'...' thoughts
/.../ telepathy
Daystar's Prophecy Part 19
Awaking at dawn the next morning, the seven travelers set about preparing to continue their journey toward the Solan Mountain range. After a fairly decent breakfast in the inn's dining room, they retrieved their horses from the stables, saddling and replacing their packs as efficiently as possible. Then once everything was ready, they once again mounted up. As Heero was helping the violet-eyed fairy into the saddle, he could not help but notice the way Duo winced when he sat down, filling him with guilt at his actions the night before.
"Duo, are you alright?" he whispered softly once he had climbed up behind the longhaired boy, his arms immediately wrapping around the fairy's waist before pulling him flush against his chest.
"Yeah, just a little... sore." Duo answered, a blush coloring his cheeks as his eyes straying toward where Solo was sitting on his own horse, making sure the green-eyed elf was not within hearing range.
"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have been so rough." Heero said and Duo could clearly hear the guilt in his voice.
"No, it's alright, Heero." Duo rushed to reassure him as he laced his fingers with those wrapped tightly around his waist, giving them a gentle squeeze. "I, well, I really enjoyed it."
Allowing himself a smug smile at the fairy's admission even as his guilt still ate at him, Heero swore to himself he would be gentler the next time they were together.
By this time, they were ready to start out and Heero directed Malikai to follow the others as they headed out of town. Luckily, the storm that had chased them to shelter the day before had passed during the night and they were left with blue skies, dotted here and there with fluffy white clouds for the remaining three days it took them to reach the lower foothills of the Solan Mountains. However, since they had arrived at mid-afternoon and knowing it would be a long trek to reach the dragon's domain, they decided to setup camp for the night at the base of the mountains.
Rousing themselves the next morning, after a fairly restless night for them all, they started out on the last leg of their journey. At first, the going was easy since the road leading into the mountains rose gradually and was well maintained. However, once they entered the higher reaches, it began to deteriorate from neglect, making the way treacherous and they were forced to travel single-file to keep close to the cliff wall and far from the drop-off on the other side. Luckily, there were no mishaps along the way, even though they did not reach their destination until near dark.
Climbing down from the horse's back, Heero stopped a minute to stretch his aching legs before turning back to give the violet-eyed fairy a hand down. Before he could reach the boy though, the horse's nostrils suddenly flared and he reared up, nearly throwing Duo from his back. Clinging tightly to the black mane with both hands, the boy laid himself along the horse's neck and tried desperately to calm the frightened animal as Heero fought to catch hold of the reigns only to have them jerk out of his hands each time.
"Who are you to enter our realm?" a booming voice said from directly above them, causing them to jump in reaction while the terrified animals froze and began trembling in fear.
"You know very well who I am." Duo declared as he quickly detangled his hands from Malikai's mane and slid from his back.
"And you know very well that we do not permit humans to enter here."
"These humans are my friends." the fairy stated, his eyes narrowed and his voice leaving no room for argument. "I demand to speak to Josadia."
"The leader does not have time to waste on such inconsequential creatures."
"Inconsequential?!" Duo exclaimed in outrage. "I'll show you inconsequential you flying lizard. We're here on important business so tell him I want to talk to him dammit, and do it now!"
"And what business might that be?" another voice asked before rich laughter filled the clearing they were standing in.
"Jo, you bastard, that's not funny." the fairy said, glaring upward toward the empty sky.
"Oh, but the look on your face was priceless Duo."
"Dragons and their twisted sense of humor." Duo mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.
"Do not be angry, Duo." the dragon said, the others watching as the beast slowly materialized where it was perched on an outcropping of rock directly above the clearing. "You know we do not have many visitors here."
"Yeah, yeah. That still doesn't mean it had to be me."
Still chuckling softly, the dragon slowly landed at the edge of the clearing, exhibiting a grace that defied his size. Nearly thirty feet from the tip of his nose to the tip of his long, barbed tail and covered in shiny black scales that were shot through here and there with streaks of vibrant blue. A long, graceful neck led to a head with two large horns and a blunt nose as well as two large eyes that seemed to shift through the colors of the rainbow at random. Glorious, black wings sprang from his shoulder blades, reaching to over fifty feet from tip to tip when fully extended and covered by a thin membrane that stretched between and over the wing bones. Settling onto all four legs once he was fully on the ground, he folded his wings along his sides before sitting back onto his hindquarters, those luminous eyes watching them closely as a thin column of smoke drifted from each nostril.
"Jo." Duo smiled brightly, his aggravation disappearing at seeing his old friend once again. Striding across the clearing, he wrapped his arms around one huge foreleg as far as he could in a hug. "It's really good to see you."
"You as well, Duo." Josadia stated softly. "You haven't been to visit in nearly a hundred years."
"I know, but I've been really busy and unfortunately none of the artifacts I've been looking for were near enough to allow me to visit." the fairy explained with a guilty expression on his face. While it was true that none of the artifacts he had been sent to retrieve had been located in this exact location in the mountains, the real reason he had not been to see the dragons was because the council had forbidden him to.
"That is because there is only one artifact located this deeply in these mountains as well you know." the dragon said. "And if I understand your earlier statement concerning being on important business correctly, it is that which you seek now."
"Yes it is." Duo stated, giving his friend a hopeful look. "You don't happen to know where exactly to look do you? It would save me a lot of time."
"Actually I do." Josadia said before turning his burning eyes toward the group standing not far behind the fairy. "But before I tell you anything, I want to know why you have brought not only humans, but elves into my mountains. You know that we do not tolerate either."
"They're my friends, Jo." Duo said, his eyes pleading for the dragon to understand. Instinctively, he knew that if he could not convince Josadia of their trustworthiness, then there would be no chance of convincing one of the other dragons to help them. "Please, I know how you feel about humans and elves, but I need you to trust me on this. They're only here to protect me, I swear."
"Protect you?" the dragon's voice boomed across the clearing. "From who? Tell me and I promise they will never be a threat to you again."
"You can't." Duo argued as he rushed to calm the dragon's anger. "You can't fight the council and you know it. Besides, we don't know who else might wanna stop the prophecy from being fulfilled. That's why they wouldn't let me do this alone."
"You are of course speaking of Daystar's prophecy are you not?" Josadia stated, his eyes narrowing as he appraised the humans and elves standing in the clearing. "What part could these creatures possibly play in the prophecy's fulfillment; they are far too weak to be considered worthy of the burden that Daystar left us with."
"That's where you're wrong, my friend." the fairy said before gesturing toward the others. "Not only have Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Solo bonded with the four weapons I've already found. But we've discovered that they match the four mentioned in the prophecy perfectly. That is why we've come here in search of the sword of light, it and the scythe are the only weapons left to find."
"Then you intend to search for the scythe once the sword has been retrieved?" the dragon asked, the note of apprehension in his voice gave the longhaired fairy pause.
"Well, yeah, that would be the next logical step." Duo said, his eyed narrowed. "Why, what do you know about the scythe? You don't happen to know where it is by any chance, do you."
"That I cannot answer." the creature said as he turned his eyes away from the piercing violet the seemed to bore into him.
"Can't, or won't." the longhaired boy questioned.
"Both." Josadia stated with a puff of heated, steam-filled breath that nearly knocked the boy over. "Enough of this, tell me what it is you wish of me, because I can see in your eyes that you have a question to ask."
"Well," the violet-eyed fairy hedged, suddenly feeling very apprehensive about making his request; he had never seen the dragon act this way before. "you know I won't have any trouble flying to where ever the sword is, but my friends can't and I was wondering if you and the others would consent to flying them there."
The silence that spread across the clearing as soon as the last word left his mouth caused his apprehension to grow by leaps and bounds and as the moment lengthened, he was positive that Josadia would deny his request. Finally, the dragon spoke, his voice quiet and with a small amount of bitterness hidden beneath its tone. "Duo, we are not animals to be ridden as you do those silly horses."
"I know that." Duo said with as much sincerity in his voice as he possibly could manage. "I would never presume to say that you were nor would I ask if I had another option. But they refuse to let me go alone and there's no way I can carry someone else."
"It may be their wish to accompany you; but they will not be allowed to enter the chamber where the sword resides." the dragon stated in warning although Duo was relieved to note that the bitterness had left. "Only the Seeker and the one to whom the weapon belongs may pass through the veil."
"That would be me." Heero declared from directly behind the longhaired fairy, causing Duo to jump and turn to face him.
"Are you sure human?" Josadia asked. "Those who try to pass without permission, die quite painfully."
Turning back to the dragon, Duo gave him a pleading look. "We know it's Heero; the prophecy is too specific for it to be anyone else."
The black dragon looked down at the two standing so close together, his eyes noting the hand the human had placed at the small of the fairy's back as well as the way the violet-eyed boy seemed to lean back into the touch. "Very well, I will carry him to the summit."
"What about the others?" Heero asked suspiciously.
"They will remain here until our return."
"But--"
"No Seeker," the dragon said, causing Duo to cringe at the use of his title; that more than anything told him that Josadia was not happy about the recent events. "none of my dragons are permitted to approach the area in which the chamber is located; only I am allowed and I refuse to carry more than one."
Turning back to look at the others, the violet-eyed boy could clearly see the uneasiness in their eyes, but knowing there would be no way to change the dragon's mind, he turned back and gave him a nod.
"It is nearly an hour's flight from here to our destination so we will leave first thing in the morning. I suggest you get a good night's sleep." Josadia stated before backing out of the clearing and launching himself into the air.
"Duo, Heero, I don't like this." Quatre said as he and the others came to stand with them once the dragon was gone.
"Neither do I." Solo agreed, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared in the direction that the creature had disappeared.
"I don't like it much myself." Duo admitted with a sigh, knowing the others were more than likely preparing to argue against the arrangement. "But we don't have much choice, unless you want me to go alone."
"Absolutely not." Jess growled. "Even if it's just Heero, you need someone to watch your back once you've got the sword. You know how weak you'll be then."
"I know." Duo sighed once again.
Luckily for the violet-eyed fairy, they decided to call an end to the night after that and they quickly built a small campfire to heat their meager dinner before settling down to sleep.
********************
As promised, Josadia arrived at dawn the next morning to take them to the chamber that housed the sword of light. Although it was still quite clear that the dragon disliked what he was being asked to do, he fortunately appeared to be in a better mood that morning, for which Heero was most grateful. Bidding the others farewell, Heero cautiously approached the beast as he was directed, waiting until Josadia had knelt down and extended his left foreleg thus creating a step for Heero to use to climb onto his back. Once up, he settled himself behind a large neck plate with his feet hanging down just in front of where the wings attached at the shoulder blades before grabbing hold of the plate to keep himself from being thrown off backwards when Josadia stood back up. Finally, the three were ready to leave and the large dragon waited until Duo had flown up to a safe distance before unfurling his wings while bending his knees slightly at the same time. Then with a great push, he launched himself into the air. With two large beats of those enormous wings, they were airborne and Heero watched as the ground quickly receded below as he found himself closing his eyes and hanging onto the neck plate for dear life.
"You have no reason to be so frightened." Josadia intoned after they had been in the air for only a few minutes. "I would not allow you to fall."
"Hn." Heero grunted, but allowed his eyes to open slowly to take in the wondrous sight before him. By that time, they had climbed to just below cloud level and while the tallest of the mountain range's peaks were still shrouded by the opaque mist, the beauty and majesty of the low lying ones as well as the cliffs and valleys that spread out around him caused his breath to catch in his throat.
Steady, rhythmic beats of the dragon's strong wings kept them at a constant height and speed, and Heero could feel the power of each stroke through the muscles that moved below the tough scales beneath him. All the while, Duo seemed to zip around them, twisting and turning in the air as his multi-color painted wings fluttered behind him. The dark-haired boy could quite clearly see his bright smile and laughing eyes as the boy simply enjoyed the freedom of flight.
As Josadia had stated the night before, it was nearly an hour before the dragon made a slight turn and headed directly for a large plateau in a sea of jagged peaks. After circling once to lower his speed, he settled down upon the flat area before crouching down and extending his leg to allow the dark-haired boy to dismount. A second later, they were joined by the violet-eyed boy as he landed directly beside his human lover.
"The tunnel that will lead you to the chamber containing the sword is there." Josadia said with a pointed look toward a dark recess in the cliff wall. "I will return in an hours time, and every hour thereafter until you reappear."
"Thank you Jo." Duo said with a smile. "I knew I could count on you to help us."
"Hurmph." the dragon grunted as he turned his body, preparing to take flight once again. "You may be cursing my help by the time you have reached the inner chamber that you seek. Please be careful, Duo. I expect to see you soon."
With that said, the dragon leapt from the cliff and spread his wings to catch the updrafts, quickly disappearing into the distance, leaving his warning unexplained, which only heightened their growing sense of apprehension.
"Well," Duo said before turning toward the cave mouth with determination glowing in his eyes. "There's nothing for it but to enter."
"Hn." Heero said as he grabbed the longhaired fairy's hand, pulling him behind his back. "I'm going first though."
"You know Heero; I'm the one with the magic here." the fairy smiled in reminder.
The dark-haired boy glared at the fairy in answer before leading them toward the tunnel entrance, the delicate hand still clutched tightly in his own.
********************
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Quatre asked softly from where he was sitting beside his tall lover. They had all gathered around their small fire to ward off the sudden chill that had permeated the area not long after Heero and Duo's departure.
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Trowa answered softly before giving the other boy's hand a gentle squeeze, which earned him a grateful smile from the blonde pilot.
"Yeah." Jess agreed. "As long as they stay together, they should be just fine."
"You mean, as long as Heero stays with Duo, they'll be fine." Solo stated. "After all, little bit's the one with the magic."
"Maybe, but I have a feeling there's more to Heero than meets the eye." Jess contended.
"Yeah right." the blonde elf snorted even as his mind told him he had thought much the same thing about the boy when they had rescued Duo from the Shantari palace. "I should've been the one to go with him; at least I have magic of my own not to mention one of the weapons. I'd had a better chance of defending him if something happened."
"You forget that once the sword has been retrieved, Heero will have one of the weapons as well." Wufei pointed out.
"But only if it's really meant to be his." Solo countered. "You heard what the dragon said; if he's not the true owner then little bit'll be returning alone."
"You know something Solo?" Jess said heatedly as she glared at the blonde elf. "You have about as much tact as a stone wall."
"Huh? What'd I do?" the elf asked, genuine confusion written all over this face. However, when he followed the grey-eyed elf's gaze, he realized exactly what he had said and felt guilty at seeing the normally cheerful blonde wrapped securely in his taller companion's arms, his eyes tightly shut in distress. "Damn." he said softly before standing and leaving the fire.
********************
Cautiously, the human and fairy entered the tunnel entrance, their eyes watching for any traps that might have been left behind by the people who had hid the sword there. When they had walked far enough in that the light from the opening no longer lit their surrounding, they paused to allow their eyesight to adjust to the murky darkness; it was then that they noticed the line of softly glowing, blue stones that ran along either wall, illuminating their path.
"What is that?" Heero asked softly as he approached the wall, running his hand along the four-inch wide line of stones.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Well, let's just hope it runs all the way in; I'd hate to be left in the dark here." the blue-eyed boy finally said, turning back to his companion. "Come on, the sooner we find the sword the sooner we'll be out of here."
Nodding his head in agreement, the violet-eyed fairy slipped his hand back into Heero's, allowing the boy to pull him further into the tunnel.
Unfortunately, they had not traveled far before the first of the traps made itself known. Passing through a section of the tunnel that was covered with several hundred carvings of angry, glaring faces, they suddenly found themselves under attack as the carvings began spouting blasts of fire, intent on burning them alive. They were both caught completely unaware by the attack and Duo barely had time to raise an ice shield to protect them.
"What the hell?!" he exclaimed as the fire stopped as suddenly as it had started, once again leaving them in the eerie blue light.
"I don't know, but I hope there isn't much more of them."
"I hope so too, the more magic I use now, the less I'll have when it comes time to transform the sword." Duo said. "And we'd really better hope they only activate on the way in because once the sword's inside me, I won't be able to defend against them at all."
"This must be what Josadia meant when he said we'd curse him for bringing us here."
"Yeah, well, the only thing I'm gonna curse that overgrown lizard for is not warning us about these things." the longhaired fairy groused as he pulled a wing section forward to inspect it. "Damn things almost singed my wings for crying out loud, not to mention my hair."
"Come on Duo." the blue-eyed boy said with a soft laugh. "We need to get the sword and get out of here."
Still grumbling under his breath, Duo none-the-less followed the other boy as he continued into the cave. Luckily, they only had to face three more traps before reaching the inner chamber. The first of which being a hail of arrows that fell from the ceiling of yet another carved area of the tunnel, only this time instead of faces, it was carved with the vision of hundreds of running animals. The fact that the animals seemed to be running from the cave was not lost on either of them. Fortunately, Duo was able to disburse the arrow with a strong gust of wind and their journey continued.
The third trap was reached only after walking for quite a while and up until they reached it, they had begun to believe there were no more. However, at seeing the chasm that opened before them, they knew it was not quite over yet. Staring across the space, Heero estimated the other side to be approximately thirty feet away meaning they would not be able to jump to the other side, not without falling and that was not an option since not only was the drop very deep, it was lined with wicked looking spikes that they would have no chance of missing. Sighing deeply at knowing he would once again have to use his magic even though he was already beginning to feel the strain, Duo knelt down beside the ledge, placing his palm flat against the stone floor. A moment later, a green glow appeared beneath his hands and Heero had to steady himself as the ground began to shake. Then, the blue-eyed boy watched in awe as a section of the chasm's floor began to rise until it was level with the rest of the tunnel floor, destroying the spikes and leaving them a four-foot wide bridge. Helping the obviously tiring boy to his feet, Heero lead them across the bridge.
As would be expected, the final trap turned out to be the toughest by far. Once again, it took so long to reach the trap that they were hoping they had already passed the final one. However, as they approached an arched doorway, they were confronted by a wall of ice that upon closer examination appeared to hold the roof of the tunnel in place as well. Normally, is would be easy for Duo to simply use fire to melt the ice and thus allowing them to pass. With the roof in jeopardy though, he dared not melt the wall completely or else he would bring the ceiling down on top of them.
"Damn, could they've made this one any tougher? We have to create a tunnel through the ice and I've never been very good at calculating this shit." the fairy growled as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Calm down, Duo." Heero said, grabbing hold of the boy's shoulders so he could look him in the eye. "I can direct you on how much needs to be melted."
"Are you sure?" Duo asked with narrowed eyes. "Because if we screw up, we'll probably bring the whole tunnel down with the luck we've been having."
"More than sure, but you have to do exactly what I tell you to."
"Ok, I can do that." the boy stated with a nod of his head before walking over to stand in front of the ice wall. "So what do I do first?"
"If we make the opening no taller than this," Heero started as he reached out to designate the top of their passage. "It should--"
"Don't touch it!" Duo exclaimed, grabbing his hand before it could make contact. "Dammit, it's elemental ice."
Frowning sharply, Heero pulled his hand away before turning to look at the fairy, noting the boy's wide, disbelieving eyes. "What are you talking about, Duo?"
"I just figured it out." Duo stated as he continued to stare at the wall of ice. "They haven't been traps at all, they've been tests; tests that only a fairy could pass since we're the only ones who can use earth magic so easily."
"Why would someone want to test you?" the blue-eyed boy asked.
"Because the sword is one of the most powerful weapons ever created. It'd only make sense to keep it where it couldn't be reached by just anyone."
"Ok, so what do we do about this?" Heero said while gesturing toward the wall.
"We still have to create a passageway, but with this being elemental ice, we can make it a little bigger since it's stronger than regular ice." Duo explained as he studied the ice. "With how thick this stuff is though, it's gonna be very draining to melt through."
"Can you do it?"
"Yeah, but I'll have to rest before dealing with the sword."
"Hn." Heero nodded as he carefully examined the wall once again, recalculating the dimensions that would allow them to pass through with enough room to keep them from touching the ice as well. "Ok, the top should start here." he said, indicating a point nearly a foot above where he had originally said before continuing to outline the left and right sides. Then standing back, he allowed Duo the room to work.
It took nearly fifteen minutes for the violet-eyed fairy to burn all the way through the ice wall and once he was done, Heero could clearly see the exhaustion he was fighting. Walking over, he reached up a hand and cupped the boy's pale cheek, earning him a soft smile before Duo turned back to the passage to look it over once more. He quickly noted that while Heero's measurements would allow them several inches on either side, they would have to duck their heads down quite a way to keep from hitting the ceiling. Entering cautiously, they both made their way through the tunnel.
Upon exiting the ice passageway, they both sighed in relief and gave each other pleased smiles. However, the smiles soon slid from their faces when the turned back to the tunnel to find another arched doorway, only this one was shrouded by a cloud of swirling mist.
"I'm guessing this is the veil Jo talked about." Duo said softly, his stomach knotting as he watched the hypnotic, swirling patterns.
"Hn." Heero nodded, knowing this would be the final test, only instead of testing Duo; this one was for him, to determine if he indeed was destined to possess the sword that surely lay beyond the mist. Setting his shoulders, he stalked forward before the longhaired fairy could stop him and passed through the doorway, causing Duo to cry out in surprise as he lunged forward to catch him.
"Heero, what the hell was that?" the fairy demanded once they were on the other side as he grabbed the dark-haired boy's arm and jerked him around. "Dammit, you heard what Jo said about the veil. You could've been killed!"
"Yes, and it wouldn't have mattered if I'd waited a few minutes or not. I would've had to cross it eventually." Heero reasoned.
"It matters to me, you stupid bastard. If you'd...." Duo said, but quickly turned his back to the boy, blinking furiously to keep the tears from falling. A second later, a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him back into Heero's chest as the blue-eyed boy buried his nose in the fall of silken chestnut hair.
"I didn't mean to scare you." Heero said softly, tightening his arms when the boy tried to pull away.
"I wasn't scared." Duo said indignantly but instantly cursed himself for the tremble he could hear in his voice.
Turning the boy in his arms to face him, Heero lifted that delicate chin so he could look him in the eyes. "I'm alright, nothing happened."
"But what if--"
Quickly pressing a finger to those pouty lips, Heero silenced his protest. "Nothing happened and there's no need dwelling on what could've been, remember? You're the one who said that there was no use crying over the past because it can't be changed."
Duo could only stare at the boy in shock as his own words were thrown back at him. Then, as if sensing the fairy's surrender, the dark-haired boy dragging him over to the far corner where he sat down with his back to the stone wall while pulling the fairy down as well, sitting him firmly in his lap. "You need to rest." he said when Duo started to protest.
With a heavy sigh, Duo laid his head on Heero's shoulder and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep.
TBC...
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