Part 12

Tobin laid Duo down on his bed, before Josian pulled the blanket up over him. He looked much smaller than he had in the kitchen, he looked drained and there were shadows under his eye. "Jose, I'll stay with him, go find Mina, and Mamoru, and Terenz."

"Surely Grace." Josian began.

"Terenz takes care of them while they're living, Grace gets them when they're dying, this boy has death visions, get my brother." Tobin said, putting his hand on Duo's forehead. "And see if you can find his Senshisha."

Josian nodded and left the room at a run.

"I'm sorry," Tobin said, "Mina distinctly told me not to touch you, and I didn't listen, I'm sorry." He bent down and laid a feathery kiss on Duo's forehead, "I'm so sorry."

Sitting back he made sure Duo was lying as peacefully as he could, though his eyes were flitting back and forth under his lids, brushing his hair back, Tobin did the only thing he could think of whilst he waited, he sang.

"Live in virtue, no desire,
In the grave an angel's choir
You look to heaven and wonder why
No one can see them in the sky

Just as the clouds have gone to sleep
Angels can be seen in heaven's keep
Alone in fear they question why
Please not an angel when I die

Angels live, they never die
Apart from us, behind the sky
They're fading souls who've turned to ice
So ashen white in paradise."

"As always, Tobin," Terenz said from the door, he had his sleeves rolled up and a heavy leather bag in his arms, "beautiful, though why is it always that miserable, miserable lullaby, I know Eluneth sang it when you were little but never anything happy is it, but then again, as you managed to break the lord of Meirin here with a death vision you couldn't be singing "the happy little elf goes to Market singing tra la la la lee."

He pushed Tobin out of the way and manoeuvred himself that he could see Duo, pulling back his eyelids to measure his pupils, and checking his pulse and then smelling his breath. "Honeybourne?" he asked, holding up Duo's wrist.

"I think so." Tobin answered, "Jose was going to get Mina and both Senshisha, I didn't mean to do this." His lip was quivering. "I tried to apologise that's all."

"It's all right, Tobin," Minako said from the doorway, "at least you got help, why don't you go down to the kitchens and get a bottle of your special brew for when he wakes up. If he's anything like me, when he wakes up he'll want something to drink, the stronger the better." He lowered his head and went to walk past her, but she caught his shoulder and kissed him on the forehead. "No one's blaming you, we'll blame Braea Merick who ordered the massacre and we'll warn Aeka that he's seen it, and she is definitely not to touch him now, until we have a chance to warn him." Tobin went to leave. "Did you send Josian to find his Senshisha?" Tobin nodded, all of his self-confidence gone leaving behind a scared child, once he had lain like this, and the memory terrified him. "Go get the liquor, go on." And like a child he obeyed her.

Minako sat down beside him on the bed, murmuring soothing words in the hope that Duo could hear her.

"It's just shock," Terenz said, "keep him warm, I'll make up a tea for him to drink to settle his nerves when he wakes up," he reached out and touched Duo's head, "keep him in bed for a few days, I'll be back in about an hour, but Lady Evradale's new baby has colic and I need to see to him, I'm not abandoning him, Minako-sama, but I do have other patients."

Minako looked up at him. "Thank you." She said, "at least Tobin had wit enough to send for you and not for Grace, her death visions would shatter him." She sounded sad. "Leave the tea, I'll make sure that he drinks it."

"What is going on here?" Heero asked from the door, he had been in the courtyard training with Mamoru who stood behind him.

"Tobin touched him." Minako said, "come here." She held her hand out for Heero, "now take off your shirt."

"Mina." Mamoru growled behind him.

"I know what I'm doing," Minako snapped, "get in behind him, take off his shirt, and hold him. None of us can do this for him."

Heero did as he was told, gathering Duo in his arms, "this is called Leeching, Mamoru's never had to do it for me, your presence will give him comfort. This was an accident, nothing more. He saw something that's scared him, Terenz will come and go to keep an eye on him, and I'll be nearby, but Heero, just hold him. The rest will happen naturally."

Mamoru grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the corridor as Heero started to play with Duo's hair, he'd never really had the opportunity before. "What are you doing? I've seen you in worse states." Mamoru hissed.

"Duo relies on him, it will give him comfort, skin on skin is remarkably calming. They don't know it's not what you're meant to do." She looked at them, Heero had even gone to the bother of making Duo comfortable where he had lain him between Heero's thighs. "And Heero loves him," she said sadly, "what are we supposed to do? wait till he wakes sobbing to give him comfort."

"There is a line between Senshisha and Tennosha for a reason." Mamoru said in a low voice, they didn't want the two boys to hear them.

"And what is the reason, dearest husband? They are going to be together till they die together," she hissed, "though they don't know that yet, but surely it's better that they find comfort in each other because they will never have another. No one else will be able to give Duo succour when the visions come, and no one else will be able to get through Heero's conditioning."

"You make a grave mistake, Minako, when they discover your machinations to throw them together they will despise both each other and you."

"Mamoru, I have been your wife since I was twelve years old, and I have been your Tennosha during all that time, there has always been a void between us." She lowered her eyes, "even when I was young enough to believe you my hero sent to rescue me from the tower, they are friends, dear friends, and love can spring from poorer soil."

"You maintained the void as well as I, Mina, and through that void I have kept you alive longer than your father managed your mother." He snarled.

"My father killed my mother." Minako shouted back, Heero heard it, because he looked up to see them arguing.

"Which is why there is a line between Senshisha and Tennosha." He answered in a dark voice, "love and death do not bedfellows make. You should know that better than most. Now if you will excuse me, my lady, I have an appointment in town with a sword maker."

"Do you remember your vow, Mamoru?" She asked.

"Of course," he answered, "no sword will kill you, unless it be mine."

"If you want to kill me, kill me. I will think no less of you." She said, though he towered over her, being nearly a foot taller and much more broad, she seemed his match. "There is not much left that would make me think less of you, husband."

"You never cared for me," he answered, "because I wasn't dead."

Slamming his heels down he left them and Minako walked back into the room to find Heero staring at her. "You didn't need to see that." She said. He shrugged. "He's wrong," she lowered her eyes and it looked for a moment like she might cry, "once I loved him very much indeed, but he never let me." She shrugged away the emotion, I'm sorry, Heero, you really didn't need to see that."

Heero was stroking Duo's hair, running his fingers delicately over the scalp as he had always wanted to. "It is not my place to judge." He said, "Duo said to be kind to you, he said you were unhappy, is this why?"

Minako gaped for a moment. "He's perceptive." She said, "but yes. My husband and I are not allies in all things." He noticed how stiff she became when she spoke of him, "but those are conversations for liquor and regrets," she suddenly became cheery, but Heero didn't trust it.

"You said your father killed your mother." Heero said.

Minako lowered her eyes, in his own way, she supposed, he was offering her comfort. "Yes, he did." She said, "he took the sword his father gave him for becoming Senshisha and he killed her." She took a deep breath. "She asked him to, and rather than make her unhappy in any way, he did, then he killed himself."

"How old were you?" He asked.

"Twelve." She answered. "She tired of the visions. She tired of being the emperor's whipping boy when it came to things and in a moment of weakness she yearned for death and rather than deny her, he killed her." Her voice was calm.

"I do not remember my parents." Heero said, "and I know little of people, only what Duo and the others have tried to teach me, but I am sorry for your loss."

Minako gave a small life. "It is not a simple life given to the family of Meirin," she said, "we are surrounded by death, all those we love die and we are destined to never see them, so that we can better understand the loss of others. Yet, our purpose isn't for the living, Heero, we serve the dead." She took a deep sigh, "where's Tobin with the liquor? at this rate, I could do with a glass."

Heero visibly growled.

"He means no harm." Minako said, "He is lost without her, that is all." Heero's face had settled back into its expressionless mask. "He was trying to apologise."

"And this is his way of apologising?" Heero asked. "Leaving him unconscious?" From anyone else it would have been sarcastic.

"He has seen horrors you would not understand, there are things about this place that no one has told you. Did Duo tell you of Eluneth, the girl that jumps from the tower, or what he saw that day in the market when he touched Malchia D'Eschane?" Heero didn't lower his gaze in any way.

"There is another country, to the east, called Sidi." She said, choosing instead to explain, "It is ruled by a witch, a draima, called Achren." She lowered her eyes, "Aeka is from Honeybourne, she has seen the horror that Duo saw, but I would rather you understood. Achren is not an evil person, but she is surrounded by powerful men that will not accept a slight against her. She is strong, but together they are stronger, they are called the Garvem." She took a breath. "Honeybourne lies in the protectorate of J'dan, and was neither of Dathyl nor Sidi. The Garvem tired of the slight on their lady's honour sacked it." She stopped. "It was a massacre, they left no one alive, only Aeka because the general wanted to keep her." She stopped again, "the mark on her neck was from where they strangled her." She couldn't meet his gaze, "because of Achren's involvement, the queen, Acuya keep her close, couldn't trust the reports, so she sent a group of Seraphim to check, and to keep the Seraphim in line she sent three royal envoys, one of which was Tobin.

"Not trusting him the Seraphim sent him into the stables where they had piled the bodies, thinking nothing would be there. He was mad for days, he washed the floors of Honeybourne, he will tell no one of what he saw, but I was mother to him when he had none other, and not knowing what the vision would do to me, he touched me, much like he touched Duo, with no malice, with no harm, and I saw what he had seen in the bowels of Honeybourne." Her voice was low and sonorous. "They had played with the bodies. It was not like a battle, where there are dead that have been torn apart from the fighting, it was deliberate and it was slow and it was horrible." She stopped again, "I," there were tears in her eyes, "I," the words were gone, "I can't get rid of the memory and mine is only second hand. It was barely two years ago. That is what Duo saw." She stopped again, "Heero, a death vision is like a slap in the face, it doesn't happen in normal time, it happens all at once, and it can overwhelm us and sometimes it doesn't affect us. Honeybourne was terrible and the Seraphim do not forgive, they seek war to avenge what they saw, but they need the royal envoy to back them up."

"Which is why they attack Tobin." Heero answered calmly.

She nodded.

"He is not a bad person." She said, "he has been alone all of his life and I do not believe for an instant he meant harm when he shook Duo's hand."

Heero lowered his eyes.

There was a knock on the door, Tobin stuck his head around, "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but I've got the liquor and Rachel sent up some soup." He pushed open the door to reveal the tray he had balanced on his hip. He laid it on the ottoman at the end of the bed. "I'll just be going."

Heero looked at him, matched his cold green gaze with one of his own. "I will kill you." He said firmly.

Tobin only smiled at him. "Is that a promise?" He said, but it didn't sound at all mocking, in fact it sounded hopeful.

"Heero?" Duo asked, his voice was raspy.

"I'm here," Heero said, running his fingers down Duo's arm.

"You're always here." He said. "You are my rock."

Minako stood up, "How do you feel?" She asked, pouring some of the thin green liquid into a cup.

"Like death," Duo answered, "that someone gave a kicking to before leaving him in a damp alley." Heero smiled at the answer, that sounded like his Duo.

"Here," she said handing him the cup, "I think you need it."

Author's Note

After that chapter I think i need it.

Bear with me folks, soon I'll start preparing for the Day of the Dead, the day when the dead walk the earth (well not literally) and they have a jolly big party to celebrate.

and we can change from Dathyl to Dramathen, the capital of the Darin empire, then Meirin and then home.

So not much left really, but at the pace this has chosen,,, lots and lots and lots.