Time for an update! (Even though I should be studying…XD)
Prince Takeru- Yes, the nightmare scene was horrible. The way it was written originally was actually worse, but I realized that I had to stick to the PG-13 rating. XD (didn't want to change it to R). It still served its purpose though, so I'm not complaining much. After all, it's pretty sadistic to do that to a nine or ten year old…
rnal- Yes, I know that things are pretty much straightforward right now, even some parts getting extremely boring. But it's probably like that because I do plan things ahead. Since I do that, I usually hint at all the twists before they happen. Most likely that's why they're really obvious. It's mainly because I'm afraid that if something jumps out of nowhere, it would be "Huh? Where did that come from? It makes no sense!" But most likely I'm overdoing it with the hinting, so I'll minimize it from now on. Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately there probably won't be anything too drastic for a little while, because I still need to establish a couple things before. So please be patient!
Thanks also to Prayer Reverie, Kagome1992, AnimeSiren, Eternal Affinity, Angel of Dreams, Dark Fusion, Kaori, M.S Arashi Sumeragi, rath lover, harpies ladies, cherri-chan, ice lolly, random person, and hitomi-san.
You know, usually there's more things I want to say in the responses, and also respond to more people, and maybe there's more questions that people want to ask that they don't put in the reviews, but I think my author notes take up enough space as it is. Maybe I should join a forum or something and respond more there…
By the way, this chapter is probably going to be a bit shorter, and might even feel like a filler chapter, so apology in advance…
Ch. 21: For Elise
"Hey Arabella, everything going alright?"
"Your arm's better right?"
Arabella couldn't help but smile at their concern. "Everything's alright girls. It's only a shoulder wound after all."
"Well, I guess…but we were worried more about what happened the day after." Elise replied. "You know, after you and Yzak talked, you just walked back to your room and locked yourself inside for a couple days or so. What happened?"
Arabella laughed. "Oh, that…Well, he told me that I should stop being a baby and go back to my duties."
"That jerk!" Cagalli yelled, indignantly. "Can't he be more considerate for once? I should show him a piece of my mind…"
Arabella continued to laugh, while trying to calm down Cagalli. "Oh, don't worry about it. He was right after all. I have been neglecting my duties for awhile. So I locked myself in my room to catch up."
"Well, if you're sure your health won't be affected…" Elise continued, concerned.
"Like I said before, don't worry about it. I could take care of myself." Arabella gave them a reassuring smile. "By the way, where's Lacus?" She asked, suddenly changing the subject. The other three girls started to look away.
"Well, you see…" Cagalli started.
"Things got worse, didn't it?" Arabella remarked quietly.
"Yea…" Miriallia replied. "It's mostly because of Kira. I always did see him depressed whenever I bumped into him in Archangel, but I always thought that he would get better." She sighed once before continuing. "You know, he wasn't always like this…back when we were in Helliopolis…well, we were just regular kids…" She started to drift off, thinking back to those days.
"Hey, Miriallia, you ok?" Cagalli asked gently.''
"Huh? Oh…um…yea." Miriallia replied, coming back to the present.
"Anyways…so girls, should we step up?" Cagalli asked, obviously with another scheme in her mind.
"Are you sure it's alright to interfere?" Elise and Arabella asked. "I mean, this is something that they should work out for themselves."
"Well, I'm sick and tired of the way that my younger brother is acting." Cagalli remarked, and Miriallia nodded in agreement. "Besides, a little nudge won't hurt."
Kira found himself walking inside one of the many libraries within the place. Not that he was much of a scholar. He had more immediate issues to deal with, and obviously didn't have time to get cozy and read a good book. But at this time, he just wanted to hide. Just to bury himself among the books, get lost within the stacks of bookcases. He didn't want fresh air. Surprisingly, that made him feel more miserable. He didn't want to be out in the open. He wanted to hide.
"Hey you."
Kira raised his head, surprised at finding the owner of the voice inside as well. "Dearka?" Sure enough, Dearka sat next to a table nearby, book in hand.
"Yea, that's me. What about it?" Dearka quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, I didn't really expect to find you here…" Kira stammered, not quite sure what to say. I mean, come on now, Dearka in a library? He didn't really know the guy very well, but somehow the picture didn't quite seem to fit.
"Yea, and I don't really think you're the reading type either." Dearka responded.
"Uh, ok…" Kira was at a loss of words. After all, it's not as if he ever directly talked to the guy before. He didn't know what to say.
"So let me guess. You're here because you're having trouble with a certain pink-haired songstress." Dearka remarked.
"Huh? What are you talking…" Kira rambled, surprised at being found out so easily.
Dearka rolled his eyes. "Even a child could tell that you're having serious problems with her." Seeing Kira stay silent, he added. "At least you have a woman who will continue to love you no matter what." He sounded a bit bitter, something Kira managed to catch.
"Why would she still love me?" Kira asked. "I basically disregarded her for awhile. Besides, she seems to be ignoring me and trying everything possible to avoid me."
"Shouldn't that imply that you should chase after her while you can?"
"Maybe she's better off without me…"
Dearka stood up, exasperated. "Just listen to yourself! Do you have any idea how pathetic you sound? Is this the infamous pilot of the Strike and Freedom that we had so much trouble with? I'm starting to lose all respect for you!"
"I'm surprised that you even had respect for me in the first place." Kira retorted.
Dearka shrugged. "A genuine soldier will always have respect for another brilliant soldier, even if the other soldier is in the opposing side. Even though hatred probably clouds most of it, underneath, there's always respect."
"I was technically not a soldier until later on." Kira added.
"Like you said, it's a technicality." Dearka retorted.
Both stayed silent for awhile, unsure of what to say next. "But I can't forget…" Kira started, bringing them back to the original subject.
Dearka looked as if he wanted to knock some sense into Kira. "Do you honestly think she's asking you to forget? I'm sure Lacus knows better than that. Trust me, if someone said that to any of us, whether it be Lacus, Athrun, Yzak, and such, and even me, we would get angry and tell the person how ignorant they are."
"Then what does she mean?" Kira asked, confused.
"She's basically asking you to accept the past and instead deal with the present and future." Dearka said, trying to figure out if there was any clearer way to state it so that Kira could finally understand.
"But it's not going to happen in just one day." Kira protested.
Again, Dearka couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I'm sure she understands that."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Kira asked, getting equally frustrated.
"Well, at least you can apologize." Dearka suggested.
"Do…do you think that might work right now?"
Dearka shrugged, "It wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" With that, Dearka started walking out. Kira stayed silent for a few seconds before he opened his mouth again.
"Dearka."
"Yea?"
"Good luck with Miriallia."
Dearka couldn't help but smile. "Thanks." With that, he closed the door behind him. After walking past a few corridors, he met the three girls that had asked him the favor in the first place.
"So did you manage to get him to his senses?" Cagalli asked.
Dearka shrugged. "Maybe. But don't you think the plan was a bit too simple, and are you sure I was the right one to do it?"
"Sometimes the simple plans work out the best." Arabella replied. "Besides, with you, it probably seemed like a random encounter. If Athrun approached him, he would probably realize that something was going on, and Yzak…well, he's not exactly the most patient person…"
"I see your point." Dearka replied. "Well, hopefully I managed to be some help…"
"Thank you so much Dearka." Miriallia said, smiling.
"Anytime. I'll do anything to help." Dearka replied, directing his answer mostly to Miriallia. The other two gave each other knowing glances.
"Come on Lacus, Kira's probably going to make his move soon!" Cagalli yelled, dragging Lacus to a certain location.
"Are you four certain that this is going to work?" Lacus asked, doubtful.
"Well, it's worth a try at least, right?" Elise gave a wink. "Oh, and don't worry. I'll put this where he can find it."
"Besides, if think he's going to realize that this is going to be a setup, don't worry about it. You know how dense he could be sometimes." Cagalli remarked.
"Well, if you put it that way…I guess…" Lacus stammered. "Kira, don't disappoint me."
"Why are you moping around?"
Athrun turned around, not expecting to find Yzak there, smirking at him. "What's it to you?" He replied, not particularly caring.
"Never thought you would be having woman problems, Zala." Yzak remarked, as he made himself comfortable in one of the chairs. "Don't take that as a compliment though." Yzak added hastily.
Athrun smirked. "As if I would ever expect one from you." He in turn sat across from Yzak. "And for your information, I'm not having problems with Cagalli. I'm just worried about her."
"Hence, you're having problems with her." Yzak finished. "What else could be considered a 'problem'?"
"And since when have you become the expert on relationships?" Athrun retorted. Seeing that Yzak was at a loss of words, he continued, smiling. "Besides, the ones that are having problems are my most likely future brother-in-law, a blonde-haired ZAFT, and a certain hot-tempered…"
"I'm not here to discuss relationships with you at the moment." Yzak hastily changed the subject.
"Oh, then what did you particularly want to talk to me about?" Athrun asked, obviously playing with Yzak.
Yzak snapped. "You know exactly what I want to talk about Zala, so stop playing games with me!"
Athrun couldn't help but smirk. "If you insist."
"It's about Ray…" Yzak looked up, seeing that Athrun continued to have the smirk on, and didn't seem to want to interrupt him at any point. "You would think that after his fiancée got injured, he would come rushing in to see her. But we had no trace of him for almost a week." Then he added as an afterthought, which he regretted right after. "Of course, it's not that I mind…And stop giving me that look!"
"Oh, and why wouldn't you mind that Ray isn't here?" Athrun started to tease.
"Well, would you like Lucia to come and breathe down our necks?" Yzak shouted defensively. The two suppressed an involuntary shudder.
"Okay, you got me there." Athrun conceded. "But you seem more worried than anyone else. Are you sure you're not being partial towards…"
"You talked to her too!" Yzak remarked, trying to find an escape.
"Yea, but only because you made me. Besides, I only asked her questions about the incident. Can friends not be caring?"
"Well then…um…that's my case too!" Yzak mentally smacked himself as those words came out. He just dug himself into a hole.
Athrun looked up, pretending to be surprised. "The unfeeling, mask-wearing Yzak Jule actually caring? Next thing you know, PLANT is going to fall on earth!"
"Stop twisting my words around!" Yzak yelled by this time clearly trusted and embarrassed.
"All right, all right." Athrun stated, already having received his enjoyment for the day. "But I do see what you mean…Ray…I don't really trust him. He may seem nice, but there's something…unnerving about him."
"My thoughts exactly." Yzak agreed. "So we have a consensus to watch out for him?"
"Yes."
Kira walked towards Lacus's room. "Just an apology…just start with that." With his mind made up, he slowly opened the door. She wasn't there. Sighing, he tried to figure it out. Where could she be? He then noticed a note on the table. To Kira, it said. He picked it up, and read it's contents:
Apology accepted. Meet me in the garden, next to the fountain.
He sped on his way down there. Only when he spotted her silhouette did he slow down. The wind blew past them, as they both stood there, silent.
"Kira…" Lacus broke the silence.
"Lacus, I didn't decide yet." Kira decided to state out flatly. There was no point in hiding it from her.
"Then why are you here?"
"I…I just want to apologize." Kira stammered. He waited for her response.
"And that's all I expected." Lacus smiled, reassuring. She took a couple steps towards him. "It won't be the same as before until you decide. That much can't change. But at least…let me help you."
She put the note in Lacus's room, and then went on her way to meet the others. But then she passed by the door to Arabella's common room. She couldn't help herself. Slowly she entered, and then breathed a sigh of relief after realizing that no one detected her. The next minute, she ran up one of the double stairs that lead to Arabella's room. She gaped in surprise as she walked inside. It was a mess! She really needed to take a picture of this. Since when did Arabella become so messy? Stacks of papers were all over her desk, floor, and even her bed. Well, then again, it's not her fault that so many things had to be taken care of in order to rule a country, now was it?
In order not to step on the papers on the floor, Elise maneuvered around them, but accidentally knocked down a pile on the desk. "Oops!" She remarked, as she started picking the papers up. "Bella's so going to kill me if she finds out!" She started to put the pile together again when something caught her eye. "Wait…is this the Shantela Neutrality Treaty?" She stopped organizing the papers and instead focused on the paper. "Yea…I think it is…" Elise couldn't believe it. No matter what she tried, she could never get her hands on any of the Icedale documents, copy or original. And now she was standing here, with a copy of the Shantela Treaty. She had to blink a couple times to make sure that it was there.
"I can't believe I found a copy!" She yelled ecstatically. "Okay, so document, Shantela Treaty, date…" She paused. "Wait a minute, what?!!" She looked at the date closely again. "But…but…" This was not making sense. The treaty was signed seven years ago. Not two or one, as most people and herself had been informed. "I thought it had to do with the war…" She looked through the rest of the documents in her hand. "There's one dated five years ago, three years ago, a year ago…" Elise was at a loss of words. "Which one's the real one?" She looked at the seven year old one once again. Her mind went back to what happened then, the scene she witnessed… "Is this why her parents died?"
She quickly took the document and made a copy of it. This way, Bella wouldn't know…She stopped herself. Wait, was this right? She put a hand on the copies. True, she's trying to help out her friend, but there was a line to how much she could interfere. Was she crossing that line? After all, in an objective perspective, she would technically be stealing a document. In once sense, that could be considered as treason. But she really wanted to help. Just like how Bella used to always be there for her…
"La-di la-di-da…" She skipped around happily in the garden, looking at the flowers. "They're so pretty!" She exclaimed, as she ran towards the red roses. "I want…ouch!" Tripping on a rock, she fell forward, skidding, her clothes getting covered in mud. "Ouch…" She repeated again, seeing her wrist bleed. Slowly she got up, and started to go back inside, when she saw a crowd coming towards her. "Oh no…"
"Oh look! It's the ditzy girl!" A particularly annoying voice remarked. Only one person could possess such an annoying voice…
"I'm not ditzy Lucia!" She protested. "I just happened to fall."
"Exactly." Lucia retorted, as if what she said was the most obvious thing in the world. "You fell. Which means you're naturally ditzy, clumsy…"
"No I'm not! Anyone could fall and trip once in a while!" She protested.
"Sure, and who else would that anyone be?" With that the crowd laughed, causing her to become extremely embarrassed. Lucia suddenly had a more malicious look on her face, if that was possible. "This is why no one wants to play with you. You always ruin things…"
"Hey, there you are Elise!" Everyone turned around to face the newcomer.
She couldn't have been any happier at the time. "Bella!"
Arabella laughed. "Of course! Who else could it be?" With that, Arabella proceed to lead her inside. "Now once we get you cleaned up, and take care of that wrist, why don't we go and take a look at that doll you always wanted? Mother said I could go out to the city as long as Nora and someone else would come with me."
"You…you want me to come with you?" Elise stammered, disbelieving.
Arabella flashed her a brilliant smile. "Of course. Who else would I be asking?"
She grabbed the copies and headed towards the door.
A single red rose and a music CD…those were the first things she received. "For Elise" it said on the cover, just like the title of the song recorded within, the song created by the genius otherwise known as Beethoven.
And there was always more.
She wanted to escape, she wanted to say no, but she couldn't help it.
Trust…
Everything was going to be alright…
She walked out, slamming the door behind her.
Yup, that's the end.
So how was it?
Okay, maybe the conversation between Dearka and Kira was a bit weird…(here I go worrying about being in character again…)
Oh and if you're confused about where the whole Shantela treaty thing came from, I mentioned it a couple chapters back. Not much about it though...
And by the way, just to clarify if there's confusion, the last section has two flashbacks. Actually, one flashback and one reflection. They're different. (even situation wise) Oh, and well, remember I said I was going to minimize the hinting? Well…I guess I sort of broke that rule a bit with the last bit of the reflection. It's actually a big hint about something in the later chapters…ok, here I am giving away too much again…must stop…lol.
Next, Ray and Lucia do stop by (oh joy), and well, I think that basically explains everything…XD
Thanks for reading!