Prince Yuen jumped backwards at the same time Zen lunged for him. He landed easily upon the giant spider's invisible back as its master calmly descended to the ground within the field of flowers before them.

How dare you!

The smirk on the man's face didn't help Zen's rising temper one bit. He immediately drew his sword and jumped from the beast's back, aiming his blade straight at the other prince. It was obvious that the man would be able to react before he got to him, but he was glad that he was cocky enough to take the attack head on.

The sounds of their blades colliding reverberated into the fields and forest around them as Zen swung repeatedly, refusing to relent in his onslaught. Prince Yuen had dishonored his master too many times!

"Not bad for such a young lad," prince Yuen commented nonchalantly as he easily maneuvered his blade to block each attack that he couldn't dodge with a few simple steps.

Fight back!

The other prince blocked a particularly strong blow that sent him skidding backwards a few feet, but as Zen moved to close the distance between them and strike again, prince Yuen blurred to his side and ran his blade along Zen's shoulder. The little slash was ignored, and Zen charged again as soon as he could turn back around.

To his surprise, the other prince charged him in response, taking a slight cut from Zen's sword as he landed another slice to his shoulder. They danced back and forth for several tense minutes, trading hits... though Zen was definitely taking most of the damage. Blood from his wounded shoulder now stained his borrowed, tattered robe.

I need my spiritual energy.

He knew that his own was sealed, but... focusing, he set up a defensive stance and carefully began trying to pull out whatever energy might possibly still remain within the seal he carried on his belt.

A jolt of ice shot up his spine, exiting as a frigid mist through his shivering lips.

The other prince tilted his head slowly as he watched, a grin sliding onto his face before he reached forward with his free hand and curled his fingers inward.

"Let's play, little guard."

He was freezing from head to toe, but Zen could also feel the insane amount of power flaring from the dark energy coursing through his body. His wind ability, which had mostly laid dormant since his own energy had been sealed, flared to life, spinning angrily around its master, whipping his hair and clothing like a typhoon, waiting to be unleashed. There was also something else there, though. It clashed with the chill in his body, but before he could even try to delve into what it could possibly be, his focus was interrupted.

"Enough!" came Qi's order from behind him, making Zen immediately disperse his energy and sheath his sword.

Prince Yuen rolled his eyes and gave a quiet chuckle, but he, too, sheathed his weapon before crossing his arms over his chest.

"We were just having a nice friendly bout. I was even behaving..." he said with a half smile that Zen wanted to punch from his face.

"Zen," Qi said calmly as he stepped in front of him, immediately drawing his full attention as he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

He had gotten carried away.

A gentle hand settled against his hair, but when he noticed his master turn toward the other prince, he kept his head down in respect. He had not been told to rise yet.

"You knew that he was to appear soon."

Prince Yuen did not speak, but Zen knew that they were conversing just as well without words. When, after several moments, he finally heard the other prince turn and begin to walk away, Qi returned his attention to him.

"Stand, Zen. Tell me, why did you attack him?"

Zen quickly got to his feet, kicking fallen leaves in his haste to stand. Without hesitating he reached for the hand his master offered him, then began writing hastily on his palm with his finger.

"What he did was not appropriate!"

Their eyes met after he had finished writing, but he didn't like the disapproval he saw in his master's.

"Zen, you understand brothels, do you not?" Qi asked, taking him by surprise.

He had definitely heard of such places, but neither him, nor his master, to his knowledge, had even been. It was definitely not an appropriate place for a well-mannered prince and his servant.

Zen hesitantly nodded.

"What goes on within those businesses is quite inappropriate, yet no one bursts into those buildings and attacks those who wish to partake in such frivolity," Qi said, making Zen's face warm at the lecture.

When his master appeared to be done speaking, Zen nervously reached forward, requesting Qi's hand again. It was given, and he carefully wrote out his next sentence before looking back up.

"He should not have kissed you. You did not ask him to do so, did you?"

Qi smiled as he thought over the question.

"No, I did not ask him to do so, but we did make a deal before you arrived. He provided me with more information, and in return I allowed him to pick his reward. The kiss was what he took as payment," he said, making Zen's brows furrow in confusion.

Of all the things he could have requested?

On one hand, he was glad that the other prince had not asked for something more dangerous, but on the other, to kiss his master... it seemed demeaning. One kissed a woman they intended to woo, not a young man, and certainly not a prince!

He quickly tapped Qi's palm that still rested in his own, drawing his master's attention down to it. Zen started to write, but hesitated before anything could come of his words. He tried again a few more times before finally writing, "I don't like it."

He immediately realized his mistake and dropped back down to one knee, bowing his head as his heart pounded in his chest. It had been his master's choice to accept the other prince's request. He had no right to disagree with it.

Feeling a gentle brush against his hair, Zen sheepishly glanced up. When he caught his master's eyes, Qi knelt down before him, making him quite confused. The hand settled on his head slowly slid down to grasp a long length of his black hair between its fingers.

"I don't think I've ever seen you outwardly disagree with one of my ideas before," Qi said, making Zen quickly look down again. He should not have said what he had. It was not appropriate for a servant to disagree with their master.

When he felt that lock of hair being tugged, Zen slowly lifted his eyes.

"You are very sweet."

Sweet?

Qi leaned forward slightly, making Zen blink in confusion as he fought himself not to lean away.

"Do you dislike kissing, Zen Zen?"

Zen quickly gave his head a slight shake. He had no qualms with people kissing each other.

Qi smiled and leaned a little closer.

"Does it bother you when two men kiss?"

That had him pausing for a moment in thought, but it didn't take him long to shake his head again.

"Does it bother you when I kiss someone?"

Zen felt his heart fumble in his chest and he quickly looked away, lifting a hand to sift through his hair out of habit, except he'd forgotten that Qi still had hold of a length of it, and as his hand passed his master's, it was quickly but carefully grabbed.

When Qi tugged his hand closer to himself and leaned over, Zen had to swallow down a rising lump in his throat.

"Do you want me to kiss you?"

His mind wasn't functioning. All Zen could think about was why he shouldn't say yes, and why he couldn't find it in himself to shake his head no. Unfortunately, their important discussion was interrupted when he felt an arm slip beneath his own and around his chest, easily lifting him back to his feet right before a pair of soft, yet cold lips pressed against his cheek.

"There. The little servant's curiosity is all sated now. We really should be off, your highness," said prince Yuen.

Zen wanted to cut him in half, and struggled heartily to remove himself from the man's grasp, but he knew that he couldn't simply take out his sword and start attacking him again... no matter how angry he currently was about prince Yuen's antagonizing! He had already lost his temper once and gotten reprimanded for it. He did not wish to go through that embarrassment again.

Qi slowly stood, shaking his head before stepping forward. Thankfully, prince Yuen released him as soon as his master set a hand upon his shoulder. Instead of acting on his frustration, Zen bowed to his master, then started for the palace grounds far off in the distance.

Qi soon joined him, and while he couldn't see the other prince, he could tell that he wasn't far behind. They walked in silence until they arrived at the back entrance from where they had originally left.

"Little guard," prince Yuen called, making Zen turn with a scowl.

He was not but an inch or so shorter than either his master or the other prince, so adding the word little seemed quite rude.

Distracted by his annoyance, Zen gasped and hopped forward to maintain his balance as prince Yuen grabbed the carved seal at his waist and yanked it closer to himself.

"I will add a little more spiritual energy to this... do not waste it on meaningless squabbles," he said before releasing the seal and turning toward Qi.

Zen immediately stepped between them, but when his master settled a hand on his shoulder, he relented and stepped aside.

"Take care of yourself, your highness. Your horses and clothing will be returned shortly and we will talk again soon," the other prince said as he gave a slight bow, then went on his way.

Qi returned his bow, then took Zen's hand and began tugging him toward their pavilion. They walked in silence, and thankfully, without interruption. As soon as they got back Qi instructed him to undress and prepare to bathe while he took care of something. He was grateful. They both smelled quite like the swamp they had unintentionally fallen into twice that day and could really use cleaned up.

He was just shrugging out of his borrowed robe when he felt warm fingers grasp right beneath his injury, drawing his attention to his master.

"That man...." Qi grumbled on a sigh as he shook his head and began allowing spiritual energy to flow through his fingertips. "I'm afraid it's going to leave a scar, but at least he only wrote the word feather." he said, making Zen try to lean closer in order to look.

He was promptly poked in the nose and quickly moved his head away, giving his master room to heal the injury he should not have let himself obtain.

"No more of this bickering with his highness, Zen. I do not want to have to heal you up from anymore unnecessary scuffles when we have much bigger issues on our hands," Qi said, giving him another reprimand that he swallowed with an upset stomach.

Thankfully, it didn't take his master long to heal what he could of the damage on his shoulder, but when the man stepped right in front of him and began checking his other arm, chest, and lower half, Zen had to hold his breath for fear that his heart beating right out of his chest.

"Thank goodness he behaved," Qi said with relief as he straightened back to his full height after checking Zen's bare legs.

I don't like prince Yuen, at all.

Another poke, this time to his cheek, brought his focus back to his master, making him bow at the waist, silently apologizing for letting his mind wander.

"Let's wash up," Qi stated as he calmly began to undo his belt. Surprised, Zen quickly reached for it, unsure why his master didn't order him to help him like he always did.

"I am able to tend to myself sometimes, Zen. Your shoulder is injured and should be rested," Qi said, making Zen raise an eyebrow.

Yes, his shoulder was cut up, but it definitely wasn't something that would hinder him from completing his duties to his master. He quickly gave his head a slight shake as he wound up his master's belt, then set it aside. When he returned to help him disrobe, Qi had already done so and was setting the garment to hang on a raised bar off to the side.

Once he was finished, he turned and took Zen's hand, then guided him outside and to the edge of the hot spring pool. Zen tried to gently retract his hand, as it was still improper to bathe with his master, even if they had done so previously, but Qi seemed to have none of it. He tightened his hold and carefully sat down at the edge of the water, then tugged on Zen's hand until he joined him.

"We never did got to finish our discussion from earlier," Qi said as he slowly lowered himself down into the hot water, then pulled on Zen's hand until he gave up and slid in, too.

Did we not finish talking earlier?

Zen watched silently as his master began to wash himself, unsure of what to do. When he wasn't requested to help or reprimanded for not doing so, he awkwardly began cleaning his own dirty body.

"You left your mask at his house," Qi said after a few minutes, making Zen lick his lips and give a small nod. It had been soaked with swamp water.

When his master turned to look at him with a smile on his face, Zen looked away and ducked down into the water a little more.

"I like being able to see your mouth. Perhaps we should forego you wearing another mask," he said absentmindedly, making Zen's heart begin to stumble around in his chest.

He was just about to look back up at his master when he felt the man's damp hand press against the side of his face, drawing his attention.

The heat from the water seemed to rise to his face, no doubt making it burn red in the dim light coming from their pavilion. Thankfully, his master lowered his hand, but instead of continuing with washing himself, he reached to the side and grabbed a clean cloth, then carefully began wiping away the blood from Zen's shoulder.

Zen quickly tapped his master's chest, silently asking for the palm of his hand so that he could say something. Except, Qi shook his head and pressed one finger to Zen's lips.

"Let me take care of you, just a little," he said as he dipped the cloth down into the warm water, then continued his work.

It was awkward. Sure, Qi had tended to his injuries many times in the past, but he could easily manage his current one on his own. Of course, he wasn't going to argue. If his master wished to wash away the blood from his shoulder, then he would stay still and allow him to do so. It just seemed unnecessary and a waste of his master's time.

"You're so well behaved," he murmured, making Zen frown slightly.

He did not think so. After his outburst earlier, and his disagreement with his master's decision concerning the other prince? He thought quite lowly of himself right then.

Qi took another minute or so to finish cleaning his wound, then set the towel aside and rinsed his hands in the water before lifting them to settle on either side of Zen's face.

"You are a very well-mannered young man who will one day rise up from where you are now with your head held high," Qi said, making Zen frown in confusion.

Instead of asking for his hand to write this time, he reached forward and placed his fingertip against his master's chest.

"I am what I am. I do not wish to be anything else but master's—" his hand was grabbed abruptly, cutting off his words.

Qi lifted it to his lips and pressed the tiniest of kisses to the back of it before looking up.

"I do not wish for you to be anything but mine, either, but the world is not so accommodating. If things end up being too dangerous, I will sen—" Qi's eyes widened from shock as Zen pressed his own finger to the man's lips, silencing his words this time.

He knew what he'd just done was wrong, but he could not hear his master say such things.

When they both remained still and silent for several moments, Zen slowly let his finger slip from his master's soft lips. He would have kowtowed for forgiveness at that moment until his forehead bled, but before he could move a muscle to get out of the water and do just that, his master's arms wrapped around him tightly and pulled him off of his feet and against his warm chest.

"It is alright, my Zen. You are allowed to disagree with me. In fact, today has been the first time you have shown this new side of yourself. Do not hide it. I want you to be comfortable enough to say when you dislike certain things, even if I ask them of you," Qi said.

Zen was unsure how he should respond to such changes, so instead of writing anything at all, he nuzzled against his master's warm chest and allowed his eyes to close as he sighed out all of the stress he'd accumulated for the day.

Qi seemed to understand, because there was soon a gentle hand sifting through his long damp hair and the faint pressure of a kiss atop his head.

It was all he wanted in his life. He had no dreams of grandeur, money, or fame. He was happy right where he was. With his master and the security that he would always be waiting for him. He also did not mind his position. The man had saved him all of those years ago, and he would forever repay his kindness with hard work and gratitude.