Rae was woken by the gentle warmth of summer filtering through his curtains. He stretched by the window and watched the butterflies enjoying his courtyard.

His courtyard. Months had passed, and that phrasing had settled into normalcy.

Despite everything that had once happened here, the Shak’s camp still had its beauty.

A basin of warm water was already prepared for him. The palace maids were already going about their work as he was dozing. He stripped off his cotton sleep shirt and cleaned himself of the night’s sweats.

His sleep—once plagued by dreams of tiny bodies, of his father’s grey face, of the cliff—had mostly returned to normal. His days were mostly busy, he was well-fed. And while he was still plagued by the occasional pang of loneliness, he was rarely far from good company.

The greatest balm to those occasional heartaches was reminding himself that he had kissed someone. He was someone who had been kissed!

He received missives from Camp Ashem often: sweet notes of affection, snippets copied from poetry books, little sketches. It almost surprised him on the days when the messengers brought the dry provincial reports penned by Duke Ashem.

Yes.

Things were good.

Better than he had ever dared hope things would go when he first returned to this place.

Rae combed and tied his hair with his favourite silk ribbon. Then, he heard familiar footsteps outside.

“The cook told me what they have planned for dinner today,” Laela sang, as she balanced a tray of steaming food, “you’ll be happy when you find out,”

“Oh?” Rae asked.

The fruits of the forest were at their finish at this time of year, and the Shak received the very finest of all.

Laela was beaming, and Rae couldn’t help but smile back.

“Pheasant! Pheasant soup! It’s your favourite, isn’t it?”

Pheasant was Rae’s meat of choice, so of course he was happy.

“But…” he wondered, “I had asked for them to save any pheasant for when the Kaolins arrive, will we have enough?”

“Worry not, our fortunes have been good this year, and pheasant is plentiful. Did you not see so yourself, when you toured the valleys?”

Rae had seen so. His worries were alleviated, and he took a spoonful of soup.

The facade of formality had long since fallen between Rae and Laela, so Rae didn’t think it odd that she lingered after delivering the meal. What was odd was how quiet she was, how her expression had turned so solemn.

“Have you heard anything from Gaori? The last letter was more than a week ago,” she asked.

Ah! Rae thought. I understand that feeling.

“Mine was a little longer ago than that, but he said they were preparing to leave in the next few days. My uncle can be so fussy sometimes, and my aunt can’t help but indulge him; Gaori’s probably stressed out of his mind trying to get everything in order,” Rae smiled, simply from thinking of his aunt and uncle.

“What are they like? As people, I mean,” Laela asked.

“My aunt is gentle and kind. The kindest woman you’ve ever met,”

“And your uncle?”

“He’s also kind and good-natured. He never has a bad thing to say about anyone. But he has a few flaws: he’ll do anything to get out of hard work. And he makes terrible jokes. Other than that, you have nothing to worry about,”

Rae watched the tension built up inside Laela finally release.

“They’re not strict at all?

Rae scoffed, “They’re nothing like Duke Ashem. Or Duke Bejuk, for that matter. I promise,”

The absurd notion of the Kaolins being strict, had put Rae in a jovial mood. Being reassured, Laela tended towards silliness too. So, they shared the food and chatted until a more senior maid came to drag her away.

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That morning, Rae met with the store-master who assured him that they had enough pheasant to enjoy the greatest banquet the camp had ever seen.

“How is that so?” Rae asked, “I didn’t issue any orders to hunt more than our usual amount,”

“Did you not send a servant a few weeks ago?”

The store-master was a stocky, red-faced fellow who had made the Shak’s camp his home for more than fifty years. Rae hadn’t known him when he was young, but he had spoken generously of the late Kaolin Shana.

When Rae didn’t respond immediately to his question, his face fell.

“Have I been misinformed, your majesty?”

Rae smiled, “do not fret. I was merely annoyed at myself for forgetting. Pheasant is truly my favourite, so it's good you've ordered more be brought in,”

Before more of his inner thoughts showed on his face, Rae bid the store-master farewell.

That Ashem spy… He’s really going above and beyond…

The spy, or the beast; as Ven had once called him, made for decent company. Especially when Goari was away. The Shak’s camp was no longer lacking in friendly faces but few were as readily available for conversation as Zott. He often spent whole days lurking somewhere in Rae’s sight-line, as if stalking some prized game.

Rae would tease and converse, but he wouldn’t be fooled. Zott was more adept than Rae had expected at pretending to be a tamed beast. But Rae knew where his loyalty lay. Should the moment come that Rae’s truce with Duke Ashem be overturned, Zott would be the blade at his throat.

Rae wandered the palace, hoping he would spot the man crouched in a dark corner or hiding in a tree, but there was no sign of him. Rae sighed. It was so easy to find him when he was after some company, but whenever there was anything important…

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Rae searched the gardens, then the reception halls, then the storerooms. He even checked the vacated Shana’s palace, all its finery packed safely away, before heading into the forest.

It wasn’t long before he came across the faint outlines of boot-prints. Those boots that Zott always wore. Some nights ago, when Rae had asked about them, he had said they were a gift from a Duke Ashem, who had bought them from an imperial scouting mission that wandered close to their home.

Since the incident in the spring, Rae had ventured into the forest a few times. But always while occupied with something enjoyable. Hunting small game, entertaining Gaori…

Walking between the long shadows, breathing dry, earthy air, catching flickers of movement amongst the leaves… it all brought back unwelcome thoughts.

Damn it, Zott. What are you doing out here?

He never dared to wonder as to whether Nana survived. Even if she had, they would never meet again. And he was certain she hadn’t…

There was a thud, and Rae startled. He drew his sword before the black mass before him focused into a familiar shape.

“So jumpy. But if I wanted you dead, it would already be too late,” Zott said.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Rae scowled.

Zott smirked, his amber eyes glistening, “did I frighten you?”

Rae didn’t dignify that with an answer.

“If you’re going to wander about like a lost lamb. Don’t blame me when a wolf finds you. You have the survival instincts of an earth-tiller from the empire,”

An earth-tiller?! Those thoughtless drones that like clockwork tore up the southern plains, growing who knows what? Those who rejected the gifts of the wilds and mountains. Those who dwelled in the lands furthest from the heavens?

Rae quelled his anger, stamping it out like a smouldering fire.

“Forget that, I’ve something to ask you. Why are you sneaking around acting like my servant?”

“I thought you’d prefer I tell people that… Rather than the truth…”

The truth: I’m a spy sent by the Ashem’s to watch over the young and inexperienced Shak.

Wasn’t this meant to be a foolish beast. Why was he suddenly running circles around Rae? Rae, who could feel embarrassment rising in his cheeks, who couldn’t but raise his voice in protest.

“I want to know what my preference for pheasant meat has to do with you and your mission?”

“You like it don’t you?” Zott shrugged, before turning his back, “What does it matter if I help you out once in a while?”

He wasn’t going to get away before Rae gave him an earful! It was the perfect time for it too, deep in the forest where no one could hear them.

He grabbed Zott’s coat and tugged him back.

“Who says-!”-Before Rae could finish his complaint, he was thrown off balance.

Oof! His back was slammed into a tree.

Golden eyes. Like a snake’s. Rae’s legs felt as weak as willow vines.

“Have you forgotten who you’re dealing with?”

Rae squirmed, but the hands on him were like a vice. A bruising grip, weight baring down on him, the glint of teeth…

“No,” Rae gasped. He was staring up at the beast, “No, I remember,”

“I might be tolerating you for now. But don’t forget. You’re not my ally. You’re not my Lord. And you’re not a child. So I have no reason not to go easy on you,” Zott’s voice was even, and his eyes relentless.

“Get your hands off me,” Rae said, glaring, filled with indignant fury.

For a moment, Zott’s grip on him tightened, and the tension in his jaw intensified.

Then, he released Rae. He moved away as if he’d been leering over a venomous snake.

“Go back to the palace, it’s almost sunset,”

Before Rae could regain his bearings, the beast had already darted off into the trees.

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