The Legacy of the Rose
By: Ammendiana
Chapter One
Mariemaia brushed a strand of thick crimson hair away from her finely featured face. The wind combed through her long blue skirt and the remainder of her mane of sunset waves, which, although she had bound it to the best of her ability, could not seem to resist the temptations of gravity.
She studied the grounds of the old mansion that had once belonged to her unknown father, Treize Khushrenada. Now, it was home to herself and Lady Une, her beloved adopted mother.
Is there nothing else to do in this place but look at it? The though sailed through her brain quickly, as it was a thought that she had had many times in the past few months, and it no longer needed any examination. But still she found the rebellious thought odd, as she had never known herself to be flighty, and she loved her father's estate dearly. But the feeling persisted.
Maybe I just need something useful to do. Music and martial arts lessons are all well and good, I suppose, but I think that maybe these feelings I'm having are just repressed boredom.
She sauntered away off her bedroom balcony and through the French doors into her bedroom, which was coated in rosy pink, maroon, red, and gold. It always reminded her of kaleidoscope roses in full bloom. Like her father before her, Mariemaia loved roses with an unhealthy passion. She grew all kinds, even tried to grow black roses, which, to her, were the most mysterious and beautiful.
Mariemaia looked around as she strode down the corridor that led to her mother's office. Khushrenada family portraits coated the walls, but she only recognized the portrait of herself and her mother, who was an honorary family member. Her father's portrait hung in her mother's office, above the mantle piece. Mariemaia had spent many long hours studying it from the lap of her mother during the infrequent times during her childhood when her mother had had time to spend with her and only her.
She remembered the spot so well she didn't even notice when she entered her mother's office.
Lady Une sat at her desk placidly, examining document after document from the Preventer's home office in the once-upon-a-time Sanc kingdom. Her once honey brown hair had started to become laced with gray, and her beautiful face was becoming furrowed with lines around her brown eyes. But she radiated such a strong, peaceful aura that the sight of her had always mesmerized Mariemaia. She used to sit in this room for hours with her mother just soaking up that loving energy and watching her work.
Lady Une looked at her daughter and smiled tiredly. She was not as young as she used to be, and the pain of losing her love, Treize, still reflected in her eyes. She saw her daughter as no other saw her...she saw her as a beautiful young woman who would do great things, while most other people thought of her as...well, most people didn't know her at all. Mariemaia had some great qualities, and most of them would probably end up taking them away from her loving mother. Une had accepted that long ago, that losing a child was the penalty for raising and loving one.
"Mother, I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it, dear?" Lady Une asked as she set her work aside so she could pay attention to her daughter. That was one thing Mariemaia loved about her mother; she would always give you her full attention, no matter how much work needed to be done.
"I've, um, been thinking that maybe I should go out and do something. I mean, I'm an adult now, and I should do something with my life instead of sitting around all the time playing the piano. I don't know what's wrong with me...I love it here, I really do, it's just that I have this feeling of restlessness I need to purge."
Lady Une smiled understandingly, but a little inflection of sadness was in her rich voice, "I was sitting here wondering when this would happen. It happened to your father too, in his youth." Her smile broadened, "He went and joined the army."
"But I can't join the army! There isn't one!" Mariemaia exclaimed.
"That's what the Preventer academy is for. You can learn how to prevent war, instead of learning how to wage it. Your father would have wanted it this way. Besides, you need to socialize with people your own age, instead of spending all your time with your old mother."
Mariemaia gave an indignant yell, "I love being around you, mom!"
"I know, sweetheart. It's called a joke. It's when people say things that are funny and people laugh. You know!"
Mariemaia grumbled, "That wasn't funny."
"Yes, you have your grandfather's sense of humor. Now, come and give me a hug and go on and pack. You will leave tomorrow."
"Yes, commander!" Mariemaia stuck her tongue out at her mother and left the room, just barely catching her mother saying, "Indignant wretch!"
"Am not!" She called back, laughing.
Mariemaia stood hovering above a suitcase, looking at what she had packed. Her mother had sent a list of what she would need down to her, and she had everything checked off. Except for personal items. And formal dress. What would she need one of those for? She didn't even think she owned a dress. Or, at least, a formal one.
Mariemaia left the suitcase open on the bed and knelt down next to an heirloom trunk that she kept on the end. She opened the trunk with a grunt, still surprised, after so many years, that the lid was so heavy.
Many things lay inside the trunk. Old dolls that seemed weighted with happy memories of childhood joy. School papers with good marks, music books, favorite sketches, and pictures that were kept in an old keepsake box that smelled of rose oil.
Mariemaia reached in and pulled the box from the trunk, feeling a reminiscent mood overtake her as she slipped the lid off easily. Inside were pictures of friends, family, one with her, her mother, and Relena Dorlian, the vice foreign minister. Mariemaia touched her fingertips to her cheek in remembrance of where Relena had slapped her. Tears started to run, unbidden, down her pale cheeks, and she was unable to stop herself from thinking about the pain she had caused in her childhood. Her psychiatrist had told her, '"It was not you, it was your grandfather. You were only the figurehead."'
But without the head, the figure is not complete.
She dropped the picture in the box again and picked up another. Again the tears flowed as she looked at the only picture of her and her mother, together that had ever been taken. Its edges had been worn, and there was a fold down the center, but there faces were still clear. So happy, so carefree. She had been so young she couldn't even remember.
Why did it have to end? Did it ever begin at all?
She put that picture aside to take, and then, fishing in the box one more time, she pulled out a picture of herself and her mother, Lady Une, together in the Sanc kingdom, standing next to the beautiful blue ocean, smiling and eating ice cream. Mariemaia smiled at the memory. That was the last time that they had gone to the ocean. She had fallen into the water and was dripping wet in the old picture.
Ah, mother, when does childhood end and life begin, in reality?
That was the last picture she took from the box.
The plane ride was fairly uneventful, and Mariemaia slept through most of it. The pilots didn't talk to her that much, and none of the other passengers did either.
They landed in the former Sanc kingdom around noon on Tuesday. Mariemaia felt surprisingly happy and anxious as she walked into the lobby of the airport and looked around. A man in a black dress suit held up a sign that said "Marie K. Une " on it. She smiled and walked toward the man after she rescued her luggage.
"Hello. I'm Marie Une," she held her hand out to the man while giving her most winning smile, and the man shook it while giving a smile of his own.
"My name is Otto, and I'll be driving you to the Dorlian-Yuy residence."
Mariemaia was confused. "Why am I going there?"
He looked puzzled, then shrugged as he grabbed her luggage.
"The Vice Foreign Minister wishes to see you, I suppose."
Mariemaia's anxiety became threefold as they drove through the gate of the Dorlian-Yuy residence. The house itself was a beautiful building of marble, and looked as if it was largely modeled after the White House in America. It's columns were blanketed with rose vines, and the air smelled of them mingled with jasmine. The grounds were well kept and the whole bearing of the place was welcoming. Mariemaia felt herself begin to relax.
The limousine pulled around the circular driveway and stopped. She felt the gravel under the tires shifting and the heat of the sun being lost as the building's shadow engulfed the car.
Mariemaia waited as Otto opened the door. Then she collected her breath and steeled her backbone.
She emerged from the car.
Relena Dorlian-Yuy stood at the top of the stairs with her husband, Heero, and their daughter, the aptly named Peace. Mariemaia found herself curiously less intimidated by Relena and Heero when their daughter stood with them. She was a beautiful little girl, with her mother's golden hair and her father's intense, Prussian blue eyes. She stood tall and proud next to her parents, and her parents stood as they always did, Heero with his arm around Relena's waist, and Relena clutching his free hand.
Mariemaia dropped in a swanlike curtsy, "Ms. Relena, Ms. Peace, Mr. Heero."
Relena smiled at Mariemaia, Peace giggled at being called 'Ms.', but Heero did nothing but nod.
"Won't you come in, Mariemaia?" Relena welcomed in her rich, orator's voice.
Maremaia smiled gratefully and mounted the stairs. Then, with a deep, reaffirming breath, she swept into the Yuy home.
She has changed so much since we last saw her. Relena thought as she looked at Mariemaia from across the dinner table. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful woman. Except for maybe my Peace. She smiled to herself at her motherly bias. She will make a good Preventer. She has that spirit.
Dinner was finished in relative silence.
Mariemaia stood in the center of Relena's study, fidgeting nervously. She wondered why she had been called here.
Relena entered the study from a side door, holding a load of papers.
"Let me help you with that!" Mariemaia exclaimed as she rushed to Relena's side to grab the papers. Relena smiled gratefully as she shook out her stiffened shoulders. Mariemaia set the pile down on a clear spot of the desk.
"Thank you so much, Mariemaia. There is so much paperwork involved in politics, I don't know why I haven't developed carpal-tunnel syndrome," she rubbed her wrist with a rueful smile.
Mariemaia smiled and inquired, "Why have you called me here, Ms. Relena?"
Relena grimaced, "Don't call me 'Ms. Relena'. You remind me of Dorothy Catalonia when you do that. I thank God every day that Quatre didn't marry her."
Mariemaia giggled girlishly. But she became serious again when she saw Relena's expression.
"The reason I called you here, Mariemaia, was to inform you of a few things. I know that you must be worried about people's reactions to your being a Preventer. Your mother was also very concerned about these reactions, so I have taken certain measures to ensure that people don't find out who you really are. Only the veteran Preventers will remember, and they have been instructed not to say anything. Your fellow students will know you only as Marie Une. I have also asked you to come here to personally brief you on a few things.
"First of all, training as a Preventer lasts two years. The first year is basic training: hand-to-hand combat, reconnaissance, diplomacy; basically, anything we think you need to know, you learn in your first year.
"The second year is the 'A' year, or application year. This is when all of your skill will be put to the test in a sort of internship. Then, when you graduate from the Academy, you will be given a rank and shipped to serve in a select area of space or on the Earth. You are required to serve two years after the day of your rank assignment, and then you are free to leave.
"Most choose to stay."
Mariemaia stayed quiet during this speech. She needed to think for a minute. Did she really want this?
"Do we get to visit our families at all?"
"Yes, there are two-week long breaks during winter and summer."
Mariemaia looked at the older woman and said, "When do I start?"
"Tomorrow, just like all the new students."
Mariemaia said nothing. For some reason, she could not force the words out...not like there was anything to say on her part. Instead of words, she gave Relena a smile and started to walk out of the room.
"Mariemaia?" Relena called out after her.
Mariemaia turned from the door, "Yeah?"
"Did you bring any formal dresses with you?"
"No. I didn't think it was mandatory. I don't own any, anyway." She arched an eyebrow delicately. "Was I mistaken?"
"It is tradition at the academy to throw a ball the first day of school to welcome the new students. I suppose I'll have to lend you something. You look about my size anyway. I'll have the housekeeper come and wake you so you can help me find something for you."
Mariemaia could, again, do nothing but smile and say, "Thank you, Relena."
She pulled the door open and walked out.
"Good night, Mariemaia," Relena whispered as the door shut.
Unwelcome, wholesome sunlight flooded onto Mariemaia's bed at the Yuy residence. She heard a person flitting about her room, and the sound of a tongue clicking against a person's gums disapprovingly.
"Wake up, red-head. Mrs. Yuy wants you in her room at 9:00!"
Mariemaia sat up in her bed and stretched. "What time is it?"
"8:45."
"Hmmmmmm." Mariemaia didn't worry about the lack of time, because she never took long to get up and get dressed. Unlike other girls her age, she rarely wore make up or jewelry. Plus, her mother had been a colonel with OZ, and old habits die hard... and get passed on to others. Like infectious disease.
With a yawn, she slid out from under the warm covers into the comfortable air of the room and made a beeline for her suitcase. She pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a tight white tank top. Then she tried to braid her unruly hair. With a minimum amount of success she managed to do so, then she set to the even more difficult task of pinning it to her head. That was more successful, and stayed very well, even though her face was surrounded now by bright red curls. It was actually a very cute and innocent look, and it suited Mariemaia's sweet face well.
She smiled at the still tsking and bustling housekeeper, who was a very matronly woman with a no-nonsense air about her. Mariemaia thought as she discreetly studied the woman, I'll bet she mothers Relena to death. And Peace too.
Then she sauntered out of the room.
Relena was digging through her closet, looking for dresses that Mariemaia would look good in. It boggled her mind how many dresses and suits she owned.
Mariemaia would probably look good in blue, she thought.
"Relena?" Mariemaia called from the doorway of her room.
"I'm in here, Mariemaia! You have to come and dig me out!" Relena called back from the closet.
Mariemaia laughed and walked up to the closet, looking inside as soon as she reached the doorway. Then she laughed out loud.
"I see what you mean! Jesus! how did you get so many dresses?'
"Can't wear the same thing more than once, because the photographers don't like it. That and I like to shop."
Mariemaia laughed again at Relena's understated sense of humor. Then she walked into the closet, which must have been about thirty feet square. She studied the gowns, but made a funny face at one.
"What's this?" She laughed as she pulled a plain blue dress that looked as if it had been modeled after a nineteen-twenties dapper-flapper dress.
Relena looked at it and laughed too, saying, "The past of an ignorant youth."
Mariemaia laughed with her as she dropped the dress back into its hiding place. Then she traveled further down the rack, then she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to it and pulled it off the rack.
This was it. She knew it. It was a silk, form-fitting floor length gown of the palest silvery blue. It was sleeveless and the neck line was acceptably low and dipped loosely in front like a monk's robe. It had no back, only a silver ribbon that crisscrossed twice.
Relena noticed that Mariemaia hadn't said anything for a while, and then she saw the dress that Mariemaia had in her hands.
"Do you want to try it on?" Relena asked.
Mariemaia didn't respond for a moment, then she looked up and said, "Yes."
It fit like a charm. The shoes Relena was going to lend her pinched her toes a bit, but the whole outfit looked so good she didn't care. She did have a problem managing to picture Relena in this dress.
"When did you wear this dress, Relena?"
Relena though back for a moment with a smile on her face, then came back to the present.
"I think it was Heero's and my third anniversary party. He picked it out."
Mariemaia smiled. The thought of Heero Yuy walking around in the formal gown department of any store was moderately funny.
"Mariemaia, there's something else I need to discuss with you."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Wufei Chang teaches at the academy, you know."
Mariemaia felt her heart drop.
"Really?" Her voice was strained.
"Yes, really. And he will teach you, this I know for certain. He teaches hand-to-hand combat. I just thought I might warn you beforehand."
Mariemaia gulped and croaked a 'thank you' before going to change back into her clothes.
The rest of the day and the second night at Relena and Heero's home had passed uneventfully, except for the doll fiasco. Peace had wanted to play with baby Elly, but Mariemaia had wanted to too. That started a fight that ended with the little girl and Mariemaia having a doll-clothes fight that rivaled World War II. Until Relena had come in a spoiled it all. Then they had been forced to clean Peace's room. And it had been a large battle. Casualties included Raggedy Anne, Holly the Bear, and Wendy the Naughty Stuffed Dog. Mariemaia was enjoying the play though; she had been awfully isolated during her childhood. She was almost sorry to leave that morning.
The morning air was crisp and cool, with a breeze that had just a little bite to it. Mariemaia, Relena, and Peace watched Heero help their personal limo driver load the trunk of the limousine with her luggage. When they had finished Mariemaia reluctantly walked towards the car and, turning, waved goodbye at Heero, Relena, and Peace. Peace shouted that she could play with baby Elly anytime she wanted to when she came back to visit, and Mariemaia shouted back that she would bring Peace a present the next time she visited if she could.
Then, ducking into the limousine and shutting the door, she prepared herself for the introduction to her new life.
"Hello!" The limo driver greeted. "Welcome back."
"Thanks, Otto."