And Never The Twain Shall Meet* <br>
-a Gundam Wing folk tale- <br>
by Shirin (1998-2000)
<p>
<b>And Never The Twain Shall Meet by Shirin</b>
 <P>
"Do you see the night sky? Do you hear the rain as it greets the earth? Can you smell the issue of their joining? It was on a night somewhat similar that my tale begins. Would you like to listen? Would you like to hear? For a farthing, for a night's shelter, for a meal hale and hearty, I would sing to you of a story you have perhaps heard before in a different reincarnation; or perhaps not. For are not all stories one and the same, but for a different beginning and a different ending? And mayhaps sometimes, even a different middle to stay the stab of boredom? What say you, prodigious sire?" Nimble fingers caressed the strings of the lute, and the clear notes ended the traveller's singsong speech. 
The tavern master laughed for it was indeed a wretched night, and he had a hall full of drenched travellers hungry for an evening's entertainment. And idle hands were wonderful instruments for the Devil's work, were they not? And though the travelling minstrel's tongue was glib, his face was fair and his mien bore no ill will.
"Aye, laddie! Sing us a song and tell us your story. And if my customers go to bed with a light heart, then not only bed, dinner and a farthing for the night shall I offer you, but an engagement until when the next wanderlust strikes," the rotund man boomed heartily, slapping the bar with a heavy rag.
"Ah, then kind sir, you need only to tell me when to start and I shall weary myself to be true to your challenge," the young man winked saucily as he smiled. Strumming the lute softly as he spoke, the traveller settled by the open fire, warming his feet as the sparks caught his eyes and they sparkled as did the crystals that adorned the fine bracelet on his wrist.
So the tavern master clapped his hands and called his guests to attention; they turned to gaze upon the young man by the fire. The haunting notes his fingers birthed lulled their senses so that his voice and his lute's were so utterly intertwined; they knew not which was which. And as he looked upon his audience, the young man drew out a sad sigh, and followed that with a small smile even as he plucked more notes than one would have thought possible from such an instrument.
 <p>

 
Lightning flashed across the night sky, a brilliant slash of gold-edged mercury tearing up black velvet. In its wake, a slow rumble of hesitant thunder followed, filling the silence of the night with its rich bass droning. Ever so slowly, the low roll of sound dissolved, watered into a soft swish of wind and water as the little pitter-patter of raindrops soothed away the harshness of the angry storm clouds that wreaked havoc across the horizon.
Under the cover of the falling rain and the darkness, a lone figure crept up a barren path, furtively glancing around even though he knew that he was alone.
When one was attempting to acquire something that didn't belong to one, being careful paid.
It was difficult being an honest man when one was penniless. It was even more difficult when one had a pregnant wife with insane cravings. It was nigh impossible when one's pregnant wife craved something forbidden. Or so near-unattainable that it became almost forbidden.
Otto sighed. And prayed.
"...I need it! I have to have it! Otto, please! You have to find it for me. You know where it is, I know you do! The neighbours told me you know. Don't lie to me, husband. If I don't have it, I'll die! I just know it! And so will our child! Our beautiful child... Oh Otto! You have to get some... "
The hidden garden loomed before him, tucked away from the prying eyes of passers-by. Secreted behind the thick copse of twisted trees, slender and white against the night, lay the forbidden gardens.
Forbidden not by any signs or rules or laws. But by reputation.
In the cold rain, Otto shivered, and knew that he did not shiver from the cold. Rather from the very chill that radiated from within his own heart as he contemplated opening the waist-high garden gate and then, entering the deceptively innocent-looking plot of land that teemed with all manner of shrubbery.
But it was a deed that had to be done.
Squaring his shoulders, the grim-faced man shuffled forward, slowly and hesitantly. With infinite care and considerable silence, he unlatched the garden gates, ears ever seeking the slightest sound that might seem out of place. Sensing nothing that threatened his immediate existence - other than the very deed he was attempting - Otto stepped into the gardens of the Mistress Dorothy.
 

 <p>
'So, the mouse has decided to come in and play.' A small smile crept across her lips, and she chuckled as she watched the hunched figure digging up the earth in her garden. The rain fell relentlessly, wetting the soil, making it easy to work and pliable. It would not be long before he got all that he came for.
"Common thief," she spat, her voice low as a whisper as she watched with narrowed eyes.
 

 <p>
Gathering the rapuns into his arms, Otto proceeded to stuff them into the copious pockets of his coat. In his haste to acquire the precious radishes before being discovered, the man had neglected to search for a suitable carrying vessel. But that didn't matter, he thought. The small vegetables would fit nicely in his pockets, and he had dug up a sizeable amount. Hopefully, there would be enough to satisfy his wife's cravings. 'Ah sweet Helen... If I didn't love you so... '
"Is that enough, do you think? Perhaps you'd like some more?" Honey-sweet words coating a core that dripped with biting sarcasm.
A chill crept up Otto's spine, blossoming into bone-freezing fear in his heart. With the slowness born of terror, he felt his rapidly beating heart still. Coagulated into a leaden lump.
Slowly, fearfully, Otto turned. Rapuns fell from his pale, muddied hands, thudding back onto the wet earth from which they came. Even in the darkness of the rainy night, the figure that stood before him, seemingly small and unassuming, radiated a glow of invisible light. It was impossible, he knew, but that was how it seemed.
Mistress Dorothy smiled, one side of her mouth quirking higher than the other. But the sweetness of her rouged lips did not reach the pale, icy blue of her eyes. 
Eyes where dead lights shone.
"Sweet God in Heaven... " the shocked man muttered, absently making signs of warding with his muddy hands, gesticulating futilely against an evil he saw and felt but could not even begin to comprehend.
"It's a bit too late, don't you think?" The small woman smiled, glancing at the terrified man through slitted eyes overshadowed by graceful eyebrows that seemed to resemble the wings of a bird in flight.
A bird of prey.
"Would God look kindly upon a thief that sneaks under the cover of night?" Her voice mirrored the coldness in her eyes.
Otto trembled, the rain flowing down his neck further lowering the temperature of his chilled body. If he didn't have better control of himself, he fancied that he'd also feel a different kind of liquid flowing down his legs. "Forgive me, Mistress!" he cried, dropping to his knees and bowing before the diminutive figure. "Please! Forgive me!" Otto wailed, desperate.
Tales went around about how no one had ever seen the Mistress Dorothy, merely heard her voice. Stories flew about how people mysteriously disappeared in the vicinity of her vast grounds. Rumours passed about how her estate had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Quaking, his face buried in the mud, Otto felt very inclined to believe those stories. Stories he'd once scoffed at, and disregarded. Stories he'd heard and promptly forgotten.
Stories he wished he'd paid more attention to.
A warm touch on the back of his neck made him recoil. If he could sink further into the earth, he would. Oh sweet Lord... 
"Come peasant. Would you like to come in out of the rain? It's ungodly weather, don't you think?"
Unbelievingly, Otto blinked. Raising his head slowly from his supplicative position, the man stared up in shock into the woman's face, framed by straight, gossamer hair hidden by the heavy hood she wore against the rain, grinning predatorily at him.
He moved as though in a daze, barely registering the small hand holding onto his as he was led into the looming house. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself sitting before a roaring fire, a mug of hot chocolate in his hands.
By the brighter conditions in the warm den, Otto could see the woman more clearly. And he was awed when he realised that the Mistress Dorothy was little more than a child.
Or so she seemed.
Dorothy glanced up from the fireplace where she was poking at the embers, stoking the fire so that it blazed even more merrily, sending dancing shadows over the walls. A small smile quirked at her thin lips as she took in the shivering form of the middle-aged man sitting in her favourite rocker. He cut a sorry figure, this poor man. Cold and wet, soaked to the skin and caked with mud.
Gods, he looked pathetic!
"Why were you stealing from me?" she asked softly, her voice carefully neutral as she pulled herself to her full height - which was not much, but her commanding tone cut an impressive figure nonetheless. Her eyes glinted in the soft firelight, and inwardly she laughed in satisfaction as she noted the fear flaring in the man's eyes.
"I... I... " Otto fell silent, unsure how to explain. How could he say that he was stealing for his wife? For his unborn child?
"She had to have them, I suppose," Dorothy mused, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"Wha-?! How did you know?" Otto blinked in surprise. 
Dorothy smiled, her eyes finally laughing. "Why do you think they call me a witch, peasant?" She giggled, and then finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She cackled.
Otto cringed, his hands trembling so fiercely that hot chocolate slopped all over his already wet clothes. The stories were true! And here he was, trapped within the house of the devil herself... 
The girl - for she could only be a girl, not a fully-grown woman - finally stopped laughing, holding onto her sides as though they hurt. 'Oh these peasants are so precious,' she thought. 'They believe anything!' Not that she lied, of course. 
Oh no, Heaven forbid.
She broke into fresh giggles.
Finally, after what seemed to Otto an eternity, the girl resumed a more serious tone. She turned icy blue eyes at him, and for a while he wondered which version of her terrified him more. It couldn't get any worse, though... 
"I should kill you."
Oh Lord, it could!
"Mercy, Mistress! Have mercy!" Otto cried out, setting the mug hurriedly on the floor and scrambling over to the girl. "Please, spare me! I did not mean to steal. Well... I did, but I had to! My wife, she would die if she could not have the rapuns. Spare me, Mistress Dorothy! Who would care for her? Who would care for my unborn child if I -"
"Child?" Dorothy's eyes glittered. Disdainfully, she kicked away the man's fawning hands, walking away from the kneeling figure. "A child... "
The sibilant voice brought fresh fear into the man's wildly tripping heart, gripping him in a hold that refused to loosen. Unconsciously, he held his breath as he waited for the slight girl to speak.
"I'll let you go," Dorothy said, spinning around to face the terrified man once more. "On one condition."
Otto felt his heart lurch.
"When your child is born, you will give her to me."
The man blinked. Slowly, the softly spoken words began to sink in, to take new meaning.
"What?" Anger burned within him, smouldering like the embers at the edge of the fire in the hearth. "My child? Never!"
Dorothy grinned, her perfect teeth gleaming in the firelight. The shadows danced across her near-perfect features - and those so-perfect pearly-whites seemed very pointed. Otto shivered, immediately regretting his outburst.
"Fine," she drawled. "First, you," the girl pointed at him with a lazy finger, "will die. Then your wife will die. And after that," she tittered, slender fingers daintily covering her mouth, "your child." Dorothy settled herself into a cosy easy chair, arranging the cushions around her and fluffing them up, ignoring the man by the fireside. "What will it be, peasant? One life," she smiled ferally, eyes glancing slyly at the defeated figure. "Or three?"
He had lost. He knew it even as he had protested. Otto hung his head, dejected, shamed.
Dorothy laughed.
 
<p>
 
"Look, Otto. The child has your eyes."
Otto smiled, tired but relieved. It had been a hard labour for Helen, but truly, the results had been worth it. The child - his child - was beautiful. Laughing eyes, soft, fine hair, cupid lips. A beautiful child. "But the child has his mother's beauty," Otto whispered, giving his wife an affectionate peck.
Helen sighed, leaning against the pillows, cradling the gurgling babe to her bosom. "I never thought we'd have a son, Otto. I really thought it would be a girl." She looked up into her husband's tired face, love springing afresh in her heart. He had gone through so much for her, for their child. And to see the happiness in his eyes as he played with the babe's tiny limbs, it had been worth it. All the pain had been worth it. And the child, this beautiful child they had brought to the world. He was worth it.
This was the happiest day of her life.
"We have to get away, Helen." 
Otto's soft voice cut through her thoughts with razor sharpness. Helen blanched. She shook her head adamantly.
"No, she wouldn't. She wouldn't!"
"Helen," Otto held her, peering into her drawn face as she clutched the child to her chest. "You know what will happen. Don't you remember? I promised her. In return for my life, and yours... and... " Sadly, Otto glanced into the sleeping face of his son. "And his," he sighed.
"But he's our child! Ours!" she cried hoarsely. In her arms, the said child stirred, and guiltily, Helen lowered her voice. "What right has she-" 
Otto looked deep into her eyes, the answer to her question hitting her in the face. Resigned, Helen sobbed. And just as resigned, Otto took her into his arms, holding her and their child as she cried.
"How touching."
The couple started, rudely interrupted in their moment of grief. Helen stifled a small scream as the slight figure stepped out of the shadows. Otto flinched at the sight of the small blonde.
Mistress Dorothy.
The girl held out her arm, her hand open. Expectant. "Your end of the bargain, peasant. It's time," she whispered into the silent room. "Give me the child."
"Nooo!" Helen shrieked, her loud cry waking the infant. He cried, adding to the anguish of his mother's voice. 
"Please Mistress, can you not reconsider-" 
"Enough!" Dorothy swiped at empty air and Otto flew back from the woman on the bed, crashing to the floor. 
"Otto!" Helen cried above her child's thin wailing. She struggled to reach him, balancing the child in her arms as the yet-unhealed wounds of her too-recent labour tore into her. "Otto!"
Suddenly, her child - her precious son - was ripped out of her arms. "Nooo!" It felt as though her heart was being torn out of her chest.
Dazed, Otto watched as his wife screamed in anguish at her loss, reaching out desperately with thin arms for her child. His child.
The child that cried in Mistress Dorothy's arms.
Dorothy cooed, tickling the bawling babe under his chin. "What a beautiful babe you are. And how unlike your coarse parents... " 
'Of course,' she smiled. She knew why. Her enchanted rapuns were very effective. 'I didn't live through decades of magicks for nothing.'
Dorothy's eyes snapped back to the couple who had provided her with the babe, her guarantee to riches and power beyond imagination. "You tried to renege on your promise, peasant." Her voice dripped venom. "That is despicable. Truly despicable. And for that," she sniffed disdainfully as she walked into the shadows from which she came, the baby safely tucked in the crook of her arm.
" For that you'll never see your child again."
 

 <p>
"Nay, minstrel! I have heard of that story," a gentleman lounging in a corner hailed. "'tis the story of Rapunzel, is it not?"
Bright eyes looked up from the lute rendered mute for a moment. "Is it, indeed, noble sire?" the traveller asked, his tone light yet mocking in its lilt. "Could it be just the tale of the fair Rapunzel that I tell, to chase away the cold of the evening as the wind chills its way to your bones? Would not the happy ending of that tale bring you some warmth this cold night? Or would that all have heard the tale and I have been rendered unemployed ere I even begin?" And the young storyteller made a mournful face as he strummed a dirge on the lute with four strings.
"O let him tell the story, I pray thee." A clear voice tinkled from the back of the hall. "'tis a mournful night, and there is naught else to do to pass the time. Pray continue, young sir," the lady begged, hushing the rest of her company that she may listen without distraction.
"Not often do we hear of a lady jumping to a man's rescue, and tonight that has been done." The singer laughed joyfully, as the dirge he played picked up its tempo and became a jaunty ditty. "My thanks, milady," he bowed his head slightly as he smiled.
 
<p>
 
'Damn!'
"Damn those peasants to the deepest portals of hell! What? What did I do to deserve this?!" Dorothy fumed and muttered to herself as she pinched her nose, simultaneously conjuring up a faerie flame that burst merrily in the fireplace. The wad of white cotton cloth floated haphazardly towards the dancing flames, where it wavered slightly above clutching licks of bluish-green before dropping into the fire, to be gratefully consumed until no trace remained of the odorous fabric.
Dorothy sighed, huffing a breath that blew her bangs away from her face. 'It isn't fair!' she thought, as she eyed the gurgling babe on the changing table. She stood up from her stool, her hands on her hips as she approached the table. The child lay on its back, waving its tiny, plump limbs in the air as it laughed at the perplexed expression on the girl's face.
"You," Dorothy sighed, picking up the child and bouncing him up and down. "You were supposed to be a girl! Not," she shook her head as she once more eyed the offensive organ nestled between the child's chubby legs, " a boy. How the hell," Dorothy glared at the babe. The babe laughed in her face. "How in Heavens did you turn out to be a boy?" she sighed again as she cradled the child to her breast, crooning songs of the past, long-forgotten. 
It was annoying. She'd waited such a long time; searched far and wide. Finally, she had chanced upon the couple with just the right make-up, the right lineage, and the right mix of life's natural alchemy. Otto and Helen - peasants though they were - together would produce the perfect child for her needs. Especially after her rapuns had worked on the peasant woman's system. Could she have miscalculated? Could the infallible Mistress Dorothy have made a mistake? 'All that work,' she thought. 'Down the drain.'
Again, the small blonde woman held the child up before her, wrinkling her nose at the smiling child who laughed at the faces she made. His eyes crinkled with mirth, blue upon violet. 'Gods, but he's a beautiful baby,' she acceded. "But why did you have to be a boy?" Dorothy whined softly.
And the child proceeded to demonstrate just how much of a boy he was.
Much to Dorothy's dismay.
"Eeuugh! Couldn't you at least wait 'til I get the diapers on you?"
 

 <p>
And his audience laughed; the ladies tittered behind lacy handkerchiefs whilst the men chortled aloud shamelessly. And the young minstrel continued, winking at the gentleman in the corner who smiled also as he saluted him with his mug of ale.
 <p>

 
Deep into the night, wickless candles burned, illuminating the circular room with a brilliance that belied its origins. Every once in a while a mournful sigh filled the room, more often than not punctuated or accompanied by an annoyed flick of the girl's wrist as pieces of paper flew through the air.
"What a waste," Dorothy sighed as she gazed at the life-like rendition of a beautiful blonde boy crouching beside a dappled silver grey stallion. The sun shone behind the boy's crouched figure, picking out the gold in his hair as he absently stirred the water in the shallow pond before him. The dark blue of his tunic contrasted starkly against his milky skin even as his horse's shadow brought out the pale pink of his lips.
"Well, Prince Quatre. I'd have thought that I'd have a princess for you, but I guess not." Dorothy flipped the likeness to the other side of the large table. 
Three other similarly rendered portraits lay upon the polished surface of the table, each featuring a good-looking boy, captured lovingly in an unnatural stillness that seemed so incredibly alive; one would half-expect the figures on the paper to move or speak. Picking up a random picture, Dorothy frowned as she propped her head with one hand, her mouth twisted into a pretty pout. "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo. I thought I'd get one of you, but now you all have to go. Gah!" She threw down a picture of a sultry-eyed dark-haired emperor onto the table, exasperation wringing a thin moan from her lips. The young, dark-haired king looked back at her emotionlessly from the lifeless paper, his dark eyes ablaze with a fire that defied anything or anyone that may have stood in his path. The young emperor Chang stood majestically under the shade of a small, red gazebo, arms folded as he seemed to contemplate matters of utmost severity. 
That particular image had been an exceedingly difficult one to capture, Dorothy reminisced. The oriental ruler had a constant retinue of guards and palace advisors hovering nearby his royal person. It had taken more than mere subterfuge to acquire the quiet, unguarded moment to make that picture possible.
The blonde Arabian prince had been easier to capture on paper. He had this habit of going for solitary rides within the borders of the palace estates, and his love of a particular pond, tinted green by tiny water algae, made it so much simpler for Dorothy to capture his likeness.
The blonde girl stood up, pushing herself away from the edge of the table. She stretched, her slim figure bending flexibly. 'So long. So very long,' she thought as she walked silently to an almost invisible door in the wall, its presence betrayed only by hairline gaps in the wall. Dorothy waved her hand over the smooth surface and almost immediately the wall 'moved', parting to reveal another room, one less lavishly lighted.
She couldn't help the small smile that crept to her lips as her gaze swept over the softly slumbering figure in the large bed. In the half-darkness, light blue chips of cold ice melted. 
The beautiful baby had grown much in the past ten years she had cared for it. And his beauty had not diminished with the years, strangely enough. She had seen enough men in the multiple decades of her life to know that many of them lost that endearing air of innocence as they matured. 'As is natural for mere humans,' she sniffed. Rare was there one whose naivete and childlike curiosity remained as they progressed in years. Usually, these would be the 'simple' ones.
But still, this one was yet a child, she mused, pursing her lips, brow wrinkled. He still had much to learn of the ways of the world, and she was loathe to expose him to man's indecencies and so-called freedom-of-choice. 'But why would I care?' she wondered. 'You were merely meant to be an instrument to further my influence, just a means to an end... ' Dorothy sighed, twirling short wisps of brown between her fingers. 'When did you break through my walls, child? When did you begin to take meaning?'
Smiling, she lowered her face to the sleeping child's and placed a tender kiss to his smooth forehead. 'Once upon a time, I wanted power. Once upon a time, I craved the ability to have nations under my command. Once upon a time, I wanted the world to see things as I see them. And once upon a time, I chanced upon a way to make all my dreams come true.' Sadly, but still with a wistful smile on her lips, the blonde girl shook her head.
"But I don't need all that now," she whispered almost to herself as her fingers played with the chestnut strands of his hair. 
The blanketed body stirred at her slight touch, giving a soft grunt as the boy shifted to lie upon his back. Large violet eyes slowly opened and blinked at her sleepily. At the sight of her sitting on his bed, the boy smiled.
And Dorothy smiled back. "Sleep, my son," she whispered tenderly.
And the boy slept.
 <p>

 
"She is a weak witch, is she not?" The tavern master's thick moustache twitched at the question asked by a rough-looking man in the mud-spattered robes of a cleric.
"Oh?" The tavern master's eyebrows climbed in askance. His large hands drew out a tankard of bitter for another customer as he asked, "And why would you say that?"
"Well," the cleric pouted, a little taken aback at being asked to explain his opinion. Behind him the music continued even though the storyteller's clear voice had ceased telling his story, humming a soft, sad melody instead.
"I would feel a witch that lets her will and her ambitions be thwarted by a young child is a weak witch, don't you think?
"Would that she laboured so to begin, and yet years later, let her plans slide away like the ease with which butter melts off a hot ladle because her heart has been so taken by a small child," the cleric continued.
At that the tavern master smiled a little, somewhat indulgently perhaps if one were to look at it that way. "You are still unbonded, sir cleric?"
"Uh... yes."
"I see," the large man chuckled. "Perhaps one day when you have little ones of your own, we might discuss it some more, eh?" And the cleric sputtered as the tavern master snapped his fingers at the minstrel, urging him to continue.
 
,p>
 
"Who are they, mama?" the violet-eyed boy asked, flipping through the many small portraits on the table. A picture of a puzzled-looking boy looked back at him, green eyes piercing through a fall of light-brown hair that nearly obscured his face. There were several pictures of this boy, but the most striking was one where the boy reclined in the shade of a banyan, two lazing cheetahs at his feet. The green of the boy's eyes was accentuated by his surroundings, and somehow, amidst the peacefulness of nature and the coiled danger apparent in the hunting cats, the boy looked right at home.
"I like this one, though," the little boy grinned, settling on a picture of a golden-haired boy laughing as he sat on the shoulders of a gigantic hulk of a man. "This one is nice, mama. Don't you think so?"
"What are you looking at, Duo?" Dorothy asked, walking up behind the boy and gently ruffling his hair. "Wha- where did you get those?!" 
The small boy flinched at her shrill demand, backing away from the table as she swooped vulture-like upon the scattered pictures, scooping them up and causing them to disappear in a single breath. "Damn!" she cursed, looking around to make sure no more of the pictures remained. 'How could I have forgotten to put them away? How could I have just left them for him to find? How-'
A soft sniffle distracted her. Looking up, she saw the small boy cowering among the plush cushions of the huge armchair at the far side of the room. He peeked at her from behind the cushions with frightened eyes. Oh Gods, what had she done?
"Duo," Dorothy called softly, willing away the annoyance and anger from her voice. "Come here." In the many years they had shared their lives together, she had never had much cause to raise her voice with him. In the few occasions she did, it was never with anger. Her outburst must have surprised him as much as it did her, she realised as she followed the child's slow, hesitant movements towards her. Dorothy held out her arms, crouching so as to seem less formidable to the small child. 
The reassurance in her posture must have worked, for the boy gave one last loud sniff before giving a wide grin and a running leap into her arms. The momentum threw them both backwards, and Dorothy hugged him tightly as they rolled on the floor in a tangle of giggling limbs. After a few moments of laughter, Dorothy gave Duo a final hug before pushing him off her and brushing away the lint on her dress.
"You're getting heavy, Duo," she laughed. "We won't be able to do that much longer."
"Why, mama? You like it. I like it. Why not?" the violet-eyed boy countered.
"Irrepressible boy! Don't talk back to your mother like that," Dorothy growled with mock anger, giving the boy a playful swat on his backside. 
Which Duo avoided with a giggle.
Dorothy stood, turning to give her attention to the daily chores, and other matters a 'witch' might have cause to attend to in that day and age.
"Mama?" Duo's small voice stayed her feet, and she stopped. She didn't immediately turn to face the boy, for deep in her heart, she knew what he would ask.
And she herself did not know the answer. And if she did, she didn't like it.
"Mama?" Duo called again, this time scrambling to his feet and running up to her. He tugged at her sleeve, effectively shattering any thought of ignoring his presence on her part. "Mama, why were you so angry?"
Dorothy sighed, then turned to the small boy, crouching once more so that they were again facing each other. His violet eyes looked into her blue ones. Innocence and guilt. Inexperience and knowledge. 
The girl tried to look away, to think of an excuse, any excuse but she could not. She herself could not give reason to her sudden rage when she saw Duo looking at the pictures she had collected through the years. It wasn't his fault, she knew. It was hers. But that did not make it any easier to explain. In fact, it made it so very much harder. How was she to tell him that those were the ones she had chosen for his future mate, but somehow, something went wrong? How was she to explain that he was not who he was supposed to be? How could she tell him that he wasn't hers?
"Mama?" the boy squeaked guiltily.
"Hush, Duo," Dorothy soothed. "Mama's not mad anymore. Let's just forget it, alright?"
"But who're those -?"
"They're just pictures of little boys to remind me that I have the most perfect one right here. So let's not talk of them anymore, ne?" she cajoled. "How about having some of that iced jelly you like so much?"
"Oh yes!" Duo bounced, attention immediately focused on visions of soft, red jelly liberally dashed with sweet, iced cream and chocolate sprinklings.
 
<p>
 
Duo watched silently from behind the heavy curtains. His mother sat at a small, round table, talking softly to a haggard-looking woman. He wondered why all the people who came to face his mother seemed so frightened of her. She would never hurt them, would she? She'd never hurt him. And she didn't know those people, after all. Why would she hurt them? Why should they be so scared of his mama? But Duo knew that his mother could be scary when she got into one of her moods. During those times, he'd hide away in his room, contenting himself with his toys until her spells passed and she was back to her calm, sweet self.
Dorothy laughed at something the woman said, and the woman flinched. Duo frowned, watching. Although not many visited his mother - he had a feeling that they were scared to - those that did invariably looked terrified when they came to ask for something or other. There was never anyone who just came for the sake of passing time, and enjoying his mother's company.
And all her visitors were so old!
He wished that they'd bring their children along. At least there'd be someone to play with while his mother was occupied. After all, toys and magicked gimmicks could only hold his interest for so long. 
Giving a little grimace, Duo let the curtains drop back in place and retired to the kitchen. It was his favourite place in the entire cottage. There was a small fireplace in one corner, and on rainy nights, his mama would curl up in the old rocking chair with him on her lap and tell him stories of dragons and eagles and enchanted beings. She would wave her hands and wriggle her fingers and little figures of fire would leap in the flames, bringing her stories to life while he watched and listened in awe. He'd asked many times how she did that but she always answered with a sly, secretive smile. She'd always say the same thing, that he was too young to know and too naughty to teach. And he'd always end up pouting at her answers. With which she'd laugh and tell him to be patient, that his time would come.
Duo hummed to himself, opening the ice chest and helping himself to a glass of cold juice. He'd stopped wondering how the ice chest could keep things so cold when it was so hot outside. It was another of his mother's spells - something he knew other people weren't capable of. Only his mother. Duo smiled with pride as he sipped the cold liquid. His mother was the cleverest, the best, the -
Laughter!
Duo's head snapped up, his ears cocked towards the source of the sound which so far he had only heard shared between himself and his mother. Pushing himself up on tiptoes, Duo craned his neck to peer out of the kitchen window. 
Again, the sight that greeted him was different from the one that greeted him yesterday. Oh, the garden was the same. There's the tree he loved to climb while his mother puttered with those silly, bitter turnips she liked; the rose bushes that always surprised him with a different hued flower every time he went to pick one; the morning glories that echoed the violet of his eyes. Yes, the garden was the same, but the view beyond the gates and the mortar walls - that always changed. He didn't know how his mama did it - he'd given up wondering - but their cottage always seemed to be in a different place whenever his mother got bored. And yesterday, his mother got very annoyed with the villagers near the cottage. And the next thing he knew, when he woke up this morning, it was in a different county.
But no matter where they went, mama always got her visitors. He wondered how they knew... 
Again, crystal clear laughter broke through the late morning's serenity. Duo frowned, curious. "Only one way to find out," he muttered. Placing the glass carefully on the countertop, Duo ran to open the kitchen door -
"Where do you think you're going, young man?"
Duo whirled in surprise. Dorothy stared back at him, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. One of her feet tapped the floor in annoyance. Duo gulped. "I... I was just... "
Dorothy didn't wait for him to finish his answer, but whirled to his side. With one quick flick of her wrist, she locked the kitchen door. "You're not going outside, you hear? Go to your room!"
"But mama! I was just... "
"I said, go to your room!" she shouted.
Duo quailed, and something alien cropped up in his chest, choking the breath that tried to erupt within him. He felt the tears that sprang to his eyes before he noticed the misting of his vision. His little mouth twisted in frustrated anger as he ran to his room.
"And don't come out until I call you!" His mother's voice rang after him, seeping through the door before he had a chance to slam it shut. Duo threw himself onto the bed, and cried.
 
<p>
 
"She is cruel to him," a matron sighed to her husband as they listened to the young man by the fire. Her voice was soft and her words hushed, yet she could have sworn the young man looked up at her comment, a knowing smile on his lips.
Her husband laughed, nodding a little as he ate his roasted meat. "Aye, but she is a witch, is she not? She is supposed to be cruel."
"But she is also a mother! I would not do that to my children," she answered, picking at her dinner.
"Ah dear heart. But you are not a witch."
And the matron flushed with pleasure when her husband impulsively kissed her cheek. 
 
<p>
 
Dorothy seethed. Damn the villagers! Wasn't there one village where there weren't any children? Why were these peasants so copulatively active? She threw the kitchen door open, not noticing the latch breaking with the force of her exit.
"You!" she screamed. The laughter that had called her Duo like a siren's song ceased abruptly. Dorothy walked swiftly to the garden gate, leaning against it as she looked for the source of that hated sound. 'Where are those brats?' she thought, her elfin features screwed up in anger, lending a sinister look to her face that belonged more in a haunted forest rather than in a garden teeming with multicoloured flora. 
There!
Half-hidden behind a huge oak, a group of three children cowered in stunned silence. When they saw that they had been discovered, one of them squealed in terror - a little girl with cropped, blonde hair. "Oniisan!" she cried, grabbing the arm of a slightly bigger child - around the same age as her Duo - and hiding herself behind her brother. 
"You brats!" Dorothy yelled, shaking her fist at the children. "Get away from her, you hear? Don't play around here!"
One of the children- the little girl's brother - put his arms around his sister, comforting her. "Hush Mari," he said softly. He turned toward the angry-looking woman defiantly. "Why should we? This is public property! Why can't we play here?" The sudden look of angry storm-cloud laden skies crossed the woman's eyes, and the boy suddenly wished that he had kept a tighter rein on his tongue. But it was too late now... 
Dorothy froze. Had her ears been playing tricks on her? Did that child do what he just did? Had he actually answered back?
He had.
The blonde stood still, feeling the tremors of anger long forgotten begin once more within her. It had been so long since she had felt so ... so high! A part of her that went to sleep a decade ago woke up, and she relished the awakening of her new consciousness.
"Because I said so, child." Dorothy hissed. A cruel smile parted her lips as power crackled along her fingers, fey green sparks leaping up her arms.
The three children screamed, and ran, for they were not stupid. They were daring, but they were not stupid. Oh no, far from it.
Thin bolts of green fire shot out of Dorothy's fingers, striking the ground just behind the children's heels. Oh it would have been so very easy to let that fire travel faster until they consumed the annoying little monsters, and if it had been a dozen years ago, perhaps that was what would have happened. But, as the children's screams and shouts disappeared over the rise, Dorothy lowered her arms, letting the angry fire die away. Twelve years ago perhaps things would have been different. If she hadn't made a mistake a little more than a decade ago, perhaps... 
The fire in her eyes died, replaced by a sadness that knew no bounds.
 

 <p>
Duo rubbed his eyes, sitting up in his mussed up bed. He wondered when he'd fallen asleep. He remembered feeling so very angry, and so very hurt. 'Why would mama be so scared of letting me outside? I just wanted to see them,' the boy wondered, stifling a yawn. He'd often wondered about it but until recently, he'd never given it much thought. Ever since that day, more than a year ago, he'd begin to notice the uneasiness that flitted across his mother's face whenever he mentioned other children. And it always seemed to hurt her whenever he asked why he didn't have brothers or sisters. Or why children never visited her like those other old people. Well... perhaps they weren't so old, but to him they looked positively ancient!
He remembered when he discovered those pictures of those other boys. That was the first time he'd seen others like him. And from then onwards, he'd always wondered how it would be to have others around, others to play with, others to talk to. But the look on his mother's face would dampen his questions and the dreams remained just that - dreams.
A tiny creak alerted Duo's ears to the door, and immediately he buried his face in the huge down pillow. "Duo?"
Dorothy peeked in, calling out Duo's name softly. The child lay across the bed, belly down, head under the pillow. She smiled. 'Duo would never be a good sulker.' She walked over to his bed, sitting down by his prone body. Gently, she rubbed his back, kneading the soft flesh under the white cotton of his shirt. "Duo," she whispered into his exposed ear. "How about some lunch?"
Duo shook his head, sending the pillow jiggling awkwardly. "Not hungry," he answered, voice muffled by the mattress.
Dorothy laughed. Duo was never 'not hungry'. "Come, Duo," she coaxed, tugging away at the pillow. Duo grabbed onto the pillow harder, covering his whole head with it. "I'll make your favourite," Dorothy said.
"Not hungry!" came Duo's muffled voice again.
"Oh alright," Dorothy said in mock exasperation. She got off the bed, standing slightly away from the edge of the mattress. "I'll have to resort to more desperate measures then," she crooned softly.
Under the pillow, Duo frowned. 'Desperate measures?'
Dorothy pounced on him, tickling the small child until he screamed with laughter, begging for mercy.
 
<p>
 
After lunch, Dorothy left Duo in the library where he spent his afternoons, reading the many books that crowded the shelves. No matter how many he read, he could never seem to finish them. But he never complained, well not any more. He used to, when he was younger, but that was before he discovered so many different worlds within the musty pages. Now he looked forward to his afternoons, hidden away with his books where at least he could read of other children having fun, if not experience it himself.
As Duo curled up on the thick carpet in the study - he never liked sitting at the table. It was so boring, and after a while his back hurt - he never noticed the pair of blue eyes that spied on him, so engrossed was he in a world of flying golden blobs that beeped and sword-wielding heroes rescuing their princesses.
Dorothy gave Duo a last glance through the slightly opened door before retiring with a sad smile to the den. Behind her, the sound of Duo cackling made her shake her head in wonder. 'He must have found a particularly amusing paragraph.'
She settled in her favourite chair, a mug of strong coffee cupped in her hands. Staring at nothing in particular, Dorothy mused. Sooner or later, she'd have to face it. Duo was growing up. She would no longer be able to keep him to herself no matter how much she wanted to. She had to think of something that would guarantee his future - and hers. What if... 
Dorothy slowly got up, her mind churning with possibilities. The mug of coffee lay forgotten on the small coffee table as she reached up for an old crystal ball that had lain gathering dust on one of the shelves that lined the walls. Carefully she blew away the fine film of dust that covered the smooth surface, rubbing it again with her sleeve. 'It's been some time since I've done this,' she thought, settling the ball on her lap and looking determinedly into its depths.
"Show me what may be," she whispered to the clear crystal. 
Slowly, swirling clouds disrupted the clarity of the ball, turning it into an opaque sphere of milky white. Dorothy squinted at the crystal ball, trying to make out the images that formed slowly among the white clouds. Jumbled, overlapping images crowded the sphere, jostling each other randomly, without any indication of which was the beginning and which was the end. A girl - No! A man! - with long, flowing hair; blue, blue eyes; a sudden feeling of gut-wrenching sadness. 
Dorothy gasped. It was impossible to divine the exact meaning of the images, but the feeling that she got, that was unmistakable! 
Duo would break her heart. One day, Duo would leave and take away the only sunshine in her life.
"No," Dorothy mewled, shaking her head in denial.
 <p>

 
The minstrel strummed a final note and stood up, stretching. His audience broke out into disconcerted babble, protesting the break.
"Prithee, why do you stop, minstrel?" the gentleman who first commented on him asked. "Surely the tale is not ended?"
"Nay," the singer answered. "But my throat is a trifle dry, and I am hard pressed to continue," he rasped dramatically.
"Then honourable barkeep!" the gentleman laughed, signalling a boy who had replaced the tavern owner behind the bar. "Something to ease a parched throat, if you please. Will ale do, storyteller?" At the young singer's nod, the gentleman added, "Some ale, young sir. On me."
And the crowd applauded his kind gesture, and the minstrel continued after a sip of the ordered drought.
 

 <p>
"Oniisama! Try and catch me!" The girl laughed, digging her heels into the sides of the pony. Her horse neighed and broke into a gallop, running up the worn track in the sparse woods. Behind her, her brother chuckled at his youngest sister's audacity. She would jump at every opportunity to best him. While she seldom succeeded, that never stopped her from trying. And while he loved a challenge, Zechs could never find it in his heart to deny his little sister. Perhaps he spoilt her, but he enjoyed it. And his consort would always make sure that he never went overboard.
Throwing a wink to the dark-haired baroness, Zechs steered his steed after his sister, pausing momentarily to give a half-wave to Baroness Noin. Noin smiled indulgently at Zechs' retreating back. In the public eye, Zechs was one of the most reserved people she knew. But here, in the privacy of her company, among those who knew him well, Zechs felt safe enough to revert to his own self.
With his friends and family, he could drop his mask.
"What do you see in him?" Noin turned towards the speaker, her smile replaced by an exasperated grimace. She should never have brought her little brother along. He was always a thorn in her side, especially when it came to her relationship with Zechs. A grim-faced boy sat ramrod straight in his saddle, his hands holding the reins to his horse lax but ready to snap at a moment's notice. His dark blue eyes glittered as he frowned at her, that perpetual scowl forever etched on his face.
"Oh stop being such a pain, Heero," Noin scolded. "It's not like he's your betrothed!"
"Well, I should hope not. I wouldn't choose someone who doesn't have the sense to get a decent haircut -"
"Aaaargh!" Noin gave her stallion a sudden kick and charged at her annoying little brother who gave a startled yelp and quickly followed in Zechs' wake.
 
<p>
 
Relena grinned as she guided her pony through the brush. Zechs would never find her, she giggled to herself. She knew this part of the woods like the back of her hand. Just up ahead, there was a little turn in the path, sheltered by large overhanging branches where she could lay in ambush. 'Zechs will never live this down,' she laughed. Giving her pony a slightly harder slap than a pat, Relena brought the horse to a canter. 'Just a few more yards -' The girl gave a surprised yell as her pony reared, neighing in fright. Tightening her grip on her reins, Relena fought to keep her frightened pony under control, but whatever it was that frightened it had too strong an influence and the horse kept prancing and bucking uncontrollably. "Whoa girl! Whoa!" she cried, trying her hardest to soothe the terrified beast. 'Why -?' Her eyes widened when she saw what it was that frightened the horse.
Yesterday, there was just a pretty, silent grove. But now there was a cottage. 'A cottage? How? When?' Relena blinked in disbelief, but just at that moment, her pony gave a sudden vicious buck. All thought escaped her mind as she tried to stay in the saddle. Unfortunately, it was a side-saddle. And side-saddles were not very secure when it came to resisting bucking horses.
She gave a little scream as she felt herself thrown from the saddle and she scrunched her eyes shut, waiting for the impact and the pain it would cause when she hit the ground.
Which never came.
"Na-nani?" Relena stuttered, confused. She had expected to land on her head, or at the very least experience a bump on various parts of her anatomy. She had not expected the feel of a strong grip about her waist, nor the gentle voice that asked her if she was alright. 
Opening her eyes, Relena stared into twin pools of violet. "Wh-who... how... ?" she asked, confused yet amazed. The violet eyes stared at her for a moment longer before crinkling with laughter. Then, a rich voice accompanied the mirth in those eyes, echoing it with deep chuckles.
Angrily, Relena struggled to free herself of the strong grasp about her person. "Ooo let me go, you ruffian!"
"Wai! Ojousan! No need to get angry," her violet-eyed saviour laughed, letting her go. Relena promptly jumped out of reach, brushing away at her riding outfit as though rubbing away the touch of... 
A boy of about her age stood before her, grinning cheekily. He cocked his head to one side, acknowledging her notice, his hands on his hips. As he leaned his head to one side, Relena caught the sight of a long brown braid swinging behind his back. Dressed in a loose grey tunic and black leggings, the boy cut a dashing figure in the shaded clearing. Sun spots fell on his long brown hair, giving his unruly locks the look of tarnished bronze. "I hope I didn't scare you," he said amiably, shrugging his slim shoulders.
"No," Relena humphed, drawing herself to her full height, trying to regain her composure. It would not do to for a member of the royal family to seem undignified. "Thank you. I shall see that you are suitably rewarded for lending me your aid," she added. "If you'll just tell me your name and where you live -"
"Duo, madam. At your service," the boy chuckled, giving her an exaggerated bow. Relena groaned. Was he making fun of her? Just because she was a princess... 
The sound of hooves startled the two young people and both heads turned towards the sound, just in time to see a white stallion break through the brush.
"Zechs!" Relena cried joyfully. Now that her brother was around, he could take care of things and do whatever was necessary with that cheeky upstart. Running up to her brother, she threw herself at him as he dismounted.
"Whoa, little sister! What happened?" the platinum haired man asked, noting the girl's dishevelled clothes. His eyes narrowed into cruel slits before searching beyond Relena, alighting on the nervous-looking boy standing a few yards away, holding on to the reins of his sister's pony. "You!" he commanded, his voice loud and strong, imperious. "What did you do?"
Duo blinked. "Who? Me?" he goggled. When did he become the villain?
"Yes, you! Do you see anyone else around here?" Zechs asked coldly. 'If that boy so much as touched Relena, so help him... '
"Anou... I didn't do anything... " Duo stammered. "I just... "
"Just what?" Zechs challenged, his hand going to the sword by his side.
"'niisan," Relena urged, tugging on his sleeve. "He didn't hurt me, 'niisan. He saved me," she squeaked.
"He what?" Zechs turned to the girl, confused. 
Relena nodded nervously, as Duo heaved a sigh of relief. "My horse was acting all funny and threw me and he caught me and saved me. And I was just saying thank you and you rode up and -" Zechs held up his hands, nodding in understanding. 
"Alright, alright. I get it," he sighed. Turning to the young boy, Zechs announced grimly, albeit a little less harsh than before. "It appears I owe you an apology, young man. And my gratitude for saving my little sister's worthless neck-"
"Oniisa~aan!" Relena kicked him in the shin.
Duo laughed at the sight of the squabbling siblings. His mother had plopped them down in yet another unknown county and earlier in the morning she had gone to the nearest town for 'supplies'. He had the sneaking suspicion that she had gone to search out potential clients, but her absence served him just fine. Now that he had grown, his mother did not worry so much about leaving him alone for long periods of time. In fact, sometimes she disappeared for days in a row. But as she had taught him several rudimentary protection spells, she left him with a clear conscience.
Besides, he enjoyed the time alone. There was once when he craved company. But after so many years alone, with only his mother to have conversations - real conversations- with, loneliness became just another phase of existence. While he never forgot to yearn for company, he had learned to live happily enough without it. Life was satisfactory, and he did not search out companions quite so desperately as he did before. In fact, a few years ago he had even attempted to run away from the cottage in an effort to sneak into the nearest village. Needless to say, his mother found out and he got the scolding of his life. He'd almost expected her to hit him, but she never got that far. 
Strange that now he'd stopped searching, these two would practically drop into his lap.
He watched with a bemused smile for a few moments longer before interrupting with a discreet cough. Zechs looked up from where he had a squirming Relena in a headlock. "Uh... your horse," Duo muttered, holding out the reins. 
"Oh... um... yes. The horse," Zechs nodded, releasing the grumbling girl. Relena walked up to Duo haughtily, snatching the reins from his hand and leading her pony back to where Zechs' larger stallion stood. "Forgive my sister. She can be quite a handful sometimes."
Relena blew Zechs a loud raspberry as she mounted.
"Maa... no trouble," Duo assured the smiling young man. Zechs held out his hand to the younger boy. "I apologise. I'm forgetting my manners. I am Zechs Merquise. And that," he gestured with his thumb, "is my youngest sister, Relena."
"Uh... a pleasure, I'm sure," Duo stammered, not quite sure what to do next. "I'm Duo... uh... Duo."
"Duo Duo?" Zechs asked curiously.
"No! I mean... I mean just 'Duo'! Yeah... um... just call me Duo," the young boy grinned, abashed.
Zechs laughed heartily. "Very well, Duo. Tell me, what can I offer you for the help you've given, hm?" 
Duo shook his head in embarrassment. "Nothing! Anyone would have done the same thing, eh? You don't have to give me anything," he stressed.
'Strange,' Zechs thought. 'Doesn't he know who he's talking to?' The Merquise family was famous throughout this region, known for their valour and their wealth. How could this boy not know of that? Anyone would have jumped at the offer he had just made. At the very least, they would have asked for a sack of gold... 
More sounds of galloping hooves distracted the threesome.
At the same time, a prickling at the back of his neck alerted Duo to his mother's incoming presence. Oh damnation!
"Uh... I have to go," Duo said, rushed. "You all have to go too! Now!" 
Two more horses came to view as Zechs turned a surprised gaze on him. "Why?" he asked.
The prickling at Duo's neck became more pronounced, more palpable. "Damn it! I said you have to go!" Duo cried, running up and swatting Relena's pony on the rump. The little horse neighed loudly and galloped away, a surprised, screeching Relena on its back. 
"Why you-!" Zechs wasted no time as he mounted, barely biting back a curse as he galloped after Relena. The two newcomers blinked in confusion, before they too joined in the chase. Before they left, one of the newer arrivals lingered a little longer, his dark brows knitted in consternation, memorising the violet-eyed boy's features before he too, disappeared into the woods.
Duo sighed with relief as the last of the riders rode away. It would not do to have his mother discover strangers in the vicinity of their cottage. It might mean another move, and just once, Duo wanted to stay put in one place at least long enough to thoroughly explore his surroundings.
Giving a tired shrug, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers and loped back to the cottage.
 
<p>
 
"Who was that back there?" Heero demanded of the flushed-faced girl.
"Oh I don't know," Relena bit back, annoyed. "Just some village boy, I suppose," she huffed, handing her pony's reins to the stable-hand. 
"Why did he chase you off like that?" the dark-haired boy asked again as they walked towards the castle.
"Aaargh!" Relena screamed. "I said I don't know! Will you forget about him? He's just an annoying brat! For all I know, he's the one that scared my horse in the first place!"
"Are you sure it wasn't you?" Heero smirked.
"Hidooo~oii!" Relena ran after the dark-haired boy, shaking her fists angrily.
 
<p>
 
"So what did you get?" Duo asked, draping himself over the wooden chair. Once his legs hung free when he sat on the chair, but now he had to fold them under the chair to avoid anyone tripping over them. Curiously, he pulled out the items in the small sack his mother brought home. "Hmm... Candy!" he crowed, unearthing a small jar of candied cherries.
Dorothy slapped his hand away, grabbing the jar and putting it beyond his reach. "Not before dinner, Duo," she admonished.
"Aww... not even one?" Duo pleaded, turning huge eyes on the blonde woman. 
"No!" Dorothy replied sternly.
Duo moaned resignedly. It was worth a try... 
As his mother put away her purchases, he wondered how his mother remained young. For as long as he could remember, his mother never changed in her looks. She always looked like a young girl. As young as - Why... his mother looked as young as he did!
'Ah! But your mom's a witch. Don't forget that,' Duo reminded himself. He sighed inwardly. He'd come to that conclusion a few years ago. After all, what would you call a woman who could perform magic like nobody's business? And his mother wasn't innocent enough to be a fairy, so she must be a witch. Right?
Not that it mattered much to the long-haired boy. Mama was mama, no matter what she was.
Unnoticed, Dorothy had moved behind him. "Your hair's getting a bit too long, don't you think?" the blonde haired woman asked, lifting Duo's heavy braid. "Do you want me to trim it a bit?"
"Oh no!" Duo cried, grabbing at his hair. "There aren't any split ends, right?" he asked, peering closely at his hair, reassuring himself. "Nope," he grinned. "No need to cut it, then."
"For the life of me, Duo," Dorothy tsked. " I have no idea why you want to keep your hair so long."
"So that it's like yours," Duo answered simply, turning his attention once more on the now-empty sack, folding it absently.
"Like mine? But you're a boy, Duo. Boys shouldn't have long hair."
"But that man's hair was as long as his sister's. Pretty girl - Oops!" Duo clamped his hand over his mouth but the damage had been done. Nervously, his violet irises moved sidewards, stealing a guilty glance at his mother. Dorothy's hands, which had been busily fussing with his hair, had stilled. And the silence in the kitchen only made Duo's heart thump faster.
"A man?" Dorothy finally asked, her voice low and calm, with just a hint of ice.
"Uh... "
"There was a man here? And his sister?"
Duo shook his head animatedly. "Nonono! No man! No sister! There was nobody here, mama," he answered, reverting back to the address he used when he was much, much younger. He turned to his mother, willing as much trustworthiness and honesty into his expression as he could muster. Dorothy glared at him through narrowed eyes for a brief moment before turning away and disappearing into the den in a huff.
Duo sighed, relieved. He had to remember to keep his mouth shut sometimes!
 

 <p>
The small, blonde woman fumed. Angrily, she brushed a hand across her eyes. 'Honestly! Sometimes I just feel like crying! Why the hell doesn't everything happen the way they're supposed to? Why does everything have to be so complicated?' she screamed mentally. Earlier she had gone into town, surveying the feel of the people and the overall atmosphere of the community. It seemed like a good place to settle down, and live out the rest of her surely long life. After months of divining and laying down plan after plan, she had finally decided on this course of action.
Her original plans had been to infiltrate into a powerful kingdom through the one way they'd least suspect. She'd marry herself into it, and after some time, she'd slowly gain control of the government. From there, it would have just taken some careful planning and a dash of patience. It wouldn't have been long before she'd spread her sphere of influence. It had taken a long time to search out her instrument, and she'd thought that she'd found her. The perfect little girl who'd grow up into the perfect young lady that would take her chosen kingdom's monarch by storm.
But the fates had not been on her side that fateful night, and instead of a princess, she'd got... 
But now that she'd had Duo, she wouldn't give him up for anything. But the boy had to grow up, and he had to have a future. After all, he was just a mere mortal. She'd taught him some of the tricks of her trade, but he would never be able to master all. He wasn't made for that. He was human. And the boy did not have her ability to detach herself from doing something she may not enjoy, but that had to be done anyway. That she'd discovered when she saw the look of horror that crossed his little face years ago, when he'd had the misfortune to discover her 'despatching' some of the more irritating samples of young humanity that would take her child away from her. She'd had to wipe his memories then, so that he wouldn't view her with pain and anger. And so that he'd be able to live with himself.
It was easier to accomplish when Duo was younger, but now that he was almost a man, erasing memories was no longer an easy task. And she couldn't afford the time and effort it took to do that every time they encountered other young folk his age. So she'd taken the next easiest route, and that had resulted in a change of locality each time she'd felt threatened. And now that the boy was growing up, his curiosity was increasing. And although he knew that she'd disapprove, once in a while he'd still surprise her with questions about men and women and boys and girls.
'Damn! If only I knew a de-human spell... '
Dorothy sat at her mahogany bureau, pulling out her manuscripts - the notes of her new plans. This particular kingdom was headed by a powerful ruler - who just happened to have a princess of Duo's age. Dorothy's lips curled up in a grim smirk. She'd need some time to put her plans into play and that would mean settling down for a while, and if everything went well, maybe forever. She'd chosen this remote part of the woods, but it would seem that someone else knew of the grove's location. And she couldn't afford Duo interacting with other people - other girls! - before the proper time.
'Doesn't matter,' Dorothy thought, licking her lips. 'I'll just have to make sure no one gets to him before I want them to.' With that decision in mind, the Mistress Dorothy put away her notes and set to the conjurations that earned her the whisper-spread infamy that came hand-in-hand with her calling.
 
<p>
 
"Ooo she's going to turn them into frogs! Or grasshoppers. Or... or slugs that get eaten up by the birds," a woman whispered in alarm.
"Oh no, madam," the minstrel assured her. "Nothing so crude for Mistress Dorothy," he smiled a little bitterly. "Why remove the cat and let the mice run free? Better to remove the mice and let the cat find better hunting elsewhere... "
 
<p>
 
Duo yawned, stretching his arms over his head. The soft morning sunshine stole through the curtained window, bathing everything it touched in a pale glow of gold.
"Another beautiful morning," the boy sighed contentedly. Sitting up, he groped for his shirt - he'd taken to sleeping shirtless lately; the nights always seemed so warm. Finding it, he slipped it over his head, freeing the long, untidy braid from his collar before walking over to the window to partake of the cool morning air. Yes, it was certainly a beautiful morning. A great beginning to what must surely be a wonderful d-
"Ack!" Duo's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the breathtaking view outside his window. "Maaaaaaaaa!!!!"
 

 <p>
Heero rode silently, letting his horse pick out the way, relying more on the animal's instinct then the annoying girl's directions.
"Where're you going, Heero?" Relena scolded. "It's this way, silly!" She reached out to grab at Heero's sleeve, but the dark-haired boy swerved away in time, and the momentum nearly caused her to fall off her pony. She gave a little squeal before righting herself. Flustered, she glared at her companion, who dutifully glared back.
"Why do you want to go back there anyway?" Relena sniffed. "It's bad enough to have Zechs looking at me all funny when you suggested this stupid ride. The least you could do is follow directions!"
"I would, if they were accurate." The boy's monotone appeared unaffected by the girl's tirade.
"Heero! That was uncalled for! Are you saying that I give bad directions?" Relena cried, her pretty face flushed.
Heero smirked, a tiny smile dying to dislodge itself from his lips but failing. "No," he replied, blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "You did."
"Heeee~ro!!!"
 
<p>
 
"But why?!?" Duo cried, resisting the urge to scream. Dorothy flinched at his reaction to her spell. It had taken a whole day of conjuring, and last night, the last mantra had been uttered, sealing the incantation which hid her Duo from the unwelcome attention of the world at large. And, as the boy had the annoying habit of wandering, Dorothy had had to incorporate a captivity spell as well, to ensure that he would, at least, be where she wanted him to be when she needed him.
"It's for your own good," she answered calmly, pulling at the already made bed. She re-tucked another corner of the bedsheet under the mattress.
"Why? Whywhywhywhy? What did I do?" Duo pleaded. Uncontrollably, tears leaked into his eyes and he angrily wiped them away with a rough sweep of his hand. Unnoticed, Dorothy grimaced. She knew he'd take it hard, but she didn't think it would hurt that much. He'd always been so accepting of her decisions and actions these past years. She'd thought he'd gracefully accept what she did as the best thing for him. She was wrong but it was too late to undo the spell. It had taken all her skill and energy to weave the solid illusion that was the very essence of the Desaizu spell.
"Did I make you angry again?" Duo's small voice pulled her back to the present. She blinked at him in surprise? 
"Why do you say that?" she asked. 
"Because you always get angry when I meet other... people. And after that, we'd always leave... and... and... I don't know!" he burst out, frustration and anger mingling as he slid down the far wall into a boneless sprawl on the floor. Hugging his knees to his chest, Duo looked up at the bemused expression on his mother's face. 'Time to pull out all the stops,' he decided. "Do you hate me so much, mama?" he whimpered, schooling his features into just the right blend of hurt and resignation.
Dorothy sputtered, staring disbelievingly into large, guileless violet eyes. "Hate you?! I love you, Duo! Why would you think that I hate you? You are the most important thing in my life!"
"Hn! Funny way to show it," he snorted. "If you love me so much, why do we have to hide away so much? Why can't I have other friends? Why-"
"Duo," Dorothy answered, voice calm. "There are things in this world you don't know about, that you're better off not knowing. There are things and people that would hurt you if they knew who you were, and how much you mean to me. And if anything were to happen to you, I... I... " She choked, unable to put to words her fears. That if Duo were to leave her, she would be crushed; that he meant more to her than her own life.
Duo stared at her in silence, shocked at her words, but more so at the emotion with which they were spoken. His mother loved him, that he could not deny but what her words implied... "What could you have done to make anyone hate you so?" he finally asked. "That someone would use me against you?" The woman he'd known for as long as he could remember sighed deeply, sitting on his bed with her shoulders slumped. For the first time ever, his mother looked old. And tired. 
Duo unwound his limbs and walked over to his mother, crouching at her feet. Holding her small hands in his slightly larger ones, he peered into her down-turned face. And was surprised at the shimmering gleam of tears in her eyes.
"Mama?" he whispered hoarsely. "Mama, don't cry. I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry... "
"No, Duo," Dorothy sighed. "It wasn't you. I wasn't crying because of you. I was crying because of me."
"Huh?" Duo looked up at her quizzically.
"I was crying because I've been selfish, because I've lied to you for so long, and because I've made your life so miserable." Dorothy freed her hands from her son's loose grip, and lifted them to cup his face. Giving him a soft peck on the forehead, she stood up, pushing Duo away from her. "Just bear with me a little longer, Duo. I'll make it all up to you. I swear," she smiled sadly. Then with a flick of her fingers, Dorothy disappeared, leaving Duo to stare blankly into the empty space she once occupied.
 <p>

 
"See?" Relena crowed, a wide smile on her face. "I told you it was here."
"Hn," Heero grunted, swinging himself off the horse. Relena followed, and together they led their mounts toward the unassuming cottage set prettily in the grove.
"I don't see anyone," the dark haired boy observed as they tied the reins to one of the gate posts. The cottage was eerily silent. Though the normal sounds of the woods still tittered and danced in the air, there was an atmosphere of imposing silence just within the cottage gardens. It was truly very strange.
"Maybe they saw your face," Relena growled. Heero was so frustrating! She knew Zechs and Noin were engaged and would soon marry. But that did not mean she had to like her future brother-in-law. And Heero was hardly doing anything to help matters. Most of the time, they were at each other's throats. If she said 'white', he'd say 'black'. Sometimes it seemed that he was annoying her on purpose! And the worst thing was when she'd said as much to Zechs, that no-good brother of hers had guffawed and said that it meant Heero liked her!
Relena gagged at the thought.
"What's wrong?" Heero asked tersely, noticing the sickly look on his companion's face.
"A... anou! Nothing!" Relena grinned, waving away Heero's concern hurriedly.
"Then stop making those funny faces!" Heero scolded coldly.
"Not as funny as yours!" the girl retaliated, hands curled into fists. 'Oooo but he deserved a big, fat punch!'
 
<p>
 
The sound of knocking drew a tired moan from Dorothy. Closing the thick book, she stood up slowly and went to answer the door. After the other day's encounter with Duo, she hadn't dared to face him again. She'd made sure he got everything he needed -food, drink, books. Anything to keep him occupied. But that hadn't stopped him from screaming in frustration every once in a while. And although he was considerably 'removed' from the cottage, she could still hear him. Sometimes he'd wail for her to let him out, and she'd have to physically cover her ears to ignore him. But after two days, he'd seemed to have quieted down. And for that she was relieved. He would never know how much his moans tore at her. And she would never tell.
Before she reached the door, her gaze flicked to an open window from where she could see the Desaizu - a majestic structure all in black - standing solemnly in the back gardens. It was hidden from all eyes but her own, a glamour spell assuring its 'invisibility'.
A harder rap on the door caused her to hurry to the door. "These impatient peasants," she muttered, annoyed. Dorothy threw the door open, expecting the usual man or woman in desperate need of a child, or a good crop. She was unprepared for the sight of a darkly handsome boy who glared at her defiantly through rich cobalt eyes.
"I'm Heero. I'm looking for someone named Duo. Do you know where he is?" he demanded without ado.
Dorothy stared, taken aback by the sheer audacity of the boy before her. Why, he can't be much older than Duo! And to be so rude! 'Don't parents teach their children any manners, anymore?' she thought grimly. Narrowing her eyes, she levelled her gaze at the stoic faced youth. "I would suggest that you learn some manners, young man. And while you're at it, learn how to speak more respectfully to your elders," she answered coldly.
Heero started, visibly affected by her words. Against her better judgement, Dorothy gave him a self-satisfied smirk.
The dark haired boy blinked once, then his face set once more into that stony look. "What do you mean - oof! Ow!" Heero turned, glaring murderously.
"Baka!" Relena thumped him on the head. 'Hn! I should have done that a long time ago!' The blond girl popped out from where she had stood silently behind Heero. "Hello!" she greeted cheerfully, waving shyly at the girl who opened the cottage door. "You'll have to forgive him. You know how boys are," she giggled, poking Heero in the ribs with one sharp elbow and earning another agonised grunt from the dark-haired boy. "I'm Relena and we're looking for this boy. His name's Duo. He's about so tall," she babbled, gesturing animatedly, "and has this silly braid -"
"Braid?" Heero sputtered.
Relena gave him a disdainful sideways glance. "Yes, braid. Don't tell me you didn't notice. Figures!"
Dorothy listened to the couple's exchange, amused. The boy was one rude child, but the bubbly blonde with him seemed a nice enough child. And did she say that her name was -
"Relena?" Dorothy ventured.
"Yes?" The blonde girl turned back, smiling winsomely and confirming Dorothy's happy suspicions. 
"Perhaps I can help you after all. Why don't you come in?" Dorothy invited, standing to one side so that the two could enter. Perhaps Lady Luck was smiling on her now... 
 <p>

 
"Hmm... so... you said you could help us?" Relena asked, her eyes going over the simply, but tastefully, furnished interior of the cottage. 'Strange. It seems bigger inside than outside... ' A scuffling sound tore her gaze away from the curious-looking knick-knacks that lined the mantelpiece. Heero stood in one corner of the room, hurriedly pushing a strange-looking container into its original upright position. Relena rolled her eyes. 
To her credit, Relena noticed that their host remained non-plussed. In fact, the girl looked rather amused. Relena gave a discreet cough to attract the girl's attention.
Dorothy threw Heero another smirk before ignoring him completely, turning her attention to the girl standing by the fireplace. "Yes," she answered, "I think so. You said you were looking for someone?"
"Hai!" Relena nodded. "A boy named Duo, if you would. Actually Heero's the one who wants to know where he is," she continued, nodding towards the boy in question. Heero glared back at her and continued surveying the room in simmering silence.
"I see," Dorothy nodded slightly. "And why is that," she turned toward the dark-haired boy, genuinely curious, "Heero?" The boy shrugged, but did not deign to reply. Dorothy frowned at the boy's insolence.
"Saa! Ne, ignore him," Relena hurriedly edged in, sensing Dorothy's rising anger. In the same instant, she grabbed one of the other girl's hand and dragged her toward the sofa. "You never told us your name," she gushed. "Do you stay here alone? How come I've never seen you around before?" 
Sitting beside the rapidly talking girl, Dorothy realised that her two young guests must have mistaken her for someone their own age. 'Hn! That would explain the boy's disrespectful manner,' she mused, barely hearing Relena's questions. 'But then, perhaps that can be a good thing... '
"Tell me," Dorothy interrupted Relena's incessant chatter, "about yourself."
"Me? Ooo of course!" Relena obliged all too willingly.
 

 <p>
'This has got to be the strangest place I've ever seen,' Heero thought as he rounded the corner of the cottage. From the outside, the dwelling seemed small and compact, but as he peeped into whatever rooms he could spy on from the living room, he'd noticed that there was some spatial inconsistencies. The interior had seemed huge! 
After several minutes of listening to Relena go on about herself, and her family, Heero had beaten a hasty retreat outside. Strangely enough, the girl who lived at the cottage seemed genuinely interested in everything Relena had to say. As he exited the front door, she had barely spared him a brief glance before turning her full attention on that silly twit of a sister to his sister's future husband. Sighing, Heero observed with avid interest the different types of vegetation that teemed within the garden walls, noting that there were more plants that he couldn't identify than those he could. Curiouser and curiouser... 
Continuing his foray into the cottage gardens, Heero thought back to the moment several days before when he'd last been in the vicinity. That strange girl's question disturbed him. Perhaps because he'd never thought to ask it of himself. 'Why do I want to find this Duo?' he wondered. After all, he'd never met him before, and there was nothing about the stranger that he'd wanted to know but yet... 
He arrived to a strange clearing in the back gardens. It resembled a vaguely circular ring, clear of shrubbery, although surrounded quite completely with rose bushes that bloomed with multicoloured flowers. 'Like a living, green moat around an invisible castle.' The thought popped up quite unexpectedly into his head, and Heero almost laughed at the image. Indeed, this cottage was a strange place. He was even beginning to imagine... 
*Thunk!*
"K'so!" A vehement curse accompanied a hard knock on his head. Barely keeping a similar curse in check Heero jumped in surprise. 'Who-!'
A half-eaten apple rolled awkwardly at his feet.
"What the hell... " Heero looked around him, wondering who in the five continents would have had the nerve to hit him with a half-eaten fruit. Espying no one, Heero blinked in confusion. 
Until another soft thud beside him revealed another abused fruit. And he looked upwards.
 <p>

 
Duo lolled on his bed, staring forlornly at an apple in his hand. He'd been cooped up here for what felt like years! The first day had been tolerable. He'd spent it exploring the strange tower his mother had locked him in. There weren't any levels to it, although his room seemed to be at the highest point. A staircase wound downwards, ending at a walled-up doorway. And he'd spent his days running up and down the stairs just to tire himself out and to keep his mind occupied. 
It was either that or throw himself out of the window.
Granted that his mother had conjured up enough distractions to keep a small village occupied, but Duo was no village. And there was just something really, really disturbing about being locked up with nowhere to go, no matter where you turned... 
Duo eyed the stacks of books his mother had provided, and bit angrily into the apple. He shifted to lie on his stomach, munching without really tasting the fruit in his mouth. Why would his mother keep him in here? He'd thought about her comments over and over; tried to analyse them for hidden meanings and connotations, but all came to naught. And after several days in captivity, he'd felt as though he was losing his sanity. He'd even contemplated the window again, but then, falling would hurt. "And I'm allergic to pain," Duo muttered.
"K'so!" he cursed loudly, flinging his apple through the window.
 

 <p>
Heero stared upwards, but all he saw was the blue sky adorned with fluffy cotton-candy clouds. And there wasn't an apple tree in sight! 
Just as he was about to look away, something fluttered out of thin air several yards above him, falling with another soft thud some ways away. Curious, the boy quickly ran towards where the strange object had landed. Heero's eyes widened when he saw what it was. 
A thin book lay face-up on the ground, its pages fluttering sadly in the soft breeze. 
Picking the book up, Heero walked back hesitantly to the spot where he'd seen the book appear. Where had it come from? There was nothing there after all; no trees, no buildings. Just an empty space... 
Experimentally, Heero reached out towards the strange circular clearing. And where his hand should have encountered just plain air, there was -
Something!
Heero's eyes widened even further, and throwing all caution - and the book - to the four winds, he reached out with both hands, patting something that felt like a smooth, metallic wall. Pushing through the strangely thornless rose bushes, Heero traced the extent of the strange, invisible wall. After several minutes, he came to the conclusion that what he had found was an invisible pillar or tower... 
*Schlap*
A banana peel fell on his head. 
... that liked fruit.
"Hee~ro!!! We have to go! It's getting late!" Relena's voice sang out, calling to him. Reluctantly, Heero stepped back, flinging away the fragrant peel with a disgusted snort.
"But I'll be back," he whispered, throwing a last glance towards the clearing before jogging to the front of the cottage.
 
<p>
 
"Hee~ro!"
'What was that?' Duo scrambled out of the bed. He knew that voice! Running to the window, he was just in time to see a young, dark-haired boy turning away and running towards the front gate. Groaning, Duo opened his mouth to call out to the boy - he'd recognised him as one of the riders with Zechs - when his mother came into view. From his vantage point, Duo saw his mother wave at someone and then he heard the sound of horses galloping away. Then his mother turned to enter the cottage.
"Mama?" he called softly, and incredibly his mother must have heard for she turned towards him and for a brief moment their eyes met. But then, his mother gave a sad shake of her head and disappeared into the cottage, leaving Duo to sink to the floor of his room in despair.
 

 <p>
And it would seem as though a shroud had been placed over the tavern. The audience was silent and where the minstrel paused, only the notes from his lute broke that silence, sadly telling its own tale in its own way.
 
<p>
 
The moonlight sputtered across the dark ground, trying in vain to lend its shimmer to all it reached but failing. The tiny sliver of lunar brightness that was its source ducked and peeked from between uncooperative clouds in a parody of Hide and Seek. Breaking the normal repartee among the night creatures, a mumbled curse tumbled from grim lips as a shadowy figure made its way carefully through the woods. Once it reached the clearing where a silent cottage stood, a lone lantern gleaming happily on its shaded porch, the figure stopped and the grim lips curved into an expectant smile.
"... she's his cousin, but they stay there together... "
Perhaps, Heero snorted in silence, securing the reins of his horse to the dangling limb of a convenient tree. Sometimes in her friendliness, Relena made an unwittingly good source of information. Grudgingly, he acknowledged that in some aspects, Relena bested him. But that was not the point tonight. No, far from it... 
Something strange went on in that silent cottage. After their 'visit' yesterday, he'd put word out on the town streets and what information he gleaned did not sit easy on his nerves. There was something not quite right with this picture of domestic bliss... 
Silently, Heero made his way into the back yard. 'Why should I be sneaking around? After all, there's no one here... ' He'd found out enough information to deduce that Dorothy was no innocent youth. And tonight, that enigma was in the town, engaged in some hushed up ceremony that not even he was privy too, despite his many 'ears'. But that would serve his purpose just as well, Heero knew. Because tonight, he would find out... 
The tower was still there, if one could say something that one couldn't see could be in one particular place. Rubbing the smooth walls in an imitation of a caress, Heero traced the smooth walls. Hesitantly, he knocked. A shallow ringing echoed through the invisible tower, and Heero jerked back, surprised. But nothing could surprise him more than the huge shadow looming over him... 
"Wha- Hey! It's you!" There was no mistaking the joy in that voice. Dazed, Heero looked upwards, and was greeted by a grinning face framed by an untidy halo of chestnut brown.
"D-Duo?" Heero gasped. Could it be? What in heaven was -
"What the hell are you doing up there?" Heero finally sputtered out, taking a step back so that he could look up without overstraining his neck.
Duo sighed. "Long story. If I knew, I'd tell ya, but-" The boy shrugged. Then, leaning against the window ledge, he frowned. "How'd you get here anyway? How did you get past my mother? She always - Oh yes," Duo clapped a hand over his head in embarrassment. "How could I forget? She's gone on one of her appointments, right? Sorry," he grinned apologetically at the still-staring boy on the ground. "You know," Duo waggled a slim finger at the boy. "You're beginning to look a lot like my koi, gaping like that," he laughed.
Heero snapped his mouth shut, eliciting another chuckle from the boy at the top of the tower. And now that Duo was visible, so was the tower. A dark column of smooth, metallic solidity stood where the circular clearing had been, its base surrounded by the curious rose bushes. There didn't seem to be any way in, and he wondered how Duo ended up inside the tower. But then, considering all the strangeness he'd seen thus far, Heero supposed he shouldn't be wondering. Then something Duo had said registered in his slowly numbing mind... 
"Your mother?" Heero asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Hmm... " Duo nodded absently as he ran his fingers through his messy tresses. "Everyone calls her 'Mistress Dorothy'." He frowned momentarily as his fingers snagged a tangle, cursing under his breath. "But I just call her 'mama'," he grinned again, throwing his hair behind him. 
"Dorothy?" Heero blinked. Relena had said that girl's name was - "That girl is your mother?!?" he squeaked, almost.
Duo gave him an affirmative nod. "Hey, she's a witch," he shrugged, as though that explained everything. Which it probably did.
Heero staggered, processing this new information. "So your mother's a witch, who looks like a youth, and you're living in a tower, and the tower is invisible, except now, but there's no door, so there shouldn't be any way in, so how the hell... "
"Hey! Daijobou?" Duo called in concern. The boy looked shaken, and was mumbling to himself, holding onto his head as though it hurt. "Are you alright? You want something to dr- Uh... Bad question," Duo tsked, mentally kicking himself. "Heero, right? That's your name isn't it?" The boy in question just looked up at him blankly at the sound of his name. "Yes, alright. Heero. Listen, I'd like to be a hospitable host and all, but," Duo shrugged again, "as you can see, I can't even invite you inside, so-"
"So why don't you come out?" Heero finally countered, rediscovering his tongue.
The longhaired boy groaned, throwing his head onto his folded arms. "You think I haven't tried?" he wailed. "I can't exactly tear up the sheets and tie it into a rope, you know. My mother'd kill me! And she's made sure there's nothing in here even resembling a rope... except my hair. Hah! And you don't think I'd cut that and use that to climb out, surely? Besides, it's not long enough!" he moaned. " Anyway, I'm not looking to escape or anything. It's just... " Duo's voice petered out.
"Just what?" Heero asked.
"It's just so damned lonely," the longhaired boy sighed sadly. 'And there's nothing I can do about it,' he thought. So he stood up and turned away from the window.
"Hey!" Heero yelled, heedless of whoever heard him. The tower had begun to shimmer and was once more losing its visibility, the glamour upon it once more gaining control as the boy disappeared inside. "Hey, Duo! Wait a minute!"
No one answered his call.
Heero let out an exasperated sound, vexed. "Oi!" he shouted again, and this time he made sure to let his anger through. Duo peeked out, a slight frown puckering his brow.
"What?" Duo asked, slightly annoyed. "What do you want? I told you I can't get out and that you can't come up, so why don't you just go away?"
At that, Heero grinned. The strange boy may talk big, but just from the tone of his voice, Heero could hear that he meant the exact opposite. "I'm going," Heero assured him, hands on hips. "But I'm coming back, and I want you to be here when I do." Giving a wicked little chuckle, Heero turned and ran towards the woods.
Duo blinked, trying to digest Heero's words as he stared into the boy's rapidly retreating back. Finally, a small smile crept to his face. 'Yeah, I'll be here, Heero. Where would I go?' He chortled in the silence of the night.
 

 <P>
Duo stared dumbfounded at the sight of the wiry body climbing over the window ledge. He had thought that the boy was bluffing! He'd never expected -
Heero grunted, dropping to the floor. Turning back to the ledge, he unhooked the grappling iron and pulled up the rope that trailed from it. It had taken almost an hour of hard riding to get to one of the Merquise Estate's many supply depots, sneak out a grappling hook and get back to the cottage. But it was worth it, the boy thought, coiling the thick rope and depositing it on the floor. Heaving a tired sigh, Heero stretched, popping his aching joints. He hadn't done so much climbing since-
The quietly staring boy on the bed stopped him in his self- ministrations. "What?" Heero snapped, a trifle irritated.
"I can't believe you just did that," Duo gasped softly. "Why did you?"
Heero shrugged, walking around the large room and picking at the many books that littered the floor and shelves. "I don't know," he replied. "Because I could?" he glanced back at the longhaired boy. Duo had followed his every step with those brilliant violet eyes of his, and Heero felt a little uneasy at being the object of such close scrutiny.
"Uh... sorry... ," Duo stammered, realising that he'd been staring at his night visitor. Heero cut a nice figure in his leather pants and midnight blue tunic, and belatedly Duo realised that he was half-naked as he had been asleep when Heero had arrived. And as usual, he'd... 
Duo quickly threw on his night-shirt.
 
<p>
 
Duo smiled, slowly opening his eyes to greet the morning. He'd had the most interesting dream where that boy - 'Shimatta! It wasn't a dream!'
Panicked, Duo scrambled away from the softly snoring boy in his bed. Memories of the past few hours came tumbling, and slowly he remembered. Heero had climbed up the tower and they'd spent the whole night chatting - well, actually he'd spent the night chatting. He'd pelted Heero with question upon question about the outside world, and Heero had stared at him as though he was an idiot! At first, Duo'd felt a little hurt when Heero had finally asked him... 
//"Don't you know anything?" Heero asked, incredulous. To think that here was someone who'd never seen a market or a carnival, or even a farm, for God's sake!
Duo's jaw snapped shut at Heero's retort. Something squeezed his heart and he felt like choking. "You don't have to answer me, if you don't want to," he said softly, turning away. "No need to get angry... " 
Heero eyed the boy nervously. Duo had gotten up from where they both sat cross-legged on the floor, moving towards a box-like container on the table where he extracted a bottle of what looked like milk. Cold milk. He hadn't meant his question to sound so curt. Somehow, he did not like the thought that he'd offended the strange longhaired boy who seemed so knowledgeable yet so innocent of the ways of the world.
"I'm sorry," Heero whispered.
"Huh?" Duo looked back at him, stopping mid-gulp, glass in hand. "Did you say something?" A white milk moustache adorned his upper lip, and Heero curiously felt like licking -
'What? What am I thinking?!' Heero jumped at the route his train of thought had taken, shaken. "Unh... nothing," he answered, when Duo questioned him again. "I just... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to snap at you like that... " he stammered, looking at the suddenly grinning boy guiltily.
Duo chuckled. "Don't worry about it. My fault. Mama always said I ask too many questions," he laughed, pouring out another glass of milk. "Want some?" he asked, extending the drink to Heero.//
... but he didn't -couldn't! - stay hurt long. Not when Heero had looked so darned guilty when he sulked. Duo sighed again, leaning against the headboard. Heero had shifted to his side, still sleeping soundly, mouth slightly open. Duo couldn't remember when they had finally succumbed to Mobius' spell, and he definitely could not remember how they had ended up sleeping in the same bed.
'Actually,' Duo grinned to himself. 'Actually it felt quite nice.' The last time he'd remembered sharing a bed with anyone was on one particularly loud, stormy night, when the heavens had just decided to terrify those who lived under its shelter with deafening peals of thunder and blinding sheet lightning. He'd run screaming to his mother's room, and she'd scooped him up and hugged him 'til he quieted down. He'd fallen asleep in her arms, feeling more safe and secure than he'd ever felt before. But the next day she'd scolded him for not being brave. And after that, no matter how terrible the storm was, he'd never been allowed to snuggle in her bed again.
Frowning at the memory, Duo's gaze flicked once more over the sleeping boy. 'What would mama think if -' Duo's eyes went impossibly wide. "Ah SHIT! Heero!" He shook the sleeping boy violently. "Get up! Get up!"
"Huh? Whu-what... " The dark-haired boy scrubbed his eyes with the base of his palm, digging sleep out of his still hazed senses.
"You gotta get outta here! My mother's coming!" Duo shook Heero once more for good measure, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. The prickling at the back of his neck had grown noticeably stronger. "Come on! Come on!" he urged, dragging his new-found friend out of bed. As Heero blinked groggily, Duo dragged the grappling iron and hooked it to the window ledge. "Go! Go!" he said, pushing Heero towards the window.
Moving almost without conscious thought, Heero succumbed to Duo's panic-stricken urgings, clambering over the ledge and shimmying down the tower. When he reached the bottom, Duo called out to him to catch the iron hook.
"No!" Heero shook his head, gesturing to Duo to stop. "Keep it! I'll need it the next time I come by," he explained. Curiously, Duo's eyes went wide, as though he'd heard the most surprising thing in his life.
"Wh-What?" he gasped, looking down at Heero, grappling hook and coils of rope in his arms. "What did you say?"
"I said, I'm coming back. Keep the hook!" Heero gave him a perfunctory wave and jogged off towards where his horse was tethered in the woods.
Duo made to call him back, to warn him to stay away but something stayed his tongue. It was dangerous for Heero to come by, especially now that he knew how to breach his mother's defences. Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. It was just a sense of foreboding about what his mother was capable of should she find out... 
But it felt so good to have someone to finally talk to, and share dreams with. And after just a few hours of talking with Heero, his appetite for more had been whetted. Surely, nothing bad could come of it, right? Duo straightened his shoulders and threw a protection spell over Heero's rapidly disappearing figure, just for good measure.
 <p>

 
"Why are you so happy?" Relena asked, brows twitching with curiosity.
"None of your business," the boy snapped. But nothing could dampen his mood now. Somehow, he felt so unexplainably, deliriously happy! Even though he had to sit in this obnoxiously fragrant alcove with no one but Relena and his sister for company. 
Once again he'd spent his night at Duo's tower, like the two nights before. He'd hesitated to after the first time he'd gone, considering what he'd heard of Dorothy's reputation. But the urge to meet with the longhaired boy had been too strong and he'd only managed to ignore it for one day. Why he had to, he didn't know, didn't understand. But he knew that it was something he wanted to do, and he knew his visits made Duo happy. And somehow, that made him happy. 
Unconsciously, Heero shook his head in wonder. On his second visit to the tower, Duo had told him of the protection spell and the boy had given him a talisman to strengthen the spell. That talisman Heero wore around his neck, under his shirt - a silver ankh. Unbidden, his hand crept up to trace the outline of the pendant, reassurance flooding him when he felt its coolness pressing against his skin. After that, he'd been more confident during his visits, and more daring. Often, he stayed until morning, and it was no accident like the first night. He'd wanted to; he didn't want to leave. 
What hold did the violet-eyed boy have over him, he wondered. Had his new friend cast more than an innocent spell of protection over him? 'Guess I'll just have to wait and find out,' he thought, smirking to himself.
His fingers played with the strips of leather he'd been using to bind the grip of his sword. Once again, Noin had insisted he accompanied her to Zechs' estate, and as her brother, he was obligated to act as her chaperone - at least, until the two lovebirds were married. Then he'd be free! 
"I didn't know you could do plaits!" Relena's happy squeal shook him. Blinking, he noticed that the leather strips in his hand had been neatly plaited, just like -
"Do my hair! Do my hair!" Relena plopped herself at his feet, nuzzling her head at his knees, gesturing in no uncertain terms that he should braid her hair.
Heero shoved her away with a disgusted grunt, ignoring her surprised cry of outrage. What did she think he was? One of her ladies-in-waiting?
"Heero!" Noin admonished, dark eyes flashing in warning. "You don't have to be so rough!"
"Well, she asked for it," Heero sulked, folding his arms across his chest as he scuffed his boots guiltily. "Why don't you get together with those friends of yours that always fawn all over you?" he shot at the blonde girl who was picking herself up off the ground.
Relena sniffed, then turned up her nose at the boy. "Because they're not around at the moment," she replied huffily. "Besides," she snarled at him under her breath, "Zechs insists I keep an eye on you while he and your sister do," she waggled her index fingers, "'fun things'!" As she stomped back towards where Noin sat engrossed in sharpening her dagger, Relena threw him a parting shot. "It's not like I want to hang around with you, you know!"
"Well, the feeling's mutual!" Heero snapped back, scowling. What he wouldn't give to be somewhere else at this exact moment!
"Well, well! Another lover's spat?" Zechs chuckled as he walked into the alcove, blue eyes twinkling with mirth.
"Oniisan! How can you say that?!" Relena complained. "I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole!"
"And I wouldn't touch you with a twenty-foot one!" Heero retorted.
"Oi! Oi! Simmer down! How do you expect us to leave you two alone when you can't even talk civilly to each other?" Zechs intervened, shaking his head. He didn't remember ever going through this phase when he was growing up. Thankfully, his relationship with Noin had been more... peaceful. Was it too much to expect of his sister? 
"I wish Dorothy was here," Relena huffed, sitting sadly on a swing that hung from the branch of one of the larger trees. "She's so nice to talk to."
"Who's Dorothy?" Noin asked, tearing her attention away from the dagger in her hand and the platinum blonde at her side.
"Duo's cousin," she replied, pushing herself to swing higher.
"Who's Duo?" Noin asked again.
"Why don't you invite her over?" Heero suggested, eyes agleam, ignoring his sister's question. "Maybe have a sleepover? It'd be fun."
Relena eyed him with surprise, stunned that Heero had actually suggested something that sounded actually enjoyable. "You know, that's a really good idea!" she agreed, laughing gaily.
'Oh yes,' Heero rubbed his hands inwardly. 'A really good idea!'
 
<p>
 
Dorothy frowned. Duo had been uncharacteristically quiet of late. He hadn't complained a single time since she'd arrived from her overnight stay in the town a few days ago. Could he have resigned himself to accept her terms? She eyed the tower from the cottage, debating whether she should go up and see what Duo was up to.
The sound of happy whistling reached her ears. 'That does it!' 
Dorothy snapped her fingers and teleported herself into Duo's tower room. The boy was digging into his closet, flinging out clothes and various bits of haberdashery as though searching for something. "What are you looking for, Duo?" Dorothy asked, frowning at the mess her son made.
"Something to wear! I need something red - Mama!" He poked his head out of the closet in delighted surprise, a wide grin of welcome on his lips. "Wai! I missed you!" he cried, grabbing the smaller blonde in a tight hug, whirling her around once.
Laughing, Dorothy admonished her son's display, tsking. "Behave yourself! You're not a little boy anymore, you know."
'Well, you treat me like one, so why not?' Duo thought, but did not venture to give voice. Instead, he just grinned foolishly.
Dorothy pushed away the straggling bangs that fell into his eyes, shaking her head at her son's preferred hairstyle. "How are you, Duo?" she asked, worry in her eyes. "Do you need anything? Are you feeling alright?"
Duo laughed. It was the only thing he could do on hearing his mother's questions. Was she so oblivious that she'd ask those questions of her son whom she'd imprisoned in a tower without a rational explanation? He guffawed until tears came to his eyes. When he'd regained his breath, Duo looked up into Dorothy's stern but worried countenance. Shaking his head, he chuckled out a negative. "It's alright, mama. I don't need anything," he smiled. 'Except freedom.'
"What brings you to my humble abode?" Duo asked, twirling his fingers with affected flamboyance. Dorothy flinched inwardly at her son's show of cheer, which seemed genuine enough, but which failed to hide the slight tinge of bitterness that edged his words. She shook her head in reply, not saying a word. Duo quirked an eyebrow, curious. "Nothing?" he asked.
"Nothing," Dorothy echoed. "I just wanted to see how you were."
Duo stifled a hysterical snigger and turned once more to his closet. "Hai. I'm fine, no need to worry," he sang out cheerily, flopping on the floor before the open door of his closet and sifting through the scattered clothes again. There was no point saying what he really felt, Duo knew. His mother would just get that faraway look in her eyes and before he knew it, she would just disappear, leaving him feeling worse than ever. No, there was no point... 
Dorothy's hands on his shoulders surprised him, and he couldn't restrain the slight jerk of his body at her touch. She bent down behind him, kneeling, enfolding him within the circle of her arms. "Duo," she whispered sadly into his ear. Her chin settled on his head lightly for a moment before shifting and he felt her leave a soft kiss in his hair. His body tensed in her embrace, but at that last gesture of affectionate concern, he felt his muscles relax and he melted in her arms. Without willing it, soft hitches escaped his throat and before he even realised what was happening, Duo was fighting to still the sobs that accompanied the sudden warm wash of tears on his cheeks.
"Oh Duo," Dorothy moaned, holding her son as tightly as she could, as though she could absorb the shudders that wracked his body. "Hush, baby, hush," she soothed, kissing his hair, his cheek as she hugged him to her chest. Pulling him closer, Dorothy manoeuvred herself until she could hold Duo's head to her breast and he could hug her in return. 'Oh Duo. How can I make it up to you? What can I ever do to make everything alright for you?' Dorothy squeezed her eyes shut to keep her own tears in check, even as she felt her son's drenching her dress.
"Mama... why?" Duo sobbed, asking again the question that haunted his mind ever since he'd been trapped in this mockery of a prison. He must have done something wrong! Why else would she keep him locked up for so long? "If I... If I did anything wrong, tell me!" he begged, turning violet eyes on his mother's face.
The blonde looked back at him, pain visibly wracking her fine-boned features. "No, Duo. I told you. You didn't do anything wrong -"
"Then why the hell am I here?!" Duo yelled, pushing her away. He scooted away from her, as though she carried some deadly disease, pain and disappointment mirrored clearly in his eyes. 
Dorothy stared at him in silence. Duo had never raised his voice in anger at her before. But she'd expected it. It had been long in coming. That he'd managed to keep it in for so long surprised her, but she was glad at his outburst. He needed an outlet for the anger inside him, and as the main source of his suffering, she'd bear it gladly. Steeling herself, she answered, her calm voice belying the haphazard beating of her heart. "You're here because I put you here. You're here because I don't want anyone to see you, or meet you, or talk to you. You're here because one day you're going to marry the princess of this land, and before that I don't want you seeing anyone else. And before you ask what right have I to dictate how your life is going to be, it's because I made you." Dorothy glared at the silent boy who listened in shocked surprise. "I made you who you are, Duo. I raised you, and shaped your will. I made you mine. And you will remain mine for as long as I can hold on to you. But because I love you, I want you to be happy, and so one day I'll let you go. But until then, you will remain here and not question it ever again." She stood, sighing softly. Throwing a last baleful glance at her son, she assured him. "I promised you happiness, Duo, and by the Gods you'll have it. Even if it means you'll leave my life forever. Tonight, everything will be underway. You'll be free soon, and you'll live happily ever after," Dorothy chuckled bitterly. "Just like in the fairy tales you read when you were younger. I'll make sure of that," she whispered with a sad smile. "You'll forget all this when the time comes, Duo. And you'll forget me. But until the time comes, indulge me, Duo. Let me hold on to you for just a little longer."
And then she was gone.
 

 <p>
"Oh she is a true witch indeed," the cleric at the bar whispered to himself. "And none too sane, I'd wager."
"Perhaps, dear sir," the minstrel replied, looking at him from across the floor, the light from the flickering flames dancing in his hair and turning it the colour of fire. "Or perhaps she was the sane one, and the others not. For is the world not relative?"
The cleric gawked, surprised beyond comprehension at how his whispered words could have travelled to the minstrel's ears. Was the room so silent? And yet, it would seem that none of the others present had heard him, nor the minstrel's reply. They seemed to listen still with rapt attention, as though mesmerised by the leaping shadows on the wall and the music softly dancing in the air, and yet not hear the brief exchange.
And the minstrel smiled knowingly, and continued.
 
<p>
 
In the privacy of her bedroom, Dorothy cried. After years and years of hardening her heart, after ages of callous actions, she'd met her match and the powers that be had meted out her punishment. For all the hurt she'd caused, for all the pain she'd imposed on so many, for all the injustices she had committed; she felt all those hurts thousand-fold. Her face crumpled as fresh tears flowed unchecked down her porcelain smooth cheeks, and the heart of stone she'd nurtured for so many, many years cracked.
 <p>

 
Outside, the chirping of birds in mid-flight continued. The sun shone as brightly as it did the day before, and the zephyrs tickled the leaves with the same abandon of days past. Outside, nature chose to ignore the grief of a mother and her child.
 <p>

 
Heero stilled, unconsciously holding his breath as he pressed his body closer into the rough bark of the old tree. Hidden from sight, he watched the blonde girl known as Mistress Dorothy as she climbed into the carriage. Relena had seriously considered his suggestion and had wasted no time in issuing an invitation to the girl. And so Heero waited, breath bated, as the carriage trundled past his hiding place, not moving until even the vibrations of the carriage's leaving had gone. Only then did he venture to move away from the shelter of the woods hedging the cottage grounds, running towards where the dark tower stood.
As Heero cleared the cottage, bursting into the back gardens, his eyes quickly caught sight of the tower, already visible. He smiled. Duo must be waiting for him already. But just as he slowed down to a jog, a curling tendril of heavy rope arced out of the lone window at the top of the tower. The swish of its sudden descent ended in several heavy thumps as it flailed against the smooth tower walls, swinging pendulum-like before finally settling with only a slight sway in whichever way the wind fancied. 
A look of puzzled consternation flashed across the boy's dark features. What was Duo doing? Always, the boy would only throw out the rope upon hearing Heero call for him. Why the sudden change in routine?
 
<p>
 
Duo paced the room, stopping once in a while to tug at the hair at his temples. He'd had the mother of all headaches since morning! 
His mother's little speech had rendered him absolutely speechless! What she had said had shocked him like no other event in his life had thus far.
"I can't take this. I can't take this," he mumbled to himself, distractedly wringing his hands. There had to be something he could do... 
"I've got to get out of here... " He ran to the bed, pulling out the grappling hook and the coil of rope attached to it. Securing it to the window ledge, Duo threw out the rope, hardly waiting for the rope to settle before climbing onto the ledge. Taking a firm hold of the rope, Duo launched himself out of the window... 
... and bounced back.
"Wha-?" If there was ever a confused face, it would have been Duo's. He'd practically bounced against the air, as though there was an invisible barrier just outside the window, preventing his exit. His escape.
"Noooo!"
 
<p>
 
Dorothy sat up, eyes wide as the carriage jolted unfelt around her. Instead, she felt the almost violent push against the barrier that surrounded Desaizu. Unbidden, panic rose within her, and she almost stood up, remembering only at the last instant where she was. Turning worried eyes toward her oblivious companion, Dorothy begged a surprised Relena to stop the carriage.
"What's wrong?" 
"No... nothing," Dorothy replied somewhat distractedly. "I have to go back... I... I left something... Oh why do I bother!" With only the thought of Duo foremost on her mind, Dorothy cast a minor glamour upon Relena, rendering her temporarily suspended in time. Simultaneously, Dorothy conjured up a teleportation spell and blinked away.
 
<p>
 
The anguished wail from the top of the tower had Heero running towards it at full speed. He grabbed the swaying rope and climbed, all thoughts banished except for those that concerned the owner of the voice he could still hear over the beating of his own heart.
Heero was halfway up the tower, pulling himself up for all he was worth even as his legs pushed him upwards, when a shrill voice froze his limbs, sending a cold shiver up his spine.
 
<p>
 
It was unbelievable! It couldn't be! Yet there it was, in full view. A mere boy had bested her Desaizu! 
Dorothy could not help the feeling of anger that coursed through her veins like lava in the molten heart of the Earth. Only seconds later did it occur to her that the boy was climbing, stopped only momentarily by her shriek of fury.
Climbing... climbing towards her Duo... 
"No!" Dorothy hissed, eyes flashing in the bright afternoon sun. Gone was the carefree teenager, giggling at the latest gossip about which nobleman was flirting with which maid. Gone was the child-mother, bringing up a child as she herself learnt what it was to truly love. Gone were the personae that could perhaps have had a chance at clasping humanity with its faltering imperfections.
In that instant, Mistress Dorothy reigned supreme within the slight figure shivering slightly at the foot of the dark tower. And as she looked up towards the rapidly retreating figure of the boy, her chagrined features twisted angrily as her view took in an arm extending from the single window, helping the intruder.
 <p>

 
"There are stories whispered of the origins of witches: babes snatched ere they formed in their mothers' wombs and suckled upon the Devil's own breast, maidens cast away for wrongdoings not of their ken, minds forever poisoned against the so-called purity of the human race, women enchanted by a servant of the Dark One to do his bidding to wreak havoc among the pious and the undecided. 
"There are stories and there are stories. And were the storytellers present that fateful afternoon, they would have believed each and everyone, and perhaps crawl away all a-tremble, new ones spouting from their tongues even as they fled. For at the heart of each story, ran the vein of betrayal, no matter how slight. Perhaps that was what that fed a witch's power, or perhaps betrayal was the ultimate source for a witch's very existence. Or perhaps, witches do not exist at all. In which case, this tale would be untold."
And the minstrel strummed his lute and turned his face toward the fire, his eyes closed. And for a moment, he did not look so young, yet he did not look old either, but something fey in between.
"Yet you tell the tale as though you were there, young minstrel," the tavern master said. He sat beside the singer, unnoticed until now. "And yet we know that witches exist only in the realms of fanciful thought."
The minstrel smiled, his eyes a-glow. "Perhaps I was. Perhaps I was not. Perhaps they do, and again, perhaps not. For is not a tale as good as its spinner?"
And the tavern master nodded in agreement, and announced to all that he would make good his promise of the night's payment for the minstrel's tale.
 

 <p>
It was with the speed of but a thought that Mistress Dorothy travelled into the tower. The air shimmered as she appeared; Duo had just pulled Heero in.
"You disappoint me so, child," Dorothy sighed, her arms crossed before her as though hugging herself so that she would not fall apart. "I gave you my trust, my love."
Her voice startled the two boys and Duo whirled to face his mother, pushing Heero behind him as though he would hide him, but knowing it was but a futile gesture.
Dorothy walked slowly towards the child who had grown up as her son, the memory of the babe that he was and the young man that he'd become clear in her mind yet clouded by passions undefined. Her eyes became dark, and emotionless; her face had lost its animated quirkiness. Tonelessly, she bemoaned her fate. "It would have been so fine, Duo, if you'd just have listened, and followed. Didn't I bring you up to obey your mother? Didn't I love you enough? I gave you all you needed; everything you could ever want," she tsked. "And you repay me thus."
"Yes, mother," Duo replied, his eyes following Dorothy warily. He'd never seen this side of her before, even with all her tantrums and fits of anger during his childhood, he'd never seen her this... quiet.
Dorothy stopped her advance toward the two boys. "'Yes, mother'?" she sneered. "Is that all you have to say, child?" Her voice had grown colder with each spoken word; her tone was low. Could she have chilled him more, Duo wondered. It was not possible without turning him into a block of ice.
Softly, Mistress Dorothy laughed, walking up to Duo and reaching up to caress his cheek tenderly. "'Yes, mother.' Interesting phrase, I think. If only you said it more often!" 
Duo never saw her hand coming, and the blow would have struck him had Heero not suddenly pulled him out of the way.
"Stop! Why are you doing this?" Heero shouted at the blonde woman with the dark, burning eyes. Duo stumbled momentarily before steadying himself, using Heero's arm as a temporary support.
Dorothy turned her attention away from Duo, and she smiled as her gaze alighted upon Heero's face.
"Heero," she crooned. "I should have gotten rid of you the first time I laid eyes on you. You were trouble; I could sense it. But you know?" she threw her head back, contemplating the ceiling as though deep in thought. "It's not too late."
And her eyes flashed cruelly; her fingertips danced minutely. The air crackled with power and an unearthly wind screamed through the room. The air turned solid, it seemed and it was difficult to breathe. But there was ice and fire tearing through room and the ice became razor-sharp splinters and the fire was a living wall of heat. And Duo saw that they were headed towards his friend who stood agape with shock and surprise that such power could exist. So he did the only thing he could.
Duo pushed Heero out of the window.
And when the Mistress Dorothy saw what her son had done, she screamed, partly in fury and partly with fear.
For the berserker elements she had called into being had been unleashed and were nigh impossible to control once let loose. And now that their intended target was no longer in their way, they could only strike out at what was.
And that was the Mistress Dorothy's son.
 
<p>
 
"No! They had done nothing! Surely -" an old man who had come closer to warm his hands by the fire protested, his chilly hands forgotten as his exclamation gained echoes of assent from others in the room. "Surely... "
"Surely what, elder?" the minstrel sighed, interrupted from his telling. "Surely she could not do such a thing? Surely she could have stopped her own magic? Surely she would have seen how misguided her conclusions were? 
"But she could, old man. And she couldn't, and she didn't," he sighed wearily. "For if she did, I would not be here now, telling you this tale for the tale would not have been," he admonished softly, a shapely eyebrow quirking in tandem.
"And pray, kind sirs and mistresses, if it pleases you, allow me to continue without more questions, for the story is nigh its end, and the night grows late and I fear, I am growing weary. It has been a long day, and I would not want to fall asleep without telling you how my story ends."
"Then please, child," the old man gestured expansively. "Do go on, and indulge us once the tale is ended."
And the minstrel nodded in silent acquiescence and continued to tell his tale.
 
<p>
 
"Nooo!" Dorothy screamed at the fear and shock on Duo's face. He never saw her, she could tell. He'd been leaning against the sill, briefly glancing at Heero as he tumbled headlong into the shrubbery below. The commotion in the room had been briefly forgotten until the ice shards cut through his clothes and the fire licked at his hair.
And Dorothy cried out when her son raised his arms to protect himself hopelessly against the violent battering, unable to go forward and yet unable to retreat. For that horrible moment, Dorothy realised that Desaizu had sealed her son's fate, and between her conjured elemental attack and her captivity spell, her son would surely not survive.
So it was, in that one moment of clarity, that the Mistress Dorothy undid that which she had erected to shelter her child, releasing Duo and herself from the magical tower, Desaizu. 
And as Desaizu disintegrated, its walls unweaving from existence and its floors crumbling beneath their feet, Duo and Dorothy fell. And though she tried to quickly form a protective shell around her son to cushion his fall, she succeeded but only partly.
 
<p>
 
It was long minutes later when Dorothy awoke, stunned from the fall, a little shaken, a little bruised. But they were only minor injuries and easily despatched with the proper ointments, unguents or healing spells. Slightly confused, Dorothy shook her head to clear her mind. Only after a few tries did she succeed, but when she did, she gave a small cry of dismay as she remembered.
Scrambling to her feet, Dorothy looked around. The sun was way past its zenith and the shadows were longer than before, telling her how much time had passed since... 
"Duo! Oh my... " Dorothy gasped, catching sight of a crumpled body, battered and bloody among the green bushes and blood red roses. She made her way towards him, reaching for him with trembling hands. Tentatively, her fingers fluttered over his prone body, looking for broken bones or other serious injury. She cried out with worry at each one she found, even though she knew that they would, someday, heal.
Duo had fallen not far away from Heero, but the latter had been luckier for he had only had to face the fall. As Dorothy was checking Duo's injuries, Heero awoke. Groggily, he turned towards mother and child, and his confusion turned into worried dismay. As he tried to approach, Dorothy looked up, stopping him in his tracks with the threat of her gaze alone.
"You've done enough, Heero," Dorothy hissed. "Go! Forget what you have seen and go on with your life. Leave us alone." Cradling Duo to her breast, Dorothy stroked her son's face, careful not to touch the few scratches there.
"I... I can help. Let me help... " Heero stammered, torn between leaving his friend behind, not knowing whether he was alive or not, and his fear of the witch's powers that he'd witnessed first hand.
"You can't help, child," Dorothy sighed forlornly. "My Duo is gone... "
"No... He can't... " Heero gasped. Duo couldn't be dead, surely. He'd fallen and lived. Duo couldn't have not survived the fall.
"He's alive, Heero, but my Duo is gone. And for you, he is dead. Forget him. Forget us," Dorothy commanded softly.
"I won't... I can't... "
"You must and you will," the witch stated grimly. And she carefully lay Duo on the ground, not noticing that he was gaining consciousness even as she did so; so engrossed was she with Heero. Dorothy stood to her full height, and softly uttered a spell seldom used of late, but deemed necessary now, imbuing it with added power. And as Heero faltered, his eyelids drooping as though falling asleep, Dorothy sighed sadly and turned back to her son.
And Duo's violet eyes startled her. "You're awake... "
"Yes, mother," he replied softly. And Dorothy's heart wept once more at the words, or perhaps at the broken tone with which it was spoken. For it was her son, and yet not her son who spoke. And the words were a balm and a mockery all rolled into one. And as Duo struggled to his feet, Dorothy stood aside and let him crawl to Heero who had crumpled to the ground, deeply asleep.
Duo whispered to Heero, urging him to awaken; torn and blistered hands tugged at the sleeping boy's shirt. But it was to no avail; Heero slept on. 
A tiny tear had seeped through Heero's lashes, and the soft sparkle from it caught Duo's eye. Fascinated, the boy extended a finger and caught it before it could fall away or dry up. Perhaps it was the sight of the teardrop balanced upon his fingertip, or perhaps it was shock finally setting in, but Duo suddenly discovered that he too, was crying, and a similar tear fell from his own eye, and Duo caught that one on a finger of his other hand. And Duo blew upon both teardrops, a word of power on his lips, and turned the symbols of sadness into perfect crystal droplets, which he secreted in his pocket.
And then Dorothy's voice was in his ear, and her small hand was on his shoulder, pulling him away from the prostrate form of Heero.
"Come Duo. We have to go. Heero will be fine, I promise. Let him be, and I promise he'll be fine. He won't even remember what happened," she urged, helping him to his feet.
Duo looked into his mother's face, a question clear on his, even though unspoken. And Dorothy understood and nodded her answer.
"Yes Duo, he won't remember us, either."
The look on Duo's face was too hard for Dorothy to face, and so she looked away. And thus she missed Duo rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand, and changing the final tears that had clung there into tiny gemstones too perfect to have been natural. And some of the tears had mixed with the blood from his cuts, and some of them had mixed with the ashes in his hair. And when Duo dropped his arm to his side and walked away to join his mother, tiny rubies, crystals and onyx fell onto Heero's prone, upturned palm.
And when the sun set, and the sky was the colour of blood, Heero awoke. His mind was clear, but somehow his heart was troubled for he felt that he was surely missing something. His hand prickled of something small and sharp. And when he looked, he found it filled with gems and the sight of them tugged at his troubled heart, whispering stories he seemed to remember yet had forgotten. And so his clear mind was troubled. 
Heero walked home, a little confused at how he could have been thrown off his horse so deep in the woods, for surely he was a better horseman than that.
 

 <P>
"And perhaps he never thought of that day again for he was never seen in that part of the woods since. And perhaps he kept the gems, or mayhaps gave them away. But I doubt he'd remember what happened on that day. 
"And so, gentlefolk" the young man stood with a flourish, running his long fingers over his lute a final time, "our story ends, and I beg your leave." The young minstrel bowed as his audience clapped, but amongst the applause there were also protests. And amongst the protestations, the old man's hand stayed the storyteller's.
"But what happened to the witch and her son?" the old man asked, his wrinkled skin furrowed all the more by his question.
"Well," the minstrel drawled, settling once more onto his chair. "Some say they disappeared from the face of the earth, but that would be highly unlikely, surely," he winked at the old man, eliciting a soft chuckle from him. "Some say that he became a mighty wizard, his mother passing on her skills to him before she passed into the world beyond. And some say that his mother finally released him and 'til today he spends his life searching for the lost friend of his childhood."
"And what would you say, young minstrel?" the old man asked softly. And the hall was quiet as everyone listened to what the minstrel had to say.
The young man put on perplexed face, and scratched his head. Blowing a few drying locks away from his eyes, the minstrel surmised, sotto voce, "I'd say that it was probably a mixture of the last two suppositions, elder," nodding for effect. And the old man's eyes were wide, as he ooh-ed.
And the minstrel laughed at his audience's earnest faces, and his tinkling laughter broke the sombre air. The tavern master boomed his agreement, and exclaimed loudly that although he still had questions to ask, he would ask them after the storyteller had eaten his well-earned meal, to which the young man nodded happily in agreement.
Thus it came to pass that on that rainy night, the tavern was a jolly place to be. And, a time later, as the minstrel sipped his after-dinner ale, the county's Lord and his entourage came by to escape the dreary weather; the tavern master bid him to come warm himself by the fire as he ate his meal. And the young Lord sat by the minstrel as the latter tuned his lute. 
A tiny sparkle caught his eye, and the Lord turned his dark eyes onto the minstrel, searching for the source of light, and found it on the young man's wrist.
Several perfectly shaped crystal droplets gleamed on a finely woven bracelet, burnished bronze by the firelight, but the exact same shade of the minstrel's short, wavy hair.
The Lord put aside his platter, and pulled out his good luck charm, a silver ankh he had set, several years ago, with tiny gemstones he'd found once upon a time. And the gemstones matched the minstrel's crystal droplets in quality, if not in size or colour. He stared at it, and when he looked up, he saw that the minstrel too was looking at him. And the minstrel smiled.
And the smile was familiar, and the eyes were familiar.
And finally, after five long years, Heero remembered.
 <p>

-end-<br>
*Footnote:<br>
"East is east, and west is west;<br> 
And never the twain shall meet."<br> 
~from 'The Ballad of East and West' by Rudyard Kipling~<br>
Shirin
 <p>

Please send comments to: shirini@pc.jaring.my


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_gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'angelfire.com']);
_gaq.push(['_setCustomVar', 1, 'member_name', 'anime/duoshinigami', 3]);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
  var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
  ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
  var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

////// Lycos Initialization /////////////////////
var lycos_ad = Array();
var lycos_search_query = "";
var lycos_onload_timer;

var cm_role = "live";
var cm_host = "angelfire.lycos.com";
var cm_taxid = "/memberembedded";
var angelfire_member_name = "anime/duoshinigami";
var angelfire_member_page = "anime/duoshinigami/andneverthetwainshallmeet.html";
var angelfire_ratings_hash = "1721506747:db76192b75533e0a66c79ce5dd85a5b9";

var lycos_ad_category = {"dmoz":"health\/addictions","ontarget":"&CAT=health&L2CAT=diseases%20and%20conditions&L3CAT=substance%20abuse","find_what":"email abuse"};

var lycos_ad_remote_addr = "209.202.244.9";
var lycos_ad_www_server = "www.angelfire.lycos.com";
var edit_site_url = "www.angelfire.lycos.com/landing/landing.tmpl?utm_source=house&utm_medium=landingpage&utm_campaign=toolbarlink";

</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script>

<script type='text/javascript'>
 var googletag = googletag || {};
 googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || [];
 (function() {
   var gads = document.createElement('script');
   gads.async = true;
   gads.type = 'text/javascript';
   var useSSL = 'https:' == document.location.protocol;
   gads.src = (useSSL ? 'https:' : 'http:') +
     '//www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js';
   var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
   node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node);
 })();
</script>


<script type='text/javascript'>
 googletag.cmd.push(function() {
   googletag.defineSlot('/95963596/ANG_300x250_dfp', [300, 250], 'div-gpt-ad-1450207484070-0').addService(googletag.pubads());
   googletag.enableServices();
 });
</script>

<script type='text/javascript'>
 googletag.cmd.push(function() {
   googletag.defineSlot('/95963596/ANG_above_728x90_dfp', [728, 90], 'div-gpt-ad-1450207484070-1').addService(googletag.pubads());
   googletag.enableServices();
 });
</script>

<script type='text/javascript'>
 googletag.cmd.push(function() {
   googletag.defineSlot('/95963596/ANG_below_728X90_dfp', [728, 90], 'div-gpt-ad-1450207484070-2').addService(googletag.pubads());
   googletag.enableServices();
 });
</script>


<script type="text/javascript">
(function(isV) {
    if (!isV) {
        return;
    }

    //this.lycos_search_query = lycos_get_search_referrer();
    var adMgr = new AdManager();
    var lycos_prod_set = adMgr.chooseProductSet();
    var slots = ["leaderboard", "leaderboard2", "toolbar_image", "toolbar_text", "smallbox", "top_promo", "footer2","slider"];
    var adCat = this.lycos_ad_category;
    adMgr.setForcedParam('page', (adCat && adCat.dmoz) ? adCat.dmoz : 'member');

    if (this.lycos_search_query) {
        adMgr.setForcedParam("keyword", this.lycos_search_query);
    } 
    else if (adCat && adCat.find_what) {
        adMgr.setForcedParam('keyword', adCat.find_what);
    }

    for (var s in slots) {
        var slot = slots[s];
        if (adMgr.isSlotAvailable(slot)) {
            this.lycos_ad[slot] = adMgr.getSlot(slot);
        }
    }


    adMgr.renderHeader();
    adMgr.renderFooter();
}((function() {
    var w = 0, h = 0, minimumThreshold = 300;
    if (top == self) {
        return true;
    }

    if (typeof(window.innerWidth) == 'number' ) {
        w = window.innerWidth;
        h = window.innerHeight;
    }
    else if (document.documentElement && (document.documentElement.clientWidth || document.documentElement.clientHeight)) {
        w = document.documentElement.clientWidth;
        h = document.documentElement.clientHeight;
    }
    else if (document.body && (document.body.clientWidth || document.body.clientHeight)) {
        w = document.body.clientWidth;
        h = document.body.clientHeight;
    }

    return ((w > minimumThreshold) && (h > minimumThreshold));
}())));



window.onload = function() {
    var f = document.getElementById("lycosFooterAd");
    var b = document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0];
    b.appendChild(f);
    f.style.display = "block";
    document.getElementById('lycosFooterAdiFrame').src = '/adm/ad/footerAd.iframe.html';

    // Slider Injection
    (function() {
        var e = document.createElement('iframe');
        e.style.border = '0';
        e.style.margin = 0;
        e.style.display = 'block';
        e.style.cssFloat = 'right';
        e.style.height = '254px';
        e.style.overflow = 'hidden';
        e.style.padding = 0;
        e.style.width = '300px';
    })();


    // Bottom Ad Injection
    ( function() {
        var b = document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0];

        var iif = document.createElement('iframe');
        iif.style.border = '0';
        iif.style.margin = 0;
        iif.style.display = 'block';
        iif.style.cssFloat = 'right';
        iif.style.height = '254px';
        iif.style.overflow = 'hidden';
        iif.style.padding = 0;
        iif.style.width = '300px';
        iif.src = '/adm/ad/injectAd.iframe.html';
        
        var cdiv = document.createElement('div');
        cdiv.style = "width:300px;margin:10px auto;";
        cdiv.appendChild( iif );
        if( b )
        {
            b.insertBefore(cdiv, b.lastChild);
        }
    })();

}


</script>

<style>
#body .adCenterClass {
  margin:0 auto;
  display:block !important;
  overflow:hidden;
  width:100%;
}
#body .adCenterClass #ad_container {
  display:block !important;
  float:left;
  width:728px;
}
@media (min-width: 768px) {
  <!-- For 300px or less ads ONLY -->
  #body .adCenterClass #ad_container {
    width: calc(100% - 372px);
  }
}
@media (min-width: 1110px) {
  <!-- For 728px or less ads -->
  #body .adCenterClass #ad_container {
    width: calc(100% - 372px);
  }
}

</style>

<div style="background:#abe6f6; border-bottom:1px solid #507a87; position:relative; z-index:9999999">

    <div class="adCenterClass">
        <a href="https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/" title="Angelfire.com: build your free website today!" style="display:block; float:left; width:186px; border:0">
          <img src="/adm/ad/angelfire-freeAd.jpg" alt="Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!" style="display:block; border:0" />
        </a>
        <div id="ad_container">
            <script type="text/javascript">document.write(lycos_ad['leaderboard']);</script>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

<!-- ///////////////////////////////////// -->
<script type="text/javascript">document.write(lycos_ad['slider']);</script>


<div id="lycosFooterAd" style="background:#abe6f6; border-top:1px solid #507a87; clear:both; display:none; position:relative; z-index:9999999">
<div class="adCenterClass" style="display:block!important; overflow:hidden; width:936px;">
	<div id="aflinksholder" style="float:left; width:186px;">
        <a href="https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/" title="Angelfire.com: build your free website today!" style="display:block; border:0">
            <img src="/adm/ad/angelfire-freeAd2.jpg" alt="Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!" style="display:block; border:0" />
        </a>
    </div>
    <iframe id="lycosFooterAdiFrame" style="border:0; display:block; float:left; height:96px; overflow:hidden; padding:0; width:750px"></iframe>
</div>
</div>


<!--- UNDERDOGMEDIA EDGE_lycos.com JavaScript ADCODE START--->
<script data-cfasync="false" language="javascript" async src="//udmserve.net/udm/img.fetch?sid=17754;tid=1;dt=6;"></script>
<!--- UNDERDOGMEDIA EDGE_lycos.com JavaScript ADCODE END--->