Treize POV

The formal gardens of the Chinese were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was almost, or perhaps because of, magic that they even grew in a place that was so cold most of the year. Of course the monks tended them like they were children, but it still seemed a bit cold for flowers.

The ruler of the Lin dynasty was a man by the name of Lizong. He and I were on peaceful terms, but we seemed to annoy one another. Lizong was close to my age and had come to power only a few years before my conquest of Russia.

The palace where we met was not the royal palace, nor was it in the capitol city. Instead, it was a sort of summer getaway at the bottom of the Himalayan mountains. A cold wind blew down the mountains and kept the temperature from warm to chilly and an air current from the Indian Ocean brought heavy if not frequent storms.

All the dragons had been relocated from the nest that the dragon had been stolen from, so this was not the original home of the dragon. It was, however, easily able to care for her and had several other dragons staying there. When we arrived I was in all my kingly finery, clothes that looked magnificent but would have hindered me in a fight. Returning the dragon to the emperor, since all the dragons were considered possessions of the emperor, turned into quite a spectacle. I wasn't surprised, the Chinese were very fond of rituals.

Instead of simply taking the dragon to her nest, the emperor met my ships at the entrance of the city. Together, we boarded splendidly decorated coaches and were seated high on a platform so everyone could see. In my own country, I would have pointed out that this made both of us an easy target for archers or aerial creatures, but I didn't doubt that I would be safe by the side of the emperor in his own country. It is hard to match the loyalty of the Chinese people to their emperor.

The dragon was also put onto a large, wheeled platform covered in sweet-smelling flowers. I was appalled to see that, unlike our carriage which was drawn by horses, the dragon's platform was pulled by no less than a hundred men, all done up in a kind of uniform.

I was appalled, but knew enough to keep my mouth shut. There was nothing I could do, not with my country so new and this country so strong. I had no doubt that those men were there of their own free will, no matter how grudgingly that will was given.

The monks all lined up in front of the nest, awaiting the arrival of the dragon. When the time came for her to pass into the hands of the monks, Lizong made a long, inspiring speech about the friendship and loyalty Russia had shown the Chinese people and the cowardice and evil of the people that had stolen the dragon. It was a good speech, but far too long and in depth. I found it a bit boring, though the crowd was riveted. Though I suppose that's not saying much, in China one can be beheaded for not listening to the emperor.

There was a huge Chinese style party that night and it was late before I could go to bed. I was tired from the trip and the music, though beautiful, had given me a headache. Not to mention that many of the girls had wanted to dance with me, apparently very aware that I was still unmarried. Lizong and I would talk about political matters later, after I had been shown a good time and rested a bit.

"This is a time for celebration," he told me, "we will talk later."

And so the emperor said it, and so it would be done. Lizong was not spoiled more than any rich monarch was, but he was so used to his every will and whim being adhered to that he had trouble realizing when other's needs should come first. His advisors tried to keep him away from most other leaders, realizing that one day his stubborn need for everything to be done his way would insult one of the other monarchs. It was only my easy going nature that allowed me to speak with him directly.

Lizong had many advisors, most of them appointed by his father, and each advisor was extremely loyal to their emperor, but they did not close their eyes to his faults. They were all very wise men, but also very worldly men. I knew well that someone could be smart to books but stupid to the affairs of the people. The former emperor had chosen well and I had the strange feeling that I would have gotten along well with him.

The newer advisors did not hold much respect in my eyes. There were only three of them, but they seemed to constantly have the emperor's ear. They went by the names of Que, Noventa, and So. I wasn't too sure how Noventa became one of the emperor's advisors, since he was obviously foreign and the emperor didn't usually trust foreigners. There was also something disturbing about Noventa. Something that just wasn't right about him.

I took my leave from the party when I felt that I could no longer hold my head up. Lizong bid me good night, grinning at me and telling me not to stay up too late. Tired and startled, I asked him if he had sent another woman to my room. He laughed and shook his head. I was so relieved I headed off to bed, not bothering to ask what he had meant by that comment.

I found that I was staying in the same room I had on my last trip. A beautiful wooden bed, I was unfamiliar with the type of wood, stood in the corner on the far side of the rom, then a small table, bookshelf, armchair, and chest of drawers. When I put it like that, the room doesn't seem very marvelous, but I cannot possibly describe all the beautiful paintings, tapestries, and designs of the room. Everything from the walls to the legs of the dresser was decorated with Chinese symbols and pictures. A pair of Chinese swords decorated with a red and blue dragon hung above the bed. It is safe to say, though, that the room was dominated by the colors black and red and sometimes inlaid with gold.

It was simply breathtaking, but I was in no mood to marvel it tonight. I was exhausted and only wanted to climb into bed and sleep for the rest of the trip. However, when I opened the door and stepped into my room, there was someone already in my bed.

The boy was only a teen and looked about the same age as Duo and Quatre. He was tied to my bed, completely naked, in a provocative position. There were four silk ropes tied to the posts at the head of the bed and two tied at the foot. Two of the silk ropes from the head came down and tied at the wrists, holding his arms above his head. Two more from the head came down and tied at the boy's knees, pulling them up and revealing everything. The two that came from the bottom of the bed tied around the boy's ankles, making it impossible for him to kick or move around.

The boy's eyes were the deep chocolate color common throughout China, but they were deeply glazed in a drug-induced haze. The boy's eyes fell on me but he didn't seem to see me. He was groggy and disoriented and seemed to have trouble moving his head to look around the room, as though watching for something. Or someone. Around his neck there was another, thicker piece of silk. I had no doubt that this one was intended to be used as a gag if the boy got too noisy.

I was just to the point of wondering what kind of sick, twisted individual would use a person when the emperor's strange comments came back to me. And what I had said on my last trip...

I told them I was gay.

I told them I was gay!

I TOLD THEM I WAS GAY!

It would have utterly ruined my image as a solid commander who never faltered and always knew what to do if someone had come in and found me beating my head against a wall, but I did it anyway. I did it until even my headache had to flee along with the rest of my senses.

I turned back to the boy on the bed. In all my years, I have never seen anything so beautiful. His skin was bronze and shining in the dim light. Beyond him a large window streamed moonlight over his body and silhouetted him by the stars. His lips were pink and perfectly shaped, parted and panting a bit. As I watched, his tongue peaked out and laid a bit of moisture on them, giving them a glossy shine. His hair cascaded around his shoulders like raven wings. His body was also nothing to scoff at, with a perfect physic that only hours of training with a sword would grant. As if adding proof to my assumption, there was a small, fading scar on the right side of his stomach, the kind often made in a duel.

I forced myself to look away from the boy, my honor would not allow me to take him in his current condition. Quickly, I fished a knife out from under my shirt and cut the boy's bonds. He fell back to the bed, his eyes glued to me in astonishment and fear. Like he couldn't understand how I had snuck up on him.

Quickly I took the boy's wrist and checked his pulse. The boy tried to resist me, but the drug had made him drowsy and weak, so his attempts were feeble at most. I was relieved, though not surprised, to find the boy's pulse normal. Chinese doctors were amongst the best in the world and had dealt with drug and herbal medicines for thousands of years. I was confident that Lizong's doctors would have been careful with the boy, as he was to be, I assumed, another gift to me. I would have to try and return him to his family, as I had the last one. However, it would be trickier, since I could not use my preferences as an excuse. Perhaps that little scar of his could be used...

I was brought back to my senses as the boy moaned loudly and attempted to sit up. Quickly, I pulled him into a sitting position and held onto him, as he was unsteady. The boy moaned loudly again.

"Boy," I called gently but sternly, "Can you hear me? What is your name?"

"Chang... Chang Wufei," he told me, faltering a bit with the words. He moaned again and started to pant.

"Wufei, are you in pain? What hurts?"

The boy only shook his head and bit his lip, closing his eyes and leaning against my shoulder. He was sweating a bit and seemed to be in a lot of pain.

Abruptly, I wondered if the boy had been prepared for me and if anything had been left inside him. That would explain his reluctancy to tell me of his pain.

"Wufei, did they prepare you for me? Wufei?" I asked, trying to call him back.

"Yes..."

"How?"

"Put things... Pulled... Pushed... Had to stretch..."

"Did they leave them?"

"Things... hurt...won't!" he said, suddenly pushing away from me, his eyes wide with terror and anger, "Won't! I won't be his! I'll die first! I won't lose my honor! I won't! I... won't..." he said, then faded back into the haze, gradually going lax and leaning back against the bed. I decided then that the boy's information really couldn't be trusted at this stage.

I pressed him back against the bed and lifted his legs up. I would have to make sure they hadn't left anything painful inside of him. The boy gasped and tried to push me away.

"No! No don't! I won't! I won't... let...you," he sobbed, violently struggling to push me away. His body was coiled like a spring, which would have made it impossible for me to get where I need to without hurting him. I quickly sat him back up. He quieted immediately and it seemed as though he had associated lying down with being taken in his haze of drugs. My mind moved quickly, but I could find only one other option.

Scooping the boy in my arms, I grabbed a bottle of lotion from the small, adjoining bathroom and sat down in the armchair, the boy spread across my lap. Slowly, as not to alert him to my intentions, I placed his feet on the dresser, so that his legs were raised and spread. Quickly, I spread the lotion on my fingers and snaked my arm underneath him, holding his upper body with the other arm. I knew I would have to distract him from what I was doing if I didn't want him tense.

"So, Wufei, how did you get here?" I asked, moving my hand closer to its target. Wufei turned and looked at me strangely.

"By horse," he said, misunderstanding the question.

"No, I mean, how did you land yourself in this position?" I asked, my hand gently tracing the cleft of his ass.

"You picked me up and put me here," he told me, again not understanding. I laughed softly and used the motion of my body to cover the feeling of peeling apart his buttox and pressing two fingers in.

"I mean, why did the emperor give you to me?" I asked, gently feeling around for his entrance. His face went solemn, even sad.

"I was accused of a crime," told me softly and I had to pause in my endeavor.

"What crime?" I asked.

"Sorcery," he told me shame-faced and I almost sighed in relief. I was worried it had been something horrible, like murder. Though in this country sorcery might have been considered worse than murder, it was also easily the most widely used accusation without proof. It was unlikely the boy had even seen real sorcery, let alone used it. Still, while my fingers found his tight, pre-oiled pucker, I had to ask him about it.

"So," I questioned easily, "Do you practice sorcery?"

I was surprised by the vehemence of the response I got. The boy's face went red with anger and clenched his body, his bottom squeezing my hand almost painfully tight, and arched away from me.

"I've never practiced sorcery!" he cried, "I tried to ignore it!" he almost shouted, then instantly calmed again as the drugs drained away what little strength he had. It wasn't until a few moments later that the boy realized what he had inadvertently told me and he moaned in fear and shame.

"So," I asked him, "You can do sorcery?"

The boy bit his lip, then nodded, tears pooling at the corner of his eyes, but I could see that his pride would not let them fall.

"Sometimes... my candles would light on their own or a cup I had been stirring would keep stirring even after I let go. I-I tried to make it stop, but I couldn't... And then Merian..." The boy barely repressed a sob and hid his face in my chest. I had been gently working two fingers inside him and was up to the second knuckle. His body relaxed for a second and, unsure of how long the drugs would last and deciding I couldn't distract him much longer, I quickly pressed my fingers inside of him as far as they would go, thankfully finding nothing there. Wufei jumped, startled, his face going pale, but I pulled my fingers out before he could try to remove them. His face went red with anger and I could see that he was about to yell at me in a fit of temper, but the drugs suddenly hit him and he collapsed against me again, unable to even hold himself up. The boy whimpered and writhed against me and I was at a loss for what could be hurting him. I now knew there was nothing inside him so I quickly scanned his body for external wounds. That was when I found the source of the problem between Wufei's legs.

The boy was sporting an impressive erection, one that could be called painful, and a cockring around his dripping manhood that allowed him to do nothing about it. Quickly, I removed the small band, dropping it on the floor and immediately taking my hand away from his privates. Wufei looked up at me in shock as the blood went rushing down to his already swelled member and he whimpered in pain. Then lust took hold of him and he reached down, unmindful of my presence, to stroke himself.

I knew that I should not allow the boy to touch himself so close to me, but there was nothing I could do. No matter how many times I told my body to move, it refused to obey. It didn't help any that I had been sporting an erection since I walked in the room and having the boy naked on my lap hadn't helped any.

There must have been an aphrodisiac in the drugs the boy had been given, because he was not even aware of my presence as he stroked himself to completion on my lap. Roughly, he stroked up and down his own length, moaning and thrashing his head from side to side. His body on my lap rubbed against my own hard flesh in a tantalizing but not completing way and I found myself gripping the arms of the chair to keep my hands from reaching down my own pants. Finally, arching his back and crying out, he came, spewing milky white seed across his own naked flesh and my clothing. Watching him orgasm like that, I could not seem to help myself and blushed as I came inside my pants.

The boy's climax was so hard that I wasn't surprised to see him collapse afterwards, somewhere between post-orgasmic bliss and utter exhaustion. Quickly I rose, lifting the boy with me, and moved to the adjoining bathroom. I cleaned him up then sat him down on a corner bench. I was fairly certain that he couldn't even see me through his own exhaustion, so I stripped myself and left him there while I dressed in my night clothes. I returned to him with a spare robe of mine and fastened him in it, then put him into bed. I was too exhausted to even think any more that night, so I quickly slid into bed beside him. Even asleep as he was, he pressed back against me, the drugs were wearing off and he was shivering in the after-effects. I pulled him against my chest, cradling him to my warmth and fell asleep, peaceful and content as I have ever been.