By the Red Moon Part 7
Throwing open the doors to the room where he had just been sitting in with his cousin and friends, Duo announced, "I can't just stand around here, knowing what Dekim is doing." The first faces he spotted were Relena, Quatre and Hilde's as they remained together at the table and they blinked in shock at him.
He turned to face the stunned knights standing by the glowing fireplace and stated, "When we first met, you were discussing how you needed to get back somewhere to help your numbers. You have an army waiting for your return, then?"
Wufei was the first to break from his stupor and closed his mouth. Nodding firmly, he answered, "Yes. Since Sanq fell, we have been traveling as far south as we could to gather riders and soldiers from every kingdom we would find to make up a sizable force." Frowning, he turned his head over to Anna and muttered, "Our Captain is going to have our hides when we finally meet with him again."
At the confused look on the prince's face, Anna smirked, "We had been told by Relena and Quatre where we would find you when you returned. Our Captain wanted to be the one to be there when that happened, however, his presence was needed to keep peace in the ranks. He had sent us with the direct orders to return to our army with you immediately."
Duo frowned at that, worried that his own order to have the knights bring him to Romefeller would get them in trouble with their superior officer. Wufei and Anna had been nothing but loyal and kind to him. Regardless of the fact that he was their prince and so having to obey and respect him, he also considered them more friends than anything.
That would all have to wait until the time came to defend them.
"We better make our way back to them now, then," the prince suggested. "I'd like to see what I can do to help out."
Lightly slapping her lover in the arm, Anna smirked at him with an 'I told you he would be fine' expression on her face. Smirking back, Wufei shook his head in amusement... and relief.
Quatre stood and stated matter-of-factly, "Relena and I will also be joining you along with those gifted living here that are fit to fight." Focusing on Duo, he explained, "Since Dekim is still many weeks out from being anywhere near here, the center of our realm, we waited here knowing that you would be visiting."
Hilde rose to her feet and smiled, "The army that I traveled with also came along to be added reinforcements. More will be arriving once word gets out to all of our soldiers that have been keeping an eye on the dark army."
Folding her hands at her waist, she continued, "I will travel back to Epyon on horse with a few guards to inform my parents of the gathering forces in the south. The sooner we can pass that onto the nations of the west and the east the better our chances of survival."
Reassured by all of that, the prince grinned, "Great! Then we leave in the morning?" Every head in the room nodded in agreement. "Alright," Duo sighed while rubbing his hands together and turning to leave the room.
When his back was to the others, he chuckled nervously to himself through clenched teeth, "Oh my God, what the hell am I doing?"
* * * * * *
That following morning, Duo changed back into his new clothes and ate a quiet breakfast with his friends and headed through the main doors of the castle. His eyes widening, he took in the sight of the courtyard filled with dragons and their riders looking up at him.
Swallowing roughly, the prince stood there frozen for a heartbeat. Beside him, Anna cleared her throat and whispered, "Your highness, we are ready when you are." Nodding her head over to Wufei, she descended the steps along with him, Quatre, Relena and Hilde.
Duo took just one more moment to collect himself before he stepped down to follow the others.
At the front of the pack were Nataku and Ingier, who wagged their tails happily as the sight of their own riders making their way down the steps to stand by them.
Just behind them was a dragon with two tall horns on its brow that jutted out then up and behind its head like huge hooks. A dusty yellow mixed with some brown patches, the beast's red eye stayed on Quatre when the empath was in sight. Grinning when the creature bent its head to lightly nuzzle him, the blonde chuckled, "Hello, Sand Rock. I agree that it is a lovely day for a flight, boy."
With a small smile, Duo turned away from the reunion to watch as a heavily armored soldier from his cousin's army stepped from his red dragon with gold-streaked highlights on its appendages. The great creature's head was framed in small, sharp spikes that overlapped the next to make an impressive shield behind the black eyes watching their rider near the prince.
Removing his helmet, the man revealed a young face that was partly covered by long, brunette bangs. A green eye peered at the prince as he raised a metal-gloved hand to his chest. "First Scout Trowa Barton of Epyon reporting for duty, your highness."
Hilde ran into the scene to place a hand on the soldier's shoulder and smiled to her cousin. "Duo, this is my most trusted spy in my army. He will be most valuable in searching the land for our enemy without their even knowing that he, or his steed Heavy Arms, are there. And he will keep our men in line to follow your lead in whatever decision you make."
Bowing his head, Trowa said sincerely, "And it is a great honor to serve any leader brave enough to go against the darkness that we face. Until our King and Queen can join us in battle again, our complete allegiance is with you."
The prince shifted a bit uneasily where he stood and asked, "Can I make a request from everyone?"
Instantly, everyone within earshot came to attention including Wufei and Anna as they stepped close to hear whatever command their leader was about to make. "I'd really like it if everyone just called me Duo," the teenager grinned sheepishly,
Waving his hand in the air, he commented, "The whole 'Your highness' and 'Your Excellency' stuff really isn't sitting too well with me just yet."
The knights shared a wide-eyed look before the swordsman turned back to smirk, "If that is your wish... Duo."
Relieved, their prince sighed and nodded, "Yes, that is what I wish." Patting the Asian rider's back, he snickered, "See, it's not that hard of a thing to say."
"Just a bit strange," Wufei shrugged as Anna giggled. "It will take a bit of getting used to for us as your titles are meant for the respect that you deserve. However, we will honor your request." The archer nodded with a small grin on her face.
Chuckling, Trowa smiled, "Well, this is certainly quite interesting. Something tells me that our working together will be anything but dull." He bent at the waist a bit and said sincerely, "Very nice to meet you, Duo."
Finally feeling more at easy at not having those titles to make him uncomfortable, the braided teenager grinned, "Same here." Looking up at the red dragon, he blinked in surprise, "You can really sneak... them around when you're out spying?"
His green eyes looking up at his steed, the scout responded, "Heavy Arms can be quite agile for a dragon of her size. You would be surprised how easy it is for us to go unnoticed." Her wings spreading, the creature's gold-webbed wings gave a couple of light flaps in knowing that she was being discussed.
Focusing on Hilde, Trowa urged, "Ride fast on your journey to Epyon, princess. Safe journey to you."
The short-haired girl's nodded, "As to you, First Scout Barton. We will all be reunited again before you even realize that I am gone." The guards that would be escorting her back stepped closely at her sides as she smirked, "No need to worry about me."
Biting his lip, Duo approached his cousin. Silently, he wished that he could have had more time to get to know her. "Good luck," he told her quietly. Hesitantly, he opened his arms in hopes for another hug like the one she had given him in their meeting.
All but throwing herself forward to wrap her arms around his neck, Hilde smiled, "Have courage out there. I look forward to catching up with you again soon. We still have a long time apart to make up for." The corners of his own mouth curling up, the braided youth gave her a tight squeeze before pulling back.
Sand Rock lay flat on his stomach so that Quatre could easily climb into his saddle. Reaching down, he took Relena's hand to assist her up. Wrapping her arms around her husband's waist, she suggested to Duo, "We best leave soon. It will be quite the long trip to reach what remains of the Sanq army, so we should use all of the daylight we have."
"Uh, right," Duo replied. Waving to the soldiers that continued to watch him, he shrugged, "Okay, everyone. Let's go." As the riders climbed into the saddles he walked over to Anna and Ingier. "Shall we?" he asked, trying to hide his nervousness.
No matter he many times he had flown on the dragon before, it was still a bit of a frightening thing for him. Giggling, the archer bowed her head and led the way up into to her saddle. So as to not make Wufei jealous, the prince tried to not wrap his arms too tightly around her waist even as his fear had him fighting the urge to latch on for support.
With Nataku and Ingier leading the way, the winged creatures took to the sky for the start of their long journey.
Hilde remained behind with her guards to wave off the travelers. Lowering her arm as the 'cloud' of dragons disappeared into the distance, she whispered, "Good luck, cousin. You are our hope to keeping this world safe."
* * * * * *
The following three days for Duo and the reinforcements consisted of flying, making camp and flying off again to unite with the growing army in the south.
It was absolutely amazing to him just how large this world was. They had crossed an ocean, islands with raging volcanoes and countless other incredible sights from his view high above. Several times, herds of free dragons would fly alongside the lot.
Long as the travel was, those sights made it anything but dull.
As the sun set on the fourth night, the band of knights and gifted settled in the middle of a forest. Fires glowed throughout the stretch of their camp while food and beverages were made and passed around.
Sitting around their own campfire ring, Duo and his company occupied themselves with quiet conversations as their dragons lay closely by. Over the last few days, he appreciated the down time to get to know the people surrounding him that much better.
Perched on a smooth stone, the braided teenager looked to the oracle sitting across from him and asked, "So, exactly how old are all of you, anyway? None of you look even a day older than I am."
With a smile, Relena replied, "Well, I actually have done some research into the changes in time passage from one realm to in the next."
Extending her hand to herself and Quatre, she stated, "In your realm, we would be the equivalent of sixteen..." Her hand gestured to the knights beside him and continued, "Seventeen..." Then nodding to Trowa, she concluded, "And eighteen."
She pause to take a deep breath, the opal on her brow shimmering in the light of the flame, and informed, "Here, we have seen no less than fifty years over the course of our lives. Time moves so slowly in aging us that it is the closest thing to being immortal. Many of our elders have been alive for over hundreds and nearly thousands of years before passing on peacefully."
Taken aback by the numbers, Duo's eyes widened slightly. Staring into the fire, he imagined what it would be like to live that long... if he was able to live that long with the war that had only begun.
Once again, the details of this new existence for him was becoming a bit too staggering to really take it all in.
Instead of dwelling on it all, he faced the scout, sans his armor to reveal his deep green tunic, said, "I never had a chance to ask Hilde about my aunt and uncle. What kind of people are they like?"
Trowa sat up a bit and smiled, "At the risk of sounding biased, King Zechs and Queen Noin are wonderful leaders in Epyon. They rule fairly with a sincere appreciation and caring for the people that they rule over."
Nodding to the prince, he commented, "And I can tell you first-hand how they worried about you since you had been taken away. I spent many a day in their court hearing the conversations that they would exchange with their advisors."
Duo swallowed past an unexpected lump in his throat. Just knowing that for so long in the world there were people who missed him, worried about him and thought about him. Having that just helped to make all of the overwhelming moment tolerable.
He would never have the chance to really know his parents. But he still had a family that loved him. And for the people he had only known for a matter of days, they were already becoming the first real friends that he had ever had.
"Your mother, Queen Sophia, and Queen Noin were very close sisters. Hilde was about two years old by your other world's time definition when word was received from Sanq that you were expected to be born," Trowa went on. Biting his lip, he hesitated and lowered his head.
His visible green eye peered up from his bangs as he shared, "Your mother had a difficult time trying to conceive for a while. When she found out that she was pregnant, Queen Noin hurried to Sanq to be with her and to be a part of the city's celebration."
Once again Duo swallowed, knowing what happened next. After finally having the baby that they so badly wanted, what should have been a celebration was taken away when Relena had to arrive in Sanq to tell them of the horrific future that she saw for them.
Life... really was not always fair. Even in other realms.
Trowa hurried to change the somber mood by smirking, "My King and Queen wanted very badly to leave with us for Romefeller to meet you. However, their responsibilities lie in their communicating with the other nation leaders of the west to gather together every able soldier that they can. With Hilde's return, they will know exactly where to move along with the army they have been able to build."
Grinning, he nodded firmly, "You will meet them one day soon, Duo. It is a day that they have been looking forward to for many years here."
Unable to help himself, the braided teenager smiled widely at that. For however much his aunt and uncle were looking forward to that moment, he seriously doubted that they were more anxious for it than he was.
Wufei rose to his feet and stretched with a yawn. Lowering his arms from overhead, he suggested, "Before it gets to be too late, I think we best start turning in for the night. We should be able to meet up with Odin Lowe and the army tomorrow at the rate we have been moving. If we get an early enough start, we could be there in the late morning."
As entertaining as it was to fly over the breathtaking views of this amazing world, Duo was also grateful to know that he would be spending the better part of his days on the ground again.
Saying their 'good nights' and heading off to their tents, the group settled in for the evening.
* * * * * *
One of the first to wake the following morning, was Duo. Even more of a pleasant surprise to him when he walked about the quiet camp was that he actually had a decent night's sleep that left him feeling rested.
Yawning widely and stretching, he decided to stretch his legs for a bit before the others woke and set about making breakfast. Since the end of the forest was not far off, he headed in that direction to watch the sunrise.
When he reached the large, open fields beyond the woods, the braided teenager turned to the north and squinted his eyes against the sun rising over the horizon. Very far in the distance, almost as far as he could see, a dark patch of clouds stretched over the edge of that end of the world while the rest of the sky was clear.
To anyone unknowing, they would just assume that it was a stretch of storm clouds.
However, it had been pointed out to Duo that the darkness was actually hanging over the territory that Dekim had overtaken. It would take a long time for the sorcerer to cover the whole world in darkness, however, he was patient and calculating in his methods.
And for some time here now, that darkness was spreading.
Shuddering a bit, the prince ran a hand through his bangs and took a seat in the grass amongst a patch of different flower buds that were beginning to open. Looking over to one particularly bright yellow bulb, he watched as the petals began to pull back while the stem rose up to be the same height of his face.
"Duo!" Anna's voice cried from the trees. Spinning his head back, the teenager watched in alarm as the archer ran into the field with Wufei. Waving her arms in the air, the redhead cried frantically, "Get away from that plant!"
His violet eyes blinking, Duo muttered in confusion, "The plant?" Looking back, he gasped sharply when he saw that the yellow bud was fully open. In the center of the flower was a tiny, round, red mouth etched in sharp little teeth turning up to watch him.
Muttering an 'Oh shit,' he saw and felt the dart that was shot from that mouth just before everything went black.
TBC...
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