The Knights' Chronicles Part 7
Turning the page of the book in his lap, Duo informed, "Odin went on for almost three full pages on just how excited he and everyone in Sanq had been over the upcoming arrival of the gifted."
Heero returned to his husband's side and nodded, "Well, it was quite rare back then for anyone from Romefeller to make an appearance to the kingdoms around. They are a peaceful people and normally would only travel out when specifically called on for their specific abilities."
"Sort of like super heroes in comic books from the world where I came from, being called on by mere mortals for help," the braided king snickered. To the blinking eyes filled with confusion that fell on him, he smirked, "Oh yea, I'll have to fill you all in on that another time."
An amused smile tugging her lips, Anna folded her arms behind her head and leaned back against the wooden wall behind her. "I truly wonder how any of us would have reacted to being in the realm that you had grown in," she chuckled. "There are some aspects of it that are most intriguing."
Both Ingier and Nataku craned their necks over the frame to stare at her with wide eyes. Shaking her head, the archer reassured, "Of course except for the fact that there are no dragons. That alone would be one reason I would never want to live there." The two steeds grinned and flapped their tails, pleased with that response.
Reaching up to pinch the end of her beast's jaw, Anna laughed, "I would not ever be able to part with you, Trouble." With a snort and an eye roll that expressed how he expected no less of a remark, Ingier leaned in and nuzzled his rider's side affectionately.
Near the center of the space, Wufei watched their son giggle and play with the blue-purple-green hatchlings that hoped around. Unable to help the smile on his face, the swordsman raised his head to his wife and friends to throw in, "There certainly are a lot of things about this world that I would not be willing to leave behind, even in spite of the war and the things that we had to endure from it." Heero and Anna nodded their heads in agreement.
"Can't say that I argue with you there," Duo replied. "Take it from someone who had been through the portal, this world is far better than anything I've experience anywhere else."
On the other side of the closed doorway, Howard peered his head over the top to take in his expectant charge. Eyes widening, he shouted an over-dramatic, "Still no babies?!" Scythe slinked her head along the hay-covered floor to stare up at the Head Squire and gave a frustrated sigh in response.
The old man hummed and rubbed the bottom of his chin as he said, "I am still convinced that they will be hatching tonight. Just hang in their a little more, mother. And if they are not out by the time I am back, I will just have to try the hammer." Along with the lot sharing her space, the black steed actually smiled and snickered.
Scythe and Wing's appreciative grins were more than enough for Howard to know that he was doing his part in seeing that all was well with them. So long as there was a dragon in his care, he took pride in seeing that they felt nothing but comfortable and happy. "Well, my work here is done for now," he winked to his young friends. "Call me as soon as there is any cracking."
"See ya, Howard," Duo called as the others waved. Scanning the page in the book that he had been looking for, the braided teenager grinned, "Oh, here it is. Clearing his throat, he read aloud, "'The air around the encampment the day of our guests' arrival was electric...'"
* * * * * *
(Flashback)
For the first time since the start of their training, even some of the more confident knights-in-training were showing signs of nerves in seeing that all was ready and in top shape for their responsibilities.
In many ways, the escorting role that they had been assigned was every bit as important as their looking after the safety of their own king and queen. After all, it was the royal couple themselves, who had requested the audience of the gifted within Sanq. The reason behind the invitation did not matter- just the fact that King Solo and Queen Sophia had extended an invitation was enough to have the trainees and their officers at the ready to serve to the best of their abilities.
When it had been reported by the scouts that there was a sighting of their arrivals by both dragon and carriage, the teams had been taken out of the encampment and placed at their best vantage points.
Heero mounted his saddle and secured himself in his harness. Reaching down to run a hand over the smooth scales of his beast's hide, he called, "Ready, Wing?"
Snorting, the his steed let out a grunt that released a puff of white smoke from his nostrils in response and opened his webbed wings at the sight of the officers' reptilian stallions taking flight. Within seconds, they were airborne and soaring at the end of the fray alongside Odin and Peacemillion.
On the ground, Wufei and Anna were separated into their own divisions and took to horseback to hurry through the forest with their teammates. "Beautiful day for an escort," the archer grinned, her long red hair whipping behind her in its ponytail and the bright morning sunlight spilling through the cracks in the falling leaves.
"That it is," Chang agreed with a grin and a nod. Spying the fork in the road that would break their unit into two, he called to his friend, "Happy mission."
Gripping her reins, Anna smirked back, "Happy mission." That said, the bend came upon them and they turned in opposite directions.
Nearly a half-hour later, the couple dozen riders in the skies flanked the heavens many miles over the road that would lead into Sanq. As the first to reach their destination by quite the wide gap to those on hoof below, the scaled steeds shifted the bend in their wings to hover in place while their humans sat up in their saddles to scan above and below for any sign of their guests.
Odin shouted to his fellow officers over the wind that had picked up, "We should catch sight of their dragon any moment now."
His cobalt eyes squinting against the bright sun that continued to climb the sky, Heero scanned around him. Just then, one of the officers called, "I see something!" Instantly, the dragons and riders alike followed the line of sight that the soldier was pointing towards the south.
Sure enough, there was something quite large in the air that did not belong in clear sky. Too small to be a solitary cloud and much too big to be a bird of any kind, the approaching dot was growing rapidly as it soared straight on for the gathered knights.
Just as a precaution until they had a clear confirmation to what was coming upon them, the officers drew their swords, held tight to their lances and nooked their arrows to their bowstrings. Following suit, Yuy unsheathed his own blade, the metal singing its freedom.
It took no time for the approaching spot to reach close enough that more defined details could be made out. Sitting up in his saddle, Heero took in the golden, sandy color of the dragon that flew onward to them without fear. The beast's two great horns curved back in a graceful swoop that wrapped them around the shape of its head.
What struck the knight-in-training was the red shade of the deep red eyes that never peered away from the welcoming party. Instead of them appearing any bit threatening, there was a deep warmth and calmness to the large orbs despite the fact that they belonged to a creature as large and imposing as a dragon.
Atop the saddle of the beast was sat another surprise to Heero. The rider was a boy who appeared to be no older than he was. Fair-skinned and wearing an orange tunic that went with his long tan pants, the oncoming teenager's short blonde hair blew on the wind and a smile tugged his lips that reached his blue eyes.
The moment they took in the young man, the officers lowered and put their weapons away as Peacemillion carried Odin to the front of their flanks. Heero and Wing fell back along with the others, but managed to make their way close enough to the Commander that they could see and hear everything in the greeting of their guest.
Gracefully coming to a still hover before their welcome, the sandy-colored dragon gave a quiet wuffle through its nostrils. Blinking her wide eyes, Peacemillion smiled and returned the same 'hello' back, her long tail flapping behind her. Odin bowed his head to the young, blonde rider and addressed him, "Quatre Winner, I presume?"
His smile only growing, the boy nodded firmly, "That would be correct. And you must be Commander Odin Lowe. The king and queen had told me to expect your reception." Scanning the other faces around, he practically beamed, "I was not anticipating such a welcoming party as an escort. This is quite exciting."
"Well, we are the ones honored that you and your fellow travelers would come so far from Romefeller to meet with our royal couple," the Commander replied. A thought crossing his mind, he tilted his head in a momentary stall.
Quatre's head fell back as he laughed. "I imagine that my age would come in as much of a surprise as what you are feeling," he stated. "Most gifted, like myself, can be taken into the training of understanding our abilities as early as eight years in age. Considering the length of time between that and our very early teenage years, we can become quite adept in our talents."
Stunned to have been read that easily in the blink of an eye, Odin stiffened in his saddle with wide eyes. Clearing his throat, he grinned sheepishly, "I do apologize for my reaction. it certainly was not meant to offend you."
Another laugh broke from the gifted and he waved his hand with a reassuring, "No offense taken. I completely understand." Gesturing to the treetops far below them, he said, "The carriage bringing the other travelers should be reaching your ground troops soon. I have kept Sand Rock, here, just a little ahead of them over the course of our journey."
"Very good. They will be in good hands with the rest of our force," Lowe grinned. Stretching an arm out to his side, he offered, "Shall we head for the castle, then?" Quatre bowed his head in appreciation and once again, his eyes took in the smile that grew on his face.
Peering over his shoulder, Odin spotted his young charge and smirked, "Heero, you and Wing lead the way."
The knight-in-training gasped quietly, eyes widening along with Wing's at the honor. "Y-yes, sir," he stammered with a wide grin. The officers and their dragons around him snickered to themselves over their excitement. For one as young as Yuy, it was a rare thing to be trusted in charge of anything, but they all knew that he was more than capable in handling this- his first mission as a dragon rider.
Raising a hand, Quatre requested, "We were all hoping that we may see your camp before we go to the castle. It comes as a request of our seer, whom your king and queen are most interested in meeting with."
A seer. Instantly, both Heero and Odin shared a look. Suddenly, the calling of the gifted by their king and queen had made perfect sense when they recalled a certain conversation with the pair many years before.
Though that did not explain why their visitors wanted to see the encampment first. The Commander did not hesitate to nod to his pupil in a silent order.
Wing made a smooth turn to face the north once again. Gripping his handhold with both hands, Heero called, "Let's go, boy." The white-and-silver steed gave his wings a powerful flap and shot forward with the other dragons close behind.
* * * * * *
On the ground, Anna stood up in her saddle at the sound of many hooves clopping up the dirt road on the other side of the foliage and vines covering her and the other trainees spread throughout their line of defense. Quickly dismounting her silver horse, the archer moved to carefully push aside the leaves and twine to find the carriage being led by a half-dozen horses of blazing white.
Stunned at the sight of the bubbled cart that seemed to have been made of thousands of sparkling diamonds, the redhead breathed, "Wow." Never before had she seen a more elegant carriage... not even for a king or queen. Along with the steeds pulling it along, it shimmered in the light that poured down on the road.
Across the way, on the other side of the path, Anna noted a couple of flickers of metal catching the sun. Only she and her teammates were trained enough to spot such quick, fleeting glimpses of drawn blades through the shield of leaves and twine. It was the only sign that she had of the other team's presence.
No doubt they too, were captivated by the breathtaking sight of their guests' means of travel. The break to stop and awe passed quickly when the carriage moved along without pause. Quickly remounting their saddles, the archers brought their horses to a steady canter alongside their charges to see that the remainder of the trip into Sanq went without event.
Moments later, to everyone's surprise, the carriage veered for the knight encampment instead of heading directly into the city. A glance up revealed the dragons were leading the way to the base and so the horse-drawn carriage was following. Though that had taken the knights by surprise, they kept up and entered their home along with the shimmering carriage.
Streaming into the main clearing within the seclusion of the camp, the officers and their students stepped down from their steeds of scales and fur to watch Sand Rock land beside the carriage as it came to a smooth stop. His lips ever tugged up in a smile, Quatre jumped to the ground and walked to the side of the glistening cart to open the door.
Much to the troops' wonder, they watched as the person who accepted his offered hand was a girl no older than he. Too short to need to worry about bending forward to miss the downward arch of the carriage door, she exchanged a smile with her fellow gifted in what at once felt like a private moment between them.
Dressed in a rose-colored dress that fell to sandaled feet, their female guest's golden hair was a deeper shade than her counterpart's and it fell loosely past her shoulders. And close to her hips the garment was tied to her waist with a gold rope, her slight frame only made her seem all the more youthful.
If there were any question to the girl's ability, however, the tear drop-shaped opal that fell against her forehead from a beaded band that wrapped the crown of her head made it perfectly clear. It was the worldly symbol of an oracle... the 'eye' that saw all yet to be revealed.
Once the girl had stepped down from the carriage and stepped away, two more faces appeared. A bald-headed man of his mid-forties in tall boots, dark brown pants and a red vest that was opened in the front to reveal his finely chiseled chest made an imposing presence. But like Sand Rock, there was a gentleness in the giant's cool green eyes as he smiled and scanned the audience before him.
Also of her early forties, a woman in a deep blue dress stepped out with waist-length black hair that fell in graceful curls. Wrapped around her head was the same headband with the seer's 'eye' lying against her forehead.
For the knights-in-training, to see such a striking group as the four gifted before them, there was the thought that perhaps they should have bowed before them. The lack of fine silk robes or precious jewels ornating them made little difference in the prestige that seemed to seep from the young pair.
In a suddenly nervous gesture, Odin shared a glance with Justin before he stepped forward to greet their guests. Bowing his head, he began, "Hello, I am-"
The dark-haired woman finished for him in a pleasant and bright voice, "Commander Odin Lowe. My name is Dallion Krutza." Holding out her arm to Winner and the tall bald man next to him to say, "I believe that you have already met Quatre Winner and this is his mentor, Nigel Bronz."
Finally gesturing to the blonde girl that had taken her place beside her, the oracle continued, "My apprentice, Relena Peacecraft, and I have seen you quite a bit since we received the invitation from King Solo and Queen Sophia."
Blinking his widened eyes, the Commander laughed, "Ah, well, then it is a great honor to have you all in our humble encampment. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to make your stay as accommodating as possible."
The young seer looked up to her mentor with a silent request. Dallion nodded and reassured kindly, "Speak up, child. It was your vision."
Relena beamed brilliantly and looked up at the officer to inform, "Actually, Commander, I had been hoping to meet with you a little more... privately before we go into Sanq."
"Of course," Lowe replied quickly, the surprise returning to his face as his eyebrows rose. "Let me bring you all into my meeting hall along with my First Captain." Turning to face his charges, he announced, "You are all dismissed to do as you please for the remainder of the day. Excellent work, everyone." That said, he and Justin Fraise led their guests deeper into the camp.
And like a spell that had been broken, the remaining officers and their trainees snapped back into life when the gifted disappeared from their sight. Instantly, quiet murmurs filled the air as the lot discussed the events of that morning and their most interesting visitors.
Wufei turned to his 'family' and smirked, "Well, that was an interesting start to the day." Reaching over to pat Wing's lowered head, he focused on Yuy and stated, "My team spotted the two of you leading the party back here. That must have been exciting."
"It was," Heero nodded, a smile tugging his lips. "And very unexpected." Grinning to his steed, he winked, "Though I think that the honor was more for Wing's sake, being the new dragon of the army." The white beast snorted, his long tail flapping in acknowledgment before he nudged his rider to share the credit.
Shaking her head in amusement, Anna suggested, "I think that calls for a celebratory helping of fruits." Wing chirped in excitement as his head shot up. Laughing, the Terrible Trio led the way to the stables with their scaly friend in tow.
* * * * * *
Moments later, Wing was the picture of contentment as he sighed and lowered his head atop his bed of straw. In the stall beside his, Peacemillion gurgled out of chuckle at her new companion and enjoyed her own breakfast laid out by the squires.
In the center of the stable, Heero asked his 'brother and sister,' "So, what shall we do with our free day?"
"Well, we could always hike through the woods for some exercise," Wufei suggested when the sound of hooves running into the scene had him and the others turning.
Captain Fraise brought his silver horse to a slow canter when he spotted the threesome. When he came to a halt before his pupils, he scanned all of their faces with his piercing blue eyes as he announced, "I need the three of you to come with me to the Commander's station."
His blank expression was marred by a deep frown, the red-haired man made a quick check to be sure that no other ears were listening in. Satisfied that they were relatively alone, he cast his blank mask back in place and leaned down towards the young, anxious faces. "The oracle had called for you," he explained quietly.
Their eyes widening, the knights-in-training shared confused glances. While Justin kept his face trained as unreadable, there was still an air of uncertainty coming from him. He dismounted his horse and waved a squire over to take the reins and lead the horse to its stall.
Centering his attention on his daughter, the Captain urged in as reassuring a manner as he could, "Come along." With one last passing of glances between them, the trio followed Fraise as he took them from the stables.
Not a word was spoken between Heero, Wufei or Anna the whole of the short walk for their Commander's station. What soldiers were around to catch them in their passing kept their eyes on the group with interest. Some whispers were spreading amongst any small groups that had been gathered along their route. Swallowing roughly, the three trainees tensed all the more under the attention that they were receiving.
Finally, they reached the closed office of the Commander. As Justin held the door open to them, the three knight prospects hurried inside to shield themselves from the scrutiny of their peers and officers. Entering the main room, they fell into a straight line and took in the scene that awaited them.
Gathered around the large table in the center of the first room sat the four gifted. At each of their places were a small plate and challis, clearly recently used to serve whatever food and drink could be offered to make them more comfortable following their long travel from Romefeller.
Odin sat at the far head of the table and was rising to his feet, mouth opening at the sight of the new arrivals. But it was Relena's sharp gasp that filled the air before any word of his would. Blue eyes wide, the girl stared in wonder at the tightly wound knights-in-training that had all but jumped at the sound she made.
Slowly rising from her chair, the young oracle rounded her mentor, never breaking her stare on their guests. "You are all exactly as I saw you," she breathed. The surprise on her face quickly melted into elation as a wide smile threatened to split her face and she laughed.
Making her way to the line, Relena moved to the closest trainee and threw her arms around his neck tightly. "Heero Yuy," she whispered. Taken aback by both the embrace and not really allowing anything else to sink in, the dragon rider did not have a blink of time to return the hug before the blonde pulled away.
"Wufei Chang," the seer giggled, greeting him in the same manner with a firm squeeze around the neck. Equally shell-shocked as to how to react, the Capricorn native was able to pat her back a couple of times simply from acting on auto-pilot. He was far too surprised to notice the flash of jealousy that washed over the redhead's face beside him as she watched.
The archer's mild discontent was completely forgotten when she, also, was embraced by the oracle. "Anna Fraise," Relena grinned beside the other girl's ear.
Stepping back, the gifted girl looked up and down the line and back again. A blush coloring her cheeks, she beseeched, "I apologize for the forwardness. I am just so thrilled to finally meet all of you in person at last."
Her head tilting, the lovely seer smiled widely once again and introduced, "In case you had not heard, my name is Relena Peacecraft... and we are all going to be the best of friends."
TBC...
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