|
"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options"
Chapter 134 In Transit Phoenix Star Time: 01:30 [Phoenix Star time is as for Rosemount Station which is Sanc time] Dorothy // Kristian? But … it's not … possible. Surely not. Not after so long. // It was such a handsome face frozen on the screen. Handsome indeed and there was a nobility there that she, daughter of the aristocracy as she was, could not mistake. Her blue eyes narrowed and one finger absently worked its way into her hair and began twisting a heavy lock in a gesture she had not consciously permitted since her eleventh birthday. He was aristocracy, she was certain of that. The refinement and the unconscious arrogance was unmistakable but it was tempered with determination and something else that suggested this man was not one to trifle with and that his word was considered unbreakable bond. It was something she had found peculiar to the Kushrenadas, that look. Others had an equivalent look, of course, but there was something here that waved a banner of recognition before her and it was emblazoned with the name Kushrenada. // The great mystery … Will it finally be solved? If you are Kristian, what happened to you?// The spartan features of her cabin were accepted as graciously as would be the antique luxury of the salon she had favoured at her grandfather's manor. She was confined here but she need not acknowledge her prisoner status and she was quite accomplished at ignoring undesirable incidentals. Many things were undesirable about this journey into the unknown, not the least of which was the woman standing near the door, watching her. She chose to ignore the ship's officer as she would ignore a servant awaiting her attention until it suited her to acknowledge said servants appearance. “Your Grace?” //I can vaguely remember grandfather complaining one day to my father. Something about Duke Heinrich being a disappointment to him. Something … Duke Heinrich was not in the same league as his brother, I think? He was different to Duke Alexander and this displeased grandfather who said something like it was a pity that Alexander fell apart after his son's abduction. Something of that nature. I wonder what that was about?// With a small sigh she shook her head dismissing the thought as irrelevant to the current situation. “Your Grace.” Her grandfather had always had very particular plans and you could tell when an event occurred that was of sufficient gravity to annoy him, such as a change in title that interfered with his desires. One would have thought he would be ecstatic when Heinrich wed her great aunt but instead he had been in a black mood for weeks. No, grandfather Dermail had not initially been amused that Duke Alexander had been replaced by Heinrich Kushrenada and she had a fair enough reason for that disapproval. Heinrich had never liked or approved of the politics of either Duke Dermail or Alphonso Catalonia and tolerated them for his blood ties to them. Their politics had revolved in different directions and while they had attended the same social circles and it had been expected that they work together she knew that there had not been a great deal of good will between them. If anything Heinrich wedding her great aunt had put added stress on the relationship. //I remember that Grandfather always said that Alexander made the better Duke even though Aunt Anna was wed to Heinrich.// She shook her head slightly and her gaze slid back to the screen and to that handsome aristocratic arrogance that was merely an assurance of knowing where one belonged. //Are you Kristian Kushrenada? Can you really be him?// “Your Grace?” The woman, whoever she was, was quite good at controlling her rising irritation at being ignored and to be honest she was becoming something of a bother disturbing her consideration of the latest puzzle life presented her with. Did they honestly expect her to be amused at being locked in her room like an errant child? Whoever these people were and whoever they were working for would learn that Dorothy Catalonia was a force to be reckoned with. She would tolerate such behaviour to acquire the knowledge she sought and then they had best pray that she approved of what she learned or she would tear them down and dance on their bones. “Hmm?” Dorothy never took her eyes from the screen. “The captain would like to know if you require anything more tonight?” //Oh he would, would he? Well there is a great deal that I require but nothing that he would consider permitting me access to. However, no matter. I can be patient.// “Not at the moment.” “The Captain requests that you give some thought to the appearance of this man who claims to be a Kushrenada. At a more civilized hour the Captain would like to discuss the appearance of this Station Alliance with you. Particularly the possibility that this President is who he claims to be.” //Really? Give the matter some thought? Just what does the fool think I have been doing all this time, twiddling my thumbs? Well, what more can one expect from the sub classes? No breeding, no training, no brain. Sometimes grandfather made frighteningly astute observations. // “And what, pray tell, would the Captain consider to be a more civilized hour?” “You are invited to breakfast with the Captain at 07:00 hours, ma'am.” She resisted the urge to sniff disdainfully. The woman seemed polite enough but she could almost hear the grate of teeth and in a servant that was unacceptable and when all was said and done this woman was low in the ranking of ship's officers and therefore would be the equivalent of a servant who was best kept out of sight and hearing of ones guests. Someone really should instruct the captain in appropriate protocol. If they presumed her to be a teenager they were in for an enlightening experience. She could play the fool, she had done so on more than one occasion but she was not inclined to do so now. She was, in truth, still angry … well, perhaps not angry but more upset … over the evenings difficulties. She was not one to lightly accept banishment to boredom when there were matters that required her delicate touch and Milliardo Peacecraft required her attention. If her cousin truly was alive she was going to give him more than an ear bending over leaving Mr. Milliardo to the not so tender ministrations of the ESUN. After denying her the opportunity to aid the man they had imprisoned her in this wretched cabin all evening without amusement or explanation as to what aid would be offered to those on Mars and they now expected her to accept a breakfast invitation with a vapid smile? The audacity of the man. It was a pity that both breeding and training would ensure that she would hold her peace and maintain her composure and temper and accept the invitation to the meal. A pity as she really felt the urge to rip skin from someone but at this moment in time, patience and control was necessary but she was far from finished with her displeasure at their actions. She was patient. She could wait and ultimately she would permit her displeasure to channel her activities accordingly. This captain had best pray she approved of what she was going to see. //I shall give myself every opportunity to solve the mystery of these people and depending on my discoveries I shall either join them or take them down as they will so richly deserve for wasting my time. They claim to come from my cousin and I would know for certain if he is alive or not. If he is …? Hmm. I think I need to kick his toosh for staying so low key that I discovered no rumour of his continued survival. It is becoming a hell hole on Earth without him there to amuse me.// “Your Grace …” “You may inform the Captain that I accept his gracious invitation to breakfast.” She permitted just a hint of the displeasure she felt to colour her tone and had the pleasure of seeing the woman hesitate. “I … will arrive at 06:50 to escort you to the Captain's cabin. Good evening, Your Grace.” Dorothy nodded polite dismissal and resisted the urge to flick her hand at the woman in what would have been a rather petty and childish dismissal. No, the regal inclination of her head was sufficient. She was not inclined to give the officer the impression she was a child in a snit. She took the opportunity of her hair falling forward to obscure her face from the officer to watch as the woman glared at her and then stepped outside the room, the door sliding closed behind her. For an instant she considered the door and dismissed the urge to check if the lockdown had been reinstated. Whether she was once again locked in was of no concern now. It had been made abundantly clear to her that she would not be altering the ship's course to take in a visit to Mars at this time and that was fine. She would have to live with the knowledge that she might have been of aid and had been prevented from making a difference. It would not be the first time such had occurred nor was it likely to be the last. She would have to accept at face value the claim made by the captain that another ship was enroute to the red planet. * “To observe and possibly participate in what ever events investigations reveal might be occurring there.” * The captain had been polite enough but cold, formal and not inclined to listen to argument. So be it, but if the unthinkable happened she would not forget that they might have made a difference. She was not able to assist Milliardo in any way that could offer him a respite from the machinations of the ESUN. Whoever had issued the order that had seen her confined to this glorified closet was going to know about it in time. //I am disappointed in Miss Relena. I thought that I had taught her better than to place herself in a position that could be compromised. If peace is truly what she desires then how dare she ignore my instruction and leave herself open for manipulation in this manner? Did she listen to nothing I told her? Or perhaps she is still out of sorts with me because of the war? Petty if that is so. Very petty and not very smart.// Her gaze drifted to the screen and to the face of the man who had thrown yet another interesting circumstance into her life. He was handsome, she reflected, taking the time to study every line and curve of that aristocratic face. Yes, he was very handsome and by looking so carefully, tracing each line and fitting it to her memory of the portraits she had had occasion to see she could detect the subtle bone structure that mirrored cousin Treize. Kristian Kushrenada's mother had been a Mountbatten and Treize Kushrenada's mother had been a Catalonia, her great aunt. The maternal lines of her cousins parents had been as rigidly controlled by Romefeller as had the dominant Kushrenada and Peacecraft lineages that they seemed so set on controlling. It was simply the truth to acknowledge that all of the nobility of Europe had been interbreeding for generations and everyone was someone's cousin to some degree within that select nobility. Normally one would assume that this might have lead to the danger of inbreeding and certain genetic defects would occur and indeed that had happened though not as regularly as one might assume, up until the discovery of the genetic sciences. //Romefeller were quick enough to see the advantages of the new science. To eradicate the flaws in the genetic print of their cattle was not their only goal. They have never thought so small or along so restricted a line of possibility. Correct the flaws in the bloodlines, yes they were quick to do that and then to go beyond mere correction. Advance those bloodlines by manipulation of the genetic print itself. We are all the product of their manipulation. Their grand ideals. Bastards.// There had been no one to offer Duchess Dorothy Catalonia protection. She had been on her own, left to her own devices to procure a future for herself. Relena had abandoned her, focusing exclusively on shaping the peace that now was threatened by the very people who had cried out for her to save them. “Save us Miss Relena. We are useless, unthinking peasants who can not wipe our own asses without the blessing of a fifteen year old fool who could not see what was in front of her own face.” Dorothy shook her head, disgusted with the young Relena and with herself for raking it all up again. “She never once even tried to understand what we were doing.” Cousin Treize was gone, dead and his body lost in the chaos of the space battle never to be recovered. They had searched but they never had found the Tallgeese II. Mr. Milliardo too had been gone, presumed dead. The strange and frightening Epyon had vanished in the explosion of the Libra and he might not have wished to protect her after her betrayal. Her grandfather was most certainly dead and her only consolation was that at least they all had died in the glory of battle. Dorothy scowled at the screen and huffed a small breath. Glory of battle indeed. She was slipping again. The whole thing, the entire sordid mess that had seen her stripped of the people she loved the best had been staged to eradicate the tools and the need for war. It had all been so carefully orchestrated and so many of them had gone against their very nature and threatened their very souls to see it done. Not her grandfather, though he had played a most important role. He had wanted power, pure and simple and she knew it and could forgive him that weakness. He had grown up in a different age, to a different school of thought to that which raised her cousins and herself. Times changed and the only constant was the wars that cycled repeatedly, disrupting the freedom of the people. Staged. Orchestrated by Treize and his closest confidants so that they could gain control of the Earth Sphere and teach the people to resist the constant warmongering instigated by the bastards who for so long had pulled the strings of humanity from their hidden sanctuaries. Romefeller. The boogiemen her grandfather had told her about from her earliest memories had proven to be more than boogiemen he whispered about to frighten a wilful girl child into obedience. Those hidden mysterious men and women who from the anonymity of their hidden halls insinuated their will into the minds and hearts of their puppets. Romefeller had for too long considered themselves the sole authority responsible for directing the course of the lives of the generations of mankind. Manipulating, scheming, assassinating, bribing, blackmailing, rewarding and outright cheating to get the pathway they wanted humankind to walk. * “There has always been Romefeller. Remember that. There always will be Romefeller, Dorothy. Nothing that we do can defeat them. Nothing that we do can control them. It has been tried and always has the result been failure. They are beyond us and the sooner we accept that for the truth it is and get on with living this life that they provided us with for our betterment, the better. It is a sorrowful truth that should someone ever achieve their demise that anarchy would reign. So long have they ruled that should they fall the rest of the race has not the drive or vision to go on.” * Dorothy shook her head leaning back from the screen and closing her eyes against sight of the metal ceiling. What utter stupidity. Reflecting on the past it surprised her now to recall those words from her own grandfather. They seemed so defeatist, not the fiery old man with a lust for power whom she had dearly loved despite what she saw as his shortcomings. He had changed as he had grown older and she did not like the changes then and despaired for him even now. He had wanted so much. He had wanted to gather sufficient power to take his place in the ranks of the greatest in the organization. She had learned in the last few years the truth of her families dealing with the Romefeller that was hidden from the view of the world. The Catalonia dynasty had a very long history with Romefeller. She had learned that her grandfather had not only known of them, but had been an active part of them and he had been proud of his association with them. So proud of the family links that he had determined that he would be the next of the family to insinuate himself into the power structure that was hidden from the view of most. He had played dangerous games and the family had paid for his ideals. While her grandfather had seemed to revel in his game playing and in tweaking the noses of those hidden watchers and somehow remaining free of their ire to act as he saw fit, her parents had been another matter. She had not been told it all, of course, but she was not a fool and she could fill in many of the gaps in the story. Her father had hated the very idea of Romefeller controlling his life and had been disgusted at the game playing his father-in-law had delighted in. He had not followed Dermail's ideals or schemes to gain power in Romefeller and much as she had respected her grandfather and she even loved him, she would be honest if only to herself and admit that she did love the old man, but she was also being honest when she admitted that she considered him to be a fool. // He had no idea what Romefeller really was. Is. No idea at all. The old fool was so set on his games and what he thought he knew. Some of it he knew, yes, but all of it? No. No, he had no idea.// She knew. To her sorrow and anger, she knew the truth. Duke Albert Alphonso Bartholomew Dermail had known precisely nothing when it came to Romefeller. That archaic semi secret society in their great shining halls who postured before the world was not what she knew to be Romefeller. He had known something of that other aspect of Romefeller but he had not even gleaned the surface of what lurked in the shadows. He had not known that all of his attempts to gain power and be noticed by them-to be considered suitable to become a part of their grand design-had been useless. No, after his death, after the world had ended for her with the death of everyone whom she had ever really cared for, she had learned the truth. When it all had happened as they had planned, when her cousin had sacrificed himself and when Mr. Milliardo had completed the projections, and given himself so completely to ensure it all came into being, she had been left on her own to fend for herself. * “You do know that when it is done, when the initial requirements are met, that there may be no one willing to stand by you, Dorothy? You do understand that it is almost a certainty that I will not be here to offer you aid?” * Her cousin's bluer that blue eyes had been very serious as he had watched her. Begged her to understand what it was that she was stepping into. * “You will do what must be done regardless of the cost to yourself and to those whom you care for. I know, cousin. I know the extent of the price that must be paid if one cycle is to be stopped and another started. I am not afraid.” * He had not initially known that Relena Peacecraft was alive and she had to wonder if his plans would have changed had he known it earlier. For years she had assumed that somehow, someway, her cousin would devise a means to engineer a situation where Milliardo must step into place and take power. She had believed that Treize could force him somehow to acknowledge the heritage he had considered lost to him and take up the mantle of a Peacecraft King. She should have known that her cousin would be most devious and that nothing about his plans could ever be considered so straightforward and obvious as Milliardo becoming once again a Peacecraft. “Devious? No. No that is not the right word. It is so inadequate.” She sighed. Such a hideous and poor description for a man who wore so many faces. He was a man who had dedicated himself to the task of shaping a better world against nearly insurmountable odds and who seemed to acknowledge and accept from the very first day that he would be misunderstood. // Treize was never devious. He was … I'm not sure what the right word should be to adequately describe what he was, but devious just does not seem to be appropriate. He was manipulative. Without a doubt he could be described as manipulative but it was never callously so. There was always reason behind every action he took. It was for a good cause.// Dorothy scowled and quickly schooled the frown away. She must be less open in her expressions if she was to survive. //Am I blind to his faults? I have heard so many discussions on his motives, so many descriptions of Treize as a man and a leader. So many of them just do no understand. Much of what has been said in the past by those who have not even tried to study what actually happened is far from complimentary to you, Cousin, but what more can one expect from illiterate peasants? So few knew you as I did. Milliardo knew you too. We grew up with Treize and we alone know … knew the real man.// * “You should be.” * Treize had stared out of the window, at the full moon lighting the gracious grounds of the estate in Kiev and he had been very still for a long time, simply staring out of the window and watching the night. It had been one of the last peaceful nights he had known. She had been very young. Perhaps too young to have a real understanding of what she had been told but the very breeding that had produced her and so disgusted her stood her in good stead and would not permit her to so much as flinch from the necessity of the situation. * “He will not falter, understand that. While I admit to you that I do not know all that will happen the equation suggests that the end result will come down to Milliardo. Something that he will do is the key that we seek. You must work your way to his side and you must remain there. I know that you have a certain regard for him, Dorothy and be assured that he will need you to be there and to be strong for him. Much will rest on his strength and for him to act when the time comes he must be supported. I will do all that I must to see we arrive where the equation suggests we must be. You are a part of the equation and your being with him is vital to the outcome that we desire. I do not as yet know all of the players who will feature in this but the infrastructure is almost complete. Soon the play shall begin and the cast will gather.” “Cousin … When it is done … will … will it be worth it? Promise me that we will be free of them.” “Have no doubt, Dorothy. To be effective we must commit ourselves, heart, body and soul. Have no doubts and the Earth will have peace and there will be freedom for such as we.” * “Treize.” A whisper in which she permitted all of her questions, all of her doubts that they had succeeded to be voiced. To her mind not so much had seemed to change. It had happened much as he had said it would, but not everything had occurred as she had expected. She had hoped to see more change, the advancement of peace giving her that out he had promised yet she had never really heard him explain what that out was going to be. Freedom from Romefeller's machinations had been a part of the entire exercise of bringing a lasting peace to the Earth Sphere and she knew only too well that Romefeller had not been touched by the events of the war. It had been Romefeller who had rescued her from the repercussions and Romefeller expected obedience from her now. Perhaps it was the age difference leading her to misunderstand. She was no longer a little girl listening to the dreams spun by the cousin she had idolized since she could walk. She had always insinuated herself into the room if cousin Treize was present whether he wished her presence or not. She had been fascinated by him and the intrigue that seemed to follow him around and by the white blonde boy who had been too solemn and silent and who in the fullness of time might have disappointed his mentor. No, she was not a little girl now but a young woman who had survived growing up in the halls of power and intrigue and who had survived the war that was supposed to end all wars. She was a young woman who had a long memory and she would not forget those who had turned their backs on her and left her to fend for herself, forcing her to turn to the very people she had hoped to displace to ensure her freedom for the culmination of his promised future. He had warned her of that. Even that he had calculated into his equations and he had warned her that it might be necessary for her to do the unthinkable. * “Much depends on how Milliardo reacts in the last days of what is to come but I wish to warn you now of the possibility that you may need to turn to Romefeller before the cycle of change is completed. The day may come when you will find yourself alone and for your own protection you will need to enter the ranks of those who believe they control us. Know here and now Dorothy that you will do so with my blessing and know also that I see you fighting free of them. It will not be so simple as fighting a war and everything falling into place neatly after. That is a fairytale and we are not reading a children's story. There is a future beyond all of this conflict, Dorothy and we must give the wheels of change time to turn. I know that there will come a time when you doubt Milliardo but I ask you to trust him. Trust me. We need to believe in each other and in ourselves and we need to have the courage to endure and the patience to wait for it to finish. Allow Romefeller to think that they may control you. Allow them to see you clear of the mess that will be the aftermath of the war and exercise patience. Freedom will come.” * //When you fight on what is seen as the losing side you lose what friends you had and find yourself alone, don't you Mr. Milliardo? I wonder if they will ever understand? Treize had so much love for mankind and he loved Earth. He would have forgiven them anything, even dragging his name into the muck. Mr. Milliardo is just as bad as Treize was, but I am afraid I am not so forgiving. I would have liked just one person not immediately involved in the entire sordid mess to understand what it was we were doing.// She shook her head slowly. Treize had had that far away look in his eyes that told her he was evaluating data yet again even as he told her that she must turn to Romefeller if it came to that. It was a curious ability he claimed as his own and an ability he was most careful to exercise only when there were those he implicitly trusted in attendance. There had been some days when she had thought him to be more like an impersonal computer than her loving cousin. Data input into the system, assimilated, sorted and resolution reached in seconds. Those had been the frightening days when he had seemed the most distant from her. There were other times when he had brooded on problems associated with the design he wove and the results had displeased him. He would brood and reevaluate information repeatedly until he finally settled on a course of action that he determined to be his best option to alter the equation to a far more acceptable scenario than the initial evaluation had suggested. “Treize, are you really alive?” Blue eyes flashed her anguish at the uncertainty that had come to haunt her. His face swam before her, those bluer than blue eyes fiercely intelligent and always seeming to see more than any other. In defence she dropped her gaze from the ceiling only to meet the handsome face of the man on the vid screen, frozen in a point of time that showed golden eyes so unlike those blue she so desperately wanted to see. So different... but the light in the golden eyes was hauntingly familiar. “Is he your cousin? Our cousin? Is he really Kristian Kushrenada and if he is … if he is … What happened, where has he been all of this time? What has he been doing? Does he figure in your promise?” So many questions and the biggest question still unvoiced. She would be brave. She would give it voice and make it real, not a worrying troubling thought but a question she must evaluate and resolve. “Is he Romefeller?” They had not once mentioned the abducted heir to the Kushrenada fortune and title in all the time she had spent within their ranks. Not once in her association with the public Romefeller had he been mentioned in more modern times, the mystery of the child's abduction long forgotten by her peers. When she had needed to venture deeper into what was the true Romefeller she had not heard any whispers of long ago abductions though she had heard a great deal of political intrigue and discontent with the public front. Children, they considered the old fools in control of the organization that even now wove its web to enter once again the dance for dominance. That was all life was to them, be they the 'children' or the hidden Romefeller who had their own intrigues to weave of far more certain potential. It seemed odd to her now that they had told her so much of her family's history yet had not once mentioned in her presence the child abducted so many years ago who must have figured in their dynastic breeding program. She could recall other members of her family speculating on the identity of those who had abducted the child who should have inherited the Kushrenada title and fortune. Her grandfather had even told her once that she should not protest the level of security that had surrounded her in her early years as it was a direct result of the shocking abduction of her cousin who would have been Duke as she would eventually become Duchess. Many of the children of the aristocracy had been frightened into obedience with that tale, not just her. They would have been frightened too, deeply afraid that another of their children might be taken from them and killed. Had it been for money? Political intrigue? The designs of the hidden Romefeller? //Now that this matter has arisen and presented itself so plainly before me, perhaps I should see what information Romefeller has on Kristian Kushrenada? It would not take much effort on my part to break into their data base, but there is a chance that I might be discovered.// She smirked, shaking her blonde tresses at the thought. // No, not much of a chance, I think. I do have high level security clearance and I am more than capable of slipping unobtrusively into that system. I've set feelers there before that I could access and they have not found them as yet. Still, I would need to go to the trouble of removing all record of my presence within the data bank and that could be a little tricky to accomplish before any alarms might sound considering the delay in reception time between this ship and the computers on Earth. It would be all too easy for the time delay caused by the distances involved to reveal my presence and despite the fact that I am the most highly blooded of the Catalonias there are others in the family who might be considered to be more malleable than I should my search be detected. With the time lag I would not know until it was too late that they had detected my presence within the data base and that is a risk I think I need not take at this time. // It would not do to alert Romefeller to her absence from their assigned task. Not yet, at least. They were her safety net if this adventure into space should turn sour. If these people were not associated with her cousin as they claimed then yes, she would have no qualms about setting Romefeller on their tails and then see how well they could wiggle their butts to get themselves out of danger. She had her safety net and she was not afraid to use it, but she was not willing to use that net before it was necessary. For now it would be best to let Romefeller rest in ignorance and wait. “It will be worth the invested time and delay to know just what it is that is happening out here. I … need to know if you are indeed alive, cousin.” He had seemed larger than life to her. Always there, always aware of how much she had endured as the Catalonia heir under the regard of her grandsire. Duke Dermail had been unamused that his daughter had produced a daughter and then had the audacity to die before her duty of ensuring a suitable male heir to the Catalonia family had been fulfilled. Yes, grandfather Durmail had been confident of securing influence within the Catalonia circle by marrying his daughter to the Catalonia heir. He had been so disappointed when she, his grandaughter and ticket to power had been gifted with the title of Duchess but the bulk of the Catalonia inheritance and the actual power involved with the title had gone to a cousin. There was both a Duke and a Duchess and no marriage tying the two together as they were too closely cousins. //I do not doubt that had his design of controlling Miss Relena manifested as he had intended that he would have found a means by which to have the power of the title switched to the Duchess who would lose her title when she married. He even had that arranged.// It was a very good thing, all being taken into consideration that Duke Dermail had not survived the war. She would not have tolerated a farce of a marriage just to garner influence for him. She could not abide fools and there were so many men she considered lived perpetually within that category. “Duchess Catalonia.” The title rolled from her tongue with the full depth of contempt that she felt. “That is what he insisted on calling me though I am in truth nothing of the sort. Cousin Henry inherited the title and as soon as I marry I will lose even the right to that much of my family past.” she snarled. “Dynastic games. Always politics and power. Yet in my turn I play an even greater game than grandfather. A temporary title and I am comfortably well off … most people in my place would be content with that, but I know what Romefeller intend for me. I know … and I am damned if I will sit still for their dynastic plans.” She had not been idle once she had been drawn into the deeper circles within Romefeller. She was young but she was well trained and unlike too many others she had the advantage of being trained by Treize to revel in intrigue and look beyond the obvious. It had not taken her long to extract the information she needed to set her plans into motion. She was no one's tool. Not ever again would she be used as she had been in the past. //I will not permit it. Simple as that. I already have my escape route planned with three viable options should I find myself compromised. I will vanish if I need to before they can spin their web around me. I will be no one's tool. The only one I was happy to use me … Ah, Treize. Cousin, if you are alive and truly involved with these people then this may be my key to salvation. I remember that you would hint at the future ensuring peace for the Earth and the Colonies would bring, but you would never actually say what it was that you intended for yourself after it was done. I know that it was not your intention to remain within the halls of power on Earth but what was it that you saw for yourself? You promised me that you would not deliberately go out there to die. You led me to believe that you would be stepping back after the war, that you would not be taking part in the formation of the new world order. That you needed to separate yourself from the politics of the future and permit others to take on the responsibility. The more I think on it the more aware I become of just how much effort you went too to say absolutely nothing of what your future plans were for yourself. I know that you promised me you were not going out there to die but … I thought it was because you knew that despite your abilities, despite the plans that you made to keep as many alive as possible, that you were going to die. // “A glorious death for a glorious soldier.” She thought that she would be alone. Treize was gone, slain by that spawn of hell born on L5. The child who professed to be a great warrior and wise enough and more fitted to know at the ripe old age of fifteen what true justice was all about. Treize dead. Milliardo dead in the Libra explosion. Une … Well, she would not think about the Preventer Chief who never had been mentally stable and had abandoned her in the aftermath to chase after Miss Relena and gather the power she needed to keep the peace that Treize had died for. She would discount Une and with Treize and Milliardo both gone there had been none of their original select group remaining. None but she herself left, and she the least of the players. There had never been any love between her and Noin who had fawned all over Miss Relena purely because she was Mr. Milliardo's sister. God, that woman was so … so … //No, don't get started on that. He was never meant for her. I'm tired. I need to sleep.// Was it ever going to end? The looks she had received in the aftermath of Libra had been ignored, likewise the whispers about her with the same stoic fortitude. Plainly none of the survivors had understood anything. She, like Treize and Mr. Milliardo had done exactly what was needed to bring about peace. In the aftermath she had known that she would be on her own and she had had no hesitation to do what needed doing to ensure that she was not confined and that punishment for the crimes of others as well as her own crimes was not unjust. No, she was not innocent of crimes. She like Treize and Mr. Milliardo had been guilty of many of the crimes attributed to them during the war. It was a price they had been willing to pay to achieve the goals they had set for the betterment of all, but she would be damned if she would pay for the machinations of those others who were too cowardly and power hungry to be honest about themselves. // They stand there in their cloaking shadows and watch and scheme and think themselves safe. They sacrifice others and think nothing of the cost so long as their freedom and safety from discovery is assured. Cowards. I was many things but never a coward and will not permit myself to be sacrificed so that cowards may continue to scheme and spill the blood of those more worthy. // She had been more than willing to use the power structure of Romefeller, both the public organization and the more secret shadowy individuals to ensure that she ran free. Free of restraint and the schemes of others to give herself the opportunity to take her chance at escape when ever it should present itself. Not once in the years since she had accepted the price to be paid had she doubted that she would escape the cage of those decrepit ancients who professed to rule the human race from their well protected obscurity. Manipulators. That is what they were. Skilled manipulators, fingers in more pies than you could count, with arms longer that the world was round and ears in all halls and none dared presume them to be anything other than myth. Unfortunately in the long term that myth had teeth and could bite and when they chose to bite they usually chose not to nibble at a finger or leg but to aim for the jugular and bite hard. She shuddered at the thought of that terrible old woman who had come to her in the darkest hour of the night. She had been terrible, terrifying in her silence and in the whisper of her seductive words. She had offered her protection from those set on prosecuting her to cover their own parts played in the war and offered her security from the retribution of people who survived and lost loved ones. Such a dangerous seductive, frightening old woman. She was no fool and had known exactly who and what this spectre had represented. She had accepted of course, taking the offered aid. She would have been a fool not to. She had agreed and allowed herself to be surrounded by the old woman's lawyers, many of whom had protected her grandfather for years from those he had manipulated to his orchestration. Yes, she had taken the help but she had agreed only to ensure that she could run when the chance presented itself. She had never had any real intention of joining that creepy, archaic society of living mummies. Dorothy shuddered delicately and drew a deep breath. “You had better be alive, Treize and don't you think for an instant that I am not going to tell you exactly what I think of you for leaving me amid that nest of vipers for so long.” She straightened, stretching her back and shoulders. Breakfast with the Captain, was it? Very well, she would be only too happy to oblige and to be at her best and brightest she needed sleep, so for now she would leave the mystery of this man who claimed to be a Kushrenada … and who might indeed be so. A good night's sleep was in order to see her well rested so that she could see what she might do to annoy the captain. She would not permit him to think for an instant that she meekly accepted being locked in her cabin. That simply would not do.
|
