XI
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Trowa continued contemplating Autumn's orders, very slowly picking up the longbow and shooting an arrow at a small faraway stump. Each time, he'd hit the target, even if he hadn't been paying attention.
"Barton where have you been?!" an annoyed Wu Fei bellowed. "Do you know how long we've been looking for you?"
"Oh," Trowa replied in his usual calm fashion. "Where's Duo?"
"He.. Wandered off too," Wu Fei's face paled. "Which means we have to go look for him.."
Trowa stood up, picked up the bow and quiver of arrows, and walked over to his horse. "Let's go then before he gets himself in trouble."
Duo was in trouble.
He had no idea where he was, his horse ran off, leaving him with only a small pack of provisions and a cloak to keep himself warm. The goblin had run away, meaning there was no one to ask directions for.
Plus, he had the insanely realistic feeling that he was being watched from all sides.
Nervously, he glanced around as he hefted the large black cloak around his shoulders. The dark forest was eventually changing into a large cliffs, looking very dangerous and spooky.
Yet something pulled him towards them, and he figured that it was better than staying around waiting for someone to come and find him. Staring at the large cliffs, it slowly occurred to him that there were very tiny cracks and fissures, just the size for someone to creep through. Duo carefully tested one of the larger cracks, finding it easy to slip through.
Inside it was a small cavern, lit by small glowing mushrooms. There was a faint dripping noise, followed by a cool rush of air from some open crack.
The ground was oddly soft, in fact it didn't feel at all like rock. Duo continued to walk through the cavern, relying on basic instincts to guide him out of there. As he continued, it became darker and darker until everything had been swallowed up by the blackness. Still, Duo kept going.
It could have been anywhere from a few minutes to a few days when he began to see light again. He kept going, listening to the faint crunch of the ground as he walked.
A ray of light slid through another crevice, and Duo climbed towards it.
Look to the west of the smoking sands.
Where only Death shall cross these lands.
Outside the caves the environment was totally different. Every way he looked, all he could see were large thorn bushes and endless waves of sand.
There it was again.. the feeling that he was being watched, only this time it was added to the fact that he suddenly felt like he was being followed by several unknown forces. Every now and then, there were signs of dried out skeletons, perhaps of people who had come to this land before.
Keep going.. something urged. Keep going this way!
Duo winced as he approached a large thorn bush, hearing the tearing of cloth and feeling it rip at his braid as he passed through it. Another bush clawed at his ankles, trying to make large gashes in it. He winced as the sand continued to dance in his eyes, but refused to give up.
Elaina walked into the room, expecting to see Quatre still struggling to find a way to escape. Instead, she was surprised to see him standing at the window, staring out it with not a hint of expression on his face.
There was a few seconds of looming silence when finally Quatre turned to her. "Why are you holding the armies back?" his eyes swirled in a mix of blue and black as he spoke.
"We have a large enough army, the Northern Kingdom won't be a problem," she replied calmly.
"You'll never win that way," Quatre answered with the slightest hint of a mock tone. "Unless you're just trying to hold back,"
Elaina smiled back dangerously. "Is that so? Do you think you could do a better job leading it? Face it, no matter what happens we'll win. Your friends are powerless.." she snarled. "Or.. Are they your enemies now?"
Quatre's hand momentarily crackled with a sudden release of energy. Then the energy died, and he became still again. "What difference does it make?"
She smiled satisfiedly and walked away.
Through the choking sand, Duo began to see the small greyish boulders to the right. Sitting there, as if he'd been waiting, was a small boy with bright red hair and green eyes. His clothes were black, including his boots which looked well worn.
What would a 5 year old be doing in the middle of here? he thought to himself nervously.
"Hello," he said with childish interest. "How did you come here?"
"Well I asked for directions but I guess I took a wrong left turn somewhere," Duo answered calmly. "What about you?"
"I wait for Death." he answered. His green eyes glanced behind Duo and smiled. "You have quite a following,"
"Huh?" Duo turned around, then his jaw dropped slightly.
It was as if a cold mist had suddenly landed against the dry ground. Hundreds of faceless ghosts had appeared, dressed as if they were ready to battle. They looked at him with their hollow eyes, almost waiting for some type of recognition.
"What the.."
The boy kicked his feet back and forth against the side of the stone slab. "You didn't realize you were being followed?"
"What.. What are they?"
"Souls, waiting for revenge.. for some reason or another," the boy answered. "Which means that I have something that belongs to you.."
Gently, the boy turned around, reached down, and then faced Duo again, holding something respectfully in his hands.
It was a scythe.. the handle entwined in strands of black wood. On the top where the silver blade met the wood, there were two black gems, the color of scarlet.
"Whoa.. Where did you.."
"Go on, take it," the boy urged. "I haven't been waiting around for a thousand years for nothing.."
"Gee thanks.." Duo took the scythe and stared at it. "Whoa.." Very slowly he twirled it, then tested the weight as he made a few graceful swipes against the sand. "Hey.." he turned around to thank the boy.
But the boy was gone.
The water rocked the ship back and forth peacefully, although the air had become thicker and more suffocating as they drifted farther and farther along the coastline.
Heero watched, the slight wind whipping his brown hair in its wake. The land was dark, and looked dead.
"We're approaching the Southern borders sir.." one of the pirates meekly announced. "Very soon we'll be in no-man's land."
No-man's land. That was the perfect place..
Heero nodded. "Good."
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Notes n' stuff: I finished this around 10 tonight, so it's kind of messy but I wanted to get it done. And yes, there were some really blatant allusions to both the Lord of the Rings and Majora's Mask in one part, so if it seemed familiar..
And to you guys who are reading this.. Gah!! If you keep guessing what's going to happen I won't have any surprises left!! ;-) And yes, I have two muses who sit on my monitor.. so hopefully no more writer's block!!
Until next time..