Elements of Great Design Part 3
Far too preoccupied with the need for a safe place to set up camp for his first night out in Gaia, Heero really did not take the opportunity to appraise the wonder of his surroundings.
He did not have more than couple of hours before it turned dark, so he navigated Wing straight for a raised clearing that he knew of from his days of standing guard at Peacemillion. Just before the sun had completely faded on him, he reached his destination and started a small fire before setting out his makeshift 'bed.'
Now with the skies patched with white clouds brightening at the end of a restless sleep, the young Fighter's cobalt eyes blinked open. The glowing embers of his small campfire smoldered with thin trails of white smoke that twirled on the light breeze before his gaze.
With a soft groan, Yuy turned himself onto his back and stared up at the heavens for a moment before willing himself to free himself from the tangle of his blankets and rose to his feet. Pulling on his discarded tunic, he ran a hand through his even more unruly hair and blinked widely at finally taking in the view before him.
Frozen in wonder, he breathed a reverent, "Wow."
At the zenith of the hill that the soldier had taken up, the miles and miles of land stretched out and around him to reveal tall trees, running rivers and flourishing meadows that were all within his reach beyond the protection of his homeland's walls.
Instead of feeling so distant and threatening, the sheer beauty of the terrain was not only welcoming but calming. The colors were so much more vibrant even in this early light of sunrise. Every sound from the babble of brooks running to birds chirping came with an invigoration that stirred Heero deep in his core.
He had survived his first night on his own. Everything was going to be fine.
The deep breath of clean, fresh air that the Fighter had taken came out in a low sigh when he had turned himself around to see the dark clouds that blacked out a hole in the world.
His sense of peace fading a bit at the reminder of the challenge that lay before him, he leaned against his steed for some sense of support when he felt Wing silently walk up beside him. Sighing, he put on a brave smirk and looked over to his horse's face. "Shall we get moving, boy?" he asked. With a few digs of his front hoof into the soft grass and a shake of his head, the white beast seemed to answer that he was.
It took little time at all for Heero to have his gear packed up and secured on his stallion's back once more. Climbing onto Wing's back, he turned them towards the darkness looming for days ahead of them. Northeast was their only direction now. Hopefully the Keepers would be found along the way soon. They needed to get to the Elemental Stones before more of Gaia's beauty was blanketed by the darkness.
Lightly kicking his heels against his steed's hide, Yuy held onto the grip of his saddle as he was carried deeper into the unknown.
* * * * * *
Recalling what appeared to be a city from his morning perch, the Fighter followed his instincts in reaching it beyond the turning roads that led through the long stretch of woods that he and Wing were taking. He had to feel what seemed like the right way since the tops of the trees over them rose too high for him to see more sky than what was directly overhead.
On a couple of occasions, he felt his panic rising at the possibility of being lost in the unfamiliar forest. Down on the ground, it was darker thanks to the constant shade. It wouldn't be long into the sunset before it would be too dark for him to made camp again.
Then, at long last, Heero spotted the break in the wood open up before him. As though the trees themselves were parting to him the closer Wing carried him, they revealed the dip of a valley beyond that was kissed by the late-afternoon light. Bringing his horse to a stop at the edge of the ledge of rock that they stepped onto, the soldier leaned forward in his saddle to appraise the secluded town.
Unlike Peacemillion, there were no walls standing between the city. But it was clear that such a man-made structure was not needed with the natural raised ring of earth that wrapped it. Descent into the kingdom was only obtained through a single road that spiraled down the sides of the gulley. As thin as the road was, it would have been treacherous for more than one horse to take it abreast.
It was such a remarkable concept for Yuy... a natural 'wall' that served as its own measure of protection for the city far below. Should an army try and take it, they would have a time simply getting inside while being little more than sitting ducks for the picking in their long and arduous descent.
Looking forward to spending the night in an actual bed while his horse could sleep in a stable, Heero grinned, "Come on, friend." At those words, Wing wuffled and began the trek down the curved path.
* * * * * *
"It is not very often that my husband and I see travelers from Peacemillion, let alone a Fighter. Even if you are not wearing your armor, I know the stature of your kind, young man. This is quite the honor," the kind, portly innkeeper smiled over her shoulder as she led her new customer through the corridors of her comfortable tavern.
The wooden walls, floor and ceiling brought a warmth to match her motherly demeanor. Silently thankful for the sacks of coin that Relena had bestowed upon him, Heero's body ached for this hospitality.
Coming to a stop at the door to his room, the older woman bit her lip and fussed with her silver-flecked hair that brushed her shoulders. "Would you have any reason to be coming this way from your home?" she asked almost nervously... as if she was told to find that bit of information out. "It seems as though there is trouble if you stay on this course."
The hairs in the back of Yuy's neck stood up, but he did not show his concern at the inquiry. There would only be one reason for her worry and that question... a bit of a witch hunt must have been taking place throughout this city of Midgar. As calm as the people here had seemed to be when the soldier was amongst them, of course their nerves would be on edge at welcoming anyone that they did not know in amongst them.
And now that the innkeeper knew the direction in which he was moving, she would have to be even more alarmed to why anyone would want to be at all closer to the Paramecia Empire at the moment.
If he did not tread carefully, the Fighter knew that he could wind up in a very bad situation amongst these Strangers where he was the outnumbered outsider.
Smiling, he shrugged, "I am along this way to check on my relatives in Onrac. Once I am reunited with them, I will be escorting them back to Peacemillion with me." There would not have been any time for anyone to notice that his people had already fled his home kingdom. And it was a believable enough story, thanks to his recalling of the name to the next city along his current course.
"Oh!" the woman gasped. Laughing, her sweet grin returned and she patted his arm with a sincere, "Well then, a safe trip to you. And my apologies for prying in what was clearly not my business." That stiffness was back in her tone at that last sentiment. Perhaps she really did not like to poke her nose in where it did not belong, but she seemed pleased to have the information that she gained from it.
Meanwhile, it suggested to Heero that he be out of Midgar by first light. Get the sleep he needed now and be away before anyone could try to pin false accusations of him simply because he was not one of their own.
Unlocking the door to his room, the old innkeeper smiled and pressed the key into his hand. "There you are, my boy," she told him. "Your horse will be treated to the best care in our stables so that he will be fresh to carry you to your loved ones." Patting her customer on the arm as she moved past him, she told him, "Dinner will be ready in the tavern by the time you have freshened up and settled in."
Only 'settling in' would not include unpacking for Yuy that night.
* * * * * *
Considering how on edge he was, Heero did manage to enjoy a hearty meal that night.
The smell of the meats and soups that had been cooked to perfection had overwhelmed him so that he could not deny his need of the nourishment. However, that feeling that he needed to keep looking over his shoulder while he was in the tavern had not left him. There was more than once when he'd caught a few of the regulars watching him. The whole thing made his skin crawl.
So, it was with a happily filled stomach and an even more relieved body that the Fighter retired for the evening. Stripping down to his undergarments and all but collapsing onto his soft bed, he drifted off into sleep as soon as his head rested against the billowy pillow.
That dreamless, blissful slumber was interrupted by the howls and hollers of voices somewhere far away several hours later.
Sitting upright in a snap, Heero scanned his darkened room for a moment before he remembered where he was. Reaching up to rub his damp face with his hands, those cries and shouts were only growing in volume from the streets to be joined by the explosions of doors that were flying open as more people stepped out to join in the commotion.
"We have him!" someone bellowed. "We have the cause of the darkness!"
"Burn him at the stake! Free our world from the Devil's influence!"
Other voices chanted an echo of "Burn him! Burn him!"
It was just as Yuy had imagined... the citizens of Midgar were looking for anyone to place the blame on for the terrifying darkness that had overrun two kingdoms of Gaia. They were paranoid... desperate. And they had found some poor soul to take their frustrations out on.
But they were wrong. The only ones truly responsible for that was happening to Gaia were in Paramecia.
Gripped by the sickening thought of that innocent life being killed out of blind madness, Heero shot up from his bed and threw his clothes on as noise of the mob outside became deafening. Taking hold of his pack's straps, he hurried out into the candle-lit corridor and through the front door of the inn to rush into the cobblestoned streets. His eyes growing anew with a sharp gasp, he watched in both disgust and horror at the sight displayed before him.
In the middle of the city's square, a tall beam of wood stood upright amidst a ring of piled wood that the townspeople were building. Even the old innkeeper and her husband were amongst those crazed, yelling civilians that were tossing on bales of hay and whatever other kindling they had to offer while others raised spears, swords, pitchforks and torches.
And tied tightly back against the spoke at the middle of what was sure to be a great bonfire was a the sagging prisoner that the captors had not even shown the decency of freeing from the black fabric bag that they had trapped him in.
"You're all making terrible a mistake!" cried the deep, muffled voice of the victim. "I have no tie to the falls of Coneria or Paramecia, I swear!"
Heero knew his words to be true. He was also aware that he was the only one in the masses that did. Heart hammering, he swallowed past the lump in his throat before he spun and ran for the inn's stables. "Liar!" one woman shrieked in response to the prone young man's attempt to speak reason. "You are a demon and have no right to remain here amongst us!" Other such remarks were shouted in a chorus of rage.
Panting heavily in his charge, Yuy threw open the door to Wing's stall. Neighing loudly and rocking back and forth along with the other horses that were unsettled by all of the commotion, the tall white steed calmed at the arrival of his master. "Let's go, boy!" the Fighter yelled as he reached into the small sack at his hip. Gripping the cool orb inside tightly, his body shimmered with the appearance of his red-and-gold armor.
Quickly pulling himself up into his saddle, Heero pushed his stallion onward. When they broke out into the streets, torches had already been set to the kindling base of the stake. Hunched forward as far as he could be in his bindings, the concealed young man against the stake coughed violently as his lungs were filled with the surge of black smoke that rose amidst the growing flames around him.
Reaching for his sword as Wing plowed through the crowd under his rider's guidance, Yuy removed his long sword with its metal ringing brightly in its release.
Ever the brave one, his horse needed little urging to leap onto the throng of hay and wood so that the Fighter could slice through the ropes binding the prisoner in one swing before the fire closed in. Pulling the limp form up to lie on his stomach in front of his saddle, he gave a lour cry that had the white stallion jumping once more to avoid the mounting wall of glowing tongues.
"Stop him!" echoed in the soldier's ears as he carried his charge through the remainder of the mob. Joining those yells were shouts of, "Don't let them escape!" and "Kill them both!"
By the time he began to break through the parting crowd, many of the people in the Fighter's way had recovered from their shock and tried to stop his retreat. Meeting the blow from every weapon that was swept at him, Heero knocked his challengers back with skilled ease to see that he and the prisoner kept from falling away into the hands that were reaching to grab them. Then, the hoard was behind them with no signs of further retaliation ahead.
Replacing his blade, Yuy kept a hand on the arched back of his charge and his other tightly gripping the reins as Wing carried them for the spiraling road up the side of the gulley. Had the skies overhead not been clear... had the moon not been full and brilliant, they would have been in grave trouble. Thankfully, it seemed as though the Creator Himself had given them a hand in allowing what was before them to be plainly seen.
Behind him, the soldier could hear voices screaming after him and the pounding of hooves swarming in. Knowing that he had to reach the only path out before anyone else could try and maneuver him over the ledge of the narrow passage, he hollered to his steed so that he would gallop faster... he had to go faster.
After what felt like a brief eternity, they reached the winding path when the horse-backed men charging came into view at several yards behind them. Hearing the distinctive whoosh of incoming arrows, Heero removed his sword once more and lowered his armored body onto the back of his refugee to shield him.
Wing maneuvered himself gracefully along the constant turning, slanted way without every coming too close to the ragged edge that was rising higher and higher over the city. In moments, they would have certainly plunged to their deaths should there be a misstep.
Still, the arrows and spears came even though the handful of residents that remained in their trail were forced to fall in a single-filed line.
Batting away any weapon that came close enough, the Peacemillion soldier gritted, panted and growled in his efforts. What pierced the ground ahead of them was avoided by Wing either through a leap or careful dodge around if there was room for him to do so. Crazed in their attempt to run their escapees down, the Midgar men had lost their own focus and they pushed their steeds into a frenzy.
Heero's eyes grew as a very different scream filled his ears along with the wail of a terrified animal that drifted downward. Peering over his shoulder, he gasped at the sight of the rider and mare that had taken a fatal slip.
They would not survive their long collapse back into the city. Horrible as the accident was, it struck the rest of the team to cry and pull back on their reins to bring their horses to a stop. Wide-eyed, they looked down in horror with a sudden realization of the danger they had put themselves in... a little too late for their lost comrade and his steed.
Only putting more distance between them, Yuy had not dared to even slow down. And Wing was not obliged to take any chances, either. It was only a few more passes around the ring surrounding the gulley before they would be at the top. Until there was absolutely no question that they were beyond the threat of harm, there would be no slowing down.
Raising his head, the man at the front of the Midgar line that now had a gap in its middle glared heatedly up after the Fighter. "The Creator damn you, boy! May that demon you have saved take you from this world!" he shrieked, his deep voice echoing off the natural 'walls' all the way up to the armored rider. Paying no mind to the words, Heero only kept his attention on what was ahead of him.
By then, Wing had safely carried them back to the top of the valley.
* * * * * *
Once they were well into the woods that led further north of Midgar, Yuy brought his faithful horse to a slow canter and then to a stop. There were no sounds of oncoming hooves or even feet. All that filled his ears were the shrill chirps of the cicadas. The only thing in his vision was the looming forest, ever that little bit darkened by the thick cover from the tall trees.
Sighing deeply, the Fighter's body sagged heavily from exhaustion as he slipped from his saddle. His feet touching the ground, he placed a fist over his heat and had his armor slip from his body to mold itself into a solid orb in his clenched hand.
As he replaced the sphere in the sack at his hip, Heero rounded his panting steed and affectionately pulled Wing's large head close. Resting his forehead against the long snout with their eyes locked, he smiled and breathed, "Thank you, friend. That was a brilliant ride."
Gently tugging on the beast's ear, he chucked at the snort and nudge that he received in response. Patting his stallion's head in a half-embrace, he moved back around for the saddle to carefully lower the lifeless sack that was slumped heavily in the leather seat into his arms.
Using what natural light he had from the brightening sky overhead, the Fighter knelt on the side of the road to lay the prisoner he helped rescue onto the grass. Quickly removing the dagger at his left hip, he gathered a handful of the sack's fabric to start a slice that he ran the whole length of the seam. Pulling back the top fold of an opening that he'd created, he revealed the unconscious young man that he had rescued.
Though there was a long bruise along the left side of the heart-shaped face, the poor soul's face was strikingly handsome with full lips, high cheekbones and alabaster skin.
A remarkably long rope of chestnut hair wrapped around his frame so that its tied end was draped around his slight waist. Wearing a long-sleeved shirt and loose pants of black and dark blues, and a deep purple hooded cape that was tied around his neck, the youth looked not a day older than the Fighter.
Heero's back straightened rigidly and his eyes blinked widely at the sight of his charge. Taken aback not only by how young he was, the soldier couldn't deny that he did not expect the other boy to be quite as... beautiful as he was.
Noting the way that the braided young man's chest silently rose and fell slowly in his even breath, Yuy sighed once more in relief when he was able to compose himself once again. In a blink, he moved to shift the prone teenager and cut away the ropes that had tied his wrists tight enough to leave marks in his flesh.
With a curse for the cowards that had done this to such an innocent, Yuy scooped the handsome youth in his arms and walked deep into the woods to keep them safely out of sight from the road while his horse silently followed.
Reaching a small clearing with enough room to house the three of them, the soldier set up camp. A small fire was made and the only bed roll was used to create a soft and warm place for the mysterious sacrificial lamb to sleep on.
Both too concerned for the health of the other boy and too wound up after their daring escape from Midgar, Heero knew that he wouldn't have been able to rest any time soon. And so he contented himself to sit at the fire pit across from his fellow refugee to keep watch on him as well as their surroundings for any potential danger.
The hours rolled on with little more than the insistent chirping on the air that died once the heavens overhead began to brighten at the start of a new day.
Wing was lightly leaning against a thick tree in his well-earned slumber while his rider sat atop a short pile of rocks, unable to tear his cobalt eyes from the young man laying on the other side of the few remaining flames that danced up from the pit between them. Drawing a deep breath, Heero pulled his legs towards his chest and propped his head on their bent knees as he whispered, "Who are you?"
It was a question that had burned deep within him ever since he first gazed upon the boy he had saved. Why he was so drawn to the Stranger was beyond the soldier, but he supposed that it was only natural to have a kinship after what they had endured together... even if the other young man was not alert for most if the adventure.
And when the last star faded from sight in the pale blue sky, a soft moan escaped the braided teenager. Springing to his feet, Heero rushed to his stirring companion's side. With a deep breath, the Stranger began to crack open his sealed eyelids... revealing the startling violet irises at the center of his round eyes.
His skin paling, Yuy scrambled back several paces with a sharp gasp. "Dear Creator," he whispered in terror.
The boy was born under the moon of Shinigami...
...he truly had rescued a Demon.
TBC...
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