Retired Knight
By Auto-chan
The hot tears ran down her cheeks, leaving cooling, wet trails on pale flesh. Thunder boomed noisily outside, a blinding whip of lighting cracking across the sky at almost random intervals. Water streaked down the long, transparent window, the drops clinging to the glass almost like blood to flesh. Relena stared back at her eighteen-year old reflection, allowing a fresh set of tears to begin.
It had been a year. An entire year, and her heart -- oh, how it ached -- still hadn't recovered from the massive blow delivered to it.
Heero had killed himself. The Perfect Soldier had committed an irreversible, unforgivable crime. Relena choked back another full-throated sob, her head beginning to spin just thinking about the incident. Her fingers, still pressed against the cold, unfeeling glass, furled into a tight ball, leaving a smudge in place. A blemish. The young woman's vision blurred again.
She remembered. The news of his death was huge. Displayed widely on television, broadcasted across radio. The word was sent by mouth, the news enough to make the coldest, most cruel-hearted man reel in shocked surprise. One of the Gundam pilots.. one of the legendary Gundam pilots, the saviors of both Earth and (most likely) the colonies, had been found dead. His wrists were slit, and a bloody knife had been found in one of his cold, pale hands. Obvious suicide.
Relena rested her forehead on the refreshing, cool pane of the glass. Her breathing quickened slightly, her deep blue eyes full of pain.
But in his other hand was a note. A short letter, relinquishing his anguish, his agony. His cruelness. His coldness, and his hard exterior. The page ended with the words, "She doesn't need me to protect her any more." And that's how he ended his short life. Barely seventeen, but he had already internally died the million deaths of the soldiers killed by his hand in battle.
The door behind her opened. "Vice Foreign-Minister Darlian. They're waiting for you to appear at the meeting. You're already late." The dead, flat tone jerked Relena out of her reverie. Her head snapped back, the girl's spine going rigid. She furtively wiped her sleeve across her eyes, plastered a faux-smile on her face, then turned.
"Okay. Tell them I'll be there in a moment."
So she stood and dutifully gathered appropriate papers. But Relena doubted if the hurt shining in her eyes and burning in her heart would ever leave her be.
~owari
6/21
(A/N: Blame my depressed mood, blame my muse of angst, blame me. Just don't flame me, ok? If you don't like Relena.... Then why did you read this? Appreciate reviews. GW isn't owned by me, if you didn't know. Domo arigato for help on the title, onee-chan. Sayonara.)