy is riding on Quatre's back!"
"Sad," Duo shook his head. He then grinned. "A surprise?"
"Surely you mustn't…"
"Ah, but I am…"
"Lets." Hilde finally answered, and they crept up behind the 'ghost'.
"Oooh… What have you all done to awaken me? The great, the one the – OW!" The last part was screeched by a female, its male tone disappearing.
Hilde and Duo grinned, and as the 'ghost' breezed by (smelling like lilacs and roses and all things pretty), Hilde and Duo slammed their feet down on the cloth and watched the 'ghost' choke.
Dorothy's pale and make-up-ed face turned to tell off whoever was holding them down, but at a quick glance upwards to the study second landing, made her think twice. Quatre created a peephole and screamed along with her at the sight of a very, very angry Treize.
They ran right out of the entrance hall and through the doors. Relena had reached the bottom of the stairs now, and people turned to look at her.
"Happy Halloween?" she asked timidly. Everyone (or many) nodded and bought it, the music continuing and people talking gaily.
"Something bugging you?" Duo asked when he and Hilde stepped up to Relena.
"Yeah… I just heard Treize tell me about his past. He has no problem remembering it. And sometime earlier, I overheard Wufei and Trowa having no problem too… so why can't Heero remember anything?" Relena finally asked, lowering her head into her arms.
"I don't know," Hilde said gently. She shared a glance with Duo and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Why? I'm getting all this information and I don't have –" Relena broke off, a faraway expression on her face.
"Relena?" Hilde asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, dudette, are you okay?" Duo asked, frowning. "Death doesn't like to be tricked."
"Things," Relena breathed. "Things!"
"Yeah, so we heard. What do you need these said things for?" Hilde snapped.
"Heero… remember… things from past!" Relena mumbled. She then got up and dashed away. But as soon as her foot was on the stairs, she came back and said hurriedly, "Hilde, Duo, you guys are great. One problem. Faye and Dibs will be back. I know they will and they want to know what the Yuy Estate treasure is. I think I may know from geographical and geothermal maps of this area. I need to go upstairs, and find Trowa and Wufei. They can tell you. Then, I want you guys to watch out for said people."
"Right. And then what?" Duo asked, carefully watching Relena's glowing face.
"Stall them. Obviously they want the treasure, but how can we give proof unless they steal it?"
"Fake?"
"Completely."
/*/*/*/
So. Does anyone know what Relena's plan is? Does anyone have any ideas to how she's going to trigger Heero's mind? No? Yes? Drop me a line in the review and tell me. The next chapter will most likely be the second last. Yeah, I'm stopping at the second greatest number in history, number 13. Please read and review! Thanks!