"It's been three years since your death, Treize," mumbled Lady Une, as she gazed out her office window at the wintry landscape. Watching the snow fall, she drowned in memories of herself and Treize. She closed her eyes; emotions rising in her throat, threatening to choke her. She bit back a sob and let the tears trail silently down her cheeks.
The first time she had seen Treize was at a Christmas ball that the Catalonia family was hosting. Une wasn't supposed to be there; she had not been invited and had no relation to any of the families there that evening.
She felt out of place in the tournament of lies- aristocrats falsely flattering each other to gain a higher social rank, politely laughing at jokes which held no humor- so she hid herself in a corner of the large ballroom and watched them deceive each other to their heart's content.
Une jerked her head up at the sound of laughter- real laughter- and saw two young men laughing. One had long, pale blonde hair that fell to his waist and wore an odd looking mask over most of his face. The other man had short golden-brown hair that, and both of them wore the dress uniform of OZ officers.
Une openly stared at the second man; he looked up and directly at her. An electric shock coursed through her at his penetrating gaze, and she quickly averted her eyes. When he began to move towards her, she hurriedly stepped towards the doors leading outside, but was halted by a hand that grasped her arm. Glancing back, she saw that he had captured her arm.
"Why are you running away?" His voice was smooth and sensual, just as Une had expected.
"Please let go of my arm."
"Would you like to dance?"
"What?"
He drew her to the dance floor. "I certainly hope you enjoy dancing." He bowed to her, and their dance began.
After a moment of silence, Une asked, "Do you often capture your dance partners?"
He chuckled. "Only when they're trying to escape. By the way, my name is Treize Khushranada."
Une's eyes widened. I recognize that name! To cover her shock, she quickly commented, "You seem to have plenty of admirers," she indicated the young women who were glaring at her enviously, "so why are you dancing with me?"
"I'll dance with them in due time. Right now, I'm dancing with you. I don't recognize you as a member of one of the families here tonight; who are you?"
Une swallowed nervously. I can't let him find out why I'm here. "I'm..." She stopped when the orchestra abruptly cut off.
Treize and Une looked towards the front of the room where General Catalonia was calling for everyone's attention; he then thanked the members of the Romefeller Foundation, all of whom were present, for accepting and supporting his OZ organization.
Une murmured to herself, "Damn, this is what we didn't want happening." She reached into a hidden pocket in her skirt and began to pull out a revolver.
Treize grabbed her wrist and hissed, "If you kill him now, you'll be killed. His bodyguards are everywhere. They'll know you shot him."
She dropped the gun back into her pocket, when his grip on her wrist tightened; then he lifted her hand to his lips, kissed it, and politely excused himself, rejoining his masked friend.
Une retreated out of the ballroom, out of the house, and out of Treize's life- or so she thought.