Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read.

Golden Lights Part Fifteen

By SilverLady

It took nearly an hour for Duo to become comfortable enough to begin to enjoy the ride. Once he decided that the horse wasn't going to throw him into the street and he didn't have to maintain such a death grip on the pommel of the saddle, he began looking around. The city looks a lot different at this angle.

Quatre had obviously memorized the roads he wanted to take out of the city. He guided them unerringly through the crowded streets and out through the northern gate.

Soon the crowds thinned and the rows of houses became seemingly never-ending fields.

Duo looked around, enjoying the sights. He'd rarely been this way and the scenery was different from what he was used to. Most of the time when he had been taken from the city it was to head west, towards the ocean estates that studded the shoreline in that direction.

The sun had just reached its zenith, and Duo was growing hot and uncomfortable, when Quatre swung his horse off the road and into a stand of trees. In the center of the trees was a decent sized clearing, one that had obviously been used for stopovers before.

Lunch, was the only thing Duo could think of. He would be glad to get off the horse for a while and stretch his legs. And I thought wrapping my legs around Heero could be rough.

He watched as the others dismounted and was just a little pleased to see that none of them seemed to be in much better shape than him. Except Quatre. The little blonde bounced off the horse like he was getting out of a chair.

"How long are we stopping?" Wufei asked, sitting down on a log.

"I don't know. Not long, I'm sure," Trowa replied.

Heero sighed as he sat down. He'd thought he'd been in pretty good shape, but this ride was proving him wrong. He was already aching in places he didn't want to think about.

Duo frowned as he watched Quatre. He seemed to be taking a lot of things off the horses for a simple lunch break. Maybe he's giving the horses a break, too.

Trowa blinked in surprise as Quatre began to pace out an area on the ground. What in the world is he up to?

Before he could open his mouth to ask the blonde what he was doing, Duo had risen to his feet and walked over.

"What are you doing?" Duo asked, watching as Quatre began laying the poles he'd brought with him on the ground.

Quatre didn't even glance up. "Laying out where the big tent should go. I figured it would be best to get it arranged first, so that I know how much room I have left."

"Why?"

"I don't want it to be crowded."

"No. I mean why are you laying out the tent. I thought this was just a lunch break."

Quatre glanced at Duo, a look of surprise appearing on his face. "I told you last night that I only figured on riding half a day for the first few days, so that you could get used to spending so much time in the saddle. This is a good place to spend the rest of the day and tonight. I checked."

Duo could only stare at Quatre as he continued to unload packs. "What about lunch?"

Quatre laughed at the hint of a whine in Duo's voice. He had noticed how much the braided boy ate. "If you could wait a minute, I'll get lunch out of the packs."

"Don't tell me it's dried beef or something."

Quatre glanced back at Duo. "Why?" From what I can tell, you'll eat just about anything.

"Ummm. Because….because Heero doesn't like it. It gets stuck in his teeth." Duo ignored the snort from behind him. "And it's all….dry and stuff. That's why."

Quatre shook his head as began to pull several wrapped items from one of the packs. "Then Heero doesn't have to worry. It's not dried beef."

Duo eyed the odd assortment of things Quatre was removing from the pack. "Then what is it? Don't you need a fire or something?"

"I'll get a fire started in a little while for supper. This is just fine the way it is. I had the cook make it for us last night." He glanced at Duo. "If you get the plates and things out of that pack at your feet, we can serve the others."

Duo blinked. "Oh. Okay."

Within a few minutes Quatre had three plates made up. Taking to of them, he walked across the campsite to where Trowa, Wufei and Heero were sitting. "I'm sorry it took so long, Master."

Trowa accepted the plate Quatre handed him. He barely glanced at what was on it though. "Quatre?"

Quatre paused in the act of handing the other plate he carried to Wufei. "Yes, Master?"

"What did we discuss the other night?"

"What night, Master?"

"In the garden. After you talked to my uncle."

Duo stiffened in surprised. He hadn't known that Gawain had been to Trowa's. I wonder what he wanted. As if I didn't know.

Quatre blinked. "But…"

"Wufei is included on that list. Understood?"

"Yes, Mas….."

"Quatre."

"I understand. I'm sorry." He turned back toward Wufei.

Wufei glared at him, then snatched the plate from his hand. He was starved and he had to wait for this boy to be reprimanded. Breakfast was too damn long ago. He glanced down at the food on the plate. The only thing on it that he recognized was the biscuit. Which is probably hard. Damn, I wish Trowa hadn't come up with this fool idea. Or that I'd had the sense not to agree to come along.

Heero was also eyeing the plate that Duo had brought to him. He looked up at Duo, a questioning look in his eyes. Duo just shrugged. He had no idea what this was, either.

"Quatre?" Trowa spoke up, noticing the odd looks the others were giving their plates.

Quatre was walking back to where the other were sitting, another plate in his hand. He handed the plate to Duo. "Yes?"

"Exactly what is this?" Trowa pointed at the food on his plate.

"Meat and potatoes."

Trowa looked down. The meat was like nothing he'd ever seen before and if those were potatoes, he'd never seen them made like that. "Would you mind explaining exactly what kind of meat? And what did you have done to the potatoes?"

Quatre glanced around at the others, realizing that none of them were eating. Stupid. Just because you eat this all the time doesn't mean they do.

Trowa noticed the odd look that came into Quatre's eyes as he looked down. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "The meat is a kind of bird that we raise. I found a couple of them at the market. They're dipped in seasoned flour and deep fried. The same thing is done to the potatoes."

Duo sighed. He was too damn hungry to worry about exactly what it was Quatre had dreamed up for them. Picking up the meat, he took a small bite. "Hey, this is pretty good." And with that pronouncement, Duo proceeded to devour his lunch.

After watching Duo for a moment the others also began to eat.

Trowa had nearly finished eating when he realized that Quatre had not joined them. Looking around the campsite, he spotted Quatre, carrying a bundle of wood to the firepit that was set to one side of the clearing. "Quatre, have you eaten?"

Quatre carefully set the wood down. "No." Master.

"Why not?"

Quatre looked at him. "I have to….." He waved his hands around the site.

Trowa glanced around. He realized that in the time he'd been eating, the rest of the packs had been removed from the horses and carefully set in piles. Even the saddles had been take care of and now the horses were happily grazing on the grass that grew around the edges of the site. It was also apparent that this wasn't the first load of wood Quatre had gathered. A neat stack of small sticks had been arranged in the firepit.

Trowa sighed. "Quatre, are there certain things that have to be done when you first make camp?"

"Yes."

"And is that what you've been doing while we've been sitting here eating?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you hungry?"

Quatre looked down at his feet. "I had…"

"Quatre."

"Yes," Quatre whispered. He could feel his stomach growl in agreement. He looked up. "But I…."

Trowa looked at him and Quatre fell silent. "From now on," Trowa glanced at the other three. "no one eats until those necessary things are taken care of. Understood?"

Wufei opened his mouth to protest, but a look from Heero silenced him.

Trowa watched Quatre. "Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now get yourself something to eat and come over here and sit down."

Quatre hesitated for a minute, then did as Trowa bid. He couldn't really understand Trowa, though. It seemed silly for the others to just stand around and wait for him to tend to the horses and gather wood.

*****

Duo walked over to where Quatre had set down a pile of fabric. Although he still ached, it wasn't too bad anymore. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to set up the big tent."

"What do you want me to do?"

Quatre looked at him. "You could help me unfold it."

"Sure." Duo looked the pile over. "How?"

With a small smile Quatre showed Duo how the tent was carefully folded to conserve space.

When they got it all laid out, Duo was a little surprised at how big it really was. "Now what?"

Quatre picked up to of the poles. "Take these and put them together like so." He showed Duo how the two pieces fit neatly together, making one larger pole.

Duo eyed the pole. "It won't break, will it?"

Quatre shook his head. "They're much stronger than they look. The wood is ironwood."

"Oh." Carefully he studied the two pieces he'd picked up. It took a few minutes, but he figured out how the wood had been cut so that the two pieces would fit and lock together. "Neat."

"Now we lay each pole at the points where the holes in the tent are." Quatre showed Duo where holes had been punched through the tent in several places and then reinforced with metal rings.

"This is going to stand up?"

"It will when we're done," Quatre reassured him.

Duo shook his head. "If you say so." Grabbing a pole he placed it where Quatre showed him.

Step by step Quatre explained to Duo exactly how the large tent was set up. He didn't notice that the others had wandered over and were watching.

When Quatre explained to Duo how to raise the corner poles so that they could finish setting them up, he didn't see the look that passed between Heero and Trowa. The two moved forward to take up positions in the empty corners so that, much to Quatre's surprise, the tent went up smoothly.

After Quatre was certain that the poles were set properly, he ducked inside the tent with the final pole. This pole was nearly half again as large as the others and would serve as the center support. Carefully placing one end into the ring for it, he maneuvered the pole into its upright position. Only the weight of the tent and the firm ground it was sitting on would keep the pole upright.

Trowa ducked into the tent and looked around. He was impressed by the size of the space. It was a lot bigger than he had though it would be when he'd seen the size of the pile of material Quatre had pulled out, proclaiming that it was the large tent.

"But exactly what are we supposed to sleep on?" Trowa asked, eyeing the ground.

Quatre jumped a little at the sound of Trowa's voice. He hadn't realized that he'd come into the tent. "I was just going to go and get the other things."

Trowa nodded. "Show me what you need. I'll help."

Quatre could only stare at Trowa in disbelief.

Trowa blinked. "What? Don't you think I'm capable of helping?"

Quatre shook his head, hoping he hadn't accidentally insulted Trowa. "No. It's just that…."

"I told you, we are going to help. I don't expect you to do it all yourself."

Quatre blinked. "But if you had brought all those other people with you, you would have expected them to do everything."

Trowa sighed. "You have a point. Maybe this trip will do all of us some good. Now, let get the rest of this tent set up. I'm curious to see what kind of sleeping arrangements you have planned. You did say that you just slept on the ground."

Quatre sighed as he walked back out of the tent. "Actually, I said the poorer people sleep on the ground. And only if the ground isn't too hard. We do like to have comfort in our lives, as well."

Touché, little one. Maybe you can teach me just how civilized your culture really is. Then, perhaps I can show my uncle that different doesn't especially mean ignorant.

*****

Heero was waiting outside the tent when Trowa stepped back out. "Well?"

"The tent itself seems large enough. I'll just reserve final judgment until I see how he arranges it."

Heero nodded. "Duo said he found a pool not too far from here. I thought maybe we'd go for a swim."

"That sounds like a good idea. But I did tell Quatre that we'd help him get the things moved into the tent first."

"That isn't necessary." Quatre had walked back up and heard what Heero had said. "I…I'd like to do it by myself, if you don't mind. I want to get everything set up so that you can see what you think."

Trowa looked at him. "Are you sure? I told you I don't expect you to do everything yourself."

"I'm sure."

"All right. But holler if you need help."

"The hardest part is finished. The other tent won't be too hard to put up and I thought I'd do that in a little while."

"Are you sure you don't want to go swimming? It will help you cool off some."

Quatre shook his head. "I'm sure."  I don't know how to swim.

Trowa watched as Quatre ducked into the tent with his bundle.

Heero noticed the look on Trowa's face. He was just as good at reading Trowa as Trowa was at reading him. "I can have Duo stay if you want."

"No, that's all right. Besides, if I know Duo, he's already enjoying the water."

Heero gave a slight smile. Duo had taken to swimming like he was a fish. There were times when it was damn near impossible to get him back out once he got in. "True. But I'll send him back early to help Quatre with supper."

"Food might be enough incentive to get him out of the water."

"Maybe."

*****

Duo looked around the campsite in surprise. Quatre had been very busy in the time he had been gone. An area near the fire had obviously been designated as the dining area and Quatre had set it up for supper. Where in the world did he get a table? A fire was going in the firepit and there were several pots around it, including one that hung from a tripod set directly over the fire.

"Quatre?"

Quatre stuck his head out of the large tent, where he'd been finishing the sleeping arrangement. "I didn't expect you back so soon."

"Figured you might need some help with dinner."

"Not at the moment."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"You can check and make sure that Heero will be happy with his bed and things."

Duo nodded. After carefully laying the small towel he'd taken with him on a log near the fire to dry, he stepped into the tent.

And stared in disbelief. He couldn't believe what Quatre had done to the inside of the tent. Several small rugs were scattered about the ground, giving the area a bit more of a home-like appearance. Three chairs were arranged around another small table to make up a sitting area. On the table was a small lamp, obviously placed there to provide light for anyone making use of the table. Two large pieces of cloth were hung between the center pole and two of the corners, screening off the area and making it look like rooms.

Where in the heck did he put everything?

Following Quatre, he passed through an almost hidden slit in one piece of the material, to find himself in what had obviously been set up as a bedroom. Yet another table, this one low to the ground, was set up next to the bed. On the table was a candle, what appeared to be a glass and a small bowl.

The bed was rather low, but that wasn't too surprising. Though the way things kept appearing Duo wouldn't have been too astonished to see a full sized bed set up. He had a feeling the carefully arranged sheets and blankets were not typical, but had been added to take into consideration the sleeping habits of the person that would use this bed.

Off to one side he spotted several familiar packs. He recognized them as the ones that Heero had brought. Though they had been carefully laid out, none of them had been opened. There was another rug here, apparently set up as a place to set one of the chairs from the other area on. That way, Heero could sit in the chair to get out of his clothing and yet the chair wouldn't sink into the ground.

Quatre indicated the bed. "Make sure it's firm enough for him. I wasn't sure exactly how he would like it."

Duo approached the bed cautiously, remembering Quatre's description of the mattresses he'd brought. Expecting to find himself flat on the ground at any moment, Duo carefully sat on the edge.

To his surprise, he found himself sitting about six inches off the floor. The mattress beneath him gave a little, conforming to the shape of his butt, but that was all.

Continuing to move carefully, Duo laid back on the bed.

Quatre smiled at the look of surprise that appeared on Duo's face. "Is it all right?"


Duo looked up at Quatre, who now stood anxiously above him. With a sigh, he relaxed full on the bed. "Hell, yes. It's fine. Do I get one?"

Quatre laughed. "Yes."

"Cool." Duo shifted and felt the mattress give beneath him. It was like floating. "Though I don't think I'd want to do anything too vigorous on it."

Quatre tried to control the blush as he realized what Duo meant. Unbidden, the picture of him and Heero as they had been in the room that day rose up in Quatre's mind. "They really are pretty tough." How else do you think we make babies?

Duo sighed again. "Yeah, I guess they'd have to be." He got carefully to his feet. "Though they are a bit low."

Quatre nodded. "That might take some getting used to."

"Definitely." Duo looked around the area again. "I don't think Heero will mind this."

"Good. I figured they might want some privacy. Though they'll have to be careful. The material I used for walls isn't very heavy and when the lights are lit you can pretty much see through them."

Duo eyed the candle. "Is that safe?" He shuddered at the though of the tent catching fire from the flame.

Quatre walked over to the small table and picked up the glass. Duo realized that there was no bottom to the glass as Quatre carefully placed it over the candle. He also realized that the candle was sitting on some kind of small metal base.

"The base is weighted so that it can't tip over. The glass keeps drafts away from the flame so that it burns steady." He glanced at Duo. "Fire in a tent is something you have to be very careful with."

Duo nodded. He should realize that someone who lived his whole life in a tent would come up with ways to keep it safe.

"Anything I can help you with?"

Quatre pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Duo. "If you could double check and make sure everything that's listed there is out by the fire, it would help."

Duo looked down at the piece of paper as if it was something foreign. "Quatre."

Quatre was reading off another list he'd pulled from his pouch. "Yeah?" he asked absently.

"Why don't you just tell me what you need done?"

Quatre glanced up. "What's wrong? Can't you read my writing? I know it's kinda messy but I ….."

"It's not your writing. I'm sure it's perfectly understandable. It's just…." Duo looked up. "I don't know how to read."

Quatre stared at Duo in stunned disbelief. "You don't?"

"It's another one of those unimportant skills that slaves don't need."

"You can't read at all?"

"Or write. Not even my own name. Hell, I'm not even completely sure how to spell my name." Duo gave a slight smile. "For that matter, it's not even my real name."

"What is your real name?"

"I don't know. The guy that found me named me. Maxwell, cause that was the town he was near and Duo because I was the second kid he'd picked up that day." Duo's eyes grew sad at the memories. "The other boy died a few days later. He got sick. He called him Solo."

Quatre was silent for a minute. "I thought you were born a slave."

"Don't know for sure. I don't remember my parents. Maybe they were or maybe they weren't."

"You mean this guy just took you and sold you."

"Yeah. That's what he did. He liked picking up street kids and stuff. No one to complain if one went missing."

"How old were you?"

"Four."

Quatre closed his eyes. Again and again he was stunned by the behavior of this supposedly civilized group of people. A lost child found by someone in his tribe would have been taken in and raised as part of the group. No child was without some kind of family.

"Duo?"

"Yeah."

"Today was the first time you've ever been on a horse, wasn't it?"

"Uh. Yeah."

Quatre looked at him. "I'm sorry. If I had known…"

"Hey, it's all right," Duo interrupted. "After a while I started enjoying myself. Things sure look different from the back of a horse." He was quiet for a minute. "But you sure didn't seemed bothered by the ride."

Quatre smiled. "I've been riding horses for as long as I can remember. I learned to ride before I learned to walk."

"You must miss it."

Quatre's eyes grew sad. "Yes," he whispered.

Duo mentally kicked himself for bringing the subject up. He hadn't meant to make the other boy sad again. He was glad to see Quatre beginning to show signs of life again.

"So, if you tell me what's on this list, I'll go check things out."

Quatre smiled, understanding the diversion for what it was meant to be. "All right." He took the list back from Duo and began reading it off.

Duo listened carefully, keeping careful track of what Quatre was saying.  How does a poor nomad learn to read and write? Unless there is more to this poor nomad than meets the eye. He did indicate that Kadir guy was his father and someone said he was a chief. What does that make Quatre?

*****

Quatre slipped quietly out of the tent and sat down on the small log he'd placed outside. Dinner had gone better than he'd expected and everyone seemed okay with the sleeping arrangement.  Wufei had grumbled about the injustice of being forced to sleep on the ground instead of the comfort of one of the large travel wagons that were usually used on these trips, but he'd disappeared into his 'room' soon after the sun had set.

Quatre had a feeling Wufei just liked to grumble a lot.

He sighed as the wind whispered through the trees, cooling the air. He'd carefully checked the sky and was certain that there was no rain in the area and the wind seemed to confirm this conclusion. There was no smell of rain on it, a good sign. It was something he would have to take more into consideration than he was used to. You didn't have to worry about rain much in the desert.

Although he knew it wouldn't be too difficult for him to slip away, he also knew there would be no point in it. He had no home to go to and in this country he would simply be hunted down like some animal. Which, to many of the people he had so far met, he was.

He wrapped his arms around his waist as he stared up into the night sky. He barely even noticed the tears that tracked down his cheeks.

I'm trying, Great One. Angil said You have Your reasons for doing the things You do. But I really don't understand what the purpose is this time. You've allowed my people to be butchered like animals until I am the only one left. What purpose do You wish for me to serve? Am I, too, to be a sacrificed in the name of progress? What is it that You wish for me to do? Please, help me understand.

The soft whisper of the wind was his only answer. But this time, the wind seemed to actually be saying something.

Love.