Do I trust some and
get fooled by phoniness,
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?
Because I can't hold on, when I'm stretched so thin
I make the right moves but I'm lost within
I put on my daily façade but then
I just end up getting hurt again
- "By Myself," Linkin Park
Everyone's life is supposed to start when they are born. I guess that's true, in a literal sense. Of course; that's when you come out into the world, you start to think, talk, see, explore, and learn.
Did anyone ever tell you that there can be times when you start life all over again? Events happen, and sometimes they change things so much that the only way to cope is to end and begin. People close to you die; disasters happen, and so do miracles.
I had to begin life again, in such a way. Father and Mother died young, as the rich so often do, unlucky victims of a horrendous plane crash. I still remember it vividly, particularly when I look at my bare arm with its pale crescent scars. Marie had been holding my arm; as Jean-Pierre related the news, her fingers had tightened until the long nails pierced my skin and I screamed.
I never really knew them; ten years old and I could count on my fingers the times I saw their faces within the mansion. Life went on as always. I received schooling at home, my butlers and maids and servants caring for me. Louis taught me the basics of cooking. I was content to grow up alone. No other children figured in my life, but I was happy.
One, of course, will eventually grow curious. If not about the world outside the fence, then the world within the fence.
The garden that surrounds the house grows somewhat wild even now, and back then it was something of a forest, despite the best efforts of the gardeners to tame it. It was very good for hiding in, and for hiding things in.
Was I the first one to find out just how good? I doubt it.
----------
It leads me on, deeper into the stand of trees, frustrating my efforts to catch even the barest glimpse. A rustle here, a shimmer there. I growl and charge through a screen of brush.
The small clearing seems bare and empty, but something glitters on the ground, catching my eye. I pick it up, turning in over in my fingers.
A clear, multifaceted crystal winks light up at me. Thin veins of silver and gold run through it, forming the vaguest idea of animalistic shape.
I know this.
I have found what I am looking for.
The Presence whispers in recognition, and then light flares up from my cupped palms, bright and pure. Clear, resonant chiming echoes around me, within me, through me, carrying with it the unseen something, strange and intense and nowhere near tame.
thou accept thy right
I…accept. It is a reply with no hesitation. I feel as though within me, some strange dark hole has been filled.
The voice-not-a-voice swirls around me in strains of melody, hypnotic, alluring.
destined
fate
to master
Strange blurred images overlap the air within my vision and I reel back.
Why must I do this?
It rings meaninglessly and goes unanswered. all will be well…my knight
My reply verges on panic, a garbled mixture of questions that it - no, she answers in a short burst of melody, sonorous and joyful.
i am the unicorn
you are of me
my knight!
----------
It took a few more months after that for me to learn about Beyblading.
Unicolyon, as it turns out, knew more about this sort of thing than I did. It took a while to figure out even the smallest aspects of the sport, and only with her guidance did I learn how to hold and launch a Beyblade…how to battle with one.
Those were some of the best times of my life, to stand poised with my launcher above the rim of the bowl and feel the spirit move through me, as though we were a single being rather than two separate entities. To pull, feel the smoothness of the blade's flight into the dish. To call Her, my beautiful guardian, from the crystal chip that just fitted in that slot located on the top of the Blade…
Of course, one must find others to do battle with. For the first time, I found myself wanting to leave the grounds within which I had spent my life.
I wanted to do battle with others besides myself.
And I would find them…
----------
From the start, I had one major obstacle keeping me from becoming a respected, professional Blader.
Although many, many thousands of people around my age enjoy Beylading, one gender is usually regarded above the other, as in so many other cases. Male Bladers held the reins of the sport. Those of the opposite gender strove to make their way to the top, and a single mistake, a single lost match, could result in complete downfall.
I never even had a chance.
"No! Unicolyon!"
Mocking laughter. "Beat it, kid! You're not WORTH battling!"
I lost…
I failed…
Unicolyon, what can I do now?
A tinge of light on the edge of the mind's consciousness, and my Spirit's voice is there, soothing.
there is still a way
-------
Four years later…
"Oliver, c'mon! Move, we're gonna be late for lunch! You know how Mr. Fusspot Jurgen is!"
A distinctive head of rust-colored hair leans back around the doorway. "Oh, Robert is SO going to kill you when he finds out you said that-!"
My Italian companion howls in despair, pursuing the redhead futilely into the castle. "JOH~NNY! Come on! You know I didn't mean it! Please! Don't tell! Don't – oof!"
I shake my head and smile faintly, strolling leisurely among Robert's well-managed flowerbeds. I helped to cook after all; surely Robert won't deny me my food for being late! (He knows I'll poison his next meal if he tries…ha. But seriously, the guy is nicer than that.)
Nice to get a little private time, don't you think Unicolyon?
My Bitbeast stirs lightly within my mind, giving the sense of something close to a smile.
Oh, how pretty! Robert must have installed one of those little ornamental ponds since the last time we visited his castle…
shed the disguise awhile
Eh, why not…
I remove the beret and pull away the numerous pins it conceals, sighing with relief. Freed of its constraints, my long hair tumbles haphazardly down, well past my shoulders.
look upon yourself Unicolyon murmurs. what have you become? what will you be?
The pond serves its purpose too well – I groan as I catch my reflection in the waters. Long, wavy green hair, wide amethyst eyes, slender build, expensive and deceptively simple-looking clothing. This is who I am.
is it not time to give up this charade?
No, no! You don't understand…you don't…if they find out, if they EVER find out, something disastrous is going to happen! I can't, I just can't!
you are afraid she sighs. you need more time, my knight…but this cannot last forever
You haven't gotten it yet, have you?
Have you?
Look upon me now, whoever you are. Do you see me? See the lie I grew into?
If you haven't figured it out yet, let me tell you now.
My true name is Olivia Agnès Gabrielle Polanski.
You know me more simply as Oliver.
~-~-~-~-~-
A/N: MUHAHAHAHAHA! I reached four pages and finished the first chapter! Wow! And I'm actually liking the way this story turns out XD Maybe I exaggerated the whole situation of men-over-women, but hey, it's the central point of the story.
I wanted to find a piece of songscript that fit each chapter. Mesa likes Linkin Park XD
Let me point out here that this entire story would never have been written if it were not for Badboyblader. "Deceptions" is his brainchild. Although some of the ideas here are my own, the basics of the story are his. You could call it an even deal – he does ideas, and I take them in to produce this fanfic. So, thanks muchlies, BBB. How d'you like it so far? I'm sorry it took so long.
R and R, readers! Every writer loves their feedback! ^_^v