Another -23 may '13
Disclaimer: G-boys are not saru's... and saru already forgotten the details of the anime too.
Warning: something of a mess of words down there... OOC?
chapter 20
-Cold...
He's floating in darkness, weightless... powerless...
He knows he's inside his Nightmare's body; he never let it swallowed him before, not even touch him
but this feeling of resurgence is somehow right,
-so this is what it feels like being inside?
But this time there's no his Demon clutched in that humiliating way...
Blinking his mind back, he tries moving his limbs
...at least a finger manages to curl
What happened-?
Did you lose to anyone-?
A frown weighs on his brows.
-I did.
-I lost to my-self...!
Taking a quivering deep breath in; a tear rolls down to his temple
-...ashamed!
He covers his eyes with both arms, his brain doesn't even point it out to his mind that he can move them...
that he could escape from there if he wanted to.
-why?
-why did you interfere in that manner?
But you wanted my power-
Why didn't you kill that man-?
I could've eliminated him with a single blow-
Why did you hold me back-?
Why did you protect that man from me-?
-...but I didn't want Heero to hate me!
He hates you, anyway-!
Duo opened his eyes instantly; wide, somewhat frightened eyes... the 'voice' in his mind was still ringing in his ears saying its last sentence, as if a loud booming thunder that kept a ghost of its reverberating aftersound in his brain, clamoring in his skull like a commotion of his braincells making a coup against his right mind.
Cail stilled beside the bed, a bowl of water in his left hand, a wet cloth in his right; he blinked and sighed out a relief smile, and sat on the chair and dabbed the wet cloth gently to Duo's face. "I was going to call for the healers to look at you... but then again, I couldn't leave you alone; while being unconscious, even. So I thought I should wait for the General to come here-"
"How long?" Duo asked levelly, keeping his wide eyes staring at the ceiling.
The Lieutenant paused his hand; "You fainted on the first floor of South Wing... and I carried you to here, third floor West Wing; so I counted around...-" the man mulled for a moment; "-20 minutes? I've just put you in your bed a couple minutes ago too... you have great timing!"
Duo blinked and turned his head a little to the man. "...sorry-" he said apologetically.
Cail snorted with a mischievous smile on his lips; "You didn't weigh that much, though...!"
They stared each other for some time; Duo was looking apologetic and miserable, something weighting his tongue, and the Lieutenant knew what it was. "...how are you feeling?"
"-worse...!"
The man rewetted the cloth in his hand; it was warmer from his grip. "I'm sorry; I should have warned you before that happened-"
"-warned me?! Of what I can do...?!" Duo barked with anguish, but instantly regretting his outburst; he covered his face with his crossing arms and whimpered once, feeling ashamed and pathetic.
Cail let the cloth go while stifling a sigh, watching it sank in the water. "...of Commander Odin-" he said silently. He knew his own men labeled him as Odin's archenemy sometime, and that's because Odin liked to bully him in front ot them for no reason too... faith and trust didn't always mean the same thing, after all.
"...that he likes to win?!" Duo asked with an acid tone, the image of the man's leer came unbidden in his mind. So that was what they called lesson learned, wasn't it?
'...asking for my demon again?' the man's words replayed automatically along with that image;
'You seemed like you've grown a fancy for him, Master Duo...! If you could remember to pay me for favors...'
'I could lend him to you for a night; you just need to ask for it...!'
-Odin breathed the last sentence in his ear, with a pressurized tone that his mind spontaneously recalled the image of the Heero in his dream; and that was what made him hit the man... but he didn't think Odin would stage Heero to be there to retaliate for that; whether he was serious with his words or just baited him to react with violence- No! The man's smug face told him that Odin was never really offering Heero to him in any way... and he was a fool for falling for that too!
...because the one he wanted to hit at that time was actually himself; because for a fleeting moment he actually contemplated of what he could barter to get to be with Heero; and he hit Odin because he felt the man saw through him and he wanted to cover that slip up. He was the worst! -and while he was disgusted by some rotten men who fantasized of the demon, too...!
"Duo... if you're not hurt..." Cail started a little hesitantly; "...perhaps I could advice you to meet someone?"
"For what?" Duo asked with a hard tone; and the Lieutenant silenced, feeling a little carried away and might have acted pass his own status.
Duo realized what the man felt, but he was still a bit too angry to play nice; so he waited until he could tame his anger at least to halve its heat.
"...why should I?" he asked with a gloomy tone.
"Well..." Cail smiled hiding his hesitance, but it was still audible in his voice; "Since you were asking about her back then in the Factory...?"
Duo didn't react at first, then lowered his covering arms to his chest with a light frown on his face, trying to recall about what happened in the Factory. "That...-"
"Black-hooded Lady in white...?!" he turned at the man.
Cail nodded, somewhat looking guilty; "-although... I shouldn't...!"
Duo instantly bolted to sit. "Okay." he said with a determined frown; he thought he should at least make progress with one thing or other thing.
The rain had stopped completely, the air was still cool and damp, the clear pollens were glistening in the wind. Someone was not looking cool, though...
The soldiers deserted the now fairytale-looking court carefully, trying to not make too much noise and break the thick air; helping their comrades who were wounded or weakened to get away from there. They didn't need the order or asked permission to leave from the General, somewhat grateful that his angry frown wasn't directed at any of them; so they left before his volcano erupted, so to speak.
Three of the Sixth were standing behind Treize, each looking quite nervous; Odin, on the other hand, looking sideways at the court with drooping eyes, as if he was bored; the demon was still squatting on the balustrade at Odin's side.
Treize sighed deeply for the -nth time, closing his eyes with a deep frown and some popping arteries visible on his temples. He'd been trying to rein in his anger for some time, but he still wanted to explode, anyway...
"Tell me what that was all about, Commander!" he eventually broke the silence; saying ranks instead of names meant that he wasn't in the mood for familiarity right now.
"...it's just a misunderstanding!" Odin snorted, still looking somewhere else.
Treize's brows twitched in anger.
"...Heero?" he asked with a hard tone. The demon didn't answer even after some time, Treize thought he wouldn't answer too. "Didn't I order you to stop?!" he asked with enough pressure.
The demon didn't even blink; though he didn't look at the General either.
Treize gritted his teeth, opened his eyes and closed the gap between them with wide strides; then hit Odin's face as hard as he could, knowing the demon could feel it too by their link as he jerked and widened his eyes a little; the sound was loud enough that the deserting men paused to glance at them and scooted away from around the scene. "You do know your being here means, don't you?!" Treize glared at Odin's face, the small wound at the end of his lips bled again; his hand lowered to Odin's neck and swiftly pulling at his collar. "IT MEANS YOU'RE OWNED BY THIS KINGDOM!" he shouted turning his face to the demon, cuing that he could do anything to Odin with his gesture.
Heero blinked, his expression didn't change; albeit he didn't counter the General's glare.
"DO YOU THINK WHAT YOU JUST DID WOULD GO UNNOTICED?!" Treize shouted again, his face was red with anger; his warriors never seen him that angry before, they stepped back a couple of paces behind, feeling the air was stinging in ripples as the Palace ward reacted to the General's anger... and that's even while his familiar was away.
Odin stared at the General with a dignified frown, still with his droopy eyes looking like a kid who got yelled at but didn't feel the guilt, while the demon still wouldn't meet his eyes.
Treize snorted.
"Tell me why I shouldn't charge you of jeopardizing the whole country...!" Treize said in a much calmer tone, though still sounded angry; looking back and forth at Odin and the demon.
To his dismay both of them kept silent.
"...nothing?" Treize asked with almost a relieved tone. He stared the demon for several seconds and then to Odin; nodding to himself when he was still answered with silence, let Odin's collar go and gave the man's sturdy chest a pat. "Commander Odin of Reconnaissance Troop, 5th Division, 28th Rank. I, hereby-"
"-It's necessary." The demon cut with a soft voice.
Treize blinked, almost pretending he didn't hear it but then frowned in anger again. "Necessary for what?" he almost barked at the demon.
"...to fend my honor." The demon answered.
Treize stared at him for a moment. "...is your honor more important than this kingdom's safety? Than your own oath?"
Then the demon said softly; with a level tone that somehow sounded melodious, still. "I may have groveled even lower than your grounds... but there are still certain things that I cannot allowed myself to accept."
That answer somehow renewed Treize's anger; he snarled and gritted his teeth, holding back an angrier shout released from his mouth. "-Tell me you didn't hurt yourself, then I wouldn't hold you responsible!"
Odin blinked and glanced sideways to his silenced demon.
Treize narrowed his eyes when the demon clamped his mouth. "...so you're hurt?" he reached out to the demon with his right hand, which Odin stopped halfway. With a cold frown he glared back to Odin, as the man gripped his arm tightly and gestured that he wouldn't let it go despite their ranks.
"I can't allow you to touch him if he doesn't want you to...!" Odin said levelly.
"Do you think this is a game?!" Treize barked.
"...and I was filing a formal complaint to you..." the demon whispered with almost a disheartened tone.
Two faces snapped at him at the same time, but Odin was the one who looked more surprised and angry. "You were?!"
Treize blinked, widened his eyes with realization; so it's that honor...!
"Shut up or I'll gag you, Heero!" Odin growled.
"Let him speak!" Treize snapped Odin.
Odin's brow twitched hearing the protective tone in Treize's voice; "It's not a big matter-!" he pushed Treize's arm go and circled his arm around the demon's neck and covered his mouth from behind, pulling the demon's head to his own shoulder to keep him from moving.
"It is big enough if it entails the Kingdom's safety!" Treize snarled.
"I'M TELLING YOU, IT ISN'T!" Odin raised his voice.
"SO, YOU HAVE NO REASON TO NOT LET HIM SAY IT, THEN!" Treize countered trying to pry Odin's hand from the demon's mouth. "-OR DO YOU HAVE ANY PARTICULAR REASON WHY YOU DON'T WANT ANYONE TO HEAR HIS COMPLAINT, COMMANDER?!"
Odin gritted his teeth at that accusing tone, Treize took the moment to pull the demon by the shoulders from Odin's hand.
"-It's alright; you can report anything you want to say, Heero!" Treize encouraged. Odin growled and snatched the demon by the waist from Treize's arms. "-wha...?!"
"-AND WHO DO YOU THINK IS HIS CONTRACT, GENERAL?!" Odin barked with a really bothered tone and a leer.
"AND WHO DO YOU THINK IS YOUR SUPERIOR, COMMANDER?!" Treize leered back.
And it kind of developed to something like a family quarrel now, the three warriors thought with sweatdrops; like a Pa and a Ma and a very uncomfortable-looking son between them... or maybe a little-bear; then it would make it a Pa-bear and a Ma-bear... that were growling at each other trying to show off whose fangs were bigger than the other's, right -that could work.
"Ha!-" Odin laughed cynically with a winning tone, knowing that reason had no power since the moment the demon was involved.
"SHUT UP! I CAN GAG YOU TOO, ODIN...!" Treize flustered and covered Odin's mouth with both his hands. "SAY YOUR COMPLAINT, HEERO!" he shouted with a winning tone.
The demon blinked -he rather felt like he was a jar of honey right now.
Odin growled glaring at the General.
The General blinked and turned to the demon; frowning. "Well?!" he challenged.
"-if you dare!-" Odin spoke from behind Treize's hands.
"I dare him!" Treize snapped at Odin. "Heero?!" and turned back to the demon.
The demon looked even more uncomfortable, even with his stoic face; opened his lips a little and stilled, thinking, and clamped them again with a frown, blinking at the floor.
"Heerooo?!" Treize scowled, tapping his foot impatiently; sounded like he felt betrayed that the demon backed away at this point. "Should I just treat this as a matter of treason, then...?!" he threatened.
Odin blinked. "-TREASON?!-" he shouted in incredulity.
"What would you call of an act of disregarding the Kingdom's safety for the sake of one's selfishness?!" Treize challenged.
"-HIS SELFISHNESS...?!" Odin pulled Treize's hands from his mouth.
"YOURS, ISN'T IT?!" Treize shouted matter-of-factly, challenging Odin with his glare to say more; satisfied when the man gritted his teeth with a growl and couldn't say anything else. When he turned his face to the demon again he was a little surprised finding him staring back with an almost troubled stare. He frowned with a serious expression to the demon, and asked sternly with a calmed tone; "What was it you were complaining?"
The demon frowned, then stared back at the floor, thinning his lips in a gesture that he thought he couldn't deny the matter anymore. Treize pulled his chin up a little with satisfaction, knowing that the demon had made his decision and was about to open his mouth soon.
"-. . . . . . it's..." Heero opened his lips and took a long pause before letting his voice out; "...pink!" and stated with enough pressure.
Treize stilled, and stared for a moment; thinking that his ears had picked up a wrong word. "...what?"
"The cloths..." Heero frowned in a troubled manner; "...all PINK!"
Treize blinked repeatedly, his frown turned upwards.
Odin humphed dignifiedly.
"...the what?!" Treize asked impatiently.
"The beddings, curtains, table cloths too; they're all pink! -SILK! With flowers embroideries and white lace frills!" Heero said with accusation.
"Ha...!" Odin laughed cynically, Treize snapped his glare at the man.
"...and what's wrong with that...?" Treize asked the demon back. -EVERYTHING's wrong! The three warriors said in their minds with pale faces, but didn't have enough courage to voice it out.
"Odin's wrong...!" the demon almost shouted through gritted teeth; it was the first that Treize witnessed he made. "I did the laundry! And he put them on...!" he accused.
Treize arched his brows as the demon got more heated.
"-and he was rolling on the bed in his underwear laughing and yelling that SILK is GOOD!"
"Heh...!" Odin grinned condescendingly but turned his face away.
"SILK is NOT good!" the demon almost barked; "His MUSCLED body slipped on the SILK and fell off the edge and hit his head on the nightstand!"
"To think I have to share that kind of pain from his bump is beyond HUMILIATION...!" the demon gritted out and was trembling with anger or shame.
Treize stilled with the blandest expression he ever made in his whole life; there was an exploding weird sound coming from behind him and he turned his face to his three warriors coughing with hunched bodies somewhat clutching at their stomachs with their backs at him, sounding miserable and were trembling by pain.
"Hmph! Don't blame me! Blame your shared link!" Odin snorted. He just wanted to get Heero's attention since the demon had stopped talking to him all of a sudden; and he should have said that it worked, to him, not to the General of all the people... Treize and PINK meant Relena was involved and it would developed into something noisy again, right? -well, he admitted that it was probably childish of him to refuse putting the cloths down this morning... but the demon was making funny -cute- faces when he stormed out of the bathroom after he'd bumped his head on the nightstand, so...-
"I'd better share battle wounds than that...!" the demon accused.
-ah...! -that honor...! Treize's blank mind pointed.
Shaking his mind back, Treize tried moving his lips; "-...and, why do you find you need to file it to me...?" He ignored his three warriors coughing with weirder sounds behind him.
"You know why...!" the demon turned at him with fierce stare.
Staring for a moment, Treize pulled his slack jaw up and blinked. -aaah, reeeeally... -so... Relena slipped her favorite things into Odin's chamber again, for you... and you couldn't turn them down directly... okay-!
Taking a deep breath while rubbing his face, and let it out with sagged shoulders; he conceded. "...-okay!"
"...but it still doesn't mean that what you did earlier would be gone unnoticed...!" Treize stared from between his opened fingers.
The demon frowned at the floor with acceptance, while Odin chuckled cynically at that. Treize glared at the man; "You go and change them...!" he growled.
"What?!" Odin yelled disbelievingly.
"NOW!" Treize pressed; "...in the mean time, I'll be having a serious talk with your demon in my office; and by the time we get back to your chamber-...!" he paused for pressure, "Those cloths should be ready so I could deal with them!"
Odin tsk-ed in displeasure. "...-yes! Yes!"
"That's an order, Commander!" Treize roared.
"Yeeess, Generaaal...!" Odin answered openly showing his childishness. Treize tsk-ed his annoyance but didn't say anything more as Odin left the scene with an irritated dignified frown to his chamber, growling at the three warriors while they made way for him instantly standing at the ready pretending they're part of the wall and balustrade.
After Odin gone from their sight, Treize sighed deeply as if he was really testing his lungs' performance to their limits. He waited for several moments before muttering to himself, "-I thought my heart exploded...-!"; but he didn't finish his complaint... he shouldn't show weakness under pressure. "How's your wound?" he asked instead.
"Manageable." Heero answered levelly.
Treize nodded and turned around; "Let's continue in my office!" he cued the demon to follow him; the three warriors instantly formed a diamond-formation around the demon, with the General as the head; walking briskly while no one spoke a word in their parade and by-standers ducked from their way.
"Heero..." Treize began with a gentle voice as soon as he closed the doors, leaving his warriors to guard outside; they would expect him to lash out at the demon for his recklessness but didn't mean they'd want to witness it, so they were grateful for the order.
"...I need you safe and sound for this Kingdom!" the General continued with a sterner tone. "You took it to yourself to be the Peace-contract...!"
The demon blinked at Treize's serious -almost pleading- face; "...you really belief if I got hurt, the demons will come charging here on my behalf?"
The General frowned at the unconcerned way the demon had spoken in. "What-ever-kind of your entourage back home, I'm sure they'd take it as a sign of insult if you are to be harmed in our hands...!" -that's the theme for the past 10 years, right? If it changed now the one who'd take the brunt would be the demon himself; and probably Odin would really turn mercenary as retaliation.
"I don't have entourage, General." The demon said levelly; "-or home. You don't have to worry of the small details-"
"It's my duty to worry of every small detail-!" Treize almost barked. He silenced and averted his gaze to the armoire at his right; "...if your being here doesn't mean anything, then why are you here...?" he almost sounded like he regretted that fact.
"To buy us some time? To buy them some time...? To drown us in our delusion of a truce while it actually meant nothing? This is all just a deception...?!" he glared at the demon's eyes at the last question.
The demon's eyes never betrayed his feelings -if he was capable to have any feelings at all; only staring with calm acceptance, like the eyes of a convict surrendering to his fate as he was facing his executor. Treize took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly; "...sorry..." he mumbled and took the demon's hand in his own and pulled him towards the sofa.
"Sit." He ordered; "...please." and added, knowing the demon would decline even if it was an order; it was his way to remind himself that he was not in that Kingdom for familiarity.
"I'd better stand-"
"Then I'll sit!" Treize cut and threw himself onto the sofa rather roughly, making a loud puff sound. The demon blinked at his hand still gripped in the General's larger hand but didn't say a word.
"Do you know the maxwells?" Treize tried; "-no. It doesn't matter whether you knew them. It's about Duo...-!"
"How is he? From your eyes...?" he looked up to gaze into the demon's eyes; "...he really wouldn't stand a chance against the demons in combat?"
The demon blinked, his brows lifted a millimeter. "I wouldn't know. I never faced the demons in combat." He added when Treize opened his mouth to protest.
"But you said-...!"
"I was pointing out of his soul-armor. If he had one... You knew what those things were." The demon threw the question back.
"Duo never-...!" -learned to use his soul-armor; "-showed it out, so...-" Treize looked troubled. "...all Maxwells have theirs, right? He cannot not have his own, right?" -would he be crazier than his ancestors if he doesn't have it? Would he die of his own power? Would he turn into a different person completely...?
"Heero..." Treize breathed while clutching the demon's hand with both his and stared at them; "Duo...-after his first release, he'd be..." he swallowed a word before it came out from his mouth, "-his personality will be even more distorted after this...!"
The demon knew that, even when they were glaring at each other on the court; the Maxwell -no... Duo's first release of hands would be his parameter; his body would crave higher level of power-release the next time he use his hands... and the state of powerfulness was intoxicating that he'd want to experience it again and again, like a life-drug he couldn't be without, in the expense of his sanity. The curse of the Maxwells for their almighty powers; the soul-armors were their shields to keep their minds from being devoured by their own cravings and power-withdrawals, developed after centuries of tragic self-destruction they brought down upon themselves. But that was why he'd held Duo down on the court, so he wouldn't have a too-high parameter that he'd endanger himself should the next craving surfaced... it's just that he didn't think saying it out loud with so many witnesses would be a good idea; or to point it out to the boy that he should have perfectly constructed his soul-armor at his age; he would've lost his mind, otherwise. -or maybe, that's exactly the case... even more distorted means he's already off-shaped.
The demon blinked when his eyes focused on Treize's deep gazing eyes trying to read his mind through his eyes. "...you could read what's happening with Duo." He stated softly. "Im begging you...!"; the demon blinked again. "I'm begging you; please help Duo!"
"I don't know how they did it, they just grew up having their soul-armors; I couldn't teach Duo anything about it. The Mothers in the Covenant too, they couldn't help...!" Treize pulled the demon's hand closer in a tighter clutch, touching his own chin; "I was so afraid if he'd start to develope his craving, ...while in his state of mind-!"
"Why are you begging me?" the demon asked levelly, wasn't touched by the show of weakness from the usually composed General that if anyone else should witness them by now they'd thought someone had kidnapped the real General and put a drama actor as his substitute.
"You're a demon...-" Treize smiled with a worried frown; "Heero... you're a demon!"
The demon blinked again, probably to erase the sight of the delirious hopeful expression the General made from his mind. "You want me to sate his hunger every time his craving surfaces and he'd want to beat down some demons with his hands?" -that is contradictory to your duty, right? But he didn't voice it.
Treize's face contorted by a grimace and pain and bafflement; he was at a lost to see his cause, he couldn't even accepted his own reasons, the demon thought.
"...I don't know...!" Treize looked like he was fighting back tears. "I just can't lose him, he's important to me!"
"More important than your Kingdom?" the demon asked.
The General whimpered; he knew how hypocritical it had sounded. He clamped his quivering lips and didn't say another word; his trembling hands clutched the demon's hand pressed onto his forehead as if he was praying- ...begging with all his might. Heero realized Treize's tremblings were not due only to the fact that he was tormented mentally; it was the poison in his system too... he should have made him stayed longer and inhale the Sanctuary tree's pollens to cleanse the poison without him noticing. After all, the Insidio must have targeted the General first than him or Odin-
"...Odin said you hold the humans important, too...!" Treize pleaded. "Is that wrong?"
The wings at his temples fluttered for a brief moment, soundlessly, ghosting at the soft brown locks before he claimed his hand back from Treize's clutch; and then cupped the man's cheeks with both hands, making Treize looked back up at his face. "Treize..." he called silently, staring down into the man's soulful eyes; "...this is treason." -and his wings fanned open.
"You're grinning from ear to ear; did something good happen?"
Vim turned around to the source of the voice, his wide blue eyes were bright and filled with excitement. "No, sir; not really...!" he said poking his small glasses up.
The cook Manager was still in his mid-forties, he was kind and had yet married, so he usually treated the Palace youngsters even more kindly. Vim met him the first time in the Palace Library too, the man had interest in magic books, saying that his ancestors were once magic-doers although their aptitude didn't last after passing several generations to him. He was fascinated in the stories of how they did daily tasks when magic was still everyday thing. Just the usual melancholic believer.
"...really?" the cook manager asked with more pressure.
Vim fast glanced at his right and left and cued the man to bow down so he could whisper in his ear.
"...you what?!" the man clamped his mouth at his loud voice, after cursorily checking that no one looking at their direction he bowed down again. "You were there when that happened?!" he asked incredulously with silent voice, "You shouldn't! That's dangerous! If anything like that ever takes place again, you should run away as far as you could! Promise me you'd do that!" he pressurized the last part; what happened in the court this morning was traveling faster to the whole Palace than the time Vim took to eat his breakfast, anyway -though the court was off-limit to curious spectators for now, but everyone could still see the red leaves canopy sheltering the Palace rooftops around the court from every directions.
The boy blinked several times. "...but I thought you would want to be there too...!"
The cook Manager sighed and dropped to his knees; the thick carpet of the Library dampened the noise and force of the fall. "Vim, son, listen to me...!" he grabbed Vim's shoulders strongly but gently, "There are still magic-wielders in this Palace; some are so good that you wouldn't notice their aptitudes, some are too confident with their talents that they would react in a rather unkind-manner when you have a brush with them... -and I can't say that everyone here is a good person, so you shouldn't involve yourself with such occurrence!" he whispered the last sentence out.
Vim stared widely at the man's eyes; he nodded in a good manner and said, "I'll keep that in mind, sir."
The man searched the boy's eyes for a moment, and nodded when he was satisfied seeing the boy's innocent eyes. Tapping his shoulders lightly, the man stood up and slipped him a small pouch of sweets. "...don't finish them in one go...!" he warned and smiled when Vim smiled at the pouch in his hand with a nice flush on his cheeks. The man chuckled as Vim bowed his thank-you and ruffled the boy's hair before he went out of the Library. He didn't realize that Vim was, more than the fact he was treated to a pouch of sweets, feeling exultant when the man called him 'son'... though he probably had said it in reflex and had no deeper meaning; but he was never called 'son' before in his whole life, his grandmother used to call him 'child' as endearment back home.
Vim opened the pouch ties and took a peek inside; a round maroon candy caught his interest and he pulled it out, examined its color in the light before putting it into his mouth. He rolled it right and left while savoring the fruity flavour. "Mount-cherry, scarce in this season...!" he appreciated. His mind tried not to form the denial in his brain into words... that the man didn't see anything with his eyes, although that's probably the man's blessing, having ignorant eyes.
"...with my eyes..." Vim mumbled while rolling the candy in his mouth as he pushed his feet to move, leaving the Library and probably a pair of invisible eyes of a-cat that he knew was there without needing to be physically there.
"That didn't make sense!" he chuckled at his own mind.
The wooden causeway was long across a patch of high-raised trees of a small jungle behind the Palace, separated from its grand buildings and Royal business; Duo's eyes searched around the scenery and thought that the Palace was built on top a mountain, after all... so he shouldn't be surprised to find a small forest inside the Palace walls. His mind joked that he might find a sage's rundown tower or a witch's creepy hut at the end of the causeway.
To his amazement, a plain white tower greeted him at the end of his walk; it was big enough that he couldn't see the ends to its sides while being covered by the trees, and its arching double-doors were tall enough to open three stories at once. He was looking up with awe at the pointy end of the double-doors when Cail nudged him from behind.
When he turned his face to the front again, the distinctive black-hooded Lady in her pooling white dress was standing two paces from him as if she was part of the door from the start. Duo jumped a step behind and bumped to Cail's body, feeling an encouraging arm circled around his waist as the man bowed politely... or whether it was nervously?
"H-... hello!" Duo tried in reflex. '...she's a familiar!' Duo's other-mind whispered in his brain; having seen her face to face up close.
A strong wind swept their bodies that made Duo almost yelp in surprise, he took it rather calmly as it turned around and brushed them again the second time; and he could swear he felt that wind had its own mind as it played around them for some time.
"...Master Duo, I'll be waiting outside...!" Cail suddenly whispered from behind him.
Duo snapped his face at the man with a surprised worried stare.
"...Palace men are not allowed inside...-" Cail mumbled somewhat awkwardly. But he did say that he shouldn't do this back in Duo's room.
One of the double-door panels clicked opened and the Lady floated to her side, pleasing Duo to enter. Duo blinked and somewhat froze when Cail pushed him forward gently, staring awkwardly at the Lady; when he was walking to her front, she turned her head to the Lieutenant and he instantly sought the moment. "Please let him come along? My cousin told him to stay with me as much as he could...!" Duo backpedaled and took Cail's hand in his. He felt like a child then but the atmosphere unnerved him so much that he wouldn't admit it later.
The Lady turned her head forward again, probably allowing them to enter; Duo wouldn't give her the chance to say otherwise, so he said his thank-you fast and pulled Cail along. He felt the man's hand tensed when he passed the Lady and entered the white tower.
Duo imagined that it was dark inside, while the door panel closed behind them; but bright multicolored rays assaulted his eyes before he could even comment about the stone pavement with green grass in-between lied under his feet. He squinted and looked up and struck speechless when he saw the roof of the tower was a dome made of colorful glasswork; as his eyes adapted to the light, he looked around from top to bottom and just realized that the tower was somekind of a glass-house, with a beautiful garden inside. He blinked as he recognized the fountains and waterfalls hanging in the air, and ponds and floating flower-pots. A shrub-maze covered the walls and a rope-bridge floated rounding up the height making such a twist and twirl that his logics said it was impossible for a normal human being to use it. Flowers were blooming everywhere with uncommon colors and gradations; some butterflies and other insects, and crystal-birds flew around making the scenery even more colorful and lively. Small tables and with garden-chairs were set in some centers of the shrub-maze on the walls; a long sofa with thick carpet underneath floated above the pond, with reflection of a blue sky perfectly painted on the water's surface; a piano stood on the canopy of an evergreen tree near the bird-house, with armoires filled with books stood near it; fluffy cushions strewn here and there. A small river snaked in the air with colorful fishes swimming inside; making rainbows as the rays passed through its parts. The breeze playfully blew like it was a natural wind outside a clearing.
At the center, a series of round-hanging-ladders floated still like windchimes hung in the air; at their top, a small round bird-house suspended in the air as if hanging by the rays of colorful lights. It was small compared to the tower, but Duo thought a person could actually use it like a tree-house; in the back of his mind, a certain name kept popping up, reminding him who could actually use such a not-common tree-house in the Palace.
"Duo... you've come!" the polite happy voice greeted him from the bird-house.
Somehow Duo managed to smile back politely betraying the sick feeling that suddenly climbed up to his throat; so this was the Princess Relena's private garden she told him before. No wonder the Lieutenant stiffly kept himself several paces behind him as they walked into the garden, trying to make himself as less noticeable as he could while still keeping a good eye around. He wondered if he needed to keep his hands at ready for facing her again... but the thought of the familiar being around still unnerved him.
Relena jumped from the ladder railing down, her fall slowed down as she neared the tower ground until she completely stopped and floated for a brief moment at the height that if she straightened her bent legs she could stand on her toes on the pavement; her dress inflated like an umbrella and her hands held its front in a cutesy manner. She giggled as her feet touched the ground, looking at Duo's eyes with a light flush on her cheeks; she probably wanted him to comment about her descent.
"...It's faster to go down like this!" she beamed without waiting the comment to come; Duo only blinked at her. She giggled again to cut the awkwardness. "What brings you here? -not that I'm complaining...!" she asked with a smile, glancing at the Lieutenant who bowed politely at her, mumbling "Milady." although she didn't look like she cared about the man as she turned her eyes to Duo again.
Duo stared at her.
Relena blinked and pulled her smile wider.
Duo stared at her.
Relena softened her eyes.
Duo still stared at her.
"...what?" Relena eventually asked.
Duo blinked and pulled his body back a little; "...you live here!" he almost sounded like accusing.
She giggled. "Yes. Treize called it my Leisure Castle, perhaps you heard him said it before?"
"Why?" Duo asked openly, his brows pulled up in curiosity or bafflement although his eyes still shone with wariness.
"The Palace buildings had too much stones-" she tried.
"Why?" Duo repeated with the same tone like a record; Relena blinked at that and giggled with amusement.
Duo stared at her.
She averted her gaze on the cluster of lavender flowers at her right. "I don't want to accidentally meet the demon when I walk around the Palace..."
"Why?" Duo repeated, though his brows curved with more wariness.
"So you played a fun game with the demon this morning..." Relena smiled back at Duo; his mind pointed it wasn't that long ago, since it's still counted as morning now. "Is he alright?"
Duo blinked at the question.
She smiled a sigh out. "...since I see you're alright right now."
Duo blinked, staring at her saddened eyes. ". . . . . . you want him to be alright?"
"Yes; of-course I want him to be alright. He's the Peace-contract, after all...!"
Duo's mind pointed that she'd said 'him' rather than 'it'. A conclusion formed from his braincells-collision almost made his knees buckled. ". . . you like Heero; somehow you thought you should treat me as your rival...!"
Relena smiled, staring at a butterfly resting its transparent wings hanging onto a wisteria. "...why are you here, Duo? Surely it was not to meet me or see my garden."
Duo blinked at the lonely tone in her voice... so he met the sage in her rundown tower who acted as the witch-
"...you're in love with the demon-!" Duo almost didn't feel his tongue moving.
She turned her face at him, her gaze somewhat cold and she looked like she felt insulted. "Is it fun for you to say that out loud?!"
Duo blinked and caught himself. "I'm-... sorry...!" he averted his eyes to the ground, his face felt hot with shame; he shouldn't have said to her face with almost a winning tone like that.
They silenced for a heavy pause. She eventually snorted and relaxed her shoulders.
"What did you come here for...?" she asked levelly.
Duo frowned. "...the Lady-"
"Yes." She giggled again; "So you could see her back in the Factory...!"
Duo looked up at her, frowning deeper. "You have her tailing me...!"
She stared him with a pointing out stare. "Duo...! You're a Maxwell; I have to see if you'll hurt him in any way!"
Duo blinked repeatedly. So he's suddenly the bad guy... -well, yeah; he's probably the bad guy in Heero's eyes too. His eyes darkened at that thought.
Relena snickered, "...though I must admit it was my bad back then in the corridor; I was just teasing you. I didn't thought he'd suddenly show up in the junction. I could only cover it up by laughing and threw the blame at you..."
She shifted her gaze to the lavenders again; "...since I couldn't apologize to him openly..." -the dignitaries would make it a matter and things would turn hectic again.
Relena took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly, playing with a lock of hair that fell to her front. "...I was waiting for my gift to be returned, though. I didn't think you'd catch me before it arrived..."
"Your gift?"
"Different story." She brushed off. "So what can I do for you? I supposed I owe that as apology...!"
Duo stared at her.
-she's giving up.
-clutching at her delusions and giving up reality.
Although that's probably all she could do; her status won't allow her to have feelings for the demon, so she could only chase away anything that had interest with the demon too as retaliation. And she still had such a strong feelings after 10 years? -no; in 10 years it had developed even stronger... the pain must have been even more heartrending too.
". . . I'm sorry." Duo said softly, couldn't look at her eyes.
"Don't say that. I'm not sorry for what I did to you...!" she said seriously.
Duo thinned his lips. "You really mean it that I can ask anything?"
She averted her eyes. "As long as I wouldn't get into trouble-" she reasoned evasively.
"You said you have a talent to keep memories." Duo frowned. She turned her eyes to Duo, face neutral; then narrowed her eyes, as if knowing what he'd ask her.
"...you want to see his arrival." She stated.
"You won't share?" Duo didn't say 'can't' intentionally; she caught it too.
"What for?" she asked warily.
"I have to understand..." Duo fisted his hand at his side, "-my place...!" admitting that was harder than fearing about it. "My standing in front of him... How he'd see me-"
"You want to know how to give up?" Relena cut. He clamped his mouth and frowned darkly; but his heart knew that was what he had to do albeit his other-mind protested that knowing it would give him the knowledge of how to round it.
Relena snorted. She knew what Duo felt; but that was what she'd wanted from a long time ago... a friend whom she could share her pain with; not a rival. She was never in the competition, anyway; but Duo could steal that chance from fate, being a Maxwell and all. He just didn't realize it... -eventhough Heero would never accept that.
Duo had asked her to share her most treasured memory; well, she thought it's fine if it could keep him away from the demon... he'll see why he should give up too.
"...alright." Relena said softly. "But I must warn you; the memory you'll see is my memory; so you'll feel certain atmosphere or see certain values that were viewed from my perspective...!"
Duo opened his mouth to say something; but Relena cut him. "-After this...!" she frowned none-too-friendly; "I don't have anything to do with you; regardless of what Treize says. The Maxwells were the demons natural enemies; so I'll treat you as his enemy, Duo!"
He blinked at that, realizing how much she felt for the demon and thought he probably should just stay as far away from her as he could, but his mind said he couldn't back down now; he needed to see how Heero submitted himself to the Contract, after all. That way he could do something about that...
Relena glanced to the Lieutenant who had backed away some paces more behind Duo, pretending to be a part of the scenery to give them privacy. She could try to wipe Duo from existence after this, she thought; since the Lieutenant wouldn't be able to unsheathe his swords in her tower. Yes, that's a plan.
Glancing back at Duo, she called out to her familiar.
'...Ladyhood...!'
And instantly feeling the familiar's possession enveloped her body from behind and claimed the air around her and Duo. "Are you ready?" Relena asked Duo and without waiting for his answer, the scenery turned bright white.
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thanx for reading
saru's note:
since the last chapter was somewhat ended with a steep cliffhanger, saru tried to update fast. Hope you enjoy this 'reasoning'-chapter.