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Bound, Bonded and Betrayed	By : Deb Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 13359 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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"Bound, Bonded and Betrayed"
Chapter 33

It took Duo the better part of a week before his body had recovered from his ride out with the prince. Sally's treatment of salves and cooling compresses helped to alleviate a lot of the heat and soreness and each day saw Duo recover a little more.
With the preparations for the festival in full swing, Heero found himself drawn into the arrangements, courtesy of his brother volunteering them both. He let his brother know he wasn't happy about it though as he still had all his usual work to get through as well. Fortunately for Heero, he was able to delegate some of the smaller tasks to Duo.
With the prince now back at the castle and present every day, the princess found she was unable to utilize Duo as much as she had in the past. This annoyed her to some extent, her main plan for getting rid of the slave had been to use him to serve her in many demeaning ways and potentially wear him out to the point where the prince would be happy to get rid of him as he would be useless to him. Dorothy had also conspired with her mistress to that end and unfortunately for her, with Duo spending most of his time with the prince it meant she was left to look after her mistress completely.
The pair still schemed and did their best to come up with ways to get Duo into trouble and were very careful how they put their plans into practice. It wouldn't do for either one of them to get caught. Most of what they came up with though didn't cause too much trouble for Duo.
The long haired slave had his own suspicions that the maid was doing her best to get him into trouble, but couldn't prove it and thus he had to endure his master's punishments without complaint. Over the course of time though, the constant punishments began to wear on him and he started to lose some of his happy demeanor.
Not that his master was cruel in his punishment – nothing at all like Duo had suffered in the past, but it was enough to dampen his spirits. Quatre had noticed a subtle change in Duo, not just the slave's personality, but he'd also noticed that Duo was losing weight – not a significant amount, but enough for Quatre to see. The blonde could still recall the malnourished state the other slave had arrived in, and whilst Duo was by no means anything like he had been back then, he wasn't as healthy as he should have been either.
Quatre had tried to question Duo, but the other slave had managed to avoid answering his questions directly. Whether that was from fear or not, Quatre really couldn't tell, but he had his suspicions. Unfortunately, like Duo, he couldn't prove anything and thus had to hold his tongue. Without proof, if he were to make any sort of accusation he could be convicted of treason – and that meant he would be put to the sword.
The festival was only a few days away and all the final preparations in full swing. The grounds of the castle were being converted into a huge 'city' of tents. People were milling around, setting up stalls, roping off areas for the tournaments to take place, others were setting up or claiming spots for their stalls.
Duo was busy with his master at the archery range, setting up targets and roping off the area. To the side of them, Quatre was similarly assisting Prince Trowa with the swordsmanship arena. Once their respective areas were finished the pair met up under the shade of a large tree, Duo and Quatre having been dispatched to fetch a couple of water skins for the princes.
“It's all starting to look quite festive,” Trowa remarked and took a long drink from the skin Quatre had brought him.
“That it is,” Heero sighed, passing the water skin to Duo for his slave to take a drink.
“You're not planning on skipping out on the festival, are you?”
Heero scowled. “Not much chance of that.”
“Good.”
Heero raised an eyebrow in his brother's direction.
“If I have to suffer through this then you can too,” Trowa replied, a sour look on his face.
“I thought you were looking forward to this festival?” Heero questioned. “You did volunteer us both to help out with the competitions.”
“I'm looking forward to the competitions, yes... It's the rest of the damn thing I can do without.” Seeing his brother wasn't quite getting it, Trowa elaborated. “The single women.”
“Aa.” Heero began to snicker.
“It's alright for you, you're now married and therefore unavailable,” Trowa growled.
“Why, brother, I thought you'd be pleased to have all that attention from the many adoring females.”
Trowa grimaced. “No thanks. I don't want a wife and children. Thank god I was the second born, at least I don't have to marry and produce an heir for the line to continue.”
“At least that part of my duty is done,” Heero muttered.
Trowa raised an eyebrow. “Are you not happy, brother?” he questioned.
Heero sighed. “Yes and no,” he replied cryptically. Seeing the look his brother was giving him, Heero elaborated a touch. “I am happy to know I am to be a father and that my wife is showing an interest in the kingdom...”
“But?” Trowa prompted.
“I don't know,” Heero said looking a bit frustrated that he couldn't find the words to express what he was thinking and feeling. “I guess I wish my wife was a little more like Duo.”
Kneeling at their respective master's feet, Duo and Quatre exchanged a look. Clearly neither one of them knew what Prince Heero meant by those words. Seemed Prince Trowa didn't either.
“You wish your wife was more like a slave?”
“No, that's not what I meant,” Heero growled. “I really don't know how to explain it. I suppose I want for her to be a little more understanding of my position and my duties. She's always questioning me, demanding my attention, that I spend time with her. When I don't or I try to explain that I can't as I have work to do, she gets upset.” Heero sighed. “That's the basic idea anyway. I don't know, brother. Am I being selfish in spending too much time with my official work? Am I neglecting her as a husband?”
Trowa pondered on his brother's words and tried to put his own thoughts into some sort of order. “No, I don't think you're neglecting her,” he began slowly. “I think she may be feeling a little insecure right now.”
“Insecure?” Heero asked, clearly confused.
“Yes, insecure, maybe frightened even. Just think for a moment, brother. She's come from another kingdom to ours, a kingdom where she didn't have any duties to perform. All she's ever done is play the part of a princess, she's used to having everyone's attention, have everyone at her beck and call. Now she's here and married. She probably isn't sure of her place here yet, everyone else has their duties and she's not getting the attention she's used to having. Oh I know mother has started to show her the way our kingdom works, some duties she will be expected to take on and such and right now she's doing her best to cope with that.”
“I see.” Heero frowned, chewing over his brother's words.
“Add to that she's now with child and think how scared she must feel. I can't claim to know what it must be like to be with child, to carry one and give birth,” Trowa shuddered, “and I don't want to know either, but I feel if the thought of that has me shaking in my boots can you imagine what she must be feeling, thinking?”
Trowa's words made a lot of sense to Heero. “When you put it like that...”
“Give her time, Heero. Try to pay a little more attention to her and involve her a bit more in your work. You might be surprised by her yet.” Trowa gave a small smile.
“When did you become so wise, brother?” Heero asked with a wry grin.
“You forget, I deal with people all the time. I have learned to read them quite well and it does come in handy.”
Heero could concede that point. Trowa's duties did entail a lot of time spent with people, it made perfect sense that his brother would learn to read body language. “I'll take your advice, brother.”
“I wish you well with it,” Trowa returned and fell silent.
The pair remained under the shade of the tree for a little while longer, enjoying the break and recovering lost energy. At their feet both slaves had listened intently to the exchange and now each was lost in their own thoughts. Duo's heart had sunk low in his chest and he was feeling a mix of emotions, the main one being fear. With his master vowing to try harder to please the princess it would mean less time for him and less affection from his master.
Sitting across from the other slave, Quatre watched the emotions flitting through violet eyes and then the resignation that seemed to settle. His heart went out to Duo, but as slaves, neither one of them had any say.
* * *
The festival had been a resounding success, villagers from all over the kingdom had come to partake of the many stalls, games and tournaments that were held. Duo and Quatre had been kept very busy looking after their respective princes' during the day, running errands, fetching water skins, offering food and many other tasks. Duo especially was feeling very exhausted, not only had he been hard pressed to keep up with his master's requests, but Dorothy had managed to palm off a lot of her duties to him as well.
The afternoon had seen the royal family take to the main podium to make the announcement of Relena's pregnancy. As predicted, the people were ecstatic with the news and shouts, cheers and applause had greeted the ears of the nobles. Wine had been made available and all toasted the new princess the prince and the forthcoming new heir.
Relena had taken to the festivities with an energy Heero hadn't seen in his wife before. She appeared to revel in the attention and his brother's words from earlier echoed in his mind. It seemed that Trowa could be right. Relena charmed the crowd, had them all eating out of her hand and falling over themselves just to get a smile from her.
There remained a nagging doubt in the back of his mind though. Relena was playing the role of Princess very well, but Heero couldn't help but notice that if the attention shifted away from her she wasn't happy at all and it didn't take long for her to draw it back again.
Later that evening, Heero relaxed in the hot water of his bath, Duo gently washing the day's sweat and grime from his body. His thoughts wandered back over the day, the words his brother had spoken and the way his wife had interacted with the people. He sighed as he realized his brother was right, Relena needed constant attention to keep her happy. It seemed he would have to try and put in more of an effort.
“Master?”
Heero drew himself from his thoughts and looked to his slave. “Yes, Duo?”
“Are you alright?” Duo asked.
The prince gave a sigh. “I am fine, Duo, just a little tired.”
“It has been a long day,” Duo agreed. “Would you like for me to give you a massage after dinner, master?”
“As much as I would love that, Duo, I'm afraid I won't have the time.”
Duo didn't quite understand what his master meant by that, but as a slave it wasn't his place to question it.
“Come, Duo. We have lingered long enough. My parents will be waiting for us for dinner and no doubt there will be much to discuss.”
“Yes, master.”
*
The evening meal with the rest of the royal family took, as Heero had predicted, longer than usual. The day's festivities were the main topic of conversation, everyone agreeing that the day had been a resounding success. The people of the kingdom had traveled from all over to celebrate the bumper harvest and rejoice in the nation's good fortune with their King and Queen.
The announcement of the impending royal birth was greeted with much joy and Relena found herself the center of attention once more as the King and Queen praised her for the way she had conducted herself. Relena visibly preened under the praise and Duo couldn't help but scowl as the princess accepted the praise and lapped up all the attention.
Across from where Duo sat on his cushion beside Heero's chair, Quatre's sharp eyes noted the look of distaste on the other slave's face. He caught the smirk on Dorothy's face from the corner of his eye. He vowed then that the first chance he got he'd do his best to redouble his efforts and get Duo to talk to him. There was definitely something going on, something that was eating away at Duo and Quatre was determined to find out exactly what it was.
Eventually the meal came to an end and the males in the room went through to the library for after dinner drinks and further talks. The two women decided to retire to their respective chambers, both were tired after a full day.
“Duo, go to my chambers and prepare the bed for the evening, lay out my sleeping attire and wait in your own room for my return,” Heero said as he stood from the table.
“Yes, master,” Duo replied.
“Quatre, you may do the same for me, but I want you to remain in my room until I return.” Prince Trowa ran a hand through his slave's hair.
The pair waited until their masters left and then headed off through the castle halls to attend to their respective duties.
They walked through the halls in silence, Quatre couldn't help but notice that the closer they got to Prince Heero's marital chambers, the heavier Duo's steps appeared to become and an invisible weight seemed to settle on the other slave's shoulders.
“Duo? Is everything okay?” Quatre asked.
Duo looked up sharply. “Yes, everything is fine, Quatre,” he replied. “Why shouldn't it be?”
Quatre put his hand on his fellow slave's shoulder, bringing Duo to a halt. “You say everything is fine, but I beg to differ. You're not yourself lately, you don't seem as happy as you used to be, and...” Quatre lowered his voice a touch, “you're losing weight.”
Duo couldn't meet the other slave's eyes lest Quatre see the lies he knew would be hidden there. “I'm fine, Quatre, really.” He shook the hand from his shoulder and started to walk again. “I need to hurry, the mistress will not be happy if I take too long.”
“Why the mistress, Duo? You're not her slave, she has her maid to look after her,” Quatre persisted.
“Quatre, just leave it alone,” Duo sighed.
“No, I won't. There's something going on and it's affecting you.” Quatre again stopped the other slave, this time he placed both hands on Duo's shoulders. “Duo, you know you can always come to me and talk. I promise that anything you tell me will stay with me”
Sad violet looked into sincere teal. “I wish I could, Quatre, I really wish I could,” he whispered and then shrugged out of the hold and quickly disappeared to his master's chambers.
Quatre watched him go, confusion in his mind. With a deep breath, he continued on to Prince Trowa's chambers. One way or another he would find out what was going on.
* * *
Over the course of the next few weeks, Heero did his best to try and spend more time with his wife and give her the attention she seemed to crave so much. Relena basked in the attention, finally her prince was starting to give her the recognition she deserved and was spending time with her. She failed to notice the dark circles that began to appear beneath Heero's eyes – but Duo noticed.
The prince was burning the candle at both ends and Duo wasn't happy about it.
In order to spend more time with his wife, Heero was forced to spend less time in his study working on his allocated duties for the kingdom. That was something he couldn't afford to do, so Heero had taken to getting up after his wife was asleep and spending several candle marks in his study catching up on those duties. He would do as much as he could then return to their bed and get a little sleep before the dawn of a new day would awaken them and the cycle would start again.
With Duo being his slave, he would be constantly by Heero's side, assisting his master with whatever he wanted him to do. Unfortunately, with the amount of time Heero was dedicating to his wife, Duo suddenly found himself with less to do. Dorothy, the princess' maid suddenly became the model slave – although it only lasted while the prince was around. She made certain to tend to both royals' needs and wants, leaving Duo more and more out in the cold.
Duo wasn't sure exactly what the snooty maid was up to, but he didn't like it. When Heero wasn't around for whatever reason and Duo was, the princess would have him wait on her hand and foot; and that also included serving that maid. When Heero was around, Dorothy changed and saw to the comfort of both royals, fetching and doing whatever they needed, in most cases, anticipating what would be required and having done or fetched it before the royals even had to ask. She didn't give Duo a chance.
How could he compete with that?
When Heero did manage to get away from his demanding wife and try to catch up with work in his study, Duo would find himself relegated to his own quarters, supposedly to rest and catch up on some much needed sleep. But that didn't happen. As soon as either Dorothy or the princess was aware of his presence he would be summoned to serve the princess and her maid.
As time began to pass, the work began to wear Duo down further. It was a vicious cycle, one that was affecting both the prince and his slave. The lack of rest and sleep saw Heero becoming more than a little short tempered. The extra work that Duo was doing was wearing down Duo's stamina and he found himself slower at completing his assigned tasks and making simple mistakes. Heero's short temper began to show itself and more often than not, Duo would find himself on the receiving end of a sharp tongue or a punishment he didn't deserve.
Quatre watched silently as his Prince's brother grew more irritable with each passing day and took it out on the sweet slave he'd rescued. His heart grew heavy as each day Duo seemed to shrink more and more into himself.
But there were two people who drew joy from watching the events unfold and Duo's slow but steady sinking into misery.
“It won't be long now, mistress and that slave will be gone for good,” Dorothy commented as she served tea for them both in the parlor.
“Yes, Dorothy, it would appear we're finally getting somewhere,” the princess replied.
“I think the prince is finally starting to see just what a useless piece of garbage that gutter slave really is.” Dorothy took her own cup and sat opposite her mistress.
“I'll be relieved once that filthy snipe is gone.”
Dorothy hummed in reply and the pair sat in silence.
In the room adjoining the parlor, Quatre couldn't help but overhear the conversation and his heart dropped to his feet. While his fears may now be confirmed, what the hell could he do about it?
~ * ~
tbc
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Bound, Bonded and Betrayed