Canta Per Me

Canta Per Me

Episode 15: Return to the Sank Kingdom

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Gundam Wing and Noir belong to their respective owners.

Author's Note: Lalalala…fanfiction.net is still down. And I haven't been writing for the past few days trying to work on two websites. This is for the other website. Well, new Noir episodes have been slow coming also, so is this. Not my fault. Anyway, here we go. The website unfortunately can't be updated while Kaori Rose is still in school and losing her mind. There's lots of work to do for the website, but writing is still my hobby, and it's sad that I was too busy to do this for a while.

* * * * * *

"NOIR.

The word designates the name of destiny from a distant time.

The two Virgo reign over death.

May the Black hands over the green field…

Please protect the newly born peace."

- opening from the anime, Noir.

Paris, France

A little red-headed girl was sitting in a high stool in front of a computer playing games. Her blue eyes are focused on the game to develop her hand-eye coordination. Her tiny, chubby fingers pressed the buttons with accuracy. The stool didn't have a back to it, and she was so small because she was only three and a half years old. A hand was pressed against her back to keep her from falling backwards in the chair. The person next to her was watching her carefully because he was ordered to. He was a child just like her, but older. The hand pressed against her back to keep her steady belonged to a child whose hands were larger than hers. The sound of the computer signaled the end of the game when she turned to look at the person to see if he was happy with her progress...only to find that the person was no longer there. Suddenly, without the support of the hand on her back, she fell off the stool. A dark endless pit appeared, and she was falling helplessly, she opened her mouth to scream..."Niichan!" she cried out to the other child...

Meia woke up breathing deeply as she stared up at the ceiling. The dream was something that occurred often. She didn't tell Relena because she didn't want her to know about it. She suddenly felt cold. Meia thought that Relena had been acting strange ever since she had returned from L1. Relena also never bothered to really talk about the job that she had to do over there. Not that Meia would ever pry. Meia's head was a jumbled mess of incomplete memories and voices that she couldn't even recognize. The only thing that she could be sure of was the music of the pocket watch. The music was soothing and led her to Relena. She got out of bed only to find that Relena was getting ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Meia in an emotionless voice.

"I'm going to the Sank Kingdom for three days. It's been a while since I've been there," said Relena with a small overnight bag on her shoulder.

"Why?" asked Meia.

"I need to go there. I haven't been there in six years. You don't have to come. I'll be going to the capital. I haven't been there in nineteen years," said Relena. 'I haven't been there since it was destroyed. I haven't been there since my parents were murdered,' she thought without saying it out loud.

"The capital. Were you born there?" asked Meia. She wasn't really sure as she looked at Relena with her big blue eyes. Relena nodded her head. Meia realized that Relena wanted to go by herself and that it had nothing to do with a job. Relena needed to go, so Meia shrugged her shoulders, and said, "I don't want to come."

Relena sighed and smiled at her. "I'll see you in three days," she said.

"Hai," agreed Meia in Japanese. Relena blinked at her knowing that she could speak a multitude of languages, but why was she using Japanese? 'She was born on L1. The Japanese colony and trained under Dr. J with Heero. Of course, she would be comfortable using Japanese,' mused Relena.

Relena walked out of the apartment to catch a train to the Sank Kingdom instead of driving over there. She was going to have to take two trains and a boat to get to the capital city of the Sank Kingdom. It took her six years to work up the courage to return to the place of her birth. She may have left the capital when she was two years old, but she wasn't aware of why she really had to leave until she was sixteen when the war was over, but the nightmares of the past had returned.

* * *

Dorothy was in Paris to see Lady Une. She and Lady Une were rather close because they both knew Treize Khushrenada. Dorothy was a pacifist these days, although not as overt as Relena once was. Dorothy was a little disappointed in Relena because she was no longer doing her work as the premiere pacifist of the world. When she arrived, she saw that the Gundam pilots had arrived. Duo was yawning from a lack of sleep. Trowa looked as dispassionate as always. Quatre was looking at a folder, while Wufei was sipping some tea. Heero was sitting in a chair looking at nothing in particular. Zeches and Noin were having a discussion, while Sally was stretching slightly to wake up. Lady Une came right behind Dorothy.

"What's going on?" said Duo in a whiney tone. He couldn't really stand Dorothy, and he wasn't getting a lot of sleep with the baby and wedding nearby.

"Dorothy has some information that may interest all of us," said Lady Une calmly. She looked at Dorothy to signal her to start.

Taking a deep breathe, she said, :"I think I know who the assassin is."

* * *

Relena was already on the second train which was in the Sank Kingdom. The Sank Kingdom was taken over in a coup, but before the war, Zechs had managed to secure the Sank Kingdom away from the people who had destroyed it. After the war, due to a lack of leadership on Relena's part, the Sank Kingdom was swallowed up by neighboring countries. The capital city laid in ruins even after nineteen years. The people who lived in the old capital considered themselves true citizens of the Sank Kingdom. Relena felt guilty because she didn't live up to the ideal of the Sank Kingdom, and she allowed the country to remain in ruins, but she knew what her duties were. On the train she recalled the day she found out the truth about herself.

Pargan laid in his hospital bed for days now. Relena never left his side for too long. Her mother made sure that he had the best of care, but it was too late. Pargan was dying, and there was nothing Relena could do for him, but to stay by his side to make sure that he wasn't alone. She was sixteen years old, and the war was just over. It was like Pargan just held on to see the end of war and the establishment of peace.

"Miss Relena," whispered Pargan.

"Shh…don't try to talk. Just rest," said Relena softly. It was like losing another member of her family. Her brother had died months ago, so the pain was still fresh, and the anniversary of her father's death was fast approaching. She never gave herself enough time to morn the death of Mr. Darlian, and now the in the stillness of peace, the pain was catching up with her. To top that off, something had happened, and she was having nightmares. Seeing pictures of the King and Queen of the Sank Kingdom had trigged long buried memories that had resurface with a vengeance. She kept these things quiet because she didn't want to worry Pargan. He was the only constant she ever had in her life. Her parents had died, and she was given to the Darlians who loved her, but then Mr. Darlian was gone. The strain of being the world's leading pacifist was starting to build up. She was only sixteen years old, and she felt almost dead inside. The peace that the world had brought about turmoil inside her.

"You must know the truth about the Sank Kingdom," he whispered. He reached out for a small cedar box that he had on the table. Relena stopped him by picking it up for him and giving it to him. He looked at the box with withered expression. He had never felt old until he was in the hospital awaiting his death.

"I know the truth about the Sank Kingdom it was destroyed. You don't need to tell me anything else," whispered Relena, wanting him to conserve his waning strength. Pargan shook his head because he needed to speak.

"Your parents were arranged to be married may years ago. I was hired about the same time they were married. You see I've been a part of another group devoted to peace for a decade before I came to the Sank Kingdom's palace. I was born and raised in the Sank Kingdom, but I traveled out of the Sank Kingdom for many years before I ever worked for the royal family. This society saw the devotion that your father had and decided to ally themselves indirectly. The Society is everywhere, Miss Relena. My duty was to protect the royal family. It was decided that your brother would succeed to your father to the throne, but you were given a greater duty," said Pargan.

"I don't understand," whispered Relena. Pargan opened the box and there was a piece of parchment paper with a red seal on it that was broken. He handed it to Relena. Relena looked at the message. It was written in Latin, but it had her name at the bottom of the message. The date on it was just two days after she was born, but Mrs. Darlian said that it took her parents two days to come up with a name for her. The message was the oath of Noir. Relena sought answers from Pargan with her eyes. "What does this mean?" she asked.

"This is what belongs to you, Miss Relena. This is your destiny, which was designated even before you or your brother were born. Your brother never fulfilled what he was supposed to be, but at least you will," answered Pargan as he went into a fit of coughing. Relena gently hushed him and pushed him back down on the bed, so that he wouldn't strain himself needlessly. "Time is short. He will come for you soon," added Pargan as he closed his eyes. Later that night, Pargan breathed his last, and Relena never left his side. For Relena, she had lost the only constant she had in her life. Pargan was there even before she was placed into the Darlians' care, so the lost left a profound void within her.

Three days later, Relena and Mrs. Darlian gave Pargan a quiet, private funeral. Mrs. Darlian left Relena alone for a few moments because she felt that Relena needed it. "What's supposed to happen to me now? I need some answers. I need to know where I'm going," whispered Relena in a desperate plea in front of Pargan's grave. She felt that her life had been filled with lies. She was lied to almost all her life believing that the people who raised her were her parents. As a vice minister, she felt like she was just regurgitating what both her fathers had said in the past, and also she felt like she was just saying these things to please everyone. In the end, she didn't know who she was. Was she a Peacecraft or a Darlian? Was she a true, absolute pacifist? These were the doubts that had arisen recently in the past year since the war had ended.

"You are Noir. I will show you the way," said a familiar, male voice from behind her. Relena turned with her mouth wide open.

"Uncle Gustave?" whispered Relena. He nodded and smiled at her. Relena ran towards him for a much needed embrace, which he willing gave her.

Relena remembered when she was little how they had to take a boat out of the capital. She could barely remember seeing the city burning from the boat. Her Uncle Gustave held her hand and her brother's hand as he stood between them. Her thoughts were disrupted by other passengers moving into the nearly empty car that she was in. A little boy tripped when he came inside, just near Relena, so she quickly came to her feet and helped him up. The elderly man with him came to thank her. "Thank yo--," stammered the elderly man when he saw her face. He instantly turned pale as if he had just seen a ghost, and he quickly picked up his grandson and left to go to the next car over. Relena stared after them, but she didn't know why the man would suddenly look at her like he was afraid of her. She sat back in her chair uneasily.

* * *

"What do you mean you know who the assassin is?" asked Lady Une, breaking the silence. Everyone's eyes were on her. Heero was doing a death glare on Dorothy. He was still thinking about how the assassins were able to outsmart him.

"The assassin has a name that is never said out loud. The assassin is a very powerful one. He or she comes from a long line of assassins who are part of a secret society," said Dorothy softly.

"Who is the assassin? We want a name," demanded Wufei who was getting annoyed at Dorothy's stalling.

"I don't know the name of the assassin," said Dorothy.

"Wait, you said that you knew who the assassin was," insisted Quatre.

"I didn't say I knew the name. I know the title. Noir. Those four letters represent the best assassin in the world. Noir is unstoppable. He or she took out the head of the Sicilian Mafia. I was reading the newspapers...it just clicked. Noir had to do all this. Noir is the only one capable of doing the impossible," said Dorothy as she shook her head. There was something about the way she moved that showed that she was overtly afraid. She looked almost shaken, which wasn't characteristic of the girl who once declared so forcefully, "War is beautiful."

"Where did you hear about Noir?" asked Zechs.

"My grandfather, Duke Dermail. He was the one who said that if Noir was active before the war, there would have never been a war. Noir would have taken out my cousin even before he could do anything," said Dorothy. Lady Une was disturbed by what Dorothy had said. Treize would have been taken out by Noir, and Dorothy was sure of it.

"Why do you say that?" asked Trowa, who hadn't said anything in a while.

"Noir's duty is to maintain the peace by taking out people as ordered. The members are everywhere. They could be anyone. I don't even know the name of the society," said Dorothy in a shaky voice.

Everyone stared at her because she was visible upset and afraid. "We'll find out who Noir is no matter what. And we'll stop Noir," vowed Heero in a quiet voice.

* * *

Relena stared at the palace in front of her. Actually, it was hard to tell that there was even once a palace at all. The palace was laid in ruins, much like the kingdom itself. It was a silent testament to the horrors of war. Millardo took out the man who had led the revolution to take the Sank Kingdom from the control of their father. But, the man had set up shop at one of the summer palaces because the palace at the capital was destroyed. During the war, Relena stayed at an old noble's castle to set up the institute that Dorothy, Quatre, and Heero attended for a very brief period just before the end of the war, which she had based it loosely on St. Gabriel's Academy.

Relena entered the grounds after slight hesitation; she hadn't been in the palace since the day the capital city fell. She walked until she got inside the palace. The grand entrance where the King and Queen would meet guests, and the grand entrance which led to the once magnificent throne room. She looked around the palace, not knowing exactly where she was going. She continued walking as if she knew where she was. She walked until she reached the private family quarters. There was a white, grand piano that stood in the center of room in ruins; it was still standing, but some of the keys were missing. Relena gently tapped at the keys and was surprised to find that part of it was still functioning. She began to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," but she had to stop when she found that one of the keys she needed was gone. She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered a beautiful woman playing the piano with her small, blonde son next to her. She turned her head to see a soft and large armchair. The armchair was the perspective that Relena recalled everything from because in the armchair she would sit in the lap of a man who seemed larger than life. "Papa…" whispered Relena as she stared at the armchair.

She walked out of the room quietly. She walked until she reached the destination that she wanted to go to. It was the throne room. The room where her parents were murdered right before her eyes. She saw everything from one of the three other entrances to the throne room. The grand entrance was reserved for only special occasions, while the others were for everyday use. She stood at the same door way she was when she saw the men take her parents' lives. Her eyes remained stoic on the outside, but her emotions threatened to bubble up and consume her. She walked away from the throne room by opening the main entrance because that was the fastest way out of the palace. She kept on walking until she reached the gate, and she closed the large gate while looking longingly at the palace. It was a reminder of the first life she had lost. Her hand lingered on a bar of the gate as she continued staring at it. She heard someone coming towards her, and she turned her head at attention to him.

"Mother of God," he gasped as he dropped the food that he was carrying and ran away from her. Relena looked a little bit startled by his reactions. Just like the man on the train. She heard another set of footsteps from her opposite side.

"My lady! My Lady Katerina?" cried an elderly woman. She walked up to Relena very quickly, causing Relena to pull back away from her. Why was this woman calling her by her mother's name? The old woman only came up to her closer and took Relena's hands. "You can't be my Queen," she finally said in a sad voice.

"No, I'm not," said Relena as she saw the old woman's expression go further into sadness. Relena felt awful for hurting the old woman's feelings. "My name is Relena," she whispered.

"Princess Relena?" cried the woman as she embraced Relena. Relena hated to be called princess because she didn't feel like the title suited her; she preferred her title as Noir. Relena shifted uncomfortably under the woman's embrace. The woman released her finally and smiled at her.

"Who are you?" asked Relena cautiously.

"My name is Marie Collins. I used to be one of your mother's attendants," answered the plump, elderly woman. "Come with me to my home, your highness. I'll make you some tea and serve some of my cakes to you," offered Marie. Relena nodded and followed her.

* * *

Heero left the meeting as soon as it was over. He was now sure of one thing: the person who had killed Dr. J had to be Noir. The name of the world's best assassin, but there were two of them. The puzzle was no closer to being solved than before. Heero thought about who Noir could be. Dorothy really didn't have a real clue, just a theory, but he looked at all the evidence, and he knew that she had to be right. Heero suddenly realized that in all the work in the past few weeks, he hadn't checked up on Relena. He'd been checking up on her more often ever since her reaction at the airport.

He called her apartment, and Meia answered, "Hello," she said in a timid, small voice. Heero was going to ask where Relena was, but he paused staring at the person who was on the other line. He felt suddenly startled, but he didn't know why.

"Where's Relena?" asked Heero as he regained his composure quickly.

"She went to the Sank Kingdom for three days," answered Meia promptly. Heero looked at her calmly. The girl's blue eyes were dark blue pools of unknown depths.

"Thank you," said Heero as he closed the line. He stared at the blank screen for a moment. He couldn't shake the strange feeling of familiarity that he felt when he saw Meia.

* * *

Relena calmly sipped her tea as she looked at the kind, elderly lady known as Marie Collins. She was in cozy, comfortable cottage. "Why did you call me by mother's name?" she asked.

"You look just like her. It was like seeing her alive again," said Marie with a tender smile on her lips.

"I see. I was looking at the palace…I haven't been here since the day that…" trailed off Relena.

"It was a horrible day. The palace was destroyed. Milady was killed along with Milord. I wondered what happened to their little, darling children. When I saw the reports during the war, I knew what had happened. Did the Darlians raise you well, my Princess?" asked Marie.

"Yes. They loved me very much. Mrs. Darlian is the only mother I've ever know," answered Relena without hesitation.

"You were lucky. I saw the new announcements that the Prince made. He seemed so cold and harsh. My heart ached when I saw him during his time as leader of the White Fang. I tried to look for the little boy I knew, but I couldn't find him. War does terrible things to people," whispered Marie. Relena stared at her tea cup. She wondered if Marie could see the little girl that she once was, but she knew that part of her was died. "Did you know that Francisco Marx made it out of the palace alive? We didn't even know about it until the fires had stopped," she added. Relena's eyes widened. Francisco Marx was the man who was head of the palace guards. Relena assumed that he had died with the others.

"I didn't know he was alive. I should find him and talk to him," said Relena.

"I don't think he would be willing to speak with you, Princess. You see he's been in a deep depression ever since the palace was destroyed," said Marie. Relena stood up.

"Thank you very much for the tea and cake," said Relena.

"You're welcome, my Princess," said Marie.

"Goodbye," said Relena.

"Goodbye, my Princess. Please don't let the war haunt you. Let the past remain in the past. Enjoy the peace," said Marie wisely. She could tell the turmoil that Relena was suffering from was the same as those who were trying to still pick up the pieces of their lives even after the years that had passed.

"For some of us, the end of the war brought an end to peace," whispered Relena without further explanation, she left the company of the kind Marie Collins.

* * *

"I need your help in finding Noir, Dorothy. Right now, that's the only theory we have as to who's doing the killings," said Lady Une.

"I would be willing to help in anyway possible. I know that I would be target. Most of us would because of our pasts. Just think about it…everyone who was involved in this war as a solider is likely to be a target. But, I was just as bad. We have to stop Noir, but to tell you the truth I have no idea who Noir could possibly be," said Dorothy truthfully.

"We can't just dismiss anything now. Everything we have is evidence. We'll find out who Noir is. We can't have someone going out and killing people during peace time," said Lady Une. What was she really thinking? The world was better off with the people that Noir had dispatched, but the Preventers were actual the peace keeping force. If Noir wanted to be involved, they would have to do it legally. Lady Une had the same fears that Dorothy had; she knew about all the awful things that she had done during the war. Her love blinded her. The one thing that made her feel the most guilty was the assassination of Vice Minister Darlian because she had to face Relena often. Relena never really forgave Lady Une for taking the life of the only man she had known as her father.

* * *

Relena waited in an alley for Francisco Marx to return to his place of residence. She wanted to talk to him because she hadn't worked up enough courage to asked where her parents' graves were. A tall, thin man with his gray hair in a short hair stumbled over to the front of the door of Marx's residence. It was fairly obvious that he was drunk and in need of a shave. He fumbled looking for his keys. Relena observed that the bag had more liquor. 'People use alcohol to escape reality or to dull pain,' she thought. "Mr. Marx," she called to him. The man turned to look at Relena. He gasped and dropped his bag of liquor causing all the bottles to break and spill all over the front of his doorstep. Relena stepped forward out of the shadows.

"Jesus! No! Why won't you leave me alone?!" he cried out in fear of her. He wretched the door open and walked inside in a hurry, slamming it shut as he went inside. Relena walked up to the door.

"I'm not her, Mr. Marx. I'm not Katernia Peacecraft. My name is Relena Darlian. I need to talk to you about what something important," said Relena in a loud voice as she pounded on the door.

Francisco sank to the floor was he pressed his back to the wall opposite the door. Why were these ghosts always coming to him? Soon the pounding stopped because Relena decided that it wasn't the best way to approach him. He looked like one of those war veterans; it was fairly obvious that he was shell shocked. She would have to find another way.

After an hour of sleeping with his back to the wall, Francisco had to get up. The pain in his lower back told him that the alcohol was wearing off. He went off to the bar, stepping over the broken bottles of glass. He wondered whether or not the apparition he had seen was even real or was maybe it was from the alcohol. He walked over to the bar and ordered a bottle of strong scotch. He poured it into a glass and swallowed it all in one gulp. He really didn't like the burning taste. Not even after all the years that he had been consuming the stuff. He wanted to forget, but he couldn't. His hand went to search for the nearby bottle of strong scotch, when he found it he started to pour more into the glass with a shaky hand, but another hand assisted him.

"Mr. Marx," said the owner of the hand. He looked up at her because her voice was haunting. She sounded like someone he once knew.

"You…" he whispered. Relena took a seat on the bar stool next to him.

"As I was saying earlier, I need some information, Mr. Marx. You're the only one who can help me," said Relena. Francisco pushed the glass away from himself.

"Meet me tomorrow at the garden near the old gazebo," agreed Francisco after much silence.

"Thank you. Here's the payment for his bottle," said Relena as she paid the bartender, "You really shouldn't be drinking too much, Mr. Marx, but I understand," she added as she left the bar.

* * *

Relena came to the garden early, but she had found Francisco already waiting for her. He looked at the forest that surrounded the capital city. He heard Relena after quite sometime because it seemed that he was somewhere else. Looking at her with sad eyes, he sighed. Relena took a seat on the edge of one of the old statues in the garden. They stood together in the garden in utter silence for a while before Francisco choose to talk.

"I am sorry, Princess. I failed in my duties. Looking at you is like looking at a ghost. You look just like the Queen. I can't bear it," whispered Francisco.

"I don't mean to make this difficult for you. I just need some information. I can't let go of the past because it's affecting my present. And quite possibly, my future," said Relena, just hoping to gain some information as to who really killed her parents.

"It had to do with an insanely powerful society..."started Francisco.

"The Society of Night," provided Relena.

"Yes. You know, don't you?" asked Francisco. Relena nodded and calmly looked at him. He swallowed as if it was hard to breathe. "You know the what irony of life and death is. The irony is that it makes no difference if you are royalty or a peasant. The day that the coup was over. We, myself and many others, had to bury the bodies. We had no choice, but to make a mass grave because there were just too many bodies. Nobles had to be buried with peasants. I don't remember where your parents are even buried. The mass grave wasn't marked. All that is the grave," he said as he gestured at the large outer forest. "All that is the grave. Your parents lay somewhere there," he added as he came close to tears because he felt as if he had failed yet another Peacecraft. Relena gently took his hand to steady him and gave him a calm, comforting smile.

"Did you see any of the attackers that day?" asked Relena.

"Yes, I did. But, all their faces are blurred into my memory now. It was so long ago. Nineteen years ago. For nineteen years, I have had to live with the shame of failing in my duties. I lost both my sons in the war. My wife died some time ago. There is no left here, but me," he whispered in a raspy tone.

"The war is continuing for me as well. I thought it was over when it was over. I was wrong it was just starting for me," said Relena as she placed her hand in her coat pocket. She could feel the cold steel of her gun handle.

"Wait…I do remember something. I remembered the King…he was saying something that day. He was saying that there was no way he was going to let the Society of Night play with his family like they were pones. He said that he would expose them to the world even if it meant that he would have to step down as King of the Sank Kingdom. The Society of Night plays with the world, including the Colonies, like a massive chess game. I think that was his undoing. His unwillingness to compromise," said Francisco as his voice shook. Part of him admired King Augustus for standing by his beliefs, but what about the rest of the royal family.

"That makes sense. The Society of Night plays with everyone that way. The King was a foolish man," agreed Relena.

"How could you say that, Princess? Regardless of what he did, he was your father," said Francisco as he leap to the defense of his king. Relena smiled at him because he had passed the small test that she gave him. Francisco stared at her, but said nothing.

In the shadows, there was another man watching and listening to their conversation. Far in the distance, stood Kurai, who was also waiting for a sign to start. She had her order, just like the other man. The man took out his gun and began to fire. Francisco stood up immediately and put himself between Relena and the bullets, shielding her with his body.

"At least, I finally did something right," gasped Francisco as he crumpled to the ground. Relena caught him in her arms as he died. She looked up around her to find the shooter. Another round of bullets came, so Relena tumbled back behind the statue that she was sitting on and drew out her gun to return fire. Kurai watched in the distance. She ran behind the ruins in the garden and ran for the safety of the castle. The man pursued her. Kurai smiled because that was just the signal she was waiting for, so she followed them inside the palace.

Relena ran through the corridors at incredible speed at the same time she took shots at the man who was shooting at her. She had the advantage because for some unknown reason, she knew her way around the palace better than him. She ducked into one of the dens and reloaded her gun. She saw him from behind walking down the corridor quietly. She followed closely behind him as waiting to take her shot. Suddenly, a black-clad figure came out of no where, startling both Relena and her attacker, the man took off following the figure with Relena close behind. They ran until they got to the entrance of the palace. There were windows that shined the sunlight in. Without hesitation, Relena fired a fatal shot as he turned around to see her. He crumpled to the floor in a messy heap. Relena turned around quickly and pointed her gun at the black-clad figure who had suddenly appeared behind her. She was dressed in black with a pair of chopsticks holding her hair up in a neat bun. She looked about the same age as Relena, and they were the same height. Her almond shaped eyes were black. The contrast between them was as startling as night and day. Dark and light.

Relena pointed her gun at her face. "Who are you? Who was that man?" demanded Relena in a cold, harsh voice. She didn't let her guard down.

"My name is Kurai. That man is a member of the Society of Night who was supposed to keep the secret of the Sank Kingdom buried, Ms. Marquise," said Kurai. Relena clutched her jaw as she prepared to fire at Kurai. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Lena. You and I are the same," she added in a whisper that sent shivers down Relena's spine.

Relena lowered her gun. "I deserve to know what secrets the Society has regarding my family," said Relena stiffly.

"All in due time, Lena," said Kurai with a familiar tone in her voice that made Relena uncomfortable. She walked out of the palace without another word. For unknown reason, Relena didn't attempt to stop her. 'Who is Kurai?' thought Relena as she walked back to the garden.

* * *

Relena was on her last day of her visit to the place of her birth. She was no closer to finding any answers, nor was she closer to finding any peace of her own. She paid for the burial of Mr. Francisco Marx and arranged it so that he was buried with his family. On the last day, she went just outside the capital city to visit the forest. It was large and expansive. In her arms, she carried a small wreath that she had made the night before. It was a wreath of laurels and gardenias. Laurels, during ancient times, symbolized peace and strength. The gardenias were from the palace gardens. Her uncle was wrong; some of the plants survived. So, there was hope for anything these days. At least, that's what Relena thought.

She walked to the edge of the forest without entering it. She gentle laid the wreath on the ground and closed her eyes in prayer. After that, she picked up her bag and started the trip home to Paris.

Next Episode, Episode Sixteen: The Order of Assassination…