Aarik and Tahnsa froze and then leaped to opposite sides of the small room.

Several Imperial guards stood in the doorway, each one holding a very large sword. The moonlight danced across the sword blades.

Aarik watched the events around him proceed in a slow-motion daze, as several guards surrounded him. Two of them grabbed on to his arms and pinned them behind his back.

Aarik looked to Tahnsa, who was also surrounded by guards. However they appeared to be around him in a defensive position. Tahnsa himself looked very startled. His eyes were wide open, and they were unfocused. The room was strangely silent as the guards seemed to be waiting for Tahnsa to speak.

::What the hell is going on?!:: Aarik's thoughts were angry and confused. ::Damn, these guys are strong!:: Aarik's arms hurt like hell under the vice-like grip of the guards.:: Aarik turned back to Tahnsa.

Tahnsa by this time had recovered his addled senses. He looked at a guard who was standing over him, staring at him with respectful concern in his eyes. Tahnsa sighed.

"Release him now please," Tahnsa told the guards, his voice deliberately pitched very low and calm.

The guards shivered at the steely voice and the authority that practically oozed from the Emperor's body and immediately released their captive. Aarik stumbled forward at the sudden release of his arms. He regained his balance and started to move towards to Tahnsa.

Just then, a large, middle aged man entered the room. He took in the confused scene and turned directly to Tahnsa.

"My Emperor," the newcomer said, "I came to your chambers this evening to talk to you about the plans for the new irrigation system we were considering for the eastern wilds when I found your rooms empty. I feared for your safety, but it looks like we arrived at just the right moment." The large man made a half bow, which was difficult in the dark, crowded room. Tahnsa nodded to the man, who stood straight again, his back as stiff as a stone slab.

Aarik stared at the two men in shock. Rowan ... Tahnsa was telling the truth?? He really is the Emperor? The Damn Emperor?!:: A dull red flush of embarrassment stained Aarik's cheeks. He was thankful of the night darkness to hide his reaction. Images of his days with Tahnsa in the Palace flashed rapidly through his mind. ::I bossed around the most important figure in this nation? I pressed kisses along his back and romped with him in the sheets.....? My mind and soul are connected to him?:: Aarik's mind grappled with the new information, but he was having a hard time coming to terms with it.

He looked at the guards at his side. They had released him from their steely grip, but they were still tense and wary of him. He could make out their grim faces in the pale glow of the moonlight.

"Enough of this farce, this is not a place for all of this." Tahnsa stepped forward, away from his hovering guards, and turned to the door. "Come, lets remove to my War Room where we can have some peace and privacy. Mak, (Tahnsa looked at the newcomer), can you tell Sanjyo to prepare a bath for myself and a change of clothing. Escort Aarik to the War Room and find him something to eat. I will join you shortly." Tahnsa gave Aarik a long, meaningful stare before ducking out of the room, two of the guards following him.

Aarik could do nothing but stand there in shock. The hard, authoritative edge he'd heard in Tahnsa's voice bewildered him. Gone was the enthusiastic, cuddly playmate of the Palace. In his place was a strong, magnetic being who commanded respect. Aarik was numb all over. He could not believe this was happening to him. He tried to sort everything out in his head, but there were too many questions left unanswered.

The guards next to Aarik motioned for him to walk with them. They escorted him to a large room dominated by a long, narrow table surrounded by many chairs. Maps of the continent covered the walls. Aarik had never been inside the Emperor's palace before and was amazed at the splendor which reminded him of another Palace entirely.

Meanwhile, Tahnsa frantically tried to figure out what to do. his own thoughts were very troubled. The word 'Slave' kept echoing through them, and he remembered the looks of contempt the guards had given Aarik. And Aarik had not denied their charge. ::Oh this is too outlandish! I am the Emperor, and he is a slave? Our roles were so incredibly switched! I feel like a caricature in a comedy! If he is a slave, how did he ever become a master in the Palace?!::

Tahnsa had felt the situation in Aarik's room become very tense and confused. His own thoughts werein disarray. He was still weary from the stress of telling Aarik of his identity and dealing with his response. When the guards had burst in, he had reacted with what had become instinctive to him- commanding. He took over the situation out of panic and sent everyone on their way and immediately escaped to his chambers. Now, as he lay in his bath, he wondered what he was going to do.

::The look on Aarik's face when the guards came in.. and again when I gave those orders... he will never, ever forgive me! I can see that... What is he thinking? Surely he believes I have betrayed him.. every time he believes in me, I reveal more lies!::

After Tahnsa finished his bath, he entered the War Room to find Aarik sitting at the table, staring stubbornly at a tray of food in front of him. He had not touched a bite. At Tahnsa's arrival, Aarik turned his eyes to the Emperor but said nothing. Tahnsa could read the confusion and anger in Aarik's eyes.

::I am sorry my friend, for dragging you through all of this..:: Tahnsa thought as he approached the table. All of the guards in the room that had snapped to attention at Tahnsa's arrival remained in their stiff posture until Tahnsa waved them off.

"All of you except for my Advisor and this man (Tahnsa gestured to Aarik), are to leave this room immediately"

The moment the room cleared, Tahnsa flopped down into his chair with a long exhale of breath, releasing the tension that had been keeping his authoritative facade in place. His face immediately changed from commanding to vulnerable.

Aarik watched Tahnsa and was relieved to see the Rowan he knew reappear in the Emperor's features.

"This is such a mess," Tahnsa said softly.

"My Emperor, this isn't the one you spoke to me of, is he?" Mak asked, looking at Aarik with an appalled expression.

Aarik stared right back at Mak, wondering who this big guy was. Aarik could sense the lingering tension in Tahnsa's body as he looked to his former slave. Tahnsa's eyes were closed, and he was rubbing his temples with a circular motion. ::Slave? he was MY slave? That whole time in the Palace now seems so ridiculous...::

Tahnsa opened his eyes and looked from Aarik to Mak. He sighed.

"This is all my fault," he said. Tahnsa looked at Aarik, who was still staring back at him. Tahnsa knew he had to finally get the real truth out into the open. Slowly he began to speak. His voice was soft and calm as he told the story of how he had grown restless in his position as Emperor, and had wanted a chance to serve someone else.

The room was quiet but for Tahnsa's modulated voice. Aarik slowly absorbed the story, his body slowly going numb with each word spoken. ::All of it, his whole experience in the Palace was just a way for him to satisfy some whim? He was restless, so he slipped right into my life and turned it upside down, only to slip away again and continue on his merry way in the lap of luxury while I continued to toil away in my chains?:: Aarik's thoughts were a murky whirl pounding against his skull.

Tahnsa stared at Aarik as he told his story. He could sense Mak's acceptance of the story he'd heard before, but Aarik's reaction was less than pleasant. Tahnsa's heart ached as he watched Aarik's expression turn dark, and then go blank. His beautiful green eyes seemed cold as they stared at him. Tahnsa could sense Aarik's pain and cried inside because of it. But he had to finish his story and hope Aarik would understand and find it within himself to forgive Tahnsa once again.

When Tahnsa finished his story, the room was silent for many minutes as the words sunk in. Tahnsa began to really worry at Aarik's lack of response, either positive or negative. The suspense was getting terrible. Desperate, Tahnsa tried to please Aarik, He grasped at the first thing he could think of.

"A-Aarik... I know I should have told you the truth sooner... please.. it is probably asking too much for you to forgive me... I don't know what to do to make things better between us again. The only thing I know I can do for you is.... set you free. You are no longer a slave of Rethwindon.." At these words, Aarik drew in a breath sharply. "I-I'll have Mak bring you your papers in the morning... then you will be free to do as you wish..." Tahnsa's heart screamed with each word he said, but he just could not allow Aarik to be a slave any longer.

Tahnsa waited once again for some sort of response from Aarik. When it came, Tahsna could hardly breathe.

Aarik closed his eyes for several minutes and then stared once again at Tahnsa as he said one word.

"No."