As Solomon and Saya neared the yellow house, both of them noticed the sound of bushes rustling violently, branches breaking, feet stamping, coupled with the distinctive high pitch squeal of a chiropteran making use of it's super-human speed. They both quickly ran into the house only to find that almost everyone had retired to their rooms for the night, and Haji was still calmly thumbing through his sheet music. No one seemed to notice the sounds of battle coming from the backyard.
"Haji! Sword! There's something going on outside," Saya immediately barked.
Haji obeyed his order without question, and Saya dashed out the backdoor, with Solomon close behind. Haji followed at a strangely unhurried pace.
When they reached the back door, Saya's mouth dropped wide open.
"I believe they are just training," Haji stated.
Yuki was standing nearby on the lawn, wearing a tank top and a pair of yoga pants with a full quiver of plastic fletched, carbon arrows at her waist, in her hand a modern recurve bow. Being designed for hunters and sportsmen, it was an ugly weapon compared to the elegant simplicity of the traditional Japanese bow she had used previously, which had been left behind in favor of her new weapon, mainly because a modern bow was a little more portable and practical in terms of the battle she would soon be participating in.
She had apparently learned how to shoot Olympic-style, drawing the string to her face and anchoring it against her lips. Other than it's involving a bow and arrow, it was nothing like the slow, graceful movements of Kyudo – she was shooting, then knocking the next arrow at an inhuman speed.
Several arrows were fisted in her right hand along with the bow, thus each time she released, her next arrow was already at her fingertips, instead of in her quiver. She was also utilizing her abilities as a chiropteran, her movements so quick that her right hand appeared to be a pale blue blur.
This was not that surprising to anyone. What was really surprising was her target.
Freddie.
Her Chevalier energetically zoomed to and fro at the other end of the yard, through bushes and up into trees, using his own superior speed to duck, dodge and occasionally, jump clear over the arrows flying at him. However, it was clear that his speedy evasions were not always successful, there was more than one arrow lodged in his body.
Solomon arched a brow. Perhaps she has retained something of her past, only someone raised as royalty could have the audacity to use her own Chevalier for target practice. Though, come to think of it, I wouldn't have put it past Diva.
Yuki didn't stop shooting until she ran out of ammunition and finally noticed the people standing behind her.
Saya was rendered speechless for a moment before speaking. "What are you doing?!"
"Target practice, what does it look like?" Yuki replied frankly.
"On Freddie?" Saya asked incredulously.
Yuki noticed the shocked tone in her sister's voice. "What?" she exclaimed. "I get to practice shooting at fast moving targets and Freddie gets to practice dodging – its win-win. Besides, he's a Chevalier, it's not like I can actually hurt him! You train with Haji, I don't see how this is any different!"
"Yeah, but when I spar with Haji, I don't actually wound him!"
"Maybe you need to practice harder then," Yuki said snidely, in such a way that it was difficult to tell if she was being playfully sarcastic, or genuinely conceited.
Freddie approached, pulling the last arrow from his abdomen as walked toward them from across the lawn, and leaving a spotty trail of blood behind him.
"I think you got me in the lung," he said, his voice oddly muffled, as if someone was sitting on his chest. He then suddenly bent over and began to cough, ejecting a mouthful of blood onto the ground. "Nice shot!" he commended proudly, his throat now cleared.
"See Saya!" she said, almost haughtily. "He doesn't have a problem with it!"
"Her wish is my command, eh Solomon and Haji?" Freddie said, followed by a laugh that quickly turned into another piteous bloody cough.
Yuki giggled. "C'mon sweetheart, you go get a drink, I'm gonna go take a shower."
Freddie grinned and followed obediently, leaving Saya, Haji and Solomon on the back porch.
"Saya's still thinks she's my damn mother!" Yuki whined to her Chevalier as they walked, speaking loud enough so the three people on the porch could hear quite clearly.
Solomon couldn't help but give a noticeable chortle at the irony of Yuki's complaint.
Saya glared at him briefly, clearly not amused and as she was known to do, taking herself a little too seriously.
"I'm going to bed," she huffed as she and Haji walked inside.
Just as he was about to head in himself, Solomon caught an odd scent on the breeze.
"Hmm," he furrowed his brows as he tried to recall where knew that smell from.
It's blood, but who's? he thought.
No – it couldn't be.
He began to search for the source of the familiar scent and spent several minutes pacing about the yard before he traced it to a small pool of blood on the ground.
He descended to his knees and touched it gingerly before rubbing it between his fingers briefly.
Solomon's eyes widened and then narrowed.
He shook his head as he spoke softly to himself. "And I was starting to think I had seen the last of you."
A teasing, effeminate voice came from behind him. "You should be so lucky!"
Solomon turned to face his older brother, only to see that Nathan Mahler's voice seemed to be coming out of Freddie Gardener's mouth.
"What have you done with Freddie?"
He was answered with a loud laugh which gradually faded from the high pitched tones of Nathan to the more masculine air of Freddie Gardener.
"I am Freddie, you idiot. I always have been," he stated proudly, still laughing a little.
Solomon stared at him in shock. "So Freddie doesn't really exist then?"
"Of course he exists! He's standing right here!" He gestured to himself. "Think about it. Other than appearance, voice and a few mannerisms, is Freddie Gardener fundamentally that different from Nathan Mahler?"
Solomon took this as a rhetorical question. I suppose Freddie did strike me as being outgoing and having an odd sense of humor, but still...
"Are you sure you didn't just kill and replace the poor boy?"
The elder Chevalier laughed again. "Nope. Come now, you know how easy it is to create a new identity, you're passport says 'Solomon Goldsmith V!' Every few decades, you avoid suspicion about your age by claiming to be your own son!"
"That is true," Solomon then steered the conversation back to it's original subject. "Nathan, it has been a while since I have known you to be deceptive and manipulative, but this time, you have really outdone yourself. I can't say I approve of you lying to everyone."
"Lying is such a harsh term. I prefer to think of it as acting – really the hardest part is feigning ignorance, though I must admit I am getting some genuine benefit out of my flying lessons, I've never really bothered practicing the whole back-wings thing."
"You are manipulating everyone," Solomon said accusively.
"You make it sound so Machiavellian!" he laughed. "But yes, I suppose I am."
Solomon looked away, his indignance just barely showing through his serene features.
"You're thinking of exposing me, aren't you?"
"What you are doing is wrong."
"What makes you think that you know what I'm doing?" the ancient Chevalier said darkly. "Ah Solomon, so impatient, so short-sighted, immortal and yet immature. I've said it before and I'll say it again – you have a lot of growing up to do," he paused, and his tone suddenly became more casual. "You know, if you see fit to blab about my secrets, I just might return the favor."
"Are you actually trying to blackmail me?" Solomon asked skeptically.
"You say it as if you have nothing to hide! Well, I suppose I could tell Haji that you kissed his fiancée, the fact that I saw it must tell you how close you were to getting caught. If I was him, I would kick your ass, truce or no truce." He paused. "But then again, tattling on you for that would be altogether too easy – and also – how did you put it? Oh yes, 'childish and manipulative."
He put his fist lightly to his chin. "Hmm. You know, if Saya had slapped you last night, she would have been completely within her rights, but the fact that she didn't makes me think that you are finally making some progress with her. I guess that would be partially because you aren't acting like as much of an overconfident dick as you used to, but back then, who could have blamed you? As the pretty-boy CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, you must have been accustomed to beating women off with a stick, eh?" He paused again. "But I think the main reason you are making progress with her is because she now sees you as a good guy." He grinned evilly. "She clearly doesn't know much about your past."
Solomon's eyes narrowed as his brother continued. "You spent the better part of a century doing evil in the name of Diva, if I told her about any one of your many crimes against humanity, I'm sure she would rethink, if not abandon her new found good opinion of you." He reassumed his thinker pose. "Perhaps, something she probably already has an inkling of – as the then CEO of Cinque Fleches, ultimately, it was you behind the development of Delta 67 and Van's nasty experiments were all done with your approval, including the ones that turned all those poor Vietnamese children into monsters as well as resulted in the death of Saya's beloved foster father." He paused to think once more. "I suppose she may have already realized that, but I can think of one thing she definitely doesn't know– I could tell her about how you were involved in our Vietnam operations in '72."
Solomon's eyes widened. "I didn't think you knew about that."
"Oh yes, I am quite familiar with it. Amshel saw Vietnam's civil war as nothing more than a stage on which to display his latest chiropteran product for the Americans, you were placed in charge of the operation. You made Karl do all the dirty work while you stayed in Paris to make sure that the peace talks went nowhere by keeping the focus on petty formalities. At one point, you became aware that the Red Shield was making some progress at convincing the US to side with them, so you and Amshel came up with a rather interesting plan to pit the US and the Red Shield against each other. He knew from experiments with Diva, that if Saya were to be forcibly brought out of hibernation, she would kill anything that moved, so you had Karl bait the Shield into doing just that. It was your hope that Saya would go nuts on a bunch of US soldiers, making the Red Shield look bad, and almost certainly destroying their relations with the US military, thus enabling Amshel's master plan to continue." The elder Chevalier paused. "From what I understand, she is tormented by her guilt from that incident to this day – I'd bet she would welcome the opportunity to blame someone else for it – and I know she would have a very hard time forgiving you for your involvement."
"That's enough, Nathan. You can tell her all about that if you like, I intended to talk to her about that myself, one day." Solomon turned and looked him squarely in the eye. "I believe that my Queen deserves to know the truth about me."
The ancient chevalier turned his head slightly and rubbed his cheek melodramatically, as if he had been slapped. "Oooh! That one stung a little!" His tone suddenly became more serious. "Solomon, look. Twice, Amshel bid you kill your own brother, and both times, you bitched and whined, but still did it without hesitation, just because Amshel asked you. Now all I am asking you to do is keep a secret. Is that so much to ask?"
"Why do you believe all this deception to be necessary?"
"Well, I would imagine that the twins are still mad at me for what I did to Dave – how was I supposed to know that he would be a self-righteous idiot and turn down immortality, I was trying to do the boy a favor!" the elder chevalier exclaimed before letting out a sigh. "If I came around in my old form, the girls would probably try to start something, and that's a bit of drama I wish to avoid."
Solomon chuckled briefly. "You want to avoid drama?"
His elder brother smirked. "In this particular case, yes. I would rather not have to fight my precious little dears, however, it is necessary for me to be around since it is my eternal duty to protect Yuki. At first it sufficed for me to just hang around her neighborhood and keep an eye out for trouble, while keeping an ear on the American military, but when I found out that they were planning to attack the Miyagusuku household, I came by as soon as I could, I figured Haji and Saya could handle it, but I wanted to be there just in case something went wrong and sure enough, Yuki lost it, and being in a state of pure instinct, she immediately moved to feed on her Chevalier – me. What happened after that – well lets just say I like to improvise every now and then, and it turned out very, very favorably. She now believes me to be her Chevalier, and that is exactly what I am – she's just mistaken about the circumstances."
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be the first time you faked the transformation, you managed to make Diva and everyone else believe that you were her Chevalier." Solomon thought for a moment. "If you wanted to take care of Yuki, then why didn't you just take her with you after you resurrected her?"
The ancient Chevalier sighed deeply. "There is a reason for that too," he said, his voice uncharacteristically melancholy.
"And what is that?"
He sighed again. "Solomon, you are familiar with Saya's past, are you not?"
"Yes, reasonably."
"Then you know that during her last active phase, she had a great deal of pain, guilt and regret to deal with, but Solomon, overall it was not her faithful Chevalier that got her through it – it was her human family. The Miyagusuku's support did her an immense amount of good, and it is my hope that they will work this magic on Yuki as well, because when she regains her memories, she will have a lot to come to terms with."
"You're talking about Diva, aren't you?"
"Partially, but the thing I am more worried about is what will happen when Yuki remembers the circumstances of her own death."
"And what were those?"
"To be honest, I am not sure, since I was cut off from her during her last several months. However, I do know one thing – her life was ended by her own hand." The ancient Chevalier sniffed and wiped away a tear.
"What could be so terrible that it would make a pregnant woman commit suicide?" Solomon wondered aloud.
"I don't know!" the elder brother snapped, his eyes briefly flashing red before he paused to collect himself. "But I do know this – I will do everything I possibly can to give her a life that she will deem worth living, and you had best stay out of my way."
"That's why you are manipulating everyone?"
"Yuki is not the only one who will benefit from my actions, what I do is for the good of us all and eventually, it will all be clear to you. If you can just trust my judgement, I guarantee you that one day you will thank me from the bottom of your heart."
Solomon gave the closest thing to a glare that his soft features could muster and actually raised his voice. "How can you be so arrogant?"
"Now that is quite an accusation coming from you!" the older brother laughed. "Now let me tell you something – I am not arrogant, I just know what's best for everybody. When you have accumulated over nine thousand years worth of life experience, you may know what's best for everybody too." His voice suddenly changed to a fierce, distorted, demonic growl. "Now listen here you ignorant ass, everything I have done, and everything I am doing is for the good of our clan, do you understand me?"
Solomon stared back, unflinchingly.
"And that includes Saya," he continued. "I promise you that Saya will be much better off, when all is said and done."
Solomon considered this carefully. "You swear it?"
"Yes."
"On the life of your Queen?"
The ancient Chevalier only hesitated for a moment. "Yes."
"Very well," Solomon reluctantly stated, "I will keep your secret."
"Good boy."
"However, the moment your actions seem to possibly pose the slightest threat to Saya or any of her loved ones, I will not hesitate to expose you."
"Fair enough," the elder brother said smugly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must attend to my Queen."
Freddie took a few steps back towards the house.
"You love her, don't you?" Solomon asked, his curiosity having got the best of him.
"More than anything," the ancient Chevalier said without a moment's hesitation.
"But you actually love her – love her, not just as your Queen."
"You sounded quite surprised when you said that," he laughed. "Pulled a Bowie on you did I? You thought I was a homosexual!"
Solomon gave a slight chortle. "You surely gave every indication of it."
The elder Chevalier laughed heartily. "Solomon, Solomon, Solomon – over a hundred years old and still so naïve! A person's manner of speaking and dress indicating their sexual preferences – what kind of idiotic logic is that?"
"Then why were you always flirting with James and Haji?"
"Come now, you know I like to tease people, and both of them were so uptight and romantically single minded – getting hit on by the likes of me just drove them crazy!" he paused. "Though I cant say it was entirely an act – such a cute ass on both those boys!" He giggled for a moment before leaning towards Solomon and whispering in his ear. "Oh, and in case your wondering – I have dabbled every now an then, if you catch my drift – you don't live as long as I have with out developing an open mind." He smirked suggestively before taking a step back. "Unfortunately for you – you're not my type! You're too blonde for me, I've always had a thing for the tall, dark and exotic."
I suppose that could be a description of Yuki – James and Haji too, for that matter.
Solomon laughed. "Ah, Nathan, I see you haven't changed."
The ancient chevalier suddenly glared at his younger brother. "Are you learning impaired? My name isn't Nathan, it's Freddie."
Solomon rolled his eyes. "Well, there's no one around, so I don't see why I shouldn't call you by your real name."
The elder chevalier laughed derisively at Solomon. "You think Nathan is my real name? Hah! I change persona at least every century, believe me, I've played the field – men, women, white, black, red, yellow, brown, and every color in between, I've been them all. Your still young so I don't expect you would understand yet, but I find that the best way to stave off the tedium of immortality is to periodically take on a new life. It gives existence a renewed zest. Anyway, I would love to tell you my life story, or saga rather, but I should be heading in if I wish to catch my beloved during that brief yet opportune few minutes between when she gets in bed and goes to sleep," he said with a wink. "Oh, and once again, don't mess things up with Saya. You would be amazed at how much joy women get from new grandchildren, I'm sure it will be the same with Yuki."
He began walking back toward the house, when Solomon posed one final question.
"If you love Yuki so much, why don't you at least tell her who you really are?"
The disguised Chevalier turned around and smirked. "I'm shy," he said innocently before disappearing into the house.
Solomon shook his head.
Never the simple answer.
Did I mention that I have a thing for twists?