Gabriel's Armada

Chapter 19: Duncan

After their training session for the day, Gabriel was exhausted and out of breath. Dina had been a really hard taskmaster and had made them perfect some very difficult martial arts moves.

Gabriel knew he should rest but there was something bothering him, something he knew that if he did not rectify, it would haunt him for the rest of that day and the day ahead.

So immediately General Dina dismissed them, Gabriel dragged Duncan to one side.

“What was the meaning of that?” Gabriel queried.

“Meaning of what?” Duncan asked with pseudo-innocence.

“What you said back there,” Gabriel slicked his hair back impatiently, “that General Dina is the chief's woman.”

Duncan's eyes widened with mischief, “So, it's true. You have a crush on the general.”

“I do not!” Gabriel denied hotly.

“Then why are you asking me about this?”

“I just want to know, I'm a naturally curious person,” Gabriel lied, infusing nonchalance in his words.

Duncan scoffed disbelievingly and made to leave.

Gabriel held him back once again, “You're not leaving here until you tell me what you meant by your words earlier.”

“Says who?” Duncan challenged.

“Me,” Gabriel answered, annoyed that he was not getting his way, “You should never keep a Sinator waiting.”

“I don't care what you say,” Duncan roughly shoved away Gabriel's hand, “I'm leaving.”

With that, he walked away. Gabriel's rage knew no bounds. This Pea brain had been out to raise his ire ever since he'd first encountered him, “I think I've let him get away with it one too many times. It's time to change that.”

Making up his mind, Gabriel ran and pushed Duncan from behind, causing him to lose his balance.

Duncan almost fell but steadied himself at the last minute, turning to lash out at Gabriel, his face became a landing pad for Gabriel's fist.

“That's what you get for messing with me,” Gabriel asserted, flexing his wrist.

“Yeah, that little love tap?” Duncan teased and gave Gabriel a kick to his abdomen.

Gabriel flew back and landed on his butt, standing immediately.

“Look, while you were baby I'd already started fighting.” Duncan warned, “you don't want to do this.”

Gabriel took an attacking stance, “Oh, but I want you.”

Suddenly, he charged at Duncan, who moved out of his way at the last moment. Gabriel could not stop himself and crashed into a wall, head first.

Duncan laughed as Gabriel held his head wincing.

“I did tell you not to do this,” Duncan teased.

Gabriel took Duncan's teasing to heart and attacked again, this time tripping Duncan.

Duncan fell and his face lost its smile.

“You don't tell me what to do,” Gabriel smirked down at Duncan's fallen form.

Duncan kicked Gabriel's legs out from under him, and Gabriel joined him on the floor with a yelp.

Without wasting time, Duncan entangled himself with Gabriel and placing him under him, proceeded to rain punches on Gabriel's face.

“You. Don't. Know. When. To. Give. Up.” Duncan ground out, accentuating each word with a heavy punch.

Gabriel wiggled fiercely, trying to escape, but Duncan had him pinned between his knees.

Gabriel inhaled and held his breath, causing a little space to appear in Duncan's grip. Using that opportunity, he quickly freed his right hand and gave Duncan an uppercut that made him stop punching for a second.

That second was all Gabriel needed to push Duncan away from him, and get up. Duncan fell to the floor and Gabriel began to kick him in the abdomen.

Duncan yelped in pain and tried to roll away from Gabriel, who followed him, kicking him as hard as he could.

Gabriel decided to end the fight with one last kick. He swung his leg and Duncan grabbed it in the air and twisted it hard.

Gabriel cried out as pain shot up his foot, and stomped on Duncan's hand with his other foot.

Despite Gabriel's booted foot coming down hard on his hands, Duncan kept his strong grip and kept twisting.

To alleviate the pain, Gabriel fell to the floor, kicking away Duncan's hands in the process.

The two men stayed apart from each other to catch their breaths for a few seconds.

“This could have been avoided if you'd just told me what I wanted to know,” Gabriel accused between breaths.

“I don't answer to you, Gabriel. The earlier you understand this, the better for you.” Duncan advised.

Gabriel laughed mirthlessly and pushed himself up to a sitting position, rearranging his tunic and his hair.

Duncan remained on the floor and put his hands behind the back of his head comfortably.

“So General Dina and Chief Zachariah; power couple material.” Duncan began.

“Really?”

“They're the angels favorite couple.”

Gabriel was dumbfounded, “Seriously? Why?”

“Come on,” Duncan laughed, “Zachariah is tall, blond and handsome. He's very charismatic and a good leader. Now, Dina, Dina's very beautiful and smart, a great strategist and one of our best warriors. Would you not ship them?”

“I totally wouldn't,” Gabriel protested.

“For obvious reasons,” Duncan snorted.

“But are they together? Officially?” Gabriel asked, dreading the reply he would receive. He knew from what he observed while in Zachariah's and Dina's presence that although they were close and shared a deep bond, there had not been a trace of anything romantic.

But who knew? May be around here, they were against public displays of affection, so they kept their relationship secret.

“No, not at all but it's only a matter of time,” Duncan have Gabriel a knowing look.

“Why do you say that?” Gabriel asked, taking solace in the fact that for now, there was nothing between the two.

“They're perfect for each other. Soon, they'll realize that and gravitate towards each other.” Duncan predicted, grinning at the scowl that darkened Gabriel's face.

Gabriel took a deep breath and tamped down the indescribable emotion simmering in him because he saw Duncan was enjoying getting a rise out of him. When next he spoke, it was to change the subject,

“What about you, Duncan? You said you were fighting when I was still a baby. If that's true, why are we taking the same classes?”

Duncan's face hardened and he sat up quickly, smoothening the wrinkles on his gaiters, “That's none of your business.”

Gabriel saw how prickly Duncan was about the topic of discussion and smiled, seeing it as a means to get back at him.

Gabriel shrugged and stood up, “Oh, well, you're probably lying.”

“You think you can get me to tell you things about me using such cheap tactics?” Duncan scoffed, still sitting.

“Not at all,” Gabriel smiled and began to walk away.

When he'd almost reached the door of the training arena, Duncan's voice stopped him, “Wait, come back here.”

Gabriel did a mental fist pump before he turned around, “You actually don't have to tell me anything.”

“I know, ” Duncan replied somberly.

Gabriel walked back to him and waited, making sure to mask his eagerness to hear Duncan's story with utmost indifference.

“Well, it started around fifty years ago, when I was still a private,” Duncan began eagerly.

“Fifty years ago?” Gabriel asked, surprised, “how old are you now?”

Duncan frowned at him, “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

Gabriel nodded and kept quiet, urging Duncan to carry on.

“I was the best in my class, so I was one of the first to taste battle. My battalion fought against hordes of demons twice and came back victorious, and I played a huge part in both victories, thanks to my incredible battle skills.

"Captains, Majors and even Generals began to seek my advice on military matters, and I felt on top of the world. I became arrogant and reckless, and why not? I had killed death demons.

"One day, a horde of demons ambushed a caravan of souls heading towards heaven and I decided to lead my squadron into battle, going against orders from above. Little did I know it was a trap to get my squadron and I. My men were killed and the demons took me hostage.

"I was tortured by dozens of death demons, each horrifying than the one before. Coupled with the overwhelming guilt I felt for leading my men to their deaths, it was only a matter of time before I lost my mind.

"I became unable to remember whom I was or what my purpose in life was. In that moment, I felt like. . . I had no soul.”

Duncan paused and stared at Gabriel, pain and guilt evident in his eyes. Gabriel did not know what to say, so he kept mute.

After a minute, Duncan exhaled, “The demons decided I was not fun to keep around anymore, so they decided to kill me.

In that moment, they were attacked by angels. The angels killed them and rescued me. For years, I remained a blank slate, slowly recovering my memories and my person.

When I felt I had fully recovered everything, I ran up to General Dina and asked to enlist into the army again. She didn't want me on board but I didn't back down, so she decided I had to go to the academy again if I wanted to fight.

And here I am.”

Looking into space, Duncan concluded, “I must fight for the heavens again before I die, that, Gabriel, is a promise I made to myself with every intention of fulfilling.”