By the Red Moon Part 8
His shoulder stung.
That was the first thing that Duo recognized when he began to claw his way through unconsciousness. Even though he was not fully awake, that slight discomfort was enough to remind him of that tiny dart that pierced him just before everything went black.
Anna and Wufei had run into the scene to warn him of the danger that he had no idea he had put himself into. It was embarrassing to know that he was a prince that had allowed himself to be brought down by a flower.
His eyelids were so heavy that it took Duo a couple of attempts to open them. That time allowed the rest of his senses kick in and tell him more about his surroundings.
First, his ears picked up both footsteps and voices that were a bit muffled. Then he did not smell the grass or flowers or the field where he had been sitting.
The next thing that he realized was that he was lying in something soft like a bed with something covering him up to the middle of his chest, a blanket most likely.
All of those clues put together were enough for Duo to know that he must have been out for a while. How long that was needed to be figured out.
Finally, he was able to peel his eyelids open. And when they focused, they opened widely when they found cobalt blue.
Sitting on the edge of the bed where the prince lay was another teenager in a deep blue tunic, black pants, tall, brown boots and a sheathed blade hanging from his belt. But those little details were not what really what Duo was paying attention to.
It was the striking blue eyes, handsome face and haphazard brown hair that framed it. Those blue eyes widened a bit when the braided teenager met his gaze, however, the owner of them remained still as he continued to sit there staring with an unreadable expression.
Not even wanting to blink in the fear that the young man was just a dream, Duo slowly pushed his upper-half up from the mattress with his elbows. Their gaze never broke for what felt like an eternity.
And something about the way the young man was staring at him that made him feel... almost nakedly exposed. Yet, he could not tear himself away from it because there was a strange familiarity about it.
Then, his visitor gave the tiniest hint of a smile that most others would have missed.
Quietly getting to his feet without breaking the hold of their eyes, he stood there for just a heartbeat before turning and stepping out of the enclosed tent that the prince only then realized that he was lying in.
Once he was alone, then Duo did blink and notice that his heart was thumping in his chest. Frowning in confusion, he pushed himself to completely sit up in the bed. "What the hell was that all about," he muttered to himself while running a hand though his bangs.
He did not have a chance to dwell on the strange encounter for long before a young woman who he would have placed back in his old world in her mid-thirties pushed back the sheet closing off the door to the tent. Her head framed by a braid at either side, she peered in smiled warmly at the prince and entered.
Wearing a light green one-piece dress with gold edges and brown sandals, the woman neared the bed and bowed deeply at the waist . "Prince Duo, my name is Sally Po," she introduced kindly. "I am a healer for the army of the southern regions."
Taken by surprise by that, he blinked his widened eyes and replied, "We've already reached the army? How long have I been out?"
As Sally pulled a chair up to the edge of the bed to sit down, she answered, "Over a day. Wufei, Anna and the others did not feel comfortable staying where they were when that Viper Mouth dart rendered you unconscious. They thought it best to not wait for the effects to wear off and so carried you the rest of the way here."
Duo could easily see the logic in that. Sitting anywhere in one place for too long, knowing the danger out there, was not a very good idea. Many times, he had overheard the knights whispering things like how the 'woods could have ears'.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he fought a wave of lightheadedness at being alert after so long. Before he even lowered his hand, Sally was holding out a canteen. "Drink," she urged gently. "You need water to help purge the last of the effects of the venom."
Not about to question a healer, the prince took the canteen and drank nearly all of the water inside when he realized just how thirsty he was. Panting when he finished, he sealed the container and wiped the back of his hand over his damp jaw. With a nod as he passed the canteen back, he gave a sincere, "Thanks."
Biting his lip nervously, he questioned the healer, "Are there any other effects from the poison that I need to be worried about?"
Sally shook her head and grinned, "No. A Viper Mouth's dart is too small to carry enough venom to do more than have a person go to sleep."
That small smile faded as she sobered to say, "Considering the number of other, much more threatening plants out there, you were lucky enough to only have a run in with one of the least deadly. You may feel a little weakened and occasionally dizzy for the next few hours, but you will be fine."
Well, that was reassuring, Duo thought to himself. That just left one other question that he had on his mind right then.
A small frown on his face, he asked, "Who was that guy the was in here with me a few minutes ago?"
Turning her braided head back to the tent door, the healer looked back to the braided teenager and replied, "That would be Captain Heero Yuy of the Sanq division. When you arrived here yesterday, he demanded that he stay by your side until he knew that you were alright. I do not believe he has had more than a couple of hours of sleep since then."
So, the answer only led to more questions for Duo.
Why in the world would someone whom he had never seen before insist on standing watch over him like that? And what was the strange, familiar feeling that he got from this Heero?
Lightly patting the young man's shoulder, Sally suggested, "You should see about getting up and finding some food. That will help settle a lot of the uneasiness and make you feel more like yourself." Standing, she moved for the door then glanced over her shoulder to say, "I am sure that I will be seeing you around... Duo."
At that, he smiled in knowing that his friends clearly got the word around that he preferred to just go by his first name. Being treated like a normal person was doing wonders in keeping him from completely losing his mind under the pressure that was on him.
While the healer stepped back out of the tent, Duo pushed back the blanket that had been draped over him to rise from the bed. His legs were a little unsteady and his stomach complained over being so empty, but he felt oddly refreshed at the same time.
Rebraiding his hair to smooth back the loose hairs that had come out during his sleep, he brushed back his tunic to tighten the belt a bit. Taking a deep breath, he walked for the tent door and drew back the light material that closed it off.
On the other side of that 'veil' the sight was staggering. Eyes wide and his jaw almost hanging open, the braided prince stepped out into the forest that was filled with people, dragons and tents. While he thought that the band of recruits that he had flown with was large in number, the force that they had joined up with was absolutely huge.
Everywhere he could see, there were riders attending to their steeds, knights with different emblems on the sashes over their tunics talking together and weapons being made by masons and other craftsmen.
Slowly making his way through the structured encampment, Duo spotted Nataku and Ingier lying on their stomachs at either side of a large, closed off tent flanked by red and gold flags that he was pretty sure must have symbolized rank.
Both steeds' necks were craned and peering anxiously towards the door with their ears lowered against their heads to show their troubled state.
Frowning deeply, the prince stepped closer to the tent, alerting the dragons enough that they turned their heads back to face him.
Their ears and moods perked up at bit as he reached out to gently pat the ends of their noses while he walked past them to listen to the voices beyond the drape closing the entrance.
"I want to know exactly why the two of you could not obey a simple order to bring him back here so that he could be protected properly," a deep voice scorned. "You were sent because I trusted you to be able to follow that simple instruction and instead, you decided to go touring around with him."
Wufei broke in, "With all due respect, we did the best job that we possibly could protecting him while he was in our care."
The first voice snorted and growled, "And apparently that was not good enough since he was attacked by a simple Viper Mouth! I knew that I should have set aside my duties here and just gone to bring him in myself!"
His violet eyes narrowing fiercely, Duo was not about to listen to anymore and threw the drape back to step into the tent while shouting, "That's enough!" Standing side-by-side with their backs to him, Wufei and Anna spun their heads around to gape wide-eyed at him.
Behind the wooden desk in the center of the space sat Captain Yuy, clearly caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the braided teenager as he rose to his feet blinking in surprise.
It was only then, in the light of the candles burning at the edges of the desk, that the dark circles under his eyes were easier to make out.
Clearing his throat, the deep-blue-eyed knight composed himself and straightened his back. "Your High-" he began, shaking his head to correct himself before making his second attempt. "Duo, this is a matter between my officers and me."
"It also involves me," the prince corrected, leveling the officer with a fiery glare as he stood between his stunned friends. "You may have given them an order, but I commanded them to take me to Romefeller so that I could get some answers to my being here."
Storming to the desk, he planted his hands on the edge and leaned forward, gritting, "So, I am sure that you wouldn't expect them to disobey a royal order. They could not have protected me better before we arrived here. And as far as what happened yesterday, that was my fault for wandering off on my own. If you have a problem with that, take it up with me and not with them, understood?"
Heero remained frozen, but his eyes gave away to his surprise in light of the turn of events. Behind the braided youth, the knights shared a surprised look before focusing back on their leaders.
With a deep breath, the Captain ceded quietly, "Then, I must ask for all of your forgiveness. I was not yet completely aware of the circumstances of your return to this realm." Sincere as the words were as they came out, it was evident that it was a rare thing for the knight to have to make such an apology.
Satisfied with that, Duo straightened himself and nodded firmly, "So, they are dismissed, then?" The question was much more a demand than a request. And everyone in the room was well aware of it.
Biting back even more of his pride, Heero did his best to not clench his fists at his sides as he looked over to the others and said calmly, "Yes, you are dismissed, Wufei and Anna. Thank you for your good work."
More than happy to step out of that tense atmosphere, the couple quietly sighed in relief, bowed at the waist before they hurried to turn and all but run from the tent. When he was alone with the Captain, the prince let out his own breath and ran a hand through his bangs.
While most people would likely love the chance to be able to throw any power around and have others abide by their wishes, Duo was incredibly uncomfortable with doing so. He was still just the normal kid he had been just days ago and he probably always would be, no matter what title or birthright he had.
He smiled sadly to the teenager behind the desk, "Look, I'm sorry that I had to do that, but Wufei and Anna are about the only real friends that I've ever had." Laughing bitterly, he shook his head, "And I've only known them for a few days."
Quickly regaining his composure when the knight frowned deeply, he stated, "It's just that I'm every bit as protective of them as they are of me."
"Understood," Heero responded. His tone spoke volumes that he really did understand and appreciated the sentiment.
Shaking his head, he admitted, "I allowed my frustration over wanting to have you safely in this camp get the better of me and I should not have. Truth be told, they are good friends of mine as well and I did not mean to reprimand them when they did not deserve it."
Duo found himself swallowing roughly under the watch of those cobalt eyes. Now having the smooth, deep voice that went with the person before him only served to bring about more of that familiar comfort whenever he was around.
Mentally shaking that off, he cleared his throat and smiled, "Well, at any rate, thanks for watching over me since I got here..." Before he could say anything more, he stared at the hand being held out to him.
"Heero," the knight introduced. "There will be no need to call me by Captain if you will be going by your first name as well."
Grinning, the prince took the offered hand into a firm shake while nodding firmly, "Heero." When their hands fell away, he pointed over his shoulder and announced, "I better get going to do something about food before I collapse here. Nice meeting you."
As he turned to leave, he missed the small hint of a smirk tugging the corner of Heero's mouth. When the violet-eyed boy stepped out of the tent, he whispered to himself, "Very nice to finally meet you as well, Duo."
Not far from the tent outside, the braided teenager found Wufei and Anna with their dragons, who were keeping quite close to their riders as though making sure that they were alright. Nataku and Ingier obviously did not like having to hear someone raise their voice to them.
Lightly patting the top of her dragon's blue-purple head, the archer looked over to see their rescuer approaching. "Thank you for stepping in like that, Duo," she smiled. "But you really did not have to do that."
Snorting, he grinned, "No need for either of you to be too proud to accept some help. Neither of you deserved that kind of treatment after everything you did for me."
A hand reaching up, he rubbed the back of his neck and fought the warm feeling in his face. Staring at the ground, he murmured, "Um... and sorry for scaring you both by walking off like that yesterday. I can't believe that I was taken out by a flower."
"Well, don't feel too badly," Anna reassured with a smirk. "Clearly, Viper Mouths did not exist in the realm you had crossed to. Just be sure to let us know the next time you decide you want to take a stroll through a meadow."
Snickering, Duo peered over his shoulder to watch as the Captain stepped back out and walked off in the opposite direction. His violet eye following the knight, the prince saw him head over to a taller, older man in a deep red tunic and a sword also at his hip and begin talking quietly.
It was several minutes before he realized that he had been staring at the mysterious blue-eyed teenager and quickly looked away.
Wufei smirked, "Well, I certainly hope that you do not have a bad impression of Heero. He actually is a good friend of ours as we all became knights-in-training at the same time and so we all became close over the years of working together."
Shrugging, he admitted, "Heero can be an... interesting case at times, but he is a good person and a worthy Captain to our surviving Sanq army."
"Actually, the two of you go back more than you realize," Anna smiled to the prince as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned up against Ingier's large leg.
Frowning, he asked, "We go back? How do you mean?" The knights both shared another one of their 'conversation looks', as he had come to call them.
Dark eyes turning back to his homeland's leader, the swordsman said quietly, "Heero was the one who carried you safely to the portal after Sanq was attacked."
Instantly, Duo's hand reached up for the flat coin lying against his chest as his eyes widened. Snapping his braided head back to where the Captain was now walking off to be lost in the crowds of soldiers looming around the forest, he stared silently.
Every ounce of the his being had him wishing that he could run after Heero to find out more about those days... find out why he left him the charm that he kept around his neck since he was discovered on the steps of the Maxwell Church.
However, before he could take so much as a step, the older man in the red tunic that had been speaking with the Captain moved towards the prince. Smiling kindly, he placed a fist to his chest and bowed at the waist.
As he straightened, the man nodded firmly, "Duo, it is very good to have you home. I am the Commander of the Sanq army, First Knight Odin Lowe."
TBC...
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