The Blood of the Heart
By: Mint Maxwell
Limited views have always been a problem. This problem has spanned many eras and cultures. Perhaps that is why we cannot find what we seek. We try to find that ever-elusive word that always dances right along the edges of what we alone can see.
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Chapter 3
Night began to fall, and as the sun set and twilight appeared, Duo awoke from his slumber. His eyes traveled upward, and he gazed upon Heero's face. He slept very soundly and was beautifully calm. His closest friend. Duo reached to brush a piece of hair from Heero's face. He sat beside Heero, never taking his hand from his friend's soft hand. It was amazing to him how hands that could do such horrible things to those whom he deemed deserving, could be so soft and gentle for someone else. He looked upon Heero for another few moments before he become aware of the absence of his other two close friends.
"Heero. Heero wake up." Duo shook him lightly, then stood and walked to the other side of the clearing. Something wasn't right. Heero awoke and arose to stand by Duo. He felt something too. What was that? There was a feeling of hell growing in the distance.
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Trowa watched Quatre as he slept on. He himself had not slept that day. He was worried about Quatre. The sweet boy had risked journey in daylight, only to be stabbed by Ellek. And Trowa swore that that little boy was going to pay. Quatre's wounds were very deep, serious even for a vampire. He was probably lucky that it hadn't gone all the way through. Still, he was a vampire. He would be back up again in a day or so, just as soon as everything healed.
Trowa reached out to touch the sweet gentle face, and Quatre's eyes opened softly. Trowa stared back into those beautiful eyes, each one a deep velvet ocean of blues and greens. So lovely and luminous, and indeed, they seemed to shine as the full moon, and Trowa knew that Quatre would be ok.
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Later into the night, when everything was fully dark, Duo decided he didn't want to think about the awful feeling any longer. It wasn't going to do him any good to sit and be bored waiting for something to happen. Therefore, he decided he would make something happen. Something involving Heero...
Heero saw the longhaired mischief-maker coming toward him. "Heero, let's play something!" He smiled at Duo. This could be fun.
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Wufei trusted that Trowa would take care of Quatre tonight, and set off for the clearing. He needed to tell Heero and Duo what had happened. That and he just wanted to see them again. He enjoyed being with Quatre and Trowa good enough, but they were often times more personal and well enjoyed their time spent alone. (Except for when Quatre sat in his lap, of course!) While Duo and Heero always included him, and in fact, sometimes put more attention into him than they did each other. Nevertheless, he could always see the closeness between them.
He stepped into the clearing. Heero and Duo were both sitting on the lower bough of the tree, with small candles lit around them. Heero held a wineglass containing a red liquid Wufei was pretty sure wasn't wine, and Duo was just finishing up Heero's eyeliner. He looked fabulous.
Duo took a sip from the glass, then, licking a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, he turned to notice Wufei. It took him a moment to move after he saw Wufei, but Wufei did not have time to wonder as to the meaning of his pause. Duo was on him in an instant, asking him how he was, where Trowa and Quatre were, and if he wanted him to do his eyeliner. Wufei's grave look was more than a response for Duo as he looked back to Heero. "They're alright. Aren't they?" it came out as more of a statement than a question, but he was worried. His facial expression told that clearly. "They will be." Wufei replied. "Someone you used to know is back. He stabbed Quatre. He's alright though. Trowa is with him."
Heero jumped down from the tree. "Someone we used to know? Tell me, what is his name?" The answering name was one Heero had almost feared. "Ellek." Duo also seemed disturbed by this name. Whoever Ellek was, he was not someone to take too lightly. All thoughts of eyeliner aside, Duo sat down on the ground, thinking things through. Heero explained to Wufei about Ellek. "I don't suppose that Trowa had much to say about him other than the fact that he's going to kill him? Ellek was Velius' companion just as Quatre is Trowa's companion and Duo is mine. He seems innocent enough at first glance but don't make him angry. He is evil. That much I can tell you for sure." Yes. Wufei had already seen all of these qualities in Ellek.
Duo stood up, ready with a solution. "We've got to kill him too." The expression Duo held was one Wufei had not seen on his face, and didn't care if he ever saw again. It was an expression that simply stated, 'I can kill. I must kill. I will do what needs to be done.' It was a solemn contrast to his normal fun-loving, innocent looking self. And such contrasts in Duo Maxwell can be very frightening.
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Towards dawn, when small hints of daybreak could be seen in the sky, Wufei stood on the porch. He had just gotten home. He needed sleep as badly as his friends did. Sometimes he thought he was becoming a vampire by association. But through all his humorous thoughts, the thought he was trying to keep out kept coming back. It was Duo's facial expression. Maybe he didn't understand him as well as he thought.
Suddenly, Duo bounded out of the forest and onto the porch with Wufei. "What are you doing here, Duo?! It's almost dawn and-." The braided imp cut him off with a finger to his lips. "I know that, but you have to come with me now. There's something that I really want to show you."
Wufei persuaded Duo to wait until the next evening. He wouldn't want him to be caught out in the sun. Therefore, Duo stayed with Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre that day. He talked with everyone, wandering around looking at absolutely everything before finally curling up in the kitchen floor and going to sleep. 'What an odd place to choose to sleep' Wufei thought to himself.
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The clearing was surprisingly peaceful without Duo. Too peaceful. So peaceful he couldn't go to sleep. He was so used to hearing Duo chatter on about anything that popped into his head before finally being content enough to fall into slumber. Now, the absence of said mouth was almost unbearable. How many years had it been since he had been by himself?
He didn't want Duo to leave him tonight. Ellek was hungry for murder, and Heero had a duty to protect Duo at all costs, didn't he? However, Duo had been so adamant about going that he had not forced him to stay. But as the silence wore on, Heero realized the other reason he hadn't wanted Duo to go; he didn't want to be alone either.
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Night soon came again. Duo woke up quickly, running around the house to make sure everyone else was as awake as he was. He woke Wufei, hitting him softly on the shoulders until he was sure Wufei was finally fully awake. Then Duo rushed back to the bedroom to see if Quatre and Trowa were still wakeful. Wufei couldn't help but to notice how Duo looked like a child on Christmas morning. Whatever it was he was going to show him, it must be very special.
It took a long time to get to Duo's special place. Duo led Wufei quickly through the woods. However, much to Wufei's surprise, after they had gone all the way through, they still were not to the special place. Duo crossed over a small creek and beckoned Wufei to follow. When Wufei stared at him in shock for a moment, Duo had to come back and ask, "What are you staring at?" Embarrassed now, Wufei shyly answered. "Well, you see, it's nothing really. Only that I had read many books on Vampires and things, and some of them said that undead things could not cross over moving water." Duo seemed thoroughly amused at this strange belief. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then just chuckled and crossed back and forth over the water a few times before moving on again.
Traveling further still, they finally made it to the special place. It was a building, no, a church. Obviously very old and long since abandoned. Duo grabbed Wufei by the arm, excitedly dragging him inside.
The heavy door of the church creaked open loudly. On the inside, the church still looked old, but it was very beautiful. Wufei wondered if it had been that heavenly even when it was new. Tall stained-glass windows lined the walls, and the moonlight shining through them set the whole church alive with colors. Most of the furnishings were gone, and there were more than a few cobwebs about, but it only seemed to add to its majesty. Duo moved to the front of the church and sat down on one of the few remaining pews.
Silently, he bowed his head. Was he praying? Wufei moved closer. Then Duo turned and looked up at him. "This is my special place." He sat down beside Duo, still taking in the charm of the old building. "It's very beautiful. I didn't even have any idea it was out here." Duo didn't say anything and there was a long pause. Wufei broke the silence. "Duo, why is this place so special to you? I thought that vampires weren't normally into this sort of thing." Duo smiled and shrugged, never taking his eyes off the blank wall in front of him. "I guess I'm not your typical vampire. But really, I don't understand why you say that?" Wufei thought for a minute, trying to find the right way to explain all his previous beliefs about vampires to Duo without accidentally offending him.
"In all the books that I read, vampires were...well, devilish. You know, "The Damned". I guess I just didn't expect this, that's all." He thought Duo would be slightly hurt, but to his surprise, Duo burst out laughing! But then again, what else would he expect from Duo Maxwell? "You have to bring me those books so that I can read them! They must be very funny!" Duo paused for a moment to catch his breath. "I don't really know too much about religion or anything, but this place is special to me because...I don't know. It just feels really special. When I'm here and when I hold this, I feel special." Duo reached into his robe and pulled out a crucifix necklace. "I don't know where I got it, it's like I've always had it or something. I really like to wear it, but Heero says he don't really like to see it so..." Duo trailed off as if he had just remembered something slightly painful. That necklace probably caused a constant conflict between him and Heero. Then Wufei asked the question he had been curious about since he had met Duo. "Duo, how did you become a vampire?"
There was a look of shock in duo's eyes for a moment, then all traces of his smile faded, and Wufei began to wish he hadn't asked the question. "Well, you see...uh....I-I don't really know. A long time ago, Heero found me lying in an alley. We've been together ever since." Duo stood up and walked a few steps away. He stood there looking down at the floor, his brow furrowed, chewing on the tip of the crucifix thoughtfully. He seemed to want to avoid the subject altogether, and even though it only made Wufei more curious about the matter, he decided not to press it.
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The forest was growing darker, and Heero could sense that it was probably somewhere around 3 a.m. Duo had better hurry if he was coming back tonight. Otherwise, he would have to stay hidden in his "special place" all the next day. Heero didn't like anything that had to do with any type of religion. It was all just a bunch of nonsense to him. The way that Duo clung to it. He didn't even know anything about it, yet he clung to it as if it were his life! It annoyed Heero to no end. How could he believe in something so blindly like that? Heero thought of the past. When he found Duo, when he first looked into Duo's eyes, when he...His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling behind him. He quickly sprang up from the ground and turned to where the noise had come from. It was Ellek.
"What are you doing here?" Heero growled. He was obviously very displeased with what he saw. "Where's your friend?" Ellek was doing his best impression of innocence as he asked the question, but he never fooled Heero. "It's none of your business where he is." The fierceness in Heero's eyes never softened. Ellek, sensing that his innocent actions weren't getting him anywhere, decided just to forget the whole act. "Why did you kill him?" His voice was low, but rage filled none the less. He stopped and looked down at the ground, his breath becoming heavier.
His eyes turned to Heero again. They held a look of savage intensity, and Heero knew that there was no sanity left in them. "I asked WHY!" Ellek screamed before rushing at Heero, his bloodthirsty intentions clear.
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The silence lasted for longer than either of them had expected. They were both expecting the other one to speak, but they never did. Wufei moved toward the door of the church. They needed to get back to the clearing soon, or Duo would be caught out in daylight. But Duo didn't follow him as he started to leave. He looked back to see Duo sitting where he'd left him. He hadn't moved an inch or even looked up. Finally, Wufei spoke again. "Duo, come on. We have to go." Duo curled himself into a tight little ball on the floor. His body began to shake, and Wufei could barely hear him crying.
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Sometimes we don't really know people as well as we'd thought. We believe their whole world is only the small part that we ourselves can see. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. But we must learn that people aren't always as we first see them to be.
By: Mint Maxwell
Limited views have always been a problem. This problem has spanned many eras and cultures. Perhaps that is why we cannot find what we seek. We try to find that ever-elusive word that always dances right along the edges of what we alone can see.
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Chapter 3
Night began to fall, and as the sun set and twilight appeared, Duo awoke from his slumber. His eyes traveled upward, and he gazed upon Heero's face. He slept very soundly and was beautifully calm. His closest friend. Duo reached to brush a piece of hair from Heero's face. He sat beside Heero, never taking his hand from his friend's soft hand. It was amazing to him how hands that could do such horrible things to those whom he deemed deserving, could be so soft and gentle for someone else. He looked upon Heero for another few moments before he become aware of the absence of his other two close friends.
"Heero. Heero wake up." Duo shook him lightly, then stood and walked to the other side of the clearing. Something wasn't right. Heero awoke and arose to stand by Duo. He felt something too. What was that? There was a feeling of hell growing in the distance.
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Trowa watched Quatre as he slept on. He himself had not slept that day. He was worried about Quatre. The sweet boy had risked journey in daylight, only to be stabbed by Ellek. And Trowa swore that that little boy was going to pay. Quatre's wounds were very deep, serious even for a vampire. He was probably lucky that it hadn't gone all the way through. Still, he was a vampire. He would be back up again in a day or so, just as soon as everything healed.
Trowa reached out to touch the sweet gentle face, and Quatre's eyes opened softly. Trowa stared back into those beautiful eyes, each one a deep velvet ocean of blues and greens. So lovely and luminous, and indeed, they seemed to shine as the full moon, and Trowa knew that Quatre would be ok.
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Later into the night, when everything was fully dark, Duo decided he didn't want to think about the awful feeling any longer. It wasn't going to do him any good to sit and be bored waiting for something to happen. Therefore, he decided he would make something happen. Something involving Heero...
Heero saw the longhaired mischief-maker coming toward him. "Heero, let's play something!" He smiled at Duo. This could be fun.
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Wufei trusted that Trowa would take care of Quatre tonight, and set off for the clearing. He needed to tell Heero and Duo what had happened. That and he just wanted to see them again. He enjoyed being with Quatre and Trowa good enough, but they were often times more personal and well enjoyed their time spent alone. (Except for when Quatre sat in his lap, of course!) While Duo and Heero always included him, and in fact, sometimes put more attention into him than they did each other. Nevertheless, he could always see the closeness between them.
He stepped into the clearing. Heero and Duo were both sitting on the lower bough of the tree, with small candles lit around them. Heero held a wineglass containing a red liquid Wufei was pretty sure wasn't wine, and Duo was just finishing up Heero's eyeliner. He looked fabulous.
Duo took a sip from the glass, then, licking a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, he turned to notice Wufei. It took him a moment to move after he saw Wufei, but Wufei did not have time to wonder as to the meaning of his pause. Duo was on him in an instant, asking him how he was, where Trowa and Quatre were, and if he wanted him to do his eyeliner. Wufei's grave look was more than a response for Duo as he looked back to Heero. "They're alright. Aren't they?" it came out as more of a statement than a question, but he was worried. His facial expression told that clearly. "They will be." Wufei replied. "Someone you used to know is back. He stabbed Quatre. He's alright though. Trowa is with him."
Heero jumped down from the tree. "Someone we used to know? Tell me, what is his name?" The answering name was one Heero had almost feared. "Ellek." Duo also seemed disturbed by this name. Whoever Ellek was, he was not someone to take too lightly. All thoughts of eyeliner aside, Duo sat down on the ground, thinking things through. Heero explained to Wufei about Ellek. "I don't suppose that Trowa had much to say about him other than the fact that he's going to kill him? Ellek was Velius' companion just as Quatre is Trowa's companion and Duo is mine. He seems innocent enough at first glance but don't make him angry. He is evil. That much I can tell you for sure." Yes. Wufei had already seen all of these qualities in Ellek.
Duo stood up, ready with a solution. "We've got to kill him too." The expression Duo held was one Wufei had not seen on his face, and didn't care if he ever saw again. It was an expression that simply stated, 'I can kill. I must kill. I will do what needs to be done.' It was a solemn contrast to his normal fun-loving, innocent looking self. And such contrasts in Duo Maxwell can be very frightening.
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Towards dawn, when small hints of daybreak could be seen in the sky, Wufei stood on the porch. He had just gotten home. He needed sleep as badly as his friends did. Sometimes he thought he was becoming a vampire by association. But through all his humorous thoughts, the thought he was trying to keep out kept coming back. It was Duo's facial expression. Maybe he didn't understand him as well as he thought.
Suddenly, Duo bounded out of the forest and onto the porch with Wufei. "What are you doing here, Duo?! It's almost dawn and-." The braided imp cut him off with a finger to his lips. "I know that, but you have to come with me now. There's something that I really want to show you."
Wufei persuaded Duo to wait until the next evening. He wouldn't want him to be caught out in the sun. Therefore, Duo stayed with Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre that day. He talked with everyone, wandering around looking at absolutely everything before finally curling up in the kitchen floor and going to sleep. 'What an odd place to choose to sleep' Wufei thought to himself.
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The clearing was surprisingly peaceful without Duo. Too peaceful. So peaceful he couldn't go to sleep. He was so used to hearing Duo chatter on about anything that popped into his head before finally being content enough to fall into slumber. Now, the absence of said mouth was almost unbearable. How many years had it been since he had been by himself?
He didn't want Duo to leave him tonight. Ellek was hungry for murder, and Heero had a duty to protect Duo at all costs, didn't he? However, Duo had been so adamant about going that he had not forced him to stay. But as the silence wore on, Heero realized the other reason he hadn't wanted Duo to go; he didn't want to be alone either.
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Night soon came again. Duo woke up quickly, running around the house to make sure everyone else was as awake as he was. He woke Wufei, hitting him softly on the shoulders until he was sure Wufei was finally fully awake. Then Duo rushed back to the bedroom to see if Quatre and Trowa were still wakeful. Wufei couldn't help but to notice how Duo looked like a child on Christmas morning. Whatever it was he was going to show him, it must be very special.
It took a long time to get to Duo's special place. Duo led Wufei quickly through the woods. However, much to Wufei's surprise, after they had gone all the way through, they still were not to the special place. Duo crossed over a small creek and beckoned Wufei to follow. When Wufei stared at him in shock for a moment, Duo had to come back and ask, "What are you staring at?" Embarrassed now, Wufei shyly answered. "Well, you see, it's nothing really. Only that I had read many books on Vampires and things, and some of them said that undead things could not cross over moving water." Duo seemed thoroughly amused at this strange belief. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then just chuckled and crossed back and forth over the water a few times before moving on again.
Traveling further still, they finally made it to the special place. It was a building, no, a church. Obviously very old and long since abandoned. Duo grabbed Wufei by the arm, excitedly dragging him inside.
The heavy door of the church creaked open loudly. On the inside, the church still looked old, but it was very beautiful. Wufei wondered if it had been that heavenly even when it was new. Tall stained-glass windows lined the walls, and the moonlight shining through them set the whole church alive with colors. Most of the furnishings were gone, and there were more than a few cobwebs about, but it only seemed to add to its majesty. Duo moved to the front of the church and sat down on one of the few remaining pews.
Silently, he bowed his head. Was he praying? Wufei moved closer. Then Duo turned and looked up at him. "This is my special place." He sat down beside Duo, still taking in the charm of the old building. "It's very beautiful. I didn't even have any idea it was out here." Duo didn't say anything and there was a long pause. Wufei broke the silence. "Duo, why is this place so special to you? I thought that vampires weren't normally into this sort of thing." Duo smiled and shrugged, never taking his eyes off the blank wall in front of him. "I guess I'm not your typical vampire. But really, I don't understand why you say that?" Wufei thought for a minute, trying to find the right way to explain all his previous beliefs about vampires to Duo without accidentally offending him.
"In all the books that I read, vampires were...well, devilish. You know, "The Damned". I guess I just didn't expect this, that's all." He thought Duo would be slightly hurt, but to his surprise, Duo burst out laughing! But then again, what else would he expect from Duo Maxwell? "You have to bring me those books so that I can read them! They must be very funny!" Duo paused for a moment to catch his breath. "I don't really know too much about religion or anything, but this place is special to me because...I don't know. It just feels really special. When I'm here and when I hold this, I feel special." Duo reached into his robe and pulled out a crucifix necklace. "I don't know where I got it, it's like I've always had it or something. I really like to wear it, but Heero says he don't really like to see it so..." Duo trailed off as if he had just remembered something slightly painful. That necklace probably caused a constant conflict between him and Heero. Then Wufei asked the question he had been curious about since he had met Duo. "Duo, how did you become a vampire?"
There was a look of shock in duo's eyes for a moment, then all traces of his smile faded, and Wufei began to wish he hadn't asked the question. "Well, you see...uh....I-I don't really know. A long time ago, Heero found me lying in an alley. We've been together ever since." Duo stood up and walked a few steps away. He stood there looking down at the floor, his brow furrowed, chewing on the tip of the crucifix thoughtfully. He seemed to want to avoid the subject altogether, and even though it only made Wufei more curious about the matter, he decided not to press it.
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The forest was growing darker, and Heero could sense that it was probably somewhere around 3 a.m. Duo had better hurry if he was coming back tonight. Otherwise, he would have to stay hidden in his "special place" all the next day. Heero didn't like anything that had to do with any type of religion. It was all just a bunch of nonsense to him. The way that Duo clung to it. He didn't even know anything about it, yet he clung to it as if it were his life! It annoyed Heero to no end. How could he believe in something so blindly like that? Heero thought of the past. When he found Duo, when he first looked into Duo's eyes, when he...His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling behind him. He quickly sprang up from the ground and turned to where the noise had come from. It was Ellek.
"What are you doing here?" Heero growled. He was obviously very displeased with what he saw. "Where's your friend?" Ellek was doing his best impression of innocence as he asked the question, but he never fooled Heero. "It's none of your business where he is." The fierceness in Heero's eyes never softened. Ellek, sensing that his innocent actions weren't getting him anywhere, decided just to forget the whole act. "Why did you kill him?" His voice was low, but rage filled none the less. He stopped and looked down at the ground, his breath becoming heavier.
His eyes turned to Heero again. They held a look of savage intensity, and Heero knew that there was no sanity left in them. "I asked WHY!" Ellek screamed before rushing at Heero, his bloodthirsty intentions clear.
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The silence lasted for longer than either of them had expected. They were both expecting the other one to speak, but they never did. Wufei moved toward the door of the church. They needed to get back to the clearing soon, or Duo would be caught out in daylight. But Duo didn't follow him as he started to leave. He looked back to see Duo sitting where he'd left him. He hadn't moved an inch or even looked up. Finally, Wufei spoke again. "Duo, come on. We have to go." Duo curled himself into a tight little ball on the floor. His body began to shake, and Wufei could barely hear him crying.
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Sometimes we don't really know people as well as we'd thought. We believe their whole world is only the small part that we ourselves can see. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. But we must learn that people aren't always as we first see them to be.