Chase POV
They had to know I was sick. That was the only reason the nuns would stop letting me see people so that I could get adopted. I hadn't done anything exceptionally bad an my wound was all healed up, so that had to be the reason.
But I had been so careful not to show them that I was sick. I never coughed in front of them, I ate even when I wasn't hungry, I didn't sleep any more than usual, and I didn't let them touch me to feel how hot I was. They couldn't know, but then why would they keep me from getting adopted?
I wanted a family very badly. I liked it with Wufei and Treize and everyone else in the castle, but I wanted someone to protect me, someone who wouldn't leave me. When I was with my gang, I was always protecting them, I was always the one in charge. I could make sure they didn't leave me, that they were safe. Now, in the orphanage, I wasn't in charge anymore. Many of my gang members had already been adopted and I had this strange feeling, like they had all abandoned me.
Seeing Marge, a little girl from my gang, get adopted that afternoon was more than I could bear. The unfairness of having to watch all my friends get picked by families that could have, might have, picked me was just too much. I got away from the nuns and hid in a corner near the door to the city, a place where almost no one ever went without a reason. I ended up sitting in a corner, my knees drawn up and my head resting on them, crying like a child.
I hadn't cried in years and the sensation was new to me, almost scary. On the streets, someone who cried was considered weak and often picked on by other gangs. Absently, I fingered the pendant Wufei had given me before my last camping trip with Treize. There was a little dragon on it holding a red stone. It always made me feel better when I was sad, feel safer, somehow. Today, though, it just made me feel bad for being so greedy, seeing what I had been given and how I was still crying for more. I had a roof over my head, three meals a day, more books than I could ever read, and people that cared about me. I was greedy and selfish, and knowing that just made me cry harder because I still wanted to have my family and felt bad for wanting it.
I was so caught up in crying that I didn't hear the footsteps approaching the door until it was opened. I jumped up and wiped the tears away from my eyes, trying to hide what I had been doing.
Two people entered, a man and a woman, looking a bit nervous. I had never seen them around, so I decided they were probably lost.
"Hello," I called, clearing my throat and trying to loose the water sound to my voice.
"Oh!" the woman cried, startled, and turned and around to see me. The man also turned, but looked around once he saw me, like he was looking for someone else.
"Well now," the lady said, composing herself. She was really pretty, young looking, maybe twenty or so with a delicate quality around her. The man was also young, maybe older than 25. He also smiled at me once he saw that the person he was looking for wasn't around, though his eyes kept straying from me. "Where did you come from?" the lady asked.
"I live here," I told her, "My name's Chase and I live at the orphanage."
"Oh my," the woman said, turning to look at the man, "That's awful, don't you think Harry?"
"I sure do. But he looks like a bright lad, he's probably more interested in school than family life, isn't that right."
I shook my head.
"No, I just haven't been adopted yet. I'd like to, but..."
"I understand honey," the lady said, her voice sympathetic. "Actually, Harry and I were just heading to the orphanage. We were looking for a boy about your age. You see, I can't have any children and, well, we were hoping for a son to help with the work on the farm, you know, taking care of the horses and plowing the fields. It's not hard work, just a bit heavy for me to help with. We're very excited about getting a child, though, I must say, the trip down here was rather long. Do you know a place were we could get something to eat?"
"The cafeteria's right down that way, but if you're really hungry the kitchen's over there. The cook's really nice, but you have to watch out for her helpers. They aren't mean or anything, they just yell a lot."
"Well, aren't you just a well of information," the lady said, giving another look to her husband. "I wonder, how long have you been here? A smart boy like yourself must know all about this castle. I'm sure you've done lots of exploring, a brave boy like yourself, haven't you?"
"I guess you could say I'm a bit of an expert on the castle," I bragged, "With all the extra time I have, being an orphan and all, I've seen just about everything in the castle. I know all its secrets, and I never forget," I lied. To tell the truth, I hadn't had a whole lot of time since Wufei had started teaching me. Between his lessons, his homework, my chores, my lessons with Treize, and the extra places Treize and Wufei took me, I hadn't had much time for exploring at all. The farthest I had gone was to see where Treize and Wufei's room was. Of course, the fact that they were together wasn't new to me; I hadn't survived on the streets by being blind. I wasn't bothered by it, since they were both so nice and they seemed to love each other so much.
"Well!" the lady exclaimed, startling me out of my thoughts, "Aren't you a bright little boy. What do you think, Harry, isn't he perfect?" she gushed.
"I think so," Harry said.
"You mean it? You really mean it?" I asked, surprised and overjoyed.
"Of course I do! Chase, I'm going to be your new mother!"
I jumped up and down for joy, then caught myself and stopped, embarrassed. I would finally have a family, and with two very nice people. I was so happy. I hugged the lady, my new mother, and she hugged me back, if a but awkwardly. I dismissed it, she'd get better in time.
"Come on!" I shouted, "We just have to get the papers from the orphanage..."
"Whoa, tiger!" the man interrupted, "Hang on there! Don't you-uh... Don't you want to know more about us?"
"Oh yes," the lady jumped in, "Why don't you and I talk while Harry goes down and fills out all that dreary paper work, hmm? How does that sound?"
"Okay," I agreed. I was so happy, I would have agreed to just about anything.
"My name's Roberta," the lady said as the man went down the hall. "I'm sure you know that the man you just saw was my husband, Harry. We live in a small farm house outside of the city. We have two horses and some chickens and some hunting dogs..."
"I know how to ride horses," I said excitedly, "My friend Treize taught me."
"Oh really?" Roberta replied, "Well, that's nice. Anyway, I'm sure you'll love it with us."
"All done," Harry said, coming back around the corner in an oddly short amount of time. "You officially ours, kid. Now, we'd better get going if we don't want to miss the coach."
"I'll just go get my stuff," I said, but Roberta stopped me.
"I'm afraid you won't have time, darling. We've rented a coach, but it leaves very soon. If we don't hurry, we'll miss it and be stranded here. Don't worry, we'll buy you new things."
"But..." I protested. I had really wanted to say good-bye to everyone. I couldn't imagine leaving without saying good-bye to Wufei and Treize and the other children.
"Unless you've decided you don't want to go..." the man said.
"No!" I protested, seeing my one chance for family slipping away.
"Alright then," Roberta said happily, "Let's get going."
The two adults, my new parents turn and head for the door. I move behind them, a little reluctantly, but obediently follow, like any good son. They led me out into the city, passed all my old stomping grounds and away from everything I knew. After a while we did catch a coach, but the driver didn't seem overly concerned with us and it didn't seem like it had been waiting.
My parents were oddly silent now that we were out of the castle. Neither of them smiled or talked to me, as I had thought they would. As we road in silence, I started to get the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, the one I got every time I made a big mistake.
We road out of the city and to a deserted little stretch of land shrouded in forests. Somewhere along the way it had started to rain and, though the weather was beginning to get warmer, it was still cold. We arrived a little while after dark at a small shack, not in good enough shape to be called a house. It seemed to be the remnants of a farm, since there was a small, half fallen in barn and a fence that surrounded two old, sick horses that seemed to be about two inches short of dead.
It was then that I realized I was in serious trouble. I didn't survive for all those years on the streets by being stupid, though my I was starting to doubt how smart I really was. For one thing, the fields hadn't been plowed in years. For another, no one could possibly live in a house like that for more than a week and, considering that I had been forced to live in some of the shabbiest places on earth, that wasn't just being picky. And of course there was the fact that none of the nuns would have let one of us children go to a family that lived in a house like this, they were almost suspicious about who they allowed to adopt.
All the bad little feelings, all the odd looks and strange reaction finally came together, though they still didn't make any sense. What did they want me for? Why the big deal? What was going on?
I was in a sort of daze as we got out of the wagon and the adults, definitely not my parents, ushered ne into the house. The inside was as I expected it, one room, wood floors, the walls with some small holes in them, the ceiling starting to come down, and a wood burner in the back keeping it moderately warm. There was a table in the center of the room with maps strewn about it, three me were seated at the table looking at the maps. On the floor was four gray dogs that looked more like wolves than anything. They growled at me as I entered and I stopped, but Harry pushed me forward.
"Anybody notice you?" one of the men at the table asked.
"Nobody knew a thing," Harry replied, smiling.
"Good. Think this kid can tell us what we need to know?"
"If anybody can, he can. Here, kid, sit down," Harry told me, pulling out a chair. I sat, more because I knew I didn't have a choice than anything.
"Alright, kid," the man said, standing from the table. He was older, probably 50 or so, with a deep scar on his cheek. "All we need to know is where the king's room is in the castle. Once you tell us that you can keep going with your... parents... to their pretty little house and live happily ever after."
Yeah, like I was going to believe that. First off, I was pretty sure that no parents actually interested in having a kid would interrogate him before they even got him home. Second, they would probably want to kill me once I gave them the information to keep me quiet about their kidnaping and/or murder of the king. And lastly, I had no idea where the king slept. The farthest I'd gotten in the bedrooms was Treize and Wufei's room. I wasn't sure what title either of them held, but I was pretty sure that the king didn't sleep anywhere near either of them.
"I don't know," I told him simply. I knew he wouldn't believe me, but he wasn't about to believe anything short of an answer and I didn't want to let these guys get into the castle and just start killing whoever they wanted to.
"Look, this will go a lot easier for you if you just tell us what we want to know. You're a smart kid, you know what could happen to you if you don't."
"I really don't know," I told him. He hit me across the face, causing my lip to start bleeding and my head to spin. I really hadn't expecting them to start getting physical so soon, I guessed they were pretty serious.
It went on like that for what seemed like hours. They took turns, sometimes asking, sometimes ordering, begging, threatening, lecturing, or hitting. In the end I just stopped paying attention. If they hadn't been hitting me every so often, I probably would have fallen asleep. I was feeling weak again and I knew my fever was back up, but there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn't really worried about it, though, when you're not sure you'll see the sunrise a little cold doesn't seem so bad.
Of course, I was sure that I wouldn't live out the week. If I didn't break and give them some phoney answer they'd most likely give up and kill me, either way I was dead. I didn't have any illusions about a rescue party, since I hadn't fought when they'd taken me away nor had anyone seen us go.
They gave up very late that night. I had no certain way of telling, but I thought it was about midnight.
"Lock 'im up in the barn, Harry, see if a night in the cold 'll make him remember."
Harry dragged me outside, into the rain, and over the to the old barn. Half of it had fallen down, but there was still a small part that was fully enclosed. Harry jerked the door open and pushed me inside, tying my hands together and then to a beam so I couldn't get away. Not that I had anywhere to go if I did get away.
The roof leaked in the old barn, which didn't surprise me in the least, but I hadn't expected the wind to blow through the holes in the walls and chill my already wet body. I curled up as best I could in the corner, but I was still shaking no matter what I did. The cords that bound my hands were too tight and I couldn't feel my fingers or most of my hands, though I could feel the cords biting into my wrists well enough.
I think I might have wished for death just to take away the cold. I couldn't find that reason to stay alive that I had used all the other times I was close to death. My gang was gone, dispersed to loving families and parents, and I would actually better protect everyone by dying than I would by living.
My mind floated to happier times as I lay there, somehow trying to bask in the warmth of my memories and get warmer. I thought of my parents, what little I could remember of them, and of fun times with my gang. Strangely, I found myself thinking a lot about Treize and Wufei, and our good times together. Vacations to the forest, fishing, games of chess, and poetry in the orchard. These memories comforted me, and I believe I fell asleep.
I awoke to the pounding of hooves. Light was just peeking through the cracks in the barn, so I assumed it was about dawn. The hooves neared the house and I heard the door open in the distance and Harry shouted, "What the hell!" There was frantic movement in the house and I heard people come streaming out, the pounding of their feet audible even though I could not see what was happening. There were yells and shouts and someone must have let the dogs loose because they began to bark. There was a scream of rage, made by a woman, a battle cry and one of the men grunted painfully, then there was the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. There was a sound like an explosion and one of the dogs began to yip in pain. Someone screamed, "Sorcerer!" and another shouted, "It's the king! Kill him!"
There were sounds of a brutal battle that slowly quieted.
"Where's the boy!" I heard someone growl in a voice that sounded familiar.
"Where is he?" someone else yelled and I recognized Treize's voice! And the other was Wufei! I couldn't believe they'd come for me.
"I-I know where he is," I heard Harry stutter. There was a sound of a sword being drawn and Treize said menacingly, "If you try anything I'll..."
"Be careful, you majesty," I heard the lady, Une, say as I could hear three people move toward me. The door shook and Harry jerked it open, then rushed in a lifted me before I could even see who was with him. Harry pulled me up and laid a knife on my throat, backing up as far as the rope I was tied with would let him.
"One wrong move and it's his life," he threatened. Wufei and Treize froze.
I was able to see my two rescuers clothing well in the light. Wufei didn't look all that different from usual, save that he was wearing a light armor and a cape. Treize, however, was decked out in jewel-encrusted armor with a long red cape and an expensive sword. It was odd, he looked like a king, but he was just a... just a... just a... not a king, anyway.
"Release him and I will spare your life," Treize commanded, looking like he would like to see the man roasted on a spit. Wufei didn't say anything, but muttered under his breath and glared at the man.
"Ha! I don't think so," Harry laughed. "Lay down your sword and call off your troops and I'll..."
"Freeze!" Wufei yelled. Harry jerked and I closed my eyes, feeling the blade cut my throat.
Oddly enough, though, the blade stopped just as Wufei finished telling Harry to freeze. I opened my eyes to see Harry completely frozen in place, as if by magic. But that couldn't be, Wufei was a... was a... was a... not a sorcerer. He just couldn't be.
Someone grabbed me and I jumped, but I saw that it was only Treize. He pulled Harry's knife away from me then pulled me out of his grasp and cut the rope that bound me to the beam. Quickly kneeling beside me, he lifted my chin and examined the wound.
"Is he alright?" Wufei asked.
"That bastard got him, but it's only a flesh wound. It won't even need stitches. Still, if you hadn't stopped him in time..."
I had never seen Wufei so mad before. True, Treize was madder than I had ever seen him before too, but Wufei was so mad his eyes were nearly glowing. In fact, they really did seem to be glowing. Wufei turned slowly toward the still-paralyzed Harry.
"He who would harm a child like this has no honor, and will die in a way fitting," Wufei said, his words harsh and clipped. He made a short little gesture with his hands and a fire began around Harry's feet, slowly moving upward until he was completely encased in flames.
Wufei was a sorcerer. Which would make Treize a king. I knew it was true, but I couldn't seem to accept it. It was too much, too fast.
I was suddenly crying, though I wasn't sure why or when I had started. There were tears on my face for no reason, streaming down my cheeks as I tried to hide it with my hand.
"Chase?" Treize asked, "What's wrong?" he questioned, pulling my hand away from my face. I just shook my head. My emotions were too scrambled, too mixed up, for me to even know, let alone tell them. I sniffled, then sneezed. Wufei instantly put his hand on my forehead.
"He's burning up!" he whispered to Treize.
"Do you think it's the flu?"
"Chase," he said quietly, putting his hands on the sides of my face and turning me to look directly at him, "Were you sick before you left the orphanage or did it just start now?"
"I-I was s-sick before," I told him.
"Damn it! And you're soaked, too."
They both went into action at the same time, Treize took off his cape and Wufei began pulling off my wet clothes. I tried to help, but I was shivering too much to get a good grip on the shirt and Wufei just batted my hands away. I stood there shivering as Treize wrapped me in his cape. Treize lifted me off the ground and I once again was reminded of just how strong he really was.
"Can you orb him back to the castle?" Treize asked, holding me close and letting me soak up his body heat. Wufei bit his lip.
"I better not. This battle took a lot out of me. If I orb the both of us back to the castle I may not have enough power left to heal him and with Master O so tired from healing the rest of the children..."
"Then let's go!" Treize shouted, more to the rest of the riders than at Wufei.
"We'll handle things here," lady Une called, "You get him back to the castle. Are you going to fly?"
"I can't. He's cold and wet already; I don't want to risk hypothermia and we don't have anything heavy enough to keep him warm.
"Get going then, we'll bring the prisoners to the castle for interrogation. What of the man that went with you?"
"He's been... dealt with," Wufei told her as he took me from Treize. Treize mounted his horse easily and Wufei then handed me up to him, giving Treize his cape to tie around me, securing me to Treize for the ride, since I was too weak to hold on. Then Wufei mounted his own horse and we set off at a speed that I hadn't thought possible for normal horses.
"You're going to be fine," Treize said, one arm wrapped around me, the other holding the reins as he urged the horse to go faster. "Everything will be alright," he said as he gently rubbed my back. I tried to smile and would have told him I was fine, but I was shivering too badly to talk. The heat from the horse and from Treize was starting to help, but it wasn't enough.
I must have fainted, because my next memories were of being in the castle. I could remember Treize rushing me down the halls, then I could remember seeing the door to his room, but nothing in between. I could remember Sally's voice, but when I looked around she was gone. Someone put a thermometer in my mouth, then gave me a drink, but I couldn't remember the thermometer being removed or asking for a drink. I remembered shivering, then sweating, getting warm then getting cold, but I couldn't remember what order those things happened in. Finally, Treize picked me up and put me in his lap and Wufei stood in front of me. Wufei whispered something and put his hand on my bare chest. There was a bright light and I felt a strong warmth in my chest, then the pain left me. I looked around and remembered clearly seeing Wufei standing in front of me, looking exhausted, and Treize sitting behind me, looking tired and worried. Then the darkness claimed me and I fell asleep.
I awoke much later, feeling warm and better than I had in weeks. There was a warm body pressed against my back and I was pressed against someone's chest. I opened my eyes and blinked sleepily. I looked around to find Treize in front of me and Wufei behind, sleeping peacefully.
"So you're up," I heard Treize whisper.
"What happened?"
"You're night outdoors complicated your sickness. You almost died, but Wufei managed to find a spell strong enough to heal you."
"Oh. Is... is he alright?"
"He's fine. He just needs to rest up a bit. Let him sleep for a while..."
"I'm awake," Wufei muttered, opening his eyes.
"Sorry if we woke you," I apologized. Wufei ignored my comment and pushed himself up on his elbow, reaching out to check my temperature before falling back to the bed.
"You have quite a bit of explaining to do," Wufei said. I nodded.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused," I told them. Wufei snorted.
"You should be. You just about worried Treize into a coma and gave us both matching ulcers.
"O-oh. I'm sorry..."
"We know you're sorry and we forgive you. What we want to know is what happened," Treize said, smiling slightly. "We aren't mad at you."
"I-... What do you want to know?"
"When did the two take you? Where did they come in at? Why didn't you try to get someone's attention?"
"T-they came in at the back entrance, the one that Duo and Heero brought me in. I was sitting there and they started talking to me. They... they said they wanted to adopt me and I..."
"You trusted them," Treize finished for me. "Why wouldn't you talk to us, at least to say goodbye?"
"I-... They said they had permission to adopt me. They said they talked to the nuns and they had to leave and they'd buy me new things and I... I... I really wanted to have a family, so... And after the nuns wouldn't let me see any other families I thought this was my last chance so I... I..."
Treize wiped a tear away from my cheek and I was horrified to see that I was crying. I tried to cover it up, but he stopped me.
"The nuns wouldn't let you meet any more families because you already have one."
"What?"
"You have us. I asked the nuns not to let anyone see you because Wufei and I wanted to ask you about letting us adopt you."
"Why... why didn't you tell me?"
"We wanted to talk to you about... who we are. You probably know by now that Wufei is a sorcerer and I'm..."
"...the king," I finished for him.
"How long have you known?"
"Just today. Everything came together and it made me wonder why I hadn't seen it before."
"So you realize, then, what it means for me to adopt you, right?"
"...No. What does it mean?"
"You'll be a prince."
"...What?"
"The son if a king, generally, is a prince."
"But... don't we need to be blood-related?"
"I'm the king, I can do what I want. Besides, Wufei's been having some problems getting pregnant. The odds of us having a child together are very low," he told me with a teasing smile. I knew enough about anatomy to know that two males couldn't have a child together. At least, not by normal means, anyway.
"So... you want me? To be a king?"
"Well, not right away, but eventually. It won't be your stereo-typical family and I can't promise you an easy life, but we do both love you very much and we want you to stay with us."
"I think the real question that my tactile lover has been avoiding is will you accept us as your parents and accept the responsibility of being prince of Russia?" asked Wufei.
"Of course," I answered without hesitation. This was my family, the adoption was just a finalization.
"Good," said my mentor and new father, "then let's get some sleep. I haven't gotten a wink of sleep in two days looking for you, I'm exhausted."
"How did you find me?" I asked, curious.
"Actually, I wouldn't have found you had you not been wearing that necklace," Wufei said, blushing slightly. I looked down at the pendant, but couldn't find anything special about it. "You remember when I gave it to you, right before that big camping trip with you and Treize? Well, I was a bit worried you'd get lost on that trip, so I cast a spell on the pendant to show me where you were at all times..."
"What did you think I was going to do, dragon, drop him into a river?" Treize asked teasingly.
"No, I just wasn't sure you'd be able to chase after a boy his age, being that you're getting up there in years and all," Wufei teased back. "But the point is that when the nuns found you missing I just evoked that spell on the map to see where you were. When I saw you not only out of the castle but out of the city limits I knew something was wrong."
"Which was when I rallied the troops and we road to save you. We would have been there sooner, but the nuns had been searching the palace for you and neither of us heard you were missing until morning. We didn't notice you were missing because we were having our links upped, so we thought you were with the nuns and had no idea that anything was wrong," Treize told me.
"You know that once we realized you were gone nothing could have stopped us from coming to get you, right? We won't let anything happen to you, no matter what," Wufei finished.
"Yeah," I said quietly, trying to hold back the tears in my eyes, "I know... dad."