~ My ~ Fair ~ Princess ~ By Alexia Goddess Chapter Seven "I was thirteen," Relena said softly, staring down into the golden coloured, steaming liquid that was her tea. "At least, I think I was. I really don't know how old I was. I don't really know how old I am now, though I estimate around sixteen." She moved to sip her tea, then admitted to herself she didn't have the strength or conviction to swallow. The blanket around her, nor the slippers on her feet, nor the roaring fire at her side gave her warmth. All she could do was remember...she hardly even prosessed that the Professor and Colenol Quatre were sitting in arm chairs in front of her, listening to her every word. Only her memories really had any solid place in her thoughts... "What happened?" Had Relena not been so deep in her own mind, she would have reeled in surprise along with Quatre when Heero spoke the words quietly. "Humanity happened," She said. "At least, the darker side of humanity." She bit her lip, raied her eyes slightly to stare into the fire. The bright, vibrant, screaming colors of rage read and sparkling orange were a sharp contrast to the previous dull golden of her tea. "I'd overhead a few boys talking about a 'secret' entrance to the stables surrounding the horse race track. They said there were several places inside the stables where you could watch the race with ease. "I battled with my conscience for ages over whether or not it was right or wrong to cheat the race company, I argued over if it would be worth getting caught. I love animals, as you've noticed by now. I used to love horses most of all... I still do, I just...avoid them now. Too many memories...horrible, horrible memories..." Relena shut her eyes tight against the onslaught of tears. Some deeper woman's intuition sensed dully that there was a third pair of ears listening in on the conversation, just outside the door... But she didn't care. The Professor nor Quatre said anything or did anything to offer support other than their silence, which, at the moment, Relena needed; had they said anything, she would have dissolved into tears and it would have been quite some time before she would have been able to continue. But someone Quatre sensed this, and signaled Heero to silence- not exactly a difficult thing to do. But within a few moments Relena collected heself, and she continued. "Eventually I decided to just do it. I got in fine, found the perfect hiding place. I had what had to be one of the best spying places. Then..." She swallowed and blinked rapidly. "There was this man..." She choked. "He...he was *beating* this horse...And I don't just mean kicking and whipping it...he was *killing* the horse! *Killing* it! And he had no remorse, no pity...no nothing...he was *enjoying* the power he had over the animal!" "Such things aren't uncommon, I'm afraid," Quatre murmured. Relena's head whipped up to stare ate him, tears running down her face. "You...you know that this happened? Happen*s*? Plural?" Her voice was incredulous. "Do you do nothing? Does no one do anything? Are there no laws against this?" "A few." Heero stated. "But scarcely are they enforced." Relena looked back to the fire. "So we are treated like animals..." She murmured. "Pardon?" Quatre asked. Relena's grip on her teacup tightened to a dangerous level. "We...those who make their living almost entirely off the generosity off others... Street sweepers, urchins, lamp lighters, stick gatherers, gutter cleaners...flower girls... We're treated just like that horse was?" "Explain," Was all that Heero said, narrowing his eyes. Relena looked at the fire once more, and swallowed. "The man...I tried to stop him. I don't know what came over me. I just jumped up and yelled for him to stop...he came at me..." "Oh, God..." Quatre rose to his feet and knelt at Relena's side, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Did he...?" "N-no, not *that,* thank God..." Relena said softly, her grip on the teacup tightening once more. The golden coloured tea had long since gone cold. "He whipped you." Heero suddenly stated, his previously narrowed eyes going to normal size, his equivilant of someone else's eyes widening to the size of saucers. Relena only nodded, her clasp tightening on the cup even harder... The teacup shattered, and with it, Relena broke down sobbing. She slid of the chair and Quatre pulled her into his arms, whispering words with soothing tones. Professor Yuy stared hard at the plush carpeted floor. His eyes flickered towards the door as his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of heavy footsteps stomping away... Had he not been so outwardly spartan-like, he would have smiled smugly. Duo would take care of things... *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* Relena awoke in her own bed, feeling as though a great and grand weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Sunlight streamed in through the gauzy curtains, and signs of the raging storm the previous night were nowhere to be found. All at once she remembered what had happened the previous night, sleepwalking outside into the storm during her nightmare, collapsing in the gutter, being carried back by Heero, telling the tale of her life's horror to both the Professor and Quatre... She must have fallen asleep... Remembering the shattered tea cup and suddenly feeling a sharp ache in her hands, she looked down to find her palms wrapped in crisp white linen. A bird's chirping outside her window, open to admit the fresh morning air, broke Relena out of her thoughtless reverie. Presently, Hilde poked her head into the room, concern on her face. Relena looked at her, and forced a smile. "I heard what happened last night," Hilde said softly, as she approached and sat on the edge of Relena's bed. Relena looked down at her hands. "Did...did you hear...w-why?" Relena forced herself to speak. Hilde smiled softly and shook her head. "No," She said. "But I don't need to. Whatever happened to make your nightmare so awful as to sleepwalk out into the middle of a storm... whatever it was it was horrible and you didn't deserve it." She leaned forward and kissed her friend on the forehead like she would if Relena were her little sister. "Now," She said. "Do you want to wear your spring green skirt with the cream blouse or your sun yellow morning gown?" Relena looked at Hilde, whose back was now to her as she opened Relena's wardrobe. Nothing but gratitude and thankfulness shone from her azure eyes as she swallowed, brushed the tears from her eyes, and answered. "The sun yellow," She said. "I feel today will be a cheerful day." *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* "Oh my goodness!" Relena entered her room and promptly dropped the books the Professor had assigned her to read that afternoon. Standing at the foot of her bed was a wire manaquin, and on it... Relena's eyes widened, her breath quickened, and her hands shook as she stepped forward and gently, oh-so-hesitantly reached out a cautious, slender, trembling finger to stroke the luminescent white-gold coloured satin... Soft as her hands had become in the time she had been at Sanq Palace due to countless skin treatments, Relena could feel the pad of her tingertip begin to snag the all but glowing fabric of the breathtakingly faerie-queen-like gown. It hung off the shoulders in upside down scallops of gathered material, each dip of the scallop accented with a small white gem. The center dip, which went down the lowest, daringly so, had the biggest gem, the size of an enfant's fist. The bodice was tapered and tailored, she could tell, and would cling to the wearer's every curve, falling to the floor in multitudes of luxrious folds of the softest, cloud light, glowing cascades of white-gold light. "Like it?" Relena turned to hear a voice she hadn't heard very often during her stay at Sanq Palace. Baron Trowa Barton stood in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, a slight smile on his face. "L-like it?" Relena breathed. "My lord, it's...it's something from a... a dream... I... I mean, it...it's..." "It's yours." Trowa said simply. Relena froze and stared at him, her large emerald-sapphire eyes staring at him in utter bewilderment. "W-what?" She breathed. "That dress belongs to you." He repeated patiently, a knowing gleem in his emerald eyes. "I know you don't know, but with every success you've made these past weeks, the Professor has set aside an amount of coin for you. An allowance, if you will. That dress came out of the money he has been putting in a bank account that is in your name. And if I may add, you still have quite a generous amount left in that account." "M-my acc-account?" Relena was far from processing any of this. Trowa only smiled and bent over to pick up the books. He set them on the table by her window. "You'd better get started," He said, motioning to the books. "Your dance lesson is in a few hours." With that, he left, leaving Relena on the brink of fainting from shock. Suddenly, for the first time, Relena was actually *feeling* the fruits of her labor these past weeks... *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* "You're ready." Professor Yuy dropped Relena's hand and walked to a table against the wall of the ballroom, leaving Relena standing in the middle of the dance floor, stunned, for the second time that day. "P-pardon?" She stuttered in surprise. Heero poured himself a small glass of heavily watered brandy and sipped it lightly, the first time Relena had ever seen him actually consume somethin at any time other than meals. Even then he had eaten hardly anything. "You heard me." He told her in his low, emotionless voice that Relena had become accustomed to. "The two weeks are up." He set down the glass and went to the record player, and lifted the needle of the record and stopped the phonograph. "The two weeks are up and tomorrow the bet will be finalized," He said. Relena, suddenly comprehending, drew in a sharp breath. "The...the Ball..." "The annual Moon Harvest Ball," Heero said, turning to face her and look her in the eye. "Held at Rose Manor and hosted by Treize Kushreinada is tomorrow night." To Be Continued... Ta da! One more chappie to go... I would like to warn my constant readers (people who keep up with all my fics, or at least any ones other than this one) that my writting may...pause for a few months at the end of this month, June. Why? Well, due to new employment circumstances, I may be moving to Nevada/Arizona. Soon. As in perhaps a few weeks. The places I'm looking at right now are Boulder City and Henderson, and both are within the half an hour driving time outside of Las Vegas. Does anyone know anything about those places? Housing Developments? What the neighborhoods are like in those towns? Any tips/info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again, and Ja ne! Smile More, Dream Always, Alexia Goddess *ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*