Wolf King and his Fox Consort [BL]

Xiao Zai could tell Chu Yun was stalling.

They'd been soaking in the pool for minutes now, and all Chu Yun had done was thread water.

No one liked hearing the words "I need to tell you something", followed by a prolonged silence.

He was trying not to let his anxiety show, but his chest tightened each time Chu Yun swam over towards him with a conflicted expression on his face, only to swim away again to the other side of the pool.

"Have you changed your mind about talking with me?" he asked, when he finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

Chu Yun stopped his aimless swimming, and drifted over to Xiao Zai's side, his gaze intent but turned inwards. He was having some internal discussion with himself. By now, Xiao Zai was well aware of how that looked on his face.

Once Chu Yun reached his side, Xiao Zai looped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him against his chest. The two of them sat on the bench running around the pool's perimeter, letting the warm water lap at their shoulders.

Haltingly, Chu Yun asked, "what if I told you something that changed your view of me?"

Xiao Zai considered the question carefully. He could answer at once, and swarm Chu Yun with promises of undying love and loyalty -- which would be true, but wasn't what Chu Yun wanted to hear. He was never this faltering, this reticent.

Whatever he wanted to tell Xiao Zai was deeply personal.

"Why do you think it would change my view of you?"

Chu Yun looked up at him, his sharp features softened by the look of uncertainty in his dark eyes. "Because I'm ashamed of it."

Xiao Zai tipped Chu Yun's head back by the chin and kissed him softly on the lips. "I could never do anything less than love you," he whispered against Chu Yun's parted lips. "Whatever shame you feel, I'll help wash you clean."

Chu Yun slid a hand into Xiao Zai's hair and returned his kiss with twice the intensity. He was still apprehensive, but no longer afraid of Xiao Zai's reaction.

His gaze was locked with Xiao Zai's, as he began speaking. "I was eleven, when I killed someone for the first time..."

---

From a young age, Chu Yun showed signs of extraordinary ability. He began reading and writing much earlier than other children, and his young mind could come up with arguments that stumped even the adults who tutored him.

Which was why, even though his father was not Crown Prince, his Royal grandfather still paid him a lot of attention. To the point that when Chu Yun was eight, the King told his father that it would be best for his studies if he had lessons at the palace, with children older than him but who would be able to match his intellect.

Chu Yun's excelled in these lessons too. And for a time he held his grandfather the King in high regard, thinking that he cared for him, and his happiness, and that was why he'd asked his father for Chu Yun to spend more time at the palace.

Chu Yun loved everything about the royal palace in Lanzhou. From the airy rooms with fluttering drapes, sliding doors always open night and day to let in the breeze, to the lavish courtyards that seemed to be flourishing all year long -- he loved it all.

He became close with one of the boys who studied with him, A-Yin who was two years his senior. A-Yin was from a merchant family that had done very well for themselves. Even though they weren't nobles they were well-regarded in court.

The King kept a close eye on Chu Yun's progress as a student, encouraging him to pursue one subject instead of another. And ultimately shaping his interest in military strategy.

"Your cousins are as dull as rocks at the bottom of a lake," the King told Chu Yun one day, patting him on she shoulder. "No currents to sharpen them into weapons, no sun to illuminate their minds."

Chu Yun soaked up the praise like a plant, preening under his grandfather's attention. There was nothing he liked more than being praised by adults, being told how like them he already was -- despite his young age.

His grandfather was a old man, and his face was hardened with lines that made him look older still. He rarely smiled, but Chu Yun imagined he saw in him some warmth.

One day, his grandfather told him he'd be staying at the palace after his lessons, because they would be going on a trip.

Chu Yun could barely contain his excitement, and barely paid attention to what his tutors said all day.

He was a little disappointed when his grandfather came to fetch him in the company of his three cousins. Who not only weren't nice to him, but could only talk about shooting down birds with their slingshots.

Their grandfather shepherded the three of them into a carriage that took them out of Lanzhou's gates and into neighbouring proprieties.

Chu Yun felt the thick scent of smoke in the air long before he saw the first flames cut through the night sky.

The carriage came to a stop in front of what must have been a grand estate before the fire at laid siege to it.

The King led his grandchildren through the burning gates and into an ample courtyard, free of the flames that were burning all the surrounding pavilions.

A group of palace guards was holding four people down on their knees in the middle of the courtyard. Chu Yun recognised one of them immediately. His friend, A-Yin. The other three people were his relatives.

The King looked dispassionately at his crying subjects and pulled out a sword from the scabbard of one of the guard's next to him.

Chu Yun shuddered at what he thought his grandfather was going to do.

But nothing could have prepared him to see him turn the pommel towards his cousin Chu Ming, and say, "Each of you is going to kill one of them. You go first."