|
"Ellion - Book 2"Written By: Vega-Lume Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. This series
and all characters original to it are licensed by Sunrise and Madman
Entertainment. I claim no ownership, nor do I profit in any way from
this fan work Rating: R Warnings: Angst, non-graphic blood, Non-Graphic
Violence, Mpreg, Romance, Action/Adventure, Aftermath of Violence,
Alternate Universe, Elves, Magic, Character Death, Implied/Referenced
Character Death, Implied Sexual Content, Fantasy Pairings: 2x1, 3x4, 13xUne, 5xR Summary: Set in a world where one mad man tries
to rule all and destroy the last traces of magic, one young man must
overcome a life filled with war and death in order to save those he
holds dear.
"Ellion - Book 2" Part 4
“Your Highness, stop!” Trowa called urgently, his voice low as Kid skirted around the battle. He knew he had seen Hartoun uniforms. They had been traveling day and night since the fall into the ravine, barely taking the time to rest, eat, or even clean the mud from their skins. They trudged on relentlessly and now were less than a half a day from the border; they would be well into Hartou before night fall if only they did not stop. Ignoring the Watcher, Heero stood on the sidelines hidden by heavy foliage as he spied on the battle, there was no doubt that Hartou was winning but Ozlain was brutal, slashing at soldiers that were already down. Kid scanned the soldiers in the royal blue uniforms trying to pick out a familiar face when he saw the braid. “Duo?” he whispered in confusion. Why was the Prince of Hartou risking his life to fight in a bloody battle in Ellion? It just did not make sense. A fallen Ozlain soldier was struggling to his feet raising his sword to the Prince’s back and Kid acted without thinking. He vaguely heard Trowa shouting at him and felt the brush of fingers against his arm as the Watcher made a grab for him, but he did not stop. There were no Hartoun soldiers near enough to see what was happening and Kid had to warn him somehow. He launched himself at the Prince’s back just as the Ozlainian soldier lunged with his sword. The man gurgled, blood pooling in his mouth as Kid’s dagger lodged in his neck just under the jaw. Treize turned quickly and was surprised to see someone not in a uniform. The man, covered in mud and dressed in a dark tunic was on one knee with his back to Prince Duo with his hand still at the dead soldier’s neck, arterial blood coat his hand and sleeve as the dead man’s knees buckled. Duo opened his mouth to speak then noticed the fallen man’s sword slide from his saviors gut. “Shit,” Treize cursed as quickly closed the distance between them and kicked the dead body away before grabbing the stranger’s shoulders to help him stand. “Come with me, we have a doctor with us, she will patch you up.” “Sally?” Kid asked. He was worried, he knew he had been stabbed, he had felt the bite as the blade slide in but the wound did not hurt at all, and now his head was suddenly swimming. He had been stabbed before, more than once, but no other injury had left him feeling the way this one did. “Yes, she is an excellent doctor she will…” He trailed off and paused to peer at the stranger. “Wait, how did you know her name?” “Your Highness!” Trowa shouted when he reached them and Treize turned look at the other stranger, angry that this man would so loudly announce that a member of the royal family was there when there were still a few Ozlainian men alive. He was certain he had managed to hide who Duo was, how had this man been able to recognize him? “By the Mother no,” Trowa whispered when he saw the blood covering Kid’s tunic and trousers. “We must get him to a healer,” He said pulling Heero away from Treize who had been supporting him and lifted him into his arms, cradling him to his chest. He was heavier than he looked but Trowa refused to have him walk. “I am taking him to our doctor,” Treize said, surprised when the man blinked at him as if he had forgotten that Treize was even there. “This way,” Duo said, quickly guiding the tall Watcher to the place where Sally had set up her tent, Treize following in their wake, it was not that far away but to Trowa it felt like a hundred miles. Kid’s eyes were open but he lay so still in his arms. When they reached the tent Sally looked up from the man she was tending then rushed to them when she saw the blood staining her Prince’s uniform. “Do not bother with me,” He said to her firmly. “It is not my blood. He needs help.” “Yes, lay him here,” She said motioning to the clean blanket covered cot. She hurried to gather some supplies then pushed the two men away. “I need some room,” She snapped working at the ties to Kid’s tunic. Shoving the fabric aside she unfastened the young man trousers and pushed them down a little so she could get a better look at the wound that was low and the left side the Kid’s abdomen. “You,” she said to Trowa without looking up at him. “There is a basin of water and some cloth in the corner, bring it here.” Trowa complied and quickly returned with the water and watched as the doctor cleaned the wound. “The wound itself is not too serious, and the blade did not hit anything vital but I think it may have been poisoned.” “No,” Trowa breathed. “Can you help him?” “He has bled heavily, so much of the poison should have been washed away but some still got into his body. It all depends on what the poison was and how much is in him. I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful but I would need a Mage or a sorcerer to help me determine what it was before I can even begin to make an antidote.” “I will fetch G,” Hilde announced and was gone, running from the tent so quickly that it was as if she had never been there. She was so focused on the wound that she had not bothered to look at his face yet, but when she did she felt a sudden sense of Déjà vu. Leaning closer she raised a clean wet cloth and wiped some grime and mud from his face and gasped. “It is not possible,” she whispered and the Prince looked at her curiously as the doctor pulled away more of the strangers tunic as if she was looking for something. The once smooth skin she uncovered was now marred by scars, fresh cuts, and scratches. Pushing the clothing away from the young man’s shoulder she froze when she uncovered a small dark birth mark, roughly in the shape of a leaf and no larger than a copper coin on the juncture of the man’s neck and shoulder. “Hello Sally,” Heero whispered and the doctor jumped not realizing her patient was conscious again. “How do you know her?” Treize demanded again softly, still not seeing Kid’s for who he was. He had been convinced that Heero was dead for so long that he heart would not accept what his eyes were telling him. “Papa,” Heero breathed before falling unconscious again. “It is our Heero,” Sally said raising tear filled eyes to look at her Prince. There was a rustle of the tent flap and Hilde returned with Sorcerer G, the old man rushed forward laying his hands on Heero’s chest. His eyes closed in concentration as searched for the poison in Heero’s body. “It is Seirdnus.” He announced and Sally moved quickly, already knowing what she needed to do. Even quick treatment with the proper antidote Heero was going to be weak and sick for some time. Fortunately Seirdnus was a poor poison to use on a blade, it being much more effective when eaten. Unless it was eaten most people survived on their own without the need for an antidote though they suffered much longer with the debilitating flu like symptoms it caused. Mixing a poultice she pressed it against the wound then took some herbs and crushed them before slipping the paste into Heero’s mouth. He came too with a jerk and the doctor apologized, “I am sorry it tastes so badly but it will help you heal.” “I have eaten worse,” Heero replied with a soft smile then his eyes fluttered closed again. “Where has he been all this time?” Treize asked of Trowa who was now silent as he stood at the Prince’s bed side. “That is a long story and it is not mine to tell for I have only know him a short while,” Trowa replied softly. “However I do know that he was on his way back to Hartou.” “Why now,” Duo asked angrily. “He has been alive all this time, why did he not come home sooner?” Trowa sighed and fixed the Prince with his gaze, “Because he was unable too, that is all I know. But now Hartou is the safest place for him to be and the rest of our group will be expecting to find us there.” “What group? Who are these people?” Treize asked, finally looking up from his son’s sleeping face. “When I first met Heero he was working with an assassin named Odin Lowe who is employed by King Howard, they were assigned to free an Ellean Mage held by Ozlain. That Mage, Quatre, is my husband. Another Watcher named Wufei and I had been following the soldiers that were transporting Quatre when Heero and Odin freed him. We all agreed that Hartou was the safest place for all of us but during the heavy rain three weeks past we became separated. My husband and Wufei are with Odin, they had to continue on to Ga-tew to fetch something for Heero and we expect them to reach the city a few days after us.” “Odin’s Kid is Heero?” Duo asked. He had heard of his Father’s most trusted assassin, and of the youth that had become his partner after Ozlain attacked the Kid’s home of Galia a few years back. How Heero had come to make a home in Galia he did not know as it was so very far from Hartou but he knew that the Ozlainian soldiers had left the village in utter ruin, poisoning the land in such a way that nothing could live there now. “How did you recognize Prince Duo on the battle field?” Treize asked. “Pardon?” Trowa asked and Treize repeated the question. “I did not know he was the Prince until you told me just now.” “I heard you call out to him,” Treize insisted. “I was calling out to Prince Heero.” “He is not a Prince,” Duo stated and Trowa interjected. “Forgive my insistence, Highness, but he is the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Ellion.” “I do not understand,” Duo whispered sitting on the ground beside Heero’s cot. “Why did he not tell me?” Trowa moved around the bed and placed a hand on Duo’s shoulder. “He did not know himself, until Quatre sensed who he was and then later confirmed it. Until then none of us even knew he still lived. Right now he does not even accept the title and wants nothing more than to be with you and the home he had made with the Hartoun solder and his family.” Treize smiled sadly; there was no home in Hartou for Heero to come to. Treize and Une now lived in the barracks in the Palace yard, and Dorothy and Mariemaia lived in the Palace in Tropria with the Mareen the Duchess of Sanq and her daughter Lady Relena. They had not lived in Treize’s home since Heero was taken. And though it was hard to leave their child in Dorothy’s care, Treize and Anne felt it was best to send them where they would be safe while they stayed behind to defend their home. “May I ask why you are out here, so far from the Capital City?” Trowa asked turning to Treize however it was Duo who answered. “My mother and I were going to Tropria to visit my Aunt Mareen; we received word that she is ill. Somehow Ozlain learned of our plans and we were ambushed. Most of the guards went with my mother and I stayed with the rest of our soldiers to hold the Ozlainian soldiers back.” Tropria was north of Ellion and there was a shortcut, a road that connected Neire, the farthest most northeastern town in Hartou to Atoyot, the first southeast town in Tropria, but it cut right across the northwest corner of Ellion, it was the only access from Hartou that did not involve going through the mountains and it was there the Ozlainian soldiers had been waiting for them. “The Queen expects us to join her in Tropria,” Treize said to the Prince, “But with Heero’s injury it would be best if we returned to Peacemillion right away.” “I agree,” Sally added. “Capital City is much closer than the Palace in Tropria, and I have many other, more effective medications there that would help him heal faster in my clinic back home.” “Then we will take him home,” Duo agreed. “Send a man to Tropria to inform my mother of the situation so she does not worry what has happened, and let Dorothy know as well. I am sure she and Mari will want to return with my mother.” “I will see to it,” Hilde replied from where she stood, quietly observing, before purposely striding from the tent to fulfill her task. Less than an hour later the group was headed back to Capital City. ~ * ~
Notes: I know, I know. Sorry Jana. Just in case you're wondering, most (not all) of 'native' words are just other words that I wrote backwards. Tropria = Airport
|
