Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all related characters do not belong
to me.
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Dangerous Dreams - Chapter Five
Lonely streaks of red light penetrated the room through gentle cracks in the walls, rudely blinding my eyes to alertness. I rubbed them softly, and squinted at the beautiful sunrise, low in the horizon.
Nature often amazed me - it's vibrant colours, it's great attention to detail, the air full of life and force and emotion. It had so many layers to peal off, I often thought it impossible to fully understand the true nature of... well, nature. And of course, the gods. It always gave me a headache, just thinking about it, but I knew that I, just as well as everyone and everything else on this earth, was bound to it - to its life-force. So there was no real need to understand it, right?
But the gods... I had often wondered why no one else ever thought about their mysterious existence. Everyone just seems to take them for granted. They're... just there. Always have been. Always fulfilled their own purposes. Quarreled and fought wars amongst themselves, ignoring the fate of our lands. Playing with our lives. Yet we still worship them for the simple reason which is that we are mortal... and they are not.
There I go off, rambling again. What was I doing again?
I sat up silently, looking towards my nameless companion, who was still sound asleep. It was still a little early for our work to start, so I left him to rest. Instead, I mused over my strange dream no. 2 from the night before. What was wrong with me, lately? I never had trouble like this, before. I never had these kind of haunting dreams that even sent shivers down my spine, afterwards.
Maybe someone had slipped something into my drink.
But then, what about the boy--
Suddenly, I remembered. The boy!
I stumbled up, creeping to the pile of hay where we had left his resting body to hide. He wasn't very visible, but the soft rise and fall of the silhouette gave him away, immediately.
I knelt down and brushed away a few strands of hay and hair to see if our guest was ok. But instead of sleeping eyes, I was met with wide, purple orbs, curiously looking up at me. I smiled nervously.
"Are you hungry?" I whispered, lowering my lips to his ears. He looked away for minute, apparently considering my question, then sat up, hay and dust falling from his meagre form. He nodded softly, mouthing the word 'please', as he did so.
I quietly led him out of the stable, so as to not wake Nanashi or the horses.
"It's still quite early. No one'll be awake at this hour," I whispered to my companion. We hushed through the kitchen door, which I had skilfully opened using a little pin, and found a day-old loaf of bread, and some water. I'd have to explain to Hilde later, so that she wouldn't report the stolen items.
As I watched the boy eat hungrily, I decided this was the best time for introductions, "My name's Quatre, and in case you're wondering, my friend back there doesn't have a name, so we call him Nanashi. It's Japanese for 'no-name'," I explained.
He stopped to look at me, then whispered, "Quatre," as if to try out the sound rolling off his lips. "Four?" His eyes were questioning, as they gazed at mine widely, yet his lips were curved into a weak grin.
I cringed slightly. I hated it when people realised that 'Quatre' was the number four in french, which wasn't that hard to do. "Four," I explained, "is - was my parent's lucky number, and since they said that I was their lucky child, that became my name... What's yours?"
"Duo," he said, this time more confidently. His voice was sore, though, from the lack of water he had had to endure. It was a mix of a soft, ringing bell, and chalk being scratched against a blackboard.
"Nice name," I smiled politely, the sound of his name echoing through my mind.
Looking out the window, I realised that the sun would soon rise high, and Nanashi would have a lot of questions for Duo here. And knowing him, he wouldn't be too gentle about it, either.
"Listen--" I started, but found myself interrupted by the boy's gentle tone.
"I know you have questions," he spoke seriously, "but please be patient. I promise that all will be explained in time." His gaze drifted over to the impending sunlight, and studied it as if he hadn't seen it in years. "We should go back before everyone wakes up."
As the hour crawled along, the castle staff, as well as Nanashi, started their dutiful day, with a heartiful yawn.
Duo and I were sitting on the cool floor, trying to make small talk (if that's what you can call it), as my nameless friend propped himself up on his elbows to look at us.
The first words that flew from Duo's mouth, as he saw my companion awake and alert, were, "Why don't you have a name?"
Nanashi's expression didn't change at this unexpected question. I had never dared to ask him anything personal, afraid of his unpredictable reaction, so I was surprised to see him answer, "It was taken from me."
"Taken?" Duo asked curiously. "Who would do such a thing?"
"I--," he started, as if to answer, but paused, unsure as to how he was to answer. Duo patiently waited for a reaction.
"People with money," the emerald-eyed man finally spoke, breaking the momentary silence. His voice had a finality in it that would not be questioned, but it seemed that Duo failed to recognise this.
"Why did they do that?"
Nanashi pressed his lips together in annoyance, but decided that ignoring the angel was the better option. He got changed and ready for work, as he turned to look at the long-haired boy, "I'll get you something decent to wear. If the master finds you like that," he gestured at the simply cloth covering his lower body, "the gods know what he'll do."
After the tall man left, Duo looked at me, questioningly, "Why is he so secretive?"
I shrugged, "Born that way?"
He did not answer, but simply gazed at the spot where my green-eyed friend had just stood.
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