Title: The Ribbon and the Ring 6?

Author: Seraphim Grace
Archive: http/ if you want it ask, I'll probably say yes. http/ Always appreciated and replied to.
Rating: 18 (This is an open rating so I don't have to worry).
Pairings: 1x2
Warnings: Angst. Some gore.
Notes: AU, and features necromancy

When Heero and Duo had been to Dathyl before they had seen the sprawling mess of Dathyl, a city dominated by the Halcyon palace which Heero had said reminded him of pictures of Neuschwanstein in Europe but on a much larger scale. They had seen Dramathen which had resembled nothing more than the cities in the Samurai dramas that Heero watched for the emotion and Duo watched for the action. So none of them were prepared for Sidi1.

"It's like a hand." Quatre said, the most he had said since they arrived, since he had been incapacitated with terrible headaches. "Like a hand reaching for the sun."

"More like a rosebush," Trowa said, "that has just been pruned."

"On old maps," Gereint said behind them, "it is called the Citadel of the Black Hand." He pointed, "see how the four towers are together, there is a fifth one over us, it's called the thumb, though they are the four sisters."

"What are those webs between them?" Wufei asked.

"Skyways." Cedric answered, "they're really dangerous though, it's just three pieces of rope strung between the towers. One to walk on and two to balance yourself on"

Heero turned to Duo. "No." He said firmly. Duo just laughed sheepishly as if Heero had read his mind.

"Something reckless, dangerous and probably outright foolish, what makes you think I'd do something like that." He was grinning, and Wufei noticed how very warm and genuine his smile was, how different it looked. Normally when Duo smiled it was hard edged, it was a brittle thing, like a porcelain mask that had been over baked. The smile he offered Heero made Wufei want to smile back. "Now, suicidal, I know you'd be right beside me."

"Baka." Heero muttered, but there was no venom in it, in fact the way he said it he made it sound more like a petname, like it was some private joke between them.

"Can we go inside?" Quatre asked, "I have the most terrible headache."

"Still?" Cedric asked, hefting his pack on his shoulder, "I'll make you some willowbark tea," he pushed open the door to the castle, "and a lavender pack, it might do you some good to lie down in a darkened room."

"hear that, Tro," Duo said, "while the Quat's away, the Tro can play. Heero can look after Quat, and Wufei can read some of those books that Gereint promised him and you and I can play with the skyways."

"No." Heero said firmly. "I refuse to allow you to endanger you for something so irrelevant."

Duo stuck his tongue out at him, "you're no fun."

"You're in rare spirits." Gereint said. "Did something happen, because I hasten to remind you that you are underage and as I found you in my tomb then I would be your legal foster parent until we return you to your home, and well," he paused, "you're only babies."

Duo just laughed, "no," he said fondly, patting Gereint on the hand, "I just slept really well, my Hee-chan," he elongated the name to make it slightly more patronising, "is there to protect my virtue and make sure that no lone molesters could grab me in the catacombs, not that I might be averse to a molester, most of the men in Dathyl are so pretty, I mean you have the nicest forehead, and Tobin has the most amazing eyes."

There was a growling sound.

"I was thinking that maybe Heero would be the one to molest you, judging by the look in his eyes." Gereint said but Duo couldn't answer him.

Heero grabbed Duo by the wrist and pulled him across, "You said that you had no interest in Tobin," he snarled.

"And I don't." Duo answered, jerking his wrist away, "hmm, jealous much, I married you," he stuck his tongue out again, and then winked, "and well, Tobin doesn't swing that way."

"I'm getting the impression that that is the best thing for all involved." Trowa said.

"I want answers." Wufei said angrily, "I have no idea who these people are, what is going on? Why are you so protective of Maxwell, Yuy? What is going on here?"

"It's complicated." Duo answered, "but I'll explain later, we'll sit down with some kir and some food and I'll tell you all everything, well I'll tell you and Tro, but I think Kitty-Quat looks like he's about to pass out."

"Head ache." Quatre moaned as they walked through the castle.

Inside the castle Duo was surprised, he had expected something like the castles on Earth that had been redecorated to be how they had been in the middle ages for tourists, but it was not a castle built and decorated for war. In most castles spears were arranged here and there on the wall, or shields, or swords, or battle pennons. The tapestries on the wall, some of which had been stitched by a virtuoso and some were very poorly executed, were pictures of princesses being wooed or people hunting and there were many. The rugs on the floor were woven with pictures of flowers not battles. There were vases of fresh flowers dotted here and there along the corridors which ran in circles under the towers, and rather than looking like, what he knew it to be, the Garvem barracks, this castle looked like Okiya of Halcyon. It caught him unawares.

Women in grey coats like the ones that the Red had worn, although with skirts underneath, bustled about with trays and buckets, as did men in black. Gereint swung open a door revealing a lady's sitting room, "sit down, make yourselves some kir," he said, "Quatre if you follow me we'll go see an alchemist about this headache of yours."

"It's nothing." Quatre protested, but he was very pale and grey, "just a headache, probably the light."

"You had a headache in the catacombs." Gereint answered, "and until we get the lot of you home you're in my care, that means you and I are going to go and see the alchemist, Cedric is going to arrange you some rooms until I go to Halcyon in a couple of days, and I'm going to tell Sir Kail that you are here and that he is to look after you." He looked very paternal, and concerned.

"Thank you." Quatre said defeated. "Your kindness is appreciated."

"Thank you," Duo said, "send for Takeo in Meirin, he will verify my story and he will pay."

Gereint laughed, "a gift is a benefit more to the giver than the receiver." It sounded like a quote he was reciting. "Now come along, Quatre, let's go see the alchemist."

Wufei sat down on the padded armchair before the fire with Trowa facing him, Duo was fussing with herbs and a jug of water to make the spicy red tea. Heero had taken a seat by the door where he could watch the window. Although he knew that Duo was more than capable of looking after himself he didn't want him to have to, Wufei noticed it but said nothing.

"You promised me an explanation." Trowa said bluntly, "not more tea."

"We have been here before." Heero told him in the same curt voice.

"Really," Trowa answered, "I never would have guessed."

"We were at the LaGrange point just past L3," Duo said, "we had sneaked aboard an Oz transport ship and were about to go kaboom," he made a sweeping motion with his hands, "and then it went boom and we thought," he looked at Heero who raised a single eyebrow in query, "well I thought," he qualified, "that this was it, we were off to the great hangar deck in the sky if you catch my meaning, I mean I just hoped you had remembered to send my buddy to Silicon Heaven."

"Silicon Heaven?" Wufei queried, Heero groaned that someone had walked into it. "There's no such thing."

"Of course there is." Duo protested, looking a little put out.

"Where else would all the calculators go?" Trowa finished with an amused expression. It looked as if Wufei would combust.

"Anyway," Duo said preparing four cups for the kir when the water had boiled, "here's my thinking, well here it is, to die, would be an awfully big adventure, well at least I think that's what he said, hey has anyone noticed that put Treize Musttryharder looks kinda like Captain Hook under the wig."

"Baka." Heero murmured.

Duo grinned at that, he positively beamed like a halogen bulb had been lit under his skin. "So, here's me thinking we're dead and I wake up, naked, in bed with Heero and this man shouting that he had managed to punch a hole in the aether and we were demons. Ro tried to disabuse him of the notion, but before we knew what was happening we were shacked up in this really fancy pad in this palace called Halcyon." He poured the water into the cups without pausing for breath, "and Heero was all like this is an Oz trap but then really strange shit started happening, this woman kept talking to me and I was summoned to meet the Lady Minako, who was really cool, and she said I could talk to the dead and because of it I was going to be Lord of Meirin after her and that Heero was my guardian." He took a deep sucking breath before he continued, "of course we didn't believe her but it turned out that the woman I had spoken to, Avili, was dead and had been for months, and she proved it. So, not sure what else to do with us Mina took us to the capital where we met the empress, Teishi, and she said that Heero had to make this vow to me and I said okay, if that's the law and when we did she married us on the sly, I swear most of the women in this place are total yaoi freaks, and then the Seraphim attacked, not the angels, like Gereint, but the army. They're complete nut-jobs and they wanted Tobin because he had seen this massacre and if he went to court to admit it then the Queen, Aeka who was also really cool, would have to go to war with," he stopped and then smiled to himself, "here, and they chased us to Samrath, and there was this battle where Danan D'Karioni killed Mina by cutting out her heart and Tobin and Heero took me to Meirin where the Aegis said I had to choose, but I didn't know what I was choosing and said I wanted to go home and I woke up on Peacemillion, the rest you kinda know."

Wufei looked as if he was breathing for Duo as well, he just blinked. "I think I was happier not knowing." He said.

"It is simple." Heero said quietly, "Duo can speak to the dead, that gives him a claim to Meirin that was ratified by the empress, as his husband I have the job of protecting him, but first we are going to go to Halcyon and Danan D'Karioni will reap what he sows, then we will do out best to get home."

"I'm going to cut out his stinking black heart and eat it on a plate." Duo growled. He handed over the cups of kir before settling on the inglenook to drink his own. "Then I'm going to kill him."

"This Mina must have meant a lot to you." Trowa said quietly.

"She was really cool, yanno, she didn't care about anything, she was just there and she listened and sometimes she knew what to say and sometimes she didn't, but nevertheless she was there to just give you a hug because you need it. But she was unhappy and it made her hard edged." Duo said sadly.

"She was like a mother to us." Heero said from the door, "her and her husband were very kind to us when they had no cause to be, they welcomed us into their family with open arms. There was no harm in her, but he killed her regardless because of her talent."

"And this Tobin?" Trowa asked. Heero's gaze hardened into a glare.

"He sings at the Dathyl opera, he's the primadonna," Duo answered, "he and Ro got into a stink because I look like his dead girlfriend, but he said he was sorry and since then we've been cool but Heero," he elongated the name in a sing song fashion, "doesn't trust him."

"He has yet to earn my trust." Heero growled.

"Tobin's cool." Duo protested, "he's just like me." He beamed at that.

"Nataku help me." Wufei murmured under his breath, "another one."

Author's Note:

1. When I created Aatoria (the country Dathyl is in) I wanted real landmarks for what I was describing, and Halcyon is based on Neuschwanstein but bigger and by the sea, and Sidi was based on a castle that appeared in a single episode of the cartoon dungeons and dragons called Darkhaven. One of the cities you haven't been to yet, Coresc, is cantilevered on a cliff face because I liked the idea of cantilevering and it's my world and I'll cantilever if I want to. Although none of you probably care the names Dathyl, Sidi and Cadarn are from Welsh myth, Coresc and Dramathen are unusual because I made them up. But Aatoria comes from Bathory because I was reading a book on Elizabeth Bathory at the time, one of the major houses became Baatorin and from that came Aatoria. See, you learn something new every day.