The night was on the brink of early morning, the Aosan crew needed to properly moor, and the king’s ship needed to get back to the original river dock before the sun came up. The Sundentan civilian ship had already departed, having all of their wounded treated, and Hesiat had promised them funds to repair the damage to their ship.

Thereafter came the address to the true heroes of the night. The Aosan crew was lined up against the railing, ready to go once they’d said their goodbyes, but Hesiat still needed Oly to translate them.

“Please tell them thank you for their services tonight,” Hesiat commanded, though his eyes never left Captain Pekhri, “And that they will be justly rewarded.”

The captain nodded, and Pashta spoke up.

“When are we gonna get that “just reward,” exactly?” He drawled. Shakti hit him on the arm at the same time their mother gave him a dangerous look.

“Please tell the king thank you for your generosity.” She signed with exasperation. Oly snorted and turned back to Hesiat, who looked rather amused.

“They thank you for your generosity… and would like instructions for when and where to receive it.”

Hesiat smirked. “You mean the boy would.”

“I mean, yeah, but I assume the question still stands.”

Hesiat fixed an intense look at the teen, who swallowed hard and seemed to shrink back. “Rewarding those who saved so many lives requires a celebration, does it not? Please tell them to arrive in 3 days time at the palace gates. I wish to host them as guests while we prepare.”

Oly’s brows shot up, but he obediently translated. The rest of the crew seemed surprised as well, but from the doctor’s suspicion to Kivo’s excitement, they had varying levels of pleasure from the news. “If they have nothing else they’d like me to know, they’re dismissed. We could all use a little rest.”

Hearing this from Oly again, Captain Pekhri bowed his head. “Thank you for your invitation, we of course accept. And thank you for opening your ship to us in the time of everyone’s need.”

Right when Oly was about to tell Hesiat, Kivo stepped out of the lineup and addressed Oly directly, much to the amused chagrin of Lyren.

“So when can we meet again?” The bard purred. Lyren sighed theatrically.

Oly snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up, pretty boy, Sundentan slaves aren’t released for another 5 years.”

Kivo clapped his hands. “5 years it is, then!”

“Oh, are you sure I’ll still remember you?”

“Join me for a drink and I’ll make sure of it.”

Hesiat loudly cleared his throat and placed a hand on Oly’s shoulder. “A translation, please?”

Oly thought on that, not breaking eye-contact with Kivo.

In Haevan, “Captain Pekhri says, ‘Thank you for your invitation, we of course accept. And thank you for opening your ship to us in the time of everyone’s need.’” He smiled. “And the healer-bard wants a kiss.”

Oly didn’t anticipate the intensity of the disapproving look Hesiat gave Kivo, and the force of it made him laugh out loud. “Before you get too possessive,” he scolded, “remember that I would never give what you haven’t permitted.”

Hesiat cocked his head, narrowing his eyes. “What do you think?”

“I think he’s smitten, but we all know he’ll likely never see me again. No harm in teasing when we all know I’m yours.” Oly said. Hesiat smirked and crossed his arms.

“Well, what would amuse you?”

Taking that as permission, Oly turned his attention back to the crew, gave a lingering look to the bard, and stepped to the side to take Lyren’s hand in both of his own. He pressed it to his heart, an intimate gesture meant to warm someone from the biting cold. “I’m so thankful to have crossed paths with you, Lyren. It’s been a balm to my homesick heart to have met all of you.” He purred. Lyren flushed for just a moment, but he returned the caring smile and pressed his other hand over Oly’s as well.

“To you as well, dàmine. I hope you find your way home sooner than you thought.”

In on the joke, the navigator brought their joined hands higher to kiss Oly’s knuckles. Without looking at Kivo, Oly pulled his hands gently back to himself, turned to the rest of the crew, and gave a deep bow. After they all returned it, he turned his back to them and made sure he was still in the clear with Hesiat. At the look of humor he got, he finally turned back to Kivo with heat in his eyes. Oly stepped so close to him that he could feel the warmth of his chest, taking advantage of his height to cup the man’s chin in his hand and tilt his face up to make their eyes meet. “As for you…” The look of hope and anticipation on his face was adorable, yet… he leaned down and pecked Kivo on the forehead. “If you’re lucky, we’ll meet again,” Oly whispered.

He slipped right back to Hesiat’s side and hung himself on the king’s arm, eyes twinkling with mischief. He watched the expressions on Kivo’s face unfold just as gleefully as the rest of his crew did.

In just a few moments, the bard went through all five stages of grief. Lyren slung an arm around Kivo’s shoulders and winked at Oly as he returned to his own ship, followed by the rest of the yawning crew.

--

Oly fell asleep on the carriage ride back from the docks, but Hesiat gently urged him awake by shaking his shoulder and smoothing down his errant curls. He allowed Oly to lean on him sleepily as they walked, though Oly was sure that the king was just as tired.

It seemed odd to him, once they left the sight of the bodyguards and started to traverse the halls alone. Wasn’t this all just to save face? Why was Hesiat still holding on?

They walked in silence, but he was waiting for the inevitable moment when the king decided his point was proven and let go of Oly’s arm. Any minute now, he thought, but it never came, all the way up until they came to Hesiat’s chamber doors.

When Hesiat moved to release Oly, he didn’t let go in turn. He joined their hands, stepped around, and smiled at Hesiat, eyes gentle and sincere.

“I had a lot of fun tonight. Beside the… you know.” He leaned up to kiss Hesiat on the cheek, a twitch away from the corner of his mouth. When he pulled away, Hesiat was frozen with pleasant surprise.

Aw, that’s cute.

He rubbed the kiss into Hesiat’s skin with his thumb, whispering, “Thank you, stranger.” With that, he turned and walked away.

“We’re not really.” Hesiat blurted, his tone colored with impulsiveness. Oly looked over his shoulder. “Strangers. We aren’t strangers anymore.”

Oly’s brows shot up, then he tipped his head back and laughed. “My, he can flirt!” Oly teased. Hesiat tilted his head to the side and smiled. Oly lowered his eyes again with a sly smile. “Was that an invitation to your bed?”

Hesiat seemed to genuinely consider it, but only offered in return, “Do you want it to be?”

Oly walked back over to Hesiat, put his hand on the back of his neck, and pulled him down just enough to kiss him fully on the lips this time. Hesiat stiffened. Just for a moment though, and then he melted, wrapping an arm around Oly’s waist. He waited one, two heartbeats longer, Hesiat parted his lips to take it farther, and Oly chose that moment to breeze out of his arms.

“It’s been a very long day,” Oly sighed, walking backwards, “I think I’d like to make my first impression on your sheets a little more… energetically. Goodnight, Hesiat.” He turned the corner to cut himself out of view, holding his hand to his chest to try and make it stop beating so damn fast.

There was a part of him still that screamed at him for denying Hesiat something he wanted, for beginning to service him and then revoking it. With Vendon and the rest so far away, however, it was hard to fear a strategy that was going so well. Taking it slow with Hesiat could only be good, right? It would be fine. He was doing fine.

Oly had successfully calmed himself down by the time he arrived at his own rooms, though he had to fight back a smile every time he thought of the kiss. Meeting other Aosans had been a wonderful surprise as well, and it was a relief to know his family was coping well with his disappearance. He’d known, rationally, that they would be looking for him. Over the past year,  there’d been some ugly voice in his head that insisted they’d been glad to be rid of the irresponsible prince, and they’d been all too happy to immediately replace him with his better-suited brother.

He sat down on the bed and took a deep breath, but he was pulled up short by the subtle glow of a pink scented candle, the tip of the wick burning orange in the dark. He got off his bed and slowly, warily approached, swallowing hard before speaking.

“Gilai, sokol, lian’barasha ha delach ks’Mana”

He flinched when the wick suddenly burst into flame. An unnaturally bright thing, he nervously glanced to the door and grabbed the stick so he could crouch behind the dresser instead. Only then did he direct his attention to the wall.

The message could only be as long as a wick had smoke, so the words were thankfully rather short. As for their visage, the light from the candle didn’t disperse evenly, rather it coalesced onto the wall in the form of glowing writing.

Do not get comfortable.

Do not delay until Sundenta lets you go.

If you wait too long to be useful, we will hunt you down.

With a collar, you cannot run away.

You can be replaced.

Oly blew out the candle with a shaking breath, the afterimage of the message twitching in the dark.