Knives and Scimitars By West Wind Chapter 2
Summary: (AU) Catherine and Trowa are part of a traveling interplanetary circus that visit the desert planet Afton, but before they can leave disaster strikes. Catherine is kidnapped and Trowa is out to save her with a bit of help from his new friends.
Rating: PG
Category: Adventure, Romance
Pairing: 4xC
The circus was nearing its fourth week on Afton and had been to many cities. The current one was not a domed city like the capital and did not have an arena so they used the ships for the shows.
"I want to get out," Catherine said.
"How about we go to the market," Cillia suggested. "Tham and I were going to go today."
"Sound's like a plan," said Catherine. "You want to come, Trowa?"
Trowa paused ready to turn down the offer.
"Come on," said Catherine.
Trowa gave in and agreed to go with them.
The four strolled through the town. Sand colored buildings lined the streets. They were similar in architecture to what they saw in the capital only smaller. The open area for the market was crowed with people and booths. Cillia purchased a shirt in their wandering. The hardest part was to stay together in the throng of people. It did not take much to loose someone.
Trowa was following Cillia and Tham when he noticed Catherine was no longer by his side. He called for the other two to halt while he turned back to look for her. He caught sight of her and started toward her when she let out a scream.
"Trowa!" Her panic filled cry rose above the crowd.
She was moving away from him and struggling. Two men were dragging her off. She was screaming and kicking.
"Cillia! Tham! Get help. I am going after them," Trowa said as he unsuccessfully tried to push through the crowd.
Catherine called out for Trowa a few more times before she went limp.
Trowa's heart began to beat faster with fear for his sister. They seemed to be slipping away faster than he could push through the crowd. Before he lost them, he scaled the side of a nearby building so he could follow them from the roofs. From his new vantage point, he could see the two men scurrying through the streets. Trowa ran across the rooftops, gracefully jumping the spans between buildings, in pursuit.
The men neared the edge of town and headed out across the sand leaving behind two sets of indented prints in the sand.
Trowa climbed down once the crowds thinned. By the time he came to the city's edge he could just see them disappearing over the sand dune. Trowa looked around weighting what to do. He could go back and get help, but who knew where they would take Catherine once they were out there. Tracks in the sand did not stay for long. The ones the abductors left behind were already beginning to fill in. A voice in the back of Trowa's mind told him he had to follow, at least slow them down until help arrived, else he might not see his sister again.
It might not have been the most rational choice, but Trowa chose to cross the sands. Fear for his sister's well being hammered with each step he took.
"I should have been watching out for her," Trowa cursed under his breath. "I have to save her."
Trowa caught sight of them as they topped a ridge. They were always just at the edge of his sight. He tried to push harder. Sand poured into his shoes as he climbed the dune. With each step up, the sand would slip out from under his feet. Several times he lost ground to the sifting sand. Once he lost his balance completely. He slid for twenty feet. The sand grated against his face and other exposed skin as he slid.
Trowa's downward movement halted to his relief. He spit the sand from his mouth and slowly regained his footing. He pulled his shirt away from his body several times and sand trickled out. He ran his fingers through his hair trying to dislodge the excess sand there. He could feel the small grains coating his scalp as his fingers brushed over them.
Back on his feet, he tried to get his bearings. His quarry was no longer in sight. He trudged on in the last direction he had seen them. This time, he set off on a diagonal up the slope instead of strait up. He found this method slightly easier.
"I hope Catherine is all right. You have to be all right. Please, be all right, " Trowa prayed.
Trowa crested one more rise. There they were. The two men trudged with their bundle down to two awaiting vehicles. The vehicles looked similar to motorcycles, but where the wheels should be, it flared out to form a broad base that sat on the ground. Trowa guessed that it was some form of hovercraft.
If they got on those, he would never be able to follow them. He had to get to Catherine quickly. He started running down the hill picking up momentum before falling back and riding the slope as a slide. Trowa barreled into the man not carrying Catherine. The two tumbled farther down. Trowa punched the confused man several times before springing back to his feet. The second man glared at the youth.
"I'm in trouble now," Trowa thought as he sought his next move. "If I can get Catherine and to one of those machines, I can get us both out of this."
Trowa charged the man. With the impact, the man's hold on Catherine loosened. As they fell, Trowa was able to get Catherine free and rolled away from her captor.
Trowa was shocked that it had actually worked. He had his sister, but he still needed to get to the bike. With cat-like movements, Trowa stood scooping the unconscious Catherine up in the process. He dashed for the bike, but the sifting sands and additional weight made it hard to run. He made it to the bike and quickly got on while balancing Catherine in his lap. He searched for the ignition when there was an impact on the back of his head and neck.
"No, you don't, kid," came a gruff gravely voice.
Trowa's head spun with the impact. Catherine's weight vanished. Fists latched onto his shirtfront and pulled Trowa from the bike. Trowa found himself starring at the second man. A ragged peppered beard wrapped around the man's chin and annoyance gleamed in his brown eyes. Crooked stained teeth were unveiled with the evil grin.
"You shouldn't interfere with another man's job," he said before landing a punch in Trowa's stomach.
"Uff," escaped Trowa's lips as the air quickly left his body with the collision.
Pain radiated from his stomach out. His initial reaction was the desire to curl into a ball, but he had to save Catherine. He threw his weight against the man to get him off balance, but it did not work a second time. The man's grip only tightened, and he punched Trowa again.
"Awk! Get up! Secure the girl and get on the bike!" he ordered.
The skinny man rubbed his jaw as he came into Trowa's view. He secured Catherine to the backrest on the back of the bike and got on in front of her.
Trowa tried to break free while his attacker watched Awk. He got free of the man's grasp, but before he could attack, the man boxed Trowa's ears. Trowa stumbled in the sand and fell. The man was on him in an instant kicking Trowa till he curled into a ball for protection. The man squatted and pulled the back of Trowa's shirt enough to lift his head from the sand.
"Why?" croaked out Trowa threw bleeding lips.
A lopsided grin appeared on the man's face.
"We do what we are paid to do," he chortled. "As desirous as you are to be with your sister, you were not part of the deal."
The man dropped Trowa's head and walked to his bike.
"Take care kid," the man laughed as they sped off across the sand.
Trowa watched them go from his hands and knees. He forced himself up and started coughing. He wrapped his arms around his middle to support his abused body. Only by his desire to save Catherine was he able to lift one foot and place it in front of the other. The hot sun assaulted him. His body protested each movement, but he pressed on till he stumbled. Once down, he could not find the energy to get up. He had pressed his body too far and his vision filled with darkness.
Catherine was walking beside Trowa threw the market when a man bumped into her. The jolt caused her to falter and hit the ground.
"Sorry, miss. Let me help you up," the skinny man offered her a hand.
Catherine accepted it. There was a small prick on her palm as he pulled her up. She did not think much of it but became fearful when the man slipped his grip up her arm. A broader man took her other arm. Catherine fought the two men trying to pull her into the crowd.
"Trowa!" she desperately cried.
She could just make out his form in the crowd. He stopped at her cry. She called again and planted her feet firmly on the ground. She tried to dislodge the men's grip on her, but they only held her tighter.
"Trowa!" she screamed with all she had before she sagged into unconsciousness.
That was the last thing she remembered, and now she woke to find herself tied up and wrapped in a blanket on the desert sand. She cautiously opened her eyes. The slight glow of dying embers emitted from the circle of rocks. There were two other mounds of blankets, presumably her captors sleeping. The night air was cool across her face as she assessed the rest of the camp.
Catherine tested her bonds and started working to get out of them. Growing up in the circus had taught her a few tricks. She kept a close eye on her sleeping captors. After some time she got her feet free then her hands.
She saw the bikes and considered taking off on one of them. She stealthfully moved around the sleeping men to examine the bikes.
"I sure wish Trowa were here. He is always good with machines," she thought as she examined the machines.
She could identify the ignition, but she was unsure what all the other gears, levers, and buttons did, so she decided it would be best if she left them alone and took her chances on foot.
She glanced around for any clue of the location of the nearest city. Large expanses of sand stretched out in all directions and gave no answer. Catherine finally chose the direction that appealed to her and started walking.
"WAKE!" said a deep coarse voice.
Something solid poked at Trowa's shoulder.
"Wake. You must drink."
Trowa began to stir. A strong arm came under his shoulders lifting his upper body off the sand. Something was put to his mouth and cool moisture touched his lips. He pulled greedily at the contents before it was pulled away.
"Enough. More later," his benefactor said in a choppy manner.
Trowa opened his eyes all the way.
"I must be seeing thing," he thought.
Looking down at him was a large, grayish brown, conical face with round dark eyes. It was a mix between human and animal. It had a wide flat nose and tall, wide, pointed ears on the top of its head that swiveled 180 degrees. The skin looked scaly like a lizard.
Trowa stared at the alien and was amazed to hear his own language, accented, broken, and simple as it was, come from the mouth full of pointed teeth.
"Gra take you to master," it said picking up Trowa.
Trowa struggled to get free but was held firmly by arms the size of Trowa's thighs.
"I must go that way," Trowa insisted while pointing in the direction the men had taken Catherine. "They took my sister. I have to save her."
"Another follows. You hurt. Take to master. Master good, will help."
It seemed very adamant about where they were going, and Trowa found he had no strength to fight. Trowa stopped struggling.
"Good," said the alien satisfied with Trowa's nonverbal response. "Master not far."
The alien bounded up the dune effortlessly. It paused sniffing at the air and rotating its ears to catch distant sounds. Getting its barring, it moved across the sand swiftly.
Trowa noticed the light was dimming and deduced the sun must be setting behind him. That meant they were not headed to the town.
They crossed two more dunes. Below the second dune, a group of men set up camp. Gra walked into the camp. The men wore the shirt, pants, vest and sash that Trowa had seen people dressed in every town. The men nodded as Gra passed. Gra headed to the animal pens where a young boy was tending to the creatures in it.
"Found him," Gra said.
The golden haired boy turned toward Gra and Trowa. His vivid blue eyes focused on them.
"Hurt. Bad shape when found."
The blond stepped closer and examined Trowa.
"He definitely needs to be tended to," he said.
Trowa wiggled to get down.
"Stay still, friend," the blond said resting his hand on Trowa's arm. "We need to tend to you wounds."
"I'll take him," offered the tall man who now stood behind the blond.
The blond nodded, and Gra handed Trowa to the other man.
"Where's Ru?" the blond asked.
"Tracking others. Gra join, master permission."
"Yes, go," said the blond.
With its master's consent, Gra dropped to all fours and dashed out of camp. He moved efficiently through the desert. Large powerful muscles propelled him forward and his broad hands and feet helped him spread his weight out over the loose sand.
"Rashid, please tend to his wounds, and I will be there when I finish feeding Sandrock."
Rashid nodded and effortlessly carried the lanky youth into one of the tents. He set Trowa down on the cushioned pallet. He retrieved medical supplies from a trunk while Trowa silently watched.
"Remove you shirt," Rashid said in a firm command.
Trowa removed his shirt carefully.
Rashid pulled up a stool and sat beside Trowa. He held a bowl with water and started washing off Trowa's injuries. Despite Rashid's careful attention to tending to the wounds, Trowa involuntarily winced when specific areas were touched. Rashid gently ran his hands over Trowa's ribs.
"I would say that you probably have a cracked rib of two," Rashid diagnosed before wrapping Trowa's chest with strips of elastic cloth.
The blond from earlier entered and turned on a couple lights to illuminate the interior of the dimming tent.
"How is he?" the boy asked.
"He will live," Rashid answered as he finished doctoring the boy. "He will be sore for a few days."
"Welcome. My name is Quatre," the blond introduced himself and extended his hand.
Trowa gave the offered hand one quick firm shake.
"Trowa."
"It is nice to meet you Trowa. You probably need food and rest," said Quatre.
Trowa glanced out the tent flap into the darkness.
"Rest assured, we will set out in search of your sister in the morning," assured Quatre. "Gra and Ru are excellent trackers and will find Catherine."
The mention of his sister's name caught Trowa off guard. He knew he had not told anyone in this camp his sister's name.
"You know her name," Trowa said flatly.
Quatre let out a light chuckle at Trowa's quickness.
"Yes," Quatre smiled. "One of my sisters is married to the town's constable. When she found out what had happened, she contacted me to see what I could do to help."
Trowa's face only hinted at the question as to why Quatre's sister would care.
Quatre seemed to be able to read his thoughts.
"One of our other sisters saw you perform when your circus first came to our planet. She was so enthralled with it and the couple of performers she became friends with that she insisted we go if we got the chance. Thyme and Sage went the first night the circus was in town."
Quatre sat on the stool that Rashid had abandoned.
"They both had good things to say about it too. I was planning on going tonight," Quatre shrugged letting that thought hang in the air."
Trowa nodded.
Rashid returned with a tray full of food. Another man entered and set up a portable table between Quatre and Trowa. Rashid set the tray on the table and nodded the other man could leave. Rashid placed a plate before each before sitting in the doorway.
The meal was eaten mostly in silence. Trowa carefully put the food in his mouth and took in his surroundings while he chewed.
"Other than your sister being abducted, which I am truly sorry for, have you enjoyed your time on our planet?"
The wording tickled the back of Trowa's mind as odd, but he dismissed it as he answered the question.
"It is different form most of the planets we visit, but nice. The people are warm and receptive," Trowa answered."
"What are the planets usually like?" Quatre asked.
"Usually they have more plants and less desert," Trowa answered.
"We do have our abundance of desert," chuckled Quatre.
There was movement outside as someone handed a package to Rashid. Rashid entered and started shaking the envelope's contents into a goblet he scooped up from the table. He splashed water from a flask into the goblet and swirled. He handed it to Trowa.
"Drink this! It will help kill the pain and you to sleep," he informed Trowa.
Trowa accepted the goblet and sipped at the mixture. It was bitter like most medicines, and he quickly downed the liquid. The taste lingered on his tongue and caused him to crinkle his nose.
Quatre laughed.
"I hate the taste too. You better climb back into the cot before it takes effect. It is pretty potent."
"If I am taking someone's bed, I can sleep on the floor," Trowa offered concerned with the imposition he might be on the group.
Quatre good-naturedly pushed Trowa's concerns aside.
"Don't worry about it. This is my tent and I have an extra bed. Now go and rest. We head out early in the morning," he ordered.
Trowa could feel the drug pulling at his eyelids already. He settled himself into the bed and listened to Quatre and Rashid quietly talk of tomorrow's plans. The last thing Trowa remembered was Quatre pulling a map out of one of the trunks.
Catherine trudged through the sand. She could not have been traveling more than an hour when the sun peeked over the horizon. She squinted against the reflection of sunlight off of the endless rolling mounds of sand. She stopped for a moment and glanced in all directions in search of some indication of civilization, but found none.
Catherine sighed as the hopelessness of the situation pressed in on her. The air was already beginning to warm. With no water, supplies or shelter, she would not last long out here in the searing mid-day heat.
That thought was chased away by the sound of motors. Fear of being captured for an unknown fate coursed through her as she started sliding down the dune face in an attempt to hide. She sat at the base of the mound deciding what to do next when she heard the sound of shouting. Before she could move, two motorbikes crested the sand dune and speed toward her. She tried to run but the sand hindered her.
A bike zoomed by on either side of her, and she felt each arm caught up in a strong grasp. Her legs dragged across the sand till they came to a stop. Her arms were yanked behind her back, and they tightly tied them together. They secured her to one of the bikes and headed back to camp.
The man set the bike down and pulled at the lead rope attached to her hands. She tumbled off the bike and into the sand.
"Careful with her!" demanded the second man. "HE will have our hide if she is damaged too much."
Her captor grunted and tossed the rope to the other man.
"Here you take care of her then. Just make sure she does not escape again!" he barked before stomping off to one of the tents.
"Come on girly," he said helping her set up. "Let's get you breakfast."
Catherine spit the sand out of her mouth.
He helped her to her feet and took her over to the fire.
Trowa woke with the sound of Quatre moving around just before dawn. He sat up and winced at the pain in his bruised side. Whatever was in the beverage he was given had made him sleep soundly.
"Morning," Quatre softly greeted in a warm manner.
"Morning," grunted Trowa.
"How are you feeling today?" Quatre inquired as he moved closer to examine Trowa in the growing light.
"Like an elephant ran over me," Trowa dryly answered.
Quatre smiled understandably.
"It looks more like a couple of your performing horses pranced across you," Quatre responded.
Trowa warped an arm around his side as he suppressed a chuckle.
Anyplace that the two abductors had hit or kicked him hurt as Trowa moved. He could see the blue spots scattered on his arms and was sure his body was covered in bruises too.
"You will need a shirt," announced Quatre as he turned to a trunk in the tent. "You go out like that, you will end up blistered by the sun."
He pulled out a white shirt and handed it to Trowa.
"It is a bit long on me, but I think it will fit you. If it does not, I can find another one that will fit better," Quatre assured.
Trowa silently accepted the shirt and carefully slipped it on. It fit him, and he tucked the shirttail into his pants after standing up.
Rashid entered with a two bowls on a tray.
"Your breakfast, Master Quatre," said Rashid as he set it down.
"Thank you, Rashid," Quatre said.
"Come, friend Trowa, and join me in the morning meal," Quatre kindly invited.
Trowa tried not to wince at the pain he felt as he walked over to the table they had eaten dinner at last night. He eased himself into the empty chair and found Quatre watching him.
"It will hurt for a while," Quatre said mater of factly.
Trowa only responded with a nod of his head before looking at the food before him. The bowl was filled with a clumpy porridge like substance.
"I like to put honey on mine," Quatre informed as he drizzled the golden liquid into his bowl.
Trowa took a taste of the porridge before adding a bit of honey to his own.
"Any news on Catherine?" Trowa asked.
"Not yet," Quatre sighed. "We should know something before we set out."
"When will that be?" Trowa inquired.
"In the next hour," Quatre answered. "The camp already is stirring and will soon be packing up."
Trowa nodded before taking the last bit of his breakfast.
As they packed up Gra entered camp and spoke with Quatre. Trowa watched the exchange intently. When they were finished, Quatre turned and walked up to Trowa.
"Ru has caught up with them," he told Trowa. "You sister is alive. She had apparently tried to escape, because when Ru found them, they were bringing her back and not too happy."
"Can we catch up to them today?" Trowa asked.
A sorrowful look passed over Quatre's face.
"Since they are on the move, we probably could not catch up to then till tomorrow at the earliest even if we traveled all night."
"The circus leaves tomorrow," thought Trowa.
"I would prefer not to rescue her right away," Quatre added cautiously.
Trowa instantly bristled like an angry cat.
"Whoa, hear me out," he said while raising a hand. "If we rush in there and get her, we will never learn who was behind the kidnapping or why. And who's to say that person will not try again before you two get off this world, or follow and try later. Our only option is to follow from a distance and swoop in once we have proof of who is behind this."
Trowa allowed Quatre's reasoning to placate him. There was truth to the blonde's words. Having her taken from him once was bad, but if they had to live constantly looking over their shoulder for fear that it would happen again was not the way he wanted to live.
"Before we pack up, is there someone you need to contact?" asked Quatre.
"I should probably call the manager," Trowa softly said.
"There is a com unit in that tent," pointed Quatre. "Come."
Trowa nodded and followed.
Quatre picked up the handset and contacted his brother-in-law who patched them through to the circus manager.
Trowa picked up the communication device.
"Hello."
"Trowa," said the circus manager, "have you found her?"
"The scouts have located her and we are going to be heading out soon. But, it is going to take time to get to her, and the people helping me want to find out who is behind it which will take more time."
"We leave tomorrow, you know."
"Yes, Sir, I know," Trowa answered.
"You know we can not wait for you," the manager stated.
"I realize that, Sir. Give the other my regards, and I'll be in touch when I know more."
"I pray you are successful."
With that the conversation ended. Trowa handed the receiver back to Quatre.
"I wonder if the timing was part of the plan?" pondered Quatre.