A Note From Hiruma

Dear Happy Readers:

I own nothing, like usual, I lost my flip flops in a game of poker against yaoi obsessed friends. This is Yaoi, just to warn ya all (like I write anything else) and there’s some ATTEMPTED rape. This is rated R just for that and a few other things, but don’t expect a lemon, I don’t have enough nerve to write those. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the fic. Peace out happy readers -Hiruma

The ballroom was decorated splendidly for the occasion, a large crowd of people was attending the celebration. Some were family, majority were close friends and all were dancing, eating, chatting and drinking, it was one of the finest parties thrown yet. The birthday party couldn’t have been more grand, it was like everyone was having a good time, except for one person. The birthday boy scolded at the party, he despised it, he much rather have a nice dinner with his family and that be the end of it. But no, for now he was eighteen and his family was looking for a suitable woman for him to marry. That he was not thrilled about. He didn’t want his wife to be chosen for him, he wanted to fall in love and then marry, not the other way around. Sitting at one of the tables, he ignored the many girls that were shamelessly trying to get his attention, he couldn’t wait until this was all over. No matter how many times his mother glared at him, he refused to get up and go dance with some woman he knew nothing about. picking at the dark green kimono he was wearing, he let his mind wander off, his boredom became too overwhelming.

“Having a happy birthday, Sage?”

Sage, the prince, looked over at his friend, Ryo, as he sat down next to him. “It’s the same as every year.”

“That bad, huh?”

“I guess you can say that.”

The music suddenly stopped and everyone turned their attention to another young man with blue hair and a scar on his face. The man smirked, “I would just like to wish my beloved cousin a great birthday and may he have many to follow.”

“Oh please, Cale,” the blond stood up from his seat for the first time that night. “Spare me and get to the point, there’s no use in pretending to be pleasant, we all know that you are not one for pleasantries.”

There was soft laughter coming from the crowd of people and a few shocked expressions from Sage’s comment to his older cousin. It was well known that the prince and his older cousin, Cale, did not get a long at all. But some things couldn’t be helped.

“Sage, I must say that I’m wounded, but it is your birthday, so I will not take much offense from your words. Now, let’s skip all the boring stuff and get to the good part, my gift to you, my cousin,” Cale’s smirk got wider.

“This ought to be good,” Kento, the stable boy, muttered to Cye, the cook, who nodded in reply.

“Guard, bring in Lord Sage’s gift!”

The doors to the ballroom opened up, a royal guard stepped in, a chain in his hand. The chain was like a leash, the other end was wrapped around the throat of a boy with bright, unruly hair. The boy was dressed in a thin shirt and a pair of pants, that were much too big for him and he wore no shoes. His large, stormy blue eyes were full of fear and it looked like he was about to cry any second. A dark bruise on his left cheek clashed with his pale skin. Everyone stared at him as he slowly walked behind the guard that was leading him to his new master. The guard kneeled in front of Sage and when the boy didn’t kneel, the guard gave the chain a sharp yank and the boy fell to his knees. Sage didn’t know what disgusted him more, that fact that his cousin had gotten him a slave or that this boy had been visibly abused.

“What do you think?” Cale asked almost wickedly. “Beautiful creature, isn’t he? He’s strong, fast, skillful, intelligent and he doesn’t even cry out when you hit him.” He then quickly jerked the boy up and slapped him across the face, the same cheek that was already bruised. Most of the crowd laughed with amusement and a bright flush went to the boy’s cheeks. Cale continued, “He should make a good servant. Boy, meet your new master, Lord Date Sage.”

“I can’t believe that you’ve gotten me a slave,” snapped Sage, anger was in his eyes. “You know how the Date family looks down upon slavery and then you have the very nerve to buy one. You, Cale, have no right to call yourself a member of this family, no less a human.”

“Sage!” his mother, Lady Date, gasped in shock.

“Are you not accepting my gift? Do you wish for me to sell the boy to some rich man that’ll probably fuck him till the end of his days?” Cale challenged Sage.

“Cale!” Lady Date wasn’t quite as shocked by Cale’s words as she was Sage’s.

Sage gritted his teeth, not knowing how to respond. Even though he hated the thought of slavery, what was he to do? If he rejected the boy, then he’d probably end up some where much worse and Sage didn’t want that. The sad look on his face broke Sage’s heart, the prince knew that he wouldn’t be able to just dump this boy into a home where he’d be raped and abused. “For the sake of the boy,” Sage choose his words carefully, “I will not send him away, since it is against the law to set any slave free. But he will be treated like every other person in this castle, I will not tolerate him being harassed because he had the misfortune of being a slave.”

“Very well, I knew you’d see things my way,” and with that, Cale left the room.

“Take that chain off him,” Sage hissed at the guard. Once the chain was taken off, the prince could see the bruising already forming around the boy’s throat. “Come with me,” he said gently to the boy, who obediently did as he as told. The ballroom was in complete and utter silence, until the music started playing again and the guest went on as though nothing had happened.

Leading the boy down to his bedroom, Sage felt like that he should apologize for his cousin. At least he was sorry about his cousins actions, it seemed like that no one else really cared what happened to the boy. Clearing his throat, he spoke. “I’m truly sorry that my cousin hit you for no reason, you do not deserve that kind of treatment.”

The boy merely nodded.

The rest of the way to the bedroom was silent. Sage carefully opened the door and ushered the boy in. “You can sit on the bed,” Sage said as he went over to a set of drawers, taking out a shirt and pair of pants that he had grown out of awhile ago. The boy was smaller than him, so they should fit him. That’s when Sage realized that he didn’t even know the boy’s name. A name would always be a good start. “What’s your name?”

“Rowen,” he said softly, looking around the room curiously as he fidgeted on the bed.

“Rowen? That’s an unusual name, you come from the south, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I see, you’re a long way from home.”

“I have no home, my lord.”

“Just call me Sage, everyone else does. Here, try these on, they should fit you. You can get changed in the bathroom,” he showed Rowen which door led to his bathroom and left the boy to change. When Rowen came out, the clothes were still a little too big for him, but they warmer and didn’t look like they were hanging off of him. Sage then gave him a pair of socks for his bare feet.

Rowen really didn’t know what to say, other than, “Thank you.” Never had somebody been this nice to him before, he wasn’t quite sure what to think of his new master.

“There’s no need to thank me. How is your cheek? I hope Cale didn’t hit you too hard.” Rowen was perfectly still as Sage inspected his bruised cheek. Thankfully, he had not been hit hard enough to break his cheek bone, it was only bruised. Then he looked at the discoloring around his neck, no doubt from the chain. “If you had cried out, then Cale probably wouldn’t have hit you so hard.”

“I don’t want to give them that satisfaction.”

Sage nodded, he understood why the boy refused to cry. People had so much power over him, that he just wanted to take away their joy of hearing him cry. He could tell that it was also a matter of pride, no matter how many times he had been hit, he still kept up his dignity.

There was a soft knock at the door. “Sage, it’s me, Ryo. Are you in there?”

Sage went to the door and opened it for his friend.

“Your mother was angry when you left, but I think your father was able to calm her down,” Ryo reported. “The party is still going on and Cye went to the kitchens to make the boy something to eat. Um, anyway, what’s his name?”

Sage smiled, “Ryo, this is Rowen, Rowen this is Ryo, he’s one of Cye’s kitchen helpers.”

“Nice to meet you, Rowen,” Ryo gave the boy a bow, which he returned. “How old are you, Rowen? You can’t be our age.”

Rowen bit his lip and tried to remember how old he was. He couldn’t believe that he couldn’t remember it off the top of his head. “Well, I’m sixteen now, but I’ll be seventeen in the fall.”

“So, you aren’t as young as I thought,” Ryo grinned and ruffled Rowen’s hair. “Hey Sage, where is Rowen going to be working? Do you think Cye needs another helper in the kitchen?”

“No, I don’t,” Cye answered as he came into the room, holding a tray. “You mister,” he said to Rowen, “sit at the table, I brought you a snack. Ryo, I need you to watch Kento in the kitchens, I think I heard him sneak into the pantry.”

Ryo snickered, “All right, I’ll see you guys later.”

Once Ryo left the room, Cye put down the try in front of Rowen. He poured some tea for all of them and Rowen silently munched on the rice crackers Cye had brought for him. Cye sipped on his tea and turned to Sage. “What are we going to do with this kid?” Cye asked.

“I don’t know. Rowen, can you read?”

A bright smile tugged on his lips as he nodded, “Yes, I can.”

“He can help out the librarian,” Cye caught onto what Sage was getting at. “What do you think, kid? Can you handle being in a library everyday?”

Rowen nodded eagerly.

“You better keep an eye out on this one, Sage,” Cye’s voice was suddenly very serious. “You know how Cale can get and some of the others aren’t any better. They won’t care what you said back at the party or if he’s legally yours, they’ll do anything they can to harm him. Maybe it’d be a good idea to put Ryo in the library as well, he’d be happy to watch over him.”

Sage chuckled, “You just want to get Ryo out of your kitchen. Admit it, he can’t cook to save his soul.”

Cye’s face turned as red as his hair. “Don’t you dare tell him that, he’ll never forgive me! I’m going to really miss his company, but it’s best for the boy.”

“You get enough company from Ryo in your bedroom, can’t you guys ever keep it down in there?” Sage muttered under his breath.

Cye’s face turned even redder and Rowen’s eyes were wide and full of confusion. “Date Sage, I swear, one of these days you better watch what you’re eating, cause it’s going to be poisoned!”

Rowen’s eyes got wider. Did he hear Cye right? Did he just threaten a prince? He was equally surprised to hear Sage just laugh it off. Usually if he even talked to anyone he’d be beaten. He didn’t think he could say anything at the moment if he even wanted to, things around here were a lot different from the places he stayed at before.

“You say that all the time, Cye,” Sage grinned at the cook. “I think you scared Rowen,” he said when he saw the startled look on the other boy’s face and couldn’t help laughing again and Cye eventually joined him, Rowen was still clueless. Once they calmed down, Sage asked Cye, “Do you think you could get Rowen settled into a room? Possibly get him some more clothes and see to it that he gets some sleep?”

“Of course, my oh so great prince,” Cye replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Anything for you. I suppose you want me to read him a bedtime story and tuck him in for you, huh?”

“Just go,” Sage pointed to the door.

“Come on, Rowen, you’ll probably have to share a room with Ryo, don’t worry, he doesn’t snore too loud.”

“You would know.”

“Shut up, at least I have a love life.”

“Didn’t I tell you to leave?”

“Oh, the almighty prince gave me a command.”

“Watch it, I’m going to be your king one day.”

“But are you king now? I don’t think so.”

“You better keep your mouth shut, or I’ll- What’re you laughing at?”

Rowen covered his mouth with his hand, his cheeks turning red. He didn’t mean to laugh out loud, he just found it amusing that a cook would argue with a prince and get away with it. Suddenly he felt fear rise up in him, he was afraid that he had angered his new master. Quickly he lowered his gaze to the ground. “I-I’m very sorry,” Rowen hardly managed to get the words out. He held back a gasp as he felt a warm hand on his uninjured cheek.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” the prince gave him a warm smile.

“Stop flirting with the boy, he’s probably too young for you anyway,” chided Cye as he slapped Sage’s hand away from Rowen’s face. “I guess we should be going, so that Sage can get back to his party.” He picked up the tray and moved to the door, Rowen behind of him.

“Um, happy birthday, my lord,” Rowen said shyly before opening the door.

“Call him Sage, or you’ll give him an ego.”

“Sorry, I mean Sage,” Rowen corrected himself.

“Thank you, sleep well, Rowen.”

“Come on, come on, stop with the flirting,” Cye led the younger boy out of the room and gave Sage a sly wink before leaving.

<<>><<>><<>>

Sage tried to concentrate on the book in front of him, but the words refused to comprehend in his head. It had been a week since his birthday and all he had on his mind was the boy, Rowen, Cale had given him. He had checked up on Rowen the day after, but other than that, he had not seen the boy for the rest of the week. Had there been any trouble with him, Cye would’ve told him right away, so Sage wasn’t worried about not knowing if something happened to him. It was just when Rowen had started laughing, Sage couldn’t help but note how cute he looked with that big grin. Shaking his head, Sage banished the thought and decided that he was never going to finish his book and place it back on the bookshelf in his room. He had the urge to go into the library and see how Rowen was doing, he didn’t know if he should resist it or just go to the library. After about five minutes of a mental debate with himself, he decided to give in and go see Rowen.

The library in the castle was a floor below Sage’s room. It was a huge room, there were several shelves of books and scrolls, all begging to be read. A few books and scrolls came from different countries, in languages the prince would probably never learn. There were some comfortable chairs to sit at and a few tables here and there. It didn’t matter if it was winter or summer, it was always a comfortable temperature in the library. Looking around, it didn’t take Sage long to find Rowen, he was putting some of the books back on the shelves. He was standing on the tips of his toes, stretching just to the third to top shelf. Sage found himself staring as the other boy’s shirt came up, exposing the soft, pale skin of his stomach, it was a good thing Rowen hadn’t noticed him yet.

“Need some help?” Sage asked, it was obvious that Rowen couldn’t reach the shelf.

“S-Sage! I mean, my lord, no I mean Sage,” Rowen stuttered, trying to figure out the right words to say.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. Here, let me help you with that,” the prince took the book from Rowen’s hand and put it on the shelf. “Have you enjoyed working in here, or is there somewhere else you’d like to be?”

“Oh, I love being in here. Sometimes I get time to read, I’ve never had access to so much reading material in my entire life. And there are a few books that came all the way from France that I find fascinating.”

“You can read French?”

“Um, yes, but there are a few words in the books I can’t read.”

“Read to me.”

“W-What?”

“Read to me in French. I’ve always wanted to know what the language sounded like, but no one around here can read it. My grandmother could, however she passed away a long time ago.”

“Shouldn’t I finish putting away these books?”

“Of course, I’ll help you.”

After all the books were put away, Sage grabbed the books in French and took Rowen to a small sofa by an open window. Getting into a comfortable position next to Sage, Rowen started to read. His voice was low and quiet, yet loud enough for the prince to hear. He stumbled over a few words that were tricky to pronounce, other than that though, he read it with beautiful fluency. For awhile, Sage was watching Rowen’s lips move, not really hearing the foreign words he was saying. Then, the prince forced himself to listen to the boy, he was growing to like the sound of Rowen’s voice and the way it spoke both Japanese and French. He began to wonder how Rowen learned to even read, it was unheard of a slave knowing to read, let alone know a European language. He became lost in Rowen’s soft voice and let time slip by. About three hours later, Cye came stomping into the library, demanding to know what Sage was doing.

“You’re late for dinner!” Cye exclaimed. “What were you two even doing over here? No. Don’t answer me, I don’t want to know about Sage taking advantage of an innocent boy like Rowen.”

“Aw, but they make such a cute couple,” Ryo grinned as he wrapped an arm around Cye.

“I should be going,” Sage stood up. “Thank you, we should do this again. How about I come by tomorrow?”

“Yes, that’d be nice,” Rowen looked at Sage bashfully.

Sage gave him a graceful bow, “Until tomorrow.”

Rowen watched Sage leave, his hands clutching the book he had been reading. He didn’t know what it was, but there was something about that prince that caught his attention. Maybe it was that sun colored, long hair. Or those icy, intense, lavender eyes. Or it was the fact that Sage was the first person to recognize him as a human and not an object. His heart began to beat faster and he wished that Cye hadn’t come, he was perfectly happy with Sage next to him on the small sofa and reading.

“He’s got that look in his eyes, love.”

“I wonder what they were doing, Cye.”

“I don’t want to know.”

“One things for sure, they really want each other.”

“Where did you get that idea?! I was only reading to him!” Rowen said defensively.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” Ryo draped his other arm around Rowen. “Now off to the kitchens, I’m starving!”

Everyday after that, Sage would come into the library and Rowen would read to him. Sometimes Ryo would come and join them, sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, most of the time it was just the two of them. Once in awhile they’d end up talking. Sage found out that Rowen’s grandfather had taught him how to read, both Japanese and French. And when he was seven, he was sold by his family, so they could afford to eat. He had lived in three other places before being sold to Cale and later given to Sage. Rowen refused to go into detail about his life as a slave in those other places, all he said that Sage was his favorite master by far.

One day, Sage sent for Rowen to come meet him in his bedroom. It had been about two months after Rowen had started reading to Sage. It was surprising how close the two had gotten and they were still the current victims of Ryo and Cye’s teasing. Rowen went to the bedroom right away, remembering where it was from his first night at the castle. He was curious why Sage wanted him to meet the prince there, the library was where they always met at. The librarian had been wary to let Rowen just go, yet Cye came in, fussing how that Sage was going to be angry that he had sent for the boy and the librarian denying the prince of his wishes. It was enough to give the old librarian a headache and shooed everyone out of the room. Knocking softly at the door, Rowen waited patiently for Sage to open it and let him in.

“I got some new books,” Sage handed them to his friend. “They’re haiku poetry, I was hoping that you would want to read them to me?”

“You sound like a child asking their mother to read them a story,” Rowen lightly teased the prince, he was still being careful about what he said, though he had loosen up some for his new friends.

“I know, I know, it’s just that it sounds better coming out of your mouth than my own. Sit, make yourself comfortable,” Sage motioned to the bed.

Right away a blush stained Rowen’s cheeks. He no longer could deny his attraction to the prince. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he swallowed as Sage sat down next to him, leaning close as he began to read. It was only five minutes until Rowen’s voice began to falter, Sage’s breath was warm on his neck, the boy didn’t even notice that prince had moved so close to him! Turning his head to look at Sage, Rowen felt his skin brush against Sage’s. Their eyes were locked onto each other and soon their lips were also locked onto each other. It had taken Rowen on by surprise, he wasn’t complaining though.

Sage didn’t know what he was doing, he had never kissed anyone before in his life. Kissing Rowen right then and there felt so right. His hands were on Rowen’s hips, lightly pushing the other boy down on the bed and paused to let him swing his legs onto the bed. Burying one of his hands in the soft blue hair, Sage started kissing his way down Rowen’s throat and let his tongue trace his collar bones. Rowen’s hands rested on Sage’s waist and then carefully moved up and down his sides. The prince liked the feeling of being simply touched by Rowen, he pondered what it’d be like if those fingers touched his bare flesh.

“You know, you guys should really lock the door if you’re going to be doing that.”

Sage quickly looked up and moved off of Rowen. “Cale, don’t you know how to knock?”

“If I knock, then I’d miss all the interesting things, such as this.”

The prince glared at his cousin. “Get out.”

“I didn’t expect you of all people to be infatuated with a slave. I would’ve taken him months ago, yet you were always a little slow.”

“I said get out!” Sage was trying to control his temper

“Is this anyway to talk to your older cousin?”

“Is this anyway to treat your future king?”

It was Cale’s turn to glare, “Watch yourself cousin, you and your little whore.” Then he left the room, slamming the door behind of him.

Rowen’s skin had lost all color and had started shaking, gods that man, Cale, frightened him to no end. He didn’t protest as Sage pulled him onto his lap and held him close. He let Sage stroke his hair, finding the gesture soothing. He pressed his face into Sage’s shoulder and waited for himself to calm down. He whispered softly to Sage, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” Tears began to build up in his eyes.

“Shh, it’s not your fault. I need to know, are you all right with this?”

“All right with what?” Rowen pulled away.

“Well, all right with us, I mean the kissing and that kind of stuff.”

“I have no right to ask this, but, um, are you using me?”

“No! Of course not!” Sage was hurt that Rowen had asked such a thing. He had thought that Rowen had trusted him by now.

The tone of Sage’s voice sound sincere and Rowen was sure that he wasn’t lying. Clutching onto Sage, he answered, “Then yes, I’m all right with this.”

“Good, because I am too.” Sage gave Rowen a passion filled kiss, when it ended, Sage said, “I think, right now, I should escort you back to your room.”

“Okay.”

Taking Rowen down to the bedroom he shared with Ryo, they stumbled in on a non too scandalous sight. Ryo and Cye were on his bed, making out passionately and didn’t even notice their friends coming into the room.

“Gee, Rowen, we should take notes.”

Cye fell off the bed as Ryo practically shoved him off in surprise. The couple had never been caught in the middle of making out before. “Sage! Rowen! What’re you doing in here?”

“I was taking Rowen back to his room, I guess it’s a bit occupied.”

“So, what were you and Rowen doing alone together?” Cye asked suggestively.

“Doing the same as what you two were doing,” Sage said coolly.

“What?!” both Cye and Ryo cried out.

“Why aren’t you two still up in your room?” asked Ryo.

Sage and Rowen sat down on the other bed on the opposite side of the room and the prince explained what happened. They got worried looks from both Ryo and Cye when they heard about Cale catching them.

“You two have to be very careful,” Ryo told them.

“I know, I need you guys to watch Rowen for me when I can’t,” Sage stated.

“What about you? He threatened you too,” Rowen objected.

“No, Cale isn’t stupid,” analyzed Cye, “he wouldn’t go after Sage, cause if anything happened to him, he’d be the first person the Date family would question. He’ll come after you, no one will take your word, even if they know Cale’s a lying bastard. We’ll have to do as Sage asked and watch over you.”

<<>><<>><<>>

Laying on the bed in Sage’s bedroom, Rowen smiled happily at Sage, who was sitting back on his thighs, looking over him appreciatively. He closed his eyes as the prince moved his hands over his naked chest, feeling every muscle. It was like this every time. Sage was always so gentle with him, like he’d break any second. They’d been together for a month now, Rowen didn’t know how he got so lucky when his entire life his luck didn’t work once for him. Cale hadn’t followed through with his threat and Rowen was always in the sight of Cye, Ryo or Sage and also by Mia, a maid, and the stable boy, Kento. His eyes opened again when he felt warm, soft lips brush across his. He buried his hands in Sage’s golden, long hair and pressed their lips harder together. The slave couldn’t remember a time he was this happy. Sage kissed the smooth chest in front of him, enjoying the taste of Rowen’s hot flesh against his mouth. He loved hearing the soft moans coming from his lover, it always assured him that his partner was having as much fun as he was. He slowly sucked the skin, being sure not to make a visible mark on Rowen. Then his lips went down to his lover’s right nipple and teased it with his tongue until it was taunt and moved over to the other one. His fingers glided over Rowen’s ribs and rested on his waist. One hand slowly caressed the skin of Rowen’s inner thigh, receiving a louder moan from his love. He continued to pleasure Rowen, only stopping when he felt small hands lightly tug at his bare shoulders. Rolling off of Rowen, he settled down next to him, allowing the other to curl up against him.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked, slightly worried.

“No,” the blue haired boy shook his head and replied delicately, “I don’t want to make love today, I want you to just hold me.”

Enveloping Rowen in his arms, Sage pleasingly complied with his lover’s request. It was moments like this he loved the most, when they were just together like this. They didn’t need to talk, they were comfortable with each others presence. It didn’t take long for the both of them to fall asleep, Sage woke up an hour later to the sound of knocking at his door. Putting back on his kimono, he opened the door only wide enough so he could see who it was. He sighed with relief as he saw that it was Mia.

“Sage, your family requests your presence right away in the meeting room,” she told him.

“All right, could you do me a favor?”

“Yes.”

Sage let Mia inside the room before closing the door. “Let Rowen sleep for a little while longer, then take him down to the kitchens and Cye will watch over him. And will you tell him that I’ll meet him in the library tomorrow?”

“Of course, now go, before your family has a fit.”

Sage walked down to the meeting room. He hoped that they didn’t take too long, he might be able to find Rowen in the kitchens then and visit with him. Going into the meeting room, he sat at his respective seat and looked at his parents and grandfather, who were already there and waiting for him.

“Son,” his father said, “I think it is time for your mother and I to start looking for a wife for you.”

Sage could feel his mouth go dry and his chest tighten. A wife. The only person he wanted to be with was Rowen. His sweet, intelligent, beautiful Rowen. It would kill him if he had to get married to anyone other than him.

“Next week we’ll start . . .” his mother began, but Sage didn’t hear the rest. His mind closed out everything his parents had to say, he couldn’t believe this was happening.

Mia and Rowen talked quietly as they went to the kitchens. Their foot steps echoed in the hallway, telling someone in the shadows that they were coming. Rowen jumped as he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder. Spinning around, he came face to face with Cale.

“I’d like a moment alone with you,” Cale said.

“Um, my lord, Rowen’s needed in the kitchens,” Mia grabbed Rowen’s hand and tried to pull him away from Cale, but the older man held strongly onto Rowen’s shoulder.

“Do not dare speak to me without permission! Now leave, before I make you regret it!” Mia nodded and ran the rest of the way to the kitchens.

Rowen was too scared to say a word as Cale dragged him into the nearest room. Almost right away he found himself pinned to the wall, Cale’s body was pressed on his. He almost cried out as the other man’s hands painfully groped below his waist.

“Please, stop,” Rowen whimpered.

Cale swiftly punched him, “Shut up, remember your place. You’ve spread your legs for Sage, now spread your legs for me, bitch.”

Closing his eyes, the slave struggled as he felt his legs jerked apart. Soon Cale’s mouth covered his, depriving him of any air. Tears slipped from his eyes when his clothes were torn off of his small frame and Cale’s hands ran down his chest, aggressively tugging at his nipples. Soon the pair of hands disappeared from his sight and focused on the area between his legs. His heart was beating fast in panic as fingers roughly pushed their way into his opening and a thin trail of blood began to run down his thigh.

“I’m going to see why Sage likes fucking you all the time. I bet you’re as tight as a woman, aren’t you?” Cale cruelly teased the frightened boy and hit him in the ribs.

For the first time in his life, Rowen wept in front of his tormentor. He could no longer hold back the agonizing sobs, knowing that the worst was about to come. So many thoughts flew by his mind in only a few seconds. He was mostly afraid that Sage wouldn’t want him anymore, that he’d become meaningless to the prince that he loved dearly. Suddenly, he felt Cale back away and heard a loud thump. Opening his eyes, he saw the older man unconscious on the floor and Kento standing in front of him.

“Kento!” Rowen cried, had never he been so happy to see him. Kento hugged him firmly, the stable boy had been very alarmed when Mia came crying into the kitchens, babbling about Cale taking Rowen. Ryo was about to go, but Kento stopped him, both knowing that the stable boy would be best at getting Rowen back. He had heard the slave’s crying from one of the rooms and without another thought, ran into the room and knocked the damned bastard out.

“Let’s get you out of here, kiddo, I don’t want to be around when he wakes up.” Kento took off his shirt and put it on his friend, it went all the way down to Rowen’s knees, successfully covering him up. They slipped out of the room and quickly went down the foyer.

That night Sage went back into his bedroom, his body felt numb. He didn’t want to believe that he was going to have to give up Rowen, it was like asking him to give up his heart. He was astonished to see Rowen laying limply on his bed, sleeping restlessly. Sitting on the edge of the bed was Cye, at his side was Ryo and next to them was Kento and Mia.

“What happened?” Sage asked right away, knowing something was wrong.

Ryo looked like he was ready to kill, actually, everyone in the room did. Looking his friend in the eyes, Ryo answered Sage. “Rowen was almost raped by Cale.”

“WHAT!?”

“Mia came and told us that Cale took Rowen, and Kento was able to stop your damn cousin before he could do anything, but next time we might not get so lucky,” Cye said solemnly.

“Did he hurt Rowen?” the prince demanded.

“He has some bruised ribs and his face is a bit black and blue, he should be all right though,” Mia said quietly.

“Bull shit,” snapped Kento, “that boy is scared out of his mind.”

“Sage, we think we need to get Rowen out of here,” Ryo said to his friend, he knew Sage probably didn’t want to here this. “You have to realize that this is for Rowen’s sake. We’ve found out today that we can’t always protect him.”

“I understand,” Sage went to the bed and cradled Rowen’s body in his arms. “If we’re going to get him out of here, then I’m going with him.”

“But Sage,” protested Cye, “your duty is here.”

“No, it’s with him,” Sage answered softly. “I agree, it’d be best for him to leave, however I don’t think he’d survive on his own. I have to go with him.”

“You don’t know how to survive on your own either!” objected Ryo.

“Between the two of us we’ll figure it out. You don’t understand, I love him, I can’t let him walk out of my life and this could be our one chance of true happiness. Will you help us?”

“Who’ll become king if you don’t?” asked Mia.

“My younger cousin, Yuli. Though the damn kid is the most annoying brat in the world, he’ll do a better job than Cale ever would.”

“We can come up with a plan,” Cye stated. “We’ll get both of you out, though I’d hate to see you kids leave and all.”

“I’ll help,” Kento put in, smiling broadly.

“You’re one of my best friends, Sage, you can count me in,” Ryo smiled weakly.

“You can always rely on me,” Mia chirped.

“Thank you.”

<<>><<>><<>>

Sage handed Cye a knife. “You have to, I can’t do this myself.”

Cye clutched the knife in his hand, not wanting to do what he was about to do. “I can’t Sage, I can’t.”

“You can, please Cye. Make it quick and painless, if you can.”

“I’ll never forgive myself for this.”

“Remember that I’ve forgiven you already. Now do it, before I change my mind.” Taking a deep breath, Cye did the dreadful deed Sage had asked him to do. He couldn’t bare to look when he was finished, it was just too horrible. The young cook truly didn’t think he would ever be able to forgive himself. “I’m sorry, Sage.”

“Don’t be, I actually like my hair this short.”

Cye looked down on the floor at the golden hair that used to go down to the middle of Sage’s back. The prince looked so . . . so different, but that was the point. Instead of wearing one of his kimonos, Sage stood there in a plain pair of pants and a shirt, fit for traveling. Slung over one of his shoulders was a satchel with some food and all the money they could get their hands on. He didn’t look much like a prince anymore.

“What about the guards? They’ll see us for sure.”

“Don’t worry about it, I slipped something into their whiskey, they’ll be out until the sun rises. Hurry up, you don’t want to keep Rowen waiting all night for you.”

The two friends hurried out of the castle and to the gates, where Kento and Mia were waiting. “Where’s Rowen?” asked Sage, concern was in his voice.

Rowen and Ryo were rushing down the hall, they had been stopped by a couple of people, demanding to know what they were doing. Fortunately they had managed to shake off all of the people and headed outside. They were practically running, when Rowen tripped over something and fell hard on the ground.

“Are you all right?” Ryo asked, about to help Rowen up.

“I’m okay,” Rowen reached for Ryo’s hand, but was harshly kicked in the side.

“So, what’s the slave and servant doing up this late?” questioned Cale, pressing his foot on Rowen’s spine. “Why don’t you run along, servant, I have some unfinished business with this one.”

“I’m not leaving without Rowen,” Ryo said boldly, his temper rising.

Cale back handed him, “You forget that you're only a servant, leave!”

“No,” growled Ryo, there was no way he was leaving Rowen with that monster.

“Cale!” a sharp voice barked behind of them.

“Grandfather!”

The elder Date glared at his grandson. “What is the meaning of this?”

“I was just, um, I . . .”

“Shut up. Help that boy up, do it!”

Hesitantly, Cale jerked Rowen back up onto his feet like his grandfather had told him to.

“Go to your room, I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day,” the elder Date order Cale, who sulked back to his room. As soon as Cale was gone, the elder Date turned to the two boys. “I’m sure you have things to do, so carry on.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rowen gave him a deep bow.

“It was nothing, I hate that kid anyway,” he mumbled as he walked down the corridor.

“Come on, we have to go,” Ryo snatched Rowen’s wrist and they went outside where everyone else was.

“About time you guys got here,” Kento retorted.

“Sorry, we had a little delay,” apologized Ryo.

“Enough, we have to get them out of here,” Cye reminded them of the task at hand.

Sage got up onto his horse and helped Rowen up. The slave sat behind of his lover, wrapping his arms securely around his waist. “Watch over things for me and thank you, my friends,” Sage smiled at everyone.

“Thank you and until we meet again,” Rowen felt tears in his eyes, they were the first friends he had ever made and now they were going to leave them.

“Stay out of trouble kids,” Cye wiped his eyes and leaned into Ryo’s arms.

“We’ll see each other again, count on that,” Ryo held onto Cye as his eyes watered up.

“Come visit sometime, if you dare,” Kento put his arms around Mia, who couldn’t say anything because she was crying so hard. Giving their friends one last good bye, Sage kicked his horse’s side and it took off down the path leading into the forest. Cye, Ryo, Mia and Kento stood there, even after their friends disappeared, knowing that it’d be a long time before they saw that couple again.

The next morning there was a frenzy at the castle. The king sent all of his men searching for Sage and his slave boy. There was a massive search that lasted for days on end. At first they were hot on the prince’s trail, they were all confident that they’d find him. Then the trail went cold. All the king’s men could ever find was Sage’s horse by a dangerously fast moving river. The prince and his slave were declared dead.

<<>><<>><<>>

The rain was pouring outside as a tiny bell jingled as the door of a small inn located in the mountains opened. A man dressed in a long cloak stepped inside, followed by another person, wrapped in a cloak as well, except that this person was still wearing their hood and a silk, blue scarf covered most of their face. The inn keeper looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at the two people that came in.

“Hi,” said the man, “I’d like a room.”

“One bed or two?” asked the keeper.

The man looked over his shoulder at his companion and grabbed their hand, lacing their fingers together. “I’d say one bed, we just got married,” he held up his partner’s hand, showing the keeper the gold band on the slender, pale finger.

“Congratulations, I’d say you have a beautiful wife, but most of her face is covered.”

“It’s the customs of her people, trust me though, she has the face of an angel.”

Getting a set of keys, the keeper said, “You’ll be in room 206, I’m going to need your name and we’re going to have to settle the bill.”

“Hashiba Seiji,” the man answered and handed the keeper some money.

“Enjoy your stay,” the keeper gave the man the keys.

“I’m sure I will,” the man grinned and dragged his partner to their room. In the safety of the room, the man pulled off his companion’s cloak and scarf. “You really do have the face of an angel,” the man continued to strip his love of all their clothes.

“Sage . . .”

“Shh, it’s Seiji now, remember, Ro- I mean Touma?”

“Sorry, I forget sometimes, but so do you.”

Touma laid on the bed, beckoning Seiji to join him. Shedding the rest of his garments, he positioned himself between his lover’s long legs. “Our first night as man and wife.”

“Even if you’re the man of our marriage, don’t let it go to your head.”

“I know you love being the little wife,” Seiji lowered himself so he could kiss Touma.

“No, I love you,” Touma murmured after Seiji kissed him deeply.

“I love you too,” Seiji kissed Touma’s face all over, he hated that it had to be covered all the time and was happy to see it again, with both his eyes and lips. He went down, his lips feeling every inch of Touma’s soft skin, he never tired of its taste and feel. “I should’ve thanked Cale,” Seiji said more to himself than Touma.

“Why?”

“Because, you’re greatest birthday gift I’ve ever gotten and he was the one who gave you to me.”