For the moment, at least, all was peaceful in Io's room. It had been several days since the attack of the assassin, and the aftermath of that had caused Io a good many headaches as he'd sorted out what to do with this first (and last, Io hoped) attempt to prematurely end his reign. The killer had turned out to be a man sent from the Misted Isles - a small rocky island kingdom that made most of its income off of piracy, and which had not been at all pleased with Io's plans to build new harbors along his largely neglected coastline and start putting together a decent navy. Naturally, the king of Misted Isles had denied any knowledge of anything, and Io was still sorting out that particular diplomatic mess.

But there was one good thing that had come out of the whole situation, and that was Akoya. Not even the most suspicious person could suspect him of anything after he had risked his own life to save Io's. For all the doubts he and Ryuu had been harboring, it seemed that Akoya was indeed what he seemed to be: a lovely, rather vain man, who wanted nothing more than to be a dancer in a royal court and enjoy all the perks that came with such a position. He hadn't even taken a reward for his heroism... well, not much of one. Io had made several sky's-the-limit offers (well, offers limited only by what could reasonably be supplied by the palace treasury) and had been politely turned down. In the end, Io had presented him with a silver and lapis bracelet, which had been graciously accepted, but it was a mere token gesture and they both knew it.

Akoya had been ready enough to accept the invitation to the king's bedchamber, though. That, at least, he'd been quite enthusiastic about, and continued to be enthusiastic about in the days that followed. Since then, hardly a day went by in which either Io or Ryuu or both of them hadn't either invited him to their rooms or come knocking at his door, and he always responded warmly to their overtures. Io didn't think it was just a matter of trying to stay in the royalty's good graces, either. He might not have been the expert on people that Ryuu was, but he thought he could tell feigned enthusiasm from the genuine article, and he was certain now that Akoya genuinely liked them both.

I like him, too. He felt he was slowly getting to know the dancer better, and so far he liked what he'd seen. Akoya didn't talk about his past life much, but from what little he'd let slip, Io had formed an impression of a lonely child, surrounded by rough-and-tumble brothers and cousins who didn't understand a boy who would rather dance and sew than ride and fight. It was easy to see why he might be happier in a place like this where he could be himself. Looking back, Io could see how Akoya had been blossoming here - smiling, laughing, and making jokes over meals instead of maintaining his air of pleasant aloofness. He had a wicked sense of humor that Io found amusing, and an intelligence that made him a pleasure to talk to. All that on top of his remarkable good looks...

Io reluctantly pulled his mind away from that train of thought. He rolled towards the edge of his bed and began the slow process of dragging himself back to his feet. He really would have preferred to stay where he had been, warm and comfortable and wrapped in his lovers' arms, but he wasn't the sort to shirk his duty for anything, no matter how pleasant.

"Back to real life, huh?" Ryuu murmured.

"There's never enough time, is there?" Akoya agreed. He slid off the other side of the bed and began pulling his clothes back on. "Is there anything interesting on the agenda for today?"

Io consulted a mental list. "A diplomatic visit from the Vientolian Nation."

Akoya turned to look at the outfit that Io had already lad out over a chair. "And you're planning to wear that?"

"What's wrong with it?" asked Io, looking at the bright scarlet trousers and matching vest. They were handsome articles, vividly dyed and stitched with gold trim. "I thought you liked this outfit."

"I do, and it suits you very well," said Akoya, "but it's the wrong thing to wear for this occasion. The Vientolians take color symbolism very seriously. Red is only worn when someone is going to war or announcing a feud or a death. It's considered a very aggressive color."

Ryuu sat up and began trying to put his hair back into some kind of order. "Yeah, but they know we don't do that here, right?"

"Well, yes," said Akoya, "but they'll still take away a bad impression. If I were you, I'd wear something blue. Blue and white are auspicious colors. Green and gray are also good. I'm going to be wearing a costume tonight that will be mostly white and gray, with some green and blue accents. Ryuu, I suggest you should do the same. It will place us in a positive light while making it clear that Io is the one in charge here, which I assume is what we want, yes?"

Io nodded. "That sounds good. Would you choose some things for us?" He waved a hand, letting the gesture encompass the two wardrobes where his and Ryuu's clothing was stored and the cases where their jewelry was kept.

Akoya smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

A few minutes later, Akoya had departed to slip into his own costume, which no doubt would be perfectly appropriate to the occasion and coordinate nicely with whatever the king and prince would be wearing. Io began pulling on his own specially selected clothes, feeling thoughtful.

"What did we ever do without him?" he mused aloud.

"Spent a lot more time flailing around ineffectively," Ryuu replied. He fastened his belt in place and stood back to admire the effect. "Also, picked out our own clothes. I know what you mean, though. He just makes everything easier, somehow."

Io nodded. He had known from the start that he and Ryuu were going to make a good team, as rulers as well as lovers. Io was the one with the practical sense. He could manage money as well as any merchant and had a good idea of how to run a country on a grand scale. Ryuu had the interpersonal skills. He knew how to gauge what people were thinking and feeling, and how best to react to those feelings. What Akoya brought to the table was what Io might have called "social awareness". He understood things like what clothing was appropriate to wear to what event, whether or not it was permissible to seat a minor noble next to a wealthy merchant at a formal dinner, and just how much the king of one nation should defer to the laws and mores of another nation when dealing with its representatives, and how much to adjust that level of deference depending on whether you were dealing with a visiting prince or a caravan master. Io had been trained for that to some degree, but it didn't come naturally to him the way it did for Akoya.

And there were other things, too. Take the matter of the afternoon massages, for example. Io never would have guessed that such a small thing would make such a difference to his day. Instead, it had turned out to be advantageous on a number of levels, especially once Ryuu had started joining in their sessions. Up until that point, Io had been feeling bad about himself. Ryuu had a healthy sex drive, but with Io coming to bed every night tired and stressed, it had been hard to maintain the proper mood. He'd felt like a sad disappointment to his new husband. But after one of Akoya's massages and the long mind-clearing talks that usually went with them, he'd always emerged relaxed and refreshed, and with Ryuu right there with him in a similar state, intimacy came naturally.

Akoya had apparently guessed this, because after a couple of sessions, he'd given them a purple bottle of floral-scented massage oil, which he had explained with a perfectly straight face was something they could experiment with on each other when he wasn't around. It was, he explained, good for beginners, as it was gentle enough to use even on the most sensitive skin, and contained nothing that wasn't edible in case they should "accidentally" ingest any of it. Io still wasn't entirely sure what the stuff in the purple bottle was made of, but he and Ryuu had discovered any number of creative uses for it.

"I know just what you mean," Io agreed. "I'm starting to think that we should do something to... well, 'legitimize' isn't quite the word I'm looking for. Affirm his status."

Ryuu offered a grin. "You thinking of making him a vizier, after all?"

"Not quite," said Io, chuckling, "but you're pretty close. Giving him a title, at least. Call him my social secretary or court host or something like that. The exact wording doesn't matter as much as making it clear that he's something other than a pretty ornament around here."

"Not just a mere dancer, huh?" Ryuu joked. "But yeah, you're right. He deserves it."

"It might make him feel more at home, too," said Io. He still had the sense that there was a distance between himself and Akoya that he hadn't bridged yet, and he had been wondering if that might be because of the vast difference between them in social status. Having a title and a secure place in the court structure might make Akoya feel more confident.

"Couldn't hurt," Ryuu agreed. "When do you want to tell him?"

Io thought it over. "Soon, but not right now. We have the embassy from Vientolia today, and the party from the Arobrean Empire is supposed to be here any day now. After that settles down, though, we'll have time to appoint him with proper ceremony."

"Good call," said Ryuu. "I get the feeling he's the kind of guy who'd enjoy being at the center of that kind of attention."

"Really? What was your first clue?" asked Io, arching an eyebrow.

They both laughed, and in that pleasant frame of mind, the two of them set out to deal with the embassy.

"Whew!" said Ryuu, pushing a sweaty strand of hair away from his face. "And you make this stuff look easy."

Akoya smiled, pleased by the compliment. "If I made it look difficult, it would mean I'm not very good at my job."

The two of them were in Akoya's practice room, rehearsing a routine. That morning, Ryuu had come to him with the idea of learning a few dance steps, and the two of them working up a routine to surprise Io with. Akoya had been amenable, and the two of them had spent the last few hours choreographing and rehearsing a simple performance. Akoya had enjoyed it more than he'd thought he would. Ryuu had no experience with dance, at least not the kind Akoya did, but he was an eager student and a fast learner. Up until now, Akoya had never had anyone to share his passion with him - he had always either taken lessons alone with a private tutor, or more often, simply figured things out on his own. Even if all Ryuu was up to was giving him something to brace himself against for some of the maneuvers, just having someone to share the experience with was exciting.

"Well, I gotta hand it to you - you're better than I realized," Ryuu admitted. He rubbed his calf and winced. "Tougher, too. I don't know if I'm going to be able to walk tomorrow."

Akoya plucked a jar of salve down from a nearby shelf and passed it to him. "Here. Rub this wherever it hurts. I'll bring you a jar of your own so you can reapply it before you go to bed tonight. It works miracles on strained muscles."

"Another of your special blends, huh?" said Ryuu. "Well, in that case, I'm betting it works. Thanks. Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, Io said to tell you thanks for that stuff you gave him to help him sleep. Worked like a charm."

"He pushes himself too hard," said Akoya. "You and I have to take care of him."

Ryuu flashed a quick smile. "Yeah, he does work too hard, but that's part of why we love him, right?"

Akoya nodded thoughtfully. "You might have something there."

Ryou took the comment as a joke and laughed. "Well, I'm gonna go wash up. See you at lunch."

Akoya waved to him and began walking back to his room in a pensive mood. Ryuu had used that word so casually, as if it were an undeniable and obvious fact, as if their love for Io was as natural a thing as the sun rising in the morning. Was it true, then? Akoya couldn't deny that he felt something around Io - around both of them, if he was going to be honest. So was this love - this warm, glowing sense of rightness, this feeling of having found home at another person's side, this desire to be with someone else no matter what the cost? If it was, Akoya could see why the loss of it was still tearing Kinshiro apart inside. Akoya had never quite believed, before now, that such a thing could exist, or if it did, that it could be as good as everyone said it was. Now here he had it, right in front of him, practically within his grasp. He wasn't quite naive enough to believe that Ryuu and Io felt the same way about him, but perhaps, given time to get to know him better...

...which they weren't going to do because he couldn't let them. Any detailed discussion of his past would give away the game.

But I'm not going to give up, Akoya decided, as he strode determinedly into his room. He wasn't going to turn into Kinshiro - bitter and cold and eternally dwelling on past pain. He was going to have what he wanted, no matter what it took.

And what it was going to take was the painful truth. He was going to have to tell them everything, and hope that they would believe him when he said he wanted nothing more to do with this life of sneaking and spying. He would tell them how much happier he was here than he had been at home, how when he'd seen they were in danger, he'd realized that he couldn't bear the idea of anything happening to either of them. He thought they would believe him.

Kinshiro, though, was going to be a harder sell. He probably wasn't going to listen to anything Akoya had to tell him. On the whole, Akoya thought he could live with that. He would be sorry to break off their friendship, but if it was returning to him or staying here, he knew what his answer was going to be.

Tonight, Akoya decided, mind made up. I'll talk to him tonight after the evening performance and tell him I'm done with this nonsense. That would be a good time. Since Akoya normally ate very little at dinner, he usually had a second, more substantial meal sent to his room after the night's performance, and the king and his consort usually had the patience to wait until he had refreshed himself before they started suggesting any other activities. The hour or so his private meal afforded him should be more than enough time to hash everything out with Kinshiro. And then...

He allowed himself for a moment to imagine how it could be if it all went right. Probably, he thought, not all that different from the way things were now, but with the crucial difference that he wouldn't have to guard every word he said anymore. That would be worth a great deal in itself.

Of course, it might all end very badly, but Akoya had faith in his own abilities, and in Io's sense of fairness. They wouldn't punish him too harshly once he'd made it clear where things stood.

That thought buoyed him up throughout the rest of the day. Everyone agreed that his after-dinner performance had been particularly inspired. He had only smiled when they said as much, and declined to give any reason why that might be. As soon as he could, he made a graceful exit and retreated to his rooms. Food had already been laid out there, but he ignored it all and went straight to his jewelry box to call Kinshiro.

"You had better be home," he muttered. This wasn't an unusual time for Akoya to call, but Kinshiro's princely duties sometimes called him away when he would have preferred to be relaxing in his room.

His worries were unfounded, however. After a moment or two, Kinshiro's voice came through clearly.

"Well?" he snapped.

"Don't fret. I won't keep you long," said Akoya. "I'm just calling to tender my resignation."

There was a pause. Then, "So. I had a feeling it would come to this."

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," said Akoya calmly, "but I'm afraid it's unavoidable."

"I thought better of you than this," said Kinshiro. "I mean, I always knew you had a treacherous streak, but I never thought you were a fool."

"I'm not," said Akoya. "It's just that I've rearranged my priorities."

"Don't think I don't know what this is about," Kinshiro growled. "You've gone and fallen for one of them, haven't you? Or both of them."

"So what if I have?" Akoya snapped.

"It won't do you any good," said Kinshiro. "This is a matter of kingdoms and countries. It is more important than some fleeting infatuation."

"You think this is a fleeting infatuation?" asked Akoya.

"Of course it is. You know this isn't going to last. They'll turn on you, or forget about you, or just get tired of you, or else you'll get tired of them. I know you - you've never been able to stay with a lover for more than a week."

Akoya gave his magical stone an exasperated look, even though he knew Kinshiro couldn't see him. "And so you think there is no such thing as love that lasts?"

"Of course I do."

"And yet you're still hung up on someone you broke off with more than a year ago," said Akoya. "And that's why I'm doing this - because I don't want to end up like you."

Incoherent sputtering from the other side of the connection. "Why, you... How dare you say such things to me?"

"Because they're true," said Akoya implacably. "Maybe you were willing to give up on what you wanted the minute things started going wrong, but I won't. I have what I want, and I'm going to hold on to it with both hands. If they reject me after they know the truth, then I will devote my time to teaching them to trust me again."

"What makes you think they trust you now?" Kinshiro scoffed.

"They trust me," said Akoya. "I saved their lives."

Kinshiro's voice came out as a yelp. "What?!"

"I saved their lives," Akoya repeated. "There was an assassin in the court. I tackled him before anyone else realized he was there and saved the king and his consort. They had to trust me after that."

"Did you forget," Kinshiro snapped, "that your mission here wasn't simply to get them to trust you? The idea here was to conquer their kingdom. You didn't even have to do anything - just sit back and let someone else take care of them, and then I could have moved in while everyone else was still figuring out what to do. It would have been perfect, if you hadn't ruined it."

"I wasn't thinking about that," said Akoya irritably, "which you'd know if you'd been paying attention."

"That is no way to speak to your prince," Kinshiro retorted. "Regardless of what you think you're doing now, you're still a citizen of this country and a member of my court, and if you think you can take that tone of voice with me and get away with it..."

He went on in that vein, but Akoya wasn't really listening anymore. No, what he was listening to was the sound of the door opening behind him. Akoya slammed down the lid of his jewelry box, cutting off the flow of words, but he knew it was already too late. Io and Ryuu were there in the doorway, staring at him with stunned expressions.

"I know what this looks like, but I can explain," Akoya said, knowing even as he said the words how thin they sounded.

"You're a lousy spy!" Ryuu burst out. "I should have known - all this time you were just trying to soften us up, and we fell for it!"

"It isn't like that," said Akoya, fighting to stay calm. "Please, just let me explain..."

"I don't want to hear any explanations from you." Io's voice was colder than Akoya had ever heard it. "I can't believe anyone would be so low. After all we did for you, this is how you repay us?"

"No," said Akoya. "Listen, you have it wrong. Yes, I came here as a spy, but I've given that up. I called Kinshiro tonight to give him my resignation. My loyalty is with you now."

"You expect us to believe that?" Ryuu snapped. "You're nothing but a fast-talking liar." He grimaced. "I can't believe I ever let you touch me."

Akoya had a brief, intense flash of the first night the three of them had spent together. They had been giddy, excited, laughing. Akoya couldn't remember when he'd ever been so happy. He wanted to scream his frustration.

"I'm telling the truth," he said, voice tight.

"Can you prove that?" Io demanded. Akoya's thoughts must have shown on his face, because Io continued, "I thought so. Well, I must hand it to you. You had me completely fooled."

The acid in his voice made Akoya flinch. He had never seen such fury in the normally controlled Io before.

Io went on, "I would be within my rights to call my men and have you beheaded, right here and now." He drew a breath and closed his eyes. "But I won't. You saved my life, even if it was for your own reasons. For that, I'll give you one chance. You have until sunrise tomorrow to get out of this city. I want you out of my kingdom within a week. If you're still here after that, and my guards find you..."

He let the sentence trail off, but Akoya knew what the ending had to be. He swallowed hard and nodded.

"I understand," he said. "But I am telling you the truth. I hope one day you'll realize that."

Ryuu snorted. "Yeah, right. Tell me another one."

Akoya was stung, but all he said was, "If you please? I would seem to have some packing to do."

"Just... get out of here," said Io. "I never want to see you again."

He turned on his heel and swept out of the room. Ryuu followed close behind, shooting angry glares over his shoulder. Akoya watched them go. He wondered if they would be more likely to believe him if he cried or got on his knees and begged, but he couldn't bring himself to try. Shock had left him numb. This was all happening too fast, and he didn't know how to process it.

First things first. This place isn't safe for me anymore. I need to get out.

Automatically, he began gathering up his belongings. He couldn't pack everything he'd brought with him - he'd have to travel light. Into a bag went his most practical clothes and a few other small necessities. He braided his hair quickly and pinned it back to make it less recognizable, and wrapped himself in a weatherproof cloak. His feet were bare, as they always were after one of his performances, so he tugged on his most practical shoes - not that he had many of those. Over his face went the veil he wore when he went out. Normally it protected his skin from the sun and wind, but now it would serve an even more practical purpose. After some consideration, he gathered up all the coins he had and stuffed them into a pouch. If he were going on a long journey, he might have taken his jewelry as well, but selling jewelry would take time and draw attention to himself, and that he didn't need.

Anyway, he wasn't planning on going on a long journey. He wasn't even planning ot leave the city. He'd told the truth - he had found what he wanted here, and he wasn't about to lose it this easily. One way or another, he was going to find a solution.

Anyway, if he went back to White Sands, Kinshiro would probably just throw him in jail. He did not take kindly to betrayal.

There, that everything he needed. Akoya shouldered his bag and prepared to leave the room. Not forever, he promised himself, but there was no point in hanging around waiting for trouble. He took a few steps toward the door. Then he paused, thought for a moment, and turned around. Very carefully, he tucked three more items into his bag, wrapping them up carefully in a few scarves to keep them safe. Then, resolutely, he turned and walked away.