By the Red Moon Epilogue
In the years following the great war between the Keeper's Minion and the Creator's Alliance, those cities that had been the most affected underwent massive restoration developments with the assistance of those lands with the means to help. Any and all formal rivalries between kingdoms were forever laid to rest as everyone looked out for each other as true neighbors.
Along with the rebuilding, there was a great deal of placement of orphans and those who had lost everything that needed to be worked out. While most of those civilians that had survived returned to their own homelands to see them back to their full glory, others saw it as an opportunity to really start their lives anew. And with the popularity of a certain braided king, Sanq was soon filled with men, women and children of all ages eager to become its citizens.
Considering how the numbers of those living in the most northern city were almost completely wiped out in its being the first attacked by Dekim's soldiers, Duo and Heero were more than happy to welcome anyone into their kingdom with open arms. For the High King, having been an orphan himself in another realm, he had a particular soft spot for the little ones who needed a place to live and so had them live in the castle while he and the former Commander acted as their parents.
It had taken almost ten years for Sanq to be finished with its restoration, but it came to its end just in time for Duo's actually turning seventeen. And with those two events to celebrate, the city quickly flooded with visitors arriving to take part of the festivities as well as to offer their warm wishes.
Overwhelmed to have everyone near and dear to him present moved the braided king beyond words. Everyone from King Septum and Queen Marilee to Captain Lewis and the werewolves had made the trip to spend several days in the kingdom that shimmered in the sunlight. Laughing when his arms were filled with Gloria at her latch onto him, Duo smiled to Alex and Trent's packs, "It's great to see all of your again. Thanks so much for taking the time for this."
Snorting as she pulled away, the petite blonde winked, "As though we would ever miss this." Her head tilting, she ran her hand over the top of the High King's head and smirked, "I see that neither of you boys have grown accustomed to wearing your crowns yet... or proper royal garments."
Heero approached to rest a hand on the small of his husband's back and smirked, "I have to agree with Duo that aside from official events and gatherings, it's nice to be comfortable in our own skins."
"Well, I can understand that," Alex grinned as he gave the newly arrived king a one-armed embrace.
Angela pulled away from her own hug with Duo and asked, "So, what are the last repairs that are wrapping up today so that we may help?"
He smiled, "Actually, we were just on our way to the knights' encampment. I'm sure they would more than appreciate any help they can get with the last touches." Behind the braided teenager, Scythe snorted with a frustrated look on her face. Snickering, he shook his head and pointed back to the steed, "She's just upset that she has to sit out because Howard discovered that she has eggs on the way."
The black beast gave Wing a half-hearted glare as he just smirked back. Her own lips curling up in a grin, Deathscythe nuzzled the white dragon and their tails wrapped together.
With a laugh, Gloria faced her sister and ran a hand over her swollen belly. "Well now you'll have company sitting on the sides, Adodera." Glowing, the taller werewolf seemed to be handling her own pregnancy much better as she giggled.
Mueller stepped forward, head ever tall and chest raised proudly. "Well, I came at a good time, then," he stated. "Being one of the best knights in this world, I would be an asset in overseeing the progress in the facility."
Rolling his eyes, Duo closed the distance and just gave the Commander a full hug. "Always a pleasure to see you, Mueller," he snickered and pulled back in time to catch the knight blinking his eyes. "It's good to see that some things will never change, no matter how much time has passed," he teased with a hint of sarcasm that was met with laughter around.
Truly, there actually were a lot of differences in the young man from the time that they had first met in Virgo. There was a calmness and an absence of bitterness about Mueller these days. In fact, he and Gloria were two of the most regular visitors to Sanq since the end of the war.
Smirking, the Virgonian Commander nodded, "Good to see you as well, Duo." And there was no question to the sincerity in his voice with the sentiment. Before he allowed too much of his emotions catch up, he cleared his throat and put an air back on. Turning on his heels and moving for the castle entrance, he suggested, "Well, let's go before we lose daylight, shall we?"
* * * * * *
"That looks good, guys! Start setting it down now!" Jack called up, his hands cupping either side of his mouth.
High in the trees, Onyx and Lion worked together to lift a massive roof of straw by ropes in their mouths that were tied at either long end. Working together, they positioned it over the school to the future generations of Sanq knights. Fashioned like a great tree house just like its original, the facility blended in with its wooded surroundings for an added measure of protection and a sense of oneness with nature.
When the roof was settled onto the school, the two steeds lowered their cables to the cheers of the knights and the small team of builders that had helped them. As the construction staff worked to secure the roof, Juan smiled and turned around to appraise the encampment. "It looks just as it did when we left it," he sighed in content. His 'brothers' standing around all nodded in agreement along with their steeds.
In the stable not far off, a tiny baby in a pale blue one-piece giggled as he crawled along the hay floor to play with a trio of youngling dragons his size. Each striped or spotted with a mix of greens and blues, the scaly creatures wiggled and bounced around the child. Occasionally, they would allow the tot to catch a tail or leg in his chubby hand as he squealed at the licks they gave his face.
Chuckling, Wufei bent down to scoop up his son with a warm, "Come along, Odin. It's their feeding time." The baby continued to laugh and reach for the hatchlings even as they ran for Nataku's side to nurse. Sighing, the green steed watched her children with a wide smile of content as Ingier came in bearing food that he had hunted for her.
The serene moment was broken by Anna's yelled, "Spot! I know which of your parents you take after already! The hay bed is not to be used for your fire-breathing target practice!" Appearing around the corner, the archer bore a wiggling green baby dragon with gold eyes and purplish-blue spots all over its hide.
Her long, red hair speckled with pieces of hay from her wrestling the hatchling, she sighed deeply and settled Spot down with his siblings and shook her head to her own steed, "One thing that little apprentice of yours is good for is he got me back in shape after having Odin in no time." Beaming in pride at what he considered a compliment, Ingier snorted a puff of white smoke while Wufei's head fell back in laughter.
Anna walked over to her husband to smile lovingly at him and their son. "Hey, little man," she whispered to Odin, tapping the end of his pug nose. Deep blue eyes shaped like his father's blinking, the baby giggled as she kissed the top of his head of dark hair with red highlights. Bent at her waist, the archer grinned wistfully, "You know, your daddy and I met in this very spot a long, long time ago."
Nodding, Wufei smirked to the child, "And I was completely lost the moment I met her... just like you." Anna straightened, blue eyes shimmering over when she smiled at her husband and leaned in for a deep kiss.
"Sorry to interrupt," a friendly voice greeted. Pulling away, the couple gasped and happily greeted Trowa, Hilde, Catherine, Quatre, Relena, Heavy Arms and Sand Rock along with Nataku and Ingier. With his royal fiancée at his side, the First Scout smirked, "It's been a couple of weeks... far too long for our liking."
Wufei snickered, "Agreed." Peering over to his wife, he could not help the wide grin in watching her reunite Odin with Olivia. The toddler clapped in her mother's arms at seeing her little friend, large green eyes sparking with light and her blonde hair falling in ringlets to her shoulders.
As the little ones touched hands, Relena's own eyes widened to show the brilliant light that flashed in them from her gift. Following the quick vision, the seer let out a loud laugh and leaned in to whisper something into Quatre's ear. With a laugh of his own, the empath looked at the two babies with a new wonder.
Glancing from one gifted's face to the other, Anna asked, "What?"
"Nothing to worry about," the young mother giggled. "In fact, I see nothing but good things to come from here on out... for all of us."
Before the archer could press for further details, Howard appeared from around the bend. Leading three girls that the band of friends recognized as only a small handful of the orphans staying in the castle, not one more than the age of nine, he nodded to the Commander and Captain, "I found these knee biters hiding in one of the stalls." Lightly tapping on the sheepish-faced brunette in the middle of the pack, he said, "They claim that they have been looking for you, Anna."
Surprised, the redhead pointed to her own chest and asked, "Me?" The little brunette, blonde and silver-haired children all watched her with wide eyes as she approached. Folding her arms, the knight addressed the girls in their order, "April. Hope. Samantha. You all should know better than to run around here with so much work going on. You could get hurt."
Hope twirled her long, brown locks between her fingers nervously while staring at the ground. "We know that, Captain Chang," she began. Meeting the gazes of her friends at either side of her, she went on, "... but we have been anxious to see the knights' camp for ourselves."
With her silver hair shining in the sunlight that was pouring into the room, April met the archer's eyes and announced, "We all want to enlist as soon as we can so that we can become Dames... like you."
Taken aback by that, Anna's back stiffened and her blue eyes widened. Quickly regaining her composure for the sake of her future students, she bent at her waist until she was eye level with the girl. Propping her hands on her bent knees and smiled, "Well, if that is what you want, know that it is not going to be easy. There are going to be times that you'll want to quit and if you find that you are not up for the task, that's all right."
Recalling the words that her father had told her when she had told him of her intent to enlist to the training of the knights, she smirked, "But if you do everything that is demanded of you... I'll make sure that you run laps around the boys." Instantly brightening with gasps, the girls latched onto the knight with tight hugs and cheered words of appreciation before they ran off.
A stray tear falling from her eyes as she watched the little ones disappear, Anna straightened and wiped it away with a quiet laugh. Walking up beside her with their son, Wufei leaned in to kiss her cheek. "It is going to be quite strange being the teachers instead of the students for a change," he commented. "But somehow, I think that we'll make your father and Commander Lowe proud."
"Yea," his wife sighed as she took hold of baby Odin. Kissing his head, she smiled, "I have a feeling that we will."
* * * * * *
The following evening, the banquet hall was packed with guests of every walk of life for the dinner feast of Duo's official birthday. Laughing and conversing with everyone that he came across, the High King even donned his crown as he and Heero made their way around their visitors.
Overwhelmed by all of the attention and outpouring of love and support, the braided teenager had to take a moment that evening to step out onto the balcony overlooking the city. Taking a deep breath of the cool night air, he stared out to the marble residences, shops and schools sprawled throughout the land that glowed in the light of the nearly full moon.
A smile tugging his lips, Duo sighed as he looked onto his home as it had been when he was a baby... when his parents had no doubt stood on the same balcony to watch Sanq many times when they were alive. Beautiful as the sight was to behold, it was also a bit unnerving to think of all of those people looking to him for guidance.
There was a lot on his shoulders when the time came for him to delegate and lead the direction of his people. But at least he was not going to be facing that challenge alone.
"Duo?" Heero called quietly as he walked past the gently blowing curtains to join his husband. When the braided youth turned to face him, he wrapped his arms tightly around him and pressed a firm kiss against the king's lips. "Are you alright?" he asked, a hint of concern in his cobalt eyes.
Nodding, Duo embraced the former Commander back and smiled sincerely, "Couldn't be better." His head turned back to the white curtain and said quietly, "I was just thinking how this is easily the best birthday I've ever had. I still have a hard time believing that I deserve all of this."
Gently cupping his partner's face, his husband replied in little more than a breath, "You do deserve this. More than anyone else in this world." Tightening his hold around the smaller king, he snickered, "And I am going to spend the rest of our lives convincing you of that if I have to."
Violet eyes shining with adoration at that, the braided teenager kissed him deeply. Pulling back, he rested their foreheads together and whispered, "I love you."
Heero replied in kind, "I love you, too. Always have and always will."
And there was nothing else in the world that Duo needed more than that, he was more than aware. Not being king with all of the wealth and popularity that it brought mattered. He was home with the one that he loved and had devoted spending the rest of his many days with.
It was everything that he could have ever hoped for and more.
Peering up to the skies, the braided king noted the darkness against the star-filled sky was just right. Deep within him, he could feel the whiskers of the baby dragon's muzzle and the wisps of the unicorn's mane. Smirking, he raised his hand to the heavens to give their guests a gift of their own in a show of his appreciation.
Within minutes, the crowd had gathered in the streets so that they could stare up in wonder at the array of fireworks that lit the skies for hours at the end of the celebration.
* * * * * *
One week later, Duo was seated on his throne of crystal beside Heero in his own. His legs bouncing anxiously with his crown in his lap, he looked to the closed doors of the room down the stretch before him where two armed guards stood flanking them.
Reaching over, the former knight squeezed his partner's hand and chuckled, "Relax, love. You're starting to make me nervous."
"Sorry," the High King chuckled. Focusing himself, he calmed his hopping legs just as the doors were opened to Wufei, Anna and their steeds. Grinning widely at the sight of his Sword and Shield, he grinned, "Hey. How is our future little heir doing?"
The swordsman smiled proudly, "Odin is napping soundly and is in good hands with Sally watching him while we are here. We also confirmed that the advisory board is ready and awaiting your call to have them enter to begin your meeting." Frowning when he and Nataku took their place at Heero's side, he told his braided friend, "You look nervous."
Lightly running his finger over the rim of his gold crown, Duo snorted, "Is it that obvious? I mean, I'm honestly not all that comfortable being in this seat on this, only my first day of making official... kingly decisions that will impact everyone in this city and more often than not, beyond Sanq."
Not breaking for a breath, he threw his arms in the air and continued, "Back in the world where I grew up, the toughest decision I ever had to make was whether or not I was going to piss off whatever shrink I had that day. And even though my having my gift will make a lot of things easier, there will still be difficult decisions that will have to be made.
At the end of his winded rant, Duo turned to the wide eyes watching him and panted, "So yea, I'm a little nervous."
Bringing the braided king's hand to his mouth to kiss it, Heero reassured, "There will always be difficult decisions that will have to be made. That comes with the territory of being the ruler of a kingdom. But you can do this. I know you can. And you will always have us here to support you."
Positioned at the Duo's side, Anna nodded in agreement, "And in regards to your being comfortable..." Gesturing to the crown in his lap, she suggested, "Perhaps a crown that you are more familiar with might help you." He raised his head an blinked at her in confusion.
Clearing her throat, the archer gestured to Ingier. The blue-purple dragon craned his long neck back to the satchels strapped to his saddle. When the beast's large head reemerged, the High King's violet eyes widened in disbelief with a sharp gasp. "H-how did you find...?" he asked in little more than a breath.
Ingier gave his rider the red baseball cap as she explained, "Trouble, here, found it in the Romefeller mountains not long before we left to catch up with the Alliance. At first, you did not seem to miss it and so I assumed you had thrown it away."
"Odin taught us long ago that one should never lose who they are, no matter what aspect of who we are that may be," Wufei stated. "That was why we held onto that for you in case you were ready to accept all of what makes you who you are."
His hand trembling, Duo gently took the cap from Anna and ran his free hand over it. All his life, before returning to this realm, he wanted to forget everything about the pain that came with where he had grown. But his knights were right... all of the experience that he had endured in that world- the good and the bad- made him who he was. Though he would never return there, he could never allow himself to throw away the lessons that he had learned from having only himself to count on.
Everything had come full circle. For such a simple hat, it helped bring closure to the past and provided a renewed courage for the future... wherever it took him and whomever it made him.
A wide smile on his face, Duo set the gold crown away and placed his red cap on backwards. Grinning, Heero tilted his head in a way that his pewter crown shimmered in the light. "I like it," he complimented. "It suits you." Wufei and Anna nodded in agreement along with Wing and Scythe as they moved in closer to be near their riders.
Smirking, the braided king mouthed to his husband an, 'I love you.' With a squeeze to his hand, the former Commander smiled back and returned the sentiment in kind.
His violet eyes closing as he took a deep breath, Duo felt for the added comfort of both of his gifts looming beneath the surface of his conscious in readiness should they be needed. And all of those elements... the presence of his lover, friends and his own strength were enough to settle a deep calm over him.
The time to avoid who he was had ended. Now was the time for him to move on into his new life... the next chapter of his book.
Opening his eyes, Duo smiled, "Okay. I'm ready."
OWARI
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