The Knights' Chronicles Part 25
Heero, Wufei and Anna rushed out of their dragons' stalls to find a mass of squires, officers and knights-in-training alike surrounding the newly arrived messenger. As the trio pushed their way towards the front of the small mob, a voice behind them called, "Is what you have heard true?"
A wide smile threatened to split the face of the young squire that had become the center of attention as he replied, "As true as I stand here! The news comes from a member of the castle staff and is spreading quickly through the city."
Excited murmurs spread through the group as a few ran off to carry the information onto the rest of the encampment. Their exhaustion forgotten, the 'family' exchanged brilliant grins that held a bitter sweetness to them.
While they were of course thrilled for their king and queen to finally be able to meet their son, there was also the rush of other emotions as the prophecy came hurling back to the forefront of their minds. The world as they knew it was not going to remain for much longer now.
Slipping silently back from the cheering and laughing lot that continued to stand around, the Terrible Trio moved into Wing's stall to huddle closely while their steeds listened in overhead.
Heero reached up to run a hand through his unruly hair and sighed, "We should not allow ourselves to be anything but happy today. This is the day that we have all been waiting many years for."
There was no mention of the approaching nightmare and it was certainly not needed to elaborate on what could have dampened what should by a joyous day for them. Still, it was still the first reference to it that any of them had made since Quatre and Relena's last visit to Sanq months before.
Without a moment's consideration, Wufei and Anna nodded firmly in agreement to that suggestion. Allowing herself to smile her first sincere smile in weeks, the archer felt a great weight lift from her shoulders and giggled softly, "I do hope that we do not have to wait long to finally meet Prince Duo in person."
Unable to help but be lifted by her excitement, Yuy and Chang's own faces brightened with wide grins. Tails thumping, their steeds smiled to each other as they communicated in bright chirps and grunts.
Over the commotion near the front of the stable, Captain Fraise's voice snickered in its approach, "Leave it to the squires to be the ones with the ears to any and all news and gossip from the city."
Quickly breaking from their ring, the knights-in-training peered out to find Odin and Justin moving purposely towards them. "So, I take it that you already know what we were on the way to tell you," the Commander smirked to his pupils. At the nods that answered, the red-headed Captain snorted and rolled his blue eyes with an amused grin.
"Good," Lowe smiled. Gesturing to the dragons, he ordered, "Mount up. We have received a special invitation by King Solo to be in the castle for the occasion."
Jaws hanging in surprise, the trio recovered from their stupor in a blink in rush to their steeds' sides to climb into their saddles. Laughing, the officers strolled to an anxious Peacemillion.
* * * * * *
Led by one of the personal guards to the king and queen, the army's Commander, Captain and Terrible Trio headed up the winding stairs of the residential wing of the castle. Throughout the palace, they had encountered staff and advisors to the royal couple that were gathering in groups to quietly and anxiously talk over the announcement of the delivery.
Seeing how some of the highest officials to the crown stayed back while they were granted access to the closer chambers where the birth was taking place, the knights and their pupils were taken aback. While Solo and Sophia had made it perfectly well known how they saw the lot as their friends, this invitation made it clear just how close the royal couple considered them.
And it was quite an emotional thing for them to take in.
In their climb up the stairs, Wufei and Anna exchanged glowing smiles and laced their hands together between them. The archer glanced over to her 'brother' to find him with a small grin on his face. Reaching over with her free hand when their eyes met, their arms linked.
Reaching the highest level of the palace, the visitors were taken through the wide hallway that bore great windows peering out to the breathtaking view over the sea on one side and the kingdom on the other. The marble walls sparkled in the brilliant sunlight pouring inside and shimmering water trickled down the support pillars to only add to the tranquility of the atmosphere.
Dressed in light blue robes, a familiar healer to the king and queen ran up to the nearing guests. Her long, brunette hair pulled back in a braid, the young woman smiled, "Ah. We have been expecting you. I will show you all to the guest quarters." At that, the armored escort smirked to his Commander and saluted him with a fist over his chest before he headed back the way that they had come.
Folding her hands together, the healer tilted her head and beamed, "You arrived at a good time as you all have the honor to be amongst the first to know that our Queen Sophia has recently given birth to a baby boy."
"W-we have a prince," Justin gasped, his face bearing a wide grin. "And how are the mother and child?"
Giggling, the woman answered, "Very well. Thank the Creator, the delivery was an easy one for all involved. The family is resting now and will have time to be alone to get acquainted, but they are looking forward to introducing you to Prince Duo. In the meantime, you may make yourselves comfortable during your wait." As she turned, she waved her charges to follow her further down the hall.
Once they were shown to the guest sitting room, the soldiers were presented food and drinks to make up for their skipped breakfast. Discussing how thrilled the rest of Sanq would react to the word of their prince's birth, they also mused over which of his parents the boy would look most like.
Before any of them were aware, two hours had passed in their stay when a light knock had them spinning towards the doorway. Their eyes wide and lungs filling with gasps, the knights shot to their feet when an elated Solo walked into the room.
"Congratulations, your highness," Odin was the first to grin and offered a hand that was completely ignored for a tight hug instead.
Pulling back, the braided king laughed, "None of that hand-shaking today." He reached up to run a hand through his hair and the gesture gave way to how tired he was with the dark circles under his eyes showing. "It was a very long night, but well worth it," he sighed.
Sure to see every one of his friends, Solo accepted their sincere congratulations and embraces. Content once he gave each of his guests his full attention, he waved frantically and moved for the door with a cheered, "Come along!"
All but running to keep up with their king, the officers and their pupils grinned in amusement over his excitement. Finally, they reached the final room at the end of the hallway. Gently knocking, the new father pushed against the closed door to peer inside and call, "Our company is here, love."
"Oh, wonderful. Bring them in," Sophia's voice replied, her own happiness evident in her tone. Stepping aside, Solo pushed the door fully opened and smiled to the soldiers.
At that, Odin and Justin smirked to their practically vibrating pupils and gestured for them to go in first. A silent conversation spoken through wide-eyed glances was exchanged between the Terrible Trio before Heero swallowed roughly and moved to walk past the king with his 'siblings' on his heels.
When they entered, the lot paused to take in their glowing queen as she sat up in the grand bed with her son in her arms. Her hair cascading around in long ringlets and wearing a white gown that only made her all the more radiant in her joy, the young mother looked away from the bundle that she cradled to take in the faces watching them.
Giggling, Sophia freed an arm to pat the free place in the mattress beside her with a kind, "Well, come closer, everyone." The smile on her face growing when she peered back down to the child in her care, she introduced, "Duo, these are some of our best friends and I know that you will be very familiar with them as you grow up."
Not about to decline the queen's offer, Anna took Wufei's hand to pull on it as she moved for the bed. Sitting on the edge of the mattress where they were facing the prince, they took in the infant wrapped in a pale blue blanket of wool. His dark blue eyes blinking open, the little one cooed as if in greeting to the new faces.
"Ooohh!" the archer gushed. "He is so cute!" Ever so tenderly, she traced her fingers over the soft head of fine, almost white hairs. Snickering, Wufei nodded in agreement while he reached a hand out to have the baby latch onto one finger with a tiny hand.
Heero bit his lip and tentatively stood beside his friends. Leaning forward, he took in his future king as a smile curled his lips. "Hello, Prince Duo," he greeted quietly. Still linked to Chang's finger, the child took Yuy in and let out a sweet laugh.
The queen grinned, "I think that he likes you, Heero." Shifting, she said, "You can hold him, if you like."
Cobalt eyes widening in panic, Yuy shook his head and sputtered, "O-oh, thank you, but I have never held a baby before."
Huffing, Anna rolled her eyes and smirked, "It is not that difficult." She turned back to meet Sophia's gaze and they matched each other's smiles.
Carefully accepting Duo when the queen handed him over, the archer cooed at him before she rose and walked towards Heero. Still shaking his head, her 'brother' retreated backwards until he wound up in a corner that he could not escape from.
"Now just fold your arms over just like mine," Fraise ordered.
Knowing that there was no out for him at that point, Heero reluctantly did as he was told. Quietly humming to the baby, Anna easily slid him into the other knight-in-training's arms. "There," she smirked. "That is not so bad, is it?"
The fact of the matter was that it was incredibly easy, Heero realized as he looked down in awe at the infant that was looking up at him in equal captivation. After a brief silence, the little one broke out in the widest of smiles again and giggled.
Sophia looked on with a pleased smile and complimented, "You are a natural, Heero."
All of the tension slipping from him, Yuy laughed down at the baby, "I... guess so." Tiny hands reached up for his face as the prince cooed and gurgled.
In that moment, an overwhelming sense of duty towards the baby was forged. And any questions that Heero had in the task of carrying him to safety when the dreaded day of the Keeper's entrance into the world came was answered with the profound realization of what that precious life meant for everyone in their world.
What he had thought was a curse was now brought to light as the great honor that it truly was.
Leaning towards the infant, Heero smiled and whispered, "Do not worry, Prince Duo. You are safe with me. I will not let anything happen to you."
* * * * * *
It did not take much for Odin to convince King Solo and Queen Sophia that their son should have a guard with him at all times. They were relieved by the notion of always having the Commander or one member of the Terrible Trio around as an added measure of protection for Duo. As far as the royal couple was concerned, the offer brought no reason for alarm.
Of course, the talks of that negotiation only brought the coming war back to the forefront of the 'family's' minds. As the people in the city celebrated the birth of their heir with festivals and dances, the knights-in-training looked on from their perch in the highest balcony of the castle. Happy as the festivities throughout Sanq were, there was also a bittersweet undertone to it all for the teenage soldiers.
That still did not stop them from partaking in the celebrations, or bestowing what meager gifts of stuffed animals and other items they could afford from the market.
For a day of such conflicting emotions, in the end, it was one of the best that they had the privilege of experiencing.
Later that evening, Heero volunteered to be the first to stay in the palace overnight to keep an eye on Prince Duo. A spare bed was placed in the nursery for him to sleep on for his vigil. When he entered the room following the departure of the royal couple, he chuckled and shook his head in amusement at the sight that awaited him.
Stretching the top half of his massive body inside from the balcony, Wing had his head peering into the ornate crib. His scaly mouth curled back in a wide smile, the dragon lowered the tip of his tail towards the squealing baby so that a tiny hand could latch on.
From the moment that the two were introduced earlier that day, Wing was particularly taken by the little prince. Grunting and chirping to make Duo laugh, the steed was in complete contentment.
"Alright now," Yuy smirked. Spying down at the yawning infant, he focused back on his large friend and insisted, "He really needs his sleep, Wing."
With a huff, the white dragon retracted his tail as a pout stretched across his great face. "Come on now," Heero urged, patting the end of his steed's snout. "We will have plenty of days to play with the prince."
Even as the words came out of him, the knight-in-training realized that there were only a couple short years before the next red moon. The prince would not even turn one by then. Was two years worth of days really 'plenty?'
Shaking off those dark thoughts, Heero grinned in seeing that Wing had managed to wrap his long neck around the bottom of the crib in his attempt to stay as close to the baby as he could. "Good boy," the soldier grinned as he patted the side of his scaly companion's head. His own wide smile returning, the dragon closed his piercing eyes and let out a deep sigh as he drifted off.
Yuy had to stand on his toes to be able to peek back into the crib. Finding that the newborn was already sleeping soundly on his side, he hummed in relief to himself. Carefully tucking the prince under the covers of the blanket that he and his 'siblings' had presented as one of their gifts, Heero whispered, "Good night."
Moving silently for the bed that had been made for him, he stretched out atop it and pulled the blankets over himself. Yawning, his own eyes closed as he went off into a peaceful sleep... the first one he had had in quite some time.
* * * * * *
Back in the encampment, Wufei's slumber was anything but restful. His dreams filled with horrific nightmares of untold terrors that threatened to claim him, he groaned, whimpered and tossed in the makeshift bed that he was lying in.
At the sight of a blade coming to run him through, the swordsman snapped awake with a sharp cry as he say upright. His sweat-covered, naked body tangled in sheets, he panted for air and frantically scanned his dark surroundings for the demons that he had been fighting off.
When his eyes adjusted to the surroundings belonging to the storage nook in the attic of the stable, Wufei's breath finally calmed as his tense shoulders slumped heavily. Letting out a deep sigh, he flopped back onto the feather mattress that he and Anna had set up before retiring for the night.
Anna. Quickly sitting up again, Chang's wide eyes fell on the empty space beside him.
Bolting out of bed, the Capricorn native moved for the pile of his discarded clothes to pull his trousers on in a rush. Not bothering with his tunic, fixing his loose hair or tying of any laces in his boots, he hurried for the rafters to climb down as fast as he could without falling.
Once he was on the ground in the center of the stable, Chang moved beyond the closed doors of the stalls to the chorus of soft snores from the dragons within. Soundlessly walking up to Ingier and Nataku's 'rooms,' he peered inside to find them both sleeping soundly.
That meant Anna was not far off.
His built up unease settling the slightest bit at that, Wufei ran for the front of the facility. Outside, the warm night air was a welcoming thing when he stepped into it.
Bringing himself to a halt, the swordsman closed his eyes and took a deep breath that he released slowly. Focusing only on the silence around him, he strained his ears to try and pick up anything that might have been out of the ordinary.
That sound came in the form of a steady, dampened tick and thunk that he knew all too well as belonging to arrows penetrating something solid.
And that brought him to finding his lover deep within the trees at the center of the encampment, well out of the way of waking anyone up as she prickled the side of a distant trunk that she had made the subject of her target practice.
In the faint moonlight that peeked through the cover of leaves overhead, Wufei's onyx eyes widened at the dozens of arrow tips sticking out from the side of the tree that more resembled the hide of a porcupine.
Staring at the profile of the archer, he noticed that her long hair was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail that revealed all of the kinks left from their desperate lovemaking. Her blue eyes narrowed on her target, Fraise nooked another arrow to her bow. Pulling back on the drawstring, she raised her weapon and let the arrow go into one of the narrow openings available.
Chang swallowed roughly at the sight of his lover as she reached for another arrow and called softly, "Anna?"
Jumping, the redhead gasped and spun to face him with wide eyes. "Wufei," she breathed as her arms sagged to her side. "Did I wake you when I left?" she frowned deeply.
"No," the swordsman responded as he walked towards her. Glancing back to the prickled tree, he commented, "It must have been some time ago, judging by how busy you have been."
Anna shook her head and sighed, "Yea. I just woke up and figured that I should get some more time in with my bow." Her head lowering, she reached back for her quiver to take another arrow with a trembling hand.
Trying to hook the tail feathers to the drawstring as her whole body began to shake, she giggled, " Thing is... I realized today that it does not matter how hard I work to make myself stronger..."
Wufei heard the choked whimper to follow before he realized that it had come from him. Shaking his head, his eyes began to shimmer as he whispered, "Oh, Anna, please don't-"
"I- no, none of us will ever be fast enough when the battle comes," his lover interrupted with a sharp laugh. Tears ran down her hidden face as she chuckled, "We will never be good enough or strong enough to keep Sanq from falling... to keep so many from dying. And that baby will be thrown to the wolves without ever knowing his parents."
On another failed try to control herself to nook her fresh arrow, Anna just allowed it to fall to the ground with her bow and gave into the tremors wracking her body. As her hands rose to shield her face to muffle her sobs, the other knight-in-training closed the distance between them to pull her into a tight embrace just as her legs were about to give out.
Clinging onto the swordsman's exposed torso, the archer buried her face into his bare shoulder whimpering brokenly, "I am so scared, Wufei."
Eyes closed and allowing his own tears to fall, Chang placed a kiss on her temple and whispered by her ear, "I know. I am scared, too, Anna. We never really gave ourselves the chance to talk about the prophecy and so it is catching up with us now." Pulling back, he cupped his partner's face in his hands to have their gazes lock.
"I am every bit as terrified of what is coming as you are," he said in a breath. Swallowing past the lump building in his throat, he admitted so softly that the light breeze almost carried the admission, "And I know that it is selfish of me to say it knowing how many lives are going to be taken away, but I am the most scared of possibly losing you. I... I would not be able to survive that."
Sniffling, Anna nodded, "I cannot lose you either... you are everything to me." As her lover gently wiped away wet trails of her tears with the pads of his thumbs, she groaned, "It absolutely kills me to think that you would be taken away because I love you so much-" Whatever more she was going to say was cut off by a bruising kiss when Chang pressed their lips together.
For a long moment, the world completely fell away and all that existed for Wufei and Anna was each other as they latched on as tightly as they could, kissing with everything that they had inside of them.
When they came up panting for air, the swordsman rested their foreheads together. "I love you too. More than you will ever know," he smiled lovingly.
Taking a deep breath, he smirked, "A promise, then. We promise to save the lives we can, fight with all we have and do everything that we can to get back here..." He tightened his arms around the archer's waist, he concluded softly, "where we both belong in the end."
A brilliant smile brightening her damp face, Anna pressed their lips together in another kiss and vowed as she broke away to cup his cheek in her hand with a whispered, "I promise." Hands roaming and clothing falling away, the couple consummated their pact by becoming one.
The nightmare was still coming. Nothing was going to change the fact of that.
However, for the first time since learning about it, they saw the faint glimmer of light in the darkness.
TBC...
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