When All Purpose is Lost By Ai

Chapter 11 (part 2)

*continued memory*

Slowly she reached for the doorknob and turned it.

In the office, the beginning and the end of her nightmare awaited her.  Inside were the principal, the school counselor and Sergeant Po.  Sergeant Po was in casual wear today, not in her uniform.  She did not want to know why they kept pursuing this 'small' problem of hers.  Relena knew she could not crumble now.  She had to stay strong to survive.  Relena took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worse.

"Please take a seat," the principal gestured to the small couch to the left of the door.  She sat, nervously folding her hands in her lap...she was glad that she was allowed to sit; her knees were shaking violently.  The door was closed and her throat tightened.  Relena felt like a trapped animal facing its doom.

"Relena, now that you've had time to go home and think things over, we'd like you to tell us the truth." The principal stated.

"Truth?  About what?" She squeaked.

Sgt. Po smiled.

"We just want to know exactly how you got that ugly bruise on your knee." She said gently.

"Well, all of us get hurt sometimes when we aren't careful." Relena replied slowly.

Smart answer. Sgt. Po thought, amused.

"You don't need to worry dear.  Did someone bully you?  Or hit you?" the school counselor coaxed.

"No, it was my fault." She said firmly.

She's not going to answer here if she's being interrogated here. Joyce Po thought.

"Relena, why don't we take you out to have some fun today?" Sgt. Po suggested warmly.

"But, I have school." Relena stammered, confused.

"Well, we'll give you the day off.  Mrs. Appleby won't mind." The principal smiled at her.

Relena gave a small nod, and took Sgt. Po's outstretched hand.

They went to the nearby fair.  Since it was on a weekday afternoon, there's wasn't too much people milling about.  Sgt. Po tried to act as motherly and friendly as possible, to gain Relena's trust.  The little girl was still very cautious and suspicious, but she loosened up as the day went by.  They went on the giant Ferris wheel and ate pink fluffy cotton candy; they tried their hands at the ring toss and won a teddy bear.  Relena even squealed in fright when they went into the Haunted House and laughed as they tried to make their way through the fun house.  The sun was warm with an occasional cool breeze and the sky was blue with some white puffy clouds.  It was the perfect day and Relena hadn't had so much fun for years.  As they sat on a bench to rest with their ice-cream cones, the two started talking. 

"Relena, I have a daughter too.  She's a bit older than you, would you like to meet her?" Sgt. Po asked.

"You have a daughter?" Relena asked, curious.

"Yup."

Relena was lonely.  She had friends at school but only Dorothy knew what was going on in her life, and she really didn't want to scare off Dorothy with her problems either.  Sgt. Po said that her daughter was older...maybe she could be the older sister she never had.

"Sure." Relena surprised herself with her answer.

"Great, I'm sure you two will get along just fine." Sgt. Po smiled.  Relena was finally acting more like a seven-year-old girl.

Relena looked around at the surroundings.  She heard laughter here and there and saw families with young children having fun; she smiled a sad smile.  Sgt. Po noticed.

"Relena, are you not having fun?" She asked.

"No...I had a lot of fun.  Thank you." Relena whispered.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I was thinking back to when Daddy and Mommy used to take my brother and I to the amusement park."

Sgt. Po frowned.  If her parents abused her, why would they take the siblings to have fun?  The nearest amusement park was pretty far away.

"You Mom and Dad took you and your brother?"

"No, my Mommy and Daddy." She replied with no hesitation.

What's the difference between Mom Dad and Mommy Daddy? Sgt. Po wondered.

"To an amusement park, not a fair?" She asked suspiciously and Relena caught on to her question.

"Yes...where are we going next."

"Why don't I introduce my daughter to you later?" Sgt. Po suggested.

"Okay."

They finished the last of their cones and headed towards the parking lot.

The car pulled up to a condominium.  After parking, Sgt. Po led Relena up to one of the apartments.  When they opened the door, Relena found the place warm, cozy and welcoming.  There were a few people here: two men and a woman.

"What's this place?" Relena asked.

"This is where we take well behaving children as a sort of treat.  You were very good today, so you may play with any of the toys here." Sgt. Po told her with a smile.

Relena smiled back.

"Relena, I'd like you to meet Officer Sean, Sergeant Paul and Officer Landy." Sgt. Po introduced the people there from left to right.  They all greeted her with smiles and warm handshakes.

"You're all police." Relena whispered.

The grown ups looked at each other, then nodded.  After receiving the fact, Relena visibly tightened.

"My daughter will be up shortly after classes are dismissed.  I'll take you to the playroom so you can start playing first." Sgt. Po took Relena by the hand and led her away.

A few moments later, the four officers entered the playroom where Relena was currently playing with dolls and a dollhouse. 

"Relena, why don't we talk for a while?" Sgt. Po asked and gestured for her to sit on the couch in the room.  She sat, hugging a doll fiercely.

"Who would you like to talk to?" The woman called Officer Landy asked.

Since Relena knew Sgt. Po more, of course, she picked Sgt. Po.  The woman officer stuck around while the two male officers exited the room.

"Can I ask you some questions?" Sgt. Po asked.

"Okay."

"What's the colour of this teddy bear?" She asked Relena while holding up a teddy bear.

"Brown."

"Good."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"What's today's date?"

"May the fifth."

"If you have two apples, and I give you five apples, how many apples do you have?"

"...um...seven?" Relena was starting to like this little game.  It was like those game shows she saw on television.

"Correct.  If you have five bananas and six oranges, and I took four bananas from you, how many oranges would you still have?"

Relena thought for a second.
"...uh...six?" Sgt. Po smiled.  Relena was quite an intelligent child.

"Great!  We're done with those questions.  So Relena, are you having fun here?" Sgt. Po asked.

"Yes." Relena replied.

"Do you play with your brother?" Sgt. Po questioned casually. 

The smile faded from Relena's face.

"Sometimes."

"How about your Mom and Dad, do they play with you?"

"No."

"Why?"

"They're too busy."

"Hmm...so most of the time, you take care of your brother by yourself?"

"...yep."

"Do you ever get into trouble with them?"

Relena nodded after a long pause.

"What do they do about it?"

"They yell." Relena admitted.

"Do they ever hit you?" Sgt. Po asked carefully; however, Relena caught on to her intentions.

"Never." She replied firmly.  Relena had put up her guard again and they so close to getting through to her.

Sgt. Po sighed.

Suddenly, a girl poked her head into the room.  She wore her dark blond hair in pigtails and she had a friendly smile.

"Hi Mom!" She said to Sgt. Po.

"Hello sweetie.  I'd like you to meet someone.  This is Relena," she turned to Relena, "and this is my daughter, Sally."

"Hi!" Sally greeted Relena cheerfully.
"Hi." Relena replied shyly.

"Why don't you play with Relena, sweetie." Sgt. Po suggested before both she and Officer Landy

"Sure." Sally went straight to Relena and sat her down at the small table in the corner.

"Hey Relena, how old are you?  I'm twelve." Sally asked.

"I'm seven."

"Cool.  Let's play."

Even though Sally was only twelve years old, she usually liked to help her mother with the cases she was dealing with.  Children found it easier talking to another child.  Sally hoped to one day become a police officer, just like her mother.  So, this was good practice.

The two girls were drawing with crayons.  Sally looked over at Relena's drawing.

"Hey who's that?" She pointed to the drawing of a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy.

"That's Millie, my brother." She replied absentmindedly, concentrating on her drawing.

"Your brother?  How old is he?"

"...umm...I think he's eleven." She replied.

"Don't you have a younger brother?" Sally asked, curious.  Her mom had let her look at some information about Relena beforehand.  Her family consisted of a father, mother and younger brother.

"He's Mom and Dad's son, so I guess he's my brother.  But Millie, he's my brother." Relena sounded so sure of herself.

Sally let it drop.  She could tell that Relena was being totally honest with her and had let down her guard.

"So this Millie, he must be really nice to you."

"Yup, he's the best!  I think of him, Mommy and Daddy whenever Mom and Dad is mean to me."

"Mean to you?"

"They hit me sometimes, but don't tell anyone.  When they drink stuff, they get mad at me and they become very scary...or if they are mad at someone else."

"Whoa.  Do they do anything to your brother?"

"No.  They are never mean to Timmy, only nice."

"Why?"

"Because...because...I'm not sure."

"But they're your parents."

"No silly, they are not my real parents, Mommy and Daddy are." Relena almost giggled at the silly thought.

"So you were adopted?" That would explain why Relena's Mother and Father outright mean to her.

"No, I wasn't adopted, I was..." Relena's eyes were wide open as she realized what she was about to say and she clamped her mouth shut.  Sally's eyes also widened.

In the surveillance room, the four officers had grave expressions on their faces.

"Was she abducted?" Officer Landy asked weakly.

"That's a very high possibility." Sgt. Paul said.

"What kind of people, no, monsters are her parents...they abduct a child to take their anger out on." Officer Sean shook his head in disgust.

"We've got to convince Relena to testify against her parents, but I don't think we'll get enough evidence to charge her parents of child abduction.  They could have forged adoption papers." Sgt. Po commented.

The four officers re-entered the playroom.  The two girls sat at the table, not moving.  Sgt. Po knelt in front of Relena and took her hand.

"Relena, you have got to tell us the truth." Sgt. Po pleaded.

"What truth?  I didn't say anything!  Mom and Dad can't get mad at me...I didn't do anything!" The girl ranted before bursting into tears.

Joyce Po gave the sobbing girl a gentle shake.

"Relena, we have enough evidence to lay charges against your parents.   You are safe with us, they can't hurt you!"

"Really?" She asked through sniffles.

"Yes, if you will tell the judge all about what your parents did to you."

"But I'm so scared." Relena started sobbing again in Sgt. Po's arms while Sally held her hand.

"Ssshhh...it's okay, it'll all be okay..."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Relena smiled.  Right now, she was living in a home with other children who were like her.  The police reluctantly let her go back to her old school.  All the teachers looked at her with pity and sympathy, but Relena never noticed.  Sally came to visit her often, she felt so comfortable with her.  Sally was really like an older sister and one who could understand her past.  Sgt. Po...well now, Relena called her Sgt. Joyce, which sounded closer, checked in frequently.  Her parents were not allowed to come near her and she was thankful for that.  The trial was supposed to take place in a few days and Relena was confident that she would be able to escape the evil that held her in its grasp.

She had just parted from Dorothy and was skipping to the place where Cherrie, the woman in charge of her new home, was going to pick her and the other children up.  Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms grab her roughly and pull her into a dark, narrow alley.  She screamed and felt a rough hand cover her mouth.  Angry glinting eyes looked into her own.  It was her Dad.

"You little bitch, turning us in.  Do you know what's going to happen to Timothy if we're arrested?  He'll be damned just like you." He spat.

Relena's eyes widened, she hadn't thought of that.  But then, she was sure that they would be able to take him at Cherrie's place.  Relena would take care of him herself.  She glared at the man.

"Don't you dare glare at me.  Don't think that we can't hurt you.  You remember who's Mrs. Ito and Dorothy?  Well, if you go against us in court, I will kill them.  I will torture them and murder them.  Do you understand?  And it will be your fault.  I will kill them and they will die a painful death."

He put his hand around Relena's neck.

"I will strangle them and stab them and maim them and burn them and send them all down to hell.  Do you understand?!" He tightened his grasp on her neck.

She nodded, tears flowing from her eyes.

"If you do not want them to rot in hell and then come back and haunt you, you better not say anything in court." He growled.

He gave her a last malicious glare.  Then he let her go and she crumpled to a heap on the ground.  She watched him disappear into the shadows.  Of course, he wouldn't dare murder people when he's being charged for child abuse, but a seven-year-old didn't know that and she was scared out of her wits.

For the few days before the trial, she was quiet, deadly quiet.  Cherrie, Sally and Sgt. Joyce noticed that something was wrong, but Relena would not speak to them at all.  So they waited, and hoped that everything would go well in Court.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

It was finally the day of the trial.  Relena, accompanied by Sgt. Joyce and Sally, was dressed in beautiful new clothes, her hair neatly tied.  There were still faint bruises around her neck.  When she stepped into the courtroom, she immediately felt her legs go all wobbly.  Sgt. Joyce gave her hand a squeeze.  And they sat in the front row.  She could feel angry, diabolical eyes on her and she shivered.  These few nights, she had nightmares of her parents killing the Itos and Dorothy.  The maimed corpses dead eyes would be trained on her and their pained voices would ask why she was so selfish and cruel.  She shuddered at the memory.  The trial started soon and the interrogation began.  Finally, it was time for Relena to step up to the podium to testify.

Shakily, she stood there...and the twisted faces kept staring back at her...asking her why she was so selfish…she could hear her parents evil laughter and...

She couldn't take it anymore.

"No!" Relena yelled.

"No..." she backed away from the podium, shaking her head.

The lawyer tried to soothe her nerves.

"Relena, it's okay.  You don't have to be scared."

"No." She repeated.  "I didn't say anything, I'm a bad girl, I lied, nothing's wrong!" She was hysterical and she ran out of the courtroom.

When she was out, she sat down and sobbed.

Sgt. Joyce followed and sat beside the sobbing Relena.

"What's wrong Relena?  It's okay, let's just get back in there and get this over with."

"No Sgt. Joyce, I cannot be so selfish.  I'm sorry." Relena calmed down and pushed Sgt. Joyce away before running out of the courthouse.  

With Relena's denials, her refusal to testify and her hysterical state, they didn't have enough evidence to convict her parents of child abuse.  Later that week, she was allowed to return home no matter how reluctant the police were.  When she was first through the door, her parents whipped her with belts and kicked her and did everything they could to hurt her.  They threw her into the basement and starved her.  She was so weak that she just lay there on the cot, her eyes wide open and dull, silent tears streaming down her face, her whole being motionless.  She didn't know how long until she was let out of the basement, but her whole body felt numb.  Her parents went off to work but they would not allow her to go to school just yet.  They locked her in the house and made sure there was no way she could escape.

It was the second morning since she was let out of the basement...she nibbled on the little bread she could find.  She dared to peek out the window and saw that a moving truck was parked in the driveway next door.  Moving.  She went to the window and she didn't know how she did it, but she managed to yank it open...her parents must have forgotten about the kitchen window.  She ran across the lawn, panicked.  Relena skidded to a stop in front of Mrs. Ito, her arms carrying a heavy cardboard box.

"Relena..." Mrs. Ito said awkwardly, and set down her box.

"Are you leaving?  Are you leaving!" Relena demanded, her voice choked by her tears.

"I'm so sorry, Relena...but for Ken's safety," she looked at her child, and then at Relena's house, "we have to leave.  Please understand." Mrs. Ito explained gently.

"Why?  I need you!" Relena cried.

"Honey, I wish we could take you with us, but we can't and you know that.  I will pray for you, every night." She gave Relena a bitter smile.  Then she slipped some bills into Relena's hand, which Relena gratefully accepted.

"You've got to survive Relena, and we will meet each other again.  I believe in you and I'm terribly sorry but as a mother, I cannot endanger my son."

All Relena could do was nod and cry.

"Be careful, be strong, take care."

Mrs. Ito hugged Relena and gave her a kiss.  Relena could feel her misery and she tried to understand Mrs. Ito's situation...but it was hard...she felt abandoned.  With that, Mrs. Ito picked up the box and headed to the car.  Relena stood there, watching every last item being moved out of that once cozy home.  At last, it was time for the Ito's to leave.  Young Ken kept waving goodbye; Mrs. Ito looked downright miserable and looked wistfully at Relena.  Mr. Ito gave her a sympathetic look and a small smile.  Relena could barely raise her hand to wave.  She collapsed onto the sidewalk and bitter sobs wracked her aching body as she watched the Ito's car and the truck pull away and head their way to the new Ito home.  At that second, she felt empty and her heart broke.  She was truly left alone to fight the difficult battle against those demons that were her 'parents'. 

Sgt. Joyce did try to check on her to see if she was all right.  Every time, either Relena refused to see her, or her parents refused to allow any contact.  After many months, Sgt. Joyce had no choice but to give up.  Relena never saw her again.  She was seven years old, weak, helpless and abandoned. **

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Relena was sobbing with her back against the washroom wall.  Those memories...they were one of the worst in her life.  Hilde knelt beside her and hugged her, because she didn't know what else she could do to help Relena. 

"Just cry, let it all out." Hilde whispered.  And Relena did just that.

Somehow, over the years, Relena managed to train herself to forget that particular memory, and numb its pain.  However, the courthouse triggered her memory too effectively and she felt trapped inside those horrid memories of hers, unable to get out.  The whole environment suffocated her.

When Relena ran out of sobs, Hilde handed her a tissue.  She washed up and calmed down a bit.  Hilde looked a bit overwhelmed but she still managed to put on a smile.

"I had no idea, Relena...I don't think my life was that bad now when I look back." Hilde said in effort to comfort her. 

"It's okay Hilde.  Maybe, you can share your past with me next time." Relena offered with a small smile.

"Maybe," was all Hilde said.

The two girls made their way back to the courtroom.  They could tell that the hearing had just started.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Hilde asked in concern.

Relena took in a deep breath.
"I'll have to do this, someday...why not now?" Relena closed her eyes for a moment before opening her eyes again.  Shakily, she pushed open the door.  They both stepped in.

Relena could feel the room spin about her; she could hear muffled voices circle her and she felt eyes on her.  Her stomach lurched and the air hung, stuffy and suffocating...she could not go through with this.  Not now, not ever.

She ran out.

A.N.: Whew, this was NOT deleted thank God.  If it was, I'd cry and cry and die…I worked hard on this chapter but I was getting fed up so if it's moving a bit fast or getting confusing, I'm sorry.  I tried, I really did.  Hope some of you appreciate it.  Ummm…poor Relena.  If any of you have any questions or flames, just send a review my way and I'll try to answer all questions through e-mail or the next chapter.  *sigh*  School is starting so I'll try my best to rewrite every single new chapter I wrote.  Darn.  Oh well, see you all soon!  Thanks for still reading!

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing the characters for my little story!  GW is not mine but owned by big big companies etc.  Hehe.