Runaway Royalty
Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or any of its characters.
The history of the Ryukyu Kingdom is true, but the plot of the movie is entirely fictional.
Chapter 21 – Confrontation, confession, and catastrophe (K -1 and 0)
The Yarra Mountain Range, along with the entire area comprising Victoria, and specifically Melbourne, is the product of thousands of years of volcanic activity, erosion, and more volcanic activity. The range is a composite of basalt, granite, sandstone and limestone. And on top of this rests the soil that is essentially the byproduct of thousands of years of decomposing plants.
Unlike much of Australia, the rainfall in this mountain range helps the flora of the area to remain green and lush for most of the year. At one time this area sustained a forest so thick that men tended to avoid it in favor of more open areas. But then the lumber-hungry European population settled the area and harvested much of this dense timberland.
The climate was affected by this change; the rainfalls lessened, but did not cease. Nowadays there are periods of very low rainfall interspersed with periods of torrential rainfall. When the mountains were covered with trees, this was not an issue. The lack of trees combined with the abundance of rain resulted in tremendous ecological damage and occasional mudslides. Over time, of course, the foliage grew back and the mountains became beautiful again.
The rain patterns have remained the same. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.
* * *
The rain was falling heavily on the bus roof as Kanae took a seat next to Erika. "Erika-san, I was hoping that we could talk about our scenes tomorrow."
Erika was momentarily stunned by Kanae's casual request. Nothing in the last month had gone as she had intended. Always before, at least until the Curara commercial disaster, Erika had been the person on the attack. Over and over again she had sought for and found ways to frustrate Kanae's efforts. Somehow she had expected a similar result when she had cajoled her cousin Andy to get her this job.
But from the very beginning, Kanae had behaved differently. Kanae had almost demanded that Erika be allowed to remain with the project. She had even insisted that the role of Angela be expanded so that Erika could demonstrate her skill as an actress. And when Erika had shown off her talents, hoping to intimidate her raven-haired enemy, Kanae had applauded her and complimented her.
And every time Kanae took this approach, it made Erika look and feel worse. Even she couldn't deny that she was making herself look like a vindictive brat every time she tried to defeat her rival. Everybody loved Kanae, and everybody despised Erika. She knew this; she was sure of it. She was giving the best performances of her life, but she wasn't enjoying any of it. She was losing, and she didn't know what to do about it.
Now here comes Kanae again, looking all mature and nice and professional! I hate her! She stole the only thing I ever wanted and she didn't even care!
"Erika-san?"
"Just go back to your seat, Princess," Erika practically spat the words out. In the quiet bus her words carried clear to the front. Heads turned and looked back. Nobody could actually see the girls' faces through the high-backed seats, but they recognized the voices.
"But, we need to talk…"
"Go!" Erika hissed.
Kanae witnessed an odd and bewildering metamorphosis of facial expressions as Erika glared through tear-filled eyes. "Just go."
At a loss for what else to do, Kanae stood and headed back to her seat.
In the back seat of the bus the tears that flowed down the blond girl's cheeks rivaled the rain that poured against the windows. And she couldn't seem to stop the flow.
Kanae sat back in he seat next to Sophia. The other ladies around her wanted to speak with her, but her cloudy expression discouraged their intentions. Sophia simply laid a warm, gentle hand over Kanae's clenched fists.
* * *
It had taken months of careful study and planning, but it would be his most brilliant masterpiece. Even if he never made a cent for his efforts, it didn't matter. The name of Cameo would be spoken in whispers on dark and stormy nights. Law enforcement agencies throughout the world would study his activities and hope that he would never reappear. Mother's would force their children to obey by promising, "If you're not good, Cameo will sneak in and get you some dark night."
He looked down from the prominence where he stood and surveyed his work. Far below he could see the beautiful rustic hotel where the cast and crew were enjoying their much-needed day of rest. In the distance, coming towards him on a winding road, was the touring bus.
He turned his face up to allow the heavy rainfall to strike his face and pour down his body.
And he smiled.
* * *
Kanae sat in stormy silence on the couch in front of the fireplace. Something about her face discouraged anyone from approaching her. She seemed to be in another world.
But one person did have the courage. Hiou didn't know what could have caused Kanae to go into such a dark study, but he hated to see her so unhappy. He went to the kitchen and surprised the cook with his request for a kettle of hot water. While it was brewing he went to his room and found the little package of tea that his mother, ever the traditionalist, had insisted that he keep with him. It was an expensive, exotic mix, perfectly blended to calm and sooth. It was intended for only the most important meetings.
The water was ready when he returned. He took a borrowed tray, cups, and the tea and went out to where she sat alone. He said nothing; he poured the water in the cups, carefully spooned the correct measure of tea, and stirred. When all was ready, he took one cup and placed it into her limp hand. She didn't respond at first, so he had to take liberties and wrap her hand around the cup.
For the first time Kanae's expression cleared. She looked down at the cup in her hand. She looked at Hiou. And then she raised the cup to her lips and took a sip
* * *
"We're out of time, Sergio. Is everything and everyone in place?"
"Yes, senora; were you able to plant the devices?"
"Yes."
"Then all that we can do is wait."
* * *
"Do you want to talk?" Hiou asked.
Kanae looked over at him and then back down at the cup in her hand. She wasn't even sure how long she had been sitting there; she did know that Hiou had been sitting with her for over thirty minutes.
"I've done everything that Julie told me to do," she said without inflection. Hiou had known Julie off-and-on since early childhood. His family had stayed with the Hizuri's whenever they flew to the United States. He also knew, through casual conversation, that Kanae felt a special bond with Julie.
"I've been kind. I've bitten my tongue. I've complimented her. I've even tried to encourage her. But she'll never warm up to me. This stupid feud will never end."
"What happened today?" Hiou asked soothingly. He sensed that she needed to talk, even though he desperately wanted to hug her to him.
"I just tried to talk with her about tomorrow's scenes. Suddenly she just started crying and she told me to go away."
"It sounds like something must be really bothering her. I've never seen her show any emotion but hatred."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
Hiou thought for a long time while Kanae sipped on her second cup of tea. "I may be totally wrong," he paused before continuing, "but I think that you should go and confront her now. Tell her what you just told me. Tell her that you want this feud over tonight. Weren't you the one who dragged Tsuruga-san over to Kyoko-san's place to finally resolve their issues?"
Kanae looked at the fourteen year old boy as if she were truly seeing him for the first time. "When did you suddenly grow up and get so mature? You're supposed to be a kid, you know?"
Hiou smiled sadly, "I'm in a hurry. Growing up quickly is the only hope I have of reaching the person I care about before she slips away."
Kanae continued to look at him until he spoke again, "didn't you have something that you need to do?"
* * *
Albert Foss was at a loss for what to do when Kanae walked up to him. He had stationed himself outside of Erika's hotel room door so that nobody would disturb her. She had come back to the hotel distraught and tearful. Normally, when Erika was upset about something, the whole world heard about it. But tonight she had not, and would not say a word. She was inside now, crying her eyes out and he couldn't do anything about it.
Now here stood Kotonami Kanae, most-likely the last person in the world who Erika would want to see. He was at a loss for what to do.
"Mr. Foss… Albert-san… I really want to talk to her."
"She's… indisposed right now, Ms. Kotonami."
"I know, Albert-san. I had something to do with that, although I'm not really sure how. Please let me speak with her."
Albert looked at her for a long time before he finally reached down and turned the door knob.
Erika was sprawled across her bed when Kanae entered, "Erika-san?"
Erika turned tear-stained, puffy eyes to look at the intruder. "What do you want? Go away!"
Kanae sat on the edge of the bed, "No, Erika. Not until we resolve this."
"There's nothing to resolve. And how dare you address me like that as if you're my friend."
"I really don't know what we are to each other, Erika. But I do not that this feud can't continue like this forever. Haven't we wasted enough time on this meaningless struggle?"
"Meaningless!" Erika screamed as she pushed back off of the bed, stood, and pointed an accusing finger at the other girl, "That's just it! You stole the most precious thing from me and you didn't even care!"
Kanae looked confused, "Erika-san, we were in elementary school. It was just one play. Or are you talking about the Curara commercial?"
"No!" Erika stomped one foot on the floor, "That play was important to me! It was the only performance my father ever attended. And who did he compliment? You! And you didn't even care!"
"What are you talking about?! I never even met your father!"
"Yes you did! He came up to the stage. He didn't even look at me! But he told you that you were 'allready a promising actress'."
"Erika-san, I didn't know. I was painfully shy around adults. The teacher told me I had to stand there and shake hands, but I was more terrified than when I was on the stage. I'm sorry if I made things hard between you and your dad."
"Oh, would you stop being so sweet?! Here I am on the same set as you; you have the perfect opportunity to attack me and you act like you want me to be here! You're such a hypocrite!"
"Erika-san, I do want you here. At first I just wanted you around where I could keep an eye on you. But then I saw how good of an actress you really are and I decided that you're going to help make this movie a hit."
"You're lying! Nobody wants her rival to succeed!"
"You're wrong, Erika-san. Two and a half years ago I would have agreed with you. But Kyoko-chan showed me that you can be a fierce rival and a best friend at the same time. Even when I'm winning she still keeps cheering for me. And guess what? I can cheer for her too… just like I'm cheering for you."
Erika was about to speak when a single person clapping arrested both ladies' attentions. "A very touching scene, ladies."
"How dare you come in here without…"
Before Erika could finish her sentence a cloud of vaporous gas reached both girls and they collapsed where they stood.
* * *
As a small pick-up truck drove out of the parking lot the driver pushed a button on a small transmitter. Several dull "thumps" could be heard high overhead. For a few seconds nothing happened. But then it seemed like the entire mountainside behind the hotel was moving.
Hiou, who had been waiting for Kanae to return, looked around him and wondered what was making that deep, rumbling sound.
Notes: With the exception of a very few faithful reviewers, nobody else is writing back. Please, please, please let me know what you think so far.