Jale tried to fight the exhaustion that was starting to press heavily on his shoulders. He needed to sleep where he wasn't disturbed and where his body could wake up on its own accord when it was ready and energized. He wasn't going to get it though.

He glided towards the small table at the side of the room, strategically placed where it was half inside and half on the balcony. Its surface was decorated with mother of pearl but its beauty was taken for granted, never truly appreciated as it always held an expensive range of wines, spirits and liqueurs.

Jale poured a glass of wine and moved to the balcony to wait. Before he could prepare for his journey, he had to speak with Teal first. Only moments before, he had sent one of his servants to summon Teal to his quarters. This was going to be the hard part.

Jale's hand swayed ever so slightly, but he otherwise believed he was doing a good job at disguising just how many glasses of wine he had already polished off. He topped up his glass intending to head for his chaise lounge on his balcony. He stopped, second thoughts getting the better of him, and he turned back and picked up the jug of wine as well.

Two steps out onto the balcony and Jale wished he had left the jug on the table for it was at that moment, Teal stepped out of the shadows to stand before him.

The jug jolted out of Jale's hands and smashed to the floor. It must have been his drunk imagination. From the corner of his vision, Teal had appeared as a predator stepping out of the darkness ready to attack.

"For all the Gods of Eternity!" Jale cursed.

Teal didn't respond. He stood squarely in front of Jale while another of Jale's servants scuttled forward to clean up the mess.

"How did you get here?" Jale asked, wiping his now free hand over his clothes to ensure they were clean. Jale paused and rolled his eyes. "Don't even bother. Why am I even asking? I bet you climbed up the side of the tower and over my balcony."

A smile reached Teal's lips, and Jale's eyes widened. "I was joking!" He tapped his servant on the shoulder. "Leave it. Go and inform the other servant that Teal is already here."

Without any argument, the servant darted out the door leaving Teal and Jale alone. They faced each other silently, an obvious unease between them. Since Teal had leapt out of the tree to save Lana and shifted, they had not had a chance to talk. The horrible truth was that they would only get this chance before everything changed the next day.

"They say that tigers are meant to be able to sneak up on their prey. Is that what you were planning?" Jale asked, his voice quiet with warning.

A loud peal of laughter erupted deep from Teal’s chest.

"I originally came here intending to be angry with you for not telling me what you and the Emperor know about the Lombock and myself." He stepped towards Jale with such sudden stealth and sharpness that Jale nearly took a step back. His body certainly swayed in the direction before his mind could prevent him from doing so.

Teal quirked an eyebrow. "Surely you're not scared of me now, are you?" He reached down and took Jale's hand in a playful manner, humor dancing in his eyes while he brought the back of Jale's hand to his lips.

Jale snatched his hand away. "Don't mock me!" He turned away and moved towards his originally intended destination, his long lounge chaise. "You've had an eventful couple of days," Jale began, successfully moving the conversation in the direction he wanted. He sat down and made himself comfortable. "I thought you would still be with Lana."

Teal sat on the end of the lounge. "I saw Lana earlier this evening with Ralen. You've never questioned his fighting abilities before, especially considering his past?"

Jale lifted an eyebrow. "And just what do you know about his past?"

Teal laughed. "Not much to be honest. He is a man with many secrets just like this palace, I find."

"You're only just figuring that out now?" Jale chuckled before gulping down half a glass of his wine.

"I think I have discovered one though."

“Oh, do you?”

Teal’s expression turned coy. "I didn't know much until he revealed something earlier today. It wasn't until I was sitting here waiting for you that I realized. Some secrets are easier to fathom than others, although I have no idea why Ralen's past would be so hush, hush."

Jale sighed. It was obvious Teal knew. "Originally, it wasn't so orthodox to have such a person, or I should say, a person of such a position to be part of the harem. The image the Empress Dowager wanted to create was of a pure Empress solely devoted to the Emperor. She wasn't meant to come with her own lover in tow as well."

"So," Teal nodded. "Let me guess, Empress Crael made it a condition that Ralen would be able to stay involved with her once she found out about you and the Emperor."

"I've always found your intelligence so sexy," Jale stated. "It worked out quite well though, wouldn't you agree? As her personal body guard, Ralen was the one who rode with her so she could meet the Emperor. We knew about him from the very first day we met the Empress. It was her honesty and frankness that really sealed the deal so to speak for myself."

Seeming to be pleased with his honesty so far, Teal joined him on the chaise and leaned down. He picked up Jale’s foot and started to massage it.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing," Jale said. "I'm quite aware that you want to try to manipulate me." Inside though, Jale was relieved. Despite the events of the past few days, Teal appeared to still be his usual self; gentle, caring and full of wit, although slightly less innocent.

"Will it work?" Teal asked with a smile, and when Jale didn't respond, Teal's voice turned serious. "I overheard some of your conversation with Delba earlier. Is she going to be okay?"

"Just how much did you hear exactly?" Jale asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Not enough to know what she has done to cause her to be so upset. She has done something to hurt the Emperor?" Teal asked.

"You're stepping onto a dangerous topic, one that I can't delve into just yet." Jale watched Teal keep his features even, but Jale wasn't about to give up for his need for information. Jale quickly continued, "I haven't even had a chance to talk to the Emperor about it. I might wait until we're on the road actually. Give him some time to think about how he's going to react so he won't do something impulsively."

"It must be quite bad then," Teal responded.

"What were you doing there anyway? Why were you eavesdropping?" Jale asked.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"It was not intentional. I had just woken up in Lana's chamber and heard the end of your conversation."

Jale did a doubletake. He had slept in Lana’s quarters?

"I went to the training grounds," Teal continued, "and Satner was not there."

Jale's lips pursed. "Yes, there have been some changes."

"Why?" Teal asked. His words came out with a hint of a demand.

Jale was silent, thinking best on how he was going to broach this topic. "I'm going to be honest with you. Satner's actions at The Summer Palace put Lana's life in jeopardy. His duty was to ensure the safety of the Emperor's entire party. Instead, he became distracted."

"Distracted?" Teal asked.

"He was climbing tress with you, was he not?"

"Then it's not just his fault, it's also mine," Teal responded.

"Do you like spending time with Satner?"

The look Teal gave Jale was condescending. "He's my best friend," he replied. "When I first came to the palace, I felt like I was on equal grounds with him."

"You shouldn't have," Jale said curtly. "You are above him. Does he treat you as an equal?"

"No. Of course not."

"Well, either way," Jale continued. "Satner acted inappropriately and failed at his position. He has been demoted and has been given other duties. He has been ordered to stay away from you."

"What!" Teal gasped, letting go of Jale’s foot and rising to his feet. "You have no right! He is my best friend!"

Jale rose to his feet as well and almost accusingly asked, "Your attention should always and only be on the Emperor. Were you aware that Satner had feelings for you?"

"No?!" Teal stated surprised. “You can’t be serious!”

"Yes, I am. He is lucky the Emperor didn't punish him in a more severe way. Do you remember what I told you on the ship when I first went over the details of your contract, Teal? No one else but the Emperor and the harem, Teal. No one attempts to touch the harem!"

"Satner never did anything,” Teal said hurriedly, and Jale could hear the panic in Teal’s voice.

Jale's eyes narrowed and he spoke firmly, "Sit down.” He waited for Teal to follow his instructions before he continued. He saw Teal fight with himself, but after a pause, he sat back down on Jale’s chaise. “Do not fear. Satner is young, and he has always served the Emperor well in the past. It was a simple lapse in his judgement. While the punishment might seem severe to you, he will be given the opportunity to redeem himself in the future if he works hard."

"That is good to know. But what about our friendship?"

"You need to stay away from him for the time being," Jale advised. "Lana could have been killed because of his mistake."

“But I was there to save her,” Teal argued back.

“Yes, you were and for that we will be ever thankful,” Jale told him. He tried to turn the conversation. “It was remarkable to see what you did. To see you shift into the tiger.”

Teal didn’t answer. He simply stared at Jale.

"The Emperor and I have discussed what happened. Obviously, you acted differently after you changed back from the tiger. Confident, powerful and assertive but that's not the important part, is it?"

Teal shook his head.

"The fact that you shapeshifted into a tiger that attacked and killed is the problem. Not only do we have a Lombock who will kill, we also have a tiger who will kill when you led us to believe the tiger was meant to stop you from killing."

Teal shrugged. "Is that why you're quickly drinking yourself into a drunken stupor? Because you think I lied to you?"

Jale quickly looked away. "No, that's not why I'm..." he looked at his near empty glass and then back at Teal. "We'll discuss that later. Back to the tiger."

“Today was a first for me too,” Teal said. “Today was the first time I’ve been aware that I’ve changed. In the past, I always thought it was me but now, I don’t know if it was my Lombock self attacking, or if I shifted and it was in fact the tiger attacking. I really don’t know. Whichever it was, all I know is that I know the tiger, the presence, for that’s what the presence is, Jale. All it wanted to do was to protect Lana and myself and, in order to do so, we had to kill."

“We,” Jale muttered to himself.

A silence fell between them.

“I need to know what’s going on Jale so I can help more,” Teal stated. “Who was responsible for the attack and what is the Emperor going to do?" Teal asked.

Jale sighed. This was the part he was not looking forward to. "He and I will leave tomorrow with quite a significant contingent of men and ride to where we think the person responsible for this attack is hiding." Jale paused and then continued, "You are to stay here and protect the harem and most importantly, the Empress."

Jale watched Teal try to hide the disappointment that flashed over his face. "You will be gone quite a while then."

"A couple of months," Jale agreed.

Teal looked Jale dead in the eyes. "I should come with you instead. To help protect the both of you."

Jale quickly shook his head. "While that does sound like the best scenario, it's not. You are best here, looking after the harem and the Emperor's heir. You've proved that you are capable of doing just that, and that's what the Emperor wishes for you to do."

"And what about you and the Emperor though? Who is going to look after the pair of you?"

Jale laughed. "We are more than capable?"

"Aaah yes, yes, Jale the warrior soldier who fought in the Emperor's army and somehow got the Emperor to fall in love with him." Teal continued stepped closer to him. "Just who are you, Jale? And how did you win over the Emperor's heart."

Here it was. He was going to have to tell Teal of his past. If he wanted Teal to continue to help and to look after the Empress, he would have to tell him. Jale spoke without blinking. "Who am I? I am Prince Yernal's cousin and currently, since the disappearance of the youngest twin brother and sister, I’m about tenth in line to the throne of the Keglar Kingdom."

Teal's whole body startled. "What?!"

"You heard me," Jale said without any emotion.

"But!? How? Who?" Teal shook his head. "Does anyone else know?"

"Yes," Jale said. "Only a small group of people though. The Emperor of course, the Empress, Galton and Delba, and a couple of others." Jale watched Teal's face for his reaction.

"Delba?!" Teal blurted with surprise. "That would appear a bit dangerous considering her tendency for gossip."

"She knows her life is forfeit if she ever revealed so and she wouldn't, she was there."

"There?" Teal asked.

"Do you really want to know, Teal? Do you want to know how the Emperor and I came to be, how I came to reside within these palace walls and not my own small palace somewhere deep in the Keglar Kingdom?”

"Yes," Teal said eagerly. "Does Prince Yernal know? Is that why he's always horrible when he comes here?"

Jale waved Teal off. "You're asking the wrong questions. Get comfortable," he ordered. "It's a long story. Prince Yernal does not know who I am. As far as he's aware, his cousin died at the Arina Pass after being inflicted with the plague. Prince Yernal and the rest of the family have not seen me since I was twelve, long before all that was supposed to have happened. There is no way they would be able to recognize me and they never have. The only other people to know I'm alive is my mother and my wife."

"Wife? You have a wife? Where is she? And your parents?" Teal asked. "They are brother or sister to the King of The Keglar Kingdom?"

Jale rose to his feet and retrieved more wine and a glass for Teal. He walked back slowly, handing Teal the glass as he walked past. His thoughts swirled inside his head, drawing on memories that had long been hidden away. Events and the order they had occurred flashed before his mind's eye as he settled comfortably on his seat a short distance away from Teal, the alcohol not helping to organize them.

Teal waited patiently, and Jale was sure Teal could see the conflict on his face. For Jale, he was digging up a past he had pushed to the darkest corners of his mind.

"My mother," Jale said softly. "She knows that I am still alive. The Gods truly blessed me there, she keeps my secret hidden. I could not let her think that I had died, but to keep my secret secure, the rest of the family thinks otherwise. I travel to meet her every second year. She has no idea where I truly reside, what name I use now, and who I have devoted my life to. My wife," Jale continued, "is my long-time friend from my childhood. She fell on desperate times with a man and to prevent her from falling into disgrace, I married her and now she and her bastard child live under different names at Cleaven Estate."

"Your real name is not even Jale, is it?" Teal asked. "You're really a Prince, in hiding, and you have brothers and sisters as well?"

"Two younger brothers and one sister. I haven't seen either of them since..." Jale's head turned away. After several moments, Jale snapped his head back to Teal. "Are you sure you want to hear this? Are you sure you want to know? It is true, the Emperor and I will leave tomorrow and it will be a dangerous journey. We may not return.” Jale leaned forward. “But if you hear this story, your opinion of the Emperor may change. Your opinion of me might change. You may not see either of us in the same way ever again, but if things go wrong for us, it's important that you know. It will be necessary for the future heir and you will be able to make the right choices to help the empire."

Teal nodded slowly. "I would like to know, Jale." He stayed where he was, seeming to be afraid to move closer in case it scared Jale off and the moment was lost forever.

Jale settled on the lounge, arranging his clothes so he could sit comfortably. He took one last sip of his wine and lowered it to the armrest. He swallowed the wine, a long pause before he did so. "Well then, to tell this story I need to go back ten years. Let me begin..."