Prince Quatre watched from the beach as one of two galleons was sinking in the midst of the storm. He turned to his brother Heero and said, "How cruel! We should've asked them to surrender first!" He wept tears of compassion.
"Baka. I'm not going to kill them because the play won't allow me to. But I am going to get revenge for marooning us on this island after being overthrown as Duke of L1."
"What happened?" Quatre said.
Heero glared at him.
"My memory was messed up by Wing Zero," Quatre said before his mouth shrank to the point of a little dot. Quatre thought, Heero just doesn't know the power of his glare, how can Duo stand it?
Heero then said, "Duo, you tell the story." He waited a few seconds, but nobody came out. "Duo!"
An airy sprite with an amazingly long braid came by, dressed in tights and a white shirt that was hanging open. "What does my potent master want? I am here." Then he glomped unto Heero and tried to pat his crotch.
"Not now!" He smacked the hand away. "Tell the story."
"Sure. You two were overthrown by Treize, now Duke, and King Zechs of Sanq Kingdom. You two were left to rot on a boat. Luckily, you managed to sneak your book of magic aboard before you were towed out to sea. You," Duo said, while trying to unbutton Heero's shirt, but continually having his hand slapped away, "managed to say some magic spells that got you to this island."
"How's everyone from the sunken ship?"
"Everybody went crazy and jumped overboard. All their hair stood up on end except for Prince Trowa's. His hair won't budge for anything."
"Are they safe?"
"Yep. The other ship is in a hidden harbor nearby. I charmed everyone asleep."
"There, Quatre, everyone's fine. Duo and I have to talk." said Heero.
Quatre walked off. "Duo there's more to do."
Duo stepped back and crossed his arms. "More work?"
"Yes, more."
"I've been working my butt off for you for a year now. What now?"
"You forget that I freed you from the tree you were imprisoned in by an angry Wufei, who has his own collection of magic books. You were so happy to be freed that you babbled your thanks and now you just keep babbling."
"Come on. I want to be set free."
"After today."
"Cool, what do I have to do?"
Meanwhile Quatre played his violin in a sunlit clearning full of flowers. In the distance, Prince Trowa, the adopted son of King Zechs, awoke on the beach and thought, I hear divine music. I must find its source.
When Trowa saw Quatre playing the violin, he immediately stepped forward and began playing on the flute he managed to salvage from the wreck.
Quatre looked up and promptly said, "A thing divine; for nothing natural I ever saw so noble." His little heart galloped apace.
Trowa smiled at him. "I am Prince Trowa. Are you engaged to anybody else?"
"Most certainly not!" cried Quatre. He says such lovely poetry, Quatre thought.
Heero was about to walk forward when Duo whispered in his ear. "This better not be a 1X3 or you're not going to get any tonight."
"I swear it's not. Now unglomp me!"
Heero walked forward. "You're from the ship that sank. I'm afraid I must kill you."
"No, you mustn't," wailed Quatre. "He's proposed!"
"Well, then you're going to have to work for Quatre's hand."
"Have pity," said Quatre.
Trowa was about to jump, but Heero had managed to cast a spell where he couldn't do any gymnastics.
Meanwhile on another part of the island, the hermit Wufei was looking down from his lovely cave hideaway at the interlopers on his private beach. "I was trying to get away from people and now there are some tourists from a nudist colony on my island!"
Treize and Zechs were sunbathing on the beach. They had taken off their sodden clothes and threw them on the rocky part of the beach to dry. Strangely, they had managed to take with them some excellent quality sun screen so they didn't turn red like lobsters and kindly rubbed all the parts that were hard... to get to when one is alone.
Wufei scowled, "Damn it! I come to this island, imprison that babbling sprite, and finally get some peace and quiet. Then Heero and Quatre show up, free the nutcase who then keeps putting bottles of laxatives near the entrance of my cave every morning and trying to braid my ponytail. And now this! There's no justice in the world." He looked and a ship at a nearby harbor. "I shall have to talk to their captain about taking me to an even more remote island." He immediately took out his luggage cart and started packing.
Meanwhile, Trowa was hard at work, splitting wood. Quatre came by and said, "Work not so hard! I wish that lightning would set fire to all those logs you were commanded to split. Heero's off having fun with Duo, you can rest for 3, 4 or maybe even 6 hours. Or let me do it."
"And let those sweet little hands get splinters? That would be a shame. No, precious creature."
Meanwhile, Duo and Heero were secretly watching from the sidelines. "What a sweet couple. Why are you making him do this anyway?"
"It'll make him appreciate Quatre more, if that's possible, and it's in the play."
Trowa then cooed to Quatre, "So perfect and so peerless... "
Quatre blushed. "I would not wish any companion but you. Do you love me?"
"Beyond all limit, I do love, prize, honor you."
"I am so unworthy," said Quatre. "Will you marry me?'
"Here's my hand."
Duo turned to Heero, "It's sooooo cute."
Heero nodded in agreement. "Now let's take care of Treize and Zechs."
Treize and Zechs were lying on their stomachs in the sun when they hear a cool voice say, "Treize and Zechs, who knew?"
They looked up and saw four of the G boys standing, all armed with fencing swords. "Get up!" growled Heero.
Both men looked very peeved, then stand up and turn around.
Duo gasped, "O wonder! How many heavenly cuties are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world that has such hot studs in it!"
Heero throws him a murderous glance.
"It's in the play, sort of," Duo said. Oops, he thought.
"Throw us our damn clothes," snapped Zechs.
Heero and Duo flashed each other a funny little smirk. Then Heero said, "Do you recognize me?"
Treize gasped, "You were the one I overthrew."
"Yes, glad you remember. But don't worry, I'm not here to kill you. Prince Trowa, the adopted son of King Zechs, has married my brother Quatre, so he'll be partial inheritor of Sanq kingdom. Also, you're going to get us all off this island."
"After all the things we did to you, you're... you're too nice," said Zechs. Both of the nobles hung their heads in repentance.
"We'll show you where your other ship is," said Quatre.
They all started walking down the path when Heero noticed Duo wasn't walking with them. "Duo, aren't you coming?"
"I can't leave the island. It's a sprite thing." Duo looked down on the ground, his hands behind his back, his foot making an arc in the ground before him. "I could visit for a couple days, but I'd have to go back."
Heero closed his eyes, then opened them. "Then I can't leave either."
"Nani?"
"I have to make sure you don't do anything stupid like get imprisoned in another tree by an angry hermit."
"Are you sure, Heero?" said Quatre.
"Yes." Heero took Duo's hand in his. "Go ahead, Quatre. You're a natural leader and I'm not that interested in governing. Besides, Trowa will be there."
Mentioning Trowa made up Quatre's mind. As the four nobles made their way to the ship, Duo turned to Heero and said, "Hey, Heero, do you love me?"
Heero allowed himself a smile that's not a smirk. "Dearly."
Ah, he's so cute when he does that, Duo thought. He swept him off his feet to run him back to their cottage. "Hey, won't you miss Quatre?"
"He's a good boy, he'll visit."
"I need a ride to the nearest uninhabited... " Then Wufei's eyes spied an incredible sight.
"What were you about to say?" said Captain Sally Po of the galleon Peacemillion, her smile a-twinkling.
"I want to join your crew."
The End
(:./mk/tempest)
