Chapter Seven

 

VII

The only thing that kept Anne sane in her necessary confinement was the occasional updates from her secret friend. To Shannon, he was a pen-pal from an undisclosed time and place. For Anne, he was the only link from a nebulous, elusive past to an equally nebulous, elusive future. It was one of the few concessions Anne made for freedom because the circumstances were so serious. She understood that the slightest slip would land her and Shannon dead.

Shannon was in her room doing homework and Anne was alone in her study, her lightweight laptop on her thighs. The connection was uber-secure, and the person with whom she chatted never used names or places. Their conversation was in code, able to be misunderstood upon first glance. Secrecy was always paramount; if the wrong people found their exchanges, all of their efforts over the past ten years would have been for nothing. Anne hated wasting time.

She logged into the secret chatroom and waited for her friend to appear. She was rewarded a handful of heartbeats later with a salutation.

TheChameleon: hello buttercup

They had come up with her nickname after sharing a mutual affection for the movie The Princess Bride, and one day he began to refer to her as the golden-haired protagonist. Anne smiled faintly and responded to the instant message.

Buttercup: hello leon
Buttercup: catch any weasels lately?
TheChameleon: not yet but soon
TheChameleon: though there might be a few complications in the game plan

Anne frowned at that. He had promised the last time they had talked a deadline for the end of the charade. She had been looking forward to that like the end of a fast. She had been starving for freedom, even more so in the past few weeks. She could not fully explain why; perhaps the promise of freedom had awoken her old self.

Buttercup: complications as in delays?

In the fifteen seconds that it took him to answer her question, Anne stared at the screen uneasily.

TheChameleon: no just complications
TheChameleon: it seems that we have a tiger on the prowl and she’s after blood
Buttercup: should i be afraid of this new development?
TheChameleon: i wish i didn’t have to bother you with it but i don’t want you to be vulnerable because you didn’t know

He usually didn’t tell her anything that wasn’t important for their time was limited. The fact that he had mentioned this planted a seed of worry inside of her. In their little secret menagerie of coded language, there had been weasels, foxes, and birds but never a tiger.

Buttercup: who is she?
Buttercup: do you know who she is?
TheChameleon: i know of her
TheChameleon: she is very dangerous so please for me try and stay safe
TheChameleon: i would recommend that you stay at home as much as you can

Anne remembered the permission slip that lay on her desk right that very moment. Shannon had excitedly given it to her earlier that day, and it had been a blessing that when she had been reading the paper she hadn’t been around any sharp or heavy objects. The Peacecraft Memorial, Sanc Kingdom. August 26. Students will travel to the destination by train. Parents are encouraged to accompany students on this trip.

Buttercup: that might not be possible
Buttercup: we have to make a trip to hallowed ground

She imagined that he was quite shocked at that answer. Usually she listened to him—he often had her best interest in mind—but now she was being stubborn. Not for the sake of being stubborn, of course, but because she saw no other way to resolve the situation. If she didn’t go, Shannon would want a reason. She was not prepared to fully explain her connection to the Sanc Kingdom. Not yet. So she had to go.

TheChameleon: you cannot make that trip
TheChameleon: it is too risky
Buttercup: how can i explain it away?
Buttercup: she doesn’t know and i would rather it remain that way
TheChameleon: maybe it’s time

After gaping at the screen for a few seconds, Anne shook her head vigorously as she typed as if he could see her movements, see her desperation. She had worked so hard to make sure that Shannon knew not of the peril that threatened to swoop down from the sky at any given moment. She wasn’t going back on that now. Not for anyone.

Buttercup: she needs to be protected from this
Buttercup: it’s far from the right time
Buttercup: she’s too young
TheChameleon: she is not too young

Fury churned in her like a violent storm and it came through her fingertips as they clacked feverishly over the keys. How dare he try to act like he knew what was good for her daughter? Had he been there for her first sentence and her first day of school and the nightmares and Barbie dolls and marathons of Sesame Street? No, he hadn’t.

Buttercup: she is my daughter damn you
TheChameleon: buttercup i think of her as mine too
Buttercup: how could you possibly think that?
TheChameleon: it’s simple
TheChameleon: i love you both
TheChameleon: i always have

Breathless as if hit with a blow, Anne sat back in her chair. All of the anger drained out of her, leaving astonishment behind.

She had not been expecting that. She had been expecting an ill-timed display of male chauvinism and superiority. Instead, she got a moment of frankness that was beyond anything that she had ever believed. In this life of artifice, it was the greatest thing anyone had ever given her.

Buttercup: why didn’t you tell me this before?
TheChameleon: things had to be done
TheChameleon: there was no room in the whirlwind for my emotions, which could have put everyone in danger

Anne wiped a tear from her eye. She remembered meeting him ten years ago in a dim, dark room with her older brother hovering at her elbow. He had been mostly in shadow. The only thing that had any color or light on him was a unique ring adorned with onyx and opal stones he had worn. He had regarded her with no emotion at all, had laid out their plans as if it were directions from a cough syrup box.

But then there were moments after their elaborate pretense when his veneer slipped. In the days after the incident when they were hiding out and waiting for a place to settle, Shannon had taken a liking to his long hair, tugging at it every moment she got, and he had tickled her. When they had been riding in the van, Shannon sleeping in her arms, a radio transmission reported her death as she listened with her own two ears, and he had grasped her hand for a measure of comfort as she wept. Other than that, he was brisk and perfunctory. She understood now, more than she did before, that if he had shown anymore emotion it would have weakened her for the long road ahead. That didn’t make the realization or the fact that it had to be done any easier to bear.

TheChameleon: it wasn’t our time
TheChameleon: if it is meant to be, it will come
TheChameleon: go to hallowed ground
TheChameleon: i will make sure you get safely home

He staggered her again with that statement. Maybe he truly did love her…

Buttercup: but how?
TheChameleon: i have my ways
TheChameleon: we will figure out something
Buttercup: thank you
TheChameleon: anything

With that, the chat ended. Anne rose from the chair, anxiety a rock in her belly. As the computer powered down, she skirted the desk and prepared to go up the stairs to Shannon’s room.

If he could take a chance for her, she would take one for him.

In her head, she automatically began to prepare what she was about to tell her daughter. Every word counted. Even though it seemed a rather small issue in the big scheme of things, she understood that a misused word slung in the wrong direction would topple their whole world.

*          *          *

They stood face-to-face now, vulnerable, unhappy, and outraged. Danie had shed the hospital scrubs she had escaped in and now wore black pants and a black shirt. She wore her long black hair loose.

“Well,” Danie said simply, “that was quick.”

Heero, of course, was not amused by the remark. Danie really wasn’t in a laughing mood either, but her current state prompted insolence to the surface. It was better than being sad or unsettled, in her opinion.

“I would like an explanation as to why you are not in room 5146 at Gracia Memorial,” Heero told her, taking one step closer. She eyed him warily. “And then you can tell me about Abigail Taylor.”

Something about his tone put Danie’s back up. Suddenly she was indignant. How dare he stand there and act all sanctimonious? That asshole. Treating her like she was an errant teenager. Oh, she had a little surprise for him all right.

“Hmm…how fun it is to share,” Danie quipped, tone ironic. “So I guess since we’re sharing, you can tell me all about your little Relena.”

Heero’s expression didn’t change—he was very good at masking his emotions—but something in those Prussian blue depths flickered and gave him away. Danie didn’t glean any satisfaction from that, however. She felt worse, in fact. She didn’t like the sensation at all.

“Relena was in the past, and whatever happened between us was also in the past,” Heero countered. “She’s not important now.”

Heero could see something flash in Danie’s eyes at that remark and braced himself for the outburst of temper for which she was notorious. He was prepared to deal with that. It would have been easier than the non-response from her to which he was accustomed. Much to his shock, she straightened and gave a nod, as if his statement had meant something entirely different to her than was intended.

“Well,” she began in a disconcertingly breezy tone, “it seems that we have to resume this exchange when I return.” She strode for the doorway near which he was standing…

…But he grabbed her left arm to yank her back so roughly that she stumbled backwards into a chair. She cursed and gritted her teeth as her shoulder throbbed with pain.

“We are not done,” Heero informed her in a low, dangerous tone.

“Like hell we aren’t,” Danie snapped as she battled back pain. “You’re not willing to be straight with me about Relena so we have nothing more to discuss.”

“Relena is not the problem here. You’re grasping, Danie.”

Danie lifted her head and glared at him. “You actually think that’s true. That pisses me off, Heero.” She straightened again. “I haven’t the time to be arguing with you. I’ve someplace I need to go.”

Face stony, Heero walked up to her. He stood over her and placed a hand on the back of the chair she was sitting in. “You’re not going anywhere until I get the answers I want.”

Danie stared up at him levelly. “Heero, get out of my way.”

Despite the underlying threat, he stood firm, mustered up some insolence himself. “Make me.”

At first, Danie looked shocked, then a flash alighted her eyes before she narrowed them. Ah—there was that temper she had suppressed earlier.

The battle lines were drawn. Would she cross them?

*          *          *

Anne paused at the doorway of Shannon’s room, sickness rolling around inside of her. Shannon was just a few feet in front of her at her mahogany desk. Her feet tapped rhythmically and the end of her pencil made scratching sounds as it traveled across the page. Anne could hear tinny music coming out from Shannon’s earphones and Shannon herself singing “Burning Up” under her breath. Anne discouraged Shannon listening to music while studying as it was a distraction, but Anne felt a sudden wave of love wash over her. And dread. She knew the feeling of innocence stripped away too soon and the rawness that soon took its place. This is going to be hard…

As if feeling her there, Shannon straightened in her slightly bent posture and turned. She gave a little gasp and tore the buds out of her ears. If it had been a less stressful time, Anne would have laughed.

“Um, Mother,” Shannon began hurriedly, “I was just—”

Anne shook her head gently. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m not going to yell at you.” She inhaled, trying to steady her jittery nerves and thumping heart. “This is about your field trip to the Sanc Kingdom.”

Shannon was smart enough to catch the gravity in her mother’s face now that apprehension had faded. She frowned a touch. “What about it?”

“There is something very important you need to know about Sanc,” Anne responded. “And about me.”

*          *          *

The tension between them hummed like a struck tuning fork. Something inside of Danie had shifted, and Heero was too angry to notice. She had pulled back a moment, unwilling to do anything unnecessary. Hurting him anymore was unnecessary. But then again…

“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Danie said softly.

…He didn’t know what she was or what she could do. Was that his fault…or hers?

“I know exactly what I’m asking for,” Heero countered, his voice a low, rolling rumble of dangerousness. “I’m asking you to do something. I’m asking you to do something instead of sitting there—”

“I still don’t think you get it,” Danie remarked tersely.

Heero, of course on a roll, spoke right over her. “I’m asking for results for fuck’s sake so stop looking at me as if I’m asking you to burn your favorite stiletto heels and say something or do something—”

She sat in silence, realizing that nothing good was going to come of this. If she acquiesced to his demand, she’d be setting herself back. She had things to resolve, dammit. She didn’t have time for a marital dispute.

So she obeyed him and punched him square in the mouth with her right fist.

*          *          *

Shannon put the music player aside as her mother pulled up a nearby chair. “What do you mean?” She tilted her head, scrutinizing Anne with watchful eyes.

“Well,” Anne began, “the thing is…I…” She decided to start out as broadly as possible. “I was born in the Sanc Kingdom before it fell the first time.”

Shannon’s eyes went wide with shock. There were not many people who could say that about themselves, and to have that piece of information on the heels of learning about the place in school was staggering to the eleven-year-old.

“Wow…” Shannon regarded her with wonder. “So what was it like? Did you ever get to meet the royal family?”

Anne looked down at her clasped hands for a moment before replying, “I don’t remember much of my time there.”

“Oh.” Then her eyes brightened as something occurred to her. “So that’s why you had the scrapbook! Because that pacifist lady was from Sanc and so were you.” When Anne didn’t speak and looked at her meaningfully, Shannon wilted a bit. There was something she wasn’t getting, but she didn’t know what it was. “Wait…is there more?”

Anne nodded. “Quite a bit more.”

*          *          *

It was not surprising that the blow had caught Heero off-guard, for he had not been expecting that level of power and accuracy. Oh. Well. That was what she meant by you don’t know what you’re asking for.

Heero stared up at her as she rose from the chair to her feet. His lower lip bled, and he wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. Luckily none of his teeth were broken, though, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d gotten punched in the mouth.

He shook off the unsteadiness and rose to his feet. Danie shifted, taking up a seasoned fighter’s stance. His eyebrows twitched.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Danie?” Heero asked.

“Let’s get one thing clear,” Danie responded. “I don’t want to do this. I would rather you let me go without a fight, but it looks as if you won’t so I have to resort to fighting you.”

“You don’t trust me enough to talk to me.”

“And you don’t trust me enough to let me go.”

Eyes still on her, he bent toward the bed and reached between the mattresses of their bed. Before she could blink, she was staring down the barrel of a gun.

It was Danie’s turn to be surprised.

*          *          *

Shannon was surprised, too. “What do you mean, Mother?”

Anne stared at her as the tears welled up from deep inside, the words she had prepared dying on her lips. Frustrated, she stood and went to Shannon’s window and rested her forehead on the cool glass. Can I really do this? Can I really admit the truth? She closed her eyes. What if she hates me for lying to her?

“Mother?” Shannon was more than merely perplexed now; she was scared. Anne could hear it in her voice, which didn’t make any of this easier. She sucked in a breath and firmed her lips to keep them from trembling.

“Promise me,” Anne managed around the lump in her throat.

“What?” Shannon asked breathlessly. “Promise what?”

Moments hummed by. Anne turned away from the window and appraised her daughter standing in front of her. No, potential anger was not important. Shannon had been angry with her numerous times during her short life, but she got over it. She would get over this. She was too smart not to.

Discretion, on the other hand, was the most important thing. And if Shannon was going to be in the know, she had to agree.

“That you will never ever tell anyone else what I am about to tell you,” Anne responded, voice a little steadier.

Wordlessly with eyes wide, Shannon nodded.

“Good.” Anne took Shannon’s hand and focused on her eyes. “Sweetie, this may be hard for you to understand, and I know you won’t fully grasp everything until you’re older. If I had my way, you wouldn’t know any of this at all. The first thing you need to know is that…Anne Katherine Meredith…is not my real name.”

There was a long length of silence before Shannon burst out laughing.

*          *          *

As the fizz of adrenaline filled her, Danie recovered from her surprise. Despite the earlier vow she had made to herself not to hurt Heero anymore than she had to, her mind filled with tactical maneuvers; she was officially on auto pilot. The pain in her shoulder diminished to a slight ache. Her sight sharpened. It was on.

“I will not ask you again,” Heero said. “Tell me what I want to know.”

Heero clearly expected her to stand down at this point. After all, she did have a gun pointed at her. And from the subtext she had caught over the years alone, she should have been frightened of her husband’s prowess with a firearm. But she wasn’t. Yep, she was doped up on adrenaline, folks. What did you expect? It was on.

“The only thing I have to say,” Danie began in a low tone, “is that doing this your way has earned you an ass-kicking.”

“You can’t kick my ass, Danie,” Heero said with no inflection in his tone. “You wouldn’t dare to.”

Aw shit… He had really done it now. “Watch me,” Danie bit out.

As her eyes narrowed in anger and her temper finally burst, she lashed out with her right leg as hard as she could and aimed for his gun hand.

*          *          *

Anne stared at her daughter, eyes pained. “Shannon…”

Shannon’s giggles still filled the room despite Anne’s one-word warning. “God, Mother—you had me fooled for a moment. That was a pretty good joke—”

Anne grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her one good shake. “This is not a laughing matter, dammit!” The mirth died in Shannon’s eyes and they went wide again. “I am not playing with you!”

“Then tell me!” Shannon shot back shakily. Ashamed, Anne released her as she tried to channel her calm and lowered her head. “Tell me what it is you mean to tell me and stop jerking me about—”

Anne murmured something under her breath and had Shannon biting off the end of her sentence. When it dawned on her what Anne had said, she ran to her backpack and yanked out her history book. She rapidly flipped through the pages until she got to the chapter on the war. On page three thirty-three, there was a large color photo of the former Queen of the World.

She brought the book near to her mother’s face and compared the two images. There were slight differences in the nose, but the shape of the eyes and the mouth were identical. As all of the pieces combined to create a coherent assessment, Shannon felt an unprecedented wave of shock and awe wash over her.

The book flopped to the floor, unheeded by either one of them. Shannon slumped to her knees, then sat on the backs of her calves, unable to stand. After a long moment, she said, “Leave.”

Anne looked at her incredulously. She had expected she would be stunned, but this? “Shannon—?”

“Please,” Shannon persisted, her voice insistent.

Anne stared at her for a long moment, the girl for whom she had risked it all. Then, because she loved her, she rose and left the room. Wondering if she had made a mistake.

*          *          *

The gun went careening into the air. Heero attempted to go after it, but Danie barreled into him with the force of a linebacker and had them flying out into the hallway. They landed on the polished wood floor with such force that his bones knocked together for one jarring moment and nearly rendered him unconscious.

Straddling him now, Danie reared up and punched him in the mouth again. Before she could pummel him with a second blow, he caught her fist and twisted her wrist enough to have her growling in pain.

“Shit!” she hissed.

“I’m no longer fighting fair,” Heero grunted and pushed at her hurt shoulder. She screeched with pain and doubled over for long enough for Heero to reverse their positions. He held her down, putting pressure on her shoulders. “Who the hell are you?”

“I don’t think you have all millennium for me to answer that question,” Danie retorted. “Especially not when I’m kicking your ass.”

“Kicking my ass? Hardly.” He cursed loudly as she head-butted him. He growled at the pain and disorientation and let up on her shoulders. She kicked him in the stomach so that she could get away from him. She achingly climbed to her feet and was stumbling away when he came at her again. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the floor again. She had no time to move before he straddled her and had her by the hair.

“Let go of my fucking hair before I make you regret it,” Danie bit out.

“I want to know who you are,” Heero said, ignoring her threat. “The average woman hardly knows how to fight like this. Who taught you?”

“How many times did you screw Relena?” she shot back, earning a frustrated growl. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

“Let it go, Danie,” Heero said angrily. “It’s foolish for you to be jealous of a dead woman.”

“Not when she means more to you dead than she does alive.” Heero’s grip on her hair loosened fractionally, so Danie used that opportunity to get out from under him.

“I found the circumstances of her death to be unacceptable,” Heero admitted, on his butt on the hardwood now. He stood and met Danie’s eye. “And if you knew me at all, you’d understand. Instead it’s all about you and your childish insecurity.”

Danie’s eyes narrowed again…and she slugged him in the jaw with the force of a sledgehammer.

“Fuck you, Yuy,” Danie spat heatedly, watching his eyes go flat as he worked out his jaw. “You’re not the only one who thought those circumstances were unacceptable.”

Heero smoldered with anger. “Stop acting like you care when you don’t. You’re just a selfish bitch who thinks of no one but herself.”

Heero didn’t find it odd that Danie wasn’t as pissed that he’d just insulted her just then, but she did. “It’s so unlike you to be so blind. But I can’t blame you entirely because it’s not all your fault. There are things you don’t know about me, especially where Relena’s concerned.”

She knew his temper was formidable, just as much as hers, but she hadn’t been expecting that blast of rage that sent him flying at her. She hit the wall in front of the stairs, and the jolt had pain radiating from every limb. His hands were wrapped around her neck threateningly, cutting off precious air. She had definitely miscalculated. Shit.

“You’re going to tell me who killed Relena,” Heero began in a low rumble that was meant to be threatening, “because something tells me that you know. I don’t know how you know or why, but you’re going to tell me.”

“Firestar,” Danie managed as her face became cherry red. “Ordered—gasp—couldn’t—gasp—complete…”

That caught Heero off guard for a beat. If the person who had ordered to kill Relena couldn’t do it, then why was she dead? It made no sense. He tightened his grip on his wife. She was lying. She must have been. “Who is Firestar? Where can I find him?”

“You’re…looking at him…asshole,” Danie retorted haltingly, then kicked him.

Heero went backwards, but he hadn’t loosened his hold on Danie, so they both went careening down the stairs together, each aiding the other in their descent. Since Heero had fallen first, his body took the brunt of the beating.

The momentum of the fall caused Danie to go careening into the hallway table so hard that it fell over and broke. The contents of its single drawer—one that Danie had hardly ever used—were upended onto the hardwood. In the daze of pain that hazed her vision, she noticed the gun, but she hadn’t put it there…

Heero grunted beside her, trying to will his limbs from entropy. He was sure some bone was broken or dislocated inside of him but it didn’t matter. When turned his head, he was staring down the barrel of yet another gun.

“If you’re going to shoot me, go ahead and get it over with,” Heero said in a voice that was firmer than he felt. “You seem to have no trouble doing that.”

“I’m not going to shoot you,” Danie remarked as her eyes filled with moisture. “I just want you to stay down. We’ve done enough damage to each other already.”

Heero attempted to sit up but was unsuccessful. “We…need to talk.”

“There is nothing to talk about…yet.”

“Yet?” Heero let out a sardonic chuckle as his vision went hazy at the edges. “You are a piece of work. You drop a bombshell on me like this and just walk away.”

“Well, you can blame that on some nameless shady sons of bitches later—‘cause it’s definitely their fault.” Her face softened. She had to firm her lips before they trembled. “I didn’t want this to happen. Know that while I’m gone.”

Heero fought the urge to blink but he could feel unconsciousness descending like a heavy sheet. “Where are you going?”

Danie stared at him for a long time before tiredly dropping the gun to the ground. It clattered to the hardwood at her feet. Her voice, when it came, seemed to be far away and very faint. When Heero would try and recall this moment, he was never sure of what Danie said to him.

It had sounded suspiciously like, To find out who’s keeping my babies.

As if someone had clipped the lights of the world, everything went black.

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