Meeting

It's late. The inn is closed. Jia and other servers are clearing the tables. Her father is locking the public door. There is always one door unlocked. A side door for the guests. Jia's brother watches it at night.

I am not tired. I go to my room anyway.

I close the door. My room is dark. There is no light.

I walk to the table. There is a basin of water. I wash the paint off my face.

I let my hair down. It falls too my waist.

I change. Hanging my costume up, I slip on a silk robe. Smooth against my bare skin. It's black with a blue print dragon. I trace the outline of the dragon. It reminds me of Seiryu.

'I should leave soon.' Sigh. ' I will have to get a map tomorrow and then figure out my situation. I have been here far to long.'

I shiver. The night is chill. The cold only keeps me awake.

"A walk." I whisper to myself. "I'll go for a walk." I wrap the robe more tightly around me.

I step into the hall. Only shadows.

I hear a shout. Then a crash.

I close the door. I walk down the hall.

I hear Jia's father and other men.

"Down the hall!"

"Stop him!"

I hear running. They are still a way's down the hall.

There is movement in the shadows. Very slight. It is a man.

'Must be a thief.' I stand still. I pretend I don't know he's there. He is never out of my sight.

The searchers turn down my hall. Their lights bob closer and closer. "Who's there?" One man challenges.

"Me." They recognize my voice instantly.

"Seen anyone suspicious?" They bring their lights closer. The shadows recede.

The man lunges. He grabs me, knife to my throat. I don't flinch.

The men gasp. "Get him."

"I'll kill him!" His voice is familiar. I know I've heard it somewhere. "Don't come any closer."

I slip from his grasp, disarming him. The men surge forward. They grab the thief.

They shove him into the light. It is a boy. A boy with dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The boy from the market.

"What did you steal?" I ask.

The boy and men are stunned. "What?"

"What did you steal?" My voice is impassive.

"He stole my money and my wife's jewels!" A portly man shouts indignantly.

"Ah." My voice conveys sympathy. "What will be his punishment?"

"Losing a hand at the least, death the worst. Depends on the judge."

"I have a proposition." I can't stand to see such beauty marred over something so trivial as robbery.

"What do you mean?" The fat man asked.

"Your money and jewels will be returned to you of course, but I want the boy alive and unharmed."

"What?" the man yells. Practically foaming at the mouth. "He needs to be punished!"

"He will be. I am in need of an errand boy, so to speak. With some of my disciplining, he would fill the position perfectly." The man glowers at me. "You will be given compensation for your troubles of course." He is interested. The boy looks confused. "Money will suffice?"

"What if the boy runs away or steals again?" Jia's father asks. Shrewd as always.

"Then you will be free to have him punished officially." I meet both men's eyes. "Until he commits any other offense, he will be under my wing. I will provide for food and shelter with my wages and the work he does for me will in turn pay me back. Agreed?"

"You're taking a big risk."

"Agreed?"

"Yes." Both men chorus.

I turn to the boy. "Do you agree?" I lift his chin. His eyes are so beautiful.

"Better than losing a hand." He smiles in relief.

I smile. "Maybe." His smile freezes. He can't tell if I'm serious. Oh, he will be fun to twist. "If you behave."

"This is a bad idea Ryo Chuin."

"I know." The men holding the boy reluctantly let him go. "Untie him." They look at me as if I were crazy. Maybe I am. They untie him. "Leave." They leave, Jia's father glancing over his shoulder.

They are gone.

The boy and I are alone. He bolts. I grab him around the waist. Using his own momentum I flip him to the ground. He lands with a thud.

"Enough. You serve me now." My gaze is cold. He looks up at me. "I can either be a kind master or a harsh master. It depends on you." Our eyes lock. "Understand?"

He nods.

"Good. Lets continue this inside." I lead him into my room. "Your name?"

"Kuroudo."

"Well Kuroudo, you will sleep on the floor tonight. And since I don't trust you yet, you will have to deal with being bound." I pull the tie of my robe from my waist and secure the boy's wrists with the silk belt. I hold my robe closed with my hand. "Rope chafes the wrist to much. Silk is better."

I look at my handy work. He is so beautiful and helpless. Desire surges through me. I turn away. "Goodnight." I slip between the sheets. I pretend to sleep.

"Thank you." His words are a whisper to the night.

Silence.