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Tapestry - Chapter 19
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I opened my eyes to a gray, overcast sky; the sun was up, but the cloud cover hadn't burned away. My body felt incredibly good - warm, with this slight surging feeling that was just SO relaxing. Mmmm ... what time was it ... nine, maybe - ten o'clock? I wasn't sure, and it didn't really matter.
It was strange; I could remember the reasons I felt angry and tight last night, but those reasons didn't seem as terribly important or solid right now. The negative emotions had drained away, leaving a pleasant, almost lethargic feeling in their wake.
I closed my eyes and snuggled back into bed, pushing my face into the pillow, willing myself back to sleep. No one would miss me if I didn't get up right away - after all, it wasn't as if I had to get up at a certain time. No one was knocking on my door to go running, or go sparring, or go swimming ... although it would feel awfully good to go take a walk down by the sea in the cool morning air ...
I sighed, wriggled a little and sat up, stretching and yawning. I looked around and smiled in pleasure, realizing again what a pleasant room it was - it was light, and airy, and gave me such a lovely feeling of freedom. Swinging my feet over the side of the bed, I hopped down, whistling, jumped into waiting slippers, then shuffled over to my dresser and dipped into my drawers. I pulled out blue shorts, a dark blue tee shirt, bra and underwear. I saw the bathroom off to the right and padded over. It was exactly the same as Wufei's, right down to the cotton balls in the cupboard; the only difference, I mused as I turned on the hot water for my shower, was the color of the tile. My bath had an obvious feminine touch, as did my entire room, whereas his was designed with a male in mind.
As I toweled off and pulled on my clothes, my gaze idly fell on the partially open closet door that revealed that absolutely stunning blue gown and those sexy, strappy high heeled shoes Treize gave me. Oh, right - today was Friday, and we were going to the opera later tonight. I smiled; I was looking forward to it. We were going to Naples of all places, to see an opera at the San Carlo, the oldest working theater in Europe! It was silly, and a weakness, but it was something I had always wanted to do and never dreamed I'd be able to do in my lifetime.
Who I was, where I was and why I was there didn't even enter my mind. I might as well have been vacationing with a favorite uncle as far as my pysche was concerned; the cold hard facts of my captivity didn't start pushing themselves through that fog that surrounded my brain until my gaze fell on the cellphone hidden by the handtowel next to the alabaster sink.
Frowning a little, I picked up the phone and put it away in its usual place. Just looking at the phone and handling it made me think of Duo, and thinking of Duo today and the opera at the same time gave rise to another weird little vignette in my head. There was Duo, scowling at me, wearing a maid's uniform and standing in the women's bathroom of the San Carlo.
I blinked. Whoa. Bizarre. Simply bizarre. That was the second time an image of Duo wearing a maid's uniform had popped into my head; the same image had come to me yesterday, as well. Gads, I needed to get out and get some exercise, and soon, or else I was sure my mind was going to snap.
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Softly closing the door to my room, I stood in the corridor and glanced around. It wasn't that early, especially not for a military base - but surprisingly enough, there weren't very many people roaming the corridors.
Oh, wait. That's not true. Une was walking down the corridor, right toward me. In fact, she walked right up and stood directly in front of me, her usual severe expression pinched and tight.
"Yes, Lady Une?" I asked, curious, suspecting absolutely nothing.
For an answer, Une drew her arm back as far as she could and slapped me across the face. She hit me so hard that I fell back against the door, my knees collapsing in surprise, the back of my head smacking painfully hard against the solid wooden frame several times in a row.
"Why?" I gasped when I could catch my breath, tears standing in my eyes, glaring at her. "Why did you do that? I did nothing to you!"
"Disrespect to Treize-sama!" Her nostrils flared slightly, and I caught the scent of her perfume as she leaned toward me. She started to say something else, then apparently changed her mind, closed her mouth, spun around and marched back into her room, slamming the door so hard that the walls trembled.
My cheek burned. I was left staring after her with my hand up to my face and my mouth partially open. That woman's a dangerous psychotic, I thought angrily. She should be locked up somewhere, not just wandering around free.
And disrespect to Treize? What on earth was she talking about?
I shook my head, trying to clear it as I pushed away from the wall and continued walking down the hallway. Une had come from this direction; therefore, other people must be down here. Also, I heard familiar noises coming from this direction; a rhythmic thumping followed by a soft shushing sound. There was something about the pattern of the noises ... something about their predictability... I followed the sounds, my curiosity getting the better of me, and I trotted down the hallway just a little bit faster.
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Oh, of course. That's where the noise was coming from - I should have known. Cold apprehension tightened in my chest as I approached the training room.
Grunts and guttural shouts floated into the hallway. I stopped at the entrance and leaned the doorway with one elbow, watching the match in progress. Something important had happened - I knew it, and I had missed it. Wufei looked extremely upset and disconcerted, or confused, or ... something. I wasn't quite sure what, though. It was definitely something other than just simple upset, however, because he wasn't fighting with as much focus and intensity as usual, and certainly not with the ferocity he showed yesterday.
Treize, on the other hand, more than made up for Wufei's lack of gusto. That man was so completely unmoved and in control, his eyes so calm and commanding, that it was frightening. I had to physically turn my head and drag my gaze back to Wufei, to make sure he was all right after their last clash. He seemed uninjured, which was good; he just staggered a little.
That's the way things stayed for a while; they parried, they circled each other, they looked for opportunities to attack -
And then it happened.
In a rush, Treize exploded against Wufei. His muscles bunched and snapped, rippling down his back while he threw his weight against the boy and rocked into him, shoving his forearm across Wufei's throat and smacking the boy's head against the wall. Treize let him dangle in his grip for an endless moment, helpless, as he brought his mouth centimeters away from Wufei's upper lip.
"Again," Treize commanded, his voice low, staring directly into Wufei's eyes. He dropped his arm and stepped back, his eyes glittering dangerously, his guard up. Wufei snarled and leaped at him, wasting no time in pressing another attack.
Another attack?
What was this? Treize ... was teaching Wufei to attack? And when he did not get it right ... Treize pinned him, and forced him to do it again? What kind of 'duel to the death' was this? It made no sense at all.
I absently rubbed my abused head in sympathy for Wufei and kept watching, squinting a little, not understanding what I was seeing - because in my opinion, this was simply too weird for words. The tension in the room was soaring. They were fighting hand to hand, and had opted not to use any weapons at all. What on earth was Treize doing?
Apparently, it didn't make any sense to Wufei, either - and he was quickly losing what little self-control he had. He was shirtless, in loose, baggy trousers, good for mobility. His quickness and agility were serving him well - I could see that Treize was pressing him to respond faster and faster - but now he was only responding. He wasn't planning his own attacks, nor was he counterattacking.
However, Treize was planning. The general was similarly dressed - shirtless, and in baggy, shapeless trousers - and was making Wufei work harder and harder, pushing him into a frenzy, forcing him to block and defend, faster and faster, until finally their limbs were a blur and then again, Wufei was pinned under Treize at the far end of the room.
But when Treize pinned Wufei this time, something tangible passed between them - something that even I could feel, standing meters away on the other side of the room. Treize pressed against Wufei exactly as as he did the last time, with his arm across Wufei's throat and his lips barely brushing Wufei's cheek. This time, though, Treize's expression changed as he leaned down and looked into Wufei's eyes. From my angle their faces were frozen in stark relief, sculptures capturing an instant in time, staring at each other. And when that finally changed, the entire atmosphere of the room shifted.
A wave of the most raw, concentrated and heated sexual power I had ever experienced in my entire life hit me full force without warning; it saturated practically every pore and fiber in my body, swept through my mind like a firestorm and left me totally vulnerable. My nerveless fingers frantically scrabbled for a hold, any hold on the doorway. I didn't care, I just needed something to hold because now my knees were buckling and I was sagging against the doorframe and slipping down, down toward the floor unless I could hold onto something on the frame itself ....
At the same time, Treize's expression become predatory, sensually possessive; his lips parted his eyes gleamed with unconcealed desire as that wave of power and lust throbbed across the room. Fortunately my hold on the doorway was strong; if it wasn't, I would have been on my knees for sure. As it was I was hardly standing upright; whatever he did resonated along my nerves, causing me to almost cry out, an involuntary response - but I didn't. I retained enough of myself to keep watching, keep looking - and was shocked at what I saw. This, apparently, was the reaction the general had waited to see.
Wufei, for the barest fraction of seconds, DID react. His brain had already shut down voluntary responses to stimuli long ago in order to keep up with the demanding pace of the fight, abandoning higher order thinking in favor of pure instinct. When he looked at the general, his expression was something so completely exotic and striking that it took me a few moments to realize what it was. Desire - unmitigated, pure, wild - burned in his eyes and changed his features. He looked alien, feral ... beautiful.
A shudder ran across Wufei's shoulders and down his back. Treize narrowed his eyes, gave a very small, satisfied smile and abruptly withdrew his arm.
The boy dropped heavily to the ground. To his credit, Wufei caught himself, stumbled, and ended up bent over a little, arms out, slightly off balance, looking dizzy. " ... wha ..."
"That's enough for today, Wufei. We have the opera later, after all, and I would like to leave within the hour."
"Un." Wufei held his head in one hand for a moment, still stunned and dizzy.
I shook myself and staggered away from the doorway a few steps, blinking furiously. No. I could hardly bring myself to acknowledge what had just happened to Wufei, let alone believe my mind had just been blasted with ... well ... with something I wasn't even ready to name. Panting, I made my way unsteadily across the training room floor toward Wufei, my body still buzzing and twitching. I had this unreasonable, strange feeling that I needed to be with him, to make sure that he was all right.
"Sally! Wonderful - I was just about to check to see if you were up. We will be leaving soon - and I was hoping that you would be ready to leave, as well." Treize looked at me expectantly, not giving the least indication of surprise or shock in seeing me in the training room. Had I been thinking, just that simple fact would have said volumes.
But I wasn't thinking, at least not at the moment. In fact, I was having a terrible time just trying to link several coherent thoughts together.
"Leaving?" I repeated, feeling rather stupid, not knowing what Treize was talking about. I glanced at him, my eyes growing larger by the moment; ye gods, not only was he talking to me, he was actually expecting me to respond ...
~~Yes, Sally. Think ... take your time ...~~
"Oh, I ... yes, I - I'm sure I can be ready."
Gods. Dazed; lightheaded; my mouth is as dry as dust; and now, just to prove how out of it I really am, that voice - not my snarky inner voice, but that other snarky voice I can't ignore spoke to me. Again. In my head.
Wonderful. I can't even get the first one to shut up, and now another one decides to start.
"When will we be leaving?"
"I would like to leave as soon as possible, really. Will forty-five minutes do? Or, perhaps, an hour?" He pulled his shirt across his shoulders and buttoned it, and was presently tucking it into his pants, chatting as if he hadn't a care in the world. His tone was light, contented, in control and cheerful, wonderfully benevolent, a father giving treats to his children.
He tilted his head and regarded me, one eyebrow raised in speculation. His gaze swept me from head to foot. "You must forgive me, Sally - I didn't know what to do for you in regards to makeup. Your dress and jewelry were one thing, but cosmetics ... well ... "
I felt my face get warm. "I .. ah .. don't usually need much ..."
A slightly flirty, teasing expression twinkled in his eyes as he gazed at me. "Saa, I could have told you THAT."
And now I felt my cheeks flush completely, that warm, tingly sensation traveling all the way across my face to the roots of my hair. I looked away from Treize and over at Wufei, my embarrassment complete. To my surprise, Wufei still seemed to be ignoring everything around him, looking as though he was still in some kind of daze. He shivered, and another small tremor passed across his shoulders and down his back.
"The opera is tonight, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Treize said. "But we have much traveling to do, and dinner beforehand, so we do need to start as soon as we can."
"Then ... then I'll just make sure that we take everything we need with us when we leave ..."
Wufei shuddered hard, once, hunched his shoulders, then looked up at Treize with an expression of utter confusion. I blinked, looking from Wufei to Treize and back again. What on earth was going on? Didn't Treize see how Wufei was affected? Wasn't he going to do something?
"Excellent!" Treize smiled at me, nodded, and walked past me to the exit, not even acknowledging Wufei. "One hour, then, Sally. That will be fine. Make sure you call down to the kitchen and ask them to send some tea and bagels to your room for both you and Wufei."
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I watched Treize breeze out of the training room as if nothing at all was amiss. At this point, Wufei held both arms and was slowly rubbing them as though he was cold.
I think I stared after Treize for a few moments, not really believing he had just left Wufei with me. Then I shook my head and turned back to him, peering into his face, trying to find a spark of the young man I knew was there.
I touched his shoulder gently. "Wufei? Wufei ... let's go back to your room. I'll get your things ready for you. We need to be ready to leave in an hour."
He started badly at my touch, shrinking together. The look he gave me was more than pathetic and less than wretched - it was miserable and confused, the look of someone who was caught in something way beyond his current understanding.
"I .. I'm ... not ... I know I'm not ..."
"You're not what, Wufei?"
He was shivering a little now, shivering unevenly across his body. "I'm .. I'm not ... I don't THINK of men like that. I don't understand ..."
The analyzing, cataloging part of my brain that never ceased to function no matter what carefully noted that Wufei's calm exterior was, in all probability, just a facade. He was probably suffering from delayed shock. In fact, I was surprised he wasn't more upset than he appeared. Odd ... because I knew he wasn't ...
And suddenly I was incredibly angry at Treize, angry at him for abandoning Wufei in the middle of the training room floor when the poor boy could barely put a sentence together. Angry because - because, though no fault of his own, now the boy can't even find his own way to his room; and if I was honest with myself, angry because this older man was trying to obviously seduce this younger, innocent boy, and the boy was very obviously NOT gay and WAS NOT INTERESTED.
That reaction of desire? Easy enough for my brain to handle; I couldn't stand Treize, and even I wanted him at that very moment. There was something else going on that was way over both our heads, and I wasn't going to hold Wufie responsible for it.
Anger clouded my vision, to the point where I couldn't see several feet in front of myself. In fact, the only thing I could see was this fine, red haze that settled over everything like a fine powder.
"Wufei? Wufei, listen to me, just for a few moments. I'm going to take you back to your room, all right? Listen, Wufei, I don't really understand what's going on here, either, but that doesn't make any difference right now. At this point, we both have to get changed - are you listening, Wufei? We need to take a shower, and we need to change into our clothes for the opera, and we need to eat a little something before we leave. We have about an hour to do all of this."
Wufei started shuffling across the floor toward the doors, . "He ... said ... we're having dinner." His voice was clear, but dazed, as if he was drugged.
I could feel my hands trembling, I was so angry. The boy had all the classic symptoms of shock, and that boorish clod left him there, right in the middle of the training room floor? What on earth was he thinking?
"Yes, but ... we won't be eating dinner for at least seven hours, Wufei. We have to eat something now."
"There's food on the ship."
I wanted to scream. Really, there was no escaping his logic. "Probably, but I'd feel better if we could order something from the kitchens HERE before we left. Besides, you need to take a shower and change. I don't think the clothes you need to change into are on the ship, are they?" I tried to give him my most encouraging smile.
"No..."
"Well, then ... we should definitely choose something for you to wear, get changed here, and have a little tea while you change."
"Treize already picked it."
I blinked slowly. "Of course he did," I nodded, narrowing my eyes and adding that little fact to my list of Treize-facts. "Let's get to your room, Wufei."
Treize already chose what Wufei was wearing today. Of course he did; and it was choice bits of information like that, or his stranding Wufei in the middle of the training room floor after doing God-knew-what to him, that really set me off. I tightened my arm around his and continued to walk with him, letting my mind wander, that angry red cloud still surrounding me. It wasn't healthy, though, and I knew I should try to calm down ... breathe through ... calm down ...
And ... well, it seemed to be working. My cloud didn't appear to be a cloud anymore... it was more of a ... haze. In fact ... it looked and felt familiar. Now it had a warm, soft, golden glow about it, almost bronze in color. Warmth radiated from it; it felt familiar and safe, as if it was something that had belonged to me all my life.
But ... did that make any sense....? I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face. I didn't remember any kind of haze inside the training room, or the hallway, or anywhere in the mansion at all ...
...and then realized that Wufei was no longer walking next to me, either on my right or my left side. I blinked very slowly and looked around. The room came into soft focus.
Treize was standing on my left, looking into a mirror, adjusting the bow tie of his tuxedo. Somehow, I was now standing in Treize's room - at least, that's where I thought I was. He was wearing a tuxedo with a cummerbund, a tuxedo shirt he had just finished buttoning, and a bow tie.
...what?...
"Treize?" I felt incredulous, surprised, angry - and wary.
"Yes, Sally - can I help you?" He glanced at himself one last time in the mirror and straightened his tie, then turned to me, smiling.
His mirror, my mind supplied helpfully.
Yeah. Thanks so very much. Now I knew exactly where I was.
"I - I have a question." Personally, I didn't care where I was, as long as I was able to have my question answered. "Must you do that to Wufei every time you fight with him?"
"Hm? Do what, Sally?"
I was fighting with myself to keep my voice low and even, matching his in tone. Damn if I'd show any kind of nervousness, even if I had no clue where I was, or why, or when, or ... well. I was going to fight for Wufei, no matter what. It just wasn't right - it just wasn't. "Do you know that he can hardly find his way across the room, let alone find his way to his OWN room, after you've finished with him?"
"Really?" Treize's easy smile had not changed at all. "Isn't that strange..."
Now I was piqued. "Yes. I find that very strange. Especially when it is obvious that someone needs to actually assist him to do things such as find his own way out of the training room after you've ... well ... after you're done with him." My voice gained strength and I stared at him, not quite belligerent, but certainly not backing down, either. "So - I am asking you again - is it necessary for you to leave him in that state every time you fight him?"
Treize looked at me, smiling gently. "Yes."
I stared back at him, completely astonished, not believing what I just heard. "...what?"
He reached down and pulled a pressed jacked from a chair that just ... appeared ... next to him, shrugged into it, then turned back to the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair one more time, now apparently satisfied with the effect.
I, on the other hand, was on the verge of exploding. "But ... but WHY?" I couldn't help it - I was sputtering, staring at him.
"Because he is pure." Treize smiled and walked over to me, tilting his head to the side and putting his hand on my cheek and sliding it to the back of my neck, then down to my shoulder, transferring tingling warmth to the rest of my body through my arms. "But not in the way you are pure. Saa ... such a LIMITED language. Perhaps I should say 'true' instead of 'pure' for him, ne?"
"I ....I... " I tried again, blinking up at him. Warmth was surging around me, throbbing, making me feel comfortable and safe. Gods. Somewhere - at some other time - I felt this before. My mind groped to make the connection, trying to pull bits and pieces together. "I - I'm not sure I'm following."
"Very well," Treize said. "You are pure in the more traditional sense - like a saint. He is pure - but only in that whatever he IS, he is to the fullest degree. This period of his life - where he came to fight for a cause in which he did not believe - is the only time he has been untrue to himself. Whatever he is, Sally, he is purely that - completely and wholeheartedly, with all his mind, body, soul and strength. And once he decides that I am no longer his enemy, he will behave that way. Completely.
"Now," he said, not permitting me to drop my gaze. "Do I really need to continue?"
"... nooooo ..." Confused, I realized that any anger I had against him had been effectively deflated. Not only that - my defiance against him had been siphoned away, too. I was left just looking into his face, drained.
Treize smiled and looked very amused at something or another. "A marvelous accomplishment, don't you think ... to be able to override a man's natural tendencies?" He smiled gently at me, reached over and caressed my cheek. "That is what I am doing," he said, his tone casual and kind. "Not, of course, that you will remember any of this the moment I decide you should wake up. So wonderful, the human brain ... it simply relates things and categorizes them appropriately, and discards that for which it has no framework."
"But ... Wufei ..." I started, not looking at him. I knew there was something I needed to tell him, something that was dreadfully important about Wufei. ... there was something ...
"Sally?" Treize asked gently. "Are you all right?"
I looked up at him, anguished. He looked quite dashing and elegant in his tuxedo - but there was something about his dress that jarred my memory, and I finally recalled what it was that I needed to tell him. "Wufei - Wufei is in a terrible state after he fights with you," I said earnestly, feeling slightly sick to my stomach. "He ... ah ... he needs help finding his way back to his room each and every time -"
"Sally," Treize said, his voice gentle again, "You have not been here for long. He is capable of finding his way back to his room on his own. He has done it before. He will adjust, Sally - don't trouble yourself over it too strongly. If he did not adjust, then he would not be nearly as strong as I'd assumed him to be. He is much stronger than that."
His eyes were blue, a clearer blue than any I had ever seen before. They looked so compassionate, so true ... and I felt as if he understood all my concerns and fears about Wufei. "All ... all right, Treize. I - I'm sorry - I'm sorry I troubled you - "
Waving his hand negligently, Treize smiled as if I had just said something amusing. "Sally, please. You are NO trouble at all. You are never any trouble - please don't apologize for that! It's a perfectly valid concern. I don't believe, though, that Wufei is ill - he's simply tired, that's all. He stresses himself out SO much, the poor thing."
"He - he does work very hard ..."
"He does." Treize gave me a long, narrow look, considering something rather carefully. "It is wonderful to see such caring. Wufei needs it. He feels horribly alone - more so than he actually is." Treize cupped the side of my face again, slowly caressing my cheek with his thumb. I felt him slide long fingers around the base of my neck, and a throbbing, tingling warmth spread between his fingers to my scalp and then to my head and face.
"Someday, he'll understand he doesn't have to kill me. We are on the same side, though he does not know it. He fulfilled his purpose ... Romefeller is gone ..."
At the same time Treize was speaking, that other voice - the one I couldn't ignore, but the one that wasn't mine - was speaking inside my head. This was becoming a more frequent occurrence, and a bit more disturbing:
~~...pure. Purely whatever he is - so once he is finally mine, he stays that way ... doesn't he ...~~
That throbbing, warm, safe feeling increased to the point where I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and ... well ... fall into it, fall asleep, standing up, if I could. I blinked several times, willing myself to stay awake - and found myself looking right into Treize's smiling eyes.
"Saa, Sally. It is wonderful to see such caring. You and I are on the same level on this one, you know. It would be wise if some day we could work together. For Wufei."
"I ... I ... suppose so ... yes ..." Gads, I felt so horribly confused at times, and this was one of them. I peered up at him, extremely uncertain and so tired ... just so tired ...
He smiled, gently pulled my head forward and gave me a very quick, very proper kiss on the cheek, enveloping me with that soft, subtle scent of roses.
"Time for you to wake up, Sally Po," he murmured, smiling. "Off you go, now. You need to get ready."
"All right, Treize, " I said automatically. "I will." And I walked out of the room in a daze, off to do what he wanted me to do.
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I blinked.
I was in my bedroom.
Not only was I in my bedroom ... I was looking in a full length mirror, looking at a woman that I didn't recognize.
That woman with the blue diamond gaze, I realized with a start, was me.
And I was dressed for dinner. In that lovely, beautiful, figure enhancing blue gown Treize gave me, with the spaghetti straps and the flashing, swirling, material that was just so flattering.
The mirror didn't lie - at least, not that I noticed. Try as I might, I could not find fault with this dress. It was fabulous, and it made ME look fabulous. I could not remember when, if ever, I had something that actually showed the curve of my hip or the slimness of my waist without being totally revealing. And the color - a powder blue that hinted at the depth of royal blue behind it. That color was simply ... perfect. It complemented my skin, and my hair, and I found this almost impossible to believe, but matched the color of my eyes.
And ... I was wearing jewelry, too. Lovely teardrop diamond earrings, with a matching choker necklace and a wide diamond bracelet ... and my hair was swept up in an elegant coif, held with diamond pins.
Hesitantly, I pushed one foot out in front of me. Yes, there they were - those lovely, sexy, strappy shoes that Treize bought me so long ago, back in Luxembourg. I was wearing them.
So long ago? Good Lord ... did I mean Tuesday? as in three days ago?
Gads. I stared at my foot, thinking about that. Three days ago. It seemed a world and a lifetime ago.
Well, I certainly couldn't just stand around in my room, staring at myself in the mirror, now, could I? People would be expecting me to join them, because we needed to get moving, and ...
I looked down at myself; at the jeweled bag hanging from my shoulder, the bracelet encircling my right wrist, the beautiful fabric covering my legs and the lovely shoes on my feet - and had a moment of sheer, absolute panic.
Shoving one delicately manicured hand against my mouth, I stifled a scream as I stared at myself in the mirror - because I could not remember getting dressed at ALL. I couldn't remember putting ON my dress, or that bracelet, or the shoes, or the bag - or even taking the dress out of the closet to get ready to get dressed. The last thing I did remember clearly was walking in the corridor with Wufei, holding onto his arm ... and then ... something about a conversation with Treize, somewhere, I thought ... but even that wasn't clear ... and then nothing ... and then I blinked, and I was looking at myself in the mirror.
Discreet knocking interrupted my panic. "Ms. Po? Ms. Po, they're waiting for you."
Gods. Of course they are. I took a deep breath, turned from the mirror and walked out of the room. Later. I'll think about that later. When I'm calm.
Probably several years from now.
Tapestry - Chapter 19
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I opened my eyes to a gray, overcast sky; the sun was up, but the cloud cover hadn't burned away. My body felt incredibly good - warm, with this slight surging feeling that was just SO relaxing. Mmmm ... what time was it ... nine, maybe - ten o'clock? I wasn't sure, and it didn't really matter.
It was strange; I could remember the reasons I felt angry and tight last night, but those reasons didn't seem as terribly important or solid right now. The negative emotions had drained away, leaving a pleasant, almost lethargic feeling in their wake.
I closed my eyes and snuggled back into bed, pushing my face into the pillow, willing myself back to sleep. No one would miss me if I didn't get up right away - after all, it wasn't as if I had to get up at a certain time. No one was knocking on my door to go running, or go sparring, or go swimming ... although it would feel awfully good to go take a walk down by the sea in the cool morning air ...
I sighed, wriggled a little and sat up, stretching and yawning. I looked around and smiled in pleasure, realizing again what a pleasant room it was - it was light, and airy, and gave me such a lovely feeling of freedom. Swinging my feet over the side of the bed, I hopped down, whistling, jumped into waiting slippers, then shuffled over to my dresser and dipped into my drawers. I pulled out blue shorts, a dark blue tee shirt, bra and underwear. I saw the bathroom off to the right and padded over. It was exactly the same as Wufei's, right down to the cotton balls in the cupboard; the only difference, I mused as I turned on the hot water for my shower, was the color of the tile. My bath had an obvious feminine touch, as did my entire room, whereas his was designed with a male in mind.
As I toweled off and pulled on my clothes, my gaze idly fell on the partially open closet door that revealed that absolutely stunning blue gown and those sexy, strappy high heeled shoes Treize gave me. Oh, right - today was Friday, and we were going to the opera later tonight. I smiled; I was looking forward to it. We were going to Naples of all places, to see an opera at the San Carlo, the oldest working theater in Europe! It was silly, and a weakness, but it was something I had always wanted to do and never dreamed I'd be able to do in my lifetime.
Who I was, where I was and why I was there didn't even enter my mind. I might as well have been vacationing with a favorite uncle as far as my pysche was concerned; the cold hard facts of my captivity didn't start pushing themselves through that fog that surrounded my brain until my gaze fell on the cellphone hidden by the handtowel next to the alabaster sink.
Frowning a little, I picked up the phone and put it away in its usual place. Just looking at the phone and handling it made me think of Duo, and thinking of Duo today and the opera at the same time gave rise to another weird little vignette in my head. There was Duo, scowling at me, wearing a maid's uniform and standing in the women's bathroom of the San Carlo.
I blinked. Whoa. Bizarre. Simply bizarre. That was the second time an image of Duo wearing a maid's uniform had popped into my head; the same image had come to me yesterday, as well. Gads, I needed to get out and get some exercise, and soon, or else I was sure my mind was going to snap.
__________________________________________________________________
Softly closing the door to my room, I stood in the corridor and glanced around. It wasn't that early, especially not for a military base - but surprisingly enough, there weren't very many people roaming the corridors.
Oh, wait. That's not true. Une was walking down the corridor, right toward me. In fact, she walked right up and stood directly in front of me, her usual severe expression pinched and tight.
"Yes, Lady Une?" I asked, curious, suspecting absolutely nothing.
For an answer, Une drew her arm back as far as she could and slapped me across the face. She hit me so hard that I fell back against the door, my knees collapsing in surprise, the back of my head smacking painfully hard against the solid wooden frame several times in a row.
"Why?" I gasped when I could catch my breath, tears standing in my eyes, glaring at her. "Why did you do that? I did nothing to you!"
"Disrespect to Treize-sama!" Her nostrils flared slightly, and I caught the scent of her perfume as she leaned toward me. She started to say something else, then apparently changed her mind, closed her mouth, spun around and marched back into her room, slamming the door so hard that the walls trembled.
My cheek burned. I was left staring after her with my hand up to my face and my mouth partially open. That woman's a dangerous psychotic, I thought angrily. She should be locked up somewhere, not just wandering around free.
And disrespect to Treize? What on earth was she talking about?
I shook my head, trying to clear it as I pushed away from the wall and continued walking down the hallway. Une had come from this direction; therefore, other people must be down here. Also, I heard familiar noises coming from this direction; a rhythmic thumping followed by a soft shushing sound. There was something about the pattern of the noises ... something about their predictability... I followed the sounds, my curiosity getting the better of me, and I trotted down the hallway just a little bit faster.
_______________________________________________________________
Oh, of course. That's where the noise was coming from - I should have known. Cold apprehension tightened in my chest as I approached the training room.
Grunts and guttural shouts floated into the hallway. I stopped at the entrance and leaned the doorway with one elbow, watching the match in progress. Something important had happened - I knew it, and I had missed it. Wufei looked extremely upset and disconcerted, or confused, or ... something. I wasn't quite sure what, though. It was definitely something other than just simple upset, however, because he wasn't fighting with as much focus and intensity as usual, and certainly not with the ferocity he showed yesterday.
Treize, on the other hand, more than made up for Wufei's lack of gusto. That man was so completely unmoved and in control, his eyes so calm and commanding, that it was frightening. I had to physically turn my head and drag my gaze back to Wufei, to make sure he was all right after their last clash. He seemed uninjured, which was good; he just staggered a little.
That's the way things stayed for a while; they parried, they circled each other, they looked for opportunities to attack -
And then it happened.
In a rush, Treize exploded against Wufei. His muscles bunched and snapped, rippling down his back while he threw his weight against the boy and rocked into him, shoving his forearm across Wufei's throat and smacking the boy's head against the wall. Treize let him dangle in his grip for an endless moment, helpless, as he brought his mouth centimeters away from Wufei's upper lip.
"Again," Treize commanded, his voice low, staring directly into Wufei's eyes. He dropped his arm and stepped back, his eyes glittering dangerously, his guard up. Wufei snarled and leaped at him, wasting no time in pressing another attack.
Another attack?
What was this? Treize ... was teaching Wufei to attack? And when he did not get it right ... Treize pinned him, and forced him to do it again? What kind of 'duel to the death' was this? It made no sense at all.
I absently rubbed my abused head in sympathy for Wufei and kept watching, squinting a little, not understanding what I was seeing - because in my opinion, this was simply too weird for words. The tension in the room was soaring. They were fighting hand to hand, and had opted not to use any weapons at all. What on earth was Treize doing?
Apparently, it didn't make any sense to Wufei, either - and he was quickly losing what little self-control he had. He was shirtless, in loose, baggy trousers, good for mobility. His quickness and agility were serving him well - I could see that Treize was pressing him to respond faster and faster - but now he was only responding. He wasn't planning his own attacks, nor was he counterattacking.
However, Treize was planning. The general was similarly dressed - shirtless, and in baggy, shapeless trousers - and was making Wufei work harder and harder, pushing him into a frenzy, forcing him to block and defend, faster and faster, until finally their limbs were a blur and then again, Wufei was pinned under Treize at the far end of the room.
But when Treize pinned Wufei this time, something tangible passed between them - something that even I could feel, standing meters away on the other side of the room. Treize pressed against Wufei exactly as as he did the last time, with his arm across Wufei's throat and his lips barely brushing Wufei's cheek. This time, though, Treize's expression changed as he leaned down and looked into Wufei's eyes. From my angle their faces were frozen in stark relief, sculptures capturing an instant in time, staring at each other. And when that finally changed, the entire atmosphere of the room shifted.
A wave of the most raw, concentrated and heated sexual power I had ever experienced in my entire life hit me full force without warning; it saturated practically every pore and fiber in my body, swept through my mind like a firestorm and left me totally vulnerable. My nerveless fingers frantically scrabbled for a hold, any hold on the doorway. I didn't care, I just needed something to hold because now my knees were buckling and I was sagging against the doorframe and slipping down, down toward the floor unless I could hold onto something on the frame itself ....
At the same time, Treize's expression become predatory, sensually possessive; his lips parted his eyes gleamed with unconcealed desire as that wave of power and lust throbbed across the room. Fortunately my hold on the doorway was strong; if it wasn't, I would have been on my knees for sure. As it was I was hardly standing upright; whatever he did resonated along my nerves, causing me to almost cry out, an involuntary response - but I didn't. I retained enough of myself to keep watching, keep looking - and was shocked at what I saw. This, apparently, was the reaction the general had waited to see.
Wufei, for the barest fraction of seconds, DID react. His brain had already shut down voluntary responses to stimuli long ago in order to keep up with the demanding pace of the fight, abandoning higher order thinking in favor of pure instinct. When he looked at the general, his expression was something so completely exotic and striking that it took me a few moments to realize what it was. Desire - unmitigated, pure, wild - burned in his eyes and changed his features. He looked alien, feral ... beautiful.
A shudder ran across Wufei's shoulders and down his back. Treize narrowed his eyes, gave a very small, satisfied smile and abruptly withdrew his arm.
The boy dropped heavily to the ground. To his credit, Wufei caught himself, stumbled, and ended up bent over a little, arms out, slightly off balance, looking dizzy. " ... wha ..."
"That's enough for today, Wufei. We have the opera later, after all, and I would like to leave within the hour."
"Un." Wufei held his head in one hand for a moment, still stunned and dizzy.
I shook myself and staggered away from the doorway a few steps, blinking furiously. No. I could hardly bring myself to acknowledge what had just happened to Wufei, let alone believe my mind had just been blasted with ... well ... with something I wasn't even ready to name. Panting, I made my way unsteadily across the training room floor toward Wufei, my body still buzzing and twitching. I had this unreasonable, strange feeling that I needed to be with him, to make sure that he was all right.
"Sally! Wonderful - I was just about to check to see if you were up. We will be leaving soon - and I was hoping that you would be ready to leave, as well." Treize looked at me expectantly, not giving the least indication of surprise or shock in seeing me in the training room. Had I been thinking, just that simple fact would have said volumes.
But I wasn't thinking, at least not at the moment. In fact, I was having a terrible time just trying to link several coherent thoughts together.
"Leaving?" I repeated, feeling rather stupid, not knowing what Treize was talking about. I glanced at him, my eyes growing larger by the moment; ye gods, not only was he talking to me, he was actually expecting me to respond ...
~~Yes, Sally. Think ... take your time ...~~
"Oh, I ... yes, I - I'm sure I can be ready."
Gods. Dazed; lightheaded; my mouth is as dry as dust; and now, just to prove how out of it I really am, that voice - not my snarky inner voice, but that other snarky voice I can't ignore spoke to me. Again. In my head.
Wonderful. I can't even get the first one to shut up, and now another one decides to start.
"When will we be leaving?"
"I would like to leave as soon as possible, really. Will forty-five minutes do? Or, perhaps, an hour?" He pulled his shirt across his shoulders and buttoned it, and was presently tucking it into his pants, chatting as if he hadn't a care in the world. His tone was light, contented, in control and cheerful, wonderfully benevolent, a father giving treats to his children.
He tilted his head and regarded me, one eyebrow raised in speculation. His gaze swept me from head to foot. "You must forgive me, Sally - I didn't know what to do for you in regards to makeup. Your dress and jewelry were one thing, but cosmetics ... well ... "
I felt my face get warm. "I .. ah .. don't usually need much ..."
A slightly flirty, teasing expression twinkled in his eyes as he gazed at me. "Saa, I could have told you THAT."
And now I felt my cheeks flush completely, that warm, tingly sensation traveling all the way across my face to the roots of my hair. I looked away from Treize and over at Wufei, my embarrassment complete. To my surprise, Wufei still seemed to be ignoring everything around him, looking as though he was still in some kind of daze. He shivered, and another small tremor passed across his shoulders and down his back.
"The opera is tonight, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Treize said. "But we have much traveling to do, and dinner beforehand, so we do need to start as soon as we can."
"Then ... then I'll just make sure that we take everything we need with us when we leave ..."
Wufei shuddered hard, once, hunched his shoulders, then looked up at Treize with an expression of utter confusion. I blinked, looking from Wufei to Treize and back again. What on earth was going on? Didn't Treize see how Wufei was affected? Wasn't he going to do something?
"Excellent!" Treize smiled at me, nodded, and walked past me to the exit, not even acknowledging Wufei. "One hour, then, Sally. That will be fine. Make sure you call down to the kitchen and ask them to send some tea and bagels to your room for both you and Wufei."
_________________________________________________________________
I watched Treize breeze out of the training room as if nothing at all was amiss. At this point, Wufei held both arms and was slowly rubbing them as though he was cold.
I think I stared after Treize for a few moments, not really believing he had just left Wufei with me. Then I shook my head and turned back to him, peering into his face, trying to find a spark of the young man I knew was there.
I touched his shoulder gently. "Wufei? Wufei ... let's go back to your room. I'll get your things ready for you. We need to be ready to leave in an hour."
He started badly at my touch, shrinking together. The look he gave me was more than pathetic and less than wretched - it was miserable and confused, the look of someone who was caught in something way beyond his current understanding.
"I .. I'm ... not ... I know I'm not ..."
"You're not what, Wufei?"
He was shivering a little now, shivering unevenly across his body. "I'm .. I'm not ... I don't THINK of men like that. I don't understand ..."
The analyzing, cataloging part of my brain that never ceased to function no matter what carefully noted that Wufei's calm exterior was, in all probability, just a facade. He was probably suffering from delayed shock. In fact, I was surprised he wasn't more upset than he appeared. Odd ... because I knew he wasn't ...
And suddenly I was incredibly angry at Treize, angry at him for abandoning Wufei in the middle of the training room floor when the poor boy could barely put a sentence together. Angry because - because, though no fault of his own, now the boy can't even find his own way to his room; and if I was honest with myself, angry because this older man was trying to obviously seduce this younger, innocent boy, and the boy was very obviously NOT gay and WAS NOT INTERESTED.
That reaction of desire? Easy enough for my brain to handle; I couldn't stand Treize, and even I wanted him at that very moment. There was something else going on that was way over both our heads, and I wasn't going to hold Wufie responsible for it.
Anger clouded my vision, to the point where I couldn't see several feet in front of myself. In fact, the only thing I could see was this fine, red haze that settled over everything like a fine powder.
"Wufei? Wufei, listen to me, just for a few moments. I'm going to take you back to your room, all right? Listen, Wufei, I don't really understand what's going on here, either, but that doesn't make any difference right now. At this point, we both have to get changed - are you listening, Wufei? We need to take a shower, and we need to change into our clothes for the opera, and we need to eat a little something before we leave. We have about an hour to do all of this."
Wufei started shuffling across the floor toward the doors, . "He ... said ... we're having dinner." His voice was clear, but dazed, as if he was drugged.
I could feel my hands trembling, I was so angry. The boy had all the classic symptoms of shock, and that boorish clod left him there, right in the middle of the training room floor? What on earth was he thinking?
"Yes, but ... we won't be eating dinner for at least seven hours, Wufei. We have to eat something now."
"There's food on the ship."
I wanted to scream. Really, there was no escaping his logic. "Probably, but I'd feel better if we could order something from the kitchens HERE before we left. Besides, you need to take a shower and change. I don't think the clothes you need to change into are on the ship, are they?" I tried to give him my most encouraging smile.
"No..."
"Well, then ... we should definitely choose something for you to wear, get changed here, and have a little tea while you change."
"Treize already picked it."
I blinked slowly. "Of course he did," I nodded, narrowing my eyes and adding that little fact to my list of Treize-facts. "Let's get to your room, Wufei."
Treize already chose what Wufei was wearing today. Of course he did; and it was choice bits of information like that, or his stranding Wufei in the middle of the training room floor after doing God-knew-what to him, that really set me off. I tightened my arm around his and continued to walk with him, letting my mind wander, that angry red cloud still surrounding me. It wasn't healthy, though, and I knew I should try to calm down ... breathe through ... calm down ...
And ... well, it seemed to be working. My cloud didn't appear to be a cloud anymore... it was more of a ... haze. In fact ... it looked and felt familiar. Now it had a warm, soft, golden glow about it, almost bronze in color. Warmth radiated from it; it felt familiar and safe, as if it was something that had belonged to me all my life.
But ... did that make any sense....? I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face. I didn't remember any kind of haze inside the training room, or the hallway, or anywhere in the mansion at all ...
...and then realized that Wufei was no longer walking next to me, either on my right or my left side. I blinked very slowly and looked around. The room came into soft focus.
Treize was standing on my left, looking into a mirror, adjusting the bow tie of his tuxedo. Somehow, I was now standing in Treize's room - at least, that's where I thought I was. He was wearing a tuxedo with a cummerbund, a tuxedo shirt he had just finished buttoning, and a bow tie.
...what?...
"Treize?" I felt incredulous, surprised, angry - and wary.
"Yes, Sally - can I help you?" He glanced at himself one last time in the mirror and straightened his tie, then turned to me, smiling.
His mirror, my mind supplied helpfully.
Yeah. Thanks so very much. Now I knew exactly where I was.
"I - I have a question." Personally, I didn't care where I was, as long as I was able to have my question answered. "Must you do that to Wufei every time you fight with him?"
"Hm? Do what, Sally?"
I was fighting with myself to keep my voice low and even, matching his in tone. Damn if I'd show any kind of nervousness, even if I had no clue where I was, or why, or when, or ... well. I was going to fight for Wufei, no matter what. It just wasn't right - it just wasn't. "Do you know that he can hardly find his way across the room, let alone find his way to his OWN room, after you've finished with him?"
"Really?" Treize's easy smile had not changed at all. "Isn't that strange..."
Now I was piqued. "Yes. I find that very strange. Especially when it is obvious that someone needs to actually assist him to do things such as find his own way out of the training room after you've ... well ... after you're done with him." My voice gained strength and I stared at him, not quite belligerent, but certainly not backing down, either. "So - I am asking you again - is it necessary for you to leave him in that state every time you fight him?"
Treize looked at me, smiling gently. "Yes."
I stared back at him, completely astonished, not believing what I just heard. "...what?"
He reached down and pulled a pressed jacked from a chair that just ... appeared ... next to him, shrugged into it, then turned back to the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair one more time, now apparently satisfied with the effect.
I, on the other hand, was on the verge of exploding. "But ... but WHY?" I couldn't help it - I was sputtering, staring at him.
"Because he is pure." Treize smiled and walked over to me, tilting his head to the side and putting his hand on my cheek and sliding it to the back of my neck, then down to my shoulder, transferring tingling warmth to the rest of my body through my arms. "But not in the way you are pure. Saa ... such a LIMITED language. Perhaps I should say 'true' instead of 'pure' for him, ne?"
"I ....I... " I tried again, blinking up at him. Warmth was surging around me, throbbing, making me feel comfortable and safe. Gods. Somewhere - at some other time - I felt this before. My mind groped to make the connection, trying to pull bits and pieces together. "I - I'm not sure I'm following."
"Very well," Treize said. "You are pure in the more traditional sense - like a saint. He is pure - but only in that whatever he IS, he is to the fullest degree. This period of his life - where he came to fight for a cause in which he did not believe - is the only time he has been untrue to himself. Whatever he is, Sally, he is purely that - completely and wholeheartedly, with all his mind, body, soul and strength. And once he decides that I am no longer his enemy, he will behave that way. Completely.
"Now," he said, not permitting me to drop my gaze. "Do I really need to continue?"
"... nooooo ..." Confused, I realized that any anger I had against him had been effectively deflated. Not only that - my defiance against him had been siphoned away, too. I was left just looking into his face, drained.
Treize smiled and looked very amused at something or another. "A marvelous accomplishment, don't you think ... to be able to override a man's natural tendencies?" He smiled gently at me, reached over and caressed my cheek. "That is what I am doing," he said, his tone casual and kind. "Not, of course, that you will remember any of this the moment I decide you should wake up. So wonderful, the human brain ... it simply relates things and categorizes them appropriately, and discards that for which it has no framework."
"But ... Wufei ..." I started, not looking at him. I knew there was something I needed to tell him, something that was dreadfully important about Wufei. ... there was something ...
"Sally?" Treize asked gently. "Are you all right?"
I looked up at him, anguished. He looked quite dashing and elegant in his tuxedo - but there was something about his dress that jarred my memory, and I finally recalled what it was that I needed to tell him. "Wufei - Wufei is in a terrible state after he fights with you," I said earnestly, feeling slightly sick to my stomach. "He ... ah ... he needs help finding his way back to his room each and every time -"
"Sally," Treize said, his voice gentle again, "You have not been here for long. He is capable of finding his way back to his room on his own. He has done it before. He will adjust, Sally - don't trouble yourself over it too strongly. If he did not adjust, then he would not be nearly as strong as I'd assumed him to be. He is much stronger than that."
His eyes were blue, a clearer blue than any I had ever seen before. They looked so compassionate, so true ... and I felt as if he understood all my concerns and fears about Wufei. "All ... all right, Treize. I - I'm sorry - I'm sorry I troubled you - "
Waving his hand negligently, Treize smiled as if I had just said something amusing. "Sally, please. You are NO trouble at all. You are never any trouble - please don't apologize for that! It's a perfectly valid concern. I don't believe, though, that Wufei is ill - he's simply tired, that's all. He stresses himself out SO much, the poor thing."
"He - he does work very hard ..."
"He does." Treize gave me a long, narrow look, considering something rather carefully. "It is wonderful to see such caring. Wufei needs it. He feels horribly alone - more so than he actually is." Treize cupped the side of my face again, slowly caressing my cheek with his thumb. I felt him slide long fingers around the base of my neck, and a throbbing, tingling warmth spread between his fingers to my scalp and then to my head and face.
"Someday, he'll understand he doesn't have to kill me. We are on the same side, though he does not know it. He fulfilled his purpose ... Romefeller is gone ..."
At the same time Treize was speaking, that other voice - the one I couldn't ignore, but the one that wasn't mine - was speaking inside my head. This was becoming a more frequent occurrence, and a bit more disturbing:
~~...pure. Purely whatever he is - so once he is finally mine, he stays that way ... doesn't he ...~~
That throbbing, warm, safe feeling increased to the point where I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and ... well ... fall into it, fall asleep, standing up, if I could. I blinked several times, willing myself to stay awake - and found myself looking right into Treize's smiling eyes.
"Saa, Sally. It is wonderful to see such caring. You and I are on the same level on this one, you know. It would be wise if some day we could work together. For Wufei."
"I ... I ... suppose so ... yes ..." Gads, I felt so horribly confused at times, and this was one of them. I peered up at him, extremely uncertain and so tired ... just so tired ...
He smiled, gently pulled my head forward and gave me a very quick, very proper kiss on the cheek, enveloping me with that soft, subtle scent of roses.
"Time for you to wake up, Sally Po," he murmured, smiling. "Off you go, now. You need to get ready."
"All right, Treize, " I said automatically. "I will." And I walked out of the room in a daze, off to do what he wanted me to do.
__________________________________________________
I blinked.
I was in my bedroom.
Not only was I in my bedroom ... I was looking in a full length mirror, looking at a woman that I didn't recognize.
That woman with the blue diamond gaze, I realized with a start, was me.
And I was dressed for dinner. In that lovely, beautiful, figure enhancing blue gown Treize gave me, with the spaghetti straps and the flashing, swirling, material that was just so flattering.
The mirror didn't lie - at least, not that I noticed. Try as I might, I could not find fault with this dress. It was fabulous, and it made ME look fabulous. I could not remember when, if ever, I had something that actually showed the curve of my hip or the slimness of my waist without being totally revealing. And the color - a powder blue that hinted at the depth of royal blue behind it. That color was simply ... perfect. It complemented my skin, and my hair, and I found this almost impossible to believe, but matched the color of my eyes.
And ... I was wearing jewelry, too. Lovely teardrop diamond earrings, with a matching choker necklace and a wide diamond bracelet ... and my hair was swept up in an elegant coif, held with diamond pins.
Hesitantly, I pushed one foot out in front of me. Yes, there they were - those lovely, sexy, strappy shoes that Treize bought me so long ago, back in Luxembourg. I was wearing them.
So long ago? Good Lord ... did I mean Tuesday? as in three days ago?
Gads. I stared at my foot, thinking about that. Three days ago. It seemed a world and a lifetime ago.
Well, I certainly couldn't just stand around in my room, staring at myself in the mirror, now, could I? People would be expecting me to join them, because we needed to get moving, and ...
I looked down at myself; at the jeweled bag hanging from my shoulder, the bracelet encircling my right wrist, the beautiful fabric covering my legs and the lovely shoes on my feet - and had a moment of sheer, absolute panic.
Shoving one delicately manicured hand against my mouth, I stifled a scream as I stared at myself in the mirror - because I could not remember getting dressed at ALL. I couldn't remember putting ON my dress, or that bracelet, or the shoes, or the bag - or even taking the dress out of the closet to get ready to get dressed. The last thing I did remember clearly was walking in the corridor with Wufei, holding onto his arm ... and then ... something about a conversation with Treize, somewhere, I thought ... but even that wasn't clear ... and then nothing ... and then I blinked, and I was looking at myself in the mirror.
Discreet knocking interrupted my panic. "Ms. Po? Ms. Po, they're waiting for you."
Gods. Of course they are. I took a deep breath, turned from the mirror and walked out of the room. Later. I'll think about that later. When I'm calm.
Probably several years from now.