“Not particularly.” The young king pinned Duo with an unblinking gaze. “In fact, I heard that you were a coward and a traitor, who broke faith with your king and turned against your country.” “Oh,” Duo said, after a short pause. “That.” Well, what was he supposed to say? Duo wondered desperately. It was technically true, after all. He swallowed against a spate of babble explaining exactly why he’d done it, and that he hadn’t really betrayed his country at all, it was just that fat old fool El’s fault and really wasn’t -- but no. He wouldn’t make excuses. “I wonder what should be done with you,” King Yuy mused. “After all, if the rumors are true, such a treasonous coward could be planning an insurrection in a neighboring country.” Duo stood straight at that pronouncement, on slightly firmer ground. “Your Majesty, neither I nor any of my men have any ill-intent towards you or your people,” he said firmly. “You have my word on it.” A slight smirk crossed the other’s lips, and he raised a sardonic eyebrow. “The word of a traitor?” he challenged. Duo scowled at the word traitor. “My word as a knight,” he corrected. “I may run and hide, but I never lie.” “As a knight,” King Yuy echoed his words; his eyes were beginning to glow with some intense emotion, and the fingers of his right hand twitched slightly. “A King’s Champion, no less. At such a young age. You must have been extraordinarily skilled.” “I like to think so,” Duo replied uncomfortably, a bit puzzled as to the direction the conversation was taking. There was a moment of silence that stretched on interminably; just before Duo’s self-control broke and he started to fidget, the King returned his attention to the long-haired boy in front of him. “Fine then,” he pronounced. “Since you’re so confident of your own skill with a blade, then your fate will be decided by a trial of arms.” Shock ran through the assembled audience at the announcement, and none were more shocked than Duo himself, but he -- barely -- managed to hide his reaction. “If you say so, Your Majesty,” he replied respectfully, but internally he was hopping up and down with glee. There wasn’t a man in Elto who could best him at swordplay; this was a better outcome than he could have prayed for. A sudden fear spiked through his relief, though, and he blurted out, “But what about my men?”
Re: Tenku no GUNDAM
Date: 2006-02-21 06:45 am (UTC)“Oh,” Duo said, after a short pause. “That.” Well, what was he supposed to say? Duo wondered desperately. It was technically true, after all. He swallowed against a spate of babble explaining exactly why he’d done it, and that he hadn’t really betrayed his country at all, it was just that fat old fool El’s fault and really wasn’t -- but no. He wouldn’t make excuses.
“I wonder what should be done with you,” King Yuy mused. “After all, if the rumors are true, such a treasonous coward could be planning an insurrection in a neighboring country.”
Duo stood straight at that pronouncement, on slightly firmer ground. “Your Majesty, neither I nor any of my men have any ill-intent towards you or your people,” he said firmly. “You have my word on it.”
A slight smirk crossed the other’s lips, and he raised a sardonic eyebrow. “The word of a traitor?” he challenged.
Duo scowled at the word traitor. “My word as a knight,” he corrected. “I may run and hide, but I never lie.”
“As a knight,” King Yuy echoed his words; his eyes were beginning to glow with some intense emotion, and the fingers of his right hand twitched slightly. “A King’s Champion, no less. At such a young age. You must have been extraordinarily skilled.”
“I like to think so,” Duo replied uncomfortably, a bit puzzled as to the direction the conversation was taking. There was a moment of silence that stretched on interminably; just before Duo’s self-control broke and he started to fidget, the King returned his attention to the long-haired boy in front of him.
“Fine then,” he pronounced. “Since you’re so confident of your own skill with a blade, then your fate will be decided by a trial of arms.”
Shock ran through the assembled audience at the announcement, and none were more shocked than Duo himself, but he -- barely -- managed to hide his reaction. “If you say so, Your Majesty,” he replied respectfully, but internally he was hopping up and down with glee. There wasn’t a man in Elto who could best him at swordplay; this was a better outcome than he could have prayed for. A sudden fear spiked through his relief, though, and he blurted out, “But what about my men?”