Creature of the Wood (5/?)
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I shall be thy lover

I've played my pipes before man's dawn,
Seen maidens ripe, turn pale and wan.
Taught man the art of song and dance,
Yet had to part from mortal clans.
I must return to silent dells...
No fire burns, and nature dwells.

~Heather Alexander, 'Creature of the Wood'.

* * *

*No, no, no, no, NO!!* Duo thought to himself as he darted to the window and looked down at the three figures approaching. Relena's sandy blonde hair nearly shimmered in the sunlight, and part of him wanted to run to her, embrace her and never let go. She'd grown in the past five years from a headstrong girl-child into a rather lovely young woman. Adjusting his gaze slightly, Duo could make out her appearance to the Fae... and was surprised to see her dressed in the same livery as the two guardsmen that accompanied her. Relena had become one of the Hold guards?? Even though his mind raced to figure a way out of this situation, Duo couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, father must have had a CAT when she took up a sword. I'm surprised she didn't wind up out here with me." He mused, sighing and turning back towards the others.

"Sword?" Heero's confused gaze caught Duo offguard and he mentally kicked himself for slipping like that in front of the other boy.

"Ah... nothing. Just a figure of speech." He replied quickly, putting up his trademark grin. Heero seemed to accept this answer for now, and Duo let loose the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Oh hells, this would NOT do. There was no real way to keep the impending argument fully mundane, not when he wanted to tell his sister in no uncertain terms how he felt about being called back as a standby. He started to think, and was about to speak when he saw Quatre lean in towards Trowa quickly and whisper something to him. Trowa simply nodded and cleared his throat faintly.

"Heero, we're likely going to be stuck here a while if he and his sister are going to be arguing. Want to come with me to grab some food from the cafeteria and bring it back?" If the Japanese boy realized that he was being gotten rid of, he never said a word about it. He merely got to his feet and followed Trowa out the door with a final sidelong glance to Duo. They hadn't been gone five minutes when a faint knock was heard and Relena's face peered around the door.

She never got to ask if she had the right room before she was nearly bowled over into the hallway by the projectile form of her younger brother aiming right for her. The two embraced warmly, each of them nearly in tears. It had been five years since they'd seen each other last, and they'd both changed quite a bit over that time. As they pulled apart, Relena brought up one hand to rest against Duo's cheek gently, her eyes shimmering with tears as she smiled at him. "I've missed you, brother mine."

Duo found himself swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, nodding in response. "Missed you too, 'Lena... I heard about what happened."

She sighed, closing her eyes halfway as she dropped her gaze to the floor. "It took something like this for him to finally give in. We'd been hoping that he would turn over the Hold to Zechs, as he'd been planning... then we could have brought you back immediately and he would have been powerless to stop it."

"Instead, he waits until the Heir is in danger of dying, then sends for the the 'backup plan' because he knows the three of us are all he has and all he'll ever have." If Duo's words came out tinged with bitterness, it was because he fully intended it that way. His hands dropped to his sides, clenched as he turned away. "I'm sorry, 'Lena. I'm not going back."

Her eyes widened and she lifted her head to face him once again. "What do you mean? Those guards with me were instructed to not leave here without you, even if they had to bring you back unconscious!" She stepped forward, grabbing his shoulders and turning him to face her. The only warning she had was that Quatre and Wufei each took a step back, away from the siblings. When Duo turned, his violet eyes had taken on an internal glow that signalled the glamour surge as his anger rose.

"If you think I'm going to go trotting back to HIS side like a faithful lapdog who's been thrown a scrap, you're out of your mind. I've got a job to do here, and I'm not going to just abandon it. Two Changelings arrived at this school recently." As he spoke, he made a motion with his hand towards Quatre behind him. "He's one... the other likely passed you in the hall. The only difference is that the other doesn't know who or what he is. We've made progress, but we're still in danger of losing him completely to his human side if we don't keep at him. I'm staying, and you can tell Mutt and Jeff down there to go fuck themselves if they don't like it!"

"Ever the linguist, I see." Relena responded dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're not listening. They're GOING to take you back, whether you like it or not. I was told to come along so that you wouldn't think it was a trick, but if I tell them to sod off, they're not going to listen. Father replaced most of his guards, keeping only those who were most loyal to him, or willing to follow him without question."

"Pfeh... must have taken him years to find enough brainwashed morons to fill the Guard. Then knock 'em around a bit, or is that sword only for show?"

"HOLD IT!" Quatre stepped forward then, bringing up both hands and forcing the two away from each other. The last thing he wanted to see was two siblings in a knock down, drag out fight... and that's about where this was heading. The two stopped and glared at him, and he started to wonder if this was actually the brightest thing he could have done at that moment. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he kept his hands raised towards them. "I have an idea.. if you're willing to listen."

Duo had seen Quatre's mind at work before, and couldn't help but grin. "Oh this should be good. Go for it!" Relena nodded, relaxing her stance slightly and tilting her head to the side as he began to speak once more.

"Alright..." Quatre began, running his fingers throug his hair. "For starters, I'm Quatre Winner, nice to meet you." He held out his hand to Relena, and when she took it, he turned her wrist slightly and dropped a quick kiss upon the back, bowing to her.

"Relena Peacecraft... the pleasure is mine." She responded, blinking in surprise. "At least someone around here has manners."

Duo rolled his eyes, and Quatre seemed to blush faintly as he continued. "Now that introductions are aside... you said that your father replaced his guards, m'lady?"

"Yes. There was a bit of dissention in the ranks about a year ago. A lot of the newer guards wanted to see Zechs as Lord of the Freehold, and father was concerned that he might be in danger."

Quatre nodded, bringing his hand to his chin as he thought a bit more. "Duo, do you recognize the two out there?"

Shrugging faintly, Duo turned and walked to the window, peering out at the two who stood below near the main doors of the dorm. "Nope. Don't even recognize them from the Hold at all."

"They came to the Hold about three years ago. They've been kissing father's ass ever since." There was a note of derision in Relena's voice, and Duo just chuckled as he turned back to face them.

"Looks like I'm not the only 'linguist' in the family."

Relena was about to retort when they were both interrupted by Quatre once more. "Argue it later, please. Alright. So they've got orders to take Duo back, right?"

Both siblings nodded, not quite sure where this line of thought was headed.

"Duo, you've got brown hair, Relena's got dark blonde... what colour is Zechs' hair?"

"Blonde, a bit lighter than yours." Duo replied, lifting a brow.

"Relena, your father doesn't like Duo much... does he have any pictures of his children around where people can see them?"

She almost appeared confused for a moment, then responded. "He has a picture of himself and Zechs from a few years back and he has one of all three of us together, but that's kept in their personal quarters. No one is permitted in there except the immediate family."

"Not even guards?"

"No."

"What the hell are you driving at?" Duo interjected, now just looking lost.

Quatre just grinned, his expression mirrored by Relena as she caught onto where the boy was heading with his idea. "Oh dear... it just might work!" She laughed then, shaking her head.

Duo looked between the two of them, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Will someone please enlighten me as to what the hell I just missed?"

Quatre smiled almost angelically, which almost had the effect of making Duo break into a cold sweat. He'd seen the other Sidhe plan paybacks on people one too many times to be fooled by that particular look.

"They have to take back their Lord's son. They arrived after you left and have no idea what you look like. Relena's blonde, so's Zechs."

"Riiiight..." Duo began, ending on a questioning tone.

"So am I."

It was priceless. Relena had to bring her hand to her mouth to stifle the laughter that threatened to emerge as her younger brother suddenly looked as though he'd been hit with a brick. Duo was stunned, his mouth opening, then closing again as his brain worked to catch up with what the other two already knew. "So you... YOU'RE going to go back with them??"

"Exactly." Quatre replied, shrugging faintly. "Why not? It'll buy you some time, it's not like they're going to KEEP me there or my family will throw a holy fit. Heero needs you here, and it's pretty obvious you don't want to go back." He looked to Relena then, smiling apologetically. "And I have to warn you, it won't be a fast trip back. I plan on stalling as long as I can."

Relena just grinned, walking over and putting one arm around the blonde. "Duo, you always did have the most annoying habit of moving in reverse when you didn't want to do something."

Duo looked to Quatre and his sister then, moving to sit on the bed. "So how long will I have after you three leave?"

"Three?" Quatre looked confused for a moment until both Relena and Duo pointed to Wufei. "Why would you go back too?"

Wufei, who had just been observing with silent amusement, stepped over towards Duo and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was asked by Zechs to go into exile with him... so that he wouldn't be alone. If he's going back, it will raise questions if I don't return as well."

"Ah. Alright then." Quatre nodded in understanding. "And I can give you three weeks if I REALLY try, Duo."

"Now that that's settled..." Duo grinned. "Let's get TweedleDumb and TweedleDumber down there OFF campus and out of my hair. I've got three weeks to drag a Fae out kicking and screaming, and I don't need them underfoot any longer than they have to be.

The plans were quickly made, and Quatre departed long enough to pack and say his temporary goodbyes to Trowa. Duo could tell that the Pooka was going to be unbearable until the blonde Sidhe returned... oh man, he was never going to live this down. Trowa was fairly bristling, and it was a given that he'd likely vanish into the forest as soon as the travelling party left.

Heero wasn't quite sure what had transpired in his absence, but when he found out that Duo was staying, he felt a relief that he couldn't quite explain. They watched from the window as the group of five left the campus, and he quirked a brow, looking to Duo. "What was that all about, anyway? I thought you had to go back home?"

Duo just smiled, his mind already working to figure out how he could make this up to Quatre. "Apparently I wasn't needed as badly as they thought. Besides... for the first time in five years, I like it here."

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TBC