The Celestial Being
Chapter Two: The Devil's Card
An Original Work by Erica A.
Heero sat on the plane, only a few rows behind Tiara. Just like her, he appreciated his space. The two of them got along well enough, they barely spoke to each other after all. He stayed to the side and hidden during her social dinners, events in the public eye, and her frequent promenades by the ocean. He stared at the back of her head. She was angelic...and delicate. He felt like he belonged next to her side, always protecting her. His thoughts returned to Relena, with a little apprehension. He had the same feelings for Relena, but her memory seemed like a dream. When he tried to picture Relena's face, he could only imagine Tiara's. Strange...he thought. His stare at Tiara became accusing. He was perfect and so was his memory, so why couldn't he generate a mental picture of Relena?
He turned his attention to the colorful sunrise outside his window. Tiara was the daughter of Treize. She undoubtedly had the same qualities as him: power-hungry, vain, and proud. He was the one who was going to bring an end to their family, and, in turn, an end to the war.
She wore a pink tank top and low rise jeans. After being with her for a month, he had never seen her in anything but a dress, which made him consider where they were going, but, his job was to follow and protect, not ask questions.
She glanced over her shoulder to Heero seated farther down the plane. Over the month they had been together, he had been rather pleasant. He never bothered her with questions and usually stayed out of sight. She admitted to herself that she was actually a little fond of him. She liked his quiet character. He seemed to calm and excite her at the same time.
She turned her gaze to the cards on the able in front of her. She was tired of reading her own future. She motioned for Heero to join her. He stood, walked down the long row of chairs, and slid between the seats. He left one chair between them.
She gathered the cards into one pile and spoke, "Care to play?"
His eyes looked unsure, but she explained the game to anyway. She instructed him to close his eyes and split the deck into three piles while thinking of a question.
His hand hovered over the deck, as he tried to think of a question, but he could only think of her.
"Close your eyes," she reminded him.
He did as told and split the deck into 3. He pulled his hand back to lap.
She picked up the first card and spoke, "Something mysterious." She looked at him with a playful smile and picked up the second card, "You will be unsure about future decisions."
Heero cocked his eyebrow. He knew just about every decision in the future he was going to make and, even if he was surprised, he would know what to do.
She picked up the last card and showed it to him. He stared back at a picture of the devil. "An enemy dwells near," she said.
He was amused by the accuracy of the last card, but of course did not let it show. It was obvious that the card was referring to Tiara.
"Miss," Andrae, Tiara's personal attendant came toward them, "We're here."
For a moment, Heero wondered where here was. He peered out the window and saw grassy fields.
"Thank you Andrae," Tiara said with a slight smile.
She set her cards in a side pocket of her chair and put on her seatbelt, readying for the landing.
Heero returned to his original seat.
Fifteen minutes later, Tiara exited the long flight of stairs that led off the plane, with Heero not far behind. Andrae waited for her at the bottom, with two small cars. Andrae held the door of the first car open for her. She climbed in, scooted to the other side and, as soon as Heero headed for the other car, she called for him. He joined her in her car.
They sat in silence for most of the 20 minute ride, until she spoke softly, "If you were wondering, we're going to see a castle. The Romanians have completely stopped their restoration of it and I plan to take over if it looks promising."
She watched him as he gave no sign of acknowledgement that she was speaking. She smiled slightly and continued, "It belonged to Vlad the Impaler...you know, Dracula?" She gave a small laugh. Her smile broadened when he continued to face forward. She admired his audacity and yet, she knew he was listening to her.
The cars parked at the top of a steep hill overlooking the meadows. The huge castle glared over them, blocking the sun.
A small, fat man in a business suit ran to meet them, with his tie flapping against his bulging belly and papers shuffling in his hand. As he got closer, Heero realized that he resembled a pig. He had round, fat cheeks, beady eyes and a double chin. He was sweating like a pig too.
The pig man thrust his hand out to Tiara in greeting. On cue, Heero stood between the fat man and Tiara, his arms crossed.
This pig man smiled sheepishly as he instantly realized his mistake. "Sorry," he said nervously as he wiped sweat from his brow.
Heero stepped aside.
"I'm so glad you could come," he spoke a little too loudly, "We're honored to have you interested."
"Of course," Tiara spoke with her silky voice, "This place is beautiful. I believe that history is the most important component to society."
The pig man nodded enthusiastically with her statement and then pointed with his hand toward the castle, "Shall we begin?"
They started up the hill towards the entrance. Heero was impressed with the architecture- it looked like a castle for a god. The area opened up to a courtyard with delicate and decorative molding and fountains surrounding the area,
"These fountains are the original imports from India," the pig man said. They continued up the path to a flight of stairs and through gardens. They entered through large wooden doors.
The pig man walked backwards as he spoke to them. "It was an important feudal fortress through out the middle ages, its role was the defence against invasion. The castle has four towers, the Powder House Tower is the oldest, it is part of the original castle built in 1212. It houses the Cannon's Gallery, the Tea House Room, and..."
The pig man's voice faded away as Heero stared in awe at the colored windows, French architecture, and historical artifacts still there from the time it was built...all the while, he kept glancing her way.
After the full tour, Heero stood to the side as Tiara ate lunch on a bench in one of the gardens. The full view of the meadows were breathtaking. Tiara motioned for him to join her. He stood rigid next to the bench.
"So what do you think of it? Isn't it perfect?" Tiara said between bites of her sandwich.
Heero didn't answer her.
"Isn't it?" she spoke in a commanding voice.
"I'm not paid to be your company," Heero said simply.
Tiara stood, casting her sandwhich to the side. Her eyes filled with subtle anger. "Not paid to be my company? What an interesting statement you've made, Heero. I was simply asking your opinion of this place." She looked at him expectantly.
Heero observed the castle for a moment, then looked back at her frowning face. "I suppose it would be suitable for one of your social parties."
Tiara began pacing back and forth, as if she were going to lung at him. She kept her hands behind her back, to keep herself from doing so. "Only people I care about can make me angry this easily," she mumbled more to herself than to him. She stood tall, shoulders back. She posed as she would if she were entering a ballroom. "You judge to harshly. I may be the daughter of Treize, and I may be stubborn in character, but one thing I'm not is selfish. This place is to be an orphanage that focuses on proper education for the less fortunate youth." Her voice continuously rose with anger, "Do you have any idea what the orphan rate is in Romania?"
Heero's stomach felt as if was filled with stones. He had been wrong about her...
She continued, "Education is the path to possibility, and these children don't have that. They have nothing. You, Heero, assume I don't care about these things... As soon as we reach home, you're dismissed."
She turned from him and walked away with Andrae by her side.
Shit...Heero thought. He could lose Tiara's admiration, but he could not lose his job. Losing his job would mean losing his mission, and Heero Yui did NOT lose.
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Back home, Tiara had been content with her decisions to let Heero go, even after he had asked her to reconsider. But now, she felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding and knew that her cards had been trying to tell her something. She had been reading constantly, and each time drew the devil's card.
Now, Tiara stole through the streets of Tokyo, looking for Heero's address, which was written on her hand with hasty, blurred writing. Her moon-colored blonde hair flowed behind her as she ran street sign to street sign.
This was her first time completely alone.
She stopped and peered around the corner into the next alleyway. A bum she had passed on the street had told her the quickest way was through this path and down a couple blocks to the right. She had to be careful. Her father would be angry if he discovered she had gone out alone. Her punishment, if discovered, would be severe.
She walked quickly now, and began to shiver even though the air was windless and warm. Fear of people more dangerous than her father filled her with an internal chill. Looking back, it would've been better if she had waited until morning and taken her car, but she had been eager to see him, afraid that he would leave Tokyo. She'd stolen out of he house, taken a taxi, discovered that she hadn't brought money to pay the driver, and had to ditch him.
Men's laughter echoed down the alley. She hid, and squeezed beside two dumpsters. Three men walked past her, unaware of her presence, the smell of whiskey and smoke coming from them.
She waited until their footsteps faded, then slipped from her hiding place and started down the alley again.
She turned right on the corner, following the bum's directions. As she walked, she became aware of other footsteps. She looked up and down the street, but saw no one. She continued on, after hearing nothing more. Maybe her ears had deceived her. When she got to the fifth corner, as instructed by the bum, she discovered that it was the wrong street. She looked around at the other street signs and realized with fear that she was lost.
She abruptly swirled around as she heard a match strike behind her. The stranger lifted the match to his cigar and took a puff of smoke.
"What's a pretty lil' thing like you doing out here?" He spoke in a raspy voice.
With a slight tremor in her voice, Tiara responded, "Where is Natsuoko Street?"
The embers on the tip of his cigar made a soft, faint light, and Tiara could see him snicker as she asked her question.
Other men stepped from behind the curtain of shadow and crowded around him. Tiara felt someone behind her grasp her shoulder, his fingers long and white.
She stood stone still, afraid that this was what the devil card had meant. She should have known it was too dangerous
"Tiara Khushrenada," the man with the cigar said as he stepped forward eagerly. He looked at her, taking his time as if she belonged to him. A sly smile crept over his face, "This is my lucky day." He shook the ashes from the end of his cigar and stuck it back in his mouth.
Tiara's chest tightened with fear and her stomach knotted.
Suddenly, the man behind her threw her back, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Cold hands slivered up her leg to her waist, lustily caressing her body. She closed her eyes and prayed as the hands slid up, feeling her breasts, and at last settled around her neck, strangling tight. Her lungs locked.
"No," she chocked, struggling to breath. She scratched at the hands strangling her. She looked up at the man with the cigar still in his mouth through blurring vision.
"Your father will pay," the man said, "And you are the price."