By the Red Moon Part 25
The more time that she spent with the returned prince of Sanq, the more Queen Sylvia came to understand why he was spoken of so fondly by those who had come to meet him.
Never before was there a royal like Duo. Never before had one born of the crown made almost every effort to keep from being treated as such. Even if he did have a black dragon as his steed when such a thing was unheard of before he came along.
It was most refreshing. As well as eye-opening for the young woman.
Glancing over to her right, Sylvia shared a knowing smile with the queen of Virgo as they listened to the braided prince at dinner. Suddenly, it was all very clear why the queen of Virgo was convinced to join in on the war against Dekim.
Unfortunately, not every leader was as ready to devote their armies or supplies in belief that they would be able to hold Dekim on their own territory.
Whatever their reasons for those beliefs- be it fear or vanity- they were wrong. Young as she was, the queen of Libra was certain of that.
Once he finished swallowing his mouthful of food, Duo turned his attention to her from across the table crowded with his friends, family and guests to give one of his kind smiles. "I hope I'm not being rude by asking, your highness," he began, "but how old are you? I mean I can tell that you look even younger than I am even though you've lived a lot longer."
Grinning, the blonde queen lowered her head respectfully and replied, "That is a very fair question. And please, call me Sylvia, as it is only fair since you prefer to go by your first name as well." With a deep breath, she shared, "By your standards, I am only fourteen. And despite the fact that I am actually considerably older at over one hundred years old, I am one of the youngest rulers in this world."
Fourteen. Duo blinked in shock at just how staggering the responsibilities of leading would be for someone so young. Shaking his head with a deep frown, he asked, "So... your parents died and you had to take the throne?"
"I do not know," Sylvia answered, her smile falling away from her face. "No one knows for certain if they are alive or not. In learning of what had happened to Sanq and many other lands in the north many moons ago, they both stole away at night with the intention of pulling in support from other leaders to act. They fully intended to return to Libra after a few days..."
Her voice trailed off and she lowered her head. "When a week went by without any word, I had a search party sent after them. Their carriage was discovered at the bottom of a cliff, but their bodies were not found. I was crowned that same day when everyone assumed the worst and have been acting as queen since."
Gasping when a hand fell over hers to squeeze it, her head shot up to find concerned violet eyes on her. "I... I really am sorry, Sylvia," the prince said quietly. "I can't imagine what you're going through with all of this." Heero, Wufei, Anna and Odin all nodded in their own show of sympathy and respect for the girl. Lady Une bit her lip and lightly rubbed her back soothingly.
A small grin returning, the Queen of Libra squeezed the hand in hers and stated, "I am holding up well enough. My father had taught me that as a leader, you simply do what you must to both survive and to protect. That has been helping me through... along with my hopes that my parents are alive out there somewhere."
Taking another deep breath, Sylvia commented, "Whilst I would have liked to have stayed behind to investigate more, I could not sit back and wait to act against Dekim when Odin came to our kingdom." She turned her head towards the Commander at the head of the table and he winked with a proud smile for her.
Her green eyes focusing back on the braided teenager before her, she growled, "The dark sorcerer must be stopped. Every resource from Libra, be it knights or flour, are this army's to use and I have no doubt that this is what my parents would have wanted me to do in their place."
"Well, I give you a hell of-" clearing his throat to correct himself, Duo smirked, "I mean a whole lot of credit for being as strong as you are." Releasing her hand, he sat up in his chair and sighed, "I really don't know if I would have been as brave in that situation."
Taken aback for a moment, Sylvia felt tears prickle her eyes and whimpered in admission, "Some days are better than others." Instantly, Maxwell was on his feet and rounding the table as Lady Une wrapped her arms around the shaking girl.
Quickly embracing her at her other side, the prince fought his own wave of emotions in the wake of the girl's breakdown. There was not any doubt that she had been holding herself together for a long time and needed a chance to just cry.
After a moment of having the young queen sniffling into his shoulder, Duo nearly jumped when a hand rested on his arm. Looking up as his aunt called his name, she urged quietly, "We will sit with her so that she can get her bearings." Behind her, Hilde nodded.
Relieved as he was that his family was there to help, the violet-eyed teenager was also torn at leaving Sylvia. Though he had only just met her, there was an instant protectiveness that he had. Still, there was little that he could do and so he reluctantly slipped away to have Noin and his cousin take his place in comforting the girl.
With Zechs and Odin in the lead, the knights stepped out of the tent with Duo. Once they were outside, he sighed deeply and dry-washed his face. "Jesus," he breathed through his hands before lowering them. "Just when I think things couldn't be any more difficult to take..."
Turning to his uncle and friends, the prince shook his braided head and frowned, "She's just a kid." ...He was just a kid, too, when he thought about it just then. After everything that had happened since his arrival to this new world, he had forgotten that detail.
But he had accepted his role on his own. Sylvia had very little choice with the disappearance of her parents. And seeing someone like her fall apart back there had really shaken him.
"She is also a remarkable young woman," Zechs stated as he stood before his nephew. "Yes, it is very upsetting that she had to grow up so fast under her circumstances, but she will come out of this stronger than before. It is good that she has this sadness, this anger. It will keep her focused on what she needs to do."
Harsh as that may have sounded to some, Duo understood and agreed with what the king was saying. It was his own frustrations and fear of what was happening that kept him from running.
And he had seen firsthand how tough Sylvia could be. She would have this needed break to be a child to be the leader she needed to be again when this spell passed. Between Queen Noin, Hilde and Lady Une, she was certainly getting the best care and mentoring for that.
This was a lesson that a ruler could both show compassion and leading by example.
Instead of allowing himself to fall into misery over the situation as he almost did, the prince pulled himself together and used this to only fuel himself even more. When his shoulders rolled back and he raised his head higher in his renewed determination, Zechs smiled proudly and patted her shoulder with a kind, "Very good, son."
Son. That endearment took Duo aback for a moment. Blinking, a wide grin brightened his face.
There was a stirring amongst the soldiers that suddenly rose up in the form of raised voices off in the distance that spread like a wildfire. Beyond the bushes, the ring of swords being drawn filled the air. Looking in that direction, the group watched in alarm as Trowa charged into the scene with emerald eyes widened in panic.
"Words is getting back from our scouts not far to the east," Barton cried as he hurried close. Panting when he came to a stop, he scanned the faces staring at him and informed, "There is a convoy of civilians that is under attack! A small unit from Dekim's army is cutting them down!"
His back stiffening and skin paling, Duo breathed, "What?"
Flying in to land by their riders, the dragons were at full readiness to take part in the fight. Their ears pulled low and eyes narrowed, they snorted and clawed at the ground in anticipation.
Not taking a moment, Heero, Trowa, Wufei and Anna quickly climbed into their saddles. Securing himself into his own perch atop Peacemillion, Odin growled under his breath, "How in the hell did soldiers of Dekim's manage to go unnoticed when they're this close to our location?"
A chill ran up his spine as he questioned aloud, "And how many more of them are out there without our knowing?" Turning to face his charges, he ordered in a cry, "While we need to protect the travelers, our first priority needs to be securing our location! Make sure that there are no minions of the sorcerer's left standing to report back to him!" Their heads nodded firmly in response.
Pulling himself into his own saddle, Duo announced, "I'm coming, too." Every eye around widened and fell on him just as the women inside of the tent hurried out at the building commotion outside for Zechs to tell them what was happening.
Anna blinked in worry. "I don't know if that is such a good idea," she commented over the shouting soldiers that were taking to their steeds and soaring overhead to meet the attack. "What if this is some kind of trap related to what happened with the tiger that we had encountered?"
Set in his decision regardless of how he was shaking inside, the prince answered clearly, "I am not going to sit back and let the other soldiers around here doubt me. Deathscythe will keep me safe and I can defend myself." That last statement regarding his own abilities came out with more confidence than he necessarily felt.
Of all of the soldiers around, Heero would have been the one to argue Duo's going. And so, he focused his violet eyes on the Captain with the others following his gaze.
Taking a deep breath, the knight nodded firmly to the braided teenager, "He is right. And we are losing time, so we should be on the move. Now." Both surprised and understanding, his fellow soldiers closed the matter by remaining silent.
"Right," Odin called. "Let's go." Dropping his heel against Peacemillion's orange scales, his steed let out a screech and took to the air as Nataku, Ingier and Heavy Arms soared closely behind.
Bringing Wing up beside Deathscythe, Heero turned in his saddle and leaned towards the prince. Duo froze at the intensity of the cobalt eyes locked on his own as the Captain told him firmly, "Stay close to me." Swallowing roughly, he could only manage to nod enthusiastically.
Hilde covered her mouth and shouted to the riders, "Be careful!" Wing was climbing up into the skies as her cousin took a moment to try and smile reassuring with a wave before gazing ahead with his hands gripping his saddle's handhold.
One last snort puffed a plume of black smoke from Deathscythe's nostrils and she flapped her massive wings to fly through the ring of trees of the opening. Whatever fears he may have still harbored over flying were completely forgotten by Maxwell as he remained mentally preoccupied on the battle that he was charging into.
The flight was made in complete silence between the group as they joined up with dozens of other riders and their dragons that filled the cloudy heavens. "We are approaching the valley now," Trowa informed as he looked back over his shoulder.
Anna finished hooking an arrow to her bow's drawstring as Heero and Wufei drew their blades. Biting his lip, Duo reached for the hilt of his own sword and pulled it from its sheath. He took a moment to study the weapon, reading its engraved message.
'May the bearer of this blade become the defender those who cannot defend themselves, the protector of good and death to all threats against them.'
...'Death to those against them.'
Those words in particular resonated with the prince the most as he did his best to control his hammering heart to remain focused on what he needed to do. The lives of innocent people were counting on him. He needed to remain resolved in his decision to act and remember his lessons with Heero.
Then, after what only felt like seconds later, Odin's voice from the front of the large pack of soldiers shouted, "There they are!" Blinking in shock, Duo followed where the commander was pointing ahead just as blood-curdling screams reached their ears.
As fast as they were flying towards the open stretch of hills by an expansive river, it was easy to make out a stretch of people over a mile long and several bodies deep that was under siege.
Easily numbered at a few hundred, dark shapes of gruesomely disfigured ogres nearly twice the size of any man had the column completely surrounded at they nibbled away at the edges with sword, club and arrow.
Whatever soldiers there were that had been there to defend the lot was either engaged in brutal combat or already lying dead in contorted, bloody and dismembered remains.
Here and there, sparks and other signs of magic within the confines of the civilians flashed out from gifted individuals that were doing all they could to hold off their attackers. Everything from balls of fire to lightning bolts shot from hands were used to take out a handful of the monsters that had befallen them.
Over the heads of the civilians, screeching skelital dragons with folds of pale and shredded skin that gave their wings lift flew with hooded 'ghost riders' as they had so been named.
Cloaked in shrouds of black and other deep hues, their red eyes glowed within the shadow of their drawn hoods while hands of bone held onto weapons and saddles. Those riders and dragons that were not battling their matches in the air were diving down to scoop up screaming civilians at random to drop them to their deaths from incredible heights.
To actually see only a small unit of Dekim's army and what they were capable of shook Duo to his core. Watching them cutting through defenseless people from women to children and elderly was far more horrific than any story telling of these things ever was.
"My God," he breathed, stomach clenching. As chilling screams and cries from the civilians grew all the louder as they approached, he suddenly realized that he really had no idea what he was supposed to do. Gripping the hilt in his right hand all the tighter, he whispered every prayer that he knew to himself.
Odin stood in his saddle as best he could and yelled, "Archers to the front! Clear us a way!" Ingier and Anna shot to the front of the pack along with the dozens of others that had been called upon. Reaching the front of the line, the riders stood and took aim with their bows on the onslaught of demons as they swooped down for them.
When they were within range, the redhead and other archers fired to strike the back line of ogres and other demons in their sights. Crying as some of their own fell, the remaining creatures turned their focus on their new targets.
Those ghost riders that were not already preoccupied in defending themselves flew in to engage. One of the first to be approached, Wufei took a sting of his sword to pierce through the robes of one attacker while Nataku crushed the head of its steed with a powerful swing of her tail to knock them from the air.
Able to break through the aerial fighting, Wing and Heero moved for the ground soldiers with Deathscythe right behind. In their wake, the Captain moved himself from left to right in his saddle to cut every enemy close enough, all the while dodging from being taken out himself. Pulling in a deep breath, his white dragon unleashed a wave of fire to give them more room.
A choked cry bubbling in his throat, Duo held onto his sword with both hands. When they neared a horned half-man-half-beast that was about to swing at him with its club, he screamed in rage and sent blade sailing ahead to stab into the exposed, blue chest on his way past. A wild howl rose from the monster as it fell to the ground face-first.
Panting heavily as he looked back in disbelief, the prince let out a sharp laugh. "Oh shit!" he shouted when Scythe turned a hard left to keep a swinging sword from cleaving his head from his neck. Eyes narrowed, he focused on the soldiers attempting to take him and swung at them to make several hits.
Then came the horse backed forces from their camp along with more dragon riders to even up the numbers. Everything in the air and on the ground from there on was a flurry of activity. There was little to no communication between the knights as the sounds of screeching and roars were almost deafening.
Blood of red, black and green splattered and ran. Soldiers on both sides of the fight fell. Gifted continued to wield their powers to assist their rescuers.
Duo could only act on instinct to protect himself as he and Scythe continued to stay close with Wing and Heero. When they climbed, they climbed. When they dove, they dove. Nearly mirroring the Captain's moves when it came time to use his sword, Duo managed to help in cutting down several attackers. Throughout it all, Scythe always remained calm and focused on keeping them safe.
After a long bout of swinging his sword, however, Maxwell was beginning to tire. His swings and thrusts were not as strong.
Suddenly, after just managing to hold off an ogre, he gasped sharply when he looked back to see than another had snuck up on him and its club was already lowering to snuff him out. Too occupied in fending off a skeletal dragon at that same moment, Scythe was not able to see or sense the harm.
Letting out a sharp cry, Duo closed his eyes tightly in preparing for the blow that he could not stop in time. When there was nothing but the sound of roaring fire overhead, he looked up to a wave of flames that spouted inches above him to engulf his would-be-killer.
Eyes wide, he turned back to see a teenage girl with short, wavy red hair and piercing green eyes as she lowered her hands. Perched on a large bed of stone at the river's edge several yards away and surrounded by other civilians, she grinned at the prince when their gazes met and winked. Only then did he realize how quiet it had become.
"We did it!" one of the soldiers cheered high above to be followed by the loud wave of cheers from the many knights and civilian survivors around.
Still working to catch his breath Duo scanned the area with his eyes to find that not one of the dark-clad army remained. His eyes drifting closed, he leaned forward in his saddle and hoped that no one watching could see him shaking.
TBC...
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