The Knights' Chronicles Part 11
Sand Rock led Wing in a soar through the skies as quickly as their wings could carry them. The red, intense eyes of the golden dragon stared ahead to the south without breaking their focus. Reaching over to pat the side of his steed, Quatre soothed over the wind, "Good boy. We are almost there."
In Wing's extended saddle, Wufei sat between Heero with Anna at his back for his protection given his unusual state. Still the only one to hear the almost nonexistent cries, he would spasm into fits of blinding agony whenever they sounded and so his friends flanked him to keep him as steady in the saddle as they could.
The longer that the flight took, the more the young swordsman felt his heart pounding violently in his chest. Sweat continued to run down his face as he struggled for breath. Behind him, Anna kept a strong hold around his waist and kept her deeply concerned expression to his back.
When another quiet whimper escaped the teenager in her arms, she leaned forward and whispered, "It cannot be much further. Just stay with me a little longer, Wufei."
An airy laugh puffing out of him, the raven-haired boy lightly squeezed her joined hands at his middle. "W-where else would I go?" he managed though his discomfort in a strained voice. Lowering his head, he closed his eyes and forced himself to take slow breaths.
Heero looked back at the archer to share a deep frown of his own. Bothered to no end over how helpless they were in helping the Chang, the only thing that kept their sanity intact was their driven determination to finding and ending the source of what was causing his strange pain.
Cobalt eyes narrowing, Yuy lightly tapped Wing's side with the heel of his foot. Understanding the silent command, his dragon gave a couple of powerful flaps to reach Sand Rock. As they soared beside each other, the knight-in-training met the gazes of the gifted couple when they peered over at him and demanded, "What is happening to him?"
Taking a deep breath, Relena replied, "I have seen her in many visions, but the mountains were the closest that I could bring us in finding her or the future would change."
Her guard heightened all the more, Anna tightened her arms around Wufei as her own eyes narrowed. Keeping her focus on Relena, she growled, "She? She who? And why are they hurting him?"
Quick to ease her friend, the seer answered, "Wufei's dragon. She is in danger. I have seen her in different situations and I chose the path in the possible events to unfold that would get us as near as possible to reach her in time. I can only interfere in certainty futures with my gift to such an extent."
Their backs instantly straightening, Heero and Anna's heads snapped so that their wide eyes locked. With that explanation, everything was very clear. A rider and their dragon's connection was strongest in the early bonding moments. That was why only Wufei could hear his intended steed's cries... felt her distress and pain.
Finally breaking from his haze, Chang sat up with a sharp gasp. "The Sand Pits," he realized aloud. "T-the sound is coming from there."
An icy chill ran down the other knights-in-training at that announcement. That stretch of forbidden land had the quickest sand traps that would pull the largest of captives under. Relena was right in saying that his steed was in danger... however, that comment was a grave understatement to the reality of the situation.
Nodding, the seer informed, "She has never traveled this far north before. In stopping to rest after her long journey to link with Wufei, she had no idea of the danger she had put herself in the moment she settled down. She is fighting, but her strength is fading fast."
"Dear Creator," Anna breathed. Suddenly, the short distance that remained before they reached the pits seemed to be a world away even at their break-neck pace. Wufei continued to slump forward, eyes closed again as he did all he could to will away his discomfort.
Swallowing roughly, the archer looked to Quatre and pleaded, "Is there nothing that you can do to help him for now? Use your gift to make him forget the pain?"
Quatre frowned deeply and shook his head, "The link between a rider and dragon while they are both living is one of the few things immune to my empathic abilities. Unfortunately, he will have to endure for the time being."
That desperate and frustrating helplessness ran deep into Anna and Heero's bones. Setting their concentration on the task at hand, they cast looks ahead of them to see that the gold and brown stretch of barren lands that were the Sand Pits were in sight at last. Suddenly, all of their hearts began to race along Wufei's.
Without needing the order, Wing and SandRock tilted their webbed wings to circle and swoop down towards the lands. Atop their saddles, their charges scanned the area around for any signs of life. Slowly, Wufei reached his shaking right hand up to point to his side. Keeping his eyes closed, he grounded out, "There."
Following the direction that he had pointed with their heads, the lot gripped onto their harnesses and handholds while the dragons beneath them turned sharply. Heero and Quatre stood as best as they could and shielded their eyes against the blinding sun in their continued search.
Then... there was a burst of sand that shot up into the air less than five miles ahead. And the faintest hint of a green tail that had broken free rose up before it was pulled in again. "I see her!" Yuy exclaimed. Leaning forward, the others stared onto the same spot that he was pointing to.
Several hundred feet below, they could make out the slightest shape of a large green head and hide of a dragon thrashing. And the gravity of the situation sank in quickly. "She is almost completely submerged," Heero whispered, his eyes wide and skin paling.
Finding the strength to reel its head up, the beast let out a desperate howl. Anna swallowed roughly whilst her arms only tightened further around Wufei when he cried sharply in pain at the sound.
"The more she struggles, the worse she is making it on herself," Fraise told the gifted couple. "Lives of people and creatures have been lost here because their panic gets the better of them. They think they need to fight the current pulling them under, but the sand only strengthens when they do."
Quatre nodded firmly, "Okay. Then we need to get Wufei close enough to her. Right now, he is the only one who would be able to get through to her since I still cannot break through the bond between them right now. If I attempt it, she will only grow all the more distressed and likely beyond any help that we can offer."
With another sharp swallow, Anna turned back to face the swordsman as he leaned back against her. Gently, she ran a hand over his soaked brow and there was not even a twitch of eye movement beneath his closed lids in reaction. There was no time to worry about him when Wing grunted and shot downward for the troubled dragon. Sand Rock bent his own wing to follow right behind.
Upon their approach, the lot was able to make out the finer details of the creature. By her large, folded over ears the tufts of lighter green hair that puffed out were matted down by sparkling sand that had been kicked up. At the top of her head, two large horns of a golden shade shot upward before they pulled back sharply like handlebars.
But it was the large, crystalline eyes scanning around frantically that the knights and gifted were taken in by. "She is almost gone!" Quatre exclaimed when the wave of what the dragon was feeling hit him in his nearing her. The sensation was overwhelming enough that his right hand shot up to clutch at his chest. "She... she is exhausted."
"I do not need to be an empath to see that," Heero muttered to himself. There was a longing for sleep in those haunting eyes below. She had fought so hard for so long that the struggle had become too much for her. Even now, every shift in her body grew slower and slower as what was still reveled of her body continued to sink.
The deeper that they descended, the more Chang clawed out of his crippling agony. His dark eyes blinking open, he let out a groan as the rest of his body protested against any movement. "Come on, Wufei" he heard Anna's voice urge. "You have to come back now... your dragon needs you."
Shaking his head, the raven-haired knight took in the wind blowing around them in their rapid fall from the sky. "D-dragon?" he stammered with a deep frown on his face, clearly disoriented after his bout as clouds of confusion swirled in his eyes.
Fraise reached a hand up to hold the bottom of his face. Forcing him to turn and look into her eyes, she told him sternly, "Yes, your dragon. You can work through this, and I know it. You are one of the strongest people that I know. Now pull yourself together for her sake!"
His eyes blinking in surprise, clarity shone through them. As the archer's hand fell away from his face, he looked forward to see what they were soaring for. Gasping sharply, he stiffened and whispered, "Dear Creator."
Only then did the beast look up to see that she was not alone. Instantly, her frantic eyes locked onto the young knight-in-training that she had been searching for. Tears flooded her vision and she raised her head from the trap she continued to writhe in and let out a heart breaking howl.
The reaction was instant for the swordsman. Beyond any doubt, this was his dragon. In the second that their eyes, met, the connection was a palpable thing... intense and to the core of their beings. All pain was completely forgotten. All that mattered was doing what needed to be done to save his destined counterpart.
Wing turned and positioned himself right above the troubled creature, hovering a couple dozen feet before her. Leaning over with a newfound steadiness, Wufei shouted, "You have to stop struggling! You are only going to have yourself pulled under."
Lost in her want to reach her destined rider, the dragon only whimpered and fought harder against the hold of the sand. For every inch she gained, she lost three when the hold of her lifeless captor reeled her back until the little of her neck that was free was no longer in sight. "No!" Chang cried in unison with his friends.
A loud roar of frustration broke from the green monster before its head sagged onto the sands. The swordsman let out a sharp gasp at the exhaustion and sorrow in her large eyes that continued to stare up at him. And he knew in that moment that she was on the verge of giving up... far too tired to not allow the sands to claim her.
Biting her lip, Relena buried her chin in her fianc¨¦'s shoulder and whispered, "She is even beyond his reasoning. The situation is far worse than I thought. Even with what I could do, we are too late."
Quatre peered over his shoulder and reassured quietly, "I think that Wufei may be able to save her yet."
His hands working without his needing to tear his gaze away from his steed, Chang moved to the harness at his shoulders to unweave it. Nearly jolting out of the saddle in shock, Anna shrieked, "Wufei?! What are you doing?!" Heero's head snapped back and his own eyes widened in finding his friend freeing himself.
"I have to get through to her!" was all that the swordsman yelled before leapt from the saddle against the screams of his fellow knights-in-training. And so he fell down into the sands below... right before the head of his dragon.
Chirping in both surprise and horror, the large head pushed forward just as the earth below worked harder to claim what remained. Quickly rising to his feet, Chang found himself being pulled under. Meeting the crazed eyes watching him, his own narrowed and he shouted, "Nataku, stop! Listen to me and hold still!"
Finally, after seeing her rider in as much danger as she was in, the beast comprehended his command. Automatically, she froze and stopped sinking when she was buried up to her ears and the back of her long snout. Panting heavily, submerged up to his knees, Wufei broke out in a wide smile and sighed deeply, "Good girl."
Very slowly, the teenager reached forward to run a hand over the edge of the snout before him. "Everything is going to be okay," he soothed. "Just stay calm, okay?" The fear was still in the crystalline eyes watching him, but stronger that that was her trust in him and so she remained still aside from the most subtle of nudges against his hand.
Above them, the lot looking sagged and sighed deeply in relief. Slumping forward, Anna blinked away the subtle traces of tears that had flooded her eyes when Wufei leapt from the saddle. Ahead of her, Heero chuckled deeply, "I think that we are through the worst, now."
"That we are," Quatre agreed with a wide smile. Both he and Relena reached down to the sacks tied against Sand Rock's hide to reveal long, thick cords of rope. "What do you say we get them out of there?" he smirked as he tossed one of the bundles to his friends.
* * * * * *
It was a long, painstaking process to remove Nataku from the sand trap, but thanks to Wing and Sand Rock's combined strength, she was completely pulled out safely. On the backs of her rescuers, the green dragon was lowered on the safe, green grass of the closest forest. Completely sapped of all her energy, she stayed flat on the soft ground where she was lowered.
Jumping from Wing's saddle the moment the white beast landed, Wufei ran for his heavy-lidded steed. Tired as she was, Nataku smiled brilliantly in seeing him and her tail flopped lazily against her side.
All but collapsing when he reached her, the swordsman wrapped his arms as far as he could manage around her muzzle. The slight shimmer of relieved tears glistened in his eyes as he whispered, "It is nice to meet you, girl." With a deep purr, the dragon pulled back slightly to give her rider a light lick to the side of his face before she settled down and dozed off into a deep sleep.
Biting his lip, Chang straightened himself at the sound of her light snores and moved back to his friends waiting nearby. Rubbing the back of his neck, he cleared his tight throat and told them all sincerely, "I... I cannot thank any of you enough for saving her." Focusing on the dragons in particular, he smiled, "And that includes the two of you." Both Wing and Sand Rock beamed at the acknowledgment, their tails flapping and necks craning upward in pride.
"I am just so happy that we were able to be of assistance," Relena grinned. Peering upward through the trees to see that the sun was beginning to set judging by the color of the sky, she suggested, "We should probably set camp here so that Nataku can rest before we get her back to the encampment. It is too long of a flight for her to attempt in her state and it would be a lot for Wing and Sand Rock to have to carry her."
Heero nodded firmly, "Agreed." Facing his steed, he thought aloud, "I can head back with Wing to inform Commander Lowe before he sends out a search party. We can get water and food for Nataku in the process, too." Already set to take to the skies again, Wing lowered himself so that his rider could climb back up into his saddle. Moments later, they were airborne and soaring through the cover of the trees around.
Once they were of sight, Anna approached Wufei with a smile on her face that had him stiffening and his heart hammering in anticipation of what she was about to say or do. Then, she came to a stop before him and hit the backside of his head in one swift movement. His hand reaching up to rub the point of the blow with a surprised cry, he winced, "What was that for?"
Planting her fists at her hips, Anna glared at him and snapped, "Next time you will think twice about scaring me like that." She spun on her heels, her long hair whipping behind her as she announced coolly, "I am going to collect firewood for us."
As she stormed off, completely missing the range of shocked and amused gazes on her, she muttered under her breath, "If it's not cliffs, it's sand traps. Creator help me, I have never met two crazier people than my brothers."
Snickering along with the gifted, Wufei smirked and shook his head.
* * * * * *
By nightfall, at the arrival of the full trough of food and water that Wing had carried back to the camp that her rescuers had set up, Nataku ate and drank hungrily. Taking full gulps of her meal without a single chew, the smile on her face never left as her tail swayed along the grass like a giant serpent.
At their own helpings of nourishment, Wing and Sand Rock stayed close to their new friend to keep a silent vigil over her. Finishing her course in no time, the green steed deeply sighed in content and her head lowered to lie on the ground.
Wufei chuckled and approached to lightly run his hand over the end of her snout. Closing her eyes, the green steed purred deeply while leaning into his touch. "She really is lovely," a quiet voice complimented. Turning, the knight-in-training found Anna walking towards them.
"Still talking to me after what I did?" he grinned.
Rolling her eyes, the archer snorted, "As if I could ever keep up the silent treatment with you." Her gaze softening, she smiled widely at the dragon watching her. Stepping to the other side of the large muzzle, she gently patted it and asked her 'brother,' "Where does the name Nataku come from?"
Dark eyes shifted as Chang drifted off into his memories. Focused on his equally curious steed, he answered in little more than a whisper, "It was an endearment that my father gave my mother. It just... seemed right to honor her by passing it on this way."
The dragon positively beamed in hearing that and quickly lifted her head to lick the side of her rider's face. More than happy for the change in mood that had fallen, Wufei laughed and wiped at his cheek as Anna blinked in surprise.
Never before had the swordsman been one to share such private information of his past. And so it was a privilege to have even that little glimpse into who he had been... how he had become the young man he was growing to be.
Smiling, the archer swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat and said softly, "That is beautiful, Wufei." She faced Nataku once more and ran her hand back over the scaly snout. "I am sure that wherever the good spirits are you mother would be honored."
In a rare showing of emotion, Wufei's eyes began to glisten so much that he turned his head away from her so that he would wipe at them. Clearing his throat, he looked back and nodded with a soft and sincere, "Thank you, Anna."
The archer bit her lip as she slowly walked over to rub his back in reassurance. When their gazes met, they stayed locked for a long time before the redhead winked and quickly leaned in to peck the swordsman's cheek.
Just as stunned and wide-eyed as her 'brother' was by the gesture, Fraise pointed over her shoulder to the glowing campfire a few yards behind her. "Uu-h, o-our dinner should be ready by now," she stammered.
Instantly jolting at that, Chang nodded, "R-right." He silently followed the other knight-in-training back to their friends gathered around the warm glow of light with the dragons close behind.
Heero tilted his head at the sight of his 'siblings' when they returned, picking up on the subtle awkwardness between as they sat at either side of him. Mentally shrugging off the idea in seeing how they casually filled their plates with the cooked meat on the split, he peered to the oracle across from them to say, "I hope that you do not mind a few more questions around your gift."
"Of course not," Relena grinned. Lowering her finished plate of food, she folded her hands in her lap and said, "Ask away."
Frowning, the unruly-haired teenager inquired, "Nataku's being trapped by the sand pit that we found her in was what you would consider a certain future... something that would never have been changed no matter how you tried?"
The blonde girl nodded firmly, "Exactly right, Heero. Certain futures are also fate, or the Creator's Hand at work. It was the events after that particular seeing that we were able to impact by intervening."
Sitting back, Yuy frowned, "And what of that vision that had you so terrified when you tried to see if we would all be knighted?" Beside him, he felt more than saw his 'brother' and 'sister' stiffen at the question in a sudden realization of a moment that they had almost completely forgotten, themselves.
Quatre's back went rigid, his jaw falling open. Heero had been very careful to clear his mind of what he was about to ask. Clearly the years of picking up on the wondering and blocking it from his friends' memories did not go completely unnoticed... even with a empathic abilities as strong as his own.
But that was nothing that he could not remedy again, like every time before.
When her fianc¨¦ tensed, Relena spun to face him and quickly squeezed his arms with a glare. "No," she told him in a stern command that bore no room for argument. "They have the right to know. These are our friends and we have hidden this for far too long now."
A wave of guilt washed over the empath 's face when he looked to his partner. Taking a deep breath, he bowed his head and nodded in agreement. When he met the eyes of the knights-in-training, he said sincerely, "I am very sorry for using my ability on you in this way... but please understand that it was with the best of intentions... for your protection."
Only confused all the more, Wufei's eyes narrowed. "What is it that you are trying to protect us from?"
Gazing back to their friends, the worry lines on Relena's brow deepened as she replied, "I... we do not know... but is something... terrible."
TBC...
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