| Golden Lights Part Thirty Eight By SilverLady Trowa sat staring out the window as the carriage rolled through the mostly empty streets. If there was any doubt that anything was wrong, the condition of the streets erased it. What few people Trowa saw were all wearing black bands on their right arms, a sign of mourning. The fact that the black bands also had a strip of purple through them indicated that it was a member of the royal family that was dead. The last time Trowa had seen those bands was when his father had been killed. The fifteen minute trip seemed like an eternity, but finally they arrived at the castle. Trowa had barely gotten out of the carriage when a member of the household was rushing up to him. Trowa recognized him as Lord Jacob Weston, his uncle�s head advisor. The man looked relieved to see Trowa as he stopped in front of him. �Lord Trowa, I�m glad to see you got back so quickly. I was afraid that the message would take longer to reach you.� �What message?� Trowa asked. The man blinked in surprise. �Why, the message I sent telling you of the accident and asking you to return as quickly as possible.� �I never received a message. There was some trouble on the trip and I decided to return earlier than planned. My ship just arrived at the docks. When I saw the black flags I came straight here to find out what had happened.� �Oh, dear. Then you don�t know what happened. I�m sorry. Why don�t you go to the library and I�ll get His Majesty for you. I�m sure you�d rather here it from him, anyway.� With that the man turned and hurried away. Duo looked around nervously. �Is that such a good idea?� Trowa sighed. �It doesn�t look like we have much of a choice. Let�s go. Just be alert.� Heero noticed that Duo�s fingers flickered lightly across his right wrist, as if checking for something. He had a feeling that the knife he�d bought for him was hidden beneath the sleeve of Duo�s shirt and had probably been there since he�d gotten it. It would explain why Duo had suddenly taken to not rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, as he was accustomed to doing. Trowa looked around the library. There was no one in the room and he didn�t see anyone hidden in the shadows. �Quatre.� �Yes, Master.� �I need to check on something, fetch me the book Dark Passages please. It�s over near the fireplace.� Quatre blinked in bewilderment at Trowa�s strange request, but moved across the room to obey. Quickly locating the book, he went to pull it out. To his surprise the book appeared to be stuck. Giving it a hard tug he managed to pull it forward. There was a sudden grinding sound and the fireplace beside him swung silently open. Trowa had tensed when Quatre had gone across the room, but he relaxed when the fireplace swung open to reveal no one. �Thank you. I wanted to make sure there would be no surprises from that way.� Duo blinked. �How many rooms have this little secret?� �Most. It was designed as a way for the king to escape if the palace was ever attacked, no matter where he might be. My cousin and I used to play hide and seek in them.� Heero nodded. �A good place for an ambush.� Trowa sighed. �If Michal is behind everything. I didn�t want to take any chances.� Just then the door to the library slowly began to open. Bracing himself, Trowa turned to wait for the person to come into the room. When the figure entered the first thing Trowa felt was one of relief. The second was confusion. �What happened?� Saddened eyes met his. �I was told you hadn�t heard. It was a horrible accident. He was killed instantly.� �They had gone hunting. His horse tripped over something and he was thrown off. It must have been unexpected because he landed badly and.... and broke his neck. He was killed instantly.� Trowa moved forward to wrap a comforting arm around his uncle�s shoulders. He knew he should say something, but nothing came to him. Gawain shuddered. �I know he wasn�t always the best person, but he was my son.� He looked sadly at his nephew. �And now you are all I have left. My only family and now my heir.� Trowa shifted uncomfortably. �I don�t think that is such a good idea, Uncle.� �Why not? You are the last of the family.� �And it will probably stay that way. I doubt if I will ever have any children. You should find someone who can carry on the line for you.� �No. You are my heir and that is final.� Gawain stepped away from Trowa and walked over to the fireplace. �Jacob told me you never received his message. That there was some trouble that made you return. What happened?� �Nothing that you need to worry about.� Gawain turned and looked at Trowa. �Anything that involves you worries me. What happened?� Trowa sighed. �There were a couple of accidents that seemed rather....� �Unaccidental.� �Yes. One or more of us could have been killed. I thought it was wiser to return here.� �Why?� �Safety.� Gawain looked at him for a long moment. �You think Michal had something to do with it.� Trowa looked uncomfortably at the others. �Uncle.� �You came back to confront him, didn�t you?� Gawain sighed. �I am sorry. I didn�t think he would take me so seriously. I certainly never thought he would stoop to such tactics. I hope none of you were seriously hurt.� Trowa blinked. �What do you mean?� �I was angry with him after the incident with your slave. I wasn�t blind to his faults, although I admit at times it seemed like it. I told him that maybe I should name you my heir, since he was obviously not responsible enough to handle the duties that came with being ruler. He wasn�t very happy with that. I had hoped to make him wake up and act like a grown man, not a spoiled child. Obviously, if you felt strongly enough about him being involved that you cut short your trip to come home, I failed.� Gawain sighed again. �And now I will never have the chance to make things right.� Trowa stepped over to his uncle. �You can only do so much. He behaved the way he did because he chose to. I doubt if there was anything more you could have done.� Gawain smiled sadly. �You always were more forgiving. If you would like, you may go through his things. Perhaps there will be something there that will answer your questions.� �Thank you. I will, but not right now. It�s been a long day and when I saw the mourning flags I came straight here.� �Because you thought it was me.� Trowa nodded. �Thank you for your concern. You are right, you should go home and rest. We can discuss things at a later time.� Trowa gently hugged his uncle. �But not too much later.� �You won�t change my mind. There is nothing that you can say that will make me fell any different.� �We�ll see.� Trowa looked over at the others. �Ready to go?� Three heads nodded their agreement. Trowa gave his uncle one more quick hug before leading the others from the room. Gawain watched them go. �Nothing. Not even when you tell me you are in love with your slave.� ***** Duo sighed as he leaned back. He had been a little surprised when Trowa had insisted that he and Quatre ride inside with him and Heero. But he was glad, riding outside would have been uncomfortable, since it had started to rain while they had been in the palace. �I don�t know about you all, but I think that seemed a bit anti-climatic. I mean here we are already to confront Michal and instead we find out he managed to get himself killed.� Heero reached over and rubbed a hand along Duo�s arm. �Fate has a strange way of catching up with people.� �Yeah, but to fall off your horse and break your neck. That�s gotta suck.� �At least it�s over.� Trowa commented softly. �You hope. Maybe whoever was hired to kill whoever still has a grudge. I still think we need to be alert. Never know where the killer might be lurking.� Heero nodded in agreement. �Until we know for certain who was behind the attacks and have captured that person we shouldn�t let our guard down. Just because it is likely the head is dead, doesn�t mean the body isn�t still kicking.� Trowa grimaced at Heero�s choice of words, but he understood what he meant. �We�ll give my uncle a few more days to mourn, then we�ll go through Michal�s things. As he said, maybe the answer we�re looking for is there. And hopefully his death has at least shaken his subordinates enough that there will be no problems for the next couple of days.� �We can only hope.� ***** Heero smiled a little as he walked up behind Duo and wrapped his arms around the long haired boy�s waist. �You�re quiet.� Much to Duo�s shock and pleasure, Heero had calmly informed him that he would no longer be sleeping in the slaves� quarters. He wanted him to move into the room with him. �Just tired. Guess I was a bit pumped up for a confrontation with Michal. Now that it didn�t happen I feel....� �Drained.� �Yeah. If you don�t mind I think I�m going to lay down for a while.� Heero turned Duo around to face him. He noticed the tight lines of pain around Duo�s eyes. �Are you sure you are all right? You look like you hurt.� �I�m fine. I�ve got a bit of a headache, but a nap will take care of that.� �If you are sure.� �I am. Wake me when it�s dinnertime.� Heero nodded. �I will.� He watched as Duo turned and walked over to the bed. �Sleep well.� Duo smiled at him but said nothing. ***** It was several hours later when Heero returned to the room. For a long moment he simply watched the sleeping form on his bed, wondering how he had ever gotten so lucky. Sighing slightly he reached over to shake Duo awake. �Duo.� Dark violet eyes snapped open. �Don�t touch me,� Duo hissed. Heero blinked in surprise. �What�s wrong?� Duo�s arm lashed out and he slapped Heero�s hand away from him. Sitting up he glared angrily at the confused man. �I said don�t touch me. I�m sick and tired of having to take what you want to dish out.� Heero stared in shock at the boy in front of him. He�d never heard this soft deadly tone of voice from Duo before. �Duo....� �I�ve had it,� Duo snapped, jumping to his feet. �I won�t lay here while you fuck me like some damn doll. Not anymore. I may just be your damn slave, but I have feelings and thoughts just like everyone else.� Suddenly there was a gleam of metal in Duo�s hand as he produced the knife he�d been hiding. �It ends right now. No more. Not from you or anyone. No more fucking, no more beating, no more experimenting, NO MORE.� Suddenly Duo lunged forward, the red of the jewel in the knife glinting in the light. Heero was so stunned by Duo�s unexpected attack that he did nothing to defend himself. He gasped in pain as the blade sank deep into his shoulder. The pain served as a catalyst, snapping him from his shock. His hand shot out and he grabbed a hold of Duo�s arm before he could pull the blade free and use it again. �Duo. It�s me. It�s Heero. What�s wrong?� Duo was sobbing as he struggled to free himself. �No more. I can�t take it anymore. You�re not a man, you�re a monster. I just wanna be free. You�re just like all the others. You say pretty things, but they are just lies. You make me sick, when you touch me. You get your kicks outta watchin� me scream, don�t you.� Each of Duo�s words was a blow to Heero�s gut. He had never thought that Duo had felt that way. �Duo.� Duo�s struggles grew more violent and he started hitting on Heero with his free hand. �I�m gonna kill you, just like I did the other one. You�ll go to hell with him cause I am Shinigami and I�m gonna send you there. I�m not gonna let you stick those things in me anymore. You won�t ever hurt no one again. I�ll see to that.� Duo started sobbing harder as he twisted in Heero�s grasp. �Let me go. Damn it get your hands off of me. I don�t want no more of those drugs in me. I don�t like the things they do to me. They hurt. Let me go. I wanna go. I don�t wanna be yours no more. I....� Just then one of Duo�s flailing hand hit Heero�s injured shoulder. With a gasp, Heero release his grip on Duo. Duo took the opportunity to bolt, slamming out of the room as if there were demons on his tail. Even as Heero moved to follow, he reached up to pull the dagger from his shoulder. He suddenly understood what was going on. Duo wasn�t aware of who he had been yelling at. His memories had obviously reached up and dragged him into the past. Heero had barely taken two steps down the hall when he literally ran into Trowa. �Move. I�ve got to catch Duo.� Trowa was stunned when he saw the blood running down Heero�s arm. �What happened?� he asked as he reached out to support Heero. �It�s nothing. I�ve got to catch Duo before he hurts himself.� �Heero, who did this? Is that woman in here?� �No.� �Then who?� Heero looked at Trowa. He was delaying him, costing him precious moments. �Duo. Duo stabbed me, all right. I�ve got to get to him before he hurts himself.� Trowa gasped. �Duo?� �He didn�t mean it. He�s.....not himself. It happens. Sometime he gets so caught up in his memories that he can�t tell what�s real and what isn�t. He thought I was someone else.� Heero suddenly sagged. �I have to get to him. Calm him down.� Trowa slid his arm around Heero�s waist. �You need a doctor. You�re bleeding, badly.� �No. Duo is what�s important.� Trowa looked at his friend. He was concerned about the pallor of Heero�s face. It was obvious to him that only Heero�s stubbornness was keeping him on his feet. �QUATRE!� The little blonde appeared almost immediately. �Master?� �You have to go after Duo and bring him back. He�s..... upset and not himself. Be careful though, he might try and hurt you or himself. He�s already hurt Heero.� Quatre looked over at the other man, a little shocked to see the blood. �Why?� �He�s caught up in his memories and doesn�t know where he is,� Heero whispered, his voice noticeably weaker. �He thinks he�s still with that bastard that owned him before. You have to get him calmed down. He�ll listen to you. Please, bring him back.� Quatre nodded. �I will.� Turning he dashed down the hall. Maybe this being trapped in his past was what happened that night on the ship, if it was him. With all the stress he�s been under it wouldn�t be surprising. I hope I can get to him before he does anything more. The little bit he�s told me wasn�t good. He�s a trained killer and he�s afraid enough to use those skills against anyone who tries to stop him. I just hope I can get through to him. Great One, please help me. Watch out for him until I can catch up to him. |
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