Kitsune: Hey everyone! Chapter two is finally up! Thanks sooo much for your reviews!!! I luv you guys!!!
Tempest: I hate to say it, but this fic is looking pretty good so far.
Kitsune: Tempest, you've been so nice lately! It's so out of character for you.
Tempest: Yeah, I know…it's weird
Kitsune: I didn't say it was a bad thing…
Tempest: Why did it take you so long to get this chapter up?
Kitsune: *starts talking a mile a minute* Well, my older brother decided that he owns the computer and he took the computer with him when he went to his friend's house for two days! Argh! And I've been doing track practice every day, and I've had lots of homework lately too! Grrr! Teachers! I had to write a huge research paper last night.
Tempest: Oh.
Kitsune: Anyway, here's chapter two!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing! Sunrise, Bandai, and some other company do! You won't get any money because I don't have any!
Warnings: AU, Slavery, shounen-ai, maybe yaoi (boy + boy relationships) and language. You don't like? You don't read!
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Wufei was very confused. This place was so different than his home. His home, he thought…the home he would never see again. Not that it mattered now. He and Trowa made their way across some of the smaller fields to a large stream. The boy noticed that many of the slaves working would stare at him oddly.
Wufei walked closer to Trowa and whispered to him, "Why are they gawking at me like that? I don't look that out of place do I?" Trowa too looked at him strangely before replying.
"For one thing, you look very different than anyone they've seen. But they probably do that because of your band." Wufei gave him a questioning look. "Lord Treize had you banded with gold. That alone is unusual." The shorter boy noted that Trowa's band was of simple metal. "Yours also has black, red, and blue gems in it. What he has planned for you we can only guess."
That statement puzzled him even more. He remembered the remark the slave trader had made that he wasn't to be "wasted in the fields". What did Treize buy him for? He wondered. He would find out soon enough.
The were at the edge of the water. Trowa looked around. Spotting Catherine nearby, he walked over to her and they conversed for a moment. She ran off. "Come on," he said to Wufei, "help me look for more of this." He held in his hand a strange plant. They hunted along the banks until each had a handful. "This flower will make soap when you crush it."
A few moments later, Catherine ran back with something in her arms. She set her bundle down and held out a key to Trowa. He took it and removed the shackles around Wufei's ankles and wrists. The boy shook out his joints, relieved that they were not stiff. "Thank you." Trowa gave her back the key, and she nodded and left.
"None of us wear chains here, unless for punishment." Wufei was glad to hear that. "Take off your clothes." Trowa said to him, removing his shirt. He complied, and stripped down to his under shorts. The taller boy did likewise. Then they both waded into the water until it reached their waists. Trowa reached down and took off his own shorts, and tossed them on the bank.
Wufei looked hesitant and slightly bothered, but followed the other boy's example. He was glad that the murky water offered him some modesty. Trowa reached up and grabbed the flowers, handing half of them to Wufei. Once crushed, they made a thick lather. They washed themselves as best they could. Wufei waded to the cover of some rushes and climbed out.
"Trowa..?" Wufei called from behind the tall plants, obviously embarrassed and slightly irritated. "Can you throw me my clothes?"
Trowa smiled a tiny smile and pulled himself up on the stream bank. He reached down and got the clothes Cathy had brought, and tossed them to the other boy. Wufei gladly put them on. They were worn and plain, but still soft and comfortable. He emerged from his cover of bulrushes to find Trowa already dressed.
The taller boy turned to go and the Asian boy followed him. He sighed in despair. Now he would have to face his new owner and master. What is going to happen to me…? He wondered.
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Dorothy wandered through the halls of the manor. Where had that cousin of hers gotten to? Treize was an expert at stealing away, and when he did, he was almost impossible to find. She walked up the grand staircase, her handmaiden in tow.
Relena was not a slave. She had come with her brother Zechs and his wife Noin to work for the lord and lady of the estate. Her sister-in-law and brother were the only family she had left. Over the last year or two, she and Dorothy had become close friends. The Lady was a bit picky at times, but overall, a generous and kind person to work for.
"Where on earth could he be?" Dorothy exclaimed. With a sigh of defeat, she headed toward his room, which he rarely occupied, which was her last place to search. Relena followed the sound her mistress' rustling skirts down the hall. Down at the end of the hallway, two slaves stood outside of the master bedroom's door.
"What are you doing?" The flaxen blonde demanded. Relena recognized one of them as a livery slave, but said nothing. She couldn't quite recall his name, but she remembered his strange hairstyle and intense green eyes. With him was another whom she had never seen before. He had raven hair and dark, almond shaped eyes.
"We are waiting for Lord Treize, my Lady," the brunette replied.
"Is he in there?" Dorothy asked, pointing to the bedroom. The slave nodded. "Who is he?" she said, pointing to the other boy. Then she noted his golden jeweled collar. A fine new slave boy waiting outside Treize's door… Dorothy smiled slyly. She had always had her suspicions, but never had anything to confirm them…until now.
"Well, I'll just go get him for you, so wait right here," she announced, cutting off his reply. The Lady sauntered into the master bedroom and closed the door behind her. Relena and the two young men all shared puzzled looks.
The dark haired boy turned to the other and whispered, "Who was that?" His brown haired companion murmured something back. Relena watched him curiously. All of them stood in silence. Wufei was eyeing the girl. She was dressed in finer clothes than them, and was not banded.
Inside the Lord's chambers, an interesting conversation was taking place. Dorothy had found her cousin out on the small balcony that was adjacent to his bedroom. Treize was leaning against the railing, leafing through a small book. He looked up as she approached him.
"I've been looking all over for you."
"Well, I thought this would be the last place you would look," he teased.
She was still faintly annoyed with him. "Who is that new slave?"
"Quite a catch, is he not?" Treize baited her; she looked almost jealous. He had returned to reading his book. "I bought him this morning."
"What are you going to do with him?" curiosity had gotten the best of her.
"I haven't decided on that yet."
"Oh?" No reply. She waited for a moment and then sighed. "Fine. But if another one like that comes in, I get him, agreed?"
Her cousin offered no reply, apparently engrossed in his book. He smiled as she stomped off, muttering darkly about impossible men.
"Alright, Dorothy." He called to her. "Send them in now, would you?" A few moments later, he heard footsteps entering his room. Closing his book, he stepped through the French doors and into his bedroom.
The two slaves stood near the doorway, gazing in awe at the riches within the master's chambers. Silks, tapestries, paintings, gold and jewels were everywhere. Then the dark haired slave's gaze riveted on a table, and his eyes grew hard. The other slave followed his line of sight and saw why.
Treize walked over to the table and picked up the sword. It was long and slightly curved. It was sheathed in an elaborately decorated case. He drew it, smiling at the fine blade he held. Then he looked up at the new slave.
"Where did you get this sword?" Wufei was cross and was about to growl a reply when Trowa nudged him and gave him a nervous look. He scowled deeper, but replied to the question.
"It was my father's. He was the leader of our clan."
Treize looked intrigued. "It looks as if it has never been used." Wufei took this as a statement instead of a prompt, but Trowa elbowed him again when the young lord looked up expectantly. He replied, anger evident in his voice.
"It hasn't. It was a symbol of our peacefulness with other clans. It always remained sheathed to show our dislike of fighting. Should we ever go to war, it would be drawn from its sheath to prove that we would fight back and win."
"Go on."
Wufei continued, hate now filling his words. "Then you foreigners came and destroyed everything! We tried to stay peaceful, but then our village and everyone in it was burned to ashes! You took away all I ever had, and now I am another man's property? You dare call this civilized!"
Trowa was shocked at the other young man's passion. He saw that Treize was too. He wondered how exactly the lord would try to train and break this boy. The raven haired boy composed himself, forcing his cracking voice to become coldly neutral. "I will not die here, as a slave."
Treize's brows went up, and then drew together in a frown. This would be harder than he had expected. What did he mean, he wouldn't die as a slave? He strode over to the defiant young man and raised the sword up. Wufei closed his eyes. Trowa gasped. He thought that Treize might actually kill the boy.
Without taking his eyes off of Wufei, the young lord told Trowa, "You may leave now." He nodded silently and left the two alone.
The keen edge of the sword was an inch from his nose, but Wufei didn't flinch. Treize addressed him in a smooth, quiet tone, "Well, whether you like it or not, I own you now. Get used to that fact."
The young man's fists clenched, but his eyes remained closed. Treize turned away and sheathed the sword. Wufei opened his eyes, surprised that the lord hadn't hit him. His curiosity overcame his fear and he asked, "What did you buy me for?"
The older man's head snapped around at that. "What?" Wufei stepped forward, his eyes full of questions and a childlike inquisitiveness. "What is my purpose?"
Kitsune: End Chappie 2!
Tempest: That was weird. Wufei seemed really out of character.
Kitsune: Well, put yourself in his position: think of how you would feel if you had been sold as a slave. You would be confused and angry and want to know why it all happened. Think about it. I know, he was kind of OOC, but it is an AU story, so give me a break.
Tempest: I guess you're right, but I bet you'll get a lot of people saying he was OOC and ranting about it.
Kitsune: Yeah, I know. Well, what do you think everyone??? REVIEW PLEASE!!
