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"The Ancient Kingdom "Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, lemon (copious amounts, probably), slavery, magic, nekos, some smut, sap, peril, abuse, AU/Fantasy/Drama Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 4+2, 3+1, 5x6, 6+2, 5+1 (good grief!) Summary: When Heero, son of the Warrior
King, conquers the kingdom Sheneva and executes the king, he finds
something unexpected " The Ancient Kingdom "
Quatre startled awake by a sudden movement. His sleep was natural this time, so he woke immediately. During the night he'd rolled over so he was practically on top of Duo, and the younger Myda's body spasmed in sleep. Probably feeling the pain, even then. Gently embracing Duo, he nuzzled soft, cinnamon-colored ears. "Duo?" A low, tormented moan answered him, and a moment later Duo's eyes fluttered open. The surfaces were dull. "Quatre," he said, lips open and panting, "I'm hungry. How long will he keep starving us?" Throat still burning too much for speech, Quatre nuzzled him. "He's dead, remember? Someone else . . . imprisons us now. They did promise we could eat today." Duo leaned up and nuzzled his face into Quatre's neck. "That's right. The human with cold blue eyes. He even said he would free us, Quatre. Do you think he really meant that?" "I doubt it," Quatre predicted darkly. "I'll never trust a human again, as long as I live. Not a one has ever shown me that they're not all the same. Lecherous, lustful barbarians who only know how to hurt and kill." "Quatre," Duo said, whole body beginning to tremble. Tiny whimpers bubbled up from his throat. "I hurt everywhere. It hurts. I want to go home." Quatre snuggled tighter around Duo, beginning again to purr. "Shh," he breathed in Duo's ear. It took awhile, but eventually his little companion stopped shaking. The whimpers didn't stop, and Quatre was about to get up and find the black-eyed sorcerer when the door to their temporary room opened after a soft knock. Imagine that. A human according them some form of courtesy. It was the incredibly tall, green-eyed human who had a lock of brown hair falling right over half his face. It was a strange look, as if the man had something to hide. Everything about his posture bespoke gentle confidence. The kind of posture one might assume with a frightened animal whose actions could not be predicted. Quatre's lips peeled back in a growl. He hated him instantly. "I'm sorry to bother you," the man said, "but Wufei - the sorcerer - told me you two need to eat right now more than you need sleep." It was only then that Quatre realized he was carrying a canvas bag slung over one shoulder. As the man set it down and opened the flap, the smell of warm, red meat assaulted Quatre's senses. It was so strong he nearly reeled. How long had it been since he'd eaten fresh meat? That human Grascien had only given them old, flavorless meat that was almost carrion. Duo lifted his head as well, licking his lips. Quatre immediately transformed, assuming his wild form. Giving Duo a quick love, he jumped off the bed. Trowa didn't seem all that intimidated by a huge leopard stalking toward him. He spread a heavy towel on the floor and dumped the meat onto the towel. There was a lot of it, probably more than their shrunken stomachs could handle. Quatre intended to eat as much as he could without making himself sick. Unlike humans, Myda recovered quickly and easily from starvation. The chunks were somewhat big, so Quatre set about tearing them into more manageable pieces. Duo wouldn't be able to do it himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the tall human moving toward the bed, a plate of bite-size chunks in his hands. He immediately jumped back onto the bed, snarling as he stood over his little friend. "No way in hell," his body said fiercely. The self-assuredness didn't leave the human's eyes, but he set the plate on the floor and backed away. "I'll be back to check on you in a little while, all right?" "Don't bother," Quatre snapped, but of course the human didn't understand. Once the door was shut, Quatre went back to his task. He dragged the towel close to the bed so he could easily eat a bite, then feed one to Duo. The smaller Myda perked up considerably after the first few bites, propping himself up on his elbows and watching Quatre with his ears forward and alert. Quatre fed him until Duo laid his head back down, breathing deeply and looking less pale. For himself, Quatre gorged. When he finally felt he couldn't take another bite, he was dismayed to see almost half the meat left. Once, he and Duo could have eaten that whole amount easily. Quatre washed his face and hopped back up onto the bed. It was remarkable how much better he felt. Curling down around Duo, to his shock the smaller Myda was the one to start purring. Not the distressed purr of a kitten wanting comfort. A genuinely contented purr. Quatre licked him until he fell back to sleep. Feeling like an after-breakfast nap himself, Quatre closed his eyes and rested his head next to Duo's. Though not truly asleep, his consciousness drifted almost at once. o0o 0o0 "Quatre!" Duo called, trilling as he bounded over a few fallen logs to the gold's side. Quatre, who had recently matured from kitten and juvenile to adolescent, smiled and scooped the kitten up into his arms. Duo would not take this half-human form for another several months, and now Quatre had a distinct size advantage over his playful friend. Planting a kiss on the wriggling kitten's forehead, he hugged him tight. "Lemme go!" Duo squeaked and giggled. "I wanna play!" Quatre released him and Duo bounded several paces away, tail lashing. He grinned. "All right. What game?" "Chase!" Duo said at once, breaking into a run away from Quatre. All Myda learned from a very young age to converse in the silent language of their kind. They were hunters, predators. A system of communication that required them to make noise was ineffective. As such, every movement of every part of their body was a word, a phrase, a sentence in their intricate language. No other creature had so complete a silent language that relied solely on the body. Half the language was purely instinctual, so Myda kittens learned it quickly and easily. Chuckling to himself, Quatre gave chase. Duo loved this game more than any other. He never chased Quatre, but he loved being the one pursued. And Quatre, who adored his surrogate brother, usually gave in to whatever he wanted. Myda lived in family groups they called clans. Quatre's clan was some twenty strong, and he had been the only kitten born two years ago. Rare. Myda, who loved kittens, had given him as much attention and affection as a kitten could want. When Quatre was about six months old, a young adult Myda had found her way onto his clan's territory. She was injured and pregnant. The clan took her in, cared for her and hunted for her, but she died giving birth to her only kitten. Duo had been tiny from birth, but the stubborn little thing refused to die. He clung to life with a tenacity that endeared him to the entire clan. Quatre's mother, already nursing her kitten, adopted Duo. The kitten grew slower than most kittens, but he was bright-eyed, curious, and so full of life it was scarce remembered that his birth had been a traumatic one. The clan loved him and doted on him as much as Quatre, but none of them loved him so much as Quatre. The other clan smiled on their closeness, but Quatre almost jealously coveted his time with Duo. He wanted to monopolize his little friend, and he did. Duo never seemed to mind. Drifting as he was, Quatre still heard the door open and someone walk in. He opened his eyes to narrow slits. To his shock, the green-eyed human was right in front of him, landing a soft hand on Quatre's ears. He lunged up in startled alarm, snarling a warning and snapping at the hand. His teeth almost connected with flesh, and he cursed his slowness. No more than a few hairsbreadths and he would have sunk his fangs into skin. He grinned his savage pleasure at the thought. The human would have died in an hour, maybe less. "Easy, little one," the human soothed. "I told you I would be back to check on you." Though still feeling threatened, Quatre forced himself to stop growling. What if the blue-eyed one decided he wouldn't be so kind, after all? Until Duo was strong again, they were at his mercy. He didn't have to give them a soft bed and fresh meat. "Feel like telling me your names, now?" the human asked, still in that soothing tone. "I'm Trowa." Quatre merely looked at him, willing him to leave them alone. This constant rousing and anger were beginning to stress him. "Duo," the kitten himself said abruptly, reaching up and putting a palm flat on Quatre's chest, "and Quatre." The human, Trowa, inclined his head. "Pleased to meet you both." He gathered the uneaten meat back into the canvas bag. "Wufei told me you can normally do with one meal a day. Would you like me to bring you more tonight?" "No," Duo said in a small, tired voice. He didn't even open his eyes. "I just want . . . to sleep." "Then I'll make sure you are undisturbed," Trowa said, giving Quatre what he supposed was to be a reassuring smile. It just irritated him. o0o 0o0 Heero sat idly at Grascien's old desk in the library. The dust had been cleaned away and several new tables and chairs dragged in for the Venya royal scribes. They were making short work of Grascien's old documents, organizing them into piles for Heero's perusal when they were done. He wasn't looking forward to it, but he was still anxious to get started. The sooner he began the sooner it would be over. His open court session today had gone pretty much as he'd expected. Commonfolk had shown up in droves, eager to swamp their new prince with their troubles. Taxes were too high, tariffs were too steep, they didn't like toll bridges and booths, some of the roads were too old, production was down in certain markets, merchants were having more difficulty getting from city to city. Trade simply wasn't what it should be. Heero had been extremely annoyed to learn Grascien had cut all imports and stopped all exports. It seemed the man was quite mad and didn't know how to run an efficient kingdom. He was relieved, at least, that so far there were no complaints about Princess Relena. He drummed his fingers. "Wufei?" The sorcerer glided to his side. "Something you need?" "Have the chamberlain help you and Trowa arrange a festival. I want the nobles to gather at court, in their natural setting, to hear what they have to say about Relena. I would like to know if putting her on the throne as my governor would be a mistake or not." Wufei nodded. "Good decision. You'll also seem more human to them. I am curious what you will do to her if she is not a good match, though." "I'll give her a big chunk of land, a title, and an impressive dowry and kick her out of the castle." Wufei snorted. "Direct and honest to a fault. I will speak with her privately and listen for lies. If you do not intimidate her, I'm quite certain I will." Heero resisted the urge to roll his eyes - barely. Resting his chin in his hand, he looked out the window. For some reason, Sheneva seemed like a gray kingdom. Melancholy. Was it because it lay on the southernmost border of the Highlands? Because right beyond it lay the open wastelands of the south? For some reason, Heero found himself thinking of the two Myda. The gold leopard was fierce and quite beautiful. But the small auburn . . . everything about him tugged at Heero's heartstrings. Since meeting his brother thirteen years ago, he'd developed a desire to fix things. To protect those less fortunate than him. Duo, Trowa had told him was his name. He was so small, looked so beaten and fragile. I will have to make an honest effort to get close to them when we return to Venya. Right now, he simply lacked the time. Knocking down a kingdom was easy. Assimilating it into an empire was tedious. He wondered his his great-great grandfather had managed those years ago. Venya, over one-hundred years ago, had been three smaller kingdoms. Now it was one great empire, feared by all the lesser kingdoms south of it. Venya's people were particularly known for their fierce, aggressive attitudes. Heero second almost to none. He didn't particularly like war. He didn't necessarily want more power for his crown when he took the throne. What he wanted was for things to run smoothly for the south and prepare for . . . A warm hand gripped his chin, making him look up. Wufei's eyes were stormy. "Don't let your thoughts go there," the sorcerer warned. "I am not the only person in the world who could hear them, you know. Keep your walls up, Heero. Just like I taught you." Already feeling inordinately weary, Heero obeyed. Wufei had assured him these mental barriers would eventually become second nature, but it might take a few years. Of course, that's what I have him for. "By the way," Wufei interrupted his thoughts, "I have decided that yes, it would be proper for you to choose Relena's husband. Or, at least your father should. She may not take it too kindly from you, since you are six years her junior." Heero nodded. His father would be annoyed by that. The Warrior King let Heero do whatever he wanted, pretty much, but he didn't like his son bothering him with internal affairs of the countries he kept conquering. "I could assign it to you," he mused. Wufei's lips twitched. "She would like that even less." "You're a sorcerer from An'Cresse," Heero pointed out. "She'd probably be in awe of your mystery." "Just like you were?" Wufei reminded him with a sharp look. Heero shrugged, feeling chastised. "I was just a dumb kid. And besides, I'd seen you so many times doing ordinary things I thought you were . . . well, not a sorcerer." He had to smile at how lame that sounded. Wufei snorted. "You were a brat," he corrected. "I was thirteen!" Heero protested. "Still a brat," Wufei said. "In fact, that hasn't changed much." Heat flared in Heero's eyes. No one else in Venya would have dared take such liberties with their prince. "And you're still the same ass you always were," he retorted. "Why don't you go bother someone else?" That was amusement, pure and simple, glittering in Wufei's ebony eyes. He gave a mocking bow. "I shouldn't absorb so much of your oh-so-well-spent time, anyway." He grabbed Heero's chin again. "Oh, if only you weren't the prince of Venya. You'd be mine, boy, and I would never let you talk to me thus." Releasing him, he glided out of the library. To Heero's consternation, heat rushed to his cheeks. Twenty years old and he still blushed like a child when Wufei spoke like that. Only the sorcerer had that ability to fluster him. Off to his left one of the royal scribes rose from her seat and came to his desk, carrying an armful of paperwork. "These are all the documents we have found so far concerning trade, taxes, and tariffs," she said, setting them on the table. "I assume these are the issues you will want to address first, as always, my prince?" Keeping his sigh strictly internal, Heero nodded. "Yes. Will you begin drafting a copy of my laws for the government? As usual, I will allow the new governor to have an advisory council of seven." "Of course, my prince. We have also set aside all the documents pertaining to the slaves and prisoners. What would you like done with them?" Heero looked up at her with cold eyes. "Burn them."
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