{{ This fic is based completely on a dream that I had. The only things that have been changed are the little parts that I forgot, and had to improvise with.

That, and the reason for the premise of this dream to exist wasn't very clear…so, I tried to make it more understandable.

[But that may be a lost cause…]

I hope no one thinks I'm weird for doing this, and I also hope that people don't keep this in mind while reading my other stuff. }}







Dirandau glared up at Folken. Folken had asked him to sit down before hearing the news. Dirandau always seemed to receive things better when he was sitting down.



"You're kidding…." Dirandau stated, disbelieving.

"No. Believe me, I've checked over the news many times already. I'm not joking."

Folken held out a paper, and Dirandau ripped it away. He looked it over several times.

No, there could be no mistake.



Folken counted in his head. 1...2.…3.…

"I am not going to marry you!!!"

Dirandau's exclamation was right on cue.

"I'm sorry, Dirandau. There's no way of getting around this."



It may have seemed absolutely ludicrous, but this sort of thing was not all that uncommon in Zaibach.

Especially with officers.

For one thing, it helped to instill fear in the lower orders. Dealing with one person's wrath was bad enough, but it was a terrible prospect to know that they would have two commanding officers to deal with, if theirs got angry enough.

And, for another reason, Zaibach did not have unlimited space. Even with having all the lower orders sleeping close together in barracks, the size problem was still deeply felt. Most officers had large, spacious rooms. This kind of decree meant that they could free up one of the quarters, since the two officers would have to share a room. [And Dirandau's room was indeed spacious.]

And then there was the question of how much trouble Dirandau was always getting into. They felt it would be much easier to keep him from doing too much damage, if he didn't have that freedom. And, who else knew how to keep him in line better than Folken?





Dirandau spent the rest of the day absolutely mortified. He loved his country, but….this was too much!

He couldn't stand the time he had to spend with Folken now. How was he going to deal with living with him?



There was something else, too. Marriage ceremonies are simple and business-like in Zaibach, nowhere near the absurdly ostentatious ceremonies performed in other countries. It was more like a contract of some kind. However, there still was that kiss required at the end…in front of everyone.



His Dragonslayers, of course, were terribly worried for him.

They all stared at Shesta, hoping he would maybe say something to their beloved captain. Shesta stared back, wishing he could think of something.

But…well, what can a person say to somebody else in this kind of situation?



He slowly approached Dirandau.

Timidly, he began. "Dirandau-sama….I….I…don't think it'll be that bad…I mean..if you just…just look at the bright side of things-"

Dirandau had his head leaned against his hand. He didn't look up. But, they didn't have to see his face to know what he was thinking. His voice was enough.

"Oh, that's what you think, is it?"

Shesta nodded, hesitantly. He was tense. He knew something bad was going to happen.

"You think it won't be that bad…huh?" Dirandau repeated.

Shesta nodded once again.



Dirandau stood up, and approached Shesta.

"And, what, precisely, is 'the bright side' of this situation?" he asked.

Shesta hadn't been prepared for that. "Well, I….uh…."

He couldn't entertain this farce any further. In truth, he really couldn't see anything good about this.



Dirandau narrowed his eyes at Shesta.

"So…you're telling me I'm wrong….and you have no reasons why?"

He moved closer. All the other Dragonslayers became tense. They knew what to expect next.

"You idiot."

He smacked Shesta upside the head, and slammed him to the ground. He managed to sprain Shesta's wrist.

He planned to do even more damage, but someone interrupted.



Gatty had just come back, with an urgent message from Folken.

Gatty: "He says you have to come see him right away."

Dirandau glared at him, his hands wrapped around Shesta's throat.

"How dare Folken!", he thought, "Rrrr…if that idiot thinks I'm going to come every time he calls for me now…."



He slammed Shesta back down onto the ground.

"You'd better think the next time you get any bright ideas."

Shesta managed to get up to his knees, and say, "Yes sir."



They all stood at attention until Dirandau left. Then they went to help Shesta.

Gatty inspected his wrist.

He tried to sound compassionate. "It's not too bad…but, you'll have to go see a doctor."

Shesta nodded, and rubbed his injury.

"I should really learn to keep my mouth shut. I don't think it helps him at all," he stated uncertainly.

It was always a confusing thing, working with one such as Dirandau. There was never any set pattern to follow, and it was always difficult to discern what was right to do for him.

Gatty shook his head 'no.'

"No, Shesta…don't quit. He still needs you, just like he needs all of us. He just can't help himself, that's all."

Gatty helped Shesta up, and smirked. "Besides….you wouldn't want to deprive those pretty nurses of your frequent visits, would you??"

Shesta laughed, despite the pain.

"I guess not. But, I'm certain that he would've killed me if you hadn't come in. What did Strategos want to say to him, anyway?"

Gatty blushed.

"Well..uh….he didn't exactly want to talk to Dirandau-sama."

Shesta blinked.

Gatty looked a little mischievous, though definitely not proud.

He began to explain.

"I figured out a long time ago that Dirandau-sama never mentions the fact that Strategos sent for him when they talk. And, even if Strategos didn't ask for Dirandau-sama to come, there's always something that the two need to talk about anyway. So…there's no reason for them to know that about half the times I've given Dirandau-sama a message from Strategos, it was a lie."

Shesta looked completely shocked.

"What? Why would you do that??"

Gatty sighed.

"Because, I know he's wrong sometimes. I can't stand that we get hurt so much by him…it's not right…And, so….I just wait outside in the hall sometimes, waiting to hear if he is getting angry. That way, I have an excuse to walk in at the right moment."



Gatty avoided the rest of their eyes as he and Shesta headed for the infirmary. He knew how awful it was that he did what he had just admitted to doing…but, he couldn't stand to see the rest of his companions being beaten up like that. Especially Shesta. Those two were the only others who were able to at least try and say something to Dirandau-sama.

He cared about his Captain so much, but he cared about Shesta and the others as well. And it was so senseless at times, these beatings.

This was a way to help stop it, which hurt no one.







Dirandau slammed the door open. He was raging even more than before. He hadn't thought about it before…but, now with this new development, Folken would have more say in how he treated his Dragonslayers, because he would be partially in charge of them as well. And Folken had always disliked the fact that he hit them so much.

But…they deserved it! They needed something to remind them that what they did was wrong, and to ensure that they would try their best not to do it anymore.

"He's going to undermine my authority," he thought. "I just know it!"

Dirandau sat down, not saying a word.

"Oh, good," Folken stated. "You're here."

Dirandau's eye twitched.

Of course I'm here, you idiot! You're the one who sent for me!

"I wanted to tell you something. I've had the ceremony set for the day after tomorrow, at 0300 hours."

Dirandau blinked.

Three in the morning? Is he crazy??

"What the hell did you do that for?" he questioned with annoyance.

"I thought it would be better for you," Folken replied.

Dirandau rolled his eyes.

"Great. Not only do I have to go through this damned charade, but I have to get up at three in the morning to do it. How could this possibly be good for me?"

"Because, in case you had forgotten, Dirandau, there will be a crucible for the new recruits at that time, to let them advance to the next stage. Everyone else will be too busy to attend."

Dirandau glared at him.

"And so will I!" he exclaimed.

Dirandau had been looking forward to helping out with that. Now he had to go through all this humiliation, and give up something he had been so looking forward to.

Dirandau then began on one of those diatribes which he is so wont to have. Mostly about how much Folken was annoying him right now.

He concluded with a statement which succinctly summarized his thoughts.

"And, I can't believe I have to marry such an idiot. I mean….cripes….I can't stand the time we spend together now, how am I supposed to deal with you all the time??"

That was it. That was too much for Folken. He had had enough.

He approached Dirandau slowly.

"How are you going to deal with it?" He inquired mockingly. "How am I going to deal with this, I wonder….Dirandau, have you ever listened to yourself?"

Dirandau rolled his eyes. He never did like to hear anyone talk about his faults so blatantly.

"I've been kind to you all these years," Folken continued. There is so much that you do which begs forgiveness, and I have forgiven you a great deal."

Dirandau couldn't deal with being insulted like this. He had to interrupt.

"You know-"

However, Folken wouldn't contend with it.

"Quiet!" he shouted. He sounded so angry, that Dirandau decided to comply.

"Even with this situation, I have gone out of my way to make things easy for you. Standing here listening to you now, it occurs to me that I simply can't live this way. I can deal with you in small doses, and small doses only. So, in order to protect my sanity, there are going to have to be some changes."

"What sort of….changes?" Dirandau inquired.



"For one thing, you're not going to criticize me like this all the time. You keep your mouth shut. I don't want to hear you complaining all the time. I don't want to hear you ranting all the time. And, most of all, I don't want the kind of trouble you usually give me. You had better learn to behave yourself, and right-quick."



Dirandau glared at him again.

"Oh? And if I don't?"



Folken became very quiet. "I know you quite well. I know what scares you. And, I know very well the things you wouldn't want me to do, that this situation would now allow. Do you understand my meaning?"



Dirandau looked quite shocked. There was definitely some kind of double meaning there. "Huh?"



Folken gripped Dirandau's arm very tightly….aya, it hurt! Dirandau feared that Folken might break his arm.

"Just remember this: If you do anything wrong, you'll regret it."

He released Dirandau's arm. Dirandau clutched it in pain.

"Is that understood?"

Dirandau nodded.

Folken left without another word.



Dirandau stared at the table in front of him. He was terrified. He had forgotten how much stronger Strategos was than himself…

Folken would sometimes smack him a little, when he was younger, to try and make him obey, or when he had done something monumentally stupid. But, he had given up at some point, considering it a lost cause. If Dirandau were to make mistakes, then there was nothing that could be done about it. He was too old for that now.



However, it wasn't just that. Being beaten, he could take that. He understood it. He had done it to others many times. Bruises and broken bones are all mended in time.

But….what about what Folken said? That he knew what scared Dirandau?



There were plenty of other things this situation would allow Folken to do to him, and one of them frightened him more than the others.

And, Folken was a foreigner, after all. What about that old saying? "Foreigners are just rabbits in fancy clothing."

What was he capable of doing?







As far as weddings go, this was far from a fiasco. It all went rather well, as far as weddings are concerned.

However, that wasn't good enough. No matter how well it had gone, it was still the worst experience Dirandau had ever been forced to go through.

That kiss did nothing to make matters better, either. Even though Folken was nice about it, and made it very mild….nothing lessened how Dirandau felt about it.

Work was hellish after that. Dirandau was shaky and paranoid. He couldn't help but wonder what those around him were really thinking. They couldn't say anything to him even if they had wanted to, but that didn't mean that they weren't thinking about it.



Above all things, Dirandau was afraid of losing the respect of the other soldiers. Especially his Dragonslayers.

There were times when he wondered if they really did intend to serve him unquestioningly. Especially Gatty and Shesta. Those two were very prone to mouthing off, and Gatty had a habit of making faces at him. They were always together, always talking secretly. He feared that he couldn't trust them.

The others were easier to control, thankfully. They were well adept at being silent, and doing exactly as they were told without asking any questions.

Dirandau had wanted to avoid them for the day. He didn't know what he could say to them right now.

However, Folken wouldn't allow him to get his way.

"There is no point to not doing this now," Folken had said. "It won't be any easier in the future."

And, besides, today they were only doing physical training. He wouldn't have to say much to them, and he could sit off to the side, silent and brooding if he so wished.

Folken had wryly added, "Since when do you fear dealing with your own men?"



Dirandau gave him one of those famous glares before going off to join the others.





All day long, he dreaded that night. He and Folken would have to share quarters from now on, and tonight would be that first night. [Which really was a shame, considering how nice his old quarters were.] It was very difficult to work through the day.

He tried not to let any of his thoughts interfere with his work, but his qualms could not be veiled. A person who is to be executed at dawn is never preoccupied with the job at hand.

He was not the only one obvious in worries. The Dragonslayers kept stopping from time to time, sometimes looking at their master, and sometimes looking at Gatty and Shesta in the hope that those two might do something to help. Dirandau couldn't help but notice all this 'silent communication' going on between them.



He approached them, and they immediately quit sparring to stand at attention. There were no words, only a deep hateful glare from Dirandau, and terrified looks from the others. If there had been any doubt in their mind that he might be more lenient than he had been in the past, that he would change even a little bit for the better because of this situation, then it was to be removed now.

They stood like that for quite some time. Maybe an hour, maybe two. He'd let them wonder just what he would do to them; he'd allow them to recall those things he had grown used to doing, all those horrible methods meant to keep them disciplined and in control.



When he felt that it had been long enough, he left without dismissing them. They stayed at attention for several minutes after he had left, for fear that he might come back. They began talking quietly, wondering what would become of them.

Gatty was silent. He had plenty to talk about, but not with the others.

He didn't care to talk about serious issues with any of the other Dragonslayers. They didn't really understand anything he tried to tell them.

He only ever talked with Shesta about things that bothered him. However, Shesta wasn't there. Shesta would be doing other work until his arm completely healed.

"I'll go and see him later," thought Gatty. "We'll figure something out."

Dirandau had dreaded the night to come all through the day, and now it was here.

"Don't worry. Don't worry," He repeated quietly. There was nothing to worry about, he tried to assure himself. After all, Folken….Folken wouldn't do anything to him, would he? Dirandau tried to drive Folken's threatening words from his mind.

He was gladdened upon seeing that the room was empty.

"Maybe I'll get lucky, and he'll stay out working all night," he thought. He didn't know Folken very well, but he got the feeling that Folken was a workaholic.

He looked around the room. Not much there. A bed, a lantern, a desk. It was the bare minimum. Folken spent most of his time elsewhere, and so he didn't feel the need to stock the place up.

However, there were a few extra things. Folken wasn't the friendliest of people, and often avoided everyone else when he could. So, his was one of the few places that had its own washroom.

Dirandau took off the belt that held his sword, and laid it next to the bed.

He felt that it was imperative to his survival to always have a weapon with him. He was afraid that someone might try to assassinate him someday, and he wanted to be ready. [Little did he know that there wasn't a soul brave enough to try, for any attempt on his life would ensure their unhappiness.]

He then took off his coat. He really would rather have kept it on. However, that was not a good idea. Those things could get so uncomfortable if used for sleeping in that they would cause all sorts of back and circulation problems.

He knew this from experience. When he had first received his uniform, he was so happy that he never wanted to take it off. He spent a week in the infirmary.

He looked for a closet or a dresser, but he couldn't find one. Damnit! He didn't want his beautiful uniform to get ruined by throwing it on the floor. He laid it on the bed, and sat down. Now for the boots.

He had always had a bit of trouble taking them off or putting them back on. He did it carefully and slowly, so as not to damage them or to hurt his leg. [He often used to get welts from that.]

He managed to get one off, when Folken walked in from the direction of the washroom….wearing nothing but a pair of bright blue boxers. Dirandau stared at him in shock for a moment. This was definitely on his list of things he had never wanted to see.

He grimaced.

"Uggghh…Folken! Put some clothes on!" he yelled in disgust.

Folken was not in the mood to comply.

"Certainly I could, but there's no point. This is what I normally wear, and I see no point in enduring some pointless charade. We'll be living together for a very long time, and I would eventually go back to wearing this anyway, so…why bother?"

Dirandau started on the other boot, mumbling to himself. It was then that Folken noticed the coat on the bed. He looked angrily at Dirandau, who was busy fumbling with those damned straps.

"I don't know how you kept things in your quarters, but here I prefer to keep things in order. Don't ever do this again."

Folken picked up the coat, and walked over to one of the walls. He hit a small hitch, and slid the wall panel over. Inside were several cloaks, uniforms, and some strange outfit Dirandau didn't recognize. It looked foreign. However, Dirandau wasn't interested enough to inquire about it.

Dirandau finished with his boots, and laid them neatly next to his katana. All set for emergencies.

Folken didn't share Dirandau's train of thought. He saw only that Dirandau was being stubborn and lazy.

"Didn't I just tell you not to leave your things all over the place? Go put them in the closet."

Dirandau glared at him. It angered him deeply that now there was nowhere for him to go where he had complete control. Why, oh why couldn't he have been forced to marry someone of lower rank?

"Fine!" Dirandau shouted as he walked over to the closet.

However, this compliance did not end the struggle. Folken saw the katana, which angered him more than the shoes.

He tossed it lightly to Dirandau. It landed at his feet.

"You forgot this," he said.

"But….I need that," Dirandau replied.

"So that you can kill me in my sleep? I don't think so."

Dirandau rolled his eyes.

"Idiot. You think I'd be stupid enough to kill you with my own sword? If I were going to, I'd use yours, and then it would seem like you had killed yourself."

Folken sighed.

"You do have a history of making rash choices purely to get revenge."

Dirandau glared at him.

"If he starts in on me about going after that idiot brother of his…..rrrrrrrrr…I really will kill him," Dirandau thought.

Dirandau picked up the sword and tossed it back onto the bed.

"I need to have it there."

Folken threw it back. They played a short game of 'toss,' until fatigue overcame Folken. He was very tired from the day's work, and he didn't feel like prolonging this foolishness.

He walked over to the closet, opened a drawer with a lock on it, and threw the katana inside. "I'll unlock it in the morning." With that, he walked back over to the bed and laid down. He soon fell asleep.

Dirandau glowered at him for quite some time. He was too angry to move.

"I can't deal with this, not all the time!" he thought, despairing.

He looked at the boots sitting in the closet. They were his. He should be able to put them where ever he wanted to. He picked one of them up, and chucked it at Folken.

Being smacked in the forehead by the heel of someone's boot was not a pleasant way to be woken up. Folken rubbed his forehead. Dirandau threw the other one at him, hitting the same mark.

Smiling, he thought, "My aim is wonderful."

His smile was strange in comparison to Folken's expression. A tired Strategos with a headache is not one to be taken lightly. He walked back over to the closet, and threw the boots in the drawer as well. He then grabbed a handful of Dirandau's hair, and threw him to the floor.

"Go…to…sleep."

Folken laid back down, and almost immediately fell into sleep.

Dirandau curled up where he was. He was very tired, but couldn't sleep just yet. He had so many emotions flying through his head that he felt he might go mad. He began remember old times. He had curled up like this often. Folken could be so cruel sometimes.

He finally either fell asleep or passed out from exhaustion.

Gatty was thankful that he had often been told to relay messages to Folken. That meant that he would have no trouble finding Folken's quarters now.

Dirandau was rarely late to start work. More often than not, he was early, and angry at the others for not being motivated enough to be there early as well.

Which was why it caused such great concern for his Dragonslayers when four hours had gone by, and he still hadn't shown up.

The lights were off when Gatty reached the room. He thought that no one was in there and would have left immediately, if not for a slight movement in the corner. He squinted, and could barely decipher the outline of his master, lying sprawled-out on the floor.

"Aya!" Gatty exclaimed as he rushed over to him. Gatty kneeled down next to him, and picked up his hand to see if he still had a pulse. Dirandau narrowed his eyes at Gatty, and gripped that arm which had been so rude as to touch him.

"What are you doing?" His words had the quality of a high-pitched tuning fork. He was almost hissing them, and they seared into the listener's head that same feeling of annoyance which Dirandau felt so heavily weighting down upon himself.

"I came to find out why you were late, sir," he said, trying and failing to mask the concern he was feeling.

What impudence! Coming to 'check' on his captain….what was that about? Was this soldier the master here? No. Gatty was not Dirandau's keeper, and he had no business doing anything like that with such a motive.

Dirandau attempted to get up, to hit Gatty. However, his body had decided that this was an opportune time not to cooperate with him. He felt a shooting pain in all of his limbs, and fell back onto the floor. He felt as if all his bones were being ripped apart, and broken. He clutched his back in agony.

Gatty knew better than to ask what was wrong. Dirandau would only get angry, and he wouldn't tell Gatty anything, anyway.

"Forgive me, sir," Gatty said, a saddened look filling his eyes. Once again, there was nothing he could do to help his master. He had to keep all his thoughts to himself, and they would go to waste there. "Thank goodness for Shesta," he thought.

Folken would need to know about this, and so he started to leave. But, then it occurred to him that the floor wasn't the best place for someone who was possibly injured to stay. The bed would be much more comfortable.

"I'm sorry," he apologized in advance. No doubt, Dirandau would be much too angry with him after this to hear anything he had to say.

Gatty didn't know how he had done it, but he had actually managed to drag Dirandau onto the bed. It was a feat to be remembered.

Dirandau threw everything within reach at Gatty. He nearly knocked himself onto the floor with the force he was using to throw. When Gatty left, he could hear the sound of Dirandau's tiara plinking against the door.

{{I hope everyone is enjoying this so far.

There is only about one or two chapters left, unless I decide to continue on where the dream left off, which isn't likely.

I'm not even sure if I'll be able to finish them, the way my memory is going, along with my lack of time. I'll probably just concentrate on "A Weapon of War" before I go to boot camp.

And, I was going to do this in the update of "A Weapon of War," but I forgot.

Through my searchings of the internet, I've found that any forums dedicated to Dirandau are dead, or barely being used at all.

But now, there is one that is quite active, and I thought it would be a good idea to invite people from here to come visit. [Because I'm sure I'm not alone in not being able to find an active Dilly forum.]

The link is:

http://dilandau.proboards16.com/index.cgi

Happy trails.}}