Duo was waiting on the docks after their arrival in Sanq, off to the side as Heero and Nanashi directed the porters carrying their and Mariemaia's luggage to the waiting carriages. No one seemed to need him and he figured he better stay out of the chaos until everything was sorted. While he waited, he kept an eye on the nearby seagulls. It was impossible to tell if any of them were Iria, however, as none of them approached him. If she was watching, she wouldn't approach him while Heero and the others were so close at hand.
He thought back to his time on the boat. He hadn't learned much new about Heero and his companions, aside from their prowess at physical combat. He hadn't expected a human Prince to know such things. Though maybe he should have. It was certainly standard in underwater kingdoms.
What had astounded him, however, was Mariemaia. First it had only been the longing way she gazed at the ocean. Her expression was what he imagined his would be if he allowed himself to look at it for any length of time. How he missed the feeling of buoyancy, the swish of water around him as he swam, the beautiful underwater vistas. Sure, there was much beauty in the above world, but it wasn't home.
Her looks of longing had made him wonder if perhaps she was part mer. It wasn't until he started watching her more closely during the dinners that he'd realized what should have been obvious to him sooner. The eye color and shape was identical, her cheekbones just the same slant, the little smirk she sometimes gave just so. She was Treize's daughter.
He had always wondered why it was that Dekim and the royal family of Ryuusei were aware of the merfolk. Now he knew. He realized now that talk of Mariemaia's parents had been entirely avoided during the visit, at least in his hearing, and no wonder. But how could Treize have put Khushrenada Province, nay all the underwater kingdoms, in such jeopardy? It boggled his mind.
He was brought out of his musings when he felt a tug on the bottom of his shirt and turned around to see a grubby child who barely reached his waist looking up at him. A street urchin begging for coin or food? Before Duo could determine which, the child held out a rolled up piece of parchment. He was too surprised to do anything but take it, and as soon as he did, the child scampered away. Duo quickly secreted it away in a pocket. He couldn't imagine Quatre employing a human child to communicate, but what else could it be? Possibly it was for Heero, but he couldn't give it over until he'd had a chance to look at it and be sure.
Soon the luggage was done being loaded and the five of them climbed into the carriages, Heero with Mariemaia in one, he, Nanashi and Catherine in the other. The trip through the streets of Sanq City was a slow one, traffic evident on the thoroughfares as the coach stopped and started. It took about an hour to arrive at the palace, and when they did, he noted that their coach was not received at the same place as Heero's. He wondered if the Prince would have something to say about that, given his preference for his companions to be treated like high ranking nobility despite their lack of titles.
The three of them were shown to rooms in the sprawling palace. He would be sharing with Nanashi. There was no sign of Heero or Mariemaia. In fact, there was no sign of either of them through the rest of the afternoon, their evening meal, or afterward. Soon after dinner was over – a light repast of cheese, hearty bread and fruit – Nanashi relayed that Heero had sent a message that he would meet with them the next morning to discuss what to expect for that evening's coronation.
Duo didn't find a moment alone until well past midnight. Nanashi had fallen asleep and Duo had slipped out of their room with only a candle to light the way. If asked, he could have claimed insomnia without lying. There was no way he would be sleeping until he found out what the message had said.
A few turns away from their room, Duo found a small alcove offset from the hallway, with comfortable seating, a small bookcase, and wide windows. Taking one of the seats, he set his candle on the small table next to it and pulled out the parchment. Unrolling the thick scroll, he was surprised to find that it contained a second, sealed scroll within it. He inspected the seal, but the black wax did not contain any identifying mark. Deciding to ponder that later, he unfurled the outside scroll and began to read.
Your payment is come due. Find the young woman named Sylvia, a friend of Relena Peacecraft. You are to show her the enclosed note. Do not open it yourself; I will know if you do. Find a way to secret her out of the city and take her to Wanderer's Cove. She will know where it is. You will receive further instructions upon your arrival.
-G
Duo's stomach clenched. Treize had insisted that any price was worth it in exchange for Duo's transformation, but how could Duo continue his mission after disappearing for however long this task would require?
He'd have to figure that out later. The only thing he knew about Old Man G was that he was an associate of Dorothy's. No one crossed the Sea Witch, and he reasoned it would be extremely unwise to renege on a promise to one of her… whatever he was.
Wufei swam agitatedly back and forth within the confines of the large stateroom he'd been granted in the palace in the capital of Khushrenada Province, while Meilan looked on in exasperation.
"What exactly did Treize tell you?" she asked finally, evidently impatient with his brooding.
"He updated me on the mission Duo was sent on. After being kept in the dark for so long, I thought it would be a relief to finally know what was happening. But what I learned was troubling."
"Tell me," she requested simply, and Wufei had to smile to himself at her less than forceful tone. She had been as impatient as he about this matter, so he knew she was exerting herself to keep that impatience from bleeding into her speech. Probably out of consideration for him. Their marriage was not the most demonstrative, but little things like this showed how much she cared for him.
"It's been over a month and there has been very little word. Duo has only managed one message in all of that time, and it indicated only uncertainty as to whether Prince Heero suspects the truth. Duo chose to stay longer to make certain. Quatre has seen him in close interaction with the Prince, apparently communicating through gestures since he cannot talk, and yet he still doesn't know!"
Meilan was silent while he continued swimming in circles, evidently absorbing the information.
"What are we going to do if he does know?" Meilan asked quietly.
The crux of the problem. Wufei stopped, putting his head in his hands. "I don't know. Duo is supposed to Sing to him so he forgets, but what if the Prince has told his companions? Duo can't very well guarantee that they're all in the same place when he does. As soon as he sings, he's a merman again and has to escape as soon as he's done with his Song." He shook his head in frustration. "There's little we can do here, anyway. If he does know, I suppose we report back to Grandfather and follow his lead."
"I hate having so little power," Meilan said, voicing his own feelings.
He moved toward her, cupping her cheek in his palm. "I know. Me too. But this is worse for you, I know it is." He gently pulled her into an embrace. "You lost your parents in that war. We will do everything in our power to keep history from repeating itself. Even if Prince Heero does learn the truth, there must be a way to preserve the peace."
Wufei felt the tension begin to leave his wife's body as he held her. He meant what he said. Whatever it took, they would keep war from breaking out again. Somehow.
Lieutenant Noin had expected that at least some actor would attempt something during the coronation. What she had not expected was to find Count Trant unconscious and stuffed into an alcove a ways away from the large ballroom where the reception was being held. She was immediately on high alert, glancing up and down the hallway to assess the situation.
Nothing obvious was out of place. Nothing about an assault on Trant screamed threat to Relena, either. Quite honestly, Noin thought the jerk had it coming. Nonetheless, her first instinct was to rush to her Queen's side. It wouldn't do to call attention to something being wrong that way, however, so instead she quietly found the closest guard and instructed him to pass the word on for everyone to be on high alert.
It disturbed her that this could have happened right under the nose of one of Zechs's well trained guards. This had been no drunken confrontation, as such an event would have been noisy and called attention to itself. Trant had likely been attacked from behind, skillfully incapacitated, and left somewhat hidden in the alcove she'd happened to glance into. Something was wrong here, and she intended to find out what.
Confident that the others on patrol, and most importantly Zechs, would be able to keep any trouble away from the newly crowned Queen, Noin ghosted down the hallway away from the main event.
Fortuitously, there was only one obvious exit from the palace that was close to where she'd found Trant. While she mostly expected one of the other guards to apprehend the intruder on their way to attack a more important target than the Count, she needed to pursue and capture them if they were trying to escape. She made her way in that direction through back corridors that would lead her there faster than the more obvious route and placed herself outside, hidden from the view of the exit but within sight of it. She would wait ten or twenty minutes, and if no one came, she would report back to Zechs.
It wasn't more than a minute later that two figures emerged from the exit, faces obscured in the deep hoods of dark cloaks. She immediately broke from cover, drawing her sword and blocking their path.
"Halt! In the name of Queen Relena, I order you to show yourself!"
There was a squeal of terror from one of the figures, but not a sound from the other, who dropped into a fighting stance, fists raised and feet apart.
She moved forward and leveled her blade at that one, unsure what they thought they could do with bare hands against her sword. After the terrified outcry from the other, she wasn't worried about an attack from that quarter.
"I said, show yourself. If you do not comply, I will not hesitate."
"Stop!" cried the terrified woman, apparently not too scared to speak. "Please, Lieutenant, you must let us go." Noin was surprised to recognize the voice of Trant's wife, Sylvia. Whatever she had expected, it was not an apparent escape attempt by one of her own citizens, one of the nobility no less.
"I can't do that, Sylvia," she replied sharply. "Your husband was left unconscious, and such an attack cannot go unpunished. Again I say, reveal yourself!" she instructed the other, giving them one more chance before she attacked.
The figure seemed to hesitate before lowering the hood of his cape. While she hadn't been expecting Sylvia, she had expected Prince Heero's braided companion even less. There had been rumors and speculation about the man's identity, certainly, as unlike Nanashi and Catherine, he had never before been seen with the Prince. Heero had vouched for him though, and the Prince's reputation was of an astute leader and presumably, a good judge of character. Certainly he could not have known of this plot?
He would have to be confronted, but discreetly. She'd leave that detail up to Zechs. For now, she would take the two in for questioning.
