By the Red Moon Part 28
Blood red eyes narrowed.
Disappointing as the results of the search had been, they were also expected. The flattened grass was examined along with the snapped twigs from the bushes and trees around. Pits that had been used for fires remained all around.
Everywhere they looked, there were the signs that a sizeable army had filled the area.
However, there was not a single hoof, claw or footprint to be found. Magic was clearly responsible for that, to cover the way that they had traveled.
Growling deeply, the ogre opened his hand to create a mirror sphere. As he raised it towards his slimy face, he relayed, "Lord Dekim, it appears that the enemy has moved from their location several hours ago. Unfortunately, it appears that they have been using gifted to cover their tracks, so there is no way of knowing the direction that they moved."
The dark sorcerer smirked, "Nothing to be concerned with, Captain. I had anticipated that they would run and do all they could to make the chase a challenge. We will find them again. Have the rest of your men stay put and await further instruction on your next target."
"Yes, sire," the ogre smirked as the sphere in his hand caught flame and disappeared. Grunting to the other soldiers walking about, he waved his hand to lead them back through the forest to regroup.
Back in Dekim's lair, Treize repeated quietly, "Several hours ago. If there was another force closer to the army's location, we would have had them instead of having this chase."
Waving his hand, the sorcerer chuckled deeply, "And it would be quite a boring victory over this world if that had been the case. I actually quite like giving them the false hopes that they will somehow be able to escape their inevitable devastation. A little cat and mouse shall keep this more interesting."
At that, the corner of the Commander's mouth curled up. "I must say that I cannot argue with that," he snickered. Folding his arms, he asked, "Then what orders would you like me to give the men that are spread throughout the south?"
It took little time for Dekim to think it over before he replied, "Have even more forces sent down there. I want large teams sent throughout the kingdoms in the area. It may be some time before we hear from Orsloiv, so we will have to see how successful we can be in smoking the army out on our own."
Leaning back in his throne, the old man grinned, "I think it is about time that we moved things along in our conquering of this world of the weak."
A sudden thought coming to him, he met the Commander's eyes and ordered, "Tell your men that if they should find our friends to bring Prince Duo to me alive. Should he be fortunate enough to live that long, I want to see him suffer slowly... painfully."
Treize bowed at the waist and smiled, "It shall be done, my lord." He turned on his heels and left the room to carry out his commands. And the smirk on his face only spread further at the thought of some action to finally come.
* * * * * *
Word of the move spread quickly through the camp soon after the meeting at sunrise that Odin had called Duo and his friends to. From there, the next few hours were occupied with preparation for the march.
For as many men, carriages, dragons, horses and every imaginable piece of weaponry there was, the prince was shocked at how quickly everything was packed and ready to go. Within a few short hours, the whole unit was mobilized and heading to the east.
By nightfall, the unit of thousands strong rested in a wide, open field where their tents and fires were set. It was quite the change from having the thick cover of those massive trees around wherever they looked. And with clear skies and warmth in the air, they could not have had better conditions to be exposed to.
Lying on his back with his head propped up on Scythe's coiled tail beside her body, Duo stared up at the thousands of stars peering down along with the full moon.
Since the end of their meeting earlier that morning, Heero, Wufei and Anna kept an even tighter watch over him. At no time was he without the presence of at least one of them and their dragon. Somehow sensing the tension in the riders, Deathscythe made sure that she was never far from his side, either.
Between the lot of them, no one was going to have a chance to get close to the prince who was not welcome to do so. As far as Duo was concerned, that was plenty fine with him.
At the end of their grueling day of traveling, he and his guardians took up their own little corner of the camp to make a large fire where they sat around. Not far off, Quatre, Relena, Trowa and Catherine had set up their own tents while Sand Rock and Heavy Arms looked on.
Heero and Wing took the first watch over their little island, perching themselves at the top of a hill a few yards away. His back to the others as he stared out to the fields, the Captain did not catch a certain pair of violet eyes that would occasionally watch him.
At the sound of Anna's voice laughing along with a deep rumble of a chuckle, Duo looked across the fire to see the archer 'wrestling' with her steed.
Pouncing to grip the shield around his head, she was carefully launched off by Ingier with a good shake to land on her feet as easily and gracefully as a cat. Laughing all the louder, she tackled his muzzle as their little game continued.
Just beside Scythe, Nataku hummed in amusement and lowered her head to the ground. Sitting on a pile of rocks near the prince, Wufei looked onto the skirmish and shook his head. "And she wonders where he gets his playfulness," he snickered, but the admiration for his lover was ever present in his dark eyes and tone.
Biting his lip at finally having an opportunity to talk with the archer one-on-one, Duo pushed himself to sit up and crossed his legs. "'Fei?" he called up to his friend. "I kind of have a personal question that I need to ask."
His eyes turning to the prince, Chang stepped down from his post to sit beside him in a wordless acceptance of whatever he needed to discuss.
Taking a deep breath, Maxwell gestured to the archer across the way and inquired in a near whisper, "How did you know that you were in love with Anna?" The swordsman blinked in surprise at the question and so came the rushed explanation, "I've never been in a relationship, myself, so I really have no idea what the signs are."
"Ah," Wufei smirked in understanding then. Turning his head to watch his lover, he took a moment before sharing quietly, "From the moment we met when we enlisted as knights-in-training, I was drawn to Anna."
Lost in the memories of those days long ago, a wistful smile tugged his mouth as he continued, "At first, I thought that it was simply because it was unheard of for a girl to want to become a knight as badly as she did. It was extremely impressive how she devoted everything to learning the ways of a soldier, no matter how hard of a challenge it became at times for her."
Duo grinned and pulled his legs towards his chest as he listened. It was very unlike the swordsman to open up about anything personal involving himself or the archer. And he was happy to have the chance to learn more about them.
Tilting his head, Wufei shrugged to the prince, "It is a difficult thing to recall a specific moment when I realized that my admiration was more than on a friendship level. Anna and I did everything together, both because we were in the same class under Odin and for the fact that we somehow both understood each other."
A thought coming to him, the knight recalled aloud, "I did begin to notice some of the differences in myself in reaction to Anna after several years passed."
Looking back across the fire to watch his lover, he smirked, "I realized that just being around her I had completely forgotten about everything else around us. Many times, I caught myself just staring at her, into her eyes, and feeling... at peace... like I was where I belonged."
Violet eyes widening at that, Duo blinked in surprise. There were moments when he did the same thing... had those same feelings.
Wufei turned back just as he braided teenager collected himself again and smiled, "I think that love is too complicated and too strong a thing to ever be able to pinpoint a single time when it happens. Love to me comes in a series of experiences and feelings that you have with another person."
Swallowing roughly against the lump that had formed in his throat over the swirling of revelations and emotions running through him, Duo could only stare at the fire and nod his head shallowly.
The swordsman took a deep breath and leaned towards his friend. "A bit of advice that I will offer," he said quietly. When those violet eyes met his, he urged, "If you ever do find yourself questioning yourself if you ever are in a situation like the one I had been in with Anna, do not ignore or question your feelings."
Biting his lip, Wufei stated, "At first, that is what I had done. If I had continued, I would have missed out on the brightest thing in my life. Just as Odin Lowe teaches, always follow your emotions."
Somehow... Duo had the impression that Chang knew more about his own feelings than even he had. Then, he thought of some of the glances that his friends would make whenever he and Heero were together. And there was Hilde's remark about his already being 'taken' by someone and 'clueless.'
His heart hammering in his chest, another lump formed in the prince's throat. Just how long had he pushed aside really thinking more on his reactions? Had he paid more mind, would he really have needed to ask his friend how he knew he was in love?
Clearing his throat Duo nodded and breathed, "Thanks, 'Fei." A smirk tugging the corner of his lips, the knight nodded back.
The sounds from across the fire ended and Anna walked into the scene, slipping into her lover's lap. "So what have the two of you been discussing?" she asked with a wide grin.
Behind them all, Ingier was busying himself with stretching out alongside Nataku as closely as he could. For her part, the green dragon seemed to not pay him any mind, but leaned against him all the same.
Kissing the archer's cheek and wrapping his arms around her waist to hug her against him, Wufei smiled, "Guy things."
Anna hummed, "Ah. Boring stuff, then." Gesturing to where Heero and Wing continued their vigil, she suggested, "We should have a changing of the guard soon. They have been out there for a long time now."
"I'll take the next shift. You get some sleep before your watch," the swordsman offered as they got to their feet. Leaning in to kiss his lover soundly with a whispered, "Sleep well," before stepping away from her to ready Nataku.
Shortly thereafter, Wufei and his steed were flying towards Heero and Wing as their friends watched them off.
Anna took up her sleeping bag to stretch it out close to Duo. "You know he has changed a great deal since you have returned home," she said while slipping into the confines of her 'bed,' an amused smile ever etched on her face.
Broken from his thoughts as he kept his eye on their knights talking amongst themselves in the distance, the prince looked over at her. "Who's that?" he asked.
"Heero, of course," she giggled, propping herself up on an arm. "This is the first time we've been alone in some time that I could tell you. I've known him for years and have never seen him so open or... happy."
Warmed by that, Duo responded, "Really?" He noticed just how excited such a thought made him... to believe that he was somehow responsible for the Captain's change. Not about to really get too caught up, he shook his head, "As nice as that is to hear, I am sure that I'm not the reason behind that."
The archer's grin only spread further and she insisted, "No need to be so modest. It normally takes years for Heero to relax around someone. It took absolutely no time for him to be that way around you." Her head tilting, she added, "And I would not be so quick as to assume that it is only because you are our prince, either."
Becoming a bit more serious, Anna said sincerely, "I just wanted to thank you for that, too. It's been a... long time since we have had our brother back. He still has a ways to go, but he has come along in leaps and bounds to being himself again."
Duo smiled and was about to reply when she suddenly announced, "I am going to act like I have been asleep for a while now." That said, she quickly lay down, rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes moments before Wing landed into their ring.
At their close proximity, Wing and Deathscythe glared at each other, but knew better than to act out on their frustration with their riders keeping an eye on them. Huffing, the white dragon moved to curl up in a ball with his back to the black steed in order to stay near Duo as well as his own human... just to annoy Scythe.
Chuckling, the Captain shook his head in amusement, "You are both worse than children sometimes." Pack in hand, he unraveled it at Duo's side and threw several large pieces of wood onto the fire before he slipped under the covers. Turning to face his prince as he lowered his head onto his pillow, he frowned in worry, "Are you unable to sleep? We have another long day ahead tomorrow."
"Just got a lot on my mind, I guess," Duo answered honestly with a sigh as he stared back up to the stars. Smirking, he shrugged, "Nothing new there."
Heero chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought and turned his own eyes up to the heavens. "If it helps in any way," he began so quietly his friend had to strain his ears to hear it, "I think that you are handling all of this incredibly well. I really cannot say for certain that I would be able to cope with everything as you have."
Maxwell blinked in shock and turned onto his side to meet the Captain's gaze. "You think so?" he questioned in disbelief. Biting his lip, he commented, "There are a lot of times that I just keep up a front, you know. I'm not always as calm inside as I may seem. Like that time after the fight..."
Shifting to lay on his own side, Yuy smirked, "I know that you cannot help but to have doubts and worries since all of this is still new to you." With a deep breath, he nodded, "But, yes... I do believe that you are holding up every bit the leader that we need you to be."
Neither of them caught the small smile spreading on Anna's face as she spun around in her 'sleep' to keep her back to them.
Taken aback, Duo lay there with his mouth opening and closing before he grinned widely, "Thanks, 'Ro."
Unable to help himself, he admitted, "That... really means a lot, coming from you. I can't think of a stronger person that I know, alongside Wufei and Anna. I have a lot of respect for all of you." He inwardly snickered when the archer hummed a sigh behind him. Though she was keeping up the act that she was dreaming, he knew that the sound was out of appreciation.
It was the Captain's turn to blink in surprise at the return compliment. "Well, if you ever need to talk or anything for that matter, you can always come to me. I would be happy o help however I can, even if it is just being a listening ear," he proposed. And judging by how slowly the words left him, it was evident that he was not used to extending such an offer.
Feeling his heart make a few flips in his chest, Duo grinned back, "I will. Thank you." Of course, anything directly involving the knight he would not be able to share... but it was more than nice to know that he clearly accepted him as more of a friend than a prince.
His mouth opening in a wide yawn, the braided teenager closed his eyes and sighed, "I think I'll try getting some rest now. 'Night, 'Ro."
"Good night, Duo," Heero replied softly.
For a long time, Maxwell just lay there, listening to the crackling fire. Finally, he could hear that both of his friends' breaths pulled and released evenly as a sign that they were sleeping. Blinking his eyes open, he saw that instead of sleeping on his back as he normally would, the Captain was facing him in his slumber.
Smiling to himself, Duo contented himself to just watching the knight for a time. By then, there was absolutely no question what was happening to him...
...he had fallen in love with Heero Yuy.
* * * * * *
One of Dorothy's favorite things to do was to daydream. She could spend hours upon hours imagining all of the things that she could conjure with her abilities. And now that she had a specimen from Prince Duo, her mind was nearly always preoccupied with how she would use it to her whim.
Locked away in her spell room, she ran her hand over the glass tube in her hands bearing the shavings of skin, hair and dried blood and sighed, "Oh, my love, there are just so many wonderful things that I could unleash from you. It is such a pity that there is not more of you that I could bring out more than one spell. I must make absolute certain that I choose wisely to whatever it is..."
She stopped when she thought she heard a deep growl.
Blinking in surprise, Dorothy looked around her dark room, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on their ends. There was no doubt that she, indeed, had heard something akin to a breath rumbling in her ear.
But when her gift did not sense anything at all near her, the sorceress stared at the clear bottle in her hands. "Was that you?" she murmured in a breath.
There was one test that she had yet to run on her sample. And it was a test that she did not deem necessary. She was still certain that it was not needed... but one could not be too careful...
Narrowing her eyes on the bottle, Dorothy sent a stream of her gift inside. The moment her power touched the edge of the sample, a white eye appeared in the glass. And it was glaring heatedly at her as a loud roar filled the room, shaking several books and shattering glasses.
With a cry, the sorceress pulled her gift back, panting heavily when the eye disappeared and her blackened spell room fell silent once more. Lowering the glass onto her table as if she were burned by it, she continued to fight for air while easing her racing heart.
"By the Keeper, how did I miss this?" she breathed, hand on her chest as she stared wide-eyed at the tube. "Prince Duo wields dark magic."
TBC...
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