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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 "
A World of Intrigue "What are you going to do?" Heero ground his teeth. He hadn't spent a great deal of his life this viciously annoyed. Nobles and their games got on his nerves, but it was part of life so he adjusted. But right now, he felt a hairsbreadth away from mindless violence. "Get out of here," he snapped. "All of you! Trowa, not you. Stay." His officers and new royal guard looked startled as they rose to their feet and bowed. Trowa sat back down, giving his brother a worried look. Heero ignored it, waiting until the others were gone and the door shut before getting up to pace. "What is it?" Trowa asked gently. The tone annoyed Heero even more. Somehow, without a word breathed from Heero, rumors flew around the castle that Princess Relena was under investigation. Much sooner than he would have liked, Heero had been forced to place the woman in custody for fear she would try to slip away. He'd wanted to learn more about her role before arresting her. Now he would learn nothing new. His temper had felt frayed and fragile all day, causing him to snap at everyone. And he was sick of people asking him what he planned to do. Many of the arch dukes and duchesses had sought audiences, pledging their help. Probably secretly hoping one of them would be named Governor. "Shit-brained fools!" he spat, the profanity obviously startling Trowa. "They're like a bunch of tittering geese! Never occurs to them how much trouble they'll cause me before their tongues start wagging. I've half a mind to exile every single one of them and appoint my own damn noble houses!" Trowa shifted a little in his chair. "That would present you with even more problems," he pointed out slowly. "I know that!" Heero whirled like a caged tiger, but there was no outlet for his anger. "Gods be damned, I wanted to be back in Venya by now. I don't have time to be wasting on these idiots!" Trowa wisely held his tongue. The large gilded mirror hanging on the wall caught Heero's attention when he stalked past it. His expression, one of near-fanatic rage, didn't suit him much. Heero was known for his inhuman control. Seeing the raw anger only heightened his fury. Snarling at the glass, he snapped his fist forward and hit it as hard as he could. The sound of shattering glass - as well as the sight of shards falling brightly to the floor - satisfied him to a small degree. The red-hot pain that lanced up his arm did no such thing. Trowa leaped up from his seat and in an eyeblink was at Heero's side, but Heero wasn't done. He smashed his fist into the wood frame of the mirror, snarling when the glass shards were driven deep into his flesh. The pain did nothing to soothe his state of mind, nor did his brother grabbing him. Trowa was lean and borderline wiry, but he was taller and stronger than his brother. He pinned both Heero's arms to his side with one arm, the other he laid his hand over Heero's forehead and pushed his head back to rest on his shoulder. "Shh, calm down little brother," he whispered in Heero's ear. It was the first time he'd ever heard Trowa call him that. It managed to get through the red haze tinting his vision. "What is it, Trowa?" came Wufei's voice from nowhere. "Please come quickly," Trowa said in a quiet, urgent voice. "Something's wrong with Heero." Heero's chest was heaving as Wufei appeared in front of him. The sorcerer's eyes were black storms. "Keep holding him," he instructed, laying one hand over the prince's forehead. o0o 0o0 Trowa's heart pounded as he watched Wufei stare intently down at his little brother. Heero subtly writhed against him, either trying to escape or in some kind of pain. He was panting as though he'd run a marathon, and that was madness brimming in his eyes. Unreasonable anger. It was unnatural, and the only thing Trowa could figure was he was influenced by some kind of spell. "Magic," Wufei confirmed a split second later. "This is a bizarre spell. I can't find the end of it. I can't break it if I don't know where it originated." Not even with all your power? Trowa wailed silently. Heero's breathing was speeding up, his eyes glazing over, a low moan bubbling up from his throat. His muscles were tensing, and Trowa knew he would have a fight on his hands in moments. He could not hurt his brother, not even to subdue him. An elbow drove into his kidney. "What about the Myda?" he gasped, bowing forward a little and not relaxing his hold. "What about them?" Wufei said, frowning. "They can manipulate magic, you said," Trowa replied. "Is there something they could do?" Wufei blinked. "Let him go." Trowa immediately shook his head. "He'll hurt himself." "I'll restrain him," Wufei snapped. "Go get the gold Myda. Hurry!" It was physically painful, forcing himself to release Heero. It was only a split second later that Wufei had him enveloped in magic, and Trowa bolted from the room. The temporary infirmary was only down the hall, and for once his urgency didn't allow him common courtesy. Nothing was more important than his brother. The two Myda weren't on the bed together, and the gold one sprang back in alarm when the door burst open. He arched his back with a furious hiss, baring his teeth. Normally Trowa would have found it cute, especially when the dark one imitated him. Right now, he didn't care. "Quatre," he said without preamble, "please come. I need your help. Someone is trying to hurt Heero." Both Myda took notice of those words, and Quatre sent an agonized look to his friend. Duo still could not walk on that bulky splint. The dilemma was plain. He wanted to help, but he didn't want to leave Duo alone. Trowa crossed quickly to the bed. "I'll carry him," he said over his shoulder to the gold. To the auburn, "Put your arms around my neck." Wide-eyed, Duo obeyed without protest. His painfully-light frame was easy to lift, even with the heavy cast. He ran as fast as he dared back the way they'd come, Quatre easily keeping pace in his sleek wild form. Even since Trowa had last seen him two days ago his frame had filled out a little more, physical activity beginning to put some muscle back on him. Trowa might have kicked the door down if his arms weren't full. He shouldered it out of the way, grateful no one was around to gawk in the halls. Wufei had laid Heero down on a bench, holding his face in both hands and talking to him in a soft, intense voice. "Stay with me, Heero," the sorcerer was saying. "You're strong. Stay with me." Quatre sprang across the floor and put his front paws up on the bench, peering down at Heero with bright, concerned aqua eyes. Trowa gently set Duo in a plush chair and moved to join them, clasping Heero's hand. A moment later Quatre transformed. "Move, sorcerer," he growled, golden ears twitching. Under normal circumstances, Trowa would have been highly amused to see the indignation in the sorcerer's eyes as he stiffly rose and moved. The circumstances weren't normal. Quatre shocked him by looking up at him with eyes gentle and sorrowful. "You can stay," he said quietly. "But try to keep out of the way." Trowa nodded, squeezing Heero's hand so tightly he felt the bones grind. The injured one, still untreated, lay on Heero's chest and bled profusely. Trowa wondered if he would lose his mind waiting. He didn't. Quatre was done remarkably fast. Red light flared around them both, and Heero's spine arched up, eyes opening wide. A faint gasp left his lips, then he collapsed as though his spine had been severed. Trowa couldn't help it and pushed Quatre aside, gathering Heero into his arms and rocking. "Open your eyes," he whispered, pressing a kiss to Heero's forehead. "Look at me, Heero. Please." After an interim during which Trowa didn't breathe, Heero's eyes slowly opened. His face was ghastly pale, but his eyes were clear. He blinked. "Trowa . . ." Little more than a sigh. It took an absurd amount of self-control not to crush Heero to his breast and sob like a woman. "How do you feel?" he asked softly. Heero's eyes slid shut. "My hand hurts. Shit, so does my head." The crude profanity, for some reason, sent a bolt of relief through Trowa. He rested his forehead against his brother's. "Don't scare me like that," he whispered. A cold hand covered his. "Sorry," Heero mumbled, even though it wasn't his fault. His own body shield, Trowa couldn't stop the impulse to lean down and kiss Heero. Full on the lips, it was little more than a peck. He hadn't done that in at least ten years. Heero didn't look startled or shocked or repulsed. He merely looked up at his brother, looking exhausted and in pain and strangely content. "Wufei," Trowa called, voice cracking alarmingly. "His hand . . ." Wufei was there before he could finish. All five of them abruptly reappeared in Heero's bedchambers, and Wufei patted the surface of the bed. "Lay him down, Trowa. Then the three of you go." Trowa instantly opened his mouth to protest, but Wufei put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want you getting in the way. And right now Heero needs sleep more than your fussing. Go on. Carry the little one back to their room." Feeling leaden, Trowa obeyed. Duo was glaring daggers at the back of Wufei's head, but he didn't resist Trowa lifting him. He settled his arms around the man's neck, throwing Heero a weighted look. Trowa noticed something deeper than mere worry. This one had somehow become attached to Heero. And in a very short amount of time. That didn't surprise Trowa at all. Quatre paced at his side, back in wild form. In the infirmary room, Trowa set Duo down and moved to the wall, thumping his back against it and closing his eyes. "That spell," he said after a moment, "what was it, Quatre?" The pause was long enough he opened his eyes to look at Quatre. The cat had a strange look on his face, but for once Trowa didn't care what the Myda thought of him. Quatre transformed, sitting on the edge of the bed and seemingly unconcerned with his own nakedness. "I don't know," he said hesitantly. "It wasn't like normal magic. But . . . it was affecting both his emotions and the pain-centers of his mind. He . . . he was dying." Due to his birth, Trowa knew his own personality to be somewhat meek and gentle. But for the first time in his life he knew one thing with absolute clarity. He would kill whoever had done this to his brother. The anger whited out his mind and for several disconcerting moments, he couldn't breathe. Then he forced himself to calm, to slow the racing anger, to bring it back under control. Untempered rage would not help Heero. Only calm, collected thoughts would. Quatre was watching him with a wary, guarded expression. "You really love your brother, don't you?" "Of course I do," Trowa snapped, pushing off the wall. "More than anything. Could you tell where the spell originated? Wufei said he could not." A hint of nervousness crept up behind the wariness. "Yes, but it was a great distance. Somewhere in the south. I don't know this continent well enough to say exactly." "What if you looked at a map?" Trowa demanded. Now Quatre shrank back a little, and his obvious nervousness affected Duo, too. The smaller one's ears were pinned back, pupils too wide for as bright as it was. "I think so," Quatre said. Grinding his teeth, once more bringing himself to bear, he dipped his head a bit. "I apologize. I don't mean to worry you. But Heero is everything to me." He paced out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Whoever had done this, he would find them and make them pay. o0o 0o0 Duo watched the human leave, heart beating too hard in his chest. He turned wide eyes on Quatre, could see his best friend was feeling similarly affected by Trowa's anger. It had left a palpable edge in the air. "Not as weak as I thought," he offered after a moment. Quatre gave him a startled look, then burst into laughter. "No, he's not," he agreed. "Perhaps he's like a Unicorn. Hides his ferocity behind that gentle, beautiful exterior because he's afraid of his own temper." Duo looked at the door, head canting to the side. That made sense. Then he grinned. "Two brothers, one a Wolf, the other a Unicorn. How weird." Quatre snorted. Then he grabbed Duo and snuggled him close. "But there's something I didn't tell him. That magic, it wasn't sorcerery at all." Duo frowned. "So it wasn't a sorcerer. Could it have been a Mystic?" "No," Quatre said, shaking his head and rubbing his nose against Duo's soft ears. "It was necromancy." All time seemed to slow, and a cold weight of dread settled in the pit of Duo's stomach. Necromancy. The most unnatural form of magic in existence. It warped all who touched it. Indeed, how could dealing with death not warp someone? A faint whimper of distress escaped him, which made Quatre squeeze him tightly. "Why would a necromancer be hurting Heero?" Duo whispered. A long pause. "I don't know," Quatre replied, sighing softly. "Don't tell them, Duo. Any of them, not even the sorcerer. These humans have no concept of how evil necromancy is. We need to find out more before we tell them. I . . . I want to protect Heero. And . . . and his brother." Duo pulled back to peer up at his friend. "Trowa?" Quatre shrugged, looking mildly uncomfortable. "I know what it's like to love someone so much you'd do anything for them. Hurt anyone, even kill if you must." After a second Duo realized Quatre was talking about him and ducked his head, flushing in pleased embarrassment. He nuzzled his nose under Quatre's chin. "I'm glad Heero has someone like him looking after him," he remarked. "Me, too," Quatre agreed. o0o 0o0 The Duchess Emeria Gossyn paced restlessly in her bower, hands freezing cold as she wrang them constantly in her handkerchief. She was ready to scream in frustration when a soft, arctic voice filled the space. "Emeria . . ." Trying not to jump like a startled dove, Emeria quickly moved to her large gilded mirror. The man's face appalled her no less this time than the first time she'd seen it, but she was better at schooling her reaction, now. She curtsied. "M'lord," she murmured. "I've been waiting." "It gives me pleasure to make you wait," came the immediate response, dark mirth laced with the chill. "The thought of you fretting and pacing is amusing, Emeria." Trying not to grind her teeth, Emeria lowered her hands to her sides. "Princess Relena was taken into custody," she reported. "The rumor that she was being investigated by Prince Heero rapidly circulated the castle and forced his hand. Since she was forewarned of her exposure, nothing new will leak out." "The princess has become a liability," the man said, the black pits of his eyes gleaming. "She must be terminated." Emeria swallowed. "I am not an assassin," she protested weakly. "No, you are not," came the agreement, but it sounded like an insult. "Nevertheless, you will take care of her." "What about Prince Heero?" she asked, throat dry. "How did he even find out anything about her?" "Leave the prince to me," the man snapped. "You need not watch him any the longer. In fact, I want you to stay away from him. You've botched your assignment enough as it is. I'll deal with him myself." Emeria felt sickened to see a dry, cracked tongue snake out and lick equally dry lips. This man's sick fascination with the young prince left her feeling like a thin coat of oily filth covered her skin. She resisted the urge to rub her arms. "I'll find a way to deal with Relena," she said. "What if I can safely help her escape?" "If you cannot stomach killing her, by all means," the man said. "But Emeria, if you bungle that task and expose more of my secrets, I will personally kill you. And your death will be beautifullly slow and painful." Knowing this man was fully capable of carrying out that threat, Emeria felt a shiver trek harshly up her spine. Nodding, she backed away from the mirror and practically fled the chamber. She could hear laughter following her, but it sounded like the raking of dry leaves over a grave. o0o 0o0 "Relena . . ." Relena blinked and looked up. Before her materialized a wavering image, like that of smoke. "You should not show yourself here!" she hissed. "If anyone saw you-" "They will not," came the amused interruption. "You are in a cell. Who would come down here?" "I told you before, there is a powerful sorcerer in the castle now," Relena warned. "There have been a few sorcerers to pass through here before, but this one is more powerful than they by far. I'm positive he's one of the royal families. Perhaps Dragon or Tiger." "Even if he wandered by and sensed this exchange, I am a mere image," the mirage replied. "All his power could not hurt me. Now. What is the reason for your imprisonment? What does the princeling know?" "I'm not sure," she admitted. "He hasn't come to speak with me, though I'm not sure why." "That would be my doing," came the answer. "I sent him a delicious little gift. It would have killed him, and a beautiful death it would have been, had not a meddling kitten interfered." Relena stared up at the image in alarm. "You can't be serious!" she gasped. "Do you wish to invite the wrath of the Warrior King? Need I remind you the war you'd have on your hands then?" "He cannot touch me," the image dismissed her concerns. "He could not even find me. What do you plan to do about your little predicament, hm? You've inexplicably become a liability, my little doll." Knowing full well this miserable man wouldn't hesitate to kill her for that reason, Relena straightened her shoulders. "I know you can help me escape from here," she said. "I can still be a valuable asset." "I am not certain how," the image said, sounding distracted. "Even so, you do not deserve a beautiful death. Oh no, that is reserved for the truly deserving. You are not even a real princess. I'm sending that worthless Gossyn woman to free you. If she cannot, you'll both be useless to me and I'll care not what happens to you. But I'm giving you now the same order I gave her. You are not to approach the prince anymore. Heero is my concern from this moment on. Weeds should not clutter the rich soils of a rose. Come straight to me when you're free." The image vaporized. Closing her eyes, Relena drew in a slow breath. It was
not too late, she thought. Somehow, those Myda had uncovered her part
in this. She would return to her master, as he ordered. But she would
take a little revenge along the way.
tbc |
