Title: The Relena Worshipers
Written By: Quality Paiges (aka Sailor Air)
Rating: G
Genre: I'm Not Sure Would Somebody Mind Telling Me?
They had laughed about it then. About what they said, even though they knew it was true. Relena had an air, an essence, that certain something that you couldn't quite catch that made her who she was. They had always said that she did everything anybody could ever want to do and that she'd probably rule the world someday but they didn't know how right they were.
It was something that had begun when they were first beginning school and that made sense since that was then they had first met her. As a rule Relena didn't really see anyone outside her home. Not that she holed herself inside, it's that she wasn't very socialable. Perfectly capable of obtaining many admirers it was something Relena had never sought to do.
But the girls didn't note this all at the time. They wouldn't learn this until later. Until they had to almost drag Relena out of her house for a social sort of gathering, at least one that wasn't school involved or deemed important and proper as the daughter of her prominent father.
Relena was what they had thought at first shy but as time went on during their first year together they decided it wasn't so. She was self-confidant, purposeful, and when called upon in classed she always replied without hesitation or a hint of embarrassment. Her countenance was pleasant and demeanor respectful but she did not supply information she wasn't asked for, or worry about the programs she wasn't involved in. She was perfectly reserved.
Relena being this way the girls really did not care about her one way or the other but they would occasionally comment about the look in her eyes. If she had been anything but the richest girl in school they might have called it freaky but instead it was an intense gaze. The very gaze which would have the power to look down the barrel of a very dangerous boy's gun without even blinking, the gaze which made polished politicians stammer and hesitate, the gaze that was steadfast and knowing. One that they had seen long before the world had recognized her as a leader. But nobody else had. Of course this wasn't really surprising just because they had noticed it, it didn't mean everybody else would.
***************
The first time they had even spoken to her wasn't until they were all ten, it may have been nine or twelve as well depending on who you asked but these details don't really matter when you get right down to it. As part of the privileged elite, they of course had instruction in riding at St. Gabriel's. Only the best through breeds for all of them, one of them wasn't quite tame however so no one ever rode him. His name was Earth because his hoofs were always pounding it in. One day a horse fell sick and there weren't enough for all the students to practice on, since Relena had never been one to push or shove to get to the beginning of something she'd get to soon enough anyway she found herself in the back of the line. They told her she'd have to wait. Now she wasn't an impatient child she had to wait for many things, although rich she'd never been spoiled, besides she never seemed to take an interest in tantrums but that time she simply pointed to Earth and said "That one. I'm going to ride that one."
And she did ride it. Don't get any ideas though she didn't ride Earth well. He calmed himself for no one and Relena was exception. That was never the point though. It didn't matter that she fell off. It didn't matter weather Relena could tame the beast or not. The entire point was that she did what she wanted, she did what she deemed necessary, and she did her best with no apology for her futile attempts or complaining for her pains in trying.
Soon after the trio of girls approached her. The commented on her bravery. Relena claimed bravery as being a misjudgement it was only blind stupidity. They laughed, they liked her for her honesty. She smiled, she liked the fact that they laughed at her statement and didn't try to reassure her that what she did wasn't blind stupidity. Thus their loose alliance, their friendship began.
It wasn't like the girls followed Relena like puppy dogs or at least most of the time they didn't. They knew they were different from Relena. Not in the way each individual is different from everybody else but in a way that made Relena distinctly different from the group. They would do things together, at lunch they would eat together and Relena did little if any of the talking but Relena choose to talk when she had something important to say. If they asked her a question that she didn't want to answer like oh say "Relena do you think that guy over there is hot?", she would smile. A closed mouth smile that would give her eyes a little look and her face an all knowing wrinkle. A smile that made you think she had answered your question with that smile but still made you feel that she was keeping something from you.
Relena was they friend that provided them with calmness, guidance, and advice. They looked to her for support when the world went crazy. And wondered how they could support her.
**********************************
This became their separation. Friendship is a give and take, they had given Relena what they could in friendship. Their fun, their ideas on life, their craziness in this sometimes too sane world. Relena couldn't take though. This is what made Relena different, she was the person that created with what she had in herself and then gave it away. Whether is was inner peace, bravery, or compassion. When a friend takes from you all you have, it isn't a friendship but when a friend can't accept anything from you, that isn't friendship either. Relena needed to learn how to take. After the war the girls could look back and see this, they could see why they never really got close to Relena, why they were never really friends. It wasn't anybody's fault, that's how it was. After more time they could see Relena had learned how to take and give and share. That's what the war taught her. That's what they saw when they saw Relena lean over and whisper to Noin just before a conference. They had worshiped Relena in high school for her ability to provide for herself now they respected her from afar for her ability not only to give but to exchange.