By : Angelofvenus_l3
CHAPTER SEVEN
"I'm sorry, Miss Alya but we can't possibly halt the whole airline system just because a friend of yours might be in one of those shuttles," the officer in charged claimed. "We can, however make an announcement to locate your friend or get some of our securities to."
"No!" Daniel interrupted stubbornly. "Think of some other way, I don't want this to cause a riot. Things are bad enough already."
Alya hid a weary sigh. They had been searching the princess for hours and their plane had already left awhile ago but there was still no sign of the princess. Despite the fact that Alya was his supervisor, the officer was getting rather tired of putting up with their demands and his tone was getting firmly by the minute, indicating that his patience was thinning as well. His schedule was hectic enough especially recently due to the holidays. The airport was crowded than usual with traveling Venusians and visitors, not to mention the technical difficulties and other various problems that would usually arise at a time like this. He certainly didn't need anymore 'passengers' on his tail.
"Sorry, Anthony, we just had a really rough day," Alya said apologetically.
"So does a lot of people," the officer mumbled under his breath but Alya chose to ignore that and added, "Do you think you can give us a minute?"
"Gladly, Miss Alya," he stated and rose to his feet.
After he left the office, Alya turned to Daniel who looked deep in thought. She wasn't exactly sure how to handle this problem and she doubted Daniel knew how either. It was embarrassing, though for a well-trained general officer to be tricked by a sixteen-year-old girl. Not that it was the first time.
Seeing that Daniel didn't seem like he had anything to say nor provide any suggestion on how to deal with this problem, she let out another sigh and leaned heavily against the chair. Suddenly, Daniel leaned forward for the phone on the table but Alya instantly grabbed the phone before Daniel could reach it.
"What are you doing?" she demanded in shock.
Daniel frowned at her. "What does it look like?" he stated flatly. "I'm calling Andrite."
"No!" Alya cried, giving him a wild look of desperation. And a tinge of fear. "We can't report this yet. You know how Andy feels about this."
"I don't think the princess has ever done this before."
"But if we tell him about this, it's going to leave a bad impression on our behalf."
Daniel rolled his eyes as he leaned back. "For obvious reasons, Alya, I think that should be the least of our worries. I fear for the princess's safety, if she is indeed planning on traveling alone and we can't afford to have her do so."
"Which is why we have to take responsibility for our mistakes. Let's just figure a way to.to.locate Mina and.and then we'll figure something out from there."
"And what are 'we' planning to do to achieve that? As far as we know, her name is clearly unlisted in the computer which tells us she didn't or at least, have not boarded a plane yet. And if she went under different names, we're going to get in some serious trouble on HER behalf."
Alya hesitated. "Well, we have to try something. Maybe Anthony can get some of his subordinates to help out, you know, like identifying the princess or report this matter to the communication center or something."
Daniel was against the idea, seeing as it would get too many people involved but Alya had insisted and she seemed determined to go through it so he reluctantly agreed. Even though reporting this matter to Andrite seemed so appropriate and the reasonable thing to do, he had to figure a way to fix it first. Maybe if they were lucky, they could find the princess and still go for her vacation. Maybe.
"So it's settle then," Alya was saying. "And if we don't hear anything from her in two days, then we'll tell Andy."
"Alright," Daniel agreed. "And in the mean time, I propose we start working on our resume. I heard there's an opening in the royal kitchen."
Quatre flipped through the accounts, not even focusing on what he was reading but just a mere scan of the figures and calculations. Trying to concentrate for the hundredth time that day, he reread the same sentence his assistant had scribbled over and over again but his mind failed to register what his eyes had fed. Giving up, he tossed the book aside and leaned heavily against his backseat of his leather chair.
He stared blankly at his desk, all scattered with various documents, files and papers. It was almost evening and for the first time since he took over the company, he barely got anything done. He was distracted.
A heavy sigh escaped from his lips and he closed his eyes momentarily for relief before sweeping across his desk once more, briefly calculating the amount of his work unfinished and finally rested on the crystal vase at the side, supporting a blooming beauty of a flower. The red rose that was given to him by the nameless maiden. It had been days since then yet the flower did not showed any sign of wilting. Every time when he glanced it, he always imagined the gentle, delicate fingers that had grasped it, the soft fingers that had entwined with his, the warmth of her presence. He missed her company terribly and how he regretted not insisting on her name or any detail of her.
The gentle knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts and he glanced up only to find his personal assistant entering. Quatre hid a groan as the realization of his presence sunk him.
"Mr. Winner, it's time."
Minako was practically giddy as her eyes swept across the crowded airport, searching for the one person she had been longing to see. Her bags, or to be exact, Caroline's bags which were more than what she and her generals had brought, were carried by several of Quatre's men who had waited for her arrival. Apparently Caroline had insisted that her fiancé sent 'someone' to carry her luggage for her and judging from what she had calculated, Quatre seemed to expect that large amount of luggage.
Robert, one of Quatre's personal assistants eyed the young princess as she offered her assistance to one of his men who was struggling to balance three of her luggage. She said something to the man and both of them let out a bubble of mirth, joining in by several more who happened to be listening. She then continued to chat her way with the others, her curiosity apparent as she kept asking about practically everything she saw or heard.
Two weeks ago Quatre had informed him the arrival of his fiancée, which took everyone by surprise yet they expected the young man to be thrilled at the prospect of settling down with someone of equal wealth and standards, even though he seemed a little too young to do so. Then again, if he recalled back Quatre's achievements and talents especially his capabilities as a pilot, the bond of matrimony was actually much easier to handle.
However Quatre didn't seem at all interested in talking about his visiting fiancée or his wedding. He spoke very little of Caroline when he was asked and could barely hide the slight resentment in his tone if he failed to avoid the topic. This led Robert to believe how unsuitable his bride-to-be was, seeing how unusually unhappy Quatre was. And she wasn't even by his side then.
Robert had certainly expected her to be somewhat of a pretty face, which she was, although pretty was an understatement. She was beyond gorgeous, even his men weren't able to take their eyes of her. If there was even a speck of snobbishness or any other flaw in her, they were well concealed because from what he had seen so far made him realized how benighted Quatre was of his luck. The girl was refreshingly wonderful and intelligent, not at all as Quatre expected her to be. Robert however, chose to ignore the amount of luggage she had brought with her, dismissing it as nothing more than a woman's mere obsession with clothes.
"So what time is Quatre suppose to be here?" Minako asked, breaking Robert's rumination.
Robert looked entirely perplexed as he answered her, "He's not able to make it, Miss Calvert. He had to attend an urgent meeting with some representatives from around regarding a business deal this afternoon. But he will join you for dinner instead. I.thought you knew about it."
Minako quickly dismissed it with a shrug, although she failed to recall if Caroline ever did tell her about that. "Oh, then I suppose I was misinformed. Sometimes I forgot that he's a busy man. Oh well, shall we? I do not want to give Quatre a bad impression, especially not on my first visit here."
"First visit? I thought you lived here before you moved." Robert trailed with a frown.
Minako's eyes widen a little and she quickly conjured up a lie while mentally kicking herself for her recklessness, "I mean, a first visit here since then. I've travel a lot so sometimes it's difficult for me to recall back where I've been and when."
Robert half expected her to complain of her fiance's lack of attention or showed any hint of disappointment or anger in her tone or features but she didn't seem bothered by it at all. Instead, she diverted all her attention to her surrounding, taking in the beautiful view that seemed to welcome her as they drove, the curiosity settling in as she began to converse with him about various subject, her eyes still admiring the view.
Robert didn't realize he had been staring at her and when she finally caught his gaze, he blushed a little and turned away.
"Is there something wrong, Mr. Ivan?"
Robert turned back to meet her and licked his lips, hesitating to answer, "Well, forgive me if I'm being rude but it's just that.you don't seem at all like I expect you to be."
Minako's features were impassive but inside she was quite disturbed by that statement. With all the excitement and thrill of traveling 'alone' in a foreign planet without any supervision from her generals, she had momentarily forgotten who she was suppose to be and how she was suppose to act in front of them. The thought of being Caroline baffled her until now and the idea of being someone like such was not easy so she didn't think much about it before this. The weight of her uneasiness was overthrown by the joy of seeing Quatre again. Now that she was reminded of her bitter task, she had to swallow up her pride and covered up her appearances before giving away too much details that would inform them of her treachery.
"What makes you say that, Mr. Ivan?" Minako exclaimed sweetly with a false smile. "Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems that Quatre has been telling you some things about me that.perhaps offends you a little?" When Robert was hesitated to answer, Minako continued, allowing the air of arrogance to settle in between them as she shifted her gaze ahead, appeared seemingly to stare blankly at the road. "Well, I'm not surprise as he always seem to be making awful stories about me since we were kids, even though most of them are lies. Old habits die hard, I guess."
Robert began to feel a little uneasy, immediately sensing the change of atmosphere in the limo. "I don't believe that was his intention, Miss Calvert," Robert interrupted, hastened to defend Quatre.
"Well, what I'm certain is that he surely haven't change," Minako accused coldly, ignoring the small tug her own words had on her. "I've come here to see him and he didn't seem to care or appreciate the fact that his fiancée has to push aside the rest of her busy schedules and come all the way here to see him. I'm disappointed but at least he is nice enough to join me for dinner. That is, if he remembers."
At that point, Robert was baffled. Yet confused. She didn't seem like this awhile ago but then he couldn't ignore the tinge of resentment in her tone. Just like Quatre had. "As you said, Miss Calvert, he's a busy man. You can't expect him to drop his meetings that came all so suddenly just for you alone. He has other obligations, too."
"Of course he can," Minako insisted, glancing at him with mere casualness that belonged to a stubborn child. "I'm his fiancée and if he care enough about me, then he would. Or else, why would he agree to marry me? I doubt he's at home at this very moment. Maybe he'll call you in a few minutes to let you know he's now stuck at a function, entertaining those female companions of his that I've heard so much about."
"You must have mistaken that for a pilot friend of his, Miss Calvert," Robert said patiently. "Because Mr. Winner doesn't have the time to entertain anyone due to his busy schedules, not even his friends. The longest leave of absence he had took was merely three days and that, so far was his first vacation in years."
Minako knew that, too, recalling briefly of their first meeting and she had to suppress a smile. Quatre was too well mannered to indulge himself in any harmless flirtation nor even respond to any seductive gesture. "Well, that explains why he's not here now, doesn't it?"
Minako couldn't believe the skillfulness of her acting. She sounded almost as appalling as she hated herself to be which in a very uneasy way, was good, even if this would one way or another hurt Quatre. She couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt at the charade yet she kept reminding herself why she had agreed to do this in the first place, gripping the fact with enough force for her to believe. Besides, she was always looking forward to befriend the pilots so this was certainly an opportunity, even if it was for only a month.
Robert was speechless. His mind was wracking for a comeback yet he was too shocked to utter a word of defense for his employer. Sighing in defeat, he turned away and pretend to be absorbed with the passing view of skyscrapers and various forms of vehicles, intending to keep the silence and prolong any further argument despite the awkwardness that settled between them.
However, the silence barely lasted more than five minutes for Minako had began a series of earnest inquiries about various subjects. At first, Robert's answers had been curt and nonchalant, hoping to disinterest the blonde girl into silence but Minako appeared oblivious to his discomfort or forced politeness as she continued to include him in her conversation, asking constantly for his opinions and views on matters that doesn't seem to have any strong points. But after awhile of absorbing her amusing perspectives, he could sense Minako's previous bubbly personality resurfacing and instinctively found himself at ease. Before long, he began to listen and converse with her earnestly, trying hard to suppress the urge to laugh at her sarcasm and outrageous jokes.
Unlike most of Quatre's colleagues and rare escorts who would use whatever knowledge they could compile of Quatre's political status, the prerogatives as the head of the Winner Corporation or other influential contacts for personal benefits, Minako rather discussed about the importance of one's privacy, the astonishing fact about her preference in being independent rather than being spoon fed and spoilt (which had been his earlier assumption) and other miscellaneous inquiries that were more suited to a tourist.
After half an hour, they finally arrived at Quatre's palatial mansion. Minako was immediately greeted by Quatre's head butler, Lyon and several other liveried servants who were stationed to gather her luggage. Immediately from their brief yet polite greetings and their constant need to sneak glimpses of her and avoiding eye contact, she could detect the extreme courtesy implemented in the household and was astonished to discover how particular Quatre was about it. She watched in amusement as they mechanically carried her luggage and disappeared into the corner. Their bodies appeared so stiff that it made their movements so comical. She had to suppress the urge to laugh, reminding her that she used to be like such when she was given her first lesson on courtesy and other forms of formal greetings.
Once inside, Lyon gave her a brief tour as they made their way towards her suite. Minako was far from impressed at Quatre's luxurious comforts since she, too possessed an equal wealth and a much bigger home. Her eyes kept drifting towards the floor-to-ceiling windows, which gave her a nice view of Quatre's well-trimmed and blossomed garden. She felt the need for some fresh air and the beautiful view of greeneries was tempting her to explore.
She sneaked a glance towards the butler who was providing her historical facts and details about the previous owners of the mansion. He had walked ahead of her, seemingly absorbed in his own explanation which Minako didn't have the heart to interrupt. So instead, she quietly took off to the opposite direction, eager to take a quick stroll on her own.
"Kat, will you relax?" Duo replied exasperatedly to his friend who was seated across from him in the limo. "You've been fixing your tie for the past half an hour, I'm surprise you haven't suffocate to death. If you wanna strangle yourself with it, I can assist you, you know."
Quatre let out a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry. It's just that.I'm a little nervous.."
"A little?" Duo cried incredulously. "I haven't seen you this nervous at war. Look, I know it's not going to be easy for you once you meet up with her but you gotta be in control of this whole thing and you can't do that if you give her this kind of impression."
"You're right," Quatre relented and straightened himself, drawing a steady breath. "You're absolutely right. I got to be firm about my decision of this marriage. And that is not to have one."
"Great, so how you're going to break that to her?"
"I don't know. That's why I call you here."
Duo looked baffle and his mouth hung open in disbelief. "I have to tell her? Quatre Raberba Winner, I can't believe you would sink your standards this low! No! There's no way I'm going to meddle in this! That's like telling her you will call the next day after you slept with her."
"Duo, that's terrible," Quatre murmured, forgetting momentarily the gravity of the situation. "You've done that before?"
"No," Duo answered with a shrug. "But that's what it feels like."
"I'm not asking you to tell her," Quatre explained slowly. "All I want you to do is get a good look at her and then let me know if you have any idea on how should I approach this subject. Maybe you can judge her better than I can since you're not involved."
"Oh. Then I guess that's okay. Am I to stay for dinner?"
"If you want to."
Half an hour later, they reached the mansion. Quatre's heart was at the verge of exploding in his chest as he entered his own home, forgetting momentarily that his butler, who was normally stationed at the front, was no where in sight. Quatre was actually half expecting Caroline to stand at the doorway, seemingly to wait for his arrival with her arms folded, her foot tapping impatiently on the floor and her features contorted in an angry glare for his lack of courtesy. He knew she was expecting him to pick her up from the airport despite whatever reasons or excuses he could come up with. However, because of his own selfishness, he decided to prolong the encounter until he could come up with a better approach on the worrying matters concerning their marriage.
Yet as seconds passed, he began to have second thoughts about it. Not that he feared her fury or her father's but he was afraid that it would dash all his hopes of ever breaking the contract and knowing Caroline, she was not one to be easily misled by his kindness or pleading into agreeing. Sighing hopelessly at this revelation, he decided it was too late to ponder over it now.
Before he and Duo could go any further, raised voices suddenly echoed in the hallway, seemingly to be in a heated discussion about something. Exchanging glances with Duo, both pilots crossed the hallway in search of those voices and found Lyon and several of his liveried servants talking in the corner, their features etched with concern and angry disappointment. Upon hearing Quatre and Duo's footsteps, the staffs instantly stopped talking and greeted Quatre in a nervous tone. Immediately, the blonde man could sense the unusual tension in the air and the obvious stiffness in his servants' movements.
"Mr. Lyon, what's going on?" Quatre demanded, worried that something dreadful had befallen his household.
Lyon hesitated, briefly contemplating on some lies to conceal his fault but he knew better than to judge Quatre. So he reluctantly explained, "It's.Miss Calvert, Master Winner."
"Caroline?" Quatre echoed in puzzled, his tone more towards curiosity than concern. "What happen to her? Is she alright? Where is she?"
Lyon glanced desperately at the other servants before forcing his gaze back at Quatre. "Well, you see, sir, that's the problem. She's.er, apparently missing."
Both Quatre and Duo gave him a skeptical look. "Missing?" Duo echoed with a smirk. "How's that possible? I thought Quatre's the only one who refuse this marriage."
"Well, I.was giving her a tour around the mansion, as you ordered to but when I turn around after awhile, she was gone." Seeing the baffled look from his employer and guest, Lyon added hastily, "But I've already instructed the staffs to search for her around the mansion and it's been only.two hours and a half."
"Which means we have a good hour left before dinner gets cold," Duo replied, thoughtfully and received a disapproval frown from Quatre at his lack of concern.
"Perhaps she got lost wandering around," Quatre suggested calmly. "There's no reason to alarm the staffs just yet. Dismiss them at once and tell them to return back to their chores. Duo and I will search for her ourselves."
"My oh my, this turn out to be more exciting than I thought," Duo murmured after the servants left. "Looks like you won't have much problem talking her out of marrying you."
"I don't know, Duo," Quatre replied, distracted with his own thoughts. "It's too soon to tell though I can't say I'm surprise. This is very like her."
"What do you mean?"
"She's very used to being.shall we say, wait upon at hands and feet," Quatre explained as they began to walk. "She used to lock herself in her room for days or walk out of the house if any of the servants displease her or her father, Mr. Calvert refuse to follow her will. She could give quite a display of uncontrollable temper, too." He paused as a sigh tore his lips, his features indicating his compunction. "I'm afraid I was the cause for her running away this time."
Duo grimaced. "I find it hard to believe someone as civilize and supposedly at a mature age could behave with such childishness. It's a good thing you're seriously reconsidering this marriage. Anyway, if she does run away, she'll eventually show up in a few days, several weeks at most. So for now all we can do is just wait for her to return. Or at least a phone call."
"I think I'll continue the search for awhile," Quatre answered with a weary smile. "I won't feel at ease if I don't try. She is at least my guest, if not my fiancée. It's my fault for not treating her like one. I'll meet you in my study in a few minutes. Two hours the most."
"Wait, where are you going to look for her?" Duo asked as Quatre trotted ahead of him. "I think your staffs had practically cover the whole area."
"I know, I'm going to see if she's hiding outside. She used to do that every time she came for a visit in hopes that we wouldn't have to meet."
Quatre slowly made his way around the garden, his eyes darting from one corner to another, hoping to catch a glimpse of his fiancée. Until he stepped foot on the perimeters, he forgot how big his garden actually was. It took him quite awhile to recall his way around but instead of wandering aimlessly, he decided to search only the secluded areas where she used to hide as a child, which meant he had to explore a little deeper.
As he walked on the manmade path, he couldn't help admiring the blossoming beauty of his greeneries and flowers. The last time he took a stroll here was years back when he was still a wide-eyed child. Being absorbed into an environment of battles and duels in the following years didn't give him much opportunity to appreciate nature as he used to. Now he could see the vast difference in his garden and analyzed the splendid work his gardeners did on maintaining it. He made a mental note to give them a raise.
His search however was unfruitful for Caroline was still nowhere to be found. Assuming that she had most probably left the mansion, he decided to head back and wait for her to return instead. In the mean time, he needed to come up with a better excuse when she did show up so that he could douse her fury and actually get to the more important matters of breaking the contract.
A soft voice soared gently in the air, carrying with it a melody that was refreshingly unique and serene. Quatre's thoughts were broken at once as he was immediately absorbed in the soaring beauty of the voice, completely mesmerized and astounded by such serenity it provided. Instantly Quatre could tell the music was a masterpiece, he couldn't recall a single musician who had created it nor had he ever heard such a soothing voice.
Instinctively, he listened carefully to the voice and began to follow its lead, hoping to meet the talented singer. He couldn't help wondering who it belonged to yet he could tell there was a slight familiarity in it though he still couldn't be too sure of it. It struck to him the possibility of the voice belonged to Caroline but he dismissed that thought seeing as Caroline disliked singing and she hardly had the voice for it. The sweet melody led him deeper into the garden but he knew he was on the right path for the voice was growing louder and clearer at each passing moment.
Soon, he reached a clearing and behind a row of trimmed bushes, he found a blonde girl hovering above what seemed to him was a large swimming pool. Oddly enough, he did not remember the swimming pool ever being there but that was far at the back of his mind for he was completely taken by her beauty. She had his back to him but it was enough for him to tell she possessed a beauty like no other. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back like golden waterfalls and the gentle sway of her hips as she slowly went on her knees to dip her hand in the water almost made him blush, horrified that he was actually studying her so intensely.
She was still singing, engrossed in her own music as she did not notice the other presence and when she turned slightly to her right, Quatre felt his heart hammered wildly in his chest at the sudden recollection of her delicate features and beautiful voice. It's her! his mind applauded ecstatically at the revelation. The girl in Venus! She's here, in his home!
He had no idea how she could have found his mansion since all of his personal details were strictly confidential and kept secret from the public nor the reason for her visit but he couldn't care about any of those right now. His heart was singing at the sight, just watching her like this and knowing she was well in his quarters filled him with so much joy. He didn't realize he missed her that much until now and he wanted so much to embrace her, assuring him that she was real and not a dream that he used to conjure up to comfort his loneliness.
The song was slowly coming to an end and still, she was oblivious to his presence. Wanting to confront her, he came out from his hiding place and stood a few feet behind her, savoring the beautiful melody and waiting patiently for it to end.