Guerani Hills Camp, Calabria

"Let me go!" Trey struggled against the hands that held him tightly, but it did him no good. Turning his head, he saw that Zeno was watching him with no expression to indicate his feelings as Dax tied Trey's hands in front of him. "What are you going to do to me?"

Zeno did not answer before turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

"You bastard!" Zeno did not even break a stride in his retreat. Trey's head snapped back when Dilan struck his face, then seized his hair and jerked him forward until they were nose to nose.

"Fool! You are a weak, cowardly human, not fit to rule Calabria!" Dilan struck him again.

Trey tasted blood in his mouth, and he spat the blood in Dilan's face. "You think you can earn the right to rule as I have done?"

Dilan hit his face again, then his gut, and as Trey doubled over, his brother struck him over the back so that he fell to his knees. "This is your place, kneeling before me, beaten like a dog!" He grabbed a handful of his hair and forced him to look up. Trey could barely focus. "Before you die, think of me with Arora. She will be mine as she was never yours!"

"Dilan, go prepare the ship," snapped Dax.

Although he seemed reluctant, Dilan did not balk at the tone Dax had used with him nor did he disobey the terse order. Dax waited only long enough to be sure Trey's bonds were tight enough to keep him confined before dragging him to his feet to follow Dilan out the door.

As Dax shoved him through the empty corridors, Trey burned with impotent fury.

"When my father comes to his senses, he will never forgive you," Trey told Dax. Although he tried to remain calm enough to reason with his father's imperial guard, the panic rising inside him was preventing him from sounding anything but desperate.

"When he comes to his senses, your father will understand the necessity of what I do. This is for the best. Calabria is not ready for you, Trey, and you are not ready to rule. You have proven that today by your actions. You are only a boy who lets his emotions control him."

"I will leave Calabria! I will go to Bayman!" Trey was pleading now as Dax dragged him across the compound towards one of the spacecrafts that Dilan had already powered. "What are you going to do to me, Dax?"

Dax did not respond as he jerked him through the portal and hauled him to the control room where he pushed Trey into a seat and waited as Dilan strapped him tightly in. Dax placed two swords on the control panel, Trey's and that of his father.

"Are we going to kill him before we launch the ship?" asked Dilan anxiously.

Dax's eyes seemed to burn as he looked from Trey to Dilan. "I don't need you anymore."

"I want to see his last breath," whined Dilan.

Trey could not believe Dax was going to kill him! "You will regret this!"

"I want to do it!" Dilan reached out for one of the swords, but Dax shoved him aside. "Get out! I will take care of the rest."

Dilan gave Trey one last malicious glare before walking out.

Trey turned his attention back to Dax. "Are you going to kill me now?"

"I cannot kill you, my lord prince. Nor would I let that fool Dilan do so. I will send this ship into space, and from there, the gods will decide your fate. They will save you or let you die."

"The gods!" Trey exploded, knowing the Dax referred to the space rift from which no ships had ever returned. "Just kill me now, Dax! You know damn well that I will be dead if I must rely on the gods!"

Dax took a cloth and wiped the blood from Trey's face. "You should have faith, Trey." But he chuckled just the same as he set aside the cloth. "Then again, the gods are a fickle lot, aren't they? After all the service we have done for them, they show us no more favor than they do the barbarians of the plains."

Trey watched anxiously as Dax reached out to the two swords, and despite what Dax had already said, Trey was certain that he was going to kill him with his own sword and that of his father's. But he did no more than lay his hand on them before turning back to look at Trey. Trey was shocked to recognize the light he saw in the depths of the other man's eyes.

"You…you are…are…" Trey could not say it.

Dax did not smile. "Yes, I am Guerani. There is the possibility that you will not reach the space rift, and if so, I cannot have you coming back to Calabria making outrageous claims that Zeno might be foolish enough to acknowledge. I have come to the conclusion that he is utterly unpredictable and irrational. He might yet come in here to save you even though Xuxa has promised to hold his attention for at least as long as it shall take to accomplish my goal."

"What are you going to do?" asked Trey as Dax reached out his free hand and moved it towards Trey's. Trey was trembling with fear as it came closer.

"I am not going to harm you, my lord prince. I must remove your memory."

Panic crashed through Trey. "No! You will take away who I am! Please, Dax, bring Arora to me! We will go to Bayman. We will never return! I swear it, Dax! Do not do this to me!"

"Why would I do that when I want you gone as much as Zeno should?" Dax's dark eyes openly showed his contempt. "You are standing between Arora and her natural mate."

"Are you talking about Dilan?" demanded Trey angrily. "Are you going to give her to him when I have gone?" He fought against the bonds that held him, but they were too tight.

"Once you are gone, she will turn to the only man who can understand her."

"Apolo?" Trey was sure he hadn't comprehended Dax's suggestion, but by the smug smile on his lips he knew he had guessed right. "You're insane! What makes you think.…?"

Dax leaned close to look in his eyes. "They are Guerani. It is our way."

Trey was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

Dax moved the swords so that the blades crossed, and then he put one hand over the blades where they touched. When he reached the other hand towards Trey's bound hands, Trey could not move, could not even breathe. "Should the gods grant you life, you shall once again see the life I am about to take away."

Trey found his voice. "I beg of you, Dax! Please, please do not take my memories of Arora!" Tears spilled over Trey's lashes and ran down his cheeks. "Please don't let me forget her!"

The last thing he heard before the Guerani power sucked him into its vortex was Dax's voice. "If she is in your heart, Trey, you will never forget her."

As if from far away, Trey could hear soft sobs, and he thought for a moment it might be him, but as he came to his senses, he saw that Arora was lying next to him crying. Their fingers were laced, and he realized he must have been restless in his sleep when the memory had returned and she sought to find the source of his anxiety.

He turned on his side to face her. "Don't cry, Arora. We are together now."

"My father tried to keep us apart!" After almost two days, she was still having difficulty dealing with the revelations about her father.

Trey sighed and gently drew her against him, and after a moment, she calmed as she rested her cheek against his chest. "Dilan would have gladly killed me, Arora. In a way, your father saved my life."

"He took your memories," she whispered.

"There is no defense for what he has done in his life, at least not one that we can explain. But we know that he was driven by his bitterness, Arora. I stood in the way of his plans for vengeance, and in the end, so did you."

"I…I so much admired my father, the great imperial guard of the emperor," she said sadly. "I wanted him to be proud of me, and all he wanted from me was to breed a pure Guerani."

"His plans didn't turn out as he expected," said Trey. "Perhaps the gods had a hand in that. But he was right about one thing, Arora; I don't think I ever truly forgot about you. From the moment I saw you on that spacecraft, I felt there was a bond between us."

Arora held onto him tightly. "The gods have decided our fate."

Trey sighed as he caressed her long dark hair. "Dax had everything planned, down to the bonding between you and my father. But I do not understand why Zeno gave you his sword when you left."

"He told me to protect his son with it." Arora disentangled herself from him and after a moment, she returned to him carrying the two swords he had seen in his dream. Trey realized that while Arora may have given him memories, the bulk of his memory must have returned after he had touched the sword she had brought to Earth, his father's sword. A shiver ran down his spine. Dax had surely wielded great Guerani power to have done such a thing.

"Take them," urged Arora as she held the swords out to Trey. "There is still much you do not know."

"I cannot know my father's thoughts," he reminded her as he took the swords. But he felt nothing from touching them both. Did Dax deliberately erase all memory of what happened in that period of time after Trey had raised his sword to his father and just before Dax sent him into space with the one sword that was the key to his memories? As Trey stared at the swords, he feared he would never remember what were probably the most important moments of his life. Xuxa and Dilan would sooner rip out their own tongues than tell him, and Zeno would not dare admit to allowing the son who had challenged him to live. The imperial guard would never respect him again.

Arora was looking at him anxiously, and when she realized he remembered nothing more, she sighed. "We may never know the truth. My father was a cruel, cruel man."

Trey set aside the swords and drew her into his embrace. "As cruel as my own, Arora. Perhaps that is what brought us together."

"He let me believe that he killed my mother. Knowing she was inside him, he committed vile acts that must have caused her pain." Arora was trembling with her anger.

There was nothing he could say to erase her bitterness. "You need more rest, Arora." He gently laid her back against the pillows of their bed. "If you wish to speak to Apolo…"

She shook her head. "You are right, Trey. If I get some rest, I may come to understand."

"In the end, Arora, your father proved that love can be strong enough to overcome anything." Those last moments of his own life, Dax proved how much Valerya had meant to him. Something had caused him to act so irrationally, so contrary to the nature that Apolo remembered. Even Trey had memories of his father's imperial guard teasing him and playing with him when he was a very young child. Whatever it was that had possessed him hadn't been strong enough to combat the love Dax and Valerya had felt for one another.

Shamara was sleeping soundly, so when Arora dozed off, Trey left his tent and went in search of Apolo. He found Wufei practicing his sword work with Heero, and the two paused when Trey approached.

"Risen from the dead?" Wufei raised a brow.

Since taking Arora to the tent two days ago, they hadn't left. The fight with Dax had left them drained both physically and emotionally. "Arora still needs rest." He glanced around and saw that only a handful of Apolo's men had returned.

Heero must have seen the disappointment on his face. "Those are the brave ones. The rest have scattered to tell tales of your Guerani in-laws."

"Where is everyone else?" Trey noticed that several tents were erected.

"Quatre isn't feeling well. That whole sword and sorcery business with Dax really shook him up," commented Heero.

Wufei snorted derisively. "When the storm burst and lightening struck the ground nearby, he fainted."

Trey thought Quatre needed to toughen up a little. Maybe what he needed was for Dorothy Catalonia to protect him. "Where's everyone else?"

"Duo is off with Newt, and Trynity and Relena are resting." Heero sighed. "As for Apolo…"

Trey followed Heero's gaze to a tent, and he pursed his lips for a moment before saying, "I think I know what that means. Where did he find a woman? I doubt his were able to return from the Edgeland fortress."

"He went into Joran's village yesterday and came back with her."

"Did he buy her?" Trey checked his anger before he heard the answer.

"He says she came with him willingly," remarked Wufei. "She certainly didn't seem traumatized like a female purchased off an auction block."

"Besides," added Heero, "I doubt Apolo has enough zenos to pay the asking price for that one."

Without another word, Trey crossed the camp that his friends must have spent considerable time tidying while he recovered. Trey regretted that they had come to Calabria with him although he was grateful for their loyalty. Now crowned Prince Trey had virtually no followers and any that might have backed him would shy away because of his ties to the people of the sacred hills.

When he pushed his way into the tent, he was not surprised to find Apolo lounging about with a woman. Seeing Trey, his face turned a faint shade of pink and Trey marveled that he could actually feel embarrassed. The woman with him was beautiful, as Heero had hinted, with silky white hair that draped over Apolo like a fine veil. Her blue eyes met Trey's and he was hit with an odd sense of familiarity, but she looked away before he could remember where he had seen her before.

"I will wait outside, my lord," she said so softly to Apolo that Trey almost hadn't heard her. Trey looked away as she slipped on her tattered clothing and she moved past Trey with her back to him.

Trey watched her go, then looked at Apolo. "Did you buy her?"

"Of course not!" Apolo found his clothing and pulled it on. "I…I found her on the road."

"You were on the road to where?" Trey raised his brow.

"All right! I was on my way to the village to buy a woman!" At least Apolo didn't deny his intention. "But I found her before I reached Joran's village."

"Can you trust a female left in the Wasteland by her protector?"

Apolo frowned at him. "Can you?" Apolo had made his point. When Trey didn't respond he said, "I'm sure he had his reasons. I don't really care. She's mine now. I think I'll keep her."

Trey didn't want to waste his time discussing Apolo's new plaything. As with all the rest Apolo would lose interest and Trey didn't care as long as Apolo did not ignore his duties. "Did you go into the village? What was being said?"

"What wasn't? If he wasn't so damn afraid of me, Joran might have strung me up, burned me and cut out my entrails, all which he threatened to do and not in any particular order." Apolo chuckled and held out his hand and Trey watched as a glowing ball formed and grew. "A little demonstration of my powers stopped him and his henchmen in their tracks."

"Apolo!" Trey was angry. "How could you do that? They will never join me now!"

"They had no intention of joining you against Zeno."

"They told you?"

Apolo smirked. "I used my powers to determine that!"

"Does Joran give a damn that Zeno has had a Guerani at his side all these years, that his sister betrayed my father?" Trey couldn't help his frustration from surfacing.

"Joran doesn't believe Dax was Guerani. He says the beast came from within Arora, that she killed her father for what he did to her."

"That is outrageous!" Trey feared her reaction when she heard that version of what had happened in their camp.

"Joran believes Dax got what he deserved for allowing a female to become so powerful. Lady Virineia tried to convince him that Dax was responsible for everything, but he will not believe her either."

"Where is my mother?"

"Back at her own camp trying to persuade her own men to stay. They are as afraid of us as the Calabrians are."

Trey sat down and put his head in his hands. "This is hopeless! If I didn't know any better, I'd think Dax planned it." He looked at Apolo. "I will have to talk to Joran myself."

"That would be a mistake. He will not change his mind, and between here and there are many men who wouldn't mind getting their hands on the ten thousand zenos."

"I have to tell him the truth. He might believe me if I will tell him everything. As for men trying to take my head…" Trey put his hand on Apolo's shoulder. "That is why I put up with you, my brother."

The woman was lurking outside when they left the tent, and when Trey went past her, she lowered her head, then drifted to Apolo and spoke to him as he readied his horse to accompany Trey to the village.

Trey asked Heero to defend the camp as he readied his own horse. Wufei offered to accompany him and Trey did not refuse especially when he was going to be leaving Arora behind to rest. He didn't worry about the camp because knowing the imperial guards as Trey did, they would not go near the camp near the sacred Guerani hills, especially knowing there was a Guerani in the camp. After mounting, Trey joined Apolo and was annoyed to watch him pull his woman on the horse with him.

"What is she doing with you?" Trey tried to get another look at her, but she buried her face in Apolo's back.

"I am going to buy her some clothing."

"Why bother?" asked Wufei.

Apolo laughed. "My thoughts exactly, but I don't want to offend Trey."

Trey glared at the both of them, then glanced once more toward the female. She was either frightened or intimidated of him which Trey found odd when she had spent hours in the arms of a man probably now considered an evil wizard. He didn't have time now to get to the bottom of her strange behavior.

The few people that they encountered on their trip to the village fled at the sight of them. Trey realized that if he did actually take his rightful place he might end up ruling by fear and that would breed insurrection. Even with Arora and Apolo at his side, he would have to deal with rebellion for many years. As they entered Joran's village, the streets quickly emptied of people except at the marketplace where the need to earn zenos seemed to take precedence over safety. Apolo's woman - Trey thought about asking her name but he was sure Apolo had no clue - slipped off the horse and after he gave her a handful of zenos, she moved away.

As Trey watched her go, trying to remember where he had seen the beautiful woman before, Joran's booming voice startled him.

"Pretender! You have courage to return to my village!"

Trey dismounted and approached Joran, flanked by Wufei who had his hand on the hilt of his sword in a threatening manner and Apolo whose very presence was enough to make men drop back from the elder chief of their village. Joran didn't seem to be afraid.

"I have come for your answer, Joran."

Joran stared at him incredulously. "After what has happened, you dare to ask an alliance of me?" He pointed to Apolo. "He is a sorcerer. The female you have taken as your wife has a demon inside of her."

"That is not true!" Trey clenched his fists at his side. "The Guerani are peaceful – were peaceful until my grandfather destroyed them. You must have known them, traded with them. Apolo and Arora are the only Guerani left. They have never used their powers to harm anyone. The demon was in Dax, which should be no surprise to anyone. Was he not called "the demon" and for good reason?"

Joran frowned. "He was a ruthless man, but a demon?" Joran shook his head. "I cannot believe you, pretender. He was Zeno's imperial guard! Everyone knows the Guerani claimed to carry the spirits of the gods within them. Whatever spirit is housed in the body of your female caused the death of her father. Go back to your camp, pretender, and spend what little time you have remaining with her before Zeno sends his men to rid the land of the last of the sorcerers."

"My wife is no sorceress and I am no pretender! I am Trey, son of Zeno - only son of Zeno! Dilan is the pretender. He is the bastard of Dax the Demon."

The men who remained by Joran began to shout in outrage that Trey dared make such an allegation of the crowned prince. He had slurred Xuxa, concubine of the emperor, and Joran's own sister.

Joran's face darkened in anger as his men moved restlessly behind him. "Your accusations bring dishonor on my house!"

"It is Xuxa who has brought dishonor on your house!"

"You lie! You would say anything to discredit Prince Dilan." Garek stepped forward, his hand resting on his sword. "There is one way to settle this. Now that you do not have your Guerani whore to use her powers to defeat me, you will have to try to do it on your own."

But Joran put his hand on his son's arm. "His imperial guard did not use powers to defeat you, except the power of her skill and intelligence. We can at least be honest to admit that she bested you fairly, son. There is another way to ascertain the truth about Xuxa." He looked at Apolo. "My men reported that you brought the lovely Larya with you into the village. She has been in Xuxa's suite for a very long time, purchased to be Xuxa's personal servant. We will put the question to her."

"Larya!" Trey now remembered the woman. Xuxa had tried to exchange the beautiful woman for Arora when Trey had managed to rupture the agreement between Dax and Dilan. Now Trey spun to look at Apolo. "You brought Larya into our camp!"

"I…I didn't know who she was!"

"Did you bother to discover if the woman had any name?" Trey spat. "No! No woman has a name to you!"

"Find the woman," Joran ordered his son, and Garek left with a handful of men to search for the beautiful servant of Lady Xuxa. Joran looked back at Trey. "Lady Virineia came to plead on your behalf, pretender. What manner of lies did you tell her to make her believe that you are her son?"

"Would not a mother know her own child?" asked Trey, returning the other man's stare.

Joran frowned and shifted uncomfortably. "I was surprised to see that she was alive as I am sure Zeno will be."

"What do you mean?"

"I sent a messenger to inform Zeno that his wife yet lives. I had heard that he was considering marriage with the heiress of Bayman. He cannot have more than one wife. It is forbidden."

"When did you send him the message?"

"Yesterday."

Trey spun to look at Apolo. "My mother is in danger! When Zeno learns that she is alive, he may try to kill her so that he can have Bayman." But he knew there was nothing he could do to help his mother if Zeno chose to attack her camp with his imperial guards. Trey had no men to challenge an army, and while Apolo could frighten people with his powers, he was still mortal. There were limits to his power.

Garek returned with his men as Trey was trying to decide his next course of action. "Larya has left. She waited only until son of Dax was out of her sight before she took his horse and left."

Trey slapped his imperial guard, unable to stop his reaction. Apolo merely bowed his head in shame. "You brought a venomous snake in our midst. I will hold you responsible for what she does." He turned back to Joran. "What can I do to convince you that what I say is true?"

"You cannot convince me. You ask me to bring dishonor to my house by breaking an alliance I made myself with Zeno. When he took my sister and her handmaiden, Valerya, I swore an oath to him that I would not raise my hand against him. Although my sons have done so and paid dearly, I cannot."

"I will help you," stated Garek as he stepped forward. He was a head taller than Trey and quite intimidating. "I swore no oath to Zeno, and I have no love of Dilan. He was a ruthless bastard during the raid you lead against us, and even if what you say is true, he still has our blood!"

"You are my son!" said Joran angrily. "Will you also ignore the oath I gave to Zeno?"

Garek looked over his shoulder at his father. "I owe my life to this man and his woman. She defeated me, as you said so yourself, fairly, and could have taken my life, but he spared me. I owe nothing to Zeno."

"Would the son of the Butcher spare any man who raised a sword to him? That he did not allow the sorceress to kill you should prove that he is not Zeno's son." Joran looked at Trey. "If you are Trey, son of Zeno, then I should kill you now for that raid upon my village and the two sons who died by your own hand."

"I acted on orders from the Butcher himself," Trey told him. "Your sons died bravely, not groveling and begging for their lives."

Joran hung his head and sighed. "Despite my oath to Zeno, they lead the raids against the Edgeland settlements. I forbade them to take arms against Zeno, but they feared Zeno would not honor our agreements to leave our tribe in peace as his people settled closer to the Wastelands."

"My father probably would not have honored any oath." Trey dared to hope that Joran was wavering in his resolve.

But Joran shook his head. "Do as you wish, Garek, but I have made an oath to Zeno that I will not break. Even speaking to this pretender is violating it." The older man turned his back on Trey and he knew the discussion was at an end.

Fortunately several of Garek's friends chose to follow him, so when he left the village, Trey had almost a dozen men. Knowing his mountain camp was safely guarded and well-hidden at least until Larya returned to the Edgeland Fortress to reveal its location to Xuxa, Trey headed towards the pirate camp. As they neared it, he saw smoke spiraling towards the sky, so they raced the rest of the way to the location and found it abandoned. Fortunately the gundams had been safely transported back to space where they were stored on the transport at the pirate satellite. Aside from several bodies, both imperial guards and pirates, there was no sign of other casualties. With mounting despair Trey realized that Zeno's men had gotten what they came for early into the battle. He guessed his mother had surrendered herself to avoid further bloodshed.

With a heavy heart, he lead his small band of men back to his own camp and was relieved when he heard Duo call out to him from the lookout post. Entering his own camp he was not surprised to find that the pirates had taken refuge with them, so now his ranks had swelled albeit not by much.

Newt approached him almost immediately. "The chief went with the imperial guards," he informed Trowa who had already guessed as much. "She made an agreement to spare our lives."

"We will need to prepare a better defense of this camp," Trey told Heero although he didn't want to admit Apolo's foolishness had compromised them. Apolo stood shamefaced several feet away. If he thought it would do any good he would thrash him, but Apolo's mind had always been singularly tracked since the first time he discovered a good use for females. They were his weakness.

"Why didn't Arora return with you?" asked Quatre, diverting Trey's attention from his wife's brother. "Is she staying in the village?"

Trey swung to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

Heero raised a brow. "Apolo's new woman returned to get her. She said you had changed your mind and wanted Arora to accompany you."

By the look on Trey's face, Heero knew that the woman had not been sent back by Trey and they had all allowed Arora to ride out with no escort other than the woman.

Apolo strode to his horse. "I will go after her."

"No!" Trey caught up and seized his arm.

"This is all my fault!" There were tears in his eyes. "My selfishness has lead to her capture or worse."

"She took Shamara with her." Heero hated to add to Trey's misery, but he would find out soon enough.

Trey walked away a few feet then raised his hands to the sky. "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to anger you so?" He sank to his knees and lowered his head to the ground.

Relena who had come to stand by Heero started toward him, but he stopped her. "Leave him."

"I vote on getting the gundams," commented Duo. He was looking at Trey who had not moved.

"I don't think Trey wants his people slaughtered by the firepower of Wing and Deathscythe," said Trynity.

"What is he going to do?" asked Relena. "His mother has been taken, and now his wife and child…"

"Leave it to Princess Pain in the Ass to state the obvious," commented Wufei.

Heero looked at him. "I would appreciate you treating my wife with a little more respect."

Wufei opened his mouth, but Heero made it quite clear by his glare that he would gladly shut it for him if he uttered another word. Then he turned the same look on Relena.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I…I just feel so sorry for Trey."

Heero didn't know what he would do in Trey's situation. His instinct would be to fight, but there were not enough men to challenge the imperial guard. There was only one thing he could do.

As if he had come to the same conclusion, Trey rose and brushed the dust from his clothing. Apolo went to his side, but he shoved him away when he tried to comfort him.

"I am going to the Edgeland Fortress. I will turn myself over to them in exchange for the release of my women."

"You cannot do that!" Garek was outraged by his plan. "Why waste your life for females?"

"Because I care more for their lives than I do for my own." Trey walked away to his tent, and Apolo followed him inside.

No one spoke for a few moments. Heero was afraid that Relena was going to make a ridiculous remark, but she remained quiet also. When Trey turned himself over to the imperials, he was going to meet certain death. Without their gundams they really could not help him. Breaking into the fortress again was out of the question. They would not be able to repeat that escapade because they would be on guard against it.

Duo took Trynity's hand and they walked away. Heero watched as they stopped several feet away and he said something to her that made her shake her head. He knew Duo was telling her to return to the pirate satellite. Heero looked at Relena who was also watching them.

Their eyes met as she turned to him. "I know what you are going to say."

"I have to see this to the end for Trey," Heero told her. "He is my friend."

"I know. He is my friend too." She took his hands. "I understand, Heero, and if you want me to leave Calabria, I will do it, but I will wait for you at the satellite."

"The Calabrians might attack the satellite when this is all done," he warned her.

Newt must have been eavesdropping. "Don't worry about us! We've been avoiding those imperial bastards for many years now. They are just a little bit intimidated by the anti-spacecraft defenses we got from those dogs on Bayman."

"Quatre and I will escort Relena and Trynity," spoke up Wufei. "And if necessary, we will pilot the gundams to ensure the safety of the satellite."

Duo and Trynity returned to the group, the latter wiping tears from her cheeks and sniffling. "She's going, too," he announced forcefully.

"I don't want to!" Trynity wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I can fight as well as any of you."

"There will be no more fighting." Trey had left his tent, trailed by Apolo who carried his imperial sword. Trey looked at the women. "You are leaving, I hope."

Relena went to him and hugged him, but she did not speak.

Trynity squeezed his hand. "I think you found what you were looking for. I am confident that in the end you will prevail, Trey."

He laughed bitterly but did not respond before looking at Heero and Duo. "I wish the two of you would leave also. This is not your fight."

"Hey, we have made it our fight!" Duo put his hands on his hips. "This is one battle I'm not running away from."

"There won't be a battle," Trey told them. "But to have you at my side would be a comfort." He turned to Quatre who was already crying. Heero hoped it wouldn't be as bad as the day they left Earth. "Watch out for Relena and Trynity."

"I am not a helpless woman!" exclaimed Trynity angrily, yet she had begun to cry again.

Duo rolled his eyes. "What is with the waterworks, babe?"

Heero couldn't believe that Duo was so ignorant, but then again the buffoon hadn't paid any attention in biology class. He probably didn't know any signs of pregnancy. Well it wouldn't be long now before he would get the news. Heero hoped he would be around to see it happen.

Newt took several of his pirate comrades to escort them to the hidden spacecraft. Heero didn't make any long good-byes to Relena. He had every intention of joining her at the pirate satellite, probably on the following day. Trynity and Duo had a difficult time parting.

When they finally left and Duo still watched the empty horizon, Heero commented, "And you are going to let her go off to study space without you?"

Despite his own worries, Trey laughed. "I wish I could see that day!"

Duo wiped away his tears. "Hey, I am ready for that day. I've accepted that as a done deal."

Garek came to them. "My lord prince, I think I can gather other men to help you."

Trey shook his head. "No, I must end this. Accompany me to the fortress, then return to your village."

"I will return to the village and I will make my father see reason." Garek was obviously angry. "You are an honorable man, Trey. I believe you are the son of Zeno."

"Zeno will be the one to decide that," said Trey.

Heero doubted Zeno would acknowledge his son. He had far too much to lose.

By the time Arora realized she was riding into a trap, it was too late. Although she had recognized the woman who rode into camp claiming that Trey had changed his mind and wished Arora to join him in his visit to Joran's village, she had no reason not to believe her. Arora knew she was one of Xuxa's servants, but Larya had come into the camp riding Apolo's horse and Trey's friends had recognized her. Larya could have been left in the Wasteland and latched onto Apolo as her new protector. Xuxa had always been a jealous woman, and Larya was exceptionally beautiful. If Zeno had taken an interest in her, Xuxa would very likely want to remove the woman from his sight. Arora had even been suspicious when they headed in a direction opposite the village, but Larya explained that Trey had headed first to the pirate camp. And soon enough they came within range of a force of men and Arora saw Lady Virineia waiting on a horse. By the time Arora realized Trey's mother had her hands tied before her, she had no chance to escape. Horsemen of Dilan's imperial guard had surrounded her.

They parted to allow Prince Dilan to approach her and Arora reached for her sword, but Dilan seized her wrist and yanked it from her hand.

"I think you have been playing with swords long enough," he said with a laugh. "Today you will stop." He raised the sword to look at and commented. "My father's sword. Soon it will be mine."

Arora spit at him. "Liar! This is not your father's sword."

Dilan gave her a backhand slap across the face. "Quiet, bitch! You are mine now."

"She is right," remarked Lady Virineia quietly. "You have no right to that sword,"

Dilan turned to look at the older woman. "Shut your mouth or I will report to Zeno that Joran's report was false!"

Virineia raised a brow. "Would you actually dare to kill me with my husband's sword?"

The prince raised the sword, but she did not flinch, and they glared at each other for a moment before he let his arm drop and he secured the emperor's sword in his saddle. Arora knew he dared not touch the emperor's wife, that Zeno would eventually discover the truth. "I will let Zeno deal with you as is his right."

"He will deal with your mother, too," said Arora. "As is his right."

Dilan moved closer to her and grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her face close to his. "My dear Arora, I think I have already told you to remain silent. I will have interesting ways to punish you if you do not start obeying me."

"Do not dare to touch me! I am the wife of Prince Trey."

His face darkened with anger, and he dragged Arora from her horse, pulling her before him on his. "You will be mine, Arora, if I must kill the pretender to claim you."

Shamara chose that moment to start crying, and Dilan dragged aside Arora's cloak to see the child she had strapped to her in a sling. He reached out to touch her, but Arora jerked her out of his reach. "Don't put your filthy hands on my child."

"Give me that thing!" Dilan tried to grab the now screaming baby, but Arora swiped her nails across his cheek.

As he roared in pain, she dived off the horse and started to run. There really was no place to go, but Arora couldn't think clearly as she clutched her baby to her and ran as fast as she could. Only a few of moments had elapsed before she could hear the pounding of hooves behind her. Then her momentum was halted when Dilan grabbed her long hair and yanked her toward his galloping horse. Shamara was howling as Dilan shook them about by Arora's hair, but Arora fought, holding Shamara with one hand while clawing at his hand with the other knowing that if he released her they both might be trampled under his horse.

But he pulled his horse to a stop and flung Arora away. She rolled with Shamara tucked safely, and when she landed on her back, Dilan was over her before she could move.

The light of the suns glinted off the blade of the dagger he shoved to her neck. "Give me that bastard!"

The baby was whimpering, and Arora's heart was pounding. "No!"

"You defiant whore!" He struck her face with the back of his hand formed into a fist. "You are going to die, but before you draw your last breath I will kill it before your eyes anyway!"

"Do it!" Although her face was numb and she could feel blood trickling from her mouth and nose, she glared at him, meeting his eyes, allowing him to see the contempt she felt for him.

They stared at each other for several moments, silent but for their labored breathing and Shamara's whimpering. When Dilan raised the dagger and plunged it downward, Arora did not flinch. She was ready to die.

But he buried it in the ground beside her head. "Why do you fight me, Arora?"

"Get off me, you filthy swine! You are my brother! I know that we have the same father!" Her argument had absolutely no effect on him.

Dilan laughed and reached down to pull on her robes, the fabric tearing in his eager hands. "I can't wait anymore, Arora. I will have you now."

Hearing the ribald encouragement his men shouted to Dilan, Arora tried to throw him off, but he used his masculine strength to keep her down. Arora didn't want to cry, but she felt the tears spilling over her lashes as his hands moved over the flesh he had exposed. He was going to rape her as his men watched and cheered. Trey would be dishonored, whether she lived or not. Arora would rather he had plunged that dagger in her heart.

His face neared hers and his breath was hot in her face as he taunted, "I will keep you on your back so that I can see your face when you are finally mine."

Arora didn't bother to fight. She was just a female now, one who had already dishonored the house of her father and been left in these very sands to die. Arora wished Apolo and Zeno had not saved her, because as Dilan touched her, she felt as if she were dying inside. She couldn't even summon the strength to use her powers to protect her and her daughter. Like all other females, she had become useless and weak. She had been a fool to believe her life could be different from any other female.

Fumbling with his own clothing, his fingers shaking so badly in nervous anticipation that he was having difficulty, Dilan paused as Arora heard the rumbling of the hooves of many horses. She knew it was not Trey because he could not muster that many followers. Dilan also made little effort to get off her as the dust settled over them.

"Prince Dilan!" She recognized the voice of Wattan, one of Zeno's imperial guards. "I bring you orders from His Excellency to escort the females to the Imperial Palace unharmed." His eyes briefly rested on Arora, and with a shaking hand she wiped blood running from her nose and the corner of her mouth where she could taste it. "Is that not imperial guard Arora?"

"This Wasteland trash?" Dilan laughed as he crudely touched her. "You must be mistaken."

"I think not." Wattan's voice was cool, and Arora dared to hope she would be spared. "She made a blood oath to protect you, Prince Dilan. Is this how you repay her service?"

"You were there when Dax renounced her!" Dilan shoved himself away from Arora, obviously frustrated. "She is a Wasteland whore who services both the Warlord and the pretender. Who would care what became of her? Dax put her out here himself."

"She has survived in the Wastelands, and that proves that the gods have judged her innocent."

"Innocent!" Dilan nudged her with his boot near Shamara who whimpered. "That is proof of her innocence!"

"She is still a female of the house of Dax. With the Demon gone, Apolo will have the right to judge her."

Dilan opened his mouth, but quickly shut it as he glared down at Arora. Although Dilan was older than Apolo, and technically now the head of their house with the say in the disposal of its females, he could not claim the right unless he was recognized as Dax's son. But to admit such a thing might bring his death as well as his mother's. Arora almost laughed at his dilemma, but she knew this impediment would not stop him for long.

Wattan dared to meet Prince Dilan's petulant glare with one of his own. "And in answer to your question, our lord emperor would care what became of her. He sent me himself to bring her back. I think under the circumstances," stated Wattan when Dilan did not respond, "that I should escort imperial guard Arora. I will allow you the honor of escorting the Lady Virineia." He raised a brow at Dilan. "I suggest strongly that Lady Virineia reach the Imperial Palace as quickly as possible, unharmed or you may deal with Butcher yourself."

Dilan gave Arora one last look that told her he wasn't finished with her then strode away. Wattan dismounted after ordering another of the men to get her horse and sword.

She looked at him with surprise as she pulled together the tattered remnants of her clothing. "Not only do you help one such as me, but you will allow me to soil the sword of the emperor with my touch?"

Wattan helped her to her feet, and as he pulled off his own robe to wrap around her for protection against the suns, he said, "Zeno wants his sword back now."

Arora felt sick with apprehension. "Why does he want it back now?"

"Prince Trey will come for you. Zeno knows that."

"Does Zeno now realize that the man he has labeled 'pretender' is his true son?" she demanded.

"I did not say that Zeno believes the 'pretender' to be his son." Wattan glanced back to his men, then to her. "But many of us do believe him to be Prince Trey. I spoke to him on the pirate satellite and I am convinced. My mistake was in telling Dax about his return. I thought he would be pleased to know he was still alive." Wattan dropped to a knee before her. "I offer myself and three thousand imperial troops loyal to Prince Trey, and to you, Lady Arora."

Arora was overwhelmed as she looked down at the man offering her beloved prince and husband an army of trained soldiers. "Is this some trick?"

Wattan seemed to be in earnest as he looked up at her. "This is no trick, my lady. We have waited for a long time for a man like Trey. We watched, as he grew to the brink of manhood, his heart pure, his actions honorable. Our hopes had been dashed when he was taken from us, and to be honest, my lady, if Dilan had ever challenged and won the throne from Zeno, we would have had the gods on our side had we killed him ourselves."

"Prince Trey has ideas that may not be popular among your people," she pointed out as she settled Shamara more securely in her arms. "He has allowed his female child to live."

"We are all tired shedding blood, my lady." He glanced at the squirming child in her arms. "And many of us are tired of watching our female children perish in the sands."

"Trey's camp is…" She was going to tell him where to find Trey, but he interrupted her.

"We must take you to Zeno."

"But…"

"I am sorry, my lady, but we must let events take their course before we act. The men must be gathered, and Zeno is expecting you to return his sword to him personally. He also demands an explanation of Dax's death in your camp. Zeno was beside himself in grief to learn of his death. The only softening to the blow was the news that Lady Virineia had returned to Calabria."

"They will kill Trey before you have a chance to help him if Zeno does not acknowledge him" Arora pointed out.

"I think Zeno will recognize his own son. Although he has become a man, and a strong one at that, I recognized him easily enough." Another guard brought Arora a horse, and Wattan helped her to mount, then took the sword surrendered by Dilan, albeit reluctantly, and placed it in the sheath on her saddle. "My men will take you to the imperial castle, my lady. We will have to trust Zeno to protect you from Dilan, and you should keep the first princess of Calabria safe. In two or three day's time I will return with forces gathered from many corners of the empire who will be loyal to Prince Trey. That should give him enough time to do what he has to." Wattan looked at the baby who had quieted and was staring at him. "Prince Trey has given her a name?"

"Shamara," she told him.

He smiled. "A fitting name for the first princess." He pulled his sword and faced the men. "Go forth and bring back your men. We will meet on the plain outside the imperial city in two days on the rising of the second sun. We do this for Prince Trey, son of Zeno, and for Shamara, princess of Calabria."

They raised their swords and shouted. "Shamara!"

Once they had used the word as a battle cry. Now Arora knew they were paying homage to her child, her daughter.

"You are a very special little girl," she whispered to the wide-eyed baby.

Shamara yawned, spit up some milk, and Arora felt a suspicious rumbling from her bottom.