By the Red Moon Part 71
Lost within himself, Duo wiped away another wave of tears that coursed down his face as he sat with his back against the hide of the white unicorn laying behind him. Curled in his lap sat the baby black dragon with a shimmer in his own wide eyes. Lightly running his hand over the cold scales of the dark side of his gift, the braided teenager silently thought over his situation.
Since discovering that there would be irreversible and unacceptable repercussions should he try to reverse Dorothy's hold on Heero, the prince retreated back into the deep reaches of his own person to keep from falling completely apart. Equally at a loss over how helpless they were to help their wielder, the unicorn and dragon could only offer the support of their presence.
Having to come up with the more fitting of his options in either killing or destroying Heero, Duo silently wished that he could just stay where he was and leave the rest of the world to fend for itself... only he knew that he could never do that.
No.
That was not an option. He had to do the right thing for the greater of the sum in the end. It was the right thing... what his father would have done as one who firmly believed in fighting for the good of all. And the compassion for others that he was gifted with from his mother refused to allow him to sit and do nothing for everyone who he had come to love and care for.
Not only was Heero counting on the prince, but so were all of his friends and family along with all that stood in defiance of the Keeper and Dekim. He simply could not put the life of one before everyone else... no matter how much he loved the Commander.
And so, he had to choose. Knowing what his lover would have wanted, there really was only one option; and that was for him to end Yuy's life instead of condemning him to a shell of an existence for the remainder of his days. But to have to willingly kill him... was that something Duo was even capable of doing?
Just as he was trying to convince himself that not only could he kill Heero, but that he had to, Duo sat upright with a startled gasp. His reddened eyes wide at the sudden thought that struck him, he worked the option through his head to weigh out the pros and cons that might come out of it.
Being a part of the prince, the unicorn and dragon shared wide-eyed glances before focusing on their master once again. There was a lot of merit to the idea, but there was also no guarantee that it would actually work. In the end, it may not be worth the risk of an attempt.
Still, it was a far better option than what had been laid out to them. This at least gave them some hope.
A small smile tugging his lips, Duo whispered, "That's it." Looking to both sides of his gift, he urged, "I have to try it, even if only to not take either of Dekim's options." Their tails flicking, the unicorn and dragon smiled and nodded their heads firmly.
With that endorsement to his plan, the braided teenager smirked and began to weave his own response to the sorcerer's offers. There was a good possibility that it would do little to no good, but something needed to be done. And he could not wait to see Dekim's face. If nothing else, that would be worth the try.
Along with his little plan, Maxwell quietly prepared himself for dealing with the old man as best he could as his friends closed in on their last stretch to Sanq.
* * * * * *
Middi had fallen into a deep sleep during her flight for the Alliance. Exhausted after many days of restless nights thanks to Dekim's spell, she could not keep her eyes open the moment she was in the safe care of her scaly escorts. And so, slumped over in Wing's saddle, she had fallen into a comfortable slumber to dream of seeing her family soon.
Keeping the lead in the skies to block as much wind from their charge so that she could rest peacefully, Scythe scanned the mountain ranges far below for the army. They would be close, if they had been able to move along without any troubles along the way from Taurus.
And within moments, the Alliance appeared in the massive crevices in the valleys between the mountains. Grunting, the black dragon looked back to her companion to see that Wing had also spotted the troops. Turning his own head around, the white steed lightly nudged his rider with the end of his long muzzle.
With a sigh, Middi reached her hand up to rub her closed eyes. Blinking, she grinned to the smiling face above her before she looked down at the gesture from the end of his tail. Her brown eyes widening, she gasped at the sight of the hundreds of thousands of 'ants' making their way through the rocky gullies.
Laughing, the queen's heart raced in her chest in actually seeing the army set to destroy Dekim and his soldiers. After having to watch their progress in the form of the raised boundaries from her cell, it was an absolute thrill to set her gaze on the brave souls that had aided Prince Duo in their cause to regain their world.
The massive wings of her carrier turned to shift the direction of the downdraft and followed Scythe in a swirling descent aimed straight for the Alliance.
Not too far below, Trowa peered up from his saddle and grinned widely. "There they are!" he pointed up to the heavens when he spotted a familiar pair of dragons flying towards him and his friends. Narrowing his emerald eyes, the First Scout focused on Wing's saddle and said, "It looks like they are bringing someone back with them."
One of the first to raise their heads were Treize and Noventa. As the steeds neared and the image of the rider became more clear, the king's eyes widened in disbelief and his jaw fell. "Middi," he breathed. As his vision wavered in the salty tears that began to form, the king shouted, "Take us down to Sylvy, boy!"
Tail wagging excitedly, the elated purple beast did not need to be told twice to lead the way for their friends back down to the wagons. Blinking in surprise at the sudden arrival of her father and the knights, the princess sat up on the bench that she shared with Relena.
Pulling back on the reins to bring the horses to a stop, the girl only had a moment as Noventa landed beside their wagon to open her mouth in question when she heard a familiar voice cry from above, "Sylvia! Treize!" In complete disbelief that she had heard correctly, she slowly lifted her head in time to see Scythe and Wing coming in for a landing with her elated mother.
All around, the soldiers marching on foot cleared a wide space around the wagon so that their Commander and First Captain could land along with Prince Duo's returned protectors. Middi scrambled to unfasten the harness around her and slid down Wing's side to run for her husband and daughter. Every one of their eyes spilling over with tears, the royal family latched onto each other tightly as kisses made their rounds.
"Dear Creator, I have been going out of my mind worrying about you," Treize whispered brokenly when he cupped his wife's face with his hands. Smiling brilliantly, the queen closed her eyes as well as the distance between them for a deep kiss.
Grinning as they approached, Wufei and Anna shared a quiet conversation in a glance and patiently waited for their friends to have the chance to properly welcome each other back into their lives. As badly as they wanted to know what was taking place in Sanq, there was no need for them to break up the happy moment. One look to the state of the queen's attire and dark-circled eyes spoke volumes of the torment that she had endured over the course of her capture.
When they finally broke for air, the king snickered and rested his forehead against Middi's. "You always were a strong one, my love. I never gave up hope that if you would somehow find a way to survive," he told her quietly and with all of the sincerity in the world. Shaking his head, he frowned, "But how did you ever managed to escape?"
"It was Prince Duo," the queen replied as she wrapped her arms around Sylvia when her child buried her head in her shoulder. "He found me and used a spell that helped me get away."
Blinking, Treize swallowed past the lump in his throat that formed in his knowing that he would never be able to repay his braided friend for returning his family to him. With a small nod, he pulled his wife and daughter close, kissing the tops of their heads as a few more tears rolled down his face.
Noventa's patience for his own reunion with the queen had worn thin and he lowered his large head to nuzzle the whole knot of people with the end of his long snout.
Laughing, Middi freed herself and threw her arms as far as they would go around the smooth scales of his muzzle. "And it is wonderful to see you again as well, dear one." Lightly kissing the top end of his nose, she giggled at the purple steed's glowing smile as he wiggled with excitement.
On that cue, the swordsman and archer slowly walked closer to the royal family. "You did see Duo, then?" Anna asked softly, the concern showing through her blue eyes. "Was he alright when you were last with him?"
Turning to face the pair, the queen nodded, "When last I saw him, he was actually... in good spirits and fairing very well." Noting the markings of deep scars that peeked through the knights' tunics and the devotion in their faces when it came to the braided prince, she realized aloud, "You are knights of Sanq."
With a smirk, the swordsman bowed his head and introduced, "Acting Commander Wufei Chang. My wife, Anna, is the Alliance First Captain. And I do apologize for our interruption, but as you can imagine, we have been a little more than concerned for our friend and prince."
"Of course," Middi reassured with a grin. She nodded, "No offense taken in the slightest. That young man is quite remarkable." Biting her lip, she peered off in the direction that the army was continuing to march. "I am just as worried about him and Heero as you both are. The sooner that they can be recovered the better." There was not about to be an objection to that sentiment from the knights.
Treize glanced from his daughter to his wife and informed, "I am going to secure a wagon for the two of you to be sent back to Libra where you will be safe." When Sylvia opened her mouth to object, he raised an eyebrow and reminded with an authoritarian tone, "I had promised that I would bring you this close to Sanq so that we could spend what time we could together before the attack."
Resting her hands on their child's shoulders, Middi met her husband's eyes. A fire smoldered in her own gaze as she matched his firm timber to decree, "You are sending me nowhere, my love. And it is Sylvy's decision to what she shall do. I have been separated from you for far too long and I am not about to have us part ways again. Should we die together, I would much rather that fate than having to exist any further without either one of you should anything happen."
Unable to help herself, the princess smiled as her father swallowed nervously. Clearing his throat, Treize smirked, "Very well, then." With a sigh, he met their little girl's eyes and shrugged, "I suppose that there is no point in my even asking what you want to do."
Sylvia grinned and shook her head, "Nope. I would much rather be here doing whatever I can to help in the fight." Peering back to the wagon where Relena and Sally now sat on the bench, she said, "I have enough experience in helping the healers from the battles that we have seen."
The braided woman returned her young friend's grin. "And we definitely could use all of the hands that we can get. The sooner we can mend our wounded so that they can fight again the better for us all," she commented. "Sylvia has more than proven her place amongst us." Wiping a stray tear left from her watching the emotional reunion of the royal family, Relena glowed with a smile and nodded in agreement.
Middi chuckled to her daughter, "Then I will have the perfect mentor to learn from along the way." Grasping Sylvia's hand, she gestured to the wagon and suggested, "We best be on the move. I cannot bear the thought of just standing here any longer." She took her husband's hand in her other and added, "Even as thrilled as I am to be together with you again, we have a duty now."
"Agreed," Treize replied. That said, he mounted back into his saddle as the Sanq knights did the same. When they returned to the air, Noventa made sure to hover just over the wagon as it rolled back on with the rest of the army.
Much higher in the heavens, Wufei and Relena relayed to their friends what they had learned from Middi once they caught back up to Sand Rock, Heavy Arms and Peacemillion. At the end of their report, Quatre rubbed his chin and muttered, "In good spirits. Well, clearly the bleeding room was not ready for Duo by the time he arrived."
Holding onto Trowa, Catherine's eyes narrowed as she huffed, "Yes, and his being locked away means that he allowed Dekim and Dorothy to take him without a fight." Her eyes falling on Sanq as it inched closer, she shook her head, "I am going to have that boy's head for that one. I taught him better than that."
The First Scout cast his sister a look over his shoulder and soothed, "Easy, Cathy. Remember that he still has Heero to worry about in addition to buying us time. Dekim and Dorothy may get a few shots in, but have a little faith that he'll do what he can to last as long as he needs before we get there." Knowing her brother to be right, the fire-starter offered a sheepish smile and nodded.
Hesitating, Zechs took a deep breath and asked, "How long does it take a gifted to prepare a... bleeding room?"
Quatre and Catherine shared a glance before the empath focused back on the king to answer, "If it is done right, it will take them well over a day. It is very likely that Dekim never made a single step in readying the space since he never expected Duo to present himself to them."
The redhead continued, "And knowing Dorothy, I am sure that she will not cut corners in this spell. She will be meticulous and certain that it will work, so that will spare all of us more time with their concentration drawn away. From there, it will be up to Duo to make sure that they do not cut him."
Zechs chewed on the inside of his cheek as he took the information in. At the very least, his nephew had more than a day of some sort of reprieve... at least as much reprieve as one could have while they were in the hands of their enemy. Not a single moment from here out could be wasted.
Silently, the lot prayed that the prince would somehow find a way to cope on his own.
* * * * * *
Later that evening...
At no surprise to Duo, Dekim was standing over him when he opened his eyes following his retreat within himself.
The old man was not going to allow him out of his sight after his little stunt earlier, even if he did have Heero as a form of assurance. Swallowing roughly, the prince peered from the corner of his eye to watch his lover stand in the doorway facing them. Arms folded, the soldier never so much as blinked his glowing eyes.
"It is not going to be much longer now," the sorcerer smirked to his prisoner to draw their attention back to him. "Dorothy will be finishing in her preparation of the bleeding room any moment now."
Resting his arms over his folded legs, Duo remained on the floor and tilted his braided head. The time had finally come to plant the seed that he had been holding onto since arriving at the castle. "You know, I find it very interesting how you trust that sorceress of yours as much as you do when she has no intention of letting you have my gift."
Dekim's back stiffened... but only for a moment before his lips curled in a proud grin. "I am not about to believe such nonsense from a desperate child," he chuckled deeply. "I trust Dorothy with my life. She had been nothing but completely devoted to me from the beginning of my reign."
The prince smirked, "So she got real good at keeping her enemies close." With the sorcerer blocking off his emotions to be read, Maxwell decided to take a chance and asked, "Let me guess, you share your bed with her as well as all of your secrets? She really is a pretty girl, so I can see where it would be tempting to do something like that."
He did not need to have the ability to pick up on the old man's feelings to know that he had hit a nerve with that comment with the way Barton's eyes widened and his fists clenched over his bent knees.
Shrugging, Duo went on, "Hey, we all need our friends and that includes dark lords taking over the world, right? And where else are you going to go?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "But don't think for a second that she has not taken even that into consideration enough to use that to her advantage. It wouldn't take much for her to decide that maybe she's a little tired of playing your lap dog."
Quickly tapping into his gift, the braided teenager threw up a shield around his mind and leaned forward. Taking note of the old man's smugness, he threw that into his voice as he asked quietly, "You ever hit her? Call her things? You know, a popular saying in the world where I grew up goes ;Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.;"
It had been a good thing that those shields were up before the onslaught of attempts to render him helpless were thrown at him. His face red after a few failed attempts, Dekim's eyes remained narrowed on his captive as he sat there in silent consideration over what the boy had said.
There was not a word of truth to anything that Duo was hinting. Of course Dorothy was stuck by the sorcerer several times before. Those blows did not come on without her destroying them. It was all to better her when she made a costly error. That was certainly not reason enough to even think that she had a chance of besting him.
Seeing the wheels turning in the old man's head, Maxwell was not about to let up. "Just put yourself in her shoes," he suggested. "Dorothy has given up every aspect of her life to be able to wield dark magic by swearing allegiance to the Keeper so that she could be an even more powerful sorceress than she already was. Do you really think that she is going to let you have my gift if there is the slightest possibility that she could claim it?"
Words were not a spell, but they worked their own sort of magic. And the prince was well aware that they were his best weapon against his powerful opponent at the moment. He only hoped that he was making some kind of impression on him.
Much more than anything said up to that moment, the simple reminder of his dear Dorothy's sacrifice to become stronger in her gift gave Dekim pause. ... He had personally witnessed how the need for that power nearly drove her mad leading to her vow to the Keeper.
That desire, in addition to so many other elements, just might be enough to actually convince the sorceress to betray him.
"No," Barton declared firmly.
Shaking his head, he banished that thought the moment it crossed his mind. He was falling into a very simple, but crafty ploy to put doubt in him. As always, he remained in complete control of every situation when it came to his servants. Dorothy would never be so foolish as to try and betray him.
And yet... it would do no harm for him to keep a close eye on her, just to be certain.
His glowing eyes blinking, Heero announced, "Master, the Mistress has now informed me that she has completed the bleeding room. Shall we escort the prisoner?"
Duo snapped his head to take his lover back in with his violet eyes. It had seemed a lifetime since he heard his the Commander's voice. Only now, it was void of any emotion... so unlike his own. Even that had been taken away.
Swallowing roughly, the prince wracked his brain in an attempt to think of how much time had passed since his arrival. How much more time before the Alliance would arrive to start the attack? Would he be able to stall for more if they needed it?
Before Maxwell could ponder his next move, a completely new sensation washed over him. The foreign, cold feeling was unlike anything else used against him and it came on too quickly for him to fend it off. The world began to shift and cloud over in a disorienting fog and he suddenly felt as though he was falling when in fact he was being lifted by an ogre holding him up under either arm.
"Yes, we shall escort him, Heero," Dekim snickered as he raised his captive's lowered head with a finger under his chin to steady it. Nearly sick to the stomach by his shifting vision of the old man's face, Duo held his breath desperately tried to gather enough of his senses to work a way around the spell but his gift seemed so far away.
Patting the boy's head, the sorcerer smirked, "The time for your date with destiny has finally arrived, lad." Nodding firmly to the officers holding the prone youth, he ordered, "Follow me."
TBC...
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