By the Red Moon Part 29
It was far from common for Dorothy to shake in fear.
She was shaking now.
Walking through the long corridors leading to Dekim's throne room, she could feel that her face was drained of color as well. Even some of the disfigured guards that would normally avoid looking upon her openly stared while she passed.
Under normal circumstances, the dark sorceress would have struck them down to nothing where they stood. However, paying any real attention to them was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.
No, it was much more beneficial to Dorothy that she prepare for whatever punishment she was surely about to receive when she delivered the news that she had to her master. And a punishment would come for her grave mistake.
Such slips at this time were inexcusable.
And even more terrifying than knowing what was coming was what she now knew about Duo Maxwell. She could still hear the deep voice that she had brought out howling in her ear, making her eyes scan around to make certain that whatever beast that it belonged to was not about to strike.
Both relieved to finally reach the throne room to have the matter over with and terrified by that as well, the sorceress took a deep breath.
Straightening her back and lifting her head high as the double doors were opened to her, she stepped inside and made her way to the end of the stretch where Dekim was waiting in his seat of honor.
Much to her aggravation, Dorothy noted that Commander Treize was also present for this urgent meeting that she had called upon.
Of course the knight would be here for this, being the leader of their army and needing to be informed of any and all information that involved his men and their assault on this world. But he was going to take enjoyment in this, the sorceress knew all too well. At his first look at her, Treize blinked in surprise and stood to attention beside the throne.
Frowning in worry, Dekim leaned forward and asked, "Dorothy? What is this news that has you so troubled, my dear?"
Slowly lowering herself to a knee as she pushed her black dress back, the girl bowed deeply before him. Another quake ran through the whole of her body.
Unable to look up at him, she decided to just get on with it. "My lord," she began with a much steadier voice than she had anticipated, "I am sorry to inform that there was a test that I had failed to conduct on the specimen from Prince Duo until a moment ago. And the results of that test are... quite troubling."
"Test?" Dekim repeated, his eyes narrowing. "What kind of test would that be?"
Against the lump in her throat, Dorothy swallowed roughly and raised her head. Sharply inhaling, she answered quietly, "To see if Prince Duo is gifted. My lord... he wields magic of both the light and the dark-"
It was as far as she was able to get before Barton was suddenly over her to deliver a violent blow across her cheek.
Reeling back across the floor from the force of the blow, the sorceress lay wide-eyed on her side for a moment. A trembling hand reaching up, she lightly touched her throbbing right cheek and stared up in fear at the tall man standing over her.
Face red with rage and fists clenched at his sides, Dekim bellowed at the top of his lungs, "You only now thought to search for such a thing?! I have never heard of such stupidity in all my years! You are supposed to be my most trusted and talented gifted!"
Tears of pain and frustration at herself filled Dorothy's blue eyes as she looked away and made no move from her prone form. She did deserve his ire, but it was no less difficult to have it directed at her. In the end, she should have known better and so was prepared for whatever else was in store for her.
His fists shaking, Dekim turned sharply away from the sorceress and ran a hand over his face. "No one has ever been born with both dark and light magic," he thought aloud, the chilling thought really hitting him.
"We were only able to attain it by selling our souls to the Keeper. How is it that... boy was granted such a power? And if he ever found out how to use his gift..."
...Then Prince Duo would easily be every bit as powerful as he was... if not more powerful.
Shaking his head, a nearly panicked Treize swallowed hard. Whatever mild enjoyment he may have had in seeing the sorceress brought down a few pegs had been long forgotten in light of her information. Right now, all of his focus was on knowing that they would be able to do what they needed to, to end this threat.
"I will have my men advance further and faster to track that army and kill him, my lord," the Commander offered. "Someone with his abilities, especially one who stands against us, cannot be allowed to live."
Dekim stared back to his throne and breathed, "No. I want that power. Prince Duo must live so that I can learn how to obtain it. There are bleed out spells that can sap the gift from its bearer to be passed onto another gifted."
Rubbing the bottom of his whiskered chin, he reasoned aloud, "He does not even know what he has right at his finger tips... does not know the first thing of how to use it even if he did."
Almost afraid to challenge the man, Treize hesitated before commenting, "Lord Dekim, such a thing makes the prince even more dangerous to us at the moment. What happens when his untapped energy is unleashed as a strike on us? We do not even know the full extent of what he is capable of yet."
Dorothy righted herself to be on both knees before her master. Head lowered again, she warned, "The Commander is correct, sire. Though the sampling that I have is too small to measure just how deeply the magic stems through Prince Duo, I can say with certainty that he has strength like nothing this world has ever seen in one person."
Valid as the argument was, the dark sorcerer's appetite was so whet that he could taste what was practically within his reach.
'Strength like nothing this world had ever seen.' And if he could add that to what power he already had... there was not a thing that would ever be able to challenge him.
With his anger finally controlled, the dark lord turned to face his sorceress and held out a hand to her. Blinking, Dorothy cautiously accepted the offer as he helped her back to her feet and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Forgive me for my lash out, my dear," he whispered in her ear. Cupping the side of her face, he took away the swelling bruise that had been turning several shades by then. "In hindsight, I would most likely have made the same mistake you had were I in your shoes. Let us just be careful to not make another oversight like this."
Releasing the breath that she had been holding, the sorceress smiled and nodded firmly, "Yes, my lord. Thank you for still trusting me in light of this. I will not let you down again." While she meant those words because of her devotion to Barton and his cause, she also knew that her life would be forfeit should she slip again.
Dekim chuckled and kissed her forehead and replied, "Good girl." Walking back to his throne, he announced, "Now, we wait to hear back from either our spy or our soldiers to see what more we can find on the army's whereabouts."
Turning to face the Commander, he added, "Be sure to pass word along that the first to find the prince and bring him to me will be rewarded handsomely. That should motivate them in their efforts. I also want it leaked to the leaders of the lands that we have yet to conquer, that a pardon will be granted to them and their people should they be the ones to turn him in."
He barked out a laugh and waved his hand in the air when his best knight's jaw fell open. "They need not know that I would never uphold such an offer. Those fools had their chances to side with me long before now, so they have made their intentions perfectly clear. There will be no love lost when we crush them as we will every other land that still exists."
While he was still not at all thrilled with the notion of the prince being spared his life, Treize bowed at the waist and responded, "As you wish, sire."
Sitting back in his throne while his guests hurried from the room, Dekim hummed to himself, "I will have to have a room prepared for our honored guest when he is delivered to me." A deep chuckle bubbling from him, he stated, "One of such stature should be extended the best hospitality."
Prince Duo and his gift would be his. He would see to that.
And with so much power at his bidding, the dark sorcerer might be able to stand up to the Keeper himself.
* * * * * *
"Good morning," Anna cheered as she and Ingier flew into the ring where their friends were only just beginning to stir at the first signs of light stretching out over the horizon.
Unstrapping herself from her saddle, the archer walked up to the others and announced, "There is not so much as a cloud in sight for miles, so it is going to be another beautiful day." She managed to duck in time to avoid the pillow that Duo had thrown at her and giggled.
The prince rubbed at his tired eyes and grumbled, "How the hell can you be so chipper this early when you've been up on watch for the last few hours?"
Heero snorted as he stood and stretched, "She has always been like that." Anna nodded her head enthusiastically and crawled into her lover's lap when he pushed himself to sit up.
"Look alive, everyone," Odin called as he made his way towards the group with the remainder of their friends right behind him. His three knights came to full attention, standing straight and smartly before him. It took a little longer for Duo to peel himself from his sleeping bag and get to his feet.
Smiling, the Commander informed, "We have made contact through our scouts with the city of Pisces not far from here. They have sent word back that they would like to house our army for as long as we need to fill up on supplies and rest before moving out again. It's more than large enough to take all of us in."
With his head facing further east, he said, "We will be leaving from here shortly so that we may arrive there before nightfall."
Thoughts of a real bath, an actual bed and food beyond the rations that were provided through the camp flooded Duo as he shouted excitedly, "That's great! Civilization here we come!"
Suddenly busting with energy, he set to packing up his things as the others watched on and laughed.
"And we can be sure that we will not be met by an army of Dekim's?" Wufei questioned as he pulled his brown tunic on.
Nodding, Trowa answered, "My team and I combed the city and everything around. There is no threat against us there. The fortified walls have excellent views of the area around for many miles. Should anything come for us, we would have more than enough time to leave Pisces long before the danger is even aware that we were really there."
Still packing, Duo stuffed his rolled up gear into Scythe's harness and grinned, "Good enough for me! Let's get going, guys! We're losing daylight here!"
Odin snickered, "You all heard him. Get a quick meal in your stomachs. We leave within the hour."
* * * * * *
"Damn," the prince breathed as they approached the kingdom laid out before him. "Just when I think I've seen it all here..."
Never before had he ever laid eyes on a floating city up until then. But sure enough, the sprawling city sat surrounded by ocean without an island beneath to support it.
A few wide paths of brick that stretched for about three miles were all that linked Pisces to the mainland. And the walls that housed the main gateways were made of water that rose up from the sea to form a protective ring around the civilization.
His hands gripping the handhold of his saddle as he leaned forward, Duo breathed, "It's just incredible. Like Atlantis, only it's actually above the ocean."
True enough, from the trident points atop the castle towers' shimmering buildings that seemed to be etched from glass, the city was exactly how he dreamed Atlantis would have looked.
Glancing over from his own saddle, Heero smirked, "It has been a long time since I have been to Pisces, but it never ceases to impress me. Just wait until you are actually inside. They have some pretty amazing sights."
Violet eyes still wide on the city, Duo replied, "I'll bet." Looking over to the Captain, he returned the smile and continued to stare when his friend turned his head forward again.
How he had not realized sooner that he was in love with Heero was beyond him.
Now that it was a certainty, the braided youth had absolutely no idea how what to do about it. There was absolutely no way of knowing if those feelings were returned... or if the knight was even remotely interested in him for that matter.
But there was no doubting that Yuy was a devastatingly handsome guy. Fighting the urge to sigh, Duo forced himself to return his attention to the floating city before the Captain realized that he was watching him.
"So who is the leader of Pisces?" the prince inquired.
To his left, Sand Rock flew up as Quatre responded, "King Septum and Queen Maralee. Relena and I have been guests of theirs in the past and found them to be very kind people."
Relena kept her arms around her husband's waist and nodded, "It comes as no surprise that they were so quick to offer their homeland as a haven to us." Her head tilting, she grinned, "And I am sure that they will be quite taken by you, just as every leader that you have met has been."
Blushing a bit, Duo turned his head away to hide it. "No pressure there, right, 'Lena?" he snickered. Good-naturedly, he shrugged, "You know, there is always the chance that I could say or do something really stupid that gets us kicked out."
The seer laughed, "Oh, I would say that is highly unlikely so long as you remain true to who you are. I have never met a person who is liked as quickly and easily as you are. It is quite the trait to have."
Lowering his head a bit, Maxwell blushed all the deeper, much to the amusement of his friends as they chuckled.
As embarrassing as the compliments may have been, it was also nice to hear. It meant that he was not making a complete fool of himself while trying to act like the prince that he needed to be while still not being completely comfortable with the role.
"Just know that there is no pressure on you," Heero stated. "Along with the fact that Relena is absolutely right in her assessment of your personality, the king and queen have supported our army for as long as we have made our stand against Dekim known. They would not turn their backs on us now."
Having the Captain support the kind words from the seer, there was nothing that could have stopped the wide smile that spread across Duo's face when he met the cobalt eyes on him.
Below, the soldiers on foot were accepted without hesitance from the guards at the water walls to verify that they had been informed of the guests that they were anticipating.
At the same time that the water parted for those ground troops, the massive crystal dome that sealed the top of the city burst like a bubble to grant those in the skies access.
The smile on his face threatening to split it, Duo called, "Well, let's not keep our hosts waiting! Ready, Scythe?" His steed snorted in response and swooped down as one of the first of the hundreds of dragons to descend.
* * * * * *
Once the protective dome was reestablished over the city and the dragons were settling into their new living arrangements, Duo was led by several armed guards along with his friends into the glass castle and taken through the halls sealed by aquarium-like walls where live fish swam inside and water bubbled.
Heero was not kidding when had said that the inside of the kingdom was even more amazing when one was inside, the prince thought to himself as he scanned his wide eyes all around his surroundings.
Lady Une, Queen Sylvia and his family watched his wonder with amusement since they had all seen the palace before. It was refreshing to them all to have someone take all of it in with new eyes.
Meanwhile, unknown to all of them, hundreds of carrier pigeons were being sent from the north with a dark promise carried on their wings.
TBC...
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