Assassin in White

Four

"The man who moves a mountain, begins by carrying small stones."

He was then scooped around the waist and hauled out of the room by the imperious man. Dangling like a sack over the larger man's muscled forearm, he wondered where he was being taken. They passed by an empty hallway, through a large empty bedchamber, and into an equally empty bathing room.

"Where are all the servants and guards?" The boy mumbled to himself as he was tossed about so carelessly.

"This is my inner sanctum. None would come in as they please without my express permission. Except for a cheeky little assassin such as yourself." He glanced down at the boy he was carrying and wondered again at the gall of the child.

The boy just hummed and submitted to his fate. Had the emperor treated any of his other subjects like such, he was sure he would have heard whining and complaining until his ears hurt. Not this boy. True to his word, he simply allowed the emperor whatever he wanted.

He deposited the boy on the gleaming tile floor and the child looked about him in awe. There were two large gold statues of dragons that spewed water into a huge pool like a fountain. A whole wall was covered in baskets of scented herbs, oils and various soaps on shelves.

Even the walls did not disappoint, as the tiles were carefully designed to look like waves and clouds with the sun gleaming through. It was extravagance like the boy had never seen before, and his jaw was opened in awe at the sight.

The emperor grinned at the boy's reaction as he carefully untied his robes and slipped them onto a rack away from the water. The boy did not seem to notice the man was disrobing only a few paces away, so when a mostly naked emperor walked towards him... he yelped in surprise.

This was not a soft and pampered noble that approached him, to his utter surprise. The emperor was all carefully sculpted muscles and shockingly tanned skin. He appeared to be more like the boy's older brothers, the warriors of the family, than his spoiled minister cousins.

The boy realised then and there, had he not taken the emperor by surprise earlier, then he would most assuredly be dead. The strong arm wrapped around him tightly and dragged him into the warm water of the pool.

"What are you doing?" The boy asked timidly. The emperor snorted.

"What does it look like? I am taking a bath. You are going to wash me. There, go fetch the soap from over there." He gestured towards a basket that was tucked near one of the dragons. The boy scrambled to swim across the pool to do as asked.

"Hmm. There's four different kinds in here. Wonder which one?" He picked up one and sniffed it. It was rather fruity and he shook his head with a grimace. No, that wouldn't do. He picked up another and promptly sneezed.

The emperor meanwhile was watching this all with an amused grin on his face. This assassin was proving to be far more entertaining than he first thought. He tilted his head in fascination as the boy tried to choose a soap to wash him with.

None of them was any good, according to the boy at least. This was the emperor we were talking about. He couldn't smell like a fruit bowl or... or a woman for heaven's sake! The perfumes in the soaps just did not suit him at all.

So, that decided, the boy climbed out of the bath to grab one from the wall. Not realising of course that he was presenting the man still in the bath with a wonderful sight. Starting with the lean, wet muscles of the youth moving as he vaulted from the pool.

Then the dripping form of his back and legs as he looked in the baskets for something suitable. The tantalising view as he bent down to rifle through the lower shelves. Finally, after some searching, he straightened with a relieved look and held aloft his prize.

The emperor raised a brow as the boy jumped back into the bath with the soap, grabbed a sponge with which to wash him, and swam back. He was rather aroused and at the same time intrigued which one of the soaps the boy had chosen for him.

The scent drifted over to the emperor as the boy lathered up the sponge behind him. It was a good choice. He could identify the warmth of vanilla, the sweetness of coconut and the spicy fragrance of white tea. It was not overly perfumed though. Fresh and warm instead.

The boy's touch was hesitant to begin with, moving the curtain of the emperor's hair aside, but pleasantly firm across his back when he did not hear a complaint or direction otherwise. He held out his arms and let the boy work the soap down them to his hands.

He turned and watched the boy as he worked across his shoulders and down his chest with a faint blush. It seemed the assassin was too nervous to dip below the water's edge while cleaning, so he grasped the hand which held the sponge and moved it down over the edge of his loincloth.

"If you do not clean me properly, then I will take off my last piece of cloth and have you do it very thoroughly." The emperor whispered teasingly to the boy. The assassin's eye shot wide and he instinctually moved away from the man.

"What?" He stared at the emperor's hungry eyes that flitted down to where his body was hidden in the water.

"Hmm, have it your way." His dangerous smile made a chill run down the boy's back even though he was in warm waters. The emperor's hands reached down and removed the clinging cloth that covered his privates and raised a brow.

"Hey! I didn't say I wouldn't do it properly." The boy pouted with a very red face. He couldn't even look at the man who basically stalked him in the water as he backed away nervously.

"Hurry up then. I'm waiting." The emperor teased. "Where is the brave assassin that dared to come in my chambers, hmm?"

"That was different...." The boy complained now as he soaped the sponge and tried to rub it on the skin that was now too close to him. He kept his eyes on the side, and tried to do it by feeling out the strong shoulders, abdomen, and thighs of the man.

The heat of the other person made him all too aware of how little he wore and how vulnerable he truly was now. He gulped as he gently passed the sponge over the apex of those legs, and felt something rather rigid get in his way. The emperor chuckled in amusement.

A/N- coconut milk and oil is good for your skin...