After the bottle was dryer than the bones of an elderly man, I threw it at the nearest stone wall. Fucking prince and his royal persuasion...why did the bastard have to be right? Why did he have to think everything through? Why couldn't he have just given in, like all sensible people woul dhave? But most of all, why didn't I fight harder? Hell, why didn't I kill him? I could've thrown him into the woods and let him freeze to death. Then I could make it look like his stupidity killed him…

But no, the fucker just had to point out the future loss of ransom and probable mutiny! He had to think a massive circle around me! He had to make me defenseless and clueless!

I should've threatened him more, should've threatened him more harshly. I could've at least negotiated better. I usually would never have given in to something like that. No sane non-abomination would ever agree to the terms he'd set. Especially not the one relating to payment in advance.

But what choice did I have? He looked ready to tear me in two on the table! He was completely different than the prince we'd taken prisoner a few weeks ago. Rather than happiness and cheeriness, he radiated dominance and power. Hell, he radiated royalty. Royalty that could've torn me open and violated every part of my insides...just like before…

I shook my head and cracked open another bottle of alcohol. No, I couldn't go back to that. That was eight years ago, far in the past. No need to go back now.

Two more bottles later, I was just numb enough to go along with Morinaga's conditions and not run away. At least this way I wouldn't be able to differentiate hangover from bodily pain. I'd managed to escape him, at least for a few minutes. The bastard was ready to go in the office, on the table, but I'd convinced him to move to a section of the fortress that we didn't use due to a lack of need. At least there my image wouldn't be excessively tarnished. No one would know about what was occurring except for us.

But that was two people too many.

He waited for me in an empty, unused bedroom. Isogai once called this space his, but he moved in order to be closer to me for security purposes. I missed the days when he was away from me; he now roomed a few doors down and annoyed me daily. But that was a heavenly occurrence compared to what awaited me.

Morinaga's shirt already lay on the floor, and the sight of his bare torso made the alcohol in my stomach want to spew from my mouth. His dark hazel eyes stared at me darkly. A chill ran through my body. His royal side hadn't left yet.

"You're drunk," he observed. His tone was deceptively disinterested.

Shit, was it that obvious? I was barely swaying, and I hadn't spoken yet. Fucker had to be magical…

"'s that a problem?" I asked. My speech didn't even sound that slurred! I must've been building a tolerance to ale.

He shrugged. "I'd prefer you sober," he replied. "But...at least you'll be more reactive this way."

I took an involuntary step toward the door. I'd rarely felt fearful of anyone in the past, but for reasons I couldn't decipher he was terrifying me.

The experience pained me, though he said he was being gentle through the whole ordeal. He ordered me to relax, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. Each feeling burned me throughout the night, and I still felt them now, in the early morning. I awoke in my bedroom, much to my numb surprise. He'd carried me back after I'd fallen asleep, most likely. I locked gazes with the ceiling's.

"At night tomorrow," he'd said after he'd finished. "Around ten o'clock. I'll teach you then. In here, so no one else knows. Sound good?"

I'd mumbled in reply, and I suppose he took that as acceptance, for he'd left a note atop my clothes, which he'd folded ever so kindly. I couldn't read the damn thing, though I'd tried. The symbols looked close to some I'd seen before, but I barely recognized the word "you." Everything else may as well have been ancient symbols.

I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to face that lust-driven demon of a royal, let alone learn anything from him. Not if it meant having to pay him in...that way…

It wasn't as if I didn't have an excuse. My body hurt like the hottest hell, particularly my head, but not so much from alcohol as from it hitting a headboard a few times the night before. "I'll be gentle," he'd said.

"Gentle as a child with a ragdoll," he'd meant.

I'd kill him. Not now, but I'd kill him. I'd need to find out a way to do it without being too obvious first, though. A way in which the murder couldn't be pinned on me. Hmm...I could poison him. Then it would look like anyone had done it. It was the smartest way to do it, but it was also the least painful. There was a poison out there that supposedly corroded internal organs, but that was just a rumor. Even if it was true, I'd have to search deep into the illegal markets to find it. And as everyone knew, the deeper the market, the more dangerous the market.

So how could I kill him, then? Hanging would be too obvious—I'd already tried that before. Oh! I could tie him to a tree and plunge arrows into his body until he was at the brink of death and leave him to starve...no, that'd be too difficult. I couldn't tie him up easily. At least, not in that situation. So what could I do…

"Tatsumi!" a much-too-loud voice shouted from outside my door. Fucking Isogai.

"What?" I groaned. Sitting up in bed took nearly all of my effort, so much that I had to lean against my headboard to keep from falling.

"Get up, preferably soon. The others need to know what you want them to do."

I rubbed my eyes. "Send half to steal medicine and the other half out scouting," I ordered. "But keep about two here to guard the prisoners. I don't trust them left alone."

"Are you sick?" he asked. Concern dripped from his words.

"No," I replied. Just sickened. "I drank last night."

"Ah. I'll tell the others what you said."

His retreating footsteps told me that he'd left.

I sunk down into my bed with a strong exhalation and an even stronger sense of relief. Gods, sitting up was difficult…

A nap occupied the next three hours of my time, and after I'd abandoned my blank dreamland, I stood from bed and trudged into my private washroom. Due to the presence of a flame right underneath the basin of water I always kept on hand, I could have a heated bath, a rarity among commoners and a treasure among bandits. I didn't mind cold baths, but heated ones made them seem torturous.

After extinguishing the flame and waiting long enough for the water to keep from burning my skin off, I slid into the basin with a hiss. Shit, it was still hot...well, at least it numbed the pain. It was still there, but its presence wasn't as severe as it had been earlier. Perhaps I could meet Prince Bastardly after all…

Joy.

His reactions had been wonderful.

Whether it was alcohol's doing, my doing, or both, it didn't matter. Souichi was even more lovely than when he was drugged. His entire being seemed to tremble from the lightest touch. Tender whispers of even the shortest length sent him into a state of defenseless whimpering. The slightest hint of my heated breath on his milky skin reddened the area instantly, as if I'd burned my essence onto him. As if I'd marked him as mine.

He was now, in a sense. As long as our agreement held up, he was mine; a student and—technically—a lover. The latter title didn't totally apply; it wasn't entirely consensual. He'd even claimed it was forced while I took him. Ah, he'd been so cute…

But he'd been weak, too. He'd passed out upon climaxing, an event that sped up my own. His back had arched off the bed, and his arms had covered his reddened face as he'd cried out in the most wonderful high-pitched way. I'd fallen atop him, and we lay together in a dazed, pleasure-filled heap. I'd held him as we'd lain together, a blissful smile on my face. His skin was so soft...it still amazed me that he lived such a rough life…

When I'd lifted my head to murmur that to him, however, I'd found that he'd fallen unconscious. Rather than try to rouse him, I'd held him. He looked so small, so young when he slept; it was as if I was holding a sixteen-year-old, not a twenty-five-year-old. I probably couldn't tell him that, though. Not without him threatening my life. But that was fine. If all of this worked out the way I wanted it to, I could tell him how beautiful he was and only receive a mumbled "shut up," in return. For now, though, I'd ease him into it slowly.

Though I didn't want to rise from the bed, I had to transport him back to his room before the morning so that he didn't hurt me or get his reputation hurt by the others. So I'd pushed away my lusty side and locked him up, then carried Souichi, his clothing, and a note back to his bedroom, careful to avoid being caught by anyone in the process. After dressing myself, I'd awaited Isogai to return me to my cell. He had returned about twenty minutes after he'd left originally, but Souichi informed him to return in about three hours. Two and a half had been used up; I hoped he didn't ache too much when he awoke.

I remained awake throughout the night, only sleeping out of my body's inability to stay awake any longer. It felt so cold without him in my arms, so empty and hollow. But it wasn't like he'd be away from me forever. He would meet me around ten tonight, and when that hour rolled around, I'd tell him just how our system of payment would work.

For now, though, I waited with a smile on my face and fantasies in my head.