Dragons on the Doorstep
~*~ U
“Regardless, Trowa, we’re coming. This is a curse that was set on Duo that’s now bled over to his child. That is totally unacceptable! You can help or not; I think we have things in hand. Sorcerer Meisal will find the curse setter. We will deal with the remaining Filofields and their friends and enablers. Rive Bartonn will be Filofields-free when we’ve finished, one way or another. Now, I have to go. The Sorcerer is coming in three minutes. Goodbye.”
Portals began popping up all over the grand hall, and people began gathering. Heero spent a few minutes with his Chosen and his son, before joining the “war party”. He reserved the right to take out whoever the ringleader of the Filofields faction was. Someone, he promised Quatre, was going up in flames. Apparently, the vanishment was not lesson enough.
When they arrived in Rive Bartonn, they found Trowa and the Kewpie elder, Solo, waiting for them. Once again, the discovery and the conclusion was gone over. The Kewpie agreed that there was cause to ferret out the curse setter and to get the name of who had paid for the curse.
“Behavior unacceptable. Filofields lost, Deal over. Lost,” he said firmly. “This behavior wrong. Dragging out, turning into feud. Not good behavior. Feuds not allowed in Kewpie world. Poor… poor…”
He looked at Trowa. “Sportsmanship,” said Trowa. “Poor sportsmanship. Unfair, unethical.”
“Yes. Unethical behavior. Put an end to. Gone on too long. Duo is well? And child?”
“So far they are well, but we have no idea what the curse was set to do.” Quatre shook his head. “He’s worried, and so am I. After what happened earlier this year, we’re all worried. These people are not sane.”
Sorcerer Meisal arrived then. “Where are the miscreants? I’ll tell you who set the curse, who paid for the curse and why. Let’s go.”
“Enforcement gathering all Filofields and enablers, friends. All not destroyed, will be banished,” decreed Solo. “Enough. Is done now. Shitshow over.” They gathered in the square across from the almost-prisoners. They found the Filofields parents, the recalcitrant housekeeper, two more sisters and a brother, several extended family members muttering against the Kewpies, friends who also muttered against the Kewpies from the settlement, and enablers late of the council, looking more than slightly panicked. A lost-looking Mage stood, wide-eyed, in the middle of the family.
Sorcerer Meisal snorted at the sight of them. “Yes, that’s the curse-setter, and that’s the prick who paid for it.” He indicated the Mage and the head of the family. “These people are all badly wired,” he declared angrily. “Psychopaths, the whole lot of them. They’ve been doing damage to everyone around them for generations.” He flicked his fingers at them. “You can’t cure it, you can’t mitigate it, they’ll continue to run roughshod over everyone around them to get what they want. That’s all they care about. Delete the lot of them and maybe Rive Bartonn will be able to heal from this pestilence.”
“Thanks to Sorcerer Meisal,” said Solo. “Agree with conclusion. Dragon Heero Yuy, may commence defense of Chosen Duo and son.”
Heero rubbed his hands together almost gleefully and changed into his dragon form. He stepped forward. “You.” He pointed a claw at the head of the family. “You will be an example of what happens when you fuck with a dragon.” He let loose a stream of flame toward the ground at the man’s feet. The man squawked and jumped back, bumping into an enforcement officer. The officer pushed him back into place. “Step back please,” said Heero mildly to the enforcement officers. “This will not take long.”
He blew out a gout of flame, catching the man’s clothing. The man began to scream; everyone around him fell back screaming and cursing. “That is for my Chosen, for worrying him at a time of what should be great joy.” The man was now engulfed in flames. “It’s also for raising children who would do such evil with no feelings.” He turned to the woman cowering with her other children. “You raised that evil. You set it loose on the world. How many other people have died or been ruined by that evil?”
One of the teenagers screamed, “Fuck you! You should all be cursed! You inhuman monsters!”
Heero calmly turned his stream of flame onto the young man. “And you are not an inhuman monster?”
Around the square, people tried to escape through the enforcement line, and were thrown back by on-lookers. Catcalls began from the spectators, calls of grudges, battles, vicious behavior from the Filofields, lives lost with no justice, injuries inflicted with no recompense, thievery, rape, bullying and just general bad behavior. The council had turned a blind eye. The enforcement had no back up and were prevented from ever moving against that behavior. Children being beaten up and bullied. Men and women being falsely accused. The Filofields were the worst of the worst and a pox on the community. Worse, they had no interest in changing. They were superior to everyone and everyone should just bow down to them.
Heero’s flames began to die down, leaving nothing but ash behind. “I have satisfied my Chosen’s injury. I yield to you, friend Solo. Will you deal with the remainder? And what shall we do with the Mage?” Heero shifted back to his human form.
The Mage cowered against the ground, sobbing. He looked young to Quatre. Young and stupid was his thought. Maybe a little clueless, as well.
Quatre stepped forward and grabbed the Mage’s collar, hauling him to his feet and over to Heero. “Did you know what you were being asked to do when you set that curse?”
“N- no… He said it was for a slight to his daughter…”
“How long have you been a certified Mage?”
“Four months…”
“Do you understand that you were lied to? That you were asked to place an illegal curse on an innocent person?”
“I do now, sir… I’ve… I’ve never been asked to do such a thing before. I trusted my clients. But this time…” He wiped at his eyes. “I swear I had no idea… He asked for a curse against someone who slandered his daughter.”
“So he’s a liar, as well as everything else. Thank you, Heero, for dealing with that.”
Heero nodded, then folded his arms over his chest and watched the heaving crowd. The enforcement officers worked efficiently to contain the miscreants.
Solo stepped forward. “Will offer Mage another chance. Young and stupid. Can learn better. Will take to settlement.” The Kewpie took hold of the young man’s collar. “Will learn better at settlement.”
“Thank you, Elder, for your consideration,” said Quatre. “I agree; young and stupid, but he can hopefully learn better. Will you have him remove the curse from Duo and the baby?”
“Of course.” He turned to the frightened Mage. “Remove curse from Kewpie and child.”
“Yes sir!” He muttered a few words and sketched a symbol in the air.
“He’s removed it,” said Trowa.
“Trowa, take Mage to settlement. Must finish this for good.”
“Yes, Elder.” The two Mages melted into the throng.
Quatre watched them go, oddly enough feeling nothing for the man he had once loved. He glanced at Wufei, only to find his dragon watching him. He smiled and received a smile in return. That brief glance warmed him right through.
Solo raised a hand. “Family of evil. No redemption. Had chance months ago, ignored opportunity, therefore, Destroyed.”
The family members suddenly vanished. The friends and council members froze, staring at the place where their friends and accomplices had once been. “You can’t do that!” someone screamed. “You can’t just murder people like that.”
“Injured Kewpie. Did not learn with Filofields destruction example. Family evil, no loss to world. Will stand with Filofields?” he asked of the screamer. “Agree with behavior? Agree with curse, agree with attempted murder of innocent Kewpie? No better than Filofields.” He waved his hand and spoke, “Gone.” The man vanished.
“Nice,” muttered Wufei. “He’s changing it up.”
“Very helpful,” Quatre agreed, feeling no sympathy for the vanished man.
The rest of the people in the center stopped fighting to get out, staring warily at the elder.
Solo considered them as a whole. “Will make final deal. Friends and former council may leave Rive Bartonn. Must be gone by nightfall. Never return. Not adults, not children. Go; out of sight by sunset, or will destroy.” Everyone stared at him. “Now!” he snapped. They scattered with howls and screaming.
Solo dusted his hands. “Better. Will see if any left by dawn. Do not think serious. Will find out.”
The enforcement officers also scattered to make sure the banished took their banishment to heart and packed quickly.
A moment later they were approached by Sgt Walker. “Sgt Walker!” began Quatre. “How are you? And how is your nephew?”
“He is totally healed and back at work,” she said with a smile. “All thanks to you. He’s gone to supervise the removal of the council members.”
“Are these the council members that were originally responsible for my friend’s attack?”
“The very same. They were kicked off the council after it came out that they’ve been in the Filofields’ pockets for years. We’ll not miss them at all. Nor will we miss the good friends of the Filofields. Maybe we can finally return our town to running the way it should.”
Quatre hesitated. “This is none of my business, but where did the d’Bartonns fall out in all this? My… friend was quite worried about his family, but they seemed to have turned their backs on him for a time.”
“I remember that. They weren’t in the Filofields inner circle, so they’ve not come under scrutiny. I think they were more concerned about their social standing. I’m sorry they took it out on your friend. Trowa’s been nothing but helpful to us.”
Quatre nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. Hopefully they can mend their fences.”
“Healer… May I ask a question?”
“Ask.”
“I’m not in charge of the city, but it seems to me we could use a few Mages here for a while. Just to make sure that the power vacuum won't leave us with more like the Filofields. Is there anywhere you could suggest we ask for help?”
“I am not sure, but I will ask Sorcerer Meisal. Perhaps some of our dragons who are Chosen by Mages would be interested.”
“I think dragons would be a powerful deterrent,” she said, impressed. “Who would we ask about that?”
“Try Heero or Wufei to begin with; they may know.”
“Thank you, Healer Winner. For everything.”
~*~
The dragons who had come to back up their Mages made themselves useful by shifting to their dragon forms and helping to supervise the removals. The people being removed immediately stepped up their pace. Heero also helped by blasting out fire now and then, pleased to be moving things along.
Quatre took a moment to call for Duo, back at the palace. The Mage assigned to be with him, answered promptly, then handed the mirror to Duo.
“Quatre! Everything okay?!”
“Everything is okay now. The curse should have been removed; can you tell?”
“Will ask Mage. Betty! Curse gone?” A murmur from the background. “Betty says yes. All gone about 30 minutes ago. From Duo and baby. Oh! Quatre! Baby shift! Now in dragon form!”
“Oh, my! I’ll tell Heero! Congratulations! You definitely have your work cut out for you now,” he laughed.
“When back?”
“I don’t know. We need to post some dragons and Mages here to make sure the Filofields’ enablers don’t come creeping back. I don’t know how long that’ll take to work out. Sorcerer Meisal is here, so maybe he’ll help with that.”
“Saw Trowa?”
“Briefly. We didn’t talk.”
“Should tell about Wufei.”
“Eh… Maybe later. Solo said that the Mage that set the curse on you was young and stupid and maybe some time spent in the settlement will help him. Trowa took him to the settlement.”
“Okay. Miss all; Quatre, Wufei, Chosen Heero. Stay overnight here?”
“We can do that, if it’s okay with Heero and Wufei.”
“Will ask. See marketplace. Shopping!”
Quatre laughed. “I’ll ask them.
Surprisingly, the Filofields enablers were indeed gone by sundown. Packed up, loaded carts and wagons, gathered children and left. Not surprisingly they chose to leave all their animals and pets behind. The enforcement officers went house to house to collect the animals, making sure none would be abandoned to starve.
The dragons drew straws to see who would stay and three couples decided that they would do their duty for one of their own by making sure there were no Filofields remaining.
Quatre finally caught up to Heero and told him that Duo had asked to stay overnight at the palace and to go to the marketplace in the morning.
“He’s been listening to Wufei sing the praises of the marketplace and now he finally has a chance to see for himself. Works for me,” he said with amusement.
“You should come for a vacation. Get away from the cold.”
“That’s a very good idea.”
“Oh, one more thing… Your son shifted. Congratulations; you have a dragon. And really, Heero, you need to give that child a name!”
Quatre enjoyed the look of astonishment on his friend’s face.
~*~
Everyone involved ate dinner at the palace dining room that night. Duo showed off his child’s teeth and explained to some of Quatre’s (more pleasant) sisters that baby dragons were born carnivorous. Many ooohs and aaahs ensued. The little dragon wound himself around his father’s forearm and made a chirping sound for more food. Heero happily supplied fresh meat, with an occasional vegetable snuck in. Wufei laughed at his best friend and hugged Quatre more than once.
One of Quatre’s brothers-in-law asked about the kerfuffle at Rive Bartonn and the interested parties explained what had happened this time, what had happened just a year ago in Willowmarsh and especially what had happened to those who crossed the Kewpies. The non-magical folks were surprised and even a little bit worried when apprised of the Kewpie’s defenses.
“Is very easy,” said Duo, doing his best to put them at ease. “Do not fuck with Kewpie, Kewpie not fuck with person.”
“What he means,” clarified Heero, “Is that Kewpies will not start problems, but if you bring your problem with a Kewpie to a Kewpie, expect to lose. They are scrupulously fair in their dealings, but they also will not be bullied. Duo is a good example. Someone fucked with him a year ago, beat him and left him to die. He came back from the brink of death and with the help of his friends found the people who had tried to kill him. People who didn’t even have a grudge against him, personally, but were using him as a surrogate for the entire Kewpie race. Duo took care of them.”
“How?” asked the man in confusion.
“He simply spoke the word ‘Destroy' and they were utterly obliterated, as if they’d never existed. That’s the way the Kewpies’ magic works. They Speak, and it is done.”
“Wow…” The young man looked at the little creature with a new respect. “Cool…”
During dessert, Iria inquired archly when the kingdom would welcome a new consort. Quatre blushed a deep burgundy, with Wufei not far behind him. Wufei turned to Quatre and mouthed the words, “Consort? I would be a consort?”
“Oh yes, indeed,” confirmed Iria gleefully. “So tell me, brother, when can we expect a royal wedding?”
“Um… Uh… I hadn’t had time to think about it,” stammered the king. “I promise I will begin considering an auspicious date.” He looked at Wufei helplessly. “Do you have a preference, my dragon?”
“Um… As soon as possible?” his dragon suggested.
“Excellent!” cried Iria and a cheer went up from the other diners. Both young men blushed brighter than ever before.