Dragonwings: Pardon me boy, is this the Chattanooga choo-choo? AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY! Almost 4000 words this chapter. I'M CATCHING UP TO YOU, SPIRITUA! Today's chapter, "Colette Gets a Spine!" Read, Review, and Enjoy. Reviewers get chocolate! Again, the edit document page wont let me use rulers so I'll just do this.
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Perhaps the best word to describe my entire life, since my birth to my seventeenth birthday, was restraint. It's less painful now because it's a different kind of restraint, I have to restrain from physical things (like smashing a building to smithereens) instead of emotional ones (like not telling Lloyd "I love you" every day ever since he stomped into my life with his funky red boots). I remember being so adamant that I not eat lunch with my classmates in case they started to like me. I never wanted them to go through the inevitable grief that would happen when I died. Because I knew I was born only to die, and if I died before my allotted time one of my cousins would take my place as the Chosen One. Now I just have to be sure I don't rip my pillow to shreds in utter agony.
I groan softly into my mattress, shoving my head under my pillow as I try to ignore my pounding headache. Being the Chosen One had spared me this result of revelry known only as hangover. Talking to Zelos or Regal, who both had knowledge of fine wines, I'd heard of the side-affect to when you lose your restraint. But I never saw myself having one. I'm not really a party person.
The electric doors slide open and I hear the militaristic stride that could only belong to Yuan. It's a sign of how bad my condition is that I didn't hear him walking down the hallway. Oh yeah, that's another thing I have to restrain. I don't really know how it works, but I still have all my angelic powers. Even my energy wings are still there, and I can still make them materialize pow! just like that. So I have to be careful to learn how to control my insane hearing and sight, otherwise I might be talking to someone and then I can't see their eyes anymore because I'm focusing on the individual veins. Or if I hear a really loud noise and I'm not prepared I get a headache. Nothing like a hangover, though.
Grape juice never hurt like this.
"Hi, Yuan," I try to say, but the only thing that comes out of my mouth is a pitiful whimper. Ugh. If Lloyd could see me now he'd be disgusted.
"Sit up, Colette." Uh-oh. I know that tone of voice. It's an order. And now that Yuan's my boss I gotta do whatever he says. I think. It's not like he's paying me or anything. But everyone else (even the Professor) seems to have designated him the leader.
I bet if Lloyd were here, Yuan would be taking orders from him. Lloyd's a true leader of men. That's what the Professor said once.
Slowly I inch my way into a sitting position, trying not to make any sudden movements. My vision is one thick blond curtain as my hair hangs over my face; it keeps any stray light out of my eyes. But I know it's not right to just avoid Yuan like this so I shove the blond curtain out of my eyes to look up at him, stern and commanding. The only thing that comes to mind is:
"I'm sorry."
His whole posture changes at that. He seems ready to take a step back, and his thin blue eyebrows shoot up into his bangs. "You're sorry?" he asks. "What do you have to be sorry for? Stop apologizing."
"Oh," I say, still confused. "Er… sorry?"
He closes his eyes and rubs his fingers against his brow. "Stop apologizing."
I bite back another sorry and nod before remembering that moving wasn't good for Colettebrains. I grit my teeth and close shut my eyes, trying not to collapse into a fit of girlish whimpers. "Grape juice never hurt like this," I say under my breath, struggling to remain calm."
"I know. That's why I came here," he says. Oops, he heard me. I forget sometimes that I'm not the only angel in the world. The bluenette pulls something out from under his cape and hands it to me. "Drink this," he says. I'm wary for a few moments because I can't help but remember what happened the last time he told me to drink an unknown liquid. Grape juice my foot! Grape juice never hurt like this.
Gah, don't be that way, Colette! Be grateful, Yuan is going out of his way to help you. Grateful. You have so much to be grateful for so you'd better get a backbone and suck it up.
I take the liquid and mutter something that might have been a word of thanks but sounded something more like what a team of dying oxen might make. It's bitter and nasty and wakes me up, making me almost gag and spit it out onto his floor. But then I remember myself and force the whole thing down my throat. Ugh. Ugh! Nas-tay!
"Thanks," I gasp, trying to smile but only managing to grimace and fall back down onto the bed. "Time?"
"It's been a while since you passed out," he says, his arms crossed as he looks down at me. Faintly I remember him sitting on his desk and giggling his face off with an empty bottle of wine in his hands. Was that a dream, or was I not the only one who had made a total fool of myself? "Raine told me to let you sleep until the morning and then to give you that medicine."
Raine? Oh no… My face heats up. The Professor had seen me in that pitiful state? I hide my face in the mattress so he doesn't see and ask: "Have I ruined everything? I remember we were supposed to have some sort of meeting and Sheena had information on the other angels and Project: H.E.A.T. But then I… er… drank your wine…" My voice trails off, growing fainter with each word.
"Only because I didn't warn you how potent it was," he insists. I only smile, starting to feel more like my old self as I sit up again and stretch. The Professor may not know how to cook but at least she knows how to heal a person. I almost feel alive again.
Yuan fills me in on our assignment: To infiltrate Triet and find out any information we could on Letram and his remnants of Cruxis and their Project: H.E.A.T.
And see if we can't find Lloyd and Presea while we're at it. I wonder what he'll say when he sees me again? Will he feel guilty, or awkward, or will he just run up to me and give me a hug and big sloppy kiss on the cheek and pretend I'm not a girl? And Presea…
"So we're leaving today," I say. It's not a question.
Yuan nods. "Be ready in two hours." He pauses, opens his mouth to say something else, fidgets a little, and then does an about face and marches out of the room. He's probably still embarrassed about what happened. He's always so cool; this is probably killing him as much as it's killing me. Getting out of bed and slipping on my baggy white-and-blue jacket, I head over to the meeting room where Genis and Sheena usually hung out. I wanted to be with Sheena more than anyone right now. She was the only one I still felt close to, even though Genis was a close second. It turned out that it was only him in the meeting room, sitting on the table with his legs dangling over the side.
"Well, well, well," he says, grinning impishly at me as I slide the door closed behind me. I flush. "If it isn't little miss party-girl. You missed the whole drama between our elders and supposed betters last night."
"Drama?" I ask, sitting next to him. His feet brush the floor and he has to sit farther back on the table so they don't bump against the carpet while I'm perched on the edge and my feet dangle freely. It's strange to think that he's taller than me now.
He makes a disdainful, raspberry-ish noise. "Pfft. I don't even want to talk about it. Raine and Yuan were being petty as usual and poor Sheena was stuck in the middle."
"Oh no…"
"Oh, yes." Genis surprises me by producing a lollipop from one of the drawers on the table. I grin. Genis and I had a lot of things in common, a ferocious sweet tooth being one of them.
"Where'd you find sweets in an abandoned Renegade base?" I ask, delighted as I peel off the wrapper.
"Yuan's office. Raine and I used to live here, remember?" he shrugs, pulling out another sucker for himself, blueberry flavored. "Yuan was kind of nice to me when him and Raine were still sharing a bed."
"It seems to me like he's still nice," I say. It's the truth. So far every time Yuan had ever snapped at Genis was because Genis was provoking him. Genis doesn't say anything else for a while, so I just bide my time, wondering if this was the end of our conversation. Of course I'm dying to hear more, but sometimes it's best if you let people talk only as much as they want to.
"It just pisses me off that the only thing he's ever done is make Raine stress out," he blurts, almost spitting out his lollipop. He's really pale like me, so it's easy to see when he's flustered like this. I still don't say anything, concentrating on the golden buttons on my boots. "I know she's an adult and can do whatever she likes… and I know she's more like my mother than my sister… but when she's around Yuan it's like the roles reverse with us. She just acts so immature and does things totally out of character for her."
Like with Sheena. I get embarrassed at the memory; it hadn't made much sense at the time- actually, it still doesn't make much sense- but I think the Professor must have been trying to get Yuan jealous. Before Sheena and I had walked into the room they must have been arguing or something and the Professor just did the first thing that popped into her head. It's strange, 'cause I was the closest one but she'd purposefully headed for Sheena. Either they had been arguing about Sheena, or the Professor just thinks Sheena's prettier. Or something. But I guess if I had to choose between myself (ironing board) and Sheena (voluptuous and strong and super-cool) I'd choose Sheena too. Sheena's just always been better-
Wait a second, what's wrong with me? I'm getting jealous because the Professor chose Sheena to channel her random burst of Sapphic energy instead of me? My ego must still be tender from being rejected by Lloyd.
"So…" I snap back to reality, "Is that why you're always angry at Yuan?"
Maybe if I had asked it a little sooner he would have answered, but right now his confession time was over. He shrugs just like a teenager should and continues sucking on his lollipop, bringing back memories of us when he was eight and I was eleven. And I still had had hope of someday telling Lloyd how I felt. Acting on impulse, I place my hand over his and squeeze it tightly, leaning closer and resting my head on his shoulder.
"When my friends are sad it makes me kind of sad," I say. "So if there's ever a time when you just want to talk, or anything else, anything at all, and I'll help. OK?"
He wriggles; Genis doesn't like being affectionate, especially with girls. He might be fifteen but he still acts like I have the cooties. Was I that immature when I was fifteen? No… I was in the Martel Temple, preparing myself for the months-long journey to my death. "Stop acting like such a girl, for starters!"
With a wicked grin, I hop off the table and turn to face him, hands on my hips. "You don't want me to act like a girl? OK! I'll be Yuan, would you like that better?" Grabbing a rubber band from the desk, I tie my hair back like Yuan does and make my wings materialize on my back. Crossing my arms and thrusting one hip to the side, I glare at Genis, making my voice low and deep.
"And so you've come, like moths to the flame!"
I wave my lollipop around in front of his face. "I knew you would come for the candy sooner or later!" I really hope I'm doing a good job and he's laughing with me, not at me. Either way, though, he's not sad, and that makes me not-sad.
"Stop laughing!" I bark, screwing my face up. Genis begins to cry helpless tears of laughter. "Why you little-! I'll show you the difference in our strength! RAH!" Using my wings to help me make the distance, I leap up into the air and land on his chest, being sure not to accidentally crush him with my brutish strength. But by that point he was beyond caring about a few broken ribs; I never knew I could make him laugh like this. Tugging at his ears and grinning, I tickle him in one of his sensitive spots just above his hips, demanding his surrender.
"You'll never take me alive, Brunel!" he shouts, breaking free because I let him. Of course I could have kept him pinned down since he was never an athletic boy and I was stronger than him, but where was the fun in that?
"Feel my angelic wrath, Sage! Hoo-hah!" Bounding over the table, I reach out to grab his shirt but he slips out of the way. "So you're running from Yuan?" I taunt, floating warily on one end of the table as he faces me from the other side.
"Nah, you being Yuan isn't fun anymore. I'm running from Colette the Klutzy."
"I'm very fearsome, aren't I?"
"No, you're b-"
Whatever he was about to say next was interrupted as the doors to the meeting room slid open and we're thrust suddenly into the middle of someone else's conversation. Sheena storms into the room, the Professor hot on her heels as she says: "Well if that's the case then I don't see why we're even having this argu-!"
The Professor stops mid-sentence when she realizes they aren't alone. Smoothly recovering, she flips her silver hair back over her ears and smiles at me. "Colette," she says, moving to me and pressing a palm against my forehead. "You're awake. Are you feeling well? No dizziness, nausea?"
"No, Professor. Thank you..." I peek over the Professor's shoulder to see Sheena puffing in anger, her arms crossed as she glares at the back of the Professor's head. I give her a weak smile and she returns it after a moment, turning away from us to give Genis a raised eyebrow. He had one foot on a desk chair and the other on the table top, his arms still high over his head mid-wave. He coughs and quickly hops back down, inspecting his fingernails.
"So are we getting ready to leave?" I ask, trying desperately to keep an awkward silence at bay.
"Yes. We have about a half an hour before we need to head out," Sheena spoke up. I blink; I had spent an hour playing with Genis? Hehe… time flies when you're having fun. What was Genis about to say before they walked in, anyway? You're Buh. Buh... buh? B.. Boring...Bunny? Beep, boom, bursting, blood- wait, no, there wasn't an L. Buh. Buuuuuuuuuuuuh. Boo.. booo... Bu.. Beau...
OH OH I GOT IT! Beautiful! You're beautiful!
...wait...
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"Sneaky sneaky Sheena…" I whisper as we creep past the secret entrance Sheena had found in her last espionage mission. She looks over her shoulder at me and grins.
"It was Celsius who found it…" she admits, lagging behind to walk next to me. Her cute purple-and-pink robes were gone, replaced with a more standard Triet woman's garb. I was wearing something similar, with a big scarf thingie over my shining blond hair. If you don't look too closely we look just like any other pair of Triet women. Yuan and Genis (eerk...) were separate from us and Raine was walking alone. We had decided- and by we I mean Yuan- to split up to better collect information.
It scared me at first, because I thought that somehow the angel Elite roaming the streets would somehow know that I was an angel, too. And I wasn't so scared for my own life as I was for Sheena if she were to be caught with me. I want to take her aside and tell her something, like, If they catch me it's OK if you run. They'll probably just try to convert me to Elite-ism or something since I'm a fellow angel. But I also don't want to stress her out or let her know that I'm stressing out, so I bite my lip.
"So how do we do this?" I say instead.
"Just act natural," she said, sashaying in front of me. Sheena's always had a way of walking like she was dancing, a gentle sway of the hips. I always feel like a waddling duck when I watch her walk so I quicken my pace to walk side by side with her again.
"Natural?" I ask, looking around me nervously. Sheena stops at a vendor, pretending to muse over some tacky jewelry.
"Natural. Act like a teenaged girl who's just out with her friend. We'll chat up some locals to see if they have any information on Lloyd."
I nod and hold up something small and turquoise and glittery up to my neck and turn to her, smiling. "Pretty, right?" I ask, hoping I sound natural enough for her.
"…Uh-huh…" Sheena said, looking distantly at something over my shoulder. I frown, curious to see what's gotten a hold of Sheena's attention but she grabs my chin before I could turn around. Tilting my face up and making a big show of studying me, she goes, "But you need some earrings, too. And maybe we could pierce your nose. Here" –she holds a mirror up to my face- "Can't you see yourself with something that matches that necklace?"
I look into the mirror, totally confused at this point. Was Sheena only acting weird because of the roles we had to play? The only thing noticeable that I see in my reflection is my bright blue eyes. There's not much you can do to hide those. I mean, unless you-
I freeze, my thoughts all standing still as I look beyond my reflection into the busy street of the Triet bazaar.
The desert people wear dark colors, like brown or black, and sometimes cream and sand. A bright color stands out among them like a beacon. You can't help but notice him standing there, proud and carefree. Though the desert people act like all is well, you notice the harsh lines on their face, the tire in their steps. They might not acknowledge it, but they know they are all captives of the angels.
His face is fresh.
And strong.
But gentle…
The red armor is leather, not plate metal, but it gleams in the sunlight. No, it's brighter than the sunlight. Lloyd. My Lloyd.
I put the mirror down. "I think I'll shop a little longer," I say. "You should go home, though."
Sheena glances at me. I wonder if my face looks weird? She's giving me these odd looks, so I must have. "But don't you want to-"
"I want to shop!" I say, my voice strained. "A little longer."
"Colette…"
But before she says anything else, a shrill whistle pierces the air. My ears aren't prepared for the noise and it almost makes me faint, that's how loud it is. Then there's this huge commotion as the crowd we're in starts to move in one direction, shouts going up into the air.
"Criminal!"
"Intruder!"
Angels begin to shove their way through the crowd, carrying something behind them. I don't have time to think, now's not the time to think. I grab Sheena by the sleeve and literally drag her towards Lloyd. They must realize he's here!
"Lloyd," I say, putting a hand on his shoulder and forcefully turning him around to face me for the first time in forever. "We've got to go, now!"
For a minute, he has this really lost look just like old time. "Colette?" he gapes, dumbstruck.
I falter, taking a step back even as the angels start to march closer. Then I shake my head. Come on, Colette. Get a backbone. You need to get everyone safely out of here. "Where's Presea?" I ask. "We gotta get out of here, it's not safe."
"Right here."
It's still a little startling to realize there are people in this world who are shorter than me. Presea hasn't changed much. Before I really think about it, I smile at her. Of course I smile at her. She's my friend before everything else, before being my… Ri…val….? No, never. I shouldn't even think that word. Suddenly Yuan and Genis are by my side and we're herding Lloyd and Presea through our secret exit, heading towards the meeting place where we had decided that we could regroup if something like this happened. The Professor would find us there.
Only there's one problem.
I know I didn't see her, that brief instant when the angels were shoving through. I know I didn't. Even my angel vision can't see through a few dozen swarming bodies of Triet men and woman who were obstructing my view of what exactly it was they were dragging along behind them, in shackles. I can't have seen her… Because if I had seen that the intruder the angels were talking about was Raine, I wouldn't have run to Lloyd. He's not my Lloyd anymore. No more than Presea is my rival. But Ra- the Professor was still my Professor. And now we're gonna get her back. And I know when I see the guys who took her, I'm not gonna show any restraint.
