Ch. 6

"Wolfgang! Heal!" The dog's mistress commanded. The dog looked up and did as she bade. Heero's eyes met hers to find sheer annoyance and… panic? "What are you doing in my room?" He barely heard her question, his mind was still reeling.

"Why am I in that painting?" She paused, eyes widening briefly before she frowned, her brows knitting.

"It isn't what you think."

"You're a student! At university! But you're here! And-"

"You've done your research."

"Yeah." Heero stood up and stared at her, calming himself back to a rational state of mind. "You owe me an explanation." She locked eyes with him and he saw it; the reluctance. The fear? She sighed and bowed her head.

"It is a very long, very complicated story. One that will be hard to believe."

"I'm listening."

"Let's sit down. This will take a while." He took a seat on the cushioned chair in the corner. She sat on the bed. After a moment's pause, she took a deep breath and began to explain.

"For you, the story starts about a month ago. But for me, it really starts nearly one thousand years ago." She sighed and stared at the portrait.

"I was getting ready to finish my master's degree and applied for a program to study abroad here in Ireland. I was so excited. I learned so much about this wonderful land and its culture and history. I wanted to see how they lived back in the medieval times." He continued to listen.

"There was a festival being held at Blarney Castle. The first of its kind. We were told to dress up from our favorite period. I chose the medieval era. The dark ages, if you will." She placed her hands folded tightly in her lap.

"Go on." Heero urged her. He needed answers, no matter how absurd she claimed they may be.

"I was dared to kiss the Blarney Stone. It's a bit scary because you have to hang a bit over the ledge upside down. And I was thinking about what the people back then would think about the tradition of kissing it for luck." She paused again and took a deep breath. "And I fell. I don't know how but I did. And when I woke up, I was in the forest about three miles from where this castle is now… and I wasn't alone." She looked up at him, eyes glassy with unshed tears. Again, those eyes held years they could not possibly have known.

"Lord Aiden Lowe was there, staring down at me…"

"Are you alright, lass?" Heero felt his head throb at the sudden memory.

"He was the most handsome man I had ever seen. I thought he and his friends were members of the festival staff but the castle was nowhere to be found." She sighed. "It didn't take me long to realize… I wasn't in my time period anymore."

"Are you saying that you… traveled back in time?" She looked at him and nodded.

"I told you it would be hard to believe."

"Continue." Heero said. He needed to hear it. To know.

"Aiden helped me to my feet and asked me my name. I was never so happy to be fluent in ancient Gaelic."

"I told him my family was killed by brigands. He took me to his village. Saw to it that I had a place to stay. And I found out that he had plans to build a stone fortress, a castle. At first, I tried every day to figure out how to get home, but I decided to use my knowledge of castles to help design it. We worked side by side. He grew to trust me; regard me as an equal, and over time… we fell in love." Heero listened to her as she began to play with her ring on her finger.

"Marry me." He asked staring deep into her eyes. She looked down, and he could tell that she was torn.

"I can't."

"Relena, none of this would exist without you-"

"You don't understand. I shouldn't even be here." He raised her chin with a gentle finger.

"Relena…" His voice was low. "Marry me."

"Aiden-" he leaned in and kissed her and she wrapped her arms around him...

Heero shook himself, his head spinning from the flashback.

"He married me and shortly after he was crowned king by popular decision. We had two beautiful children and for the first time, I no longer cared if I ever returned to my own time."

He could see it. Her. Them. Just as they were in the portrait. He heard their laughter. He felt their little hands in his. It was all too eerie. Too unreal and yet he couldn't see their time together flashing through his mind at warp speed. His head swam. He needed to sit down.

"Are you alright?" He nodded.

"Keep going." He wanted to know. Needed to. "Please."

"Over time we realized something was wrong. They were aging. He was growing old as all people must… but I was not. I didn't exactly understand but my theory became that because I did not technically exist yet, I could have an effect on time but time could not have an effect on me."

"What did your husband think?"

"I told him the truth. That I was from the future. That I somehow ended up in the past. He loved me enough that he believed me and swore to protect me." The memory came to him vivid clear.

"I should leave. If I stay, it will only cause you trouble."

"I don't care. I will protect you from anyone who vows you harm. I swear it." He reached out and pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers…

"I wore a veil. People thought I was too vain to show my aging face, but it was better that they think me conceited than a witch." She looked back up at the portrait. "But time passed. And I watched as my husband continued to grow old… the day he died was hard enough… but when my children… my babies…" silent tears that slid down her cheeks. He wanted to go to her, wrap her in his arms and smooth away her tears.

"Those stones…" she nodded.

"For them." She wiped a tear away just to have another fall. "I wanted to die… and I tried. So many times… but you cannot kill what does not exist…" She sat down on the end of the bed.

"Shortly after my great grandchildren were born, the usurpers stole our throne. They killed my entire family without mercy. And I could do nothing to save them. But Karma isn't kind to their type. Vikings destroyed them years later. It was very cathartic."

Heero saw the ironic, mirthless smile curl on her lips. She'd been alone for so long with so much pain, but he knew there was more to her story. So he let her continue.

"I've lived through countless wars. Traveled the world. I was there when Napoleon was defeated. I watched America win its freedom and then fight among itself. I was there in both world wars, helping wherever I could in any and every war. I knew what the outcomes would be and knew what I could and couldn't do. The things I saw. The horrors I witnessed… The things I wish I could have stopped but knew that I shouldn't…" She looked at him with ancient eyes. He saw it there; dark and foreboding. The desire to die. And the will to do so. He felt terror at that thought grip his heart.

"And you lived all these centuries…" she nodded."Alone?" She nodded, but there was a dark determination in her eyes.

"But not for much longer." His heart dropped into his gut. His blood freezing in his veins.

"What do you mean?"

"In one week's time, current-day me will arrive at Blarney Castle for the festival. And then my fate will be decided."

"Relena?"

"After she goes back in time, I will be free. My body will be reunited with the flow of time…" her meaning finally came to him. Panic gripped his heart

"You're planning to kill yourself?!" She nodded.

"After nearly a millennium of pain, I will finally free." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Couldn't let her go through with it.

He couldn't lose her.

Without thinking, he crossed the distance between them, hauled her to her feet and into his arms, crushing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. At first, she pushed against him. Tried to break free, but then, gradually, she relaxed into his embrace. Her arms rested flat against his chest. When their kiss broke, he continued to hold her, stroking her hair.

"I won't-" his voice hitched. "I won't let you."

"You don't understand-"

"I can't lose you, Relena." He pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"You don't even know me!"

"I do!" He took her hands in his. "I remember everything! Every moment you spent with him! I have his every memory of you!" He locked eyes with her. "And I know he wants you to live!" She looked down at their hands.

"Please… There's so much I just want to forget…" her voice broke. He reached up and wiped her tears away, then leaned in and touched his forehead to hers.

"Then let me help you." She let out a soft sob.

"Heero-" he kissed her again, this time gentle, but insistent. She did not resist.

Her arms wound around his neck. His tongue found entrance past her lips to duel with hers as he picked her up to carry her to the bed. They're love making was sweet and tender and he finally knew what he'd been missing. her. this whole time; all these years. He was missing her and his soul was finally where it belonged. She snuggled into him and he kissed the top of her head.

"Did I hurt you at all?" He whispered. She shook her head.

"No. You were… wonderful." She leaned her head against his shoulder. They lay down together and he held her close, listening to her soft breathing. He finally felt it... the piece that was missing from every relationship; from his very existence, clicked into place. It was her. It was always her. With that realization, he sighed, kissed her shoulder and fell asleep.