"Tahnsa?" Aarik said, his voice shaky and uncertain.

Aarik stepped away from Tahnsa and stared at him, his eyes gleaming green in the moonlight. Tahnsa sighed and waited for Aarik's reaction. He'd let his name slip deliberately. He had to end the sham. Tahnsa just could not go on deceiving the one he loved.

Tahnsa stood facing Aarik, not saying anything. The silence stretched between them.

Finally Aarik spoke again.

"Why did you call yourself Tahnsa? Your name is Rowan.. isn't it?"

Tahnsa sighed, and saw the confusion in Aarik's eyes. He hesitated a moment before replying, "Tahnsa is my real name.. Rowan was the name they gave me to use in the Palace." Tahnsa watched Aarik take this in. He did not seem happy to hear it.

"So it was all a lie?" Aarik said, hurt seeping into his voice. He turned away from Tahnsa. "You're not really the person I knew in the Palace...it was all an act?" Aarik began to pace the small room, carefully avoiding physical contact with Tahnsa. Each pass without touch hurt Tahnsa, but he closed his eyes and forced himself to continue his explanation.

"It is really difficult to explain," Tahnsa began, struggling to find the words to explain his situation without hurting Aarik. However Aarik cut Tahnsa off before he could continue.

"I understand," Aarik said, his voice low. "The Palace is a place of fantasy, and you were just a part of it all... you were there just to make me happy, even if that meant pretending to be my friend and going along with my nonsense about disregarding the slave/master relationship..."

Tahnsa was aghast at Aarik's words. He was getting the wrong idea entirely!

"No, no, that's not it!" Tahnsa cried. He stepped in the path of Aarik's pacing. "Everything I felt for you at the Palace was real!" he said, his voice revealing his desperation for Aarik to believe him.

Aarik stared down at Row- er Tahnsa, and saw the emotion behind his intense gold gaze. The look of anguish on Tahnsa's face was genuine. No one could possibly fake that emotion. Aarik felt the tension drain out of his body. ::I believe him. R-Tahnsa cares about me.. Tahnsa.. Tahnsa.. why does that name sound so familiar?::

Tahnsa saw the change in Aarik's expression and the shift in his stance. ::He believes me!:: Tahnsa was extremely relieved that Aarik believed him about truly caring. However he knew that the test of their relationship was only beginning. Tahnsa couldn't understand why Aarik was focusing on the fact that Rowan was not his real name instead of the fact that his real name was TAHNSA.

::Surely he recognizes my name.. uh oh, what is he thinking now? His eyes have become a brighter green, and he is staring at me intently...::

"Tahnsa.. that is a rather unusual name for someone raised in the streets... isn't it?" Aarik asked, trying to figure out where he had heard the name before.

::He doesn't recognize my real name!:: Tahnsa thought. Disbelief rippling through him. ::It is true that most people refer to me by my family name, but surely everyone knows my full title...:: Just then Tahnsa remembered that Aarik was not from Rethwindon. He'd been raised elsewhere and spent much of his life as a soldier.

::No, he wouldn't know the Emperor's first name, would he?:: Tahnsa was tempted to let Aarik continue in his ignorance, but the thought of Aarik's hurt if he found out Tahnsa's true identity later prevented him from continuing. He gulped and fidgeted nervously as he struggled to remember exactly what he had told Aarik about himself.

"Well.. er, I guess you could say that..." Tahnsa began. "But there is really something I should tell you about that.."

Aarik once again cut off Tahnsa before he could finish speaking.

Tahnsa was beginning to find this habit annoying.

"The Emperor!!" Aarik exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "I remember where I heard that name before, it is this country's Emperor's first name! " Aarik grinned at Tahnsa, his straight, white teeth gleaming in the dark. "How amusing, that a child stealing on the streets should have the same name as the Emperor" Aarik chuckled at the thought.

Tahnsa nearly fell over at Aarik's words. :::He STILL didn't get it? He must have bought my story completely! How am I going tell him this? This is getting ridiculous...:: Tahnsa looked down at his feet and chose his words carefully. But then Aarik moved and Tahnsa found himself being embraced tightly.

Aarik reached over to Tahnsa and gathered him into his arms. Tahnsa's back rested against Aarik's chest. He sat down on his bunk and lay his chin on Tahnsa's shoulder. When Tahnsa let his head lean to one side, Aarik took advantage of the expanse of neck presented to him to press some kisses on the warm skin there.

Tahnsa cleared his throat and attempted to explain himself. This was going to be incredibly difficult, Tahnsa had hated lying to Aarik. ::He's already forgiven me so much... can he possibly be able to forgive me again?::

"Um...Aarik?" Tahnsa said softly.

"Mmmmmm?" Aarik replied, nibbling on Tahnsa's neck.

"I need to tell you this.. please believe me when I say that I had no intention of ever hurting you deliberately... but .."

"Mmmmm?" Aarik really enjoyed the salty taste of Tahnsa's skin as he brought his lips to a sensitive spot behind Tahnsa's ear.

"Rowan wasn't the only thing about myself that I misled you about..."

"Mmm?" Aarik was too engrossed in his exploration of Tahnsa's jawline with his lips and tongue to fully comprehend his partner's words.

"I- I didn't want to lie to you... really, everything I felt for you was true, but there were some things about... my past... that I just couldn't reveal... the truth at the time.. I didn't really know you, and I was so uncertain...mmmmmm" Tahnsa's voice trailed off.

Tahnsa found himself having a difficult time concentrating on what he was trying to say. Aarik's warm lips were spreading tingles through his skin. He could feel the tiny vibrations shiver through his limbs, pass through his heart and collect between his legs were a most wonderful sensation was beginning. Tahnsa tried to shake himself out of this erotic mood. He pressed a hand against Aarik's chest, pushing him away, but Aarik only clung to Tahnsa tighter. Tahnsa felt Aarik's hands on him now, peeling away the layers of clothing he'd donned as a part of his costume.

Aarik's hands stirred the flames in Tahnsa's body higher and he ran them across Tahnsa's smooth chest. He flicked his fingers across a nipple and then proceeded to pull Tahnsa even closer. Aarik had his arms underneath Tahnsa's remaining clothing and locked around his waist. Aarik's strong forearms prevented Tahnsa from moving.

"Uhhmmmm Aarik, please, I .... mm.. need to tell you, please..." Tahnsa said, but his words came out more like a soft groan.

"Please R-Tahnsa, I missed you so much.." Aarik replied, as he pressed his cheek against Tahnsa's and closed his eyes. Aarik knew Tahnsa needed to tell him something, but the feel of Tahnsa in his arms was too good to resist. Aarik couldn't understand this desire he had for Tahnsa, all he knew was that when his lover was in his arms, everything felt 'right.'

Tahnsa twisted himself around in Aarik's arms until they sat facing each other on the bunk. Aarik sighed when his hold on Tahnsa was broken, but when he saw the serious look on The smaller man's face, he realized the seriousness of what he had to say. Aarik sat silently waiting for Tahnsa to speak. He observed the blue haired man, Admiring the way the moonlight painted his hair a silvery indigo and the way his emotions would flutter across his features so rapidly he could barely make one out before the next one replaced it.

Tahnsa's next words, however, sent all other observations out of Aarik's mind.

"I lied to you about my past," Tahnsa said. his gold eyes locked onto Aarik's green ones, and their gazes remained frozen on each other. "I didn't grow up on the streets. I have no sister... in fact, I don't remember my mother at all."

Aarik frowned. ::What? Lies? more lies? Lies lies...:: His head began to pound.

"My mother really died in childbirth. I never knew her. My father... he died when I was 13. " Tahnsa said.

Aarik did not movie. He waited silently for Tahnsa to continue.

Tahnsa took a deep breath and plunged ahead with his story.

"I-Er.. you were right, I do have the same name as the Emperor... because I AM the Emperor..." Tahnsa squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, tensing for Aarik's reaction.

It was not what Tahnsa was expecting.

"Hahahahehahahahahaaahaha!" Aarik laughed, his sides heaving with mirth.

Tahnsa sat there, staring at Aarik as the other man continued to laugh. Tahnsa could see Aarik's face turning red from laughing so hard. He was doubled over, his head leaning against Tahnsa's chest. Tahnsa could feel the guffaws rakc Aarik's frame. Aarik reached up and clutched at Tahnsa's shoulers. He squeezed them tightly and used Tahnsa's body to support himself in his merriment. Finally Aarik managed to control his outburst.

"You're joking, right?" Aarik said. His breath was coming in wheezing gasps. "Emperors don't become slaves in a sex Palace! I may be a big warrior, but I am not an idiot, give me credit for some intelligence!"

Tahnsa sighed. Aarik did have a point.

"Look, I am telling you the truth! I am Emperor Tahnsa Kamrin Sen'rith IX!! " Tahnsa's voice was serious, with a thread of steel in it that Aarik had never heard before. Suddenly Aarik was very uncertain about things. ::Surely Tahnsa is joking with me... I am a slave, I could never meet the Emperor...

It is impossible..::

Aarik looked into Tahnsa's golden eyes. He was about to deny Tahnsa's claim once again when suddenly the door to the tiny room was thrown open, and several guards rushed in, holding a blazing lantern.

"Release the Emperor now, SLAVE!" the largest guard shouted.