"......" talking *......* action italics thinking [.....] translation
ps. there will be many crappy anime referrences, such as "Ruby eye" from slayers changed into "Emerald eye"
Today was like any other day. The sun shone brightly and people rose to the sound of roosters crowing. Windows were open wide to let the fresh breeze blow through. The marketplace was buzzing with it's usual energy. Bakers brought out their fragrant rolls as others called out the names of their merchandise. Laughter rang out everywhere. Everyone loved this kingdom and more people moved in every day. Prince Trowa hated it.
Well, hate was probably too harsh a word. It was his kingdom and he must have some fondness for it. Perhaps his dislike of it was due to the fact that nothing ever happened here, and he was damn well bored of it.
The young monarch stretched and stroled out to the balcony. He of course, had the best view in the castle. If one looked out, you could see far beyond the horizon, past the kingdom walls, and out into the mountains and forests. A shout below distracted the Prince from his nature watch. He looked down and saw a group of girls giggle and wave at him. Emotionlessly, he waved back. The girls blushed and quickly scurried away. Prince Trowa was very popular. He was the typical hansome prince in shining armour that everyone dreamed of. Known for stylish bangs that covered half of his face, every girl had a poster of him up on their wall. His eyes were a beautiful emerald green that drowned anyone who dared look into it. Fine features and a well sculpted body completed the package. But what drew people to him the most, was the air of mystery he held about him. There was an aura he had that naturally kept people at a safe distance. He hardly ever showed any emotion on his face, and always stood in his trademark stance of arms crossed infront of his chest. Laughter seemed unknown to him. The only time anyone in the castle ever heard him laugh was when Heero Yuy, the royal sorcerous who's power was feared even by the demons, almost killed himself when one of his spells backfired.
Half the castle was destroyed and Heero was found in a pool of blood. He was in a comma for almost 2 months. Duo Maxwell, his bestfriend and 'life mate' as he put it, fussed and fussed over him during that time. Duo drove half the servents crazy, and a resounding sigh of relief could be heard when Heero finally woke up. Duo had immediately called all of Heero's friends over at the slightest sign of conscienceness, and that included the prince. Heero had stiffly sat up on the bed, and after shaking his head a few times to clear it, said "Dying hurts like hell." That was the first and last time, anyone heard Prince Trowa laugh.
Currently, the prince had resumed gazing into the mountains as he leaned with his arms propped on the balcony. He heaved a huge sigh. "I am so bored." he whispered, though no one was around to hear it.
"Trowa!"
He turned to the voice he knew belonged to Duo Maxwell. A loud crash could be heard behind his chamber doors before a figure, cloaked in black, opened it and stepped in. Duo always wore a black flowing cloak. It was his signiture piece that fit his role, and name as Death. He was the Royal Executioner and part time Court Jester. L3 didn't really need a court jester since the other royals laughed all the time and the best comedian in the world couldn't get Prince Trowa to even smile. As executioner, Duo was ruthless. When the order of "Off with his head." came through, his cloak would billow, the light would bounce off the blade of his scythe, and all would end. He was the very figure of Death and struck fear into the hearts of all he glared at. If it wasn't for his usual cheery demeaner and cheeky grin, nobody would dare to come within 2 metres of him.
Trowa: *nods in acknowledgement* "......."
Duo: "Che. You know, if you don't talk, people might think you're dumb."
Heero: "Is that why you never stop talking?"
The royal sorcerous had quietly followed the black figure in. Heero also wore a flowing cloak but it was light grey instead of black. Standing side by side, the two looked like night and day. Casually, the sorcerous slid his arm around his fellow death's waist.
Duo: "I do not always talk. Besides, somebody has to since neither of you are."
Heero: *sighs* "....."
Trowa: *looks back out the balcony* "....."
Duo: "See what I mean?" *sighs* "Oh yeah. I almost forgot why I came here. Trowa. Want to come with us into town today?" *looks hopefully at T*
Trowa: *ignoring D* "......."
Heero: "It could be interesting."
Trowa: "I'd rather take a ride in the forest."
Duo/Heero: *sweatdrop* "But you always take a ride in the forest."
Trowa: "........."
"They're right. As the next ruler, you should at least visit your people once in ten thousand years."
Trowa turned to look blankly at the speaker. It was Wufei Chang. Commander of the Royal Guards. A little ways behind him, stood a Chinese girl with her hair tied to either side of her head. That was Wufei's wife, Meiran. It had been an arranged marriage and the two had been married since they were 14 years old.
Trowa: "I already know everything there is to know about this kingdom. Besides, if we go into town, we have to disguise ourselves anyways so I wouldn't be visiting my people as the 'prince'. "
Meiran: "You're more stubborn than Wufei." *huffs as she puts her hands on her hips*
Wufei: (warning tone) "Nataku." *gives here warning look*
Meiran: "What? I didn't say anything that isn't true. He's always either in the castle, or somewhere riding in the forest."
Duo/Heero: "True."
Wufei: "She has a point Trowa. Perhaps you should leave the little bunnies alone for a while and spend the day with us. Socializing with people is a good thing you know."
Trowa heaved a sigh. When his friends had their hearts set on something, they usually got their way. Friends. Kind of a strange word to describe his subjects but that's what they were. The five of them were all at the same age of 17. This was probably the biggest reason why they had gotten to know each other and bonded so easily. But today, Trowa was really not in the mood to visit the loud bustling streets of L3. Waving his hand in dismissal, he turned back to look at the magnificant scenery.
Duo: "Oi! Don't ignore us. Heero, wake that boy up with some water." *elbows H in the ribs*
Heero: "Duo. Even if we're friends, I can't do that to the prince."
Meiran: "Oh beat it you bunch of cowards!" *stalks towards trowa*
Wufei: "Oi oi! Nataku. Dame!" *goes after her* [hey hey, Nakatu don't]
Meiran was faster and had already reached Trowa's side. Reaching up, she took hold of Trowa's ear and started dragging him to the door. The others' eyes bugged. Trowa said nothing and simply gave Meiran an icy look as he was led by the ear. Wufei stood stunned for a moment. Then gave his wife a disapproving glare. Walking up to her, he swatted at her hand which she moved to avoid the blow. Placing himself between Trowa and Meiran, he bowed deeply to the prince muttering, "I appologize for her disrespect."
Meiran: "But Wufei. I was only trying to cheer him up. He always looks.....no grumpy is not the word. More like......blank. Just thought he could use a little fun."
Duo: "Ah! But you haven't seen the newcomers." *wags his finger* "Didn't you know? The circus is in town for the next two weeks! I heard that it's really great with lots of fun things to do and watch."
Trowa: "Yeah right."
Heero: "There will be a bunch of exotic animals that you've never seen before. A change from your little bunny friends." *stone faced*
Trowa: *sweatdop* "I do not play with the bunnies."
Wufei: "Whatever. So are you coming?"
Trowa: "........" *thinking pose* "Guess it couldn't hurt."
"Yata!" The group now jump and cheer since they finally got the quiet prince to do something. Trowa watched them do a little victory dance, slightly amused. He honestly didn't think of himself as that glacial.
After half an hour, the group was dressed and making their way to the area in the market marked off by the circus. Heero had used his magic to hide his and Duo's cloaks, (meaning making them invisible). Duo wore something that resembled a priest's robe, while Heero wore jeans and a green tanktop. Wufei and Meiran had on their traditional Chinese suits. Wufei's was dark blue, and Meiran's was red. Trowa had wanted to wear his jeans and dark turtle neck but the group argued he always wore that and everybody would recognize him. So, keeping with fashion, he wore his black and red striped pants with a light blue shirt. He kept the top three buttons undone which revealed his well built chest. (see pic in gallery)
Meiran: "Wufei! Hey look at that." *points to giant plush panda prize*
Wufei: "So?" *annoyed look*
Meiran: *pouts* "......" *shakes Wufei's arm*
Wufei: *sighs* "Fine." *to the booth guy* "What do I have to do?"
This booth was one of those physical test things. There were rope ladders that hung on a slant. The guy explained that you had to climb the ladder to the step marked in orange without turning over. The ladders were tied to something rotatable and if one put their weight too much to either side, it would turn over. Wufei smirked since it would be a piece of cake and gave the guy three silvers coins. The booth guy watched in aw as Wufei glided up the ladder in less than 2 seconds, turned around, then sat without the ladder so much as moving. Posing in a relaxed position, he looked at the guy and shrugged. Duo and Meiran cheered as Wufei pointed to the prize he wanted.
Wufei: "Here." *hands her giant plush panda*
Meiran: "Glomps on to it happily* "Thank you!" *kisses Wufei's cheek*
Wufei: *blushes* "Hn." *slight smile*
Since Heero had eaten the entire bag of cotten candy out of Duo's hand, he thought he might as well please his life mate. Or maybe it was because of the sugar rush. Who knows. Stalking over, he asked the guy what he had to do. This booth was one of those water cannon races. You had to shoot the stream of water from the gun into the clown's mouth and the first person to make the balloon over the clown's head pop, wins. Five other people were already seated and ready to go. The guy motioned for Heero to sit down at the seat infront of him but Heero simply shook his head. "Suit yourself" the guy said and started counting down. "Ready!? 3! 2! 1!. Go!!" *rings bell*
The other people aimed and waited as the balloon filled slowly due to the small stream of water. Heero smirked and held his hand out infront of him. "Sui Ryu." Water formed around his arm, then changed into the shape of a dragon. Opening its mouth, a high pitched screach came out of it as it flew towards the face of the clown. Entering the mouth precisely, the balloon over the clowns head burst in an blink of the eye. The winner's bell rang and the guy stood with his mouth agape. Eventhough a win should have only gotten you a small prize, the booth guy did not want to mess with the sorcerous with the evil gleam, thus handed over the panther with shaky hands. Duo happily glomped onto it, making sure not to get any sweet goo on the fur. Heero of course, was rewarded with a chocolaty kiss.
Trowa let out a deep breath. While he enjoyed watching his friends having a good time, he wasn't exactly amused. He still felt bored. A loud rumble interupted his thoughts along with the sound of a man calling, "Step right up! Step right up!" Once again a loud rumble rang out, which the prince quickly identified to be the sound of a riffle.
Booth guy(Bg): "Step right up! Step right up here! Hey! You!" *points at T who is walking towards him* "Want to test your skills? You can win one of these cute prizes up here." *waves arm at various large plush animals* *smirks* "What's the matter? Not good enough? Too chicken? Come on."
Trowa would have normally ignored such a challenge but this guy got onto his nerves. Stepping up to the booth, Trowa asked the guy what he had to do while his friends dashed after him in worry. Prince Trowa was known to be the best shot of this century. His familiarity with guns was almost frightnening since he was always so quiet. Once during a competition, one of Trowa's rivals had challenged him to a duel. The prince had been taking a break and was about to take a bite out of his apple. Not at all pleased that he was interupted, he let go of the apple, turned, and drew on the guy before the apple had a chance to fall. The guy had almost pissed his pants when Trowa said softly, "You've already died three times. Get lost." The group remembered this scene vividly and did not want to see a repeat performance.
Trowa: "Aren't they a little too close." *Heero, Duo, Wufei, Meiran swallow hard*
BG: "Heh. Well, these are for beginners. If you think you can do it, you can go for the ones waaaay back there." *points to target of a man* "If you can get three shots in him in the head or heart, then you can have one of these babies over here." *points at hanging plush animals* " Five silvers for five shots. 15 for 20 shots."
Trowa reaches in to his poach and hands the guy 5 silver coins. The guy laughs at him and said it's not going to be enough. The group, (H, D, W, M) gulped as the man handed Trowa the loaded riffle. He took a moment to look over it. Having checked it's balance and aim, he lifted the riffle up to his shoulders and fired 3 consecutive shots. The guy laughed again at the boy with strange bangs. "You are too eager. You'll just waste your money....HUH!?" The guy had now gotten a good look at the far target. Two holes were at the exact spot the eyes would be, and one hole was in the smallest circle outlining the heart. The guy gawked and stared. Then turned to look at the quiet boy who was now staring emotionlessly at him. As if he needed to calm himself, the booth guy dug out a smoking pipe, lit it up, and took a few deep puffs.
Trowa: *looking at the BG* "I still have 2 shots left." *looks at gun* "What should I do?"
The guy started to stutter something but Trowa had already swung the gun up infront of him, and without so much as a pause for aim, fired at the booth guy. The guy let out a girlish scream. After a moment, he started checking himself to see if there were any holes. Having found none, his lips started to curl up in a sneer. But just as his lips moved, the pipe he held in it split in two. The guy let out another yelp. Surprisingly, the prince let the slightest of smiles, slip on to his usually blank face. But it dissappeared just as quickly as it came. By now the booth guy had fallen to his knees in fright. Standing over him menacingly, Trowa moved the gun so that the barrel was poking him right between the eyes.
Trowa: "Now I have 1 shot left."
Duo: "T...Trowa! Yamero. He didn't mean to. Come on."
Wufei: "Put it down. You don't want to make a scene."
BG: "Trowa? Trowa Barton? The Trowa Barton. Prince of L3? The best shot on this great green earth?" *looks at Trowa's eyes* *lets out a yelp* "Emerald eye. AHH! Forgive me! I didn't know!" *starts to shake*
Trowa: "I don't like to waste anything. It's a shame not to fire this last one."
BG: "Ahhhhh! Yurushite!" [forgive me]
Wufei takes the rifle out of Trowa's hands. The booth guy was now in complete mental breakdown but his eyes never left Trowa's. Trowa let out a little "Hn." then bent his fingers mocking a hand gun. "Bang." and lifted his hand mimicking the kick back. The guy started foaming at the mouth and promtly passed out. Trowa did a slight smile again.
Duo: "Hora hora. This guy has the strangest sense of humour."
Meiran: "He needs to get out more."
All minus T: *nod* "hm-hm."
Another worker who had been watching decided not to mess with the strange group, and happily handed the boy with stranged bangs a prize. Some strange camel with curly hair. Returning to his normally expressionless self, Trowa took it, turned around, and started walking away. He didn't get that far cause after taking about 6 steps, there was a blur of yellow, and the prince was knocked promply to the ground.
Heero and Duo gently pulled their master up by the arms. Trowa had not taken his eyes off the fallen clown yet for he was waiting for an apology. The clown had now managed to push himself up to his knees and was rubbing his sore bottem. The boy, Trowa assumed, turned his head to see what he had hit. The prince's eyes widened in surprise. This clown had the wierdest mask he ever saw. From his point of view, the left side was a happy face with a huge yellow star around the eye hole, and red lips. The right side was a sad face with a purple moon around the eye hole that had a blue tear drawn at the edge. It's lips were turned down in a frown and painted in blue.
Clown: "Hey jackass! Watch where you're going!"
Trowa: *eyes widen more* "?"
Clown: "Yes I'm talking to you." *points at Trowa* "And don't you know to apologize when you hit someone?"
Duo: "You crashed into him first!"
Clown: "I wasn't talking to you so shut up!"
Trowa: (monotone) "You're very rude."
Clown: "Oh look who's talking. I thought you were dumb. Guess not. Now where's my apology?"
Wufei: "You're the one who should apologize. You don't know who you're talking to."
Clown: *gets up* "Oh! I'm so scared now. Do you think I care?" *brushes himself off*
Meiran: "Kisama!" *Wufei puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her* [you, rude form]
Clown: (to Trowa) "Heeeeeeh? You need a girl to fight for you? What a loser."
Trowa: "......"
Clown: *mock gasp* "Speechless? Or lost your voice?"
Heero: "Teme!" *takes a step forward*
Clown: *fighting stance* "Come on. I can take all of you. And the little girl too." *beckons with his finger*
Meiran: "Why you..."
Trowa: (commanding tone) "Yamero."
Clown: "Oh. He speeks again."
Trowa: "If you apologize right now. I will parden you for your disrespect."
Clown: "Disrespect? Che! What are you. Too afraid to take me on? There's five of you and one of me. Come on! Cowards."
The group was stunned. This was really a beast of a creature. The arm belonged to a giant man whom the group thought, with no doubt, was part of the sideshow. He was over 2 metres tall, and his biceps were thicker than the clown's waist. His features were not that bad, but the sneer on his face and evil gleam in his eyes, made him look like the devil himself. Letting out a low growl, the man lifted the poor clown up by the neck, chocking him in the process.
Big guy: "What the hell do you think you're doing Quatre!?"
Clown: *gasping for breath* "I....It's none of......." *chokes* ".....you're business. Butt-munch."
"Why you!" The big guy slammed the clown named Quatre to the floor. His body bounced from the impact, then rolled over to Trowa's feet. Instinctively, the prince knelt down and tried to help the boy to a sitting position. The clown continued gasping for breath and clawing at his face. Trowa brushed aside the hand and helped to remove the mask for him. His breath caught in his throat.
"You're just a little boy." Prince Trowa said in surprise. The figure in his arms looked up weakly at him. Once again, he had to remind himself to breathe. The blonde boy had the most beautiful eyes. Trowa imagined himself drowning in them like the deepest ocean, as emerald met blue.
Quatre: *still catching his breath* "Who are you....calling....little..." *takes deep breath* "Jackass."
The blonde boy stuggled to his feet and twisted out of Trowa's grasp. His freedom was short-lived though, as the really big guy lifted him up in a painful bearhug.
Quatre: *flailing his legs* "Let go of me you big baboon!"
Big guy: *leers at Q* "Heh. You should learn some manners pretty boy."
Trowa: "Unhand him." *glares*
Big guy: "What? Ooooh. Quatre. Got yourself a little boyfriend? Maybe I should teach him a lesson too."
Quatre: *kicks back* "Leave him alone! I don't even know him. He's just some idiot that got in the way!" *glares at group* "Get lost! NOW!"
Big guy: *tightens his hold on Q as he shouts out in pain* "Oh yeah? Then why are you trying to protect them?" *nuzzles Q's neck* "If they mean nothing to you, maybe I should just fry them right here and now."
Trowa calmly walks up to the big guy and sends him an ultimate-glare-o-death. The look frightned even that monster who immediately froze. Then in his most commanding voice, " I said. Unhand him. Now." Taking hold of the beast's hand, he bent it backwards, dislocating the wrist with a resounding crunch.
The large man cried out and reeled back in pain, dropping Quatre in the process. Fitting into the role of 'prince in shining armour' perfectly, Trowa caught Quatre as he fell. Then looking down, eyes somewhat gentle, asked, "Daijobu ka?" [are you okay?] What he got in response wasn't exactly what he had in mind. Quatre sent him an icy stare.
Quatre: "Baka yaro! Who asked you to help anyways?" *pushes away from T* "REI!" *moves over to the big guy*
Heero/Duo/Wufei/Meiran/Trowa: "Huh?" *very confused look*
Rei (big guy): "Fucking bastard broke my hand!" *holding wrist*
Quatre: "Don't move it. It'll only make it worse." *looks around* "Mako! Get over here!"
A girl wearing some sort of wierd acrobat outfit rushes over to Rei and Quatre. She talks worriedly with Quatre then helps Rei up. The two scurry over to some tent off to the side, leaving Quatre behind. The group sweatdrop at the icy glare they receive from the small blonde.
Duo: "Don't tell me we just became the bad guys."
Heero: "That kind of monster is called Rei?" (rei means beautiful in Japanese)
Meiran: "That's not the problem right now!! This is injustice! How can we be the bad guys?"
Quatre gives them another hard look. Then shakes himself as if to banish some thought. Slowly he walked up to the group. The look in his eyes had lost some of the fire from before.
Quatre: "I don't know who you people think you are. But stop putting your nose in othe people's business." *points at Trowa almost poking his nose* "You were too emotional."
Heero/Duo/Wufei/Meiran: *incredulous look* "Him? EMOTIONAL?"
Trowa: ".......?" *stares blankly*
Quatre: "I know you had good intentions. And I thank you for your help. But you...."
"Quatre!!"
He turns around and is immediately slapped hard across the face. The blow was strong enough to knock him off his feet. The person who hit Quatre had on some strange red tuxedo, obviously a ring master or leader of some sort. The man was snorting and Duo could imagine steam blowing out from those nostralls.
"What do you think you're doing!? You're going to be late! Get dressed right now! And make sure that doesn't show on your face."
The man stormed away somewhere into the crowd. Quatre got up, his hand covering the spot where he had been slapped.
Duo: "Who the hell does he think he is!? And he slapped you! Can't believe he had the balls to tell you to make sure it doesn't show. What kind of people run this thing!" *removes Q's hand to look at his face* "Damn. That's going to bruise. Heero. Get over here."
Heero: *walks over, nods in acknowledgement* "Hold still." *holds hand infront of Q's face* "Recovery."
A whitelight starts glowing around Heero's hand and Quatre's face. Quatre's eyes become emotionless as the redspot on his face dissappears. Trowa noticed the look and felt his heart stop. Those eyes had been so lively before. Now they look almost dead.
Duo: "Are you okay? Stop working for these people. They're no good." *moves hand to touch Q's face*
Quatre: *slaps hand away* "What does it matter. Nobody will care about me anyways."
Without saying thanks, Quatre ran in the direction of various tents. The group stared after him in silence.
