Behind the Uniform –

part 2

by: p-120

She sat her fork down to pick up a napkin; worried she had spaghetti sauce on her face as Treize continued speaking.

"I don’t believe an officer should simply comply to orders… I believe the officer or solider rather should truly believe in that which he is fighting for. It’s what wins wars, it’s mans desire to fight and to win, win freedom or peace… or some ultimate goal which drives man forward. The new system suggested by some officers of Romefeller for the Oz Specials Division does away with that,"

"This new system, it’s automated?"

"Yes, completely automated, the mobile suits, called dolls are controlled by a person on a computer located away from the actual battlefield. They are given a target and orders to destroy it… these systems have no intellect, no heart, there’s just nothing there. It’s wrong to remove man from his own battlefield, without bloodshed the meaning of battle and true victory is lost,"

She nodded, listening to his speech with keen interest.

"Do you agree?"

"What kind of training do these new systems require to operate?"

"Standard mobile suit operations,"

"If you can control an entire fleet of mobile suits by a single computer the need for man in battle at all would vanish. Battle on earth would be twice as destructive with twice the amount of deaths. There’d be no one actually inside the cockpit to avoid smashing towns and cities and… It seems as though it may have seemed in theory to be a sound new plan of action, but would they cost more damage then they were worth?"

"I guess it all depends on where they’re sent, whose controlling them, and who they’re battling," he said. "Do you have a radio?"

She motioned to his left, where a small radio sat on a shelf.

"Oh, thank you, do you mind if I put on some music, it’s been a terribly long day,"

"No, go ahead,"

"Thank you,"

She concentrated on the food before her, looking up when the soft notes poured out of the radio.

"Phantom of the Opera, " he said quietly. "Have you seen the play?"

She shook her head no. "I’ve never been to an opera at all, but I recognized this song, I had a neighbor downstairs who used to play it all the time…"

He sat forward. "Never?"

"No, I don’t go out much," she said, looking back down at her table.

"Would you like to go, given the opportunity?"

She shrugged. "I’ve heard they’re very interesting,"

"They are," he readily agreed. "A cultural classic,"

"Do you go to many operas Sir?"

"I love operas, I go as often as I can. Next time I go Lady, would you like to accompany me? I think you would find it fascinating,"

"That’s very kind of you,"

"That’s a yes then?" he asked with a grin.

"I’d be happy to go with you Sir,"

He nodded. "I’ll let you know when I’m going next, wear something formal when I call,"

"Okay,"

After a little more than an hour he stood up to go.

"I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced,"

"That’s fine, I don’t get many visitors it’s nice once in a while,"

He smiled. "I had a lovely evening, we should do this again,"

"If you wish,"

"Next time, I can show you my house… agreed?"

"All right,"

He took her hand and kissed it, marveling at how soft it was. "I’ll call you about the opera, goodnight,"

She sighed, locking her door and turning off her lights as she retreated into her bedroom for the night. He’s such a gentleman. I’ve never met anyone like Mr. Treize… She drifted to sleep with thoughts of accompanying him to the opera in a beautiful ball gown drawing envious stares from other women…

Lady Une glanced up at her calendar as the door opened, her eyes glimpsing the time as well as she looked back down at the letter she was writing.

"Yes?"

"Are you available this evening?"

She lifted her eyes to those of Mr. Treize.

"Do you have an assignment for me Sir?"

"No… I’d like to escort you to the opera… you didn’t think I forgot did you?" he smiled.

She nodded.

"We leave in half an hour,"

"That’s not enough time for me to get dressed!" she stood up abruptly.

"You don’t have to, I’m taking care of all that… just be ready to leave," he said cryptically and slipped out of her office quietly.

She sighed heavily, before returning to work… a half an hour that would span a lifetime she thought irritably.

And she wasn’t too far off; the wall clocks’ ticking was about to drive her crazy. She glanced up; it was six o’clock and no Treize. She turned back toward her work while minute after minute past, and after what seemed like an excruciatingly long six minutes the door swung open swiftly.

"Sorry, I’m a little late. I was waylaid by a phone call on my way out the door, ready to go?"

She nodded silently and stood up, and brushed by him out the door. He straightened his cape on his shoulder and followed her down the hall and then out the front doors into the parking lot. The sun had just about vanished below the horizon and the misty cool air was not particularly inviting. He led the way, to a silver Mercedes parked out front of the building, opening the door for her, and then closing it securely once she was inside.

She refrained from asking about their destination, in hopes of not being redundant, even though her heart was racing in anticipation she refused to give in to her emotions and kept a blank face. Treize drove quietly, the radio off, she wondered bemused if he ever listened to it, but thought twice about it as she seen a CD carrier sitting in the cup holder.

She turned her gaze toward the window and stared out, watching the trees and telephone poles whiz by her and light reflecting off of various shiny objects in the approaching darkness.

Her attention went from roadside objects to window displays as they pulled onto a street lined with expensive clothing and other article outlets. She bit her tongue to prevent asking about why they were here, even as he pulled the car into a vacant spot in front of a clothing outlet she didn’t get the name of as he escorted her from the car into the store. She shot him an almost panicked; questioning glance but he only smiled pushing her slightly ahead of him in the door. A saleswoman at the counter immediately spotted Treize, and apparently recognized him, she glanced around, it appeared to be filled with only women’s fashions. She turned to him with a smirk. "Shop here often?" she teased.

He raised an eyebrow but returned her smirk as the saleswoman approached. "Good evening Mr. Kushrenada… is this the lady?" she asked, looking at Lady Une.

"Yes, will this take long?" he asked, glancing at his watch.

"About a half hour or so,"

He nodded. "I’ll be back," he smiled again, leaving Anne with the saleswoman as she stepped out of the shop and walked away down the street.

She felt like screaming, how dare he leave her in this store?! With this saleswoman who looked ready to attack her any moment and not even tell her why he’d brought her here. Although it seemed quite obvious he planned to have her dressed.

"Do you have a color preference?" she asked, leading her away, further inside the recesses of the store.

Anne shook her head. "I’ll just leave that up to you," she said quietly.

"Alright then…"

The glasses were the first thing to go, and then her hair came down, along with the removal of her uniform. She was handed a sparkling green gown, to try on. The sleeves fell off the shoulders and it had a sleek, but loose skirt that fell to her ankles. It was unanimously decided this wasn’t her color. She came back with a similar dress, this time in red, only to be scoffed at by Anne who complained she had to wear red every day. So the woman came back a third time this time with the dress in a dark blue, and the a fourth time with the dress in a gold and a matching silver. She finally threw her hands up and told them to decide.

They fitted her in the silver dress with a pair of matching shoes, and a set of lace lingerie underneath along with a silk slip. Anne stared at her reflection in the mirror she looked… good. She felt like a princess, surprisingly the first time she’d ever felt that way. As it turned out it had taken more than the 30 allotted minutes and they were already running at 45 minutes, Treize was waiting out in the lobby, standing by the windows.

"I’m terribly sorry Mr. Kushrenada… we couldn’t decide on a few things… but she’s ready now," the woman said coming out into the lobby.

Treize glanced around her, waiting to see Anne, but she wasn’t forthcoming. He crossed his arms, furrowing his eyebrows. There was some quiet chattering in the background and then she appeared, apparently flustered over something. She stood in the middle of the floor under his appraising gaze, and of the very few other gentlemen who were waiting for their ladies, in the store who also turned their attention to her.

"Absolutely beautiful," he said, taking her hand and kissing it.

"You look handsome Sir," she commented at his tuxedo. He must have been planning this… she thought to herself.

The saleswomen watched them go enviously… wishing they were there with Treize.

"So, how much does this stuff cost?" she asked, walking to the car.

"Why?"

"I’d like to know, because I’m certain I could never afford any of it," she said.

"You don’t have to, I can. You like them?" he asked.

"They’re wonderful,"

"Good, they’re yours,"

"To keep?"

He smiled at her bewildered expression. "Of course to keep, what would I do with them?"

She narrowly avoided laughing at the statement as she sat down inside the car. He handed her black bag once he got in the car from the backseat. "These are yours also,"

She peeked inside the bag as she started the car. She pulled out a pair of long, white gloves, the things from fairy tales… she thought surprised. There were two boxes lying at the bottom, both of a silvery velvet material. Unmistakably containing jewelry. She pulled one out, a long thin one, a bracelet or necklace box for certain. She lifted the lid gently; inside laid a stunning silver bracelet, she tentatively removed it from the box, and with slight difficulty managed to slip it around her wrist securely. She turned her attention to the second box, of a larger size but in the same type box. Inside were a matching set of earrings and a necklace. She glanced over at Treize once, who was going back and forth from watching her and the road, his mouth rounded slightly into a curved smile.

-End part 2