The Knights' Chronicles Part 13
"Hello?" a familiar voice called beyond the walls of Deathscythe's stall. Their eyes widening, the king and knights gathered around rose to their feet to find none other than Quatre, Relena, Sand Rock and little Olivia.
Gasping, Duo cheered, "Hey, gang! I had no idea that you were going to be stopping by tonight!"
The seer held her toddler daughter close as she smiled, "Well, I saw that Scythe and Wing are going to become parents this evening, and we were not about to miss it for the world." Chirping, the black steed lifted her head over the wall to look on the girl with a hopeful expression.
Relena laughed, "Yes, dear. Your eggs will most certainly be hatching tonight, so your wait will be over soon." Sighing deeply in relief, Scythe's head fell back down onto the hay. Wing's chest rumbled with his chuckle as he stretched his own neck over hers.
A wide grin on his face, Heero opened the door to their visitors so that they could step in and be welcomed properly with embraces and handshakes. Nataku and Ingier leaned over their shared stall to converse with Sand Rock in chirps and grunts.
Taking a giggling Odin into his arms, Quatre looked to the floor and found Odin's journal lying there. "Ah, so this is how you have been passing the time," he smirked. Meeting the braided king's eyes, he asked, "How far along are you in your little history lesson?"
Duo bent at the waist to carefully gather his treasured book as he replied, "You and Relena had just left the encampment after telling the others here about the darkness that was predicted for the future."
Lowering Olivia onto the hay-covered ground, Relena's smile grew as she watched the girl automatically walk over to Odin to play with the toddler and the hatchlings around him. "Ah, I do love reminiscing," she said while moving to pat Wing and Scythe's heads when they turned towards her. "Even if not all of the past is the most pleasant, it brought us all here."
Quatre sat alongside Wufei and Anna to watch their children giggle in their tickling game. Shaking his head in amusement, he smirked, "There had been many a time when I doubted that we would live to have families of our own. Considering all of the things that we had endured, at least we will be sure to not have our little ones take for granted the times ahead."
As the seer joined her husband's side, the archer grinned, "It seems that our little ones really have taken a shine to each other." Biting her lip, Relena fought a splitting smile when Anna raised her hand and laughed, "Whatever it is, I would rather be surprised. Remember that you already let it slip that Wufei and I are destined to have at least one more children down the road."
Her head ducking, Relena's cheeks reddened as she giggled, "Yes, and again I am sorry for that. But the whole thing was too exciting for me to hold it in when I saw it."
"No harm done at all," Chang reassured, a kind grin to match the sincerity in his voice. Loosely wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders, he stated, "More than not knowing what the darkness of the future was going to bring, I had been quite certain for a long time that I would never be lucky enough to have Anna, here, as my partner; let alone my wife."
Instantly melting against him, it was Anna's turn to blush. Gazing up into his eyes, she chuckled, "Well, we both did a good job of keeping how we felt from each other for a long time there." Nataku, who continued to peer into the room along with Ingier, rolled her crystalline eyes and snorted a plume of white smoke.
Laughing along with the others, the swordsman told his steed, "Yes, I know that we were not fooling anyone else around us, girl."
Duo closed the journal in his lap and tilted his braided head to inquire, "So, did the two of you ever get some kind of an idea to how you felt? Odin was completely oblivious to all of those details, so there isn't anything written here." Shifting closer to his husband, he grinned in anticipation of learning more about his two closest friends and their romance in its budding stages.
"I think that it took a bit of an intervention of sorts for the ball to finally start rolling," Heero snickered to his partner.
Nodding, Wufei smirked, "I still remember that conversation and the events that followed. Vividly."
* * * * * *
(Flashback)
Letting out a loud cry, Wufei sprang forward and raised his blade overhead to deliver a hard downward blow. His sword clanged loudly against the other that it came up against.
Every bit as calm and focused as his challenger, Heero met every strike with one of his own. Spinning gracefully, he was more than content in keeping back as opposed to striking forth in opposition. There would be time for that when the time was right, he was all too aware in his dealing with the Capricorn native.
While Chang was certainly one of the best swordsmen in their class, Yuy had sparred with him for over a decade and learned his ways well. One of the biggest teachings that Odin preached was that a knight needed to know his opponent enough to think ahead of them if there was a chance of besting them.
And though he'd lost more matches against Wufei in the past, Heero had bided his time well and really studied him. Now... now, he had his greatest challenger right where he wanted him.
He smirked to himself when he recognized the shift in the raven-haired teenager's body when he rounded himself just slightly to lift his sword again. That was the opportunity he had been waiting for and he took it head on.
Just that slight change in balance, so subtle that anyone else would have missed it, left Chang vulnerable for a heartbeat... long enough for Yuy to grunt in his sudden thrust forward of his own blade.
Completely taken aback, Wufei's eyes widened with a sharp gasp in seeing all too late the opening that he had left. The grip he had on the hilt of his family's sword was not strong enough in the middle of his adjustment to hold onto it when metal met metal and so it was knocked from his hands to bounce off of the grass-covered ground.
Panting as he stared down in shock at his fallen weapon, Chang's wide, onyx eyes peered back up to find Heero holding the tip of his sword against his chest. A sharp laugh booming from his chest, he exclaimed, "Excellent! You have been getting better and better at this!"
Lowering his blade to sheath it at his hip, Yuy smirked, "Thank you. I have been learning from one of the best."
Wufei chuckled deeply as he bent at the waist to gather up his sword. Placing it back in its sheath, he folded his hands before himself and bowed at the waist in a show of respect. "I appreciate the sentiment," he grinned and the two 'brothers' exchanged a firm handshake.
Their skirmish officially ended, the knights-in-training sat atop the small hill that they'd been standing on. Retrieving their canteens, they took long gulps of the water and collected their breath while Wing and Nataku swooped down from the surrounding trees from where they had been watching the duel.
"Our stamina certainly has improved over the years," Yuy commented, gesturing to their nearly dry clothes. "Not long ago, we would have been drenched after a long fight like that."
Nodding, the other boy finished his water and wiped his damp mouth with the back of his hand. "Not a bad thing, considering," he stated. "There is a very good likelihood that it will come in handy some day." Of course, there was no need for him to elaborate that he was speaking in regards to 'the darkness' as they had come to call it.
Over the course of the seven years following Quatre and Relena's announcement of that ever approaching future into the unknown, Heero, Wufei and Anna worked all the harder in their training. When their classes were dismissed for the day, they would use the rest of daylight as well as candlelight to improve themselves in their skills.
They needed to make their bodies stronger, faster and ready to handle whatever it was that they might be up against. As far as Odin and the other officers were concerned, there was nothing out of the ordinary when it came to their added dedication to being the best knights that they could possibly be and so life continued on as normal for them.
...And a little too normally considering how there was still one particular officer who would never be happy when it came to one of them.
Several yards away from the boys, Anna stood with her right side facing them, bow raised and arrow fixed in the drawstring. Her right eye closed, she focused on the trunk of a tree punctured by over a dozen arrows thirty paces ahead of her. Even at their distance, her 'brothers' knew that she was aiming for the shaft in the center of the mess.
"Come on, sis," Heero muttered under his breath as he leaned forward. Cobalt eyes trained on the archer, he whispered, "Split it." Equally focused on the redhead, Wufei also bent forward as they held their breaths. Even Wing and Nataku were still as stone behind their riders, watching intently.
Satisfied with where she was setting her mark, Anna inhaled slowly and pulled back on the drawstring. Arms locked in place, she stared at her target and released the arrow to send it shooting forward through the air with a whoosh and thunking loudly as it sank into the tree... two inches to the right of her target.
The archer's head fell back as she sighed in frustration, "Damn." Slumping with their heads lowering, her audience fell into deep sighs along with her.
It was a rare talent for any archer to master, the splitting of more than one arrow. The skill and control that it took to do such a thing was the sign of a great knight to wield a bow. And it had become Fraise's goal to accomplish that feat. While she could make at least two arrows fall in the same place, it was not enough for her liking.
Nor was it good enough for her father. As much as Anna wanted to become the best archer she could to defend Sanq, there was just as motivation in impressing him.
Shaking his head, Wufei's eyes narrowed as he hissed, "It infuriates me how Captain Fraise still refuses to acknowledge how far she has come in her training. No one thought that she would last as long as she has, let alone the fact that she is one of the best knights being brought up."
"I do not understand it, myself," Heero frowned deeply. "And while I hate seeing Anna hurt, I think that the push it gives her to continue to improve can be seen as a good thing."
With a deep sigh, Chang leaned back and propped himself up on his bent elbows behind him. "I just feel like I should do something for her. I know that it bothers her more than she lets on and it... affects me."
The corner of his mouth curling up in a smirk, Yuy peered over at him and replied, "Well, that is what happens when you love someone."
Blinking widely, the raven-haired teenager shot back up to stare in disbelief at his 'brother.' "Have I been that obvious?" he asked quietly. Both Wing and Nataku snorted and rolled their eyes. Turning his head to the steeds, he stammered, "Y-you knew, too?"
Heero snickered, "I am pretty sure that the only person in the whole encampment who does not know is Anna. Somehow, you have managed to keep her in the dark this whole time."
Inwardly breathing a sigh of relief at that, Wufei's tense shoulders fell. "I appreciate your not mentioning something to her," he responded with a nervous smile. Peering back at the archer, he commented, "To be honest, I am surprised that you have never seemed to express an interest in her since you have known her longer."
The other swordsman grinned and shrugged, "Oh, I am sure that I would if she were my type."
"Oh," Chang frowned. Then, his friend's stress of the word 'type' struck him and his eyes widened with a gasp. "Oooh," he repeated in surprise. Laughing, he shook his head, "I had no idea."
Smiling, Yuy stated, "It was not something that I meant to keep from you. The opportunity just never seemed to come up for me to tell you that I am attracted to other boys. Anna figured it out on her own not long ago, but then we also grew up together and so she knows me quite well."
When it came to matters of same-sex relationships, they were as accepted in their world as hetero-sexual ones. Love simply was love and one could not judge what the heart desired. So, it was not a fear of rejection that had kept Heero quiet.
It was simply his nature to be private when it came to certain aspects of his life. And if anyone understood that, he knew the Capricorn native would.
Patting his 'brother's' back, Wufei said sincerely, "Well, I appreciate your telling me. It is nice to know that we have been able to form a strong enough trust after all of these years that you feel comfortable sharing that."
His head bowing in a firm nod, Heero grinned, "It is only fair since I forced out your so-called secret." He laughed quietly at the mock glare that he received for that remark.
Gesturing with his head in the direction where his 'sister' continued to fire arrows, he questioned, "I also brought it up because we have no idea what is coming in the years ahead that Relena cannot see. If you know how you feel about Anna, it would only be fair to the both of you that you tell her."
Wufei swallowed roughly. There was no arguing against that sentiment. Still, not knowing what reaction he would receive was a terrifying thing to him.
"Tell me what?" Anna's voice broke in as she approached. Their heads snapping to face her, the other knights-in-training froze in surprise.
Nataku and Wing smiled widely, their tails flapping excitedly as Chang fought through the hitch in his throat to take a deep breath. "Uh, I just wanted to tell you that you should be able to split arrows like your father in no time at the rate you are going." His steed's head drooped with a deep sigh of frustration behind him while Wing gave her a sympathetic look.
Her deep blue eyes widening, Fraise grinned, "You really think so?" Peering back to the tree hide punctured by dozens of holes, she said, "My father can split arrows down the middle on the same mark all day long. I have seen him do it. Hopefully I can master that kind of steadiness. It would come in to be a lot of use in a battle."
Battle. It was one of the words that the trio tried to not discuss between them. Of course they were training to be soldiers ready to fight to protect their homeland. However, there had not been a war anywhere in their world for hundreds of years...
...something that could very well change with the encroaching darkness that slinked ever nearer.
Wincing at the word even as it left her, Anna made a nervous giggle and shrugged, "Sorry. I did not intend to bring up bad thoughts."
Heero rose to his feet and flashed his 'brother' a subtle glance that had Wufei grinning back sheepishly. "It is never a bad idea to prepare for anything," he told the redhead.
Looking up through the opening overhead, he noted the dark clouds that were quickly making their way across the skies as a distant roll of thunder crackled through the air. "And it looks like we had better be heading back before it starts to rain," he suggested.
In complete agreement of that, Wing and Nataku lowered themselves so that their charges could climb into their saddles. As Anna wrapped her arms around his waist, Wufei fought a sigh.
Recalling Heero's words, the swordsman vowed to himself that he would tell her how he felt... eventually.
* * * * * *
The rain continued for the next five straight days. For the outdoor exercises, the mud helped provide extra resistance, the chilled wind a worthy adversary and the large droplets pouring from the dark heavens a welcomed challenge. Such weather helped separate the strong from the weaker.
It was during poor weather days such as that stretch that the officers paid extra attention to their students, pushed them harder to build character and endurance.
The dragons carried their riders through the downpour and sparred with the other steeds and knights in mid-air for their aerial battle lessons. Even in flight in the some of the worst conditions, Heero and Wufei seemed naturals.
Shaking his head in amusement as he watched the pair dominate their challengers atop Peacemillion, Odin chuckled deeply to himself. "Not bad at all," he muttered under the shield of his hooded cloak.
Much as the Commander would have loved to stay and watch the skirmish, he noticed the ever darkening sky to realize that the sun had set. Cupping the side of his mouth, he called over the whirling wind, "Very good, everyone. This is the end of your day of classes. Bring your steeds in."
Lightning branched across the billowing clouds that served as the trainees' backdrop as they lowered their weapons and their dragons slowed to a calm hover before descending for the encampment. On their way down, their fellow trainees without steeds were just wrapping up their own sessions.
Though like the others she had a hooded cloak around her, Anna still stood out amidst the large group thanks to her frame. Spotting her, Heero and Wufei brought their beasts to land nearby as opposed to following the others for the stables.
Wing led his scaled sister to swooping beneath a canopy of trees bent together at the top that provided shelter from the elements as they waited for the female knight-in-training to catch up with them. The last of the pack to walk past, she smiled and waved just before she broke into a run to join her friends.
"Not so fast, Anna," a deep voice called. Coming to a sloshy halt, the girl looked back to see her father heading towards her. The hooded cloak around him was practically glued against his clothes with how drenched it was as his feet splashed in his march against the wet ground. Keeping their blue eyes locked, he gestured back to the cleared out space behind him and said, "You are not finished here."
Moving to shed her bow and arrow from her shoulders, Anna rolled her shoulders back and straightened herself as she nodded firmly beneath her hood, "Yes, sir. Ten laps around, then?"
It was a practice that she was quite familiar with whenever her father asked more of her than the others. Heero and Wufei were more that used to process as well and so rocked back on their heels where they stood to wait in silence.
However, something in the way that Justin's eyes shifted and his shoulders tensed told the trio that this evening was not going to be routine by any means. Shaking his head, he replied, "No. I have something else in mind for you this time." He slowly raised his arm to expose it to the rain and pointed at the hood around his daughter. "Remove your shroud," he ordered.
Their eyes growing as wide as their 'sister's' at the command, Heero and Wufei's jaws fell while their steeds grunted and chirped in just as much surprise. Blinking, Anna's hands worked without another moment's hesitation as she nodded, "Yes, sir."
When she was free of the cloak, completely exposed to the cold rain and sharp wind, the girl tossed it aside and fought the urge to shiver before her father. In seconds, her long, red hair stuck to her dampening clothes and water-spotted face.
Stepping up beside his daughter, the Captain pointed to a tree nearly thirty yards ahead of them that was fixed with a round target that had been used for firing practice earlier and demanded, "Hit the bull's-eye."
Confused but not about to question, Anna quickly fitted her bow and its drawstring with one of her arrows. Raising her arms, she pulled back as she took aim at her mark and sent the arrow flying to land perfectly in the center of the red circle of the target.
"Good," Justin smirked. Peering down at his daughter, he told her, "I want you to split that arrow with four others in a row. If you miss, I pull the arrows you fired and you start all over again. We will not be leaving this spot until you have accomplished just that, even if we are here all night."
Unable to help their shocked gasps and muted cries of protest, Heero and Wufei froze in place along with their steeds. Anna's enlarged eyes staring ahead that the shaft penetrating the bull's-eye as another round of lightening brightened the forest that surrounded them.
After a long pause, the Captain bent at the waist to suggest near her ear, "You want to be the best archer in your class? This is what will put you ahead of the rest. I have seen you work at this for months now and I am going to see that you accomplish it... if it is the last thing that you do in this encampment."
Peering out of the corner of her eye at him, the girl swallowed roughly and gathered another arrow from her quiver with a nervous, "Y-yes, sir."
Still looking on in utter disbelief, Wufei bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep silent. To his right, Heero clenched his hands into trembling fists at his sides. Their heads lowering, Wing and Nataku glared fiercely at the officer as deep growls rumbled in their chests.
Her heard hammering in her chest, Anna looked back at the target with a feeling of dread sinking into her bones as profoundly as the damp cold was. For years she had worked harder than most of the boys around her in working in become a knight without anything breaking her...
...and if anything was going to, this might very well be it.
TBC...
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