When they returned to the carriage Xaxac had crawled into Agalon’s lap once again, and that is where he stayed for the remainder of the journey. He was still able to see out the window from a slit in the curtain as he rested his head on Agalon’s shoulder, and felt much more content there. He liked physical affection, took comfort from the strength of his arm around him, the weight of his body, the softness of his clothes, and the sheer aliveness of him that gave off heat and pulsated in time with his heart. Agalon, for his part, seemed happy with the arrangement, and they traveled in relative silence as he held his book in one hand and stared at it.

Xac wasn’t exactly sure what kind of pleasure he took from the squiggles on the page, some of which were crammed together with scant spaces between them, but he may have understood it if he knew the code, knew what they meant. As it was the entire thing seemed strange to him, but if it made Agalon happy it made him happy. He had stopped complaining about Lorsan, and that by itself was a victory.

As the sun began to set the carriage turned and entered another large gated opening in the stone fence.

Xaxac was amazed at how much like home the place was. It had the same beautifully maintained lawn, two human men at the gates in the same uniforms, and the house itself was in almost exactly the same style, though it was only two stories tall.

Agalon was at the very back of the book, he had flipped pages every so often, and he didn’t even look up to see the change in scenery until they were nearly in front of the porch. Then he tossed it aside and held Xac with both hands to squeeze him.

There was another human man dressed like a groom standing there to receive him, and yet another dressed very much like Lee, in the fancy attire of what Xac now knew was a butler. He did, however, have the shocking addition of a mustache. Xac thought houseslaves weren’t allowed to have facial hair.

As the carriage approached the new butler stepped forward and opened the door, so Xac reluctantly pried himself from Agalon’s lap and stood to let him exit, following fast on his heels. As soon as he was on the grass he grabbed Agalon’s arm in both hands and snuggled into it with his full body.

“Welcome, Commander Agalon, Your Grace, how was your trip?” The butler asked as he jogged ahead of them onto the porch and stood by the front door until they approached it.

“Uneventful,” Agalon said pleasantly, “And way too hot.”

Xaxac wondered why Lee wasn’t following them and risked a glance behind to see that he was talking to the groom. He seemed to know what was expected of him around here, and it suddenly occurred to Xac that he should have asked someone how to act. He tensed a little and clung harder to Agalon as they stepped into the house.

The foyer here wasn’t as nice as Agalon’s. It didn’t have the huge windows reaching up to the third story because it didn’t have a third story; it was also missing the giant family portrait. It still had the big staircase, the plush green rugs over polished hardwood, decorative tables with plants and knicknacks, and fairly pretty paintings of flowers, but Xaxac took a sort of pleasure in the idea that their foyer was nicer.

The man standing in the hall didn’t look quite as old as Agalon, and he was wearing an outfit that wasn’t quite the same. The fabric weight was a little too light and the color was off, as if he had tried to mimic Agalon’s look and failed. His long blond hair had been pulled into a bun on the top of his head, and there were no wrinkles around his deep brown eyes, but that very easily could have been done with makeup, since he was wearing makeup. Now that Xac knew what to look for it was obvious, and he thought he may have caked the powder on with a little too much gusto. He was magic too; he had the green crystals in his ears and wore one on a gold chain hanging from his neck.

“Kai!” he called out, slapped a hand forcefully on Agalon’s shoulder and grabbed his hand with the other to shake it vigorously, “How are you holdin up?”

“Can’t complain,” Agalon said, “Well, I can but I won’t. What you been up to? It’s been a little bit.”

“You know I never do nothin,” the man, whom Xaxac assumed was Kyrtarr laughed, “I’m a goddamn hermit and I like it that way. I mind my business. Thinkin real hard about just runnin off to the Water Continent and layin out on a beach for about a month. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I didn’t have a business to run.”

“That’s the dream,” Agalon agreed, “How’s your mom and them?”

“She’s still hangin on,” Kyrtaar said, “She’s up by Sage Lake, gone fishin up there, she says, but I reckon she’s at the spa in Satra tryin to get her lungs to work. She’s gonna outlive us all. How’s your boy?”

“Lorry’s gonna be the death of me,” Agalon sighed, “I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do with him.”

“They have another war that’ll straighten him out,” Kyrtaar said, “Straightened us out.”

As the elves had this conversation Kyrtaar ascended the stairs, apparently leading them somewhere, and Agalon tugged Xac along behind him. The upper hall was also not as nice as the one in Agalon’s home, though it was very similar. There were no portraits lining the walls, so Xaxac began to wonder if portraits weren’t perhaps very expensive, but it did have other paintings, and Xac cemented his belief that the elves really liked flowers.

Kyrtaar opened a door and said, “Just had the place cleaned. This is where you’ll be stayin, so you can drop; sorry, what’s the pleasure slave’s name? Zack?”

“Xaxac,” Agalon said chipperly, then turned to look down at Xac on his arm, “I’m gonna leave ya here, darlin. I reckon they brought you some food up.”

“Yeah,” Kyrtaar said, “Fresh spring salad. I ain’t never met a vegetarian before.”

“It’s a long story,” Agalon said, “And it’s pretty interesting. I’ll tell ya at dinner. Look at me, darlin,” he said to Xac, “It’s perfectly safe here. You’ll be real safe right here till I get back.”

Xaxac had not know that Agalon had planned on leaving him alone at any point in the trip, and he wasn’t particularly sure he liked the strange house, the strange people. What if Agalon was actually planning on leaving him here? What if the stress of an unruly son coupled with the stress of a pleasure slave that bit was too much for him and he wanted to pawn Xac off on someone else?

No, that… that was stupid. Agalon loved him. He would keep him forever. He had said as much, hadn’t he? He was just going to hang out with Kyrtaar for a little while. Everything would be fine. He just had to be good, be quiet, and stay in the new room.

“I sent Alex in there to keep him company,” Kyrtaar said.

“See, darlin? You’ll have somebody to keep you company. Y’all are gonna like each other.” Agalon said, stroking Xac’s hair in an attempt to comfort him as he explained to Kyrtarr, “He’s real skittish. I’ll tell ya all about it.”

“I just get scared,” Xac said to Agalon, “But I’ll be ok. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Honey Bunny,” Agalon promised, cupped Xac’s face, and pulled him into a kiss. Xac tried to fight him when he pulled away, but not very much, because he had to be good, he had to get through this.

He nodded and walked through the door.

He heard a key turning in a lock.

The interior of the room was significantly less decorated than the sitting room at home. Xac suspected this was a guest suite. It was completely missing the curio cabinet, and the windows looked out onto the front garden instead of the fields. It still had the little sitting area, the bookshelves, the fireplace, the writing desk, the table, laid out as if two people were meant to eat at it, and the writing desk, though this one didn’t have any papers on it. The mantleplace even had a little clock ticking away.

“Oh thank god,” A voice rang out, smooth and silky, but a little high-pitched for his liking. Someone had popped their head up from the back of the couch, and Xac turned to see a boy a little older than he was, in beautiful makeup with long brown hair that had been pulled into a ponytail, but still fell in curls down his back. Xac’s first impression was that everything about him was beautiful, was perfect, with his big, heavily lined eyes and soft, accentuated features.

“Please tell me you’re Zack. I couldn’t eat before you got in here and I am starvin.”

He stood to make his way to the desk and Xac saw the he wore a robe like the kind people sometimes wore after they had taken a bath, but the material was all wrong. It was light and shimmery and tied in a big bow at the back. He didn’t seem to be wearing anything under it.

“Xaxac,” Xac said quietly, “My name is Xaxac.”

“Xaxac,” The boy said, rolling it around his tongue, “That’s pretty. I’m Alex. Sit down, darlin, I’m starvin.”

Xaxac moved quickly to take his place at the table, still staring at the other pleasure slave, the only one he had ever met. He probably wouldn’t be alone with him long. He needed to talk to him, he had so much to say- but he didn’t know him at all and didn’t know where to start.

“Y’all goin out to Basilglen?” Alex asked as he removed the covers from their dishes to display two identical salads. “I hope to god he’s plannin on gettin you somethin to wear. You look like a damn houseslave.”

“He said he was,” Xac said, watching the way Alex moved. Everything he did was graceful, even the way he chewed. He made slow, delicate motions as he picked up his food with his fork, rather than stabbing it as Xac was used to doing. He thought that may be the way pleasure slaves were supposed to eat, so he copied him.

“You look scared to death,” Alex said, stood, and pulled the cork from the bottle of wine, “here, have some liquid courage.”

“I ain’t scared,” Xac said, though he happily took the wine, “It’s just… different. I ain’t done this long. It ain’t even been a month. I just… ain’t used to it yet.”

“Oh, darlin,” Alex said with sympathy, “Listen here… I’ve been doing this, lord it’s been three years. There ain’t nothin to it. You get used to it. Just smile at the right time and do what they tell ya. It’s probably the best job you can have, all things considered. I don’t never do nothin. Ain’t sweatin outside, ain’t even really got to clean. I just… sit around and look pretty, mostly.”

“Yeah,” Xac said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I get scared of just… flat stupid shit.”

“You OfAgalon?” Alex asked, and Xac nodded so he continued, “Honey you hit the jackpot. You know he’s the Duke of the Agricultural District. Your master is royalty. Your place is real nice. I been there. He ain’t gonna hurt you, hell, he’s too old to do much. I’m kinda shocked his dick still works.”

He laughed, and Xac giggled with him, though he wasn’t actually sure why they were laughing.

“It does,” Xac said.

“I know, darlin, I’ve had it,” Alex said, and Xac’s eyes shot open in alarm.

“Really?” He asked, “I got… I got so many questions I…”

“Well calm down and eat, because they’re gonna come right back up here after dinner. Might bring your butler and… he gets on my nerves.” Alex huffed as he took another bite.

“He gets on your nerves?” Xac asked, “I like Lee.”

“We had words one time, when I was little, about me knowin my place,” Alex explained, “I don’t like it when folks do that. I know where I’m at.”

“He don’t mean nothin by it,” Xac said, “He’s always been nice to me. Please don’t fight.”

“I ain’t gonna fight him,” Alex sounded insulted, “I ain’t gonna beat up the elderly.”

“How old are you?” Xac asked.

“I don’t know, darlin, how’s anybody supposed to know that?” Alex asked.

“I dunno,” Xac said, “Some people do. Some people know when they was born.”

“I don’t trust that,” Alex huffed, “Ain’t nobody can remember that. They’re too little.”

“I think somebody else told um,” Xac said then took another careful bite.

“I don’t trust that,” Alex said, “Folks can say anything they want.”

There was logic in that statement, and there were a lot of reasons for a person to lie about their age. Xaxac remembered, in his youth, arguing vehemently that he was not a baby. He would likely lie about it to make himself seem older, more mature, if he knew how.

He looked around the room again and spoke quietly.

“Are all pleasure slaves supposed to be… young and pretty?”

“As long as you can,” Alex replied.

“So what happens when-”

“I don’t know, darlin. It don’t do you no good to think on that kinda thing,” Alex said, “Just try not to think about it. Try not to think too much. Thinkin too much makes you crazy.”

“You ever know somebody named Kenny?” Xac asked.

“Agalon’s old pleasure slave?” Alex leaned back in his chair and sipped his wine, “Now how the hell did you know about Kenny? I can’t imagine you’re supposed to.”

“Please, Alex,” Xac begged, “What happened?”

“That feller lost his goddamn mind,” Alex said as if it was a well-known fact, “I heard he jumped out the window. Don’t know if that’s true or not. Heard it from the maid and I don’t know where she heard it.”

“I heard it too!” Xac said, “But why? What happened?”

“Nothin happened, Xaxac,” Alex said, “Feller thought too much. I told you, you think too much it makes you crazy. Feller just… thought too much.”

“Oh,” Xac said.

He knew exactly what he meant.

“My friends call my Xac,” Xac said.

“My friends call me ‘Alex’,” Alex said, “It’s short for ‘Alexander’.”