16-Jul-2001
Part six... Wow...
Anou... I´ve been brainstorming with Persephone, who I can't thank enough for her help beta-ing and commenting on my ranting and suggestions! *huggles* And... *points* There's your Katsudan scene.
Title: "Fate is Fickle" (Formerly Untitled)
Author: Ryan Harbin
Warnings: AU, shounen ai, bit of violence and adult-ish material, sap
Pairings: 5+M, 3+4?, 1+2, maybe more
Archive: GW Addiction, etc
Part 6 Begun: March 22, 2001
Finished: July 16, 2001
His footsteps echoed solidly down the corridors' thick stone walls, a defense method that had done nothing against his own attack except hold back the screams. They were strongly built walls, complementing the ornate castle he was glad to add to his growing empire. Whatever the other countries' leaders may believe, he was the real power behind the Kyugetsu Federation, a power growing in infamy and reach every day. Unshinau may have seemed a pittance, but it held treaties with only a few countries of any consequence, most of whom Kyugetsu had a stronger agreement with. The country's main output was agricultural, something inconsequential on its own, but combined with Kyugetsu resources, quite a formidable addition to his territory. The people's animosity towards the king had made it all the easier, and it wasn't until after the country was firmly in his grasp that they realized the threat to their precious prince and attempted a rebellion. By then, not only did he hold the reigns of power, but there was a more than sufficient number of his soldiers to hold off the country bumpkins that tried to rebel. It would take foreign help that no one had the influence to sway to help them in any way.
It was perfect.
Except for one thing. His face soured at that one little problem poked at the back of his mind, a thorn in his side in a spot his hands couldn't seem to reach, no matter how flexible he'd felt before. The Prince had disappeared, vanished with not so much a witness to direct his forces in the right way to search. This by itself may not have been a problem, as most royalty as a generalization tends to be completely incapable with dealing with the real world, totally clueless when forced from their shell. He'd heard this Duo was something of an exception, but the rule had proved to be almost entirely all encompassing. However, he'd dematerialized in the company of one who may present a problem, one Heero Yuy, the Captain of the prince's guard who, though at most sixteen years old, was rumored to be ruthless, resourceful, and an all around worthy adversary. He would know what they needed, where to get it, what was obviously leading to a trap...
He returned a lock of his black hair to its place irritably, annoyed at his obviously flustered appearance. He knew half the key to success was in the exterior, and he kept himself perfectly groomed. As dishonest and backstabbing as he prided himself on being, no one could naysay his physical finesse. He had the corporeal perfection of a statue, coupled flawlessly with a well-bred charm that easily belied his sinister motives. All in all, he was the ideal villain, an aspect he prided himself on. Good may triumph in the storybooks, but he'd learned early on that reality was no fairy tale, and to manipulate it as he wanted he would have to be a dirty as those who had proven it to him. The thing that kept him above those common thieves and marauders, though, was that he did it with style, and, of course, kept himself superficially clean.[1]
Quatre blanched, his nerve fleeing with his coloring, leaving him to dread the consequences in solitude with the soldier.
"Then go ahead and kill me," he whispered, drawing against the nearest decorative piece of furniture for some material comfort, the solid substance offering consolation in simply being something to lean on.
The soldier shook his head. "I told you I didn't kill anyone, why would I kill you?"
Confusion bubbled through Quatre's shell-shocked nerves, his brain whirling in the same circles as he tried to comprehend this flawed logic. Realizing he was accomplishing nothing but giving the impression that he was more than a little dim, he plunked himself down into the chair, folded his hands passively into his lap, and whispered, "Explain."
She sobbed silently, leaning heavily against the door in her sudden need for support. The stark lack of all life in the castle had made her almost disregard of the previous day's holocaust, even as something niggling at the back of her mind had made all of her movements darting and cautious, stretching her awareness to the next corner or doorway, devoting unusual amounts of concentration to what slight taps she could hear, which shadows flickered with movement and whether their source was obvious. Now it became totally clear why none of the people who had until just over twenty four hours ago been the castle's busy denizens were not at all apparent.
One thing she knew, even more than the incessantly nagging reminder to just get out, was that there was no way under the threat of a thousand violent deaths or new methods of torture she would ever go through that room. She'd never be able to maintain what little composure that appeared to have been shocked into her purely through adrenaline if she was forced to at the same time attempt to ignore that corpse, only to end up staring straight into the forever shocked expression on another... Just the thought made her shudder and quail inside.[2] And she knew she'd never be able to hold back a desperate cry if she happened to come across one of her acquaintances, friends, or even the girl who changed her towels every day.
But she knew that she was running on borrowed time, until some wandering soldier, thinking the former occupants had all been purged, happened to trip over her still trying to find a way out. The initial shock might lend her a brief head start, but that was assuming she wasn't just as unsettled, and even then it wouldn't be enough. Going around the ballroom was dangerous and time consuming, but would doubtlessly be better than sitting, rattled, as she was now.
Keeping one hand firmly pressed against the door, as an immediate support to remind her of herself and her position, she rose unsteadily and began walking down the corridor, trailing the same hand over the wall. Gradually her shaky pace quickened, and within a few minutes she was running, her rhythmic steps echoing loudly as she finally allowed herself to just flee. Taking memorized turns simply on reflex, she reached the critical juncture in a much shorter time than she expected, upon which time she forced herself to slow, exerting the rigid self control she was normally so proud of.
She'd neither heard nor seen any sign or a guard since she'd been wandering. Most likely they were under the illusion - well, more than illusion - that they were totally secure and had not reason to conduct patrols. Even a sporadic search would most likely have revealed her.
Another thought occurred to her, rattling her further. Maybe, if word had gotten out of the violent occurrences, people were protesting. She hated to think of what would be done to the erstwhile rebels, all in the name of pacification.
Even though she doubted she'd be detected, she took the final passageways slowly, wary of what could be waiting around any bend. Especially since a few of the torches had been extinguished, probably both from the previous chaos and a lack of daily maintenance as was custom. So every once in a while she was plunged into total, heart wracking darkness, when the rush of her breathing was all too apparent and she had to feel her way around watchfully. Devoting so much attention to the manner of her passage in this way, she neglected to notice that she'd now surpassed the known area, even on her furthest and longest explorations. The floor became increasingly uneven, well-trodden and perfectly matching stoned giving way to occasional bare patches and finally nothing at all but loosely packed dirt that clung stubbornly to her dress slippers.
She refused to dwell on such frivolous concerns, though, reminding herself curtly of the situation she was in. It disturbed her to realize that the ground appeared to sloping down, though lighting was even more scarce, and she didn't want to think of what the passage was used for, as it was undoubtedly underhanded.
It was so high she could only grasp it on tiptoe, but after a bit or trying she managed to grab one of the flickering torches, providing her with a constant source of at least some illumination. In it's unsteady beams she could make out that her suspicions were correct, and even the dirt was slowly becoming cloying mud, and her heart began to beat faster at the recognition that she was totally blind and directionless. But anything was better than the castle, she thought with a chill that shook her small frame.
She had no way to judge the time, and all sense of chronology eluded her, but she took a wild guess that she had been following this same passage for two hours. It hopefully was not yet dark outside... Unconsciously she sped her pace, an anonymous sense of urgency tugging at her where it appeared even blind panic could not.
She was immeasurably relieved when the spatter of her feet displacing the viscous mud metamorphosed into the harder patter of steps on hard soil, and it became apparent that the ground had reversed its earlier downward angle. And the imagined light became more than a mirage, though even the dimmest beams that fought their way through the tunnel hurt her eyes. It was still a joy to be able to make out the details of her earthen ambiance, pick out the roots threading their way through the dirt in an endless quest for moisture. She clambered out of the tunnel, amazed at where it had taken her. She could see no sign of the castle or village through the dense forest surrounding, which she couldn't equate the negative and positive effects of.
Because, although it lost her in a blanket of trees and creeping vines, she had no idea where she was, leaving her just as effectively misplaced.
As he'd expected, Heero awoke while Duo was still curled securely around him, in the throes of sleep. He managed to extract himself without waking the slumbering boy, but gave in to the urge to watch, even if just for a bit. Devoid of what had been his support, the long-haired young man fell into himself, bending his knees up into an almost fetal position, looking more vulnerable in sleep than he ever consciously let himself appear.
Though certain he knew more about Duo's past on the streets than most, he also knew that he was only aware of a tiny part. Heero Yuy had hardly led a sheltered life, but what little he had scene of the capitol streets had made him glad of what family and structure he had been given, even if it was how to kill a man with your left hand, or how to get out of a stranglehold.
And if such knowledge would aid him in protecting Duo, then he was glad for it, whatever circumstances had first planted it in his mind.
For the first time in the past few days, he found himself actually wondering what they planned to do. They had for now escaped Katsudan and the Kyugetsu army, but they had to keep moving, and he had no idea where they would go. He supposed they could go to another country, ask for asylum until they could muster up sufficient forces to re-take the country. But three of the five were already occupied by Kyugetsu. The fourth had maintained a neutral position thus far, and Heero doubted he could convince them to change their minds for a just-instated prince, no matter how incredible a person he might actually be. The fifth was Cinq, a pacifist nation. Though the soldiers yesterday had been wearing Cinq uniforms, they had not at all acted like the calm and competent officers they were reputed to be, and they're been minor discrepancies in their uniforms that belied all training for the Cinq defense forces.
They'd be interested in learning of this deception, and it would give him some leverage to force them to allow Duo shelter, at least for a short while.
It seemed their only option.
He turned back to wake Duo. Cinq it was.
TBC...
Notes:
[1] Being Evil 101 concluded for the part... -.-;;;
[2] I'm not trying to make her weak, just... human.
Herky is a fun word. *noddles*
Misu just gave me a really really great comment on BtC four. Made me quite happy! Danke danke Misu!! Thanks also to Misu for getting this beta-ed in one day, so I could send it out before I left! *huggles*
Oh god, I feel awful. Like I'm about to collapse...
Ryan Harbin
Please send comments to: rioroute_vilgyna@yahoo.com