Hi everyone, well here's another chapter and thanks for all of the reviews. Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.
~*~
Revelations"Ms. Relena…time to get up now." Trudy lightly knocked on the bedroom door.
Inside her room, she slowly stirred in her bed, and looked at her window…the sun's rays barely shown through her lace curtains. "I'm up, Trudy, thank you." She lethargically removed the light covers that lay on top of her. Her light pink nightgown was somewhat creased near the bottom as she walked towards her mirror. She began to smooth out the knots that had formed from her night's slumber. As she was combing her hair, the feelings from last night with William were still in her mind and then there was his kiss. She didn't know what to really make of it…her first kiss. The passion was there, but she felt like she wasn't quite in it…her body was there, but her mind was somewhere else. Yes, the two have been going out since the late spring season, when her mother hosted the first Winfield dance at her home. She felt uneasy of him after their encounter with Hilde and Duo. The way he had ushered her out of the area was too quick and impolite in a sense, but of course, she knew that he was being an overprotective boyfriend. She shrugged the hint of uneasiness away from her for the time being and dressed herself for the day in a pale yellow cotton summer dress. With that, she walked out of her room and went downstairs to the dining room, where breakfast was being served. She noticed that the household was quieter than usual on this particular morning.
The minute she set foot on the first floor, she noted that most of the maids were gone. "Hmmm…" She had a pensive look as she peered around the living room and then into the dining room, there was only one setting was laid out on the mahogany table. Her eyes began to search in other various rooms that were near to her.
"Well, it's about time, Ms. Relena…I was just wondering when you'll be coming down for breakfast." Trudy ushered her to her seat.
"Trudy, where are my parents?"
"They had some urgent business back in Newberry, they should be back within two weeks at the latest. I guess there was a little minor crisis at the mayor's office and they needed your father's help to solve the dispute. Well, I'll be around if you need any assistance in anything."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Trudy then left the dining room and allowed Relena to eat in silence, since she knew that she never had any time to herself with her mother badgering her about William and how the two make a nice couple.
For the most part, Relena enjoyed the quiet solitude she had in her home, even though Trudy was waiting on her. "Trudy, why don't you have the week off? I mean I could get by."
"But, Ms. Relena, I can't just leave you here by yourself. It wouldn't be right."
"I'll be fine, and besides, my mother has you working way too much at times. You can come by anytime and visit me, since you live only three minutes away from me."
"Alright, Ms. Relena, I guess I could have a little time to myself. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Now don't forget, that I'll be around, if you need any help."
"I'll let you know, Trudy, I promise." She walked Trudy out to the front door and watched her walk down the long broad path from her home.
She closed the door and decided to catch up on her reading in the living room. The minute she opened the book, a knock was heard on the door. Relena placed the book faced down on the floral decorated couch and quickly walked over to the door. "I guess Trudy is back so soon." She opened the door and to her amazement, Hilde was standing there.
~*~
Across Winfield, Zechs was securing wooden posts across his property. Before long he was nearly finished.
"Zechs, don't you think you should take a break. The summer heat will get to you if you're not too careful."
"I'm fine, Noin. It's you that I'm worried about."
She then walked out with a pitcher of lemonade in her hand along with a glass full of ice. "Here…take some of this."
He knew that she wouldn't walk off unless he drank at least one glass of lemonade. The summer sun was unrelenting in the early afternoon. "I need to get this finished…I don't want trespassers on our land, while we're away."
Noin looked up from him and noticed someone coming down by the main road that ran only about twenty meters away from their small home. "I wonder who could that be?" Her eyes narrowed as the stranger walked closer to the two of them.
"Greetings, neighbors, I'm William Bennett."
"Well, good afternoon, Mr. Bennett. May I offer you a glass of lemonade?"
"That won't be necessary, ma'am. I couldn't help but notice that I had new neighbors." He looked towards Zechs, who started working on his fence posts.
Zechs grabbed a small wooden hammer and started pounding on the wood piece, "I'm Zechs Marquise and that is my wife, Lucrezia. We've just moved here not too long ago."
"Well, glad to meet the both of you. I best be on my way now, I don't want to impede on your construction of your fence right now, it looks like you're about finished." He started to walk back towards his own home.
Zechs then looked to Noin, "That's the William Bennett that everyone has been talking about in town."
"Really?"
He nodded to her, "I don't like him, one bit."
"He seems to be well-mannered." She returned to the front porch and placed the pitcher on a small patio table. Her shoulder length hair was blowing in the breeze along with her light linen dress. She found a seat and positioned herself in the shadow of the porch and watched Zechs.
"Relena should be careful about him…there's something shifty about him." He didn't want to alarm Noin any further, even though he recognized William from the town's square from a previous incident. He resumed working on the fence that enclosed their home. "I think that should do the trick." He finished hammering down the last wooden post into the dry soil.
"It's fine, Zechs. You don't have to scrutinize it all day." She saw him walking towards her.
"And how are you?"
"I'm fine. The baby
seems to be active, though." Her hand
was placed over her womb. "You didn't
even mention this to Relena yet, didn't you?"
"Not quite yet." His face glistened with sweat. "I'll have the horses ready by this late afternoon, so we can make it to Boston in a matter of two days to see your family."
"Are you going to say goodbye to her?"
~*~
"Hilde, what brings you here?"
"I promised to Duo that I would see him later on. Would like to join me later?"
"Well, I'm not too sure…maybe. Would like to come in?"
Hilde walked into the foyer and Relena escorted her to the living room. "I see that nothing has changed in this house since the last time I came."
"So how are your parents?"
"They're doing fine, my dad is still trading with some residents around town…though the family store went out of business in nearby Western Springs."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"We're getting by, but my mom's baking business is going well at county fairs. Her chocolate chip cookies won first place at several of them."
"That's good to hear. Is there something on your mind, Hilde?"
She caught her off guard. Hilde bit the bottom of her lip, "Well…sort of…you know from last night…Duo and I noticed that William kind of acted strangely around you and us. I'm saying this as friend…be careful around him. Duo and I don't trust him that much, even though the town's gossip is running out of control about you too."
"I know what you mean, this morning I had that eerie feeling too. He kissed me last night."
"And?" Hilde's eyes widened with excitement.
"I don't know…it felt amazing and scary at the same time. I mean I've only known him for at least a month and a half now, but it feels like I'm falling for him, but something is holding me back. Never mind me, well how did you meet Duo?"
"We met at your mother's first dance of the season. I found him near the dance floor and he politely asked me if I cared for a dance. Later that night, I found out that he wasn't really invited…but I'm glad that he did came." Hilde then looked towards a clock in the living room, "Well look at the time, it's nearly two o'clock, I promised Duo to be there right about now. Want to come…it's now or never?"
"Well…alright then. I guess it wouldn't hurt to look around, since my parents aren't home."
The two then walked over to the wooden door and Relena made sure she carried a key with her. She scribed a note down for Trudy just in case she walked into the home and found no one there. "We're all set." Before long, the two were on a back road leading towards Duo's home. "I haven't traveled down this road in ages it seems."
"It's no time like the present." Within a matter of minutes, the house loomed in front of them, it's ionic columns shining in the afternoon. "Here we are. Isn't it beautiful."
Relena nodded and was entranced with its simplistic beauty. The two continued to walk up the gravel path and Hilde knocked on the door.
Before long, a pair of familiar wide eyes opened the door. "Hilde, I'm glad that you could come." He looked towards Relena's way, "Hello Relena. Please come in the both of you." The two accepted his offer and with that, he gave them the grand tour of his humble home. Like all the homes around Winfield, the décor was mostly floral patterns on the walls along with wooden frames to accent the walls connecting to the various rooms. He led the two upstairs and they walked upon the creaky floorboards. "Up here, there are four main bedrooms and two guest rooms." He then allowed the two to enter his room, since it was just cleaned on the previous day, and Hilde was especially interested.
"It's so dark in here. You need to make this room more brighter…the curtains are too thick."
"What's wrong with the dark?"
"Nothing, but it would seem nice to get some sunshine in once in awhile."
"I guess you're right. This room has been like this for the past five years, when I first moved in with my parents. Well see." The three then left the room and started to walk down to the end of the hallway.
"Whose room is this?" Relena was by a closed door.
"Ummm…well that's Heero's room. Come to think of it, where is he? I haven't seen him all day. I'll introduce you personally to him later on, if he shows up."
"That won't be necessary. We met already a couple of weeks ago."
"Well, I'll give you a sneak peek." Duo opened the door slightly and allowed Relena to peer from the doorframe. To her surprise, the room was very well kept and that nothing was out of place. The velvet chairs had some folded shirts on it and that she noticed that his bed was made. With that, she left the doorframe and allowed Duo to shut the door quietly behind him, in hopes that Heero wouldn't notice that anyone was in his room. They all then went back downstairs into the dining room, where a rectangular mahogany table was situated in the middle of the room. The room was decorated in a blue hue and that rice paper accented the walls with its floral designs.
"These designs are exquisite."
"My mom had those put up.
Would you ladies care for anything to drink?"
Relena politely declined, while Hilde asked for a glass of water. With that, Duo and Hilde decided to head over towards the kitchen that was located at the rear of the house. Relena was left all to herself in the dining room. She stood along the wall that faced opposite a window within the room and traced her fingertips on the fragile rice paper. The grooves were smooth and they jutted out slightly from the surface of the wall. In the background, she heard Hilde's and Duo's voices echoing in the nearest hallway from her. She quietly mused to herself, "Those two are meant for each other. Hilde was right about him." She continued to trace the floral pattern on the wall. To her fingers, the grooves seemed to be endless.
"What are you doing here?" A voice resonated behind her.
Her fingers stopped in the middle of tracing a rose. "Hello Heero, Duo invited me over here along with Hilde." The two remained silent until they heard Duo and Hilde making their way back from the kitchen.
"Well Heero, I'm glad that you finally graced us with your presence. We'll leave you two alone." He gave Heero a wink and escorted Hilde back to the front porch. The two were conversing with one another on random gossip and past family vacations.
"Heero…" she looked towards his direction, "I don't know if I was dreaming or not…" she twisted a piece of yellow fabric on her dress with both of her hands, "were you at the circus grounds?"
"Maybe…it depends." His voice was cool and calm. He began to loosen the top button on his white linen shirt. He started to walk over to where she stood.
"I could have swore that I saw you once the last act was finished. You were standing by one of the exits and…you looked my way and for a brief moment we saw each other."
He stood just inches away from her, close enough to touch her skin. He looked into her deep blue eyes, looking at their innocence, "You're right, you did see me."
The two remained silent again before Relena spoke again in hopes of breaking the silence, "I better leave now," she was about to leave to the living room, but then she saw his left arm in front of her, rendering her unable to leave. "What are you up to now?" Her eyes were filling with slight fear at the man that stood before her.
"There's something that I need to tell you. It's about William."
"What about him? He seems to be a nice gentleman and we've been going out for the past couple of weeks." She was about to walk out in the other direction, before he cornered her with both of his arms. The two looked face to face with one another. Relena looked into those Prussian eyes and saw that he was serious about something that was on his mind.
In Heero's mind, he couldn't decide on whether he should tell Relena the whole truth or not, and before he knew it, she escaped under his arms and headed for the living room.
"I don't have time for any of your games, Heero. You hate him, don't you?" she called after him.
That question made him stop dead in his tracks. She had hit the target. Ever since he had first seen her out on the lake on his return to Winfield, he couldn't stop of thinking of her, even though he tried to suppress his feelings from her and from Duo. It was evident he cares for her. When he saw her body lay in the meadow, his heart skipped a beat and for a moment in that time, he thought he had killed her after the run-in with her horse.
She then snapped him back to reality, "Are you going to answer my question?"
"Just be careful around him, I don't want to see you get hurt." The images from his nightmare surfaced in his mind.
She noticed that Heero was in a trance-like state for a brief moment, "Heero…are you alright?" It was the same look that he had given her a couple of minutes before. His glazed eyes stared directly into hers and it sent a chill up her spine. Through his eyes, she felt a secret that he was hiding from her.
In less than two minutes, Heero came back to his normal self, "Just be careful." He brushed passed her and walked out of the living room. His footsteps echoed in the hallway as headed to the rear of the house. He couldn't face her anymore, not right now. The secret that he held about William was tearing in his mind and for the rest of the afternoon, it wouldn't fade away from his conscience any time soon. He needed to do something, but what?
Relena stood in the living room perplexed as to what Heero was holding back. She had never seen him worry over her before. On the previous occasions, she saw how he would always distance himself from her. He was always cold, but today there was something different in his demeanor. She walked over to the front door and stood in the shadow. She spied on Hilde and looked at how she could be so open with Duo. She saw the two laugh endlessly and thought to herself how it would be wonderful to be in a relationship like Hilde's. With that thought, she forced herself to leave Duo's home and the moment she pushed the door open, she thanked Duo for his kind hospitality and said goodbye to the couple.
"Why don't you stay for dinner?" asked a pleading Duo. "We're having fried chicken."
"It's very kind of you, but I better start heading home. Thank you again." She started to head out behind the house. She heard Hilde called after her.
"Do you want someone to follow you?" she yelled after her.
She turned around, "I'll be fine, Hilde. I'll see you around."
"Alright then…bye."
Relena slowly traversed the back road that led to her home. The sun was slowly sinking into the horizon and with that the trees began to cast their shadows on the road. The shadows splashed against her yellow summer dress as she continued to walk down the narrow road. Before long, she reached her home and entered it. She noticed that Trudy must have stopped by, since she smelled the aroma of a cooked dinner that was waiting for her in the dinning room. In the room, Trudy had setup a pitcher of ice cold water with a small sampling of meatloaf and mash potatoes…something else caught her attention. It was a piece of folded paper that sat next to her dinner. She figured that Trudy must have picked up it from somewhere.
She picked it up and noticed the familiar penmanship. "I stopped by earlier this afternoon, but no one was home…Noin and I will be leaving town for Boston this afternoon. I haven't told you about this, but we're going to have a baby. I was just looking for the right time to say this to you, but there was always so much gossip running about. Take care…your brother…" She looked up from the note and a small smile concealed her happiness for her sister-in-law and older brother.
~*~
In the town square, a carriage pulled up next to the grocery store. A woman dressed in a red summer dress emerged. Her hands donned black lace gloves. She politely thanked the coachmen for pulling out her luggage that consisted of a small bag. With her luggage, she walked out of the town square and headed out to the countryside. It was nearly dusk, but she continued to make her way down the dirt path. Her red dress barely touched the ground, but she recognized the familiar setting…before her loomed the whitewashed house. It's lights faintly glowing through the lower level rooms. She continued to walk steadily up the small ridge and before long, she stood in front of the screen door and gingerly knocked on it. Her sandy brown hair was in ringlets that cascaded down her back.
"Surprise to see me?"
His mouth dropped in shock, as he stood looking at the lady in front of him. A pair of familiar eyes pierced the darkness. "Most definitely. I thought you were on a carriage heading to Boston."
"I had to come back and see you. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting over three months until our next meeting." She lightly kissed him on his warm lips.
"I would have sent word to you about when I'll be coming. Couldn't you have waited still?"
"You know how I am." She slightly teased him with her fingers.
~*~
With all the good news spinning about in her mind, Relena quickly ate dinner and decided to go out on a walk later that evening. She scribed another note for Trudy just in case she happened to walk into the home and found that no one was around. With that, she exited through the back door and walked into her expanse backyard. The summer night was mild in temperature and at last, she could revel in the quiet night, since her parents weren't home. She passed through the back gate and walked down to the lake. Its waters rippled about under the moonlight. She looked up into the night sky and right above her, Pegasus was there. She saw its square outline and an arch of stars coming off from the lower right corner. She knew she was facing in a northeast direction. A summer breeze blew through her light dress as she continued to look up. The next thing hers caught was Andromeda and Perseus. The constellations weren't too far apart from one another. Considering the fact that Andromeda extends out of Pegasus, while Perseus wasn't too far behind from Andromeda.
She stood in the twilight for awhile, just trying to recognize other constellations she knew about. It was a hobby of hers as long as she remembered…it was her father that took her out on one summer's eve in Newberry. That's when her love for the stars started…that was the first time she had seen Pegasus and the others. After catching a last glimpse of Pegasus, she decided to walk over to Zechs's and Noin's home, just to make sure that they didn't leave anything behind. She knew that she shouldn't be walking alone in the middle of the night, but in Winfield, the area was fairly safe except on some occasions, there have been wolves roaming about, but nothing too threatening. She passed by the old Coopers' place and noticed that William was still up at the time. "I should visit him some time," she mused at the thought of it. She passed by his white washed fence and saw her brother's home looking dark and well kept in the night. The pale moonlight sprawled over the wooden beams. She walked passed the newly created fence and crossed the main yard. It was hard to see in the darkness, but she quickly scanned the area and found nothing out of the ordinary lying around. The only regret that she had right now was not personally visiting them before they left.
She then made her way down to the main road and started to head over to William's. It was her first time seeing his house and that surprising him will be a joy to her. "So this is where he lives…," she whispered quietly to herself as she saw the back end of his home, "it's not too shabby." She went over to the front and saw a dim glow coming from living room still. She lightly walked up the steps and noticed that the front screen door was open, allowing her to catch a glimpse of the foyer that had a small table situated near the wall. She heard a woman's laugh coming from the living room. She peered over and there he was holding her…the laces of her corset were beginning to become undone. She was despised at what she saw and right at that moment, a knot formed in her stomach. She hated him for doing this to her and before she knew it, anger took over her emotions and she immediately ran from the front steps.
"Who was that dear?"
"I don't know…I'm going to find out." He quickly left Celeste on a couch and ran out the front door. His eyes barely caught the image of the stranger and with that he decided to run after the figure.
Relena ran as fast as she could down the dirt road, she felt that her heart had smashed into a thousand glass-jagged pieces. Before long, she felt a hand grab hold of her. "Let me go, William," her voice was sharp and cold as ice. "I don't want to see you. I saw her…how could you do this to me. I never want to talk to you ever again. The secret is out." She pushed him aside and continued to run.
William grabbed hold of her again and made her face him. He saw the fire blazing in her eyes along with the tears. He then felt a sharp slap across his left cheek. "You're not going anywhere…not right now." His eyes flashed with anger. Right then, a new side of him was finally revealed to her…
TBC
How was that? Hopefully, I'm not too OOC on some characters even though this is AU. Stay tuned for chapter 7. Reviews?…
