Heart of a Wanderer

by Selah

Scene 1

Starting Over

It was the last time she would ever see real daylight, she suspected. Shortly before dawn, as the shuttle was preparing to take off, she looked longingly toward the morning. It was unavoidable, this trip. Earth was no longer a peaceful place for a member of the Noventa family, despite all appearances to the contrary. Sylvia Noventa sighed and settled back into her seat, ignoring the view as the shuttle began its acceleration.

Looking around the compartment, Sylvia noted with satisfaction that none of the family bodyguards were present. In fact, she saw no-one she recognized, which eliminated the need for conversation and explanation. Even though her grandfather's unfortunate death was several years past, Sylvia felt a darkness inside that she was afraid nothing would erase.

And it didn't help that her grandmother, her only other living relative, had withdrawn into herself, either. With no one to talk to, Sylvia felt alone. Heero had seemed to understand her pain, at least a little, though he was driven by some twisted sense of duty that she knew she would never understand -- and didn't really want to. From the outside, nothing in her family had changed. Mrs. Noventa gave stunning parties and had begun fighting for some of the lesser causes that Field Marshal Noventa had espoused, but Sylvia knew better. And it was time to leave, to try and start over.

Clutching her expensive wool coat closer, Sylvia shivered. There was indeed a darkness within herself. It haunted her dreams and colored her thoughts. She shook off her thoughts and memories and with effort turned her attention to the task at hand. Drawing out her small notebook, she reread the names and addresses listed inside, her chance at a new life. 'I'll have to change my name,' Sylvia realized suddenly. 'Noventa is definitely well-known.' She wished she had thought of this before, but was grateful for something to do as the blue sphere of Earth began to recede.

It seemed that only a few minutes passed before the captain spoke. "We are now on the final approach to the L3 Colony cluster. Please prepare for debarkation at the transfer station."

Sylvia gathered her things, surprised at how quickly the last four hours had passed. Here she was, about as far from habitation as it was possible to be within a colony cluster in the Earth Sphere. Time to start that new life.

Once in the transfer station, she chose a shuttle heading for the farthest colony with a contact. The trip there was very short, and soon she reached her first destination, a law office. 'Oh dear,' she thought. 'My only chance at a good job involves letting people know who I am....'

"Can I help you?" asked the receptionist.

"Um, yes," began Sylvia. "I heard that this office needed a secretary/transcriptionist?"

"Sorry, that position has already been filled," the receptionist said. "Is there anything else you need?"

Sylvia declined, thanked the woman, and left, hoping her next stop would be more encouraging. It wasn't. And Sylvia, with no previous work experience, quickly found that getting a job wasn't as easy as she had been told. She had no wish to join the military, though that would have solved her problem. So she went to the nearest park and sat down to think.

All that accomplished was to give her a headache. After getting some lunch, Sylvia realized that she would need to find some place to stay for the next few days. She looked over her shoulder, expecting to see a family guard who could find her a place, but stopped herself when she remembered she was all alone. Running away from a rich, influential family definitely had its downside.

Finally Sylvia tired of feeling sorry for herself and went to see what she could do on her own. She found a small inn at the edge of the park -- much sooner than she ever expected to find anything -- and knocked hesitantly on the door.

"Can I help you?" asked a tall young redhead as she opened the door. Sylvia, so familiar with those words, almost gave her now-routine request. "I would like to know if -" She stopped herself. "If you have any rooms available."

The girl appeared not to notice the halting sentence; she was lost in thought and Sylvia wondered if she had heard at all. Finally, she answered. "Yes, we do in fact. Would you like to come in?"

Sylvia gratefully accepted, and the girl continued speaking as they walked. "My name is Triginta, but you can call me Trig if you like. People often use our inn as a short-term residence, rather than a one- or two-night stay. As a result, things are more informal than at most inns. Would you like to meet the other guests?"

Sylvia was a little surprised at this sudden acceptance since she had yet to say more than "Yes, I would" to the strange girl. "Not right now, please," she said. "I would rather see my room, if that's all right."

"Of course. Right this way," Trig said and led Sylvia to a beautiful old-fashioned bedroom suite. "I will get the paperwork; feel free to look around till I return."

Sylvia did look around. The furniture appeared to be pre-Colony rather than the new, functional look usually favored by the colonists. The main room was a sitting room, with large double doors opening on a balcony with a beautiful view. A woven rug covered the floor, and the entire room was done in shades of pale blue. To the left Sylvia could see a doorway to the bedroom, so she went to investigate.

The bedroom, with a large old-fashioned bed, was decorated in all shades of green. There was a vase of fresh flowers on the nightstand and dresser, a pale green rug, and a wonderfully inviting window seat partially covered by curtains of pale sheer green. Sylvia was pleased to see a high-tech computer terminal next to the window seat as well. She fell in love with the place at once, and was waiting near the door when Trig returned with the papers.

"Just fill these out..." Trig said. "Oh, and what's your name? I never asked."

"Oh, my name. You can call me Sylvie. Sylvie Atenova."

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Author’s note: This is the first part of a hopefully two- or three-part short story/snapshot series. Sylvia Noventa has intrigued me since I saw her, and the one or two stories on Starling’s site helped whet my curiosity. What kind of a girl is she, and what would she do after that run-in with Heero? Hopefully I can answer these questions in a somewhat satisfactory manner. Comments and suggestions can be sent to me at Noelle1006@aol.com.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Gundam Wing universe. They belong to several important people and organizations. I am making no money from this, though I sure wish that were possible! Triginta and the Inn, however, are my own creation and cannot be taken without permission.