CHAPTER 5


Wufei had never seen so many women's clothing shops in his life. And on top of that, all the clothes were so...indecent.

He began to wish he'd insisted that Dorothy stay in her room. It was so embarrassing, to have her flaunt around in all these... She had called them outfits, but they were barely more than underwear.

To make matters worse, he had to stand outside every single changing room she went in. She seemed to delight in teasing him; leaving the curtains open just a little, displaying every single item she tried on, even asking for his opinion...

It was humiliating. Wufei wondered over and over again why he didn't just opt for mud duty when he had the chance; nothing could be worse than being asked his opinion on yet another sparkly bra.

"So what do you think?"

He looked up angrily, but was stopped in his tracks by what she wore.

In contrast to the many "outfits" she'd been trying on all morning, she now displayed a long, flowing red dress. She leaned up against the changing room wall and smiled patronisingly.

"You didn't think I was going to a charity ball in any of those ensembles, did you?"

Wufei was constantly on edge the whole time, expecting assassins to pop up from every corner. But they didn't come, and after a few reminders from Dorothy, he made an effort to relax.

The ball was another matter. At least during the day, he'd been in his own clothes. A tuxedo wasn't the most conducive aid to relaxation, and he felt tense the entire time.

As they entered, he started as a hand was laid on his arm. It was Dorothy, of course, her hands encased in long white gloves to match the flimsy wrap he couldn't see the point of. She had smiled encouragingly at him and whispered, "You'd better try to relax, or everyone will know who you are from a mile away!"

It was...overwhelming. Wufei had been in the finest Chinese houses, associated with the most elite company on his colony, but this was something else.

The room was enormous, and bedecked with a great deal of gold; there was so much that Wufei had to narrow his eyes slightly to block out the glare. Banners everywhere proclaimed that this was a charity event, and there were many people walking around with collection plates. Dorothy lazily cast notes into each one, and Wufei hoped he wouldn't discover where she was keeping them.

An elderly man approached them, and Wufei tensed even further. The man beamed.

"Good evening Dorothy, my dear! And how are you this fine night?"

"I'm perfectly well, Lord Raynor, thank you."

"Good, good," the old man chuckled, and Wufei was reminded of the western myth of Santa Claus. He suddenly found himself under scrutiny.

"So I see you found an appropriate partner for tonight?"

"Well, he found me at any rate."

"Good, good, he should do well!"

Wufei frowned. Well at what?

Lord Raynor simply laughed as if Wufei had told a wonderful joke. "And what's your name, young man?"

"Chang Wufei," he said reluctantly, failing miserably to try and fit in as Dorothy had requested.

"Ah, from the East, is it? Don't tell me, no...Japanese?"

Wufei could have sworn he heard Dorothy stifle a giggle.

"My colonial ancestry is Chinese," he said stiffly.

"Ah, a true Chinaman, proud to the end!" He chuckled again, and Wufei decided he disliked this man intensely. "You should do very well, yes, very well indeed! Well, I must be off, I'll see you later, Dorothy!"

"I look forward to it, Lord Raynor!" she said sweetly. Wufei was amused by the sudden realisation that Dorothy disliked such shallow cheerfulness as much as he did.

But there was something bothering him. "What will I do well at?"

"I'm sorry?"

"He kept saying I'd do very well; what was he talking about?"

She hesitated.

Wufei alerted himself to the fact that everything she was about to say would be a lie.

"Oh, I can't imagine, you know what old men are like! He probably just means to say that you'll fit in really well here, that's all!"

"Dorothy..."

A loudspeaker switched on, and a young man and woman stood on the stage with microphones. Wufei sighed and waited impatiently for them to finish so he could grill Dorothy properly.

It felt like what Wufei had heard about rock concerts; the couple on stage were so far away he couldn't even make out their facial features clearly. That changed as Dorothy grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to the front.

"Good evening everybody, and welcome to this splendid soiree, put together by the Raynor family in aid of the War Orphans Trust!"

Everybody clapped politely, and Wufei mentally took back his rock concert analogy.

"And now, for the moment we've all been waiting for, would the volunteers please come up to the front?"

Before he realised what was happening, Wufei was dragged onto the stage by Dorothy, along with about sixteen other people of varying ages.

"What are you doing?" he hissed. "I said to be subtle!"

"And I said you had to fit in! I signed myself and a partner up for this months ago, you can't back out now!"

The presenters were speaking again. Wufei calmed his ire to find out exactly what he was doing up there.

"Last year we made thousands with this section of the night alone, and this year we're hoping to top that!" the man said with a grin.

"So get your wallets out, ladies, your purses, and we'll begin our annual charity auction!"

Wufei froze.

"Now folks, bid carefully, as the person you win will be all yours until midnight!"

Wufei tried to catch Dorothy's eye, but she was busy ignoring him and grinning like a Cheshire cat at the crowd.

"Right, let's start with this pretty little lady just over here, Miss Dorothy Catalonia!"

There was appreciative applause as Dorothy stepped forward and curtseyed, with a few whistles from some of the younger men out there. She bit her lip, looking pleased but embarrassed, and stepped back with her hands folded neatly in front of her.

Wufei wished the whistlers could have seen Miss Demure Dorothy flouncing around in various changing rooms that afternoon. He had to admit though, she was apparently quite a charmer, with most of the crowd seeming to know her, and, what's more, to like her.

"Now, we all know that this young lady has a mind of her own..."

There was a ripple of laughter in the crowd, encouraged by Dorothy blushing, something she'd apparently taught herself to do on demand.

"So here's your chance, ladies and gentleman, to have her at your beck and call for four hours only! That's right, in the opportunity of a lifetime, Miss Dorothy Catalonia can be yours for four whole hours! Now who will start my bidding at six hundred?"

"A thousand!"

"Eleven hundred!"

"Twelve hundred!"

"Fifteen hundred!"

"Two thousand!"

"Three thousand!"

Wufei had to blink at the huge sums of money they were throwing around for the privilege of what he'd been subjected to with threats. He decided that Dorothy must have really perfected her act to have so many people willing to pay to be around her.

Wufei would have paid anything to be rid of her, especially at this particular moment.

"And sold, for twenty-four thousand, to Franz Raynor!"

Wufei eyed Dorothy's buyer sharply, taking in all he could. "Raynor" probably meant he was related to the old man from before, and by the looks of him he was a son or grandson. Wufei was about to ask Dorothy herself when she was helped off the platform by her new escort.

"And now we have Dorothy's companion, a young preventer no less, Mr Wufei Chang!"

Wufei stopped dead still, and looked all around him. There was loud applause and whistling once more, this time from the female quarter. Dorothy was on the floor enjoying the show, so he allowed his eyes to roam a little and take in the scene before him.

He felt like a bull at a cattle market, and was disgusted. This was their idea of high entertainment? Dorothy had done it willingly, so apparently so. He had to force himself to remember that it would be a lot less trouble to just go with the flow for now, then grab Dorothy and leave when he got off that blasted platform.

"Does Preventer Chang look a little stunned to you? Well, that's probably because he had no idea that this was going to happen!"

Wufei stiffened. There was loud laughter from everyone, even the comperes.

"Miss Dorothy informed us that she wanted to surprise Preventer Chang with this evening's entertainment, so he's had no idea until this very moment what tonight's activities would involve!"

He was rubbing it in. Imaginative deaths involving microphone wire danced through Wufei's head.

"And, under the circumstances, I think we can all say that it's extremely sporting of him to stay up here, all for the War Orphans Trust!"

There was louder applause than before, with a few cheers from men and women alike. Wufei tried to smile at them, but found it very difficult.

The woman joined in. "Now, who will start the bidding at eight hundred?"

"Eight hundred!"

"One thousand!"

And so on. Wufei stewed, feeling that his cattle market analogy was definitely more appropriate than the rock concert one.

He beginning to feel genuinely worried and intimidated by the proceedings as many women, young and old, bid enormous sums of money on him. He closed his eyes and waited for it to be over.

"Twenty-thousand!"

"Twenty-two thousand!"

"Fifty thousand."

The voice was soft, but strong, and everyone in the hall gasped and clapped. He snapped his eyes open and tried to see who they were clapping, but it was impossible, the crowds were much too thick.

The female presenter seemed shocked, but pulled herself out of it quickly. "And I believe we have a winner!" she said, her voice slightly shaky. She laughed. "Any more bids? Well then, Preventer Chang, you're sold, to Princess Peacecraft!"

His eye trained on Relena immediately as she stepped forward. It made sense that she would be here, she'd possibly even had a hand in organising it, but he'd been so focused on Dorothy and her antics that he'd forgotten completely.

He also took back his opinion from their first meeting. She truly was beautiful, in a long, cornflower dress, hair swept into a neat chignon: the perfect image of a young lady.

He stepped down from the platform and murmured, "What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry," she murmured back. "Dorothy didn't tell me she'd volunteered your services, or I would have done something about it."

"This is the way you people enjoy a party?"

"No, these people are just more willing to give money when they gain something priceless out of it."

"Believe me, my company isn't priceless. Dorothy can attest to that."

"Dorothy's company is; did you see how many people bid for her?"

Wufei nodded, he'd been wondering about that.

"Everyone knows she was the White Fang commander, everyone knows she was at the frontline of the wars. But she doesn't talk about it, and neither do they. Somewhere like this, she's just another debutante that refuses to be alone with a man, and most men see that as a challenge."

"So she won't leave this room?"

"Dorothy never leaves the ballroom until she intends to return home."

"Then she might be safe for a while."

Relena looked troubled. "Are you taking these threats seriously, Wufei? I mean...we all get them, all the time."

Wufei shrugged. "Lady Une's taking it seriously, so I should as well."

"Lady Une's not taking it seriously."

It was Dorothy, the annoying smirk on her face once more.

"Dorothy!" Wufei hissed, clenching his fists. "How dare you do that to me!" She laughed, that false little bell-like laugh that he hated so much, and clasped her hands in front of her heart.

She took on an angelic expression. "Oh but Wufei, it's for the orphans!"

"You stupid little girl, I'm not talking about the auction!"

Wufei was prepared to say more, much more, but he was cut off.

"Dorothy, Wufei's your bodyguard. If anything happens, he has to be there to protect you, something he can't do as easily if you're with someone else. You've just put yourself in potential danger."

Wufei was surprised by Relena's support, but very grateful for it. He watched her face as she spoke so seriously, and wondered how he could have ever thought that she was anything less than beautiful.

Dorothy's sarcasm was quickly dropped. "Relena, I told you, Lady Une's not actually taking it seriously, so you shouldn't either."

Wufei pursed his lips. "If Une's not taking this seriously, then why am I here?"

"As window-dressing so my mother doesn't withdraw her funding for the preventers," Dorothy replied promptly.

Wufei was taken aback. He'd thought the preventers had avoided that sort of political pressure. Apparently there was no escaping it, in any society.

He pulled himself together. Dorothy was very devious, and was manipulating him into believing he didn't need to stick around her. She was probably lying; Une wasn't the type to be intimidated.

"I've been told to do a job, Miss Catalonia, and that's precisely what I'm going to do."

She smiled generously. "Fine, just don't forget that I belong to Franz for tonight, and you can't do a thing about it."

Wufei pursed his lips. "Please excuse me, Miss Relena." He gripped Dorothy's wrist and began to walk. "That's it, we're leaving right now."

She stuck close to his side and moved as if she were willingly following him. "You'd better let go of me!" she murmured over the bidding in the background. "You wouldn't want me to make a scene now, would you?"

"You've had your fun, let's go."

"I wouldn't have thought you'd want to leave Miss Relena, I saw the way you were looking at her!"

"What?! Anyway, Miss Relena's not in danger, but you will be if you don't shut up soon!"

"Dorothy Catalonia!"

The two of them stopped walking. They turned around.

The female presenter had spoken down the microphone, and everyone in the enormous room was staring at them.

"Where are you going, Miss Catalonia?" the female presenter said, her voice taking on a slightly hard quality. "Please, everyone, let's encourage her to stay just a little longer!"

There were cheers at this, and Dorothy found herself being herded back to the front of the room. Wufei had to fight to keep up with her, grasping her hand in his so as not to lose her. He cursed the smoothness of her gloves as her hand began to slip, and he would have lost her if she hadn't returned his grip just as tightly with her own. He wondered if she was a little intimidated or even scared by all this, but she dropped his hand the instant they got to the front of the room.

Wheels were turning in Wufei's head. Something felt wrong, and there was no way they could escape, packed in on all sides by hundreds of people.

The male and female presenter stood in front of them, beaming as before.

"Lady Catalonia," the woman said, "You've raised us an awful lot of money for the War Orphans Trust."

The man stepped in front of her. "So I think it's only fair for us to show our appreciation properly."

In one quick movement, he pulled a gun from inside his blazer and fired at Dorothy.

Wufei didn't notice the screams, didn't feel the floor vibrate as hundreds of aristocrats began to run. He simply threw himself in front of Dorothy, using one arm to pull her down behind him.

There was no pain. Wufei had been shot before, and knew there was more pain involved than this.

Lady Une herself was standing by the shooter, who, with his accomplice, was currently being restrained by many preventers. Seeing him stand, she tossed him a bag and said, "Your orders have changed, Preventer Chang. Get her out of here and take her somewhere safe, now. Don't let anybody know where you're going, don't let anyone know where you are, especially not a preventer. Understood?"

"Understood." He climbed to his feet and shouldered the bag.

"Wufei?" It was Relena, one of the few that hadn't left as quickly as possible.

Her face held an _expression of sadness and concern, but was dutifully resigned. The cornflower blue dress was ruffled, and the carefully arranged hair was beginning to come loose.

He thought she looked enchanting.

"Please take care of Dorothy, and yourself. Contact me at any time if you need anything."

He nodded, and something strange churned inside him. Dorothy had been knocked out, so he hefted her into his arms and left as quickly as possible.

Wufei felt stupid; in a tuxedo, with a backpack, holding an unconscious girl. This wasn't exactly the night Dorothy had planned.

He gritted his teeth and tried to ignore how heavy a fully-grown person can be. The enormity of what he'd just agreed to suddenly smacked him in the face.

He had to hide away a tall, rich girl with platinum blonde hair to her knees. To make it worse, she was recognised around the world, and only actually liked by a portion of that world. To make it even worse, they had to get to this mystery place first, and in evening dress as well.

He dumped her on the ground as he found a car he could hotwire easily enough, then dragged her into the backseat. He jumped into the front and used the car's route planning screen to check out local transport, trying to decide where to go.

When a viable solution revealed itself, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was perfect.

Suddenly, glass scraped his face as his window was smashed. He swerved the car sharply, and realised that his right arm was now useless, his shoulder burning.

He forced his eyes to stay open, and floored the accelerator. He winced at the familiar pain as he felt his blood began to seep through the expensive white shirt.

Now this was what being shot felt like.