Heero had, at first, stalked purposefully down the hallways, headed west down endless white corridors and gilded pictures. Now, he stalked purposefully, but his focus was slightly different. It was not that he had managed to get himself lost, he could always find his way back using relative approximations and cardinal direction at least fairly accurately, it was more that he had lost his purpose. He knew he was looking for the boy that had barged into his room, and he knew why, but he feared the confrontation.
He would recall previous times when something as such had happened, and the yelling, the offense, the intensity, and once, the beating. He hadn't meant to instigate the injury of another person, but it happened, because of a few careless words said to the wrong man. Bitterly he thought of the occasion, wondering what had possessed him to admit something so foolishly. He should have known not to tell him, but no, he had thought maybe, maybe it would be something to bring them together...
Instead, Heero had been forced to watch the poor kind servant beaten in a mild drunken fit. He shook his head sadly in remembrance. He had been shocked, horrified, to see what was done, and the speech of the rights of the nobility afterwards had further disgusted him. Of course, he had run to Noin, asked her to tell him it wasn't true. She had told him it was. Noin was blunt. Heero liked that, but it did not help him regain the trust of the servant. Heero shook his head, shutting his eyes to ward away images that only became clearer in the darkness. Focusing, he banished them. He did not want this to happen with this boy he was looking for. He had no illusions that the boy was nobility, but even as he thought that, he felt a nagging doubt. He could not jump to such conclusions so early.
The fact that the boy had been freely wandering those hidden passages, marked with the secret royal crest on the inside was evidence enough for doubt(Heero had taken the liberty of breaking into another guest suite, reluctant to revisit his own, and had examined the connecting passage within). It was a careful doubt too.
He paused, finally reaching another of the long junctures this endlessly beehived castle seemed to be fond of, and glanced down the lengthy-to-the-point-of-illusion-inspiring hallways. It was slightly disheartening to wander this castle. It was almost baffling to think that beyond each never-ending hallway was another secret passage. He wondered if it had all really been necessary at some point.
Realizing he had been caught standing in the hallways for longer than he needed, he chastised himself and tried to decide which way to go. He gave each turning a glare of its own, evaluating which direction would be most effective. The fact that he hadn't found the boy he was looking for, while not unsurprising, was inauspicious. Suddenly, he caught a flash of strange color out of the corner of his eye. He flinched imperceptibly and stared down the hall to his left. Was he correct in what he'd seen? He put hand to his eyes, and lowered it quickly.
A nude woman?
No, clothed...A boy in a dress...a boy in a dress?
A girl in a suit, maybe, a girl...a girl in a dress?
But that made perfect sense!
He realized how ridiculous that thought had been and resisted the urge to clench his fist, staring intently down the hallway. He paused, a familiar taunting laugh filling his skull with drumming contempt. He blinked again, telling himself he really had seen it. The laugh grew louder until he blocked it out with a fearsome blot of anger and resumed his steps down the hall in question. It didn't matter what he'd seen. This was the likely direction to go anyway, he convinced himself. He was looking for the boy. He would find him.
___________________
Duo's breath came in quick, irritated gasps. He felt like spitting up water until he cleared his system of that vicious froth the maid had forced him to swallow in her sadistic cleaning ritual. True, if he had sputtered less, he might not have swallowed so much water, but at this point, all that mattered was the nasty, waxy, soapy taste in the gullet.
Well, he admitted to himself, stealing a glance around the doorframe he was currently hidden behind, that and the stalking noble he had intruded upon earlier. It was getting weird the way it seemed to noble was following him. Duo had taken several twists in the honeycombed hallways that he thought were clever only to find that the noble boy thought they were too. Obviously there was either something wrong with Duo's evasive skills or there was something seriously wrong with this noble kid.
Hell, he could tell anytime when someone was following a guy on purpose, and by the look on this guy's face, he had some weird, all encompassing purpose that effectively blocked out anything and everything else.
Dressed only in a fluffy white towel cloth and his Godiva length hair, he felt more than a little under prepared to deal with some pissy noble brat following him like a puppy smelling bacon at the moment. After getting so many strange vibes from Treize himself, Duo wondered if any of such a king's nobility could be normal. It wasn't as if Goosey was a real wildly average guy.
He stole a glance around the corner again and breathed a sigh of relief; the noble seemed to have refocused, and it didn't seem to be on him. At least, that was the impression that he got from those slightly vacant blue eyes. Duo wondered idly if it was a noble thing to have blue eyes, or if it was just coincidence that Treize, Milliardo, and this boy all had the strange blue thing going on. Duo remembered the one kid at the orphanage who had been albino, with strange pink eyes, and smiled. He bet that no one else had purple eyes.
He stole one last glance at the noble, who walked down his hallway at this very instant. Luckily, Duo could tell that the intensity in his eyes was focused on some point beyond reality, meaning that even if he did see Duo, he doubted he would really be "seen". He had a feeling the noble wouldn't believe himself anyway. He hadn't spent his years growing up around a bunch of rowdy nudist orphans. Grinning, he sprinted down the hallway from eave to hanging to shadow, innumerable steps ahead of the noble, aiming for the most circuitous route he could find to his room. It was getting cold in this stupid towel.
___________________
The road was as dark and anonymous as the ink in the air. The two traveling in the bracing gale soaked in the blackness around them as if they were part of road itself, two parchment paper images sunken in ink and stuck to the bleak portrait of the landscape. They shivered beneath their cloaks, but the prospect of wind without rain heartened them, a hope as bare and treasured as a clean bone to starving dog. They were in sight of another town, another inn to stop in, another place to rest. It was only a matter of braving the dangerous forest road to reach the town in safety. The trees of the great woods loomed just over their path on the left, while the barrenness of man-made fields tackled by stout wilderness spread on their right. A number of skeletal wagons stood in the ditch by the side of the road, a sign of danger of greedy highwaymen. Of course, all the threatening, boasting, and cursing of a whole band of footpads would do little but warm their bones, and the appearance of such a group was only guaranteed to disturb them if the freezing wind didn't kill them before they were truly vulnerable to robbery. As always, the two figures staggered forward, only aware of sickness and their final destination. The figure who stood more poignantly silently towards the forest often stumbled, but now, stumbled and placed his hand over his heart, lifting the rags swathed about his head as if he were wont to look at the sky. The taller figure gave him a glance, but continued onward, his arms wrapped around himself in meager protection. The pile of brown rags stumbled forward and shuffled to his place at the tall one's side again, shaking his head. The tall one favored him with another glance, but said nothing still, rubbing his arms for heat. The rags pulled in again, and a voice barely on par with the howl of the wind croaked from the tall one's throat, "They've met."
_*_*_*_*_*_**_*_*_
AN: Whaddya think? It was about time for Duo/Heero/etc. part anyways, though it was tempting to move on to the next bit of the war. Although this bit didn't answer any questions or prgress the plot much or anything of that kind and beneficial nature, it was a bit fun to think of Duo and Heero chasing each other around the castle, I suppose. I have some nifty bits coming up I believe, but it's going to get a bit involved after this(again, I think it will, I'm not sure...). I don't like making trowa speak the unnecessary, so...*shrug* the voice comes from where you will. Diane, thanks for a ll the feedback! I havn't really proven much about Treize's leadership, but you'll see plenty of that later on*grin*. As for the good and evil...I hope you stick around for the end of the story! And I just have one thing for you to think about: Is it Dorothy?
As ever, my spirits, I listen to your call,
Kitten
He would recall previous times when something as such had happened, and the yelling, the offense, the intensity, and once, the beating. He hadn't meant to instigate the injury of another person, but it happened, because of a few careless words said to the wrong man. Bitterly he thought of the occasion, wondering what had possessed him to admit something so foolishly. He should have known not to tell him, but no, he had thought maybe, maybe it would be something to bring them together...
Instead, Heero had been forced to watch the poor kind servant beaten in a mild drunken fit. He shook his head sadly in remembrance. He had been shocked, horrified, to see what was done, and the speech of the rights of the nobility afterwards had further disgusted him. Of course, he had run to Noin, asked her to tell him it wasn't true. She had told him it was. Noin was blunt. Heero liked that, but it did not help him regain the trust of the servant. Heero shook his head, shutting his eyes to ward away images that only became clearer in the darkness. Focusing, he banished them. He did not want this to happen with this boy he was looking for. He had no illusions that the boy was nobility, but even as he thought that, he felt a nagging doubt. He could not jump to such conclusions so early.
The fact that the boy had been freely wandering those hidden passages, marked with the secret royal crest on the inside was evidence enough for doubt(Heero had taken the liberty of breaking into another guest suite, reluctant to revisit his own, and had examined the connecting passage within). It was a careful doubt too.
He paused, finally reaching another of the long junctures this endlessly beehived castle seemed to be fond of, and glanced down the lengthy-to-the-point-of-illusion-inspiring hallways. It was slightly disheartening to wander this castle. It was almost baffling to think that beyond each never-ending hallway was another secret passage. He wondered if it had all really been necessary at some point.
Realizing he had been caught standing in the hallways for longer than he needed, he chastised himself and tried to decide which way to go. He gave each turning a glare of its own, evaluating which direction would be most effective. The fact that he hadn't found the boy he was looking for, while not unsurprising, was inauspicious. Suddenly, he caught a flash of strange color out of the corner of his eye. He flinched imperceptibly and stared down the hall to his left. Was he correct in what he'd seen? He put hand to his eyes, and lowered it quickly.
A nude woman?
No, clothed...A boy in a dress...a boy in a dress?
A girl in a suit, maybe, a girl...a girl in a dress?
But that made perfect sense!
He realized how ridiculous that thought had been and resisted the urge to clench his fist, staring intently down the hallway. He paused, a familiar taunting laugh filling his skull with drumming contempt. He blinked again, telling himself he really had seen it. The laugh grew louder until he blocked it out with a fearsome blot of anger and resumed his steps down the hall in question. It didn't matter what he'd seen. This was the likely direction to go anyway, he convinced himself. He was looking for the boy. He would find him.
___________________
Duo's breath came in quick, irritated gasps. He felt like spitting up water until he cleared his system of that vicious froth the maid had forced him to swallow in her sadistic cleaning ritual. True, if he had sputtered less, he might not have swallowed so much water, but at this point, all that mattered was the nasty, waxy, soapy taste in the gullet.
Well, he admitted to himself, stealing a glance around the doorframe he was currently hidden behind, that and the stalking noble he had intruded upon earlier. It was getting weird the way it seemed to noble was following him. Duo had taken several twists in the honeycombed hallways that he thought were clever only to find that the noble boy thought they were too. Obviously there was either something wrong with Duo's evasive skills or there was something seriously wrong with this noble kid.
Hell, he could tell anytime when someone was following a guy on purpose, and by the look on this guy's face, he had some weird, all encompassing purpose that effectively blocked out anything and everything else.
Dressed only in a fluffy white towel cloth and his Godiva length hair, he felt more than a little under prepared to deal with some pissy noble brat following him like a puppy smelling bacon at the moment. After getting so many strange vibes from Treize himself, Duo wondered if any of such a king's nobility could be normal. It wasn't as if Goosey was a real wildly average guy.
He stole a glance around the corner again and breathed a sigh of relief; the noble seemed to have refocused, and it didn't seem to be on him. At least, that was the impression that he got from those slightly vacant blue eyes. Duo wondered idly if it was a noble thing to have blue eyes, or if it was just coincidence that Treize, Milliardo, and this boy all had the strange blue thing going on. Duo remembered the one kid at the orphanage who had been albino, with strange pink eyes, and smiled. He bet that no one else had purple eyes.
He stole one last glance at the noble, who walked down his hallway at this very instant. Luckily, Duo could tell that the intensity in his eyes was focused on some point beyond reality, meaning that even if he did see Duo, he doubted he would really be "seen". He had a feeling the noble wouldn't believe himself anyway. He hadn't spent his years growing up around a bunch of rowdy nudist orphans. Grinning, he sprinted down the hallway from eave to hanging to shadow, innumerable steps ahead of the noble, aiming for the most circuitous route he could find to his room. It was getting cold in this stupid towel.
___________________
The road was as dark and anonymous as the ink in the air. The two traveling in the bracing gale soaked in the blackness around them as if they were part of road itself, two parchment paper images sunken in ink and stuck to the bleak portrait of the landscape. They shivered beneath their cloaks, but the prospect of wind without rain heartened them, a hope as bare and treasured as a clean bone to starving dog. They were in sight of another town, another inn to stop in, another place to rest. It was only a matter of braving the dangerous forest road to reach the town in safety. The trees of the great woods loomed just over their path on the left, while the barrenness of man-made fields tackled by stout wilderness spread on their right. A number of skeletal wagons stood in the ditch by the side of the road, a sign of danger of greedy highwaymen. Of course, all the threatening, boasting, and cursing of a whole band of footpads would do little but warm their bones, and the appearance of such a group was only guaranteed to disturb them if the freezing wind didn't kill them before they were truly vulnerable to robbery. As always, the two figures staggered forward, only aware of sickness and their final destination. The figure who stood more poignantly silently towards the forest often stumbled, but now, stumbled and placed his hand over his heart, lifting the rags swathed about his head as if he were wont to look at the sky. The taller figure gave him a glance, but continued onward, his arms wrapped around himself in meager protection. The pile of brown rags stumbled forward and shuffled to his place at the tall one's side again, shaking his head. The tall one favored him with another glance, but said nothing still, rubbing his arms for heat. The rags pulled in again, and a voice barely on par with the howl of the wind croaked from the tall one's throat, "They've met."
_*_*_*_*_*_**_*_*_
AN: Whaddya think? It was about time for Duo/Heero/etc. part anyways, though it was tempting to move on to the next bit of the war. Although this bit didn't answer any questions or prgress the plot much or anything of that kind and beneficial nature, it was a bit fun to think of Duo and Heero chasing each other around the castle, I suppose. I have some nifty bits coming up I believe, but it's going to get a bit involved after this(again, I think it will, I'm not sure...). I don't like making trowa speak the unnecessary, so...*shrug* the voice comes from where you will. Diane, thanks for a ll the feedback! I havn't really proven much about Treize's leadership, but you'll see plenty of that later on*grin*. As for the good and evil...I hope you stick around for the end of the story! And I just have one thing for you to think about: Is it Dorothy?
As ever, my spirits, I listen to your call,
Kitten