When Benjamin emerged from the bathroom, he was dressed in a white robe, tied tightly at the waist to cover every inch of his skin. Charles was already waiting on the deck, now dressed in his own robe and carrying a stack of fresh towels. He motioned for Benjamin to follow him. 

They descended the wooden-railed path together, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the damp mountain air. Near the edge of the secluded spring, a long wooden bench sat on uneven ground. 

Benjamin watched Charles from the corner of his eye. As soon as the Prince began to disrobe himself, Benjamin spun around. He waited, ears straining for the sound of water splashing, signaling that Charles was submerged. Only then did Benjamin wrap a small towel around his waist and shed his robe. He stepped into the steaming water, keeping his back to Charles as he discarded the towel and finally sat down.

Charles, however, hadn't been nearly as discreet. He had watched with curiosity as Benjamin disrobed. The doctor was tall and lean, but possessed a surprising amount of muscle. His skin was smooth, and as he moved, the lines of his body were every bit as graceful as Charles had imagined. Charles bit his lip, trying to keep his mind from drifting back to the vivid, erotic descriptions from the novel Benjamin was reading.

"I didn't expect you to be so shy, Doctor," Charles remarked nonchalantly. "As a physician, haven't you seen everything there is to see?"

"I'm not at work right now," Benjamin replied, his face blushing.

"Right. We're here to rest and recover from work," Charles conceded. "The minerals in these springs, they're excellent for soothing muscle tension and joint inflammation. You probably know better than I do, don't you?"

Benjamin nodded, letting the water rise to his chin. "I do. Thank you for bringing me here. It's been a long time since I've been able to visit a hot spring."

"When was the last time?"

"About a year ago."

"Where at?"

"South Xenos. There wasn't an inn or anything. It was just a natural spring we found on the road. We stopped there to wash and rest for a few hours."

Charles opened one eye, his interest piqued. "Who did you go with?"

"Colleagues from back then. There were four of us."

"Men and women?"

"Just men," Benjamin answered simply.

"Were you this shy then, too?" Charles asked. "Did you get naked in front of them?"

Benjamin looked at him as if the question were absurd. "I mean... aren't you supposed to be naked to properly experience a hot spring? I'm naked right now, aren't I?"

Charles nodded as if he were bored with the answer, but he couldn't deny he was jealous. He pictured Benjamin in a wild, remote spring, surrounded by three other men who had seen every inch of him. 

The two men both leaned against the walls of the spring and closed their eyes with small towels on their foreheads. After a long silence, Benjamin asked, "Have you ever worked hard for something, thinking you'd feel a sense of accomplishment, but then you get there and... it just doesn't feel that way..."

He paused before continuing, "How is it really supposed to feel when you've accomplished your dream?" He paused again. "What are you supposed to do after you've accomplished everything that you've wanted and... you're not sure if there's anything else you want to do?"

Charles nodded his head. He listened carefully to the doctor who was now confiding in him and sharing his innermost thoughts, thoughts that Charles knew had weighed him down for some time.

"Hmm… ," Charles said, unsure how to answer. " To be honest, I'm not sure how to answer that. Why do you ask?"

"Since I was young, I've always wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to help people. I learned how to make herbal medicine from my mother when I was younger.

"She opened an apothecary and after retiring from the military, my dad spent most of his time helping my mother and learned to grow the herbs she used in her medicine. It was always a dream of mine to open a clinic next to my mom's apothecary and live near my parents. I always thought that if I ever have children, we'd visit my parents often.

"With that said, I've opened my clinic... It's been almost half a year now. But… I feel… " Benjamin trailed off, not finishing his sentence. "What are your dreams? Is there anything you've always wanted and worked towards?" 

"No one's asked me that before…" Charles replied slowly as he processed the question. "I'll have to think about it some more."

After a short pause, Charles asked, "Since you've always wanted to open a clinic, doesn't it mean you've accomplished what you've worked for your whole life? It's an impressive feat."

"I'm not really sure..." Benjamin said, flipping water with his hands.

 "Speaking of your parents, I realize I've never met them. Do you think I'll get the opportunity to do so?" Charles asked curiously. 

There was a short silence before Benjamin replied. "About that… both my parents passed away when I was younger. Their gravestones are on the back side of our land."

The fenced off area in the back with white pickets. Charles remembered. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"They were on their way to Obsidia to observe the annual military parade.They went every year. I had always joined them, but that year, I didn't want to go. My mother had just bought me a book about concocting herbal tinctures. I was so intent on staying back to experiment and make my own tinctures. On the way to Obsidia, the carriage crashed and tipped over on a mountain pass. There were no survivors..."

Benjamin was looking down at his knees and huddled into them.

"I'm so sorry. My deepest condolences to you. That must have been difficult for you as a child..." Charles said softly.

Benjamin kept quiet.

"I'd like to visit your parents, if you don't mind. They must be very proud of how their son has grown up to become a fine young man. And a talented and compassionate doctor, nonetheless, " Charles said, hoping to offer comforting words.

The corners of Benjamin's lips curved upward slightly as he nodded, still looking down past his knees at the clear spring waters.

"Is that why you left for Xenos and stayed away for so long?" Charles asked.

"I was always planning to study in Xenos. My parents wanted me to study there too. My mom is from Xenos, as I told you before. I just left sooner than I expected because of the circumstances. An older family friend from Xenos came over and helped me figure out the details." Benjamin replied.

"It must have been hard for you," Charles said, wanting to embrace Benjamin to comfort him.

"When I was studying and working, I met so many different kinds of people. Seeing them smile and laugh, it makes it all worthwhile. Interacting with all of them makes me feel... less lonely, I guess..."

Benjamin paused, and then looked up at the sky before continuing. "Sometimes I imagine laying on my deathbed... And... I wonder if I'll regret the different choices and decisions I've made throughout my life." 

"I've always tried to be sensible and do the right things, but honestly, sometimes... it doesn't feel that way," Benjamin paused, and then continued, his voice soft. "But, I know that if I had to go back, I probably would have made the same choices that have made me the person I am today..." 

Benjamin was now sitting huddled with his arms crossed over his knees that were brought to his chest, looking into the water. "I... I just want to live without any regrets... especially if death is right around the corner."

He speaks about his own death so casually, as if he lives in constant anticipation of it, as if something that he's used to. It's as if he's expecting his death anytime. Is he a man on the run? And, based on the reports we've gathered and from what he's told me, and from the way he even suffers in his sleep, he must have gone through something traumatic. I have to find a way to uncover the truth so that I can help him, Charles thought, as he tried to understand the life Benjamin lived through their conversations. 

"I'm sorry if I'm bringing you down with all this talk. It must be the hot spring flushing out my thoughts." Benjamin said, looking up at Charles with an apologetic smile. He hadn't spoken so honestly to anyone in a long time. He felt as if a weight had been lifted, just a little.

"I'm always here to lend an ear— whenever you want," Charles said.

If he talks to me about it, I hope he feels a bit better. If all I can provide is this small sense of relief, I'll do it.

He was glad that Benjamin, this person who had been closing himself off, was slowly opening up to him. He didn't know everything that was going on in Benjamin's life. But Charles knew that whatever it was, it must be dangerous.