It's My Life
Okay, as promised, here's Lena's side of 'For Rel' and 'Get Rel'.
Marching band is over with and now I'm back to writing. That was too much of a hassle trying to write every other weekend while going to competitions every weekend then having three practices a week for three hours. Anyways, I'm back and I will be updating from now on.
For the last 24 hours Relena had slept for only about 15 minutes total and that was all on the Euroshuttle. She had slept lightly until Sage woke her up gently by shaking her shoulder a bit.
"Lena," Sage whispered gently in his friend's ear, "we're in France hon."
Waking up, even though a bit groggy, Relena grabbed her bag and got to her feet, following Sage off the shuttle. During the entire time she unconsciously hid her face behind her slightly mused hair.
Taking notice of Relena's concealment, Sage chuckled lightly to himself before he bent down to mutter in her ear, "You don't need to hide your face." Her head jerked a bit. "There's no media, no cameras flashing in your face anymore. Right now you're just a regular, everyday girl on her way to Italy with friends, nothing more."
Realizing that Sage was right, Relena tugged her hair behind her ears and looked up at her surroundings. Her entire body steadily began to relax as they walked on and no one stopped to stare, point, or flash a camera at them.
I am just another person, Relena smiled. "You're right Sage; I am just like everyone else now."
Putting an arm around her shoulders, Sage grinned widely at her as they exited the shuttle station.
"So where are we going to stay at until Adam and Lynn get here?" Relena inquired.
"Lynn's place," Sage stated simply.
Relena's eyes widened, why wasn't she aware that Lynn had a place of her own, and in France at that?! "Lynn has a house here?" she voiced.
"No," corrected Sage as he hailed for a taxi, "we're staying her adopted family. Draca's already there waiting for us and Lynn's parents are excited to meet us at last since they have heard so much about us."
"You mean you and Lynn are who they are waiting for," corrected Relena as a taxi pulled up to the curb. It was queer, but Relena could feel all the maturity she had built up over the years begin to ease away. It wasn't easing away in the sense that she was becoming less mature but rather not being so uptight about everything.
Knowing that Relena had a point, Sage just shrugged, "Like it matters." Opening the car door, Sage, in his very gentleman way, let Relena in first before sliding into the back seat with her and instructing the driver.
Even as the car was on the move Relena still found herself chuckling softly at Sage's response. It was just so refreshing to have someone so carefree around her that did not treat her as someone who needed protection, like Duo or Hilde.
As much as Relena loved both Duo and Hilde as friends, they liked to remind her quite often that they were there for her protection and not to be her friends. It was only when either in the car or when Relena was sick in bed that Hilde or Duo actually truly let their bodyguard personas down.
Pulling her out of her thoughts was the sound of Sage's humming and air drumming as he read a sheet of music with the words 'Sugar Foot Stomp' written at the top. Leaning over a bit, Relena, careful not to get hit by Sage's wailing arms, looked over the music. She didn't play percussion and she didn't quite know what the each note meant but she could tell by the humming that it was a Ragtime piece.
"Is that the kind of music you were talking about for the band?" Relena inquired, gesturing to the sheet of music.
Being startled out of his musical world, Sage dropped his music. "Uh…what was that Lena?" he asked while bending to retrieve the piece of paper.
With an amused smile, Relena repeated her question, but more slowly.
"Yeah," Sage nodded, "this kind of music and stuff like…here let me get them out." Digging through his bag, Sage finally found a folder that had sheet after sheet of music filed in and out of the folder, even had sheets hanging half out of the folder. "Here, there are some piano parts in there for you to look at if you want."
Shifting through the stack of music that Sage handed to her, Relena looked over the piano parts of each tune. It had been a while since Relena had actually sat a piano and played something that was not classical and something she had learned back in the third grade, like "Hungarian Dance".
"Wow," she commented while looking over some of the pieces, especially one with the title "Weak". "That probably sounds real nice when played."
Glancing at what song his friend was speaking of, Sage smirked. "Adam kind of thought you would like that one since it does have this sort of mellow, classic romantic sound to it. Real nice indeed," he agreed before adding, "especially with you singing it."
Suddenly Relena tensed in her seat. Singing? Her? She hadn't sung anything, professionally, since the eighth grade choir class when she was given a solo part based upon bias and not skill.
"Singing?" she voiced her concern.
Noticing the change in her tone, Sage slapped his forehead.
"These songs have lyrics?"
"Some of them," Sage corrected. "It was Draca's idea to have a lyrical band since her forte is singing. I mean come on, you got to remember Draca's voice, she could have been an opera singer if she wanted to with that range!"
Relena could most certainly remember Draca's voice, it was among one of the most angelic sounds to be heard and Sage did not exaggerate when he stated that Draca could have been an opera singer. She certainly had the voice, training, and range for it, Relena noted with a ghost of a smile; how she envied her friend's talent.
"You see, on each song there would be two or three people singing. Like you sing the verse one and three and I take verse two, or you take all the verses and I do the chorus," Sage explained, but that didn't comfort Relena. "Everyone gets to sing, even Adam and I with our bullfrog-like voices will be singing."
Relena laughed.
"What?! You don't believe me? Well, then you should hear Adam when he sings in the shower, it's nothing pleasant; in fact, I think it even cracks the glass in the house," stated Sage, trying so hard not to laugh at his own exaggerations.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Relena shook her head. "Anything else that I should know about?" she questioned, not wanting anymore surprises jumping out at her.
"Well, Lynn had suggested that each of us write a song or two of our own, then write a couple of instrument parts for the song because each of us plays more than one instrument," Sage told her.
Making a face, Relena shook her head. "I don't think violin counts," she claimed.
"Hey now, you're talking to someone who can teach you how to play some of the smaller percussion parts." Relena looked confused. "You know, like the keyboards," suggested Sage, hoping that Relena would understand what he was talking about.
"Keyboards?" Apparently, she didn't understand what he meant by keyboards, like most other people.
"Yeah, keyboards; vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, bells…any of that making sense to you?" listed Sage.
Feeling that Sage was intentionally insulting her, Relena nodded, "Yes, I know what those are; I just never heard them referred to as 'keyboards' is all."
If there was ever one thing Relena hated more than a betraying Heero was when people treated like she was stupid. She had gone through enough of that in the Eves' War that she didn't feel the need to take anymore of it for the rest of her life.
The taxi pulled up against the curb on a quiet street a little bit outside of Paris.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to insult your intelligence Relena," Sage apologized as he opened the door and got out. "So, are you going to become a groupie in our little band or no?"
Exiting the car, Relena took a moment to think about it while pulling out her duffle bag. Despite the whole singing part, the band sounded like an interesting idea that would give her something to do with her friends and get her back into practicing piano.
Sage was trying to pay the driver but due to his lack of knowledge in French, it wasn't going over so well.
Rolling her eyes, Relena took the wad of francs and spoke to the driver. Having been the daughter of a Vice Foreign Minister and having been one herself, Relena knew a total of four languages; English, Japanese, Italian, and French.
Paying the driver his money, Relena turned back to Sage, who was gapping in shock, and handed him his money.
"Lead the way," she told Sage, gesturing to the apartment building they stood in front of.
Closing his mouth, Sage led the way to the flat the Vocs, occupied. It was easy for them to get into the building since Sage had been given a copy of Lynn's key to the building.
Reaching the door, Sage knocked on it. Promptly, the door swung open to reveal a middle-aged woman, obviously Mrs. Voc, Lynn's adopted mother. She greeted Sage and Relena in French, causing Sage to go into a state of panic.
"Is Draca Ison here?" Relena inquired in French.
Mrs. Voc just eyed Relena with suspicion, something Relena couldn't blame her for since the woman was expecting her daughter not someone who was a look-alike.
The door was pushed open more with the appearance of a girl with onyx black hair and bright jade eyes. This new girl, Draca, spoke a few words to Mrs. Voc and the older woman went away, not before casting another suspicious look at Relena.
Alone in the doorframe, the new girl eyed Relena up and down in a curious manner. It was plain to anyone who really knew Lynn that Relena was most certainly not her.
"Relena?" Draca questioned, raising an inquiring eyebrow.
Suddenly becoming sheepish, Relena lowered her head and nodded.
The scream that erupted from Draca's mouth could have woken the dead. It was one of those excited screams fanatic fans made when they met their favorite celebrity for the first time.
Startled from the screaming, Relena looked up only to see Draca hug her tightly, her screaming dying down into joyous laughter. By that time though there was an audience peering over the railings of the stairs from the lower and upper flats.
"Oh my God, it's really you!" exclaimed Draca, pulling back from Relena then hugging her again.
"Yes, yes, it is really her," Sage sighed, a bit too harshly as he looked about nervously. "As much as I love this reunion, I think this should be taken inside and out of the prying eyes of neighbors."
Releasing her hold on Relena, Draca stuck her tongue out at Sage and dragged them inside the flat, closing the door behind them.
"Don't order me around Sage," Draca told him severely, she hated to take orders from others. Upon turning to Relena though, Draca's countenance softened. "What are you doing here?!"
"Well…" Relena began only to be interrupted by Sage.
"She ran away and we're hiding her for now."
Ignoring the fact that Sage had answered the question, Draca continued to question Relena. "Oh…I see. Does this mean you'll be going to Italy with us?"
This time Relena got to answer for herself. "Yes." It was thrilling to see her friend so excited to see her and to know that Draca was happy with the fact that Relena was stay with the group.
"And college? Are you going to college with us as well?" Draca interrogated, giddily.
Relena's face fell at this question. The furthest her education went was to 9th grade, nothing beyond that point. How was she supposed to go to college when she hadn't even finished high school?
"I don't think so," she replied.
Draca pouted, "Why not?"
"Draca," Sage interjected, "Relena probably never applied to any college." Draca was still confused. "Remember Draca, Relena stopped going to school after freshmen year because of her princess duties to the Sanc Kingdom, being Queen of the World Nation, and then Vice Foreign Minister."
"Oh right," Draca nodded, adverting her eyes a bit. After a few moments though, her head snapped back up. "Well, I don't think Jo-jo will mind you going to college with us. I'm sure she could get you in."
Eyes wide in bewilderment, Relena asked, "Jo-jo? You don't mean Jo-jo Alley?" Draca nodded. "What does Jo-jo have to do with this?"
"Relena, Jo-jo is the headmaster at the college we're going to. I'm sure she can help out if you really want to go to college at all," Sage assured, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.
Everything in her wanted to pounce upon this opportunity but Relena's cautious mind stopped her. "But if I went I'd be found out by using my name," she pointed out in a disappointed tone.
"Then make up a name," Draca grinned, sounding as though it was the easiest solution to come to.
"And a history, not to mention files?" Relena added in disbelief. "Can't do it. The only person I know that can do all that is Heero."
Now it was Sage's turn to step in. "Not necessarily," he spoke up, pulling out a cell phone, "Ricky is good at that kind of stuff, along the lines of forgery."
"Ricky?"
Draca shrugged, "You know how he wants to be a spy and stuff."
Relena was still not buying it; how could anyone ever have more or the same amount of skill Heero had? There was no way; even the best wouldn't be able to compete with Heero when it came to creating identities.
"Where would Ricky get the resources…?" Relena began to question before a thought struck her and she knew the answer. "Oh right…girl genius that can make any and everything with a roll of duct tape." A knowing smile was exchanged by the three.
"Exactly," Draca nodded. "So, you want to come with us?"
"It won't be the same without you," Sage added with an imploring expression and puppy-dog eyes.
It didn't take long for Relena to cave into her friends. Besides, who could resist Sage's big, puppy-dog eyes?
"Okay, sure, it sounds like fun in an educational way," Relena agreed.
"Great!" cheered Sage, the adorable puppy-dog eyes vanishing for existence.
"What's you're name going to be?" Draca asked, excitedly.
Thinking about, Relena tapped a finger to her chin. What was a name that she could use that none of the Preventers would dare to assume that she would go by? Well, there was her mother's name but that might be obvious, then there were the assorted nicknames but those were even more obvious. Then there was her middle name, something that few people knew. Heck, no one could ever figure it out since on all her files there was just her middle initial…
"Salimar…" Relena began as she looked about the room for inspiration until her eyes fell upon a book lying on the coffee table with the word "Reigns" at the top. "Reigns. Yes, Salimar Reigns is my new name."