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 8

The morning sun was rising slowly from behind the mountains, bathing the canyon in a soft golden light. The two men sat silently, almost motionless, as their horses grazed peacefully nearby.

Without fully turning his head Treize watched his bodyguard for a few moments from the side. "You look troubled, Zechs," he finally spoke. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Zechs' yaws tightened slightly, in a gesture that showed surprise as well as defiance. "I do not know what you are talking about, You Highness."

Of course not. The older man sighed inwardly. "I am sorry; I suppose I must have been mistaken," he said, although he knew it was no mistake at all.

For weeks now the young dragon knight had seemed down and quieter than usual. Treize believed that living at the Royal Palace was bringing back too many painful memories, and he had figured that their little trip to the Dragon Shrine was going to make Zechs feel better. Apparently he was wrong. And of course, Zechs was as usual, too proud or too stubborn to talk about anything that was bothering him. Back when they were growing up Treize had found it so much easier to read the young prince, but as time passed Zechs had become quite skilled in hiding his emotions, even from him.

"We should leave soon if we want to get to the rendezvous point on time." Brushing away dirt and grass from his trousers as he rose, Zechs turned toward the cave. "I will go wake the boy."

The king nodded. "Then I will get the horses ready."

#

When he approached the cave in which they had been sleeping, Zechs could hear soft noises, and for a brief moment he assumed that Wufei had already woken. But when he reached the entrance he found the boy still curled up in his blankets, tossing and turning. Quiet sounds of distress broke from his lips as he obviously was fighting a nightmare.

With a few large strides the blond dragon knight was at the boy's side, dropping down to his knees next to the makeshift bed. "Wufei…Wufei!" he reached out and touched the boy's shoulder, shaking him gently. "Wake up, Wufei!"

Obsidian eyes flew open with a start. The kid looked disoriented for a moment but then he seemed to recognize Zechs.

"Are you alright? You seemed to be having a bad dream."

Wufei blushed slightly as he nodded and raised his hand to wipe a few tears from his face. "I'm sorry…"

"There is nothing to be sorry about," the dragon knight told him. "We will be leaving soon; His Highness is already saddling the horses. Go wash your face and get dressed while I break camp."

#

Treize was leaning down, about to untie the horses' legs, when Zechs' stallion rubbed his nose against his cloak, pushing and prodding as though he was searching for something.

The king smirked. He was quite sure he knew what the mount was looking for. Zechs was known to always carry pieces of dry bread in his pockets, leftovers from breakfast or supper, which he liked to feed to the horses.

"Sorry, but I am afraid you got the wrong person. I do not have anything for you." He extended his open hands to show that they were empty.

But the stallion, just as stubborn as his master it seemed, was unwilling to take no for an answer. He bent his neck, extended his soft upper lip and tried to pull off Treize's cloak-pin, in hopes that it might be edible.

"Alright, alright," the king finally laughed in defeat. "You win; I will go and get you your treat."

Still chuckling as he headed back into the cave, the tawny-haired dragon knight made himself a mental note to not let Zechs forget about this anytime soon. And he actually has the nerves to lecture the boy about 'spoiling' his dragon.

"Please Sir, promise me not to tell His Highness about it."

Only yards from the entrance to their 'sleeping' cave Treize stopped dead in his track at the sound of Wufei's voice. Don't tell me what?

"As I have told you already," Zechs' voice answered. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nightmares are something you can do nothing about; it has nothing to do with strength or weakness. His Highness is well aware of that."

There was a moment of silence before Zechs continued, his voice unusually soft and compassionate. "It is so much easier to be strong during the day, is it not, as though the sunlight keeps the demons at bay that come to haunt you at night?

The king swallowed. Milliardo!

"I would like to ask you a question, Wufei. Did you ever find out what happened to your parents? ...After the attack on your village I mean."

Again there was a pause then Wufei replied quietly. "I am not sure what happened to them. I would like to think they are still alive though, somewhere. The soldiers that were sent to the village only found a couple of dozen bodies in the ruins. Most of them were so badly burned that the soldiers could not even tell if they were men or women, they said."

Treize clenched his teeth together so hard that his yaws hurt. I wonder what is worse, he asked himself, not knowing what happened to your parents or watching your family being killing in front of your own eyes.

Slowly and without a noise the king retreated. The last thing he wanted was for Wufei or Zechs to discover that he had been listening in on their conversation.

###

"Nine or ten summers ago, you say?" The tall bearded man who owned the local tavern stroked his chin as he tried to think that far back. "No, I don't recall hearing anything about someone taking in a child back then. But then... that was not that long after Sanq fell and a lot of refugees came through here, even children. But I do not remember any of them staying in town."

The stranger, baldheaded and dressed in a simple traveling outfit, nodded. "The boy I am looking for would have been very young."

"Sorry, like I said. But wait," he suddenly seemed to remember. "There used to be another village about half a day's ride away just across the mountains, back then."

"Oh? What happened to it?"

The innkeeper shrugged as he continued to wipe down the wooden counter. "Bandits, maybe ... One night the village was attacked from what I have heard. Burned to the ground."

"And the people who lived there?"

"Those who survived moved away. There was not enough left to rebuild. Some of them are living here in town now. Sorry I could not be of more help. But if it is a good drink and a hearty meal you are looking for, that I can provide you with."

"Well then I shall take that." The stranger nodded as he pulled out his money bag. . "Give me a glass of ale and something to eat. And perhaps you can tell me how I get from here to where that village used to be."

"I sure could. But it burned down more than two summers ago, what do you hope to find, good man?""

"That I will not know until I get there." The man left a few coins on the counter, more than enough to cover his expenses, and settled down at one of the empty tables. It was still early in the day and the tavern was nearly empty.

Only a few moments later the innkeeper brought him a large pitcher of ale. "Your stew will be ready soon."

As he slowly sipped the beer he stared at the table in front of him, lost in thought.

He had been traveling for a long time but he was sure that he was on the right path. His Majesty is alive, I know it. The signs are all there; and they are getting stronger.

###

"So, what did you think?" the king asked as he and the boy were once again sitting inside the royal carriage. "Did you like our little detour for the night?"

Wufei's eyes were positively sparkling as he nodded enthusiastically. "It was wonderful. I will have to make sure to remember it well."

"Oh? Why is that?" Treize inquired curiously as he leaned back in his seat and folded his slender hands in his lap.

"I promised Headmistress Une and the other instructors at the shrine that I would write letters to let them know how I was doing. I will have to tell them about last night, about the cave, and the hot spring and most of all about the glowing worms that can live in rocks."

Treize chuckled; it was a soft, rumbling sound. "I am sure they will be delighted to hear all about it."

For a few moments the boy looked out of the window and watched trees and fields fly by as the carriage traveled swiftly over the dusty country road. He shifted nervously from one side to the other as he gathered his courage to address the king. "Um…, You Highness."

"What is it, Wufei? I thought I told you already that it is alright to call me Treize when we are in private."

"Do I have to wait until tonight before I can hear the end of the story?"

"The end of the story?" the tawny-haired dragon knight looked slightly puzzled.

"About the princess and the dragon…we did not finish it last night." Wufei reminded him.

"Oh right, that story. Well, I think it will be alright if I tell you the ending now. After all, we have plenty of time to spare." Treize looked at the boy questioningly. "So where did we leave off last night?"

"At the part where the princess promised the dragon that she would be waiting for him."

"Ah yes, that's right. Well then, are you ready for me to continue?"

Wufei gave a sharp nod. "Yes, Sir."

"After Princess Alana made her promise she happily hurried home. Thanks to the water crystal given to her by the dragon she was not only able to save her parents but also the other people in her kingdom. Soon word about the crystal's healing powers spread beyond the borders and the sick and ailing came from near and far to be cured. The princess helped each and every one of them, never demanding payment for her services but instead asking the people to leave whatever they could afford.

Now, our princess was not only kind and smart but also beautiful and it came as no surprise that young men flocked to the royal palace to ask for her hand in marriage. However, true to the promise she had made she apologized to each of them and told them that she was already spoken for.

One day a young and handsome prince arrived in the capital. He said that he too had heard of Alana's kindness and beauty and he had fallen in love with her instantly. He was willing to do whatever it took to win her heart. As Princess Alana spent some time with the young man she realized that they had a lot in common. He liked to read and ride through the country side with her. He was also well traveled and told her stories of faraway places she could only dream about. But the princess also realized that she was quickly falling in love with the charming, young man. Unwilling to break her promise, she knew that she could not continue seeing him. So one afternoon on one of their usual rides Alana heavy heartedly told the Prince that she could not meet him again. He wanted to know why she was rejecting him; if it was anything he had said or done, but she only could tell him that there was already someone else she was waiting for. But the prince was not satisfied with that answer. He probed and prodded until Alana finally told him the whole story. Her handsome prince instantly reached for his sword and offered to find the dragon and slay him so that she was released from her promise and free to marry whoever she wanted. Shocked, Alana stepped in his way and told him that she did not want him to kill the dragon.

The prince seemed confused. 'Are you saying you would rather go and live with monster, than with me?' he asked.

'But you do not understand,' she replied. 'He is not a monster.'

'All dragons are monsters,' the prince insisted, but she shook her head in sadness.

'I do not know about that. I have never met any other dragons. But the moment I looked into his eyes I knew he had a kind soul.'

The prince smiled at her gently. 'I'm glad you feel that way,' he said. Then he was suddenly engulfed in a soft golden light, and when the light faded he was gone and in his place stood her large, dark-scaled dragon. The creature bowed his head and spoke. 'Please forgive me for deceiving you, but I had to know your true feelings.'

'Who are you, no what are you?' The princess asked, still stunned. 'Are you man or dragon?'

'I am the dragon king,' the creature told her, and explained that as such he had the powers to take on both dragon and human form.

He asked if she still wanted to honor her promise and she agreed happily. The princess and the dragon king, now back in human form, headed back to the royal palace where he officially asked for her hand in marriage. After their wedding Alana left her family and moved with her husband to the dragon palace, hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest where they lived happily ever after. And that is the end!"

"That is all?"

The king chuckled quietly. "Disappointed?"

"No, no," Wufei assured him quickly. "I really liked the story. But I was just wondering what happened to them? Did they have any children?"

"Hmm…" Stroking his chin thoughtfully Treize seemed to think about it for a moment. "I am not sure really. However, I do remember one of my tutors from when I grew up had this very interesting theory that the first dragon knight might have been a descendent of Alana and the dragon king. But of course, this is a very, very old legend and many people argue it is all but a fairy tale, and neither Alana nor the dragon king ever really existed."

A shadow of disappointment washed over Wufei's face and the king quickly added: "But then, there are also plenty of adventurers who have entered the forbidden forest in hopes to find the lake where the magical crystals grow, or perhaps even the remains of the Dragon Palace with its legendary treasures."

"Truly? Did anyone ever find it? The palace I mean."

"I would not know. Few have ever returned alive from their journey. And…" Treize leaned closer and lowered his voice as though he was telling some kind of secret. "…those who did are said to have lost their minds from the sheer terror of what they encountered along the way."

Wufei swallowed. His eyes wide with amazement and dread, he didn't even realize that his Highness was just pulling his leg.

"Of course," the king continued as he leaned back in his seat again. "…once we get to the Royal Palace you are welcome to search the archives of the royal library for additional facts about the dragon princess and her handsome dragon prince."

"I am?" the boy asked excitedly. "Is the royal library large?"

"What would you say if I told you, it is large enough that you will be able to find a copy of every book ever written and every story ever told in Galados and perhaps all of Aurelis?"

"Impossible!"

"You think so?"

Wufei was just about to reply that he didn't think it was possible for anyone to collect every book ever written, when someone on the outside rapped at the carriage's window.

The king reached out and pushed away the heavy velvet curtain he had drawn earlier to keep out the hot afternoon sun. "What is it Zechs?"

The blond dragon knight was riding alongside the carriage. "We are approaching Thiria, your Highness. There is a small lake south of here; I thought we should stop there and let the horses rest before we proceed."

"Good thinking." Treize agreed. "Let us do that."

With a sharp nod of acknowledgement Zechs spurred his stallion to relay the orders to the other guards.

Wufei looked questioningly at the king. "What is Thiria?"

"The town where we will be spending the night," the tawny-haired man explained.

"Is it a big town?"

"Well, not as big as the capital, but big enough to have its own merchant district. And because the people in Thiria are known for their craftsmanship, especially if it comes to making jewelry and fine weapons, many traveling merchants come through to buy those goods so that they can resell them elsewhere."

"Ah, will we have time to check out the market place?" Wufei asked. He remembered, when he was smaller he had sometimes accompanied his mother into town to sell their harvest. And wandering the market place checking out all the different goods was one of his favorite things to do.

"I do not think Zechs would agree to that, he might find it would be too dangerous."

The boy frowned. "But you are the king. Why do you not just tell him to let you go?"

The tawny-haired man smiled softly. "I am afraid, my dear Wufei, that even the king cannot just do as he pleases. But I will see what I can do."

###

The desert air was still glistening with the heat of the day, but the lone rider knew he had only a short time left before nightfall. He drove his mount forward in spite of the blazing sun. A long white scarf covered his head, obscuring his face and keeping the fine desert sand out of his eyes and nose. A cloak of the same color fluttered behind him in the wind as he galloped toward what looked like a dark speck in the distance.

The desert was a unforgiving place of extremes; hot and dry during the day. But as soon as the sun dropped behind the horizon so did the temperatures and the howling winds picked up. Anyone unfortunate enough to find himself without shelter at dusk was in for a long night of braving the elements.

Those who lived here had learned to adapt. And those who didn't adapt... well, their bones were quickly covered by the moving sand.

The speck on the horizon grew larger and larger, until horse and rider eventually could make out the first outlines of palm trees. A oasis, like a small island of life in an ocean of nothingness.

The black stallion whinnied in excitement as the wind blew the faint smell of water toward them. When they reached the oasis the slowly setting sun was beginning to paint the horizon in the most beautiful shades of orange and red.

The rider, a youth about 13 or 14 years of age; not quite a man yet, but too old to be called a child, dismounted near a small well. Using a wooden bucket he filled the nearby trough, and then while his horse quenched its thirst he removed its saddle, and the beautifully ornate blanket beneath. In one of the saddle bags was a linen sack filled with oats. He poured half of it into the bucket in front of the mount; the rest was put away for the morning. Only after the stallion was taken care of did the rider see to his own needs. With the help of dried camel dung a fire was quickly started and a small tent made of canvas and wood was set up with the ease and experience of someone who had done it many times before.

By the time the sun had set he was warming himself by the flames, while Asad was happily and noisily munching his oats.

The sky was clear and filled with countless twinkling stars. As he looked up into the heavens he remembered a tale he had been told when he was still very young, about the gods who paint a new star onto the sky for every new creature born on Aurelis, and he wondered which of those sparkling lights might be his own.

A noise, no more than the breaking of a twig beneath someone's footstep, ripped him from his musings. Asad's head snapped around, eyes wide open ears straight up in alarm.

The youth reached for the dagger concealed beneath his cloak. His father would be furious if he knew he was carrying a weapon. But then, his father would also be furious if he knew that he had left the palace without permission, and alone.

"Who is there? Show yourself?" He demanded, trying to suppress the quiver of fear in his voice.

Two shadows separated themselves from the darkness behind him and he relaxed with a sigh of relief.

"Ahmad! Hassan! What are you doing here? Is my father making you follow me?"

"Not your father, Prince Quatre. Master Rashid sent us." The two men, dressed in gray pants and brown vests over tan shirts, looked like they could have been brothers. Perhaps they were. Quatre still found it difficult to remember the relationships between all the members of the Maquanac tribe. At least he managed to remember most of their names by now.

"We have orders to escort you safely back to the royal palace."

"Home?" Quatre asked surprised. "But I was supposed to meet up with Rashid in Nabata where he is waiting for Prince Artan and Calum? Or wait, let me guess. The two of them arrived early and are already on their way to the palace? Is that it?"

Ahmad and Hassan exchanged a long gaze with one another before the taller of the two shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Prince Quatre."

T.B.C.

Author's Note: In addition to writing I have been playing around with my legos lately. In fact I'm creating some MOCs (MyOwnCreations) based on Dragon King. It will probably take as long to complete as the story will take to write. For the moment I have about half of the Capital of Galados build along with several of the characters.

Unfortunately doesn't allow me to post links inside the story, but you can find a link in my bios page if you would like to check out my creations. Let me know what you think.