The High Priestess and The Princess

by

Aoko

Email: noodlepower@hotmail.com

Dorothy is sitting in the chair across from me. We are outside sitting on the balcony, sipping our tea slowly. It has been thirty minutes since Dorothy first arrived, and she has not yet said anything. I am not unnerved by this. Dorothy is as quiet as me. Perhaps, we are like that for the same reason. The less someone knows about you and your plans, then the harder it is for them to attack you.

I hear the soft clink of the china as Dorothy sets the pink and white teacup down on the saucer. She looks at me as if she's studying me... sizing me up as if I'm an opponent ready to attack at any moment. But there is amusement in Dorothy's pale, blue eyes. Plus she's smirking, which only means she's thinking of some to way to make me break. Dorothy. She always searches for my faults and weaknesses, then attacks them violently and quickly.

I stare indifferently at Dorothy. I won't be the one to break the silence. I didn't ask for her company. She merely found me sitting on the balcony, staring at the gardens below me. She called for a servant to bring us tea and began gazing out at the gardens also. I briefly wondered how the world looked through Dorothy's eyes.

The winds blow a bit strongly, whipping Dorothy's long blonde into her eyes. She sighs and pushes the well-cared for locks out of her face. My face is as impassive as ever.

"Okay," she whispers, "You win the silence contest."

"I was not aware that this was a contest." Dorothy doesn't reply, so I ask, "Where is my prize?"

"At home with another, perhaps?" A sadistic smirk graces her thin lips.

My facial expression does not change. Some time ago, I would have asked her what she meant. And Dorothy would merely raise a single, forked eyebrow. Then I would rush to Dorothy's side, grab her arm, and beg her like a child to explain what she meant even if I already knew.

The smirk on Dorothy's face slowly fades. "I have a present for you, Relena."

I watch as Dorothy picks up her purse she sat on the floor near her chair. She opens her purse and reaches in. She pulls out a what seems to be a deck of cards and hands them to me.

I take the cards and examine them. "Tarot cards?"

"I was in Jamaica. I saw them and I thought of you."

I take the first card off the top of the deck and flip it over. It is a brightly color card. A lady sits on a throne near bright blue water and gazes longingly into a golden cup. She has a golden, ruby crown on her head and her hair is long and fair. Her blue gowns flows about her. She is beautiful.

I hold the card up for Dorothy to see. She smiles, as if she is amused by the picture.

"The queen of cups," Dorothy says, as she looks at the card. "That's what you are."

I look at the card again. "No, I am not."

Dorothy continues as if I hadn't spoken at all. "The queen of cups reveals secrets."

I must now admit I am amused by this. I never figured that Dorothy was into the mystic side of life. Of course, I must ask myself, how well do I really know Dorothy?

I pick up the next cards and stare at it. It is a woman with fair skin, sitting on throne wearing blue and white robes. She is wearing a white cross and a white, horned crown, that is probably made of ivory. At her foot sits a yellow, crescent moon. I show Dorothy the card.

"The High Priestess."

I look at the card again. "You are her."

"The High Priestess... unconscious awareness. Mystery."

I nod. Yes, Dorothy is like me. No one knows her. She keeps her pain hidden so deep, that when it reaches its pinnacle, it explodes into violent colors and leaves everyone trembling in fear of her wrath.

"How have you been doing, Relena?"

"Fine. And you?"

"Wonderful. I was celebrating in Jamaica."

I narrow my eyes slightly. She's setting me up for something. "Celebrating?"

"You broke. That night. You finally broke." She smiles again. As if to secretly say she knows something that I don't.

I am silent. I broke. No, she really doesn't know me. She doesn't know that I've been broken for years now. Always, always... something is missing. I try to pin point what it is, but as soon I think I know, the answer eludes me.

"Broke?" I ask, "I didn't break. You just never saw I was merely a piece of greater image."

Dorothy frowns, and then sneers at me. "You need them. Don't you? You're so pathetic without them! Unable to protect yourself!"

I tilt my head to the side. I watch Dorothy carefully. Her pale, blue eyes of secrets are brimming with tears. There are wrinkles on her forehead because she is frowning. And she's biting her lower lips. I am struck with a realization. She needs me. All this time, I thought I was the one leaning on Dorothy using her for support and strength. False smiles and polite jokes. Maybe Trowa was right. Maybe I don't need them after all. And maybe Dorothy knows that I really don't need them. I have a strength of my own that comes from my determination and conviction.

How odd. Dorothy was the one who needed me. She had no concept, no faith in peace. She believed in war... she loved it, craved every minute of it and yet, she hated it all the same. And then I come, to instill in her something she's never had before. I gave her hope.

She's afraid of losing me. I smile at this realization, and it only infuriates Dorothy.

"You disgust me Relena! You disgusting hypocrite! You talk about peace. And start projects to help everyone ease into this new peaceful world. We've been fighting wars for years and you want everyone to just stop the very thing they were born to do! How can you lead people into peace when can't find it yourself?"

Again, I say nothing. So focused on myself, on my own selfish needs, I failed to see Dorothy's needs. Maybe we could have been good friends, but our beliefs are too different. Our goal is the same, but our methods vary. War-loving Dorothy. I wonder what her secrets are.

"I lead people into peace because it is what I was born to do. How can I not when peace is the ideal that courses through my blood?"

"Peace once coursed through your brother's blood." Dorothy smirks as if she's won a victory over me.

"It still does," I say. "Milliard Peacecraft is my brother and seeks peace through words. Zechs Merquise is a separate person. He lives a warrior's life."

"But sometimes, I bet, you can't tell them apart."

I stare up at the clear, blue sky... blue just like my brother's eyes. "Yes. And no."

Dorothy stares into her empty tea cup. "I just wanted you to break... to admit you were wrong."

"So that you could be right. You must learn to lose gracefully, Dorothy."

She looks at me with a weak smile. "That sounds like something Treize would say."

I nod. I've met Treize Khushrenada on several occasions, but I've never actually held a long, philosophical discussion with the man. No, rather I watched him from afar and I learned many things by just doing that. Treize liked irony. He found it amusing. And I suppose that's the reason why he always seemed as if he was laughing at some private joke. But I have discovered the thing he found so amusing. Peace is an irony because you must fight long and hard to have it. Peace isn't something that's given to you on a silver platter. You have to be willing to die for it.

"You are the High Priestess, Dorothy. I see secrets in your eyes."

Dorothy looks amused by this. "And you are the queen of cups. So reveal my secrets."

I look out at the garden below. "In due time."

"Well," Dorothy says, standing up, "I told your brother I'd catch a movie with him."

I look at Dorothy. I nod, smiling sadly to myself. Dorothy walks off, the clicking of her heels fading. Things get a bit blurry, and I know that I'm on the verge of crying. Is it so selfish of me to just want to be around other people? To be accepted for who I am instead of my status? The woes of being Vice-Foreign Minister, I think sarcastically to myself.

Suddenly, Dorothy pops back onto the balcony. "Relena, why don't you join us? I'm sure Milliard will be thrilled to see you."

I look at her and remain silent.

"And," she grins, "We could play some video games."

I smile. "I'd be honored to join you."

For once, I'm not watching anyone leave. I'm the one who's leaving.

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Disclaimer: Me no own nothing.

A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. This part isn't as good as the rest and I apologize for that. And, wow, it took a long time... what a year? for me to update this thing. Okay, so maybe it hasn't been exactly a year, but it feels like it. Sorry once again.