Runaway Part 2

The next afternoon found Treize sipping a cup of tea with Leon Rossi, the leader of the troupe of traveling performers. "Ah... so, the thief died the night before last in the snow."

Leon nodded. "Such a tragic loss. We did what we could to save the child." He sighed sadly. "We buried him over by that tree."

Treize nodded. "Ah! Father Maxwell was highly distressed to learn that the child died. He was fond of the little thief."

Leon gazed out the window and saw Catherine speaking with the aged priest. "Perhaps Catherine and little Trowa will console him. They were with the child when he died."

Treize sighed. "If you would just fill out this paperwork that states that you found the child and buried him..."

*****

Catherine was amazed that she managed not to laugh at the secret she was going to reveal to the priest. Duo had told her about how Father Maxwell had aided his escape. She doubted that the priest would do such a thing only to let Duo be captured again.

Father Maxwell felt really old for the first time in his life. 'I never should have let the child chance it. Poor little thing never got to see the sun!' He sighed as he entered the wagon.

Catherine spun and smiled at the priest. "Perhaps you'd like to meet my baby brother Duo. He's asleep right now, poor dear nearly froze to death the other night." She motioned to a bed.

Father Maxwell approached what looked like a tiny lump of blankets and gasped when he saw the sleeping face of the child. "Oh... oh little one." He gently brushed his fingers against the child's cheek.

Duo mumbled. "Five more minutes, Sister Helen, please?"

Father Maxwell chuckled. "Sleep as long as you wish, little one. No one here will beat you for it."

Duo opened his eyes and gazed at the old priest. "Father Maxwell?" He blinked a few times before a bright smile spread across his face. "Father Maxwell! You're okay! I thought you were gonna get into trouble for helping me!" He launched himself at the old priest and wrapped his good arm around the aged man's neck.

Father Maxwell caught the child and hugged him tenderly. "No... they never discovered I was the one who aided you. I am so glad to see you alive, little one. Sister Helen will be happy when I reveal the truth to her. For now, though..." He glanced at Catherine. "Be the good boy I know you can be and listen to your new family. If God is willing, we will meet again." He took his cross off and reverently placed it around the boy's neck. That done, he turned to Catherine. "You will be good to him?"

Catherine nodded. "He's a sweet boy, and I love him like a brother already." She helped tuck Duo back in and kissed him on the forehead. "I had to let you know that he was alive and that he'd be cared for. You risked much to give him this chance."

Father Maxwell nodded. "I am grateful. May the Lord be with you, my child." With that, he left the wagon with tears in his eyes, but a happy heart.

*****

Duo woke up later that day when the wagon hit a bump. "Trowa? What was that?"

Trowa sat next to Duo and helped him sit up. "When the guy from the prison left, the leader figured it'd be best to leave. You hungry?"

Duo nodded eagerly and beamed as Trowa set a bowl of stew in front of him. In the two days he'd been with Catherine and Trowa, he had learned that the food they gave him tasted REALLY good. And although he couldn't eat that much, they hadn't scolded him yet for leaving some behind. They just hugged him and took the bowl away to be reheated when he got hungry again. The previous day, he'd eaten one full meal to Catherine and Trowa's three.

Trowa watched as Duo ate his stew. He remembered yesterday that Catherine had told the child not to eat too much too fast because that might make him sick, and to let her know when he couldn't eat any more. He remembered the fear in Duo's eyes when, after a few bites, he'd declared himself unable to eat any more. Catherine had seen the fear and hugged Duo to reassure him.

Duo munched on one last piece of meat. "I'm full." He wondered if Trowa would treat him differently now that Catherine wasn't there.

Trowa felt a pang of sadness as fear started to enter Duo's eyes and reached for the bowl. He smiled in encouragement and ruffled Duo's hair. "Hey... looks like you managed to eat a little more today. You want me to brush your hair?"

"Huh? Whatcha wanna do with my hair?" Duo shrank back in fear.

Trowa saw it and smiled in reassurance. "Brush it. See?" He picked up the hair brush and ran it through his bangs to show Duo what a hair brush was for.

Duo blinked in surprise. "Yeah! Okay." Duo turned a little so Trowa had access to his hair.

Trowa gently brushed Duo's hair... pausing whenever he hit a tangle. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his new little brother... especially since Duo had obviously been hurt more than enough in his short life. As he brushed, he wondered how much longer Duo would have been able to live in that prison. He doubted that the boy would have lasted another year. When he was able to run the brush through Duo's hair without hitting anything, he made a decision and quickly plaited the length into a single braid.

Duo blinked as Trowa worked on the braid. "Whatcha doin?"

Trowa smiled. "Braiding your hair so it doesn't get so bad again. Tomorrow, I'll get some warm water and you can have a bath. What do you think about that?"

Duo looked down at his immobilized arm. "Can the bandages get wet?"

Trowa frowned. "I don't think so... Maybe you can sit on a chair in the tub and use a damp cloth to wash yourself with. Your hair needs to be cleaned as well... it's greasy and I'll bet it itches."

Duo nodded. "Uh-huh... but I learned ta live with it!"

"You shouldn't have had to." Trowa looked around. "Ummmm... OH! I know! If you feel up to getting out of bed, we can play a game together."

Duo cringed. "Play a game?"

Trowa saw the fear and tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

Duo shook his head. "Games hurt! I don't wanna!" He sniffled.

Trowa understood and felt really sad for Duo. Being so small, people must have picked on him a lot. "Oh, Duo... I promise it won't hurt." He got up and walked over to a chest and pulled out a wooden box. He made sure Duo could see what he was doing as he started setting up a playing board. "See? THIS is a game."

Duo blinked and cautiously approached Trowa. He felt a little unsteady for a moment, but walked over and hopped up into a chair. "What do we do?"

Trowa smiled and put the pieces down. He pulled out a die and showed it to Duo. "We roll this and move one square for each dot. Do you know how to count?"

Duo shook his head. "I know the numbers, but I don't know the order they come in."

Trowa nodded. "Okay. While we play, we'll count out loud. Anyway... when you land on a space that has a rope, you follow that rope up to where the rope ends Ropes ALWAYS go up, they never do down. When you land on a space that has a snake... you follow the snake down. They are the opposite of ropes. The person who gets from here... to here... is the one who wins the game. If you win, I'll have Cathy bake some of her chocolate chip cookies for you. They're really yummy!"

Duo nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Whadda I hafta give you if YOU win?"

Trowa had been expecting that question. "I want to hear you laugh."

Duo blinked and nodded as Trowa rolled the die.

"That's five." Trowa took the green piece and moved it. "One... two... three... four... five. Empty space, so I don't go anywhere." As they played, Trowa felt a warmth inside for his little brother as the child slowly started to brighten. Add the fact that he was easing Duo into playing like a normal child. He knew that once Duo's arm was mended, the other children of the group would want Duo to play with them as well. Games like tag and hide and seek that were a little rougher... especially to a little boy who'd just run for his life.

Duo blinked as he landed on the last square. "I won?"

Trowa beamed at him. "You won! When we stop, I'll ask Cathy to bake those cookies. You wanna play another game?"

Duo nodded happily. He'd enjoyed the game, and he figured he'd enjoy all the games Trowa would play with him. His stomach growled a little.

Trowa smiled at Duo. "I'll heat up that stew for you." As soon as the bowl was in front of Duo, Trowa started setting up the next game. He decided to keep the first games simple in consideration for Duo's young age and the fact that he didn't know how to count yet. "If you want, later I'll dig out some puzzle games that you can play by yourself for when I'm not around."

Duo swallowed and blinked. "Why wouldn't you be here?"

"I have chores I gotta do to help Cathy. We have to get eggs from our chickens, I have to feed our animals and get firewood."

Duo sat up. "I can help, too! You feed the animals and I'll get the eggs! I don't wanna just lie around doing nothing! You're both bein so nice ta me! I gotta earn my keep!"

Trowa smiled a little at Duo. "If you really want to, we can ask Cathy about it when we stop. You should really concentrate on getting better, though. You're not as strong as you should be."

Duo pouted. "I don' care! I don't think gettin eggs is THAT hard! If I can't help outside, I'll help inside!" He nodded decisively. He was determined to do whatever he could to stay with these nice people.

Trowa smiled as Duo absently finished his stew off. "We'll talk to Cathy."

*****

Catherine listened while she mixed the batter for the cookies. "If you want to help, I don't see why we shouldn't get some easy chores for you to do until your arm is mended. I think we have a toy wagon around here someplace. It'll be easier for you to have the egg basket in the wagon rather than to put the basket down. You can also gather some kindling for the fire."

"Kindling?" Duo munched on a biscuit.

Catherine smiled. "Twigs... kindling helps the fire light faster because they burn really easily. You could also run errands for me. It would be the perfect opportunity for you to meet other members of the troupe."

Duo beamed at the prospect that he'd be helping Catherine. "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow morning before we leave. I think I have an old coat of Trowa's that will fit you until we can get you some of your own clothes. Besides... Trowa mentioned you getting a little cleaned off. You'll need to stop off at the herbalist's wagon and pick up some soap. Good thing, too... I have no idea what you'd like to smell like." She spooned the batter onto a sheet. "Word of warning, though. We'll have to wake you up really early. So as soon as you have a few of these cookies, you have to go straight to bed."

Duo nodded eagerly and swung his feet a little. He smiled when Catherine hugged him after she put the cookies into the oven. He liked getting hugs.

While they waited for the cookies to bake, Catherine dug out Trowa's old coat. She smiled as she placed Duo's good arm through the sleeve. The coat was a little big on Duo, but it would do.

Duo watched as Catherine poured him a cup of milk and placed three warm cookies on a plate in front of him. Trowa was right... the cookies were yummy.

TBC...

 

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