The Woman's Piano Pt. 2

[Desert Bloom]

Authoresses Note: Here?s part two! I?m getting it up fairly quickly because I actually wrote part one and two as one segment, and then decided to separate them for comprehension purposes. Enjoy, and please review if you like it enough.


***Part Two of The Woman?s Piano: This Will Be ***


Like most students, Relena did not want school to begin. Unlike most students however, her reasons had nothing to do with loathing the possible work that would doubtlessly come with the year. No, she would have to do the ultimate, prove her absolute submission to her brother?s whims and fancies, all for the necklace: she was going to have to be a goddamn seducer and the good, honest part of her was dying because of it. She just prayed that the boy ? Heero, according to Treize ? would be able to see past her lie and she could just go back to Treize and say that too bad, she tried, so just give her the necklace for the effort at least.

That was the thing, though. Her brother would not accept failure, she realized, and though he would not respond angrily neither would he relinquish the necklace. So she had to do it, and she had to do it perfectly. What was the first thing she could remember her mother telling her after she?d stolen the cookies from the pantry and given the lie that she, contrary to all beliefs, was not eating the forbidden delectable? Don?t lie Relena; it?s the worst possible thing you can do in life. Relena could see her mom?s face giving that chastisement, her mom?s eyes burning with a beauty unto itself, just like Treize?s, actually. It haunted her as she fumbled with her locker and made her way to her homeroom.

She sat herself in the back corner, wanting to be able to sleep away from the main throng in the morning. There was already a girl there, who seemed to have the right idea ? she was face-down on the desk and heavy breathing punctuated the silence of the nearly vacant classroom (it was still early). Simply sitting didn?t feel quite right to her so Lila took out a piece of paper and once again began to sketch the woman over the piano. Time ebbed away from her in this state of utter concentration, and she didn?t even hear the voice the first time the person spoke, though the second time it did rouse her.

?Hey! Are you awake? Or dead? Or something??

Relena looked up quickly, blinking. ?Oh. I?m sorry.?

It was the girl that had been head-down at the desk at first, definitely having woken up now. ?Wow! Did you draw that?? The girl put a hand on it, covering the penciled upper scalp of hair.

Getting the hint, Relena gently pushed it to her. ?Yeah.?

?Wow. It?s amazing.? She had an undeniably unique voice; like Treize?s, it felt royal.

?Hey, thanks.?

?No problem. How?d you get it so complicated like that??

?Complicated??

Nodding, the girl, who had been holding it up to the lamp?s light and studying it carefully, handed it back to her and randomly pointed at different points where Relena had gotten more poetic in terms of drawing. ?Just so??I don?t know, it flows. You?d think she was capable of breath or something, like she was living.?

?Thanks a lot. Do you draw too??

?I try to draw, but that?s not really the same thing, huh??

?Got anything with you to show me??

?At home. I can bring it in tomorrow, if you wa ??

The teacher clapped her hands at that precise moment, demanding the attention of the twenty or so students that had showed up. After introducing herself as Lady Une (She was young, hence the Ms., and also very pretty if details should be given, so Lila guessed her title would be changing soon) she asked for all students to be seated as she called roll. Much to Lila?s relief she didn?t care where they sat; it was the age old deal of as long as you behave you can do whatever you want. This meant she could sit next to the nice, very charismatic, girl ? more important, however, was that Treize had guaranteed Relena that because of the similarities in their last name Heero would doubtlessly be in the same homeroom as her.

?Dorothy Catalonia?? Lady Une called out, and the girl that had praised Lila?s drawing raised her hand.

Catalonia!

Could she be a member of that rich family Treize was always talking about? She knew they did business with Zech?s corporation, but had had a bad falling out a few years ago. The fact that this had been around the time of Zech?s ?disapearance? had always intrigued her ? as Relena sat there, she made plans to ask this Dorothy about her family, subtly so, of course.

And then,

?Heero??

Relena?s eyes combed the room for the boy that would respond, but none did. The teacher said his name again and again it was met with silence; just as confused as Relena was, Lady Une marked him absent and class went on.

When Relena looked back to Dorothy she saw that her new friend was shaking with silent laughter.

?What?s so funny?? Relena finally asked, poking her.

Dorothy fought for control. ?Some friends of mine switched poor Heero-baka?s schedule with someone else?s.?

?That?s rather rude ? ?

But Amaya wouldn?t let Lila get any false ideas of her friend?s intentions. ?It was payback,? She explained, ?Heero did the same thing to Wufei ? that?s one of them ? last year. And don?t get the wrong idea, Heero and Wufei are inseparable most of the time.? Her laughter slowed as the teacher sent her a glance and their conversation fell into hushed whispers.

?So you?re Heero?s friend??

?I?m everyone?s friend, amigo,? Her Spanish accent was atrocious when she tried that stab at intriguing vocabulary; Relena would know, having traveled as much in her childhood as she had and being able to speak it fluently now. ?Besides the bitchy preps. You?re new, right? I can introduce you to some of them.?

?Sure. That would be great.?

Relena felt guilty that she was enjoying this friendship with Dorothy more because of Dorothy?s obvious connection with Heero, meaning her goal would be easier ? unless, of course, Dorothy was in a stronger relationship with Heero then she was letting on, in which case Relena would have to play an awful game of betrayal and stealing.

?Sorry I?m late. I got lost.?

The new voice, strangely familiar to Relena, stopped talk momentarily in the room; attention was directed to the doorway as the ?newcomer? entered and then diverted once more as the various groups of people returned to their conversation. He wasn?t of the same importance to them as he was with Relena.

?Name?? Asked Lady Une. ?And exceptions can certainly be made for the first day of school, so don?t worry.?

?Heero Yuy. Thanks.?

The boy that Relena was to seduce began across the room, having seen Dorothy and sent her a look of indignation/amusement. He stopped however, stopped right in his tracks and merely stared for a moment, seeing Relena just as Relena saw him.

Damn you, Treize. I will never forgive you.

Not him, of all people, not him.

It was the cute punk with a kind, though unmistakably tired smile, and a love of art.




Relena fell into the fluid movements of her pencil, her brow furrowed, every piece of her will bent on one thing and one thing only: getting this painting done and making it the best. She was going to make this the loveliest thing ever to grace existence; it was going to have breath, just as Dorothy had said earlier ? it was going to live. It was, quite possibly, one of the few things she had control over right now, as she worked away silently in the art room after school on the easel, and that fact was treasured. The woman bent over the piano was sculptured again and again, taking different poses each time, eraser chipping madly away at times, and then lapsing into sleek, skillful pencil movements ? she was reborn again and again, seeking the one life that she would be happiest in, or, at the very least, would be the most artful and beautiful in. After all, art isn?t rosy; it?s climatic.

Heero had said hello nicely enough, and they had assured Dorothy?s surprise that yes, they did now each other. Dorothy, it had turned out, had her eyes set quite determinedly on a shy but definitely good-looking boy named Quatre. After homeroom in the hallway they?d run into the other members of what was to be Lila?s ?clique? ? there was Sally and Wufei (who had been Heero?s tricksters, and were very obviously in love), the Quatre person, and Hilde and Duo (another couple). Relena enjoyed how set in stone things seemed to be ? there were no ?tensions? in the group; everyone outright adored each other even if that meant arguing constantly with their beloved to illustrate that particular point (a.k.a. Sally and Wufei).

There was a confusing moment, however, when a fellow blonde had showed up and started to flirt shamelessly with Heero. Heero flirted back well enough, or, at least, took it in good humor. He wasn?t a flirt, she noted, just very handsome and therefore very popular ? he seemed withdrawn all the time, as if he didn?t want the attention and he wished to hide from it, except he didn?t know where. It seemed no one else really considered this ?Sylvia? person a friend. Hilde and Duo had turned around and headed in the other direction the minute Sylvia and her posse showed up; the other?s greetings were also quite stale, besides Heero, who followed interactions with Sylvia half-heartedly.

Was this person competition or was Heero just being a nice person?

Competition with what, though?

After all, Relena didn?t actually like Heero.

Right, that was it.

Sylvia the flirty prep could have Heero the accidental punk playboy.

All Relena wanted was a short affair for her mother?s necklace?s sake.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder. It wasn?t rough but neither was it gentle ? Relena jumped merely because of the surprise.

?It?s only me,? giggled a voice behind her.

Relena turned, and had to hide her surprise. Speak of the devil. Or devilress, at least.

Sylvia smiled sweetly. Relena returned it, not seeing any reason to anticipate a fight. ?I?m sorry. When I?m drawing I tend to be a little ?out of it?.?

?Oh. But isn?t that a little dangerous?? Why would she say that?

What the hell is she doing, anyway? I never said I was her friend.

A mere shrug was Relena?s response to Sylvia?s comment, as the artist turned back to examine her wares. Not too bad ? now just to accentuate the positive and degrade the negative and she would have a work of art, the current ?best of her ability?. Better ?best of abilities? would come, naturally, as time and experience dictates it should.

?Wow. That?s not too shabby. You draw??

Relena nodded. ?What?s your honest opinion? Don?t spare me any critiques. I need to take care of the mistakes.?

?Can I change something? To make it better. I draw a little too.?

Relena blinked, but Sylvia?s suggestion was not made laughingly, but rather in absolute seriousness. The only thing was, Sylvia didn?t seem the artsy sort.

?Um, okay.?

Wordlessly, Sylvia picked up an eraser and made a long line down with it, cutting the woman in half. Then she began to furiously blot out the head, but was stopped as Relena thrust out a hand and grabbed her wrist.

?What the hell are you doing?? Relena demanded, horrified at her hour-long work?s demise.

Wrestling her hand from Relena?s grasp, Sylvia pulled it back once free and let it smack harshly against Lila?s cheek in a blow that seemed to echo throughout the small art room. Relena grimaced at the pain ? Sylvia was strong, give her that ? but not about to back down either, she slapped Sylvia a good one back, a nice satisfying crack. Immediately, however, strong hands were holding her arms back, bending her backwards in a satanic bear hug that rendered her useless in a fight.

Dang it. Sylvia had been planning this and had not come alone. The bitch.

?You,? Sylvia quietly set the eraser down on the easel, looking down on Lila in an eerily calm manner, ?Can?t draw shit.?

Relena grinned, despite her desperate circumstances. ?That?s funny. Why would I want to draw you??

Sylvia?s friend ? or friends, Relena wasn?t sure which ? forced Relena down to a painful crouching position, totally at Sylvia?s mercy. Sylvia had nothing against taking advantage of that, as she made evident. She pulled back her leg and sent it to Relena?s face, a well-executed side kick. Blood tasted in Relena?s mouth and Relena wondered how she?d explain the bruise to Treize. Would Treize care, or would it mean that she was getting closer to Heero and that was all? At least, that was why Sylvia was doing this, right?

?What did you think you were doing with Heero??

Yeah, that was it.

?What are you talking about?? Relena was bent over on the ground, pain throbbing where she?d been kicked.

?Don?t play dumb with me. You were all over him today in the hallway today.?

?We hugged. Once. Friends hug.?

?Heero never hugs just friends.?

It was true. He hadn?t hugged Dorothy or Hilde or anyone else. He?d hugged Sylvia and Relena and that was all ? and his hug with Sylvia had been brief, a touch of the shoulder. The way he?d hugged Relena was worthy of glomp status.

?I don?t care about him. He?s a stupid playboy, anyway. You can have him.?

?Don?t patronize me!?

Another kick. This time in the stomach. Relena didn?t think she could move fast enough to fight back, and definitely not with these other girls around. This was ridiculous; how psycho was this Sylvia bitch to get this wound up over some stupid playboy like Heero? Except Heero was more than a playboy and she knew it ? but still! Tiredly, Relena slumped over and hoped they?d just take her for unconscious and go away.

?Sylvia! What the hell are you doing?!?

Heero?

No.

Male, but not Heero.

?Let go of me, Trowa.?

?That?s it, Sylvia. We?re through.?

?What?? Sylvia?s voice changed immediately. ?But Trowa, baby?.?

?Shut UP.?

??..N-no???

?Get out of here before a teacher comes, Sylvia.?

She did. There were scattered voices, all of them whiny and high-pitched, and then they were gone. She felt warm hands pull her up, wiping away the blood at her mouth.

Man, Sylvia must have kicked me somewhere important down there in the gut. I?m nearly unconscious??

But from her fading world she was able to get out a last few words:

?Please don?t tell Heero who it was. It?d hurt him.?

Then, a blessed black.




?All she draws is this woman bent over a piano, Noin. Nothing else. That can?t be normal.?

?She draws it very well, though.?

?It?s not normal. And it?s all she does. She won?t watch television, or go outside and play ? every day, she sits down at that table and draws that same picture, over and over.?

?I know that Zechs, but just give her time. She?ll come out of this phase eventually. She just lost a mother, you know.?

?????

?Hell, you just lost a mother.?

?Noin, Relena found mother. She had a heart attack while she was playing the piano.?

?Zechs????

?What was the name of that man? I know there was some man whose mother drowned herself, and when they found her in the pool her dress was wrapped around her face???he drew a lot of pictures like that, didn?t he? With women ? sometimes men ? who had cloth wrapped around their face.?

?Relena?s going to be okay. You just wait and see. It?s just a phase.?

?Right. Of course.?

?Where are you going??

?Treize wanted to meet me somewhere. He doesn?t trust that Catalonia man with the new Wing Zero technology being imported.?

?I don?t trust Treize myself, if I can be honest here.?

?You can be. I agree with you. But father trusted him like a brother. It said so in his will.?

?Just be careful.?

?I always am.?




?Who did this to you??

Relena gave Heero a faltering smile. They were outside, in some park between the school and their houses, Lila lying down on the grass as Heero hovered over her. How ironic, that just after coming to she should see his face and hear those words.

?I think she?s going again, Heero.? Another voice? Wufei?s steady drawl, yes.

Not wanting that, Heero took her by the shoulders and back and slowly lifted her up, giving her support. His warmth cascaded around her and she fought back an urge to grab him and hug him with all her heart, crying out that she?d been so scared, she?d been so damn scared. Because she?d had been, if that Trowa fellow hadn?t shown up things could have gotten so bad, so unbelievably bad ? but she couldn?t do that, she realized, as she looked up into Heero?s beautifully concerned eyes.

She would take care of herself.

She?d promised herself that much.

Besides, knowing he?d been the cause of it might hurt him.

Lila did not want Heero being hurt.

She?d promised herself ? and him ? that much.

?Hey.? He said gently, caressing her bruised cheek. She winced, and, surprising everyone around ? she was too woozy to be sure who that was exactly but she knew it was quite a few ? Heero responded in kind by kissing that bruised part affectionately, his lips brushing very comfortable against Relena?s smooth expanse of skin. It reminded her of her mother kissing her skinned knee once, and then asking lovingly, ?All better now??

No, not Heero and mother. They were different and yet they were going to destroy each other.

?All better,? Relena murmured and let the weakness spread again, making her go limp.

Wufei finally spoke after a moment. He had doubtlessly been caught by just as much surprise as Relena had. ?Just tell us who it the bastard was and we?ll avenge your injustice.? Sally voiced agreement from somewhere nearby.

It was weird; Relena knew they were there but couldn?t see them; it was just she and Heero.

Hah. That would be a real shocker, if someone could call Sylvia a bastard in good faith.

?Heero, I just want to go home.?

Hilde?s voice, now. ?She lives close to me, Heero. I can take her.?

Heero was quiet for a long moment; staring down at Relena with such concentration that Relena feared he?d deduced the obvious. But then it broke and he merely shook his head. He swept her up into a big bear hug, arms going around her back and swallowing her nearly in the aura of warmth and wonder. ?Heal and smile again,? He whispered, and then he handed her over to Hilde.

[Desert Bloom]

Forgive when I accidentally put Relena as Lila. Demons from the original fiction rearing their ugly head. Just think of Lila as Relena - won't happen again!

[Tenku no Ryu]

All is forgiven, 'cause this story is fascinating and capitvated my attention ^_^! I hope you continue!

Ja!