| Moon Prophecy 2/? (formerly untitled ::waves::) Part Two: A Journey Long Foretold Author: Wa Chenxi (satashii) [email protected] or [email protected] Pairings: Will be 1+/2, 3+/4, 5+/S (possibly others�) Archived: Nowhere�. If you want it send me an email. Warnings: G for now. AU, shonen ai, some OOC, lemon in future parts, slavery, and this is un-betaed� should anyone feel nice enough I would appreciate/love/adore a volunteer. Author�s Notes: Eek� winter break was way too long for my sanity� and since I couldn�t think of a title that didn�t sound completely stupid I gave it this one ::doesn�t know what to think:: Three days from home and civilization was when the spring rains began to beat down upon the two young elves. Three days of good weather traveling before they spent most of their time shivering upon the two plain looking horses that Sally had given them. Clutching his cloak tight around his chilled body, Heero shook his head to shed some of the excess water that was soaking through his hood as he looked up at the first of many mountain passes that Trowa and he would be going through. The pass was unnatural looking, the cliff walls having been cut by magic less than a thousand years ago when the first period of open trade with the humans had flourished. Walls of rock slanted sharply up from the cracked roadbed of the pass, reaching halfway to heaven, if you were standing in the pass. The pass was mostly unused now and the roadway semi-blocked by the early spring plant growth, the humans having lost interest in the elven kingdom for the most part since they no longer needed or wanted the influence of elven magic. The ties between the humans and elves had been tenuous even when barely eight hundred years ago the elves had protected the most closely tied human kingdom, Ameron, from it�s neighboring country OZ that had at the time been deeply entrenched in the practice of necromancy and the more destructive black magic. Riding up beside Heero, Trowa tilted his head back and also observed the steep, winding mountain pass. �Do you remember how far it is from here to the outer human settlements?� �No, but those storm clouds promise that there�s going to be heavy rain in less than an hour. We might want to find someplace out of the rain.� Heero replied. �Good idea. Our horses need some rest.� Nodding, Heero began looking for a way station that should be at the base of the pass. Due to the lack of use, the pass had been covered with brambles that had grown up along the path, leaving the equivalent of a goat path clear to travel on. Making his way to the wall of the cliff, Heero expertly guided his mount through the bush along the wall. Eyes scanning for the alcove that should be there, Heero noticed that Trowa was doing the same along the opposite wall, barely visible through the rainy mist that was beginning to collect in the pass. Finding a rectangular doorway, Heero called out to Trowa. �Found it. Over here.� Dismounting, Heero gathered his reigns in one gloved hand and led his mount into the narrow door as he touched a decorative carving set to the left side of the door and activated the charms that gave off a faint yellow glow to light the chambers that had been built into the rock face. There were two rooms that split from the main entrance hall of the way station. One had stalls for horses built into it along with several containers that should be stocked with animal bedding and hay. The other room had three tiers of bunk beds and a small table and chairs. Assessing their accommodations, Heero decided they would stay there the night instead of getting halfway through the pass and having to stay the night in the rain. Leading his horse to the stall furthest from the doorway, Heero loosened the girth and breast collar before slipping the lightweight saddle and pack off his soaked and smelly chestnut horse. Setting the saddle aside, Heero unfastened the bridle and careful of the horse�s sensitive ears lifted the leather pieces off. Looking balefully at Heero, the horse shook it�s light honey colored mane and licked its lips. Smiling slightly at the horse�s behavior, Heero closed the stall door after himself as he went to get some fresh grass to rub down the horse. Passing Trowa leading his bay, Heero pointed down the correct hallway to the stables before collecting several handfuls of sweet smelling grass. Returning to the makeshift stable, Heero handed half of the grass to Trowa before he began rubbing the grass into the horse�s coat in a circular motion. Brushing away the day�s collection of mud and sweat from the reddish brown coat, Heero�s thoughts turned to his mission. �We should disguise ourselves, use illusion to make our ears less pointed and our eyes more human-like. Our people are not very welcome over the mountains,� Trowa said as he also brushed his mount. �Hn. It would be a good idea to avoid speaking in the human common tongue. We don�t know if our accent is heavy. I want to attract no more attention than we have to.� Pausing to pickup one hoof, Heero used a stick to clean the compacted mud from the hoof. �Yes. You will have to do the casting since I have no talent with illusions,� Trowa grunted as he shoved the horse over so he could work on the horse�s other side. �Hn. Go start supper. I�ll take care of the horses.� At Heero�s suggestion, Trowa ran a hand down the horse�s flank and nodded before leaving Heero alone with his thoughts. * Three sevendays later the spring rains had not yet moved on and from the dark gray color of the clouds, it seemed that the two youths were in for yet another of the cold showers. It had taken longer than both had expected to cross the high mountain passes since several of the easier ways were still closed by snow and winter wind. Finally they had reached the end of the mountains and had reached the Gateway Woods. Hood pushed back from his face, Heero�s sharp eyes carefully surveyed the clearing in which Trowa and he were standing in. The forests on this side of the mountains were different from the deep evergreen forests of his home, more ash, oak, walnut and fruit trees than his native pine and cedar. The smells were different, the smell of the fruit blossoms thick and pungent in the wind. It was late in the afternoon, the sky was beginning to darken in the early stages of a spring storm, and they had no way station or alcove to take shelter in. The way stations had stopped almost two sevendays ago, and Heero and Trowa had shivered next to a small fire night after night since. �We�re going to get wet again.� Trowa stated calmly from his perch upon his exhausted mount, his slightly damp brown hair clinging to his forehead above his emerald eyes. �Hn.� Heero answered, his gaze focusing on an enormous old tree that had been blown over in one of the spring storms. Dismounting, he climbed on top of the tree. It was a large oak, easily three times the girth of one of the horses and covered in moss. Standing on top of the tree, Heero noticed that there was an old road on the other side that could not be seen through the brush on horseback. The road was not used much, but there were wheel ruts from recent traffic. �There�s a road here. I wonder how close the nearest village is.� Heero called back to Trowa. �The road has to lead somewhere, but it�s getting late. We should make camp in the clearing tonight and move on tomorrow morning.� Before Heero could respond, a small stone was hurtled at him from the bushes that surrounded the clearing and slammed into the side of his head. Heero was knocked unconscious instantly and collapsed, sliding down the tree to lie in a crumpled heap on the ground. Stunned, Trowa watched as about a dozen men stepped out into the clearing and surrounded him. The men resembled typical woodsmen, but with were armed. One of them, a scraggly, rat-faced man twirled a slingshot in one hand as he stepped up to grab hold of the bridle. �It�d be advisable young�un if you got down, or we�ll make ya.� * Pain� such pain. Floating in and out of consciousness, the first thing that made an impression on Heero was the stabbing pain in the side of his head. Eyes opening slightly, Heero noted that he seemed to be lying on his side in some foul smelling straw and that it was night. The air around him was cool, and opening his eyes further he found himself to be in a cage of sorts. Thick steel bars surrounded a small wooden platform that was hung by chains on a high stone wall. The wall was part of a courtyard which was completely barren except for a large tent below and a little to Heero�s right. Crawling to the edge of the platform that was only about five feet wide, Heero looked down and saw that he was about ten feet off the ground and surrounded by cages similar to his own. A few were occupied but most were not. Catching movement in the cage to his left, Heero started to move towards the other cage only to have the floor tilt unexpectedly as he moved. Clutching at the floor with one hand and his head with the other, Heero moaned at the sharp stabbing pain. �Heero?� Trowa�s voice came floating to him, speaking in elvish. Slowly raising his head at Trowa�s call, Heero managed to lift himself to a sitting position with a lot of effort. �Heero, don�t move a lot. You took a nasty hit to the head.� Trowa called softly, he was very worried. Heero had been out for two days. �Where are we?� Heero asked, bringing his knees up so he could rest his head upon them. �A small city called Eior.� �And the cages?� Heero asked, feeling himself about to collapse back into unconsciousness once again. Adjusting himself so the his own cage didn�t sway back and forth, Trowa held the bars as he moved closer to Heero�s cage. �We�re to be sold� the men who captured us were slave traders. It seems that since the last time our people had contact with this side of the mountains there has been several wars and Ameron is no longer a major power. The northern areas near the mountains are considered part of Ameron but are not under control. There is trouble brewing in the south. The people in the market were talking about it all afternoon.� �The priestess�s prophecy is already in action then,� Heero said as he wrapped his arms around his knees to conserve warmth. �It looks like it� Heero? Are you alright?� Trowa asked in concern as Heero began to visibly shiver. �I�m so cold. I don�t think I�m supposed to be this cold� and my head hurts,� Heero buried his head in his arms and slipped back into unconsciousness. �Hang on Heero� Sally said fate had something planned for us�� Trowa whispered to the uncaring moon that hung just over the wall across the courtyard from his cage. �Tomorrow you will awake and both of us will find our future.� * It was midmorning before Heero awoke again, this time his head feeling much better. �Well� if the beauty isn�t awake�� came a rough voice from outside the cage. Blinking, Heero sat up as his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. His cage had been lowered and now rested on the stone ground. �Wake up kid. You�re being auctioned off today,� the rough voice continued. Now wide-awake, Heero stared in shock at the bulky man who stood in front of his cage. Auctioned? Had he understood the human correctly? * The day before the Spring Festival, a caravan approached Eior. The caravan was large, with over fifty wagons and many more horsemen riding alongside the wagons as they slowly rumbled towards the Ameron capital by way of Eior. At the head of the caravan, a young man sat astride a magnificent, long-legged palomino whose golden color matched the boy�s hair. A larger man rode alongside the boy, the way he rode marking him a bodyguard. �M�lord, we should stop for the night in the next town. Turning turquoise eyes upon his guardian the boy nodded in agreement, a hint of travel weariness in his expression. �Yes, it�s been a long day.� �I shall inform the others. Please stay closer to the protection of the wagons. We�re almost out of the wilderness.� �I will Rashid. I have no intention of not making it to my sword brother�s birthday celebration.� * tbc�. Me evil ne? |