My Inspiration
Author's Note: Hi! In my last eh, 'talk', I said that this chapter would be up very soon, but eh, I guess I meant that it would only take one week to post instead of the two week intervals. It's getting hard to remember details, and as for Hiro, I didn't add him on, because I began this before the G Revolution, so, I didn't. Sorryz, you guys, confession time. I didn't know Tyson had a brother. ( Weeps like a widowed old woman ) I have failed you all...
Yes, well, on other news... Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them, and you do know how it makes me happy, so thank you!
Disclaimer: I, Candide Avedo do not own anything that has to do with Beyblade.
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Too Late
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"Kai?"
Queen fell at a loss for words, as she had been taken off-guard by his sudden appearance. It happened all so fast, that she didn't know she had uttered his name, which called on his attention.
"Queen...Hey."
Kai just kept on staring. What could be said? It would be nothing of her interest if he began talking about how great Tyson's wedding was. That would probably be the stupidest thing he could start with.
"Nice wedding, isn't it?" Queen removed her eyes from his, and walked over to the fountain. She kept careful distance to Kai as she stared at the ultimate fall of the water. "Tyson and Hilary do make a good couple, don't you think?"
He felt a little confused, but he nodded anyway. Kai tried to catch her eye, but Queen refused, as she pretended to be avidly preoccupied with her nails-something that struck him as an unusual thing for her to do. How come she was acting as though things were all normal? Was it possible that she didn't care if he hadn't did what he said he would? There was no other explanation as to how she knew about Hilary's wedding. Queen was keeping contact with Hilary. If that were true, then why hadn't she asked for his number from her, or some such thing? How long has she been here?
"So, Queen, have you been here long?" Kai brightened up his for a tad bit, so much, in fact, that it obviously sounded fake.
"Oh, just for a week now, and Tyson's grandfather was nice enough to let us stay in the dojo for the wedding. A weird but good man, Tyson's grandfather. For a person his age, he still can make you jump with his kendo moves." Queen laughed lightly at her little joke, and flashed Kai a smile.
"That's nice of them." Kai didn't know what else to say. Queen make it as though she was talking about how wonderful a japanese tea ceremony was right in the middle of a horror movie. "Say, Queen, I saw your brother today."
"That's nice." she replied calmly. "Weddings bring many people together."
He cursed under his breath. "What are you going on about?"
Queen gave him a soft perplexed look. "I don't know what you mean." she smiled again. "That's okay. Thank you, I had a pleasant time, I do hope you'll excuse me, I don't want to miss the cutting of the cake." After a slow and curt nod, she pushed past him, with her heels echoing on the polished stone walk.
Kai gaped.
"Wait." he called, and her feet came to a forced stop. "Don't you want to ask me anything?"
Queen faced him, tilting her head in question. "Why would I want to ask you something?"
"About-about why I didn't contact you."
Her tilted head grew straight, and her smiling lips formed into a thin line. The hands that had lifted themselves to touch the fountain's water so tenderly clenched and unclenched. Eyes that feigned happiness grew so cold that the humidity in the air itself dropped a few degrees. The Queen that he was looking for returned.
"You want me to ask? Why do you want me to ask? I already know why, there's no need for any question. Simple as that." she snapped her fingers. "If you wanted to contact us, then you would have done so."
"It was only three years-"
"Three long years. Years that brought so many changes, Kai. It's fine. Just forget it." Queen walked away, reaching the double doors, before giving him a final look, one that was shadowed, replacing the cold.
"Queen-"
"Forget it. I did. It was just a dream, Kai. All a dream." Queen shut the door quietly, immersed in the happily dancing and chatting crowds once more.
Kai swore in his head, as he felt the pangs of frustration settling in his brain again. He didn't know why he was being persistent, but Kai knew he couldn't rest until Queen knew the truth. She just had to understand.
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Her heart was beating fast. It didn't want to slow down. His mere presence felt like a snake charmer enticing a snake to come closer. She had to keep her distance. Kai was too late.
"Too late."
"What am I late for?" King sat down on the chair beside her, while she fell oblivious to the surrounding people at her table. Everyone was there but Kai, who was yet to return. The guests were now eagerly waiting for Tyson and Hilary to cut the cake. "They haven't cut the cake yet."
"I was just thinking out loud." said Queen nonchalantly, spotting Kai finally returning to his seat, and avoiding her eye.
"Next time, when you think, make sure it's not so loud. You give people the wrong impressions sometimes."
"Shut up."
"Will you two just quit it for a second? They're cutting the cake!" Mariah snapped, losing a bit of her patience as King opened his mouth to retaliate. Ray hastily mouthed a 'sorry' while he tugged on Mariah's arm, and pointing to the couple cutting the cake. Fat, short layers of cake rose at least two feet in the air, all sequenced in decreasing size. Fresh lilies that were artistically placed on the top, amidst the small figurine bride and groom.
At the moment the knife touched the bottom of the pan, the refrain of guests applauding was tumultuous. Soon, cake was served, and the music started again.
"I can't imagine how much trouble the those two went into." said Max, licking his fork happily, as his well-awaited moment had arrived. "Think Tyson allows take-homes?"
"I dunno, Max, but you'll have to save some for me." Kenny froze, then began to beat at his chest frantically coughing and sputtering.
"Slow down, Kenny, there's plenty of time to eat." Max patted Kenny's back, as his friend choked on icing. "Plus, when everyone's finished, there is still time to dance."
"Speaking of dancing..." Ray stood up. "Mrs. Kon, would you dance with me?"
Mariah giggled, placing her arm on his, waving to the others as they joined in the many people dancing, and leaving them to finish their cake. No one else said anything, but instead relaxed, watching Tyson and Hilary share a first dance, where they were surrounded by other couples. Once or twice they spotted Grandpa chasing down a girl who obviously didn't want to dance.
Not too long after that, Max was called on by Miriam, and then Kenny was dragged off by Emily. All four were now on the dance floor, accompanied by a waltz. It was well past midnight now, and a few people already called it quits for the night, and saying goodbye.
Half an hour later, Kai began to wish that he didn't come, for he was alone at the table with King and Queen. Nothing much to say, or course. Awkward moments settled upon them repeatedly, and Kai felt the sudden urge to stand up and just leave.
And stand up he did.
But Kai didn't leave, instead he crossed to the other side of the round table to where King and Queen were quietly watching the dancing people, coming to stop in front of them.
"Hi." King acknowledged.
"...Hi." Kai then completely ignored him, and looking to the sister, who masked her expressions with a blank stare. "Queen, will you have this dance?"
She said nothing, but just stared at his waiting hand. King glanced from Kai to Queen, and looked away, staring at the dance floor as if he couldn't care less. It really was not in his interest to be a part of this, and he had warned Kai that he knew something like this would happen.
Kai held out his hand farther to her, until she accepted.
Queen felt herself being swept up into familiar arms again, and onto the dance floor, where the music brought on many familiar memories. Still in silence he started to lead her through the dance. As badly as she wished it would not happen, Queen's insides were churning, as recollections of the past replayed in the back of her mind.
Kai teaching her how to dance.
Their first kiss.
The dance at Mr. Dickensen's birthday.
How she felt the warmth.
Their moments in Santikos Mansion.
He set her free.
Her thanks to him at the hospital.
She tried to show him...
The kiss before he left...
How much she cared.
"Kai, stop." Queen felt her breath caught in her throat. This was all-too familiar, and she had to stop before she made any actions that she could regret. His body felt so comforting to her, like a shelter from the storm of confusing emotions. An oasis on a desert.
"Queen, I need you to give me a chance to explain." Kai gritted his teeth, staring over her head as they were passed by faster moving couples. "I can't stop until you understand. It wasn't as though I had meant to do that to you."
"Could have fooled me." muttered Queen under her breath. "Alright. I'll let you say your bit, if you listen to mine." There was not a lot of point in listening to it, but she wanted to try.
"Agreed." Kai pondered where to start. He didn't know if she would belive that he has a grandfather who was bent on making him a replica of himself. Taking in the consideration of time, there was not much choice. "I did try to contact you. Whenever I tried, I couldn't get through. The only conclusions I had were that the phone was not online, or you had moved."
Queen chewed on her lip.
"Going back to Greece hadn't been an available option, because if you did move, I'm clueless to where you are. I am closely being watched now, my grandfather remained suspicious until now about what happened, and he's not buying the lies." he took a deep breath, and exhaled it quickly, trying to release the strain in his voice.
"Kai-"
"Before I knew it, I forgot about it all, for I continued on my studies." Kai interrupted. " I grew older, I felt changed, I forgot what I had said." he let his eyes stray over to Tyson and Hilary, who were joking with Max and Ray. "I didn't want you hurt, Queen, if that's what you're thinking. It wasn't intentional."
She felt some of her anger ebb away the slightest bit, as Kai did make some sense.
"Kai, it's okay. I know. You don't have to worry. I understand now." she drew her eyes up to his face, tightening her hands with his. "Actually, I suppose it's all partly our fault. We moved, just to let you know. King and I felt in need of a new beginning, that we decided to move back into our house. The rest of the three years we spent returning it to it's original condition. Just last month it was finished. The whole place is almost the way it once was. Perhaps, it was something you didn't mean."
Queen smiled faintly at him. A sincere smile, the first one in three years. Kai smiled back, satisfied that his goal was accomplished. She finally understood him, and he felt satisfied.
"Queen, I want to thank you for listening to my bit." Kai waltzed them into a corner, where the chance of them being overheard was about zero. "I needed for you to know."
"I know, Kai, I know." Queen nodded, but her face turned sombre. "I wasn't aware of somethings, that's all. For the first six months I was hopeful-We were hopeful, there was nothing weighing down on us now, and we hoped it would remain that way. King and I got into a private school, and both of us felt relieved that we don't have to be home schooled any longer. A new beginning, and yet we've begun to forget. Kai, you don't know how it feels to have the realization that you might not see a certain person once again. It hurt. The pressure was so much that...I had to forget about you."
Kai stopped. 'What?'
"Kai, I'm glad you told me the truth. But it's too late. The past is the past, and I can't hold on to something I can't have any longer." Queen broke away, letting her hands rest at her sides.
"What do you mean?" Kai felt a surge of longing, as the last words echoed in his mind. 'I can't hold on to something I can't have any longer.' "Queen, I don't get where you're getting at."
"Just take it from me, Kai. You're too late. I guess this is goodbye." Queen backed away, away from the comforting warmth, away from youth's bliss. Her face was like a japanese Noh mask, a mix of emotions that were hard to interpret. She turned on her heel, excusing herself, hastily making her way back to their table.
Kai let the words sink into his head. Goodbye? What did she mean, goodbye? He followed suit moments later, also making his way past the now dissipating people, and back to their table, where a waiter was beginning to clear the plates up. They were gone. He searched the room for any sign of them, and found the two making their way to the lobby, saying goodbye to the bride and groom.
"King, Queen, thank you both for coming, and we do appreciate it, a lot." Hilary wrapped her arms around Queen, as she and Tyson were on their way to their honeymoon limo.
Queen sent her a hug back, and giving affectionnate pats. King shook Tyson's hand, and once Hilary let go of Queen, gave her a hug as well.
"Yeah, thanks, King." said Tyson, waving to the other people who were there to see them go. "Just didn't know that you were the kind of person to actually cry at weddings-Hey, Kai!" he shouted, spotting him lurking behind Ray.
"Congratulations, Tyson. Oh, and Don't forget. Your present is waiting for your at your house when you return." Kai called out, as Tyson had no other choice but to keep on moving.
"Thanks, dude, I can't wait to see it!" Tyson hollered back.
"Bye, Tyson, have fun!" yelled Kenny, as Max waved his hands frantically. Ray was holding a crying Mariah, and Grandpa, in the meantime, was busy throwing rice in the air.
Everyone kept on saying goodbye, from the time they boarded the limo, up until it disappeared from sight in the chilly darkness. All the guests too, said goodbye, leaving some people behind, to pick up anything else that had been left behind, or to clean up. The rest was the hotel's responsibility now.
Mariah, Ray, Kenny, Max, Kai, Queen, and King were now leaving the building, taking the time to say their own goodbyes.
"Max, you're going to drive Kenny home, right?" asked Ray, as he and Mariah stopped by their car.
"Yeah, don't worry about us, it's okay, Kenny's house isn't too far from mine, so it's not going to be a problem." Max replied, yawning. "How about you, King, Queen?"
King just shrugged. "We're heading back to the Granger's, Tyson's grandpa already went home already, Mr. Dickensen drove him. I just borrowed Tyson's car, and we're just going to borrow it until tomorrow, and Tyson's grandpa says he's going to return it."
"Okay, then." Kenny said, as Queen said her goodbyes to Max, Ray, and Mariah. "I guess this is til next time, right?"
Queen nodded. "Yeah, I guess til next time."
King turned to Kai, who was silent in the background. "Kai, it was nice to see you again. Maybe we will see each other again sometime."
"Yeah...Sometime." Kai replied, as his eyes connected with Queen's.
Then, as the time drew near to two in the morning, they dispersed. Kai began his drive home, feeling as though weddings were much more trouble than they're worth.
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C.A.:Welllll...Will Kai see Queen again? What does she mean, 'too late'?
Okay, there. I have nothing else to say, I guess. If you have any questions, comments-please review, it would be very much appreciated. I'm writing this solely for readers, for your enjoyment.