06-Feb-2002
Title: The Crocodile Pool
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1+2/3+4 later
Warnings: OOC, language
Disclaimer: More money being made. If it was, I'd be sending it to charity
anyway. I don't own 'em, just play wit' 'em.
Author's note: And the plot thickens... feedback gladly welcomed.
Duo took a deep breath of the warm New Orleans air. The magnolia blossoms filled the air with a heavy perfume that hung from everywhere. Quatre's estate was very similar to the other historic homes in the area, with a huge wrap a round porch complete with swing, a sprawling garden full of flowers and fountains, and was surrounded, almost hidden behind a huge grove of trees. The rooms were large and had long windows that were open allowing the breeze to flow through the house. He and Heero had a room upstairs, down a long hallway.
The room was decorated in dark colors of hunter green and gold with brocades and light linens. It was a very warm, romantic room with dark wood furniture and a tall standing mirror. The large canopy bed was covered with a thin veil of linen that hung from the posts to the floor, where it pooled in tumbles. The pillows were fluffy and covered with soft lace, giving the room a homey feel. Duo was in heaven. He was feeling more relaxed than he had in months.
He had been irrationally apprehensive during the shuttle fight to the earth. The dark expanse of space had always made him feel better in the past. It was tangible, cold, a vast darkness that he felt at home in from years of being in it. Now it was a reminder of darker times, of death and despair. After the wars he had returned to the colonies, later meeting back up with Heero, and rarely came to the earth anymore unless on assignment. Now that he wasn't with the Preventers, he didn't have a desire to go to the earth at all. But being on the earth now was almost like a homecoming and it made something twitch in the back of his mind.
"Duo? Did you hear me?" Quatre was smiling at him pleasantly and holding a tall glass of lemonade.
"I'm sorry Q, what were you saying?"
"So how do you like it so far?"
"It's beautiful. All this nature is really amazing. The air is so different here than on the colonies, I almost forgot that." Duo took the glass and sat on the wicker chair next to Quatre. He watched dragonflies buzz back and forth from the pond to the fountain in the afternoon sun.
"Trowa's making a big meal for us tonight for your birthday." Duo smiled and continued to watch the birds and dragonflies chase each other in the air. "I have a gift for you. I wanted to wait until after dinner, but I can't wait until then." Quatre rose and took the glass from Duo's hand, pulling him to his feet and led him into the house. He chatted pleasantly while they made their way inside. They entered the large sitting room overlooking the gardens in the rear of the house. It was bathed in maroon and darker woods, with heavy foliage growing from huge, round, bronze pots. The light streamed in from the wide windows and the breeze seemed to chase them everywhere they went. At the far side of the room in front of the fireplace was a white cloth draped over something quite large and square.
Duo felt all the hairs on the back of his neck and on his arms raise from the moment he stepped into the room. He had stopped listening to Quatre and stared at the white cloth in front of them. Quatre brushed by him and grabbed a corner of the draping material.
"Hey, I thought we were going to wait until after dinner to give Duo his present." Trowa said from the doorway, causing both boys to jump. He distinctly heard an uncharacteristic, soft gasp escape from Duo as the braided boy grabbed his chest and took a few deep, cleansing breaths. "For shit's sake, Trowa don't sneak up on us like that!"
"What's going on here?" Heero said as he joined the others in the sitting room wiping his hands on a kitchen cloth. Trowa shot him a look and shrugged his shoulders.
"I couldn't wait until after dinner, Trowa, you know I'm no good at keeping surprises." Quatre cheerfully explained not noticing how pale Duo was.
Heero's eyes narrowed as he watched Duo stare at the cloth-covered object and try to regain his composure.
"Well then, we're all here. May as well unveil it." Trowa moved over to where Quatre was standing and removed the cloth from the object, unveiling the very painting that Duo had admired at the showing on L4. "We decided that since you liked it so much, we'd give it to you as a birthday present." Duo stared at the painting and grew even paler. He tried to speak, but found his voice had disappeared. Trowa frowned as Heero walked calmly over to him. "Duo? Is something wrong?"
Duo looked to Trowa with an unreadable expression. "It's the painting from your exhibit."
"Yes, the one you were looking at before the two of you left that night. I thought you liked it, so Quatre and I decided it would make a nice gift, but if you don't want it... "
"No! It's not that at all. The painting is beautiful. I just swear I've seen it before." Duo stammered looking from the painting to Trowa and back again.
"You mean before the exhibit?" Quatre asked, his voice laced with concern.
"Duo, sit down. You look like you're going to lose your feet out from underneath you." Heero commanded as he took Duo's arm and sat him down on a chair in front of the painting.
"No, not the painting itself. The place. The pool that you painted, I swear I've seen it before." Duo said in a voice that was hesitant and somewhat fearful.
"The Crocodile Pool isn't that far from here. I found it last year when we came here on vacation. I thought it was interesting so I painted it and added it to the collection you saw on L4." Trowa sat across from Duo and Heero and watched as the emotions flickered in Duo's wide eyes.
"It actually exists?" Duo asked.
"Yes. Quatre and I had taken a walk when we came across it. What made it all the more interesting was the story behind it. It used to have many crocodiles in it."
"Go on." Heero said quietly.
Quatre sat next to Trowa and the three listened to the story behind the painting. Quatre had heard the story before. After all he had been there at the time, but was surprised how enthralled Duo was with it. It was a bit unnerving to say the least, seeing Duo's reaction to the painting in the first place.
"Well, we had packed a picnic lunch and decided it was such a reclusive spot, it would be perfect to stop there. We sat on the edge of the stone wall like in the painting there." Trowa pointed to the small stone wall that surrounded the pool in the painting. "We were sitting and talking when we were approached by an old women who told us to leave. When Quatre asked why, she told us a story about a young gypsy girl who had disappeared years before. It was shortly after her disappearance that the local people had all the crocodiles removed from the pool. The woman told us that the pool was cursed, because that is where the locals believed she died. Drowned I guess. She said that the pool was haunted by her spirit."
"The women didn't know how the girl died?" Heero asked with skepticism.
"She didn't say." Quatre said. "Trowa and I assumed the girl had drowned, but then again, we didn't really put much stock into the women's story. It seemed like she was a little on the crazy side."
Duo had listened to the entire account without saying a word. He just stared at the painting. When Trowa and Quatre stopped speaking, he turned his vacant eyes to them and muttered something too soft for them to hear.
Heero took in Duo's stiff posture and the vacant stare and bells starting going off in his head. Something was very wrong with Duo. It reminded him of the night at the exhibit when Duo had first seen the painting. "Duo? What did you say?"
Duo looked at Heero his face devoid of expression. "I said she didn't drown. She was murdered." He whispered, then promptly passed out.
End Part 4
(:./ebony/pool4)
