Cobalt Key, part 1

by Ravinda aka Mink

Jaden didn't remember much of his life before the mark of the Key had been
given to him. Soft hazy whispers of a gentle hillside and mist of the cool
rain. He had parents he was certain and they were very kind he was
positive, and they loved him of that he had no doubt.

He remembered them vaguely off and on but he remembered his life growing up
in the sprawling embrace of the palace much more. The sweet tartness of the
bright green grapes, glittering in water from the fountains were hand fed
to him as an infant. The nights were full of warm yellow candles and the
dark red wine flowed into crystal and brought a rosy glow to whispering
faces. Jaden had watched as a child and loved them all, the crowded court
to the busy kitchens. As he grew older he began to wonder at dark blue
shape that had been given to him so long ago, right below his hip. Some
other boys Jaden played with in the gardens had similar marks on their
bodies, he saw them when they played in the springs, but all different
colours, more colours than he saw in the palaces stained glass windows.
Beautiful all of them and Jaden often wondered to himself that surely all
the beauty in the world had trickled down to this palace like the final
base pond of a mountain stream, deep, cool, clear and blue. Jaden grew up
content and happy, the sun shining on his smile and the rain kissing his up
turned face. Jaden was happy even still on the day he was shown a tall door
with a similar mark on it as in the one on his own body. He was pleased to
hear he would have a master to love as he had been loved, to please maybe
if he was able. Jaden felt joy deep in his heart that he was finally able
to repay all of his happiness in kind.

Jaden's master was a much older but good-hearted man. His hair was a snow
white and his blue eyes regarded Jaden with a bright vigor that only youth
possessed. Hard muscles lay under his cloak and silver etched armor. He was
made from war. His sword was always with him and the smell of earth and
horses.

The master would ask Jaden to sing that lovely song they had heard sung at
the summer festival. Jaden would sing, his voice sweet and sparkling, and
pour his master and friend's tart white wine, remembering with happiness
the fine summer days he had escorted his master to the rowdy fairs and
music filled streets.

His master would ask Jaden to dance, like the gypsy girls had done outside
the palace walls eager for the silver coins the soldiers tossed them from
the battlements. Jaden would dance, the silk pillows scattered over the
floor under his bare feet, playful and care free. Jaden smiled and then
blushed when his master caught his wrist and swung him into his lap, his
master touched him so rarely, save a gentle touch in his black hair or
brushing his hand down a smooth white cheek. But his master and companions
had drunk so much wine that night that Jaden's arms had begun to ache from
lifting the heavy glass jugs. So slowly, with callused hands, his master
attached a delicate golden chain around Jaden's bare ankle, with small
bells that rung light and sweet as Jaden's own laughter. Just like the
gypsy girls had worn, and Jaden felt such joy at his master's present that
he could not stop from trying to hide his smile behind his hand.

"How extraordinary." His master's companion's would exclaim, battle worn
and scarred all. Hesitant hands would venture out to brush the long black
eyelashes that framed Jaden's smoky violet eyes, touch the delicate black
silk of his drawstring pants, or the white perfect skin of his bare chest.

And even others, always so serious, carrying maps and messages, called to
speak of war and not prone to such words. "Utterly exquisite." They would
murmur, watching Jaden move about the golden room, his violet eyes shy
under their gaze.

Jaden was loved and admired by any who saw him. And so in turn Jaden did
everything in his gentle power to make others content. The delicate silk
screens, painted with water lilies and graceful birds were always adjusted
by the broad windows so the sunlight would never be too harsh, and by night
the candle light was never too soft to read by or just soft enough to doze
if the need be. The heavy bronze incense burner that sat on the low table
was always breathing the most heady delicious smoke, the scent of lilacs
wafting lazily about the room.

Jaden would often draw the silken sheets of the bed over his master's
sleeping form, yawning a bit, for his master would keep such late and
awkward hours, and place a small kiss on his master's forehead. This one
night however, after kissing his master and starting to slip away, Jaden
gasped when his wrist was caught in his master's grasp.

"Lay with me Jaden." His master whispered.

Jaden answered softly but was afraid. "Yes Master."

His master wrapped his strong arms around him and began to kiss Jaden
softly, drawing the tall lean boy down onto the bed under him. Jaden had
only been kissed before by the other boys in the gardens of his youth,
fluttering sweet kisses in the sunny sparkling fountains, or the one less
innocent kiss so far up in the watch tower where Jaden had let a boy with a
bright hot red key on his hip, kiss him deeply and play with his long raven
hair for hours.

It had been hot and breathless and sweet and made his heart race.

But this was like none of those times.

The warm scent of his master filling him, the sturdy weight of him crushing
the breath out of Jaden and Jaden wanted every moment of it to last
forever, realizing how to become closer to his beloved master, wanting to
do everything he could, pushing his hips up to his master and making a
small moan. But his master stopped Jaden's elegant curious hands. The
master was shaking his head. "I want to savor you Jaden," His master said
shaking his head. "But I must go, it is the morning. I will keep you in my
heart until I return."

Jaden nodded, knowing his master's words were final but terrible to hear.
There was an ache in him now, and sliding a hand down between his legs he
moaned a little, writhing under the silken bed sheets His master smiled
down at him as he stood and stretched.

"Please do not tempt me anymore Jaden."

"I didn't mean to Master!" Jaden exclaimed, miserable. "Must you go?"

The rosy light of dawn reached the broad windows. Jaden sleepily watched
his master strap on his armor and buckle on his sword. From the bed, a soft
smile on his face, Jaden knew he loved his master deeply. Jaden silently
thanked the mark as he rubbed the vibrant blue shape of the key on his hip.
He could not be more happy.

It was only three days later that Jaden received word in ivory parchment,
tied with a black ribbon, that his Master would never return.

~Cobalt Key part 2~

bt Ravinda aka Mink

Jaden sat sadly in his bright window, one knee drawn up to his bare chest,
the sprawling country side blurry behind his tears. The soft golden walls
did not please him today, nor did the watery worlds painted so carefully on
the soft silk screens catch his imagination. The bronze incense burner sat
cold and unlit on the table, the fresh flowers wilted and falling to
pieces, petals scattered on the floor. A tall cool glass of juice sat
untouched by him on the wide sill, left by someone in a small sorry gesture
towards his sorrow. The door opened behind him but he did not turn to see
who it was. It wasn't his master and that was all that mattered.

"Jaden?" A small soft voice ventured.

Jaden, turned, his violet eyes sparkling with tears. A young man stood
uncertainly, his long pale hair drawn in a ponytail that hung down one
shoulder, his pale features drawn in concern. His silver silk pants where
tied low down on one hip, far enough for the pearly gray of his key to be
seen. A weary smile came from Jaden, and he held out his arms weakly. "Hold
me please Asha."

"Oh poor sweet Jaden." The boy breathed, rushing to the window sill and
embracing Jaden tightly, gathering him up and petting his long black hair.
"No music?"

Jaden felt a small burn of relief and felt fresh tears come to his eyes,
making the soft golden room around him blur. Asha had been his close friend
all his young life, a fellow key, with pale green eyes like the muted rainy
mist of the forests and hills that rolled around palace

Jaden knew the ivory flute he played was tossed aside amongst the pillows.
"No music." Jaden breathed into the warm shoulder. "How could there
possibly be any music?"

Asha's lean but not so tall body pressed against Jaden, and in a easy deft
gesture, swung his long white ponytail over his shoulder to hang down his
back. "I'm so sorry Jaden." Asha's fingertips were brushing back the hot
tears on Jaden's face.

Jaden collapsed in the tight embrace, Asha trembling arms around him.

Asha began, "There's another, I heard my master speaking of it."

"An-another?" Jaden asked, using the back of an ivory hand to wipe at his
violet eyes.

"Yes, he is to arrive today Jaden, you must obey him and be good." Asha
begged.

"It will be so hard Asha." Jaden whispered, his hand touching the long soft
hair that hung down Asha's back.. "I wish to serve no one but him."

"I can show you something," The boy said timidly, " Jayce, that awful new
court Key, showed me something the other night during the fireworks," Asha
suddenly blushed, and lowered his gaze. "He said his masters liked it very
much so I tried it and my master did too."

Jaden blinked. "Well what is it?" He leaned forward, curious. "Is it a new
song?"

Asha shook his head. "It is much sweeter than any song you could remember,
"Asha pulled Jaden to a stand and then showed him softly to some pillows.
"Your mouth can do nicer things than sing." He pushed Jaden playfully back
onto the soft cushions, his laugh was low and mischievous.

Jaden breathed deeply when he felt the warm mouth suddenly pressed on his
own, and started when the mouth touched his neck and felt Asha's eager
hands easing the knot at the front of his silk pants.

"Asha!" Jaden was startled but his face felt warm. He had kissed Asha many
times but Asha seemed intent to do more. But what? He liked the feeling of
Asha's kisses on his neck, it was so comforting and soft. A delicious
warmth suffused him. The silken knot came undone in Asha's hands. "What are
you doing?" Jaden's dark lashes fluttered against his face as he lay back
and sighed, the smooth silk sliding easily down his legs. Jaden knew Asha
was looking at him, nude now, save for the delicate gold anklet with it's
soft ringing bells, but it wasn't like any look he was used to seeing from
his friend. It made him feel warm, and Jaden drew his thighs together,
unsure and suddenly shy. Asha lay comfortably over his legs, and Jaden felt
his thighs eased apart, the satin pillows brushing like caress on his bare
skin. That pleasant ache was starting again, filling him with sweet heat.

"Don't be afraid Jaden," Asha murmured, kissing his hard lower stomach, his
hands running down Jaden's thighs. "It will make you feel better."

Jaden nodded numbly, Asha's soft kisses and smooth touch was making him
breathe harder. Asha's ponytail slid over his shoulder and brushed against
the length of Jaden's sex. Jaden shivered, letting out a small gasp and
sitting up quickly, he shamefully pulled a pillow over what Asha had done.
"A--Asha, we mustn't--"

Asha only smiled from between Jaden's thighs, biting at his lower lip. "You
like it?"

Jaden nodded sadly, his long raven hair around his shoulders. "But I am
frightened."

Asha nodded, but gently tugged the soft pillow away.

Jaden arched his back when the hot mouth swallowed him all the way down ,
and another hand took the heavy silky weight of his balls in a soft but
firm grasp. The sensation was the most intense sweet pressure he had ever
felt, and he writhed under Asha's slight weight. The sweet burn grew
stronger and stronger, the slow steady pull of the hot mouth made him so
hard the pleasure bordered on pain. Asha drew Jaden's thighs further apart
and pressed his face down between Jaden's legs, running his tongue back up
the bottom of the hard length. Cool air breathed through the bright window
and touched his face like a kiss. But then the heat rushed and centered
between his legs, the bittersweet pain sliding him over some unseen edge.

"Oh Asha, oh I think I'm dying!"

Shuddering, Jaden felt his mind go with the pleasure and his thighs tense
in unexpected, sudden release.

Asha giggled when Jaden jerked and moaned, cumming quickly and hard into
his mouth.

Jaden lay weakly, unable to catch his breath. "Oh Asha!" He wiped some dark
hair out of his eyes, watching Asha stand. "That was... was...!" He watched
Asha drink some of the juice that still sat on the window sill. "Do you,
um, would you like me to...?" Jaden felt his face flush, wondering how he
could make Asha feel like he had. Would he even be able to do it? Jaden's
hand went down between his legs touched himself curiously. He couldn't keep
his gaze from going to the front of Asha's silvery silk pants, tied like
his own.

"No, Jaden." Asha whispered with a small smile, putting the crystal glass
back down. "Let's sleep for a little bit?" Asha curled up into the soft
pillows next to Jaden, resting his smooth cheek on Jaden's shoulder. "I
didn't sleep much last night, my master likes that a lot too." Asha yawned.
"I can make it go for much longer."

~Longer?~ Jaden felt his eyes go wide. But looking down at Asha, Jaden felt
sleepy as well, a sweet weariness after what his friend had done to him. He
pulled his arms around Asha, and burying his face in the soft white hair,
Jaden wondered who his new master was. Would he be able to love him as much
as his last? Jaden sighed as he drifted off, sleep rushing up and meeting
him in it's embrace.

The palace was a monstrous sprawling affair, quite impressively white, with
it's countless spires and brightly coloured flags that hung straight and
still in the chill rainy mist. Traveling the winding forest road and then
finally inside the walls into the noisy bustling city, The Captain watched
the palace grow. It became larger and filled the sky beyond the city walls
as he and his men approached on horseback along the crowded stone cobbled
roadway. Many of the people gave out small cheers as their procession rode
by, or ran to give the tired soldiers fresh water or some bread, handing
the small gifts quickly up to them, on their mounts. But most of the town's
people were silent and sad, for the procession was lead by a dark red flag.
They were bringing the dead home.

Motioning with a black gloved hand, the Captain signaled his men to halt
near the center of the bustling city, his lieutenant coming alongside him,
on a dark gray mare.

"Sir?" The tired young man asked, looking off hopefully at the nearby
taverns, where there was warm light and music spilling out into the damp
busy streets.

"Tell them to go to the garrison towns, south and east of the city." He
told the younger man. "I will need them in the morning." His eyes darkened
when his gaze met the very end of the long procession of his weary
soldiers. The wagons topped with the deep red flags. The dead.

"Yes Sir!" The young lieutenant answered, giving one hasty mournful glance
towards the music. About to spread the unwelcome word, the young lieutenant
paused. "Where will you be sir?"

The Captain looked up at the tiered walls of the palace, and gave a bored
sigh. "I need to be presented to the court." Looking sideways, he
considered his lieutenant. "I am being given some sort of award."

The lieutenant's eyebrow's rose. "It is a great honour sir. The Queen must
hold you in her favor!"

The Captain saw the younger man was impressed, and felt himself sneer. "I
deserved one long before I started to win her wealth and land." He kicked
at his horse and moved away as fast as he could in the churning market
crowds, giving one last look to the dark wagons being led away to the
temple grounds. "And so did they."

The Captain was a poised man. He walked tall and purposefully down the
lavish corridors of the palace without one hint of fatigue, although he and
his men had rode for almost three days straight. He kept his right hand on
his sword at his side and his other arm free, his gloved hand in a tight
fist. Taking some time to bathe, he had replaced his dull, battle worn
armor with bright silver armor, etched in serpent and vine, over black, and
a black cloak that flared behind him as he walked. His long red hair was
still damp from the hot scented water, and he had let the servant boys
braid it for him, so that it fell loose down his back but two long braids
down his temples. He had been confused by their attention, their sure hands
helping buckle his ceremonial armor.

~It has been a long time since you have been in these walls Marcus.~ He
reminded himself sternly.

Things were different here. The distant countries he where had spent
fighting, were like a dream. The years he had spent in a bloody haze of
war. A wave of weariness made him pause in the middle of the great hallway

. ~Just accept their petty banner and leave this gaudy mess.~

"Can I help you sir?" A timid serving girl asked him, her small hand on his
silver plated arm.

He jerked his arm away from her. "Do not touch me." His hand came up
swiftly, as if he made to strike her, and she scurried away from him, her
eyes round with fear. The Captain looked up and saw the wide doors of his
destination.

The Queen was dining when he was shown to her table, a large ornate chair
was drawn out for him and he slowly took it, his body sinking into the soft
cushions with unwanted relief. There was laughter and easy conversation
trickling everywhere around in the shimmering candlelight. Dark wine was
poured for him, steaming food was laid out, the room huge and airy, open
out to a large balcony that could be glimpsed through the billowing gauzy
white curtains. There were dancers, Marcus could see, music loud and joyous
playing out on the balcony, under the night stars.

He scowled. He needed to be with his counsel, not bantering with the
Queen's large and rowdy crowd, hoping for her favor or assignment. He
noticed quite suddenly that the happy room had quieted a bit with his
arrival, and had grown even more subdued as he was seated.

The Queen spoke from the head of the large table. "Welcome home Marcus, our
Warrior has returned, and shown so little mercy!" Her pale jeweled hand
raised her crystal wine goblet and the entire room heralded his name, the
people bustling around to him patting him on the back and saying small
useless words of praise in his ear.

"You have brought home our honoured dead, how hard it must--."

"You are a great warrior, I have an unwed daughter--."

"Is it true you that slaughtered--"

"I wrote a song for you lord, about the battle fields of--"

"Your sword, my lord, may I touch the sword which defeated-"

Ignoring them, Marcus stood and gave the Queen a slow respectful bow, his
bright silver armor glinting in the gesture, his clear green eyes fixed on
her elegant form. A tall dazzling woman, draped causally on her deep purple
divan. Marcus could not look at her and not think of silk and glass made
flesh, surrounded by attendants whose beauty matched her own.

"You have accomplished much in your years Marcus," the Queen
smiled,",...more than your older companions!"

He did his best not to sneer at her as he took his seat. Rumors had reached
him even in the far off lands he toiled in, Marcus knew the court mocked
his age.

~The Boy Warrior.~

~The only Captain to need a wet nurse on the field. ~

Clutching the fragile goblet by it's stem, the conversation turned swiftly
away from him, much to his relief. Marcus's gaze traveled over the filmy
sheer clothing the ladies in waiting wore, the dark of their nipples
showing when their breasts strained against the flimsy material as they
filled a cup with wine or lent down to whisper to a guest. Drinking some of
his wine, Marcus all at once noticed a remarkably stunning boy with honey
brown hair and large sullen blue eyes, standing near the Queen's divan,
sharp red leggings low on his waist, laced up the front with silken cord. A
dark red choker lay around the boy's neck and a long, thin silver length of
chain ran from his neck to a bracelet that locked around the Queen's ivory
wrist. He wasn't tall but he was far from short. The Queen quite causally
drew the boy by the chain, down to her face and fed him a wet piece of
peach from her mouth. Some of the juice ran down the boy's chin, and he
went to wipe it with a elegant hand. The Queen stopped him however, and in
a delicate gesture, licked the juice from his face.

Marcus found himself staring at him. His gaze flickered down to the boy's
hip, the red waist of his leggings low. He could see a dark mark there. ~A
Key~ He remembered these servants.

"Do want to touch my Jayce?" The Queen laughed, her hand touching the boy's
shoulder length hair next to her. "I do not blame you Marcus, the
battlefields were lonely, I am sure!"

"Perhaps foreign customs are not to his liking?" Someone suggested.

Looking down, Marcus silently cursed himself for being so obvious, his face
flushing when several other people laughed out loud with them, or tried to
hide it behind their wine glasses or hands. Marcus looked up again and the
Key, Jayce, was smirking at him. Changing the soft beauty of him to a
cunning seductive creature, and shifting slightly in his dark red leggings.
He wanted to touch the Key. Marcus drank more wine, gulping it down, liking
the warmth that blossomed within him, the music flowing with the incense
over the table.

~That red~, Marcus thought, ~ enough to heat the coldest eyes.~

He tried to look away, staring at his clenched hands on the table instead.
At a small nod from the Queen, Jayce walked slowly around the table.
Slowly, like a bored cat, the Key moved, and drew an envelope from behind
his bare back.

He handed it to Marcus, who accepted it in a black gloved hand, his dark
gaze going to the mark on the boy's hip, brought so close to Marcus's face.
It was shaped like a vertical key, deep red against the pale skin of his
lower stomach, as dark as the laced leather Jayce wore, and it looked as if
it would smolder under a touch.

Marcus's gaze flickered back to what he had been handed. An envelope. A
dark vibrant blue. A name in sprawling script. ~Jaden.~

"The Cobalt is all yours.," The Queen paused, sipping her wine. "The Keys
are there for your pleasure. To do whatever you wish." She glanced at
Jayce, with a welcoming grin.

Marcus felt himself smile for the first time in a long time, his black
gloved hand closing over Jayce's pale wrist, and yanking sharply down.
Jayce's resistance was nothing to Marcus' raw strength. The Captain enjoyed
the small startled sound Jayce made, it was such an angry sound, tumbling
down, jolting painfully hard onto Marcus's lap, his sulky blue gaze
shifting sharply and unhappily to the Queen, then quickly back up to
Marcus's careful passive face.

The chain attached to Jayce's neck jerked sharply, making the boy wince as
it closed tighter around his throat. The Queen spoke. "Be sweet to our
Captain, Jayce. He has made me very happy." Laughter echoed around them.

Marcus watched the boy delicately pout and face him demurely. He found he
wanted to get that dismal look off of the young beautiful face. Taking time
to enjoy how the lean Key had fallen into his lap, Marcus looked at Jayce's
legs spread wide, one leg over the arm of the chair, one fallen between
Marcus's own parted legs, the boy breathing uncertainly, his jaw clenching
and unclenching. It had been very lonely in the field.

"Your armor." The Key named Jayce said, his blue eyes annoyed, flickering
down to the etched silver plate Marcus wore . "It's abominably cold."

Marcus, slid his hand over the boy's hard thigh and up between his legs,
squeezing his grip tight over the heat between Jayce's legs. "And you,"
Marcus whispered, inches from his face, " are abominable, little Key."

The boy relaxed in his lap, warm and pouting, letting his thighs slide
father apart for Marcus's gloved hand. "Yes Lord." He sighed shortly,
letting his head droop back against Marcus's other arm, looking for his
Queen again, who was already involved with a deep conversation with her
ladies, stroking their long bound hair and twisting their gauzy skirts
around her wrist, all laughter and soft kisses.

Jayce tilted his head to the side when Marcus brushed his cheek against
Jayce's neck, feeling the heat and scent of the insolent boy. His honey
hair against Marcus's shoulder, a gloved hand squeezing the thigh until
Marcus hoped bruises were left under the red leather. He made the pouting
mouth yield to him and it was sweet and hot, like the honey of the hair
that glinted gold in the candle light. The wine was strong and made him
half crazed. Marcus felt his need surge under the warm weight of Jayce on
his lap and it was all he could do not to push the boy onto the table on
his stomach and pull the lacing on his leggings free. Would he suffer to be
sweet then, or angry and fight him? Jayce was studying him with his blue
eyes, as if he could read desire, and his small smirk returned.

Marcus knew the beauty of the Key. To read desire. His desire. What was his
Key? Where was his? He wanted to hear the sharp hiss he heard from Jayce as
he squeezed harder, from his own Key, he wanted to own it. He wanted it
know it was owned. He deserved that much. And more. ~Jaden.~

To be continued.....

~Cobalt Key part 3~

by Ravinda aka Mink

Jaden wasn't sure how long he had slept, but the room was dark save for the
thick red candles flickering by the windows, undoubtedly lit by a servant
while the two keys dozed softly among the pillows. Asha's face was smooth
in rest, his pale lashes fluttering, disturbed by Jaden's movement.

Something had woke Jaden.

Jaden's sleepy gaze went to the wide dark windows, were a cold draft
breathed softly and chilled the bare skin of his chest, making him shiver.
Jaden stood slowly, leaving Asha to rub at his eyes, and fastened the
windows shut, the flames of the red candles becoming still, the taunting
breeze shut away behind the glass.

There was a dim reflection of Jaden's tired face in the dark window. Jaden
took a moment to look at himself, wondering when he had ever looked so sad.
If maybe, he had ever know sadness before at all until now. The room lay
behind him, like the dark side of a mirror, the dim side of his own world.
Even the candle flames seemed without warmth, shadows of fire, illuminating
his own spiritless face. Jaden's eyes shifted off his own reflection to the
room beyond. A world of flicker and dark, hiding anything it wished.

Jaden eyes narrowed.

There was a vague silhouette standing motionless in the shadows by the far
doorway.

Jaden swung around, his violet eyes wide in surprise. There was a something
there.

Watching him.

A figure stepped forward, a shadow among many suddenly in motion, moving
like it was made of the dark around it and Jaden felt the small of his back
press into the cold stone of the window's sill as he backed away in fright.
But as it drew closer to the light, it shed the dark that cloaked it and a
soft glimmer shone.

~Armor?~ Jaden's frenzied mind realized.

It was for one moment, an apparition, his Master come back for him, and
Jaden felt such pure joy he made small sound, making Asha look up in
surprise from the pillows. But then the figure came closer, into the circle
of the wavering candle light, fading the magic, showing just a man, and
Jaden felt his joy shift swiftly to shock.

This was not his Master but someone much younger, dressed in the serpent
and vine armor of his Master's army. The candle light shone on the silver
plated armor softly, framing the man in a gauzy glow, making him unreal and
his silence more disturbing. Long red hair hung straight down his
shoulders, woven in intricate braids at his temples. His gaze caught Jaden
like a steel trap and Jaden could not help but stare back.

Cold green eyes on a pale white face. This man was not his Master. His
Master could never look so cold.

But his Master was gone now.

Jaden realized with a deep sick feeling just who this man might be.

~There will be another...~ Asha had told him.

He looked swiftly to Asha who was also staring up at the man in awe.

To Jaden's horror, the man spoke. It was a soft voice but it carried.

"What is this?" He was looking back and forth between them both, so cold
and pale. The tall man was angry.

"M--Master?" Jaden managed. Asha stood slowly, his eyes on the floor.

The man's eye's locked onto him again and then he said his name so
strangely, in two syllables:

~Ja..den.~

Like the start of an incantation, his gaze ran over him, devouring the
sight of him. Jaden wanted to run and hide from it.

The tall man nodded, his unwavering green gaze going to Asha and down to
the gray mark on the skin of Asha's hip.

He then shocked Jaden by grabbing Asha by the wrist. "What are you doing
here?" The new Master demanded in a low hiss.

Asha trembled, his wrist pulled higher than he could comfortably stand, his
other hand pulling at the trapped wrist and it was clutched in the painful
grip. "Oh please!"

"Who owns you?" The man asked. Asha looked confused long enough for the
tall man to shake him hard. "What is his name?"

Asha blinked back his fear, his gaze flickering towards Jaden and then
away. "R-Reeven." The boy breathed, his wrist twisting in the man's gloved
hand.

The man made a sound of disgust, lowering Asha's wrist so he could stand
and not hang. "Lord Reeven." He spat the name like poison. "An old man, a
derelict of his politics." His other gloved hand came out and took Asha's
long pale pony tail, turning in over for examination. "Aren't you very
young for dear old Reeven?"

Asha numbly shook his head. "He is very kind--"

The sound of the man's open hand striking Asha's face seemed not enough to
send Asha crashing onto the floor.

Jaden quickly came forward, his mouth falling open in shock. "Asha!"

"Reeven and men like him will let this war go until the sun winks out
because it makes them money." He unfastened his dark cloak and lay it
carefully over his arm. He asked. "You betray both masters to serve
yourselves?"

Jaden blushed, thinking of Asha's mouth between his legs, sure that his
guilt was open and readable on his face for his Master and all to see.

"I thought my Key was better than the court Keys." The tall powerful body
moved with the fluid movement of a predator, the weary strong movements,
the silver armor glinting and flashing, mesmerized Jaden. Then the low
voice came again, directed to the far off door. "Jayce?"

The door opened and closed in the dim side of the room, emitting a shadow.
It paused there, the door closed behind it.

"Come here Jayce."

Jaden felt his stomach tighten with cold. ~Jayce!~ He had heard all sorts
of things about this court Key, why would his new Master bring another Key
here? Jaden watched the Key take his time walking towards them, lingering
by the dead flowers to smell them. He still held that sulky look Jaden
remembered watching one of the few times his former master had brought him
to the court. Still dressed in dark red, like his Queen seemed to favor.

"Hello Jaden." Jayce said quite affably, tilting his head to the side and
giving him a lopsided hint of a smirk.

Jaden blinked. "H-Hello Jayce." He looked uncertainly to his new Master.

Jayce suddenly noticed Asha and smiled. "Well. Will there be enough wine
for all of us?"

Asha ignored the small wink Jayce gave him, holding his cheek where he had
been struck.

"What do you think of my new Cobalt Key?" The master asked Jayce while
seating himself among the cushions. "Be honest."

Jayce sighed, slowly walking up to Jaden, his gaze flickering over Jaden's
body. " I think the Queen cheated you Lord Marcus."

Jaden felt his eyes sting in a surprising wave of anger. But there is was,
his Master's name. ~Marcus~

"He is fine to look at," Jayce paused, and put a languid hand quite
casually on Jaden's chest and pinched a nipple hard.

Jaden hissed in surprise and jerked away from him, his arm going over his
chest.

"But he doesn't know a thing." Jayce sighed in mock sadness.

Asha spoke, surprising Jaden with his breathless voice. "Leave him alone
Jayce." His pale green eyes went fearfully back to Marcus, forgetting
himself in the small flare of indignant anger.

Jayce considered Asha a moment. "My Lord?" He queried turning to Marcus.
"Does it please you to learn secrets, do you enjoy them?"

Jaden, confused, looked to Asha and saw he had paled considerably.

Marcus nodded in a slow way, his long red hair sliding down one shoulder
and Jaden realized the tall man was very drunk. "Tell me your secret
Jayce."

"Oh, it isn't mine my Lord." Jayce corrected, turning back to look at Asha.

Jaden wondered if Jayce was speaking of Jayce's and Asha's ~lesson.~ Asha
had confessed that Jayce had been the one to teach him how to use his mouth
to do what he did. But Asha's eyes held real fear that Jaden doubted
belonged to that time.

"Please Ja-Jayce." Asha stammered, his voice very small. "You
mustn't...you-you promised!"

That was enough of a show that Marcus ever needed to agree. "Tell me."

Jayce crossed his arms. "Take off that silver silk his master dresses him
in." Jayce's honey hair and dark blue eyes shone bright in candlelight, his
amusement sparkling. "You'll see easy enough."

"My Master expects me back-" Asha stood and tried to hurry past them both
to the far door but Marcus caught his wrist like a vise.

"Tell your Master that the Queen's champion desired your company and I am
sure he will understand." Marcus paused. "If he has some problem tell him
to take it up with ~me~."

Asha, if possible, paled further.

The silver silk came down slowly, making Asha shift in shame. His body was
lean, compact and so very white. He stood very still on top of the table
Marcus had ordered him to stand on, his face pink as his hands trembled
over his sex, trying to hide himself from the stares.

Marcus shrugged. "He looks well enough, what of it?" He had ordered Jaden
to pour him wine, and he was drinking it in long hard swallows.

Jayce simply shrugged, his eyes bright with barely controlled laughter.
"Turn around for the good Captain Asha, would you?"

Jaden, who had moved as far as he could from Marcus after serving his wine,
had tried to help them from shaming Asha by looking away, but he found
himself looking up to see what Jayce was so intent on revealing to them.

Asha's chest was heaving in anxiety, his pale green eyes glimmered near
tears. "Pleas--"

"Do it." Marcus growled, becoming impatient, his wine glass coming down in
a hard click on the table beside him.

Asha , with a resigned nervous swallow, let his hands fall to the sides and
slowly began to turn.

Jaden watched, curious despite his loyal thoughts, and was suddenly
distracted by a flash of white that flickered behind Asha, it was long and
sensuous but then suddenly gone. Jaden caught a glimpse of it from the
other side of Asha's legs. But by then Asha had turned fully around and the
mystery was a mystery no longer.

It was a tail.

A long white tail started at the base of his spine and twitched in
agitation. It was like a snow white cat's tail.

Jaden gasped in awe, shocked that his friend could keep this secret.
"Asha!" He whispered forgetting himself.

Asha was looking to the side and Jaden could see Asha was sad. "My master
tells me to hide it or he will have it cut off." The white tail curled
timidly around his legs.

"How did you hide it?" Jaden could help but watch the sensuous tail as Asha
showed him.

"Quite easily really. " The tail, with a little flick, went forward between
Asha's legs and wrapped around his thigh and calf. "When I wore clothes no
one could see." Asha's face had stained red, with everyone in the room
staring at him.

"A mutant Key." Marcus mumbled as he stood. "I have heard of these things."

Jaden saw Asha flinch when he said the words and he longed to comfort him
but didn't dare.

"Does your master make you drink cream from a dish?" Jayce asked.

Jaden couldn't stop himself from imagining Asha nude on his hands and
knees, dipping his pink tongue into a bowl of fresh white cream.

"Well mutant Key," Marcus began," I have an idea."

Jaden soon realized he was not the only one left with the image inspired by
Jayce's little remark.

Marcus nudged the blue glass bowl with his toe of his knee high shiny black
boot. "Here kitty kitty."

Jaden watched Asha as Asha kneeled on the floor, his wrists bound behind
his back. His nude body was powder white and Jayce was busy rubbing a spicy
oil that held small silvery flakes of glitter over Asha's pale skin. It
made his skin glimmer in a silver sheen as his chest rose and fell in a
breathless apprehension. Snow white thigh highs had been found and put on
his lean defined legs, and to Jayce's insistence, a white leather collar
with a small silver bell was placed around his neck. Asha waited on his
knees, Jayce's hands on him, his long sleek tail lay miserably on the floor
behind them. Asha's long pale hair lay in a ponytail behind his neck.

Asha looked to the bowl and then up at Marcus It would be awkward moving
forward like that on his knees, and Jaden felt for him, but really couldn't
help staring either. Jayce knelt behind Asha and let his hand travel very
low on Asha's flat stomach, smoothing the oil into his skin, then moving
his hand down between Asha's thighs, and on the skin above the white thigh
highs.

Asha moaned helplessly, his eyes fluttering, his head falling back on
Jayce's shoulder. Jaden watched Jayce's hand smooth the glittering oil
between Asha's legs, making his sex lengthen, a glittery silver sheen of
the oil on the silky skin of his sex. Asha's tail came up tentantively
behind them both, back between Jayce's legs and brushed Jayce's shoulder
with the white tip, then Jayce's face, along his cheek.

Jaden realized he had begun breathing faster.

"Here, kitty kitty." Marcus ordered. Jayce withdrew.

Asha was so graceful even bound and as he neared the bowl on his knees,
moaning softly at what Jayce had done to him, Marcus nudged it back further
with his boot, making cream slosh over onto the golden floor. Asha made a
soft sigh, his pale green eyes trembling, the skin of his hands turning a
pink from the tight white leather binds that crisscrossed his wrists and up
his forearms.

Jaden knew he himself was pale but he grew gold in the sun, however, he
knew Asha's porcelain skin would never bear it. His long white pony tail
was coming loose behind his neck, stray pale strands fallen down into his
face as he leaned forward, his lean graceful legs moving slowly, wary of
Marcus and this new game. The snow white tail lay limp behind him, trailing
behind him on the floor. Jaden wanted to touch it, the white fur looked
very soft.

Marcus had finally let Asha reach the bowl. Asha looked up at him, his tail
raising and curling upwards in hesitate anticipation. "Spread your knees."
Marcus watched Asha struggle to comply and shook his head. "Wider pet."

Asha sighed again, spreading his knees very far apart in the white hose
that ended mid-thigh, the pink stain on his face deepening when Jaden saw
him realize how exposed he would be if he were to lean over.

"Drink."

Looking down at the bowl and he leaned down slowly, his hands trapped
behind his back, and carefully began to lap at the cream. Jaden watched his
pink tongue dip into the white cream over and over again, the long tail lay
close to the ground, curled slight upwards, flicking this way and that.

Marcus walked behind him and knelt down, his black gloved hand startling on
the pale flesh of Asha's thighs. He touched the inner thigh and then slid
his hand between the parted legs. Asha gasped and made to straighten, but
Marcus grabbed his tail and yanked it up, making Asha yelp in pain. Asha
moaned softly into his bowl of cream as Marcus's hand felt his balls and
stroked the length of his sex, the free half of his tortured tail whipping
frantically in Marcus's grip.

Marcus was attaching a chain to the white leather collar.

Jaden bit at his lip.

Jayce startled Jaden by snaking an arm across his chest from behind him.

"Come with me."

Jayce felt himself smile sweetly at Jaden. The sweet smile generally
brought others to apprehension or at best hostility but this Key was much
different from the ones he knew of in the Queen's court. This Cobalt Key
didn't play the same games, let alone know any of the same rules. The Court
Keys weren't allowed among the private Keys very often and Jayce was
beginning to see why.

"Pretty Jaden." Jayce began. "I've brought you a present." He gestured to
the table Asha had been standing on.

Jaden turned his head towards the table before he took his violet eyes off
Jayce, and the small gesture of distrust made Jayce smile. "I only have
your interests at heart Jaden, you can trust me." But gods was Jaden
beautiful, black hair had always fascinated him, and that soft pink mouth,
it looked as if Jaden wore paint, but Jayce could see that this close,
Jaden didn't. But Jaden was looking at the strange tall and narrow bottle
on the table, filled with a dark golden fluid.

"But what is it?" Jaden asked in a small voice, his gaze flickering from
Jayce to beyond him, to Asha.

Jayce didn't miss that look, this innocent little Key was getting curious.

"Something that will help you please your new Master. The queen wanted you
to have it."

That was a lie. The Queen had about as much to do with that bottle as Jayce
felt like helping Jaden. Jayce bit his tongue to keep from laughing. He had
a tendency to laugh out loud when he was deceiving someone.

"You'll find that if you take a small drink from that bottle, things will
look differently to you."

Jaden shifted, biting at his lower lip. "What do you mean?"

Jayce could see him wanting help, but he was hesitating.

~What has that Asha told him?~ Jayce wondered idly.

Asha. The kitten key.

Jayce looked back at Asha lapping miserably at the bowl of cream and
smirked. He had found out Asha's ~secret~ the day Asha, a private Key had
parted his sweet legs and surrendered to Jayce behind the Queen's throne
room. Jayce, despite himself, had been rather intrigued. He had heard
bizarre rumors when he had arrived at the palace of such Keys. There was a
creature, made Key, with wings tucked away somewhere on the palace grounds
and even a Key that could change his appearance, like a lizard it's
colours.

Rumors. Or so he had thought. Maybe more of these strange Keys existed?

Asha had begged and wept to him for it to remain a secret. Jayce had
hurriedly agreed so that he could push Asha back and let this spoiled
private Key show him if he had learned anything. It was strange but he sort
of liked it. He could see Jaden's new Master did as well. ~ That precious
private Key, Lord Reeven's own! Put on a chain and drinking from a bowl!~
Jayce did laugh out loud then. He wondered about this Captain.

Marcus.

Another war machine shoved back into the decadent life of the court,
expected to act like nothing but peace had ever existed. He was very
different from the older diplomats or boring counsel members that fell
asleep on Jayce after their clumsy touches and their quick finishes. Jayce
had heard of this Captain mentioned many times around the Queen but never
laid eyes on him until this night. He was as young as they claimed. Marcus,
the boy hero. Marcus, the winner of wars. Marcus, winner of a Key.

This Cobalt Key.

Some of the Keys were more special than others, the private Keys. Given a
room of their own like a jeweled cage, tended to as if they were not the
servants but the served. Jaden had never been passed to a guest like a
cheap wine, or groped by the servants when no one was about to chastise
them. Jaden never woke in the morning unsure of what bed he would find
himself in. Jaden's virginity was like his beauty, it was a reward to
Marcus, Jaden was a prize. Jayce felt himself frown. Jaden wasn't common.
Jaden was special.

Jayce suddenly realized that he hated him.

Jayce drew close and spoke slowly. "Now when your new Master fucks you,"
Jayce began, his smile going thin and cold at Jaden's shocked look,"..don't
you want to be a brave boy for your new Master and not cry?"

Tears threatened at Jaden's smoky violet eyes but he worked hard to fight
them, his thick black lashes fluttering against his cheeks. "Y-yes." Jaden
seemed to know enough that he was being mocked.

"Drink." Jayce pressed the cold glass lip of the bottle to Jaden's lips but
Jaden still backed away.

Jayce paused and brought to the bottle to his own and sipped a little of
the fluid himself, the strong burn of it filling his mouth, a gentle
pleasant burn down his throat and in his chest.

"You see? It is safe."

Jaden considered the bottle after Jayce had drank it and nodded slowly,
taking the tall narrow bottle from him. Jayce stopped Jaden when he thought
Jaden had drank enough, too much was almost as bad as too little, and Jayce
wanted this to be perfect.

"What will happen now?" Jaden asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his
hand, his voice low and unsure.

Jayce smiled. "Now, we wait."

To be continued....


                           The Cobalt Key part 4

                                  by Mink



         The deepest part of the night had begun, the wind sighed softly
through the bamboo so far off below in the gardens, the tall green branches
rattling gently together. The sky was cloudless and cold, the rain gone,
the moon shining silver on the white snow capped mountains that loomed
above. The court was languid with drink, the music gone and replaced with
the soft chimes that swayed in the windows. The Queen's ladies were drowsy
in each other's arms, the rowdy crowds now sleeping or turned to much
quieter play. Far up in the watch towers, the guards rubbed their eyes and
maintained their vigil waiting for the morning to stain the horizon pink.

        The palace lights winked out one by one.

        But the window belonging to the Cobalt Key still wavered in candle
light.

        Jayce lay back onto the cushions Jaden arranged so carefully
everyday, and poured himself a deep red glass of wine as if he were a lord.
"How do you feel Jaden?"

        Jaden sat down stiffly among the cushions, his eyes fluttering, his
face flushed and hot. The golden fluid he had sipped from the decanter
Jayce had given him, it still burned his throat with a gentle warmth,
spreading through his body in soft waves, his senses sharpening, making his
thoughts slow to a drowsy ache. "I...I don't know." He managed, his gaze
going to Jayce's dancing blue eyes.

        Jaden felt an unfamiliar flare of anger towards Jayce, that smug
smile, and that easy laugh as if he always was seeing something around him
that he found ridiculous.

        And what he found was probably you.

        Jaden couldn't help be hurt over and over by it, no one had ever
treated him like that. This court Key was nothing like the soft spoken
servants that lay out Jaden's clothing or brought flowers for him to
decorate his room. Why was Jayce under this thin veil of cruelty, what had
Jaden ever done to him? Or to anyone?

        Jayce sat up, his tilted to the side and gently ran his hand down
Jaden's bare back.

        Jaden gasped, his senses exploding, the simple touch of a hand
sending shivers down his spine and making his skin prickle. Jayce laughed
softly behind him, collapsing back into the pillows. "Do you know now?"

       Whimpering just a little, his hands going over the his black silk
pants and between his legs trying to cover what the simple touch had done
to him. His violet eyes went to his new Master with a new frightened
wonder.

                              ****************

        Master Marcus had pulled Asha up by his white collar and handed it
to Jayce.

        Jayce wrapped the long chain attached to Asha's collar around
Jaden's neck and then around his pale bare chest, pushing him down gently
onto the hard floor. Asha's white tail flickered softly behind him as he
was eased on top on Jaden on the floor, his arms going around Jaden
hungrily and leaving small burning kisses on Jaden's face and throat.

        The chains wrapped around his waist, then loosely around his wrists
and entwined around Asha's bare thighs, then over the black silk Jaden
still wore.

        Did the Master wish to see Asha and his Key play? Jaden wanted to
touch Asha much more than the chains permitted him, the scent of the oil on
Asha's skin made Jaden's eyes flutter in want. The burn in him made him
forget his shy nature and turn to listen to his desire, all his shame lost.
It wasn't just his Master that wanted him to touch Asha, Jaden wanted to do
much more than that, the idea vaguely shocking him as he realized it.

        Asha and Jaden both hissed when Jayce yanked the chains slack,
making them slide and tighten over their skin. They were bound together
chest to chest, Asha's face pressed into Jaden's shoulder, the cold stone
pressed against Jaden's bare back.

        Asha's weight felt good, the chains wrapped around his body slid
over his skin like hands when Asha moved. Jaden could feel Asha's hard sex
against his own, pressed down on his thigh with his body weight, his soft
moans the only sounds except his Master slowly unbuckling his armor.

        He could have pushed Asha gently from him if he wanted to. He could
defy his new Master, and he almost did, his hands working through the thin
chains. He stopped when he saw his new Master's face stand over them both.
His silver armor was gone, and so was his shirt, leaving him bare to the
waist. Marcus's long red hair hung around his face and down his powerful
chest, a gloved hand moved over the crotch of his black pants.

        Jaden realized suddenly what his Master meant to do.

        Jaden felt Asha's hips being pulled up, and Asha hold his breath
over him, Asha's hands squeezing his. Marcus set Asha on his knees over
Jaden.

        Asha gasped over him, his hands clenching and unclenching over
Jaden's.

        This was torture. Why wouldn't his new master touch him?

        Asha let out a harsh moan into Jaden's neck as Marcus pushed into
his slight body, his white hair sliding down to cover Jaden's chest and
tickle his sides.

        Jaden shut his eyes, being jerked harshly under them both. Asha was
involuntarily rubbing against him in time with Marcus's thrusts. He tried
to touch himself but his wrists were hopelessly tangled in thin chains. So
instead he opened his mouth to Asha's, feeling the pale Key moan into his
mouth as Marcus took him. Asha shuddered over him, hot and wet on Jaden's
black silk.

        His Master stood, buckling his pants back up. Asha lay panting on
Jaden, his body warm and trembling.

        Jaden felt tears. Why? Why didn't his Master want him? He was
answered as if he had murmured the words out loud.

        "You I am saving."



                             *****************

        Marcus drank his glass of wine down, the pleasant throb of his sex
relaxing him more than he had allowed himself in months. He had barely
lasted in the tight young boy kneeling under him.

        He had dismissed them both. Asha left quietly and quickly still
trying to fasten the fancy knot on his silver silk pants. Jayce had left
with nothing more than a small nod and a amused look. Marcus promised
himself he would find Jayce again as he watched him close the door behind
him.

        Jaden had retreated to a far off corner of the golden room.

        Marcus could see him try not touch himself, and bring the relief
the merciless drug demanded.  What a shy Key.   It was starting to annoy
him.

        "Not tonight." Marcus said simply. "Maybe not for many nights."

        He heard Jaden make a small sound and look to him under a fringe of
his raven black hair with eyes made purple in candle light.

        "I brought you something." Marcus moved to his things that he had
brought to the Cobalt Key's rooms. His rooms now. "Do not expect gifts from
me often."

        He held up a belt and was pleased when Jaden's eyes widened.

        "This will help you wait." The belt had a thick smooth phallus
attached to the back of it and a shiny silver cup on the other end.

        Marcus walked slowly towards Jaden, the very top of his pants
unbuckled still. His Key looked as if he might try to back away but at the
last moment decided not to. Jaden instead sighed and watched him with large
frightened eyes.

        The tall Captain took him by ta white wrist and lay him face down
over his knee, pulling down the black silk down his thighs. He could feel
Jaden's hard sex pressed against him, and the Key squirmed in shame as he
was exposed. Perfect white skin. Marcus wondered if he could wait as long
as he wanted to.

        Cupping the hard sex with his hand between his thighs, Marcus eased
the short but thick phallus into the boy's body. The Key spread his legs
wider, and moaned softly, pressing his sex into Marcus's hand.

        "A virgin." Marcus murmured buckling the back of the strap to the
belt. "This will help you wait and to be ready for me when I am ready."

        The belt around his waist tightened making Jaden gasp, the metal
cup closed coldly over his sex. The young Key writhed under his Master's
unrelenting hands.

        "And this," Marcus ripped the delicate chain of bells from Jaden's
ankle and tossed it onto the floor. "I never want to see it again."

                               *************

        It had been three days since his Master had given him his "gift".
He had not seen his Master since and was very dismayed to learn Jayce had
been entrusted with the key to his belt so that Jaden may bathe every
morning. Jayce watched him very carefully while Jaden blushed furiously
under the bathing fountain. Jayce's hands on him were humiliating when the
belt was put back into place. Even more terrible was Jaden had started to
look forward to the lingering touches, and it shamed him even more that the
feel of the belt.

        The golden room he had used to love had become a trap. Instead,
Jaden spent his days haunting the court garden, moving nimbly or slowly
along with the pace of his thoughts. Walking among the whispering rustle of
the leaves, memories of milder, simpler days returned, putting him at ease
in the turmoil of his present nights. A deep sense of nostalgia accompanied
these walks, care for all others vanquished. He never consciously thought
about why the scent of the grass and the sight of the brightly-hued flowers
made him feel slightly sad, he just concentrated all their aesthetic beauty
on reminding him that he was, or had been, young.

        The ever present feel of his belt, concealed completely under his
silk pants, made him ache. He had been asked by several servants if he was
feeling okay, he seemed flushed. Jaden's face turned pink at the very
memory, no one knew what his Master was asking him to endure.

        He stopped on the stone path to stare idly at a spray of
startlingly blue snap dragons growing on the lawn. They grew so thickly
that they appeared to him a rich indigo carpet, scented with mild perfume.
He was wondering if flowers everywhere grew to be so exquisite or if his
world kept it all for those in it's walls. It was right then a delicate,
but distinctly audible sobbing met his ears.

        Jaden's violet eyes scanned the lonely garden around him.

        The Key frowned at the unusual noise. At first, he thought it to be
a natural sound of the garden. A lost fox kit or perhaps just a shrill moan
of wind. But the cry did not stop. He looked around him, his eyes searching
the complicated tangle of trees and shrubs for the source of the
whimpering. He saw no one. Not even the rheumatic gardener who was always
mumbling bitterly on each rare occasion Jaden happened upon him.

        The sound was so pathetic and so relentless that soon he began to
feel desperate. Gazing up into a particular cluster of trees not far away,
his heart felt a tug at what he saw.

        It was Asha.

        The pale Key was draped gracefully on the thick branch of a matured
oak tree, lying on his stomach. His hair, unbound, hung free like blanched
ivy in the breeze. One arm also dangled limply in the air, the other being
used to hide his face in the crook of his elbow. He was weeping. Jaden was
surprised to see that his lovely alabaster tail also hung, dejectedly, from
the branch, freed from the constraints of his soft, silver silk breeches.
It drooped down in midair, quivering with the boy's choking sobs.

        "Asha?" Jaden called, his heart aching for the miserable Key.

        At the sound of his name, Asha lifted his head and looked down. His
cheeks were flushed and puffy from crying, his large, mint-colored eyes
ruddy with humiliated tears. He gazed down at Jaden from his perch,
obviously just as surprised to discover that he was not alone.

        "Oh Jaden," he sniffled, wiping a pale hand across his tear-stained
cheek. He looked and sounded the very embodiment of shame. "Jaden, what are
you doing here? Please go away!" His voice trembled on the verge of another
bout of crying. Before his composure broke, he quickly hid his face back
into the refuge of his slim arms, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Upset by Asha's distress, Jaden rushed to the base of the tree, placing a
concerned hand on the trunk.

        "Oh Asha, what's happened? Is something wrong?" he pleaded, gazing
up at Asha's wracked form, close to tears himself. After a few moments,
Asha struggled to control his crying, biting his quivering lower lip. His
tail bristled with anxiety.

        "M-my Master," Asha whimpered between gasps, "H-He found out about
Lord Marcus!" He sniffed again, pulling himself upright a little on the
branch so that he had a better view of Jaden's reaction. Jaden was stunned,
his eyes wide, his breath halted.

        "Oh no!" Jaden exclaimed, finding his tongue again. A small pang of
fear wrenched his insides. "Did...did he _do_ anything?" Surely only his
new Master could have stirred so much discord between Lord Reeven and his
Asha. All the court knew Lord Reeven treated Asha harshly but all the court
also knew that Asha needed only to shed a tear before Reeven begged to be
forgiven. Asha was adored by his Master.

        However, the already anguished boy appeared ten times more
miserable at Jaden's worried query, as if he'd just been made to swallow
gall. His face screwed up and he whimpered, "He pulled my tail...!" With
that, he threw his face into his hands, sobbing as though his heart would
break.

        "Oh Asha...." Jaden sighed, not knowing exactly what to say. As
horrible as it must have been for Asha to have a tail and then have it
pulled, Jaden had no idea as to whether this was enough to go into
hysterics, having no tail of his own. Besides, the pain couldn't have been
the only thing causing the Key's piteous wails. Knowing what he did of
Reeven, surely Asha must have been "punished' before, but like this? Asha's
mournful voice rose again, muffled by his hands.

        "Lord Reeven threatened to cut it off! I told you he would!" He
gave a huge sniff. "He chased me out here with his sword! Oh Jaden, I was
so scared! I-If I ha-hadn't climbed...this tree--" Asha didn't continue,
choosing instead to burst forth with fresh sobs. Jaden's heart was stung,
reaching out to the poor boy.

        Asha's tail started to quiver again, swishing back and forth. Jaden
wanted to reach up and touch it, stroke it with his fingers in an attempt
to soothe. But Asha's lean body turned until he was lying on his side, his
wiry, muscles suited for balancing on the limb. With a sharp flick, he
summoned the tail up until he could grasp it with his fingers. He drew it
to his chin, his pink tongue going out to lick a patch of matted fur near
the tip in a fetching and very feline gesture of hygiene. Jaden felt his
face grow warm at the irresistibly charming display. He wanted more than
anything to be able to hold Asha now. But he was in despair, his
carefully-cleaned tail sagging in his fist.

        Asha's eyes were now focused on the white appendage, chest rising
and falling quickly as he stared at it. His fist was curled so tightly that
it shook.

        "It's all the fault of this stupid tail!" He erupted passionately.
Jaden started at the sudden unfamiliar harshness in the boy's normally soft
voice. "I wish he had cut it off!"

        Taken by surprise, Jaden said the only thing he could think to
reassure him.

        "Asha, please don't cry. I think your tail is beautiful.."

        "It is not!" sobbed Asha, "You say that when you've got a tail you
have to hide for fear of it being ripped from your spine!" Tears streamed
down his cheeks freely, his voice tortured.

        "A-Asha, I didn't mean..." Jaden wavered, wary of continuing. He
wilted, feeling quite helpless and stupid. Asha was right, of course, but
he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful the tail was on the limber
youth. It was a shame Reeven did not appreciate it. Jaden sighed, leaning
his head against the bark in resignation. There was nothing either of them
could do about it if Reeven had the say. Master's could do whatever they
wished.

        Jaden felt the leather straps under his clothes and sighed.

        "Then just hide it," Jaden sighed sadly, his voice humble and soft.
"Hide it. Really, there's no need to speak of cutting it off. I wish you
wouldn't say that..." his voice trailed off. Asha sniffed, letting the tail
fall from his hand. A few tense moments were spent in silence. Asha, in a
determined effort to stop crying, let out one last moan before wiping the
back of his hand across his eyes. He cleaned himself, licking the salty
tears away with short swipes of his tongue. Jaden blew out his breath,
finding a mossy spot at the base of the tree to sit on. He plucked up a
handful of grass, idly twisting it in his fingers, waiting for Asha to pull
himself together. Finally, he heard the leaves rustle as Asha steadied
himself on the branch, stretching his wiry limbs and sighing. Carefully, he
climbed down the tree, hopping easily from branch to branch as nimble as a
squirrel. Finally, he reached the lowest branch and, with a quick gasp,
jumped gracefully beside Jaden kneeling before him.

        "Are you alright now Asha?" asked Jaden, looking up at him in
honest concern. Asha nodded, his tail flickering back and forth around his
face, curling beneath his chin. A small smile tugged at his mouth and he
clambered gently into Jaden's lap, nestling there. Jaden gave a little gasp
at how light the boy was, his mind flashing to the last time Asha had been
so close to him. The white tail moved to wrap about his shoulder, feeling
so soft and feathery that he had to touch it, lightly with his fingertip,
then all out stroking it back with his hand. Asha, being somewhat smaller
than him, leaned against his chest, purring contentedly into his skin.

        "Yes, I'm sorry dear friend. I am alright now." Asha sighed. "I
shall have Lord Reeven's favorite desserts brought to him and lots of
wine?"

        Wishing his Master was so easy to please, Jaden lowered his head
into Asha's hair, nuzzling it. He felt a jolt in Asha's throat as his
purring grew louder, his soft pink tongue going out to brush against
Jaden's knuckles.

        Jaden giggled, "Is that how cats kiss?"

        "How should I know?" asked Asha, now licking his palm. "I'm not a
cat." He stopped licking to take one of Jaden's fingers playfully between
his sharp, white teeth.

        "Hey!"

        "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes," said Asha, sheepishly,
releasing Jaden's fingers.

        Jaden laughed softly, reaching down to pat Asha's back, stroking
down until he reached the tail, then going back up to the nape of his neck.
Asha closed his eyes and buried his face in Jaden's shoulder, purring in a
frenzy. Jaden smiled down at him. It was almost like having a pet and a
friend at the same time. And Asha was a beautiful pet. He didn't want to
admit it, but he'd been secretly aching to see Asha in that collar again.

        He felt Asha's breathing, slow and warm on his neck, and knew that
Asha was falling asleep. The tail in his hand was limp, sagging downward.
He placed it gently on the grass and wrapped his arm around Asha's
shoulders. The sky was dimming now, settling into evening. The garden
solemnly peaceful and still, save for the gentle thrumming of Asha's
throat.

        "Hello boys."

        Jaden felt his heart pick up and thud in his chest. "Hello Jayce."
The court Key stood under a low hanging branch, a freshly plucked red rose
in his hair.

        Jayce smiled at Jaden and the silent sleeping Asha. "I was just at
the water fall." Jayce told him. "And I thought I heard someone." His honey
hair was wet, and his skin dripped with water. The red breeches were
unlaced, letting his entire key mark on his hip be seen.

        "I-I was just leaving." Jaden managed.

        Jayce was dangling a very small key from a piece of ribbon. "Are
you sure?"

to be continued.....

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