In the warm sunlight, Relena was running barefoot. She saw a stream. Laughing, she splashed her feet in the water.
"Relena!"
She looked back. A man with long silver blond hair in a white suit stood before her.
"Milliardo?"
She found herself on a swing and Milliardo pushed her; just like when they were children. She swung up and down, higher and higher. Suddenly, another pair of hands pulled her back. Those hands were in white gloves. Behind her was no longer her brother, but Treize. His presence did not bring her comfort or security. Instead, it made her feel anxious with distrust. He gave her a smile and pushed the swing up high.
So high that Relena found herself flying in the air until she landed on a sword, impaling her through the heart.
It's good, she thought, as she felt the coldness of the blade. I want this to happen. This is where I belong. I'm home.
"Yo, Heero, you are not serious, are you?"
"Hold her down."
"You are not a surgeon!"
Not arguing, Heero used his knife.
"Damn, I'm going to have nightmares over this."
When she opened her eyes, the first thing that greeted her was pain. As seconds went by, it got worse. She found herself in a hard bed; paralyzed in pain, she could barely move. Her blurry vision became clearer though. She could see a dark ceiling with a pipe above her.
Where am I? She asked herself.
She turned her gaze to the side. A man with brown hair was sitting not far from her.
Heero?
But his hair was too long. So long that it was in a braid down to his waist.
Seeing that she's awake, he got up and went out. "Hey Heero! Your girl is awake!"
Heero...why did that name came to her? Who is he?
Oh yes, her husband. Husband in name only.
A soldier of Alliance or a threat from the colonies?
Why did Treize married me to him? So Heero can kill me? Or he wanted to use me to reveal Heero's true identity?
She could feel her upper body wrapped in bandage, from her shoulder down to her stomach. Yes, she was shot. She had begged Heero to let her die. But he didn't.
Another word flashed in her mind: Gundam.
Heero must kept her alive for a reason. He and that guy with long braid - terrorists from the colonies - now had her in their hand. Whatever their reason was, she wanted to be no part of it. The night she was shot, she did went to the dock with the intention to drown herself. Yet, it didn't happen because Heero stopped her. She had tried to shoot herself too, but that gun didn't go off. Then she was shot. Still she didn't die - because of Heero.
No, I should've died when Sanc Kingdom fell. They only let me live so they can use and abuse me, Relena thought. Treize and Heero.
Gathering all her strength, she tried to get up; but the pain was too much. It hurt even when she breathed. She stared into the ceiling, and noted the pipe. An idea came to her. She looked around but didn't see any rope. Then she realized she could use her blanket, which was only a thin sheet. Ironically, no one had ever told her about hanging, either in a form of execution or suicide. It came to her so naturally that herself couldn't even explain.
The pipe was not that high beyond reach. After several attempts, somehow she threw the sheet over the pipe and tied up the ends, making a noose. She placed the noose under her neck and kicked her feet from the bed.
Light flashed before her eyes. Ringing sounds played in her ear like music.
She could feel her body shaking, until she fell heavily on the hard ground. Choking, she saw Heero stood before her eyes. Only now, Relena realized that she wore nothing but her panties, with her modesty protected by her long hair and the bandage that covered her upper body.
"Why?" She asked, finding her voice.
He knelt down and draped the sheet around her shoulders. She looked up and met with his cold Prussian blue eyes. Though he saved her from death - three times now - he showed no compassion. He took her hand and pressed a bullet into her palm. Without a doubt, it was the bullet that shot into her body.
Wait...in her dream, she did feel a cold blade.
It was a dream, or was it?
He lowered his lips to her ear and whispered, "When the time comes, you will die by my hand."
He said it like a promise before he left the room.
Alone, Relena sat in bed and played with the bullet. She was surprised how can something that small can take a life. She had seen Treize shot General Septum; he succeeded in killing him. So why didn't this bullet take her life?
The door opened.
An old man wearing a colorful shirt and a pair of sunglasses came in with food.
"You need to eat," he said. "You can call me Howard."
Relena ignored him, focusing on the bullet.
"It's a miracle that you are alive," he said. "You were in a coma for a month."
"A month?" Now he got Relena's attention.
"Heero nursed you back to health," Howard went on. "He treated your wound and stayed by your side."
"Heero?" Relena asked, finding it hard to believe. "Not the other guy?" Unlike Heero, the guy with the long braid showed more warmth.
"You mean Duo? No, it was Heero," Howard said. "I have no reason to lie to you."
"Bullets," Relena began. "What does it do to you?"
"It can kill you," Howard replied. "Depends on where you got hit. This one was only millimeters from your heart."
"What if you swallow it?"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Howard said, laughing at her thoughts. He had never heard of anyone who tried to swallow a bullet. "I assume it won't kill you since bullet can't go off on its own. But it does have acid so your stomach won't react well. I'm not a doctor, but I can guarantee you sandwiches taste better-"
He noticed the mark on Relena's neck.
He stopped laughing.
"Duo!"
After seeing him and Heero returned from their mission, Howard ran to them and pulled Duo to the side. "Do you have any idea what trouble you brought here?"
Usually, Howard was laid back and cheerful. Rarely was he agitated.
"You brought Heero here, I'm fine with that," Howard said. "He's a Gundam pilot like you, which is why I don't mind. But who is she?"
"You have to ask Heero," Duo said, shrugging.
"Has she seen that awesome sport car of yours? And Heero's?"
Duo knew what Howard is referring to.
"That I don't know," Duo said. When he was with Heero and Relena at the dock, he tried to prevent her from seeing his Gundam and Heero's. After Relena was shot, he went on to fight the enemies. Whether Relena saw anything after that, he did not know.
What he did know - and Howard and Heero knew as well - is that if anyone who has seen a Gundam, that person must not live to tell the sighting of it. Hence, sooner or later, Heero had to have Relena "taken care of".
Unless Relena was one of them - sent by the colonies as a part of "Operation Meteor". Based on her behavior, however, neither Duo or Howard was convinced of that.
"That girl is a total Ophelia," Howard went on.
"Her name is Ophelia?" Duo asked, not getting the point.
"No! I don't know what her name is," Howard said. "That mark on her neck says everything, and she was thinking of eating bullets."
Duo burst out laughing.
"Not funny Duo! I spent the whole day with her, afraid to leave her alone."
"And now?"
"She should be fine now," Howard said. "I coaxed her to take some sleep pills."
"Look, I don't know where this girl is from," Duo said. "But Heero knows what he's doing. Man, it still grosses me out thinking about it...how he just goes and took the bullet out of her."
In a fetal position, Relena was in bed, shivering. Howard had took her blanket away, fearing that she would use it to another suicide attempt. Under the effects of sleeping pills, she was unable to move though she was in and out of conscious.
She could feel someone entering the room and lying down next to her.
He took a strand of her silky hair and played with its sticky end.
He is not going to hurt you because you are too beautiful.
Treize had said that, almost in a mocking tone.
When he saw Relena, it was as if he was struck by lightning. He couldn't explain it. He was supposed to be the perfect soldier - ruthless, cold, and stoic. Yet, one of his mentors, Odin Lowe, had taught him, "The only way to live a good life is to act on your emotions." His emotions told him to keep her alive. No, his emotions told him to keep her near him.
Carefully, he rolled her into his arms - just like he did when she was having a fever from her wound.
The bullet he had removed from her wound was beside her pillow.
The next morning, Duo went to check on his Gundam, the gigantic mobile suit launched from space colonies as a weapon of massacre. He found Heero sat on his, typing fast in his computer.
"You must really love her," Duo remarked. "If it were me, I'd just do her the favor."
Heero ignored him.
"Now, I don't know what you were doing in there with her, just to let you know, Howard doesn't know how to deliver babies."
"She is my mission," Heero spoke. "I must keep her alive."
"Mission?" Duo was puzzled. "Well, I'm glad that I wasn't given such a mission."
In his computer, stoically, Heero entered the words.
Target safe. Relena Darlian.