Scene Sixteen: A Prisoner's Worth
Forgotten thoughts of yesterdays
Through my eyes I see the past
Puddle of Mudd "Drift And Die"
Dorothy Catalonia sat stiffly on the bed in the tiny, stuffy room. Her hands were in front of her in cuffs and her feet were cuffed together, the chain looped through the chair. The position reminded her of all the vids she had seen with the hard core prisoners sitting in them, only the smile on her face made her appear cold not rather than sadistic. She chuckled lightly to herself. The guard in the room with her took an involuntary step back and eyed her suspiciously but quickly looked away. None of the guards were able to hold her gaze for long, much to her amusement over the past two months. Her petty power plays should have gotten old by now but it was all she had left. The novelty of prison had long since worn off.
Within these buildings she was still feared, still the Mistress of the Mobile Dolls in their minds. Dorothy was a bogeyman and it was fun to use that fear to provide herself with cheap entertainment because there was nothing better for her to do. She had few regular visitors other than her lawyer Nils Sorensen. The books she was allowed to have and read were boring and perhaps even worse they were badly written. It was fitting for her to command her captors to become nervous in her presence and afraid of her.
Currently she was in the tiny meeting room waiting for Nils, her lawyer. He was already a few minutes late, not unusual for Nils, especially not if he was bringing her a gift. The guard always liked to make a big fuss over any gifts that were brought to her. Apparently they actually thought it was a possibility that she might take her own life, the coward's way out but Dorothy was no coward.
At long last the door opened and Nils stepped through. He had on his black rimmed professional glasses, a charcoal gray suit and his ever present briefcase. Nils stood at an even six feet, a large Norwegian man, built like the woodcutters that were common from his family going back several generations. Nils Sorensen had served under her grandfather, Duke Dermail, and now Dorothy by default.
"I'll be waiting outside until you're finished in here," The guard shifted and moved quickly toward the still open door, more than eager to escape Dorothy's mocking gaze. "Knock if you need anything," He added before the door clanged shut.
They were the same standard phrases that all the guards seemed to have memorized out of some rule book. Phrases that they had trouble getting out in her presence.
"Good afternoon Dorothy," Nils greeted her as soon as they were alone, moving into the seat across from her own. "Today we should begin on the statement we're going to present at the hearing."
"I know what I'm going to say already Nils," Dorothy insisted stubbornly, her blue-gray eyes were amused and were meant to confuse but Nils was used to her contradictions. "I want information. What's going on out there? What's happened with Heero Yuy? Is there any information on his disappearance? What happened Duo Maxwell? Nothing gets in here to me, you know that."
"There's nothing much more to report," Nils pushed up his glasses with a finger. "I'm sure you've heard it all before even if you don't know it. There is still no trace of Yuy anywhere. Ms. Peacecraft seems a little distraught by his sudden disappearance but she's pulling herself together nicely. She and Quatre Winner are planning another press conference on you for next week."
"Did you tell her that she's risking too much to help me?" Dorothy demanded sharply, her fingers flexing as though she would like to pound the table with her fists but was restraining herself from such a base display of anger. "Did you tell her that I don't want her participating in such foolish demonstrations?"
"I did tell her," He assured her and continued on smoothly. "But Ms. Peacecraft acted like I hadn't said anything to her about your wishes and was rather hostile for a Peacecraft. She refused to acknowledge any protests I made on your behalf. There's only so much that I can do without making a total fool of you and myself."
"Foolish, stupid girl," Dorothy said fondly, a smile once again curving her full lips at the thought of Relena charging head-on to save her.
'Relena, do you know what you're doing?' She thought to herself and she tucked her hands under her chin. 'How much you risk for me? I'm flattered you think I'm worth all of this but you really shouldn't persist with this. How can I convince you that I'm right?'
"Make sure you tell her again that I strongly disapprove on this course of action she has undertaken," Dorothy bristled slightly, knowing that the odds were against her. "Are you certain Quatre Winner is helping her with this little crusade of hers? That she is not alone? She needs support if she truly intends to continue on this course."
Nils nodded in answer.
"At least together they are strong," She mused aloud and gave a tiny snort of irritation that her wishes were being discarded. "Tell Quatre that together he and Relena make a formidable pair, daunting and strong in the eyes of the media and also on the political scene. Tell him that they'll need all the help and support they can get during this time if they are planning on pursuing this matter to the fullest."
"It looks as though they have it," Nils commented with a brief smile.
"Looks can be deceiving," Dorothy countered readily, her gaze sweeping Nils carefully as she shifted in her chair. "What about the other Pilots? Is there anything about them?"
"Chang Wufei is with the Preventers," Her lawyer shifted minutely in his chair under her harsh gaze. "Trowa Barton is back with his sister and the circus, or will be soon enough. He's taken to occasionally escorting Sylvia Noventa around to several social functions."
"The most likely courses of action for both of them," She nodded to herself knowing that her guesses for those two had been correct, although she was mildly surprised to hear about Trowa and Sylvia. "What of Duo Maxwell? What's he doing? Is there any new on him because I've heard nothing which is rather unusual when it concerns that American. He was always so brash and loud."
"I actually couldn't get any news of him from anyone I talked to," Nils said with a slight frown at the mention of Pilot 02. "No one seemed willing to talk about him, they all clamed up whenever I brought his name into the conversation. I can't figure out what's going on with him."
'I think I know,' Dorothy thought as she tucked some of her hair back with her cuffed hands. 'He's either with Heero or is tracking him. Or he's gone off on his own. I wonder if there will ever be news on any of those two again, if anyone will ever hear from them. If they don't wish to be found they won't be, I'm confidant in that.'
"Don't bother using any of my resources to look for either Heero Yuy or Duo Maxwell," Dorothy smiled fondly at Nils confused look. "If they've made a run for it they don't want to be found. I respect Heero Yuy too much to trap him and Duo Maxwell might possibly be with Yuy, I'll not take that risk of forcing him into a situation he has no desire to be in. Would you want to be responsible for something like that Nils? I know I have no desire to be on either of their bad sides."
"I understand," Nils nodded solemnly. "I'll have all searched on them stopped as soon as I leave you."
"What of my mother?" Dorothy smiled sarcastically as the word 'mother' passed her lips, it was common knowledge that Dorothy found her to be annoying at the best of times.
"She too is trying to get you out," Nils confirmed to his employer. "Lady Emily appears to be more concerned with the family name and reputation. That was to be expected though, was it not?"
"Being concerned for her family I can understand," Dorothy sneered at the thought of her mother actually helping her out of any emotion. "But she is no longer a Catalonia. Perhaps she speaks of the Khushrenada name? I suppose that it doesn't really matter. Just see to it that she doesn't go to my grandfathers properties or houses, those are mine and not to be changed without my explicit permission. Also keep her away from all of Treize's things, they belong to Zechs now, he left nothing to her."
"Zechs?" Nils looked astounded at this bit of information that he had never heard before. "Does he know? Does anyone know?"
"Only I do," Dorothy smiled sweetly at him, pleased with her knowledge. "And you of course because I've told you. But only I know where the actual will is hidden. Everything went to Zechs and Treize asked him in the will to set up a trust fund for his daughter of course. He also wanted Zechs to be her guardian but failing that he wanted Lady Une to become Marimeia's guardian. Since I'm in jail and there is such turmoil it's not safe to reveal any of this information. And the will has mostly been fulfilled, at least the immediate parts of it. So it doesn't need to be revealed for a while yet."
"Such a will would be highly publicized," Nils agreed readjusting his frames once again. "I won't say anything about it. You have my discretion as always."
"I knew you would keep it secret," Dorothy gave him a fond smile as she remembered back to better times when her Grandfather was still living. "Grandfather trusted you and I know that I can as well. You've proved that to me time and again, even after he was gone. Do you think that he would have been pleased with me, even as I am now? Even though his plans were not accomplished?"
Nils paused to consider his answer before speaking, "I do. He loved you very much and he would be proud of how beautiful and intelligent you are now."
"Thank you Nils," Dorothy nodded to herself with a soft expression on her face that was quickly replaced with her familiar challenging and contemptuous gaze. "If there's nothing else going on out there that I should know about you may go."
"There's nothing else of much note," Nils said with a small smile, his blue eyes bright and happy to see Dorothy in much better spirits.
"Very well," Dorothy smiled suddenly and her blue-gray eyes were shiny and bright as well. "There's no need in keeping you any longer then. You may go Nils."
Nils stood and looked down at her. He smiled fondly laying a book on Viking warfare before Dorothy, knowing that it would keep her amused for a few days.
Nils turned and walked briskly to the door but turned back to her before he knocked on it, "He would have been very proud indeed my Lady Dorothy."
He rapped on the door and it was opened by a guard who peeked worriedly in at her before quickly ushering Nils out.
'Perhaps he would have been proud,' Dorothy thought as she flexed her fingers in an attempt to restore some of her lost circulation due to the tightness in the cuffs. 'But that is no longer my primary concern. I know what I must do. I know how I must now appear to everyone. I am Duke Dermail's granddaughter and the cousin of Treize Khushrenada. They shall see how alike blood makes some people, how it binds even their very fates together.'
A few minutes later the door was once again opened by another guard. She noticed that he was not nervous around her like the others and she waited with quiet dignity for him to unlock her cuffs so she could stand and be escorted out of the room. Dorothy rose gracefully to her feet when he unlocked her cuffs without any prompting. Many of the guards looked at her with trepidation, as though expecting her to try something foolish like escaping. All the guards knew she was dangerous and deadly even though she was not a Gundam Pilot, perhaps because of her time in the Zero System or because of the blood that ran through her veins. This guard was different though, he was composed and calm around her.
She was passed off to one of the fearful guards. While it was pleasant to see their fear written in their eyes it was becoming old. She had been here for more than two months now and they should know she was not going to attempt any foolishness during her stay here.
"I won't try anything you know," Dorothy smiled briefly, her gray eyes shining with amusement. "You have little to fear from me. It would be weak of me to go against my word that I would behave."
"You were in the Zero System," One of the two guards spoke up. "You could go crazy."
Dorothy could hear the silent 'at any moment' that was added to the end of that phrase even if it was not spoken aloud. If nothing she could exude infinite patience, appear every inch as calm and understanding as Treize had been with his men and have people trust her or see her as she needed to be seen. Appearance was half the battle after all. She had learned that lesson at a young age while living with her grandfather and she was not about to forget it.
"My cousin Treize designed that system," Dorothy remained calm despite her desire to scream at the man. "It only makes you crazy if you cannot master it and even then you are only temporarily insane."
It really was all about probability and possibility. Eventually she knew that she would wear them down, show them that there was a chance that their preconceived notions and what they had been told about her may not be entirely accurate or entirely the truth. Catalonia's and Khushrenada's always triumphed no matter what it cost them. Dorothy was not about to forsake what being both a Catalonia and Khushrenada meant just because she was imprisoned. She would be great, a shooting star like all the rest of her family.
"Oh Miss Catalonia," One of the faceless guard's called out to her. "Would you like your book to be in your cell?"
"Yes," Dorothy said instantly carefully memorizing his face so she wouldn't forget him because he was the only one not afraid of her. "What is your name?"
"Andre Domini," He flashed a grin.
"Thank you Mr. Domini," Dorothy said to him as she and the two guards continued the walk back to her cell.
'One has a face and a name,' She felt slightly bemused by the sudden revelation. 'That's nice to know. It's not so forbidding here any more.'
"Oi Domini," A nameless guard called out just when they had reached the outside of Dorothy's cell which Domini was unlocking. "Tell the prisoner she has a visitor. Ask if she wants to see him?"
"I'll see him," Dorothy said frustrated at the guards' lack of manners and their refusal to address her.
She watched as Domini carefully set her book on the little table that was inside her cell. He ushered her into the cell and un-cuffed her gently. She noticed than that he was not like the other guards who just wrenched the things off without caring if it hurt. Yet another fact that set him aside from all the others in her prison.
"You're new here aren't you?" She asked standing in the middle of her cell. "I can tell because you're not like the others."
"Quatre Winner got me a job here," Domini whispered and gave her a quick wink. "But that's a secret. I'll go and get your guest for you."
Dorothy laughed bitingly at the term 'guest'. She was not being kept in a resort although from Domini's demeanor towards her there was not much of a difference between a resort and prison. She wondered who had come to visit her now. Nils had just left and Lady Une would certainly not be returning so soon to try and persuade her to once again join with the Preventers. Dorothy hoped that it was not Relena; the foolish girl could very well ruin her standing coming to visit her in prison.
Patiently she sat on the edge of her cot, posture straight and even. She heard two distinct sets of footsteps approaching her cell. She saw Domini when he opened the door and gave him a light smile for his kindness to her. He returned it with a brief nod and a smile of his own. Her 'guest' stepped in, someone she had never expected to see.
"Hello Dorothy," The voice was smooth and velvety just as she remembered it from the last time she had heard it.
"You used my first name," She spoke and then realized that he knew she was surprised but he did not tease her for it. "You've never called me by my first name before."
The young man stepped into her cell and pulled the door shut behind him. He straightened his silk tie and took a seat on the only chair in the tiny room.
"It's a habit I seem to have gotten into recently," He answered her silent question. "But it is only an honor I bestow on those I respect, trust or care for."
"I know you don't care for me," Dorothy stated without any bitterness. "You hardly know me. But do you trust me?"
"Strangely I find that I do," He gave a brief smile. "Much in the same way I trusted Treize. But you're not the same as him; you are destined for great things Dorothy. You weren't meant to be a martyr."
"It's possible I wasn't meant to be a martyr," Dorothy admitted. "But the role has been thrust upon me and I refuse to disappoint the people."
"Damn it Dorothy!" He hissed angrily at her. "You. Are. Not. Treize. He did not have the role of a martyr thrust upon him as you and many others would like to think he did.
"No, Treize became a martyr because he knew that peace was close at hand and that if he lived there would not be true peace, and he knew that his role was to bring peace but that he would not belong in the new order of things. He was a symbol of war and all the lives that were lost, all the blood that was shed. He knew that in becoming a martyr the peace would be better and more people would begin to realize just what he was trying to accomplish, what it was that he had wanted for the people so badly to start and carry on such a horrible war. The people and peace will gain nothing from your martyrdom Dorothy Catalonia. The only people that will gain anything will be those that had you jailed in the first place."
"It seems you know my cousin, my flesh and blood, better than I did," She glared at him, not out of anger but jealousy for that ability she could never share in. "It seems that I am inadequate in all things, even when it comes to knowing my own kin."
"No," He disagreed with her, his onyx eyes were strong in their conviction that what he said was true. "I just knew what he wanted and why he felt he had to take the actions he did. Zechs knew the man, Une knew him as a leader, you though, you know his roots, what it means to be both a Khushrenada and a Catalonia. You alone know what that meant to him and how it shaped him into what he became."
"You are wise Chang Wufei," Dorothy said with a tiny smile that reached even her eyes. "And in your wisdom you must know what my role is supposed to be because I do not. He never told me."
"I can only tell you what roles Treize has already given out," Wufei gravely told her.
"Zechs is his imprint of the man that he was, someone to keep his influence alive in the world. He is a living and breathing reminder of whom Treize the man was and would have become had he lived. By living Zechs shows everyone how Treize himself was as just the man, he brings him down to our level of understanding but also shows that some parts of Treize are beyond most people's comprehension.
"Lady Une is the one who keeps his ideals and goals alive. She nurtures them as she does his daughter and she will help them to grow and keep them safe and strong until they no longer need her guidance. She will keep showing the people Treize's ideals and goals by implementing them with her Preventers.
"My role is to make sure that no one forgets why Treize did the things that he did and why he died. I will make sure that Treize did not die in vain, that his ultimate view of how he wanted things to be remains. But most important of all I will ensure that the people understand why Treize had to die and why he had to start a war.
"Relena, as his chosen successor, is supposed to keep us united and she will lead the people and carry out his ideals and goals. She makes everything that Treize Khushrenada stood for, wanted, and hoped for come alive and remain alive in the face of opposition.
"What your role is I don't know. Treize never shared that with me and I didn't ask. But I know this, Relena needs you now and Marimeia will need you later."
"Marimeia," Dorothy spoke the name almost reverently. "Treize would have wanted her to learn what it means to be both a Khushrenada and a Catalonia. I've never met her in person before you know. I've only ever seen her face flash on the vid-screen during her charming little speech. Seeing that child ignited a fire in me though, one that caused me to come forth and stand up for what those two names mean. She disgraced both the Khushrenada and Catalonia names. I remember being so angry with her for it and knowing that I had to do something to stop her madness, a madness that was really Dekim Barton's but at the time I didn't know that."
"During that battle you fought for Treize," Wufei said quietly leaning against the wall. "You fought on the right side and you started out on the right side."
"You made the right choice in the end," Dorothy crossed her ankles and leaned back on her hands. "You fought for Marimeia in the beginning because you believed that Treize's daughter would be like Treize and that she had a noble vision but she was only a puppet. You couldn't have known but you did the right thing in the end."
"I didn't think you could give any words of comfort," Wufei blinked. "But thank you."
"How is Relena, really?" She asked with an amused smile still on her face from Wufei's earlier remark.
"Sometimes she is strong, other moments she is weak," Wufei shrugged as he stated the facts. "She does not understand why Yuy left her and she believes that she understands him and why he fought. Eventually she might begin to see the truth. Slowly Relena is growing up and I believe very strongly that one day soon she sill grow into the role the Treize so elegantly shoved her into."
"I suppose dying in a mobile suit battle could be elegant," Dorothy leaned back further. "Did I ever tell you that you did the right thing out there in that battle? You were the strongest person in the entire universe just before you killed him. You know that right?"
"No, I was weak," Wufei said but not unkindly.
"You were strong," Dorothy repeated firmly but rather gently, speaking in the tones of one who is stating the exact truth. "Treize knew that he had to die, you said it yourself, and he picked you to kill him because he knew that you would be the only one to be able to go through with killing him. He could have ordered Une, Zechs or even I to do it but in the end I know that none of us could have killed him. Not even Heero Yuy could have done so, only you, Chang Wufei, could give him what he wanted, to die with nobility and grace, to go out like a shooting star. That's why he chose you."
"I have heard similar words before," Wufei admitted. "Both from Lady Une and Zechs, two people close to him. But I never believed them until they came from you. If you die a martyrs death then all of us will forget what it meant to Treize to come from both the Catalonia's and Khushrenada's. We will not remember or know where he got his indomitable strength from, or his will to persevere and come out on top, or where his innate sense of grace and elegance came from. Only you can provide that for us Dorothy. Remember that."
"I will," Dorothy promised. "When you leave my cell we will go back to normal, how we are when not discussing such things. You will tell no one of this conversation or of how I behaved?"
"No one," Wufei agreed solemnly. "And you will tell no one of how I behaved."
"No one," Dorothy repeated the oath.
Goodbye Dorothy," Wufei pushed himself off of the wall. "We will get you out of here, you will be free. Just trust us."
He left quickly and Dorothy slipped back into her normal persona. After all, it would never do to show inelegance even when in prison. She would show them all just how much worth she had as a Catalonia and a Khushrenada.