Thanks everyone for the reviews, I'm glade to see that everyone in enjoying my story and I hope the spelling it better. If anyone does see anything let me know and I'll fix it, but I think…rather hope….I caught everything. Enjoy

Warnings: Au, An event in Heero's past, OOC

Chapter Seven: A month in the Castle Life

A month passed by at the castle. Duo learned the language fairly quick, Heero never mentioned the red feathers, but Duo also never opened his wings. They were always tucked in. Heero tried to keep Duo in the stables, or with the maids in the kitchen, during the mornings. He didn't do it to make Duo feel like he was a servant or anything, he did it for Duo to learn the language quicker. He knew that the maids and the stable boys talked more then he did. He also hoped that by being around other people Duo would start to feel comfortable, and in hopes that maybe Duo would feel better about his wings.

Meanwhile, Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and King Odin decided that being prepared would be best and started assembling the troops. But it was not a secret that the King and the prince did not agree with each other. Heero felt that it was necessary to send troops to the boarders, where as the king felt it wasn't a necessary step. This caused both King and Prince to be hot tempered and they snapped easily at their friends and each other.

So Duo ended up spending a lot of time with Quatre during the noon hours, spending time with Quatre while Odin and Heero were together proved to be beneficial. Duo opened up a lot more. He talked almost none stop at times, while he was also full of questions.

"What is Heero anyway?" Duo asked kicking his feet in the water, playfully splashing Quatre.

"He's a Master of Elements. It's a sort of wizard, but they can only manipulate wind, fire, water, and earth. Heero is a more rare case, like his father he can control all four without really concentrating. Other Element Masters can only master one and it gets tiring and it drains their energy." Quatre explained.

"Really, so that's how he lights the candles, and fills the tub, and puts out the candles as well." Duo said. "What about you?" Duo asked.

"Well I'm an Empath. I feel others feeling and I can manipulate them. Like when you first got here, you were scared and panicked, once I was able to touch you, I made you feel tired and somewhat safe so that you could sleep. I can really only impress the feelings, I can't force you to feel them."

"Oh!" Duo said, finally understanding what had happened. "And Trowa's an elf right?" Duo asked. Quatre nodded.

"Yeah, Trowa is a Mountain Elf. They specialize in communication with animals and creatures, and their tracking skills are top notch. Trowa doesn't talk much, but he's kind." Duo nodded.

"What about Wufei?" Duo asked.

"Wufei is a Dragon Clan's potion master. He can make anything. Though most of them taste vial." Quatre said making a face. Duo nodded in agreement.

Duo also started lessons with Wufei and Heero. Every evening Heero and Wufei would teach him how to defend himself. He figured it had to do with the war they were predicting or because of the way they had found him. Either way Duo was very grateful that they were teaching him to fight. Not to mention the physical need for the training seemed to cool Heero down greatly.

"Duo, hold your stance more like Wufei's." Heero said. Duo stood up straight and looked at the sword in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked coming to stand in front of Duo.

"Well, we don't fight with these types of weapons. You keep telling me to find a balance in the stances, but I can't." Duo said. Wufei thought for a moment.

"It's the balance of you bodies. Duo, do your people fight with longer weapons?" Wufei asked.

"Solo used a spear, and his wife used a really long sword. I saw a few fighting with double ended spears, and stuff, so yeah." Duo said with a crooked smile. The smile made Heero smile.

"What weapon do you want to fight with, Duo?' Heero asked. Duo looked around them.

"Well in the library the other day I saw a weapon in a book with a curved blade on a long staff." Duo said. I've seen the type of weapon at home, but I was never allowed to hold it. It was called a Meiri. I don't know what your people call them though."

"I think you meant the Scythe." Wufei said. "I will have the blacksmith make one for you, until then, practice with the sword." He said, taking up his stance again. Duo nodded and took up the same stance.

Surprisingly Duo had picked up the moves quickly. Though it took him a few times, and he had bruises to prove his mistake, he didn't give up, and he didn't whine like a child. Once the scythe was made and his balance was found Duo's progress increased each day. He took what Heero and Wufei dished out to him, and he tried to dish it right back. He had managed to give Heero and Wufei a few good bruises, though he had a sinking suspicious that they had let him.

After his training with Heero and Wufei, Duo would go with Trowa for an hour. Trowa would teach Duo how to ride horses, or if Duo had a particularly rough practice with the two, Trowa would simple teach Duo how to care for the horses. Though Duo also learned how to do that in the mornings in the stables, he was still the only person Shin would let near her. So he had taken up the responsibilities of her care. Not that he minded.

After dinner everyone retired to there rooms. That was where Heero would teach Duo how to read and write for a few minutes every night. Then they would go to bed. And every night was the same routine. Heero would tuck Duo into bed, he would then go to his bed and go to sleep. Around midnight, Duo would crawl into Heero's bed quietly, snuggle up into Heero's arms, one of Duo's wings would rest on Heero's side, the other would be slightly stretched to cover the rest of the bed, and the tip would rest on the floor.

Heero didn't mind this. He usually woke before Duo and he would lay there watching the boy sleep, never board of seeing the silky wings spread across them, the only time they were ever open, he wondered what the wings would look like fully spread. Each wing was twice as long as Duo's body, making the spread twenty feet long. Heero couldn't image how Duo even stood with them, folded or not. Duo's wings were only the tip on the ice berg for Heero.

They were all currently sitting at the long dinner table, half way through their meals. Duo found it was easier to eat with the fork, as long as he avoided his sharper, longer canines.

"I don't know what he was thinking." Wufei said, starring at his food he had hardly eaten anything.

"Relena is naive. She accepted him into her Kingdom and she is paying the price. But the fall of the Sanq Kingdom, will not effect the out come of the war. Relena was a complete pacifist. She would have not joined any of us." Heero said coldly.

"She may have been a pacifist, but she was not naïve." King Odin said. Heero rolled his eyes and looked away from his father.

"Maybe not to you." Heero said. There was a clatter of silverware and a scrapping of chairs.

"I am sick of your behavior." Duo flinched at the tone and bowed his head slightly. The rest of the room went silent. Heero glared at his father and stood as well.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean? You sit here and you do nothing as Kingdoms around you are being over run by an enemy with an army larger and smarter then your own." Heero spat out.

"If your mother-."

"She is dead, she is not here, and there is nothing she could do if she was." Heero said coldly, daring his father to say what he was going to say.

"That was out of line. I let you do what ever you want in this castle. I let you take him in, I let you waste-."

"This isn't about Duo, so don't bring him into it. Bringing mother into the conversation was out of line….Can you just listen to me for once. We need to have an army ready, having them prepared does nothing to help our people on the boarders. We need to place our own patrols. We need to be ready for when Trieze attacks. Him making his move on Sanq proves that he is after the Kingdoms. White Fang has already sent us an offer for arms in defense. Take it. Offer one to Romerfeller." Heero said.

"You are not king Heero, you do not make the decisions around this castle."

"Then I want nothing to do with your stupid castle. Gundam will fall if you do not have an alliance with the others. Oz will crush them one by one, will take them and control them, and then Gundam will stand alone."

"Sire, Prince, please…." Heero sent a glare at Quatre, who in turn shut his mouth quickly. Heero turned and left the dinning all. Duo looked at the others for a few seconds before getting up and bowing politely to the king before following Heero. Staying a little behind Heero in case he didn't want anyone to be near him. "Don't think this has anything to do with you. It doesn't." Heero said reassuringly. For his father to even dare blaming any of it on Duo's presence was wrong. Duo caught up to Heero and grabbed his hand.

"I haven't heard much about this Kingdom's thing that's going on…but to me it sounds as if you two are stressed, you should take a break." Duo said with a half smile.

"I wish I could Duo, but it is our job to protect our people, and my Father is being as ignorant as Relena had been." Heero said, squeezing Duo's hand. "My mother would have agreed with me, and he knows it."

"Heero, what happen to your mother?" Duo asked. Heero sighed and closed his eyes for a second.

"There was an Oz attack a few years ago. She had been with her royal court on her way home from visiting her sister in White Fang. Their traveling party was ambushed." Heero said sadly. "And know my father sits here while Oz is…" Heero just sighed again, this time in frustration.

"My mother died when I was born. They said that she bleed to death, and when the red feathers came, Solo said it was because I was cursed." Duo said wrapping his arms around himself.

"Do you still believe that Duo? After all the books that Wufei and Trowa, and myself have shown you? After talking with the women in the kitchens?" Heero asked.

"Not really, but that is what my brother believes, and because of that I have lost him as well." Duo said. "But I want to thank you Heero." Duo added.

"For what?" Heero asked and stopped walking.

"If you hadn't taken me in, if you hadn't helped me…I would have died…I would have died alone." Duo said. "I thought that everyone hated me. I felt that everyone I meet would just hate me. But you didn't, you and your friends…my friends, didn't." Duo said.

"Maybe I should be the one thanking you Duo." Heero said with a smile, opening the door to their chambers.

"Why?" Duo asked. Heero just shook his head and walking with Duo to his bed, where he, like every night before, tucked Duo in.

"Duo try to stay in your bed tonight." Heero said. He didn't know what made him say it. He didn't really mind Duo in his bed. It could have been the mood he was in. Duo just nodded and watched Heero leave. Duo eventually fell into a restless sleep which he woke up from many times through the night, but he didn't want to upset Heero so he stayed in his bed.

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Yeah another chapter. Let me know what you all think.