Azrem to Ruuk no Hanashi

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Chapter Three: Secrets of Kriit

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Noa awoke the next morning in the luscious and overwhelmingly comfortable bed of Prince Ryuuji's, yet this time, it did not take as long for him to remember his surroundings. How he got there, still remained a mystery to his clouded morning mind. The small boy attempted to hold his eyes shut, fighting against awakening himself and rolling over, only to find himself between something really sqooshy, and another object that was a bit less sqooshy.

A small noise from the less sqooshy object caused the small boy to blink himself awake, and actually go digging around in the massive covers to discover the noise's maker. Sitting himself up carefully, a pushing around large heaps of satin pillows, Noa finally found the noise to have been from the prince. Funny, he would have thought Ryuuji had awakened by now. Shaking his head of the thought, Noa lifted a hand to awaken him, but stopped.

Why did he need to wake him up? He himself was still fighting wanting to go back to sleep, and it didn't seem as if the sun had risen just yet. In fact, the sun had not made any attempt to rise yet at all. The pale moonlight still shone high up in the air, spilling over the quite bedroom, where only the sounds of two persons' breathing could be heard. Could it be that he was having trouble sleeping again? It did not even seem early.

Finally, just the sight of the prince's face caught Noa's attention. He had not even been thinking of it before, his mind bustling with wondering what time it must be and why he himself was not sleeping. The boy looked simply wonderful in that moonlight. She spilled over the grounds of the marble floor, and poured herself over the bedspread, and over most of the prince's still body. His hair lay in a pool around the crown of his head, held up neatly by a dark red pillow, some sheets messily scattered over Ryuuji's thin form.

Every angle of his face was lightly accented in the moon's rays, and he looked almost angelic. So peaceful. It was quite beautiful. And at that moment, it occurred to the smaller boy that he shouldn't want to wake him. Only watch him, and listen to his careful breaths until the sun rose that morning.

Noa shifted to make himself comfortable, laying himself to rest in a nice position in the covers quietly, laying next to the prince, but not so close that he would awaken him with any small movement. He could still watch him, and that was the point. His pink lips twitched into a warm smile as he did so, admiring every flawless curve of Ryuuji's face, every wonderful angle of his body. He really was attractive.

Sooner rather than later, however, the smaller boy began to find it getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. With a careful yawn, he rubbed at his itching eyes and went to snuggle himself into the blankets, letting himself attempt to fall asleep once more.

- - -

"Noa. . ." Whispered the soothing voice of the prince, coaxing the aquamarine haired boy to awaken. "Noa, it's morning. Wake up. . ."

His eyelids tightened as he rolled over the opposite direction, and he could faintly hear the chuckling of the prince behind himself. Pulling a nice warm pillow close to his chest, Noa tried to keep himself asleep, wishing to regain the hour or so that he'd lost to staring at Ryuuji's face.

Ryuuji's face? Wasn't that the same face that was attempting to wake him up? With a little mewl the slave boy rolled himself over the other way, blinking up at the taller with his bright eyes. "I'm hungry." He pouted.

This arose yet another chuckle from the taller. "That's good to hear, little one. We have breakfast on the table, there are many different fruits and things for you to choose from." The man was bending over slightly, and his hands were behind his back. "Do you need my help to stand, or do you think you could do that on your own?"

Sticking out his pink tongue from between his equally pink lips, Noa shifted his weight around on the bed. He had to kick his legs for a moment, to free himself from the grasps that the many sheets had on his thighs. Once that task had been taken care of, he was able to help himself up, and press his hands to the bed to lift his body to stand. "I'm up, I'm up. . ." He muttered, as his hands came up to rub at his eyes.

Ryuuji held out one slim fingered hand to take Noa's, and lead the sleepy boy with him down one of the palace's large corridors. They took the same direction as they had taken to get to dinner the night before, though it was easier to see around the place this time in the morning.

Taking a detour to his left, Ryuuji happily brought Noa with himself, out into the bright flower garden. The very same one from the night before as well. "We'll be eating out here this morning, if that's alright with you." Commented Ryuuji cheerfully, as he took his place on a chair before a small carved table, motioning for Noa to sit opposite him.

Noa did so, having to lift his robes to fit and make himself comfortable. His attention was now on Ryuuji, as he looked to the boy from his lap. "How did I get to the bed last night?" He asked carefully.

"You had fallen asleep on me last night in the garden," Ryuuji said softly. As he was giving his answer, a different woman than the one from the night before came by, setting a massive plate of fruits and crackers, and all sorts of other goodies down on the table between them. She seemed to be ignoring their conversation, as she poured each of them a small glass of tea, and then turned around to head off.

"So, I carried you back into the bedroom with me." Ryuuji finished, then reached over to pop a small grape into his mouth. Noa followed the prince's action, though his movements seemed a bit less carefree, and more hesitant. "You seem like a heavy sleeper. You did not even move one bit as I carried you. You are quite light, as well." He smiled.

Noa blushed a bit, embarrassed. "Erm. . . well. . . we don't—didn't—get to eat much when I was growing up. I still don't really tend to eat all that much."

"Is that why you have such a pale complexion?" Ryuuji asked softly.

Noa frowned. "Is that. . . a bad thing?"

"No, no!" The prince shook his head, leaning forward and on the edge of his seat. "No, it is one of the qualities that I like about you."

With a little chuckled, he replied: "I'm glad, then. . ."

Shortly after a silence passed between the two of them, Ryuuji's attention was once more on his companion. "There are some certain fabrics that I would like to purchase today in the marketplace for a certain piece that I am working on." The prince spoke. "I will be going to town. Would you like to come with me, or stay at home?"

For another moment, Noa pondered this, unsure if he'd rather walk around in the hot sun, or sleep. In the hot sun, however, he would be with Ryuuji, and he may even get the chance to talk with his father. He smiled. "I would like to accompany you."

- - -

The two of them soon arrived in town, and Ryuuji immediately led them to his desired store. The place was filled with wonderful fabrics, silks, satin, and anything else you could think of, in any colour. Ryuuji was talking quietly with the woman that owned the shop, as she gave him her small tidbits of advice, and helped the disguised prince to find just the colours he had been searching for.

Across the little store from where they stood was Noa, picking carefully through all of the other fabrics in one corner, and pretending to seem amused. He couldn't really place why Ryuuji would want fabrics, and when the two of them left the little shop, the prince refused to show what he had bought to Noa.

As the two of them pressed through the large and crowded streets of Ruuk, an unusual bustling of gossip and news seemed to be going around. Every once in a while, Noa would catch bits and pieces, and he still couldn't understand the entire thing. It was about Kriit.

That was strange, he thought. Kriit? They never mentioned Kriit around these streets. Azrem was on safe terms with the country, and they planned to stay that way. Most of the citizens of Azrem were scared of Kriit, and scared of just what exactly the war-enraged country may do if the two were to cross paths.

Another portion caught. "Their prince seems to have been. . ."

Prince? Noa frowned, hand tightly holding onto Ryuuji's to keep from losing him. He did not know that Kriit had a prince as Azrem did. Of course, no one knew barely anything about Kriit, except for the wars they had started and won. If they were not buying something expensive from the country, or trading for something equally or more valuable on the road of Nisaih, then nothing else was important to the Azrem people.

". . .that long ago?" Came yet another bit of gossip. This one was definitely not easy to decipher. Noa soon glanced up as his father's shop came into view, and he shook all thoughts of the news from his mind.

"Ryuuji?" He whispered, tugging on the prince's hand. "May I see my father?"

The prince looked down at the other, whose eyes seemed almost pleading. "Of course," He smiled carefully, and turned them through the bustling crowd of people to take a shortcut to Noa's father's shop. The man's eyes widened, and he jumped up from his seat in greeting as the two boys came into view.

"Why hello!" He cried, arms outstretched. "How're you two doin' today?"

Noa giggled a bit. "Just wonderful," He said gladly, hands folded in front of himself. Ryuuji nodded to show the same. "And you?"

The man let out a grunt, rubbing at his graying beard in thought. "Eh, it goes. Not many customers lately," He said with a slight frown. "But the news is quite fun ta listen' ta 'round 'ere."

Noa blinked at that. "Yes, I've been hearing people talk about it on the streets, but I couldn't really figure out what it was. Could you tell me?" Noa leaned over the table, as Ryuuji's attention was soon brought to a shining silver broach that mingled with the other items on Noa's father's display.

"Perfect," Ryuuji whispered, bringing it into his hand. Noa was too eager to hear what the hustle was all about in the square, and he hadn't heard Ryuuji's mutterings.

"Well," his father began. "It seems to be that Kriit is in search of their prince. I didn't know myself that them Kriits even 'ad a prince, but apparently so. They say he's been missin' 'ere since he was 'bout five. Them Kriits are some weird folk, lemme tell ya. Their prince goes a missin' and they only give enough of a damn to care about 9 er so years later, just 'cause their King died. There's an all out hunt for 'em. Not 'round these parts, o'course. I haven't seen any of them Kriits since my teen years."

"That seems. . . strange." Noa frowned. "Do they even know where he is?"

"Their best bet is ta jus' assume the kid's dead and leave 'em be. Haven't seen 'em in so long. Besides, I know them Kriits got somethin' up their sleeves. Save for them wars, those people never had much of anything to care about. I myself, think this is some ploy to catch Qin's attention."

Noa furrowed his brow. "Qin?" He questioned, as Ryuuji moved to stand behind him, the shining silver broach now in the bag with the fabrics, and the 250 Nei set down carefully on the display where the broach had originally been. "What would they want with the people of Qin?"

"Well, you know just as well as all of us how long them Kriits been wantin' to take over Qin. Big farmin' country. Make themselves more money. They spend so damned much of their wealth on their militia, so they barely have enough money to feed their own people. Annexing Qin would give them just the thing they need. And pleasin' the royals of Qin is one 'ard thing ta do. They'll a have to work real damned 'ard on that one. Makin' 'emselves vulnerable, and makin' it seem like they are missin' somethin' that precious as their own prince would be just the perfect way to get them Qins attention. Soon they'll start lookin' in Qin for their "lost prince" and slowly form some sick sort of alliance, then carefully, carefully annex the country. Wagin' war on thems Qins ain't gonna help 'em. Wouldn't wanna ruin the fine land."

Ryuuji soon tilted his head down to the other boy's ear, as he had done the night before, brushing his lips against it carefully. "Come now, we must be off home. There is something that I need to have done."

Noa nodded to the prince, before looking back to his father. "We need to go, father. But I'll talk to you soon." He smiled happily. "Take care."

Ryuuji carefully took Noa's hand, leading him down the street with him as Noa's father continued waving. "You too!" He cried after, before looking down, and taking the Nei that Ryuuji had left in the broach's place.

- - -

After dinner that night, the two of them were standing in the hallway corridor before a large door, as Ryuuji was waiting for someone in the room. The black haired prince was pacing back and forth, and listening to Noa talk.

"Do you think the people of Kriit would really do that? I do not know anything about them, but do you think that sounds true?"

"Which part of it?"

"What my father said, about thinking it was all just a scam to annex Qin. Do you think that could be true?"

Ryuuji only shook his head, still pacing. "It may very well be true, and we would not know either way. We do not know those people of Kriit, nor their morals. Only of fine silks and wines, prostitutes and war."

Noa was about to comment, but he was stopped as the woman that Ryuuji had been waiting for finally finished the work she had been doing, letting only the prince inside. Noa frowned at that, shifting uncomfortably, and briefly hoping that the two of them weren't getting too close.

Wait. . . what? Why would he be thinking that? He was not a pleasure slave, he was only a companion for Ryuuji. He would not be jealous of someone that seemed to receive more affections than he. He frowned at his own objections, and tried to block his mind from the thoughts.

Not too long after the two persons' exchange, Ryuuji returned, and Noa was immediately searching for any marks on him or kiss-bitten lips. He was relieved to find nothing suspicious, except for a bag that he held in his hands. Noa looked down to the large bag quizzically, tilting his head to the side. Ryuuji only let out a giggle, and lifted a finger to Noa's lips to silence any voiced questions that the smaller may have.

He took Noa's hand with one of his own, returning them both to another bedroom in the large palace, this one with a blue tint. It was not nearly as lavish at the prince's bedroom, but it was definitely more than any rich citizen could afford. "Turn around," Ryuuji commanded softly, and watched as Noa obeyed.

All Noa could hear was the rustling of the bag, and something seeming to have been pulled out of it. "Alright, turn around now."

Noa did so once more, and found himself face to face with a long, dark blue and silken cloak, obviously made with the very same cloth that Ryuuji had purchased during their outing. Sparkling at the neck was the broach, in the shape of a Celtic knot. Ryuuji smiled softly.

"I had it made especially for you. To match your eyes. It is for you to wear when the palace has parties, weddings, and other occasions."

The smaller boy's eyes were sparkling with delight, and he clapped his hands together, before hugging the fabric cloak to his chest with glee. "Thank you," He whispered carefully. "Thank you so much."

Ryuuji only shook his head, a happy smile still on his own lips. "It was my pleasure. And, you must try it on." He declared, as he lifted his hands to take the cloak from Noa and fluff it out, before wrapping it around the boy's shoulders. There was a light hood to cover himself from the sun, and it was kept down as he tried it on. Ryuuji went to clasp the broach, before standing back a couple paces to observe Noa happily.

"It looks just marvelous on you, Noa." He smiled carefully, holding both hands out for the smaller to come to him. Noa looked just a bit confused, but he did so willingly, taking both of Ryuuji's hands in his own.

The prince's head tilted down, whispering a small question into the blue eyed boy's ear. "May I have the permission to kiss you, Noa?" He asked carefully, heated breath against the smaller boy's ear. Noa's eyes widened, and his only response was a weak nod.

Smiling warmly, and with soft emerald eyes looking down over the other boy's face, Ryuuji dipped his head in once swift movement, but paced himself before the other's lips. He actually wanted this to go slowly, to wish for it to last forever, as he finally let their lips touch. He broke both hands free from Noa's to set them on the smaller's waist, eyes closed in the careful bliss of the one moment.

Noa was a bit confused as to what he was supposed to do, so he only pressed back, hands unsure. Soon, they were on the back of Ryuuji's neck, carefully placed, as the prince pulled back slowly. Neither boy wanted to open their eyes, in fear of shattering their perfect moment, as they stay silent. Ryuuji was the first to speak, eyelids fluttering open.

"Was that. . . alright?" He questioned in a gentle whisper, blushing ever so slightly. Noa let out a small giggle, and nodded.

"Yes, you did perfectly."