-1Title: Harbinger of Death

Rating: mild Teen

Summary: Duo is a lonely prince with a horrible gift. Heero is the one who must help him survive it and those who would seek to exploit him.

Warnings: Nothing of any real concern this chapter, just a truckload of snark.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the Gundam Wing characters, plots or themes which are the direct property of their creators, distributors and their affiliates. Nor do I have any money in which to be sued with, considering I am a college student and I'd pay my student loans off before any lawsuit, so don't waste your time.

Chapter One: A Lost Prince

Heero heard word of the missing prince the morning of his second day at the small pub and hotel just outside of Haywood. He'd been enjoying a particularly satisfying breakfast of alcohol and stale bread when the two men next to him, clearly mercenaries by their garb, complained loudly about the boy Heero had never once thought of but had vaguely known existed. Apparently he'd gone missing from his rather large escort two days previous and his father, the king of Nadea, had put out a hefty reward for the prince's safe return. In fact it was the reward alone that had Heero saddling up his horse hours before he'd originally intended, and leaving in the opposite direction of his business. Not that he was a greedy or particularly materialistically driven person, but the reward was enough to tempt anyone, and Heero was but only human.

Before leaving the town Heero made a detour to a friend's house, knocking once on the door which opened promptly. "Zechs," he said pointedly, entering the house when he'd been given permission. "What do you know about the missing prince."

Zechs was royalty himself, not that Heero thought Zechs knew that he knew. The runaway prince from the Peacecraft kingdom, Heero had kept his secret for years, understanding all too well how the man could disappear into obscurity when faced with the kind of troubles and unwanted responsibilities he had been. And despite his break from his kingdom, he keep himself well informed and was thusly the best person to ask concerning the wayward prince.

"Why would you be concerned about the prince?" Zechs asked, pouring the both of them a warm drink to combat the chilly conditions outside. "The last I heard you were headed up north to do something about those pirates. You did agree to watch out for those towns on the river in exchange for a place to sleep and food to eat whenever in the area, didn't you?"

Heero ignored the tea placed in front of him. "I have my reasons. Now what can you tell me?"

"Which prince?"

Heero had known Zechs for many years, but he was in no mood for his friend's evasive tactics, in less of a mood since he couldn't understand the reasoning behind it.

"The only one that's missing right now."

Zechs appeared to stroke his chin in thought before replying, "Come now, Heero, indulge me. I can scarcely remember a time in which you went back on your word to anyone to go off on some frivolous crusade in the name of honor, glory and king." Zechs took a sip of his own tea. "Or is it that you've heard what the king is offering for the prince's safe return and you're human after all."

"I am not abandoning the riverside towns," Heero defended. "The pirates won't be there way again for some time, plenty for me to rescue this prince and return him to his father." And certainly not for honor, glory or king, his tone implied.

"He's the youngest," Zechs said slowly, finger running the rim of his cup. "So you wouldn't think he'd be the target of any kidnapping attempt, especially considering how many warm bodies he's away from being the crowned prince. But I suppose he has a charm all his own, not that I've ever met him." Though there was something in the way he'd said the words that made Heero doubt him just a bit, as he never could tell with Zechs just how often the man was making a joke out of the truth or forcing a farce to sound like an actuality.

Zechs continued, "He's the king's favorite, that's for sure, the only child from his last and late wife. He's good looking too, but aren't all princes?" With a dramatic sigh he asked Heero, "Just what precisely do you want to know?"

"His last known location," Heero said, sliding forward to hunch over and rest his elbows on his knees.

"He was ambushed on his way home from the local market. Apparently he attends the local festivities once a week or so and intermixes with the people who live there. Since he is neither heir apparent nor the runner up for the position, his duties are shall we say lax, so he bridges the gap between the monarchy and the people which is quite a strategic and intelligent thing to do. However, as I was saying, he was attacked on his way home, several of his personal guard were killed and he was taken without a trace as to who. Apparently his aggressors wore no discriminating colors and did not proclaim their alliances."

Heero nodded. "I overheard men talking this morning about a shortage of leads."

"Whoever wanted him, Heero, didn't want anyone to know who took him. They obviously don't plan on returning him. Don't be a fool and take up an errant mission. You'll never find him."

Finally Heero took the cup in front of him and swished the liquid around a bit. "No," he agreed, "but you could find him with minimal effort." Heero took a sip of the tea. "Or maybe you already know where he is."

"What reasoning would I have for neglecting to return a prince to his home?" Zechs asked with a roll of his eyes. "I assure you, Heero, even I am not that much of a brute. The boy is scarcely out of his childhood and far from being a man. His father is a good man and deserves to have his son returned to him."

"Then what have you been waiting for?"

Initially Heero had been foolish enough to believe Zechs might have wanted the reward promised by the king, as he was a man like Heero himself, and even more he was one without a home land. There were certain things Heero was sure Zechs would never contemplate with the reward, but he'd seen the older man gazing fondly at the picture of his sister and parents. Heero had no doubt in his mind Zechs was homesick and if he had a reason to go home or a justification for doing so, he would, and the king's reward could give him that.

If nothing else Zechs had truthfully claimed to be an honorable man and Heero would have though if he knew where the prince was he would have acted already. Perhaps he truly did not.

"I can't go myself," Zechs said, bringing Heero out of his thoughts. "So I've been waiting for just the right knight to come along and take up the journey in my stead. I had no idea you were in town, Heero. I'm quite supprised we weren't having this conversation much earlier."

Zechs always seemed to have a way of turning the blame off himself that grated on Heero's nerves.

"Where is he? I will go and bring him home."

Zechs fell silent and an uneasy tension developed between the two men that Heero did not at all understand. He had merely asked what Zechs had been prompting him into.

"Another can go," Zechs said.

Heero countered, "I'm going. I don't care about his father's pleas or the righteousness of rescuing a prince that was careless enough to get himself kidnapped, but the reward is too good to pass up. That reward can get me what I've been working my whole life for. It's worth any kind of danger I might run into along the way."

"He's in no real danger," Zechs said, evasive again, "if they had wanted to hurt him they would have done so already. He's far more valuable to them unharmed and relatively content, as best as the situation allows. He'll hold fine, time enough for his eldest brother and the captain of the guard to find him. They have been searching since an hour after his abduction and they're close to discovering his location. You need not burden yourself with this, Heero."

Patience lost Heero leapt to his feet declaring, "Perhaps you did not hear me, Zechs, but I have taken this challenge on already. Now kindly please tell me where he is or I'll find out on my own." He took a calming breath. "He's only one prince."

"Canon," Zechs said sharply and suddenly. "He's in Canon territory, the main castle to be precise. He's being treated as the king's personal guest, thought hardly one that can leave. You'll have to infiltrate the castle directly and locate him yourself from there, I don't know the layout of that specific castle, but if I had to guess he'd probably be on the third floor in the east wing somewhere. That's where the king likes to keep his most prized treasures, and that boy to him is nothing if not a pretty toy to be cherished and kept but never discarded."

With a bow of his head that Heero held longer than was required of him under the persona Zechs was masqueraded around under, he conveyed his appreciation. "Thank you. I'll send word to you when I have him. We'll need to stop momentarily and rest before continuing on to his home, and if you'll have us, it would be greatly appreciated."

"Heero," Zechs added in a low tone that froze Heero in his place. "They're religious zealots--fanatics. They want to worship the prince. They won't give him up easily and they won't show leniency for anyone attempting to take him from them, rightfully or not. If you get caught I won't be able to help you."

"What's so special about him?"

Zechs' eyes softened and Heero felt a chill overtake him at Zechs words. "He's Shinigami."

Heero rode for the boarder of Canon afterward, pushing his horse to its limit.

It was easy enough for him to bribe a servant in the kitchen and gain entrance to the underground passages that spanned the floor plan of the castle. It seemed while a powerful king, the ruler of Canon was far from popular with several of his subjects who were all too pleased to anonymously aid to his discomfort or unhappiness.

It was even less difficult to knock unconscious a pageboy his size and steal his clothing, effectively blending in with the other servants and court members traveling the halls in packs of extreme thickness. Indeed those groupings of people gave him the location of the prince without his having to do any work. Several of the king's nieces' handmaidens were just as obsessed with the foreign prince being kept in the castle and while vocally debating whether or not to make an attempt to see him, revealed his locations where Zechs had estimated it to be.

The third floor of the east wing was carefully guarded by tall men in heavy metal plating, fingers twitching down by their sides a little too close to their swords for Heero's comfort. Instead he entered a guest room near the stairs and far enough away from prying eyes and from the balcony began to scale the walls via the balconies.

He hesitated with a shuddering cold breath outside the place the prince was supposedly located, hand poised out and shaking against the elements. He could see the light from the fire through the rose tinted glass doors providing just enough light to highlight the wide open room and the furniture littering it.

Heero opened the door and slipped inside without a sound, feet cushioned by soft carpets as he took a better look at the room, hoping to locate the prince.

He'd almost missed the figure on the bed after his second sweep of the room that seemed completely untouched by a human presence. He'd half expected to see a destroyed room courtesy of a hissy fit from the prince or at least a pacing, angry prince himself. He hadn't expect to find calmness and near sterility.

He was certain it was the prince on the bed and ventured closer for a better look.

From the light provided from the fire he could see the figure was of appropriate size for the indicated age provided by Zechs. Swathed or nearly buried in heavy robes and sashes embroidered with golden threads and meticulously handcrafted designs, the figure seemed almost incapable of moving. It was then that Heero realized his eyes were closed and supposed the prince might be sleeping, though the stillness of the body was somewhat disconcerting.

Brown hair was done up in an elegant and complicated pattern, woven into a golden headdress that Heero wondered why the boy hadn't bothered to remove before laying down. Furthermore, the boy, so clearly male, had been subjected to the coloring of his lips, shading around his eyes and white powering that Heero had often seen the noble women (and a few men) subject themselves to. It too seemed untouched, as if painted on a mannequin and not a real person.

All in all the picture of the prince in front of him disturbed Heero. He trusted his gut feelings more than anything else, and something in the pit of his stomach told him what he saw was not right.

The fact that the prince's chest barely seemed to rise and fall finally perturbed Heero too much and with a now stable hand he reached out to the delicate neck to feel for a steady thump that indicated life. A dead prince was no good to him, nor a sick one who would make it hard to move quickly.

Eyes opened at once and Heero sprung back before he had a chance to check, far more surprised than he cared to admit. Bright eyes, the color incapable of being pinpointed due to the dull light of the fire, looked back at him with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"I was told," he prince said in a tone that Heero thought all princes were surely born with, the one which naturally assumed and air of superiority, "that I would not be interrupted this night." Oddly enough, Heero noted, there was no accusation. "What does your master seek? Have I not given him enough already?"

There was tiredness in his voice. The prince seemed almost lethargic. Maybe he had needed the sleep. Heero tried to remember, he was sure princes were less active than other people for fear of injury and that they tired more easily. A youngest and favorite prince was probably an extreme case of such affliction.

"I don't work here," Heero said quickly and quietly, indicating he wanted the prince to drop his voice as well. "I'm here to rescue you and return you to your father."

Heero was forced to take a step back as the prince came to life before his eyes, sitting energetically enough and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, scooting far enough for his slipper clad feet to touch the carpet. "My father sent you?" An eyebrow arched upward.

Heero nodded. "Your father ordered the return of his son."

The prince moved back only a fraction, yet Heero picked it up. "So he didn't send you?"

Mouth agape Heero responded, "What does it matter, I'm here to rescue you. Let's go, before anyone is alerted to my presence." He held his hand out to the prince to help him off the bed.

The prince ignored the hand offered to him, fighting his heavy clothing to stand on his own. "I only ask, you know, because I'm used to being rescued by knights. My father usually only sends his best knights. I have to wonder what happened for him to allow just anyone to come rescue me."

"What makes you think I'm not a knight?" He frowned. The survival instinct in him raged, they had no time to waste talking, especially with guards just outside the doors who could overhear them, but he'd been insulted. Prince or no prince, Heero Yuy took no insults to his character.

"You aren't nearly tall enough," the prince remarked, tipping his nose up a bit. "You're hardly bigger than I am, and if I'd have to guess, buddy, I'd bet you aren't much older. Nope, you're hardly a knight. Maybe a squire. Or maybe just a town boy who heard whatever my father is offering for a reward and got ahead of himself. Is that the case?"

Heero stepped closer, using his slight height advantage to attempt to impose upon the mouthy prince. "You got yourself kidnapped, should you really be insulting whoever took the time to actually track you down? I could easily leave you here. I think I heard some of the priests taking about chopping you up into little pieces and spreading them out over the country so everyone can have a little bit of you to worship. How does that sound to you?"

The prince scoffed. "Who do you think you're talking to here?"

"A snobbish prince who doesn't know when to be thankful," Heero snapped. He whipped forward and took the prince's robe covered wrist in a powerful grip and began dragging him over to the balcony.

Heero didn't spare the prince another look. There was absolutely nothing special about him, and nearly everything offensive. He was nice enough to look at, not that Heero had time in which to admire beauty, but nothing but a boar when he opened his mouth. Heero thought back to Zech's final words indicating what the boy was known as. Shinigami. No, Heero found nothing frightening about the lithe, pale prince--nothing that could own up to such a moniker. He rather thought the prince ought to be referred to as The Great Annoyance and resolved to do so in his own mind every opportunity he managed.

"Wait," the prince said, tripping over his long clothing as he struggled to keep up.

"I came through the kitchens, we'll go back out that way. There's a couple kids who have thus far proven to be useful and I can probably bribe to gets us out the way they got me in. Then we'll ride for a nearby town where a friend will hide us." He didn't flinch as the cold winds hit him in the face as he stepped out onto the balcony, but he did feel the prince recoil behind him.

"I hate to tell you," the prince said, having to lean in close so he could be heard over the whipping wind, "but we're three stories up. That's a little too far from me to jump. I'd rather not go back to my father with two broken legs."

Heero jerked a thumb towards the balconies lining the walls heading down to the room he'd entered by.

"Oh, no way, mister. Maybe you went to ninja school, but I didn't. The only person I think who could remotely pull that off is WuFei and he isn't here."

Heero wasn't sure what ninjas were, or who WuFei was, and he'd all but lost what patience he'd managed to take with him onto the balcony. "I got over here just fine. I'll guide you. I won't let you fall." Heero leapt up on the railing of the first, hand braced on the castle wall, prepared to make the jump to the next one. "Just do what I do." When he was safely over he turned to the anxious prince. "Come on."

The prince licked his lips nervously and made to follow, finding unfortunately his clothing was far too bulky. "I can't get my foot up," he called across to Heero." He wasn't sure if he was heard so he exemplified his point by raising his right leg and revealing that the layering of the intricate clothing prevented his legs from rising too far off the ground. The hidden trousers were apparently sewn into the outer layers of his robes.

Heero quickly returned over and retrieved his knife from his waistband where he'd tucked it safely. The prince took a step away in fear and Heero suddenly realized how much faith the prince was actually putting in him. He had only his word that he would bring no harm to the prince and no reputable association in which to comfort the prince with. He might have no been so trusting in the prince's place.

"There are too many layers to try and take off one by one, and I bet they're all sewn together anyway. Let me just make a few cuts now and we'll figure the thing out later."

Comforted by reason the prince nodded and stepped towards him again, placing a hand on Heero's shoulder and the male knelt down in front of him and expertly cut through material. "Okay," he said, "you should be able to jump now."

Once again Heero went first, and by the time he turned again the prince had heaved himself up as well and stood poised to jump. "I'll catch you," Heero reminded, holding out his arms.

The prince was much heavier than he looked, or at least with the force of a jump and the strong winds accompanying him. Still, Heero managed to catch him easily enough, arms locking behind the prince's clothed back and keeping him from the floor of the balcony. They repeated the process several times more with varying degrees of success and Heero did feel responsible on the last balcony when due to the cold wind his hands slipped a bit and both he and the prince went toppling down to the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked, half kneeling over the prince who lay on the ground, heaving for breath, looking around in a panicked way. "Are you hurt?"

"You're pretty heavy, pal," the prince remarked, pushing on Heero's chest to get up, which the rescuer aided him with.

Heero had expected and found the exit to be far more challenging than the entrance. While time had passed and far more occupants of the castle had retired to their rooms for the night, he now had a royally clad prince with him who stood out like a sore thumb. Nevertheless, he navigated the hallways and staircases expertly and it wasn't long before they were in the kitchens.

"How long have I been gone?" the prince asked him with a dark expression.

Heero peered at him curiously. "Two days, almost three. Don't you know?"

The prince did nothing but shrug and Heero wondered how one could lose track of the days when treated so grandly and with obvious access to a window and the markings of the sun and moon.

Heero paid off the three kitchen workers that had spawned from the mere one earlier to keep their silence and led the prince out to his black horse being cared for by a wayward child. He paid the child as well, and then turned to Duo.

"You've got too much bulk to ride behind me. I'll have to put you in front of me, so make sure you stay still or you could tip all three of us over."

With sleeves falling far past his fingertips the prince thrust his hands on his hips. "Bulk?" he asked seething.

"Would you rather ride naked?" Heero asked, adjusting the saddle.

"Would you like to see me naked?"

Heero paused in his work to look over his shoulder at the flippant prince. "Are you sure you're the king's son?" The king was fair, cautious and very welcoming. His son seemed to be none of those things.

The prince sped past him, truly insulted, and threw his leg up to mount the horse so expertly Heero thought for one mere moment that perhaps he ought to ride in the front. He prince had clearly been on horses since most likely a year or so of age and was far more comfortable on them than Heero himself. And from the way he situated himself and so easily petted the fickle horse's mane, he was a natural with them. Heero was lucky if the horse agreed to walk in the direction Heero wanted him to.

"Most certainly not a knight," the prince continued as Heero settled behind him. "In fact I think my sister might have been a better knight when we were children and played pretend. Imagine that, you, losing to a little girl."

Heero urged his horse on and soon they were moving with the wind, lightening fast. The foreboding castle doors opened to let himself and another rider out and the darkness of night hid the prince's clothing just enough that they escaped unscathed physically.

There was little Heero could say to rebuke the prince's words, unable to admit how much they'd actually hurt. He wanted the position more than anything else and he intended to use the prince to achieve it, but if the prince thought so little of him he might have serious problems, especially if he was the king's favorite. The Great Annoyance was certainly living up to his name.

"What's that? No biting remark?" the prince asked, Heero barely being able to hear him as they rushed towards Zechs.

"Your father is paying out reward for you return," Heero hissed into the prince's ear. "He only specified that you be breathing."

The prince said nothing else until they made camp for that night, and Heero couldn't help but feel as if he'd won a great victory against a startlingly strong opponent, though he couldn't place when he'd started to feel so strongly towards the prince in either direction. As a person who by principle along did not become attached to others, this worried Heero. A prince was the last person he needed to become attached to, especially The Great Annoyance.