Airmessens War
Part II
Disclaimer: Not mine
*
Duo muttered under his breath, as he wrung out his braid. A thunder-storm had struck only moments before they entered the city walls, spooking the horses. To be specific, Duo's horse. The black colt, Shinigami, was swift and extremely agile. And, unluckily for Duo, had only just been trained, and had never before left Maxwell. All that equalled one very scared horse, hard to control and damn near impossible to catch.
Somehow Duo had stayed on, and, after Shini had lead them all a merry chase, while Duo hung on for his life, they had finally gotten into the city. And now, they were huddled in a dripping, soaking mass, watched curiously by the palace servants. There were more than a few having a snicker at the stranger's misfortune.
Oh well, thought Duo resignedly. At least Sir Heero isn't...crap. A man, well, a youth really, had appeared at the top of the stairs. His blue tunic was adorned with a pair of white wings, signifying him as the Lord of Wing. Sir Heero Yuy himself.
The knight's face remained emotionless as he surveyed his saturated squire. Inwardly, Heero groaned. This was his squire? A pair of stunning violet eyes looked straight at him, as the owner slowly approached.
"Are you Sir Heero?" The boy asked. Never mind he was no older than Heero. Heero nodded shortly. "Yes. You are Duo Maxwell?" The sodden youth nodded. "Come with me."
Duo trailed after Heero, head down. He blinked sleepily, yawning. He didn't notice when Heero halted and turned to face him, and just kept walking, straight into Heero. Heero instinctively put up his arms to catch him, just as Zechs walked by.
"Squires aren't so bad, Yuy?" The blonde said, eyeing Duo. Heero shot him a furious glare, pushing Duo away. "Shut up, Zechs, if you value your life."
Duo blinked again, his exhausted mind wondering vaguely what was going on. Leaning forward, he rested his head against Heero's chest again. "Maxwell..." a cold voice spoke. Duo woke up momentarily, enough to yank himself away from his knight-master.
"Heh....sorry... I'm just real tired..." Duo mumbled. Heero glanced blankly at him, before opening the door in front of them.
"These are my chambers. There are three rooms in total, not including your room, which is adjoined to my bedchamber. Understand?" Heero said. Duo nodded. "Your possessions should already be in the room, they came yesterday, correct?" Without waiting for a response, Heero barrelled on "As my squire, I will expect you to..." Duo's head slumped forward, and he leant against the wall. Heero looked at him for a moment. The baka's asleep! He thought incredulously.
With a long-suffering sigh, Heero scooped Duo up, carrying the braided youth through the door. He noted with surprise how light the boy was. Clearly he did not eat enough.
Carrying him through to his bedchambers, Heero was disgusted to find no one had thought to procure blankets for his new squire. If he goes to bed wet he'll get sick, as well. We can't afford that, Heero noted.
With a barely audible sigh, Heero turned back, walking into his chambers. Laying the unconscious boy on his bed, he yanked Duo's dark tunic over his head. The boy's boots and breeches quickly followed, although he left the undergarments for decency's sake.
Heero paused, watching the slow rise and fall of the boy's breathing. The candle-light gleamed over the boy's braid, highlighting the streaks of red and gold. Heero could never sleep so deeply in a strange place. It was an unnecessary risk.
Duo sighed, and rolled over. Moving away, Heero gathered the discarded clothes, striding into Duo's room and dumping them on the floor. Turning to face his own room, Heero hesitated. Opening a cupboard, he removed his field-kit. The kit contained his bed roll, blankets, a few dried provisions, and several hidden daggers. The kit itself was water-proof.
Taking out his bed roll and blankets, Heero spread them on the floor, and with a last glance at his squire, lay down, and closed his eyes. [1]
*
Duo blinked slowly, then yawned and stretched. Blinking again, he gazed at the ceiling. The unfamiliar ceiling. Frowning, he turned looking around the room. His gaze froze, as he saw the still form on the floor.
Last night, Sir Heero had seemed so intimidating. More a man than a boy. Which was what Duo had expected. But now...
Dark hair fell over the closed eyes of the youth, and his shoulders rose and fell with his breathing. His mouth was slightly open, and his expression was peaceful. He looked young. Far too young to bear the weight of the hundreds of legends, dreams and hopes pinned on him.
"Uh.... sir? Heero?" Duo climbed out of bed, and crouched beside the brunette. Tentatively, he reached out to touch the others shoulder. "Hee-" A hand snapped around his wrist, twisting it mercilessly. Duo yelped painfully, leaping back, but the hand retained its grip. Then, slowly, it relaxed. Duo turned to stare at his wrist, where furious red marks were already visible. Wide-eyed, he turned his gaze to the cobalt staring directly at him.
"I... What on earth do you think you're doing?" snapped Heero. A look of hurt washed briefly over the other youth's face. Heero sighed, getting to his feet, brushing past Duo, and collecting his clothes from the drawer. The cobalt eyed boy turned, his arms full of garments, to see Duo drooping dispiritedly towards his own belongings. Heero hesitated. A feeling he rarely experienced, guilt, was sweeping through him. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you. It wasn't your fault." He said softly.
Duo turned to look at him, as a smile flashed over the braided boy's face. "You're not mad? Great! Hey, should I call you Heero, or sir, or Yuy?"
Heero raised an eyebrow at the barrage of words. "It does not matter to me." Duo nodded with a grin. "Heero it is, then. What're we going to do today, anyway, Heero?" Heero held back a sigh. "Orientation and evaluation." He said shortly.
Knuckles rapped on the door, as that same mousy looking man from before poked his longish nose around the door. "Sir? The king has arranged for all his resident vassals to breakfast in the Lower Rose Garden this morning, and expects your presence. He said to tell you he will be most displeased should you opt not to attend."
Heero glowered at the poor man. He hated social occasions of all descriptions, especially in recent times. Princess Relena of Sanq was sheltering in Dastrane, for dangerous as the country was, it was a thousand times safer than her own land. Her father had wanted his darling daughter as safe as possible. And naturally, the safest place was with the greatest knight in the Western Kingdoms. Relena agreed whole-heartedly.
Duo winced sympathetically at the poor orderly. "What's your name?" he asked curiously. The man looked shocked at being spoken to like that by a member of the nobility, albeit a squire. "T-Timoth, sir." Duo smiled. "I'm Duo. Nice to meet you."
"Hn." Heero yanked his customary blue tunic over his head, and stalked out of the room. Duo grinned at Timoth, and ran after him.
"So Heero, what did Timmy mean by 'resident vassals'? I thought everyone was out fighting Airmessens?" he asked curiously. Heero shot him a disparaging glance. "Timmy?" the cobalt-eyed youth shook his head. "Never mind. There are still a little over a dozen knights within the castle, recovering from wounds, and a security guard, four score of trained soldiers, commanded by eight knights.[2]"
Heero turned a corner, and pushed open a door. Golden sunlight streamed in, and the twittering of the caged song-birds reached their ears. Walking through the door, Duo couldn't help staring.
Maxwell's castle gardens were little more than wilderness these days. The last gardener had joined the army, and no substitute had been found. But this was just... unbelievable. Perfectly trimmed emerald lawns sloped gently away, as the shade of tall, elegant grey trees dappled the grass. Exotic blue flowers littered the garden. But most of all, were the roses.
Red roses, white roses, pink roses, yellow roses, climbing roses, miniature roses and even purple roses ((a/n: I know they exist, there's one in our garden)). And in the very centre of the thorny flowers, was a small gazebo, filled with chattering courtiers. Duo stared at them. Didn't they know there was a war on?
As the pair approached, Duo saw, standing behind the colourful nobles, stood the silent, grim figures of soldiers. They didn't look any happier to be there than Heero did.
"Heero, so glad you could make it." A dark-haired young noble-woman cooed. At the far end of the table, next to what could only be the king himself, a blonde head snapped around.
"Heero! Over here!" squealed a young female voice, as the blonde waved excitedly. Beside him, Duo felt Heero tense, and mutter something. "Who's that?" Duo murmured. Heero glowered at the girl, who was still beaming obliviously at him. "Relena, princess of Sanq." The cobalt eyed knight said through clenched teeth.
"The one who's in love with you?" Duo asked curiously. Heero glared at him. "Yes."
Said princess had gotten tired of waiting for her 'true love' to make his way to her, and was now mincing towards the pair. "Heero, darling, who is this?" she inquired. Duo grinned, and bowed. "Duo Maxwell." Relena sniffed. "I believe I was asking Heero."
Heero stared at her blankly. "Your Highness." He said in a cold monotone. But even his stoic expression shifted slightly, when the princess grabbed his hand and dragged him to the head of the table. "I saved a seat next to me, just for you." She said, smiling prettily. Duo held in a snicker.
Looking around, Duo saw several youths, around his own age, although the youngest couldn't have been much more than twelve. They were standing silently behind their knight-masters, eyes forward, shoulders squared and chin level. Duo decided it looked very uncomfortable.
Moving to stand behind Heero, he momentarily adopted the pose. And just as quickly abandoned it.
Heero glanced behind him, seeing Relena's chagrined expression. His new squire stood in position behind him. But instead of standing at attention, the boy was slouching, leaning on one of the support columns. Heero smirked, and turned back to his food. Anything that aggravated Relena was well worth a little indignity. He relished his little victories.
*
Duo panted, watching warily as the slim figure circled him. In his hand rested the wooden hilt of a blunt practice sword. Heero was testing his skills.
Wow, Duo mused, never thought I'd be duelling with Sir Heero. Even if it's only for play.
Heero, on the other hand, never considered anything for play. This, to him, was a vital evaluation of his squire's skills. Duo had unusual speed, and was agile, as expected. However, his strength was poor, and his attack much better than his defence.
"Up! Get your sword up!" he barked. Duo, who had been allowing the point of his heavy sword to rest on the ground, flushed at having made such a beginner's mistake. He yanked his sword up fiercely. And Heero attacked.
The dark-haired boy feinted high, then drove in low. If the sword had been sharpened, it would have split Duo in two. Duo leapt back, watching Heero closely. Again, Heero attacked, this time whirling his blade towards Duo's legs. Duo jumped to the side, at the same time bringing his sword down to meet the other. Heero made a sound of approval as his sword was repelled.
Duo followed through, his blade shivering up the side of Heero's, straight for Heero's hand. Heero pulled back just in time, surprised by the squire's speedy attack, but recovered instantly.
Whipping his sword around to the right, he smacked Duo's arm with the flat of the blade. With a yelp, Duo dropped his sword, nursing his arm, which was already starting to turn red.
"You must be prepared for all eventualities. Your opponent will not always fight fair." Heero said in a monotone. "But... your skills are considerable." And the dark haired knight turned on his heel, and walked out. Duo stared after him in amazement.
Uh, hello? What I am supposed to do now?
Dropping his blunt practice sword into the tray provided, Duo meandered down the hall, looking around. The cold, dull stone corridor wasn't exactly the most scenic place.
A shout echoed, as Duo turned a corner. Here the dark hallway turned into an open air corridor, with graceful fluted columns. Sunlight poured in from the small grassy courtyard, and tall elegant trees cast their shadows on the ground. Small children were playing, laughing and shouting as they chased each other through the trees. Duo smiled, and walked towards them.
"Hello." Said a small voice to his left. Duo looked down, and smiled at the serious little girl. "Are you looking for Jounam?" Duo cocked his head.
"Nope. Who's Jounam?" The little girl turned, her brown piggy-tails flying out behind her. "Jounam! Jounam!" she squeaked. Duo grinned. So cute.
A tall blonde youth, about Duo's age, stepped out of the bushes. From his rough clothes and tanned skin, he was probably a servant. The boy nodded cheerfully at Duo. " 'ello. C'n I 'elp ya?" Duo hesitated a moment, struggling to understand his thick accent. "No... no, I'm right, thanks. Uh, what is this?"
The boy spread his arms wide. "Why, 'tis the cour'yard o' our dear Lady Anguan 'erself." Jounam winked at Duo, over the little girl's head. The child giggled. "Don't be silly, Jounam. It's not my courtyard. This is where all of the children stay," she informed Duo. "The servants take turns watching us. We're not allowed outside the palace any more. They say the Airmessens will get us."
"Bah! I'm not afraid of Airmessens!" yelled a red-headed boy. "I'm gonna kill them! All of them! They deserve it, after what they did to... to... Father..." the boy trailed off, as Jounam draped an arm around his shoulders. Duo could guess what had happened to the boy's father. Too many men had fallen under the Airmessens onslaught. Like...
Duo shook his head fiercely. Not now, not now. He hadn't thought of it for weeks, deliberately. And he sure as hell wasn't going to start now.
*
Heero stalked through the corridors. Servants scuttled out of his way, and even other nobles avoided him. They knew what Heero was like.
Heero narrowed his eyes. His completely brain-dead squire had not only wandered off on his own, but had completely disappeared. No one had seen him since this morning, although they were already full of indignation for the boy's scandalous lack of decorum.
Following the tried and true method to find things, i.e. looking where you last saw it, Heero turned left and into the practice yards. No Maxwell in the first. In the second... no Maxwell. In the third... no Du... Maxwell.
Heero frowned. He rarely allowed himself the familiarity of using first names. But... on this occasion he was tempted to let it slide.
Backing out of the practice courts, Heero walked purposefully down the dark hallway. Ahead, he could see light. It seemed to be moving. As he got closer, he realised that the movement was created by shadows flickering over the smooth stone. Tree shadows.
Searching his memories, Heero dragged up a vague memory of a shady courtyard, which he'd visited as soon as he arrived here, on his investigation of the castle.
Laughter sounded from the courtyard, and Heero stepped forward onto the green lawn.
And froze.
Children. Dozens of them, running crazily between the trees, giggling and laughing like hyenas. Heero had never spent any real time with children. To him, they were small, squeaky creatures that were best ignored. But obviously, his squire did not share his views.
The braided boy was seated on a wooden bench, a little girl on his lap, and a small crowd of children at his feet. The mercurial boy was speaking animatedly, telling a story.
For some reason, Heero felt saddened. He'd never even heard a story. His stern father had no time for such foolishness, and therefore neither did his son.
"Duo." Heero said quietly. Duo's head snapped up. "Oh. Sorry, I kind of lost track of time." He smiled sheepishly. "See you later, Jounam, kids." He waved.
"Why'd you call us baby goats?" asked a miniscule blonde curiously. Duo grinned. "Tell you later." He promised.
*
ok.... Heero seems a bit cold in this one, but he'll warm up soon. Also, if anyone has any ideas or pairings or whatever, that they want in here, tell me and I'll try to fit them in. No promises though. And big thankyous to all of you guys who reviewed.
[1] betcha all thought they were going to share beds, ha? gomen, but I really don't think Heero would trust someone who'd said a total of 10 words to him, enough to share a bed. Then again, he probably wouldn't bother with the at all....
[2] For anyone who doesn't know, a score means twenty. Four score means eighty.