Wufei POV

I didn't want to learn to use my magic. I resented the fact that Treize was forcing me to, but understood his reasons better now that Duo had warned me of the tendency of unused magic to become unstable. Still, I loathed the day that I was to begin my magical training.

I never expected to like it.

I believe I... tried Master O's patience on the first day I was to practice magic. It was late in the day and, as a whole, Master O had been quite pleased with my prior knowledge and willingness to learn. This, however, was one thing I wasn't so willing to learn.

It was a fight, more or less a battle of wits and patience, to even get me into the training room. Once inside, I attempted to do nothing more than sulk in a corner. Unfortunately, Master O had other ideas. Every time I would try to sit down or stop paying attention, he'd light a small fire on various parts of my body. It didn't do any real damage, but it stung like hell. Still, I refused to even attempt any spells. He was finally at his wits end when a stray burst of power from his anger at me hit a small bird outside the window.

"What the hell did you do that for?" I asked, picking up the small bird that had fallen in the window and was beating its uninjured wing rapidly, trying to get back into the tree.

"This is what happens when you get angry and don't pay attention to where your magic is going. That was a small burst, even the most well-trained sorcerers are prone to them when they get agitated, but if you refuse to use your magic you could put out a burst that would kill several people."

I lifted the bird, only half listening to Master O's lecture, and examined its wing. There was a deep cut in the wing, going all that way through the bone. It didn't look like any other part of its body was injured, but it was still likely it would die soon. Small birds are notorious for dying from shock from even the smallest of wounds. It was unlikely that the bird would live, and it would never fly again.

"You spoke of healing magic," I ground out, forcing myself to use even my most hated source of help for the little bird, "cast a spell and heal it."

"I won't."

"Why not? It's your fault the bird's hurt in the first place!"

"If you want the bird to live, heal it yourself. I won't do it for you."

I contemplated this. I had no doubt that Master O would let the bird die, if only to test me. Perhaps I could save it, but what of the consequences to my soul? After all, it was only a little bird...

"It's only a bird," I mumbled, "If it is so weak as to die from such a small wound, then it should die."

"Do you really believe that?" Master O asked quietly, "Would you really permit that bird to die when you could easily help it?"

I knew that I couldn't. Slowly, I reached down and covered the bird's wing with my hand, focusing all my energy into that one spot, as Master O had been preaching at me for the past two hours. A tingly sensation, odd but pleasant, moved down my arm. I concentrated hard, it was difficult for me to control the energy, the odd feeling, which was constantly moving and changing shape whilst I tried to control it. Master O was completely forgotten to me and no noise that he made could distract me. I thought I heard him open and close the door, as though he had left, but I put it from my mind. Slowly, like a man wandering a thornbush, I molded that odd, tingly feeling into the wound on the bird. Eventually, after many failed attempts to harness the odd feeling, I felt the feeling condense and a warmth spread under my hands, like I had placed them over fire. Suddenly, the bird squawked and I jumped, dropping the bird. Instead of falling to the floor, as I had thought it would, the bird soared out the window and into the sky.

"I told you he was powerful," I heard Treize's voice say and I whirled around to find Treize standing beside Master O, a proud look on his face. I couldn't understand that look, since I hadn't done anything I felt proud about.

"He is quite powerful indeed," Master O commented, a contemplative look on his face, "I was not sure that he would be able to do a healing spell at such a young age. I was almost certain that he would be unable to harness his power already, I was afraid that he would do more harm than good to the poor bird, but I knew that he would not use his magic unless someone's life was in danger, even someone as small as a sparrow. And I knew that the boy's heart wouldn't let him turn his back on another living being."

"He wouldn't be the boy I fell in love with if he could," Treize said with a smile, then turned to me, "Do you see now that not all magic is bad? It can be used to help people."

"I... am not sure," I told him. I was not yet ready to turn my back on my cultural beliefs, however I was starting to see how magic could be useful to a kingdom. And it didn't feel wrong, just strange.

Over the next few weeks and months I began to learn to use my magic. I was still hesitant at first, but eventually came around. And the relief of pressure, buildup of my magical energy, that came when I finally started using my magic often was a huge relief. Though there were no physical symptoms, it was easy for me to feel that something was wrong with the energies of my body and it was uncomfortable. I was very glad to have everything back in order once again.

Master O, ever cautious, warned me of the drawbacks in using magic, especially to heal. Just as in medicine, if the body rejected the magic we could end up doing more harm than good. Of course, it was more likely that magic would simply refuse to work on someone that could not accept it, thus providing a fail-safe. However, it was still wise to be cautious and only use healing magic when absolutely necessary and completely accepted.

The first time I actually managed to help someone with my magic was when I healed Trowa at our first meeting. Seeing the burns on his face and knowing how painful they must be and that, even if they did heal completely, there would be horrible burns on his face and body, I reached out to heal him without even thinking about it. It was as though my magic wanted to heal him and, since I was not adverse to it, it was a natural reaction for me to reach out and heal him. When I had finished healing him, I realized what I had done and as so surprised that I almost turned tail and ran. I was afraid that Trowa would point and scream sorcerer, as anyone from my home country would. When I turned to leave and he thanked me, I was confused. I was to surprised to be able to comprehend why he was thanking me, but it felt god to be appreciated. Damn good. Later I was able to help Dorothy too, but it didn't feel nearly as good knowing that magic was also the source of her problem, not just the remedy. Trowa was the first person who actually made me think that maybe, just maybe, I was doing something good.

Another thing I found that I enjoyed, though it was not a surprise to anyone, was the beautiful Russian library. I believe there were just as many, or more, books there as to the imperial Chinese library. I also liked the many different cultures from which the books came; there were books in arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Dutch Italian, and many, many more.

There was also another reason for my extra time in the library. It was a few weeks after I had started my magical training. I was in the library, as had become my custom after Treize left for his morning meetings and before my classes with Master O. I was reading a book on European history, partially curled in one of the chairs near the door. As usual, I as alone in the library, the young librarian had gone off to meet with her newest boyfriend. I was appalled at the girl's lack of ethics, but she kept all the books in excellent shape and, since I did prefer to have the library to myself, I didn't complain. However, on this morning, I heard the library door creek open. Somewhat surprised, I glanced at the door to see a young boy, about the age of nine or ten, hesitantly entering the room. I watched the boy, unaware of my presence, as he gazed in awe at the books around him. Quietly, as though someone would scold him for entering the room he tiptoed to the bookshelf and picked up a book that was far too advanced for his age. As I predicted, he read only a few sentences, then placed the book carefully on the shelf again, being sure to place it in the place he had taken it from. He moved down the line a bit, completely absorbed in the books, then lifted one that seemed to have caught his eye, still advanced for his age but not as much so as the last one. He surprised me by opening it and reading the first page, then the second, then the third. I waited for him to close the book and place it back on the shelf, but he did not. Eventually, like one falling asleep, he settled himself to the floor, reading avidly. It was only when I saw how uncomfortable he was, sitting on the cold, hard, stone floor, his back pressed against the sharp edge of the shelf, that I roused myself to go over to him. The boy was so enthralled by his book that he did not even hear my footsteps, nor notice me when I stood directly in front of him.

"Excuse me..." I said quietly. The boy reacted in a most surprising manner. He jumped to his feet, his eyes going wide with fear and anxiety, and hid the book behind his back, like he was trying to hide what he had done. I raised an eyebrow, scowling slightly at the behavior, looking directly at the corner of the book that peeked out from behind his back. He paled somewhat.

"I was gonna put it back! Honest!" he cried, pulling the book from behind his back slowly, "I just... I mean the title was really neat so I wanted to see what the rest was like and I guess... I guess I wasn't paying attention... I wasn't going to take it, I just... You know, it's like looking at a picture, it doesn't hurt to let everyone look, right? I-I didn't meant to make anyone mad..."

Finally understand what the boy was saying, I let my scowl soften into a rueful smile.

"I merely wanted to ask if you would be more comfortable on one of the couches. These books are here for anyone to read, you are welcome to them if you wish," I told him, then turned and walked away from the slack-jawed boy. As I turned my back and walked around, there was a small scurrying noise behind me. I turned around just in time to see the door slam shut, the book having been carefully replaced on the bookshelf.

The occurrence was odd, but I probably would have put the boy from mind had he not shown again at the very same time the next day. This time, instead of sneaking in, he entered tentatively and sought me out, padding slowly up to my chair to stand in front of me until I noticed him.

"Yes?" I questioned, noting the boy's nervous demeanor.

"I was just wondering... You know, 'cause of what you said yesterday... could I look at a book?" he asked, stumbling over his own words. My curiosity now peaked, I nodded.

"Over there are the children's books," I said, pointing, "Then the young adult books, then adults, then text books. You may look at anything you'd like."

The boy smiled brightly, the first un-hesitant thing I'd seen him do, and rushed off toward the books.

"Be careful with them," I warned, "They're old," but I needed not give the boy such warning. He handled the books as though they were as delicate as butterflies and as precious as gold.

The boy intrigued me, and I decided to find out as much about him as I could. I questioned Treize about him, but received no solid answer from my lover. He suggested I talk with Duo about him, since Duo knew almost all the children in the castle. From Duo, I learned that it was most likely that the boy was from the orphanage and that he was probably hiding out from the Sisters, who taught lessons around that time. He advised me not to worry about it.

The day after that conversation, the boy arrived again at the library at the same time. Glancing around, still nervous but not quite as nervous as before, he spotted me. He hesitated, seeming to be unsure of whether or not to approach me. Slowly he came up to me, his head slightly lowered.

"Is it okay if I look at the books again?" he asked me quietly.

"Why aren't you in school with the nuns?" I questioned. He raised his eyes and I saw a guilty look pass over his features, confirming my suspicions.

"They can't really teach me anything. I'm ahead of the other kids because I'm older and I can read, they don't have time to teach me in a group by myself. They gave me some books to read, but I've already read all of them and didn't want to bother the Sisters with getting me more. I was hoping to find some more books, but..." he glanced around the room in wonder, "...I never imagined I'd find so many. I just want to read some, I'll be really careful if you let me, I promise."

The boy reminded me of a younger, less proud and uptight me, always looking for new books. I must admit, the royal libraries instilled the same wonder in me as they had in the young boy, I had simply been better at hiding it. If he was anything like me he would tear through these books with a voracious appetite. Still, the boy needed some proper schooling, if to do nothing more than teach him which books were worth reading and which were not.

"Your aspiration is admirable; however, you cannot go without proper schooling. Because I understand the plight of the nuns who work here, I will tutor you every day in the library from now until I leave for my own classes."

"Really?" the boy asked, a look of surprise coming to his face.

"I warn you, though, I am not easily pleased. I require a lot of work and... Oof!" I cried as the boy leaped and gave me an impromptu hug. I put my arms around him in a loose hug as soon as the shock wore off. The boy left go soon after, backing away with a huge smile.

"I'll be the best student!" he said, grinning.

"I'm sure you will, but before I can to you as my student I must know your name."

"My name's Chase."

"Chase? That's a rather odd name."

"Well, I'm not sure that's really my name. My parents gave me this really long name that I couldn't even say, so they always just called me Chase, 'cause they always had to chase me around to do anything with me. Then, when they died, that's the only name I remembered, so that's the name I took."

"Ah, I see. Well, my name is Chang Wufei. I will be your sensei..."

"Wufei-sensei!"

"No, no. It's Chang-sensei."

"But I thought Chang was you first name? Isn't it rude to call a teacher by his first name?"

"Yes, but in China the surname, the last name, is given first, then the first name."

"Isn't that confusing?"

"Not for someone who's lived their all his life. It's only confusing because you've never done it that way before."

"I still like my name better, since I don't have to worry about last names and first names. I'm just Chase."

"But you will have to worry about it some day, when someone adopts you."

"Nah, no one wants to adopt anyone my age that can't work."

"And why can't you work? You look fine to me."

"I got hurt on the streets, see?" he said, pulling up his shirt to reveal a long, red scar low on his stomach, "Miss Sally says that I can't lift heavy things because of it or I'll hurt myself. That's why no one will take me," he said. He must have seen the somewhat depressed look on my face, because he quickly continued, "But that's okay, being here is better than being with a family anyway, there are lots of books here and I get to eat every day."

"Come," I said, quickly trying to distract the boy before I became emotional and hugged him or something, "You should read as much as you can today, because tomorrow you will have to read what I tell you."

The boy gave me a bright smile and scurried off.

Over the next few weeks I taught the boy all the subjects I thought he would need to know; history, math, science, and literature. I even spoke to Sally about giving Chase martial arts lessons, which she agreed to as long as I stayed away from moves that required a lot of lifting. Since lifting really wasn't a big part of the martial arts it was easy to agree and I began giving Chase martial arts lessons. I laid the schedule out so that he would have one class every day of the week, then Saturday for studying and homework and Sunday to play around. I was amazed at the speed at which Chase absorbed all this material. Though math was by far his worst subject he was not particularly slow at it. And where math was weak he made up for it in strength of history, mainly wars and battle strategies. On Sundays when he had free time we often played a battle strategy game. Though he was not quite experienced enough to win, I found myself hard pressed for the lead many times. Even Treize, who occasionally stopped in when his schedule allowed it, commented on how good my young student was.

Intrigued, I began to place more economic and tactical questions into the material I taught him. Chase breezed though the questions, always looking at all aspects of the situation and coming up with decisions that not even I had foreseen.

It wasn't long after I took up an interest in the boy that Treize gained one as well. Oh, I know well enough that Treize began giving attention to the boy only because of my interest in him, but from there Treize found many things that he liked about the boy and their relationship grew until Treize was giving him horseback riding lessons while I was at school with Master O. It seemed as though we were both growing attached to the boy. I would sometimes worry about him while when a harsh storm came up or there was trouble in the palace. Even Treize commented about things he would like and often bought books he thought Chase would like so that I could put them in the library for him, since giving him gifts would make the other children jealous.

Of course, Chase was blissfully unaware of who Treize and I really were. Other then our names, he knew nothing of us. Part of me wanted to tell him who I was, whilst another was afraid he would begin to act different. I believe that Treize feared the same thing, so we both silently agreed to stay quiet about our identities. It happened that one Saturday morning our deception was brought into daylight, though it was not resolved until later. It was while Chase and I were playing Chess, a game Chase was quite good at, while Treize watched.

"Chase," I cautioned as he moved one of his nights toward one of mine, "Be careful of your King. He's a powerful player, but you must protect him from attack," I said. Moving one of my players closer to his king to illustrate.

"I wonder if that's the way it is with the real king," Chase murmured as he dutifully moved a pawn to defend his King.

"What?" I asked, incredulously.

"You know, the real king. I wonder if he has to be protected all the time from attacks."

"I'm sure he has guards to protect him," Treize chimed in, a secretive little smile on his face, "but he would not be our king if he weren't capable of defending himself."

"I wonder if he has a beard," Chase said as he watched my move.

"What?" Treize snorted, trying not to laugh.

"A beard. I say a portrait of some guy on a white horse with wings and he looked like a king so I thought maybe our king had a beard."

"Where is the portrait?" I asked since Treize was to busy trying not to laugh to say anything.

"In the south hall, right by the orphanage."

"Ah, that painting. That's the earl of Kammis, he was executed for murdering any male in his family that was close enough to steal his title from him. Ironic that his only daughter of nine children, all others being boys who were immediately put to death, was the one that overthrew him, along with her mother and her aunt."

"Oh. So the king doesn't have a beard?"

"I don't believe so, no. Why does it matter?"

"I just always wanted to see the king. He's probably all puffed up like the other aristocrats I've seen. They all look like turkeys, running around with their chests puffed out and doing nothing all day. Still, I'd like to see the king and I'd really like to see his sorcerers! I've heard he's got a new one who's really young, like your age, and their both super powerful and mysterious. They wear capes and funny hates and pointed shoes and have brooms that move by themselves and..."

"Now where did you hear that!"

"It was in a book I read. "A Sorcerer's Tale," I think it was. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. Isn't it time for you to be at lunch?"

"Oh yeah! Bye!"

I sighed as the boy rushed out the door, then looked down at my slightly-blue lover.

"He's gone, you can laugh now."

And he did. And he did. And he did. He laughed until tears poured down his face and he was holding his sides in pain. Even I laughed for a bit, however it is not quite as funny to the one being told they wear funny hats and pointy shoes as the one listening.

"You know," Treize said once he had finally stopped laughing, "we aren't going to be able to keep this facade up for much longer. If he doesn't find out on his own someone's going to accidentally tell him."

"I know, I'm just not certain how he's going to react. It would be nice if we could spend some more time with him. He's healing fast, you know, pretty soon he'll be able to work the fields and someone will take him as a farm hand."

"That boy would be wasted as a laborer. He's a born strategist, a leader. It would be an atrocity to let him rot in the fields," Treize said, the went quiet, brooding almost. I could tell he was thinking of something.

"What is it, lover?" I asked, but he merely shook his head.

"Let me think on it for a while, I'll tell you a bit later, when my head is clearer. Now, I think we both have things to do, so we should go. Remember not to plan anything for tomorrow or the next day, Relena has agreed to up our links. Until tonight, my love," he said, the was gone.

My training with Master O that day was... intense. O discovered my affinity for fire and decided he needed to see the range of which I could set a blaze and the amount of blaze I could control. He ended up orbing us, a most ingenious technique that I was trying desperately to learn, to a stretch of barren desert, if that's what you would call it at those frigid temperatures.

Using magic dealing with fire was much different from anything I had done before. It... felt different. Instead of having that weird, moving energy feeling that I had before, it was more like releasing energy that had been bottled up. It surged out of me, never fighting or twisting as my other magic had, I needed only point in the direction I wanted it to go and it was happy to oblige. I allowed so much of the fire out that much of the ice surrounding the bare rock the we stood on melted and Master O feared we would cause a flood. Putting my power back into its bottle proved to be much more difficult than letting it out and Master O finally had to assist me by lending his own power, water based with much more experience, to help force mine back into its confines.

Master O let me go after that, it was late and he was tired from his work with me. I, on the other hand, was more energized than I had ever been. The remnants of my fire-magic surged through my veins, making me hot and impatient. I needed to do something, anything, or I felt that I would explode.

The first thing that came to mind was a duel with Treize. I was fairly certain that he'd be in our room at this time, so I hurried back and, as luck would have it, he was just getting out of the shower.

Which is when I found something much more interesting to do.