Serena
Chapter 10- Sparks?
 

        I went around to the back of the center.  I was able to find the ring this time quickly.  I had a bit of trouble with the door though.  It was heavy, and I was very tired from a long rehearsal.  I wondered if Tuxedo Mask had seen it.  I knew that even if he did he would not have recognized me.
        I finally got the door open and ventured down the stairs to his room.  There I found him sitting on the couch and reading a book.  "Hello."  He greeted me, not looking up.  I did not know how to take this greeting.  Either he was really enthralled with his book, or he just did not care that I came over.  He set the book down and looked at me.  He invited me to sit down on the couch.  I accepted the offer and crossed the room.  He poured me a glass of tea and offered me a plate with a dessert on it.
        "Chocolate cheesecake?  This is my favorite dessert."
        " I know.  Practically your whole life is recorded, Serena, including your favorite dishes."
        I was puzzled.  Had he actually gone to all the trouble of reading up on me to find out my favorite dessert?  He seemed to be reading my mind when he answered, "I read a book once on the royal family, everyone from your mother's grandmother to you is written in.  Then when I saw the cheesecake in the refrigerator tonight, I remembered that it was one of your favorite desserts.  I take it that the information was accurate.
        I was shocked.  I did not realize until now that authors had written about me in such great detail.  It was unnerving, actually, to think that someone, anyone could simply pick up a book and find out about anything that I had ever done.
        He sensed my disbelief and laughed.  "What do you expect?  You are a public figure.  Everything that goes on in your life is news."  It was then that I realized he probably knew a lot more about me than I did about him.  I smiled at the notion of my first word breaking headlines and took a bite of the cake.
        "This is delicious."  I told him.  "Where did you get it?"
        He looked at me cautiously.  I could tell he did not care for my asking questions.  I decided to not ask anymore.  "There are tunnels that reach all around this place.  I crawl through them to get anywhere in the center except the dinning hall and the theatre's backstage.  I can gain access to the library, theatre, dance room, and the kitchen.  That is where I get my wealth of books. I always return them though.  I do not want to rouse suspicion that 'The Center Specter' has a soft spot for books.  The cooks however, despise me.  Each night, I steal my food for the next day.  They can never seem to figure out where all their creations go.  I never take anything that I know they can't easily replace though.  They have attributed the loss of food to the dance classes.  The cooks figure that after all those people work off a meal, they figure they are entitled to another."
        I laughed.  The thought of all those people raiding the kitchen just after they worked out for hours was hilarious.
        "So what kind of books do you read, Serena?" he asked me.  I could tell he was desperately trying to get the conversation off himself.
        "I basically only read the books that are assigned to me by my tutors.  The classics, mainly.  I never liked school.  I would much rather be involved with my learning and applying it to my life rather than sitting in a classroom taking notes on things I'll never need to know.  The only time I enjoy school is when I have it with my friends from the Court."
        "Which friends?"
        "Well, let me see...  There is Michelle of Neptune, Amy of Mercury, my best friend Mina of Venus, Lita of Jupiter..."  I continued on but when I said Mina and Lita's name he got a strange look on his face.  Like it triggered a memory.  I did not lead on that I saw the change of expression.  I merely continued on my list and when I got done, he snapped back into reality.  I took another bite of cake.
        "Which one of them taught you to ice skate?" he asked.  He did know a lot about me.  I felt like I was at a disadvantage.  But at least this way, by my being open with him, he might open up to me and be able to trust me more.  He raised a bite of cake to his lips and ate it.
        "None of them.  I went skating for the first time when they invited me, but I got out on the ice and skated like I had been doing it since the day I was born.  I enjoyed it so much that my mother brought an instructor to the palace to coach me.  I have been skating competitively ever since.  I love to skate.  Have you ever done it?"
        "No." he replied. "I have not been off these grounds in nine years."
        Nine years!  I could not believe it.  I doubted from the paleness of his skin that he had even been out much, but for nine years???
        "Your parents did not ever take you?" I asked.
        "No." He gruffly replied, lowering his gaze.  "Yours?"
        "Oh, yes.  Mother has gone with me on occasion but not often.  She and I mainly take walks in the garden and around the palace.  Sometimes we vacation on Earth or Venus and spend a week or so relaxing.  We are very close.  She has always been very supportive of me and what I do.  She always used to make time to tuck me in at night .  Now she and I spend a few hours talking on Saturdays considering neither of us have time during the week."
        He asked some more about my mother and Lita and Mina.  As I was talking, I glanced around and noticed all of the clippings on the wall.  I stopped.
        "What are all these clippings of?"
        Tuxedo Mask looked around him.  "The community center history, I guess.  They were here when I found the place.  The previous owner of the apartment helped build this place and therefore was able to specially build the center to accommodate his living there.  I guess he was tired of paying for things too.  See his diary is over here."
        Tuxedo Mask got up and walked over to a writing desk and opened a drawer.  He brought out an old, worn book.  He turned to me and signaled me over.  When I reached him he showed me a page where there was a blueprint of the center with the tunnels all charted, including what was now Tuxedo Mask's house.  I noticed there was a platform overlooking the stage and I asked him, "So do you watch the performances from here?"  I pointed to a platform above the stage.  Tuxedo Mask nodded.  He looked at me and said, "I watch rehearsals, plays, and any other function held in that auditorium.  I love the theatre."
        "I do also."  I remarked.  It was the first truly common ground I had found between us.  From this moment on, we looked at each other differently.  The looks seemed to say, "I was desperately looking for a reason to like you, now I found it." I looked into his good eye and thought it was the prettiest blue I had ever seen.  I wondered what happened to the other one, but I knew better than to ask him.  If he was uncomfortable opening up to someone, he certainly would not want to talk about an old injury.  After all, he was a man, and they do not ever seem to want to admit they are in pain.  I figure this was the case if he covered it up.  Perhaps he himself did not want to remember.  Maybe he got in a fight or was attacked.  Oh well.  If I was ever going to find out, I had to be patient.  I certainly was not going to find out tonight.  He returned to the couch after putting the book away.  I followed him.
        "I have watched every show that has been here since I moved in.  There have been many performances held in the last nine years."
        So, not only has he not gone outside the center in the last nine years, but he has not gone out since he had been there.  I pitied him.  There was so much beauty on the Moon that he could not see for himself.  I would have invited him to come to the palace gardens, but I knew he would decline.
        "Did you see many plays before you moved in here?" I asked.
        "I don't know.  I do not remember anything of my life before I moved in here. If you will excuse me Serena, but it is getting late.  I wouldn't want to get you into trouble."
        I asked how his shoulder was before I left and he said it was doing better now that he had the proper medication for it.  He thanked me for taking the time and going through the trouble to get it for him.  As I left there I got the feeling that we had somehow connected.

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