AN: Next chapter, here we go!

A week had passed since Relena's terrible vision, and no one had come knocking on the door of the bookshop, except for customers. Mr. Darlian and Relena were busy as ever, especially since so many visitors had come to the city to celebrate the anniversary of peace and to see the Five.

Relena exchanged her fine dress for her ink stained one, once more, and took her place behind the counter or occasionally at the printing press in the mornings. In the afternoons she had her lessons from Susannah on sewing, cooking, and other women's work. But, the evenings belonged to Relena, where she could sit in her room and bury her head into a book and forget about her troubles or the horrible vision that had happened.

The Sight had not come to her since then, and she was grateful to feel a sense of normalcy. She escaped into the stories her books had to offer her. She loved reading a good story. She would read until her candle burned too low for her to see the pages anymore. Then, she would retire into her dream world, a world frequently occupied with a pair of Prussian blue eyes.

Relena did not expect to ever see him again. The city was large and he was no doubt carrying out his duties to the Emperor. She knew very little of the Five before they had arrived to the city. Oh, she had heard the stories of their great feats just like anyone else had, but she knew little about their history or where they came from. Quatre Winner had puzzled her even more when she asked of his lineage.

She set upon her father's library looking for answers inside the books. She found very few, but she did learn some things. She learned that the Five were chosen by the gods at birth. They were all destined to protect the people of the Cinq Kingdom, and travel together until they met their deaths. They were immortal unless killed in battle, and if one was killed then all would suffer the same fate together, only to be replaced by the next Five who were waiting patiently to take their place.

It was rather confusing to Relena. These men had no choice in their fate. They could not choose to lead an ordinary life even if they wanted. They must all share an intimate connection, she thought, to remain with each other through thick and thin. They had to be willing to sacrifice their lives if one of them was to fall. She frowned. The five men she met looked to be not much older than her, too young to be great warriors.

She was in the back library of the shop when she heard the bell ring, indicating that a customer had just entered. Her father was out on an errand so Relena made her way to the front room where she stood face to face with Heero Yuy.

Relena froze in his presence, unsure of what to say. He was staring at her with those fixated eyes. His gaze was cold; he was judging her, watching her. Relena suddenly felt she was being discriminated. How she wished she could call upon the Sight at will so that she might read his mind or know what his next move was going to be.

She locked her eyes with his, trying her best to call upon her power. She was determined to find out the purpose of his visit before he announced it himself. She knew the dangers of possessing power, and she would not be tried as a witch when she had done nothing wrong. She was fierce with her stare, struggling to call upon the power that was buried deep within her heart.

"It won't work," he suddenly said.

Relena faltered, startled at his statement. She looked at him questioningly. How could he have known?

"Those who are given the Sight cannot call upon it, so don't try," he replied when she made no move to speak.

Relena frowned. His tone was cold and devoid of any emotion. He was still staring at her, but this time Relena found herself becoming annoyed with his forward approach.

"I do not know what you are talking about, sir," she said simply.

"Your eyes say otherwise," he retorted.

Relena straightened her back and stood to her fullest height. She would not back down. "Can I help you, sir? Or did you just come in here to interrogate me?"

Heero smirked inwardly. For someone who looked so frail, she certainly did showed a different kind of strength. There was a unique fire burning in her sapphire eyes. "I came to inquire upon your health?" he replied stoically.

"My health, sir?" she asked raising a brow.

"You took ill at the festivities last week, did you not?"

Relena almost faltered, "It was nothing…I simply took too much ale."

"You weren't drunk," Heero snapped.

Relena glared at him. "What do you want?"

"To know why you try to hide when you well know that I am quite aware of your abilities."

"I do not know what abilities you speak of, sir."

"You do," he said coldly.

Relena shook her head. "I do not. I am sorry, but if you are not here as a paying customer, I am going to have to ask you to leave this shop at once."

Heero took several steps towards her. Relena backed away fearfully. What was he doing? Terrified, she shrank into the corner of the room until he had her trapped against the wall. He pinned his body to hers and Relena could feel his presence engulf her. She was terribly afraid but at the same time she could not help but stare at his handsome features. His eyes were locked with hers. He had grabbed her wrists and was holding them tightly. The very feel of his touch made her go nearly weak in the knees. She was breathing heavily and he brought his face close to hers. She could smell him, she could almost taste him. His unruly hair fell about his face, and Relena felt it brush against her cheek and he leaned towards her ear. She closed her eyes and listened as he whispered fiercely, his monotonous voice ringing in her ears,

"Make me."

She shuddered violently as she felt his hot breath against her neck. She dared to open her eyes and all at once she lost herself. He was beautiful, the most amazing man she had ever laid eyes upon. She shook her head at his statement.

"Please…"she began.

Just then, the shop bell rang for the opening door and Heero released his grip on her wrist. Relena was somewhat dazed. She looked towards the door to see her father staring at the two of them, a confused expression on his face.

"Father…" she began slowly.

Mr. Darlian took several slow steps towards the two of them, his eyes never leaving Heero Yuy. Finally he spoke, "To what do I owe this great honor? One of the five warriors is visiting my humble shop and I am unprepared for such a surprise…I apologize my lord," he bowed slightly, never taking his gaze away.

Heero looked at Mr. Darlian sharply. "I have come to speak with you about your daughter."

Relena could see the fear in Mr. Darlian's eyes. His face, however, hid his emotions well, "What about her my lord?"

"I beg your permission to escort her this afternoon," replied Heero simply.

Relena blinked in surprise, "What?" she exclaimed.

A look of relief swept across Mr. Darlian's face, "Why of course, my lord! You needn't ask me at all. She would be honored!"

"But father…" began Relena.

"Susannah!" called Mr. Darlian.

The woman burst into the room, took one look at Heero Yuy and bowed deeply. "Yes, sir?"

"Heero Yuy wishes to escort my daughter this afternoon; can you get her ready quickly?"

Susannah's eyes widened. "Of course, at once sir!"

"But I …."

"Shush Relena, upstairs and out of that ink-stained frock!"

Susannah pushed the girl towards the steps and up she marched with Susannah at her heels.

When she was in her room, Relena started to protest again, but Susannah snapped at her.

"This is a great honor! To have one so noble come to call upon you! You must wear your blue dress; it matches your eyes and suits you well. Comb you hair child! Tie it back out of you face with that ribbon over there! Hurry up you can't keep him waiting all day!"

As Relena frantically tried to brush out her long tresses, Susannah pulled at the laces on the blue gown. Relena gasped as her breath took leave of her body.

"Are you trying to suffocate me?" exclaimed the young woman.

"You have to look your best!" snapped Susannah.

"I do not believe Heero Yuy has any ideas of courtship."

"And why not?" asked Susannah as she sharply spun Relena around. "The Five warriors are human and allowed to marry. It would be the greatest of matches, second only to the little prince who hardly knows the meaning of the word. Now, come on!"

Relena was shoved down the stairs and into the front room of the shop to see Heero waiting patiently for her with her father. Mr. Darlian embraced her lightly, kissing her on the cheek, then turned and bowed to Heero in deep respect. Heero nodded and offered Relena his arm. She took it, hesitantly, and the couple made their way into the bustling streets of the Imperial city.

People stared at Heero in awe, and then stared at Relena curiously. Who was this young woman? She felt eyes watching her every move and she suddenly began to burn with embarrassment. Heero, however, walked on stoically, never letting even a glint of emotion show on his handsome face.

"Where are you taking me, my Lord?" she asked quietly.

"To the palace," he replied coolly.

Relena's heart froze. She was powerless against this man. How could she trust him to not label her as a witch? If he took her to the palace, would he turn her in? This courtship he had presented to her father was already under false pretences. She could not let it go any longer.

She jerked her hand away from him and glared at him fiercely. "I will not have you turn me in!"

Heero looked at her in surprise. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"My Lord, I know that you have discovered me and I apologize for my ailment, but believe me when I say I am not wicked!"

Heero grabbed her and pulled her into an alley. "One," he growled in his deep voice, "do not speak of witchcraft so publicly unless you wish to be burnt at the stake. And two, I am not going to turn you in. I will tell you more when we get to the palace but until then I am going to ask you to refrain from speaking at all."

Relena glared at him so fiercely, Heero was almost taken aback. "Why should I trust you?" she spat.

"You shouldn't," was Heero's reply as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along back out into the city.

000000

"So explain to me again why I have to wait here all afternoon?" complained Duo as he kicked his heels up onto a table.

"Heero will be here any moment and we have very important matters to discuss," answered Quatre. The blonde haired man pulled an enormous book from a shelf and placed it down on the table. They were in the palace library, and Quatre was doing all the research he could before Heero arrived.

"What are you looking at buddy?" Duo asked curiously.

"Everything I can find about the Sight," muttered Quatre quietly.

"Heero met a girl in the city last week during the festivities," Trowa explained before Duo could ask any more questions. "We need to see if she bears the mark."

"Does everyone know about this but me?" asked Duo. The braided man looked at Wufei who was sitting at the windowsill across the room stoically. Wufei simply raised an eyebrow.

Duo threw up his hands in an exasperated manner and rolled his eyes.

The door to the library suddenly threw open and in marched Heero with a young woman trailing behind him. She looked apprehensive to say the least and from what Quatre could tell, there was an unspoken tension between her and his comrade.

Relena found herself too startled to even remember formalities. She simply stared at the five men in the room, unable to move or speak.

"This is Relena Darlian…" began Heero in his low monotonous voice.

The men all bowed slightly but all Relena could do was nod her head. She held her composure well, but truth be told she was terrified.

"Welcome, Miss Relena," said the blonde haired man whom Relena recognized as Quatre Winner. "First and foremost, we want to assure you of your safety and of the confidentiality you will find within these walls. What is said in this room will not leave it."

"What do you want with me?" she asked.

"To ask you a few simple questions," replied Quatre. "Please sit down."

"I would rather stand," Relena replied somewhat politely.

Heero gave Quatre a look and the blonde simply shrugged, "As you wish madam."

Heero made his way over to a chair and sat down. Judging from her body language this was probably going to take some time. He watched Relena shrink back slightly towards the door and smirked. She was cunning; placing herself between her "captors" and her escape route. Her face showed no signs of distress but when he locked his gaze with hers, he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. She had reason to fear, but that was not why he had brought her here. If his assumptions were correct, fear was not the only thing she would have to worry about.

"Miss Relena, Heero has informed me of your gift and we would like to speak with you about it. We wish you no harm and you must no that your secret is safe with us."

"I suppose I have no choice," muttered Relena.

Quatre nodded, "We understand you are apprehensive Miss Relena, but this is a very serious matter that not only involves your life, but all of our lives. Trowa, would you care to continue?"

The tall man stepped forward and began, "We must ask you some questions, Relena. Some of them are very personal and for that we apologize but your answers must be answered with honesty in order for us to assess the seriousness of the situation."

"We will know if you are lying," said the dark haired man sitting over by the window.

"Wufei!" scolded Quatre.

"I just thought she should know," shrugged the oriental man.

Heero smirked in his chair, catching a quick glance from Relena.

"Alright," replied Relena with dignity. "I suppose I should sit if this will take a while."

"I recommend it," Trowa replied.

She settled herself into a chair and folded her hands over her lap. Heero noted how she straightened her back and lifted her head high; very diplomatic and ladylike. A calm trance swept over her face and she looked directly at Trowa and nodded for him to begin.

"Where were you born?" he asked.

"Here in this city. I have grown up here all my life. My father owns a very successful business in town and my mother died twelve years ago when the plague struck."

"And your parents, where were they born?" asked Trowa.

"To my knowledge, both grew up here all their lives," she replied, her gaze never leaving Trowa's but all the while watching as Quatre wrote her answers down with ink and quick on some parchment.

"When did you begin to have the Sight?"

Relena bowed her head. "Since I was a child…I used to have nightmares and visions. I always thought they were dreams though, I never believed them to be the truth."

"Who knows of your powers?"

Relena looked at him sharply and took to her feet. "I will not have you persecute me! I know what you are all thinking, you think I am a witch and I can assure you I have no power, just dreams and visions and nothing more!"

"Miss Relena, please try and calm down," said Quatre soothingly.

She shook her head and backed towards the door. "I am sorry but I cannot do this. I will not let you interrogate me when I have done nothing wrong. I am not your prisoner and I came here unwillingly but I came, now please let me go!" She turned and was about to open the door when Heero suddenly blocked her path.

"We cannot let you go Relena," he said coldly.

She shook her head in disbelief, and looking into his eyes she let herself go, "Please, I have done nothing wrong. Please let me leave."

She was pleading with him and Heero saw in that moment the truth and how terrified she truly was. He drew deep within himself the power he possessed and entered her mind. She gasped and held still as she felt him engulf her whole body. She could not move, she could not think, all she could feel was him and he was looking into her more deeply and more intimately than anyone ever could. Part of her wanted to struggle and fight it, but something deep within her told her it was alright and she knew it was the Sight speaking to her so she let the barriers down, ad felt herself fall.

Heero engulfed her, and what he felt was a rush much more powerful than he could imagine. He closed his eyes and took in all her senses, feelings, and memories. He saw her whole life flash before his eyes and he understood her and where her fear was coming from. She was like a new breath of life, and for some odd reason he felt his heart lift for the first time as if he had found an answer h had been searching for all his life. He hardly knew her, but he knew she was different and that she was special.

"What is he doing?" asked Duo. "Is he crazy? We cannot scry someone's mind without their permission!"

Heero was engulfed in light as he held Relena firmly in his arms. The other men watched and waited patiently.

Quatre looked astounded. He sent out his mind to Heero and Relena's and connected with them briefly before pulling away. "She did."

"But she never said anything!" complained Duo.

"She didn't have to. She wanted him to!" Quatre exclaimed.

"She wanted Heero to do this? But how did she even know?"

"It wasn't here you baka," muttered Wufei. "It is the Sight. She is much stronger than we may realize."

Heero, in the meantime, went deeper into Relena's mind. He pierced her senses and she allowed to him to. But he started to sense something, a dark presence, buried deep within. Her power began to call to him, and Heero followed the voice of the Sight to where it led him. A light, bright and blinding swept over him and soon he found he was in another place and Relena was standing right before him.

Heero looked around. They were in a forest clearing, with a single tree in the center of it, accompanied by a small pond. It was night, but a full moon let its bright rays fall into the clearing, illuminating Relena and the light blue gown she was clothed in. Her hair glittered and he suddenly realized she was not the ordinary girl she tried so hard to be. She was staring at him, watching him with concern in her eyes and then she suddenly jerked as if coming out of a trance. She looked around quickly, and then looked to Heero.

"Where have you taken me?" she asked.

"The Sight has brought us here, Relena, it was not me."

"Is this a dream?" she asked simply and she began to look at their surroundings.

"No," replied Heero shortly.

"How do we leave?"

"We don't," he replied. "We don't leave until the Sight shows us what it brought us here for. We are in your mind Relena. To leave against your very thoughts would kill us both."

"This has never happened before," she said with a twinge of fear in her voice.

Heero strode over to her. "These are your thoughts, Relena. This is a place that only exists in your mind. There is a reason for bringing us here."

She dared herself to look into his eyes. She was afraid of him, afraid of what he might think of her. But she had to be honest if it meant escape. She took a deep breath, "Sometimes I dream of this place. I don't know what it means, but I dream of it and when I am here I feel safe as if nothing can touch me."

Heero nodded and thought for a moment. "Relena," he began, "in your dreams, what do you do when you're here?"

"I…I usually sit under the tree by the pond."

He nodded and started to walk over to the tree. Relena watched him closely, not wishing to follow. She noted how Heero was aware of everything around him all at once. His senses were fully alert, not missing anything. HE approached the tree and began to examine its trunk and branches and leaves. She sighed while he indulged in his investigation and began to walk towards him, when a cold breeze caught her arm.

She stopped, curiously. The breeze began to draw itself around her, a sensation she had never felt before. It started at her feet and swept up to her gown and then her hair. She looked to Heero and saw that he was already watching her. She almost felt herself smiling as he approached, an odd feeling at such a time, but her thoughts soon faded when she read the alarm written in his Prussian eyes.

"Relena!" he cried.

She spun around and saw the shadow approaching her, the same shadow that came in her visions. She screamed and Heero grabbed her roughly, slamming her to the ground.

"Don't look into his eyes!" Heero hissed.

Relena could not move or speak. She wanted out of this nightmare, out of her own mind. She wanted to be free. She had to be!

Heero gasped and fell to the ground as he came from the depths of Relena's mind. Duo was above him immediately accompanied by Wufei.

"What happened?" asked Wufei.

Heero shook his head and hissed, "Octavian!"

Wufei and Duo looked at each other sharply at the name, dark thought clouding their features.

"Where's Relena?" Heero asked suddenly. When they didn't reply right away, Heero jumped to his feet and looked across the room. The young woman was in Quatre's arms unconscious, as Trowa held his hands over her, a green light illuminating from them as he sought to heal whatever injuries had occurred.

Heero knelt next to them and looked at Trowa, not needing to ask out loud.

Trowa sighed as he took his hands away, "She is fine, but I strongly advise that the two of you do not try that anymore."

"Hn," was Heero's only reply. "Arrange a place for her to rest."

"What of her father, Heero? She has a home, she has a family," Quatre said quietly.

"Wufei, inform Mr. Darlian that his daughter is now under our protection and thus must remain in the palace under strict observation. He may come and visit whenever he so chooses but she must remain here," Heero barked as he walked out of the room.

Wufei left immediately.

Quatre shook his head. Trowa lifted Relena in his arms and carried her out of the room.

"Duo, what is going on?" asked Quatre.

"Octavian," muttered Duo in disbelief. "May the gods protect us."

00000

The shadow, Octavian, smirked to himself. He had seen her now and he would have her. They did not know he was free but he was and he was coming for them. He would not be destroyed again, and he would not let her stop him. The games were about to begin, but this time he was going to win the war.

AN: Sorry this update took so long! Email: