Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Warning: None here, but some shōnen-ai in other chapters. PG-13

Chapter 3

A totally unfamiliar surrounding. Sitting on a large cushion, swathed in metres of rich cloth, reds and golds and some blue. Next to me is a man I don't recognise, although I know I should (but why?), and opposite is another man. Neither are as wealthy as me, I guess, comparing our outfits, but both are important. They're talking about a wedding, but whose? They haven't mentioned any names.

I scratch my arm, looking at my hand in the process. Darker, softer skin greets my gaze. Then I am the Raja? I train my attention on what seems to be a thoroughly uninteresting conversation, the business links of marriage, providing an heir, forcing the groom to grow up a bit. At this point, they looked at me pointedly. Me? Marry? But, that's not right, I can't marry! Somewhere, in the deepest recesses of my mind, I remember reading about the Raja's fiancée, a princess from a neighbouring principality, someone he'd never met, and never did meet. And besides, I'm in love with someone else! Duo Maxwell! Well, I AM Duo Maxwell, but this man is in love with the OTHER one! Not some fawning bride and business link!

That was what I had realised; in these dreams I was seeing the world through my ancestor's eyes; the very man who murdered his friend and love, the Raja.

But I can't say any of this of course. The Raja just looks at them and then goes back to looking at his hands, all I can do is watch. That seems as good as a proposal for them. Immediately they start planning, the colour of the silk that would be made in celebration, the number of elephants needed to walk us through my principality to the ceremony, and the date. One month from now. One month of freedom left. I feel the anger bubbling up, threatening to engulf me, as the Raja merely balls his hands into fists behind his back and grits his teeth to the verge of pain, showing no physical signs of the anger and sadness he surely feels.

Suddenly everything goes black. When I regain my vision, I'm deep in conversation with the other Duo Maxwell, explaining the situation, and what we must do.

--ooOoo--

'But I love you!' Duo cries, his simple way of putting things so like my own. This childish confession seems so necessary in the face of such adversity.

'I love you too, and I would be such a terrible husband,' I, the Raja reply.

Looking on from this perspective, I view the situation, and my other self, with the Raja's biased point of view. His impish face holds such emotion, such honest sadness, that it's impossible not to empathise. The violet eyes are shining with tears that I know he won't let fall, not in front of the Raja anyway. 'Duo, do you love me more than anything?'

He balks. 'Yes, I think I do.' Eyes into lap; 'sorry.'

'Would you run away with me?'

Duo gasps '…where could we run?'

'To see the world! I have such riches that I could just grab some of it and it would be enough to set us up until we can earn it somehow. It would be perfect!'

And so they (we?) plan. Three days left of this life that they know. We would meet at a temple on the mountain, a couple of days trek, alone, but it's safer that way than meeting up closer to the village. From there we'll go over the mountain and find somewhere new, a long way away, in the south, where they could live together in peace and happiness.

It's now that I take in my surroundings. We're by the lake again, the same place as before, except now it's late evening, the deadly mosquitoes have descended on us and we could catch malaria if we're not careful.

--ooOoo--

That day they restarted their journey to the temple site. The party was much more subdued than usually at the beginning of a dig, as the singing, out of key and out of time of course, was always lead by Duo. Quatre cast yet another worried look at his friend. He looked tired and pained. He was barely speaking at the moment, except for to snap at people disturbing him, talking to him when he was writing, or just staring at the photos of the elephant, touching them, as if that would make all his troubles go away; troubles which suddenly seemed to have appeared since they arrived in India. No, that wasn't totally right. At the beginning he'd been fine, it was just since he found that elephant.

They arrived at the camp spot without any problems. As soon as everything was set up Duo sat down by the fire and closed his eyes. he wasn't sleeping though, because he was cooking that night, and one arm was stirring the cooking pot constantly, round and round. But his face was relaxing, the little creases in the corners of his eyes, the deeper furrows in his brow, all being ironed out, by whatever image was printed on the inside of his forehead. Quatre grinned as he even saw a small smile curl Duo's lips.

He was right. It was the image in Duo's head that was keeping him going. Since last night the dreams had been so sour, he had been forcing himself to at least attempt to look at everything without feeling so emotional. That had taken concentration, and he'd failed, always ending up thinking of his own failure to find love, how at 26 years of age he'd only ever had one relationship to last more than 6 months, and during that time they'd been living on different continents for 5 months.

Then he'd sat down by the fire, cooking, and let himself doze. His fatigued mind had been doused in darkness, and from the darkness had come a pair of hauntingly soft eyes, set in a harsh face, framed by messy black-brown bangs and resting on a hand, long, elegant fingers on a slender wrist, muscular definition on the lower arm just perfect. He'd smiled.

When he went to bed that night, he did so fearfully. The way he saw it, he lost either way. if anything happened to the boys, anything that would break them apart, then this would just prove for his mind that happily ever afters do not exist, and if they escaped, and never looked back, then it would just highlight the fact that there was something wrong with him – that he had been looking twice as long as this far off uncle, and still hadn't even had a sniff that he was on the right trail. Would it be tonight that he saw the murder of his beautiful Raja?

--ooOoo--

Here we go. I'm not happy with this one though, it's too jerky. I never realised how hard it is to write in first person present before… Love it? Hate it? tell me! I need your comments to survive.

LaVerne x