Assassin in White

Three

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we fall."

Instead he pulled back and stood above the prone figure, offering a hand up to stand beside him. The boy reached out and took it. Once hauled to his feet, he shuffled a little and looked about shyly. The emperor smirked.

"Take off your robes." The older man said to him. The boy trembled a bit, but pulled at his ties and took off his outer robes. He waited in his thin, fine looking underclothes without meeting the older man's eyes.

"All of them."

The boy gulped and proceeded to take off his under robes, leaving him in naught but a loincloth and cloth boots. He shivered as the fully clothed man circled around him, watching him like a hawk would a mouse.

"Take off your boots." He demanded in the same dark, even voice. The boy nodded once and bent to tug apart the ties that held them onto his lower legs. He could feel eyes boring into his back as he undid them both and kicked them off his feet.

He straightened and tried to hold still as he waited for his next order. He was rather wondering what was taking so long, and looked over his shoulder in curiosity. His face came almost too close to the emperor's as he stood only a teacup's width away from him. He gasped.

"Come, sit with me." The emperor strode away to return to the table, still covered with cooling food. The man sat upon the stool carved of rosewood and tooled with gold. The boy came to the table and rubbed his bare arms as he stood and looked for the other seat.

There was none. He looked over to the emperor, who was watching him with a rather malicious grin. He raised his brows and the emperor patted his lap with one hand. His eyes widened. Sit upon the emperor's lap!?

He looked away, but backed towards the seated man until he felt the robes against his skin. With a slight squeak, he was pulled onto the firm thigh by a strong arm. His legs were turned so he straddled the solid leg beneath his derriere.

"Here, wash your hands in this bowl." The emperor demanded as a large bowl with citrus was placed before him. The assassin took a deep breath and did as he was told, leaning forward slightly to scrub away the white powder that coated his exposed skin. A white linen cloth was presented to him to dry his hands and he did so.

"Now feed me my meal that you so rudely interrupted." The man demanded from behind him. He sighed to himself, but reached for the chopsticks. "Ah, ah, ah. No chopsticks. I don't trust you with anything you could use as a weapon."

"Then how do you expect me to feed you?" He demanded exasperatedly. The emperor chuckled and leaned forward.

"With your hands." He whispered rather seductively in the boy's ear. The boy tsked.

"But...!" He started to argue.

"All my commands. Assassin. Besides, the food is already cooled." He did not even let him finish his argument before imposing his demands. He heard vague muttering as the boy reached out to take something from the table in which to feed him.

The dumplings were probably the easiest to manage, so he grabbed one of them. He turned on his seat and presented it to the emperor without looking at him. It was not taken. He glanced at the man and raised his brow questioningly.

"You didn't dip it in the sauce." The emperor grinned at him. The assassin turned around with a sneer on his face. The damn man was doing this on purpose. He reached out to dip the piece and grimaced as the liquid dripped down onto his hand.

This time the emperor took the piece from him, with his lips. They grazed his fingers and then sucked gently on his wrist where a bead of sauce had dripped down to. He gulped and shifted restlessly on the man's lap.

He reached for another dumpling and the process was repeated. When he was about to grab a third one, his hair was abruptly yanked from behind and he gasped. He turned to look at the man with puffed cheeks and a scowl.

"Feed me something else. I like variety in my dishes." He said mildly at the pouting child. The boy turned around and surveyed what was on the table. Noodles would be too difficult. Ribs would be tricky with the bones.

He settled for a plate of meat chunks in a reddish sauce with sesame seeds. They were a little slippery, but he managed to grab a hold of one. He carefully brought it to the emperor, praying he did not drop it on the man's fine robes.

"Very good." The emperor murmured as he took the piece. The boy shivered as the man's tongue darted out to lick a bit of sauce off the tips of his fingers. The emperor hummed in satisfaction and the boy turned around with flushed pink cheeks.

This was so embarrassing! At the sudden thought of enduring a lifetime of this, he actually wondered briefly if death would not have been the better choice. Then he shook his head, no, because all the men of his family would have to die alongside him.

It is worth it. It is worth it. The boy chanted as he fed the emperor one piece at a time, ever so carefully. Even with all the blushes and trembling, he managed to feed the man quite a decent amount of food. The emperor was thoroughly enjoying the boy's discomfort in the situation.

"That is enough. You may eat a bit if you are hungry." He added magnanimously. His grin widened as the boy grabbed two meat buns, one for each hand, and wolfed them down in seconds. His second choice was two wrapped rice rolls. His last choice was a handful of small almond cookies, to the emperor's surprise.

He chuckled at the sheepish look the boy threw over his shoulder at him, his cheeks still stuffed with sweets. The emperor poured a cup of tepid tea and offered it to the child. Rather than sip it as was the norm, he tossed it back like a cup of wine.

"Fank Wou." He mumbled from around his still un-swallowed food.

"Well. Aren't you just adorable." The emperor murmured in his ear. The assassin could not help but to be so embarrassed by the words that he blushed red to the tips of his ears and covered his face. That just made the man outright laugh at him.

A/N- speaking with your mouth full is rude...