by: Tanith
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get out... it was difficult for me to write for more reasons than I care to go into *sighs* Lets just say my writing has not pleased me lately. I'm sorry, there's barely any Duo action in this one, it's centring around Magda, but I promise this will be the only time it does... I know no one really liked orignial characters. ^.~ We all just want some G-boys. *grin*
Disclaimers: I own nothing but Magda, Evagail, the king and Kanilya... and sometimes I'm not even sure about them o.o;;;
Pairings: 1x2. 3x4. 5x? (^^)
Warnings: Original characters, eventual lemons(yes... multiple O.O;) Mild Angst. AU.

Crystalline Blue + Chapter Five

"I am not in need of anyone's services," Magda said slowly, cursing the fact that she still had to lean on Trowa as her brandy eyes glared up at the black-haired man. "Thank you for your offer, but I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own camp," she murmured, straightening away from the green-eyed man as her strength gained. Wufei chuckled slightly, laying his amused obsidian gaze on the tiny woman. "And if I had not intervened when I had--"

"They would have left," she cut in, finishing for Wufei, her tone reverted back to its previous reserved pitch but there was underlying contempt, though Wufei doubted it was directed at him for some reason. "The king would not have allowed his men to harm me," her eyes suddenly lost their fire.

"How would he have known otherwise?" Wufei questioned incredulously, cocking a dark eyebrow.

"How did he know to send his men merely an hour after the long-haired human in question arrived?" she countered. "He monitors this place. Has for longer than you would like to believe," she murmured almost to herself. "If you think any less of him, you obviously don't know your own king."

"That would be truthful as I hold no claim or love for the man posing as the king," Wufei's onyx eyes grew grim, his lips compressing into a thin line.

Magda gazed up at him for a moment, shaking her head slightly, a sigh breaking from her pinkened lips. "You are welcome to stay so long as you do not interfere with anything, Paladin," she stated firmly, turning away from the elf.

Wufei's brow furrowed, onyx eyes flashing as he watched the redhead turn and begin to walk away, her gait slow and slightly unsteady. Trowa's steady gaze followed every movement, his green eyes widening as the diminutive woman stumbled. He immediately strode after her, preparing to catch her before she could fall.

But Wufei was a step ahead of the slightly taller man. Scooping Magda into his arms, he hefted her unceremoniously over his shoulder, ignoring the redhead's indignant shriek. Wufei turned to meet now laughing green eyes, tilting his head to the side, motioning for Trowa to lead the way.

"Put me down, Paladin," Magda hissed, beating her tiny fist against his hard back to strengthen her command.

"My honor would not permit it," the black-haired elf stated serenely as a smirk formed on his lips, making his obsidian eyes dance. "And my name is Wufei, woman."

"And mine is Magda, Paladin," she growled, suppressing the grin that was threatening to form on her lips. Her weight pulling the man's light grey tunic made the scratchy looking fabric cling to the skin of his back, accentuating the roll of muscle with every move he made. A blush formed on Magda's cheeks, his eyes sliding closed, refusing to think she could be attracted to this arrogant man.

A lilting laugh filled the air behind and Magda opened her brandy eyes, lifting her gaze from her admittedly tantalizing view of Wufei's back to glare at the blonde man bringing up the rear of the procession. "What do you think you're laughing at?!"

Quatre just shook his head, his aquamarine eyes sparkling past her, his gaze directed to the back of Wufei's head. "I'd say you've made quite an impression, Wufei," he called up at the other elf.

"As always, Quatre," Wufei chuckled and jolted Magda. The redhead cried out before she could catch the noise, her hands flying to grip the surprising soft fabric of Wufei's simple gray tunic.

"You know him?!" her frown deepened accusingly once she had settled down, releasing her hold on the paladin's tunic, her face showing more spirit than she had allowed herself to do in more years than she cared to count.

Quatre didn't have a chance to answer as they stopped before Magda's light blue caravan. The curtained door twitched slightly, a small blonde tumbling from, inside. "Did I hear..?" her cornflower gaze swept the faces gathered. "I did!" she jumped, clapping her hands, the only warning she gave before she launched herself at the black- haired elf.

Wufei lifted Magda from his shoulder, passing her to Trowa, who set her on her feet, meeting her deadly glare with a tiny smile just as Evagail latched herself onto Wufei. "You're here! No wait... why are you here?" she questioned, stepping back, her gaze narrowing up at him. The little green ball of fur on her shoulder squawking adorably when she bounced again.

"I brought him here," a slightly nasal monotone replied before Wufei could, coming from directly behind the paladin, stepping out of the shadows of one caravan. The others' eyes swept over Heero, each noticing the small body that was cradled gently against the man's chest, braid dangling limply over one of his wiry arms, swinging loosely in the air.

Wufei sighed, rubbing a hand over the top of his head, loosening a few lone strands of glossy black hair from it's punishing tail. "Heero. I see you found the boy."

+

Intense pain was the first conscious feeling as Duo slowly woke up, wondering when he had fallen asleep to begin with. Duo groaned dazedly and his hand rose slowly to brush lightly against his temple as he shifted in what felt like a small but immensely comfortable bed, buried under an almost velvety blanket. His eyes were tightly clenched, refusing to open as he bit into the soft flesh of his lower lip, trying to distract from the pounding ache in his head.

A hand fell gently onto his shoulder, causing and Duo to jumped slightly before he could control his reaction. "All lamps but one are out. You can open your eyes," a voice whispered, so low Duo could not tell where it had come from.

Duo's eyes lifted slowly, his gaze immediately coming into contact with dark cobalt eyes merely an inch from his own. Duo immediately scrambled out from under the man who had been leaning over him, not comfortable being that close to a complete stranger, his headache forgotten. "Who are you?"

The man just looked at him with a vaguely amused glint in his eyes as he stared at Duo through the thick fringe of messy hair. The man stood, straightening his rumbled clothing. "Get up. Your friends are waiting for you the wake up outside."

"Why are you in here instead of them?" Duo asked, not doing as he was so kindly told, instead settling down cross-legged on the on top of the soft coverlet, pulling his braid before him to coil in his lap. He toyed absently with the feathery soft tuft at the end of the braid as he allowed himself to look up at Heero though lower eyelashes as he waited for a reply.

He'd be lying to himself if he tried to say he was not instantly attracted to the glaring man. He couldn't help it, the man was all but perfect. Taller than himself, Duo knew that if he stood next to the man the top of his head would most likely just come to those beautiful cobalt eyes.

Shadowing eyes a shade of blue Duo did not think he had ever seen the man's wild dark brown hair fell haphazardly around his face, looking as if a hand had been raked through the soft-looking mass so many times that it would be a hopeless case to ever try and get it under control. Lightly tanned skin glowed in the dim firelight, carving shadows in the flesh at every subtle curve of muscle. He looked almost thin, wiry, but the way he carried himself spoke of a strength his appearance denied.

There was something about him, something that just seemed so out of place, different from what every other person Duo had come into contact with here had felt light, the braided boy just couldn't target was it was.

Duo blinked, realizing that a few minutes had passed and Heero still had not replied. Amethyst moved to lock with cobalt. The dark- haired man was staring at him, through him, a strange light in those eyes. Duo stood, walking over to Heero and coming to a stop directly before the man. The blue eyes didn't even blink, didn't acknowledge his movement.

"Uh... Are you alright?" he asked, voice light, a small grin quirking his lips when Heero blinked, coming back into focus. A frown formed a crease between Heero's eyebrows, his eyes glowing almost dangerously at Duo before he looked away. Stalking purposefully toward the curtain-covered doorway, he pushed through without saying a thing.

Duo stared after the retreating back, a bewildered expression in his eyes. "Who was he?" he asked the air around him, moving to sit back down on the edge of the bed as a sudden wave of pain rippled through him.

"Heero Yuy, leader of the human rebellion," a quietly familiar voice answered. Duo looked up as Magda's slim form moved slowly through the doorway. "He's a different one... Just appeared one day and started taking things over, a king in his own right by now, he has enough followers. No one's seen him outside his fort... ever. It's said that he has ways to make weapons appear from thin air and majicks that make huge boulders explode in seconds. But his aura lack color. Unless he has methods of dampening his color, then it's all myth."

Duo just nodded and smiled at the woman, taking it all in but not yet understanding half of what she said. "So why is he here?"

"The oracle in his fort old tale of the return of the true king. He has decided having you on his side would be an asset to his rebellion," Magda actually grinned, coming to stand before the seated boy. "I've decided we should help him."

"You've decided?" Duo repeated incredulously, blinking his large violet eyes at the tiny woman. "So, what? I don't have a say? I pass out and you're running my life for me?" he quieted, suddenly irrationally mad, the shock of the past days occurrences catching up to him.

Magda's grin slowly deteriorated in face of that purple fire. She took a step back, "We need your help, Duo. Your bloodline... your power..."

"A power I don't know how to use, will probably never know how to use, that we don't even know exists," Duo half growled.

"You can be taught to use it, but it exists!" she cried, her brandy eyes narrowing at him with a subdued anger. "Heero witnessed your black aura in action, Duo. When you wandered off, you wandered too far, into Puck's domain. He sent shadowen to 'play' with you, and you banished them wholly within seconds."

"You would trust the word of a complete stranger?" Duo demanded disbelievingly.

"Aye! We have nothing else... there is no... Duo, you are the only hope we've seen in too long," the tiny woman's eyes shone with desperation, her voice becoming pleading. "There are so many unjustified laws, so many taxes... People are starving, dying from neglect. The king cares nothing of them, only his own comfort. He..." Magda suddenly stopped talking, taking her bottom lip between her teeth to chew on it worriedly."

Duo's anger suddenly evaporated and he sighed, closing his eyes briefly before reopening, looking directly into Magda's. "You are most likely putting your hope in the wrong person," he shook his head slowly when the diminutive woman looked ready to retort. "I have to think about all of this. Please..."

Magda nodded, her lips pursing as she abruptly turned, moving quickly to exit the room. Duo watched as she hesitated at the door, the pushed resolutely through. He collapsed backward onto the bed, crossing his arms behind his head, closing his eyes against the returning ache in his head. "Why did I ever complain about being no one special?" he sighed.

+

Magda stared out at the horizon from where she stood at the edge of her encampment, leaning, arms crossed over the makeshift wooden fence surrounding the place, her brow furrowed deeply. He was gaining power, he watched her people, watched her, waiting for something that no one but himself knew of and it worried her. A sigh broke the silence as she collapsed into herself, her head falling down, forehead resting on her arms. She felt so helpless, and she didn't like it. Didn't like not being able to control what was happening around her, not being able to control herself.

"So serious, Magda. Where is the flighty girl I knew so well?" a mocking voice whispered softly into her ear from behind her. er head shot up, eyes widening impossibly, her back stiffening almost painfully.

"What are you doing here, Dristan?" she hissed, not needing to turn to know who the man behind her was. The voice would follow her everywhere. She was slowly turned, like a puppet on a string, unable to control her own movements, her gaze falling unwillingly on the tall man behind her. Prematurely silver hair, glowing with an almost unnatural light brushed at his high, almost feminine cheekbones in the light breeze, startlingly amber eyes narrowed on her with a mocking light.

"Now is that any way to speak to your king, my dear?" he questioned, raising a hand to brush a few strands of bright red hair from Magda's face. The woman flinched away from the touch, her brandy eyes spitting fire at the man.

"No king of mine, you know better than that, Dristan," she sneered before a sudden burst of nausea struck her, so strong she would have collapsed had she not been supported by Dristan's majick.

"Careful," the tall man chuckled, wagging a finger at her. "You'll make me think you don't love me anymore."

"I... never.. did," she forced out weakly through clenched teeth, her eyes daring him to deny it.

The man sighed, running a soothing hand over her forehead and suddenly the nausea disappeared. "You truly believe that boy can defeat me, don't you?" he murmured in a mocker of sadness, his eyes glinting merrily. "Well, that being the case, I shall be generous. I won't kill him right away. Instead, I grant you time to try and raise your little... uprising," he smirked. "After all, I already know how this is to end..." he smiled almost lovingly at the tiny redhead before he turned and walked away, disappearing after a few short steps.

Magda collapsed weakly, sagging onto her knees on the hard ground. A figure stepped from the shadows before her, his black gaze burning into the top of her head. "Woman, what were you--"

"No questions now, Paladin. I c..." she trailed off, her upper half tipping forward, her vision unable to hold onto consciousness any longer.

+

[part 4] [part 6] [back to Tanith's fic]