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Bound, Bonded and Betrayed	By : Deb Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 13360 -:- 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.

Chapter List
- 41
- 42
- 43
"Bound, Bonded and Betrayed"

Chapter 41
Despite sleeping on a bed roll on the ground in a clearing instead of a soft bed in an inn, Duo enjoyed a very deep and refreshing sleep. He awoke to the sound of the dawn chorus, the many birds in the area greeting the sun's rays with a cacophony of trills and warbles.
Duo rolled onto his back, his master still sleeping soundly and listened to the calls of the birds. He smiled to himself as he listened, nature was such a wonderful thing and he never tired of her beauty. Gradually the sounds of the birds was replaced by the sounds of the royal guard as they stirred and slowly brought the camp to life.
Prince Heero blinked open sleepy eyes and it took a moment for him to orientate himself. He yawned and stretched.
“Good morn, master.”
Turning his head slightly, Prince Heero smiled as his eyes alighted on his lovely slave. “Good morn, Duo. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, master. And you?”
“I feel very refreshed,” the prince replied honestly and reached a hand forth to caress Duo's cheek.
Leaning into the caress, Duo's eyes fluttered shut and a soft smile graced his lips.
Hearing the sounds of the camp coming to life around them, Heero sighed, dropped his hand and began to sit up. “Come, Duo. We need to get dressed, have breakfast and break camp.”
Scrambling out of the bed roll, Duo hastened to fetch his master's clothes and assist him to dress. Once the prince was dressed he left the tent to relieve himself and freshen up a little, leaving Duo to quickly dress himself and see to their breakfast.
Meeting up with Quatre, the two slaves joined forces to put together breakfast trays for their respective masters. One of the royal guard also doubled as a cook when the need arose and with the group having camped out he was busy preparing hot food for everyone. A couple of dishes with warm ham and scrambled eggs were handed over to the slaves and added to the fruit and bread that already graced the two trays.
The princes partook of their breakfast by the camp fire. Although the sun was up and beginning to slowly warm the earth, there was a slight breeze which kept a chill to the morning and the heat from the burning fire was welcome. The food was eaten, Quatre and Duo also being fed by their masters as the two princes chatted quietly together.
Once breakfast was finished, the slaves took the utensils back to the cook after they'd washed them in the river and returned to their respective master's tent to pack their things.
The camp site was quite busy for a while, the slaves carefully placing everything back into the packs they'd come out of and rolling up the bedding. Once everything was out of the tents, Duo and Quatre took the packs to the guard for securing to one of the pack horses.
With that taken care of the pair set about getting the horses saddled up and ready to go. Duo took care of Lily and Rocky whilst Quatre fussed over the princes' mounts. The royal guard were also busy with various tasks. Some were preparing the horses for their journey, others were packing up the various items around the camp site whilst others took down the tents and rolled them securely for travel.
With everything packed up and secure, the camp site left as they'd found it, the entourage started out for the castle.
The sun was well and truly up by the time the group were on their way, although the wooded trail did offer some respite from the heat. As they rode, Duo couldn't help but notice that the pace the princes set wasn't anywhere near as fast as the previous day. In fact, it was quite leisurely, something the horses at least appeared to be thankful for.
Duo didn't care that the pace was slow, if anything he was relieved. The longer it took for them to return to the castle, the less time he would have to spend in the presence of the princess and her snooty maid. Idly he wondered if the princess would be there to greet his master once they returned.
They stopped once on their way back to the castle to give the horses a break and enjoy a snack. The sun was high in the sky now and the woods would end shortly. Up ahead lay open fields with a few copses of trees to break up the landscape that surrounded the outer reaches of the castle grounds, and those trees would soon thin out as they neared the majestic building itself.
Kneeling by his master's side, Duo took the opportunity to enjoy his master's company before it would all change when they arrived back home.
All too soon, the break was over and they were on their way again.
* * *
The sun was directly overhead when the entourage clattered into the castle courtyard. Stable boys came running to take care of the equines, other slaves arrived to assist with the unpacking. Heero and Trowa dismounted, Duo and Quatre beside them as they traversed the steps to the castle entry and the King who awaited them.
“My sons,” the King greeted and gave each of the princes a hug. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you, father,” Prince Heero replied as his brother also murmured his greetings beside him. Prince Heero noted his wife's absence but didn't dwell on it. Quite frankly he hadn't expected Relena to be there at all.
“Come,” the king directed with a wave of his hand. “You must both be tired and grimy after your travels. Go freshen up and then meet me in the throne room with the advisers and we can discuss your trip out.”
“Yes, father,” Heero replied and turned to find Duo kneeling just behind him. A soft smile graced his lips as he took in the sight of his slave. “Come, Duo. We will need to greet the princess and then take a bath.”
Rising from his knees, Duo dutifully followed his master into the castle and following 'lions den'. He was not at all looking forward to the meeting with the princess.
*
Relena was in the sitting room, reclining in one of the chairs doing some needlework, Dorothy at her side reading a book when Heero opened the door and entered. Looking up sharply with a scathing reprimand on her tongue for whomever had entered her chambers without knocking, Relena quickly stifled the words when she realized it was her husband. She let a broad smile grace her face instead.
“Heero, you're home,” she said before a scowl crossed her face. “I thought you were coming home yesterday,” she added.
“Relena,” Heero greeted and crossed the room to place a kiss to his wife's cheek. He gritted his teeth as her words sank home. “By the time we had finished our business with the last holding, it was settling into dusk and too risky to ride through the night so we camped out,” Heero explained, although why he was bothering he didn't know, he was the crown prince and as such didn't have to explain himself to anyone.
Duo had dropped to his knees just inside the doorway and listened to the exchange. He bit his lip when the prince replied to the princess. He knew without a doubt that they could have made it back to the castle before the real darkness set it, it had only been mid afternoon when they'd decided to make camp. It seemed his earlier thoughts in regards to his master's reluctance to return to the castle had been right.
“Oh well, not to worry, you're home now,” Relena replied and set her needlework down. “I will send Dorothy for some tea and we can sit and catch up. These past couple of days have been very trying with this baby and all-” Relena began.
“Relena,” Heero interrupted, “I'm afraid it will have to wait until dinner. I need to bathe and my father has requested an audience with myself and my brother in regards to our travels,” he announced, knowing full well that his wife wouldn't like it.
He was right.
Relena's face screwed up, reminding Duo of someone who had just eaten a lemon.
“But, Heero. You've just returned and I think we need to spend some time together. Surely the meeting can wait a day or two,” she snapped.
A soft sigh escaped Heero's lips and he did his best to push his irritation away. “Relena, I'm sorry but I cannot refuse my father. He is King and what he says, goes. I will bathe now and return after I've finished speaking with my father.” Not waiting for a reply, Heero spun on his heel and headed for the bed chamber. “Duo, come,” he snapped.
Duo quickly scrambled to his feet and hurried after his master, making sure to keep his eyes averted from the mistress and that maid. Once he was safely in the bed chamber, he let himself relax a little.
“Duo, go through and prepare the bathing chamber for me. I will bring my own clothes along.”
“Yes, master.” The young slave hastened through the door that would take him to the royal bathing chamber. When he got there he was surprised to see Quatre there and the tub half full.
“Hello, Duo,” Quatre greeted as he continued to move around the chamber, fetching his own master's jars and setting them on the side of the tub.
“Quatre,” Duo nodded, a little confused. In all the times he'd come through to prepare his master's bath, the chamber had always been empty.
Seeing the confusion on his fellow slave's face, Quatre gave a smile. “Don't worry, Duo. I take it Prince Heero wishes to bathe?”
“Yeah,” Duo breathed.
“So does my master,” Quatre chuckled.
“Shall I let my master know the bathing chamber is already in use?”
Quatre shook his head. “Don't worry, Duo. The two princes sometimes share a bath, especially if they are both required to attend something at the same time. I'm sure your master won't be bothered that my master also wishes to bathe.”
Duo wasn't too sure about that, but gave Quatre the benefit of the doubt. After all, the other slave had been here a lot longer than him. At that moment the door opened and Prince Trowa stepped into the chamber; both slaves dropped instantly to their knees.
“Ah, Duo. I guess my brother also wishes to bathe.”
“Yes, sire,” Duo replied.
“That's fine, we can share the bath. Quatre?” The blonde stood and moved to his master's side. “Undress me and join me in the bath. Duo, you may continue to get your master's things ready.”
Feeling a blush creeping over his cheeks, Duo got up and scurried around fetching his master's jars and getting drying cloths. As he worked he did his best to keep his eyes averted from the other prince as Quatre undressed him. He'd seen Prince Trowa naked yesterday when they'd gone swimming, but the other prince and his slave hadn't been in such close proximity then and Duo had had other things to deal with so didn't take much notice. Now he was within the same confining space as the other prince it was a little hard not to take notice.
Fortunately for Duo, by the time he'd managed to gather his master's things together the other two were in the tub. Moments later, Prince Heero entered the bathing chamber.
“Brother,” Heero acknowledged.
“Heero,” Trowa replied. “Do you mind sharing the bath?”
“Of course not,” Heero replied. “Duo, undress me and join me in the bath,” Heero ordered. Duo rose from his kneeling position and quickly set about divesting his master of his clothes. Once naked, Heero stepped into the large tub and found himself a position on one of the ledges opposite his brother, Duo joining him moments later.
Picking up a wash cloth, Duo set about cleaning his master, just as Quatre was doing for Prince Trowa.
“How is the princess?” Trowa asked respectfully.
“Fine,” Heero bit out.
Prince Trowa raised an eyebrow, Heero sighed.
“She is just as demanding as ever,” Heero elaborated. “She wishes for me to remain with her and fill her in on what we have been up to. I told her it would have to wait until after we have met with father and the advisers. She wasn't too happy about that.”
“I see.” Trowa frowned. “Whilst I can understand and appreciate that she's missed you and wants to rightly spend some time with you before we have to go away again, I would have thought she'd be more than familiar with the way things work coming from her own kingdom.”
“One would think so, but the more I learn about her and her life in Sanq, the more I am convinced that she has led a very sheltered life. From what she's told me she wasn't expected to do much of anything other than entertain and attend balls and such in Sanq. She really has no knowledge or understanding of the work involved in running a successful kingdom.”
“Have you spoken to mother or father about this?” Trowa asked. “I'm sure that mother would be able to teach her exactly what is expected of a queen in the day to day affairs of the castle.”
“I had thought about it, but I didn't want to burden either of them with my problems, they have enough of their own.”
“I can understand that, but I still think it would be a good idea to have a word with mother in private.”
“I'll think about it,” Heero replied and closed his eyes, indicating the subject was closed.
The two slaves finished washing their masters and once they were clean, quickly assisted in drying them off and dressing.
With the two princes now clean and heading off to meet with their father, Duo and Quatre were left to clean up the bathing chamber and then unpack their own and master's belongings.
* * *
The following day was supposed to be a rest day for the princes before they would head out again to continue with their visits to the many holdings. Prince Heero did his best to spend some time with his wife, suffering through her incessant chatter about what she had been doing in his absence while his mind was really focused on what work lay ahead of him. Being tied up with his wife left Heero with no choice but to ask a lot more of Duo.
Not that Duo minded the extra work, it gave him the excuse to stay away from the marital chambers, the princess and that nasty maid. Aside from packing his master's and his own items for their next trip out, he also assisted Quatre in fetching and packing the non perishable food for their trip, informing the stable master of their intended time of departure and generally running errands for the prince who was unable to do them himself.
As predicted, the mistress wasn't at all happy with Heero having to go away again at such short notice and even more annoyed when she discovered that Duo would again be riding out with him. She complained loudly to the prince that she couldn't see why that slave had to go too when she could make use of him back at the castle.
Heero had tried to be patient, asking why Dorothy couldn't take care of things only to be told that Dorothy had her hands full looking after Relena and the unborn child. Heero explained as best he could why he needed Duo along with him and after suffering through more rants from the princess, he gave up and promised that he would leave Duo behind on one or two occasions, but only when they were visiting holdings that would only require him to be away from the castle overnight or two nights at most.
That seemed to pacify the princess a little and Heero made a hasty retreat to find his brother and discuss their next trip away.
*
Over the course of two weeks, Heero and Trowa managed to visit quite a few of the holdings within the kingdom. Given Relena's pregnancy and the estimated due date for the baby's arrival, Heero and Trowa had planned their trips away to try and cover the outermost holdings in the first couple of weeks. There only remained a few holdings to visit and they were all reasonably close to the castle so the two princes would only need to be away overnight.
Prince Heero figured that if Relena went into labor early, he would be close enough to home for a messenger to reach him fairly quickly and he would be able to return to the castle before the baby's birth.
Quatre and Duo accompanied the princes for each trip away and those trips were some of the happiest times for Duo. He still had his master to look after, but he could also relax quite a bit and enjoy the landscape of the kingdom of Colonia. And he made sure to make the most of it.
Duo knew that the princess had more or less demanded that his master leave him behind so he could take over some of Dorothy's duties as the maid needed to spend more time looking after the princess' personal needs - and he wasn't at all happy about it. Unfortunately there wasn't anything he could do about it and he knew things would only get worse once the child was born.
Not that Duo had anything against children, he quite liked children, although he'd not had a lot to do with them during his life thus far. No, Duo knew that once the babe was born his work load would increase even more. The princess would be occupied with the baby and no doubt that maid would be too and that meant it would be up to Duo to pick up the slack and see that all the chores were done.
“Penny for them?”
“Huh?” Duo turned in his saddle to see and amused Quatre looking at him.
“I said, penny for them,” Quatre repeated. “Your thoughts, Duo. You're miles away and I was wondering what you were thinking about.”
Duo blushed. “I was just thinking about the birth of the heir and how it will affect life at the castle,” Duo replied. He knew it wasn't the entire truth, but it wasn't a lie either if one omitted some information.
“Ah,” Quatre mused. “I'd say life will change a bit but that will be mostly for the princess. I don't think your master will be too affected by it.”
“Really?” Duo looked doubtful.
“By that I mean Prince Heero will be spending some time with the child at first for certain, but he won't neglect his royal duties either.”
Duo nodded. “I suppose so.”
“The princess might choose to have a nanny for the child, some people do that. From what my master has told me of his time growing up, the queen spent a fair amount of time with him and your master, but she also had a nanny to assist.” Quatre looked thoughtful for a moment. “Being a slave, it's not my place to say, but...” Quatre lowered his voice, “I suppose a lot will depend on the princess and what she wishes to do. A nanny would be the best thing in my opinion as that way the princess can spend some time with the child and still continue with her royal duties.”
“I don't think she has much to do in the way of royal duties,” Duo snorted. Seeing Quatre's eyebrow rise, he continued, “I haven't known her to do much at all. Yes, she's gone out into the kingdom a few times, but she doesn't seem to want to do much at all other than sit in her chambers. The queen always seems to be busy with different things, but the princess...” Duo thought he'd better shut up now, he'd already said more than he should and if anyone were to overhear him he could find himself being severely punished.
Seeing the frightened look appearing on Duo's face, Quatre decided to try and change the topic. He was also well aware of the trouble they could find themselves in for talking so freely. “It will be Christmas soon,” he stated.
“Christmas?” Duo echoed.
“Don't tell me you don't know what Christmas is?” Quatre said, the disbelief clear in his voice.
“I do,” Duo said quietly, “well, sort of.”
Quatre took the rest of the time it took to ride back to the castle to explain how the royal family celebrated Christmas. By the time they reached the courtyard, Duo's somber mood had dissipated and despite knowing that the princess, her snooty maid and extra chores would be awaiting him, he felt buoyed by the prospect of actually celebrating a Christmas.
Dismounting from Lily, Duo handed the mare over to the waiting stable boy after giving the mare a pat and making a little fuss of her for being so good. Falling to his knees he waited behind his master as the prince greeted his father. With the greetings finished, Duo rose and along with Quatre, followed behind their respective masters to continue with the now familiar routine of bathing, unpacking and in Duo's case, putting up with the princess.
* * *
“Excellent work, my sons,” the King praised. “By my calculations you should only have roughly ten holdings left to visit.”
“That is correct, father,” Prince Trowa stated. “Most of those aren't too far away from the castle and we hope to have them all visited by the end of next week.”
“That is good news.” The king gave his sons a warm smile.
“We will rest tomorrow then ride out again the day after. We will stay out overnight and should manage to visit five of those ten over the course of the two days,” Heero stated. “Another rest day and the final five should be covered in another two to three days at the most.”
“You haven't encountered any problems with the farmers at all?” the king enquired.
“No, none at all,” Prince Trowa said. “Everyone is happy with the current tax rate and none have had any difficulty in paying. They all appear to be okay with the proposed increase as well. At least there have not been any objections thus far.”
“From my observations, father, all the holdings appear to be doing very well and I predict we will have a bumper crop of both grains and livestock next season,” Heero added.
“Mother Nature has been most kind and generous to the kingdom these past few years and I hope it will continue that way,” the king agreed.
“If things do slow down or we have a bad season, the royal granary has plentiful grain in storage to see us continue comfortably until the seasons favor us again,” Trowa announced.
“If we do have another bumper season it will give us the opportunity to increase our trade with the neighboring kingdoms and that can only result in further prosperity for the kingdom and the subjects,” King Treize said with a wide smile. “Everyone will benefit.”
The two princes nodded their agreement.
“Now, my sons, I have kept you long enough. I am sure you wish to retire to your chambers and rest and in your case, Heero, I am sure you are eager to see your wife.”
Heero managed to hide the scowl from his father at the mention of his wife. Yes, he was keen to see her again, but he knew it would come at a price – his ears would no doubt be suffering for some time. The princes stood up and bowed respectfully to their father before taking their leave.
* * *
“Finally, this will be our chance to get rid of that gutter slave once and for all,” Relena said, shifting around in the chair a little to try and get more comfortable. She ran a hand over the prominent bulge of her stomach
“And I can't wait,” Dorothy agreed and started to massage her mistress' shoulders once the princess had settled. “The prince is leaving again on the 'morrow?”
“Yes, he is,” Relena frowned. “He said he would be leaving early morn and staying overnight at some inn. He's not sure if he will be home the following eve or not.” Relena shrugged.
“Either way it won't matter. By the time the prince does return that slave will be well and truly gone,” Dorothy stated with an evil smile.
“Just think, Dorothy. In three days we will be free of that gutter snipe and Heero will finally understand exactly what that slave really is.”
“I'm sure he will be thanking you too for your insight and dealing with the problem on his behalf.”
“Yes, you're right. Having that slave around all the time is clouding Heero's judgment. Once he's gone Heero will be able to see things clearly once more.”
The two women continued to chat, plotting Duo's demise and discussing how Heero would thank them for opening his eyes to the evil slave.
In the bathing chamber, Duo was tidying up after his master's bath, completely oblivious to what the princess had planned for him and how it would send him spiraling into a world of misery, pain and despair unlike any he'd ever suffered before.
~ * ~
tbc...
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Bound, Bonded and Betrayed