Disclaimers and other junk: Treize, Lady Une, Mariemaia, and the rest of
the gang belong to other people. Alice, Carolyn and the kids are mine;
Death, the Dark Knight, and various other creepy personages belong to
themselves.
Warnings: implied yuri (DxC), yaoi (3x4). More like shounen ai and
shoujo ai, really.
Pairings of note: 13x11, 6x9, the aforementioned DxC, 3x4. Also 5xSP,
1xR, 2xH.
Ghost Knight
Chapter 14
by Anne Khushrenada
/I want to go home,/ Elena thought as she gazed out the window of the
room she now shared with Sarah on Linnea's estate. She saw the sun
setting over fields that seemed to go on forever, empty and lonely.
Trees rimmed their edges and kept her from seeing any farther, but she
had the idea that she was very far out into the country, that the city
was miles away- though in what direction, she couldn't say.
/I want to go home,/ she thought again.
It was a simple desire, something she might've said a hundred times
before, but she'd never wanted it anywhere near as badly as she did
right then. Just to go home and be back to playing games with her
friends, teasing her brother, yelling at Lucian for being so stubborn as
to get sick and not tell anybody about it...
But Elena shook her head. Whatever she wanted, the fact was that she was
stuck here, until she found a way out or someone else found one for her.
She was sure that her parents and the others were doing everything they
could to find her and Sarah, but she wasn't about to sit around waiting
for them.
Elena looked at the window again, ignoring the view this time and
concentrating on the opening and locking mechanisms. When she thought
she'd figured out how it worked, she took hold of it and gave the window
a hard shove. It made no sound of protest as she pushed at it- but it
didn't move, either. There was no reason for it not to have opened even
a little, at least not that she could see- but then she shaded her eyes
against the glare of the setting sun and took another look.
That's when she saw the lock. Alongside the simple slide bar that
would've locked the window from the inside there was a keyhole, and
without the key that fit it, the slide bar wasn't going anywhere.
"Figures," Elena said. "It's locked."
From her place on one of the cots shoved off to the side of the room,
Sarah nodded. "Could we break it?" the younger girl asked softly.
Elena looked at the window again, then took a look at the bookcases
along one wall. In between the small groups of books there were a few
pieces of pottery, vases and sculptures. Sarah was looking at them, too.
"These look pretty heavy," she said. "Could we maybe...?"
"I don't know," Elena said, looking out the window again. "We're on the
third floor, I think- maybe the fourth, it's hard to tell- and there
isn't a ledge out there or anything that I can see."
"No trees?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"No trees, either. And even if we /could/ get down, the only way to get
out of here is to run straight across those fields."
"They'd see us," Sarah said.
"They'd see us," Elena agreed. She scratched her chin and sighed. "I
could throw one of those vases at David next time he comes."
"Would that get us out of here?"
"Probably not. It'd make me feel better, though."
Sarah didn't say anything for a few moments. "Elena?"
"Yeah, Sare?"
"Are they looking for us?"
"I'm sure they are, sweetheart, and if we can't get out of here on our
own, they'll help us."
"I wanna go home now," Sarah said. "Not later, now."
"I know," Elena said. "Me, too. Me, too." She sighed. "Look, let's try
not to think about it anymore, alright? I'll take another look when the
sun's up tomorrow, and maybe I can see something then."
Sarah nodded, unhappily.
"Try and get some sleep," the older girl advised, but even when she'd
returned to her own cot, she lay awake for what felt like hours, staring
at the ceiling above her head, wondering if she would ever see home
again- if she'd ever see her friends, Terra and Lucian and Lewis, or her
brother Galen, or her parents...
"Elena?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you crying?"
"No, honey."
She lied, of course.
* * *
David was waiting for Linnea when she came home. He stood in the
downstairs hall by the front door, trembling half with rage and half
with fear.
"What are you doing here?" Linnea snapped. "I told you to stay close to
the girls-"
"I was thinking about that, and if you want them to think you're their
friend, they need to keep seeing /me/ as their enemy."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Like good cop, bad cop. I'm the bad cop."
"You," Linnea said, "are pathetic. If you can't follow simple
instructions-"
"We had a visitor while you were gone," David said. "A weird one."
He might have imagined it, but Linnea seemed to shudder. "Tell me."
"I didn't catch her name, but she-" He cut himself off, unable to
describe it, and began to unbutton his shirt. David shrugged it off his
shoulders and turned his back to her.
He heard Linnea's heels click on the floor as she approached him. She
examined the marks razor-sharp nails had carved into his back and
shoulders, and tapped them with a finger.
"No blood," she mused.
"No. No blood, just cold- and a lot of pain." David put his shirt back
on and turned back to face her. "Look, I don't want to know where you
found this crazy witch or who she is, okay? But I didn't sign on for
this, and I'm not sticking around for it, either."
"Yes," Linnea said flatly, "you are. For one thing, my threat to reveal
your betrayal to Lady Une and her wretched daughter was not an idle
one."
"I'd rather deal with Mariemaia than that friend of yours, lady."
"And," Linnea continued as if David hadn't said anything, "if you think
you can walk away with her marks upon you, you're stupider than I
thought."
"I'd rather be stupid or dead than meet up with her again. I mean it."
"Try it," she snapped. "See how far you get."
David shrugged. "Any distance is better than none. By the way, the witch
seemed pretty pissed at you. She didn't say why and I didn't ask, but
she threatened to kill us all, and I have this feeling she could do it."
"Let me worry about her," Linnea said.
"Thanks anyway, but I don't trust you to worry about anything except
your own skin."
* * *
Mariemaia sat in the last pew of the small hospital chapel, perfectly
still, hoping she'd be out of the priest's immediate line of sight when
he returned, and that he wouldn't see her. It seemed, though, that he
was one of those people who didn't miss much. Mariemaia was pretty sure
he did see her. Father Thomas Gideon nodded politely to her as he went
up the aisle. He didn't say anything, and turned his back on her to
light the candles upon the alter. She realized he was giving her time to
leave, and that she probably could slip out before he turned back. He
might hear her do it, but he wouldn't stop her.
Mariemaia sighed, and stayed put.
The priest finished with the candles and pocketed what appeared to be a
cigarette lighter. Mariemaia couldn't help laughing.
"That's a new one," she said. "You smoke?"
Father Thomas shrugged. "Yes, actually."
"Isn't that a sin or something?"
"Only against myself, I think. I'm Catholic, and one of my teachers used
to tell me that we're not really living unless we're suffering or
feeling guilty for something. Or both."
"If I ask if I can bum a smoke, are you going to throw me out?"
He shook his head. "No. Anyone is welcome here, Mariemaia."
"Even a really strange...? I don't even know what I am anymore."
"No one is as strange as they think they are, and, well..." He paused.
"Did it occur to you that I'm a little old for this job? That I should
have a position somewhere in the city more in keeping with my age and
wisdom?"
Mariemaia shrugged. "I hadn't really thought about it."
"I should, and I might still get it, if I were a little less
tolerating."
"Oh?" she asked.
"I believe that God is different things to different people, that what
you see and how you believe is a personal thing, and it's not anyone's
place to tell you that what you believe is right or wrong."
"So, what, you're not xenophobic enough for the Church?"
He shook his head. "No. I guess I'm not."
"Doesn't sound so terrible of a crime," Mariemaia said.
"It depends on your point of view- or so I'm told." He approached the
pew and stood beside it. "May I?"
"Sure."
Father Thomas sat down next to her. "You came back. I wasn't sure you
would."
"Neither was I, but...it's quiet here. My world's been awful loud
lately. There's so much to do I've hardly been able to think. Things
keep going wrong for us. I've been working, trying to fix some things- I
can't really talk about them, but I wasn't getting anywhere, so I
decided to come visit my brother and my friend."
"How are they doing?"
"Better, I guess. Carolyn may get to go home in a day or so, but
Lucian's stuck for a while." Mariemaia smiled. "Stubborn brat. Kept
insisting he wasn't sick, till what started out a cold turned into
pneumonia."
"Yes, Alice told me."
"Alice?" Mariemaia asked.
"Yes. Alice McKenzie- I believe she works for your mother? Alice and her
cousin Gabriel were part of my congregation when I had one."
"I didn't know that," Mariemaia said. "I guess... I guess there's a lot
I don't know." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't
have yelled at you. it's not your fault my life has been totally screwed
up, or that my grandfather was some kind of fanatic..."
"You're angry about what happened to you, and what's happened to your
family. I understand."
"People are always telling me that my attitude needs work. I should also
probably warn you that I don't have much in the way of social skills."
"You seem to be doing alright to me," the priest said.
"Thanks, but watch the news next time those damned reporters catch up
with me. Then you'll see what I mean."
"Maybe I'll do that. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Mariemaia shrugged. "Well, if you could keep an eye out for my
boyfriend..." She fished a picture out of her wallet. "David Ling. I
sort of doubt he'll show up here- religion's really not his thing, but
if you do see him..."
"You're worried about him."
"Yeah, I guess I am. I mean, it's probably not connected, but, two of my
'cousins' are abducted, /my/ best friend gets hurt..." She shook her
head. "It's just /weird/, you know? And David is... David's the kind of
guy who wouldn't be late to dinner without calling and telling you
exactly how long it'd take him to drive to meet you. This is /not/ like
him."
"I'll keep an eye out for him," Father Thomas promised. "I do hope he's
alright- that all of you are, in the end."
"Yeah." Mariemaia sighed. "If you think it'd help... Let's just say I'm
starting to think your prayers really couldn't hurt anything."
* * *
The Place Between Worlds
The three cloaked women appeared out of nowhere, and it was clear that
they did not belong. Their garments were dark grey, almost black, and
they walked through the snow of the Place's unnatural winter as if
everything they saw belonged to them.
Death apperated before them with a sigh. "So it has come to this."
"The patterns unravel," said the oldest of the three. "We did not weave
this."
"No," Death said. "I didn't think that you had."
"Can you explain this?" the eldest asked.
"Can you?" he countered.
"Fetch your Ghost Knight and his squire, and we shall settle this."
"Leave them be, Atropos. They are doing everything in their power to fix
this."
"So now you defend them," Atropos said. "Why?"
"Because they are /mine/," Death snapped. Before Atropos could say
anything else- which she seemed about to do- he raised a hand and
snapped his skeletal fingers. "Ghost Knight!"
Treize strode towards them, one hand on his hip. "You rang, my lord?" he
asked in a mocking tone.
Death heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Where is Walker?"
"Do I look like his keeper? Out there-" Treize gestured vaguely over his
shoulder. "Somewhere."
"This is unacceptable," Atropos said. "Find him. At once."
"Madame," Treize said, "I'm sure you have some reason for your demands,
which if you would care to explain-"
"I am Atropos, eldest of the sisters of Fate, and I want to know what
you have done to the Place Between Worlds!"
Treize sighed. "Why is it," he asked of no one in particular, "that
everyone seems to think this is my fault?"
"Because you have the power-" one of the other Fates started.
"Shut up, Clotho. I'll handle this," Atropos snapped. "You /do/ have the
power, Ghost Knight."
"Perhaps, but I haven't used it. Not in the way you mean. Why would I?
For that matter," Treize added, "why would anyone?"
"To drive us all crazy, no doubt," said the middle Fate sister, who had
thus far been silent.
"I can assure you, I'd have made every effort to avoid that if I'd had
anything at all to do with this," Treize replied.
"Then perhaps," Lachesis, the middle sister, asked, "your squire can
shed some light on this?"
"My squire?" Treize asked.
"She means," Death said, "Walker."
"Walker is an ordinary soul," Treize said. "He doesn't have anything to
do with this."
"We'll be the judge of that. Bring him. /Now/," Atropos said.
Treize sighed. "If you insist." He turned his back to them. "Walker?" he
asked in a conversational tone. "Sorry to bother you, my friend, but
these ladies request the pleasure of your company rather urgently. Be a
good fellow and come join us, hmm?"
Walker appeared beside them. "Hello," he said with a nod to the three
sisters. "I'm Ethan Walker. What can I do for you?"
"You can explain-" Atropos gestured around them "-/this./"
"Love to," Walker said. "Unfortunately, I don't have a clue. You might,"
he added, "ask your wayward daughter- the Dark Knight?"
"She is none of your concern!" Clotho said.
"None of yours either, apparently," Walker added. "If you can't look
after her on your own-"
"Wait a moment," Treize said, holding up a hand. "Walker- if their
creature could have done this...?"
Walker nodded, and Treize turned back to the Fates.
"How about it, ladies? Is there something you'd like to tell us?" the
Ghost Knight asked.
"How dare you?" Lachesis asked. "Don't you know who we are?"
"Yes," Treize said. "But as knowing who /we/ are didn't seem to deter
you much from your own arrogant and perhaps foolish assumptions... I
assure you," he went on, "that we're doing everything we can to find out
who did this, and to put things back as they should be once again. But
that is going to take time, and you will simply have to be more
patient."
"Be-?" Atropos said. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I'm serious, alright," Treize said. "If it annoys you that much,
why don't you just-" he waved a hand "do whatever it is you do, and
weave it away?"
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" she asked.
"Haven't we had this conversation before?" Walker inquired.
Treize nodded. "Yes. We seem to be going around in circles lately, and
it's not doing much for us, is it?"
Death sighed. "No. Atropos, I could have told you this was hopeless
before you even began, but-"
"Be quiet," she said. "You- Ghost Knight. We will leave you to your
aimless little wanderings for now, but know this- however bad you
consider things to be, they can always get worse. We can insure that
happens."
"Spare me the theatrics, please," Treize said.
"As you wish," Atropos said. "But mind what we've said, Treize
Khushrenada. Your life-strand may already have been severed, but there
are always others-"
Treize took one step forward, then another. He took hold of the eldest
Fate's shoulders and dug his fingers into her illusion of flesh. "I
have," he said flatly, "put up with all the threats to my mortal family
that I'm going to, do you understand? I don't care who you are, or what
you can do- keep whatever issues are between us, between us." He let her
go and stepped back. "You'll all excuse me- I have work to do."
He turned away, and no one stopped him.
"Or what?" Clotho asked mockingly. But she said it after Treize was
gone.
Walker latched onto her arm. "Look," he said quietly, "or nothing,
alright? Just- don't push him on this one. Whatever you're after, it
isn't worth it."
"Perhaps not," Lachesis agreed. "But I hope for your sake he's telling
the truth about not being the cause of any of this."
"Irritating he may be, but my Ghost Knight does not lie," Death said.
"Of course you'd defend him," Clotho said. "We'd expect that of you."
"Did you ladies need something else?" Walker asked. "Or are you just
sticking around to insult us all?"
"No," Atropos said. "We didn't. And we aren't. Good day, gentlemen."
Walker and Death remained silent after they'd gone. The specter hacked
an icicle in two with a mighty swing of his scythe, and looked as if he
might be searching out another one to deal with in a similar fashion.
"I suppose," Death said, "we called you away from something a little
more useful?"
"/Anything/ would've been more use than listening to that crap," Walker
said. "Are they always like that?"
"Atropos is annoyed, and the others tend to feed off of whatever she
projects," Death said. "But even so- no. I've never seen her act quite
that way before."
"Huh," said Walker. "First time for everything, I guess. Anyway, about
this Dark Knight..."
"Let's not go there, shall we?"
"Don't tell it to me," Walker said. "Treize wants to see her."
"I don't believe that's wise."
"Yeah? Me neither, but the man still ranks me, you know?"
"Yes," Death sighed. "I know."
Walker gathered up a handful of snow and let it drift through his
interlaced fingers. "He's serious, you know."
"About meeting the other? Yes, he would be..." Death shook his head. "He
doesn't understand."
"That's just it- I think that he does. I think it's time to level with
him."
"He knows too much already."
"He needs to know /everything/ if he's going to settle this one way or
another, sir. He can't do it with half the facts."
"I will consider it," Death said.
"And- the Dark Knight?"
"I will speak to the other about it. In the end the choice is hers."
"You're telling me the fate of the world may depend on whether she wants
to see him or not?"
"One doesn't demand things of the Dark Knight, Walker. Not even if that
one is Death."
"Great," Walker said. "Anything else you'd like to share?"
"Not at the moment, no."
"Great," he said again. "Just great."
* * *
Elena looked up with a sigh when the door opened. By the light from the
hallway she could see Linnea framed in the doorway.
"What do you want?" the girl asked irritably.
"Only to talk, dear. Only to talk."
"Come back later," Elena said. "We're trying to sleep. It's not as if,"
she added, "there's anything else to do."
Linnea smiled at her, closed the door, and approached Elena's cot. The
closer the woman got, the farther away Elena moved, until she was
sitting with her back pressed against the wall, and nowhere else to go.
"I want you to tell me about Terra."
Elena ignored that. "I said go away. I'm tired."
"Terra is your friend, isn't she?" Linnea asked. "You're very close.
Tell me everything you know about her."
"You'd like that, I bet," Elena said sharply. "For me to tell you
everything I know, so you can figure out how to manipulate her, the way
you try to with everyone else- well, forget it. I'm not telling you a
damn thing."
"Such a beautiful child," Linnea said, reaching out to stroke Elena's
pale blonde hair. "Words like that should not come out of your mouth,
little princess."
"Get your hands off me, lady," Elena said coldly. "Now."
"I understand you're upset, dear, and naturally you're not yourself-"
"/Can it/, lady. Do you really think anyone buys this sweet act of
yours? You don't understand anything."
"But I do. I know it is hard to be always cast in the shadows of your
betters, always compared to them and yet never measuring up. Isn't that
how it is with Terra? Isn't it?"
"No," Elena said, despite her resolve not to answer any of Linnea's
questions. "Terra is my best friend. It isn't like that."
"Of course not. But if it were- that would be hard, wouldn't it? I'd
understand if that were the case, Elena, really I would."
"I'm sure," Elena said. "Like you're an expert on hardship? You don't
even know who you are."
Linnea slapped her. Elena tumbled off the side of the cot from the force
of the blow, clutching at her cheek.
"I am Linnea Khushrenada," the woman snarled, clearly furious. "I am! I
am Terra's legal guardian, and she will come here to join us, and when
she does, she will know her place. And you will help me show her where
that place is." Linnea seemed to calm down, and she smiled again, that
horrible smile that made Elena want to cringe and hide away. "Terra's
bloodlines are almost pure, you know, and it would be such a shame to
see them go to waste... You'll help me, won't you, dear, sweet child?"
"I'd rather eat glass." Elena paused. "I'd rather get out of here and go
home, and go see you in a mental ward someday after they've figured out
what's wrong with you, because, lady, something sure as hell is."
"How dare you-"
"You talk about bloodlines, like the old Romafeller families are so much
better than anybody else- well, let me tell you something, lady. My
family is older than /that/, and it doesn't matter- it doesn't matter
for anything, don't you get that? It's who you make yourself, not who
you're born, that matters." Elena stared her down with steely blue eyes
that didn't blink. "But if you want to go that way, that's fine with me.
Do you know who /I/ am, Linnea? How pure /my/ blood is? I'm the daughter
of queens and kings and soldiers, and my blood has faced worse than you,
and survived."
"Your grandparents might beg to differ."
"The future survives," Elena said. "Aunt Relena survived, and so did my
father."
Linnea shrugged. "However you'd like to see it, of course, but- Ah, my
dear, Terra's father was leader of the World Nation. /That/ blood is
hers."
"So?"
"Terra is oldest, she should be queen."
"Oh," Elena said, shaking her head. "I get it. She'll be queen, and all
along you'll be there, whispering in her ear, telling her what to do,
right? You think she's going to stand for that? You actually think I'll
/help/ you talk her into that? You're crazy, lady. Now go away. And
please, if you want to talk to me again, wait till a reasonable hour.
There's no need to be so rude."
Elena Peacecraft climbed back onto her cot, turned away from Linnea, and
closed her eyes. And if she didn't return to sleep right away, if it
took her a long time and she wanted to burst into tears and let the sobs
shake her body, she gave no sign of it, and she did nothing save hold
still and give every impression of being asleep, without a care in the
world.
Behind her closed eyes she was thinking hard, so hard that Sarah could
almost have heard it from across the room. The things Linnea had said,
and the way she'd said them, the way she lost it when Elena pushed her,
told the girl more than their captor would ever have suspected. Linnea
seemed more quick to anger than she had been before, more volatile. She
was almost always angry now, and if angry people could be dangerous,
they were also often careless. Sooner or later, Linnea's anger might
translate into the sort of carelessness that would enable Elena and
Sarah to make their way home, one way or another.
Elena sighed, though, as she heard Linnea turn her key in the door's
lock. Whatever might happen tomorrow, tonight they slept very far away
from home.
* * *
The long hours after midnight found Mariemaia playing cards with Father
Thomas and the McKenzies in the waiting room on the floor that now
housed both Lucian and Carolyn. The priest had proved to be adept at
magic tricks, and the pack of cards had appeared out of his sleeve. The
cards alone- real ones, not the paper mockups they'd been using all day
-would have endeared him to the Preventers, but the fact that two of
their own vouched for him made the priest an instant hit. He wasn't a
bad poker player, either.
They'd switched from poker to go fish; it went quicker and required less
thought to keep up with. They could keep each other company and be alone
with their thoughts at the same time.
"Are you three," the priest asked while fishing a card off the top of
the stack, "ever going to be getting any sleep tonight?"
"Doubt it," Alice said. "Gabe and I have been off duty since about
sundown, but as long as we're here, no one else has to be, and we can
all at least pretend Lady Une's resting easier back home." She shrugged.
"Got any fives, Father? Anyway, Gabe and I- 'specially me, I guess-
We're just about the next best thing to her being here herself, which I
guess is why she took over going through those files and sent me back
here."
"So what it amounts to is that they're pulling a double shift but not
calling it that," Mariemaia said.
Thomas nodded. "Hmm. Fives, did you say? Rats- alright, here's two of
them. The Preventers do have night guards here; I've seen them."
"Yeah," Gabe agreed, "but outside us charter members, we're not really
sure who we can trust. Better nobody's here at all then a couple more
Nichols, I'd say."
"He must be troubled," Thomas said.
Alice gave him the sort of fond look generally reserved for eccentric
relatives or young children. "Trouble, period, is more like it."
"One can be both, you know."
"I'll buy that," Mariemaia said, "but hey, it's late, let's not argue.
When we arrest Nichol for kidnapping and assault, you can go give him
spiritual advice."
"I can do that," Alice said. "Pray really, really hard."
"I believe God answers all prayers," Gabe said. "Sometimes the answer is
'no'."
"I agree," Thomas said, "but we shouldn't mock him-"
"Why the hell not?" Mariemaia asked. "Pathetic or otherwise, he messed
with my family- with /our/ family -and that's something you shouldn't
do. I could wish I were a different kind of person, but it's not within
me to forgive that sort of thing. Or much of anything else for that
matter."
"I hate to sound like a cynic-" Alice began.
"You /are/," her cousin interrupted.
"But I have to agree with Mariemaia on this one. I'm saving my sympathy
for the ones who really deserve it. Like Sarah, and Elena."
Which pretty much ended /that/ discussion, as it had been intended to.
In the silence that followed, Alice gathered up the cards and dealt them
out again.
* * *
"She's where?" Sally asked her husband.
"In the waiting room, playing cards with a priest," Wufei answered. "And
the McKenzies," he added as an afterthought.
"Huh," was Sally's only comment. "And the others...?"
"Catherine and Dorothy have the children, except for the two in the
hospital, who have Gabe and Alice watching over them-"
"Okay," Sally said with a laugh. "I get the point. Everyone's taken care
of, so I should take care of myself, is that it?"
"You," Wufei said, "are nearly as bad as Lady Une. When did you last
eat? Or sleep, for that matter?"
Sally twisted a lock of hair around her finger and didn't answer.
"I thought as much," Wufei said. "Come on."
"But-"
"Nothing. Someone will call if they need us. Come with me. I made
dinner. Well, breakfast now, I suppose."
"You did?" Sally asked with a smile. "Okay. This I have to see."
* * *
In one of the guest rooms at Dorothy and Catherine's, Lucrezia finally
gave up trying to sleep. She slipped out of bed, being careful not to
wake her husband, and wandered out to the kitchen. She smiled wryly as
she saw Relena sitting at the table with a cup of tea in front of her.
"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" the younger woman asked.
Lucrezia shook her head. "No. I know there's nothing I can do right now,
but..."
"Doesn't help much, does it?" Relena asked. It wasn't really a question.
Lucrezia turned away to look out the window over the sink. "The sun's
almost up."
"Pretty," Relena said as she joined her sister-in-law before the window.
"Yeah," Lucrezia agreed. She shrugged. "Everybody still here?"
Relena shook her head. "Sally and Wufei went home. They left Lewis."
Lucrezia nodded. "I think the kids are doing better staying together."
"I think so, too." Relena sighed. "The girls will be alright, Lucrezia.
They've got each other."
"I just hope that's enough."
the gang belong to other people. Alice, Carolyn and the kids are mine;
Death, the Dark Knight, and various other creepy personages belong to
themselves.
Warnings: implied yuri (DxC), yaoi (3x4). More like shounen ai and
shoujo ai, really.
Pairings of note: 13x11, 6x9, the aforementioned DxC, 3x4. Also 5xSP,
1xR, 2xH.
Ghost Knight
Chapter 14
by Anne Khushrenada
/I want to go home,/ Elena thought as she gazed out the window of the
room she now shared with Sarah on Linnea's estate. She saw the sun
setting over fields that seemed to go on forever, empty and lonely.
Trees rimmed their edges and kept her from seeing any farther, but she
had the idea that she was very far out into the country, that the city
was miles away- though in what direction, she couldn't say.
/I want to go home,/ she thought again.
It was a simple desire, something she might've said a hundred times
before, but she'd never wanted it anywhere near as badly as she did
right then. Just to go home and be back to playing games with her
friends, teasing her brother, yelling at Lucian for being so stubborn as
to get sick and not tell anybody about it...
But Elena shook her head. Whatever she wanted, the fact was that she was
stuck here, until she found a way out or someone else found one for her.
She was sure that her parents and the others were doing everything they
could to find her and Sarah, but she wasn't about to sit around waiting
for them.
Elena looked at the window again, ignoring the view this time and
concentrating on the opening and locking mechanisms. When she thought
she'd figured out how it worked, she took hold of it and gave the window
a hard shove. It made no sound of protest as she pushed at it- but it
didn't move, either. There was no reason for it not to have opened even
a little, at least not that she could see- but then she shaded her eyes
against the glare of the setting sun and took another look.
That's when she saw the lock. Alongside the simple slide bar that
would've locked the window from the inside there was a keyhole, and
without the key that fit it, the slide bar wasn't going anywhere.
"Figures," Elena said. "It's locked."
From her place on one of the cots shoved off to the side of the room,
Sarah nodded. "Could we break it?" the younger girl asked softly.
Elena looked at the window again, then took a look at the bookcases
along one wall. In between the small groups of books there were a few
pieces of pottery, vases and sculptures. Sarah was looking at them, too.
"These look pretty heavy," she said. "Could we maybe...?"
"I don't know," Elena said, looking out the window again. "We're on the
third floor, I think- maybe the fourth, it's hard to tell- and there
isn't a ledge out there or anything that I can see."
"No trees?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"No trees, either. And even if we /could/ get down, the only way to get
out of here is to run straight across those fields."
"They'd see us," Sarah said.
"They'd see us," Elena agreed. She scratched her chin and sighed. "I
could throw one of those vases at David next time he comes."
"Would that get us out of here?"
"Probably not. It'd make me feel better, though."
Sarah didn't say anything for a few moments. "Elena?"
"Yeah, Sare?"
"Are they looking for us?"
"I'm sure they are, sweetheart, and if we can't get out of here on our
own, they'll help us."
"I wanna go home now," Sarah said. "Not later, now."
"I know," Elena said. "Me, too. Me, too." She sighed. "Look, let's try
not to think about it anymore, alright? I'll take another look when the
sun's up tomorrow, and maybe I can see something then."
Sarah nodded, unhappily.
"Try and get some sleep," the older girl advised, but even when she'd
returned to her own cot, she lay awake for what felt like hours, staring
at the ceiling above her head, wondering if she would ever see home
again- if she'd ever see her friends, Terra and Lucian and Lewis, or her
brother Galen, or her parents...
"Elena?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you crying?"
"No, honey."
She lied, of course.
* * *
David was waiting for Linnea when she came home. He stood in the
downstairs hall by the front door, trembling half with rage and half
with fear.
"What are you doing here?" Linnea snapped. "I told you to stay close to
the girls-"
"I was thinking about that, and if you want them to think you're their
friend, they need to keep seeing /me/ as their enemy."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Like good cop, bad cop. I'm the bad cop."
"You," Linnea said, "are pathetic. If you can't follow simple
instructions-"
"We had a visitor while you were gone," David said. "A weird one."
He might have imagined it, but Linnea seemed to shudder. "Tell me."
"I didn't catch her name, but she-" He cut himself off, unable to
describe it, and began to unbutton his shirt. David shrugged it off his
shoulders and turned his back to her.
He heard Linnea's heels click on the floor as she approached him. She
examined the marks razor-sharp nails had carved into his back and
shoulders, and tapped them with a finger.
"No blood," she mused.
"No. No blood, just cold- and a lot of pain." David put his shirt back
on and turned back to face her. "Look, I don't want to know where you
found this crazy witch or who she is, okay? But I didn't sign on for
this, and I'm not sticking around for it, either."
"Yes," Linnea said flatly, "you are. For one thing, my threat to reveal
your betrayal to Lady Une and her wretched daughter was not an idle
one."
"I'd rather deal with Mariemaia than that friend of yours, lady."
"And," Linnea continued as if David hadn't said anything, "if you think
you can walk away with her marks upon you, you're stupider than I
thought."
"I'd rather be stupid or dead than meet up with her again. I mean it."
"Try it," she snapped. "See how far you get."
David shrugged. "Any distance is better than none. By the way, the witch
seemed pretty pissed at you. She didn't say why and I didn't ask, but
she threatened to kill us all, and I have this feeling she could do it."
"Let me worry about her," Linnea said.
"Thanks anyway, but I don't trust you to worry about anything except
your own skin."
* * *
Mariemaia sat in the last pew of the small hospital chapel, perfectly
still, hoping she'd be out of the priest's immediate line of sight when
he returned, and that he wouldn't see her. It seemed, though, that he
was one of those people who didn't miss much. Mariemaia was pretty sure
he did see her. Father Thomas Gideon nodded politely to her as he went
up the aisle. He didn't say anything, and turned his back on her to
light the candles upon the alter. She realized he was giving her time to
leave, and that she probably could slip out before he turned back. He
might hear her do it, but he wouldn't stop her.
Mariemaia sighed, and stayed put.
The priest finished with the candles and pocketed what appeared to be a
cigarette lighter. Mariemaia couldn't help laughing.
"That's a new one," she said. "You smoke?"
Father Thomas shrugged. "Yes, actually."
"Isn't that a sin or something?"
"Only against myself, I think. I'm Catholic, and one of my teachers used
to tell me that we're not really living unless we're suffering or
feeling guilty for something. Or both."
"If I ask if I can bum a smoke, are you going to throw me out?"
He shook his head. "No. Anyone is welcome here, Mariemaia."
"Even a really strange...? I don't even know what I am anymore."
"No one is as strange as they think they are, and, well..." He paused.
"Did it occur to you that I'm a little old for this job? That I should
have a position somewhere in the city more in keeping with my age and
wisdom?"
Mariemaia shrugged. "I hadn't really thought about it."
"I should, and I might still get it, if I were a little less
tolerating."
"Oh?" she asked.
"I believe that God is different things to different people, that what
you see and how you believe is a personal thing, and it's not anyone's
place to tell you that what you believe is right or wrong."
"So, what, you're not xenophobic enough for the Church?"
He shook his head. "No. I guess I'm not."
"Doesn't sound so terrible of a crime," Mariemaia said.
"It depends on your point of view- or so I'm told." He approached the
pew and stood beside it. "May I?"
"Sure."
Father Thomas sat down next to her. "You came back. I wasn't sure you
would."
"Neither was I, but...it's quiet here. My world's been awful loud
lately. There's so much to do I've hardly been able to think. Things
keep going wrong for us. I've been working, trying to fix some things- I
can't really talk about them, but I wasn't getting anywhere, so I
decided to come visit my brother and my friend."
"How are they doing?"
"Better, I guess. Carolyn may get to go home in a day or so, but
Lucian's stuck for a while." Mariemaia smiled. "Stubborn brat. Kept
insisting he wasn't sick, till what started out a cold turned into
pneumonia."
"Yes, Alice told me."
"Alice?" Mariemaia asked.
"Yes. Alice McKenzie- I believe she works for your mother? Alice and her
cousin Gabriel were part of my congregation when I had one."
"I didn't know that," Mariemaia said. "I guess... I guess there's a lot
I don't know." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't
have yelled at you. it's not your fault my life has been totally screwed
up, or that my grandfather was some kind of fanatic..."
"You're angry about what happened to you, and what's happened to your
family. I understand."
"People are always telling me that my attitude needs work. I should also
probably warn you that I don't have much in the way of social skills."
"You seem to be doing alright to me," the priest said.
"Thanks, but watch the news next time those damned reporters catch up
with me. Then you'll see what I mean."
"Maybe I'll do that. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Mariemaia shrugged. "Well, if you could keep an eye out for my
boyfriend..." She fished a picture out of her wallet. "David Ling. I
sort of doubt he'll show up here- religion's really not his thing, but
if you do see him..."
"You're worried about him."
"Yeah, I guess I am. I mean, it's probably not connected, but, two of my
'cousins' are abducted, /my/ best friend gets hurt..." She shook her
head. "It's just /weird/, you know? And David is... David's the kind of
guy who wouldn't be late to dinner without calling and telling you
exactly how long it'd take him to drive to meet you. This is /not/ like
him."
"I'll keep an eye out for him," Father Thomas promised. "I do hope he's
alright- that all of you are, in the end."
"Yeah." Mariemaia sighed. "If you think it'd help... Let's just say I'm
starting to think your prayers really couldn't hurt anything."
* * *
The Place Between Worlds
The three cloaked women appeared out of nowhere, and it was clear that
they did not belong. Their garments were dark grey, almost black, and
they walked through the snow of the Place's unnatural winter as if
everything they saw belonged to them.
Death apperated before them with a sigh. "So it has come to this."
"The patterns unravel," said the oldest of the three. "We did not weave
this."
"No," Death said. "I didn't think that you had."
"Can you explain this?" the eldest asked.
"Can you?" he countered.
"Fetch your Ghost Knight and his squire, and we shall settle this."
"Leave them be, Atropos. They are doing everything in their power to fix
this."
"So now you defend them," Atropos said. "Why?"
"Because they are /mine/," Death snapped. Before Atropos could say
anything else- which she seemed about to do- he raised a hand and
snapped his skeletal fingers. "Ghost Knight!"
Treize strode towards them, one hand on his hip. "You rang, my lord?" he
asked in a mocking tone.
Death heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Where is Walker?"
"Do I look like his keeper? Out there-" Treize gestured vaguely over his
shoulder. "Somewhere."
"This is unacceptable," Atropos said. "Find him. At once."
"Madame," Treize said, "I'm sure you have some reason for your demands,
which if you would care to explain-"
"I am Atropos, eldest of the sisters of Fate, and I want to know what
you have done to the Place Between Worlds!"
Treize sighed. "Why is it," he asked of no one in particular, "that
everyone seems to think this is my fault?"
"Because you have the power-" one of the other Fates started.
"Shut up, Clotho. I'll handle this," Atropos snapped. "You /do/ have the
power, Ghost Knight."
"Perhaps, but I haven't used it. Not in the way you mean. Why would I?
For that matter," Treize added, "why would anyone?"
"To drive us all crazy, no doubt," said the middle Fate sister, who had
thus far been silent.
"I can assure you, I'd have made every effort to avoid that if I'd had
anything at all to do with this," Treize replied.
"Then perhaps," Lachesis, the middle sister, asked, "your squire can
shed some light on this?"
"My squire?" Treize asked.
"She means," Death said, "Walker."
"Walker is an ordinary soul," Treize said. "He doesn't have anything to
do with this."
"We'll be the judge of that. Bring him. /Now/," Atropos said.
Treize sighed. "If you insist." He turned his back to them. "Walker?" he
asked in a conversational tone. "Sorry to bother you, my friend, but
these ladies request the pleasure of your company rather urgently. Be a
good fellow and come join us, hmm?"
Walker appeared beside them. "Hello," he said with a nod to the three
sisters. "I'm Ethan Walker. What can I do for you?"
"You can explain-" Atropos gestured around them "-/this./"
"Love to," Walker said. "Unfortunately, I don't have a clue. You might,"
he added, "ask your wayward daughter- the Dark Knight?"
"She is none of your concern!" Clotho said.
"None of yours either, apparently," Walker added. "If you can't look
after her on your own-"
"Wait a moment," Treize said, holding up a hand. "Walker- if their
creature could have done this...?"
Walker nodded, and Treize turned back to the Fates.
"How about it, ladies? Is there something you'd like to tell us?" the
Ghost Knight asked.
"How dare you?" Lachesis asked. "Don't you know who we are?"
"Yes," Treize said. "But as knowing who /we/ are didn't seem to deter
you much from your own arrogant and perhaps foolish assumptions... I
assure you," he went on, "that we're doing everything we can to find out
who did this, and to put things back as they should be once again. But
that is going to take time, and you will simply have to be more
patient."
"Be-?" Atropos said. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I'm serious, alright," Treize said. "If it annoys you that much,
why don't you just-" he waved a hand "do whatever it is you do, and
weave it away?"
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" she asked.
"Haven't we had this conversation before?" Walker inquired.
Treize nodded. "Yes. We seem to be going around in circles lately, and
it's not doing much for us, is it?"
Death sighed. "No. Atropos, I could have told you this was hopeless
before you even began, but-"
"Be quiet," she said. "You- Ghost Knight. We will leave you to your
aimless little wanderings for now, but know this- however bad you
consider things to be, they can always get worse. We can insure that
happens."
"Spare me the theatrics, please," Treize said.
"As you wish," Atropos said. "But mind what we've said, Treize
Khushrenada. Your life-strand may already have been severed, but there
are always others-"
Treize took one step forward, then another. He took hold of the eldest
Fate's shoulders and dug his fingers into her illusion of flesh. "I
have," he said flatly, "put up with all the threats to my mortal family
that I'm going to, do you understand? I don't care who you are, or what
you can do- keep whatever issues are between us, between us." He let her
go and stepped back. "You'll all excuse me- I have work to do."
He turned away, and no one stopped him.
"Or what?" Clotho asked mockingly. But she said it after Treize was
gone.
Walker latched onto her arm. "Look," he said quietly, "or nothing,
alright? Just- don't push him on this one. Whatever you're after, it
isn't worth it."
"Perhaps not," Lachesis agreed. "But I hope for your sake he's telling
the truth about not being the cause of any of this."
"Irritating he may be, but my Ghost Knight does not lie," Death said.
"Of course you'd defend him," Clotho said. "We'd expect that of you."
"Did you ladies need something else?" Walker asked. "Or are you just
sticking around to insult us all?"
"No," Atropos said. "We didn't. And we aren't. Good day, gentlemen."
Walker and Death remained silent after they'd gone. The specter hacked
an icicle in two with a mighty swing of his scythe, and looked as if he
might be searching out another one to deal with in a similar fashion.
"I suppose," Death said, "we called you away from something a little
more useful?"
"/Anything/ would've been more use than listening to that crap," Walker
said. "Are they always like that?"
"Atropos is annoyed, and the others tend to feed off of whatever she
projects," Death said. "But even so- no. I've never seen her act quite
that way before."
"Huh," said Walker. "First time for everything, I guess. Anyway, about
this Dark Knight..."
"Let's not go there, shall we?"
"Don't tell it to me," Walker said. "Treize wants to see her."
"I don't believe that's wise."
"Yeah? Me neither, but the man still ranks me, you know?"
"Yes," Death sighed. "I know."
Walker gathered up a handful of snow and let it drift through his
interlaced fingers. "He's serious, you know."
"About meeting the other? Yes, he would be..." Death shook his head. "He
doesn't understand."
"That's just it- I think that he does. I think it's time to level with
him."
"He knows too much already."
"He needs to know /everything/ if he's going to settle this one way or
another, sir. He can't do it with half the facts."
"I will consider it," Death said.
"And- the Dark Knight?"
"I will speak to the other about it. In the end the choice is hers."
"You're telling me the fate of the world may depend on whether she wants
to see him or not?"
"One doesn't demand things of the Dark Knight, Walker. Not even if that
one is Death."
"Great," Walker said. "Anything else you'd like to share?"
"Not at the moment, no."
"Great," he said again. "Just great."
* * *
Elena looked up with a sigh when the door opened. By the light from the
hallway she could see Linnea framed in the doorway.
"What do you want?" the girl asked irritably.
"Only to talk, dear. Only to talk."
"Come back later," Elena said. "We're trying to sleep. It's not as if,"
she added, "there's anything else to do."
Linnea smiled at her, closed the door, and approached Elena's cot. The
closer the woman got, the farther away Elena moved, until she was
sitting with her back pressed against the wall, and nowhere else to go.
"I want you to tell me about Terra."
Elena ignored that. "I said go away. I'm tired."
"Terra is your friend, isn't she?" Linnea asked. "You're very close.
Tell me everything you know about her."
"You'd like that, I bet," Elena said sharply. "For me to tell you
everything I know, so you can figure out how to manipulate her, the way
you try to with everyone else- well, forget it. I'm not telling you a
damn thing."
"Such a beautiful child," Linnea said, reaching out to stroke Elena's
pale blonde hair. "Words like that should not come out of your mouth,
little princess."
"Get your hands off me, lady," Elena said coldly. "Now."
"I understand you're upset, dear, and naturally you're not yourself-"
"/Can it/, lady. Do you really think anyone buys this sweet act of
yours? You don't understand anything."
"But I do. I know it is hard to be always cast in the shadows of your
betters, always compared to them and yet never measuring up. Isn't that
how it is with Terra? Isn't it?"
"No," Elena said, despite her resolve not to answer any of Linnea's
questions. "Terra is my best friend. It isn't like that."
"Of course not. But if it were- that would be hard, wouldn't it? I'd
understand if that were the case, Elena, really I would."
"I'm sure," Elena said. "Like you're an expert on hardship? You don't
even know who you are."
Linnea slapped her. Elena tumbled off the side of the cot from the force
of the blow, clutching at her cheek.
"I am Linnea Khushrenada," the woman snarled, clearly furious. "I am! I
am Terra's legal guardian, and she will come here to join us, and when
she does, she will know her place. And you will help me show her where
that place is." Linnea seemed to calm down, and she smiled again, that
horrible smile that made Elena want to cringe and hide away. "Terra's
bloodlines are almost pure, you know, and it would be such a shame to
see them go to waste... You'll help me, won't you, dear, sweet child?"
"I'd rather eat glass." Elena paused. "I'd rather get out of here and go
home, and go see you in a mental ward someday after they've figured out
what's wrong with you, because, lady, something sure as hell is."
"How dare you-"
"You talk about bloodlines, like the old Romafeller families are so much
better than anybody else- well, let me tell you something, lady. My
family is older than /that/, and it doesn't matter- it doesn't matter
for anything, don't you get that? It's who you make yourself, not who
you're born, that matters." Elena stared her down with steely blue eyes
that didn't blink. "But if you want to go that way, that's fine with me.
Do you know who /I/ am, Linnea? How pure /my/ blood is? I'm the daughter
of queens and kings and soldiers, and my blood has faced worse than you,
and survived."
"Your grandparents might beg to differ."
"The future survives," Elena said. "Aunt Relena survived, and so did my
father."
Linnea shrugged. "However you'd like to see it, of course, but- Ah, my
dear, Terra's father was leader of the World Nation. /That/ blood is
hers."
"So?"
"Terra is oldest, she should be queen."
"Oh," Elena said, shaking her head. "I get it. She'll be queen, and all
along you'll be there, whispering in her ear, telling her what to do,
right? You think she's going to stand for that? You actually think I'll
/help/ you talk her into that? You're crazy, lady. Now go away. And
please, if you want to talk to me again, wait till a reasonable hour.
There's no need to be so rude."
Elena Peacecraft climbed back onto her cot, turned away from Linnea, and
closed her eyes. And if she didn't return to sleep right away, if it
took her a long time and she wanted to burst into tears and let the sobs
shake her body, she gave no sign of it, and she did nothing save hold
still and give every impression of being asleep, without a care in the
world.
Behind her closed eyes she was thinking hard, so hard that Sarah could
almost have heard it from across the room. The things Linnea had said,
and the way she'd said them, the way she lost it when Elena pushed her,
told the girl more than their captor would ever have suspected. Linnea
seemed more quick to anger than she had been before, more volatile. She
was almost always angry now, and if angry people could be dangerous,
they were also often careless. Sooner or later, Linnea's anger might
translate into the sort of carelessness that would enable Elena and
Sarah to make their way home, one way or another.
Elena sighed, though, as she heard Linnea turn her key in the door's
lock. Whatever might happen tomorrow, tonight they slept very far away
from home.
* * *
The long hours after midnight found Mariemaia playing cards with Father
Thomas and the McKenzies in the waiting room on the floor that now
housed both Lucian and Carolyn. The priest had proved to be adept at
magic tricks, and the pack of cards had appeared out of his sleeve. The
cards alone- real ones, not the paper mockups they'd been using all day
-would have endeared him to the Preventers, but the fact that two of
their own vouched for him made the priest an instant hit. He wasn't a
bad poker player, either.
They'd switched from poker to go fish; it went quicker and required less
thought to keep up with. They could keep each other company and be alone
with their thoughts at the same time.
"Are you three," the priest asked while fishing a card off the top of
the stack, "ever going to be getting any sleep tonight?"
"Doubt it," Alice said. "Gabe and I have been off duty since about
sundown, but as long as we're here, no one else has to be, and we can
all at least pretend Lady Une's resting easier back home." She shrugged.
"Got any fives, Father? Anyway, Gabe and I- 'specially me, I guess-
We're just about the next best thing to her being here herself, which I
guess is why she took over going through those files and sent me back
here."
"So what it amounts to is that they're pulling a double shift but not
calling it that," Mariemaia said.
Thomas nodded. "Hmm. Fives, did you say? Rats- alright, here's two of
them. The Preventers do have night guards here; I've seen them."
"Yeah," Gabe agreed, "but outside us charter members, we're not really
sure who we can trust. Better nobody's here at all then a couple more
Nichols, I'd say."
"He must be troubled," Thomas said.
Alice gave him the sort of fond look generally reserved for eccentric
relatives or young children. "Trouble, period, is more like it."
"One can be both, you know."
"I'll buy that," Mariemaia said, "but hey, it's late, let's not argue.
When we arrest Nichol for kidnapping and assault, you can go give him
spiritual advice."
"I can do that," Alice said. "Pray really, really hard."
"I believe God answers all prayers," Gabe said. "Sometimes the answer is
'no'."
"I agree," Thomas said, "but we shouldn't mock him-"
"Why the hell not?" Mariemaia asked. "Pathetic or otherwise, he messed
with my family- with /our/ family -and that's something you shouldn't
do. I could wish I were a different kind of person, but it's not within
me to forgive that sort of thing. Or much of anything else for that
matter."
"I hate to sound like a cynic-" Alice began.
"You /are/," her cousin interrupted.
"But I have to agree with Mariemaia on this one. I'm saving my sympathy
for the ones who really deserve it. Like Sarah, and Elena."
Which pretty much ended /that/ discussion, as it had been intended to.
In the silence that followed, Alice gathered up the cards and dealt them
out again.
* * *
"She's where?" Sally asked her husband.
"In the waiting room, playing cards with a priest," Wufei answered. "And
the McKenzies," he added as an afterthought.
"Huh," was Sally's only comment. "And the others...?"
"Catherine and Dorothy have the children, except for the two in the
hospital, who have Gabe and Alice watching over them-"
"Okay," Sally said with a laugh. "I get the point. Everyone's taken care
of, so I should take care of myself, is that it?"
"You," Wufei said, "are nearly as bad as Lady Une. When did you last
eat? Or sleep, for that matter?"
Sally twisted a lock of hair around her finger and didn't answer.
"I thought as much," Wufei said. "Come on."
"But-"
"Nothing. Someone will call if they need us. Come with me. I made
dinner. Well, breakfast now, I suppose."
"You did?" Sally asked with a smile. "Okay. This I have to see."
* * *
In one of the guest rooms at Dorothy and Catherine's, Lucrezia finally
gave up trying to sleep. She slipped out of bed, being careful not to
wake her husband, and wandered out to the kitchen. She smiled wryly as
she saw Relena sitting at the table with a cup of tea in front of her.
"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" the younger woman asked.
Lucrezia shook her head. "No. I know there's nothing I can do right now,
but..."
"Doesn't help much, does it?" Relena asked. It wasn't really a question.
Lucrezia turned away to look out the window over the sink. "The sun's
almost up."
"Pretty," Relena said as she joined her sister-in-law before the window.
"Yeah," Lucrezia agreed. She shrugged. "Everybody still here?"
Relena shook her head. "Sally and Wufei went home. They left Lewis."
Lucrezia nodded. "I think the kids are doing better staying together."
"I think so, too." Relena sighed. "The girls will be alright, Lucrezia.
They've got each other."
"I just hope that's enough."