They started to ride in silence, taking a final look at the town and tried to block out the sounds of the people trying to escape. They were all glad to finally get away from Terra Mountain and Terra valley, but not in this way. It was a relief to all of them when they finally left Terra Valley an hour later.
No one uttered a single word to anyone the entire trip. Catherine stirred a bit, and finally woke about an hour and a half outside of Terra Valley, although she was still obviously disturbed by her first encounter with a vampire.
She sat up and leaned against Quatre, making him blush a bit more than was necessary. She was soon asleep from exhaustion.
Lee rode with them near the back of the group, trying in vain to become invisible. She was nervous about what was going to happen to her. What if she was a deity? What would happen after it left her body? Or when it took over? Was this really her body or did it belong to the deity? It was all so confusing to her. She didn't come from any magical world. She didn't belong there! She wanted nothing more than to go back to her boring old home and put up with her parents acting like morons. She was going to definitely need a shrink once all this was over.
Of course, it didn't help that Heero had been trying to subtly keep an eye on her. It was obvious to Lee though; he kept glancing in her direction, as if he was trying to make sure she wasn't leaping off a cliff. Why would he think she would do anything stupid like that? He had no reason to believe that she would be that depressed. Unless...unless he knew what was going to happen to her. Unless he knew that she had to marry the Dark Lord. But that was impossible. How could he know anything about the vampiric law? She shook the depressing thoughts from her mind and forced herself to ride on.
It wasn't long before they had reached the tiny village. And it was tiny; it had no more than about two hundred people. In a town that small, strangers like them were sure to be noticed. It made Lee nervous; she didn't want to attract any unwanted attention.
Lee looked at the others, but it looked to her that they had every intention of going in there.
Sighing to herself, Lee reluctantly followed them into the small town. She kept her face downcast, so she didn't even see when Heero dropped behind her. She hardly even heard when he began to talk to the other guys.
"You guys find somewhere for Catherine to stay." Heero said, "Lee and I will find somewhere to stock up on supplies."
They all agreed and Quatre, Catherine, Trowa and Wufei headed off in another direction.
Heero turned to Lee and said, "Come on, let's go."
Lee's head snapped up and she looked at Heero curiously. She saw the others out of the corner of her eye going in another direction, but she couldn't be sure of where they were going. She had only caught pieces of Heero's words. But Lee didn't want to start up a conversation at the moment, so she followed Heero silently as they rode in the opposite direction.
She bowed her head once more tried to keep her thoughts in her head. But in the end, it was Heero who spoke first.
"Are you going to tell them?" He asked.
"Hun? Tell them what?"
"Why he isn't going to kill you." Heero replied.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Lee said stubbornly.
At this, Heero laughed. "You really think I'm that ignorant? I'm a slayer, I know the vampiric law."
Lee sighed, "I don't know if I'm going to tell them." She said. "But I guess if I don't they'll find out anyway."
Heero nodded. "What are you going to do?" He asked. It was the same question Lee had been asking herself since she learned of her fate.
"I'm not sure," Lee answered. "I definitely don't want to die, but I don't want to be one of them either."
Heero didn't say anything more to her as they stepped into a small shop to pick up some supplies. Lee was glad that Heero brought it up, at least someone could sympathize with her situation, even just a little bit. From what she knew of Heero though, he was more likely to protect her than comfort her.
After picking out a few herbs and weapons and after Heero restocked on vampire slaying supplies (just in case), they headed out in search of the other three. They found them outside a restaurant, waiting for them. Heero came up from behind Lee and hurried ahead of her to the other guys. As he passed her he said, very quietly, "You should tell them, they have a right to know."
"I know," Lee sighed, but Heero had already crossed half the distance from her to the others.
"How's Catherine?" Lee asked as she reached them.
Quatre smiled and said, "She'll be fine, she just needs some rest. We've gotten her a room here for the next week and then she says she's going to visit family I another village, not far from Maroon."
"Who knows," Trowa added, "Maybe we'll see her again, sometime soon."
"Shall we get going then?" Quatre asked. The others nodded and they headed off once again into the forest.
The rest of the day was uneventful, except the occasional passer-by. No one really seemed to know where they were going; but then again, no one seemed to care.
It wasn't until they actually stopped to make camp did they really decide what direction they had to go in to find the dagger.
"Why are we stopping?" Wufei complained. "If we keep moving maybe that damned vampire won't catch up with us."
"Or maybe he will," Heero added, "and then he'll get really angry and decided to have us all for a snack."
Wufei grunted, "I thought you were a slayer! Can't you handle it?"
"This is the Dark Lord we're talking about here, Wufei. It's not going to be that easy to kill him."
"And besides, his safety and ours is guaranteed until after this whole prophecy thing is over." Quatre added.
"Yeah," Trowa agreed, "We have to figure out if Lee really is the deity. And if she is, then the Dark Lord is the only one who can awaken her true self."
"Hn, my true self," Lee said to herself bitterly. It made her feel like she wasn't really who she thought she was. Lee settled herself on the ground against a tree, just away from the group. She needed some time alone to think. Unfortunately, Heero and Quatre were the only ones that got it.
"Lee? What are you doing over there?" Trowa asked. "It's dangerous, stay with the group."
"Leave her alone, Trowa," Quatre said. "After all she's been through she needs some time alone."
Lee suddenly laughed loudly and sourly. "You have no idea!" She chuckled.
Quatre, Wufei and Trowa all gave her strange looks.
"Lee, what are you talking about?" Trowa asked.
Lee looked at Heero, who only shrugged. Finally Lee sighed and began; "There's more to this story than you guys know."
"Hun?"
"I was offered as a sacrifice to the Dark Lord, he's bound by law to kill me..."
"You mean he's still gonna kill you!" Quatre cried.
"No, Quatre, calm down," Lee sighed. "There's one way out of it, he has to...well...marry me."
"WHAT!" Quatre, Trowa and Wufei cried.
"What do you mean 'he has to marry you'?" Wufei spat.
"So that's why he's being so nice to you." Quatre said thoughtfully.
"Weak onna," Wufei snorted. "Is that all?"
"Don't you get it Wufei!" Lee shrieked. "I have to be sired into a vampire and remain his wife for the rest of eternity! I'm going to live like this forever!"
Wufei sighed and muttered something under his breath but didn't speak up. Lee had gone back to crying, and Trowa and Quatre stepped forward to comfort her. But Lee waved her hand in a motion to tell them to leave her alone. She pulled her legs up and buried her face in her knees to cry. It wasn't fair! Why did this have to happen to her?
After a few minutes, she heard the boys sit down around the fire, granting her wish of wanting to be alone. They were talking about the direction they were going to head in.
"Does anyone have any idea where we're going?" Quatre asked.
"I do," said Wufei. "There's a series of caverns nicknamed 'The Devil's lair'. I'm sure its there."
"The Devils Lair?" Heero raised an eyebrow.
"You've heard of it?" Wufei asked.
Heero nodded, "It's supposed to be the birthplace of all vampires."
"No wonder Heero knows about it then," Quatre said with a smirk.
Heero decided to continue, "Maybe that's why the Dark Lord is involved with this. It has to have something to do with the Devil's Lair."
"Maybe," Answered Wufei.
"Do you know where these caves are?" Trowa asked.
Wufei and Heero both nodded. "It’s still somewhere inside the Sank Kingdom, although no one knows the exact location."
"Howard knows," Wufei grumbled. "But of course, he would never dare tell me. But with the deity as a guide, we should find it no problem."
"Wait a second Wufei," Quatre but in, "we're not even sure if Lee is the deity."
"Of course she is!" Wufei half-screamed. "She has to be!"
"Sit down Wufei," Heero sighed. "Even if Lee is the deity, the deity inside her hasn't awakened yet. Lee wouldn't be any use as a guide unless the deity is awakened."
"But we don't know how to wake the deity!" Quatre protested.
"We're doomed," Wufei mumbled.
"No," Heero growled, "We do know it has something to do with the Dark Lord."
"Yes, but what?"
They sat in silent thought for a moment, before Wufei finally broke the silence. "I know the caves are somewhere near the great pools," He said, "We should head east in that direction and go from there."
"Good idea Wufei," Quatre agreed, "But right now I suggest we all get some sleep."
"Right," Trowa agreed, "Who's on watch today?"
"I will be," Heero said. The others only nodded and started top crawl into the makeshift shelter they had put up for the night. They had long since learned that it was useless to argue with Heero, even if he didn't have a good reason.
Heero watched as the other three boys went under the blanket that had been draped over a low tree branch. When they were inside and already almost asleep, he looked over at Lee, who was in a separate shelter on the other side of the fire. Hers was a blanket thrown over a few sticks that were propped up against a tree. Heero could just make out the outline of her head and shoulders when the firelight caught her sleeping figure. Heero looked back at the fire and sat down. The sun had set about an hour ago, and the vampire would be back soon.
He poked at the fire and threw a few more pieces of wood on it and then started to make some coffee to keep him awake. After about twenty minutes, he heard soft thump from behind him. Heero looked behind him and saw the Dark Lord standing there.
"Hi again," He said cheerfully, "miss me?"
"No,"
"Hn, well you don't have to be so rude." Duo growled, "I might just decide you'd make a good snack."
"And I might decide to kill you," Heero retorted.
"You can't do that," Duo said, "I'm the Dark Lord. I have to wake up the deity, remember?" He smirked and headed for the other side of the fire.
"Where's Lee?" He asked.
Heero pointed to Lee's little tent. Duo looked over and gave her a sideways smirk. "She's so cute when she's sleeping." Duo grinned.
Heero only snorted and turned back to his coffee. "Do you have to be here?" Heero asked rudely.
"Of course I do, I have to make sure nothing happens to the deity, don't I? And I have to wake her up as well."
"Are you sure you don't mean that you're guarding your future wife?"
"Huh? How'd you know about that?"
"I'm a slayer," Heero shrugged, "I know all kinds of things about vampires."
"Hmm, well I guess that makes sense." Duo got up from the fire and walked towards Lee's shelter.
"Where are you going?"
"To see Lee," Duo answered matter-of-factly.
"She's asleep." Heero said.
"No she's not," Duo chuckled. "She's been awake since before I got here."
"Huh?" Heero looked up and heard Lee sigh and saw her bury her face in her arms.
"Hey babe," Duo grinned as he approached her. Lee refused to answer. Duo only shrugged and looked at Heero.
"Sorry buddy," He said.
"Hun?" Heero was confused and he prepared himself to defend against attack. But instead of attacking him, the Dark Lord raised his hand in front of him and pointed it at Heero. Soon, Heero started to fell drowsy; and although he fought it, he soon fell asleep.
"W-what did you do to him?" Lee stammered.
"Relax," Duo shrugged, "He's just sleeping." He then crawled into the little shelter next to Lee. Lee gasped and pushed herself as far away from him as she could manage; which was still not very far.
Duo ignored her movements and stared up at the ceiling.
"You need a bigger shelter," He announced suddenly, soundly slightly annoyed. "It's too small in here."
Lee did her best to ignore him and rolled on her side, facing away from him. But it was extremely hard to ignore the Dark Lord who was lying next to her. Especially when he draped his arm over her shoulder and nuzzled his face into the back of her neck.
Lee stiffened, but was too afraid to make a sound. Her throat was dry.
"Relax, Lee," Duo said softly. "You're way too tense."
Lee managed to snort at this. She had every right to be tense!
"Why are you so afraid of me?" Duo whined. Lee couldn't help but feel guilty about his hurt tone, but she was unable to express this.
"Because you're a vampire!" She snapped.
"Ouch,"
Lee turned even more and tried to hold back her tears. It wasn't fair! Why couldn't someone else be the damn deity?
"Oh, please don't cry," Duo begged he sat up a bit so he could see her face. He could clearly see the sparkle of tears running down her face.
On an instinct, he leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. He felt her tense again, and she moved her face quickly to avoid his cold lips. Duo chuckled softly; "Do you really think it's a good idea to expose your neck to a vampire like that?" He teased, looking at the long, slender curve of her neck. He wondered what it would taste like.
Lee gasped at her stupidity and cringed, sheltering her neck from possible attack.
Duo laughed at her nervous movements; but at the same time, he was deeply hurt. She really believed that he would drink from her.
"Will you relax? If I wanted to drink from you I would have done it a long time ago." Another bad move on his part. Lee burst out in loud sobs at his words.
'Oops,' Duo thought. "Come on, it was just a joke. Lee?"
But she wasn't listening; she was trying to hide her sobs in her bag, which was being used as a pillow.
Sighing, Duo grabbed her arm and pulled her on her back so her could look at her. "Lee," He said seriously. He looked deeply into her fear-stricken eyes, which were locked on his. "You know I would never hurt you, right?" Seeing the fear in her eyes was more than disappointing. If they were even going to get along, he would have to gain her trust.
Suddenly, he got an idea and smirked. "Come on Lee!" He grabbed her hand excitedly and pulled her out of the shelter.
Lee followed him numbly, wondering what was going on. Of course she knew it was unlikely that he would bite her. He needed her to wake up the damn dragon. While Lee was seething over her fate she didn't notice what Duo was doing until he had picked her up and was lifting off into the air.
Lee gasped, "Wait a minute! What are you doing? Duooooooooo!" Her last word was stretched out as Duo suddenly picked up speed and carried her off.
"Where are we going?" Lee asked urgently.
"You'll see," A mischievous smirk crept over Duo's face. Lee clutched him around his neck tightly, waiting to land.
Duo took her over forests and deserts and towns, and Lee was starting to get worried about where he was taking her. Just as Lee was starting to get nauseous about the height, Duo veered down sharply. As the ground came rushing up to meet her, Lee felt as if she was going to be sick. She tightened her grip around his neck and tried to hide her face. Duo chuckled and went into a free-fall. Lee screamed loudly, not having as much fun as Duo apparently was. When he finally slowed down and landed softly on the ground, Lee breathed a sigh of relief. Grinning widely, Duo placed her on her feet again.
But Lee felt so dizzy that she collapsed and Duo rushed to catch her.
"You OK?" He asked.
"Don't ever do that again!" Lee screamed.
Duo laughed and helped her up to her feet. "Come on, I promise we can walk."
Lee nervously allowed him to lead her off through the forest they had landed in towards semi-distant city lights.
They arrived at the large city in about ten minutes, and Duo headed off with definite purpose.
"Duo?" Lee called after him, "Where are we going?"
"You don't live for 400 years without learning about some cool spots along the way!" Duo answered cheerily. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a dimly lit park. They walked over to the piers, where a few boats had docked and rowdy sailors laughed from a bar close by. The water shimmered in the moonlight and Lee saw a distant silvery creature swimming on the water in the distance.
"What is that?" Lee wondered. She took a step closer and studied it closely.
"It's a Pegasus," Duo said, stepping up behind her.
"Wow," Lee gasped. She watched the mystical creature float elegantly along the water's far edge. After a moment it jumped up gracefully and disappeared over the trees.
"There are a lot of Pegasus around here." Duo said. "It's major tourist spot, except for at night."
"Because of...?"
"Us. But unfortunately for the daytime tourists, they've scared them away. The Pegasus have only been showing up at night now."
Lee said nothing as she watched the glassy surface of the lake. She could feel Duo's presence behind her and she tried to ignore it.
"Let's go for a walk," Duo suggested happily, he pulled her along one of the paths through the woods.
They walked wordlessly for a while, and Lee could feel the chill in the air. She unconsciously shivered and rubbed her arms to get rid of the chill. She felt something fall over her shoulders, and she looked up to see that Duo had removed his cape and draped it around her shoulders. Lee looked up at him but couldn't say anything. Instead she just grabbed the cape and wrapped it more tightly around her. Duo smirked at her, but also said nothing. As they continued walking, she could see the canopy of leaves thinning, and the forest suddenly opened up into a gorgeous meadow.
"W-Why did you take me here?" Lee wondered.
"I just want you to trust me." Duo answered. "We need some time to talk." He walked over to the edge of a small pond and sat down on a rock. He stared out over the water’s surface.
"You know, Hilde and I used to love watching the water. We were on the piers the night the original Dark Lord attacked us.
Lee felt something stirring inside her. "I-I’m sorry. You really loved her, didn’t you?"
"Yes,"
Lee gathered her courage and sat down next to Duo. She studied the water, trying to figure out why it was so beautiful. The pale light of the moon reflected of the ripples, casting eerie shadows on their faces. Somehow, the moonlight managed the change the colors of the water in a stunning collage of pinks, reds, and purples, with even a tinge of warmer colors such as red and yellow.
"This has always been my favorite spot. But we can share it, if you like it too." He grinned.
"Duo…" She was cut off by something rustling in the bushes.
"Hey! What are you kids doing in there?" An old man in about his forties came running into the meadow. "What are you doing out here at night? Don’t you know that there are vampires around here?" The guy asked.
At this, Duo smirked but played along. "Vampires? Really?" He gasped.
"Yeah, come on, I’ll take you guys back to the town."
Duo shook his head. "No thanks man, I think we want to stay out here for a while."
"This is no time for some teenage fling! You kids need to get out of here, now!"
Lee was trying to figure out what Duo was going to do. Would he kill the man right there in front of her? Or would he play along and leave the meadow.
"Or else what?" Duo asked, "Will the vampires get us?"
"Yes!"
Duo chuckled and approached the man. "I wouldn’t worry about us, if I were you. You should be more concerned about your own well-being."
"W-what are you talking about kid?" The guy asked nervously.
Duo smiled, exposing his fangs. The man gasped and fell backwards in an attempt to escape. Duo leapt at him and pinned him to the ground, only to stop what he was doing when Lee screamed. He looked over and smiled at her. He winked, as if to say, ‘don’t worry’. He turned back to the man who was gasping for breath.
"You’re lucky she’s here, or I would have killed you on sight. But still, I don’t want you to go and tell your friends about my spot, now do I? I may not be able to come here again for a while."
"I-I swear Sir! I won’t tell anyone of you just let me go!"
"Oh, so now we’ve gone from kid to sir? Make up your mind. Am I a kid, or am I ‘sir’?"
"Sir!" The frightened man insisted.
"Really?"
"Duo!" Lee gasped. She got up and approached them shakily. "Please, just let him go." She begged. “He was only trying to help!” She didn’t want to witness a murder at the moment.
The guy nodded in agreement with her. "Yes, please! I won’t say anything."
Finally, Duo got off him, but didn’t let him go. "I was just having a little fun with him Lee. I wasn’t planning on killing him. I just wanted to scare him."
"Duo!" Lee scolded.
"Sor-ry," Duo huffed, "But I’m still not sure if I can trust him." He turned back to the guy and studied him. "Do you think we can trust him, Lee?"
"Yes! Yes!" The guy cried. "You can trust me, I swear it on my mothers grave!"
"You’re mother’s grave hun? Not your father?"
"Duo! Stop teasing him."
"Alright, alright," Duo sighed, annoyed at having his fun cut short. He dropped the guy to the ground and he quickly scurried off. Duo chuckled as he watched the frightened man.
"I guess you thought that was funny, hun? You have a sick sense of humor."
Duo shrugged, "I’m a vampire, I’ve had a sick sense of humor for the last 400 years."
Lee sighed and looked back at the water, refusing to look at Duo.
"Hey," Duo sighed, "I’m sorry if I scared you…"
"Scared me! You did more than just scare me! How am I supposed to trust you if you pull things like that?"
"Ok, I get it, I’m sorry." He repeated calmly. "How can I make it up to you?"
Lee huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You can’t"
"Oh yes I can, watch me."
"Have fun trying." She snorted.
"Oh, I will." He suddenly ran off into the night.
Lee gasped when she realized that she was suddenly alone. She looked around desperately; hoping that Duo was only teasing her. Or that he was still nearby. She had no clues though, that he was anywhere close.
"Duo?" She called. There was no answer. "Duo?" She called again, more desperately. "Duo, this isn’t funny!"
She heard twigs snap from behind her and she spun around. "Hey Lee, come over here."
Lee sighed with relief; it was Duo.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" She hissed as she got closer to him. Duo wasn’t paying attention though; he was too busy hovering over something on the ground.
"Duo? What is that?" Lee saw that he was cradling something in his arms as she approached him.
He turned and smiled at her. He had a huge egg in his arms.
"What is that?" Lee asked curiously.
"It’s a dragon egg." He answered. "The mother has been killed, and it was left all alone."
Lee gasped, "Wow…"
"It’s yours now."
"What?"
"It belongs to you. You can take care of a dragon, can’t you?"
"N-no…I mean, probably not, they’re so big and…"
Duo laughed, "Not these guys. They get to be about the size of a horse, or maybe Wufei’s sphinx. And they’re really nice, except to their enemies."
"Is it the fire-breathing kind?" She asked quietly as she studied the egg still in Duo’s arms.
Duo shook his head, "No, but they make great guards." He chuckled. "Just make sure you’re there when it hatches and it will be imprinted on you for life." He handed the egg over to her.
"A-are you sure it’s OK to just take it?"
"Of course it is; the mother is dead."
"How do you know that?"
"I’m a vampire," He answered. "I know things. That nest has been abandoned for days now. If the mother isn’t dead then she’s abandoned it, it’s as simple as that. This little guy is lucky to be alive still. It’s close to hatching, you can feel him moving inside."
Lee stood still for a moment, waiting to feel movement. She grinned when she felt a soft vibration that could only be the dragon shifting inside the egg.
"Come on," Duo said, "I’ll get us a ride back to the camp."
"A ride?"
"Yes, I noticed that you didn’t really like flying with me."
Lee was too stunned to say anything. Duo approached the edge of the lake and whistled lightly. Something from the other side came out of the forest and swam towards them. It was another Pegasus. This one was silvery white, with tints of pink and blue in it’s mane and tail. It stopped in front of them and Duo motioned to her to climb on.
"How did you do that?" Lee asked, awe-stricken.
Duo grinned, "I was a tamer before I was a vampire, I guess I still have some of the old abilities."
"Really?"
"Yeah, that and this Pegasus has been a friend of mine since before I became a vampire. And he’s still loyal."
"Pegasus live that long?"
"Yep, they’re practically immortal as well."
They both climbed onto the Pegasus’s back and it started to swim off. Lee was careful not to kick its wings as she rode.
"Quatre is a tamer." Lee said.
"Really?" Duo asked. "Wow," He wrapped his arms around Lee’s waist to keep her steady as the Pegasus suddenly pumped its wings and lifted out of the water. The Pegasus remained low as it skimmed over the water, and back towards their camp. It was a lot smoother than Duo’s flying, and since it remained low and calm, Lee didn’t get dizzy. It was very thoughtful of Duo, she had to admit.
They got back to the camp quickly and the Pegasus landed. Duo and Lee slipped off its back.
"Thanks old buddy." Duo said, giving the Pegasus an affectionate pat on the nose. The Pegasus snorted in response and was off again.
Lee walked back over to her crude shelter and started to climb in. Duo remained by the fire, which Lee was glad for. Even though she was starting to get a long with Duo a bit better, she was still uncomfortable with him always being so close.
Lee placed the dragon’s egg next to her and settled down to get some sleep.
"Goodnight, Duo." She called. It was the only thing she could say to him. And she had to say something, after all, they had just gone on some sort of date; at least, that was the way Lee pictured it. Even though she didn’t really want to go off with Duo, if they were going to get married, she would have to get to know him and trust him.
"Night," Duo said. He walked right past her shelter and in a moment she heard him lift off and fly away. After that, Lee finally settled down and was able to sleep.
