Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Dragon's Prince ❯ Chapter 5

"Wufei? Wufei, are you awake yet?"

The Dragon would not be so easily fooled. He first felt his surroundings, determining his situation. He wasn't bound, or gagged, or even in the markets anymore! His body was cradled in a hammock, the very one he usually napped in when he was in the courtyard! But how had he gotten there from the market? Why couldn't he remember?

He finally permitted himself to open his eyes to find Zechs hovering over him, his usually benign features clouded with worry. Blinking back the haze, Wufei ventured a try at speaking. "Zechs?" he croaked, then tried clearing his throat. "Why am I here?"

The tutor heaved a relieved sigh and sank into the chair he'd had set up beside the hammock. "I found you in the market, unconscious and slung over the shoulder of a complete beast of a man! Oh sure he was dressed like a noble, but I saw him for what he truly was! I was very fortunate to get you away from him."

"Where is he now? You didn't kill him, did you?" The Chinese male suddenly wrestled to get out of the hammock he was in, determined to find the ginger-haired noble and his troupe. "Zechs, please tell me you didn't kill him!"

"I would have," he assured, catching Wufei under the arms as he stumbled, "but I risked harming you if I took a go at him. Those miscreants he was with helped him to escape, and one of them was able to get away. We have the other in the dungeon for interrogation. All he need do is confess his part in your attack and-"

That was obviously the wrong thing to say. "CONFESS?! ATTACK?! Zechs, nothing like that happened! Duo was lost and trying to find Heero and his lord! That beast of a man was Duo's lord! Treize, I think his name was! Get that boy out of the dungeon! I'm unharmed, and woe betide you if I find he isn't similar!"

Zechs flared with indignation, but helped Wufei to the castle and down to the dungeon. As it turned out, the guard on duty explained that the prisoner had been taken to Queen Une for interrogation. A knot of unease had worked its way into Wufei's stomach now, and he nearly broke away from Zechs in his hurry to get to the throne room.

The throne room was occupied today only by Queen Une's ladies-in-waiting, the Queen herself, two royal guards, and a prostrate Duo. He looked unharmed, and Wufei hoped that his eyes did no deceive him. When the doors were loudly thrown open, Queen Une leapt up in an instant. "WHAT IS…Lord Chang? You are well?"

"Majesty, release him! There was no attack! I was overcome and passed out in the market! If any harm had come to me, it would have been before that!" Wufei staggered weakly inside, then bowed as deeply as he could without tumbling head over heels. "He and his lord protected me, Majesty. That surely is not grounds for imprisonment."

Une settled back in her throne and folded her hands in her lap, recovering the composure she'd lost when Wufei stormed in. "As you wish, Lord Chang. You, boy, you're free to go. You and my page will find your noble lord and invite him to tonight's celebratory feast, in show of my gratitude to you all for rescuing our East Empire liaison. You may go."

Duo looked up happily from his position on the floor and spring up eagerly, winking to Wufei on his way out. Wufei smiled back and struggled to rise, but in no time found himself being lifted off his feet and into Zechs's arms. "Majesty, Lord Chang is in need of a great deal more rest. If you would excuse us…" Une dismissed them with a wave of her hand, and the blonde hurriedly whisked his companion away. "Wufei, what in Heaven's name happened?! And who was that boy? Wufei!"

"He's…his name's Duo when he's not in trouble," Wufei murmured, feeling ill again. "And…and he was looking…for Heero…his eyes…"

"Whose?! Whose eyes, Wufei?!" Zechs was near to hysterics in his worry for Wufei, but he had a better grasp upon his composure by the time Wufei was lying down in his bed again, the blankets drawn to his chin and a sweet-smelling sleeping draught on the bedside table. Without thinking, the blonde picked up the chalice of brew and held it to his friend's almond lips, coaxing them to part and drink of the mixture. "Tell me, Wufei," he said in a much softer voice. "What about those eyes?"

Wufei blinked sleepily and let his mouth crack into a drunken smile. "The eyes…from my dream…I knew them…I knew him…" Another sip of sleeping drink was all the Dragon could manage before slipping into a deep sleep, parting company with the conscious folk about him.

Zechs sighed heavily and set the draught on the bedside table once more, rising from his spot on the side of the bed and adjourning to his own chambers. "It is as I feared," he whispered to himself forlornly. "He is smitten with that dragon-prince…"

Perhaps Wufei's love strayed elsewhere, but Zechs was not to be deterred so easily. He would meet this dragon, and challenge him for the sake of honor. The prize, of course, was obvious.

The winner of the duel would be the one to finish out his days with Wufei, be he friend or lover.

~

[Bonus: Want to see what happens when Duo goes back to the inn? Well, here you go!]

Treize and Heero eagerly looked to the door as it opened with a loud BANG! "We're invited for a feast at the palace!" the pixie announced excitedly. "The Queen lady wants to thank us for our rescue of Wufei! Can we go, Lord Treize? Can we can we can we?!"

"Of course we'll go," Treize said with an aristocratic sniff. "To ignore such a summons from the reigning monarch of a country would be nothing short of preposterous! Not to mention rude, inconsiderate, and down-right insulting!"

"YAAAAAY! Free eats!" Duo scampered over to the washstand and splashed some water on his face to clear it of muck, even though he only succeeded in soaking his tunic and hair. "I'm done! Can we go now? OW! Hee~ro!"

Heero smacked his pixie's behind once more for emphasis and took Duo by a wrist with a grip to command attention without violence. "You'll be having a bath first, Duo Maxwell!"

POP! FWWWWWWWWWWP!

The tall, effeminate Duo Maxwell was gone. In his place stood the cherubic little pixie everyone knew best, covered in filth and looking furious at his sudden decline in height. "HEEEY! What's that for?! Lemme go, Hee-chan! Lemme go lemme go lemme go!"

"No." Heero swiftly stripped the little pixie and set the dirty clothes aside, then carried him to a small closet-like room with a big washtub filled with water and soap bubbles. Duo knew the water would be cold, so he started screaming as though the Devil himself had gotten into him in a vain attempt to avoid it. Heero thrust him into the lukewarm water and scrubbed the filth away, leaving a pink-skinned pixie that stank of lavender instead of chicken leavings after half an hour's worth of scrubbing. His hair was clean again, though tangled from vigorous scrubbing, and the water was now a sort of murky brown.

Treize grabbed a drying cloth to wrap the pixie in and took the squirming bundle up to rub him dry. Duo relaxed a little in Treize's grasp, but Treize looked far from pleased. "You were told to wait for us so we could explore the city together," he scolded, rubbing Duo dry while Heero emptied the washtub. "Any number of things could have happened to you today, and how could we have helped you if we didn't know where you were?"

"But nothing happened! I had to go, Lord Treize! I had to see him for myself!" Duo clamped his mouth shut when he realized his mistake. He was revealing too much! Time to switch tactics before someone caught on! "I was only curious! You aren't gonna punish me for being curious, are you?"

Those puppy-dog eyes were welling fast with tears, and Treize felt his resolve dissipating to yield to the amethyst pools. "No," he said, causing both Heero and Duo to do a double take. "No," he said again, with more vindiction in his tone. "I'll never punish anyone for their curiosity. But I can't excuse your carelessness today. That will be why you are punished."

"Wait a minute!" Duo yelped, running behind Treize's legs the instant he was on his own two feet again. "Don' whip me! I wasn't that bad, was I?!"

Heero put his hands on his hips and casually shifted his weight from one leg to the other, appraising his charge with a critical eye. "Yes you were, but I don't think a whipping will get the point across. It only causes pain, and there has to be a better way than inflicting pain to teach a lesson."

Treize nodded and looked to his pixie, fighting his smile. "Yes, I agree. Duo, I think that as your punishment, you should attend the party with us tonight. However, you will stay by Heero's side at all times, and you will eat what he sees fit to give you. If you run away or try to disappear again, then your fate will be left to Prince Quatre upon our return home."

"NOT QUATRE! Pleeeeeeease, Lord Treize, not Quatre! I'll be good, I'll be good, I'll be good, I promise!" Duo skittered out from his hiding space to launch himself into Heero's waiting arms, perfectly content to ignore the grins on Heero's and Treize's faces. "You won' give me to mean ol' Quatre, will you, Hee-chan?"

The teen sighed and stood up, cuddling his shivering pixie as he carried him out of the bathing room and to a stand that had a fresh pile of human-sized laundry folded atop it. "You have to convince me that you're sorry enough for running away first. If you convince me, then I suppose I can find it in my heart to consider just what an insignificant matter this is compared to the affairs of state…"