Disclaimer: This story was written by a fan only for the enjoyment of other fans, without any monetary compensation. Gundam Wing and its characters are registered trademarks of Bandai Entertainment Inc.™ and Sotsu Agency. All rights reserved.

A big Thank You to KT who is taking time out of her busy schedule to help me proofread this story.

The Dragon King

Book 1- Of New Kings and New Friends

Chapter 4

When Zechs returned to the royal quarters to accompany the king to the feast, he found him still sitting by the window, staring out into the slowly darkening sky.

"Is everything alright, You Highness?" the young knight wanted to know.

"Yes. It's just that…the meeting between the boy and myself did not turn out as well as I had hoped," Treize admitted with a sigh. "He was quite upset about the fact that I failed to reveal my identity to him this morning."

"Oh?"

"You can say it, you know."

"Say what?"

"I told you so."

"I take absolutely no pleasure in being right about it, Your Highness," his bodyguard replied evenly.

Treize tilted his head and looked up at him, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Liar!" he accused.

The younger man returned the grin ever so slightly. "Well, perhaps a little."

"You are not that hard to read, you know."

Zechs gave a little huff before changing the subject. "Are you ready to go, your Highness? The festivities are about to start. It would be bad form for the guest of honor, even if it is the king, to be late."

"Oh, I'm ready," the king assured him as he pushed himself out of his chair. A somewhat pensive expression crossed his face. "I'm wondering if Lady Une managed to get her hands on some whistleberry wine for us this year?"

A whistleberry was a small, wild fruit that only grew in a few, very selective areas in the Shenlong Mountains. Treize had developed a liking for the very unique tasting wine. However, it was hard to come by, even for the king.

Like everything else in Galados, the tiny deep-red berries even had their own legend, according to which a princess who had fallen in love with a common soldier, killed herself in the forest after learning that her beloved had fallen in battle. The next spring the spot where she had died was covered with whistleberry plants, their pure white flowers symbolizing love and loyalty while the red berries represent the blood that had been spilled. Their name however, came from the plant's uniquely shapes leaves which made excellent whistles.

#

The feast, traditionally held on the first night of the king's annual visit, had always been a grand event with music, entertainment and a splendor of food and wine (for those old enough to enjoy it). Treize remembered it being just the same way, back when he had trained at the shrine. Now of course he was the 'guest of honor', sitting at the head of the large horseshoe shaped table, with Lady Une to his right and his body guard to his left side.

The headmistress did after all manage to secure several kegs of whistleberry wine for the occasion, and the servers had been instructed to make sure that nobody was left with an empty goblet tonight.

With a pleasant smile Treize applauded as a group of young woman, carrying colorful ribbons, somersaulted through the open doors. As he watched them dance he raised his glass to his lips. The wine was sweet, with an underlined spicy taste to it that was so very unique to whistleberries.

To the sounds of flutes and lyres the women tossed and swirled their ribbons so quickly that the colors blended, forming one brilliant rainbow. Nimble and graceful they moved over the dance floor. It was a delight to watch them.

Suddenly the music stopped, the women bowed and cleared the floor. And then, accompanied by a solo drum roll, a boy, no more than eleven or twelve years of age, rode into the hall on a large, fierce looking feline.

"A saber-cat," Treize nearly gasped in surprise. "I've never seen one of these creatures in Galados."

Saber-cats were known to be ferocious, forest and desert dwelling beasts, living only in a few uninhabited mountain areas in Lhankor and the arid region of Narath.

"The troupe hails from Lhankor," Lady Une explained. "Or so I have been told."

"I see." The king nodded.

Lhankor was a small kingdom in the south-west. It didn't have rich metal and mineral resources like Galados, but the country was blessed with very fertile soil. Many of its neighbors, especially the Desert Emirate of Narath, imported most of their crops from there.

Meanwhile the dark-haired boy had stopped his mount in the center of the hall. The creature roared, loud enough to make the windowpanes vibrate, and elicit a number of startled gasps from the crowd, and showed off those protruding, curved fangs saber-cats derived their name from. It was indeed a impressive display.

The rider dismounted, and two men led the feline out of the room. Before the doors could shut behind them the boy put two fingers to his mouth and let out a whistle. Moments later a snow white owl soared into sight. The large bird circle the hall a couple of times before settling down on its master's leather-clad arm where it received some kind of treat.

The young performer bowed to the audience. For a while he entertained the crowd by throwing a lure into the air which the bird would catch with little effort and bring back to him. But suddenly the owl changed directions, heading straight toward the king. Instinctively Treize ducked his head, but not fast enough to avoid the theft of his crown. With the regal diadem safely between its sharp talons, the bird flew up into the high ceiling, where it perched itself onto one of the wooden rafters.

The king raised one eyebrow in a mixture of amusement and surprise, while the boy approached and bowed in front of him.

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. He is a very obedient bird for most parts, but he does seem to fancy shiny things."

"Is that so?" Treize asked, clearly amused. "Then perhaps he and I can make a little deal?" he suggested while he reached into his pocket to pull out a silver coin and hold it up for the bird to see.

The owl didn't budge.

"Oh, I see," the king smirked. "You don't think a piece of silver is a fair price to pay for the return of my headdress? W,ell let's see then..." he exchanged the coin for a larger gold piece. "Perhaps this will suit you more?"

And sure enough, the bird left its perch without hesitation, and to everyone's amusement. He dropped the crown onto the table in front of the king and grabbed the coin instead, which he then exchanged for another treat from his master.

As the young performer attempted to return the gold piece to the king Treize graciously waved his hand. "Keep it, you more than deserved it. What's your name, boy?"

"They call me, Triton, Your Majesty."

"You have a real talent with animals, Triton."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

With another bow the boy sent the bird away, and for a moment it looked like this was going to be the end of his performance. Once again the music died down as four men led the saber-cat back into the hall. At least Treize thought it was the same feline they had seen before, but then he realized that this one was larger and a bit darker in color than the first. The animal was snarling and growling and trying to fight the men who held it back by four heavy chains. Stunned silence fell over the audience as the boy approached the beast. From only a few feet away the two were staring each other down for what seemed forever, then suddenly the feline dropped its gaze and seemed to relax. With a soft smile the boy stepped closer, reached out and the large animal tilted his head and rubbed it against his hand. The crowd let out a collective gasp as he removed the four chains from the cat's collar, swung himself onto its back and left the hall in the same way he had come in.

"Impressive." Treize remarked. "Most impressive."

"Was is real, or just show; what do you think, Your Highness?" Lady Une asked.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "But either way I thought it was quite remarkable. The boy might have powers; do you know if he has ever been tested?"

"Not as far as I know. I was thinking the same as you, your Highness, and I spoke to his sister about it -Their parents died and she is raising him. – She told me that he did not want to leave the troupe, no matter what."

"That's really too bad. I hate to see such potential wasted."

"I agree."

"Lady Une!"

Treize turned his head. A young woman, her name was Noin if he remembered correctly, was standing right behind them. She bowed at him.

"Please forgive my rudeness, Your Highness. I do apologize for the interruption, but…"

"Yes?" he asked.

"I can't seem to find Wufei."

"What do you mean?" The headmistress frowned.

"I was going to bring him something to eat…, after all he didn't have supper yet, but he was not in his room. I checked the library and common rooms... but I could not find him there either. So I spoke to some of the other pupils but it appears that no one has seen him since he left with you earlier this afternoon."

"That foolish boy," Une shook her head, concern clearly written in her face. "You do not think he took off again, do you?"

"He should know better than to leave the shrine at nightfall." Noin replied. "I will look for him a little more, but if I can't find him, I would like your permission to take Aries out and search the forest."

The headmistress nodded firmly. "Permission granted."

"Zechs." The king ordered. "Go with her. And keep me updated."

"As you wish, Your Highness," his bodyguard nodded.

#

"Let us split up. That way, we can cover more ground quicker," Zechs suggested as he and Lucrezia Noin walked out into the yard. The two of them had not only gone through training together, they also were both refugees from Sanq, which was probably the reason why he had always felt a little closer to her than to most of the other pupils. The fact that they were close in age and she was a bit of a tomboy who always liked to challenge herself and those around her, was probably another.
Noin could have easily joined the Royal Guard if she had wanted, but instead she chose to stay here at the Dragon Shrine as an instructor after her graduation.

"Well thought," the young woman agreed. "I'll check the gate first. Maybe one of the guards there has noticed something out of the ordinary."

Zechs nodded. "Then I'll start at the inner yard."

In the back of his mind the fair-haired dragon knight had somewhat of an idea where the boy could be, so before looking anywhere else he headed directly for the training grounds. Sure enough, as soon as he rounded the stables he could see something in the dark that at first sight looked like a large boulder. When he got closer however, the 'boulder' shifted. A triangular head popped up from beneath a grey wing, large brown eyes studying him warily.

As he closed in Nataku snarled warningly, and the young knight put a finger over his lips. "You are going to wake him," he whispered, gesturing at the boy who was dead asleep, curled up against his dragon.

The snarling turned into a quiet chirping. Obviously she wasn't sure if she could trust Zechs, and confused about what to do.

"It's all right," he assured her calmly, quietly. "I'm a friend, remember?"

The dragon finally allowed the knight to come close enough to pick the boy up.

"I'll take it from here. He will be fine. You can go home now."

A bluish glow started to envelope the creature, and then moments later inside the glow the dragon's contour began to fade.
Zechs had always wondered what would happen if one was to step into that glowing circle. Would it take you to a different place, or kill you? If dragons traveled safely from one world to the other could the same be true for humans? And what was the world like in which they lived? Obviously there had to be other creatures too, prey for them to live on. Dragons could be quite skilled when it came to hunting, and their appetite enormous. How did they live while they were on the other side, he wondered. Alone? Or perhaps in groups or small families like many of the wild beats in this realm? Did the dragons who met in this world know and recognize one another, perhaps even form some kind of friendship? There were so many things he would have loved to know; but no one could answer his questions.

In his arms, Wufei shifted slightly but didn't wake up as the young man started to walk toward the dormitories. About half way there, he ran into Noin again.

"You found him already?" She sounded surprised. "How did you know where to look?"

"Well, I had an idea where he might be," the young man replied. "There is really only one place inside the shrine where you can safely summon a dragon."

Noin shook her head. "Of course, why didn't I think of that myself?" Her lips curved into a soft smile as she looked at the sleeping figure in Zechs' arms. "Look at him; he is still just a little child."

"Let's take him to his room before he wakes up. Will you show me the way?"

###

Wufei was woken when the first rays of the rising sun fell onto his bed. He opened his eyes slowly and frowned. How did I get here?

The last thing the boy remembered was summoning Nataku and then crying his heart out. A slight blush of embarrassment crept into his cheeks at that memory, but he still could not recall how he had gotten into bed.

His robes were hanging over the chair by his writing desk, and his shoes were lined up neatly beneath them. Wufei pushed away the quilt that was covering him and jumped out of bed. On his desk the papers reminded him that he still had not completed his writings. Not only needed he to finish writing down the rules, but tomorrow Headmistress Une also expected him to hand in his copy of the scrolls of the gods. With a sigh the young boy slipped into his chair. But before he could even reach for the pen his stomach started to growl, reminding him that he had not eaten anything since…since he and the two dragon knights had their meal at Mount Haku. His frown deepened into a scowl at the memory.

The sun was up and shining, the morning meal was going to be served soon. Perhaps, if he went down to the kitchen now he could talk the staff into letting him eat a little earlier. As Wufei gazed out of his window his eyes fell upon a group of colorful covered wagons. Traveling folks… he thought. They must have provided the entertainment for last night's feast.
Suddenly his eyes went wide. Chained to one of the wagons he noticed two large scarcely striped felines. He had never seen creatures like it, except for in pictures and paintings, but he had read books about them. Wufei quickly put on his clothes and slipped into his shoes. He almost flew down the long spiral staircase, stopping only briefly at the washroom to splash some cold water into his face and clean his teeth.

As Wufei approached the wagons he noticed a boy, a few years his senior, brushing down one of the large cats. The animal had its eyes closed and was purring so loud that Wufei could hear it even from where he was standing. It's fur was of deep golden color with dark stripes across it's chest, legs and the center of its back all the way to the tip of its long tail. The boy had read that only forest dwelling saber-cats carried those markings, while those living in the desert had plain, tan colored coats. Of course, it made sense. Those stripes, meant to camouflage the animal in the jungle would be a dead giveaway in the sands of the desert.

"Umm…" he cleared his throat causing the older boy to turn his head.

"Oh, it's you…the boy with the dragon."

"Huh?" Wufei blinked in confusion. "How…?"

"Your headmistress allowed us to board our horses in the stable for the night," the boy explained. "When I went to check on them shortly before my performance I saw the two of you."

"Oh." Wufei blushed once again.

"You have a beautiful dragon."

"Thank you. She is my best friend."

"I know what you mean." The other boy nodded and petted one of the cats between the ears. "Do you have a name?"

"You can call me Wufei. What about you?"

"I'm Triton. And these two are Kin and K'ri."

"Can I touch them?" Wufei asked.

The older boy nodded. "Sure, as long as I'm here they won't hurt you."

Cautiously Wufei stepped closer and reached out to caress the smaller of the two felines. Its fur was, compared to its brother's, darker and had a orange hue to it. "It's so soft." The boy exclaimed in wonder.

"Isn't it? You know saber-cat fur is special; it can keep warm and cool at the same time. That's why they can live in the hottest desert as well as in snow-covered mountains."

"Really?"

Triton nodded. "But unfortunately that's also why they are hunted so much. Kin and K'ri's mother was killed for her pelt, too. Luckily I found them, or they would have starved to death, because they were still too small to fend for themselves. Do you want to help me brush them?"

"May I, really?" Wufei could barely contain his excitement.

The older boy handed him a soft oval brush and showed him how to use it. A low purr rumbled in Kin's chest as Wufei started to brush him. The feline really seemed to enjoy it.

"Triton, hurry up, breakfast is almost…." A young woman with long reddish hair came around one of the wagons. "Oh, I didn't realize you had a guest."

"Wufei this is Catherine, my older sister." Triton introduced them. "Catherine, this is Wufei. He is been helping me."

Wufei dipped his head and bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you, Ma'am."

"Aren't you the cutest?" With a soft chuckle Catherine reached out to ruffle his hair. "But you don't need to call me 'Ma'am'. I'm really not that old you know. Are you going to join us for breakfast?"

"Uh...," the boy hesitated for a moment. "Is it all right?"

"Yes, of course." She nodded. "There is plenty to go around. Triton, show him where to wash up and then come to the table."

The older boy nodded at his sister and then gestured for Wufei to follow him. On the other side of the makeshift camp stood several buckets filled with water, where the boys cleaned themselves. Triton then led the way around the wagons. In the center of the small camp was a long, low table.

Wufei counted more than a dozen people, men and woman, sitting around the table eating, talking and laughing. He swallowed nervously, instinctively slowing his pace. He hadn't expected to be breaking bread with so many strangers.

"Come on," Triton encouraged him with a nudge in the back. "Trust me, nobody here bites."

Catherine waved at them. At her side were two empty cushions on the floor. Triton took the seat next to his sister, while Wufei finally settled down next to him. He was quickly introduced to everyone in the troupe, but it was just impossible for him to remember all their names. There were two brothers, one of whom performed as a fire eater, while the other was skilled with throwing knifes. An older woman with kind, green eyes offered to read him his future if he came to see her later after the meal, and her husband performed little magic tricks at the table, very much to everyone's amusement.

Someone put a plate in front of him filled with bread, cheese and fruit. "Eat up, Kid!"

For a while they ate quietly before Catherine turned toward the boy. "Wufei, you live at the Dragon Shrine, don't you?"

"Yes."

"And," she wanted to know, "do you like it here?"

"It is nice, most of the time. Headmistress Une can be a bit strict, but you get used to it."

"What about studies, are they difficult?"

Triton frowned at his sister. "Why do you ask him these things?"

"Well," she sighed. "Headmistress Une came to see me yesterday. We spoke about you, Triton," she finally admitted. "She suggested that you should get tested. She thinks you might have what it takes to be admitted to this school."

"I'm not leaving the troupe."

"But Triton, if you were to become a Dragon Knight, you would never have to worry about anything."

"What about you?" he asked. "And Kin and K'ri?"

"You don't have to worry about us. We will be fine here. But think about yourself. You are too bright to spend your life entertaining other people. And you would finally be able to make friends."

Triton shook his head. "I'm not leaving," he declared firmly, almost stubbornly.

"Fine." His sister sighed. "I won't push you to do anything you don't want."

TBC

Author's Note: * Kin =Golden, K'ri = Chestnut

Here is a picture of a saber cat how I imagine it.