Anthy had taken a position across the street at a small cafe'. She smiled a little at the cliché of her actions, but it still was the best position from which to observe her quarry. Quarry? It had such a desperate sound. Target? No, well what then? She could not bring herself to say Utena's name, nor to even think the word that had sprung unbidden last night into her mind. Prince. That word had brought them both so much pain... The site of Utena leaving the store forced Anthy to interrupt her circular and pointless contemplation. She had been over so much of the same territory during her quest. And she had never found any answers. Dropping a few coins on the table, Anthy smiled at the waiter, grabbed her journal and headed for the intersection where Utena would have to wait for a favorable light. Anthy placed a polite, noncommittal smile on her face and confronted a slightly put out Utena. Three heavy bags of groceries were too much for the slight form to bear comfortably and she was muttering at the long light that kept her from proceeding. Anthy reached out a hand and took one of the bags. Utena glanced up startled, but rearranged her features into a thankful, if cautious, smile. Anthy began with an innocuous remark about the weather, while sizing up the woman for whom she had searched for so long. Her hair was paler now, most of the color bleached from it, and her eyes, once a vivid and lively blue, were weak and lackluster. Anthy could not help but think that time had not at all been kind to her friend, and wondered at what the last 14 years had brought her. In contrast, she knew, she looked the picture of health. Constant traveling had given her an excellent constitution and her skin, though slightly darker from exposure than it had been in school, showed no signs of aging. Behind the glasses, her eyes were bright and green, with a world of experience in them. She could feel heat build behind those eyes, and she turned her face away from Utena’s colorless form, before the other woman might notice. As they walked, Anthy and Utena chatted inconsequentially, keeping the conversation general, nonthreatening. Anthy’s heart alternately soared and plummeted, as she listened to Utena’s familiar voice, locked up so tightly in topics of no meaning. She held herself back from asking the questions that had torn her apart for the past 14 years. When they reached Utena’s home, Utena shifted nervously as she opened the door. She recognized the necessity of thanking this stranger who had helped her, but the thought of an unknown person in her sanctuary...she took a deep breath and invited Anthy in. "I don’t want to be any trouble, so I’ll be going..." Anthy’s soft voice demurred politely. Perversely, Utena now felt that she did not want this unusual woman to leave so soon. "Please. It would be no trouble." Why? She wondered briefly. Why did she care at all? Forcing the smile on her face to remain placid, hiding the delight she felt, Anthy agreed. So many years she had spent disguising her emotions, this was all too natural for her. Anthy loathed the years she had spent perfecting this art and she reviled herself for perfecting it. She longed to have Utena’s natural animation. Reining in her thoughts, Anthy glanced at the Utena who now stood before her, a wraith of her former self. What price had she paid to give Anthy freedom? They stepped into the foyer. While removing her shoes, Anthy took stock of the photos that neatly lined a shelf on one wall. Utena and a man with dark, short hair and dark eyes. The two of them at a beach. Utena alone in a college gown. Anthy reached out a delicate finger towards the picture of Utena and the man. "Your husband?" her steady voice did not give away the turmoil within. Utena paused. "My ex-husband. I left him several years ago. We keep in touch." Anthy’s fingers slid away from the photo’s frame, as Utena continued. "The first time I met him, he looked so handsome. He was riding a horse and he looked like a Prince." Anthy’s heart stopped. Stricken, she turned to face Utena, sure she was pale under her coffee-colored skin. As she turned, Utena’s face grew grey. She moaned, then lurching unevenly, fell unsteadily into Anthy’s arms. Anthy supported Utena, waiting for the taller woman to regain her balance. Utena wavered, then leaning heavily on Anthy moaned again. "What just happened to me?" Her eyes were dilated and wild. Anthy gripped Utena’s sleeves, until she felt sure Utena would not slip to the ground, then answered. "You were telling me about your husband looking like a Prince, riding a horse." Utena frowned and stood up shakily, pulling herself once more under control. She turned, still frowning, and picked up the sacks of groceries. "My husband has never ridden a horse." Her back was stiff as she entered the kitchen. Anthy looked again at the picture, then followed, carrying the last bag with her. Utena busied herself emptying the bags, then set about preparing tea. After refusing Anthy’s help, she set some fruit in a large metal bowl, brought it to the table, then returned to the counter for the tea tray. Anthy glanced past Utena to where the single rose-shaped cup sat on the counter, untouched and unacknowledged, and almost, not quite imperceptibly, she smiled. Tea was, as it always is, a comfortable medium for talk. Anthy learned that Utena married in college, and was divorced a few years after. She talked of her school years, and Anthy asked, conversationally, where she had attended school. Utena declared she had graduated from a local high school, moving up easily from a junior high in the area. She made no mention of her year at Ootori and Anthy did not bring it up. Utena asked about Anthy’s occupation, drawing the conversation away from herself. Anthy spoke of her travels and the journalism they spawned. "How fascinating." Utena spoke in that tone reserved for only the most uninteresting of things. Anthy thought it best to leave at this. Thanking Utena politely, she bowed and declared she must leave. Utena did not protest. Walking Anthy to the door, Utena thanked her once again, but did not invite her back. Anthy left, never looking back, and headed once again into town. She had some errands that needed to be taken of. There would be time for the rest. The first steps had been taken, and the first locks had been broken. The chain was becoming unwound, the chained becoming unbound. Utena turned away from the door after locking it behind Anthy’s retreating form. Sighning with relief, she leaned upon the door, letting her head rest momentarily against its cool solidity. She stepped back into the kitchen, and still ignoring the aberrant tea cup, she heated more water. She turned to bring the water to the table and found herself suddenly shaking. Shaking so hard that she dropped the hot water with a crash. The large metal bowl that she was sure she had filled with fruit a short while ago, was now full of lush, fragrant, red roses.
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