In terms of word count, this is a shorter chapter, but so much happens in it that I decided to leave it as is. Hope you enjoy!
Uzumi woke up reluctantly. The arrival of his relatives had certainly made the mornings much more cheerful, but the worry over Cagalli seemed to increase with every passing moment. Sleep was hardly peaceful. Rather, it merely made him feel guilty that he had to sleep, instead of spend time trying to find her.
But this morning, yes it was news! In a form much more direct than he though. It was from Cagalli herself.
A servant informed him that an anonymous messenger had arrived, delivered a message, then run off before they could realize that it was from Cagalli. Soon all guests and company were gathered in the sitting room in eager anticipation for what the letter revealed.
Lord Uzumi felt fairly uncomfortable, opening it in from of such an audience, especially seeing as how two certain members seemed particularly unfriendly and impatient.
Lord Yamato gave him a reassuring nod, and he opened the letter.
"Dear Father,
I'm sorry to have given you news on such late notice, however it was quite some time before I had found the time to write you such a letter. In retrospect, it probably would have been more considerate to leave a letter in the first place, but in truth, I acted much out of impulse."
Uzumi stopped a moment, struck by the formal tone of the letter. It was a bit different form what he was expecting. A chuckle from the other side of the room distracted him. Heine seemed to be somewhat amused... Of course. She wasn't alone. "Athrun" must have had a hand in writing this.
"I am currently lodged at a small inn, nestled within what I have gathered to be a relatively close town. A cursory combing of nearby resident localities would probably reveal my location, however I must ask that you refrain from doing so.
Firstly, I assure you that I am not being held against my will. Secondly, I insist that I am in the utmost health, both mental and physical. However, I cannot bring myself to return without the time to adjust to the fact that I am now engaged. I have enough money to cover living expenses for roughly a week or two, after which I will promptly return.
In the meantime, I request that you do not try to search for me, and simply leave me in peace to think. I will send another message at some point, and should I not return in two weeks time, feel free to come and search for me then."
Alright, now Lord Uzumi was positive that someone else had helped write this. There was no way that Cagalli would willing allow him to send out search teams for her, even after two weeks. In his mind, he could clearly conjure up the image of Cagalli stubbornly protesting "If I don't want to come back yet, I'm not going to! And there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Once again, I apologize. Until my next message,
Cagalli."
The girl's father finally sat down, after pacing the room while reading the letter aloud. "Well then."
The elder Westenfluss seemed furious. "Does- does she think that such a childish letter can possibly redeem all the trouble... Surely we will begin to search all towns now."
Lord Yamato sat up very straight in protest. "I see no reason why we should! She's made it clear that she does not wish to be found."
"That's not what's important right now! Did it not occur to you that this letter may be forged?"
"I assure you that I can recognize my own daughter's handwriting and signature, Lord Westenfluss." Uzumi replied wearily. "If she needs time to think-"
"I will allow no such thing!" Westenfluss' face now resembled a ripe eggplant, and his son was standing by uneasily, staring out the window with a rather embarrassed look. Kira shifted slightly, apparently making a fierce effort to refrain from lunging at the older man's collar and forcing reason into him.
The room was tense for a moment. Lady Westenfluss seemed rather annoyed at the situation, her husband was still seething, Lady Clyne and Yamato both seemed worried, and Lacus Clyne observed the scene silently. Finally Lord Westenfluss stormed out of the room, apparently furious.
There was silence for a moment as his wife slowly stood up to follow him out, and motioned for her son to follow. Heine slowly began to make his way out, pausing for a moment to turn and bow slightly, as if apologizing for his parents' behavior.
More silence after the exit of three people, until Kira bitterly remarked,
"I hope that man doesn't go and do something stupid now."
"Knowing him, allowing Cagalli personal time is the last thing he'll do." Uzumi sighed, reaching for the untouched cucumber sandwiches in the middle of the table.
"Well he can't search for her without your permission, can he?" Lord Clyne pointed out. Uzumi nodded.
"So then what's the worst he could do?"
Athurn woke up, his neck feeling much relieved, however the rest of him aching like he hadn't moved in months. The pillow certainly did help relieve the discomfort on his neck, however the comfort his head experienced only served to remind the rest of his body how cold and stiff the floor was.
But there was absolutely no way he'd let the rest of his body experience a true bed, seeing as how there was only one bed, and someone else was already in it.
Lord Uzumi probably had the message by now, which meant it was peaceful living for a week or two, then a carefree ride back to the Athha manor. Granted, what awaited him wasn't so pleasant, but at least Cagalli would be okay.
Crap. There he goes again, calling Miss Athha by her first name. He'd let it slip out last night, but he probably should stop... if he continued after they had returned to the manor it would be trouble.
Stretching a bit, he strolled down the stairs and proceeded outside for some fresh air, and perhaps some food. He had enough to buy some bread at the very least, and proceeded down the main road of the town.
He continued on his way for a bit, growing increasingly aware of the stares that he was getting. Could it be that they'd figured out who Cag... er... Miss Athha was? But it would be no matter, as Lord Uzumi wouldn't send for them anyways.
Reaching the nearest bakery, he took one look at it and froze.
Suddenly, it didn't seem that the next two weeks would be so carefree after all.
Kira broke into the sitting room furiously, sometime later in the afternoon, a sheet of paper clutched in his hand.
"WANTED POSTERS!"
Lady Yamato and Lacus turned their gazes curiously. Lady Clyne was in another room with Lady Westenfluss, as if was Lady Clyne's turn to have to put up with her. The three women had devised a system of taking turns in having to suffer the woman's presence.
Lord Uzumi, Clyne, and Yamato looked up sharply. Heine looked confused, yet mortified. His Father looked proud.
"You ordered for the arrest of 'Athrun', in a state of Living or Death?" Kira continued, slamming the paper onto the table.
"Yes. Naturally there's no picture, but blue hair isn't very easy to come by, so I think that will be enough. These posters for his arrest have been distributed to all the neighboring towns. We should have news shortly-"
Uzumi looked thunderous. "I explicitly asked you to cease the search."
Westenfluss looked up slyly. "Well I'm not searching for your daughter. I'm searching for my servant."
"Dead or Alive?" Heine choked out, apparently disgusted. Athrun... was a wanted man now. He might be hurt. He might be-
"Well.. I doubt they'll actually kill him. I just added that for a sense of urgency."
"You couldn't just leave them in peace for a while?" Lacus asked calmly, apparently the only one capable of speaking at the moment, in calm speech devoid of profanity.
"Of course not. That sort of unreasonable-"
"With all due respect, her request for peace has been the most reasonable request I have heard ever since your arrival." Uzumi interrupted sharply.
Lord Clyne and Yamato stood up suddenly. Westenfluss eyed them briefly. "What are you going to do?"
"See if we can stop this."
Heine rose to follow them. Lacus rose as well, taking Kira by the arm and steering him out before he exploded in anger. Her presence seemed to calm him slightly, and his hands which had been tightly balled up in fists seemed to unclench slightly. Soon everyone had filed out to deal with their own angry feelings, leaving Westenfluss alone.
He frowned, uttering to himself for a moment.
"That boy's been nothing but trouble from the moment he showed up at our door."
Cagalli looked horrified at the piece of paper Athrun had ripped off the side of the bakery and showed her.
"Athrun! What did you do? I didn't know you had a criminal record!"
"I DON'T!" The poor boy protested, his head in his hands. "I.. just don't understand how this happened. How did it come to this? I guess they didn't buy the message... Or, they just. Oh lord, I don't know. I never thought they'd do this. I thought my Lord would want to save face more than anything, and would want to keep this whole thing under wraps. Instead he makes a public announcement and asks people to come and kill me!"
"But... this is very serious! You can't just say you want someone's face on a wanted poster and have it done! Are you sure you didn't kill someone by accident or-"
"Don't go any further with that thought! They probably said I kidnapped you or something... In any case, we have to get out of here. The landlord might turn me in and personally, I like my head where it is, thanks." Crumpling the poster and throwing it against a wall in bitter frustration.
"I've already spent most of the money on the room though. And I don't think that it's refundable..." Cagalli considered carefully. Athrun was silent for a moment.
"Well then there's nothing we can do about it. We can't stay here..."
"Hold it RIGHT THERE! I don't see any wanted posters for me!"
Athrun looked up in exhaustion. "So then you'll leave me to get killed while you go off vacationing for a week? Thanks for your concern. Really." He pronounced in bitter sarcasm. "Honestly, I first thought of just letting you go ahead too, but like I said before I don't want to take the risk of having you on your own.
And in any case, this means the search hasn't stopped so you'd be pretty easy to find anyways."
The words seemed to sink into Cagalli, when a teasing grin spread across her face. "Won't I be in a lot more danger if I wander around with a wanted criminal?"
Athrun's eyebrow visibly twitched. "For the last time... I'M NOT A CRIMINAL!"
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
"Uh, sir? Sorry to disturb you two, but there's a small matter I'd like to discuss regarding your boarding here..." A nervous voice came from behind the door.
Both people present in the room froze and looked at each other. Immediately they began to exchange frantic silent messages.
Cagalli motioned towards the window with her head.
Athrun looked like he was about to faint, and shook his head in violent protest.
Cagalli gave him a inquisitive look. What else did he have in mind?
Athrun's eyes darted around the room. Nothing came to mind...
Cagalli grabbed a bed sheet, about to make it into another rope.
Athrun grabbed it out of her hands and shook his head again. What was with this girl and climbing out windows? He pointed towards her, then the door.
She gave him a weird look, then went to open it. He took a hold of her wrist and shook his head again. He opened his mouth, and pointed towards the door again.
Okay... now she was really confused. Was he hungry?... He couldn't be planning to eat the door... the landlord? Attack him? No, that would really be criminal!
Another knock.
"Hello? Is anyone there?... I'm certain I heard voices"
"Just a moment!" Cagalli snapped impatiently. She clamped a hand over her mouth as soon as the words came out. Crap!
Athrun on the other hand, looked relieved. He motioned for her to keep talking.
"Miss? Are you the only one present in the room?"
The other person in the room gave her a thumbs up.
"Uh... Yes. Yes I am."
"I see... When do you think your companion will return?"
"I-I'm not sure. He went out to buy some food."
"I see... Well then when he returns, would you mind coming down for a bit. There are some matter I'd like to discuss with him."
"Of course." Cagalli replied, her tone significantly more steady.
Hearing footsteps fade down the hallway, Athrun let out the breath that he had been holding. He looked at her and grinned. "Well that was easier than I thought it would be. No window escapes required. Now we'll wait until everyone's asleep and sneak out of here."
"What do you mean, we can't call off the search and wanted posters?" Lord Clyne asked impatiently. "He made a mistake! We don't want to find that boy at all, much less dead!"
"I'm sorry sir, but the only one that can call of a search that hs been posted within reason, in this case being the fact that he kidnapped someone, is the person who filed the request for a search himself." The clerk at the bureau said, evidently feeling very pressured by the sight of Lord Clyne, Lord Yamato, Kira and Heine and bearing down on him mercilessly.
"But the person he said was kidnapped, wasn't kidnapped!" Kira looked livid. Lacus had calmed him down previously, but upon hearing that his father would be going with the others to try to call off the search, he jumped to go with them.
"We can't just take anyone's word for that, sir. Unless the person said to be kidnapped is found." The clerk stammered, evidently frightened of Kira.
"What about me? I'm his son, can't I call it off?" Heine suggested, trying to do everything possible to help the situation.
"No sir, it has to be the person himself. I'm sorry sir, but these are the rules. We can't bend them for anything. Even if they're not helping you, they've assured the safe return of people and capture of criminals for quite some time."
"But he's not a criminal!" The four men shouted at once.
The clerk ducked behind the desk, quivering. "I can't do anything!"
Kira sighed, and took a step back, snapping to his sense.
"Then's there's nothing that we can do."
"So now what? We just let them get hunted down?" Heine frowned.
"Of course not. I'm going to search for them. I wish I could give her a week or two, but right now it'd be safer for her to come back. Maybe then we can resolve this, and arrange for something." Kira shrugged.
"I'd like to arrange for a certain idiot to get clubbed over the head something blunt" Lord Yamato muttered under his breath. "Ah... sorry Heine. No offense to you, of course."
"None taken" He smiled.
"Tell everyone that I won't be back until later tonight." Kira said, turning to leave.
"I'm coming with you. The best thing we can do is get to them before anyone else does." The tangerine hair lad followed.
Kira nodded and headed out, Heine close behind. Chuckling for a moment, he sighed, picturing a certain blond clocking him on the head shouting, "Why couldn't you just leave me alone for a week?"
"Cagalli's going to kill me when I find her..."
Next chapter, Athrun and Cagalli try to sneak out. How well will that go? And what about Kira and Heine's search for them?
Much thanks goes out to all of my reviewers,
FMAobsessed, AnimeCrazyLovingRoyalty, Spaleween, cocoapuffaddict, Life Is Death, The Jackle, CagalliandAthrungirlforever, IYGU, asucags, thousandbirds, Rayar, daisukiasu'n'caga, cottongreentea, PINKSISA, Shadow-Naka, Kintora, gseedlover, ovp, Tetsuni, IX The Melodious Nocturne IX, ANONYMOUS-gsd, meowmeowtheblackcat, yumi'd'izka, stuntsheep, Xx.Eternal Rain.xX, Siriuslyblacked, 3fi-pina3, Kitty-Kat90013820, Garowyn, Cari-Akira, ChildO'God, Cagalli Yula Atha
Hope to hear from you again!
Until next chapter,
Periodic-Prose