Marked for Death Part 5
The prince frowned and laced his fingers together, watching Heero closely as he tried to decide what to do. The Marked One was now sitting up, leaning against a support beam, though he was still tied with his bound limbs in plain sight, just in case. Meanwhile Duo had long sense wandered to a window beyond them, leaning against the wall out of sight and watching outside.
"The rain's died down," Duo said softly after a moment.
"In some ways the weather is lucky, it will make it harder for them to track us."
Duo shrugged and glanced back out the window. "You say that like we have some place for them to track us to. Face it, Fei, we're in deep trouble here."
The prince nodded and sighed softly, dropping his forehead to rest on his hands. He needed to come up with some plan, something... anything... but he couldn't think of anything. He wasn't equipped to deal with situations of this nature. He'd never been taught what to do if the entire castle turned against him thanks to a traitorous advisor who was aiming for the throne. And if he was right about Darrin killing his father and those messengers then there would be no one to stop him from getting what he wanted. Wufei was the last of his father's line. And he had no other relatives that he could think of.
Duo was right.
Heero cleared his throat softly, causing Wufei to look up at the boy. Duo's eyes darted to him too, but the Shadow quickly looked back out the window, his face taking a grim look. It was obvious he was still quite angry.
"This is my fault." Heero said in his now usual dead voice. His face didn't show any sign of sincerity... or deceit. Just a statement, taken however one wanted to.
"You're damn right it is!" Duo hissed back.
Wufei raised his hand to silence his friend. "You have a solution?"
Heero nodded once, a precise movement. Wufei couldn't help but wonder where that innocent looking servant boy disguise had gone. He was quite a good actor if he could drop that personality so easily.
"I could take you back to my people. If you were to be pardoned the problem would be solved."
Duo snorted. "You're forgetting how we chased 'your' people out so brutally. No one cares what a Marked One or Izardl thinks anymore."
Heero's eyes narrowed slightly but he kept himself in check. "It is all I can offer. I was only told to find Sorata. I cannot interfere any more until I speak with the leader of my people. For me to act now, for or against you, would endanger my kind."
Duo whirled around, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "How convenient for you," he spat out.
"Duo!"
The Shadow clenched his fist angrily, until his knuckles turned almost completely white. Growling angrily he stomped off to the other side of the stables, out of sight. Wufei sighed softly.
"If we did travel to your... people's home, would they help us?"
"I cannot speak for them."
"But you think they would?"
Heero nodded.
Wufei closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead lightly. "Heero... if that is your name, this is important. Can we trust you?"
Heero's expression grew deeply serious and he nodded once, his eyes locking with Wufei's. "I swear on the blood of my ancestors, which marks my body, you can trust me. I will make up for the trouble I have caused."
Wufei nodded. He knew the seriousness of such a vow and he trusted it. But he also acknowledged that, at the moment, they really didn't have much else of a choice.
Slowly he stood up and untied Heero's limbs.
~*~
Duo shuffled around the stables, kicking up hay before him, watching it fly up and slowly float back down. He did his best to contain his anger but in reality all he really wanted to do was scream.
"Stupid, stupid," he murmured softly, cursing himself.
He'd only known Heero for a week! One lousy week! This shouldn't bother him! Not this much!
Growling angrily he dropped back against a support beam. He didn't understand his anger; all he knew was that he was nearly angry enough to kill. And all he could think about was that moment when he'd stepped into Wufei's room and seen Heero perched over him with that blade.
In that one moment a portion of him had shattered.
It shouldn't have mattered so much. After all, that Heero had only been a servant boy. He was only doing what his master ordered him to do, waiting around. He would have done anything Duo asked him to do. Anything. Why should a person like that matter to him? Why should such a small little friendship that wasn't even really a friendship yet matter so much?
Duo slid down on the support beam and hugged his knees, staring at the horses before him who slept in their stalls, snorting softly.
"But it did matter..." he whispered.
It had mattered. No matter how much that Heero may have been a servant, no matter if he'd just been following orders... to have someone to speak to besides Wufei... To have someone who would actually see him and speak with him and interact with him, it had been like a dream! Nearly all his life, ever since his parent's died, he'd been ignored by everyone. No one cared about Duo. No one saw Duo. No one spoke to Duo.
No one ever knew he existed!
But Heero had-
Duo cut that thought off with an angry shake of his head.
No!
That Heero didn't exist! That Heero was fake! That Heero was simply an act! He wasn't real!
The real Heero was a cold-blooded assassin sent in to demand where one of his 'people' went. The real Heero was part of the reason for the Burnings. The real Heero was responsible for the fire. The real Heero was responsible for the fire that killed his parents! The real Heero didn't care about any thing else but what he was sent to do. The real Heero didn't care about... about...
... him.
Duo angrily wiped at his eyes, feeling them start to burn lightly. He swallowed the tears, forcing them away. No, he wouldn't cry about something this stupid. There was no reason to cry about this. Angrily he wiped at his eyes again, banishing the tears to somewhere deep inside, deep inside where he could deny their very existence.
No.
That Heero wasn't real.
He could live with that. He could control his anger and he could forget about the illusion he'd enjoyed so much.
After all... he was a Shadow.
No one else cared about a Shadow's feelings.
Why should a Marked One be any different?
"Duo?"
Duo looked up to see Wufei standing before him, watching him quietly.
"Yeah?" Duo responded, but only after he was sure his voice wouldn't shake and that his tears were completely gone.
"I've decided we should travel with Heero, back to speak with his people. They may be able to help us stop Darrin."
Duo shrugged. "Or it may just be a long trip for nothing." Standing up he stretched and winced, his back crying out in pain. "Either way it's better then the castle or the dungeon."
Wufei didn't respond and Duo knew his friend was watching him closely. He knew the prince didn't believe what he'd just said. Wufei could easily see when Duo hid his real emotions under a mask; Wufei had always been able to tell.
"Duo-"
"I'm fine." Duo cut the prince off.
Wufei sighed softly. "I think we can trust him. And either way, it's about the only choice I can see at the moment."
"I know that. Just don't expect me to be happy about it. He tried to kill the only friend I've ever had in my life. I'm not going to let that drop lightly Fei, you should know that."
The prince nodded. "I know."
Duo frowned. "And I know you would normally make a comment about my anger. Don't worry, I won't get us caught. But I'm not going to smile and make friends with the guy either."
Wufei nodded once more. "That's all I have the right to ask for."
"So... when do we leave?"
~*~
The destination was decided upon and the trio began preparations. Once Heero had been untied he made himself quite useful, explaining that the journey would take them a good couple of days if they hurried, and a week at normal pace. The route he spoke of, drawing it in the dirt ground under the hay, was mostly flat, but involved tightly grown trees, river crossings and a few long climbs. Still, it was nothing a horse couldn't handle.
The problem was they had no horse and they had no supplies. Without either of these the journey would be a problem, and they were still ignoring the fact that Darrin's guards were still searching for them. The assumption at the moment was that Darrin had turned his eyes away from the city, probably thinking they would have taken off as quickly as they could. Anyone in the city would recognize them in a second, so they were actually in one of the worst hiding spots possible. It was only luck that had kept them alive so long, considering they were in a stable. The stable must have been for an inn or there would be more people coming and going.
"I'll take care of the supplies." Wufei said, standing with a nod.
Duo cast him a questioning look and Heero merely nodded. Using his hand he completely smoothed out the little map he'd made and recovered the area with hay. The movements were reflex. He knew how to hide his trail. It was something all his people had had to learn in order to stay alive.
Wufei straightened his gold circlet, cleaning most of the mud away and straightened his shirt. He paused for a moment and glanced at Heero's arms, which were still covered with tattoos thickly past the elbows. He noticed the deep red tear where the one blade would have fit in.
"You'll need to hide those or we'll be noticed. No one has tattoos any more."
Heero nodded. Both boys watched in amazement as the marked boy closed his eyes and expelled a slow breath. Then the tattoos on his arms began to move. The metallic patterns flowed across his skin, much like liquid, traveling up his arms and disappearing under his shirt. It was like watching the sunlight move about a room as the day went by, expect faster. The entire process took only a matter of seconds, and when it was done there wasn't a single marking in sight. Heero's arms showed no sign of the tattoos, save for the wound, which hadn't moved. Heero winced and clutched his shoulder, over the wound for a moment.
"Did you leave the blade in the bedroom?" He asked quietly, pushing the pain away from his mind. Ah, but it burned!
Duo nodded. "It's probably still embedded in the wall. It still affects you from this distance?"
"A little," Heero shrugged it off and ignored the pain. He couldn't fix it until he got back; he would just have to learn to live with the burning pain. "It'll stop the farther away we get."
Duo flashed him a concerned look, but the expression disappeared almost instantly, replaced by a narrowed glare. The Shadow still hated him for this entire situation, Heero could tell. But he didn't deserve to be able to fix that. And even if he did, he couldn't fall in love with Duo. He was a Clan Protector; they weren't allowed lives of their own. They protected and served their kind, keeping them safe so that others could live peacefully without fear. Heero had so much more to worry about then a simple Shadow's anger.
Still... he did feel guilty for deceiving him.
"I'll take care of the horses and supplies. You two find the best horse for us to take with." Wufei repeated. It had already been decided they would get one horse and would switch off riding it with supplies. Three horses would have been preferred, but three horses would be harder to hide if they needed to and more horses would also be easier to track. So instead the animal was going to be used to carry supplies. The main disadvantage to this is the journey would take them a week... at the least.
The prince turned toward the entrance from the stable to the inn, but found he didn't need to go far. For at that moment the door opened and an older man stepped in, holding a well-kept but very old blade. Duo and Heero quickly ducked out of sight, but Wufei didn't move. Instead he turned to face the man, straight on.
"Who's in here? You little thieves better not be thinking of..." The man's voice trailed off as he caught sight of the prince. He blinked for a moment, then took another step forward, his face showing his obvious confusion. A second later he realized who exactly he was staring at and he gasped, dropping clumsily to one knee. "Highness?"
Wufei nodded, once. "We require the use of your best horse."
"O-of course," the man stuttered out. "But highness, I need the horse for myself and my family-"
Wufei undid one of the pouches of money he'd attached to his belt and handed the entire bag to the man. It was heavy and both knew it was well over the price for a simple horse. "We also need supplies, enough for quick travel."
"Yes, yes." The man held the bag tightly in his hands. He couldn't believe the amount of money he was now holding! "I have a saddle bag I can fill with food... bread and cheese and some dried meat made for travel. It will take me a few moments to fill."
"Please do so."
The man nodded quickly and stood.
Wufei stepped closer to him and his eyes narrowed just slightly. "This is of the utmost importance. We need the saddle pack prepared straight away, and you must tell no one of this. If anyone inquires about your horse it was stolen away during the night. Use the money wisely as to not draw attention. Men who earn money quickly are suspected of thievery."
The man's eyes widened slightly and he quickly nodded. "I will get you the pack." Turning he clutched the bag close to his body, forgetting his sword, and raced back through the door.
Heero stepped out into sight after he was gone. "You know he will tell the guards when they ask him."
Wufei nodded. "Any man would. My concern now is to get out of this city as soon as possible, with the least amount of trail left. This is the fastest way to solve our problems, and perhaps the wisest as well."
The boy grunted his approval.
Meanwhile Duo walked forward and picked up the man's sword, turning it over carefully in his hands. It wasn't a bad blade considering its age. A little dull perhaps but nothing he couldn't fix. Without much thought he turned and slipped it into his belt, nodding toward Wufei. The prince nodded back, giving Duo permission to keep the blade. He knew his friend would prefer having a weapon at his side, no matter how fast Heero could use his tattoos.
The man returned quickly and gave Wufei a saddle pack filled with food. He also returned with three riding cloaks for the prince to choose from. Wufei merely selected all of them and dismissed the man, thanking him for his services. The man was confused but obeyed and quickly left the stables, eager to spend his money. Wufei, meanwhile, turned and tossed two of the riding cloaks to the others, Duo grabbing the dark black one, as he was very used to and now preferred dark clothing.
Heero fixed the saddlebag on the man's horse and made sure it was ready for travel, then they set out as the sun was rising in the horizon.
Travelling at night would have been preferred but there wasn't much they could do about it. Their first imperative was to make it out of the city and well into the woods before the sun rose completely and Darrin's men came after them. Still, they had a few things on their side. For one, they had a Marked One with them, who could easily take on a good number of people. That was of course assuming that he would defend them in battle like he said they would...
Duo wasn't bad with a sword either and it seemed that Wufei was the only one left without a weapon. Unfortunately they didn't have time to get him one.
The trail they followed in the dim morning light curved away from the city and was soon surrounded on all sides with trees. Heero took the lead of the group, since he knew which way the should be heading and he showed the true signs of a hunter. Wufei could see that now that Heero didn't have to act like a timid servant boy his personality had changed completely. His eyes darted back and forth over the path, watching for any sign of movement or danger. He exhibited all the actions of a well trained hunter and assassin, ready for almost anything that could be expected.
While Wufei led the horse Duo brought up the rear, defending Wufei from behind. It was unspoken word through all of this that Wufei had to be protected. Darrin or not Wufei was still prince and therefore he, of all of them, needed to live through this little journey to oppose Darrin when they returned. So Duo guarded him from the rear, watching the trees as they passed and listening as well as he could to the path behind them to see if they were being followed.
However Duo's senses weren't nearly as refined as Heero's and right away he failed to see the small shadow which followed them from the trees. And none of the three noticed the same shadow continue to follow them as the day passed on and another night fell.
TBC...
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