Nothing

"Xingke…un…"

He turned around and tried to put on the smile that he always had on for her…uhm…him no her...what to call her?; but he could not.

"Your majesty, what are you doing out of bed so late?"

He tried to keep his eyes on her/his face but his gaze drifted down to her…his crotch. Still staring intently, he wondered if he just imagined it or if it was as he saw it. The "empress" cleared her throat and said:

"So, you saw" "she" said this as more of a statement than a question but he had to put up a fight. There was no other way.

"I saw nothing, I heard nothing, I know nothing." Then he stopped when he heard himself deny what he had seen and even to him it sounded like he knew something, he saw something and he heard something. So, he changed his tactics and said, "what are you talking about, your highness? I know not of what you are talking about." He knew he sounded like an idiot and could not stop himself. He had to go on that self-discipline training he had been stalling on.

"So" he/she (ugg so confusing) said, the pitch of voice a bit deeper than from all times before, "it was not you standing at he door of my chamber, looking shocked when you saw me at an undressed state?" The "empress" faced blossomed a deep red at the thought of that.

Xingke carefully kept his face blank (which was very hard, mind you) and then remembered to act enraged at someone seeing the "empress" (sigh) undressed (which was not very hard at all). He said, " I just came down to the kitchen because I could not sleep. If you are unable to sleep and believe someone is lurking around I will keep a look out and let other guard know?" the last part he said feebly.

The "empress" stepped closer to Xingke and with her big eyes turned toward him, and just like any other time, she asked, "Why"

Xingke stepped back, uncomfortable at the closeness between then and confusedly said "Why what?" She/he answered, "Why could you not sleep?" as she took another step toward him. Xingke realized that he wouldn't have minded this much distance one hour ago, before what he saw or make that he did not see (still trying to deny it). Xingke taking another step back and said, "I did not mean to disturb your sleep, your royal ness. Did I disturb you?"

"Why?" The "empress" insisted.

He gave "her" a small smile, trying to hide the fact that he was hitting his head on the walls inside his head, which was giving him a bad headache. Damn, he really needed that drink, even though tomorrow morning would be so much worse. He snapped himself out of his wanderings and said "just a bad dream."

"I know what you saw."