(MarthRoy)
Authors: Xan and Vallen
Rating: R
Warnings: One thing… Or, lot's of things: This is a story with yaoi/shounen
ai/slash, whatever you want to call it. If that sort of stuff isn't your thing,
then don't read it. But, we hope that you do…
Disclaimer: The characters Marth and Roy, plus "Altea", do not belong to us. We
just use them for our pleasure.
Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think!)
Notes: Vallen: One announcement: We now have a yahoo group for Xan and I, so
please join! Just think… You get to know when the chapters come out right when
they do! http://groups.yahoo.com/xan-vallen
Xan: Xan: Hello again! Since there was such a long delay last time, we worked hard on getting this chapter out quickly. I hope y'all enjoy it!!
Thanks to: vv (Wow, I looked at your pic that you posted the URL for on the review and it was awesome! Do you take commissions?), LiL PriNCeSs Me (You'll get to know where it leads to soon enough!), shea (Heh-heh… Pointless rampages are good, but yes, please warn us if you're going to get in one because we might get hurt! *runs away*), Chibi Fairy (*feels happy* Yay, we're on another person's favorite's list! *pokes Xan*), Hellbound Angel (Xan really loved your "MARTH IS INSANE" comment… *cheers* Yes, drama! That's what we were going for!), Pichu*Star (Oh… Hmm… This fic MIGHT (and I STRESS the "might") tie off at right around 20 chapters or so… We have a long way to go. Oh, and if you guys are still interested, we have a fun sequel planned!), Kendrilian (Thanks so much for noticing the typo! I'll get around to fixing it soon… I just have to find the disk that that chapter was on… We're glad you think our story is cool!), Snowangel: Goddess of Wolves (It seems I have found a yaoi fangirl, mm? Well, there will be more yaoi-ness, just not right now… But believe me, this is torturing me too… -_-), Kanashimi Ame (Yes, we finally did write and we apologize for the gap last time! *bows*), tikimoof (well, we don't need fire, but Roy-chan does…), Spectrum (*falls over* Ahh… Yes… Two months is too long… We were bad! Thanks for the great review! We love praise!), Shylock (You shall have more! And yes, bishounenness SHOULD be a word for us fangirls.), and YoshiMars (*sweatdrop* You check daily?? *feels bad* Well, did you join the yahoo group? You can have Marth and Roy-ness every day there! We have fanart from wonderful artists… *drool*)
Was it a dream? Had the wrath of the ice storm killed him after all? A low moan passed Roy's lips as he stirred. His whole body felt feverish and he was shivering yet sweating at the same time. Finally he became aware of a strange weight upon him. The boy-general opened his eyes slowly and saw an arm draped over his chest. Startled, he jumped and pushed away from the person, but was rewarded with a wave of dizziness from the sudden movement.
'This is a dream…' he thought as his blurry vision was greeting with the sight of a sleeping, shirtless Marth. 'Why the hell did he help me? He should have just left me there- I was a weakness to our mission…'
The teen reached out a wavering hand and touched Marth's shoulder, shaking gently.
"Highness…" he choked out, his voice a hoarse whisper.
Marth's eyes fluttered open and he looked around at his surroundings, finding Roy.
"A-Are you alright?" The blue-haired man asked, concerned. He tried to sit up, but found that he was still too weak.
"Don't… know…" Roy answered with a body-wracking shiver. "Can't… stop shaking. What a-about you?" Sweat dripped down the teen's face and he made an attempt to wipe it off. "You should have l-left me there. Now I'll be even more trouble for you."
"I'll be fine in a little while," Marth answered, noticing Roy's violent shivers. He pushed himself up onto his elbow and stoked the fire with a long stick. Once it was roaring again, he pulled Roy over closer to it. Hesitantly, he wiped the sweat from Roy's brow and moved away from him.
"I couldn't leave you… Not after everything we've been through. And… I just couldn't…" Marth said quietly, looking down at the ground.
Roy's eyes closed and he basked in the heat, wrapping his arms around himself and lying back down.
"So you're telling me that you care whether I live or die because of all the things we've been through together…?" he asked drowsily. "So we're… Friends or something?"
The ex-prince moved away from the fire's heat, but remained close enough to help Roy if he needed to.
"Yes, I think friends sounds right." He answered softly. "You should get more rest- we need to talk later."
"No, no, no… we can talk now. I'm not that tired…" Roy protested, forcing his eyes open. He did need the rest, but the teen was too curious as to what they would talk about.
Marth knew that Roy needed to sleep, but he also knew that it was no use to try to force him to rest- Once the boy-general's mind was made up, it was impossible to get him to change it.
"Are you warm enough?" he asked, feeling that if he couldn't get Roy to sleep, he could at least keep him warm.
"Mmm-Hmm…" the auburn-haired teen answered, keeping his feverish shivered down to a minimum while he was next to the fire. "Don't you want to get next to it? Its very warm and nice…" He almost-purred sleepily.
Marth shivered, although it was certainly not because he was cold.
"No, thank you. I prefer the cold. The fire is all for you." He paused and steeled himself for what he was about to say. "I think I have magical powers."
The teen let out a dry, hoarse laugh, his sides shaking visibly. He turned over and gave Marth a "what-the-hell" look.
"Oh, that's a good one, Highness… Heh… A real good one… So you're saying that we survived that storm because of your supposed "magical powers" and expect me to believe it?"
The outburst of laughter had clearly helped Roy to wake up quite a bit, his eyes more clear and focused. He analyzed Marth with them, as he had done many times before, and stared into the ex-prince's own.
Marth looked right back into Roy's eyes, deadly serious.
"You twist my words, but yes. I'm not completely sure, but I'm fairly confident that I have some sort of power." He looked over at Roy's skeptical face. "I know it sounds crazy, but I'm serious.
The blue-haired man crawled over to the entrance of the cave where the blizzard was still raging outside. He stretched out a hand towards the storm.
"Come… Come on…" He whispered, concentrating on it. "Listen to me… I command you…"
A blast of cold air and snow hurtled into the cave, summoned by Marth. It sped towards the fire, determined to put it out.
Marth's eyes widened and he cried out in alarm. If the fire went out, then it meant disaster for both of them.
Using every bit of strength that he could wrest from his already exhausted and battered body, the exiled Prince hauled the gust of icy wind and snow away from Roy and the fire, pulling it towards him. It formed into a small sphere of swirling snow into his hands. He threw it away before slumping to the ground, knocked out by sheer exhaustion.
Roy stared in shock at the sight before him, trembling slightly. He moved over to the Prince as fast as he could and shook him wildly.
"Highness! Wake up- What happened to you?!" he shouted, trying to reach the unconscious Marth. But his words did not- It was like talking to the dead.
He grabbed hold of Marth and pulled him over towards the fire and away from the opening the best he could.
'What the hell was that?'
Marth's face was pale and his breathing was shallow as Roy dragged him over to the fire. He had used too much of his newly unleashed power and had, in doing so, depleted the last of his energy. With some rest, he would be just fine. Roy glanced at him one last time before curling up and going to sleep himself.
The teen woke up again late that next morning. The storm had obviously raged on all night and now the wretched snow was falling thick and hard, but not with the intensity it had before. A bit of the sun peeked out from behind the thick grey clouds, but gave no warmth. Winter had just settled in for the long haul.
Roy sat up slowly and looked around. Only his bodily shivering hindered his movements, but otherwise he had put all his other pain aide. He raised a pale hand to brush his messy hair out of the way and push back his headband a little so he could see.
"Shit…" he muttered. From his viewpoint, things did not look good. By the looks of it, they were practically snowed into a cold cave with minimal warmth. And also, he couldn't forget that his exiled prince was lying unconscious on the ground. Then there was that strange magical powers issue…
He cursed colorfully again and stood up, beginning to pace. Every so often he would glance at Marth, but his attention was mostly focused on the situation.
Finally the teenage general grew weary of the merely walking about and drew his sword. Roy slashed artfully at an unseen imaginary enemy, trying to work out all his frustration and keep warm. But still his hands shook with the effort to hold his sword properly against his body's reaction to the cold.
"You're right…"
Marth's flat voice came from where he was lying. His eyes were closed and his hands were clenched tightly at his sides. Slowly, he relaxed them.
"You're right. We've got to get out of here.
The prince-in-exile sat up slowly, his entire body as sore as if he had been stomped on by an entire herd of wild horses. But he didn't let that stop him as he lurched to his feet, his usually graceful motions awkward and jerky. Finally Marth attainted a standing position. He leaned unsteadily on the wall of the cave and looked at Roy.
"I think… that I could control the blizzard long enough for us to get out of these woods, but I would be weak after. I would need you to protect me until I regain my strength." He lowered his eyes to the floor. "If you're unwilling to do that, I understand."
The auburn-haired teen stared at the semi-blocked entrance, thinking quickly. He had ceased his swordplay and now let his sword linger at his side.
"Acceptable. Why would you think that I would refuse? It is my duty to protect royalty… Above anything, I am a soldier, Highness," he replied.
'Only I'm usually not so stony… At least this way I can help him without having to reveal anything. Although I don't know what I would be revealing… We've been through hell together, and doesn't that change a person? Oh hell, maybe I am better off alone…' The young general thought to himself, still not facing Marth.
"I had hoped that we were on friendlier terms than former royal to former general, but if that is what you prefer, general, then I shall comply." Marth walked over to where the horses were hobbled and checked them over. "The horses seem to be fine. When would you like me to do this? I could do it now, but it would probably be best if we waited a little while."
"I would prefer soon. It's already late in the morning and I don't want to do this when it gets colder later in the afternoon," Roy answered, going to the black mare. He pressed his cold face against her neck, closing his eyes appreciatively. The horses generated more body heat than humans because of their size and mass. He completely ignored Marth's first comment and hoped that they wouldn't come across that subject again anytime soon. He felt uncomfortable talking to the ex-prince as friends, but maybe deep down inside, wished that they were.
"As you wish."
Marth patted Cloud's neck once before swinging himself up onto the stallion's back. He had taken off Clouds hobbles a moment ago and walked him over to the entrance of the cave.
"You'll have to lead us out of here," Marth said with his back to the general. "I'll be concentrating too hard on the snow to control him."
The ex-prince closed his eyes and raised his hands to the snow.
'Well, at least this means he believes that I do have powers.'
"Listen to me," Marth said to the blizzard. "I command you to listen to me."
He began to glow eerily, the color alternating from ice blue to royal blue and his blue eyes blazed.
"Stop."
Abruptly, the blizzard did stop. The snow halted and the wind died. Everything was deadly still.
"Go!" Marth cried to Roy, voice full of pain and the effort of holding the storm. "Go now!"
The ex-general led his horse into a full gallop once he heard the urgency in the blue-haired man's voice. The mare's legs were pounding on the earth through the snow, faster and faster every minute and Roy felt as if he was flying. He rode without looking around at his standstill surroundings for as long and hard as he could.
When the horse tired, she slowed down almost immediately after Roy signaled that she could. They were out of the forest- the teen patted her neck and walked her around to cool down.
The land there were in now was flat and hilly at the same time, like the plains. Roy could see more of the sun now and it was a relief. He rubbed his sleeves against his frozen face to try and warm it. Then he looked back- Was Marth behind him?
After a few minutes, Marth's grey stallion pounded out of the forest. An unconscious Marth was slumped against the frightened horse's neck. Cloud pranced nervously, unused to Marth's limp weight. The ex-prince's hands were wrapped in the stallion's mane and a faint blue glow still surrounded him. The glow faded and the snow began to fall once again, only slowly and gently. Marth slipped off Cloud's back and landed face down on the ground.
Roy sighed and got off his horse. He hoisted Marth onto his back, grabbing the ex-prince's arms. With a grunt, he pushed the limp body up onto the stallion and, before Marth could fall off again, jumped on behind him. The teen held Marth on the horse, but blinked, then groaned in frustration.
"Damn you being so tall… Now I can't see…" he mumbled, half-growling. Mentally cursing, the auburn-haired teen dismounted and got on the horse again, this time in front.
"Much better…" he muttered under his breath, and grabbed the reins with one hand. Roy let Marth fall forward so that he rested on his back and steadied him with the other hands, positioning the ex-prince's arms around his shoulders.
'This should work.'
He had the horse trot over to his own mare and Roy grabbed those reins as well. Together the two horses cantered side by side, the larger carrying two riders off into the day.
TBC…
Vallen: *cheers* Another one done! Anyways, I hope that one didn't take too long for you guys! Oh, and if you're wondering about the magic thing, the next chapter just gets more interesting…
Xan: I think this is one of my favorite chapters. Just 'cause of all the conflict. And it also contains one of my favorite parts in the entire fic insofar: "'This is a dream…' he thought as his blurry vision was greeting with the sight of a sleeping, shirtless Marth." I just get such a kick out of that line. I hope you liked it! Hopefully, we can get the next chapter out quickly too. Ja!