Title: Know You By Heart 1/?
Author: Dazza Angel_of_Music2002@hotmail.com
Rating: PG. Shouldn't be much graphic violence. Rating may go up later (shouldn't be R though)
Pairings: 1x2, maybe a little 3x4 in the works (
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Gundam Wing (*sniffle*). I'm just borrowing the guys for my own wicked devices and I promise to return them mostly intact. Gundam Wing and its characters are property of Bandai, Sunrise, and other big companies with far more money than lil' ol' me. I'm not making any money from this and no infringement is intended. Don't sue. I'm a poor student, I have no money. Lemme check my pockets.nope, no $$. Want some lint?
Warnings: Welcome to what happens when The Lord of the Rings books and too much Disney are mixed into my wandering thoughts ( . Throw in a couple of G-boys and bam! You get Know You By Heart. This is a total AU, so expect some OOCness. Besides that, there's nothing that I can really think of, other than the fact that it is SLASH. SLASHITY SLASHITY SLASH! Don't like, don't read. Simple as that.
Comments and Constructive Criticism not just appreciated but begged for. Feed my FEEDBACK addiction. Or at least recommend a good twelve-step program (
Key: //Duo's thoughts//
~Heero's thoughts~
Chapter One
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"Duo!"
Hilde caught a flash of a long chestnut braid from behind an elm tree. "Duo! Come on! Your uncle wants to see you." She crept up to the tree and pounced, grabbing a hold of the braid like a leash to keep her prey from getting away. "Ow! Hil, leggo!" cried the captured youth, twisting to get out of his friend's grip. "Duo, you'll be in trouble again if you're late and I then I'll be in trouble too."
Duo finally broke free of his friend's tight grasp on his hair, rubbing at his injured scalp and glaring at Hilde. "You didn't have to pull so hard," he complained. Hilde just laughed at him and pulled him along through the trees. "Come on Duo, you know how he is if you're late," Hilde told him. "Yeah, yeah," Duo said, rolling his eyes at his foster sister. "A prince should always be politely punctual. Geez, do I look and act like a prince the rest of the time?" he questioned his friend, gesturing to his simple peasant's clothes and smudged face. "Isn't that what he wanted? For me to blend in?" Duo scowled, an expression out of place on his usually smiling face.
Hilde sighed and turned to study her friend. "Duo, you know he's just trying to protect you." Duo continued to glare at her. "After your parents' assassinations, he's doing all he can to insure you survive to ascend to the throne." Duo's scowl dissolved into an unhappy frown. "By hiding me away and making me deny who I am?" he questioned her. Hilde just reached out to squeeze her friend's shoulder and began walking with him toward the hidden gate to the palace again. They had had this argument a thousand times, probably even more than that in the twelve years Hilde had been his friend and "sister". And she still hadn't come up with a good counter-point to Duo's question.
The king and queen of Liashlene, the southern elven kingdom and Duo's parents, had been killed by an assassin when he was eight. His uncle Trieze, the king's brother, had claimed the throne of Liashlene until Duo came of the age of elven majority at twenty and could claim his birthright. To protect the young prince, he had been placed in the care of a well- trusted friend of the royal family, the Scheirs *(AN). None but the King, the Scheir family, and the young prince himself knew Duo's true identity. The rest of the kingdom knew him only as Duo, the adopted son of a poor baker. His true identity, Duolstari Maxillion, son of Dantersari the Mighty, of the House of Maxwell , crown prince of Liashlene, the greatest of the five elven nations, was kept secret from the rest of the Elven world.
Every month since he had been hidden, Duo went in secret to visit his uncle. It was sometimes a tedious affair. Duo and Trieze did not get along very well. It was very strange in fact, for Duo got along well with everyone in the elven village where he was raised since age eight. His quiet charm and open, honest nature, won over the hearts of everyone who met him. He was very hard not to like. So the animosity between Duo and his uncle was hard to explain. Though if anyone could have read Trieze's mind, they would have seen just how jealous the uncle was of the nephew.
Trieze the Great, called so more for his large ego and great ambitions than his great feats, knew the day would come when his nephew would take control of the crown away from him. That was something he could not allow to come to pass. He had already begun to formulate a plan for getting rid of his nephew permanently, now that he had the trust of the populace reigning in Duo's absence. Now he simply needed to find the proper time to strike. It would have to be soon, for the prince's twentieth birthday was fast approaching.
In the mean time, he contented himself with toying with the boy. He tried to find as many faults as he could in the boy and exploit them to his own uses. Anything he could possibly do to cause strain between them, he did. He got no greater pleasure than seeing his nephew's thinly veiled anger when he purposely tried to rile the boy. Oh no, Duo was too respectful to express his anger to his Uncle and current king, but Trieze loved knowing that he had managed to get under the young prince's skin.
Duo however, was as clueless as to why his uncle seemed to dislike him so musch, as everyone else. He believed it could be the fact that Trieze insisted on much pomp and circumstance at court and he expected Duo to act the young prince that he really was whenever he was in the "King's" presence. Duo, on the other hand, having seen the corruption of the royal court from the eyes of a commoner living with his foster family, resented his true position and everything his uncle prized. Duo believed people should not place so much value on position and that respect should not be demanded, but earned. And even though he did not express these views to his uncle, Trieze still found many things to argue with him about.
Duo was getting a headache just thinking about his visit as he and Hilde continued through the forest to the palace. His monthly visit with his uncle as of late had centered around talk of his expected marriage. When Duo turned twenty in three months and ascended to the throne, Trieze said he expected him to immediately take a wife. Duo refused to do so. Even if he wasn't at all interested in she-elfs, but leaned more towards the male persuasion, yet another fact he had carefully hidden from his uncle, he would have argued. //If I marry it will be for love// he thought to himself again as he thought back on their last fight on the subject.
Trieze had been discussing possible matches, all of which Duo refused. Trieze had threatened to keep the crown from him until he agreed. Duo wasn't sure if his uncle had the power to do that, but he'd finally exploded, telling him to keep the thrown, he didn't care. And Duo realized he meant it. He didn't want to be king. He would rather leave his "birthright" behind and live in exile from his people even, than live a lie and betray his morals. He would marry for love or he would not marry at all. Trieze had told him that he would regret speaking so rashly later, but Duo was still strong in his convictions.
A sudden noise brought him out of his musings and back to the present. He grabbed his foster sister's arm to hold her back. "Hilde, did you hear that?" Duo asked. The other elf nodded. Duo released her arm, motioning for her to be quiet and crept forward into the bushes to peek out the other side, knowing Hilde would follow his lead. Duo could see a wide dirt road, one the humans had built through the elves' forest long ago. They had passed it many times on the way to the palace. What caught his attention though were the events taking place on the road itself.
A figure in a dark cloak was fighting several burly looking men off. "Bandits," Duo whispered. The cloaked figure was holding his own against them, but was still unfairly outnumbered. Suddenly one of the bandits finally landed a good shot, slicing the cloaked figure in the chest and bringing him down to the ground. They moved in for the kill and Duo sprang into action, knowing he could not just stand by and do nothing, regardless of what trouble it might land him in. Elves weren't supposed to interfere in human affairs, but he couldn't help it. He had to do something. Hilde swore and followed him, turning to guard her foster-brother's back. She had been trained with a sword by her father, the same as Duo, and knew she could hold her own and hopefully help protect her idiotic brother from the danger he had just pulled them into.
Duo jumped from his hiding spot into the road, two of the stranger's attackers spinning to take him on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hilde take a fighter's stance against the other two bandits. Duo was an extremely skilled warrior, unlike Hilde, he practiced his swordsmanship for hours everyday, while she was stuck helping her mother with feminine duties. But Duo knew his foster-sister could take care of herself in combat. Both had elven speed and agility on their side, easily evading the slower humans attacks and Duo quickly dispatched both men with his short sword. It might not be his responsibility to rid the forest of bandits, but they were within the boundaries of Liashlene and it was his right to protect any part of the kingdom as he saw fit. He turned to find Hilde had felled the other two bandits as well.
After assuring himself that the threat had passed, he slowly approached the unmoving form on the road. As he got closer, he realized it was most definitely a man. A human man. Duo knelt next to the man, reaching forward to tentatively shake him. He didn't move. The man's face was hidden by the cloak's hood. Duo pulled it back and let out a small gasp. "He's beautiful," Duo whispered. The man, who looked near to Duo's age in physical appearance, maybe a little older, around 22 or 23 human years, was very good looking. Chiseled cheek bones, a well shaped face, with a nose that should have been almost too small for his face, but somehow seemed just perfect, and tosseled chocolate brown hair that felt like silk as Duo absently ran his fingers through it, brushing it off the man's brow.
"Duo?" Hilde's voice snapped Duo out of his reverie. He noticed her peering over his shoulder at the man. "A human? You risked your life to help a human? Do you have any idea the trouble we could get into if he sees us?" Duo gave her a dirty look. "Even humans deserve compassion Hilde." He turned back to the man, laying his hand on the wound on his chest. It came away red. "He's bleeding pretty badly Hil. I think I can heal most of it. Go find me some balsam root and dry giga leaves," Duo said, turning to look at his friend. "But Duo, he's a human. You'll get in trouble for healing him. And he probably wasn't traveling alone. We'd better go. His companions could be here any minute. Who knows what they'll do? We have to go!" Hilde argued.
Duo pinned her with a glare. "Just do as I say, Hilde!" Hilde took a step back at his tone. It was the tone of the Crown Prince of Liashlene and he expected to be obeyed. Grumbling under her breath, she ran off into the trees to find the requested herbs. The sooner they treated the human, the sooner they could get out of there. Duo watched her disappear back in to the forest and then turned back to the fallen man. He knew that the healing herbs would not be enough to save the man, he was loosing too much blood. He had sent Hilde off to find them just so she wouldn't witness what he was about to do.
Closing his eyes, Duo laid his hands on top of the wound and concentrated all his healing energy into it. A light green glow surrounded his hands and the man's injury as Duo channeled his power into healing the man. Time ceased to exist as Duo's focus narrowed into healing the torn flesh and replenishing the blood he'd lost. He was roused from his healing trance when the man moaned. Duo removed his hands and opened his eyes to see amazing Prussian blue eyes staring back at him. The man moaned again and Duo reached out to smooth his hair back, soothing him. "Shh, my friend. Rest. You are safe" he whispered. The man's eyes closed again as he gave in to his exhaustion.
Duo sighed, sitting back on his heels to inspect the man now. The wound was completely closed. The human would be weak, but would survive until someone came to find him. Just then Hilde came back onto the road. "Duo, I got the. Duo!" she cried, spotting the man's unmarred flesh. "You used your magic to heal a human! Duo, the law! It's forbidden to use magic on humans. What were you thinking?" she scolded her friend. Duo shook his head. "He would have died Hil. What did you expect me to do?" he asked. "She expected you to obey the law and leave the foolish human alone," another voice said angrily. Both elves looked up to see the king's High Priest, his top advisor Milliardo, standing there scowling at them.
"Millardo, what are you doing here?" Duo asked, while internally he was berating himself. //Shit. If he knows, no doubt uncle Trieze will find out shortly.// "You're late for your appointment, Your *Highness*," Milliardo, sneered, showing his disdain for the young prince. "He sent me to fetch you. Obviously I came too late. Wait until your uncle hears about this." He would have kept ranting at them, but the sound of fast approaching horses sent all three of them scurrying back into the bushes. Two horses rounded the corner, both riders dismounting quickly when they saw the five men lying in the road.
"Your Highness!" cried the first rider, a handsome young man with shining blonde hair, flinging himself down next to the man Duo had helped save. The other rider, a taller man with brown hair that fell in an odd manner to cover one eye, knelt down next to the fallen man as well. "Prince Heero?" he asked, checking the man for injuries. Duo would have stayed to watch them longer, but Hilde pulled him away, as Milliardo marched them both toward the palace. //A prince// Duo thought, turning back to glance through the trees at the road again, until they quickly lost sight of it. //I hope he is happier than I// he thought, dreading the inevitable confrontation he would have with his uncle when they reached the palace. Using any kind of magic on human's was strictly forbidden. But Duo could not bring himself to regret it one bit. //It was worth it just to see those eyes//
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Quatre gasped as he and Trowa rounded a bend in the road. Five men lay unmoving in the road. Four large men in the garb of thieves and in the middle..The prince! He reigned in his horse and bolted from the saddle, running to the prince's side. "Your Highness!" he cried, seeing the blood staining the man's tunic. "Prince Heero?" he heard Trowa say, turning to see the other man kneeling next to him. Trowa reached out to check the prince's chest for wounds. Incredibly , he found none. "Is he.?" Quatre questioned, unable to even finish the thought. His companion shook his head in amazement. "He's fine," he said, looking at Quatre with wide eyes, unable to believe it. "What?" Quatre asked, reaching out to feel the prince's chest himself. It was unmarked, even though his tunic was shredded and covered in blood. "How?" he wondered aloud.
Suddenly, the man lying before him gasped and opened his eyes, glancing around wildly. Quatre was quick to calm him. "Shh, your Highness. You're safe." Heero blinked at him, as if to assure himself that Quatre was real. "Quatre?" he questioned. "What happened?" Trowa assisted the prince in sitting up. "We were hoping you could tell us your Highness. We followed after you as soon as we finished at the market, just as you instructed and found you lying here in the round, surrounded by four bodies." Prince Heero looked about himself at the bandits lying on the ground. "I-I was attacked," he started. "One man stabbed me.in the chest" Heero's hand flew up, only to find the wound gone. But he'd been stabbed! He could remember the burning pain of the blade slashing his chest, the blackness rising up to claim him. And then..a deep, musical voice ~Shh, my friend. Rest. You are safe~. He looked up at his two companions. "I was stabbed and someone saved me. Healed me." Heero shook his head, trying to sort out the fuzzy images in his mind. A cool hand on his forehead . . . that voice . . . a man leaning over him . . . brown hair, glinting red in the filtered sunlight . . . and something about his ears . . .
Trowa frowned at the Prince's story. He himself couldn't explain how the Prince was unharmed and the bandit's beaten, but he would not argue it. He simply gave thanks to The Maker that the prince was safe. Reaching out, he and Quatre helped their friend to stand. "We must get you home, your Majesty. Let the royal physicians examine you. I cannot fathom how you are unharmed, and yet you are. It is a miracle," Trowa said, helping the prince to mount his horse and climbing on behind him. Heero leaned back against his trusted friend and advisor tiredly. "Yes, Trowa. It was a miracle," he agreed. ~A miracle with violet eyes~ he thought before falling asleep.
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Duo was trying very hard not to roll his eyes as his uncle continued to yell at him. Of course, the first thing Milliardo had done upon their arrival was to inform the king of what Duo had done. His uncle had been ranting about how the prince must set an example for the rest of the populace by following all the laws, for the last half hour. Nevermind the fact that no one knew that Duo was the prince, or the fact that at the moment no one else knew he had healed the human either. His uncle was extremely long-winded and Duo knew his lecture wouldn't be ending anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Trieze was secretly glad his nephew had finally slipped a little. Now was the perfect time to put his plan into action. After ranting for a good long time, just to get on the boys nerves, he went in for the kill. "This is the last straw Duolstari," he said, calling the young man by his given name and expressing the seriousness of the situation. "First you refuse to marry, then you show contempt for your crown, now you break one of our principle laws. You've gone too far this time, my boy. Now you will either cooperate with me or be severely punished" Trieze said, waiting for the argument he knew was coming.
"But Uncle," Duo protested, " if you would just listen to me instead of." "No excuses boy," Trieze interrupted him. "You will submit to my wishes for you to wed, so that we may make an alliance with the Shalyn kingdom or I will sentence you to exile for breaking one of our cardinal rules." Duo sucked in breath, but then decided to take a stand. "I've given you my decision, uncle. If I marry it will be for love, not to strike up some alliance. And you know that I would give up the crown before doing so." Trieze saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike with his plan.
"That's it!" he bellowed, pleased when his nephew cringed just slightly at his scream. "Have you no respect for your King? Your people? You risked exposing yourself, exposing our existence here, to save a human! If you care for them so much, you may join them. You are hereby exiled from the elven realm until the time of your coronation. If you will only marry for love, then I suggest you find your love in that time, for if you do not return to the edge of our realm by high moon on the eve of your birth celebration, you will be stripped of your elven heritage and magic."
Duo looked at his Uncle in shock. Surely he wouldn't dare strip the kingdom's prince of his heritage.his magic.for that would mean the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Trieze reveled in his nephew's apparent distress. "Uncle, you cannot be serious!" Duo sputtered, now frightened of his Uncle's revenge for his disobedience. "I am quite serious Duolstari. You know what it means for an elf to lose his magic." Yes Duo knew. An elf without magic would die. Their connection with nature would be severed and they would perish. Duo had seen elves who had lost their magic. As their magic disappeared, they had wasted away, faded into nothingness. It was the most severe punishment the royal elven courts ever issued. And it had only been used once in his lifetime. On his parents assasins. Now he was to receive the same?
"You have three months to find your love in the human world. The draining of your magic will begin as soon as you leave our realm. If you have not found love by then and have your chosen's profession of love by the eve of your birth, your magic will disappear. And you along with it." Trieze was gloating inside, trying desperately not to smile at his nephew's stricken look. Duo finally recovered from his shock. He couldn't believe his Uncle was doing this. Wait, yes he could. For it would answer all his Uncle's problems, wouldn't it? Duo would be out of the way permanently and Trieze could maintain the throne. He had never been fooled into thinking that his Uncle would really give the thrown up to him without a fight when the time came. Trieze could almost see the wheels turning in his nephew's head as he finally caught on to his plan. He knew the boy was intelligent.
"You do not fool me Uncle. I may not want the crown, but I will see that you do not keep it. You will not get away with this!" Duo declared vehemently. "Oh my dear boy, I'm afraid that I will get away with it. I am the King and it is a fair punishment for the laws you have broken" Trieze said, finally letting his evil smirk shine through for Duo to see. Duo glared at him. "The Liashlian people will not allow you to slowly murder their future king!" he cried, even as he saw the High Priest step towards him with his spell book open. "You forget nephew, that the Liashlian people do not know you are their prince, do they, Duo?" Trieze said, stressing Duo's known name. Duo stared in horror as the High Priest advanced on him, chanting lowly. His world started to spin. The world grew quieter, dimmer. He couldn't feel the Great Lifeforce flowing around him. The last thing he saw was his Uncle's malicious smile. //Maker help me!// he thought before the blackness closed in and he knew no more.
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Author's Note: I know Hilde's last name is Schbeiker, but for me that really did not work as an elvish name. So Scheir it is. And don't ask were Duo's name came from. The Maxillion has it's influence from LOTR and elves being referred to by the Title of their father (ex. Legolas Thranduilion = meaning Legolas son of Thranduil). The rest of it, came out of my weird imagination.
Lemme know what you guys think of the first chapter. This is a WIP and updating is probably going to be slow (esp. since finals are the week after next and I'm loaded down with papers) but I'll try to do my best to get stuff up and out as quick as I can.
Ja ne!
Author: Dazza Angel_of_Music2002@hotmail.com
Rating: PG. Shouldn't be much graphic violence. Rating may go up later (shouldn't be R though)
Pairings: 1x2, maybe a little 3x4 in the works (
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Gundam Wing (*sniffle*). I'm just borrowing the guys for my own wicked devices and I promise to return them mostly intact. Gundam Wing and its characters are property of Bandai, Sunrise, and other big companies with far more money than lil' ol' me. I'm not making any money from this and no infringement is intended. Don't sue. I'm a poor student, I have no money. Lemme check my pockets.nope, no $$. Want some lint?
Warnings: Welcome to what happens when The Lord of the Rings books and too much Disney are mixed into my wandering thoughts ( . Throw in a couple of G-boys and bam! You get Know You By Heart. This is a total AU, so expect some OOCness. Besides that, there's nothing that I can really think of, other than the fact that it is SLASH. SLASHITY SLASHITY SLASH! Don't like, don't read. Simple as that.
Comments and Constructive Criticism not just appreciated but begged for. Feed my FEEDBACK addiction. Or at least recommend a good twelve-step program (
Key: //Duo's thoughts//
~Heero's thoughts~
Chapter One
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"Duo!"
Hilde caught a flash of a long chestnut braid from behind an elm tree. "Duo! Come on! Your uncle wants to see you." She crept up to the tree and pounced, grabbing a hold of the braid like a leash to keep her prey from getting away. "Ow! Hil, leggo!" cried the captured youth, twisting to get out of his friend's grip. "Duo, you'll be in trouble again if you're late and I then I'll be in trouble too."
Duo finally broke free of his friend's tight grasp on his hair, rubbing at his injured scalp and glaring at Hilde. "You didn't have to pull so hard," he complained. Hilde just laughed at him and pulled him along through the trees. "Come on Duo, you know how he is if you're late," Hilde told him. "Yeah, yeah," Duo said, rolling his eyes at his foster sister. "A prince should always be politely punctual. Geez, do I look and act like a prince the rest of the time?" he questioned his friend, gesturing to his simple peasant's clothes and smudged face. "Isn't that what he wanted? For me to blend in?" Duo scowled, an expression out of place on his usually smiling face.
Hilde sighed and turned to study her friend. "Duo, you know he's just trying to protect you." Duo continued to glare at her. "After your parents' assassinations, he's doing all he can to insure you survive to ascend to the throne." Duo's scowl dissolved into an unhappy frown. "By hiding me away and making me deny who I am?" he questioned her. Hilde just reached out to squeeze her friend's shoulder and began walking with him toward the hidden gate to the palace again. They had had this argument a thousand times, probably even more than that in the twelve years Hilde had been his friend and "sister". And she still hadn't come up with a good counter-point to Duo's question.
The king and queen of Liashlene, the southern elven kingdom and Duo's parents, had been killed by an assassin when he was eight. His uncle Trieze, the king's brother, had claimed the throne of Liashlene until Duo came of the age of elven majority at twenty and could claim his birthright. To protect the young prince, he had been placed in the care of a well- trusted friend of the royal family, the Scheirs *(AN). None but the King, the Scheir family, and the young prince himself knew Duo's true identity. The rest of the kingdom knew him only as Duo, the adopted son of a poor baker. His true identity, Duolstari Maxillion, son of Dantersari the Mighty, of the House of Maxwell , crown prince of Liashlene, the greatest of the five elven nations, was kept secret from the rest of the Elven world.
Every month since he had been hidden, Duo went in secret to visit his uncle. It was sometimes a tedious affair. Duo and Trieze did not get along very well. It was very strange in fact, for Duo got along well with everyone in the elven village where he was raised since age eight. His quiet charm and open, honest nature, won over the hearts of everyone who met him. He was very hard not to like. So the animosity between Duo and his uncle was hard to explain. Though if anyone could have read Trieze's mind, they would have seen just how jealous the uncle was of the nephew.
Trieze the Great, called so more for his large ego and great ambitions than his great feats, knew the day would come when his nephew would take control of the crown away from him. That was something he could not allow to come to pass. He had already begun to formulate a plan for getting rid of his nephew permanently, now that he had the trust of the populace reigning in Duo's absence. Now he simply needed to find the proper time to strike. It would have to be soon, for the prince's twentieth birthday was fast approaching.
In the mean time, he contented himself with toying with the boy. He tried to find as many faults as he could in the boy and exploit them to his own uses. Anything he could possibly do to cause strain between them, he did. He got no greater pleasure than seeing his nephew's thinly veiled anger when he purposely tried to rile the boy. Oh no, Duo was too respectful to express his anger to his Uncle and current king, but Trieze loved knowing that he had managed to get under the young prince's skin.
Duo however, was as clueless as to why his uncle seemed to dislike him so musch, as everyone else. He believed it could be the fact that Trieze insisted on much pomp and circumstance at court and he expected Duo to act the young prince that he really was whenever he was in the "King's" presence. Duo, on the other hand, having seen the corruption of the royal court from the eyes of a commoner living with his foster family, resented his true position and everything his uncle prized. Duo believed people should not place so much value on position and that respect should not be demanded, but earned. And even though he did not express these views to his uncle, Trieze still found many things to argue with him about.
Duo was getting a headache just thinking about his visit as he and Hilde continued through the forest to the palace. His monthly visit with his uncle as of late had centered around talk of his expected marriage. When Duo turned twenty in three months and ascended to the throne, Trieze said he expected him to immediately take a wife. Duo refused to do so. Even if he wasn't at all interested in she-elfs, but leaned more towards the male persuasion, yet another fact he had carefully hidden from his uncle, he would have argued. //If I marry it will be for love// he thought to himself again as he thought back on their last fight on the subject.
Trieze had been discussing possible matches, all of which Duo refused. Trieze had threatened to keep the crown from him until he agreed. Duo wasn't sure if his uncle had the power to do that, but he'd finally exploded, telling him to keep the thrown, he didn't care. And Duo realized he meant it. He didn't want to be king. He would rather leave his "birthright" behind and live in exile from his people even, than live a lie and betray his morals. He would marry for love or he would not marry at all. Trieze had told him that he would regret speaking so rashly later, but Duo was still strong in his convictions.
A sudden noise brought him out of his musings and back to the present. He grabbed his foster sister's arm to hold her back. "Hilde, did you hear that?" Duo asked. The other elf nodded. Duo released her arm, motioning for her to be quiet and crept forward into the bushes to peek out the other side, knowing Hilde would follow his lead. Duo could see a wide dirt road, one the humans had built through the elves' forest long ago. They had passed it many times on the way to the palace. What caught his attention though were the events taking place on the road itself.
A figure in a dark cloak was fighting several burly looking men off. "Bandits," Duo whispered. The cloaked figure was holding his own against them, but was still unfairly outnumbered. Suddenly one of the bandits finally landed a good shot, slicing the cloaked figure in the chest and bringing him down to the ground. They moved in for the kill and Duo sprang into action, knowing he could not just stand by and do nothing, regardless of what trouble it might land him in. Elves weren't supposed to interfere in human affairs, but he couldn't help it. He had to do something. Hilde swore and followed him, turning to guard her foster-brother's back. She had been trained with a sword by her father, the same as Duo, and knew she could hold her own and hopefully help protect her idiotic brother from the danger he had just pulled them into.
Duo jumped from his hiding spot into the road, two of the stranger's attackers spinning to take him on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hilde take a fighter's stance against the other two bandits. Duo was an extremely skilled warrior, unlike Hilde, he practiced his swordsmanship for hours everyday, while she was stuck helping her mother with feminine duties. But Duo knew his foster-sister could take care of herself in combat. Both had elven speed and agility on their side, easily evading the slower humans attacks and Duo quickly dispatched both men with his short sword. It might not be his responsibility to rid the forest of bandits, but they were within the boundaries of Liashlene and it was his right to protect any part of the kingdom as he saw fit. He turned to find Hilde had felled the other two bandits as well.
After assuring himself that the threat had passed, he slowly approached the unmoving form on the road. As he got closer, he realized it was most definitely a man. A human man. Duo knelt next to the man, reaching forward to tentatively shake him. He didn't move. The man's face was hidden by the cloak's hood. Duo pulled it back and let out a small gasp. "He's beautiful," Duo whispered. The man, who looked near to Duo's age in physical appearance, maybe a little older, around 22 or 23 human years, was very good looking. Chiseled cheek bones, a well shaped face, with a nose that should have been almost too small for his face, but somehow seemed just perfect, and tosseled chocolate brown hair that felt like silk as Duo absently ran his fingers through it, brushing it off the man's brow.
"Duo?" Hilde's voice snapped Duo out of his reverie. He noticed her peering over his shoulder at the man. "A human? You risked your life to help a human? Do you have any idea the trouble we could get into if he sees us?" Duo gave her a dirty look. "Even humans deserve compassion Hilde." He turned back to the man, laying his hand on the wound on his chest. It came away red. "He's bleeding pretty badly Hil. I think I can heal most of it. Go find me some balsam root and dry giga leaves," Duo said, turning to look at his friend. "But Duo, he's a human. You'll get in trouble for healing him. And he probably wasn't traveling alone. We'd better go. His companions could be here any minute. Who knows what they'll do? We have to go!" Hilde argued.
Duo pinned her with a glare. "Just do as I say, Hilde!" Hilde took a step back at his tone. It was the tone of the Crown Prince of Liashlene and he expected to be obeyed. Grumbling under her breath, she ran off into the trees to find the requested herbs. The sooner they treated the human, the sooner they could get out of there. Duo watched her disappear back in to the forest and then turned back to the fallen man. He knew that the healing herbs would not be enough to save the man, he was loosing too much blood. He had sent Hilde off to find them just so she wouldn't witness what he was about to do.
Closing his eyes, Duo laid his hands on top of the wound and concentrated all his healing energy into it. A light green glow surrounded his hands and the man's injury as Duo channeled his power into healing the man. Time ceased to exist as Duo's focus narrowed into healing the torn flesh and replenishing the blood he'd lost. He was roused from his healing trance when the man moaned. Duo removed his hands and opened his eyes to see amazing Prussian blue eyes staring back at him. The man moaned again and Duo reached out to smooth his hair back, soothing him. "Shh, my friend. Rest. You are safe" he whispered. The man's eyes closed again as he gave in to his exhaustion.
Duo sighed, sitting back on his heels to inspect the man now. The wound was completely closed. The human would be weak, but would survive until someone came to find him. Just then Hilde came back onto the road. "Duo, I got the. Duo!" she cried, spotting the man's unmarred flesh. "You used your magic to heal a human! Duo, the law! It's forbidden to use magic on humans. What were you thinking?" she scolded her friend. Duo shook his head. "He would have died Hil. What did you expect me to do?" he asked. "She expected you to obey the law and leave the foolish human alone," another voice said angrily. Both elves looked up to see the king's High Priest, his top advisor Milliardo, standing there scowling at them.
"Millardo, what are you doing here?" Duo asked, while internally he was berating himself. //Shit. If he knows, no doubt uncle Trieze will find out shortly.// "You're late for your appointment, Your *Highness*," Milliardo, sneered, showing his disdain for the young prince. "He sent me to fetch you. Obviously I came too late. Wait until your uncle hears about this." He would have kept ranting at them, but the sound of fast approaching horses sent all three of them scurrying back into the bushes. Two horses rounded the corner, both riders dismounting quickly when they saw the five men lying in the road.
"Your Highness!" cried the first rider, a handsome young man with shining blonde hair, flinging himself down next to the man Duo had helped save. The other rider, a taller man with brown hair that fell in an odd manner to cover one eye, knelt down next to the fallen man as well. "Prince Heero?" he asked, checking the man for injuries. Duo would have stayed to watch them longer, but Hilde pulled him away, as Milliardo marched them both toward the palace. //A prince// Duo thought, turning back to glance through the trees at the road again, until they quickly lost sight of it. //I hope he is happier than I// he thought, dreading the inevitable confrontation he would have with his uncle when they reached the palace. Using any kind of magic on human's was strictly forbidden. But Duo could not bring himself to regret it one bit. //It was worth it just to see those eyes//
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Quatre gasped as he and Trowa rounded a bend in the road. Five men lay unmoving in the road. Four large men in the garb of thieves and in the middle..The prince! He reigned in his horse and bolted from the saddle, running to the prince's side. "Your Highness!" he cried, seeing the blood staining the man's tunic. "Prince Heero?" he heard Trowa say, turning to see the other man kneeling next to him. Trowa reached out to check the prince's chest for wounds. Incredibly , he found none. "Is he.?" Quatre questioned, unable to even finish the thought. His companion shook his head in amazement. "He's fine," he said, looking at Quatre with wide eyes, unable to believe it. "What?" Quatre asked, reaching out to feel the prince's chest himself. It was unmarked, even though his tunic was shredded and covered in blood. "How?" he wondered aloud.
Suddenly, the man lying before him gasped and opened his eyes, glancing around wildly. Quatre was quick to calm him. "Shh, your Highness. You're safe." Heero blinked at him, as if to assure himself that Quatre was real. "Quatre?" he questioned. "What happened?" Trowa assisted the prince in sitting up. "We were hoping you could tell us your Highness. We followed after you as soon as we finished at the market, just as you instructed and found you lying here in the round, surrounded by four bodies." Prince Heero looked about himself at the bandits lying on the ground. "I-I was attacked," he started. "One man stabbed me.in the chest" Heero's hand flew up, only to find the wound gone. But he'd been stabbed! He could remember the burning pain of the blade slashing his chest, the blackness rising up to claim him. And then..a deep, musical voice ~Shh, my friend. Rest. You are safe~. He looked up at his two companions. "I was stabbed and someone saved me. Healed me." Heero shook his head, trying to sort out the fuzzy images in his mind. A cool hand on his forehead . . . that voice . . . a man leaning over him . . . brown hair, glinting red in the filtered sunlight . . . and something about his ears . . .
Trowa frowned at the Prince's story. He himself couldn't explain how the Prince was unharmed and the bandit's beaten, but he would not argue it. He simply gave thanks to The Maker that the prince was safe. Reaching out, he and Quatre helped their friend to stand. "We must get you home, your Majesty. Let the royal physicians examine you. I cannot fathom how you are unharmed, and yet you are. It is a miracle," Trowa said, helping the prince to mount his horse and climbing on behind him. Heero leaned back against his trusted friend and advisor tiredly. "Yes, Trowa. It was a miracle," he agreed. ~A miracle with violet eyes~ he thought before falling asleep.
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Duo was trying very hard not to roll his eyes as his uncle continued to yell at him. Of course, the first thing Milliardo had done upon their arrival was to inform the king of what Duo had done. His uncle had been ranting about how the prince must set an example for the rest of the populace by following all the laws, for the last half hour. Nevermind the fact that no one knew that Duo was the prince, or the fact that at the moment no one else knew he had healed the human either. His uncle was extremely long-winded and Duo knew his lecture wouldn't be ending anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Trieze was secretly glad his nephew had finally slipped a little. Now was the perfect time to put his plan into action. After ranting for a good long time, just to get on the boys nerves, he went in for the kill. "This is the last straw Duolstari," he said, calling the young man by his given name and expressing the seriousness of the situation. "First you refuse to marry, then you show contempt for your crown, now you break one of our principle laws. You've gone too far this time, my boy. Now you will either cooperate with me or be severely punished" Trieze said, waiting for the argument he knew was coming.
"But Uncle," Duo protested, " if you would just listen to me instead of." "No excuses boy," Trieze interrupted him. "You will submit to my wishes for you to wed, so that we may make an alliance with the Shalyn kingdom or I will sentence you to exile for breaking one of our cardinal rules." Duo sucked in breath, but then decided to take a stand. "I've given you my decision, uncle. If I marry it will be for love, not to strike up some alliance. And you know that I would give up the crown before doing so." Trieze saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike with his plan.
"That's it!" he bellowed, pleased when his nephew cringed just slightly at his scream. "Have you no respect for your King? Your people? You risked exposing yourself, exposing our existence here, to save a human! If you care for them so much, you may join them. You are hereby exiled from the elven realm until the time of your coronation. If you will only marry for love, then I suggest you find your love in that time, for if you do not return to the edge of our realm by high moon on the eve of your birth celebration, you will be stripped of your elven heritage and magic."
Duo looked at his Uncle in shock. Surely he wouldn't dare strip the kingdom's prince of his heritage.his magic.for that would mean the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Trieze reveled in his nephew's apparent distress. "Uncle, you cannot be serious!" Duo sputtered, now frightened of his Uncle's revenge for his disobedience. "I am quite serious Duolstari. You know what it means for an elf to lose his magic." Yes Duo knew. An elf without magic would die. Their connection with nature would be severed and they would perish. Duo had seen elves who had lost their magic. As their magic disappeared, they had wasted away, faded into nothingness. It was the most severe punishment the royal elven courts ever issued. And it had only been used once in his lifetime. On his parents assasins. Now he was to receive the same?
"You have three months to find your love in the human world. The draining of your magic will begin as soon as you leave our realm. If you have not found love by then and have your chosen's profession of love by the eve of your birth, your magic will disappear. And you along with it." Trieze was gloating inside, trying desperately not to smile at his nephew's stricken look. Duo finally recovered from his shock. He couldn't believe his Uncle was doing this. Wait, yes he could. For it would answer all his Uncle's problems, wouldn't it? Duo would be out of the way permanently and Trieze could maintain the throne. He had never been fooled into thinking that his Uncle would really give the thrown up to him without a fight when the time came. Trieze could almost see the wheels turning in his nephew's head as he finally caught on to his plan. He knew the boy was intelligent.
"You do not fool me Uncle. I may not want the crown, but I will see that you do not keep it. You will not get away with this!" Duo declared vehemently. "Oh my dear boy, I'm afraid that I will get away with it. I am the King and it is a fair punishment for the laws you have broken" Trieze said, finally letting his evil smirk shine through for Duo to see. Duo glared at him. "The Liashlian people will not allow you to slowly murder their future king!" he cried, even as he saw the High Priest step towards him with his spell book open. "You forget nephew, that the Liashlian people do not know you are their prince, do they, Duo?" Trieze said, stressing Duo's known name. Duo stared in horror as the High Priest advanced on him, chanting lowly. His world started to spin. The world grew quieter, dimmer. He couldn't feel the Great Lifeforce flowing around him. The last thing he saw was his Uncle's malicious smile. //Maker help me!// he thought before the blackness closed in and he knew no more.
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Author's Note: I know Hilde's last name is Schbeiker, but for me that really did not work as an elvish name. So Scheir it is. And don't ask were Duo's name came from. The Maxillion has it's influence from LOTR and elves being referred to by the Title of their father (ex. Legolas Thranduilion = meaning Legolas son of Thranduil). The rest of it, came out of my weird imagination.
Lemme know what you guys think of the first chapter. This is a WIP and updating is probably going to be slow (esp. since finals are the week after next and I'm loaded down with papers) but I'll try to do my best to get stuff up and out as quick as I can.
Ja ne!