Mixed Feelings
Sylvia ventured from her small sparse hotel room and entered onto the town's busy streets. It was time for the great migration of families leaving their summer havens and returning to their winter palaces. She never thought that this mass exodus occurred here in this quiet town, but she figured it had some peaceful appeal to it, which brought about the masses from the north every summer. She kept on walking, trying to ignore the flocks of children running about in the morning's chaos. In the nearby distance, she spotted the man that she encountered on that night three weeks ago and her keen eyes saw him enter a local market. Seeing that she might not ever get the chance again, she quickly walked over and spied on the mysterious fellow. She went to the back of the store where the patterned fabrics and dress patterns were on sale and pretended to be interested in them. Once in a while, she glanced up and saw what the gentleman was doing, but before long, he disappeared again.
"May I help you miss?" The storeowner came over to her, hoping that she would purchase something.
"Oh...I was just admiring some of the fabric prints you have," she lied. "I was wondering, who was that gentleman you were talking to a few minutes ago?"
The man looked puzzled for a moment, but realized whom she was referring to, "Oh...you mean Nate?"
"Is that his name?"
"Why of course it is," he laughed. "He came here not too long ago, according to some of the townspeople, he's just a wanderer...though everyone is quite unsure about his past. Though if you ask me personally, I think he's from some upper class family from the east."
"I see." She fingered through another fabric pattern of mystic green, "Are you familiar with the Peacecrafts?"
"Certainly everyone around here knows them." The storeowner eyed some other customers that had entered. "Mrs. Peacecraft usually hosts their summer balls practically every weekend to say the least, while Mr. Peacecraft carries out his political duties back to Newberry. Unfortunately their only daughter, Relena, suffered a terrible accident back in late June in the hands of William Bennett. There's a manhunt for him still, but it seems like he's disappeared entirely." Sylvia kept eyeing the fabric and tested its strength, while the owner kept talking, "I believe she's currently seeing Heero Yuy from what the town's gossiping about."
His words already confirmed what she read in the article back in New York and she asked another question, "Is there a photograph of this William fellow anywhere in town?"
The question stumped the old man, "I'm afraid not. Like I said he's seems to be a ghost now to all of us. From what I could recall, he had hazel eyes and brown hair neatly combed. He also had a medium stature."
The information didn't do any justice for her. To help cut their conversation, she finally made up her mind on the fabric, "I'll take nine yards of this fabric please." She pointed to the mystic green one.
"All right miss, I'll ring this up for you at the front." The owner hopped onto a stool and carefully cut the fabric at the desired length. He decided to strike up another conversation, "So first time in Winfield?"
"Is it that noticeable?" she asked dryly.
"Not that much," he smiled. "It'll be a dollar."
Sylvia handed him the money and took the neatly packaged fabric with her. "Thank you for you help."
"Much obliged, miss. Take care of yourself now."
She headed back to her room at the town's only hotel, but something from the old man's conversation seemed odd. She stared into the medium sized mirror and applied some light makeup to her pale facial features. It's strange to have William disappear and all of a sudden, for Nate to appear with an unknown past. The thought teased at her conscience that something wasn't right, but she quickly shoved it away for she was busy with other particular matters at hand. With a quick once over, she stuffed a small pouch under her dress and adjusted the light material around her stomach area. She then headed back onto the town's streets and off in the direction to the Maxwell residence.
A couple of the townsfolk looked up from their afternoon cup of tea and spotted the newcomer. They all felt the air of uneasiness surrounding her. She saw a couple of them whisper to their neighbor's ears, but she didn't want to bother with any of them. From what the storeowner said, she could already see the gossip networks springing back to life in this late summer season, but she didn't care...she only thought of staying long enough to distract Heero.
She continued on walking towards the fork in the road and followed the directions she was given on her first day. In the daylight, the house even looked more splendid to her eyes than at nightfall. She adjusted her dress and proceeded firmly to the door without giving a sign of nervousness and knocked twice on the open screen.
In the darkness of the kitchen, a female figure emerged from the shadows and she looked a little distraught at the sight of Sylvia in front of her. "Can I help you?" Hilde readjusted her apron, trying not to vent her anger out if she found out if Duo was having an affair.
"Um..yes...is this the Maxwell residence?" She fidgeted with her hands.
"Yes it is," she looked cross.
"I'm looking for a Heero Yuy," she said at point blank.
Once the name escaped from the woman's lips, Hilde felt partially relieved that Duo was still true to her, but then when she heard Heero's name, a pang of anger sounded off. "What do you want with him?" She could obviously see that the woman standing in front of her was carrying a child.
"I have some matters that I would like to settle with him...that's all," she said calmly.
Duo emerged from the kitchen after hearing their conversation. The situation looked grim and he couldn't believe his own eyes. He tapped Hilde on her shoulders, "I'll get him."
"What's your name again?" Hilde returned her attention to the woman in front of her.
"Sylvia Noventa."
Duo quickly clamored up the stairs and sought out Heero's room. He didn't know if his friend was in there or not and barged in through the door without even a friendly knock. "Heero," he tried to keep his cool. "There's someone waiting for you at the front door," he roughly said out loud.
"I beg your pardon," the young man stood speechless with his morning paper in his hands.
"Do I have to remind you again?" He went over to his friend and yanked the newspaper out his hands. "What did you do in New York?"
"Like I said...nothing." His eyes flashed with agitation.
"Well obviously the situation doesn't seem like that way," he stammered. "How can you do this to Relena!?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Seeing that his friend wasn't going to calm down anytime soon, he went down to see this mysterious lady. When he reached the last step, his eyes turned towards her and a vague memory slipped into realization.
"Hello, Heero. Remember me?" She still stood outside by the door. "I see you're surprise to see me in my current condition."
He dashed out of the house with her at hand, leaving both Duo and Hilde speechless in the foyer. Memories of the night when he lost his case in New York surfaced again, but this time the images were crystal clear...his anger finally triggered the evidence he needed to clear himself of this compromising situation. "What are you trying to pull here?" He hissed at her. The two now stood behind the barn.
"Why I'm just trying to find my baby's father, that's all," her eyes meet his.
"We didn't even touch."
"Oh contraire, we did kiss at first. You were probably too drunk to remember." She tried moving closer to him. Her slender hands went through her matching purse and she produced a clip of the article with their picture. "See this."
"Get away from me...something isn't right at all," he averted her touch and gave her a cold hard stare.
"Relena are you sure you'll be fine staying here?" Her mother walked through the first floor of their home, making sure everything was there. "I'll have your winter attire sent to you once I arrive back in Newberry."
"I'm sure. There's nothing really to worry about, I'll be fine," she smiled. "As for my winter attire, I'll just purchase some here in town, mother."
"If you need anything, you just send the word to us." Her father began to lift the massive luggage off the floor.
"I will, father." Her eyes already showed anxiousness for them to leave. "I'll call you every night," she went over to him and kissed him on his forehead.
"All right then, be good and be safe," he gave his only daughter a tight hug after dropping the luggage on the ground. "Come now, Katrina, time to leave." He signaled to his wife, who was already fretting about the situation again. "Come dear, we don't want to cramp Relena's freedom, do we?" He had to practically shove his wife out the door and into the carriage. After she was in the cabin, he signaled Pagan to come over, "Pagan, I want you to stay with Relena if you don't mind. Both Katrina and I would feel much safer if you were here with her."
"But, Sir, what about the work that has to be done back in Newberry?"
"Don't worry about that, we'll manage it somehow. I don't think I'll be staying in the mansion too long. Goodbye Pagan." He gave his faithful butler a firm handshake and then ordered the driver to leave.
Relena watched the carriage drive off to the road she took not more than three months ago. It's strange how time flees in the summer season when love begins to blossom. The September air contained the spell of autumn's chill. "It'll be fall soon," she looked over to Pagan.
"Indeed," he shuffled back into the house. "Well now, I'll be in the kitchen with Trudy," he called back to her.
"All right, you'll know where I'll probably be." She started heading towards the all too familiar home of Duo's. Three weeks had passed since their last meeting under a veil of fireworks. She still hadn't the courage to tell him yet, but with the flurry of activity in her home about her parents' return to Newberry kept her busy in those long twenty-one days. On her sleepless nights, she dwelled on the thought of having a secret rendezvous with him just to clear her mind of what she had to say to him. She yearned to be with him in every waking hour of her life...that's how much he changed her summer. If it weren't for him, her mother would probably be up to her old antics in finding a proper suitor for her by now. The only thing that stopped her from venturing out into the night was the fear of what to actually say to him...she remembered the last time when she invited him to the last dance and became a babbling fool. No, she didn't want to look like an idiot again, and so she let her heart decide when the right time came.
The light breeze played around her, swirling bits of leaves that had already fallen. She thought about her first time seeing Heero in Winfield during their horse incident down in a meadow. There was something about him...it was those deep eyes of his...a mirror of sadness and hidden truths that attracted her. He gave her a way of escaping the falseness splurged from high society. She quickened her steps towards her final destination, never really knowing what was still occurring behind the shadows of the home.
Hilde gazed out from the front door in shock of what was raveling in front of her, "How could he keep this secret for the entire summer?" She clenched her apron in anger for his betrayal.
"Now Hilde, don't jump to conclusions yet." He waved a finger at her, but then he thought about the matter more, "There was something different about him...I noticed in June, but didn't want to press the matter from him. From the looks of it, his trip back to New York must have placed some stress on him." Duo went over to her and grasped her waist, trying to comfort her. "You know how Heero is, he often keeps things to himself."
"You're right, but he should have told someone about it." The thought of seeing her friend being caught in another emotional wave scared her. "I don't want Relena to go through another traumatic experience...it's just not fair for her sake."
"I know," he held Hilde more tightly. All of a sudden he heard gasp, "What's wrong?"
Her eyes shifted over a low ridge and she saw Relena walking up towards the home. "She's coming over here now."
"What?!?"
She replied in a more urgent tone, "She's coming now!" She shifted out of his grasp and untied her apron as fast as she could. She thought a possible diversion, but it was too late. Relena was already at the front steps about to knock on the screen door, before she saw the two standing there.
"Hello Hilde...Duo," the blonde girl smiled happily as ever.
"Hello, Relena," she swallowed hard, trying to pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary. "Please come in," she held the door for her to enter.
"It's awfully quiet this morning."
"Well you can count on that," Duo tried to hide Heero's little engagement for the time being.
"Is Heero around? I need to tell him something and I don't think I can keep it in much longer."
"Don't tell me your..." He felt Hilde elbow his stomach. "Why did you do that for?"
"It's impolite."
Relena felt her face flush, "I'm not if you two were wondering...there's no need for any secrecy here." Right then, Hilde and Duo felt a knot in their throats, and she could tell the two were trying to hide something. "So where's Heero?"
"Um...I think he went to town to pick some groceries up," Duo tried to start the fib and warned Hilde to follow.
"Yes that's right, I was trying to teach Duo to bake using my mother's recipe on chocolate chip cookies," she laughed. "You know how he is," she tapped him on the shoulders, "And how he can only cook fried chicken."
"I see, well I guess it's no use for me to stay around here. I'll just come back some other time."
"We'll make sure that Heero gets your message," Hilde called out.
"Thanks," and with that, she headed down the same path that she came.
Hilde then whispered to Duo, "That was too close."
"I just hope Relena is not within earshot of Heero right now."
Relena couldn't help but feel that the pair was hiding something from her. She started to walk down the long walkway when she heard someone shouting behind the barn. Instinct knew that it was Heero's voice. She decided to check the situation out on her own and veered towards the barn without being seen from Duo's and Hilde's vantage point.
"Don't you deny that this baby isn't yours," Sylvia cried out loud. Her words stung Relena' senses and immobilized her for a moment. She placed her hands over her mouth, just to keep in the scream that wanted to slip out. With the conversation, she saw her dream of being with him shatter into a thousand jagged pieces and that each piece pierced her fragile heart.
"I may have been drunk, but that is all." He held a firm grasp on his position. "Your picture just shows us in a moment in time," he said harshly. "What are you really trying to accomplish here?" He moved furiously over to the blonde and stared her down, piercing through her façade of falseness and this charade. "Why are you so desperate in trying to get my attention?"
Her lips quivered and she knew he couldn't be fooled any longer. She made one desperate futile attempt, "This baby is yours," she screamed in front of his face with all of her feelings and emotions, trying to make the innate object that lied over stomach seem real.
Relena couldn't stand the conversation anymore and bolted from the barn's security. The hot tears coursed without bounds and she ran with all of her might, ignoring Heero's demands for her to stay. She didn't want to be with him and she just kept on running deeper into the foreboding forest.
Heero returned his attention back to Sylvia, "I'll make this clear one more time, this child is not mine," his teeth clenched in anger and he forced her towards a tree. And in frustration, he slammed his fists beside her and sent her to her knees. Her heart raced for her own life and she felt the strap around her stomach loosening, she tried desperately to conceal it. Heero saw her fidgeting behind her back and grabbed her by the arm. He saw the bag fall to the grassy ground, "You have some explaining to do," his monotone voice haunted her.
She grasped the bark for support, as she felt Heero's eyes hone in on her confession, "You ruined my life!" Her words stung him. She started to rant off, "If it weren't for you being drunk and all and that reporter, I could have remained anonymous to the public, but no, it wasn't that way was it," she seethed at him. "The stories kept coming and the reporters wouldn't let up...claiming that I was your mistress, I had to leave my job," she slapped him in the face and his eyes became clouded. "I needed some compensation for this farce and by chance, I read an article about you here in this forsaken place and I had to come."
He listened attentively and knew something still didn't add up, "Why were you so aggressive in trying to make me think this baby was mine?" His eyes taunted her for another explanation.
She looked directly into his eyes, "Three weeks ago, I spied on you and Relena Peacecraft at the final summer ball. A man named, Nate, approached me and he knew about this picture of us. He seemed interested that I distract you."
"What did he look like?"
"How should I know?" She countered his question. "This town seems to be less keen on physical descriptions as compared to relationships." She saw Heero offer his hand in helping her get off the ground, but she brushed him aside. "If you don't need anymore information, I'm leaving now." Before Heero had a chance to speak, she gathered her belongings and started to head towards the main road.
"Wait!" He shouted after her. "Look, I'm sorry for my own mistakes."
She froze in her steps. His words were something she didn't expect at all in coming on this trip from New York. She didn't think that he was remorseful, but his words were true to her. She then remembered Relena running away from them just minutes before and now feelings of guilt clung to her own heart. "I'm sorry too. I didn't want to hurt her...I can be stubborn in trying to accomplish things."
Heero didn't know what else he could do, but he reached into his back pocket and pulled several bills from his billfold and gave her the money. "Here take it."
"I can't," she refused his money.
"I know it isn't much, but it's a start. I'm the one at fault for this entire mess. Please take it." He saw that she was still refusing to take his money and so he grabbed her purse and placed the bills in it. With that, he escorted her back to the main road and headed back to Duo and Hilde, who were both watching from the windows. He walked into the home, but the pair gave him the cold shoulder and he knew he deserved it. Right then he decided to break the icy silence between him and them, "Look I made a mistake back in New York and I thought it would remain buried there."
"So you're just running away from your past then, aren't you Heero?" Duo's tone flared with anger.
"You don't understand, my father kicked me out from the practice after he saw a picture of me kissing a barmaid appeared in a paper and not because I lost in a high profile case." He stared out the window, not wanting to see the reaction coming from his longtime friend.
Duo began to put two and two together and realized that the woman that came in the late morning was the barmaid. "You don't have to explain any further, if you don't want to."
Heero ignored his friend's last request and figured he should clear his name once and for all, "She wanted to blackmail me with a false pregnancy, but she had a change of heart once she saw Relena fleeing away." His hands fell to his pockets and he just gave a blank stare. He knew he needed to find her before she did anything drastic, "I messed up," he fell down to a seat.
Hilde walked over to his side, "If you tell her what you just told us, I'm sure she'll understand everything." She patted him on his shoulders and urged him to go after her now.
"You better listen to Hilde now or else," Duo went up to his friend's side.
With no more words said, he bolted through the front door and headed towards the Peacecraft mansion, in hopes that he would find her there. He ran through the shortcut, not taking care of what his attire might look like after getting tangled with some prickly bushes. He clamored up the stairs and knocked on the door. Please be here.
Pagan answered the door and was shocked to see the young man standing there, "Hello Heero, I thought Relena was supposed to be with you."
"She's not here?" His eyes grew alarmed and knew he had a bigger problem on his hands.
"She said she was going to visit you this morning," the old man began to worry about his young charge. And before he could say anything else, he saw Heero bolt down the stairs and around the corner of the house.
"Where are you Relena?" He clenched his teeth as he ran through another set of underbrush and he hoped that she would be there. The lake looked bare in the late summer season, the summer heat dried out the surrounding area and now the trees were priming themselves for their final dance before winter's touch. "Relena!" He screamed, but there was no response. He felt his whole world collapsing before him and he knew he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. "Relena!" His second scream echoed across the surrounding area and startled a flock of sparrows nearby, sending them into the late afternoon sky. Right then, he felt a single teardrop fall on his cheek and collapsed onto the sandy shore, realizing that it was the first time he cried in a long while. He cursed to the blood-ridden sky and made a vow to find her, even if took his last breath.
Far off in the distance, Relena thought she heard someone call out her name, but she figured it was her mind playing tricks on her. She walked a few more steps before finding a log to sit on to collect her thoughts. "Why would he betray me like that? It's not like him." Her tears continued to flow down her cheek. She looked to the distant horizon and a splash of red splayed across the abstract sky as if heaven was feeling her pain and anger. She watched the transitions slowly seep from the west and soon twilight engulfed her surroundings. The calm tranquility numbed her senses and she remained there for a little while unsure of where she should head next.
A voice echoed from behind her, "Lost are you?"
TBC
A/N: Well I'm off to my spring semester now (filled with more exams including the MCAT)...I know I left at a very crucial moment, but if you want to know when I'll post a new chapter, just send me an e-mail and I'll be more than happy to respond. I would I like give a big thanks to my reviewers for their comments and continual support. : -)
sweetangel4
Pure Angel Enchantress
Ladybug
Sakura123
Wing
Haruya
Will there be a second repeat of what happened by the lake again? Will Heero make it in time to reconcile with Relena? Stay tune and please review...thank you. As always, take care everyone!
