chapter 3

"Well," Gereint said, "I have a couple of questions." He said sitting back around the fire, "it's not every day that my dig turns out people asleep in a tomb." He was twisting the cup of hot kir, that Cedric had made, in his hands as he thought about it. "Especially here in Sidi."
"Where are we?" Wufei asked, he looked a little wild eyed as he stared into the deep red kir that Cedric had given him as if working out what it was. Duo had already emptied his cup and was having seconds whilst they waited for the soup.
"The catacombs of Sidi." Gereint answered, "we're about half's a day's walk from the surface here, we'll walk up with you come dawn, you don't want to go out into Sidi at dark."
"Sidi," Heero mused the word, running his fingers along the black leather saya that held his sword. "Can you give us a map?"
Gereint looked at Cedric who got up with a roll of his eyes and started rooting around in the boxes that they have. "Not a problem." Gereint said.
"You're being mean to him." Quatre said, referring to Cedric.
"He's my errant." Gereint said, "Sir Valien picked on Sir Cameron, Sir Cameron picked on me, and when he's knighted Sir Cedric will have an errant of his own to bully, and believe me, I'm not that mean to him."
"How long has it been since you saw the sun?" Quatre asked.
"A week." Cedric answered, "but I am honoured indeed to be serving under Sir Gereint, it's a great honour to have been chosen, and he took me off from Sir Amitre and he was mean, Sir Gereint is a good man, and a great scholar."
"Okay," Quatre said, backing down. Heero looked at the map that Cedric handed him. "What kind of soup is that?"
"Pea," Cedric answered, "they keep really well down here." He sounded slightly apologetic.
"Sir Gereint, if you would show us where we are." Heero said laying the map down. Sir gereint pointed out the city of Sidi which was drawn as five towers around a base, and then he pointed out a place just outside the city in a dark sprawl on the map.
"We are in the Termigent?" Duo asked looking at where Gereint had pointed, even in the lamplight the colour bleached from his skin.
"Technically, we are under it." Cedric said, "the catacombs here in Sidi go for miles in each direction, we're trying to map them." He sounded proud.
"Is there something you should be telling us?" Trowa said looking at where Heero and Duo sat together.
"We need to get to the Seraphim stronghold." Duo said calmly, ignoring him. "We need to find Danan D'Karioni." Heero's face matched the determination in Duo's voice. It was his Shinigami voice and they promised violence between them.
"Danan?" Gereint asked, "you're looking for Danan?" He looked incredulous and amused at some great joke that they weren't privy to. "I can't imagine why you'd think that he'd be in the Academy, he's been at Halcyon for years."
"And you're sure that you're looking for Danan?" Cedric asked, "not Stevan or Mikael or any of the other D'Karioni."
"Absolutely sure." Duo said, "more sure than I've been of most things."
"Look." Wufei said, losing his temper and putting down his cup down on the tiled floor. "There is obviously something you know that we don't, as a team I ask that you let us know all the information that you have. Like where the hell are we? How the hell did we get here? Why are we dressed like this?"
"That is one of the questions I had." Gereint said hopefully. "So, if any of you have answers, I'll be more than glad to help with what I know if you tell me what you know." He crossed his legs so he was sat more comfortably on the floor around the fire. "But please, settle my curiosity on this at least," he looked clearly at the ribbon around Duo's neck. "Who married you two? I mean are you old enough legally, you don't look seventeen to me, and well, it's strange enough that it's two boys but you're so young."
"The Darin empress." Heero answered.
"Hatchet-face?" Cedric gasped. "Or do you mean the dowager, Hatchet-face the elder?"
"She was beautiful." Duo said, "she tricked us." He seemed shocked, "we didn't know."
"Well," Cedric said with a smile, he was a thin youth, probably about the same age as they were, but thin and pimply with it, his hair was cut in a strange bowl fashion and none of his clothes seemed to fit him. "You two are a good match, and well, old Hatchet-face has a strange sense of humour."
"We need to get to Halcyon, show me how." Heero was growling, he was obviously very close to being angry, Duo knew that and put his hand on Heero's thigh to calm him.
"Why?" Gereint asked.
"We need to find Danan D'Karioni." Duo said angrily.
"Look, despite the fact that we are miles underground, I want to know how you got into a tomb that's been bricked shut for centuries." Gereint said, "I'll take you to the surface tomorrow and you can do what you like, but you got to tell me."
Duo decided to answer this, he repeated the words that Eluneth was saying with a smile, "Strange things happen in the Termigent." He said calmly, "now is that soup ready?"
"Always thinking with your stomach, Duo Maxwell." Trowa's deep voice rumbled.
There was a deep growling sound as Heero noticed Trowa staring at Duo. Trowa met his gaze through his bang with a dispassionate expression and then shook his head slightly. The growling stopped as Heero acknowledged that Trowa had no interest in Duo.
Cedric noticed it as well, "I'll get you some bowls." He said scrabbling around in his pack.
"Although your answer has merit." Sir Gereint said, "it still leaves a lot of things open, like why you two were tricked into marriage."
"And why you're dressed like the Cadacus." Cedric added ladling the soup into bowls and passing them around. Gereint gave him a dark look that Heero noted for future reference.
"I am his Senshisha." Heero answered blankly. "We were asked to make our vows not realising that they would be marriage vows."
Gereint nodded. "Then you are his Tennosha." Gereint said, he seemed to pause over the words as if checking they were right and Cedric looked at him like he was talking in tongues, like the rest of the pilots he clearly had no idea what the words meant.
Duo nodded. "I am the Shinigami." He said sadly. "Thus we have to get to Halcyon."
"I have to take a shipment of artefacts to Halcyon next week." Gereint said, "I'll take you with you. I think Sir Cameron might be better qualified to understand what you're telling me." Heero acknowledged that with a nod but said nothing.
"Quatre said you were looking for a sword." Wufei chipped in around his soup.
"Yes," Gereint said, "the sword-smith Pwyll made it to order but it's been lost since then, there are a lot of records of it being made and being accepted but nothing since. It's become considered a great myth." This was the reason he was in the catacombs of Sidi. "I managed to chase it's trail to Meirin and the caretaker Takeo said that it would most likely be here."
"Does it have a name?" Quatre asked.
"Yes," Cedric blurted, "it's supposed to be the best that Pwyll ever made, it's called Immortal Beloved and is supposed to be perfectly weighted with a buckskin handle, it's worth a lot to academe." He was excited and blabbering, "it's supposed to have something engraved on it."
"It does." Heero answered hefting the saya across his knee where he knelt. "It says Fushi no saiai on one side, and setsunakutemo zutto on the other." He slid the sword free and handed it to Gereint, "this is the sword Immortal Beloved."
Gereint took it like it was infinitely precious and then held it against the light. "Thank you." he said as if it was the treasures of the world that Heero had given him, or if it was a small child he had given him.
"What does it say?" Cedric said.
"Immortal beloved." Duo answered, "and despite that it's torture, always." He licked his lips, "it doesn't translate very well." He added.
"I thought the sword was supposed to reveal the mysteries of death." Cedric protested.
"No," Gereint corrected, "the sword was cast for the protection of death. But I think the translation might be wrong, maybe the sword was cast for a Senshisha, the guardian of the Lady of Meirin."
"But Lady Minako was the last Lady of Meirin." Cedric protested.
"I am the Lord of Meirin." Duo corrected. "Mina was the last but I am her successor, acknowledged and accepted by the Empress of Darie and the Queen of Dathyl."
"Then you two have a lot of explaining to do." Wufei said in a manner that threatened violence. "Like where in the seven hells are we? How in the seven hells did he get here? Why in the seven hells am I dressed like this? When in the seven hells did you two get married? I demand that you must tell me."
"Sidi," Cedric answered, "I found you in the catacombs over there. As you were laid out like corpses I imagine that you're in ceremonial robes, they already answered that they got married when they made their vows." He answered each of the questions in turn without blinking but it obviously made Wufei angrier by the moment.
"This is the country of Aatoria." Gereint answered, "and each of you are dressed formally. You," he looked at Quatre, "are dressed as a nobleman of Jimpachi, these two are dressed as Tennosha and Senshisha, he," he looked at Trowa, "is an Aatorian demon slayer, and you," he looked at Wufei, "I've only ever seen pictures of what you are wearing, you are a Dragon lord."