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"A Hidden Heart "Written By: Hemlock Inyx Disclaimer: This chick does not own any of the
Gundam Wing characters because they belong to Bandai and Sunrise.
I am borrowing them for this fict and will return them in good (if
somewhat sticky) condition.This fict is written out of love and not
for profit, don't sue. Thanks and enjoy! Rating: NC 17 Warnings: yaoi, lemon, midieval alternate universe,
some angst, violence Pairings: 5x2, 4xH, 13xS Summary: They called him Milliardo's Dragon. A warrior bold as the Chinese legend, his temper as fiery; Lord Chang Wufei was the prince's right hand. Men of power quaked at word of his arrival, for he was the sword to carry out Milliardo's judgement. 'Twas rumored he'd do any deed at the prince's bidding, avenge any slight to his master's name. Only Milliardo had the might to direct the Dragon's fury, to shape thr form of his vengeance. Or so the prince believed. But shrouded deep beneath that scaly hide, the dragon's true nature slumbered. Obscured by fire. Hidden from harm. Burried beyond reach of pain. Until he met him. The boy with the power to free the heart of the Dragon.
"A Hidden Heart "
Chapter 20 The rest of the journey to Maxwell Abby passed without further attacks, but it was still a hellish trip. The previous day's storm had washed out the trail, leaving mud and rocks for them to navigate as best they could. And Heero insisted on bringing his two remaining prisoners, which slowed them even more. Duo's first sight of his sister's keep took his breath away. Silhouetted against the setting sun, Maxwell Abby looked beautiful--and powerful. Like Ashby, it was a true English stronghold; a symbol of English might perched upon the Sank frontier. The village appeared newly built; the freshly thatched cottages laid out in a neat pattern of straight streets. "The town burned to the ground last year," Wufei told him. "It was another of our kinsmen who was responsible for it." Hatred echoed through his voice. "You may find that belonging to this family is more than you bargained for." The guards at the gate knew Wufei. They were admitted to the courtyard---almost empty of people, since it was nearly suppertime--and swiftly brought into the castle. A deferential manservant led them to Hilde and Quatre’s private quarters, then excused himself with a bow. Wufei had sent the two prisoners to the captain of the guard, and Heero had come into the castle with them. Duo knew that Wufei had been suspicious of Heero, but evidently the Samurai's actions during the battle last night had convinced him of Yuy's sincerity. He doubted Wufei would have brought him into Maxwell Abby, otherwise. They stood outside the closed door for a moment. "Are you ready?" Wufei asked, his eyes searching Duo’s face. For the first time since their lovemaking this morning, his gaze held warmth, concern. All day he'd been treated to the Dragon's impersonal care, but now, it appeared, Wufei had returned. He smoothed his hands down the front of his rumpled tunic, then decided to pull his cloak closed over the much-abused garment. Duo admitted to himself that he was trying to hide within the cloak's voluminous folds. But he could not hide forever. He appreciated Wufei's support, though he'd have managed without it, if he'd had to. Duo nodded, and Wufei knocked on the door. "Come in," a woman called. Wufei opened the door and motioned for Duo to precede him and Yuy into the chamber. He stopped just inside the chamber, scarcely leaving enough room for the other men to enter. Duo paid them no mind. All his attention was focused on the scene before him. A finely dressed woman sat in a chair beside the hearth, some sewing in her lap, her head thrown back in laughter as she gazed with obvious affection upon the chubby infant sitting astride a man's back as he crawled on hands and knees across the rug-strewn floor. The woman looked up at the sound of the door swinging closed. "Wufei!" Tossing aside the sewing, she ran across the room and launched herself into his arms. "Quatre, do get up," she called. "Wufei is here." She kissed Wufei on both cheeks, her hands touching his arms and shoulders as she stepped back a pace and looked him over from head to toe. "You need rest, I can tell. You haven't been taking proper care of yourself. What have you been about?" she asked. The man reached around and swung the child up in his arms as he came to his feet. "Perhaps if you'd stop chattering like a magpie, my love, he could tell you." He tugged his shirt collar out of the baby's mouth. "He's brought guests." He stepped closer to Duo and held out his hand to him. "You'll have to excuse my wife but she hasn't seen Wufei in months. Please, milord, come in and be comfortable." Duo placed his hand in his and allowed him to lead him to a seat by the fire. He felt as though he were watching everything through thick glass, the colors vivid but remote, distanced. Dear Shinigami, Hilde looked like him, startlingly so. Her coloring was somewhat similar—though darker—and she had blue eyes instead of violet. But he'd never seen that expression of contentment on his face. Hilde released Wufei and smoothed her hands over the skirt of her dark green gown. A tinge of pink stained her face. "I beg your pardon. Wufei, please introduce our guests." "Quatre, Hilde--this is the newest member of my household, Heero Yuy," he said, motioning Heero farther into the room. A typical blank expression on his face, Heero came forward and made his bow. Wufei then crossed the chamber and stood at Duo’s side. He reached down and slipped the hood back from his hair, draping the material over his shoulders. Duo leaned into his touch, grateful for it now, when his nerves felt so raw. His stomach had been twisted in knots ever since Maxwell Abby came into view; it was a struggle to keep from simply giving in to the urge to jump up from his seat and race from the room. Courage, he told herself. He'd faced down the Dragon himself, more than once, and survived to tell the tale. Duo felt Wufei's gaze upon his face and glanced up to find him waiting patiently. Duo reached up and touched his hand before Wufei spoke again. He squeezed his fingers reassuringly. "And this is my spouse, Duo." Quatre immediately swept into a bow, graceful despite the child clinging to him. "I am honored, milord." He took Duo’s hand again, this time raising squeezing it reassuringly. "Welcome to the family." His manner charmed Duo, the expression on his handsome face making him feel special. Lord Treize had been the same; perhaps it was an Arabian and German trait, or else they simply had more refined manners than the few Sankmen he'd met. "Trying to entice my mate with your courtly ways, Winner?" Wufei asked dryly. "It’s the least I can do, considering the greeting you received from my wife when you walked through the door," Quatre retorted, laughing. "She didn't even notice anyone else was here." Duo stood when Hilde approached him, dropping into a deep bow. "It’s a pleasure to meet you at last," he told Hilde. "Wufei has told me much about you." "Then you have the advantage over me, milord," Hilde said, her eyes questioning as she examined Duo's face. Whatever she found must have met with her approval, for she nodded once and smiled. "When did you marry, Wufei?" she asked, her gaze still fixed on Duo's face. "And why were we not invited?" Wufei nudged Duo to sit, then stood behind his chair, his hands resting on Duo’s shoulders. He reached up and touched his hand once again, gaining comfort from the contact. Duo didn't know what to say, what to do. Wufei hadn't told them anything, and Hilde continued to observe him. Mayhap she would be thus with any person Wufei brought to them; from their surprise, it seemed he'd never brought anyone here before. "It’s a long and strange tale," he said. "It could take a while in the telling." "Then sit and be comfortable," Quatre said. He went to the door and called for the child's nurse, then sent a servant for food and wine. They spoke of inconsequential things until the supper arrived and everyone had been served. Then Quatre motioned for Wufei to begin. "What I'm about to tell you might be difficult for you to hear, Hilde," Wufei said. She sent him a questioning look. "I thought it was your tale, and Duo's." "It is. But it begins before our marriage. Indeed, it begins before Duo's birth." Ignoring the food before him, Wufei stood and prowled the room with a restless gait. Duo met his gaze and smiled reassuringly. Smiling in return, he appeared to steel himself for the task ahead, taking up his goblet of mead and drinking deeply of the brew. "Duo and I met when I discovered him clinging to the curtain wall round the Sank castle." Hilde gasped; Quatre looked interested. Heero, as usual, just smirked. Duo stared down at his hands, clasped nervously in his lap. He didn't want to watch their faces after all, he decided. It was too difficult to try to interpret their reactions. And what if he saw disgust in their faces? "After I pulled Duo the rest of the way up the wall, he told me--eventually--his reason for attempting such a desperate feat. He needed to see Milliardo. When he couldn't get in to see the prince by more conventional means--such as through a door," he added with a wry smile, "he thought to climb in and find Milliardo by himself. He's fortunate he didn't get himself killed." "Sounds like something you might try, my love," Quatre said to Hilde, grinning when she sent him a disgusted glare. "I locked him up in a cell, since he appeared to be so dangerous." Wufei paused behind Duo's chair and bent to place a kiss on the top of his head. "I went to Milliardo and told him what Duo sought, why he'd been so desperate to talk with him. He seemed completely uninterested in his tale, and claimed he knew nothing about him." "But what did you wish to know?" Hilde asked. "What was so important you were willing to risk your life to gain it?" Duo looked up. "I wanted to know who I am." Hilde seemed puzzled. "Do you mean to say you've lost your memory? I've heard of such. It’s a terrible thing!" "No, milady. It's just that I've lived all my life behind the walls of Saint Winifred's church. I knew nothing of where I'd come from, or who I am. I escaped that prison to seek the answers to those questions, and to see something of the world." Wufei placed his hand on Duo’s shoulder. "I helped Duo to find the information he sought. What we discovered will be important to you, Hilde, as well as to Duo." Duo felt as though someone were examining him. Scanning the faces surrounding him, he found Quatre gazing at him, then his wife, with a curious expression on his face. When Duo offered him a slight, nervous smile, he stared more intently at him. "Get on with it, Wufei," Quatre said, his voice vibrating with suppressed excitement. Running his hand through his already disordered dark hair, Wufei sighed. "I don't know any other way to tell you this but straight out. Hilde, when your mother left here all those years ago, she did not die, as Milliardo told your father. Instead, the prince took advantage of her confusion at the time, and told her that both you and Simon were dead. He took her to live as a boarder at Saint Winifred's Church. Your brother was born there six months later." Unable to resist, Duo watched Hilde's face as Wufei told her. He saw confusion give way to anger, then dawning recognition. Scarcely daring to hope that it was acceptance he'd seen, Duo stood and waited until Hilde rose from her chair and came to stand before him. "You are my brother," she said. She touched Duo's cheek with a gentle hand and examined his face carefully. "He has the eyes, don't you think, Wufei?" She looked up at him. "They're from the Sank side, I believe, for yours are very similar to those of our mother." Quatre stood. "There's more to the story than this, unless I miss my guess." "Yes," Wufei agreed. "Thus far, I've only told you the happy news. Unfortunately, there is much more, and little of it good." Hilde drew a chair nearer to Duo's and sat beside him, glancing over at him as though to reassure herself that Duo was real. "We have much to talk about, you and I," Hilde said. "There are many years to make up for." She gave Duo's hand a squeeze. Wufei took another turn about the room, paused to poke at the fire. "The information I've learned gives an entirely new meaning to several things that have happened to members of our family these past few years. I believe that Milliardo, despite his protestations of family loyalty, and his professed outrage over Dermail's despicable actions, has instead been doing his best all these years to gain possession or control of Maxwell Abby." He laughed, but it was a mirthless sound, and his face was cold, bitter over this betrayal. "If he were the force behind it, much begins to make sense," Quatre said. "When Simon died, Milliardo never came to Hilde's aid, despite her pleas--but Dermail did arrive here and try to gain access to the keep. And the times Dermail abducted our women--he escaped punishment for that, as well, until we meted out justice." Wufei nodded; "I'm so suspicious now that I could even believe Milliardo set events in motion for Simon to find Lowri wandering, injured and confused, in the forest near here. The fact that they married has certainly served him well. He's had a direct connection to a powerful marcher lord and his keep." Hilde shuddered, and Duo noticed that her face had gone pale. "I always wondered how Dermail, that slimy worm, managed to avoid paying for his sins. Milliardo never could give me an answer to that." Her eyes flashed angrily. "Now I know why. Damn him!" Quatre's handsome face was set in stern lines. "And I can just imagine how this all goes together. Quite an elaborate scheme, I've no doubt. Tell me this, Wufei--are Hilde and I, and our daughter, meant to survive?" Duo heard Hilde gasp. "Or do you think some disaster will befall us, leaving the way clear for Dermail's other legitimate heir to step in and take up the reins of Maxwell Abby?" "With Milliardo's blessing," Wufei said evenly. Then he smiled, a dangerous dragon's smile. "But we have beat him at his own game, I trust. A plan such as that depends upon Duo being wed to someone Milliardo can control. It's too late for that now," he said, voice rich with satisfaction. "He's my spouse. I have absolutely no intention of leaving him a widower." He stared into Duo's eyes as he said the words, words that had the sound of a vow. Duo felt his heartbeat quicken at the promises Wufei made with his intent gaze. "And that's why you wed Duo?" Hilde asked. Duo thought she heard disappointment in the question. He awaited Wufei's answer even more eagerly than Hilde appeared to. Wufei drew his finger over Duo's cheek. "It’s one of the reasons. One of many." Duo felt a flush creep over his face and neck at Wufei’s caressing tone. It made him remember this morning at the pool, and the things they'd done together. His face burned even hotter. Hilde glanced from one to the other, her expression one of amusement and understanding. She stood, garnering their attention. "I'm certain the remainder of this discussion can wait until everyone has had a chance to bathe and refresh themselves." She turned to Heero, who sat observing everyone throughout the conversation. "I'll call a maid to assist you, sir," she told him. Duo nearly laughed at the horrified expression that briefly crossed the Samurai’s face. Heero Yuy was not fond of women, he preferred men, Duo thought to himself. It was a good thing he'd never tried to work his wiles on him, for he doubted Wufei would stand for it. Of course, Heero was an intelligent man. He likely knew who he could safely flirt with, and who he'd do better to avoid. And Wufei had made it very clear that he trusted Heero now, since the Samurai was now privy to all their secrets. The maid who came to lead Heero away was a pretty young lass. She seemed very pleased to be of service to Yuy---he was a very attractive, exotic man, after all but he followed her from the room with no sign of eagerness. Wufei shook his head after Heero left. "Like a lamb to the slaughter." He laughed. "Women fell all over themselves to get at him at Sank with no results. You'd best warn your maidservants," he told Hilde, "Or else you’ll have a bunch of broken hearted maids when we leave." Hilde joined his laughter. "Don't worry. Dorothy is known as the biggest tease in the entire castle, but she's saving herself for one of Quatre's soldiers, who's off at Ashby at the moment. However, that hasn't prevented her from tying nearly every male over ten and under eighty into knots." Quatre came up behind her and enfolded her in his arms. "I'm glad you qualified that," he said. "You'll give your brother a bad impression of me, otherwise." Duo could see that they were very much in love, a fact that surprised him. From things he'd heard--admittedly, not much--he'd formed the impression that the English, and the Arabians, did not marry for love, but for land, power, position. Or, as in his case, for protection. At least that was the reason Wufei had wed him. He was a truly honorable man, more than willing to do whatever he must to help him. Duo only hoped he'd never regret his decision. That, he could not bear. ~~~ (***) ~~~ Hilde led them to a spacious chamber and arranged for a bath to be set up in front of the fire. Duo nearly fainted at the thought of such luxury, though he doubted that this bath would be anything like the one he'd taken that morning. Unfortunately, Wufei stepped out into the hall for a moment to speak with Quatre, leaving Hilde alone with Duo. "I'll have some clothes brought for you," Hilde told him. "We're close enough in height that my gowns should fit you. I know it’s not going to be pleasant, but it would be best if you pretended to be my sister for the time being." Duo just nodded, he had expected as much, and he looked so much like Hilde Indeed, Duo stood only an inch or so shorter than his sister, who was tall for a woman. "Was our father a big man, or was he short?" Duo asked. "Or was our mother just tiny. I never understood how I ended up so short--too short, I've always felt." "Father was tall, with a sturdy build. He was old when I was born, nearly forty years, but he still was an imposing figure and a fearsome warrior. Our mother was a tiny woman, you look a lot like her, especially the eyes." Duo sank down on the bed, suddenly ready to drop with weariness. He yawned. "I beg your pardon," he murmured. "These past weeks have taken their toll." Duo pushed his hand experimentally into the pillowing softness of the mattress. "I never slept in a bed such as this until we stayed at Ashby a few days ago. It’s decadent--and delightful." Hilde smiled. "You'll become used to it in no time, I'm sure. Wufei's keep at Raven’s Crest isn't as grand as this, but it’s a comfortable manor. And Sally trained the servants well. It hasn't been long since she was mistress there, so I doubt they've forgotten their duties." Duo frowned. "I don't know that Wufei will be able to return to his home anytime soon." "What do you mean?" Hilde asked. "It wouldn't be safe. Even though Milliardo can't possibly know that Wufei and I are married, evidently he suspects that Wufei has been helping me to stay away from him." Hilde looked at him, puzzled. "I can see that I should have waited to suggest leaving, until Wufei told the rest of the tale. I'm confused. Why should you need to stay away from the prince?" "He held me prisoner at his castle. Indeed, I first met Heero when he smuggled me away from the castle to remove me from Wufei's influence--at Milliardo's request." "And you brought the Samurai with you? Are you mad?" Duo held out a cautioning hand. "As Wufei said, there's more to the tale. Believe me when I say that Heero is no threat to either of us. He truly admires Wufei and wishes to serve him. Indeed, if he'd done as Milliardo ordered, I'd be back within the walls of Saint Winifred's church. I doubt that even the Dragon would wage war on a church," he added dryly. Duo stood and wandered to the window, absently staring down at the shadowed courtyard. "No, the threat to Wufei is from someone he ought to be able to trust." "Who dares to threaten him?" Hilde demanded. "It’s Milliardo," Duo told her. "He has declared Wufei an outlaw." ~ * ~ |
