Akoya breezed into the dining room, following the enticing aromas that issued from the kitchen beyond. At dinner, meals were served in the grand dining room, where everyone in the court could see and be seen by each other, but Io saw no reason to make a spectacle of himself at every meal. Breakfast and lunch were always held in the small dining room, attended only by a few people whose company the king actually enjoyed. Akoya had been pleased to finally be allowed into that magic circle. Now he took a seat across the table from where Io and Ryuu were sitting and called out hellos to his tablemates.

"Good afternoon, Akoya," said Io pleasantly. "How was practice?"

"It went very well. I'm working up a new routine that I think you'll enjoy," Akoya replied.

Io smiled. "I'll look forward to seeing it."

Akoya smiled back and began reaching for a dish of spiced eggplant. His appetite had improved since coming to live in this palace. Part of that was because the food here was so much better than it was at home. The king there seemed to live primarily on bland foods that wouldn't upset his delicate health, and Kinshiro's taste wasn't much better. He disliked anything highly seasoned, so while the dishes served at his table were always made of the finest ingredients, perfectly prepared and beautifully served, they tended to lack taste. On the other hand, one of Io's economies was to fire his grandfather's highly paid cooks, and instead hire a collection of locals - grannies and grandpas and aunts and uncles known for their skills in cooking. They cooked simple, traditional dishes with recipes perfected by their own grannies and grandpas and aunts and uncles. Akoya had at balked, at first, at being served stewed chicken and stuffed squash instead of the delicate cuisine he was accustomed to, but now that he'd adapted to the idea of eating food with actual flavor, he couldn't imagine how he would give it up.

The other reason was that he was using a lot more energy these days. He'd always put in practice time whenever he could, but he'd always had other matters to occupy his attention which he had to work around. Now he was spending nearly every morning rehearsing, and nearly every evening performing. For the first few days, he'd gone to bed completely exhausted, but by now he'd adapted to his new schedule and was even enjoying it. There was nothing he loved more than dancing and having people watch him dance, and now he could do so as much as he liked. He felt stronger and healthier and more beautiful than he ever had in his life.

"I do think you'll be impressed," Akoya agreed. "Your people were good enough to build a set of boxes for me of varying sizes, and the performance happens around and on top of them. By the time I'm finished, they're stacked in a pyramid with me balanced on top, and I drop into the smallest box and close the lid after me. If I do it smoothly enough, it's almost as though I disappear into thin air."

"Your dedication to your art is admirable," said Io.

"I wouldn't call it that, precisely," said Akoya thoughtfully. "I'm doing what I enjoy. If I were left to my own devices, with no one to tell me what to do, I would probably still be doing just as I am now."

"So all you want to do is dance, huh?" Ryuu mused. He flashed a teasing grin. "So what are you going to do when you get old and your knees give out?"

Akoya returned the grin with a coy look of his own. "I expect our beneficent king to pension me off handsomely, so I can live out my days lounging on cushions eating bonbons and getting fat."

The image was so incongruous that all three of them laughed.

"Not you!" said Io. "You're going to become one of those awe-inspiring old men who makes everyone else feel like a lowly worm just by looking at them. Everyone is going to take you for the king instead of me. I'll have to appoint you my grand vizier or something, because I'll be too embarrassed to be confused with a mere dancing boy."

Akoya tossed his head and said, "I'm not a mere anything," but he was pleased nonetheless. He felt rather complimented by Io's assessment of him, which despite being delivered in a teasing manner, had felt honest nonetheless. It was fun being able to tease and laugh like this.

"That is true," said Io, smiling. "You are truly remarkable. On that note, do you have a few minutes after lunch? There's something I'd like to show you."

"Of course. I'd be happy to," said Akoya. In truth, he really didn't mind. After lunch was his rest period - time he spent quietly in his room, reading or sewing or otherwise amusing himself. He could spare a few minutes if it would keep Io happy with him.

"Good," said Io, looking pleased. "I hate to intrude on your free time, but it will only take a moment."

"For you, I can always make time," Akoya replied.

Ryuu gave an exaggerated eyeroll. "Get a room, you two."

"I have a room," Io answered calmly. "You sleep there too, as you might recall."

Akoya batted his eyelashes. "He can come too. I wouldn't mind the company."

The three of them continued their bantering and teasing throughout the meal. When dessert was over and the dishes of rice pudding had been cleared away, Io stood and beckoned for his companions to follow. Akoya slid gracefully from his seat and trailed after him, trying not to show how curious he was. He had volunteered his services outside of his set schedule before, as he had in the matter of the afternoon massages, but this was the first time Io himself had suggested a variation of the routine.

Io escorted him out of the dining room and down a series of hallways to one of the storerooms.

"I've been sifting through my coronation and wedding presents," he explained, as he began unlocking the door. "All of the gems and precious metals are in the treasury now, and the spices are in the kitchen, but there are still a lot of things left over. I wondered if you would like to have a few."

"You're... giving me your wedding presents?" Akoya repeated.

Io chuckled. "Well, not all of them, but if you wanted to pick out two or three things to brighten up your room... well, you've been working very hard for us lately, and I thought you deserved a treat."

He pushed the door open, and Akoya stepped into the room. If this was what was left over after the most valuable things had been put away, Akoya decided, the original collection must have been extremely impressive indeed. He peered with interest at pieces of fine ceramics, boxes carved from exotic woods, delicately woven tapestries, items of embossed leather...

"So I can have anything I want?" Akoya asked, turning over an incense burner carved from semiprecious stone in his hands.

"Whatever you like," Io assured him. "You've earned it. Just don't get too greedy, all right?"

Akoya laughed. That was Io, all right. He could be generous - but only to a point.

"I will endeavor to exercise restraint," he promised.

In the end, he selected a small but lusciously soft rug to put next to his bed, a bolt of beautifully patterned cloth that he could turn into new clothing, and a mother-of-pearl comb carved into the shape of a peacock. He presented these findings for Io's approval.

"Yes, that's fine," said Io. "I think you chose very well."

"I thank you for the gifts, then," said Akoya. "I'll take good care of these."

Then, impulsively, he darted in to place a light kiss on Io's cheek. His last sight, before he glided down the hall with his armload of treasures, was of Io pressing a hand to his face, looking startled and more than a little pleased.

You'd think he'd never been kissed before, thought Akoya, amused. And him a married man!

It wasn't until he had retreated to his room and put his new treasures away that he stopped to think about what had just happened. Yes, he had come here with the intent to seduce Io - had been working very hard toward that end - but that wasn't why he'd kissed him just now. He hadn't been thinking about his plan at all. That had been a simple, unpremeditated gesture, born of honest desire and gratitude.

Maybe Kinshiro was right. I am losing my focus.

Akoya lay back on his bed to ponder the situation. The truth was, he was happy here, far happier than he'd ever been at home. Back home, he had been just another young lord of the Gero family, expected to take responsibility for family affairs whether he wanted to or not. Here, he never had to do anything but the things he enjoyed the most. He had lots of people to admire him here. He had all the luxuries he loved so much - good food, beautiful clothes, elegant living quarters. And he liked Io and Ryuu. He admired Io's intelligence and sophistication, and enjoyed his subtle sense of humor, every bit as much as he enjoyed Ryuu's ebullient nature and zest for life. The thought of going back to White Sands and never seeing them again left him cold.

Maybe Kinshiro will let me keep them after he's conquered the kingdom.

But that thought was no comfort to him. He could hear Io's voice in his mind, insisting that he would not have Akoya enslaved to him. Even if the only alternative was for them to die at the hands of Kinshiro's invaders, Akoya didn't think they would take being his slaves much better. They would hate him for it, and that would spoil any happiness he might have had at being with them. He didn't want them as slaves. He wanted them laughing with him over the dining room table as they had today. He wanted to dance for them and watch the light of admiration and desire kindle in their eyes. He wanted to grow old alongside them and see if Io really would keep his promise to make him a grand vizier.

I have a duty to my kingdom, though.

Even to himself, that excuse sounded thin. After all, he knew Kinshiro better than most people, and he had a realistic idea of what kind of ruler he would make. Possibly he might have made a very good king once, but ever since he'd broken off his engagement to the prince of the Arborean Empire, he had been a different person: bitter, cynical, mistrustful, even a little paranoid. Io, by contrast, was an excellent ruler. He strove to be fair in his judgments, managed his finances wisely, and seemed to genuinely care about his people. Any lack in his abilities was generally made up for by Ryuu's advice. If Akoya was being honest with himself, he would have admitted that the two of them together were better rulers than Kinshiro would be.

But it's not my decision to make, he told himself firmly. He had agreed to do this job, so what else could he do but go through with it?

Enjoy it while it lasts, he decided. And maybe if it dragged on long enough, Kinshiro would give up the whole idea and Akoya could just stay here forever.

It was time for the nightly after-dinner performance.

In truth, this was always Akoya's favorite time of day. It wasn't the dinner part he enjoyed, despite the lavish food and the exalted company. He usually ate only lightly at dinner, preferring to wait and have a private meal in his rooms after his performance. He had figured out early on that if you planned to spend an hour or so after dinner leaping about and flipping upside-down, it was better not to do it on an overfull stomach. Likewise, talking to the social luminaries of court was not usually his idea of fun. It involved a lot of pretending to be fascinated by people he couldn't care less about. Akoya far preferred the informal lunches, where he got to chat with Io and Ryuu about things the three of them found interesting. No, dinner, was not very interesting, but the performance afterwards...

Akoya allowed himself a smile as he moved smoothly through the night's routine. This was what he lived for, this moment when he was on stage - the one Io had ordered just for his use - and all eyes were on him. The sense that everyone was watching him, wanting him, wishing they could have him... that feeling was more addicting than any drug. Even now, he was intensely aware of their stares, of how attentively silent the audience around him was. And why shouldn't they be? This was a particularly sensual routine, one that involved a series of slow transitions from one elegant pose to the next - more a contortion act than a proper dance, but an excellent way to show off his poise and flexibility. This stage of the routine had him going from balanced on his hands with his toes pointed at the ceiling to gently lowering himself onto the floor. Now he lay stretched full-length on his back, spine arched, one knee slightly flexed, fists clenched loosely at his sides, head flung back as if in ecstacy. He felt ecstatic. All around him, he could hear the little gasps and moans the erotic pose elicited. Akoya allowed his head to tilt very slightly to one side, just enough to catch a glimpse of the king and his consort. Both of them were watching him with identical open-mouthed, glassy-eyed expressions. Akoya suppressed a smile. Despite his best efforts, so far neither Io nor Ryuu had responded to his not-so-subtle come-ons, but if the way they were watching him now was any indication, they were well on their way to caving. He hoped so. He was used to being able to charm anyone he wanted. He was the one who did the rejecting, and being put off by someone he wanted was intensely frustrating.

But perhaps tonight will be the night...

For a moment, at least, that was all that he thought about - Io's smooth skin and sleek hair, Ryuu's laughing eyes and brilliant smile...

Then it all went wrong.

As Akoya began to raise himself into his next maneuver, a flicker of movement overhead caught his eye. Something was moving stealthily across the ceiling, using the carved arches and hanging banners as handholds. It was almost invisible in the dimly lit hall, but Akoya saw, and knew what it must be. Even as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the shadowy figure slip down a support column and began stealing towards the dias where Io and Ryuu sat.

In a flash, Akoya was on his feet.

"Intruder!" he shouted, as he flung himself off his stage. "Assassin!"

He landed on the dining tables, scattering food and knocking over a glass. People exclaimed in shock and surprise, but Akoya ignored them, instead breaking into a run. The table was cluttered with plates and flatware, but Akoya was surefooted as a cat as he wove his way through the obstacle course.

But such a flashy movement couldn't fail to attract the assassin's attention. The man turned towards Akoya, slipped a knife from his belt, and threw it across the room. Akoya saw it coming, and he dove for the floor. The knife whizzed through the place his chest had been a split-second before and buried itself in the side of a partially-eaten goose. Akoya himself turned his dive into a roll and was on his feet again in a flash. He took three more running steps before flinging himself at the assassin, and they both tumbled to the floor. They rolled about, struggling, Akoya trying to pin the man's arms while the assassin tried to reach for another knife.

"Don't - you - dare!" Akoya snarled. He wrenched the blade out of the man's hand and threw it aside. "Don't you even begin to think about it!"

The guards converged on the would-be killer and pried Akoya off of him. Akoya was reluctant to be pried. Where were these guards a minute ago? As far as he was concerned, he was doing their job better than they were, and he deserved to get his licks in. Reluctantly, he let himself be set back on his feet while the assassin was hauled away to a jail cell.

"Akoya?"

Akoya turned to see Io watching him, eyes wide and face pale.

"Akoya, are you all right?" he asked.

Akoya started to say that of course he was all right, and then checked himself. He hadn't been thinking about the risk to himself at all. He had only been thinking that someone was here who shouldn't have been, that the intruder was probably here to hurt Io and possibly Ryuu as well, and he'd reacted without thinking. He glanced back at the knife that was still lodged in the roast goose.

Ryuu wandered over to pick up the second knife. Something greasy gleamed on the edge of the blade.

"This thing is poisoned," he said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Akoya assured him. "Not a scratch. It will take more than someone like him to stop me."

"You saved my life," said Io, eyes dark and serious. "Saved both of us, probably. How can I ever repay you?"

Akoya knew how to take a cue. He dropped gracefully down to one knee and bowed his head.

"You are my king. My life is yours," he said. Then he raised his eyes and added with complete honesty, "I couldn't let anything happen to the two of you."

They held that tableau a moment, holding each other's gaze. The room was intensely silent. It was hard to tell in the low light, but Io seemed to be blushing.

It was Ryuu who stepped in and took charge.

"Entertainment's over for the night!" he shouted. "Everybody clear out. We've got other stuff to worry about right now. Go on - out!" Satisfied that the crowd was moving, he turned to put a gentle arm around his husband. "Come on. You've had a shock. Let's get you somewhere quieter."

Akoya rose to his feet.

"Am I dismissed, then?" he asked.

Io and Ryuu exchanged glances. Ryuu raised an eyebrow, and Io nodded slightly. Ryuu nodded back. That exchange complete, Io turned back to Akoya, and now there was definitely a blush rising in his cheeks.

"Actually," he said, "I thought perhaps you might like to stay with us tonight?"

A warm glow spread through Akoya, and he allowed himself to smile.

"Yes," he said. "I would like that very much."