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"In My Master's Arms "Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, violence, slavery, cruelty, possible OOCness, AU/Fantasy/Drama Pairings: 1x2 Summary: In a society where sorcerers are feared
and hated, Duo is given as a slave to a powerful warrior in order
to keep his tremendous power under control. All he wants is freedom
from his cruel master, but nothing is as it seems . . . "In My Master's Arms "
Ruler of My Fate Cobalt eyes fluttered open to the sound of birds warbling sweetly just outside the window. For a moment Heero lay still and just listened, the cheeful sounds soothing him. Warm sunlight streamed over his body, and a cool breeze wafted in. It felt wonderful, and it was some time after awakening that Heero actually stirred and his mind woke up. Three things roused him to sit up. First, there was no longing for Relena, no mindless adoration. Second, he no longer had any sense of Duo. And third, he was so hungry that Frost, lying across his legs, looked mighty tempting. At that thought, Frost lifted her head and peeled her lips back in a low growl. Smiling, Heero reached out and ruffled her ears. I'm just kidding, girl. I would never eat you. Reassured, she laid back down, then rolled over onto her back. Heero obliged and scratched her belly. Right about then the door opened and Duo walked in. The sleevless linen tunic he wore was dyed soft red, and it was somewhat low cut down the chest. These factors drew attention to two things. First, the silver slave cuffs were no longer around Duo's wrists. And second, his slim ivory neck was naked. Without the glittering black collar, the boy looked somehow more vulnerable. He blinked, looking surprised to see Heero awake. Then he smiled softly and quickly strode across the room to sit on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?" That's right. I'm the one who removed the collar. At the time, Heero hadn't given it much thought. It was, very simply, the only thing he could do. Caving to Relena's demands, the only way he could stop himself from hurting Duo was remove the means by which he obeyed. He didn't remember what happened after that. "Weak. Starving." But there was no pain. "You healed me?" Duo frowned a little. "Of course I did." Heero turned away, gazing out the window and trying to manage the ache in his heart. "Why?" "You were hurt," Duo replied, obviously not understanding the question. "But I did such terrible things to you," Heero whispered, feeling that burning behind his eyes that signaled tears wanting to fall. He blinked them away. A quiet sigh. When he looked at Duo again, the boy looked exasperated and resigned. "You did no such thing," he said firmly. "Relena did those things to me, Heero. Not you. Blaming yourself will only hurt me. All right?" Heero snorted softly. Clever boy. "Very well," he agreed. Frost nudged his hand for more attention, so he gave it to her. Silence took them both for a time, then Duo stirred. It was only when the boy reached out that Heero realized he was holding something. The black collar gleamed in his hand, so innocuous-looking when open like that. "Here." Baffled, Heero stared at it for a moment. "Why would I want that thing?" Duo blinked. "To . . . put it back on me?" A little unsure. It caught Heero off-guard, and he floundered for a second. Then he slowly reached over and took it. Duo flinched, but Heero merely grasped it in both hands. The enchanted metal didn't bend under physical force alone, so Heero poured a trickle of hateful fire into it, and it crumbled into shiny black slivers. Rising, he went to the window and flung them out. They glittered brightly for a moment before falling away. Then he walked to his desk, legs feeling alarmingly shaky. Sorting through the papers, he found the original contract with the Tower. Then he went back to bed and sat down beside Duo. "This is the only thing left in the world that says you belong to me as my slave," he said. The same fire devoured it until not even a thin dusting of ash remained. He met Duo's eyes, making sure all his heartfelt gratitude was visible. "You've done everything for me I ever hoped you would, and so much more, Duo. You belong to no one but you, from now on." Duo stared at him, eyes beginning to glimmer as tears filled them. His eyes closed and his head bowed. "That's not true," he mumbled. Heero frowned. "What's not?" Suddenly he found himself with an armful of trembling Duo, and for a moment he thought the boy was weeping. But no, those hoarse little sounds were actually laughter. "Even when you free me, I'm still enslaved to you." He pulled back, and his eyes were sparkling with relief, joy, and love. He put one hand on Heero's chest, the other on his own. "But now the only ways I belong to you are the only ones that matter." Sweet, sweet relief stole through Heero as he allowed Duo's slight weight to bear them back to the bed. He held the boy tightly. I thought you might want to leave me. To leave this place. To go home. Wherever you are is my home, came Duo's answering thought, clear and warm. He slowly sat up, tucking Heero back under the blankets. "You need to rest," he said aloud. "Even though I healed your physical wounds, you lost a lot of blood. A servant should be along soon with breakfast." Hunger of lesser importance for the moment, Heero used the pillows to prop himself up. "What happened?" he asked. "After I . . . freed you. What happened to Relena?" Duo took one of Heero's hands and held it in his own. "After you blacked out I took the mindbreaker. I severed her connection to you, then used it on her. She's in the dungeons right now, mindbroken. When you've recovered, she'll proclaim her guilt and treason to the entire royal court. Trowa and Quatre and your chamberlain are seeing to the details of her trial and consequent execution." He smiled faintly. "Your chamberlain is a cunning man. I can see why you chose him. And he treats me . . ." When Duo didn't continue, Heero felt anger threatening to bubble up inside him. "He treats you like what?" he demanded, ready to have the man executed on the spot. But Duo just gave him a coy little grin. "Like I'm . . . your consort. Like after you, I'm the ultimate authority." The words startled Heero. Then they took up residence in his head. My consort. A little thrill ran through him. "Nothing would make me happier," he murmured. Duo blinked. "Was that a proposal?" Still with that cute grin. Using the hand captured in Duo's, he pulled the boy close until their noses were almost touching. "It was more than that," he whispered. "I love you so much, Duo. I never thought I would feel this way about anyone. Would you consent to being my consort?" With an odd little hitch in his breath, Duo nodded and climbed onto the bed beside him, cuddling close. "Yes," he mumbled. Smiling, Heero rested his cheek on Duo's head and closed his eyes. It wouldn't be long from now before his strength returned and he was able to hold his love properly. Until then this would do. o8o o8o Duo breathed in Heero's familiar scent, feeling almost dizzy with disbelief. When he'd handed Heero the collar it had been nothing more than a test. No way would he allow himself to be collared again. But not only had Heero refused, he'd destroyed it - and then the contract. And now he was to be Heero's equal in every possible way, joint ruler of Corai. If anyone could change people's attitudes about sorcerers it was Heero, and there were already quite a few people in the castle who didn't treat him differently from anyone else. And there wasn't an iota of fear or hesitation in Heero right now. The only thing he felt toward Duo was love and relief. Relief that I want to stay with him? How could I not. No one has been this kind and loving and just wonderful. Not since I was taken. A dark sliver of doubt pierced him; would Heero feel this way were he himself not a magic-user? As quickly as the thought came, he shook it away. What did it matter, wondering things like that? Heero loved him and he was a magic-user. "There's something else," he said, reluctant to go back to unpleasant topics. "Hn?" Heero murmured, sounding drowsy, running his fingers through Duo's hair. It was hard not to be distracted by the caresses. "Relena said she got out of you that you can use magic." Heero's fingers stilled. "Yes, I remember that now you mention." Duo felt a shiver course through the Black King. "I wanted so much to please her it was painful, so much more painful than her whip that I spilled every secret I could think of." Some of the black hatred he felt for the woman, which had been muted by Heero's loving reassurances, came back. Though nothing was actively torturing her right now but those enchanted cuffs, she would still be in pain from the broken bones (which Duo had forbade anyone from treating) and Duo's disapproval. "She sent a message to the Tower," he continued. "It should reach them any day now, and they will come here in force to put a collar on you and drag you back there." Impossible as it seemed, Duo hated them even more than Relena. I'll die before I let that happen. Heero, however, didn't seem afraid. "How many, and what colors?" "At least two for sure," Duo replied, smoothing his palms over Heero's chest. "One will be Red, any others will be at least Green." Heero resumed his caressing. "My mother was Red," he said, voice distant and almost absent. "I'm a Blue. She said if my father had been a nymph as well, I probably would have been Red or even Black. Her family have long been powerful magic-users." Duo tried to imagine facing the world with Heero as two Black sorcerers. For a moment he longed for that so much it was almost painful. Then it settled into a sort of wistful fantasy. "Did she ever teach you to create spells?" "Some simple ones," Heero said, "such as how to conjure fire and how to shield myself. Mostly she just taught me control so I would never draw attention to it." Duo heard a smile in his voice. "She described magic as a living entity inside me that needed to be trained. Once it knew what I wanted I wouldn't have to teach it again." Duo drew in a long, deep breath, feeling remarkably content. "How did she die?" He felt Heero's pause. "I don't know. She just . . . died. My father would never speak of it, but he said she got sick. I always wondered if she was murdered." Duo tried to remember his own mother. Certainly she was nothing extraordinary like Celaewahan. But he could remember loving her fiercely. He could barely recall her face, though he remembered she was large-boned and had rosy cheeks. He remembered his father having large, calloused hands. "I put the anti-magic barrier around Cera," he told Heero. "Only my magic will work within it." Then he frowned a little. "And yours, apparently." He sat up, gazing down at the half-human king. "How come you were able to destroy that collar and the contract? You shouldn't have been able to use your magic." Heero frowned. "I don't know. But now that you mention it, I did feel a slight tingle on my skin when I did it. I thought it was because the collar was magical in nature." The mystery puzzled Duo. Was it because the magic of nymphs was different than that of humans? Before he could ponder it any more deeply, he heard a knock on the door. Giving Heero a look and gesture to stay put, he rose and padded over. Pulling it open, he was practically blinded by the bright, beaming smile of the servant. She was probably his age or a little older. "Yours and His Majesty's breakfast, Sir," she chirped, holding out a covered tray. "Still piping hot." Duo scrambled through his memories for her name and returned the smile (though not quite as brightly). "Thank you, Nalas. And please, just call me Duo." Her smile got even brighter when he used her name. "Of course, Duo!" she all but sang. Her eyes went deliberately to his bare neck, and she leaned toward him in a conspiratorial fashion. "Don't get me wrong, I love our king, but I'm so glad he freed you, Duo! You deserve it. Well, I'm off!" Pushing the tray into his hands, she turned and skipped down the hall, throwing a wave over her shoulder. A little bemused, Duo watched until she disappeared around a corner and closed the door again. Most of the servants in the castle had begun to treat him with genuine kindness and warmth after a few weeks. It gave him hope. These people had lost their fear of him after a handful of months. If they could, others could. Maybe I'll free the other sorcerers, after all. Those, of course, who actually wanted to be freed. The image of the three leaders of the Tower sprang to mind. Two were Reds and the third a Blue. Cold, vicious men who never hesitated to strike a disobedient sorcerer. All three of them had seemed to take great delight in attempting to break Duo's spirit when he'd first been collared a Black. They had all absolutely believed that sorcerers belonged collared and leashed to their masters. He reserved special hatred for them. When he returned to the bed, Frost hopped down and begged to be let out, so he lifted her up onto the windowsill. She jumped out into the air without hesitation, and Duo invoked the simple spell that had ghostly wings grow from her back and carry her safely to the ground four floors down. Heero looked a little startled. Then he grinned. "Clever." Reaching out, he grabbed Duo's wrist and pulled him down to snuggle. Laughing softly, Duo wriggled free and deposited the tray on his lap. "You need food more than cuddles," he chided gently. Heero gave him a rueful little smile and set aside the tray lid. Duo smiled at the health-conscious breakfast. Sweet, fresh berries, toast with a thin drizzle of honey, thin slices of ham, moist scrambled eggs. A pitcher of lightly flavored juice and a glass of milk. There was enough for them both, so Duo sat down to join him. It all tasted wonderful, but Duo noticed with some alarm that Heero didn't eat half as much as usual before he pushed it away. He tried to keep it out of his voice. "That's all you can manage?" A slightly coaxing tone. Heero didn't seem to like the fact, either. "For now. At some point during her torturing I started throwing up and then couldn't stop. Maybe that's why I can't eat as much." Red filmed Duo's vision. "Never mind," he said, forcing out a smile. "You'll be stronger in no time. For today, I want you to stay in that bed. Tomorrow you can get up and get dressed, but any business you want to conduct do so in the sitting room." Only after he finished did he notice the bemused smile on Heero's face. He realized how bossy that must have all sounded, but he refused to take it back. After a moment Heero chuckled lightly. "You won't talk to me like that in front of my court, will you?" Duo swallowed a giggle, relieved. "I won't, I promise." "Thank Cestera. They'll think I've gone soft." Mirth subsiding a little, Duo leaned forward. "Would that be such a terrible thing?" Heero sobered. "It's not in my nature to be a gentle, benevolent ruler, Duo. I couldn't change that now. I'm pretty sure you're the only person who can see that side of me. Everyone else . . . I just can't relax my guard." Supposing that just made him all the more special and precious to Heero, Duo accepted. "When the sorcerers come here, the first thing they'll try to do is find my anti-magic barrier and destroy it. I'd like to teach you how I did it so you can add your magic to it." Gazing out the window, Heero shook his head. "I already know how you did it. And of course I'll add my magic. Sometime later today, why don't you send a servant to Bane's shop? He has plenty of herbs and remedies that will help me recover my strength all the faster." That was a great idea. "I told your chamberlain to arrest every member of the Council except Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. Treize Khushrenada seems to have gone missing - Relena told me she sent him after your army to stop them from attacking Dobraia. Beria Shondric is dead, the other three have been arrested for plotting with Relena." Heero's gaze returned to Duo's face, and he was smiling. "Seems you've taken care of everything for me. What would I have done without you?" Probably you'd still be mindbroken, maybe even dead, Duo thought, suppressing a shudder. Aloud, all he said was, "You'll never have to worry about that." Leaning over he stole a quick kiss. He sat with Heero for awhile after breakfast, talking about mundane things until the young king fell asleep. Pleased he was resting, Duo quietly left the room so Heero could sleep undisturbed. o8o o8o She felt them coming long before they reached Cera. Like a distant storm gathering on the horizon, their power and menace rippled through her body in an evil flood. Not for the first time she wondered how they could be so hateful toward their own. She felt it only right that sorcerers should work together to free other sorcerers, not be the ones to drag them to that Cestera-forsaken Tower and chain and enslave them. All the things wrong with this world, she thought with a shiver, could be tied to that Tower. Magic was not meant to be bound and enslaved that way. Magic was like a living entity. It needed to be free to wander and flow through the pathways of the world like blood in the veins of a living being. Cut off the flow of blood and the limb would rot and fall away from the body. That was happening to Harboura. How long before the entire world rotted away? My kin and I are no longer enough to rejuvinate and restore the flows of magic. Isolated as they were, they could only do so much. And they had always numbered far, far fewer than humans. She closed her eyes. It was time. o8o o8o Blue stretched as far as he could see, spanning a vast distance until it met with the hazing purple and smokey gray tones of the horizon. With a start he realized he was standing on the surface of a great ocean with no shore visible in any direction. He almost panicked, but the surface beneath him felt firm and didn't waver. Directly in front of him, the smoothness was disrupted and distorted as a head and then a whole body rose up out of the water. Shifting green-and-earth-brown hair stirred in the warm breeze, and eyes the verdant hue of new growth gazed at him in loving pride. He swallowed thickly, recognizing his mother. She looked exactly the same as he remembered. This was the first time she'd ever appeared in his dreams. "Heero," she murmured, reaching out a hand to cup his cheek. "I'm so proud of you. I could not have asked for a better son." A sudden longing for her made his heart ache. "I miss you, Mother." "I've missed you, as well," she said, moving across the water to embrace him. The water rippled beneath her steps. "I never wanted to leave you, but the choice was taken from me. Now, I have one last thing to give you before I return to my people." Blinking, he pulled back to look at her. "What do you mean?" he asked, confused. She smiled gently. "I have watched over you as a half-soul since I died. The great evil that is approaching, I cannot stop it. I can, however, give you what you need to stand against it. With Duo at your side, everything will be within your grasp." She stepped back and held her hands, cupped, in front of her breast. Within them formed a brilliant globe of light, a pulsing crimson in color. "Take this, my little one. Take it and use it to defend yourself, your people, and your world. Never allow Duo to be taken from you. Together you will be able to stand against the entire world." Bemused, Heero reached out and took the globe from her. At once it dispersed into gleaming trails of light that circled up his arms and plunged into his body. It felt like someone had dropped him into liquid fire and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. When it passed his mother was far, far away, but he could see her smiling. A single tear coursed down her cheek, but it didn't dilute the love in her eyes. "I love you so much, Heero. It is up to you now, but I believe the world is in safe hands." Slowly she disappeared into a soft haze of golden light. Heero jerked awake, heart racing, staring blindly at the ceiling above the bed. Never had he had such a vivid, intense dream. He could still feel the ghostly lingering of his mother's touch, her embrace. He panted for breath, the blood roaring in his ears and clouding his sight. After several moments of disorientation he realized it wasn't the blood he could hear and feel. It was a new flood of magic far, far more powerful than
a Blue.
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