Title: Harbinger of Death
Rating: mild Teen
Summary: Duo is a lonely prince with a horrible gift. Heero is the one who must help him survive it and those who would seek to exploit him.
Warnings: Nothing of any real concern this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the Gundam Wing characters, plots or themes which are the direct property of their creators, distributors and their affiliates. Nor do I have any money in which to be sued with, considering I am a college student and I'd pay my student loans off before any lawsuit, so don't waste your time.
Notes: Apparently I'm writing just for myself, Sara and aoilevelina, whom I give my appreciation to for their kind feedback.
Chapter Two: Something Changes:
Heero pushed his horse as hard as he dared, given their precarious situation. He'd had the horse for three years, the best investment he'd ever made in his life, and he could feel the strain the horse was under long before the creature visibly showed it. Conditions were only growing worse as the night continued on and if the clouds were any indication, it was bound to rain very soon. Furthermore, he was sure he'd exhausted his horse on the race into Canon territory, making the two day journey in one. He'd only spent a minimal amount of time in the castle retrieving the prince, not nearly enough time for the horse to rest properly, and now he was subjecting it to not only his own weight, but that of the prince's. They needed to stop and soon, before the horse was lost to Heero and they found themselves in a dangerous situation with no means of travel.
Despite the fuss the prince had put up in the beginning, being forced to ride in front of Heero as if a maiden, he'd kept himself relatively still, and surprisingly distant from Heero. The prince was almost slouched away from him, and looked to be attempting to hide himself within his heavy robes. Heero was sure if the prince wasn't so gifted with horses and used to their movements he would have already lost his balance and fallen. Nevertheless, it made the trip through the woods that much easier, especially since neither exchanged words.
The first droplets of rain were beginning to fall when Heero spotted a series of caverns to the north of their position. He urged his horse on a little further, reaching across the prince who flinched at his moments to pat the mane and whisper promises of dinner and rest.
"The system looks extensive," Heero said with approval, his voice battling the wind and rain. "We should be able to build a fire and the smoke will likely dispel in several different directions." It was the best news of the night. They were too vulnerable and exposed to the elements. They needed a fire, though not at the expense of leading whoever might be on their trail right to them. It was very good news.
Heero offered his assistance in dismounting to the prince once they were able to duck inside the largest of the cavern entrances, and sighed when he was ignored and the other boy who dropped down gracefully despite his clothing.
"Stay here," Heero commanded, his voice becoming hard. There was no room for disobedience. "We don't know what other creatures might have taken refuge from the storm in here as well, so until I say it's clear, stay here." He then retrieved a sword strapped to the side of the horse that the prince had been oblivious to previously. He handed his dagger over easily enough to the prince instead. "I mean it."
The prince exhaled strongly in annoyance. "I'm not a child. And I'm not useless either. While you go play rouge I'm perfectly capable of setting up camp."
Heero shook his head. "Just stay here," he reinforced, and then with a warning glare he took off deeper into the caverns.
Heero was relieved after a quick but extensive hunt that only small, inconsequential animals were huddled deeper in the caverns, nothing that posed a threat to them and furthermore could provide an adequate dinner. He resolved to come back for one of the smaller animals once he built a fire and made sure they weren't discovered by any searching enemy troops.
He had wanted to ride the whole night through, no matter how slowly his horse needed to travel. Heero had no doubt in his mind that the master of the castle he'd stolen the prince from would be furious and send out search and recovery troops. The prince was certainly considered a possession by him if Zechs' information was any good, and chances were it was very good. By being forced to stop and take refuge allowed any troops to either catch up or surpass them easily. It would make getting the prince home a lot harder than initially believed, even with Zechs hiding them out for a few days. He could only hope and pray to the ancient gods that if anyone were following them, they'd also be forced to take shelter for the night.
He cursed when he returned to the place he'd left the prince. Loudly. Loud enough to startle his horse whom had settled down for the night and appeared to be on the verge of sleep.
The prince was missing. Again.
Gripping the base handle of his sword tightly Heero gave his horse a dark look, then took off for the entrance of the cave.
He met the twice-lost prince only a few feet from the entrance, stepping aside lest he be run down by the scurrying royalty.
"I told you not to go anywhere," Heero seethed, rounding on him when they were back at the horse. He took note of the damp firewood in the prince's arms. "We could have been followed! Walking outside was nothing but an endorsement for you to be stolen again, and I wouldn't have known for gods know how long. I thought you wanted to go home."
The prince dropped the firewood angrily. He pushed the gathered wetness from the storm out of his eyes and cleared his forehead and hairline as best he could with the headdress threaded into it too tightly to remove at the moment.
"I don't know what kind of impression you have of me," the prince said hotly, "but I'm not some weakling who needs anyone to protect him. I've had plenty of training, despite being the youngest son, and I know how to take care of myself in the wilderness. And do you think I just watched my father's personal guard in awe for fifteen solstice celebrations? I may be less talented with the sword than my brothers, but I'm competent, and more than capable of taking care of myself in a fight."
Heero pressed close, furry rising in his chest in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. "Obviously you need some sort of protection, or I wouldn't have needed to infiltrate an enemy castle and rescue you. A few lessons does not a soldier make. Look at your hands, I know I don't have to, I bet they're smooth. When you hold a sword it's ceremonial, when I hold one and when other men do, it's with the intent to either defend or kill. You aren't capable of combating something of that degree. You're nothing but a spoiled, protected, little prince." He was vague aware of the degree of disrespect he was showing to the prince of a country both his mother and father had originated from, and that he could very well be setting himself up for a public execution with his insubordination, but he simply couldn't stomach the stupidity of The Great Annoyance. Heero had little patience for such people, and even less when they endangered his life along with their own.
Red in the face the prince shook slightly. "You don't know anything. Who are you, just some worthless wannabe knight? Some kid who thinks he's hot stuff because he managed to track down one prince who was outnumbered so severely he didn't have any chance of getting away, and lost a lot of good friends when they tried to protect him? You talk like you're a man, but a man would be a little more perceptive. You're nothing more than a headstrong fool."
Then the prince set to work at once lighting a fire. Heero, somewhat numb from his ferocious encounter with the prince, noticed offhandedly that his pack had been raided from its place on the horse. An adequate camp had been set up with his bed roll pulled apart to form two pallets and his flint had been removed along with the emergency brushwood he kept.
He watched as the prince worked effectively and efficiently to built and maintain a fire. It would hold for at least half the night, or what was left of it, and when it built a little more it would keep them more than enough warm.
Heero didn't go back for the small animals, having suddenly lost his appetite. Instead he offered his provisions to the prince silently and settled down across from him on one mat that comprised the bedroll.
"What was the reward?" the prince asked suddenly, startling Heero who'd let his mind wander.
"What?" Heero asked.
The prince sighed. "What did my father offer for my safe return? This isn't the first time its happened, you know. Before he's offered up some of his best land, a pretty big chunk of the treasury and even a lucrative marriage or two that would bring the person who claimed it personally into the family. So what did he offer this time?"
Startled that the prince would so easily talk to him again, Heero floundered a bit.
"I don't hold grudges," the prince said, shrugging. "No point, not with the world we live in."
Heero nodded slowly, appreciative for the words. Their journey would be far easier if they were on amicable terms.
"My father was once a member of your grandfather's court," Heero began slowly, eyes avoiding the curious ones of the prince. "A knight even, part of the High Guard. He'd been promoted to the position just before your father ascended to the throne. So as you might imagine my father's family was ecstatic. After all, all of the men of the family had served the royal line for generations, all the way back to the first king. It was more of a family obligation to do so than anything else, and there is nothing more important to the family than honor."
The prince shifted his weight, extremely uncomfortable in the robes that had only grown more uncomfortable since becoming soaked in the rain. "Okay," he said, trying to prompt Heero into continuing.
"He met my mother about a year into his duties, home from a long campaign against enemies to the south. He fell in love with her from the moment he saw her and married her that night in a private ceremony. He told me when I was little that he knew she was his soul mate from the moment she entered his line of vision. His life wasn't worth living, and serving the king had no meaning, unless he could have her waiting for him to come home."
With soft eyes the prince replied, "That's pretty special."
Heero nodded. "But she was a commoner," he continued with a low tone. "She was the third daughter of one of the lower cooks, a nobody with no title and no dowry. Her blood, by this kingdom's standards, was worth less than his, and he violated the law by making her his wife."
"Oh," the prince said softly, knowing how the story ended already. "Sorry."
"Is it still like that?" Heero asked. "The same inequality?"
The prince nodded. "It's hard to change tradition, even if enough people want the change."
"Obviously he gave up everything, because I exist. He took my mother and left, the both of them disowned by their families and my father without his title and claim to his blood. He lost his status, his word became worthless and in effect, I became worthless."
"Is that why you're doing this?" the prince asked, hands twisting in his lap. "You want to prove to your family that you're capable of upholding the family's name?"
Heero shook his head. "I couldn't give a damn about them and what they want. I'm doing this for me. I came after you, and I'm bringing you home because of what the king promised. The royal declaration is that the person who manages to restore you to him is guaranteed anything he wants as long as it is humanly possible."
The prince froze, heart pounding furiously. "Anything?" He leaned forward. "Then what do you intend? To instate yourself as monarch?"
Heero rolled his eyes. "Nothing quite so ambitious. I'm going to ask that he restore my father's title. If my father's honor is returned to him and he's recognized as an Elite, I'll be legally able to serve the king in his guard. Its been my dream to serve the king just as my father did, to continue the station of my family, and that's what I intend to do. For as long as the Yuy clan has existed, they have been defined by their courage, dedication and ability to serve, and I don't plan to let my father's generation be where it stops."
"You want to be a knight?" the prince asked softly. "Out of anything you could ask for, that's what you want? To serve?"
"Are you so incapable of understanding?" Heero asked. "The want to preserve honor through respectful servitude is nothing to be taken lightly. As a prince I doubt you can understand servitude, but the king is only as powerful as the people under him make him. There is no greater honor I can bring my parents than to become a knight and give my life for my country."
The prince licked his lips, looking at the male in front of him with an indescribable look. "Being a prince is nothing but servitude," he said quietly. "That's nothing you could understand. A prince is nothing but a slave if fancy clothing."
Then they sat in silence again.
When the prince had finished his portioned dinner he asked Heero, unable to stand the silence, "One can't just simply join the guard because their father was in it."
Heero looked up at him sharply. "My father was the best there was. He's been teaching me my whole life. He always believed that even though I couldn't have the title, I could still have the training. I shouldn't be far behind, if at all, when I'm apprenticed. Why do you care?"
"My brother is going to be king," he snapped. "And if you're going to serve in his guard, I don't want some bumbling idiot getting him killed."
"No aspiration of being king yourself?"
The prince shook his head quickly. "Father Maxwell is right. He and Sister Helen told me from the very beginning I had no aptitude for the dance of politics, and it's true. They're my best teachers, so even if I thought I had a talent for politics, I'd still take their word. No, Solo can be king for all I care. I'm more than happy to let him have the stress and the endless assassination attempts."
"You're not doing so well yourself," Heero pointed out.
"I'm still breathing," the prince scoffed, "and I still would have been if you hadn't shown up. Very few people want to kill me, and most of the ones who do don't exactly have the intelligence level necessary to coordinate it. I'm confident I won't fall at the hand of an assassin. Now being locked up and kept as a pet, or admired like one of my sister's dolls is a whole different story. Far more people just want to pet me, or rather want me to pet them. It's disturbing, but not life threatening as far as I know."
Heero squinted at him. "Why?"
Confused, the prince said, "What do you mean?"
Heero shrugged. "I haven't exactly been living anywhere near here. My father and mother and I lived a long ways from here, by the sea."
"You want to be in the guard but you don't know anything about the king you'd be serving, or his family?" the prince deadpanned.
"Why do they call you Shinigami?" Heero pressed. He could see the prince visibly shiver at the name and it only piqued his curiosity more. "Why?"
The prince climbed to his feet. "You can call me Duo. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. That's my name, and it's far more important than my title."
Heero stood as well. "No." There were certain lines, no matter the situation, that could not be crossed. No matter his station, he could never call the prince by his first name. That right was reserved for a select few. "Your Highness, never." He'd call the prince The Great Annoyance to his face before he used the male's name.
"You can call me anything but Shinigami," he said in a tone that nearly pleaded with Heero. The prince made his way to the horse, who's head had perked up at the voices and leaned into the prince's offered touch. "Never that name."
Heero thought it best to let the subject go for a moment. When they got to Zechs' Heero would ask him. The man was generally an honest person and would probably answer his question, that and why the prince was so touchy about it.
"Figures the horse would like you," Heero said offhandedly, slightly annoyed. "Her name is Shini. Before you, she didn't like anyone. She's a good ride, but horrible company."
A deep, almost sad laugh came from the prince. "Shini? That's fitting."
It was then that Heero noticed how the prince favored his left wrist. He tried to recall when he might have hurt himself, and his only conclusion was when they'd both landed hard and awkwardly on the last balcony during their escape.
"You're hurt," he said, advancing on the prince. "Let me see."
The prince shrank back dramatically. "I'm fine," he declared.
"You're favoring your wrist. If it's bad enough, I'll need to wrap it. I have basic medical knowledge. I should be able to relieve some of the pain."
"And I'm telling you, I'm fine. Don't touch me." The prince grew almost frantic, folding his arms in on himself and hiding within the folds of his cut clothing. "You said we're going to stop somewhere else before I get home, and I'll deal with it then. You're not the only one who knows something about medicine. I don't need your help."
Heero moved forward still. "You're being irrational. I need you as healthy as possible when I take you home, and I think if you have one less useful hand your father is going to notice."
"I'm not just some possession you can cart around!"
"Why are you being so stubborn? I'm not going to hurt you." Heero reached forward, determined to take the boy's wrist in his hands and examine it, willing or not.
The prince, near hysterical, reacted, recalling all of the training he'd had in his youth. He swung out abruptly with his uninjured hand, not intending to make contact with Heero, but only frighten him back. However he hadn't expected his rescuer to have lightening fast reflexes, and without warning he was spun around, attacking hand wrenched up behind his back at a painful angle. He gave a moan of pain, feeling Heero's fingers clench dangerously tight through the material covering his wrist and bite into his skin, even as his hand was jerked up higher.
The force that slammed into Hero was more than he'd ever known before. He lost his vision momentarily, sprawled out on the ground, gasping for breath. He could barely think, only aware that they had company and he was seriously indisposed.
"Stop! Don't kill him!"
Heero forced his eyes open, not sure when they'd shut, at the sound of the prince's frantic cry. In a moment of clarity he realized there was a man standing over him with a deadly sword in his hand, poised to swing down and end his life. And despite the danger in front of him, his eyes slid over to the prince, concerned for his safety at the treatment of their aggressors. He felt more than a little confused, not sure how much was attributed from the hard hit he'd taken, when he spied the prince in the arms of a tall brunet, neither fighting the hold nor looking unfamiliar with the arms.
"He attacked you," the man standing over Heero said. "Kidnapped you. Tell me why I shouldn't kill him."
"Because I'm the prince, and you should do as I say."
Heero groaned in relief when the man stepped slightly away, remarking to the prince, "When has your title ever stopped me from fulfilling my duty to justice?"
"WuFei," the man holding the prince warned, "hear Duo out."
Heero had heard that name before. He recalled quickly that it was someone the prince held in favor, a warrior most likely if he was as esteemed as the prince's voice had implied.
"That's actually Heero, of the Yuy clan," the prince said, finally stepping out of the hold of the brunet. "He's the one who rescued me, so don't kill him, okay guys?"
"He saved you?" the brunet inquired incredulously. "Is that why he looked like he was going to rip your arm off?"
"He was trying to touch me," the prince defended. "I just reacted badly, Solo, that's all." He paused a moment. "Okay, that didn't come out right, but it was nothing, honest!"
At once Heero dragged himself to his knees, curling over so far his forehead touched the floor. He recognized now at once that he was in the company of the crowned prince and the captain of the guard. He could only imagine the scene they'd come upon, with the prince frantic to get away from him, his clothing torn, looking as if his person was being assaulted.
"I beg your forgiveness," he said frantically. "I had no right."
"Please don't kill him," the prince pleaded with his brother, "I can't have anyone else's death on my soul. Solo, no more if it can be helped."
Heero made no move, deferring the ultimate judgment of the heir apparent.
"Solo," the prince pleaded, "He wasn't trying to hurt me."
Heero was unsure as to why the prince was fighting so hard for his life, considering how much animosity there had been between them since almost the beginning.
"Heero Yuy?" Solo asked, and it was only then that he looked up at the prince who he one day hoped to serve as king. "You rescued my brother?" he asked.
"Yes, your Royal Highness," he responded at once. Despite having different mothers, he could see the resemblance between the brothers at once. And yet he could also see their evident differences, along with the blatant fact that it was the younger prince and the prince alone keeping him alive at the moment.
"My father," Solo said at last, "has made a promise to the one who rescues his son. I would exceed his authority if I took that honor away from him."
Heero nearly sagged in relief and next to him WuFei sheathed his sword.
"The rain has let up. We should leave at once," the captain of the guard said. "No doubt if we were able to find this trail others will as well."
"We ride hard," Solo said, addressing his brother carefully. "Are you able to?" The heir apparent kept a strong hold on his brother's shoulder, fingering the material he wore. "Father's best brigade is less than a quarter day's ride from here and we've acquired fresh horses from the nearby town. If we depart now we should be able to make it home in less than two sun sets."
"I'm a better rider than you," his brother cut back. "I can keep up."
With a firm nod Solo retrieved a pair of gloves from his belt and presented them. "I assume they took yours."
Heero watched their exchange very carefully, aware of WuFei's own eyes on him. He was no stranger to brotherly affection, despite being an only child, but the bond between the two of them seemed almost deeper. And then there were the gloves, and the way in which the prince's eyes filled with moisture at the exchange. It was all very odd, and he felt incredibly left out of some kind of important knowledge.
"Yuy," WuFei said, drawing his attention away. "How is your horse? We mean to make as much time as possible."
Heero looked over to his horse. "She isn't completely rested yet. She won't be able to go the distance."
WuFei nodded. "A hand will care for her and bring her along after us. You'll use one of ours."
Heero made to protest when the prince cut in, "Don't worry, Shini will be safe. I promise you. I'll see to it personally." In the flickering of fire light Heero nodded, holding the prince to his word, no matter how much it disturbed him to leave his horse in the hands of a stranger.
"Heero," the prince said one last time, ignoring the beckoning of his brother to leave at once. "My father is a good man. You'll get what you want most. And I wish you the best with it." The prince offered him an odd smile and then allowed his brother to lead him out to the entrance of the cavern and presumably to horses.
"Understand your place," WuFei said suddenly from his side. "The prince is too friendly. He implies without realizing it. It's your responsibility to recognize your place."
Heero watched the man disappear and frowned. Something had changed. He wasn't sure what it was, or why, but something had. There was a fluttering in his stomach and an ache in his chest that hadn't been there before. He'd been so comfortable with keeping the prince at arm's length, at only seeing The Great Annoyance home and collecting his prize. But in such a short amount of time he'd found himself intrigued by the mysterious prince. There was more to him than he'd first believed, something mysteriously appealing and dangerously distracting.
Against his better judgment Heero wanted to know more about him.