Chapter 4
_________
chapter by rinoastar
story by shanchan and rinoastar
_________
Elizabeth Starr leaned back in her chair . The scientists had been
kind enough to provide new art supplies for her to use, and retrieve her
violin . She didn't use her violin very much, just enough to practice,
actually . Instead, she spent her time drawing . She had, by the first
week's end, reproduced her previous puzzling pictures . She still had no
idea who the boys were, but the other girls seemed to have some clue .
She had always been an artist, since early childhood . She had
used her pencils to draw out her dreamworld, creating exquisite portraits of
whimsical creatures and beautiful people . People had payed top dollar
for
her amazing drawings, but Elizabeth was not happy .
**Flashback**
An old grey building stood on the edge of the L1 colony . Inside
the building was an orphanage . The orphanage was run by what used to be
a
preschool, before the war . Most of the children in the orphanage had
been
students at the school and were orphaned by the war .
The Starr family had worked diligently at the orphanage since A.C.
180, the year they had had a beautiful, bouncing baby girl . Sharon Starr
had helped become a mother to the other children, but there were so many
children that her daughter, Elizabeth, often felt last . James Starr had
been the leader of the orphanage, and Elizabeth regarded him as more of a
headmaster than a father, and therefor, was raised without much family life
..
It came as no real suprise, then, when Elizabeth turned to art to
express herself . She would lock herself in her room for days, drawing
many things, but, quite eerily, often drew things that would happen shortly,
or people that would visit soon . The other children would tease her,
calling her names and making fun of her art .
When she was twelve, Elizabeth and her mother were sent on a trip to
the colony L4 . Elizabeth had never been off of her colony before, and
was
in awe of the beautiful expanse they floated in . She had watched the
shooting stars and wished she could stay in the sky forever . Her mother
had spent the entire trip reading .
Their arrival at the L4 colony was just as exhilerating as the ride .
Elizabeth had looked with wide, innocent eyes at the splendorous colony .
It was obvious that whoever lived here had money . She remembered hearing
something about the colony being 'owned, ' as someone had put it, by the
Winner corporation . The manager of said corporation was busy raising his
son, who was raised like an Arabian prince .
Mrs. Starr and Elizabeth were staying at a nice hotel, the Desert
Royale . Sharon took Elizabeth to the room and locked her in with nothing
but her artbook and pencils . Normally, Elizabeth would have been
delighted to be alone to work, but she found this colony amazing . As
soon
as Sharon left, Elizabeth grabbed her purse, with all of her allowance for
the past three years, several hundred dollars, and went to the window .
The hotel room was many stories off of the ground, and Elizabeth was
afraid of falling . She opened the window and sat on the ledge outside .
She noticed the fire escape ladder nearby and considered climbing down .
Then she ran into the room and grabbed her backpack . She put her
artbook,
pencils, and purse in it and went back out to the ledge . Elizabeth put
her backpack on and grabbed the ladder . Slowly, she began to climb down
..
She was very tired when she reached the bottom . Gathering her
wits about her, she hefted her backpack and set out to find something
interesting to draw . As she walked through the city, she paused to
sketch
the people she saw . Eventually, people noticed that she was drawing them
and wanted to see the pictures . Proudly, Elizabeth displayed her
pictures, and the people that wanted them, she sold them to .
A few hours later, Elizabeth was about a hundred and fifty dollars
richer . She looked up at the artificial lightsource, realizing just how
long she had been gone . The girl batted away her customers and headed to
the hotel . She entered the hotel and walked up to the clerk .
" Starr . Which room are the Starrs in ? " Elizabeth asked .
The man looked down at her .
" I'm sorry, miss . They left about an hour ago . They left
this for a girl to come pick up . Are you Elizabeth ? " he cocked his
head . Elizabeth nodded . " Follow me, " he went into a room .
Elizabeth followed him in, and he handed her her luggage and a sealed note .
With shaking hands, Elizabeth opened the letter .
' Elizabeth, ' it read .
' If you want to run away, feel free . I've left your clothes with
the clerk at the front desk . Enclosed is some money, and a shuttle
ticket
to any colony you want . Don't bother coming back to L1 .
Sharon '
Elizabeth reread the letter to make sure she hadn't missed anything .
She piched herself to make sure it wasn't a nightmare . Realization hit
her hard . *I'm alone, on a strange colony, with nowhere to go* Her
eyes swam with unshed tears and the world went black .
She was awakened by the clerk, who was waving smelling salts under
her nose . He frowned down at her . " Miss, are you okay ? You just
passed out, " he asked . She sat up and gathered her bags .
" Fine, thanks, " she murmured . She grabbed her luggage and
backpack and headed to the bathroom . Once in the bathroom, Elizabeth
emptied her suitcase . She picked her favorite dress, which she had
insisted on bringing, and was glad she had, and folded it neatly . She
put
it in her backpack and grabbed her skirt outfit . She put that in her bag
as well . All that was left was her uniform for working at the orphanage
..
It was an annoying, ugly gray skirt and fitted jacket .
Elizabeth pondered throwing it away before she took the long skirt
and folded it . She put it in the bag, as well . Then she picked up
the
jacket . The patch on the lapels stood out hatefully . She took her
pocketknife and ripped the threads beneath it out . Her knife slashed at
the thick threads and tore the patch away . A spot of darker, unfaded
cloth marked where it was . She continued to stab angrilly at the patch
and accidentally cut her finger .
She yipped slightly and put her knife away . Dejectedly, Elizabeth
tossed the patch into the garbage can and folded the jacket, keeping her
injured hand away from the cloth . She carefully put the jacket into her
bag and put the bag in the suitcase . Now she had less to carry, and
looked less like a runaway .
She walked back to the counter and hit the bell . The man appeared
again and she held up her finger . " Do you happen to have any
bandages ? " she asked . He frowned and handed her a bandage . She
carefully applied it and thanked him .
**End Flashback**
From then on, Elizabeth was by herself . The first few months were
the hardest, since she was used to other people helping her, but eventually
she settled into a liveable lifestyle . In ways, she had more on her own
than she had had with her parents . Just as she grew comfortable, the
unthinkable happened . Her parents came back to get her .
**Flashback**
Elizabeth knelt next to her small radio and began to dust .
Cleaning house had never been one of her favorite chores, but it had to be
done . She bent over the antenna and ran her featherduster over the
speakers . Her tiny black radio, at times, seemed to be her only link to
the world away from her tiny space on the colony .
If anyone asked her, she said that she'd grown up on the L4 colony .
It was true, in a literal sense . She had been a sheltered, meek
housemaid
before she came to this colony, but had learned to take care of herself .
Her home was a tiny apartment on what was considered the 'poor part' of
town,
where starving artists and starving thieves, and starving people in general
lived . Elizabeth couldn't remember seeing anyone with more than a
thousand dollars to his name ever visiting this side of the colony .
Her humble life, which kept her fed and sheltered, was suprisingly
happy . She worked daily in the city, as a waitress . When she got off
work, she drew portraits for passers-by . Elizabeth missed the younger
children of the orphanage, that looked up to her like a mother, but loved
the
older people of this city that protected her like a sister .
She didn't go to school, since she had no time, but instead, home
tutored herself . Every waking hour that wasn't at work or spent drawing
was occupied by the old-fashioned tales of the twentieth century . She
also practiced the violin with an old, battered one she had bought in a pawn
shop . She played well, but not as well as her friends that played on the
streetcorner for a living, and she didn't want to take food from their
mouths . In return for her discretion, they helped her learn how to play,
and Elizabeth delighted in the weekly lessons she recieved .
Sighing, she turned to the door, which someone seemed to be pounding
on very hard . She brushed a wisp of her long brown hair which had
escaped
from the kerchief on her head from her face . Elizabeth walked to the
door
and opened it .
Angrilly, she thrust the door open . " What do you want ? " she
demanded . She had been working on her grammar, since good language
skills
were prioritized on this colony . " I am very busy, would you please come
back later ? " she asked . Then she looked at the people standing
there . It was her parents !
" Lizzie, come home with us . Your mother has been worried sick
about you ! " her father said . Elizabeth stood with her hands on her
hips and shook her head . His eyes flashed in anger and he glowered at
her, " Girl, you'd better come home, or I'll . . . " he raised his hand
to
slap her .
" Hey, 'Liz'beth ! " a close friend and neighbor interrupted .
" What's going on ? " he asked . Elizabeth cringed back from the
glancing blow she was sure was going to land across her face . The
neighbor noticed, and caught his arm . " Hey, you ! What's going on ?
"
" I'm her father, I can do whatever the hell I want ! " her father
yelled .
" No, you can't ! I'll call security if you lay one hand on
her ! " the neighbor replied . Then he turned to Elizabeth . " Hey,
do you want to go with them ? " Elizabeth shook her head ' no. '
" They left me here, with nothing to live on, nowhere to live, and
noone around ! " she growled . " On purpose ! " she declared
defiantly . The neighbor shook his head in disgust .
" Leave her alone, then ! And if you ever come back, I'll call
security on you ! " he snapped . Reluctantly, her parents left .
Her
neighbor looked concerned . " Are you okay ? "
Elizabeth nodded numbly and said goodbye, closing the door . She
sank into her chair and cried herself to sleep . When she awakened, she
found herself faced with independent life .
**End Flashback**
Elizabeth looked at her artpad and realized that she'd drawn the
patch from her uniform . She sighed and tore the sheet of paper out .
There was a moment of hesitation as she decided whether or not to tear it
up . She took out her old pocketknife and shredded the paper .
" Elizabeth ! What are you doing ? " Instructor H. was standing
in her doorway .
" Just getting rid of some old ghosts from my past, " she smiled
up at him . He frowned slightly and shrugged .
" We're having tests on your piloting abilities and reflex times, and
I've still got to brief you in your mission, " he said . She nodded
and
showed him her artbook, guesturing to the pictures on the wall . They
were
identical to the ones in her apartment that she had left behind .
H. glanced at the artbook and set it down, instead marveling at the
pictures on the walls . " Amazing, " he whispered . She blushed at
the praise . " They look just like them, " he said abruptly .
" Who ? " she cocked her head to the side in a guesture of
confusion . " I don't know who they are . Sometimes, I draw some weird
stuff . I draw people that are going to visit, before I ever meet them,
or
things that I will see, even though they aren't there yet . . . my friends
say I'm psychic, " she blushed and shook her head . " I don't know . "
" I believe it, " he said, turning around . " These are the
boys that your quadrant is supposed to catch for your first mission .
They've been avoiding us recently, and we must know why . That one, "
he pointed to the boy with light tourmaline eyes, her favorite, " is the one
that you are supposed to retrieve . My prodigy . His name is Quatre .
"
The name passed around in her mind, before settling into the place
she stored handy but useless information . " In fact, " H. continued,
taking a pen from his pocket, " this is Wufei, " he marked the portrait
with the chinese boy's name, " this is Heero, this is Duo, and this is
Trowa, " he marked the pictures with their names . " Now, come on .
We have to go get you tested, " he smiled, pocketing his pen .
_________
chapter by rinoastar
story by shanchan and rinoastar
_________
Elizabeth Starr leaned back in her chair . The scientists had been
kind enough to provide new art supplies for her to use, and retrieve her
violin . She didn't use her violin very much, just enough to practice,
actually . Instead, she spent her time drawing . She had, by the first
week's end, reproduced her previous puzzling pictures . She still had no
idea who the boys were, but the other girls seemed to have some clue .
She had always been an artist, since early childhood . She had
used her pencils to draw out her dreamworld, creating exquisite portraits of
whimsical creatures and beautiful people . People had payed top dollar
for
her amazing drawings, but Elizabeth was not happy .
**Flashback**
An old grey building stood on the edge of the L1 colony . Inside
the building was an orphanage . The orphanage was run by what used to be
a
preschool, before the war . Most of the children in the orphanage had
been
students at the school and were orphaned by the war .
The Starr family had worked diligently at the orphanage since A.C.
180, the year they had had a beautiful, bouncing baby girl . Sharon Starr
had helped become a mother to the other children, but there were so many
children that her daughter, Elizabeth, often felt last . James Starr had
been the leader of the orphanage, and Elizabeth regarded him as more of a
headmaster than a father, and therefor, was raised without much family life
..
It came as no real suprise, then, when Elizabeth turned to art to
express herself . She would lock herself in her room for days, drawing
many things, but, quite eerily, often drew things that would happen shortly,
or people that would visit soon . The other children would tease her,
calling her names and making fun of her art .
When she was twelve, Elizabeth and her mother were sent on a trip to
the colony L4 . Elizabeth had never been off of her colony before, and
was
in awe of the beautiful expanse they floated in . She had watched the
shooting stars and wished she could stay in the sky forever . Her mother
had spent the entire trip reading .
Their arrival at the L4 colony was just as exhilerating as the ride .
Elizabeth had looked with wide, innocent eyes at the splendorous colony .
It was obvious that whoever lived here had money . She remembered hearing
something about the colony being 'owned, ' as someone had put it, by the
Winner corporation . The manager of said corporation was busy raising his
son, who was raised like an Arabian prince .
Mrs. Starr and Elizabeth were staying at a nice hotel, the Desert
Royale . Sharon took Elizabeth to the room and locked her in with nothing
but her artbook and pencils . Normally, Elizabeth would have been
delighted to be alone to work, but she found this colony amazing . As
soon
as Sharon left, Elizabeth grabbed her purse, with all of her allowance for
the past three years, several hundred dollars, and went to the window .
The hotel room was many stories off of the ground, and Elizabeth was
afraid of falling . She opened the window and sat on the ledge outside .
She noticed the fire escape ladder nearby and considered climbing down .
Then she ran into the room and grabbed her backpack . She put her
artbook,
pencils, and purse in it and went back out to the ledge . Elizabeth put
her backpack on and grabbed the ladder . Slowly, she began to climb down
..
She was very tired when she reached the bottom . Gathering her
wits about her, she hefted her backpack and set out to find something
interesting to draw . As she walked through the city, she paused to
sketch
the people she saw . Eventually, people noticed that she was drawing them
and wanted to see the pictures . Proudly, Elizabeth displayed her
pictures, and the people that wanted them, she sold them to .
A few hours later, Elizabeth was about a hundred and fifty dollars
richer . She looked up at the artificial lightsource, realizing just how
long she had been gone . The girl batted away her customers and headed to
the hotel . She entered the hotel and walked up to the clerk .
" Starr . Which room are the Starrs in ? " Elizabeth asked .
The man looked down at her .
" I'm sorry, miss . They left about an hour ago . They left
this for a girl to come pick up . Are you Elizabeth ? " he cocked his
head . Elizabeth nodded . " Follow me, " he went into a room .
Elizabeth followed him in, and he handed her her luggage and a sealed note .
With shaking hands, Elizabeth opened the letter .
' Elizabeth, ' it read .
' If you want to run away, feel free . I've left your clothes with
the clerk at the front desk . Enclosed is some money, and a shuttle
ticket
to any colony you want . Don't bother coming back to L1 .
Sharon '
Elizabeth reread the letter to make sure she hadn't missed anything .
She piched herself to make sure it wasn't a nightmare . Realization hit
her hard . *I'm alone, on a strange colony, with nowhere to go* Her
eyes swam with unshed tears and the world went black .
She was awakened by the clerk, who was waving smelling salts under
her nose . He frowned down at her . " Miss, are you okay ? You just
passed out, " he asked . She sat up and gathered her bags .
" Fine, thanks, " she murmured . She grabbed her luggage and
backpack and headed to the bathroom . Once in the bathroom, Elizabeth
emptied her suitcase . She picked her favorite dress, which she had
insisted on bringing, and was glad she had, and folded it neatly . She
put
it in her backpack and grabbed her skirt outfit . She put that in her bag
as well . All that was left was her uniform for working at the orphanage
..
It was an annoying, ugly gray skirt and fitted jacket .
Elizabeth pondered throwing it away before she took the long skirt
and folded it . She put it in the bag, as well . Then she picked up
the
jacket . The patch on the lapels stood out hatefully . She took her
pocketknife and ripped the threads beneath it out . Her knife slashed at
the thick threads and tore the patch away . A spot of darker, unfaded
cloth marked where it was . She continued to stab angrilly at the patch
and accidentally cut her finger .
She yipped slightly and put her knife away . Dejectedly, Elizabeth
tossed the patch into the garbage can and folded the jacket, keeping her
injured hand away from the cloth . She carefully put the jacket into her
bag and put the bag in the suitcase . Now she had less to carry, and
looked less like a runaway .
She walked back to the counter and hit the bell . The man appeared
again and she held up her finger . " Do you happen to have any
bandages ? " she asked . He frowned and handed her a bandage . She
carefully applied it and thanked him .
**End Flashback**
From then on, Elizabeth was by herself . The first few months were
the hardest, since she was used to other people helping her, but eventually
she settled into a liveable lifestyle . In ways, she had more on her own
than she had had with her parents . Just as she grew comfortable, the
unthinkable happened . Her parents came back to get her .
**Flashback**
Elizabeth knelt next to her small radio and began to dust .
Cleaning house had never been one of her favorite chores, but it had to be
done . She bent over the antenna and ran her featherduster over the
speakers . Her tiny black radio, at times, seemed to be her only link to
the world away from her tiny space on the colony .
If anyone asked her, she said that she'd grown up on the L4 colony .
It was true, in a literal sense . She had been a sheltered, meek
housemaid
before she came to this colony, but had learned to take care of herself .
Her home was a tiny apartment on what was considered the 'poor part' of
town,
where starving artists and starving thieves, and starving people in general
lived . Elizabeth couldn't remember seeing anyone with more than a
thousand dollars to his name ever visiting this side of the colony .
Her humble life, which kept her fed and sheltered, was suprisingly
happy . She worked daily in the city, as a waitress . When she got off
work, she drew portraits for passers-by . Elizabeth missed the younger
children of the orphanage, that looked up to her like a mother, but loved
the
older people of this city that protected her like a sister .
She didn't go to school, since she had no time, but instead, home
tutored herself . Every waking hour that wasn't at work or spent drawing
was occupied by the old-fashioned tales of the twentieth century . She
also practiced the violin with an old, battered one she had bought in a pawn
shop . She played well, but not as well as her friends that played on the
streetcorner for a living, and she didn't want to take food from their
mouths . In return for her discretion, they helped her learn how to play,
and Elizabeth delighted in the weekly lessons she recieved .
Sighing, she turned to the door, which someone seemed to be pounding
on very hard . She brushed a wisp of her long brown hair which had
escaped
from the kerchief on her head from her face . Elizabeth walked to the
door
and opened it .
Angrilly, she thrust the door open . " What do you want ? " she
demanded . She had been working on her grammar, since good language
skills
were prioritized on this colony . " I am very busy, would you please come
back later ? " she asked . Then she looked at the people standing
there . It was her parents !
" Lizzie, come home with us . Your mother has been worried sick
about you ! " her father said . Elizabeth stood with her hands on her
hips and shook her head . His eyes flashed in anger and he glowered at
her, " Girl, you'd better come home, or I'll . . . " he raised his hand
to
slap her .
" Hey, 'Liz'beth ! " a close friend and neighbor interrupted .
" What's going on ? " he asked . Elizabeth cringed back from the
glancing blow she was sure was going to land across her face . The
neighbor noticed, and caught his arm . " Hey, you ! What's going on ?
"
" I'm her father, I can do whatever the hell I want ! " her father
yelled .
" No, you can't ! I'll call security if you lay one hand on
her ! " the neighbor replied . Then he turned to Elizabeth . " Hey,
do you want to go with them ? " Elizabeth shook her head ' no. '
" They left me here, with nothing to live on, nowhere to live, and
noone around ! " she growled . " On purpose ! " she declared
defiantly . The neighbor shook his head in disgust .
" Leave her alone, then ! And if you ever come back, I'll call
security on you ! " he snapped . Reluctantly, her parents left .
Her
neighbor looked concerned . " Are you okay ? "
Elizabeth nodded numbly and said goodbye, closing the door . She
sank into her chair and cried herself to sleep . When she awakened, she
found herself faced with independent life .
**End Flashback**
Elizabeth looked at her artpad and realized that she'd drawn the
patch from her uniform . She sighed and tore the sheet of paper out .
There was a moment of hesitation as she decided whether or not to tear it
up . She took out her old pocketknife and shredded the paper .
" Elizabeth ! What are you doing ? " Instructor H. was standing
in her doorway .
" Just getting rid of some old ghosts from my past, " she smiled
up at him . He frowned slightly and shrugged .
" We're having tests on your piloting abilities and reflex times, and
I've still got to brief you in your mission, " he said . She nodded
and
showed him her artbook, guesturing to the pictures on the wall . They
were
identical to the ones in her apartment that she had left behind .
H. glanced at the artbook and set it down, instead marveling at the
pictures on the walls . " Amazing, " he whispered . She blushed at
the praise . " They look just like them, " he said abruptly .
" Who ? " she cocked her head to the side in a guesture of
confusion . " I don't know who they are . Sometimes, I draw some weird
stuff . I draw people that are going to visit, before I ever meet them,
or
things that I will see, even though they aren't there yet . . . my friends
say I'm psychic, " she blushed and shook her head . " I don't know . "
" I believe it, " he said, turning around . " These are the
boys that your quadrant is supposed to catch for your first mission .
They've been avoiding us recently, and we must know why . That one, "
he pointed to the boy with light tourmaline eyes, her favorite, " is the one
that you are supposed to retrieve . My prodigy . His name is Quatre .
"
The name passed around in her mind, before settling into the place
she stored handy but useless information . " In fact, " H. continued,
taking a pen from his pocket, " this is Wufei, " he marked the portrait
with the chinese boy's name, " this is Heero, this is Duo, and this is
Trowa, " he marked the pictures with their names . " Now, come on .
We have to go get you tested, " he smiled, pocketing his pen .