|
"Prince Duo"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU/Fantasy/Adventure, Angst, fluff,
sap, lemons… lots of lemons but usually of the non graphic variety,
light language Beta'ed by Mechante Fille ^_^ *snugs* Pairings: 2x4, 1x2x4, 5xM, 5x4, mention of 5x4xM,
1x2, 3x4, 1x2x3x4 Summary: A young slave finds more than his freedom
when he is purchased by the prince of a neighboring kingdom. " Prince Duo" Ch 5
The big man, Rashid, was one of them. Two of his men were with him and a woman with long, dark blond pigtails that Duo had introduced as Sally Po had also joined them. Hiiro had never seen a woman so heavily armed before. It wasn’t the size of the weapons that intrigued him as much as the number. She seemed to have some instrument of death on every square inch of her person and when she caught him counting them she shifted uneasily in her seat. He wondered how many people didn’t realize the combs in her hair could slit a man’s throat at a hundred paces. He also didn’t think she liked the fact that he recognized them for what they were so he had favored her with a knowing grin. “You’d do well to avoid the woods when traveling with that one!” the huge man was laughing uproariously. “You’re lucky you escaped without a lung full of water,” he snorted, slapping the young prince on the back and almost making him spit out his mouthful of mead. “Sooo,” he added, looking to Hiiro with a huge grin. “You’ve decided to give up the murder trade in favor of our young prince’s favors I see,” he chuckled. Hiiro said nothing, only looked at the fine, red mantle that rose in the longhaired boy’s cheeks. Wait. Duo was blushing? “Relax,” Rashid gaffed. “There’s not a man or woman alive that wouldn’t give their left arm to be in your place,” he laughed then draped his huge arm over Duo’s shoulder, leaning down close to the prince’s ear. “Have you shown him the baths yet?” he asked conspiratorially. Duo blushed harder making him laugh louder as he suddenly bellowed “Barkeep!” Hiiro had a small grin on his face as he found he liked that blush very much. It turned out Sally was a mercenary with a rather large army that was camped out in the hills. It would seem Duo wasn’t as unprepared for the coming war as Relena thought. He got another piece for his puzzle board when a young woman addressed the prince later in the evening. She had requested to enter his service and offered herself to him body and soul right there in front of god and everyone. Duo had looked down as she knelt at his feet and bowed her head awaiting his decision. His head came up and looked at a man sitting at the bar; it was Mason, the man from the procession on the journey home. “Silvia,” Mason informed him. “The sixth daughter of Noventa in the southern district.” Duo raised a brow. Six daughters? The man was truly blessed, especially if they were all as lovely as this girl. He drew a necklace from a pouch at his waist and offered it to the girl with a smile. Hiiro understood a little better why so many of these people wore the mark. They had requested it, giving their service freely to the prince. It made the presence of the choker around his neck sting a little as he hadn’t had that choice. The girl tried to fling herself on him in gratitude but he pushed her back chuckling softly and whispered something in her ear that turned her beat red and made her gape at Hiiro but she relented quickly. The puzzle piece didn’t really fall into place until she held out the necklace and asked, “Would you put it on for me?” Rashid nearly choked on his mead, making Duo laugh and raise his brow as if the request had been quite bold. “I think not,” he chuckled. She looked a bit hurt. “But ...Sire. I only wish to serve…” “And you will,” the prince replied. “You’ve overstepped the boundaries of good manors, dear girl,” Rashid scolded gently. “Be off with you and next time you seek to covertly bind yourself to a man, use a little more tact. Your skills at coercion leave much to be desired,” he chuckled as she retreated and disappeared into the crowd. Hiiro hadn’t missed that word “bind” and about bored a hole in Duo’s face glaring at him. What had he done by putting the choker on him himself? Was that the reason he couldn’t take it off? Could all these other people remove their marks if they wanted to and why was he the only one that was forced against his will to wear the stupid thing? Duo had just smiled sheepishly and went back to the conversation. Things had quieted down a lot as the night progressed. Duo had taken to talking in low tones with his companions about the eminent war with Nobara. He was gently stroking Hiiro’s thigh with this palm, making it a bit difficult for the blue eyed boy to pay attention to the conversation when a young man burst through the front door and looked wildly around until his eyes found the prince. Duo tensed as he came quickly over and knelt down in front of him, holding out a small scroll. The prince took it and unrolled it so he could read it and Hiiro’s chest tightened as he watched the boy’s violet eyes harden with rage. The prince stood so suddenly the delivery boy skittered away as he tossed the scroll into the fire. Hiiro was stunned by the sudden explosion that blew out every candle in the place when it hit the flames. “He’s been taken,” the longhaired boy growled. Rashid’s face bled to white then reddened as his temper rose and Hiiro felt the wave of heat when he slammed his mug down and stood to his full and considerable height. “Gather your men,” Duo told him and he nodded and was suddenly gone. Hiiro felt his stomach tighten. He had been aware of an oddly empty place in his gut all night but hadn’t really been able to place what was causing it. Now it felt like someone had fed him a box of tacks. He had a feeling he knew who ’he‘ was and it was seriously pissing him off. Five minutes later they burst through a door in the lower back side of the castle that Hiiro thought to be some sort of servant’s quarters but amended that when he saw the healers gathered around a bed. Duo bolted the moment he saw them, pushing his way through and fell to his knees beside the figure lying prone on the bed. When Hiiro got a little closer he recognized the boy in the bed as the dragon rider Wufei. He was pale as a ghost and shaking as he tried to speak to the prince. Duo leaned his head close to the boy’s bluish lips and strained to hear his words. After a moment he nodded and laid his hand on his cheek then kissed him softly and pulled away. It broke Hiiro’s heart when he saw the tears rolling down the prince’s fair face. He had never dreamed anything could hurt so much but watching that face, as happy and full of life as it been only minutes before, crumble into tears made him want to find whoever had caused those tears and rip his heart out. One of the healers laid her hand on the prince’s hair as he held his friend’s hand and wept into his shoulder. He looked up and allowed her to lead him away. She told him the boy had been poisoned and they weren’t sure yet what the poison was but she assured him they were doing everything they could to make sure he survived. Apparently, he had been found crawling up the steps to the palace but no one had seen any trace of the dragon. The woman, Sally, had come then. Duo’s face lit up upon her arrival and he went to her, speaking softly as they approached the ailing boy’s bedside explaining what had happened. She nodded and tried to comfort and reassure but he was getting a bit hysterical so she flashed a pleading glance at Hiiro and he collected him in his arms to calm him. The healers backed away as if frightened of the woman’s presence as she came to Wufei’s side and gazed down at him. She reached out and laid her hand on his forehead, closing her eyes. The room went deathly quiet for a moment, even the flames of the torches went silent, then suddenly the boy’s black eyes snapped open as he screamed “NATAKU!” at the top of his lungs. The moment his eyes opened Sally collapsed to the floor. Sally was tucked into a bed to rest for the night while Wufei filled them in on what had happened. Hiiro wasn’t sure what the woman had done to him but he seemed fit as a fiddle and raring to go. The fury in his eyes matched that which was burning a hole in Hiiro’s chest. He didn’t know how it could have been done but whoever had taken the blond boy had also captured his dragon and he was not happy about it. Duo had supplied Wufei with a dark brown mount that rivaled Heero’s own steed in size and strength and they had left the palace grounds at a thunderous pace. Half an hour out they were joined on all sides by dozens of dark riders in dark brown cloaks, the largest of which was as big as his horse and fell in beside them. They rode for another hour before Hiiro saw a sheer mountainous cliff loom into view on the dark horizon. When they got close he saw that it went straight up for what seemed like forever into the night sky. He couldn’t even see the top and was quite happy when he noticed the huge gates that were carved into the base of the cliff and realized they wouldn’t have to scale that monster. Duo had fallen in close beside him as they approached the gates at top speed. He was just about to rein in his mount when the boy reached out a hand and shouted over the din “Trust him!” then spurred his horse faster yet toward the gates. Hiiro pushed his own steed faster to keep up and though he had no real desire to be plastered against the side of a mountain he did trust the prince. His mind took a leap off the sanity truck when the beast beneath him suddenly shimmered and began to grow and change as it picked up speed. He looked around him to find that all the horses had begun a similar transformation and by the time they reached the gate they were no longer riding horses but huge creatures with massive claws that could run on all fours or stand on their massive hind quarters and battle like men. His saddle had settled down into a niche between the beasts shoulder blades and he found it responded to his every thought and command without fail. It had become a lethal, grotesque extension of himself and the sheer power at his command made him dizzy with battle rage as they slammed into the gates and tore them from their hinges. Things weren’t so easy inside as they found a horde of the same type of creatures awaiting within but Hiiro found it laughingly easy to defeat them and cut through the din after the prince until he saw him jump from the back of his mount and head up a flight of stairs. He followed and caught up with him before he made it to the top, following him into the bowels of the citadel. He had never seen anyone move so fast or with such grace. Duo was like a shadow on the wind, it was all he could do just to keep up as his blood raced in his veins. If he had thought the boy alluring before it was nothing compared to the elation that was thundering in his chest as he watched him glide like death itself through the halls, silencing any that would oppose them before they even knew he was there and he decided it might just be a bad idea to actually piss him off. Duo led him through the maze to the lower levels and through what looked to be the beginnings of the dungeons before they heard the screams. Hiiro clenched his hands over his ears. He had never heard anything like it in his life. Whatever it was it definitely wasn’t human. A sudden wind brushed his arm as Wufei blasted past him in the direction of the sound as he and Duo followed at top speed and they all burst into the dungeon one after the other. The screams were coming from a small cage hanging from the ceiling where a young girl was caged. She looked as if she had been tortured beyond her limits as she slumped almost unconscious against the steel bars. A man Hiiro recognized at Tsuberov was standing below her with a lightening rod in his hand, reaching up to poke her with it again. Hikage was strapped to a table in the adjacent cell, a girl straddling his naked hips and four others sitting huddled together in the far corner but the girl screeched and ran to join the others when they burst in. Wufei roared, a sound that a human should not be capable of making, and launched himself at Tsuberov while Hiiro took out the three guards and Duo snatched the keys to the cell off the wall and went to free his young consort. Hiiro was shocked to see the raven haired dragon rider leave his victim in a puddle of blood and use his sword to cut the chain that was securing the girls cage to the ceiling allowing it to fall and crash open on the stone floor below. He thought for sure the brash move had to have killed her but when he pulled her into his arms she opened shimmering green eyes on him and smiled. It was then that he realized how Tsuberov had managed to capture the dragon and that there would be no reason to further seek it out. Duo had tied the girls together and handed Hiiro their lead rope before picking the blond up and following Wufei and his charge back out through the citadel. He didn’t know why the prince wanted to take the girls prisoner but it wasn’t the time for questions. When Rashid and the others saw them coming back down the stairs they covered their retreat until they remounted. Duo kept the blond as close to him as Wufei did the girl. She seemed to be feeling a lot better however, and jumped up behind him with a grace that bordered on divine. Rashid’s men had taken the girls from him, bearing them off as they thundered back into the night leaving the citadel and its remaining inhabitants behind them. Hiiro saw the girl kiss Wufei then watched in wide eyed wonder as she stood behind him, great leathery wings sprouting from her back as she took off into the sky and once again became the omnipotent force of nature she had been the night he had first met her. She blasted her fury into the night sky then sailed off back in the direction of the keep. A moment later there was a series of huge explosions behind them and Hiiro knew whoever remained had fallen prey to the wrath of the dragon’s fury. They didn’t return to the palace that night. Duo led them instead out into the surrounding sand hills to the south. The horses had become horses again by the time they’d arrived at a small gathering of tents around a stand of trees where a spring bubbled forth from the earth. Duo slipped off his mount and quickly carried the blond into one of the tents, followed by Rashid and Hiiro and one of the big man’s soldiers. Wufei came in a moment later as Duo spread the blond boy on a pile of furs and blankets. The blond was at least awake and responsive, nodding when Duo asked him if he was comfortable and well but he refused to let the braided boy release him and rise from his side so he had opted to just crawl in with him and hold him in his lap. There were obvious signs that the boy had been raped by more than a few cowering girls, however. Hiiro felt the pain in his heart that mirrored the braided boy’s care worn eyes. It wasn’t long before the blond had fallen into a deep slumber and Duo extracted himself and motioned for the others to follow him. Several of the men from the camp stood guard over the boy as the prince lead his companions toward another of the tents where they found the five girls that had been taken from the keep. They had been fed and fully clothed and sat together in a huddle when they entered. An old woman was standing next to a table where some odd instruments were laying and she turned to face them, her grey eyes solemn as she offered the prince a small smile in greeting. “How are they?” Duo asked, taking in the frightened faces of the girls. “Two are impregnated,” the woman answered. “Damn,” the prince breathed. “Which ones?” he asked softly. She turned to the girls and coaxed two of them forward. Duo had the remaining three removed from the tent with instructions that they be taken back to the palace and cared for. “Do you know what’s been done to you?” he asked them gently but they just stared at him dumbly for a moment then one nodded her head. “Truly?” the braided boy questioned again. The girl looked up at him and spoke “We are breeders. The master wanted us to bear that boy’s children.” “Do you know who that boy is?” the prince asked them. They shook their heads and Duo sighed heavily as he glanced at Hiiro. “You have been impregnated with the offspring of a water nymph,” he told them, shushing them softly when they both gasped and clung to each other horrified. Duo smiled at them and tried to keep them calm with a gentle touch. “This woman,” he indicated the old lady, “can rid you of your burden.” They looked at her then at the odd tools on the table and backed away into the corner. “It’s all right” the prince told them. “You’ll not be forced into anything. This is your decision but I warn you. Few have survived the burden of the nymph’s seed. It can be removed and although it will be painful you will survive. The choice is yours alone but you must decide tonight. Before the seed has a chance to embed itself.” They looked at the table again then at the woman’s warm smiling face and nodded. Duo smiled at them reassuringly then left them to their fate. They were walking back across the compound toward the blond’s tent when Hiiro suddenly snatched the prince around a corner and kissed him hard. Duo had responded admirably but looked a bit shaken once he had been released. “What was that for?” he asked dazedly. “What have you done to me?” Hiiro demanded, holding him tight and kissing his jaw and neck. “I… I haven’t…” Duo breathed but was having a hard time forming words with Hiiro doing that to his ear. Suddenly the blue eyed boy pulled back and tugged at the choker around his neck. “What is this for?” he demanded. “What does it do? Does it make me feel this way? Is it why I can’t stop thinking of you? Why can’t I take it off?” he hissed and kissed him again. Duo looked at him when he pulled back. They were both breathless and anxious as they looked into each others eyes. “It... protects the ones I love,” he replied softly and Hiiro’s heart lurched. “It’s how we found Qu.. my consort tonight. Whatever your feelings are, they are real,” he went on. “There is no magic that can make someone truly love you.” Hiiro knew it was true but he had needed to hear it. “You can’t remove it because I’m the one that put it on you. It binds you to me and marks you as one of mine.” “And what if I don’t want to belong to you?” Hiiro asked, stepping back from him. The pain in Duo’s eyes flashed hotly in his heart at the words. After a moment Duo’s eyes fell to the ground and he huffed a little smile then turned and walked back toward the main path, pausing just before he stepped back into the light. “It marks you as a member of my family,” he told him. “Not my property.” Hiiro stared after him for a time then raised his hand to touch the gem at his throat finding it oddly warm. He had never noticed that before and felt a certain confusion settle into his heart. On the one hand he wanted the cursed thing off. He hadn’t asked for it and he had not understood what it truly meant when it was placed on him. On the other he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to be considered a part of Duo’s immediate family. Truth be told, he wanted to be the most important person in the braided prince’s life but he wanted it to be wholly his own choice. Not something that was tainted by a collar no matter how pretty it was. He found the prince curled up in the pillows and furs
with the blond boy already half asleep. Rashid and Wufei had disappeared,
leaving a guard of four men to look after them during the night. Hiiro
sighed and prepared for bed, crawling up behind the prince and pulling
them both protectively against his chest as he settled down. He couldn’t
help but wonder how he had come to be mixed up with this crazy lot
but he knew his life would never be the same.
~ * ~ tbc... |
