Chapter 11

Relena wakes up, blinking her eyes as she gets rid of the sand in her eyes. She murmurs to herself and looks at the clock, seeing it was a little past six. Groaning, she places an arm over her eyes to shield them from the outside world. Her mind starts to wake itself up, even though her body longs to continue sleeping. A knock on the door forces her to follow her mind’s want and not her body’s.

“Yes?” “Mr. Semist asked us to wake you up at this time so you can get ready for the day.” Relena groans again and nods to herself. “Okay, thank you.” The attendant leaves the door, having not entered the room, and Relena closes her eyes, not yet willing to get up.

She jolts as she hears pounding on the door. “Relena, aren’t you up yet? We have to leave.” The door opens and Vincent walks in, frowning at seeing her still in bed. “It’s nearly seven, I thought I told them to wake you up at six.” He scolds in the direction of the front desk. “It’s almost seven?” Relena looks at the clock, seeing it nearly was. “I must have fallen back asleep…” Vincent turns to her, sneering. “Well hurry up and get ready, we’ll be leaving soon.”

He exits the room in a huff, leaving Relena alone. She sighs and gets out of bed, quickly changing clothes. Exiting the room, she finds Vincent waiting on her, his foot tapping in frustration. “It’s about time. Let’s go.” He walks off down the hall to the exit. Reluctantly, she follows him.

The two leave the building and one of the doors in the inn opens; Duo comes out of it and follows them. Dressed in a casual attire of a blue shirt and khaki pants, he easily blends in with the rest of the crowd. He follows them to the edge of the city, where a church laid. “A church? I wonder why they’re heading there.” He continues shadowing them.

The church doors open and two men bow at their waists to Vincent and Relena. The two enter the church and proceed to the alter, where a well dressed man stood. He smiles as the two approach. “It’s good of you two to come. It shall be my privilege to wed you two in the holy bounds of matrimony.” Relena’s eyes widen. “What? Who said we were going to get married?” Vincent grabs her arm tightly. “Remember, we talked about it before… and you said you would, right?” He squeezes her arm harder and Relena tries not to scream at the pain. Behind clenched teeth, so says, “Yes, now I do.”

Vincent nods and loosens his grip slightly, but still holding onto her. “Good, now where were we preacher?” The preacher smiles and raises his hands above his head. “Oh Lord, we give you thanks for your blessings and for this couple coming together today. I wish that you would bless them and keep them close to you, so that they may walk in your path. I…”

Vincent clears his throat. “That’s all nice, preacher, but can’t you just make this quick?” The preacher blinks his eyes. “Marriage is not something to rush into, young man, only with patience and the love of God can it be successful.” Vincent rolls his eyes. “Fine, just try not to take forever.” The preacher clears his throat and picks up the bible behind him on the alter.

“As is said in First Corinthians chapter seven verses three and four, ‘The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife’. Marriage is not simply about one person’s desire, but mutual love and respect. This, along with being one with God, keeps marriages together. Though there are no more wars in the universe, the war between good and evil has not stopped, and those unprepared will be swept away. This is why marriage must be agreed upon by God above.”

Throughout the speech, Vincent seethes and shuffles his feet, getting more and more agitated by the length involved. Relena notices this and hopes the preacher takes longer, if for no other reason, than to frustrate Vincent. “Now, let us pray for God to bestow his blessings upon your marriage.” The preacher bows his head and closes his eyes, placing a hand on the heads of the couple.

“Oh Lord, we ask that you would bestow your blessings and grace upon these two young people. I ask that you shall guide them through the rest of their lives and bring them unto you when they depart from this life. If this is not your will, let there be a sign for this.” Upon the last word, the church bell rings, and a figure walks into the chapel. “Well, looks like I wasn’t too late for the ceremony.”

Duo smiles and places his hands on his hips. “Don’t mind me, preach, keep going.” Duo takes a seat in one of the pews on the groom’s side, placing a leg upon the back of the pew in front of him. Vincent starts to fume at seeing him again, when the door opens again, another person walking in. “It takes two witnesses to make a wedding valid, so I guess it’s good I came.” Sally Po enters and takes a seat on the bride’s side. “What are you doing here?!” Vincent’s face and voice revealing his anger.

“I thought it was obvious.” Quatre enters through the doors and sits two rows in front of Duo. Vincent chokes on his words as his fury prevents him from speaking. “It’s very nice to see others coming to see this wonderful event.” The preacher smiles, not flinching as Vincent turns his attention to the preacher. The door opens again and Wu Fei walks in. “Weddings are supposed to be happy events, though it’s doubtful he’s happy.” Wu Fei takes a seat behind Duo, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his black eyes.

The doors open again, Catherine and Hilde coming together thru them and sitting on the bride’s side, next to Sally. “How did you people find out about this?!” Vincent turns back to the ‘guests’. “Someone told us.” Trowa walks in and sits in front of Duo, knocking the braided haired man’s feet off the pew. The door opens again, Noin enters and sits behind Sally. “This is filling up quite nicely. Such a wonderful thing on such a happy occasion.” Vincent looks at the preacher. “Just shut up. I don’t want your comments.”

“That’s odd, since he’s supposed to be the director of the wedding.” The doors open and Dorothy enters, a smirk on her face. “Besides, if he’s not going to talk, we’re all going to be here for a very long time.” Dorothy takes a seat next to Noin. Relena looks at all of them. “How did you all know about this, since I didn’t even know?”

The side door behind her opens up, and someone walks into the chapel. “Let’s just say that someone doesn’t want this to happen to you, and made sure we knew about it.” Relena turns to the voice and her eyes widen. “Heero…” The blue eyed man looks at her. “This is a mistake Relena, and you shouldn’t marry him.” “Damn you Heero, why can’t you just butt out for once?!” Vincent seethes even more, his pale face turning red of anger. “This is my day Heero, mine! I’m marrying Relena, not you!”

The preacher looks puzzled at Vincent. “Could you explain what’s going on?” Vincent turns his gaze to the preacher. “Just marry us. Now!” The preacher steps back and bumps into the alter. Vincent reaches behind him and draws a gun, pointing it at the minister. “Marry us now or get ready to meet God.” The preacher fumbles with his words before raising his hands into the air. “Do you take her to be your wife?” “Yes.” Vincent says, his gaze going to Heero, the gun shaking in his unsteady hand. “Do you take him to be your husband?”

Relena looks at the preacher, then to Vincent, then to Heero. “I…” Vincent tightens his grip on her arm. “Say ‘Yes’, or you’ll regret it.” Relena looks into Vincent’s fury filled gray eyes. “I can’t…” Vincent growls. “What did you say?” Relena winces as he tightens his grip on her arm even more. “I said I can’t.”

The door behind Vincent opens up and a tall man walks thru it. “She said she won’t marry you Vincent, let it go.” Vincent turn around and sees Millardo. “You… we had a deal! She’s mine!” Millardo shakes his head. “The deal was that she had to willingly marry you. Forcing her would negate the deal. Therefore, I won’t keep Heero away from her.” Vincent growls and levels his gun at Millardo. A gun shot goes off and Vincent’s gun is knocked out of his hand. He looks towards the pews, seeing Wu Fei, Sally, and Noin with guns drawn.

Vincent pulls on Relena, placing her body between him and the Preventers as he reaches for his gun. His hand grasps the gun and he brings it to bear on Millardo again, but stops as a foot stomps down on his wrist. “Just give up, there’s no way you can win this.” Vincent growls at the sight of Heero standing on him. “I won’t lose, there’s no way I’m less of a man than you are!” Vincent slips his hand out from underneath Heero’s foot and aims it at him. Heero kicks the gun away and sidesteps away.

A bullet stabs itself into Vincent’s arm and turns him around to the ground. He clutches his wound and seethes as Wu Fei walks closer to him. “You’ve been defeated, stop trying to resist.” Vincent lunges at Relena, but is met shortly by Heero’s fist into his stomach. He crumbles onto the ground and lies there unmoving. Heero walks to Relena and extends his hand to her. “How about we get out of here?” Relena takes his hand, letting him lift her up onto her feet. “Sure, I feel like I need a vacation now.” Wu Fei and Sally arrest Vincent while everyone else separates and leaves the church.

The preacher shakes his head in disbelief. “Oh Lord, how mysterious are your ways. Please guide them down the path you intended for them. Grant them safety and wisdom. Let your works be done thru them. I pray that you’ll bless them and keep them. All things are done according to your will. Amen.”