Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

Hidden Secrets

~*~

A couple stood amongst a small crowd of travelers waiting for a train of carriages to arrive in the main square, while a man cautiously scanned the area to see if anyone recognized him in the early dawn.  He thought to himself, "I guess no one suspects that Milliardo Peacecraft is back."  He wore a small cap that concealed his eyes.  He continued to walk through the small group.  "I guess I can finally enjoy a quiet morning's walk."

At the same time, William made sure that no one he knew was around, otherwise the town gossip will ruin his reputation and a possible chance with Relena Peacecraft.  A feminine voice caught him off his guard, "Must I leave now?"  A pair of brown eyes softly looked into William's. "I really had a great time staying here for the night, William.  When will I see you next?"  She stayed close to him.

"Hopefully in a matter of months, father is making me work for his company and it will take a while for me to settle in.  I can probably meet you in Boston, I'll make sure that a message will be sent to you before I go."

"That would be great."  A pause came between the two of them.  In the background, sounds of hoofs beating came closer to them and the townspeople.  "I guess then this is goodbye for now."  William then took her in his arms and gave her a short kiss. 

By that time, two carriages had arrived into the main square.  William escorted Celeste into the second carriage.  He stood in the early light and watched Celeste's carriage disappear in the light fog.  She looked out of the window with her beige colored bonnet and waved at him.  Once she was out of his eyesight, he resumed walking towards the main square.  "Oh excuse me, pardon me."  William had accidentally bumped into a man wearing a brown cap. 

"He looks familiar."  His narrowed somewhat, but before long he disappeared into a dense brush.

As for William, he steadily walked out of the main square that was filled with a variety of shops ranging from a market, barbershop, and clothing stores filled with men's and women's apparel.  He passed by the post office and noticed a couple of white flyers that filled a bulletin board.  One of the flyers caught his attention; it was about a circus troupe coming to town for the weekend.  "This should be interesting…maybe Relena would like to go."

He took out his gold pocket watch and noticed that the dials shown it was close to eight in the morning.  With that, he started to head towards the Peacecraft residence in hopes that Relena would accept his offer.  A couple of the neighbors passed him and greeted him politely.  And in return, he returned them with his greeting and a smile.  But, there was something else that hid beneath his façade that no one could possibly pick up unless for one particular eyewitness.   

He continued to walk along a cobblestone street that eventually trailed off into a more broaden gravel path that would lead to the southeast end of Winfield.  He followed the path a few more minutes before he came across the Corinthian columns that stood in the broad daylight.  Eventually, he came across the front door and gingerly knocked on the door before a familiar face answered it.

"Hello William, I'll get Relena for you.  Please come inside."  She ushered him into main living room.  "Just wait right here.  Would like a cup of tea?"

"That won't be necessary, madam."  He watched her leave into the foyer and saw her walk up stairs.

"Relena."  She knocked on her daughter's bedroom door.

"What is it mother?"

"William is waiting for you down in the main living room."

"I'll be down there in five minutes."

Katrina immediately went back down stairs and informed William that Relena will be right with him in a couple of minutes.  With that, she walked to the dining room and stood against a wall.  She eventually heard Relena coming down the stairs and heard her greet William.  She pretended to be preoccupied with something, but her anxiety got the best of her.  She ended up eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I was just wondering if you would care to go out on a date with me this weekend.  It's nothing too fancy, but I think it'll be lots of fun."

"What did you have in mind then?"

"Well, the town is having a circus troupe this weekend and I was thinking that we could go sometime around dusk on Saturday.  I heard there will be a fireworks display after the show." 

In the other room, Katrina had her left ear pressed against the door that lead into the main living room.  She thought to herself, "I wonder what's taking Relena so long in making a decision.  Of course, she should go.  Come on Relena out with your answer. "  She then heard a voice start off in the other room.

"I would love to go with you."

"It's settled then, I'll see you around seven on Saturday."

Relena then escorted William out of the living room and to front door.  "I'll look forward to seeing you then."  With that, she watched him walk down the dirt path and closed the door after him.  She looked around where she was standing and noticed something wasn't quite right, "Alright mother, I know you're hiding behind the dining room door.  You might as well come out right now."

There wasn't a response from the dining room, "I wonder where she could be."  She decided to investigate the room herself and to her surprise, her mother wasn't in sight anywhere, not even underneath the mahogany table.  "I could have sworn that I heard here in this room.  Hmm…"

Outside, Katrina was walking to Martha's home.  She eventually made it and stood in front of the vast mansion.  It was more or less a copy of the Peacecraft's mansion except that there were more windows.  She smoothed down her navy blue dress and knocked only once.  In minutes, Martha appeared at the door.  "Hi Martha, I have some news for you."

"Well come in."  

~*~

"Good morning, Duo."

"Good morning, Hilde.  What brings you to this part of the neighborhood?"

"I was out for my morning walk into the main square and I came across some upcoming events.  A circus troupe is coming this weekend."  She looked towards Duo to see if he was still following with her train of thought.  She then thought to herself, "Maybe I should have been more abrupt to my point."

Duo's eyes became enlightened, "Are you implying that I should ask you out for a date?"

Her eyes widened a little.  "Well, maybe?"

"Well alright then."

"I knew I could count on you."  She walked up to him and gave him a hug.  She looked over his shoulders and noticed that they had an audience.  "Um…Duo…is that your friend looking at us right now?"

"Where are my manners?  Hilde I would like to introduce you to Heero Yuy."  He gestured his friend to come out of the shadows of the front porch, where Hilde could see him more clearly.  "This is Hilde."

"How do you do?"  She curtsied.  "I believe that Duo here, did mention you once at a ball three weeks ago."

Heero responded, "The pleasure is mine.  If you would please excuse me." 

"Certainly."  She watched him walk back into the house.

"You know where you could find me," he yelled back to Duo.  Right then, the front screen door gently closed behind him.

"I hope it's not the wine cellar!"

"Duo, do you think we should also invite him to see the circus troupe.  I mean he seems to be awfully solitary to himself.  I think maybe letting him get out once in a while will do him some good.  Don't you think?"

"Well…"  In truth, Duo wanted to be alone with Hilde for the date.  But with Heero's problems, he couldn't resist in trying to help out his friend.  In his mind, his id, superego, and ego were all raging a warfare between who would win out in this situation.  "So much for reading Sigmund Freud.  I guess your right Hilde."  He lightly kissed her on the forehead.  "I'll come by around five on Saturday, considering the fact that the three of us will have to walk to the circus grounds."

"Great then, I better be heading back home, since I have too many chores still to complete."

He watched her leave and before long, she disappeared behind a small hill that blocked his view.  "Alright then, how am I going to get Heero out of the house on a Saturday night?"  He lightly tapped his foot in hopes of jumpstarting his mind.  "I might as well drag him out of the house, if I can't think of anything."  He started to head back to his house and when he reached the front door, he was met with a cold stare.  "Hey there…" sweat drops started to dot his forehead.  He was trying to conceal his guilty look.

"I heard everything."

"And?"

"I'm not going."

"What!  Hilde made me promise that you have to come.  She thinks that you'd be too lonely on a Saturday night.  Come on…I think the fresh air would do you some good and besides who would refuse in watching a circus troupe perform."

"I would."

"You're hopeless you know that."  Duo threw his hands in the air.  "Suit yourself."

~*~

Two days later, the whole community of Winfield was gathering in anticipation of their newest visitors.  On the previous night, a couple of bystanders witnessed the wagons pulling into a grassy field not too far off from the main square.  The coverings were decorated with pictures of clowns, jugglers, and flame-throwers.  In a matter of hours within the darkness, the circus troupe had pitched a large yellow clothed tent in the middle of the field.  By morning, a small trapeze setup was created out of nowhere and two performers were running through their routine.  A small crowd had gathered near the bottom to witness their dare with fate.  They watched as two female acrobats twist and turned their bodies in motion, while at the right second, they grabbed hold of their swings.   The pair looked like as if they could fly through the air with their tricks as they dazzled their audience.

A few feet away from the main circus setup, a child's voice rang in excitement, "Mommy look at that, the circus is here."  A little boy dressed in a navy blue outfit became entranced with the sight before him.

"I know…we'll be going there soon."  His mother urged her son to move, so he wouldn't be blocking the traffic on the sidewalks, as passerbys prepared themselves for the day's festivities. 

~*~

A couple of hours had now passed and it was getting towards the time, where Duo had to walk up to Hilde's for his first date with her.  "I never felt this nervous before, what happens if something goes wrong?  Calm yourself down, Duo, this is only a date."  He looked at a small brass clock that sat on his coffee table.  It's face shown half past four.  "I guess, it's no time like the present."  He slowly walked out the living room and headed out the front door.

"Calm yourself down, Duo, just act natural."  He kept repeating the statement over and over again.  He felt that he had walked for eons of time before he finally made it to Hilde's.  He gently knocked on the front door, and before long, someone had peaked through the lace curtains that hung close to the front door.

"Hi, Duo.  I see that you're right on time." 

"Wow, you look wonderful."  Hilde emerged from her front door with a sky blue summer dress that was accented with a small ribbon tied around her waist.

"Thank you."

"Where are your parents?  I don't see them."

"They're on a small vacation to Rhode Island.  They should be back by Monday, at the latest."  She noticed that someone else didn't join them yet.  "Where's Heero?  I thought he was supposed to come."

"I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't budge."

"He might change his mind."

"He might.  Shall we be going now?  We don't want to be late and miss everything."  He held out his right arm and she gracefully took it.  The two walked hand in hand until they passed the main town square and before long, they arrived on the circus grounds.

Meanwhile back at the Peacecraft residence, everyone was in a hustle, with Katrina going crazy about Relena's date with William.  "Now Relena dear, don't forget to add a little lipstick and fix your dress.  You want to make a right impression on him."

"Mother, I think you're overdoing this.  Remembered what I said?"

"Alright, alright, I'll stay out of this."  Her mother left in slight agitation that her daughter dismissed her from her room. 

Relena then emerged from her room in a lilac summer dress with a pair of matching walking shoes.  She walked down to the first floor and waiting patiently for William to arrive.  She rarely had sat in her living room for ten minutes, when she heard a familiar knock on the door.  "I guess that's William, I'm leaving now."

"You have a great time now, and don't hurry back."

"I won't father."

"Bye mother."

"Bye dear."  She watched her daughter leave.  She was about to peak through the windows to spy on the young two lovers.

"Katrina dear, I don't think that's necessary to eavesdrop on those two, since you already relayed the information along with Martha through the community's phone network.  I pretty much can assume that the town will keep an eye on those two.  Now come back here, and let's play a game of chess."  He quickly walked up to his wife and gently pushed her away from the window.

~*~

"Shall we head to the circus grounds now?  I believe the show is about start at a quarter till eight."

"I think it's a fine plan."  She saw William offer his arm and she greatly obliged.

The two walked under the darkening sky until some stars became noticeable.  "You look wonderful tonight."

"Thank you, William.  So what have you been up to lately?"

"Oh nothing, just fixing up the house and riding out in the pastures."  As he said that statement, he concealed the fact that he had someone else over at his residence, but he didn't show any signs of it.

In a matter of minutes, the two walked into the main entrance of the circus tent, which was well lit with well placed torches.  Families and couples had already begun to sit on the wooden benches.  Relena looked around to see if she knew anyone and she saw one familiar friend of hers that was not related to her mother's.  "Hi, Hilde."  She urged William to come with her.

"Hi, Relena."  The old friends started to reminisce with one another.  "I see you brought someone along with you."

"Hilde, this is my date for the night.  His name is William Bennett."

"Please to meet you, William.  I've heard much about you lately through the town's gossip."

"The pleasure is mine."  He nodded politely to her.

"Are you here alone?  I mean you could join with us."

"I'm actually on a date with someone too.  He should be coming back soon, I don't know where he disappeared to."  With that said, Duo emerged in the tent with some snacks in his hand.  She quickly waved in the air to attract his attention, "Duo, over here!"  Before long, he made his way through the masses and found his way to Hilde.  "Duo, I would like to introduce you to Relena Peacecraft and William Bennett."

"Hi there, Duo Maxwell, here, please to meet you.  So you're the couple that everyone has been talking about for these past couple of weeks.  Did you know that we're actually neighbors?  I only live a couple of houses down from yours."

"Oh, really?"

"You should come by and visit sometime."

"I might." 

Right then, William got on the defensive and politely excused her and him from the couple. "Well look at the time, we must be going now.  It looks like the seats are filling up fast.  It was nice talking to the both of you."  He gently placed his hand on small of her back and the two then walked to a set of wooden benches not too far from the open circus ring.

"Why did you have to do that for, William?  I was just talking to my old friend."

"I know but I don't want to impede on their date."

"Well is that so?"  She gave him a questioning look.  "I think it was more than that, William.  I believe you wanted me to get out of Duo's charming persona."

"Maybe."  He looked in a direction away from Relena's glance.

"I can't really figure you out, can I?"  She held him closer than before.

"Only time will tell."   He grabbed hold of her left hand and smiled. 

Right then, a man dressed in a red suit appeared with a matching red top hat.  He stood up on a small wooden platform that could easily be moved anywhere within the ring.  "Ladies and gentleman, I'm Collin, host of tonight's festivities.  Be prepared to be dazzled and amazed with our trapeze artists and clown acts.  But later in this evening, I have a little treat for all of you.  Let the festivities begin."

At that moment, five prancing ponies entered the arena and danced to a tune played on an organ.  After that, various clowns came in, some were either throwing cream pies at each other, while others played tricks with the audience with phony bricks that looked like they could crush their victims.   With the last of the clowns disappearing back into the dressing areas, the trapeze artists climbed to their positions and performed a flawless routine.  The crowds below them oohed and aahed at their majestic grace.

Relena grabbed hold of William's right arm tighter than normal,  "I wouldn't be able to do that, I'm afraid of heights."

William just held her closer and smiled at her.

Collin then came back to the center of the ring, "Is everyone having fun tonight?"  The response was shouting filled with delight.  "Terrific then…it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Catherine Bloom, the knife-thrower extraordinaire, and her assistant, Trowa Barton."  Collin immediately left the stage, while a group of stagehands created the set.  At the same time, a couple of Winfield residents continued to enter the tent.  One of them in particular stood off to the side, where no one could notice him.  He stood off in the shadows and watched the upcoming act, but his gaze was sometimes diverted to the audience.

In minutes, a wooden board was placed upright in the center of arena, while at the same time, a girl wearing a short dark red dress emerged from the shadows along with a boy dressed in a clown outfit.

"Alright, Trowa, I won't try to aim too close."  She pulled out a couple of knives from a velvet purse.  The handles were intricately designed with floral patterns.  "Stay still, now."  She watched as Trowa obeyed.  "Here I go."  She threw one and it landed next to his left arm.

He continued to stare straight ahead of him with his arms slightly parted at his sides.

Catherine then threw a couple of knives in a row, and before long, Trowa was surrounded with knives around his shoulders and one right above his head.  The audience sat in silence, as they all wondered if the boy was dead or alive.  They all noticed a drip of blood coming down the left side of his face.  The anticipation started to rise and within a minute, Trowa emerged forward from the barrage of knives.  The crowd applauded loudly and gave a standing ovation.  The two performers then bowed and left the center ring.

Trowa then murmured something to his partner as the two were heading back into the tent, "I think that was a little too close."

"What do you mean?  I think I was on my mark."

Back in the circus tent, Collin could be heard, "Good night, ladies and gentlemen.  Thank you for being such a terrific audience."  He then ushered all of the performers onto the center ring.  "May I remind everyone that we will have a fireworks display out in the open meadow, starting right about now."  The audience then heard a loud crack and flash of red light.

By then, the tent slowly emptied and right then, Heero noticed a pair of familiar eyes.  He looked ahead of him and noticed that "he" was there with her.  His eyes focused on the pair and he wished that he had one of Catherine's knives to throw at "him."  But, he knew that the secret he carried could destroy the entire relationship between "him" and her.  He felt like he had to protect her, but how.  His heart raged a battle he never felt before.  He

Right then, the pair of blue eyes focused on him.  "Heero," she whispered under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Never mind, William, I thought I just saw someone that I knew."  She looked towards the direction of where Heero was standing, but couldn't find him anywhere in the dense crowd. 

"We might as well start leaving and see the fireworks."

She nodded at his response.  And before long, the warm summer air surrounded the two.  They stood in with the crowd for about ten minutes as the fireworks exploded in front of them.  At times, there were whites and blues.  "I guess here comes the ending."  Everyone anticipated the loud ending as bright flashes of white mixed in with blue and red held their attention.  Relena covered her ears to prevent the loud deafening sound from ruining her hearing temporarily, she wasn't used to the loud noise.  With that, plumes of smoke floated away from the sight and everyone disbanded for the night. 

The two started to leave the circus grounds, hand in hand.   The streetlights were on with their candles flickering about.  The moonless night made it difficult to navigate around the small community with the streetlights spread out far apart from each other.  "I had a wonderful time tonight."

"Well, I'm glad.  I didn't know how the circus would turn out to be until now."

Relena looked ahead of her and saw her house in full view, a dim light was passing through the living room, "It looks like my mother stayed up for our date."

"I guess so."  The two continued up the path that led to the Peacecraft residence and stepped up onto the front porch.

"Well, good night then."  She was about to turn the doorknob, but she felt an arm pull her back.  She felt William's warm lips upon hers and a chill ran up her spine.  After the kiss, she opened her eyes and looked into his, and right then, she fell for his spell of love.

"Good night, Relena."

"Good night, William."  She was mesmerized and when entered the front door, her face was slightly flushed.

A voice trailed from the living room, "It looks like someone had a nice time tonight. Hmm?"

"Indeed, mother."

~*~

On the other side of the community, Hilde and Duo were walking back to her home.  "Duo, do you have a funny feeling about William Bennett?  Something doesn't seem right about him."

"What did you say?  You need to speak up, I can't hear what you're saying."

"Oh quit it, Duo.  The fireworks weren't that loud."

Duo then got on the serious side of their conversation, "I know what you mean.  He seemed to be on the defensive when I asked Relena to come by and visit."

"Maybe I should just warn Relena about him.  What do you think?" 

"I think you should, she's your friend and all.  How did you meet her in the first place?"

"Through my mother's friend.  She introduced me when the Peacecrafts came to Winfield for the summer about five years ago."

The two kept walking on through the dense forest, "Well, here we are."

"Thanks for walking me home, Duo.  I really had a great time…too bad that Heero wasn't here to see the show.  I'll stop by whenever I have some free time.  Good night."

"Good night, Hilde."  He watched a light in a hallway flicker on and with that, he began the long walk home back to his place.  On the way back, he nearly stumbled after tripping over an uprooted root of some tree, but recovered his balance. 

After walking for fifteen minutes, he finally made it back home.  As usual, he noticed a familiar glow coming from his living room.  "Heero."  He shook his head and entered through the front door.  "You missed a good show tonight, you know that?  Hilde was inquiring about you…she really wanted to see you.  Anyhow, she might stop by and visit sometime this week."  He looked into the living room and noticed that Heero was just staring at the flame of the candlestick.  "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine."  He left the room and headed straight upstairs to his room.  He had trouble sleeping again, but this time his dream took on a sudden twist.  He was walking down a familiar hallway.  The voice kept taunting him to catch up, blond hair trailed after the slender figure. Her dress was of a light linen gown.  Heero decided to follow in the steps of the mysterious apparition.  He turned around a corner and found a dead end.  The walls were darkened and floorboards creaked below him.  He turned around and headed for the exit, before him stood the figure.  "Relena?" he whispered.  She made no response to his question.  She continued to stare straight ahead of him. 

A sudden noise came behind her.  A flash of light and smoke lifted into the air.  Relena woke from her trance, "Heero," she whispered and collapsed onto the floor.  Her gown was beginning to turn red. 

He focused his attention to where Relena was standing and saw a figure disappear into the shadows for a moment.  He went back to her side, she had become more pale, as the blood seeped through her gown.  He was about to run out the door to get help, before he was met with his own demise.  He felt the bullet go through him…a splash of red before him…

Heero was awakened to a sudden jerk of his own body, along with a sound of rumbling thunder.  He immediately sat straight up on his bed and his breathing was rapid.  He looked out the window and noticed that a thunderstorm was starting.  The rain had started to pound against the windows and the walls.  His eyes became alert.

TBC