It was late in the evening, well past dinner, and Quatre found himself sitting in the garden, surrounded by books. In front of him was the book that Trowa had brought him, opened to a lithograph of a reptilian dragon on one side, and a band with etchings on the other. To Quatre's left, was another book. A reference of different kinds of runes, including dragon, fey, and Wiccan cross-references. To his left, he had a book on basic elemental and mineral magic, opened up to a section that described the properties of different metals. These two books had appeared on the shelf shortly after dinner as he was perusing the titles using his staff as a pointing implement. They were high up on the shelves, forcing him to have to climb on furniture to get to them. It seemed like the room was finally starting to give in to Quatre's pursuit of knowledge of the magical arts.

It was late. Very late. Candles had started to appear around him of their own accord to aid in his night time reading. He had the staff on his lap and, after rubbing his eyes for a moment, he remembered that the carvings on it looked like writing. He tried to examine the markings, but it was too dark and the flickering lights of the candles threw odd shadows onto the carved wood. He'd have to examine them in the daylight.

Yawning widely, he looked up at the window in front of him. It had been opened to reveal a beautiful night sky with the light of the thin moon too insufficient to light the room. Using his staff as an extension, he closed the shutters on the window and was about to get up, but something made him pause. Following his impulse, he used the staff to open the window again… and this time, the window opened up to a very small room… it had a bookshelf and a bed and little else. Craning his neck, Quatre noted a door to the right and a small window to the left. He was just about to close the portal when the door opened.

He froze mid movement and looked up at the man that came into view. He was still sitting on the floor, making the dragon look that much taller. He was wearing soft shoes and loose pants. His torso was covered by a light tunic and his hair was still damp, but there was no mistaking Dragon Trowa.

"How are you doing this?" he whispered, sitting on the small cot opposite Quatre.

"… I don't know," Quatre admitted. "This portal appeared this afternoon… every time I open the shutter, it feels like a lottery. I never know where the portals will open. A-are you allowed to talk to me?" he asked, trying not to show how lonely he was starting to feel.

Trowa nodded, using the end of the towel draped over his shoulder to dry his hair.

"Are you a prisoner too?" Quatre asked, watching him. It was dark in that small room, the only light in there was really coming from Quatre's candles.

There was no verbal answer, but Trowa's hand pulled the towel off of his shoulders and the tunic moved just enough that Quatre was able to see a thin band of black around the tall Dragon's neck. That was a yes.

"You can't leave this place either then," Quatre surmised.

"No."

"Will you ever?"

"We are given our leave when we are older… most choose to stay and train others because that is all that we've ever known."

"Thank you for my staff," Quatre smiled, changing the subject. "And the clothes."

"How do you know I did any of that?" came the quiet, but amused reply.

"Because I just know," Quatre smiled.

They were both quiet for a moment. Trowa looked a little uncomfortable, and Quatre was sure that it was because he'd never had a visitor like this in his own room – where he didn't have to be a servant. There were probably a half dozen rules that they were breaking right then, but Quatre wasn't lying when he said he didn't have control over where the portals opened. And if he did, he hadn't figured it out yet.

"Can you help me get out?" Quatre suddenly asked, bright blue eyes looking up at Trowa.

Trowa, for his part, shook his head. Bright green eyes glittering in the darkness. "You had a chance to escape today," he reminded him.

"I had the chance to become someone's prize today," Quatre countered. "I will not be any man's bride. I am a PRINCE. He was looking for a princess."

"You could have beat him once you were free," Trowa offered, but Quatre gave him a scalding look. "You would have been honor bound… or possibly magic-bound to wed him wouldn't you have?"

Quatre nodded. "This is a rouse to keep me from my rightful place," he said, his hands wringing the staff in his hands. "Mine uncle learned some truths about me that I'd rather keep to myself and, no doubt, found this to be a fitting predicament for me," Quatre said, divulging personal information, in hopes of reciprocation.

"Like what?" Trowa asked, against his better judgment.

"I can't share that, I'm afraid. You'd think I deserved to be hexed." Quatre sighed loudly, and flopped back onto the grass. "And while that may be, putting me in here was dirty."

Sitting back up, he looked at Trowa, "Do you have family? Are they allowed to visit?"

Trowa looked away, "I have a sister. I haven't seen her in… I haven't seen her in years, but I am allowed to write to her. I miss her." He gave Quatre a bittersweet smile, "She promises me that she'll find a way to set me free every time… it hasn't happened yet."

Quatre frowned, "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Is there anything I can do?"

Trowa looked away.

"You can't talk about it, then. That's fine. I want to help you, if I can. If I ask you for certain kinds of books… will you be able to bring them to me?" he hedged.

Trowa nodded, but he was sure the man wouldn't say much more.

"Have you already said too much?" when he received a tiny nod, he sighed a bit. "I'm sorry. I'm pressing you too hard. DO you know how I can free you?" Quatre asked.

Trowa looked up at him then, and gave him a very solemn nod.

"But you can't say anything…" Quatre finished. "Very well. Do you have any more dragon histories that I may borrow?" he asked, gathering his things, wanting to put his books up before they disappeared in the night. "If you do… or if you have a way of making the library spit them out for me, I'd appreciate it. He gave Trowa a smile before reaching out to close the portal. "I'll let you get some rest. Goodnight," he said, and received a nod in return. Quatre closed the door and went to bed shortly after.

As soon as the shutters fell and the portal closed, Trowa found himself alone again in his dark room…

"…Goodnight…" He said quietly, far after when the blonde could possibly have heard it.

But… It felt nice to say anyway.

Trowa didn't like to admit it, but, he looked forward to seeing Quatre. To talking to Quatre, even though it was in spurts of no more than 5 minutes (He knew the rules by heart; Every Dragon did). He hadn't expected to see him in his ROOM exactly, but… Trowa was a bit surprised by how the shock of that was actually quite… pleasant. He felt… privileged… instead of intruded on.

But that was probably just because it was Quatre. And that Protected was… Special.

He just hoped that the more senior Dragons did not begin to suspect that Trowa's harmless favoritism was slowly starting to turn into something more like affection.

The days came and went and Quatre had read volume upon volume on dragons for a clue on how to free Trowa, and perhaps Wufei.

He had gone through the books he had, and through his notes, but he couldn't find the loophole! It was more frustrating than he wanted to admit, and in a fit, he grabbed the nearest thing (in this case, a vase) and smashed it against the wall. It was then that he noticed a new Dragon standing in the archway, staring at him.

Granted, there had been several, but most hurried in and hurried out before Quatre had much of a chance to notice that they'd ever been in the room. He knew that there had been several coming and going, but other than Trowa and Wufei, none had stopped long enough for Quatre to address.

"Hello?" He asked cautiously, padding over towards him, "Were you looking for me?" he asked redundantly. Of course he was! Why else would he be there?

"You have a letter," the man said, glaring at him with cobalt eyes that seemed to glitter, just like Trowa's and Wufei's. He held it, but did not seem to want to hand it over.

Quatre padded up to the archway curiously, "… What is your name?"

"Heero. Why are you getting correspondence from Duo?" he asked, giving the shorter blonde a look that promised death.

Quatre was taken aback. "Duo? How do you know my manservant?"

"Princesses don't HAVE manservants!" Heero roared. Literally, ROARED. The sound was loud, nearly deafening. It brought Quatre down to a knee, making his head reel.

"You read my mail?" he asked, noting the broken wax seal.

"I am under orders to. Yes," Dragon Heero looked unapologetic.

"He says he is coming to rescue you. I won't let him pass. I'll beat him black and blue before I let you have him," he threatened. "Duo is MINE!" he roared again. "It is your fault he is in prison, you wretched woman. He will escape. He always escapes, but YOU will not have him!"

And then something happened. Heero LUNGED at him.

Quatre was caught by surprise, but he managed to roll away in order to avoid being tackled. His staff was never far away, and quickly, he reached for it… he hadn't realized that it was a little bit out of his grasp, but that ended up not mattering. The staff MOVED. Of its own accord – or had Quatre done it? – and suddenly it was in his hand. Quatre whirled around and landed a solid hit on Heero's shoulder. Heero growled and rolled away only to attack him again. Quatre ducked and hit Heero in the gut with the bottom half of the staff, and a faint light pulsed when he struck. Heero bounded away, this time, he pulled out his short sword and pointed it at Quatre. He was about to attack when two figures came at Heero from opposing sides. One from the archway, the other from the large window portal that Quatre had kept open. They tackled Heero to the ground and dragged him away.

… What the HELL had just happened?!

Trowa didn't hold back in the least when he HAULED Heero out of the garden, and SLAMMED him against the stone walls of the Dragon's mess hall, letting out a ROAR of fury that shook the candlelit chandeliers and vibrated unattended goblets off the table. Normally so calm, and serious… Now, Trowa was turning red in the face from rage, and he balled up his fists and got ready to punch Heero again, right in the face.

Wufei, though, grabbed his arms and hauled him further from the errant Dragon, and took over the lecture, "How DARE you attack a Protected!"

"How dare you attack QUATRE!" Trowa ROARED from behind, magic fueled by unbridled emotion slamming the walls of the hall. He lunged for Heero's throat again, and the Asian Dragon lunged back against him, using fists and feet to try and land a few more blows onto Trowa—who was raining down attacks right back!

Heero was the first to draw blood, as a button from his coat sliced across Trowa's cheek—Right under his eye—and the blood began to drip down his face…

Wufei, stepped between Trowa and Heero again, seeing that neither of the two seemed to be thinking this through, and he SHOVED them apart. "STOP IT! BOTH of you! This is NOT our way! We are DRAGONS!" He roared—and Wufei's growl was louder, and stronger, than either of the younger ones.

Both of them took shaky breathes as they stepped back away from each other and let Wufei distance them.

"It's HER fault that Duo is in prison! They might execute him for that woman's trickery!" Heero growled. "Duo's been keeping HER secret for years! Never even told ME that the Prince was a girl! And how, he's in prison over this—and yet, YET, Duo is writing HER all about it!" Heero snarled, jealousy seething off of his words.

Trowa snarled, his lip coming up and he unconsciously bared fangs (that Dragon no longer had), and he snapped, "THAT Protected is GOOD to us! Quatre wants to free us, and himself—YES I SAID HIM!—" Trowa snarled, before Wufei or Heero could say anything, "We've all seen enough magic in this place, and Quatre has said since day ONE that he is a boy! That he was turned in order to usurp his throne! And now, you say that Duo has been his servant and never told YOU of the apparent lie? It sounds to me like the words of Quatre's most trusted say he's a boy, and I for one, BELIEVE him!"

Wufei looked ANGRY, flushed red…. And then he snapped, "That is AGAINST our RULES! Not another WORD out of you, Trowa! You are OUT of LINE! You are RELIEVED of DUTY for today! GO!"

Trowa was so ANGRY, he didn't even care! He YANKED at the buckle to his armor, YANKING off the breastplate, and then THREW it to the ground, before he stalked off … back towards his room.

Wufei moved after him, but then stopped when he remembered Heero. Wufei turned around to look at him….

But Heero was gone.

Little did Wufei know, that something ELSE was gone from the Dragon mess hall, too.

Quatre decided a bath was in order after that little skirmish. He still had no idea what this Heero was angry about, but he did know Duo… and Duo was in trouble. He'd looked for the letter when the dragons left, but he couldn't find it. He sighed as he sank into the tub a little further, looking up at the ceiling of the bathing room. It was nice… he hadn't noticed it at first, but it was magicked to look like the sky outside. This room and the garden room, anyway.

He wasn't sure how long he sat soaking when he heard a faint knock from the direction of the garden room archway. Only two dragons ever made their presence known, so he called out, "Come in. I'm in the bath!"

He was facing away from the door, listening to the boots travel through the garden and through his room stopping just outside the bath.

"Come in," Quatre prompted. "I won't get out and embarrass you," he said, turning … and freezing when he noticed it was Heero standing there. "I hope you don't plan on attacking me in the bath," he said, a little leery of having to defend himself like this.

Heero paid him no mind and walked around the bath, a large old scroll in his hand. He didn't look down at Quatre as he unrolled the scroll and began to read aloud:

"To set foot in Castle Reed, a few rules all knights must heed:

"The dragons that do guard the fair must be beaten in their lair. Because the dragons do not seek to harm, knights need not vanquish but disarm. Six if squire, five if knight, but if Prince, three strikes of might.

"Once the dragons have withdrawn and one's quarry is in arm, the hero may the castle flee with his prize or enlistee. Every dragon shall let him pass lest a dragon he harass."

Heero then looked up at him, "Those are the rules that all men must adhere to when trying to rescue a protected," he said. "There are more rules that Dragons must follow," he told him before continuing his reading:

"Dragon Guards must always serve and guard the Protected.

Dragon Guards will only engage in battle if their sector is breached or if challenged.

Dragon Guards must not interfere or interact with Protected unless they are specifically asked or acknowledged.

Dragon Guards must not be in a Protected's presence for more than five minutes at a time.

Dragon Guards must not assist in the escape of a Protected.

Dragon Guards will be bound by the castle's charms.

Dragon Guards must never attack a Protected nor their champion.

Dragon Guards will be subject to the orders of the Grand Dragon Master unless otherwise bound."

Heero rolled up the scroll and looked at Quatre, but didn't look embarrassed any more. "I was wrong to attack you, a Protected… but in doing so, I have helped you prove what you've been telling us all along." He inclined his head respectfully, "I have broken as many rules as I dare today with this intrusion… I hope you are able to see the purpose of it. I shall be the one to serve your dinner tonight," he said, taking his leave.

Trowa was in his room only long enough to grab an apple before he slipped out the window of his room, and made his way through the maze that was the rooftop of Castle Reed to a quiet place near the outer edge.

He sat down atop the battlement, letting his feet dangle over the ground a hundred or so feet below. He had never been afraid of heights, and even as an adult now, he found it somewhat comforting to be up high where few else chose to be.

He bit into his apple… and looked out at the cloudy sky on the horizon… Trying to figure out just why his heart felt like it was in such turmoil right then.

He was still angry at Heero for attacking Quatre like that. It had been uncalled for. And against their rules… but Wufei had been right in dismissing him, because Trowa's reaction had been far more than it ought to have been. Trowa was furious at the blue-eyed Dragon… and he felt bitter… and JEALOUS even at the mention of Quatre knowing Duo (as if the very idea of Quatre having friends outside of the castle irked Trowa to the core, even though he knew in his head that it ought not to!).

He was worried about himself. About how far his simple favoritism had gone…

He didn't recall the exact moment that his interest had crossed the line, but he knew now without a doubt that it HAD.

Trowa needed to stop this…. Or else, his own heart just might not survive the next time a prince came to steal away Quatre, and succeeded.

Because, Trowa was no fool.

There was no way that a Dragon could EVER be something special to a Prince.

And to think, even for a moment, that things might be any different was just asking for heartache.

As soon as Heero had left, Quatre had scrambled out of the bath and into the library to write as much of that down as he remembered.

Several things stuck out at him – he had seen his staff glow when he'd hit Heero in the stomach earlier… that must be what the rhyme alluded to. Strikes were tallied magically and after a certain number of hits, the dragons withdrew. From Heero's attitude, he concluded that only Squires, Knights, and Princes - all men – were able to invoke the charm. Another thing that caught his attention in the rhyme was "enlistee" … Who were those? The only thing that made even a little bit of sense was that 'enlistee' meant a Dragon Guard. Did that mean that 'heroes' could take a dragon instead of a princess? From the rules that Heero read out, dragons could be challenged into battle, and the last rule, specifically, 'unless otherwise bound', seemed to imply that a knight could claim a dragon as a prize. That couldn't be right… could it?

Quatre wanted to talk to Trowa, but it had been hours since Heero had come and Trowa was nowhere to be found. He'd tried opening the portal in the library, but he didn't find him on the other side. Then he'd tried the one in the garden, but even though he'd opened it to Trowa's room, Trowa wasn't there. He tried it several times, but no Trowa. He must have been somewhere that portals couldn't see to because after several attempts, he was looking at the yard outside… with none other than Wufei going through motions with his sword in the grass. Quatre watched him for a moment, then began to emulate him.

At first, it seemed that Wufei hadn't seen him, but Quatre continued to mime him. After a few minutes, Wufei stopped and turned to him with an unreadable look on his face. He came closer to the portal and he studied the portal, surprise subtlety coloring his otherwise blank expression. Quatre watched him and took an unconscious step back when he focused his eyes on Quatre, and REALLY scrutinized him. Quatre wondered if he still saw a woman or if he was trying to look past that.

"You never said you wouldn't show me…" Quatre said, holding his staff in a way that one would a sword. "You're not interacting with me if I'm spying on you," he offered.

Wufei gave him yet another unreadable look, but nodded, "Watch closely," was all he said before starting from the beginning, showing Quatre his katas, step by step.

That evening, Quatre was ready to test his theory and challenge Heero.

~ Ten Years Ago ~

"NO! You can't take him!" the tiny boy screamed, trying to claw and bite and kick at the tall, strong men covered in armor. "LET HIM GO!" he shrieked, but it was no use.

Not too far from him, struggling against iron chains was another young boy, this one with short, messy, dark brown hair and eyes that glittered like sapphires in the filtered light of the day. If looks could kill, the whole host of guards would have been incinerated by then. It had been threatening to storm for days now, and the clouds looked even more ominous in light of the day's activities.

They were just outside the ruins of Helena's house for boys; it had burned down a year ago, after catching fire during a thunderstorm, something that many survivors feared would happen again to what remained. A few street urchins peeked out from the rubble, but no one made a move to help. In the courtyard of what had once been a large estate-turned-boys home stood half a dozen guards, squaring off against two very feisty boys. Two held back a boy with hair longer than would be seen on most girls. It was poorly kept and looked more like a rat's nest than hair, but the child fought with a desperation that they were having a hard time keeping him in check. On the other side of the courtyard, a second boy was being herded into a wagon with the Dragon Guard's crest painted onto the side of it.

The boy in chains, Heero, struggled, but he was no match for the man that easily picked him up by wrapping an arm around a slender, malnourished waist. He was hefted into the wagon and his chains were secured to a bolt inside to ensure he did not run off.

"We have been looking for him for a while - this boy has a job to do," another man said as he avoided yet another kick to the shin. "You may write to him, if you ever learn how. He will be stationed at Reed Castle, now run along before you do something stupid and get yourself killed."

That boy was then picked up, backhanded and thrown into a pile of straw.

"DUO!" the boy from the carriage called, feebly pulling on his chains, but the carriage was already pulling away.

"HEERO! I will write! I will learn to write!" Duo promised, getting up and giving chase, but the carriage was quickly out of reach and the small boy named Duo was left with nothing but a throbbing cheek to remember his friend by.

~ A few months later ~

There was a knock at the door and Quatre looked up from where he was sitting with his father, being berated, once again, for giving his tutors a hard time before throwing a tantrum and breaking dishes. These tantrums were coming on more and more frequently, and one of Omar's advisors suggested that Quatre just needed to be around someone nearer his age. The last of his sisters, the twins, each turning 13, were whisked away to their castle tower with their handmaidens. They'd been introduced to the kingdom, and had been the stars of the banquet, and then mere days later, they were gone and Quatre was alone.

It almost seemed an act of desperation, but guards were sent into the streets, looking for a boy near Quatre's age, preferably an orphan. The only problem was, with Helena's having been burned down and never rebuilt, it was difficult to CATCH such a brat… until one of the maids tipped one of the guardsman off that a certain little urchin had taken to trying to break in within the last few months.

So a trap was set and a boy was caught, and before anyone had a chance to clean him up, the boy was taken up to be presented before the King and the errant Prince Quatre.

"Ah, Abdul, come in," King Omar said, standing.

Abdul did, dragging a child with a long mess of matted brown hair in by the arm. The child had been fighting him off, or trying to, but he was so undernourished and scraggly that he wasn't having much luck.

"… Are you sure this is a boy?" Omar asked Abdul.

"'Course I'm a boy!" the owner of the rat's nest protested indignantly.

"And what is your name?" Omar asked.

"Duo," he said, picking his nose.

"Duo. How would you like to sleep indoors and have three meals a day?" Omar asked, eyeing the boy.

The boy looked at him skeptically, "What do I gotta do? I'm not doing anything dirty with anyone, even if they ARE nobles! I ain't like Mary and them. I ain't working for no brothel, even if you ARE the king!" he mouthed off.

Abdul looked uncomfortable, but not QUITE as uncomfortable as King Omar.

"Watch your mouth," Abdul said, shaking the boy. "If you want to live in the palace walls and get fed every day, all you have to do is take the switch when Prince Quatre misbehaves."

"WHAT?!" Quatre yelped, "No! That's not fair!"

"And you will start now," Abdul told him. He wasn't going to let the boy, Duo, have much of a say, but the boy wiggled out of his grasp and stayed out of reach.

"Is that it? You're just going to hit me with a switch a bit and that's it? I guess I'm not supposed to run away neither, huh? You'll feed me and give me a place to sleep for that? Do I get my own bed? Wait… how often does he get in trouble?" Duo asked, looking suspicious.

"Hopefully less now that you'll be receiving punishment for him, and HE will be the one to administer it…" King Omar said.

The small prince's eyes grew as wide as saucers as Abdul put the switch in his hand. Duo, however, smirked, "HE is going to hit me? DONE!" he laughed before assuming the position.

For Prince Quatre, it was the WORST feeling in the world to punish someone else for something HE had done wrong. Duo had received fifteen lashes to the backside by Quatre's hand. At the end of it, it was Quatre with tears rolling down his cheeks, and not Duo.

Quatre received one more chastisement before both boys were taken away.

It didn't take very long for Duo to became Quatre's one and only friend. Quatre's behavior improved and there were fewer incidents. Duo didn't run away and in return, he was fed and given an education – what he'd wanted all along, at least, what he'd wanted since they'd taken Heero. If someone had told him that all he'd had to do to learn how to write was to get a few light beatings a month, he would have signed up for this the day they'd taken Heero away!

Quatre eventually learned why Duo had been so eager to become his whipping boy, and for a while, he harbored a little resentment. Duo being who was, however, managed to win Quatre over and they both became steadfast friends. Knowing that Quatre would became jealous that Duo had other friends, Duo managed to mostly hide the correspondence that went back and forth between he and Heero. When questioned, Duo only said that his friend was someone whom he had been raised with before the orphanage burned down and that had been taken away for work. That effectively quelled much of Quatre's jealousy. Much like he and his sisters, Duo also had someone close to him that was taken away.