Tsubame: Well, Kira is gone… Athrun and Cagalli have the spotlight for this chapter. I really have bad luck with computers. My diskette broke! The reason why this update took so long was because my diskette broke. I had to rewrite everything all over again…sigh. I think this is the fourth or fifth time this happened…
Thank you for the reviews, everyone. They made me so happy. Lac-le, Sweet-little-lily, Chikyo, ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAtH, Rayar, XGMF X-19A Infinite Justice, Elda Aranel, The Angel's Princess, asga, Garowyn, Kazumi Kairi or Kairi-chan, Kitty-Kat90013820, animemistress419, IYGU, Vigorian-Asakura, Kandida, SacredBlade, -boos-, daisukiasu'n'caga, Cari-Akira (glad you like it!), The Jackle, ANONYMOUS-gsd, asucags, Feminist1991, PINKSISA (I will be looking forward for another chance to chat with you again. ), Silver Water 7, Kageharu Kaco (How is it so far?), kenshinlover2002...I haven't been replying because I'm having trouble logging in with my computer. I hope you understand.
This chapter is dedicated to Nadia (garowyn), Cari-Akira and ANONYMOUS-gsd. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or even Gundam Seed Eternity. If I did own the third series, it would probably be chaos. wink. Or create a big hit! I hope you like it.
"Double Identities"
By Tsubame Ongaku
Summary: Athrun is engaged to Orb's perfect princess, Cagalli Yula Attha. He obediently accepts his fate but one day he met a fiery beauty named, Eulla. She is everything the princess is not but why does he still find himself falling in love with her?
A/N: If it is in italic, that is a flashback… hehhehhee….
-Nicol, Rusty, Tolle and Miguel are alive in this fic btw. I didn't want to go through the trouble of making more OCs so OK! I think most people will appreciate it better if I made it this way…
Chapter 6: Eulla Hibiki
Kira then slipped his hands into his pants' pockets. Before he did, Athrun saw the bandages in his right hand. Athrun was sure he hadn't seen that earlier that night. "Kira, what happened to your---"
Before he could finish, Kira took a look at his watch. "Oh, no. It's late and I still have a lot to do. I'm leaving tonight or as soon as possible." He sighed, but then frowned. "Athrun, please take care of my sister while I'm gone."
"What?"
"Kisaka is a very busy man. He doesn't have the time to watch her."
Athrun shrugged. "That shouldn't be any problem. She doesn't look like much trouble."
Kira didn't answer. It would be better if Athrun got to know Cagalli on his own. "You'll know soon enough, Athrun." Before leaving, he added, "Don't be fooled by her, Athrun. Don't make my mistake. There is more to her than a cute face."
Athrun was exhausted and was hoping for a whole morning of relaxation. He was invited to have tea with Miss Athha that afternoon, so he wanted to take advantage of his free morning. He had no responsibilities whatsoever since his father insisted that he focused on his engagement.
He had wanted to see his fiancée that morning but Mana shook her head no. He asked why and she said, "She has three important interviews to attend this morning. She will be busy. You are free to join her for tea later though."
That was it. He agreed to have 'tea' with her. The last thing he was expecting was a wake-up call…from who else but…
"Dearka?" Athrun groaned as he answered the phone that early morning. It was ringing off the hook. He finally became annoyed, so he answered it. "Dearka Elsman, do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Huh?" Athrun could almost see Dearka glancing at his watch to look at the time. "It's 7:30. What's wrong, Zala? You're usually awake at this time?" Dearka Elsman, tall, dark, blonde and his teammate in the old Le Creusset team. Rau Le Creusset disappeared suddenly though, but the team stayed together.
Athrun buried his face in his pillow before answering. He was in no mood to talk to his teammate. "Dearka, I went to a party last night. Don't you think I need some rest after that?"
"What was that, Zala?" Dearka asked. "I can't hear you. Your voice sounds muffled."
"What do you want, Dearka?" Athrun gave a huge yawn, not really caring what the blonde wanted from him. "Get straight to the point, so I can go back to sleep." He wasn't about to give up his bed for nothing.
"We heard that you got yourself engaged! Congratulations!" Dearka laughed heartily. "I can't wait to meet this lucky girl!"
"Dearka, you're stalling." Athrun yawned again and closed his eyes again, prepared to go back to sleep. "What are you up to?"
Dearka chuckled proudly like he did something amazing. Athrun really doubted it though. Most likely, whatever Dearka was planning, was just more trouble for him. Athrun was now used to cleaning up after him. "Athrun, we're here! The whole team is here! We've come to celebrate this engagement with you!"
Athrun yawned. What the blonde said barely got his attention. "That's nice. Would you----" He finally understood what Dearka said after that. His mouth dropped open. He was half praying that what he was saying could not be true. "What! You all are here? In---in---Orb?" He exclaimed and sat up, finally fully awake.
"Yup!" came the reply. Athrun was afraid of that.
"By everyone, do you mean…"
"Yzak, Rusty, Miguel, Nicol and your truly," he told Atrhun. "We got permission to come to Orb. Guess what, when we got here, the superiors gave us orders to work as extra security measures for the palace." Dearka gave a victory yell. "Isn't this great? You'll be seeing more of us until your wedding."
Athrun certainly felt like screaming now. Instead, he just said, "You don't say…"
"We're planning to paint the town red today," Dearka exclaimed. Somebody suddenly yelled in the background. Athrun thought it was safe to say that it was Yzak. He was complaining about how he ever talked him into coming to Orb in the first place. "Well, Athrun. I hope you can be ready in thirty minutes. We'll pick you up. See yah!"
"No wait! Dearka---" he shouted frantically but Dearka already hung up. Athrun sighed tiredly as he too returned the phone to its receiver. Again, he plopped back to his comfortable pillows. "Why me?"
He was dressed in his jeans, green shirt and brown jacket and ready by the time the butler came to him, telling him that his "guests" have arrived. Without warning the whole Le Creusset team came barging in to his room. They were still dressed in their red, Elite ZAFT uniforms. Most of them were quite smug about wearing those uniforms. The butler wasn't at all pleased with the rowdy guests arrival. It only meant that he had a lot more to lean when they left.
"Hey, Zala. Did you have a good morning?" Dearka greeted, winking. Dearka Elsman, he was a good friend of Athrun's but sometimes he acts like such a clown. He had dark, tanned skin and nice blonde hair. He could also be quite charming, if he wanted to. He likes to tease people especially Athrun and young Nicol for having soft spots for Naturals.
Athrun ran his hand through his still uncombed hair. "I was having a good morning until some numbskull called me to go out and cutting me off from my sleep."
"Awww…Athrun. Is this anyway to greet your friends? Don't be like that." Dearka punched Athrun lightly on the shoulder. "It isn't everyday that you get yourself engaged."
Athrun sighed and turned to the other members. "Did he put you all up to this?"
Yzak Joule shrugged. "I didn't want to come to this planet but orders are orders." Then he snorted. "How unfortunate of you to get yourself a NATURAL fiancée." Yzak Joule, silver-haired and quite handsome. He was very arrogant, vain and usually joined Dearka's teasing. He didn't have such high regard on Naturals
Rusty smiled and shrugged. "You know Dearka. Of course he did." He turned to Dearka. "I told you we should have called first before barging in like this." Rusty MacKenzie, with his flaming hair and boy-next-door smile, he's always sent temperatures rising for the fairer sex. He was the rational part of the group and always thought things through before acting.
Dearka looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? We did call."
"I meant an early warning and I didn't mean it to be early morning." Rusty chuckled. "I don't think Athrun here appreciated our little wake up call."
Athrun rolled his eyes. "Really?" he drawled, rolling his eyes. "How did you know?"
Nicol Amarfi laughed, good-naturedly. "We're sorry for the intrusion." His eyes suddenly shown in excitement, "Did you see that Grand Piano downstairs? It was even bigger than mine. It is incredible." Nicol, the pale green-haired boy was the youngest member of the Le Creusset team but that didn't mean he was weak. He joined ZAFT despite his age due his love for the PLANTS. He was a gentle boy that prefers to spend time in the piano making exquisite music rather than hanging around Mobile suits.
Athrun shrugged. "Mana, the princess's maid told me that the princess could play three instruments. The piano, the harp but she refused to tell me what the third instrument is." He touched his chin, deep at thought. "I find it quite odd."
That was a good move in Mana's part since third instrument happened to be the electric guitar. That is a little secret though…sssshhhh…
Miguel Aiman was just leaning against the door watching them and saying nothing. He a nice guy but very arrogant. At that moment, his eyes were laughing. Not that Athrun could blame him. This was getting ridiculous.
"Oh, Athrun. We have a present for you by the way," Nicol said taking out a package from his duffel bag. Athrun thanked him and took it. It wasn't much. It was a rectangular shaped package, wrapped in brown paper and strings.
He then looked at his friends and saw that they were all carrying very large bags. These guys weren't kidding when they said that they were going to be around for a while. He was going to have to accept it.
He shook the package. "What is it?" he asked.
"Open it!" Dearka was grinning strangely. Athrun began to suspect something behind the gift. He knew Dearka and he doubted that he didn't plan something.
He might as well open the thing though. He wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush. Slowly, he untied the strings and took away the wrapping. "A…a…camera?"
They suddenly applauded. Athrun had a feeling that they were mocking him. Why in the world did they give him a camera? Was there a bomb in there that he didn't know about it?
"Don't you like it Athrun," Nicol asked. His smile turned to worry when Athrun didn't smile at their gift. "I thought you would like it. It's the newest model and it's digital too."
Athrun forced a smile. "No, I love it. I'm just curious. Why a camera?"
Dearka scratched his head nervously. "We heard that your fiancée was cute, so we thought that a camera was perfect for taking all the pictures you want."
Athrun inspected their present. Even he had to admit that it was an amazing camera. He never thought himself as a photographer but maybe he should use the time to see if he was. "…and the fact that you want to see her has nothing to do with this choice?"
There was a guilty silence in the air except for Yzak though. He contributed for paying for it but had nothing to do with the actual purchase. Dearka and the others talked him into helping with the financial stuff.
"Well," Athrun said, straightening the collar of his jacket. "I'm dressed and ready. Where do you guys plan to take me?"
"Awww…Athrun. The party starts later." Dearka began dragging Athrun out. The others followed. "First on the schedule is that we take a tour of Orb. It's our first visit here and we don't want to waste it." He winked. "We begin our duties in a few days."
"May I ask why ZAFT sent you guys?" Athrun still couldn't understand what they were doing in Orb. "I mean, why would they send the ZAFT Elites just for protecting a princess?"
"A very important princess don't forget, Zala," Yzak huffed. "We don't understand this either. We're just following orders." He then folded his arms, "I can't believe that we've been reduced to protecting Naturals."
Miguel patted his friend's shoulder. "Hey, Joule. Cheer up! Look in the bright side. We got to hang in such an awesome Mansion."
"If you insist on touring the city, may I suggest something?" Athrun stopped.
"Sure, what is it?" Rusty asked.
"Would you guys change out of those uniforms?" Athrun pointed at what they were wearing. "I don't think that it is a good idea that you run around Orb in those. It will catch too much attention."
The men stared at Athrun for a moment before then inspecting their uniforms. "He's right," Nicol sighed. "Well, Athrun. Lead the way to our quarters."
"I'm going to kill them," Athrun grumbled as he walked up the steps of the Athha Mansion. He just returned from his little outing with his team. His limbs were numb, his back was aching and his feet were killing him. He was lucky to get away from them by telling them about his appointment for tea with the princess.
"Sure, we understand but after your tea we still have a lot to see," Dearka winked. "I heard the discos here are out of this world."
Sometimes Athrun thought Dearka was from out of this world. Dearka had dragged them all around…the amusement park. Yes, an amusement park. He said that he wanted to ride everything. Everyone in the team put their foot down, when Dearka dragged them to the tunnel of love. They were relieved to find out he was only kidding…
"Master Zala," the butler bowed. "Miss Athha is expecting you. She says that she will see you in the gardens."
"Ummm…can she wait a few minutes?" Athrun asked. "I was hoping to change into something else before meeting her."
The butler shook his head in reply. "Her highness is expecting you now. She can't afford to waste time. She has another appointment in an hour."
Athrun nodded. "I understand. Please lead the way."
The butler led the way to the gardens and the back of the property. Athrun never had a chance to venture there. Now that he had, he couldn't help but think that it was incredible. There were flowers of every kind he could think off but one thing he observed though is that the owners seem to be fond of roses. Roses of every color can be found there. There were roses of pink, yellow, white and especially red. There were more red roses than any other flower in the garden.
Athrun was awed. He took his camera and began taking pictures. He took pictures of the purple irises, bright yellow sunflowers and the sweet-smelling roses. He was happily taking pictures until he suddenly spotted a lone figure in the middle of the red roses. He aimed his camera and zoomed in…he gasped…
It was a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair decorated in red ribbons and dressed in a pure white sundress. She had a bouquet of red roses in her arms and eyes closed as the wind blew her hair softly.
Athrun's finger froze on the button. He just stared at the vision through his camera's lenses. "Beautiful…" he thought. He never thought he'd ever seen anything so beautiful. He shook his head and forced himself to wake up from his trance and took the picture. This caused a flash and the lady slowly opened her eyes.
"Who's there?" she asked, looking around suspiciously.
"I'm sorry to disturb you," Athrun answered nervously. "Did the flash bother you?"
The young woman smiled and shook her head. "No, I was just surprised." She walked towards him and held out her hand. "We meet again, Mister Zala."
Athrun finally recognized her. "Lady Athha, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you." He took her hand in his but instead of shaking it as she expected, he kissed it softly. "You look even more beautiful than usual, my lady." This won a blush from her.
She withdrew her hand and shook her head, laughing lightly. "I have heard that Athrun Zala was a charmer. I see the rumors prove true."
Athrun grinned. "Your information is quite false. I assure you, my lady. I have only said this to you and only you." He looked around the scenery. "I see you have an attachment to red roses."
She laughed, heartily; the first Athrun ever saw from her and couldn't help thinking that she indeed had a beautiful laugh. "No, but my father does. People used to call me the Desert Rose. Ever since then, my father flooded this place with roses."
While she laughed, Athrun took away the flash and snapped stolen pictures of her. Any angle Athrun used made her look beautiful. She had a beautiful smile and Athrun wondered with she never signed up to be a model. She noticed him taking pictures, then stopped laughing and frowned.
It was Athrun's turn to blush. It was wrong taking pictures of her yet he still did. He couldn't help himself. "I…I'm sorry," he mumbled, putting the camera away.
At first, it almost looked like she was going to blow a casket but then she took a deep breath and calmed down. "That is okay," she assured him, she was smiling again. "I was just surprised. Shall we begin our tea?"
She led him to a table with two chairs. Already, the tea was served and ready for the two of them. Cagalli took a deep breath to calm herself down. This was not going to be the first time she had tea with a man yet this man made her nervous in ways nobody else did. This bothered her. As princess, she must remain calm and collected.
"I have heard a lot of your accomplishments, Mister Zala," she made a mock salute. "I salute you."
"Thank you…"
"Do you really want to marry me, Mister Zala?" she asked without warning. This had shocked Athrun. What made her ask such a question?" "I mean it. Do you really want to marry me? I ask you now, what do you want? Answer me without the thought of politics and duties…I just want to know."
Athrun was speechless. That was one question that he was not expecting. As he watched her, she looked so calm…and composed. Athrun's eye then drifted towards her hands. He was surprised to see them shivering…it wasn't from the cold. It was a warm morning.
Cagalli took a deep breath. "It was now or never," she thought. This was just something she needed to know.
"You really are selfless person, you know that?" Athrun replied, chuckling. "I bet you can't help but be selfless."
Her eyes grew wide with surprise at her fiancé's answer.
Athrun watched her, smiling at her reaction. "I know you don't want to marry me, your highness. I know you're scared. It even surprised me that you still want to go through with it."
Cagalli blushed and looked away. It was true. She didn't want to marry him and it also surprised her that she was going through with it. Her father gave her two choices: one was to marry Yuuna Roma Seiran and the other was to marry Athrun Zala, a complete stranger from the PLANTs.
Cagalli was stubborn and normally even her father couldn't tell her what to do. But when her father starts saying, "…it is for our people…" she turned into jelly. She knew she couldn't break the engagement yet she wanted to know if he wanted to marry her. Shecould get a heartbreaking answer like no but she still wanted to know.
Athrun stood up from his chair and walked towards her side of the table. He bent on one knee and took her hand in his and kissed it. The lady blushed and brought a flush to her cheeks. "Cagalli Yula Athha, I would honored if I may have you as my wife." He brought out a ring from his pocket. "I believe that this marriage will work."
Cagalli didn't know what to say. Was there hope for them? Could she learn to love him? Could he learn to love her? Or will these all only lead to disappointment. "I don't know if this will work."
"Please may I have your hand in marriage?" He stared at her with much intensity. She just closed her eyes, needing to think. She couldn't do that while looking into his eyes. His eyes distracted her too much. "May I kiss you?" he whispered.
She opened her eyes in surprise. He looked very serious. His eyes not blinking as he awaited her answer. She took a deep breath and nodded. He grinned. "You're beautiful, your highness."
"Call me Caga---" but before she could finish. He met her lips with hers and all other thought disappeared after that.
After her tea with Athrun Zala, she had another television interview and he said he had an appointment with his friends.
"I want to meet these friends of yours," she told him.
"I don't think so," he replied, shaking his head. "They're a bit…rowdy."
"I don't care." She stood up. "Invite them for tea in two days." She winked. "I will be looking forward to it."
Athrun Zala was a good kisser she had to admit. She was seeing stars by the time it was over. He was sweet and thoughtful. Not at all the stuck-up soldier she envisioned. He was also quite handsome. Athrun Zala was perfect but… she was not. She was a fake. Will it really work out? She asked again, touching her lips.
She shook her head to clear it. Why was she thinking of that when she was so close to getting to freedom?
"The password?" Cagalli muttered. "What is the password?" She was in the master control room. It housed the master computer that took care of the entire estate. She typed all the possibilities she thought Kira would make into a password. Her brother left three hours after visiting her room the night before. All she needed was to crack that code to adjust the security to let her get away.
"MmmFfffpht." the bound, gagged and blindfolded guard struggled. Cagalli used her secret stash of sleeping gas to render the guard unconscious earlier. Don't ask where she got it. When the guard woke up, he was bound, gagged and blindfolded. He could hear somebody working the computer, so he knew that there was an intruder.
She rubbed her eyes. Her contact lenses annoyed her but she had to change the color of her eyes or else somebody might recognize her. Her eyes were now blue, she was dressed in military style cargo pants and red shirt; she felt like a whole new person. Nobody would ever recognize her dressed in this.
"What was the password?" she muttered again. "Think Cagalli! Think!" She closed her eyes and tried to think about how Kira's mind worked. "He is a major softie. He is sentimental about many things."
She typed "A-L-L-S-T-E-R."
Access Denied
She cursed. It still wasn't the one. Fllay Allster was Kira's ex-girlfriend. Cagalli never met her because she died with Leukemia a year before Cagalli knew Kira. Kira was deeply grief-stricken, when she died at the age of sixteen. It took two years but Kira seemed to have moved on.
She remembered sneaking into Kira's room once, trying to retrieve her lady pistol, which Kira had confiscated. She saw a picture of a beautiful red-headed girl among other pictures of herself, the Yamatos, her father and himself. Kira never told her that he had a girlfriend and he never really talked about her.
"Somehow, I knew I would find you here."
Cagalli winced at the sound of her brother's voice. "Busted!" she thought. She sighed but pretended to be distracted by the photographs to stall for time.
Kira walked beside her. He saw her staring at the lone picture of Fllay Alster that he kept. His face saddened as he too stared at it. He hadn't thought of her for a long time now.
"Who is she?" Cagalli asked. "She's very pretty."
Kira nodded. "She's Fllay Allster. My ex-girlfriend." He didn't say anything more. Cagalli wondered why. Kira was always willing to share anything to her about himself.
"Ex-girlfriend? You broke up?"
"Yes," he whispered. She could barely hear him. He was certainly being secretive about this. "I couldn't protect her. I failed." He saw his hands balled into fists. She became worried. Was there something wrong? Is there something that he wasn't telling her?"
"What happened to her?" she had to ask. It was affecting her brother so much. She wanted to help him in any way she could. "Don't lie to me, Kira. You know I'll find out sooner or later."
Kira frowned because he knew that she was right. His sister was stubborn and she wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted to know. "She died from leukemia over a year ago," he replied. Before she could ask any more questions, Kira pulled out her lady gun from his pocket and tossed it to her. "This is what you came here for, right?"
Cagalli stared at her gun. Yes, this is what she came there for but now what she wanted was answers.
He didn't give her another chance to speak. He walked out of the room and disappeared for the rest of the day. The next day though, Kira was smiling and talking to her again but he still wouldn't talk about Fllay Allster. She didn't ask any more, neither. What is past is past and it really wasn't any of her business. She really didn't want to hurt him by bringing her up.
Cagalli just hoped that he'd be okay.
She typed her name, "C-A-G-A-L-L-I."
Access Denied.
Then, "Y-A-M-A-T-O."
Access Denied.
She should have know that Kira wouldn't make a password that simple. "What in the world is the password, Kira?" she grumbled. Cagalli wanted out of the prison even for just one day she could be with normal people who'd treat her not like a princess but as a person.
She looked around. There had to be clues to what the password was somewhere. On the wall beside the master computer, Cagalli noticed a photograph hanging. It was of the crew of the Archangel. She saw Captain Murrue, Mr. Mwu, Ms. Natarle and Kira. There was also Kira's close friends that she never met Sai Argyle, Miriallia Haww, Kuzzey Burskirk and Tolle Koenig.
Kira had fought with them all throughout the first war and she could see that he was still very attached to them. He was still piloting his Freedom Gundam at this time. She fixed her eyes at a handsome, smiling brunette with an arm around the lovely Miriallia Haww's waist. The guy was Tolle Koenig. Cagalli knew that the two of them were a couple. Kira had told her about them and he also told her about Tolle's death. His skygrasper shot down at sea. Cagalli knew the smiling woman was devastated and was never the same again.
Cagalli knew how it felt losing somebody she loved. Her mother was murdered not long after graduating from middle school. Then it hit her. She typed, "F-R-E-E-D-O-M."
Access Granted!
"Bingo," she chuckled. "…and the password…how ironic…" Just one night of freedom was all she asked. She was now willing to marry Athrun Zala and this might be her last chance to taste freedom for a long time.
She picked up her knapsack and left the room. Inside her bag were clothes, essentials, some money and fake Ids. She took out one of the Ids and stared at the name printed. For that night, she wasn't Cagalli Yula Athha, Princess and the daughter of the Lion of Orb. She wasn't the perfect lady everyone thought id found only in fairytales. She was…
"Eulla Hibiki," she whispered the name for the first time. And you know what? It was beautiful to her. For her, it meant freedom…
Everyone, meet Eulla, the other side of the coin…
Tsubame: Hehe…I'm sorry if I made some of the characters OOC…I hope you like my latest chapter.
Constructive Criticisms please…or you can just review. Reading your reviews about how you feel about this story make me very happy and make writing this fic worthwhile, whether it is negative or positive. Negative, why? I feel honored that even though it is that bad you still took so much trouble to read it. Thank you…
I want to acknowledge, w w w . g – s e e d . c o m for giving me the info I needed for this chappie.
Notes:
I was going to name her Jiyu (means Freedom in Japanese) but it sounded like a guy's name and it didn't seem to click either. I decided to stick with the name Eulla. What do you think?
The ring…well, if your wondering where it ccame from, keep your pants on. I'll explain in the next chappie. Don't think that Athrun troubles are over yet...it is just the beginning...