Title: The
Ice Prince or Such a Marvelous Rose
Author: Meiran Chang
( bonking_bishies @ swirve.com )
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: DorlianXSylvia,
1+R, 6+2, 3+4, 5+Dorothy, 6x9, 2xH
Warnings: shonen
ai, AU, fairy tale, angst, verrrrrrry mild self-insertion in, like, the
last sentence. I made Dorlian a total OOC wuss >_<. Also, I've played
fast and loose with family relationships and situations.
Comments: Ohhhhh
pretty please? --> bonking_bishies @ swirve.com
Archive: 6X2ML Archive
can have it. Otherwise,
please email me, I don't bite.
Disclaimers: I do
not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, they belong to Bandai and
Sunrise and the American rights are owned by Cartoon Network. Please don't
sue me, I'll just cry a lot. Also, the original story of "Beauty and the
Beast" is by Mme Leprince de Beaumont and not mine either. I don't own
anything except... the original portions of this piece of fiction...whatever
they are.
Dedication: To the
6X2ML, because they're darlings all and the inspiration
for this fic.
The Ice
Prince
Chapter XIII
Duo was very careful to make sure that he was wearing the Beast's
gift before went to bed. Heart beating fast, he prayed, Please take me
home, and through sheer force of will, he fell asleep.
When he woke up the next morning, it took him but a split second to realize
that he was no longer in his room at the Beast's manor, but rather, in his
own room back home in the cottage, with bright sunlight streaming in through
his window past his gauzy curtains. He glanced down at his coverlet -- it
felt rough and scratchy, and had blue and yellow stripes on it. He remembered
Relena making both things.
A smile stretched across his face and Duo hugged his knees to his chest,
so filled with happiness and relief that he could hardly have spoken. He
hadn't been here in a year, and yet the room was just as he left it, an old
shirt thrown over a wicker chair and his house slippers in the corner. He
jumped out of bed, glad to breathe the sweet country air, tied the sash of
his robe around his slim waist, put on his slippers and left the room in search
of his father.
Dorlian was in the kitchen, cooking his breakfast, his back to the doorway.
Duo leaned against the side of the entrance and waited, barely breathing,
for his father to turn around. The ex-merchant uttered a small sigh and scooped
his morning meal onto a plate, then headed for the table.
When he saw his son, he froze. The plate slipped from Dorlian's hand and
crashed on the floor. Duo grinned, pushed himself off the side of the entranceway,
and teased, "Father, we're not getting clumsy in our old age, are we?"
"Duo..."
"It's really me, Da," Duo said, eyes shining, and in two seconds he had
crossed the distance between them and flung his arms around his father,
beside himself with joy. Dorlian began sobbing, and Duo hugged him tightly.
They embraced each other for a long time.
Finally, they broke apart. Tears of gladness were tumbling down his father's
face, and the man said in a quavering voice, "Duo, I can't believe you're
-- you're alive!"
"Tah," Duo said cheekily, bouncing. "I'm too cute to die. Come sit on
the couch with me so I can tell you all about it, Father. The Beast isn't
a bad person."
"The Beast isn't a person," his father noted, wiping his tears away as
he followed Duo's lead into the cozy sitting room and sat down besides his
son.
They spent the next few hours talking. Duo told his father about what
had occurred after his departure from the manor. Dorlian's nut-brown eyes
remained quite watery and threatened to spill over more than once when Duo
described how terrified he'd been, but Duo stayed light-hearted and cheerful
so as to spare his father the humiliation of crying again.
"The Beast doesn't like you very much, Father. I don't think he'll ever
really forgive you for killing his roses. But he's told me that he's sorry
he caused me pain, and since my pain was in part caused by knowing that
you were in pain, I guess that can extend itself to an apology
to you. If you interpret it kind of creatively."
Dorlian sighed. "If I had ever once thought that monster would be offended
by my taking a simple rose..."
Duo poked his father lightly. "He's not a monster, Father. He's a very
good person. He's always treated me kindly, and he's been my only friend
for the past year."
"It's his fault you were in the position where he could be your only companion,"
Dorlian pointed out.
"Well, if we really had to get into it, wouldn't it be your fault? I mean,"
Duo backpedaled hurriedly, noting a haunted look passing into his father's
eyes, "you didn't know that would happen, but still. He doesn't have to be
as kind as he is. He really isn't as bad as all that, Da. He's a wonderful
person and he's shown me goodness beyond anything I ever dreamed."
"I still say only a monster would take a man's youngest son away from
him and give the man to understand that his son would be killed in a most
particularly cruel way," Dorlian replied stoutly.
"He was supposed to take me away," Duo explained. "He didn't bother
to tell you that he wasn't actually going to kill me because he was feeling
very sour, but he really had to take me away. That's what he says, and he's
never lied to me. And even by letting me come visit you he said he was breaking
some rules or something. I don't know who made the rules in the first place
or what his situation is, but he's really risking a lot just because I told
him I missed you and wanted to come home."
"At least you're safe now," Dorlian said, giving vent to a relieved sigh.
"You'll never have to go back to that awful... awful thing ever again."
Duo shook his head. "I'm leaving in a week. I promised the Beast I'd only
stay for a little while, and he's been so good to me. It just wouldn't be
fair if I didn't keep my side of the agreement. He's trusting me a lot by
letting me go off like this."
Dorlian frowned. "You're telling me you mean to go back?"
"Yes, Da." A note of pleading came into his voice. "And please
don't try to make me stay, okay? I gave my word."
His father sighed and promised not to nag. "He is treating you
well, right?"
Duo nodded emphatically. "He's incredibly wealthy. You remember how rich
the manor was? Well, my room is this enormous library, bigger than the one
at White Fang University, and I have a huge comfortable bed, and lots of
clothes, and this fancy chandelier, and -- get this -- an honest-to-God enchanted
mirror. He enchanted it himself. I used it all the time to check up on you
and Relena and Quatre. And he feeds me well, too. He does this bit of magic
where these green hands zoom around and take away the dishes and bring warm
food, like invisible servants, except not. He uses magic for his gardens,
too. If nothing else, you know how the Beast feels about his garden, so he
magically ensures that all the plants will grow up healthy. It's like a little
paradise. And the Beast has never really forbidden me anything. I have the
run of the manor."
Dorlian's eyebrows had risen so high throughout this monologue that they
were in danger of disappearing off of his head entirely. "That's impressive.
But, Duo... you know these mages. Heero's a good boy, but some others... they
can get pretty tricky sometimes. Has he ever done, you know, anything
dodgy, any sort of coercion...?"
Before his father could even finish his question, Duo was shaking his
head, braid flying with the energy of it. "Nope. Not ever. The only thing
even close to it is the fear-coercion spell he used on you, and I
only experienced that spell once, that first night when you were with me.
The Beast reserves his magic for good things, or when he's bored. He's a
powerful and responsible mage."
"All right, Duo," Dorlian said, doubt heavy in his voice. "If you say
so. Just don't let yourself be bribed and blinded by all the pretty things
he can do or give you."
"I've known him for a year," Duo retorted. "I think I would have noticed
if he had a cruel character. I lived in White Fang for fifteen years, remember?
You don't lose your touch at recognizing people like that. The Beast is nothing
less than noble."
Dorlian made a low grumbling noise, as if to say, "Drop it."
"Da," Duo said with a sigh, "he's not as evil as you'd like to pretend
he is. Don't you believe me anymore? Has a year made me so strange?"
"Of course it hasn't," his father hastened to reassure him, giving him
a quick hug. "I just worry. I'm so happy you're alive and well."
Duo looked somber for a moment. "I wish you hadn't grieved so much over
me, Father. I saw you in the mirror every day, and it nearly broke my heart
to see you so destroyed. I worried for you."
"You know you're my favorite, son," Dorlian said fondly, ruffling
Duo's hair, to Duo's dismay. "I just... I expected such wonderful things of
you, and to have your promise snuffed, just like that..." He shuddered. "It
was... an indescribable madness."
Duo kicked his feet a little. "At least now you know that the Beast didn't
hurt me in any way. And that he's not going to. Believe it or not, he's very
gentle."
"Good with the kids, right?" Dorlian chuckled.
"A wailing toddler would baffle him," Duo laughed. "So would a happy one.
He wouldn't know how to keep up the streak of good luck." Unable to sit still
any longer, Duo hopped up from the couch and began to dance around, humming
under his breath. Dorlian watched him in amusement. Even when only playing
around, Duo's grace was dazzling.
"It feels so good to back here, Father!" Duo burst out suddenly,
flopping down into the closest chair and melting into it like butter on
a hot pancake. He grinned. "Ahhh, the air is just as I remembered it. Home,
sweet home!"
"Oh!" Dorlian said, reminded, "your brother and sister are coming over
today to check up on me."
Duo stretched in his armchair like a cat in the sun with the same satisfied
smile. "I can't wait to see them. It'll be a great surprise!"
The afternoon played out true to Duo's confident prediction. Relena screamed
when she saw him and nearly tumbled him off his feet with her hug; Quatre
restrained himself rather better and greeted him without the ear-splitting
shriek, though his hug came very close to cracking a few ribs. Duo talked
on and on about the manor and what he'd experienced there until his mouth
was dry. Relena was fascinated by the Beast's magic and the depths of Duo's
wardrobe, and Quatre was impressed by the library offered his little brother.
"Neh, big brother," Duo teased, "you're not jealous, are you?"
Quatre rolled his eyes. "I am not. Well," he amended in response
to Duo's knowing smirk, "perhaps just a little bit. A manuscript of 'Zero
Visions' is so hard to obtain... But I would rather not have gone through
what you did."
Duo shrugged cheerfully. "Whatever you say."
His siblings were only too pleased to feed him the latest local gossip
and update him regarding their relationships' status. When Relena told him
about she and Heero's handfasting, Duo groaned, "Oh, I wish I didn't have
to miss it!"
"Why would you miss it?" Relena asked in confusion. "Aren't you going
to stay?"
"Nope," Duo said. "The Beast asked me to come back in a week." He held
up his right hand and lifted his ring finger, which bore the Beast's gift.
"The Beast gave me this. It's a magical thingy. I don't know how it does
what it does, but it brought me here and it'll bring me back to the Beast."
Relena exchanged a meaningful look with Quatre, but didn't say anything
further, instead turning the conversation back to Heero. Hana and Shigeta
had pulled a considerable amount of money out of their savings and hired
a mage-tutor from the closest town, and Heero was making excellent progress.
The tutor said that Heero had an unusually potent Mage-Gift, Relena related
proudly.
"Forgive her," Quatre said dryly. "All she can talk about right now are
Heero, her handfasting plans, Heero, what she'll wear, Heero..."
Relena laughed and punched him lightly, and Duo grinned to see the look
of exaggerated, martyr-like patience on Quatre's face. His brother and sister
constantly played around like that, and it had been one of the things he'd
most sorely missed while away.
Relena cooked dinner that night, much to his joy. Though the food tasted
a bit strange to Duo, who had become accustomed to the incredible dishes
the green hands brought, it was still wonderful and he ate with relish. He
went to bed that night tired but content.
Relena and Quatre chatted a bit further with Dorlian. Their father had
experienced a rush of vitality that day, right down to his color improving
and his manner growing as quick as it had been back when he was one of the
shrewdest merchants in White Fang. Understandably, the only topic on their
father's mind was the reappearance of his son, and they agreed with him that
Duo looked fantastic. Finally, however, Dorlian succumbed to weariness and
bade them goodnight with a smile.
The two siblings walked out together, and through an unspoken accord,
before going their separate ways, went to the fields to talk of their youngest
brother. There were some things that they could not speak of in front of
their father.
It was cold out, with a great harvest moon hanging in the chill sky, surrounded
by a court of fiercely twinkling stars. Relena said quietly to Quatre, "Brother,
I'm worried about Duo."
"Me too," Quatre concurred solemnly.
"He keeps talking about the Beast. It's almost indecent. He shouldn't
be defending the monster that took him away from his family. It's as if
he's forgotten all the pain that abominable demon caused both us and him."
"It's possible he might have," Quatre suggested, looking downcast at the
very idea. "Duo's told us that the Beast is a mage of great power and skill."
Relena looked uneasy. "Do you think it's possible..."
"That Duo is under the control of the Beast? I think it's quite likely."
Quatre frowned. "That ring is suspicious... Would Heero look Duo over for us,
do you think? Just to check for traces of foreign magic?"
"I don't know if he's at a sufficient level yet, but if I know Heero,
he'll certainly try," Relena replied. "He's fond of Duo and wouldn't want
to see him under the control of some foul Beast."
"I've read bad things about Beasts-born," Quatre murmured. He massaged
his temples with a hand. "They seem good, but they're all vicious underneath.
We have to convince Duo to stay with us, for his own safety. God, I don't
want to go through this last year all over again."
Relena shivered, the thin wind whipping her wheat-blonde hair into her
eyes. "Same here. I don't think Father could bear it..."
"It's a miracle that Duo's even survived the year." Briefly Quatre glanced
towards heaven. "And that the Beast allowed his prey to slip out of his clutches."
"Don't talk like that, Quatre," Relena said with another shudder. "It
conjures such awful imagery."
Quatre laid a comforting hand on Relena's shoulder. "I'm sorry, sister.
But we do have to face reality. Duo's in a very dangerous position."
"Then for his own protection, Duo has to stay here," Relena declared firmly.
"I mean, he just has to. There's no way he can leave."
"We can't simply take the ring away," Quatre cautioned. "Duo's such a
free spirit. He'd go back to the Beast's on foot."
"Then we'll beg him to stay," Relena said matter-of-factly. "Maybe a week
is the amount of time the Beast will have power over Duo. Maybe after that,
the Beast's evil magic will begin to fade."
Quatre shrugged. "It doesn't matter, as long as he stays here, where it's
safe."