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"The King and the Shaman "Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, Fantasy/Drama/Romance, Yaoi, lemon, language (the usual), peril, violence, animal shamans, neko Duo, king Heero, impending war, sentient-formless evil Pairings: 1x2, others Summary: Heero is the young king of a country
he wants to expand into an Empire. One day he is approached by a woman
who claims she is an animal Shaman, creatures of legend and myth.
She makes an offer Heero cannot refuse. " The King and the Shaman "
Duo was somewhat sorry to see Relena and her brother go. Not terribly, because while he enjoyed Relena's company, he did like to spend most of his time with Heero with no one else there. Heero told him with amusement that this was the very reason behind his campaign being put on hold. Duo was fine with that. When he was older and stronger he could travel with Heero everywhere. Over the weeks the more he thought about it the more exciting it seemed. He knew his fair share about war, of course. Heero had, after all, insisted he learn history. But this campaign of his did not seem like an actual war. No one seemed keen on the idea of fighting Heero's army. So it was more like a march to certain victory with little chance of fighting at all. In his excitement he faced every new day with his usual manic energy. Then one day he woke sprawled all over Heero to find himself feeling . . . sick. He'd never been sick before in his life. And he only knew it now because of reading. An uneasiness took up residence deep within his stomach, and he felt too hot. His head pounded, his mouth was dry, and he felt weak. Shaky. He wasn't aware he was making soft, distressed sounds until Heero's arms went around him. A gentle kiss pressed to his temple. "What's wrong, sweet one?" Heero murmured, squeezing him gently. Duo nuzzled his face into Heero's neck, not wanting to move. "Don't know," he mumbled. "Don't feel well." That brought Heero up immediately. "You're really warm," he said softly, sounding darkly concerned. He carefully pushed Duo down to the bed. "Stay in bed, Duo. I'll have a servant bring us what I need. You just take it easy, all right?" That's all Duo wanted to do anyway, so he just nodded, closing his eyes again. o8o o8o Heero didn't like it any better the second time. After two days Duo didn't get any better, so he rode his black mare into the foothills, searching for the bluebird Shamans. They found him. "What is it?" they inquired. "I'm worried about Duo," he replied. "He got sick, and he's not getting better." They looked at each other for awhile. Finally they turned to him. "He's old enough that his powers as a Shaman are probably beginning to manifest," they told him. "It's a little hard on the body, and young Shamans usually get sick at first. It will pass. It's not life-threatening." Tremendously relieved, Heero nodded. "Thank you. How will he know . . . how to use his powers?" "Instinct," the Shamans told him. "It might be more difficult for him without a clue what he is, but most Shaman young learn on their own. Because of our differing abilities, we can't effectively teach each other." That wasn't exactly what Heero wanted to hear, but he supposed there was nothing he could do about it. "Is there anything I can do to help him?" "Just let him be for the most part. He will probably exhibit extreme irritability and mood changes. His appetite will most likely decrease, but that's natural too. Have him chew mint leaves. It will help with the nausea." Heero nodded. "Again, thank you." "You're welcome," they said, bobbing their blue heads. "But be prepared, Heero. You will oft be on the receiving end of his bad temper." He got the feeling they were making fun of him as he rode back to the palace. o8o o8o Duo raised his head when Heero came back into the room, feeling listless and lethargic. "Where did you go?" he asked weakly. "To find you something, actually," Heero said. He sat beside Duo, stroking his ears. "Here. It's mint. Supposed to help with nausea." Too tired to be skeptical, Duo simply accepted the sweet-smelling green leaves and popped a few in his mouth. For some reason it tasted very good. He swallowed the pulp and tried a few more. To his surprise, it did seem to help with nausea. "Thanks, Heero," he mumbled, dropping his head back to the pillows. "Can you read to me?" "Of course," his guardian murmured, kissing his forehead. "Do you feel like eating anything?" Duo shook his head. Mostly he wanted to sleep until he felt better. He wasn't sure what was happening to him, but he knew something was happening. Heero climbed onto the bed, pulling the kitten against him, balancing a book on his knees. Duo recognized it. It was another history encyclopedia, this one about the other kingdoms. Closing his eyes, Duo turned off all his senses to listen as Heero read. It was another two days before Duo felt well enough to get up. By the end of that time he knew something was wrong. He constantly felt . . . off. On edge. He couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate. His headache never really went away. Worse still, he found himself snapping at the people he loved. Heero. Muriel. Her girls in the kitchen. Heero, his beloved guardian, stayed patient and loving as always, though he left Duo alone for long periods. Part of him was grateful. So he spent a lot of time climbing onto the palace walls and resting in the sun, trying not to focus on anything. He felt more relaxed being melted by the sun. Until that guard he'd never liked discovered him up there. Every time he passed by and found Duo up on the wall he yelled and snapped at him until Duo jumped down and went. Many times he was tempted to hiss at him, but something always stopped him. Probably because he knew the man would just be more convinced he was a dumb animal. And that bothered him. Finally, after over a week of constantly feeling headachy and irritable, Duo went to Heero. He was absolutely miserable. His guardian sat at his big desk in his private study, writing something with a luxurious quill. Duo climbed onto his lap with an unhappy little meow, tucking his head under Heero's chin. Heero instantly abandoned his writing, wrapping his arms around Duo and holding him. "What's wrong, little kitten?" he murmured. Duo nuzzled his throat, feeling close to tears. "I don't know what's wrong with me," he mumbled. "Heero, what am I? You must know." His guardian took such a deep breath it moved Duo. He rose from his chair and carried Duo to their room. "You were brought to me," he said. "There are legends of animal shamans of so long ago it's no longer believed to be fact but fiction." "Oh," Duo said, blinking and looking at Heero. "Is that what I am?" Heero looked down at him, smiling as he nodded. "You're going to develop some kind of special power. There's nothing wrong with you, kitten. I promise." That made Duo feel a lot better. Over the course of the next week he tried to concentrate on the feeling of strangeness inside him, figure it out and perhaps discover this special power Heero had talked about. He managed to regain some of his former excitement. If it was true, then he would be able to use his power to Heero's advantage during his campaign. Perhaps if he was useful, Heero would never decide to get rid of him. Like his parents had. For whatever reason. It wasn't long before he felt like if he concentrated hard enough he was full of some kind of crackling energy that almost hurt. It felt like it built up inside him, searching for an outlet, and he had none. He didn't know what to do with it, so he stopped trying for now. It scared him a little. And though he didn't know why, he didn't go to Heero. Besides, what could his guardian tell him? After a particularly exhausting afternoon of trying, Duo went outside and climbed up onto the palace wall. The sun shone down warm and bright, welcome and inviting. Curling up in a little ball, covering his nose with his tail, Duo gave in to the lull of sleep. He was in a peaceful half-doze when the guard found him. Startled awake when the man yelled at him, Duo gazed down through lidded eyes. "I've told you not to climb up there!" the man snapped, glaring fit to kill. "You damn cat, get down!" For once, Duo didn't move. He didn't do anything except continue to gaze down at him. He blinked when the guard nodded to his two companions, and a long pole with a sharp end reached up to prod him. Hissing, Duo sprang upright and leaped sideways to avoid being jabbed. His claws extending, searching for purchase on the wall top and finding it. His ears flattened against his skull as he glared at them. He was quite certain if Heero found out about this he would throw all three of them out of the palace. "God-damn animal, get down!" the guard spat, swinging his pole. Duo jumped to get out of the way, but there wasn't enough room for him to get away. The blow knocked him clean off the wall, and he hit the stone floor hard, barely managing not to cry out in shocked pain. He immediately rolled to his feet, fully prepared to flee as quickly as possible. That didn't get the chance to happen. A thick rope fell over his head, tightening at once around his throat with crushing force. Hissing again, Duo whirled to create a little slack and glare at his attackers. The rope was attached to the pole at the other end. The guard jerked hard enough to choke the air out of Duo's lungs, and a second rope slid over his head from one of the other two. His tormentors stood at opposing sides of him, both tugging on their poles. It hurt, and Duo had had enough pain in the last two weeks. But with them both keeping the slack, there was no way for him to pull the ropes over his head, and when he tried to grab the rope they jerked harder. Hissing, ears flat and teeth bared, Duo crouched low to the ground, ready to defend himself if necessary. He had no idea what they wanted, if they even wanted anything beyond tormenting him. The guard gave him a dark sneer. "Imagine His Majesty wasting all his time on a worthless pet like you," he growled. "He would have been emperor by now if not for you, and we his victorious army. Hell, probably rich and happy lords! Are you happy, you little fleabag? Yeah?" Duo flattened himself more, claws scoring the stone. "Feisty little shit, ain't ya?" the man leered, tugging at the rope. Duo's vision actually grayed out. They were carrying weapons to subdue predator animals like cougars or wolves. Specifically designed for subduing animals. This had to be planned out. Which meant they intended to hurt him. But what they meant to do, he didn't know. And he didn't care. Anger burned in his breast. Was it his fault Heero had raised him? Loved him, wanted him to be happy so devoted most of his time to him? It was Heero's choice, not his. Somewhere overhead, a great distance away, clouds began churning in the sky. As Duo gasped for breath, vision hazing red, the clouds began building. Thunder rolled over the skies as the white clouds darkened to gray. They boiled into frenzied action, twisting closer and closer until the sun vanished from the sky and the wind began whipping across the ramparts. That was when Duo knew what his special power was. He could feel the storm gathering in response to him, knew exactly what he had to do to control it. And suddenly, the energy constantly building up inside him had an outlet. A bolt of lightning streaked down out of the sky like a burning herald of doom, striking the stone so hard the palace shuddered beneath it. It also burned clean through the ropes currently holding him prisoner. Freed, Duo slowly rose to his feet, ears alert and eyes filled with fury. "If you have complaints about how Heero runs his kingdom, you should take them up with him," he snarled, words punctuated by the shriek of wind. His tail lashed behind him. "Though I doubt you have the courage for that!" Thunder boomed in a deafening toll across the sky, adding a sort of finality to his words. Allowing one last snarl to curl his lip, Duo stalked away from them. It was extremely satisfying to see them looking appropriately cowed. It didn't take Heero long to find him. He didn't look surprised, but rather curious. "Are you all right?" he asked. "No," Duo snapped, hissing faintly. His throat throbbed angrily. "You should control your guards, instead of letting them go around blaming me for the way you run things!" That brought the surprise to Heero's face. In fact he looked shocked. For a moment he said nothing. Then his face darkened. "Tell me what happened." A gentle command, not a harsh one. To his consternation, Duo felt the tears finally beginning to form. "That lieutenant attacked me," he growled. "He might have choked me to death before he was satisfied." "Duo—" Heero said softly, his eyes so warm and kind and concerned as he reached out toward the young cat. Hissing, Duo lashed out with his claws. The bright tang of blood instantly coppered the air, and Heero grimaced. Duo's eyes widened, and at that the tears started to fall in earnest. "Heero," he whimpered, ears flattening against his skull as he immediately pressed against his guardian. Strong, safe, loving arms at once encircled him. "Don't cry, Duo," he whispered in one velvet ear. "Shh, it's all right." At Heero's insistence, Duo lifted his feet off the floor,
wrapping his legs around Heero's waist. His guardian carried him to
their room, lying down and simply holding him. Duo cried until his
frustration, anger, and hurt had flowed out of him, leaving behind
only exhaustion and a sore throat. Taking a deep breath, he buried
his face in Heero's chest and fell asleep.
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