Warnings: Angst, violence, language, adventure, lemons, AU, fantasy, angst again.
A/N: I promise this was inspired by Tangled/Rapunzel…seriously, if you squint really, really hard you'll see what I mean. No, this isn't happy or filled with song. Or happy. But it was GOING to be…until I started to write it. There are also blatant references to Lord of the Rings and a few other fantasy-genre staples.
A/N #2: So, this is me, which means that Trowa and Duo are going to be involved. There will be more pairings, but I'd really rather let them develop than paste them all over this.
A/N #3: The POV will switch between characters – likely mostly between Heero, Duo, and Trowa.
A/N #4: I know, I know, I was supposed to update Umbra next - but when I sat down to write Umbra this came out instead. I promise more Umbra soon!
Lost Dreams
Chapter Three
It took Duo three days of constant pleading before Howard would allow him to leave the camp and track down the fat merchant who had killed Stephen.
He knew that the merchants had been headed for Mysia, but there was no way Duo would risk the Inquisition again, so he tried to find where the merchants were from and when they would return. He visited the few outposts on the edge of the Western Wood and traveled further north before he finally learned that those particular merchants – well known as swindlers and greedy bastards – were natives of the Theran capital of Antioch.
It took him a while to travel that far – the Mysians seemed to have grown enormously confident of late and were sending raiding parties as far north as the South Pass of Thera, and Duo wasn't about to get picked up by one of their patrols.
By the time he reached Antioch it was two weeks after their failed attack on the merchant caravan, and Duo's fury over the death of Stephen had cooled and crystallized into a solid determination to give the boy company in the afterlife.
He stabled his horse, Scythe, at one of the more trustworthy hostlers in the poor quarter of Antioch and then set about stalking his prey.
Travy Huston was the name of the fat merchant who had killed Stephen, and Duo learned that he lived in the East quarter of the city. That quarter was the most prosperous outside of the Royal quarter, and it was the home of the wealthiest artisans, merchants, and minor nobility in Antioch.
For two days Duo stalked Huston, followed him to parties and business deals, learned that he liked to keep company with young girls late into the night, and that he favored the sickly sweet brandy that was a Theran trademark.
Duo finally had his chance on the third night, when the girl Huston had paid for slipped away early after the fat man had passed out from too much drink. Duo snuck into the large estate and made his way silently into the opulent sleeping chamber.
The fat man was snoring loud enough that Duo could have led a marching band through with no danger of waking him. It only took Duo a few moments to find that ridiculous golden dagger that Stephen had been killed with.
Duo held it in his hand gingerly, despising the weapon and the man who had used it with equal loathing. It was a mere decoration, the soft metal would never hold up to actual combat. But it was certainly strong enough to slit the throat of a twelve year old boy.
He decided to see if it was strong enough to kill again.
Duo jumped onto the large feather bed, landing just beside Huston's head, and the motion startled the man awake.
"What – who are you?" Huston instantly shouted.
Duo crouched down and grinned at the fat man.
"Me? I'm just a nightmare," he assured Huston.
"What do you want?" Huston's small eyes narrowed as they caught sight of the dagger in Duo's hand. "There's more where that came from – more gold – in my dresser – or –"
"I don't want your filthy gold," Duo told him, his voice a soft, deadly caress.
"What – what do you want?"
"You're asking the wrong questions, here," Duo told him, his voice patient.
"I – I have friends. Powerful friends. My cousin's nephew is a Lieutenant in the Royal Guard! I –"
"Your cousin's nephew?" Duo repeated. "Damn, that practically makes you royalty."
"Please! What are you here for?"
"Now you're catching on." Duo patted the cheek of the fat man. "The God of Death just received a very lonely boy into his company, and he wants you to join him."
It took a moment, but Huston caught on.
"No! No! He was just a pathetic –"
He never had the chance to finish his plea. Duo plunged the dagger into his throat, and Huston's words died in a gurgle of blood.
Duo eased away from him and sat back, cross-legged, and waited for the merchant to succumb.
He left him after half an hour, the dagger still buried in his neck.
The next morning Duo purchased a few medical salves and a slew of cheap toys for the children in the camp.
Already there were whispers on the streets of Huston's murder, and Duo felt grim satisfaction that he was spoken of with little respect, and his passing was seen as a warning to the other greedy merchants in Antioch.
Duo was ready to leave the capital by noon, and as he waited in the inspection line before the massive gates to the city, he planned the quickest route back to the Western Wood.
His thoughts were interrupted when two men on horseback passed by him. Both men were dressed in heavy winter clothes, with oilskin hoods thrown back over their shoulders. Their horses were packed with weapons and supplies, and every line in their bodies conveyed danger to Duo.
He instinctively pulled his own hood tighter against his face, making sure that his hair was hidden and his face shadowed.
One of the men turned to the other to say something, and the profile of his face made Duo's heart skip a beat.
It was the Sentinel, Trowa Barton.
Mentally cursing, Duo thought about how he could ease out of the inspection line without being noticed.
He relaxed, however, when the two men eased forward, cutting ahead of the line, and were quickly waved through the inspection point.
Duo scowled. There was no way two Sentinels should be able to pass through the inspection that easily. Clearly Trowa Barton - or his companion – was more than a mere Sentinel.
By the time he was waved through the inspection point and allowed outside the city gates, the two Sentinels were mere streaks on the horizon as they galloped towards the southwest.
Duo frowned. The world was a large place, but he didn't like the fact that they were headed in the same direction he was. Something felt incredibly wrong about the entire situation.
Trowa Barton had struck Duo as a man of honor, but also a hard man, and he couldn't decide if that made him a potential ally or enemy.
When the two men rode past the cut-off trails into Kos the next day, with Duo a distant tail, his bad feeling became more pronounced.
There was little in the Western Wood that would be of interest to two lone Sentinels – clearly they weren't meeting some wagon train to offer protection – except, perhaps, for the chance to track down a bandit that had been released?
On the third day of trailing them, Duo was able to close some of the distance between them. As they entered the ancient forest of the Western Wood, where the threes grew broad and close together, he was able to keep the two men in his sight while they rode through.
It was late afternoon when the two Sentinels stopped by a river and made camp.
Duo tied Scythe off before creeping closer to their camp.
He was within a hundred feet when they started to strip and dove into the cool river, and Duo was struck by the lean perfection of their golden bodies.
Trowa was slightly taller than the older man, and his lean frame moved with grace as he swam through the clear water. The other man was more compact, with more defined musculature, and even from this distance Duo could see that his eyes were an intense, exotic dark blue.
Duo crouched behind the trunk of an ancient and huge oak tree and contemplated whether or not to risk looting their provisions – there was a chance he might learn where they were going. If they had maps or –
His thoughts were abruptly derailed when he saw Trowa clasp the other man to him and kiss him.
Duo was frozen in place as he watched the two men caress each other. Trowa seemed to be almost worshipful as he kissed his way down the other man's body and ran his hands over the golden flesh.
He felt his face flush with arousal and shame, but he was helpless to turn away from the sight of the two men.
Trowa led the other man out of the water and eased him onto one of their abandoned cloaks and proceeded to lick and suck his impressive erection. The other man's hips rose to meet Trowa, and the sight and sounds of both men taking pleasure in each other was enough to make Duo forget how to breathe.
He tried to calm his racing heart and clear his mind by repeating Father Maxwell's dire warnings about indulging in sins of the flesh. But even the mental image of the God of Death roasting him alive wasn't enough of a distraction for Duo. Especially when Trowa entered the other man.
The two were beautiful together, straining towards ecstasy, golden limbs twined together and faces flushed with desire.
Duo had to clench his hands into tight fists to avoid touching himself. It was bad enough to be watching these two, to be taking such delight in the sight of their lovemaking; but it would be infinitely worse if Duo were to dare pleasure himself. He imagined that Father Maxwell was battering at the gates of the Underworld right now, desperate to get Duo's attention and turn him back to the path of righteousness.
The two men groaned in unison and then their bodies stilled.
Duo watched as they slowly separated and then returned to the water to clean themselves again.
By the time they had dressed and started a fire, night had settled in, and Duo dared to move even closer, hoping to catch some whisper of conversation from the two.
"I'd forgotten how warm the Western Wood stayed," the other man said as they ate a sparse meal of bread and jerky. Duo's stomach rumbled at the memory of just how tasty that jerky had been. He wondered if there was some Sentinel secret to making it taste so good?
"Give it a few more months and there will be some frost on the ground, but it never gets anywhere near as cold as Thera."
"And Mysia is warmer still."
Trowa looked amused. "Thinking of changing allegiances over the weather?"
The other man snorted. "Never. I'd look ridiculous in their red armor."
"Solo will be thrilled to know that the only thing keeping you on his side is your fashion sense."
"That and my hatred for those butchers," the other man muttered and then shook his head. "I hope this scheme of yours works."
"I just hope we can find the bastard," Trowa said with a frown. "There's no telling where this rebel band is camped."
"But you think they're in the God of Death's temple?"
Duo inhaled sharply. These two were headed directly for the rebel camp, and from the sound of things it wasn't so they could say a friendly hello.
As quietly as he could, Duo backed away from their camp and made his way back to Scythe. By his reckoning they were still a day's ride from Howard's camp, and if he rode through the night he could beat them there by a few hours – not much time, but enough to warn the others.
Duo would have liked to think that a camp of fifty-odd rebels could fend for themselves against two men, but he had seen Trowa in action, and the other man looked just as tough. Not to mention the fact that half of their rebel band were children, and more than a third of their number were too sick or malnourished to put up much of a fight.
Cursing, Duo found his mount and they set off in the darkness. He led them through the trees and fallen leaves as quietly as possible until they were several miles downstream of the Sentinel camp, and then he abandoned all attempts at stealth and urged Scythe to gallop as fast as she could.
It was only a few hours after dawn when Duo and Scythe reached the edge of the temple fields.
All temples had been self-sufficient, and a decade before these fields had been ripe with grains, potatoes, lettuce, and lentils.
After the Mysian armies had burned down the temple, however, they had taken great pains to salt the earth, ensuring that no crops would grow in the rich soil again.
Duo allowed Scythe to slow her pace and eased off her back as they walked up the large hill that was a vantage point over the entire temple compound.
As a boy, Duo had climbed the hill and read about the mysteries of his god while looking down over the distant figures of the priests and the children. It was the same hill that Duo had led the youngest children to and hidden them while the Mysians killed the priests, acolytes, and the children Duo hadn't been able to save five years ago.
He paused now, just before he reached the crest, and looked over his shoulder, half afraid to see the two Sentinels thundering out of the forest on his heels. But the path was clear.
He looked ahead and saw a nightmare stretched before him.
The temple had been made of blue stone, and even though the wooden rafters had gone up in the original fire, the rebels had managed to repair some of the damage and turn the temple itself into a makeshift hospital, covering the roof with a patchwork of cloaks and tents that barely managed to keep out the rain and wind.
A shanty town of lean-tos and tents radiated out from the temple in colorful disarray.
At least, that was the sight that Duo should have been greeted with.
But below him there were only smoldering ruins and dark clouds of smoke rising from the charred remains of the tents and the temple was again only a blackened shell.
"No," he whispered and then screamed. "No!"
He ran down the hill, abandoning Scythe. In his haste he twisted his ankle and tripped. He ignored the shooting pain and rose to his feet and ran on.
"Howard!" He screamed. "Howard!"
The only answer was silence.
Duo burst into the temple, and what he saw forced him down to his knees.
The black, pitted marble floor was red and pink from the blood of dozens of bodies piled high just before the broken eagle statue at the south end of the temple.
The eagle was the symbol of the gods, and seeing the majestic bird was a sign that the gods were watching over you.
Duo had never seen a live eagle, and the one winged monstrosity that loomed over the corpses was a terrible mockery now of his faith.
The last time the Mysians had tried to destroy the temple they had at least had the decency, albeit indirect, of burning the bodies of their victims. Now, however, they had left them in a bloody, rotting pile.
From the smell it seemed as though the massacre had occurred only a few days ago, and Duo felt a wave of guilt. He should have been here. He should never have gone after that Theran merchant. Howard had wanted him to stay, but Duo had been blinded by his own rage. And now…
Duo refused to allow himself to wallow.
The rituals stipulated that a body had to be cremated within two sunrises of death or the soul of the deceased would never be embraced by the God of Death.
Duo had no idea if he still had time to cremate them, but he would be damned if he didn't give them at least the honor of the cleansing rituals and a proper burial.
He climbed to his feet and approached the pile. He saw a flash of dirty orange hair and nearly choked. Reverently he pulled the body of a three year old girl from among the others and smoothed back her fiery hair. Amara's parents had been killed by the Mysians who drove them from their land, and the poor child had known little but sorrow in her short life.
Duo pulled off his hood and used it to wrap her frail, tiny body before carrying her outside and around the temple to the ancient and sacred fire pits.
As he placed her body amidst the long disused coals he whispered the words that would guide her soul to the God of Death, back to her parents, and to the golden afterlife she surely deserved.
It took him a while to find anything to light a fire with, but he finally managed and he stood by and watched over her as her small body became the dust and ashes of the departed.
By dusk he had only managed to cremate half the bodies, and he was exhausted from carrying them. The pain in his right leg was nearly crippling at this point, but he forced himself to ignore it. It was the absolute least he could do, he reminded himself.
These people had given him shelter when he had fled the Mysian armies, and he had led them here, confident that they would be safe from the reach of those evil men. And because of his confidence, because of him, they were dead.
As night started to fall, Duo used memory and the dim glow of the firepits to guide him in his work. He was in the middle of speaking the ritual over the body of Helen, the woman who had convinced Howard that he wouldn't harm them, when he heard the rustle of movement behind him.
He finished the prayer and drew his dagger before turning. If it was the Mysians returned to look for survivors, Duo was determined to bring a few of them to hell with him.
But it wasn't. It was the two Sentinels. Duo had completely forgotten about them.
"What happened here?" The shorter of them asked.
Duo glared at him and then flicked his gaze over Trowa. The Sentinel's expression was hard to read in the dim light, but it was clear from their body language that neither intended to attack him.
Duo replaced his dagger and brushed past them to return to the temple and bring out the next body.
It was one of the few healthy, adult men in the camp, and Duo struggled with his weight as he carried him down the steps.
The Sentinels had followed him, and Trowa stepped forward as Duo nearly fell over.
"Don't touch them," Duo hissed in warning. Both Sentinels stepped back at his tone. "You aren't clean."
Not that Duo was. He hadn't been to a confession since Father Maxwell's death, but he was fairly confident that he was only one present that knew the burial rites, and he wasn't about to let either of the Sentinels ruin whatever slim chance the rebels had of reaching the afterlife.
The two men stayed clear of Duo as he carried the last of the bodies out.
Fate had clearly cursed him. Howard's body was the last, and the man's body was simply too heavy for Duo to carry. He had completely exhausted his strength, and all he could do was cradle the old man to his chest and curse the Mysians. He felt tears sting at his eyes and he furiously swiped them away. He was completely helpless, pathetically weak, and he was unable to do one good thing for the man who had given him a home and a purpose.
"I'll carry him."
It was the other Sentinel again. He was standing over Duo and looking down at him in the dim moonlight, his face shadowed and his blue eyes dark.
Duo wanted to fight, wanted to insist that the other man go to hell and leave him be, but he knew he would never be able to bring Howard to the firepit on his own.
He cleared his throat, fighting back the lump of despair that choked him. There wasn't enough spare fabric to wrap all of Howard's body, so Duo wrapped only his face before he nodded at the other man and allowed him to lift the body away from his lap.
Duo managed to rise to his feet and limped after them. He watched as the man lowered Howard's body into the firepit as carefully as though he was still alive before he backed away.
Duo hobbled over and said the rites one last time.
He stared into the flames and smoke until Howard's body was nothing but a distant memory.
Finally, he turned around to face the two Sentinels.
"If you were looking for the rebels, the Mysians beat you to it," Duo told them.
Both men wore identical frowns.
Duo pushed past them and saw that they had found Scythe and staked her to the grass near their own horses. He walked over and freed her.
"Where are you going?" Trowa asked as Duo clumsily mounted the animal.
"Doesn't really matter now," Duo muttered and started to turn Scythe.
Trowa grabbed her brindle and kept her in place. Duo glared at him.
"Let me go. I'm in no mood to fight you again."
Trowa snorted. "In your state I don't think you'd give a toddler much of a fight, let alone me. What happened?" The question was asked in a softer tone, but it was no less commanding.
Duo hated commands, but the comeback he was prepared to deliver evaporated when the other Sentinel spoke up.
"I thought the deeds of the dead were to be spoken of with honor," he reminded Duo.
Of course he was right, and of course there was no reason not to tell these two, but Duo didn't trust them, and he wanted to horde the grief of the deaths to himself.
He drew in a deep breath.
"I left the camp over a fortnight ago. I only returned this morning and I found them in the temple. The Mysians must have attacked while I was gone."
"Where did you go?" Trowa asked.
"None of your damn business," Duo snapped.
Trowa's eyes narrowed.
"You're the one who's been following us."
Duo was shocked that the Sentinel had known they were being followed, but he only shrugged one shoulder.
"Have you been following us since Antioch?" The other man asked.
"I went to purchase some medical supplies," Duo growled. "And a fat lot of good they did us."
"Just before we left Antioch I heard that Travy Huston had been found dead."
"Who?" Duo sneered.
"I think you know exactly who I'm talking about. He was murdered with his own dagger. A golden blade that I'm sure you remember."
"I guess there is some justice in this world after all, then," Duo said.
He jerked Scythe free from Trowa's grasp. "Now if you gentlemen will excuse me."
"We came for you," Trowa called out to him as Duo started back towards the hill. "And so did the Mysians."
That made Duo bring Scythe to a halt. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Of course. It had only been a matter of time.
The Mysian patrol that had invaded Trowa's camp had asked about him by name, hadn't they? He was an idiot to think that they would let the death of their Inquisitor go unpunished.
Once again, Duo was the reason why innocent people had lost their lives on a Mysian blade.
He bowed his head and silently pleaded with the God of Death to simply take his life now. Duo would gladly spend eternity in the fires of hell if it only meant that no one else had to die for him again.
The two Sentinels had mounted their horses and were now flanking Duo on either side.
"What do you want?" Duo asked, ashamed that his voice cracked on the question.
"We were sent to find you and bring you to Thera."
"I'm not going to stand trial for the death of a man who was less than scum," Duo sneered.
"Actually," Trowa said, "Prince Solo wanted to provide your rebel group with weapons and supplies."
Duo laughed bitterly. "'Fraid he's a bit late to the dance. Tell him thanks, but no thanks."
"So you don't want revenge for this massacre?" Trowa asked him.
Duo narrowed his eyes at the man.
"Oh, I'll have my revenge. But I'll be damned if I go begging for help from the Therans. If they gave a damn about anything more than protecting their precious fat asses the Mysians would never have grown this strong."
Duo spurred Sycthe on, leaving the others behind.
Irritatingly, but far from surprising, they quickly caught up to him.
"By the gods you two must be deaf!" Duo shouted at them. "I'm not going anywhere with you, and your Theran prince can shove –"
"Insult Solo again and I'll kill you," the other Sentinel warned Duo, his voice deadly quiet.
Duo looked back at Trowa.
"What happened to Ralph?" Duo recalled Trowa's lieutenant to be every bit as quick tempered as this other Sentinel was, and he had even looked vaguely similar.
"This is Heero Yuy," Trowa informed him. "Captain of the Royal Theran Guard."
Duo's eyes widened involuntarily and he looked back at the other man.
"Out of uniform, aren't you?"
"I'll be back in it just as soon as I bring you back to Antioch."
Duo sighed.
"There are no rebels to arm! There's just me! Your little mission is pointless now. Go home."
"Solo –"
"Your prince can come get me himself if he wants me so badly!" Duo shouted Heero down. "Or is he scared to step foot outside the palace gates? You Therans are all the same. Shit eating cowards who –"
"Gag him," Trowa interrupted Duo's tirade.
Before he could resist, Duo found himself gagged and his hands tied to the pommel of Scythe's saddle.
He glared at the two men, not caring that it was dark and they could barely see him.
"I'd like to put some distance between us and the border before we make camp," Trowa said to Heero, completely ignoring Duo's muffled shouts and curses.
" We could head back to the river and cross it. Try to get rid of our tracks."
"Good plan."
Trowa turned to Duo.
"I'm sorry for what happened to your people. By the time we reach Thera you will be able to put things into perspective, and I think you'll realize that your best chance of fighting the Mysians is by accepting Theran aid." Trowa smirked when Duo shouted at him through the gag. "Maybe a few days with that on will teach you some manners as well."
And with that, they set off, Trowa keeping a loose grip on Scythe's reigns as he led them and Heero trailing just behind.
The ride gave Duo the chance to rest his ankle, and even though the fast pace Trowa set jarred his bones and muscles, Duo managed to drift off for a few hours, and when he woke it was the middle of the night and they had stopped to make camp.
He waited for Trowa to drag him down from Scythe and glared at the Sentinel when he was shoved down on the ground beside the fire and ordered to stay.
He watched as the two efficiently settled the horses and fed them before coming back to the fire and laying out bedrolls and pulling out food and canteens of water.
Heero loosened Duo's gag so that it fell down to his chin and offered him food and water.
"No," Duo said.
Heero scowled.
"It isn't poisoned," Trowa wearily told him.
"I don't want it," Duo patiently informed him.
They both shook their heads but ate their own food and largely ignored him.
Duo was disconcerted by the lack of conversation between them, but the two men seemed completely at ease with their silence.
"You wouldn't get very far on that ankle," Trowa told Duo as they packed away their food and prepared to sleep, "and we'll hear it if you try to take one of the horses. Smartest thing for you to do is just accept this and get some sleep."
Duo glared at him until Trowa shrugged and lay down on his bed roll. Heero looked at him across the fire, his dark gaze searching, before he too lay down.
It was another two hours before Duo was confident that they were asleep, and then he wriggled out of the rope securing his wrists. As quietly as he could he left the camp and approached the river only a few hundred feet away.
He removed his clothing and once naked knelt by the river and prayed.
The last time he had bothered to pray had been during the Inquisition, the night before they had come for him in his dank cell, and his prayers had done little for him then.
Now, however, he asked the God of Death for forgiveness, and pleaded with him to accept the tardy souls Duo had sent to him. He spent an hour on his knees, trying to remember every prayer and ritual Father Maxwell had ever taught him about sending souls to the afterlife.
Eventually he rose and waded into the river and washed his body clean of the sweat, dirt, and soot that coated his body so thoroughly he could actually taste death on his lips.
He scrubbed his skin with sand from the river bottom and then tried to comb through his hair with fingers going numb from the cold water.
Once clean, he scrambled out of the river and squeezed as much water from his hair as he could before he rebraided it and then dressed.
As he approached the camp again he looked at the two sleeping men. He might still be weak, but he knew his own abilities well enough to know that he could slip away unnoticed by either of them.
But Trowa had been right – on his ankle he wouldn't get far, and he took the Sentinel at his word that he wouldn't be able to saddle Scythe and make his escape before either of them woke.
He would wait until they were closer to civilization before he tried to escape, Duo decided, and he lay down on his own bedroll and tried to sleep.
Predictably, his dreams were haunted by the faces of the dead.
When Duo woke several hours later both Heero and Trowa were working to break camp, but he noticed that neither had bothered to retie his wrists.
"Hungry?" Trowa asked him when he noticed Duo stirring.
Duo nodded and deftly caught the food and canteen that Trowa tossed his way.
Duo started to eat and noticed Heero had stopped packing and was staring at him, his mouth slightly agape.
"What?" Duo demanded.
"You could have told us you wanted to wash," Heero reprimanded him, shaking his head and moving back to his tasks.
Duo sneered.
"And do I need to ask your permission to take a piss, too?"
Trowa smirked at the scowl on Heero's face.
"Are we absolutely certain he's worth the trouble?" Heero muttered.
"The Mysians certainly think he is," Trowa reminded the Theran.
Duo polished off the jerky and heel of bread they had given him, took a sip from the canteen, and then passed it back to Trowa.
He turned and walked away into the woods.
"Where the hell are you going?" Heero called after him.
"I'm taking that piss I was talking about!" Duo shouted over his shoulder.
He heard them both muttering behind him, and he took minimal satisfaction in knowing that he was making their lives miserable. They were kidnapping him, after all.
Trowa set a hard pace, and Duo was amazed at how much ground they had covered by noon. At this rate, he figured they would be near Kos the next day. Antioch was only another day's ride from there, so Duo needed to make good on his escape between Kos and Antioch. There were plenty of free worker settlements on the edge of the forests between the two lands, and Duo was confident he could lose himself among the locals.
The next morning, however, a band of heavily armed Sentinels met them on the road.
Duo recognized Ralph and a few other men who had been guarding the caravan, and he wasn't surprised to see that they recognized him as well.
"It's late in the season to be leaving Kos," Trowa greeted Ralph.
"Sylvia wants us to go to Thera before the passes get snowed in," Ralph explained, his gaze cautious as he looked over Duo. He nodded a greeting at Heero.
"Ride with us, then, you can keep my new friend company." Trowa jerked his head back in Duo's direction.
"How the hell did you find him again?" Ralph asked.
"He found me again, actually," Trowa admitted.
"Why?"
"I'm right here," Duo grumpily informed them. Two days of no conversation from either Heero or Trowa had driven him nearly mad. Now the first chance for human interaction he had and it was directed at anyone but him.
Ralph smirked.
"Why?" He repeated the question, this time directing it at Duo.
"I missed his witty repartee," Duo sneered.
Ralph chuckled and turned back to his leader.
"Some of the other contingents reported heavy Mysian activity on our borders, and Sylvia thinks they're testing our defenses in preparation for a spring assault."
Trowa nodded.
"Not surprising. She wants Theran support?"
"Yes."
"Funny. Solo wanted me to ask her for support," Trowa mused.
"The South Pass settlers are being harassed," Heero explained when Ralph shot him a curious look.
"They aren't the only ones. The Nilsi outpost is gone."
"Gone?" Trowa echoed, and even from a few feet away Duo could see his face go pale.
"All of the settlers were killed or taken as slaves, the fields were salted."
Trowa swore loudly.
Duo was stunned that they were talking this freely in front of him, but then again, he wasn't likely to run to the Mysians and give them information, was he?
Not that he had a chance to even think of escaping.
With the six additional Sentinels joining their party, that night Trowa set up an actual camp with a perimeter and sentries, and Duo knew he had no hope of sneaking out.
"We'll reach Antioch by nightfall tomorrow," Trowa told him as he, Heero, and Duo settled down onto their bedrolls. "I hope you realize that our interests are one and that we should work together to fight the Mysians."
Duo sneered. "What the hell do you think I've been doing my whole damn life? He's the one," Duo jerked his head in Heero's direction, "that's been sitting in his damn castle with his damned kind and his precious prince, afraid to fight them!"
"Solo can't fight them!" Heero hissed, his temper snapping once again. "If Solo dies then there is NO heir to the Theran throne and the Mysians will invade! Do you have any idea how hard it is for him to sit back and read reports of his people dying and be helpless? He's been trained as a warrior since his birth!"
"Then why doesn't he do something! Surely he's a good enough warrior not to be afraid of death!"
Heero shook his head. "It doesn't work that way! You need two princes to rule a kingdom, one to lead the armies, and one to govern the state. Solo has to do both!"
Duo sneered. "That same shit excuse again? The crown prince has been gone for fifteen years! You'd think Gregory and Solo would be smart enough to figure something out by now! I think it's because they're cowards. They didn't even search for the prince for very long, did they?"
Duo laughed at the outrage on Heero's face. "The Mysians tried harder to find him. Maybe you Therans should take a few pointers from the Mysians and get your heads out of your asses. Keep telling yourself that Solo wants to fight. But I know –and every other free worker knows – that all he cares about is sitting back and combing out his golden hair and fucking his whores."
Heero was on him before Duo could react, and the soldier managed to land two solid punches, one to Duo's left eye, and the other to his gut, before Trowa pulled him off.
"I warned you, don't insult my prince again," Heero threatened, his breathing heavy as Trowa forced him back across the fire.
Duo rubbed at his eye and his fingers came away smeared with blood. The Theran certainly knew how to throw a punch.
Heero stalked off and relieved one of the sentries.
Trowa glared at Duo as he sat back down on his own bedroll.
"The next time you want someone to punish you for letting all of those people die, just say so. There's no need to insult a good man, or provoke Heero. He will kill you if you keep insulting Solo."
"That'd be the first decent thing to happen to me in a long time," Duo muttered and rolled over. He stared into the flames.
It bothered him that Trowa could read him so easily.
"You speak about the Therans being cowards, but the only coward I know is you," Trowa continued. "Innocent people died just because they knew your name, and all you want to do is give up."
"I'm not giving up! You're the one taking me to the opposite end of the forest! Let me go and I'll go back and track down those Mysian bastards!"
"And what? Kill one if you're lucky? You can't do anything on your own, and certainly not in your condition."
"Go to hell," Duo muttered. He met Trowa's green gaze. "Stop trying to manipulate me. You want to give me supplies to fight the Mysians? Fine. Tomorrow when we get to Antioch give me a few hundred gold pieces and some weapons and I'll get some free workers together and I'll lead them to their own slaughter. That should make the Therans feel good about themselves, shouldn't it?"
"I'm confused about who you hate more, the Therans or the Mysians."
"All the same, aren't they?" Duo spat.
Duo woke up to freezing wind the next morning. The fire had gone out in the middle of the night, and the blanket he had packed in Scythe's saddlebag was barely more than a rag.
He noticed that he was the last to wake in the camp, and he hurriedly packed up his bedroll and prepared Scythe for this last leg of the journey.
It took Duo most of the morning to come up with a plan, but by the early afternoon he felt confident that he could convince Trowa to do this his way.
"So, listen," he said, easing Scythe to ride alongside the Sentinel. "The Therans want me to fight the Mysians. Fine. When we get to Antioch I'll round up some kids spoiling for a fight and maybe your Captain over there will train them into shape, and then we'll be on our way."
Trowa shook his head.
"Not my decision. Or Heero's either," he added when Duo looked over at the soldier.
"Then who?"
"Solo wanted to meet you, so we're bringing you to Solo."
Duo paled.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll enjoy hearing you call him a coward and he might even give you some tips on your hair," Trowa smirked.
"Go to hell," Duo told him, but eased Scythe away.
That had been his last chance to avoid the royal palace, but now he was forced to resign himself to fate. For, once again, she had decided to make his life as painful as possible.
The Royal quarter was in the center of Antioch, split by the ancient river that had first led the Therans to settle this land, and the palace rose high above the neighboring buildings on the right bank of the river.
Duo refused to be impressed by its massive size or elegant architecture. He remained silent as their party were led through the tall, richly decorated corridors and into the cavernous reception hall.
Duo looked down the vast length and could see the King sitting upon the center throne, and a man with long golden hair sitting on the lower left throne. The lower right throne was empty.
Duo swallowed hard and rubbed at his left eye, wincing as he touched the tender flesh. He was no doubt sporting a massive black eye, and the cut below his eye had barely healed.
Both Trowa and Heero gave him warning looks, which only made Duo want to start shouting insults at the king and prince even more.
They approached the throne dais and Heero knelt before it. Trowa remained standing, while the Sentinels bowed their heads and removed their hoods.
Duo frowned at Trowa. Surely he had to show the Theran king at least the same respect as his other Sentinels?
"Kneel," Trowa hissed at him.
"The hell I will. He isn't my king. Why don't you–"
"Duo?"
It was the King's voice, and though Duo's memories of it were distant and blurred, it was the same rich baritone he remembered.
He looked away from Trowa, ignoring the look of confusion on the Sentinel's face, and looked up at the King.
Gregory had risen from his throne and was descending the steps. He stopped on the step just above Duo, close enough that Duo could make out the individual stitches in the gold brocade cloak he wore.
"Duo."
He swallowed hard and looked up to meet the blue eyes of the King.
As soon as he did the King embraced him, crushing Duo's battered body against his own, much larger and very warm body.
"My son."
Up Next: Trowa thinks a few explanations are in order…
-0-
Some facts about this fantasy world:
There isn't actually any magic. It's really just kind of a medieval-ish place, with a small pantheon of gods. The gods will be explained more as we go, but they don't really interfere with life – it's a lot like our own contemporary religions.
Thera and Mysia are ancient Greek cities/islands/states and I'm definitely stealing a bit from Greek mythology as I craft this.
As for technology: again, very medieval, except that I gave them running water – because, let's be honest – running water is AWESOME and truly necessary to even think about the Gundam boys being super hot and having lots of sex.