Ugh, keep forgetting I'm uploading this... I'm sorry...

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays~

Dry. Heat … water? Sand … dry … sun … Ludwig stumbled through the desert as he had for the last several days. Once he left the islands, he'd crossed the southern seas and ended up somewhere near Extyr. He left the port city with a good amount of water and hopes that Feliciano had come down this way, as the ferryman knew who he had been talking about. He claimed he'd brought the Illonian over.

So he knew he had to look. However, he wasn't expecting to get lost. Nor had he expected running out of food. Yet, the worst part was running out of water two days prior. Ludwig's mouth was utterly dry and he wasn't feeling good.

"Luddy?"

He turned his head quickly and saw a coppery haired angel of hope in the distance.

"Fe-Feliciano!?" Ludwig felt something bubble up in his stomach. Maybe it was the thought of being able to apologize, or possibly the fact that the man was alive.

"Luddy …" he heard it again.

"My god, you're alive …" the knight whispered running even closer. His stomach was doing flips over and over again as he got closer to the Illonian.

Feliciano smiled warmly and opened his arms to welcome Ludwig into them.

Ludwig made the final gap and went to wrap his arms around Feliciano … only to have the Illonian fade completely and disappear. He looked around desperately, "Feliciano!" he called out, but there was no answer. Had he just been an illusion?

"Feliciano!?" he yelled out again, his mind wavering, his vision starting to blacken from the over exertion of energy spent running up to the mirage.

"Feli …" he fell to his knees, "Fe…" he hit the ground, lying down in the sand, "Ita …"

Then his entire world went black.

His dreams were filled with random things … snow dragons taunting him with a pregnant lover that he obviously cared for … a king holding desperately to the fairy he risked his life and several years of time to find … a copper hair, honey eyed girl who stood in the spring amongst lovely trees, with sunlight barely filtering through. She then turns and it's actually Feliciano standing there, smiling and holding up a small gift for Ludwig.

It's crystal clean water. Ludwig goes to drink it down, but once again finds himself at his mother's side as she lay dying.

"Take good care of her."

"I love her. She's perfect and cute and even though she's an absolute mess sometimes, she's always there to listen …"

"Take good care of her."

"Horoem?" his eyes widened and he'd never been so happy to hear that nickname.

"Ita!" he turned to see him. "I'm so happy to see you! I'm so sorry I haven't been around so much … I was busy and then winter and my mutti …"

"I thought you hated me …" he cried.

"Never!" he frowned, "I could never hate you!" he stood up and pulled out the crosses and slipped one over his head, "Mutti said you give these to someone special … like a promise you can never break. When a man cares about someone a lot, he's supposed to make this in hopes that they will one day get married and never have to be apart again." he frowned, "Ita, I have to go away for a while. I'm going back up north, but I promise I'll come back to you!" his face became red, "I love you …" he whispered, leaning his forehead to Feliciano's.

"I love you …"

"A promise …"

"I could never hate you …"

"I love you."

His eyes opened and he stared up at a bunch of sheer fabric twisted above him, in reds and golds and purples and black. Ludwig rubbed at his eyes and groaned, feeling a massive headache filling his skull to the brim.

"Oh!" Ludwig looked over and saw a young man, short black hair cropped close to his head. His eyes were a dull brown color and he wore a strange robe.

The man grabbed up Ludwig's stuff and handed it to him. Ludwig nodded as a thank you and sat up to sift through the stuff. He found his clothing, which seemed to have been washed from all the sweat and sand. He also found the warming stone and a few other things he'd been given or collected over time. In the pile of stuff, there was also his language pendant and the iron cross, which he quickly put both over his neck.

"Where am I?" Ludwig asked the man.

He squeaked lightly, "Um … Extryr's Palace … the prince was on a walk to the oasis of Arun and he stumbled upon you, saving your life … you've been out cold, in my care, for four days now."

"Ah, I see …" Ludwig spoke, rubbing his head.

"I'm Kiku, I'm in charge of the harem here …" he said, shame filling his voice, as if he didn't like his job.

"Ludwig, knight on a mission."

"I see," Kiku nodded, "Well, lunch will be served in the main dining hall soon and my prince has requested that you join him for the next meal available when you awake." Kiku stood from the end of the bed, "Now, there is an indoor pool through this curtain where you can wash up if you feel the need. There's clothing, if you want to wear something more comfortable and less worn, in this chest here. I'll be in the room across from this one if you need me." He bowed and left the room.

The Gartyrarren knight rose from his bed, noticing he was wearing nothing more than his undergarments. With a light blush on his face, he walked to the pool room, as Kiku had pointed out. The room was large with a square hole in the ground filled with crystal clear water. It was decorated in tiles that were painted in all kinds of colorful designs. The walls were a cream color, which matched the sand assuredly outside of the palace. It was decorated in strange pictures or creatures and people that looked as if they told a story, one that Ludwig couldn't quite make out.

He slipped off the undergarments and stepped into the cool water and sat down. The man began washing the sweat from his hair.

Thoughts once again flooded his mind. How long had Feliciano known that Ludwig was Horoem? Did he figure it out at the same time? Or was it something that he was waiting for the right moment to talk to him about?

Ludwig sighed and swept his wet hair back against his head and leaned back on the ledge in the pool.

He still didn't know how he was going to explain himself to Feliciano when he met him again … which also brought up that point again. Could he seriously seek a relationship with him now that he knew he was a man?

Honestly, when he thought of him … there were feelings … so maybe he could work at it? There were all kinds of men around him, no matter what their species of status, were able to love … and those memories Ludwig had … those dreams … the spoke so much of his old devotion to Feliciano. He remembered clearly the feeling of dread when he thought he would never be able to see him again, not give him the necklace that bonded them together forever …

He remembered admitting his feelings to his mother about the child that stole his heart. Would she still want him to take care of Feliciano and love him? Of course … he didn't have but those few memories of her, but still. She seemed like a sincere woman who loved her sons and wanted their happiness.

Was there even a problem with being with Feliciano? The Illonian had even stated that his true love had given him the necklace … and that his fiancé was supposed to come back for him.

Ludwig sighed and rose from the water. It wouldn't matter if he didn't find a way of getting back on the man's trail again. Who knew Feliciano, who couldn't make it against a naga, could traverse all around the world, through a dragon attack, blizzard weather, a dessert and who knows what else?

He looked through the chest mentioned earlier and found the clothing was far too casual for his tastes, but was better than what he had been wearing for who knows how long. It had to have been two or three more months traveling from Ryven.

That made it about five months total so far … that he'd been searching for Feliciano … what if Feliciano had already found another person to love? What would Ludwig do then?

He couldn't help but feel a bit of a twist in his stomach at that thought.

After dressing, he did a bit of stretching for his sore muscles. A knock came at his door and he looked over, "Come in."

Kiku walked in and looked at him, "Are you ready? Lunch is being served shortly."

Ludwig nodded and slipped on some sandals he'd found in the chest.

On the way down to the dining hall, Ludwig got a really good look at the palace he was staying in. in was elegant in an ancient sort of way. The building seemed to be standing strong, but at the same time, it was well worn. Some of the pictures on the walls were fading out slightly, while the curtains and tapestries were fraying at the edges.

It was actually quite amazing, though. All of it struck a nerve with him and he felt like he had to explore a bit more and learn everything he could.

"Here we are, Mr. Ludwig." Kiku stopped at a large beaded entrance. He pushed through and led Ludwig through the threshold and into the glorious dining hall. Large open windows showed the city below the palace. The windows didn't have glass, but there was a sheer fabric hanging over them. Two of the five were drawn back.

Three men sat at the large table. One wore a headdress made of a silky white fabric and golden circlet resting on top. His gold eyes darted up to meet Ludwig's.

The second of the three was a man wearing a rather decorative outfit, complete with a mask, covering his eyes and a fabric covering his mouth. Ludwig honestly didn't like the air around the man, but ignored it.

Finally, the last man was … actually asleep with his head down on the table. He wore simple clothing, loose fitting and comfortable. There was a little white and grey cat on his shoulder, also asleep, while another cat, a black and white bobtail, sat in the table before him, looking around.

"You must be famished." The man wearing the headdress spoke softly, his voice barely audible. There was an odd looking dog with large ears sitting beside the man. The dog wore a golden necklace, "Please have a seat."

Ludwig nodded and sat down in the chair beside the sleeping man.

"Care to introduce yourself?" the masked man asked, "We've only saved your life."

"Sorry, my name is Ludwig. I'm a knight from Gartyrarren on a mission." The man explained, still unsure about how one acted in Extyr. He was also unsure of which one was the prince, if any of them even were.

The masked man nodded, "I'm Sadiq Adnan, military leader. This lug is Herakles… he's not important. Finally," he motioned to the man with the dog, "is Prince Gupta, of Extyr."

"I'm honored to meet you." Ludwig stated, not wishing to offend the man who saved his life, giving him a second chance at finding Feliciano.

"Well, now that those formalities have been taken care of, let us eat!" Sadiq clapped his hands, causing several scantily clad women in strange outfits to come walking in with large trays of food. Some of the food items, Ludwig had never even seen before. Though, he couldn't deny, it looked delicious.

~ Lady Pyrien

On a side note, I'm completely obsessed with Turkey as of lately, so I'm glad that we're finally at this part~