WE BELONG TOGETHER
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED OR GUNDAM SEED DESTINY
Chapter 32: Disturbances and Escape
"Something just doesn't feel right." Miriallia frowned.
She was resting in her room when Mwu visited her. She heard everything from the knight and just couldn't shake this strange feeling off.
"What do you mean, Mir?" Mwu asked.
"I can't be sure, but something feels amiss. The timing is just too accurate to be a coincidence. How could Le Creuset have known when to ambush us when we were most defenseless? I think he has someone inside. That would explain a lot of things." The lady said. "Wait Mwu, tell me again what Lady Campbell witnessed?"
"Well, when Athrun asked her for information, she told him basically what you told Dearka. Nothing more and nothing less. Is there a problem?"
"Hold on, tell me about Meer's reaction."
"What's there to say? She was freaked out by the whole abduction. When she woke up and found Athrun next to her, she cried and hugged him. Why do you want to know?"
Miriallia pursed her lips. "When we were imprisoned, Meer appeared to be almost too calm to be frightened. But base on your description, she should have been scared out of her wits. Plus it was she who told us about the secret passage way and arranged for guards to accompany us."
"You suspect her then? We can ask Lord Elthsman about it. After all, he was in charge when Cagalli went missing." Mwu said seriously.
"No, this has to be between you and me. Meer is a good friend of Athrun and Dearka. Plus she has quite a standing here in Zaft. It'll be her word against ours. If it really is her, we have no real proof at all."
Mwu started pacing. "So why do you think she's the one? It could be anybody."
"It has to be someone close to the princess, or else how would the enemy know about the princess' movements. I have enough faith in Dearka, Yzak and Nicol's loyalty to the prince. In this case, Murrue seems to be the most obvious one, considering her connection with Le Creuset. But I don't think she's dumb enough to let herself get busted like that."
"I can vouch for Murrue's innocence. On Athrun's order, I had her watched ever since our return from Orb. She's clean." Mwu quickly defended his lover, though he felt somewhat ashamed to choose duty over love.
Mir smiled. "Another reason why I don't suspect her. So that leaves Lady Meer…She was also so courteous and composed. Her calmness was what first led me to suspect her. It's been some time already since our abduction. Everything should have been alright for her now. She hasn't even visited once or asked about Cagalli or Murrue. Doesn't that seem a bit odd to you?"
"Mir…" Mwu started.
"I know, I know…I know my suspicion is still relatively weak. But it's the best I've got. We have to think of some way to test her without letting her know we're on to her. I do hope I'm wrong, but if I'm right, this could lead to Murrue and Cagalli. Are you willing to give it a shot?"
Mwu sighed. "Of course, anything is better than a sitting duck. Come on, let's come up with something to try to catch our little spy."
"Lord Azreal, I've been instructed by the master for the reports." Heine said expressionlessly.
Azreal sniffed distastefully and held out a folder. Heine reached for it and tucked it inside his shirt. He nodded and prepared to leave quietly.
Before opening the door, Heine hesitated and turned around.
"My Lord, I heard Lady Stellar is under your care at the moment."
"Where did you hear that?" Azreal sneered suspiciously. "As I remember, you were not involved in this part of the plan."
Heine lowered his sight. "No, I was not. But news does travel. I hope the lady is alright."
"She is not your concern. Stellar is my fiancé now. I'll find her myself." Azreal said angrily.
Heine muttered his apology and left quickly.
After Heine has left, Azreal's mind started thinking. Why was Heine asking about Stellar all of a sudden? No one knows about Stellar's disappearance save a few of his men. Apparently, Heine knew more than he's willing to let on. Maybe he should slip a word to the master about Heine's meddling…?
Azreal smirked when he imagined what the master might going to do. He never liked Heine Westenfluss, always defending Kira and taking the prince's side. Heine can rot in hell for all I care, Azreal laughed wickedly.
As for Heine, Azreal has just unknowingly revealed something crucial to him. It was clear Stellar was no longer under his grasps.
It's comforting to know Stellar was not Azreal's prisoner anymore, but troublesome to not know where she might be. After all, Azreal's men were still looking for her.
Heine was so worried in thought that he did not notice a dark figure sitting on a tree watching him.
The stranger smirked at Heine and threw a pebble at his head to get his attention. Heine instantly reacted by pulling his sword out of this scabbard while defending himself. The stranger chuckled at Heine's reaction.
"Who are you?" Heine demanded coldly.
He could only make out small figure because of the dark shades.
"My Lord Westenfluss, how odd to find you here at this silent hour."
"I have no intention of speaking to a shadow. Show yourself." Heine cried.
The figure grinned and jumped out of the tree agilely and landed in front of Heine.
Heine finally saw who he was talking to. The stranger was heavily clothed in black with an equally dark mask on his face. He was petit height and talked with a muffled voice.
"My name is Mischi. I am employed by His Highness Prince Kira." Mischi introduced himself.
"Why should I believe you?"
"You don't have to, I suppose." Mischi shrugged. "But you do, don't you?"
Heine agreed silently.
"Yes, because you still love Kira as a dear friend so your heart wants to hold on to the friendship so desperately, even if it means believing the words of a stranger." Mischi said a little sarcastically.
"Are you mocking me?" Heine spat, his voice dropping low from anger.
"Not at all, I have the greatest respect for you. It's not an easy job to be a spy inside enemy territory after all." Mischi applauded.
"How did you know about that?" Heine asked incredibly.
Mischi laughed. "I make it my job to know stuff like this. Relax, I heard what you said to Azreal and figured you must still be loyal or else you wouldn't have given a damn about Lady Stellar."
"So what do you want with me?" Heine said calmly.
"I need you to keep your eyes on Dullandal. He's the mastermind of everything. We have to know his every move. Can you do that and let me know?"
"Why should I? I don't totally buy in to your story."
"You have to because Lacus' life hangs in the balance." Mischi said cruelly.
"What?"
"She was poisoned a few days ago. But you probably shouldn't be surprised about the news since the poison probably came from Dullandal anyways."
"How is she?" Heine asked in haste.
"I'm not sure. An antidote is being worked on to save her, but she remains unconscious. Kira's furious and heartbroken by all this, you know." Mischi shrugged again, carefully examining his reaction.
Heine balled his hand till his knuckles turned white. He took a few deep breathes and tried to calm down.
"Alright, for her sake, I will do as you asked. But how will I contact you in the future?"
"You don't," Mischi said, "I'll be in touch." With that he's gone.
Murrue paced impatiently in her richly lavished prison. It's been days since her abduction. She hasn't seen any of her friends at all. There was no telling what happened to the other ladies.
Rau has visited her a few times. The last time he came, he told her something big will happen soon. Murrue tried not to think about it, for she knew nothing good will come out.
Though she's a prisoner, she was still being treated with courtesy by the guards outside, probably base on Rau's orders. Everything she needed was provided, save her freedom.
What worried Murrue the most was the status of the princess. She just couldn't be sure if Rau kept his word of not harming Cagalli.
Alas, Murrue thought, I might be a lady, but I'm certainly not a damsel in distress. She was sure Athrun and Mwu were doing everything they could to find them. But for now, she has to rely on herself to escape.
"I know. Here goes nothing."
Murrue slapped her meal off the table, making a loud sound as the plate broke on the floor. The guards knocked and came in instantly, only to see Murrue doubled over in pain.
"My lady, what is wrong?" One of the two guards asked.
"Oh, I think…there's something wrong with the food. I don't feel so well." She cried.
"Please, let me help you. You might feel better if you lie down for a while." The guard picked her up gently by the arm. The other guard bent down to clean up the mess.
Murrue smiled at the young man. She put her weight on the guard and used his spear to steady herself. Just before getting to the bed, Murrue surprised the guard by grabbing the spear and slamming it right on his head, knocking the young man out. Without hesitation, she picked up the spear and took a mighty swing, hitting the other guard right across the face. Both the guards fell unconscious to the floor.
"Sorry I had to use the oldest trick in the book. Hope I didn't hit too hard, boys." Murrue sighed with relief.
She quickly discarded the spear and pulled a dagger from one of the guards. She tucked it in the back of her dress and made her way outside her cell. As she checked the outside, it appeared she was in a long underground hallway.
Since she wasn't sure when the guards would wake up or how many guards were out there, she had very little time to act. In dire situations, hard decisions have to be made. Murrue concluded that she has to find Cagalli as her priority.
She carefully navigated around the underground passages, totally disoriented at where she's going. There were many cells but since no guards were spotted, she didn't think Cagalli would be in any one of them.
Murrue took a few turns and saw two guards in front of a cell.
"Could Cagalli be in this room?" She thought.
Murrue approached the guards casually. When the guards saw her, they held their spears up and said, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"How dare you speak to me like that? I am Rau's guest. Move aside, mongrels!" Murrue said icily.
"What…what?" The guards said confused.
"You idiots! Do you think I can prance around this place without your master's permission? Do I look like some wench to you?"
The guards looked at her carefully and realized she was indeed a lady no doubt. There was some truth in what she claimed. If she did not have special permission, she could not have been so stupid as to walk so freely in the halls.
The guards looked at each other and lowered their spears. This was exactly the chance Murrue was waiting for. She raised her foot and kicked the left guard in the groin as hard as she could. The guard never expected it and screamed in pain. The other guard rushed forth to restrain her, but Murrue had the element of surprise. She pulled her dagger from her dress and held it next to his neck.
"Sorry, time to take a little nap." She snapped her hand back and drove the hilt of the dagger in the guard's face and did the same to the other guard. She bent down to make sure they were both out before taking the key from their belt to open the door.
Cagalli heard the door unlock and expected to see one of the guards. But much to her surprise, it was Murrue that came in.
"Murrue!" Cagalli rushed forward to give her friend a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright."
"Me too. But time is short. We have to get out of here as fast as we can."
"Where's Meer and Miriallia?" Cagalli asked.
"I didn't have time to look for them. Come on, grab a weapon. We're leaving." She hurried.
"Wait, we can't just leave them!" Cagalli yelled.
"Cagalli Yula Attha, we don't have time to argue! Unless we get you outta here, we are going to have a war on our hand!" Murrue cut in angrily.
"What? You don't mean…" Realization dawned on her, as Cagalli's eyes widened.
"You see my point. Now let's go!"
This time, Cagalli didn't bother to argue.
Rau Le Creuset found the two guards on the floor, right outside of Cagalli's cell.
"Get them up now!" He commanded.
Two men rushed forward to awaken the guards. After the guards woke up, they kneeled in front of their master, begging for forgiveness. "Sir, I'm sorry for…"
Le Creuset held his hand up to silence them. "Just tell me what happened."
"A woman showed up and demanded entry. She said she was your guest and ambushed us. We're taken by surprise so…" The guards bowed in shame.
"It wasn't your fault. She was always the smart one. I should have anticipated her actions. It was my mistake and I should be blamed."
Rau stood up and moved towards the door. He stopped and looked back, "Gather the men. Have them look for the princess and my guest. They shouldn't be far. Find them and bring them back here."
"Yes sir!"
"Aisha, is the tonic ready yet?" Kira said impatiently, watching her every move.
"Kira," Aisha said, "Please don't hang around me like this. I'm working as fast as I can. But I can't concentrate when you ask me a question every two seconds."
"I know, I'm sorry…It's just that…I can't bear to see Lacus like this…" Kira sat down and covered his face in defeat.
Shinn put his hand on the prince's shoulder, "Don't worry, she's going to be okay."
A knock came and Fllay entered the room.
"How's it coming?" She asked Aisha.
"It's coming along. But I still need a bit of time." Aisha massaged her sore eyes a few times.
"Any change to her conditions?" Kira asked.
"No, she still sleeps as before." Fllay shook her head.
Shinn stared coldly at Fllay. He was sure Fllay would be interested in Aisha's progress. The lady-in-waiting checked up on the status of the cure every few hours. Kira was most appreciative at her diligent efforts to save her princess, but Shinn knew better than that. If Aisha came up with the cure, Fllay's plan would be ruined.
Shinn only wished he knew Stellar was safe. He's worried about her constantly, not knowing where she was. To everyone else, she was still traveling abroad. If only she would return, then they can both keep an eye on Fllay. But at least he was thankful for Kira placing Sir Waltfield at Lacus' side at all times. This way the princess had security to a certain degree.
After countless agonizing hours, Aisha finally announced her completion.
"It's done, my prince."
Kira got up quickly, with hope in his eyes. "Bring it to her!"
The whole crowd gathered in front of Lacus' sick bed as Aisha held a glass cautiously to the princess' mouth. The unconscious princess took in the maroon fluid a bit at a time until the whole content of the glass was consumed.
"Now what?" Shinn asked.
"Now we wait." Aisha said gravely.
Time ticked by endlessly. Kira sat at the side of the bed, while holding Lacus' hand in his. He waited wordlessly and patiently. But as time went by, hope started to die in his eyes.
"It's not working." He said hollowly.
"My prince, we should wait a little…" Andrew began.
Kira only shook his head, closing his eyes in pain.
Fllay held a secret smile to herself at the back of the room. She had been worried about the drug not doing its job, but now she could relax and watch her mistress take her eternal slumber.
"Leave us." Kira commanded.
Aisha, Andrew and Shinn looked at each other and silently began to file out of the room.
Right at that moment, Lacus' hand twitched a little. Kira looked up quickly and gripped her hand tightly.
His sudden cry stopped them of exiting the room.
"Aisha, she moved! I felt it." Kira said excitedly as Aisha and Fllay moved next to the bed.
Aisha took the princess' hand and felt her pulse. Then she put her finger under her nose to test her breathing.
"Her breathing is much stronger now." Aisha announced.
"Lacus! Please wake up, darling." Kira begged, "Lord, please…Lacus…"
"Ahhh…." Lacus moaned and opened her eyes.
"Lacus!" Kira pushed Fllay out of the way and brought his hands down to caress her cheek.
The princess blinked a few times and looked around the room.
"Thank goodness! I've been so worried about you." Kira placed a gentle kiss on her hand.
She looked up at him with unfocused eyes.
"Lacus…how do you feel? Talk to me…Lacus…?" Kira continued saying, finally noticing something's wrong, "What's wrong?"
"Your Highness, let me have a look please." Aisha said. She turned Lacus' face towards her and checked her pupils.
"Princess, do you know who I am?" Aisha smiled at her.
Lacus only looked at her expressionlessly without saying anything.
"What's wrong with her?" Kira demanded. Lacus' lack of reaction was scaring him.
"…" Aisha didn't say anything. She signaled everyone to follow her outside for a minute.
"So what's wrong with her?" Kira repeated again when they went outside.
"I'm sorry, Kira. My cure might have woken her up, but she's not responding to the present."
"So what can we do?"
"We can't do anything except wait for her to come out. Conditions like this are very rare."
"How long does it last?" Shinn asked.
"There's no way of knowing. Sometimes it lasts for days, sometimes months or even years."
Kira couldn't believe it, "How can this be? I don't believe you…" He refused to buy the harsh truth.
The prince pushed open the door and went to the princess' side. Lacus only looked at him again with the same expression on her face. Gone was the gentle smile, her warm touch. All that seems to remain is a cold shell of her former self.
"Have I lost you forever? Your songs…your tears….your love…" He muttered as he broke down and cried on her bed. Lacus sat up and listened to his silent tears. She brought her hand up to smooth out his hair. Kira lifted his face up immediately and grasped her outstretched hand. She merely looked at him and at his grasping hand.
Kira couldn't hold it anymore; he pulled his fiancé close to him and cuddled her with all his might.
"I'll find you, wherever you are."
"Have you found any clues yet?" Miriallia asked Athrun in the meeting room.
"No, damn Le Creuset!" Athrun said darkly. His mood was getting worse by the day. The longer his bride went missing, the more hopeless it seemed. There hasn't even been any ransom notes or demands made for her return. In this case, it was logical to assume the abductors were not interested in any kind of bargain, they want a sacrifice.
Though Athrun tried hard to not in that direction, it was getting hard not to the longer it took to find her. They have swept all the possible places but still they came up with nothing. Mwu practically gave up sleeping, instead spending all of his waking moment questioning and investigating the whereabouts of Murrue and Cagalli. This was a hard time for everybody.
"I'm sure we will hear something very soon." Meer said encouragingly.
Miriallia and Mwu shared a look. It was time to test the lady for her loyalty.
"Meer, can you remember anything else that can help?" Mir asked.
Meer shook her head sadly, "I wish I could, but we must have been drugged at the same time. I can't remember anything substantial at all."
She carefully disguise herself to make sure she does not reveal anything. "But more importantly, we have to find the princess or we'll be in trouble. This is a much bigger issue at hand."
Athrun started pacing impatiently. He understood what Meer was implying. If he can't find Cagalli, Orb and Alliance would hold him responsible for her disappearance. Even though Zaft was strong militantly, it would still be at a disadvantage if two nations were to declare war against her.
"So what do you suggest I do now?" The prince was in no mood to consider diplomatic problems when his fiancé is missing.
"We can ask Orb and Alliance for help to find the princess. This will somewhat ease the tension if the princess cannot be found. To have both nations involved before the search ends would lessen Zaft's blame." Meer reasoned.
"How can you think of that now?" Mir said incredibly.
"I have to think about my country's position in a time like this." Meer rebuffed.
"But the princess' safety…"
"What about the rest of the people?" Meer said sharply.
Though her reasoning was sound, Athrun did not like the idea of Cagalli never returning. He turned his frosty glare at her and stated, "This can wait. I would rather put more efforts in to find her instead of sending my men off for diplomacy."
"Your Highness…" Meer continued, but Dearka held her back. He shook his head at his friend, indicating the prince was not in the mood for such talks.
Meer bit her lip in frustration and backed down.
Miriallia and Mwu watched the whole exchange with certain understanding. Lady Meer Campbell was reasonable in her argument for Zaft, but was almost negligent of Cagalli's safety. There's something about this that just didn't seemed right to Miriallia.
For someone who claimed to be good friend, Meer seemed to be rather uncaring about Cagalli's conditions. It's most uncomfortable and strange to Mir.
Mir realized the need to investigate further and just hoped her hunch will lead her to her mistress as fast as possible.
"Do you know where we're going at all?" Cagalli said to Murrue.
"No, to be honest. But we have to put as much distance as we can so Rau cannot find our trail." Murrue said breathlessly.
After getting out of the underground passage, then managed to make their way into a dense forest. They have been pushing themselves to move as fast as they can in their disoriented state. Unfortunately, both ladies have no idea where they were or which direction they should be going. The only thing they had was their gut intuition and the instinct to survive.
"We have to get back to the palace right away." Cagalli said, after explaining everything she has heard from Le Creuset to Murrue. Murrue finally pieced everything together.
"Cagalli, Rau told me about this master he works for. His name is Gilbert Dullandal. I believe he is stirring up the common people and the one responsible for playing the nations against each other." Murrue said.
Cagalli gritted her teeth and fumed, "They're insane! Do they think they can get away with it? I have to get back and expose everything!"
Murrue nodded in agreement. The first priority right now is to get Cagalli back to the palace safely. After thinking about what happened to them, Murrue concluded that there just has to be someone on the inside working for either Rau or Dullandal, which meant Cagalli was not only being pursued by her captors, but it's also extremely risky to reveal themselves to just anyone.
In all of this mess, Murrue suddenly thought of Mwu and his pleasant attitude. He was always optimistic and cheerful regardless of the situation. She only wished she could be as carefree as he was in a dire situation like this. Imaging his smile brought a bit of comfort to her somehow.
Cagalli and Murrue discussed their options. Stealth was perhaps the best way to move around for now. They dare not give out themselves unless they trusted the person.
"We have to find a town first and blend into the crowd before we can try to find the way back." Cagalli answered.
"This means we have to get out of this miserable place as fast as we can." Murrue responded while ripping the hem of her dress so she could move more freely.
Cagalli smiled a little at her own trousers, "Now you know why I prefer these…" She tried to lighten their mood with a little joke.
"Couldn't have agreed more with you on this…" Murrue also offered a small smile as they continued to move on.
I'm really sorry for the long wait. I know it's no excuse, but starting a new job is really hectic and busy. Somehow I just keep thinking something in this chapter is out of place...So feel free to tell me if something seems odd to anyone. I've been away from this story for awhile so I have to seriously take some time to go back and think everything through once more. Thank you to those that still likes this story. If not for the emails pushing for me to continue, my drive to finish this story would probably be much slower. Thank for reviewing!