The Isle

by puzzlepuzzle

In the aftermath of the Second War, Athrun Zala vanished without a trace for seven years - Cagalli never thought to find him. But fate deviates when he comes to find her himself and a web of desire and deceit lies before them. Original Cover Art SEQUEL OUT. .

24. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I own nothing of GS/GSD. R&R please.

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Chapter 23

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"Look- it's her-,"

The Rochester Manor was a place that Cagalli knew she would never get used to. There was something foreign about this place, but there was something unsettlingly familiar about it all at once. She could only pray that if she ever had to go for events in Orb at some point in the future, she would not be reminded of this place.

The halls felt warmer and stuffier than she could recall, and Cagalli was glad she was not wearing any gloves today. Nor did she wear the furs that the women were boasting to each other about. She had taken one look at the white fox fur that Athrun had passed to her and had told him, "If I weren't your lover, I'd have killed you."

He'd laughed, throwing it back into the car. "It's not like I was the one who killed the fox."

"I don't care." She'd said stubbornly. "I'm not wearing that. I'd rather freeze."

Now, Cagalli passed a woman who was balancing six small minks on each shoulder. As the woman shuddered with laughter, the minks seem to conspire amongst themselves and vibrated, their tails shaking. Cagalli repressed her own shudder.

"Look at her-,"

She trod carefully, aware that heads were turning and glasses were being lifted to lips to hide whispers that still echoed.

Even the flowers in their crystal bowls seemed to be opening their petals and showing their faces, peeking at her. As usual, this place was as packed and busy as a carnival, and the midnight hues, rich maroons and dark emeralds made the place look starved for soberness.

"There she goes- isn't she brazen- without a single glove or fur stole again-,"

"What does he see in her when there are girls like me-,"

Some women turned with their fans, sniffing, although their partners continued staring.

Cagalli ignored them, continuing her walk down a path she could barely make out except that people were clearing the way for her.

There seemed to be no point in walking, because she was not sure what she was looking for. And even if she was looking for something, Cagalli realised, she would not be able to find it in here.

"God- look at her dress- look at her-,"

Athrun had certainly picked well, and as she passed along the others, she knew she was a single blot, a snowdrop swirling in the midst of fighting, cawing crows.

When she'd finished her bath and had stepped out and to dress in their room, he'd been already dressed and waiting.

Athrun had been sitting on their bed with a soft smile on his lips and a silvery- white dress on his lap. Because she'd agreed to go with him to Rochester's place, she had to be prepared to wear these things as Lyra once again. But at that point, she'd been somehow very glad to see that it was a different dress- one she'd never worn before.

As she took her steps forward, oblivious to what people around her were talking about, Cagalli thought of the dress she'd worn here as a disguise before today.

If the gold dress that had been made similar to Lyra's had struck Cagalli as excessive and overtly luxurious, this one was very different.

While the gold one had bared her shoulders completely, along with an uncomfortable amount of her chest and thighs, this white dress seemed far more bearable.

Still showy, its heart-shaped front dipped low enough for a necklace to be flaunted, and the full skirt at the back was a misguiding disguise from the way the train tapered upwards to reveal her knees and the rest of her legs.

At least, Cagalli thought with some relief, her thighs had been covered completely. It had made Cagalli feel less exposed with its colour, and she had put it on wordlessly.

As Cagalli had slipped into the dress that he'd chosen in front of the mirror, she'd felt his lips trail roughly over her neck.

Even as he helped her zip up from the back, she felt Athrun kiss her softly near her shoulder. The overt sensitivity to the way he was touching her had made her realise that there was a kind of caution in him.

She had gazed into the mirror before them- the mirror that was becoming only too familiar now. Athrun's eyes had not been easy to read, nor was his expression since half of it was hidden by her shoulder.

But she had been able to see uncertainty, and she had recognised some insecurity in it. After all, her own hace had been reflected in his eyes.

And Athrun had pressed her backwards, towards him, hugging her. At that time, Cagalli had known that he had probably not wanted to ask her to go with him. When he'd asked her if she was willing to follow him to Rochester's manor for a function he had to attend, she'd agreed without second thought.

He hadn't wanted her in this place again, Cagalli decided now, staring around at the painted faces. He hadn't wanted her in this place where the people were those he was protecting even though they deserved to face their crimes elsewhere.

"What do you want me to wear this dress with?" She'd asked him. Her voice was tentative. Still, he'd proven to her that the golden dress and diamonds she'd worn had been similar but not the same set that Lyra had once worn. "The diamond necklace? Lyra always wore that, right?"

He had left her to fetch something from the box, shaking his head. "No, not tonight. Wear the amber for me."

The low front had been mitigated by a heavy collar of beaten, golden amber- dozens of small blossoms linked together to fall like tendrils over her collarbones. Matching earrings were worn too, and those fell some distance from her earlobes, dangling a little.

"That's Lyra Delphius-," One woman was shaking her companion's arm. "Remember? She cut her hair, but that's her- no doubt about that."

"Really?" Another person was saying. "Looks a bit different, y'know? Scratch that- looks rather different-,"

Another was saying impatiently, "She came in with Rune Estragon- she looks very different today, but that has to be her- that's the same blonde hair-,"

Her thoughts were suddenly shaken as she found herself being whirled around, the music suddenly louder in her ears than what she could be capable of drowning out.

Her nostrils were invaded by all sorts of glorious scents and overpowering perfumes, and her senses were assaulted by an entire barrage of excess. Grimly, she smiled.

As she took another step forward, some murmurs became clearer than the others. A man was saying something to his companion and she caught a little of it.

"I'm not sure how much he's paying, but I wouldn't mind a piece of that myself-,"

As Cagalli strolled along the vast hall, ignoring those who were talking about her, she felt herself become lost amongst them once more. The winter had arrived and the lawns were covered in snow, carpeted with white purer than the lush foxes and furs on the women's shoulders.

The fairy lights had been strewn across the shrubs and bare-branched trees outside, and for a second, Cagalli wished she could be there instead of this place. The snow was heavy outside and the winks of the lights she could see through the lined windows were more dazzling and called out to her more than anything inside here would.

In the hall, the chandeliers were swinging once more and the golden light streamed everywhere onto the more ostentatious jewels. The self-proclaimed Lords and Ladies of the Isle were moving from table to table- from one square of the dance-floor to another.

There was a turkey on every table, and the wine was being poured ceaselessly once more. The couples dancing did not seem to pause either, nor did the orchestra. She had asked Athrun where they had appeared from, and Athrun had smiled with that humourless expression and informed her that many had brought their servants over with them.

"Not a bad deal for being a criminal," Cagalli thought dryly to herself, passing by a group of men and women who were playing cards while stuffing themselves with food.

"Lyra," One man with flashing emerald cufflinks was calling out to her, and Cagalli turned, feeling his hand on her shoulder.

Cagalli stared at him. Pale blonde and with fine features, this man also had queer, unblinking red eyes like a reptile's. She shivered, despite the fact that he was handsome and a few other women were probably undressing him with their eyes. She could not recognise him. Athrun had told her of who some of the guests and the Isle-dwellers were, and while she did not know their names, she knew enough.

His voice was steady because he had not drunk too much, but the laugh in it and the gesture was not lost on her. He did not look half-bad, Cagalli thought, but he did not look like anyone she wanted to get to know either. "Come here- I want to speak to you and get acquainted with you-,"

"No, thank you."

"But where else would you go?" He laughed surreptitiously. "It's packed in here anyway."

"I was planning to get some fresh air outside."

"It's cold!" He looked surprised, then his expression became strange with his half-lidded gaze. "Why don't you stay here and warm up?"

"I'd rather freeze outside." Cagalli introduced some acid into her tone and tried to move off.

She should not have turned around, she realised. She should have ignored this man, who'd had the audacity to call openly to her as if he knew her and put his hand on her like this.

"I'm Tate Nelson." He introduced himself, "Played the cello and conducted for a while," He shrugged, looking at her with a devious expression. "Won a few competitions, and then came here."

Because of what Athrun had told her, she immediately assumed that this man had been talented as a Coordinator but had gone the wrong way and bought people to rise to his position in the past.

She gazed at his slim white fingers and saw the marks of old calluses on his finger pads.

He probably did have his skills, Cagalli realise, but he had done unforgivable things to earn more than what his genes had already given him a head start for. Coordinators like him, Cagalli decided, had probably caused the deaths of the innocent ones.

"And what about you?" He was saying, "Where'd you come from before the Isle?"

Cagalli pursed her lips.

"You play any instruments wells? Sing the high notes, maybe?"

There was a leering tone in his voice that she despised. What had Athrun advised her to do tonight? Oh. That was right. She remembered what he'd told her as he'd led her from the car.

Athrun had bent close to her ear and whispered, "Be yourself tonight."

She hadn't had time to clarify that, but Cagalli supposed she'd go with the most instinctive interpretation of Athrun's instructions.

A grim smile played on her lips as Tate Nelson asked again, "Where'd you come from before this, Lyra?"

"That's none of your business." Cagalli said coldly. "I'd like to be left alone, Mr. Nelson."

But Tate Nelson only laughed again and leaned closer, smiling. "True. I did forget that the rudest question to ask any man or woman here is what they were doing before they came to the Isle."

He shrugged. "But I couldn't help asking-," His eyes roved at her and disgusted, Cagalli wanted to pull away, except that he'd had her hand firmly in his. "I do forget myself when I see a woman like you."

"Well," Cagalli said frostily, "Maybe you should give yourself a slap and try to remember. Or shall I aid you?"

Tate Nelson only grinned. "I did hear many things about you, Lyra, but I never heard you were so feisty. You always struck me as the quiet sort. But you're a real wildcat, aren't you? I'm in luck then- I like that sort of woman."

Instantly, he'd pulled her to him, his hand finding its way to her waist and the other on her hand as she was drawn into the waltz. "The women here on the Isle are just too prissy for me. Too posh- but hey, that's why they came here, right? I wasn't like them and I didn't have it easy from day one. I had to work, believe it or not, to get where I was. So they aren't like you and me, Lyra, they don't know what hard work is."

Cagalli considered what he'd said but still decided that she disliked him. "I'm not sure what you mean by hard work."

He shrugged as she tried to pull away again, a little more firmly this time. "Loads of the Coordinators here were born rich from the start. But I wasn't, and that's why I had to work even when I was already good at my music." His eyes studied her. "I heard you didn't come from anywhere outside the Isle. You don't know anything else outside it, right?"

She wondered what to say, then thought better of it and clamped her mouth firmly.

Tate Nelson spun her around. "I could tell you about the world outside the Isle. It's not a bad world. It's got some nice things. It's just that this place is nicer and you were born into the best place on Earth. The Isle."

Cagalli was silent.

"So how about it?" He ran his hand on her waist lower, and she flinched, glaring at him until he paused. "I could talk to you about the world outside, if you followed me."

"No, thank you." Cagalli did pull away now, and she began to leave. "I've never found the need to know or to get myself in stupid situations."

He took a few steps in the direction she had chosen and caught her back to him. His smile was more pleasant than she'd noticed, Cagalli realised, but there was something about him that she didn't quite like.

Nor did she like him anymore when he spoke. "I was right! You're the sort I go for- I don't like the other kinds who shut up when I ask for silence. They remind me of dogs."

"I think you're mistaken, Mr. Nelson. I'm not any sort of woman you want to associate yourself with." Her eyes narrowed, but Cagalli found that she could not have said the worst thing. He seemed genuinely amused by her reaction, and as she tried to pull away and leave the dance she was suddenly in, Tate Nelson pulled her nearer yet.

And then he laughed once. "Oh, I don't think you've understood me. I don't go for Madame Chanteuse's girls, that's for sure, but you're not one of hers anymore, are you?"

It was a laugh of derision and slight contempt, and Cagalli bristled inwardly.

"Your husband," He pronounced the word with a little sneer that suggested he didn't believe the introduction Rune Estragon had made, "Is busy with the other guests. Didn't he agree to take that tour with Yvette? He's being a good guest and socialising with the others. So should you."

"Where was Athrun?" Cagalli thought desperately, trying to pull away from Tate Nelson.

Outwardly, she looked at this imbecile with supreme disdain and infinite dignity that would have done Ezalia Joule and Kitani Harumi proud respectively. "My husband is a businessman who makes use of every opportunity to speak to people who he finds useful to him. Similarly, he would not like me to waste my time here."

He ignored the insinuation and began to make her move to the beat of the music.

"Say," Tate Nelson remarked, his eyes travelling from her eyes to her lips and then further south, "You've got a marvellous dress there. Not as nice as that golden one," He leered at her yet agin, "But I've never seen anything look quite so good on anyone. No wonder Estragon only has you as his consort. With you hanging off an arm, anyone would look good."

"On the contrary," Cagalli said drolly, "I think beautiful women should keep unattractive men on their arms to make themselves look even more attractive."

"Really?" Tate Nelson laughed at what he thought was her wittiness. "I suppose you're sticking around with me because you want to look more attractive then?"

She decided not to tell him that she would rather be scrubbing toilets. "At least you have a mirror at home."

He turned her around, preventing his partner from being switched even when it was time to trade partners. She wasn't sure whether to be glad or not that she was still stuck with him. The next person could be potentially worse. At her sullenest, Tate Nelson seemed to grow more confident.

"You know, Lyra," the dance partner she'd found herself with was saying loudly, "I've been to every of these parties and I know almost everyone on the Isle. I've seen you time and time again with him, but you never spoke much. I never got to talk to you. You always kept to his side- not like today, when you're by yourself."

"Joy." Cagalli muttered, thinking of how Athrun had left her. He'd whispered, "I got some business to settle, so stay calm and try not to get swallowed by them while I'm gone."

He'd disappeared before she could protest, and even then, Cagalli knew it was unlikely for her to. After all, she'd agreed without hesitation to come here with him when he'd asked her to. She'd looked at him straight in the eye and told him that she would follow him if he wanted her by his side. If he had some business to settle, then so be it.

She had planned to walk around a little, but Tate Nelson had stopped her and now she was here, stuck with him.

"And you never looked more beautiful." Tate Nelson was saying. "Maybe it's this short hair? It makes you look very different, actually. I almost didn't recognise you."

Focusing back on Tate Nelson, Cagalli found herself irritated at how he was taking the opportunity to stare at her like she was something of an exhibit at a zoo.

All the same, she was glad that she'd come with Athrun.

"What do you want me to say when I'm there?" In the car, her voice had been quiet, afraid, despite what she'd already decided. The blindfold had still been used, even though she knew it would be taken off once they reached.

"Don't worry about that." Athrun had replied. "Let them think what they want to think. If they address you as Lyra, you can ignore them."

"I won't," She'd decided. "Not because of anything, but only because you requested that I come with you."

He'd turned her around to face him and smiled gently even though she could not see him. Nevertheless, she heard it in his voice. "Thank you."

At this point, Cagalli ignored Tate Nelson's compliment and tried to pull away again, short of kicking him in the nether region and punching the lights of him, the frustration evident in her tone. "I should really be elsewhere, Mr. Nelson- I-,"

"Estragon's got good taste, that's for sure," Tate remarked blithely. "Whether in choosing the dress, the jewels you wear, or the person he brings along." He clucked his tongue in what he thought was a charming manner. "Good thing I share his taste."

Cagalli burnt with indignation and her voice rang with sarcasm. "He'd be insulted to hear that anyone spoke of sharing his taste. Particularly if the person was someone like you, I think."

She must have riled Tate Nelson finally, for his smile was replaced with a frown then a sneer. "I'm sure he wouldn't be insulted if I told him that I wanted to share you with him though." He smirked arrogantly. "Estragon would probably take it as a compliment. I suppose you already know this- the rooms and beds here are large enough for three, so how about it? I can stay tonight, if it's for someone like you. I can give you some lo-"

And Cagalli chose that moment to step hard on his foot with her heel. It was the precise moment when he'd had his back turned to her, for it was when Tate Nelson had turned because someone had tapped on his shoulder and distracted him.

So in that moment, Athrun's fist met his smug face and Cagalli's stiletto sank into his tender foot.

His single cry of pain from two different sources was drowned by the crescendo of the orchestra and the swell of the crowds. He fainted immediately, crumbling to the floor.

Smilingly, Athrun bowed to Cagalli, his hand in a gallant gesture as he stepped neatly over the fallen man.

Cagalli took the hand that Athrun had offered very graciously, and returning his smile sweetly, she kicked Tate Nelson one more time, not bothering to even watch him make a muffled 'oof'.

And then, she curtseyed to Athrun, her new dance-partner, and let herself be led off.

Peering behind her, Cagalli gathered that the crowds continued to dance and that nobody had noticed the person on the floor. One couple did, but dismissed it as one of those idiots who'd gotten too drunk too early in the evening and continued their waltz.

Laughing under her breath, she held tightly onto Athrun's hand as they half-walked, half-scampered past people who were blinded by the lights. The world did not turn for them even when many heads did, but neither of them could have cared less. For them, all that mattered was that they were escaping from that dizzying scatter of colours and that her hand was warm in his.

A man called out to him as they hurried past a long row of joined tables, but Athrun ignored him.

A few women tittered, waving over to Athrun as she marched after him, their hands twined, and Cagalli stared at them although Athrun seemed not to have heard.

Once more, everybody seemed to know him, except that he did not seem to want to pretend to know them anymore than she did.

As they neared the end of the hall, she could see the snow falling even more heavily from the windows. A row of very tall pillars were in front of those windows, and those cast elongated, finger-like shapes of darkness, shielding those who hid behind from the crowds.

He peered behind one massive pillar, turned to her with a small smile, and signalled that it was safe. Trusting him, she hurried towards him as he darted behind the pillar.

But six pillars and at least ten metres away, Cagalli noticed that there was another couple were kissing nosily with their hands all over each other. As strange as it seemed, Cagalli wasn't been repulsed by the actions that mirrored what could possibly be her own with Athrun. Like the unnamed people in their own corner, she was choosing to joke and fool around like this with Athrun, and the thought of what she was indulging in gave her clandestine pleasure.

As Cagalli stared openly at both of them, they seemed to jump with the realisation that there were other people behind the pillars now, and scurried off like startled rabbits.

"Hey, there were other people here." Cagalli told Athrun anxiously, "We shouldn't have come here."

Athrun only smiled carelessly, "They should have stood their ground then. Besides, I chose a different pillar. If they weren't comfortable with us around, then they should have gotten a room."

She smacked his arm playfully and then leaned closer. "What about us?"

"We're not doing anything indecent like them, so we won't have to run off when others might show up," He said with mock innocence. "We're just- you know, taking a breather."

"Right," She said mockingly. "We're only here to get away from the crowd. A pure, simple reason."

Before he could answer, Cagalli had pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply, imitating what the woman had been doing with her own lover. The way she kissed him was clearly proof that she didn't care two hoots about what the woman six pillars away had probably been worried about- being found out.

In fact, Athrun realised, she was probably having her own secret fun too, and if a thousand people had suddenly appeared behind the pillars, she would have still continued manhandling him. Her eyes were twinkling and her smile was mischievous.

"Hold it, hold it." Athrun panted, feeling her fingers dart everywhere. "Wait-,"

"No." She said fearlessly. "I never got to do this in Orb because you were such a good boy and I was so scared of being caught." Her eyes gleamed. "But that's different here."

He kissed her back, hoping to placate her, then tried to break it off, panting slightly. But as he tried to separate himself from her, Cagalli began running her hands over his chest.

He moaned into her kiss, excited by her sudden recklessness and the danger she was flirting with. Now he understood what Cagalli had been thinking about when she'd spied on the couple some distance away. She'd been planning how to do the same with him.

Giggling uncontrollably now, Cagalli followed him as he leaned behind the pillar in the shadows, and she hugged him joyously.

He tugged open the first button of his shirt, breathing deeply, and his eyes laughed with her even in the darkness. She smiled and felt him pull her closer to him, her fingers wandering on his face and tracing his cheekbones.

"How did you know that I was going to snap with Tate Nelson, by the way?" Cagalli said breathlessly.

"I saw you." Athrun said mildly, catching his breath back a little.

"Well, I saw you making your way through the dance couples from over his shoulder," She explained, grinning.

"That jackass," Athrun muttered. "He thought I couldn't see from where I was, did he?"

Behind that pillar, she leaned onto him, burying her face in his chest, her giggles melting into his own chuckles. Cagalli reached from behind the pillar suddenly, grabbing a drink for them both to share, and the red wine tasted sweeter than she'd expected. The servant who'd floated by their pillar didn't even notice her swift action.

She sipped from it, and then gave the rest to Athrun, who downed it and peered from behind the pillar once more.

As a second waiter went drifting by, he replaced the glass as swiftly as she had taken it and grinned at her.

"You punched him." Cagalli made a 'tsk' sound at him. "A little extreme, aren't you?"

"Serves him right," Athrun managed after he could stop laughing. "He should have known it was coming."

In the shadowy corner they'd chosen, in their little place where they could breathe, he bent his head down as they leaned on each other and shared their joke.

In these shadows, in this corner where nobody could see, had Athrun and her become like one of those couples or those people gorging themselves at their tables?

She was laughing with him and, they were pressing themselves to each other, their bodies were too close for them to think carefully, and Cagalli wondered if she'd lost herself with him.

At the same time, a random waiter passed by, totally oblivious to what was probably common activity in this frequently held party, and Athrun neatly placed the empty glass on the tray and looked at Cagalli.

Then Athrun kissed her briefly, and before she had time to respond, Athrun broke the kiss and led her away from there, towards the lights again.

"Hey," She protested, "Why don't we go towards the greenhouse? It's warm there- we'll be alone, and we can speak openly-,"

In fact, Athrun had just returned from there. He thought of what Tom Edgeworth and Alstarice Krieg were doing there and shook his head. Even when he could trust Alstarice to do things fast and without any fuss, Athrun knew Alstarice needed some time to get the bodies out of the way.

He'd been careful not to get any blood on his clothes, and he'd visited the washroom before this to neaten up a little. Yvette Kanabaria had taken a longer than expected time to be stunned, and she'd actually managed to pull at his sleeve as she'd collapsed with two others. The cufflink had been loosened and Athrun had needed to fix that. Now however, he looked impeccable.

Athrun decided not to tell Cagalli that there were three Isle-dwellers who had tried to sell information to people outside the Isle and were being punished for that. The three would be safely locked away on the Seventh Isle and nobody would see them ever again. Cagalli didn't need to know that.

She was looking at him curiously. "Don't you want to get out of here? The greenhouse isn't occupied right?"

"I don't know. I haven't been there. But we're not going now," Athrun told her playfully. "I rather we dance first."

Hopefully, he prayed, Alstarice, Tom and Lucretzia were already finishing up the job.

"Dance in this crowd?" Cagalli pulled a face, grabbing a strawberry from a tray that drifted past her and stuffing it to Athrun's mouth when he turned.

He ate it, noting its sweetness and letting its juice dribble from onto his tongue. She was helping herself to one too, and he nodded. "Yes. Dance."

Her voice was an incredulous laugh. "Dance? You call this a waltz?"

"Yes, it does resemble a shuffle more than anything else." Athrn agreed with a grin, and she laughed, glad for once that the crowds were camouflaging them.

She took the chance to press against him, aware that nobody would comment even if they saw what was happening in the midst of the furious activities. "That's revenge for what you started in the car."

Athrun raised an eyebrow, although his voice dropped into a dangerous whisper as they held each other close, swaying in the beat. "Oh? You mean you're taking me on right now?"

"Why not?" Cagalli whispered back. She pressed closer to him, knowing that it looked entirely normal with this crowd. Her chuckle was low and her eyes sparkled. "You probably want me to."

He laughed softly. "Yes, I do. But not now."

Smiling courteously at some guests who nodded at them from the dinner tables, he led her out of the shadows. Athrun placed her hand on his shoulder, putting his hand lightly on her waist, and they stepped off. Automatically, people around them cleared some space, distancing them from the other couples a little.

As he had before, Epstein had driven them here, with Cagalli blindfolded as usual. But Athrun had sensed that Cagalli found no more mistrust in her and no more suspicion, particularly because his hand had been holding hers through out the ride.

Studying Athrun, who held her close and let her lean her head against him as they swayed in the music, Cagalli recognised the heat building in her again. He wasn't looking at her but at nothing in particular, humming silently it seemed, under his breath.

In the car, she had been aware of his nearness, and she had become attuned to his pulse and his scent.

She'd moved closer to him during the ride, feeling his thigh next to hers, and she'd felt his hand move around her shoulders. His other hand had lifted her face for their lips to touch.

When she had felt his other hand stroking her face even when she remained blindfolded, Cagalli had found no hesitation in lifting her face, responding to him.

While she had been a little wary that Epstein was driving the car, Cagalli knew that a curtain had always blocked the passengers' compartment from the driver's and the front seat.

From the insistency of Athrun's touch though, Cagalli had wondered if he'd done the same even if the driver's view had not been obscured. Blindfolded, she'd been more than willing to be guided and dominated, and Athrun had teased her until she was quite breathless from trying to keep her silence, lest Epstein hear them.

Now, she refocused on Athrun, who was twirling her around expertly. As she watched him, he looked back at her with a semi-smile, observing her.

"You know," She said to him with a twinkle in her eyes, "Dancing really doesn't do any good for you or for me now. Since I came here of my own will, I'd rather do something different."

"Risky?" Athrun looked amused. "Like what? Everything here is what you'd have expected. I can't think of anything staler than what's been going on for a few hours and will last until the early hours of the morning."

"Point noted." She spun around in his arms, looking around the massive hall.

As the beat varied, the music shifted, as did the people. On the dance floor, partners were exchanged, but Athrun kept his hand on her waist, declining when another man seemed to want to exchange his partner. Cagalli stared, surprised at Athrun's insistence and the man's sudden pause as he ignored the music that had already started.

"Not fair-," The person complained, somehow not keen to continue dancing even though most would have shrugged at Athrun's refusal and continued. "You haven't exchanged partners for three whole songs-,"

"I apologise," Cagalli heard Athrun telling the man as they continued to dance in each others' arms. "The only person who won't be bothered by my stepping on her feet is my wife."

The complaint-maker's female partner looked at Athrun, her lips moist. "Want to bet?"

Athrun quirked his lips at her, still holding Cagalli tight as they swayed a little, ignoring the couple that were both pausing amidst the field of dancers, staring at them both. "No."

"Hey," The man tried again, adjusting his impossibly large sapphire that glittered loudly at his throat. "Let's just take it that you're doing me a favour by exchanging partners, I want to get to know other people too."

Not missing a beat, Athrun continued to move, his tone still polite but his stare becoming pointed. "I prefer to keep my partner, thanks." Cagalli buried her face in his chest, inhaling his musky aftershave, liking his presence. Like him, she ignored the two and continued to dance, taking her time to press closer against Athrun.

The tables were either being used for the banquet or other activities like a bunch of people smoking in a corner and laughing amongst themselves. She could hear the noise in her ears even when she'd blanked the sights out, and she could still hear the grievances of the man who'd protested when Athrun had refused to switch partners.

"Hey, you can't keep to one partner the whole time," The man was complaining again. "Did you hear-,"

"Screw off." Athrun told him shortly. Still keeping in time, he swung Cagalli around and shielded her from the man's eyes, his back turned to the couple, who shrugged and continued to dance.

When they danced further away from the two, Cagalli looked at Athrun and smirked. He did the same and then they laughed again, sharing another joke once more.

"Tell me who they were," She requested.

He looked down at her, his lip curling and his voice very hushed. "You mean their current identities or who they were before they came here?"

"Who they were before they came here." Cagalli replied. "Tate Nelson too." She gazed up at Athrun, admiring him.

As he'd dressed, she'd watched him putting on those layers and becoming that slightly aloof, entirely different person. Here in their circumference though, she knew who he really was, and relished the fact that only she knew his identity and him.

"The man you saw just now was a very rich banker before he came here." He whispered. "But he got caught with sticky fingers by the European government. He and a few others got death threats from the Naturals who were cheated of their money and he fled here. The woman he was dancing with was one of those bankers too. They've been having an affair for quite some time, but they're mostly harmless. As for Tate Nelson-,"

"He told me he played the cello and conducted in orchestras before this," Cagalli offered quietly. They shifted against each other, Athrun still controlling the beat and Cagalli following quite effortlessly.

Athrun smiled wryly. "Wasn't lying then. He was quite a famous, upcoming musician. But he got too ahead of himself and bribed some agents into signing him on. When he was found out, it didn't matter that many musicians do that and that he did have talent anyway. All that mattered was that he was a Coordinator who was exceptionally gifted. Some Naturals tried to kill him in a brawl and he escaped here."

"Oh." Cagalli whispered. She cast her eyes around over Athrun's shoulder and then said, "What about that woman with the blue dress?"

Athrun pretended to shift positions, his feet precise and his steps well-executed. He spied the person she was talking about, a polished, rather attractive young woman with wide set eyes and porcelain skin, and then whispered to her, "She was the heiress to a whole chain of hotels in New Zealand and she escaped here with her father. Her father was found to have gotten hit-men to eliminate his business rivals."

His brief answer made Cagalli look at him in curiousness. "Wait, didn't she do anything wrong? I picked her out because she looked rather young and I was thinking that if they all came here many years ago then she had to be a child when she was brought here."

"Not all of them did bad things," Athrun muttered. "Some are suffering because they were born Coordinators and their Coordinator parents did stupid things that had to make them leave wherever they were. But then again, I'm not sure they are suffering just because they don't really know what lies outside the Isle."

She bit her lip, staring at Athrun. "How do you know who's scum and who's the innocent guy on the Isle?"

He shrugged again, knowing that the unknown answer or the lack thereof had been the precise thing that made him protect the identity of the Isle-dwellers despite his own dilemma. "Whoever said there were clean-cut lines in everything?"

This time, Cagalli cast her eyes around and spotted the plush red spaniels that she had the previous time. Her eyes lit up, but then she spied something else.

Some people were surrounding those, and she realised with shock that one or two were either very young men and women or even arguably boys and girls. The hall was filled with the sounds she could recall even days after coming home from Lady Rochester's party, and Cagalli felt an indelible pang of loss and sadness.

Were those the children that some Coordinators who'd fled to the Isle had given birth to while living here? Or were they even children who had known nothing when their Coordinator parents had fled with their riches and their families in a panic after being exposed in their previous homes?

Were those children wrong as well, for what their parents had done? Were they wrong, and did they deserve to be protected along with their parents on this place where they lived their days in this daze and in an endless holiday mood?

Cagalli found herself unable to answer Athrun as they continued to dance.

---

In the greenhouse, something of a minor accident had occurred.

Tom Edgeworth, Alstarice Krieg and Lucretzia Nombre, were staring at the last body they had yet to shift out of the greenhouse. Alstarice's own aide had already driven off the previous bodies, but it seemed pointless to ship a corpse to a jail.

The ferns hid them well, and the earth was soaking up the spilt blood fast enough. Still, Tom felt a little annoyed at the unnecessary death. Why was it that every time they had an operation like this, some bugger had to kick the bucket when it wasn't necessary?

"It's your fault," Tom complained, looking at Alstarice. "You didn't inject it into her fast enough, so she kept struggling."

"Yeah well," Alstarice said sharply, standing up and putting his hands on his slim hips, "Your aide is the crazy one who slit her throat before I could do anything to stop that woman from struggling."

Lucretzia was still staring at Yvette Kanabaria's body, a ghoulish stare on her empty face. The snake eyes of that strange yellow were glimmering softly in the bluish lighting of the greenhouse, and it had happened so quickly that Yvette hadn't even had any time to scream.

In Lucretzia's hand was a wicked-looking three pronged sword. With her elaborately-done black hair and in her yellow dress, Lucretzia looked like one of the female guests. Of course, with that expression of hers, she appeared far more like a soulless doll with the bloodstains on the hem of her dress.

Then she blinked, and she was looking at Tom with pleading eyes, her voice a soft, frightened uttered cry. "Tom- Tom-, I panicked-,"

In a flash, he had stood up, pulling aside the prong, flicking it once to rid it of the blood and it folded up automatically into a small, palm-sized knife. He slipped it into his pocket, hugging Lucretzia, who clung pathetically to him with tears rolling from her eyes. While a head taller than Tom, Lucretzia seemed to be the child here.

Studying them, Alstarice wondered why he had to deal with the looney-bin characters tonight. He would have preferred to deal with the Fifth Eye and his aide, even if Alstarice thought they were irritating shits too. Why did everyone, including the Numbers, think so highly of a single Athrun Zala? In Alstarice's opinion, Athrun Zala was too much of a wuss.

Having thought that, Alstarice did think that Athrun Zala was a far better and far more reliable person than Thomas Equinox, alias Tom Edgeworth. At least Athrun Zala and that aide of his always did the job fast and without any fuss.

But no, Alstarice grumbled quietly to himself. Life was always had to be shitty. The orders from the Numbers had been for him and Tom to handle the rats who had tried contacting people outside the Isle to sell information.

How Alstarice was hating this.

"Hey," He said wryly, glancing out of the greenhouse windows by pulling aside some fronds, "I think transport's here. You want to continue comforting that freak of yours so I can do this by myself?"

Tom gave him a poisonous glare, letting go of Lucretzia for a second. "Shut it, Krieg. You go on ahead to the Cliffside first. Get this idiot out of the way and bury her there. I'll get the blood sorted out and handle the rest."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do," Alstarice said sharply. "I got here before you in more ways than one, remember?"

Alstarice bent down, using his handkerchief to mop up the blood around Yvette Kanbaria's neck and then tossing the handkerchief with some contempt on the earth.

He spread open the sack, rolling the corpse onto it, stripping her off the heavy dress without any delay. He also removed the jewels on her head and chest and then left them on the soil. The whole process took him less than five minutes. And for the final touch, Alstarice stood at the corpse' feet, not hesitating because rigor mortis would set in soon. Without any expression, he broke her legs quickly and folded those onto her body for a more compact fit.

"Damn," Alstarice complained, lifting up one foot and bending it backwards with the rest of the leg. "I'm supposed to be the suave businessman amongst us. I'm not supposed to be doing shit like this that secondary aides are supposed to get themselves busy over-"

There was an awful crunching sound but there was no more blood spilt, and the knees seemed almost grotesque with the shoes pointing towards Yvette's face. Of course, that was quickly solved with Alstarice zipping up the bag, hauling it onto his shoulder, checking the coast, and then hurrying out of the greenhouse where the car would zoom by.

It was easier to do this with the snow going on, Tom reflected, taking Lucretzia's hand in his as she continued to look plaintively at him. No guest would venture out in this weather, and they would certainly not come to the greenhouse. It would be far easier to transport people out from this place.

"Lu," Tom said hastily, beginning to gather the various things that Alstarice had ridded the corpse off, "Don't think too much about it. It's fine- just help me get these things out of here and pass them to his second aide. He'll be waiting outside the main gate. Go quickly. Once you're there, send me the message and I'll join you."

"What about the Fifth Eye?" She asked.

"I'll tell him what's happened later." Tom said hurriedly. "I don't think he should come to the greenhouse again to meet us- it's too risky coming here twice in the same night. He already lured those three here with a business proposal that ended up with us pouncing on them, so I don't think he should come here again. He's currently back in the hall, and I'll send him a message to tell him he can go after he's stayed there for a bit to create the impression that he had always been there with his consort."

She took the sack from him, nodded once, and then disappeared. Tom shook his head after she'd left. Lucretzia had always been a bit emotionally unstable after being sent here to work as an aide by Zaft. She'd suffered from a great deal of trauma, but Tom had insisted that she remain his primary aide. If she didn't, she had nowhere else to go. There was no way she could be sent back to the Plants- not when she had become so removed from the real world.

Sighing, Tom looked around at the plants. Just as he had before they'd come in, he took out some small, handy tools to make a sweep of the area, ensuring no bugs were there at all before he left.

---

While things beyond her understanding were going on in the greenhouse, Cagalli sat by Athrun's side as he played round after round of blackjack.

For some reason, people crowded around him to watch him play, as if they expected great entertainment of sorts. There were concurrent games going on, and many were watching other guests play at cards although the dance floor seemed crowded still. As the people swirled around Athrun, she felt herself tense up and wonder if he knew what he was doing here.

He sat there, a stark, quiet figure with her by his side. In their monochromatic appearance, all eyes were drawn to them.

Just as Cagalli's thoughts were focused on him, his were on her too. He knew why people gathered around him usually when he played cards. It wasn't a matter that he won for most of the time. He was noting that his game partners all had their eyes on Cagalli. Of course, Athrun could not blame them.

She did look exquisite in white and the amber that brought out the real colour of her eyes. Ironically, Lady Rochester commented that she'd never even remembered Lyra's eye colour before that.

"That's because you had your eyes on Estragon here," Lord Tessington said pertly.

Lady Rochester looked admiringly at Athrun, who'd produced a yellow rose for her tonight. "With good reason. You know, Estragon is such a good magician-,"

Feeling Cagalli shake with laughter besides him, Athrun forced a smile and bent towards her.

"I usually don't play at this game," He whispered at her as Cagalli leaned closer to catch him mutter. "I'm only doing this because you insisted that I don't play poker tonight."

"Trust me." She said confidently. "Blackjack's something I've always had pretty good luck with. Besides, we've two more hours before Epstein comes to fetch us, and we might as well kill time."

Aloud, Athrun raised his voice and asked confidently, "So who's starting first?"

The game began.

As they drew their cards, Athrun watched the men observe Cagalli. He knew what they were going to ask for if they won. As he drew his card and kept his expression guarded, he said calmly, "I forgot to ask what the stakes were."

Immediately, there was a clamouring at the table and the smoke seemed to disperse with the number of people talking suddenly.

"The usual," Lady Rochester had begun to say, except Lord Tessington was cutting in and saying loudly, if not a bit bashfully, "I'd like a dance with your wife."

And Tessington poured a few more jewels on the table in hopes that Rune Estragon would agree to the particular stakes that Tessington wanted. Rubies, pearls, almost anything of dazzling quality had been laid out there.

Staring at those things of beauty, Cagalli wondered why she wasn't attracted to those at all.

Athrun had explained to her that people on the Isle didn't have to buy anything while here, because it was all rationed by Plant anyway. They didn't have any currency of worth here on the Isle, and whatever money they got could not be spent while they were here, so they gambled with their jewels instead.

That had made her question certain things almost immediately.

As Cagalli gazed at those jewels, she found herself thinking of how Lyra must have once sat by Athrun's side, wearing the things he'd asked her to, being made to go through all this without understanding what Athrun was really doing. Her heart ached for Lyra, who she'd never met, but suddenly knew enough of to understand her. She'd been in Lyra's shoes, and she understood now.

If and when Athrun chose to lose, then all he needed would be to let the winning party dance once with Lyra, who'd take that opportunity to chat the person up and find out the secrets that Rune Estragon wanted. Lyra had never objected to this- she'd gone along with what she had been brought there for.

What had Athrun brought her here for?

She looked at the shining, dazzling things on the table, and they could have been lumps of coal for all she cared. She glanced at Athrun, with his hardened expression, and knew he wanted to win. Had he wanted to win in the past, when he'd known that if he lost, he'd get Lyra to obtain the information he wanted?

And shouldn't Cagalli have felt repulsed by that? Shouldn't she have excused herself and left? But she found no more grudge or disgust that she assumed she would have felt, only empathy and a sadness for what Athrun had gone through with Lyra, and what he'd come to hate himself for.

These jewels were very fine. She could see it almost immediately. Had Athrun collected these during the winning games and set them into the trinkets she'd had a whole box of?

Staring at Athrun, she saw him turn around and shake his head very slightly at her, as if reading her thoughts.

"Is that how you ended up with so many gems?" Cagalli asked very quietly, pointing at the necklace she'd worn at his instructions.

He nodded, looking dryly at her. He whispered his answer to her. "I figured out that I might as well get a kick out of being here at one point or another. But I never gave you anything I won from these tables. It didn't seem right to have you wear the riches that were probably ill-gotten gains anyway."

She'd been glad that he'd understood without her even having to explain.

"So you agree then, Estragon?" The other player was staring at Cagalli as he said this. "That if I or Tessington wins, you have to agree to let Lyra dance?"

There were murmurs all around them and the chatter seemed to engulf them all.

"I saw you dance the tango with her the last time." Tessington said slyly. "Made me want to practise my rusty old steps, but I think I need the right person to dance with."

Athrun heard Cagalli draw in a breath and felt sorry for her. He curled his lip into a sneer without realising it, and decided that he'd never let anyone win this game.

He could sense Cagalli being bewildered and once again, he noted that Cagalli was unaware of the effect she really had on people. He could feel her try to conceal her disgust at the leers the men gave her, but he knew he was doing the same too.

They drew another card, and Athrun brought out another that totalled his as twenty.

"Do you want to show your cards yet?" Another player looked not at Athrun but at Cagalli.

"No." He said mildly. "What about the rest of you?"

Lady Rochester was having bad luck tonight. The host frowned, shaking her head. "Not yet."

"Not yet." Tessington echoed, looking at Athrun first, then at Cagalli.

The last player shrugged and drew another card, as did everyone.

Cagalli held her breath as Athrun took what was possibly his last card. Why hadn't he chosen to show his cards? At least, if the others drew another, the likelihood of them coming as close to the number twenty-one was quite low.

But smilingly back at the other game-players, Athrun drew the card that Cagalli pointed out for him, and keeping his expression mostly neutral, he laid down his cards. Amongst those, he now had the ace of spades.

A perfect twenty-one.

Those who had been betting on him cheered and those who had lost or had lost their bets pounded on the table, looking upset or even amused. Cagalli beamed at Athrun and whispered, "See?"

He stood up, collecting the jewels that had been the stakes. Then smiling at the players who were shaking their heads regretfully, Athrun looked at Cagalli, a small quirk of his lips present for all to see. "I apologise, Tessington. She's my dance partner for the rest of the night."

Cagalli decided to stake her claim over Athrun as well. She looked coolly at those were looking at her and Athrun, knowing that they were being judged but knowing that she couldn't care less. They could think anything of her that they liked, Cagalli decided, but it didn't matter.

And she moved into his arms, catching even Athrun by surprise. And she kissed him; shifting her hips and feeling his hands tighten on her waist, smiling at him and blinding out the rest of the world.

Those at the table sighed in a collective mixture of envy and disappointment.

---

Later that night, Cagalli played with the spaniels that Athrun had prevented her from meeting the last time.

In doing so, Cagalli found that the world around her was suddenly more bearable and less obnoxious than she'd supposed it would be. She had steered clear of anything and anyone, but found herself unable to resist going near the spaniels with their pink tongues and soft coats.

It had happened entirely by coincidence, because she'd been unable to convince Athrun to spend some time alone with her at the had refused to let her go to the greenhouse, telling her that it was too cold.

"It's not," She'd argued, leaving her pigeon pie alone as she had the last time. "It's only a little distance for us to run through before we get to the greenhouse. Past that tree we passed by the last time-,"

"Lyra," Lord Nottingherk was asking in his greasy voice, "Don't you like the food? This is pigeon p-"

She ignored him, drowning his voice out and looking pointedly at Athrun, who smirked. He took her cutlery from her ad carefully arranged the pastry for her to make it look like she'd eaten most of it. Then cheekily, he told the concerned guest nearby, "My wife doesn't like the taste of chicken."

"Oh, alright," The concerned woman shrugged. "Veal then?"

A plate of that familiar, bloody-looking meat was passed to her and Cagalli glowered at Athrun once she'd managed a rather forced expression of gratefulness at the other guest.

Turning back to her, Athrun grinned. "It's not a short enough distance before you catch a cold. I'd prefer to have you healthy. Do you regret not having that fox stole now?"

She began her comeback, except that Athrun was suddenly forced to enter a conversation because two guests wanted his opinion on something or the other.

Eventually, Athrun had moved around with other guests, speaking to them because they refused to leave him alone, and Cagalli had wandered off too. The food had not appealed to her, and she had not wanted to stay around to be questioned by other guests too.

She'd made round after round of the hall, feeling a bit lonesome. But then she had spotted some familiar faces, although those were not human, and had promptly paused.

At present, Cagalli had become familiar with the owners of the spaniels, although she was arguably better acquaintances with the canines than the humans. It had happened without her being able to avoid or plan for it, for Cagalli had simply seen the spaniels and went near to those. She hadn't even seen the owners of the two dogs turn around to watch her drop to her knees, and she didn't even notice them staring at her.

"Look at you!" She exclaimed. "You're beautiful, aren't you?"

As she crouched down, rubbing the head of the one nearest to her, it wagged its tail lovingly and gave her face a long lick. Its collar was dripping with pearls, and the chain that led to a gloved hand was made of pure silver. The other other spaniel had similar accessories, although those were rubies instead. Cagalli of course, saw nothing of their leashes or where the leashes led to. Instead, she had become totally enamoured by the dogs.

"Your name is Lyra Delphius, isn't it?" The owner of the spaniel was a young woman with mahogany-coloured hair and pink eyes. "Funny- I never thought you liked dogs much."

"No!" Cagalli spoke with vehemence in her innocent desire to convince the owner that she was fond of dogs. "I do, I really do!"

The owner extended a hand while leaning from her chair, because Cagalli was crouching down, not caring that her knees were getting slightly sore.

"I'm Sundae Guildstern," The lady said tentatively, smiling slightly. "And this is Quentin."

Cagalli took her hand out of politeness even though she hadn't wanted to speak to anyone here, and gazed at Sundae. Sundae's dress was simpler than most of the women's in here, but she was still dripping with glorious aquamarine stones and she looked older than she really was with her painted cheeks and lips.

Before Cagalli had suddenly swooped down and paid attention to the spaniel, Sundae had been drinking and talking to a person next to her at a table lined with food and feasting guests. Both had been holding onto their dogs, who had sat there quietly until Cagalli had paid attention to it.

Studying this person, Cagalli saw that Sundae Guildstern had features that reminded her of a canary, bright and cheerful. It struck Cagalli that there was a young suppleness and queerly enough, honesty in the face that the make-up did not obscure. And while her features were not strikingly intelligent or memorable, Sundae did not seem particularly snobby. Her voice was high-pitched and a bit bashful. "You're Mr. Estragon's wife, aren't you, Lyra?"

Cagalli only smiled ambiguously at Sundae Guildstern. "Thank you for letting me play with Quentin. I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Guildstern."

The large, blood-red spaniel with its silky hair barked once at his name and Cagalli hugged it, quite forgetting that she was to be sophisticated, aloof, and totally uninterested in anything in the hall.

To Cagalli's surprise, Sundae had slid down from her chair and was kneeling, playing with Quentin too. Adoringly, Quentin kissed his mistress' cheek, glad to have open attention from both women. The other dog snuffled at Cagalli, less forthcoming than Quentin but almost identical to it and equally gorgeous.

The two women looked at each other, smiling hesitantly, and Cagalli was struck by how kind Sundae's expression was, and how shy she seemed.

"Do you like dogs, Lady Estragon?" The rather young-looking man next to Sundae enquired. He had been watching Sundae speak to this strange woman who'd suddenly appeared and patted Quentin, and now he squatted down too.

The other guests at the table were not paying the three of them attention, still babbling amongst themselves, lost in their own activities while the smoke around them swirled like the sounds and music and overpowering scents.

There, despite the feast that they could have continued paying attention too, or even the orchestra that was beckoning stridently, the three of them looked at each other, grinning. Then the three of them were playing with the two dogs, the other guests too busy getting drunk or drinking to notice the strange scene unfolding before them.

This person that Sundae had been previously occupied with had a roundish face and brown eyes. He also sported curly orange hair that seemed to have been gelled back at one point or another. "I'm Eshe Jupiter and this is Pomme, by the way."

"Pomme," Cagalli said in delight, recognising it was French for apple. "Pomme!"

The second spaniel looked at her with silent but expressive black eyes and instantly going into spasms of delight, Cagalli stroked it.

She realised she was being rude and looked apologetically at Eshe. Her smile was hesitant, and Cagalli realised there was a slight rush of blood to her cheeks. "Hello, Eshe."

"Lyra Delphius, I know." He nodded naturally and looked at Sundae, who was patting Pomme now. Her own dog, Quentin, was busy showing his affection to Cagalli. "Sundae and I here get along because of our dogs."

She chuckled, and without knowing it, they became the two people she actually spoken properly to for the whole night. They invited her to sit at their table, and she declined, but then Sundae exchanged a glance with Eshe. It was a glance full of interest, meaning and Eshe nodded, and together, they'd hauled her off to dance.

Time passed without her being quite conscious of it, and Cagalli ended up dancing with Sundae and Eshe, joking with them about the various guests who wore headpieces that were probably heavier than their necks could bear. Eshe fetched a chair from a nearby table, plonking it in a corner while the music went on and Cagalli danced with Sundae.

"That's the one I can't stand," Eshe told her, clapping his hands to the beat as Sundae danced the foxtrot with Cagalli. He pointed out a woman swaying with her hips taking more attention than the clothes she wore. "Always talking like she owns the world when she lost it by coming here!"

"Yes," Sundae agreed, tapping her feet to the rhythm. She giggled girlishly, looking at Cagalli with sparkling eyes. "The other one I can't stand is Yvette!"

"Yvette Kanabaria?" Cagalli said, her eyes widening and her feet ceasing for a moment.

Sundae nodded, not seeing the surprise in Cagalli's face at hearing about the woman she'd met the last time she'd been here. She grabbed Cagalli's hands, pulling her into dance again. "Always nosing about and wanting to know about people's pasts. Always asking about my papa, always asking and asking! I tell her I don't know anything, but she won't leave me alone! Always asking meaningless questions, as if she wasn't corrupted and had to come here because of that-," Sundae flopped down, patting Pomme on her head and then starting her dance again. "Thank God I haven't seen her since the start of the night!"

The three of them occupied a corner of the dance floor that seemed to become a space solely for them. While Eshe held the dogs with their leashes, clapping his hands and swaying to the jazzy beats that the orchestra had swung into, the two women continued to dance.

Cagalli didn't know any of the steps, but Sundae taught her the simple ones. For the rest, Cagalli made up her own actions and while she looked comical and knew she was making a fool of herself, she and Sundae were having the time of their lives. They imitated ducks while doing the foxtrot, they broke out into a cha-cha and mixed it with the tango while the orchestra played a swing number, and Cagalli found herself laughing.

"I saw you dance the tango the other time," Eshe called out, watching his friend and Cagalli dance. "Super- really! You're very good at the tango!"

"I'm rubbish at everything else," She giggled, a bit heady with the drinks Eshe was supplying her and Sundae when they were out of breath. "And it's he who taught me those steps-,"

She was swirled off by Sundae, who had come alive with the music and had tossed her shoes into the air, a bit drunk with the wine but long wasted with her merriment.

Both women ignored the strange stares that the absolutely sober guests gave them, ignoring the appreciative stares that the drunk ones threw over, and ignored the world in general. As Cagalli twirled Sundae around, Quentin and Pomme wagging their tails like windmills, she wished Athrun could see her or even join them.

He'd like this, Cagalli thought in a daze. Why hadn't he told her there were people she could have fun with here? Why hadn't he told her that there were people she could actually like in this place? Why hadn't-

Her thoughts were interrupted. Sundae spun, doing some fancy steps that put a vigour and pinkness into her face. Staring at her improvisation and at Sundae, Cagalli grinned, seeing the prettiness that hadn't existed in her before. "Sundae, you're terrific!"

The young woman blushed. "I've been doing this since I was a child."

"How old are you, Sundae?" Cagalli inquired, twirling too in a far more haphazard manner and looking over at Eshe. He looked back at her, grinning. "And you, Eshe?"

"He's twenty," Sundae chirped merrily. "I'm twenty-one."

Immediately, Cagalli knew that they must have been brought here when they were children, or given birth to when their parents had fled here. That explained their youth, and that explained the exuberance that seemed quite naïve and yet, likeable at the same time.

"I used to dance these steps with Eshe when we were kids, but no time's a better time when we've found a new friend!" Sundae fluttered over to her friend and took the leashes from him, "Eshe, do it! Do it!"

"What?" He enquired, Quentin barking in a joyous, slightly mad manner while Pomme looked ready to jump forward. "Do what, Sundae?"

"The Charleston, Eshe! The Charleston!"

Laughing, he obliged, throwing the leashes to Cagalli who grabbed those and sat breathlessly in the chair that Eshe had previously occupied. Together, both began to sing the tunes the orchestra was playing, both snapping and shaking to the beat, and Eshe shouted, "Join us, Lyra! Join us!"

Obligingly quite gladly, Cagalli held the dogs with one hand and waved with her other. She blared along with the music from the orchestra, the tunes suddenly pleasing to her ears because she was with people who were enjoying them in pure, unadulterated ways.

The dogs were straining at their leashes, excited by the wild movements Eshe displayed with Sundae and the music. The trumpet was loud and cheeky in the air, the drums tattooing furiously, and Cagalli felt her spirits lift inexplicably, despite having heard the same music before.

Eshe was still clicking his heels and doing the dance with such panache that Cagalli had to cheer for him. Sundae joined him, and both merged the Charleston into something that resembled the Lindy Hopp, only that it was even wilder, with Eshe grabbing a hat from a guest. The guest who didn't even notice continued dancing with his partner, unaware that he was missing his hat.

Meanwhile, Eshe quaked with humour and began using it as a prop. Not to be outdone at any point, Sundae threw hers into the air, Eshe grabbing and lifting her into it so she could catch the hat with a precise timing Cagalli did not expect, and both resumed their complicated steps. The three of them were both laughing so loudly that even some of the more woozy guests looked over in surprise. The music was deafening, but their joy was heard even over it.

He ended it with a pose that Cagalli whooped at, clapping loudly. And then Eshe grabbed Sundae, his dance partner and swung her around, kissing her on the cheek with a loud, smacking sound.

Happily, he bopped back to her, saying quirkily with a thick accent she could not place, "D'y'know the Beboooop, gerr-hurrl, d'y'know the Bebop?"

"No, Eshe! No!"

She shook her head innocently, shaking and trying to remain seated as he grabbed the leashes, tying them around the leg of a chair then pulling her out of her seat. Cagalli giggled helplessly, smiling at the young Eshe. His own face broke into a manic smile and he shouted, "You don't know the Bebop? Perfect! Neither do we!"

Excited, the dogs began to run circles around that lone chair and the three of them linked hands around their shoulders and began to dance furiously and randomly, kicking furiously. Giggling, Cagalli tried picking up what she could from the hyperactive Eshe and the three of them ended up laughing as if they had been best friends for the longest time.

Eventually, when Athrun found an opportunity to get away from the group he'd been forced to talk to, he realised that Cagalli had disappeared. He clucked his tongue in a bit of annoyance, trying to peer over the heads of people to spot her. It was like one of those books he'd seen Kira read as a child- "Where's Wally?"

Grinning to himself at the thought, he began to jog around a little, trying to locate her. Another guest pulled him into their circle, and despite his best excuses, he was unable to get away. But as he shifted, pretending to transfer his weight to one foot, he saw from afar that Cagalli was talking happily to two guests amidst the entire sea of people. They were sitting at a table liked they'd collapsed into their chairs, Cagalli's expression animated and that of genuine interest and liking for who she was with.

That was surprising, Athrun thought with a little smile.

As he drew nearer, excusing himself as he pushed past the countless couples who were dancing frantically, he thought for a second that he'd lost sight of her again. But there she was, playing a drinking game with her newfound friends, and a dog resting its head on her lap.

The stir of activity around them had become even more frantic, but the three seemed to be removed from it. They'd formed a club, Athrun realised, with the two dogs included as well. He wondered how that had happened, since Cagalli had been so unwilling to let herself be immersed in this place the last time he'd seen her.

Hurriedly, Athrun excused himself from the men and women who were still asking him to decide what was better between running a mega-enterprise or being an entrepreneur, for the conversation had been duller than what he could describe.

As he waded through the crowds, trying to get to that little space they were using, he saw the faces of the guests Cagalli had somehow befriended and recognised them instantly.

The hundreds of people in that hall were swarming everywhere, and Athrun muttered a curse silently as he stepped over a few people who'd linked arms and tripped, all of them too drunk to get up again.

"Excuse me- excuse me-,"

A few waiters swept past him, holding various kinds of desserts that were exquisitely made. Athrun grabbed a quince tart, biting into it, a little hungry because he hadn't eaten much, then still chewing, tried to fight his way over to Cagalli.

"Estragon, commereand-," One man he recognised vaguely was swooning towards him, "-getsumoddatdrinkwitus-,'

By the time he got a little closer to Cagalli, he'd finished the tart and could hear flashes of the conversation.

"So I was telling that old hag," Athrun heard Sundae Guildstern saying sarcastically, "To go away and leave me to my own devices. I told her to her face that she was as ugly as a pug, and that she was an insults to most pugs too. After that, she never bothered asking me whether papa still kept in contact with people outside the Isle and whether-,"

Cagalli, Athrun could see, was listening intently. The three of them seemed to be playing scissor-papers-stone at the same time, trading stories, and he could only hope that Cagalli's blackjack luck extended to this game too. He could only hope that Cagalli had been sober enough not to reveal anything.

When he got to Cagalli's side, she did not notice him because she was laughing so hard at an imitation of Yvette Kanabaria that Sundae Guildstern was doing. It was one that Eshe Jupiter outdid only by imitating Yvette's husband.

"So, daaaahling," Eshe Jupiter was flicking his hair and twitching his eyebrow like he was some kind of stud, "You want to look rich? I say we should get ourselves some nice furniture so we can rest our tushes and-,"

Cagalli was sputtering with laughter, the drink in her hand shaking and spilling slightly.

"Oh, daaaaaaaaaaaaahling," Sundae interrupted, still in the mood as Yvette. "I say we just blow our money into the air, it's the same, really-,"

Noting the irony in the fact that they were laughing about a person who had just died, Athrun approached, panting slightly form the exertion of crossing the hall. And then he smiled weakly at the two. "Sorry, we're a little busy here-," and promptly grabbed Cagalli by her hand. He watched the surprise on all their faces, but hauled her off before she could protest.

"Sundae! Eshe! Pomme! Quentin!" All four were distant spots that the crowds covered before she could move back to them.

She looked at Athrun, who was holding her hand tightly and pulling forward. "What are you doing? We were having fun! Oh, you haven't met Sundae and Eshe-,"

He shook with silent laughter, ignoring the group he had been forced to stick around with before that as they called out to him again. "I know. But we've got to go- Epstein's here!"

"No way," Cagalli said in disbelief. "This soon?"

"I'll make it up to you," Athrun promised, "Seeing as you were enjoying yourself so much."

A soft smile touched his lips, and feeling almost as delirious as her, he tickled her, ignoring how people were looking at him. Surely, Athrun realised, they were wondering how Rune Estragon and Lyra Delphius were suddenly being so merry today.

Still giggling to herself, Cagalli waved to nobody in particular, then felt herself being pulled away and Athrun chuckling too as he guided her out of the hall. He was holding her by her shoulders now, and she tried to shake him off to turn and look at him.

As they stepped out of the massive doors, servants bowing everywhere, Athrun sighed once. He began pulling off his jacket and wrapping her up in it despite her protests. It was cold though, and Cagalli felt his warmth on the jacket and on the dark coat he flung over her shoulders too.

His voice was warm, and his eyes twinkled. "I can't believe you got drunk again-."

She widened her eyes, shaking her head, her speech not really slurred but her cheeks suspiciously pink. "No! I didn't- I only drank-," She held up seven fingers, chuckling to herself beneath her breath. "Okay- maybe a little- drunk-,"

"I'll say." Athrun wondered how Cagalli could put him in a good mood even by being a little tipsy. He had been troubled for most of the evening, a bit reluctant at first to have brought Cagalli even though he knew that had been explicit orders. For the later half of the evening, when Tom had informed him that Yvette had been killed because she'd struggled too much, Athrun had been upset.

That had not been supposed to happen.

Cagalli looked carefully at him. Suddenly she realised that he was looking very tired and that Athrun looked very worn down. Grabbing him by his tie, she looked into his eyes and saw him flinch.

"What happened?" She demanded. "Are you alright?"

She did not know.

He'd lured the three people to the greenhouse, the same three that the Numbers had given him information about, telling them that he wanted to discuss a business venture in secret.

Athrun took her hands with his, kissing her fingers gently. "Nothing. I'm fine. I'm just a little wasted." He barked his laughter. "But nothing's unusual about that in this place."

Greedy for more wealth, they'd followed him, and they'd been tranquilised and bound. Athrun had left quickly to return to Cagalli, although a mishap must have happened during that time. Cagalli had been fine by herself though, and even when Athrun had been forced to speak to other guests, she'd found people she could actually get along with.

He marvelled at that ability of hers, and as he guided her towards the area where Epstein would drive to, Athrun felt himself feel a little less anxious. There was something heady about the atmosphere even with the falling snow and the chill making him shiver a little. "You really surprise me, Cagalli."

"How?" She said in surprise.

He did not seem to have heard her. She felt Athrun draw her nearer and his lips move slightly near her ear. "But that's what I like about you."

Cagalli felt him stroking her cheek briefly. He was trailing his lips over hers, and she blinked, wondering what he was up to. While they stood under the once lush branches, the fairy lights winking secretively, she misunderstood him.

Then the car was coming towards them and she felt Athrun pull away, although he still held her hand. As the car paused, he opened the door and said with a sudden intensity, "Get in, Cagalli. Careful, now."

She laughed once. "Athrun- I'm not drunk, I'm just-,"

"I know." He whispered.

"Alright," Cagalli said, a bit puzzled, taking a step forward. Athrun did not let go of her hand still, and she wondered if he thought she was drunk. As he shut the door, the car roared off, and Cagalli confirmed that there really was a curtain to obscure the backseat from the front.

Vaguely, she wondered if that was dangerous, whether Epstein could see the rear view when he was driving. But her thoughts were disrupted again as Athrun produced the black scarf and began tying it around her eyes.

In the car, she was the one who became bold with him. She located him by pressing her palms in the air until those came into contact with his flesh. Cagalli found him melting into her arms, letting her stroke at his face, familiarising herself with his features even in the darkness of the blindfold.

She could feel the wine in her burning, her desire for him fuelling her to spend her heat outwardly. She kissed him, aware that his fingers were wandering on her flesh too, undoing the necklace that hung heavy over her collarbone and chest. His skin met hers, and she muffled her moans with his lips, panting a little, the roar of the engine strangely far away and outside the thick windows.

Moving quickly because she was afraid the car would suddenly halt, Cagalli shifted against him. Before she knew it, she was biting back her pleasure now because she was afraid for Epstein to hear them.

But as he sank his teeth into her neck, his hands touching her and her legs rubbing against the knees she was balancing herself onto his lap with, Athrun whispered her name and it was enough for her. He gave her no time to recollect her sense, for he was pushing her off, putting the necklace on her again and vaguely, she realised she was straightening their appearances. Clearly, they were about to reach.

When he led her out, she was still blindfolded, and Cagalli did not know anything more for the next few hours except that she could sense every action he made, everything he did while holding her, everything he did for her.

That night, Cagalli understood why she had been able to find people to smile and laugh with. In a world she had a single person to trust in, she had been aware that not everything could be divided so cleanly into the black and the white. In that moment, she'd forgotten to be afraid of trusting, and she'd taken that leap forward.

Even now, as Athrun moved against her, their pants soft and intense in the room, her breath laborious with their activity, Cagalli knew she'd taken that quantum jump by going with him to Rochester's place willingly.

His voice was quiet but filled with the affection she craved, and Cagalli moved against him, wanting to feel him and wanting him to feel her in return. When he finally removed her blindfold, she sprang into his arms, tight in his embrace, wanting nothing more than to be received by him.

That night, they lay together, huddled beneath the sheets, exhausted but unwilling to fall asleep so easily even though their bodies needed rest. They talked in hush whispers, muttering of things they'd forgotten over time but were beginning to remember more and more.

"Why did you wait so long?" Cagalli asked him softly, tracing his lips. "Why didn't you tell me everything that night when we came back from Rochester's party?"

"I wanted to take you so much on the night at Rochester's," He said softly, "But I couldn't. Partially because I wanted to learn who you were again, because I wanted you to stay. I didn't have a right to love you in the past- I understood so little of you and myself. And also because-,"

"Because?" Cagalli prompted.

"I felt guilty for using you as a distraction while I carried out my duties." Athrun admitted. "While you were with me that night, you were creating an alias for me and at the same time, Epstein was dealing with some Isle-dwellers who were trying to sell drugs to the terrorists. "

She gasped. "How-,"

"I've told you already," Athrun told her grimly. "Lots have connections you can only dream off, and a few of them keep connections with the outside world. So long as they don't do anything like sell information of their fellow asylum-seekers, I can close my eyes to the profits they continue to make. But not when Mullin tried to sell those drugs to the terrorists, that's for sure."

"What happened that night?" Cagalli asked.

"While we were in the greenhouse, a man named Mullin had a suitcase filled with a kind of powder that could be used as a biochemical weapon, and I'd ordered Epstein to get hold of him and the suitcase. There was a scuffle and Mullin died, and while we were in the car, on the way back home, you didn't even know that his body was in the boot, along with the suitcase."

Cagalli looked at him, becoming still. But then, she put her arms around him and whispered, "It doesn't matter. You have to do what you can at every point, and I would never look at you and despise you for that."

Athrun was moved by her sincerity, and he took her hand, feeling how small it was, but how steady and warm it felt when she held his hand in return.

"You're still coming back to Orb with me." Cagalli said firmly.

His gaze became a queer, slightly tense one, and she wondered why there was fear and sorrow in his eyes. She shifted slightly as well. "What is it?"

"No," He told her quietly. "That's impossible."

"What about the Orb citizenship you got by trading information with me?" Cagalli said, gaping at him. "Don't you have a personally authorised set of documents from me now?"

"No," He interrupted firmly. He looked at her "That citizenship was meant for Ko."

"Ko?" She was puzzled. She'd always thought he wanted the citizenship rights for himself- even if not for business, then for his personal vendetta in the past. But for Ko?

"I decided as soon as Ko got to the Isle that he needed somewhere safe." He told her. "Harumi is wrong about the Isle being the only place that will give Ko a chance. The place that really will though, is Orb."

Cagalli understood what Athrun meant. Orb welcomed both Coordinators and Naturals and Ko's background and his parentage would mean little there.

Besides, Cagalli recalled, plenty of Naturals and Coordinators started families in Orb, which had never bothered with the division between those who'd altered their genes and those who hadn't as long as they abided with Orb's laws.

"Harumi works for me only because I promised to send her son away to a place where he will be truly accepted. Here on The Isle, he has a false kind of acceptance." Athrun explained. "Her wealth and connections make it possible for him to live another life away from the underworld. But it doesn't negate the fact that his father is a Coordinator. But in Orb, he will be accepted."

"But you can come back to Orb as well! I'll explain it to the legislation council, and the record will be absolved once and for all." She said in a rush.

"Unfortunately not," Athrun said wryly, smiling regretfully at her. "I gave up any chance of returning to Orb the day I took you here to The Isle. It may not have occurred to you. But despite my intentions, the act of bringing you here to the Isle warrants death."

"Why, I could always say in the Galactic courts that I had agreed to come here myself!" She began to argue with him, but Athrun shook his head.

"Imagine what the world would think of you."

She fell silent.

"That night, I was supposed to convince you to sign an affidavit that stated that Cagalli Yula Atha, under no forced circumstances, had voluntarily left with an international security council." Athrun revealed. "But you ended up being injured, and I chose to bring you to the Isle anyway, while you were unconscious. I was not supposed to do that."

"What?" She said, pale-faced.

"The orders were that I should leave you there because your bodyguards would soon find and attend to you. But I made the decision that you had to be brought to the Isle, because I didn't want to leave it to chance and risk you bleeding to death."

Cagalli couldn't believe her ears. "Did you consider that by bringing me to the Isle when I was unconscious would make it difficult for you to come back to Orb? If I had gone consciously, it would be easier to convince the court that I agreed to go and consented in the first place. But if I was unconscious and you didn't bother getting consent but went ahead-,"

"Not really." He said, pausing. "I was more intent on stopping the bleeding."

"The first thing I'll do when I return," Cagalli said fiercely, "Is to clarify that you aren't a kidnapper. If anything, you're a benefactor. And I want to make sure that the record of the past is righted."

He hugged her to him, kissing her forehead. "No. You'd be sacrificing your political reputation. Imagine the Orb Princess trying to defend a kidnapper."

"You're not a kidnapper!" Cagalli said hastily, looking at him, clinging to him as if he were going to vanish suddenly. She blushed slightly and buried her face in his chest, embarrassed. "You're Athrun and-,"

He smiled gently, not saying anything.

"I want you to come back to Orb." Cagalli said in a muffled voice. "You belong there, don't you? You don't belong here, it doesn't make sense. Once it's safe and I'm back in Orb, there's nothing to keep you from going there to where I am."

Then she paused. "I'm being selfish again, aren't I? I assumed that you wanted to come back to Orb, and that you wanted to be with me-,"

"I do," He cut in firmly, "But until I sort out some things with the Isle and Plant, I can't return to Orb."

"So you can, once you finish?" She said hopefully, raising her head towards him.

He wondered if he was giving her false hope and fooling himself for that matter.

"I can try." He said smiling.

"That's better than nothing." She said happily. "I'll wait then."

"And the queue of suitors?" Athrun said in amusement, "Your birthday-,"

"Forget about that." Cagalli said bluntly. "There's no way in hell. Over my dead body."

"James Marlin will be upset." Athrun said wryly. "I should know."

She bit her lips, wondering if she ought to tell him that they were the best of friends and nothing more than that. But it didn't matter, she thought blissfully. It didn't matter when he was coming back to her.

"Let him be," Cagalli said rashly, kissing Athrun. "When you come back to me, I'll find a way to override the Elders' decisions. There's no reason why I can't be with you if I want to be."

"I can think of at least five solid reasons why the Elders would object," He said mildly. She knew it was the truth, no matter how tiresome it got or how they tried to argue that his life could be separate from his father's doings.

Even if both of them agreed on that, Cagalli knew it would be difficult convincing others of it, particularly the people who worked under them or the people they worked for.

Athrun frowned a little. "And I suspect that Orb and Plant won't be happy if a despot's defector son gets together with the Orb Princess. Imagine all the things that could go wrong."

She frowned, acknowledging the relevance of all these issues.

"Whatever it is," Athrun told her finally, "I'll come back to you as soon as I can." That is if you want me to in the future.

"I'll hold you to that. I won't ever forget about you even if you take forever to come back to me." Cagalli told him fiercely.

Athrun shook his head, his chest heavy with pain and regret but that strange joy that she had given him. "You don't really understand, do you? When you return to Orb-,"

"I'll find a way." Cagalli promised, "I can."

How could he tell her that all she had done for him was already more than what he could ask for? Lyra had never captured his heart because he had none while being with her- it was with another woman who hadn't even been aware of it until now.

And really, Athrun realised, he could not ask for more than that. There had to be a way of drawing the line. There had to be a way of preventing them from loving each other and destroying each other this way, the way she'd always feared in the past.

He took Cagalli's face in his hands. "No, you need to live for yourself."

"I'm doing that." She kissed him deeply, looking directly at him. "I'm doing that now."

---

Sheba Velasco was reading the news reports her aides had collected for her. Opposite her in the other armchair, Lent was equally worried.

"You know," She remarked eventually, putting down the papers. "I'll be you a dollar that Orb's going to storm Scandinavia whether or not she returns on time. There's no way Kira Yamato can stop it, even when he did the clever thing and settle for a compromise with the Earth Alliance and try to clamp down on the media since then."

"You're really sure, eh?"

She gave him one of her rare smiles. "How did you know?"

"You usually bet a million dollars, which you don't have." Lent reminded her. "So if you bet a dollar, you're probably being serious."

"I am."

"Well," Lent told her, "It all depends on the Orb Princess and what she decides on. If she gets back to Orb and stamps her foot and tells the warmongers to stuff it, there's no way Orb will have a war or turn Scandinavia upside down for revenge. Of course, if she wants an explanation, which she probably does-," He shrugged. "Anyway, I don't think a war is likely."

Tom bounced in, shutting the door before Boarbaki could scramble in. They heard whining noises from outside the door and Boarbaki scratching until he finally gave up.

Tom leaned into a third armchair, grinning at both of them, who looked a little nonplussed at his entrance. "Hey, no need to look so confused. I finished my job early and thought I'd pay Sheba a visit."

"Yes, well," Sheba said icily, "I thought I told you to keep yourself to the kitchen?"

"I made you both tea," Tom pouted, pointing at the tray he'd brought in and laid on the table, "Don't you want to thank me?"

"Thanks, Tom." Lent said kindly, and Tom beamed at him.

"Tom," Sheba said tensely, ignoring the tea, "Did you find anything out about what Kira Yamato is planning next?"

"No." Tom shook his head. "Too secretive. It's like he suspects he's being watched. Besides, I didn't have much time to hang around in Orb. I had to come back to carry out that arrest we made yesterday, right?"

"I heard from Alstarice that one died while you were trying to transport her to your Isle." Lent recalled. "Your primary aide panicked and slit her throat, right?"

Tom looked at them defensively. "It couldn't be helped. Lu tends to be a bit-,"

Lent shook his head, holding up his hand to stop the excuses. "Save that for the Numbers. I believe you Tom, I only hope they will."

Sheba made a sound of great anxiousness and looked at Lent. "What do we report to the Numbers where Kira Yamato is concerned? And did you hear? His wife is returning to work! "

"I'll handle it." Lent told her. He looked at Tom. "You just sit tight and wait. I'm sure something will present itself to us soon. Something that we can use to get into the Scandinavian palace."

---

They left the manor for the next few days.

Athrun had raised the idea of taking a little short trip out to sea for a few days while she'd had her lessons on using the yacht. The lessons, as had the close-range firing lessons, had come as a bit of a surprise to Cagalli. After all, Athrun had offered to teach her how to use the yacht without her even asking.

The only head or tail she could make of it when he'd informed her that he would teach her how to control the yacht from the bridge room, was that he wanted to show how much he trusted her. To her, Athrun was expecting her to learn this and not use it to leave for Orb.

He had been a good teacher, patient and very clear in his instructions. Just as he had taught her in their sparring lessons, Athrun never had to explain things more than once for her to understand.

So Cagalli learnt, and she learnt well.

In fact, Athrun also showed her how to control the yacht in ways that she'd never been able to. In the past, the bridge had been locked, but now he unlocked it, teaching her how to use the controls and how to manipulate the path of the yacht.

She'd taken to it quite easily, familiar with these things but learning how to do more. Her curiosity at why he'd offered to teach her had overwhelmed her at one point, and Cagalli had eventually come up with a few reasons that had not made sense.

But it should have been obvious.

When Cagalli had asked Athrun why he was teaching her this, he had answered, "I figured it would be nice to have someone piloting instead of me."

"Piloting?" She'd questioned eagerly. "As in, out to sea? Are we going to stay out here and not head back to the Isle today?"

Athrun had circled his arms around her then, and she'd known the answer.

The idea of being alone with him out at open sea had admittedly excited Cagalli. In the past, she'd had an opportunity to be here too, in the midst of a glorious, wide ocean. But she'd been mistrustful of Athrun, resistant even, to the idea of being near and alone to him. Now though, she'd been given the chance to make amends to that lost opportunity to be honest with him.

When he had told Epstein that he and Cagalli were going to be away for a few days, Epstein had blanched first and protested, since Athrun did have some work to cover. However, Athrun had insisted and Epstein had eventually laughed and had informed the twins of the same thing.

While Cagalli had not wanted to leave Ko or the aides behind, Athrun had convinced her that she wanted to be with him more.

"Why can't we head back and get them to come too?" Cagalli had begged.

Athrun had grinned. "Same old reasons. Epstein's got work, the twins and Ko have training, and I'd rather be alone with you."

For the past two days, Cagalli had continued to learn how to use the yacht, how to control its speed and to alter its destination or even channel it out of rocky waters. This morning, she got up early, leaving Athrun to sleep for a while more.

Eventually, he'd found her.

"How's the piloting coming up?" He asked her, standing in the doorway of the bridge and smiling at her.

Athrun had woken and found himself alone in their cabin, and he'd found her practising her piloting in the bridge room. She had been familiarising herself with another set of controls and at his entrance, Cagalli looked up and smiled at him.

"Good," Cagalli had answered, putting it into autopilot mode and making it stay in its current position in the sea.

She'd got up, taking Athrun in her arms, whispering that she'd made breakfast for them. "Flapjacks, actually."

"Well now," Athrun had remarked in amusement. "Did I do anything that made you very happy?"

She did not say anything, only grinned at him. But in fact, it was the understanding that he trusted her. He trusted that she would not take advantage of the berth he'd given her to try and leave him.

And nothing, Cagalli had decided, would make her betray that trust ever again.

In the afternoon, they took turns cooking and she burnt herself slightly by accident. In his anxiousness to see to it despite her reassurances, Athrun forgot he was cooking the meat and they ended up eating their steak as a very, very well-done one. Just like the day before when they'd had their fill, they ended up lying in bed and resting.

She read aloud to him in different accents she could imitate from her memories of meeting different foreign delegates, and she succeeded in making him laugh harder than she'd ever heard.

For the rest of the time, they spent it talking and laughing and spending time with each other for the rest of the day.

The chilly winter air made it impossible for them to take a smaller boat out and to fish as they had before. Nor could they swim for too long in the deck-pool in the later hours of each day, since the water could be quite cold in the night. In the day time, they did make good use of it for a few hours at one go.

They'd swim, splashing about and joshing and playing like children, until one of them teased a little too much and the other took up the challenge. In the water, they would become complete once more, her hands against him, her mouth close to his, their faces close together for warmth, and their bodies a tangle of limbs beneath the water. It could have lasted for a second or forever at any one point, for it felt like they were constantly living as if they were five minutes late for a train they had to catch.

Either way, it had always ended with them getting out of the pool only some time later, each daring the other to run out of the water. Both would eventually agree to indulge in the dare, and they had found themselves giggling and trying to run below the deck, their swimming suits crumpled balls of cloth in their hands and the winds blowing cold on their bare skins.

When they made it to their cabin and shut the door, shivering madly, they would fall on their sheets again, laughing with their teeth chattering, their hands searching each other and finding each other once more.

In the night however, the pool would be far to cold, and they would not be able to swim, let alone dare each other to run from the pool butt-naked. But there was an alternative, as Athrun had shown her. The bathtub sufficed quite nicely, even if it wasn't swimming they engaged in per se.

The hours flashed by quickly as it had for these few weeks, and they soaked in there for ages, not caring that their hands and feet got wrinkly, caring only that they kept warm together.

At this point, Cagalli leaned back onto Athrun's chest, sighing contentedly. The bathtub was much smaller than the one back in their bedroom on the Isle, and it was frankly, a matter of being cramped in there with him.

But she enjoyed this cramped space still, Cagalli realised, and she tilted her head slightly to gaze at Athrun, who had his eyes closed. The water around them was fragrant with the soaps and foamy with bubbles everywhere, and the warmth and steam made her feel distinctively relaxed.

"Athrun," Cagalli said tentatively, "On the night when you followed me up to the deck, you didn't use this yacht, right?'

"No." He said softly, opening his eyes. "It was another that could double up as a submarine. Not this one though."

"What were you doing that night?" Cagalli asked.

He explained briefly. "Most of the Danish terrorists infiltrated by entering from the base of the yacht and passing off as guests. I was one of them. You were followed for most part of the night- you even danced with someone who had infiltrated."

"You were amongst the guests, right?"

He nodded. "I watched you dismiss your guards and sneak up to the deck." He smiled ruefully, taking her hands away and stroking them gently. "Maybe it was a fortunate thing anything."

"What do you mean?" Cagalli said warily, thinking of all she had met the night on the SS Rafael. She could recall no clear face except the Swedish Crown Prince, Pietre Harraldsson- and he certainly wasn't an infiltrator.

"By going up to the deck, where nobody else would have gone," Athrun said simply, "It was easy to track and isolate you. It decreased the probability of you getting mixed up in that scuffle. I was following orders to protect you and bring you to the Isle, remember? I was wearing bulletproof clothes that night."

An ironic smile touched Athrun's lips. "You should have been too, but I guess the best-laid plans always fail. All the guests, their personal bodyguards and the Swedish royal guards, were all occupied with the assailants below the deck. During that time, the original plan was for me to isolate you and convince you to follow me. You'd actually done the isolating for me, so all I had to do was to convince you to follow me."

"That never happened," Cagalli laughed a little, thinking of all that had gone wrong and how everything had turned out right again. She felt his arms circle her and hug her to him, and she smiled contentedly, closing her eyes.

"The problem with the plan was that you were more stubborn than I'd expected." Athrun acknowledged with a wry smile. "Far from rushing to embrace me or anything similar to that, you were such an obstinate mule. It was quite hopeless."

"Yeah well," Cagalli remarked, "I did feel a bit shocked at seeing you again."

Athrun laughed, then shook his head. "I watched you load a gun on the way up to the deck, and I knew you'd done it wrongly. I never expected you to fire since I warned you that it was poorly loaded." He shrugged. "I suppose in those circumstances, I should have."

She coloured, feeling incredibly foolish. "Try seeing someone you've presumed dead for seven years who's telling you to go somewhere with him without any explanation!"

"I thought you'd come with me, seeing that I'd disappeared for seven years without contacting you." Athrun said quietly. "Another silly thing to presume, I suppose."

Cagalli shook her head. "But it doesn't matter." She turned around in the bathtub, pressing closer to him. "We're here now."

---

The first time Kira had met Cagalli, he had known quite instantaneously that she was someone who'd left that indelible impact of him.

Only much later had Kira understood why. Even now, he knew it could be a matter of them being twins and somehow recognising each other in themselves, or the fact that Cagalli was a very memorable person anyway.

She did look rather like a boy with her hair all hidden with that cap, her clothes boyish and her mannerisms nothing short of a boy's.

In other words, she had not been a girl to Kira in his mind, not when he identified femininity with Fllay Alster. That girl had been the school beauty, parading around with her endless arrays of pink dresses, hairbrushes and different classes of perfumes and lotions.

Nor did the visitor to the professor's office resemble Mirallia, who chattered endlessly in that chirpy voice of hers and had the habit of widening her eyes when she looked at anyone closely. The visitor in the office had a husky voice that made him think some flu bug had been going around, and the visitor had narrowed 'his' eyes when Kira had looked over.

All the same, Cagalli Yula Atha was fierce, a bit foolish, and very brave. If she had been a boy, Kira would have found himself wanting to be friends with the person who'd been waiting in the professor's office.

But when he'd found out that she was a girl, Kira had been unable to think of her as anything after that. He'd grown closer to her on the Archangel, touched at her sometimes quirky ways, moved by her rashness and how warm she had been towards every one she met. Cagalli had only been sixteen, but that confidence and inner strength she'd displayed had made Kira think of someone who would have easily been a warrior at one point or another.

He'd wondered why he had become attracted to another girl while having Fllay Alster to talk to and confide in. With Fllay, who else did he need? Why had he found himself thinking of Cagalli when he was with Fllay, or getting distracted by Cagalli when she spoke to his friends when Kira had Fllay to hang out with?

Much later of course, he'd understood that his twin did have that effect on most people, not to mention someone who was related to her by blood.

Kira sipped a little of his drink, feeling tired and worn down, but knowing that he was very familiar with that feeling by now. Cagalli's office was spacious enough, but Kira still felt somewhat claustrophobic in here. He could still recall how she'd looked as Aisha had led her out. His jaw could certainly remember the feeling of being detached.

For that matter, he could summon the memory of Mana leading her down the passageway of the Archangel in her regalia without any effort at all. But the most vivid memory he had was when she'd fallen into his arms like some kind of white seraphim, her veil already pulled back and her face obviously showing horror at how he'd disrupted her wedding. He could remember how lovely Cagalli had looked in her wedding dress and how tormented she'd been at his actions until she'd understood that Kira, like her, had found no other option.

Back then, Kira had commented, "This is some dress." She'd responded with a splutter of baffled outrage and had insisted that he turn back. He'd only grinned and headed off towards the sunset with her in his lap. Kira had cherished the belief that wherever that they were going to would be better than wherever Cagalli had been about to never return from.

Even if Cagalli had fought him to return to Orb, he would have put his foot down and insisted that she wake up from her foolish beliefs. He hadn't wanted to give up on her. In fact, his memories of that incident were still strong enough to make Kira believe that nobody sane would have easily given up on someone like her.

And for that precise reason, Kira could tolerate what Marlin was saying. The office was filled with memories of her, but it was also filled with the conflicts and tensions of those who sat in it right now.

The Second war had ended since then, but perhaps, it was too late even now. Their time was fading past all of them, disappearing into the months they'd passed together, like a butterfly doomed to leave its chrysalis with that awful, tearing sensation as it took flight.

"That's why," Marlin said firmly, "I want your blessing. If Aaron Biliensky doesn't want to give it, that's fine. But she loves you, and that's why I want you to accept me the way she will when she returns."

Kira studied the man who'd marched into the office this morning, locking Aaron Biliensky out and demanding that Kira listen to him. When Marlin had stormed in, Kira had looked up in surprise, interrupted from whatever he had been reading.

Aaron had been pounding on the door for quite some time, asking to be let in, but Kira had ignored Aaron. This was something between Marlin and him.

In fact, Kira had never seen Marlin look so agitated, but Kira supposed anyone who was acting because of Cagalli tended to be. He knew Athrun Zala had experienced that, and Kira knew that he'd certainly experienced the same himself.

"I'm not sure I can give you my blessings." Kira said carefully, "Because I've never been able to tell her what to do in life. It would be wrong for me to."

"You've stepped into her life at this point," Marlin said firmly. "I think you do have the authority to decide as well. If I pursue her after she returns, I'd like your blessing."

"But what do you want me to do until then?" Kira said quietly. "Agree to this union that has really never existed between both of you? What do you want me to do other than tell her that she has the right to do whatever she decides is correct in life? The blessing you want makes no impact on what I have already decided to tell her."

Marlin faltered, but then regained the firmness in his voice. "I came here because I wanted you to know that I'm doing this for a reason. I wanted you to approve of what I'm doing and why I'm doing it."

"Why did Aaron disagree with what you are planning to do?" Kira asked.

Marlin's expression darkened then he shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's protective of her and he doesn't trust me or believe that I have never cared about my career ever since the minute he called and told me what had happened to Cagalli."

"I don't think it's that." Kira told him. "I think you're misunderstanding Aaron, James."

"Yeah?" Marlin challenged, shooting up from his chair. "And what about him misunderstanding me, Kira?"

"Look, I can't say I don't approve of why you're here and why you're risking your neck for her." Kira said flatly. "It's the same reason I'm here, away from Lacus and my son. It's because I want to protect her, just like you."

Marlin sank back into his seat with a relieved smile. "So you're saying that you approve of what I will do once she returns?"

"I believe Cagalli will return." Kira said strongly. "And when she does, I will tell her what I never managed to back then. I will tell her that she must do what she thinks is right and that nobody else should prevent her from doing it."

As Marlin got up to leave, Kira wondered what Cagalli would have said to Marlin's outburst.

---

Back in their bedroom on the Fifth Isle, Athrun was studying Cagalli.

Her smile was radiant, and her happiness was infectious. She gazed at what he'd given her, and her eyes shone.

The photographs scattered across the sheets featured Leon Yamato, and Cagalli picked one up even though she must have looked at at least ten times in this single hour. The child had a strong resemblance to the one she'd seen in the crumpled photograph featuring Via Hibiki and Kira as a baby, and Cagalli supposed that Leon would take after his father.

She felt Athrun running his hands through her hair, kissing her forehead, and she lifted the photograph into the air from him to look at it too, smiling at it, then turning to him. "I wish I could see him myself."

That had not been what Athrun wanted to hear. Against his bare chest, he felt Cagalli shift, and knew that she was thinking of Orb, as well as Kira and Lacus. That was what he had been afraid of. Perhaps, he'd had good reasons for wondering whether to show her these or not.

He frowned a little, pulling her closer. In her thin camisole, Cagalli's warmth was something almost tangible and something he could hold and collect, and he felt as if the photographs were detracting from that. "That's why I got you these. So you'd relax and feel more capable of staying here without worrying."

"How did you get these taken?" She had been distracted at seeing the child and had thought of nothing else. The funny thing was that Cagalli had been physically exhausted before that, and she'd been quite prepared to fall asleep. But Athrun had gotten up, fetched something from the coat that lay across the floor, and Cagalli had been wide awake since then.

"Shinn." Athrun said simply.

Her eyes widened. "Does Kira know that you're keeping in contact with Shinn?"

"No." Athrun told her. He shrugged, thinking of the last letter he'd sent to Kira on Cagalli's behalf. "Hopefully not."

She raised her eyebrows. Cagalli's tone was puzzled and she put down the photographs, using her hand to gather them up and hold them. "Why?"

"Shinn would be able to tell Kira how to contact me, and I'd be tracked down quite easily." Athrun explained. "That's definitely not what Plant wants, with all these people hiding here. But that's not the only reason."

"Oh?"

"If he found out about us," Athrun told her with a small smile tugging at his lips, "I don't think Kira would be thrilled."

"Do you want to bet on that?" Cagalli teased, hugging him with her arm and holding the photographs in the other hand. "And who should take the responsibility for this?"

The ring glinted on her finger, and Athrun lifted her hand, looking at it.

She felt him pulling the photographs out of that hand, setting those aside on the table and trying to kiss her. But she chuckled and pulled away, sitting cross-legged in front of him. He sat up too, and Athrun raised his brows inquiringly.

"There's something else I'd like to ask about."

"Go ahead." Athrun told her.

"Is Orb likely to go to war with Scandinavia at this point?"

Athrun decided not to lie to her. "The media is being controlled very tightly, but that isn't going to help the situation. Personally, I think that Orb is very unhappy about your disappearance and would do anything to get back at Scandinavia."

Cagalli leant back heavily, losing all strength. Her expression crumbled and she buried her face in her hands. There was this guilt that she'd struggled with even in her happiness, knowing that she could have easily escaped by now and rectified the situation.

But Athrun was here, and she trusted him- she wanted to believe in him and let him tell her that even if she returned only after six months, Orb would not go to war because of her return.

Understanding what was going through her mind, Athrun gathered her into his arms securely now, burying his face in her golden hair, trying to put her at ease.

The newspapers she had been reading before she had gone to Sweden were reappearing as strange headlines, warped and dark in ink and sombre in impact. Hundreds of children being massacred in schools by the Danish terrorists- Scandinavia hadn't been able to prevent all the information from being kept within its territories.

Like a whiff of a burning stick that would eventually become a raging fire, that news had been reported the way a neighbour would pass gossip to another. And that news had taken a life of its own and reached Orb, to the presses, to the newspaper stands, and one had found its way onto her table.

At that time, Cagalli had merely sat, jaded, cynical, not happy but not unhappy either, reading papers and knowing little of what she deemed hearsay. All she had cared about was toast, waffle syrup, and getting to work on time.

And now this- Athrun telling her that he had been working for people who had killed children in a twisted publicity stunt- people who had wanted to kill her all this time. For Orb to be embroiled in it, for her loved ones to be at the centre of it, Cagalli realised it was more than she could bear.

"I need to see Kira and Lacus." Cagalli choked out, struggling against Athrun now. "I need to speak to them again."

"I can't allow that." Athrun said wearily. "It's not something the superiors will allow, even thought I want to let you meet them. You know they are fine, Kira knows you are safe, and you've gotten the assurance that Lacus has had her child safely. It's enough for you to stay here with me."

She froze, holding his face between her hands and trying to read his face, trying to verify all that he had said with his eyes. His eyes were no longer guarded and cautious, but saddened and honest, and she sensed no lies in them.

"Please," Cagalli begged. "Let me speak to them personally. I've already promised you to stay. I'm keeping to that, really, I am. But we've gone so far already- surely-,"

"No." He said with a finality that made her ache, and she knew she could not ask him to again. If Lacus was allowed to speak to Cagalli, many things could go wrong, let alone Kira speaking personally to her.

Athrun could not afford that. His plans were already in action, and Cagalli would have to trust him. He begged her with his eyes, pleading with her to hold him again and try to trust in him. She relented and held him, letting him push her deeper into the sheets, letting him run his hands along her.

But her eyes could not meet his and she closed them instead. His touch was tender but she knew he was upset, and she tried to placate him, although it didn't seem to be of much use. Although he held her, he seemed to be just as lost as her, and they both knew they were fighting for something that now seemed to be different things altogether.

Inwardly, Cagalli wondered what the devil and the deep blue sea really was. Was it a matter of just expressing that it was one end or another? Or was it a matter of one end being worse than another? Or was that the point of the expression at all, when both were ends anyway?

As she studied Athrun, she wondered what an end with him would be.

---

1 month. 10 days.