Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A World in a Grain of Sand ❯ Arrivals ( Chapter 13 )

Author: Keiran

Title: A World in a Grain of Sand 13/?

Pairings: 1+2, mentioned past 1x2

Rating: R, which it doesn't deserve probably. But just to be safe, it will stay.

Genre: Romance, mild angst, historical sort of fantasy.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, past slavery. Mild pilots bashing.

Archive: my site: the URL is on my profile page. If you want it, drop me a line. ^_^
Notes: Ah, the unlucky 13th part…

***

True to Duo's prediction, Heero was faced with an entirely different world when the party emerged from the forest. He arrived first on the verge of autumn, when all was golden and red. He had seen it become fluffy white with snow covering every tiny bit of land. He had never seen it green.

Well, he wouldn't for a couple more weeks, since the early spring was usually more brown than green, but the hints were already showing. All of the snow was gone and flowers started to grow on the plains, bringing more colour to the surroundings.

There was no real reason for Heero to stay in the temple, so reluctantly he said his good-byes and went back to the palace he started to regard as his own recently. Thankfully, he left Wing at the temple's stables, so the journey passed quickly. When he arrived, Heero all but threw the reins to Tom, ordering the boy to care for the animal. He then walked a few steps up and entered the castle. Almost immediately he started to realize that staying at the temple would not have done him any good - he was deadly tired. He ordered a bath drawn, preferably hot (which, of course, he would have denied to the last moment) - his joints were not having a field day. Fortunately for him, Sanq was rather famous for its baths… conveniently borrowed from the Eastern region, naturally. That allowed Heero to walk in no time at all into a spacious room, full of incense-smelling steam, and relax in a small pool of hot water.

"I'm getting to old for these kinds of excursions," the great general moaned internally, submerging himself in the hot tub. Regardless of age, two weeks of sleeping on a cold ground with nothing but a blanket to warm up with would do that to a person.

Heero's mind automatically brought up an image of Duo, trying to decipher all of the messages he might have been projecting. It took up most of his past time these days and the results didn't make much sense at first. After all, Duo pushed him away time and time again, but as Heero was about to retreat for the moment, unexpectedly, the healer would look at him with his shining violet eyes that simply cried 'don't leave me.' The general didn't know what to think. He had learned to read body language and silent messages - a great general could not rely on his advisors all of the time when dealing with emissaries from an opposing army - but none had ever been this conflicting. True, he rarely had any personal contact with any of the messengers before, but no matter where you went people were more or less the same.

Heero groaned and sunk deeper under the water. He rested his head against the till and closed his eyes briefly. He knew he was being stubborn. Probably irrational too. But he wouldn't change his mind. It's not like he could, anyway.

It would help if the bathroom didn't look almost exactly like the one he used in the Sanq Palace. Kirei belonged in the surroundings. With lids dropping over his eyes, Heero could swear that he could see another person with long, chestnut tresses flowing in the bathtub with him, and as his senses dimmed, a breath away from falling asleep, the man almost felt the silky touch of hair on his skin.

***

The spring days didn't pass as quickly as winter had. There was more work to be done both in the houses and out on the fields, so Heero, to prevent himself from getting too bored and too desperate, sought out ways in which he could help. Of course, his place of choice would always be the temple, but he found that he rather enjoyed working in the field, any field in fact. Something about moving the fresh ground appealed to him. Not surprisingly, Heero was quite delighted when the palace gardener asked for a temporary leave of absence - he was a relative of Walker's and was needed more at their family house. The great general, to the utmost surprise of almost everyone, took over the gardening duties himself.

Duo still came by to teach the palace children, and if the weather was good enough the lessons would take place in the gardens, right under Heero's watchful eye. That, of course, would give Heero a perfect excuse to stare at the man, to listen to him speak excitedly, to watch him bring life to some old, half-forgotten bit of history. Not many things satisfied him more recently.

It came as a small shock to Heero that the palace gardener and the healers responsible for the temple's gardens kept a close relationship. Apparently, the world-wide rules of gardening made them keep close tabs on each other's accomplishments, sharing when necessary. As much as the general enjoyed planting anything, he would be the first to admit that he wasn't exactly the world's greatest expert when it came to flowers or any other greenery. So, he struck a deal with the temple's gardeners - one of them would drop by twice a week to give him pointers about what was swiftly becoming his pride and joy; in return he would manage the heavy jobs like moving barrels of dirt in the temple's plots. Coincidentally that allowed Heero to visit the violet eyed healer twice a week, not counting Saturday, when he would arrive at the palace to teach the children. Heero rather enjoyed coincidences.

***

For some reason he couldn't exactly fathom, Heero didn't trust sunny days. There was something in the air that made them seem like a prelude to a tragedy. Considering that the only tragedy that might occur right now would most likely involve Duo, the general would gladly have the other man confined to his room, just in case. It might have been that most of the unpleasant incidents in his life have happened on sunny days, but then again, so many of them had passed without the slightest unpleasantness to them… But better safe than sorry, Heero liked to think.

There wasn't really much he could do except hover around the violet-eyed healer constantly. Which was exactly what he chose to do: it was the end of the week, which meant the Duo was at the castle for the better part of a day, occupying the children's time. Heero sat back comfortably, leaning against a tree trunk, and listened as the healer patiently guided the small group around him through the ancient legend of Sanq's founding. Just as he was getting to the bit when the king-to-be was about to claim the throne, sounds that only multiple horse's hooves thundering on stone can make could be heard.

Years spent as the great general taught Heero one thing - when a herd of horses appears somewhere unexpectedly, it's time to hide everything precious and dig out the weapons. Getting up, he cursed silently when he remembered that his sword was up in his bedroom. 'Should have known better,' he thought, glaring at the cloudless sky.

"Stay here," he commanded softly, looking at Duo and the kids. The healer was standing, while the children all tried to get as close to him as possible. There were many horses and a wagon. That meant many people.

Heero moved stealthily through the narrow paths, stopping when he reached the wall of the palace. He cautiously peeked around it, immediately gauging the distance between himself and the entrance, as well as the number of newcomers. When his mind finally chose to register the newcomers, he didn't know whether to sigh in relief or curse. Before he could do either, he felt a source of warmth behind his back. Heero turned his head slightly.

"I sent the kids inside. There are places to hide in the basement, their parents surely know," he heard the healer speak, barely making any sound.

"No, it's fine," the general answered normally. "It's… the princess and her entourage." He watched as Duo's brow shot up.

"The 'I want to marry the general' princess? I guess someone finally told her where you hid," he said with some amusement. Heero opened his mouth to protest, but Duo interrupted him. "Well, I guess the lessons are over for today. I'll be going home." Once again the general tried to protest, but everything he might have wanted to say died in is throat when Duo's fingers touched his lips gently. "We both know that her 'entourage' and I do not get along. Visit me sometime later, would you?" Heero nodded mutely. The healer smiled softly and walked away, collecting his books, and left through the gardens.

Heero stared for few more minutes, trying to still his rapidly beating heart. His hand clasped itself tightly around his mouth. He was so close… so very close…

Shaking his head to get himself back under control, the general walked into the courtyard. Princess Relena and Lady Dorothy had just exited the carriage, while poor Mr. Annelli frantically looked around, waiting for the current lord of the house. There was only so much he could do without his approval. Heero sighed seeing Quatre, Wufei and Trowa. They were his best friends and he loved them to pieces, but right now, he could have done without them. But since they were here, they deserved proper welcoming.

"I wasn't expecting you," were the great general's first words after almost half a year of not seeing his closest friends.

"Still as welcoming as ever, I see?" Wufei smirked. Heero nodded accepting a hug from Quatre gratefully.

"Please have chambers prepared for my guests. Five rooms would accommodate everyone, I assume," the blue-eyed general called to the major-domo, surveying the crowd. The elderly servant bowed quickly and rushed in order to fulfil the requests of his superior. "I am glad you came. Your highness. Milady," he added politely, bowing slightly.

"We are happy our arrival thrilled you so, general," Lady Dorothy smirked, moving to stand by her husband. Trowa immediately offered his arm. Heero smirked.

"I am glad," was all he said. The princess smiled at him happily. "I wasn't expecting you, so it might take a moment until the chambers for all of you are prepared."

"That is fine. For now all we need is a place to store our coffers. I believe that the living room is quite welcoming, as far as I remember. Unless you found it more fitting to have an armoury there, general," the girl smiled sweetly, while Heero tried to collect his wits. "Or perhaps greenery… judging from you clothes, a sword was the last thing on your mind recently." Indeed, Heero was wearing only a linen shirt and breeches, with a loose fitting woollen tunic to keep the chill at bay.

"I found out that there are better ways to occupy my time rather than sword fights, your highness." The princess smiled once again. "If you don't mind, your highness, since I believe the purpose of your visit has nothing to do with the kingdom's welfare, I'd be honoured if you called me by my name," Heero bowed to kiss the girl's hand. Everybody has been telling him that the girl used to wait for him to propose, but since he disappeared suddenly for a couple of months for no apparent reason, he could assume that the king explained to his daughter that the proposal wouldn't happen.

"Thank you, Heero. However, I would expect you to retaliate in kind."

Heero nodded. "Of course," he answered, shooting a panicked glance at Wufei over the girl's shoulder. He nearly sagged to the floor with relief when his friend mouthed a name in return. "Lady Relena. I can assure you that no harm has befallen the living room. Shall we?" he asked, offering the young woman his arm. She accepted easily and allowed the man to direct her. During the short walk the rest of the group fell behind in order to direct the servants to deliver their baggage to the right chambers. Relena looked behind her and seeing no one she turned to Heero.

"Lady Dorothy and I have been hoping that we may meet Duo Maxwell here," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Heero blinked, astonished. "That… may be arranged," he answered equally soft. His voice however told something quite different.

"Oh, do not worry, Heero. You may not have noticed, but both Lady Dorothy and I have come to like him." Heero blinked yet again. This was unexpected. When have they talked? How had he missed it? "Truthfully, we were expecting to meet him here."

"Are you trying to play matchmaker, Milady?" the man asked incredulously.

"Well, a princess needs a way to spend her time. Considering that my only prospective husband has disappeared, seemingly forever and for no apparent reason, I needed to find a way to amuse myself." Heero shook his head. The way a woman's mind worked… Having reached a door, he held it open for the princess and his guests, who just managed to catch up, to enter, before calling for refreshments.

A few hours later, once everyone retired to their rooms, Heero laid on his bed, thinking. Funny that he never noticed the princess before. She was as witty as Duo and almost as intelligent. No surprise, since she was, after all, the only daughter of his Majesty, king Milliardo Peacecraft.

As he as falling asleep his thoughts strayed from his king, however. Heero pondered once again the short moment in the gardens… when Duo belonged to him only… when he followed him into what might have been a threat to both their lives.

***TBC***