Heero leaned against the wall of the cell, the stones cold, damp, and sharp against his back and listened to the dripping water from a leak somewhere, and to his friend who would not stop complaining. He closed his eyes, resigning himself to a long-winded rant. Wufei could really get himself going sometimes, though Heero had to concede, this was quite a mess they'd gotten themselves into.
" - I knew we should have stayed out of the neutral zone. Knew it! But, no. You wanted the infamously hard to kill Silver Ducks that only occupy the region that just happens to border with Ghali. 'It'll be fine,' you said. 'Don't worry, Wufei,' you said. Well. Now we know how right I was -"
"Shut up, Fei," Heero groaned, wanting to bang his head against the wall until he lost consciousness. God, didn't he ever get tired?
"Now, I have to sit here, with only you and Mr. I'm-Sexy-And-I-Know-It for company. What's the deal with that guy anyway?"
"I don't know," Heero said, exasperated. He looked down at his arms, cringing at how filthy they were, how filthy he was. "Didn't he say someone was going to come bathe us?" Not that he would enjoy the concept of some stranger bathing him, but the prospect of being clean would be worth the degradation. He was getting real tired of smelling himself and Wufei.
"Oh, and that's another thing! Now we have to be bathed like we're incapable of doing it ourselves? I am not an invalid, Yuy -"
"I know that, Chang -"
"And I'd appreciate it if I'm going to die, that I go out in some semblance of dignity." He moaned brokenly a moment later, head rolling on his shoulders. "God! I'm never going to see Duo again. He doesn't even know where I am. And it's all thanks to you." He sniffed and turned his head to the side, facing away from Heero, in a snit now.
He felt bad about that. If they ever got out of this, Duo would be furious with him. "I'm sorry, Wufei. We never should have gone to the neutral zone. I don't know what I was thinking -"
"You weren't thinking, that's the problem!"
Heero turned a glare on him. "No one forced you to come with me."
Wufei scoffed. "Like I'm going to let you go into dangerous territory by yourself." He shook his hands, rattling the chains. "Damn it. I can't feel my arms anymore." He sighed. "What I wouldn't give for a home-cooked meal right now. Some of Duo's curry and his special spiced cider." He closed his eyes and moaned. "I'm so hungry, I could eat you," he muttered with a petulant flash of dark eyes.
"Please don't. I doubt I'd taste very good anyway." He was hungry as well. So hungry his stomach didn't even have the strength to protest anymore. How many days had they been down there? He had no idea. Without windows, it was impossible to tell time, or count sunrises and the guards weren't exactly forthcoming with information.
He thought back to that one, the Lieutenant. He'd seen the reluctance, the reservation in his eyes when he'd come down to to punish them. Heero knew he didn't get any enjoyment out of it, unlike some of the other guards. His guess was that the man in charge, that sadistic son of a bitch General, was holding something over his head, something the Lieutenant was terrified of.
The prisoners were watched over closely as they were unchained long enough to strip down for their bath. Thankfully, they were allowed to bathe themselves. The servants arrived with tubs of cold water and tiny beads of soap and left them with scratchy wool garments in a dull blue-gray, the clothing for which they would face the Court Marshal in. At the very least, they were warm and helped ward off the chill of the dungeon. The guards leered as they watched them clean themselves as best they could.
Heero ignored them, just happy to be relatively clean, but Wufei shot them glares and stood up straight, in all his naked glory, and propped his hands on his hips.
"See anything you like, gentlemen?"
They sneered and turned their backs, grumbling, "You wish". Once the two prisoners were washed and dressed, they were chained back against the wall, but were allowed a little more slack to move around and they were given what was likely going to be their last meal. A plate of sliced apples that were browned along the edges and stale bread along with a jug of water to share. They were ravenous as they ate the food and drank from the jug, their stomachs rebelling a little after going so long without sustenance.
The guards left them alone and Wufei curled up on the floor, closing his eyes. "You need to sleep, Yuy. We need to be sharp if we're going to have any chance to defend ourselves tomorrow." Heero glanced down at him, noted the flicker of trepidation in his friend's black eyes and reassured him with a nod.
"I will. Soon."
Wufei mumbled and turned onto his side with a, "Suit yourself." Heero stared at his back as he watched his friend fall asleep, listening to the slowing of his breath. He rested his head back against the wall, trying to come up with some way they could get out of this. It wouldn't be easy. That General had made that very clear. He had no idea how they were going to defend themselves against these charges. These false charges, but it looked like it was going to be their word over the General's. He was pretty sure how the verdict was going to go and it would not be in their favor.
He felt bad for getting Wufei caught in all this. It really was his fault. He'd talked him into heading down to the river banks, a narrow strip of neutral land where a specific kind of duck liked to frequent. The Silver Duck was an elusive species of bird. Their meat was a delicacy, partly because they were so difficult to catch and because they were rare. He'd caught one only once before and gave it to Duo to cook up. That boy could work miracles in the kitchen and that had been the most amazing meal he'd ever had.
He was grateful to have such good friends. Wufei and Duo had been together for a couple of years, romantically, but Duo had been with them since the age of five. He was not native to Sai. He'd been found wandering through the forests near the ice-capped region of Borsten which was likely where he was from. He had apparently been part of a refugee convoy on the move through the mountains after many of the villagers fled when Ghali's forces attacked. Borsten was a peaceful, nature-loving kingdom and they stood no chance against the militant kingdom of Ghali. Duo was the sole survivor of the attack on his convoy and he'd wandered for quite a distance before he was found by Sai's villagers.
He'd been taken in by Wufei's family who lived in the village of Long. Heero was from Syun. They were the two most outlying villages of Sai and as a result, they were more nomadic than the other villages in the kingdom. The two communities were very close-knit, often hunting together and sharing their kills with each other. Heero met Wufei and Duo when their fathers got them together to teach them how to hunt and they quickly became great friends. Before they were twelve, the three of them were off on their own with their bows and arrows, successfully bringing home many kills for their families.
They were also the most vulnerable villages of Sai, in part because they were on the edge of the border with the neutral territories and because they tended to keep to themselves. They did not get involved in the bustle of the capitol and stayed far away from their politics. They were entirely self-sufficient. They left the capitol alone and the capitol left them alone.
Duo had been under the weather for last few days so it had only been Heero and Wufei hunting which he was grateful for now, glad that he didn't drag both of his friends into this mess. He should have known better. While the neutral zones should have been safe, he knew they weren't. With Ghali's forces constantly breaking the rules of the treaty, the people of Sai had begun avoiding those areas for fear of being captured, or killed. Half the people of Long and Syun had already fled the villages for the relative safety of the capitol where Queen Une resided with her army.
They knew tensions were high and that their Queen was on the verge of taking more preemptive measures to secure their borders, but the elders of Long and Syun, set in their ways, did not want any influence from the capitol, military, or otherwise. Wufei's father, being one of the elders, was adamantly against it despite Wufei's attempts to convince him they needed the protection. They had no defenses against Ghali's army. The Queen's need to protect the kingdom eventually had to override her wishes to respect the villages' right to self-rule. There was just no other choice.
He finally felt his eyelids drooping and he leaned his head against the wall, the exhaustion of the last five days finally catching up to him, especially now that he had food in his belly and he was clean. The small comforts just enough for him to ignore the throbbing of his bruises and to allow the drowsiness to take over. His head lolled against his shoulder as his mind began to drift. Images of green pastures and meadows and freedom slipping against each other in his mind.
While Wufei had Duo, Heero still hadn't found anyone for whom he wished to settle down. Despite his father constantly thrusting potential mates at him, he just couldn't find it in himself to be interested. To want to tie himself down. He wanted to be able to roam wherever and for however long he saw fit, without someone waiting for him at home, worrying, and ready to tear him a new one when he finally decided to walk through the front door. No, he much preferred being untethered. He answered to no one but himself.
In the back of his mind there was a soft shuffling sound that gradually became louder and his exhausted brain filtered the sound into his dreams. The blowing winds had taken on that strange noise, but he was too far gone to register it as being no wind he'd ever heard before. It ruffled along the tips of the tall grassy meadow in a steady ssh ssh sound and he squinted as his dream-self turned towards the sunlight, hand coming up to shield his eyes as a figure stepped towards him. It was blurry, silhouetted by the sun, but he could make out a petite body as the person came closer. The bright light bounced off the back of their head and illuminated curly hair, blond as it glowed gold like a halo. His breath hitched as the person, boy, approached him, big blue eyes blinking at him from the most beautiful face he'd ever seen.
His lips were full, a ruby red, with a deep Cupid's bow. Heero stared, fascinated as those alluring lips parted, speaking to him in a soft whisper.
"Hey. Wake up."
Heero startled when the musical voice reached his ears and his eyes snapped open, instantly awake. He jolted upright, wincing at the crick in his neck and peered into the dark to make out a figure crouching just outside the bars. His eyes took note of blond curls and that face, the face he'd seen just a moment before in his dream, or had it been a dream? He stared at him, wide-eyed and for a brief moment, he'd actually thought an angel had come to save them.
Until he remembered that he didn't believe in angels.
He lifted his chin at the boy and said, "I think you're lost."
He shot Heero a derisive look. "I can assure you I am not lost. Here." He pushed a couple of blankets through the bars, then reached into the pocket of his cloak, pulling something out and setting it on top of the blankets. Heero glanced up at him suspiciously.
"Why are you giving us this?"
"Because I think what they're doing is wrong and I want to help you."
"If you want to help us, let us go." Heero realized this kid wasn't just anyone. From the looks of him, he was someone important. He was cleaner than anyone had any right to be, his hair almost fluffy. His clothing was of obvious nobility, the long elegant dress of a well-made tunica beneath his cloak. A staple of Ghalian status. But he was still just a boy.
He shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I can't do that. I don't have a key."
"Then get one."
The boy looked at him in pity and Heero sneered at him. "Then you're useless. Go back to your suite, or wherever it is you came from." He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes again, ignoring the offerings. Whoever this was, he was still a Ghalian and Ghalians were not to be trusted.
The boy was quiet for a long time. There was no sound of him getting up to leave and Heero peeped through his eyelids to see him still crouching there. The boy asked, "Why are you down here?"
"Ask your General," he snapped. "I'm sure he'll tell you all the same lies he's going to tell the Court Marshal tomorrow."
He heard the boy huff out a sigh and murmur, "So he is lying."
Heero opened his eyes fully and stared at him, but said nothing. The boy stood up suddenly. "I'm sorry about this. I can't let you go, but...I can talk to my father."
"Who are you?" Heero asked bluntly.
The boy watched him silently for a moment. He seemed to be thinking over his answer. "I'm a friend."
"Ghalians are no friends of ours," he growled.
"Regardless, I'm the only friend you've got down here."
"Who is your father?"
"The King."
Heero's eyes widened. Well. He wasn't just dealing with nobility. This was the actual Prince who came down, apparently of his own volition. "And what have we done to deserve a visit from Ghalian royalty? You don't look the type to frequent dingy dungeons." Heero eyed the boy, taking note of the dirt that clung to the hem of his long tunica as it brushed against the ground. With the exception of that, the boy was pristine as could be.
The boy, Prince, lifted his chin. "Like I said, you don't deserve this treatment. I'll see what I can do to help you, though."
"Do you have influence over the Court Marshal?"
The boy looked guilty. "No," he said, shaking his head.
"Well then good luck with that." He laid down on his side, facing away from the Prince. "Now, if you don't mind. I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow, so..." He closed his eyes and did his best to ignore the boy.
The Prince stood there for another few moments and then Heero heard a softly murmured, "I'm sorry." And for some odd reason, he felt like a snake for making him sad. He kicked himself. What am I feeling bad about? I didn't do anything wrong!
He listened to the shuffling of the boy's footsteps fade away down the corridor and after a minute, he sat up, stretching his legs as far as he could to snag the blankets with his feet. He pulled them closer until he could reach them. He picked up the item that the Prince had set on top and examined it, surprised to discover it was a wedge of chocolate. He sniffed it, his eyes actually rolling back into his head at the Heavenly smell. But the thought that it might be poisoned occurred to him. Maybe this was the General's way of getting rid of them without bothering with the hassle of a trial. Send the beautiful Prince down to offer them some delicious, he sniffed it again and nearly moaned, chocolate.
Honestly, how stupid did these Ghalians think he was?
He tossed the chocolate aside and grabbed one of the blankets. It was delightfully soft and thick. He shook it out and placed over Wufei's sleeping body and then grabbed the other one and pulled it over his legs, reveling in the warmth and coziness it brought. He settled back down onto his side, pulling the blanket up over his shoulder and closed his eyes. He drifted off rather quickly and despite telling himself not to, he dreamed of yellow curls, eyes like a summer day, and lips as sinful as the Devil himself.