Chapter 10

"We are right in the middle of force-five Shit Storm."
~Zechs Merquise

It didn't take many days at Manoir Cristal for me to figure out that Treize Khushrenada was painfully annoying and legitimately damaged. I first realized this while in one of the ante chambers reading the books Mrs. Collins had found for me on Anatomy and Physiology (I wanted to learn about medicine since the poisoning and this felt like the natural step). He shuffled into the room after I had settled myself on the sofa and then he wouldn't sit still. He poked around the pool table, smacking the balls around, trying to make noise rather than practice. He cleared his throat abruptly fourteen times in ten minutes (I counted). Then, finally, he walked up behind me and grabbed the book out of my hands.

"Do you mind?" I barked at him as he started flipping through the papers.

"Oh, no, not at all, thank you" he replied and started walking from the room. "The Endocrine System, exciting." I was up and after him immediately. That book had been hard to get a hold of.

"Give me back my book!"

"What did you say, my Lady? I don't hear so well in this ear" he stuck his pinky finger in his left ear and whispered "Firecracker episode, very unpleasant."

"I said give me my fucking book." I reached for it, but he pulled the classic cliché of a taller man and held it above his head while I jumped around him trying to get it.

"Whoa. speaking of firecrackers! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"My mother is dead, bastard."

"She must have died of a broken heart when you learned to talk." He smirked at me, meanly. My jaw dropped at his insult and I reflexively socked him in the stomach. He doubled over a little and I was able to snatch my book back and push him away from me into the closed door. He laughed through his discomfort while bracing himself on a side table.

"My, aren't you a feisty one. I guess it's true what they say about you Isle girls, Dur pour se tenir.

"I don't speak French, idiot. Why don't you go off somewhere and grow up!"

"Tough to hold. And believe me, Lady, I am very grown up." He flicked his eyes at me suggestively and I gasped at his audacity.

And this is the man that would one day rule the world. Scary, isn't it? This was only the first of such incidents. On another occasion, he slipped whiskey in my orange juice during breakfast, causing me to spit it out in front of the entire family. This would particularly bother anyone who had been poisoned, and I felt like wringing his arrogant neck. But his mother got to him first, Lady Arcardia knew that Treize was the culprit and she admonished him soundly while I drank Aria's orange juice to clear out the terrible taste.

"Alejandro! What is the matter with you boy?" She proceeded to curse him out in Spanish. And young Gabriel found himself being admonished when he laughed at his brother's misfortune. Lady Arcardia banished Treize from the table and tried to apologize to me for her son. "He is a terrible prankster, Countess, quite unruly. He always behaves like this when his father is away. Only Jareth seems to be able to keep him in line."

"He says he is bored, Madre." Gabriel offered his view.

"And just how can he be bored, Gabriel? He has spent the last three years at Academy and I know that they run the students ragged there. This is his vacation time and he is already bored?"

"Est el arreglo, Madre. Èl no lo desea." Gabriel tried to be discreet by speaking Spanish, but I had learned a number of things in Ireland and grasped what was spoken fairly well. "It is the arrangement, Mother. He does not wish it."

"No es su decision. Pero no ahora, Gabriel" It's not his decision. But not now, Gabriel. She silenced the conversation with a wave of her hand, once again apologizing to me.

It wasn't until the third occasion that I discovered there was actually something wrong with Treize Alexander Khushrenada. It was out in the rose garden on a December morning. I had finished reading the chapter I had wanted to early, and so I walked the grounds of Manoir Cristal. It had snowed the night before and the whiteness of the ground coupled with the beautifully sculpted white and light grey of the house made for a scene too enchanting to pass up. The Khushrenadas were Catholic and extremely festive when it came to Christmas. There were white Christmas lights wrapped around every tree and over every angle of the roof. The rose hedges were even decked with colorful red bows and actual crystal icicles that sparked beautifully in the cloudy light. I put a long black overcoat, drew my gloves high upon my wrists, wrapped a simple scarf about my neck and trudged out in the light snow. It didn't take me long to hear the muffled voice coming from the center of the rose garden, the bushes dead now and ice-born. Treize was at the center, wearing only a t-shirt and slacks. I saw that his shoes and socks lay at the entrance of the garden and that he sat on a bench with his bare feet planted in the snow. His hands were in his hair and I could hear quite clearly now that he was weeping. Perhaps he had done something truly bad this time and was being punished. I wanted to leave before he saw me, but I wasn't quick enough. He must have heard the crunch on my boots on the snow and whipped around to see me. His eyes were red-rimmed and his nose tinged rosy from either crying or the cold. I saw him wipe at his eyes and look away. Not much use in leaving now.

"Are you alright?" I asked. Treize turned from me and gestured to something over in the corner of the garden. There I noticed a book and some papers that had been tossed aside. I walked over to the mess and picked up a half dripping piece of paper. It had his name on it, written over and over. I could see much of the attempted signatures were so sloppy that they were illegible. The book on the ground was an Algebra book, a very basic one. I turned to him again, still holding the paper, not quite sure what to say, so I just looked.

"I can't do it" he stated simply and ashamedly. I picked up a few more pages and saw that he hadn't gotten past writing his name on any of them.

"Treize, have you tried any of these?" I asked.

"What does it matter? I can't do it." Such a silly statement, it sounded like something a very young child would say. But I was intrigued and I sensed a kind of irony that this might have once been the man I would marry, and apparently a very important person. I also felt an uncharacteristic sting of sympathy.

"Well, where are you having trouble?"

"I can't focus. My mind wanders as soon as I set my eyes on the page."

"Well naturally you cannot concentrate. You must be freezing." He saw that he was indeed holding himself and shivering in the snow. I went to get his shoes and he watched me. He didn't protest at all when I gave him my scarf and told him to put on his shoes. I thought at the time that if I was kind to him, maybe he wouldn't bother me so much later.

Boy was I wrong.

"Let's go inside and we will sit down and work out these problems." I could do this kind of algebra like the back of my hand. But I stayed away from telling him it was easy for fear it might make him feel stupid.

"If I don't get through it, I won't graduate on time" he stated as he walked back with me.

"From where?"

"From the Academy."

We walked in through a side door and were caught by Lady Arcardia as we neared the main staircase to the second floor. She came scurrying down when she saw the condition of her son, scolding him again for not studying as he was supposed to be. I hastily explained that he was studying but that it was too cold outside for him to concentrate and that I was going to help him. Lady Arcardia kissed me on the head and blessed me several times in Spanish.

"It is too bad your father would not let us have you. You are already taking such good care of my Alejandro." She sighed and swept away like a beautiful specter, saying she would have hot tea brought up to us.

"She doesn't understand. I was outside in the cold to make myself concentrate. I thought if I was cold enough my mind would stay in the here and now." We went upstairs. I stayed in an outer chamber while he dressed and came back to me much more presentable.

"How old are you?" he asked as he sat down next to me at a writing station I had set up in the meantime. "Just fifteen" I answered.

"You are not much younger than me. I just turned seventeen in October." Treize was much more casual and tolerable than on all other occasions, but he was still distracted. I smiled and started to open the book, but he put his hand on it to stop me and looked at me very seriously.

"Do you remember that night?" I knew instantly which night he referred to.

"Most of it. I don't remember how I got from the school to the hotel in Calais. But I remember everything else"

"I think you need to understand what happened that night. It was a child's game you see." He paused and I saw him draw something out of his pocket. It was a bottle from which he drew several pills that he swallowed. Then he asked me to give him several minutes. The tea came and I waited while whatever he had ingested began to take effect. I watched Treize Khushrenada as his mood changed completely. His lids became slightly heavy and his breathing was very calm. He bore an all around serene look that would herald the way he would appear as an adult. We moved to the sofa and sipped our tea. Then he finally spoke.

"I knew Vespertine from long before she met you. I was about your age when her father presented her to mine for a possible family merger. My father politely considered it, but really had no intention of accepting it. He had long ago set his sites on your family for me. Unfortunately for Vesper, I wasn't the gentleman I am now. She was willing, and I was more than willing to accept. So I. how to say this in front of a lady. I took advantage of her, knowing my father would not accept her as my bride, and having no real wish to marry her either. Vesper was proud and her gaze didn't stretch very far. She simply wanted to be a duchess. That's the reason you were raped, Analicia. Because word of my father's attempted alliance with your family spread quickly through Romafellar and Vesper knew she was out of the running for good this time. Besides, she doesn't like foreigners, especially Islemen. She is afraid of them, a lot of people are. After what you did at Lefrey's, I guess they should be."

Somehow the news didn't hit me like a ton of bricks. Finding out the why of things wasn't as meaningful since the actual act had already been committed. It was over and done with as far as I was concerned. But it left me a little curious as to my standing amongst these people.

"Do you fear me?" It was a stupid question. But I felt compelled.

I admire you somewhat for having the concentration to do something like that. She got what she deserved as far as I am concerned. Had things worked out differently, I would have been the one obligated to act for you." He sipped his tea carefully. I scoffed.

"Had things been different, I still would have been the one to act for myself." He smiled and nodded, understanding me a little better. I told him that he didn't need to feel any obligation to me. I didn't like obligation. I didn't like anything that would hold me down to something or someone.

"You will have to get used to it. We are all beholden to someone."

"Not I" I answered. "I will not be chained down to anyone. When I become Eldest Child, no one will control me." Treize raised his cup to me and saluted the idea.

"Well, to freedom then" he toasted and I accepted the cheer, drinking down deep to my dream. We moved onto the math then and he did extraordinarily well. He almost did not need my help at all, and I began to think it was the drug he had taken that had evened him out so well. He was calm and gentle in both voice and movement after that. When I left him, he was a little drowsy, sitting in his chair and looking out into space, dreaming while awake.

I watched him after that and I listened. I knew there was something to do with the pills he had taken. Once I had heard Lady Arcardia relating to a member of her staff in Spanish that Treize was neglecting his medication and that he needed to be monitored to make sure he took it. I cross referenced this with the incidents of his obnoxiousness and could definitely see a pattern building. In the mornings and sometimes late afternoon we would study together and talk. Those were the times were he was calm and well behaved, like a completely different man. He had ideas and introspective thoughts that he shared with me; very intellectual and yet all his thoughts had a captivating spiritual element that strongly attracted me. But he also lacked animation during these times. He was solid like a brick wall that couldn't budge, experiencing neither highs nor lows. As much as I disliked his immature prattling behavior, at least then he resembled a living thing. The Treize that I was growing so steadily fond of seemed neither capable or laughing or crying, only looking forward to the horizon and talking about how best to get there.

His father came home a week before the Christmas party. Jareth Khushrenada had stayed away from his home for the first two weeks of our stay in France. Strangely, during that time, Aria and I did nothing but study in our respective rooms, and did not even have the chance to see one another. We had been told that we were to be introduced into the Romafellar society with the Khushrenadas as our guides, but we had met with no one. The only person I ever saw was Treize and some of his brother, but not much. When their father arrived and asked with much interest about how Treize and I had been getting along, I began to suspect something was afoot.

Jareth Khushrenada was not a large man; he was slim but very refined and elegant, like his sons. Their height must have come from elsewhere in the blood line. However, despite the difference in build, one could certainly see where the facial structure came from. The Duke had extremely fine and sculpted features; his eyebrows were the prototype for his children. They separated and forked at the end. I could tell his hair had once been brown like Treize's hair, but it turned a silver gray, probably prematurely. There were fine lines beneath his eyes, but despite his apparent age he was still handsome. It was lost on me however; I didn't really thick about beauty or react to it.

They were still trying to match me up with Treize. It was becoming more apparent. I spoke with Aria about my suspicions and she thought perhaps that if Merrick could not be compelled to accept the proposal that perhaps Jareth was going for a more direct route. Perhaps that is why Treize had been bothering me. And had Gabriel not covertly mentioned an 'arrangement'? I was certain this was what was going on. We were being kept apart from any Romafellar society in the hopes that I personally might be persuaded to marry Treize. But I didn't feel anything for Treize, though I enjoyed his company when he behaved soberly, I most certainly did not love him. I did not love any one, except perhaps Aria.

But the week before the Christmas tide celebration, there was a commotion in the upper rooms. I remember walking toward the main staircase when I heard the glass shattering down the hall and something heavy hitting the ground. Aria came out of her room not far away and together we ran to where the noise had come. We reached the room in time to see Treize in convulsions on the ground. He was in spasm and gagging. When I knelt down beside him, I found that he was trying to swallow his one tongue.

"Help me turn him over" I said quickly. We heaved the young man onto his stomach and I held his head to the ground while Aria called for help out into the hall. It seemed to take forever before anyone arrived, and meanwhile I strangely found that I did not panic. I was fascinated by what I saw, the convulsions, and the wide-eyed look on his face. It was captivating, what could be causing this? I was enraptured by his condition. By the time several attendants and the Duchess had reached the room, Treize's eyes had become unfocused and his convulsions had slowed. He breathed sharply and relaxed.

"Alejandro!" his perfect mother fawned over him, trying to revive him in vain. He groaned as he began to come around, I on his right, his mother at his left.

"Did you not take your medicine, Alejandro? We told you to keep on your medicine.

"What is the matter with him?" I asked.

"He is an Epileptic. He takes pills for it, but I know he doesn't like to. He neglects it."

"I don't need them." He rasped out as we helped him to sit up. His brow pinched together as if he had a tremendous headache, I suspected he did. We supported him as he slurred about not needing any medicine, that his will was stronger than any medicine.

"I think your present condition suggests otherwise, boy" Jareth said as he entered the doorway, taking Treize out of our hands and heaving him upright. The young man staggered and would have fallen backward has not his father hoisted his arm over his shoulders and carrying him over to the nearest chair. He instructed an attendant to call for the doctor.

"Shall we not take him to a hospital, Mon amour?" The Duchess asked of her husband.

"No doctors" groaned her son.

"I will not take my son anywhere public in this condition. But we most certainly will be increasing his dosage."

"I don't need it" he murmured. I was sitting next to him on his left, still fascinated by the physical malady he had. Perhaps I felt a kinship with him then, he seemed as damaged as I, just in a different way; his was physical while mine was mental. Strange and fascinating. I placed my hand over his as his father yelled, telling him that he would do as he was told. He felt my hand because his finger came up and pressed against the inside of my palm, a gesture no one could see and only he and I could feel.

But the Duchess would no longer allow this episode to take place in front of guests. She ushered my sister and I out of the room, Treize was still dazed in his chair as we left, his father still shouting commands. A doctor arrived soon and under the orders of the Duke of Aquitaine, prescribed amount was increased, and by Thursday of that week, he had been overdosed.

That was how the Treize Khushrenada of latter days came to be. He arose from a death like sleep on Friday, recovering rather quickly from his super drugged state and from there on in, he never seemed to arise completely from his medicate haze. I remember sitting with him and read from the same Anatomy book he had stolen from me. His eyes never fixed on anything, but once in a while he would ask me what I thought about peace.

"I cannot say. Peace is not something I have been taught to believe in, sir."

"Peace. . . yes, difficult. They do not train us for peace. We have higher purposes I think." He murmured. The he would speak at length about higher purposes of Generals and soldiers and war. Every syllable was still laced with the damage to his brain, his tongue now slurred many of his words, but the Doctor had said it wouldn't take long for him to over come it. I was as pleased as punch to have been allowed to watch the doctor work on him. Everything about the curing process was fascinating. And it was still fascinating to look and listen to Treize and to see the effects of his disorder. I was nearly compelled to tell him of my own slowly- encroached sanity.

But now it was his words that enchanted me. It was as if Treize had had an epiphany during his brief coma. The idea behind his speeches sounded much like the ideology with which I had been raised. However, it was still part of my fascination with his malady that kept me so enchanted with his words. I felt that these thoughts and ideas were a manifestation of his disorder. Perhaps being mentally subtracted could prove enlightening.

"I dreamed while I slept. I saw much. I saw beautiful things. Sit by me so I may tell you." I obeyed and sat on the edge of his bed while he closed his eyes and spoke.

"I dreamt there were lines and lines of men making great marches across the land. I dreamt that they met other men and together they danced and killed one another, and it was good. I saw shining metal gleaming in the morning sun, rising above the earth, fading into the darkness of space. I saw all people bowing before the beauty of a soldier and understanding at last what it means to fight and to die. Fighting and dying and living just for that, and loving only for the purpose of war, and it was good. That was the truth and that is the truth. And when it was realized, there was such a peace among everything. I saw beauty captured and eternalized, not fleeting as it is when you look at me sometimes. To live and love, to fight and die, that was the strange pattern of being, and it is good."

"I think you are still unwell." I reached toward the night stand to give him his water. But he put a gentle hand on my shoulder to stay me.

"They are going to make me marry a woman from the colonies if you refuse me. I don't know anything else of her. But by my next birthday I will be engaged to either you or her. I think I would rather it be you, because you take the trouble to listen to me and because you are supposed to be with me." He suddenly did not seem so dazed, but rather very serious, or perhaps it was the seriousness of the situation that made him appear so. In either case, my throat all but closed up in apprehension. Aria had been right. They were trying to push Treize upon me.

"My father will have none of it." I answered evasively.

"But the question is will you have none of it." He countered.

"You said we were meant for greater things, higher purposes." Perhaps his own words would convince him not to go through with this.

"Yes, I did dream of great things for us. We must achieve them together. I dreamed of the future that must be, that I must make. And you must be there making it with me. I do not love you, and this is not a romantic plea. I am telling you what must be for the future. I know what must be done and only I can do it. And you must be there because it must be so."

Far too many 'must be's' for my liking, but I did not want to bark at an ailing man.

"Treize, you are only a young man. The path may seem clear but it is not always so. Try not to put much stock in dreams. It will only-"

"It was more than a dream, Lady, it was Providence."

"We have separate paths, Treize. I have duties to my family and I must obey them before all. I will be Eldest Child and no one may alter that. I am sorry." I tried to sound apologetic as if I was breaking his heart, even though I knew I was not. But Treize seemed less than deterred. He leaned his head back against the pillow and smiled almost euphorically.

"I will be your family. You will have no other before me."

Now I was getting angry. No man told me what my destiny was (unless he was my father). Had I not told him before I never wished to be under the rule of another? Did he not realize how insulting it was to order me around? I would not be caged by him or anyone. No man controlled me.

"You are still ill, Mr. Khushrenada."

"No, Your Excellency. That is how I will be addressed. I will insist upon it when I have the power, so you should become accustomed to it now. And I don't like your name either. Analicia is so stilted and rigid on my tongue, and I don't like Leecy either; far too childish. You need something regal, my Lady. I think I will call you . . ." here he stopped for a moment to consider. "I will call you Anne. It is related enough to your first name to be acceptable. Anne, the name of Queens. It will come to suit you, in time." He finished off his point by firmly taking my hand and raising it to his mouth. It was not a sweet gesture but a forceful one because he held my hand so tightly that there was no way I could have pulled away until he wished it. It was a gesture of command and of subjugation. But instead of feeling outrage at his supposition of the future, I felt a twisting knot of dread unfurl in my stomach as if a part of me believed what he said would be true. I wanted to bolt but my spirit was already adhered to his side. He was so different, a specter of the young boy who I had met only weeks ago. Treize now seemed nothing like a boy, but more of a much older man, sagely and prophetic, or simply mad. Had he had some supernatural vision that so transformed his mind? I was more inclined to believe his senses had been swept clean by the overdose of the Epilepsy drug.

"Do you know, but I find you pretty when you are scared." It was a terrible thing to say and it made my dread increase. But I had to speak and cling to the hope that his mind was not made up on this and that this was just brain damage talking.

"You are not well, and you are scaring me" His eyes darkened slightly and his gaze turned predatory.

"You are not afraid of me, you are afraid of yourself."

That was it! I snatched back my hand as soon as he loosened his grip and stood up defensively from his bed. Immediately I began barraging him with my own commentary on his "vision". I detested the insinuation that I feared myself. How the hell would he know one way or another? We barely knew each other. I gave him an ear full of my disdain and after a few seconds he held up his hand and made the talking sign to indicate it was all blah blah blah to him.

"Oh I see you haven't changed at all. Still the arrogant ass you have always been. Only now you are fucked in the head. I guess this is just the icing on the cake. At least now you will have an excuse when people ask 'what the hell is wrong with that man.'" I stood to leave, but he was quicker, deceivingly so. Who would have thought a person only a day out of a coma could move that fast. He stopped me before I could leave the room by grabbing my wrist and twisting it hard.

"You are going to have to learn how to speak to me." He emphasized his point by increasing the pressure on him wrist and it hurt, a lot. But I had been well trained by my Sensei. Without really thinking, my free hand shot forward and pinched his neck, my fingers digging into his artery. It was a move that when done correctly would freeze a person for a few moments, staunching the blood to the brain. Supposedly if you were strong enough, you could kill a man this way. So Treize and I stood in the doorway, he holding my wrist painfully hard and I controlling the blood that quenched his brain. It didn't immobilizing him but he couldn't put any more pressure on me or move enough to stop me.

"I guess this is war." He whispered. I glared at him.

"Seems that way." We stood at a stalemate for another few seconds and finally he let go of my wrist. In turn I released my hold on his neck.

"See you on the field" he spoke as I opened the door and left him standing there.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I could have told you he was a nut bag. But you never asked." Aria swung her feet over the side of her bed. I sat behind her, brushing and braiding her hair. "I hate it here. I want to be back in Dover with my target practice. We were just moving up to rifles when Father sent me to that school. And this family is so pretentious. Do they really think we are too stupid to notice that they haven't taken us anywhere in the three weeks since we arrived. And now you hate Treize so what the hell is the point of us even being here. Ouch, careful!" I snagged a particularly tough knot. Aria's hair was very thick and it loved to tangle.

"I don't hate him, Aria. I'm just not going to lie down for him or his family. Never thought I would say this, but I'd rather to go home." Aria turned and met my eyes.

"Don't say that. Don't wish to run home with your tail between your legs. You have to fight him on this. Remember, he is only this way because he thinks he needs you. You have all the power in this situation. So get back at him. When that Christmas party starts, I say you ignore him, flirt with other men Show interest in anything but Treize Khushrenada."

It was an excellent plan, but there was a hard catch. Treize words, his hazy little speeches kept coming back. He was a man who had the will and the audacity to command me and something about that caught my attention. I was interested in Treize Khushrenada, and that was the difficulty. But it was a small interest, one that threatened to grow. Aria was right, I should avoid him, for that reason alone I should have nothing to do with him. I told Aria I would do just as she advised knowing even then that I wouldn't be able to.

"Father will be here in a few days" she added. It killed the conversation.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I found Treize the next day, not long after the breakfast from which he was conspicuously absent, in the formal living room. He was sitting immobile in a rigid-backed chair, staring into space, and he looked as if he had been there for some time. For a moment I forgot about the war we had declared on each other the day before and thought on what the doctor had said of him. His brain had been damaged, not severely so, but enough that he would be permanently effected. Here before me was the result, an almost catatonic state. Would Mentescadere so this to me?

"Can't keep yourself away, can you?" he spoke. I had been staring at him and he had been quite conscious the entire time. I was irritated but too interested in his state to really get into it with him. I took the seat opposite him and leaned forward, like an examining doctor.

"Do you feel much different? What is it like?" Treize leaned forward to answer me so that we were only a foot apart.

"Like being reborn." He was going to say something else, but a beeping noise went off inside his jacket. It was his telecom device and he put up an excusing hand to me as he answered the call. "Bonjour? Ah! Comment allez vous, mon ami?" he broke to laugh a little at what the muffled voice answered back. "Alright, I'll speak International, but only because I like you. How are you, Zechs? Is the Academy treating you well?" More muffled answers. "You will be at my party, will you not? We have much to discuss and mother would be devastated if her favorite foundling were not present. What's that? . . . Oh, beautiful, absolutely beautiful. You can meet her this week when you arrive . . . Very well, I will see you then. Soyez bien" he clicked the device off and engaged me once again.

"Now, where were we? Would you prefer Asia, or the Riviera?"

"For what?"

"For our honeymoon of course. I would prefer some place warm, myself, but I will leave the final decision up to you, of course." He flashed a smile at me as if we were having a pleasant conversation. I just looked at him the way people look at a mime. Then, knowing I had asked for it, I tossed up my hands and got up from my place, ready to leave.

"You are never going to give it up, are you?" I said walking out. But he laughed and called out behind me.

"I most certainly will give it up, the question is will you. I don't want a cold wife who forsakes my bed." It took me a few beats to figure out what he meant, but then I caught on, another tasteless remark. "I'm not really worried since you were schooled at Madame Lefrey's. I am sure you will know exactly what to do." God, but he had a mean spirit in him. He also knew just how to goad me into fighting with him.

"How do you know I won't set your bed on fire while you sleep?" I flicked my eyebrow at him in challenge. A slow and sultry smile crawled across his face.

"I have great hope of you setting my bed on fire every night. But if you mean literally and not sexually, then no, I am not worried. Once I have you there will be no danger of you getting away like that."

"And what happens if I find someone else? What if there is another man whose bed I prefer to set afire?" Let him choke on that possibility.

"There will be no one else. I'll kill any man you so much as smile at." I scoffed at him, he was bluffing, even though the look in his eye was serious. This boy wasn't capable of killing anything.

"Don't mistake me, my Lady Anne. You and I have an inseparable destiny and I will not tolerate insubordination toward that destiny. Laugh and scoff all you want now, but mark my words, you will come to serve me and the future that must be" He stood and I felt how tall he was. I still had some growing to do, but Treize, like Zechs, would always tower over me.

"This is a battle you can't win, Treize"

"I'll win it, even if I have to tear down your house and all your family. I most assuredly will win."

This time, he was the one to walk out, leaving me behind with my anger. The knotted dread in my stomach spread and churned, along with something even more frightening that I couldn't yet name.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"This is it" Sudara Okami breathed to herself as the small car approached the house. It was larger than she expected, but just as imposing as she imagined. In the milky light of a cloudy sky, it sat almost romantically a few hundred yards from the cliffs edge, far enough away to assure safety from any storm surge but close enough to give it an edge. The wind blew high and hard at this house, coming from off the churning sea below. She imagined that the sea was never calm at this place, crashing at the white cliffs and rocks below. It reminded her of a famous English novel she had once read, Wuthering.something. She couldn't remember the title exactly, but this house looked like the perfect setting for such a story, old, and strained, holding out against the torrid air of the sea. She wondered if the passions inside the house matched the might of the wind blowing at its sills.

Okami pulled her rental car up to the gate and spent a full minute examining the iron letter welded there, D, for Delizabane. Not quite an English name, she couldn't place the exact origin. But this was where they lived nonetheless, and where she was sure she would find that man. He had always appeared to her on the heels of disaster, first in the act of murdering Lady Une, the next was random, but six months following the Parisian rebellion had taken place. He was a harbinger of woe and some how this family was connected with him. Okami had no doubt now that he was an agent of the Lady of Dover. Who else would want the Chief Preventer dead? The Preventers were standing in direct opposition to this hostile family. She had heard Quatre saying it to his friends many times. Well, if this is where she would find that young man, then this is where she needed to be. Tentatively, she pressed the button on the com box and asked for admittance.

"The Lady sees no one. Please leave" the guard's voice echoed through the little box. She hadn't really expected to get in, but she was prepared to do what was necessary. She pressed the button again.

"I have urgent news for her, of the Preventers and . . . of Lady Une." This time the guard took his time then asked for her name, which she gave truthfully. After a few more moments, she was again denied access. Frustrated, Okami got back into the little car and pulled down the road. If they wanted to play hard ball, she could accommodate them. After pulling some distance away, Okami hid the car as best she could off the road, then worked her way through a semi-sparse thicket, edging her way toward the property. It didn't take long before she heard the waves crashing on the cliff and reached a perimeter fence. It was electrified and this would prove a problem. For another ten minutes she explored the perimeter until she found an opportunity. A large tree was craned just enough so that a good jump off one of the higher branches might get her over to the other side. Recalling how good she had been at this as a child, Okami took to climbing the tree. The bark dug and came loose under her fingernails as she searched for foot holds. It wasn't easy and she was sweating by the time she reached a good height, but she had made it. Looking down, however, worried her more than anything else; it would be a long jump/fall to the ground on the other side. There was a strong possibility that she wouldn't pull it off without breaking something. Her apprehension caught in her throat and Okami wondered briefly what she was doing there. Then she remembered her purpose. She was there for revenge and for her honor. That man had twice dishonored her and it was time for his comeuppance. She might not be an assassin or a soldier, but Okami had pride enough for any fight and she had a brain too, a good one. She was sure she could get what she wanted. Quatre wouldn't understand now, but when or if she returned to him, he would eventually come to accept this. This had to be done.

Reaching in her pocket, she made sure her gun and the small communication device within were secure and took a deep breath. Bending down, she got as much height as she could when she sprung forth from the tree limb and landed on the ground only inches away from the fence. Her adrenaline coursed through her and she was able to land in a roll and stopped herself before she fell back against the fence. Her eyes widened at how close she had come to being electrified and she stood still for a moment staring at the metal that coursed with hidden energy, as a person stares at a snake ready to strike. Regaining herself, Okami got up and moved on.

But she had not come away as unscathed as she would have liked. Her ankle buckled and she fell forward on her knees. Nearby there were some bushes and she quickly crawled behind them to cover herself while she examined the ankle. A solid sprain, she had had them before and knew what it felt like. But at least it wasn't broken. Hell, she might have broken her leg or even her neck in that jump. A sprained ankle was livable; she would have to be extra careful and hope that she wasn't caught in a situation where she needed to run.

Without running available, she hobbled. After taking a good look at where she was, she saw that her best bet was a garden opening some yards away to the left. There appeared to be no one around and no one at the windows. When her courage built up again, she hobbled into the cover of the garden. There were hedges and trees that would shield her from sight. Once again hidden behind an outcropping of bushes, she peered into the garden. It was secluded and rather large. No one was around. Keeping to the foliage, Okami made her away around, noticing a path that lead to an atrium terrace. There were French doors leading into what was probably a grand room. Perhaps it would make for a good entrance. No guards could be found. Okami crept up as best she could to the doors, keeping to the wall in a way that might keep her hidden from those inside. It was getting difficult to breath softly with all these quick movements. Okami waited several minutes for her heart to beat slower and her breath to come easier. Then she leaned forward and looked through the panes of the French doors.

Then her breath completely caught. It was a bedroom and an opulent one at that. There was a large bed directly in front of her view, and various medical instruments surrounding the bed. She saw the room's sole occupant very clearly, and was transfixed. Lady Une was lying there amongst the white covers, seemingly asleep. Without really planning her move, Okami reached for the handle of the doors and tried to open them. But they would not budge. Locked? No, she could see through the window panes, the lock had been destroyed. So Okami went with the next impulse that came to mind; she tried to awaken Lady Une. A few quiet knocks on the glass served no purpose, Anne did not stir and Okami, again noting such things as an IV stand, wondered if perhaps she could not wake up. If that was the case, then she would be no help in opening these doors. Had the lock not been destroyed, she might have been able to risk breaking a pane of glass. Now what would she do? Still watching Anne's death like sleep, Okami pondered her situation.

But the man standing behind her decided things for her when he seized her head and knocked it hard enough against the door frame to render her senseless. She collapsed in a heap and he picked her up in a fireman's carry.

It was several hours before she awoke in the corner of a dimly lit room. The throbbing in her head hit Okami the second she reached a conscious state and she involuntarily whimpered, grabbing the side of her head. The floor was hard wood under her body and the wall she was facing was of the same stuff. She listened for a few moments, but all she could hear was the wind hitting the outer wall of the house and knew she had been caught. Okami recalled the last things she had seen, Anne sleeping in that bed and a terrible pain in her head.

Okami put her hands on the floor and pushed herself up. The pain in her head made her dizzy and she fell back against the corner of the room in a sitting position. It would be tough to gain her feet. At least from here she could make out her surroundings. There was only one light, and it was an oil lamp, lit at the other end of this small room. A simply made twin size bed, a few odds and ends, a chair, a small desk, a dresser and side table, and a huge gun rack coupled with a glass fronted cabinet were the objects that filled these quarters. The chair on the far end was not empty either, and in the dim light Okami saw that instead of finding her target, her target had found her. It was him, and he was staring at her.

"Again, we are both awake." He muttered. Okami instinctually reached down into her pocket for the gun she had brought, not realizing the obvious until her hand found nothing but the very small communicator that was deeper down in the folds of her jacket. The gun was gone, but it hadn't gone far; he had it in his hands. "A poor model, not efficient, not silent enough." He held the gun in front of the oil lamp for inspection. Okami's stomach knotted.

"Who were you planning to use this on?"

Okami couldn't speak, indeed she could barely think. All she could concentrate on was that he was wearing all black, just like last time. The man got up and started walking to her. He was pulling back and releasing the hammer on the gun and Okami's throat swelled with fear. But there was a sound of static that stopped him and he turned to the wall, hair hanging down in his eyes.

"Mikhail, come to my office. We will be having a visitor." It was a woman's voice.

So his name was Mikhail, a name to go along with the nightmare. Mikhail sighed in frustration and turned back. He put the gun inside his jacket as he turned the oil lamp off. The room was soon pitch-black, and she could hear him moving again. Then she saw the tiny light coming from under the door. It opened and he stood on the threshold.

"Don't go anywhere." He whispered and shut the door, locking it from the outside. The pain in her head was ebbing, but she could still feel tears rising behind her eyes. What would she do now?

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Christmas day seemed to race toward me and suddenly, I experienced that most celebrated of Christian holidays with the vigor of a Roman Catholic family who had a tradition of lavish festivity. It was a cacophony of lights, sugar and finery, a great spectacle for the eye and nose. As much as I tried to concentrate on my ongoing battle with young Treize Khushrenada, the distraction and mystery of Christmas was ever present. The eve was my favorite part of it. It was a wonderful night full of anticipation for a miracle that happened so long ago. I didn't believe in the religious aspects of it all, but it was fun to partake in this festival of Christ nonetheless.

The Khushrenadas were a somewhat devote family with their own personal chapel on the Manoir estate. Aria was not as open-minded as I about the whole event but she still joined me when the family invited us to the Christmas service. The Duchess was sensitive to our Atheism and I think she believed that just the right setting and words would convince us of Christ's passion. The Evening Mass was a great to-do with candles and singing and an enormous amount of ceremony that, though I found it silly, was charming as well. I sat next to the Duchess, since seating was by rank, and Aria endured the companionship of Treize and Gabriel behind me. I was in full swing with Aria's plan for ignoring Treize and did not spare him a glance the entire evening.

Christmas morning was anti-climatic. Presents are all well and good but it all didn't seem to fit in with the Mass of the previous night. But it really didn't matter since the real treat would begin that evening with the Christmas celebration. The families of Romafellar were to all be there, as this was the only place to be on Christmas. The Duke's parties were supposedly the highlight of any season. I was looking forward to learning the names and faces of the men and Generals I would be working with once Merrick turned over the family to my care. It was clear from listening to both Treize and Jareth that Romafellar society was a society that revered the military. If one wished to be successful, he did not go into business or politics, but into the army. It was the only way a person really advanced themselves, and the only respectable position for a nobleman. Though a person could excel in business and politics, they would never be recognized as quality until they had acquired a respectable military rank.

I dressed in red that night, in one of my favored dresses that fit well and made me look older and more sophisticated. It was flattering enough to be feminine but still gave me an air of respectability befitting my position. Aria approved, she wore a dark green velvet gown that flattered her hair and complexion. We both used all that we had learned of the art of beauty from Lefrey's to make ourselves look presentable to the crowd we would meet. I also prepared myself to look into the eyes of my contemporaries who would know that I had set that school on fire and killed some of their own. But I would be safe, holding fast to the knowledge that none of them could touch me. My father would be there too and he would prevent any such outrage.

My father would be there too . . . My heart sank.

"You look beautiful" my sister smiled and complimented me. I knew that she was not just flattering, but still I gave a skeptical huff and she reiterated. "No, I mean it, you are stunning." I hugged her and when the clock struck seven, we went down stairs.

The Duchess was greeting guests, hundred of them had already arrived early and the halls and rooms were filling with nobility. There was much going on outside as well, a great area had been cleared off for dancing, with heaters poised strategically and almost invisibly all about so that the temperature on the floor was balanced and comfortable. It was a beautiful effect, the snow surrounding the floor, marking its borders and the placement of heaters and fans created a layer of mist that clung to the ground so that the guests would be dancing in clouds. But the floor was not wet or slippery. Ice sculptures adorned the area and lights shining and sparkling from the snow and ice made it the most beautiful of scenes. I knew I would be spending much time out there.

Lady Arcardia sprang on us as soon as she saw us come down from the upstairs and hurriedly began showing off the Isle Countess she had as her guest. I saw the expression that people couldn't hide when they were introduced to me. It was fascinating, a mixture of fear and awe; as if I was part of a fantastic legend they had never dared to believe in. I held myself very proudly and unashamedly, thinking that Bram would be proud of this kind of performance.

I wondered if my father had arrived yet and suspected that he might have. Mr. Khushrenada nor his sons were in the immediate area. The Duchess finally relinquished us and I was allowed to mingle with the guests. It was difficult to get anywhere since people stopped to pay their shivering respects every few feet. I really didn't want to speak with any of them too much, just enough to learn names to file away for later use. Mostly I was in search of Merrick or Bram perhaps. I couldn't find any of them and when I turned around after a time I found that I had lost Aria in the crowd.

I made my way to the misty outside ballroom where the younger crowd was already making use of the place. A live orchestra played for them and apparently the Waltz was still very much in fashion among the aristocracy. I had no wish to dance, never having liked it much. Instead, I moved about and took advantage of my invisibility among the younger faces. If there were any Lefrey girls, they probably wouldn't have recognized me.

However, it didn't take long for the young men to notice me and one by one they made their way over to me to make overtures and invitations. How I wish Treize had been there so that could have choked on the sight. I liked the idea of making him jealous and getting a rise out of him. It was interesting to have that power over him. I didn't pay attention to most of their names. There were the Weyridge brothers, a Baron's son, and several young Viscounts, all of them held good rank in the Alliance Special Forces, most of them were training in Mobile Suit combat. I was able to evade their request for my own name in order to get as much information as possible. Finally, I could no longer be evasively rude and gave them my full name and title.

Three of them backed off right away. I imagined at the time that my violent reputation preceded me, but I was mistaken. I heard one of them mutter as he made his excuses and left my company "It figures that she is the one Treize wants us to stay away from." This bit agitated me. So he thought to warn everyone against me ahead of time. Well, I didn't answer to Treize and I didn't think they did either. I took the arm of one of the retreating Viscounts, much to his sudden apprehension, and made to walk with him as if he was my favored one, declaring in a loud but pleasant voice "Mr. Khushrenada is too kind to single me out in such a way, but I must say he does not control my movements, or yours, right my dear Viscount?" I attempted to be charming and winning, and felt I succeeded rather well. The young man stammered and nodded.

"Excellent, then I would be pleased with a dance. You wouldn't refuse the Countess of Mortain such a simple thing, would you?" I exerted my social authority as an added incentive for him to agree; all the while I looked about me, wondering from where the bastard Khushrenada was watching me. My favored one agreed and we danced a set perfectly, although I could see he was nervous. Was Treize so much to be feared?

Others seemed to take a cue from my young man and, though I still did not like dancing, I danced with every young man who offered, and several older ones who were intrigued by my nationality. This was tedious at times, but I was refreshed by the act of turning the tables on Treize, who still had not appeared. I finally saw Aria, who was on the borders, surrounded by both young men and women asking about the Isle and such. She looked miserable, but I had not time to rescue her. Later, the Baron Venduven was getting me a drink as I smiled pleasantly at him. I was actually half enjoying myself, but it was important to look as if I was on cloud nine, because my enemy might be looking on, hopefully, in rage. While I waited for the Baron to return, I saw someone across the floor that caught my attention. It was a very tall boy standing on the sidelines and looking bored. His eyes were focused on the ground and I couldn't make out many of his features save for his platinum blond hair, but I could sense, even through the distance between us, that he was sad. When he picked up his face and looked out onto the floor, I marked him, even as his eyes went through me and through everyone else, seeing all and nothing.

I think it is important to note that I did not mark Treize at all the first time I saw him, or even the second time. However, when I first looked upon Zechs Merquise, I most certainly took notice. Who could not help but notice the handsome youth with hair that could almost match the snow he stood beside? He did not yet feel it necessary to bear the mask he would in later years. His jacket was as red as my gown. He had come in the Special's uniform and I wanted immediately to know who he was. I found myself drawn to his sad air, wondering what made him so melancholy. But the Baron returned with my drink, and when I looked back, the young man was gone and I couldn't find him again.

Eventually, I was overheated from dancing and laughing with all my attentive gentlemen. I needed to calm down; the game was over for now. My father would be here and I needed to be presentable when I met him. So with many polite excuses, I made my escape from the ballroom and went to the rose garden. My head was full of funny vengeful things to say to Treize if I saw him that evening, but I was fazing them out in order to concentrate for my encounter with Merrick. I was sure he would be there by now. The Christmas air was cold and it worked perfectly to cool my spirits down. I looked up as I paced around the hedges to find the center of the garden. The stars shown bright above me in a clear sky and I was reminded of how the stars and wind had been my only confidants at the terrible school. My lips curved in a natural smile. My life was so much better now. I was close to happy.

Then I turned the corner and walked right into him, slamming into his sturdy chest, which was blue clad. He was wearing his military uniform, like all the others, but his was more decorative than the rest. The light from the crescent moon above us was enough for me to see just how perturbed he was. Treize's mouth was a tight line and he stood very rigid. For the first time I began to consider the possibility that there might be actual consequences to crossing him. I didn't conclude anything fast enough; or back far enough away, the alarms in my head didn't go off in time to escape. Without a word, he grabbed me by the shoulders and threw me to the ground. I landed hard on my side but I wasn't there long before he grabbed me by the neck and slammed my head into the stone bench, the very same one where I had found him weeping weeks before. My defensive training failed me in those moments, because I had never once considered Treize to be this kind of enemy. Our war wasn't supposed to be physical. Obviously he had upped the ante. My head landed against the hard cold stone and I felt the sharpest pain shuddering down my neck and up into my crown. But I made no noise. That kind of pain shuts you up before you can cry out. All I heard was Treize growl something to the effect of "You did this to yourself" and then his boots on the snow as he walked out. After that, I only recall looking back up to the stars that had witnessed the whole incident.

Suddenly, I was cold.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The morning sun reflected off of Tallgeese's cockpit and blinded Wufei for a moment. He had disembarked from his own suit minutes ago, as had the rest of the squadron, but Zechs was taking his time. He kept revving his engines and listening as they died down. Wufei was familiar with this method of testing the output after flight, but Zechs always had to spend extra time. Wufei could hear the pitch as the engines squealed to a shut down. If it were Nataku, she would have to be recalibrated. But Tallgeese was Zechs' territory, and a man shouldn't interfere with another man's suit. If Tallgeese needed some extra mechanical attention, it was Zechs' business.

At length Zechs came out, the wind whipped at the loose parts of his Preventer uniform and his hair was wisely tied back. Wufei saw that his brow was puckered in dissatisfaction and he knew Tallgeese would be taken to the line for maintenance. Hildre was not far away, disentangling herself from her own suit. The girl was ambitious, but she still had plenty to learn about Mobile Suit piloting. It was a miracle Zechs tolerated her. Wufei did not like bothersome amateurs attempting to be absurdly brave in times of war. He felt she would more likely screw things up at a critical moment than save the day like she hoped to.

"Damn thrust is off" Zechs cursed as he walked by him. Wufei had to suppress a groan. Zechs whined and pined too much for his taste. "Where is Trowa? He was supposed to report to me about that Dr. that was captured in Boston. And where is that report on the EMP configuration? Christ do I have to do everything myself?" He was walking fast now and Wufei suddenly disliked how tall the man was.

"Did you always bitch this much when you were in OZ?" Wufei muttered.

"What was that Preventer Earth? Being snippy to your commander?" Zechs slowed down his pace.

"My commander is imprisoned in Dover. You are just someone I am putting up with until we can regain her."

"Humph."

"To answer your questions, Trowa is interviewing Alendro back at the headquarters, in the detention center. He found that he had no taste working on the EMP configurations with Luscian Tenné, as most of us don't. So Sally stepped in and is working on the Configuration plan. But last she told me things did not look hopeful. No configuration seems to work against the Calypso's cloaking ability." He let Zechs chew on that report before he suggested that they go to the interrogation. Zechs distractedly concurred and within a half hour, they were back at Headquarters. Zechs checked his watch and made calls back to his estate home, questioning the staff on the health of the infant that Lady Une had been forced to leave behind there. He had a fever of some kind and now Zechs' daughter was sick too. This prompted the most irritating of reactions from Preventer Wind. Zechs was in full parental mode and Sally had been ready to throw him out of Preventer Headquarters when, at every opportunity, he started wiping down every surface with anti-bacterial spray, saying he didn't want to take any germs home to his kids.

"Zechs, spray that one more time and I will relieve you of duty on the grounds of obsessive compulsive behavior! My coffee now tastes like lemon scented Cleans-It and I don't want disinfectant in my lunch!" she had yelled at him when she saw the yellow bottle in his hands. Zechs had wisely desisted.

Zechs snapped his communicator away, irritably. Apparently the baby was not any better than he had been thirty minutes ago. "You should send the boy to Italy"
"There is no chance that I am sending him down to Dorothy. I don't want any of my kids near a Catalonia." Clearly, Zechs had conveniently forgotten the facts of Treize Alexander's parentage and that he had no part in it. But Wufei couldn't say he cared much either way, so he let sleeping dogs lie. They reached the detention center and could see Trowa on the inside with a very nervous old man.

Alendro was by all proper terms, spilling his guts. It was impossible to know what Trowa had said to get the man to break like a waterfall. He had his own methods. But there, in any case, Alendro sat in a sparse interrogation room that was a throw back to twentieth century western police stations, complete with the two-way mirrors. He was shaking and sweating, perhaps close to tears when Zechs opened the door, rolling up his sleeves in reaction to the heat of the room.

"I only went to Boston for the drug, nothing more. I am no spy" he was blubbering covering his face with his hands. Trowa reported that he had been saying this for over forty minutes and it was entirely possible that his involvement with the house of Delizabane was only in a medical capacity. Wufei watched Zechs from the cooler side of the mirror and could see that Zechs was eager to sink his claws into Alendro. He had confided to Sally and Wufei that he had had an intuition about the man since the day he arrived on Anne's doorstep. Wufei had also learned that he and Anne had experienced something of a Lover's spat the morning Alendro arrived. He was inclined to think that might be part of the reason Zechs wasn't fond of the old doctor. Zechs didn't like people or things that distracted him from his targets.

"So, Mr. Felius. Who sent you to Boston" Zechs turned a chair and sat down in it backwards, bracing his arms on the back, eyeing the prisoner.

"I already told him why" Alendro pointed to Trowa who told the doctor to tell it all again.

"I was sent to Boston by Lady Aria. She gave me the name of a specialist she had been in regular communication with. He is a neurologist who is working on treatments for Mentescadere. I was sent to get the treatment drug for the Countess. She suffers greatly now from the disorder. But I was only sent for that, no other reason. I have committed no crime. All this business was conducted legally." The man wrung his hands at Zechs in a pleading fashion. Zechs put up a calming hand. "Tell me about this. Mente-.Mentes. whatever. And why Aria needs treatment for it so badly."

"She needs it for the Countess."

"Yes, but why does the Aria need it? She is the Countess." He tried to be as emphatic as he could. Alendro shook his head and his hands.

"No no no, The Countess is Lady Analicia. She suffers much from the disorder now. The whole family suffers from it, but she needs the treatment far more than the rest right now. They only make the drug in America. It is where the disease started. The dominant gene carrying the disorder comes from her American bloodline.. I was only there to get the treatment so that Lady Analicia might wake up."

Zechs listened very carefully. Wufei saw that he never blinked and hardly moved while Alendro answered questions about what the disease entailed; the symptoms, the effects, the treatment, the history, and the current condition of Lady Une. How the Delizabane used to be an American resettlement family and lived on the Eastern Coast several hundred years ago. How radiation from the Third Great War's nuclear strike had poisoned the environment, and ultimately the families who resettled there. Two hundred years had only done so much to clean the ecosystem. It was only a half-livable place when the family resettled there. They all became sick with Cancers and Mentescadere and what remained of the line fled to the Isle where the disease still ravaged the family. He described the diseases affect on Lady Une, beginning with early manifestations in her childhood, taking more serious forms during her service in OZ, its seemingly dormant stage after the Eve Wars, an its recent vengeful resurgence that had now reduced her to an almost comatose state. After another thirty minutes, Zechs didn't want to hear anymore and they stopped the interrogation. Trowa and Zechs, sweaty and tired, came out of the room and went right to the coffee.

"That's it." Trowa said, taking it black and sipping carefully. "That's what they're waiting for." Zechs nodded, stirring crème into his cup and taking a sip. Then he grimaced "This does taste like disinfectant!"

"So she is catatonic?" Wufei inquired, trying to clear up what he had heard from the interrogation room.

"Something like that. But at least we know what they are stalling for." Trowa answered. Zechs stuffed a cracker in his mouth and drank again.

"They are waiting for her to wake up, which works out well for us. When we have something prepared for attacking the Calypsos, then we can send Alendro on his way with the treatment. If we can control when Lady Une wakes up, we can control when Aria makes her move. All we have to do is figure out what part Lady Une will be made to play." Wufei summarized. "We have a window to strike. If we can get a working weapon against those cloaked suits, then we can strike them before they strike us. We must attack there complex in Dover."

"That place is tighter than the Presidential building during the Eve War. It will take more than a simple attack. We need someone on the inside." Trowa added.

"The Commander is on the inside"

"She won't do us any good if she is incapacitated. Lady Une is too much of a variable, and we must assume Relena and Mariemaia are prisoners the same as she. We need someone else on the inside" Trowa folded his arms.

Zechs strummed his fingers along the countertop, thinking deeply and reported that they already had someone on the inside. But he wouldn't say anymore than that. Finally, Zechs put down his coffee and went back into Commander Mode.

"Get everyone working on an offensive strategy. I want a viable attack plan on my desk by tomorrow. I don't care if you have to sacrifice sleep or if you have to endure Tenné the whole time. This may be the only chance we have to get them, make it count." He waved them off and the two of them reluctantly dispersed.

How long could they hold off? How long would it take to crack the mystery of that damned Calypso cloaking system? What if Anne woke up on her own before they were ready? What if Gabriel already knew exactly what moves the Preventers would make?

Too many questions for the moment that Zechs had not yet have the answers for.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Gabriel was mechanical when he fucked Kateline. The job was tedious but necessary, and so he performed his duty with efficiency and coldness, it saved time and spared the bullshit. And it didn't seem that Kateline cared for his affection so long as she was satisfied. This was the best possible standard for their relationship. He would give her what she wanted. She would keep her mouth shut and her claws out of things that concerned him. It was the perfect way to placate Kateline's darker needs and it didn't require anything emotional from Gabriel. All in all it was a very easy arrangement.

But right now it was a nuisance. Kateline had demanded attentions from him this evening and argued that his services were not needed in any other area of the house other than in her bed. But Gabriel was distracted. He had had Foresight of an intruder earlier that day and had reported to Lady Aria about an impending visitor. It was no surprise when the young woman, Sudara Okami had been found on the property. Mikhail had dealt with it and everyone seemed satisfied with the removal of free variables roaming around the premises. But Gabriel's inner eye was still open, sweeping the perimeter, unsatisfied with the day's results. There would be another intruder. He could feel the warning grazing his spine whenever he closed his eye. Gabriel had spent all afternoon in the cockpit of Epyon II, talking with Zero, training his mind to See. All he was left with after a long conversation was the system was the lingering alert of approaching danger.

He needed to concentrate on that danger, but Zero was not aiding him. Now, Kateline was distracting him with her hungers. Gabriel had finally given into her demands and topped her twice in the hopes of shutting her up for a while. Lady Aria had put Mikhail on alert for another trespasser earlier in the afternoon, so he didn't really need to be worrying about anything. But that didn't mean he wouldn't worry.

Kateline rubbed her hand down his bare chest purposefully and he groaned at her, having no desire for round three. "I need a drink". Not wanting to spend any more time tonight driving the woman through the mattress, he rose from the bed, naked, and went to the small bar Kateline kept. It was packed with a variety of hard liquors, which pleased him. He took Vodka with no ice and dispatched it straight. Kateline sat up with the sheets wrapped around her sweat-laden body, tapping her fingers on her lap. Gabriel mixed a drink and brought it over to his lover, his mind was on anything but her.

"Looking for something?" she breathed, taking the drink from him. Gabriel ignored her. His senses were scanning the house, waiting for some disturbance to trigger the blood and the vision that would give him answers.

"Don't feel like talking? I thought we might talk about your childhood . . . maybe your time in space." Kateline's finger stirred the drink in her grasp. Damn bitch, she must have been feeling gutsy and mean tonight. Kateline knew very well that he didn't remember much of anything prior to being taken by the family. For all the powers of the Zero system, it hadn't been able to restore his knowledge of the past. Sometimes it gifted him with visions of the past, but usually other people's past, his brother's, Lady Aria's, but never his own. So he had learned to look forward and not back. Visions of the future were more numerous than any other, though more cryptic. But he was sure of a few things, Zechs would be coming soon, and then Anne was going to die. He saw it a number of times. He would be standing on the lawn with Zechs, both of them looking up at the window where Anne stood watching them. And then there would be a popping sound and her chest would explode onto the glass of the window pane, shot from behind at close range. Neither of them would be able to stop it. It was what would be.

Gabriel moved to put on his clothes, which clearly displeased his mistress. She started again to bait him with his lack of memory, telling him bits and pieces of his past. "Of course, you can't know if anything I say is true, after all. Your memories are behind a locked door, aren't they? It must be so sad to have to rely on other people to tell you who and what you are. But come back over here, Gabriel, and I will show what you are and what you are good for."

He did go back to her, but only long enough to land a hard smack across her face, even as he moved he felt the little dribble of blood starting from his nose and heard Zero begin whispering to him from the inside. He comes, to the South Bunker. Kateline fell over from the impact of his hand, but she was laughing. She liked to be hit by him. Gabriel hurried on his clothes and felt the knowledge getting ready to break into his mind, as one feels the onset of sexual release. He left the room and started down the hall, letting his sense alert him. The intruder was here, but it was hard to determine who it was. Hand in his pocket, Gabriel brought up the communicator and contacted Mikhail.

"He's here, moving toward the south side bunker, where the President and my niece are. Intercept him. I will be there shortly." Gabriel had a duty to see that the Eldest Child was secure before anything else. His running step resounded through the twisting halls as he went to the western wing. The guard outside Anne's door said he had heard nothing. Gabriel had the door unlocked, and after making certain that she was still asleep and the room indeed had not been breeched, he went to Lady Aria, who sat securely in her office, undisturbed and in no danger. No, Zero was whispering about the South Bunker. He was moving there. Gabriel let his speed increase as he went through the house to the adjoining complex.

Heading for the President. Gabriel reached for his gun and cocked it, ready to kill. The complex was barren of security. Where were the guards? Gone, already dispatched. He is hearing it too, he Sees. The warning from Zero didn't come soon enough. Gabriel had reached the target area of the South Bunker when Zero whispered more clearly. The Intruder could See. The Intruder knew he was coming. The Intruder could be Zechs. But more likely . . .

All of it came too late to his mind. Heero Yuy appeared from a darkened corner just outside the room where they were holding Relena Darlian. Gabriel inwardly cursed himself as he was knocked to his knees by the blow. Zero didn't warn him quick enough. Gabriel turned and Saw Heero's movements an instant before he made them. He was able to catch the kick that Heero was levying on him and twist the man's leg until Heero backed off. Gabriel rose to his feet and the two attacked each other. It was a good fight, two children of the Zero system fighting with complete foresight of the other's moves. Heero would block Gabriel's fists and Gabriel would duck Heero's kicks. Skill was irrelevant at this point. It was a stalemate for two fighters who knew their opponents moves before they were made. But the upper hand eventually went to Gabriel. They stood facing each other, each waiting for Zero to tell them who would attack and from where. However, Heero's foresight failed him when from behind him, Mikhail appeared. Gabriel watched him as if in slow motion as Heero turned around to meet the brunt of Mikhail's blade. It was a short but wide blade that the Slavic assassin skillfully twisted as soon as it pierced Heero's abdomen. The small Japanese man uttered a grunt and fell back. It was a bad blow, and a bad wound. The blood already soaked the front of his black t- shirt. Heero fell directly on his back. Gabriel couldn't resist kicking the man while he was down. He was feeling especially ruthless at this moment. So, producing a set of keys from inside his jacket, he unlocked the secured room.

Both Mariemaia and Relena were close to each other, having undoubtedly listened to the fight outside their walls. Gabriel harshly ordered Mariemaia to come to him and she quickly obeyed, recognizing his dangerous mood. The young girl slipped out of the door, looking back once to Relena, who stood, open-mouthed, as Heero was tossed into the room with her by Mikhail. There he collapsed on a white rug and bled. Relena screeched and frantically moved to help him. Gabriel took a tight hold on his niece's arm and spoke lowly to the President.

"I leave him to die in your care." He had Mikhail shut the door and the room was secured. Gabriel then set orders for a double guard at this door at ALL times. With Mariemaia in hand, Gabriel returned to the house. His niece made no noise the entire journey through the complex until the reached the main stairs of the manor house. Gabriel ordered one of the staff present to find a secure and comfortable room for his niece.

"I want to see my mother" Mariemaia suddenly demanded. Gabriel shook his head.

"Leia has been dead a long time." he began waving her off.

"No, I want to see Anne, not Leia. Take me to my mother." She pulled her arm loose from the attendant, scowling defiantly. Gabriel nodded for them to take her away. Mariemaia screamed as she was dragged from the room.

"You liar! You liar! You said you would be a father to me! I hate you, Gabriel. You are nothing. You don't deserve to have my name!" Her voice eventually faded down a dark side hall. Gabriel stood silently for a moment, wishing he could remember making promises to the girl. But he only knew what they had told him about her. That she was his brother's daughter. That she was supposed to mean something to him, that she should be kept safe from harm if he could manage it. That was all he knew. He couldn't remember much about her past that. All he remembered of anything were events involving his brother, Zechs' interloping, and Anne's lies. The rest of his life was either irrelevant or something the Delizabanes would not tell him about.

But he had other things to worry about now. Zechs was going to be coming. He had to think upon when that might happen, and how he would best greet him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

AN: Mentescadere, as mentioned in the review section, is a fictional disorder. It is nothing more than a plot device created for the story. While there are diseases, like Alzheimer's, that affects the neurological functions of the brain and subverts a person's ability to access memory, all Mentescadere is, is a melding of the symptoms of Alzheimer's and Schizphrenia and the splicing of the Latin noun for Mind and the Latin verb infinitive To Sink.