Warnings: Angst, violence, language, adventure, lemons, AU, fantasy, angst again.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who is sticking with this! I appreciate your patience with me for not updating this as frequently as some of my other work.
Lost Dreams
Chapter Thirteen
One of the most important lessons Heero could remember his father teaching him had to do with pride.
As a young child, Heero had been allowed – even encouraged – to play with the princes held hostage in Gregory's court, and when the future rulers began to learn swordsmanship he had tagged along as well. He had found the entire thing a bit of a joke – his father had had Heero in training nearly as soon as he could walk while most of the royal children were picking up a blade for the first time. Of course, both Trowa and Solo had excelled at swordplay, and the first time that Trowa defeated him, Heero had felt like never going near a blade again. He was supposed to better than all of these – his father was the Captain of the Royal Guard. It was impossible to think that a mere prince from Ios, a land noted for its archers and not its swordsmen, had defeated him. He had sulked for days, skipping the lessons and avoiding the royals, Trowa especially. After nearly a week of this behavior, his father had found him in the orchard.
Heero had noticed that the young crown prince, barely four years old, had taken to wandering away from his minders and liked to make his way to the orchard. Heero had seen Solo walk around with the young prince on his shoulders, helping him pick apples from the lowest branches, but it was quite an impossible task for the toddler to accomplish on his own.
On this day, Heero had climbed into one of the trees and sat watching the prince as he tried again and again to climb up one of the trees and reach for an apple.
The prince had just managed to cling to the tree and start scooting up it when Heero realized that he should probably stop him – after all, this was the child that Heero would spend the rest of his life protecting, it wouldn't do for him to let him fall from a tree and break his neck – but he was stopped by a firm hand on his ankle.
He looked down to see his father standing under the tree, eyes riveted on the prince struggling with the tree.
Heero turned his attention back to the prince as well, just in time to watch him tumble from the tree and land hard on the ground. He winced.
Instead of crying and giving up – and this was, by Heero's count, the eighth time the prince had failed in his mission – the boy leapt at the tree trunk and made yet another effort to reach the branches.
"Why does he keep trying to get the apples?" Heero's father asked, in a tone that suggested he already knew the answer.
Heero frowned, sensing this was a test.
"He can't be hungry," Heero reasoned, knowing that the prince could have just wandered into the kitchens and would be immediately spoiled with any kind of food he wanted.
"No," Odin agreed.
"He isn't gluttonous either," Heero added, remembering a few weeks ago when he had spied the prince hiding sweets in his shirt and later giving them to one of the serving women.
The prince fell out of the tree again, and this time gave a growl of frustration and spent a long few minutes glaring at the tree before he circled it several times and started to climb a different side. This time he quickly managed to find his way into the branches and in no time at all had picked several of the choicest apples, wrapped them in his shirt, and swung back down to the ground with a whoop of triumphant laughter. The grin that split his face was infectious, and even Heero in his dark mood found himself smiling slightly at the prince's victory.
"Solo! Solo I did it! I got the apples myself!" The boy started to yell and went running off, presumably to find his elder brother.
At a gesture from Odin, two guards materialized from the trees and started to follow him at a distance.
"He knew he could do it," Heero finally concluded, "and he wanted to prove it to Solo."
Odin nodded.
"Yes. It didn't matter how many times he failed – Duo knew he could do this on his own."
Heero frowned. His father didn't often engage in discussions without an obvious point, so surely there was a lesson Odin wanted him to learn from this.
"You are my son," Odin said after a moment. "I have trained you in the ways of the sword for far longer than any of these princes, and yet you were defeated by the future king of Ios."
Heero hung his head in shame.
"I know," he breathed. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" Odin asked.
"For losing."
Odin snorted.
"You shouldn't be sorry for losing to a superior opponent. You should be sorry for this – for abandoning your duties and your lessons so that you could sulk."
"He isn't superior! He's an archer!"
Odin laughed.
"And you let that cloud your judgment, didn't you? You assumed that because he prefers to take down his enemies at range with a bow that he would be incapable of using a sword." Odin shook his head and gestured to the now abandoned apple tree. "Duo is like Trowa. Duo has only ever had Solo's help reaching those apples, he's never climbed a tree before, but he knew he could do it. He knew that if he found the right angle, if he just kept trying – he would be able to climb the tree and get the apples for himself. I've been watching these fighting lessons. I've seen Trowa lose seven fights, lose them badly, until a few days ago when he beat you – his first victory. He defeated you, the best swordsmen of the bunch. A mere archer. Do you know how he did it?"
"He didn't underestimate me," Heero said grouchily.
"True. But it's more than that. He estimated you. Whenever Trowa wasn't fighting, and even sometimes when he was, he watched you and he started to fight like you do. He learned from you and he learned your weaknesses and your strengths."
Heero frowned. He did the same, he watched the guards during their drills and he spied on his father whenever he sparred or accepted challenges from his men. Heero watched them because they were all better than he was, and he wanted to improve. But the princes just learning how to use a sword weren't better – they weren't worth watching and learning from.
He sighed, remembering how Duo had fallen from the tree that last time and walked around it, searching for the right place to climb.
"I should always know my opponents, so I can know their weaknesses," Heero concluded.
"Yes," Odin agreed, "and you should get over your ridiculous pride," he added tersely just before he gave Heero's leg a sharp jerk, sending him falling out of the tree only to land on the ground a few seconds later.
Heero winced at the pain that lanced through his side but forced himself to stand up and meet his father's gaze.
"Yes sir," he said.
Odin held his gaze for a long moment before nodding and walking away.
Two weeks later, Duo was kidnapped and Odin murdered as he defended the prince with his favorite sword – a gift from Heero's long dead mother.
Odin had always refused to use the golden hilted sword of Thera, the legendary sword that was worn by all the Captains of the Guards and used to defend the lives of the crown princes. Odin had always claimed that if he needed some charmed sword to do his job then he clearly wasn't good enough at it.
At Odin's sparsely attended funeral James, the new Captain of the Royal Guards, had muttered something about Odin's 'damned fool pride.'
Heero thought he had learned his lesson about pride then, but apparently he had been wrong, and it had taken another fifteen years for him to really understand.
Duo could make as many attempts to climb an apple tree on his own as he wanted, but Heero had never had that luxury. He lost a fight to Trowa once as a child and had never lost another.
Heero had worked hard to cultivate his senses and constantly examined his surroundings and the people around him, assessing their strengths and weaknesses and how he could gain the upper hand if things came to blows.
Yet, just like his father, Heero had forgotten to assess his own weaknesses. Odin thought he hadn't needed a legendary sword to do his job. Heero had thought he could have the love of a king and a prince. He had forgotten that he was the son of a man who had failed, and he had forgotten that he was a failure.
When they arrived back in Antioch their entire party was somber. The South Pass refugees were given temporary lodgings in Antioch for the winter, the surviving soldiers awarded medals for their bravery, Carl promoted and given the role of military advisor at Solo's bidding, and Trowa's name was mentioned by no one.
Heero was certain that Solo and Gregory discussed the absence of the Sentinel, as well as Heero's own shortcomings during the South Pass Campaign, as Gregory had taken to calling it, but neither Gregory nor Solo spoke to him of it.
Neither did Alex or Trant. The two Lieutenants still reported to Heero for orders, still accepted the schedule he worked out for guard duty for the young prince, but the look in their eyes told Heero all he needed to know: he had failed them as well.
And Duo…
Before South Pass, Duo had seemed to be a mere specter of the man Heero had first met while he buried the remains of the rebels and then spent days plotting escape. South Pass had given Duo a cause and a job. Now, back at the palace in Antioch with tighter security and fewer friends, Duo became a ghost of his former ghost. Heero looked at him sometimes and thought that he wasn't even there, his face was so blank and his eyes so empty.
Solo had begun to prepare for the spring campaign season and Heero, having assigned himself the task of protecting Solo now, was there when Duo attempted to sit in on the meetings and was turned away by his elder brother.
To Heero's knowledge, it was the first time that the two had spoken since their return to Antioch, and it was clear that Duo was making an effort to move past his feelings towards his brother.
The advisors Solo had selected – Quatre, Carl, Ralph, and several generals from the military – had already assembled in the room when Duo entered.
All discussion ceased, and Solo looked up at his brother.
"Lost?" Solo asked.
"No," Duo moved to take a seat at the table.
"This is no place for you, little brother," Solo said. "You've had your fill of adventures, I'd think."
Duo started to speak, but Solo held up a hand.
"Your education is lacking in fifteen years of study, you should be more concerned with that than these military actions. You've no place here."
There was a long, tense silence as the two brothers glared at each other. Finally, Duo looked away, and his violet eyes landed on Heero, who had to turn away immediately or risk making a complete fool of himself.
Duo's shoulders stiffened and he gave a brief, jerky nod.
"Sure," he agreed and left the room.
After he left, Solo gave a forced laugh.
"Damned annoying – little brothers. I'd forgotten what they're like."
A few of the generals joined in the laughter, but Heero saw both Carl and Ralph frowning slightly, as though the encounter had unsettled them. Quatre, meanwhile, had a very carefully neutral expression on his face. Heero wondered just how things were between he and Solo, after Quatre had disagreed with him and fought to keep Heero in Antioch.
Duo's habit of slipping out at night without his guard's knowledge seemed to have only grown worse with their return to Antioch, and Heero stayed up each night to follow him and ensure that he didn't do anything too foolhardy.
After three weeks of watching Duo covertly by day, seeing him slip farther and farther away from everyone around him, Heero finally decided to approach him one night during his nocturnal wanderings.
Duo often spent several hours a night in the library, and since Heero couldn't follow him inside without giving himself away, he had taken to standing silent guard over the prince during those hours.
Now, however, Heero followed him to the library and entered it only a few moments after Duo.
As soon as he stepped inside he found himself at the sharp end of Duo's sword.
"It's you," Duo said, and Heero couldn't tell if the other man was disappointed or not.
"Yes," Heero agreed and stepped to the side of the blade.
"You've been following me for weeks now."
It wasn't a question, but Heero found himself nodding in agreement anyway.
"I thought it was Alex or Trant at first… but those two…"
"If you keep sneaking away you'll get yourself killed. Mysia will send another assassin just as soon as they have word of what happened at South Pass." Which suddenly struck Heero as odd. It had been three weeks since their return – the Mysian army should have reported the incident by now, and while the winter snow made travel and communication difficult, Heero was confident that Mysia could have engineered some kind of retribution at least a week ago. So why hadn't they?
"They won't send an assassin for me – they'll send one for Solo. He's the one who led the army, the one on the battlements they saw." Duo pointed out.
Heero thought that everyone else was vastly underestimating Duo. He should be involved in the campaign meetings, at the very least because of his sharp mind. He sighed. It wasn't likely he could bring it up with Solo anytime soon.
"I'll go back to my room now," Duo said after a moment.
"Wait."
Duo put away his sword and stared at Heero, waiting just as he had requested. Only Heero didn't know quite what to say to him now.
Duo shook his head and gave Heero a small, bitter smile.
"Don't," he said. "Don't pretend – not you too."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about."
"I ruined everything, I failed, and I know it. You know it. I was stupid and selfish and – hell, I should have just tried to get past the two of you and do it myself but I wanted –"
"Are you insane?" Heero interrupted him. "What would you have accomplished by getting yourself killed?"
"I'm not incompetent and there were only seven guards. I wouldn't have been able to rush them like we did, but I could have lured them into smaller groups and taken them out. I've done it before. If the two of you hadn't been there, Solo would have no one to blame but me. Instead, I ruined your life. I took away the one person you love and I've destroyed your career. So I guess maybe I am incompetent," he finished bitterly.
"You ruined nothing. You took nothing from me, Duo." Heero shook his head and wondered, for a few seconds, if maybe he should blame Duo – but even that short amount of time was enough for him to decide that the idea was completely ridiculous. "Saved hundreds of lives, you did the right thing."
"But you and Trowa –"
"Made our own decision. We decided to love you, and that isn't something you can take from either of us."
Duo's eyes widened, and Heero realized what he had said. He also realized that it was true – he did love Duo. How could he not? Everything about Duo – his actions, his beliefs, his scars – spoke of a man of honor and passion and Heero certainly felt more than mere physical attraction for him.
"I didn't know," Duo said after a moment, and his voice was hoarse with emotion. "I thought it was just me. I didn't –"
"You shouldn't," Heero interrupted him again, unable to hear any sort of declaration or another apology. "You shouldn't love me – or even Trowa. We can never be together, Duo. I can never touch you or kiss you. I only get to hold you in my dreams – and that isn't enough for you. Move on. Forget us."
Duo shook his head and took a step towards Heero, who found himself backing up. He knew, instinctively, that touching Duo now would only result in more pain for both of them. While he anticipated a certain level of soul crushing pain for the rest of his life for himself, he didn't want that for Duo.
"Move on?" Duo echoed. "I've spent my entire life moving on. I've buried almost everyone I've ever known and you and Trowa are the only ones I've ever loved. Move on?"
"Would it be easier if I left?" Heero asked, knowing that if Duo said yes he could go immediately. He wasn't quite sure how he would function without both Trowa and Duo – perhaps he could infiltrate the Mysian army and destroy them from within. It would be a suicide mission, but it would avenge both of the men he loved and it would, at the very least, give him something worth dying for.
"No." Duo ran a hand through his hair. "Why do I fuck up everything I touch?" He groaned.
"You didn't –"
"I did!" Duo shouted. "You and Trowa were perfect! And now – what the hell have I done? I –"
"We weren't perfect," Heero growled. "We weren't," he repeated when Duo started to speak again. "We survived together. We loved each other and we were able to get through most days simply because we knew someone else existed who understood our pain. We weren't perfect. We never had a future, Duo. One way or another, Trowa and I knew that our lives together were a dream that would end. You… you were this damned unattainable, blinding hope. Neither of us could resist you, could resist the temptation of your fire. You haven't just survived, Duo, you've triumphed. Every challenge that meets you, you succeed. This… this is just like the apple tree, Duo."
The prince frowned, not making the connection.
"The first time you picked apples for yourself, from the orchard, I spent an hour watching you fall on your ass before you finally figured out the right way to climb the tree."
Duo's brow knit with concentration.
"Yeah – it was autumn and Solo was in those damned lessons they wouldn't let me go to. I ran away from the nurses and from Relena and I went to the orchard. It took me forever to figure out how to climb the tree."
"But you did."
Duo frowned.
"I don't really get what you're telling me here."
"Life is just one big apple tree, Duo. You've only started to climb it – you're nineteen, Duo, you have your entire life ahead of you. Trowa and I… we were just the closest apples, on the lowest branches. But the best ones – the ones that get the most sun, those are higher up."
"Bullshit," Duo snapped. "That's complete fucking bullshit. If climbing that tree taught me anything it's that I didn't need Solo to get things done for me." Duo's eyes narrowed and he nodded, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him. "That's exactly what that tree taught me," he repeated and then smirked.
Heero didn't like that smirk, not at all.
"Duo –"
"I'm going back to bed," Duo said, "you should do the same. You look like shit."
"Then stop sneaking away from your guards. I can't sleep knowing you're in danger."
Duo sighed, but something in Heero's eyes seemed to affect him, and he nodded.
"Okay. I won't sneak away from them anymore."
Duo started to walk past Heero, but stopped by his shoulder and leaned across his body to kiss him lightly on the mouth.
"And I don't want the damned sunny apples. The ones on the lower branches are the juiciest, after all." Duo smirked at him and then left.
It took Heero a moment to gather himself enough to follow the prince, but he did, and watched as he snuck back into his quarters, before he finally allowed himself the luxury of a few hours of sleep.
Of course, that one innocent kiss and those far from innocent words had Heero's mind conjuring up any number of visions that did little to put him in the mood for sleep.
Heero had wanted to convince Duo to move on, to live his life and forget about him and Trowa. Instead, he had somehow managed to convince Duo to rebel against his brother.
Maybe Solo was right, maybe Heero was a bad influence on Duo.
The next day Heero escorted Solo to the war room, as the prince had dubbed it, and wasn't at all surprised to see that Duo was already in the room, seated at the table, and deep in debate with Norman, a crusty old general who had lost his right arm and both his sons to the Mysians several years ago.
When Solo walked in Duo offered a jaunty wave.
"Morning, brother. Norman and I were just discussing our impressions of Mysian defensive tactics. Did you know that it's only over the last six months that they've switched formations so that their patrols consist of seven instead of five men?"
Heero watched the play of emotions across Solo's face before the prince shook his head and sat down in his usual seat.
"No, I hadn't," he eventually bit out.
Duo nodded enthusiastically.
"Norman didn't realize either."
"Duo's seen more recent combat against the Mysians than most of our army combined," Norman added helpfully, "he's got some damned useful insights."
Solo glared at Heero.
"Don't blame him for me having a brain," Duo snapped angrily. "You'd be an idiot to keep me out of these meetings. Not only have I spent the last fifteen years fighting the Mysians in one way or another, but I've escaped from the royal dungeons and, if you've managed to forget, I killed the High Inquisitor. I think I might be able to provide a few useful bits of information that might help you plan out your damned campaigns."
Their glaring match was broken when Quatre, Ralph, Carl, and the other generals arrived.
"Morning," Duo greeted them brightly.
"Morning," Car returned cautiously.
It was ironic and more than a little depressing that, in the weeks since their return from South Pass, Carl was the only person in the palace who seemed to make any effort towards Duo. Carl, a man who had spent years hating the prince.
Wufei had barely left Meilin's side in the last few weeks, as she neared the date of her delivery, and Heero knew that without those two, or himself and Trowa, Duo was almost entirely alone. He was grateful for Carl, but made a mental note to have words with Wufei soon. This couldn't go on.
"Are you joining us?" Quatre asked and looked from Duo to Solo.
Duo grinned at his brother, waiting for him to answer the question.
"For today," Solo growled. "Duo feels he can provide a new perspective to our plans."
"Course he can," Norman said with an enthusiastic nod. "The boy has a natural instinct for tactical planning."
Heero was taken aback by just how quickly and thoroughly Duo had managed to charm Norman. The general was well known for his general hatred of everyone and belief that no one aside from the King displayed any intelligence whatsoever – a belief that included Solo and Quatre as having only marginal mental capabilities.
Duo smirked triumphantly, and inside his head, Heero could hear an echo of the whoop of delight the prince had given fifteen years ago when he had finally picked his own apples.
By the time the meeting ended two hours later Heero, who was already impressed by Duo, found himself even more so. Duo did have a natural instinct for tactical planning, and even though Solo seemed intent of fighting off every suggestion Duo gave, the others in the room, even Quatre, almost immediately agreed to his ideas.
Solo left the meeting in an angry huff, and Heero started to follow him when Quatre requested that he remain behind.
Heero watched as the others filed from the room, Duo accepting thanks from most of the generals for his input. Heero also watched as, once he stepped from the room and was alone again, Duo's shoulders seemed to slump and his expression lost its animated quality and returned to the dull, blank mask he had worn for the last few weeks.
"Was there something you wanted?" Heero asked Quatre, unable to keep his anger at Duo's transformation from his voice. This was simply wrong.
"I wanted to apologize, to you, for Trowa."
Quatre was having trouble meeting Heero's gaze.
"You tried to make Solo see reason, it wasn't your fault," Heero assured the blonde, remembering that as ruthless and well trained Quatre was as a soldier, he was still emotionally vulnerable. In some ways, he and Duo were very similar.
Quatre sighed.
"No, I didn't," he argued.
Heero frowned.
"You did. You asked him to keep me. You –" Heero frowned as he suddenly realized that Quatre had stood up for him, but hadn't said a word about Trowa staying in Antioch. "Why?" He asked. "Why didn't you say anything? You could have asked him to keep Trowa – you asked him to keep me."
Quatre shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Heero. I couldn't."
"Why?" Heero repeated his question again.
"You saw the way that Trowa looked at Duo when he carried him into the room. He's never looked at anyone like that – no one but you."
Heero frowned, still not following Quatre's logic.
Quatre growled in frustration and ran a hand through his hair.
"You didn't see Solo's face. He was jealous."
"Of what?"
"Of Duo! He was jealous that Trowa cared that much for him. Trowa never felt that deeply for Solo – for Trowa it was always friendship, and Solo felt much more than that for him."
This was news to Heero, and he suspected that it would have been new information for Trowa as well.
"You're saying that Solo sent Trowa away because he was jealous that Trowa liked Duo more than him?" He found it hard to reconcile the idea that his entire life had been destroyed based on pettiness.
"No. Partially. Solo truly felt – even now, a part of him still feels – that you and Trowa encouraged Duo to be reckless."
"He came that way," Heero growled. "Trust me when I say that if I could do anything, encouraging his recklessness is the exact opposite of what I'd like to do."
"I know that – and deep down Solo does too. But that entire idiotic quest made him almost lose his brother again and he was scared. And angry, and yes, a little jealous."
Heero shook his head.
"You spoke up for me, why didn't you do the same for Trowa?"
Two bright spots appeared high on Quatre's cheeks.
"I was jealous," Quatre confessed.
"What the hell were you jealous of? You were jealous of Duo also?"
"No! I was jealous that Solo was jealous! It only proved that he still had feelings for Trowa, that he felt betrayed by Trowa's feelings for Duo, and I didn't – I couldn't –"
"You allowed Trowa to be sent away because you felt insecure?" Heero felt a cold rage build inside of him. "You destroyed my life and Trowa's life because Solo had a moment of –"
"It wasn't a moment! He's always loved him! He's always wanted to invite him into our bed. Trowa's devotion to you is the only reason Solo never pushed him to join us. This has been going on for years."
Heero shook his head.
"You have eyes, Quatre, and you certainly have a brain. I'm sure you've noticed just how well Duo has adjusted to Trowa's absence and to my distance from him."
"I hate that he's devastated. I wish he hadn't fallen for the two of you so hard, but –"
"Devastated? You say that like he's wandering around with his heart cut out. He's not. He's wandering around trying to find anything to do with his life that has any value. Duo didn't just lose his friends – and I want to stress that, his friends because we never even had the chance to become lovers – he lost theonly two men that he trusted. He's got no one now. No one to believe in and no one who believes in him. He orchestrated the rescue of hundreds of free workers and now what is he doing – living as a prisoner in his own palace because Solo thinks he was too reckless when he was with Trowa and I?" Heero shook his head. "If you want to see reckless, wait until the spring. Wait until the snow melts and see if Alex and Trant have even a hope of keeping him safe when the campaign season starts."
Heero walked from the room before he allowed himself to say more. He had said enough to warrant demotion and time in the dungeons, if Quatre went to Solo with complaints, but he could very easily have said enough to earn an execution.
All of this time, Heero had spent nearly every waking moment hating himself, knowing that he had failed Duo and Trowa by allowing that damned Mysian to sneak up on him in the first place. He had been so angry and filled with pain over the fact that fate had finally decided to take away the two bright spots in Heero's life.
Yet it wasn't fate at all. It was pettiness. It was jealousy and it was weakness. It was sitting up in a tree, hiding and sulking, instead of facing your own weaknesses.
It took nearly an hour for Heero to work through his anger with Solo and Quatre to a point where he could go back to guarding Solo and feel confident the desire to punch him wouldn't overwhelm his natural instinct to protect his prince.
By that time, Gregory had gathered Solo, Duo, Ralph, Carl, Quatre, and a few trusted courtiers in the Winter Gardens. An intelligence report had just arrived from Abydos – the first since in two weeks – and the poor boy tasked with delivering the report from the spy master looked dead on his feet as he stood before the gathered crowd.
Duo, at least, had the decency to order a servant to bring hot cider for the boy, and after a few gulps of the stuff he looked more alive and was able to begin his report.
"There's been new developments in the army – ever since the South Pass event they've stepped up their recruiting. Now, when they burn freeworker's out, they take the men and boys and conscript them. They've nearly doubled the size of their army."
Solo swore.
"We should have retaliated when we had the chance!"
The boy shook his head, a risky move to argue with his rulers, and seemed to realize it instantly.
"Sorry, my prince," he said quickly.
"Why?" Duo asked. "Why shouldn't we have retaliated?"
The boy hesitated, then sighed, clearly unhappy to be caught between the two.
"The Mysian armies were already in place around their own settlements – the South Pass event was a trap. We didn't know til after – til they returned and Treize was angry that the Theran's hadn't attacked any of the settlements in retaliation. Any army sent against a Mysian settlement would have been wiped out."
Heero allowed himself a moment of smug satisfaction at the look on Solo's face as he realized that his craze for vengeance would have gotten himself killed.
"There's more…" the boy shifted on his feet. "The Mysians have a new ally."
"Who have they managed to beat into submission now?" Gregory asked tiredly. " Iberia?"
"No. No – there was no beating involved. Nothing like that. It's Ios. The King of Ios is Treize Khushrenada's new advisor."
It took most of the courtiers a moment to remember who the King of Ios was. But several – Solo, Quatre, Carl, Duo, Gregory, Ralph – showed instant recognition.
"You did this," Duo hissed at Solo. "You –"
"He betrayed you, Duo! He betrayed you – I've only ever wanted to protect you! Don't you see that now? He never loved you! He –"
Duo turned and walked from the room, ignoring everyone, including Heero.
Unfortunately, no one else ignored Heero. Solo and Gregory instantly turned to him.
"He said he could be useful elsewhere," Heero told them. "I need to speak with my guards immediately. Our security has been completely compromised."
Before either his king or his prince could speak, Heero also left.
As he headed towards the guards quarters he fought to keep his mind empty of emotion.
But he couldn't resist the sense of betrayal he felt. How could Trowa have done this? How could he have joined the Mysians and –
He suddenly remembered his own thoughts of infiltrating the Mysian army and trying to destroy it from within.
"You selfish bastard," he couldn't help but say out loud when he realized what Trowa was doing.