Duo POV

With the uproar the castle was in you would think there was an entire nation coming to stay, not one scrawny princess and her butler. Man, I have got to find out how she does it! How the heck can one princess manage to cause so much excitement? I could set off bombs without causing this much commotion!

It wasn't really that she was a bad person, or a snob, or stuck up that caused the staff to be on such high alert. Relena was raised as a Princess, she was so used to having things that the rest of us didn't require. Even Quatre, whose family was quite well-to-do, had never been raised as royalty. Treize was pretty much a ruler by default, and we all know that my background doesn't leave much room for complaining.

Also, Relena is and always has had a lot of political sway despite her small county. People tend to listen to her, because she always proposes the moral right. No matter how stupid the idea is, like the time she proposed everyone should destroy all their weapons and never fight again, it is morally right. In her mind, no weapons means no wars, right? Luckily for us, her brother interceded before she suggested that plan to remind her that, even if we agreed to it, bad people would still have weapons. And there would still be wars even if the soldiers had to fight hand to hand.

Relena's still revising that idea. I shudder to think if she ever finishes it. The girl's a good politician, she just doesn't have a lot of common sense and she's extremely sheltered. That's probably what made her a good politician.

Other than the feeling of impending doom caused by Relena's arrival, everything else was going smoothly. Trowa had become a full-time member of the Night Force, and Wufei had become something of a reserve. Wufei was way to busy being Master O's apprentice to be a full time member, but he was always willing to help if we needed him.

I think it helped Trowa's confidence a bit, earning a place in the night force. Like Heero, and me before him, Trowa seemed like he was feeling a bit left out, like he wasn't sure if he really had a place here or not. Which doesn't mean we gave him his spot on the force, he earned it, just saying that, in my opinion, it was good for him to have something to do while Quatre was away. He even joined a knife throwing team, something Quatre nearly put a stop to. Not to say that I wouldn't have a heart attack if someone stuck Heero up on a board and threw daggers at him, since members of the team took turns letting other skilled members throw knives at them. Both Heero, Catherine, the leader of the team, and I had to use a group effort to convince Quatre to let Trowa stay on the team. Eventually Quatre did concede, but he wasn't at all happy about it.

Wufei also seemed to get more confident as time went on. Healing Trowa's face did a lot to assure Wufei that not all magic was bad and he stopped cringing every time he was asked to preform a spell. Despite Wufei reluctance to preform spells, Master O commented on how strong Wufei was, saying he might surpass even Master O's skill when fully trained.

Quatre got along well with Wufei, sharing both he and Trowa's love of books. Heero and Wufei also hit it off, both being quite apt at the martial arts that, while my fighting skills are about as good, I have no sense of the style of martial arts. Heero and Wufei teamed up to try and teach me for a while, but I just couldn't get in to the repetition of it all. After a bit we all decided it was best if I just stick with what I know. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Wufei and I also got along well. Wufei was so easy to get riled up, and I actually think he started to like chasing me down the halls, spewing threats. I was an enigma for Wufei, he was always on the lookout for on of my embarrassing but harmless tricks.

Heero and Trowa hit it off better than Trowa and me for a long time. Trowa's very quiet and it takes a directness that I don't possess to talk with Trowa until he gets to know you. I just couldn't get into a conversation with the guy. Heero's first twelve conversations with him went like this:

"Do you like Haven?"

"...Yes."

"Have you joined the knife throwing team?"

".........Yes."

"Are you any good?"

"....Yes."

"Were you ever on a team like that before?"

"......No."

"Who taught you?"

"...............Trowa Barton."

"You father?"

"...No."

Ugh! It was worse than when Heero was trying to ignore me! Probably the thing that came between me and Trowa the most was that, because he is so shy, I always felt the need to try and talk to him. It... intimidated him. I guess he didn't understand me or something. Maybe I was just coming on too strong. Anyway, it took a gentle reprimand from Heero and a while of just leaving well enough alone to get Trowa to come around. Once he stopped thinking that I was trying to get to be friends with him for some sinister reason he stopped being so defensive around me. It also helped that Heero put in a good word for me and that Quatre wanted all of us to be friends.

All in al, we became an extremely close group of friends in the month or so it took for Relena to arrive.

Unfortunately, this month wasn't all about tightening friendships, it was also about shaking, if not breaking, alliances. Treize, via magical transportation that Master O could now use with the extra energy loaned by Wufei, teleported back to China to have a meeting with the emperor. It... did not go well. The emperor flat out refused to believe that Noventa was trying anything against his allies, nor did he believe that Noventa had plotted against Wufei and his family to gain their castle. He even went as far as to blame Wufei for his own family's death. Without the emperor's approval our forces couldn't make a move against Noventa without it being seen as an offense against Chian, and we really did not want to be at war with China. So we were stuck with beefing up security around the castle and around that part of the countryside.

We were all on the lookout for spies and mercenaries that traveled into our territory. It wasn't too long ago that we had finished our last war, so we were still pretty strong in the army department. Lady Une hadn't let her troops go soft, if anything they were stronger than they had been before. Still, we were worried. We weren't sure what our enemy had up his sleeve and that made us all nervous.

Relena made her appearance on a crisp morning in late winter. We were expecting an early summer, otherwise Relena probably would have had to wait an extra couple of weeks before making the journey. As it was it was still bitter cold outside but there weren't any snowstorms about to interrupt Relena's flight. And, yes, Relena did fly. Though I doubt, if it weren't for the inhumane principles, that she would have gotten a bunch of demons together to fly her here on some kind of platform. At least she wasn't spoiled enough to ride all the way in a coach. She had a little more sense than that.

I never really had a problem with Relena. To tell the truth, we kind of avoided each other. The princess rubbed me the wrong way and I knew that I would somehow manage to offend her with the honest way I talked and my slight accent. She, on the other hand, never really bothered much with me, like I wasn't worth holding a conversation with.

Let me get the record clear. Relena was a snot, that's for sure, she was spoiled and accustomed to being treated like royalty. Her ideals, though childish and improbable, are what made her a good leader, since her goals were always toward the betterment of her people. Which is why Milliardo gave up his place under the crown to her; he had seen too much bloodshed after their parents had died to lead with such noble ideals. It's also why he changed his name to Zechs, though god knows where he came up with that name. Then again, Roger really wouldn't fit... Maybe Toni? Or Max? Maybe Mark? ... Maybe Zechs was a pretty good choice after all.

Anyway, my biggest concern about Relena's arrival was the fact that this was the first time she would be visiting without her brother. Without Zechs around there was really no one she would listen to other than Treize, and she only listened to him partially. That made for a very delicate situation, but it was necessary for Wufei and Treize and Quatre and Trowa to get their links upped. Relena was the only option.

Relena arrived with only her personal assistant, an older man by the name of Paragon, as her usual custom. Quatre, Trowa, Treize, Wufei, Master O, Une, Sally, Heero and I all met her like normal in the main hall. The only difference was the absence of her brother and Noin. Greetings and introductions were exchanged and we all went off to a lunch in the grand hall to welcome Relena.

The only difference came when one of our border scouts came to announce that they had found a trespasser trying to cross China's border. The prisoner was in transit and would arrive in half an hours' time.

Needless to say, lunch was just a bit hurried. Even Relena insisted on seeing the interrogation, saying that if Russia was attacked her country would be in jeopardy too.

I'm sure Relena has never eaten that fast in her life, though it didn't seem all that fast to me. We all trekked to Master O's tower, since O and Sally wold be administering the interrogation, and I caught Relena giving Heero some rather intense looks while we were walking. Not that I could blame her, I mean, Heero's got a body like a greek god, but I had the overwhelming urge to stake my claim on him. I think Relena got the picture when I walked directly between the two, her behind, me in the middle and a bit to the side, and Heero in front, and grabbed a fistful of his ass. I thought Relena would just die right then and there, but Heero only turned and gave me that one raised eyebrow look. I muttered something about, "claiming my territory," and he turned away, shaking his head. The way I saw it, I had just got a two pointer. Showed up princess prissy and copped a feel all in one. Score!

We split up before our little group was half way to Master O's tower. Sally and Une headed to the infirmary. Sally needed to check on the prisoner and make sure we wouldn't kill him during the interrogation. Une needed to question the guards who had caught the prisoner and get al the details she could.

The rest of our group would sit in on the interrogation. Quatre was needed for his empathic skill and where Quatre goes, Trowa goes. Heero and I were there in case something went wrong and they needed some backup. Master O would cast truth spells with Wufei watching and learning. Treize was needed because it was his country. And Relena... well, no one really needed Relena, but no one was about to tell her she couldn't come either.

We all arranged ourselves in Master O's small room. Master O busied himself with setting things up and talking with Wufei. Fei listened intently, I think he was starting to like the whole magic thing, once he finally got it through that head of his that it wasn't sinister or evil.

The prisoner arrived a few minutes later, tied down to a stretcher and wheeled in by two soldiers. It was a girl, which was not expected, though not really surprising. Girls were often at a disadvantage physically to men because their bodies were weaker, but whatever they lacked in strength they made up for in viscousness, cunning, and stubbornness. They made excellent spies and warriors, if you could manage to keep them under control.

The girl on the stretcher contrasted Relena in just about every way. While they both had blonde hair, Relena's was a mellow, golden blonde, while the other girl's was a sharp, yellow blonde. While Relena had soft, blue eyes, the girl had sharper, greener eyes that moved quickly and took in everything, soldier style. Relena's clothes were clean and immaculately pressed, while the other girls top and skirt was ripped, muddied, and bloodied around the elbows and knees. Relena's feature's were delicate and smooth, passive and graceful, like a cat's. The other's were strong and slender, quick and lithe like a panther. Even their eyebrows were contrasting, Relena's were small and delicate while the other's were sharp and bold, kind of weird too...

The girl looked... nervous. Not terrified, like some did, but not apathetic like other's tried to portray. She kept he face proud and stead and I had to give her credit for it. It was a damn good performance. If only her hair had covered that little spot on her neck that was throbbing like mad with her heart, she would have pulled off the whole, "I'm not scared," thing. But it was easy to see from her pulse, she was terrified.

It almost made me want to reassure her. We weren't bad people. We weren't going to torture her. Master O's interrogation process was foolproof and damn near painless, as long as on cooperated. The spell was worded so that, as long as one told the truth and answered the questions asked, there would be no pain. It only hurt if someone tried to resist. That way we didn't hurt someone who had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and we didn't have to deal with false confessions.

The straps holding the girl were placed so that she couldn't move an inch. Her arms and legs were strapped to the rails of the stretcher and her head was intricately tied so that she couldn't move it. About the only thing she could move was her mouth.

Master O was talking to Wufei in low tones about the currents of the body as he pulled out one of his paintbrushes and some special ink. The paintbrushes weren't anything special, though I could swear he had cast a spell on them 'cause they tickled like hell. It was mostly the paint and the symbols painted that cast the spell. The paint was made of some special mineral that easily conducted the flow of magic and the symbols were meant to focus the mind and concentrate the energy on the spell.

The end result was that Master O painted big, funky symbols on the surprised girl's face, wrists, and ankles. I whispered something naughty to Heero about painting him and he smacked me upside the head. How come Master O got to have all the fun? Though Wufei would be taking over soon... maybe there was a way for me to get a hold of the magic paint. Anyone know a super-hot-kinky-love-night spell for someone's somewhat shy lover? Shy around everyone else, a nymphomaniac around me. Not that I minded I minded in the least...

Caught in my own musings, I had completely missed Master O casting the spell, but it really didn't matter. I couldn't understand a damn thing he said anyway.

"Girl," Treize said, stepping forward and taking on his, "I'm the king and you better damn well do as I say," face, "What is your name?"

"I won't tell you a thing!" the girl hissed. She screeched as the pain started to hit her. I must give her credit, after the pain started she held out a lot longer than I thought she would.

"My name is Dorothy," she said finally, her brow covered in sweat. Relena, standing a bit toward the back, looked almost sick and I had a sudden epiphany that Zechs would probably not have let her watch the interrogation. Morbidly, I wondered if she'd faint or puke.

"Why were you crossing the border into China?"

"It's not like it's illegal or anything!" Dorothy spat, evading the question.

"It is not illegal, however it is suspicious that a lone girl would cross the border in the middle of the night. All we need to know is what you were doing, if you are guilty of no treason, you are free to go."

"I've done nothing wrong!" the girl yelled, pulling against her restraints.

"Then tell us what you were doing," Treize said patiently, "I promise that, once you tell us, no harm will come to you. You will be under my protection."

But the girl wouldn't' break. We sat there for nearly ten minutes while she screamed and writhed, suffering by her own stubbornness. On the upside, Relena finally lost her lunch out the window and I won five bucks from Heero because of it. Though she still wouldn't leave the room.

When Dorothy finally gave in, there was a sudden silence. Her screams stopped suddenly and she lay there panting for a moment.

"I'll tell you," she whispered, her voice hoarse, "I-..."

She was suddenly cut off as spasm wracked her body, causing it to try and twist in the restraints.

"What's going on?" Relena shrieked from her corner, "She said she'd tell you, stop hurting her!"

"It's not us!" Master O shouted back, "It must be a different spell interacting with this one! Let me get my book..." he said, turning to his workbench. I moved closer to the stretcher, wondering what the hell I should do. I brushed elbows with Wufei, who had also moved, and felt Heero step up behind me. Quatre and Trowa had gone to try and help Master O and Relena was barely managing to keep herself standing in her corner. Dorothy was oddly silent, making no noise other than her whimpers and small cries, but her eyes were wide with pain.

It was sudden, the appearance of the second symbol. It rose up from underneath the black one Master O had painted. It was blood red in color, slightly glowing as it seemed to paint itself onto her forehead. Dorothy let out another small cry and Wufei took a surprised gasp.

"It's a self-destruct spell!" he yelled, putting his hand on Dorothy's forehead. A red light peaked out from under his and Heero pulled me away from the scene. Wufei started chanting and Dorothy let out a scream that reverberated of the walls and Relena's wail of horror joined it.

Everything seemed to freeze for a minute. Master O half turned and looking at Wufei. Quatre, holding a book in one hand also looking toward the center of the commotion. Trowa had dropped his book and it lay open on the ground as he stepped in front of Quatre to defend him. Treize was starting toward Wufei with a worried look on his face while Wufei, still with his hand on Dorothy's forehead, was in the middle of a chant. Relena was in her corner, a wail coming from her throat though there were, surprisingly, no tears on her face. All I could see of Heero was the arm he had wrapped around my waist as he pulled us both out of the way.

And then there was something like a tangible snap and everything started up again. Dorothy's scream cut off sharply and Wufei fell backwards in exhaustion only to be caught by Treize. Heero finished getting us out of the way just in time for Master O to rush by us.

Treize gently lowered Wufei to the ground as Master O kneeled beside them. After a moment, Wufei blinked his eyes open.

"Are you alright, little dragon?" Treize whispered.

"I'm fine," Wufei replied, then after receiving a scolding look said, "I'm just a bit tired. What about her?"

Master O stood and looked over Dorothy. I was surprised to see that, while all our attentions had been turned to Wufei, Relena had moved to stand by Dorothy.

"I think she's alright," Relena whispered, "just a little shocked." Master O nodded and proceeded to look into her eyes and check her pulse, like Sally would have.

"Master," Wufei called from the floor, "The spell I intercepted, it was some kind of self-destruct spell. I kept it from killing her, but I think her memories might be gone."

"I doubt that," Master O said, a stern look coming over his face, "Dorothy, tell us what you were doing at the border."

The girl, formerly so stoic, looked about to pee herself. You could see her shaking and her eyes, now wide and confused, were quickly filling with tears.

"I-I don't know. I... What border? I-I don't remember anything before... before coming up here on this... this bed. I'm sorry, but I... I don't know," she said, her voice quivering. All at once it was like Dorothy's words had let the air out of Master O, because his shoulders slumped and he deflated.

"I though as much," he sighed, "Well, we'll have to keep her around and see if her memories come back."

"And get her out of these bonds," Relena ordered, her tone tired. I looked to Treize, who nodded, before Heero and I moved forward and untied Dorothy, who at once sat up and drew her legs in, leaning toward Relena. Relena gently put an arm around Dorothy, pulling her into an embrace that Dorothy eagerly accepted.

"Someone will have to watch her, be with her all the time," Master O suddenly declared, "At least until she gets her memories back. We don't know much about her, we'll just have to keep an eye on her."

"Who can we get to do it? All my trusted officers are already overworked and I can't leave her in the hands of a common soldier..." Treize protested.

"Get those nuns to watch her."

"With all the kids around? They can barely keep track of all of them now."

"I'll do it," Relena piped in, "I don't have a whole lot to do while I'm here, I can watch her."

"Relena, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," protested Treize, "She is the enemy, after all."

"Please," Relena scoffed, "She doesn't remember a thing. She's practically helpless. Besides, who else has the time to watch her?"

"Your majesty, if may?" Master O interrupted, "Relena does seem to pose the perfect solution to our problem. If I place a spell on the girl to keep her from being able to attack anyone, I think it should be alright."

"No!" Dorothy burst our in a frightened exclamation, "No more spells, please! I won't hurt anyone!"

"Yes," Relena agreed, "are you absolutely sure this spell is necessary?"

"Absolutely," Treize decided, "I'm still not sure about leaving her with you, but she is absolutely not leaving this room without a spell on her. It's either the spell or she spends her time in the dungeon."

Relena and Dorothy exchanged a look, Dorothy giving Relena a pleading one and Relena looking helplessly at the other girl.

"It's alright," Relena crooned softly, "They aren't going to hurt you..."

"Oh no," Dorothy shot angrily, "I was screaming because they were tickling me."

"Dorothy," Master O interjected quietly, "You really don't have a choice in the matter. Whether you remember or not, you were our enemy and we still must treat you as such until you have proven yourself a friend. Do you understand?"

The glare Dorothy gave him could probably have melted a normal person into a puddle of mud, but it didn't even phase Master O. After a moment, Dorothy nodded in grudging assent. Master O moved forward and placed his hand on Dorothy's head and quickly did the chanting thing. Master O puts what we call a "helpless spell" on prisoners fairly often so that they don't attack their guards, so he didn't even need to bother with the magic paint.

What the spell pretty much did was make it so that the person couldn't attack their guard or any other person. If they thought about it, they fainted and wouldn't remember what they were thinking about when they woke up. It also kept them from going beyond fifty yards away from their guard. It was one of the most helpful spells Master O had come up with.

It didn't even take a full minute for the spell to be cast. Master O pulled away and Dorothy looked at him in surprise.

"It is done," he said, turning to Relena, "You may take her with you where ever you go, but do not leave the castle grounds. And you," he said, turning to Treize, "Take Wufei and put him to bed, that spell he cast has tired him out."

"Master..." Wufei protested, but Treize silenced him by lifting him into his arms.

"Come, let's get you to bed," Treize told him, heading for the door. Wufei looked about ready to explode.

"I'm not a child Treize Kushrenada! Put me the hell down, I can walk, dammit!"

They continued in this strain all the way down the stairs, Wufei screaming like a banshee and Treize paying him no mind. I made a point to rush to the door and yell, "Let him get a little sleep, you pervert!" down the stairs. Treize called back something, but I couldn't make it out over Wufei's ranting.

"Come On, Dorothy," Relena said, "Let's go get you cleaned up. You look like you've had a rough time."

Relena helped Dorothy up and out of the room, letting Dorothy lean on her for support.

"Well," I said as the two girls descended down the stairs, "hasn't today just been full of surprises?"