Forever – A Anita/Mahojo One-Shot
Even now, she's holding it in. Even knowing that she's going to die, she is standing calm and strong at the helm of her ship, doing her duty. Mahojo can't help but smile, even now. There are so many things she would like to say to her, things that got lost in the day to day of duty. A hundred thank yous for a hundred little moments of delight, little smiles, little favours and good memories. A hundred more sorries for moments when she wasn't quite strong enough, when her words couldn't help and her actions were too awkward to soothe. And beyond that a hundred, a thousand, a million, a torrent of unsaid I love you's.
She thinks of all that she once was and once had.
When she first met Anita she was a skinny young girl, wary of the precocious daughter of an infamous madam. She expected her to be rude, coarse, arrogant... but all her expectations were shattered the moment she laid eyes on her. Anita had been quiet, pretty even then, but her smiles, her smiles bestowed kindness and the full grace of her soul on whoever she turned them to.
She fell in love then, gawking at the princess dressing her grazed knees, laughing at her tales, giving her strength when she had nothing. Sometimes when they were alone, she watched Anita struggle not to cry, wished she had the strength, the grace or the words to help her.
Mahojo had changed from that moment. She ignored the man her mother wanted her to marry, sneered at his weakness compared to Anita. She trained everyday, alone, lifting rocks, running miles, anything to become strong enough for Anita, to help her. Trained until she could kneel at her feet and tell her:
"I'll follow you forever, madam."
Well forever hadn't lasted as long as she'd thought, but it would never have been long enough anyway.
Mahojo lays her hand on her mistress's shoulder with a small smile, returned in kind. They stood there till the light of Time faded, the strong-woman and her stronger Captain.
A/N: I love Anita so much. She's such a good character, and yet only with us for such a short time.