Disclaimer: They're still not mine, so stop bothering me!



Dragon Quest Ch 13
The Wind Shrine


By: Fire Dragon


"According to the map, the town has to be just around the corner." Lluvia smiled.

"'Bout time! I was just about to fall asleep on the horse!" Duo rubbed his back side.

"You aren't getting any lighter either." Trowa shrugged as Duo's horse nodded, making everybody laugh.

"You're mean!" Duo pouted.

"Hey you guys, I think I can see the town!" Makoto pointed forward.

"Wow, that's some town." Mamoru whistled looking at the tall white buildings that stood in front of them. Most of them were supported by large columns, and every street stood a magnificent arrangement of exotic plants while the streets were immaculated.

"This is impossible." Ami took out her mercury computer.

"Why's that?" Quatre asked.

"Well, if my readings are correct, this has the same indications of being a town during the Hellenistic era in Greece! I will have to be closer to judge about the veracity of my hypothesis." Ami closed her computer and started towards the town.

"How can there be a city like that on an underdeveloped planet like this?" Rei's eyes widened at the beauty of the city.

"Underdeveloped?" Janus raised his eyebrow.

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, but this is incredible." Rei blinked as the dirt path ended at the entrance and an even paved highway started.

"Yeah, yeah, pretty amazing." Lluvia rolled her eyes. "They have always tried to impress everybody." She snorted. "They're weird like that."

"How so?" Heero asked.

"They're an egocentristic bunch if ye asked me." Janus shrugged.

"Why do you say that?" Usagi tilted her head to a side.

"Because everything they do, they do it in style." Ishtar made an overdramatic gesture, pointing to what looked to be a bar where a big, burly man carried a smaller one, and with one flourishing movement, the burly man threw the other into the street, dusting his hands while yelling the guy to never come back.

"Ouch, that must have hurt." Minako winced as the previously thrown guy stood up, dusting himself and to her surprise; he sent her a charming smile her way.

"Thank you for sympathizing with this poor man that has been wrongly accused of an act that I had no part in whatsoever." He approached her horse, then took her hand and kissed it.

"Doubtful." Wufei snorted while the guy sent him a mock hurt pout.

"Oh, ye of little faith." He looked at them with puppy dog eyes until he saw the three dragons. "Lluvia, girl! Janus, my man! And Ishtar, as radiant as always. What brings three of the noblest dragons I've ever known here to Aeria?" He leaned on Ishtar's horse. "Wait, don't tell me, you missed me so much that you couldn't resist to come and see me." He grinned.

"You're hopeless!" Ishtar moved her horse almost making the guy to fall.

"You know him?" Quatre asked.

"Unfortunately we do." Janus dismounted.

"So, I presume these are the Dragon Knights here with you." The guy said. "Well, welcome to Aeria, I'm guessing that you'll be going to Aeros the Wind Shrine. And I, of course, am the humble Wind Dragon." He winked at them while Lluvia and Ishtar rolled their eyes and Janus snorted.

"Wait, don't tell me…your name's Aeolus." Minako grinned.

"Gods, no. That wouldn't be very original of me, now would it? Nah, the original Wind Dragon named this place. I'm Talon, nice to meet your acquaintance." He bowed low while Heero, Trowa, and Wufei looked dubiously at the man, who had previously been thrown out of the bar.

At first sight, Talon appeared to be your average 25 year old guy. His long blond hair rivaled Minako's shine and Duo's length (FD: of hair people! Get your heads out of the gutter! Gods, what should I do with you people -.-!) His cheeky smile and the self assurance that surrounded him were too much for the three to bear. (FD: If you had ever seen Rune Soldiers, just think of Louie and you got it ^-^)

"But, weren't we supposed to prove ourselves to you?" Duo scratched his head.

"That is just so overrated!" Talon shrugged. "And you brought Ishtar, my morning star, my light, my perdition, my des- hey that hurt!" Talon nursed the spot where Ishtar had hit him. "Anyway, if you brought these three with you that's enough heroic task if you asked me, so you have passed my test." He shrugged it away.

"Ok then, we should look for an Inn where to stay and then plan how we're going to enter the Wind Shrine." Heero said.

"Why wait? We can enter the Shrine like everyone else, the entrance, I don't know if you have heard of that? Well, this Shrine does have one you know." Talon rolled his eyes while Duo restrained Heero before he could do some bodily harm to the blond.

"C'mon let's go." Heero growled before turning away, Duo right behind him.

"I don't know you Talon, but I would watch what I say if I were you, and if you want to have your hair intact." Wufei hissed while the girls nodded.

"But what did I say?" Talon blinked.

"It's not what you said, but how you said it." Quatre said sadly before turning to follow the rest.

"Aw, c'mon you don't think he took it seriously now do you?" He tilted his head to a side, making his blond hair fall into his eyes.

"Heero can be very serious." Trowa said.

"Aw man!" Talon bolted towards where Heero and Duo had disappeared.

After about two hours of apologizing, pleading, and right out begging Talon finally was able to get something out of Heero.

"Get away from me or omae o korosu." Heero's eye twitched. Not the best thing to say, but hey, it was progress.

"I swear, I said it with best intentions!"

*twitch*

"How about if I plead insanity?"

*twitch*

"C'mon, what else can I say?" Talon sighed as he looked at the brown haired teen while the others had finally ditched them after the first ten minutes of merciless begging. "Tell ya what, if you forgive me I'll help you with Duo." He smirked.

"Help me with Duo?" Heero parroted back, blinking in the process.

"Of course, I'm a man of many talents, and I'm not blind either." His smirk widened.

"Meaning?" Heero raised his eyebrow.

"Each one of us Dragons have a very fine affinity to our Knights. I can feel something in him, and it's not like you two are hiding it or anything." Talon shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Heero snorted.

"Yeah right, and you didn't have to struggle that much." Talon winked at him.

"Whatever, do what you want, just leave me alone." Heero shrugged.

"Great! I always wanted to play matchmaker." Talon gave a goofy smile, making Heero sweatdrop. "Now let's go, Aeros awaits our arrival!" And with that he walked towards the Wind Shrine.

~~~$@~~~$@

"Well, here we are!" Talon smiled as the others gaped. The Shrine, if any could call that a Shrine, stood on the top of a hill which only let the viewer see as millions of exquisite plants fell from large pillars where beds of flowers and brilliant leaves could be seen from the distance. Gentle breeze moved the petals of the flowers while small bells chimed everywhere as they were sprinkled by small cups that carried water from a large pond (FD: just think of the floating gardens of Babylonia).

"Neat isn't it?" Talon grinned as none of them seemed to get over their shock.

"Show off." Lluvia snorted.

"Let's go in, shall we?" Ishtar walked into the Shrine.

~~

"Penny for your thoughts." Minako walked besides Heero. Startled, the blue eyed boy turned to stare into sky blue eyes.

"I-I was just thinking of this quest; in how it has changed us all." He glanced towards where Trowa was talking animatedly with Quatre, Mamoru, Usagi, and Makoto while Wufei was actually having a civilized talk with Ishtar, Lluvia, and Rei. Finally his eyes landed towards where Duo was standing with Talon peering over Ami's shoulder looking at her computer. Giving a sigh he looked at the floor, yes he had been thinking of how they had changed, how his own feelings had changed for the chestnut haired boy and how he had finally come to terms with those feelings. Now he only needed the perfect opportunity to let the other boy know about them, and hopefully the feelings would be reciprocated.

"You know," He jumped at Minako's sudden voice. "I think that we haven't changed much. It's just that we have…evolved; parts of us are now taking shape, parts which were with us all along. Three months ago you wouldn't even considered having this conversation with me, that shows how much you have changed…for the better." She smiled sincerely at him. "Now let's go, we're almost at the dais." Minako took him by the hand and moved forward, startling the boy a second time.

~~

Upon entering, the group stopped at the sudden change of atmosphere. Instead of greenery, marble walls with intricate carvings adorned a large hall which held at least fifty people who wore courtesans' garments. And, in the middle of the hall stood a large statue of a dragon with white, feathery wings and on his hands rested a small yellow jewel. Right in front of the Dragon laid a large futon with pillows decorated with gold and silver ribbons while a woman lay on it.

As they walked into the room, all the courtesans quieted, leaving the room silent. Feeling more than aware of the unexpected attention, the eleven Dragon Knights shifted uncomfortably until Minako and Duo walked towards the dais, half expecting to have Talon behind him, however, the Wind Dragon kept behind Janus and Ishtar, just watching them from his place.

"What is your business?" The woman on the throne asked, her demeanor that of utter boredom.

"We have come here for sheer curiosity." Minako swiftly lied while giving the woman a small curtsy.

"Curiosity? Of what?" She looked more interested on their presence now, and sitting up, she raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Well, we had heard of the extraordinary beauty of the Wind Shrine, however, they never mentioned the magnificence of the…Priestess I presume?" Duo grinned as the woman's eyes shined and her face beamed at his compliment.

"Yes, I'm the Wind Shrine's Priestess, Zora." She smiled. "But please, have a seat and enjoy! We rarely have visitors as splendid as you." She signaled to the servants to bring wine and huge cushions for them to sit on.

"Why your beauty is only surpassed by your generosity." Minako said, making Zora beam even more.

"My, what a group of lovely people we have here." She smiled as everybody resumed their previous engagements. "So, what brings you all here?" She asked.

"As my friend here said, sheer curiosity." Mamoru answered her. "We are traveling the lands, looking for adventures." He smiled charmingly at the woman.

"This Shrine is more than impressive. May I know how this structure was made?" Ami asked curiously.

"Well, it was constructed way before my time. Our ancestors built this Shrine with the help of the Wind Dragon himself. And since then we have continued to maintain it's glory and magic." Zora smiled proudly, and for a moment they saw the wisdom that she held, yet the mirage disappeared as she giggled. "However, I've been thinking on remodeling this old place." She looked around. "The tapestry is too old and this place needs some color." Her eyes traveled towards the worn tapestries that hung besides the Dragon.

"A little warmth wouldn't hurt." Usagi nodded, making Zora's eyes land on her for the first time. Blinking, the priestess looked at her chest where the most beautiful broach that she had ever seen was attached to her dress.

"Tell me, where did you acquire such an exquisite piece of gold work?" She asked as she leaned to have a better look of the round object.

"This?" Usagi's hand darted towards her broach. "My mother gave me this broach." She ran her fingers over the bumpy surface.

"Is that so? Well, your mother must have great taste then, I would give anything to have something like that." Zora smiled.

Giving a last lingering touch to the broach, Usagi took it from her chest and opened it, taking the Silver Imperial Crystal from it, and offered the round object to the priestess.

"How about we trade?" Usagi smiled at her while the senshi's eyes widened, protesting immediately until Usagi raised her hand silencing them.

"Really?" Zora's eyes shimmered. "But I don't have anything worth this magnificent jewel!" She half whined.

"What about that stone over there?" Usagi crooked her head, pointing at the Dragon Tear.

"The Dragon Tear?" Zora blinked.

"Yes, you said that you were going to be remodeling anyway. I'm sure you don't want that old rock sitting there." Talon looked at her, while his eyes held a slight golden glow on them.

"Well, I don't know." Zora looked away from him; suddenly her face bore that same bored expression again. "It had been there since I can remember, and it would clash with all the new furniture." She shrugged. "Why not." She took the broach from Usagi and smiled. "Go ahead, take it." She told them.

"Minako, Duo, could you go and get it for me? I'm just too exhausted to stand up." Usagi asked them.

"Sure thing Usa." Minako and Duo nodded.

As both teens neared the dais, two guards looked confused towards Zora. "Don't worry, it's ok. It has been there so long that I doubt it would really have any powers. And anyway, the world is perfectly fine, and it's not like the Dragon Knights are coming for it any time soon." She put them at ease, winking at Duo and Minako that blinked at the woman who had that glint of wisdom again on her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, both Wind chosen grabbed the yellow stone and pulled it from it's place.

"Here you go." Minako handed it to Usagi.

"Thank you." Usagi nodded and put it rapidly on a pouch so nobody could see it pulsing.

"Say, are you going to graze us with your presence at dinner?" Zora asked them.

"I'm afraid we are short of time." Ishtar looked at her. "And our quest is long, so I regret that we have to decline you kind invitation."

"I see." Zora looked a little disappointed before smiling again. "I just pray that your journey is a successful one. May the great Mother of the Cosmos guard you and may the Dragons help you on your quest." The priestess looked kindly at them. "For our sake as well as yours." She whispered so just them could hear her before she vowed her head and stood while the Dragon Knights blinked.

"'Tis time to leave lads." Janus stood up, followed by the others.

"Thank you for everything." Minako curtsied.

"You have been most kind." Duo vowed his head.

"Oh, stop that, you're flattering me." Zora ushered them out before turning to Usagi. "I promise I'll take care of this." She held the broach on her hands.

"Thank you." Usagi nodded as Mamoru put a hand over her shoulder. "I promise we'll take care of the Dragon Tear." She said.

"I know you will." Zora smiled, waiving her good bye.

~~~$@~~~$@

"Well, she was nice." Quatre smiled as they walked towards the horses.

"Of course she was nice. She's my priestess after all." Talon brushed his hair back as he neared a light yellow horse that had appeared besides theirs out of the blue.

"Say, how did you know that she would be so…volatile?" Makoto asked Minako and Duo as she remembered how the two had approached the woman.

"I don't know. She just looked…different." Minako shrugged.

"And anyway, it's not like any woman wouldn't feel flattered by compliments." Duo grinned.

"Let us go in our way, 'ts the Chaos realm what lies in front." Janus mounted his horse while the others followed suit, moving towards the exit of the town.


~~~$@~~~$@

FD: Wow, *looks up impressed* I thought that I couldn't make a chapter of this story short, but there, nine pages ^-^. I've updated two chapter of Fallen Angel and a chapter of Dragon Quest, I'm so proud of myself! Anyway, I omitted some parts to make it shorter but basically everything is here. The piece of the woman on a futon was taken from Edding's "The Belgariad" really good book, however the woman on the book was the complete opposite from Zora. Now, I've got to start with the Chaos Shrine and then finally end this story. Oh well, I hope you liked it, Ja ne.







Back to Xovers Back to Fanfiction Back Ch 13 Next