Part 4
Cagalli gave the Chief Inspector a death glare, and she stood up to face him, hands on her hips.
"VERY. WELL. YOU. HAVE. MY. PERMISSION. TO. ENFORCE. THE. NEW. SECURITY. MEASURES." She said, choking out every word.
"Erm…yes…Very good Your Highness, I'll erm… See to it at once…" The Chief Inspector bowed hastily and scurried out of sight, half-expecting Cagalli to pull out a gun and shoot him. Once he was gone, Cagalli turned to face Athrun.
His face was devoid of emotion, and his eyes seemed cold with fury.
Athrun looks mad.
Really mad.
Uh oh.
"Erm…" Cagalli stammered, unsure of what to say.
"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was sharp, and seemed to slice the unbearable quiet of the night. She hesitated, looking down at her feet, up at the sky – well, actually, looking anywhere but at him.
"Erm…I…didn't think it was…that important…"
"You were almost killed a couple of times, and you didn't think that it was important enough for me to know?" Athrun asked, his tone furious and disbelieving.
"Well, erm…you didn't ask?" She replied lamely.
"Ask? How was I supposed to know?"
"Yeah? How were you supposed to know? You were never around anyway! You never bothered to find out, did you?" She said hotly, irritation starting to bubble up in her.
Cagalli regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. Ugh… Why can't I ever think before I speak? She looked at Athrun, whose face now wore an expression of remorse and guilt. His fists were clenched and he shoved them into his pockets.
"I'm…sorry." She said softly. "I didn't mean to-"
"No, you're right. I… I should be the one saying sorry." He looked down at the floor, eyes unable to meet hers.
He's hurt, Cagalli thought, and almost at once she felt a lump rising to her throat. No, she couldn't cry, not here, not now. She didn't want him to see her cry. She didn't want him to feel worse than he already did.
"I guess I'll be going now." Cagalli said. Athrun remained silent. She walked towards the palace, and then seeming to remember something, she turned around and called out Athrun's name. He was still standing there where she left him, and his head shot up and the mention of his name.
She ran towards him, and slightly out of breath, she took out a soggy piece of green cloth from her pocket.
"Happy Birthday."
Athrun looked at the cloth, took it with both hands, and then stared up at her, lips turning up in a smile.
"Thanks. Mind if I ask… what it's supposed to be?"
"That's… erm… a handkerchief. It's wet cos' …well… we fell into the pool…and I uh…made it myself. Sorry. I can't knit very well. And. Erm. Handkerchiefs are all I can make so. Yeah." Cagalli mentally kicked herself as she blushed yet again. This had to be at least the third time that day. "I know it looks really crappy but…er… it's the thought that counts right?" She asked hopefully, too embarrassed to look at Athrun directly.
To her surprise, Athrun laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, confused.
"Thank you, Cagalli." He leaned down and pressed his lips briefly to hers. Then with a wave, he walked away, his face beet-red and Cagalli quite flustered.
The next day, Cagalli awoke with a terrible headache. There was a horrible shrill sound coming from her beside table, and for a moment, she thought that someone was being murdered. Then the fog in her head cleared slightly, and she realized that it was just the telephone ringing.
"Hello?" She mumbled sleepily into the phone.
"Your Highness, this is Chief Inspector Reyn speaking. The new security measures have been enforced."
"Erm…huh?"
"I have stationed more guards within the palace, and have taken the liberty of getting you a new bodyguard. He's been specially trained, and I'm bringing him up to meet you right now if you're ok with that, Your Highness."
Without waiting for an answer, the Chief Inspector went on.
"Alright, I'll take that as a yes then. We'll be up there in about 5 minutes." There was a click, and then the monotonous drone of the dial tone as Cagalli stared at the phone in silence. It took about 10 seconds before the inspector's words got through into Cagalli's mind, and when it did, she let out an exclamation as she jumped up of bed. 5 minutes! I won't be presentable in 5 minutes!
With that thought ringing anxiously in her mind, the princess rushed into the bathroom, shouting for someone to bring her some clothes.
"I've just spoken to the Princess, we can go up now." Chief-Inspector Reyn said kindly to the young man beside him.
Ryo Handel nodded, his emotions carefully guarded like the professional he was. Cool and collected to the end, he had graduated top in the Police Academy, and had gone on to undergo tough training in deserts and the Arctic alike. A talented and promising man, he made an ideal choice for the princess' new security guard, and had been handpicked by Reyn himself.
Presently they climbed the flight of stairs that led to Cagalli's new office, seeing as her old one had been blown up. A guard outside nodded to them as Reyn passed him a card, and then announced in a clear voice-
"Chief-Inspector Reyn and Ryo Handel."
"Enter," a rather breathless voice sounded from within.
The two men went into the room to see a sweaty and tousle-haired Cagalli, breathing heavily from behind her desk. She looked as if she had been in a great hurry (which wasn't too far from the truth), and her countenance contrasted greatly with the pressed neatness of her uniform.
"Your Highness," Reyn said bowing, "This is Ryo Handel, your new security guard."
"Good morning, Your Highness," Ryo greeted, bowing lowly.
"Erm… yes… Well, Reyn, you're… really… efficient." Cagalli muttered. "But is this really necessary? I mean-"
"Absolutely, Your Highness. I'm sure you would not want me to recount all those attempted assassinations again."
"No, that won't be necessary." Cagalli pressed her lips together. "Fine, fine, I suppose another guard won't hurt."
She rose from her seat, and stood in front of Ryo, sticking a hand out.
"Well, Ryo – it's ok if I call you Ryo isn't it? I look forward to a good time working together with you."
Ryo looked up and shook her hand, and as their eyes met, Cagalli could finally see his face clearly. She jumped as she saw his features, for they were awfully familiar. Dark brown hair, tanned skin, deep chocolate eyes – he looked… he looked… just like Ahmed…
Ahmed. Her childhood friend. They had been in the resistance forces together. He had been with her through thick and thin, so loyal and trusting, so supportive of her…
The resemblance was startling and they brought back memories, both pleasant and painful. Cagalli looked away as both Reyn and Ryo shared a bewildered look.
"Is everything alright, Your Highness?" Reyn asked at last.
"Yes, of course. Everything's fine." Cagalli managed to produce a smile.
"Right, then, I'll just leave him here with you." Reyn said awkwardly as he inched toward the door. "Do call me if you need any help at all, Your Highness."
He shut the door, leaving Ryo and Cagalli together alone. Shaking her head, Cagalli realized she was at a total loss. What was she supposed to do now? She felt horribly self-conscious as she stood there looking at Ryo. How was she supposed to go about with her work? Was she supposed to ignore Ryo – or constantly talk to him?
"Er…" Cagalli started, unsure of what to say. Sensing her discomfort, Ryo nodded.
"It's alright, Your Highness. Just go on with your work and pretend I'm not here."
"Erm… Right." She sat herself down and took out a thick binder containing notes for the next meeting. After shooting a glance at Ryo, who was standing inconspicuously in a corner near her, she gave a small sigh.
Ah well… it's going to be a long, long day.
Somewhere out there, a man smiled to himself as he struck a match.
"Let's see how many times you can escape death, my dear princess…"
Cagalli muttered darkly to herself as she sat seething in the limousine. She was wearing a black dress that reached her knees, an ebony butterfly was fixed in her hair and stilettos at her feet. It was taking all her self-control not to run her fingers in her hair and change into something more comfortable. At the same time, her feet were killing her, making her mood all the more murderous.
Why – WHY did she listen to Kisaka?
"May I remind you, Princess, that after the meeting this evening you have to attend a ball." He had said to her during lunch when she told him that she was planning to spend the night trying to finish the never-ending stack of paperwork that seemed to multiply by magic if uncleared.
"A…A ball?" Cagalli said suspiciously.
"Yes, as you might recall, tonight ZAFT is throwing their annual ball. They have very politely requested your presence, and you might remember that you agreed to go when they asked last month. Therefore, it would be good if you actually showed up." Kisaka chided.
"Er… Oh damn, I totally forgot about it. Must I really go?" She asked irritably.
"What do you think?" He had replied, taking another bite of the blueberry pie he was having for dessert.
So there she was, forced into a dress and feeling cheated. She knew she herself was to blame, after all, she had previously agreed. Cagalli shook her head, what had she been thinking when she agreed to go? She probably hadn't been thinking at all, she thought to herself dryly.
She looked up from her lap and suddenly realized that Ryo was sitting next to her, staring ahead and saying nothing. She had been so caught up in her irritation that she had forgotten he was there! She decided to talk to him, after all, conversation would take her mind off the persistent pain in her feet.
"So… Ryo… have you attended a ball before?" She started, trying to make her voice sound as happy and friendly as possible.
"Not really, no, I can't say I have."
"Are you… uh… excited?" Cagalli asked desperately, for the want of something better to say.
Ryo shrugged, apparently not knowing how to answer.
"Well, Your Highness, are you excited?" Ryo asked back. Cagalli looked at him with some amount of shock and horror in her eyes.
"Er… do I look like I came here willingly?"
"To be honest, not at all." Ryo said grinning, "But why? I would have thought that someone such as yourself would enjoy going to such functions."
"Not at all. It's a waste of time. Why bother dolling yourself up and dancing the night away when you could be doing work, or even better, sleeping?" Cagalli replied crabbily.
"How true." Ryo laughed, and in his smiling profile, Cagalli marveled at his likeness to Ahmed. It was that same jovial grin, that identical sparkle in the eye – it was all so familiar to her. With a soft gasp, she looked at him silently, lost in a reverie.
"Erm… Princess, are you alright?" Ryo finally asked, noticing that Cagalli had spaced out.
"Oh. Yes. I'm sorry, I was… you just… remind me of someone." She said at last.
"I…See…" Ryo arched his eyebrows, leaving an unasked question as to the regards of the identity of the person hanging the air.
Cagalli chose not to answer. She nodded and glanced out of the window. They drove the rest of the way to the ball in silence.
A/N: So that's finally up XD I've been really busy lately with school projects and all... But -please- continue reviewing alright ((: It's a great source of motivation, so if you want me to update, you know what to do (hurhurhur :P just joking). Thanks goes out to all those who reviewed!