Gundam Wing is property of Sotsu Agency, Bandai
Studios, and TV Asahi. Sainan no Kekka and all
original characters and plot copyright 2000 by
Quicksilver and Gerald Tarrant. Please ask
permission before reposting.
SHIN KIDOU SENKI GUNDAM WING
SAINAN NO KEKKA
Love: Dorothy
Author's Note: This is Ger's- contact him with
some lovely thoughts at lordofmerentha@yahoo.com.
This should be read after Act Two, Scene X.
"Some say love, it is a river that drowns the
tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor that leaves your
soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching
need.
I say love, it is a flower, and you its only
seed."
--Bette Midler, The Rose
It was past midnight when Milliard left the
mansion with a promise to come back early in the
morning when Dorothy was ready to tell him if she
was coming or not. It was more a stall for time
than anything else, and they both knew it. The
minute he'd gotten out the briefing reports and
the slides, she had felt the familiar welcoming
warmth of strategy and troop movements and
military planning slide over her, as if she had
come home.
He was right. It was in her blood.
Her mother would have a fit when she found out
that Dorothy was going, but Dorothy didn't plan
to give her mother a chance to find out before
she left. Milliard wanted to leave in two days,
or earlier, and by the time the duchess heard the
news, Dorothy would be far away from Earth.
No doubt her mother would take action,
threatening everything possible from cutting off
her inheritance to giving the title to someone
else, but she wasn't worried. The duchess had no
power of her own to do anything to Dorothy's
title or inheritance, and even if she somehow
succeeded...it didn't matter. Dorothy Catalonia was
not cut out to be a high-class noblewoman, and it
was time she showed her mother this.
Pulling back the curtain to the small room that
adjoined the main entrance foyer, she watched
Milliard's sleek convertible pull out of the
circle drive and through the open gates. The
noise of the engine and the headlights
disappeared into the night, and she let the
curtain fall, sighing.
When he'd held her hand today she had almost
cried, knowing it was nothing. Not to him. She
had loved him since she had first met him, but
his heart was given to someone else. She could
see it in his eyes, when she had mentioned the
name Noin. Just a simple name. Amazing what power
even a name could have over a man.
They had both been children five years ago, but a
child like Dorothy had been to more balls and
formal functions than she could remember. The
granddaughter of Duke Dermail had learned her
political skills well, and more than one guest
had remarked to her grandfather upon leave-taking
about his "exceedingly bright" grandchild.
Duke Dermail had smiled and nodded and downplayed
her significance. That was important, of course,
because she was one of the most significant
assets he'd had.
That's all she ever had been. An asset.
She'd never had fun at the parties, wandering
aimlessly around dressed in the expensive
ballgowns that were made especially to show her
off like the property she was. She was not a
person, but a thing to be looked at, to be
admired, to be used. She was a computer, a data
mine of information, a political planning device.
Not a girl.
Dorothy had dreamed of running away, more than
once, but there was nowhere she could go, and she
hadn't been quite willing to leave her
grandfather. There were some privileges in her
position in the household and in the Romefeller
Foundation, and as long as she had her small
amount of privacy, running away wasn't quite
worth it.
When her grandfather had mentioned a ball, she'd
sighed inwardly and smiled at him. Yes, another
ball. Yes, more important guests to lead astray.
Yes, another night of pointless chatter and
dancing and music. She was tired. She wanted to
go take a nap, not sat down in a chair and made
up and dressed up until she didn't even recognize
herself when she looked in the mirror.
/OZ is coming,/ he said. /There will be many of
their officers here tonight./
She blinked at him. That was a new one. /OZ? To
the ball? /
He nodded. /Listen carefully to what you hear
tonight, Dorothy. OZ is our new weapon. You will
be one of the ones pulling the strings, and I
need you to file away every spare bit of
information you acquire tonight. Can you do
that?/
She smiled. /Of course, Grandfather./
She'd gone to the computer after that, trying to
dig up everything on OZ she could find. It wasn't
often that military personnel were present at
these parties, and so far, what she had heard on
OZ had been very interesting. Not like the boring
Federation generals with the long beards who
stood around with the same glass of wine in one
hand all night and talked in long, slow
sentences. OZ was an enigma, a mystery that her
grandfather had kept even from her, and at long
last she was being let in on the secret.
It was exciting.
The officers of OZ were young, clean shaven and
dressed in uniforms that shone with golden
highlights in the light of the ballroom candelabra.
She watched from the balcony above the dance
floor as her grandfather greeted them, showed
them to the bar and to the long table with the
catered foods. There were female officers too,
unlike in the Federation where all of them were
men.
/Dorothy./
/Yes, Grandfather?/
/One of the top OZ officers will be arriving
shortly, and I want you to come down to meet him.
He will be one of the leaders very soon, and he's
the one you need to watch./
/Yes, Grandfather./
/He's also your cousin./
/Cousin? /
The officer and cousin in question was named
Treize Khushrenada. She had hardly met any of her
relatives who were not immediate family, and it
was always interesting to explore the side roots
that her family had produced. As he came in the
door, Dorothy could see the resemblance. He had
her mother's eyes. She could see at once that he
was different, even in this group where each of
them were already different. He carried himself
with the air of a man who was always right and
knew it, and the look in his eyes was predatory
and calculating.
She could see herself in him.
When Duke Dermail introduced them she smiled and
took his hand, curtseying in her heavy ballgown.
She could feel Khushrenada's eyes on her, and
when she looked up, he had a curious look on his
face.
/Your granddaughter, your Grace? A most
remarkable young woman. /
/Thank you sir,/ she murmured politely.
/No,/ he intoned softly, bringing her hand up to
touch his lips. /Thank you./
Khushrenada knew exactly who she was, Dorothy had
realized in that moment, and he admired her for
it. She felt slightly flattered.
There were two people accompanying the OZ
officer. One was a bespectacled, severe-looking
woman who didn't even meet Dorothy's eyes but
simply swept away after Khushrenada. Dorothy
wrinkled her nose slightly in her wake. She'd
have to watch out for that one. The woman was
most likely a top aide or bodyguard, and if she
was to infiltrate Khushrenada's secrets, that
woman would be her obstacle.
She looked around for the other person who had
come in with them, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Shy, perhaps? She had yet to see a shy OZ
officer. Slightly upset that she had missed
someone, she wandered over to the table and fixed
herself a small sandwich, eating it while leaning
against the wall and watching the people dance.
Khushrenada, she noticed, was dancing with the
severe-looking woman, who actually didn't look as
severe as she had earlier.
More than friends? Lovers, perhaps?
Dorothy finished off her sandwich and washed the
bread down with a small glass of water, then
scanned the ballroom. She was too young to dance
with any of the officers, and she despised
dancing. It was something at which she was
talented but preferred not to do too often. It
was too hard to dance and watch at the same time,
and she preferred watching.
It was so much more...fun.
/Excuse me, ojosama?/
She turned...into a vision of blue and gold and
silver, a face covered by a bright silver mask,
vivid blue eyes gazing at her uncertainly through
it, and gold hair framing the uncommon sight.
/Pardon me for not introducing myself earlier./
She was speechless. The beautiful masked face in
front of her could not belong to a human being. A
mysterious angel, perhaps, or a demigod. The
perfect mouth and firm, proud chin trailed up to
mysteries beneath the silver mask. He was dressed
in the uniform of an OZ officer, but was clearly
younger than the rest of them. One long-fingered,
perfect hand came up to brush a strand of
glittering hair away from his face.
/My name is Zechs Merquise. I am a second
lieutenant in the Specials and I was invited to
the ball along with Treize Khushrenada. I saw you
looking for me earlier but I had some business to
take care of./
Zechs Merquise. The name echoed in her mind. She
felt dizzy.
The light glittered off his hair as he moved,
bringing up one hand in a graceful gesture
towards her.
/I take it you are Lady Dorothy Catalonia? I have
heard much about you. /
She stared at him, drinking him in with her eyes,
and for once in her life, she couldn't find the
words to respond.
So she did what any starstruck foolish girl would
do. She took a step back, spun around, and simply
walked off.
Dorothy Catalonia, the world's greatest fool.
Once safely back in the darkness of her hiding
place over the railing, she relived the entire
scene in her mind, mentally cursing herself for
what she'd done. If she had just spoken to him,
had the nerve to say a few words, they could
still be talking right now. It wasn't like he had
anyone else to talk to, and he had looked about
her age. She could have had someone to relieve
her of her boredom.
Besides, she was supposed to learn all she could
about OZ, and what better person to ask than
Zechs Merquise?
Never mind the fact that he was the most
beautiful young man she had ever seen. Even with
the mask. Especially with the mask.
Dorothy had always pitied the girls her age who
giggled about boys and dating and more taboo
subjects. She didn't need that. She was mature,
handling information that most adults did not
even have access to, a valuable member of the
Romefeller Foundation, and talented at anything
she had ever laid hands on. The other girls were
jealous of her, she knew.
She had never needed to think about boys.
Zechs Merquise's face lingered in her mind and
she leaned over the railing, trying to search him
out amidst the sea of bodies below. She finally
spotted him by the food table, talking to a tall
female OZ officer. Her heart jumped in her chest,
and doubts nagged at her mind. He probably
already had a girlfriend at the academy, after
all. What right had she to think about him like
that?
It was a one-night crush. She'd forget about him
tomorrow.
With an explosive sigh, she got to her feet. It
was pointless to just stay here. She didn't care
what her grandfather wanted her to do. She was
going to go back to her room, change into her
fencing uniform, and practice her forms.
She was going to forget about Zechs Merquise.
The way he had looked at her...as if she were
someone in her own right...as if she were more than
a tool to be used.
After all these years, he hadn't changed in that
respect. Aboard the Libra they had been distant,
and remembering that first meeting, Dorothy could
understand why. She thought she had forgotten
about him, but when she'd seen him it all came
rushing back to her, and when he had looked at
her with those blue eyes and asked her to control
his mobile dolls for him, she could hardly speak.
It was the same.
She was such a fool.
Zechs had used her...but he was different. He
hadn't forgotten about her after he was done with
her. He respected her.
She thought she loved him.
Dorothy Catalonia wasn't exactly sure that she
knew what love was, but if it meant a simple
longing, a dream, a desire to go anywhere,
anyplace he asked her to, then she did.
The lights from the driveway outside dimmed, and
she realized that the generators had powered down
for the night after the sensors had detected
Milliard's car leaving. It was late. It was time
for her to forget this foolishness and go to bed,
since he would be back early in the morning.
She had to pack.
He called himself Milliard Peacecraft now, but
she would always think of him as Zechs Merquise,
as the bright and beautiful young man she had met
at that party all those years ago, when they were
young. When they had been young but not innocent.
War was not for the innocent, and neither was
love.
Milliard Peacecraft loved someone else, but that
was all right, because she didn't deserve his
love anyway. He was so much nobler than she could
ever be, and she respected that. Besides, she
wasn't used to this Milliard Peacecraft, the one
who wore his hair short, who smiled and laughed
and expressed his emotions as freely as the wind.
When she dreamed, she still dreamed of bright
blue eyes and long golden hair and a proud young
officer who had rendered her at a loss for words
so long ago.
/My name is Zechs Merquise.../
=====
Quicksilver
Lady of the Labyrinth
Full time student and part-time writer
"You haven't lived until you've danced the dagger's edge."
http://www.homestead.com/quicksilverslabyrinth
http://www.method.org/gundam
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