Part 16

Duo was sandy eyed and out of sorts when Primaverra brought them breakfast, he moved the sausage around the plate and barely ate, nursing his kir, and hissing when Heero tried to braid his hair. "Is something the matter?" Heero asked softly, unlacing the braid to do it again.

"Yeah, you're hurting me." Duo snarled.

"I think it is something else." Heero said softly. He had been as careful as he could not to pull on any of the delicate strands of hair, he had lifted the tangles and brushed them out so that they didn't pull on Duo's scalp.

"Shows what thought did, doesn't it?" Duo said snatching the brush away from him to braid his own hair as Prima frowned behind them clearing up the plates.

"Is this because you slept poorly?" Heero asked.

Duo started, he wasn't really sure that Heero had picked up on that, but it was clear that he had, Heero had slept like he had been decommissioned but he still noticed how badly that Duo slept. "No, Heero, it's not." He snapped.

"If we were not leaving for Dramathen I would recommend you returning to bed." Heero said, "you look poorly rested."

"Where do you get off?" Duo said turning to look at Heero with a rather fair approximation of Heero's death glare, "I'm fine, yes, I slept badly, but it doesn't matter, we're going to the Day of the Dead, and you can just live with it."

"Master Duo." Primaverra said, "master Heero has said nothing to have earned this temper."

Duo turned on the maid, "get out!" He yelled, "just get out, all of you, just leave me alone."

"Whatever is the reason for this temper, Duo, it is surely not Prima's fault, there is no reason for you to speak to her like that." Heero said, he was more baffled than annoyed however.

"Oh, and you're going to defend her, are you? That's always the way with you perfect soldiers isn't it, you defend everyone don't you, there's no such thing as exclusivity with you people." Duo was half stood with his fists balled at his side. "And you can shut up too," he said turning to his side and talking to the wall, "I don't care who you are, you have no bearing on this conversation at all, miss high and mighty."

"Prima," Heero said, "I think you need to get Minako-sama." He was measuring his words carefully, choosing them as best he could.

"Don't you get on your high horse with me, Miss Eluneth D'Cevni, princess of the fucking world." Duo told the wall. He was obviously getting more and more annoyed, Heero could tell by the pucker between his eyebrows.

"Now." Heero iterated.

Duo was making strange noises as he pulled faces at the wall. He stuck his tongue out at it, and then with an indignant laugh stuck his tongue out again and blew a raspberry.

Minako came at a run, she was wearing utilitarian riding clothes and had a veil over her hair, but when she saw Duo she relaxed a little. "Thank you for sending for me, Heero," she said.

"I don't care." Duo told the apparition, "it's none of your business, I don't care if he is your brother."

"Duo." Minako said, "Eluneth," she bowed her head to acknowledge the spectre, "I think you and me need to have a talk about picking fights with the dead."

"She started it." Duo protested gesturing with his thumb at the empty space.

"Nevertheless, Duo," Mina said softly, "it's not polite." She turned to Heero, "why don't you go see if the horses are ready, Duo and I will be down in a minute."

Heero met Adam on the stairs down to the corridor, "Master Adam," he said choosing his words carefully. "Who was Eluneth D'Cevni?" He decided it was not in his best interests to dawdle and just asked outright.

"She was Alister's sister," Adam said, blinking at shock at the question, in fact it was, to his knowledge, the first time Heero had spoken to him. "She died, like fifteen years ago, she fell from the battlements, why?"

"Duo was speaking to her," Heero said, "I wanted to know who she was."

"She was the most beautiful woman of her generation." A tall broad man said from behind them, he was wearing burnished leather armour and apart from his blue eyes he looked very like Tobin, more than Heero had expected. "She was my sister, she was mother to Tobin and favourite of the late queen. She was to marry Matherion D'Karioni and I think things might have been simpler if she had lived to see that destiny. I know Tobin would not be so wounded." He looked at Heero, "you must be the new Senshisha, I am Nathan, constable of Dathyl. I would say that it is an honour to make your acquaintance but I feel this meeting will be passing."

"So Eluneth is Tobin's sister?" There was an edge to Heero's voice that Nathan decided he didn't like.

"yes," he answered, "she was, before she died, am I to understand that she has chosen to speak to the new Lord of Meirin?"

"Yes," Heero said, "she was arguing with him."

"I will investigate it." Nathan said stiffly, turning to go back up the stairs.

"Nathan," Adam called, "she probably won't speak to you." He sounded forlorn, "she never has before."

"She's never spoken to anyone before." Nathan said turning, he was a bear of a man, "and she's my sister, damnit, why shouldn't she speak to me?"

"Because you need to let her go." Adam said, "she is dead. Lady Minako says that she is for the dead and not the living."

"Foolishness." Nathan snorted. "If I have to shake an answer out of him I will make this new Lord of Meirin make her talk to me."

"You will not." Heero said, "he is my responsibility and I will not have you abuse him thus." His tone was like someone sharpening metal.

"Nathan," Alister said, coming out of the doorway, "if Eluneth wanted to talk to us she would have by now." He put his hand on his brother's arm, "and you are nearly three times the size of the new Tennosha, and Minako-sama will return after the day of the dead." His voice was even and calm and brooked no argument, "you've waited fifteen years, you can wait another month to speak to her."

"But," Nathan protested.

"I miss her too." Alister said softly, it was the first time that Heero had seen the secretary show any emotion at all, "I miss her too."

Duo turned to Minako, "you stay out of this." He snapped turning back to the pale beauty that stood beside the mirror, she was remarkably haunting with delicate features and huge acid green eyes, she had the mouth of a goddess and her neck was like a pillar of ivory. "You don't know what you're talking about, ojou-sama." It was patently obvious that he used the title as an insult.

"You are talking out of your arse, Duo Maxwell." Eluneth replied putting her lily white hands on her slender hips, "now you go down those steps and you apologise to your Senshisha."

Minako swallowed her laughter at that.

"I will not." Duo said, "I was not out of order."

Eluneth's expression called him a liar, "you are proud, and you don't understand what you saw, what Avili showed you." She smoothed out the white folds of her dress, there was a blood stain on her shoulder, but other than that she was immaculate, her hair was a white blonde and she looked ethereal. Minako had always envied Eluneth her beauty, but there was a furrow between her brows and her mouth was tight. "You are as dense as a Seraphim," she said. Alister had once told Minako that Eluneth, for all her beauty, was not to be crossed and it seemed that she was seeing that first hand. "There is no talking to you, tennosha," she took a single step forward, stretching out the line of the nightgown she had died in, and then kissed Duo on the forehead, and with that she was gone.

"Is there something I should know?" Minako said, "you worried Heero, you know." She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Duo, he was irate, she could tell by the way he was twisting his braid in his hands, like he was wringing it out.

"He is an oblivious idiot." Duo snapped.

Minako burst out laughing. "Of course he is," she said. "He doesn't have half the advantages you have," there was a sparkle of laughter in her voice, "he can't see Eluneth for one, and you were arguing with her in front of him, I think he thought you were mad." She stood up and picked up the veil that they had given him to protect his hair from dust, stretching it between her hands.

"Mina, he's so dense."

"you're very alike," she said, binding up his hair, "you're both as bad as the other, now what is it that upset you?"

"Nothing." He snapped.

She gave him a knowing smile, then wrapped her arms about him, putting her chin on his shoulder, "tell me about your dream." She said, obviously pulling the information from the dead.

"I saw Avili and Tobin together." Duo said lowering his eyes, "and they were so in love and I wanted that, I don't want to be alone, Mina, so I asked Heero and he…"

"Adores you." Minako interrupted.

"No, he doesn't." Duo said sadly.

"Do you adore him?" Minako asked.

"I don't know." Duo said, "I don't know."

"then why take it out on him?" Minako said, pressing her cheek against his, "why take it out on Prima?"

"I," Duo started, "I," he stopped again, "I hate him."

"No you don't," Minako answered with a sigh, "you just don't understand, love is large and scary and terrifying and you have to be brave."

"Mina, is this like having a mother?"

Minako's lip quivered and wobbled, and her eyes watered and she kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Duo, thank you." He turned around and put his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of his neck. She accepted the embrace with good nature and then pulled back. "We have to go, or they will come looking for us, and this might be difficult to explain to Heero, don't you think, he takes protecting you very seriously."

"I don't need him to protect me." Duo said, pulling back and looking at her, her eyes were puffy where he had moved her.

"Yes, you do, maybe not from physical things, but there's a lot to be said for those who will never poison you with their dead," she said, offering him her hand to help him stand, "and he will protect you from others because you will never see his dead, when you wake from the dreams the dead show you he will be there for you."

"Like he was last night." Duo snapped.

"He was there, wasn't he?" Minako said softly. "Mamoru never is." She shrugged. She reached forward to kiss his forehead, "he is your rock, Duo, but you have to lean on him, you have to let him in."

Duo frowned. "I'll think about it."

She reached forward and hugged him again, "I'm moved that you think of me like your mother." She said softly, "you're the only one ever to tell me that."

"But you looked after so many children." Duo protested, the dead had shown him that.

"None of them thought of me as a mother," she said, "and I had no children." She frowned.

"I had no mother." Duo said, "I wish,"

She put her finger to his mouth, "don't say it, I'll tell you, someday, about your mother." She said softly, "and I'll tell you about Heero's mother, and I will tell you about mine, but Duo," she said with a very faint smile, "thank you."

Heero went up to where Tobin was checking his girth strap and pressed the muzzle of his gun against his back. "Leave Duo alone." He growled. Tobin turned, he didn't seem to show any fear of the gun at all where it was pressed against his ribcage where he had turned.

"I have no plans towards Duo," Tobin said, "it's only flirting." Although he didn't fear the gun he was watching Heero's hands intently. "I don't mean anything by it, but if he thinks I'm after him, I'll make it clear."

"Avoid him," Heero said stiffly. "Or I will kill you."

"You don't have to threaten him," Josian said from the side, "he'll make sure that Duo understands," he pushed the gun to the side, "on my word." He frowned at Tobin, "tart." He managed.

"Talk about the knife calling the axe sharp." Tobin answered, mock offended.

"Just leave him alone," Heero repeated, "I promised to protect him, and I will." He left the two of them arguing in his wake.