August 1998
Author's note: The song "Roses On White Lace" is by Alice Cooper.
[opening riff]
* Relena Peacecraft skips through a park, shining blue eyes darting about, looking for... someone. Finally she spies him; Heero, her Heero! She approaches, peering around the shrub between them, ready to smile and call out his name. Her outstretched hand falters, however, as she finally takes note of the braided figure wrapped about her Heero in an overly affectionate embrace. Her hand trembles wildly as she sees that not only is her Heero not rejecting the cinch, but is drawing the other boy closer, tugging on the long brown braid insistently to open the other's face, claiming the eager mouth possessively with his own. Her face washes of color, the couple reflected in the dying light of her eyes.
[I saw you in your wedding gown, the prettiest dress]
* Adult Relena sways before a mirror, smiling happily, in a long, frothy white dress, her eyes gleaming, her face beautiful. A dark figure shifts minutely in the shadows behind her.
[I came into your room that night and made such a mess]
* A shaking hand raises a gun, complete with silencer, and squeezes the trigger, one, two, three, four, five times, again and again.... Mercurial drops of crimson fly in slow motion through the night air.
[In my own way, I lovingly kissed the bride]
* Relena's body falls slowly backwards, tumbling to the bedspread in a welter of white lace, golden hair, and scarlet spatters, her chest a sea of blood, her eyes frozen in blank blue circles.
[With your ring in your hand, your eyes and your mouth open wide]
* Close-up of Relena's curled hand, blood streaming down the wrist beneath the white cuff of her gown, pooling in the indent of her palm. The gun spins through the air as it arches to land with a thud on a few tangled strands of golden hair.
[In my eyes, blood drops look like roses on white lace
They won't wash away]
* Long shot of Relena on the bed, surrounded by roses rather than blood, her eyes closed, face peaceful.
[In my mind they're roses on white lace
Straight from the heart]
* The hand that had wielded the gun now twirls a ruby red rose.
[So dead upon the bed]
* Sends the rose to flutter after the gun.
[You hurt me in the deepest way, I crippled inside]
* Young Relena sinks to the park's meticulously groomed lawn, eyes wide and unseeing, the blank blue slowly filling with madness. She is unnoticed as the two pilots stride back to the path, Heero's hand possessively gripped by the other boy's. Her glistening eyes narrow as she stares after them.
[I took your evil skin away; it's all cut and dried]
* Relena fumbles through a weapon's collection of unknown ownership, testing blades against her own flesh, finally settling on one slim but deadly knife that seems to fit into her palm perfectly. Her eyes are glowing with unholy fervency, hard spots of red marring the pasty white of her cheeks.
[I saw you tonight and carefully took your hand]
* The knife hidden in the folds of her skirt, Relena moves innocently down an empty hallway. Heero passes her, and she calls out his name, turning and holding out her hand. He flicks her an impassive glance and continues on. Her face crumples then firms and she heads on her way with deeper determination, deeper madness.
[With some spears on my cheeks, I knew that you'd understand]
* Her eyes are bright and clear as she knocks firmly on a door, which opens to reveal that hated, smiling face. Wide indigo eyes are curious as the boy moves aside to let her in.
[In my eyes, blood drops look like roses on white lace
They won't wash away]
* Relena stares at her hands in horror, slender fingers stained red, as the knife falls from her numb grip.
[In my mind they're roses on white lace
Straight from the heart]
* This time it is Duo Maxwell laid out on a bed of roses, all in white, hair loosened in dark, gleaming waves, face peaceful. Forever fifteen.
[So dead upon the bed
Still searching for your head]
* Close-up of Duo's hand, blood pooled in the palm. Relena backs away from the spreading stain of crimson that crawls toward her feet, then screams and flees. Heero stands in the hall, watching her run past in confusion.
[guitar solo]
* As the guitars sing in a violent but lyrical refrain, we see flashes of vague, flickering scenes. Heero's discovery of Duo's lifeless body, the blood pouring down his chest as he clutches the other close. A courtroom scene; Heero has been charged with the murder, but Relena speaks on his behalf. She peers at Heero with a pleading expression but he stares stonily through her, eyes dead. Relena shrieking and destroying a cupboard of antiques as her adopted mother can only quail before the fury. Heero growing older, cold and empty, a ruthless killer. Relena growing older, completely mad but with a sweet face to hide her truth from the world. Relena accepting a marriage proposal from a faceless man, her eyes gleaming with happiness. She has forgotten Heero completely, in self-defense. But he has never forgotten her.
[Oh, they're never gonna find your face; it's hidden away]
* Adult Heero kneels before a clumsy, makeshift shrine to Duo, his head bowed, his face finally at rest, soft and gentle. Tears stream from beneath his closed lids.
[I found a very special place, where you used to play]
* The shrine is set at the foot of Shinigami, which Gundam lies prone in a deep woodland wilderness. Plants have grown over the metal but still, Shinigami gleams with a life denied its pilot.
[In my own way, I lovingly kissed the bride]
* Police arrive at the scene, a flurry of futile movement around Relena's body. Harsh white flashes dance over her dress, momentarily bleaching out the stains in the cloth, flicker in her blank eyes, until someone thoughtfully closes her lids.
[With your ring in your hand, your heart and your mouth open wide]
* The zipper is drawn on the body bag and the room is emptied, leaving behind a bed covered in red roses.
[In my eyes, blood drops look like roses on white lace
[They won't wash away]
* With a calm expression, Heero clambers up Shinigami. As he moves up the side of the Gundam, he grows progressively younger, until he is fifteen once again as he pops the hatch.
[In my mind they're roses on white lace
Straight from the heart]
* He slides inside and sits, eyes closed for a moment as he inhales deeply. Then his hand flashes out and strikes the self destruct button.
[Blood drops look like roses on white lace
(Crimson and sweet, stained on the sheet)]
* There is a screaming whine and a burst of white as the Gundam explodes. The white-out regroups to a white bedspread stained with brilliant red splatters. It is unclear whether this is Relena's blood or Duo's.
[Roses on white lace
(Pretty and red, dripping and wet)]
* Whiteness once more, this time with dark figure cut into the glare. Small and slim, standing stiff. Suddenly the figure is glomped by another, this one with a long braid that arches through the air.
[Roses on white lace
(Spilled on the walls, dark in the hall)]
* As the music fades we see Relena staring once more at her hands in horror, eyes wide, slick crimson streaming down her palms and wrists. All around her, everything is covered in blood. She screams endlessly into her own private hell.
[Roses on white lace
Roses on white lace]
* Fade to black.
The End
(:./knm/roses)
