A/N Enjoy! This is the first installment in my new arc, the Urban Legends, arc. My first unfortunate victim… well read and enjoy.
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Got nothing.
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The Trunk
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"FIVE…." Duo's voice carried throughout the lower rooms of the Winner mansion. Relena frowned. She had to find a place to hide. "FOUR!" She turned and bolted up the stairs, mindful of her long gown. She hitched her skirts up as high as she could, clutching the yards of white silk, lace and petticoats close to her body. Who had come up with the brilliant idea of playing hide and seek anyway? She at last spied her salvation. The stairs to the attic. She carefully, but quickly mounted the staircase, mindful of the ominous creaking they made beneath her weight.
Once at the top, she pushed the door open, closing it carefully behind her. As she looked around, she grinned. At least the Winner attic wasn't dirty. Knowing Quatre's penchant for cleanliness, he probably made his staff dust and sweep it regularly. She glanced down at the wedding band on her hand and fingered the simple ring with her thumb. Heero had been the perfect groom. Footsteps on the main stairs case and Duo's voice carrying up to the attic put a stop to her reverie. She cast her eyes around the large attic, eying the variety of furniture and boxes. She moved forward to study a trunk the stood open.
It was empty, probably had been for some time. She ran a finger over the inside of it, again finding no dust. She gave a quick nod and carefully climbed inside. Her heel caught as she lowered herself in, jerking her body down. As she fell the heavy wooden lid creaked, and the last thing she saw was it coming at her.
When Relena woke, she was in complete darkness. She frowned and tried to move. Yep, it was cramped. She lifted her shoulder until it came in contact with the lid. No good, it was stuck.
*Okay Relena, don't panic. Just stay calm. Someone will come looking for you, it's hide and seek.* She couldn't have been out that long, but still… she did the only thing she could. She screamed.
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"Heero, I'm sure she's okay. Maybe she just got lost. It is a big house." Quatre patted his friend on the shoulder. Heero would have none of it. He jerked away, clawing at his bowtie.
"It's been over half an hour. I knew we shouldn't have played this stupid game." The Japanese man glared daggers at Wufei.
"You asked me to plan activities that did not involve Maxwell and alcohol. What else was I supposed to come up with? Twister?" Wufei's face twisted in anger. "I was only doing what you asked of me."
Trowa stepped between the two and held his hands up, his voice soft. "Nothing is going to be gained from fighting. The important thing is to locate Relena. Wufei will take the attic, I'll take the third floor. Quatre, you know the layout of the basement and wine cellar, you look there. Duo take the second floor. Heero you take the first. Hilde and Sally will search the grounds, and Milliardo and Noin can stay here in case she comes back."
Quatre blinked. Trowa must be concerned… he seemed to have used his monthly allotment of words in one go. He gave a curt nod. "There's an intercom system in every room, the button is by the door. In the attic it's at the top of the landing next to the light switch. We meet back here in 20 minutes."
Heero, his agitation increasing gave a curt nod. "Fine."
The seven of them separated and went on their ways.
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Basement
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Quatre flipped on the light in the wine cellar. He opened the door, checking the lock to be sure it was disengaged. He remembered a time when he had first taken up residence in the house, when he'd forgotten and ended up trapped for several hours. If the caterer hadn't happened across him, Allah only knew what would have happened to him. He quickly made his way down the rows of shelves. The temperature was cool, but not uncomfortable, yet he could not imagine Relena taking refuge in a place she did not even know how to find. Satisfied that she was not there, he moved back to the door and turned out the light, locking it behind him.
He drew in a deep breath and quickly began searching the rooms of the basement. The house had been renovated just before the war in case he'd ever needed it as a safe house, most of the rooms were bare, kept locked. Only Rashid and himself had keys, never-the-less he fished his key ring out of his pocket and began methodically unlocking and scanning each room. When he locked the last one back, he frowned. That left only the rec room and laundry room. He sprinted to the laundry room and peered inside. It briefly crossed his mind that Relena wouldn't know what to do with most of the industrial equipment found in here. He stepped forward and checked the linen closet.
He was rewarded with the sight of mountains of sheets, and towels. But nothing more. He scowled and left the room, exiting through the entrance to the rec room. The rec room was the largest in the basement. Several oversized couches and "comfy chairs" as Duo had dubbed them were group in one corner next to the large TV and sound system. A kitchenette was tucked into the corner on the opposite wall. The pool table yielded nothing. Empty, the room was completely empty. With a heavy heart He checked his watch. 17 minutes. He shut off the lights and headed back up the stairs.
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First Floor
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Heero pinched the bridge of his nose, fending off an encroaching headache. Not for the first time, he silently cursed Quatre for having such a large estate. He shut the door of the front parlor behind him. Another empty room that had yielded no results. "Heero?"
The intercom crackled as he opened the door to the kitchen. He pressed the button. "Yeah?"
"It's Quatre, the basement is clear. Do you need help up there?"
"No."
"Okay, I'll go help Hilde and Sally." Quatre's voice was threaded with a hint of defeat.
"Fine." Heero stepped away from the intercom and began a search of the kitchen, even going so far as to search the pantry.
Minutes later he returned to the ballroom, where Milliardo and Noin sat in chairs around a table, nursing drinks in silence.
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Second floor
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Duo sneezed as he opened the door to the east wing of the house. The lock had been easy enough to pick, but he doubted that the Princess had such skills. She may be a political genius, but her mechanical skills were virtually nil. He took a quick look around and gave a grim nod as he hit the all call button on the intercom. "Quatre? Can you hear me?"
He only had to wait a few seconds for an answer. "Yeah, Duo. Did you find something?"
"No, not yet. But unless you want to replace the locks on all the doors up here, I suggest you bring me the master key."
"Where are you?" Quatre's voice sounded distracted.
Duo glanced around himself. "East wing of the second floor. Just at the hallway off the entrance."
"Look in the cactus pot, there's a spare key tucked in there."
"Okay, thanks." He moved away from the intercom and knelt b y the potted cactus. He fished inside the soil for the key. As he did, the intercom crackled again.
"Heero here. First floor cleared. Proceeding to east wing of the second floor."
Duo rolled his eyes, leave it to Heero to treat a simple search like a mission. He located the key and headed for the first door. Seconds later, Heero appeared. Wordlessly he began unlocking doors on the other side of the hallway. "How did you…"
"Quatre gave me the other master key." He spoke shortly. "Stop wasting time talking."
Duo exhaled heavily and nodded. Ten minutes later they had searched all the rooms and turned up nothing.
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Third Floor
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Trowa closed the door to yet another guest room. "Dammit, Quatre. Why do you need a house this huge. You live alone." He was talking to himself again, despite what the others thought, he frequently spoke. Though it was only to himself. It was a bad habit he'd picked up somewhere along the way.
His heart sank as he realized that he'd just checked the last room and there was no sign of Relena anywhere. He'd even looked beneath the beds, though why the former Queen of the world would crawl beneath a bed in her umpteen thousands of dollars wedding gown he didn't know.
He crossed to the intercom and tapped the button. "Third floor clear."
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Attic
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Wufei scowled as he moved yet another trunk out of the way. Just his luck, here he stood in a Tuxedo in the middle of an eerily clean attic searching for Yuy's wayward bride. How could a simple game of hide and seek have gone so horribly wrong. Guilt flickered across his features as he straightened and dusted off his hands. The attic was clear. He'd searched every piece of furniture and the trunks were too numerous to go through. Not only that but they were all securely locked and his inspection of the locks themselves had revealed most of them to be rusty and appeared to have been locked for some time.
Satisfied that he'd been thorough he crossed to the landing and jabbed at the intercom button. "Attic clear."
With those words he flipped off the light switch and headed down the stairs.
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Ballroom
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"We've check every inch of the grounds and house, and there's no sign of her. I think it's time to call the police." Quatre suggested gently.
Heero growled. "How does a person just disappear? It doesn't make any sense." His frustration grew with each passing moment, as it was he was resisting the urge to kill the nearest person, who just happened to be his new brother-in-law.
Milliardo, surprisingly enough did not seem upset. "Quatre's right. We call the police. They'll be able to come up with something."
"I already did that, they're on the way." Hilde spoke up softly.
"Thank you." Quatre offered the girl a sad smile. "The sooner they get here the sooner we can come up with a plan."
They waited only a few minutes before the doorbell rang.
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Three years later
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Hilde grinned across the table at Quatre. "Are you sure? I mean… you don't want the place anymore?"
"I'm sure. I'm trying to consolidate my personal holdings to be a bit more manageable. The house had been closed up since Relena went missing. It's close to your offices and much more suiting to the CEOs of a successful salvage business than an apartment, don't you think? Besides, it should appeal to Duo's vanity. Wouldn't you agree?" Quatre reassured her with a grin. He extended a manila envelope to her. "The deed is already in your and Duo's name, and property tax is taken care of for the next five years. Consider it a wedding gift."
Hilde accepted the envelope and glanced around her at the study where they sat. "Yeah, but the house and all the contents?"
"I've gotten just about everything I need. There is a trunk of photographs in the attic and I will need to find those before I go. But other than that, it's all yours." Quatre grinned and stood up from his seat.
"Can I help?" Hilde had to contain herself from jumping up and down.
"That would be great. There's a lot of stuff in the attic, and there's no telling how long it would take if I tried to do it alone."
"You know, Quatre… It's been a long time since Heero and Relena's wedding. Duo told me that Heero isn't speaking to any of you anymore, except for you. How is he?" Hilde followed her friends towards the stairs.
Quatre's voice was soft, tinged with sadness. "He's getting a little better every time I talk to him. If we had ever known what had happened to her, I think that would help him greatly. Closure would greatly help him." He guided her to the attic door and flipped on the light, heading up the stairs.
Hilde nodded though she knew he couldn't see her as she was behind him. He flipped another switch at the top of the stairs. Hilde came to stand beside him. "So what does this trunk look like?"
"It's black, with a brass lock. It shouldn't be hard to find. Rashid moved them from an identical trunk that had a faulty lock just a few days before Heero and Relena's wedding. I'd just had the attic cleaned." He nodded to a mountain of junk in the corner. "He told me it was somewhere on the side of the room."
"I'll start at the corner." Hilde pointed. "You go over there, we'll meet in the middle."
"Good plan." He flashed her a grin. Hilde moved into the corner of the attic she'd indicated, narrowly avoiding the steeply sloping roof. It didn't take long before she found a trunk matching the description he'd given her, however the brass lock was scuffed and dangling at an odd angle. "Quatre! I found something."
"So did I." He grinned at her from across the room. "I found the trunk with the pictures in it." He held up a photo album as proof of his jackpot. "What do you have over there?"
Hilde ran a hand over the lid and rapped on It gently. It did not sound hollow, there was something in it. "Were there only the two black trunks?"
"Yeah, my father set up a system of color coding everything in storage. So I use the same one. It works quite well, why? Did you find the other trunk?" He rose and moved across the floor to where she knelt. "Don't bother with it, it's empty."
"No, it's not." Hilde quirked a brow. "Listen to this." She rapped on the lid again. "There's something in here. Are you sure there's not more photo albums? Maybe linens? It sound fairly solid."
"No." He spoke adamantly. "This one should be empty. Here, let me open it." Hilde moved out of the way. Quatre played with the lock for a moment. "That's strange. It won't give. Can you do me a favor and grab me that crowbar in the corner?"
Hilde gave a nod and retrieved the tool, passing it to him. Quatre gave a her a smile of thanks and wedged the end beneath the lid and gave it a mighty jerk. With a rusty pop, the lock gave way and the lid popped open a few inches. Their senses were instantly assailed with a musty scent. Hilde wrinkled her nose, apprehension going through her in waves.
Quatre did not hesitate but threw the lid of the trunk open. The sight that greeted them instantly turned Hilde's stomach. She buried her face in Quatre's shoulder. He automatically slammed down the lid, his entire body shuddering with emotion. He drew Hilde into an embrace. "It's okay."
Hilde straightened and reached for the lid once more. "Hilde, don't. You don't have to."
"No, let me, Quatre. I have to know what happened." She stubbornly opened the lid, pressing a hand to her mouth. Inside the trunk lay a long dead corpse curled into the fetal position. Hilde's hand reached out of it's own accord as though to touch it.
Quatre closed his fingers over her own and pulled it back. "No, the police will want her untouched."
"What happened, Quatre?" Hilde's voice shook.
Quatre leaned closer, looking closely. "I can't say for sure, but there's dried blood on the dress, it looks like she tried to claw her way out. Allah knows how long she lasted before she…" He trailed off into silence. "We should go call the police."
"And Heero." Hilde added. She scooted back, Quatre tightened his grip on her hand.
"Yes, Heero too." He rose, gently lowering the lid of the trunk. "Let's go, Hilde."
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