I started with a random idea, so there is no real opening to this story. They're in a garden in Shevat.


"People stare at me when I walk in the city."

The queen glanced at Elly quickly, then turned her eyes to the stars again. Yes, that would come up... it was a wonder she hadn't asked before. "We don't see many land-dwellers here, and Solarians are rarer still."

The young woman sighed softly. "And I look Solarian to you?"

That was an odd response. Though given the color of her hair... "Your uniform speaks for itself, my dear. And you carry the pride of the Solarian legion with the set of your shoulders."

Elly smiled and lowered her eyes. Then her mouth tilted cynically. "They told us that in school - 'You are the pride of the Empire!'" She deepened her voice, mocking. "'You must maintain our image at all times!' As if anyone we meet here on the surface will know who we are."

"There was a time when that would have been different." Zephyr kept close watch on Elly's face - staring, just as everyone else did. It brought a flash of guilt, which she quickly suppressed; this face as a memory as much as it was a reality. Could the guirl blame an old woman for living in her past?

This 'Elehaym' was an odd reflection of the woman Zephyr allied with half a millenium ago. She was the spitting image of Sophia; perhaps her coloring was a little more vivid, and her stare harder, but the face and the voice were identical. Even the hint of an accent left by her Solarian upbringing could not hide the delicate nuances of her intonations - nuances that screamed 'Sophia'.

But Sophia was older, more mature - this girl was still a child. Her mind was still full of childhood resentments, and beliefs she still clung to, no matter how willing she was to turn against her nation. As for what /that/ said about her... There was an old Aphelian saying that spoke of never trusting a man willing to betray his own country; her advisors thought she should take heed of it. /They/ had no softness in their hearts for the Great Mother.

Perhaps this was a mistake. But what did she care of that?

"That man... Gaspar. He said the same thing."

"He spoke to you?" Zephyr raised an eyebrow, watching the girl's eyes.

"In the library." Elly looked at her for the first time, hesitant. "He said something else, too."

Nothing was forthcoming in those eyes. They held the same mysteries as their predecessor. "What did he say?"

The girl's pale hands fiddled with the hem of her uniform. "'Krelian is going to be back.' He wouldn't explain what he meant."

The cobblestones beneath their feet were suddenly much more interesting than Elly's pale face. Easier to look at, certainly, as they couldn't look back and challenge her. She opened her mouth to speak, and stopped herself; the name on her lips wasn't the right one.

"Do you know Krelian?" Elly's voice was curious. Not accusing, nor knowing, but simply colored with interest. Then it became puzzled, as she continued. "I asked one of the librarians about it, and she wouldn't answer either. Neither would Yui - she said I should ask you."

"Of course." It was her turn to stare at the stars, at anything but her companion. Usually she had better composure, but... usually, she was not speaking to this face. What a silly old woman she had become, jumping at shadows, immersed in the past. "Yes, I am acquainted with Krelian."

"And Gaspar too." When she received Zephyr's confirming nod, she sighed again. "So... what did he mean?"

There were many ways to answer that question, and most of them were lies. Untruths were so much easier to bear... certainly easier to tell. And which one would suit this face...?

"Sometimes, old friends misunderstand each other." Zephyr felt the girl's gaze, and when she looked at her from the corner of her eye, the blur of white and bright red hair almost fooled her into thinking she was speaking with a ghost. "He and I do not see eye to eye. Thus, the war."

Elly was quiet - her question had not yet been answered.

"He takes his oaths seriously. Your safety, as an officer under his command, is very important to him." How must it feel, to be on the other side of the desk this time? Surely he must find it a novel experience - not taking orders from her, but giving them. Knowing him as she did, she thought he might prefer it the other way around. "We think he may make an attempt to recover you."

Elly shook her head, still fiddling with her skirt. "They already tried. Word must have gotten back home by now - I'll be a fugitive for sure."

"Don't be so sure." Satisfied that her composure was somewhat steady again, the queen turned back to face her guest. It would be impolite to avoid her much longer. "He does not take betrayal lightly."


It's the 'story' here that really kills it. The idea is okay, and I think it's something that should be expressed - I mean, a bunch of people waltz into Zephyr's throne room, some of them sporting faces that are identical to her friends five hundred years ago, and she doesn't bat an eyelash? Please. ^^ Even if Elly doesn't have the same air or look in her eyes that Sophia did, she's still a mirror image of her. So... that was the idea, but it got lost. And the characterization isn't that great, unfortunately. Someday, I'd like to write something similar - but much better. I hope.