Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Elven Mage ❯ Of Seeings and Kidnappings. ( Chapter 3 )

Warnings: Shonen-ai, eventual yaoi, possible OOCness, you know. The usual. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own the g-boys or any of their affiliates, but I do own Shiakara, the concept of her race, the OtherKin and the goddess Kalana, so dun steal 'em.

Pairings: Nup, still not tellin'.

Author's note: Yay! The next part! Go me! I'm really enjoying this fic, I hope you are too! In reply to a comment I received from an author by the name of Myst. I have read that series and I'm flattered you see a resemblance between Grimya and Shiakara, as Grimya would have to be one of my favorite animal characters out of all the books I've read, except of course for Firesong's Aya from Mercedes Lackey's Mage Storm series. *grins* However, I created Shiakara before I read the Indigo series, so any resemblance was accidental. Hoo, boy… I ramble, don't I? *makes a face* Okay. I'ma go now. Onto the story, which hopefully isn't so boring as my rambling. ^^' Apologies for that.

~ ~ ~

"But we can't afford to stop! Duo's in trouble! How can we even think of stopping now? We have to go on. We don't know what might happen to him if we don't hurry!" Quatre cried, close to tears.

He'd been arguing against halting for the night ever since the other three had decided it would be a good idea as visibility was low and everyone was dog tired. Quatre had battled with them for the past half hour with no result. They were intent on rest.

"Quatre, just think about it. If we don't stop, we won't be able to see what we're doing and we'll probably get hurt. Then how will we help him? Besides that, you can't fly another inch, I can't hold my panther form at all, Wufei's falling asleep on his feet and Noin's still lame from that stone she picked up. We all need rest," Trowa reasoned gently.

Quatre shook his head vehemently and looked up at Trowa with tearful eyes.

"We can't just leave him, though…"

"We're not leaving him. We'll start again the minute the sun rises."

"If we do, we should get to the Magiks' enclave by mid-morning," Noin said, before folding her blue-purple legs beneath her and sinking gratefully to the ground. Wufei took a position beside her, knees level with her shoulders as was proper.

"But… but, Trowa…" Quatre said softly, pleadingly.

Trowa shook his head and hugged the faery gently.

"We'll get him back, Quatre. He'll be fine. Now sleep."

Quatre sniffled threateningly, but didn't carry through with the threat by letting the tears spill over. Instead, he curled up in a ball on a patch of springy moss, wings tucked around him, and closed his eyes, willow wand clasped tightly in one hand.

Trowa sighed slightly and settled next to his friend, wondering himself if they would get Duo back. Quatre's small magic spells would be useless when faced with the massive power the human mages could wield and the centaurs didn't have the training to face up to the mages. Even if they did, Trowa reflected, they wouldn't use it for one elf.

The OtherKin beast bubbled into his mind of her own accord and her words echoed through his tired mind. What in the gods' names is one of the pantherin doing here?

And what was he doing here? How had he ended up in this forest, being raised by the elven kind? He hadn't had a bad childhood, but to know there were others like him… He'd never thought it would happen. He'd thought he was alone. To find out he wasn't brought mixed emotions.

"Trowa…?" Quatre's sleep-dampened voice tugged him out of his reverie.

"Mmm?"

"We never went to tell Hilde Duo's message…"

"No, but there was an elf tailing us for a time. I told her what was going on and gave her the message."

"An elf was tailing us?"

"Uhuh. Catherine. She tried to get me to go back."

"Worried about you, huh?"

"Yeah, but she'll be okay. She promised to make sure the others would be on the alert in case the humans came back again."

Quatre rolled over in the moss to look at Trowa, his eyes fixing on the one emerald cat's eye he could see.

"She really cares about you, Trowa."

"I know… but I can never see her as anything but my sister, even if her mother and father aren't truly mine."

"So you noticed she was having less-than-sisterly feelings towards you?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out…"

"You think she'll be okay?"

"Yeah, she's strong. Besides, there's an elf who has been pestering her to go to the spring festival with him for weeks. Maybe if I'm not there, she'll go with him."

Quatre laughed softly.

"And who were you going to ask to the spring festival?" he asked, sea-blue eyes glinting merrily in the moonlight.

"I wasn't going to go… I always feel like I don't belong."

"Oh, Trowa…"

Trowa only smiled and shrugged.

"I'm fine. I alwa-"

"Will you two prattling weaklings be quiet so the rest of us can sleep?" Wufei's biting tones snapped through darkness.

"Oh, gosh. Sorry Wufei! Sorry Miss Noin!" Quatre replied, then spoke his last words in a whisper. "'Night, Trowa. Sweet dreams."

"You too, Quatre," Trowa said with a smile, but the faery was already snoring softly.

* * *

On the opposite side of the continent to the University of Magic stood a citadel atop a cliff, overlooking the ocean. It was a large building, built of dark stone. Creepers grew over the walls, but not in an out of control way. They were carefully tended to enhance an aesthetic feeling that the whole place had. If one were to step inside the high surrounding walls, the eyes and nose were assaulted by the sight and scent of thousands upon thousands of blood red roses. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, gilding the entire scene with a soft golden sheen.

At a window looking out over the ocean, a tall figure stood contemplating one of the roses, which he held in one hand, whilst talking to the strange creature that cowered at his feet.

"And you're sure?" he asked, his voice silky.

The creature bobbed its snakelike head in affirmation and ran twice around the man's feet before halting and speaking in a quick little squeak of a voice.

"Yessir. The white one can See. I saw him do it with my own eyes, sir."

"Hmm… good. Now, bring me the Lady. It's time she lived up to her boasts…"

The small creature sketched a hasty bow and scurried away while the man sat in a comfortable chair, crossing one leg over the other and taking a glass of wine from the table beside it. He sipped from the glass and closed his eyes, resting his chin on a gloved hand with no evidence of any qualms about drinking so early in the morning. His royal blue robes shifted slightly as he set the glass back on the table and looked up at the sound of the door opening for a second time.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" came a female voice with a slightly harsh edge to it.

"Yes. You're constantly speaking of your abilities to translocate, true?" he asked, cutting straight to the point as he saw no need to tiptoe around the subject.

"And well I should. No one has the skill I do."

A smile graced the man's lips as he waved the Lady to a chair.

"I must admit, I wouldn't know. I don't know much about magic at all, Lady Une, aside from the fact that it can be very helpful. There's something I would ask you to do for me, if you're willing?"

"How can I be of assistance, sir?"

"Please, call me Treize, Lady."

She nodded and beamed at what she considered a great honour. Treize was well aware Une obsessed over him and was insanely in - if not love - then lust with him. He was far from interested, but it suited his purposes to let her think she might have the barest chance with him.

"As you wish, sir, I mean, Treize. And… you're welcome to call me Une, if you wish."

Treize graced her with another charming smile, steepling his fingers before him as he spoke.

"I would have you bring someone here for me. He's a mage with the ability to See whom I would very much like to meet…"

Une smiled and nodded thoughtfully.

"I can see why you'd want to meet the mage, Treize. Do you, perchance, have something of his for me to centre with? Or, is there some way I can see him?"

Treize got to his feet and made his way over to a small window with what looked like soft purple mist floating behind it. He waved a gloved hand over the window's surface and a mist-obstructed view of a long haired blonde swum into appearance. All she could tell was that his hair was long and blonde. She could make out no facial features, be it the colour of his eyes or the shape of his face.

"As I said, I know little about magic aside from the fact that it can be useful. A helpful little thing, yes? I know it's not very easy to see, but is it enough for you?" Treize asked, turning his blue gaze to Une.

She nodded vehemently.

"It's enough. Do you want me to do it now?" She looked up at him, a "careless" hand brushing his.

"If you can. I'll get you whatever you need."

"Please, just send for something to eat so I can get back some of my energy once I'm done. I'm good at this, but it still drains me."

Treize nodded and sent one of the little creatures down to the kitchen to get what was requested while Une settled herself cross-legged on the floor and set a concentrated gaze on the misty picture through the enchanted window. She lifted her hands slightly and a soft glow pulsed between them, brightening to the point where Treize could no longer look at it, before leaping away and hovering beside Une. The glow resolved itself into the shape of a tall man, then seemed to waver and sway, flickering in and out of brightness. It stayed that way for a long time, as sweat began to bead on Une's brow and her breath now panted from her lips. Just as Treize was starting to think Une was failing, the glow exploded in a flash that forced him once again to turn away.

"Where the hell am I?" a husky voice growled.

Treize turned slowly, his eyes falling on what could easily be the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

Milliardo stood with his hands at stomach-height, an angry red ball of light hovering between them. His hair shifted uneasily in the power flowing about him and his ice-blue eyes flashed warningly at Treize. His right hand lifted until it was palm up at chest height and the red ball followed it, the mage perfectly willing and able to use it.

Treize fought to talk around the lump of shock-attraction that had lodged itself in his throat. His gut twisted and threatened to show the mage a not-so-pretty picture of what his kidnapper had eaten for lunch.

"I ask once more and if I do not get an answer, I start to kill," Milliardo said, rolling the ball of energy to his left hand and holding it suspended above Une, whom Treize only just noticed had passed out.

"I…" Treize cleared his throat and started again, gaining his voice and grace back in a rush. "I'm terribly sorry to have inconvenienced you, sir. I am Treize Khushrenada and this is my home."

Milliardo tossed the ball easily in one hand, his eyes taking their time about studying Treize and measuring him. Treize had to fight the urge to fidget under his piercing gaze.

"You will send me home, now," the mage stated, his eyes flicking up to meet Treize's and snapping daggers at him.

Treize smiled charmingly and took one step forward, languidly lifting a hand to indicate Une.

"As you can see, that is an impossibility at this time. If you would allow it, I would take breakfast with you and we can talk."

"Talk? With the man who abducted me?" Milliardo snorted. "Beg my pardon if I am being rude here, Mr. Khushrenada, but-"

Treize didn't hear any more as he was lost in how his name sounded rolling off the tongue of the deadly beautiful mage before him.

Milliardo stood impatiently as he waited for a reply, quickly deciding the man before him was addled and brainless. He soon grew impatient.

"And I would most certainly not breakfast with someone who cannot even carry on a decent conversation!"

Treize snapped out of his reverie at these words and the arrival of the creature he'd sent to get food for Une. He worried first about getting rid of the unconscious woman.

"Take the food to her quarters and send others to take her there as well," he instructed quickly. The creature blinked at him a moment, but did as it was told, scurrying off hurriedly.

"Do you always fuck them then kick them out…?" Milliardo asked idly as he watched a crew of the little creatures carry Une off, entirely unhappy with the state of things at the present time.

That question made Treize disproportionately angry.

"For your information, I don't "fuck" women at all," he said sharply, then instantly regretted it. He hadn't wanted for that particular fact to come out just yet.

A blonde eyebrow lifted above an ice-blue eye and the angry red of the energy ball faded somewhat as the mage smirked.

"Oh, truly? How interesting. I suppose, as there is nothing better to do, I may as well eat with you. You can tell me all about yourself, now that I know your dark and innermost secret." There was a decidedly sarcastic undercurrent to the words, but the mage did dispel the red orb, resting his hands lightly on his hips.

Treize swept out of the room, beckoning the mage with one gloved hand, inwardly beating himself black and blue over the stupidity of his actions. He lead the mage out to the gardens where he'd already had a meal set out in preparation for this, although he hadn't expected the one he'd be eating with to be so mouthwatering that he'd rather be using his mouth in an entirely different activity to eating.

He settled himself easily in one of the two chairs, looking far more relaxed than he felt, and waved the mage to the other when he didn't sit.

The white-clad man let his eyes flick to the proffered chair, then back to Treize. They narrowed slightly.

"What do you want with me?" he asked, still not sitting.

"The first thing I want is your name," Treize said easily with a charming smile, though his mind was whispering to him that it wasn't the first thing he wanted from the man before him.

Ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly.

"Milliardo," he said, and, finally deciding he wasn't intimidating Treize much, so there wasn't any point in his standing up, he sat down.

"Milliardo," Treize repeated, liking the way the name sounded. He smiled again at Milliardo and retrieved his glass from the table, sipping delicately of the red wine within.

Though the mage had seated himself, he was perched on the edge of the chair, ready and able to strike if the need arose. He pushed his sun-gold-kissed blonde hair back from his face and his eyes were never still. He didn't touch the food, and he didn't understand how the other could even consider drinking wine this early in the morning, let alone actually do so.

"Why have you brought me here? What do you want from me? I am needed at the University. I have two apprentices, both of whom can See, and therefore, neither of them can take their instruction from another mage. You have to let me go back. I can contact them, there. There are many who can translocate and one of them would be willing to get me."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. You see, I'm in need of your ability to See, Milliardo. I need your help."

"I See when I choose and not when I am told. You won't get anything from me if it does not suit me. Now, let me go back and come request my help like everyone else does."

Trieze looked down at the glass in his hand with a sigh. He hadn't thought it would be simple and he'd planned for this occurrence.

"Milliardo, you don't have an option. You have to help me. I have two operatives at the University and they're keeping a very close eye on your sister… If you don't do what I ask, they'll make sure she meets with an accident."

Milliardo was on his feet in a second, lighting dancing across his fingers and up to his elbow then back down again.

"You wouldn't dare!" he snarled, flexing his fingers and causing the lightning to crackle dangerously.

"Yes, I would and if you do anything to me, they will do their duty without pause."

Milliardo snarled out a curse and dropped back into his chair, the lightning muted but not gone. He stared darkly at his food and turned over possible ways of getting away. There was nothing he could come up with that wouldn't take time and, therefore, put his sister in danger. He stood abruptly and walked off through the garden, immersing himself in the scent and colour of the roses and smiling at the way the night's dew shone yellow-gold in the early sunlight. He heard Treize following and growled.

"Leave me be…"

He flinched when a hand rested on his shoulder and glanced at Treize's gloved fingers.

"I need your help…" Treize murmured.

* * *

"Up," a voice growled and Duo burrowed deeper under his blankets until only the top of his head could be seen above them, muttering something unintelligible under his breath as he did so.

"Now," said the same voice, sounding decidedly annoyed.

"'S still dark…" Duo managed to murmur, pulling the blankets up to completely cover his head.

"No, it isn't. It's just that there aren't any windows in your room. The sun has begun to rise and you should have risen before it," Heero replied, watching the shifting pile of blankets with a disgusted look on his face.

"Tha's a awful time t' get up…" muttered the blankets, shifting again.

"That's the proper time to get up. You're lucky I let you sleep in this late. Come, or we'll get no breakfast and you'll begin lessons on an empty stomach."

That got the elf out of bed in a hurry.

"Well you didn't say anything about food!" Duo cried, trying in vain to straighten his black robes, which were creased far beyond straightening. He soon gave up on that and tried fighting with his mussed hair, ending up with his fingers tangled in it to the extent that he couldn't get them out. "Oh shit," he stated, in a matter-of-fact voice and the incongruity of that tone of voice to the words said caused Heero to smile a little despite himself.

"Let me," he said with a sigh and waved his hand. Duo's appearance was instantly spotless. The elf pulled a face at him.

"I don't like it when you do that," he said, eyes locked with Heero's.

"What? Why? It's an efficient way to get you cleaned up with little bother."

"I feel like I'm not in control of myself…"

"You're not," Heero replied, face blank and his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Oh, Master! Don't scare him, you big bully!" Shiakara reprimanded as she padded in the door, white eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Shiakara," Heero said warningly.

"Master," Shiakara returned, mimicking his tone. "I mean it. How are you going to teach him if he's petrified of you? Who would listen to anyone when they're busy watching to see if he's going to turn around and lash out at them? The gods know, I wouldn't!"

"Shiakara, you overstep your place," Heero stated, and it was plain he wasn't joking.

Shiakara's ears instantly pressed back against her skull and she dropped to her belly, wings laying flat against her body in a position akin to her ears. She cast her gaze to the floor and even Duo could tell her posture was a submissive one.

"Apologies, Master. I shouldn't have gone so far," she said softly.

Heero shook his head and placed a hand on her head.

"You're probably right about him, Shiakara, only I would prefer if you were a little less… insolent in how you tell me so."

"Yes, Master," Shiakara replied, lifting her ears again and folding her wings up neatly.

Duo shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, feeling very sorry for Shiakara. Evidently, she'd been kidnapped just like him and put under the command of Heero as well. Poor thing. He left himself a mental reminder to talk with her later and see if there wasn't some way they could get out of here together. Right now, however, there were more pressing matters.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeero! You said there'd be food!" he whined, prancing past the mage to the door and tugging on his sleeve in an effort to get him to walk in the direction of the dining hall.

Heero blinked at the elf, looking somewhat confused, though Duo didn't know why. Still he explained things to the bemused-looking Heero.

"It's simple, 'kay? Duo hungry. Duo want food. Heero offer Duo food. Duo go to food. So let's go!"

Heero blinked again, but began walking with Duo, shaking his head a little whilst Shiakara padded along behind, making a soft chuffing sound that was easily identified as a held-back laugh. She stretched her wings out of habit, then folded them tidily again before her ears flickered backwards and forwards rapidly and she whined in the back of her throat. Heero turned quickly and looked questioningly at her.

"I… I don't know," she said in answer to that mute question. "All I do know is that something's going to happen… Something… Milliardo!"

Shiakara pelted past the mage and his apprentice, spread her wings and took to the air, knowing the corridor was just wide enough to take her wingspan and knowing she could move faster that way than on her paws. She arrived at Milliardo's quarters very quickly and had the door open in no time flat with the aid of her small amount of Talent.

"The gods curse it! We're too late!" she growled, whirling to look at Heero and Duo as they tried to get in the door at the same time and failed miserably, finally squeezing through and falling about all over each other. Shiakara would've laughed at the sight they made if it weren't for the situation.

"Too late for what?" Heero asked as he finally disentangled himself from Duo and managed to stand.

"To stop whoever it was from translocating Milliardo against his will," she muttered, holding Heero's eyes with her own white gaze.

"What…?" was all Heero could manage.

"Tranz… low… cate… ing…?" Duo inquired of Heero, who didn't look away from Shiakara.

"How do you know?" he demanded of his assistant.

She shook her lupine head slightly.

"I have a slight touch of the ability to See, remember? It's unreliable at best… Well I got a twinge, but it was too late!" she lamented through her teeth. "The gods curse him to the seven hells!" she snarled, and Duo looked even more confused at everything.

"Him?" Heero demanded.

"Yes, him. It was a she who did the spell, but a he who wanted it done…"

"Why?"

"That, I don't know."

"When?"

"Not long before we got here. I got the impression of it all only seconds before it actually happened."

"Before what happened?" Duo broke in before Heero could say anything else, utterly confused and lost and not liking either feeling.

"Milliardo was kidnapped," Heero said succinctly, before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room.

"I'm still confused…" Duo muttered.

Heero and Shiakara ignored him. As they hurried down the corridor, Heero sent out a mental message. Duo, who wasn't yet trained in that skill, couldn't hear it, as Heero was only sending to trained mages.

~I call a meeting. Get out of your beds, the lot of you. I don't care if you hate me. I don't care if you think I'm too young to hold the position I hold, I want you in the dining hall now. Milliardo Peacecraft has been kidnapped.~

"And if that doesn't get their attention, then I don't know what will," Heero muttered darkly as they strode into the hall.

~ ~ ~

Author's note: O_O Oh my! Heero's fantasy has been kidnapped by evil Treize who is attracted to said fantasy! What is going to happen? And who is Trowa? How did he end up with the elves? It's all very mystifying and twisted about… Pot… This was only going to be a short fic and I'm getting the feeling it's going to be looooong… Well, anyways, I like feedback, be it good, bad or somewhere in the middle. I especially like suggestions. Thanks to Psudo Angel for the suggestion on Trowa, as I was actually considering toning down his part a lot until I got that. And of course, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad you like it and it's nice to be told that you like it. ^_^