Notes: I know I should be updating Heavy Lies The Crown, but I couldn't wait to post this. This was like a writing exercise, so I'm experimenting with words and such. The chapters are short because I'm trying to not be as wordy as I am—am I?—as in my other pieces, especially Heavy. Thank you so much for reading this!

Important Note!: This is not a ghost story! It's a bit fantastical, sure, but there aren't any literal ghosts here. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED and its characters. I also do not own the original image used for the cover art—if you do know, please tell me so that I can give due credit!

Flowers For A Ghost
by Starrify

She does not know which is worse: dying or watching him fall in love with someone else.

But as she is dead to the rest of the world, she realizes with the slightest hint of bitterness that she doesn't really have a say in the matter…

— Five Years Ago

"I can't help it," she whispers to the small screen on the wall of her room. There is a rush in her veins, an exhilaration which she cannot put a name on. "I've missed you so much."

He laughs—and, oh, how she loves hearing his voice, seeing him happy.

"I've missed you, too."

"Well, I missed you more."

"Cagalli." The dark blue of his eyebrows furrow slightly and she finds it so endearing how unaware he is of how silly he looks when he is not serious. "This isn't a competition."

"Athrun," she replies, glancing briefly at her door. If Kisaka hears her talking and discovers that she isn't resting like she's supposed to, he would surely find a way to punish her—that is, if one could truly hold power over the most powerful woman on Earth. "I really missed you, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

She looks at the background of his screen—bright, is the only word she can think of to describe it. It is currently daytime in the PLANTs while it is almost midnight in her small archipelagic nation. The difference between day and night is as blatant as the thousands of miles which separate them.

"I'll see you in a day, then?" She adds eagerly. "I'll arrive in Aprilius Three at around—"

"I know all of your flight details," he cuts in smoothly as he smiles back at her. "Call me before your flight. Make sure you rest well; the gods know how much you need it."

She rolls her eyes. "The other representatives approved of my leave because they didn't want to face the wrath of their Chief Representative by keeping her away from her fiancé."

"Go to sleep, Cagalli," he ordered playfully. "If I was there, I'd force you to get into your bed."

"If you were here, you'd keep me up," she answered back with a suggestive twiddle of her eyebrows.

Now it is his turn to roll his eyes.

"Really, Cagalli—"

"Yes, yes; I'll go to sleep now." She laughs and looks to the bottom of the screen. The clock reads seven minutes past midnight. How is it so that time passes by quickly when it is just the two of them with no distractions from the world? "It's just that—it's been so long. I really can't wait to see you again."

Her fingers unconsciously drift to the ring on her other hand. Gently, she brushes the pads of her fingertips over the familiar crafted metal. They linger for a second longer over the small ruby and stay there until he speaks again.

"I love you."

She smiles and moves to reach for the button to turn off the screen.

"I love you, too."

Like Father, Like Daughter: Queen of Orb Perishes In Flames

Olofat, Orb Union – Outside the Athha estate, the citizens of the United Emirates of Orb are holding a candle and prayer vigil for their late Chief Representative, Queen Cagalli Yula Athha, who perished in what technical experts have called a 'freak accident' wherein her private shuttle headed to the PLANTs exploded somewhere in the mesospheric layer.

Investigations are still ongoing; however, due to the conditions in the mesosphere, there has been little to no progress. Parts of the shuttle are currently being recovered in the Pacific Ocean.

"The answer to this puzzle is in the black box," explains Erica Simmons, a senior engineer of Morgenroete Incorporated. Engineer Simmons is part of the team leading the investigation. She was also a friend of the late Queen, having been part of the crew of the Archangel during the wars. "Once we locate the black box or the flight data recorder, we can learn how the Queen's aircraft could have exploded."

As the daughter of former Orb Chief Representative Uzumi Nara Athha, Queen Cagalli Yula Athha, at the ripe age of sixteen, was the youngest representative to hold the highest seat of power in Orb, informally seizing control of the military during the Bloody Valentine War and being elected into position afterwards. In the Second Bloody Valentine War, she was briefly engaged to the late Orb Supreme Commander Yuuna Roma Seiran, who was a known affiliate of the terrorist group Blue Cosmos. After being kidnapped from her wedding, Queen Athha assisted in the efforts of the advanced warship Archangel to foil the plots of Gilbert Dullindal, who was PLANT Supreme Council Chairman at the time.

Queen Athha was twenty years old at the time of her death and was reportedly headed to Aprilius Three to meet with her fiancé, Athrun Zala, the son of radical former PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala. Athrun Zala, aside from being a PLANT Councilman, is well known for his participation in both the First and the Second Bloody Valentine War, in which he was awarded Order of the Nebula and was appointed to the special unit Fast Acting Integrate Tactical Headquarters (FAITH) for his services in ZAFT. Queen Athha is succeeded by her biological twin brother, ZAFT Commander Kira Yamato, husband to the incumbent PLANT Supreme Council Chairwoman Lacus Clyne-Yamato.

The Orb parliament has put the nation under a state of grievance and has officially declared the next week as a long non-working holiday. The House of Representatives are set to vote on who will take over the position of Chief Representative in three days' time. Until then, Haumea Temple is open for those who wish to light a candle or incense to offer for the late Queen's soul.