AN: Well, I updated my other story, so I figured I'd take some time out of my life to update this one as well. I hope you all enjoy it, and I'll try to get at least one more chapter up before I leave for my trip but no promises. Read and review please.
Oh, and for those of you whose minds it crossed after the last chapter… There will be absolutely NO raping of Duo… How could I do that to the love of my life… cough… next to the real love of my life… cough. Heh heh. But no… It may come close but will never actually happen. I'd kill myself before I ever do that to Duo.
Special Thanks to:
Marauder Heir: You shall see Wu-man soon my dear. Mwahahaha. Soon… But anyway… no killing the evil people… yet. Enjoy.
Jess-Eklom: You can go ahead and smash Qat's favorite violin, hehe. As long as you don't kill any of them, it's fine. Yayness. And here ya go… another chappie. I hope you enjoy.
Tina-Chan O: Actually, about the ring… you'll find out soon enough, hehe. And truthfully, I love seeing Heero cry as well. But anyway, I'm glad that you enjoyed that last chapter and I hope you continue enjoying this story. I'd love to answer some of your questions, but I don't want to give away the story, so you'll just have to wait and see… sorry. Thanks you for another wonderful review.
Shevaleon: Hm, really? I thought that Trowa was actually being a good friend… I mean what more can he do to help really? The way I see it is Trowa knows when someone needs to solve their own problems and just when he needs to jump in and help. But then, everyone's got their own opinions… Heh. But I'm glad that you're enjoying my story so far and I hope you continue enjoying it. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews so far and I hope to continue hearing from you.
Hikaru: Aw, I'm sorry if I made you think Duo was going to get raped in this sometime. I just can't do that to him. I hate putting Duo in pain as it is. I love his cheerful personality… though I know it's lacking in this story… Sigh. Thank you for the review. I'm glad that you enjoy my story so far. Please continue to enjoy it, and let me know if you have any other thoughts or opinions. They're all welcome.
Modified Tam: Thank you for another wonderful review. Your reviews always make me the happiest for some reason. Lots of smiles. I hope you enjoy this chapter as it takes a kind of turn on things. Please let me know what you think. I enjoy your opinions the most.
Luv to all! Sorry if I don't update any time soon after this but I shall try. I have one more day before I leave.
Chapter 7
It was morning now and Heero sat alone in the house. He had insisted he go out with Trowa to gather food but Trowa had warned the boy that the guards were probably out searching for him and it was best for Heero to stay in. The boy sat in his corner and snatched up the ring his father had given. Glancing at it, he slipped it onto his finger and shrugged. It looked odd really and didn't suit his taste. As he was trying to take it off, the door slammed open and his attention was caught by the man in his doorway.
Forgetting about the ring still on his finger, Heero jumped up from his corner and darted up the stairs. He climbed out his favorite window and onto the next building over. Looking back, he noticed Treize wasn't too far behind. Grabbing a pole on the side of the building, Heero slid down and ducked into the marketplace. He never noticed when Trowa looked up at him, for he was too busy trying to find somewhere to hide as a group of guards was quickly nearing him.
"Stop right there Street Urchin!" Treize called out and grinned as Heero was trapped.
Heero glared at the guards around him. He saw Trowa from around a corner and shook his head. The guards glanced back to find nothing and looked at Heero like there was something wrong with him. Treize grabbed the boy and another guard knocked him unconscious.
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Duo was sitting out in the courtyard with Hilde when he spotted the guards dragging a familiar body to the castle. Jumping up from his seat, he immediately ran in after them. Hilde followed closely behind.
"What's going on here?" Duo shouted glaring at Milliardo. The man only waved the boy away and directed his attention to Heero.
"Finally caught you, huh boy?" Milliardo grabbed the boy by the hair and pulled his head back so he could see his face.
"Stop it!" Duo shouted and shoved the man out of the way. He kneeled down so that way he could get a good look at the boy. "Heero…" A tear fell and he placed a soft hand on the boy's face. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault."
Persian blue eyes slowly opened up to him and Heero smiled at the boy. "No, don't blame yourself," Heero told him quietly. "It was worth getting caught to be with you even if just for a little while."
"Heero…" Duo shook his head as he blinked back more tears.
"Don't cry," Heero told him. "You're too beautiful for that."
"But…"
"I love you Duo," the boy said and was quickly dragged out of the room towards the dungeons. Milliardo grinned as he watched but noticed something familiar. Glaring, he followed the guards to the dungeon room.
Duo buried his face into his hands and sobbed. Hilde kneeled next to her friend and rubbed his back softly. There was nothing she could do to comfort him from this. She helped the boy up and walked him to his room.
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Meanwhile, down in the dungeons Milliardo was staring at a certain ring on Heero's finger. "You boy, where did you get the ring." Blinking up at the man Heero smirked.
"Caught your fancy has it?"
"I want to know where you got that ring you insolent fool. Tell me now."
"Or what? You'll kill me? What's it matter? You're going to anyway."
"That may not be so anymore," Milliardo explained and Heero rose an eyebrow at the man. "I just might spare your life after all… If you do me one favor?"
"And what's that?" Heero asked.
"Use the ring."
"Use it? What do you mean?" Heero looked at the ring and then back up at the man.
"That ring can lead you to treasure," the man explained. "It will lead you to a cave. You just have to want to find it. You can keep all the other treasure for yourself, but there's one in particular that I want."
"I'm listening."
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Duo was up in his room alone. He had even locked Hilde out. The girl had wanted to help but knew this was for the best. Instead she sat in her own room, needle and thread both in hand. Duo took up most of her time and so she hadn't had much time for sewing lately, but now was the perfect chance. The girl blinked when there was a knock on the door and she set her project down carefully and stood to open the door.
Rashid stared down at the girl. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'd like to know what happened to make Prince Duo lock himself away like so…" Rashid motioned to the boy's door and Hilde nodded. She moved to the side allowing the man to step into her room. Sitting back down she once again picked up her project. Without even glancing at the man in her room she began her explanation.
"Duo met a boy on the street not too long ago. They became good friends. Because of this Milliardo has ordered for the boy to be murdered."
"Murdered?" Rashid asked, wide eyed. "Have they caught him yet?"
"Not too long ago," the girl simply answered. "I don't know what to do. If I had the power I would release the boy, but as things stand, I have no power at all." She shook her head and finally glanced up at Rashid. "I feel so sorry for the both of them. Heero loves Duo and would do anything for him, and Duo is blind to what his own heart is telling him."
"Love?" Rashid rose an eyebrow at the girl and Hilde only smiled, but it quickly disappeared.
"Rashid, why have you not told Duo that his mother was your younger sister?"
Rashid's eyes widened as he couldn't understand how a girl of her age would know that. No one knew… not even Quatre. The only other person who had known had been Quatre's father.
"You and your sister were the children of a street urchin at one point. You're family stole food just to survive. One day, their father met your sister as she was running from some guards. It was love at first sight. But they had to fight for their love as well. It wasn't until his father passed away that he became the Sultan and made your sister his wife."
"How did you know?"
"Now that's a good question, isn't it?" Hilde asked, staring up at the man. She shrugged and went back to sewing. "But if you ask me, that's where Duo gets his need to be free. She was a kind lady." She sighed. She looked up once more and smiled. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like more time to myself please."
Rashid blinked and nodded as he quietly left the girl's room, shutting the door behind him. He was so confused and stunned as to how the girl had known so much about his past. She knew things that no one else knew. Just who was she?
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Heero stood outside a cave that had been hidden far from the city. A sand storm blew all around him and he figured that's why no one had ever been able to find this place before. He glanced down at his ring. Not too long it had been glowing red and shot a beam of light out, directing him straight to here. It wasn't hard to make himself want to find the place. His interest had been peaked when he first heard of the treasure. He remembered back to Milliardo's instructions.
"Inside the cave there is a lamp. That is all that I want."
Heero had wondered what was so special about one little lamp, but shrugged the thought away. As he stepped into the cave, lights flickered all around him as torches were suddenly lit. He blinked and grabbed one of those torches for himself. He continued to walk down the cave when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Turning to catch what it was he stared in awe at a carpet that was flying. He walked over and examined it then waved his arm over it to make sure there were no strings attached. Sure enough, the carpet was flying on it's own. He jumped back as it suddenly moved back and then around him. The carpet landed in front of him and Heero cautiously stepped onto it. He fell back as it shot forward further into the care. Heero saw the treasure they passed and grinned as he realized that was all his. So this is what his father had been hiding.
The carpet came to a sudden stop and Heero nearly flew forward if the carpet hadn't curled itself so that Heero had something to latch onto. Heero slipped off the carpet and stared at a small lamp that sat alone in the middle of this one room. Glancing around, he noticed there was no other treasure in here. He stepped forward and picked it up. Staring at it for a moment, he wondered what was so special to make Milliardo want it so badly. It had been covered in dust and Heero figured he shouldn't give it to the man like that. He pulled out a cloth and started rubbing at it. Suddenly there was smoke pouring out of the lamp and there appeared a boy to look about his age, black hair slicked back into a tight ponytail. Heero blinked and looked back down at the lamp then at the boy who stood before him.
"And you are?" Heero asked.
"The name is Wufei and I'm here to serve you master."
"Serve me?"
"You get three wishes. Any of which I will serve. I can not however kill anyone, or make someone go against their will."
"Why are you here?" Heero asked and blinked when the cave suddenly turned into a castle and Heero's clothes turned to that of a prince.
"I have just fulfilled your father's last wish and am now here to serve you Master Heero. Your father found me many years ago and as his death neared, he wished for you to not grow up around money and fortune, afraid that without him around you would live the life of a spoiled prince. And you weren't old enough to take over everything yet. If he passed away, nearby countries would want his land and your father didn't want that. So he wished for it all to be hidden in a cave surrounded by a sand storm. Only when you were ready would you be able to find this place."
Heero blinked and Wufei motioned to the ring which then disappeared. "That was your guide which you no longer need, Prince Heero."
Heero watched as the boy in front of him suddenly bowed down. He was a prince. He was an actual real prince. All these years of living on the streets and stealing food, and then only to find out something like this. Heero fell back on the carpet which had swooped up behind him to keep him from hitting the ground. It was to much for Heero to take. So those last moments with his father… his father pretending to be poor… it was all an act to hide the truth… to protect Heero's inheritance.
AN: Ooo… Hee-chan's a prince, hehe. What do you all think of that, huh? Anyway, please review.
