In Love and Trust
Author's Note: ( Sniff.... ) Certainly the last one for this story.....Well, except for the end. LOL. Now, I have checked out many animes, and I think I have an idea.... Wait, before you start hitting me with pots, pans, or whatever stuff you've got there, I do say that I am going to be continuing this story, but probably just a short one, for I also realized the challenges of updating. Well, as for the delay, um, I had so many ideas, I just didn't know which one to pick, and also uh, I didn't know how to type them down in the proper orders, so I was a little worried that this chapter is added almost a month later. :( I hope I didn't lose your favour by making you wait for so long.
Now, um, without further ado, I hope you e-enjoy t-the l-last chapter of m-my first f-fanfiction.....Ahem. Must. Not. Cry.
Disclaimer: I, Candide Avedo do not own anything that has to do with Beyblade.
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Dawn
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"It's too quiet in here."
"Shut up, Tyson, you can't just stick your face there!"
"Be quiet, you two, can't you see that she needs to rest?"
"Yeah, and don't tell me you weren't worried."
"Hey, has anyone seen Kai?"
Queen could hear voices. Her head throbbed, but she couldn't ignore it. The voices were being too loud.
'What happened...'
Her thoughts faded off, as she attempted to recall the past events not too long ago.
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Kai backed himself up a bit in order to get some extra momentum, and then jumped, holding Queen tightly behind his back. Queen squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that they wouldn't fall to their demise this way.
They landed roughly on the other side, Kai trying to keep on his balance. Vince was waiting, his lips pursed, arms crossed and uncrossed repeatedly in front of him. When the two recovered their breath, he then pointed a gun that he got out of a hidden pocket of his leg, and pointed it at the two.
As if on reflex, Kai threw Queen behind him again.
"Vince. Give it up." said Kai roughly, eyeing the gun. "The man's dead. Just accept it."
Vince's hand lowered, and with a defiant glare, he nodded in defeat.
"I already had."
Reluctantly, Vince agreed to help, only in return for his freedom, and because there seemed to be no more reason to go on, since Greg was gone.
"I am only giving up for Greg's sake."
Whatever went on in Vince's mind was still a hidden mystery to Queen and Kai, they had not believed Vince's alibi, but alas, Vince had insisted that there was no point in fighting a fight that was already done. There were other things to worry about.
They then planned to contact the closest hospital for an ambulance, and the police, in order to capture the last of the men who had not known that Cynara was already dead. In order for that to work they had to look for a phone, but there was one person Vince knew who had a phone.
It took a while to convince Queen to actually go with them, but she agreed. It was no mystery as to her reluctance to go.
Greg's body of course had yet to decompose, but some of his blood had begun to dry. The beautiful yet gruesome shade of red that contrasted with his pale skin turned much darker, into something more like red wine. His eyes were still open, staring blankly at the ceiling. Kneeling, Queen's hand brushed against her cousin's hand. It was cold. Her eyes sought the blood, which was still dripping from his head.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Queen could hardly take her eyes off it, until a tap at her shoulder tore her eyes from the tangled mass of hair and blood.
Kai just looked away again, and Queen understood.
It wasn't her fault that he died.
Vince tossed the phone to Kai, who began to phone the hotel, and directed them to call an ambulance, since he didn't know the number himself. While Kai was busy talking, Vince bent over Greg, and ignoring Queen's presence. Then, he dragged his left hand lightly over his partner's face, and closed Greg's eyes.
"He was a good friend." he said, although it looked like he was talking to himself. Vince's face stayed blank, but yet he couldn't help but cough just a bit.
Queen stood up, as Kai ended his call.
After that, they had the task of making a plan, so that the other men wouldn't be suspicious as to why the two were still alive.
Finally, they had decided on making up a simple story where Kai and Queen were found first by Vince, and Greg and Cynara were still searching, for they all had split up. To stall, Vince is to tell them that their boss has decided to wait for him to come back, for he wants to finish off the twins himself. The plan in less likely believable, but there's not much options.
It took them at least a quarter of an hour to get back, not to mention that their pace had slowed, due to their exhaustion, and anxiety.
They had made it, and as they opened the door where they all had come through, all the people at the inside of the room became quiet.
The three filed inside, with Vince pretending to point at gun at their heads, and roughly pushing Queen with his other hand. The men who still posed as threat stood side by side, grinning as Vince came back.
Not too far from them, Max was watching her grandmother, all the while with a gun to his head to make sure that he wouldn't do such a foolish thing like running away. Over to the left.
Immediately, as Queen saw him, she rushed to his side, and Tyson drew away a bit, giving her some room to see him. He was holding a piece of cloth which turned out to be Tyson's jacket over his side, where the wound didn't seem to have any sign of letting up. Hilary, who had been cradling his head, couldn't bear to smile in seeing Queen and Kai come back, still alive.
Her hands trembled as she touched his forehead gently, gazing into his closed eyes.
"King." she whispered, resisting the urge to shake him awake. "I'm here. Come on, we'll make it out of here."
King gave a little moan, and looked up at Queen, trying to grin.
"Hey. I was waiting for you...I thought..." King then gave a lurch, making Queen back away in surprise.
"K-King." said Queen, trembling slightly. A part of her couldn't think. She grew unaware of her surroundings. Queen then took her hand, and placed it one King's chest. Her own chest tightened as she watched him take laboured breaths, and the way his hand also shook, as he tried to keep hold of her.
King grimaced, and placed his hand over Queen's, and gave it a short squeeze.
Then, her vision grew dim, and it looked as though the whole room was floating on water. Emotion was threatening to engulf her completely, and there was no other choice but to give in. Without any idea on what else was happening, everything went black.
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'No wonder my head's throbbing like mad.'
Queen didn't want to get up. It was like three cubic feet of gouda had been rested on her. The funny thing was, that she still can't feel anything with her legs. In fact, she still felt quite numb. Actually, the majority of her day had her numb, and she couldn't tell whether it was from stress, or something else.
But there was no way she was going to stay like this for long. She needed to...Needed to make sure that he was dead, and that it all wasn't just a dream.
Something's still not right.
"Hey, any news on King's condition yet?" whispered Max's voice next to Queen, to a person next to him.
"King!" Queen forced herself to sit up, despite her body's protest, also cursing her memory for being so forgetful about the whole thing.
Max, Tyson, Hilary, Kenny, and Ray were crowding the edge of her bed, but fell slightly back at her unexpected outburst. Everyone felt as though she was like the water, unpredictable, and quite dangerous, especially when upset. Queen had been cleaned up, and her clothes were replaced by the usual hospital attire of a light blue gown.
Ignoring their surprised faces, Queen made to get off the bed, but Hilary stopped her first.
"Queen, wait, you can't get up yet." said Hilary, in her bossy voice. "You're still tired from yesterday, and no, we can't have you tiring yourself out again."
Queen opened and closed her mouth, which felt as though pieces of tape covered them. She then noticed that this wasn't any place that she was familiar with. The room was like a cube, with walls in a soft cream colour, and a window to her left, which overlooked a courtyard below. Everyone else appeared to be slightly better too, except for the couple cuts and bruises on some of their faces.
"Where are we?"
"We're in the hospital at Trikala, the ambulance came for King first, though, but they thought it was best to let you stay in the hospital too." replied Ray. "It was a good idea at the time to let you rest. You gave us quite a scared when you passed out like that."
"What happened?"
"Well, after you collapsed, uh, let's just say, things got a little confusing." began Tyson, in his cocky voice. "We heard some banging noises, then the some blue coated dudes came, and then this other dude who we thought was a bad guy came and did some fancy shmancy gun work, and then we found ourselves outside, where your limo driver was waiting. I'm still in the dark about it. How did they know we were here?"
"I've asked Kai to tell, but he won't even answer. In fact, he's been silent all day." added Ray. "He said he doesn't want to talk about anything at the moment." He scratched his chin in thought. "But all I do remember was last seeing him go down to the elevator with us when we were on our way to visit you."
Queen nodded, adding courage to her most anxious question.
"Where's my grandmother? How about my brother's condition?"
"He's in the room on the fourth floor, I dunno, some doctors said he needed some time to work on him, but that was yesterday, now I don't know. As for your grandmother, she's fine, she's taking a nap in the next room to the right of your room." Kenny scratched his head thoughtfully. "Why, Queen-"
"I need to see him." said Queen gravely, still struggling to get up. Once she got to the edge of her bed, she swung her legs to the floor, and tested her weight gently, holding onto the side of the bed for support. Swaying gently she made her way to the door, only some feet away from the bed. The group kept back, but not so far back that they won't be able to catch her if she fell.
"Queen, stop, you'll over exert yourself again." said Hilary, trying to get reason out from the stubborn girl.
"I'm going, Hilary."
"You're still not ready to get up and about yet!" Hilary said, tugging on Queen's arm, only to have it slip out of her grasp as Queen refused to go back to her bed.
"You don't understand, Hilary, he needs me to be there."
Queen felt a little guilty about not caring for her grandmother as much as she would have, but if she had to choose between King and her grandmother, it was no competition as to who would concern her first. Her instincts told her that even though King was now safe, and that no harm will come for him now, she knew he needed her, just in case he didn't make it.
Hilary opened he mouth again to protest, but Tyson placed a hand on her shoulder, and she desisted. The girl seemed crestfallen for a bit, making Queen smile.
"It's okay, Hilary, I'm fine."
Then, while still in her hospital gown, Queen made her way through the quiet hall of the wing, with the group in tow, taking no notice of her leftover fatigue. Every now and then a nurse would pop her head out of a patient's room, only to catch a glimpse of the group making their way slowly to the elevators.
"Wait, Queen, the doctor might not permit this yet, you can't just barge into his room, we need some permission-" began Hilary, but Queen interrupted.
"I want to know if he's okay."
Queen could once again feel the sound of her heartbeat as the others finally lead her to the floor where King was located last. Doors stalked past as she tried to identify the door with her brother's name on the plaque beside it. Soon after, they passed an information desk, where a pompous looking nurse was talking to a middle-aged doctor. They caught snatches of the conversation, most of were not so pleasant.
"Terrible, just terrible, I know that a shot to the abdomen can't be any good news, doctor." said the nurse, shaking her head lightly like a mother telling her child that plants grew in the ground, not on clouds.
The doctor grimaced. "Yes, I don't know if there's any way we could help the poor lad, but I also don't want to be the one to tell his family that he won't be able to make it past tomorrow. I just can't see any improvement on his condition."
They all found themselves slowing down, hoping to hear more, though no such luck. They only hear enough to hear the doctor say goodbye to the nurse, before going home for the night. His shoes clicking against the shiny floor, all the way to the elevators where the others had gone through.
'I wish I was still asleep.' Queen thought to herself, as the continued the walk. It worried her to now end that every step seemed like seconds on a clock, counting down the time before a life was about to end. This time, a door which was slightly ajar grasped her attention. The rest of the group too, noticed, and they came to a halt upon noticing the name on the plaque.
"We found it." sighed Max, adding a bit of conversation to the current tension. "I think you should go in first, Queen, since it's your brother. We'll be waiting in the waiting area just around the corner."
Queen gave a nod of thanks, unable to trust her voice. Then with a shaky hand she grabbed the knob, and pushed it open, making her way quietly inside. The room's blinds were blocking all the light that could help to see better in the gloomy room, but that was not what had distracted Queen. It was the fact that she wasn't the first person to see if King was going to be okay.
Her gaze penetrated the back of a sleeping figure on a chair as she made her way over to him and his position right by King's bed.
Queen took in the fact that he was much cleaner than the last time she had seen him, and yet it was obvious that sleep was one that Kai was catching up on at the moment.
She stared at her brother's face, which was almost as pale as skimmed milk. His chest rose up and down slowly, the many instruments that trailed in and out of his skin recording his progress. Blond hair that once shone like the full beauty of the moon limply rested on the plain white pillows.
"King, hey, it's me." whispered Queen, running a hand through his hair. King didn't answer, but she knew that. "Hey, guess what? Dad's gone."
The figure on the bed stayed still, his only reply was the deep breaths that took a lot of effort to take.
"Yeah, I'm happy, aren't you? It's just you, me, and grandmother now. Actually, it had always been just the three of us. It wasn't like dad could even take the time to visit whenever he liked, right?"
Queen ignored the fact the she was just now talking to herself, and continued on. Venting out her feelings was the only thing calling out to her at the moment.
"There's nothing different from before. We'll be together, always, won't we, King?"
No response.
Queen blinked back a few tears that were threatening to fall.
"Damn, it, King, you can't just leave me like this." she kicked the base of the bed, hoping that he would wake, but instead, she was rewarded with a slight pain on her toes. "Not like this." Queen ended with a moan.
Anything. At around this moment, she would just about give anything just to see him open his eyes.
"Hey, King, guess what? It's only three weeks until school starts again."
Maybe talking could help.
"Do you remember Miss Huyton, you know, the woman who you said needed to get laid because she was too strict?" Queen's eyes grew foggy once more, unable to think of the possibilities. "How about the time when we grew up on beyblading? Did you remember how much trouble we got into for using the windows as targets for our practice?" Nope, not even his favourite topic did any good.
Waiting was all that was left, and it was all that Queen could do. She knelt down, heavily resting her arms on the edge of the bed.
"Why won't you wake up?" she whispered, as a memory of when they were both young, King had began crying because he thought that there was a scary ghost on the ceiling. Queen just laughed at him then. To think that this was the same boy who was still afraid of ghosts and monsters, but is not afraid of taking a bullet for his sister.
"He'll live, we got him here on time."
Queen found herself blush, as she had the sudden impression that Kai had been awake for sometime now, listening to her pathetic rants about what had happened before.
"So you're awake." Queen stood up, ignoring the urge to sit down.
"Obviously."
"For how long?"
"Just from the part in where you said that he can't leave you like that." Kai replied, getting up from the chair from which he fallen asleep on. "So how are you feeling? Aren't you supposed to be resting?"
Queen rolled her eyes at him.
"You should be pretty well rested if you can roll your eyes like that."
"At least I wasn't sleeping like some lazy bump on a log." snapped Queen. But then she felt a hint of more guilt. Kai had been anything but lazy for the past few days. For the past few weeks, as a matter of fact.
Kai noticed when the last word she said ended with an abrupt sound, and her expression turned from annoyed to thoughtful.
"Kai, I want to thank you." said Queen awkwardly, trying to find a way to put together some nice words without any insulting comments.
"What for?" asked Kai, though knowing full well what Queen meant.
Queen sighed. This was going to be tougher than she thought.
"For fixing the door-Duh, for helping King and I get our life back."
"Hn. I didn't do it all, I had help from the others." answered Kai, pausing to peek at the window.
"You found me, Kai, when I was attacked that night, and you let me stay at your home. You've helped me in ways I never knew a friend could help, and I could never forget that, no matter how hard I try, I know I'll be always in your debt." Queen stared at Kai's back, which held no current physical response, but it was clear that he had been listening.
She gave a shuddering breath in, willing herself to continue.
"I don't know yet how to repay you, but for now, all I can manage is...Thank you."
Kai smiled, glad that Queen was facing the window so that she wouldn't see the pleased look on his face. But he almost cried out in surprise as he felt two slender arms wrapped around him from behind, giving him a hug.
Queen sighed, as she accomplished her way of saying thank you. It was very daring of her to get all emotional on a person like that, not to mention also quite physical. At the beginning of the 'thank you', she felt him tense up, all the muscles frozen in place. For a moment she thought that Kai had been repulsed by her behaviour, but she was proven wrong when Kai turned around, looking at her emotionlessly, then wrapping his own arms around her. Queen blushed harder, and stared up at him in confusion, where Kai was actually smiling.
Without the exchange of words they kept the embrace for some moments, knowing that things such as these weren't meant to last forever.
"...H...Hi...Hiwatari..."
Queen and Kai stood together rooted on the spot.
"Did you hear that?" Kai whispered, arching his neck to look of where the source of the voice was, and she nodded, proving that he wasn't the only one being delusional at the time.
"....H...Hiwatari...Get off...My sister..."
As though a lightning bolt was thrown between them, Kai and Queen split, their attention now drawn to the very much awake King, who had his eyes weakly opened.
Queen could barely conceal her excitement, and she quickly rushed to his side again, ignoring the pained facial expressions on her brother's face as she gave him a hug.
"King, I'm so glad you're back." she smiled into his shoulder, but then poked him hard on his chest. "You gave me a scare, King, don't do that again!"
King grinned.
"Queen, no fair, come on, we want to see King next!" came Max's voice, just outside the door.
"I guess I'd better let them in." sighed Queen, knowing that the small amount of peace that they had was soon to be broken.
Kai just sat back down again, feeling slightly winded and breathless. It made him happy that Queen and King had nothing else to worry about any longer, but something inside was nagging at him, like a termite threatening to gnaw through all the walls in his house.
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'2:44'
It definitely was too early to get up.
Queen smiled into the pillows, feeling quite refreshed and renewed. Today should be an unusually pleasant day. She got a bit disgusted for the amount of happiness that she was radiating, but the no-worries feeling was so good, she just couldn't resist. Changing positions on the bed, she prepared herself in continuing her dreamless sleep.
Yesterday, after proving to her nurse that all was well, Queen finally got out of the hospital, leaving King and her grandmother in their care, while she would spend the whole day enjoying the sun with the gang. Vince had decided to stay at the hospital, watching over King, and her grandmother. Queen felt very uneasy about this new concept, that it took a while for King to convince that she would be fine, and that there was no way that he could try anything funny in a hospital as big as this one. Queen did promise in the end that she would visit everyday, until they would be well enough to go back to the way things almost were.
Fred their limo driver was back in action, taking them to a nearby restaurant to celebrate their success. All was going well until Kenny unhappily announced that they were to go back home tomorrow, the very next day. The hotel that they would go back to could be rebooked over and over again, but it was the matter of time, ( In Tyson's case-Missing the food ) and people which was the reason why the had to return so quickly.
They all returned to the hotel early, for the tickets home were scheduled for leaving Athens to Zurich, Switzerland at 7:00 a.m., arriving there at 8:50, then from Zurich to Tokyo, at 1:00 p.m., which arrives there at 8:55 a.m. the next day. It all mostly calls for a lot of rest, for the group had to leave at around four in the morning so that they could catch their flight in Athens. So the rest of the day was full of last minute packing, and a lot of goodbyes, but nothing too sentimental, or overly dramatic. Sleep came all too soon, and went to bed.
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"It's too early to be awake at four in the morning." moaned Hilary, as she and Tyson set up their bags in the hall.
"Can't do any other changes, the next flight's probably next week, from what I heard." said Max.
"Where's the others? The taxis that I called for should be here soon." Kai checked his watch, and then looked out of a window.
"Taxis? No fair, we're not taking the limo?" said Hilary in disbelief.
"You've been taking a ride in a limo for at least a week now, I think it's time to get back on track with reality here."
"Meanie."
"Hey, aren't we forgetting something?" asked Tyson, looking at the door they were standing by.
"What?" wondered Max, staring at the door as well. "That's Queen's room, remember? What can we have possibly forgotten?"
Tyson resisted the urge to kick Max in the shins.
"Forget to say goodbye? That ring a bell to you, Max?"
"Shhh. I don't think we should wake her up anymore." said Kai coldly, staring at the door with the same intensity.
"Why, Kai?" asked Ray, dragging his bag along as he, closed their door, where Kai, Max, Tyson and Hilary were waiting. "She said yesterday that she wanted us to wake her up."
"She's tired, and she needs her rest. It's too early in the morning for her already." answered Kai, a little roughly.
"Hey, what's with you?" asked Tyson, peering into Kai's face.
"Nothing. I just don't see the point in her saying goodbye and travelling all the way to Athens and back again." Kai replied, carrying his own bag.
"Yes, and that the sky turns green when it gets sad. Get real, Kai, you're afraid that you're going be missing this place." smirked Tyson, hoping to get some sort of reaction from the solemn one.
"Move on, Tyson, we're going to be late." snapped Kai, returning to his cold demeanour. Inside he cursed Tyson and his unlikely perceptive persona. The poor boy didn't even know how close he got to the reason why Kai didn't want to hang around any longer. Greece had slightly grown on him, but he could never admit to that, well, and also to the other 'things' that he did keep in the dark, and tried to forget.
"Not to worry, I'll make sure Queen gets this letter, then." said Hilary, holding up a neatly folded piece of paper. "I'll just sneak into her room, leave it in, then we'll be set, okay? Hopefully the door's open."
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'What time is it?'
Queen stretched, fully awake, and eager to go for a good long shower. Unfortunately, it was still dark, and there was no sign of sunrise yet to come. Turning on the bed to look at the clock on the bedside table, she sleepily yawned, forcing her eyes to take in the radiance of the clock.
'4:55'
'It's still too early to get up. Besides, there's nothing else to worry abou-' With a fleeting thought of what she just missed got Queen fully awake, and she sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Oh, shit, I missed them!" Queen said angrily to herself, and sprung up from the bed, and opening the door to her room still in her pj's, and gave a quick knock to which once was Tyson's Kenny's and Hilary's room, but there was no answer. Heading back to her room, she checked the clock again. '4:57'
'There's still time.'
Without another second of thought, Queen just hurried up to change, giving a short brush to her hair, and pulled on her shoes, when she saw a note just at the foot of her door she did not notice from all the hurried walking she'd been doing. Pocketing the paper in her jeans pocket, Queen left off in search for Fred, who was supposed to be sleeping in the limo just in case of any emergency.
Then after passing through the main desk-the desk man gave a perplexed look as Queen rushed past him with nothing but jeans and a t-shirt on, with her shoes still untied-she found Fred, who was busily snoring on the passenger side of the wheel.
"Fred." called Queen, rapping on the glass.
"Fred."
"Fred!"
Queen was beginning to consider in breaking the window, when the driver gave a snort, and looked up at her in surprise.
"H-hello, miss Queen, don't mean to sound rude, but isn't it a bit early for an outing?" Fred gave a yawn, and got out, straightening his coat.
"Sorry, about that, Fred, but we have to hurry. I need you to take me to Athens as fast as you can." Queen said, checking her watch once more. '5:08'
"Alright, miss Queen, Athens, as fast as I can." said Fred, giving another yawn.
"Thanks, Fred, you have no idea how much this means to me." smiled Queen, as Fred opened the passengers side, and hopped on. "Say, Fred, any short cuts to Athens that you have in mind?"
Fred started the limo, and gave a frown in thought. "A few, miss, but they can get quite dangerous, especially this early in the morning, where visibility is quite poor."
Queen paused. "Oh, to hell with it, Fred, I just want to get there before seven!"
"Yes, ma'am."
The sound of the car revving up gave Queen another spurt of adrenaline, and she found herself not caring on whether they would be going there in once piece from all the speeding she was thinking about.
When they were leaving Trikala, and were on to Lamia, the watch read- '5:12'
Queen finally opened the letter that was slipped under her door. It was quite long, but the whole letter brought as much warmth as a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Those words made her more determined to get there, and say goodbye. She had to tell them how much she appreciated their help.
Minutes passed. Darkness was yet to lift, and their only company besides themselves were the passing cars that were heading the opposite way.
'5:30'
She began to chew on her nails, a habit that she had not done a long time ago. A few of the words from the letter remained etched in her mind.
Queen, I'm so sorry we had to leave you asleep like that, but I'm sure you need your rest, right? Well, I just wanted to say, that it we had a wonderful time, even if there were those tense and fearful moments. Speaking of fearful, I admit that I was actually scared and nervous to find out that you would be staying with us. From what I heard from the guys, you gave them a hard time. But I think you've changed their minds.
She changed their minds? On what? Although it was hard to admit, the Bladebreakers were the ones who changed her mind so many times, it was getting too hard to count. The most dramatic thing that changed her mind was when they told her that nobody deserved to be lonely, and that you need a deeper understanding of the person, than just judging them by appearance.
"Passing Levadia."
Queen broke out of her thoughts, spotting Fred dodge a car as they headed for an exit. More minutes ticked quickly by, and she felt her heart beat faster, like the rhythmic revolution of the wheels that beat the road.
'5:47'
They were almost there.
Say, Queen, just in case we don't see each other again, I want you to know that you aren't alone in this world anymore, and that you shouldn't even think of running away where there's a battle that is not yet over. We are glad we could help, but everyone's got so much mixed emotions at the moment.
Tyson is torn apart from wanting to go home and eat, to staying because he could just sit around and do nothing all day. Ha, talk about being lazy! Oh, and Max's trying not to get too emotional. Well, you know how he can get really soft so fast. Kenny's ranting on about not being able to use Dizzy for quite sometime now, and planning some more training schedules for the group-they'd been slacking off again-but he says that he misses Greece for it's culture, and differentiality with back home. Ray's been thinking about all of the great dishes that he could cook up, but he says he could have stayed and checked out a city or town without much worry.
Lastly, is Kai. Hm, he's hard to read, and it's less likely that he'll post up a weekly post on what he's thinking about everyday. Haha. Didn't you notice today at dinner that he was quieter than usual? I think that he's going to miss Greece, though, for beating up so many people, and, well, miss some certain people. Hehe. But he's most likely eager to go home, I feel bad for him having to explain to his grandfather on what happened to his house.
Queen sighed, staring out at the window, where over in the horizon, a pinkish tinge had began to emerge at the end, illuminating the sky just a bit.
She will miss them. There's no denying that. Even though Tyson could get annoying, he has a way with making him grow on you as well. Max and his comical ways, Hilary with her true girl-power spirit. Kenny and his computer-like brain, Ray and his expertise in cooking, which rivalled hers. And-Kai.
"Passing Keratsinion, miss Queen, we're almost there!" called Fred in triumph, dodging a few cars, and a pickup.
Queen just 'hn-ed'.
'Kai.' Her breathing quickened just recalling the name. What he was doing to her she could never figure out, but she was afraid that she was starting to like the boy. Well, more than like, perhaps. The jerk. Her thoughts went back to when he was teaching her how to dance, and how she lost herself for just one critical moment. It left her in a state of shock and panic, but it seemed to have left Kai in the same state as well, and therefore they refrained from ever repeating such a thing. But it was hard. She felt drawn to him somehow, nothing that she could comprehend properly. No matter how much she wanted to hate him, she didn't want Kai to just suddenly disappear and say that it would solve all of her problems.
No. He helped her, she felt as though she was in debt. He then helped her too much for her liking, and now she was starting to fancy the boy.
It was as easy as that.
Okay, so it wasn't so easy.
A bump in the road jolted her back from her thoughts once more, but this time, the sky was very much lighter, yet remaining in the dark.
'6:20'
Queen felt restless as they neared the Athens airport, passing the familiar roads they passed when they first got back. A large building then came into view, getting closer and closer.
'6:28'
They would be begin to board at least a quarter to seven.
Fred stopped the limo near the front doors. Queen threw herself out, and began to head into the front doors, and into the already bustling busy airport.
Dodging the people who heralded the many information desks, she sought out a map where the gate where the seven o'clock flight for Zurich, Switzerland was.
Gate 15.
Queen proceeded to hurry along the many places where departures gathered in front of their respective gates.
She took a peek at her watch again. '6:35' For now, she was at; Gate 9.
Six more gates to go, but there were so many people, how can she tell if she'd found them?
In almost a panic, Queen ran, hoping that she could get there in time. Gates passed faster, and people were almost pushed off their feet as she went, feeling as though the airport was bigger than it really was. Muttering hurried apologies, she checked her watch again.
'6:45'
The gate would surely be closed by now.
Queen bit back a sob, as her efforts for getting there were futile. People were still staring at her as she heavily sat herself on a chair, helplessly waiting for her foggy eyes to release their rain. Her hand clenched and unclenched, with the knowledge of having the only chance at having something change in her life go down the drain in that instant. All because she overslept. It was all too stupid to be upset about something so simple as saying goodbye. But the whole thing reminded her of when her father left them at their grandmothers'. They weren't fast enough.
Heavily she forced her feet to stand up, and go home.
A tap to her shoulder got her helpless state turn into an inferno of spite, and just when she was about to say a scathing remark to tell the person off, Queen found her tongue tied to the roof of her mouth, where no fire truck ladder could get to.
"Queen? Why are you here?" asked Kai, in mild surprise. He thought he was being delusional in seeing Queen when she was surely back in the hotel, but here she was.
Queen just gaped for a few seconds, feeling her face burn up.
"Kai, um, I thought I could come to say goodbye." she stared at him, and felt very grateful that he hadn't left yet. "So weren't you supposed to leave at seven?"
Kai shook his head, and he and Queen began to walk, into a much more quieter place, right by a water fountain, and some potted mini trees.
"Our plane was delayed, so we won't be boarding until seven." Kai surveyed Queen, hardly believing that she was there. "How did you get here so fast?"
Queen smiled, as she thought about how much trouble they went to just for this.
"I asked Fred to drive me here."
Kai just fell silent, but the nagging in his brain was too much for him to handle.
"Queen, why did you take such a risk in going out in the early morning, going at god knows what speed, and-Hilary left you a letter, didn't you read it?"
She fished in her pockets, before holding up the crumpled paper. "I've read it, all right."
"Then can't you see that you didn't need to go through all this trouble to get here?" said Kai, raising his voice an octave.
"I-"
"You didn't need to have to ask someone to drive recklessly for your own sake, you know."
"I did it to say goodbye to you, Kai!" choked out Queen, wrapping her arms around herself from the shock of admitting the truth. Kai's eyes widened, watching as Queen blinked a few tears out of the way.
"Queen..." Kai managed to say, taking a step forward. Queen backed away, putting a hand to stop him.
"There. I said it. I had to say goodbye." Queen recalled upon the letter once again. "I'm sorry, Kai. You must think I'm some sort of fool again, huh?"
Kai shook his head.
"No. I had no idea you had the courage to speak out, though." Kai replied, feeling that he too, might do the unthinkable and breakdown, and end up never returning back home.
"I couldn't take the fact that we might never see each other again." Queen smiled faintly, staring at her hands. "After all we've been through, I didn't want to have to forget you."
Kai's lips twitched. "I don't think I can deny that I don't want to forget either." he said after a while. "But I have to go."
Queen felt as though her body was suddenly burning at a stake, feeling ashamed at her foolishness in believing that another person could be there that she could count on. Her knees felt weak at the joints, and she had the impulse to crawl back into the bed and pretend like things had never happened.
Kai felt pained to see the injury that he had inflicted, and King's words back at the monastery, were actually quite true. Although the scars on her skin would fade within time, scars within the soul can't.
"Queen, I promise I'll be back." He lifted her chin up to look at him, and he thought that he could see some hidden emotions deep inside her.
Queen felt her body respond to the touch, moving closer to him. Kai's gaze swiftly darted down to her lips and back to her eyes, where it felt as though she were imprinting his image in her mind with the intensity of her stare. Involuntarily Kai dipped his head down, lifting her chin up higher, in order to reach her lips. Queen fell into an almost dazed state, as she let her hands move to Kai's chest, travelling slowly to his waist to hold him against her. Kai then closed in, lightly caressing her lips with his own. His arms held her once more, where he was imprinting this memory in the back of his mind. They were falling aware of their actions, and soon Queen felt her knees give way, letting her weight rest with Kai, as they continued in trying to express their feelings.
Both fell into abandon, leaving doubts, and problems behind, letting all of their denial burn within the kiss. Boy did it burn.
"Gate 15, now ready for boarding." A loud speaker from somewhere overhead.
Queen felt herself get back down to reality once more, and Kai obviously felt the same, as he gently set her back to her feet.
"I promise, Queen. I'll be back." Kai whispered, brushing a thumb to reddened lips.
"Thanks, Kai." smiled Queen, and they both made their way back, where a whole line was waiting to show their tickets.
"KAI! QUEEN! Over here!"
The pair turned around to see the gang, who was already in line. Sharing a small amused smile, they walked to the group, and without the need to make any words of it, promised to keep things to themselves.
"Queen, I can't believe you made it!" shrieked Hilary, giving Queen a tight hug. "Wow, I was so worried about how you would feel in the morning without us already gone, but here you are!"
"Yes, I got your letter too." said Queen, brandishing the letter in front of Hilary's face.
"Who cares about that letter? You're here, and we really are going to miss you guys." said Tyson, hugging her as well. "Now remember, if you need any help, you can always call us. Hilary left her number on the back of the letter."
"Thanks, Tyson, I won't forget." smiled Queen.
"Oh, and hey, if you ever get bored, call on us." said Ray, as they began to near the counter.
"Have fun the money, and don't spend it all in one place!" laughed Max, wagging his finger at her.
"Queen, phone, me, kay?" said Hilary, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Don't forget to say goodbye and thanks to your brother for us, will you, Queen?" asked Kenny, who was now presenting his ticket to the counter.
Kai just remained expressionless, but his eyes held a slight bit of humour in them. "Try not to get into any trouble."
Queen rolled her eyes at him, before turning to the others again. "You guys, I'm not good with this goodbye stuff, so, thanks for everything."
They were soon all through the gate, and Queen waited until they turned around a corner and out of sight. She would miss them.
"Oh, no, I forgot to take pictures!" came Hilary's voice somewhere ahead.
Indeed she would miss them.
Calmly she headed for the large windows, and watched as their plane took off into the sky, and disappear from sight within the clouds.
At this moment, Queen hadn't begun to appreciate the comings of dawn before. It was as though similar to a rainbow after a storm, but now a new bright beginning, emerging from the dark and sorrow, spreading it's light like a never ending flame.
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C.A.: Well, the scenes that are being rushed, if you didn't notice, and quite hurried, which I had intended, for it was a recollection, not an actual scene. Oh, and please, if you could forgive the length of the chapter. I hope it wasn't boring or any of the sort.
Lastly, I'm one of the people who worried about how good the 'endings' of a story should be. So, if the ending disappoints you, um, gee, I don't know much what to do about that. It is my first story ending after all.
Candide Avedo: First of all, I would like to thank you all, for taking the time to read my work and to show your appreciation. You all have taught me to commit into actually finishing what I have started, and also to keep on doing what I love to do. Also for being patient with my short and long writer's blocks, ( I was in denial for the whole time ; ) not to mention taking the time to actually read the chapters, and well, even some of the little rambles at the beginning and the end. ( Hehe, just like what I am doing right now. ) I have truly appreciated your support, forcing me to bring out the best that I possibly can. ( LOL. Even at one in the morning ) I can't say thank you enough!
Luv ya all!
I do hope you'll take the time to say goodbye. :)