Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Prologue
The Sanc Kingdom was compromised of five main provinces that covered rolling hills, open meadows, deep forests and plentiful streams. It was also surrounded on three sides by high, steep snow covered mountains and the fourth side buttressed up against the wide ocean. The Sanc Kingdom considered itself a Pacifist country that was not interested in warring upon their neighboring countries or being involved in wars, but did believe in protecting itself and its citizens from those who wished to wage war against them.
Thus, each province was responsible for the training and care of their own army for the protection of the entire kingdom, with the largest army being housed in the Capital, New Port City. The towering white castle was partially carved out of the side of the mountain that protected it from an attack by water, but had been expanded throughout the decades. The large port brought in much commerce from around the world and the people lived happily in peace with their ruler, King Milliardo Peacecraft and his wife Queen Lucrezia.
The two were well loved by their citizens and were often found wandering around the city with only a guard or two. The citizens would protect their monarchs with their lives in an instant, but the guards were mainly there for emergency purposes. Assassination attempts were rare, but did happen as Milliardo knew too well since that is how his father died when he was only six. His mother had ruled for him until he was old enough to reign himself and had happily passed the kingdom to her young, but more than capable son. He had ruled for almost ten years before he married Princess Lucrezia Noin from a neighboring country and had been pleasantly surprised at the dark haired beauty who was soft spoken, but no pushover. The two had fallen deeply in love and enjoyed each other’s company often, though had yet to produce an heir.
The Queen Mother enjoyed helping her daughter-in-law in learning her role as Queen and taking the young queen under her wing as she learned how to handle the day to day running of the castle and kingdom. The two were often conspiring together during tea along with King Milliardo’s younger sister Relena, who at 17 was almost reaching maturity and marriageable age. The fair princess was greatly loved by all around her, but she was stubborn to a fault and often wouldn’t budge once her mind was made up.
“Mother, I don’t see why I must be married off as soon as I am eighteen.” Relena said, her blue eyes glinting with frustration. “And who will Milliardo ever approve of? Any offer to court me has been quickly rebuffed and I have not even been able to speak three words uninterrupted to a man other than family.” She shook her golden locks in annoyance and pressed her red lips angrily together.
“My dear,” Queen Katrina tutted, “You are a princess of the Sanc Kingdom, any suitor will certainly need to be worth their salt and able to stand up to your dear brother.”
Queen Lucrezia reached a hand over and squeezed the princess’s hand comfortingly. “I will talk to my husband and see if we can set up a dance in honor of your impending birthday where you will be allowed to mingle with eligible suitors. While the law may state you are to be engaged to marry when you are eighteen, it does give you an entire year to meet and speak with them before making a decision. And we will let you make the decision.”
Relena smiled at her sister-in-law, “Sister, I do love you so!”
The Queen Mother smiled at the two young women. She knew it was very difficult for the new queen to travel across the mountains and leave behind everything she knew of to marry a king she had never even met, but from the letters between her son and Lucrezia, she knew it would be a good match. She had still had reservations though until she met the ebony beauty and saw how she complimented her son’s strengths and weaknesses so well.
“Mother,” Lucrezia called, bringing the elder woman out of her reverie. “Do you believe we can plan a party in the next two months with enough time to invite any eligible suitors to attend?”
Queen Katrina smiled widely, “Absolutely!” The three women laughed and chattered about the upcoming party, planning colors, food and entertainment. A few serving girls who overheard the royals quickly spread the news and the whole castle was soon abuzz with the news of the elegant party.
~*~
King Milliardo sat in his study, looking over the collected taxes and auditing the books to verify that nothing was amiss. His straight platinum blonde hair falling briefly into his eyes as he calculated the numbers in his head, his graceful fingers smudged with ink. While he did trust his advisors, he had learned treachery can come from the most unlikely sources and kept himself busy by periodically checking the books. His personal servant, Adin Barnett, sat near him, ready at any moment to help the young king, but as usual, he often spent him time staring at the same picture on the wall of a meadow stream surrounded by trees. The Barnett family had long served the Peacecraft monarchy, but due to a sickness that had swept through the Capital Adin was the only one left from his family. As an orphan and only being a few years younger than the young prince, Milliardo had immediately appointed Adin his personal servant even though Milliardo was only 10 and Adin was barely 8. The two had grown as close as brothers and other than his Captain of the Royal Guard; Adin was the only man that the king trusted explicitly.
A quiet knock had Adin up and crossing the room with swift practiced strides as the king leaned back in his seat to see who was at the door. A smile graced his lips as his wife stepped into the room, Adin quickly falling into a low bow as he held the door open. “My dear Queen, what brings you here?”
Lucrezia smiled, “You mean you haven’t heard yet?”
A pale eyebrow arched up questioningly, but the widening smile gave away that he knew, “Do you mean this rumor of a grand party being planned in celebration of Relena’s 18th birthday?”
His wife laughed, shaking her head and quickly pressed her lips to his. “I swear there are no secrets in this castle! At least not longer than a few minutes.”
Milliardo stood, glancing at the clock to see it was almost supper time. “I detest secrets, so I certainly do not mind in the least. Adin, I will walk my dear wife back to our chambers and we will take supper in the informal dining room along with my mother and sister.”
“Very good, Sire.” Adin said, bowing once more as he opened the door for the monarchs. As soon as they were in the hall, the servant quickly locked the study and made his way to the kitchens to inform the staff where the royal family would be dining.
At dinner, plans of the upcoming party were first and foremost the discussion of the four. King Milliardo acquiesced to everything his wife and sister wanted, within reason of course. When the two women mentioned fire throwers in the grand hall, he did firmly tell them no, but relented to them being outside at the front gates. The talk continued long into the night as the three women schemed and planned while the young king amusingly listened.
The two months passed quickly and soon the eve of the grand party was upon them. The castle was abuzz with barely contained excitement and the pattering of feet as the servants rushed to finish their duties before the guests began arriving. The party was to start once darkness fell so that the flame throwers would look majestic in the black open garden. Lanterns were lit, food and drink were ready and all that was left to wait for was the sunset and guests.
Upstairs, Princess Relena exhaled as her lady-in-waiting, Dorothy, pulled the strings of the sea green bodice tightly. “Leave me room to breathe!” The princess exclaimed, but Dorothy only chuckled.
“Beauty takes pain, my Lady.” The long haired blonde answered, but she did loosen the strings just a hair. Dorothy always looked severe due to her angular frame and face, but mainly because of her sharp, jutting eyebrows that made those who didn’t know the lady-in-waiting believe she was constantly angry. Finishing tying the strings, Dorothy stepped back and smoothed down the skirts of her burgundy gown that contrasted beautifully with her pale skin and features.
Relena huffed, stiffly sitting down. Her cream ballroom gown was lightweight so that she wouldn’t tire from dancing as quickly and the beautiful green bodice complimented the skirts exquisitely. A single delicate gold chain hung around her neck and her hair had been piled around her tiara in simple curls. “I swear, whomever I marry will promise me I won’t need to wear these darned contraptions no matter what style is in fashion. Bring me comfort over beauty!”
Dorothy laughed, the shrill sound echoing around the two blondes. “I do believe you are expected to withstand pain and discomfort, my Lady.” Relena smiled softly and reached out a hand to her maid. The two had been introduced when Relena was only 6, but had become fast friends with the long haired blonde who had made herself protector and lady-in-waiting to the princess. Almost twelve years later and they were still as thick as thieves and Dorothy had promised to follow Relena to wherever she went.
“With you next to me, I know I can withstand anything, even finding a suitable husband.” Standing, she took one last look in the mirror at the delicate makeup that Dorothy had applied and turned to her best friend. “You did a lovely job, Dorothy, thank you.”
Glancing out to see the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon and darkness had descended, Dorothy clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head at the other woman. “Are you ready, Princess Relena?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Linking arms with the long haired blonde, she slipped on her sea green slippers to match her bodice and straightened her posture before stepping into the dimly lit hall.
“The men will swoon and throw flowers at your feet, my Lady.” Dorothy whispered conspiratorially, causing a blush to spread across Relena’s face.
“Dorothy!” The princess admonished lightly, but the smile on her lips just made Dorothy chuckle.
As they stepped into the ballroom, the girls paused to be announced and took the chance to look around the transformed room. Relena was used to the large ballroom being covered in drapes that protected the intricate scrollwork and paintings that covered the walls, the room full of dust and so silent that every step echoed on for what felt like eternity. Now, the draperies were gone, the floors shined with polish and not a speck of dust could be found. There were small tables and seats for resting or small talk nearby a refreshment table and a four string quartet played to the side while the middle of the floor was filled with dancers.
Dorothy leaned in and whispered, “I see some cute men and they’re certainly looking hungry, my Lady.”
Relena turned to rebuff the wicked blonde as her blush deepened, but stopped short as the Hall Master stepped forward and called, “Her Royal Highness, Princes Relena Peacecraft and Lady Dorothy Catalonia of Coretes.”
Everything came to a standstill in the ballroom for a minute as the princess and lady walked into the room. Light clapping filled the hall as people to either side of Relena bowed and curtsied with murmurs of “Happy Birthday Princess Relena” echoed throughout the room. Relena smiled graciously, nodding to those who were close enough to personally greet her and came to the dais where her brother and sister-in-law sat. Curtseying low, but not as low as Dorothy, Relena smiled at the monarchs as Milliardo stood to address those in attendance.
“I wish to thank you all for attending my dear sister’s eighteenth birthday. I cannot impart to you all how much it means to us all that we have the joy of ruling such a wonderful nation. The citizens truly are the fabric of our gracious country and we would not be here celebrating today if not for your support. Please, enjoy the party and help me in wishing Princess Relena a happy birthday.”
Relena smiled lovingly at her big brother as the king stepped down and held out his hand to her. “Oh brother!” She said, giving him a quick hug before she regained her composure.
Milliardo laughed lightly and took her hand. “Would you honor me with your first dance?”
“Certainly brother!”
The quartet began again, a waltz, and the two royals spun effortlessly around the hall. Before long, more couples joined them on the dance floor and Relena dizzyingly danced the night away. Faces and names blurred as she danced with various men once her brother had relinquished her hand to a new dancer. Though none really caught her interest, she had a wonderful time and laughed gaily until she was so exhausted she had no choice but to sit down.
Dorothy was immediately at her side with some refreshments, “My Lady.” She smiled, taking the seat next to the princess.
“Oh Dorothy, isn’t it a wonderful night?” Relena asked breathlessly, sipping a bit of the spiced wine. “I do believe this is the best birthday I’ve ever had!”
“Does that mean you’ve met someone?” The long haired blonde asked, a Cheshire cat grin on her lips.
“No! I’ve barely spake more than thirty words to each partner I had, but I certainly saw many that were quite handsome.” Her cheeks were so red from the dancing that it was impossible to tell if she was blushing beneath the flush, but her blue eyes glinted with mirth.
“Do point them out!” Dorothy whispered, gripping one of Relena’s hands in hers. “I will find out their names, ranks and place of residence for you.”
“What would I do without you, Dorothy?” The princess asked before leaning in close to her best friend and pointing out the various young men she had most assuredly enjoyed dancing with. Her eyes slid across one particular figure that she was quite familiar with and she resisted the urge to bite her lip as her heartbeat sped up.
Dorothy saw how the princess had suddenly quieted and followed her gaze to stare at the stoic young man near the King and Queen. Dressed smartly in the country’s colors of white, blue and gold, the wild chocolate locks framed a tan face that remained blank, yet it was his piercing blue eyes that called the most attention to the young man. They were the color of the deep ocean on a sunny day and it felt like they could see directly into one’s soul when one was before them. Dorothy knew that Relena was completely enamored with the young Captain of the Royal Guard, Heero Yuy, but unfortunately his station was too far below the princess to ever be matched with him. “Captain Yuy is certainly dressed very smart tonight; it even looks like he tried to tame that wild hair of his for you tonight.”
“Dorothy!” Relena hissed, but she had to admit she couldn’t fault her friend’s words. The Captain looked downright delectable and as if he felt her stare, his eyes suddenly slid towards her and he gave her a slight smile, dipping his head in acknowledgement. Relena felt herself blush down to the tips of her toes and lamely waved to the handsome man.
“I’m certain that King Milliardo could spare his captain just for one dance, my Lady. Would you like me to go ask?”
The princess gasped, “Oh, I’d about die! Whenever Captain Yuy is near me, I find myself a little schoolgirl again and stumbling over my feet and my words. Don’t you dare, Dorothy, you hear me?”
The lady-in-waiting snickered, but relented. She didn’t want to see her best friend swallowed up by a hole in the earth from embarrassment when the princess tripped in front of her crush. “As you wish, Princess Relena.”
A trumpet sounded and all gazes were brought to the door of the ballroom where the Hall Master stood stiff and tall. “May I present, the Magician Koristaja.”
King Milliardo stood from his throne, a frown on his lips as he watched the dark hooded person step into the room. The person’s face was shadowed and not a single inch of skin could be seen as the figure walked slowly towards the dais. “Lucrezia, did you hire a magician?”
The queen frowned and shook her head. “No, we discussed a circus troupe, but not a magician. Could he have heard about the celebration and came to give Princess Relena a show?”
“Captain.” The young king murmured, causing Heero to immediately step forward to intercept the figure who was now halfway across the room.
“Stop!” He commanded, but the figure didn’t. “In the name of the King of Sanc, you are ordered to stop, Magician.”
At this, the magician stopped, but as soon as it did, dark and thick black smoke spread out in tendrils from beneath the robes. Youthful laughter filled the room, almost manic sounding, as people gasped and pushed away from the spreading smoke. “Here’s a magic trick for you,” the magician whispered mirthfully. A pale hand suddenly appeared and threw something into the air that glittered and sparked before a strange darkness fell over the entire room. Shrieks and screams filled the hall as blindness overtook all of them, but it only lasted mere seconds.
Suddenly the darkness and smoke were gone as was the magician, yet laughter still echoed throughout the room before resonating down the halls. Heero immediately started for the hall, but stopped short when a blood curdling scream pierced the air. All eyes fell on the long haired blonde who was always at the princess’s side.
“She’s gone! Princess Relena is gone!” Dorothy cried, “I was holding her hand just moments ago, but she’s disappeared!”
And chaos erupted.
Dhampir
Page 5
4/28/2021
Chapter 2: Chapter Two
Summary:
Heero enlists some help in tracking Princess Relena and her kidnapper down.
Notes:
Hello everyone!
This chapter is another short one, but I believe they begin lengthening from here.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Two
Captain Heero Yuy didn’t have a normal child by any means, being trained as an assassin from a young age makes normalcy impossible. He had quickly learned that he didn’t want to kill if he could help it though and when his master had told him the best thing he could do was follow his emotions, he immediately went to tell the Captain of the Royal Guard that the king was going to be assassinated.
The Captain, an old man who should’ve retired years before, believed him and tried to stop the assassination, but it had already been too late. The poison used was a quick acting agent and the antidote had been given too late. Heero had believed he would be punished as the assassin’s apprentice, but refused to leave and instead chose to face his punishment. The Captain took the boy under his wing instead and with Heero’s help had been able to track down the assassin and put him to death for regicide.
The Captain, who only went by J, raised Heero and trained him in every type of skill he knew. Heero promised to perfect everything the Captain taught him and worked diligently to do so, joining the army as soon as he was 13. He quickly moved through the ranks and eventually took J’s place as Captain of the Royal Guard when the old man finally retired.
In all his time as a soldier, he had never failed anything that was given to him to complete and it had earned him the nickname of Perfect Soldier among his comrades as well as heaps of accolades. He was the youngest Captain of the Royal Guard ever at barely 18 years of age and he had promised to never fail his King and Queen.
And in the two years he had been the Captain, he had kept that promise—until that night.
As soon as the princess was discovered to be missing, Heero ordered his second in command, Lieutenant Broden, to gather a group of soldiers and scour the castle while the remaining soldiers were to secure any and all exits and search for Princess Relena. Heero quickly requested the King and Queen to fall back to their personal chambers so they would be more thoroughly protected and while King Milliardo had emphatically agreed to escort his wife to their chambers, he refused to stand idly by while his sister was missing.
Yet by morning light, the entirety of the city had been scoured from top to bottom with no sign of the princess. Dorothy had been questioned multiple times, but she had not seen nor heard anything that would help them. She said one minute she was clutching Princess Relena’s hand as they watched the Magician with morbid curiosity and the next minute it was pitch black and Relena pulled from her grasp and gone. The lady-in-waiting was thoroughly distraught and had been taken into Queen Lucrezia’s chambers to be comforted by the kind queen.
Heero knelt before his sovereign with a scowl upon his face. “I’ve failed you, my King.” He stated, his voice controlled and emotionless as he tried to quell his anger. “I am not fit to be your Captain and will take any punishment and dishonor you place upon me. My life is yours.”
King Milliardo stood pensively before the young man, yet retained his regal air. His platinum blonde locks fell lackluster around him while the dark circles beneath his pale blue eyes betrayed how weary he was. “Have we ever heard of a Magician Koristaja?” He asked quietly.
“No, Sire. We have no record of him, where he came from or even how he got inside the castle in the first place. The guards at the gates were instructed to only let those who had invitations directly from you inside the castle and I have questioned the guards personally and none of my men remember a magician at all.” Heero cursed silently as his scowl darkened. Either one of his soldiers was lying and was guilty of treason or somehow this magician got in some other way—regardless of how good a trickster the magician was, he or she couldn’t have just appeared from, and vanished into, thin air.
Milliardo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as his eyes slid closed tiredly. “Captain Yuy, while you have failed me, I do not believe that anyone could have stopped that magician from coming here nor from kidnapping Princess Relena. I want you to redeem yourself by finding her and bringing her back home. You will be greatly rewarded once she is home safe again.”
“My King, the only reward I need is your pardon for this disaster once Princess Relena is returned to you. I will set out at once.” Heero stood, bowing low to the king, and moving to leave.
“Heero,” the king called softly, “take whomever you want to on your journey, I will make sure they are generously compensated, and bring a King’s Tablet with you for funds.”
“Yes, Sire.” Heero bowed again, “I wish to only bring an old friend. He is not a soldier, but he is the best tracker around and I trust him with my life.”
“Then convince him to go, as a favor to his King.”
Without a word, Heero quickly left and headed towards the local tavern just outside the castle walls, his mind already formulating the supplies they’d need for the journey.
Within minutes he was walking inside the dimly lit tavern and did a sweep across the occupants as he searched for his best friend. His eyes locked with one vibrant jade green eye in the corner and Heero crossed the room to slide into the seat across from the auburn man. Trowa Barton had known Heero since the boys were around ten and their quiet demeanor kept causing the two to seek solace in each other whenever the noise of those around them became too much. As they aged, both had gotten better at handling the noise—as evidence of Trowa sitting contentedly in a tavern—but their friendship had remained. Heero had taught Trowa how to fight and Trowa had taught Heero how to track.
“Heero.” Trowa murmured, his light brownish red hair falling over one eye and covering half his face. The auburn was tall and lanky, his slight physique hid the power in those muscles that Heero knew was there, but as a Ranger—a royal messenger for the king—he needed speed more than brawn.
“Trowa, when can you be ready to leave?” The Captain asked, waving the bargirl away before she even opened her mouth.
Trowa frowned, “Fifteen minutes.”
“Is your horse rested?” Heero asked, “I will bring provisions for us, but we must be quick.”
“I’m assuming this has to do with the missing princess, yes? And yes, Heavy Arms is rested and antsy to get on the road.” The spunky roan was a bit shorter than most horses, but Ranger horses usually were as they needed not only speed but stamina for days long journeys.
Heero nodded, anger burning in his eyes at his utter failure to protect the princess. “King Milliardo has entrusted me with returning her safely home and asked me to set out immediately. I’m hoping you can help me because I’m truly at a loss.”
The auburn’s one eye widened in shock at that admission. Heero always knew what to do, even in impossible situations, and to have him sitting before him utterly flummoxed on what to do next was a truly rare moment. “There are no clues whatsoever?”
“We only have the magician’s name: Koristaja.” The captain sighed, “So far we haven’t found a single person who has even heard of him or her.”
“Koristaja…” Trowa frowned, while the name was unfamiliar to him, the way the letters rolled together niggled at the back of his mind that he had heard something similar before. Silence stretched as Trowa thought, cobalt eyes closely watching him, but eventually he sighed and shook his head. “I cannot place the dialect, but I’ll continue to think on it.”
Heero nodded in thanks as he stood up, the corners of his lips turned down into a thinly lipped frown. “I will meet you in front of the castle gates in a half hour. I need to talk with my Lieutenant before we leave and gather some supplies.”
“I will gather some rations for the journey and inform the Ranger Captain of my leaving.” Trowa offered, also standing before throwing a few coins on the table to cover his food and drink.
“We will have the royal treasury at our disposal, so don’t over pack as I believe swift and light travel will be more important.” Heero didn’t wait for a response as he turned on his heel and strode out of the tavern and straight for the barracks.
Lieutenant Broden was over ten years older than Heero, but Broden was loyal to his King to a fault and followed his Captain’s lead no matter where or why. The tall raven haired man stroked his beard thoughtfully as Captain Yuy came into the barracks with a deadly glare marring his usually stoic expression. “Captain?” He called, stopping before he asked if everything was okay. Of course everything wasn’t okay and the entire kingdom was on edge with the news of the missing princess.
Heero’s glare pinned Broden where he stood and the young man immediately came to him. “Lieutenant, I’ve been ordered to search for Princess Relena and am to leave immediately. In my absence, you are leading commander and I know you are more than capable in leading our men.”
“Shouldn’t I be coming with you?” Broden asked, surprised that only the Captain was being called away.
Heero shook his head, “No, Ranger Trowa and I are setting off as a small infiltration team. You are to report directly to King Milliardo in my absence.”
Broden saluted, “Captain, sir! I will not let you down.”
The captain saluted back and then bound up the stairs to pack his supplies. His room was larger than the other soldiers with a small table, a fire place and large bed, but it was otherwise bare. Heero was not one for having knickknacks or personal affects outside of what was necessary. He quickly changed out of his royal uniform and dressed comfortably in a pair of riding pants and olive green shirt. He clasped his mottled gray and brown cloak around his shoulders, buckled his broadsword to his waist and packed his brown rucksack.
The cloak had been a present from Trowa for better camouflage and the rucksack had been the first thing Heero had ever bought himself and had been with him since he was a lowly grunt in the army. Taking one last glance around the room for anything of importance, Heero laced up his boots and then headed to the stables to ready his horse.
“Captain Heero!” A young voice cheerfully called to him, the stable hand waving energetically at Heero. “Are you leaving? I just got finished brushin’ Wing, so he’s ready to go.”
“Ah, yes.” Heero nodded, “I expect to be gone for a while, would you be able to pack enough food for few days for two horses? Just for emergencies.”
The stable hand nodded, his blonde locks bouncing at the movement. “Of course, sir! I’ll get that now.”
Heero moved towards his white stallion who whickered softly towards him. “Hey boy.” He murmured back, stroking the velvety nose. “I need you on this one, it’s very important.” Leading the majestic stallion out of the pen, he quickly saddled the horse and attached a bedroll to the end. He gathered a few oats to give Wing before placing the bit into his mouth and made sure everything was secure before the stable hand returned.
“Here ya go, Capt’n.” He said brightly, handing two large feed bags that Heero attached to the sides of the saddle.
“Thank you, hopefully we will return soon.” Then stepping into the stirrup, Heero swung his leg over the girth of the horse and into the saddle. Wing skittered momentarily, but then stomped his foot to signal he was ready to go. With a last nod to the stable hand, Heero turned the horse towards the stable door and trotted Wing to the front of the castle. He found Trowa already waiting for him on Heavy Arms and the two horses excitedly neighed to each other like old friends.
Once Heero was in earshot, Trowa spoke quietly to his friend. “I figured out why the name Koristaja sounded familiar. It’s Estonian, though I’m uncertain of what it means as I’ve only ever been to Estonia once. But we at least have a direction: North.”
Hope sparked in Heero’s chest and, turning their horses northward, they started forward in a canter through the castle gates and into the city. “Then north we go.”
Dhampir
Page 6
5/5/2021
Notes:
And there's the second chapter ^_^
I hope you liked it and that I'll see you all next week!
Thanks for the kudos, comments and love!
Chapter 3: Chapter Three
Summary:
Heero and Trowa follow the kidnapper's trail and search for answers about just who is the Magician Koristaja.
Notes:
Hello! It's Wednesday and I'm back with another chapter.
I do hope you all are enjoying this so far and we finally have a longer chapter, so thank you for all who have been reading so far!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Three
Trowa frowned at the tracks before him. They didn’t make much sense and he couldn’t tell what kind of hoofed animal made them either. The markings crossed over themselves multiple times and there were various fake paths along with indentations that made it look like the animal spun in circles a few times. “Heero.” He called wearily to his dark haired companion.
Heero was immediately at his side, blue eyes studying the prints before them with single minded interest. A few moments stretched while Heero followed the various paths with his eyes, noticing how all but one path had returning prints. “Veering west?” He asked, confusion evident in his voice. “Why west suddenly?”
“It’s definitely suspicious, Heero, but I cannot say for certain whether this is our magician or not.”
“But it’s our first real clue since a week ago.” The young captain sighed, slumping slightly in the saddle.
They had been traveling for over a week, mainly roughing it through thick forests and continuously heading north instead of traveling the more well known roads where there would be plentiful inns and food. Instead, they had hunted for their own food, allowed the horses to graze and rest and took turns keeping watch throughout the night. Both men were thoroughly exhausted, but at the possibility of a lead, all their weariness and sleep deprivation disappeared.
They were currently on a small one wagon path that Trowa knew well, which is why he noticed how out of place the tracks were. On the left of the path were tall, thick trees and to the right was overgrown underbrush that promised to be almost impossible to pass through. “It could be a trap.” The auburn warned, his green eyes scanning the trees around them for any signs of human movement. Yet he only saw a fluttering bird that let out a shrill caw as it hopped from branch to branch.
Heero sighed again, “We’ll have to take that chance. We’ve been traveling for days without a single person recognizing the magician’s name and if these strange tracks are all we have, then we have to try.”
The Ranger nodded, but pulled his cloak closer around him as they set into the underbrush, trying to stick close to the almost imperceptible trail made by the hoofed animal. Heero reined Wing to fall in directly behind Heavy Arms as the pair followed the tall auburn. The slow pace grated on Heero’s nerves, but he knew Trowa was the better tracker of the two—the best in the kingdom truthfully—and understood that slow, methodical analyzing is how a tracker works. It’s one reason that despite Trowa telling him he could become a great Ranger, Heero chose to remain in the army and move up the ranks. He was one for action and movement, not subterfuge and surreptitiousness motion.
They tracked the dwindling trail for hours, continuing north, but moving at a snail’s pace. The underbrush began to thin out as the trees grew larger, but Trowa kept the sedentary pace and his eyes to the ground. Heero followed along for most of the time, picking up on the broken branch or the slight indent into the fallen leaves, but as they began to lose daylight, the forest became too dark to continue and they finally stopped to set up camp when they came across a small stream.
Heero let out a small groan as he slid off Wing, the white stallion was no longer white and he patted the horse’s neck gently. “Sorry boy, no baths for you, but there’s a stream nearby you can drink from.”
Wing pranced slightly and then moved towards Heavy Arms as Trowa turned the roan loose as well. Together, the two horses walked to the stream and greedily drank the cool water before turning their attentions elsewhere for greenery to eat. Their owners made certain to keep them away from where the tracks were leading so there would be no confusion with the morning light.
Trowa silently gathered dry leaves and sticks and made a small fire while Heero unrolled their bed rolls and pulled out some of the provisions they still had. Heero handed his friend some dried fish, a handful of nuts and a piece of hard cheese before settling next to the auburn with the same meal. They ate in companionable silence before the fire, their thoughts their own and yet one in the same: Would they ever find Princess Relena?
Heero awoke as Wing lipped his hair, leaving thick slobber in his already unruly locks. “Argh!” He said, sitting up with a start and glaring at the stallion. “That was uncalled for.” He said, throwing off his bedroll and stomping to the stream so he could wash the spit out of his hair.
Trowa’s laughter followed him and Heero quickly shot a murderous glare over his shoulder at the tall man. Instead of quelling the sound, it only made Trowa laugh harder as he watched the young captain shove his whole head in the stream.
Scrubbing his hair, Heero muttered dark threats at Wing and splashed water at the stallion that had followed him to the edge. Wing pranced away, but didn’t move too far from his human, whickering softly at the man.
“I believe Wing is sorry, Heero.” Trowa said, laughter dancing in his eyes as the man stalked back to the smoldering fire as water rivulets ran down the side of his face and dripped onto the forest floor.
“He better be sorry or he won’t get his breakfast.” The man groused, pulling his shirt on and lacing the front with practiced speed. “At least we’re awake now; let’s get the canisters filled and the camp picked up while the horses eat.”
Trowa quickly grabbed the feed bags for the horses and strapped them onto the bridles so the horses could eat while the two men cleaned up the camp, refilled their water canisters and got the horses saddled up. Taking the feed bags off, both men stopped by the stream to let the horses drink and then began walking so give the large beasts’ time to digest their food before mounting them.
Trowa smoothed out their camping area until it looked almost indistinguishable from the rest of the forest floor and then looked with expert eyes to pick up the trail again. They spent the next four hours tracking once more, the mysterious hoofed animal still steadily heading west. There was no doubt it wasn’t a wild animal as no wild animal would continuously run the same way for hours on end.
Yet their search was fruitless once more as they reached a large, rushing river where the tracks disappeared into. Heero strained to see the prints on the other bank, but they had either been washed away, the animal had been washed away or the person had moved through the stream for some time before coming out again.
“Damn it!” Heero growled.
Trowa slid off Heavy Arms and carefully approached the river’s edge, warily watching the water as it jumped over rocks and rippled over the smaller stones. “Heero, go downstream and check for any prints, I will head upstream and we will meet back here in half an hour. If the magician went in, then he or she had to come out again and given how quick the river is, I cannot imagine they’d be in it long.”
Heero nodded in agreement, reigning Wing to the right and slowly walking the edge, eyes searching for any possible sign of prints. Yet the water just became more treacherous as he followed the bank with swirling pools of water and rapids that culminated in a small waterfall that looked like it would dash any person daft enough to enter it upon the rocks below. He slid out of the saddle and precariously looked over the edge of the waterfall and silently let out a sigh of relief that Princess Relena wasn’t lying dead at the bottom. Of course, he knew her body could’ve been pushed further downstream, but he solidly held on to hope that she was still alive.
Pulling away, he walked Wing back up to where they had started, eyes searching once more for any signs, but he found none. Trowa was already waiting for him when he came back and the young captain shook his head at the unasked question.
“It bottoms out into a waterfall and the river becomes quite dangerous further down.”
Trowa nodded thoughtfully, “I didn’t find tracks either, but the river becomes fairly genteel further up and there is a bridge to cross it along with a well used road. There are too many fresh tracks that I wasn’t able to distinguish the odd hoof prints from the ones there, but it looks like there’s a town if we continue heading west that we can stop at.“
Ignoring his protesting thighs, Heero mounted Wing again and nodded to the Ranger as he kicked Wing into a canter. They’d head to the town and have a chance to ask after the magician as well as have their horses properly groomed and cared for and stock up on supplies again. Heero would also be able to send a courier back to King Milliardo to inform them of where they were and what they were following.
Another hour and they were finally at the outskirts of the town. While it wasn’t large like New Port City, it was a well established town with a fairly large inn and a marketplace. It was obviously a main stop on the road and the two weary travelers handed their mounts over to the groomsmen with strict instructions on their care. Heero grabbed his pack, reaching in to grab a few coins to give to the young boys, their eyes growing large as they stared at silver coin given to each of them.
“That’s to insure their care.” Heero said, patting Wing once more before heading towards the inn.
“We’ll make sure they are, sir!” One of the boys called, “We’ll even sleep in the stalls with them, good sir.”
Trowa appeared at Heero’s side, giving the captain a wry smile. Heero tried to act emotionless and stoic, but he knew better than anyone how much his friend actually felt and the two dirty, thin boys certainly brought up thoughts of how easily it could’ve been them. The boys looked like they wouldn’t accept charity and so Heero generously paid them to watch over the horses.
Walking into the inn, both were immediately assaulted with the savory smells in the air and the temperate room that warmed their fatigued bones. A silver haired, older gentleman looked up from the car and gave the two travelers a bright smile. “Welcome!” He called boisterously, “You two look like you are in need of a hot meal, a bath and a bed.”
Heero nodded, sliding out some of his funds. “Yes, do you have a room with two beds? We’d rather bunk together, but would be happy for the meal and baths immediately.”
“Certainly, we have roasted lamb with bread and vegetables if that pleases you, sirs.” The innkeeper answered, sliding a few coins into his cupped hand and pushing the rest back to Heero. “I’d be careful about showing too much of that around here.”
“Thank you sir.” Heero said, quickly returning the remaining coins to his coin purse and depositing it into his pack.
“Dinner will still be another hour, so if you will follow me, I’ll show you to your room and then have the bath readied for you.” The large innkeeper quickly beckoned them towards the stairs and brought them upstairs to the first room on the left. The room was fairly large with two bed, two dressers and a small table and chairs between the beds. “If this is acceptable, I’ll leave you two here and my granddaughter Sylvia will inform you once the bath is ready.”
Heero and Trowa both nodded, stepping in and both taking a bed as the innkeeper closed the door behind him. Trowa sat down first and sighed at the soft bed. “I believe we’ll sleep well tonight.”
A derisive snort had Trowa cocking a brow at his companion, “You’re a Ranger, I thought you were trained to sleep in the most uncomfortable positions possible.”
“Just because we can doesn’t mean we enjoy it.” Trowa retorted. “I hadn’t even had the chance to sleep at the inn when you had come in requesting I leave with you. So it’s been close to a month since I last laid on a bed not of my own making.”
Heero shook his head, but he couldn’t deny that he too was looking forward to sleeping on a bed with a blanket and pillow. Staring down at his dust covered body, he refused to dirty his bed before he had a chance to bathe and took to sitting down at the table. A companionable silence fell over the two men while they both contemplated their next steps. They had already agreed earlier that Trowa would gather the supplies necessary for their journey as he was more used to that and Heero would question those he could about the magician.
A soft knock shook them both out of their thoughts and Heero carefully approached the door, opening it a crack before widening it for the young girl before them. “Hello,” she smiled sweetly, her blonde hair framed her face while two barrettes kept the wisps out of her face. “Your bath is ready, sir.”
Trowa was up and following Heero and the young maiden down the hall to a room at the end of it. “That was quick,” he murmured, but as soon as the door was open, he understood why the bath only took a few minutes. The tiled room had a large bath in the corner with a pipe still dumping water into it. “You have indoor plumbing here?”
Sylvia smiled again, “Grandfather built this inn near a natural hot spring. It was his idea to add the pipe so we could fill the bath up directly from the hot spring, it certainly has helped us become a popular stop.”
Heero stepped into the room, eyes sweeping for any hidden dangers, but found none. “Do you have soap?” He asked, already unlacing his shirt.
“Certainly, sir.” A slight blush came to her cheeks as she caught sight of Heero’s toned chest, but she quickly averted her eyes and took a bar of soap from the built in shelf to hand to him. She looked up and gasped at how silently Trowa appeared in front of her.
Giving her a friendly smile, his one visible eye crinkling with amusement, he took the soap from her hand gently. “Thank you, I will make sure my friend is taken care of, so you can return to your chores.”
Her blush darkened, eyes darting from the one man to the other before she nodded firmly and left without another word.
As soon as the door closed, Heero kicked off his breeches and slipped into the tub, groaning as the heat seared his tired muscles. He leaned his head back against the edge and took a moment to soak in the water, his eyes sliding closed with pleasure. A soft chuckle made him crack open an eye and glare halfheartedly at the Ranger.
“That girl will be having some pleasant dreams tonight.”
Heero scoffed, “I’m not interested in little girls, Trowa.”
“That’s right, you only have eyes for Princess Relena.” The auburn grinned.
Both eyes opened now and glowered at the tall man. “It’s a good thing you’re my friend, otherwise I’d kill you.”
“I’m your only friend,” Trowa answered, rolling his eye, “if you kill me, you’ll have no one else that will put up with you.”
Heero growled, but knew it was true. His soldiers respected him and he even had a few he was semi-friendly with, but no one he could call a friend other than Trowa. “Just get in the damn bath.” He groused, “It’s large enough for the two of us. The quicker we’re both clean, the quicker we can eat and get about our business.”
The Ranger divested and quickly slipped into the water. “Just like old times.” The auburn said, thinking back to when they were younger and would bathe together for protection. Both were considered quite handsome and there was no end to the interest given to them, innocent and not so innocent, and they had begun bathing together so they could watch out for the other.
“Yeah, but no looking at my ass this time.” Heero smirked, causing Trowa to laugh boisterously at the memory. They had barely been teens when Heero climbed out of the stream they were bathing in, water running off him and down his backside. Trowa watched, fascinated, when the water slipped down Heero’s lower back and disappeared into the crevice of his buttocks. He hadn’t even realized he was staring, or getting excited, until Heero turned to him and his eyes widened at his half aroused state. The blue eyed boy had turned bright red and quickly hid himself while demanding to know why Trowa looked like that.
Trowa also turned red, his arousal leaving at his embarrassment, and stuttered out something neither could remember. Whatever it was, Heero accepted it and the two silently dressed, but years later, it was now a joke between the two. Trowa had since discovered he much preferred the company of men to women and couldn’t deny that Heero was a very attractive man, but was most definitely not his type.
The two soaked longer than anticipated as their muscles relaxed and the aches and pains of hard travel leaving them until the water turned tepid. A hesitant knock startled them both, “Sirs? Your dinner is ready.”
“Thank you.” Trowa called out, quickly reaching for the soap and furiously working to lather up his body before passing the white block to Heero. The Captain followed suit, scrubbing the dirt and grime from his skin. Both climbed out of the tub and quickly dried off before staring at their soiled clothing on the floor, neither had grabbed their extra pair of clothes in their haste to follow the young maiden to the bath.
Heero opened the door and peeked out, seeing the deserted hallway and hastily grabbed his clothes and boots before bolting to their room, Trowa hot on his heels with his own bundle of clothes under one arm and the other holding his towel in place with his boots. Both shook with laughter as they closed the door and finished drying off. Soon, they were dressed in their clean britches and shirts and left the towels and dirty clothes bundled on the floor outside their door to be cleaned.
Heero schooled his expression as he descended the stairs, but Trowa could barely conceal the smile on his face. He had forgotten how much fun he had with Heero, even when their mission was one of dire proportions. The young captain almost never smiled and was always glaring at everyone around him, suspicious of their every move and motive. Being the Captain of the Royal Guard meant that it was a well known fact that he was close with King Milliardo and so many often tried—and failed—to get close to Heero to garner favor with the king. It led to a very desolate and lonely life for the stoic man, but Heero never complained about it and was fully committed to his sovereign and country. Trowa often led a lonely life as well, but he had friends scattered throughout the country that he could talk with and share a hot meal with when his work brought him into those areas. And the Rangers were a close-knit group, so at the very least he could always drop in on the various Ranger holds and find company there.
“Young sirs!” The innkeeper called, smiling at the two males. “Please seat yourselves wherever you wish and I’ll have Sylvia bring you supper in a moment. Two spiced wines as well?”
Both nodded and then found a strategic table that remained semi-shadowed and allowed them to view the entirety of the room and the front door just in case trouble started. The dining room of the inn was warm and cozy. A large fireplace blazed in the far end of the room and sent a balmy yellow-orange glow throughout the inn. There were only six or seven tables as well as ten or so stools at the bar for seating, but the fair number of people showed the inn did well and kept busy.
Sylvia appeared holding two large plates on one arm and two tankards of spiced wine in the other. Despite her slight frame and thin arms, she obviously was quite strong and used to lifting heavy items as she smiled brightly and set down her burden with ease. “Here you are, sirs. I do hope the bath was satisfactory.”
Trowa smiled, “It most certainly was, thank you.” And Heero nodded his agreement as he eyed the plate of food. He was never one to care much about what he ate, but after a week of rations and dried foods, he almost salivated on the piles of meat and vegetables before him, all soaked in a fragrant and thick sauce.
“I’ll be back in a moment with your bread, but is there anything else you need?” She asked, setting her hands on her hips.
“Ah,” Heero answered, tearing his eyes away from the plate, “would you be able to launder our clothing? They’re quite dirty, unfortunately. We left them in front of our door.”
“Certainly.” Sylvia smiled again, “They’ll be ready before you leave tomorrow, but it’ll cost two bits each.”
Heero dug into his pocket, withdrawing two coppers and handing them to the young maiden. “You can keep the rest, but we need to leave early.” She slid them into the pocket of her apron and then disappeared to fetch their bread.
The two men quickly turned towards their food and hungrily ate, doing their best to savor it while also devouring it to fill their empty stomachs. Sylvia laughed at them as she dropped the bread off to them, letting them know she already had their clothes soaking, before she disappeared back into the kitchens with her skirts trailing behind her. Trowa and Heero shrugged, returning to their meals while grabbing hunks of bread to sop up the sauce and bits of meat that were too small for their forks.
By the time they were finished, both men were well satisfied and sated. They sat in companionable silence, sipping their tankards as they watched the various people filter in and out of the inn. So far, no one of note had appeared and everyone seemed friendly and relaxed, certainly not anyone who seemed ill at ease or anxious. No one had approached the pair, but the eerie glow of their eyes in the firelight seemed to keep almost everyone at bay except for the innkeeper and his granddaughter.
“I do not believe I introduced myself earlier,” the innkeeper spoke up as he approached his young patrons. “I’m Innkeeper Noventa and I believe you already met my granddaughter, Sylvia.”
Heero nodded, taking the lead as Trowa remained silent and watching. “I’m Captain Heero Yuy and this is Ranger Trowa Barton, thank you for the wonderful meal.”
Noventa furrowed his brow, “A captain and a ranger? We don’t often find ourselves with such a pair together, may I ask where you hail from?”
“New Port City.”
“The Capital?” The innkeeper gasped, shock and curiosity in his eyes, “We’ve heard disturbing news from the Capital that the princess has been kidnapped, a reward is being offered for her safe return. It’s been the talk of the town for the past few days.”
“Reward?” Trowa asked quietly, glancing furtively at Heero who looked just as confused.
“Yes, King Milliardo has offered lands and titles to whomever rescues Princess Relena as well as her hand in marriage.”
Both men stared stunned at Innkeeper Noventa, “He never mentioned this to me.” Heero murmured, more to himself than to anyone present. “But I can understand my Sire’s concern and desire to have her returned as soon as possible.”
The innkeeper’s brows disappeared into his hair line, “You know the king personally?”
Heero nodded, “I’m Captain of the Royal Guard.”
“T-then you believe the kidnapper has passed through here?”
“Yes. We were going to ask around if anyone had seen a figure dressed in dark robes with a young woman recently. Or sensed anyone with a dark aura around them, the person who kidnapped the princess is a magician. The name given was the Magician Koristaja.”
The innkeeper crossed his arms, thinking over the people who had passed through his inn in the past week, but eventually shook his head sadly. “Sorry sirs, but no one who fits that description has come through here recently—or even in the past few months. Though…” he paused, tapping his fingers against his other arm, “Koristaja, you say?”
The young men stared, nodding almost imperceptibly as they waited with baited breath.
“That’s an old name, you know. And there was a Magician by that name at one point, but there’s no way he could be alive today and as far as I know, he had no apprentice.”
Heero used his foot to push back the empty seat at their table. “Please, sit, and share what you know.”
The large man complied, making himself comfortable in the small chair. He gave a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose for a moment. “This is just myth, but…maybe you can glean something from it as I’m sure your hooded kidnapper knows the myth and chose the name for that reason.”
Sylvia appeared at her grandfather’s side, placing a tankard on the table and then moving to sit near the fire and listen to a story she had only heard a few times, but had never forgotten. Innkeeper Noventa took a sip of his drink and then let out a long, weary sigh before beginning the story.
There was once a young boy who had been blessed with magic beyond what anyone had ever seen before. From the earliest ages, he could call the winds to do his bidding and ask the earth to move for him. He spent his time studying and learning more about magic and soon was invited to study at the illustrious Magician’s College. He was the youngest magician to ever be accepted at only ten years old.
But not all was well, for as the boy grew more powerful, more began to fear him. As they watched the growing child learn more complicated skills with ease, they began to whisper that he was too powerful to be left alive. Assassins were sent, but the boy’s skill was too much and he easily defeated them.
Many within the Guild protested against the boy learning anymore of these skills and a great cry went out to expel the boy and strip him of his powers. The Council was easily swayed and despite the boy being sweet natured and kind, they agreed to bring the boy in and strip him of his powers for the protection of them all.
The boy stood shocked and angry before the Council. As his anger rose, thunder clapped and lightning struck, sending the magicians into a panic. Fifty magicians were called to begin the Rite of Expulsion to remove the power from the young boy, but before they could finish, a bolt of lightning struck where the boy stood.
When the blinding light and smoke cleared, the boy was gone, disappeared into the air as quick as lightning itself. Terrified, the Council sent assassins to the boy’s home, but only found his parents there who fought bravely, but died at the hands of such skilled professionals as they had not an ounce of magic within them.
The boy returned home a few days later to find his home razed and his parents bodies little more than ashes. The rage and anguish of the boy caused the splitting of the land itself, from which the Kingdom of Sanc was created.
Swearing revenge, the boy poured himself into the dark arts of magicry and sought to find a way to bring his parents back from the dead. Yet no such spell can ever bring back the dead for their souls have moved passed this veil and cannot return.
The young boy grew into a man before he exacted his revenge on the magicians who had tried to rip his power from his very soul and had crushed his family beneath their heel. He hunted them down ruthlessly; killing groups of magicians and once the numbers dwindled, one by one.
Whispers of the deadly magician swirled across the fractured country, the name Koristaja was only spoken with the invocation against evil, but nothing stopped the young man until at last the final magician died.
Those who witnessed the death of the last magician said the slight figure was covered head to toe in a black robe, but power radiated off of him like a volcano ready to erupt. The last magician didn’t even fight, just knelt upon the grass with her head bent as she awaited her execution. Those present said black tendrils of smoke billowed out of the black robe and suddenly everyone was eclipsed in pitch blackness. A single soul crushing scream cut through the darkness and suddenly the light returned.
The young man stood silently where the last magician had knelt, but now there was only charred ground. And with a sigh of relief, the Magician Koristaja disappeared with a gust of wind, never to be seen again.
Heero remained rooted in his seat, eyes wide and bright as he listened with fixated interest to the innkeeper. There were definite similarities that couldn’t be ignored between this legend and the figure that appeared inside the castle a week ago. Magicians were a rare breed now, usually only a few families had any magic in their blood and certainly none could do things this Koristaja could supposedly do—legend and reality.
“How old is this myth?” Trowa asked, his head tilting slightly as he tried to decipher Heero’s expression.
“Old enough that it has been passed down through at least three generations of my family before I heard it for the first time.” Innkeeper Noventa answered, “It is impossible for the Magician Koristaja of myth to still be alive, even if it is true that they live twice the length of those without magic.”
Heero nodded, agreeing, yet… “The person who kidnapped Princess Relena definitely knew this legend or else somehow Koristaja is still alive, but that doesn’t explain why he or she would kidnap the princess.” He frowned, dropping his gaze to the tankard he still nursed. Why would Milliardo send people after the princess if he is possibly sending them to their deaths? Heero thought, but certainly wouldn’t speak out against his king with so many people present. King Milliardo was well liked and well loved, respected and any cross word was usually quickly chided by anyone present.
“If you continue north for two days, you’ll see a large mountain, Mt. Soraka, with a winding path that reaches up to the top. There is a school there for magicians, it is small and they do not trust easily, but they may be able to tell you of any magician who fits your description.” The innkeeper said before standing. “I must get back to tend the bar, but I pray daily that the princess will be found unharmed and returned to King Milliardo.”
“Innkeeper,” Trowa called as the man turned away, “do you happen to know if there is a Ranger hold around here?”
“Yes, it’s just down the road, though I’m not certain any other Rangers are currently present.”
He dipped his head in thanks, then said to Heero, “I’m going to stop in there. Do you have a letter for the king you wish for me to ask be delivered?”
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll draft it now.” Heero answered, moving with purpose up the stairs and to their room. He quickly scrawled a letter to King Milliardo telling him where they were and all they had learned so far before sealing it with a little wax and his signet ring that allowed the king to know who the letter was from immediately.
Trowa entered behind him, moving methodically to his bed where his cloak lay at the edge of the bed. Rangers never let anyone clean their cloaks as they often stored various herbs, poisons and other oddities in the little pockets that were almost invisible to the naked eye. Heero held up the letter silently and Trowa grasped it as he walked back out the door, not a word said and yet a full understanding between them.
Slipping down the stairs, Trowa stepped out into the crisp air and instinctively pulled his cloak closer. He definitely preferred the sunny days of the capital, but had to admit he loved breathing in slightly chilly air as it filled and cooled his lungs. Moving down the main street, Trowa immediately caught sight of the Ranger holding, which to most travelers would just look like a regular house, but the gray and green colored house was the color of the Rangers and all Rangers knew how to spot their own guild’s holdings. He knocked thrice, a way of greeting any Rangers inside as friend, before slipping in. Surprisingly, he found two other Rangers there and he gave them a small smile of greeting.
“Ranger Trowa Barton,” he introduced himself, moving towards the two who smiled openly at him.
“I’m Luna,” the dark brunette woman answered, then pointing to the blonde woman next to her, “and this is my sister Soris.”
“Please join us,” Soris offered, gesturing to the empty seat.
“Thanks. Are either of you on assignment?” He asked, sliding onto the wooden chair.
“No, we just finished. You?”
“Yes, I’m heading north.” Trowa didn’t mention Heero. Most Rangers didn’t pry into each other’s missions as many of them were dangerous and of the utmost secrecy between the King and his various stewards and nobility. “I cannot return to the Capital right now, so I was hoping to find a Ranger here who could deliver this directly to King Milliardo.”
The women gasped, but Luna leaned forward to stare darkly at Trowa. “Directly?”
Trowa nodded, removing the letter from his pocket. “Yes, directly.”
Soris reached out and took the letter, studying it carefully before nodding, noting the seal of the Captain, and tucking it inside her cloak. “We are returning to New Port City ourselves, but will leave first thing tomorrow morning and make haste to deliver this to King Milliardo.”
He smiled, relieved, “My debt to you both, if I could return myself I would. I’m assuming you came from up north, may I ask if you saw anyone strange on the road recently? Or a strange hoofed beast?”
“Unfortunately no, though we did hear something strange a few nights ago…” Luna answered, running a hand through her shoulder length brown hair. “There was a thundering that we thought was an approaching storm at first, but then there was a sudden shriek, like a woman screaming, followed by another eerily pitched scream that did not sound as if it came from a person. We did go to investigate, but we couldn’t find anything and we heard no other noise that night—not even from the animals themselves.”
Trowa suddenly surged to a stand, “When was this? And where?” He asked urgently, his eyes wide and searching.
“Two nights ago and near the mountain.” Soris said, “We slept in the meadow of the mountain’s valley.”
“Many thanks, ride safe and swift! Please inform King Milliardo of our conversation also once you hand him the letter.” He called and swiftly ran back to the inn. Finding the Captain in their room, he immediately informed Heero of what the Rangers said and then sat down on his bed, suddenly exhausted emotionally and physically.
Heero sat on his bed silently and digested everything Trowa had told him. They were definitely on the right path then and he wanted to leave straight away, but knew that would only lead to disaster with them and their horses haggard and run down. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the ground, annoyed that his body demanded rest when they were still two days behind the kidnapper. But one look out the window and Heero knew trying to leave now in the dark to search a place they didn’t know well wasn’t a good idea. Growling in frustration, Heero went and began packing his things, “We’ll leave at first light tomorrow. Our horses need the rest and, unfortunately, so do we. I’ll go ask if the innkeeper can spare us any food and grain for us and the horses to take with us so we don’t have to wait until the market opens.”
Trowa soundlessly nodded and then collapsed backwards into the bed, fatigue overcoming him. He heard the click of the door as Heero left, but was soon in a deep sleep that even Heero returning to the room didn’t wake him.
Snorting, Heero ruefully smiled at his best friend, thankful that he came with him for this mission, and pulled the blanket up and over the slumbering auburn. Then, turning to his own bed, Heero removed his shoes and momentarily eyed up Trowa’s that were still on his feet and wondered if he should remove them too. But the Ranger seemed quite content and so Heero let him be and slipped under his own blankets, quickly falling asleep to the soft breathing that filled the room.
Dhampir
Page 12
5/12/2021
Notes:
They've got a direction now ^_^
And man, just like that I more than doubled the word count for the whole fic so far, hahaha!
Thank you for the comments, kudos and love!
Chapter 4: Chapter Four
Notes:
I know, this is late, but it's been a hectic week and I'm barely scraping through it.
I didn't even have a chance to proofread this one, so I apologize for any errors (please point them out if you see any!).
I hope you are enjoy ^_^
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Four
Both men were up before the sun even had even begun to rise. They had slept deeply and felt fully rejuvenated and ready to set out. Checking over the room to make sure everything was packed, they silently padded downstairs to the darkened room, the dying embers of the fire their only light.
A noise from the kitchen had Heero reaching for his sword, but Sylvia stepped out, holding three bundles in her hands, all wrapped and neatly packed. She smiled at the men and held the bundles out to them. “One is your clothes, one is food for you both that should last two or three days and the last is grain for your horses. Grandfather explained who you were,” she added, “I pray you find the princess.”
Heero nodded his thanks and pulled out a gold coin, handing it to the stunned maiden. That was more than what they made in six months, “That is for your troubles and for your help. We would appreciate it if you kept an eye out for any strange people and report it immediately to any Ranger; they’ll know how to get the information back to King Milliardo.”
Sylvia nodded mutely, her trembling hand holding the coin reverently. She watched as the two imposing figures silently left and a few minutes later, she heard the rumbling sound of hooves as they left the stables and headed towards the Mt. Soraka.
The dusky light of the sunrise gave them enough illumination to be able to see the roadway and with both rider and horse rested, they quickly covered the ground between the inn and Mt. Soraka. They weren’t concerned with trying to read tracks at this point since the two Rangers had told them where they had been when they heard the woman and creature scream.
By late morning, the large mountain loomed in the distance far above the trees to either side of them. Heero looked over at Trowa and Heavy Arms, seeing they were both still going strong and looking well rested, before he leaned forward to check on Wing. He felt the slight lather on the large stallion’s neck and his heavy whuffing breaths that told him Wing was a bit winded, but nowhere near his limit. He patted the horse’s long neck affectionately and then signaled to Trowa, spurring the horses forward as they both knew there was no time to lose.
From all accounts, the Magician had at least a two day lead, possibly longer, but Heero’s focus had been restored and the floundering they had felt the past week of tracking a ghost was now gone. He would find Princess Relena and return her to her brother, not because of any reward, but because it was his duty and sworn oath. Though if he was rewarded with lands, titles and her hand…he couldn’t deny that he would be more than pleased with it.
He had known the princess for almost six years after becoming one of her guards and at first had been awed by her status, but later by her beauty and kindness. She radiated innocence and purity, she cared about her people and was often found helping wherever she was needed—whether that be washing dishes with the cooks or helping to straighten up rooms for coming dignitaries. She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty and had often been found with dirt on her dresses from helping in the gardens or flour in her hair from baking bread. She always spoke her mind, but with a degree of decorum and finesse so that no one was ever offended even if she was disagreeing.
When he was younger, he’d bring her things he found on his travels-exotic feathers, pressed flowers, spices and teas—because he loved her wide eye curiosity and the way her cornflower blue eyes sparkled with excitement.
As he grew older though, and began to understand his place, he slowly pulled away from the princess because he knew their attachment was becoming too deep. He requested a transfer once he was promoted to Sergeant and quickly saw less of the princess as his duties grew. Princess Relena certainly understood his increased duties as he rose in the ranks and never chased after him, but Heero continued to watch her when he could. She had grown into an enchanting young woman that bore the Peacecraft name with honor. He wouldn’t get his hopes up in marrying her, but he certainly felt happier than ever before knowing they were gaining on the kidnapper.
Trowa saw the smile on Heero’s face and shook his head at his friend. He knew where Heero’s thoughts lie as he often listened as the normally stoic man spoke about the princess. He always got a slightly dreamy look in his eyes and a soft smile whenever he thought or talked about her and Trowa slightly envied him for that. He hadn’t found anyone yet that could create such strong feelings within him despite a decent number of propositions from both sexes.
~*~
The forest surrounding them began to thin out as the day continued on until they were surrounded by a large meadow that was shadowed by the mountain. They pulled their horses up short, turning them in a tight circle as they looked around.
The horses heaved, covered in sweat, but still stood strong, both shaking their upturned heads as if they were young colts instead of veteran stallions. Heero and Trowa both dismounted and looked for distinguishable tracks of the odd hoofed creature they had seen before.
Heero took the reins from Trowa and led both horses to allow the Ranger to fully focus. They silently walked a sedentary pace, sometimes almost painstakingly slow, but Trowa was following something beneath the other prints, his eyes imperceptibly picking up tracks that Heero couldn’t distinguish.
After another half hour, they arrived at a fork in the road, one path leading down the craggy cliffs of the backside of the mountain and the other up the mountain side and to the Magician School. Heero took the moment’s pause to grab the buckskin bag and pour water into it so the horses could drink one at a time.
He left Trowa to track a little ways down one path before the auburn turned around and then tracked up the mountain path. By the time he returned, Heero had finished watering both horses and now drank from his flask. He passed the flask to Trowa, seeing his thirst, and silently waited as the Ranger greedily drank.
“We made good timing.” Trowa finally said, “We got here in less than a day and still have some daylight left.”
Heero nodded, “Yes, the horses ran well and strong. They’re rested now and we still have some time to travel further.”
“Well, I’ve been able to pick up the tracks,” the Ranger said, wiping sweat from his brow, “they go down the path to the left, but I know you want to see if the school knows anything and that’s the right path. What do you want to do, Captain?”
Blue eyes narrowed at the use of his title. Trowa was telling him this was his call; this was Captain to Ranger not friend to friend. Heero mulled over it, obviously catching the kidnapper was most important, but going in blindly would likely get them killed if their adversary truly was the Magician Koristaja.
He glanced at the sun, they had probably another two hours of sunlight before it would be too dark to travel. His eyes followed the path up the mountain side and he frowned as he calculated. If he rode Wing hard, he could be up the mountain in a half hour and coming back down should be even faster as long as the path wasn’t going to trip the horse. Wing was an experienced horse though and Heero knew the mountain path would be no problem for him.
“Go left, Ranger Trowa, track for an hour and then come back to this fork. I will head up the mountain and see what I can learn. I’ll meet you back here.”
Removing some food from his pack, Trowa passed it to Heero and then, taking the reins from the olive skinned man, mounted Heavy Arms and disappeared down the path.
Heero quickly followed suit as he shoved the food into his own pack and swung up into Wing’s saddle, began up the mountain side. Spurring Wing forward, the horse cantered easily up the wide and smooth path and despite the sheer size of the mountain, it looked like it wouldn’t be a difficult or long journey to the top.
The tall trees rustled with the wind and the birds chirped, but the main sound was the echoing of hooves on the hard dirt path. Heero felt like it was as loud as his own heartbeat as they went around a fairly steep turn and continued up the path, Wing’s ears flattening as he lengthened his stride up the straight path. They slowed just enough to round the next turn and then they were off again, Heero not even needing to ask the horse to go.
In less than a half hour, Heero and Wing stood at the top of the mountain and stared at the intricate building before them. Glass and metal twisted together to make a splendid building with spiraled towers and a large domed center, especially as the setting sun caught the glass and created a rainbow of colors to glitter upon the ground. Heero couldn’t believe that it had survived as it looked like a well placed rock would shatter the entire building. He slid from the saddle, his mouth open in awe as he approached the large glass doors of the front of the building.
“Stop!” A voice commanded, causing Heero to snap out of his stupor. He cursed himself for being caught off guard and quickly turned towards the voice. A young blonde man stood a few dozen feet from him, wearing a black and red robe. “Who are you?”
Heero straightened, judging the level of danger the lone figure presented. “I’m Captain Heero Yuy, I come on behalf of King Milliardo to seek the Magicians School’s help in a matter.”
To his surprise, the blonde man snarled at the mention of the king. “What does he want? He kicked us out of the court and now he wants our help? Ha!”
“Choose your words carefully, Magician,” Heero said lowly, his anger mounting. “You are close to speaking treason.”
“I do speak treason, we won’t help that pompous king! He’s no king of ours!”
“Ours? Do you speak for all magicians then?” The Captain asked, unsheathing his sword and falling into a defensive pose.
“I’m sure not all,” another voice said from behind him and Heero quickly turned so he could scan behind him while keeping an eye on the blonde. To his right stood a dark brown haired man also dressed in black and red robes. “But he certainly speaks for the two of us. We refuse to serve Milliardo Peacecraft.”
“Then you leave me no choice but to defend my sovereign’s honor.” Heero wished that he and Trowa hadn’t split up now, cursing his luck at being outnumbered by two magicians—magicians that he didn’t know what they could do or even if they were the kidnappers.
The whistling sound of the wind was Heero’s only warning as something whipped near him and he brought his blade up quickly to block. Something pinged off his sword and skittered to the ground, but the blast of wind forced him back a few inches. Heero remained on his feet, searching in the fading light for what was used and stared at the still spinning piece of glass he had blocked.
“Hey Alex, this one actually has some skill!” The brown haired magician called. “This should be fun.”
“Then by all means, Mueller, have fun.” The blonde, Alex, maliciously grinned and then sat on thin air. Heero couldn’t keep the shock off his face watching the magician float in the air and almost missed the movement to his right as Mueller charged him.
“Shit!” Heero cursed, rolling out of the way and quickly getting his feet beneath him again, his sword raised for protection. The crack that sounded jarred him as a hasty glance to where he had been showed that the ground was now concaved into a crater. Eyes narrowed, Heero kept his body taunt and ready for the slightest movement. Obviously Alex was a Wing Magician and he assumed Mueller was an Earth Magician, he didn’t know much about magicians as King Milliardo had cast them out after the death of his father, believing the magicians were who killed the previous king. “Did you kidnap the princess?” He called, slowly rotating so try and see every which way.
“No.” A voice said close to his ear and Heero lashed out, slashing his sword into open air, a cruel chuckle filling the air. “Missed me! We would have just killed her if it was us, she’s of no use to us.”
A slight scuff was all Heero heard, but it was enough for him to step backwards and twist to the left, meeting Mueller head on with the broadside of his sword and catching the magician off guard as the blade hit him in the face.
Mueller stumbled back and Heero didn’t waste the chance as he quickly brought his sword up and stabbed the magician through the chest. Shock rippled through him before the pain hit and the Earth Magician let out a gurgling sound as he reached for Heero with those powerful hands. The Captain twisted his sword, ripping muscle and veins, and then pulled the blade out before retreating back a step to stay out of reach.
“Mueller!” Alex yelled, suddenly appearing at the magician’s side to catch him before his head hit the ground, but the magician was already dead, head lolling as blood dripped from his lips and chest. The blonde magician growled, looking at Heero with hatred and malice, the wind suddenly whipping around him.
Heero gasped as he felt a wall of wind pushing him backwards. He dug his heels in, but the wall just pushed harder and a quick look over his shoulder told him Alex was pushing him towards the backside of the mountain. The cliffs! Heero thought, desperately trying to push back against the wall and for a moment, he minutely felt the wall give as he shuffled forward a step.
“No!” The wind mage roared and suddenly the wall became harder, stronger and faster. The rocks beneath Heero’s feet began rolling away, causing the young captain to lose his footing and be pushed faster towards his death.
The cliff edge was now only feet away and Heero could see over the edge as the sheer drop down would instantly kill him. Using precious seconds, Heero took a step back and with all his might stabbed his sword into the ground, using it as an anchor as he wrapped his hands around the hilt and knelt beside his buried sword.
The wall continued to push, but Heero clung to the sword even as he felt the metal begin to bow. The wind kicked up dust and pebbles, making his eyes sting and he closed them and bowed his head to protect his vision. With the wind howling in his ears and the magician yelling curses at him, Heero felt the sudden sharp sting that cut into his cheek. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know that it was that spinning glass that cut him. Blood trickled from the cut as another stinging wound appeared on his bicep, slicing through his clothes. Then another on his hand, another striking his temple, two more on his legs, then more continued the onslaught until his blood flowed freely and he lost count of the wounds, but he refused to let go of his sword even as his hands shook.
Alex screamed his wrath, gathering his power to call forward a squall to sweep the damnable Captain off the cliff edge when suddenly fire licked at his feet, the flames rising to encase his body.
Heero heard the change in the blonde’s screams and he opened his eyes as the wind began to die down to see a tornado of fire engulfing the wind mage. Heero took a shuddering breath and tried to see through the blood that ran into his eyes for the new enemy, but he didn’t see anyone. Carefully removing one hand from the hilt, he hastily wiped his eyes, trying to remove the blood as the screams died and the wall of wind disappeared completely.
The young captain stumbled to his feet, ignoring the searing pain of the wounds he had received, and pulled his sword from the ground. He readied his stance and tried to see in the dwindling light if the one who saved him would be a savior or an even greater enemy. “Are you friend or foe?” Heero called hoarsely, his strength leaving him as his life’s blood dripped steadily to the ground. “Are you loyal to King Milliardo or not?”
There was a pause, as if the person wasn’t sure how to respond. “We are loyal to King Milliardo.” A melodic voice called out and despite Heero’s best attempt, he couldn’t find the person whose voice it belonged to.
His vision began to darken and he stumbled to the ground, “Friend then.” He murmured, the last of his strength leaving him.
“Hold on!” That same voice called and a young blonde boy appeared next to him. The boy’s mesmeric aqua eyes were kind and his face was angelic in the dwindling light. “I’ll heal you, my friend.”
“Trowa,” Heero gasped, his vision darkening as the surroundings began to fade. “At the fork.”
The last thing Heero heard was another voice, low and calm, saying “I’ll fetch him.”
Dhampir
Page 7
5/19/2021
Notes:
Alex and Mueller came and went, haha, but hey new characters~ ^_^
See you all next week!
Chapter 5: Chapter Five
Summary:
Heero discovers who saved him and more about Koristaja.
Notes:
Hello!
I apologize now, I didn't have a chance to proofread this chapter, so if you see any errors please let me know.
It's been a whirlwind of a week with my son ending up in the hospital with appendicitis. We got home yesterday, but still trying to catch up on sleep and caring for a child that just had surgery.
So I hope you enjoy this chapter ^_^
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Five
Heero’s eyes fluttered open as he clawed his way back to consciousness; the sun was high in the sky and caused him to squint as the blinding sunlight triggered a searing headache. He felt the darkness trying to swallow him again, but refused, carefully pushing himself into a sitting position. For a few minutes, his vision swam as his surroundings blurred and he tried to focus but it only caused his head to ache more.
“Heero.” A voice whispered, Trowa’s.
“Trowa, are we safe?” He asked, his voice hoarse and mouth dry and heavy.
The Ranger placed a flask of water to Heero’s lips and allowed the young captain to take a sip. “Yes, I believe so. Wufei came down the mountain and met me at the fork, I almost shot him, but thankfully he has good reflexes—I’d say almost as good as yours. He deflected the arrow and then explained that he and his companion found you in the midst of a fight with two magicians.”
He nodded, his vision slowly focusing until he could recognize Trowa. “They were treasonous, but they didn’t kidnap the princess. Who is Wufei? And his companion?”
“That would be us.” The same melodic voice said and Heero turned to look to his other side. Blonde wavy hair framed a pale heart shaped face with smiling aquamarine eyes and red lips. He crouched beside Heero dressed smartly in brown slacks and a white shirt that was partially covered by a dark purple vest. “My name is Quatre Raberba Winner, it’s a pleasure to meet you Captain Yuy.”
“Winner?” Heero asked, his eyes widening in shock. “You’re the youngest son of Archduke Zayeed?”
Trowa looked up, shocked as well, though now the purple vest made sense. “Your royalty?”
The blonde blushed with embarrassment, “I-I guess you could say that, I’m actually the only son of my father’s, but in our province, the next ruler is the first born and then it goes down the line. I have twenty-nine sisters ahead of me, so I don’t really consider myself royalty as I’m quite far removed from ever becoming an Archduke.”
Heero choked, “Twenty-nine?” He had only met the Archduke once and had never talked with the severe looking man, so he had no idea the man had so many children.
Quatre laughed, his small shoulders shaking at the expressions of the two men before him. “Yes, twenty-nine.”
“I guess that means you were mainly left to your own devices?” Trowa asked, giving the blonde boy a slight smile.
“Yes and no,” Quatre shrugged, “I’m still the only son and so while my chances of leading are slim, my father still considers me important and the only reason I’m allowed to travel is because I’m a magician.”
“And you have a guard.” A dark voice said, causing the three men to look behind Heero. The tall, thin Asian man had his ebony hair pulled back into a severe ponytail and was glaring at the two strangers. Despite the dusty conditions, he wore pristine white breeches and a white shirt, a long sword at his side. “I’m Chang Wufei, Prince Quatre’s personal guard.”
“Prince?” The auburn Ranger asked incredulously.
Quatre glared at his Asian friend. “I told you to stop calling me that! I might be a prince because of my father’s position, but I’m certainly never going to be a prince, so drop the honorifics and call me Quatre.”
“It would be dishonorable to not use the proper honorifics.”
“We are not starting this argument again, Wufei!” The blonde yelled, standing up to put his hands on his hips as he stared down the taller man.
The silence stretched, but neither broke their gaze. Heero was honestly surprised to find the blonde boy to be obstinate as he seemed so friendly that Heero assumed he’d be a pushover. But watching the friction between the two, it was quite obvious that the friendly kitten could turn into a ferocious wildcat in a heartbeat. Eventually, Wufei dropped the gaze and gave a snort of derision.
“Fine, Quatre, but I want it known I formally protest it.”
The blonde smiled, his angelic demeanor returning. “Noted.”
“We still don’t know if they are who they say they are.” Wufei sniped, his eyes glancing between Trowa and Heero suspiciously. “From what I can tell, this one here,” the guard pointed to Heero, “killed Mueller and Alex was retaliating.”
Heero held up his right hand to the guard, showing his signet ring. “I am Captain Heero Yuy, King Milliardo’s Captain of the Royal Guard. I have been sent to retrieve Princess Relena and bring the kidnapper to justice.” Wufei leaned down, though still at a safe distance, to look closely at the ring. “I have Ranger Trowa Barton assisting me in tracking down the kidnapper and I came to the Magician’s School hoping to seek help.”
Quatre’s interest piqued, “What kind of help? We came across you purely by chance. I was sent by the Council to track down renegade Magicians’ Alex and Mueller and to kill them or incapacitate them long enough to bring them before the Council. Wufei and I had tracked them to this school, but had been waiting for the cover of darkness to attack. When I felt the surge of magic power, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer, but I didn’t expect to find them fighting a non-mage or for that non-mage to have dispatched one of them.”
Cobalt blue met turquoise and Heero saw the admiration and respect there. “Mueller was overconfident, it’s the only reason I was able to catch him off guard enough to kill him.”
“He was overconfident for a good reason, don’t discredit yourself.”
Heero shifted uncomfortably beneath their gazes, it was one thing he hated about being the King’s Captain, all the attention given to him whenever he did his job well. Trowa could sense his friend’s discomfiture and spoke up, “We are tracking a magician, Magician Quatre, whom we know is responsible for Princess Relena’s disappearance.”
“A magician is?” The blonde gasped, sending a furtive glance to Wufei. “Please, tell us what you know. The Council is trying to prove to King Milliardo that we are loyal to him by ridding those treasonous to the king. If a magician is responsible for the princess’ disappearance, then we want to be of help in bringing justice to the king.”
“The Magician Koristaja.” Heero answered, watching the two strangers closely for any signs of deception, but the look of shock on Quatre’s face and the incredulous expression on Wufei’s was open enough to allow the young Captain to relax just a breadth. Their reactions were genuine and so they were not part of the plot.
“T-that’s…that’s impossible!” Quatre finally said. “There has only ever been one Koristaja and he’s been dead for at least a hundred years. There’s no way he could be the kidnapper. Did you happen to see his face or anything that would help us identify who it is?”
The Captain shook his head and then recounted the party and the magician who appeared. How they had scoured the castle and the city, but had been unable to find even the smallest clue to where the princess was. As Heero’s throat began to burn, Trowa handed his friend a flask of water and took over the telling and caught the two new companions up to when they came across Heero.
The small blonde nodded, his eyes guarded as he sifted through possibilities and the magicians he knew. Silence fell over the little camp as he thought, but after a few minutes, Quatre gave a dejected sigh and shook his head. “The only magician I know of who can do what you said is Koristaja, but it seems such an unfeasible answer. Magicians may be able to increase our life force so that we can live longer, but not that much longer.”
“I was able to track the prints down the cliff side,” Trowa said, “but there is a sheer drop that I’m not positive we can get back up once we come that way and so I didn’t continue as Heero and I were to meet again.”
“Wufei,” Quatre called, jerking his head for the guard to follow him before walking a few paces away. Heero and Trowa watched as the two animatedly bickered back and forth, both of them gesturing wildly with their hands, but the words indistinguishable from this distance.
“What happened when you arrived?” Heero asked quietly, keeping his eyes trained on the two arguing figures. He wanted to trust them, but considering his run ins with magicians so far had been three of four being bad, he wasn’t feeling very trustworthy.
Trowa chuckled, “It was quite a shock, I can tell you that. As I said, Wufei came to retrieve me and thankfully is quite skilled with his sword. Once he told me he had been sent to fetch me for you, I followed him, though kept my guard up for an ambush. We arrived at the top and all I can see is this blue…fire surrounding you and Quatre standing in front of you. I thought they were burning your body and spurred Heavy Arms into a hard gallop to stop them. Quatre had turned towards me at my cry and his eyes…they glowed teal, Heero! I’ve never seen that before, but they glowed in the dark. Wufei caught up to us and grabbed the reins from me and pulled us up short, yelling at me that Quatre was healing you and to not interrupt.”
That explained why he wasn’t bleeding anymore at least. He still ached, but he had wondered how he felt much better than he planned, especially when he had been certain he’d be dead. “I will have to give thanks to Quatre then.”
“It’s about midday right now, you slept for quite a while, but we didn’t dare try to move you. Quatre was exhausted by the time he was done and had collapsed next to you, but he woke up this morning as chipper as he is now. I guess magicians replenish quickly too.”
The two fell into a companionable silence again as the argument between Quatre and Wufei raged on, the guard obviously not happy with whatever the blonde was saying. But the prince’s face was firmly set and Heero knew the little blonde was going to get his way. A look at Wufei showed the ebony man knew it too and with a scoff, he turned and stomped away into the tree line. Quatre’s shoulder’s sagged slightly and he rubbed his temple as if he had a headache, but his smile returned as he approached Trowa and Heero.
“We would like to travel with you. My job is done as both Alex and Mueller are dead and I would like to be of service to my sovereign by helping retrieve Princess Relena.” Quatre said, smiling brightly. If Heero hadn’t seen the fire tornado that had incinerated Alex, he would’ve thought the blonde had never even seen the sight of blood, let alone have sullied his hands with executions.
Trowa and Heero shared a look, their own language passing between them without a word said before both turned back to the blonde and nodded. Heero slowly pulled himself up to stand, his knees shaking at the exertion. For the first time, he noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt, but instead bandages that were wrapped around his arms and torso, but he was relieved to find his pants were still on. “We would appreciate any help.”
Quatre clapped his hands together with excitement, “Wonderful! Wufei has gone to fetch our horses.”
Speaking of horses, Heero gasped, looking for his white stallion. “Wing! Is he safe or did Alex kill him?”
“He’s fine,” Trowa said with a chuckle as he helped Heero with his shirt, but he knew how important the stallion was to Heero. He felt the same way about Heavy Arms and knew he would be lost without his stocky roan.
As if to prove it, Wufei walked into the clearing with four horses with him—Wing and Heavy Arms were quick to give a whinny of greeting upon seeing their riders, which made the other two horses shake their heads and snort. The other two stood almost regally with their heads held high as they pranced beside Wufei. One was a dappled gray and the other a buckskin, both were sleek creatures with small heads, shiny coats and silky manes.
“We’ve already lost time, we need to start moving again.” Heero said, straightening as he gathered his bearings around him.
Quatre frowned, “Do you think you can ride yet? You could ride with one of us.”
The Captain shook his head, “I’ll be fine.”
“I healed your wounds, of which there were many, but I cannot replenish your blood, of which you lost much. You need to eat something and drink more water.”
“I can do that on the trail.” Heero argued, glaring at the little blonde. He had survived this long without being coddled or mothered, he wasn’t about to let it start now by someone he didn’t even know.
“I’ll watch him. If he starts swaying, we’ll stop.” Trowa spoke up, already cleaning up the camp.
“No, you’re going to be tracking,” Quatre said, “I’ll watch him.”
Heero’s glare intensified, but both men didn’t seem to even notice. “I don’t need anyone watching me.” He groused, trying not to show how much effort it was taking him just to stand.
“Ranger Trowa will go first, then Quatre, then Captain Heero and then me. That way I can watch you both and we can get moving.” Wufei’s voice cut through, commanding and annoyed. “If he is the Captain of King Milliardo’s guard, then I have no doubt he is strong.”
The young captain nodded his thanks to the Asian man, seeing the respect in those dark eyes that Heero returned.
The four quickly cleaned up the camp with Trowa erasing any signs that they had been there and then they were mounting up and descending down the mountain side. Heero’s vision tilted as they took the turns, but he kept his seat on Wing and refused to let his companions know. Once they were on the flat parts, he could take a breath, stamp down the queasiness that rose from his belly and focus on Quatre’s buckskin horse ahead of him.
By early afternoon, they were at the fork in the road again and Trowa expertly wheeled Heavy Arms down the craggy trail, the others following close behind. They slowed as the horses skittered being so close to the cliffs, but with a bit of urging, the horses continued down the small, rocky trail. They got to the point Trowa had mentioned and Heero dismounted to carefully approach the twelve foot drop. He frowned, his vision blurring slightly as he looked around for any other way down, but this was it.
“Would the horses be able to follow down the drop?” Heero asked Trowa.
“Heavy Arms and Wing can, but…” The Ranger looked behind him at the smaller, delicate looking horses of their companions.
Quatre grinned, “These are Arabians, don’t underestimate their small stature. Sandrock and Nataku are used to sand and rock and cliffs, they can easily take the drop.”
“Then we’ll descend.” Trowa answered, reaching into his pack that hung from Heavy Arms’ saddle for the rope packed there. He looped the rope expertly around the horn of the saddle and then told Heavy Arms to stand still. The roan braced himself on the rocky cliff as Trowa gripped the rope and began to repel down, his horse counterbalancing his weight.
Once Trowa reached the bottom, Heero turned to allow the blonde to slip by him and slide down the rope. Quatre was nimble and scurried down the rock side as if it were second nature. Considering where the Archduke’s lands were, Heero thought of the sands and cliffs there, it wasn’t much of a surprise.
“You’re next.” Wufei said, pointedly looking at Heero and just arching an eyebrow at the dark glare he received.
With a huff, Heero approached the edge and gripped the rope tightly. Setting himself to repel down, Heero felt a wave of nausea as his vision tilted again, but he bit the inside of his cheek to stave it off. He closed his eyes, not needed to see to be able to repel down, and began a slow descent down the side of the drop. About halfway down, his arms ached from holding his weight and he felt his grip slip, causing him to lose his footing and suddenly he was falling much faster than anticipated. Hands grabbed him, breaking his fall and Heero opened his eyes to find Trowa and Quatre holding him.
“You okay?” Trowa asked, his worried green eyes checking for any injuries.
Heero nodded, getting to his feet and wordlessly taking the flask from his belt. He watched as Wufei descended with grace and ease while he sipped the water and forced himself not to touch his aching head. They didn’t have any more time to waste on him and he could damn well sit on a horse.
“Maybe we should rest?” Quatre asked, glancing at Heero as the horses slid partially down the cliff side before jumping nimbly to the ground below.
“No.” Heero said, his voice steely and not leaving any room to argue. “We will go until our daylight is gone. The king and queen are depending on us.”
Trowa nodded, understanding how Heero felt and mounted up on Heavy Arms again, coiling the rope up and putting it back into his pack. “Then let’s move.”
The others followed suit and then fell into line as Trowa continued the arduous task of tracking. There wasn’t much else the others could do but silently follow behind and allow the man to work. The cliffs were steep and at times, the horses skittered on loose rock and soft clay, but the land was otherwise desolate.
Quatre slowly dropped back until he was next to Heero, giving the stoic man a friendly smile. “How are you feeling?”
Heero glanced at the path, deeming it large enough for the two horses to be side by side, before answering. “I’m all right, but if we get caught by bandits, I won’t be much help.”
“You need to eat.” The blonde frowned. “Do you have anything you can snack on while on horseback? Once night sets in, Wufei can make us all supper. He’s a wonderful cook.”
The Asian man snorted from behind them. “You only think it’s wonderful when we’re not home where you have a staff of cooks.”
Quatre laughed, the sound just as melodic as the rest of his voice. “Just because they’re better doesn’t mean you’re not wonderful, Wufei.”
The Captain turned in his saddle so he could look at the young guard. “How did you come into Prince Quatre’s service?”
“Not you too!” The Arabian groaned while Wufei smiled smugly. “Quatre, please call me Quatre. I hate the titles.”
Before Heero could respond, Wufei spoke up, “Originally, I was hired by the Archduke to be Quatre’s taster when I was seven and he was six. His previous taster had died—not from poison though, but from an illness.”
Heero cocked his head, “I hadn’t heard of any attempts on the Archduke’s, or his family’s, life.”
“There never has been,” Quatre answered, “but my father is…paranoid of the possibility. I grew up quite fearful of everyone outside of my own family. My father had me convinced that assassins were around every corner and lurking outside my windows at night, which led me to live a very sheltered life for most of it.”
He had heard that the Archduke was eccentric, but hadn’t realized how eccentric. It was well known that the man almost never left his lands unless King Milliardo called him personally and now Heero knew why. “But you’re here now, helping people you don’t even know.”
“True! Though that is much to Wufei’s chagrin.” The blonde smiled.
Wufei huffed, “When Quatre turned twelve, it was discovered he’s a magician and he needed to attend the Magician School for training, I was sent with him as a guard.”
“Is that when it is usually discovered?” Heero asked, truly curious. He didn’t know how magicians were found, tested or trained. They filed into a single line momentary as they came to a narrowed path, but it soon widened and Quatre fell back next to the young captain.
The blonde cocked his head to the side, “No, usually a Magician comes round to each village and tests the children around the age of seven. But, considering how mistrustful my father is, he refused to have any of us tested. And that had always worked since no one else in my family has any magical aptitudes and so he had no reason to believe I would be any different. Normally once a child is tested, they begin training in control and becoming in tune with the elements around them so that once the Threshing comes at puberty, they will be able to accept it easier.”
“Threshing?”
“That is when a Magician, or Mage as we are also called, truly comes into his or her power. It’s an apt naming,” Quatre ruefully chuckled, “for you certainly feel like you’ve been beaten against the wall by the time it’s over and us Magicians are separated from the rest of the citizens.”
“Many don’t survive the Threshing.” Wufei interjected with a pointed look at the blonde. “And because Quatre didn’t know he was a Magician, he almost died during his Threshing. It came upon him suddenly and violently, causing him to fall into a fit of convulsing limbs upon the ground. We had originally believed he had been poisoned, which didn’t bode well for me as I wasn’t dead.”
“Yes, my father immediately demanded Wufei’s execution for betraying us and slipping poison into my food or drink.” The blonde said darkly and Heero swore he saw flames licking at the ground, but as soon as they were there, they were gone again. “Thankfully, we had a Magician dignitary visiting that night that recognized the Threshing for what it was and immediately took control of the situation. He got me through the worst of the Threshing and then convinced my father that I needed to attend a Magician’s school so that I could be properly trained. Otherwise I’d be a constant danger to myself and others. Magician H was smart enough to not let my father know I could also be stripped of my powers as I’m sure my father would have chosen that instead.”
“He would rather permanently cripple you than let you go?” Heero asked, shock alighting his eyes at the jarring thought.
“Hm-hmm.” Quatre nodded, his expression wistful and sad. “Fear grips him whenever I leave, but as a trained Magician, I have to serve my sovereign and my guild as needed and so he can’t keep me locked away anymore.”
“Once Quatre was well enough to leave the confines of his bed, I was appointed his personal guard and have been with him ever since no matter where he goes.” Wufei added, but Heero saw the warm smiles between the two and knew they were best of friends, much like he and Trowa were.
“Are you from China?” Heero asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. Realizing how insensitive the question sounded, he quickly added “My mother was an immigrant from Japan, but I have never been there.”
The Asian man nodded, not offended in the least, “Yes, though I came to Sanc when I was six with my grandfather. He grew ill not long after we arrived and had me placed in the service of the Archduke before he passed away.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” The chocolate brunette sincerely said and Wufei gave a fleeting smile of thanks.
“So Heero, how did you come to be the King’s Captain of the Royal Guard? You seem quite young to be so accomplished.” Quatre asked, smiling brightly again.
Heero shrugged, disliking the rapt attention he was receiving from the two. “I worked hard and worked my way up. Captain J put in a good word with King Milliardo when he retired and my Liege appointed me in his place.”
A snort of derision came from ahead of them and three heads looked up to see Trowa amusedly watching them. “Heero makes it sound like it was luck that he became Captain of the Royal Guard, but you won’t find a more dedicated soldier anywhere in the world. He worked tirelessly to become the most skilled at every possible weapon and made his own body into one. He may be weak right now, but Heero is damned indestructible and has come out of every mission almost unscathed.”
The young captain blushed deep scarlet, “Anyone can become skilled with enough practice.”
“That’s not true,” Wufei said, giving a look that said the Chinese man was sizing him up. “You have to have a natural affinity for it as well.”
Quatre nodded, “Yes. Wufei is very skilled with a sword and while I can hold my own with one thanks to his tutelage, I’m certainly not a natural. And regardless of what you say about overconfidence, it takes skill and strength to survive magicians when you have no magic yourself.”
Heero said nothing and the four fell into silence as all attention returned to tracking the mysterious magician and the princess. They made it to the bottom of the cavern by nightfall, the cliffs surrounding them on both sides and looking like they would suddenly fall in on them and discovered the tracks suddenly disappeared, causing Trowa to frown and slide off Heavy Arms. The other three watched from their perches on horseback as the tall Ranger knelt down and fingered the soil thoughtfully. He stood and strode forward and stared down one endless cavern before turning around and striding purposely the other way. The other three looked at each other, uncertain if they should follow suit or remain where they were as Trowa disappeared into the shadows like a specter.
“Should we set up camp here?” Quatre whispered, looking hesitantly around them. It was a very open area with little to protect them against enemies or the elements.
“No.” Trowa said, suddenly appearing next to Heavy Arms again. “The floor here is mainly sand and the wind has blown away the tracks. I’m uncertain of which way the magician headed, but that way,” he jerked his head to the right, “is a small cave that we can camp in. We’ll at least be protected on three sides and take turns keeping watch.”
“Except for Heero.” Quatre said, “He needs the rest.”
“I can keep watch,” Heero snapped, glowering at the blonde who seemed intent to become his surrogate mother.
“You can, but you don’t need to.” He answered, coolly meeting that steely glare with ease. Not many could do that, most couldn’t meet Heero’s eyes when he was glaring, the intensity of his Prussian blue irises causing most to squirm. But Quatre didn’t shrink back; he just continued to stare at Heero and waited for the Captain to acquiesce.
Snarling, Heero reined Wing and headed towards the cave Trowa had indicated. He did not like to admit weakness, even when it was quite obvious to everyone he was. He had survived as long as he had not because he was indestructible as Trowa thought, but by keeping his injuries a secret from everyone. There had even been the time he had broken his leg and set it himself on the battlefield during a border skirmish. He had limped badly for a few weeks, but everyone thought he had only sprained his knee and he continued his duties as normal, refusing to allow the pain to stop him. Yes, he felt woozy and lightheaded, but he wasn’t about to let them know that and he damn well wasn’t going to be taken care of.
“My, he’s spirited.” Quatre deadpanned, watching the retreating back of the proud Captain disappear into the night.
Trowa chuckled, “You have no idea.”
The blonde smiled sweetly at the Ranger, “But I believe I will learn quickly.”
They had set up camp, but as the darkness of night fell fully over them, Heero shivered against the cold. The lack of blood was causing him to be colder than normal and he had to admit he felt thoroughly exhausted despite not doing much except sitting on a horse. He sat chewing on a few nuts and dried fruit silently as the others meandered around setting up the horses with their feed bags and rolling out the beds.
“We have no kindling.” Trowa said, his voice revealing his concern. “There is nothing but rocks down here.”
“Oh, I can help with that! I didn’t know that’s what you went out there for,” Quatre answered happily, a fire suddenly appearing in the middle of the cave. The flames had a slight golden hue mixed in the orange and red and it burned upon the bare ground. “I thought you were checking the perimeter.”
Trowa was mesmerized by the fire, as was Heero as they were both unused to magic. “That’s amazing…” He murmured, his eyes coming up to meet Quatre’s glowing aqua eyes and the auburn Ranger suddenly found it hard to breathe. “T-thank you.”
The blonde smiled, a blush rising to his cheeks, “It’s nothing.”
Wufei snorted, “You’re too modest, Quatre. You’re one of the strongest fire magicians there is and you even have a secondary element, which you know is rare. No one else can make a fire burn on nothing but air.”
Quatre tore his eyes away from Trowa, stamping his foot in annoyance. “It’s really not that hard, they’re just hung up on not being able to picture air as a solid thing you can use. If they could get past that, then it would work.”
Heero scooted closer to the fire, feeling the warmth of the magical flames dance over his skin. “Most magicians can’t do this?”
“No,” Wufei answered, “though it depends on the element. Calling water isn’t as difficult as it has a form and can be pulled from the air itself. Using earth isn’t too difficult either, but it takes a lot of mental strength and stamina since it’s naturally heavy and unmoving. Fire is one of the harder elements and many carry an eternal flame with them—”
“Eternal flame?” The Captain interjected.
“It’s a small flame kept in a special container that keeps the flame ever burning and a fire mage can pull a spark from it to get their own fire going.” Quatre chimed in.
“But you can call it without this eternal flame?” Blue eyes slid over to the blonde, fully beginning to understand how powerful the slight boy actually was.
“Yes. I also don’t need anything to make it burn.”
“What about…” Trowa hesitantly spoke, uncertain if it was okay to ask. “What about the blue flames?”
Quatre gave the Ranger a soft smile, tilting his head slightly as he looked at the lanky man. “That’s a healing spell. It takes more than a thought to do it though. My regular flames, all I need to do is think about them and they’ll appear, the healing flames are an incantation and takes a lot out of me to do.”
“Are there other elements?” Heero asked, bringing the attention back to him.
“Yes,” Wufei responded, “Air is one of the hardest to control because it’s finicky and you can’t hold it or really tangibly touch it like the other elements.”
The Captain mulled over the words, eyes trained on the dancing golden flames that jumped between the red and orange. Wufei moved near him, producing a pot to place in the fire and Heero was surprised to see it act like an actual fire and not just moving through the pot, but around it. He watched silently as Wufei filled the pot with water and then added bits of meat and vegetables to it. Then he added flavorful spices of cardamom, rosemary, thyme and others that filled the air with savory aromas. It wasn’t until dinner was almost done that Heero finally asked another question. “You said air is ‘one of the hardest’, are there harder elements?”
Wufei glanced at Heero and then at Quatre, the blonde had taken a seat next to Trowa across the fire. “Yes.” He finally answered, but didn’t expound as he doled out the flavorful stew to his companions. He took a bowl himself and sat back from the pot.
“Shadow.” Quatre finally said, his voice barely a whisper. “The hardest element is darkness and there are very few who can use it.”
Heero frowned, thinking back to the ballroom when darkness had shrouded them all and caused panic throughout the room. “The Magician Koristaja used it.”
The blonde nodded, his eyes dropping.
“So he’s extremely strong.”
“Yes.” Quatre sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks. “I’m sorry Heero, if it really is Koristaja…he can use all the elements. He is strongest magician ever recorded in history.”
“All?” Heero choked, his hands trembling, and he quickly steadied the steaming bowl.
“Even if it’s not the Koristaja, a magician who can use shadow elements most definitely has a secondary element in his or her repertoire. It’s why I insisted we come with you. I can’t promise we will be successful, but maybe successful enough for you to get Princess Relena back.”
The Captain nodded, but the friendly camaraderie that was forming between them was overshadowed by a feeling of dread as the chances of their success settled over them like a heavy and stifling blanket. Heero had given his oath, he would not fail. His resolved hardened and he finally began eating his food. Heero would get the princess back, even at the cost of his own life.
Dhampir
Page 12
5/26/2021
Notes:
Thanks in advance for the comments, kudos and love ^_^
Have a great week and I'll see you all next Wednesday!
Chapter 6: Chapter Six
Notes:
Hello, it's Wednesday and so here I am back with another chapter ^_^
I know it starts off slow, but things are starting to pick up now, I believe.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Six
As soon as the sun’s first rays reached the cave, Trowa eased from his crouch near the mouth of it and stepped out into the ravine. He glanced back at the slumbering men, knowing that they would awaken soon, and refused to acknowledge how his eyes lingered on the blonde magician. Slinging the bow he had held during his watch over his shoulder, Trowa stepped out to look over the sandy ground as a zephyr of wind pushed his cloak back, searching for any clue that would tell them which way the strange hoofed animal had gone. The ravine proved to be difficult though as there were no leaves or sticks to be crushed, only the hard rock or the ever changing sand, neither of which held any imprints.
“Any luck?” Someone asked, startling the Ranger who had his bow in hand and an arrow knocked while turning on the intruder in one fluid motion.
Jade green met ebony and Wufei only raised an eyebrow at the auburn haired man. Exhaling, Trowa relaxed his grip and returned the arrow to its quiver before slipping the bow over his shoulder once more. “You move more silently than I do, I didn’t think that was possible.”
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” the Asian guard smirked, inwardly proud at the unintended compliment from the tall man.
Trowa smiled, his eyes returning to the ground. “I haven’t found anything yet, but I plan to search every inch if necessary.”
“I hope you don’t have to.” Wufei muttered, looking both ways at the long corridor of stone that looked to be miles long. “What if the tracks go cold here?”
“Then I guess we will search every crevice down here before searching every edge up there.” The Ranger answered, glancing up towards the earthen shelf high above them. “Quatre doesn’t happen to know some kind of tracking spell, does he?”
“Unfortunately not. If he did, we wouldn’t have been trailing after Alex and Mueller for close to a month.” He answered sourly.
“I didn’t realize you two were on the road that long. Quatre has held up quite well considering he looks like he’ll break at the slightest touch.”
“That one is a tiger in a cub’s body.” Wufei chuckled, “There’s a reason his affinity is fire, despite his angelic looks, he’s fiery and passionate.”
A blush rose to the Ranger’s cheeks and he was happy that his gaze was upon the ground and he was half turned from the guard. He’d love to see the blonde’s passion, but he’d rather be on the receiving end of it in a bed with very little clothing and a lot of time. “Have the others wakened yet?” He asked, his voice thick as sexual images flickered through his mind.
Wufei glanced over, seeing two sets of eyes gazing at them curiously. “It seems they have. I will make some tea, would you like some?”
“Thank you.” Trowa nodded, then with a glance back at the other two men, he added, “Would you mind looking Captain Yuy over? He is stubborn to a fault, but obviously exhausted if he slept past first light. He usually wakes like clockwork just before the sun rises.”
The guard gave a long suffering sigh, as if he was given the worst chore of the day and, Trowa smirked, it might be. He knew better than anyone how prickly Heero can be. “Of course, but fair warning that if he snaps at me, I will bite.”
Trowa choked back a laugh and sent a wry look at Wufei’s retreating back. The guard was certainly a severe and serious person, but he did have a sense of humor it seemed—unless that wasn’t a joke. He watched as the raven haired man approached his friend with his arms crossed and said something to him. Heero returned in kind with a sneer and some kind of acerbic response, but the Chinese man would not be deterred. While Trowa couldn’t understand a single word, their body language spoke plenty as Heero’s anger rose and Wufei’s annoyance spiked.
Then Heero snarled, waggling a finger in Wufei’s face as he said something Trowa was certain was rude. He was about to turn and continue to look for tracks when he saw the sudden fast jerk of Wufei’s head, teeth snapping towards Heero’s hand with an audible clack. Only the Captain’s quick reflexes saved his finger from sure injury as he snatched his hand back and he stared at the guard slack jawed and surprised that the man had actually tried to bite him.
Wufei turned to look at Trowa, his expression bland as he said, “Captain Yuy is well enough.”
Quatre had watched the whole exchange between the two wide eyed and ready to jump in, but could only look at Trowa in alarm when Wufei actually tried to bite the young captain. Seeing the tall Ranger shaking with laughter made the blonde relax and the two shared an amused glance before Trowa returned to his searching.
Heero glowered, holding his cup of tea, as the other two packed up the camp and took care of the horses. They carefully doled out water as they weren’t sure if there was any in the ravine, but tried to save the majority of it for the horses. The Captain was angry, obvious to all who looked into his dark cobalt eyes simmering with barely contained fury. He disliked being treated like an invalid and disliked it even more that his friend—that was debatable at the moment—had sent the Chinese guard to check him over. Finishing his tea, Heero set the cup down and pushed himself to his feet. Other than a stinging headache and still feeling somewhat lethargic, he felt much like himself and his vision had cleared with a good night’s sleep.
“Captain, please take it easy, you could—” the blonde magician called, but the glare Heero sent his way made him fall silent.
“I’m fine.” He said acidly before stomping out of the cave to find a place to relieve himself. Once that was taken care of, the brunette scanned the ravine for where Trowa was, finding the lanky Ranger far down the rocky gorge still searching for any tracks. Giving another steely look to the two companions, he stomped his way over to Trowa, careful to step only where the other man had stepped so as to not possibly mess up a clue.
Trowa heard his friend approaching and gave a solemn look over his shoulder, his mouth in a thin line. “There’s nothing so far. We might be here all day—all week—and not find anything, Heero.”
Heero knelt down next to the auburn man. “We know they came down this way and we didn’t see any tracks that led back up. So there has to be something here…” Frowning, he fingered the sand and knew it was almost impossible to track anything through sand. “Keep going this way, I’ll track the other side of the gully.”
“You’re not well enough.” He argued, “It’s only been two days since you almost died.”
“I’m fine, Ranger.” Heero said, his tone clipped as he stood up straight and taunt. “This is not up for discussion. I will track the other end.”
Trowa knew better than to push Heero, especially when he was speaking in his full capacity of Captain. “Yes, sir.” He ground out, annoyance clear in his voice. “But I suggest we each take one of the others with us. They may not be able to track, but they can relay messages if one of us finds the trail.”
He wanted to refuse, but knew what Trowa said was a good option. He nodded, his eyes sliding to look at the two who were now looking at them. “Fine, but you get the snapping dog.” He groused, not even looking at the Ranger before he returned to the cleaned up camp to explain what they were going to do. He watched as Quatre gave an almost wistful look towards Trowa, but he nodded and followed Heero to head out towards the other end of the ravine while Wufei left to join the Ranger.
Heero and Quatre returned to where the trail had bottomed out into the ravine and then began slowly inspecting the ground. Well, Quatre hovered while Heero inspected and tried to ignore the curious blonde who obviously had no understanding of personal space. Hours passed and still neither party found a single hint of where to go. The winds fell over the cliffs and rushed down the sides before blustering across the ravine ground, causing the sands and dirt to shift and scatter. Heero felt despair grip him as he stared at the small dirt devils that spun before dispersing, the ever changing sands erased any tracks, leaving no trace of where the kidnapper had gone.
“Is there any way I can help?” Quatre asked, sensing the brunette’s despair, but the captain just shook his head as he intensely stared at the ground. They only needed one print, a single clue that told them which direction. They continued moving further in, ignoring the constant gusts of wind and continuing their search.
“What’s your other elemental affinity?” Heero suddenly asked, lifting his arm to protect his eyes as another gust of wind came down. He hazard a look at the sky to see if some impending storm was coming, but he was shocked to find the sky bright blue and endless, not even a cloud in the sky.
The blonde mage sighed, “Earth, though I find it very difficult to use. I can’t help with this wind unfortunately.”
Heero moved forward, his blue eyes not missing a single detail as they searched for the odd hoof prints. But every time they moved forward, the winds became wilder, flinging sand at them and causing them to turn their backs to the sudden gusts. Spying their companions, Heero’s eyes widened as he looked at how Trowa’s cloak was barely blowing while his own cloak whipped close to his body by the force of the winds. Either the ravine became a bowl up ahead that caused a small tempest or this was unnatural.
Feeling suddenly more determined, the Captain turned and pushed forward, still searching despite visibility being gravely impaired. Suddenly he saw it, just a half of a print, but it had somehow been protected despite the howling winds. Gasping at the find, Heero knelt down and studied the half a print carefully while trying to keep the wind away from it. Heero looked at Quatre, “Hurry, get Trowa.”
The blonde hesitated and almost argued, but stopped when he saw the severe look on the young Captain’s face. He was facing the Captain of the Royal Guard in his full capacity and so instead he gave a small salute and quickly ran back towards Trowa and Wufei, yelling at them to come quickly as Heero possibly found something.
Trowa was sprinting across the ravine as soon as he understood the blonde’s words and within minutes, he was kneeling down at Heero’s side. Heero removed his hands from the print and Trowa studied it closely despite the raging wings around them. Trowa locked eyes with Heero and grinned, “It’s the same print.”
Heero let out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding. “You’re certain?”
“I’ve been following the tracks for almost two weeks now,” Trowa snorted, raising his voice to be heard over the howls of wind. “Of course I’m certain. What I’m not certain about though are these winds. I’ve been in ravines many times and never have I seen such a concentration of wind before. I don’t think they’re natural.”
“They’re not.” Quatre called, dragging two horses behind him while Wufei was doing the same. “But I cannot sense any magic in them! Something is strange though and I know it’s not natural.”
Heero stood, pulling up his hood and moving to take Wing from Wufei. “Then we move forward.”
Wufei frowned, glancing at the horizon, “Night will be settling upon us in about four hours. Are we certain we want to take the chance of these winds with so little time?”
The four pondered for a moment, but Heero answered by swinging up onto his saddle. They knew he was going with or without them. “We cannot delay.” He said and then spurred Wing forward.
“Heero!” Trowa yelled, vaulting onto Heavy Arms and taking off after his friend. “Damn it, don’t take off alone!”
“Says the man taking off alone.” Wufei snorted, but he too climbed into his saddle and then waited as Quatre followed suit. “You’ll stick with me, Quatre.” The blonde nodded and pulled Sandrock up next to Nataku before they began a slow trek forward, the Chinese guard unwilling to risk their lives by charging into the unknown. The winds became stronger with ever step forward and the horses swayed against the winds and their riders tightly squeezed their sides as they tried to stay upright against the winds.
“Heero!” Trowa’s voice danced around them, his stricken voice carried by the winds and Quatre gasped, turning to try and see through the gale winds that threatened to knock them around like a ship thrown about the sea. He couldn’t tell if Trowa was ahead or behind them.
Another gust came and Quatre found himself thrown from his horse, Sandrock neighing in fright as his rider suddenly disappeared. The blonde tried to yell out for Wufei, but the air was knocked out of his lungs as his back hit the hard ground and he quickly threw his hands up to protect his face as Sandrock skittered around him, those hooves coming dangerously close to trampling him.
“Quatre, are you all right?” Wufei called, his voice panicked. He’d seen the blonde go flying to the ground and had quickly slid off the saddle and grabbed Sandrock’s reins to keep the buckskin from stepping on the mage. He swung the horses around, trying to keep them calm as he searched the ground for his charge. He saw Quatre curled into a ball with his arms over his head. “Shit!” He yelled, falling to his knees as he thought the worst, but when his hand touched Quatre’s shoulder, the blonde uncurled and carefully looked up.
“Wufei!” He said, reaching out to take his guard’s hand and allowing the stronger man to pull him up.
“We should turn back,” he yelled over the winds, “this is too dangerous.”
But the mage shook his head, his jaw set as he took Sandrock’s reins back. “We’re not leaving them.” He knew better than to get back on the horse now and he maneuvered himself so that the horses were on the outside and the two men were next to each other. Linking arms, Quatre and Wufei moved against the winds at an achingly slow pace. For every five steps they moved forward, the wind pushed them back two, but they were making progress despite the ferocity of the winds becoming stronger the deeper they moved in.
The horses balked, but their riders kept a strong grip on the reins and forced the horses to follow. And just as it felt like they couldn’t take another step forward, it was like they fell through an invisible barrier where the wind was dead. They both fell to the ground, stumbling to gain their feet as their horses stumbled after them. Sand and dirt caked their bodies and clothes and Quatre rubbed at his eyes and face to try and clear his vision only to blink again and again as he stood astonished at what was before them.
Dhampir
Page 6
6/2/2021
Notes:
I know, it's a short chapter this time...sorry!!
But it's a good place to stop, so I did, hehe.
Hope you all have a great week and see you next time ^_^
Chapter 7: Chapter Seven
Summary:
Things aren't looking good for Heero and his friends.
Notes:
It's Wednesday and so I'm back with another chapter for you all ^_^
I might need to take a hiatus on this story (not sure if anyone minds...), but I'm hoping not. I know exactly where I'm going with this story, but I've lost a part of it--this is why I should be writing down bits and pieces as it comes to me, but I often write chapter to chapter and just hope I remember what it is I want to happen. This usually works, but I'm currently juggling 6 stories I'm writing and so things are getting a bit more convoluted.
Hopefully, I won't need to, but just a forewarning that I might need to take a small one. I've still got a good 5-7 chapter buffer right now, but I can't move forward without figuring out the piece I forgot. >_<
Anyway, enjoy the next part ^_^
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Seven
Wufei groaned, shaking the sand from his hair and groping for his water flask at his side. Pouring some of the water into his eyes, he cleared the stinging sand and dirt and then blinked away the water. He didn’t dare rub his eyes with the sand that covered his hands and clothes, but as his sight returned, Wufei could only gape. “That’s a hallucination, right?” He croaked, his voice hoarse from yelling over the winds and the sand stuck in his throat.
“No.” Quatre said in awe, barely above a whisper. His cyan eyes couldn’t tear away from the ominous castle cut into the side of the ravine. “H-how has this never been found?” He asked, more to himself than anyone. The castle wasn’t tall, but the intricate detail was breathtaking—and terrifying, he mentally added as he looked at the carved demons clinging to the stone that stared at them with bared teeth and sharp claws.
The castle matched the red rock of the ravine with wide carved steps that traveled a few feet up to meet tall columns that traveled a good thirty feet up to support an architrave that spanned fifty feet long. Carved into the columns a large winding snake that’s body was as tall as Quatre. His eyes followed the intricately carved scales as the snake’s body wound down the furthest column where its arrow-shaped head was wide open as if ready to strike. They could stand inside the mouth and the fangs looked sharp enough to draw blood, Quatre could almost swear the snake was real at the level of detail used. Upon the architrave, a phrase was carved in a scrolling forgotten language: Attendite Omnes Qui Intrare Hic Enim Mors Manet.
“Do you know what the phrase means?” Quatre asked Wufei, languages had never been a strength of his and he only learned enough of the ancient language to use the few invocations spells he needed. He didn’t recognize the words at all and even though Wufei excelled at languages, the Chinese guard shook his head with a frown.
Above the architrave were the demons carved into the pediment that wrapped around each other as if in a fierce battle with each other, but all the eyes were turned to look at whoever stood before the castle—or was it a temple? The blonde mage opened his senses to find that the whole area was saturated in magic power, so much so that Quatre gasped as it flowed through and over him, overwhelming his senses. The entire area was magic, it was imbued into the ground itself, but the blonde wasn’t sure what that meant. As far as he had ever known, there was always some magic in the elements themselves because otherwise, mages couldn’t manipulate it, but to have a magical spring well in the ground seemed impossible.
“There’s Heero and Trowa.” Wufei said, seeing the two figures dwarfed before the large castle as they stood beneath the towering columns.
Quatre gave a sigh of relief, but he couldn’t stop the imposing feeling of doom that had come over him once he had opened his senses. The magnitude of elemental magic surrounding them terrified him and it only got stronger as they walked closer to the imposing castle. Yet his curiosity pulled him towards the castle steps and he found himself dropping the reins and flowing up the steps to stop next to Trowa and Heero. The two were just as dirt and sand-covered and started at the appearance of the blonde mage.
“Quatre,” Trowa said warmly, smiling at the blonde and then looking behind as Wufei joined them. “Wufei, sorry for leaving you two behind like that. I’m not used to having anyone other than Heero with me and hadn’t thought before taking after him.”
Quatre waved off his apology, returning the smile with a slight blush, “It’s nothing, plus we have more important things to focus on.”
The Ranger nodded, glancing at his friend whose eyes hadn’t left what they assumed was the door since they had arrived. “As soon as we made it through that squall, we found the odd tracks once more and they look like they run right through this stone wall here.”
The blonde mage moved forward, staring at the oddly shaped hoof prints that disappeared into the solid stone. “It has to be a door.” He muttered, stepping closer so he could lay his hands on the wall. He reached deep down for his earthen magic that never came easily or naturally like his fire magic did and tried to push the stone, but it didn’t budge. Growling, he gathered his power and tried again and again, but the stone didn’t even rumble. Sweat gathered on Quatre’s brow, causing wisps of his bangs to stick to his forehead, but it was no use and the blonde mage suddenly sat down, exhausted.
Wufei was at his side and steadying the slight man, “Quatre, you’re pushing yourself too hard.”
“It doesn’t make sense, Wufei. I know my fire is stronger, but I’m still strong enough with earth magic to be able to move stone, but…this won’t budge! Not even when I tried to separate the stone and only make a doorway large enough for us. This is definitely a door, but it’s been made by someone much stronger than me.” Awe crept into his voice as the enormity of the power settled into his mind. Quatre was considered the strongest fire magician in existence and the second strongest magician all around, only second to Magician Treize Khushrenada, and by both of their accounts, the ginger-haired man was only slightly stronger.
“There has to be a way in.” Heero finally spoke, his deep azure eyes sweeping around to look for any missed detail. “You rest for a while; we’ll search for anything that could possibly be a lever or crank that can open the door.”
Wufei brought Quatre over to the steps and handed the blonde a flask of water while the ebony-haired guard looked over his charge. “You’re sure you’re all right?”
Quatre nodded, giving a thankful smile to his best friend and protector. “I am, just tired. You know it’s exhausting to move stone and I’ve never tried that hard before. Maybe I need to build up my stamina.”
Black eyes slid over to the lanky Ranger who was inspecting columns closely. “I’m sure that one would help you build your stamina.”
“Wufei!” Quatre choked on the water, his face turning bright red as he sputtered. All eyes turned to the blushing blonde who just buried his face in his hands.
“Just a thought.” Wufei chuckled, patting the blonde on the head. “We only have a little more daylight left, so I’m going to help search. Once you’re feeling better, maybe you can set up camp.”
“I’m going to go bury myself in the ground and never come out.” The mage mumbled, embarrassment thick in his voice.
Deciding to take pity on his friend, the guard straightened and began to walk away, but not before he called over his shoulder, “He likes you too.”
Quatre felt the heat rush to his cheeks again, making his face feel like it was on fire—and maybe it was since his emotions always made the flames leap forward. But he couldn’t help but peek through his hands at the handsome Ranger surreptitiously only to find his viridescent eyes staring right at him. Giving a squeak at being caught, Quatre sat upright and studiously stared at the steps for a few minutes, intently studying the weird imprint on the stair his feet rested on. He glanced around, noticing some steps had them and some didn’t, but there seemed to be no pattern to it and it was all the same symbol. Kicking a loose rock, Quatre glanced over at Trowa again, sighing to find the Ranger had returned to searching the temple for any detail they missed. Maybe Trowa hadn’t heard what Wufei had said?
He certainly had been drawn to the lanky auburn man since they first met, but it was only two days ago and seemed far too soon to have made such a strong connection with the Ranger. But Quatre couldn’t deny the flush on his cheeks or the spark in his eyes when he thought about Trowa, nor could he deny the thudding of his heart or the stirrings in his groin when he sat next to the quiet man yesterday. Quatre fought every fiber in his body to not reach out and touch him. He was always one for contact and all he wanted to do was run his fingers through that auburn hair, touch his cheek, find out if his lips were as soft as they looked or if his chest was as firm as it seemed.
He knew Wufei was a good judge of character and always picked up on more than he let on, so if Wufei believed Trowa liked him, then it was almost certain to be true. Which made it even harder for him to not just attack the Ranger—he never was one for keeping his emotions in check, especially when it came to what he wanted—but he certainly didn’t want to jump to conclusions and embarrass or anger Trowa.
As the sun set, Quatre slowly stood on his woozy legs and gained his bearings before he deftly descended the steps to make camp. Gathering the horses, he looked around to see for the first time that they were in some kind of curved dead end with only the tearing winds and the castle as the possible ways out. At least they could leave the horses to wander, though patting the dusty neck of Wing, he worried if they’d have enough water for the horses and themselves. Horses and riders alike were fatigued and parched, but until they could find water, they’d have to suffer through possible dehydration. If they couldn’t find a way in by tomorrow, someone would have to go back through the winds and find water and possibly food as well.
Quatre lit a fire and began to unload the bedrolls from the horses when a sudden cracking sound caused him to turn back to the castle. “Did you find a way in?” He called, excitement in his voice as he peered through the dwindling light for his companions.
“That wasn’t us!” Heero yelled back, unsheathing his sword and falling into a defensive crouch. He wasn’t sure what the noise was, but the three men had just decided to wait until morning before searching again and were heading towards the blonde mage when the cracking sound began.
Another crack echoed through the ravine and Quatre quickly crossed to stand with his companions making an arc with his hands that spread small fires throughout the air and illuminated the gorge they stood in. The horses whinnied in fright and galloped away as far as they could as the cracking sound continued.
Trowa gasped, his eyes already adjusting to the dark as he was used to traveling in it, and he quickly knocked an arrow, letting it fly directly at the creature on the pediment that was pulling free of the stone. “It’s the carved demons!” He said, watching as his arrow bounced off the creature. “Shit!” He returned his bow and pulled his sword out.
The demon had wrenched itself from the cliffside and fell to the ground in a graceful tumble. Sharp claws and fangs glinted in the firelight and an animalistic snarl came from the beast as it rushed them. Heero moved first, sprinting forward and bringing his sword down hard on the demon’s back, but the blow only bounced off and caused Heero to stumble backward. Wufei came in behind him and used his broadsword to swing up into the creature’s neck, causing it the flip onto its back, but barely a crack was left where his sword hit.
“Watch out! There’s more of them!” Quatre yelled, watching in horrified fascination as more of the demons crawled out of the pediment. Calling forth a fire tornado, Quatre tried to burn the creatures, but all that did was deter the beasts for a few minutes before they appeared through the flames burning. Heero and Wufei fought to at least keep the demons back, but one slipped between them and charged at Quatre, causing the blonde’s eyes to widen in surprise.
Trowa deftly swept his sword into the burning stone creature and stepped in front of the blonde mage. To their surprise, the sword cut through the demon jaggedly and the creature fell into pieces before their eyes. “The fire weakens them!” Trowa said elatedly before repeating it to their companions. “Aim for the burning parts, they’re weak there!”
Suddenly the tides turned and while Quatre rained fire down upon the demons, the other three worked to hack the stone beasts apart, but it seemed there was no end to them and the four were tiring. “We have to retreat!” He yelled, “We can’t defeat an endless horde!”
“Retreat to where?” Heero screamed back, holding his shoulder where one of the creature’s claws had bit into his flesh. “The winds? If they follow us into there, we’ll be dead within minutes.”
Quatre knew the captain was right, but he didn’t know what else could be done. Glancing around, his eyes caught a slight luminance on the stairs—no, correction, some of the stairs! The fires had illuminated the strange symbols he had seen earlier imprinted in the stairs and suddenly Quatre saw the stairway not as stairs, but as keys. “I-I can open the door.” He said in a hushed tone, almost in surprise, before he raised his voice. “I can open the door! But I need to concentrate, can you protect me?”
Trowa’s eyes hardened and he nodded, he would protect the blonde with his life and would gladly give it. “Protect Quatre!” He yelled to Heero and Wufei and immediately the two fell back to surround the small blonde. A circle of golden flame suddenly sprouted from the ground about ten feet away, surrounding them as Quatre took a deep breath in and dove within himself for his earthen magic once more. The flames would hopefully keep the creatures at bay and if any stepped through, it would hopefully weaken them enough for the others to dispatch it.
Grasping the earthen magic, Quatre’s eyes glowed bright turquoise as he focused on the steps, setting his hands in front of him as if to play an instrument. He placed one finger for each imprinted stair and then pressed down. He felt the shudder of the rock, but they budged. Pulling every speck of strength he had, Quatre yelled as he pushed down, the stairs suddenly sinking into the ground and a large rumbling suddenly appeared. Dropping his arms, Quatre panted as the circular flames died out, “Go!” He said hoarsely, waving the others to the now opening door.
Heero was moving forward immediately, he deftly dodged the demons, only fighting back when he needed to, and scrambled up the stairs and into the stone castle. Quatre followed on weak legs but was able to stay upright as Wufei and Trowa remained on either side of him, protecting him from the demons that were still coming. Their inhuman screams echoed around them, making Quatre dizzy, but they made it up the steps. Trowa ran ahead, waving the other two on when Wufei suddenly pushed the blonde out of the way and rolled, his momentum taking him close to the door as a large stone tail crashed into the ground where they had just stood.
“Look out!” The ebony sentry yelled, eyes wide with fright as the carved snake that had attacked them suddenly slithered between Quatre and the door. Hissing, it brought its head back to strike and the blonde scrambled to his feet, ducking beneath the snake’s head as it snapped its fangs at the magician. Quatre hid behind a column, causing the enormous snake to slither around to try and chase the blonde. It completely ignored the three inside the door, so Quatre knew that if he could make it inside that door, he’d be safe. Looking down the stairs, he saw the demons coming towards him and cursed as he was now stuck between the horde of demons and the snake.
“Quatre, hurry! The door is closing!” Heero yelled, watching as the huge stone door suddenly began to slide shut. He knew their horses were long gone and he could only hope they survived and weren’t killed by the creatures out there, but he knew he had to continue into the castle. Torn between trying to help the blonde magician and remaining within the castle, Heero yelled in frustration, stabbing towards the stone snake, but it didn’t even make a crack, let alone distract the impossible thing. His first loyalty lie with King Milliardo and his mission of rescuing Princess Relena was of the utmost importance; he couldn’t risk his mission for anything or anyone, not even for a blonde that somehow had become a fast friend.
Making a split decision, Quatre used the vestiges of his magic to create a wall of flames to slow down the demons and then began running towards the stone door. He called forth the stone to make a ramp of sorts as the snake bared its fangs at him and he ran with all his might up it before making a blind leap towards the door. He felt the air move as the snake’s fangs missed him by inches and he hit the top of the snake’s body, gasping as he felt his ribs crack against the stone scales. The door was rumbling shut as he rolled off onto his feet and he still had a few feet to run, but every breath burned against his broken ribs.
Suddenly Trowa appeared and grabbed his hand, pulling him the last few feet into the castle and against his chest as the stone door slammed shut with a resounding boom before all was silent.
His last thought before he passed out was that Trowa’s chest really was as firm as it looked.
Dhampir
Page 6
6/9/2021
Notes:
Attendite Omnes Qui Intrare Hic Enim Mors Manet means Beware All Who Enter Here, For Death Awaits.
Have a great week and happy reading ^_^
As always, thank you for the love, kudos and comments.
Chapter 8: Chapter Eight
Summary:
The boys need to figure out what to do now that they're inside the stronghold and hope they can save Princess Relena.
Notes:
Hello lovelies! It's Wednesday, which means I'm back, hehe ^_^
This is a long chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it. I was hoping to advance more on this story, but I'm finding myself with a severe lack of time recently. Here's hoping I find time soon!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Eight
“Quatre!” Trowa cried as the blonde mage slumped against him. He carefully lowered the slight man to the floor, cradling his head in his lap.
“What’s wrong?” Wufei asked, panicked as he felt along the wall. “Did he make it inside?”
“Yes,” the Ranger said, checking the blonde’s pulse. “He’s alive, but he collapsed. He’s breathing though and his pulse is strong.”
“Shit, it's pitch black in here.” Heero cursed, carefully feeling the smooth stone wall while taking shuffling steps so that he wouldn’t accidentally step on one of his companions. “Trowa, can you see?”
The auburn man looked around, Rangers were used to traveling at night and thus more adept to seeing in the dark, but he could see nothing, not even the outline of the walls. “No.”
“Damn it all!” The young captain raged, punching the wall with all his strength. “We can’t see a fucking thing and Quatre’s injured. I dislike the idea of staying here until he wakes up, but I don’t think we have much choice.”
“Is it even worth standing guard?” Wufei asked, carefully continuing to follow the wall until he kicked something.
“Ouch!” Trowa yelped as Wufei’s boot connected solidly with his backside.
“Sorry,” he dipped his head guiltily, even though the Ranger couldn’t see it. Leaning over, he groped for his charge and sighed and he found the blonde’s head. He believed Trowa, but he couldn’t help checking Quatre’s breathing and pulse himself. He just needed to reassure himself that his best friend really was alive.
“Heero, are you going to stay away from us?” Trowa asked carefully, knowing the anger simmering just beneath the surface in his friend. Silence hung in the air and only the ragged breathing a few feet from him indicated that Heero was even there.
“Is he all right?” Wufei whispered, but within the chamber, it easily amplified and reached Heero.
“I’m fine.” Heero sniped, “I’ve only failed my sovereign and myself as well as have brought you three into danger in who knows where to face who the fuck knows who!”
“Heero.” Trowa’s quiet voice carried over the angry words. “We all chose to come; you are not responsible for us and our choices. We all want to have Princess Relena returned home and will sacrifice our lives for King Milliardo and Queen Lucrezia.”
Wufei nodded despite no one being able to see, “It would be unjust to blame you for our predicament, Heero. And certainly would have been dishonorable to leave you and Trowa when we knew what you were going up against.”
Heero felt his anger slip away and he stumbled towards their voices, falling to his knees before feeling around for them. His fingers found Quatre’s prone form before he found Trowa across from him and Wufei to his right. “Thank you.” He said almost silently. It wasn’t easy for the stoic man to voice his thanks, but the weight that had been on his shoulders eased at their words and he tried his best to convey his appreciation.
“So do we try to stand guard when we can’t even see anything?” Wufei asked again. “I’m certain we will wake up at any noise, but without being able to see an enemy coming, it feels quite pointless to fight sleep deprivation.
“Do we have any supplies?” Trowa asked, his fingers absently threading through Quatre’s blonde locks. The action soothed him and he sincerely hoped the blonde wouldn’t wake and set him ablaze for being so informal with him.
“No.” Wufei said, "all of our supplies were with our horses. I had given my water flask to Quatre before the attack and so I doubt he has it with him.”
“I have my pack.” Heero said, pulling it from his back and making sure not to loosen his hold on it. He didn’t want to go groping around in the dark for it. “I have a flask of water we can share and some food from the inn a few days back. It isn’t much, but we can share. I’ll make sure to leave some for Quatre when he wakes up too.” He dug into the pack, feeling around for the knapsack of food he had shoved in there and the water flask. He felt the small tin box he carried as well and let out an excited laugh as he brought it out.
“What?” Both Trowa and Wufei asked at the same time, the laugh disturbing them.
“I have my kindling box. It’s not much, but it will allow us to see enough to check Quatre over and possibly see what is around us.” Heero pinched out a small bit of kindling and placed it on the ground, he kept one finger on the kindling while his other hand found the flint and steel before following the contour of his arm so that he would know where to strike the sparks. Striking the flint against the steel, he saw the tiny sparks catch on the kindling and a very small fire, just a single flame really, began burning through the bit of kindling. He looked up to his companions’ faces, seeing their glinting eyes in the small firelight before all eyes turned to the lithe blonde unconscious on the ground. They all looked him over, but thankfully only minor scratches could be seen and he was still breathing evenly, albeit a bit shallowly.
Heero then gingerly scooped the dying flame into his hand and tried to peer into the unending darkness, but all he could make out was a very long corridor that he didn’t dare explore alone and a very dead body in one corner. He approached the body and realized it was a knight of some kingdom he didn’t recognize as the armor hung on the skeleton. The gashes in the armor led Heero to believe he had been mortally wounded by the stone demons they had fought. He quickly returned to his companions’ sides as the flame finally winked out, plunging them back into darkness, but he had been able to see the corridor enough to guess it was about ten feet across and to his left was the door they entered through.
Unwilling to use any more of his precious kindling, Heero returned the tin box and groped through his pack once more, finding them and placing them so they were touching his knees. Uncorking the flask, he took a small sip and then pushed the flask to his right until it bumped into Wufei. The guard hesitantly took it, the shape giving way to what it was, and took a sip after whispering a small thanks. The ebony-haired man passed it to Trowa who also took a sip and then fingered Quatre’s face until he found his lips. Lowering it to the mage’s chapped lips, he trickled a little water into his mouth and the three listened with bated breath until they heard the small swallow. The last thing they wanted to do was drown the only son of the Archduke!
“Let’s eat quickly and try to get some sleep.” Heero finally said with a heavy sigh, carefully passing around the meager block of cheese and dried meat he had. “Trowa, I want you and Wufei to lie on either side of Quatre, as close as comfortably possible so that you can keep an eye on his condition as well as keep him warm. I will lay next to whoever is furthest from the door so that I can guard the corridor if anything tries to sneak up on us.”
The others made affirming noises as they ate and soon they were settling in for the night. Trowa carefully stretched his body out next to Quatre and cradled the blonde’s head in the crook of his arm while Wufei settled on the other side, both exhausted men buttressing the unconscious blonde. Trowa worried as the mage slept like the dead, not even making a noise as they moved him or showing any signs of regaining consciousness. “Is this normal?” The Ranger asked.
Wufei sighed, “Yes, when he completely drains himself. Hopefully, he will be recovered in the morning as usual, but…he really overdid it this time.”
“We’ll carry him if necessary tomorrow.” Heero said, his voice commanding as he laid down next to Wufei and placed his sword on his chest for quick reach. “But I don’t like sitting in one spot, unprotected.”
Silence fell over the group and one by one, they drifted to sleep.
Heero awoke with a start and for a panicked moment thought he was blind by the utter black before he remembered they had been shut inside the castle. Calming his mind, Heero focused on his senses, trying to see what brought him out of sleep so urgently. Yet he heard nothing over the soft breathing of his companions and he certainly couldn’t see anything.
Relaxing his hold on the hilt of his sword, Heero willed himself to sleep and began to let his eyes close when he swore he saw a flash of luminous twilight hovering above his face. Eyes snapping open, the young Captain quickly rolled with his sword already drawn, reaching towards that flash with his other hand and his fingertips brushed against something, but just by a breadth. He took a few steps, swinging his sword, but the metal didn’t find anything to bite into.
“Heero?” Trowa called, listening to the scuffling sound and alerting Wufei who was rolling away from them to his feet nimbly.
“It’s nothing.” Heero said gruffly, straining his eyes to see into the pitch-black corridor even though he knew it was useless. “But I swore…” he paused, it sounded ludicrous.
“What?” Wufei pressed, but remained unmoving. The last thing they needed was to accidentally attack each other.
“I saw a flash of color and when I reached for it, I could’ve sworn my fingers touched something. It felt like…hair?” Heero muttered half to himself, confused by the silky feeling that his fingertips had brushed against.
“You think someone was in here?” Wufei asked, aghast. “But why didn’t they attack then? Or if they’re a captive, why wouldn’t they stay or call out to us?”
“I don’t know. Maybe…maybe it was all a dream.” He answered, sweeping a hand through his unruly locks. It felt matted now, causing his fingers to get caught in them. “I’m awake now, so you two try to get some sleep again, I’ll remain on guard just in case.”
Wufei hesitantly returned to where he was and laid down, but sleep didn’t come easily to him. He remained awake for what may have been hours, straining to hear any sound that wasn’t of their own making. Eventually though, exhaustion won and the ebony guard fell back into his slumber.
Heero pulled himself up against the wall and leaned back against it. He kept one leg bent so he could rest his sword against his thigh and his elbow against his knee. Cradling his head in his hand, Heero thought back to that flash of glowing color he saw and the thing he touched. Maybe it was an animal? Though why would it run away then? Was it one of Koristaja’s minions? Though Heero felt quite certain if it was, they would’ve been attacked. Unless the magician had some other more sinister plans for them. Heero shuddered at the thought, he knew there were black arts that were forbidden and from the stories he had heard, it sounds like Koristaja was one magician that did know them. Maybe the magician wanted blood, royal blood, and that’s what the Princess was kidnapped. If that were the case, then Heero was possibly delivering to the evil magician another royal, Quatre, and a magician to boot.
His mind raced with looped thoughts and despite keeping his eyes opened, he didn’t see any more flashes of color and he didn’t hear anything other than the soft breathing of his sleeping companions and slight snore from Wufei. By the time the others began to stir, Heero had convinced himself that it was a dream or figment of his imagination that he had gone after. But then why couldn’t he shake the feeling that they were being watched?
A pained moan had all three men awake and alert. Trowa remained where he was, but gave a sigh of relief as Quatre stirred in his arms. But the obvious pain in the blonde’s hitched breathing concerned them all. “Quatre?” Trowa asked quietly, “Are you conscious?”
The blonde mage suddenly went very still. “A-am I using you as a pillow, Trowa?”
“Yes.” The Ranger answered, a small smile on his lips that turned into a frown as the mage suddenly became very warm. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Quatre squeaked, his face blushing beet red and his whole body becoming warm. He slowly pushed away from the lanky Ranger, already feeling the loss of warmth even though it felt like his body was superheated. He began to sit up, but hissed as pain blossomed in his chest. “Oh, hell!”
“Quatre?” Wufei reached blindly out, accidentally smacking Quatre in the head before placing a steadying hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “Sorry.”
“I’m pretty sure I broke my ribs when I hit the snake’s back.” He groaned, gingerly feeling his ribs and whimpering at the sensitive flesh of his lower ribcage. “Yeah, they’re broken.”
Heero remained where he was so as to stay out of the way, “Can you use your blue flames to heal yourself?”
“I could, but my reserves are low and it would be time and energy-consuming.” Quatre answered, shaking his head in habit. “I can breathe, so I will deal with the pain and keep my magic about me. Where are we?”
Trowa placed his hand beneath the blonde’s elbow, “Wufei, help me stand him up, it should feel more comfortable.” Then once they were standing, he continued, “We made it inside before the door closed, but you collapsed right after. It's pitch black in here and we didn’t want to drag you around with unknown injuries, so we haven’t moved from this spot.”
“Can you make a fire?” Wufei asked, still supporting the blonde.
A glowing ball of flame suddenly appeared above them, the golden light reflecting around them, but only by a few feet. The corridor was still shrouded in darkness, but at least they could see each other. “Fuck.” Quatre cursed, causing his guard to give him a startled look. The blonde mage rarely ever cursed and when he did, it was never good. The worse the outcome, the worse curse word he’d use and Wufei had only ever heard him say fuck once before now. “My flames are usually brighter than a regular fire, but look how it barely gives us enough light to see each other, let alone down this hallway.” He took a gasping breath as he moved his sore body, his ribs may be the only bones broken, but they definitely weren’t the only thing bruised.
“And that tells you something?” Heero asked, on his feet and coming closer to the other three.
Quatre nodded, his face streaked with dirt and blood, but his cyan eyes were lucid and clear. “This isn’t a normal darkness, it’s Shadow.”
Shadow. That meant this was definitely Koristaja’s castle.
“Fuck.” Heero whispered, echoing all their sentiments. The three looked at Heero expectantly, waiting for his lead while he pondered the best course of action. Of course, there was only forward, so it wasn’t much of best course, but the only course. Even if Quatre could reopen the door, it would be pointless since they had been trying to get in the door and who knew what time of day it was and whether the deadly carved creatures were still waiting. “Our only goal is to get Princess Relena back, away from here and back home to New Port City.” He looked at each one in turn, his usually intense cobalt eyes slightly diminished in the face of certain death, but still set with absolute certainty in moving forward.
The three nodded and slowly began down the passageway. The little ball of flames continued to float ahead, illuminating the sides of the corridor that showed old stones growing with moss and slick with water. Small rivulets ran down the walls and Trowa paused to taste the water.
“No!” Quatre said, yanking the Ranger back. “Magician Koristaja has powers over all the elements, that could be poisoned for all we know.”
“Why would he poison the water to kill us if he could’ve just killed us as we lie sleeping by the door?” The auburn man asked and Quatre had no answer, but Trowa could feel the blonde's unrest. “But, I’ll forgo it for now if it makes you feel better.”
“There are steps here.” Heero called, peering down into the darkness. He spied a rock near him and kicked it down the stairs, listening as it bounced and skittered across stone steps and echoing around them. “A lot of steps, I think.”
“Can you handle steps, Quatre?” Wufei asked, looking at the perspiration on the blonde’s brow, pain evident in his eyes and on his face.
“Yes.” He ground out, holding his side gingerly, but his guard just snorted and quickly knelt down with his back to the blonde.
“Get on.” Wufei ordered and Quatre did so without argument, which revealed just how severe the pain actually was. He wrapped his arms around the ebony guard’s neck while Wufei’s arms slipped around the outside of his thighs until his hands rested near his groin. The guard gritted his teeth as he stood, despite the blonde mage being slight in stature; he wasn’t a lightweight by any means. “Let’s move.” He said, heading towards the staircase.
And down they went, down, down and down. Heero was first and kept his left hand on the wall, feeling the damp, cool stones getting colder as they descended deeper into the bowels of the castle. Or whatever the hell this is¸ Heero thought as he followed the glittering light in front of him. To the right was empty air and there was no railing to keep one from falling in if one tripped. Heero kept his other hand firmly on the pommel of his sword, ready for anything that might suddenly appear on the stairs, but so far all they saw were more stairs, no creatures at all, not even a spider. Heero didn’t know how long they had been walking down, but considering how his legs burned, he knew it had been a few hours. He glanced behind him to where Wufei and Quatre were while Trowa brought up the rear. If his legs burned, Wufei’s had to be on fire and yet the raven-haired man hadn’t said a single word of complaint.
Wufei ignored the sweat that poured into his eyes, the ache in his arms and legs as he continued forward on will alone. Will to serve his best friend and charge in every possible way that was necessary. Heero could feel nothing but awe and admiration for the man’s loyalty and spirit, the two companions had at some point moved past travel partners in his mind and had become friends who had proven themselves time and again.
“Let’s stop for a moment.” Heero said, pausing on the stairs and watching as Wufei very carefully lowered the blonde down before collapsing next to the mage. The young captain quickly dug through his pack and passed the water flask to Wufei as the Chinese man took ragged breaths as he lay back on the stairs.
“Thank you,” he huffed, drinking a few swallows of water before forcing himself to stop. He handed the flask to Quatre who took a small swallow before giving it back to his guard.
“You need it more than me.” The magician said, concern etched on his face as he stared at his best friend.
“I’ll be fine, Quatre. Just give me a few minutes.” Wufei gave a wry smile, using his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his face before taking another few swallows and offering to the others.
Trowa and Heero both refused, but Heero took the flask back and returned it to his pack. He then doled out the rest of their meager food with most of it going to Quatre. The blonde began to protest, but angry glares from all three men caused the protest to die on his lips and he silently ate the meal, angry at being a liability.
Trowa looked at the walls, seeing for the first time something between the mosses growing. “What’s this?” He asked, pulling some moss away from the stone at part of a picture. He tried to see more of it, but could only see parts—a girl there, a boy here, what he assumed was magic being used or defended against, but nothing that made sense. The others looked, but couldn’t make much sense of the jumbled picture and shrugged it off, next to the problems they faced the mystery picture just wasn’t very important.
“You guys ready to move again?” Heero asked and the three nodded their heads.
“Let me help this time.” Trowa said as Wufei began to kneel down again.
Wufei raised an elegant brow at his blonde friend as said blonde blushed prettily before the kneeling Ranger. “Thank you.” He said to Trowa, truly thankful that someone was able to help carry Quatre and give him a chance to recover. The last thing he wanted was to trip and fall down the never-ending stairs or into the black hole at the center of the stairway.
Quatre carefully laid his chest against Trowa’s back and wrapped his arms around the Ranger’s neck as he had done with Wufei, but it felt very different this time, almost intimate. And when Trowa’s hands wrapped around his thighs and those fingers settled next to his groin, he realized the lanky man had a much longer reach as those long fingers curled around the inside of his thighs. He felt himself flush and buried his face into Trowa’s neck as the man slowly stood as if the blonde barely weighed a pound. The fluid movement as Trowa began to descend the stairs was much different than the jarring one Wufei had and Quatre marveled at how the long-limbed man could move so smoothly.
“I keep meaning to ask you,” Trowa murmured quietly, “how old are you?”
Quatre chuckled, his breath tickling the auburn man’s ear. “I’m twenty.”
“I thought you were barely sixteen!” He said, surprised and feeling better that at least he wouldn’t be robbing the cradle if the blonde mage returned his affections.
“Most people believe that. It runs in my family, my father is in his sixties and barely looks older than forty. I’m definitely a full-grown man though.” He said, his voice turning slightly husky at the last sentence.
Trowa shivered and carefully adjusted his grip on the blonde. Getting distracted here with how grown Quatre was wouldn’t help matters at all. “I bet all the girls like you.” He said neutrally, but Wufei gave him a quick smirk over his shoulder.
“Hmm,” the mage said, noncommittally, “I don’t like them though.”
Viridescent eyes widened and he fell silent, trying to decide if that meant what he thought it did, or only what he wanted it to mean. But as they walked, their boots resonating through the stairway, he felt Quatre’s thumb lightly stroke the column of his neck, rubbing small circles there almost absentmindedly.
Of course, there was nothing absentminded about it as Quatre focused on carefully giving clues to the Ranger that he most definitely was interested in one specific person. He gave a breathy sigh and buried his face into the other side of Trowa’s neck, letting his breath ghost along the contours of his jaw. He felt those hands around his thighs tighten and he gave a small gasping moan as the movement went straight to his groin.
Trowa grinned at the small sound the blonde made, “You okay?” He asked.
“F-fine.” Quatre almost peeped, trying to sit up slightly and get some distance between their heads. The movement though made his hips thrust forward against the Ranger’s back and the hardness there didn’t go unnoticed by either party. Feeling the full body flush, Quatre’s flame ball reacted to his emotions and suddenly flared brightly, illuminating the entire stairway before the Shadows forced it back.
“Shit! You okay?” Heero called, the sudden light blinding him momentarily as he was closest to the flames.
“Yes!” Quatre said, his embarrassment rising but he kept his emotions in check. “I’m sorry, sometimes my emotions get a little out of control and it causes flares like that. Are you okay?”
Wufei snickered, looking at the two and knowing exactly what caused the sudden flare.
“Gods,” the blonde mage groaned, dropping his forehead to Trowa’s shoulder. “He is not going to let me live this down.”
The rumbling chuckle from the Ranger showed his amusement, but he very carefully placed a small kiss on the arm around his neck. “I like you too.” He said, eyes still forward.
“You do?” He squeaked, his aqua eyes going wide as a smile appeared on his lips.
“If we make it out of this alive, would you like to have dinner together?” Trowa asked, usually never so forward, but their impending doom gave him the courage.
“When we make it out,” Quatre corrected, “I’d love to.”
“You love birds done?” Heero deadpanned and the two men flushed, “That flare of light allowed me to see down the center and there is a bottom, looks like we still have a good ten stories, but we are nearing the end of these damnable stairs.”
The four fell back into silence, but their pace slightly increased, excitement to get to the bottom of the stairs fueled their fatigued bodies. Another hour and they finally stepped onto flat ground, much to their screaming thighs relief.
Trowa knelt and let Quatre slide off his back, but couldn’t resist letting his fingers brush against the mage’s ass and he was certain the slight gasp from the blonde wasn’t due to the pain. He had relished in feeling Quatre’s hot breath upon his ear and his fingers tracing shapes on his skin and how his chest pressed into his back like a warm blanket.
The Ranger turned around and smiled at the shorter man, gently pushing some of the blonde bangs away from Quatre’s face so he could see those unusual aqua eyes. Quatre smiled back and then both of them turned their attention to Heero who was frowning at the room, his blue eyes taking in every detail he could see—which markedly wasn’t much.
“Quatre, would it be too taxing to make a brighter light over here?” The Captain asked, though it sounded more like a command.
“Not at all!” He snapped his fingers and immediately a small hedge of flames appeared near the wall Heero was interested in, the Shadows pushed against it, but it was still brighter than the ball of flames Quatre made earlier. They could now see the room they stood in was perfectly round with curved bricks that sealed together flawlessly. A few feet after the stairs was one long stone bench that followed the curve of the room.
The others huddled closer to Heero and looked at the beautiful mosaic that covered the wall Heero had been eying. The detail was exquisite and the mosaic pieces almost looked like small shards of glass instead of painted pottery.
The mosaic before them showed a happy, bright land with a small farmhouse where a family happily smiled in the field. The colors were bright and vivid blues, yellows, greens and other happy shades with even enough detail for a spotted cow in the background. The mosaic blended into another scene where there was a young child flying with the winds above the trees and then dancing around a fire that glowed golden before swimming well beneath the waves and then standing on a high mountain.
The group moved together to the next mosaic while Quatre’s fire slightly rushed ahead of them to continue to illuminate. The child was now a little older and the child and parents stood before a dark robed person who held the child’s hand in one hand and a bag of gold in the other that was being offered to the parents.
“That’s a magician,” Quatre said quietly, frowning at the obvious transaction, “but I’ve never heard of paying the parents for a child’s training.”
The mosaic colors darkened, but only a little as the child aged, now always with the dark-robed person. The scene now showed the two figures working together on some kind of spell, the child’s hand fisted as blood dripped from it and into a swirling bottle.
“Blood magic is illegal now,” the blonde mage commented, his eyes locked on the child in the pictures, “but it used to be widely used by strong mages who wanted stronger spells, spells that demand blood. They preyed on poor children as they were usually weaker and drain their blood for their spells, it was even better if the blood came from a magician as the blood is imbued with magic.
The next mosaic showed the child pale as more blood was squeezed from both palms, again the dark-robed magician was right there near the child. It looked like the child was in some kind of dungeon, barred windows and barred doors with nothing a child would normally have.
The mosaics darkened as they progressed, no more bright colors unless it was for fire. The next one showed the child, older but not older than 10, burning the dark-robed person in a swirling fire close to Quatre’s fire tornado. The child, then free, traveled to a white sprawling building surrounded by clouds on a mountain top where more dark-robed people were. The detail in the mosaic was so articulate that Heero could see people inside the windows and make out classrooms and even a library.
“The Magician’s College!” Quatre gasped. “No one knows where it is, we only have the lesser schools now, the college where higher magics are taught has been lost or, as most believe, it was destroyed.”
Once again they moved forward as a group, following the curve of the circular room and the story upon the walls. Quatre’s fire continued to keep just ahead of them, illuminating a new scene that showed the child studying at the college, but alone. There were lots of other people and various scenes of mundane things like a library and a classroom and then other more exciting scenes of a party or festival, but regardless of what was happening the child was always alone.
Then suddenly a new person appears, who befriends the child and the happier colors return as they blend into the next mosaic. The child grows into a young teen and the friend is still there, but once more the colors darken again as the friend offers something to the child. Heero squinted, trying to see what the friend held, but it was too small for him to make out.
The next scene showed rage—the mosaic is a vortex of dark reds, blood red, that spiral around the teen and friend.
Quatre swept his hand and the fire moved, but the next mosaic was utter darkness. Just black. The blonde mage raised his flames to see if there was some unseen detail, but the entire mosaic was glittering, solid black and the mage felt the despair and sheer loneliness in that scene.
The four glanced at each other quizzically, but no one knew what to make of the unnerving black mosaic nor what to say. Their gazes moved to the next mosaic, which was brighter than the black, but still quite dark. The child now stood in the middle of a room with dark-robed figures surrounding the small, lone figure. The friend was gone. Black storms brewing on the horizon.
“It’s the trial of Koristaja,” the blonde breathed with sudden realization, “This is Koristaja’s life!”
“There’s more to Magician Koristaja’s life than the story we heard.” Heero nodded, there wasn’t any mention of bloodletting or whatever friend that had been so important—but of course the tale they heard was more fable than history. Though, maybe it hadn’t been so off the mark as the Captain had originally thought, much of the fable did match with the mosaics.
The next one was made of swirls of black and red, but the red was all pooled below numerous bodies of black-robed people while the child was pictured with the storm clouds as lightning struck the ground below. Sickened expressions were on the people on the outskirts of the mosaic, but only the black-robed people lay dead.
“A blood bath.” Wufei said, horrified. “Those magicians never stood a chance.”
Heero moved forward before the rest who seemed rooted at the last scene, but he was a soldier and had seen plenty of blood baths. The sight didn’t strike horror or revulsion in him, but he couldn’t deny the fear that ran up his spine. It’s one thing to be part of a blood bath and fighting for your life and another thing to be the sole reason there is a blood bath. The magician they were up against was able to destroy hoards of magicians easily and here they were, just the four of them and only one was a magician. Once more thoughts plagued him in just how would they get Princess Relena out of here? It was becoming quite obvious they weren’t going to leave here alive.
Heero raised his cobalt eyes to the last mosaic, Quatre’s fire showing the jagged edges of the unfinished piece. The child had grown taller, once again alone on a hilltop and staring down at what Heero realized was the farm from the first mosaic. But the farm was in flames, the parents trapped inside, burning along with it as smoke billowed into the air and blackened the skies.
“D-did he kill his own parents?” Trowa asked, wide-eyed as he joined Heero at the last wall. “I thought the other magicians killed his parents and that’s why he took revenge, but this shows the reverse.”
“I don’t know. Maybe this account is more accurate or maybe it’s less, we just don’t know. Maybe the entire magician is fable.” Heero answered, his brow furrowing as he looked at the blank walls that gave no more clues into the magician’s life.
Quatre waved his hand and the fire moved again, but the curved wall remained blank until it met with a large wooden door. “Well, I guess that’s where we go next.” The blonde mage said, his tone subdued, but controlled.
“Wufei, protect Quatre while Trowa and I open the doors. Be ready for anything.” Heero ordered while moving to grasp one of the large brass rings that were fastened to the wood door. Trowa grabbed the other and together they began pulling at the heavy doors. Digging his heels in, the Ranger pulled against the heavy door and heard it slowly give way, the creaking of the wood and joints making it sound like it had been decades since these doors had been moved. Heero’s muscles bunched as he found traction and pulled, the door slowly swinging open.
By the time the door was open enough for them to go in two by two, both men were sweating and breathing hard, but not winded. Peering into the darkness, the four moved together with Quatre in the middle so he was the most protected.
The blonde mage called forth his fire to illuminate the room, but nothing happened. “What?” He gasped, confusion evident in his voice as he tried again. “Someone’s suppressing my magic!” Even his most powerful fire spell only gave a small spark for a few seconds before it too sputtered into the pitch-black again.
Clapping echoed around them followed by amused laughter. “That’s quite impressive, little fire mage.” A lilting voice called, the sound enveloped them in a rich darkness and suddenly a gust of wind pushed the four forward while the resounding bang of the doors informed them that their exit was now shut to them.
And suddenly the darkness was gone, as if they blinked and could now see. It didn’t disappear gradually, but all at once and the four startled at the suddenly illuminated room. Heero and Wufei already had their swords drawn while Trowa stood with an arrow knocked, but there was only a lone figure in the room.
Heero made a sweep of the rectangular room, taking in the empty space except for the dais where a single throne stood erect. The marble floor was a swirling of golds and silvers set against black and Heero briefly thought it looked like the night sky. Bringing his eyes up, he stared at the imposing figure sitting on the throne before them.
The trim man dressed in head to toe in black rested comfortably on the stone throne, almost bored. Heero’s eyes traveled from the black boots up the toned legs that were crossed one over the other. The man’s body was slightly tilted as he leaned against the armrest with his elbow and his hand splayed across the side of his face as it cradled his head. An amused smirk was on wickedly upturned lips and a strong, but angular nose was framed by wisps of chestnut hair. The gold and red in the hair caught Heero’s attention and his eyes were suddenly drawn to the thick plaited braid that dangled over one shoulder and curled in the man’s lap. Feeling a pull to look upwards, Heero’s eyes raked over the thin waist and up the darkly clad chest before taking in the heart-shaped face until his eyes locked with half-lidded amethyst eyes. As soon as their eyes met, the man’s eyes briefly glowed twilight and Heero’s eyes widened as he realized they were the same as the ones he saw in the dark corridor high above.
The figure grinned, letting Heero know he was right, and those half-lidded eyes opened more as they drew Heero in. In his right hand, he held a silver scythe that he absentmindedly twirled as he looked at the four men standing before him. Baring his teeth in a wolfish smile, he chuckled, the sound dark and velvety, and watched his prey squirm. “Welcome.”
Dhampir
Page 13
6/16/2021
Notes:
Enter Duo ^_~
Chapter 9: Chapter Nine
Summary:
Heero, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei come face to face with Duo, but who exactly is he?
Notes:
Hello, hello!! It's...damn, Wednesday, right?? I typed in Friday, Thursday and Saturday before I got it right, haha! ^_^
Pretty sure I'm updating this one in time...but it's also quite obvious I need some sleep!
Anyway, the next chapter awaits you (I really need to figure out chapter titles, I suck at them), enjoy~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Nine
“Welcome.” Came the slightly husky, but lilting voice and the four stared at the lithe man seated on the throne.
Heero stepped forward and took a shuddering breath, straightening his back despite his mind telling him to run as if from Death itself. “My name is Captain Heero Yuy. I’ve come to rescue Princess Relena Peacecraft on behalf of King Milliardo, the rightful sovereign of Sanc.”
The boy tilted his head, curiously looking down at the handsome captain. “And you believe I have her?” He asked, his voice innocent, but the grin on his face told a different story.
“Are you the Magician Koristaja?” Heero countered. The boy couldn’t possibly be the magician, he looked barely fifteen, and even with what Quatre said about the longer lives of magicians, there’s no way one this young could be anything more than a novice.
The grin turned into a full smile, “You can call me Duo, if you want a name. Shinigami if you want a title.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” The captain pushed, taking a step forward, but thrown off balance by the title. God of Death? What kind of title is that?
“Heero!” Quatre hissed, reaching for the brunette to pull him back from the dark figure. “That is a full-fledged magician; he’s strong, stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Duo laughed, the melodic sound echoing around them. “I must say, I truly am impressed with you, little fire mage. That you could even get a spark shows you’re quite strong and your ability to sense my power is somewhat fascinating. The only other person I know who could do that was an empath. Are you an empath, little fire mage?”
“Do you have Princess Relena?” Heero pressed, his eyes narrowing in annoyance at being ignored.
Duo spun the scythe in his hand absentmindedly, the blade missing his face by centimeters as he looked almost bored by the man before him. “Maybe…maybe not,” he glanced around the room, “I do not see a princess here, do you?”
He grit his teeth, his patience running out with the mage refusing to answer his questions. “Did you kidnap Princess Relena?”
“Yes.” He finally answered directly, that smirk appearing once more and Heero fought the urge to punch the boy.
“Why take the princess?” Trowa asked, trying to draw the attention of the magician so that Heero could move closer. He nodded in understanding, knowing Trowa saw him, and silently crept across the floor.
He shrugged, violet eyes sparkling as he turned to face the auburn man. “I figured it was time to take a spouse, it’s been quite dreary here.”
“You want to marry Princess Relena?”
“Not really, the woman is downright annoying with her almost hourly requests to go home,” Duo groused, “but she is resilient, beautiful and strong. I like her spunk.”
Heero had made it halfway to the dais before his anger grabbed him, “If you’ve hurt the princess in any way—”
“You’ll what?” The braided man snapped, effectively cutting Heero off. “Kill me? Sorry soldier boy, much more powerful enemies have tried and failed.”
“I demand to see the princess.” Heero said, unnerved by the almost manic grin on the boy’s otherwise handsome face.
With a tired sigh, Duo snapped his fingers and darkness blanketed them once more. Another snap only seconds later and the darkness disappeared, revealing the chestnut-haired man just feet from him. Heero took a surprised step back, but then held his ground, refusing to be cowed by the slight boy before him, magician or not. Those amethyst eyes lit up with surprised excitement and the magician yanked someone from behind him. “The princess.” He drawled, holding her slim wrist in one pale hand.
“Heero!” Relena said with a gasp before crystalline tears collected in her eyes. Heero ran his gaze down her form, looking for any signs of injury, but other than her dress being a little dirty and her overall fearful composure, she looked unharmed. “Oh Heero, take me home please! I don’t want to stay here with him.”
“Princess, please,” Duo said mockingly, “I haven’t treated you badly, have I?”
She rounded on the dark magician, “You kidnapped me. I consider that bad treatment.”
Duo released her wrist with a laugh and Heero quickly grabbed the princess to thrust behind him, even though he knew it was a pointless gesture. “Very true, I’m sure it is, but I have made sure you have every possible comfort once we arrived here. I cannot be that bad.”
Feeling stronger now that she was behind her dashing Captain, Relena gripped Heero’s shoulder and venomously spat, “You are evil incarnate to me.”
Heero didn’t know what the change was, but he felt it. The tilting of the atmosphere and suddenly the room felt darker, colder. A sinister shadow fell across Duo’s face as the ground began to tremble. His scythe suddenly appeared in his hand and when he looked up, luminous twilight locked with cornflower blue, “You think I’m evil, Princess? Let me show you evil.” His voice had fallen to a midnight octave that spoke of a painful, grueling death and the princess stood petrified beneath Duo’s glower.
Heero shoved the princess back as the scythe swiped down towards Relena and met the silver staff of it with his sword. “Trowa, get the princess out of here!” He commanded, pushing back with all his might, but those glowing eyes remained locked on the princess and with a flick of his wrist, Heero went flying to the right and crashing into the stone wall.
He struggled to his feet as blood trickled down the side of his head, taking in the scene before him as the other three men tried to protect the princess from the murderous aura that stalked throughout the room.
“You want evil, what if I suck the very air from your lungs?” Duo made a pulling motion with his hand and suddenly Trowa grabbed at his throat as he fell to his knees, the air in his lungs leaving him and unable to breathe any back in. “Or maybe I’ll just remove the water from your body.” A glance at Quatre as the blonde mage weakly tried to fight with his fire tornado before it suddenly winked out and water began to leak from his skin. Heero’s face went ashen as he watched the skin turn dark and brittle, the youthful boy’s face turning old and sunken in as all moisture was removed, leaving behind just a husk.
With a battle cry, Wufei launched himself at the mage, but with a flick of his wrist, the raven-haired guard found himself trapped in a bubble of water. “Or I could drown you and just watch you slowly die.” Duo grinned as he watched Princess Relena trip and fall before scrambling back until her back was at the door. He stalked towards her, every step spoke darkness and power and impending death.
“W-wait.” Heero called, but he couldn’t steady his voice. He staggered forward, his eyes wildly looking at his dying friends and then to the princess who had now turned pallid and was weakly muttering her apologies and begging that Duo not kill her. “Wait!” He called again, finding his footing and his voice as he moved towards the dark mage. “Let the princess and my friends live.”
Duo paused, cocking his head to study the young captain. He stood only a few inches taller than Duo and his unruly chocolate locks looked almost comical on the muscular man, but his intense cobalt eyes interested the dark magician. There was fear, but not as much as Duo was used to seeing and more than fear, there was a steely resolve within them as if he were ready to lay down his life for the insipid princess. “And why would I do that?”
“Because I’ll take her place, a life for a life.” Heero said firmly, not even a moment of hesitation. He wanted to look at his friends, to see if they were still alive, but he found he couldn’t move his gaze from the magician’s.
“No, Heero, you can’t! He’s a monster— ” Relena cried, before a snap of Duo’s fingers silenced her voice. She grabbed at her throat, trying to speak, but no noise came through.
“Shut up, adults are talking.” Duo said acidly, those luminous twilight eyes never leaving Heero’s face. “You do understand what you are giving me? You are trading me the next hundred years of your life willingly.”
“I do.” Again, not a single pause of hesitancy.
Duo’s body swirled with black smoke that disappeared and Heero quickly scanned the hall, sword raised in case of an attack, but he found the braided man seated on his throne again. “You interest me,” he smirked, “it’s been a long time since someone has done that. But…” he drummed his fingers lightly on the armrest, those eyes falling to half lid again, “I’m curious as to why you’ve come to rescue the princess. Why have you risked the life of you and your friends to rescue her? Why are you now willing to sacrifice your life and freedom for her and your friends?”
Heero glanced at his three friends, noticing their prone, lifeless bodies and felt immeasurable sorrow well within him. They were dead, he was too late to save them, but the princess was still alive and his duty to his king was still first and foremost his greatest obligation. Unushered tears came to his eyes as he took a deep trembling breath, memories of him and Trowa growing up and later of the four of them traveling together assaulted his mind and he bit back a sob. The time to grieve them would come later, after Princess Relena was safe. “I am King Milliardo’s Captain of the Royal Guard. It is my sworn duty to protect the royal family, in which I failed when Princess Relena was kidnapped. King Milliardo tasked me with an oath to bring the princess home and I promised to do so or die trying.”
“Then why not just die?” The dark magician asked, truly curious, as he leaned forward to peer at Heero’s face. “It seems like you’d find that less painful.”
“Trading my life with hers will obligate you to release her if you are a man of your word,” he replied before adding quietly, “and I was asking you to spare my friends.”
Duo pondered the man’s words and Heero felt despair mounting as the drawn-out silence became unbearable. Suddenly the dark mage smirked and nodded, “I accept the terms. You will remain here with me for the next one hundred years and I will spare the life of your precious princess and your friends.” Snapping his fingers once more, Heero heard the collective gasping as well as Wufei’s sputtering from behind him. Turning, he felt his knees buckle as he fell to the ground to stare at his three friends alive—not well, but alive!
“Heero, behind you!” Quatre rasped, his face beginning to lose the sunken husk that Heero had thought would be his last memory of the blonde mage.
Heero glanced behind him and into the black tunic of the dark mage. A pale hand came to rest on his shoulder and Heero looked up to see Duo smiling down at him. “I-it’s okay, Quatre.” He called, his voice thick with tears. “Duo and I have come to an agreement, he is releasing the princess.”
Trowa looked up sharply, his face beginning to return to its normal color. “What?” He said sharply, concern bleeding into his tone. “What did you do, Heero?”
“What I must.” The young captain answered, giving his best friend a watery smile.
“Your dear Captain has traded his life for your lives.” Duo spoke, grinning at the three men. “I do hope you know it’s a bargain, I’m giving up a royal princess for a common soldier.”
“Heero isn’t a common soldier!” Relena shouted, but a single look from the dark magician had her cowering back again with a squeak.
“Take the princess back home before I change my mind.” He said, his voice dark and velvety that promised misery if they, especially Princess Relena, tarried.
“Quatre and Wufei, please escort Princess Relena out of here. I will follow along shortly, but I need to speak with Heero.” Trowa said quietly, but commandingly.
“Wait!” Heero said, standing once more and stumbling towards them. He first bowed to the princess and handed his sheathed sword to her. “Please take this with you, I will have no need of it here, but so that your brother will know what you say is true. Grow well, Princess Relena, and marry a good man.”
Tears fell down her cheeks as she quakingly took the sword in her hands before holding it to her breast reverently. “H-Heero…I…I love you.” She said, her voice cracking.
The Captain gave her a soft smile and then turned to the other three. “I was not coerced, I made this choice of my own volition and Duo has given his word that you will be freed and allowed to travel back home.”
“But Heero, you don’t have to do this.” Quatre said, “I’m a magician, I’m sure I could have him accept me as a proper replacement.”
“Or me.” Both Trowa and Wufei said, all three sincere in wanting to spare Heero, but the brunette just shook his head.
“No. Wufei, your loyalty lies with Quatre. If you were to stay here, he would be left unprotected. Trowa, you and Quatre just found each other and I can’t force you two apart if it’s within my power to do so. I have no family, no lovers and nothing other than my fealty holding me to King Milliardo. I have freely given my life for Princess Relena’s and I accept it happily now that I know you all live.”
Quatre moved forward and grasped Heero tightly, hugging the stoic man who had become so important so quickly to him. But he quickly let go as pain spread across his abdomen. “Ah! With all the adrenaline I forgot these damned ribs are broken.”
“You were injured before you came in?” Duo’s lilting voice interrupted and the four men turned to look at the innocent-looking teen standing near them. “That’s even more impressive, little fire mage.” He smiled, “So you weren’t even at your full strength when you came, you certainly have the makings to become a very powerful magician indeed.”
“Then let me take Heero’s place!” Quatre quickly requested. “I will become your apprentice.”
“Quatre!” Heero snapped, “I said no.”
Aqua eyes narrowed at the young Captain. “Just because you say no doesn’t mean I still can’t offer.”
Duo laughed, smiling at them. “It’s entertaining how you all try to protect each other. Fortunately for you, little Quat, I’m not willing to trade again. No, your Captain intrigues me and so I have agreed to this change, but because you are such a promising little acolyte, I will do something for you.” The dark mage closed his eyes briefly, an incantation coming to his lips and when he opened his eyes, the luminous twilight had returned. A blue circle of intricate designs appeared on the ground before a sharp gust of wind blew upwards, causing Quatre to block his face with his hands, his clothes flapping against the gust.
When it died down, Trowa leaped towards Quatre, his hands running over the blonde’s body to check for any injury. “What did he do?” He asked the blonde and shocked aqua eyes met his before Quatre smiled.
“He healed me. My ribs are healed; I felt them knit back together.” He let out a bubbling laugh, before turning to Duo, his fear of the powerful magician fleetingly leaving to make way for curiosity. “How did you do that? As far as I know, no one knows that healing spell.”
Duo’s eyes widened fractionally in shock, “Really? Hmm…it is an old spell, but it’s usually a novice spell that even the weakest magician should be able to do for at least partial healing. Come here and I’ll show you.”
Trowa grabbed the blonde as he started towards Duo, “It could be a trap.”
The dark magician snorted, “You would all be dead if I wanted it that way. And why would I heal the little fire mage if I’m just going to turn around and kill him? No, I don’t lie. I promised your Captain I would release you all and the princess and I plan to do so. But it’s been a long time since I spoke with another magician about incantations or shared any knowledge, I would like to do so.”
“Trowa, I’ll be fine.” Quatre said, giving the Ranger a wide smile. “But I would take the time to say your goodbyes to Heero, I doubt you’ll see him again.” The sadness in his voice was thick, “Wufei, take Princess Relena to the stairs. We will be there shortly.”
Wufei nodded, then turned to Heero and gave the man a deep bow. “Thank you for saving Prince Quatre’s life as well as my own. We will forever be in your debt as I doubt we will ever have the chance to repay it.”
“Returning Princess Relena to King Milliardo will be payment enough.” Heero said, holding out his hand to the Chinese man who firmly shook it. Heero watched as Wufei collected the pale princess, still holding Heero’s sword tightly to her bosom, and left the room.
“Heero…I-I…” Trowa fell silent, the depths of his feelings for his best friend had no words that he could express. The thought of losing him was too overwhelming to the quiet Ranger. He knew there was always a chance of losing Heero on the battlefield, but he never thought he would lose him like this.
Heero smiled, fully understanding what Trowa was trying to say and nodded. “Me too, my friend.” He said before hugging the lanky auburn tightly. “Me too.”
Trowa clutched at Heero and hugged him back tightly. “Please be safe.” He finally said, pulling back from the embrace before turning quickly and retreating from the throne room. If he looked back he didn’t know if he’d have the will to leave again and he knew that his own fealty to King Milliardo came first.
Duo returned with Quatre and the blonde hugged the Captain again. “Heero, I promise to take care of Trowa and we will go with him to return Princess Relena to King Milliardo personally.”
“Thank you Quatre, for everything. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have survived those magicians nor would we have survived the stone demons.” Heero hugged the blonde and then took a step back, standing beside the dark mage. “Take care.”
Tears were collecting in the blonde’s aqua eyes, his bottom lip wobbling slightly before he gave a sob and ran from the room.
“Oh!” Duo called, his voice easily carrying. “The horses are alive and well. When you reach the top of the stairs, you will find the stone door open and the horses waiting for you. My creatures and winds won’t bother you, but,” he paused, his voice dropping to that midnight octave once more, “do not turn around or try to return. Nothing but death will greet you.” And with a flick of hand, the heavy oak doors slammed shut once more.
Heero turned to look at the dark mage who was now his Lord and Master. It felt impossible to merge the lithe, pale boy with the powerful dark magician he saw decimate his friends in a matter of minutes. “Thank you for sparing my friends.” Heero finally said, his voice thick with sorrow and gratitude. “You didn’t need to, you could’ve made me only trade the princess for myself or just killed us all, but I will be eternally grateful that you let them go.”
The mage gave him a curious look, “Eternity is a long time, you shouldn’t promise anything for eternity.”
Uncertain of how to respond to that, Heero placed his stoic mask back into place and asked, “Do I call you Lord Duo or should I address you as Shinigami-sama?”
“No, I detest titles. Duo is fine.”
“I have to ask, are you truly the Magician Koristaja?” He blurted out, unable to keep the question that had been tumbling through his mind since they first saw him inside any longer.
Those amethyst eyes sparkled with mirth and a secret that Heero suddenly wanted to discover. Duo smiled, “Yes, the one and only.” Then smoke billowed around the black-clad body and dissipated, leaving Heero standing alone in the throne room.
Dhampir
Page 8
6/23/2021
Notes:
Duo and Heero alone~
That's not a disaster in the making, right?
So...this story was born out of me liking the fantasy stories, but that most of them have a weak, servile/enslaved Duo that's often hurt or tortured, etc. Trust me, I LOVE those kinds too *cough* Sum Tuus, anyone? *cough* and some of my favorite GW stories are ones like Dyna Dee's Heero's Fourth and Shenlong's Bound, Bonded, and Betrayed, but I wanted one where Duo is the one in charge, the one who has the power and so now you have this ^_^
See you all next week!
Chapter 10: Chapter Ten
Summary:
Heero tries to learn about his new master.
Notes:
Hello everyone ^_^
I'm posting this a bit later than I wanted to, but it's still on Wednesday at least, right?? (At least for most of us?)
The editing took a bit longer on this one--honestly, I need to go back and do a better job of editing the last two chapters because I didn't have the time I normally put into it.
On a good note, I'm getting a bit more written on this story, so no hiatus yet!! I think if I can write one chapter a week, I'll be good to keep going, but we'll see what happens. I just came off a good 3 months where I found it very difficult to write, so I'm hoping that I'm getting my groove back ^_^
Okay, enough rambling from me, enjoy~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Ten
I’m going to kill him, all-powerful magician or not! Heero stalked around the throne room, feeling all the crevices of the walls once again as he had done for the past four hours. There was no way in hell, he was going to trek up a thousand flights of stairs after just coming down them, but he hadn’t found a door or hallway or even a mouse hole that would get him anywhere else.
He stared at the oak doors again, pondering if he should, but he was afraid he would possibly see his friends and bring about their untimely death. Even if Duo hadn’t been serious—which he highly doubted—he didn’t know if he could stand to say goodbye again. No, he knew he could, but he loathed the idea and wanted to avoid it at all costs.
His anger getting the better of him, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “DUO!” The sound reverberated around him, yelling back at him with the same rage and volume he had used.
“Yes?”
Heero whirled around, finding the dark mage standing behind him with wide curious eyes. The mage kept his body language lax and unassuming and even though Heero knew firsthand how dangerous Duo was, he couldn’t keep his anger in check as he barked, “Where the hell have you been? It’s been hours, are you just going to leave me here to rot?”
The braided man quirked a brow and tilted his head, causing the plaited mass to swing behind him. “I thought you would follow me, but you didn’t.”
“Follow you?” He asked incredulously before gesturing around the throne room. “How am I supposed to follow disappearing smoke?!”
“Well by…” Duo trailed off, his eyes looking around as if seeing it for the first time before a bubble of laughter came from his lips. “Ha! I forgot you don’t have magic. It’s like breathing to me and I forgot that not everyone can do as I do.”
“You forgot that I’m not a magician.” He deadpanned, but anger alighted in his eyes. “What did you think I’ve been doing for the past couple of hours?”
The dark mage shrugged. “Sulking.”
“Sulking—” Heero scoffed, “I do not sulk.”
“How should I know?” Duo snapped, his eyes flashing twilight in warning. “It’s been a while since I’ve had company and all the damned princess did was beg me to bring her home or sulk. All you kept doing was walk around the room and feel the walls.”
Heero narrowed his eyes and, ignoring the warning, took a heavy step towards the braided man as the urge to punch him rose up again sharply. “You mean to tell me you’ve been watching me this whole time?”
“Yes…” wary amethyst watched him take another step, anger radiating off the taller man.
“I’ve been looking for a damned door or catch or something for hours and you’ve just been watching me?” His voice rumbled with barely contained anger as he stared at the lithe man who had the audacity to suddenly look sheepish.
“I thought it was part of your sulking,” he placed one hand on the back of his head and chuckled, “like a ritual or something.”
“I’ve been looking for a way out of this room! And I damn well wasn’t about to ascend the thousands of stairs out there,” he pointed towards stairwell behind the large oaken doors, “because that only leads out of here. I promised you my life, so I’m not going to leave unless you release me.” Suddenly all the anger and annoyance left him and he felt drained, physically and emotionally. He dragged a hand through his hair and let out a deep, sorrowful sigh as he thought about the friends he was leaving behind once again, but at least he knew they were alive now.
“I…” Duo started, causing the captain to look at him. There was a thoughtful look on the heart-shaped face. “I made this room specifically so there would not be a way out, but you four were the first ones to ever make it this far.”
Heero furrowed his brow, “This isn’t the first time you’ve stolen someone?”
He grinned, dark and promising of many sinister affairs. “Of course not, though it has been a while and it was my first time kidnapping a royal. Well technically not, but I don’t know if one can count Sexy Zechsy since he wasn’t royalty until after he left here.”
“Sexy Zechsy?” He choked, “You mean Zechs Marquise, the first King of Sanc?”
“Hm-hmm.” The grin spread into a wolfish smile. “Once he left here, he rallied the towns living here and formed them into the Sanc Kingdom.”
“But that was more than four hundred years ago!” Heero said, wide-eyed as he suddenly saw the lithe magician in a different light. “T-there’s no way you could be that old.”
The smile was abruptly gone, replaced with a shadowy guarded look. “I am older. I’m five hundred and thirty-nine years old. Now come.” The dark magician swiftly spun on his heel and looked around the room as if trying to decide something before he finally strode to the left wall and placed his hand upon the stone. Heero watched in shock and awe as the wall moved, the stone seeming to melt beneath Duo’s hand and reshaping within seconds until a lengthy hallway had formed with long, large steps.
The captain slowly followed Duo, hesitantly stepping into the hall as if waiting to see if he’d sink into what had just been liquid stone, but the stone was just as solid as he’d expect rock to be. “That’s amazing.” He whispered, glancing at the chestnut-haired man who looked almost bashful at the praise.
“I’ll show you to your quarters.” Duo said softly as he threaded his fingers together behind his back and walked ahead of the young captain. Heero kept his eyes trained on the mage’s back, but he kept getting distracted by the braid that swung like a pendulum along the clothed back. As they came to a dead-end, Duo looked again as if deciding something before turning right and repeating the same movements as he had in the throne room and before long, the hallway continued to the right. This time, the hallway melded with another one and Heero looked around in silent surprise as he stepped into the opulent hallway. Vividly colored fine rugs of burgundy and cream lined the hallway; shimmering lanterns hung from the ceiling and lit the area brightly while beautiful works of art hung from the walls.
“Is this a real castle?” Heero asked, his voice full of wonder as he studied the woven tapestry of a dazzling sea with boats dotting the horizon. He could even make out people on the boats with nets either being thrown into the sea or being pulled out as storm clouds scattered from the brilliant yellow sun.
“Yes, though it’s not one that can be seen as it is within the ravine, only the door you and your companions traveled through is visible. There are no windows.” Duo answered easily, continuing his graceful pace. “To the left is the dining room, though it isn’t used often, and to your right is my personal library, but you are free to use it if you would like to. At the end of this hallway is my bedroom to which you are to never enter unless I invite you.” He looked over his shoulder at Heero, the warning clear in his eyes if Heero tried to sneak in. “And this,” he stopped before a white door that was next to the library, “is your room.”
Heero slowly opened the door and stared at the large chambers. Vaulted ceilings that were decorated with a swirling mosaic of stars caught his attention first and he gazed mesmerized at it until Duo elegantly slid past him. A single look from the dark magician had flames leaping up within the fireplace and Heero noticed the difference in the darker gold of the fire from Quatre’s. Was that because Duo was stronger or was it because he was darker?
“This is too much.” Heero whispered, looking over the room and noticing that there was no bed. Was he expected to sleep on the floor? Even still, that was more than he thought he given with how plush and soft the carpets beneath his feet felt, he had assumed he would be given a servant’s quarters and expected to work for the mage, but Duo was treating him as some kind of honored guest instead and giving him a room suitable for dignitaries, not soldier captains. In addition to the spacious room, there were seats beside the fireplace, a desk well stocked with paper and ink, a few couches and a small bookcase with various colorful books on it.
“Your bathroom is here.” Duo said, pointing to the adjoining room to the left side of the room. “And your bedroom is here.” He opened another door that opened to a smaller room that was still larger than anything Heero had ever lived in, where a large bed lie covered in dark blue blankets and fluffed pillows. He could spy two dressers and a large mirror within, but he didn’t move towards the bedroom as his mind tried to process that he wasn’t being treated the way he had assumed.
“I…” He was at a loss for words as he turned wide-eyed back to the mage who was tilting his head and looking at Heero curiously again. “I-I…thank you, Duo.” He finally said, he didn’t want to rebuff the dark magician’s gift and offend him. From what he’d seen, he certainly didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Duo’s wrath. “I’ve never had such fine chambers before.”
To his surprise, Duo gave him a relieved sigh and a genuine smile, tension draining from the lithe body. “I wasn’t positive you’d like them. You’re the first willing person to live here and while I know you agreed to do so to save your friends and the princess, I’m hoping you’ll at least somewhat enjoy your time here.”
“So I’m not here to be your servant?” He asked, needing a straight answer from the mage.
“Is that what you thought?” Duo snorted, his lips quirking into a mirthful smirk that made him look even younger. “No, I don’t need servants, but someone to talk with would be nice.”
Heero nodded, uncertain of how to answer, but he got the distinct feeling the dark mage was hoping they could maybe become friends, or at least amenable companions. Which seemed strange and out of place considering the circumstances that brought Heero to be in Duo’s company, but he certainly wasn’t about to decline the magician’s hospitality. If all he wanted was a companion, he could certainly do that, and though he wasn’t usually one for talking when given the choice, but if that is what he had to do in exchange for his friends’ and Princess Relena’s life, he’d learn how to converse.
Duo scratched the back of his head and gave a strained laugh before taking a shuffling step back. “Well, I’ll let you get settled! Feel free to take a bath and I’ll come back later.” And with another swirl of black smoke, Heero found himself once again standing alone in a strange place, though this one was definitely much more comfortable than the first.
By the time there was a knock at his door, Heero had bathed, shaved the stubble from his face and partially dressed once more. The bath had been heavenly, the mage had amazing indoor plumbing and the hot water soothed his exhausted body and slagged off the collected dirt and dry skin that had come from not bathing for days on end and multiple battles.
He felt like a new man once he had stepped out of the bathroom, toweling his body off with vigor. He had been forced to dress in his dirty clothes again though, uncertain of how to ask the mage for new clothes or at least where he could wash his dirt-encrusted, sweat-soaked and smelling clothes.
He had only put the breeches on when the knock came and Heero quizzically wondered if Duo had any servants. “Come in.” He called, suddenly wishing he hadn’t given away his sword. Who knew what Duo had planned for him, maybe he liked watching battles for sport and now he was weaponless.
The door slightly opened and Duo’s head poked in. “Are you hungry?” He asked jollily before seeing Heero’s half-dressed state. Giving a slight peep, Duo quickly ducked his head out. “Sorry!”
Heero swore he had seen a blush on those fair cheeks and found himself amused by the dangerous man’s antics. “You can come in, Duo,” he called, “I don’t mind.”
A minute passed before the mage appeared again, his face schooled into a neutral expression and not a smidge of blush, but his eyes blazed with fascination as they ran down the muscular chest of the Captain. His eyes slowly moved down to where the britches began and suddenly frowned at the dirt-covered pants. “You have no other clothes?” He asked, that tilt of his head returning.
“No.” Heero shrugged, “They were in the pack on my horse, but one pair is enough for me if you would let me know where I can wash them.” He felt a regretful stab as he thought about the magnificent steed who had been his friend and companion through thick and thin.
“Well, I certainly don’t have anything that will fit you.” Duo murmured, his eyes roving over the brunet’s body in a calculating manner. “I will have someone come and measure you for new clothes tomorrow, but for now, we have dinner. You can follow me if you’re hungry, it’s up to you if you’d like to wear a shirt.”
The last part sounded almost challenging and Heero gave a feral grin as he dropped the dirty shirt he had been fingering. He’d leave it off for now and watch the lithe man squirm, knowing his partially dressed state made the dark mage uncomfortable. The young Captain knew he was handsome, he had heard it often enough whenever he was in town or even from some of the soldiers who said he was too handsome to be fighting—of course, they never said that to his face or they’d meet the biting side of his sword, but word got around.
While he took pride in his body, it was his daily workout regimen that kept his muscles strong and toned and he did it because it was necessary, not because he wanted womanly attention over his “drool-worthy abs”. Of course, he had never thought to flaunt his body before either, but seeing how it possibly flustered the dark mage, he couldn’t resist walking out of his room half dressed just to see what reactions he could get. In King Milliardo’s court, Heero would never have even dared to do such a scandalous thing, but as Duo had said it was his choice and the magician was the master of the castle, he decided to make what little choices he did have without overanalyzing things as he usually did.
Stepping into the hallway where Duo was waiting for him, he placed his arms at his side and didn’t hide his nakedness even as the cold air caused his nipples to harden to raised peaks. Heero smirked as Duo’s eyes meandered down his body and he definitely saw the blush creep up the magician’s cheeks as the eyes trailed over his defined abs. Suddenly, the amethyst eyes glowed that luminous twilight and the dark mage quickly turned away, his back straight and taut, but Heero noticed how for a moment it flared brighter in the hall.
Deciding to take pity on the lissome boy, he fell in step behind him and found his attention drawn once more to the rich artistry around him. This time, he stopped momentarily to marvel at the painting of a regal falcon in flight, high above a forested mountain. He had seen such scenes painted before, but this one had taken the viewpoint of above the falcon instead of below on the ground. And the detail was so elaborate that Heero could swear he felt the wind on his face! A slight chuckle had him tearing his eyes away from the painting to look at the amused magician who sent another small gust of wind towards him that slightly ruffled his hair. “I couldn’t resist.” Duo said, grinning as his amethyst eyes danced with mirth.
Heero chuckled and returned the smile. “Did you collect all of these?”
“Yes.” The mage said casually before turning to stroll into the dining hall, it wasn’t as fancy as the grand hall in King Milliardo’s castle, but the elegantly crafted room had smooth cream-colored stone and a large hearth with intricate scrollwork detailed across the mantle. The fire crackled and cast a gentle orange glow through the room while the sixteen-chaired table had tapers of various sizes sit. “Though some I made.”
“You made?” He echoed, jogging to catch up before asking earnestly, “Would you show me some of them?”
Duo looked over his shoulder, his expression guarded once more. “Why?” He asked, a hard edge to his tone.
Heero blinked, surprised at the tone and the question. “Why not? I’m interested and we’re going to be living together for the rest of my life, so of course I’d like to know more about you.”
The dark mage studied Heero with eyes that held more wisdom than he could ever imagine, but at the same time Heero found the boy—no man—to have an air of innocence around him. Once again, the contradiction of the feared Magician Koristaja and the youthful man before him couldn’t be resolved. “If you’d like to, I can show you some of them after dinner.” He finally said.
“I’d like that.” Heero answered, receiving a small smile from the mage before he turned once more and continued his graceful walk to the far end of the table. Heero followed him and took the seat to the right of the head and once more startled the braided man who frowned at him. “Should I sit elsewhere?” He asked, starting to stand.
“No, no, it’s fine!” Duo quickly said before sitting down himself. “I just assumed you’d sit at the opposite head of the table.”
“That would make talking difficult.” Heero gave a roguish smile and the magician quickly looked away, uncomfortable again.
“U-um, I figured dinner would be a good time to talk about your time here.” Duo said quietly before two dark figures appeared from behind them, setting down three dishes each before quietly disappearing out of the dining room.
Surprised, Heero watched the dark figures depart before turning back to Duo, “You do have servants!”
“In a way, yes.” The dark mage hedged, once more the wariness present. He quickly gestured to the dishes, “I don’t know what you like, but noticed you’re Japanese, so I requested someone of those origins create dinner tonight.”
Heero glanced at the dishes, immediately recognizing the miso soup, the soba noodles and of course the rice, but he wasn’t sure what the last dish was other than it was a mix of beef and various vegetables in a sauce. He nodded gratefully, not wanting to upset his host by admitting he grew up on the traditional Sanc foods of chicken, fish, venison and vegetables and not on the dishes of his motherland. “That is very generous of you.”
“Well, as you stated earlier, we will be in each other’s company for quite some time, so it would be pleasant to at least be amicable.” But the genuine smile Duo gave him spoke depths about how pleased he was that this dinner was well received.
Heero stirred the soup, watching the almost clear broth become milky white before taking a spoonful. The silky tofu slid down his throat with the most delectable broth he had ever tasted. “This is phenomenal.” He moaned before taking another spoonful while reaching for the soba dish. So engrossed with the flavors that were better than anything he had ever eaten at King Millardo’s table, he didn’t notice until he was almost finished that the magician was just reclining in his seat and watching him eat. Slightly blushing at his lack of manners, Heero straightened and grimaced as he apologized to his host and master. “Sorry, it’s been quite a while since I’ve had a truly great meal and I don’t know where my manners disappeared to.”
Duo tilted his head, an amused smile dancing on his lips. “It’s quite all right, I’m not one to stand on formality and I enjoyed watching you enjoy it.”
Heero felt his slight blush go to a full flush and he quite suddenly felt very naked in his half-dressed state. “A-ah, thanks?” He dropped his gaze, frowning when he realized that Duo’s own dishes lay untouched. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Oh, right.” The mage said hesitantly, picking up his fork as if it were the first time in years as he tried to settle the metal utensil in his grasp.
“Do you not need to eat?” Heero asked, his eyes widening with understanding as Duo held the fork in his other hand now, as if uncertain of which hand he should use.
Duo looked away, once again on guard. “No, I don’t need to.”
“Can you?” The Captain pressed, though he gentled his tone.
“Of course I can,” he answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “I used to even enjoy it, but it lost its delight centuries ago.” Duo slammed the fork down on the table and pushed away, suddenly angry and the room responded in turn by darkening as the temperature dropped. “Good night, Captain Yuy.” He sibilated in his midnight voice before suddenly disappearing into the shadows.
Heero stared in shock at where the braided man had just been sitting as the room gradually became brighter once more. “What the hell did I say?” He muttered, his appetite gone as he stood up and shivered in the now cold room. The servants appeared as soon as Duo left, clearing away the dishes and silverware with quick efficiency and vanishing just as quickly as they had arrived.
He waited a few minutes to see if the dark mage would come, he wanted to know which paintings Duo had painted and to ask more, but as the minutes ticked towards ten, Heero pursed his lips with annoyance and stood up. Obviously, Duo wasn’t coming back that night and so he returned to his rooms wearily.
He poked around the room, discovering that while the first door into the antechambers was unlocked, there was a lock on his bedroom door and while Heero was certain that it wouldn’t keep Duo out by any means, he still felt safer locking it. He let out a deep sigh as he stripped off the dirty britches once more and climbed naked into the bed, now that his hunger was sated, exhaustion was hitting him hard. His thoughts turned unbidden to his friends and the princess and he hoped that they were doing well crossing the hard terrain. Even with Trowa’s impeccable tracking skills and formidable knowledge about the land, it would take them at least two weeks to make it back to New Port City.
The captain groaned as his body settled into the soft bed, but he was certain he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep in the strange castle and in a strange bed. Yet in the end, the bed proved to be much more alluring than he first thought and he quickly succumbed to sleep where he dreamed of glowing twilight and billowing black smoke.
Dhampir
Page 9
6/30/2021
Notes:
I'll see you guys next Wednesday!!
Thanks for all the kudos, comments and love and have a great week.
Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven
Summary:
Heero keeps finding more questions to ask, but he's not getting very many answers.
Notes:
Hello, hello!
It's Wednesday and I've got another chapter, hehe ^_^
I'm slowly writing this one again, so I'm hoping that means I can keep up with the updates, I'm pulling the threads and getting back where I was going.
Anyway, enjoy ^_^
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Eleven
Heero awoke to what he believed to be the next morning, but the lack of windows made it impossible to know. The lights in his room were brighter and he assumed that meant Duo was awake, though he had no idea how the dark mage’s magic worked. Or where he was. Or how he became so skilled. Or the answers to a thousand other questions he had—including those questions Duo was supposed to answer last night.
He slipped out of the bed and frowned at what he was supposed to do with his dirty clothes. He really didn’t want to put them back on, they smelled dreadfully foul and they felt grimy when he had worn the pants yesterday. Since he was already naked, he decided to just leave the small pile of the clothes where they were and take another luxurious soak in the hot waters. Yes, Heero was intent on becoming a living prune as he filled the tub up so it would come up to his chest and then slid into the steaming water with a breathy moan.
Even under King Milliardo’s service, he usually only got a chance to bathe twice a week, so the idea of having a bath every day felt beyond luxurious. It felt downright sinful. He felt certain that in a few days he wouldn’t be climbing into the bath daily, but not until he sloughed off six layers of skin and got every speck of dirt and blood beneath his fingernails out.
He quickly scrubbed his body and washed his hair before he leaned back into the tub and closed his eyes in relaxation. He wasn’t positive how long he sat there, but he knew he dozed off because the hesitant knock at his door had him jumping with surprise. Giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts and remember what had happened, he called permission for whomever knocked to come in. He had situated himself in the tub so that his back was to the wall and he could easily catch anyone who entered the room through the open bathroom door.
Heero watched as the door opened and a pale, dark-haired man entered the room and while his curiosity at the person rose, he also felt a surprising pang of disappointment that it wasn’t Duo. Sighing, the young captain gathered his legs beneath him to push himself out of the tub. “Hold on a minute.” He said loudly, gracefully sliding out of the tub while he reached for the towel.
“Captain Yuy?” A lilting voice called and Heero looked up to see the familiar lithe form hesitantly stepping into the room. “I brought the tailor.”
“I’m in the bath, I’ll be out in a moment.” Heero grinned, watching the flush that appeared on the dark mage’s cheeks as Duo’s head swiveled towards him. He had grabbed the towel to cover his nakedness, but by the way the braided man’s eyes widened into saucers, Heero was certain that there had been a flash of tantalizing skin before the towel had snugly wrapped around his waist.
“I-I’ll leave you to the tailor.” The flustered mage squeaked, turning crimson as his expressive eyes followed the rivulets of water that dripped from Heero’s hair and ran down his chest. Before Heero could protest, Duo was fleeing from his room, his braid whipping behind him like a banner, and the door slamming with enough force Heero thought the door might have cracked. He hadn’t expected the dark mage to flee the chambers and felt a stab of guilt for teasing the youthful-looking man. It was quite obvious that despite Duo’s age, he was fairly prudish and not at all comfortable being around a naked body. It was another conundrum that plagued Heero as he grabbed a second towel to dry his hair and upper body with as he stepped into the main chambers.
“You need to be careful, boy.” The tailor suddenly said as he stared almost vacant-eyed at Heero, who had bristled at being called a boy. Heero’s glare turned contemplative as he stared hard at the man, something was wrong with him, but the captain couldn’t tell what. He was dark-haired with pallor skin, almost milk-white, and his expression remained void of any emotion as he stood holding a small trunk. “Flee if you can, but do not cross Shinigami-sama. It is not wise.”
“I’m not a boy, sir, and my life is now his. I cannot, nor will I, flee from him.” Duo told him he detested titles, yet the strange tailor had called him Shinigami-sama, it was another curiosity to plague his mind.
“Then stay as far away from him as you can.” Came the whispered reply, a flicker of fear filled those vacant eyes, but the tailor’s expression remained blank.
Dropping the towels, Heero strode towards the tailor, unashamed of his nudity, and intensified his glare. “Where do you want to do these measurements?” He asked tautly, trying to hide his annoyance at the tailor. He knew Duo was dangerous, but so far the dark mage hadn’t done anything untoward him that would make Heero fear him since their agreement. And the braided man intrigued him, he was left with more questions than answers every time he was around Duo.
“Here is fine, sir.” The man said, his voice hollow as he set down the trunk and began rummaging through it for his supplies. “Shinigami-sama estimated your size, so I do have a few garments that may fit you, not well mind you, but well enough until I finish in a few days.”
“That quickly?” Heero asked, surprise evident. It had always taken at least a week, if not more, to receive a new outfit and that was fairly quick considering his position as Captain of the Royal Guard. Of course, he was no longer the captain, he assumed once the princess was back in New Port City, his second in command would become the next Captain. Lieutenant Broden was a good man and would do well in protecting the Monarchs and with Duo’s promise, Heero knew that at least for the next hundred years the monarchy would be protected.
“I do not sleep.” The tailor answered monotonously. “I also do not have anything else to work on as Shinigami-sama has said I am to solely work on your outfits until they are completed.”
Heero glanced at the tailor as the man began his measurements. That explains the pale skin and sunken in eyes. Heero thought, but he continued to ponder over the tailor’s words. He stayed still while the strange man measured his waist, shoulders, arms, legs and inseams before measuring his full height. He made notes and then handed Heero a few clothing choices, instructing him to try them on until he found a pair that would fit him well enough.
Despite standing before the strange tailor in all his glory, Heero retreated to his bedroom to try on the different tunics and britches. Going through the four outfits, he finally found one that fit him well enough though even the largest shirt was tight across his shoulders and the britches were a bit snug in the groin. But after the way Duo had fled the room, Heero decided it would be better to have the pants a bit snug than to have them fall off his hips as the next pair up had done. That might be too much for the smaller man if getting a glimpse of skin had him running like his feet were on fire.
When he stepped back out, Heero found the tailor standing before his little trunk, everything put away except for the clothes Heero now handed back to him. With a slight bow, the tailor took them and put them into his trunk before locking the dark brown box. “I will return in two days with the outfits to make certain they fit properly for Shinigami-sama.”
Heero nodded, watching the man walk towards the door when he suddenly asked, “Why do you call him Shinigami?”
The tailor looked over his shoulder, that flicker of fear appearing again. “What else would we call the God of Death?”
“How do you know he’s the God of Death?” He pressed, his voice dropping to a whisper.
The blank expression finally changed to one of dread, eyes darting around as if to see if anyone was listening. “Because I am one of his victims.” And then the tailor was out the door, leaving Heero stupefied in the middle of the empty room.
Once Heero had collected himself again, he mulled over what the tailor had said, but once more he was left with more questions and very few answers. Becoming frustrated, Heero stalked out of his chambers and began mapping out as much of the castle as he could. He found there were stairs elsewhere in the castle and he followed them down to the lower parts of the castle where the servants worked. There weren’t many servants, but they all looked at him with trepidation as he looked throughout the rooms. The kitchen was large with two fires that glowed red and orange with dark golden flames leaping sporadically and various servants languidly milled about preparing food. They all paused to look at Heero, but none of them spoke and Heero noticed the vacant looks on all their faces and the hollowness of their eyes that matched the tailor’s. Are they all Duo’s victims? Heero wondered, frowning at the listless servants. Are they dead? Or partially dead?
Leaving the kitchen, he found a pantry, a laundry room and servants' quarters, though they all looked much unused. But as Duo had said, there were no windows anywhere and Heero didn’t see any doors that would lead outside of the castle. How do the servants get food then?
Heero came back up the stairs a few hours later to find Duo frowning at him, his braid curling around the side of his neck as its length fell flat against his chest. “I hadn’t thought you would be interested in the servants’ area.” The dark mage said disquietly. Heero watched as one hand moved to fiddle with the end of the long braid, almost worrying over it before he quickly dropped his hand down again and Heero lifted his eyes to see Duo caught him watching.
Feeling a slight blush rise, Heero moved up the last few stairs so that he would be taller than the dark mage. “I wanted to see the rest of the castle.” He shrugged, “But I was kind of also looking for you.”
Surprised amethyst looked up, “Why?”
“You mentioned explaining my time here, but then you…disappeared last night.” Heero watched as the magician nodded, that frown still upon his lips, as he thought something over.
“Would you like to see the library?” Duo suddenly asked, “Do you read?”
“I would and I do.” The brunette answered, watching the enigma before him and trying to decide whether Duo was purposely being vague or if he was looking to talk about it in a more comfortable place than at the top of the stairs.
“Lunch will be served in an hour,” Duo explained, turning to walk to the library with Heero just a step behind him. “We can discuss things in the library until then.”
Then Duo opened the doors to the library and Heero once again found himself speechless as he looked at the large room filled from floor to ceiling with books. Not even the Royal Library was this large and Heero couldn’t stop the gaping expression that overtook him. A winding ramp curved from the bottom of the library and up to the next floor with gilded gold banisters on either side. The bookshelves towered over them and everywhere Heero looked, he discovered more books, a lifetime of books—no, he thought with a glance at the mage, multiple lifetimes of books.
A large fireplace to the right was the only wall Heero saw without books and settled a decent distance away was a chaise with a few pillows on it and a blanket thrown over the side haphazardly. Not far from the chaise were a few wingback chairs with a small table between them, but unlike the chaise, the chairs looked completely unused and stiff.
Heero stepped towards the ramp, but looked back at Duo who was watching him with that guarded curiosity once more. “May I?” He asked, gesturing to the ramp.
A smile lit up the dark mage’s face, “Of course.”
With the permission given, Heero leisurely walked up the ramp, looking high above him at the books and wondering where he would even start with such a library. He decided to just go to the closest bookshelf and let his fingers lightly run over the leather spines as he looked at the various books. Carefully sliding one out, he frowned as he found it handwritten in a language he didn’t recognize, but the script was beautiful.
“That’s Greek.” Duo whispered, almost in his ear, startling the young captain who looked up to find Duo peering over his shoulder.
“How are you…?” He began to ask, knowing he was several inches taller than the lithe man and that it shouldn’t be possible for Duo to look over his shoulder when he was standing. Turning, he saw Duo floating in the air—no, not floating really, but standing as if he were on a stair of air and watching as Duo jumped down with a grin; Heero realized his assumption was correct.
“I do need a way to get to the books up high.” He said amusedly, his hands clasped behind his back once again.
“Do you really have abilities over all the elements?” Heero asked, slowly replacing the book.
“Yes,” That casual tone back once more as the dark mage rolled his shoulders. “I can control all six elements.”
“Six?” He doggedly asked, focusing on Duo with rapt attention. “Quatre only mentioned five.”
Duo glanced over his shoulder, the malicious glint that Heero hadn’t seen since the throne room back as the library darkened. “That’s because they only know of five.” Heero recognized the dark, velvety tone in his voice as Duo being close to that midnight octave and shivered as it enveloped him. The Magician Koristaja was close, or was it Shinigami? Heero watched as Duo turned away and began strolling through the library, the sudden darkness slowly dissipating. How many facets does Duo have? He questioned silently as he forced his legs to follow the magician.
“What is the sixth?” He asked tremulously, licking his suddenly dry lips.
“Are you certain you want to know, Captain?” Came Duo’s reply, violet flicking to meet cobalt.
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation and suddenly the dark mage rounded on him, his head tilted slightly to the right as he studied Heero intently. Once again there was only a tinge of fear in those deep cerulean eyes of his and he stood quite close considering they both knew Duo could kill him with ease. It interested the mage that despite that knowledge, Heero didn’t fear him as most did and he wanted to learn why.
Beneath Duo’s intense gaze, Heero felt as if he was being stripped bare. Not just of his clothes, but of his skin and sinew, stripped until nothing was left except his very soul and being judged on whether he was worthy enough to receive the answer. It was unnerving to feel so exposed and he fought with himself to not drop eyes from the amethyst ones locked on him.
Then with a smile, the intensity melted away, “Time.” He finally answered, turning his back to the young captain once more and leisurely strolling through the bookshelves again.
Time? What the hell does that mean? Time and place? Time for lunch? But it certainly hasn’t already been an hour! Or maybe he means thyme, like the herb, but that doesn’t make sense either. “Time?” Heero echoed, following the magician on what seemed like aimless wandering.
“Yes.” That amused expression was back as Duo grinned over his shoulder, “Time is the sixth element.”
Heero stopped dead, his face going slaw jaw with surprise. “You can control time.”
“Yes.”
“In what ways? Can you go forwards and backwards in time?”
“I could,” the braided man answered, a hesitancy in his voice as he spoke each word carefully, “but it is very draining and can distort the present in ways not always foreseen. I do not mess with time if I can help it, but I can manipulate time in the present.” Duo had finally stopped his stroll and looked up, scanning for something, but he studiously refused to look at Heero. Instead, he put his hands onto thin air as if pulling himself up and then Heero watched amazed as the dark mage climbed, to his eyes, nothing, but from the movements he believed it to be a ladder. Could Duo see the air that he shaped or did it shape into something solid as he climbed? Another question, but for another time.
“What do you mean manipulate time in the present?” He called, staring up as Duo stood at least fifty feet above him. He saw slim fingers pull out a book and abruptly the mage was dropping swiftly to the ground. Without even thinking, Heero let out a shocked gasp and reflexively moved to catch the falling form, but ten feet from the ground a sharp gust of wind rushed past him and caught the dark mage, swirling about him until Duo gently set his feet onto the ground.
Curious amethyst met panicked prussian as Duo furrowed his brow in confusion. “Why would you try to catch me?”
“Because you were falling!” Heero answered, perturbed at the dark mage. “Of course I’m going to try and catch you.”
Duo growled, annoyance clear on his face as his mouth became pinched and his eyes narrowed. “I’m a magician, of course I’m not going to fall.” He scoffed. “And even if I wasn’t, why would you do that when my death would mean you’d be free to leave?”
“Would it? For all I know if you die, I die!” Heero’s anger mounted, his voice booming throughout the library as he pointed from the magician to himself. The fact that he was shouting at the most powerful magician in the world hadn’t registered yet, all he knew was he was tired of Duo’s constantly oscillating personality and it hadn’t even been two days. Heero couldn’t even imagine lasting a month, let alone the rest of his life. “You haven’t explained a fucking thing and just get angry and disappear every time I ask you things.”
The shadows began to collect and the temperature dropped as Duo’s eyes turned luminous twilight. “You would do well to remember who it is you speak to, Captain Yuy.” The midnight octave whispered dangerously in his voice and Heero knew he should be frightened, but his anger burned too strong.
“I’m well aware, Shinigami-sama.” He snarled before turning on his heel, “But this time I’ll be the one to disappear.” Heero swiftly vaulted over the side railing, dropping the ten feet to the floor and storming away. He wasn’t sure where he was going to go, trapped as he was, but he knew he needed to go somewhere to burn off his fury and headed down the hallway Duo had created yesterday. “What the hell is his problem?” He raged to the empty hallway. “Is wanting to save him so wrong, even if it was just reflexive?”
He stomped into the dimly lit throne room and moved towards the oaken doors, pulling them open before he began sprinting up the stairs. Whenever he got angry back home he would burn it off with exercise, but considering he was trapped inside Duo’s castle, he went for the only place he knew of to exert his pent-up energy. He strode to the bottom of the steps and set into a quick jog up the spiraling staircase. Thankfully Duo had lifted the Shadows and the small lanterns lit the stairs enough that he wouldn’t misstep and fall down the open middle.
A half-hour later, sweat poured down Heero’s face and his thighs and calves burned, but his anger remained, though dimmed. Wiping his brow, he threaded his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair as he took a deep breath and pushed forward more. Thoughts swirling through all his unanswered questions, Heero finally stumbled and collapsed against the stone steps, scraping the palms of his hands, but he quickly rolled to the right and away from the hundreds of feet drop to his left. Duo might be able to survive a fall like that, but he wouldn’t.
Panting roughly, he collapsed with has back against the stone steps, the edges digging painfully into his shoulders and back, but he was too tired to care. Staring up at the continuing stairs, he gauged he had made it only a fourth of the way up, but he was too weary to even try to go back down, let alone continue up. And for what? He’d have to eventually turn around and return to his chambers; and to Duo.
Thinking of the dark magician, Heero groaned as what he had done finally sunk in. He had yelled, really yelled, at Magician Koristaja and then called him Shinigami-sama, knowing that Duo had told him he detested titles. But he had been so angry and not just as Duo, but at the predicament he was now in even if he willingly agreed to it. His life had been going so well up until now—he had been the youngest Captain of the Royal Guard ever, he had been well received by those under his command and well admired by those in the court and if he hadn’t traded his life, he would have been returning home with Princess Relena who, if the decree had been true, would have become his wife. He hadn’t told the princess he loved her when she said it to him because he didn’t want to cause her pain. He had just traded his life for hers, he couldn’t lay his professed love upon her after that, no matter how true it was, because he knew her too well. She would feel guilty if he reciprocated her love and refuse to marry as long as there was even an inkling of hope he was still alive. No, his silence would make her free to leave him in the past and love another to marry.
He had even finally been able to make not just one, but two more friends. Though if it hadn’t been for Duo, he wouldn’t have met them, but even still, if it hadn’t been for Duo he wouldn’t have lost his best friend forever. Trowa had been more than a friend to him, they had been brothers in every sense of the word except blood and to two orphans, water was more important than blood. They had been there for each other through thick and thin, Heero had saved Trowa’s life more times than either could count and Trowa had done the same, even taking an arrow meant for the Captain that almost ended the Ranger’s life. His life had been rich beyond measure, beyond anything he had ever dreamed of.
And now, he was trapped inside a ravine castle with a powerful magician that seemed to have serious trust issues or multiple personalities—maybe both—for the rest of his life. And what a lonely life it was looking to be, just the two of them and the servants who had all but ignored Heero when he had gone below except for the tailor who told him to stay away from the only other person in the castle. Duo had hinted at being amicable, but considering every time they talked it ended with one of them disappearing, it seemed an impossibility.
Heero laid there for a few hours, just collecting his energy and his thoughts before he finally pushed himself into a sitting position. His back protested sharply, but he ignored it as he shakily stood on trembling legs that protested even more stridently. With a soft gasp, he leaned heavily against the wall as his vision swam and it occurred to him too late that he hadn’t eaten or drank anything since the previous night. It was more a concern that he hadn’t drunk anything considering he had been fairly dehydrated by the time the rescue party had reached the castle.
And he hadn’t fully healed from his previous injuries either, which Heero admittedly had forgotten about until his aching body decided to remind him. His poorly planned anger management program was now placing him in danger of dying as he stumbled down the stairs. Another few steps and he stumbled again, this time losing his footing completely and pitching headfirst off the side of the stairway. The sudden change in direction as he plummeted down the middle caused a wave of nausea to roll over him as his sight blackened. I can’t believe this is how I’ll die, by my own stupidity, he thought as the last vestiges of his consciousness began to leave him. The rushing air lapped around his body, almost like a caress, and his last thought was how soft the air was before unconsciousness took him.
Dhampir
Page 9
7/7/2021
Notes:
More and more questions ^_^
And Heero decided to run away this time, not that it did him much good...
Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve
Summary:
Heero wakes up in his room alone and with even more questions as Duo avoids him.
Notes:
Hello! ^_^
It's Wednesday and here I am with another chapter for you! A bit early because I’m sick with food poisoning (don’t cook meat if you think it MIGHT be bad—I hate wasting food and thought it was okay, regretting THAT choice!)
I hope you enjoy~
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Twelve
Heero awoke slowly, the light from above filtering through his eyelids gently, before he sat up with a sudden gasp as he patted his body to see if he actually was alive. Looking around him, he somehow made it back to his bed and—he lifted the covers—stripped out of his clothes. But the last thing he remembered was falling to his death in the stairwell and he completely expected that if he woke again, it would be in the land of the dead.
Maybe I am dead? Heero thought, wondering how he would tell. The tailor obviously knew he was dead and it seemed the other servants knew too. Thinking of how they looked, Heero leaped from the bed with a loud hiss of pain, do the dead feel pain?, and hobbled to the bathroom in search of the mirror that hung near the bathtub. He grasped the counter tightly as he looked with trepidation at his reflection. “Oh no,” Heero groaned as he took in his deathly pale skin and limp locks, thinking the worst, but his eyes were their normal bright blue, intense and inquisitive and full of dread. The servants’ eyes were vacant and hollow. “I’m not dead.” He whispered in shock before a smile came to his lips, “I’m not dead!”
He moved back to his room, finding his clothes neatly folded and clean at the foot of the bed and carefully dressed, contemplating what had happened and how he had survived. Lacing his britches, his hands stilled as he came to the only possible conclusion—Duo had saved him, Duo had to have saved him, there was no other possibility. Which also meant Duo had brought him back to his room and stripped him of his clothing before tucking him into bed, a thought Heero wasn’t ready to dwell upon just yet.
And that begged the question of why. Why would the dark mage save him especially after the argument they had? And the irony wasn’t lost on him either; that Duo had saved him from falling was the same thing the dark mage had gotten angry at Heero for trying to do. Of course, as the braided man had pointed out, he was a mage and Heero most definitely was not.
He finished dressing, running his fingers through his hair and deciding he really should find a brush even if he didn’t use one often. He walked into the main chambers and then paused; uncertain if he should stay here or go out into the hall. Heero wasn’t particularly looking forward to seeing Duo, he had been elated to find himself still alive and did not want it ruined by another argument with the fiery man. No matter how much he liked it when those amethyst eyes sparked that luminous twilight that Heero found terrifying and electrifying. But he wanted to thank the dark mage for saving him as well, though maybe that could wait for another day, and so Heero decided to remain in his room for the time being, just to be on the safe side.
His grumbling stomach pulled Heero away from the book he had been reading. Or trying to read as it was in ancient Raetic, a language Heero had very little knowledge of. It had been a few hours and the brunet captain had been assiduously ignoring the hunger pains his stomach had been sending for at least the past two hours. Yet he could no longer ignore it as it rumbled unhappily at the lack of sustenance. Sighing, Heero put the book back on the bookshelf and steeled himself to see the dark mage as he went to find something to eat.
Opening the door, Heero stepped into the silent hall and glanced both ways before swiftly walking to the dining room. He found the room dimly lit, but not cold as the Shadows made it, and that dinner was already set up for them. Blue eyes swept the room for Duo’s dark form, but when he didn’t see it anywhere, Heero gave a small sigh of relief before sitting down. At least he had arrived first and he could wait for the magician instead of always being the one waited for.
Yet as the minutes dragged into almost an hour, it became apparent that the lithe man wasn’t coming. Heero wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed as he shoveled the roasted chicken and vegetables onto his plate. The decanter of water was almost empty as Heero had patiently drank it while waiting for Duo to arrive, hoping it would quiet his stomach and his nerves—it had done neither. Pouring the remaining water into his cup, Heero took a sip before turning his attention to the food. He was pleasantly surprised to find that despite waiting almost an hour, the food was still hot and tender, not cold and dry as he had been expecting. No doubt due to some kind of magic.
Heero scowled at himself for his continuous thoughts of the powerful magician. Of course, he was in Duo’s castle, living in one of Duo’s rooms, surrounded by Duo’s things, sitting at Duo’s table and eating Duo’s food. No matter where he looked, he would quite obviously think of the lithe braided man that was anything except easy to understand. Growling at himself, Heero turned his attention to his food once more and quickly ate it, still muttering to himself when a servant appeared beside him to replace his empty decanter with another.
“Madam?” Heero said as the small woman had turned to leave. She slightly turned towards him, her dark red hair as dull and lifeless as her expression, and just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Do you know where Duo is?”
“It is not our place to ask Shinigami-sama where or why when he decides to leave.” She intoned, devoid of any emotion.
Heero suppressed his shock, “He left the castle?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ah, thank you, madam. May I ask if there is a way to tell time in here?”
The vacant eyes filled with confusion for a moment before fading away once more. “We all know the time, do you not?”
Heero shook his head, uncertain of what she meant. “There is no clock I can see?”
“No, sir, but I can inform you that it is nearing the twelfth hour of night. Would you like breakfast delivered to your room?”
Midnight, Heero thought as he absentmindedly nodded to the servant girl who continued to leave once he had answered her. And Duo was out…Heero looked up to ask the girl how long Duo would be gone, but the servant had already disappeared and so instead the young Captain finished his food and then returned to his room.
He had originally thought to take a bath, but was surprised to find he was unimaginably exhausted and didn’t relish in the idea of drowning because he fell asleep. So instead, he collapsed on the sinfully comfortable bed and drifted off to sleep fully dressed.
The next few weeks left Heero becoming increasingly agitated at the dark mage. A month had passed and he hadn’t seen the damnable magician once, the servants always just said he was “out” while bringing him his meals and that it wasn’t their place to ask when he’d return. Heero had stalked through the entire castle and even stood before the wide white doors at the end of the hallway that had to be Duo’s chambers. He wanted to throw them open and find the dark mage, but the warning still echoed in his mind and so he resisted.
He now knew every nook and cranny of the castle and had even traveled the stairway again, though he made sure not to burn as much energy and to come prepared with food and water so that he wouldn’t fall again. If Duo really wasn’t at the castle, then falling a second time would truly result in his death. He had tried speaking with the servants, but they were all the same—listless, vacant and only answering a few of his questions. Any time he asked about Duo, that fear returned for a brief moment before disappearing again.
The tailor had returned as he had said within two days and had dropped off a complete array of outfits—various colored shirts, some in such vibrant colors that Heero wondered how it was possible to make them, but all the britches were tan or black. One of the shirts matched the violet of Duo’s eyes and Heero found himself staring at it more than he’d like to admit to himself.
Sitting in the empty dining room, Heero stared at the beautiful food on his plate, but found he had no appetite for it despite being hungry just minutes prior. He began to understand why the magician didn’t eat anymore even if he had enjoyed it, eating alone day after day no matter how exquisite the food became a very lonely and the food quickly lost its appeal. Sighing, Heero shoved the dish away and stormed out of the dining room before heading to the library, but he stopped short once more as he touched the knob.
For the past month, he had avoided going into the library again, feeling it was wrong to do so since Duo had said it was his private library, but he had already read the books that he could understand in his room and he had quickly become bored with nothing else to do. But the braided mage had given him permission to use the library, of course that was before the argument they had. Scowling, Heero finally pushed the door open and stepped into the magnificent library once more, still as beautiful as Heero had first found it.
Looking around, he halfway expected to find Duo here, but there was not a single strand of long hair from the dark mage. Sighing, Heero moved further into the room and spied a small yellow book on the small table between the wingback chairs that he knew hadn’t been there before. Curiosity getting the better of him, Heero crossed the room and picked it up, studying the spine with interest as he realized this was the book Duo had picked up from high above before their argument.
Opening the book, Heero sank down into the uncomfortable wingback chair beside him—they were most definitely unused—as he realized Duo had chosen this book for him. It was written in the Sancian language and a historical account of Sanc, one that Heero hadn’t read before. He sat on the uncomfortable chair for hours, pulling one foot up to rest on the cushion and letting his head rest against his knee, as he read the little book with rapture. This book was older, referencing King Milliardo’s grandfather as the current monarch, but it also included brutal wars and the later belief of pacifism that came from the monarch that Heero hadn’t read about before. He had always wondered how they became a pacifist nation and as Milliardo had lost his father when he was only six, the king didn’t actually know why, only that he would follow it as best he could. Though the platinum blonde king admitted that he would protect Sanc with any means necessary and certainly wasn’t averse to putting criminals to death if the crime was severe enough.
But reading about the wars that had almost torn their little nation apart made Heero realize how important protecting the ideal of pacifism was. There had been two main wars, one from outer forces and another civil war later. The war from outer forces had left Sanc brutalized and weak, which gave rise to a dictator who wanted to overthrow the monarchy and take the power himself. Duke Tubarov almost succeeded too, from the account at least, but those loyal to the king rallied together and defeated the Duke in the end. But the death toll was high and devastating and the pacifist king spent the remainder of his life talking about the need to stop fighting with each other and others and about strengthening Sanc hand in hand.
Halfway through the book, Heero felt his eyelids beginning to shut and he put the book down, back on the little table where he had found it. With a deep sigh, he stretched his sore muscles, and left the library, making sure to pull the door closed behind him. With another gaze down the hall to where Duo’s chambers were, Heero sighed again and shook his head as he entered his own chambers. Eventually he has to return, right? He wondered if Duo had other dwellings and maybe he really had left him here to live out the rest of his days alone. The young Captain did enjoy silence, but this silence was becoming oppressive and he disliked it.
Settling into his bed, Heero frowned at the ceiling and let his thoughts drift to if his friends had gotten Princess Relena back to King Milliardo and Queen Lucrezia yet. He hoped they were safe and well, he fully trusted them to get the princess back to New Port City, but he also knew Princess Relena was not used to roughing it and knew they were taking a much more leisurely pace than what he and Trowa had taken. Slowly sleep took him and in his sleep-hazed mind, he pondered whether Relena or Duo had more beautiful eyes, though Duo’s most definitely were when they glowed twilight.
Another month passed by and Heero felt quite certain he was going insane. He dreamed about seeing the dark mage multiple times—sometimes he yelled at the man, sometimes he ignored him and sometimes he just stared—but each time he woke up to find it was just a dream and that he was still utterly alone. The last three weeks had been spent mapping out the library and looking for a hidden door of some sort, because all libraries had them, except Duo’s apparently. Of course, why would the lithe magician need a trap door when he could just do his smoke trick and disappear? He tried finding other books he could read, but some books were so brittle Heero was afraid to touch them and without understanding how Duo had ordered the books, he usually only found books he couldn’t read. He did find the Aeneid in ancient Latin, a language he hadn’t studied for at least five years, and that had kept him interested for at least a half the time as he spent hours working out the language so he could read the story, but by the time he finished it, he was quite proficient once more in it.
He sat down in the dining room, staring once more at the food before him and finding himself not hungry. He was beginning to get suspicious about whether he needed to eat or not as once the appeal of the food had disappeared, so did his hunger, but he didn’t lose any weight. He also became suspicious that after missing four days of shaving, he didn’t even have a smattering of stubble on his chin, which made him realize that after two months his hair hadn’t grown out at all. More questions and, because of a certain wayward magician, no answers. Not exactly like Duo had given any answers when he was in front of him, but at least when the lithe man did, Heero could at least try to get some understanding.
Pushing the dish away, Heero just buried his face into his hands and groaned with frustration.
“Sir?” A voice said behind him and Heero looked up to stare at the servant. “Are you finished?”
“Yes.” He answered, his voice gravelly from disuse. He barely talked anymore, finding it useless to talk to the servants since they ignored him for the most part anyway or only answered that ‘Shinigami-sama is out, sir’. Maybe death was better than this pitiful existence the magician had given him—trapped inside, utterly alone to go stir crazy. This wasn’t a life any soldier could do well with, Heero was used to action, camaraderie and movement—two of those things were completely absent and the third was almost nonexistent.
The servant cleared the dishes and disappeared down the hall, leaving the water pitcher behind for Heero. For whatever reason, he was always still thirsty and so continued to drink, though he wished that there was something stronger to drink. Thoughts swirled about whether Duo was dead or not. Could he die? Heero didn’t know. Could he get ill? Did he possibly fall ill somewhere? Heero didn’t know. And that was making him cranky and his scowl darkened. In the end, Heero didn’t know anything about where he was, about the magician he had given his life to, about whether his friends were safe or where in the nine hells of Dante Duo was.
Storming out of the dining room, he trekked back to the library where he had been going for the past month after every meal and perused through the winding halls for a new book to read. Finding another Latin book, this time on the orations of Cicero, Heero carefully marked where he had taken the book from by gently lying the one that went to the right of it spine down so it stuck out.
Leafing through the book, Heero made his way back through the labyrinth of bookshelves without even looking up from the pages. He had memorized the footpaths well over the past month, which was not surprising considering outside of his meals, exercise and bathing, he spent almost every waking moment in the library. He returned to the uncomfortable wingback and glanced for at least the fortieth time at the much more comfortable looking chaise, but Heero couldn’t bring himself to use it as it felt like Duo’s. He could even imagine the lithe man draped across it as he thumbed through a book before the roaring fire, the image so clear it felt like Duo was doing just that right now, but the fireplace was cool and unlit. I really am going insane, Heero thought as he turned his attention back to his book.
Settling into the chair as comfortably as he could, Heero dove into the book with ardor as he read Cicero’s speeches in the original language and found the famous orator to be much more passionate in Latin than he sounded in the translations. So lost in Cicero’s orations, Heero didn’t even look up when the fire whooshed to life in the fireplace. The servants had done that often enough and since they never spoke with him, he didn’t see much point in even looking at them. Though they never light the fireplace in the library… Heero frowned, the servants didn’t usually enter into the library at all except to inform him of his meal and even then, they called from the door and never stepped further inside.
Glancing at the fire, Heero noted the gold leaping within the red and orange flames and that the servant was gone before he returned to his book. Minutes ticked by before he let out a gasp as he looked at the fire again more closely. Dark gold, that wasn’t a normal fire, that was magician’s fire and only one magician’s fire as far as he knew—Duo!
A lilting laugh had Heero jumping up and whirling around to look for the owner, but he didn’t see the dark mage. Turning around again, his cobalt eyes met violet only a wingspan away from him, standing near the fire. Heero dragged his eyes down the slim black-clad form before him, not seeing any injuries on the dark mage, before returning to the heart-shaped face that amusedly smiled at him while the wide violet eyes crinkled with mirth and that delectable braid hung loosely over his shoulder. “Good evening.” Duo said, his husky voice deep and quiet.
The book in Heero’s hands slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground at his feet as his eyes widened in surprise. Disbelieving it, Heero blinked and looked again, waiting for the mirage to disappear, but it didn’t. Instead, at Heero’s odd facial expression, Duo tilted his head and his smile turned into a smug smirk as his violet eyes sparkled with amusement.
Heero hated that smirk, loathed it, and he balled his fists as he took a step to forward and then another until he towered over the smaller man. Heero glared down, cobalts intense and smoldering, as the dark mage looked back at him coolly and punched that damnable grin right off Duo’s face.
Dhampir
Page 7
7/14/2021
Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen
Summary:
Duo doesn't take kindly to be punched.
Notes:
I'm so sorry! I got my days mixed up and then didn't have the chance until just now to get this chapter proofread and published.
So, enjoy! ^_^
I still have two more weeks written, before I put it on a hiatus, I might try dropping it to every other week unless I hit a writing streak, so I hope you all won't mind that. I won't be abandoned though, I promise that ^_^
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Thirteen
The snap of Duo’s neck and the reverberating sound of flesh on flesh filled the otherwise silent room. Both men remained rooted in shock as to what had just transpired until their brains finally caught up as one face darkened with anger and the other paled in fear.
The growl that left Duo’s throat was deep and guttural as his eyes glowed luminous twilight as a sudden wind rushed around Heero. “You punched me!” He snarled, his features twisted with rage.
“Oh shit, you’re really here! I thought you weren’t real!” Heero gaped, shock still evident in his voice and eyes. “I thought I was dreaming… Shit!” The young Captain took a step back as those twilight eyes narrowed dangerously at him, but then steeled his nerves, refusing to back away even before the raging magician. It wasn’t like running would help anyway; Duo knew the entire castle and could certainly move faster than Heero.
“You thought I was a dream?” He questioned and Heero felt a glimmer of hope as he heard the curiosity beneath the anger.
Heero nodded quickly as the wind ruffled his hair violently, “Yes, though I can’t deny I am angry with you, but you’ve appeared in my dreams enough times I just assumed this was another one.”
With baited breath, Heero stood stock-still while Duo vacillated between burning him to a cinder and letting the captain live. Rubbing his sore jaw, the dark mage’s eyes faded back to violet as inquisitiveness replaced anger and the wind died. “Why are you angry with me?”
“You’ve been gone for two months!” He said, scowling, as if it were obvious, which to Heero it was.
“You said you were going to disappear,” Duo shrugged, dropping his hand from my cheek, “but since you can’t really do that here, I decided to do it for you.”
Those blue eyes blinked owlishly before they filled with confusion. “You disappeared for two months because I said I was going to? I was going to disappear for a few hours, not a few months!”
The lithe man stared quizzically at Heero. He didn’t understand why the brunette was so angry with him. Two months was but a drop in the well of time, but Heero was angry enough over it to punch him. Duo rubbed his jaw again feeling the sting of where Heero’s signet ring had scraped him, he couldn’t remember anyone ever punching him before. It had been so unexpected that he hadn’t thought to defend himself or even dodge it, though he had to grudgingly admit Heero was quite fast. “I understand I’ve been gone for two months, Captain Yuy, but I’m not certain of why that’s so angering.”
“Duo,” he said as if speaking to a child, “there is nothing to do here, no one to talk to and nowhere I can go. After the first few weeks, I have found myself implausibly bored with a thousand questions and no one to answer them.”
“So you…want a companion?” The dark mage pondered, his brow furrowing as he nodded in answer to his own question. “I can get you a companion.”
“No!” Heero said quickly, reaching towards the braided man, but stopping when he saw the twilight color returning. “No, Duo, I don’t want you to go kidnapping someone else and I doubt they’d be able to answer the questions I have. I want to talk with you.” He would feel fatally guilty if someone else was dragged here against their will just to entertain him. He’d rather spend the rest of his life in silence and alone no matter how despairing he was than have another person suffer an imprisoned life with him.
The twilight faded once more, but the wariness returned as Duo’s guards went up. “Me? Why?”
“You interest me.” He tried to give the braided man a disarming smile as he repeated back the words Duo had once said to him. “And you have the answers to the questions I have, if you’re willing to answer them. You once said you hoped we could be amicable, but we keep getting off on the wrong foot.”
“Wrong foot?” Duo tilted his head as he looked down at his feet, lifting one and then the other. “Which one is the wrong one?”
Heero laughed, the sound silvery and rich, for the first time in months and he genuinely smiled at the confused magician. “It just means we haven’t been doing well in being friendly. Every time we try to talk, one of us gets angry and disappears, though you do a much better job than I at disappearing.”
“Ah, we had a saying in my time that meant something similar…” he gave a sad smile, his gaze clouding over as he thought of some distant memory for a moment, but with a small shake of his head, the normal devilish grin returned as violet cleared. “Yes, I’ve been thinking about the few talks we’ve had and realize I may be too volatile and I haven’t been explaining things as I wished to do so.”
“Why don’t we start over then?”
The dark mage scowled, “I don’t reverse time if I can help it and I certainly cannot reverse several months of time.”
“No, I mean from this instant we begin again, not go back in time.” Heero answered before proffering his hand in peace. “I’m Captain Heero Yuy, formally of King Milliardo’s Royal Guard, you can call me Heero.”
Duo tentatively reached his own hand out, but shook the young Captain’s hand firmly once they were grasped. He pulled it back quickly, looking at his hand with great interest before giving a hesitant smile to Heero. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Duo…” he furrowed his brow as he reached for something long lost before his eyes lit up, “Maxwell, Duo Maxwell.”
“Maxwell?” Heero asked surprised, “I thought your last name was going to be Koristaja.”
Duo rolled his eyes, “That name was forcefully bestowed upon me hundreds of years ago by people terrified of me.”
“Why are people terrified of you?” Duo cocked an eyebrow at the brunette and looked at him flatly, “Well, I understand why in that sense,” Heero scowled, of course people were terrified of the powerful magician, “but are you really so terrible? You’ve had your moments here, but you don’t seem to be someone who kills for sport or anything.”
“That may be a difficult discussion…” The dark mage faltered, his lips pressed into a firm line as he contemplated answering. “I’m not certain I want to divulge that yet.”
Heero wanted to press, but considering he wasn’t a pile of ash after punching the mage he didn’t want to push his luck, and so nodded instead. “Do you want to return to my chambers and talk? Those chairs are extremely uncomfortable.” He complained, glaring at the stiff wingbacks.
“They are!” Duo laughed, velvety and dark as he grinned at the captain, “I believe you’re the first person, besides me, to ever sit in them. But if they are so uncomfortable, why were you in here reading instead of your chambers?”
“I didn’t want to chance losing your books.” He shrugged and the words reminded him of the book still lying on the floor from when he dropped it. Heero deftly, but carefully, picked it up and set it down on the little table next to the history book on Sanc that Duo had pulled for him. “Your collection is beyond anything of my own imaginings and I thoroughly enjoyed the book you retrieved.”
A slight blush tinged the dark mage’s pale cheeks, “You seemed the type to like histories.”
“Well, you guessed correctly, I do.” Heero responded, heading towards his chambers. He didn’t glance behind him to see if Duo was following, assuming the mage would do as he pleased and he wouldn’t give him the enjoyment of seeing how desperate Heero was to talk with him. Stepping into the chambers, Heero breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to hold the door open and Duo carefully walked into the antechamber, almost skittish. His eyes darted around and Heero wondered if the mage thought he was going to attack him again. Well aware that the braided man was oddly nervous, Heero moved slowly and closed the door before padding quietly across the carpeted floor to where a servant had left a pitcher of water, but only a single cup. “Would you like some water?” He asked, but when the mage shook his head in the negative, he poured himself a glass.
“You’ve kept everything neat and orderly.” Duo murmured, glancing at him quizzically.
Heero nodded, “Of course, I am a guest here, it would be quite inauspicious of me to make a mess of it, but even still, I’m a soldier and keeping everything neat and orderly is part of me.”
“None of my other…guests have ever kept it clean like this, let alone nice. Usually they destroyed the rooms within a few days and left me with such a mess to clean up. It’s pleasant to have a conscientious guest, though these are your rooms and so you have my permission to do anything you would like to do to them—within reason, of course.” Duo smiled, his expression teasing and light. “If you would like to change anything, I will see what we can do.”
“I appreciate the offer.” Heero smiled back, enjoying the mage’s expression. It was more carefree and innocent than he had seen before, though the wariness was still there. “I’ll have to think on it, but for now I would really like to discuss some things with you.”
The smile disappeared and Duo nodded somberly, his violet eyes becoming a shade darker as he moved to sit down in one of the chairs. A flick of his eyes and the flames leaped within the fireplace, casting a golden glow throughout the room as the lanterns above dimmed. “What would you like to know, Captain Yuy?”
“Heero.” He corrected as he came to sit beside the lithe man who sat stiffly as if ready to bolt. “I guess my first question is am I dead? Or some kind of undead?”
Duo chortled, “Undead? Wouldn’t that be alive?”
He lightly laughed too, watching as the Duo relaxed minutely. “True, but I don’t seem to be alive either. Something’s not…right.”
“What do you mean?”
Heero looked up, expecting to find the dark mage smirking smugly at him, but instead found Duo to be confused and…is he concerned? “In the two months I’ve been here, my hair hasn’t gotten any longer and I haven’t shaved, but I’m not growing any facial hair. Yet I’m still hungry and thirsty and tired at the end of the day.”
“Oh!” Duo’s eyes alighted with understanding. “You are very much alive, but as I explained before, I control time and you promised to stay with me for one-hundred years. While time is difficult to manipulate, I can stop your biological clock indefinitely if I choose to.”
“My biological clock?” Heero frowned, trying to comprehend what Duo was explaining to him.
“Hm-hmm. So once your hundred years is up, I’ll start your biological clock again and you can live out the rest of your life wherever you wish to do so.” He fiddled with the hem of his shirt, “So while you are with me you will not age, your nails and hair will not grow and you will remain as you are now until your years are served.”
Startled blue eyes locked onto violet, wide and disbelieving. “You mean after I stay with you? I thought I was giving you the rest of my life, but you’re saying that I’m…frozen like this,” he gestured to his body, “until a hundred years pass and then I’ll start aging again?”
“Correct.”
“But everyone I know will be dead by then.” Heero murmured, the momentary elation he felt at being able to go home and see them disappearing just as quickly.
“Your magician friend will probably still be alive, but no one else.” The mage pondered, “I settled on a hundred years because it can be dangerous to have people recognize you and see you haven’t aged at all. Even though we have magicians and magic, some people still fear witches and warlords, I learned that when I released Hilde after only twenty years…her village burned her at the stake as a witch.”
“Hilde?”
Duo fell quiet, slumping slightly into the seat and keeping his eyes trained on the dancing fire. Heero watched the dark mage, but kept silent as he waited for Duo to continue—if he’d continue. Minutes trickled by before Duo finally sighed and flicked his eyes to Heero’s emotionless face. “Hilde was the last guest I had here. She had fallen into the ravine and broken her back along with various other bones, but she had been dying when I…came across her dying. She had been racing her brother to see who was braver by seeing who would get closest to the edge and she had won, but the ground gave way beneath her and she fell. I don’t know if her parents had tried to get her or not, but I knew she was dying and so I took her home. I healed her and I should have let her go right then and there, but…I was lonely.”
Heero had to lean in to hear the last part; Duo had whispered it so low it had almost been silent. He wanted to reach out and put a comforting hand on the dark mage’s shoulder, the man seemed so broken that once again Heero had trouble seeing the dangerous magician that lurked within. “She didn’t take kindly to staying?” He asked gently, watching as Duo pulled his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around them. Suddenly he looked so much younger than his five hundred years.
“No, she did not.” He said with a wry smile. “Oh, at first she loved it. Her people had been a wandering tribe for as long as she could remember and had only recently settled into a village. The plush bed and rich foods had her saying she wanted to stay forever, but that was a lie.” Duo’s eyes flashed twilight at that admission and Heero wondered if that’s why the long-haired chestnut was so adamant about the fact that he didn’t lie. “After a few years of living with me, she wanted to go back to her family. I told her that wasn’t a good idea and she became angry, so angry! She had ripped apart every room she could and she destroyed many of my books until I had to lock her from the library. She became bitter after that to where she refused to talk to me unless she had no choice. I finally gave in and released her, but I found out a few days later that they had killed her.”
Heero leaned back in his seat, taking in what Duo had just told him and trying to understand the mage beside him. He took a sip of his water, frowning at the enigma that was Duo. “You sound like you loved her.”
“I thought of her as a little sister and the first ten years had been really fun with her, but I couldn’t deny her when I saw how miserable she had become. When I saw what happened to her…” his voice dropped to that midnight octave as the chilling almost bored look appeared once more, “I razed her entire village to the ground.”
He couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran down his spine, but he met those almost manic eyes steadily while keeping his expression decidedly blank. He swallowed the lump in his throat, bringing his water to his lips and wetting his suddenly dry mouth as Duo continued to stare at him. “Why do the servants call you Shinigami-sama?”
A feral grin came to Duo’s lips. “Are you certain you want to know right now?”
“No,” he answered after a moment of deliberation, “I’m not certain.”
“Smart move.” He huskily chuckled, his eyes sliding away to look once more to the fire. “Ask me again when you are and only then.”
“Could you explain more about how you can control time?”
“I can’t stop time indefinitely if that is what you are asking, just as I said I can’t manipulate the past or future—well, I can, but I don’t—but I can manipulate it while in the present. I can pause time for those around me or for an entire room of people, but technically time is still moving, it’s just so slowly that it feels like it’s not moving at all.”
“Did you freeze your own biological clock then?”
“No.” Duo pulled his braid into his hands, fidgeting with the plait as he bit his bottom lip and silently deliberated. Heero remained still, certain a single twitch of his muscles would send the dark mage flying from the chair and out of the antechamber. Amethyst eyes flicked to him before focusing intently on the braid. “Only one person can control time, it’s not an element like the others. Taking ownership of time means I am the keeper of time and thus, I will forever be what you see.”
“So you can’t die?”
“I can, though it’s almost impossible,” he grinned, “but whoever kills me would control time next.”
“Then you killed the previous…timekeeper?” Heero furrowed his brow, trying to wrap his head around all the information the mage was giving him.
Duo began worrying over his bottom lip again before cryptically answering, “I didn’t kill him, but he’s not alive any longer.”
Silence fell over the duo again, both engrossed with their own thoughts yet very aware of the person sitting next to them. Still fiddling with his braid with one hand, Duo raised his fingers elegantly and moved them as if he were conducting an orchestra and blue eyes widened as the flames began moving as if to a song. Heero could almost swear the blaze was waltzing as the dark gold burned brighter.
Heero stared pensively at the dancing flames as another question formed, “My friends…they never were dead, were they?”
“Nope!” The amused expression returned, “Though another minute or so and they would have been. If you hadn’t asked me to save them, I wouldn’t have, I’m not known for my mercy. I slowed time for them to where a single heartbeat would take a thousand years and so, in essence, it would take them a millennia to die.”
“So I had no reason to rush into the deal I made.” He murmured, not that it would have changed anything.
The manic tinge returned, though the dark mage was still amused, “On the contrary, the princess was only seconds away from dying.”
Heero scowled, “Princess Relena was reacting to the situation, a difficult one at that, and while she may have said some hideous things to you, she had no reason to trust you, did she? You had kidnapped her, after all.”
“Yes, I kidnapped her, but I hadn’t harmed her in any way, so for her to say I’m evil was uncalled for.” Duo’s eyes flashed luminous twilight and Heero suddenly realized that being called evil was a sore point for the magician.
“Why did you kidnap her?” He asked, ignoring the building anger coiling within the black-clad man beside him.
“I told you already, I thought maybe it was time to take a spouse.”
“But why the princess? You don’t strike me as someone who cares about a person’s lineage, so…” Heero trailed off, his blue eyes flickering back and forth at nothing as he rapidly began connecting the dots. “You kidnapped her to cause chaos!”
That wolfish smile reappeared as Duo’s eyes slid to half-mast and a dark chuckle reached Heero’s ears. “Very astute, Captain Yuy. It’s quite entertaining to watch everyone scramble and search for the princess, but I certainly underestimated you and your friends.” He shook his head, “I almost didn’t have time to watch the chaos unfold!”
“But why?” He demanded in confusion, “I don’t understand why you’d want to create turmoil for the Sanc Kingdom, especially when you were acquainted with the first king.”
“Zechs is long dead, the kingdom today isn’t anything like the kingdom it was. And why not?” He shrugged, relaxing into the seat as his legs slipped to the floor. “I’ve been bored and it kept me entertained for a few days at least.”
Heero stood angrily, his fists clenched at his sides. “We almost died for your entertainment?” His voice shook with such icy rage it surprised Duo. “Get out.” Heero demanded, pointing to the door.
Yet Duo just tilted his head in curiosity, “Are you certain you want to do that? You just told me how we keep ending our talks like this and now we are repeating it.”
“I…” Heero took a deep breath, calming the roaring blood in his ears, “I don’t want you to disappear, but I can’t talk to you anymore tonight. Not now knowing that we risked our lives for the entertainment of a lonely man.”
The room darkened, but the expression on the dark mage’s face wasn’t one of anger to Heero’s perplexity. Instead, he saw hurt reflecting in the amethyst orbs before the walls slammed shut and all emotion disappeared from the magician’s face. “Then I will leave you for the night, Captain Yuy.”
Heero watched the lithe man stride towards the door, his chestnut braid snaking behind him before swinging from side to side. Once he reached the door, Heero called out before the taut back disappeared, “It’s Heero.”
The mage paused, but didn’t turn around. “Heero.” Then the door was closing with a resounding click and Heero was left alone to wonder why his name rolling off Duo’s lips sent shivers down his spine.
Dhampir
Page 8
7/21/2021
Notes:
Ah, and they were starting to understand each other a little...
Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen
Summary:
Heero gets fed up with Duo avoiding him.
Notes:
Hello, hello!! It's Wednesday and I'm making sure to not forget to update this one ^_^
Though, I think at this point I better switch to every other week updates for now >_< I'm sorry! I have two stories that are almost finished being written and so while I am working on Chapter 16, I'm also not happy with Chapter 15 and every time I go to work on it, my other two stories pull my attention. But the quicker I get one of those finished, the quicker I'll be able to focus more fully on this one ^_^
So don't expect an update next week (on top of that, this week and next week are going to be CRAZY busy for me) from me, I hope I don't disappoint you all...This is a longer chapter this week though ^_^
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Fourteen
Duo wasn’t at breakfast and, once again, Heero found himself barely hungry as he pushed aside the bacon, eggs and toast before him. He had taken a few bites, but the silence was oppressive and he quickly lost his appetite. He had thought the braided man would join him for breakfast, but after a half-hour had passed, he knew Duo wasn’t coming.
Shoving the plate back with annoyance, Heero scowled at the empty seat next to him before leaving the dining room. He had already spent most of the morning bathing, then slowly getting dressed before he finally cursed himself for being silly and left his chambers. He had spent almost all night thinking about how Duo had said his name and had finally fallen asleep to the slight alveolar trill of the R echoing in his mind.
When he had woken up refreshed that morning, or at least what he deemed morning, he had thought about the previous night’s talk. He was still mad, but he could almost understand how Duo didn’t understand. The mage had been so removed from humanity for so long and existed outside of time. So nothing he did had any permanency in his mind. Duo had seen kingdoms rise and fall, wild land become tame, saw cities built and then be swallowed up again by the same wilderness until nothing but ruins were left. How many families had Duo watched expand or completely die out? How many did he know personally? How did he do all of this without going insane? Is that why he shut himself away because he couldn’t stand watching people he knew live their lives and then die? Once again, more questions than answers. I’m starting to hate questions, he thought glumly.
Heero paused in the hallway, uncertain where he should go, but seeing the open doorway to the library let him know where the dark mage was. Stepping in, he immediately noticed the fire in the fireplace and then looked around, but didn’t see Duo anywhere. The fire definitely meant he was at least in the castle, but the open door certainly seemed to point to the library. “Duo?” He called gently, stepping further in.
“Above you.” The lilting voice came and Heero immediately looked up to see the black clad form floating high above him. A book in one hand, Duo laid back completely suspended in air despite the fact that his braid hung straight down. “Did you need something, Captain—I mean, Heero?”
Another shiver ran down the brunet’s spine, “I would like to speak with you.”
Suddenly Duo rolled over, the book held close to his chest as he glared down at the young captain, his braid hanging sensually over his shoulder. “And if I don’t want to speak with you?”
The question took Heero aback; he hadn’t thought that Duo wouldn’t want to speak with him. The magician had seemed so eager to have someone living with him and be his companion that Heero had been certain Duo would always want to talk with him. Licking his dry lips, Heero nodded and then mumbled, “Then I’ll wait until you are ready to. Sorry for disturbing you.”
He quickly moved to leave the library only to have the door slam shut in his face. Spinning around to protest, he found his vision full of angry amethyst eyes, but they weren’t that dangerous—beautiful—twilight. “What is it you want, Heero? Or do you just want to yell at me some more?” He asked sardonically, his tone biting. “Or maybe you have a different subject in mind, why don’t I pick a subject this time? How did you become Captain so young?”
Heero did not back up a step as Duo moved closer, he swore he didn’t, but as Duo’s head swam closer, he found his back pressed tightly up against the library door. Duo must have moved the door because Heero definitely did not step back. “I worked hard at it.”
Duo rolled his eyes, but stepped back to put space between them as his glare intensified. “That’s not an answer and you know it. You want to know all my secrets just so you can yell at me for them, maybe it’s time you divulged some of yours.”
“Fine!” The young captain snapped, anger bubbling over. Never had someone infuriated him as much as the dark mage could in only a few minutes. “You want to know my short life story? I had been raised by an assassin for as long as I can remember, though sometimes I remember a dark-haired woman who would hug me and sing a song.” Why the hell am I saying all of that? Heero thought, but there was no stopping his mouth anymore. “I don’t know if she died or if she abandoned me, hell, she could’ve sold me, but at some point, I became the assassin’s apprentice and helped him in canvassing and completing jobs. I hated it.
“Then an assignment came in to assassinate the king. I didn’t want the king to die, from everything I had ever seen, he had been a kind and gentle man and I knew his death would mean turmoil for the kingdom. So I reported my master to the Captain of the Royal Guard and for some reason, he believed me, but by then it was too late and the king still died. With my help, they tracked my old master down and put him to death. The nobility wanted me dead too, but Captain J spoke up and took me in instead. He taught me how to be good soldier and between what I had learned from my first teacher and my good mentor, I became extremely skilled with almost any weapon and hand-to-hand combat. When Captain J retired, King Milliardo offered me his job and I accepted it. My men respected me and trained diligently to become the best army in the kingdom, we never failed anything until you came along.”
At his tirade, Duo’s eyebrows rose higher and higher until they disappeared behind his bangs. He hadn’t expected the young captain to actually respond, especially so openly. His anger died away until he stared wide-eyed at the passionate man before him. Those lapis blue eyes burned with such intensity that Duo almost couldn’t hold their gaze and the dark scowl on Heero’s angular face left no doubt how he felt about the dark mage. His broad shoulders were tense as he held his whole body taut as if waiting for Duo to attack and yet, despite that, the olive-skinned man didn’t back away—of course the closed door might have something to do with that, but Heero had proven many times he would not cower before him.
For once, the dark mage found himself speechless. He was often silent, but that wasn’t because he had nothing to say, it was because he had no one to say it to. This man was so different from all the others Duo had ever kept with him and he wasn’t sure if it was because Heero had volunteered or if it was because of the man himself. “I…” he started, then shut his mouth, rocking back on his heels as he grabbed at his braid once more, fretting over the ends that had become quite frayed over the past few months. He huffed, then leaped into the air and allowed the wind to carry him backwards as he floated gently on the invisible current. “I don’t understand you.”
Whatever Heero had expected, it wasn’t that and he watched confusedly as Duo floated carelessly around the middle of the library. “You don’t understand me.” He said flatly, frowning. “I don’t understand you! You change emotions faster than I can comprehend and you always run away or hide somewhere I can’t find you.”
Duo gave a snort as he rolled his eyes, but gently set himself on the chaise as if to prove his next words. “I don’t always run and hide, I stand my ground and fight.”
“You run and hide when it’s emotional.” Heero retorted. “I’ve always been taught to follow my emotions, but you run from them.”
“I do not!” The dark mage protested, his anger returning as he clenched his hands tightly and glared at the brunette.
“Then tell me something about your life before all this.” He stated calmly, waving his hand around the opulent library.
Duo sucked in a sudden breath as his anger extinguished as if cold water had been dumped on him. His amethyst irises becoming slight rings around the black depths of his pupils as terror rose within him. “I don’t talk about my life before.” He answered harshly, though the tremor was heard clearly by both of them. “I-I’ll answer about my magic, about your time here and anything else, but not that.”
And despite the mage’s words just moments before, Heero could only watch as black smoke obstructed his vision before dissipating into nothingness along with Duo. The young captain growled in frustration, turning around and yanking the library door open as he stomped back to his own room. He stopped to glare down the hallway at where he knew Duo’s chambers lie and, not knowing whether the mage was there or not, hollered, “I thought you didn’t run and hide!” before stalking into his room and slamming the door with such force it made the servants in the lower kitchen jump.
Neither occupant appeared for lunch or dinner that night and the castle was eerily quiet as only the slight shuffling of servants’ feet was all that could be heard. Heero had breakfast and lunch in his room the next day, not that he did much more than nibble at it anyway, and when the servants knocked on their respective doors to announce dinner, only one answered and came to the dining room.
Heero glared at the meal with such malice that had it been alive, it would have chosen to keel over and die right then and there, but as it stood, the thick stew could only sit there and be stabbed to death with a spoon. Growling, Heero decided he had enough of the sulking magician because yes, that is exactly what Duo was doing in his opinion, and he had enough of eating alone for a lifetime. Heero thought once the magician returned, he would come back to eat, but considering the disaster it had been last time it became apparent that Duo wasn’t ever going to be joining him. Obviously, the dark mage wasn’t over the only time Duo had tried to eat in Heero’s presence and had struggled with the utensils.
Striding out of the dining room, Heero immediately descended the stairs to the servants’ quarters and kitchen, surprising them as his angry steps clacked loudly on the brick floor. Or at least, Heero thought they were surprised as the most he got from them was a quick glance and a few widened their eyes before the hollowness returned. Moving to the kitchen, Heero slammed his hands on the work table and glared at the cook. “Where is the bread, condiments and meat?” The cook pointed to the bread in one corner and then quickly brought the other items, setting them before the simmering man.
Heero sliced bread, lettuce and tomato before cutting thick slabs of roast and layering everything onto the bread with a mixture of sauces. “Plates.” He barked as he cut the two sandwiches in half and the cook swiftly brought the plates. Transferring his food, he gripped the two plates and ascended the stairs before stalking down the hallway. Instead of his anger leaving with every step, he found it building the closer he got to Duo’s door.
Once he stood before the large white oaken doors, he took a deep breath and then kicked the door hard. Nothing stirred on the other side and Heero narrowed his eyes to slits as he kicked harder. “Open the damn door, Duo.” He yelled, his voice rumbling with annoyance at the stubborn mage. “I’m not leaving, so open it before I kick it down!”
Still not even a slight scuffle could be heard as Heero continued his onslaught against the door, ignoring the stinging pain in his toes. Just as he was beginning to believe the mage wasn’t actually inside, he heard an exasperated huff followed by Duo’s frustration-laced voice snapping, “If you can’t tell, I’m trying to ignore you!”
“You can try, but I’ve been told I’m more stubborn than a mule.” Heero retorted, punctuating it with another swift kick.
With an annoyed curse, Duo opened the door and glared murderously at the young Captain. The dark mage looked worse for wear as Heero let his eyes roam the lithe body before him, completely unperturbed by the glare being leveled at him. Duo’s hair was falling out of his customary braid and his face was pale and pinched, which only made the dark circles beneath the glinting amethyst stick out even more. The mage’s clothes were disheveled and wrinkled as if he had just woken from a nap and Heero’s brows rose at the unlaced tunic that showed a smooth expanse of pale skin. “Do you have a death wish, sir? Because I can certainly let you get acquainted with Shinigami.”
“No, but I do have food.” He answered, shoving the plate into Duo’s chest—his bare, toned chest. Dragging his eyes away from that chest, Heero met curious amethyst as Duo’s face twisted into confusion as he glanced from Heero to the sandwich.
“And you’re handing it to me because…” He asked, frowning.
“I made it for you.” Heero gave a half shrug, holding his own plate tightly. “May I come in?”
Violet eyes widened and Duo gulped as he quickly glanced behind him as if assessing his room. “What for?”
“You seem to dislike eating in the dining room, so I’m bringing dinner to you so we can eat together.”
Duo shoved the plate back, but Heero refused to take it. “I told you, I don’t need to eat.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t.”
The two glared at each other, locked in a battle of stubbornness and will, but Duo finally relented, glancing away as he pulled the plate back towards his body and moving aside so Heero could come in. “I don’t feel like standing here for the next hundred years.” He grumbled as Heero swept into the antechamber that looked much like his own except the colors were dark purple and cream and there were more books as well as a small table to seat four. The bathroom was to the right and another door led to what Heero deduced to be the bedroom. The overall room though was darker than Heero’s own; the shadows collected heavily and gave a melancholic overtone to the chamber.
Heero sat at the table, arching a brow as he waited for Duo to join him and staring silently until the mage relented once more with a sigh. The plate clattered as Duo dropped it to the table gracelessly and sat down with much of the same gracelessness. He huffed, his bangs moving at the exhaled breath, and gave a calculated look at Heero before eying the sandwich. “It’s not poisoned, you know.” He finally said after Duo did nothing but stare at the sandwich for five minutes while Heero slowly ate his own.
“It’s not what the cook usually turns out.” The braided man murmured, amethyst flicking to Heero’s face before he carefully picked up the sandwich as if he had never seen one before.
“Cook didn’t make it. I did.” Heero muttered, very intent on staring at his own half-eaten sandwich.
Duo looked up with shock, “You made it? Why?”
Suddenly Heero felt quite self-conscious and embarrassed as he continued to stare at his plate. “…you don’t eat with me and I want you to.”
“What?”
“I think I understand why you don’t eat anymore.” He sighed, finally bringing uncertain cyanic eyes up to look at the dark mage. “No matter what the cook makes, it’s…depressing eating alone and I find my appetite gone in that lonesome dining room, even in my own room it’s not much better. I don’t want to eat alone anymore and so I made you a sandwich and kicked your door until you answered.”
“You’re lonely.” Duo breathed, his eyes widening even larger.
“Of course I am,” he muttered, “I don’t mind silence, but I’m used to the city and being surrounded by my troops and there’s only you here.”
Anger sparked once more and Duo crossed his arms, “I offered to get you a companion.”
“And I said I didn’t want that, I want you.” Heero argued, a slight blush coming to his cheeks as he thought about the words just spoken, but the dark mage didn’t seem to notice.
“Only because I’m the only other choice.”
“Because you intrigue me, Duo, I like talking to you.”
Duo scoffed, “You haven’t talked to me long enough to know whether you like it or not.”
“You’re right.” Heero felt a headache forming as he stared at the stubborn man sitting across from him. “Do you always argue this much?”
“Maybe.” Came the biting reply, but amusement flashed across narrowed eyes.
“I’m here for the next hundred years—or ninety-nine years, nine months and twenty-six days—and while I don’t believe it will be pleasurable, I would like to find a way to be friends. Yes, I was—am—angry for why you stole Princess Relena, but I’m not going to be angry forever. So will you eat your sandwich and talk?”
“How do I know you haven’t poisoned it?”
“Would it kill you if I have?”
Duo paused, “Most likely not…”
“Want me to taste it first?” He offered sincerely, reaching his hand out to take the sandwich, but Duo was shaking his head. Heero watched as those elegant fingers that had delicately picked up the half a sandwich brought it to the red lips as a pale tongue licked his dry lips. Taking a small bite, Duo chewed with a frown, but Heero saw the amethyst orbs light up with excitement and the room lightened along with the sudden change in the dark magician.
“This is…it’s good!” He almost laughed as he took another bite. Heero watched with rapt fascination as Duo devoured the sandwich, his tongue darting out to lick the crumbs off his lips or a little sauce that dripped from the corner of his mouth. The dangerous mage suddenly morphed into a young child who was completely taken in by the tastes of a simple sandwich, his amethyst eyes bright and unguarded as he happily ate the last bits of his sandwich. Suddenly seeing his empty plate, those eyes slid across to where Heero’s untouched half still sat and Duo worried over his bottom lip as he wondered if he should ask for it or not.
Seeing the chestnut’s thoughts, Heero smirked and pushed the plate towards him. “You can have the rest of mine. I did eat a bit of dinner, so I’m not very hungry.”
Hands shot out, grabbing the sandwich half and quickly demolishing it as well, before Duo looked up and gave Heero a guilty half-smile with a finger stuck in his mouth. He finished sucking the last vestiges of the sandwich off his pointer finger and then sheepishly ducked his head, “Sorry, that’s probably the first time I’ve eaten in at least two hundred years.”
“Do you get hungry?” He asked, knowing that while his appetite had greatly diminished, he still felt hungry at times.
The mage shrugged, pulling one knee up so he could rest his head against it. “Yes, but I’m used to the hunger, so it doesn’t bother me often. I just ignore it and eventually it goes away—usually.”
“Will I die if I don’t eat?”
“No,” he answered as he shook his head, “though you do need to drink water every day. Food isn’t elemental, but water is and it’s needed to replenish your body daily.”
“I…” Heero paused, uncertain if he should voice his apology or not, but seeing the guarded look returning to Duo’s eyes, he sighed and quickly said, “I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have tried to force you to tell me about your life, but I am honestly interested in it. Even if it’s just what it was like for other children during your childhood, what your family did and such. Though I will not ask if you do not want me to.”
“I dislike thinking of my past.” Duo said quietly, eyes downcast. “They’re not pleasant memories.”
“Surely there are some happy ones though.” He gently pushed. Heero understood perfectly having horrifying memories, but he still had many that he would not want to forget. Like when Odin, his assassin master, had given him a piece of candy for the first time or the time Captain J told him he had done well after a grueling training session. Memories of Trowa and him playing in the stream together or getting into various mischiefs that had them both being bodily hauled before Captain J while adults scolded them.
“Not many.” Came the whispered response and Heero yearned to somehow comfort the lithe magician. “And those that are all end in tragedy, so there’s no point in dwelling on them.”
Heero pondered a few minutes before standing with a slow grin, his hand smacking the table loudly. “Then we will make some fun ones. I’m here for a hundred years, that’s plenty of time to make some pleasant memories!”
“What do you mean?” Duo asked, giving a yelp of surprise as Heero grabbed the mage’s wrist and pulled the smaller man out into the hall.
“I may be twenty years old, but I bet you that I can outrun your ass to the end of this hallway.” Heero challenged, his eyes dancing excitedly as he dropped Duo’s wrist and fell into a crouch.
Not one to back down from a challenge, Duo returned Heero’s expression with a saccharine smile and fell into a crouch next to the brunet, “There’s no way you can beat me!”
“Using your magic is cheating.” Heero threw over his shoulder as he lunged forward with a burst of speed.
“Hey!” The mage yelled as he started after Heero. “No fair, that’s cheating!”
The young captain knew he was fast; he had always outpaced everyone in his platoon and could even win against Trowa as long as it wasn’t short bursts where the lanky Ranger’s long strides gave him a quicker lead. So he knew it was underhanded to gain a slight advantage as he did, but even with that trick, Heero was startled to see the lithe mage gaining on him out of the corner of his eye. Duo was inching forward until he was shoulder to shoulder with Heero, a wide smile on his lips as he gave a wink to the Captain before pushing his body forward and in front of Heero.
Heero growled, ignoring the burn in his calves as he tried to catch the smaller man, but despite the mage’s slight form, Duo was fast. His braid whipped behind him as Duo turned to look over his shoulder, amethyst sparkling with unfettered joy and an almost childish laugh on his lips as he grinned at Heero, arching a brow in challenge. Heero glared, but he knew the limits of his body and the lithe mage had him beat before they even reached the end of the hall. Despite that, Heero still pushed himself to try and catch the chestnut, ignoring the urge to reach out and snatch the man’s braid so he could win. Heero hated to lose, but seeing how happy Duo was soothed some of the sting of his loss as he pulled up next to the braided mage.
Duo leaned against the far wall, breathing heavily as a sweat droplet ran down the side of his face where his bangs were stuck to his face, but his heart-shaped face was open and flushed with exertion and excitement as he smiled brightly at Heero. “I won!” He crowed, his toothy smile growing wider, “Even with your little cheat at the beginning, I still beat you.”
Heero snorted, but he couldn’t keep the grin off his lips, “I had to go easy on you, I mean you’re over five hundred years old, you know!”
For a moment Heero thought he made a mistake as Duo’s guard suddenly went up and the smile disappeared, but not even seconds later Duo was loudly laughing, holding his stomach as peals of laughter echoed down the hall. The captain shifted uncomfortably as he stared at the doubled-over mage laughing as tears tracked down his cheeks, wondering if he somehow broke the man, but Duo just shook his head and rubbed the joyful tears from his eyes. “You just got your ass handed to you by, for all accounts, a relic, Captain; I think you might need some conditioning.”
“Oh, so you admit you’re old?” Heero smirked as Duo rolled his eyes, still slightly chuckling as he tried to gain control of his amusement.
“I might be five hundred and thirty-nine, but physically I’m just shy of eighteen.” He grinned, “So I’m well in my prime while you, old man, have passed it at the ripe old age of twenty.”
“Old man!” Heero squawked, quite undignified, “Let’s go again, back to the other side of the hall and I’ll show you who the old man is.”
Duo pushed off the wall, a feral grin on his lips as his bright amethyst eyes narrowed, “You’re on, but this time I’m getting the head start!”
“Hey!” Heero shouted as Duo charged forward, already a good five paces ahead of the brunette before he could even get his feet to move. “You better not be using magic, Maxwell!”
“As if!” He jeered, throwing a mocking glare over his shoulder at the young Captain, “I don’t need magic to beat your slow ass!”
The two ran the length of the hall as something changed between them. They weren’t friends, or even companions, but it was a step in the right direction and the two men had overcome the unnamed obstacle that had been in their way. A fragile amity fell over them and they understood each other just a little bit better as they laughed and cajoled each other. Heero couldn’t put his finger on exactly what was different, but for the first time since he had arrived over two months ago, he felt like a darkness had lifted from his soul as he watched a different side of Duo come forward—a side that wasn’t angry and guarded or scathing, but light and carefree, a side Heero decided he liked very much.
Dhampir
Page 10
7/28/2021
Notes:
PROGRESS!! ^_^
I'll see you all in two weeks, I do hope it won't be like that for too long, but it's NOT a hiatus at least!
Thanks for the kudos, comments and love in advance, I hope you all have a great week! ^_^
Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
Summary:
Heero's learning more about Duo, but Duo's not exactly opening up.
Notes:
Hello, my lovely readers ^_^
It's been a hectic two weeks for me, but I'm back with another chapter finally and things have slowed down some. It looks like I have some new readers, so welcome! I'm sorry that this story is going to be updating slowly, but I should be able to pick up the pace once I finish up my other two stories (that don't want to end~ I'm going to force them to do it though!)
Sorry in advance for the short chapter, but well...I'm not going to drag a chapter out just to make it have a higher word count, I write to where it's a good place to stop and so it makes my chapter lengths vary.
Anway, enough rambling from me ^_^
Enjoy~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Fifteen
Months past and seasons changed outside of the ravine unbeknownst to one of the inhabitants as almost a year had come to pass since Heero agreed to stay. With no windows, it made it easy to forget what was happening outside of the castle and though Heero knew it had been months, he had lost count of how many. He hadn’t been outside the confines of the castle even a single time and while most days he didn’t even think about it, other times like tonight he couldn’t stop. His heart ached thinking of his friends and how they were faring and how his men handled his disappearance, whether they made it known that he had traded his life for the princess’s or whether they announced him dead.
Heero stared up at the dim lights and gave another exasperated sigh. Obviously, he wasn’t going to be sleeping tonight or at least any time soon and he eventually slid from the bed to quietly pad out to the antechamber. He gave another sigh as he picked up his latest book, one Duo had chosen about Estonia and the language. He quickly learned that Estonian was not an easy language to learn, but the dark mage seemed insistent that Heero read it and with not much else to do, the young Captain—more like ex-Captain—kept at it on sleepless nights such as this.
The dark magician and he had fallen into some kind of delicate friendship over the months, but the lithe man still ran and hid whenever things got too personal for him. Even in things that Heero innocently brought up—like why his hair was so long or what an unusual name Duo was—had the mage quickly disappearing for a few hours, though never again for months. When Heero asked him where Duo hailed from originally, the mage’s eyes flickered twilight, but he then answered lowly Estonia before disappearing for the rest of the day. Heero had quickly begun looking for history books about Estonia, but the only ones he found were written in Estonian, which he couldn’t read.
Heero had expected Duo to be angry for prying once the mage discovered what the brunette had been doing, but to his surprise, Duo gave him a small smile and then zipped away with the help of a zephyr of wind only to return with a small brown book in hand. He grinned, an almost challenging spark in those amethyst depths, “If you want to read Estonian history, you’ll need to learn the language.”
And so Heero had been studying the book carefully for the past three months and feeling like his progress was inching along, but it was still progress. He could read simple sentences now and had begun learning more complex words and phrases, but not enough to read any of the history books. He knew he could ask Duo for help and he would graciously do so, but for some unknown reason Heero wanted to learn it alone—he wanted to prove to the braided mage that he could learn without his help.
In their talks over the past year, he learned that Duo had largely taught himself everything he knew, though having an infinite number of years as well as being able to immerse himself in cultures long since gone gave him an edge Heero didn’t have. But while the dark mage certainly had confidence in his smarts, he was also humble and didn’t enjoy goading his guest with his insurmountable knowledge. Despite the months they had spent together, Heero still felt he had only scratched the surface of who Duo Maxwell was and he certainly hadn’t found the courage to ask the mage why he was called Koristaja or Shinigami again.
He knew that Duo enjoyed challenges and Heero challenged him often to races, scaling the stairway and even fencing once he discovered Duo had an eclectic collection of swords and knives. Duo certainly won when it came to speed, but Heero won when it came to fencing technique. Though Duo’s agile way of throwing knives entranced Heero and they spent many weeks comparing styles as well as teaching each other their styles.
The dark mage was fiercely protective of his hair and refused to let anyone touch it, even when Heero had only tried to remove a piece of lint from the chestnut tresses. He had found himself slammed against the wall when the tips of his fingers had brushed against the plaited mass, luminous twilight swirling inches from his face and a growled warning to not touch his hair for any reason.
He also discovered that Duo didn’t sleep often; though there were a few times he would knock on Duo’s door and be greeted by a sleep-mussed mage glaring at him for waking him up. But more often than not, if Heero went searching for the lithe man, he was awake and would give a soft smile of greeting for Heero to join him. Never once had he seen the mage asleep and he got the feeling that Duo didn’t allow anyone to see him sleeping for reasons Duo wouldn’t divulge nor was Heero going to ask.
Focusing once more on the book in his hands, Heero banished thoughts of the confounding mage from his mind and struggled for the next hour through the archaic language. Just as his frustration began to mount and he was thinking of giving up for the night, a word caught his attention and his eyes widened with astonishment as he worked out the sentence.
“Koristaja means reaper…” Heero traced his fingers over the word as he whispered to the empty room. “They named him Reaper for all the magicians he killed.”
Heero glanced around the room, making certain the lithe magician wasn’t around him and then tried to work out more of the wording, but he couldn’t focus on anything else except koristaja. He wondered if he should mention it to Duo or not, not wanting to upset the braided man, but desperately wanting to tell him he worked it out. A small glimmer of hope burned in his chest that maybe now that he knew what the word meant, Duo would open up more and maybe tell him about his life. Gathering even the smallest crumb from the tightlipped mage was harder and more painful than when he had set his own leg—at least his leg had eventually given in, he highly doubted Duo would do the same.
Suddenly he chuckled, Duo wasn’t stupid and he had given Heero the book personally. He had no doubt the braided man knew exactly what was in each and every book in that library, which meant Duo gave this to him knowing he’d eventually learn what koristaja meant. He warmed slightly, after all this time the dark mage was finally sharing something of himself that wasn’t superficial. He just wanted to make Heero work for it and one thing Heero enjoyed was a challenge, Duo would be the challenge of his now extensive lifetime and he was going to relish in it.
He fought the urge to run down the hall and wake Duo up just to say he knew, but that would seem rather schoolboyish and Heero certainly was not some schoolboy. No, he had been a soldier and knew how to be patient and so patient he would be, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Putting the book down, Heero returned to his bed with a wide smile and thought sleep wouldn’t come easily, but once he was beneath the soft covers and surrounded by their soft warmth, he sunk into sleep quite peacefully.
The next morning, Heero was roused from sleep by a sharp rapping on the door before Duo’s voice echoed through the antechamber as the dark mage called for him. Groaning, Heero opened his heavy eyelids and stumbled from the bed, feeling as though he had just fallen asleep mere seconds ago. “I’m in here.” He called, voice rough with sleep.
“Are you…decent?” Duo’s lilting voice floated through the closed door and Heero chuckled at the slight embarrassment in the dark mage’s tone.
“I have breeches on, so you are welcome to come in.” Heero made certain his tone made the statement sound like a challenge and Duo took the bait, giving an annoyed huff before opening the door and stepping into the bed-chamber. Violet eyes were firmly planted on Heero’s face, but Duo’s pale skin made the blush on his cheeks very obvious and Heero grinned as he crossed the room to where the small wardrobe was situated that held the tunics he had been gifted. The chest at the end of his bed held his breeches as well as a jacket, his cloak from Trowa and his pack—though he never needed that latter three as the castle remained a consistent warm temperature and he never went anywhere, so there was no use for the cloak and pack. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Duo’s voice was oddly level and Heero glanced over his shoulder to see the dark mage staring at the wall ahead of him with his hands clasped together behind his back.
Heero pulled a random tunic from the wardrobe and slowly slipped it over his head, a frown on his lips as he tried to understand Duo’s subdued tone. “Is something wrong?”
Duo watched him warily, as if uncertain how to approach the Captain, but Heero couldn't understand the mage’s hesitancy. They both knew that Duo could kill him at anytime without even lifting a finger, all he had to do was stop Heero’s heart and the brunet would be dead. "I am needed elsewhere for a few days," the mage finally said haltingly, "you disliked how I just left without a word last time, so I wanted to inform you beforehand.”
The Captain looked up sharply, “Leaving? Where?"
Amethyst eyes regarded him as a sinister smile stretched his lips and the room became darker and colder, “Shinigami is needed.”
Heero shivered at that midnight octave, but he didn't look away, “Are you like a demon that is summoned to the battlefield?"
“Ha!” The bark of laughter was rough and mirthless as Duo’s eyes glowed twilight, “Do you think I am some bound creature that can be controlled by the whims of others? I am a mage of the highest order and I control time itself, anyone who would be foolish enough to try and use me would be dead by my hand.”
“Yet you say you are needed.”
“Duties required is not the same as being controlled.”
“What duties?”
The mage said nothing, only watching as Heero laced up his shirt before tucking the ends into his loose pants. The brunet then laced his britches, looking up inquisitively at Duo and finding an inscrutable look on the long-haired man’s face.
“Duo?”
“I don't understand why you care, no one else has ever asked me.”
Heero shrugged, “Aren’t we friends?”
“Are we?” He shot back, obviously annoyed as he placed his hands on his hips and glared at the other man.
“Duo, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to, but I thought you wanted us to be friends and that we were -or at least close to it.” The Captain murmured quietly and watching as the annoyance bled away from Duo’s frame and the twilight faded to amethyst.
He dropped his gaze and his voice, “You can't be friends with your captor.”
“I volunteered,” he stated flatly, “I hold no animosity towards you.”
The chestnut youth studied him again, a quizzical expression on his face as if Heero were some great mystery he didn't understand. Then a wide smile appeared, pulling his lips taut as he laughed, his head tilting and his braid following, “You really don't, do you?”
“I have no reason to lie to you.”
“Most would because they fear death,” Duo pointed out, “even your princess had tried to please me and offered me whatever I desired if I'd just let her go home.”
Heero‘s brows disappeared beneath his messy bangs, “With how she reacted when we arrived, I thought she was troublesome and quarrelous.”
Duo snorted, “She only became like that once you arrived.”
“I don't fear death and you promised to release me in 100 years, so I see no reason to try to gain your favor.”
“Most people don't believe me,” he murmured thoughtfully, “They believe I am a trickster and a liar, that –”
“You're evil?” Heero goaded, wanting to see the mage's reaction. In the throne room, Duo had been almost playful until Princess Relena called him evil and then something had changed, snapped in the otherwise jovial man. He wasn't disappointed in the reaction either, though he wasn't expecting the bitter cold that swept through the room, extinguishing the fire with barely a whisper nor for the mage’s face to become cold and exacting.
“Some would agree,” he murmured darkly, “but is one evil if they only became that way because others made him?”
Heero paused, he had done many things in his short lifetime that would make others say he was evil –he was an assassin's apprentice, he helped his master kill and even killed some himself. He then became a soldier, protecting his country and sovereign from invading forces and then later the Captain where he not only fought, but compelled others to do the same. He ordered soldiers to their deaths and killed soldiers of other countries - countries where he was sure his name was spoken like a curse for the deaths of their sons and fathers.
Did that make him evil? To some, yes, but he didn't feel evil and never thought of himself as evil before now. Is that how Duo felt? Forced to commit atrocious crimes, but by circumstances not of his own doing? He looked into those glowing twilight eyes, at the hurt beneath the rage and recognized a loneliness there that he knew all too well.
“No.” He finally answered, watching Duo’s expression morph to one of genuine surprise and his eyes fade to that exquisite amethyst. “I don't know what led to you murdering all those magicians more than 500 years ago, but I saw the mosaics and if they are true, they don't show someone evil.”
“You looked at them?” Duo asked, almost bashful as warmth returned to the room.
Heero nodded, “When we first arrived.”
“And you still walked into my throne room despite what you saw, the fact that I burned someone to death, that I killed a multitude of other mages and even killed my own parents.” Duo snorted, a cocky grin on his face, “You’re either insane or stupid, which do you prefer?”
“I promised to return Princess Relena to my sovereign, nothing you put there would have deterred me from coming for her.”
The mage rolled his eyes, “Always duty with you!”
“Says the mage who's late to carry out his own duties!” He retorted, but there was no anger in his words and when Duo laughed he cracked a smile.
“Can I be late if I control time itself?” He pondered, that Cheshire grin sliding across his lips.
Heero didn’t know how to answer that and after a moment, he finally shrugged and gave his all-answering grunt that seemed to work on his friends, “Hn.”
“I should return in a week,” the braided man said amusedly, cocking his head as he regarded Heero again, “and maybe you can make those sandwiches again?”
Heero looked at the dark mage with surprise, it was the first time Duo had requested something specific of him in all the time he had been with the other man. “I can and I'd like the chance to discuss some things with you once you return too.”
A dark look crossed Duo’s face before disappearing behind a wide smile and a forced laugh that left the Captain baffled, “Of course, you can ask me anything once I return.”
Before Heero could respond, the room went dark and he whirled around as a gust of wind blew past him, then the fire sparked back to life and the shadows receded to show him he was alone once more. He glowered at nothing as he finished dressing, “Can’t you just use the door to leave?”
Dhampir
Page 7
8/11/2021
Notes:
Koristaja really is Estonian for Reaper ^_^
And a bit more about Duo, hehe, but he's not going to open up easily. This chapter was more of a transitional chapter as we're jumping time a bit, but the next chapter will be out in two weeks!
Have a great summer you all and thanks in advance for the kudos, comments and love ^_^
Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen
Summary:
Heero just has so many questions and no one to ask them to.
Notes:
I AM SO SORRY!!!
I just realized that I should've updated this LAST week >_<
It's been so crazy hectic around here and everyone wants me to watch their pets because everyone is trying to go on vacation at the last minute now. So I've barely been aware of what day it is, but still, I hadn't even realized that I should've posted this last week...
Sorry!!
My writing time recently has practically disappeared, but I've got this chapter done and half of the next, so every other week is keeping me from going on hiatus at least ^_^
I hope you enjoy (and forgive me!)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Sixteen
Heero slowly moved through his exercises, controlling his breathing as he kept his back straight and lowered his body until he was flush with the floor before pushing back up. Staying busy in a practically empty castle that he couldn’t leave proved to be more difficult than he thought, especially when he couldn’t read the majority of the books due to the language they had been written in. The servants avoided him even more than normal ever since it became apparent that he was friendly with Duo, whereas before they would at least talk for a moment or two with him, they now left his presence as quickly as possible.
He knew the whole castle like the back of his hand, unless there were hidden rooms he didn’t know about or another corridor that was connected to Duo’s rooms. In the servant’s quarters downstairs he had found storage rooms that Duo kept cold at all times by keeping water constantly frozen into large slabs of ice and another room that was for growing vegetables, though he couldn’t figure out how the vegetables were growing without sunlight and the servants were useless when he asked. They only told him that “Shinigami-sama makes it possible”, but they just stared at him blankly when he asked them how.
Another question upon the hundreds of others that he had, “I should start writing them down,” he muttered to no one as he finished his set of push-ups. He stood up and rolled his shoulders, looking around the large room that he was in as he catalogued the various exercises in his head to decide which one he should do next. He wasn’t even certain how much time had passed so far since he woke up that morning, going through his usual routine of bathing in the morning, drinking some water and possibly eating something if he felt like it before warming up by taking a grueling run up the stairs beyond the throne room. Each day, he got up a little further than before, but he felt quite certain he still hadn’t reached the halfway point with how many stairs he remembered they had traveled down.
He would then go back down at a much more sedate pace before sitting down on the bottom steps and stare at the murals, trying to make sense of what he’d seen of Duo and what he saw in the murals. He knew the dark mage was dangerous, there was no doubt in his mind, but there was also an innocence to the powerful man that wasn’t cohesive with what he saw in the murals. Duo was responsible for the annihilation of hundreds of mages, he was responsible for the kidnapping of Princess Relena and he had the blood of countless people upon his hands, there was a cold fury that resided in him that was so dark it felt like Death was staring him in the face when those astonishing twilight depths looked at him, but then he smiled and his whole face brightened, he laughed and it sounded like child-like and silvery.
The way his nose wrinkled when Heero said something he disagreed with, the way he pulled at the wisps of hair that curled at his temples in boredom or fretted with the end of his braid when he was nervous were all endearing to him. It was as if Duo were two different people in one body, the Magician Koristaja—the scourge of mages and the feared wraith that would come to steal misbehaving children from their beds—and the effervescent young man that was full of wonder, witticisms and mischief.
Heero moved through a series of lunges and squats before starting another set of push-ups. His muscles burned and he could feel himself beginning to fatigue, but it was better than doing nothing. Being idle went against his conditioning and for as long as he could remember; he had always had something to do every day and a set schedule in place to follow. If he was still the Captain of the Royal Guard, he would have been up before sunrise to be dressed and warmed up before his second-in-command would awaken. He would talk with his Lieutenant and then leave him in charge of getting the rest of the soldiers up and out for training while he would meet with King Milliardo to discuss any pertinent plans or information.
From there, depending on what was happening, he would either join his Lieutenant to oversee his soldiers' training, overlook the recruits to see if any outshined the others or make preparations for his sovereign for whatever necessary from an outing to meeting dignitaries or overseeing security for an event. An event like Princess Relena’s birthday party, at the thought of the blonde princess, he paused in his exercises and collapsed onto the cold stone beneath him. He had failed her and his king, but at least he had been able to bargain for her life and send her home, his duty complete and his life now forfeit to a wayward mage with whom he had no idea where he went, when he’d be back or what to do if something happened to him.
Duo had been gone for over a week, the ex-Captain kept track of the days by the number of tunics he had worn. With fifteen tunics to choose from, he could at least roughly keep track of the months as they passed—or in this case weeks. So far it had been ten days and today he was wearing the blood-red tunic, though he had taken it off to exercise and it currently lay crumpled in a ball a few yards away from him. Being unable to see the sun was starting to bother him more often than not and just the thought of spending a hundred years locked inside a stone cage, no matter how gilded it was, made despair well up.
At least when Duo was around, he could distract himself from such things, but with the dark mage gone and for an undetermined amount of time, all he had was a time to think and ponder. That led his thoughts down rabbit holes he had never even come close to unearthing prior to living with the long-haired chestnut, he was a man of action and this idle lifestyle was not for him. It wasn’t like he was stupid, but he hadn’t been paid to think, no his position as Caption was to serve his sovereign, respond, and react. Now his mind was full of questions, theories and wonders that a man of his caliber was not in a position to understand and of course, the one question he was dying to ask was about the one person who wasn’t even there—why did they name Duo Koristaja?
Rolling to his back, he began doing a series of bicycle sit-ups, bending at the waist and twisting so his elbow would cross over his abdomen while simultaneously bringing the opposite side knee up to touch his elbow before switching sides. Just because he didn’t age didn’t mean he shouldn’t keep up his conditioning, though that was another question for Duo, if his body was frozen in time did that mean he wouldn’t lose or gain muscle mass, wouldn’t get sick or succumb to any injury? Could he die?
Sweat dripped from his body, running down his naked torso and dripping down to the floor below. He kept his britches on, not wanting to scandalize the servants—if they could even be scandalized—but he refused to wear a shirt while he exercised. In the military, he and his men often trained in just their underwear or even nude if they were certain no women were near them. Of course, there were always whores that followed along with the regiment, but as those women had seen most, if not all of them, naked at one point or another, no one paid them any mind if they came to gaggle over the men.
He might be nothing more than a body for the magician to entertain himself with for the next hundred years, but he wasn’t going to allow his skills to decease or become sloppy and so he trained everyday as he waited for Duo’s return. He was less than a body and more of a cur waiting for his master’s return.
“Miss me?” A husky voice teased just before Duo’s face appeared above his own, violet eyes large and mirthful as he stared down at Heero.
“Hn, you might be my imagination.” He retorted, not even pausing in his exercise.
Duo stuck his tongue out childishly before his body floated up above Heero, his signature braid sinuously sliding off his shoulder to just brush against the floor. “Well, you ain’t punching me again.”
Heero chuckled tiredly as he finished the rep and then pushed himself up off the floor. “My imagination is not this inventive.” He stretched, muscles rippling with the movement, and he caught Duo’s gaze roving over his form out of the corner of his eye. The mage averted his eyes as soon as Heero turned towards him, but he couldn’t hide the blush on his cheeks and Heero smirked, it was cute how such a powerful man could become so easily flustered.
“Is this what you have been doing?” Duo asked, furtively glancing at Heero as the brunet used a towel to wipe the sweat from his body.
“I also run up twenty flights of stairs a day, but there isn’t much to do here when you’re gone,” he shrugged, shivering when a sudden cool wind brushed over his body, and he looked over his shoulder to where Duo was manipulating the air with a wave of his hand. “I haven’t been able to find any books that I can read as of late.”
“What are you looking for?”
Heero walked away with the gentle wind following him and drying the last vestiges of perspiration from his body to where his shirt was. He pulled it over his head and let the garment fall loosely around him, though it was form-fitting across his shoulders and he left it untied so that it fell open to reveal part of his chest. Duo might have made him no longer sweaty, but he was still hot and he wasn’t quite ready to lace up the tunic. “Anything, as long as it’s in a language I can actually read.”
Duo set his feet down on the ground without a sound, a thoughtful expression on his face as he curiously observed his companion. His expression soon turned jovial as he chortled and started towards the door, “I keep forgetting you cannot use magic.”
“How can you forget that?” He snorted, following curiously behind the mage. Duo just got back and he finally had someone to converse with once again, he wasn’t about to let the handsome man disappear that quickly when he had questions he wanted answered.
“Well, when you put 500 years of magic being second nature against a single year of having a mortal companion, it takes time to remember.” He grinned over his shoulder, Heero blinking at him as his footsteps faltered slightly.
He hadn’t even realized that a year had passed already and the thought that time was passing him by as he remained on the sidelines of it was disquieting. “How do you tell time in here? The servants just seem to know it at all times, but I can’t find a clock anywhere in your castle.”
The mage stopped short, turning to Heero and his eyes glowed twilight as Shadow collected around him like a mantle. “Do you really wish to know, Captain Yuy?”
It was the same question he asked him before when Heero questioned why he was called Shinigami and a trepidacious feeling curled around him, but he refused to back down this time. “Yes.” He answered firmly, forcing the conviction into his voice as Duo stared at him as if seeing through him.
“I am connected to time in a way no other person, mage or human, is.” Duo answered, stepping closer to Heero as a wicked grin pulled at his lips, and Heero swallowed as he ignored every fiber in his being that screamed at him to get away from certain death. The dark mage was shorter than him and lither, but the being before him wasn’t the jokester and carefree young man he had become accustomed to, no this was Koristaja or maybe Shinigami before him. Cool fingers brushed over his exposed sternum and Heero felt his heart flutter at the contact, goosebumps emerging just behind Duo’s calloused fingers as they dipped lower between his pectorals. “I can feel not just the exact time of day, but how much time every living thing has left in this world.”
“You know when people will die?” Heero whispered, a tremulous breath leaving him as Duo’s hand splayed across his heart as the mage canted his head.
“I do.” His eyes narrowed, but twilight filled Heero’s vision as Duo leaned in closer, his grin turning slightly manic, “Does that scare you?”
He didn’t even hesitate as he shook his head and answered, “No.” He would be idiotic to not fear who Duo was, but he had been surrounded by death his entire life and fully expected to die upon the battlefield and so death itself was not something he had ever feared.
The twilight faded to violet as Duo stepped back, his hand dropping to his side as he frowned at the confusing man. “I don’t understand you.”
Heero let out a bark of laughter, ignoring the way his skin still tingled from where Duo touched him, “The feeling is mutual, you leave me with more questions than answers almost daily.”
“Almost everyone fears death,” the dark mage answered, turning on his heel and walking away once more, “and those who do not are ready to embrace it, but you are not ready to die and yet you do not fear it. It’s contradictory.”
“I have made my peace with dying at the hands of my enemies.”
“Ah, so that is why you so easily accepted taking your princess’s place, you expected me to kill you.” He muttered, opening the doors to the library and crossing the threshold with Heero just behind him.
If he didn’t know better, he’d say Duo was annoyed by that fact that he originally thought the mage would kill him even though it was a perfectly reasonable thought to have. There was a grating tone in his words even though they were said flippantly and he watched as the library darkened slightly, the most obvious tell to Duo’s mood. “Hn. I’m not disappointed that you didn’t.”
“Well, you have nothing to fear, you will live a long life.” Duo called as he pushed off the ground effortlessly and floated above Heero.
“Being frozen for a century helps.” He snorted, watching in awe as Duo so naturally moved through the air. He hadn’t been around mages much and usually distrusted the long-lived people whose powers were not understood by anyone except their own kind, but there was a gracefulness in Duo’s movements that he had never seen any other mage use before. Quatre could easily call fire forward, but there was a limit to what he could do and using earthen magic had been tiring for the blonde magician. Yet Duo had simply created a new corridor from the throne room to his castle without even breaking a sweat, he could disappear on a whim, call Shadow to him as if it were a pet instead of the hardest element to control and governed time as well.
The dark mage said nothing, eyes calculating as he overlooked his vast library before he gathered his power to him. There was a crackling in the air, magic wrapping around him like a lover’s caress and Duo smiled at the familiar feel of it before books flew off the shelves to hover around him in a sphere. He slowly sunk towards the floor, not wanting to catch Heero off guard with his sudden plummet downward, and stacked the book on the table located in the middle of the library. “You should be able to read these to start with at least.” He grinned at his companion, the awe on Heero’s face amusing him and the library brightened with him.
“You use magic so…” he gestured as he searched for the word, “whimsically. Isn’t it tiresome?”
“No, why would it be?” Duo asked quizzically.
“Most mages I have met can only do a little magic and even someone like Quatre—”
“The little fire mage?”
Heero nodded, “He healed me after I had been hurt by another mage and it had fatigued him to the point of collapse, though he had killed the other mage first.” He walked over to the books, picking up a random one off the top of one of the stacks, and flipped it open to see it was a history on one of the wars from before his time. “Is it because you control time? I have been waiting to ask you whether my body being fixed to never age meant I couldn’t die no matter what other than from dehydration. Can I gain or lose muscle mass? I know my hair won’t grow and I won’t age, but what exactly does that mean for illnesses and the likes? My heart still beats, I still need to breathe and so am I immortal or just hard to kill?”
“You have a lot of questions.” He deadpanned, moving to relax on the chaise as golden fire leaped to life in the fireplace.
“You’re an enigma.”
The cryptic smirk Duo threw him only solidified the fact. “You can die, if that is your concern. If I hadn’t caught you after you fell off the stairs, you would have certainly died, your body is still working as it should, but all I have done was make it that you do not age. If someone stabs you through the heart, you will still die, but how your body has been preserved at the moment I froze your biological clock is how it will remain until I release you.”
“What about you?”
“Ah, my body became frozen in time at the moment that I became Time’s Keeper,” Duo answered, his smirk disappearing as his mood turned somber, “I will never age from how you see me now as only dying will release me from it and that will only happen if there is someone strong enough to kill me.”
“And there’s not.”
Duo shrugged, they both knew it was true and so there was no reason to voice it. Though Heero was beginning to realize that the mage was quite humble despite his enormous power over all six elements, Duo could easily rule the entire world and no one would ever be able to challenge him, but instead of conquering all the nations, he remained in the shadows and became nothing more than a legend to those who knew the name Koristaja.
“I…” Heero started, watching as one violet eye looked at him curiously before he pushed forward with the question that had been burning upon his lips for almost two weeks. “I discovered that Koristaja means Reaper. Were you given that name because of all the mages you killed?”
Cold crept into the room, the library darkening and heavily collecting with Shadows as Duo’s whole demeanor changed once again. The mage was one minute blithe and jovial and the next sinister and grave in a way that Heero didn’t like. “I am what they made me.” He replied, his voice close to that midnight octave that sent shivers down Heero’s spine.
“What do you mean?”
“They tried to strip me of my powers because they feared me, so I gave them a true reason to fear me.” He murmured, his eyes falling to that bored, almost sleepy look that warned Heero to back off. “They thought they were hunting me, but it was I who was hunting them and in the end, I won.”
“Because they killed your parents?” Heero guessed, but to his surprise Duo laughed, the sound cold and mocking as Duo disappeared into Shadow and Shinigami suddenly appeared inches from his face.
Twilight swirled hypnotically as he grinned, his face contorting into something dark and malicious as Shinigami crooned, “They didn’t kill my parents, I did.”
Dhampir
Page 8
9/1/2021
Chapter 17: CHapter Seventeen
Summary:
Duo has so many faces, Heero's not positive which one is the real one.
Notes:
Hey, I'm on time!! ^_^
Hello, hello and hey, we're halfway through the week now, yay!
Ah man, this chapter...I had it all ready to go and then re-read it and hated it. So I re-wrote it >_> I was actually thinking I wasn't going to make it to do the update because I really was not happy at all and I don't post subpar things just to remain on my schedule, but I like the rewrite better even if it did take me down to the wire of posting, haha.
I do hope you all have had a good week and all those going back to school and jobs, good luck in this coming year!
Enjoy~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Dark Mage
Chapter Seventeen
Heero stared at the manic grin on Duo’s face with bewilderment, his mind catching up with the dark mage’s last spoken words that were echoing over and over in his mind. Those insidiously uttered words just didn’t register properly with him and he frowned as he refused to drop his gaze. The legends he had heard said that Duo killed the other mages because they killed his parents, but Duo was admitting to killing them himself?
Twilight glowed as Duo leaned in closer, chestnut bangs framing his face and calling even more attention to just how large the mage’s eyes were. His lips were twisted in a sinister grin and he laughed as his whole face scrunched, creating an almost fae look—an evil fae, but fae all the same. “Surprised?”
“Why would you murder your parents?” He asked quietly, reminding himself that the one before him wasn’t the Duo he had been a companion to. Duo seemed so normal most of the time that he kept forgetting that the lithe creature before him was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of mages and almost for the deaths of his friends. Despite his slight stature, he was the Magician Koristaja, Shinigami and probably a slew of other titles Heero didn’t even know about, but he was not someone to be taken lightly.
“Can they really be called parents when they saw me as nothing more than a way to make money?” Shinigami retorted lowly, his half-lidded depths watching Heero closely. “I was treated as a mere slave to them, they had no magic within them and yet I was born with an almost infinite amount and with an affinity to all the elements. They were farmers and saw I could plant, water and cultivate the fields much faster than they could with crops that were superior to their neighbors.” He scoffed, anger contorting his expression into something Heero recognized all too well. It was an expression he saw often on Odin’s face whenever the assassin talked about those who used him to complete their dirty work, but thought of themselves as above him since they hadn’t physically dirtied their hands. “They worked me while they did nothing and collected money from other farmers who also wanted my services. They saw me as nothing more than a tool and treated me as such instead of as their child.
“Is that what parents are?” He rhetorically asked, knowing full well that Heero couldn’t answer it, “I saw other children whose parents looked at them with something mine never did, children who had real beds instead of straw in the barn, children that ate with their family instead of alone with just the cold scraps from the table.” Shinigami disappeared as Duo looked at Heero with crushed disappointment and such deep hurt that his fingers twitched to comfort the dark mage in some way, “And yet…I would’ve stayed forever because I loved them, at least until they sold me as soon as someone offered them more gold than their minds could fathom.” He snorted, “What kind of idiocy is that?”
“I don’t know, I never had parents to know what is normal and what isn’t.” He murmured, he only had small glimpses of a woman with dark hair and bits of a melody. “Not that I remember at least.”
“I was happy with them, even though they didn’t love me like I saw other parents love their children, but they sold me off like chattel.” Duo added bitterly, that luminescent twilight color glowing brighter for a moment as the fire flared dangerously, flames licking at the floor and the sides of the mantle.
Heero furrowed his brow recalling the mosaics outside of the throne room that he had to assume Duo had made himself. “To another mage?”
“There is power in our blood,” he whispered, holding up his hand and staring at the thin white scar lines on his fingers and wrist, “and as one that had five innate affinities, my blood is extremely potent and can be used for any spell.”
“Blood is blood, wouldn’t any blood be useful for a spell?”
Duo laughed, the twilight fading as if what Heero said was the funniest thing he’d heard in centuries. “Don’t you know anything about mages, Captain?”
“I know that buying children is not allowable anymore.”
He smirked, the darkness fading from around the long-haired man and the room itself, “I know, I made Zechs promise to outlaw that practice for my help in uniting the tribes.”
“You’re not mentioned in any history books I’ve read on the war.” He murmured quietly, tilting his head as he studied Duo anew.
“Ah, but you heard that Zechs had mages on his side.” Duo riposted, waving his hand before sticking it out as if to shake Heero’s hand, “Nice to meet you, I’m said mages.”
“But it was said King Zechs had an infinite army of magicians!”
“Please,” he snorted, rolling his eyes and grinning impishly at the brunet, “almost all the mages were dead and those left were in hiding. Zechs had the strongest mage as his right hand man, no one else stood a chance as no made would stand against me. They thought I wanted to eradicate all mages because that’s what they had been told, but that was never the case. I just wanted those high up and so corrupt they were willing to kill those they feared to be punished and to never have the chance to hurt me again.”
Heero thought back to the mosaics at the bottom of the stairwell, specifically on the one that had shown a young child with violet eyes kept in a prison cell except for when he was giving blood. “They treated you as a tool as well.”
“I’m an excellent tool as I have discovered, the last thing I am to anyone is an actual living creature.” He spat, anger spiking again as his eyes glowed twilight momentarily, but that midnight octave didn’t return. “The only reason I hadn’t been fought over or passed around was because the one who bought me was the High Mage, he was the strongest mage and no one would dare go against him.”
“You were stronger though.”
“But a tool isn’t alive and thus cannot hold a position of power.” Duo retorted acerbically, “And despite my powers, I was untrained until I was ten and so despite what I could do, I wasn’t as skilled as a trained mage.”
The former captain licked his lips as he hesitated to ask, but his curiosity to know more about the man before him won out. “What happened?”
“My master discovered I was too strong to control,” the manic grin returned and Heero vividly remembered Quatre’s fire tornado and the strength of it that utterly crushed that wind mage, the mosaic of a young Duo reminiscent of it, “and as I hadn’t had my Threshing yet but was already stronger than the High Mage, I was sent to the Magician’s College to be trained so that I didn’t end up destroying things and killing a bunch of people.” Duo snorted wryly, “That worked out so well for them.”
From what he remembered about the mosaics, the High Mage was the first person Duo killed and it would still be a few years before he gained the name Koristaga, but it was the second person that intrigued Heero. What happened that caused absolute darkness to enshroud the young mage after that person gave Duo something? “Who was the second person you killed?”
Duo’s face turned vacuous, his eyes deadening as the mirthful look disappeared. “Enough about me, I answered your original question already.”
“Hn.” He shrugged as if he didn’t care either way, but internally he wanted to know more. The dark mage was fascinating and so elusive that he wanted to pin the long-haired man down and force him to answer every one of his questions, but he’d be dead long before Duo would acquiesce to that. He should be satisfied with what Duo had told him already as the mage had told him he was willing to discuss his magic but not his personal life, but he was long from being satisfied, what he had learned made his curiosity burn brighter. Never had he found someone so captivating and engaging.
Duo rolled his eyes, an impish smirk curling his lips as he gave a longanimous sigh, “I can practically see the steam coming from your ears, so I’ll grant you one more question, but not about me.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line of displeasure and the dark mage’s smirk widened into a Cheshire cat grin because they both knew he wanted to ask more about Duo. He wanted to see Duo use every single element, to ask how he got into the castle undetected and the princess out of the castle with such ease, he wanted to know what he studied, what the man who bought him did to him and how long he had been living in this castle-fortress. Did he have other houses? Other companions? A lover?
“Cat got your tongue?” He teased, violet eyes dancing jovially.
Heero scowled at the mage who only laughed at his expression, “How does the plumbing work? Is there a natural hot spring you tap water from? But then the blocks of ice in the storage rooms and the plants that grow without sunlight… how is that all possible?”
“I said one question.” Duo answered flatly, but the amused expression told Heero he hadn’t overstepped. “I’ll answer your first, your others will have to wait for another day. There is no hot spring, but I have tanks that hold heated water for the baths and I replenish them as necessary. I don’t have guests often and a communal bath would be wasted on me since the servants would not dare to bathe with me, so a private bathroom is sufficient and the tanks last quite a long time for only a few people.”
“You’ve never bathed with friends?”
His eyes narrowed, a silent warning in them that Heero was almost overstepping. “Few wanted to be friends with me and those who did wanted something from me other than friendship.”
“It can be fun.” Heero murmured, thinking back to the times he and Trowa would bathe in the stream. They couldn’t afford to bathe in the heated pools as they were lowly apprentices, but the streams were free and clean and quite refreshing in the summer. They would relax, roughhouse, talk about when they’d grow up and as they aged, their conversations moved to sex, alcohol and their jobs. Their times bathing in the stream lessened once they entered adulthood and were fully encompassed in their jobs, but those memories were the happiest in his life.
Duo cocked his head, his braid following the movement of his head as he contemplated Heero’s words and expression. He wasn’t trying to wheedle information from him, but was actually curious and despite his stoic way of talking, Duo knew it wasn’t for a lack of care. The Captain often wore a placid look, but over the past year he had discovered that the man was far from placid, his emotions burned brightly if one knew what to look for and Duo was slowly figuring it out. “Is it? I can’t remember ever bathing with anyone, let alone a friend…”
He looked up, catching Duo’s gaze, and grinned, “You should try it.”
“Wouldn’t I need a friend first?” Came the self-deprecating sarcasm as Duo turned to leave, his hands clasped behind his back as he made his way to the door in that leisurely stroll that gave him an air of aloof disinterest.
“Aren’t we friends?” Heero asked, so quietly that if Duo hasn’t stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder with abject surprise, he’d think he didn’t ever utter them aloud. The surprise quickly morphed into incredulity.
“I just admitted to you that I murdered my parents, would you honestly be friends with a murderer?” He asked with mocking derision, “And not just a murderer, but your captor and jailer.”
“I have just as much blood on my own hands, it would be hypocritical of me to hold you to a higher standard than I hold myself to.”
“It’s not the same as parricide.” Duo rebutted, his back straight and taut as if he were being attacked.
He shrugged, “My actions led to the death of the man who raised me until Captain Jay took me in, he might not have been my biological father—or maybe he was, I don’t know, but he was the closest thing to a father that I had and I betrayed him and watched him be beheaded for his crimes.” The expression of anger and betrayal on Odin’s face still haunted his dreams at times, the assassin had always believed he would one day be captured, but he never thought it would be at the hands of his apprentice. “And the people I killed, they were someone’s father or mother, someone’s son or daughter or sibling or spouse.”
Duo furrowed his brow, his lips downturned in a deep frown as he studied Heero like he was the enigma that couldn’t be cracked. “I…don’t understand you.” He whispered before Shadow collected and the magician disappeared before Heero’s eyes.
Dhampir
Page 7
9/15/2021
Notes:
Duo needs to stop disappearing. Heero's going to get fed up with it, but it's kind of hard to stop a mage that can just disappear like that >_>
I'll see you all in two weeks! Have a great September ^_^
And as always, thanks in advance for the comments, kudos and love!
Retroxcool on Chapter 4 Mon 24 May 2021 07:43PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 4 Wed 26 May 2021 12:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 7 Wed 09 Jun 2021 04:20AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 7 Wed 09 Jun 2021 11:38AM UTC
Comment Actions
cr0wgrrl on Chapter 8 Wed 16 Jun 2021 02:28AM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 8 Wed 16 Jun 2021 11:29AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 8 Thu 17 Jun 2021 12:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 8 Thu 17 Jun 2021 12:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
Birdie (Guest) on Chapter 8 Thu 05 Aug 2021 12:50AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 8 Fri 06 Aug 2021 02:24PM UTC
Comment Actions
CuteCiboulette on Chapter 8 Fri 06 Aug 2021 08:38PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 8 Fri 06 Aug 2021 11:59PM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 9 Wed 23 Jun 2021 01:54AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 9 Wed 23 Jun 2021 12:26PM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 10 Wed 30 Jun 2021 02:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 10 Wed 30 Jun 2021 02:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
Hukaro-Yushi (Guest) on Chapter 11 Fri 09 Jul 2021 10:59PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 11 Sat 10 Jul 2021 01:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 12 Wed 21 Jul 2021 01:46PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 12 Wed 21 Jul 2021 05:31PM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 13 Thu 22 Jul 2021 12:16AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 13 Thu 22 Jul 2021 01:25AM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 15 Wed 11 Aug 2021 03:20PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 11 Aug 2021 03:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 15 Wed 11 Aug 2021 04:02PM UTC
Comment Actions
Jess_eklom on Chapter 15 Mon 16 Aug 2021 10:48PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 15 Tue 17 Aug 2021 12:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
Jess_eklom on Chapter 16 Wed 01 Sep 2021 05:02AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 16 Wed 01 Sep 2021 07:28PM UTC
Comment Actions
Jess_eklom on Chapter 17 Wed 15 Sep 2021 01:04AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 17 Wed 15 Sep 2021 02:48PM UTC
Comment Actions
sherry224 (Guest) on Chapter 17 Sun 19 Sep 2021 08:07AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 17 Mon 20 Sep 2021 07:18PM UTC
Comment Actions
Aiko (Guest) on Chapter 17 Sun 09 Jan 2022 04:23PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 17 Sun 09 Jan 2022 05:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
Duoderbas1 on Chapter 17 Tue 15 Mar 2022 06:49AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 17 Sat 19 Mar 2022 12:31AM UTC
Comment Actions
Retroxcool on Chapter 17 Tue 24 May 2022 11:26PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 17 Mon 06 Jun 2022 03:50AM UTC
Comment Actions
Raevehn on Chapter 17 Sun 29 May 2022 04:28AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 17 Sun 29 May 2022 04:14PM UTC
Comment Actions
Raevehn on Chapter 17 Sun 29 May 2022 04:19PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dhampir (Dhampire) on Chapter 17 Sun 29 May 2022 07:37PM UTC
Comment Actions