Part Five: The Test of the Storm Lords
"Lady Relena!" Noin called worriedly. Looking in the infirmary, she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the princess kneeling by the makeshift cot of a wounded man.
"Lady, please let one of us escort you. It would not be safe to let you wander on your own." She said as she knelt by princess.
"My people need me."
"Yes. But we need you alive. We need to keep you alive. You are the only hope we have left." Noin said vehemently. "You are our princess, and that must be kept a secret."
"It is just… I am so tired."
"I am sorry. But no one must know. Until we are able to find Prince Duo, no one must know."
"I am sorry. I will be more careful."
"My lady…" Noin whispered. "We would like to share your burden with you."
"Thank you."(1)
Treize looked at the man kneeling before him. He was truly beautiful. Wearing no clothing with his hair loose, the Ice Prince was truly magnificent. He smiled as he gently caressed a smooth cheek. "Stand." He commanded.
Zechs stood without protest. He felt no fear at the man who stood before him. He only felt excitement. He was already aroused. He became even harder as the man approached.
Treize smiled when he saw the platinum haired man's errection twitch with anticipation. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss onto his mouth. The mouth beneath his own gave a slight gasp as it opened willingly allowing full access. Treize plundered, explored and stroked the other man's mouth. This produced a moan. Lifting his head, he looked into ice blue eyes glazed over with lust and desire. Obviously, his Ice Prince desired him as much as he desired him. He smiled pleased as he told Zechs to lie on the bed arms above his head and his legs spread.
He looked like a vision of seduction. Lying on silk rose colored sheets his pale skin and platinum hair a sharp contrast with the red. This was going to be enjoyable.
Wufei looked at the fierce looking Storm Lord in front of him. Following his instinct, he crossed his arms over his chest his fingers on his shoulders and bowed. As he raised his head, he saw that there was a small smile on the Storm Lord's face. It seemed that the Storm Lord had approved of his action.
'What is your name Warrior?' the Storm Lord asked.
"Wufei of Chang." He answered.
'You are truly worthy of the test. I am called Nataku.'
"The honor is mine to know so noble a creature." Wufei said with great respect.
'Yes, you have been taught well.' Nataku said. 'Kneel.' He ordered.
Wufei obeyed without hesitation. Normally he would not kneel without reason. However, something told him he was to do everything Nataku ordered. So he obeyed. He had also sensed that the Storm Lord was not making him pay homage or some other humiliating thing.
'Now close your eyes and relax.' Nataku ordered.
Wufei obeyed. Suddenly, he felt a rush of power slide over his skin. Opening his eyes, he found himself back in a room that looked hauntingly familiar. The walls were made of a light brown wood with golden designs. A sliding door on one wall was made of glass. It was covered with white see through gauze like curtains, which was overlapped by a rich red brocade. The floor was covered with a rich soft black carpet. There was a canopied bed in the middle of the room. The outer canopy was made of the same rich red brocade as the curtain. The inner canopy and curtains were made of white see through gauze and a thin gold silk. The quilt was made of rich gold silk with red and black design and the sheets were white silk. A glowing white pearl like orb on each side of the bed gave a soft glow to the whole room.
Wufei wondered where he was and why it seemed so familiar. As if on cue, the sliding door opened and a woman walked in. Wufei froze.
She was tall and beautiful. Her features were proud and strong, and she was slim and lithe her slim figure hiding hidden strength. Her long silky straight black hair fell to the small of her back. She wore a body fitting scarlet gown with a golden dragon curved around her. Small ruby earrings dangled from her ears and a golden circlet encircled her brow. A small gold ring with a star shaped ruby was on her left ring finger.
"Who are you?" she asked Wufei calmly.
Wufei stared at her for a long moment. "Princess Mei.. Meiran?" he stammered in shock.
"Who are you?" she asked again. "And how do you know my name." She demanded.
"Don't you know me my lady?" Wufei asked.
"No I have never laid eyes on you before." She answered. "Who are you?"
"My name is Wufei of Chang and I served your father until he died."
"My father?"
"Yes, my lady"
"That is impossible, you could not have served my father, he died when I was three." Meiran said.
"Three?" Wufei exclaimed. "That cannot be right, to my knowledge, he died in battle when you were sixteen…"
"Who are you?" she asked. Before he could answer however she collapsed in his arms.
"My Lady! My lady! Princess! Are you alright?" he said frantically.
'You have a choice warrior. Are you willing to give up your honor and your pride for her life or will you hold on to your country's tradition at the price of her life.'
"That is no choice. I would give everything I have for her."
'Well done!' he heard Nataku's familiar voice say. 'Now, answer my question.'
Wufei suddenly found himself in another plane. It looked like liquid fire without the heat. He looked up and saw a huge dragon standing before him. Its scales were gold on color mixed here and ther with a scarlet scale. His claws were also gold and his mane seemed to shimmer between a pale yellow and a pale gold.
"Nataku?" Wufei asked, gazing at the dragon in awe.
The dragon nodded. 'When a young child is mislead and follows the wrong path, when a youth is mistaught and turns to thieving ways, what will the dragon do to him? Will he kill him for justice to pay for his deeds or will he teach him the wisdom of a warrior's ways?'
"The dragon would teach the child the wisdom of a warrior's ways." Wufei answered.
'Well done!' Nataku said. 'You have passed.'
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Quatre looked at the golden Storm Lord with interest. He smiled happily at the Storm Lord for some reason even he didn't understand.
'May I know your name little one?' the Storm Lord asked with a smile.
"I am Quatre of Winner." Quatre answered. "May I know your name?" he asked.
'I am called Sandrock. I am the Desert Prince.' Sandrock answered.
"Pleased to meet you." Quatre said with a smile.
'Will you kneel and close your eyes?' Sandrock asked politely.
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Quatre knelt and closed his eyes. He knew that Sandrock was trustworthy.
'Now relax yourself.' Sandrock said.
Quatre obeyed. As soon as he relaxed, he felt something like silk slide over him. It seemed warm. Opening his eyes he found himself at the top of a tower that seemed so familiar. It was a plain room without anything in it except for a simple bed. Yes this was the room he had seen on a painting in one of the Mage Circle galleries. Except… there had been other things in the room. Wondering why he was here, he looked around. As he neared the balcony, he heard crying. Going out, he found a little child curled in the corner looking out at the city below. The child had silver hair that fell messily about his head, which was nestled, on his arms leaning between his knees.
"Little one? Are you alright?" Quatre asked kneeling before the child.
The little boy's head snapped up at the sound of his voice and Quatre gasped at the sight of his eyes. They were gold… rich sparkling topaz gold, and they were slit like a cat's eyes. He also had little silver fangs sticking out of his mouth.
"W… who are you?" he asked wiping away most of the tear streaks on his cheeks.
Quatre smiled slightly. "My name is Quatre." He said. "What is your name?" he asked.
"Cerle."
"Cerle, it's a handsome name. Can you tell me what's the matter?"
"I want to see Ceres."
"Who is Ceres?"
"My little sister."
"Where is she?"
"They took her away," he said starting to cry. "The bad men took her away."
"What bad men?"
"I don't know… they took her away and they're hurting her."
"How do you know?"
"Because I can feel her."
Quatre was at a loss on what to say. Turning to the sobbing boy, he wrapped his arms around the child in comfort. Closing his eyes he began to hum a lullaby. Concentrating on his emphatic power, he gently wound it around Cerle. As he was creating a protective shield, he felt a silent presence in his mind.
*Sandrock?* he asked silently.
'Yes Little One?'
*Is this real?*
'Yes Little One. He is one of the Fallen Children.'
*What should I do?*
'That is your test. You must figure it out on your own.'
*Can you tell me where we are?*
'You are in the Sank Kingdom Little One. It has been overthrown.'
*Thank You Sandrock.*
Quatre unleashed his power and wound it into the child. He created a bond between himself and Cerle. It would insure that he would be the one to feel the pain the child would feel and he could send feelings of comfort to Cerle in return. Exhausted, he looked down and saw that the boy had fallen asleep. Gently, he carried Cerle to the bed and wrapped him up with the sheets. Concentrating, he created a tiny earring with a topaz gem and fastened it to the silver haired boy's ear.
When he closed his eyes, he felt the warm silk from earlier slide over him once more. A slight sound made Quatre open his eyes. He saw a magnificent desert cat standing before him. It was huge. Its fur was the same shade as Sandrock's ears and tail and its eyes were also the same gold with light blue edges. A golden horn emerged from its forehead and two huge razor sharp fangs protruded from its mouth.
"Sandrock." Quatre said more of statement then a question.
'Well done little one.' Quatre heard Sandrock say. 'You have done well on this test.'
"Will he be alright?" Quatre asked.
'Yes.' Sandrock answered. 'For now Cerle is fine. After all, the true test will show only what your heart chooses. Actions speak louder than words. Now tell me the answer to this. Do you believe there is truly a human that is born evil?'
"No." Quatre answered. "I do not believe there is a human that is born evil. Men may change and become truly evil, but no one is born evil."
'Correct.' Sandrock said 'Well done. You have passed the test.'
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'Do you think it is possible to have light without the dark, or evil without good?' Shi asked.
"No. It is not possible." Duo answered. "You cannot have the light without the dark or evil without good. You cannot have one without the other, for each side balances the other, and if you have one without the other, then you have nothing at all." Duo said.
'Well done Child of the Dark. A true answer indeed.' Shi said. 'You are worthy of the destiny fate has placed upon you.' She added.
"What do you mean?" Duo asked.
'You have passed my test.' Shi answered. 'It was the only test I was allowed to give you.'
"What are you talking about?" Duo asked confused.
'You will know in due course. You passed the test a long time ago.' Shi said. 'All you had to do was answer the question. You were already worthy of our power. 'She added.
End Part 5
Notes: Sorry if the tests seem too easy. I couldn't really think of anything. Sorry about Duo too. Umm… if you can think up different tests I might change it. Any ideas for Duo?
I still can't believe I made Relena nice. I prefer her being bashed. Maybe it just didn't fit… ah well… *shrug*++++
o.Opheonis-firebirdo.o - That's a secret. ^_~ Thank You. I agree. (waves identical 2x1 banner)
x1-TaKeN-oVeR - Secret!!! ^_~ Nope. He's not twelve. That would be pedophilia??? He's fifteen. He just looks twelve. You're Blonde?
Sleepless_Dreamer - Bleah!!! Who cares about your opinion Laloots!!! I KNOW YOU!!! IKNOW YOU!!!
japanese blader girl - Thank You. Do you really think so? I'm not very good at describing places.
ozzypoos - I know! Uuuuuummmmmm... riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.... hehehe... eeeeeeeerrr..... Thank You.
devylzangyl - Sorry ^_~ Seeeeeeeecret!!! Umm... Shi? Agreed Bad Duo!
Ashly - Thank You. You can be hyper. What is WAI? Let's all wave flags together!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GoldenRat - Thank You. Hope you like this.
Please Review! I'm curious!