Darkness at Dawn Part 26
He saw the dust clouds long before he could make out two figures on horseback, approaching his manor at great speed. Arif, second Master of Waylonis, a province of the Eastern Kingdom, sighed sharply. That his guards had permitted the riders to approach his manor was a sign that they were visitors of stature. He wasn't in the mood for another noble lord right now...
Still shaking his head, Arif stepped out of his cool house into the sunlit courtyard, plastering on a welcoming smile-
His smile slid to a look of disbelief, though, as he finally recognised his visitor. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head as Princess Noin was lifted own from her horse by her escort. "My Lady, you do me too great an honour..."
She waved her hand in dismissal and pulled off a dusty glove before offering her hand to be kissed. Noin smiled down at the nobleman at her feet. "I'm only passing through, I'm afraid."
He rose. "My Lady?"
She gave him a steely smile, and for the first time he could see the resemblance between the Lady and her younger brother. "I require food and lodging for both myself and my escort. In the morning, we will need provisions and two fresh horses each."
Arif's eyes strayed to the young man accompanying Noin and widened- he wore the badge of the Raberba's personal corps, the Man'gua'nacs. The soldier met his look with a cool smile.
Arif bowed again. "It will be as you command, Princess."
She flashed him a smile. "Good- I like hearing that. Abdul, please see that our gear is taken care of."
The Man'gua'nac smiled and bowed. "Of course, my Lady."
She swept into the house, Arif trailing behind her and wondering what on Earth could possibly be going on.
~*~
Hilde looked up as Relena walked in, carelessly leaving the door wide open. She sighed- there were certain things that would only come with time, and one of those was getting used to entering and leaving rooms without attendants at the door to aid you.
Relena approached the other Lady and gave her a curtsy. "You called?"
The dark-haired woman smiled. "I did- I was wondering if you could do me a favour."
She smiled before continuing, "I need you to go to the armoury and see about getting a bow and a quiver of arrows for me."
"I beg your pardon?"
Hilde laughed at the aghast look on Relena's face. "What? This place will soon be under attack, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be useless when it comes!"
Relena's shocked look didn't dissipate, though. "I've never been into an armoury before."
It was Hilde's turn to be surprised. "Really? Why not?"
Relena frowned. "Mother forbade it when I was a girl- she said that well-bred young ladies had no business in such a place."
"So... wouldn't that only make going more enjoyable?"
Relena shook her head slowly, her frown deepening. "Zechs, my brother, was plenty a nuisance for both of us growing up- I preferred to follow orders, rather than causing an uproar by refusing, as he did." Her eyes teared up, crystalline droplets threatening to pour down her cheeks. "And somehow- somehow he was still their favourite, no matter how obliging I was."
Clamping down on the instinct to roll her eyes, Hilde led the other woman to the nearby couch and sat her down, taking the seat next to her. "Okay, you're probably going to take what I say to you the wrong way, but here it goes. As women, yes, we are expected to be kind and obedient and obliging, but we still have our personalities. Relena, a person who never expresses their own wishes and merely does as he or she is told is considered spineless. Now I'm not saying that you are," she added quickly, seeing sparks of fire in the other Lady's eyes, "but rather that it would have been an easy mistake for one to make."
Relena fought her anger down. "I'm not spineless! And I am my own person..."
"You may be now," Hilde interrupted her gently, "but if you always did as you were told and never caused your parents any grief, then you were then. We're individuals, Relena, and given what you've said of your brother, he showed the depth of his spirit by all his small rebellions. You showed none of that."
"So you're saying that I should be belligerent and..."
Hilde shook her head. "No, not at all. All I'm saying is that you need to be certain that you're following rules and decisions because you want to, not because it will please someone and for no other reason. What we do in our lives is our decision. And my decision right now is to find the armoury in this place and get my hands on a bow." Hilde stood and turned to leave.
She was surprised when Relena joined her almost immediately. "If you don't mind, I'd like to come with you."
The women shared a smile as they walked out and the door swung shut behind them.
~*~
"I think we need another halt."
Everyone turned on Dorothy as she said the words, their eyes flashing, but she motioned at the Dawnchild on the horse and shook her head.
Zechs sighed heavily. If they continued like this, it would take them months to reach Sandrock, and Lucas would be long-dead by then! "She's right. We'll need to call Trowa back." Heero nodded and ran forward along their intended path.
Zechs and Walker carefully pulled the injured Dawnchild from his saddle and settled him on the ground. Lucas' eyes opened and smiled up at them from his pale face. "Thanks, my friends. I'm sorry- I know I'm slowing you down."
Duo waved it off, though, as he joined the little group. "You have nothing to apologise for, friend-Lucas. Now let me take a look at that wound."
Still, the Dawnchild Lord's face was grave as he examined the wound and fixed a new poultice for it, re-binding it as best he could. "It is I who should apologise, Lucas, that I don't have the skill to tend this any more. A Healer will reach us soon, I promise."
He stood and stretched- it was a much more difficult journey when you were on foot and carrying all your provisions! Duo forced himself to smile, though- no one needed to see his fatigue or unease. They needed him to be his same, old confident, cheerful self. And so he would be. "You know, we might as well take our lunch now, since we've stopped anyway. I know I could use a bite."
Treize looked up from the provision bags. "This won't last forever, Duo. We have to start rationing it better."
Sharp eyes caught a movement to Duo's left, and he drew and shot an arrow before anyone else could blink. Catching the stares directed at him, he smiled cheekily. "Or maybe we need to start taking better advantage of what's around us."
Wufei beat him over to his kill- a goose. He smiled up at the Dawnchild. "This one is well-fed. There must be a river or lake somewhere not too far away."
Both Elementals smiled at that idea- the rolling hills between the Mikar Mountains and the forest boundary of the Eastern Kingdom were beautiful, but arid, and water had been hard to come by. Duo grinned. "I'll ask." He whistled sharply.
He knew he should have been used to it by then, but it still surprised Wufei how Cree swooped out of the sky and landed on Duo's outstretched arm so obediently and carefully, so as not to hurt the Dawnchild. And listening to the two chirping to each other!
Cree was off again with a loud cry, and Duo knelt to pick up his kill by the arrow embedded in it. "He says it's about a day further along our route, a nice, large lake. Good, fresh water there." He eyed his braid critically. "Good thing, too- I need a wash!"
Wufei shook his head. "How do you and Lord Zechs keep your hair from turning into rats' nests on journeys like this? I can't understand..."
"Or Dorothy, for that matter," Duo quipped, turning to head back to their temporary camp, "One hundred strokes a night."
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Duo's quicksilver laugh sang out over the prairie.
~*~
Abdul frowned up at the setting sun. "We have to stop soon, My Lady. I'm sorry we won't be able to make town to find you a suitable..."
Noin swung down from her horse and patted its neck fondly. "It's no problem, Man'gua'nac. A night under the stars can hardly do me harm." She began untying her saddlebags, slinging one over her shoulder as she moved to the second.
Abdul was there in a flash, though, gently moving her hands to the side. "Please, Princess, allow me to do this..."
She shook her head. "Look, I'm not made of glass, and I know how to camp. I can untie my own saddlebags, and I can even stake out my own horse, okay?" She rolled her eyes in frustration.
It had been like that since they left Sandrock, her Man'gua'nac guard always trying to see that she didn't lift a finger, as though she were some sort of helpless child. After three days of it, she was sick and tired of the treatment and more than happy to let him know.
Abdul, for his part, backed away from the angry young woman. "I apologise, my Lady, but my Lord told me..."
She laughed. "Oh, Quatre put you up to this, did he? He knows how much I hate it, too... Remind me to thank him when we get back."
"I meant no disrespect to you, my Lady..."
She turned to him and gave him a searching look for a long moment before she sighed and bowed her head. She looked back up with a light smile on her face. "Let's try this again. We are going to pretend that I'm just another messenger. Hi, my name is Noin." She held out her hand.
Abdul couldn't help admiring the Lady's attitude. He shook her outstretched hand and was surprised at her firm grip. "I am called Abdul."
"Well, then! Shall we set up camp, Abdul?"
He gave her a bow and a smile. "If you can get a fire going, I'll take care of our horses."
Noin nodded to him and set off to her task with a confident, relaxed air.
Abdul shook his head as he led the four beasts off a short distance and gave them their nose bags. He knew he shouldn't be surprised- the woman was Master Quatre's sister, after all- but he couldn't help marvelling at how tough Noin seemed. He, like the other Man'gua'nacs, had assumed that Quatre's exercises with his two sisters had been no more than simple training drills, but now he wasn't so sure.
He turned back around to find that she'd already lit a fire and was setting up dinner. Abdul smiled to himself. "I'm beginning to wonder what she isn't capable of."
He checked the horses' tethers once more before heading back over towards his charge and companion.
Noin smiled at him as he drew near. "I hope this won't smoke too much."
He examined the firewood she had gathered and nodded his head. "We should be okay- most of this is old and dry enough." He looked back at her. "You don't suppose the enemy has sent his scouts this far afield as yet, do you, Lady?"
Noin shook her head. "No- he has other ways of gathering information than wasting a valuable resource on scouting this far ahead of his main force. We should be more worried about beasts and birds than Darkchildren."
She looked up at the darkening sky. "One bird at least has been keeping a fairly steady watch on us. I have seen him several times now- a golden eagle."
Abdul scanned the sky carefully for any sign of the bird, but it wasn't there. "I wonder if it is a watcher from our friends or our foes, Lady."
"I don't know either, Man'gua'nac."
He looked over at her. "Please, call me Abdul. Every time you call me Man'gua'nac, I turn around, expecting Rashid to be standing behind me."
Noin smiled at him again. "Very well, Abdul. But you must call me Noin."
He blanched a little at the thought of being so familiar with the Princess, but shrugged. It was a direct order from a Raberba, was it not? "Alright, Noin. You're burning the sausages."
She looked down and hissed, "Aw, damn!"
~*~
Trowa stared down into the scrying stone and smiled into Quatre's eyes. ~No fears, there. I asked Cree to watch over her, and he tells me they are fine and making very good time. She'll be fine, Quatre!~
The blond smiled wryly. ~I'm being overprotective again, aren't I?~
~Just a little bit, but I'm pretty sure I'd be worried if Treize was away, and he's much more than capable of taking care of himself.~ Trowa spared a glance at his brother, who was sitting close by Wufei's side at the fire, talking with the Captain and Zechs. ~Even more so with Captain Chang around.~
Quatre nodded. ~I remember him from Lord Zechs' last visit with his sister, when their parents had been trying to arrange a marriage between myself and Lady Relena. He's a good man, though he tries very hard to appear tougher and colder than he is.~
Trowa laughed a little. ~That describes him well. I... I can't wait to meet you for real, Quatre.~
The blond smiled back at Trowa's flushed face. ~Nor can I, Lord of Earth.~
Trowa looked up, though, and saw Duo returning from the watchpoint. ~Duo is coming back in- it's my turn at watch now. I'm afraid I must go.~
Quatre's smile drooped a little, but his eyes still shone. ~I understand. Be safe!~
~You, too. Farewell!~ Trowa wiped his hand over the stone and sighed as Quatre's image faded away.
He looked up again as Duo neared him. "Did you see anything, friend-Duo?"
The Dawnchild shook his head. "No. But Cree tells me you asked him to watch over Lady Noin..."
Trowa nodded. "Yes. Quatre was worried."
"Oh." Duo tried to hide his grin, but was almost completely unsuccessful at it. He leaned closer to his friend and whispered, "I'm looking forward to meeting him, too, though for different reasons, I daresay, eh?" He straightened and danced away before a shocked Trowa could react.
Trowa simply smiled to himself as he gathered his weapons and made for the watchpoint. Too true, Duo. Too true.
~*~
Abdul waved the Lady back as he heard the sound again- her was certain of it this time. It was harder to tell in the tall grasses of the prairie land, but something was definitely lurking just beyond a patch of grass, something that didn't want to be seen. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Noin pulling an arrow and fitting it to her bow. It made him feel better to have someone at his back.
He approached the rustling carefully- he could just barely make out a set of eyes now, golden eyes that were slitted like a cat's... But there are no large cats native to this region...
He took another cautious step-
"Come any closer, mortal, and I will be forced to attack you."
He stopped in his tracks- a woman's voice?
"You can put down that bow, mortal- you would not be fast enough to hit me, even if you took a shot."
Noin did not let her guard down, though. "If you step into the open now, you will not force me to test your theory. You are in my brother's land and we are preparing for war. You will show yourself or you will perish."
The laugh that met this statement was a half-growl. "Your brother? It is safe, then..." A woman rose from the grasses, clad in earth-toned leathers, her raven hair making her golden skin all the more unusual and interesting. Her voice was low and melodious. "I come bearing a message for Lord Quatre Raberba. I have been charged to deliver it to none other than Himself or his cousin, Shinigami."
Noin lowered her bow, though she was by no means relaxed. "Truly? And just who sent you on this mission?"
"Roth, Second Commander of the Army of Shadows," the woman answered. She added, "I am called Berani."
Noin's eyes narrowed. "Give me one good reason I should permit you to continue in my lands, Darkchild..."
Berani held up her hands in a gesture of peace. "Because my news may bring hope, Princess. Not all in Ramar's army love him as much as they are supposed to."
Noin slipped from the back of her horse and walked forward, keeping a close eye on Abdul's position, his hand on his sword hilt. She gave Berani a deep look-
The Huntress found that she was unable to move, and her eyes widened in shock as she felt the touch of the human princess' mind- such power!
Noin nodded as she released her hold on the Huntress. "You should have told me you were of the Hunter clan before, Berani Huntress."
"Why would that have made a difference?" Berani asked, backing away from what she clearly saw as a much greater threat than she'd originally presumed.
Noin smiled. "Because we remember something of the history of your kind, and I know why you have no love for Ramar. Your daughter..."
"How did you know that?" Berani whispered, her fists tightening even as she took another step back.
Noin's eyes had gone vague, though she still seemed tense and alert. "She was murdered- and you were right- he did do it, with his own hands, he killed a child..." A tear slipped down her cheek.
Berani fell to her knees as the remembered pain washed over her at full force, drawn out by the power of the human woman before her. "What are you..."
Noin's eyes smiled at her compassionately. "I am a Psychic Healer, Huntress."
Berani bowed her head- everyone knew to show reverence to a Healer as powerful as this Princess! "Of course, Lady."
Noin stepped up close to the Huntress, clearly no longer fearing any threat from her. "Let me see this message."
The Huntress found herself obeying the command without a thought, and it amazed her, yet she handed over the message as asked.
Noin's eyes widened as she read, and she looked back down at the Huntress incredulously. "He can't be serious! Ramar will kill them all, he must know that!"
Berani rose from her kneeling position and accepted the message back. "It is a risk we are willing to take, Lady. With any luck, Ramar will be too busy to kill us all. But for that..."
Noin nodded. "Yes, for that you'll need help from either my brother or my cousin. A word of advice- should you ever meet Duo, don't call him Shinigami. I've heard he doesn't like that name anymore."
Abdul walked forward to his Lady's side. "More people will stop her, though, and they won't know to make the choice you made, Noin."
The Princess nodded. "Oh yes they will." She reached up and removed the brooch on her cloak, handing it over to the Huntress. "No one will challenge someone wearing that symbol unless they are doing harm to a person or a person's goods. Let that be a warning- do not misuse my token!"
Berani bowed her head. "I swear it to you- I won't."
"Good- I trust you not to." Noin smiled as she turned back to her horse, Abdul at her side. By the time they had mounted and turned back to where the Huntress had stood, only moments before, the woman was gone.
Abdul gave Noin a searching look. "Are you certain that was wise? You know as well as I do that no one will stop her, no matter what she does, except maybe a Man'gua'nac..."
Noin flashed him a confident look. "I'm sure, Abdul. I've seen into her soul, and she is true." She kicked her horse into a canter, leaving her guard to catch up.
He stared after her for a moment before following. He had never seen that side of his Princess before. It was spooky, but...
He couldn't help thinking that she was incredible when she was so in control as that! Why hadn't he seen it before?
~*~
Heero caught a glimpse of a swinging braid through the grasses ahead of him, and he allowed himself a small grin. The others were all back behind him, making their mid-day camp, and he'd been sent to pull Duo back from his point position...
The Dawnchild's smooth, melodic voice stopped him just before he could grab hold of that swinging braid, "Are we stopping?"
His hand closed around Duo's warm, silky hair, and soon enough felt the rest of him, warm and solid beneath his fingers. "Yes- Lucas needs another rest, I think."
Duo turned to face him, smiling softly. "Do you think they sent you after me for a reason, Angel?"
Heero wrapped his arms around the braided creature in front of him and buried his face against Duo's warm, broad chest. "Probably so your emoting won't involve as many people as it usually does. I think Trowa is getting truly frustrated."
Duo laughed, the sound like glitter on the air and in Heero's heart. "You're probably right, Angel-friend. My love..." His lips came down over Heero's and he felt the arms around him tightening gloriously-
Heero marvelled at how blessed he was- to have this magnificent creature in his arms, his head spinning as Duo's kiss left him breathless and flushed, his entire soul on fire...
Violet eyes met and held his. "As much as I'd love to continue this..."
Heero nodded. They had to get back to camp, unless they wanted an even greater delay than they would already have. He brushed Duo's bangs back and kissed each eyelid. "Me, too. I love you."
Holding hands, they turned back and slowly returned to their comrades.
~*~
Abdul pointed ahead excitedly. "My Lady, look! I see smoke over there."
Noin was at his side instantly, peering through the heavy falling darkness of night, searching for... "Yes! And it could be them, you never know..." She turned to face him. "You have good eyes, Abdul. Guardians, that's far!"
He smiled over at her easily. "Only the best in the Man'gua'nac Corps, Noin."
She gave him a bright smile. "Yes, I can see that."
His heart skipped a beat as she turned away and hopped down from her horse. "We won't be able to find them once darkness falls, though. Let's make camp- we'll track them down tomorrow."
Abdul swallowed his feelings. She hadn't meant anything by that comment, had she? Oh Guardians, this can't be happening! Rashid would kill me... and Master Quatre...
His heart sank even further as he looked back out towards the plume of smoke rising in the distance. Across that prairie was yet another family member of the princess's, and even more dangerous than the others put together...
She's a princess, and you're a soldier. That's just the way it is...
"Hey, Abdul, are you coming?" Noin called to him.
He hung his head. He could do this- all it took was a little will power, and he had that. He had to have it. He turned and led his two horses back. "I'm right here, my Lady. Sorry I took so long."
TBC...
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