"Miss Relena! Oh, or should we call you Vice Foreign Minister Darlian now?"
Relena smiled warmly at her former classmates, ushering them into her family estate just as she had so many times before.
"Relena is fine," she replied with a wink.
One of the girls, Marie, looked adoringly at the young minister, pressing her hand tightly into her own.
"Oh, it's been too long since we last saw you! Emilie and I were so happy to receive your invitation—"
"And even happier that we could make it this year," Emilie finished with a broad smile. "Anyway, Miss Relena, we've brought gifts—though I'm sure they won't be very impressive to you at all."
Relena brushed off the remark, bowing her head in thanks as Pagan took the gifts and placed them in the larger pile of presents at the far end of the room.
"I'll treasure any gifts from you two," she smiled, her blue irises sparkling under the light of the chandelier above the entrance. She gestured towards the bar and adjoining area where plates of hors d'oeuvre were being circulated by various servers. "Please, feel free to explore a bit and enjoy yourselves! We'll talk more shortly, I'm sure."
"No time to talk now, then?" A third voice interrupted from behind her, and she turned around, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Julian?"
"Happy birthday, Miss Peacecraft," the young blonde-haired man said with a small bow, kissing the top of her hand gently as he did. She blushed despite herself, unused to such displays of old-fashioned chivalry. Nevertheless, her instinct to correct his words was stronger than the one that would admire his gesture.
"It's Miss Darlian, officially," she said with an obligatory smile, "but I would prefer it if you called me Relena, as we already know one another."
Julian Martens looked more handsome than she remembered from their school days, and his attitude was certainly more confident. It amused her to remember the nervous boy from a few years ago, seeing him now; however, he didn't catch her musing, his cheeks pinking from her informality.
"You're far too kind, Miss Da—Relena," he said. "I'm afraid I can only repay that kindness with some trinket I've brought for you, though I know that's hardly a fair exchange."
Pagan took the gift in question from him not a moment later, and Relena suddenly felt somewhat overcome by the sensation that all these compliments and polite exchanges had an element of absurdity to them.
Nonetheless, she put on her pleasantest face, bringing Julian together with Marie and Emilie towards the centre of the main hall.
"Don't be silly. It's my pleasure to host you all for the evening, and, hopefully, for many more after this."
This comment obviously signified the end of the discussion, though Julian seemed miffed by Relena's sudden exit. She didn't take notice of his expression, however, and moved mechanically back to mingling with the hundreds of guests present at the estate for the occasion. Relena wanted to cringe as she felt the heat of a dozen bodies congregating around her, though that same warmth hardly seemed to touch her.
Not that it could; she had felt cold, and empty, for months—if not years—by then.
I wonder what he's doing right now.
She silently reprimanded herself for the thought just as soon as it had flitted through her mind, doing her best to keep up with the conversation and questions about the progress of the terraformation project. She instinctively knew that she should be happy for any support she could get for it, and that their endless questions were, indeed, a positive sign of the project's growing public support, but . . .
YOU ARE READING
Slow Burn
Fanfiction[Gundam Wing A/C; a 1xR series of vignettes post-Endless Waltz.] He had always been conscious of the fact that she—Relena Darlian Peacecraft, Queen of the World—loved him, and him alone. And yet that was the problem, since he could never give her wh...
