Title: Unicorn Tears
Author: Gis
Rating: PG-13
Category: Michael/Maria
Summary: The most AU fic I've
ever written, and it's M&M...do you need any more of a reason to read
it? Okay, okay…In a world of lost
legends and folklore, one unicorn finds the truth.
Disclaimer: If I owned Roswell I'd be writing episodes, not fanfiction.
Author's Note: This is my first Roswell fic, so a little feedback would
be nice.
Banner can be found here: http://www.pageproducer.com/users/paraphernalia/unicorntearsbanner01.jpg
~Part Eight~
Pain. She could always feel the pain.
The visions had now begun. They were never absent of fear, and as her time grew
shorter the pain became increasingly sharp and piercing. They would come often during
the night soon enough. Each one more vivid than the last, and the only way to
escape them...was to leave.
A few days. She was almost certain she still had a few more days.
Maria woke with a start on the small cot she had been sleeping on since Liz had
insisted she stay there in her home. It was something she was sure she could
never get use to; the cot was hard and small, whereas the meadows were always
cushioned with tall, rolling grass and she could stretch out as much as she
wanted there. Why humans would willingly give up such luxuries she would never
understand.
Stretching her limbs almost cat-like, Maria stood up, shaking the stiffness
from her body. As early as it was, she could faintly hear the sounds of Liz
tinkering around in a room just down the hall from where she stood. With the
wedding being only a day away, Liz was frantically trying to finish all of the
preparations, even if it meant staying up all night in the process.
Wiping the tiny beads of sweat from her forehead, Maria slowly made her way
down the hall towards the softly glowing light that was seeping out through a
small crack in the door of the room Liz was occupying. It wasn't a surprise to
see her occasionally rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she worked tirelessly
on the dress in front of her.
After a few moments watching, Maria stepped into the room, waiting for Liz to
realize that she was there. It seemed she had been standing there for hours
before Liz finally looked up, jumping slightly at the sight of the girl standing
in front of her.
"Oh, Maria. I didn't know you were awake," she said, putting a hand
over her racing heart. "How long have you been there?"
Shrugging slightly because she wasn't quite sure, Maria walked over to a chair
just opposite of Liz and sat down.
The woman was in shambles! Her eyes were red from lack of sleep, and her head
looked as though it wanted nothing more than to fall onto a pillow and never
rise until it was good and ready.
"Have you slept at all?" Maria asked, pushing a few strands of hair
away from Liz's eyes, concerned. "Don't people need a good deal of sleep
each night?" If weddings caused humans to act this way, why were they
still having them? Couldn't they see it was bad for their health?
Liz smiled up at her. "I'll be fine. I even promise to take a nap today,
if it will make you feel better," she said, looking back down at her work.
Maria watched as Liz picked up a tiny, thin object that had a bit of string
attached to one end, and began threading it back and forth through the
material. So that was how they kept clothing held together. Clever
concept.
"I can't believe that my wedding is tomorrow," Liz said, keeping her
eyes trained on her work. "I've known Max since I was four years old and
he was five. When we were kids he was so quiet and he would always wander
around with Michael, off by themselves. That was probably why I never really
noticed him back then."
"It wasn't until I was about sixteen that I realized he was always hanging
around the hotel café when I was there helping my father," she stated,
looking up as she concentrated on a point far beyond the opposite wall.
"He and Michael would be there, occasionally with Max's sister Isabel, and
the would just sit and talk. Without even realizing it, I was falling for him.
I know it sounds stupid," she said, looking back down as an embarrassed
blush crept up her cheeks, "but him being there every day
was...comforting."
Maria tilted her head, as her eyebrows knitted together. "Why should it
sound stupid?"
Glancing back up, Liz smiled. "No reason, I suppose. Anyway, I think
Michael finally got fed up with it all and one day he just up and left. He told
us that if we didn't both meet each other that Friday night for dinner
together, so that he could have a night away from the 'Parker and Evans staring
contest', he wasn't going to set another foot inside the café ever again. As
tempting as that prospect was, I decided to go, and here I am now."
"I guess in some ways, I owe Michael a lot. Maybe that's why I put up with
him," she said, laughing.
Sighing softly, Maria watched Liz for another moment before speaking. "Why
is Michael always so closed off?"
Liz looked at her questioningly, wondering just how much the girl had been told
about Michael's life. It wasn't really a secret, so why hadn't Michael talked
about it with her? "I suppose it's because he grew up alone in the
orphanage on the outskirts of the city," she told her, grabbing a pair of
scissors and cutting the thread she had been using. "His parents were
killed when he was very young, and he didn't have any other family that could
take him in. Orphans aren't often adopted, so he lived there until he was
seventeen, and could make it on his own."
"So he's been alone, just like me," Maria said quietly, staring down
at her hands.
Placing the dress in her lap onto a small chest close by, Liz stood up, pulling
Maria with her. "Come on, I know something you can help me with. Since
we're both up, we might as well get started on it."
Maria nodded her head, following Liz out of the room.
. . .
Michael looked up from the rock pile he was currently moving. The sun wasn't
even on the horizon yet. What were Max and Alex doing there?
"Hey," Alex said grinning, as Max just gave a quick hello and started
on the pile, avoiding Michael's searing glares that he could feel penetrating
the skin on his back.
Turning towards the tall lanky man, Michael smirked. If Alex thought he was
going to get anything out of him...
"So how was the tour?" he asked, figuring that if he was going to get
pummeled, he might as well get some of the details for his trouble.
Putting on the most intimidating look he could muster, Michael growled at him.
"Expensive." Sure, he could have told them that he actually enjoyed
himself, but this was just too much fun to pass up.
Alex's smile widened slightly. "Oh? Why was it expensive?" Getting
Michael to spend any amount of money on someone, especially a girl, was
like trying to pull teeth.
Leaning over so that they were practically nose-to-nose, Michael's eyes went
into tiny slits. "Do you know what happens when you pull a cup made out of
china from the bottom of display?" he asked, as Alex leaned back slightly,
still holding his ground.
Resisting the urge to pull at his collar, Alex put on as casual an expression
as possible. "Large amount of broken china?"
"Yeah," Michael replied, folding his arms in front of him. Okay, so
what if they hadn't even been inside a shop that carried expensive china? He
didn't exactly tell them that Maria had toppled one...he just asked him
if he knew what would happen if someone had. "One massive amount of
broken china, and one expensive tab."
"It wasn't all Alex's fault," Max piped in, walking over to try and
defuse the situation before it turned ugly. "I helped him."
Smiling menacingly at him, Michael raised his eyebrows. "Oh believe me, I
know." Picking up a shovel, Michael turned around heading off towards the
fields. "By the way," he added in, glancing back at them, "I'll
be sending you the bill."
There now, they could sweat it out for a while. That would teach them to meddle
in his personal life. Turning back around, Michael smiled to himself, heading
out towards the corn crops.
Alex turned towards Max, wiping his forehead on his sleeve. "Do you really
think he'll make us pay for it?"
"So long as he comes to the wedding with a date, I'll consider it a worth
while investment," Max told him, turning back to the rock pile.
"Hey," Alex said suddenly, a grimace forming on his face, "do
you think you should have mentioned that to him?"
Cursing under his breath, Max looked over to where Michael was in the fields.
He knew he'd forgotten something...