Runaway Part 3
Catherine woke up when the sun hit her closed eyes. She smiled at the smell of fresh coffee and got out of bed.
"Morning, Kate! Breakfast is almost ready."
Catherine chuckled and quickly made her bed. "No rush, Duo. What's on your slate for today?"
In the seven years since Duo had been adopted by Trowa and herself, the boy had bloomed into a stunningly beautiful young man. He never cut his hair, so he had a long chestnut braid that fell below his waist. If he took his hair out of the braid, it fell well below his knees. Once he learned it was allowed, he laughed more often than not and lately it was rare to see him without a smile on his face.
Duo scooped some eggs onto a plate for Catherine. "I have to go into the village. We're out of flour and sugar. You also needed to get those throwing knives sharpened. Anything else you wanted from town?"
Catherine plucked a roll from the bread basket and shook her head. "I can't think of anything. Where's Trowa?"
Duo pointed to the nearby wooded area. "Left a bit ago to see if he could get some herbs for Hilde. She's still a little confused. Too bad Vivienne died last year. Hilde STILL can't get a decent soap recipe together."
Catherine chuckled. "Ahhh... but Viv taught YOU how to make soap. What was her complaint again? That if she made the amount of soap you required for that hair of yours... she'd never be able to do anything else."
Duo shrugged. "I just don't wanna cut my hair!"
Catherine patted Duo's hand. "I understand, Duo. So... is Solo going with you?"
Duo laughed. "Would I be able to stop him? Yeah, he's going with me. He'll probably be here as soon as we're finished breakfast... if not sooner."
Solo was a boy, a little older than Duo, who had taken Duo under his wing. It was mostly due to Solo's friendship that Duo was as happy as he was. The two were inseparable, and Catherine gathered that when Solo was old enough to have his own wagon, Duo would be moving into it.
True to the prophecy, Solo poked his head in just as soon as the dishes were washed. He beamed at Duo. "Hey, rat! You up to some shopping?"
Duo laughed and shoved his feet into his shoes. "Yeah. Kate... you SURE you don't need anything from town?" He picked up the case that contained Catherine's knives and made sure the pin showing he was allowed to carry them was visible.
Catherine shook her head. "I don't need anything else, Duo." She gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Go on and be sure to get back in time for dinner!" She smiled and turned to start her own chores.
*****
After purchasing the sugar and flour, Duo still had some spare time before he had to go pick up the knives. He stopped in front of a cloth vendor and eyed some rich burgundy cloth. "This'd look great on Cathy. She needs a new outfit for her performance. Her costume IS kinda worn out."
Solo grinned at his huge-hearted friend. "It'd be a nice surprise. You gonna buy her some?"
Duo nodded. "Yeah... I am." He motioned to the vendor and bought three yards of the fabric. "Kate'll love this."
He picked up the two sacks and turned to leave only to crash into someone. "Aw MAN! I'm sorry!" Duo carefully laid the cloth down and helped the elderly man stand up. "I usually look where I'm going!" He saw a few items scattered and helped the old man gather them up.
"It's quite all right, my child. All things happen for a reason."
"Heh... you sound like someone I used to know." Duo picked up one last apple and handed it to the old man... suddenly looking at the person he had bumped into. He had to blink a couple of times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Father Maxwell?"
"Eh?" Father Maxwell looked at the young man who had bumped into him and felt a delightful shock. "Oh my... Little one?"
Duo laughed. "Not so little any more. What are you doing HERE? How's Sister Helen?"
Father Maxwell chuckled. "That's Mother Superior Helen now, my dear boy. We transferred shortly after you escaped. We still work together. Oh she will be so happy to see you. Can you spare an hour?"
Duo glanced at the sinking sun. "I should get back or Kate'll start to worry about me. You're welcome to join us for dinner! I'm sure Kate will be thrilled to see you again, and she's always wanted to meet Sister Helen!"
Father Maxwell chuckled and nodded. "Yes... if we can stop off at the church on the way there, we will walk with you."
Solo watched the two talk with a smile. "Yeah! That'd be neat!"
"Oh! Where are my manners? Father Maxwell, this is Solo... my best friend."
Father Maxwell shook Solo's hand. "Delightful to meet you, young man. Come..." Father Maxwell led the two boys to the slightly out of repair church and winked at Duo as he knocked on the door.
Mother Superior Helen opened the door and smiled at Father Maxwell. "Guests?"
"No... we are to be the guests this evening." He placed a hand on Duo's shoulder. "Guess who this is."
Helen gazed at the youth in front of her... it only took her a second to see who it was. "Oh... oh my little lamb!" She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the youth, weeping with joy as the embrace was returned.
Duo smiled into the shoulder of the woman who had been the only mother he had ever known. "It's been so long."
"Too long. Oh my... look at you! I bet you have a swarm of female admirers, eh?" Helen caressed Duo's face. "If I were twenty years younger..." She shrugged. "Where are we dining?"
Father Maxwell chuckled. "With his sister... the girl who adopted him all those years ago."
Duo nodded. "We just have to make a quick stop to pick up her throwing knives. It's on the way."
Solo chuckled. "Well, rat... you have some catching up to do. I'll run ahead and tell Katie that she's gonna have two more mouths at dinner tonight! See ya!"
"Throwing knives?" Helen motioned to one of the nuns to indicate that she was going out.
Duo nodded. "Part of her act. Trowa... my brother... stands against a wall and Cathy throws knives at him. I had to get them sharpened because dull knives don't fly as well and they might miss."
Father Maxwell fell into step beside Duo. "And what do YOU do?"
Duo blushed. "I dance." He shrugged. "It's the hair... people like the way it feathers out while I'm dancing. If I'm not up to dancing, I sing." He cleared his throat.
"Will you sing for us tonight?" Helen smiled as the boy nodded silently. "There's no need to be ashamed of your skills. If you have the talent to sing and dance... then you should use those God-given gifts."
Duo smiled shyly as he collected the knives and paid the fee. "That's what Cathy tells me." He headed for the camp and told the pair about some of his life.
The pair shared a smile over Duo's head. Their belief in what they had done for the boy was well-founded. He was happy and he was healthy. Not to mention he was beautiful both inside and out. When Duo stopped short, they were confused.
Father Maxwell followed the line of Duo's sight and blinked. There were a great deal of horses... moreso than he would have expected. "I gather that you don't normally have so many horses here."
Duo shook his head. "No... we don't. And see that group?" He motioned to some dark-skinned men talking. "I don't know them." He grinned. "COOL! A chance to meet new people! We'll socialize later. Right now... I gotta get this stuff to Cathy. Please... it's this way." He headed for their wagon. "Kate?"
Catherine stood up from the table and walked over to open the door. "Duo! What's this Solo was saying about you running into some old..." She broke off and smiled as Father Maxwell approached. "I guess you DID run into some old friends. It's good to see you again, Father. I hope you're satisfied with how Duo turned out."
Duo made a face at Catherine. "I'm NOT a loaf of bread, Cathy. Oh! I picked up some cloth so you can make a new costume."
Catherine blinked and studied the cloth. "Oh... Duo! You didn't have to! My costume will last about another month."
Duo grinned. "Yeah! Well... that gives you a month to make a new one. There should be some cloth left over to make some new curtains, too." He looked around. "So... what's with the herd of horses?"
"I'm afraid I'm responsible."
Duo looked past his sister and blinked as a blonde youth stepped out of the wagon. "HI! My name is Duo!" he ran forward and grabbed the youth's hand. "Cathy's prolly told you a LOT about me... it's all true, whatever it is. Cathy NEVER lies and she doesn't tolerate people who do! So... I never lie! And yes I DO talk a lot... that's the first thing Kate should've warned you about... if not her, then Trowa. Have you met Trowa?"
The blonde laughed. "Yes I have. My name is Quatre... Quatre Raberba Winner. I was travelling to one of my sister's camps with my Maguanacs when we got lost. My horse went lame and... since we know nothing of this area, we didn't want to chance eating unfamiliar plants. We were looking for the village when Trowa sort of met up with us."
Duo grinned. "Quatre Raberba Winner? Cool name! And LONG! Can I call you Quat? Or Q? Huh huh huh?"
Quatre laughed again. "You can call me any nickname you want, Duo. It WILL be refreshing not to be called 'Master Quatre' by someone. Besides..." he gave Duo a conspiratorial wink. "Calling me Q will drive Rashid up a wall!"
Catherine watched the two talk. "As you can see... Duo has no difficulty making friends. Everyone in the troupe is really protective of him, and he just seems to draw people in with his natural charm and charisma." She smiled at the pair. "The best thing is... he's so unaware of what he does to people."
The pair followed Catherine inside. Father Maxwell smiled as Catherine set a cup of tea in front of him. "Thank you. So... has any girl captured his heart?"
Catherine shook her head. "And no girl will... he prefers male company, although all the girls here are very good friends with him."
Helen nodded. She had seen it in the brief time that the other boy was there. "And there is a boy he's interested in?"
Catherine shrugged. "Solo... you probably met him... Solo is a bit of a flirt and a little possessive, but he'd never harm Duo. Duo doesn't seem to see Solo as more than a friend, though... so..." She shrugged again.
Father Maxwell frowned. "You mean to say this Solo never HAS hurt Duo. Who's to say he never will?"
Catherine returned the frown. "Trowa and I will keep our eyes open. If ANYONE lifts one finger to hurt our baby brother... that person will be my target during a very PRIVATE show. Duo is loved by everyone in the troupe. We would all kill to see him happy."
Father Maxwell heard the anger in her voice. "Someone... hurt Duo in the past... didn't they?"
"An assassin. Treize found out that the only thing we had buried was Duo's prison clothes. Duo was alone at the time." She clenched her fists and glared into open air. "If Solo and Trowa hadn't gone looking for him, Duo would have been worse than dead. He still has nightmares about it. Something tells me that's why he's so close to Solo... he and Trowa are the only two people he really trusts." She looked out the window. "He hides it well, but he hasn't gotten too close to anyone physically."
Helen felt a wave of sadness. "My poor little lamb. He wasn't... was he?"
Catherine shook her head. "No. That was the first thing I asked and the first thing checked for. Doesn't matter to Duo, though. He will forever see it as something that has to be painful and humiliating... something to fear." She sipped her tea. "I'm actually surprised he's letting Quatre drag him into the middle of a group of men much bigger than he is."
*****
Duo gave Rashid a shaky smile before allowing Quatre to drag him more deeply into the camp. He was surprised when Quatre paused and turned to him with questioning eyes... as if he were puzzled about something.
Quatre could feel the fear coming from Duo... the last thing he wanted to do was frighten a new friend. 'I caught the first twinge when we entered the camp...' He sensed the fear in Duo spiking as a member of the Maguanacs passed them, and smiled gently. "No one here will hurt you, Duo."
Duo blinked and focused on the pale blonde smiling gently at him. "Huh?"
Quatre's smile saddened. "Someone hurt you in your past and it's making you fear the Maguanacs, right? They won't hurt you, Duo. Rashid wouldn't allow it. You're seen as a friend of mine... and therefore someone to be protected and respected by them. They won't hurt you."
Duo sighed with relief... automatically trusting Quatre. The boy's face was too open... too honest to be deceptive. "Thanks. That's good to know."
Quatre nodded. "Abdul... would you bring some refreshments for my guest? We'll dine in my tent."
The Maguanac in question nodded. "Yes, Master Quatre."
Quatre rolled his eyes. "See what I mean? I get so tired of being called Master Quatre... even though the Maguanacs aren't slaves or servants." He held the flap of his tent up.
Duo entered and sat down on a pillow. "What are they, then?"
Quatre sat down across from Duo. Close enough to talk, but far enough away so that he wasn't invading Duo's personal space. He didn't want his new friend to feel crowded. "They're my guard. I am the heir to my father's empire... even though I am the youngest of thirty, which I really don't think is fair to my sisters."
That was the start of a long conversation.
TBC...
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