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"The Rovers"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, Romance, Adventure Pairings: ? Summary: The characters from Gundam Wing find love amid the perils of war, oh… and they save the world while they're at it. The story is set in an alternative universe on earth. Part One is told from Heero's point of view. We meet the roving people with a hidden agenda, and the men hunting them. In Part Two, things go wild and…well, let's just get through these first four chapters of Part One and see how it goes. Thanks to Waterlily for reading and offering her
advice not just once but twice—and when you get through part
two you see just how long a story this is and just how much I owe
her! Hope the exchange rate is in my favor… "The Rovers " Part One Chapter 4 - A Change in Direction I woke the next day with sun streaming through the gap in the tent door. Bird song. Frogs? Did I hear frogs in winter? Or had I slept through winter? I was sleeping so soundly, so well... I poked my head outside and sure enough, it was a fine morning, like early spring. A curious dog ran over and sniffed me for handouts. "No food here," I told him and he moved off. I returned to my belongings, hoping to find something cleaner to wear. "Knock! Knock! Good day! How about this?" Asked a peppy voice I didn't recognize. Quatre Winner, carrying a basket, stuck his nose into my tent. At his side was the flute-playing Rover, Trowa, carrying another basket. "We are having a picnic!" Quatre announced. He seemed a merry soul and I liked him for it. "You must join us." Us? But it wasn't long before I spied the others. Rashid remained in line-sight of his prince-on-the-run, so expected him to be hauling a carton with them. Duo had already collected Zechs and the dark-haired young man from L5 and was waiting for us to join them on the gravel path. He had a spot in mind and led us directly to a dry, sunny spot. Even though it was winter, fresh, new, green grass grew amongst the brown from the previous season. "Does winter give this place a miss?" I asked. "No, but it's not harsh," Duo replied. "This is on the ancient King's Way, the road once used to link the old kingdoms." "When the colonies were the wild lands," Trowa added. We spread rugs over the grass. I recognized the tight weave and designs from my stay in the L4 colony, and smiled when Quatre looked my way. He nodded at the rug in my hands and shook out the one in his. "It snows a little every so often, but mostly this far south we'll just get rain." Duo was saying. "In spring the Rovers traditionally moved north-not every year... maybe every fourth- taking the King's Way between the mountains, resting the farmland." "This year we moved here and won't be going any place in the foreseeable future," Trowa said. "It's not safe north any longer." "Not with Khushrenada in the vicinity. He has sworn to bring the colonies to their knees," the man from L5 cut in. "General Khushrenada believes the colonies exist to serve the kingdom, provide products and services." I explained, since Zechs, apparently disinterested, remained mute even though it was his job to express the Sanc Kingdom's political stance. "We are not slaves of his will!" Wufei shouted. "We aspire, no, we demand justice... to keep our profits and build our cities independently of the kingdom." "I don't think you've actually met Wu-fei Chang." Duo introduced the dark-haired Chinese man. "Ambassador Chang Wufei from L5!" His black eyes flashed with annoyance. "You say my name incorrectly just to be irritating." "Um, no, nothing intentional. That's how the order of names works where I live," Duo argued. Chang ignored him and turned his attention on me. "And you are the servant to Prince Milliardo." "I'm leader of the king's guard," I corrected him, "and report to the prince." "You serve him, that's a servant." "Let's not quarrel on a beautiful day like this." Quatre beamed at us. "Would you pass me the rolls, please, Captain Yuy?" "Just Heero is fine," I told him. Again, I felt Chang's disgruntled glare on me. "Heero Yuy? The man is dead. He was older than you and quite celebrated in his time." "I was named after him." "Impossible. You are no younger than I, and I was a child when I heard the peace emissary had been shot." Duo chuckled something that sounded like "snarky asshole" and turned away. I agreed. This had gone on long enough. "My name was changed when I was five or so, and I don't care if you believe me or not. You can call me Yuy or Heero or Captain Heero Yuy of the Elite Royal Guard of Sanc." As I guessed it would, having a title seemed to impress the man. "You may leave off the honorifics. Call me Chang." He gave me a curt bow. Peace settled on our picnic after that. Wufei interested me because I'd never met a colonist from L5. They were a tight-knit bunch, rarely venturing outside their borders. I caught him gazing in that direction, at the mountain range separating these lands with the colony. "Dragon Back." I recognized the mountain range. The tree line gave it a jagged appearance, prickly like the L5 representative. "I've seen it close up from L1, as a child." "Dragon Back ridge is only the small range. I'm waiting for-" Wufei's face changed, softened as he lost the arrogant sneer. The last of the distant fog rose with the burning sun and there, looming above the ridge was a tall snow-covered peak. "Dragon's Tooth." Shining in the morning's rays, it was an impressive sight. "Breathtaking," the L4 prince said, sighing with appreciation After that, a major discussion ensued consisting of future plans, which wasn't surprising considering the people making up our picnic included revolutionaries, princes, and ambassadors. Quatre Winner declared that he wanted to meet with the leaders of all the other colonies and attempt to form a coalition. With a pointed look at Zechs and me, Trowa warned him of saying too much in front of what he perceived, with good cause, to be the enemy. "You give away too much of your strategy to those who would ruin you." "Not ruin!" Rashid objected. "You misunderstand my devotion and our purpose, Rover. We come to save the prince from any imprudent action." Like chasing his passions. Well, I could see it was too late for that. Besides being terribly protective of his secrets, Trowa wanted Winner's ass, in bed, as far as I could read him, while Rashid was there to protect the royal ass. Together, they'd tear him apart. "And force him back into a nasty situation." Trowa didn't let the giant of a man intimidate him. He was probably loaded with hidden weapons. He looked cut-throat enough at the moment to use them. "He has a position to maintain in the L4 colony. The people look up to him. His father depends on him to set an example." "Father... hates me," Winner said, tears in his eyes. To me, it looked as if he lived on the edge of an emotional abyss most of the time. "I can tell when he looks at me that he sees my mother and blames me for her death. I can do nothing for my people, living in his shadow, play-acting a role." At this point Zechs appeared bored with the discussion. He wanted to move on and knew that as the Prince of Sanc, one of the major subjugating kingdoms, he was the one seen as the enemy. "Let me clarify my position for everyone here. I am not here to arrest anyone-" "-as if you could," came the quick response from Trowa. "-But to look into two missing persons of importance. The interest Treize has in locating the... ambassador... to L5, I've come to see, may not have been as humanitarian as I'd assumed." "Indeed," Wufei groused a bit more in what I took to be his native language. "The goal to find and subsequently launch an attack on the Rovers with the objective of total eradication of the people was not mine, and never was. I receive commands, but, as my father often found disturbing, rarely followed ones I didn't agree with." "You see, I share a few of the limitations the prince from L4 has pointed out. A narrow point of view from the confines of my kingdom. I use this excuse to get out for my own purposes, which include learning the conditions of this vast continent." It sounded good and he probably meant it. Wufei Chang wanted to kill Khushrenada and annihilate anyone getting between him and protecting his colony. Zechs, last he had spoken to me, was wholly interested in, "intrigued by", Chang. Whether it was the man or his cause that most attracted his curiosity now, I couldn't tell-probably the tenaciously intertwined combination. Duo's main concern revolved around a group of doctors. Inventors, he called them. Creators of super weapons that would guarantee freedom for the colonies. Having had firsthand knowledge of the power of just one of these weapons, the gun that shot me without a bullet and was ready to fire again instantly, gave me reason to want to learn more about these inventors. Duo didn't give any details, but the bits he did were astonishing, and when it came to the "practically inexhaustible, out-of-this-world power source, and fuel "in canisters" and "laser aiming technology", I know from Rashid and Zechs' dumbfounded faces that I wasn't alone feeling dazed by the bewildering ideas. I didn't voice my opinion. Like Trowa, like Quatre, and like, probably Zechs as well, I had my eye on a man. Mine was Duo. Some liked their romances simple. Apparently, complexity didn't bother me. Not then. I was love-sick. Ready to throw away my position and rank in the Sanc guard to follow Duo. And I had to admit that super weapons were an extremely intriguing enticement drawing me into this band of misfits. What I shared with everyone was this: "I would like to keep an open mind. My allegiance is to the Sanc Kingdom, but I am not indifferent to a just cause. I have less... freedom... than the prince to pick and choose my actions, but in the end I won't operate against my principles or be forced to do that which I believe is wrong." "You're either with us or against us, you know, in the end." Duo stared at me. His eyes changing color in the bright light from deep blue to a true violet. I could fall into them, like pools of oblivion, and forget all else. "Dear, Lord," Zechs said, sounding put out, "His is so with you, direct orders to the alternative would go in one ear and out the other." He laughed and kicked my foot. So I deduced that it was all right to go my own direction after that. (o) New directions The next morning I awoke to an orange glow. The only thing I could compare the strange lighting to was the time fires roared through the foothills of Sanc Kingdom. Duo scratched at my tent flap. "Come in." His hair glistened with dew drops. The sky was leaden and a fine mist fell. "Hey, thought you'd want to join me on a perimeter exploration." He grinned. "A ride's just the thing on a nice morning like this." I couldn't help myself from smiling back. "I should check with Zechs first," I said automatically. I really wasn't all that sure I had complete freedom of choice. "Oh, he's already gone out. Taken a fancy to the stuffy L5 ambassador, I'd guess. They are out exploring with Tro' and Quat." "All right then," I agreed. My horse needed exercise, as did I. Duo handed me an oilcloth cape which covered me as we rode more completely than anything I owned. With my hat, I'd stay relatively dry for which I was glad. I didn't have a vast wardrobe of dry clothes to change into, should I get drenched. My first question concerned the weird sky. "If it's fire, I can't smell smoke so it's far away." Duo granted me that, but didn't know. "Northeast. L5 and L3 maybe? Chang's bet is on an attack on L5; Tro's betting on L3. That's the direction they rode out in to meet some Archers and send others north for news." We circled the camp then took off along a well-worn path. This led up a gorge. Duos said, "This river fills a lake south of our camp. I'll take you to an outlook where you can see both lakes. Real pretty. But first we have a bridge to repair." He wasn't joking either. We lugged rocks and levered boulders in place to secure the soil where the bridge posts struck land. Without our repairs, swirling eddies from storm water would erode the land and could weaken the bridge, even cause it to fail. "Now a job like that will make you feel accomplished the rest of the day, while you binge-watch guys bathing in the lake. Don't even act like you were not watching them. I saw you." I didn't say anything. Nothing like that had happened and I was wondering where he was going with this assertion that it did. "Yes, you," he said with added emphasis. Had I missed something? Were there naked swimmers? I looked, but there was no one in the water at all. Of course not. He caught me looking, and I laughed. I laughed so hard it hurt my sides. Lifting too many rocks had hurt my sides too, so it hardly mattered. After shoring up the footings, we crossed the bridge. The horses took the gentle rise with patience. I know my horse didn't like the mud, but the path was maintained with a layer of crushed granite, improving the surface measurably. The short climb brought us to a broad vantage point with a little cover, for which we were grateful. By afternoon the misty rain had turn into a downpour. "There used to be a small town there called Interlaken. A quiet little town, lying beautifully between two shimmering lakes, with Dragon's Back Ridge in the background. Now we camp there." "What happened to the town?" I asked, although I had a good idea I knew the answer. "Duke Dermail's uncle..." his voice trailed off into a troubled silence. "King of Old Lombardia," I said by way of an assist. "Yeah, him. He cleansed a wide swath for their king to travel." "This land has seen turmoil for a long time," I commented. "It has. Wouldn't it be nice for the folks to keep what they work for and live in peace for once?" It would. (o) Rashid sat with Wufei and Zechs, drawing maps in the dirt with a stick. The Maguanac was giving his young prince a little privacy. A very little. Duo and I sat with Trowa and Quatre discussing the unstable countryside and waiting for reports from the riders sent north. Men from the Archers guild apparently rode hard to tell them all was well in L3. The Rovers were particularly protective of L3, because the inventors had workshops there, but that was all Duo or Trowa would say. They didn't altogether trust me with their secrets, and I didn't blame them. It wasn't until much later that day that Rover-runners returned with the news: L5 was under attack. Wufei wanted to leave immediately and join the fray. It was all Zechs could do to stop him, sit him down, and talk sense into him. "Think before you act," he'd said. "Develop a plan then act if you want to be effective." Not wanting to hear any more of Chang's outbursts, I turned to Duo. "Why L5?" I asked. "They invented gunpowder in L5," Duo told us. "Khushrenada's always after their technology." That did make sense. Little else in the political world did. For my part, actually, I was having a harder and harder time caring about anything but Duo. The rest of the world seemed less real to me. I was losing focus on my "purpose" or my "duty" the more I concentrated on understanding Duo Maxwell. Duo took me on daily reconnaissance trips, where we'd see the damage Dermail and Khushrenada's rampaging caused, or, like Interlaken, the ruins of massacres from the past. Some villages were burned to the ground; others showed a slow reconstruction by the determined inhabitants. The permanent habitation nearest the Rover camp was Bordertown. On the edge of the Sanc Kingdom and the Wild territory linking the colonies, Bordertown was more of a village than town with a mix of ethnicities in its peoples, foods, and architecture. If any of the Rovers wanted to settle down, this was the place. The town accepted anyone and welcomed anyone with money to spend. I liked one particular small restaurant called The Garret. Maybe because it was cramped and grimy and warm and reminded me of places I'd visited in the years before my palace guard duty began. The walls had been painted yellow in the past, then cured to a rich amber by a hundred years of cigarette smoke. Just after three in the afternoon, the lunch crowd thinning, Duo and I were seated where I caught a glimpse of the stage. A Rover trio was sawing away in sentimental agonies, a dancer in sheer pantaloons and halter showed just exactly what her faithless lover was giving up, while her partner stood to one side, hands clasped in fruitless longing. The musician I recognized from the camp. I ordered the special, a soup made from chicken with tiny dumplings and cream. "Same for me and add a bottle of the house wine," Duo said. Over the passing weeks, I had grown fond of the Rovers; I was completely in love with Duo. I liked the way of life, with conditions closer to that with which I'd grown up. The Garret felt like that, too. Comfortable, well-worn chairs, comforting food, engaging company-mostly that. Duo's lively eyes and ready smile anchored my attention on him. "Tonight," I began. "As in a few hours from now?" he teased. "Tonight. Will you come to my tent?" "Oooh, you are propositioning me, aren't you?" He looked delighted by the idea, I had to say. "Okay, since you took my innocent request in that direction-" "Innocent, my ass!" Duo laughed at his remark. "Nothing innocent about it. Which-" he paused for dramatic effect "- is why I am agreeing. Drink up now, 'cause it's back on the road for us." I began to groan, because he expected me to, when he stopped me with a sharp hand movement. "Look," he said, voice low, "aren't those dudes wearing your colors?" I recognized the Sanc Royal Guard livery worn by two young riders who entered The Garret flanked by Hilde and another Rover, whose name I didn't know. "Yes. They're familiar to me." "So they'll know you, too," Duo concluded. "Shini!" Hilde cried out. "Over here!" Duo called out. "Who ya keeping company with these days?" Hilde spoke to Duo directly. "We caught these fools in Marloof trying to buy portage over the pass. They claim to be from the Sanc Palace and have a message to deliver to the prince." All four marched to our table. Close up I could see their faces. They were men I had worked alongside with many times. I could see that the men had ridden hard and rose to greet them. "Farmer! Troy! It must be important to send you over the pass this time of year." "Captain Yuy, sir!" Troy looked relieved to see a friendly face. "Yes. Terribly important." Farmer, the shorter, older of the pair, removed a paper from his leather satchel. The massive red seal of the crown marked it from the King himself, or someone working in an official capacity and very close to him, like his personal secretary. I quietly communicated this information to Duo. Duo hopped to his feet and moved toward the door. "Then let's go see the prince by all means." What we learned soon after returning to the camp and finding Zechs, was that his father, the king, was near death-this at the time the letter was written. Nearly a week had passed since then. "It is essential that I return to the palace," Zechs announced. "Not the way we came, my prince," Farmer told him. "Even if these...people could get us past Marloof, the road wardens warned of another series of storms were right at our heels, and that they were closing it to riders." "Probably for good, they said," Troy joined in, "A bad winter, they predicted. The road was nearly impassable as it was." "I have an obligation to go at once!" Zechs stated as if that alone would change nature. "You can take the King's Way," Duo said. "I don't know-" Zechs began to waffle. "-Pardon me," Duo interrupted, "but Wufei knows the road well. Let's see what he has to say. Hilde, can you find Ambassador Chang?" "-Chang? Oh sure. He's raging about the place over the news from L5-news of an attack a few days ago. There he is now." Once Wufei was quieted down, and had the facts explained, it was determined that he and Zechs were to return to Sanc by way of the northern road and stay at Duke Dermail's palace until a route opened up- over winter, if that was what it took. Wufei said, "While we are so close, I want to see for myself the despoiling of my home colony by Khushrenada." "If that is the case," Zechs promised with a gentle smile I'd rarely, if ever, seen him bestow on anyone. "I will go with you." I wondered how many promises he'd made to the young man from L5. What if General Treize Khushrenada was still in L5? Would Zechs remove him from his position, take back armed forces, and return as the King of Sanc? He might try... I wasn't certain Zechs had the heart or drive to make such a move, but Chang Wufei certainly did. The plan was put to action immediately. Their entourage included the two royal guardsmen, Farmer and Troy, who would remain at Dermail's palace when the L5 trip took place. Howard put in an appearance and met with them in secret. I won't say I wasn't miffed at being left out. I guessed there was an exchange of money or promises for his reputedly powerful weapons. Duo swore I would learn everything when he had more time to explain, just not now. He absolutely had to train them in the proper use of the guns and had only the one evening. Worse luck! The ruckus and preparations for their leaving meant that Duo and I would have to defer our romantic night together. There would be other opportunities; I would make sure of that. So, I played cards with Trowa and Quatre and learned of a bigger plan Duo and Howard had come up with. "We're to disperse Howard's splendid weapons throughout the colonies!" Quatre said. Trowa sighed. From the way Trowa acted at times, it seemed to me that the blonde prince was a burden for him to endure. The sex must have been something else. Or maybe I was wrong entirely. "No. Not you, me. Shini and I move the arms. You are a prince and your place is-" "-My place is by your side. Is not L4 a colony? Do we not need to be armed with the finest weapons in order to have the upper hand against OZ?" "Who is OZ?" I asked, feeling out of a loop I thought I was a part of. "Duo never spoke of them." Trowa replied, "He's busy with lots on his mind, probably forgot." "Oh, Trowa, Howard just got word of the rumor and we were fortunate to overhear. Heero, I'm sure he intends to tell you when he gets a chance." "You're probably right." Thank you, Quatre, for playing peacemaker. My smile may have inspired him to answer my question. "Anyway, Treize Khushrenada presumably is uniting the fighting forces of the allied kingdoms and calling them OZ. He will use them to quell any uprisings in the colonies." "Does that make me a part of this...OZ?" I wondered aloud. Quatre placed his hand over my heart. I didn't expect him to touch me. I shivered, placed my hand over his, preparatory to removing it, and gazed into his wide, blue eyes. He looked so young, far too innocent to be on his own, far from home. He should be coddled. "If I understood correctly," he said in that gentle, lilting accent I now associated with L4, "your prince released you from his guard. You are free to follow your heart." Trowa hauled him away after that-territorial bastard. "Let's play cards. It's what we came for." I liked to think he believed I was competition for Quatre's attention, even though I wasn't; I had no desire to be, but I wasn't above such petty male rivalry. The next morning, Wufei and Zechs left the camp. I stood, waiting to see if my commander had any last orders. When at last he rode over, it was only to assure me that we would meet again and that I was free to correct the wrongs I encountered and "Be free of guilt. You have done your duty." Duo had gone off with Howard for a few days, leaving me a little heartsick and at a loss for things to do. Trowa I couldn't find, so I assumed it was his idea to hide and keep Quatre out of sight, too. So I cleaned my sword and fairly much worthless old gun. (o) The last days of November, I pulled my overcoat tight and hurried through the streets of the Bordertown to the tiny Café Roc, the only place open. It was, I thought, frozen in time. Empty-looking in the cold morning light, a cat asleep on the counter, the owner at his grinder preparing coffee looked up when the bells jingled when the door shut behind me. "Sit anywhere," he welcomed me, "Coffee coming up. Mary's bringing in rolls from the oven." "Thanks. Two, please." I expected Duo to walk in any minute. We had an arrangement. I opened a book left behind by some past customer and read the first two pages and then the bells jingled again. "Coffee!" Duo called out. "Make it hot!" He leaned over me and whispered, "Hot like you." I looked up into his smiling face. "I get this feeling." "Oh yeah?" Duo leaned a little closer and I had to concentrate on not reaching out and touching him, the drive was that strong. "From you," I said, my throat tight so it came out sounding raspy. Duo leaned back. "From me? What kind of feeling?" My hands were shaking. My stomach was fluttering. "That tonight's the night." "Oh, that, heh, heh. Well, you're probably right. Bet you could use some warming up." He was right about that. Nights were cold and even though I had plenty of blankets and cushions, there was no fire for warmth. A heat flamed up inside me when he mentioned it and he smiled. Two steaming mugs appeared followed by our favorite rolls, and we ate like to starving young men for the next few minutes. Duo sat back. "Oh, yeah. Good. Better now. You?" "I'm fine." "Right. Okay, then. I gotta see a man about some new explosives. Wanna come along?" "If it makes time go faster, I'm in." I didn't make many jokes, but seeing him laugh made me glad I could ever so often. It didn't get past me that this invitation meant Duo was taking me a little deeper into his world, that he trusted me with his secrets. Would he trust me with his heart? I know I'd been obvious enough about handing mine over to him. Everyone could tell I'd thrown over my position in the elite Sanc guard in pursuit of his approval. Did he want me? I knew he liked me, but did he know how much he tormented me by avoiding sex? (o) I got my answers when we finally did get our night together. This time nothing happened to put off our plans. I waited in my tent. I couldn't believe how nervous I was. I couldn't keep my mind on any one thought for longer than a few fleeting moments before I was imagining Duo and what we were about to do together. The bath I'd taken had been quick in the cold water and I'd gratefully taken the loose-fitting tunic and pants offered me. Feeling clean again was wonderful, but it hardly registered anymore- if only he'd come! And when he did, he was so quiet- the rustle of his clothes and setting down the lamp he'd carried were the only sounds. "Hi-i." My voice broke in the stillness. "Hey, yeah. I brought the rest of the wine we didn't finish the other day." When he stepped close enough, I ran a hand down his braid. "I wonder if it's as long as Zechs' when it's down." Not a smart thing to say, but I wasn't thinking straight. "You gotta work on your sweet talk, Yuy," Duo said. "Comparing me to your last lover isn't cool." "I-I wasn't! I swear! A-and he wasn't my lover! I told you that before. And I'm sorry. I don't see many men wearing hair this long. I just wanted to touch you-." His body crashed into mine and he mashed our lips together. He wasn't soft like Relena. His hard chest felt good and solid as he pushed me onto my back. His hands roved under my tunic. I felt calloused palms scrape along my sides. "No broken ribs," he murmured into my ear. I didn't think that was very romantic and huffed. "How do you know that?" "Feel this." He guided one of my hands to his side, where his tunic was hiked up. His skin felt so warm. I felt compelled to kiss it and lick it. With a quick push, I rolled him over, reversing our positions. He giggled. "You're supposed to feel the-" I interrupted his untimely babbling. "-Bump on the ribs. I do. Now shut up." I knew he could tell by my tone of voice I meant it kindly, and moved back to where I'd left off, licking a swirl down his neck then back up to his lips. "Ahhh," I moaned, feeling fingers trail up my spine and down... and down. I don't think either of us had a plan. I for one wasn't sure what was okay to do, where his limitations lay, if he had any, if I did! "I can't get these clothes off without either you getting off me or lending a hand," he said with a grunt to free a leg. That gave me a clue. His boundaries hadn't yet been breached by me. I fully appreciated how much easier drawstring pants were to remove than Sanc's popular button-up ones and learned how two men could bring one another to pleasure. He didn't check me or moderate where my hands roved. He showed no restraint! His hands, his mouth... oh, his lips and tongue! He had me at his mercy, and I just begged for release. I smelled a sweet perfume a second before I felt a cold salve and a warm, invasive finger penetrate a personal spot. "Relax," he purred in my ear. I didn't care if he used me like a woman; I didn't feel like one. I felt him enter me, a sharp pain, and then bliss, overwhelming bliss. "That was... superb," he said breathless. He released my legs and cleaned both of us up with a cloth and pitcher of water. "It was for you, too? Hey, you okay?" Duo asked urgently. "Yes." I just wanted to lay there and glow for about a month. "Very." "Whew! Good. You were awfully quiet for a minute there and had me worried. I man, you're a pretty tough guy so I didn't think I broke you or anything." I nodded and cracked opened an eye when I heard him rustling about in a pocket. He had a small jar of something, a different something than I'd caught the scent of before. My eyelids were too heavy. I let him do what he wanted. He could have killed me and I wouldn't have raised a hand in my defense. I had never before trusted a living soul with my body and now I knew why-I could leave myself so vulnerable around just anyone. "This'll make it all feel better and you'll be healed in no time," he told me. "You weren't kidding me when you said you hadn't been with the prince. Shoulda told me it'd been awhile." "Only you," I murmured. "Say, what?" "First...You... only... you." And then I conked out. Best sleep ever. End Chapter Four End Part One To Be Continued in Part Two!
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