Duo Maxwell, formerly the Knight Premiere of his kingdom and now a hunted traitor, stood in the center of a courtyard surrounded by an entire country full of people who would be only too happy to collect the price on his head and tried very hard not to be nervous. It wasn’t so much the thousand-to-one odds that bothered him, although he had to privately admit -- he never lied, even to himself -- that the situation on that front was more than a little bit dire. Most of the Sweepers were out of commission -- if a brawl started, they might be able to delay the guards enough for Duo to do something -- but not without heavy if not total casualties to their group. As it was, every eye in the courtyard was fixed on Duo. This pretty much crossed of running, hiding and fighting from the list of options. Which left only one option -- blitz and bluff his way along and watch for further opportunities. It was a carefully balanced mix of charm, chutzpah and supreme self-confidence that had worked wonders in the past -- but never in conditions quite this extreme, which was in truth the source of his current worry. Rumors had reached the Elto courts about the new King of Yusankyo, a cold and vicious man said to possess all the compassion and soul of a sociopathic snake. Duo consoled himself with the thought that rumor was always exaggerated, but was having trouble maintaining his composure in front of the man’s deep and piercing eyes. He didn’t seem to be the type susceptible to charm, Duo thought woefully; to avoid having to meet the man’s eyes, he surreptitiously checked out the men surrounding the King. There was a short blond boy standing behind the king’s right shoulder, with wide blue eyes and an innocent demeanor that Duo might have found extremely attractive if this hadn’t been completely the wrong time and place for it. He forced his attention back to the ruler of Yusankyo as the man stirred and finally spoke. “Premier Knight of Elto?” he repeated in a challenging tone. “I’ve heard of you, Sir Knight.” Uh-oh. Not that it was unexpected. “Good things, I hope,” Duo covered for his momentary panic with a winsome smile.
Re: Tenku no GUNDAM
Date: 2006-02-21 06:44 am (UTC)Duo Maxwell, formerly the Knight Premiere of his kingdom and now a hunted traitor, stood in the center of a courtyard surrounded by an entire country full of people who would be only too happy to collect the price on his head and tried very hard not to be nervous. It wasn’t so much the thousand-to-one odds that bothered him, although he had to privately admit -- he never lied, even to himself -- that the situation on that front was more than a little bit dire. Most of the Sweepers were out of commission -- if a brawl started, they might be able to delay the guards enough for Duo to do something -- but not without heavy if not total casualties to their group.
As it was, every eye in the courtyard was fixed on Duo. This pretty much crossed of running, hiding and fighting from the list of options. Which left only one option -- blitz and bluff his way along and watch for further opportunities. It was a carefully balanced mix of charm, chutzpah and supreme self-confidence that had worked wonders in the past -- but never in conditions quite this extreme, which was in truth the source of his current worry. Rumors had reached the Elto courts about the new King of Yusankyo, a cold and vicious man said to possess all the compassion and soul of a sociopathic snake. Duo consoled himself with the thought that rumor was always exaggerated, but was having trouble maintaining his composure in front of the man’s deep and piercing eyes.
He didn’t seem to be the type susceptible to charm, Duo thought woefully; to avoid having to meet the man’s eyes, he surreptitiously checked out the men surrounding the King. There was a short blond boy standing behind the king’s right shoulder, with wide blue eyes and an innocent demeanor that Duo might have found extremely attractive if this hadn’t been completely the wrong time and place for it. He forced his attention back to the ruler of Yusankyo as the man stirred and finally spoke. “Premier Knight of Elto?” he repeated in a challenging tone. “I’ve heard of you, Sir Knight.”
Uh-oh. Not that it was unexpected. “Good things, I hope,” Duo covered for his momentary panic with a winsome smile.