From Far Away Part 7
"Are you okay?" The blond boy approached Duo.
"Yeah, thank you...." Duo studied the two boys. The blond one looked angelic and wore light brown priest robes. The other one seemed to be more of a silent type. However, his eyes betrayed every emotion he felt and was clad in a similar outfit as Heero.
"My name is Quatre Raberba Winner and he is Trowa." Trowa nodded in acknowledgement when Quatre introduced him.
"I am Duo Maxwell, nice to meet you. Thank you for the help, Quatre, Trowa." Duo nodded to the boys and noticed Quatre smiling back to him. //I wish Heero could smile like Quatre.//
{Duo, I'm sorry.}
"Heero???????" Duo was startled when he heard Heero's voice inside his head. He spun around and searched for the shorthaired warrior.
"Duo, what are you looking for?" Quatre sounded concerned.
"He's not here!" Duo felt as if something bad had happened and acted on impulse. He ran back to the inn, leaving the clueless Quatre and Trowa behind. //Something's wrong.....Heero, you better be okay//
As Duo approached the bar, he could see a group of people gathered in front. He stopped and hid behind some barrels where he could see what what was happening without being noticed. A middle aged man stood in the middle of the road, looking to the men, who were walking toward him, dragging something behind. Duo recognized the man as Romefeller, the one who had invited them earlier.
//Damn, that old man must have some bad intentions toward Heero and me. I'd rather not be seen by him.// Duo ran his gaze to the men and his eyes went wide as he recognized what the men were dragging. //Heero! Impossible!// Duo couldn't bring himself to believe that Heero had been captured. The stoic boy was too strong to be beaten physically. They must have done something deceitful to him.
His body cried in rebellion, wanting to run toward the men and rescue Heero, but his mind didn't agree, knowing there were too many men for him to handel on his own. Duo cursed at his incapability and watched the scene unfold.
Romefeller was smiling widely when he saw the boy being brought to him. Of course he felt a little angry and disappointed that the other boy had managed to escape but said boy could wait for later capture. His main interest lay on the short haired boy who was being held up in front of him, unmoving.
"What did you do to him?" Romefeller looked at Kaze, who stood smugly near the unconscious Heero.
"I drugged him. He will be unconscious for a day or so and when he wakes up, he will be very weak. He'd barely be able to walk without help for a couple of days." Kaze explained and Romefeller nodded in satisfaction before turning his attention back to the boy.
"Bring him nearer to me." The men quickly obeyed and held up the unconscious boy right in front of Romefeller. The man grinned and tilted the boy's face , looking at him hungrily. The skin under Romefeller's fingers was soft and smooth, making the man smile wider. "Perfect..."
He cupped the face with one hand and ran his other hand around, brushing and caressing against the boy's cheeks eagerly. "He will do." Romefeller smiled proudly and nodded to the men, who held the boy. "Take off his clothes."
The awful sound of clothes ripping was the last straw for Duo's control. He had been watching Romefeller caressing Heero and it took all of his rational thoughts and willpower not to leap in and shove Romefeller away from his companion. How dare that old man touch Heero, no one could touch Heero like that! No one except him. Duo was aware that his feelings of possessiveness toward the stoic boy was not the ordinary feelings of a friend. No, it was closer to that of a lover. And it was then that Duo realized that he had fallen in love with Heero....deeply..
And now Romefeller had captured his loved one and was trying to molest him. No way he would let it happen. Duo growled and stepped out from his den, ready to attack Romefeller. But before he had managed to take a step, Duo felt himself being pinned down to the ground in a split second.
"What the fuck..." Duo struggled to free himself. //Did Romefeller's men catch me?//
"Calm down and lower your voice. You can get us caught if the men hear you." Duo was surprised that his captor wasn't one of Romefeller's men. He craned his neck, trying to see the person.
"Trowa!?" Trowa nodded but he didn't make any move to release Duo. "Trowa, let me go! I have to help Heero." Duo growled as he heard the ripping sound again. //Damn Romefeller, you're gonna pay bloodily for this!//
"You know you can't help him alone." The banged boy said calmly. "You need help."
"Help? If you want to help me, then release me! I have to help Heero." Duo was panicked as his ears caught the continuous ripping sound. In his pinned position, he couldn't see what was happening to Heero so he began to struggle to free himself again.
"We will help Heero, but not now. I am sorry." Trowa's voice held no emotion when saying the words.
Before Duo managed to ask why Trowa was sorry, he felt a sting of pain in the back of his neck and his world turned to darkness.
Trowa watched as Duo lost consciousness, then lifted the boy onto his shoulder. Surprisingly, he let down his expressionless mask and looked towards the inn's direction in anger and helplessness. Same as Duo, he had also wanted to help the boy there, but he knew that he couldn't fight all of Romefeller's men.
The man was known of having the 15 best bodyguards in the country, and there was no way Trowa could beat them alone. They would be captured easily if they tried to help Heero right now. His eyes looked at the half naked boy before Romefeller. "I am sorry...." With that, Trowa turned away and left the place, bringing Duo with him.
Romefeller eyed the boy before him in satisfaction. The boy was only clad in his black spandex now. His tunic and pants had become ribboned pieces on the ground and the men were bent on removing the boy's boots at the moment. The boy's body was slender but muscled enough to tell everyone that he was quite strong. Romefeller's breath became heavier as his eyes traveled up and down, drinking in the sight of the boy.
"Yes, he will be perfect for my personal slave, and as well as my personal bodyguard." Romefeller purred and ran his hand on the plane of muscles on the boy's body; over the firm chest, the flat stomach and finally resting on the tight spandex.
He was about to yank the spandex down when a voice stopped him. "Sir, I think we have to get back to your castle now." Romefeller growled and turned his head to the speaker.
"Wufei, I want to inspect this boy first." He looked at the black haired boy angrily.
Wufei stood still and looked sharply at Romefeller. "I know, Sir, but as your bodyguard, I think your safety is top priority. It's dusk now and the journey will be more dangerous if we don't go back before the night comes."
Romefeller grunted but what Wufei said was true. Recently many monsters started coming out at the night and attacked travelers ,and he wasn't intending to become one of the victims. "Fine, we will go back now." Romefeller removed his hand from the boy and nodded to the men, "Put him on my cart, I will join him soon."
The men bowed down and walked to the cart, dragging the unconscious boy with them. Romefeller turned to Wufei who still stood near him. "Wufei, I want to play with the boy in my cart so I don't want any interruptions along the journey, understand?"
"I understand, Sir." Wufei nodded, "But with all my respect, may I give you some suggestions about the boy?"
Romefeller raised one of his eyebrows. "What do you know about him?"
"I know nothing about him, Sir. But I think he is the same type of warrior as me."
Romefeller frowned more. "So what?"
"I assume you will...uhm...claim him while he was out cold in the cart, Sir?" Wufei's face was red either from anger or a blush. His voice was barely audible.
"What I do to him is none of your business. He is mine, now." Romefeller was angry when Wufei had accused him but he didn't deny it for that was what he planned to do.
"True Sir, but I think he will not be loyal to you if you do that without his consent."
"What do you mean?"
"Like me, he has the pride of a warrior. He would rather die than follow the other's man order, especially the man who...uhm....took him without his consent." Wufei was really struggling to say these words. If Romefeller didn't know better, he might think Wufei was trying to keep his nose from bleeding.
Romefeller frowned deeply. Wufei was right. He intended to make the boy his personal bodyguard and judging from his earlier reaction when refusing his invitation, he found the boy would hardly be loyal to him. "Okay, you have a point here. And I think you have a suggestion how to make this boy loyal to me?"
Wufei nodded and stepped forward to whisper his suggestion. Romefeller continued to frown as Wufei whispered the suggestion but in the end, he nodded. "Very well, I think your idea is good." He walked to his cart, ordering the men to move Heero into another cart. Behind him, Wufei exhaled in relief.
"Hentai old man.... You owe me, Yuy." Wufei murmured.
~*~
Duo opened his eyes but all he could see was darkness. "Where am I?" He looked around and saw a nine-year-old boy standing in front of a man, talking. They didn't seem to notice Duo's presence.
"Mother is becoming more hysterical because of me. I can't let her be like that, please let me leave the village, father." Duo could hear the boy's voice in his head, so full of sorrow. He looked at the man whom the boy greeted as his father and noticed the man was trembling.
"Don't go. If you go, we will...." The man raised a trembling hand but not making any move to touch his son, as if he was afraid he would get burned once he touched the boy.
Then Duo saw the man retrieving shackles and approaching the boy. The boy eyed the shackles in his father's hand. They were big and heavy, and seemed to be made for restraining a big animal like bear or gorilla.
"Father..." The boy's eyes widened and he backed away but the man quickly grabbed him, cuffing him to an invisible post.
"Stay, don't ever leave the village until ...." The man's voice became weaker, making Duo miss the last words he said. The man quickly walked away, not giving any last glance to his son.
//What kind of a parent is he! // Duo was angry at the man's manners and stepped in front of him. "Hey, mister. Listen ! You shouldn't treat your son like that, it's ...." Duo gave a startled gasp as the man continued to walk through his body, like a ghost.
When Duo turned, all he could see was the darkness once again. The man had disappeared, swallowed by the darkness.
//A ghost??? What on earth....// Duo turned back and saw the boy. His hands were cuffed and his dark brown haired head bowed down. //Is he a ghost too?// Duo approached the boy.
The boy lifted his cuffed hand and eyed the shackles. Duo couldn't see his eyes because the boy's messy long locks covered his face and also because the boy was shorter than him. He was only a little taller than Duo's waist.
"I am human, father." The boy murmured and to Duo's surprise, the boy snapped the chains. The thick metal clanked down onto the dark ground, eliciting tinkling sounds, which echoed in the darkness. Duo looked at the boy's bowed head and heard him murmur again, bitterly. "Humans can't snap chains...."
The boy didn't do anything else, he just stood there, staring at the ground. "Why do I have to stay even when no one wants me here? I will not wait for ......for...." The boy didn't continue his words.
//It's not his fault he has such great powers!// Duo couldn't stand to look at the boy when he was so dejected and abandoned. He took the risk and knelt down, embracing the boy. Surprisingly, the boy didn't go through Duo's body like his father did. Duo could feel the warmth of the boy's body and his surprise of being embraced suddenly.
"You are human, I believe it." Duo murmured and tightened his embrace. The boy still tensed but didn't move or try to break away. "You are human just like me." Duo whispered into the boy's ear while stroking the boy's back, feeling him relax into his embrace.
Duo could feel the boy raise his arms and hug Duo back with his tiny hands, trembling as if he could not believe this was real.
Finally after some moments had passed, Duo let go of the boy and pulled away. The boy lifted his head and Duo held his breath as a pair of deep blue eyes shot him. Those eyes were full of sorrow, loneliness, and despair that Duo knew he had seen these eyes before.
"Heero......."
"Ah you are awake, I see."
Duo blinked, trying to regain his composure, and found out that he was laying on a rugged floor. //What? Where's the boy?// He turned his head to meet a pair of blue eyes, but Duo knew they weren't the boy's. These eyes were lighter and kind, no sign of sorrow and despair in them. Duo widened his gaze as he recognized the face of the eyes' owner. "Quatre?"
"So you remember me." Quatre smiled.
Duo was confused. He looked around and saw he was in a room. Seeing Duo's confused look, Quatre explained. "We are in an inn and this the room Trowa and I share." Duo looked at the blond boy suspiciously. Why was Quatre here and why was *he* here? Suddenly, the memories of what had happened came back to him. "Heero!!" Duo sat up and tried to leave but Quatre stopped him. "Let me go, Quatre! I have to help him!"
"Calm down, Duo. You can't save him alone." Duo looked up and saw Trowa standing behind Quatre.
"Trowa! How could you leave Heero like that!!!" Duo was angry and all he wanted to do right now was to save Heero....and maybe strangle Trowa after that. One step at a time, after all.
"I am sorry Duo, but Trowa had to do that or you would have been caught too." Quatre said apologetically.
Duo snorted and broke away from Quatre, who was trying to hold him. He stood up and glared at Quatre and Trowa with great intensity, which almost rivaled Heero's glare. "I don't care. It's better than letting that old man ..." Duo clenched his fists as he remembered the obvious lust on Romefeller's eyes.
Duo quickly walked to the door but before he could touch the handle, the door flew open from the other side. A woman in warrior robes walked in, forcing Duo to take a step back. Her hair was braided loosely and fell free on either side of her shoulders.
"Sally Po!" Duo heard Quatre's happy voice, feeling the blond boy approach them and soon the blond boy was hugging the woman. "It's good to see you again, Sally. What's new? How are they?"
"They are fine, Quatre." Sally smiled and pulled away from Quatre. Her eyes became serious as she spoke. "I came here to discuss the plan to free them. Wufei said tomorrow would be a good chance to carry on the plan. Romefeller will..." Sally couldn't finish her words because Duo had grabbed her shirt.
"You know Wufei and Romefeller?! Where are they?" Duo shook Sally wildly.
"Duo! Stop it!" Quatre tried to pry Duo's hands from Sally's robe.
Duo stopped the shaking but he still held onto Sally's robe in a death grip. "Tell me where they are. I will not hesitate to use force to make you talk." Sally was surprised to see the intense look in Duo's eyes and knew, right then and there, that the boy was deadly serious about the threat.
"You are Duo? Duo Maxwell?" Sally gasped out.
Duo nodded and wondered how Sally knew about him. "Yes, it's me. How did you know my name?"
"Wufei asked me to tell you that Heero is fine." Her words really surprised Duo, and he unconsciously released his grip on her.
"He's fine? How?" Duo felt half of his anger melt away.
"Wufei? How did he know Duo was with us?" Quatre looked as confused as Duo.
"Apparently, he saw Trowa bringing Duo away from Romefeller's men this afternoon." Sally looked at Trowa, whose face was still expressionless. Inside, Trowa was relieved that Wufei was there to help Heero but he wasn't sure how to interpret the word 'fine' since he knew well what usually happened to the boys Romefeller caught. Trowa shuddered as he imagined what had happened to Heero.
"Heero is okay? So where's he now?" Duo ran his gaze behind Sally, trying to see if there was another person there.
"Romefeller still has him," said Sally.
"What? You said he is fine!" Duo snapped and focused his eyes back to Sally.
"Yes, he is fine. Look, we better lower our voices to discuss this since it's really important." Sally looked at Quatre, who nodded.
"Sally is right, we should lower our voices. Romefeller's men are still around here, looking for you, Duo."
~*~
"You are human..."
Heero blinked as he awoke. His eyes caught the unfamiliar ceiling above him. //Where am I?// He sat up and realized that his wrists and ankles had been shackled, preventing further movement. //Kuso, I have been captured.//
The young warrior looked around and saw that he was in a prison cell. The torches had been lit up to light the place, indicating the day had turned into night. //I have underestimated my enemy. Never thought he could use the wind...// Heero mused about his mistake and suddenly realized he had forgotten something important. //DUO! Kuso, he must be in panic!// Growling, Heero pulled his hands into the opposite directions, trying to snap the shackles that imprisoned him. He did not care about the sound he made, all in his mind was finding Duo.
"Hey, you are finally awake!" A guard came into Heero's view having heard the noise Heero made. He held a spear and looked at Heero mockingly. "What are you doing? Are you thinking to break the shackles? For your information, none of the fifteen bodyguards of Sir Romefeller can break these special shackles."
Heero panted slightly, but the shackles were still firmly in place. //I can't break them. I am too weak...kuso, this must be the side effect of that drug.//
The guard smirked as he saw Heero rest his hands on his lap, realizing he couldn't escape from the prison at this moment. "Stupid boy, you will never be able to break the shackles and I don't think you will ever get rid of them. Sir Romefeller is known to take enjoyment in decorating his slaves with metal pieces. Oh well, I better tell him that you have awakened." With that the guard left Heero, who was still absorbing his words.
//Slave?? What the hell is he talking about?// The cold temperature in the prison made Heero realize that he was half naked. His eyes widened as he realized that he only had his spandex to cover his body. . His eyes widened even more further as he realized a collar had been secured around his neck. //What the fuck...//
Heero growled and reached for the collar, wanting to tear it away, but the collar stayed firmly on his neck. He was too weak to tear the collar away. Knowing his incapability of escaping, Heero angrily slumped his back against the wall.
//Kuso....Duo....I hope you are okay.// But still Heero was worried. He realized he had heard Duo asking for his help before he fainted. Heero didn't know why or how he could hear Duo's voice when they were separated, though.
//Duo....where are you now?// Heero looked through the small window far above him, which showed the stars. The shorthaired boy ground his teeth and felt as if a part of him was missing. Heero hadn't realized that Duo's position had changed gradually, leaving an important position in his heart. //Duo...if I call you now, will you hear me?// He drew his legs up and let his head rest on his knees, murmuring Duo's name over and over again.
~*~
Duo and the others were in Quatre's bedroom, sitting on the floor. Duo had calmed down after Sally had told him what Wufei had done to stop Romefeller from committing his perverted intentions. They were now talking about the plan to release Heero and the others. Duo didn't recognize their names.
"So Sally, tomorrow we will release them all?" Quatre asked Sally after listening to the plan Sally had told them.
"Yes, it's very lucky for us that Heero is there or we wouldn't have had a chance to carry out this plan."
Duo paid attention as Sally discussed the plan further with Trowa and Quatre. But as Sally mentioned Heero's name, Duo's expression darkened. //Heero, you have to be okay...// He turned his head to the window and saw stars twinkling. Funny, it was only yesterday when he and Heero traveled under the stars and now they were apart. This was his first night in this world without Heero by his side.
All of a sudden, Duo lifted his head. He narrowed his eyes and stayed alert as if hearing something. Quatre noticed Duo's strange behaviour and wondered, " Duo, what are you doing?"
"I hear something." Duo murmured and set his ears to listen very carefully.
"What do you hear?" Quatre was puzzled.
"I hear someone calling my name." Duo's eyes lit up. "Heero! Heero is calling me!"
Trowa, Sally, and Quatre looked at one another. Smiling nervously, Quatre spoke to Duo. "Duo, are you okay? Maybe you are a bit tired, you should rest."
"No, I am not tired. I am sure I hear Heero calling my name." Duo knelt and shouted. "Heero! I am here." And unknownst to them all, a miracle happened.
~*~
Far away from the inn, in a prison cell, Heero lifted his head as he heard Duo's voice. . He was surprised to see white all around him, and what was even more surprising, Duo kneeling not far from him. He seemed so near and yet so far away.
{Duo!} In his shock, all Heero could do was just sit there, motionless.
{Heero!!} Duo's eyes sparkled with joy {I can hear you!}
{So am I} Heero was still staring dumbfounded, not believing his eyes. Duo was there, kneeling and behind him sitting some other persons, whose faces he couldn't see clearly because of the white mist around them.
Unlike Heero, Duo was not frozen. He was certainly surprised to see his surrounding become white but he was really glad to see Heero. He stood and ran towards Heero. {Heero! I ...}
"WELL, WELL, WELL, YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE." A loud voice disturbed Heero and he soon found himself back in his cell. Duo was gone for sure. Heero turned his head to the voice's direction, irritated and saw Romefeller standing outside his cell, Wufei and Kaze standing behind him.
"Are you feeling ill? Now do you know how stupid you were to refuse my invitation? I am Romefeller, the ruler of this province. Now do you understand how great I am and how stupid you are?" Romefeller laughed , followed by Kaze while Wufei stayed silent.
//You are the baka one, old man// Heero didn't look at Romefeller, instead his thoughts wondered back to the moment he just had with Duo.
"Follow my orders and I guarantee you will never regret your decision. I will take care of you very well, feed you with the most expensive meat and give you the most expensive clothes." Though I prefer you to be naked. Romefeller didn't say it out loud since Wufei had strictly pointed out to him to not talk of sexual matters. He wanted the boy, so he would tolerate not taking him this night in order to carry out Wufei's plan.
//I never thought I would see Duo's figure. Hn, I even didn't think about being able to hear his voice.//
"I have seen you beat Wufei. Your fighting skills are wonderful so I want you to be my personal bodyguard."
//Behind him, I can see three more people. Two males and one female..... who are they?// Heero kept up his musing, ignoring Romefeller's chattering.
"Wufei and Kaze are the two best of the fifteen bodyguards I have. They never lose in a battle and I will make you the leader of them all. Don't you consider yourself lucky?"
//Is Duo okay? I don't understand what's going on....// Heero turned his head to the wall opposite of him.
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" Romefeller's face was red with anger when he saw that Heero was obviously ignoring him.
Heero turned his head and said in irritated tone. "I am not your slave."
Romefeller smiled, "Ah, but soon you will be. Look, I know you are a warrior and you have your pride, so I will make a deal with you."
Heero just looked at him with a 'just-spit-it-out" look. He didn't know that in his state of undress, the gesture could be interpreted as to dare anybody to get close to him.
Romefeller steadied his breath. The boy was rebellious that he wanted to whip and fuck the boy mercilessly. But it would surely break the boy and he didn't want a broken doll. He wanted a willing slave and a competent bodyguard so he tried to restrain his lust. "Tomorrow, you will be taken to the arena to battle my bodyguards. If you can defeat them, then you will earn your freedom. But if you can't, you will end up as my slave. This is an honor battle so if you lose, you will be my slave willingly. No rebellion and arguing. On the other hand, if you win, I will let you go and never disturb you again. Well, do you agree to these terms?"
Heero just looked at him expressionlessly. "I will not lose."
Romefeller grinned. The trap had been set and tomorrow he would get the result. "Very well, I will see you tomorrow then. Wufei will give you further explanation." The man walked out, following by Kaze while Wufei stayed.
After making sure Romefeller and Kaze were out of sight and hearing, Wufei stepped forward. "You are really suicidal to accept the deal. Do you know you will battle against 15 of us?"
Heero snorted. //Like I have any choice..//
"He has intended to own you and doesn't hesitate to do unhonorable things if it will make you submit. You are weak because of the drugs, even barely able to walk. But I admit I appreciate your bravery to accept the deal even though you know you can't win." Wufei looked at Heero who was still sitting on the ground.
"I will win." Heero stood up and walked toward the startled Wufei. "Who said I couldn't walk?"
"Kaze said the drug supposed to last a couple of days..." Wufei looked confused but then he grinned. "Looks like he had mixed the drugs with the wrong formula." How wrong Wufei was. Kaze had mixed the drugs as usual, but it had been Heero who was unusual. Of course, Heero never said anything. He let Wufei believe his assumption.
"Where are my clothes?"
Wufei lost his grin when he heard Heero's question. "You wouldn't want to know."
Heero's eyes flashed dangerously. Wufei's reaction convinced his assumption about the state of his clothes after hearing Romefeller's words and seeing the lust in the man's eyes. "He ripped them." Heero stated flatly. He was not naive though he had never been subjected to this kind of situation before, but he had knowledge about it. And there was no way he would let the old man have him.
Wufei nodded, not denying Heero's statement. He opened Heero's cell. "I will transfer you to another cell."
"Why?" Heero saw no reason for Wufei to do that.
"You will know later." Wufei gestured Heero to follow him. Heero had intended to escape once the door's cell was opened, but his weak condition couldn't afford it. Wufei was stronger than him at the moment and he would easily be pinned once he tried to run away. Heero decided to follow Wufei. Although being shackled, he could still walk step by step so Heero had no difficulties following Wufei. After some turns, they came upon a door. Wufei stopped and opened the door.
Some high voices greeted Heero's ears as he followed Wufei into the room behind the door. "Wufei!" He could see three women sitting on chairs around the table. There were no beds in this room and no windows either. Judging from the shackles around their wrists, Heero assumed they were prisoners too; VIP prisoners to be exact.
A girl around Heero's age rose from her chair and walked toward Wufei while keeping her eyes on Heero. To Heero's surprise, Wufei bowed down before the girl. "I have come to tell you the plan for tomorrow, Relena Peacecraft-sama."
TBC...
Hehhe more GW characters appear *winks* I still crave for reviews sooooo... you know the drills *grins*
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