Marked for Death Part 19
Wufei raised his sword and charged forward, focusing his entire world at the man he now hated the most. Their swords crashed together with a loud clang which echoed around the room and Darrin even grunted softly at the force Wufei had placed in that one strike. But with a little force of his own he pushed Wufei's blade away and forced the prince to jump backward to avoid the blade slashing across his chest. Wufei did just that and crouched low, watching the man with narrowed eyes.
"You should know better then to use all your strength in one move, my prince," the advisor said in a mocking tone. "I was sure I taught you better then that."
Wufei let a small smirk cross his face as he stood back to his feet. "No, I would be a fool to simply use just the strategies you taught me against you. I learned how to fight from other people as well, Darrin." Wufei took a step forward and swung his sword around, too low for Darrin to counter effectively and instead caught the man slicing a deep line in his arm.
Darrin's eyes narrowed. "I recognize that style. It's the same style Sorata used to defend himself when we found out what he really was."
Wufei ignored the taunt and simply kept his attention on the man's movements, concentrating all his energy on the enemy before him. He refused to lose this fight, no matter what it took. Darrin would pay for what he'd done. And Darrin revealing that he'd been the one to kill Sorata only made Wufei's resolve even firmer. There was no way Wufei would let Darrin leave the room alive.
Behind the two Quatre moved quietly into the room to Annah's side and touched her gently. "Annah?"
The girl's eyes opened just slightly but then she winced in pain from the wounds. Quatre bit his lip and knelt down, slipping his arms under her body. "I'll try not to hurt you... but I have to move you."
She nodded and gritted her teeth as the younger boy lifted her the best he could and pulled her toward the wall, where she could see the battle but wouldn't become a part of it. He knelt down next to her and removed both the blades, working quickly to wrap the wounds as her eyes followed the duel. Darrin's moves were wide and strong, moving with strength and speed. Yet Wufei's were a mix of Sorata's technique and Darrin's, combining strength and agility so that while he wasn't able to get in many strikes of his own, the prince was able to easily dance away from Darrin's blade so that he remained unharmed. She frowned as she realized that the two could go on like this for a good long time, and probably would until one tired.
Despite how equally the two seemed to be matched, neither was willing to wait until the other tired out. Wufei didn't want to wait, because he knew the advisor was much stronger then him. After all, Darrin had been one of his father's top guards before he'd become an advisor and even if he didn't fight on a regular basis any more the man's strength was still a force to be reckoned with. In a battle of time Wufei knew he wouldn't be able to last long.
Darrin didn't want to wait for other reasons, but mostly because of his general impatient nature. He also knew that if Wufei was in the castle so were his friends and he didn't doubt there were other Marked Ones as well. He didn't have time to waste in a fair fight. Who knew how much damage they were doing while he was tied up here with the prince.
That in mind he took a chance and jumped forward, slicing his blade high with one arm to distract Wufei. When the prince moved to block the slice he left his mid section open for a split second and Darrin's foot came up, kicking him hard in the gut. Wufei gasped for air and stumbled backward in surprise. Darrin took that chance to dart forward and slice Wufei's hand, causing him to drop the blade and cradle his hand as blood flowed from his palm.
Using the butt of his sword he hit Wufei hard on the shoulder, once again catching him off guard and sending him to the floor. Darrin's blade finally came to rest next to Wufei's neck and the prince froze, holding his breath.
"Apparently Sorata didn't teach you everything, he lasted longer then this."
Wufei didn't answer. Instead he just lay there, frozen, watching. He kept his mind alert to Darrin's every movement, waiting for a mistake, any small mistake that would allow him to get out of this situation. A second later he registered that his sword had slid across the floor not too far from where he lay, but not close enough to reach.
Darrin smirked down at him. "How fitting would it be to kill the son the same way I ordered my men to kill your father? Or perhaps you'd like to die like your little girl over there?"
Wufei's expression hardened and he shot Darrin a thick icy glare. That was it, the last possible straw. Ignoring the blade that rested at his neck he brought his arm up and shoved it away, despite the fact that the metal bit deeply into his skin. Rolling over onto one side he was within reach of his sword and latched onto it, swinging it through the air straight at Darrin. The man paused only a moment in shock but still managed to block the blade flying at his own chest. Both blades ground together with a hard clang.
"Darrin, you are hereby stripped of your rank as advisor," Wufei growled out.
The muscular blond man laughed. "Such decrees will make no difference once you are dead!"
"And you are hereby sentenced to death for crimes against the king, his heir and his kingdom." Wufei let go of his sword and dropped to the ground, the sudden lack of force throwing Darrin off balance so he tumbled forward over the prince's crouched body. Wufei ducked under him and spun around sweeping up his blade from the ground where it fell and rested it at the back of the man's neck.
Darrin raised his hands and slowly straightened himself, his sword left forgotten at his feet. "You would kill me from behind, Prince? I thought you were taught better then that."
Wufei's eyes narrowed and he hissed his words. "You aren't worth a fair fight. Nor an honorable death." Pulling the sword back he stabbed it into Darrin's chest, aiming for the heart and hitting his target without flaw.
The advisor's eyes widened and he slumped forward, a look of disbelief covering his face. Wufei twisted the blade and pulled it back out, taking a few steps back as he watched the man's now silent body fall forward and land on the floor, unmoving in a puddle of his own blood.
Wufei stood not too far from the body and just stared at it for a long time, the sword slipping from his hand to clatter to the floor. A moment later his knees gave out and he crumbled into a kneeling position, still staring at Darrin's cold and dead body.
Somewhere along the line he registered the others entering the room. They had his father's other advisors with them as well and apparently they'd heard Darrin's little confession, as was the plan. Darrin's body was taken from the room quickly and Wufei was finally able to shake off his mild shock as they called a servant to bandage his wounds.
A cut across his hand, a couple on his arm and a thin line, which had been sliced across his neck, were the only real injuries he'd sustained. And by the time they were bandaged up he was back to his normal self. Reaching up he straightened the crown across his forehead without really thinking about it and approached the advisors, who were all eyeing the small group of Marked Ones quietly. He noted with a sigh of relief that Annah wasn't hurt nearly as badly as he'd thought, at least she was able to stand and smile back at him.
"They are not here to harm anyone, in fact they were the ones who kept me safe from Darrin's plans." Wufei explained.
At his words Trowa stepped forward and nodded to the older men. Without hesitating he dropped to one knee and fixed his eyes on the ground. "If you view us as a threat you are welcome to take my life at this moment and none of my people will object. We come into this castle as friends, not enemies."
The advisors stood there for a moment, simply blinking at the boy knelt before them. This certainly wasn't the type of Marked Ones they'd been raised hearing stories about. Beside them Wufei and the others had to resist the urge to smirk at the advisors' reactions. It was obviously that Trowa's act of trust and submission highly impressed them.
"And you are?" One of them asked.
"Trowa. I am the clan leader of the remaining Marked Ones." Trowa responded without lifting his head.
"You may rise, Trowa. We thank you for protecting our prince, and for your trust in this situation. It is obvious that this town's relationship with the Marked Ones needs to be... reevaluated."
Trowa nodded and stood back to his feet, but not before bowing his thanks to the older men, impressing them even more.
One of the shorter advisors cleared his throat. "If you would all excuse us, we wish to have a few words with the Prince about his new... position."
Wufei nodded his agreement and the rest of the people in the room made their way toward the door, vacating the room to leave the prince with his father's advisors.
No, Wufei corrected himself. Not my father's advisors, they are now my advisors. He allowed himself a very small smile at that realization as the door closed tightly behind his friends, leaving him to deal with official kingdom business.
~*~
After being dismissed from the throne room the small group settled out in the hallway, all eager to hear of the final decisions of the advisors as soon as they could. It wasn't a matter of whether or not Wufei would be king, for that was never debated. Instead they were more worried about what would happen to the Marked Ones. All knew that Wufei would aim to gain them more acceptance. But Trowa knew that such things took more time and considerably more effort then one king discussing the matter with his advisors.
Wufei could decree that the Marked Ones be accepted but in the end it all depended on what the people in the towns thought, and Trowa knew there was still a large amount of hatred there. Humans always feared what they didn't understand. What was more confusing then creatures that looked human yet seemed to have unearthly powers? He had no doubt that people still used tales of his people to scare each other. Fear and hatred like that couldn't be destroyed with a single royal decree.
No, as much as he would have like to entertain the thought of things changing the humans were the ones who killed off the last of the Izardl. That act was one of fear and misunderstanding. The Marked Ones, to the humans of these towns, were monsters that could not be accepted. In the end he acknowledged that his people would be returning to the forests in hiding... but at least they had made one ally in this fight, which certainly boded well for the future. Perhaps some day their children would be able to return and stay among the humans.
"Trowa?"
Trowa blinked and mentally tossed away his thoughts as he heard Annah's voice. Turning he found her sitting not to far from him, her wounds rewrapped professionally by the servants of the castle. She sat there, leaning against the wall, and holding her arm and she smiled up at him.
"How are you feeling?" He asked softly.
Grasping the wall she pulled herself to her feet beside him. She gave a shrug and then smiled brightly. "I suppose I won't be tackling anyone for a while."
He responded with a soft chuckle. "That wouldn't be advised."
The younger Marked One leaned back against the castle wall and her smile drifted to one of a wistful sense. "We really did it."
"It appears we have solved a few problems. Somehow it doesn't seem quite so impossible now that their views of us might change... for the better." He agreed.
"Well... there is something else that might help that."
Trowa lifted an eyebrow and glanced at her in question. He found her to be biting her lip nervously, as she seemed to be thinking of something to say. He waited patiently.
"Wufei asked me to marry him," she said softly. Lifting her eyes to meet Trowa's a smirk crossed her lips. "And I accepted."
In spite of himself and how rarely he did it Trowa actually found himself smiling as his eyes widened in surprise. Now this was certainly a development he hadn't expected. "When?"
A light blush crept across her cheeks. "The night before we left everyone else." She paused and took a deep breath, banishing the blush from her cheeks as her expression became more serious. "Do I have your permission to stay? Here, with him? As scared as I am about it, I know where my heart belongs, and there's no where else I'd rather be then by his side."
Trowa frowned softly, bringing his hand to his chin in thought as he leaned back against the wall. "You are both aware of how others will act? His people won't like this."
"I am well aware of that. I'm not so sure if he's thought this completely through but I can't ignore the fact that I love him."
Trowa stood there for a moment, turning her words over in his head. After a long silence he pushed away from the wall and stepped closer to her, placing his hand gently on her uninjured shoulder. "I'm not asking you to forget him or how you feel about him. I just want to be sure you're aware of what could happen. There is danger in this."
"I know. Like I said I'm frightened. But I will not back down."
"If this is what you want..." Trowa's lips curved into a small smile. "Then you have my support. The whole way."
Annah's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-you mean it Trowa?"
He nodded. "Our kind can't hide forever and I certainly don't want us to. This may be one of the best ways to move toward changing that. Besides," he added with a small smirk, "I'd be a fool if I didn't see how happy he makes you."
"Trowa, thank you!" She smiled brightly and quickly wiped away the tears gathering at the side of her eyes. "This could be our first real chance to unite humans and Marked Ones... to make them stop hating us. I know it'll be difficult, but it's a chance I am willing to take. I only hope that I can be half the leader you are."
"I doubt you'll have a problem with that. But don't stay with him just for us, do it for yourself, Annah. Make this decision because it will make you happy, then worry about us."
"Of course," she said with a nod and a smile. "I know, believe me. I love Wufei more than I could ever say."
The leader of the Marked Ones moved forward and gently wrapped his arms around her. "Then I wish you all the happiness in the world."
She hugged him back, tightly. "Thank you Trowa, for everything. Thank you so much."
He took a step back and a more serious expression crossed his face. "You do realize that I will still have to assign someone to stay here... as the new protector."
Annah smirked right back at him. "Well, actually I have an idea about that." Leaning forward she whispered something into his ear and smiled brightly as his eyes widened.
Trowa took a step back and just looked at her for a moment, then he shook his head lightly. "I am inclined to agree with that one, and I'm sure she will not have any complaints about it."
Annah grinned and gave a small nod as the door opened behind them and Wufei stepped out with his advisors. "I'll never forget everything you taught me."
"I'm sure you'll make a very wise and beautiful queen."
At that one Annah blushed, just slightly. Leaning forward she placed a soft friendly kiss on Trowa's cheek then flashed him a bright smile. "I should go check on him." Turning she started to make her way toward the throne room doors where the prince stood, but her steps paused. After a moment she glanced back at Trowa, who raised an eyebrow at her in question.
She only gave him a smirk as warning, before she whirled around and tackled him to the ground, hugging him tightly. She giggled loudly and heard Wufei laugh behind her as the advisors just stared in surprise. Even Trowa responded with a small laugh, hugging her back tightly before they both stood up once more.
~*~
The rest of the hours passed quickly and a day later all were soon found in the throne room. The advisors had been told of Wufei's engagement, and even though they weren't too pleased in the beginning they soon reluctantly agreed. After all, as Annah and Wufei pointed out, the first step toward a treaty and understanding between different people was to connect them together in some way. And what better connection to make then by marriage?
So the marriage was allowed and scheduled to take place after a month of planning and decorating. By then, hopefully, the citizens of the town would be used to the fact that their old king was dead and their new king was marrying a Marked One. All agreed that these changes were best made slowly, as not to spark another incident like the Burnings.
That left only a few minor things to take care of.
That morning found them all in the throne room, their worn clothes replaced with castle finery. All the Marked Ones, as was their style, wore little clothing, showing off their tattoos in plain sight, and the servants seemed to be getting used to this. Duo was back in his Shadow's clothes, and back to being ignored by everyone but his new close friends. Wufei sat on the throne while Annah stood to one side of him and Trowa at the other, with Quatre standing a few steps behind him, smiling softly. All the others stood before them, waiting quietly.
With a nod from Wufei, the leader of the Marked Ones took a step forward to address everyone. Mainly his eyes focused on the advisors though.
"As you may or may not know it is our custom, since even before the Burnings, to assign a Marked One to each kingdom to ensure the safety of our kind and to make sure that no others suffer what our kind have gone through. However, it has been brought to our attention that this kingdom is a special exception." He paused and turned so that he was facing everyone, including Wufei and Annah.
"In most cases the ruling members of these kingdoms do not know who we send, for their safety and for ours. Since Wufei already knows of us this can not be helped. I have already agreed to let Annah stay here but I must also assign a King Protector who is specially trained for the job."
His eyes slid over the small group and stopped on Yuki, who stood there silently, watching him back. Moving very slowly Yuki's hand reached over and clasped tightly around Brei's, though her face betrayed nothing. The movement was small, and most would not have noticed it had they not known ahead of time. Brei's expression, on the other hand, fell and she dropped her eyes so that her hair shaded them from sight. Her fingers intertwined with Yuki's tightly in response.
"Yuki, I hereby assign you to protect this kingdom and it's people." Trowa said in a steady voice.
The black haired Marked One nodded, once.
"However, it has also been requested that I assign someone to look after and protect Annah while she stays here. And for this I also request that Brei would stay here as well."
At those words Brei's head shot up and she stared at Trowa in disbelief. Taking a few steps forward she stared at him. "You mean..."
Trowa flashed her a warm smile. "I wouldn't dream of separating you two. If you wish to stay you have my full permission to stay with Yuki."
Brei's eyes widened and a bright smile slid over her face. Cheering loudly she turned and wrapped her arms around Yuki tightly, who smiled and hugged her back, looking to be just as cheerful in her own fashion.
Hijiri frowned. "Wait a second, you mean I have to travel back to the forest with everyone else and leave all the girls here? Man, why are they so lucky?"
Duo chuckled and punched the young Marked One lightly in the shoulder. "Naw, you wouldn't like castle life anyway. It's far too stuffy in here. Trust me, the forest is much better."
He frowned. "If you say so." But the frown wasn't completely sincere and it was pretty easy to see he was happy for them as well.
Turning back to the new King Trowa gave a light bow. "And with those matters settled, I'm afraid we must make our way back to my people. They will need our help rebuilding."
Wufei nodded and stood up from the throne, taking the steps to close the distance between them. Smiling lightly he embraced Trowa, then stepped back and shook the Marked leader's hand firmly. "Thank you for all your help. And I hope you know that however others may react, you always have a place at this castle if need be."
Trowa nodded and clasped the hand back. "That is most appreciated, your highness."
"Don't stay away for too long," Annah said softly.
Quatre grinned. "Oh, I'll make sure we come back and visit, don't worry about that."
~*~
Wufei stood in the room silently, looking around as a small breeze flew in through the window. It seemed like such a long time ago that he'd seen his own room, how long had it been since Heero had woken him up in bed with a blade pressed to his neck... the event that started all this.
The newly crowned king smiled softly at the events since then as he walked over to his bed and took the heavy crown from his forehead. Turning it over in his hands he looked over the jewels. It all seemed too surreal to him. He'd been raised his entire life to wear this crown, but yet he'd never really been able to imagine himself wearing it until now. Now it just felt right.
Behind him there was a soft knock on the door and he turned to see Duo step in silently, sliding the door shut behind him.
"Duo," Wufei said with a smile.
His Shadow offered a grin back. "So where's your wife?" He asked.
Wufei chuckled. "She's speaking with the others before they leave, saying good bye. I had thought you'd be with Heero-" Wufei cut himself even as the word slipped out and mentally scolded himself for it as he saw the grin fade from Duo's face. "I'm sorry Duo, I shouldn't have..."
"No," he shook his head. "Actually, that's partially what I wanted to talk to you about, Fei." The Shadow paused and tugged on the end of his braid for a moment, then he took a deep breath and lifted his eyes back to his friend. "I can't stay here," he said softly.
Wufei blinked in surprise.
"I can't stay here," Duo repeated, more firm this time. "It's not that I don't appreciate everything, but face it Fei. I'll always be a Shadow here, no matter who is king."
"No, Duo. The first thing I'm going to do tomorrow is get rid of that stupid system. No one will ever be a Shadow again, ever. I won't let it happen."
Duo shook his head. "You can't change people's mind with a simple decree. And this isn't the same as getting people to possibly accept the Marked Ones again." Walking to the window he leaned against the sill, looking down to the buildings below. "Face it, Fei, everyone in that town and in this castle has been told and ordered to ignore me. It was a royal decree, something that could have threatened their lives had they not followed it. Something that we've all lived with for so long... you can't change that many years of habitual behavior with one decree and I don't expect you to just for one person, no matter how close of friends we are."
Wufei frowned. "Then what would you like me to do?"
"Exactly what you said," he said, turning back with a grin. "Get rid of this silly Shadow system, do you know how hot it is to walk around in completely dark clothes, even in the summer?"
That brought a chuckle from Wufei's lips and he smiled at his friend, though it was tinged with sadness. "You're going back with them aren't you?"
Duo nodded slowly. "I'm not a Shadow there, Fei. I'm not a freak because of my hair or the scars on my back. I am simply myself. I kind of got used to that."
"And?"
Duo smirked. "And I think Heero would be pissed if I stayed here away from him after admitting that I'd fallen in love with him and stuff." He shrugged and winked at Wufei. "Looks like we both got lucky on this trip. You got yourself a beautiful queen and I got myself a stoic and sexy boyfriend."
Wufei laughed. "Yes, it did all appear to turn out for the best."
Duo stepped forward and took his friend's hand, clasping it tightly. "Now don't you dare do anything stupid while I'm gone, you know I'll be coming back to check on you."
"You had better, in fact I'd order you to if I didn't already know that you would anyway."
"Good luck Fei."
"And good luck to you, old friend."
~*~
The Marked Ones set out that night, heading away from the castle and city on freshly saddled horses. Each had their own horse save for Hijiri who happily rode with Quatre and the two were already preparing to talk the whole way back.
From above them, on one of the many balconies of the castle, stood those who'd decided to stay in the castle. Yuki and Brei stood behind a very happy soon-to-be-wed royal couple, all smiling and waving as their friends took off down the road.
Before them a setting sun, and days of travel. Both groups would have a lot of work to do -- be it rebuilding a home or patching up relations between races -- but both were looking forward to the work. Both were jobs a long time in coming, and it seemed that the results would turn out for the better, and perhaps even make it so that the Marked Ones wouldn't have to hide anymore.
Couples brought together despite feelings of hatred in beginning and differences erased. Hopefully they could patch their homes just as well. In either case, it was a good beginning, despite the long journey and hard work still ahead.
OWARI
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