I have no idea where the privy is in this place, so I figured it would be quickest to just take him out onto the balcony and he could just aim off into the garden. We passed that Annis guy on our way out of the doors. Kiyui was leaning against a pillar and smiling at us.

  Kiyui: “Let me guess, bathroom break?”

  Tadwick: “I need a wee.”

  Kiyui: “Just pop over there and go over the side into the bushes. Nobody will see.”

  Tadwick: “Kay… can you help me wif dese bwitches, pwease?”

  Kiyui: “Of course, come here.”

  Kiyui bent down and swiftly undid Tadwick’s britches and Tadwick waddled off to go have his wee. Kiyui is rather adept at undoing people’s trousers… I certainly would have taken twice as long… then again… I’m not used to trousers like these… they are certainly bizarre compared to my normal britches.

  Dwynfel: “What did your friend want?”

  Kiyui: “His employer had a proposition for me.”

  Well, isn’t this just an evening for propositions.

  Dwynfel: “Isn’t his employer from the Anubis Empire?”

  Kiyui: “Yup. The second prince Gustav, to be precise.”

  Dwynfel: “And this prince knows you… how exactly?”

  Kiyui: “Through my prior employment, obviously. He wants me to move to the Anubis empire and be one of his concubines.”

  To be fair… I imagine that being a royal concubine is probably one of the most lucrative gigs for a prostitute to have.

  Dwynfel: “Are you considering it?”

  Kiyui: “Oh, Gaia no. No way would I work for Gustav again. The man is sick… the entire family is. He asks me every time he comes to the city. It’s been a while though. He must have struggled to find me when I left Madame Laurent’s.”

  Dwynfel: “Why is he so desperate for you?”

  Kiyui: “He… collects people that he considers rarities.”

  Dwynfel: “Well, a half-breed feline would certainly class as rare.”

  Kiyui: “Exactly. Still, he’s not as bad as fourth prince Petri. That guy is really fucked up. Incidentally, Annis made a personal request of us. Which I would like to fulfil if possible.”

  Dwynfel: “Sure… what is it?”

  Kiyui: “I’ll tell you in the morning. It will require planning, and this is not the place for that.”

  Suddenly Tadwick appeared by Kiyui’s legs.

  Tadwick: “I saw a bunny!”

  Kiyui: “That’s nice, dear. But you should probably tuck that away before you go jumping out at people.”

  Kiyui bent down again and sorted out Tadwick’s trousers.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Tadwick: “Fanks…”

  Kiyui: “Tell you what. Why don’t you go back over there and have a look in the garden to see if you can see any more bunnies. I need to have a little chat with Dwyn, okay?”

  Tadwick: “Okies…”

  Tadwick ran off again to go looking for bunnies. Kiyui stood back up and smiled at me.

  Kiyui: “Dwynfel, do you mind if we talk?”

  Dwynfel: “Umm… sure…”

  Kiyui: “I… I noticed that you’ve been avoiding me…”

  Fuck… fuck… no, no, no, no, no. I’m not ready for this conversation… shit… if I avoid it, I’m going to make him feel awful… but if we talk here, I’m going to end up in tears in front of everyone… fuck… fuck… what do I say?

  Kiyui: “…well… not me specifically. Just… being alone with me. Ever since Purresia, you’re scared to be alone with me.”

  Dwynfel: “Kiyui…”

  Kiyui: “Please… just… let me finish. I know that a lot happened in Purresia. You found out some things about me. Things that nobody else knows. Things that I… that I struggle to talk about. And I’m sorry… I’m really sorry. I never wanted to scare you. When I brought you in there, I didn’t think about how it would make you feel. I brought you in there because I needed you. I needed you because the entire time I’ve known you… you’ve done nothing but support the people around you. You’ve seen me at my worst. And you still stood by me. It was selfish of me to bring you in there. To say those things in front of you… about the things that I’ve done. I scared you… and I feel sick to my stomach because of it.”

  Oh gods… this is my fault… fuck… I’ve made him feel this way… me… this was me.

  Dwynfel: “Gods… Kiyui… no. No, no, no, no, no. That is not the case at all… please… please… please don’t feel bad… please. I have been avoiding being alone with you… but not because I’m scared of you… that isn’t it… that isn’t it at all. It is entirely my own issues… this is all my fault… I swear to you… this is in no way your fault. I’m glad you brought me with you… I’m honestly so happy that you are comfortable sharing that stuff with me… please… please don’t feel bad… at all… ever. You could never do anything wrong… you’re the most perfect thing in my life… please… I love you… please don’t ever think that I’m scared of you… I’m scared of myself… I’m always scared of myself… please…”

  Kiyui looked at me… he had tears welling in his eyes. He moved closer to me; he lightly caressed my cheek with his hand.

  Kiyui: “Did you really mean that?”

  Dwynfel: “Of course I did… I could never be scared of you… you’re the sweetest, most caring, loving, wonderful person that I know.”

  Kiyui: “Not that. You said you love me.”

  Dwynfel: “Oh… umm… well… yes… I did say that… and… umm… well… for the first time in my life… I think… umm… I’ve never been more sure of anything. I do… I love you.”

  Kiyui leaned in and kissed me. Gently at first… then steadily more passionately as I relaxed into it. The whole world seemed to disappear in that moment. I couldn’t think of anything but him… right then, he was my world.