It was Miidi again who woke him up -- she gently poked at his shoulder, her voice too soft to be heard. Heero shook awake, immediately reaching for his sollevar, and the girl stepped backwards, hands raised in defense.
"Sorry," he mumbled apologetically, cradling his hand to his chest. "What is it?"
"I've prepared a bath for you," she said. "Esshava Bloom has bought you new clothes, and after you're done, there'll be some more food ready for you."
He nodded, thanked the girl and waited for her to leave before slipping out of bed. The sun had climbed far above the horizon, the temperature rather warm. It had to be late afternoon; how long had he slept? Probably three, four hours at most. And was this Iria country, or still a part of Auda country?
Leaving the sollevar in his room, Heero traipsed to the bathroom and he all but jumped in the tub, his strained muscles relaxing in the hot water. He reached for the bar of soap, not quite satisfied with the overly rosy scent -- but beggars couldn't be choosers, and the Twelve knew how much of a mess he looked like.
His thoughts were occupied with a million questions and problems. Everyone at Catalonia Castle would know by now that Sylvia Noventa had been rescued. Trent's dead body would be discovered, as well as the pile of dead wrouven. It wouldn't be hard to see from all the traces that a Detonation had taken place -- Duo's dortang. With so much magic involved, who knew what was going on, and how fast Dorothy would inform Khushrenada... assuming they already knew. Heero heaved a sigh as he scrubbed all the dirt from his body. He soaked for another half an hour, until the water had cooled off so much that it had become uncomfortable.
New clothes were waiting for him in his room; probably Miidi or Catherine herself had put down the small pile on the wooden chest in the corner. Sturdy brown pants, a large yet fitting light yellow shirt, new underwear, socks and boots. He was puzzled by the rest of the clothing, until he figured out it was all extra; he had never possessed so much clothing before, and certainly not a cloak, a brown one just like his pants. He dressed himself quickly, tying up his boots and buttoning up his shirt. With a comb, he attempted to tame his hair, but gave up fairly fast -- it would never stay the way he combed it anyway.
He had to thank Catherine extensively later for all the good care and these clothes and wondered how they were going to pay her. He hadn't seen Relena carrying the picnic basket lately.
Coming down the stairs, he was relieved to find everyone alive and well in the large living room; Duo waved at him as soon as he saw him. He held a piece of bread in his hand and Quatre didn't mind that some crumbs fell all over him from Duo's enthusiastic wave. With the exception of Wufei, everybody greeted him -- the Nataku warrior looked tersely at some point in front of him, not acknowledging anyone around him.
The table was set with the same plates and cutlery Heero had seen earlier, and a few baskets filled with bread, cheese, and sausages. There were more varieties of cold meat, something that looked like mushrooms and large, round and red... whatever is was. Relena held one of those red things in her hand and offered it to him.
"Taste it, Heero!" she said enthusiastically. "This is a tomato! It's delicious!"
To please her, he bit into it, surprised by the refreshing taste. He already had another one in his hand when he sat down. Sylvia Noventa was wedged in between Relena and Quatre, still looking sickly skinny, but her cheeks sported a healthy flush as she was eating. Her hair was washed and combed, parted in two long ponytails. She wore a simple, light blue dress with long sleeves; Heero assumed that Catherine had burned the rags the girl had been dressed in. Quatre's Healing was nothing sort of a miracle; if it weren't for her frail frame, he would have taken Sylvia for being in perfect health, especially considering everything she had gone through.
Duo put some salt and pepper on his tomato before taking a large bite out of it. There were a lot of crumbs on his plate, as well as some slivers of cheese. Heero wasn't notably hungry after the few hours of rest, but he certainly wasn't opposed to eating some; he was already half way another loaf of bread when he realized what he was doing.
It was for the better, however, that everyone seemed to be in good spirits again. Heero was grateful for it -- they did make a good team; working together had been their key to survive the dungeon. He was used to working alone -- especially when he had been on the farm -- but he saw the necessity of joining forces; without Duo and Quatre's magic powers, he wouldn't have seen the light of day again. Heero almost forgot to take another bite. Since when was he thinking of these people as a team? Quatre and Duo seemed to be the only ones working together without a problem, and what Quatre was doing, Trowa was never far behind to do the same. Wufei was the only one to shirk any form of collaboration, though he had, albeit a little grudgingly, fought with them in the dungeon. Maybe he just didn't care.
Heero abandoned that train of thought to listen to the ongoing conversations, but it was just light-hearted chit-chat and he allowed himself to look at Duo and notice his slightly damp hair. His hair was done a little sloppily, the braid loosely tied with wisps of hair framing his face. Just like Quatre, he was wearing his mage robes again, both in pristine condition. The flames on the arms seemed to dance in front of Heero's eyes; every movement Duo made was enchanting, hypnotizing. He didn't exactly mind seeing him with his hair down again...
His delicious thoughts were interrupted by Sylvia, who was telling how she had been captured by Nichol, per orders of Khushrenada, and how she had been brought to Catalonia Castle. She never had met Dorothy, only Duke Dermail, who had simply told the Treize Faction to throw her in the dungeon. That was all that happened -- she had been thrown into the dungeon and left there to die.
"I don't know how much longer I could have held on," she said, voice a little shaky. "All I could think of was my grandfather and how his heart must have been broken. He gave up his country and his people for me, to save my life, and he was brandished as a traitor. And esshan Darlian... it's terrible."
"Khushrenada holds a grip on almost every country he conquers exactly the same way," Duo said. "If he doesn't kill them at first sight, he holds important people hostage until they cooperate and give him what he wants. The first thing he does is offer a false sense of security to have his precious Treize Faction assigned to every large city to uphold 'law and peace'. Then, slowly, he replaces people in high positions with his own pawns -- and that's only if he doesn't overrun them first."
"He'll be... careful when he wants to add Maganac to his 'collection'," Trowa said, his tone of voice surprisingly disdainful. Quatre agreed with him.
"He'll try to placate the tribes there first," the Nature mage said. "There's nothing Merquise can destroy with his fire there -- Maganac country is inhospitable, one and all desert and blistering sun. If he wants to seize control over the mines, he'll have to find them first."
He sounded a little smug, uncharacteristic for Quatre -- Heero figured he must be from there, and pleased that his home country was at least relatively safe. Khushrenada had seized Romefeller for a good passageway to Maganac -- stationing a large part of his army and the Treize Faction to scout the area.
"It's far too much honor, but I'd say that he's a master strategist, the way he keeps everything in play."
"He does not have any honor!" Wufei immediately jumped from his chair, raising his voice. "What honor lies there in using blunt force, using magic to increase pressure, all against the innocent and the weak! Everyone can conquer countries like this! The people need to stand up against him and fight him!"
Sylvia was obviously shocked by Wufei's outburst, and pressed herself against Relena, seemingly wanting to disappear. Relena put an arm around the frightened girl and dropped the slice of dark bread she had been eating calmly on the table.
"We all know that Khushrenada has no honor. We're all aware of his tactics -- we've all been a victim of it, one way or another. We can turn this around." She looked defiantly at him.
"We're only with the five of us," Wufei snorted, "six, if we count you, and you're a woman."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Heero growled. The Nataku warrior shot him a deadly glare.
"She needs protection, she can't fight with us. A woman like her only keeps us down and we're getting behind on our goals. We need to move speedily, not to lag because of a woman."
"You take that back," Heero said and he also rose from his chair. He had sworn to protect Relena, and that would include her honor. He didn't need someone in a pompous armor to talk badly about her.
"Enough, the both of you," Duo said. "Sit down, now."
"I won't stand for anyone offending Relena," Heero said and returned Wufei's deadly glare.
"Sit. Down. Now." Duo repeated.
They both sat down rather fast, obeying the Fire mage. Heero asked himself if it was because of him being such a strong mage or because of his voice -- sharp, curt, and with the promise of... danger and pain if they didn't obey immediately. The two faces of Duo of Maxwell Church were intriguing, yet difficult to understand, and a little tiring. Heero was almost pouting, as if he regretted missing out on the chance to hit Wufei. It dawned on him that he still needed to thank him for saving Relena nonetheless. He heaved a sigh.
"I want to look for my grandfather," Sylvia spoke up, softly, her voice lilting in the unsettling, uncomfortable silence.
"He's at an inn in Romefeller country, close to the border," Relena said. "You can't miss it once you ride out of the forests. He said he would return there every day to look for you."
The girl nodded determinedly. "I would like to leave as soon as possible."
Relena shook her head. "It would be better if you rested at least one more day before traveling again. You're not quite up to your normal strength again."
"But I feel fine," she insisted. Quatre mimicked Relena and shook his head as well.
"My Healing is strong, but it takes a lot out of yourself," he said. "I agree with Relena that it's better for you to stay another day and rest to gain back your strength. Your will is strong, but your body is still weak."
Sylvia pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed from a stubborn frown on her face. It took her a little while before finally relaxing and nodding. "All right, I will stay here with esshava Bloom for another day."
"The Twelve be with you," Quatre said. "You'll need their luck and fortune."
She was one and all determination now, her eyes fierce and her voice firm. "As soon as I've reunited with my grandfather, we will call for the people in Romefeller country to stand up against Khushrenada."
"Be careful," Trowa advised her. "Keep a low profile, especially in the beginning. Khushrenada won't be stopped at anything to do again what he has done to you before."
"I will," Sylvia agreed. "Without the help of you all, I would never be able to return and organize a resistance in the first place."
Relena flicked a braid over her shoulder. "And that's why I'm coming with you, to get things started," she said calmly. Heero choked on his umpteenth tomato. Even Quatre stopped in his movement to sip some of his tea.
"What?"
"I'm going with Sylvia back to Romefeller country," Relena stated matter-of-factly. "We can't let her travel alone, certainly not in this condition."
"But Relena," Heero protested. He stole a quick glance at Duo, who was just as surprised by her words as he was.
"Princess, you can't go back now," he said.
"Where else should I be going?" she asked, though she looked a little pale. She probably hadn't foreseen these strong reactions, though Trowa, Quatre and Wufei didn't participate in the discussion.
"The Kingdom of Sanq," Duo reminded her. Her face fell.
"That's a fairytale." Her voice didn't waver for a second. "There's no such place, and whatever my father... meant with his words, it wasn't... for me."
Silence fell. Sylvia looked from one to another, not understanding -- Relena had told her about the Darlian's death, but had left out what her father had exactly said. The girl lowered her eyes.
"It's not that I don't want to, or that I don't believe..." Her cheeks colored. She had denied the existence of the Kingdom from the beginning simply because there were no records of it, but she didn't want to violate her father's words, despite her belief that the man had been hallucinating in the throes of his painful death. She was obviously torn -- and the more practical and rational part of her mind told her to go back to her homeland and get to work there; that was something she could do, something she could oversee, something she could... hold.
"You do believe, Princess," Duo said. "You believe in peace, in the goodness of people, in everything that is good for this world... you can't return to your homeland now."
"My father's name still holds influence," Relena answered. No matter how much time would pass, she refused to think about Darlian as her adoptive father. "In the Darlian's name, I will help the nation to overcome the yoke of tyranny."
"I can't force you," Duo said softly, "but you would be of more help to every nation by coming with us to find the Kingdom of Sanq, Princess. Not only Romefeller country... but every country. The whole world."
"I..."
Sylvia put her hand on Relena's shoulder, and another silence would have fallen if Quatre hadn't spoken.
"Be it as it may, we can't stay here," he pointed out. "It will be just a matter of time, of hours maybe, before Duke Dermail informs Khushrenada that one of his hostages has been freed -- and they will know that it was us, or at least someone with enough power and knowledge to bypass their traps. No ordinary human would have survived down there, or he had to bring a whole army... and it would still be doubtful."
No ordinary human. Heero focused his gaze on Duo, and the Fire mage seemed to be fidgeting.
"What are your plans, Duo?" he asked out loud.
"Pargan country," he answered, voice flat. The others looked at him -- Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei -- with mixed expressions.
"If you really want to." Quatre's voice was strained, all of the sudden. Heero didn't know about this Pargan country, he only knew that Quatre's earlier words were true -- it would be only a matter of time before Khushrenada would be notified and send his Treize Faction after them.
"We better pack our things, then." Trowa rose from his chair and was out of the room before anyone else could comment. It wouldn't take them long, maybe a grand total of fifteen minutes to gather all their belongings, as Heero had never seen any member of the group with more than just a small bundle of things.
Following Trowa, Heero went upstairs to retrieve his sollevar and the rest of his clothes, leaving Relena to talk to Sylvia. He had never expected that Relena wanted to return so fast to Romefeller country. It was strange how his homeland had all but disappeared from his mind. The burning farm was still a memory he would never forget -- and he didn't want to forget about that. Khushrenada would pay for his crimes, and Heero Yuy would be the one to bring him to justice. Whatever the others wanted to do to him, Heero Yuy was the only one going to kill Treize Khushrenada and make him pay, make him suffer, for what he had done.
He bundled up his clothes and reminded himself to thank -- and pay -- Catherine before they would leave her home. Judging from the rather loud female voices coming from downstairs, she had returned; curiously, Heero went down the stairs again. He caught Catherine holding up a dress in front of Relena while Sylvia clapped her hands in enthusiasm, telling the other girl how good it looked on her.
It was a nice scene -- totally carefree, just women amongst each other, talking about dresses and trying them on. Before Relena was really going to change in front of him, Heero quickly went outside to check up on Vayeate.
The horse was standing protectively close to Mercurius, bumping into each other whenever the other wanted to take a step away. Trowa and Wufei were nowhere to be seen, and Duo and Quatre were, quite surprisingly, arguing. He was too close to not overhear it; stepping a little to the side and leaning casually on his sollevar, Heero listened.
"We can't go there," Quatre said, his voice uncharacteristically low, whispering as if conspiring together. "We're going to get everyone in a whole lot of trouble if we go back now. We just can't, Duo."
"Khushrenada is a force that needs to be stopped," Duo objected. "We need to go now, otherwise it'll be too late."
"No, Duo. The man will cry murder because it's pretty much obvious that mages have been involved in freeing the girl. We don't want to give Libra up, I don't want to give Libra up. We can't involve all the others, not now."
"We knew it was inevitable," Duo muttered.
"I would rather postpone it even longer," Quatre shot back, and his usual calm face was marred by unspoken irritation. "Excuse me, I need some fresh air."
They were already outside and Heero looked a little dumbfounded, but Quatre stalked away. Duo was wearing a stubborn expression on his face, looking at Quatre's retreating back as if he wanted to burn holes through him.
"Something the matter?" Heero asked, a little too lightly. Duo startled, but just a little, and immediately threw him a brilliant smile.
"Even the best of mages have an argument every now and then," he said and made it sound like it was the most normal thing in the world to happen. "Have you packed already? We're about to leave."
"I'm ready," Heero simply answered. "What about Relena?"
"I can't force her. It has to be her own decision," the mage said, shrugging. His tense gaze belied the casual gesture. "It would of course be for the better if she went along with us. I don't think it's possible to find the Kingdom without her, and even if it was, I don't know..."
Duo heaved another sigh and raked his hand through his thick bangs. Heero switched hands with the sollevar, and tilted his head a little to look at Duo.
"It's already late in the afternoon," he said. "Maybe it's better if we postpone this decision?"
"No, we can't," Duo answered, "Khushrenada..."
The door to the Bloom residence opened and Relena came out, carrying a large bundle and a woolen bag. Her expression was difficult to read -- mildly aggravated, disappointed, annoyed? Heero stared after her as she threw the bundle onto Vayeate's back, tugging at the ropes of the other luggage.
"We go to Pargan country."
"Are you sure, Princess?" Duo asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." She avoided looking at him, and Duo exchanged a brief look with Heero before turning to leave, his robes as usual floating behind him, untouched by any dust of dirt from the ground.
"Relena, are you really sure?"
She avoided looking at him as well. "Yes, I'm sure. Really."
"Why?"
Fiddling with the stirrup of the saddle, Relena shrugged, but the movement was brusque. He didn't believe for one moment that it really didn't matter to her. Heero took a step closer, hesitated for a moment but decided to put a hand on her shoulder. She tensed, but relaxed soon after. He was still a servant, and she was the daughter of a landowner, and that hadn't changed in his mind.
"I don't have much choice, do I?" she whispered.
"You always have a choice," Heero answered. "Whatever choice you make, whatever decision you take, I'll follow you."
"That would be wonderful," she said and finally turned around, but still didn't look directly into his eyes. "But what about you, Heero? What do you want?"
"I want to go where you're going," he said.
Her smile was genuine, warm and gentle; but there was also a touch of sadness. "Do you want that because you want it, or because of what you promised my father?"
Heero looked surprised. He hadn't thought that she had overheard that particular part of the conversation, literally in the heat of the moment. It was a veritable dilemma -- he did follow up on his promises, sacrificing his own happiness if need be, without a doubt... but did he really want to follow Relena to wherever she wanted to go? Back to Romefeller country, rebuilding the farm maybe?
She moved her hand up and touched his cheek. He blinked, and almost took a step back.
"I can't have everything I want," she murmured. "I can't always shirk my duties and obligations, even if it has to do with a mythical Kingdom barely anyone has ever heard of..." Her voice trailed off. "Duo believes in me," she continued, and now she sought out his eyes.
"He does," Heero agreed, "but it's your decision to make."
"I made my decision," she said, a little too quick. "We go to Pargan country, all right?"
It was all right with him, and he nodded. Her smile turned a little wider, but she kept her hand on his cheek until she blushed, withdrew and turned around to start fidgeting with the stirrup again.
The hours went by as they were on their way. Trowa and Wufei sparsely showed themselves, keeping an eye on bandits and obstructions on the road. The both of them scouted the area while the others followed; Heero and Relena on Vayeate taking turns -- Relena still pressing him, he didn't exactly need it -- and Quatre and Duo on Mercurius. While Quatre was silent and pensive, Duo was talking about everything, from the blossom on the trees to a pebble on the road, and he kept on talking until Wufei told him to shut up because they could hear him even from miles away. Heero didn't think Duo was offended by it, but the Fire mage walked along sullenly, muttering something under his breath every now and then. He offered to walk in front and help scouting the area, but Trowa told him that he knew the environment better, so Heero stayed with Relena and both mages.
As the evening fell and it was getting too late to travel further, they set up camp with a routine that showed how familiar they were with doing this: Duo took care of the fire, while Trowa and Wufei hunted for food. Quatre hunted out some fruits and vegetables, preparing the latter exactly the same way as he did the first time Relena and Heero had met him.
Some of the usual, informal mood returned at dinner, and every conversation went smoothly. Relena tried some of the vegetables she didn't know and was immediately enthusiast about the spices and herbs Quatre used. He was all but happy to tell her his secret recipe and while they were talking amiably, Heero noticed Wufei leaving the small circle.
Jumping up, Heero took his sollevar with him and followed the Nataku warrior, easily keeping track of him. Trowa had designated this as their camping place because of a small river nearby. He could easily jump over it if he wanted to, and for a moment he thought Wufei was going to do it; but instead, he sat down on the bank of the river.
Heero approached him from behind, trusting the other to already know of his arrival; he hadn't been exactly quiet when following him. Indeed, he saw the man twitch a little; he had already been spotted. He didn't ask if the other minded his company. He was just going to thank him for saving and protecting Relena, that was all.
Wufei shifted a little, as if making room for Heero. He sat down and stretched his legs, his muscles protesting after sitting cross-legged for so long during diner. Looking out over the river, witnessing a beautiful sunset, he cleared his throat.
"You've been to Pargan country before?"
Wufei raised an eyebrow, obviously having expected something else to be said.
"Just once. It is just the passage to Libra, you know."
"Really? I didn't know Duo wanted to return to his home..." Heero frowned. He wasn't sure where Duo was coming from. Wasn't it Epyon? He didn't think Libra was an acknowledged state or country; he couldn't recall Darlian ever mentioning it.
Wufei pursed his lips a little and nodded. "Something about the Legends of the Five he wants to research, with the girl being a Princess and all."
"Relena isn't a Princess," Heero said. "She's the daughter of..."
"I do not know and I do not care," the other cut him off. Heero frowned, but as they were on the subject of Relena anyway, he took a deep breath and thanked the other for coming to her rescue.
Again a terse nod; the man was as tense as a bow string. Did he feel threatened or something?
"My honor towards her has been restored," Wufei said. "Those bandits were Trent's accomplices, they were hardly worth killing. They dared to lay their hands on the girl, a crime for which they have paid with their lives. Now I only need to restore my honor towards you."
"What do you mean? You don't need to restore any honor," Heero answered, baffled, but recalled at the same time Duo's remark about Wufei's intricate honor system and knew he had offended the warrior by telling him that he didn't need to restore it. Heero hadn't taken offense to Wufei's behavior when they first met each other, but apparently their opinions differed. Wufei simply snorted.
"You come from Nataku, right?"
Wufei wasn't particularly fazed by the sudden change of subject. "Yes, I am. I was trained and educated in the most sacred and ancient arts of fighting, strategy and tactics, but also in the most wondrous and strict traditions of our culture."
"How was your country occupied?"
"It was not," Wufei said, jaw tight, as if he had to force out the words. "We did not allow it to be occupied."
Heero didn't know why the other was so distant and tense, but it was obvious he had a bunch of skeletons in his closet, and even more nightmares about Khushrenada and his army than he held for possible. Bluntly, he asked outright what happened. Wufei wasn't the one to sugarcoat his words, so he wasn't going to tiptoe around him either.
"We destroyed our own lands," Wufei said and looked at the river again. The sun had already set, and a faint moon had taken its place. The hilt of Wufei's sword caught a bit of light and flickered. Heero hadn't even seen the sword lying there -- it had been hidden so well that he could've been killed without noticing.
"We destroyed our own lands and houses, buildings and possessions," he murmured. "There would be nothing for Khushrenada to conquer, and when he entered our country he found nothing but rubble and debris. He was not amused."
After a short moment of silence, Wufei continued. "I challenged him to a duel, and he accepted -- but I was overconfident, immature, and not ready to face him. I was defeated, and my honor was... brutally violated. I had lost everything in front of my tribe, ashamed to the very core of my being."
"Our tribe leader told Khushrenada to go away, as there was nothing to conquer for him. He simply laughed and wanted to enslave us, incorporate us in his army and to die for his cause. We all refused, of course. At the same moment that he ordered his men to capture us all, the mage of our tribe unleashed his dortang."
Heero was fascinated, despite the dry, distant tone of Wufei's voice. He was re-telling the fate of his homeland, not re-living it; though he stared suspiciously terse at the horizon, not at Heero.
"Detonation," he guessed.
"Detonation." Wufei nodded. "Not as strong as Duo's, though, but still strong enough to destroy the majority of our tribe...our nation, our people. The survivors were killed by the Treize Faction... I was the only one to escape."
There's something not human about us. Heero shivered. Wufei had survived pure, unleashed magical power, and the eradication of his own tribe and nation. Though it was a horrible decision they made on their own, to not fall into the hands of the usurper at all cost, Wufei had survived it -- and ended up in Duo's group.
"If you are cold, you better get back to the fire."
Heero wasn't cold, but instinctively felt that the conversation was over. He decided to respect Wufei's mannerisms and left him at the riverbank to ponder.
The campfire was burning low, giving off a nice, comfortable warmth. Relena had already made herself a nice bed at a little distance; the pillows and colorful blankets new to Heero. Just like her new clothes, they were probably a gift from Catherine. Only Duo was around the fire, and he was moving with his hands, face frowned in utmost concentration.
Assuming that Relena was already asleep, Heero lowered his voice and avoided making any noise as he sat down next to the mage.
"What are you doing?"
Duo didn't even look up. "I'm trying to figure out something."
"Something what? A puzzle? A riddle?"
"This." Duo opened his hands and showed Heero shards of an unknown material. He poked at it. It looked as fragile as porcelain and felt as smooth as metal, but it was neither one of them.
"What is it?"
"Gundanium," Duo said and he beamed at Heero. "It hasn't been recovered for millennia and I have a handful of gundanium, right here and right now."
"I'm happy for you," Heero said dryly. "What can you do with it?"
"Prove that Sanq exists," Duo answered, deadpan. Heero rolled with his eyes.
"Just because of something you found? Where did you find it, anyway? In the dungeon?"
"It's the key to Sanq," Duo said, mildly irritated. He didn't like being ridiculed. "It's believed that the legendary Five left keys, riddles and clues just in case Sanq would go down -- and their premonition came true. I'm sure Khushrenada is looking for it as well. He believes in Sanq too."
"Sanq is something only simple people believe in," Heero said derogatively, conveniently skipping the fact that Darlian had believed in it as well -- his last words to Relena had been no less of an urgent message to find the Kingdom of Sanq. Heero refused to believe that Darlian was simple and na?e, so he chose to ignore it.
"If believing in hope and peace is something only simple people believe in," Duo replied, "then I would be happy to be a simple person. I've seen enough death and destruction around me as it is, and if I can bring something to this world that will give people hope and faith again, I certainly will. The Kingdom was lost once, we can find it, and make sure that we won't lose it again. We can't afford ourselves to lose it again."
"Why?"
"If Khushrenada destroys Sanq, the whole world will come to its end," Duo answered. "Because that will mean all hope and peace is trampled by his greedy feet, and we would have nothing to live for. End of hope, end of time."
"Duo, not many people know it exists anyway. How can you destroy something that's not even there?"
"It is there. Sanq exists. We will find it, and secure it before Khushrenada can get his paws on it. If he finds it before us..." Duo frowned. "Hope should never be lost to the world."
His hands moved to the slivers of gundanium again, and he tried to fit the shards together, holding the pieces against one another and shifting them. He turned to work on the puzzle again, trying to fit the shards together. It wasn't the end of their conversation, but Heero didn't want to talk about Sanq and hope and the end of the world. He just wanted to sit next to Duo and watch him work. Their knees and shoulders touched, Heero was leaning into Duo to look at his hands. The Fire mage was too absorbed in the fascinating puzzle, and Heero regretted that there wouldn't be another kiss -- besides, any of the others could return any moment. It did bother him though, that Duo hadn't taken any effort to talk to him, or at least try to get close to him. Was Duo interested in the first place? The silence was far from uncomfortable, and he scooted a little closer to Duo, who briefly looked up, smiled, and turned back to work again. Heero would simply watch, and at the same time admire Duo's hair and his eyes, narrowed in concentration, and the little tip of his tongue sticking out between his lips.
They reached Pargan country the next day. The borders weren't closed, even though members of the Treize Faction patrolled around, demanding every traveler offer up toll money -- everyone except for those with a certain white scarf around their arm. If messengers were kept from their work, heads were going to roll. The quickest way to spread information was to hire a messenger; people lost faith in pigeons a long time ago as they ended up far more often as dinner than in the recipient's till.
Quatre paid the toll and they passed without a problem. Both mages received strange looks; even without their staffs in hand -- both on Mercurius' back -- it was fairly obvious what they were. Suddenly, an elder man disbanded himself from a group of soldiers who had just confiscated three wooden chests, picking through their contents. The owner, judging from his clothing a trader, hopped from foot to foot complaining about the waste of time.
Almost unnoticeably, Heero moved his sollevar to his right hand and made sure he had a good grip on the weapon. The elder man was coming straight at them -- he was scrawny and ugly, with a bony face and thin, tangled white hair. He was clad in a uniform that didn't look like any of the Treize Faction ones; a blue chest plate and tight, light gray pants. He looked preposterous and Heero wondered why the man hadn't keeled over from the weight of the chest plate.
"Esshan-dar Duo of Maxwell Church?" The man bowed impressively, all but doubling over while he moved with his arms as if flailing. "My name is Quinze, I am the commander of the Treize Faction stationed here in beautiful Pargan country. Our exalted leader, esshouin Treize Khushrenada, would be honored if you would accept his invitation to visit him."
Duo, seated on Mercurius, looked down on the man whose face was split in two by a gigantic hooknose. The horse even stepped away from him, bouncing. Duo tugged at the reins and steered the animal back, but not too quickly.
"I do have to decline the invitation," he said, voice low yet easy to overhear from a distance. "Do give the esshouin my regards and all the other formalities, yadda, yadda, yadda. I have other things to attend to, and I'm needed at the Church."
Quinze pursed his lips, a dark look crossing his face. "Esshan-dar, I beseech you to reconsider. Libra will be the next target if you choose to ignore this invitation. You are being seen as a representative authority of Libra, authorized to negotiate on behalf of..."
"Libra isn't a country," Duo interrupted him rudely, "it's a location standing outside of every law. We live there in peace and tranquility, and we do not seek out contact with the world."
"After Catalonia Castle, I think that view has changed," Quinze answered dryly. Duo shot him a glare, then tugged at the reins and nudged Mercurius into a gallop, away from the commander. Neither Quatre or Trowa acknowledged Quinze, and Wufei ignored the man as if he were a fly on a wall. Heero memorized Quinze's face; he had the distinct feeling that trouble was coming from this, and the commander would be the first one to go if things got out of hand.
The inn Duo had sought out was small, but tidy. To Heero, every inn was beginning to look the same, and even Relena had lost her enthusiasm with every new room. He certainly liked traveling around and seeing so much of the world, and an inn was to be preferred over sleeping under a hedge -- maybe he was just getting biased. It was hard for him to believe that he once had felt at home in Romefeller country, content to stay in one place, at one farm.
He wanted to ask Relena about the picnic basket, but she was already on her way to the bath room. Using the water basin in his own room, Heero freshened himself up and changed shirts. When he dried off his hands, he heard noises coming from downstairs -- yelling, a high-pitched female scream, glass and porcelain shattering in pieces. Grabbing his sollevar, Heero rushed down the stairs -- to see the living room packed with members of the Treize Faction, all neatly aligned, weapons in hand. A waitress tried to clean up the mess of broken glass, but the innkeeper pulled her away.
In front of Treize Faction soldiers stood five people. Heero quickly counted them and tried to gauge how dangerous they were. The woman in a dark midnight robe with chestnut hair draped stylishly over her shoulders had to be a mage. There was a similar embroidered, white pattern on her sleeves and hems as Quatre. Next to her stood a man with sideburns, lips pursed, an impatient look on his face, overall conceited. On his right was a man who could be his elder brother; though his hair was curled, he had sideburns as well and looked to be in his late forties, his eyes darting through the room.
His eyes were focused, however, on the...man with the silver mask. Heero had never seen such a man before. He was dressed in fiery red robes, no black, reaching to his ankles but left open in the front, showing pristine white pants and black, knee-high boots. The mask covered the top half of his face, leaving Heero to wonder how the man was able to see. His platinum blond hair was waist length, neatly groomed and held together with a red tie. In the middle was another man, tall, gingerbread hair and smooth, flawless facial features. A royal, important aura emanated from him, all but oozing power and domination. His clothing was richly embroidered, made of the finest fabrics: a midnight blue jacket combined with similar white pants and knee-high boots as the masked man, and his dark purple cape sported many golden buttons and bands. He was looking at Duo.
"Esshouin Khushrenada," Duo said. "Such a pleasure."
Heero's knuckles turned white. So this was Khushrenada? Alive, standing right here in front of him? The man who had given the orders to burn down the Darlian farm? He wanted to jump at him and kill the man on the spot, but a strong hand grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back. It was Wufei; he silently shook his head.
"You are very difficult to get a hold of, esshan-dar Duo of Maxwell Church. I guess I have to thank you as well; it's been a while since my curiosity has been...tickled this much."
"What is it, esshouin?" Duo asked rudely. "Don't you have anything to burn down? Churches, houses, farms?"
There was uproar in the row of soldiers; some growled or snorted, clearly not appeased by Duo's way of talking.
"I suggest you shut your mouth," one was brave enough to yell out loud, voice echoing throughout the small parlor. Khushrenada himself didn't seem to be offended at all; instead, he chuckled lightly.
"To the point, I like that," he said. "Crude, but to the point. No, esshan-dar, I have other and better things to do, like shaping this world to my vision and image."
"You mean, killing everyone who doesn't agree to your 'rule'," Duo gave back. "Whatever you have in mind Khushrenada, Libra will be the last place where you'll be welcomed and where you can spread your tyranny around. We aren't bound to any law, and you have no business going around threatening to target it!"
The increasing dark tone of his voice made the soldiers feel uncomfortable, even Khushrenada himself. The man wasn't a fool -- he sensed that something was in the air that was growling and rearing its head, even though it wasn't physically present. He even went as far as to take a step back -- a very small one, but a step back nonetheless.
"You are exposing Libra to an attack yourself if you refuse to negotiate with me."
"You have two mages," Duo said, nodding at the woman and the man in the silver mask. "I have far more to fear from you and your people than you have of me. Libra is of no interest to you."
Duo's sing-song Epyon accent was clearly audible. Epyon had been one of the first countries to be overrun violently. Khushrenada had attacked it first because of its rich resources, and when he had the government in his grasp, he used the men to form his army -- anyone opposing would be sold in slavery, if not ending up dead. The woman in the dark blue gown stepped forward and put a slender hand on Khushrenada's arm. She whispered something in his ear. He had the decency to look a little disturbed after the woman had spoken, but then a cunning smirk crossed his lips.
"I see I have gravely misjudged you, dorein'ang'essuyin," he said. A greater and deeper silence couldn't have fallen in the inn -- that was, after the sounds of breaking dishes and mugs and the collective, heavy gasps had died down. Everyone was nailed to the floor.
Heero frowned. What was going on? The only sound he caught was Quatre sipping his tea. They were standing eye to eye with the greatest usurper of all time and the mage was sipping his tea!
"Death magic," the innkeeper whispered and he sweated like a pig. He nervously laced his fingers together as if he wanted to pray. The shards of broken pottery reached to his ankles.
No one else dared to speak or to move. Khushrenada simply smiled at Duo, as if he had discovered something great. Duo showed him a watery smile in return.
"Your...friend is quite the educated one," he finally said.
"Oh yes," Khushrenada agreed. "Though she recognized your dorin'essauyan much easier."
Another gasp went through the audience, though not as profound and shocked as before. Heero suspected it had something to do with Quatre. The Nature mage was undisturbed, though Trowa moved stealthily a little closer to him. Duo's fingers drummed on the table.
"I'm glad she has had at least some training. I don't recall seeing her in Libra."
"It's a shame that you don't remember Lady Une," Khushrenada said. Quatre's eyebrows shot up; now he connected her to the name they had overheard in Auda country. "Though she looked very differently back then."
"You can say that again," Duo muttered. "What is it you want?"
"You wield Death magic," Khushrenada said and another collective gasp went through the parlor. The innkeeper looked about ready to sick up. "That is forbidden, you know."
"I would never have sought out forbidden knowledge if it weren't for you. I can play the blame game just as well, Khushrenada. I made a deal with the devil," Duo said and bared his teeth. "The same devil who came to me after you burned down my home and ruined my life."
Khushrenada looked pensive, ignoring how crudely he had been addressed. "Oh yes, that church." His voice held an infuriating amused tone. "A priest and a nun, right? Such a shame..."
Duo immediately rose to his feet, tipping over his chair. "Father Maxwell and Sister Helen," he barked. "Good, innocent people, who hadn't done anything wrong! They deserved to live, and you and your men took all they had and ended their lives without a second thought!"
"I remember now." Khushrenada studied his nails. "Such a high burning fire, as if burning out all hope and salvation."
Duo trembled and his hands balled into fists. Heero kept a sharp eye on everyone in the room, ready to jump and come to the rescue whenever necessary. He had no illusion that Wufei wasn't doing the same -- the Nataku warrior was as sharp and keen as ever. The man next to Khushrenada had to be Merquise, and Heero cursed mentally. His expression was hard to determine with the mask on his face. Despite Wufei holding him back, fingers digging into his skin, Heero doubted that the other would really be able to stop him -- he was by far the strongest. He narrowed his eyes. Merquise moved his fingers, barely noticeable.
"Stop preparing your Detonation, dorshin'esshun," Duo snarled, and Heero's jaw dropped when Merquise flinched and stiffened, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Whatever Duo's word had meant, it had hit him -- he was fidgeting, but it was difficult to tell if it was from anger or real embarrassment. Lady Une stepped forward, her luxurious dress swirling around her ankles.
"Stop preparing your Icicle blast as well, dorin'essauyava," Quatre said as he stood up. Trowa immediately followed -- he didn't hold any weapons, but it would take only a fraction of a second for him to get his throwing knives out.
"We are not looking for a fight here," Khushrenada said, tone commanding. He made a dismissive gesture with his hand and both his mages relaxed -- apparently. Quatre and Duo, however, remained standing and didn't budge. "I would like to hear your opinion on this."
A soldier handed a flat package to him, a disk wrapped in a piece of cloth. Khushrenada held it up to show it to Duo. It was a large disk of a faintly shimmering metal, missing a few shards here and there.
"Does this look familiar to you? I know you are looking for them too."
Gundanium, Heero's mind provided him. Wufei hissed. His sharp eyes had noticed the same material, and this disk was far more than what Duo had held in his hands. Heero's knuckles had turned white from his grip on the sollevar. He was very glad that Relena hadn't come down yet -- hopefully the bath would take her another hour or so -- he didn't know how she would handle a meeting with the murderer of her father.
Duo refrained from looking too interested, and instead showed Khushrenada an almost bored smile.
"You have a disk," he said. "Good for you."
"Oho, but not just a disk, certainly not," the man said and waved it at Duo. "One of the keys to the Kingdom of Sanq. That's something you would love to get your hands on, right?"
"You seem to know me better than I do myself," Duo replied. He was dying to get his hands on the gundanium disk, Heero could see it from this distance -- which only served him to wonder how he was able to read the Fire mage so well. His mind was quick to supply him with memories of how he had been studying Duo, simply looking at him... very recently, around their campfire when their knees and shoulders had touched. The kisses they shared... even if it had been awkward... he wasn't blushing, but his face felt heated. He swallowed, ignoring Wufei's estranged look, and forced himself to concentrate on the situation at hand.
"If you do not want to agree with me or cooperate with me, you will be opposing me and I will regard you as my enemy." Khushrenada handed the disk back to the soldier, after carefully wrapping it back up in the cloth. "No matter what you say, Libra is a country, a state, and I am going to conquer it. You can have the key to Sanq if you give me free passage. Otherwise, I will find my way in more... violently."
"Absolutely not," Duo hissed sharply. "You can keep your key! How dare you come here and ask of me to squander a whole society, a nation, that I built up myself?"
"Like I said, if you do not give me free passage or are not willing to negotiate, I will find it with my army and force my way in." Khushrenada's face was deceptively neutral. His voice didn't even sound threatening, but everyone knew what his words exactly meant. Duo was red in his face from pent-up anger.
"You do not threaten me, you do not assault Libra," he said. "If you do, you'll die. Your assault on Libra will be the last one you'll ever charge."
Some unrest waved through the soldiers, some shifting nervously with their weapons, touching their swords or maces. Merquise only had to look over his shoulder once to fix everyone in place again, though some shuffling of feet was still audible.
"I have power, Duo of Maxwell Church," the taller man said. Heero noticed him leaving out any title, but Duo didn't seem to care. "I know exactly how strong you are. I know exactly where to begin and how to charge Libra and how to get it into my hands. I only ask of you to give it to me, so we can spare ourselves the trouble of wasting weapons and people's lives."
"You don't care for that either way," Duo replied. "You don't need Libra. Our knowledge will not fall into your hands."
"We will have to see about that," Khushrenada said. "I will give you until tonight to open the gates to Libra and let me in. The choice is yours."
He turned around and finally left with all of his men, Une and Merquise glaring at Duo one more time before following him out of the inn. Quatre fell back into his chair, releasing the breath he had been holding. Heero jumped forward to join them, immediately followed by Wufei. Duo was trembling, and the look on his face was so dark and ominous that it reminded Heero of what the Fire mage had said in the dungeons of Catalonia Castle: "Demons face me, Heero Yuy. They face me."
With this particular look on his face, Heero would be afraid of Duo as well -- it promised pain and death to anyone who bothered him. It took him some veritable courage to tap Duo on his shoulder.
"Are you all right?"
Duo whipped his head around, as he had been watching the soldiers' retreating back, the blue dress of Une and the red robes of Merquise the last thing to see.
"Yes, I'm fine," he said a little too fast and flopped down, almost dropping himself on Quatre's lap. He coughed and sat down on another chair. Heero immediately sat down next to him.
"What was that all about? I heard some noise, and the soldiers..." A female voice asked, and everyone looked up. Relena stood next to the table, a towel wrapped around her still damp hair, looking frazzled and confused. "Were those Khushrenada's men?" Her voice turned shrill.
"Yes, and Khushrenada himself," Duo cut in before Heero could speak up. If he didn't know any better, Duo sounded... jealous?
"He was?" A grimace marred her face. For a moment, her pain and own anger were visible on her face, the pain of witnessing her father die, the farm burning down, the anger at someone for turning her life upside-down... but it was gone as soon as it appeared, replaced by her usual calm senses of acquiescence and acceptance. "What did he do here?" She sat on the table next to Wufei, who scooted away from her. She ignored him.
"Basically launching into a villain speech on how he's going to trample Libra," Duo said. He still sounded annoyed, and with that hint of jealousy Heero picked up earlier. Strange, he usually wasn't susceptible at all to such details in voices.
"But that's horrible," Relena said. "How... but there are all mages there! They can stop his army -- if they unleash their magic..."
"There aren't that many left," Duo gritted through his teeth. His hands were on a mug in front of him, and the object rattled on the table top because of his trembling hands. "And not strong enough to withstand an entire army."
She still looked confused, and so was Heero. The girl seemed to sink into her own thoughts as no one spoke, and Heero was busy assessing the situation. They were going to fight, and they were only with...how many men? How many mages could assist them? He realized what he was doing and stopped mid-thought. He had been a servant, helping out on a farm, and now he was thinking about the best ways to attack or defend.
Quatre was served another cup of tea, and the waitress pointedly ignored Duo who was all but strangling the mug in his hands. She ran away from the table, and people herded together in small groups, rumors and whispers filling the room. The Fire mage radiated annoyance and anger, and the rest ignored him as well, to allow him to calm down.
"Who were those two with him? Merquise and..."
"Lady Une," Quatre answered, his voice friendly and calm as usual, but with certain... reservation to it. He shot a glance at Duo, but as he was staring into his mug, the Nature mage deemed it safe to continue. "She's very loyal to Khushrenada, the Twelve know why. She studied at Libra and she was a very diligent student. I remember her now; I have taught her a few classes quite a while ago, and she was quite spoken of in the community. I believe they saw her as a prodigy."
"Pfft -- prodigy, right. Lady Une is a dorin'essauyan herself, that's why she recognized Quatre so well," Duo explained, albeit muttering. "Her ice magic isn't half as impressive as Quatre's. She's more prone to make some ice cubes in your drink than a full Icicle blast like him here."
"Duo, quit it."
He hmpf-ed, and Quatre continued. "I recognized her as a Nature mage the moment I saw her, but couldn't place her face. She looked very different when she was in Libra; I vaguely remember that she wore her hair braided in buns, typically Ventei country style. I never asked if she hailed from there, however... We teach and learn in Libra, we don't interrogate. Nonetheless, she was a good and punctual student and if I recall correctly she was very efficient with her Ice magic. I had the feeling though, that she was looking for someone to look up to, to bind herself to and be loyal until the end of times. I'm afraid she found that one in Khushrenada."
"She simply tied herself to the winning party," Heero snorted.
"I doubt it," Quatre objected. "She would have tied herself to either Duo or me if we had just as great and glorious goals as Khushrenada, I guess."
"But what about Libra?" Relena asked.
"It was an ultimatum," Trowa said.
Duo grunted, still staring at his mug.
"Quatre," was all he said.
"I know," the other mage sighed. "We'll go."
Chapter 7 | Chapter 9 |