By the Red Moon Part 50
"I knew you would figure it out!" Relena exclaimed as she threw her arms tightly around Duo's neck. Struggling to keep on his feet, the prince chuckled and patted the seer's back.
Understandably, his friends were beside themselves with excitement over his announcement that he was able to overcome the demon of his own making when it came to his gift. The display that he made with his right hand glowing and his left surrounded by bolts of black lightning put a nice emphasis to the news.
As his wife unlatched herself from his braided pupil, Quatre smirked, "I give you all the well-deserved credit for coming up with the means to overcome your challenge, Duo. While I would never have suggested you try such a feat on your own, you made the right call in doing so."
Most proudest of the lot was a particularly beaming Commander. Nudging his lover, Heero grinned, "I never had a doubt that you would figure it out." And he truly never did, Maxwell knew as he returned the wide smile Reaching over, he squeezed the knight's hand in appreciation for his understanding and support throughout the whole ordeal.
Wufei shook his head and snickered, "I cannot wait to see the full extent of what you are capable of. No one has ever been able to master both sides of the gift before in this world."
Frowning at that, Duo raised his hand and warned, "Yea, well, that's going to be the next big challenge since I haven't mastered it, either. Being able to make my hands glow and flash is one thing, but I have no idea where to start in figuring out how to use my gift. Somehow, I don't think that a light show is going to scare off an army of ogres."
Catherine rubbed her hands together vigorously, causing small tongues of flame to dance around them as she grinned wickedly.
"And that is where you are mine," she replied. "Now that you know how to call upon your gift with Quatre's assistance, I will show you how to use it to its full potential as needed. I cannot tell you how anxious I have been for this."
Beside her, Trowa snorted, "Pull back on those reins long enough for him to get settled down after his big day. I know your slave-driving ways from experience and the last thing that we need is for you to push him to the brink of a complete breakdown."
His sister placed her fists on her hips and stuck her tongue out at him. "Of course I was going to let him have a rest," she huffed. "And I only pushed you around when we lived together because the chores around the house would never have gotten finished if I hadn't, my dear little brother." The First Scout just grinned and shrugged innocently.
Finally allowing the fatigue of his emotional and physically challenging journey to find his gift, Duo's shoulders slumped heavily. "I guess that I could go for a break until tomorrow." Smiling to the fire-starter he winked, "And I am every bit as anxious to get going on this as you are, Catherine. Soon as I'm rested up after tonight, I'll be more than ready for you."
Beaming at that, the redhead nodded firmly.
"On that note, we shall take our leave, then," Anna suggested with a wave as she led the way for the door to the tent. Exchanging their 'good evenings,' the friends and family to the prince headed out to give him and Heero their privacy.
Lingering behind a little longer, Duo's immediate family took a little more time to express their excitement over his accomplishment. Pulling away at the end of their hug, Noin told her nephew softly, "You handled yourself brilliantly, dear." When she ran her fingers through his bangs, he unconsciously leaned into the touch with a wide grin.
Zechs slapped the boy's back and told him, "Very nice work, son. I can say with all certainty that I would not have taken on everything that has been dealt to you since your return to this world as well as you have. That kind of poise is going to serve you very well when you are crowned king once day."
At that sentiment, Duo blinked widely at his tall uncle. "T-thank you," he stammered. If he ever did live to see his days as a king, it was more than relieving to have another leader that he respected see him in such a light. It was quite the compliment.
Hilde chuckled and gave the braided teenager a quick hug and said, "Rest up, cousin. We're looking forward to what else you discover with this gift of yours." With that, the prince and her parents bid their adieus and stepped out for the evening.
The moment that they were alone, Heero turned to catch his lover up into his arms and pressed their lips together for a fiery kiss that had Duo's knees nearly buckling. Clutching onto the Commander, his wide eyes closed as he put more of a hearty effort into the duel of their tongues.
"I am so damned proud of you," the Commander breathed when they came up for air. "And I am going to show you just how much," he smirked. Taking hold of the stunned prince's hand, he gently tugged him towards the door of their tent.
Happy to allow himself to be nurtured, Maxwell put up no resistance and never asked a single question as he was led to their steeds. Climbing into their saddles, the couple secured themselves and Heero whispered instructions into Wing's ear when the white dragon reared his head back to his rider.
Once the white steed took to the skies, Scythe followed after. When they broke through the trees, the clear skies were shaded a multitude of vibrant colors in the early start of the sunset. Soaring high and swiftly, the dragons circled around the waterfalls to come in for a landing in a secluded field.
As the first to touch down, the Commander unfastened his harness and jumped to the ground while his braided counterpart followed suit. "Stand watch, Wing, Scythe," he called up to the beasts as he walked towards the waterfalls.
A small frown of confusion on his face, the price muttered to himself, "Stand watch? What would they need to stand watch for?"
Stepping onto the rock bed, Heero gave the answer as he smirked back at his partner and slowly stripped every article of clothing from his body.
His violet eyes wide, Duo swallowed roughly to dampen his dry throat. Once he was completely naked, the knight dove into the pool. Quickly shedding his own clothes as he hurried to the top of the flat rocks, the prince unwove his hair and dived in after him.
When they emerged in the shallower end by the cliffs where the water ran off in multiple streams, the pair instantly wrapped their naked bodies around each other and locked into a deep kiss. Panting when they parted, their hips unconsciously rocked together and their hands ran over every inch of wet skin within their reach.
As Yuy rose to his feet to stretch his legs, his waist emerged from the water surface.
Smirking, Duo moved in to catch him by surprise by gripping his hips and wrapping his mouth around the growing unit that made an appearance. With a stunned gasp that came out as a half-moan, the knight gripped his lover's shoulders to keep himself steady.
His eyes closed, the braided teenager sucked and used his tongue every way he could to bring out more of those unintelligible sounds.
While the length in his mouth grew and hardened further, he could feel his own doing the same beneath the pool's surface. Immersing himself to the task, he brought the Commander closer to the brink only to pull away before he completely fell over the edge.
Licking his lips to savor the taste on them, Duo smirked at the near cry of protest and pulled Heero back down with him. Clinging onto each other tightly, they continued to kiss and gasped for air between breaks of the water falling on them.
"Take me," the knight begged when he finally found enough of his voice to make the request, their glazed over eyes locked.
Swallowing roughly, the prince was not as willing to trust himself in saying anything at that moment. For moments then they had coupled up to that moment, he was more than thrilled to have Heero inside of him. Now that their roles were about to reverse, his already racing heart only pounded all the harder in his chest.
Just going from his experience in how he had been cared for in the preparation, Duo slid his fingers into the tight opening. Both aided and hindered by the water surrounding them, the process was almost painstakingly slow, but he was not about to rush and hurt his lover when he had given his complete trust over to his care.
Finally, Maxwell was engulfed by the heat that was Heero when he was able to press his member inside. And he found a new sense of Heaven in their lovemaking. Their eyes remained locked as the knight gasped and moaned with every light thrust. Becoming more and more used to the sensation of being filled, he raised and lowered his own hips to intensify the thrusts.
Kisses lingered even longer as the sound of the rushing falls muffled their cries of pleasure. Becoming more cold on both of their parts, the rhythm increased in speed and strength. Acting on pure instinct, Duo reached down to take a firm hold of Heero's stiff penis to pump it in time with his plunges.
Then, grabbing on tightly and shouting each other's names, the knight and the prince spilled over into the ecstasy of their orgasms. For a time, they continued to stay linked together as a tangle of arms and legs. Half-propped up along the rocks of the cliffs and half-submerged in the pool, they fought to catch their breaths.
Lightly kissing his lover's cheek, Heero smiled, "Thank you. That was... amazing." In a rare, purely vulnerable moment, he bit his lip and asked, "Mind if we stay like this for a while? I'm actually quite comfortable right here."
"Thank you. Yes, it was and I am, too," Duo grinned wistfully. Snorting, he added, "Besides, I don't think that my trying to swim back right now would be a good idea since I can't move a damned muscle." He snickered along with the deep voice in his ear and they shifted to float joined as just they were in the cool water.
* * * * * *
It was a great day to start his training in controlling his gift, Duo decided from the moment he woke up the following morning.
His energy and mood high, he practically hopped out of bed and changed into his clothes while whistling a cheerful tune. Leaving his peacefully sleeping lover to get his rare share of rest, he placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and stepped outside to yet another beautiful start of sunny skies and fresh, warm air.
Life, in spite of its challenges, was wonderful.
Now that the prince knew how to call upon his gift, it would only be a matter of time before he was able to master it to give the Alliance a chance in the war. Embracing who and what he was, it was finally time to make himself truly useful in the fight against Dekim and the Keeper.
Once his hair was braided and a quick breakfast filled his stomach, Duo perched himself atop Deathscythe and lightly tapped her side with the heel of his foot. With the sun fully rising over the horizon, he landed in the nearby by fields where Catherine, Quatre and Relena were waiting.
Walking up to her friend as his feet landed on the soft grass, the fire-starter smirked, "Alright. Let's get right to business, shall we?"
There was a time, not terribly long ago, when the gleam in her eye and the knowledge of his having to use dark magic would have terrified Duo. But that time was long past. Matching her grin, he nodded firmly, "Ready when you are."
* * * * * *
Further north, under the thick cloud of darkness, driving rain pounded down on the ogres milling about their daily routines of making weapons, training the newest packs of creatures sent by the Keeper and waiting for orders to move out to the next target. Large camp fires burned throughout the massive encampment as those not assigned a duty yet stood about to talk and gurgle in laughter.
It was the dawning of yet another day for the Dekim army. Relaxed in everything they did, the gruesome monstrosities looked forward to when they would have the chance to slice down a human or dragon. They would all fall eventually. Of that there was no doubt. And so, there was no rush into anything that they did.
Even with the knowledge of Prince Duo's gift, every one of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers working under the dark sorcerer was certain that victory would be theirs. How could it not be with their incredible numbers and strength?
Standing at the top of the steps leading to the darkened shell of the castle that once had been home to the king and queen of the Sanq kingdom, Treize Khushrenada stood with the hood of his dark green cloak pulled over his head.
At no surprise to him, everything was in order with the troops.
Within a day or two, they would be given the word that they all longed for; to march on, either to reinforce other units or to crush the nearest city that continued to stand in defiance.
Once that kingdom fell, it would be the next and then the next. There would be little to no resistance wherever they went for some time in their continued push to claim the northern regions.
Before long, they would progress into the more central regions of this world.
And yet there was little to be happy about in the whole thing for the Commander. It was all becoming very mundane and at times barbaric the way the game was being played. But, it also needed to be done this way to guarantee the success of his master and the Keeper.
The whole strategy had been of Treize's own design. Every matter of the army was his to deal with as the leader of the most impressive force that this existence had ever seen. There should have been a great measure of pride in that... yet there was not.
Shaking his head, the tall soldier pushed those thoughts aside.
He was not about to question Dekim or his methods. Such a thing was an act of insubordination... a fatal mistake. And yet... he still could not wrap his head around how he had come to swear his allegiance to the old man. Whenever he tried to think back in his memories, there was only a black void in his recollection and pain.
And that must have been what happened when one made an oath to the Keeper as to keep them from recalling their lives before him. Treize was certain of that. What other explanation could there be?
Raising his head, the Commander stared up at the dark statue of the dragon beside him. Whoever had created the monument brought life to it, detailing every tiny scale along the creature's hide.
At the top of the massive head, two hors stretched and branched out like great antlers.
The beast's expression bore a look of rage, its eyes narrowed and fanged mouth open as though it were about to breathe its lethal fire at any moment. To add to the feel that the monster was about to attack, its spiked back was arched, the wings were spread open widely and its front right claw was outstretched in readiness to strike whatever invisible challenger it was facing.
Despite the foreboding posture of the statue, Treize always felt a strange sense of peace whenever he was around it. More often than not, he would find himself purposely going to stand beside it during the times that he had to himself.
With the fears of Prince Duo still being on the loose somewhere in the world with his abilities, this was one of those times when Khushrenada found himself needing whatever sort of comfort he could.
It had been too long since there was any word on the Alliance and their whereabouts. During that time, there was no clear idea of exactly how far along the boy was coming in understanding his powers.
Judging by how one strike of the untrained gift of both the light and dark had performed during the Pisces attack, the knight had the sinking feeling that it had only been a taste of what they were truly dealing with.
All of Treize's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he recognized a dark figure flying towards him through the relentless rain.
Its red eyes glowing through the darkness, the carrier pigeon landed on the ledge of the platform bearing the statue of the dragon. Letting out a low, metallic rumble, the bird watched a hand reach out to take the rolled up note that it bore.
Unraveling the message, the Commander read aloud, "Cancer has fallen. Progressing to the next city. Reinforcements to secure the area needed."
He should have been happy with the news. He should have been looking forward to giving this new lot the orders that they had been waiting for.
But like so many other things surrounding his life, Treize felt empty. Sighing, he pulled his hood forward and made his way down the tall staircase to address his men like so many other times before.
* * * * * *
"Creator, please send your good spirits to continue to watch the Alliance that we defeat the darkness consuming all that is good. Please guide Prince Duo so that he may be the salvation that we all know that he will be."
The voice stopped for a moment to giggle.
"We both seem to have a bit in common when it comes to feeling overwhelmed at times with the responsibilities that have fallen into our laps. Perhaps that is why you brought me here, so that I did not need to feel so alone and I thank you for that. We are both doing the best that we can to serve you and our fellow man."
A pause for a deep breath.
"And I pray for the courage of my mother, Midi and my father, Treize that I serve them well in their absence. Wherever they are, I hope they know I miss and love them. May we all one day meet again in this world... Your name be praised."
Coming to the end of her nightly prayers, Queen Sylvia pushed herself up from her kneel beside her bed. After pulling back the covers she blew out the flickering candle on the table beside her mattress and settled herself down.
Her eyes drifting closed, she held onto the hope of being with her parents once again...
...if only in her dreams should that be all the time she had with them.
TBC...
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