KC: Hi there all! I'm so glad you like this story so much, and I swear I'll try to write faster, but I can't promise anything.

Wufei: Weak onna.

Quatre: Wufei! Be nice!

Wufei: But she is weak!

Heero: And crazy.

KC: *tears* and exhausted. Anyway, while I'm having site troubles, things could take awhile to get up.

Duo: *giggles in hentai fashion* up in more ways than one...

Heero: *whacks Duo over the head* No dirty jokes, baka!

Duo: @.@ Itai...

KC: In any case, thanks for sticking thru with this. There's a lot more on the way. I don't think we're even halfway through.

Trowa: Look, the readers are all running away...

KC: Wait, come back! I promise I'll finish before the year is out!

Wufei: They're running even faster...

Quatre: *.* Space heart...feeling overwhelming anxiety...

KC: o.O

Trowa: And what about the site?

KC: We'll see...anyways, thank you to everyone who reviews, I read all of them and take the suggestions. Actually, I wasn't even thinking of giving Duo strange abilities until it was mentioned by the readers...and come to think of it, it would fit in the story nicely...

Duo: Woohoo! Can I leap over tall buildings in a single bound?

Wufei: More like devour a cow in a single gulp.

Duo: Eww! Wufei, you're so mean!

KC: Well, I just wanted to thank everyone for putting up with me and my erratic postings. So..thank you.

Heero: That was redundant.

KC: I don't care! :) KC

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"Duo..."

"Duo..."

"Duo, wake up!"

His violet eyes opened, slowly focusing on the stern eyes hovering over him. Duo gave his prince a sleepy smile as he stretched out under the covers. "Hi, Heero...mmm, what a way to wake up!"

Heero glanced curiously at him as he stood straight, adjusting his familiar green shirt. "How is that?

Duo sat up, leaning back on his arms as he yawned. "Looking up at you." He gazed out the window, which was flung wide open, and suddenly shivered as a frigid breeze blew in across his bare skin. Pulling the blankets up around his shoulders, he pulled his legs up under himself. "Why's it so cold? Isn't the sun out? It's morning, right?"

Heero's hand dropped on Duo's mouth, silencing him before he could continue rambling. "It's early, yes. I need to speak with Trowa, and you need to keep company with Quatre. He's probably awake by now."

"Oh." Duo sighed and caught the clothes Heero tossed him. They weren't the same ones he'd worn previously, but they were similar, if only less formal. They were all black, but the sleeves ended at the elbow in a white fold. The pants flared slightly at the hip, and instead of cloth slippers, he had hard soled shoes. "Um...all day?"

"Possibly." Heero picked up a small stack of papers from the table and tapped them against the wood, aligning the pages. "Wufei should be here soon. He'll escort you and Quatre to the baths. You'll be allowed to bathe with them since I can trust them. After that, you two may roam the palace together. Find something to occupy yourselves."

Duo nodded in understanding while he threw his clothes on. "Yes, master. It's always been a dream of mine to steal some of the royal silverware."

Heero glanced sideways at him. "You will stay out of trouble."

Duo grinned. "Oh, don't worry. No one's ever caught me but you."

Heero looked directly at him. "What would you do with silver forks and spoons?"

Duo shrugged. "They would look pretty sparkling around my jewelry box."

Heero chuckled and bent to give him a fast kiss, heading for the door. "Keep out of trouble, Duo. I don't want to find out you've been robbing the palace or the guards." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Of course, if you steal from the courtiers, just make sure they don't find out."

Duo waved as Heero left the room, then walked to his jewelry box. Heero had piled his new trinkets on his miniature table, and he set himself to separating them and putting them away. The slave bracelet and ring went in the same drawer as the rest of the bracelets, the anklet went in another drawer, the hair ribbons had their own drawer, and the necklace went in the large side space on the revolving holder. The earrings, which he had to untangle from the necklace, went beneath the long chain.

"Duo, are you dressed?"

The slave closed his box and ran over to the door, pulling it open. "Hi Wufei! Heero said you'd be here."

Wufei, leaning on his staff with a dragon perched on his shoulder, nodded his head in greeting. "Glad to see he left you in one piece," he smirked, eyeing Duo once.

Duo blushed and gathered his hair over his shoulder, fiddling with the ends. "We weren't that loud, were we?"

"Louder than he usually is, in any case," Wufei said. "Not to worry, you didn't wake the whole palace. It's just...good...knowing someone is finally getting to him. Come on, Quatre is probably waiting for us."

Duo closed the door behind him and followed Wufei down the hall. "Um...Wufei?"

The Chinese boy glanced over at him, as did the dragon. Having two pairs of eyes staring at him like that was mildly unnerving. "Yes?"

"What...what happened to all the other slaves?" Duo asked, forcing his words out so he wouldn't falter. "The ones before me. I know he...had one executed..."

"Duo--" Wufei started, but his customary tone sounded severe to the slave's ears, and he rambled on in a rush.

"I mean, is he nice or does he get moody?" Duo asked. "Does he get angry a lot? What makes him angry? I really don't want to upset him. How does he punish slaves, does it hurt? And what happened to the others? Did he kill them all?"

"Duo!" Wufei snapped, silencing him. "Hush!"

Duo hushed.

Wufei sighed and turned towards him, halting for a moment. "Relax. You're working yourself up over nothing." Seeing Duo's worried eyes, he gentled his tone. "No, he did not kill all of his slaves. Aside from that one who committed treason, the rest were either sold or set free. One of them still works in the kitchens, I think."

"Did...did he ever hurt them?" Duo mumbled.

Wufei nodded once. "On occasion. But they deserved it. One of them...lied to him, I believe. Another actually insulted him to his face. There were other infractions...I think one of them enjoyed stealing things and selling them to the guards, trying to get money to buy that damn hashish in the market. One of them actually tried to hit Heero." He smiled comfortingly at Duo's awed face. "I don't think he'll ever whip or beat you. You're obedient and you love him. You willingly serve him. Duo...you may not know this, but he'd never known his slaves' names until you came. He seems cold and distant, but he has warmed so much since he met you...you've done something for him."

Duo smiled broadly. "You mean...he doesn't mind the way I talk too much, or don't know what's going on here?"

Wufei laughed harshly. "No, he doesn't mind. What he said last night was true. You should not doubt yourself so much. Now hurry up, Quatre must be waiting on us."

Duo couldn't stop smiling as Wufei took him down a few new hallways, and he found that he was starting to recognize a few passages and tapestries on the walls. The thought boosted his emotions even further, and by the time they were at Quatre's room, he was positively beaming.

"Quatre?" Wufei called tentatively, wondering if the blonde might still be in Trowa's arms. "Are you ready?"

"Coming!" came Quatre's voice from behind the closed door. A moment later Quatre stepped out, dressed in loose harem pants with a large towel draped over his shoulders like a cape. In his hands he held a flowing pink shirt. "I just had to finish putting my bracelets away. I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

Wufei and Duo both shook their heads. "Of course not," Wufei added.

"Wow, how did you sleep with all that sand?" Duo marveled at the amount of grains falling out of Quatre's hair.

Quatre smiled to match his own grin. "Uncomfortably. But I was too tired to care. Are we going now?"

Wufei nodded. "Breakfast after."

They walked down the hall side by side, avoiding the occasional guard that passed by. Duo felt vaguely disturbed by the looks they got, and when he looked at the other two, he saw that they were somewhat uneasy as well. He waited until they had reached the baths and disappeared into the private room to the side before he brought it up, but only when Wufei closed the door did Quatre respond.

"It's because we're slaves," he answered sadly, dropping the towel on one of the benches built into the wall. "They know what we do for our masters, and...well, they fantasize."

"They wouldn't try anything...?" Duo asked, also undressing. A few days spent without clothing had done quite a bit to get rid of his inhibitions, and he felt little embarrassment around his companions, who apparently didn't mind either.

"They would, and often do," Wufei muttered as he sat at the edge of the pool. "I had to spell a handful of guards once when they cornered me."

"What did you do to them?" Duo asked, wondering how far they could go in defending themselves.

The familiar dark smile graced Wufei's features. "I changed them all into silk worms. From what I understand, they're still spinning in the silk weavers guild."

Duo gasped, but Quatre just nodded, slipping into the water at the same time. "He's right. We're our master's property, and we're not to be harmed. Wufei couldn't kill them even though Treize is nobility, but our masters are royalty. If we have to kill to protect ourselves, then that's what we do."

"Have you ever killed someone?" Duo asked, keeping a grip on the edge of the tiles as he got into the water.

Quatre shook his head. "I've come close, though. A visiting ambassador snuck into my bedroom while Trowa was off in some meeting. He tried to...tie me up while I was still asleep, but I've always been a light sleeper. And I'd been warned to sleep with a dagger under my pillow."

"Sage Chinese wisdom," Wufei said smugly. "I'm glad you took the advice."

"Took it and used it," Quatre said. "Fortunately he was stupid and tried to gag me before binding me. He had chains with him, so I don't doubt he was going to kidnap me. Instead I grabbed my knife as soon as I felt him on me and tried to slash his throat."

"'Tried'?" Duo asked.

"Trowa got there right then," Quatre said softly. "It was messy, but...he kept me safe."

Duo got a dreamy smile at that, remembering how Heero had saved him from the assassin. "It's so sweet..."

Quatre nodded and ducked under the water, dislodging the sand before he reached for the soaps. "I love the baths here. They're so warm."

"Do you know how long Trowa will stay?" Wufei asked casually.

Quatre giggled. "Oh...what would Treize do without you?"

Wufei smiled guiltily, knowing he'd been found out. "Sit in the dark, most likely. He just has so much to do that he's always a step behind, no matter how much he does."

"Well, if he just didn't patrol the streets so often..." Duo sighed.

Wufei glared at him. "Just what do you mean?"

Duo stared at him for a moment, blinking, then started to laugh. "You mean he hasn't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Wufei was really starting to bristle at Duo's comments.

"Wufei," Duo started, seeing that he needed to calm the other down. "It's not that Treize is useless in the city, it's just...he misses so much. He's honest and the city likes him, but...I've stolen things around him, hell, I even grabbed a pearl-handled dagger from his horse once."

"So you're the one," Wufei snapped. "Do you have any idea how much work I had to do to calm him down after he lost that? He was certain some underlord was challenging him. He will be so irritated to find out it was just a simple theft."

"Simple?!" Duo complained. "That was anything but simple! It was harder than lifting the ribbon off of the back of Zech's horse!"

"The things I am learning today!" Wufei sighed. "You're the one that teased him, aren't you?"

"He chased me all over the city," Duo cackled unrepentantly. "I don't think he minded losing the ribbon as much as the things I was calling him when he noticed it was gone."

"Well, it's his own fault," Wufei admitted. "That mask he wears during patrol limits his peripheral vision."

"You...did you really steal those off of them?" Quatre asked, obviously amazed.

Duo smiled. "Yup. The dagger, though...I didn't get a chance to sell that," he sighed. "Heero caught me before I could. It's still hidden with the rest of my things..."

Wufei leaned his hair back into the water, rinsing the shampoo from it. "If you tell me where that is, I can ask Treize to go collect them for you. I don't know if Heero will let you keep anything, and I know Treize will want the dagger back."

"Maxwell Orphanage," Duo said readily. "The basement, in the far corner under a large brick. The money there should stay with the orphanage, though, but I'd really like to have my--"

Wondering why he'd stopped so abruptly, Quatre swam closer and put his hand on Duo's arm. "What is it?"

"You promise not to laugh?" Duo asked.

They both nodded solemnly.

"My cross," he explained. "Father Maxwell gave it to me before he...died."

"Ah..." Wufei intoned, as if that answered a question he'd been pondering. "The Christian community was hardest hit by the plague."

"You're Christian?" Quatre asked. "I would never have guessed. I thought you aren't supposed to steal."

"No one's without sin," Duo grinned irreverently. "Can't worship if I starve, no?"

"Well, I'll tell Treize," Wufei promised. "Are we all done here?"

"Can we just relax a little longer?" Quatre begged. "It's so comfortable."

"I guess we can stay for awhile," Wufei conceded. "We have the day to ourselves, after all."

"Oh, good," Duo smiled, moving around so his hair floated before him. "It's too cold out to get dressed, anyway."

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