Chapter 9: The Pink Princess
"Come on, stop struggling and put this on." Cagalli's nanny demanded, trying to get her change into a green gown lined with silver lace.
"No way, I'm not getting into that dress! There's so little cloth! Lacus, talk some sense into her!" she pleaded while struggling and losing as usual.
"I should talk some sense into you." Lacus replied smiling. "The design is elegant and simple, yet fashionable and presentable. The one who gave you that ring will like it."
Upon hearing that, Cagalli went silent. Thinking of something she could rebut with, something came to mind.
"I bet the one who gave you that ring would like you in that dress too." She teased. Lacus blinked her eyes, the universal gesture for 'huh?', and smiled absentmindedly, gazing into the space in front of her. Lacus was in a borrowed pastel blue gown made of satin, which showed her collar bone and slender arms. It clung to her like a second skin, looking more like spray paint with every passing moment and brought out the softness of both the fabric and wearer.
"I can't think of a way to reply him…"
"What's so hard about saying Y-E-S?" Cagalli asked as her nanny triumphed and was zipping up the back now.
"There's so much we've gone through…so much I want to tell him. But every time I see him, the thoughts just fade away… I may be good at speech-making, but when I see him, I just can't find the right words to tell him how I feel. He's always so calm and serene…It always seem like we're inside our own personal time stop when I'm with him."
Cagalli considered her words, marveling at the differences between her perspective of her little brother and Lacus's, the same between her opinion of Athrun and hers. Cagalli went over to Lacus and lifted her left hand, telling her, "Tell Kira straight in the face, just like Athrun told me he might want to go to PLANTs to try for the post. Goodbyes are painful, but necessary sometimes. Kira will be happy with your reply no matter what."
"Athrun told you…?"
"He wanted my opinion, I don't want him to leave, but…that's plain selfish right? So I told him it will be difficult, but somehow we'll work around all that, just as we did before. The two of us… it sounds terribly naive though, to think everything will be just fine."
"I like the notion. It's called hope." Lacus replied, smiling.
Kira finished putting on the Prussian blue suit that Athrun lent to him, and was satisfied with the overall presentation as he examined himself in the mirror. Athrun had offered to lend one set to Shinn as well but he declined on the assumption that 'Formal parties are for political stuffed shirts only' and borrowed Athrun's car instead, saying he's gonna drive around Orb. Athrun knew he wanted to avoid Cagalli, so he did not pursue the matter.
Athrun wore a black blazer and bow tie ensemble, simple and smart.
"Looking good." He beamed at Kira, "Work hard, relax and sweep Lacus off her feet tonight." Upon hearing her name, Kira felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach again. He was way beyond nervous, Lacus had told him on that night,
Give me time.
He tried to play it cool and take it like a man, not sure whether it meant good or bad news, but couldn't hide the fact that he was slightly discouraged. He took out the ring that Lacus gave him two years ago, and held it tightly in his palm.
In the military hospital in PLANTs, Captain Ileisus stared hopefully as his brainwaves spiked and he stirred. He slowly opened his aquamarine eyes, gazing at her in disapproval. She could only sit down beside him and asked worriedly, "How do you feel?"
He frowned at her, and didn't reply for a time, as if considering the question and whether to answer. It was normal, for someone who got injured so badly. "Terrible…" he managed to reply, his voice was dry and weak. She didn't want him over exerting himself, however great the need, so she employed a softer and gentler tone in telling him.
"Rest."
He held her gaze for a while longer, fighting to stay awake, and at last, he closed his eyes and minutes later, was sound asleep again.
She sighed, guilt tugging at her heart. When she managed to remove his helmet and suit that day, he was bleeding profusely. She could remember the shock when she found his shirt bloodied, blood had seeped through the bandages round his torso and stained the shirt in a crimson patch. The medic reported that the stitches tore and a broken rib had pierced into his lungs. When they finally got back to PLANTs, he had stopped breathing. The doctors managed to resuscitate him, but he laid unconscious for three days. Heavily sedated and hooked on a ventilator via a chest tube. She was afraid, for he might never wake up, so she was utterly relieved when he did. For if he didn't, it will be her fault.
She clasped her hands together and gazed at his pale face, sweat drenched his brow, indicative of how much effort it took for him just to speak that one word. The door opened, and in came Dearka with a bouquet of sunflowers. She stared intently at the sunflowers as Dearka testily loaded the lot into a vase.
"Don't look at me like I'm weird or anything, I don't generally give flowers to guys." He snapped.
"Than…?" she inquired.
"He hates sunflowers, he says they are large and cumbersome and smells funny. I hope he'll wake up sooner upon getting a sniff of this baby."
"Oh…he did just now."
Shinn got off the convertible, letting his eyes sweep across the deserted landscape, the country side of the country named Orb, the very place where Mayuu and his family perished… It was nostalgic, to view the place once again, all rocky and uneven. However, he had resolved that nothing is going to stop him from what he planned to do today. He removed the items from the back of the car, and proceeded to look around. The evening sun had bathed the rocky hillside in an eerie shade of dusk, casting a shadow on most things in sight.
At the region nearest to the coast, he found what he was looking for. A white willow, so crooked that it seemed bent over, its branches provided sufficient shade for anything beneath it.
Perfect.
He set the items down, and started to pry away some loose soil between the roots of the old tree. When he made an indent large enough, he picked up Mayuu's pink handphone, holding it securely in his hands for the last time, and placed it slowly, inside the hole. Next, he picked up a glass bottle, void of content amid a small piece of sea shell lying at the bottom. The shell was yellowish and emanated a faint pink glow, it was a soothing combination. He stood up, and gazed in the direction of the ocean. The wind worming through his hair and the waves crashing against the rocky shore. Suddenly saddened, he shouted to no one in particular, "Why did you have to die! WHY?"
The bottle dropped from his hand, landing on the grass below and started rolling downhill towards the ocean, gaining speed with every second. Alarmed, he chased after the bottle escaping, sliding down the hillside in its wake.
He heard the sound of shattering glass and arrived to find the bottle broken against some rocks.
"Who's there?" bellowed someone from the shore and the next moment a gunshot rang in the air.
After introducing the King and Queen of kingdom Scandnivia and a short briefing, the musicians strum up a tune and the Orb soldiers, resplendent in various tuxedos and suits paired up and waltzed around the dance floor, in a building with a glass dome. Stars began to appear beyond the transparent layer, stardusting the evening sky.
Athrun lifted a gloved hand toward Cagalli, "My princess, May I invite you for a dance?"
Cagalli frowned and lifted an eyebrow, Athrun didn't like formal occasions and would be the first to find an excuse to escape. Now he actually wanted to dance? Athrun threw a side glance at Kira and Lacus beside them, than she understood. She placed her hand in Athrun's and declared with equal formality, "You may." The two of them walked towards the center of the ballroom, and Athrun gave Kira a meaningful look and mouthed. "Don't worry."
Seeing the pair leave, Lacus took Kira to the balcony, away from the music. The duo stood there in silence, both gazing at the at the sun setting over the horizon, and the greenery of the lust tropical rain forest beneath and the rocky cliff beyond. They could hear crickets and chirping animals periodically. Lacus whispered dreamily, "Sure is beautiful, this country."
Kira nodded, not wanting to break the calm silence. He looked at Lacus, glamorous in a dress that looked less like apparel with every passing moment. "I think you're more beautiful." Lacus's eyes widened and she turned towards him, opening her mouth to say something, and quickly shut it again., muttering a quick 'thank you'. She sounded pleased though.
Shinn manage to dodge the bullet by throwing himself to one side, the glass cutting him instead, leaving uneven scratches on his elbow. He quickly got up and ran towards the car, hastily powering up the engines and speeding off. Behind him, he could hear the screeching of car tyres, someone's chasing after him. He stepped the accelerator all the way down and chanced a look behind. It was four Zaft military vehicles with their occupants in diving suits, apparently they were planning on entering by the water way, till Shinn found them… They might also be soldiers guarding the territorial waters, but that was unlikely. Shinn noticed something that made his blood turn cold; each member had an emblem on their suits, a white emblem shaped like a wing, and like the letter 'F'.
"Are we really gonna dance?" Cagalli asked uncertainly. Athrun placed his hand on her waist and held her hand.
"As long as we don't step on each other's feet too much. Come on, I need revision." He replied, smiling warmly. She complied, putting her right hand on his left shoulder and gripping his right hand. Both were a little raw at first and it was Athrun who kept going 'Ouch.', but after a bit of warming up they actually enjoyed it.
"I learnt court dance since I was five." Cagalli began to reminisce, making a disgusted face. "I know twenty country dances and seven classical dances, useless." Athrun replied, "Me too, my father made me. But I guess its useful for moments like this." Both were silent for a bit, enjoying the quiet pace of the music.
"Have you decided?" she asked him finally. He shook his head slightly, looking at the floor. The music calmed both of them, and it was pleasantly still, just when Athrun's phone rang.
"Drat." Cursed Cagalli as she dragged herself out of the moment and guided Athrun to the closest exit. He flipped open the receiver and stared at the number, it was a coded line, only very few people have this number. And it was usually bad news when someone dial this number.
"Hello?" it was Shinn.
"Athrun, I was at the boundary of Orb and I was chased by ZAFT military vehicles! I overhead them talking a bit and I think they…"
"What have you done to deserve them chasing you? And they could well be sentry soldiers…" he retorted, a little irritated
"You just SHUT UP and listen! They are not any Zaft soldiers; they are all from the faith squad and I overheard them saying their mission was to terminate 'her'! They are trained and almost shot me, they are fully armed."
The two sentences sent a shiver up his spine, the implications of what that meant. The faith squad is under direct control of the council, them landing in Orb told him their target was non other than the lady in front of him. They are instigated by the council to assassinate Cagalli……
Cagalli saw the change in his expression and asked, "What's wrong?" He put down the phone, not sure how to reply, fear must have shown in his features, for Cagalli grew more worried. The next moment, the glass dome overhead was shattered by a gunshot and a scream issued from some where in the crowd, someone had been shot.
Lacus walked up to Kira and began, "Actually, I've given it a bit of thought and I really think there's no need to think…" She paused, smiling mischievously, letting Kira hang on at the edge of his sanity. "I….."
A gunshot sounded and the bullet clipped Lacus at her temple, blood flowed down her neck just as both of them realized what happened. In slow motion, she closed her eyes and fell forward into Kira's arms.
"L…Lacus?" Kira stammered. Holding on to the slender frame of the unconscious songstress, shaking her, willing her to wake.
"LACUS!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you like the excitement this, by the way. The assassination attempt on Lacus, (Not-they did it twice already in destiny alone). Read on to find out. I finished my papers on the twenty fourth, so from that point on the speed will definitely increase. I'll update at least once a week, so hope you are satisfied. And please review to tell me your opinions I need more Yzak supporters. Lol. The events in PLANTs will tie in together with the events in Orb, mystery unravel soon, read on.