Zott was perched in a tree, watching over the Shak’s chamber. Summer had come, and his preferred hiding place was now choked with yellow-green leaves.

The Shak was lounging in his courtyard. Despite the setting sun, the summer warmth was still beating down on them. Rae had spent the last few days visiting the minor clans around Saoshak, checking on the yields of their summer hunts, and the growth of their crops. Now, he was free to relax in private, stripped of his formal robes, reading his letters, sipping tea…

And Zott was free too. Rather than following the Shak like a shade, constantly surveying their surroundings for threats, he could relax in his favourite tree.

“Are you comfortable up there?” Rae said.

He had long stopped startling when he noticed Zott’s presence. He looked up with a beaming smile before returning to his papers. That should have soothed Zott’s worries… but it only made them worse.

Little fool, don’t let your guard drop so much…

“I’m quite alright, my lord,” Zott called.

“Why not come sit here?” Rae got up, and cleared the second seat of the books and knickknacks which had been piled atop it.

Zott hesitated but he could hardly reject the offer, now that the Shak had gone to such efforts. Zott shifted the chair, to have a better view of the surrounding courtyard, earning a chuckle from Rae.

“Even now, you can’t relax,” he stated.

“I’m here to perform a duty, after all,” Zott said.

Rae smiled and returned his attention to his letters.

Soon afternoon gave way to dusk, and Rae lit a few candles. A little later, the strain on his eyes became too great, and he started tidying.

“Will the maids not handle that?” Zott asked.

“I’d rather not be disturbed while I sleep,” Rae explained, and Zott scoffed.

Did you not even consider ordering me to clean up after you?

Silence passed between them.

“Have the Ashems written to you recently?” Rae asked.

Zott knew who he was specifically asking about, but for some reason, he didn’t want to mention that person.

“My Duke wrote. It came four days ago,”

“Ah,” Rae said, not hiding his disappointment well, “is everyone doing well?”

“My Duke keeps personal matters to a minimum in his letters. But he didn’t mention any problems, so I’m sure all is well,”

It was a half truth. And Rae believed it. Zott had never felt the need to lie before. The truth was the truth. If he wanted to say it, he would. If he didn’t, he would stay silent.

But ever since he had noticed the Shak’s… interest… in Young Master Ven, Zott had been unsettled. He was more disturbed still, by how his nerves hitched, when Rae accepted the half-truth, sighed, and returned to tidying.

“Go to sleep. I’ll handle the mess,”

Rae raised his eyebrows, “there’s no need. I’m not so tired that-“

“Yes. You are. And you know I like to be kept busy. I’ll be quiet. Go get some rest,” Zott said, watching frustration, logic, gratitude and submission warring within Rae.

This was the only strategy that worked. Don’t listen to his excuses, ease his guilt, and make it clear what you expect of him. Go take care of yourself.

In a way, it was like talking with his Duke. Of course, Zott would never dare order his Duke around. His Duke knew best. Almost always. But sometimes even he benefited from some careful nudging.

My lord, please allow me.

My lord has given me so much. Let me ease your worries, just this once.

Rest well, my lord. Leave everything to me.

Zott may be a foolish beast, but he at least understood this.

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Zott’s strategy might have worked a little too well.

The next day, Rae had few duties. By the afternoon, he had nothing left to do.

“I’m thinking of going to the spa,” Rae said.

Zott cringed. The spa was the caves where Bejuk had built his thermal baths. Commissioned for the previous Shak, they now belonged to Rae.

But it had been a few months since they had been last used. That was the second time Zott had made an attempt on Rae’s life.

“Why not wait till that useless cousin of yours returns?”

“Because I fancy going there now, why? Are you worried?”

Zott was worried. The palace was guarded, but not impregnable. And wandering the forest? That was an unnecessary risk. Foolish.

“Do you want to join me?”

The trail to the spa had grown cool and dry in the summer months, with a gentle, green-hued shade. Zott followed the Shak at a leisurely pace.

Rae lit a torch and handed it to him, “ it’s dark, and a little slippery inside. Be careful,”

It was such a queer place. So warm, tinged yellow with flickering torch light. A rich, earthy mist clung to every surface.

Illuminated by his own light, Rae was grinning at him.

“What do you think? Are you getting in?”

“I’ll stand guard,”

“No need to be so rigid, there’s nothing to fear,” Rae said, undoing clasps, and dropping his outerwear in a heap at his feet. He was now dressed in nothing but a cream undershirt.

“Are you feeling alright? You’re making a funny face,”

Zott turned away. He hesitated for a moment, before stripping off his own outerwear. His skin was already damp from the mist which permeated the cavern. Where Zott was standing, a current of air flowed between the cave entrance and the hole in the roof of the furthest chamber.

There was a splash and a gasp.

“It’s so warm!” Rae cried, submerged up to his waist, “Get in!”

Zott’s eyes fell on the Shak’s bare chest, his wiry muscles, his pink…

Zott leapt into the water, sitting on the smooth bottom. So deep the water reached his ears. He let out a hiss when the tingling heat hit him.

“It’s nice, right?” Rae said, lowering himself to a sitting position. The tips of his hair, tied in a messy topknot, grazed the water’s surface and clung to his neck.

“Your hair,” Zott said.

“Oh!” Rae touched it, a troubled expression on his face, “it doesn’t matter if it gets wet, it’s not like I’ll be meeting with anyone later,”

Once he had noticed, the thought wouldn’t leave Zott’s head. The two of them, walking the long way down the mountain in the setting sun, Rae shivering, refusing to ask for help...

“If it’s wet, you’ll catch cold later. Allow me,”

Once again, Rae acquiesced. Zott was getting good at this.

Trying not to be distracted by Rae’s pale skin, the curve of his neck and shoulders, or their proximity, Zott pulled the pin from Rae’s hair. He caught the hair before it hit the water, smoothing it between his fingers. Then, he teased it into a much neater, much tighter, topknot.

Rae made a humming sound and Zott paused, “too tight?”

“No,” Rae said, his ears burning red, “I was just thinking, I really need to learn how to do it neatly myself. The both of you are so much better at it than me,”

The both of you? Myself. And master Ven.

Zott was well trained in self-discipline, so whatever emotion was stirring in his guts, he strangled it to death. He finished fixing the Shak’s hair and then moved to the edge of the cavern. The cool, smooth stone against his back provided a pleasing contrast to the warmth elsewhere.

If the Shak noticed his discomfort, he didn’t put words to it. They sat for over an hour, heads leaned back, watching the steam rise from their bodies to the cave’s uneven ceiling.

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When Zott wasn’t shadowing the Shak, fussing over his hair and keeping him company, he had a small, bare room in the Ashem residence adjacent to the palace. Being the only Ashem clansman present, the residence took on a ghostly, melancholy atmosphere that suited Zott well.

He didn’t need for servants. Often, he ate with the Shak, and if he didn’t, he could provide for himself. On this particular day, he was picking at some smoked fish, while looking over a letter.

Zott Wolavu,

The family are all well, but the symptoms are growing in severity, and more and more in the outlying settlements are growing infected. It’s unclear whether it originated from the plains or the sands. And the symptoms are unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

Duke Bejuk has agreed to send his best healers to investigate.

Don’t do anything foolish, my father is already losing enough sleep. Whatever is happening on our borders, it’s a matter for the healers. You might be a loyal beast, but you’ll be useless here.

Focus on your assigned duties. Protect the Shak. If any harm comes to him, I’ll blame you.

Don’t fail,

Ven Ashem

Until earlier this year, Zott had never received a letter from young master Ven. They were seldom far apart, Zott being tasked with watching over the young master when Duke Ashem was absent. If they weren’t together, the other faded to a non-entity. They were rarely at odds, more due to Zott’s endurance than Ven’s lenience. But they could hardly be called friends.

Suddenly, a message was being carried across the mountains on an almost weekly basis. Sometimes, Ven would send a second letter before Zott had finished responding to the first.

This was just what had happened this time. Zott had made a promise to secretly send regular, detailed reports on the goings on in the Shak’s camp. And the well-being of the Shak. In exchange, Ven would update him on the state of affairs in Camp Ashem.

Zott was already falling behind, so he took out a pen and ink and started writing.

Young Master,

I appreciate your insights on the matters in Camp Ashem. As for my own report:

The target has just returned from surveying the minor clans. By the end of the week, the Kaolin are expected to arrive. He is healthy and in good spirits. When young master Kaolin returns, he wishes to go hunting for game in the deep valley. Of course. I will ensure the Shak doesn’t meet with any danger.

Outside of this, there is nothing else to share. I will write again when there is more.

Zott,

Once it was committed to ink, Zott could relax. Coming up with things to write was difficult, since his lovelorn young master was insatiable.

At first, he tried to note the things he knew the young master would observe in the Shak. His smile, the gentle curve of his lips. The creased corners of his eyes when his smiled. The careful, graceful quality each of his movements held…

This line of thought was too dangerous. Instead of the apathy of a stalking predator, if temporarily neutralised, there was delight in noticing these things. And once he realised this, it was a rare emotion Zott couldn’t kill.

Worse, he was sure, with throat squeezing guilt, that Ven would somehow discovery this. Somehow, he would see it in the ink of the short, clinical reports he sent. Then, he would call Zott back to Camp Ashem. Or worse! Come to the Shak’s camp, and steal all the Shak’s attention once again.

As things were, Rae would call Zott down from his hiding places for tea, or invite Zott to take a bath with him, but that would all end if Ven were here. This Zott knew.

It was the most selfish, disloyal thought Zott had ever had. But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking it.