Chapter 9
Hilde stared at the ever-growing village. It was huge! Duo had always spoken of how poor the village was when Hilde had first seen it. That didn't seem to be the case and evidently, Duo was shocked as well.
"Dear Kami!" he cried. Wufei and Dorothy smiled, expecting Duo's reaction. "What has Banshee been doing over this last few years?" Wufei answered the question.
"Well, Relena's brother is a lot more clever with politics than we thought."
"Despite what the leader had said and done, Zechs made the leader trust him. Somehow, Zechs helped market he village succeed even though the leader still considered himself in charge," said Dorothy.
"After the leader died, Zechs took over and the village is growing rapidly. So rapidly that no one has seen it coming yet. The other tribes believe that we are poor and insignificant, but that is no longer true!" said Wufei proudly. Duo's eyes were wide with what came into view. Hundreds of homes littered the area and streams of smoke rose from inside several. There were even dogs running around, which was a miraculous thing. One or two gardens were seen here and there.
"This must have cost a fortune!" blurted Hilde. Over the last day or two, Dorothy and Wufei found that Hilde was fairly nice person, that is, until Duo got her mad, but in the end she and Duo would be ending a fight in laughter. Dorothy smiled at Hilde.
"We've set up some random and anonymous stands. No one knows where they are from."
"We've been managing to irrigate the water from the waterhole to the village. Without the earlier technology from a hundred years ago it wasn't an easy task," said Wufei.
"What of the flocks?"
"That has only now become a major source of income. We're slowly making our way back to where we were before. Nothing like air conditioners and microwaves but it's getting there." Hilde found it amazing that all of this had developed in such a short amount of time and without any suspicion from anyone else.
"Won't the other tribes find this all out?"
"Yes, but it will be too late to do anything about it." That was true.
"Come on," said Dorothy. "They're expecting you." Hilde hesitated. Smiling reassuringly, Duo led her another step to her new home. Every moment he felt her tense up more. Finally, the eyes of the villagers could be seen and Hilde felt the bottom of her stomach fall out. Duo felt her nervousness and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Hilde's teeth gnawed at her lip as the perspiration beaded on her brow.
"Easy," said Duo soothingly. Hilde swallowed. Suddenly a cry rang out.
"They're back!" someone cried. More yells and whoops of excitement followed quickly. People came running. Some seemed to only come with curiosity, others with looks of a pained remembrance.
"It's Duo!" whispered people rapidly.
"Hey, Duo's back!"
"Where are the others?"
"Maybe the Dead Soul killed them." Hushed whispers rose as eyes caught sight of Hilde. Questions of who she was ran through the crowd. Suddenly the answer rang out.
"Dead Soul!" Cries of outrage followed and Hilde clutched Duo's hand tighter. Many villagers crowded forward to harass and shun the outsider. Duo covered her protectively, pushing people away, some strangers, others old memories.
"Back off… BACK OFF, I SAID!" cried Duo at the top of his lungs. The people backed away in surprise at Duo's protest.
"She is the enemy!" someone cried.
"No! She's not. She's left that tribe because she was not happy there!"
"She won't be happy here!"
"Why have you brought the barbarian?" More upset cries arose, but was suddenly silenced as a voice roared over the villagers. The people all backed away as Zechs came forward. His icy blue eyes searched and assessed the situation. He saw quickly that Relena was not there. He stepped up to Duo and looked him straight in the eye.
"It is good to see you again, Duo Maxwell." Duo smiled a little.
"What a welcome." Zechs smiled, but everyone saw it didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm sorry you were treated so harshly on your return home."
"It's changed, that's all I will say."
"Where are the others? Relena, Catherine, and Joshua?" Zechs felt his fear melt away when Dorothy, Wufei, and Duo showed no sign of grief. They were okay then.
"She decided to stay with the Dead Soul clan," said Dorothy quietly. Zechs fear from earlier was immediately replaced by a terrible wave of dread.
"Why did she stay? This is her home," said Zechs stiffly. Dorothy glanced at Wufei.
"She has a new home now," said Duo. He swallowed deeply and took a deep breath. If Zechs' protectiveness over his little sister remained, then this ought to be the show of the year. "She's married… to Heero Yuy." Zechs' face turned from pale to bright red and almost to purple as the news spun through his mind.
"She must have been forced," he said denying it.
"She agreed of her own free will," stated Dorothy. Zechs shot her a death glare and she backed away a little. Zechs had not given a look like that since the attack years earlier. Unfortunately for Dorothy, it was directed at her.
"Relena would not betray her tribe that way!"
"So you're saying Cathy and Relena… and even Joshua are all traitors?" cried Duo.
"Cathy as well?" cried Zechs in sarcastic shock.
"Zechs…"
"They have all been corrupted! This is war! They will pay for the corruption they have caused my sister." Duo had enough and stomped up to the crazed leader and let fly his left fist. Everyone went into shock and there was a stunned silence.
"Listen to yourself, Zechs!" he yelled angrily as Zechs' cold eyes landed on his own stone cold face "You sound just like your last leader! Nothing but hatred and spite! That's not what you were before." Something changed in Zechs' eyes. They softened a little. Then he spoke quietly without tenseness.
"Not your leader?"
"What?"
"He was not your leader as well?" Duo's eyes widened than fell in understanding.
"He stopped being my leader the moment he left me to the outsiders."
"I see. Then tell me this. Is this your tribe anymore?" Duo's heart twisted.
"Did the tribe defend me… an orphan? My family dead and being thrown out?" Zechs stared sadly at Duo for a long moment.
"There wasn't anything I could do. The whole tribe would have suffered."
"All for a little orphan… three orphans at that! Relena might as well have been an orphan!" That hurt Zechs and Hilde saw it even before Duo. Acting quickly, Hilde shot forward and stood face to face with her old archenemy. Her eyes searched Zechs' confused, angry, and hurt eyes.
"You want to help people, don't you?" It seemed random to everyone else, but Hilde could something in his eyes, deep where no one could find it. Duo knew Hilde had a knack with knowing or finding these things.
He glanced down at Hilde proudly. Zechs was staring at Hilde as if something had been let loose inside of him. Slowly, he turned away and began to make his way towards his hut. Duo lightly placed a hand on Hilde's shoulder as she stared at Zechs back. Duo turned to Hilde, placing a protective arm around her and turned to Wufei and Dorothy.
"So, where do we put up for tonight?"
"Hilde is probably going to stay with me," said Dorothy with a coy look. Duo raised his eyebrows as Hilde began to turn a deep red blush. Wufei rolled his eyes and stepped in.
"Until you build a place for yourself, you're staying with me."
"Great!" Duo leaped over and gave Wufei a hardy pat on the back. Wufei gave his friend an annoyed look. Duo ignored it and leapt off yelling he was going to raid the food.
He hasn't changed a bit," said Dorothy with a small grin. Hilde grinned at Dorothy, her new roommate.
"I suppose he's always had his appetite?" Dorothy shrugged and made her way into the heart of the village. Hilde jogged to catch up when she realized Duo had left with Wufei already.
"Do you think we'll have any trouble in town?" The blond woman didn't turn, she glanced around as they made their way down an opening between two huts. If it was back a hundred years or so, it would have been called an alley.
"Not if we use a few back routes," Dorothy finally responded. How ironic for Hilde to be sneaking into her new home.
Hilde stared at the ever-growing village. It was huge! Duo had always spoken of how poor the village was when Hilde had first seen it. That didn't seem to be the case and evidently, Duo was shocked as well.
"Dear Kami!" he cried. Wufei and Dorothy smiled, expecting Duo's reaction. "What has Banshee been doing over this last few years?" Wufei answered the question.
"Well, Relena's brother is a lot more clever with politics than we thought."
"Despite what the leader had said and done, Zechs made the leader trust him. Somehow, Zechs helped market he village succeed even though the leader still considered himself in charge," said Dorothy.
"After the leader died, Zechs took over and the village is growing rapidly. So rapidly that no one has seen it coming yet. The other tribes believe that we are poor and insignificant, but that is no longer true!" said Wufei proudly. Duo's eyes were wide with what came into view. Hundreds of homes littered the area and streams of smoke rose from inside several. There were even dogs running around, which was a miraculous thing. One or two gardens were seen here and there.
"This must have cost a fortune!" blurted Hilde. Over the last day or two, Dorothy and Wufei found that Hilde was fairly nice person, that is, until Duo got her mad, but in the end she and Duo would be ending a fight in laughter. Dorothy smiled at Hilde.
"We've set up some random and anonymous stands. No one knows where they are from."
"We've been managing to irrigate the water from the waterhole to the village. Without the earlier technology from a hundred years ago it wasn't an easy task," said Wufei.
"What of the flocks?"
"That has only now become a major source of income. We're slowly making our way back to where we were before. Nothing like air conditioners and microwaves but it's getting there." Hilde found it amazing that all of this had developed in such a short amount of time and without any suspicion from anyone else.
"Won't the other tribes find this all out?"
"Yes, but it will be too late to do anything about it." That was true.
"Come on," said Dorothy. "They're expecting you." Hilde hesitated. Smiling reassuringly, Duo led her another step to her new home. Every moment he felt her tense up more. Finally, the eyes of the villagers could be seen and Hilde felt the bottom of her stomach fall out. Duo felt her nervousness and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Hilde's teeth gnawed at her lip as the perspiration beaded on her brow.
"Easy," said Duo soothingly. Hilde swallowed. Suddenly a cry rang out.
"They're back!" someone cried. More yells and whoops of excitement followed quickly. People came running. Some seemed to only come with curiosity, others with looks of a pained remembrance.
"It's Duo!" whispered people rapidly.
"Hey, Duo's back!"
"Where are the others?"
"Maybe the Dead Soul killed them." Hushed whispers rose as eyes caught sight of Hilde. Questions of who she was ran through the crowd. Suddenly the answer rang out.
"Dead Soul!" Cries of outrage followed and Hilde clutched Duo's hand tighter. Many villagers crowded forward to harass and shun the outsider. Duo covered her protectively, pushing people away, some strangers, others old memories.
"Back off… BACK OFF, I SAID!" cried Duo at the top of his lungs. The people backed away in surprise at Duo's protest.
"She is the enemy!" someone cried.
"No! She's not. She's left that tribe because she was not happy there!"
"She won't be happy here!"
"Why have you brought the barbarian?" More upset cries arose, but was suddenly silenced as a voice roared over the villagers. The people all backed away as Zechs came forward. His icy blue eyes searched and assessed the situation. He saw quickly that Relena was not there. He stepped up to Duo and looked him straight in the eye.
"It is good to see you again, Duo Maxwell." Duo smiled a little.
"What a welcome." Zechs smiled, but everyone saw it didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm sorry you were treated so harshly on your return home."
"It's changed, that's all I will say."
"Where are the others? Relena, Catherine, and Joshua?" Zechs felt his fear melt away when Dorothy, Wufei, and Duo showed no sign of grief. They were okay then.
"She decided to stay with the Dead Soul clan," said Dorothy quietly. Zechs fear from earlier was immediately replaced by a terrible wave of dread.
"Why did she stay? This is her home," said Zechs stiffly. Dorothy glanced at Wufei.
"She has a new home now," said Duo. He swallowed deeply and took a deep breath. If Zechs' protectiveness over his little sister remained, then this ought to be the show of the year. "She's married… to Heero Yuy." Zechs' face turned from pale to bright red and almost to purple as the news spun through his mind.
"She must have been forced," he said denying it.
"She agreed of her own free will," stated Dorothy. Zechs shot her a death glare and she backed away a little. Zechs had not given a look like that since the attack years earlier. Unfortunately for Dorothy, it was directed at her.
"Relena would not betray her tribe that way!"
"So you're saying Cathy and Relena… and even Joshua are all traitors?" cried Duo.
"Cathy as well?" cried Zechs in sarcastic shock.
"Zechs…"
"They have all been corrupted! This is war! They will pay for the corruption they have caused my sister." Duo had enough and stomped up to the crazed leader and let fly his left fist. Everyone went into shock and there was a stunned silence.
"Listen to yourself, Zechs!" he yelled angrily as Zechs' cold eyes landed on his own stone cold face "You sound just like your last leader! Nothing but hatred and spite! That's not what you were before." Something changed in Zechs' eyes. They softened a little. Then he spoke quietly without tenseness.
"Not your leader?"
"What?"
"He was not your leader as well?" Duo's eyes widened than fell in understanding.
"He stopped being my leader the moment he left me to the outsiders."
"I see. Then tell me this. Is this your tribe anymore?" Duo's heart twisted.
"Did the tribe defend me… an orphan? My family dead and being thrown out?" Zechs stared sadly at Duo for a long moment.
"There wasn't anything I could do. The whole tribe would have suffered."
"All for a little orphan… three orphans at that! Relena might as well have been an orphan!" That hurt Zechs and Hilde saw it even before Duo. Acting quickly, Hilde shot forward and stood face to face with her old archenemy. Her eyes searched Zechs' confused, angry, and hurt eyes.
"You want to help people, don't you?" It seemed random to everyone else, but Hilde could something in his eyes, deep where no one could find it. Duo knew Hilde had a knack with knowing or finding these things.
He glanced down at Hilde proudly. Zechs was staring at Hilde as if something had been let loose inside of him. Slowly, he turned away and began to make his way towards his hut. Duo lightly placed a hand on Hilde's shoulder as she stared at Zechs back. Duo turned to Hilde, placing a protective arm around her and turned to Wufei and Dorothy.
"So, where do we put up for tonight?"
"Hilde is probably going to stay with me," said Dorothy with a coy look. Duo raised his eyebrows as Hilde began to turn a deep red blush. Wufei rolled his eyes and stepped in.
"Until you build a place for yourself, you're staying with me."
"Great!" Duo leaped over and gave Wufei a hardy pat on the back. Wufei gave his friend an annoyed look. Duo ignored it and leapt off yelling he was going to raid the food.
He hasn't changed a bit," said Dorothy with a small grin. Hilde grinned at Dorothy, her new roommate.
"I suppose he's always had his appetite?" Dorothy shrugged and made her way into the heart of the village. Hilde jogged to catch up when she realized Duo had left with Wufei already.
"Do you think we'll have any trouble in town?" The blond woman didn't turn, she glanced around as they made their way down an opening between two huts. If it was back a hundred years or so, it would have been called an alley.
"Not if we use a few back routes," Dorothy finally responded. How ironic for Hilde to be sneaking into her new home.