11-Jul-2001
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They
are the property of Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency.
Rating: PG for now but it will get NC-17 in later chapters.
Warning: This is my first completely AU fic I've attempted. I am
going to try to keep the characters IC but because of certain
situations they may find themselves in, they may exhibit OOC behavior
from time to time. Once again I have `borrowed' my title from another
source, a very lovely Doors song by the same name.
Pairings: 1 + 2 in this chapter and other pairings as the story
progresses.
Archived: http://www.gwaddiction.com/ and http://www.yaoi.co.uk/
Triton Bloom awoke to the sounds of horse hooves as he felt himself being gently rocked and swayed. He opened his eyes.
"So you're finally awake," said a feminine voice, "how are you feeling?"
Triton turned his head towards the voice, "I... I... wa-ter," he croaked.
"Oh, of course! You're probably dying of thirst and hungry as well," the young woman poured water into a cup, holding it out to him, "can you sit up and drink it yourself, or do you need help?"
Triton raised himself to sit, fighting off a wave of dizziness as he did so. The pain in his head pounded against his skull like a hammer driving nails. He steadied himself with one hand while the other took the cup, wincing from the pain that shot through him, and he began to drink. He felt as though there was not a place on him that did not hurt.
"Where am I?" he asked, as he tried to hand the cup back to the young woman. He had weakened quickly, barely able to hold it up. She hastily took it from him. She could see the distress and pain he was in. It was written on his face, but she could see something else in his eyes. She could tell he was a fighter.
"We're on the road to Nantes,"(1) she replied, grinning as she watched him begin to fidget with the nightshirt he was dressed in, "wouldn't you like something to eat?"
He nodded, "You misunderstood me. What is this place?" his voice was weak and shaky.
She cocked her head to one side and then the other as though puzzled by his questions.
"You don't remember us finding you?"
"No," he stated in a flat tone, as he shook his head, then wishing he hadn't. The vertigo returned and he could feel everything spin around him. He laid his head back on to the pillow, closing his eyes and tried to will the world to stop moving.
"I guess you're not ready to get up just yet," she said as she placed a cold compress across his forehead, "that's a really nasty lump you have on your head. And you've injured your shoulder. Oh, this caravan(2) is part of the Circo del Sol."(3)
"You found me?"
"It's really more like you found us. You wandered into our camp last night," she spooned out a light stew into a bowl and placed it on a plate. She laid a couple of pieces of bread on the side.
"I - I don't remember," he said, raising back up to accept the plate from her. It smelled good but his stomach turned at the thought of eating it. He pushed the plate back at her, "I'm sorry."
"Hm, maybe you should just rest right now. The food will be here when you are ready and there's plenty of time for questions and answers. Just ask if you want anything," she picked up her embroidery and sat back down in the chair.
"Umm rest," he said closing his eyes, "maybe tomorrow... " he just wished the world would stop spinning as he drifted back to sleep.(4)
"It's been three days since Trowa disappeared, and we still don't know what happened to him," Duo said, plopping himself into an overstuffed chair and propping up his feet on the ottoman in Treize's hotel room.
"I think we've walked every inch of the Left Bank. No one knows anything, saw anything or heard anything. It's like he fell off the edge of the Earth," Heero added, exhausted and disappointed.
"I've notified the Paris police and I've hired some investigators," Treize said, "they're re-questioning everyone that lives or works around the area of the cafe and the boarding house, as well as the regular customers. My men are traveling the roads leading out from Paris, looking for anyone who might know something."
"You seem to have things covered, but we still want to help," Heero said, "we didn't follow our instincts and walk him home that night. If we had, we wouldn't be looking for him now."
"Don't blame yourselves, it's not your fault," Treize answered, "come, let's go get something to eat while we talk. I have questions I want to ask you, anyway."
"We're going to be blaming ourselves until we find him," Heero responded, "but I am getting hungry, and so is Duo," he nodded towards his braided partner.
"Yes, I could use some food as well," Duo sighed, thinking of another long walk ahead of him, "shall we go to the bistro?"
"Great idea. Who knows, we might get lucky and overhear something," Treize responded, "after you... and we'll take my coach," he added, almost as if reading Duo's mind.
"These braised beef tips in wine sauce are actually quite excellent, but tell me what on earth is that mush?" Treize looked skeptically at the fluffy white pile sitting on his plate.
"Hilde calls them 'mashed potatoes'. Try them, they're good," Duo suggested as he began digging into his own plate of food, "Hilde is the best cook there is, if she weren't a woman, she'd be the head chef in one of the finest restaurants in Paris, or its owner."
Treize tasted the suspicious looking fare and his eyes lit up, "these are good."
"It won't be long before they'll start showing up on the menus of those fine restaurants as well. Hilde's recipes are always being stolen," Heero said, irritated.
"Once we find Triton, maybe I can help her do something about that," Treize remarked, "but right now, I'd like you to tell me about how he lived and what he did while he was here. I'm sure his letters made his life sound rosier than it was."
"Well, besides his classes, he worked part time in an art supply store that's a couple of streets over from here. He'd also earn extra money from time to time by painting or repairing the scenery for the acting troupe I belong to. Other than that there's not much to tell," Duo answered.
"That didn't leave him much time for painting? Looking through his trunk I didn't find much of anything there."
"He had time, he just didn't have the money," Heero replied, "good quality paints and canvases cost quite a bit. Your work isn't going to get noticed by the critics if you use anything less."
"Why on earth didn't he tell me to send him money," Treize wondered .
"Wasn't the agreement that he had to do it on his own?" Duo pointed out.
"I'm his lawyer, not his guardian. If he had told me to send him money, I would have," Treize answered.
"We don't know what else to tell you. The Trowa we came to know and call friend doesn't even exist," Heero said.
"Was he seeing anybody romantically?"
"No, he'd say it just wasn't a good time in his life to get involved with anyone. Now we can understand why," Duo answered.
"What about the two of you? Triton told me a little about you in his letters. I understand both of you have been disinherited by your families. I don't mean to sound rude for mentioning it, but I take it your families disapprove of your - shall we say - living arrangement?"
Duo laughed, "my family doesn't even know about that. I was cut off before I met Heero. It's because I chose to become an actor . . . my parents highly disapprove. They see it as a very sinful and self indulgent way of life. Uh, excuse me for a moment" he said as he rose from his chair. He turned and bumped into another customer being led to a table, "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Please, it was my fault," the man smiled, "I should have been looking where I was going."
"So what about you, Heero?" Treize asked after they'd paused and watched Duo walk to the back of the room.
"I'd rather not talk about my situation," Heero said bluntly.
"Fair enough, I don't wish to intrude on your privacy," Treize answered, but he couldn't help but be curious.
"Has he told you anything yet?" Triton was vaguely aware of a male voice hovering over him.
"No, he asked where he was and for some water, that's all. He doesn't even remember finding our camp and asking for help," a familiar female voice answered.
"I think we should stop at the next town and leave him with the doctor," the male voice said.
"I disagree. You saw his injuries. He wasn't in an accident, he was attacked by someone. And they may want to finish the job. No, it would be safer for him to stay with us. And before you say another word, I'll take care of him until he's back on his feet," she retorted.
"This is not a stray dog or a lost kitten, Relena, that's a man lying there."
"A man who is hurt and needs help," the woman reminded him.
"A man we know nothing about," the man warned.
"Zechs, you really should learn to trust people a little," she chided.
"They haven't given me a reason to," he said as he opened the door and left.
"Why does he insist on being so miserable?" she sighed.
"Are you sure he's dead?"
"Yes, yes! We told you already!"
"Tell me again."
"We followed him to the café and waited until he came back out. We followed then overtook him, I knocked him over the head while he stabbed him. We loaded his body into the cart, covered him with hay and drove the cart out of town. We dumped his body on the side of the road so someone would find it, just like you said to do."
"And you made absolutely certain... "
"We couldn't hear a heartbeat and he wasn't breathing."
"We even kicked him a few times to see if he was faking and he never moved."
"I've read the newspapers, there's no mention of a body being found, yet. If he's not dead, then believe me, you're going to wish you were."
"We swear, there is no way he could have survived."
Triton sat up in the bed. His head still pounded and his body still ached. A sharp, burning pain raced through one shoulder when he grasped the head post of the narrow bed, trying to raise himself up.
//What the hell happened to me?//
He clearly remembered packing and meeting Heero and Duo at the bistro. Everything after that was muddled. He vaguely remembered a young woman with honey blonde hair. He remembered something about a circus and... and trusting people?
"Oh good, you're awake and you're sitting up!" the young feminine voice startled him, he had not realized he was not alone, "How do you feel?"
That was a good question, how 'did' he feel? "Like I've been stomped by a horse," he decided.
"Do you think you could handle some food now?" she asked.
"Yes, and something to drink, please."
"Do you remember waking up for a while, yesterday?"
"I think so... you're with a circus?" he said after searching his memory.
"Yes, that's right. My name is Relena Darlian, and yours?" the young woman smiled.
Triton hesitated before he answered, "I'm not... I... I don't know."
"Thank you for the meal, Treize," Duo said as they settled into Treize's coach. Their next stop was police headquarters. Treize wanted to speak to the captain assigned to the case.
"Duo, what were you doing in the café?" Treize asked.
"I was hoping I'd hear an interesting conversation or two if I walked to the bar, taking the scenic route, of course. But I'm afraid that unless you want to know whose daughter is getting ready to make them grandparents, or who was arguing about the split of the bill, there was nothing important being said," Duo leaned forward and took off his jacket, then folding it across his lap.
"Treize, you told us your wife was the heir if something happened to Trowa. Is there anyone else that would benefit from his death?" Heero asked.
"No one except his great uncle, but he's an old man with no children of his own. He loves Catherine and Triton like they were his own. No I'm afraid there is no one else to benefit, except Cathy. I have to find Triton and prove he is alive. If I don't my wife may be charged with murder."
"If we never find out what happened to him, why would she be charged with anything?" Heero asked, "especially murder?"
"Do you remember me telling you we hired a young man to pose as Triton at Cambridge?" Treize reminded them.
They both nodded.
"I didn't tell you earlier but his death was no accident, and to the rest of the world, he was Triton Bloom. Scotland Yard is already considering her their primary suspect and they're looking for proof to arrest her. We live in England."
"Oh, we're very sorry to hear that," Duo said just as they hit a rough cobblestone in the street, "so you're real reason finding Triton alive isn't because you're all that concerned for him, you don't want your wife arrested or a scandal."
"Finding Triton alive for his sake is just as important to me as wanting to protect my wife. She had nothing to do with that young man's death at Cambridge, which means someone else did. I just don't know who or why."
Something small fell out of Duo's jacket pocket and rolled, hitting Treize's boot. He bent down and picked it up to hand back to Duo. But as he looked at it, he paused, holding it up to the sunlight coming through the coach windows, for a better look at it. His eyes narrowed, his usually friendly countenance changed to one of suspicion.
"What are you doing with Triton's ring?" he asked.
TBC - Yes, this was the teaser chapter.
Notes:
(1) Nantes is a town located in the northwestern region of France
on the river Loire.
(2) Caravan - in this particular usage, a caravan is a covered
wagon that has been converted into living quarters.
(3) Circo del Sol - Circus of the Sun (aka Cirque du Soleil - get
it?)
(4) Nowadays, we know its not a good idea to let someone with a
possible concussion go to sleep and they should be observed for 24
hours, but they didn't know this in the days when the story is set,
around 1880.
KwyckSylver
Please send comments to: kwycksylver@yahoo.com