Prince Leo had cause for joy and cause for sadness. He quickly mastered the training program. He was among the first, an outstanding mage who could already resist evil forces, influence crops and the weather, and cure most diseases.

He was itching to get home and get to work as soon as possible.
The whole world was waiting for wizard help. There were so many problems to solve, it was hard to count them all. There was work to be done for years to come.

But there was also cause for sadness - the young slave had disappeared. In vain, Leo wandered the corridors, bribed servants, and searched for traces of the man - it was as if he had vanished into thin air. Leo began to suspect that the prince had found out about his antics and punished him, perhaps sold him somewhere or banished him.

But he could only find that out from the prince himself, and they had never crossed paths again since that night they had spoken. The prince saw from afar that Galh continued to wear the veil, and thought that his young slave strove to imitate him in everything. He even drew a mole on his face in the same spot.

Love can be so painful. How could the prince get rid of his faithful slave, the man who loved him so much. Prince Leo was ready to talk to Galh again. He made a formal request and a servant came for him a couple of days later in the evening.

«Master will see you now.»

Leo knocked on the massive white bedroom doors. He stood in front of them for quite some time, looking at the ornate patterns he had simply not noticed before.

Would he see Galh’s face tonight?

Would it make any difference?

The door opened, and in the light of the bright candles he saw the prince again. He was dressed in a formal long robe of white and gold. There was no veil over his face.

«I was going to take a bath, so try to be brief,» Galh said with a smile.

«Yes... I... the thing is, I’m looking for someone.»

«Really?» Galh crossed his arms over his chest.

Leo no longer saw him as an arrogant young man. He already knew that Prince Galh was extremely intelligent, kind, and perceptive.

«This is your servant, the young servant who wears the veil.»

«Hmm? Why do you need him?»

Indeed. Why does he need him? Leo wanted to ask himself the same question, but it was too late.

He sighed heavily. He have to confess.

«I hadn’t seen him in a long time, and I was worried about him. He’s left the palace?»

«Well, you could say that,» the prince answered incomprehensibly and went behind the screen.

While Leo was struggling to think how to proceed, Galh began to untie his belt. He felt strangely excited, knowing that Leo was standing there watching his seductive movements.

«Will the prince tell me where the young slave is?»

«Do you know his name?»

«...»

No, he didn’t know even that little thing.

«How old is he? What are his hobbies? Even though he’s a slave, but a very good one, what do you know about him?»

Leo could only remain silent and condemn himself.

«What kind of relationship are you in?»

«...»

The garments restraining him fell to his feet one by one, and the prince stepped over them to sink into the hot water.

Leo watched the performance without looking away. But he experienced deja vu. He kept thinking it was the young slave... Did he miss him that much? It was strange for Prince Leo to think of one man for so long.

«He was never a slave,» Galh said from behind the screen.

«Not a slave?»

«No, he is free and he left of his own free will.»

«Then...»

«How do you find him?»

«How do I find him? Where did he go?»

«Wherever his heart tells him to go. If he wants to, he will find you. But you must show your sincerity, a man incapable of love...»

Leo flinched. Weren’t those the words he said that night? That he was incapable of love.

The whole thing gave him a headache. A prince who didn’t want him anymore, a young slave who wasn’t a slave at all and left him too.

«Are you going home tomorrow?»

«Yes, after receiving the staff.»

«Work hard for your country.»

«I will,» the prince bowed and slowly walked out the door.

He wandered down the dark corridor, feeling strangely empty. He had thought he was the master of avoiding feeling, but the young man was even more cruel than he was. Just like that, he left without saying a word...left him alone...left him behind as if he were garbage.

It’s a very unpleasant feeling.

The next day he went to an initiation ceremony where all the mages, following the prince, took an oath to value and protect life, and then all received their own magic staffs.

He and the little boy graduated together and returned home in quick succession. There was much to do, and Prince Leo was bogged down with the cares of his people. A month later, Rau’s palanquin appeared on the horizon.

«I am checking on my disciples,» said Galh affably as he descended from the palanquin. «Were there insurmountable difficulties?

Leo nodded in greeting.

«The weather is not yet so smooth,» he replied, «some problems with diseases are not yet within my power...

«Oh, so I didn’t come all this way for nothing. But it’s impressive what I’ve seen. You’ve already done a lot. I remember that the Saui have always been famous for their soil. You have rich crops this year. If you keep them from unhealthy fluctuations in moisture, your country will prosper.»

«Thank you, Your Majesty!» Leo was really happy about this praise, because he was working like hell day and night.

«Oh, I think your sincerity has become much greater,» the prince said meaningfully, and made his way inside the castle. «Where’s the little one?»

His youngest apprentice ran out to meet the prince. Although the boy had learned a lot, he could not handle a large staff, so the prince brought him a small magic wand.

The child was overjoyed, and his parents stood embarrassed, biting their lips and looking at each other.

When Prince Galh left, after explaining the incomprehensible aspects of the wizards service to the people, his nephew and his wife grabbed Leo by the arms.

«Was that the prince?!»

«Well, yes, Galh, what wrong?»

The two people looked at each other again and chuckled.

«What’s the matter?»

«It was him, he healed our boy, and he came to our rescue then! How can it be that it was Prince Galh?!»

«Are you sure?!»

«Dear Uncle, we know you don’t recognize faces, but were quite sure it was the Prince himself. Prince Galh himself came to save our son!»