Part 5:

        Soon their plates were bare, a dessert of diced fruit dolloped with whipped cream concluding the satisfying meal. Satisfying in both the food itself and the light, pleasant conversation that finally accompanied it.

            Sasha was enjoying just sitting among the so soft pillows listening to Issai talk about... well... anything. It didn't matter to Sasha what the prince discussed, everything that came from his keen mind and lovely lips was utterly fascinating. As he swallowed yet another glass of wine, the sweet, rich flavor swirling over his tongue, and swirling down his slender throat, and swirling into the warm, hazy place in his head, he lost himself more and more in the lulling sound of Issai's melodic, deep voice. He almost felt guilty for not saying much himself, but that would have meant Issai would stop speaking and he didn't want that. Not at all. No, not at all.

            " It would appear, dear sweet Sasha, that you are quite drunk," Issai said with a playful smile, the glint in his ocean-green eyes mesmerizing.

            " Hmm..." Sasha blinked sleepily. "... Oh." Then raising a hand to his feverish pink cheek, his voice fell into a soft imitation of a giggle. " I guess I am."

            Issai chuckled. " Yes, you are."

            " It's fuzzy... and warm," he murmured with brilliant, dazed eyes and tugged at the laces of his shirt, his pale gold brows furrowed in child-like determination.

            The prince raised an elegant black brow. " Do you feel ill?" he said, concern creeping into his beautiful voice

            " Oh no. I'm fine." Sasha meant to smile, but it only showed on his flushed face as a slight rise of his delicate, wine-stained lips. Struggling with the last half of the laces, he stopped, exasperated, and sighed.

            " Need help?" Issai asked with a gentle chuckle, trying not to stare at the half-bare, porcelain-smooth chest.

            The drunk soldier shook his head, then immediately grasped it with both hands, his blue eyes swimming in disorientation. " Uh, dizzy too."

            " Are you sure you're fine?"

            " Mmm hmm," he murmured, holding his head to remind himself not to nod. "Please.... keep talking."

            A smile curved the prince's alluring lips. " As you wish. What would you like to talk about?"

            " It doesn't matter. Something about you, maybe?" He lowered his hands to his lap and gazed at Issai with bright, azure eyes. Issai's every movement: every parting of his sensuous lips, every sparkle in his enchanting green eyes, every flutter of his silken lashes, every strand of midnight-sapphire hair wisping along the curve of his light-tan cheek, every breath, every smile, even every flicker of candlelight reflecting on his glasses, everything... was captivating, completely, utterly, dizzyingly.

            " I think I may have talked quite enough about myself this evening."

            " No. Never. I like hearing about you." Sasha bowed his head sheepishly, suddenly realizing what he had just said.

            Issai smiled. " What about you? I would rather talk about you than me."

            "Oh, I'm not important." He frowned, a deep sadness falling across his face. "Not the way I want to be.... Not... to... who I want to be." He whispered, a sudden depression settling in his heart.

            " I'm sorry, sweet angel. I didn't mean upset you." Issai took Sasha's hand in a gentle grasp. " How about I tell you about my siblings. Would you like that?"

            His expression brightened a little. " Really? Yes... please. I don't have any. It must be very nice."

            A quirk of humor filled in his smoky jade eyes. " Sometimes. Sometimes it can be very trying. But I love them both very much."

            Sasha rested his head on his arms and listened attentively. " What are their names?"

            " My brother, Kayosi, is the eldest, the Crown Prince, and my sister, Natatsu , is the youngest. She'll be thirteen next month." He beamed with pride, a hint of hidden sorrow in his watery green eyes.

            " You miss them , don`t you?"

            " Yes, I do. I miss everything about my home. It saddens me that I'll not see my sister's birthday."

            Sasha lifted his head drowsily, his white-gold brows wrinkled in concentration, his eyes sincere and serious. " What if I helped you leave?"

            Sighing, Issai`s raven lashes lowered sorrowfully. " I couldn't do that. I would rather stay here, missing them, then incite a dreadful war that could cause their deaths."

            "I'm sorry."

            "For what, my dear Sasha? You are not to blame for my being here."

            "For saying that," he replied simply with a charm like a child's innocent regret. "... and for making you sad."

            " No need to apologize. It warms my heart that you would be willing to do such a thing for me." Smiling affectionately, Issai caressed Sasha's silky hair. "You are very sweet and kind, my angel, and I know you have no idea how special you really are."

            Soaking in the prince's beautiful, fading voice and the gentle touch of his hand, Sasha felt his lashes tickle his warm cheeks. The hazy feeling in his head was thicker now, and inescapable. "S.. sweet... kind... special.... you.....," he murmured incoherently, as his head slowly fell to rest again on the pillow of his arms.

            "Sleepy?" The prince's question floated fuzzily through the younger man's mind.

            "Mmm hmm." He mumbled sleepily, his eyes closed. Then he drifted into blissful, wine-induced slumber.

            Issai tenderly watched the sleeping angel and smiled. The more time he spent with him, the more beautiful he became. The prince rose and stepped around the table, then knelt down to lift the soldier into his arms. So warm. He was so warm, and much lighter than he appeared, all the finely toned muscles a very deceptive illusion.

            Standing and cradling him in his arms, he headed towards the bed. Sasha's head drooped against the prince's neck, his warm, wine-sweet breath soaking gently into the bronze skin. Issai's dark lashes fluttered for a moment as the wonderful sensation overwhelmed him and the warmth spread through his entire body, focusing to a smolder below his waist.

            He truly hadn't thought about the younger man in a sexual manner before now. He had been intrigued by him and sought his company in this dreadful place. But not sex. There was something about Sasha, the innocence, the purity of his spirit, that was so mesmerizing, so overpowering, it left carnal thoughts aside. Yes, he enjoyed the vision of Sasha's gorgeous, naked body and craved more, however it had been a more reverent desire, one that saw only Sasha, a shy, gentle angel, wholly beautiful, not a lover yet to be experienced, explored, savored.

            But it was all he could think about now, as Sasha`s fevered lips sleepily brushed the curve of the prince's throat. Issai shivered. By the gods, he felt wonderful!

            He glanced down at the blissfully sleeping face and sighed. All that would have to wait for another time. Sasha was in no condition for him to pursue such a pleasure, and he doubted, even if he was, that the younger man would be agreeable.

             Tenderly settling the soldier down upon the bed, he shoved aside what he could of the nest of silk sheets before covering him with one. Turning away, he strolled through the room, greeting each candle with a cupped hand and a quick gust of breath, slowly easing the room into a gray-violet darkness. With a few flicks of his wrist and dexterous fingers while Issai returned to the edge of the bed in darkness, his tunic was unbuttoned and falling from his faintly silver-lit shoulders. He usually slept nude, but he didn't think Sasha would be comfortable with that.

            He glanced down at the sleeping angel, whose silvery hair, darkened lavender in the night, splayed across a dark pillow. Oh, gods, he was beautiful, so achingly beautiful. Sasha exuded a majestic and innocent otherworldly beauty that was impossible to ignore and only increased with the more of him discovered. He was an angel.

            After placing his tunic and eyeglasses neatly on the trunk at the foot of the bed, he crawled under the silk coverlet beside the unconscious young man. " Good night, my charming Sasha," he whispered, absently stroking the soft, pale hair, then pressed a gentle kiss to Sasha's forehead.

            He soon realized that may have been a mistake as the feeling of touching his lips to that sweet, smooth skin stirred things within him he never really felt before. For Issai, sex had only been a sensual thing, pleasure for the senses, but not the heart. Yet, one chaste kiss brought out something in him that went beyond sex, beyond sensuality, and he had no idea what it was. But it was warm, and forceful.

            He wanted Sasha, in every way, body, mind, soul. Even though part of this desire was undeniably sexual, somehow it sprang from the same reverence of Sasha as Sasha. Issai wanted to explore all that Sasha was, is. To feel his kisses, taste his creamy skin, his graceful lips, his shining soul, to drown in the dazzling light of his whole beauty, to envelope himself in Sasha's warmth, to... to.

            To... to what? Issai realized his breath had quickened. What was happening to him? A young man he knew less than a day was igniting something in him.... something foreign even his scholar's mind couldn't define it. A passion? Was that possible? Perhaps, it was mere curiosity heightened by his quest to unravel Sasha's mysteries. He never could pass up a good puzzle.

            Even slightly drowsy from the wine, it was impossible for him to fall asleep. Instead, he just lay beside Sasha, watching him. Sasha's lips were gently turned in that same sad way the prince observed earlier in the garden. Quiet breaths fell from those enticing, delicate lips.

            Issai reached out his hand and lightly caressed the pale night-lit cheek, savoring the smooth skin under his fingertips. Sasha's head turned slightly, as if unconsciously seeking a fuller sense of the touch. The prince's dusky eyes softened affectionately and a soft smile spread across his full lips. Stroking his thumb gently over the sleeping angel's soft, sweet lips, he whispered to himself, " What am I going to do with you, my precious, beautiful angel? Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Issai sighed. "Do I?"

            " Oh, Sasha, you deserve so much of what obviously hasn't been given to you. Even if you were as you think you are." He continued caressing the pale cheek with his thumb, the warmth, the softness, of the skin a soothing intoxication. Soon the prince finally drifted to sleep, his hand still gently touching his angelic soldier.

            Sometime in the night Issai awoke, his hand trembling. Then he realized it wasn't his hand that was trembling, rather the sleeping soldier under it. A warm wetness soaked his palm and he sat up, watching Sasha silently sobbing in his sleep. His dark brows wrinkled with concern. What was wrong? Should he wake him? What should he do?

            A flash of lightening exploded the dark room to bright white, then vanished, followed a breath later by a roar of thunder. Rain pattered against the roof and drummed the oiled paper screens.

            Oblivious in his wakeless suffering, Sasha curled into himself, hands clutching the sheets and shuddering as silver tears rolled down his face and onto the silk pillow. Whatever torment was haunting his dreams wasn`t letting him loose to escape into wakefulness.

            " Oh, Sasha," Issai whispered, the emotion muting his voice more than the thought of not waking the weeping young man. The urge to gather him in his arms and hold him until the tears faded away strengthened with each shiny drop falling from the angelic face.

            With a sigh, Issai surrendered and, returning to lie beside Sasha, carefully edged closer, drawing the shy, sleeping soldier against his chest. "Shhh..." he soothed quietly. " It is merely a dream. Don't let it trouble you, my darling angel."

            The fall of Sasha's tears against his bare chest and the warm, soft breaths tickling his dampened skin, sent a chill through the prince that was partly physical and partly something more. He eased his other arm under the blond and nestled him tighter still. So warm.

            Burying his face against the violet-silver hair, his own fell loosely about them in a midnight curtain. He pressed a kiss into the soft waves, breathing in the scents of lavender and... honey, and a similar sweetness that had to be Sasha himself, pure and clean and intoxicating. He could so easily lose himself in such a heaven, but a shiver from the warm beauty in his arms shook him to attention.

            " Shh... don't cry," he whispered, as he stroked Sasha's hair. " I'm here for you., sweet sweet angel." He placed another kiss on the violet-pale head, sighing in the warmth that melted into him. " Please, don't cry. It's only a dream. Just a dream."  

            "...Demon Ghost!"

            "...Wraithboy!"

            "... Dead-skinned freak!"

            " Go away! We don't like you!"

            Sasha huddled his tiny body in a corner of a large ballroom, his white head buried in his tiny arms. The sound of heavy footsteps forced him to lift his head, his deathly pale skin streaked with tears.

            King Shion strode towards him, hidden anger across his dark, rugged face and in each thundering step. As he approached young Sasha, his expression softened. Crouching before the boy, he laid a hesitant hand on a small, shuddering shoulder.

            " What's wrong?" His voice was deep and forceful, but touched with gentleness.

            " They won't let me play too," Sasha sniffed, a pasty, thin hand wiping a tear
from his strange blue eyes.

            Shion's thick, dark brows gathered in a scowl. " Oh?! We'll see about that!" The king rose, furious, and was about to storm away, when a tiny trembling hand grasped his.

            " Please, no. Let it be. I don't want them to be nice because they have to!"

            The king frowned. " But, dear boy, that's the way people are. Always will be. If they're friendly or kind to you, it's only because I ordered them to be."

            Sasha hung his tiny head. " But I don't want you to," he whimpered.

            Shion sighed. " I know." He gently squeezed the little hand. " But you don't want to be lonely either."

            Sasha sniffed and rubbed his pale eyes. " But..."

            "...Don`t let it trouble you." Shion gazed at him sternly, the softness still in his dark brown eyes. "You must always remember that it`s the only way." He leaned down and wiped a tear from a ghastly white cheek. " I don`t want to see you hurt, so you always remember that, agreed?"

            Gazing up at the dark, imposing king, his eyes quivered and streamed silent silver tears. With his pasty pink lips in a gloomy pout, he sighed.

            Faintly, a voice whispered. "...I'm here."

            As though he had appeared from nothingness, Issai strode across the marble floor, his hair, like midnight, and sapphire-glinted, flowing loose behind him. His glasses were tucked in the breast-pocket of his shiny, silk tunic, a dusky, jewel green that matched his sparkling eyes. "... I`m here," he said softly, his voice a bewitching, rich melody.

            " Good." Shion replied, as he straightened, then gestured with a nod of his head towards the distressed little boy clutching his strong hand. " Go play then."

            Issai bowed, elegant, like a dance, and strolled towards Sasha with a wide, warm smile. But Sasha caught the flicker of revulsion in the beautiful ocean-green eyes as the exotic prince took the small bleach-white hand from the king`s.

            Sasha turned to the king, tears trailing down his stricken face. " Please, no."

            " Sasha." Shion's thin mustache lowered as he frowned with concern. " But he's what you wanted."

            The prince knelt beside the boy, brushing away the tears with slender fingers. ".. Don't cry," he soothed, the wince at touching pallid skin and looking into ash blue eyes, well hidden behind a empathetic smile.

            " No! I don't want him like this! I don't want him forced to make me happy. I want him to hold me, to touch me, to care for me, to... " His eyes fell. " ...to... love... me... because he wants to, because he chooses to!"

            Issai shook his head sadly. "...only a dream."

            His strong arms folded across his broad chest, his dark brows wrinkled in sorrowed compassion, King Shion nodded slowly in agreement.

            "... Just a dream."

            And the little boy wept.