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A Small Piece of Heaven - Part 18

The next morning Treize left early for some kind of business meeting. Wufei had used the time to unpack the clothes and other things that the duke had bought for him the previous day.
The boy had to admit that his master's generosity surprised him. Of course, Wufei reminded himself, Treize had enough money and spending a few hundred credits on gift was nothing for him. But then again, Wufei's previous owners had been rich too, but not one of them had ever bought him anything.

Treize on the other hand seemed to enjoy making gifts. He never came back from a trip or a shopping spree without a little something for Milliardo. Yes, he and Milliardo had a special relationship; very different from what he had seen between masters and slaves. Milliardo actually seemed happy when he was with the duke.

Wufei felt a slight bang of envy. At the same time he wondered how the blond slave felt about him being here. Before Treize had bought Wufei, Milliardo had his master's undivided attention and affection. He even had joined the duke on all of his travels. Now he was expected to stay home most of the time to keep Wufei company, or more likely to keep an eye on him.

But if Milliardo was displeased about it, he was hiding it well. He never was anything but polite and friendly to the younger slave. Well, sometimes he could be irritating and even infuriating, but Wufei had gotten used to that. He had even learned to appreciate the blonde's sometimes strange kind of humor.

The duke on the other hand… Wufei still wasn't fully sure what to make of the man. One thing was certain thought, Milliardo had been correct, Treize was nothing like any of his prior masters. Whenever Wufei thought he had figured the duke and his intentions out, his master surprised him by doing something totally unexpected. Just like yesterday; when the boy had seen a very different side of the man. Wufei felt himself blush as he remembered their lunch together and the subsequent bath in the hot tub.
Part of him hated himself for submitting so quickly. It felt like he was betraying himself and his clan. After he had been captured and sold, he had sworn that he would fight and rather die than surrender to his master.

But then there was another part; a part that was tired of fighting and wanted to believe that Milliardo was right and that perhaps it was possible to find some degree of happiness, even for a slave.

Wufei sighed as he climbed up the ladder; to hang up one of the pictures Treize had bought to decorate his room.

In the beginning he had been trying hard to hate his master, but as he got to know the man better that became more and more difficult. Treize could be very charming, witty and there was no question that he was very kind. Although he could be sometimes almost annoyingly polite, it was nearly impossible not to like the man. But Wufei couldn't help but wonder if the duke was only so nice to him, because he expected something in return. And that worried him. He would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy his master's affection and caresses, but he wasn't sure if was willing and ready to go any further. What would happen if Treize realized that he wanted more than Wufei was willing to give? He remembered only too well how his other masters had reacted.

The boy cursed quietly when the hammer hit his thumb instead of the nail in the wall. With another sigh he banned the disturbing thoughts from his head and concentrated on what he was doing. A few moments later the picture was hanging on the wall. Wufei climbed down from the ladder and took a few steps back to see if it was straight.

"I see you found a perfect place for the painting. It looks wonderful."

Wufei turned his head at the sound of his master's voice. The duke was standing in the door.

"You are back. How was your meeting?"

Treize gave a frustrated groan. "Don't even ask. Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by imbeciles. But let's not talk about that. I was stuck in an office all morning. Let's take a ride," he suggested. "It's such a beautiful day."

"A ride?" Wufei echoed. "Now?"
The duke nodded.

"I haven't finished putting all my stuff away yet."

"You can finish it when we get back."

"But…"

"But what?" Treize asked. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Wufei assured him quickly. "No problem. I'll get changed then."

"Excellent! I need to change too. Meet me downstairs when you are ready."
Once the duke had left, the young slave put on his riding pants and a cream colored sweater. He slipped into a pair of knee-high leather boots. Wufei had no idea why it was necessary to wear such uncomfortable and heavy footwear. But because Milliardo insisted that he wore them, the boy was sure Treize would as well.

***

Before they had left the manor Treize had called ahead, to have two horses readied for them. It was only a short, five minute ride to the stables.
Wufei's eyes widened when he saw the two large stallions being saddled in the yard. The mounts pawed the ground impatiently and stomped their large hoofs.
A tall, dark-haired man was just putting the bridle on one of the horses. "Easy now," he whispered when the stallion shook his head.

"Antonio," Treize addressed him. "How is everything going? No problems?"

Antonio was the second stable master, and he was in charge during Martin's absence.

"Your Excellency," the man gave the duke a respectful nod. "Everything is great. We have no problems at all."

"Excellent!" Treize replied with a satisfied smile. "That's just the answer I was hoping for." Then he turned his head and looked at his slave. "Come on, little Dragon, what are you waiting for?"

The boy had unconsciously slowed down and was now a few steps behind his master. Treize had no idea that Wufei had never been close to a horse until a couple of months ago. Neither he nor Milliardo had told the duke that he was still learning to ride. Although Milliardo had repeatedly told him that he was doing very well, Wufei wasn't sure if he was ready to handle one of those spirited stallions. Until now he had only been riding Fantasia; the calmest and most patient horse in the stables. For a moment he considered asking Treize if he could ride the mare, but in the end pride won over good judgment.

"I'll take Napoleon, you can ride Alexander," the duke told the boy as he walked over to the horses.

Wufei snorted. "You name your stallions after ancient warlords and conquerors?"
"Actually they were named at the stud-farm where I bought them," Treize chuckled, "but I have found that the names fit their personalities well."

He took the reins, and swung himself in the saddle, with the easy of somebody who had been doing it all of his life. Of course, it was easy for him, since he was much taller than Wufei. The boy had trouble even reaching the stirrup.

"Just use a mounting block, Wufei," his master suggested. "That's what they are there for."

"I'm fine. I don't need a mounting block," Wufei replied stubbornly. He finally managed to pull himself into the saddle.
"Ready?" The duke spurred his horse. "Remember to keep Alexander's reins loose, he is a little soft around the mouth."

Wufei swallowed convulsively, even as he nodded in acknowledgement. Treize let the way down a small, dirt trail. They passed the lake and the jumping range. Milliardo had never taken him this far. "Where are we heading?" he asked.

"I want to show you some parts of the estate that I think you have not seen yet," the duke explained. "I've noticed that you seem to enjoy sitting down by the lake. Did you know there is another, much larger lake up north?"

Wufei shook his head. No, he didn't know that.
"It is such a peaceful place. When I was a child I would ride up to that lake when I wanted to be alone, or when I was trying to hide after I had gotten myself into trouble." Treize confessed laughing.

When Wufei tried to picture a pint-size Treize he couldn't help but smile at the mental image. For some reason he felt that the duke might have gotten into a lot of trouble when he grew up. He seemed like the kind of person who was always into mischief.

As Wufei turned his head he noticed that his master was watching him. "What?" he asked.

"You should do that more often. You look lovely when you are smiling."
The boy snorted as he averted his head. "Do you have to keep making fun of me?" he growled.

"Who is making fun?" Treize asked softly. "I was only giving you a compliment. And I really meant what I said. You are always so serious, little Dragon. Life is too short. Try to have some fun."

Wufei could feel a blush creep into his cheeks.

For a while they rode just quietly side by side. But suddenly a dry branch fell from a tree and landed right next to Wufei. Alexander spooked and jumped to the side. Startled, Wufei instinctively tightened his grip on the reins, forgotten Treize's warning about the stallion's sensitive mouth. Alexander reared up on his hind legs, and bucked. As the young slave slipped from the saddle his left foot was entangled in the stirrup for a moment. Somehow he managed to free himself before he hit the ground with an ugly thumb.

"Wufei!" Treize exclaimed, as he quickly dismounted and ran to the boy on the ground. "Wufei, are you alight?"
The black-haired slave moaned as he tried to sit up. "My head hurts," he groaned. "I must have hit it on the ground." When he carefully touched a spot on the back of his skull he could feel a swelling the size of a golf ball.
"Can you stand up?" the duke wanted to know.
Wufei nodded. He accepted his master's outstretched hand to pull himself up, but as soon as he put some weight on his left foot he felt a stabbing pain in his ankle. He hissed in agony.

"What's wrong?" Treize asked concerned.
"My foot…"
"Let me take a look." Treize helped the young slave to sit down again.

Wufei's pressed his teeth into his lower lip to keep himself from crying out, as the ex-colonel carefully removed his boot. His ankle was already starting to swell.
"Looks like it might be broken, or fractured at the least. We better get you home."
Wufei didn't even protest when his master carefully slipped one arm under his knees and picked up from the ground. Treize carried him to his own horse who was standing right where the duke had dismounted.
"What are you doing?" Wufei asked, alarmed. "I'm not ever getting onto one of these things again."

"We don't have much of a choice, Wufei," Treize replied calmly. "It's about 2 miles back to the mansion and you are in no condition to walk."

"What about you?"
"He is strong enough to carry both of us."
The ex-colonel lifted Wufei up, then he climbed into the saddle behind him. He put one arm protectively around the boy's wait as he spurred the stallion on. "Relax, Wufei. I'm not going to let you fall off again."

"What about Alexander?" Wufei asked. The stallion had taken off after he had thrown off his rider and was nowhere to see.
"Don't worry about him. Most likely he will be back at the stable before we get there. And if not I'll send somebody out to look for him."

A few minutes into the ride, Wufei felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together as he waited for the vertex to dissipate.

"Are you alright?" Treize asked concerned.
"Just a little dizzy," he pressed through his teeth.

"Try to relax." He allowed himself to be pulled against Treize's body and rested his head against the man's chest. "Better?"

The boy nodded.

"Just promise me to give me a little warning in case you are going to get sick." The duke asked with a humorous tone in his voice.
Wufei managed a wry smile "I'll try my best," he promised.

***

In spite of Wufei's protests, Treize insisted on carrying him into the house. "As long as we don't know if your ankle is broken or not, I'll not let you stand up on your own," he told the young slave, as he set him down on the couch in the sitting room. "Stay here, I'm going to get changed and then I'll take you to the doctor."

"I do not need a doctor," the boy objected.
"You need x-rays for that ankle and I also want your head checked out. This bruise looks rather ugly." The duke turned toward Evans who had followed him into the room. "Do not let him get up while I'm gone."

"May I ask what happened?" the gray-haired man asked concerned.
"He was thrown off Alexander."
"Your Excellency let the boy ride Alexander?" Evans seemed shocked. "He isn't ready for that kind of horse yet "

Treize stopped in his tracks. "What are you talking about?"
"Milliardo only started teaching him to ride a few weeks ago. I thought your Excellency knew?"
"Apparently I'm the last one to know what's going on in this house." There was a slightly irritated tone in the duke's voice. "But never mind that now. Call Owen and have him pick us up as soon as possible."

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T.B.C.

Author's Note: I also updated my SPoH sims companion site. I totally rebuild Treize's mansion and estate, and I also updated the photo album. Check it out.

http://www.gundam-wing-fanfiction.net/sims/spoh/sims_main.php

Feedback is greatly appreciated, constructive criticism is welcome :-)