Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Lord of War ❯ The Court ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: I know last chapter was a little less action packed, unlike my usual. But I assure you, this little chappy will make up for it…in spades. So, here is the first of my adding to warnings.

Chapter Warnings: violence, animal cruelty, animal/human killing, death, gore, and language

Whew.

Hope I didn’t scare you.

…also, one last warning: Nice Relena. I know some of you love it when she’s bashed, as do I at points, but in this fic she’s nice. Sorry Relena haters.

-ShinigamiGirl

NOTE: This chapter is unbeta’d for now…so sorry about my wonderful grammar skills.


Chapter 12: The Court

Heero woke up from a blissfully long nights sleep and yawned at the sunrise with a lighter mood than he had in a while. And he knew why. Looking down at the man sleeping beside him, Heero couldn’t help the blush that formed on his cheeks or the strange feeling in his chest which seemed to swell now days whenever he looked at the man. Though he couldn’t quite figure out why, Duo made him happy.

And he couldn’t wait to give some of it back.

He had decided a while ago that he wanted to do something nice for Duo, but it took him a while to figure out what exactly that could be. But when he had thought of it, he felt plain stupid for not thinking of it sooner.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow he was going to take Duo to the Court, and he couldn’t wait. So, in aspirations to make the day go by as quickly as possible, Heero woke Duo up then went to the bathing room. Once his bath was done and he was dressed, Heero headed off towards the palace and threw himself into his work.

# # # #

Duo stayed in bed as Heero bathed and dressed for the day. He decided quite spontaneously to play-sleep and watch Heero dress from the corner of his eye. It was a nice show, if he did say so himself. That golden skin being covered delicately with soft, expensive cloth was a sight indeed. Smirking to himself, Duo rolled out of bed after Heero left and made his way to his own chambers, changing into his practice clothes then heading towards the gardens.

He felt the day fly by as he worked the stiffness out of his muscles, almost up to the peak condition he was in before the attack on his village. His shoulder still acted up once he got in to the more physically challenging katas and techniques. But, overall, it wasn’t doing too badly. The wound inflicted upon him during the raid hadn’t been serious enough to inflict life long weakness, thank the Gods. But, it did twinge after a few good hours.

After a good, long workout, Duo headed back to the house and bathed. That was one thing he had to admit he loved about Lorlia: hot baths. His clan rarely got the chance to take a hot bath, usually settling for the nearby stream. Lorlia, however, always had one steaming and ready. If he wasn’t too careful, he might get addicted to this //too late…//.

Pleased by his progress in the practice ring and the hot bath afterward, Duo whistled his way back to his chambers to change, which he did, but then felt at a loss. What the hell was he supposed to do for the rest of the day? From what he understood, most Aiko spend their time priming or gossiping with each other, but that wasn’t exactly his style. Other days he spent completely out in the practice grounds, but that had been when he was horribly out of shape. Now days, he only really needed a few hours to feel satisfied. He had also run out of places to explore a few days ago, the last one being where he found Shinigami //hey, Shinigami!//. He could go visit Shinigami! Heero never said he wasn’t allowed to go in there, and he didn’t seem mad when he found him loitering around there a few days ago, so what would be the harm?

//Maybe I can find a way to get the little guy out.//

With wheels of mischief turning in his head, Duo made his way to the magic room.

# # # #

Heero found himself drifting off during the meeting with the elders, his eyes heavy with the intense nothingness that was happening in the noonday sun. Why did he have to meet with the elders? They never say anything productive and just bore the living hell out of you for a few hours. But, it was mandatory, him becoming the legal Lord of War and all. His father lived through it, Crescentius lived through it, hell, even Primitivus lived through it. So, he could manage.

At least he thought. But now…

//Someone please kill me//

“So, young Lord Heero, you must always learn from the past…” An elder droned on.

“Yes, Lord Louexi.” Heero said dutifully, all the while praying to the Gods that the man would have a heart attack so he could leave.

It took a total of four and a half hours for the elders to be satisfied that Heero could do the job he was born to. After paying his respects to them, he was finally free to leave. As he did so, Heero found himself heading towards the Royal Court for his usual next meeting and had to remind himself that he had been asked not to attend //asked? More like ordered//.

Sighing to himself, Heero changed his course and headed home. The walk seemed longer than usual, most likely due to the fact that he was an outcast in his own government now. Without his usual routine to count on, he felt a little lost. True it wasn’t required that he go to the general meetings unless it was war time, but he had always gone anyway, intent on knowing what was happening in his own country. He liked knowing what was going on, since he couldn’t travel around and find out himself. The meeting had always been a window into the outside world for him, a way to connect to things outside of Lorlia.

But, he understood why they wished him not to come. It made complete sense. If he were in their shoes, he would have acted the same. It’s just that…that…

Frowning, Heero sped up his walk so he could get home and stop thinking about it. Anymore wallowing and Quatre was going to bug him even more than he already had.

The blonde had been watching him like a hawk all day, like he was going to keel over or something. Even kept asking if he was ‘okay’. Heero appreciate the fact that the man was worried about him, but he hated being treated like glass. He had, had enough of that when he was younger and now he couldn’t stand it. People always being wary of him, constantly being watched, never being alone: he hated it!

That was one of the reasons he appreciated Wufei so much. The man may be protective, but he wasn’t obsessive. Before Wufei was his protector, being alone was a rare occurrence. People were always afraid something was going to happen to him, mostly the fear of abduction, and kept an eye on him--constantly.

Heero sighed at the memory as he walked through the threshold of his home.

And now, they were becoming even worse…and he knew why. So many things were going wrong in the kingdom, and no one could figure out who was behind it, or even if there was anyone behind it.

But enough of all the worries and problems of Lorlia, all he wanted now was to take a nice bath, eat, and lounge in his room with Duo. That thought fresh in his mind, Heero headed toward the bathing room with a smile.

After his bath, Heero slipped into some comfortable clothes and asked Sally for his dinner as she came into check on him. She nodded and smiled, then took off towards the kitchen with her orders.

Yawning, Heero made his way to Duo’s room…and found it empty. Heero blinked a few times then looked out the window. It was too dark for the man to still be outside in the gardens. So, where in the hell was he?

Frowning, Heero set off in search of his lost Aiko.

# # # #

“Damn!” Duo spat out after his latest attempt to free the little demon, which just meowed back in mutual annoyance.

This was his third try to break the lock that held Shinigami prisoner, and he was having little to no luck with it. The basic lock on the cage had been easy. Duo had always had an affinity with locks, especially picking them. The skill had gotten him out of trouble back home…and sometimes right back into it…

How was he supposed to know that the chest had a dangerous medallion in it that was never supposed to be freed? He was ten or so and no one had ever told him. Besides, the damn thing was a fake anyway. Nothing bad happened when he had opened it, but the village had still been furious //silly superstitious bastards//.

Then there was that ‘Family Treasure’ of the head family…

People needed to learn to label shit, that’s all he had to say.

Duo threw his lock pick across the room in anger them glared at the magical lock as if it was laughing at him. Damn magic crap. Why did the Gods have to give the world magic? All it does is make life hard on the little guy, namely him.

Duo was broken out of his glare when Shinigami meowed at him then approached the bars, begging to be pet. Smiling, Duo complied, scratching the fur ball behind the ears as it purred in appreciation. It still boggled his mind why the little guy was in this cage. It acted like a normal attention craving, spoiled house cat if he ever saw one. Then again, Duo had always been pretty good with animals. Perhaps Shinigami wasn’t this lovable with everyone?

//He acted just fine with Heero though…//

Reaching under the table Shinigami’s cage was sitting on, Duo pulled out some treats for the feline and fed them to him, getting a happy meow out of the creature.

“I still don’t believe that you’re dangerous. How can you be with a face like that?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of the saying ‘looks can be deceiving’?”

Duo jumped at the sudden voice then turned around and made a face at Heero. “Is it your hobby to sneak up on me or what?”

Heero smirked and walked over to him, eyeing the now scratched up lock. “Are you so interested in this creature that you tried to pick the lock?”

“Not tried, I did pick the lock. The only thing pissing me off is the magical barrier around the second lock.” Duo explained.

Heero shook his head and chuckled. “Just trust me, he is in there for a reason. Breaking him out would be unwise.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Duo grumbled, still not convinced of the creature’s guilt.

Heero chuckled once again and motioned Duo to leave the room with him. Duo half-heartedly complied and followed the man back to his room. Once there, Sally came in with their dinner.

“Is she the only one who can cook or something?” Duo asked.

Heero looked up from his dinner. “What do you mean?”

“She’s the only one who ever brings you food.”

“She’s the only one allowed to, otherwise it must be tested by another person first, and I hate having bites taken out of my dinner. It makes it…unappetizing.” Heero explained. Duo nodded in understanding. Poison. That would be a problem. They ate in companionable silence until they made it to bed, sliding in under the covers.

“Be sure to get plenty of sleep tonight, by the way.” His voice was less monotone than usual and there was an odd sparkle in those deep blue eyes as he spoke. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the man almost seemed…giddy. Duo arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar sight.

“Oh? Why?”

Heero smiled and shook his head. “You will find out tomorrow.”

Definitely giddy.

Weird.

Duo tried to give the man a quizzical look as he spoke. “You’re hiding something from me. And you’re proud of it.”

Heero shrugged. “It’s a surprise, that’s all.”

“Surprise?” Duo said incredulously.

“Just sleep, Duo.”

With that, Heero rolled over and did just that. Duo blinked at the man’s back a few minutes then followed suit. But he just couldn’t get over it.

A surprise?

# # # #

Wufei stretched as he awoke from his sleep, content with the fact that he stepped in to check on Heero and didn’t return red-faced this time. The pair had been sleeping, quite soundly from what he could see, which was nice. Yuy rarely ever slept through the night. He usually tossed, turned, talked in his sleep, or would just wake up and watch the moon set. Wufei remembered the first night he watched over Heero when he was young. He had run to Sally’s room in a panic. Yuy was dreaming so deep that Wufei couldn’t manage to wake him. It had taken Sally’s voice to coax him back to reality. Ever since then, Wufei had gotten used to Heero’s night time habits, but he had never seen what he did last night.

Yuy didn’t wake once.

Oh he moved a little and a dream started up more than once, but the Aiko swung his arm over the dreaming man and he had calmed down almost instantly. Wufei had never seen the like.

It was that reason alone that he woke up this morning with a new opinion of the Aiko. Perhaps the man did have his uses…well, other than those he was bought for. Wufei blushed at his own thought.

Pushing that aside, the monk rose from his bed and headed towards the kitchen for his morning tea. It was there that he saw Sally…a very happy, whistling Sally. That was never good.

“Good morning Sally.”

“Morning!” Sally smiled, then handed Wufei the hot water and a cup. Wufei nodded his thanks and fetched his tea leaves and poured a bit into his cup.

“Why are you so…?” Wufei didn’t know quite how to finish without sounding pathetic.

Sally shrugged. “I’m just happy Heero and Duo are getting along so well, is all.”

Wufei watched his tea leaves swirl around in the water of his cup. “Is that so?”

“Have you noticed Heero has been sleeping more?” Sally smiled broadly, like a mother proud of her child.

Wufei nodded. “I have.”

“Heero isn’t as moody.”

“True.”

“He seems healthier.”

“Perhaps.”

“He goes to public entertainment.”

“That is quite--WHAT!!!” Wufei’s eyes must have been huge.

Yuy was out at a public event…all of those people, so many possible threats, multiple bad variables, including the fact that YUY WENT WITHOUT HIM!!!!!!!!

Sally turned around at his little outburst. “Well, the Court is open today and he thought that Duo may--”

“THE COURT!! HE WENT TO THE COURT WITHOUT ME!!!” Wufei’s face was burning red.

“Um…yeah.” Sally gave him a weak smile.

Without another word and his eyes mere slits, Wufei set off towards a very dead Lord of War.

# # # #

“Spill damn-it. Where are you taking me?” Duo questioned as they rode down the main town road on horseback. The man had woken him form a perfectly good dream, practically drowned him by throwing him in the bath, shoved him on a horse then they had taken off. All in all, Duo was a bit frazzled to say the least.

“I told you, it is a surprise.” Heero answered, giving nothing away.

Duo scowled at him, then decided to give up on divulging information from the stoic lord and take in the scenery around him. Lorlia really was rich. Even the peasant’s houses were grand in his opinion, made from rock and wood instead of the simple houses of his tribe. They were all dressed rather nicely as well, mostly in plain shades with a few splashes of color here and there. Then he noticed that the here and there was becoming more all over as people began spilling out of their houses and lining the streets.

Blinking at the crowd, Duo turned to Heero. “Um…is this normal?”

“Yes.” Heero said quietly.

“Why?” Duo understood Heero was a big deal in Lorlia, but he had a feeling that none of the other Lords got this type of reception.

“I hear you know of the restrictions placed upon me?” Heero asked quietly.

Duo nodded in response.

“They don’t see me as often as they see the others because of it. It’s rather rare to see me riding down the streets.”

“So they came to catch a glimpse of the elusive Lord Yuy?” Duo couldn’t help but smile. Heero blushed and looked away from him, obviously embarrassed at the thought //how the hell did this guy stay so humble, anyway?//

Duo gave Heero one last quizzical look then set his gaze straight ahead, just then realizing where they were headed. There was a very large building right in front of them were many of the people around then were also headed. The building looked round, like a large practice ring with many spectator seats. Duo blinked at the sheer size of the place, then jumped a little when he heard a booming cheer erupt from the building.

“What is that?”

Heero turned and smiled at him then set his eyes back on the road. “That is the Court.”

The Aiko raised and eyebrow. “The Court?”

Heero nodded in confirmation then set off towards it at a faster pace, Duo willing his horse to catch up.

They both dismounted and handed the reins to the stable boys as they reached the Court. The building looked even more enormous, how it towered over him when he was so close to it. He couldn’t fathom how tall it was, but it hurt his neck to look up at it. He was so in a daze outside of the Court that Heero had to snap him out of his stupor to move on.

Duo stared up at the arch they were passing through as if it was going to fall on him as they walked under it. The felling that the place would soon come crashing down on top of them filled his stomach with butterflies of unease. Heero must have caught the look because a few seconds later he slipped a reassuring hand behind Duo’s back and lead him onwards.

They walked on to a doorway that lead to the middle of the court, but he could see nothing through it because of the light difference between outside and where they were. If there really was a doorway to the Naisyle Fields, this is what he thought it would look like. Nothing but pure light could be seen though the beautifully carved door, and the light was blinding.

The nervous Aiko heard an even louder roar of cheers as the approached the Court’s middle. The sheer intensity of it rattled his teeth and sped his heart up to the point he could even hear it over the roar of the crowd. His instincts told him not to go any further, but Heero pushed him on, despite his struggle to go back. “Relax, Duo.”

Duo shook his head in a negative and was about to bolt when he heard a few familiar voices.

“Heero, you came to the games?”

Heero let go of Duo to bow as the Emperor and the rest of his group walked up to them. “My Lord, I thought my Aiko might enjoy the games since he is a fellow warrior.”

//Games?// That was what all that noise was from?

“Ah, I see. I thought it was rare of you to make a public appearance.” The Emperor smiled.

“Very rare, Brother.” Relena smiled. Heero bowed his head in respect while Relena gave Duo a quizzical look, then smirked. “It seems your Aiko is a bit out of his element, Lord Yuy.”

Heero looked over at him as Duo still just stood there, causing the Aiko to tilt his head in confusion. “What?”

Relena laughed outright at that. Her laugh was light and kind, the type of laugh that you couldn’t help but want to hear as often as possible. He liked her so far.

“Do not worry about it.” She smiled as she talked to Heero. “You’re right, his attitude is refreshing.”

Heero blushed and ducked his head while Relena winked at Duo. The braided man blinked back at the woman. So, Yuy talks about him, huh? Surprising.

“My Lord!”

They all looked over at the foot soldier that was patrolling the entrance to one of the loudest places Duo had ever heard.

The Emperor smiled at him and waved his hand at the man. “Announce our presence to the crowd.”

The soldier, who seemed to be shaking in his boots, nodded vigorously and took off through the doorway. Duo arched his eyebrows at the man but didn’t comment. He had forgotten that not everyone had the usual company of the Lords like he did. The fact that he knew Heero as just ‘Heero’ must be amazing to the common people. Perhaps now he understood why people didn’t mind becoming Akio, living in the lap of luxury and not having to do anything expect the occasional sleepover…or constant, depending on the Lord.

Heero exchanged a few more words with the Emperor and his group then they all walked towards the doorway once again. Duo saw that the Emperor stepped in front of them then heard the announcer address the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, announcing the presence of our Lord and ruler, Emperor Ikkaku, and his sister, Lady Ikkaku.”

Duo heard the whole auditorium fall silent as the Emperor and Relena walked out. Peeking through the door, he could see thousands of people bowing down to the man. The Aiko stood in awe at the amount of people in the building, all sitting around a central area where he could make out a few people dressed in armor, bowing slightly. The sheer size of the auditorium was amazing, but the shock of so many people inside blew Duo away. He had never seen so many people.

Duo’s eyes drifted back to the Emperor as the man made his way to the stands. Once the Emperor made it to his seat, everyone stood up and shouted, “Long live the Emperor!”

The intensity of everyone shouting together caused Duo’s hear to race once again as he felt the urge to dart like a threatened animal. But, Heero held him still, then turned to smile at him. “We’re next.”

Duo’s eyes widened. “What!?”

“Announcing the presence of our Lord of War, Lord Yuy.”

With that, Duo felt himself pulled out by Heero into the arena. He closed his eyes as they passed through the doorway, the deafening silence causing his face to turn red and his heartbeat quicken. After a few seconds, Duo cracked open one of his eyes and looked around, then both of his eyes opened and grew wide.

They were all bowing like they had for the Emperor, but now everyone was on their knees, their noses to the ground, in a deep respectful bow //why would they bow lower for a Lord than an Emperor?//. Duo even noticed the people in the middle of the arena had their weapons saluted this time in honor of Heero.

//Odd…//

Not a single head rose until he and Heero had made it to their seats and sat down. The people then stood up and yelled, “Long live our savior, the Lord of War!”

Duo looked over at Heero. //Savior?//

Heero didn’t acknowledge his look, but instead kept his eyes on the ring below. They were pretty close to the bottom, only a few rows dividing them from the dirt ring below. Looking around, Duo spotted a familiar person…not that he was too happy about it. Primitivus was sitting pretty close to them, Illinus and Tricieus sitting beside him. Duo made eye contact with Illinus and the boy smiled and waved. Duo waved back, then noticed that the arena was still silent. Confused, Duo gave Illinus an odd look and the boy nodded in the Emperor’s direction. The braided man arched an eyebrow but looked at the Emperor nonetheless.

“Continue,” the Emperor announced, and they did. Duo watched as men fought each other right before them, their swords and spears glistening in the sun as they moved. The braided man sat in awe at the fighters. The fighters were obviously skilled, using sharp blades and not killing their partners, no matter how close they came to their skin.

He found himself enjoying it, seeing the skilled warriors fight one another, their moves almost mesmerizing as they clashed swords. They fought for about fifteen minutes, switching partners after about a minute, then they all stood in the middle and bowed to the Emperor //or Heero, I’m not sure which//, then exited the ring.

“What did you think?”

Duo looked over towards Heero with a smile. “They were amazing.”

Heero nodded in the direction of the ring. “That was just the beginning. Now, the real games begin.”

Duo blinked at Heero then turned his attention back to the ring, where he saw people walking out from the many entrances, all dressed in armor. Some stood proudly, their spears or swords held high, while others looked like they were about to piss themselves. The Aiko furrowed his brow at the sight, then his eyebrows shot up when he spotted the cages full of lions and other big cats rolled out into the arena. Duo looked up at Heero once again, silently questioning the man, but Heero’s eyes were glued to the scene below.

“Now for your viewing pleasure,” the announcer yelled, his voice echoing across the arena. “We present the epic battle of man verses beast. Let the games begin!”

A roar from the crowd rang through Duo’s head as he saw the cages being opened, the animals leaping out towards the men in the ring. The men scattered, some staying together in small groups as the animals stalked them, their eyes full of anger and…hunger.

“Oh these games are so much better now that they starve the beasts before hand.” One of the men sitting next to the Emperor smiled. “Used to some of the animals would just cower and hide.”

Duo’s eyes were wide with surprise and utter shock as the situation sunk into him. Those men were up against angry, hungry animals. Who in their right mind would volunteer for this?

The men who opted to stay in a group circled around one of the tigers, trying to take it from behind, the tiger leaped around and growled deeply at them, as if daring them to make a move. Another group charged one of the lions, but missed as the animal blew half of the over with the sheer power of its running charge straight through the group. It was then that the same lion spotted a solitary man cowering in fear near one of the exits. With a predatory gleam in his eye, the cat took off towards the man. The man screamed in terror…and the crowd cheered.

“Oh Gods…” was all Duo managed to get out as the lion pounced on the man, blowing him to the ground and effectively tearing his throat open with a large bite of hunger. Blood sprayed on the wall as the lion continued to tear the man open, feasting on his innards with pleasure.

Duo heard another scream, which tore his eyes from the feasting lion to see another man taken down. This time, the man’s arm had been torn off by a charging tiger. He lay crumpled on the ground, clutching the stump of his arm in agony as the tiger circled him, the man’s arm still in the cat’s mouth.

One of the other fighters tried to use his misery to sneak up on the tiger, but was forted by the lion he hadn’t even noticed pouncing on him from the side. Duo was about to scream in horror when another roar of the crowd interrupted him. One of the groups of people had managed to take down one of the cats. Spears were sticking out of the animal from all directions, blood and dirt covering its once golden coat. One of the men climbed up on the corpse and drove his spear into the flesh of the dead animal, yelling in victory to the crowd. The crowd yelled back, making Duo dizzy with disbelief.

“Some of the slaves sure can fight, don’t you think my Lord?” Illinus smiled broadly.

Primitivus nodded then made eye contact with Duo. “They can indeed.”

Duo swallowed then turned back to the carnage. Slaves? These people were slaves? Just like him? Oh Gods…

Duo’s eyes brimmed with tears as the carnage continued, both man and beast losing periodically. Animals dodged weapons as they stalked the human, their instincts alight with the need to feed. Men fought bravely while others tried to make themselves invisible to the beasts…though it never worked. A lion or tiger would sense their fear and bound toward them in a starving rage. So many blood-curdling screams rang through the arena, Duo began to cover his ears in desperation of trying to shut it out. But it still made to his ears, loud as ever.

Blood soaked the ground below as the last lion was slain, a roar from the crowd signaled the end of the games.

Or at least he hoped.

Duo took a few deep breaths and wiped his face, making sure no traitorous tears had escaped, and was about to turn and scream at Yuy for being a crazy fuck when the announcer’s voice rang through the arena once again.

“And now, we bring to you the battle of Yukangu. Hundreds of years ago, our ancestors brought about our kingdom by driving out the savages that once lurked right where you live. In this great battle, the savages were defeated and out great kingdom was born. I present to you, the early Lorlian forces!”

With the announcers yell men on carriages, horseback and on foot came out into the arena, all wearing strong and sleek armor. The crowd cheered wildly as the acting fighters did laps below.

The announcer waited until the arena was relatively quiet. “Now we present, the savage tribe!”

Roars of boos and hisses rose as men stumbled out of the doorways in normal clothes and no armor. They had weapons, but no horses or carriages were in their arsenal. Duo’s eyes narrowed at the sight. This was no fair battle. But, the man said this was the history of Lorlia. Perhaps the whole thing was choreographed. The Aiko held onto that hope with all of his heart.

“Let the fight begin!”

As soon as the announcer ended his sentence, one of the armored men on horseback decapitated the closest ‘savage’ to him. The crowd cheered, Duo let out a choking gasp. The fight continued, resembling more of a massacre then a game. Slaves dove away from the men on horseback, desperate to keep their heads. Two of the carriages had archers, who began to pick off the scattering slaves, their aim precise but not deadly, making the victim die slowly fro blood loss or another wound later.

They were playing with them. This was no game or contest. The ‘Lorlian forces’ were picking the men apart, only a few slaves knowing how to even use the weapons they were holding. When one of the slaves managed to take down one of the men on horseback, Duo smiled and found himself yelling with the crowd, happy that at least some of the armored bastards would lose.

Other slaves seemed to have found some type of cover behind a tipped over carriage, throwing spears at the opposing team. A well aimed spear made its way through a man on horseback, slicing through the abdomen with a dull thud. The man choked on his blood for a few moments, covering the horse below him in crimson, before falling to the ground. Duo watched with wide eyes as the man coughed a few time. A major artery had definitely been hit, blood flowing constantly from his mouth even after his heart stopped beating.

A few more carriages and men on horseback were taken down; giving Duo hope that perhaps some of the slaves could live through this. But, too soon was their organization crushed as a horseman rushed the tipped over carriage that was their shelter, scattering the men about to be picked off one by one.

Some of the slaves still held their own, but many fell quickly alone, their skills nothing but a few determined jabs of their short swords. Only a few slaves were left Duo saw another slave take down the man from the last carriage. His heart lept once again in hope, then he felt it plummet into his stomach as the man turned around to face him.

Duo’s eyes grew wide and he ran up to the railing as his heart skipped a beat. Among all the carnage and blood, stood Eutal, as part of the savage forces. His hands gripped the railing so hard his knuckles turned white. Oh by the Gods, what was he doing down there?

“Eutal, no…” It was a pathetic whisper at most, but Eutal turned and looked at him as if he had heard him over the screams and cheers echoing through the arena. Their eyes met as Duo’s brimmed with tears. It seemed as if the world stood still for a moment as their eyes connected. So many thoughts and feeling passed through them as they had eye contact. Eutal smiled at him quietly, as if they were in a room alone, with no prying eyes or cheering crowd. Duo mutely mouthed his name again, as if in hope that the man would just tell him this was all a bad dream, or a horrible joke, but he didn’t. The man looked up at the braided young man and whispered, “Live.”

A feeling of dread pulsed through Duo, bringing their small world they had shared for a split second back to reality. The Aiko’s eyes stared, unblinking, as a rider came behind Eutal and swung his sword.

The Aiko’s heart felt like it had stopped beating.

Eutal’s lifeless body fell, crumpling to the ground, his head rolling on the dirt, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Duo closed his eyes and a tear slid down his cheek.

The crowd roared in amusement.

Duo refused to open his eyes. Refused to see the truth right in front of him. Eutal was dead. Murdered. Gone. He squeezed his eyes tightly together as another tear escaped down his cheek.

It wasn’t until he heard the chanting of the crowd that he opened his eyes once again.

Some of the people in the arena were chanting, “die, die, die…” while others said the opposite, “live, live, live…”

Looking down in the arena again, Duo saw that one of the armored men had one of the slaves on the ground, his sword under the man’s chin. Confused, Duo looked around for answers, then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Emperor stand up and hold his hand out. His thumb was the only finger that was outside of his fist and it was level to the ground. He watched as the chanting increased and the Emperor eyed the arena. Then, smirking, the Emperor turned his thumb to the ground.

“No…” Duo choked out, though even he couldn’t even hear it over the cheer of the crowd. The Aiko watched in horror as the armored man nodded and claimed the man’s life, slicing his throat open.

One of the men could have been spared. The Emperor had the chance to save one and
instead he condemned the man to death.

“Good, that man wasn’t a very good fighter anyway.” Primitivus announced.

Duo’s eyes widened in shock, //What!!!//. At that point, his sadness became rage almost instantly. He spun around and glared at Primitivus in utter disgust, then turned to Heero, praying that the man was just as upset as him.

Cool sapphire blue eyes stared back at him in confusion. “Not enjoying the games?”

Duo felt his face warm in anger and his fists clench painfully, but most of all, he felt betrayed.

“You fucking sicko.” He hissed then stormed away from the arena. Once he was out of sight from the carnage, he broke into a run, heading in no general direction, the scene of Eutal’s death replaying as a loop in his head.

# # # #

Heero watched as Duo ran out of the arena, confused about the man’s reaction. This was supposed to be a fun day, a day to show Duo the sights and attractions of Lorlia. But the look the man gave him was so full of hate and abhorrence, Heero couldn’t manage to move from his seat to chase him.

“Looks like the games aren’t his forte, Yuy.”

Heero turned and glared at Primitivus, who was spinning the wine around in his goblet.

The man smiled. “Perhaps you should get him a closer seat next time.”

Primitivus gestured his hand to the ring, pissing Heero off to no end. The blue eyed Lord locked gazes with Primitivus, his icy stare causing the other man to cower back a bit in surprise and fear. “Shut the fuck up.”

The man’s eyes widened as Heero’s eyes began to glow, then he jumped as his goblet shattered, spilling wine all over. “Holy shit!”

Heero’s glare deepened and he felt himself falling over the edge when a hand lightly rested on his shoulder. Heero turned to see Relena smiling at him. “Heero, calm yourself.”

The dark haired Lord looked away from those clear blue eyes just in time to miss the glare she sent Primitivus. The man cringed away from her stare. Apparently satisfied with scaring the man a bit more, Relena tipped Heero chin so the man would look at her. “I think the games upset Duo. Perhaps you should go after him.”

“Upset?” Heero echoed. Why would the games upset Duo?

Relena nodded and patted him on the shoulder, then motioned towards the way Duo had run off. Heero bowed his head to the woman then took off, his mind in shambles. Every one in Lorlia loved the games. They looked forward to them every other month. Why wouldn’t Duo?

# # # #

Wufei continued to mutter under his breath as he made his way to the Court. How dare Yuy do this, going to such a large public event without him! What was the man thinking? He wasn’t, that was for damn sure. The monks glare as he walked caused the usual crowd in the streets of Lorlia to part, but Wufei didn’t notice. He was too angry to care. He didn’t even see Duo run right past him.

Oblivious to the fact that the Aiko had just passed him, he made the rest of the way to the Court just in time to see Heero stepping out of the building. “Yuy!!”

Heero froze for a second, then spotted a very irate Wufei. The monk saw the man offer him a very weak, guilty smile, but it had no effect on his mood.

“What were you thinking?!” Wufei hissed. “Do you have any idea how dangerous your little stunt was?!”

Wufei was about to continue when Heero held his hand up. “I am sorry for leaving without you, but can you yell at me later? Duo ran off and I need to find him.”

The raven haired monk blinked at him. “Ran off?”

Heero nodded. “Relena suggested that the games may have upset him…though I don’t understand why.”

Wufei sighed. He understood why. The games, for such a civilized kingdom, were beyond barbaric. Man killing man was supposed to be reserved for life and death situations, not entertainment. In all reality, Wufei had been surprised that Heero did enjoy the games, considering how kind he was to other people. Even the odd creatures that he kept in secret to save from execution, like his mother before him.

But, Yuy had been brought up in a world where normal people are looked upon as pawns. Playthings that they could buy and toy with as they see fit. In all reality, it was amazing that Yuy did have a heart, compared to the other Lords his age. Wufei sneered as a picture of Primitivus popped into his head.

“Head back to the house, Yuy. I’ll search for your missing Aiko.”

Heero nodded dully, apparently depressed that the day had not gone as planned. Not that the monk blamed him. It never did feel good to have things blow up in your face. With an encouraging shove, Heero headed towards the stable to pick up his horse and head home. Wufei watched as the man galloped away, then took off to track down the troublesome Aiko.

# # # #

Duo walked around aimlessly, his mind in total shambles. Perhaps Yuy wasn’t the type of man he thought he was. Maybe Heero had just been kind to him because of how he looked and couldn’t wait to fuck him. But that didn’t make any sense. The man didn’t have to be nice to fuck him, all he would have to do is chain him to the bed and that would be that.

So what the hell just happened? Why would Heero take him to see and bunch of death and carnage? And then he saw--Duo choked at the thought--a fellow warrior murdered right before his eyes. A man he had talked to, even made a promise to.

Despite what the man had asked of him, Duo felt like doing nothing less than charging the gates of Lorlia and escaping, no matter how suicidal it was. Now that he knew what kind of place Lorlia was, he couldn’t stand the thought of being here anymore. All the people cared about was sex, death, money, and food. Nothing else.

Duo had been so caught up in his thinking that before he knew it, even though it had been a couple of hours, he was standing right in front of the Lord of War’s mansion. Sighing, Duo gave in to his aching feet and tired heart and walked up the stair and into the man’s house. It’s not like he had anywhere else to go.

Duo walked through the hallway, his eyes set on the floor. When he walked by Heero’s chamber he thought of ignoring the man, at least until tomorrow. But, yelling at the man sounded so much better. He needed some way to vent and goddamn-it, Heero was the perfect candidate to take it.

With his face darker than normal, Duo strolled into Heero’s room and straight towards the balcony. Pushing back the curtain, he found Heero standing near the railing, looking out over the land. Scowling, Duo got Heero’s attention. “So, how were the rest of the games?”

Heero turned around, relief evident in his eyes…not that Duo cared at the moment. “Duo, you’re alright.”

“Did you get to decide anyone’s fate, too?” Duo spat out, ignoring Heero’s comment.

Heero’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“What would you have given the man Yuy? Thumbs up or thumbs down? Was the man entertaining enough to earn his life?”

Heero took a step towards him. “I didn’t think--”

“No shit you didn’t think!” Duo practically screamed. “What the hell made you think I would enjoy that? Huh?! Do I come off as some sadistic fuck up, because you sure as hell do now.”

The man looked lost for words. “I thought you would enjoy the games, as a warrior.”

“Enjoy? What was there to enjoy Yuy? Are you so detached from the real world that you did not see the massacre right before your eyes?”

Heero’s eyes were wide. “Massacre?”

Duo kept on with his rant. “Was it just not real to you? Does the blood of the men being killed right before you have to hit you in the face for you to realize that they were people? Innocent people. People who looked like they were about to piss themselves they were so afraid.”

“They were--”

“Don’t you dare say that they were just slaves. Don’t dare, because if you do…” Duo sounded threatening, but it was more for his sanity than anything. If Heero said it, if he threw those peoples’ lives away like every one else had, then that would mean he was no different then all the other assholes who ran this kingdom. That would mean that he wasn’t the man Duo was slowly falling for. And he didn’t know if he could handle that. Not right now. Not ever.

“I wasn’t. Calm down Duo.” Heero held his hands up in a defenseless gesture as he inched closer to Duo.

“Oh yeah? Then what were you going to say, you heartless fuck!”

Heero stopped and drew his eyebrows together. “Watch your tone, Duo.”

“Or what?” The braided man shot back. “You’ll throw me into the next game, then watched as I am slowly killed for your viewing pleasure? Because that’s what I’m here for right? For your pleasure? Just you little play toy? Your Aiko?”

Heero’s eye darkened. “I have never treated you that way!”

“Bullshit!”

“I didn’t even want you!”

“Then let me go!” Duo’s scream echoed on the balcony. They were both breathing hard, staring each other down with wide eyes.

Heero was the first to regain a bit of composure. “I have my reasons, Duo.”

“Oh? And what are they?” Duo crossed his arms in front of him, waiting for an answer.

The Lord broke eye contact with him. “I can’t…”

“You see, that’s your problem! You don’t tell anyone anything! You don’t tell Sally why you can’t sleep! You block out Quatre when he’s just trying to help! You sneak around Wufei instead of facing him!” Duo turned around and away from a stunned Heero. “You can’t even come clean with me, a person who…who…” //Loves you!//

“Fuck you!” Heero yelled back, surprising Duo. “You know nothing about me, Duo. What the hell makes you think you can judge me?”

“I can judge whoever the hell I want!” The braided man yelled. Heero glared death at him for a bit longer before turning away, fixing his eyes on the horizon.

Duo scoffed at the man, then turned to leave. He was a few steps from the door when he heard Heero mumble something. Turing around to ask the man what the fuck he just said, he felt the sai rings around his wrists drop to the floor. Duo stared at them in amazement for a while, not quite sure if it was true. He looked up at the Lords back, as if waiting for the man to confirm what just happened.

“Leave.” Heero hissed out, not even turning to face him.

Duo opened his mouth to comply but no words escaped his lips //did I…hit a nerve?//. After a few moments of silence, Heero turned around, his face dark. “You said you wanted to leave, now fucking leave!”

“No.” Duo gritted out, his eyes narrowing in anger.

Then, Heero said something he never had before. “I order you to leave, Aiko.”

Duo was stunned for a moment, staring at the man as if he had grown another head, before he shot back. “Don’t order me around Yuy!” Duo walked back to the balcony in anger. “I’m not like your little servants. I won’t do as you say! I refuse to wait on you hand and foot, you spoiled son of a bitch!”

“People do not wait on me like that!”

“Yes they do! You have your own personal bodyguard. A huge, secure mansion. Hell, they won’t even let you leave they’re so protective! Sally is the only one allowed to even cook for you. The people line the streets just to see you. And, they bow lower to you than they do to the…Emperor…” Duo trailed off as he processed all the information he was babbling out. They were so protective of him…scared of the idea of him getting hurt…or killed, kidnapped…anything. The people…they call him a savior…how would he be a savior…

Just then a thought came to him as he eyed Heero, who looked back at him in confusion. “What?”

//It just couldn’t be…// But he had to make sure.

Without warning, Duo lunged at the man, knocking the surprised Lord to the ground. Heero wheezed, the wind completely knocked out of him, as Duo flipped him over onto his stomach. Heero began to fight back, but Duo was adamant.

“Duo, let go!” Heero growled as the Aiko began to pull at his toga, unfastening the shoulder clasp. “Stop!”

Duo pulled the top of the toga down, then gasped. At the small of Heero’s back laid a birthmark…Duo’s eyes widened in realization. It was the mark of the Gods.

“Holy shit.” Duo whispered, then stumbled off of the man. Heero looked at him with an unreadable face as he stood up.

Duo stared back at the man, finally understanding why Heero was so guarded. “You’re a Celestial Gift, aren’t you?”

Heero turned away, refusing to meet his eyes, preferring instead to stare intently at the curtain. He was right, that had to be it.

“Wrong,” Wufei announced as he stepped out of the shadows, Surprising Duo. The monk walked over to Heero, re-fastening his shoulder clasps protectively, then standing between the silent Lord and Duo.

“He is a Celacent.”


TBC…

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Did I surprise you? *smile* Review Please!

And expect a lot of explaining in the next chapter.