GW and its characters don't belong to me but to Sunrise/SOTSU Agency
Bandai, etc. etc.

Chapter 8 of Demon Seed. No big cliffhanger just some mild gore
and a really evil Treize, but there is more development of
relationships between characters.

Enjoy

**********************


They ran their horses for a few miles until they were sure that they
were out of reach of any of the townspeople who might take it upon
themselves to follow. Heero kept his horse with the pace of Wufei's.

"Trowa was supposed to meet you here?"

"That's what he said to me, but he's rarely on time. The horses need
a rest anyway so we may as well dismount and do the same. Remember,
we do have two human children with us."

Heero agreed and they signaled the three orphans to the side of the
road and began to set up camp. Once they had settled, the Stalker
approached Relena and grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk." He spoke sternly, as he drug her a little deeper
into the woods away from the ears of the rest of the group.

She wrenched her wrist free and spat angrily at him. "Let me go! You
have no right!"

"Like hell I don't! You almost cost us our lives back there! What
were you thinking? Don't you understand anything?"

Relena frowned and furrowed her brow. "I only just learned of what I
am. How am I to know yet how to control it?"

He ruffled his dark brown hair with his hands in frustration
irritated that she had made a valid point against his argument. He
turned from her and placed his hands on his hips.

"Being a vampire, even half vampire, gives you a certain, beauty,
magnetism that most humans cannot resist. They can be drawn to you,
enamored with you, if you want you can make them your very slaves.
Yet, at the same time it can also make humans scared of you,
threatened by you to the point where they would take your very life.
I thought you of all people would be smarter than that."

"So I must learn how to use my powers without drawing attention to
myself. I understand. I apologize, I should have never accepted the
bottle of sweet ale he gave me."

Heero spun back around to face her and threw her a look of
surprise. "He drugged you? Well in that case he deserves what he got.
But that doesn't let you off the hook completely."

She nodded her head and raised her eyes that had been staring at her
hands, which were clenched together. "I shall remember what you've
told me." She then, threw her arms around his waist and held him in a
tight hug, her ear resting to his mid chest. "I am so happy that I
found you to help guide me through my ignorance."

His lips parted slightly and for a moment he lost his thoughts, his
entire will, wanting nothing more then to return her embrace, yet he
did not. He would not let himself feel for this girl anymore. He
pushed her away and looked down at her noticing how the black of her
irises and the blue of her eyes sparkled somewhat; it was if he was
looking at the moonlight reflected on the sea.

"Heero, something is troubling you I can tell. What is it you need to
tell me, or should I say what is it you don't want to tell me?"

"I just want you to be all right. Despite myself, I've kinda grown to
tolerate you, sorta like if you were a little sister."

Relena's lips thinned and he could see her expression change from
soft to edgy. "You're lying to me. Tell me the truth. Why did you
kiss me as you did?"


*******************


It was getting late in the afternoon when Treize and Milliardo
decided to make camp. The prince had killed a couple of hares and had
begun roasting them on a fire, ignoring the best he could the
disapproving glare of his "cousin."

"It's a shame that by being a half-breed, it means you still must
consume human food as well as blood."

"Even if I didn't need it, the girl over there still does, or are you
wanting her to starve to death."

"She's as good as dead anyway, the weak willed woman. Human females
disgust me really, that is why I use them only for food and not for
pleasurable sport."

"Then why are you so eager to bed my sister? She is half-human after
all."

"Her vampire-half makes her superior, besides, what led you to
believe I had any such intentions towards your sister?"

"I know how you are, Treize and if my sister still resembles my
mother in any way, I figured you would have ulterior motives planned
for her. But still, how will your wife react when she finds that
you've taken an interest in another woman?"

Treize waved his hand as if Milliardo's comment was nothing. "It is a
common practice among vampire couples, dear cousin. She is well aware
of my infidelities and she has had many of her own, in fact it does
surprise me that my daughter is actually from my blood. At least she
was wise in that aspect of our relationship."

"Does it upset you that your one chance at having a child ended up
being a girl? Sons do carry our line do they not?"

"Dorothy is more aggressive and cunning than any son I could ever
have. She's fierce and strong and a well trained warrior in her own
right. I have no regret, though, a son would bring me completion I
could never have."

'Father and sons relationships are not all they appear to be,
cousin'. Milliardo thought to himself briefly before continuing his
queries. "Being half human, my sister has more than just one cycle in
her life. So I assume that, you think my sister can give you that
which you do not have?"

Treize's deep chuckle carried somewhat through the trees, though it
ended briefly, dying down to a sigh. "Making your sister my own will
bring me pleasure on many levels, I am sure, and, if one of the
actions would end up providing me with a son, then that would be all
the better. The quarter human that will run through his veins can be
easily purged."

Milliardo wanted to laugh himself at Treize's arrogance, but he chose
to remain silent as memories of his own childhood resurfaced. 'That
is no doubt what my own father thought about me'.

He saw Treize motion to Lucrezia. She stepped over to where he was
sitting and knelt down before him. He rose on his own knees and
pulled her body back against him. She automatically tilted her head
back and to the side opposite of where Treize had positioned his. The
regal vampire began stroking the pale softness that laid over her
jugular. "Hush now my pretty one, it is time to serve your master."
The words were whispered softly against her ear, though their sounds
could not escape the range of Milliardo's senses. The blonde prince
found his sight transfixed onto that of the human.

Her stature was long and tall, though painfully thin and brittle due
to the weeks she had spent under Treize's hand. He could tell,
however, by the elegant slopes and straightness of her bone structure
where there was once, the tender fleshiness and alluring curves that
graced that of every female, human and vampire alike. His gaze then
fell back onto that of her face, which he still found lovely despite
its sunken cheeks and dark circles brought on by the weight loss,
fatigue and abuse of her body.

Milliardo felt himself literally jump as he saw her eyes that were
just closed, their long dark lashes resting lazily against her smooth
ashen cheek, spring wide open. They held a look of wildness and fear;
a twisted pain the young half breed had never felt before, sparked
briefly in his gut and he fought the instinct to run to her and pull
her to him and away from his cousin.

Then, it was over. Treize had finished his feeding, pushing the girl
away from him as if she was nothing, watching with cruel amusement,
as she half dragged, half crawled away from him, sitting up once
again to rest a few feet away.

"I left plenty if you wish to indulge your bloodlust, cousin. I only
pick the strongest humans to be my pets."

"Maybe later." A now confused Milliardo replied as he busied himself
checking the meat he was cooking. Satisfied that it was done, he took
one of the spits away from the fire and walked over to the girl who
had still remained silent.

"You must be quite hungry. Take this." Her raven head raised from
her knees and her pale face looked up at him, her mid-night eyes
locked with his but before any emotion could be conveyed, Lucrezia
snatched the skewer and began devouring the rabbit as if she was a
rabid dog. Milliardo turned around and glared at Treize. "Don't you
ever feed this girl?"

"Enough to keep her breathing. But I grow tired of her, and she's
getting rather weak. A few more days, then her pain will be over. You
can even soil her for all I care and I'll simply take a new human
pet. Why, dear cousin, do you suddenly have a soft, spot for a human?
Remember your mother and what a bitch she turned out to be?"

"How dare you!" Milliardo drew his sword before Trieze could react,
halting his blow right at his cousin's Adam's apple. The aristocratic
vampire didn't even flinch, but merely smirked and raised his
sapphire eyes up to the standing man's view.

"Well, aren't you going to continue? Chop of my head, leave my body
for the buzzards and insects?" He raised his hand and pushed the
blade of the sword away when Milliardo took no further action. "I
didn't think so." He then, stood up himself and stretched his
body. "The feeding has given me a bit of a second wind, a
restlessness it seems and I feel the need to brave the night. I
shan't be gone long, though do bother yourself with waiting up for me
and I'm sure if you get lonely for company, Lucrezia here can tell
you of her droll, pathetic life before she had the good fortune to
meet me." Treize then chuckled slightly at his own joke before
evaporating into a cloud of mist and dissipating from Milliardo's
sights.


********************


"It's good to see you, old friend." Trowa greeted Wufei and the two
men drew each other into a friendly embrace.

"We could have very well not made it here." Replied Wufei as he
released his hold on the other man.

Trowa smiled and snorted a laugh. "Boredom is certainly one thing you
do not have to worry about with Heero. And speaking of, where is our
half breed brother?"

"In the deeper woods somewhere with some girl he picked up."

"That's nothing new."

"It's not what you think, Trowa. She's actually going to be my next
student it seems."

"Really?" The tall, green-eyed man looked past him and noticed the
two forms that were lying curled up under some heavy blankets. "And
those two?"

"Friends of hers. I suppose I'll find some use for them. Why don't
you come over and warm yourself by the fire and I'll explain a little
more to you."

Shaking his head, Trowa followed the Chinese man, sitting down next
to him. His eyes briefly looked over the faces of the two human
youths and fixated onto the face of the boy. He was lying on his side
and from the collar of his shirt he saw the glint of sliver. The arch
of the pendent looked very familiar to him, as did the young man's
face. His eyes suddenly grew wide. "No, it can't be."

Wufei threw his friend a confused look. "What is it?"

"The boy over there, what is his name?"

"He calls himself Duo...why?"

Trowa did not answer him but instead rose to his feet and stumbled
over the sleeping male.

"Boy! Boy! Wake up! I beg you please!"

"Wha...what...ah!" Duo yelped and struggled under the strange man's
grip.

Seeing the medallion clearly now, Trowa wiped a few stray tears from
his eyes and drew the boy into his arms.

"My lord, my prince, you are alive!"


TBC...