By the Red Moon Part 3
After a peaceful, dreamless sleep, Duo sighed as consciousness returned to him.
Blinking his violet eyes open, he found himself staring up at the clear sky through the opening in the trees surrounding him.
One of the first things that struck him was the fact that both the moon and the stars were fading against the brightening heavens from the early signs of sunrise. And once that hit him, the braided teenager gasped sharply and sat straight up to stare in shock at the lake beside him.
"H-holy...," Duo whispered to himself, unable to finish voicing his own thoughts as the reality of how long he had been out sunk in. It was the furthest thing from his intentions to fall asleep like that. And if he did not hurry back home in time to change and get going to school before his guardians noticed he was gone...
Well, that would only be more of a red flag to them and Iria that something must be more wrong with him than they had first thought. Besides having to worry about being moved again, he could very well be kept under tight supervision.
Hurrying to his feet, Duo readjusted the cap on his head and rushed for the tree line where the path through the woods waited. Silently, he prayed his feet would get him back to the house before he was missed .
As soon as he ran into the forest, however, it became suddenly apparent to him that something was not right.
Violet eyes widening, the teenager came to an abrupt halt and scanned the surrounding trees frantically. "Where's the path?" he breathed.
While most people would not have noticed the differences between one mass of trees and another, Duo had come to know the area well enough to know that there was something out of place. The tree trunks were much thicker, the leaves above much denser.
And the path that he'd traveled dozens of times before was nowhere in sight.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Duo tried to keep his breath even and calm as he tried to reason aloud, "Maybe I didn't pay good enough attention to where I came in." Disorientation from waking so suddenly could have done that easily.
That had to be it.
Just as the braided youth turned on his heels to turn back the way he came to reset himself, the sound of a single branch snapping made him freeze right in his place. That snap was loud and sharp enough to have been made by a large branch... one that would have needed a lot of weight on it to break.
Swallowing roughly, Duo remained completely still with his back straight when he heard a deep rumbling growl. A few beads of sweat rolled down his neck as he closed his eyes tightly.
Very slowly, he turned himself back to see a massive black bear appearing from the cover of the trees. When it showed its huge head and husky body, the animal was only about five feet away. Dread sank into the teenager's mind when he realized how easily he could be overtaken even if he spun to run as fast as he could.
But since when in the hell were there black bears in these parts of Maryland?
The bear's mouth stretched back in a snarl, its teeth dripping saliva as it stared intently at its visitor with black liquid eyes. Growling, it crept closer. A small, unintelligible sound escaped Duo when his first attempt to move his locked legs failed.
Of all of the ways that he thought he could die, being mauled by a bear was not exactly one of those in consideration. And yet it was about to happen now as he just stood there completely helpless.
When the enormous creature was less than a foot away, one long arm was raised high. Eyes wide Duo's mouth opened in a sharp cry when he managed to find his voice.
Before the arm came back down, a dark form dropped from the trees above to land between the teenager and the bear.
Stunned, the braided young man almost fell over in seeing the back of someone his height wearing what appeared to be a large brown shirt, black pants and boots. At the back of the person's head, their dark hair was pulled back in a very short ponytail. And raised high in both of their hands was a large, curved blade.
Their back straight in defiance to the bear, the mysterious one stared up at the bear that all of a sudden reeled back a few paces while lowering his arm to the ground calmly. Those black eyes looked from the two on the ground before him to the trees just above and behind them.
Following his would-be attacker's ling of sight, Duo looked over his shoulder and up to once again freeze in surprise.
Standing perfectly on a thick, horizontal branch was what was clearly a young woman with long red hair that reached her waist in thick curls.
Dressed in boots and pants similar to the first person to appear, the girl wore a purple tunic tied closely around her waist with a black belt. Instead of bearing a sword, she drew a sharply-pointed arrow back tautly on a bow and locked onto the furry target that her large, deep blue eyes were boring down on.
How in the world she managed to appear there without making a sound was something that both amazed and startled the teenager gaping at her.
"We do not mean you any harm," a very male voice from the sword-bearer announced calmly to the bear that focused back on him. Still, he never lowered his weapon making it known that he was not about to let his guard down easily. "Let's all just move on peacefully."
Though the black animal clearly did not understand the words, it knew what was being suggested. Lowering its head as if in a bow, it turned with a grunt and walked back off. When it was hidden deep within the trees again, the sword was lowered and replaced in its sheath resting on its bearer's hip.
Duo was surprised when his rescuer turned to reveal a face as young as his own with Asian features. Just as he was blinking in disbelief, so were the dark eyes watching him.
Nearly jumping when he heard the girl land just behind him, the braided youth blinked back at her. "You were very lucky that we happened to be around," she said quietly as she replaced the arrow in the case on her back and slid the bow overhead to hang by her left shoulder.
That bit of speech managed to break her companion from his initial surprise enough to compose himself. Nodding firmly, he added, "The bears out here leave us alone because they know our smells. Your scent is clearly unfamiliar to them and so it would come across as a threat. So long as you stay with us, they will not harm you."
As the pair stood shoulder-to-shoulder, it was clear what the great shape that they both were in even with their loose tunics covering them. What parts of their forearms were in the open were lined with lean muscle as well as the rest of their forms.
Shaking his head as he looked back and forth between the two faces of his saviors, Duo frowned, "I'm sorry, but where the hell am, who are you and what just happened?"
Confusion and almost worried expressions fell on the pair and they shared a glance that seemed to exchange an entire conversation between them in seconds.
Meeting the anxious violet eyes, the young man stated, "As of right now, we can answer to who we are. But, I am afraid that we are not the ones who would properly respond to your other questions."
If that was meant to put him to any ease, it only managed to frustrate Duo. But considering the strangeness of his situation, and the fact that the two had saved his life, he really had little choice but to accept that... for now.
Lowering his head, the raved-haired swords bearer introduced, "My name is Wufei Chang, knight of the Sanq Kingdom."
The redhead followed suit by bowing her own head and stating, "I am Anna Fraise- also a knight of the Sanq Kingdom."
Blinking widely, Duo repeated, "Knights? Kingdoms?" When the faces kept their serious expressions, his braided head fell back in a loud round of laughter that instantly brought the 'knights' to freeze in concern.
Quieting down to a snicker, the sixteen-year -old shook his head, "Of course. All of this is just some crazy dream! I can't believe that I didn't see that sooner! None of this would make sense otherwise! I just have to keep occupied for a little while until I wake up." That said, he turned and began to walk off.
Anna frowned deeply at that and responded, "Your H-" Wufei snapped his head towards her with a bit of a warning look just as she stopped herself, blue eyes wide. The ball-capped youth was still too busy chuckling and moving away to notice the slip or the exchange.
Taking a deep breath, the redhead spoke up more clearly, "Duo, I can assure you that this is not a dream."
When he heard his own name, the teenager stopped in place with his back rigid. Without moving his head, he looked down to at his red windbreaker to see if his pendant was hanging in the open as a way that they would have known his name.
It was not. Like always, it was tucked securely under his shirt. And the chill that he felt run up his spine at realizing that was... very real, froze him. However unbelievable the situation he now found himself in was, his thought of it all being a dream was beginning to fade.
Slowly turning back to face the knights, Duo raised a finger and asked, "Okay, how do you know my name?" Again, the pair shared a silent conversation in a shared look.
Taking a deep breath, Wufei peered back at their visitor and suggested, "Why don't we work our way back to out of these woods to where we have our steeds waiting? We will able to take you where there are more people who can help you."
His dark eyes scanning the trees around, he added, "Besides, the woods can have ears."
At that, Duo's own eyes were moving around to search the area about him. If these two so-called knights were able to move about the trees without making their presence known until they wanted it known... there truly was no telling who or what else could be out there.
Suddenly, he was more than happy to wait on his answers in favor of getting out of that place.
Nodding firmly, "Alright. Let's go, then."
* * * * * *
They had been walking in the opposite direction of the lake for over an hour. And there was still no sign of an end to the thick wood.
Duo walked in between his escorts, who walked at either side of him a couple of feet apart. Somehow, he had the feeling that they both understood he needed some space and quiet to let the strange events of that morning sink in.
Occasionally, he would purposely allow a jutting twig or branch brush against the back of his hands to see if he could actually feel them...
...He did every time.
As they walked on, Wufei and Anna were at the ready for anything that could happen. The swordsman always kept his right hand across his waist to be near the hilt of his sword while the archer's bow was held low at her hip with an arrow in her hand at the drawstring.
Finally, the silence and their intensity was enough for Duo. It was more than evident that neither of them were about to answer any questions that had to do with him. Maybe they would answer questions about themselves.
"So," he began, looking over to the young woman at his right. "You trusted your horses to be safe so far away from you?"
Anna cocked her head towards him and frowned, "Our horses?" Wufei, as well, had glanced over with a confused expression that was caught from the corner of a violet eye.
Not exactly sure why that confusion, Duo shrugged, "Yea. You had mentioned before that your steeds were waiting where you let them. Since we're a pretty far out ways from them when you're concerned about what's out here, I thought that was a little risky."
Blinking her blue eyes, the teenage girl smiled, "Ah. Well, they are more than capable of handling themselves on their own." Wufei gazed forward to hide the smirk on his face as his fellow knight continued, "They really do not need us to stay too close by to ensure their protection."
Duo's eyebrows rose at that answer. He never would have thought that horses would be able to fend themselves if harm ever threatened them. However, he also did not expect to wake up in a whole other world, either.
In light of that, he supposed anything was possible.
Only a few minutes later, Duo could make out the end of the tree coverage where he could see an open field just a few yards ahead. The sight of that instantly filled him with relief at being free from the almost suffocating blanket of woods surrounding him with unknown dangers possibly looming about.
"Here we are," Wufei announced just before they stepped out into the sunlight.
Feeling the warmth of it, the braided teenager sighed and closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of air scented strongly with flowers in the long stretch of green fields. When he opened his eyes again, they widened with a sharp gasp while his jaw fell slack at the sight that awaited him.
The lilacs, daisies and other flowers that spotted the grass that stretched on for miles easily twice the size as the plants back in his original realm... which now he was not sure what to call it anymore.
And off where the meadow ended, massive waterfalls reached their end in the form of a great river that foamed and roared, at the bottom of massive cliffs from which the waterfalls dropped that went up to the heavens.
It was... easily one of the most breathtaking things that Duo had ever seen.
Working his jaw, he managed to find his voice and breathed, "Wow." Stepping forward, he just slowly gazed around to bring in every smell and vision that the scene provided. Really, he could have just stayed there and been perfectly content.
The braided teenager did realize that he'd been standing there for some time when he realized that his guides were talking quietly between themselves with their backs to him a few feet away. Frowning, he strained his ears to listen in over the sound of the rushing water.
"I think that we should reunite with the rest of our group right away," Wufei stated quietly. "The sooner we can get back to help our numbers, the better."
With the back of her head bobbing in a nod, Anna replied, "We could always get a letter to Relena from there to meet with us so that she can talk with him and answer whatever questions he has. She really should be the best person to explain everything."
Duo began to seethe.
Once again, other individuals were making the decisions as to what course his life would take without taking his own wishes and feelings into consideration. Harmless as it may have been on the knights' parts, it was still no less frustrating.
And he was finished with being led around without making his voice heard.
Clearing his throat, he adjusted the cap on his braided head and approached with a polite but stern, "Excuse me." Their discussion coming to a halt, the pair turned themselves to face him with their utmost attention.
"So, this Relena that you mentioned would be the person that will be able to answer my questions?" Duo asked.
Their eyes widening, Wufei and Anna glanced to each other from the corner of their eyes before refocusing on their visitor. "She would be the most fit to enlighten you to your situation," the redhead answered, nodding shallowly.
Folding his arms, Duo smirked, "Good. Then I would like to be taken to her right away."
Both knights' jaws opened at that as they stared at him. And to his shock, neither one of them seemed prepared, or willing, to voice an objection to his wish even though they had other plans of their own.
Wufei lowered his head when he regained his composure and reassured, "Very well. If that is your wish, we will meet with Relena." Her own head bowing slightly, Anna wordlessly agreed with the arrangement.
Struck by the quick acceptance of his wishes, Duo stood stunned for a heartbeat. It was a tiny decision... a little matter in his life, but it was his own. And it was an incredible feeling to have made a decision in his life.
Looking up to the clear skies, the young swordsman called, "Nataku! Ingier!"
A frown on his face, the braided teenager followed his gaze upward. Squinting his eyes against the brightness of sun he shielded them with a hand.
When two dark shapes appeared and swirled miles above, his eyes widened in disbelief. "W-what the..." was all that he was able to whisper before the ground trembled.
TBC...
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