WE BELONG TOGETHER
Phew! Another chapter finished. I'm quite impressed and happy that everyone enjoys my fast update. I'm trying to keep it at this speed but no promises! Thanks to all those who have reviewed! Much appreciated!
Chapter 7: Familiarity Surprised
Lacus has finally recovered from her weaken state. Under the watchful eye of Fllay and Andrew, Lacus met many different people in Alliance. Through them she learned a lot about her new home. Unlike Orb, the people in Alliance didn't care as much about formalities. The boundary between nobilities and commoners were followed, but people of different classes respect each other. The people loved especially the royal prince, whose compassion reached out to even the farthest corner of the kingdom.
Over the days, Lacus has heard many of Kira's exploits. The prince continued to look after her from time to time, yet never staying too long.
Though Kira declared his love for her, Lacus has began to wonder if he truly cared for her. Every time he visited, he was always in a rush to go. She still enjoyed seeing his timid face and making fun of his shyness sometimes. But they both take pleasure in their occasional meeting.
On a clear sunny day while Andrew was training, Lacus snuck behind Fllay's back to take a stroll in the royal garden by herself. She was humming softly to herself in a new song she has just learned from Aisha when she saw Kira running towards her.
Lacus waved at him and waited for him to catch up. "Kira, what's the rush?"
"Pant…pant…" Kira breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. "Lacus…"
Over the days, they have disregarded all titles and were on the first name basis.
"Lacus, I came to give you this." Kira reached into his pocket and took out a small pouch. Lacus took it curiously and carefully opened it. "Oh Kira…It's wonderful."
Inside the pouch were petals of sun dried lavender with its soothing fragrance flowing around the couple.
"I heard from Aisha that lavender calms the nerves. I thought you might like to keep some with you." Kira said scratching his head.
"Thank you. It's a wonderful gift. I will treasure it, I promise." She buried her face into the petals and inhaled deeply.
Kira felt really proud of himself, seeing how happy she felt. Everyday he's been thinking about her and what he can do for her to make her happy in new home. Unfortunately he has no previous experience with young ladies so he has no idea how to do so. Under such poor conditions, he went to Stellar for help.
Lady Stellar was delighted to be of assistance. She thought about it fairly and came up with this idea to make Lacus feel like home. Seeing how Lady Fllay always bring fresh flowers to the Princess' room, Stellar concluded that Lacus must really cherish beautiful blossoms.
Under Stellar's instruction, Kira went to Aisha for directions. Aisha laughed when she heard the whole story, but she did point out where the prince should go.
"Your Highness, on the far western prairie, just over the Grimori Hills, lived a man named Otto. Old Otto has a great field of glittering lavender. If you go to him and mention my name, you can acquire some from him."
"Why lavender? Isn't it more proper to get her lilies or roses?"
"My prince," Aisha said shaking her head. "You have so much to learn about women. Roses are nice, but don't you think it's a little common when it comes to this kind of thing? What you want to do for a girl to fall for you is give her something special, something irreplaceable. I think the lavender will do just the thing."
Kira folded his arms and looked slightly confused.
Aisha continued her explanation. "The lavender Old Otto has isn't any ordinary flower. The glittering lavender only blooms every five years. The petals should be sun dried to sustain its medicinal property of stress relief. Now the trick lies in sun drying it. The lavender is called glittering because of the golden specks on the petals. To prevent the lost of the shining color, the petals need to be turned once every few hours."
"I see, so all I have to do is seek Otto out and ask him for the lavender, right? Thanks Aisha." Then off Kira went on his search.
When Kira found Otto, the old man refused the prince's request. After pleading and explaining his reasons, Otto agreed reluctantly. He went inside and handed Kira a small bag. "Here my prince, take it."
Kira thank the old man in appreciation but refused the offering. "Otto, I'm afraid you have misunderstood. I wish to sun dry the flower myself rather than taking it from your hands."
Otto looked surprised and started viewing the prince in a new light. "I see my prince is a diligent young man. If the prince wants to learn, Old Otto will be happy to help."
Kira grinned. "Thanks Otto, I really appreciate it. Please call me Kira from now on."
So for days, Kira rushed between Otto's place and the palace. He put his heart into the hard work because he wanted to present the best gift to his beloved. Finally, after much sweating and pain, he was able to hand this pouch to his lovely betrothed.
To see the satisfaction on her face made him feel all of his efforts worth it.
With Lacus' attention on the lavender, Kira slowly reached out his hand, a bit hesitant as to whether if it's okay to stroke her silky hair or not. Just when he's about to touch her, someone called out his name.
"Kira!" A man called, making Kira pull back from Lacus in an instant.
"Heine." Kira replied, blushing for what he almost did and wondered if Heine saw him. Lacus also looked up to see an orange hair man approach them.
"Who is he?" She asked.
Heine stood in front of the royal couple and bowed deeply. "Princess, it is such an honor to meet you at last. I'm Heine Westenfluss, Kira's friend."
Lacus curtsied in return. Heine is a bit taller than the prince. He has a sincere smile and a gentle disposition. It was nice knowing Kira has trusting companions.
"What's up, Heine? I thought you were in Orb on business."
"Oh?" Lacus was startled to hear of her country. "You were in Orb? Tell me, what news of my father?" She said eagerly.
Heine looked a bit trouble. He looked from Lacus to Kira and sighed. "King Uzumi has already heard of the switch. I gather he's very upset but much to his relief, Your Highness and Princess Cagalli are both safe."
"Cagalli is safe, thank the heaven. I was so afraid for her."
"Don't worry, Lacus. Athrun will not hurt your sister, I promise." Kira tried to assure her.
Lacus looked straight at him. "How can you be sure?"
"Ah…It was just an intuition. I've met Prince Athrun a few times and I don't believe he's the kind of person to punish a lady." Kira replied, slightly nervous. But Lacus was too occupied to notice.
"Regardless, Zaft has also agreed to have Princess Cagalli stay. There is no trouble as of yet." Heine finished.
Lacus heaved a breath of relief, feeling the sudden relaxation. Kira walked next to her and held her as support. Lacus muttered a 'thank you' softly, and buried herself in his embrace, letting the tears of joy run freely.
Heine watched the embracing couple in front of him and had a strange expression on his face. From the corner of his sight, he saw Fllay staring sharply at the Highnesses.
Fllay bit her lips and tightened her fists. Lacus and Kira are becoming closer and closer in a matter of days. I have to take action to have Kira notice me. This can't wait any longer.
Fllay turned around, unable to watch Kira with Lacus farther. Heine watched after her and set his mind to work.
"Princess, you have been invited to His Highness Prince Athrun's gathering today. Your presence is required in the north wing immediately. Lady Haww is also asked to come" A servant carried the message.
"What is the purpose?" Cagalli asked.
"The prince did not reveal the nature of the gathering to me. I was only ordered to let the princess know the time and place."
"Very well…Thank you. I shall join him." She said, bidding the servant to take leave. The ladder bowed and left.
"Wonder what he wants?" Cagalli asked Mir, who was busy threading a new handkerchief.
"Just go if you want to know." After one last look, Mir put down the craft at hand. Both she and Cagalli took a bit of time to freshen up before heading to the appointment.
When Cagalli was let into the room, there gathered men and women beside Athrun, all around their age.
"Cagalli," Athrun walked towards her, taking her hand and lead her in. "Come, I want you to meet my friends." He introduced.
"First, Nicol Amarfi, our future High Priest." A quiet young man with green hair stepped forth and bowed to her. He introduced himself with a timid but sincere smile. "Athrun is too kind. I'm just a humble clergy serving the people's faith. Nice to meet you, princess."
Cagalli smiled at him sweetly, thinking it is nice meeting such a genuine young man. With haste, Athrun pulled her next to a blonde man.
"Dearka Elthman, another one of my closest buddies."
Dearka winked at Cagalli, making her laugh a little. He grinned even wider to see the surprised Miriallia next to Cagalli.
"Finally, Lady Miriallia, we meet again."
"Mir, do you know him?" The princess asked, elbowing for Mir's attention.
"Well…Yes…We met in the ball. Lord Elthman has been very kind to me." Mir blushed.
Cagalli gave her an 'I see' look. Before she could ask more, Athrun pulled her away, leaving Dearka with Miriallia alone to the side.
"Now here is someone you should definitely meet. Commander Yzak Jule, one of our best soldiers in Zaft." He pointed to a silver hair man.
The man Athrun was referring to turned around when he heard his name spoken. Unlike Nicol's shyness or Dearka's attempt at humor, he merely held a stiff expression. "Yzak Jule at your service."
Cagalli nodded her head to him. Athrun edged next to Yzak and said, "Why so stiff, Yzak? I thought you would at least be happy to see me and my betrothed after being away for so long. Come on, smile a little!" Athrun taunted his friend.
Yzak was visibly trying to control himself but Athrun wasn't giving up. "You came all the way back from the boarder to see my bride and all you have to do it stare at her? I bet I know why…"
"I was only staring because of what she's wearing!" He exploded in anger, looking at Cagalli from head to feet.
Cagalli saw his expression and returned his glare. Athrun burst out laughing. He knew Yzak would react this way and he didn't blame him. Cagalli had officially eliminated chances of wearing a dress unless it was a state ball or something. She was now dressed in standard Orb garment…but for men. Though the design has been trimmed to fit a female figure, in Yzak's eyes, it was intolerable for a woman to do such things.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing? It's better than what you have on." Cagalli retorted, eyeing Yzak's mud stained armor.
Yzak gritted his teeth. "I had a long ride back."
"Sure…" They both stared unyielding at each other. Athrun, at this point decided to cut in and continued his introduction of others.
"Now the ladies. This lovely little lady here is Meyrin Hawk. Cagalli, you know I'm an only child so Meyrin is like the little sister I never had." He pointed to a cute girl with reddish hair.
Meyrin turned around and curtsied at Cagalli. She had also the disapproving look of Cagalli's choice of clothing but said nothing. "Hello princess. I'm Meyrin Hawke and you're very lucky to be engaged to Athrun."
Cagalli almost laughed out loud before Athrun fired a warning look at her. She had to swallow it before it escaped her mouth. When Cagalli finally stopped, Athrun lead her to the last person in the room. The girl was facing away from her but she looked awfully familiar to Cagalli. Athrun moved next to her, whispering something into her ear, making Cagalli quite uneasy.
The girl giggled and slowly turned around to face her.
Cagalli stood motionless and could only stare. Never had she thought this person would be here. "Lacus…"
Kira is so sweet and lovable, makes me envious of Lacus. This chapter has a lot of new characters. I have several plans for all of them. Heine seems kind of suspicious doesn't he? Stay tuned for the next chapter. Cagalli will meet her opponents and Fllay will start making her moves. Other minor pairings might get a moment. Please keep R & R!