(a Gundamized version of Disney's "The Parent trap". Don't own GW. Don't own Disney. Please don't sue.)
Ever since she could remember, she had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. That there was something missing in her life, although what exactly she could not say. After all, one could say that she had everything a 9-year-old could desire. Plenty of toys, clothes to make anyone dizzy, plenty of riches, servants always anticipating her every need... and, to top it all off, a royal title.
Princess Chloe Peacecraft of the Sanq kingdom absently looked out the window, just as her aunt, Queen Relena, engaged in their cherished morning ritual of brushing her long black hair and making two small braids to the sides. Much like the style Queen Relena herself had worn as a young girl, as Chloe knew from some old pictures she had seen in her father's room. And, indeed, the young Peacecraft bore a striking resemblance to her aunt, both in her quiet, dignified air that made her look and act somewhat older than she was, and in her questioning outlook on life. Her eyes, the pale icy colour of her father's, identified her as a Peacecraft without the shadow of a doubt. And yet, a part of her could not help wondering where the rest came from. Like, for instance, why her hair was so much darker than anyone else's, save maybe for
Uncle Heero. Or why she could catch a tan in five minutes flat, while it would take that long for her father and aunt to burn to a nice lobster colour.
Oh, her father didn't talk much about Mother... Though she knew that, at some point, she had one. Before she passed away. For some reason, that was the only thing that she could not possibly have a conversation on with her usually adoring father, without getting him visibly upset. Not that he would ever explicitly tell her so, but she couldn't help noticing how he became silent all of a sudden, his gentle blue eyes taking on a distant, hardened expression. She had asked
Aunt Relena, but her responses had been almost as evasive. The queen, who had raised Chloe as her own daughter, would stumble on her words for a second, as though taken aback, before repeating the same thing every time.
Her mother had been a soldier with her father during the war. When they got married, the kingdom had looked up at her in much the same way as another princess from centuries ago, even before there were any colonies in space. Lady Diana Spencer, Chloe recalled from her aunt's words. She had looked up pictures and paintings of the blonde lady from that faraway past, read every single synopsis of her life on the Internet... in hopes that it could give her a little more insight into her own mother and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.
But she barely knew her name. And, as absurd as it sounded to her, it wasn't until she turned 8 that she actually knew what her mother looked like. One single picture, given to her in secret by
Aunt Relena. A picture of a dark-haired woman, holding a newborn, in what seemed like an official portrait. Relena had labeled it in the back with her neat handwriting, in blue pen. It read, "Chloe's first snapshot".
She kept it locked in her bedside drawer as though it were stolen goods. For some reason, she had the feeling that her
father would frown on that possession, fearing that it would be unhealthy for the young girl to dwell on the loss of the parent whom she never had a chance to know. After all,
Aunt Relena often said that her brother had been devastated with the loss. And maybe it was why, sometimes, Chloe felt as though he looked at her, but did not really see her. A movement, a gesture... sometimes even the way she pronounced certain words... all of a sudden, her father would fall silent, his gaze lost. And she would know he was hurting all over again.
Oh, she had been angry at her mother, more times than she would care to admit. Ashamed to even acknowledge those disturbing feelings to herself, she had nonetheless wondered why her mother had deserted her so young. Why she had died even before they could know each other. And she had silently sneered at her name, finding it ironic that it would have such a hopeful meaning in her native tongue. "Full of light"... when it was full of nothing but pain, whenever mentioned in her father's presence. And yet every night, after story time, as soon as her father tiptoed out of her room, believing her to be asleep, her hand reached inside the drawer and clutched that faded, wrinkled picture to her heart.
******************************
They could have placed a picture of her in the dictionary, beside the definition of "space brat". Oversized hockey jersey of the home team, the "Mighty Martians", baggy khaki shorts with those big pockets that you could stuff anything into, and a permanent display of colourful band-aids all over her knees, testimony to her latest rollerblading or skateboarding exploit. Boy, had she known the meaning of "pain"... In fact, with all the rough tumbles that she took, they should probably rename the local ER after her. And, if her mother hadn't been a soldier before having her, she probably would have been long overdue for a heart attack, with all the close calls her crazy, daredevil kid had had!
Sometimes her grandmother would scoff her, saying that she should at least let people see her big blue eyes, instead of concealing them under a baseball cap all the time. For all answer, she had started wearing the baseball cap backwards, which only served to mystify her grandma even more. At least, her mother did not seem to make a big deal out of it, being quite tomboyish herself, even as a thirty-something. One thing was for sure, though: Serena Noin was definitely no girly girl... and she was a-ok with it.
She thought it was a fairly natural thing to be, seeing as how her mom had to be both mother and father to her. And she had never really given much thought to why she didn't have a dad. After all, single-parent families were quite common, up there on Mars. Maybe not as much among the newcomers, who had just moved there recently, now that Mars was fully inhabitable. "A garden in the middle of space," as it was sometimes dubbed. But she knew that her mom had been one of the very first to move up there. And that, at the time, life had been really rough. That's probably why there was such a close-knit sense of community, among the people who were the original Terraformer Team. Sometimes, in fact, mom's friends felt more like family than her own family, who still lived on Earth, and visited maybe twice a year, for the major holidays. But Serena had also noticed how, among all of her mother's friends, a lot had started out married, and had ended up either divorced, or widowed by the time the Terraformer project was completed. Her own father, apparently, had died on the job, another victim to the dangerous work conditions of the Red Planet, before it was tamed by the likes of him and her mother. Serena had never really known him, for he had died when she was only months old. Therefore, she could not really bring herself to miss him. She figured they were doing just fine as they were, just herself and her mom. And yet, sometimes, she wondered... what would he be like?
Mother always said she had inherited his competitiveness. That's why she always had to be the best at everything, or at least risk her neck trying to. She also had his stubbornness, and his love of flying, and his utter protectiveness, to the point of sometimes caring more about others than about her own welfare and safety. Like when she would not hesitate to climb up the top of the tallest tree, just to rescue a kitten, then proceed to get stuck up there until someone calls the fire department. Or like when she got into major trouble and was even sent to the principal's office for freeing all the frogs in the lab, the day before they were supposed to be dissected in science class. Those traits would often drive her mom ballistic, especially since she couldn't really argue much against them, being as she wasn't too different herself.
Somehow, even after a whole year, she still got the giggles whenever she thought about the frog incident. How her mom had sounded like she was having a hissy fit in front of the principal. How she had assured the principal that she would punish her own daughter in an exemplary way, therefore he needed not concern himself about it ever happening again. Then, once in the car and out of earshot of him, she had finally broken down, and started laughing with gusto at the thought of the frogs hopping around all over the school's premises. Serena had taken a while catching on to the fact that the scene in front of the principal was just another example of her mom's hidden talents, namely for acting, and that she wasn't really mad.
"So I guess that means I'm off the hook for the punishment part, too?" she had finally asked, ready to start laughing herself.
"Why, as a matter of fact, no, you're not," her mother had coughed through her giggles, striving to regain her composure. And Serena had paled, thinking that probably meant a whole week of extracurricular homework, one of the perks of being the daughter of a former military instructor. Then her mother had clarified the nature of the punishment that she was to endure, and Serena had literally face faulted.
"Since you have expressed your disdain for animal cruelty, you will practice what you preach. For the next week, I expect you to come up with one nutritious, wholesome, completely vegetarian meal a day, and to help me cook it. You may use the Internet, magazines, or the public library to come up with the recipes. And, by the way, veggie pizza will only be acceptable on Saturday night." And that had also become the bizarre story of how Serena Noin and her mother Lucrezia had gotten so used to being vegetarians that they never really went back.
It was during one such July evening, as they were both busying themselves grilling focaccia bread and red peppers on the barbecue and enjoying the glorious Martian dusk, that the phone call that was to change both their lives came through.
Serena had overheard bits and pieces of the conversation from outside on the patio, even though her mom had gone back inside to fiddle with her laptop as she spoke.
"But but but but, Sally! You can't just drop this mess on my lap!"
Serena hadn't really thought much of it, being as it was, after all, her aunt Sally on the phone. The same
Aunt Sally who delighted in poking good-natured fun at Uncle Wufei and her mother alike, at every chance she got...
"Look, Sal... Ok, I agree that we haven't exactly been aggressive about marketing Mars College programs to high school grads on Earth. Yes, especially the Preventer training path and CTT (Core Terraforming Technologies). All I'm saying is... you could have shared those concerns with me before booking a booth at every gosh-darned career fair in North America! Oh, and by the way...WHY ME? You know I haven't been back on Earth... well... since moving here with Serena."
By then, Serena had picked up the word "Earth" and her name being mentioned. Her curiosity growing at the prospect of such an exotic vacation, she peered through the glare of the patio door, only to see her mother's jaw literally drop and hit the ground at Sally's answer.
"What do you mean I'm long overdue for a visit? Since when do you not understand the situation? I can't just... show up on Earth, just like that! And besides, what am I gonna do, drag my daughter around to sit with me in the 'Mars College' booth and bore herself silly at every stinking career fair? Give her a week of this, and she'll bloody hate me! It's her summer, too!"
More impatient silence followed, and Serena knew by then that this wasn't just another "Sally" prank. In fact, when she saw her mother actually stop arguing loudly, and begin to grumble to herself instead, she knew that the deal was pretty much signed. Mom always grumbled when she had to give in to something she didn't like. And when she jotted down a note about some "Camp
Skookumchuk", somewhere in Canada, Serena got this chill down her spine, as though in some eerie way, that place would come to play a crucial role in her destiny. At the moment, she could not quite decide whether it would be of the positive or negative kind. But one thing was for sure: as much as she had wanted to see Earth, now that the prospect was right around the corner, it was actually a pretty scary thought!
***********************
Milliardo Peacecraft of Sanq frowned thoughtfully and leaned back on his leather office chair, the better to ponder the unusual suggestion that had just come to him.
"Quatre, I have always been able to trust your judgment in the past, but... are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, a measured tone of parental concern making its way into his words. For all answer, the other blonde nodded eagerly, then looked to each side to meet the supportive nods of both Queen Relena and the Prince Consort, Heero
Yuy.
"I do believe this would be a memorable experience for Princess Chloe," he began, "I myself have fully researched the facilities, and found nothing to be concerned about security-wise."
"I give you that much, Quatre," Milliardo conceded, somewhat relieved, "and if you say that security is not an issue, then I fully believe that. But to my knowledge, Chloe has never expressed the desire to attend summer camp together with ordinary kids her age. She is, after all, quite shy."
"Sheltered is what I would call her," Relena herself observed with a reassuring half-smile, "Much like I was at her age. Not another child in the household to play with, no sleepovers at friends, no ball games or trips to the mall on Saturday afternoons... Birthday parties are more like a state affair than anything else, with the majority of the attendants being politicians and old aristocratic farts, pardon my bluntness but it's true... You get the picture, right, oniisan?"
Milliardo grew even more silent for a moment, while Quatre and Heero stared and blinked in utter bemusement at the Queen of Sanq, champion of peace, who had just gleefully thrown etiquette to the wind to advocate a summer camp experience for her niece.
"I realize that, Relena, but unfortunately the 'golden cage effect' is a packaged deal that comes with a royal title,"
Milliardo finally uttered, a slight hint of patronizing in his tone, "And I would have thought for sure you'd understand that better than anyone else in here."
If looks could kill, daggers would have pinned Milliardo to his chair right that instant. Seeing the tension mounting between the two royal siblings, Heero and Quatre quickly exchanged a glance worth a thousand words, then, in their silent agreement, proceeded to duck and quickly exit the room. Once behind the safety of the heavy mahogany door, the two ex-Gundam pilots braced themselves for the storm.
"You know, Milli-boy, you are such a... such a turkey at times, it blows my mind how you could have
won a war the way you did!"
Heero and Quatre shuddered, knowing it was going to get real ugly from there on.
"And just what gives you the right to make such a statement, Miss Queen of the Freaking World who's never once had to even see the cockpit of a mobile suit, huh?!"
"Don't be so sure of that, brother dear! If I recall correctly, Heero used to pilot one himself when we started dating..."
"Ahh... Please! Spare me the details! I have a feeling I really don't want to know. But that's hardly the point,
little sister. Chloe is MY daughter, and I will decide what's fit for her and what isn't! You'll get your turn once you've got kids of your own!"
"Oh, listen to that! Don't forget your sunscreen, 'cause you're headed for one hell of a power
trip! What is it, are you scared that she'll start hating her caged-in life and run off to Mars too?!!"
"HOOOOOOOOWWWWWW DAAAAARRRREEEEE YOOOOOOOUUUUUU?!!!"
Behind the door, Quatre and Heero cringed and plugged their ears at the sound of a very expensive vase smashing against the wall.
"OH, YEAH?! Well, CATCH THIS, Milli-boy!" More sounds of expensive crystal ware being shattered followed.
"DOOOOOOOOON'T CALL ME MILLI-BOY!" Crash! Bang!
"OH, great, you GENIUS! Look what you did to Father's picture!"
"Why, I'm just getting started..." KA-WHAMMMM! CRASH!!!
"Whoups... there goes the window," Quatre quipped.
"And there goes the office chair through it," Heero added, in his usual monotone countenance.
"Should we intervene if they start going at each other's hair?" Quatre inquired, perplexed over what to do as he peered through the keyhole into the battlefield that was Milliardo Peacecraft's office.
"Nah..." Heero replied matter-of-factly, "They've been known to gang up on whoever tries to separate them, when they're like that..."
"Some pacifists..."
"Tell me about it... I live with them day in and day out!"