Hi everyone, sorry about the long delay...I just finished my midterms this week, anyhow, as promised here's chapter ten! Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.
Kiera: Thanks for your encouragement...I finally have some down time to update! ^^
Kawaii-Kero-Suppi: Thank you for your review...at times I wonder when I'll ever have the time to finish...hopefully soon. ^^;
Katel Belacqua: We'll see what happens and thanks for finding my story... ^_^
Sakura123: The conflict between William and Heero is going to get interesting... Gracias for the review! ^_~
Ladybug: Well, the month wait is over for the cliffhanger! Aww, thanks for the comparison (blushes - I'm nowhere near their writing styles and techniques)...Emily Bronte is one my favorite authors. ^_^
Vindication
~*~
A pair of hazel eyes blinked within the darkness...his eyes showed disorientation along with blurred vision. The darkness didn't do any good for him until he blinked a couple of more times before adjusting his vision. Events from before were slowly coming back to him. He looked over to where Relena was and noticed that a small trickle of blood ran down on the side of her head. At the same, he noticed that her chest still rose, which meant that she was still alive for the time being. He slowly crawled towards her and started to caress her forehead. He tugged at the silk chiffon and slowly revealed her slender shoulders. Her skin was pale as the moonlight. He softly kissed her on her cool rose-colored lips and forced himself upon her, pulling the fabric away from her torso. The only barrier left was her corset.
Relena felt somebody was on top of her and her eyesight was blurred from the fall. She then looked up to the eyes of her assailant and saw it was William. "Get off of me," her voice was hoarse from screaming at him. She felt a hand being placed over her mouth as she tried to give out one last scream. Tears began to roll down her face and she tasted the salt within in her mouth. She felt his hands beginning to roam harder on her chest and she kicked him frantically to get him off. All she felt was him...pinning her to the ground. She heard sounds of fabric ripping and she continued to feel the force of his hands upon one of her breasts that was still covered. She cried out in pain and was hoping that someone would hear her cries for help.
"This is for ruining my reputation on that night." He forced a hard kiss upon her and continued his rampage. Eventually, her strength slowly drained from her and she fainted in exhaustion from fighting him and from her injury to her head.
"Get off of her, you bastard!" Heero lunged at William, forcing him off of Relena. He began to throw punches at the weak man. The two struggled for minutes, while Heero outwitted him away from her. "You're a true coward." His Prussian eyes flashed against the darkness as he continued to block William's punches.
"You're always getting in my way," agitation was building in his voice. Seeing that his punches were useless, he decided to lunge at Heero. Before he knew, he had stumbled over a small root that stuck out from the camouflaged ground and was met with a mouthful of arid dirt.
"Figures." He looked over to where Relena lay and saw the mess that William had made. The pink fabric was torn to her waistline, while her corset barely remained intact. He quickly took off his own shirt and covered her with his. He noticed the trickle of metallic liquid running down the right hand side of her head. Her honey blonde hair was beginning to become drenched in the crimson color.
"Hold on Relena. Please hold on." He was about to lift her off the ground and bring her back to the safety of her home, but he heard something else...the setting of a pistol to be precise.
"You're the one that took her away from me after everyone found out about my little secret." He held the silver object steadily in his hand.
"You're the one that ruined it for yourself. You have only yourself to blame." His monotone voice showed no emotion, but it went deep into the heart of the matter. Heero slowly walked to the opening by the lake and gently laid Relena on the ground. The sounds of William's footsteps were still echoing from behind him. "She needs help. Put the pistol down." He was about to turn to face the ex-boyfriend.
"I don't think we're going anywhere tonight until this matter is settled...and there's only one solution to it all." He cocked the pistol and had his index finger wrapped around the trigger. "I had enough of you...meddling into my life and affairs." In a second, he released the trigger and a bullet had hit its target. A splash of red soaked through his white under shirt. He moved his right hand and covered the wound on his back, but he then staggered a couple of steps before collapsing on the soft moist ground. His breathing became labored and his eyes became clouded and lifeless.
"Goodbye Mr. Yuy."
Relena awoke to the sound of the gunfire. "Heero," she whispered, but it was still audible to William. "No!!!" She got up from her spot and ran to his side, noticing that his summer shirt shielded her from unwanted stares.
"So you're awake now." William encroached upon the couple.
"William!!!" She was now angrier than ever and she scratched at his face for his attack on her and for Heero. "You're not getting away with this!" She scratched with renewed energy and ferocity, but then she felt something sharp enter through her abdominal area. She stopped her in tracks and looked down, "Why?" She held her hands over her wound and slowly walked towards him, shock filled her eyes. Her blue eyes were becoming dull and lifeless, "Murderer..." She then collapsed into his arms.
He then dropped her to the ground and he fell forward too. He had succeeded in his plans in ridding his problem, but at the same time, he had also destroyed his possibility of ever being with Relena. She now lay limp in his arms. To cover up his tracks, he slowly carried her body to the edge of the lake and he entered into the cool shallow water. He continued for a few more meters until he was far from the shore and dumped her body. The color of dark red slowly equilibrated in the cool liquid. Without looking back, he swam to the shoreline and saw where Heero still laid...motionless. With a quick once over at the scene, he quickly rode off on his Appaloosa and into the darkness. The sounds of hooves became fainter and fainter until only the crickets were heard fiddling in the night.
~*~
"Heero, where did you go?" Duo mumbled to himself as he continued his trek in the dark forest. In the minutes that had passed by, he also heard two shots in the dark, but shrugged them off. He slowly regained his balance from drinking one glass of brandy, but it wasn't enough to completely waste him. After walking endlessly through the forest, it actually helped him sober up. He passed by Hilde's and noticed a familiar pair of eyes staring in his direction.
"What are you up to on this fine summer evening, Mr. Maxwell?"
He just loved the sound of her sweet voice, "Hello Hilde and a good evening to you too. I'm just trying to find Heero." A sign of concern was present in his voice. "He ran off just about twenty minutes ago and he had a worried look."
"Is something wrong?" Hilde was beginning to worry too. "I heard two gunshots nearby here and I thought it was just a duel or something."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you this."
"Try me, I have all the time right now."
"Well, a robin came by to my back patio and had a pink ribbon in its beak. Heero took the ribbon from it and noticed that there was blood on it. He said that it was Relena's ribbon." He looked towards Hilde and saw her running towards him.
"We have to find them. There were rumors in town that William Bennet was back. I'll go to Relena's and see if she made it home safely."
"But I can't just let you walk alone at night."
Hilde protested, "I'll be fine. Just go find Heero."
The two departed on their separate paths. Duo turned around and saw Hilde run into the direction of the Peacecraft mansion. He then resumed his own path that encircled the dark forest. He continued down on the path and something caught his eye. A trail of hoof prints was seen coming out from the dense brush and then merging with the main path. "That's odd." He decided to follow this peculiar trail and his pace began to quicken. The scenery became familiar to him in the dark moonlighted night.
~*~
Hilde ran as fast as she could. Her summer dress wasn't doing any justice for her evening run...it only hindered her in the process. "Blast this dress, I just hope everything is all right." She saw a couple in her path, "Please excuse me, this is an emergency!" she yelled as politely as she could and ran passed the curious couple. Before long, she ran up the path leading towards the mansion. A light in the living room glowed softly through the open window. "This might be a good sign."
She quickly ran up the steps and banged loudly on the door. She saw a woman holding a candleholder through the glass window.
"Hilde, what brings you here at this time?" The appearance of Relena's friend stunned the maid in this late hour.
"No time to explain," she was clutching her chest and trying to catch her breath at the same time, "Is Relena home?" She continued to breath in deeply.
"No, why?" A confused look graced her face.
"Something's wrong then. I have to go." She ran back down the steps and left Trudy wondering what on earth was going on.
The old woman quickly wrapped herself in a shawl and followed Hilde into the darkness. "Where are we going?" She was desperately trying to catch up to her.
"To the lake." Hilde called back to her and continued to run with all of her strength in hopes of finding her friend.
"All right then." With that the two women continued to run down the well-worn path behind the house. The scent of pine trees and other summer flowers nearby were overwhelming their senses. In the distance, the lake gleamed under the moonlight.
In a matter of two minutes, the two women converged onto the scene and so did Duo. To their horror, they found Heero lying in the ground still, but alive. He couldn't move at all and Duo quickly rushed over to aid his friend.
"What happened here?" He noticed the wound to his back and ripped a piece of his own shirt to help stop the bleeding.
"Relena help her." His voice was weak, but stable enough to speak, "He threw her into the lake."
"NO!!" Hilde cried out in horror and was about to enter herself, but was restrained by Trudy. "I need to help her. " She brushed Trudy off to the side, but Duo stepped in front of her.
"I'm going in for her." Before Hilde had anytime to contest to his request, he quickly kicked off his shoes and his outer summer shirt. He dove right into the deep end of the lake and searched for Relena. The summer moonlight made it somewhat easier in his search. He scanned the reflective waters to see anything was out of the ordinary, but there wasn't any. With that in mind, he dove underwater...the darkness was unbearable and the moon looked more of a disfigured apparition. He swam over to a cluster of objects that was littered on the lake's floor, but it was just a pile of rotted wood. Before long, he resurfaced gasping for air.
Hilde called out to him from the shore, "Any luck yet?"
"No...it's too dark to find anything in the dive...only thing I found was a pile of rotted wood." He began to tread the water and blinked a couple of times to adjust to the darkness again after resurfacing. He continued his swim and saw something floating close to a dense cluster of bushes that lined the far end of the lake. "Please let it be her." He quickly swam to the body and noticed that she was still face up. "Just hang in there." He carefully cradled her in his arms, as he tried to swim to shore.
In minutes, the two were out of the water. "We need help here." He looked towards Hilde and knew that she got the message. She quickly ran off to find some help from anyone that was nearby and called for a doctor to be at the Peacecraft Residence.
Trudy gingerly wrapped Relena in her shawl and cradled her in her arms. She was trying to keep her warm and noticed the gunshot wound. "Please let her be all right." She cried softly and hugged the young lady continually...hopping her embrace would bring her back to life.
Duo made sure to keep Heero awake and applied more pressure to his wound. "You were right all along."
Heero winced slightly as he tried to shift to look at Relena. All he could do was watch. He looked over to the trees and saw lanterns coming down one of the paths that led to their location.
A familiar female voice was heard in the background, "Help's coming now. The doctor is waiting back at the mansion."
"Hang in there my friend, help is on its way."
"It's about time." His breathing became labored and stared out into the night sky. He saw a shooting star streak by, his Prussian eyes tried following its trajectory...he then closed his eyes.
"Heero!" The scream rumbled throughout the summer evening, giving everyone a haunting awakening.
TBC
Well, how was that? I know I'm throwing cliffhangers everywhere. ^^; Will Heero and Relena survive? Or will William get away with murder...? Thanks for reading and please review. Thank you! :)
Kiera: Thanks for your encouragement...I finally have some down time to update! ^^
Kawaii-Kero-Suppi: Thank you for your review...at times I wonder when I'll ever have the time to finish...hopefully soon. ^^;
Katel Belacqua: We'll see what happens and thanks for finding my story... ^_^
Sakura123: The conflict between William and Heero is going to get interesting... Gracias for the review! ^_~
Ladybug: Well, the month wait is over for the cliffhanger! Aww, thanks for the comparison (blushes - I'm nowhere near their writing styles and techniques)...Emily Bronte is one my favorite authors. ^_^
Vindication
~*~
A pair of hazel eyes blinked within the darkness...his eyes showed disorientation along with blurred vision. The darkness didn't do any good for him until he blinked a couple of more times before adjusting his vision. Events from before were slowly coming back to him. He looked over to where Relena was and noticed that a small trickle of blood ran down on the side of her head. At the same, he noticed that her chest still rose, which meant that she was still alive for the time being. He slowly crawled towards her and started to caress her forehead. He tugged at the silk chiffon and slowly revealed her slender shoulders. Her skin was pale as the moonlight. He softly kissed her on her cool rose-colored lips and forced himself upon her, pulling the fabric away from her torso. The only barrier left was her corset.
Relena felt somebody was on top of her and her eyesight was blurred from the fall. She then looked up to the eyes of her assailant and saw it was William. "Get off of me," her voice was hoarse from screaming at him. She felt a hand being placed over her mouth as she tried to give out one last scream. Tears began to roll down her face and she tasted the salt within in her mouth. She felt his hands beginning to roam harder on her chest and she kicked him frantically to get him off. All she felt was him...pinning her to the ground. She heard sounds of fabric ripping and she continued to feel the force of his hands upon one of her breasts that was still covered. She cried out in pain and was hoping that someone would hear her cries for help.
"This is for ruining my reputation on that night." He forced a hard kiss upon her and continued his rampage. Eventually, her strength slowly drained from her and she fainted in exhaustion from fighting him and from her injury to her head.
"Get off of her, you bastard!" Heero lunged at William, forcing him off of Relena. He began to throw punches at the weak man. The two struggled for minutes, while Heero outwitted him away from her. "You're a true coward." His Prussian eyes flashed against the darkness as he continued to block William's punches.
"You're always getting in my way," agitation was building in his voice. Seeing that his punches were useless, he decided to lunge at Heero. Before he knew, he had stumbled over a small root that stuck out from the camouflaged ground and was met with a mouthful of arid dirt.
"Figures." He looked over to where Relena lay and saw the mess that William had made. The pink fabric was torn to her waistline, while her corset barely remained intact. He quickly took off his own shirt and covered her with his. He noticed the trickle of metallic liquid running down the right hand side of her head. Her honey blonde hair was beginning to become drenched in the crimson color.
"Hold on Relena. Please hold on." He was about to lift her off the ground and bring her back to the safety of her home, but he heard something else...the setting of a pistol to be precise.
"You're the one that took her away from me after everyone found out about my little secret." He held the silver object steadily in his hand.
"You're the one that ruined it for yourself. You have only yourself to blame." His monotone voice showed no emotion, but it went deep into the heart of the matter. Heero slowly walked to the opening by the lake and gently laid Relena on the ground. The sounds of William's footsteps were still echoing from behind him. "She needs help. Put the pistol down." He was about to turn to face the ex-boyfriend.
"I don't think we're going anywhere tonight until this matter is settled...and there's only one solution to it all." He cocked the pistol and had his index finger wrapped around the trigger. "I had enough of you...meddling into my life and affairs." In a second, he released the trigger and a bullet had hit its target. A splash of red soaked through his white under shirt. He moved his right hand and covered the wound on his back, but he then staggered a couple of steps before collapsing on the soft moist ground. His breathing became labored and his eyes became clouded and lifeless.
"Goodbye Mr. Yuy."
Relena awoke to the sound of the gunfire. "Heero," she whispered, but it was still audible to William. "No!!!" She got up from her spot and ran to his side, noticing that his summer shirt shielded her from unwanted stares.
"So you're awake now." William encroached upon the couple.
"William!!!" She was now angrier than ever and she scratched at his face for his attack on her and for Heero. "You're not getting away with this!" She scratched with renewed energy and ferocity, but then she felt something sharp enter through her abdominal area. She stopped her in tracks and looked down, "Why?" She held her hands over her wound and slowly walked towards him, shock filled her eyes. Her blue eyes were becoming dull and lifeless, "Murderer..." She then collapsed into his arms.
He then dropped her to the ground and he fell forward too. He had succeeded in his plans in ridding his problem, but at the same time, he had also destroyed his possibility of ever being with Relena. She now lay limp in his arms. To cover up his tracks, he slowly carried her body to the edge of the lake and he entered into the cool shallow water. He continued for a few more meters until he was far from the shore and dumped her body. The color of dark red slowly equilibrated in the cool liquid. Without looking back, he swam to the shoreline and saw where Heero still laid...motionless. With a quick once over at the scene, he quickly rode off on his Appaloosa and into the darkness. The sounds of hooves became fainter and fainter until only the crickets were heard fiddling in the night.
~*~
"Heero, where did you go?" Duo mumbled to himself as he continued his trek in the dark forest. In the minutes that had passed by, he also heard two shots in the dark, but shrugged them off. He slowly regained his balance from drinking one glass of brandy, but it wasn't enough to completely waste him. After walking endlessly through the forest, it actually helped him sober up. He passed by Hilde's and noticed a familiar pair of eyes staring in his direction.
"What are you up to on this fine summer evening, Mr. Maxwell?"
He just loved the sound of her sweet voice, "Hello Hilde and a good evening to you too. I'm just trying to find Heero." A sign of concern was present in his voice. "He ran off just about twenty minutes ago and he had a worried look."
"Is something wrong?" Hilde was beginning to worry too. "I heard two gunshots nearby here and I thought it was just a duel or something."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you this."
"Try me, I have all the time right now."
"Well, a robin came by to my back patio and had a pink ribbon in its beak. Heero took the ribbon from it and noticed that there was blood on it. He said that it was Relena's ribbon." He looked towards Hilde and saw her running towards him.
"We have to find them. There were rumors in town that William Bennet was back. I'll go to Relena's and see if she made it home safely."
"But I can't just let you walk alone at night."
Hilde protested, "I'll be fine. Just go find Heero."
The two departed on their separate paths. Duo turned around and saw Hilde run into the direction of the Peacecraft mansion. He then resumed his own path that encircled the dark forest. He continued down on the path and something caught his eye. A trail of hoof prints was seen coming out from the dense brush and then merging with the main path. "That's odd." He decided to follow this peculiar trail and his pace began to quicken. The scenery became familiar to him in the dark moonlighted night.
~*~
Hilde ran as fast as she could. Her summer dress wasn't doing any justice for her evening run...it only hindered her in the process. "Blast this dress, I just hope everything is all right." She saw a couple in her path, "Please excuse me, this is an emergency!" she yelled as politely as she could and ran passed the curious couple. Before long, she ran up the path leading towards the mansion. A light in the living room glowed softly through the open window. "This might be a good sign."
She quickly ran up the steps and banged loudly on the door. She saw a woman holding a candleholder through the glass window.
"Hilde, what brings you here at this time?" The appearance of Relena's friend stunned the maid in this late hour.
"No time to explain," she was clutching her chest and trying to catch her breath at the same time, "Is Relena home?" She continued to breath in deeply.
"No, why?" A confused look graced her face.
"Something's wrong then. I have to go." She ran back down the steps and left Trudy wondering what on earth was going on.
The old woman quickly wrapped herself in a shawl and followed Hilde into the darkness. "Where are we going?" She was desperately trying to catch up to her.
"To the lake." Hilde called back to her and continued to run with all of her strength in hopes of finding her friend.
"All right then." With that the two women continued to run down the well-worn path behind the house. The scent of pine trees and other summer flowers nearby were overwhelming their senses. In the distance, the lake gleamed under the moonlight.
In a matter of two minutes, the two women converged onto the scene and so did Duo. To their horror, they found Heero lying in the ground still, but alive. He couldn't move at all and Duo quickly rushed over to aid his friend.
"What happened here?" He noticed the wound to his back and ripped a piece of his own shirt to help stop the bleeding.
"Relena help her." His voice was weak, but stable enough to speak, "He threw her into the lake."
"NO!!" Hilde cried out in horror and was about to enter herself, but was restrained by Trudy. "I need to help her. " She brushed Trudy off to the side, but Duo stepped in front of her.
"I'm going in for her." Before Hilde had anytime to contest to his request, he quickly kicked off his shoes and his outer summer shirt. He dove right into the deep end of the lake and searched for Relena. The summer moonlight made it somewhat easier in his search. He scanned the reflective waters to see anything was out of the ordinary, but there wasn't any. With that in mind, he dove underwater...the darkness was unbearable and the moon looked more of a disfigured apparition. He swam over to a cluster of objects that was littered on the lake's floor, but it was just a pile of rotted wood. Before long, he resurfaced gasping for air.
Hilde called out to him from the shore, "Any luck yet?"
"No...it's too dark to find anything in the dive...only thing I found was a pile of rotted wood." He began to tread the water and blinked a couple of times to adjust to the darkness again after resurfacing. He continued his swim and saw something floating close to a dense cluster of bushes that lined the far end of the lake. "Please let it be her." He quickly swam to the body and noticed that she was still face up. "Just hang in there." He carefully cradled her in his arms, as he tried to swim to shore.
In minutes, the two were out of the water. "We need help here." He looked towards Hilde and knew that she got the message. She quickly ran off to find some help from anyone that was nearby and called for a doctor to be at the Peacecraft Residence.
Trudy gingerly wrapped Relena in her shawl and cradled her in her arms. She was trying to keep her warm and noticed the gunshot wound. "Please let her be all right." She cried softly and hugged the young lady continually...hopping her embrace would bring her back to life.
Duo made sure to keep Heero awake and applied more pressure to his wound. "You were right all along."
Heero winced slightly as he tried to shift to look at Relena. All he could do was watch. He looked over to the trees and saw lanterns coming down one of the paths that led to their location.
A familiar female voice was heard in the background, "Help's coming now. The doctor is waiting back at the mansion."
"Hang in there my friend, help is on its way."
"It's about time." His breathing became labored and stared out into the night sky. He saw a shooting star streak by, his Prussian eyes tried following its trajectory...he then closed his eyes.
"Heero!" The scream rumbled throughout the summer evening, giving everyone a haunting awakening.
TBC
Well, how was that? I know I'm throwing cliffhangers everywhere. ^^; Will Heero and Relena survive? Or will William get away with murder...? Thanks for reading and please review. Thank you! :)
