The Start of a New Journey

(TW: mentions of suicide and self-harm)

Luan wakes up slowly, finding the warmth he had buried his head in the night before gone, and the rest of the bed empty. The Demon Lord groans as he sits up, still groggy, but strangely energized after a good night's sleep. He looks around the room, hugging himself as he realizes how cold it is without another body next to him. Nai sits at the table in the center of the room, pulling back the long sleeves of his white tunic, candlelight illuminating his pale arms. This was the first time Luan had seen Nai's soft, slender arms. But his brows furrow as he sees numerous horizontal cuts covering the length of Nai's forearm, down to his wrists.

Strange. Isn't Nai the Blessing from the Sun? Doesn't he have special gifts that allow him to heal himself? How does he still have so many scars all over his arms?

Nai raises his head from his gaze at the table, rustling his sleeves so that his arms are covered again. With a smile, he says, "Noah, you are awake! You were sleeping so peacefully, so I didn't want to wake you, but now that you're up, we must be going."

The Blessing from the Sun picks up a piece of paper from the table and waves it in the air. "I wrote down a number of places where we could spend our time. Is there anywhere, in particular, you want to go? The beachside? A mountain ridge? Live in a house in the center of a village, or a day's journey from one? The decision is yours."

Luan takes a few moments to think. Too many people in a village for it to be safe from bounty hunters, yet there are too few people in the countryside for him to blend in with. The mountains sound cold, and the beachside too hot. Although a rather odd picture of Nai splashing in the waves, his white shirt drenched by the water and made transparent, plants itself in his mind. Luan feels his face grow hot and he blurts out, "Small village in the countryside."

Nai nods and his smile widens. His bright green eyes scan the paper in his hands. "Alright. There are a few places that fit what you are looking for. Shall we be on our way? We'll start at the closest village and make our way out to the furthest ones. Sound good?"

With a nod, Luan hops down from the bed and rushes over to the candlelight - that's what he told himself, but deep down, he really just wanted to be closer to Nai. To feel the warmth he had felt before.

The other man places the paper back on the desk and lifts Luan into his arms. "Are you hungry at all? Shall we get some food on our way out of the city?"

Luan nods again, sitting atop Nai's lap with red cheeks. Ah, there's the warmth Luan had felt the night before. But suddenly it was gone again, as Nai plonked the Demon Lord onto the ground and stood up, extinguishing the candle with a flick of his wrist.

"Well then," Nai says, retrieving the paper he had placed on the desk and shoving it into a pocket, "shall we get going, then?"

And with that, the two left, Luan left a little dumbfounded. After several days of being carried around in Nai's arms, he had expected to stay in that position for a while. But the Blessing from the Sun made no attempt to carry him the whole walk out of Marici.

The festival honoring the Blessing from the Sun was over, and the streets were now relatively empty. There were hardly any stalls still set up, and if there were any left, they were quickly closing. No more banners or tiny pieces of paper colored like fire littered the streets or were thrown in their faces by overly joyous people.

There were still some men wandering the streets, clearly still drunk from the night before. A small group passes Nai and Luan on their way out. Luan throws them an icy glare as they staggered into Nai's shoulder.

"Excuse me," Nai says with a gentle smile.

"Oops, sorry~," a tall man says, his words slurring together. "Oh? Fair maiden, hic-what are you doing out in the streets at this hour? Can't you hic-see all these drunken men just waiting to catch you hic-off-guard?"

"Orperhapsyouwantustomakeamove?" a second man says, his words barely understandable as they tumble from his mouth.

Nai looks down at Luan, a confused look crossing his face before he looks over his shoulder. Finding no one standing behind him, Nai points at himself, "Is he talking to me?"

The first man fishes out a small pouch from his pocket and shakes it. The pouch jingles, indicating a handful of money is inside. "How much?"

A shocked expression crosses Luan's face. How could a man be so indecent?! The fact that Luan too used to visit brothels often and spent a lot of money on women in ways much more indecent than this, never crossed his mind.

But Nai doesn't mind. Instead, he spins on his heels and nonchalantly walks away, Luan in tow.

After a while, Nai chuckles and gives Luan's tiny hand a gentle squeeze. "Do I really look that much like a woman?"

Luan looks Nai up and down. Slender, pale fingers and arms to match. Soft, round eyes and a gentle smile that scream 'innocence'. His skin is smooth and soft to the touch. Nai's legs are long and his waist is noticeably slim, despite the oversized shirt he wears. Sure, he could look like a tall woman - but this man is really incomparable to any person, regardless of gender or race.

A warm blush covers Luan's cheeks as he nods.

...

Back at the palace, the Crown Prince stares out of his window, hands on his cheeks. His wife rests a hand on his shoulder and sighs.

"Ever since that Blessing from the Sun has arrived, you have been nothing but moody and distant. I'm afraid he really is a bad influence on you. Just look at yourself! Stop moping around, you have a war to win!"

Crown Prince Aelius smacks Princess Akino's hand from his shoulder. "Haven't you ever been in love?!"

Princess Akino's usually fair face turns deadly. "What you and I have isn't love?"

The two stare at each other for a while, neither one of them wanting to be the first to break the deadly silence.

Aelius sighs and speaks through his teeth. "What I meant to say - before you interrupted me - was 'haven't you ever been in love, but realized the other has absolutely no reciprocation of your feelings?' And 'have they ever been snatched away from you by some random stranger they had known for the shortest amount of time?'"

His wife sighs and rubs her stomach. "If you have such strong feelings for the Blessing of the Sun, shouldn't you be happy that they are enjoying their life? You often speak of how unhappy he is. But with this child, he seems to be quite enjoying himself-"

"But that's just the problem!" Prince Aelius cuts in, abruptly standing and waving his hands in the air. "That ... That 'thing'! It's not a child! I don't know what it is, but it seems so painstakingly familiar. It's on the tip of my tongue!"

"My Gods! Let him go!" Akino yells, her usually calm face breaking out into a nasty glare.

A crisp slap lands on Akino's face. She yelps as she takes a few shaky steps back, hand holding her face. "You don't understand. Nai is in trouble. I must protect him."