Spirit of the Blue-Eyed Wolf
Chapter 14
I cannot believe there is not even a single healer in this town. Sitting by the window with the book he had started to read at Wolfstein Castle, Wufei gazed once again over to the large, and only, bed in the room where Treize seemed to be sleeping peacefully now. His mind wandered back to the conversation he had earlier with the owner of this small and not exactly high class tavern.
:::Begin Flashback:::
"No healer?!"
The fleshy, man with his red nose that seemed oddly big for his face, shook his head. "We have not had one for quite some time now, but most people do not mind. They much rather travel to Ankóra to see the Golden Mage, anyway."
"The golden mage?" Wufei echoed.
The Inn owner gave a firm nod. "That is what everyone calls him. His healing magic is so great, it is said he is able to bring back people who already are on the verge of death. Most of all, he refuses to charge people for his services. He just asks them to leave whatever they can, be it some money, a chicken or a few pieces of incense to show their gratitude."
"He appears to be a very honorable man." Treize remarked. He was leaning against the counter to keep his weight of the injured leg.
"Or a fool." the other man huffed. "With those abilities of his, he could become rich in no time. But then, some say he already is. When he came to this area a couple of summers ago, he bought the castle just outside Ankouras, and gave enough gold to rebuild the orphanage in town that had burned down the previous winter."
"But what do you do if someone gets injured and requires immediate care?" the young monk asked.
"If it is an emergency people will go to the old woman who sells herbs and charms from her house at the end of the main road," the Tavern owner explained. "She has some healing power they say."
:::End Flashback:::
That didn't seem completely true either. The young monk sighed. Her so-called healing powers were no more than basic knowledge about wound care, and her bedside manners… Well that was a whole different story all together. But at least she did know her way around healing herbs and roots. She had left some ointment and a small pouch of tea, and told Wufei how to use them before barking at him to 'better not bother her again so late at night'.
Treize's wound looked clean and it has already starting to heal around the edges. Maybe a few days of rest combined with these medicinal herbs is all he needs. The question is, though… Wufei gave another sigh. How long I will be able to keep him off his feet, knowing that Miri is somewhere out there.
###
Sitting alone beneath a large oak tree, Lady Une watched her men from a distance as she finished her late supper. After spending some time at this camp side, horses and riders seemed well rested and eager to move on. Une was hoping for at least one or two of her scouts to return with some news about the silver wolf and give her some kind of direction to head in. If we have not found him by tomorrow night we will have no choice but to return to the Imperial City empty handed.
The other royal guards sat together in small groups; two of them playing dice, the other's talking and laughing about something. For a moment Une wondered what they could be talking about.
"Being Captain is a lonely job, not everyone is cut out for. You cannot be their commanding officer and their friend at the same time; remember that, My Lady."
I will, your Excellency! Although, it took me a while to understand what it meant. You must have been lonely, too, I reckon…
Une looked up as a rider approached the camp at high speed. He stopped his horse and dismounted, then talked to Commander Noin who was seated with the other guards.
"What is it?" The Captain asked as she put down her bowl and rose to her feet.
"I believe I have found the silver wolf's track, Captain Une," the scout reported after a crisp salute. "I was told that a wandering monk has been seen traveling with a tame wolf."
"A monk?" Une echoed, somewhat surprised.
"People say they were exorcising demons… and fighting bandits in Comerea yesterday."
"Did you see them?"
"No Captain." the soldier shook his head. "By the time I got into town, I learned they had left in the morning. Last I was told they were seen traveling east."
"Good work!" Une gave the man an approving nod. "Get something to eat and rest….You, take care of his horse." She pointed at one of the other guards nearby before turning to face Noin. "Get me a map Commander, and have everyone prepare to break camp at a moment's notice."
"Yes, Captain."
Finally, the break I have been waiting for. A wandering monk traveling with a tame wolf?! That could be a coincidence, of course. But I do not believe in coincidence.
###
Miri had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a long time. He remembered at one point feeling like he was being dragged over the ground. When he finally woke he felt weak and was barely able to raise his head. Somehow he managed to look around and realized that he was resting on a bed of sagebrush and soft moss inside some kind of cave.
A cave?! Oh right… we were attacked by a shadow spider; this must be her burrow. The silver wolf tried to push himself up onto his feet but gave up with a painful whimper. His muscles and even his bones were sore and he was so weak it was even difficult to keep his head up. The venom is still spreading through my body. I can feel it poisoning my blood.
The cave was relatively large; he couldn't see how far underground it actually led. At the entrance a fire was burning. A fire; did he put it up to keep me in or other beasts out? For a moment he listed into the dark. Where is he anyway? I cannot feel his presence anywhere nearby.
Beyond the flames Miri could see a small patch of dark sky. How long have I been unconscious anyway? When we were attacked the sun had not yet set, now it is completely dark. His head became too heavy and he settled back down and closed his eyes. Maybe he left. I cannot say I' would blame him. What good would it do for him to sit around and watch me slowly die? But at least he did not leave me outside to be devoured by wild animals. For that I am grateful. I only regret I will not be able to see Treize at least one more time. Will he ever find out what happened to me? His mind was becoming fuzzy and he could feel himself slip into darkness again… perhaps this time for good. Treize, forgive me… I know I' had promised to be with you forever…
###
A quiet moan as Treize stirred in his bed caught Wufei's attention. He put down his book and rose to his feet.
Does his face look flushed? He frowned slightly as he looked down at the sleeping man. His fever seems to be getting worse. What should I do? The young monk dipped his hand into the blow of cold water sitting on the small night table. After squeezing some of the water from the cloth inside the bowl, he carefully blotted the sweat from Treize's fever heated forehead.
The older man slowly opened his eyes. The tip of his tongue brushed over his dry lips. "Is there something to drink to be had?"
"Yes, of course."
Wufei reached for the cup of herbal tea while Treize pushed himself up into a sitting position.
The older man wrinkled his face in distaste as he looked into the cup. "How about some water, instead?"
"This tea is much better for you. It will bring down your fever, too," the monk insisted.
"Easy for you to say," Treize complained. "You are not the one who has to drink it."
"It will help you recover faster," Wufei pointed out, and the tawny–haired man finally sighed.
"Fine, I will drink it, but only if you promise to tell me a little about yourself?"
Wufei's brows narrowed into a frown of confusion. "Tell you what about me?"
"Anything. You know pretty much everything about me and Milliardo, yet you have been very secretive about yourself until now. So…?" Treize gave the younger man a questioning look from over the rim of his teacup as he took the first sip.
"So, what? I am not sure what you expect. There is really not much to tell you. My life has been rather ordinary," Wufei replied evasively. "Besides, you should go back to sleep."
"I have found it always easier to fall asleep listening to someone tell me a story or read to me," Treize replied with a sly smirk.
"Then I shall read to you."
The tawny-haired man gave a quiet laugh. "Now you made me even more curious. What are you trying to hide?"
"I am not trying to hide anything." Wufei insisted. "There is simply nothing to tell you about."
"That I have a difficult time believing." Treize took another sip of tea. "For one, I have been wondering how someone like you chose to become a monk instead of, for example taking the path of a scholar."
"That was something that was decided for me."
"Oh?!"
Wufei finally hung his head in defeat. "Fine, I will tell you, but only if you promise to go back to sleep."
"I will try."
"Promise!" the monk demanded.
"Very well, I promise." Treize gave another laugh. "You drive a hard bargain, do you know that?"
"That is something I have learned while traveling with you," Wufei retorted. "Now drink your tea and lie down or the deal is off."
"Yes, Sir."
The young monk waited until his companion had settled down. "I am not sure what you expect, but there really is not much to my life," he started. "I was born in a small village in the northern mountains. The people there, including my parents, made a living exorcizing demons. The skill to sense demonic aura is passed down from generation to generation I have been told. I had that ability for as long as I can remember. No matter where I went, there always seemed to be some demons around. When I was four or five summers old, my parents died and I was taken in by some distant relatives of my father's…"
"How, if I may ask, did they die; fighting demons?"
"That is what I have been told." Wufei nodded. "In any case, my uncle was a rice farmer and so was everyone else in the small village he lived in. One day the village was attacked while the men were out in the fields, and a good dozen or so women and children were killed along with a lot of livestock. Soon after a wandering monk came through the area and the village elder hired him to get rid of any nearby demons…" The young man paused for a moment. Treize was lying in bed on his side with one hand under his head, listening with apparent interest.
"Whist everyone else was hiding, I snuck out of the house and watched. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone exorcise demons and for some reason I found it fascinating. After speaking to me for a while the monk told me that I had a hidden gift, and he asked if he could take me in as his pupil. My uncle and aunt were more than happy to agree, it seemed. I always had the feeling they were a little frightened of my…ability. And that is very much how I became a monk."
"It was not your fault."
Wufei gave the older man a somewhat surprised look.
"I am talking about the attack on your aunt and uncle's village," Treize explained. "There is no proof that demons are any more attracted to someone like you than they would be to a normal person. It is just that your ability to sense their presence around you makes it seem that way."
"That is exactly what Master O told me, too."
"But you are still feeling guilty?" It was a statement really more than a question.
"It is just… I keep thinking that, if I had paid a little more attention…if I might have noticed them earlier, maybe I would have had time to warn the villagers."
"You were only a child," the older man pointed out. "How old were you; nine…ten?"
"I was eight, but that is not the point."
"It was not your responsibility to protect that village, Wufei."
"I know that but…," Wufei snapped, but when he realized it he lowered his head. "Forgive me, I know you are only trying to make me feel better, and I really appreciate it."
Treize gave an almost insulted huff. "If you think that I would lie, just to tell people what they want to hear, you do not know me very well. But anyway, are you happy with what you are doing?"
"Ironically, I am happier now than I have been in a long time," the young man admitted.
"How so?"
"For a while I had been questioning my purpose. I was not sure if I was doing what I was meant to do. But that changed soon after I met you and Milliardo. I believe that for one reason or another, I was supposed to be in the forest that night when Miri saved me."
"So, you believe in destiny then?"
"You do not?"
"I do not believe that it is written in stone the moment we are born, but rather it is up to us to forge our own destiny based on our own choices and decisions. Otherwise I would have probably never left the Imperial Palace."
"Now you are sounding more and more like Master O," the young monk snorted. "Anyway, you got your story; now keep up your end of the deal and go to sleep."
"Fair enough. But that does not mean we can't continue this conversation tomorrow."
###
Walking into his bedchamber, a burning candle in one hand and a book he was planning to read in the other, Quatre suddenly held his step. Something didn't feel right.
"Duo, is that you?" he asked, but didn't receive an answer.
His eyes narrowed in an expression of slight annoyance. "If you were planning to scare me, you can come out now. The fun is over."
Still no reply, but Quatre could have sworn that he wasn't alone.
Maybe I'm just tired and imagining things, he told himself.
Still the unease remained. He took one cautious step, then another. A sudden gust of wind almost blew out the candle in his hand, and Quatre turned his head toward the window to see the heavy drapes moving in the breeze.
"Hmph," he gave an amused snort. I forgot to close the window. Maybe what I felt was a bird or rodent sitting on the sill. If Duo finds out about this he will never let me live it down. He put his book and candleholder down on the table and stepped over to the window to close it. But just as he reached for the drapes there was a slight moment behind him that he could feel before he heard it.
Startled Quatre spun around, or at least he tried to. He made it about half way before the cold steel of a sharp blade was pressed against his throat.
"Do not scream!" A deep and calm voice next to his ear, ordered. "If you stay quiet and do exactly as I tell you, you will have nothing to worry about."
T.B.C.
Author's Note: