Link to the Authors Notes: http:www.ayumie.de/Shoumaden-AuthorsNotes.htm

Part VI (Tetei)

I slip into the hallway and close the door. It is mid-morning, but since I am still in the Emperor's private wing, there's neither sound no movement. Nobody is allowed in here, save those he chooses for his pleasure and the occasional servant.

Soldiers of the dragon company are stationed at the portal, hand-picked for guard duty by their new commander – one Gerumu? They do not take notice of me. Zadei-sama is still asleep. I remember the way he looked when I left, sprawled over the bed like a large, snoring child and for a moment I am tempted to smile. I bite my lip. It has been three weeks. It feels longer.

I don't know what I was expecting. Not this. Of course there wasn't a choice – once he decides that he wants something he will stop at nothing until he has it. It is not in his nature to stand aside. Better to retain some measure of control and surrender on my own terms than have destroy me in the process. What's more, sharing his bed isn't an altogether ... unpleasant experience. Not that he's particularly careful – bruises, scrapes and even bites are nothing unusual. No, he hasn't changed at all. He is still callous, cruel when it suits him, but at the same time he can be oddly ... protective? In bed, at least he isn't brutal, or rather, not with me.

I slept. For the first time since I came here, I really slept. What is more, he hasn't kept me from my duties – if anything, my responsibilities have even increased. It's not just the palace anymore. The whole makai is in disorder and apparently nobody cares to do anything about it. Still, even I have to admit that things could be worse. Whatever else may be said about him, Zadei does have an uncanny ability to ferret out real dangers and quite as keen instincts when it comes to handling them. And he never hesitates. Granted, he doesn't always think things through and he cares nothing about details or anything that doesn't affect him directly but as I said – it could be so much worse. And at least he doesn't seem to mind my taking care of these 'nuisances'.

But what has really made all this possible is that they fear me now. It is hard to wrap my mind around that concept: they fear me. Not so much the servants – they know that their usefulness keeps them reasonably save – but the others, the courtiers, all the people loitering around the palace. They fear me because he considers me his own. And why shouldn't they? He killed once for me already and more importantly, I sleep in his bed every night. That, too, is power.

And after all it is only a matter of time. He will tire of me as he tires of everything and I will be ... free. More or less anyway.

I stop, startled. I have wandered into a area of the palace I do not recognize. It is a deserted, nondescript corridor although right in front of me is a small door leading outside. This must be one of the smaller gardens, one I never bothered to inspect in person. I step outside, blinking at the bright sunlight. Strange. One would think that by now, I'd have covered this one. Something catches my eye and, turning around, I gasp. There, shadowed by a few large trees, six stone arcs surround a pillar of shimmering power.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

I suppress a surprised gasp, eyes widening as I stare at the intruder. How did he get here? Shouldn't I have heard something? But then, we are in the makai and this is a demon, for all that his body looks like that of a boy. There is power about him, too, though it is not a brand I recognize. Still, he could kill me easily enough. I turn back to the structure, studying it with clinical interest.

"I suppose. What does it do?"

The boy shakes his hair from his eyes and only now do I notice that it is pale blue and not gray or even white. Definitely not somebody I've seen before, not even at a distance. A recent arrival, then?

"Oh, it is a prison. The human built it as a shrine to his beloved. When he was defeated, Zadei-sama considered it fitting that he should be imprisoned here, alongside her remains."

My eyes widen as I stare at the whirling energies and I can't help but shudder at the thought of being trapped in there. I don't know much about the human, only that the previous Emperor – quite possibly in a fit of insanity – decided to Change him and name him successor. He was said to be quite powerful but of course he didn't stand a chance. So that's what happened to him. Fighting the compulsion to reach out and touch, I idly wonder whether he can hear us. Of course he'd have to be awake and aware – why bother to keep him alive if not to make him suffer?

The not-boy is waiting patiently for me to finish my contemplation. Finally, I decide to take the direct approach. Both of us know that this meeting is not a coincidence – probably he had me followed since I left Zadei's quarters – so what's the use in pretending otherwise. Dismissing everything else from my attention, I finally face him.

"What is it you want?"

He smiles and tilts his head, tacitly acknowledging my change of strategy. Not stupid, then. Dangerous.

"I need an audience with the Emperor and I was told that you are the person to talk to. In fact I was hoping for an informal meeting. What I wish to discuss concerns a somewhat ... delicate matter."

I barely manage to conceal a snort. With Zadei there are only informal meetings. I've never met anyone with less sense of decorum. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. As for the delicate matter – if it is nothing that requires raw power I'll probably end up dealing with it anyway. Of course that saves the question of whether or not I should ask Zadei to see him. After all, this might be nothing but a waste of time. As though he had sensed my doubts, the boy smiles.

"Perhaps it would help to know my name. After all, I already know yours. I am Charon, ruler of the Hades and, I believe, fully entitled to an interview with my Emperor."

On cue, several dark-clad figures materialize around and behind him, dragging a badly hurt demon between them. The entourage of a king. Keeping my expression bland, I incline my head in an abortive bow. Very well, then.