A/N: Chapter 10! Oooo, we get to Relena, and more prince fun, and even more Atropos! Hooray! Alright, it's time for a little bitty Mythology of Atropos lesson, since a few people asked about that. And, BTW, next special will be a bit late, 'cuz I wanna work on my new story, which won't be coming out for QUITE some time. ...Sorry...ANYWAY...
MYTHOLOGY OF ATROPOS:
According to Ancient Greece, there were three goddesses known as the Fates. Contrary to popular belief, Hades was not the god of death, but the god of the underworld. The Fates controlled human life. First, there was Clotho, the one who spun the thread of Life. Then, there was Lachesis, who measured the strand of Life. And then, we get to the coolest Fate, Atropos, who finally cut the strand. She was the inevitable demise, and although the Fates were commonly portrayed as unfeeling hags, there are a few myths about them taking pity on the dead, or those about to die. Atropos used magical scissors that could even cut a god's thread of life. So, if you think about it, Atropos was the most powerful thing in the ancient greek pantheon, although the Fates kept aloof from the regular gods. (And who can blame them? I wouldn't want Zeus chasing after me all day. I mean, the guy would probably sleep with an anvil if it was immortal...) Anyway, if you've ever watched Gargoyles, the three weird sisters are the Fates. But, obviously with some non-cartoony differences. And don't even bring up the Disney cartoon Hercules...(shiver). SO wrong.
(And why do I know all this? Back in the day, I was a Greek Mythology fan. Now, it's just really, really convenient for background for this lovely little story. Well, okay, maybe it wasn't just back in the day...Alright already! I'm a Ancient Greece nerd! Geez... So, any other questions, feel free to ask via email, or just review and ask. I respond now! Yay.)
WOW was that long, and that's the CONDENSED version... Anyway, on to Chapter 10!
Warnings: See last one. Relena Impaling of Doom, and enough 1x2 fluff to gag your cat.
Disclaimer: See previous 9 chapters and 2 specials.
Sea of Silence
Chapter 10
The Betrothed
"Good morning, sleepyhead," someone said above him, and Duo's eyes twitched, still closed.
"Ugh...Hilde, you would NOT believe the dream I had," Duo muttered, rubbing the back of his head. His violet eyes opened, and concerned, unfamiliar, FEMININE light blue eyes stared back at him. "Yeeagh! Who the HELL are you?!" The girl smiled sweetly.
"My name is Princess Relena, of the neighboring Sanc Kingdom," she said, and curtsied to the new prince. Her long brown-blonde hair was brushing her back that most guys would have found attractive.
"Sorry 'bout the yelling thing, then, miss," Duo said, getting to his feet to notice he was still in the conference room. Everyone else was gone. "Where'd the guys go?" Princess Relena's eyebrows furrowed.
"I don't know, I'm sorry," she said, and curtsied again. Duo was tempted to run while she did; flirting princesses were very, very bad. "Should I inquire?" The door opened.
"Duo, you awa- oh. Hello, miss," Quatre said, smiling at the princess. "My name's Quatre Rabera Winner, how do you do? I assume you've already met my braided friend." She shook her head.
"We were just getting to his introduction. He seemed quite flustered," Relena said.
"Well, no shit. That's what happens when you wake up with a girl in your face," Duo grumbled, plunking down in a nearby chair. "So, what you in here for, anyway?" The girl looked genuinely taken aback.
"Sir, I am a noblewoman, and the crown princess of Sanc! You should respect me," Relena seethed, and Duo laughed. "You...you're LAUGHING at me! I should have you flogged."
"I only respect people who deserve it, you pampered pink pussy," he said, and the girl looked down at her frilly pink ensemble. "Where's Heero?"
"He's coming. He and Wufei went for some water to splash you with," Quatre said, and frowned. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say." Duo shrugged, heading for the door.
"Whatever. I don't lie, and I like it that way," he said cheerily, and walked out the door, happy to miss the princess' screech of irritation.
Duo bounced down the hall. He wanted to go find Heero and take him on their date. He wanted to go get ridiculously drunk and wake up naked in a tree or something equally fun. Finally, he spied his boyfriend by the kitchen, and with a smirk snuck behind the older boy. Wufei was nowhere to be seen; he was probably busy making out with Meiran.
"HEERO," Duo yelled out, and the container of water he'd been filling up sailed into the air as he whirled around to confront the devious Duo. Giggling madly, Duo snatched Heero's head and pulled him down for a quick kiss. "I missed you!" Heero snorted.
"You were out for fifteen minutes," he said, but wasn't about to say anything else. He smirked. It appeared Duo had forgotten the Hilde incident that morning, and Heero much preferred a happy (yet wily) Duo to a pissed-off Duo. "I was almost excited to dump the water on you."
"Are you free right now, or do you have something to do," Duo asked, and Heero shook his head.
"You're my job, remember?"
"Oh yeah...Ooh! Does that mean you have an excuse to sleep with me," Duo asked, but only received a quick "Hn", although an amused-sounding one. "Anyway, I guess that means you're free to go out? As in right now?" Heero frowned.
"You should take it easy," he said. "You just fainted." Duo rolled his eyes.
"Gee, thanks, Mr. Obvious. But seriously, I've been falling unconscious about five times a week since we picked you two up," Duo said, shrugging. "I'm used to it by now. And look! My leg's done healing." He pointed to his right leg, now completely undamaged.
"Very well," Heero said. For a bit, Duo just waited for the blue-eyed boy to continue, but instead the room was silent save the rapid beating of his heart that always came when Heero was in the same room with him.
"Very well what? Very well, let's get going? Or, very well is how your leg's looking? Or, very well, I'll look at your leg," Duo asked. "You can't just say very well and not finish your sentence."
"But that was all I was going to say," Heero said, and Duo slung an arm around him.
"Heero, we need to work on your social skills," Duo said, giving him a teasing kiss on the neck.
"Heero, I-"
Quatre stood in the doorway. Oh, shit. Quatre Rabera Winner stood in the doorway, staring at the two who were still in a rather compromising position. Duo pulled away from Heero's neck, watching the shocked blonde warily.
"Heero, Duo kissed you," Quatre said in confusion, looking utterly perplexed. "Are...are you two..." He trailed off, and finally shook his head. "Anyway, I've been sent down here to tell you that, as the crown prince's bodyguard, you're also his press manager."
"What the hell does that mean," Duo demanded.
"Basically, he's your PR man. Public Relations. For example, tonight there's a ball planned, to introduce the prince to his fiancée and the Algon Ministry," Quatre said, apparently blocking out the sight he'd walked in on. "So, my advice would be for you two to get planning Duo's speech." Both boys gaped at him.
"SPEECH?! What shit is that? I'm not giving a speech," Duo began, but Heero slammed a hand over his mouth to successfully stop a rant.
"I wasn't trained for PR," Heero said flatly, and Quatre shrugged.
"Trowa wasn't trained for Economic Advisor, either, and I'm pretty sure Duo wasn't trained to be a prince," he said, and rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed stressed.
Suddenly, Duo stirred beneath Heero's hands, his eyes getting very, very wide. Heero's hand fell, to reveal Duo's gaping mouth.
"Oh shit. What did you say about a fiancée," Duo whimpered, seemingly shrinking two feet. Quatre shrugged.
"The Crown Prince of Algon has been promised to the Princess of Sanc since birth," he said. "It's supposed to be the treaty that stops the war finally. The two have been fighting for almost twenty years now, even though neither side can remember why exactly." Heero scowled at the kitchen's large counter.
"Well, get me out of the damn thing! I don't want to marry any princess," Duo yelled, growing desperate. Quatre looked at him sympathetically.
"Duo, it's your duty now." Duo's violet eyes burned intensely.
"Who ever said I was accepting the crown," he snarled. "I'm a PIRATE, Quatre! Not some goddamned stuff-shirted noble screwed over since birth to marry a pink marshmallow! I'd rather kill myself than be betrothed to her!" A voice in the doorway snorted.
"That's not saying much," Wufei said, strolling into the room. "I remember a lot of colorful moments with knives just a few years back."
"Butt out, Wufei, or it's pain time," Duo snapped. "I don't care if I sound like some whiny little kid, but I. Won't. Get. Married." Quatre just shrugged.
"Well, you haven't even spoken with her very long," he said. "Maybe you'd grow on each other."
"Anyway, I kind of consider myself taken," Duo said, and grabbed the still-shocked Heero's arm possessively.
"...oh shit," Wufei muttered, and walked out the door.
"Well, at least go to the ball tonight," Quatre suggested. "You don't have to stay very long; you just make an appearance, give a little speech about how you're honored to be their prince, and walk out. Besides, don't you want to meet all the people?" Duo frowned.
"What people?" Quatre sighed.
"The Algon Ministry, of course! With you here, Treize is the new Prime Minister of Algon, and your coronation will be in just a few days, really. They've been planning almost non-stop since your birth," Quatre said. Duo slumped to the floor.
"Well, this just gets better and better," he grumbled. "Why doesn't someone just slice my throat now, and let me bleed to death?"
"Because you have things to do," Heero stated coldly, and Duo looked up at him. He hadn't sounded like that since...well, you know when! He didn't have to remind himself of that particular incident right then.
"What's wrong, Hee-babe," Duo asked, concerned and forgetting Quatre was still in the room.
"My duty is to protect, to kill, and to serve. Above all, safeguard the prince. Above all, place others. Below all, place yourself," Heero recited. If words could be cold, the room was an ice cave. "I am the guardian." Duo stared at him.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said flatly. "There is no way in hell you can take that crap seriously. It's like asking to be maimed."
"Hn," Heero said.
"Duo...just go to the dance tonight," Quatre pleaded. "If you really want, I'll be PR man, if it'll make you go." Duo sighed, putting his head in his hands.
"Fine. Just don't expect me to be happy about the damn thing," Duo said grumpily. Great. Now Wufei was in shock/denial, Quatre was a martyr, and Heero was a robot. Things just got better and better, didn't they? "I'm not giving a speech."
"I guess that's okay," Quatre said apprehensively.
"And I'm wearing all black," Duo stated. Quatre nodded, and Duo glared at him. "And I'm wearing my knives out."
"I...just do what you want, as long as you come," Quatre sighed. "I'll send Trowa to get you from your room." Duo's eyebrows creased.
"My room? Wha-"
Heero scooped him up again, and was carrying him towards...well, Duo didn't know what towards. He'd just woken up, for crying out loud!
"Heero, you okay," Duo asked. He'd been too quiet, even for him.
"...I didn't know you were engaged," he finally said, and Duo snorted.
"Neither did I. But trust me, it'll be temporary, even if I have to kill her to stop it," Duo muttered darkly. "So, how do you know your way around here so well, anyway?" Heero frowned.
"I don't know," he said, and repositioned Duo to open a door.
"Sorry we're gonna have to postpone our date," Duo muttered sheepishly, and Heero put him down. The violet-eyed boy whistled at his surroundings. It was all mahogany and purple, occasional gold drapery across the huge windows. "Damn. Not my style, but certainly snazzy. So, where do you live?" Heero shrugged.
"I don't know," he said, and Duo couldn't help but grin.
"Well, you are my bodyguard, so you have to be close by at all times, right?" Heero nodded. "And you have to be with me whenever it's dangerous, right?" He frowned. He knew where this was going. "Sooooo...wanna live with me?"
"You're engaged," Heero stated, and Duo groaned, rolling his eyes at the older boy.
"Awww, c'mon, Heero! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in luxury with a gorgeous guy who can't get enough of you, and with an excuse as an added bonus!" Heero didn't budge, so the most feared pirate captain in the world resorted to drastic measures and gave him the Sad Puppy-dog Face. "Pweeease, Heewo?"
Against his will, Heero's lips quirked into a smirk. That was just too cute. "You owe me," he said, and Duo threw his arms around him.
"YAAAAY!"
x----x
Atropos gaped at the invitation.
"You've got to be kidding me," she said, navy blue eyes moving up to meet Noin's, who shrugged.
"All family members are invited," Noin said, and out of nowhere pulled a green dress out that looked suspiciously like Atropos' size. "And nobody but Zechs and I know your profession, so you're safe in that area. We'll watch your back, anyway." Atropos snorted.
"Right. Because they'll really let a scarred little girl who happens to be an assassin walk straight up to the Crown Prince of Algon and say, 'hiya'," she snapped, tossing her shoulder length ponytail in frustration. Messy bangs still managed to obscure most of her eyes. "God, Noin, I love you and all, but that...that's pushing it." Noin couldn't help but smile a little.
"Dorothy's going to be there," the older woman said innocently, and Atropos' glare could have lit an ice cube on fire. She reluctantly grabbed the dress.
"You SO owe me," Atropos muttered darkly. She HATED green, no matter how much Lucrezia loved the color on her. Noin patted her head like a good big sister.
"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," she shrugged, pulling out her own blue dress. "Besides, I actually need you as backup. We've gotten word there's already going to be an attempt on the prince. I figure, fight fire with fire. An assassin with an assassin." Atropos couldn't help but smirk. Gain the trust of her target, and infiltrate the entire inner circle of Algon and Rayth, while getting to kick some overrated assassin's butt? The only downside was the dress, and having to explain to Dorothy why she was wearing it.
"Oh yes, you SO owe me," Atropos muttered, and began to get dressed for the stupid party.
x----x
A/N: YAAAY! Well, I didn't want to put the Relena Destruction in JUST yet, so wait 'till next chapter when monkeys eat her alive. Well, not really, but it'll be amusing yet horrifying. Just like monkeys eating a live, screaming, pink princess. And now, reader responses! Hooray!
Mlaine: Thank you! I've never seen Yami no Matusei. I'm currently a very anime-deprived little girl, what with having anti-anime parents (go figure) and a homophobic dad. Dear god, they'd kill me if they saw what I write...Age? Well, younger than I look and older than I act, which makes me now 17! Yaay!
Myca/Taylor Mercury: If I told you what it was, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it? Sheesh...people these days...But OH YES! The hat's coming up, along with...well, let's just say kinky costume party. HA! Soo excited!
TrenchcoatMan: Awww...you like me! I feel loved. And, believe it or not (don't tell anyone), the prince was Trowa until about chapter 3 or so...eheheh...And I was going to do the Hilde Dissapearance Act, but I didn't have time.
Windy River: Hmmm...Wufei? We'll see. I have a tie between him & Quatre, so...hmm...
Mistress Koishii: OH! You wouldn't believe that this whole dang story came from me giggling for, like, half an hour when my brother started talking about Captain Solo. And then, plot bunnies attacked. Rabid plot bunnies. Scary...
Hikaru: I'm thinking of joining 1x2 Addicts Anonymous. But, that's always made me wonder. Why is it Alcoholics Anonymous, when you stand up for the world to see and say, "Hi, my name's Bob, and I'm an alcoholic." That's not very Anonymous, now is it? Well, now I'm rambling, so...me too. I just love 1x2! They're so cute!
Well, thanks for reading! Please review, and vote for next special. Right now, we have a tie for Wufei and Quatre, since...only two people have said which they want...