Due South - part 9
by KatiKat
"I will not ride in this!" Heero protested loudly as he, supported by
Duo, walked down the wooden pier towards an open carriage where Treize was
helping Milliardo sit down. He would have even dug his heels into the wooden planks
if it helped, but Duo kept pushing him forward regardless of his protests.
"Yes, you will," Duo answered sweetly. Now that the tables had turned
and Heero was the patient, it was time for the lifebearer to play the mother
hen. "You´re hurt and not up to riding a horse yet."
Heero glared at him, then growled. "I´m well enough."
"Right." Duo´s voice was dripping with sarcasm. "And when you
fall off, will you allow me to scrape you from the ground?" When Heero
continued to glare at him, the long-haired young man sighed. "Be
reasonable. You can´t take ten steps without feeling dizzy and lightheaded. I
know that it will probably hurt your pride as a Sire, but you will ride in the
carriage."
They arrived at the carriage, a light vehicle for two people, with one white
horse harnessed up in front of it and Rufus sitting on the rack, reins in his
hand - Treize would not entrust Milliardo´s safety to anybody else. Mil was
already seated, Treize helping him pull a warm black and white blanket over his
knees. Even though it was a relatively warm early afternoon, it was still
winter and the pavement was covered in snow.
"There are only two seats," Heero noticed.
"So?" Duo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Where will you sit?"
The lifebearer chuckled. "I will ride the horse, Heero. You probably won't
believe it, but I do know how to ride a horse. Solo taught me."
The Enforcer frowned. "But-"
"No buts. Get in."
Heero blinked. He had never heard Duo use this tone on anybody. It was the ´no
nonsense, do what I say because I´m getting quite annoyed here and if you do
not do it, I swear I will kick your butt´ voice Heero used when he tried to
convey that he was getting angry. He decided that it was useless to argue.
With Duo´s help, Heero climbed into the carriage and sat down. Trowa, who was
placing Zechs in Milliardo´s arms, snickered and the Enforcer glared at him.
The healer grinned.
When Duo started to fuss over Heero, covered him with the warm blanket and
fluffed the pillow behind his back with a smile, Heero frowned at him.
"You are enjoying this way too much," he growled.
"I am, huh?" The lifebearer grinned and exchanged a wink with Trowa
which caused Heero to frown even more.
When the captain arrived at their carriage, everybody turned to him but it was
Treize, already seated on a beautiful bay, who addressed him. "So? How
long does the dock master think it´ll take to repair the ship?" he asked,
resting his hands on the pommel of his saddle.
"Four days," the captain answered, quite unhappy about the information.
"He has two," Treize said, his voice stern. "I don´t care how
much it will cost. He can charge it to the Empire. We have to catch up with the
King´s fleet as soon as possible."
The captain nodded. "I will tell him. But he will not be happy to hear it."
Treize shrugged. "We are not here to make him happy. Should he have any
objections, remind him who I am. Should you need to get in touch with me,
you´ll find us at the chief magistrate´s residence." When the captain
disappeared, the Count turned to his companions and smiled. "Sometimes
it´s rather useful to be the First General."
Duo gracefully mounted the mare Trowa was holding for him, and the small
procession headed slowly for the town.
-----
Heero crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at everything and everybody.
Their carriage was climbing the steep and narrow streets towards the chief
magistrate´s residence. Treize's personal guard followed the carriage and the
sounds of hooves echoed off the walls, making conversation impossible. Heero
was glad since he wouldn´t have known what to say anyway.
Duo was riding in front together with Treize and Trowa since the streets were
so narrow that he couldn´t ride next to Heero. Even though the Enforcer knew
it, it still irritated him. He wanted Duo to ride by his side. He felt so
possessive of Duo that it surprised him.
The street turned sharply to the the right. Beyond the turn, the buildings on
the right side disappeared, so that the road bordered on a steep slope. Rufus
guided the horse with a sure hand though, so Heero didn´t worry. He looked to
the right and had to admit that the view was beautiful. The port and the open
sea that glistened in the setting sun looked so close that he had the feeling
he could actually touch it.
"The view is beautiful, isn´t it?" Milliardo asked. Heero glanced at
him sharply and the blond man smiled. "No, I´m stil blind. But I have
visited this town before and there is only one road that leads towards the
chief magistrate´s house."
Heero grunted something that might have sounded like an agreement then fixed
his eyes on his love´s back.
"You know, if you want to bond with Duo, this is the best
opportunity," said Mil, breaking the silence that settled over them. Now
that they left the narrow streets behind, the horses didn´t make such noise
anymore.
The Enforcer looked at the blond man again and kept silent for a moment. But
then he spoke. "But I don´t know this town and we will only be here two
days anyway..."
Mil smiled. "It doesn´t take much time to set up the ceremony. You just
have to find a priest willing to bond you without asking too many questions.
But I´m sure that Rufus could help you, am I right?" he raised his voice a
little, so that their driver would hear him too.
Rufus glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "Yes, my lord."
Smiling too, Milliardo leaned closer to Heero. "Treize and I bonded here.
Thanks to Rufus."
Heero blinked and looked at his companion. The man seemed full of surprises.
As if feeling the Enforcer´s gaze on him, the blond man chuckled. "Well,
lets just say that our bonding ceremony was rather unconventional too."
Then he straightened, rocking the child in his arms gently. "But it was
still beautiful. What was the name of the priest, Rufus?"
"Old Morska, my lord. He is a kind man. It is not so common in priests
these days," the large man answered over his shoulder. "He has been
always understanding towards... unconventional couples," he added with a
smile.
Milliardo nodded, his blind eyes only half open. "Yes, he has..."
Feeling that there was a story hidden behind this short word exchange, a story
he didn´t know anything about and wasn´t sure if he wanted to know anything,
Heero felt uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, and to change the topic of
their conversation, he asked: "Can I see the temple where old Morska
serves from here?" He wasn´t actually that interested in seeing it, but
anything was better than the tension that seemed to seep into Mil´s shoulders.
Rufus looked to the right, then took the reigns in his left hand and pointed
out. "It´s the small white building with the copper roof."
Heero stretched his neck to look for it. And he found it. The temple was rather
small, but neat and well kept. It was hidden among other, taller and more
elaborate buildings near the docks. Seeing the temple for the first time, it
struck Heero that maybe getting bonded to Duo in this town wasn´t such a bad
idea after all.
"Morska is the priest of Nataku, the God-Bearer. He never refuses any
petitioners," Rufus added, taking the reigns in both hands again.
"You seem to know a lot about him," Heero said, leaning back again.
The large man was quiet for a moment and when he finally spoke, his voice
sounded odd and distant. "I bonded in his temple."
Heero raised his eyebrows. "You have a mate? I didn´t..."
"No, I do not," Rufus interrupted him, his voice cold, but with a
painful note to it. "Not anymore...."
"Oh." The Enforcer didn´t know what to say. Coming close to losing
his love too, he knew that no words can help. And so he draped the blanket more
tightly around himself and stayed silent.
-----
"What is it?" Treize asked as Trowa glanced at him sideways for the
umpteenth time since they set out. Now that the road broadened, leading up to
the chief magistrate´s residence, Duo fell back, leaving the Count and the
healer alone. They could hear him chat merrily with the men sitting in the
carriage behind them.
"Nothing," Trowa answered, turning his head back to look at the road
that twisted upwards in front of them.
The aristocrat raised one eyebrow and waited patiently.
Finally, Trowa gave in. "I noticed that you almost don´t touch your son.
You rarely take him in your arms... it just seems... odd." The healer
shrugged.
Treize sighed. "I love my son, Trowa, never doubt that, but..." He
paused, then took another deep breath and looked to the right where the wide,
sunlit ocean spread to the horizon. "I was bonded before, you know? My
mate and our little son died. It happened years ago, shortly after Mil´s Coming
of Age ceremony."
"You don´t have to tell me," Trowa said quietly when the Count fell
silent. He hadn´t known and wasn´t sure how he felt about intruding upon such
private matters of one of the most powerful men in the Empire. From his own
experience, he knew how dangerous it could be to stumble across things that
high society wanted to keep hidden. The most dangerous nobles were the ones who
felt threatened.
Treize shook his head. "It´s no secret," he assured the healer as if
reading his mind. "I married the son of a powerful house. I had strong
feelings for him and I loved our child." His voice grew distant and he
gripped the reins in his hand more tightly. "I was out with the army,
fighting the rebels in the southern deserts when it happened. Our house was
burnt to ash... they died in the fire. Even now, I don´t know if it was an
accident or if someone killed them. The fire was so hot that it destroyed all
the evidence."
"You feel guilty about what happened," Trowa said, looking straight
ahead.
"I did, for a long time. I still do, since I can´t be sure that it wasn´t
my fault. We do not know what happened." Treize paused again and for a
moment he watched the residence come into sight. "But then Milliardo
became a part of my life and I felt whole again. I have never loved anybody so
much. Not my first mate nor our child... and not even Zechs," he admitted.
"Mil is the other half of my soul and I would sacrifice anything...
anything... for him. I do love Zechs, after all, he is my son... but for me,
Milliardo comes first." He shook his head. "Maybe it sounds harsh to
you, but that is how I feel. I was happy when our child was born, but should I
choose who of the two of them should survive..." he looked at Trowa, who
was now watching him, "I know whom I would choose, even though it pains
me."
Trowa watched the General for a moment. There was a calm, confident look in the
man´s eyes. Treize knew who he was and what he wanted, and he didn´t feel the
least bit unsure about the choices he had made and would make. The Count was a dangerous
man. Trowa made a mental note never to cross his path.
-----
When they arrived at the residence, there was a short, plump man waiting for
them on the stairs. The chief magistrate was a cheerful, round man with red
cheeks and a round face. He seemed genuinely happy to see the Count and his
mate again. He fluttered around them like a colorful butterfly - and he really
looked like it in his green, yellow, red and blue clothes. He assured the
rather large party that they were more than welcome to stay at his house and
bemoaned the fact that they needed to leave again so soon.
When Trowa took Zechs in his arms so that Treize could help his mate get out of
the carriage and the mass of horses, soldiers and grooms separated him from
Duo, Heero took the chance and approached Rufus, who was about to get down from
the driver's seat. The large man turned to Heero, who was still sitting in the
carriage after having earned himself a dark glare from Duo when he tried to get
out without his help.
"What is it, Heero?" Rufus asked, since the Enforcer seemed hesitant.
"Could you... I mean, I wanted to ask you..." To his complete
embarassment, Heero felt his cheeks redden. Trying to overcome the
uncomfortable feeling he glared at Rufus, worked his mouth once, then twice,
opening and closing it like a fish out of water.
The Captain smiled. "I will go and ask old Morska if he could bond you and
Duo." When Heero blinked at him in surprise, Rufus´ smile blossomed into a
grin. "That is what you wanted to ask me, isn´t it?" When Heero
nodded, the soldier continued. "I will ask the General for allowance to
leave, and then I will head to the temple."
Heero sighed in relief. He didn´t know how to ask. He was getting bonded for
the first time after all. He had only a general idea about what went on in such
a ceremony. He should probably ask someone what he should do and when.
"Thank you, Rufus," Heero thanked the taler man softly.
The Captain seemed to hear him even over the roar of horses and raised voices
of the personal guard. He waved at Heero to tell him that he didn´t need to
thank him, then jumped down from the carriage and disappeared into the crowd.
And then Duo was there, and he was helping Heero out of the carriage too, and
for another half an hour or more they were drowned in the usual chaos such a
large party brought along when taking up residence somewhere.
-----
It wasn´t until after they ate dinner, that they won back their peace and quiet
again. As they were climbing the stairs to their bedrooms on the second floor,
Heero stopped on the landing, squeezing Duo´s hand. The long-haired lifebearer
turned to his love with one eyebrow raised.
"Are you all right, Heero?" Duo asked, wrinkling his forehead in
worry and letting the others, accompanied by the chief magistrate, disappear
around a turn, leading to a hallway where their bedrooms were situated.
Heero waited until the last of their friends disappeared from sight and they
were left alone. "I wanted to ask you something," the Enforcer said
softly. "Would you bond with me? Here, in El-One, I mean." When Duo´s
eyes grew large in surprise, Heero continued quickly. "I was told that
Milliardo and the Count bonded here and Rufus seems to know a priest of Nataku
who does not ask a lot of questions. I... I mean I know that this is probably
not what you had in mind when I asked you to bond with me officially,
but..."
Duo smiled, lifted one hand and pressed his forefinger to Heero´s lips. "I
don´t need a big ceremony with a lot of guests. I will be happy that our
closest friends will be there. Or even just the two of us." The
lifebearer´s smile grew larger. "That means yes. I will bond with you
tomorrow. If Rufus will take care of things, that is."
The Enforcer smiled and sighed in relief at the same time. He wasn´t sure what
Duo would think about such an impromptu and hasty bonding ceremony. He would
have preferred to offer Duo something memorable, but the practical part of him
was telling him to use this opportunity. Who knew what could happen in the future?
And with their bad luck...
"But I think we have one problem, Heero," Duo said, tilting his head
to the side and furrowing his brows.
"Huh?"
"What does actually happen during an official bonding ceremony in the
God-Bearer´s temple?"
Heero raised his eyebrows. He had no idea.
-----
"Holy one," Rufus said softly as he knelt on the floor of the small,
but clean and pleasing temple.
The small, white-haired man turned from the altar where he was lighting the
candles. He squinted in the dimness of the temple, then his face lit up with a
genuine happy expression. "Rufus, my boy!" he exclaimed then waved at
the large man. "Get up from the floor. I know how hard it is and I don´t
deserve to be knelt in front of. I´m just a humble servant of our Holy Nataku."
Rufus smiled and stood up, then closed the distance between them and let
himself be squeezed in surprisingly strong arms. Old Morska didn´t even reach
to his shoulders, but he was no frail old man.
"Master Morska, I´m so happy to see you well."
"Me too, my boy, me too!" the old man assured him, clapping him
on the back, then stepping back to look at the Captain. "What brings you
here? I don´t think you´ve come to pray."
Rufus shook his head. He stopped believing in gods a long time ago. "I´ve
come to ask for your help, Master."
"Oh, another of your unconventional couples, then?" Morska chuckled,
clasping his hands behind his back.
"Yes," the Captain nodded. "I have two friends with a rather...
unusual story. They are already bonded but they did so in the North where
nothing is done quite as officially as here, farther in the South. They fear
that the lack of proper ceremony with official entry about their bonding in the
temple books might get them in trouble in the City. And I think they are right."
The old man nodded slowly. "I don´t think there will be time to prepare
them for the bond properly, am I right?" he said with a sigh, but his eyes
were dancing merrily. If there would have been time, Rufus wouldn´t have come
to him.
Rufus smiled and shook his head. "I´m afraid not. We set out to sea in two
days."
Nodding again, the man cocked his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows in
deep thoughts. "Bring them here tomorrow just before the sun sets. By that
time I will be able to get all the fake and hypocrite prayers out of the temple
after the evening mass."
The Captain grinned. He always loved the man´s attitude. The old priest took
one look at a person and knew everything about them. That´s how he knew that a
good two thirds of the petitioners who came to the temple didn´t do so out of
real faith in Nataku. "Very well, Master. They are very young and deserve
all the happiness in the world," he added, thinking about what Heero and
Duo had been through already.
"And what about your happiness, my boy?" the priest asked softly, the
lightheartedness gone from his voice. A troubled look shadowed his wrinkled
face.
Rufus looked away. He didn´t want to talk about himself.
But the priest continued anyway, a concerned tone filling his voice. "Have
you heard anything about Nariem?"
Rufus shook his head, not able to voice an answer. He hadn´t heard anything
about his mate since the slavers dragged him away all those years ago. He had
been looking for him for ten years before giving up any hope of finding
him ever again. But even now he couldn´t resist and asked about the beautiful
dark-haired man with tan skin and large black eyes. Nariem wasn´t an easy one
to forget. Who knew where the lifebearer ended up? With the dark and foreign
beauty of the people from the South... Rufus shuddered. He knew where Bearers
like Nariem went to after being sold into slavery.
The old priest reached out one hand toward the younger man.
"Rufus..."
The soldier stepped out of reach and cleared his throat. "I will bring
them tomorrow, just before sunset then." With that he turned around and
left the temple and his unwanted memories quickly, letting the sad Morska
behind.
-----
"What?" Duo shouted, jumping to his feet. "You want me to do
what where??"
Milliardo grinned and turned his head in the direction of Duo´s voice.
"It´s a tradition. All the couples make love in the temple for the first
time. The god needs to take witness after all."
When the braided young man huffed and grunted, muttering something under his
breath, Milliardo grinned even bigger. Treize hid his smile behind a glass of
wine and Trowa pretended to be busy tending the child. They were all sitting in
a small sitting room from which the doors led to two bedrooms. The larger one
occupied the aristocratic family, the smaller one by the three friends. When
Heero and Duo told their companions about their bonding ceremony the next day
and admitted they had no idea what to actually do in the temple, Milliardo
offered to explain everything. So they sat down in the sitting room, then
seeing Duo jump to his feet just minutes after Mil began.
"No way," the braided lifebearer said, determination clear in his
voice. "I´m not gonna make love to Heero in front of all of you - no
offense."
"None taken," assured Treize, who decided that it was time to
actually explain it clearly to the young and now distraught couple. Milliardo
was having a lot fun confusing the soon-to-be-bonded, but from the look on
Heero´s face, the Count recognized that the young man was getting rather
nervous and worried. "You won´t make love in front of us," he assured
them. "We will witness the bonding vow, that´s all. Then the priest will
take you to the Bonding room. There you will make love. In front of nobody but
Nataku himself. He will witness the Bond and bless it. When you finish, the
ceremony will be over."
Both Heero and Duo blushed at the prospect of having to make love when ordered.
Neither of them knew how well this would go.
"And is there... err... you know... a time limit or something?" Heero
couldn´t believe that he was asking such a thing and blushed even deeper.
Treize smiled at them assuringly. "Don´t worry, Heero. This is not a
performance of any sort. You take as long as you need. Me and Mil," he
took his mate by the hand, "had spent the whole night there. It isn´t like
it had been in the darker times where the priest had to check if the Bearer was
deflowered properly."
Duo moaned at the idea of some strange man doing that to him and slumped down
on the couch next to Heero, who lay one arm around his shoulders automatically.
"Thank Nataku for small favors," he mumbled into Heero´s shoulder.
The other three men chuckled.
-----
The man stood in the shadows of the dark garden, hiding from the sight of the
passing guards in the underbrush. When the men disappeared down the gravel
path, he looked up at the large house again.
Second floor, the window by the balcony... a
sitting room he had been told. He watched carefully, as the light separated
into two smaller ones. The sitting room went dark and the windows of the
bedrooms on both sides of the room in the middle lit up... It took three
passings of the guards before the first, then the second one flickered and went
dark as if some large beast closed its eyes for the night.
Tomorrow... tomorrow night he would return and fulfill his task...
TBC
