NOTES: Ok! I have not forgotten again. I haven't lost any disks. It's all good! Now, here is the continuation of the first fanfic I ever started! I have nothing much to say, really, so I'll just get on with it and quit babbling.
WARNING: Violence, killing, some blood. And hey! Believe it or not, slight humor!! It's hard for me to come up with funny stuff, so I hope all of you will enjoy it!
Okay okay, I'm shutting up!
KINGDOMS' MASKS
PART V
Quatre lay shivering in the bushes. Since leaving Duo, his flight had become more desperate and dangerous. He had become completely lost, dashing wherever his frantic legs told him to run. In his rush, he had forgotten that Duo had all the food, and when he had a chance to rest, he was too frightened to try eating any of the mushroom or berries that he came across for fear of poison. His head was pounding, and his head wound had opened again, the blood having dried and caked around his forehead, eye, ear and neck.
It had been nearly a whole day since he had left Duo, and darkness had fallen the land once again. Near the afternoon, the hunters had caught up to him, and he had to shudder at how they swarmed around him, trying to grab his arms or legs as he slashed at them in fear. He knew that they did not want him dead. But whatever fate they had in store for him, Quatre would gladly live on without knowing what it was.
He had gotten away, and now his strength was nearly completely gone. He could barely run let alone fight. So he hid in the bushes when he sensed a hunter nearby. His instincts were true. Not a minute later, a hunter came crashing through the bushes, the darkness making him seem like a monsters as he swung savagely at the foliage and cursed crudely.
Quatre broke out into a cold sweat when the cursing man stopped not three feet from his hiding place. He closed his eyes and wondered about Duo, if he made it to the safe. He made a silent prayer in his heart that the other boy was safe as he clutched his weapon close to him, ready for another battle that he knew he would loose.
"What the…He's here! I found him!"
Quatre sprang, summoning strength he did not have as he charged the man, his blade driving deep across the man's chest and silencing his call for comrades. But he had already revealed Quatre's hiding place, and just as the man's body met the earth, Quatre found himself surrounded on all sides.
They were five. Each had swords, but those were sheathed on their sides. In their hands were ropes, whips, and one head a nasty looking cudgel. The man with the cudgel charged at him, shouting ferociously and swinging for Quatre's head. Quatre met the weapon with his own, and dodged back as another hunter came at him from the side with his whip. Quatre had no time to recover when one of his arms were seized. Quatre twisted his arm cruelly, and rammed his knee into the man's gut. The man let go just as a lassoed rope caught that same arm and snared him. The hunter on the other end yanked at him savagely, and Quatre lost his balance and stumbled with an angry yelp. A whip licked that had that held his sickle and Quatre cried out in pain, but his training would not allow him to drop his weapon, even when he felt his blood slide down to the handle of his blade, making his grip slippery.
There was no chance for him to block the booted foot that collided with his cheek, sending him flying to his back with its strength. Quatre's vision blurred, and he saw double as his arms were seized with hands and pulled away from him to the sides. One hunter placed his knee on Quatre's chest, and the boy felt himself being crushed and started to struggle with all his might, kicking and trying to at least free his armed hand so that he may cause damage and be able to free himself.
He heard one hunter curse, "Brat won't let go of the toad sticker!"
"Break his damn fingers!" Came a shout from the Hunter that was on his chest. Quatre shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
A hunter standing above shouted angrily, "Are you daft?! His Excellency said not to harm him! His Excellency will already be displeased at how we have injured him! You want to get us killed?!"
"To Hell with damage!" Sneered one on his chest.
But then the hunter standing above knelt down and twisted Quatre's wrist savagely. The boy cried out and let go of the curved blade. The man kicked it away and said darkly to the other. "There are other ways to get what want. If you wish to stay in service of His Excellency, you had better learn that." He paused, "And never question me again."
The hunter on him got off, for Quatre had totally exhausted himself. He could barely move without feeling a wave of nausea though he was tempted to just heave his guts in their faces. His cloak was ripped from him and he was roughly searched. They had only found the small-jeweled dagger that he kept at his waist, but nothing else.
They hauled him to his feet and twisted his arms behind him and tied his wrists together tightly. The hunter who had disarmed Quatre was the obvious leader of the group. He was the one who checked Quatre's injuries, and cleaned Quatre's head wound.
The man said, "He's with fever."
The four others shrank back, fearing for their own health. Quatre ignored them, bearing the lead hunter's rough touch limply. He stared at the leader, wondering for a moment if he was one who had killed one of his guards…or Rashid. He looked at the others and wondered if any of them had bloodied their hands with his companion's blood.
"Murderers." He whispered softly, wishing that he had his strength back so that he could show them what he could really do.
The leader heard him and said irritably, "Quiet boy. Your not worth the trouble you've caused!"
Quatre opened his mouth to retort, but a dirty cloth was rapped around his mouth, thoroughly gagging him. He closed his eyes and let his aching head fall. He had been captured! What would become of him now? Who was 'His Excellency' and what did he want with him?
Quatre was hauled away, one man gripping each of his arms, making sure he had no chance to escape. As they went on, Quatre wished that he had never insisted that he represent his Father and come to this country. He wished that he were back home, surrounded by familiar things. He wished for the desert, with its heat and savage beauty. Would he ever see it again? Would he ever ride his stallion over the large sand dunes? Would he see his Father again? Looking at the hard faces of his captors, Quatre doubted it.
They dragged him through the woods for over an hour. By that time, Quatre had lost all sense to the fever. His body limp so that the two men holding him were practically carrying him. He was dumped onto the hard ground where he lay there, too tired to move. He was vaguely aware of someone yanking him up, tearing the gag out of his mouth, then shoving something bitter down his throat. At first he fought, but then he was cuffed on the head, and forced to swallow the bitter liquid. After that he was left alone.
For nearly an hour he slept, but as the fever broke, he struggled awake. He found his captors had made a small campsite with a fire in the middle. His eyes widened in shock as he saw the body of the leader lying on the floor, eyes wide open and blood coming from his mouth. The other four stood over him, one hold a bloodied dagger.
They had turned on their leader.
Quatre tried to shrink away as his captors turned their malevolent eyes upon him. One strode over to him, and Quatre immediately recognized him to be the one who suggesting breaking his hand to disarm him. The young Arab nearly bit his tongue as the man reached down and hauled him to his feet. He then was shoved into the waiting arms of the other three, their hold like iron chains around his arms.
The new 'leader' reached and yanked his head back with his hair savagely so that the boy had to look up at him. The man smirked and said, "You don't look like a desert barbarian. You look just like us." He sneered then, "What? Did your father steal one of our women and rape her?"
Though Quatre wanted to kick the man in the sneering mouth, he held back, feigning confusing. He had seen his Father pretending not to understand what some of the Foreign Ambassadors said so that he could find out what their true objectives were. He prayed that it would work.
The 'leader' let go of his hair and lifted up his bloodied dagger. "Y'now, I think that you enjoyed killing out comrades. Saw you slice right through my brother like it was nothing."
Quatre felt a twinge of guilt but squashed it down, for he had to pretend that he did not understand. If he showed the slightest hint of understanding he was dead. Quatre's panicked thoughts scattered when the man suddenly smashed his fist into Quatre's gut.
"Little Savage! I know you understand me!"
Quatre gasped for breath and coughed, but again tried to feign confusion.
The man looked about to hit him again, but stopped, sneering. "I know. You savages care about your dead, huh? Well, what would you do if I told you that we dug up the graves of your dirty guards and desecrated their bodies? Eat that you little shit."
Quatre felt his heart freeze at that. His hands involuntarily clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palm. Without meaning to, he hissed, "Kul Zeg, ya Ibn al Kalb." (1)
He knew that was a mistake as soon as he closed his mouth, for he saw the look of triumph on the man's sneering face. "Didn't understand what you said with that dirty tongue of yours, but I have you, Brat. I know you understand every word that is coming out of my mouth." He brought up the dagger so that it was an inch from Quatre's eye. "You killed my brother, and the Captain wouldn't let me even touch you! Your dirty foreign hide was worth more than my brother's!" He laughed. "But now the Captain is dead. His Excellency can look for someone else for his plans, cause your going to join the good Captain once I'm through with you!"
Quatre watched, entranced as the bloody dagger came away from his eye, and poised to strike down. He braced himself for the pain of death, yet still he stared at the dagger unable to tear his gaze away. Was this how his comrades had felt as they saw the final blow?
For a split second Quatre saw the dagger coming down toward him, and in the next he was on the floor, blinking red and black stars as he heard startled cries. Slowly, he lifted himself onto his elbows and peered over the small fire and gasped when he saw a tall dark figure cut down three of his captors. The 'leader' had been behind them, and he cried out as he lunged and impaled himself on the figure's slim sword.
With a pained groan Quatre managed to sit up, wincing slightly. He heard the figure curse softly, kicking the dead carcass of now the ex-'leader'. The figure then turned and Quatre flinched as his eyes met one piercing green one.
Quatre saw that he was a young man, about is age, but his eyes spoke years far older than the boy's appearance. He was dressed in dark green and black clothing, a long dirk strapped to his waist. He wore a hood on his head, but the light from the small fire revealed a long emotionless face, brown hair combed so that it covered one of his eyes, leaving the other one to stare at Quatre. He started to approach, and Quatre scrambled back clumsily, his body screaming in agony.
He had no clue what had just happened, but at the moment as long as the other was holding a bloody sword he was just as dangerous as his now ex-captors.
Then, to Quatre's surprise, the young man sheathed his blade, and to Quatre horror, the young man went to one knee and bowed.
"Your Highness."
Quatre had been bred to listen to a person talk and know what they were feeling; yet this young man's soft even voice spoke no volumes of…anything. Just like his face, it was emotionless. Quatre couldn't tell a thing. Was this man an enemy? How did he know…
"Your Highness, Amhir Quatre Raberba Winner" Repeated the young man. "His Majesty, King Milliardo Peacecraft is expecting you. "
Quatre gasped, feeling for the first time relief and a sense of security since splitting ways with Duo. "Who…who are you?"
The young man did not rise, though he reached and pulled out King Milliardo's seal. "My name is Trowa Barton. I am an agent of the King. He sent me to find you."
And Quatre could do nothing else but close his eyes and nod.
Finally…he was safe.
*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*
Duo was furious. He was enraged, insulted, pissed as Hell.
After everything he had been through, he had finally made it to the palace in Sank, only to be quite rudely turned away by the palace guards. They even had the audacity to threaten to throw him in a cell if he dared return.
Looking up at the blade of his scythe he said indignantly, "Its like they thought I was the bad guy!"
So what did Duo Maxwell do? What else would Duo Maxwell do? He decided that he was going to have to sneak in and find the King on his own. He had done so many times when he was an orphan, but this was no cottage of some merchant, this was the Royal Palace. He could be killed or thrown into the dungeons to rot.
The thought was invigorating, a perfect challenge worthy for Death himself.
In no time he had memorized the guards routs, and had scampered over the walls surrounding the palace, and into the Royal gardens. He stayed hidden in some well-trimmed bushes, dodging guards, gardeners, nobles on strolls, and servants. When he finally managed to find a window that was unoccupied, night had fallen, and Duo saw that no one had lit a lantern in the room. It was safe to break in from there.
Climbing a vine up to the room, Duo easily climbed in and cackled evilly at how easy it was. His cackling stopped when he took a look at the room he was in.
Pink. Duo had never seen so much pink in his life. Rugs, sheets, tapestries, even the small crystal figurines were pink. It made the young boy's eye's bulge in his head. "Damn!"
He had a sudden urge to break the pink perfection, but he shook himself mentally. He had a mission he had to see through. Sighing, he went to the door and could not believe his luck as he reached for the doorknob, he had managed to break into the Palace! He had actually pulled it off!
His hand touched the metal knob when suddenly the door flew open, and there, standing before him stood Her Royal Highness, the Princess Relena. He had seen many paintings of her, and recognized her immediately. For a whole second, the two stared at each other, mouths gaping. Then finally she screamed, and Duo shouted as an angry dark haired boy in armor charged in, sword drawn and swinging it toward Duo's head.
In a split second Duo managed to swing his scythe and block the blow that would have split his head in two. Both youths jumped back from each other, and Duo said quickly, "Wait! I need to…"
The boy in armor never let him finish, for he lunged, his blade going for Duo's heart. The young Death Priest dodged it, though it did tear at his black tunic. Cursing, Duo tried again, "I need to see the King! Its important!" But looking into the other's cold cobalt eyes, Duo knew he might as well have been talking to stone. The other guy was intent on killing him.
Cursing, Duo pulled up Deathscythe.
The young guard attacked again, giving Duo the most vigorous and dangerous battle he had ever thought. Fighting Quatre's hunters were nothing compared to fighting this guard. Duo then managed to push the other away, and praying that he was not about to die without fulfilling his mission, he threw his scythe to the ground and raised his hands in surrender. He took some pleasure in seeing the young guard blink in confusion and hesitate.
"I'm telling you, I'm not your enemy. I had to sneak in 'cause the guards wouldn't let me speak to the King! It's important!"
The guard once again hesitated, when the Princess approached him and touched his arm gently. "Don't hurt him, Heero." She said softly. She frowned slightly. "I…I have a feeling that he's telling the truth."
The young guard slowly lowered his sword and Duo visibly sagged in relief. He was about to comment on how the guard had nearly killed him when it finally occurred to him that he was actually standing in the Princess's room. He was actually facing the real deal Princess Relena. Blushing furiously, he cursed his luck in choosing to break into the room and bowed. "Umm…ah…forgive me, your Majesty…Highness…I didn't know this was…um…y…your room."
The Princess looked at him for a moment then smiled, making Duo relax a bit. She turned to the guard who was glaring at Duo. "Heero, take him to the Council Room. I'll get my brother. I feel that this young man has risked a lot to get here. I respect that." With those words she turned and left, her skirts trailing behind her.
Duo stayed where he was standing as the guard reached and picked up his scythe, still glaring at him. Duo knew that the only reason why the other hadn't killed him was because of the Princess's request. This did not faze him at all. Grinning cheekily, Duo said, "Sorry, but desperate calls call for desperate measures, if you know what I mean."
The young guard's glare could have curdled milk. After a long silence, he spoke in a cold calculating voice, "Follow me. And if you so much as blink suspiciously, I will kill you."
Duo shrugged, "Hey, if I seem that suspicious you can be my guest. Death has been taking its beautiful time with me."
The guard blinked again, seeming confused by Duo's words. Then, grunting he turned and walked out, waving for Duo to follow. As the walked down the stone corridors, Duo asked, "Hey, your name is Heero, right? You don't look like you came from Sank."
"I don't." Was the short reply.
Duo grinned like a madman, in which Heero concluded that he was. Though the young Captain had to admit to admit to himself that the madman had gotten into the Palace, and held off his deadly attacks.
When they arrived to the double wooden door, he paused and looked back at Duo. "This is the Council Room." Said Heero in a soft monotone. With one gloved hand, Duo pushed the doors open, and with his head gestured for Duo to go in ahead.
For a moment, Duo hesitated, not liking the fact that a guy who only minutes ago was trying to separate his head from his shoulders was going to be behind him. He had no quarrel with dying, just after he gets to speak to the King. Shrugging off his moment of paranoia, Duo marched in, knowing the guard wouldn't dare touch him since the Princess had ordered him not to. The girl may have bad taste in color, but Duo owed her.
Duo could not help but pause when he entered the Council Room. It was small, but had a high ceiling, and hanging from the tall walls were tapestries of many kinds. Duo knew nothing of art, but he could tell that two of these tapestries were not made by Sank.
One that immediately caught his eyes was the one with red and green dragons. The beasts were beautifully weaved, making them look beautiful yet frightening with awesome strength. Below the dragons was a village with people going about their lives, seeming oblivious of the magnificent beasts that battled above them.
The other tapestry was one with dominated by gold and brown. It was one of a desert, with a large tent situated in the middle. Men with beards sat in a circle, on lavish looking mats. In their hands and scattered on the floor were many books. The men's faces serious as they seemed to argue over the contents of the books.
Duo turned to his stoic companion, his sharp eyes noticing that the young man had placed his Deathscythe on the large oak table in the middle of the room. Heero himself was leaning against wall beside the double door, arms crossed over armored chest, cobalt eyes centered on him. Duo knew this was a silent challenge. The other was daring him to go for the scythe, daring for an excuse to cut him down.
Duo grinned at the other and said, "Trust me buddy, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't promised my friend. I don't like being here almost as much as you hate my presence here."
The other boy said nothing, his eyes never leaving Duo. Left alone, Duo once again felt the enormity of his situation. Here he was, waiting for the King. He was waiting for the King. His leader. His King. For a moment Duo wished the Quatre were in front of him so that he could wring the smaller boy's pale scrawny neck. He was in deep shit.
Meanwhile, Heero studied the boy who had dared to break into the Princess's room. Only the King himself was able to defend himself equally against his attacks. The Queen was also able to fight, but if Heero fought for death, she would have no chance. This strange peasant boy who was now pacing nervously across the Council Room had given Heero a memorable and difficult fight. Even though it hurt Heero's ego to admit it, but if the boy hadn't given up, Heero doubted he could have breached the boy's defenses. Heero hadn't been able to touch him. He questioned his ability to touch him. But then there was the fact that the young man had not attacked, only defended. Heero knew the Relena had seen this. If the boy had been an assassin, he would have tried to kill Heero, would have made some form of attack. But he didn't, he simply kept his head connected to his shoulders then gave up.
Heero wanted to know how well the boy could fight. He knew he could attack. He had noticed the wooden handle of the scythe had dried blood on it. The boy had used the scythe, and won.
Heero frowned suddenly when he noticed the other was pulling at his collar while he paced. A small detail about the potential enemy caught his attention. One the Heero had missed. A Priest's collar. This odd young man who fought like the devil, spoke so glibly about death was a Priest.
Then the door flew open, and Duo quit his pacing, turning slightly pale as King Milliardo entered. While Heero shut the door behind the King, Duo managed a clumsy bow. The King looked at Heero curiously, also noticing the oddness of the boy. Heero could only shrug, for he had no answers.
To Duo, the King looked his part. Tall, with strikingly handsome features, and long white hair trailed down to the middle of his back, pulled back by the golden crown that circled his head. Piercing blue eyes met his, and Duo knew he stood before no ordinary man.
King Milliardo spoke, "My sister tells me that you have gone through extreme measures to meet with me. You are aware that you are standing on thin ice, young Brother. This had better be important."
Duo gulped. The King defiantly did not beat around the bush like the few nobles that Duo had unfortunately met. Still, he managed a shaky smile, fully aware that the tall formidable mad standing before him could simply raise his hand and order his torture. "Trust me, Your Majesty." Said Duo, silently proud that his voice did not shake as much as his innards were. Death he had no problem with, torture was something else to think about. "I wouldn't be here if I hadn't promised my friend. But before you say anything, please…let me show you this." The he reached into his black tunic and pulled out the chain with Quatre's golden ring.
King Milliardo's eyes widened. He reached for the ring, and Duo dropped it gently into the King's larger hand. The King looked at the small ring for a moment, then looked at the boy priest in front of him. He saw a young boy, thin, looking haggard and pale. His black priest's tunic was stiff at some places. The King could not tell, but instinctively he knew that it was stiff from dried blood.
The long silence was too much for Duo. "Will you hear me out, Your Majesty?"
The King nodded. He strode past Duo and sat down on one of the chairs. "Speak, Brother. But first, your name."
Duo blinked a moment, realizing that he had not introduced himself. "My name is Duo Maxwell."
"I recognize the name. You belong to the Church in Biburg? Are you a member there?"
Duo's eyes darkened suddenly, violent turning dangerous. His voice was stiff when he answered, "I believe, Your Majesty, that we both know that the Church in Biburg no longer exists, as do the Order of Priests that lived there."
Heero's hand went to his sword, not liking the tone of Duo's voice. But Milliardo raised his hand. "No Heero. Don't worry, I was baiting him." He put his hand down. "Forgive me, young Brother, I did not mean to insult you."
Duo forced himself to relax. It was the wrong time for his old demons to start biting him. "None taken." He grinned maniacally.
"Now, tell me why I shouldn't order your head chopped off for breaking into the Princess's room." Ordered the King.
Duo's grin dropped and he swallowed and started from the beginning. From his choice to take the dreaded short cut. Till when he split up with Quatre. He noticed the strange looks that passed between the King and his guard, but he went on till finally he explained, "I swear, Your Majesty, I had to break in cause the guards wouldn't let me in. And I swear that I had no idea that I was breaking into the Princess's room!"
To Duo's utter relief, the King nodded. But he also noticed how now the King's hand was clenched into a fist. His posture was stiff, and his eyes were dangerous. And Duo knew it had nothing to do with him breaking into the Princess's room.
Suddenly, King Milliardo started to laugh, a low cynical laugh. He shook his head and placed two fingers over his eyes. "You have no clue do you, young Brother Maxwell?"
Confused, and now a little frightened, Duo managed a gargled "Huh?!"
The King stood. "The boy you spoke of introduced himself as 'Amhir Quatre Raberba Winner', am I not right?"
"Uh…yeah…I…I don't understand, Majesty."
The King looked at him and reached over and gripped his shoulder, his eyes looking sympathetically at him. "Poor boy. That boy you rescued is non other than Amhir Quatre Raberba Winner, son and heir to the Malik Raberba Ahmad Winner of the Kingdom of Arabia."
Duo went extremely pale. He had no idea what it meant, but he knew that whatever he was missing was very important, and that frightened him even more.
King Milliardo finally said, "In our language, Brother Maxwell, it would his name would mean the Royal Prince Quatre Raberba Winner, heir to the Kingdom of Arabia."
Duo yanked himself away from the King, as if he had been stung. "Royal Prince!!!!!!!!" Squeaked the young Priest. "Are you saying I abandoned a bloody royal blue-blood prince???!!!!"
Milliardo placed a calming had on the hyperventilating boy. "Calm yourself. You did not understand and he obviously did not explain to you who his true identity was. I have a man out there who has been tracking you two. He even found your cottage." Duo's face got some color back at this. "If he is not here, that means he is tracking the Amhir. I am certain the Amhir will be fine if he's survived this long."
Duo nodded, taking deep breaths to calm himself. King Milliardo stepped away relieved that the boy had calmed down. Turning his back to the boy, he starting heading for the door saying, "Heero will escort you to your room. You'll be staying here till this whole mess is over and done with."
Duo once again turned pale, but this time he shouted, "What?!"
Duo did not see it, but King Milliardo smirked at his outburst. "I am expected. Heero will explain the details of my decision." He opened the door. "Oh, and Brother Maxwell…my guards have been ordered to shoot down anything climbing the walls." With that threat, he left the Council Room, leaving Duo flabbergasted and Heero smirking.
Duo whirled to Heero who had immediately let the smirk drop. "You don't understand! I can't stay here! I ain't no blue-blood noble! What the Hell am I gonna do here?! And I ain't joining the guard!"
Heero shrugged, "Do what you like. But the King ordered you stay here, and here you will remain. As long as you stay clear of the walls you'll be fine."
Duo grinned nervously. "Thanks…but…why do I have to stay here?"
Heero gave him a sharp look. "I don't think you know, but you have no home to go back to. Whoever is after the Amhir burned down you cottage. I'm sure they still have the place watched, so your life will be in danger if you leave. Here you'll be provided with safety."
Duo blinked in disbelief. "They burned my cottage?" He slumped slightly. "I though as much. I just hoped that they'd just wreck it a bit, y'know. Damn…if Hilde goes there she'll think I'm dead!"
Heero looked at him. "Hilde? Actually, the girl Hilde is here. The King's man sent her here. She's safe."
Duo stared at Heero. "You mean she's here?! In the Palace?!"
Heero nodded.
Duo actually jumped. "That's great! That means I'll at least have someone normal to speak to!"
Heero turned toward the door, waving for him to take his weapon and follow him. "Actually, she's joined the Queen's Guard."
He didn't have to look back to see Duo's expression. "WHAT?! The Queen's Guard?!!! But…but…"
Heero never thought he was a cruel man, but with Duo it seemed that he really did have a mean streak. "Actually, I've seen her training. She's not bad."
"Who do you think taught her?!! But…this is Hilde we're speaking about! She…she can't join the Queen's Guard!"
Heero gave the other boy a sly look. "Do you doubt her strength?"
Duo waved his arms, his Deathscythe now secured to his back. "NO! That girl is the Strength! But…"
Heero stopped walking and opened a door that led to a large furnished room. "This is your room."
Duo walked in with a defeated air. He did not bother looking around the lavish room. He took off his scythe and placed it on the bed and sat down on it, looking down at his worn shoes.
Duo noticed this, pushing down a slight feeling of guilt and sympathy. Duo had to get over it. That was life, and it had no room for bleeding hearts. "The servants will come to measure you so that you can have some decent clothes and shoes. Also they'll bring a bath. But first a healer…"
"I'm not injured. Just a few bruises, but not even a scratch." Came Duo's dejected answer. He fingered the stiff tunic. "It's not my blood."
Heero nodded, "Very well." With that he turned and shut the door behind him, returning to his station beside the Princess.
If he had paused to listen through the door, he would have heard a soft sorrowful voice whisper from within: "Not my blood…never was my blood…never will be my blood…but not Hilde…not Hilde…I couldn't stand it….just not Hilde…not Hilde…"
TO BE CONTINUED…
Sorry it took so long. I've been very…VERY sick. Then there was writer's block. So, what do you think? Hope y'all liked it. Still brainstorming cause I don't know whether to put some supernatural in it…some fantasy. Can't decide…hmm.
Oh well.
NEXT TIME:
Duo saw it then, even beneath the tattered clothes, the dirty, bruised and cut skin, he could now see it. An air he had not been able to place before, but now knowing the truth he knew what he saw. Looking at Quatre address the Court and King, Duo knew that he was not some lost foreign boy. He had the same air as King Milliardo, his wife the Queen and the Princess, his sister. Quatre was a Royal Prince and future King.