"You are confined to my bedchambers," Heero told Duo, still chained and nude, as he led him back inside the sumptuous quarters. "You are not permitted to leave under any circumstances, save when your life is threatened."

"Can I at least look out the window, master?" Duo asked, casting a wistful glance at the dark sky.

Heero nodded. "Any place in this room is free for you to move in, including the balcony outside the window." What am I saying? I never allow slaves near the window...but Duo would look so good with the stars as his backdrop... He forced himself out of his thoughts and looked back at him. "However, you'll be kept in those manacles until I know you won't run." Heero locked the door behind himself, turning his back for just a moment to see if his slave would bolt. Instead, when he turned around, he found that not only had Duo remained still, but the boy was completely absorbed in staring at one of the glowing lights on what appeared to be a magick candelabra.

"How does this work?" Duo asked, forgetting in his curiosity to call Heero master. "Is it magick? Is it a glowing stone? Is there a little worm inside making it light up? How come it doesn't burn up? It's not hot, is it?"

Heero raised one eyebrow in amusement while he watched Duo stare intently at the light, so charmed by Duo's innocence that he let the boy's forgetfulness slide. "No, it should be cool to the touch. My sorcerer personally cast the light spells in this room. And there are no worms inside."

While Heero was speaking, Duo's attention shifted to a little ornament beside the candelabra, a golden cage no larger than his hand with a tiny bird made of gold and jewels perched inside. "Wow...what's this?"

Heero noticed his slave's new focus and repressed a sigh. "A frivolous toy sent by some princess trying to win my hand in marriage. I was going to get rid of it when you dropped in."

Duo tapped the small lever on the side and gasped in delight as the bird chirped a few notes while flapping its wings. "It's beautiful..." he whispered.

It's useless, Heero thought firmly, but the look of joy spread over Duo's face convinced him to keep the bauble, at least for now. "Come, it's late enough as it is, and I must wake up early tomorrow."

Duo reluctantly left the bird, the chain on his hands being used as a handle for Heero's convenience. When he saw that Heero was drawing him towards the bed, though, he halted in fear, trying to pull back.

Heero turned and glared at him, his look promising violence if he was not immediately obeyed. Duo cringed and shut his eyes tight.

"I'm sorry...master...I...I've never..." he stuttered nervously.

Heero's look didn't change.

"I've never...been with anyone before...like that..." Duo eyes filled with frightened tears that spilled out in a rush, and he turned his head aside, certain that he was going to be hit.

He's terrified, Heero realized with a start. He's really never lain with anyone. His glare softened. Then I will seduce him...but not now, tomorrow perhaps. Heero lay his hand on Duo's cheek, gently stroking his loose hair. "I will not force anything upon you tonight," he said in his usual flat tone. "But you must get used to sleeping beside me, because I will require you to do things later on. Do you understand?"

Duo gave a shaky nod, simultaneously relieved at this short reprieve and troubled by what he knew Heero would want later on. "I...yes, master."

Heero's fingers didn't leave immediately. For a few minutes, Duo held still as Heero stepped closer, only inches away, and kindly wiped his tears away. Duo looked up, surprised that the prince would do this for him, then cried out in alarm as Heero bent quickly and swept Duo up into his arms. Offering no explanation, Heero set Duo down on the soft mattress and climbed in after him, drawing the blankets up over their bodies. He snapped his fingers, turning the lights off, and pressed his body against Duo's, enjoying the feel of the long, luxurious hair running along his own skin.

Duo wondered if he would drown in such a suffocatingly soft mattress under the fluffy blankets, but Heero's arm was wrapped around his waist and his arms were still locked up, so he couldn't try out sleeping on the plush carpet. With a resigned sigh, he relaxed on his pillow and closed his eyes.

*****

When Duo woke, he at first wondered where he was. The bed he was in was too comfortable to be his pile of filthy rags on the dirt floor, and he couldn't hear the screaming vendors in the marketplace. And he couldn't move his arms.

With a muted groan, he sat up and looked around. Bright morning sunlight poured in through the far window, illuminating the rich furnishings and--

Oh, yeah, Duo sighed, remembering the night before. He looked down at his hands and found that the manacles were still in place, but that he could move around if he tried. Out of habit, he pulled his hair around the side of the bed, letting it fall to the floor as he began to part it.

The door suddenly burst open, and he yelped in surprise, glad that the blankets were up to his waist.

"Calm down, Duo," Heero's voice came from the door.

Duo glanced up and saw Heero and someone new, dressed entirely in white, coming in. The stranger was obviously of the far eastern people, with slightly slanted black eyes and tanned skin with his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. He seemed no older than Heero, but it was the black staff in his hand and the dragon curled up on his shoulder that really caught Duo's eye.

"This is Wufei, my sorcerer," Heero told Duo. "Wufei, this is the slave I was telling you about."

Wufei smiled wryly at Heero. "Quite a pretty catch. And daring, if what you say is true. Hard to believe anyone would be foolish enough to try to steal from the prince's bedchambers."

"I didn't know what room I was in," Duo tried to explain. "I just...um..." he lowered his eyes as he saw stern stares he was receiving. Apparently they hadn't expected him to speak unless spoken to.

"He is daring," Wufei whispered to Heero. "I don't think he's afraid of you, at least not as much as the last slave."

Duo's eyes widened when he heard that. "Last...slave...?"

Heero nodded. "Assassins tried to use him to murder me in my sleep."

"Instead," Wufei continued, "with a few well-chosen words, I had him confessing his crime on his knees, begging to be spared. No spells needed," he smiled proudly.

"Did...did you spare him?" Duo asked.

They both frowned. Heero shook his head. "Treason is to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. I had him executed the next day. Wufei," he said, turning to face the sorcerer. "Are you ready?"

The Chinese boy nodded and leaned against his staff. "A partial command geis?"

"Best to be thorough," Heero stated. "Full truth spell and command geis."

Wufei raised one eyebrow. "You think he's that dangerous?"

"He got through the castle perimeter, past the guards and even through your wards on the window. Speaking of which..."

Wufei switched to another leg to lean on and allowed his dragon to readjust likewise. "It's probably because of the warding language I used. People who intend to harm you are kept out. The boy did not want to kill you, he only wanted to steal something." He gently pet his dragon's head, smiling when he heard it hiss in pleasure. "Nataku and I will change it today so it keeps everyone out."

"Later. This comes first."

Duo pressed himself back into the headboard as the pair came closer, eyes intent on him. Heero sat beside him, holding him tight so he couldn't move away farther, while Wufei stood by the night stand and leaned his staff against the wall.

"Nataku, I will not need you for this," he said in a clear voice. The dragon leaped from his shoulder and darted across the room, landing next to the candelabra and golden bird toy.

"Will this hurt?" Duo asked in a small voice.

Wufei smiled darkly. "Only if you resist. Do as you are commanded and you will feel no pain. This should help," he added, taking a little white pebble from some concealed pocket and dropping it into a glass. "If you would, your highness?" he asked Heero, who left with the glass and returned with it filled with clear water. Wufei handed it to Duo, who had to wrap both bound hands around it because of the chains. "Now, drink it all, but don't drink the object."

Duo peered warily into the water, but with a mild sigh he drank it all down. "What is that thing?" he asked as he handed it back. His eyes were starting to feel remarkably heavy.

"The proper tiger's bone," Wufei answered readily. "It will put you to sleep soon." Giving Duo no more time to stall, he placed his hand on Duo's chest and whispered something in a language the braided boy couldn't understand. A warm sensation washed over him, leaving him even drowsier.

"C'n I take a nap...?" he slurred.

"Not yet," Heero said. "Is the truthspell up?"

Wufei nodded. "It will be up for an hour at full strength. After that, you will have to use the command geis to restart it."

Heero stared intently at Duo as he helped him sit straight. "Duo, what is your full name?"

"Duo," he replied in a sluggish voice. "Just Duo."

"Do you have any friends or family?" he asked next, wondering if he had to pay a slave's price to anyone.

Duo shook his head slowly. "No...they died...plague...war..."

Wufei sighed and sat down on the floor. "I told you we'd still feel the effects of the injustices from your father's reign."

Heero nodded once in agreement. "True, but at least he's nearly dead. Once he's gone, I can really start to fix things." He turned his attention back to Duo. "Have you ever lied?"

"Nope...I run, I hide, but I never lie..."

"Steal?"

"Yeah...gotta...either that or starve..."

"Is that your only skill? Theft?"

Duo smirked, even in his sleepy state. "I've got this really great knack for fixing things up...'specially mechanics...I guess I'm good at talking--"

"He should be," Wufei said off-handedly, "with all that practice."

"Quiet."

"--and I'm a master at evading the police...but I've never been able to make things blow up...they always fizzle out, for some reason..."

"That's enough," Heero said, looking back at Wufei. "Put the geis on him now."

Wufei nodded. "Remember, you have to tell him to say "I will obey your commands," or else this won't work." The sorcerer pulled out a white strip of cloth already prepared with painted symbols running down the length. He reached up and pushed it against Duo's forehead. "You will obey Heero's commands and never attempt to leave or hurt him." Once he finished his short sentence, the cloth evaporated.

"Huh?" Duo wondered, half-way to dreamland.

"You will remain in this room at all times, unless you are with me," Heero ordered. "You will speak to no one I do not permit you to, and you will not attempt escape."

"All right, Heero...uh...Master," Duo whispered, eyes closing rapidly.

Heero and Wufei stared at each other. The prince had not asked Duo to repeat that final sentence that would seal Duo's unswerving obedience. Instead, Duo had responded in agreement freely, and the truthspell guaranteed that he was being honest. Duo was not fighting Heero, and seemed to willingly accept his commands.

"A willing slave..." Wufei gasped. "But that could only mean that he loves you."

"He's only known me one night," Heero argued. "He couldn't have formed an emotional bond that quickly."

"He said it, he meant it," Wufei said. "Heero...be gentle with this one."

Heero frowned, and then stared straight into Duo's eyes. "Do you love me?"

Duo's eyes shut entirely as he hovered near sleep. "Uh-huh..." he nodded, head drooping forward. He started to tumble to the side and Heero instinctively reached out to hold him up. Heero could feel Wufei watching with a small smile as he gently lay his braided slave back onto the pillows.

"I don't understand this," Heero murmured. "Slaves caught like this are notorious for fighting back. They don't fall in love with their masters."

"Maybe he doesn't see you as his master," Wufei offered. "He calls you by your name, after all. Perhaps he believes he could leave at any time. He is a thief, after all."

Heero shook his head to himself. But if he loves me, then why was he so afraid to sleep beside me? He said he's never been with anyone before...no, he said with anyone "like that"...I'll have to question him about his past more thoroughly, and I'll have my personal physician look him over.

Hesitant knocking came from the door, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Enter," he commanded.

The door opened, and Wufei smiled and stood when he saw his own lover come in.

Heero didn't need to look up when he saw his sorcerer's reaction. "Yes, Khushrenada?"

"My apologies for the intrusion," Treize said, bowing slightly. "But I came to make certain that you were all right."

Heero glanced at him. "What's wrong?"

"There's been a breach of security," Treize continued. "One servant was caught mixing poison in the wine for tonight's banquet, and we have reason to believe she is not alone."

Heero's expression never changed. "Better assume that every servant has been compromised. Have only your most trusted lieutenants examine each worker. Wufei, you'd better go with him."

Wufei nodded and recalled his dragon, then walked over to stand next to Treize.

"I'll put Zechs and Noin on it," Treize replied. "And perhaps Une, as well."

"Wufei," Heero called out as they went out the door, "tell Sally to come here when she has time. I want her to look over Duo."

"I will go immediately," Wufei said, then closed the door behind himself.

As he and Treize walked down the hall, the taller man turned and glanced at Wufei. "Duo?"

Wufei smiled slightly. "You noticed."

"I had to hold myself back from gasping in disbelief," Treize admitted. "He always calls his slaves just that, slaves. He's never bothered to learn their names before."

"He's never captured one in his room before," Wufei said.

"What?" Treize paled. "In his room? How on earth did that little runt get inside? Past my guards?"

"If it's any consolation, he got past my wards," Wufei sighed.

"That's not the problem. I'm the Captain of the Guard, things like that are not supposed to happen!"

"He's a thief," Wufei said, as if that was a decent explanation.

"Through the castle walls and grounds without being caught?"

"All right, he's a very good thief," Wufei amended. He held up one hand as they approached the medical facilities. "Just a moment. Sally!" he cried, leaning inside. "Hey, onna!"

Sally's annoyed face popped up from behind a desk. "What do you want?"

"Not me, Heero," Wufei corrected her. "I would never want anything from your hands."

"Yes, you have your silly superstitions and magick to cling to," she smiled sweetly.

Treize put an arm around Wufei and a hand over his mouth before the sorcerer could run in and break the doctor's neck. "Heero wants you to look over his new slave, Duo."

Sally sighed but she nodded anyway. "Okay, I'll go in a minute."

"And Lady Une," Treize raised his voice a notch, "I thought you were working on next month's execution list."

"Finished early, sir," a muffled voice came from behind the desk.

Wufei's eyes widened and he pressed against Treize, hoping he wouldn't suffer a violent nosebleed in front of Sally. Treize smiled and tightened his hold on his lover. "Very well, then. I'll need to see you in my office in an hour to discuss new security evaluations."

"I'll be there, sir."

Wufei allowed himself to be drawn out of there and back into the hall, where he suffered through a long kiss from Treize. "We have an hour..." he said breathlessly.

Treize sadly shook his head. "Tonight, my little dragon. Right now, I need your help in rounding up Zechs and Noin. They're probably in the practice hall."

As they walked down the corridor, Wufei sighed and slipped his hand into Treize's. "I'm afraid to ask what they're practicing."

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