I

The sun was high in the sky, spreading its warmth down on weary travelers as they rode along dusty, well-worn trails. Presently a youth pulled at their horse's reins to make the beast pause for lunch. Alone with no other companions except the horse, the youth ate lunch. Every once in a while a pale hand reached back to brush the long, chestnut-brown braid back and out of the way.

Sighing a little tiredly, the figure stood and remounted the horse. Within another hour or so they finally came upon tall, stone gates signaling a well-off city. `Who would have thought that cities would change so much within seven years?' Violet-blue eyes spotted a vender owner chasing after a little, tattered figure. `So they still haven't gotten rid of those of us who have to steal to live. They should know better by now.'

The guards let the figure pass through, nodding their heads in approval. Riding down the streets, the figure's eyes ran across all the sights and colors, amazed to be back in such a place as this once again. From off to the side of the horse, a voice commented, "What's a pretty thing like you riding down a street by yerself?" The voice belonged to an odd-looking man with a tattered beard and worn clothes. "C'mon girl-ly."

Glaring angrily at the man, the youth's eyes flashed. "Listen here, sir, I ain't no girl!" The voice coming from the youth's voice was most definitely male and the older man drew back in surprise, eyebrow raised. Gritting his teeth angrily, the younger boy continued, "Now get out of here, I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"You?" the man scoffed. "Whatever you say, youngling. You're much too small and frail to hurt me. `Sides, you'd probably trip on that tail of yours!" He laughed and disappeared into the crowd.

The boy gripped the reins tight in his hands until the horse protested and he finally gave. "Sorry Night Storm." He sighed again and nudged his horse farther along the streets. "Let's get to the palace…"

Soon the busy city streets gave way to another wall where no guards stood with gates standing open. Obviously everyone knew who was to pass those limits and who was not to. Slightly amused, the boy passed through with his braid slapping occasionally against his back. On the other side were large houses with huge yards and elegant fences standing around them to give privacy. He smiled grimly, remembering when he was younger and had gone all over looking for valuables and pieces of food just to live. He shook his head and moved on, refusing to think back to the past.

`I must learn to move on. Lord Howard has given me this chance and I must take it, to make up for me surviving.' His thoughts suddenly flew away as his breath caught and his sparkling eyes widened. Though he had seen many things in his life, he never had seen something so elegant and beautiful as the palace that stood behind a whitewashed wall only meters away.

Every windowpane seemed to glitter and glow like a precious gem, reflecting the warm sun. Towers reached towards the heavens, some piercing the clouds like spears. Beautiful flowers that he'd never even imaged lined various paths leading up to the main entrance. There were a few areas where carriages were parked and women and men dressed fancily were stepping out.

Dismounting from his horse, the youth with violet-blue eyes returned the greeting. "Yes, it's a nice day. W-where am I supposed to go?" He was always so out-going but there were moments when that would change and at the moment was very annoyed at himself for being nervous about this.

"Duo of Darkpassage, I've come to be a knight." Bryon motioned Duo to follow and soon the youth found himself slightly lagging behind as they passed through huge halls full of rich tapestries.

Finally they arrived at their destination, before a wooden door with carved handles. Bryon knocked and after an affirming reply, he opened the door to let Duo and himself in. Bowing to the man seated at the desk, Bryon commented, "Your Grace, may I present Duo of Darkpassage."

The black-haired man sitting at the desk lifted calculating, sapphire eyes to search Duo over. It was a very hard task to stay still, Duo knew his clothes were dusty from the trip and even if they had been clean they would not seem fitting for some Lord's son. Of course he wasn't a Lord's son but no one knew that, except Lord Howard. "Duo, I assume you know the requirements for becoming a knight?"

The Duke nodded and motioned Duo to sit. "I am Duke Prax. I see you have no personal servant with you so we will provide you with someone to take care of your belongings. Once you are led to your room I am sure you will find someone to guide you around you. Now, if you have any questions ask the other boys. Do know that if you stay out of trouble you won't have to be seeing me often." He smiled slightly and nodded his head briefly, signaling the end of the brief meeting. "Now, Bryon, show the lad to his rooms."

"Yes your Grace." Byron bowed and Duo did the same before being led from the room. It was a silent walk once again. "Your bags will be sent to your room. Someone will guide you to the tailors' where you'll be fitted for the required garments."

Duo managed a weak thanks before Bryon left him at a plain wooden door where a number was etched beside the knob. Taking a shaky breath, Duo put in the key Bryon had given him before he turned the knob and pushed the door in.

Within the room was a plain, small bed with the sheets made neatly. A bare desk was set on another wall with a chest of drawers across on the other wall. From the single window in the room he could see out onto a small courtyard where a group of boys older than himself were standing around. Looking through the group Duo found himself staring a boy that had hair just slightly shorter than his. The boy's hair was a whitish blonde and looked silky beneath the sun's fingers. That was not the end to the boy's beautiful features for he had crystal, clear, blue eyes that seemed kind but at the same time alert.

Standing in the hallway was a boy not much taller than himself, making him fairly short, with short, cropped, blonde hair. His eyes were sky blue and smiling, fitting the kind look on his face. "Hello, my name is Quatre of Winner's Cliff. I was told you're new and need to be fitted, is that right?"

There was no way Duo could be nervous around this kind, truly cheerful boy. He smiled in return and nodded slightly. "Yeah, that would be me. I'm Duo of Darkpassage. So…" he started as he followed after Quatre. "How long have you been here?"

"Oh not all that long compared to many of the boys here. I arrived last year to begin training though they said I was just too young… actually I think it was because they thought me too weak. But that's in the past and now I am training. There's some nice people, and some not." He glanced over at Duo, noting the fascination on the other boy's face as they walked. Cracking a grin, he questioned, "Haven't seen the palace before?" With wide eyes, Duo shook his head. Quatre shrugged and moved on, "You'll get used to it eventually. That hallway leads to the dining areas and just off to the left of that hallway is another which leads to the ballrooms." He trailed on, pointing out the sights as they moved on.

They were there for some time as Duo was measured and tried on various garments until the tailor scowled and gave the shorter than normal boy an outfit just a tad too large. Quatre kept his laughter at bay and schooled his face to a cheerful look as he escorted Duo, and the armload of clothes, from the room.

"Classes end for the day. The others will be coming in to get dressed and ready for dinner. Go get washed up real quick and…" The blonde looked Duo over. He stifled a giggle at the sight his newfound friend made. After returning from the tailors', Quatre convinced the boy with long hair to change into the outfit. Duo had come out with the boots fitting fine though he said the pants were a little long. As for the shirt, the sleeves were curled up slightly at the cuffs. The tunic had originally hung very low but together they figured out a way to shorten it a bit. In the end Duo had felt quite embarrassed but Quatre assured him that he had practically gone through the same thing the year before. Duo had pointed out that Quatre was the very same age as him so when the blonde had gone through the ordeal he would have been just as old as Duo was. "Maybe we can find one of the ladies to fix that up for you."

Duo gave him one last glare before disappearing into his room and locking the door with a sigh. "Oh boy… this is going to be interesting." He walked over to the basin of water sitting on a table off to the side of the room and washed his face quickly before glancing out the window. In the courtyard now were three females. The first was a girl with long, black hair and dark eyes. Next to her stood a female with wild, reddish-colored hair down to her shoulders. The last female seemed to be the same age as the first. She had a sweet face with short, almost dark navy hair. The hairstyle was almost too short as to what was considered `lady-like' but then again Duo wouldn't know of such things.

Shaking his head, Duo moved back to the door. `Now I know why I can't stand all this court stuff.' He sighed, noting that his hard years of training was slipping again, his speech becoming more `common' as the nobles called it.

Finally he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Quatre stood some ways down the hall outside of his room and was talking to a few boys. He didn't notice Duo who slipped into the shadows to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"There's someone new?" The speaker had slick black hair pulled into a small, tight ponytail at the base of the boy's neck. He had sharp, black eyes that probably saw and took in every detail. His skin was slightly tanned, setting him aside from being of a local kingdom.

"That's why you missed class," a low, soft voice commented. Usually that phrase would have been a question but this silent looking, tall boy put is as a statement. His light brown hair was short but his bangs were strange, sticking over his face at least an inch or two to shadow one emerald-green eye. From what Duo could tell, he was well built but his face gave away no feeling; not even the visible eye flickered to hint at what he was feeling.

Smiling, the blonde took over introductions. "Duo, may I present Wufei and Trowa. Duo's new here so we'll have to get him set up… along with Trowa, that is." Turning to Duo, Quatre explained about the boy with unusual bangs. "Trowa just arrived last week and is still adjusting too."

"I lived previously in Darkpassage though it is not my real home." Duo refused to reveal more than that though the comment was true. Seeing Quatre glancing about, Duo asked, "What are you looking for?"

Pausing for a moment, Quatre corrected, "Who, not what. And I was looking to see if H… there he is!" The blonde rushed forward and managed to fall in step behind a boy his height with short, dark hair. His bangs fell onto his forehead and some fell into his eyes though the boy didn't seem to care. Like Trowa, his face and eyes were emotionless. However there was something about him that signaled he wasn't comfortable and didn't really feel like he belonged in this setting. Strangely enough, Duo's heart ached for him.

Trowa's emotionless look faltered for a moment and Wufei had to contain a soft choking sound. Duo frowned at the responses. Before he could ask again they had caught up with Quatre and the other boy. "We have someone new today. This is Duo. Duo, this is Heero." Duo continued to just blink slowly at the boy just barely a centimeter taller than him. Quatre suddenly realized that Duo had no clue as to who Heero was and quickly added, "The heir to the throne."

Blood rushed to Duo's face and he made an awkward bow as he tried to hide his discomfort. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of amusement in the prince's eyes but that could very well have been his imagination. "I'm… sorry your, er… highness." Duo cursed himself mentally for being so clumsy in front of Quatre's friends.

"My name is Heero, you need not use titles." His voice was a monotone, though extremely pleasant. Duo nodded hesitantly relieved when the beautiful cobalt blue eyes turned their attention to the halls around them. The five boys resumed walking and Duo fell to the back, watching the backs of the others as they passed by various stairwells, hallways, and rooms.

During dinner Duo found that Quatre was the most talkative other than himself and was usually able to engage Trowa and Wufei into a conversation while Heero stuck to short nods or one word comments. The blonde eventually explained about the eating schedule, saying that the first four days of the week they would eat with the other pages and squires while the other three days they would mix with eating with the younger ladies of the court. He was given a brief run down on some of the more fancied females along with warnings about others.

The bell rang to signal dinner over and everyone got up to leave. The group of five were some of the last people to leave with a few laggards coming behind them. "We didn't have as many assignments today, perhaps we could show Duo the outside grounds before turn in?"

Quatre considered Wufei's suggestion and nodded, "Let's get our work done first. Duo, do you want to see what we can do with those garments of yours?" Duo looked down distastefully at the too long of clothes and gave a nod. "Then I'll-"

"I'll take him to see Hilde, she can shorten the sleeves," Heero broke in. At first Duo didn't realize what the prince had said since it had been one of the few full sentences he had said that night. Suddenly the female's name that he had mentioned sunk in.

Looking at the prince curiously, Duo didn't speak aloud his thoughts. `Hilde? Could he mean Hilde of Darkpassage? Her father is the real lord in control there, Howard's just an advisor really.'

Obviously offering help was not something usual of the prince for the three other boys besides Duo had stopped in place. Quatre still had his mouth open to finish the sentence and now it hung loosely open as he tried to find words. Finally Trowa recovered. "Alright then, as long as your assignments-"

"They're finished." Again Heero cut in but Duo was the only one startled this time. Wufei and Trowa nodded while Quatre just seemed to shrug it off before waving to Duo and heading off with the others back to the pages' wing. "This way," Heero stated, moving at a brisk pace.

Duo walked behind the other boy, wondering briefly how he might get the other boy to talk. "Er… so… it must be interesting being a prince and all. Everyone would snap to your commands and such. I don't know how I'd ever deal with it. Then again you'd always have people around you and have friends and get to do what you want. What a life…" Absently he continued to babble, more as in thinking aloud.

Being it too early in time for Duo to be able to read the silent boy's expressions, he never noticed that Heero's cheek twitched from annoyance and a slight pain at some of the reminders he was being given. "She'll be here."

The next few words died on Duo's lips and he glanced in the room Heero was entering. It was a library filled with scrolls and texts of every type and from all over. Amazed, the violet eyed boy tried to take it all in at once. He forced himself to the present when he noted Heero walking ahead without so much as a glance back.

Finally the dark-haired prince stopped at a table surrounded by bookcases and closing the area off from most of the library. Soft giggles were coming from the area and Duo peered around Heero to see the three females. They were the same three girls he had seen previously looking down on the courtyard out his window. They suddenly became aware of the intruders and stood up to curtsy, murmuring `your Highness'.

The girl with short cut hair seemed to do a double take over Duo and suddenly spotted the yard long braid. Giving a startled gasp she clasped her hands happily in front of her. "Oh Duo! I knew you'd eventually come! How are you? I see you still haven't gotten rid of that horse mane!" Momentarily Duo winced at the name the girl gave to his only belonging of the past other than the necklace he hid beneath his shirt.

He recovered quickly though, peering at the girl intently. His eyes widened suddenly and he gaped. "No way. It really is you! I wondered but didn't think it would be true! I'm fine, Hilde. What `bout you?"

"Still haven't lost the accent?" Hilde started to tease but then noted the frantic look that passed through Duo's eye. She paused for a moment, wracking her mind for a cover-up, "Well I've been doing fine. Let me introduce my friends. This is Meiran and she's Catherine."

Duo bowed slightly to be polite. He had heard of the two girls over dinner. Catherine was close to Trowa, apparently his elder sister. Meiran and Wufei had been betrothed when young to join their neighboring kingdoms again. He hadn't seen the three girls well enough before and even now he couldn't deny the surprise at how much Hilde had grown within two years. They had been close friends during the time Lord Howard was deciding to take him in. Both had been seven at the time and had shared many secrets throughout the two years before Hilde left for the palace.

Meiran ran bronze-colored fingers through her beautiful black hair as she studied the prince slightly. "Was there a reason to find us?" she questioned, getting over the original surprise of seeing the prince coming to find someone.

Of course the silent prince left it to Duo to explain. "Well these garments are a little long… could one of you sew them up a little?" He was a little embarrassed at the request but couldn't get around the truth.

Startled, Duo allowed himself to trail after Hilde. When they reached the library doors he realized that the silent prince was no longer with them. He frowned ever so slightly and let his eyes wander back. The prince was standing half-hidden behind a shelf of scrolls and was watching the hand Hilde had on Duo's sleeve. Oddly enough, Duo felt a strange warmth come to his face and he hurriedly looked away. He was determined not to get distracted.

Hilde led Duo down a hallway that Quatre hadn't shown him before and he blinked when Hilde motioned him into a personal room. For a moment he just stood blinking. It was more of a `common' room really, but obviously just a personal one. He realized suddenly that he was in Hilde's entry room. On the opposite side of the room was a door probably leading to her personal chamber. "You just sit there, Duo. I need to get my sewing things."

"Yeah, sure." He sat dumbly down on the chair motioned to and sighed. He had an awful headache and at the moment he just wanted to be alone and thinking by himself in his own room. But no, he was here to have his garments fixed to fit him.

They talked about the past two years, catching one another up on events. Duo of course left out some things, always hating to bring up certain topics that in one way or another led back to his past before going to live with Lord Howard. Even Hilde didn't know much of that. Hilde, on the other hand, seemed quite open about what had been going on. She talked about the girls she had met and some of the teachers. She commented on a girl Catherine's age whose name was Lady Une and was quite strict yet in some ways kind. Hilde explained things about Meiran and how the girl had truly fallen in love with her betrothed not just because they were promised. There was more but Duo let it pass him by, just liking to listen to the variety in the other girl's voice. He admitted silently that she could, at times, out talk him.

Wincing slightly, Hilde raised her eyebrows at him. "Speech. You really must use the proper speech." Duo blushed but inside he was scowling. What did it matter how you spoke? "As for the ability I am working with Sally. She's one of the palace healers and is very helpful. Perhaps you can meet her soon?"

The earliest traces of sunlight filtered through the window as the bells rang to waken the sleeping boys. Already standing at the window before the bells were rung, a male form ran fingers through his hair. He sighed softly, barely audibly. He was already dressed and ready to leave for breakfast which left him nothing to do while waiting.

Waiting. That seemed all he ever did. Yes, he did take action but that had no meaning because whatever he did would always be obeyed. He didn't have much of an idea if the people stopped only because he was royalty - that was most likely.

His cobalt blue eyes pierced the windowpane as he stared down on the small garden below. Beautiful roses sprouted from the ground to try and touch the sky. He snorted softly, they were trying for the impossible. Then again, who didn't try for the impossible?

His thoughts turned directions to the night before. There was now another boy who would try to be getting him to talk, how annoying. He growled on instinct. `Why don't they leave me alone?' In the back of his mind he knew that he didn't want them to stop. Even if he requested them to stop they wouldn't; it was refreshing to have someone not obey him. His three `friends', as the others called one another, truly cared for him.

Blinking in surprise, the prince realized that he had been thinking much longer than he had thought. Muttering quietly to himself, Heero made his way to the door and opened it to step into the hall. The new boy from the previous night hung off to the side behind Wufei and Trowa, obviously nervous. The prince felt inclined to smirk but didn't, it wasn't his character. This `Duo of Darkpassage' was an unusual character from what Heero could tell. The boy had slipped into common speech quite a few times last night but only Hilde had commented on it so he wasn't sure if others had noticed. Not only that, but the boy's irregularly long hair could very well make him look like a girl. There was something hiding behind the smiling face that Duo was giving and it was a challenge that actually interested Heero, just as long as the longhaired boy didn't annoy him.

Breakfast passed uneventfully while Quatre gave a rundown of the schedule for Duo and Wufei and Trowa talked about some training procedure from the day before. Heero's thoughts wandered elsewhere as he considered a fairly recent conversation with his father. His parents were getting unusually demanding that he become betrothed and it was getting on his nerves. Of course he knew who the king and queen had in mind. There were only certain ladies of the court that would suit so it was narrowed to Relena of Peace Valley, Noin of Peace Valley, or Une of Ozley. None of the choices were quite appealing to him. There was also the fact, of course, that the Lady Une and Lady Noin had their eyes elsewhere on two different squires, they being older than the prince. They barely looked his way other than out of respect.

Actually, to be truthful, Noin was quite nice and would at times stay around with the younger boys to talk over a few things and the like. She was an incredibly good horseback rider and not always lady-like. In fact, the shorthaired young woman didn't really want to be a lady but rather a `protector' or palace guard. She was good at different fighting skills…

The sounds of benches being pushed back brought Heero from his thoughts and he got up with the others to put away their dishes before heading back to their rooms to get their things for the day.

First class was mathematics and it was behind Heero's reasoning as to why their elders had decided on placing a subject that required a fair amount of concentration was placed first. It didn't affect him much but then again he knew that some of the other boys could barely keep their eyes open to the complicated problems.

In the beginning of class Duo was introduced and, luckily for him, no odd events occurred during it. It had happened before that often the new boy would somehow be so embarrassed that they slipped or tripped or something of the like and then the others of the class would laugh. Instead, Duo smiled and bowed politely before taking an empty seat a few seats in front of the prince. Beside the longhaired boy was the `all-high-and-mighty' Evan who refused to be bested by anyone else.

The next two classes passed very quickly and Duo seemed to be trying to cram everything into his memory. Presently the five boys were taking a rest grouped together in one of the smaller courtyards. "How are you fairing?" Quatre asked, leafing through some of the papers they had been given that morning.

Duo made a face before turning cheerful again, "Honestly I'm rushing to figure out what's going on." Quatre laughed lightly and Trowa seemed to hide a small smile. "Didn't think it was that funny…" Duo muttered.

"Afternoon classes we spend physically training," Wufei stated as the five boys walked from their rooms. They had changed into slightly darker clothing that served for training purposes before walking down towards the practice grounds in the back. "We have been working on fighting with a staff and also with archery. Riding lessons come on the last part of the day."

The longhaired boy seemed to take everything in cheerfully, not so worried anymore. He knew much about fighting, falling, riding, you name it and he was near positive that he knew it. The first lesson consisted of the staff fighting Wufei talked about and Duo was paired up against Trowa. As they practiced in slow motion, blocking and striking, Duo carefully controlled himself not to move fast. He was used to actually fighting, not this whole step-by-step practice. Finally the teachers let them go at it and soon Duo and Trowa were working fiercely at finding an opening. They seemed equally matched, both easily blocking and blow cast their way. No one seemed to have the upper hand and finally the instructor called them to a halt.

Duo eyed the other boy wearily, seeing the dangerous gleam behind the other boy's eyes. Evan was nearly a head and half taller than him but Duo refused to be discouraged. After all, he was used to fight against larger opponents then himself. The call to begin came and the pages went at it again. Evan struck out hard enough to make Duo think for a moment that the staffs would break. Pushing all other thoughts away, Duo gathered his strength and concentration on the battle. His eyes never left Evan's hands knowing that in some way there may be a hint coming from the movements of the boy's hands. Violet blue eyes flickered briefly as he blocked a strong blow and quickly struck out before Evan had time to recover. Duo stopped the staff barely a hair's width away from the other boy's neck. A content smile came to his lips. Evan narrowed his eyes angrily and kicked Duo back.

It came as a surprise so Duo didn't have time to gain his balance. He sprawled back on the ground, catching himself as he fell so as not to hurt himself. He blinked up angrily at the taller boy towering over him. "Hey!" he started. He suddenly noted that the instructor wasn't around and that must have been why Evan had even dared to do such an act. "Listen you-"

"Listen you," Evan mocked. "No, you listen, Darkpassage. You haven't got a place here. Why don't you join the ladies, eh? By the looks of your hair and body you aren't fit to be here amongst us."

Gritting his teeth angrily, Duo resisted the urge to slap the boy. Instead, he casually stood up and gave a tight smile. "I don't believe that bothers you at all. I think it's you're just jealous and-"

Looking just beyond Evan's shoulder, Quatre wondered why Heero hadn't stepped in yet. "You don't need to be picking on someone new. Just face that he has good skill. Just leave him alone!" Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, the blonde looked pointedly at the prince. "Your highness…"

Actually, Heero had been prepared to stop all of this when Quatre had come forward and even then he was ready to go in. But by the time the blonde asked for help he knew he no longer could break it up. The boys would look upon him with little respect thinking that he couldn't take charge. Curtly he responded, "I believe the instructor is coming. Why not ask him?"

Indeed the instructor was running up to the group to see what was going on. He became furious when he found out what happened and immediately sent Evan to see the duke. The tall boy didn't leave without uttering threats only heard by Duo and it left the longhaired boy feeling a little weary. After Duo finally convinced the instructor that he would be okay the pages moved on to the archery grounds.

Heero glanced at Duo from the corner of his eye, noticing the slip of speech again. There was definitely much more to this new boy than he was letting on. "Even so," Trowa broke in, "you seemed to take everything fairly well. That is accountable."

Barely even taking a look at the other boys, Heero finished preparing the arrow and replied, "I don't need to be fighting others' battles. It shows weakness on their part." He let the arrow lose and it sung through the air before hitting dead center of the target. Another thud followed angrily after and the prince noted Duo was carefully fiddling around to notch another arrow. His face was just slightly flushed and a grim determination was set in the back of his eyes. A flicker of a smile crossed Heero's lips before he prepared another arrow. `He'll be just fine. He realizes what I'm saying.'

Quatre looked at Heero a moment longer, trying to figure out if the usually stony prince had actually smiled. It was so out of the question, however, that the blonde shook it off and went about the archery practice. This time is seemed Duo and Heero were competing against each other, both incredibly skilled. He sighed. `These two will one day become two of the best fighters… how can they be so good at this?'

As another arrow hit the center once again, Duo began losing himself in the past. The air around him suddenly felt slightly warmer, bringing back the memory of a hot summer day beside the shady river. He sat by the water, staring into the depths with young, wide violet eyes. His reflection shone back, revealing the tenseness of his muscles as he held back all the hurt. Soon a man with a short, narrow beard came up behind him and scolded him for wandering off. "But sir…" the young Duo whined, "I like the river!"

Duo nodded obediently and walked away with the man. Later on that evening he slipped away from the manor again, disobeying the orders and sitting by the riverside alone. His arrows and bow sat beside him as he stared grimly to the opposite bank. Finally his thin fingers notched an arrow and he took aim at a single leaf that clung to a thin branch. His first shot went off wide and he continued trying over and over. He repeatedly retrieved his arrows and started over again until he hit the leaf every single time. For weeks after that he continued to practice along with other fighting techniques he had seen the adults use.

"Come on, it's time for the riding lessons!" Quatre's cheery voice entered Duo's mind and he quickly masked his emotions with a happy face. He followed after the others towards the stables where many a magnificent beasts stood.

After a look-over by the instructor, Duo was allowed to keep Night Storm as his training horse. The pages practiced going through different patterns, bringing their horses from a brisk walk to a full-out run. Again the lesson was simple to Duo who had worked with Night Storm for a long time. To him, all the physical training would seem easy.

Brushing down the silky, black coat of Night Storm, Duo barely realized that the stall door opened. Turning, he saw a boy much taller than him with long, platinum blonde hair standing there. With a start Duo recognized him as the one who had caught his eye yesterday in the courtyard below his window. "Uh…" no words came to his mouth and Duo carefully tried to focus on grooming his horse's mane.

"You are the new page, am I right?" The pale boy's voice was collected and beautiful sounding, every bit of a noble. Duo nodded carefully. "Then welcome. You most likely wouldn't have seen me. I'm a squire. My name is Zechs of the Peace Valley area. And your name?"

The squire seemed amused and commented, "You need not be nervous, Duo. You may like to know that you had better clean up for dinner. If your horse is not done being groomed allow me to finish. You have a magnificent animal here." Zechs moved forward to run a hand along Night Storm's back.

Still trembling a little from the odd encounter, Duo forced himself to focus on his group of newfound friends that stood gather at the stable doors. "Took you long enough," Heero snorted.

They walked back up to the palace chatting about the day's events. It wasn't until they reached the doors that they ran into other people. Within the doorway were two older boys. One had long, white blonde hair that Duo immediately identified as belonging to Zechs. The other boy had short golden hair an aristocratic air about him. Slowing his pace slightly, Duo studied the two boys as the groups approached one another. Wufei and Heero, who were in front of the group, were about to just pass when Zechs stopped them with a casual comment. "A moment, your highness. I must introduce my friend to the new page." Lifting an eyebrow in interested, Heero cast a sidelong look at Duo who was standing and blinking dumbly.

"So this is the new boy from Darkpassage. Lady Hilde has mentioned you before, Duo." The golden haired man spoke in a powerful manner and it made Duo feel a little uncomfortable but he ignored it with a question.

"She has? She hadn't seen me for two years and even before that we didn't know one another long. And may I ask who you are?" Duo managed to keep a calm tone though inside he was wondering why in the world two squires would be taking interest in him.

Lifting one elegantly sculpted eyebrow, the golden haired boy showed the same slight amusement Zechs had. It was starting to get on Duo's nerves. "Forgive me, I should have cleared that up originally. My name is Trieze of Ozley."

The bell pealed and Quatre began poking Duo to move along. "We need to go… good day," he bowed quickly and hurried along with the others as they moved down the hall. "What in the universe are those two doing?"

Wufei seemed deep in thought as he added, "Squires aren't usually interested in pages. Now if it were knights and squires that would be different. Those two like to think highly of themselves… with good reason, of course. However, why would they take such an interest in a new boy that barely anyone knows about?"

During dinner that night an announcement was made about a party taking place in a few nights following. It was all the talk buzzing around the room as the pages and squires considered what they would do and which ladies would be present. Wufei muttered something about Meiran but the others couldn't persuade him to tell.

Meals cleaned up, the five friends returned to their rooms to grab their stuff before meeting in Quatre's room to do their assignments. Heero seemed to understand everything but then again he didn't seem like much of a help-giver so if one of them had trouble they would consult the rest of the group (excluding Heero) for help. Duo found this out rather quickly when he stumbled across a math problem he couldn't understand whatsoever. Quatre was the first by his side and trying to work the problem through with him and then finally Wufei stepped in to help. Trowa seemed to be doing fine with all the subjects, too, but he would always be the last to help. Eventually Wufei, Quatre, and Duo gave up on the silent boys and went to work helping themselves.

They had managed to get their work done right when the bell toned for turn in. Trowa and Wufei headed across the hall to their rooms while Heero and Duo ended up walking off to the left. An uncomfortable silence had fallen over the two and the longhaired boy desperately wanted to strike up a conversation.

No words came to him and the opportunity passed. Heero entered his room without saying a thing and shut the door. Duo paused for a moment and glared at the offensive piece of wood. Muttering a "Goodnight to you too…" he shuffled down the hall to his own room.

The party came up quickly and it was a break for both pages and squires for they were excused from assignments and later afternoon classes. It wasn't until Quatre guided Duo down to the ballroom where it was taking place that Duo finally found out it was a birthday party for one of the higher-ranking ladies in court. According to Wufei, her name was Relena of Peace Valley.

`Peace Valley…? Oh that's right, Zechs is from there. Might this be a relative of his?' Duo stuck to his new friends closely, however Heero wasn't able to join them at first. He had the rather… `unfortunate' duty of standing near the birthday girl's side.

Trowa wandered off with Wufei to find Catherine and Meiran, leaving Quatre and Duo behind to scope out the gathered people. Quatre pointed out certain people, nodding politely at the young, blonde healer, Sally. The girl seemed so young to be a healer but then again a healer was judged on skill and if the sixteen-year-old was skilled than she could have a position as healer anywhere. Next the blonde page pointed Duo to look near where Heero was standing. The silent, stony prince had originally left quite a few feet between himself and a beautiful, dark-blonde female. Obviously she had closed the distance for she was, by then, nearly hanging on the prince's arm. Her ocean blue eyes swam with giddiness as she stared at `The Stone' - as Duo started referring to Heero - and tried to get him to talk.

The blonde grinned and let out a slight laugh, "I've learned to know whom to look for. There's some who'll you'll see more often than others. Oh, looks like Trowa and Wufei are heading back…" He ended up having an amused tone enter his voice when he finished with, "And they seem to have brought company."

Sure enough, flocking behind the two boys were Hilde, Catherine, and Meiran along with two girls looking the same age as Catherine and then a third who seemed almost bewitching with her pale, white-blonde hair and narrow, split eyebrows. Eyes pale and cold as ice, the girl had the oddest smile on her face and Duo resisted the urge to shiver. "Company?" Quatre asked in a slightly dry tone, knowing all of the ladies he decided he could joke around.

Wufei snorted lightly with Meiran's hand resting properly on his arm. "Oh good, Duo!" Hilde smiled and was by the longhaired boy's side in a flash. Violet eyes blinked down at her for a moment before the girl began introducing the others. "You know Catherine and Meiran from before… now let's see… This is Dorothy." She referred to the girl with pale feathers.

Dorothy curtsied politely, murmuring, "Good evening. Our dear Hilde has told us about you, Duo of Darkpassage." Her cool eyes never left Duo's face and he noted something flashing behind them.

"Lady Une," Hilde continued, this time motioning to one of the older females. She had soft brown eyes set in a nice face which was framed by shoulder-length, caramel brown hair. She nodded respectfully but offered no more. "And Noin." The last female was Trowa's height with dark eyes and short, blackish navy hair. Oddly enough, the style was much like that of Hilde's.

Deciding that bowing was the best option, Duo pulled off a short, elegant sweep of a bow and stood upright again with a cheerful smile. "It's wonderful to meet you, ladies. I just hope that Hilde hasn't spread any nasty little lies."

Glaring at him under shading strands of hair, Hilde managed a little annoyed grunt. Duo ignored it and soon was lost in the conversation of where it was best to ride. All of the girls seemed to have a passion for horseback riding but Noin and Une seemed to be the experts.

Every so often cobalt blue eyes would cast inconspicuous glances towards the group `friends' that were free. And oh how he wanted to be one of them - not because they were surrounded on all sides by females. Oh no. He'd had his share of that, even with one girl in particular practically clinging to his arm it was enough to throw him over the edge. "…Isn't that wonderful, Heero?" The voice was fairly young and sweet but with all her constant babbling it could get very annoying. Which reminded him of someone else… "Heero…?" And that was the other thing. What right had she to call him by his first name with no titles? Not that he completely minded, it was annoying with everyone calling him such ridiculous names and titles. However he was just a trifle miffed that this lady used the name without his permission.

The girl was flustered for all but a moment before she smiled happily and commented, "You weren't listening to a word I said and it seemed you may not have been feeling well. I do hope you're alright. Oh, there's Dorothy and the others! Shall we go to see them?" Heero grunted a response though he doubted it mattered either way. Relena was already leading him to the rather large group. At least now he'd have a few friends `protecting' him and veering off the flirtatious females.

As soon as the two arrived the ladies curtsied and the pages gave brief bows. From the corner of his eye, the prince made note that Duo seemed not to have preformed the bow as he should have with so many years experience. `Yet how do I know he's used to this? I'm in a different world.'

"Your highness, Lady Relena. How nice to see you," Lady Une carefully brushed a strand of silky brown hair behind her ear before smiling softly. She had such a beautiful smile, bringing forth true happiness; or if it wasn't, it was one very well placed mask.

Heero gave an acknowledging snort in response and carefully slipped away from Relena and managed to make his way to stand by the ones he had learned to call friends. Quatre hid a smile with a cough and made no comment. The prince glared at him briefly, the blonde knew quite well how irritating persistent females were.

Relena sniffed distastefully when `her' Prince slipped away but she vainly tried to hide it. Instead she turned to the new boy whom she had not seen before. She noted that his posture was all wrong and that he didn't seem to be paying any attention to Heero or herself. `How rude! He doesn't even respect those above him!'

Eyes narrowed disapprovingly, Relena waved a hand at Duo. "That is no way to address a future queen." Heero's eyebrows knitted together as a vein in his upper cheek ticked. "What poor education you've had to still be speaking like…" she gave a disgusted look, "a commoner!"

"I run, I hide, but never lie," Duo replied back in a whisper. He led her onto the dance floor and began to lead Hilde around the floor. "I'm avoiding her at the moment so I didn't slap her. Is she really engaged to The Stone?"

Hilde blinked a few moments, trying to figure out what Duo was talking about. When she realized what, or rather who, he was talking about she burst out in giggles. Dancing pairs around them stared at them strangely and Hilde smothered her laughter down. "The Stone?" she managed. Duo nodded briefly, trying hard to keep a straight face and his embarrassment at bay. "I can't believe you dare to call him that!"

Snorting lightly, Duo muttered, "I believe it fits him. Don't you think? He still hasn't shown any emotion past annoyance. And that's… usually directed at me." He laughed lightly in embarrassment. "Anyhow, he seems to ignore everyone and everything but still seems to take in all observations and information and makes a mental note of everything." Duo frowned and forced himself to focus on Hilde's upturned face. "I'm sorry, I'm babbling like the idiot I am. So, what's going on lately? And what's the news with the `Lady' Relena?"

Shrugging, Hilde took her last step in the dance and curtsied as Duo bowed politely. She followed him to the refreshment tables before speaking again. "She's fairly high-strung, I must admit. But that comes from Lord Peacecraft's second wife. His first died the year before Relena was born. There's a tragic story there but that can wait until a later time. You'll notice there's a large difference between Zechs and Relena, even being brother and sister. They were raised differently, that's the main reason. Both are quite devoted to the dream of a pacifist land but who knows if that will follow through? They have separate techniques - Zechs requires some force while Relena believes in no fighting whatsoever. There's some doubts to that, though…" Hilde muttered in an after thought.

Duo cocked an eyebrow at that and looked at her questioningly. Unfortunately Hilde didn't wish to answer so she just shook her head shortly to signal that she'd explain later. "Ah, and here are the kits from Darkpassage. How do you fare this fine evening?" Trieze gave an elegant bow while Zechs nodded his head politely in greeting.

Hilde grinned and focused her attention on Zechs, "I see you decided to slip out of form tonight. And why might that be?" Amusement twinkled in her eyes. Duo felt a bit torn as to what to do. He wasn't comfortable around these squires as of yet, they always seemed to know something he didn't and they talked in riddles at times. He also felt left out, not knowing how to react to the exchange before him.

Trieze interrupted. "Perhaps you ought to behave politely, Zechs, the young page does not seem to know what to do." He smiled as Duo began to flush. "I hope you take no offense, it was just an observation."

Duo forced his smile to stay in place and not show his discomfort. "It has been doing well but there's much to learn still. It is very different from what I've been used to. I think I rather enjoy this, though. Is being a squire much harder?"

The older boys seemed to consider. It was Trieze who answered that question. "It is different and a bit more challenging. If you are in service to a knight then there is many extra things to do. And already, as a squire, you must begin to look for someone who will serve you when you become a knight."

"We keep our eyes open," Zechs continued. "First year pages now will be the ones we have to choose from when we become knights." He grinned as Duo, "Keep up the work so you can be picked by a good knight."

The four began discussing smaller matters as they walked from the refreshments table and back towards the group of gathered friends. Other pages and squires were joining in conversations and leaving at the same time. The ballroom was crowded along the edges since the music had stopped for an intermission. "And here we thought you had left us," Meiran told Hilde as she slipped away from a different conversation. She had long since left Wufei's side, wanting to be on her own.

Duo left the two to their greetings while he sought out Quatre to talk with. He noted Noin coming to talk to the two squires who had previously been flanking him. Finally on his own, he made his way through the people towards the top of golden hair. "Here, Duo!" the blonde called once spotting the other page. Duo made his way over to find Quatre talking with Wufei and some other pages he wasn't very familiar with yet. "In a few months we'll be let out to go to the market, won't that be fun?"

"Sounds interesting, I haven't had time to look about the city." Duo glanced over the two pages unknown to him and found them not too important so didn't memorize their faces. He began to wonder what he could do within the market. He didn't have much money at the moment, his allowance monies would come only every so often from Lord Howard.

Catching the tail end of a sentence, Duo turned his attention where Quatre and the others were staring. On the dance floor partners were again gliding to the music. Finally Duo caught sight of the long, silver-platinum strands of hair that flowed from a loose ponytail at the base of Zechs' neck. Noin was with him, following the steps accordingly and talking about one thing or another.

"They always look as if they're together," one of the unknown pages commented. "Yet they really aren't. I don't see why, it would be perfect for their families and for themselves. They're very close friends in the least and I suspect they feel more."

Quatre was quiet, his eyes following the pair. "I think…" he started, "they have their reasons and that we shouldn't get into court gossip over it." He turned back with a bit of a forced smile, "They want it the way it is now. Let's leave them as that." Wufei's eyes were averted and Duo could tell that there was something underlying in Quatre's defending words. The two other pages just laughed it off and turned the talk again.

Loosing concentration once more, Duo found himself watching as Noin stepped away from Zechs, skirt ruffling about her. Then the two closed the distance again in the next step. The music began to slow and so did their movements. It did not escape his vision as Zechs carefully moved himself to whisper something to Noin's ear. She smiled a bit sadly and nodded, stepping away to curtsey. Zechs bowed, eyes not leaving hers. He looked apologetic but determined. Noin's smile strengthened and she moved away as Trieze came up.

`What happened…?' Duo wondered, watching as the two squires disappeared into the mass of people. An instant later, Quatre met his eyes and he looked about to say something before just smiling and asking Duo to join in the conversation. `There's something there. What is it then?' He shrugged it off mentally. It was the beginning of his second week, he needn't bother with trying to understand everyone yet.

Quickly time passed, leaving Duo to wonder where the past three months had gone. He was thinking about the time he had spent adjusting to the palace when a knock came on his room door one early morning. He stood from his window spot and hurried to get the door open. Quatre stood with Wufei and moved in a bit. "We have passes to the market today. It's about time we finally showed you about. Bring your purse and hold tight to it, there's many thieves out." Duo wanted to laugh at that but didn't. He hurried back to get his purse attached to his belt while slipping on his boots.

Hilde had came by the week before, talking to Duo about the market. She and some of her friends had been allowed into the city the previous week and she decided to tell her adventures to her close friend. Duo had listened with interest, storing information to use later when he would go with his friends into the market.

Trowa and himself were the only ones not to know their way about the city so they all decided to travel through the city together to show the two newer pages about. "Most of the items are overpriced," Quatre commented as they made their way past the large Manors between the Palace walls and city district. "There's still much to look at, however."

They finally reached the beginning of the city and entered in. It was packed, just as much as Duo had remembered from the first day riding through. He just hoped no one mistake him for a girl again. He ground his teeth together. That was so very annoying. He quickly stopped all other thoughts as he opened his eyes in amazement to all the colors and shapes about them. There was everything he'd ever imagined! He turned to look at some ethereal looking booths and caught glimpses of spell books and vials of unknown substances.

"C'mon!" Quatre laughed and tugged on Duo's sleeve. "This is just the beginning, I never realized how out in the country Darkpassage is!" Duo shut his mouth quickly and laughed lightly, letting his friends lead and point out the best spots.

Wufei paused at a booth selling various herbs and took out a list. "Sally requested me to get her the herbs today," he explained as he requested those named on the list. To the booth on the left, Heero took interest glancing through some out volumes and scrolls of records. Duo fascinated himself with Quatre at a different booth across the way that showed hand-blown glass pieces. Trowa joined them too, looking over some of the figurines.

The shopkeeper was thrilled and showed off some of the works, explaining the uniqueness and such. Duo wished he could pick up one of the mystical mint tinted fairies that sat before him a small stand. The tiny legs were curved under the thin glass body, as the featureless face was half-covered with earth-tinted hair that spilled across the face in an unseen wind. The wings extending from the back were translucent and nearly looked like they could beat steadily and fly away. He smiled fondly at it and then shook his head. He didn't have the choice to pay for such s delicate treasure. There was no use for it anyhow.

Duo decided on a delectable looking round fruit from one of the bordering lands of the kingdom. His teeth were set on it just when he saw the quick movement of a hand flash behind the booth. The owner hadn't even noticed. Grinning a bit, Duo broke away from his friends and moved back to where he had seen a tiny alley. And sure enough a skinny boy no older than himself was leaning and sighing in relief. The two pieces of fruit in his hand didn't seem to give him too much joy and Duo soon found out why. Four small children came running up to the other older child and he smiled down.

As the page watched with uneasiness, the boy brought out a knife and cut each fruit exactly in half and gave one piece to each child. `Figures, wouldn't give any to himself…' Duo's hand dropped to his side with his own piece of fruit. Glancing at it, he quickly moved into the alley. All four faces looked to him and the skinny boy went into a fighting stance, holding his knife at the ready. "No, no…" Duo said to calm them down. He bent a bit and smiled. "Hey, I don't think that'll be enough. You'll need to eat too." Duo handed the boy his piece of fruit and pulled out some coins from his purse. Closing the startled boy's lax fingers about the coin, he looked into the dark eyes full of confusement. "Take care of yourself. What'll they do," he referred to the small children looking up at him in amazement, "if you die?" He slipped away then and went to join with his friends again who were still looking around.

Later that day as they walked back to the palace, Duo caught Heero looking at him calculatingly. He seemed a bit… confused, perhaps, but also looked aggravated. `What I do?' he wondered absently. They made it inside and to the eating hall right on time and ate their meal while discussing the market. That night they parted for bed, knowing that the next day was full of the same studies and exercises as usual.

It had been another few months after their trip to the market but Heero still couldn't get the vision of Duo approaching the street kids out of his mind. It truly confused him to no extent. He'd never thought of even looking at the creatures stealing from honest men trying to get some pay. But he'd seen Duo follow with an amused look after the boy that had snatched some fruit away. The prince had been sure the page was going to reprimand the skinny creature and return the merchandise. But he hadn't.

Staying out of sight, Heero had only been able to see Duo's face change from a remembering smile to one of weariness. The fruit had left his mouth and dropped to his side and then he had done something unheard of. Walking up into the alley and offering the fruit and some coins to the kid. That had been the first time Heero had been able to see the other four, smaller children. Something had disgusted him with the sight and he wondered why there were such small things as those four being out trying to live. It became obvious later that the oldest boy had only been feeding them and not himself.

He had truly wanted to bring it up with Duo later on but he could never find the approach and had given up. For some reason, the memory came back to him once again as the pages and squires took their meal before the afternoon practices. Quatre spoke up and changed the subject once again during their meal, "We have five more months to go, friends and then it's on to second year!"

Quatre frowned at the response, betting it was a cover-up. Duo always claimed not to lie but he would often be found to be hiding the truth. Heero noted the exchange to every last muscle twitch and then turned to his own thoughts on the subject. He had been noticing Evan's nasty glares towards the smaller boy during their classes; and although the instructors in their exercises for the afternoon never put Evan and Duo together somehow the larger boy managed to bump into him. `Humph. Let him deal with it.'

They cleared their dishes and hurried back to their rooms to change for their outdoor classes. The winds were turning crisper and the air was getting very chill lately. Soon it would be time to work in the practice courts where the pages would be split into groups according to skill. Heero already knew that he would be in archery training. That was his best skill. He wasn't sure yet as to where his other friends were though, he would have to check later on with his father.

In the chill air, they went to work with using shields blocking attacks from their partners with wooden sticks. By now they were able to avoid the blows unless someone fouled up and did not follow the rules. That didn't bother him all that much, however, knowing that in a true battle there were no rules.

On another training ground they worked with the horses for some time before cleaning them down and then returning back to the first yard. It was back to staff fighting again, the review was needed for practically half the group since they didn't understand. It would be a dull task for everyone already knowing the skill but then again they were paired with one another so that there was still a challenge to the task. Heero found himself facing Wufei and smirked at the amused look in his friend's dark eyes. Quatre sounded a soft protest beside him and they found out soon why. For some reason, Duo was standing across from Evan as they prepared.

"Begin." Duo blocked the first strike quickly. He had to concentrate fully on the task at hand. He'd been well aware that Evan had been off practicing on his own for the past five months or so. He would be a lot stronger than he had been previously. It was already showing up.

A lightning fast move came in to Duo blindly and he had to jump back. He didn't care if he was out of position, what were rules in an actual fight like this anyhow? He blocked again as Evan slammed his stick down from above. Duo began to sweat, the moisture gathering on his forehead and beginning to trail. `Not right now!' he ordered. He wouldn't be able to allow himself to blink away the salty moisture for it would cost him too much time. Evan broke away suddenly and Duo nearly fell from the loss of pressure on his staff. He pushed with his staff and jumped into the air to miss a powerful blow headed to his side, instead catching just above his knee.

Cursing mentally he struck and was blocked by Evan and then just as quickly was attacked. He doubled over in pain when the end of the other staff contacted just under his sternum. Angry, he forced himself up to his knees to block with his nearly breaking staff. In the back of his mind he noted the crowd of people once again and wondered why things had a way of repeating themselves. `Gods! He's really trying to kill me!' He just missed the next blow to his head and felt his braid get painfully wrapped around the staff's end.

Shouts from the other pages began, calling on encouragement to the fight. Duo ducked and rolled away, his clothes already filthy. He saw the staff coming and blocked quickly. The pressure refused to let up and in one instant Duo felt himself fall hard onto the ground just as he registered the sound of snapping wood. He looked up, aghast, as Evan's staff headed straight on to his windpipe.

He was stunned when the wood staff hit him only with gravity's force across his chest before rolling onto the ground. Forcing himself onto his elbows, he found Evan lying facedown on the ground, unconscious, and Wufei standing angrily over the body. "Jerk…" he muttered. Then his ebony eyes focused on Duo and helped him up. "He was trying to kill you, you know."

Quatre moved up to check on his friend, "He ran off to get help. Even he knows he couldn't barge into a fight like that." He smiled at Wufei. "But Wufei here knows some different techniques… got him to… uh, relax." Quatre grinned and put two fingers to the base of his neck to indicate a pressure-point attack. Duo had to laugh, thanking Wufei silently.

"Hmm…" Sally nodded in response to the story Quatre told her. She had guided Duo to sit on a stool and looked his face over and his head, making sure he hadn't suffered injuries there. "Doesn't sound like Evan will be with us much longer. I'm surprised, Darkpassage, that he beat you. I thought you were one of the strongest."

Duo winced as she placed her fingertips over a bruise on his neck. "He's been training aside by himself for the past months. My fault for not doing the same." Sally concentrated and her fingers began to glow a light blue and the healing sensation calmed the throbbing on Duo'' neck. She moved onto another spot.

"As long as nothing's too bad, I should just be able to give you some herbs to eat tonight and some salve to put on yourself. Sound alright?" Duo nodded in relief, careful not to let it show. He hadn't wanted to lie about having no wounds covered by his shirt. She probably wouldn't have believed him anyhow, and then what would he have done? "Just rest well tonight and you should be okay tomorrow. Sore, though. That's all, Quatre you can take him to dinner now."

Quatre chuckled and replied, "Come to the bath houses after dinner. I showed you those a while ago. We only get to use them once the water outside is too cold to bathe in. You've got to see the inside of that place!" Duo brightened at the prospect of warm water to bathe in. He wondered how it would be possible to have a bathhouse full of it. He'd only been in warm water by having to bathe in a sun-warmed river.

Dinner went by quickly and their other friends agreed to join the trip to the bathhouse, all feeling a bit filthy after the long day. Duo grabbed his own soap and cloth from his room and went to join the others. They walked across a smaller courtyard with pathways of pebbles. A centerpiece of a large fountain with flying birds sat a few meters before the doors opening to the bathhouse. "Here we go, we can go here," Quatre explained as he pushed open the heavy doors.

The floor of the hallway was tiled with creamy, square-cut stones. He treaded along after his friends and they passed through a curtain that covered an archway. A stack of shelves was on both walls of the small room and Quatre set his things down on the bench stretching through the middle of the room. He unbuttoned his tunic and folded it up and the others did the same.

Duo carefully took his time slipping out of his boots and feet coverings. He knew the others were practically done while he still had to get out of his billowy-sleeved shirt and leggings. "Slow turtle," Quatre teased.

"Go on ahead of me," Duo requested in response. "I probably am way too slow." The others shrugged and walked off with their cloths and soap in hand. Duo slipped off his shirt and tucked it onto a shelf with his tunic and belt. He hurriedly unbraided his hair and let it fall down to just a few inches about his waist. His leggings came off next before her went to join the others. The four had chosen different areas of the spacey pool of glossy water. Duo slipped his feet in a bit back a yelp of surprise. `It's not just warm, it's hot!' It was such an astounding concept to him as he slid in and let his hair soak. He ducked his head under and then came up again. Everyone was staring at him and there was laughter hidden behind some of the eyes on him. "Um… what?" he felt embarrassed by the looks and resisted a body blush.

"You seem not to have ever been in hot water before," Wufei commented with a chuckle, reaching back to untie his hair from the small, tight ponytail. His black hair fell to his shoulders in a thin curtain and looked rather stunning.

The boy with long, brown hair studied the water's surface with a blush on his cheeks. "I never knew you could have bath water so warm," he muttered. "I mean you boil water for cooking but… um… for people?" He felt himself blush more and hurriedly began to wash with his soap and cloth. The others were trying hard not to gawk at him.

"Well you'll have to take advantage of this one, then," Quatre spoke up. He stretched his arms over his head and smiled. "It's the best one I know of!" The blonde's smile faded and he moved over closer to Duo and looked at the bruises marring the boy's upper chest. "Hey! He did get you pretty bad! You should have told Sally, she would have done something about that!"

Duo flushed a bit and moved away an inch or two. "It's not too bad… the salve she gave me should be fine. Really!" He moved his hair forward and began to massage soap into his golden-brown locks. Quatre scowled at the stubborn attitude and swam away to his original spot.

Startled, indigo eyes looked up to meet Heero's face from across the pool. "W- why…?" he repeated. The prince glared at him to signal he knew that Duo had understood the first time. "Does there have to be a reason?" He asked back, dipping his head back to scrub at his hair floating about him to clear the soap out. No answer came and he sighed. Straightening, he flicked damp bangs from his eyes and burst into laughter.

Wufei, Quatre, and Heero stared at him in shock and wondered what had gotten into their friend. Then they looked to Trowa and even Heero couldn't resist the urge to chuckle. Trowa was busy washing soap from his own hair. Once he sat up, his bangs were plastered against his face, past his jawbone. Duo nearly swallowed water from laughing so hard as he looked at the tall boy. Trowa scowled and reached for a cloth to dry his hair. He worked a bit and as the wetness dried a bit to leave the hair damp, his bangs were once again in the position shooting off his face. Though they were dropping a little with the weight of the excess water.

"That's enough," he growled, a bit embarrassed. He glared at Duo who would not cut it out and then swam over. Before the shorter boy could even look up, Trowa dunked the head of hair under water. Content, he backed away and watched as Duo stood up on the underwater bench and worked on getting hair out of his eyes.

Stunned and suddenly out of the joking mood, Duo paled and quickly slid back into the water, reaching a hand back to trace along the so-called bruise at the base of his spine, usually covered by his leggings and shirt. He swallowed hard and managed a smile. "It's fine, just a tad sore. I'll put the salve on later.

"Sure you don't want help?" Trowa asked, wondering why Duo was hiding the bruise. He hadn't had time to see it for himself. If Quatre could see if from so far away though it must have been bad. "Might want to have someone else look it -"

Sighing. Trowa rolled his eyes and dunked Duo under again. Soon it turned into an all-out water fight and all five were splashing about. A bar of soap went flying through the air and Wufei ducked just in time. Making a face at the thrower, Quatre, he began to tease when they heard the soap hit… and it didn't sound like tile either. Everyone stopped mid-motion and turned back with wide, innocent eyes. Zechs glared at the pages and rubbed his knee again.

"Hey, don't you know this is supposed to be a place to relax and get clean? Not some grounds to play in?" He grumbled some more under his breath and stood up straight. He held his cloth and soap before his body, covering his lower abdomen.

The boys laughed innocently as Zechs moved to the side of the pool and set his stuff aside as he slid in. Looking at the boys from the corner of his eyes, the squire told them, "Don't start acting wild again or you'll be in trouble. I came here to wash off… not to be bugged." As he began to soap his hair, the five pages moved to the other side of the pool and huddled around to begin a plan.

Duo grinned maniacally, "Nuh-uh… let's get him! What's the worst he can do? It's just for fun! C'mon, what do you say?" The others began adding in opinions and soon their plan was set up.

Zechs began to feel funny, he parted the hair over his face to peer around the area of water. He wondered where in the world those pages were… `I somehow think I'm in trouble…' he thought just the moment before he felt his feet pulled and his head went under the surface. When he rose to the air once again he heard the laughter echoing off the tiles. Mad, but also trying hard not to laugh, Zechs glared at the boys and brushed his long hair from his eyes. "Alright, then, you've got a battle on your hands!"

Another water fight ensured until they all gave into a truce and actually finished washing. Eventually Wufei pulled himself from the water and toweled himself off with his cloth and went back to the shelves where their clothes were stored. Heero and Trowa soon followed.

Quatre let his arms float to the surface as he studied the ceiling. "Zechs…?" When an answering `hmm' came from the older boy, Quatre continued. "There's a change between you and Trieze." He lifted his head up to look a Zechs, a few feet to his left.

The long, pale blonde hair glittered in the torchlight and created a mystical effect on his features. His crystal blue eyes seemed blank, as if trying to hide something. "I…" he started, staring up at the ceiling unblinking. He sighed and shook his head. He turned his head to look at Quatre and Duo looking at him in curiosity. "What's it matter anyhow?"

Duo decided it best to stay silent. He listened carefully as Zechs' breathing changed, his chest stopping mid-breath for just a second. A hitch in his breathing… "It just wasn't to be or work." He smiled a bit wistfully and turned away to look at the ceiling again. His eyes closed and the two pages took their leave.

As Quatre slipped out of the pool, he kept his eyes on the floor and dried himself quickly. Duo took a longer bit of time, toweling off and then keeping the cloth around his waist. They entered the dressing room and changed, finding that the others had already left.

After getting on his boots, Duo sat and brushed his hair out with a small brush he'd brought along. They were still silent and he intended to keep it that way. The golden-haired page sat beside Duo, looking a bit distant. "Did you know…" he started, "Did you…"

"Did I guess there was something else there between those two?" Duo finished the question as he split his hair into three sections. "Yes." Quatre looked at him. "That's too bad. They were very nice together. I do hope it hasn't destroyed their friendship." Quatre smiled briefly as Duo easily plaited his hair in a matter of seconds. Soon he was tying the end and standing. "Let's go, Zechs needs to be alone when he gets out. Don't want to embarrass him now, do we?" The blonde shook his head and the two left.

Zechs had dried off long ago, sitting on his cloth with the ends crossing in his lap as he brought his knees to his bare chest. He stared at the far wall for a while and wondered how the younger boys would read him so clearly. He smiled when he realized he knew the answer. `Of course. Both are so strong in magic.' Quatre specialized in being able to receive the feelings of his friends within him. `I'm his friend then, huh? Hmm… interesting. And Darkpassage…' He smiled a bit. There was a theory he had on that boy. He'd known it from the moment he felt the boy's strong soul and seen him. `He is the one. I just know it.'

He stood slowly and moved to the edge of the dressing room. He caught the brief conversation of the two pages before they left and he smiled a bit. They were kind kids, he wondered if they'd keep that sweetness. There was so much ahead in their lives.

Duo's braid disappeared with a flutter of the door curtain and Zechs moved in to change. Slipping on his leggings, he began to wonder how Duo had figured out about himself and Trieze. They hadn't been obvious at all, knowing that if they were they and their lands would be shunned. Such fool beliefs the people had in these times but it was not something they could not risk.

The curtain moved again and Zechs glanced sidelong at it and dropped his shirt in surprise when Trieze stepped through. Golden highlights gleaming in his light brown hair, Trieze managed a smile to the bewildered Zechs. "Wondered where you were. I passed Quatre and Duo, they… seemed to…" he motioned with a hand, unsure what to say.

Zechs smiled and picked his shirt up again, pulling it on and tying the bindings together. "They figured it out. Quatre did at least and Duo assumed it. Good assumptions, that kid." He managed a weak laugh and winced at the sound. Before he could even see the expression on his friend's face, Zechs turned and pulled on his tunic and belt.

"Don't, Trieze. We both figured it out." He looked up, eyes gleaming with the very faint sheen of tears. "Don't blame yourself, you know it was just as much my decision as it was yours. It wouldn't work." He finished off in a whisper. He stood up and faced his friend. Giving a weak smile, he reached out and grabbed Trieze's hand with both of his. "Hey," he said, "we're still friends." He turned the hand over and brought the palm to his lips. "Goodbye, Trieze. Goodnight." He dropped the hand and turned away.

Trieze knew not to stop him. Zechs hated to be seen weak. Words formed on his lips… `Goodbye, Zechs…' but the sounds wouldn't pass. Sighing forlornly as the curtain swung shut, Trieze sank onto the bench and put his face in his hands. `I really am sorry.'

Zechs continued to move down the tiled hallway, his soft-soled boots not making a sound as he moved. When he reached the night air outside he took a stuttering breath and became painfully aware of the wetness on his cheeks. He jogged across the courtyard, wiping at his eyes to clear them. He was in no mood for someone to find him like this. "It wouldn't work…" he repeated again. "And it really wasn't either…" His lips refused to smile in agreement though and he gave up. He pushed on and entered the palace. He definitely needed his rest tonight.