For the full notes and disclaimer, please refer to the first page or chapter.
Additional notes: I do hope no one gets offended by anything I say here. This is fiction, though I do put some effort into making things as historically probable as possible. (Though the latter chapters are anything but 'historically probable'!) I do not intend to make fun of, nor antagonize any specific race in what I write.
'blah' – internal thoughts
blah - shift in scenes / perspectives
The Chronicle of Abaddon
--- First Blood ---
Identification of the Mark
"So the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight" - Genesis 4:15
:::: Mark of Death ::::
It was raining that night.
Indeed, it had been particularly cold and dreary the entire morning, so it should come as no surprise that the heavens finally opened up and heaved its bursting contents to the ground below.
Perhaps, it did come as no surprise to most mortals who had the entire day to simply watch and forecast the coming dreadful weather. But for one who had woken up and gotten out just as the sun was giving off its last rays, the sudden downpour had been entirely unexpected.
It was just as well that Duo went out that particular night to go traipsing into the nearby town. And it was just his luck that he did not give a second thought in bringing any umbrella with him this time. He thoroughly detested the bulky things, since it hinders him from moving freely within the crowd, his street-sense and thieving instincts not completely wiped from him. If it was possible, he left them behind as much as his mentor would allow it.
Well, actually, he most of the time simply skirted around the issue and sneaked out to avoid the topic of bringing umbrellas altogether.
Now, he cursed his lack of foresight, as the braided child trudged through the wet streets, huddling closer to his coat, in a futile attempt to warm himself. He was thoroughly drenched, and was shivering badly that the fear of dying from hypothermia crossed his mind more than once.
'Thankfully, at least home's close enough...' Duo thought as he rounded one more street and continued to walk onwards.
Home... That was something he never thought about before, much less hoped for. But Omri changed all of that when he took the orphaned nobody and bought him to his care in his lavish mansion. 1
While he had a hard time accepting the gift for what it truly was, Duo was now learning to trust the older man, and even reciprocate his care. It was a hard struggle for both of them, but he was young and had all the time in the world to adjust to his new surroundings, while Omri had the abounding patience and understanding that the street-child needed to be able to take the first steps towards friendship... and more.
What that 'more' was, Duo had absolutely no idea. It was just a feeling that he sometimes got from his mentor. Not that he feared that 'more' would be a negative experience for him, rather, it just seemed as if Omri was merely waiting for things to happen according to his plan instead of rushing him, and Duo was a bit impatient about it. He wanted that 'more' already!
Sometimes, despite his denial of it, his true age does come out – once in a while.
He was merely nine years of age.
A year since Omri had taken him as his ward.
Absorbed as he was in his thoughts of how much had changed in such a short span of time, Duo took no heed of his surroundings, and simply let his feet guide him on the well-known path towards his place.
On the other side of the street the young boy was about to turn to, a drunken old man in his late forties was swaying unsteadily on his feet, occasionally enlisting the help of the cool stone walls to aid him in his standing. He wore the ragged clothing of the homeless, a dirty scarf and worn mittens with holes on them the only combat he had for the cold weather. Gray hair prematurely aged from the strain of his condition and environment peeked from under a hastily stuffed and equally worn bonnet. His beady dark eyes, glazed with the cold and a hint of coming sickness was probably his only recognizable feature from the countless others who wandered the streets. Everything about him seemed as drab and dreary as his surroundings, matching the two of them perfectly such that when he stopped moving for a while to reorient himself, it seemed from a distance that he was merely a lumpy part of the stone wall.
That was until he started hacking and coughing. The movement trembled his slim frame, and consciously he put up a hand to his mouth in an attempt to stop his coughing feat. After a moment, the ordeal ended and left the man with cold sweat from the effort. Sighing, he lowered his left hand, never noticing the bright red stain that now colored part of his worn mitten. For a moment, the splash of blood in his hand was the only color he had.
With a grunt of determination, the man got back to his feet and started to half-stumble and half-walk towards the turn around the building, only to nearly hit the pavement as a child bumped into him by the corner. Instinctively raising his hand to catch the nearest hold he could, he grasped the shoulder of the little one, and managed to eventually steady himself. Mumbling nearly incoherently about children nowadays and the lack of respect they had for their elders, the two parted ways.
That was the last anyone ever saw about that man. Two days later, his body was found along an alley, slumped with one hand still covering his mouth. The bright red stain of blood was the only color he had left to differentiate him from the grey surroundings. 2
Absently saying some sort of apology to the man he had bumped along his way, Duo mindlessly continued walking, not realizing that his right hand had gripped his left shoulder instinctively to check for signs of bruising or injury. Encountering nothing save for some sticky fluid, the young boy merely assumed that it had been a result of walking outside. Afterall, one can never be too sure of what fluid are dripping on you, especially near the roof of some of the ill-reputed households – rain or no rain. 3
He continued walking.
The soft snick of the lock momentarily had Duo hoping that his absence had not been noticed by the strangely-protective Omri. That was before he turned around to be nearly smacked head to chest by said self-appointed protector.
"You're wet. And shivering."
Well, the astute observation pushed to one side for the moment, the braided youth breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the signs his older companion exuded. He was merely concerned, and not angry with him for sneaking off to parts unknown again without his approval or knowledge. And of course, without that thrice-damned bulky apparel called an umbrella.
With an impish grin tinged with a hint of guilt and embarrassment, Duo rubbed a finger to his nose, as was his wont when he knew he was at fault and yet was stalling for time to avoid having to apologize. If Omri was Solo or anyone part of the gang, he would have immediately pounced on this, and drawn out the apology for all it was worth. Thankfully, he was just Omri, adoptive parent extraordinaire, and he let Duo have all the time he needed to formulate a response.
That was, until Duo's eyes grew wide with shock.
In front of his slitted golden eyes, the silver-haired man saw his ward raise a trembling finger to his nose, sniff it, then stare at said finger in apparent rapt fascination. He was about to wonder if this was the youth's new method of escaping the elder's wrath, when he was hit with the smell that so shocked Duo.
Blood.
Omri wasn't even aware if he had spoken it out loud or if Duo had. All he knew was that suddenly, the two of them were staring at each other, both immobile and shocked for the moment. Duo, because it brought back year-old memories of Solo's dead body and the tragedy of that day. Omri, because he had not had a decent warm meal ever since his young ward agreed to come with him. It had been too much of a risk at that time, especially when the townspeople were becoming wary of leaving their homes at the dark of the night.
Then, a second realization hit the two at almost the same time.
It wasn't Duo's blood.
The relief that sang through them was almost palpable in the sudden stillness of the room.
Duo would know if it was his especially since he had automatically checked his shoulder after his impact with that homeless man, and Omri would know since he had practically imprinted into his very essence the scent of the young blood beating within the veins of his ward. He would have been instantly alert, had he smelled Duo's blood, the moment Duo entered their home. As it was, the stench was old, faint, and somewhat erased by the tangy smell of the rain. But Omri thought that he detected a hint of sickness in that blood.
He forgot all about it however, in his haste to catch the braided child's body as it sagged bonelessly in relief.
All that mattered now was that Duo was taken care of before he froze to death.
The sun was shining bright and early for a change, a rare thing indeed especially considering the turning of the climate from the mild wintry gale of autumn to the harsh winds of hail and snow of winter. And so, just like most of the townsfolk this day, a braided-haired child ventured out of a simple yet well-maintained home into the invigorating heat of the day. While he was very fond of the nighttime surroundings, sometimes people just have to get the maximum effect of a beautiful day, and he knew that he wouldn't achieve that goal should he decide to stay inside the entire time.
With a loud whoop of laughter, a certain Duo Maxwell ran out into the streets, taking full advantage of a dry and puddle-less road to play around and run full tilt without fear of slipping on something you couldn't very well see in the dark. It had been an incredibly long time since he had had the luxury of just playing, and while he would have normally missed his once-companions, Duo had decided that today would be a day of no regrets.
Well, except for one thing. It was too bad that Omri was still sleeping in the house. He had arrived late last night, well into the morning pre-dawn hours indeed, so the young child was loath to wake him, even if that meant that he got to enjoy the beauty of Earth alone.
And so, on the sixth week since they had found the startling evidence of someone else's blood on Duo's sleeve, nothing could be seen out of the ordinary in the young child. That is, if one considered his playing in broad daylight not strange in its own right.
Nothing out of the ordinary indeed, until well after the lunch hours.
He had forgotten to take his lunch in his enjoyment, and when he realized that he was feeling a bit of cramp in his stomach, it was already too late. He was too far from his home to simply remedy the situation, which was made worse by the light-headedness he was suddenly experiencing.
'Not now', Duo reprimanded himself, even as he slumped on a wall, panting and very much in pain that he could barely see. There had been a time more than a year ago, when a lost meal would hardly be new to him and thus would barely register on his body as pain. But, if this sickness was of any indication to Duo, it showed him just how much he had changed, just how much he had adapted to a sheltered and well-provided for life. And it frightened him to be rendered so useless by a hunger that had been his waking companion for as long as he could remember. For so long until Omri had taken him out of the streets.
It had been like this for close to a full week already, and while normally Duo would ignore such things thinking them a weakness he could not show anybody, he had had over a year of the knowledge that he was not alone being pounded into his brain by his mentor to do better than keep quiet about this. As it was, Omri was already suspicious that he had preferred to stay at home three days out of five, when he would normally chafe at such a restriction on his senses.
"All because some antisocial guardian needs to be kept company", he had said earlier when Omri had attempted to question him about his rapid shift in behavior. And though it was in part true, – the elder was rubbing off his traits already, damnit! – he had been feeling a bit of malaise, to realize that venturing out in that condition in the deep of the night was something akin to suicide. Well, that and he really was feeling not too good.
Indeed, he was not feeling all that well early on, but the bright rays of a sun rarely seen in these parts had beckoned to him, called to him much like a siren calls to a ship. And he had responded to that call instinctually, much to his chagrin now. He should have known better than to do things when he was not at his best.
It must be a fever, Duo reasoned, back with his thoughts on the wall by a side street that bright sunny morning.
Strange though that in all his formative years, he had never gotten sick over something so mundane as a weather change. 'Ah well', he shrugged. 'Must be one of those new changes a sheltered life gives.'
Wiping a hand to his sweat-filled brow, he took a deep breath and mustered up the energy he knew he would need in order to reach the house in one piece. The distance between this point in the wall to the sanctuary Omri's house had turned out to be had never been farther in his young mind, than today.
And as he slowly and carefully traced back his steps towards his mentor, Duo never truly realized until much later how he had instinctually suppressed a wet cough from getting out of his system. Afterall, that would broadcast to the whole place just how sick he was feeling, and that was something any sensible person living for long in this place learned to never do.
Omri might have taken the street rat out of the streets, but he could never fully take out the street in a once-street rat.
Its instincts afterall had allowed him to survive for so long in this harsh world.
"Are you sure you are not going to eat that?", the silver-haired man asked his younger companion, his golden eyes slitted with full-blown suspicion.
While he could let his unusual behavior this past few days pass, this was just too much of a coincidence. If there was anything Omri had learned of his protégé, it was that a child of the streets never left anything remotely edible on his plate. Never. It could never be predicted afterall when the next meal would arrive, and until then it was better to have a full stomach.
And so, Duo not eating everything that had been put on his plate that day, already much less than the volume he normally consumed, was lighting up every internal alarm the blond possessed.
Something was definitely wrong, and he would find out about it before he left tonight.
A sentiment, his braided charge apparently shared.
After the meal that was unsuccessfully left in pretty much the same state it had been when it first touched Duo's plate, the young boy decisively put down the now not-so-strange utensils Omri had to teach him to use, and looked at the older man with something akin to seriousness in his expressive amethyst eyes.
"I.........", repressing another cough, he turned to the side, unable to meet fully that concerned golden gaze. "I.........", Duo worked on his mouth, but no other words seemed to want to come out of it.
Frustrated, a hand curled up into a fist and punched his thigh under the table. The brief pain momentarily jolted him, and he once again looked at the mentor who meant the world to him. Yes, he trusted him with his life, but - No, he didn't want to worry him needlessly for something that would eventually go away.
There was no need to tell him about a simple fever and cold, now was there?
Duo ducked his head again, and blushed lightly under Omri's scrutiny.
There was no need.
"I think I'm just full today. Because when I went outside, there was this confectionary stand by the store at Delia's, and the smell was so good and it looked so nice to eat, that I wasn't able to resist buying a few of those with the money that you gave me, and I ate a lot of it before coming home, so I'm really sorry though I know that your food is great and all, but I really can't stomach anymore before I burst, yanno –"
And so he covered it up by his usual chatter, relief pouring out of him when he saw that though Omri's questioning eyes never left his decidedly pale skin, he did not push him any further.
There indeed had been a confectionary store by Delia's, and he did buy a few of those with the money Omri gave him, but Duo saw no need to tell that he hadn't eaten that much. Not too much that he couldn't eat any of his mentor's decidedly good cooking.
He was getting too good at this not-lying-but-twisting-the-truth-around-a-bit farce. And it would probably hurt Omri to realize that he had been the one to teach the younger boy that particular technique. Afterall, it is often said that the best lie is something that has a hint of truth to it.
And so he covered it up, and not knowing any better, his mentor let him.
After that minor debacle, Duo was always careful to eat and fully finish everything that was offered onto his plate, regardless of whether he could stomach it at a later time. He was so careful in fact that eventually Omri seemed to drop his strange behavior a week past, and they went back to their normal routine.
Only, Duo stayed longer inside the house than outside of it, playing around, entertaining the other man with his innocent antics.
A week had passed, and on the seventh week since they had discovered someone else's blood on Duo's person, the young boy could hide no longer the cough that seemed to erupt inside him every so often.
He certainly could not hide the evidence of those recurrent coughs bringing back blood to his lips, staining them a rougish sickly shade of red.
And he certainly could not avoid it when he was found an hour later, just as the sun had set, by a frantic Omri, passed out cold on the steps just outside the door of the house, slightly shivering from the bout of chills and sweat that had accosted his body, a tad feverish, and most damning of all, a hand outstretched on the knob of the door stained with blood.
He was sick, and it wasn't going away any time soon. And Omri knew about it now. 4
He moaned when he first came to.
He honestly couldn't help it, even if he did wince at how weak and pathetic he sounded at that time. His chest seemed to be on fire, and each and every breath he took reminded him of knives stuck in his lungs, rasping on it, tearing into it with pain. He coughed once again and his slim form shook with his efforts.
Gasping at the additional pain that little adventure had cost him, he lay back on the sweat-stained bed he now realized was his own, not realizing the blood that was left on his lips until a pale hand wiped it away for him.
Bright fevered eyes, glazed slightly with an indication of his fatigue and pain, looked up and locked onto grim golden ones.
And Duo felt moisture gathering in his eyes, refusing to fall only by his sheer pride. He had hurt Omri; he knew it even if the older teen did not speak of it. He hurt him now with the presence of a sickness they both knew no ordinary human could heal him from. He hurt him when he had first hidden his sickness from him.
And now, Duo was hurting because he knew when he looked at that helpless loving gaze, that Omri would do anything to save him, and all he ever did was hurt the other man.
He did not deserve this much kindness.
"I – I'm sorry........."
And still, Omri smiled for him, hushing him gently lest he further exhaust himself.
"There is nothing to be sorry about, little one. You did not plan on any of this."
Indeed, Duo didn't. But he still felt guilty for causing so much pain.........
"Just rest Duo. I'll take care of you. Trust me."
And trust he did. With a small whimper of need, the braided child tucked himself into the warm embrace his guardian provided for him, and drifted back into an uneasy sleep.
He did not wake the rest of the night.
Even as his coughing grew worse, even as his breathing grew more labored, even as his sweating and chills racked his thin body he trusted in Omri and let himself sleep. He did not wake to see the slitted gaze of his mentor turn a dark amber hue as he bit into a pale wrist none too gently, the bright stain of blood on those porcelain surface beckoning anyone. He did not feel it as his slack mouth was gently pried open wider, and he was allowed to suck a bit of the blood Omri had produced just for him.
He did not realize it when his body slowly fought off the infection, slowly healed itself and became stronger, just altering enough of his system to become less susceptible to any future sickness. He did not realize it when his body acted of its own instinct and hungrily sucked more of that precious blood, unwilling to part from the delicious taste, hands grasping and reaching for more when his guardian withdrew his wrist.
He was not awake enough to feel the slight kiss that was bestowed on his forehead when the other believed that his sickness had abated enough for him to finally earn his rest that day.
All Duo was really aware of was that he woke up the next day, bright and early as it was, feeling better than he had in this lifetime.
He felt safe and warm, and looking to his side confirmed for him the purely unconscious knowledge that Omri was laying by his side asleep and dead to the world of sunshine outside.
1 Lavish mansion in this case would be a matter of whose point of view you are talking about. Since it's Duo's, it means a house properly taken care of, not dilapidated in any sense, and has a complete set of rooms, windows and roof. Remember that Duo used to live on the streets. This is a matter of perspective.
2 Cause of death: tuberculosis (10 points for those who guessed -) This, at least in the anime setting, is probably one of the most common causes of death back then. Personally, it greatly annoys me to see my favorite characters die because of it (Okita Souji!!!) Well, now there goes the plague out to get Duo. XD
3 Ahh. England during these times. Historically speaking, cleanliness had never been much of a factor to them till the Bubonic plague hit them.
4 And of course, Duo had now been infected by tuberculosis. It is a kind of respiratory sickness that is transmitted through the air from exposure to germs in the saliva of an infected person and sputum coughed up from their lungs. Signs and symptoms of it which include a cough lasting 3 or more weeks that may produce discolored or bloody sputum, unintended weight loss, fatigue, slight fever, night sweats, chills, loss of appetite, and pain with breathing or coughing, may manifest 2-8 weeks after you are infected. Though not everyone is infected with this sickness (around 90 remain well), those with a weakened immune system are especially prone to this.
Though don't question me with how Duo got a weakened immune system, when we all know that he is probably one of those with the strongest immune systems in the world to survive the L2 plague. Probably a result of that pampered life he had been living! -
Anyhow, don't look to deep into it. I just wanted him to get sick with some kind of plague!
Now, if anyone bothers asking me why it almost always rains in this setting, just remember that this occurs way back in the past, and it was a whole lot cooler and mistier then, hence the tendency to rain. Besides, rain is such a good backdrop for scenes that need to be "dark" enough! -;;;
And how is it so far??? You know I got more reviews for this thing 2 years ago before I took it down and revised it......... Need to have more feedback if anybody is reading this. -
