A/N: And it's the magical, plot-turning chapter 9! Took long enough, huh? Well, up here, I'd just like to say the next special's at 75, not 100. Sorry 'bout that...ehehehe...But, if by some miracle I get to 100, it'll be some sort of Uber-Special, I guarantee, just because you guys are great! (Duo's Special is coming out on Aug. 31st, regardless of review number. It's my birthday present to ME! I'm so happy...)
Warnings: You know the drill. Yaoi, 1x2x1, 3x4, 5xMeiran, fluff, little OOC, extreme AU, Relena Bashing/Destruction (next chapter), violence, and the Ever-Present Profanity.
Disclaimer: SUE ME! MUWAHAHAHAH!
Sea of Silence
Chapter 9
The Kingdom
Duo was grumbling as soon as their feet touched the dock, mostly because his feet DIDN'T touch the dock. Heero was carrying him. Again. He scowled at the metropolis of Rayth, crown seat of Algon, filled with cobblestone roads and annoyingly pastel buildings, all with roofs shaped like an egg chopped in half. He'd never been fond of light colors.
"If you'll all come with me," Noin said, gesturing for the five boys and Meiran to follow her towards two waiting carriages. Noin climbed into one, and Zechs into the other. The boys all looked at each other, and finally they split up. Duo, Heero and Wufei climbed in with Zechs, and Trowa, Quatre and Meiran (who was busy ignoring Wufei) climbed in with Noin.
"How do you like Rayth," he asked, and Duo was still a little creeped out by the silver bowl with eye slits on his head.
"It's pretty, I guess," Duo said with a shrug, barely noticing he was sitting on Heero's lap. After all, Heero had carried him into the wooden compartment. "I'm not big into pastels and stuff though." Zechs nodded, and his head turned to Wufei.
"The port seems economically advanced," he said, almost snapping. "But, I trust my instincts more than my eyes. Rayth's poor, and ancient. Well fortified, too." Heero snorted.
"If you call a wall fortification," he said dryly. "I've seen houses with much better protection than the entire city." Duo nodded, knowing which house Heero was referring to. And he'd only seen about half of it.
Duo blushed a bit. Well, they had been somewhat busy, after all.
The carriage rolled on, and Duo hopped off Heero to look out the window at the passing people. Old man, boy with a donkey, woman with a baby, Hilde- "HILDE!"
Duo jumped out of the carriage window, yelling at the retreating figure in a green cloak. "HILDE! Get your ass back here! HILDE," Duo continued yelling, running down the side street his adopted sister had taken, but soon found himself picked up again, staring into a very moody Heero's eyes. "Hilde ran off that way! Get her!" He looked doubtfully at the violet-eyed pirate in his arms.
"I don't think it was her, Duo," he said as gently as he could, and Duo frowned. He'd know that shade of hair anywhere, long or no. It seemed like Hilde had grown her hair out in a year, but then again she'd always- "Duo. It wasn't her."
"Damn it, Heero, how the hell do you know," Duo growled, crossing his arms. "Did you see her?"
"Did you?" His frown deepened.
"Why can't you just be a good, supportive type of boyfriend," Duo began to rant. "Why can't you just be my friend, and tell me, 'Yeah, Duo, we'll catch her next time! I'm sure!' Why the hell do you always have to be so damn RIGHT?! Just...arrgh! Just go away!" Duo rolled himself out of Heero's arms, landing crouched on the ground and ready for a fight.
In fact, bristling for a fight. Duo really, really wanted to kill something, preferably something that would fight back. And Heero would do that very, very well.
"I'm not going to fight you," Heero said simply, and Duo's face soured. Damn. "Let's get back to the coach." Duo stood up, still frowning.
"You owe me," he grumbled, and pulled his curved knife out as soon as Heero made to pick him up again. "Nu-uh! You pick me up, we have no more fun." Duo was glaring as Heero frowned. He'd never seen Duo this mad.
"Everything okay," Wufei asked as they climbed back in.
"Fine," Duo snapped, slamming the door shut. Every inhabitant of the carriage flinched at the resounding crack. "Get going, already!"
The rest of the ride was left in a bitter silence as they made their way to the large complex of buildings that served as the palace. With a majestic tower surrounded by smaller yet opulent buildings, it was function over form.
The gate opened quietly, clearly greased just that morning, but the silence was drowned out by the sound of an army's concise movement, each of the three hundred Rayth Guard unsheathing their sword and holding it aloft, letting out a quick yell at the same time. Wufei visibly jumped.
"That would be the Rayth Guard," Zechs said. "If you notice the gold trim on some of the uniforms that's the Rayth Castle Guard." Duo noticed about a third had the glint of yellow on their collars.
The carriage stopped in front of the Tower, a very ticked Noin standing in front of the huge silver double doors that marked the entrance to the shiny white building. Wufei got out first, and was immediately tackled by his wife, who'd been...somewhere. Duo couldn't tell.
"Don't you ever-" Meiran was yelling, but stopped to give Wufei a huge, soul-wrenching kiss. "-do that again, you idiot! When you're-" Another kiss. "-supposed to be somewhere BE THERE!"
"Damn it, woman," Wufei yelled, and reciprocated yet another kiss, hands creeping up his wife's back. Noin cleared her throat loudly, but as the two continued to make out in front of the contingent of soldiers finally stopped them by pulling Meiran literally off her husband.
"In Wufei speech, 'Damn it, woman' means, 'I love you'," Duo confided to Heero, and then shook his head, braid flying. He was still pissed. That HAD to have been Hilde.
"Now, if you'd please follow me again," a ruffled Noin said, glaring at Meiran, who'd tried to bite her hand. "And don't get lost this time."
"I wasn't lost," Duo grumbled, but either nobody noticed or nobody cared to respond. Zechs and Noin just ushered the six (Trowa and Quatre had joined up from inside) towards a small wooden door, which opened to reveal a simple conference room.
Two people sat within. One was a ginger-haired man in a plain but well-made outfit of royal blue with a sword at his hip. The other was a woman standing at attention behind him in a similar outfit, but in burgundy, her brown hair tied up in two buns.
"May I present the Steward Treize Khushrenada, and his assistant Lady Une," Noin said, and Zechs left the room, holding the door for his female friend. Duo was appraising Treize when he spoke.
"Well, I guess it's about time I got down to it," he sighed, and stood up, looking as regal as any king. "There are five of you with tattoos, each given a guardian power in relation to the symbol, so as to ensure your arrival to here. Believe it or not, I don't know which of you is the prince." Wufei began to mutter. "However, I do know which letter is assigned to which duty." The grumbling stopped, and Lady Une stepped forward.
"I'm sorry, my Lady Chang, but if I may escort you out," she asked, obviously trying to be as polite as possible. Meiran, with a quick slap to Wufei's head and sticking her tongue out at the object of her affections, let the woman walk her out of the room. The boys sat down.
"First, I would like to begin with pi, the sign of war," Treize said, and Wufei nodded. "I understand you attended military school? I assume you excelled, as well." Again, Wufei nodded. "According to the will of the King, you are soon to be the official General of the Algon Armed Forces." Wufei gaped at the man.
"HOLY SHIT," Duo yelled. "He's not even the prince, and he gets all the good stuff!"
"Duo, shut up," Trowa said calmly, and Duo sat deeper into his chair.
"Now, on to gamma, the New Three," Treize said. Trowa shifted a little. "You are undoubtedly going to hate this job. I apologize. According to His Majesty's will, you are to be economical advisor to the Crown." Trowa just nodded. He'd probably just give the job to Catherine; she loved shopping.
"The Soul, Sigma-" Quatre clutched Trowa's hand in a death grip. "-is to be the political advisor to the Crown." Every face at the table soured.
"I thought Quatre was the prince," Heero stated, and Treize shrugged.
"Everything is being said as it was written in the will," he said. "I had to memorize it when I was fifteen."
"So your memory could have been tarnished in all that time," Trowa inserted, and Treize shook his head.
"No, I guarantee this is correct," he said. "For the remaining two...Omega, the sign of Ending, is the prince's royal bodyguard-"
"FUCK NO," Duo yelled, violet eyes wide as Treize continued as if the outburst hadn't happened.
"-and phi, the sign of wind and death, is the Crown Prince of Algon, who remained unnamed for protection reasons. His symbol was chosen to represent the king's demise." Treize stopped, looking around for the first time.
Every single boy's mouth was wide open, save Duo's, as he happened to be lying unconscious on the floor, Heero looking astonished right next to him.
Atropos shrugged off her cloak. She hated the damn thing; it was too green and gaudy. She'd always liked things a good middle color, like beige or gray. It faded into the background better. She was hanging it on the small coat rack in the corner and about to pick up her book when someone knocked on the door.
For a moment, she panicked, fearing it could be the boy who'd chased her into the alleys just an hour ago. He'd been yelling...hide, she thought. The knock came again, and the girl opened the door to see a big silver bowl.
"Hey, Zechs," she said cheerily, and he just frowned, looking inside the room. "Noin's not back yet. She probably went to go see you." Atropos giggled as the tall blonde man stepped into the room with a sigh.
"Attie, I need to see her," Zechs said, almost preoccupied with rubbing the helmet he wore constantly. It was a nervous tick that always meant he felt guilty. "I'm...I think something bad's going to happen. No, I know something bad's going to happen. Will you do me a favor and tell her I'll meet her at the normal spot?" Atropos nodded quickly. "Thanks, Attie. You're a good little sister to her." She grinned.
"What are friends for," she asked, slinging an arm around his neck in a gesture of friendship, walking him back towards the door. "Now, I'm going to go take a bath. You should too. You still smell like a ship." Zechs smirked.
"You'd know, Fishie," he said. He was like an older cousin to her, which was the only reason Atropos let him get away with referencing her mysterious wash-up on the shores of Algon, with amnesia. Noin had found her on a patrol, and all she'd remembered was something about the god of death being her brother. So, she took the name Atropos; it was the resident goddess of death, also known as the Cutter of the Thread.
Plus, it sounded cool.
"Get out of here, Bowl Brain," Atropos mock-yelled, and he complied, sweeping a joking bow at her before leaving her alone in the room with her thoughts, a book, and that damn green cloak. Thank god Zechs hadn't turned her around to see the spray of blood from her most recent victim. Sometimes assassination was a dirty business, both morally and physically. It was one of the many reasons she chose to wear men's clothing, and two-fronted shirts.
Atropos sighed. She needed a bath.
A/N: And that's the Monumental Chapter. Now, I have a quick request for anyone interested in beta-ing something for me (not related to this) to either review and say so, or email. I'd REALLY appreciate it. Did the prince surprise you? Yes? No? And Atropos is the Greek goddess of death, if you were wondering. Sorry this is so short, but I couldn't really stretch this out; I wanted it just flat-out stated, no lovely imagery, no fun Duo-POV stuff, just...said. Thanks for reading! My splendiferous reviewers are...:
SnakeMistress
camillian
Silver Cateyes
(2 Times!!!) Mlaine
Meliza Mac
(2 Times!!!) TrenchcoatMan
(2 Times!!!) Windy River
Mistress Koishii
(2 times!!!) Myca (Taylor Mercury. Thanks for the flowers! =D)
CATNIP
shinigami88220
You guys are great. Thanks sooo much!
And yet again, next special is at 75, not 100. I was insane at the time. Duo Special Aug. 31st, cause I love myself and my birthday, and THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!!!