Golden Lights Part Forty-Nine

By SilverLady

True to his word, Trowa had shown up in Dermal's chambers with a final treaty. He had made it perfectly clear that he was tired of Dermal's games and would hear no more excuses. Dermal had stammered and tried to stall him, but in the end had signed the agreement. It was the one Trowa's uncle had originally sent, the one that Dermal had been so adamantly against.

Now they were racing for home as quickly as they could, though Quatre felt at times as if Trowa would have been happier if they could have simply teleported there. His worry for Heero and for Duo was an almost tangible thing.

Quatre turned slightly sideways to watch Trowa, who was leaning forward in his seat, as if doing so could make the carriage move that much faster. Quatre swore that it looked as if Trowa was ready to leap from the carriage and start pulling it himself. He apparently felt they were still moving too slowly.

It had been two days since they had left Dermal's castle and they were nearly home now. Trowa's worry for his friend had pushed them onward at a very fast pace. Sometimes, perhaps a bit too fast. They had had to leave several of their escort behind when they had changed horses. They had simply grown to exhausted to keep up the pace that was being set.

Trowa frowned when he realized that the horses were slowing. "What's going on? Why are we stopping?" he growled angrily. He had made it very clear that he wanted to be home as quickly as possible.

Quatre reached over and laid a reassuring hand on Trowa's arm. "It has been many hours since we changed horses, Master. I am sure they are tiring and that the driver is stopping to get fresh ones. It won't slow us down that much, but if we press on with tired horses it will."

Trowa turned to glare at Quatre, but said nothing. He knew the blonde was right, but it was frustrating. He was desperately afraid of what he would find when they arrived at his home.

****

Though it took less than half an hour to change the team of horses, Trowa was practically dancing with impatience by the time they were on the road again.

"How much longer?" he muttered to himself.

"Mandir said we should reach the city limits sometime this afternoon, Master," Quatre said softly. "We should be at your home before nightfall."

"That long?"

"We are traveling as quickly as we can, Master, but the roads are getting more crowded as we get closer to the city. If we go too swiftly we could cause an accident and that would only delay us more. "

Trowa huffed, hating the fact that Quatre was right. "But Heero…."

Quatre sighed. "If Carlia did attack Duo and Heero, then there is nothing we can do for them now." Quatre had come to terms with that fact but hoped that the lack of a messenger with news was a good sign. Surely they would have sent word to Trowa telling him of his friend's murder, if such an event had occurred. And with the royal crest plainly embossed on the side of the carriage, any messenger would have known who was inside and would have stopped them. He hoped.

Trowa leaned back in his seat. "I…. I suppose."

Quatre turned to watch the scenery sweeping past the carriage. Please let them be all right.

****

As Quatre had predicted, they pulled into the courtyard of Trowa's home just as the sun was setting. The carriage had barely come to a stop when Trowa was opening the door.

Felix rushed out to greet his Master. "Lord Trowa, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. Did things go well? Everything went all right, didn't it? There weren't any problems were there?"

Trowa looked calmly at the man. "Where is Heero?"

Felix blinked. "Sir?"

"Where is Lord Heero? I need to speak with him immediately."

"He's…. He's not here, sir."

"Where is he?" Trowa started toward the house.

"I believe he said he was taking his slave to his home in the country. The doctor recommended the fresh air would be better for the boy. He mentioned something about the air in the city making the infection in his lungs worse."

Trowa turned back towards the man. "When did they leave?"

"Two days after you."

"Has anyone heard from him since then?"

"No, sir. He made it very clear that he didn't want to be disturbed. He was quite concerned about the boy. Apparently he was having a great deal of difficulty breathing. I think he was afraid that having a lot of people in and out would actually make the boy sicker."

Trowa started back towards the courtyard. "Have…"

Quatre, who had followed the two men and heard the conversation, laid his hand on Trowa's arm. "Master, we should wait until morning."

Trowa glared at the blonde. "You heard what Felix said."

"Yes, Master. But it will not do anyone any good if you go charging off into the night. The men have pushed as hard and as fast as they could and I am sure they are tired. As are you, if you would stop long enough to admit it. Rest and we will leave first thing in the morning. We can have them saddle two horses and make the trip much more swift." Quatre looked sadly up at Trowa. "As I have already said, if she did what she said she did, a little more time will not make any difference. There is nothing that we can do to save them now. It has been far too long. We will either find them all right, or we will have to make arrangements for their burial. Rushing off in the dark will only risk you and anyone who goes with you. Please, wait until morning."

Felix stared, mouth hanging open at Quatre's speech. "Lord Trowa, what is he talking about? What do you think has happened that you fear Lord Heero is…..dead?"

Trowa sighed as his shoulders slumped in weariness. He knew that once again Quatre was right. His rushing headlong into the night was only going to get himself killed and would do Heero and Duo no good. "We finally caught the woman that was behind the attacks on myself and the others. She said some things that indicated that she had stolen a knife from Duo, after killing him and Heero. We came back as quickly as we could to find out if it was true."

"Surely you don't think someone could have gotten near enough to Lord Heero for such a thing to happen?"

"If he was worried about Duo, there is no telling what could have happened. But Quatre is right. Rushing out there in the dark is not a good idea. I will remain here for the night. Quatre and I will ride out first thing in the morning to find Heero and Duo." He looked at Felix. "I have some papers I need you to take to my uncle. You may tell him what has happened and that I will contact him as soon as I find them."

Felix bowed. "Of course, sir. I will have your room prepared."

"Thank you."

Felix quickly hurried away, issuing orders as he went.

"Master?"

Trowa turned to look at the blonde. "Again you have been the voice of reason. I thank you for that. Let us go and get some rest. I want to be away as early as possible."

Quatre nodded. "Of course, Master." He paused for a moment. "I am as worried for them as you are."

"I know." With another sigh, Trowa turned and headed for his rooms. He knew he wasn't going to get much sleep that night. He was too worried about Heero and Duo. Especially finding out that Heero had taken Duo to his country house. He knew Heero rarely took any other servants with him when he went there. Which meant if something had happened to them, no one would know about it.

Please, be there when I get there. Don't let her have won.

****

Dawn had barely lightened the sky when Trowa and Quatre were riding out of the courtyard.

"How far is it, Master?" Quatre asked, watching Trowa with worry in his eyes. It was obvious to him that Trowa had slept little the night before. If the truth was to be told, neither had he. Dreams of empty violet eyes had haunted him.

"About four hours ride to the east." Trowa carefully steered his horse around a large wagon that was lumbering along the street in front of them. "Though we'll actually be on his lands about a half an hour before we reach the main house."

Quatre nodded slightly. He had learned from various conversations that Heero owned a great deal of land, but that the country estate that they were headed to was his favorite.

"Why does he like it there so much, Master?" He hoped he could keep Trowa occupied and not fretting over what they might find at the end of their journey.

Trowa winced at the use of the word. It was obvious that, although Quatre had made overtures to indicate he was interested in Trowa, he still was not certain of his place. After this mess was straightened out he was going to have to sit down and have a long talk with the blonde. He needed to know the motives behind that scene in the bedroom.

He also recognized the attempt at a diversion and allowed it to work, for now. "There are no bad memories for Heero there. His father hated the place and never went there. He thought it was too old, too much work and much too countrified for his sophisticated tastes. In fact, he often sent Heero there when he was tired of having him around, usually just after he got himself a new mistress."

He sighed a little. "I think that place was the closing thing to a real home that Heero ever felt he had. He certainly never felt welcome at his father's place."

"What happened to his father's home, Master?"

"Heero got rid of it shortly after his father died. He wanted nothing to do with it."

Quatre tilted his head slightly. "Who bought it, Master?"

Trowa gave a short laugh. "Michal. Heero didn't really care who bought the place, so long as it was out of his hands."

"And now who owns it, Master?"

Trowa huffed silently. He was getting heartily bored of that damn word again. He was going to have it stricken from Quatre's memory one of these days, just so he never had to hear it again. "Who ever is named heir of Michal's estate. Most likely me."

Quatre blinked. "But you don't want it either, do you Master?"

"That place has almost as many bad memories for me as it does for Heero. But if I am the new owner I think I'll just let Heero tear it down or blow it up or something. Build something new, without all the old memories. Maybe I'll give it to Duo after Heero frees him from his slavery. Make him a Duke or something and give him the land as part of his title. That certainly would make Heero's father roll over in his grave. The ancestral home torn down and the land given to a newly freed slave who is his own son's lover. He'd be doing cartwheels." He gave a slight smile. "It would be, to quote Wufei, 'Justice'."

Trowa looked over at Quatre. "And as much as I appreciate you trying to distract me, I think I would rather just brood for awhile."

Quatre turned his eyes downward. "Yes, Master."

*****

The next several hours passed in silence, both men keeping their thoughts and fears to themselves.

Finally the large house that Heero Yuy called his home away from the city came into view.

Quatre studied the house as they approached. It was exactly the kind of place he would think Heero would like and he could also understand why Heero's father would hate it. There was nothing fancy or ostentatious about it. It was a good solid house, with little in the way of ornamentation to make it look like it was more than it was, the main of house of a large prosperous country estate. Perfect for Heero, but not for most of the other nobles that he had seen during his time serving Trowa. He could only imagine what the other place looked like. It wasn't a pretty picture, at least not in his mind.

Trowa frowned as they approached the house. Although the grounds were well tended, as usual, there was no sign of anyone around. He had hoped to find Heero and Duo outside or at least one of the tenants who helped tend the house and lands around. The absence of anyone bothered him.

Dismounting carefully he walked up to the main entrance to the house. He could tell that Quatre had also dismounted and was quietly following him. Even knowing that knocking would probably not do any good he did so anyway. It made him feel a little better to bang on something.

After several moments with no response he sighed and reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. One he had almost forgotten to grab in his haste that morning. One he certain would have forgotten if he'd rushed out last night like he had intended on doing.

Turning the key in the lock he carefully opened the large doors. "Heero?" he called as he stepped into the entry hall. Only the echo of his voice answered him.

Signaling Quatre to follow him, he turned to his right and headed toward the large library at the end of the hall. It was a place he had often found Heero when he visited here. Mostly because it was someplace that everyone who knew Heero would never expect to find him.

But when he carefully opened the door he found nothing, not even the indication that Heero had even been in the room in quite some time.

"Perhaps we should try upstairs, Master." Quatre whispered. "If Duo was still sick when they came here then I'm sure Heero would have taken him to the bedroom to rest. And I doubt if he would have left his side."

Trowa closed his eyes for a moment. Why did Quatre continue to be the voice of reason for him lately? "You're right. Let's go." With one more glance around the hauntingly silent library, Trowa turned and headed for the main staircase.

Taking each stair one at a time he made his reluctant way upstairs. Though he knew that Quatre was right and if something had happened to Heero and Duo he would most likely find them in the master bedroom, he had been very hesitant about going up there. He had really hoped to find Heero and Duo both downstairs, behaving as if nothing was wrong.

Finally approaching the large double doors that guarded the entrance to the master suite, Trowa hesitated. The next few moments would most likely give him the answers to his questions. He silently prayed to any deity that would listen that he would not find what he feared he would beyond the massive doors.

Moving slowly he opened the doors and stepped inside. He could sense that Quatre was just behind him, but his entire focus was on the room before him.

Empty. The large sitting area of the master suite was completely empty. It didn't look like anyone had been here in days.

Closing his eyes for a moment he stepped across the room and opened the doors to the bedroom itself. As he stepped into the room he stopped and stared at the scene he had walked in on.

Heero and Duo. Still and unmoving in the great bed, Heero's body curled protectively around Duo's.

"Oh Great One, no," Quatre barely breathed behind him.

Trowa stepped closer to the bed, reluctantly reaching out towards Heero's still form.

Suddenly he was pierced with a sight that made him sag in relief. Angry blue eyes glared at him from beneath a thatch of dark brown hair.

"Most people knock before entering someone else's private quarters," a flat, angry voice growled softly.

Quatre leaned against the doorway in relief. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you so much, Great One." For he knew that if Heero was all right then so was Duo. She had not hurt them. She had lied about the knife and where she had gotten it. She had not killed his best friend or his lover. Everything was going to all right now.