They settled into a rhythm of alternately riding the horse, with Relena taking the first turn to sit on the horse's back. She forced Heero every now and then to take his turn, not believing that he didn't grow tired of all the walking he did. Their pace wasn't that fast, and Heero was slightly worried about how long it would take for them to cross the border, as these thick woods were hard to travel through. He was already grateful that the obvious road was easy to follow, but he doubted there would be inns popping up every now and then.
Relena had used some of their money to acquire herself some provisions: a small sewing-box with which she had mended her blue dress, new undergarments, a new shirt and pants for Heero, as well as another dress for herself -- a simple light brown one. She had also bought some food that could be conserved for quite a while, filling up half the picnic basket. The silver was enough to sustain them for a while, but she didn't know for how long. Food and lodging would be pricey, for them as well as for the horse.
Romefeller country was, especially at the border, abundant with fruit gardens. The picnic basket was soon filled to the brim with fruit, and they were ready for their journey through the forest. Following the road, they were on their way to Auda country first; Heero tried to envision the map he had seen in the living room, but he couldn't recall the exact outlines of the different countries of the world. They had decided to go to Auda country just to get away from their homeland for a while; Heero didn't mind and left it to Relena to decide which way they should go.
They made it through the forests easier and faster than he had thought; it only took them two days, and he stayed awake the one night they need to spend at the side of the road. Vayeate was able to find enough to eat, and Relena was in charge of rationing the food. It took him some time to convince her to take the blanket, and she insisted she was fine and wanted him to get some rest as well, so he pretended to be asleep until she fell asleep herself.
Out of the forest, they traveled into Auda country. It was a lot more barren, the road to its capital city poorly paved despite it being wide and well-traveled. Farms and houses were few and far between, the people eyeing the travelers suspiciously. Hardly any children or animals were running around, and there weren't any fruit gardens here. Nobody greeted them or looked even up from their work. Heero didn't pay much attention to the people either, but didn't bring his guard down.
It was Relena's turn to ride Vayeate and she was almost dozing on his back, softly swinging back and forth. Heero had gotten used to the long marches, but knew it was physically very heavy for Relena, though not one complaint ever came over her lips. He practiced with the sollevar whenever they were resting; he wasn't sure if he did everything right, but he got a better handle of the weapon. Relena's lips were always pursed in a disapproving scowl when she saw him practicing, but she didn't comment on it. She was more amazed about his stamina, that he was still able to practice so intensely after a long day march.
Fortunately they hadn't run out of money yet, but Relena feared they would need to dip into the leather bag again. This country couldn't provide for their needs; the fields were sown with several crops they didn't recognize, and though Vayeate ate from it without any troubles, both of them didn't have a clue how to prepare it, and didn't have anything to cook with. The fruit and half of their food stash was already gone, thanks to Heero's major appetite. He tried to eat not too much, especially not compared to Relena who apparently only needed one apple to live. He realized very well she was sparing the food out of her mouth for his sake, which made him feel guilty -- but his apparently endless stamina needed lots of food to sustain it.
With a good and well-fed looking horse, a girl in simple, yet clean and neat clothing and a boy walking next to them, Heero was painfully aware that they were prey for bandits. He didn't have any illusion that his sollevar would scare them off, not if they were working in groups. Keeping themselves to the well-used road was the only thing he could think of to minimize the risk; diverging from this path would probably get them into trouble. Still, Heero kept a watchful eye out whenever he saw bushes or heard strange noises, and hoped that casually swinging the sollevar around would keep people from getting the wrong ideas. After all, people had shown fear of his weapon before.
It all went wrong on the third day they traveled through Auda country, just half a day away from reaching the capital city. The road was surrounded by thick bushes with large, smooth leaves; impenetrable, and ideal to hide behind. The border town had been buzzing with rumors of bandits and Heero grabbed Vayeate's reins, eyes darting back and forth.
"Is there something wrong?" Relena was quick to ask. He had assumed she was half asleep or sunken in thoughts, but she was apparently paying better attention than he thought.
"You better get off the horse," Heero said and that was all he got the chance to say. The next moment, Vayeate bucked wildly, lifting up his heavy legs and whinnying. Not in fear, but to attack -- but because Relena wasn't riding with a saddle, she slid off of his back, crying out in surprise and fear, and she fell to the ground.
"Relena!"
Heero wanted to help her, and in the same movement he turned around to reach for her, an arrow shot just past his ear, missing him by a millimeter. The feathers of the arrow brushed his ear, and he could feel the metal tip cutting his cheek. Relena lay motionless on the ground, her face turned away from him -- but before he could do anything, Vayeate moved in front of her, protecting her.
He gritted his teeth, but immediately whirled around, swinging the sollevar and deflecting a row of arrows. Men emerged from the bushes, dressed in sloppy, filthy clothing; unshaven and not bathed for more than just a few days. The bows were handmade and improvised, not terribly accurate; it had been simply a coincidence that the arrow had been so well aimed. Some of the men were wearing swords, and certainly every one of them carried a knife or a dagger. Showing him nasty, mean-spirited grins -- which only displayed their rotten teeth and the gap in between them -- the mob was confident Heero would claim defeat just because of their sheer numbers.
"Give up," the leader spoke. He had dirty blond hair, uncombed and matted like a bunch of hay, strands hanging in front of his eyes. How he could see like that was a mystery to Heero -- the man hadn't seen a bath or a barber in ages. The mob's weapons might not be accurate or sharp, but they were plenty. He shifted his position, pointing the sollevar at them.
"Now, now, don't be over-confident," the leader spoke again amusedly. "Put that thing away before you cut yourself, and give all your money to us."
"We don't have any," Heero answered curtly. The basket had rolled away from Relena when she dropped it during her fall. He could only hope the leather bag hadn't fallen out of it, or that any of the men had heard the jingling coins.
Grinning toothlessly at Heero, one of the bandits detached himself from the group and moved towards Relena. Not soon after, a second bandit left the group to walk into the direction where the basket had rolled to.
Both Heero and Vayeate stepped to the side, blocking the men's passage. The horse snorted dangerously, as always impressive in strength and height. The man halted, and just grinned like a loon. The leader snorted too, but far less impressively; he unsheathed his sword. Heero didn't have a smith's eye, but it looked sharp enough to him. The situation was growing worse with every passing second -- not even he could take on a mob like this. The rest of the group followed their leader's example, and three of them lifted up their bows. Heero counted his adversaries quickly -- ten to one, without the two already detached from the group. Unfair as if he'd ever seen it. Putting his faith into the sollevar, he decided that offense was the best defense and lunged for the leader.
The scruffy man was quite surprised that Heero went for the attack instead of running away in fear and had barely enough time to block him with his sword, uttering an undignified grunt.
"You little bastard!"
Heero didn't bother answering, cursing or speaking. The other men started to attack him, and he needed all his strength and concentration to keep them at bay, at least preventing them from hitting or cutting him. The sollevar twirled and swung around, striking and hitting, and soon enough high-pitched screams were heard, and blood dripped thickly from the trident-shaped head. Apparently the wounds were not lethal enough, because the bandits kept coming, and Heero took hits to his chest and sides. His movements started to slow down, and his swings became less and less fierce. They were too many -- he had sustained too many wounds, he was losing too much blood, he was feeling light-headed. Far away, somewhere in the background, he could hear someone screaming about "Put down this crazy beast" and Vayeate whinnying and snorting.
He had to fight, had to go on...! It was only because of his willpower that he was still standing; he moved the sollevar as if he was wading through mud, and he felt hands tugging at the weapon. The hilt of a sword hit his temple and he immediately dropped the sollevar, black spots swirling in front of his eyes. For a brief moment, he didn't know where he was, everything spun around him. The only thing keeping him awake was Relena screaming his name. Relena! Heero tried to turn around, but his knees gave out on him and he fell to the ground.
The men laughed in uproar. The leader, his shirt cut open and the ragged edges colored dark red, breathed a little heavily, but showed a triumphant grin. With one kick of his foot, the sollevar was out of Heero's reach.
"Nice weapon, that'll fetch me some gold," he taunted him. "You're not so tough now, are you?"
"Losers," Heero bristled, "ten to one..." He was kicked in the ribs.
"Shut your mouth! Your horse looks good too; it'll taste great in the stew tonight!"
Relena cried a loud "No!" and Heero groaned -- Vayeate was a champion's stallion, not food! If only he could reach his weapon...his body stiffened when he heard the rest of the bandits making inappropriate remarks involving Relena and what they were going to do with the girl.
Their horrible laughter hurt his ears and Heero had a pretty good picture of what the men were planning, even without telling it out loud. Grunting, he tried to muster up his strength to get up from the ground. A boot was placed between his shoulder blades and he was pushed down again, face grinding into the sand.
"Don't worry boy," it was the leader, "we're going to have some fun with you too."
"Stop it," Heero tried to say, but his voice had abandoned him. Sand was choking his throat, and his eyes were stinging. His jaw was swollen, the cuts all over his body hurt pretty badly. His vision was blurring, and his body refused to obey him. Relena screamed, and he could hear the raw laughter of the men.
"Stop it!" He couldn't bring himself to beg. He would do it, for Relena's sake, he would beg to leave her alone, but the words didn't cross his lips -- only a deep grunt when the leader drove his boot deeper between his shoulder blades.
"Shut up, boy. You're lucky if your head ends up on a spike," he announced, grinning in anticipation. "But before that happens, we're going to have some mighty fun with you and see how loud you can scream!"
Heero swallowed thickly. He had promised Darlian to protect his daughter. He had promised to protect Relena, to keep her safe and to guide her to Sanq, wherever it was...and he had failed already. If only Relena would be safe...he couldn't care less about his own life.
"Please...stop it..." I'll do anything.
It was barely audible, drowned out by the sound of clothes ripping and Relena screaming, again and again. He closed his eyes briefly, then forced himself to muster up all his strength and to get up. One last-ditch effort, he had to try! Heero put his hands flat on the ground and started getting up, his body twitching with the effort.
"Don't bother," the leader said disdainfully, but he couldn't suppress the surprise in his voice. He hadn't expected Heero to be able to even lift up another finger. "You're not going to --" those were his last words, as blood gurgled from his mouth.
The pressure of his boot on Heero's back disappeared as the man crashed to the ground with a bewildered look on his face. His heart and lung were pierced -- exactly through the center. A marksman aim, but Heero had no time to wonder about it. He kicked at the man slumped over his leg, pushing the dead weight away from him. Getting back on his feet, albeit a bit wobbly, he was up just in time to see the other bandits fall down one by one, arrows protruding from their chests and backs.
The ones left clever enough to notice that something was terribly wrong didn't make it far as they tried to run away. Similar arrows hit them and they fell to the ground without another scream, and it had only taken a few seconds.
Heero grabbed his sollevar and looked around him, frantically searching in the direction the arrows had come from. He thought he saw someone fleeing -- no, not exactly fleeing, just turning away and leaving the scene casually. He quickly looked back at Relena who was huddling into herself, crying, her legs pulled up to her chest. He couldn't leave her alone like this. Vayeate stood behind her, large nose sniffing at her and bumping gently against her neck. His knees felt like they could give out on him any second now; he couldn't go into pursuit even if he wanted to.
For good measure, he yelled out loud to their savior. Whoever had fired these arrows, he or she had saved their lives.
"Hey! Come back! Whoever you are, come back!"
No answer, and Heero couldn't see the archer anymore. He did walk into the bushes, in the last hope of seeing where the archer was going to -- but he found nothing but the small hideout of the bandits. They had lumped together their earlier loot as well as some provisions to set up camp: blankets, food, a genuine horse saddle, extra ammunition. He picked up some of the arrows, which were badly carved from wood, with a mismatching steel tip tied to it, nothing like the arrows that had killed them.
He grabbed everything, including a bolt of cloth, some pans and a small chest. Those vermin had set up a permanent camp here to ambush innocent people. He grunted. His strength was already returning and he shouldn't have had any trouble at all carrying this, but it felt like his limbs were made out of pure lead, weighing him down.
Returning to Relena, he was taken aback to see her standing up, rummaging through the basket to find her other dress. The blue one was ripped as far as up to her thighs; she shot him a look that was a mixture of shock, anger and disbelief, but she didn't stop looking. Her face was set in stone, her lips drawn into a tight, small line. Her eyes were red, but she wasn't crying.
"Relena..."
"I'm all right!" She barked at him, immediately turning her face away. She had found the dress and took it out of the basket, clutching it to her chest as a last lifeline.
"Are you injured?" He asked, and promptly got a drop of blood in his eye. It came from the sollevar, its tip covered with the thick liquid, dripping down the shaft. Heero swung it a few times to cast off the spatters, not in her direction, of course.
"My back," she mumbled. She had made quite a fall. "I didn't expect Vayeate to react like this."
The horse snorted as if he knew they were talking about him. Heero had never wondered what Darlian exactly had in mind with Vayeate; the horse was far taller and stronger than any horse he had ever seen. As far as he could remember, Vayeate had never been used to plough the lands, only for riding. Heero had always assumed that the horse was for personal use, and especially for Relena. She shot him a watery smile.
"I never thought he would throw me off."
"He reacted to the situation," he answered. He wasn't telling her that the horse had every intention of trampling anyone who approached him or the girl.
"We need a saddle," he continued, and showed her the one he was holding.
"Where did you get that?" she asked, blinking, and looked at him as if she saw him for the first time. "Oh, for the mercy of the Twelve, Heero, you're bleeding! What are you doing standing up?"
"I'm all right," he repeated her words. "We need to get out of here and find a better place to stay."
She pursed her lips. "You're injured and you're bleeding. We're not going anywhere until I have taken care of your wounds, Heero."
"Relena," he said, almost warningly. This wasn't the time to be stubborn; who knew how many more of these bandits were hanging around, and they would probably be all too happy to avenge their fellow men. The road was littered with dead bodies, the arrows still protruding from their backs or chests. He didn't want to stay here for another minute; they were both showing the signs of the intense fight. Relena caught him staring at her torn dress, and her cheeks flared.
"Where can we go to? There's not an inn in sight, and I doubt they would give us a room..."
Being covered in soot was something entirely different than being covered in cuts and blood and wearing torn clothes. Heero heaved a small sigh. He was already recovering from the injuries, and hunger pains were gnawing at his stomach. How could he be thinking of food now?
"There should be a bridge not a mile from here," he thought out loud. "That was a sign for a bridge we saw not long ago, wasn't it?"
The girl nodded, her lips quivering, and she was fighting with all her willpower to not start crying.
"Can you make it? We can sit down by the bridge and use the water from the river to...freshen us up."
She shook her head. "Your wounds need to be taken care of now, Heero. Another mile is far too straining for you."
"I can make it. Vayeate will have to carry all of this..."
"Where did you get all of this?" she asked him again, keeping an eye on him when he walked over to the horse and put the saddle on his back. Vayeate didn't protest, but stamped his hoof a few times.
"I got this from...the bandits' camp was in the bushes," he explained. "I didn't even take half of all the things they had gathered. It's of no value to them anymore, and we can make good use of it."
She looked at him, rather incredulously.
"I don't want anything of those filthy...men!" She had wanted to say something stronger, but her composure got the better of her. He wondered why she wasn't crying, why she was fighting so hard to fight back the tears. By all means, she should be crying out loud -- what had happened had been awful. He didn't think any of the bandits could have gotten that far to actually...his mind didn't want to go there...but still, it had been horrible.
"Relena, we need the provisions, you know it," he said as if he were explaining something to a small child. "It would be a waste to leave all of this behind. We certainly need the blankets as the nights are colder here, and some things are just very handy, and we don't have the silver to buy everything."
She lowered her eyes when he mentioned the silver, and the thought crossed his mind that they could have lost the leather bag after Relena's fall and in the heat of the fight.
"Yes, you're right," she answered, a little sullen. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
"Let's just get out of here," he repeated, ignoring her apology.
Heero used the rope that he had found in the clutter to keep everything together, tying it in one neat, large bundle on Vayeate's back. Relena used the time he was busy to quickly change into her other dress, stuffing the blue one back in the basket.
"Ready?" he asked before turning around again.
"Ready," she said, her face sporting a neutral expression though she was very tense. Her fingers trembled as she touched the familiar basket hanging on her arm again, her grip on it so tight that her knuckles had turned white. She avoided looking at the corpses, but it was already too late -- some light in her eyes had died as well. This wasn't life outside the farm as she had ever envisioned it. This wasn't life in general as she had imagined it to be -- not with violence, death, blood, people trying to backstab each other, betray each other...almost dazed, she started to walk towards the bridge, even though there was room enough for her to get on the horse.
Relena was strangely quiet as they continued their way. She looked tired and ready to cry, but refused to let the tears fall, her face still showing that unnatural neutral expression. Heero let her be; he didn't know what else to say anyway. His words might provide some consolation, but those were just words...he couldn't improve the situation as it was. No roof over their heads, no family as far as they knew of to take shelter with, no certainty, no security.
Step by step, Heero put one foot in front of the other, walking and walking. It was strange to feel this fit and strong again so soon after his defeat. It bothered him that he had lost the fight, he should have been able to take out ten of those rowdy bastards with bad swords and even worse bows. If only he knew how to wield his weapon better...at this moment, only the infuriating gnawing hunger was his biggest problem. Suddenly, the horse halted.
"What?" Relena asked, deadly tired. "Vayeate..?"
"Shhh," Heero said, a little chiding. Her voice had been loud. She flinched, and stepped closer to Vayeate as if she wanted to melt into his shadow, to render herself invisible. Heero sniffed -- he hadn't heard any noises, but had caught the unmistakable scent of open fire...and the smell of something cooking. Meat. Where there was an open fire, there would have to be people. There was a curve in the road just ahead, before the bridge, with trees and bushes obscuring the overview.
"More bandits?" Relena whispered, her hands grabbing the horse's mane.
"I'm going to take a look," Heero said, urging her to be silent. Vayeate stepped away from the road, hiding behind a large tree. Taking the sollevar with him, the trident-shaped head caked with dried blood, Heero went into the direction of the fire. If there were bandits, he would be prepared. This time, not only his blood would spill.
He took the curve in the road and narrowed his eyes. It was hard to miss the open fire, flames enveloping the wood calmly. Not a wild, roaring fire like he had seen when the farm burned down... A spit turned around above the flames, roasting a few water birds, judging from their shape. It had been a while since they had a good meal, and he felt the hunger pains intensifying. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted by the food. Was there someone with the fire or not? It was hard to see in the falling evening, but he couldn't imagine the fire to be abandoned.
sollevar firmly in his hand, Heero approached the fire cautiously. He really didn't like to lower himself to stealing, but the prospect of food was so promising, that he was prepared to put aside his conscience. He was about to step up to the turning spit, when suddenly a voice spoke.
"A good evening to you too, esshan," a heavily accented voice rang out, the last word rolling off his tongue a little brusquely. "Would you care to share dinner with me?"
Heero found his balance again, shaken to his very core. No wonder he hadn't noticed anyone -- a mass of black, covered by the falling evening and the shadows of a gigantic tree, moved as the voice had spoken. It was hard to discern, but there was really someone sitting there; judging from the voice, it had to be a young man. Heero couldn't see his face as he was hooded and cloaked, the thick black fabric showing rich golden embroidery on the hem. The fire didn't cast much light, but Heero thought he could make out an intricate pattern of something resembling flames on the fabric. The hood of the cloak bore similar embroidery, and suddenly it was thrown off, revealing the speaker.
A massive braid slipped over the young man's shoulder, chestnut hair sprinkled with copper and gold strands. Heero stood nailed to the ground as a pair of dark violet eyes fixed themselves on him, drilling into his very soul, capturing his very essence. These eyes, intense, showed a myriad of colors -- dark blue, purplish violet, midnight blue, hints of black...and he wondered why he could see this so clearly while the rest was so hard to distinguish.
"Who are you, my good man?"
The stranger's voice was friendly, with a deep timbre, and his smile was disarmingly friendly. In his hands rested a staff, its length similar to Heero's sollevar, sporting a winged tip and a large sphere on top, embedded in four spikes. The carvings on the bottom of the staff were almost similar to the ones on his sollevar and bore the same intricate, elaborated pattern as on the cloak: flames, wrapping itself around the staff as if setting it on fire ...remarkable craftsmanship. This young man, this traveler or whatever he was, would be a walking target for any bandit, yet he seemed completely unaware of any danger. More so, he looked very relaxed, smile turning amused, as if there was nothing that could ever touch him.
"My name is Heero," he grunted. "Heero Yuy." Why was he even answering him?
"So nice to meet you, Heero Yuy. My name is Duo from Maxwell Church."
That rang a bell. Heero couldn't help but looking puzzled. Maxwell Church?
"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with your church."
"Almost no one is," Duo chuckled, voice low, but without any humor to it. Heero chose to ignore that remark, but he lowered his sollevar. This man wasn't a bandit and posed no threat to him.
"You shouldn't be traveling alone," he replied brusquely. For a brief moment, he considered asking this Duo from Maxwell Church if he was an archer, or if he'd seen an archer passing by.
"I'm not alone," Duo said and shrugged. His hands were still on the staff, and as the flames of the fire suddenly burned brighter, it revealed exactly how he was holding it. Heero had to adjust his opinion immediately. It would have been a terrible, terrible mistake to think that this Duo would pose no threat to him. The staff, the cloak...ten against one that he was a mage. A mage, just like Khushrenada's masked fool. He gritted his teeth.
"Besides, I don't think you're the one to tell me how I should be traveling."
"What do you mean?" Heero stiffened. His grip on the sollevar was tight again. There wasn't a thing he could do against magic, but he wasn't afraid.
"Look at yourself," Duo said. His voice had taken on a less musical tone, but still had the same depth to it. "You're injured, your clothes are torn, and despite your strength, your body is about to keel over. You would have died, you would have fought yourself to the death... and that would have been such a waste."
"What are you talking about?" Heero cocked his head, not caring that he sounded impatient. It was hard to believe that he was listening to this man instead of going back to Relena who would probably be worried sick by now.
"The bandits." Duo made a dismissive gesture. "Join me at the fire and have something to eat, you need it. Then I'll find someone who can heal you. The river is close by for a good rinse. You look like the Twelve have personally run over you, all at the same time."
When he invoked the Gods, his voice sounded openly mocking -- that had to be some church of his, that would talk about the Twelve so disdainfully.
"I'll be on my way," Heero answered. The offer of food was tempting, and as soon as Duo had mentioned it he felt his body achingly protesting against every next move; he was indeed about to keel over if he didn't sit down.
"Who's the lady you're traveling with?" Duo asked out of the blue.
"Lady?" Heero was sure Relena couldn't be seen from here. How could he...?
Duo chuckled. "I heard you from afar," he explained. "You shouldn't be traveling alone either. With all due respect to the Princess, but one guard alone can't protect her from the bandits roaming Auda country, and it's only getting worse."
"Princess?" Heero was annoyed at how casually Duo was talking. The other shrugged again and shifted his position a little. His hands went over the staff, fingers gently curling around it.
Find yourself a priest from Maxwell Church. Heero recalled clearly the words from the smith. Howard had told him this just before handing him the sollevar. How could the man have known all of this? There was some rustling in the bushes on his left and Heero jumped up, the sollevar immediately swinging into the direction of the noise. A person emerged from the bushes, clad in green and brown leather, completely blending with the surrounding nature. His brown hair was combed in a typical fashion, covering the right half of his face. He was tall, and the expression on his face was just as neutral as Relena's had been.
"Trowa, meet Heero," Duo said cheerfully. "Heero, meet Trowa. Trowa, do we have enough to eat for our guests?"
"I can always hunt some more," the other replied stoically, and it was only now that Heero noticed the leather strap around the man's chest, holding up a large quiver on his back.
"You helped us out when we were attacked!"
Trowa didn't deny or confirm it, but merely shrugged it off, as if it had been no effort at all. A light annoyance made Heero frown, but he was about to thank the archer when he noticed something behind Trowa, someone moving... but as neither Trowa nor Duo paid any attention to it, he refrained from calling their attention to it.
"Please do," Duo continued airily. "We have two more guests at dinner."
The archer addressed Heero all of the sudden, not acknowledging Duo's words.
"That's quite the weapon you have."
"A genuine sollevar, if I am not mistaken," a male, yet light voice sounded, and the figure that had just moved behind Trowa stepped into the light of the fire. His robes were dark colored too, but not black like Duo's. His pale skin and springy blond hair contrasted sharply with the dark robe, and the staff in his hand was a dead give away. Two mages? "A legendary weapon from times long forgotten, and I know of only one person capable of making it."
"Howard," Heero said curtly. "Do you know him?"
The other smiled. "Not personally," he answered and he walked past Heero, stepping aside until he reached Duo, seeking out his steps carefully as if he was afraid to tread with his feet on the grass. He put the staff against a tree, not cradling it like Duo; it was far less crafted than Duo's, but its simplicity was beautiful. The tip of the staff ended in a pattern of woven leaves, as if protecting a flower about ready to bloom.
"And may I ask who you are?"
The mage looked up, a little disturbed, before smiling brightly at him.
"But of course, where are my manners? My name is Quatre Raberba Winner, my friend."
Heero scowled, as much from the added 'my friend' as from the hearing three names in a row -- apparently this mage was from nobility as well. No simple clergyman sported more than two names. What kind of people were they? Two mages and an archer, traveling together? Coincidence or not? He drew the conclusion that Trowa must be their bodyguard, though he had no doubt that the other two were perfectly capable of defending themselves. Any mage could die from a well-aimed arrow or a blow from a sword, but the damage they could do before they were killed was impressive.
The rustling of leaves told him that Trowa had left, and Duo leaned forward to adjust the spit. Quatre leaned forward too, sprinkling some seasoning over the meat. He held more in his hands -- leaves, roots, and a bundle of twigs, all neatly tied together.
"Will the Princess be joining us too?" he casually asked, shocking Heero out of his thoughts.
"Relena isn't a Princess," he said, his tone a little too harsh. "She is esshan-diva Darlian."
"Esshan-diva Darlian it is," Quatre answered smoothly. "Will the esshan-diva be joining us, then?"
"I...I'll have to go get her," Heero said. Relena was with Vayeate, hiding out of fear of more bandits along this road -- and Heero wasn't so sure if he could trust this company. Nobody had displayed any hostility, but that didn't make them friends instantly. After casting another quick glance at them -- they were not paying attention to him, as if they'd forgotten about him already -- Heero turned around and tracked back to Relena.
As evening was falling, the temperature began to drop significantly and he shivered. He had been standing comfortably close to the warm fire, and walking back reminded him how cold it was. The cuts on his chest stung, and his muscles protested against every movement. It was hard to find Relena again -- Vayeate had blended against the overhanging tree, his height overshadowing the girl, hiding her from view.
She didn't want to come with him at first, clearly torn between not trusting these people Heero met and not wanting to doubt his judgment. Finally, it was Vayeate who took the decision out of her hands; the horse started walking into the direction of the open fire, and Relena, who still held his reins, allowed herself to be dragged by him.
Throwing Heero a watery smile, fatigue darkening her face, she walked along, too drained of her energy to stop the horse. It took them a good ten minutes to get back and Heero made sure Vayeate had a good place for the night, setting up the horse next to another large tree with juicy grass around it. Relena muttered something inaudible, holding the basket in front of her body, knuckles white from her strong grip. She squinted her eyes a little from the smoke coming from the open fire, but even he could see how she was looking at the food. She shifted a little, waiting for Heero to finish taking care of Vayeate.
He led her to the open fire, which looked larger than before; there were two more birds added to the spit. The scents were mouth-watering, and he thought back to the amount of fruit he had eaten recently -- it hadn't really sustained him, and Heero felt like he hadn't eaten in a week. Relena latched onto his arm, tired but not broken, and her gaze darted curiously over the people around the fire.
"Heero...will you introduce us?" she softly whispered.
"Relena, these are Duo from Maxwell Church and Quatre Raberba Winner," Heero told her. "Duo, Quatre, this is Relena Darlian." He didn't know the official title to address a mage, and as long as they didn't correct him he would simply refer to them by their first name. He looked at her worriedly; she was so tired that she barely responded. The attack had been harder on her than he thought.
"A pleasure to meet you," she said and tried to sketch a bow. Duo and Quatre both nodded, chorusing: "The pleasure is ours, esshan-diva."
Again the bushes rustled, announcing Trowa's return. Someone was behind him, just like Quatre had been before.
"This is Trowa," Heero pointed out and Relena greeted him as well. As he didn't know who the one behind Trowa was, he remained silent. The stranger stepped past Trowa into the light of the fire, immediately fixing an unsettling gaze on him. He had slanted eyes and his skin looked bronze, a very different skin color than Heero was used to. His dark, black hair was tied into a painfully tight ponytail, leaving no wisps or strands of hair loose to soften his harsh features. For a brief moment, Heero thought he was wearing robes as well, but discovered quickly enough that it was some kind of armor made out of a foreign material resembling scales, sporting red and golden colors.
"Ah, there you are Wufei," Duo said, scooting over. The staff shifted with him. "This is Heero Yuy and esshan-diva Relena Darlian."
Trowa turned to Relena and bowed to her, offering much more respect than her title deserved. Heero frowned, not understanding. The other one remained standing, as stiff as a board.
"Aren't you going to bow to the Princess, Wufei?" Duo asked.
"I do not bow to someone whose authority has yet to be recognized," he answered and walked away from the both of them, going over to the other side of the fire.
"Typical Wufei," Quatre commented good-naturedly. He leaned forward and dug his hands into a pile of ashes, right next to the flames. Both Heero's and Relena's eyes went as wide as saucers. Undisturbed by the heat, Quatre pulled out a crock pot and wiped away some of the ashes from the lid. He took off the lid and put it aside.
"I do hope you like string beans," he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to hold a crock pot that had been simmering in hot ashes for hours in his hands without burning them. "There was not much else we could get."
"I think the potatoes are done as well," Duo said and Quatre similarly dug up another pot. Wufei, who had briefly disappeared, returned with plates and utensils.
"We do not have enough utensils for two more eaters. You will have to share."
"That's fine by me." Heero glared at him and almost yanked the plate out of Wufei's hands.
Quatre poured the water from the pots into a large jar and went around to provide everyone with vegetables and potatoes, while Trowa cut the meat with a long, razor sharp knife and passed it on, putting a hefty portion on everyone's plate. Relena wasn't very interested in eating, and Heero had to force her to at least nibble on some of the vegetables. Duo suddenly had a large loaf of bread in his hands and divided it into equal portions, passing it around to anyone interested.
As Relena had enough after a few vegetables and a small slice of potato, Heero ate the rest with gusto. The gnawing feeling in his stomach disappeared as his appetite was satisfied; after Relena reassured him that she really was full, he cleaned the rest of the plate without any problem. Even with her piece of bread and after everything he already ate, he still felt hungry, which was rather embarrassing. His cheeks were already colored from the heat of the fire, so he hoped everyone would mistake it for that instead of embarrassment. He eyed the leftover meat, the spit still rotating over the fire slowly.
"There's some more if you want," Trowa said, guessing Heero's thoughts as he caught him glancing at the spit. He protested immediately, claiming that he had enough, but Duo smiled and nodded at him. Everyone was apparently full even though Wufei had another slice of meat, leaving it to Heero to devour the rest.
Conversation was rather limited, and more often than not Duo and Quatre would say something to each other in hushed voices. Trowa was silent, cleaning off some of the dishes with the hot water Quatre had cast off earlier. Wufei stared intently at the fire as if he wanted to kill it with his glare.
"Heero," Relena tugged at his arm. "Do you have a blanket for me?"
They weren't going to an inn, not in this state. Neither of them knew where the next inn was, and Relena was in no condition to travel right now. The earlier events had shaken her roughly and deeply, and she needed rest, comfort and protection, not another exhausting trip. The others of this small group appeared to prepare to spend the night outside as well. There were no signs of rain, and Heero had discovered he felt...at ease with these people around him. Duo looked at him every so often, and every time Heero caught him, he smiled at him. There was a strange feeling of comfort going out from these four -- they were friends, and he could sense they would protect each other. It wasn't maybe the best of situations, but they could have ended up with a lot worse.
Heero gave Relena one of the blankets and he saw the small frown on her face when she accepted it -- she didn't like the origins of their possessions, but her need outweighed her disgust. He took a few blankets for himself, trying to fabricate a make-shift bed. The grass was short, covered with large leaves that softened the soil. After making sure there weren't any rocks or branches where he wanted to lie down, he rolled out the blankets. He wasn't feeling really tired, but he knew his body needed the rest.
He turned over in his improvised bed, searching for a comfortable position to sleep in. Tugging at the blankets around him, covering him from head to toe, he realized he hadn't even offered the others if they needed anything. He shrugged, figuring that tomorrow morning their paths would part anyway. After he had thanked them properly for sharing the meal, or maybe offering them to pay for it if Relena still had the leather pouch, he wouldn't owe them one thing.
"Are you comfortable, esshan-diva?" That was Duo's voice. Rolling back, Heero saw Duo's outline in the dying fire; a silhouette pulling the blanket over Relena's feet to tuck her completely in. He could slap himself mentally that he had forgotten to check up on her. It was just a little thing, but he should be the one taking care of her. She had been through enough already, and he had made a promise.
Duo went on to check up on everyone, wandering around. He pulled Trowa's knife away so he wouldn't cut himself in his sleep and adjusted Quatre's blanket. He also stopped by Wufei, who had sought out a place away from the group, absorbed by the dark. He spoke softly to him, rose to his feet and then left.
He came to a halt at Heero. By coincidence, his feet were bare as well, the blanket a little too short to cover it. Duo already leant into him, stretching out his hand to adjust it.
"I don't need a nanny."
"As you wish." Duo's hand brushed past his calf, fingers dropping the blanket. It was the briefest of touches, as he already straightened himself and walked away without another sound. Though his voice had been calm and polite, Heero picked up a tone of disappointment and regretted his harsh words. It didn't help much that his whole body was shivering, and that was not from his exposed leg. Rolling onto his other side, Heero refrained from touching the small spot Duo's fingers had touched. His body shivered, but that spot was burning and chilling him at the same time. It confused him, and his sleep was restless.
Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 |