'...' thoughts
/.../ telepathy
Daystar's Prophecy Part 12
Walking through the dwarves' stronghold, Hilde was on a mission. Her objective was to find her husband, drag him off somewhere private where they would not be interrupted, then inform him of certain changes they would be undertaking regarding their relationship with Duo. Unfortunately, after nearly a half an hour of searching, she had not yet located the tall, blonde elf nor did it seem that anyone else had seen him either. Her frustration quickly mounted with each minute that passed, steadily adding to her slow burning anger. Suddenly, she turned on her heels and stalked toward the recreation rooms, realizing that if anyone knew where the elf could be, it would be Howard and maybe if she were lucky, Solo would be there with the dwarf.
Upon her arrival, Hilde scanned over the occupants within the first of the rooms, noting with disappointment that her husband was not present before turning her attention toward the balding dwarf. At that moment, Howard was talking heatedly with three other dwarves and the blue-eyed elf could clearly see that he was agitated about the topic of the conversation. Determining to learn exactly what the topic was before she left to find Solo, she waited patiently until they were finished before approaching the dwarf.
"Hey, Howie, what's up?" she said in greeting, a faint smile on her lips.
"A lot of trouble, Hil." the dwarf said tiredly as he dropped down into a nearby chair.
"What does that mean?" she asked, not liking the tone of his voice nor the way he was acting. Taking the seat opposite him, she looked at him expectantly.
"Later." Howard stated, waving dismissively with his hand. "Were you looking for me for a reason?"
Hilde could tell that the dwarf had something important on his mind, but knew that pushing him for answers would not help, and besides, she knew the dwarf would tell her when he was ready. Therefore, she allowed him to change the subject.
"You haven't seen Solo lately, by any chance?" she asked casually and was totally unprepared for the dark look that came to Howard's face.
"You bet I have." the dwarf snarled but just as soon as the anger appeared it was gone; replaced by the same tired, careworn expression he was wearing a minute ago. "You know Hil, that's one idiot you settled yourself with."
"Oh gods," Hilde asked with apprehension. "what'd he do?"
"What didn't he do?" Howard snorted derisively. "He practically told the kid that he couldn't be with Heero then pretty much called him a child. Never seen the kid mad enough to hit someone before but I think Solo just pushed the wrong buttons this morning."
"Duo hit Solo?" Hilde gulped, an icy ball of fear growing in her stomach.
"Yup, damn near took the fool's head off with a right cross hard enough to snap his head back. Then he took off before anyone could stop him."
"Oh, fuck." the dark-haired elf cursed, immediately standing from her chair. "Do you know where he went?"
"Figured it'd be best to let him calm down first." the dwarf explained. "He was pretty pissed."
"Howie, you know how Duo gets after a fight with Solo and if he actually hit him this time, he's going to be blaming himself for the whole thing. We'll be lucky if he doesn't run like he did the last time." she said, feeling totally exasperated with his lack of concern.
"I don't think we have to worry about it this time, Hil." Howard said with a crooked grin on his face.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion.
"Because this time, he has something worth fighting for." Howard explained with a wink, the grin expanding into a full smile. "Right before he landed that punch, there was a fire in his eyes I've never seen before. I know he's always backed down in the past, for whatever reason, but not this time. This time it's different."
"You mean Heero."
"Of course I mean Heero although he's not the only reason. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure the boy plays a big part in it, but right now Duo wants to live his own life, make his own decisions, without someone trying to tell him he can't or shouldn't. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Solo's doing." Howard explained with a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose sharply, trying to forestall the headache that was building. "They'll work it out though, like they always do; just need some time apart to cool down is all."
"I hope you're right, Howie. I don't much like the idea of searching for Duo again." Hilde said and finally sat back down, suddenly feeling drained.
"Don't worry about them, they'll be fine. Besides, right now we have more important matters to deal with."
"This have anything to do with the conversation you were having when I got here?"
"Unfortunately." Howard said, his tone all business as he prepared to relate the information he was just given. "Max just arrived this morning."
"He's here?" she interrupted. "But we need him in the palace to keep us informed of what the council is doing."
"They're the reason he's here." the dwarf said. "The night the lot of you escaped, he overheard the council discussing how they were gonna get Duo back and it seems like they came up with one hell of a plan. But knowing he couldn't trust normal channels to get the information to us quick enough, he choose to bring it himself. Of course, it didn't help that after you escaped, they shut down the city for a few days, making it hard for him to leave."
"So, what's the big plan that's so important we have to lose our best spy at the palace?" Hilde asked, a smile tugging the corners of her mouth.
"Well, a few days ago during one of the supply runs, a couple of my dwarves overheard some talk about the Seeker being kidnapped." Howard explained. "There weren't any details though, so we weren't too worried about it. Then Max showed up and that changed things. Seems the council has announced that you, Solo, and four humans nabbed the kid then brainwashed him or something. Anyways, the short end of the story is that pretty soon there'll be no way any of you'll be able to enter a town or city without the people there trying to arrest you, just plain kill you, or in the kid's place, rescue you."
"Damn." Hilde said softly as she saw the full extent of their predicament. "But we're safe here. Your dwarves know we'd never do something like that."
"Of course they know you wouldn't. But do you really think the kid's gonna just sit here, especially once he learns the rest of the prophecy? Something you're getting ready to tell him about, am I right?"
"He has a right to know." she said stubbornly, setting her jaw and narrowing her eyes as she dared the dwarf to deny her words.
"I agree with you completely." Howard said, raising his hands in defense. "But do you really think even Heero will be able to stop him once he learns there are two more weapons to be found? It's almost like a compulsion for him, something he just can't stop."
"So what do we do?" Hilde said with a helpless sigh.
"Right now, there's not much we can do; it's all up to the kid. Once he decides his next move, then we can start planning."
"This really sucks, you know?"
"Tell me about it." the dwarf said with a chuckle.
"Well, I'm glad you were able to brighten my day, Howie." Hilde said as she stood from her chair again. "Guess I'd better go find that idiot I call a husband now; see if I can't beat some sense into his head."
"Good luck, Hil. You're gonna need it."
With a light chuckle of her own at Howard's words, she left the rec rooms to resume her search for Solo. Soon though, she found herself in the same shape as before visiting Howard; the hold was just too large to search thoroughly. With a disgusted sound, she spun around with the intention of returning to her and Solo's quarters, hoping to find him there but not really expecting to. Passing the partially closed doors to the large meeting room they had used the night before, she glanced inside briefly then stopped dead in her tracks. Solo was sitting at the table, and appeared to have been doing so for quite some time, the Book of Fairy lying open on the table in front of him. Walking into the room, she closed the door completely behind her and made sure it was locked before approaching her husband.
At hearing the door close, Solo looked up from the book he had been staring at for nearly two hours to see his wife stalking across the room with a determined look on her face. Heaving a sigh, he turned his attention back to the book.
"Hey Hil, I don't really feel like talking right now if you don't mind." he said tiredly, hoping the tone of his voice would show that he wanted to be alone.
"Well, I damn well do mind!" Hilde snapped, causing him to look back up in surprise, he had not heard her use that tone of voice in a long time. "I've been looking for you for hours. So, I don't care if you don't feel like it, if you're tired, or if you're thinking, we are going to talk and we're going to do it right now. And let's get something straight first; you damn well deserve every bit of that bruise on your jaw."
"Now wait just a second." Solo said as he stood from his seat to face her.
"No, you wait a second. Do you want Duo to leave us and never come back? Because that's exactly what's going to happen if you don't back the fuck off." Hilde yelled.
"Why can't you people get it though your minds that I'm trying to protect him." Solo snapped, his voice raised in response to his wife's.
"No, you're trying to smother him." Hilde stated, trying desperately to regain control of her anger.
"If that's what it takes to keep him safe, then that's exactly what I'll do."
"He's an adult dammit. He has as much right to make his own choices as you do." the smaller elf snarled, her fists clenched at her sides.
"An adult? Please." Solo mocked. "Fairies don't grow up, Hilde. Ever. You know as well as I do that he'll always be that young."
"Just because his body doesn't age doesn't mean his mind won't." Hilde screamed, her frustration reaching its limit. "Why don't you just slap another control stone in his neck? It'd make things a hell of a lot easier for you, wouldn't it?"
Solo stumbled back a step as if he had been slapped, his eyes wide in shock that his wife would say such a thing. "Wha... what?"
"That's what you're doing, isn't it? Controlling him?" Hilde said, anger and guilt warring with each other in her eyes. "I saw him when he cowered before the council, waiting for his punishment while they condemned him for something he did that they thought was wrong. And it broke my heart every time. But do you know that he did the same thing this morning when I mentioned something about Heero? Only this time he was cowering from me. Me, Solo. Do you have any idea how that felt? To see him afraid to look me in the eye?"
Suddenly feeling very sick, Solo stumbled back to his chair and sat down before his legs gave out from underneath him. "I didn't mean..."
"I know that, Solo, but it's time to stop. Duo has the right to choose what he wants, whether it's something we approve of or not. All we can do is be there when he need us, something that we can't do if we're continually criticizing him." Hilde said tiredly as her anger finally ebbed away and she sat in the chair beside her husband. "And I think the first thing we have to fix is his identity. We have to tell him about the prophecy. He has a right to know who he is and he won't know until we show him the whole thing."
Seeing that the blonde elf was still stunned by her references to his actions, Hilde gently took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "We can still make up for what we did, Solo. It's not too late."
Sad green eyes looked up into sympathetic blue as the tall elf finally began to grasp the full extent of what he had done to his little brother. "When he finds out everything, he'll hate me Hil."
"You know Duo better than that." Hilde scolded softly, a small, sad smile playing at her lips. "Yes, he'll be angry and upset, who wouldn't be, but he could never hate you or me, Solo. We're his family."
"But what if..."
"We have to tell him, Solo." she stated emphatically. "It'll take some time afterwards to gain back his trust, but we will. First though, we have to come clean about all of it. He has to believe we're not hiding anything else from him and the sooner we start, the sooner we can have him back."
Staring at his wife for a moment more, Solo finally nodded his head in agreement before standing and drawing her up with him. "Come on, let's go find him."
********************
Following their talk in the stables, Heero and Duo decided to join Wufei and Trowa at the practice area, since the blue-eyed boy knew he needed to work on his sword technique and Duo was not prepared to go inside just yet. The longhaired fairy quickly found a comfortable spot just outside the field where he could observe the three and sat back to watch. He had only been there for about fifteen minutes when Quatre arrived, immediately dropping down beside him and they began chatting while still keeping an eye on the other boys. However, as noontime grew closer, the grumbling of Duo's stomach became impossible to ignore and deciding to have lunch in the cafeteria they had used that morning, the five of them started out across the quad for one of the hold's many entrances.
Once inside the hold, they headed directly for the cafeteria. Heero, who was walking beside and very close to Duo, was the first to notice the two elves headed in their direction. Even from the end of the hallway, the dark-haired boy could clearly see the look on the blonde elf's face at seeing him with the longhaired fairy and he felt his apprehension grow. However, a well place elbow from the blonde elf's smaller companion seemed to calm him slightly and his face settled into a mere scowl instead of the murderous look he had been giving the boy. Raising his hand, Heero gently brushed his fingers down the braided fairy's arm, reveling in the shiver he felt course through that lithe body.
Feeling Heero's fingers on this skin caused Duo's whole body to react as a shiver ran the length of his spine and he had to fight the moan that tried to escape his lips. He swallowed sharply before turning his head to see what the dark-haired boy wanted and at the boy's nod, he turned back to see his two best friends headed in their direction. The twin looks of determination instantly caused him to take a step back as his flight response kicked in. However, he did not make it very far since he suddenly found his back pressed against Heero's chest with the boy's arm wrapped firmly around his waist, holding him in place.
"You have to face them." Heero whispered in his ear, his breathe sending another shiver down the boy's spine. "But can't it wait just a little longer?" Duo whined, his fear of the coming confrontation warring with his body's response to Heero's touch.
"It's better to get it over with as quickly as possible, you know that." Heero breathed again and could not help letting his lips ghost over the boy's ear.
"I know, but Heero, if you don't stop doing that, I'm not gonna be able to talk to anyone let alone them." Duo whimpered softly causing Heero to release his hold reluctantly before taking a step back from the boy. However, he did not go any further since he was wary of the elves' intentions and evidently, so was Duo since he almost immediately reached his hand backward. Without hesitation, the dark-haired boy took the small hand in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze in reassurance.
A moment later, the two elves finally stood before the five boys and Duo could clearly see the livid bruise beginning to show on Solo's jaw. He immediately felt his heart clench remembering the events that had caused the bruise. However, instead of the hate that the fairy expected to see in the elf's eyes, he saw regret and guilt along with a mixture of fear and anger.
"Duo." Hilde said after a moment, breaking the uncomfortable silence that seemed to hover between them. "Solo and I would like to talk to you, if that's alright. There are some things we need to discuss."
"Um.. well, I guess." Duo mumbled and turned slightly to look at Heero with pleading eyes, immediately feeling guilty when he realized he was afraid to talk to his two best friends alone. However, the slightly perceived nod from the blue-eyed boy was enough to lighten some of his dark feelings.
Solo on the other hand, felt his heart twist at seeing the braided fairy's reaction, realizing the boy did not feel comfortable talking to them alone. However, his unwanted anger at the fact that it was Heero the boy looked to for support, threatened to choke him as he tried desperately to keep it under control knowing that it would only make things worse. Understanding at least some of what her husband was going through; Hilde laid a calming hand on his arm when she felt him tense. Then, choking down her own feelings of shame at reducing the normally happy and smiling boy to the creature they saw in front of them, she knew that she would do anything to bring that boy back.
"It's ok, Duo. The others can come along if that's what you want." she said, trying to ease some of the fairy's distress. Seeing his shoulders visibly relax and noting the relief in those expressive violet eyes, she knew she had succeeded.
Duo nodded in gratitude then turned his attention to the other three boys expectantly. Suspecting this was a family matter and knowing that Heero would not leave the boy, Wufei declined with the intention of returning to the practice area to continue his workout immediately after lunch. Trowa and Quatre declared they wanted some time to look around the hold but promised they would be nearby if they were needed. Thus the four of them, two elves, one fairy, and one human, made their way to the meeting room that had been used the night before.
********************
As soon as they arrived at the room, Duo saw the book lying closed on the table. Curious, he walked over and ran his hand over the cover then a sudden gasp escaped his lips when he recognized the book.
"Where did you get this?" he breathed in awe. "I thought they were all destroyed."
The light chuckle that came from directly behind him caused him to start slightly before turning his head to see Solo standing there, looking down at him. Shooting the elf a questioning look, he waited for an explanation.
"You don't recognize it, do you?" the elf commented, lifting one eyebrow.
"Of course I recognize it; it's the book of my people." Duo said defensively, his hands unconsciously closing around the book.
"Yes, that's true, but think. Don't you remember a book like that from father's study?" Solo explained, watching the small fairy's brow creased in concentration as he tried to place this particular book in the large study. Then with a gasp, the memory of his father's anger at finding him looking through the book came back to him causing him to reach for the nearest chair as he sat down heavily.
"But, how..."
"Father told me that about three days after you had been given to our family, an elf showed up with the book, leaving it and a sword with father to be safe guarded." Solo said, resting a hand on the longhaired fairy's shoulder.
"Buy why did he get so angry when he caught me reading it?" Duo demanded, still not understanding why his father had acted in that manner. "It's the history of my people. Why shouldn't I be allowed to read it?"
Reaching over the boy's head, Solo opened the book and leafed through until he once again found the prophecy. "This is why father, and then myself, wouldn't let you see it."
As soon as Solo flipped the page, Duo recognized the prophecy. How could he not since he had spent his whole life trying to prove it was true. However, what he was seeing was far longer than what he knew. "What is this, Solo?"
"This is the true prophecy." Solo answered, resignation clear in his voice. "You've only been allowed to know the middle."
Duo could only stare at the book in shock as the reality of the situation came crashing down around him. 'It was a lie.' he though dejectedly 'All these years I thought... How much more? How much more of my life has been a lie or a half truth?' Finally focusing his gaze on the words before him, he slowly read the passage, allowing it to sink fully into his brain. When he was finished, he carefully closed the book before pushing it away.
"You knew." he said softly, tears as well as anger evident in his voice. "All this time and you never told me. Why?"
"Believe it or not, little bit, I was trying to protect you." Solo answered, causing Duo's head to snap up to meet his eyes, the movement dislodging two tears, which traveled down the boy's cheeks.
"Protect me? I don't need protection, Solo, I can do that myself."
"No you can't, Duo." Solo said emphatically and instantly regretted it when he saw the anger flash brighter in those violet eyes.
"I'm not a child dammit." Duo stated, standing from the chair so fast it clattered backwards as he turned to face his brother. "I can take care of my own damn self!"
"Even if that means taking a life?" the elf snarled causing the fairy to take a step back, his eyes suddenly wide with fear. However, Solo was too far gone to realize it as the anger he had been holding from earlier, broke free and he found himself unable to stop the next words that came from his mouth. "See, you can't even bear the thought of it, can you? Well, sometimes, little bit, that's what has to be done."
"You mean you've..." Duo said, horrified at the thought that his brother had killed for him. Tears came to his eyes causing the world around him to blur beyond recognition and it was not until strong arms wrapped around him that he snapped back to himself as he buried his face in the other boy's chest.
"Solo, that's enough." Hilde snapped, grabbing her husband and dragging him away from the two boys. However, one look in his eyes told her that he was beyond reasoning with.
"You're the one who said he needed to know it all." Solo growled.
"I said we had to tell him who he was, not punish him. And whether you realize it or not, that's exactly what you're doing."
Clutching tightly to Heero, Duo fought his tears as his mind tried desperately to come to terms with what he had just been told. However, no matter how he looked at it; he could only see one explanation.
"It's my fault." he breathed softly. However, it was not soft enough and Heero immediately gripped the longhaired boy's chin and forced his head up.
"No, it's not." he said fiercely. "You did not have anything to do with this."
"He did it for me, so I wouldn't..." the fairy reasoned.
"What he did, he did for himself, not you." Heero stated, shaking his head sharply.
"But..."
"No Duo, this is not your fault and I won't let you blame yourself for it."
Heero watched the boy swallow sharply as fresh tears tracked down the pixie face he so adored. However, he would not let the boy look away until some of the guilt had cleared from those beautiful, violet eyes. Slowly, Duo allowed Heero's words and the look in the other boy's eyes to wash away part of his self-reproach. As it faded to a dull ache however, something else rose to replace it in his mind.
"Heero?" he questioned softly. "Is this real?"
Drawing his brows down in confusion, Heero tried to make the leap in topics but found he simply could not. "Is what real?"
"Us. Or is it just the prophecy." Duo explained, his fear and confusion clearly visible.
"No, Duo." Heero said heatedly, both his hands rising to cup the braided fairy's delicate face. "This is not some stupid prophecy. What I feel for you is real and not because some guy wrote it down."
Staring into Heero's intense gaze, Duo wanted so much to believe but his doubts would not be quieted and he was sure Heero could see it plainly in his eyes. Sure enough, the dark-haired boy could still see the wariness and knowing they needed to talk this out; he pulled the boy back into his arms before looking up at the two elves who were by now watching them intently.
"Are we done here?" he snapped, caring about nothing except the small fairy in his arms. The look on Solo's face as he glared at the boy indicated he was not prepared to allow them to leave but Hilde once again restrained him with a hand on his arm.
"Yes, Heero, we're done for now." she said and received a nod from the blue-eyed boy before he quickly led the unresisting fairy from the room.
"Did you see that, Solo?" she asked quietly once they were gone, not turning to look at her husband. "A few weeks ago, that would have been either you or me that he went to for comfort. Keep it up, keep pushing him, and he's never going to come back to us."
Feeling his anger instantly deflate at his wife's words, Solo felt the realization of his actions wash over him and wanted to scream. He could not believe he had lost control like that and done the exact opposite of what he had planned. After he and Hilde had had their little talk this morning, he wanted nothing more than to apologize to the violet-eyed fairy but the moment he saw him with Heero, he felt the anger return. If only he had been able to suppress it a little while longer maybe everything would have been all right. However, the accusation in the smaller boy's voice had been too much and he had snapped with his only intention being to hurt the longhaired fairy. Unfortunately, it worked.
"Hil, I didn't--"
"Don't talk to me right now." she interrupted him. "Just think about things. I'm willing and prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure he's happy."
"So am I." he said defensively.
"Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure that it's Duo you want to make happy, or yourself." she retorted before starting toward the door. Just before she exited the room though, she paused and looked back briefly. "Just think about it, Solo." Then she was gone, leaving him to do just that.
TBC...
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