Marked for Death Part 8
The prince attempted to stifle a yawn as he walked beside the horse, Quatre sitting above him looking around. How long had they been travelling now, the prince wondered. He'd lost track of the days a while ago, but wasn't really willing to ask the others. After all, what was the point? His knowing the day wouldn't make the journey go any faster.
It would probably make it seem longer to him.
He sighed, still walking. When he was young and taking part in his lessons he'd always thought that travelling would be some great adventure. He envied the knights and guards in his father's employ who were sent from kingdom to kingdom with messages and weapons. How grand it would be to travel across the countryside on horseback, seeing new sights and new people.
He didn't have any desire to go off to war, like most of the warriors. Rather, perhaps, to be a messenger. Yes, to just once travel without the constant following of servants and waiting men. Perhaps he would even take Duo with him on a small adventure out into the unknown...
Well now he was travelling, and he was incredibly disappointed. True, he'd seen many sights over the past few days that he never even could have dreamed of, but those small joys and wonders were tempered by his own realizations.
With each day that they traveled and each night they slept he became increasingly more aware of just how helpless he actually was. The first night it was simply wonder at how Heero could make a fire with his bare hands and the items around him. And how Duo could manage to hunt down a delicious, yet rough, dinner.
However, after that first night, things became even more clear. He had trouble sleeping on the ground, tossing and turning at night, only to wake up with a sore back and aching limbs. That problem he'd dealt with, or at least gotten used to. But eighteen years of sleeping in a palace bed wasn't so easily reversed. Not to mention that his stomach, that first night, nearly rejected the tough and overly cooked food. He hadn't said anything to the others and the pain went away soon enough. Then there was the constant walking with little rest, the constant throbbing pain in his body whenever he stopped moving...
He sighed. It didn't take long for him to realize that without a palace and a host of servants to order around he really was nothing. He knew a little about horses, enough to ride them for a few hours, but other than that all his princely knowledge was useless out here in the wilds. Heero lived out here, or appeared to. Duo could get along fine because, to a point, he'd always been forced to fend for himself in the palace. And Quatre was one of the best allies they could have, considering he'd managed to pretty much live on his own since he was four or five.
Wufei was the lead weight in the group, the last wheel that was cracked and pointless, and should have been thrown away if it weren't for the fact that the carriage would fall over. He'd had so many great ideas about helping those less fortunate then himself, but now he realized that he really couldn't do anything for them. After all, about all he could do was lower the taxes, and like that would really make a difference in any one's life. He wondered how many in the towns were actually better of then he was. Most likely a fair amount and that didn't help his mood.
His shoulders had been in a permanent slump for most of the journey as he wallowed in his own silent self-pity. He was the reason all this had happened, not Heero. The others should just leave him alone to deal with Darrin and his father on his own. He was only holding them back from leading normal and happy lives. Still, he had enough royal pride to not make mention of any of this.
He refused to let them see how miserable he felt. If Duo, who'd been raised in the palace right along side him, could make it through this journey so could he! And he would force himself to make it. He refused to be as helpless as he felt. He did his best to watch Heero's movements, learning what he could about the world they traveled through.
Still, in truth, he ached for civilization again.
In front of him, Heero paused and tilted his head back. Dark blue eyes scanned the trees around them as the entire group stood still, waiting. Duo stepped up beside the prince and glanced around as well, but after a moment he shrugged, apparently finding nothing.
"We made better time then I thought," Heero murmured in front of them.
"What?" Quatre asked, leaning forward.
"Don't move." Heero snapped out and whole group froze. Was it just Wufei's imagination or did he hear movement in the trees around them? Had Darrin's men followed them this far without being noticed? Was it a group of bandits that the servants gossiped so much about?
Wufei quickly silenced his rising panic. Panic wouldn't do him any good.
"Heero, you're kidding right?" Duo took a step forward and Heero immediately whirled around, glaring at him. Something flew through the air, zipping past Duo's neck only a hair away from missing. It landed hard in a tree somewhere behind him, but no one turned to look where it went. They all listened to Heero's warning now.
"You missed," said a distinctly feminine voice from above them. Wufei scanned the branches but he couldn't see anyone, merely mixes of green leaves, brown branches and dark shadows. Wufei realized with a chill that any number of people could be hiding around them.
"No I didn't," Another responded with a light giggle. "Did you see the look on his face? That's what I was aiming for!"
Heero took a cautious step forward and the giggling and voices stopped.
"Don't you learn?" Scolded the first voice.
"Sisters, halt!" He spoke loudly, his tone clear and ordering.
The air around them seemed to grow thick with tension as a wind swept around them, rustling some of the leaves. Something hard and metallic flashed above them, but then it was gone, giving no clue to where the two speakers were.
"Show yourself... brother." The last word slipped out with a genuine note of distrust. Now all eyes were on Heero and Wufei had to remind himself to breathe from the tension.
Without a word Heero raised his arms for all to see. Closing his eyes he concentrated and they all watched as his tattoos flowed over his skin like pouring water. Nearly hundreds of them, all in different shapes and sizes flowed over his arms for all to see. All of them, despite the variety though, were shaped like little hooks, blades and throwing weapons, the ideal weapons of a trained assassin. From where Wufei stood he could just slightly see one move up and slide under the Marked One's right eye. A symbol of something? It was the only mark that didn't look anything like a weapon, so it had to be some sort of mark of rank. It looked more like a letter or a character from some foreign language.
Something metallic flew out of the leaves ahead of them, right at Heero. The Marked One moved his hand, without flinching, and caught the sharp glinting weapon with practiced ease. In that single movement the tension seemed to fade away and two figures dropped down out of the trees to stand in front of them. As they landed Heero threw the weapon back and the first caught it, replacing it back on her arm, where it melded into her skin.
The first thing that Wufei noticed, to his surprise, was that both were most definitely trained warriors and both were most definitely female. Not to mention they also appeared to be sisters, due to the similar shades of red hair. Their bodies were also covered with tattoos, nearly head to toe, unlike Heero's which just covered his arms.
The first of the two to land had her shoulder length red hair pulled into two ponytails which brushed against her back. Her skin, like the other girl, was covered nearly all over with a variety of tattoos. The designs differed from Heero's, tending to favor throwing stars and other similar shapes. Wufei noticed immediately the long tattoo which curved up the girl's arm, apparently in the shape of a jagged or bladed whip? Green eyes watched them from a non-tattooed face. Unlike Heero and her sister there wasn't a single tattoo on her face.
The second girl, on the other hand, had a very distinct tattoo under her left eye in the shape of a flower. A decoration of some kind? Or was it, again, another mark of rank? She resembled her sister with hair being almost the exact same shade, yet her eyes were a deep blue. Tattoos resembling lightning bolts and jagged curved blades covered her body. Both girls wore little clothing, compared to the travelers. It wasn't short enough to be scandalous, but still a fair amount of skin was showing. Wufei suspected, though, that it was for easy access to the weapons that covered their skin.
The second girl landed beside her sister with a smile and immediately jumped forward, nearly tackling Heero. She wrapped her arms around him and giggled. "Heero! Great to see you back!"
"Annah," Heero said, his own version of a small greeting. Still being held and hugged he nodded to the other girl and spoke what Wufei took to be her name as well. "Brei." Heero quickly retreated from Annah's hold, gently but insistently pushing her off. Still Wufei could see the hint of a smile on the boy's lips. It was obvious the two knew each other, and were close friends. Either that or this girl clamped hard onto everyone she recognized when she saw them.
Reluctantly the second marked girl sighed and stepped back. Her dark blue eyes finally flickered to the rest of the travelers, stopping to meet Wufei's eyes. He stared right back, watching her closely. The starring contest lasted for a few seconds then a broad smile crossed her face and she tilted her head ever so slightly to the side.
"Where's Sorata?" Annah asked.
Heero shook his head, apparently not willing to speak with them on that matter yet.
"Friends of yours?" Brei asked, stepping forward.
Wufei kept his mouth shut, feeling it wise to let Heero do the talking here. After all these were his people and he knew how to handle them, what was custom and what was not. Thankfully Duo and Quatre seemed to have the same idea, because they also kept their mouths shut.
"We've come to speak with Trowa."
Brei smirked. "They'll need to be blindfolded."
"What?!" Duo blurted out.
Annah walked over to the Prince and his Shadow, a mischievous grin crossing her face. "Why it's common practice, we can't let you know where we live now can we?"
"You must be kidding," the braided boy protested weakly. But he relented as Heero walked over to the saddlebag and pulled out a spare cloth that had once resembled a shirt. Working quickly and silently he cut it into strips and handed two of them to the girls. Heero walked over and tied his around Quatre's eyes, who made no move to stop him.
"I can trust you guys right? I mean, you're not going to do anything strange while my eyes are closed?" Duo's protests were pretty weak and he didn't struggle as Brei smirked and tied hers around his eyes.
"If we do anything you just won't be able to see it, that's all." With those words she patted Duo lightly on the cheek, causing him to flinch, she laughed in response.
Wufei would have watched the scene more but at that moment Annah slipped the last of the cloths around his own eyes, dropping his world into darkness. Reaching out he felt around in the air, until some unknown hand helped him go in the right direction and touch the side of the horse.
"Don't worry, the ground is pretty flat, you shouldn't trip. There aren't any huge roots." Said Brei's voice and suddenly they were moving. Wufei kept his hand on the side of the horse and did his best not to stumble or catch his feet on anything.
The prince found their words to be true; the ground was quite flat and very easy to walk on. Being that it was a forest there were still a good amount of plants and vines sticking up but not enough to make him fall flat on his face, which he was thankful for. After all, it just occurred to him, he was a prince entering foreign territory. He scolded himself for not making sure he was more presentable before they continued on. Certain etiquette still had to be followed even if one was currently running from his own kingdom.
A prince dressed in rags and covered in dirt and mud was less likely to be offered asylum. But then again, he might be in a better position to convey the seriousness of his situation to whoever the leader of the Marked Ones was. He wished he was better prepared. It would help so much if he knew what to expect when they took the blindfolds off, but he knew absolutely nothing. He felt like a child lost in the dark tunnels of the castle, not sure if he would come out in the kitchen, dungeon or master bedroom.
In contrast to their previous travels as of yet this one was comparatively short. They never walked in a straight line, always twisting and turning in what seemed to be a spiral of directions, obviously meant to disorient the blindfolded travelers. And it was doing a good job, at least on Wufei's part. It didn't take long for him to completely lose track of what direction they were travelling in and he just walked blindly, clutching on to the end of the saddle pack. He could smell the forest around him and hear the random creatures, but otherwise there was no sound of their leaders.
Were they still being led around or was the horse simply walking on its own now?
And suddenly they stopped, nearly causing Wufei to trip over his own feet at the sudden halt of movement. Righting himself he waited patiently for the blindfold to be taken away. He knew better then to try and remove it himself.
"Oi, remind me to not-" Duo's words died on his lips and Wufei frowned, wanting to see what it was that had silenced his friend so quickly. Duo was rarely speechless so it had to be something important. Wufei just hoped it wasn't a blade being pressed to his Shadow's neck.
He heard Quatre gasp from above him, where he sat on the horse, and then his own blindfold was removed and Wufei starred around him with wide eyes at the amazing scene.
At first glance there seemed to be nothing important. They seemed to merely be standing in the middle of a forest, surrounded by high trees and thick bushes. Yet, upon closer inspection, Wufei realized that those weren't bushes. They were houses! In fact, as he looked closer, he found he was in fact surrounded by many sized structures made completely of wood and leaves and branches from the area around them. The effect, thanks to the beautiful craftsmanship, left them in a world of nearly perfect camouflage. Wufei wondered if a passing army would have even noticed this place had they walked by, for the only thing that really gave the buildings away were the people who moved from place to place.
The people themselves, who Wufei assumed were Marked Ones, moved about their normal lives, not really heeding their less then clean guests. Like Annah and Brei most of the men, women and children were dressed in a very small amount of clothing, showing off their slender bodies and artistic tattoo designs. A wide variety of hair and eye color ranged through the group, showing that this small tribe seemed to be built from people around the continent. The stylistic designs of tattoos even seemed to differ between the people, with different curves and thickness, the trademark of many different artists.
Wufei couldn't help but stare. He'd heard about the Marked Ones but he'd never imagined there would be so many in one place. He'd also never expected to see them against the backdrop of marvelling camouflage. Men, women, children and young adults moved from place to place, doing their own things.
Oddly, Wufei noticed that there were actually a good amount more females then men. And there weren't that many old people, most that he could see were quite young and quite healthy looking.
It took a moment for him to realize but Wufei also noticed that this wasn't a full tribe. This wasn't what a group of people in a town or a small tribe should look like. There should be a relatively equal number of young and old working side by side. This wasn't a tribe. This was a band of refugees trying to make a living in hiding.
"This way," Brei beckoned to them. "I'll take you to Trowa."
The trio of travelers followed their three Marked hosts. Wufei did his best not to stare at the people around him, but he couldn't help it. All he could do was watch as they walked toward what appeared to be a large dome like structure made of a mixture of branches and twisting vines. Vines were curved over a dark entrance, showing that these people did not use fire to light any of their homes, which made perfect sense. Wufei couldn't help fidget a bit as they neared the entrance. He was not at all prepared to meet whoever this Trowa was.
But he was determined to make the best of it, despite his harried appearance. He was a prince after all and he could still do the part even if he didn't look it. Smoothing out his hair he took the gold circlet and replaces it on his head. Taking a deep breath he followed the others into the wooden structure.
TBC...
Back to Snow Tigra's Fanfictions Page