Disclaimers: The song is Fiona's, the boys belong to some production company somewhere, not making any money from this, you know the routine.
Spoilers: Nothing noticeable unless you've seen the parts I've given away.
Feedback: Pretty please? With little chibis on top? (You pick which ones ~_^) Post here, or you can e-mail me at insanewritinggirl@yahoo.com.
Notes: Bless my beta reader, to whom I sent six chapters of this fic over three days! Amikins is very, very grateful!
//blah// Relena's thoughts
blah>> electronics
Never Let You Go
Chapter 12
by quelirain
| Let me know the way
Before there's hell to pay Give me room to lay the law and let me go --Fiona Apple, "Criminal" |
Relena stared at herself in the mirror, her blue eyes brightened by the lights around the mirror. She studied her hair, her makeup, and her posture like she was an interesting bug. She certainly felt like a bug, though not as interesting as her intense gaze implied. She was a honey blonde, attractive by most standards. The woman in the mirror knew how to handle herself. She was the confident Queen of the World, Sovereign of the Sanq Kingdom, and now Vice Foreign Minister.
Disgust filled the blue eyes as they gazed mercilessly into Relena's soul. Her titles had always protected her. Now they could not.
It was refreshing.
"Vice Minister." Relena looked up to see Roshelle standing behind her with a steaming cup of coffee. "Drink this. It's nearly time. I'm sending in makeup."
Relena accepted the mug from the reporter. She took a sip of the bitter brew, then set it on the dressing room table so she could straighten the collar of the suit they'd arranged for her, shifting the chain of Duo's cross against her chest.
//Duo...//
~After Duo left, Relena stood, numb. She'd probably lost the last good friend she had left, now. Heaven knew she deserved it. It couldn't have turned out any other way. //Something else to add to the 'things that are my fault' list... There has to be something I can do, some way to end this!//
Frustrated, she dropped onto the bed. //If there were some way I could just talk to Heero... I should never have let you send me away, Milliardo. I should have faced him down then and there.//
"Heero, come and kill me!" she whispered to the darkness.~
"Miss Peacecraft?" A woman of medium height with dull brown hair and freckles peeked into the dressing room, snapping Relena from her thoughts. "I'm here for your makeup."
"Come in." Relena turned in the chair so the woman could reach her face. The woman wrapped a white towel around her shoulders and chest before beginning her silent work.
Escaping the building with Roshelle and the camera operator had been surprisingly easy. When Duo had slipped out, he hadn't taken the time to reset whatever alarms Wufei and Trowa had set up. The reporters had been eager to get out and were remarkably cooperative once Relena explained what she wanted. Even though it was well past midnight when they had left, Roshelle had roused one of the producers for her news service, and the producer was more than willing to make arrangements to pick them up once he heard about Relena's offer.
Relena closed her eyes as a brush dusted powder over her forehead and nose. It was the same routine, every time. The sound operator would be here soon with a wireless mike to clip to her lapel.
"Miss Peacecraft?" An older woman, this time, wires in one hand, battery
pack and transmitter in another. "I'm here to wire you
up."
The makeup woman disappeared as the sound operator attached the microphone to her clothing. After she was done, Relena turned back to the mirror. The makeup woman was good. Relena looked as if she'd had a solid eight hours of sleep when she'd been lucky to have a fifteen minute nap in the car that had picked her and the reporters up. Her eyes were weary, but there was no help for that. Of the few people who would notice, only one would be watching.
At least, she hoped so.
//Mirror, mirror, on the wall... who's the most foolish of them all?//
Doleful blue eyes looked back at her, confirming that it
was, indeed, she.
"Miss Peacecraft, we're ready for you now."
Relena exhaled, then stood and strode confidently into the bright lights of the studio. Roshelle was waiting for her.
"All right, Vice Minister," Roshelle began, "you know I have to ask you about the sighting at the airport and the aftermath, namely, my kidnapping and your involvement in that."
Relena nodded. "I didn't expect anything less."
Roshelle raised her eyebrows. "Good. Because it just gets sticker from there, as I'm sure you're aware. The rumors about your health, the injuries at the estate, the disappearance of Heero Yuy, not to mention your current responsibilities as vice minister... there's a lot to answer for."
Relena looked down at her hands. She'd never worn an engagement ring, but now she wished she had one to fiddle with. Heero probably would have bugged it; then she wouldn't have to go through with this ugly charade. "Let's get this over with." She brushed past Roshelle and took her seat on the oversized stuffed chair that sat on the dias. Roshelle followed.
"You are aware that the first broadcast will be live?"
"Yes."
"We've sent out alerts to our affiliates about this interview. Most
stations will probably carry a portion of it live, if not the entire
interview. We'll keep the cameras running for the full hour."
Roshelle took her seat opposite Relena. A production assistant darted onto
the dias to drop off two glasses of water.
//How many people were pulled out of bed for this?// Relena mused.
"Sound check, Miss Peacecraft."
"Testing, 1, 2, 3--"
"Thank you. Roshelle?"
Roshelle repeated the phrase Relena used, then covered her mike with one hand. "Vice Minister, I know you're under tremendous stress right now, but I can't go easy on you."
Relena met Roshelle's eyes. "Don't compromise your position just because you feel sorry for me. I am who I am. You do what you must."
Roshelle smiled. "I don't mince words."
"As I said, I wouldn't have it any other way."
The floor director, looking rumpled but surprisingly awake considering
her interrupted sleep, approached the dias. "Ladies, we
go live in five minutes. Is there anything else you need?"
Roshelle looked toward Relena, then shook her head. "No, Kami, I think we'll be just fine."
"Great." The director darted onto the dias to adjust Relena's shirt to cover the Duo's cross. Relena looked at the woman, confused. "Too much glare," she explained. Then she shouted, "Clear the set! We go live in five, four, three--"
~owari Chapter 12~