Gomen for the long wait guys _ I kept re-writing this damn chapter because it just didn't sound right, and this is the version I think makes the most sense.
Thanks for all the lovely reviews! You kept me going through the cursed writers block ^_^
BTW, I think I spelt Treize's last name wrong _
I'd never seen Duo cry. It's an old myth that vampires actually can't cry, but Duo told me that's all nonsense. Which must be true, because I have cried many times since my making. He also told me we had nothing to fear from crucifixes, or garlic. In fact, he wore a crucifix, as if to spite to the rumour. I think it was a present from someone, he'd never told me, and I'd never asked him.
But now Duo was crying silently, tears running down his pale face as he closed his eyes, still facing the open window. I wanted to comfort him, yet at the same time knew he'd rather be left alone. So I just leant back against the wall, my head bowed, waiting for him to continue.
"As I was saying" Duo continued, his eyes opening again, "This all started because of a certain coach that I decided to rob. The only person who'd ever caught me"
He rubbed under his eyes, and I saw a flash of the human Duo. Even his voice seemed to change when he spoke about his maker, he sounded a lot more vulnerable and meek, and so unlike himself.
"The coach was what enticed me in the first place. It was a beautiful carriage, black, carved with red and gold engravings. I'd never seen, or heard of a coach with this decor before. Four black stallions pulled it along and lanterns rested on all four corners of the coach. It was almost like it had wanted to be noticed, and if I'd been a little wiser I wouldn't have even attempted to rob it.
So I rode up on Raiden, with all the air of an experienced highwayman, and aimed my gun at the driver. To give him credit, he acted along very convincingly, climbed down shakily from his seat and opened the door.
Where a man in dark blue uniform sat, his own gun aimed straight at me. I froze, and the driver took that split second opportunity to strike me, causing me to drop my pistol to the ground. I had no choice but to raise my hands in defeat, and watch as the man stepped out of the carriage and reached up, whipping the mask from my face.
"My.." he whispered, "I never expected to find a boy"
I gritted my teeth, but said nothing. The driver took Raiden's reins suddenly, causing him to rear up. I was thrown off, against the side of the coach, and lost consciousness almost immediately. But not before I heard that word that I dreaded the most.
The Gallows..."
Duo broke off, shivering. He reached out and closed the window, heading back to his seat. I followed, and knelt before him, waiting for him to start speaking again. He looked up after a while, looking more tired that I'd seen him in a long time.
"I awoke several hours later in a cell. A disgusting, dingy place, with a cold stone floor covered in rotting straw and animal excrement. I sat up, my head throbbing from where I'd hit the coach, looking around in the near complete darkness. That's when I was about to start panicking, when a voice startled me.
"It seems that the captain has caught fresh blood"
I looked around wildly, trying to distinguish where the voice was coming from. A shadowed figure stepped out into the small patch of moonlight that hit the cell floor, showing a man of about Zech's stature, with blazing blue eyes. I shrank back, but he stepped forwards.
"Don't be afraid of me. We're in the same boat, friend"
"We.... we are?" I managed to reply, my voice meek and thin compared to his. His voice was strangely quiet though, and had a well spoken lilt to it, that of a well schooled gentleman. The figure nodded and crouched down, showing me a face that looked as if it hadn't seen sunlight in a while. His voice sounded young, yet his face lined with worry, rather than with age.
"Highwayman? The captain goes out looking for our lot every night, but because most of the long timers know about him by now, they leave him well alone. It's only the newbies that get caught, right?"
I nodded.
"But don't look so scared. We've got a long time until we get to see the Gallows"
"What?... but-"
"The captain is crazy. Mad. A long while back, a highwayman killed his parents or something along those lines. So since then, he's been hell bent on killing any highwayman that crosses his path. But, he kills them in three, see? One for his father, one for his mother, and one for the child that his mother was carrying. So we're safe ,until he catches another one"
"How long have you been here?"
"Months, years, who knows? I've lost count, that's how bad the Captain is" the stranger said, sitting and leaning back against the wall, "Anyway, what do they call you then?"
"Maxwell" I said without hesitation, "Duo Maxwell"
"Maxwell? That name seems familiar to me somehow... eh, anyway the names Treize Krushanada. Pleasure to make your acquaintance"
I have no idea to this day how long we spent in that cell. Days, weeks or even months. Each day a plate of stale food would be pushed through, but we received no human contact or sunlight. Me and Treize, who in actuality were very different people, began to get along quite well. He enjoyed telling me of his past adventures, and I enjoyed listening.
It turns out he was from a well to do family, when his mother and sister died of Scarlet fever when he was very young. His father, distraught by their deaths, took out his anger on Treize. He, angered, left home, left his riches and began the humble way of a highwayman, to keep himself alive. For all he cared, his father was dead by now.
After a while, our death sentence was announced. The captain and two of his guards came into our cell, tied our hands, and led us out of the room. We were taken outside, and despite the weak sunlight we still screamed out, not having seen light in such intensity in a long time. A third figure already stood at the Gallows, and we were taken up to join them. As I looked over at them, I was surprised to discover that the said person was in fact a young lady. She had tear stains on her face, but kept looking determinedly ahead.
We were to be hung at sunset, apparently the dawn wasn't good enough for us. Or that the captain was simply too lazy to get up at that time. I looked out at the crowd of villagers that had gathered before us, all huddled together in families. Except.... for one person.
A young man, stood in the shadows of the trees, watched us alone. I noticed him for his eyes, blue ones that even rivalled Treize's own. He was young, about my age at a guess, and had dark hair tied back from his face, bangs of hair falling over his eyes. It was only until darkness had fell completely that he stepped out and joined the rest.
Surprisingly, I wasn't that scared. I guess that I knew this was the end, and there was nothing I could do about it. Crying wouldn't help, and I would rather go out smiling than anything. So, I smiled"
Duo broke off, laughing to himself.
"The look on people's faces.... it was great. Treize thought I'd flipped, and even the dark haired girl gave me a small smile in return. The captain thought I was just being cheeky, and backhanded me. And yet, I smiled still, albeit a bit more strained than before.
The nooses were fitted, and the trap doors set. The captain came up onto the platform and began walking backwards and forwards, smirking.
"So.... the three at last.. and one a young lady. Disgraceful. Be thankful that I am giving you death" he began, "And so, which of you shall be the first? Surely you men won't allow the lady to die first? Would you?"
Treize had frozen. The girl was looking down at her feet. I was smiling. As the captain came to a stop in front of me, I winked.
"I'll go first"
The crowd literally gasped. I guess no-one had ever offered to be hung first before. The captain however smiled, and reached for the lever beneath me. He smirked.
"Any last words?"
I shook my head, and prepared myself. The captain wrapped his fingers around the lever and prepared to pull it. I closed my eyes, holding back the tears that were threatening to spill out. When.... He spoke.
"Stop"
His voice was quiet, yet demanding. I opened my eyes and the captain turned to glare down whoever had dared to speak out against him. It was the mysterious boy with the blue eyes, who'd moved away from the edge of the crowd and into the centre, and was now looking up at the captain.
"What?!" he yelled back, "How dare you tell me-"
The stranger did nothing, but held up a bag of money. He threw it up to the angry captain, who caught it clumsily, before undoing it. I caught the brief flash of gold before he drew it closed again, and looked down at the boy.
"Let them go" he began softly, "They can come with me"
The captain nodded and reached up, cutting the rope from around my neck, nicking me at the same time. I cried out and fell on all fours, trying to catch my breath. I heard Treize and the mysterious girl fall either side of me, and the captain forced me to stand, before nodding to the stranger"
Duo smirked, whilst subconsciously reaching up to touch his neck. Now that he mentioned it, I had noticed he had a faint scar on the left side of his neck, equal with his jaw line. He caught me looking and his smile grew wider, and his eyes sparkled slightly.
"Kind of ironic, isn't it? All those years, the captain had been waiting for three highwaymen, or women in this case, to pay for his families deaths, and yet all it took was a bagful of gold to make him change his mind. Shows how demented he was really.
Anyway, the blue eyed stranger walked up onto the platform with us, the crowd now dispersing, seeing there wasn't going to be a hanging after all. He stopped in front of me, his eyes fixated on the cut that the captain had given me. I nervously watched those magical, incredible eyes, and then found that I couldn't look away from them. He met my gaze and smiled thinly, reaching out and brushing some of the hair away from my face. Bear in mind, I'd been in prison for a while now, and my hair was straggly and unkempt. I think I blushed, causing his smile to become, more genuine I guess.
"You three are my guests" he spoke suddenly, and I noticed the faint lilt to his accent, "Please, come back to my home with me. It is a big place, and I get very lonely with just me and my servant. You will have everything that you ever wanted there, food, clothes, anything. All I ask in return is your company"
Well, what would you say? Me and Treize exchanged glances and nodded, the dark haired girl following suit. He smiled, and he drew a small knife out of his pocket, quickly slashing the bonds around my wrists. He did it so fast and accurately, yet the knife's blade never touched my skin. He did the same with Treize and the mysterious girl, and then beckoned us to follow him. We did, down to the most magnificent carriage I'd ever seen.
Black, with red decor, it gleamed beautifully in the glow from it's four lanterns. It was pulled by four black horses and was had a driver, dressed all in black. As we approached, he jumped down from his seat and opened the door, nodding to each of us as we climbed in.
Treize and the girl took one seat, leaving me and Him to take the other. As the door was closed, he gave us another thin smile.
"I do not know your names, however"
"I'm Treize Krushanada" Treize quipped suddenly, his voice unusually fast for him. He just nodded, and smirked slightly.
"The last son of the Krushanada family? I knew your father... a sorry excuse for a man if I ever did see one. I'm glad to see that you have not inherited his ways. Raising a hand to his only son...."
"How... how did you know that?" Treize replied, looking at me as he spoke "I..."
"Like I said, I knew your father"
"How? You're younger than me...-"
"Age and looks do not always match" He replied somewhat mysteriously, "Just because I look young, does not mean that I am. And your name, Miss?"
The dark haired girl looked up quickly, and I caught the glance of grey blue eyes under her bangs. She was very pretty in a boyish sort of way, any other guy would have found her irresistible. She seemed older than me though, more Treize's age.
"I'm Lucrezia Noin" she said softly, "Please, call me Noin"
He nodded before turning to me. I could have imagined it, but his smile grew wider as his eyes met mine. One thing about His smile, was that it seemed restricted. He would never show his teeth, although I know why now, it really confused me at the time. I was confused anyway, with him saving us and all.
"And your name?"
"I'm Duo Maxwell," I replied steadily, forcing myself to keep his gaze, "But that isn't my real name. I never knew what my real name was"
"We have something in common then, Duo" he replied silkily, "For my name is Heero Yuy, yet that is not my real name"
"Why did you save us?" I asked, without meaning to really. I mentally kicked myself afterwards, but all he did was laugh lightly.
"Like I said, because I need company. I saw that each of you, although being punished for robbery, were all kind, good hearted people. To such an extreme, that you'd risk your life for the ones you love"
He turned to look out of the carriage window, watching the countryside fly past in a blur. I looked at Treize, who shrugged, but gave a quick smile. No-one spoke until we reached his house, which was more of a mansion if you ask me"
Duo broke off, smiling. He stretched, and glanced over at the dying fire. He leant forwards, throwing a few more logs on, whilst I watched, still wrapped up in his story.
"So.. Heero Yuy. He was.... your maker?"
"My maker" Duo replied softly, "And my love"
AN/ Really, really sorry for the long wait. No excuse really, except for coursework, illness and general laziness _ Very sorry, hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.
Ja ne! And thanks for reading!!
