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| Chapter 2: Another Test. Another Warning. In spite of the fact it was long past midnight, the halls were well still well lit. Dorothy smiled at a servant who just happened past, ostensibly changing a bulb, and walked confidently in the direction of the communal bathrooms. Of course, the barely concealed guards of the Sank estate were always awake, their servant uniforms an ill-fitting drapery disguising all manner of 'pacifistic' weapons. 'I doubt Relena even realizes how well armed her 'help' is.' Dorothy thought, faintly amused.
Still, she always smiled at them, acknowledging their act, occasionally wishing them a good evening, in turn reacting like the silly imperceptive fool they expected her to be. She had only been here a short time, but her penchant for late night awakenings was already an established habit, though to be honest were it not necessary as a cover, she'd probably have awoken anyway. Dorothy rarely slept through the night. The demons in her dreams haunted her as surely as the vipers in her life and she found little rest as she flitted between them.
Stepping into the bathroom she immediately made her way towards the row of tile paneled tubs. The bath was built more for comfort than efficiency, but Dorothy was especially grateful tonight for the row of large, deep tubs that were the staple of even Sank's communal bathing areas. She placed the towel along with a paperback book she'd been carrying on the edge of the tub, turning the faucet to run the water. A bath gave her a far larger window of opportunity than a shower and it would likely to be a while before anyone bothered to check on her.
She stripped out of her nightgown revealing a black jumpsuit. Waiting for the tub to fill and appropriate amount, Dorothy turned the water off, splashed it around with her foot and sighed as though she were immersing herself in the water. Waited a minute longer before silently moving back to the toilet area, she closed the curtain behind her. Then, standing on a toilet seat she removed a small screwdriver from her pocket and proceeded to carefully unscrew the grate.
Even though her purpose here was not subterfuge, she served more as a distraction from the actual secret operatives Romefellor had operating within Sank, Dorothy still had memorized the full schematics for the building before she'd arrived. Consequently she had a reasonably direct route mapped out between here and her objective. Not that she believed any amount of rifling through the princess' belongings would turn up anything productive; the girl was too innocent, and kept too ignorant, to be in possession of anything.
Dorothy had as much as said so the last time her and her grandfather had talked, couching it in vague, respectful language even as she spoke with Dermail over a secured line.
"Then you should have made her your friend." He had responded, the menace in his tone enough to make her drop any protests about skulking about the castle in the middle of the night.
He was right though, Dorothy acknowledged. She could have easily befriended Relena after their first conversation, but instead, she tended to peck at the girl, attempting to break down her foundations even though Dorothy knew that she needed Relena whole for her plans. Dorothy should have long since pretended to appear more flexible, it would have cost her nothing, but she didn't have it in her to join the mass of fake smiles and false accolades that made up the majority of Relena's 'friends'. Dorothy knew she was ruthless, but she just couldn't bring herself to be cruel.
At the same time, her continued usefulness was the only thing kept her from under her grandfather's thumb and close to the upcoming battle. That was why Dorothy put up with the classes and the parade of weak girls that seemed to follow Relena around for the sole purpose of kissing her ass. It was why she took the time to cultivate Relena as her debating partner, though the girl made her increasingly uncomfortable. It was why she was now shimmying through an air vent barely big enough to hold her and trying not to curse as her hair, in spite of the tight bun she had it in, got caught on occasional outcroppings of metal.
Dorothy suppressed a sigh as she finally reached her destination, peering down through another grate, taking note of the black clad shadow hugging the corner of the servant's passage outside Relena's room. 'Some days it just isn't worth chewing through the leather straps in the morning', she thought, the expression popping into her head with a wry smile.
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Definitely some of her better work, Dorothy commented to herself as she silently came up behind the black clad figure, carefully pulling into one hand a silenced gun from inside her jumpsuit, a thin knife into the other. The person still hadn't twitched. Dorothy hated to cloak and dagger routine, but there was no choice. Her original hope that this was just another of the overly efficient guards had been dashed by the unconscious, tied up and gagged person now to her left, carefully placed behind a potted plant.
What really concerned her however was that the figure was not only positioned near the door but was also focused on the grate Dorothy had first intended to enter through. Bad enough someone was idiot enough to try and make another martyr out of Relena, but worse, they seemed to be expecting a convenient Dorothy shaped scapegoat. Still, had security been compromised to this degree, Dorothy thought with a sinking feeling in her stomach, she'd probably already be dead.
'Another test grandfather, or is this a warning?'
Either way, he was a dead man, she affirmed, bringing gun up behind the person's neck, touching skin, pulling the hammer back with a quiet click. Leaving space between them, she brought the knife hand to his throat. Definitely male. He tensed, shifting his weight to try and overpower her. Dorothy moved with the motion, pressing the gun to his neck while pushing the knife in slightly to make a shallow cut.
"You were expecting me." She whispered harshly.
"Dorothy." The voice was familiar, even as he struggled to breathe without moving.
"Jonathon." She swallowed, a painful lump lodging in her throat, but her hands didn't waver.
"Nice of you to drop in." Even with his back turned, she could feel the self assured half grin come over his features. It was the same grin he'd had when they'd sneaked to the kitchen one night, gorging themselves sick on stolen chocolate cake. The same smile when, in the brief breaks from training, they would play freeze tag and he'd always freeze her in impossible positions she could barely hold. It was the same grin he used when plucking the legs off of spiders, almost laughing at how they'd squirm around, trying to get away. It was also the same smile he used in bed.
"I'm not here to see you." The words came out bitter, more angry than she had wanted.
"Oh, that's a shame." His whisper still held the tone of good natured banter, with an undercurrent of implied sensuality she didn't like. He didn't fear her. She was obviously losing her touch. 'Or maybe it's because he isn't scared of anything.' His recklessness could be exploited though, if she could keep her emotions from running away with her as they had been lately.
"Maybe you could tell me why you're here?" she suggested, lessening the anger in her voice, as though she was partially receptive to his advances.
"Turn me around and I'll let you know."
"Sure." She smiled but as he turned, she pushed the knife in, drawing it across his throat and then stepping back letting him fall forward, away from her.
A warning then, she thought, waiting until the blood had slowed before flipping the body over with her toe, revealing the knife he had slipped from a wrist sheath into his hand while they had been talking. A knife that would surely have pierced her gut had she done as he asked. She smiled grimly, shaking a little, and leaned down to wipe her knife against a clean patch of his clothing.
'A warning against sentiment for me, and one against arrogance for you.'
Comments? Flames? Fools and Followers: Chapter 3 Fanfiction Main Page Posted: 10/10/01 |
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