Marked for Death Part 10
Duo took a seat in the small bush hut and glanced around him as Sorata's sister moved a few things around. She explained that she had a lot of work to do and that she had to check the liquid in the pots, but that she still wanted to hear about her brother, so she hoped Duo didn't mind her moving about. He said he didn't.
Now Duo watched her and gave a small frown. "Do you, ummm, have a name?" He nearly laughed at himself for that. After all everyone had names, so it was a stupid question. But then again, he'd never been able to ask for someone's name before; they wouldn't have answered him.
"Selenay," she responded with a smile. "How did you know him? What did he do at the castle?"
Duo shrugged. "I'm not really sure what his job was actually. I think he was an advisor or something because I always saw him and Darrin speaking with the King. I just remember that he was always around the king, and spent his nights walking up and down the halls of the castle, like he was a guard."
Selenay nodded and took a seat on the floor next to Duo, apparently resting in her work for the moment. "That would have been part of his job as a King's Guard. They are supposed to walk around the castles making sure that nothing is amiss."
"King's Guard?"
"Yes. Before they were chased out and caught the King's Guards were our eyes into the estates of the ruling classes. We didn't control them, like most people think, but we're a small race. We did it mostly to protect ourselves from occurrences like the Burnings and to protect those who couldn't live in the castle, the peasants."
"That explains a lot of things." Duo leaned back on his arms and glanced up at the top of the hut, gazing through one of the many light-holes in the ceiling. He smirked as he wondered, what would happen if it rained? Then everything would get wet. He pulled his mind back to the topic.
"I remember he was one of the few people in the castle who would talk to me, even though I was a Shadow. I caught him once, walking down the hall, and I saw a marking under his eye... like the ones Heero and Yuki have."
Selenay nodded. "They were also trained as King's Guards, that mark under their eye is the symbol of their rank and ability to move their tattoos with a thought. Most of us don't get that powerful."
"I never thought of it then, the tattoo, but it did look neat. Still, that was the first time he spoke to me, he made me promise not to tell anyone about his mark. I agreed, of course. I mean, I was just so thrilled that someone was actually talking to me that I would have done nearly anything for him. After that he started coming to Fei's room every night and he would tell us stories just before we fell asleep. And he would always listen to me when I spoke, even if he didn't always respond." Duo grinned at the memory. He'd forgotten how much he missed Sorata.
Selenay's eyes were fixed on the ground of the hut as she asked the next question. And almost before she even said it Duo could guess what was coming.
"How did he die?"
Duo frowned. "That, I don't know. One night he told us a story and then the next morning he was gone. Fei asked Darrin where he went, but Darrin said he'd been sent away, as a messenger to another castle. But messengers usually come back... and he never did."
She nodded and stood up, apparently accepting the answer. Duo was going to continue but was interrupted, for they both found Heero to be standing at the door the hut, watching them quietly. Duo nearly jumped in surprise, not having noticed him there, but Selenay seemed to take it in stride. It was almost as if she were used to him appearing out of no where.
"Something you need?" She asked.
Heero nodded and stepped into the hut, causing Duo to stare once again. The last time he'd seen the Marked One, Heero had been covered with dirty clothes from travelling just like the rest of them, but now there wasn't a speck of dust on him! And it only served to accent just how great he really did look, not to mention that his new choice of clothing added to the effect. Heero had changed into a simple wrap-around bottom, looking more like a skirt or kilt then anything else, made of a dark green fabric. But he had also completely lost his shirt, instead trading it for a set of two leather straps that just crisscrossed his chest. His tattoos were now in plain sight for all to see, covering the majority of his chest and back.
Duo blinked and forced himself to stop staring; knowing that soon Heero would notice eyes on him. Why was he staring anyway? Heero had betrayed him! Heero was the one who'd gotten them into this whole mess in the first place. The fact that he was incredibly attractive shouldn't even make a dent in that solid reasoning.
But then, Duo noticed that his reasons for hating Heero were pretty weak in the first place. Maybe Quatre was right... maybe he didn't really hate him.
"I left one of mine at the castle." Heero moved forward and sat down on the ground, gesturing to his shoulder where the fabric was still wrapped around his wound. His eyes flickered once to Duo, but then no more. It was as if he were ignoring him. Duo frowned back at him.
Selenay, meanwhile, moved about her work. Duo watched as she took one of the smaller pots and a roll of something in leather and went to sit next to Heero. Unrolling the leather she revealed a small collection of long metal needles, designed especially for marking the skin with ink. Duo shuddered at the sight. It only occurred to him just now how many times one would have to be poked just to have one small design done, and yet most of the people in the village had their whole bodies covered.
She unwrapped the cloth around Heero's wound and gently pulled it away.
"It was in pretty bad condition the last time I looked at it," Heero said, not looking at her.
Selenay blinked. "You're kidding right?"
"What?"
Heero turned and tilted his arm up so he could see, and in amazement found the wound to be nearly healed. He stared at it for a moment, as did Duo in confusion, then shook the surprise away.
"You took pretty good care of this." Selenay murmured, looking closer at the arm. "But it's still going to hurt to redo the design right over the scar. You sure you just don't want to let it completely heal first?"
Heero shook his head.
"Ok."
And she set to work. Opening up the small pot she'd brought over Duo now saw that it was filled with a thick dark red liquid, carrying a pungent smell. No wonder she kept all the lids on those pots. He knew the Marked Ones made their tattoos from the blood of their ancestors, but hearing about it and watching it were two completely different experiences. So he just sat there and watched in fascination as Selenay began redoing the pattern over Heero's skin.
~*~
Quatre walked along the edge of the village, his eyes set on the ground before him. Idly he kicked a pinecone out of his path and walked on, not caring what direction he was going in. He just needed to be alone, needed time to yell at himself.
He shouldn't have stayed and listened to that story! He shouldn't have stood there in plain sight for all to see as the Prince told his little tale to the children. It had been a stupid thing to do and it could only cause him more trouble in the end.
He hated himself for slipping up so many times like this. It was always something like this that caused him to be found out. Always something small and innocent that shouldn't have made any difference, but it always did. Always something... Always his one moment of being weak and then they all noticed what he really was and they all turned around and chased him out. He was never allowed to stay in a place long.
Cursing softly at himself he leaned back against a tree and sighed, glancing up at the sky. If he kept this up he would have to leave this town too. He supposed he'd only been lucky on the journey not to reveal himself, and he'd come so close to it to when he'd helped Heero with his wound.
The only problem was that this time he couldn't run! They had been told not to leave the village, and he didn't want to! But he knew that eventually he would have to leave again, there wasn't enough people in this village for him to hide among, as he'd done back in the other town. They would notice him, he couldn't blend in without tattoos of his own, and he wouldn't dare get any for fear of drawing blood...
What was he supposed to do?
"You're near the edge of the village."
Quatre looked up in surprise to see the leader of the Marked Ones step around a tree and walk toward him. His first instinct was to take off running, but he calmed himself instead, running would only draw suspicion and get him killed.
"I was just walking... I wasn't paying attention to which direction I was going," he murmured.
Trowa nodded. "So I gathered. I figured I'd warn you though. There are enough people on the edge of the village that don't ask questions when one without tattoos enters the territory they are supposed to be protecting."
In other words, Quatre thought silently, I'll be killed if I step outside the village. Great, just great.
The leader of the Marked Ones stood there for a long moment, just watching Quatre. His one visible eye gave Quatre the creeps, as did the tattooed one which was currently on the back of his right hand, blinking and looking around.
Quatre frowned. "How come you don't have any weapons, like everyone else?"
Trowa gave a small shrug. "We all have weapons, mine are just harder to notice, and yet the easiest thing to see."
Quatre blinked in confusion at the strange riddle.
"We should head back."
The blond nodded numbly, just watching the other. They both headed back for the village, with Quatre walking a step behind Trowa. As he walked the strange eye bloomed on Trowa's back shoulder and blinked, watching him closely like a real eye might. Quatre shivered.
Could he actually see out of that tattoo?
Well at least he could count his blessing for the moment. No one seemed overly suspicious about who or what he was. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could keep it that way. Maybe he could live in this town without letting them know the terrible truth. Maybe, just this once, he could hide it from everyone.
But he knew better then to get his hopes up.
~*~
As night neared the activity in the village died down to a mellow state. The three visitors were led, along with a good number of the Marked Ones, to a large rectangular structure in nearly the center of the village. It turned out to be the largest of the bush-like buildings, using trees like support beams and to add to the camouflage effect. The ground on the inside of this building was soft, covered with fresh plants and moss and pine needles, creating a very comfortable and soft ground, despite the messy look. They also noticed a large number of woven pieces of cloth rolled in the corners.
"It's a sleeping house," Quatre murmured softly.
Trowa nodded, as he and the three guests stood off to the side. Duo watched as Brei and Annah ushered in the children from the village and they curled up in the very center of the hut, then the adults took their own blankets and laid themselves around the children, usually lying two to a blanket.
As it turned out the entire village slept in this one hut, for protection and for ease. They also slept in a large circle around the children, mostly for the same reasons.
"I'm afraid we do not have many extra blankets, I would suggest you sleep two to a blanket for warmth, it does get quite cold here at night." And with those words Trowa took his own blanket and moved out to find a place to sleep.
Wufei opened his mouth to make a comment about sleeping arrangements when someone suddenly grabbed onto his arm and yanked him slightly to the side. He turned in surprise to see Annah had wrapped her arms securely around one of his.
"You can share with me, I don't mind. Besides, my sister's off with Yuki anyway, she won't care."
The prince was going to protest but was surprised to find he really had nothing to say. In reality, he realized, he didn't want to protest. So, instead, he just didn't say anything and gave in to her tugging him toward an empty place on the floor. Meanwhile Duo smirked and Quatre gave a light giggle.
"There's a couple left, I guess we can share," Quatre said, picking up one of the blankets and gesturing toward one of the few empty spaces left. Duo shrugged and followed him over, where they both laid down on the ground and pulled the blanket over themselves.
Anywhere else it might have seemed odd to sleep two to a blanket in a room full of people. Weren't these people worried about modesty? Apparently it didn't matter who you shared a blanket with because there was a wide variety. Men sharing with men. Women with women. Men with women. Old with young. Nearly every combination anyone could think of, save that the youngest of the children were clustered toward the center. But then, Duo noticed, even they shared blankets with each other.
Apparently it wasn't strange at all. There was nothing intimate about sharing a blanket with someone in the sleeping hut, aside from maybe showing that you trusted that person enough to sleep next to them. Duo did notice, however, that Trowa slept alone, near the main door. He figured it was rank, or maybe it was also Trowa's job to watch over people while they slept. Either way, it didn't look like the warmest way to sleep.
Heero was the last to enter the hut, just as Duo was about to close his eyes. The silent Marked One grabbed one of the last remaining blankets and headed straight for Duo, oddly enough taking the small space right next to him.
Duo groaned softly. "Just what do you think you are doing?" He whispered angrily, knowing that a good number of the people in the hut had already fallen asleep.
"This is the only space left." Heero responded in a low threatening tone.
Duo just growled softly and rolled over on his side. He wanted to tell Heero to go find a different place to sleep, but he knew the Marked One was probably telling the truth about this being the only open spot. Not to mention that he was also a guest and he had no right to tell any of them where to sleep. So Duo contented himself to rolling away from Heero, turning his back to him completely, and facing Quatre, who'd already drifted off to sleep.
As he drifted off he thought he heard a soft sigh of sadness but figured it must have been his imagination... or someone else drifting off to sleep.
~*~
Heero lay there for what must have been a couple hours, just staring at the back of Duo's head and at his long hair, which glinted with a bit of red in the moonlight that shown through the air holes above. He tried to sleep, but he just couldn't and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why not! All around him he could hear the sound of his people sleeping softly, despite the three who didn't belong. No one was worried about them. Even the children seemed to be sleeping lightly without any nightmares.
Was he the only one not able to sleep?
Sitting up silently he left his blanket discarded on the ground and brushed some of the fresh leaves and dirt from his clothing. He let out a soft sigh and ran a hand through his messed hair as he headed for the door.
Maybe he could put his insomnia to use and let one of the other guards get a rare night's sleep...
"Trouble sleeping?"
Heero looked up to see Trowa leaning against one of the two trees which marked the entrance to the sleeping house and helped hold up the massive structure of branches and leaves. The leader of the Marked Ones was just leaning there, his eyes focused on the forest beyond the hut, there was no way he could have seen Heero. Yet his tattooed eye was resting on the back of his shoulder and looking straight at the marked warrior. Heero gave a short nod and stepped out of the sleeping hut, joining Trowa in leaning up against the tree on the outside.
"What will you do?" Trowa asked softly. Around them everything was alive with the lively sounds of the night, but still both whispered, as if not wishing to break a fragile silence.
"Travel back with them, correct my mistake." Heero responded.
"There's something beyond that. I've known you for a long time, Heero, normally something like this wouldn't bother you enough for you to lose sleep over it."
Heero frowned and tilted his head down; looking from the trees and forest ahead to the plants which surrounded his feet. He'd often wondered why it was Trowa, of all people, who'd been chosen to lead what small amount of them there was left. He'd often wondered how such a burden affected his older friend, since they'd grown up together for a large amount of their lives. They were nearly brothers, in every sense but blood. Was it Trowa's leadership skills or simply their old friendship that allowed him to read Heero's emotions so easily? Or maybe he just wasn't hiding them as well as he thought.
"I don't understand him," he said softly.
Trowa's eyebrow lifted up in interest but otherwise he didn't respond.
"I thought he would hate the prince. I thought he would hate him for being whipped and treated like that his entire life. But I misjudged him. I got too attached and my feelings got in the way of what I'd gone there to do in the first place." He paused for a moment and turned his head to look completely away from his friend, the moon lighting his profile in the night.
"I just don't understand how he can be so happy and cheerful with everything that's happened to him."
Beside him Trowa pushed away from the tree and took a few steps away from the hut. He knelt down and picked a leaf from a large plant growing at his feet. Standing back up he turned the leaf over in his hands then glanced at Heero.
"What amazes you, Heero?"
Heero glanced up in surprise and question. "Amazes me?"
"What amazes you?" Trowa repeated. He took the plant and methodically began smoothing out the curves with his fingers. As he worked he turned his head and looked across the opening in the village, toward a smaller cluster of trees where two figures sat. Heero followed Trowa's gaze and noticed it was two females sitting in the moonlight, curled in each other's arms as they spoke in soft voices and one cradled the other.
He recognized the two figures as Yuki and Brei, who usually spent their nights sleeping under the stars in each other's arms, rather than in the sleeping hut with everyone else.
"They amaze me," Trowa said softy.
Heero blinked in question.
"Everything about them. Yuki was much like you, you remember, after Sorata left. When her teacher left and was assigned to watch King Chang she was solemn and quiet, even brooding. Yet she and Brei came together and now she's always smiling and happy. Even though they both know that one day she will be sent to a kingdom and Brei will not be able to follow. Even though they both know that Yuki will probably never return from the kingdom where she is assigned. And yet they still were marked with necklaces that bind them together in life and death. That amazes me."
Heero knew the story of the two girls, because it was so rare in the village and among his people. It used to be common place in the past, when a couple was bonded together they would have the other's symbol tattooed around their neck in the shape of a necklace. While it was a show of complete and undying love for each other, it also carried a heavy price. Because of the power of such tattoos it made the two truly bonded together.
In the past, when the magic in their blood was much more powerful, the death of one with a necklace would almost always end in the death of their partner. Because of this and the few number of Marked Ones that were left the practice was forbidden many years before Heero was born. Still Yuki and Brei had done it. They'd come to Trowa one night a few years after Sorata's leave and begged Trowa for permission. Trowa had granted it. Whatever Yuki had said to him had convinced the Marked leader that it was worth the risk and he'd allowed it. Ever since then the two were nearly inseparable.
"He amazes me," Trowa whispered softly.
Heero glanced up from his memories and found that Trowa had moved once again and now he was gazing into the sleeping hut at one of the many sleeping bodies on the floor. Heero stepped up beside him, just enough to see who he was looking at. To Heero's surprise he found his friend was looking at the young blond thief sleeping peacefully next to Duo. Heero blinked once again in question. Him?
"It amazes me that he's been able to survive this long on his own. No family, no one to care for him other than himself. It amazes me he'd been able to survive this long without knowing what he truly is, or what he can do." Trowa's voice took on a softer tone, one that a parent might use when speaking of a child... or that a lover might use to speak of his partner. "He amazes me," Trowa whispered softly, almost too soft to hear.
Heero watched his friend in amazement. Was he reading Trowa's expressions right? That soft tone of his voice, that small light in his eyes, the wistful expression on his face... Trowa was in love with the blond.
That realization came as a small shock to Heero and he just stood there, watching his friend's wistful expression. It was so rare to see such a look on Trowa's face. And even more rare for him to see his friend in love with another... and a human no less.
But the moment faded as Trowa dropped the smoothed leaf from his hand and it floated silently to the ground. He turned to Heero and gave him a very small nod, clasping his hand on Heero's bare shoulder.
"Find what amazes you, Heero. Find it and hold onto it with all your strength. Don't let it get away or you will regret it for the rest of your life."
With those words Trowa turned and disappeared into the sleeping hut, leaving Heero to stand on his own out in the darkness. He stood there for a moment, just staring. What did Trowa mean? Kneeling down he wrapped his fingers around the smoothed leaf Trowa had dropped and just knelt there, looking at it.
"Find what amazes me," he murmured softly.
He stood up and his eyes slipped to where Duo was sleeping. The Shadow had turned over in his sleep and had rolled away from Quatre to lie, blanket-less, where Heero had been. Heero watched as Duo's body twitched and jerked a few times, his face pulled together in an expression of pain.
Dropping the leaf Heero walked over, careful not to make any sound. Gently, without much thought, he helped Duo roll back to his spot and smoothed the boy's damp bangs away from his face. As he touched Duo he noticed that the Shadow's expression became softer and whatever nightmares he seemed to be having faded away into a peaceful sleep.
Heero took his blanket and laid it over Duo's shoulders then laid down next to him and just stared at the boy's now peaceful face.
Do you amaze me? Heero asked softly in his head.
Obviously Duo didn't answer, for he was still sleeping. But then, Heero didn't really need him to; he already knew the answer.
TBC...
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