"Yeran?!" Aki's eyes widened to disks.

"What the hell?!"

...

"Are you surprised?" Yeran winked.

"OH gods it is you, wow!" Aki stepped closer, still slightly cautious, but mostly curious.

He poked Yeran's cheek, almost like a wondering cat.

"When Zeke said his disguising skills are good, I did not expected them to be of this caliber," he said.

"We're full of surprises darling Aki, you should know that by now,"

"Where's Ruth Yeran, have you managed to get Nuwee out?" Aki asked hurriedly, unrecognizable husband forgotten after initial surprise.

"Nuwee yes, Ruth, no, Zeke is working on that. Come, here, put these on," Yeran pulled out the bundle on his back, revealing them to be servant's uniform.

"I would have preferred it to be a soldier's, but armour was hard to be snuck in."

"It is probably for the best, unlike Aved, people here tend to consider servants just part of a wall decoration, they would much rather think their chores get done by some divine power rather than acknowledging the grunts." Aki said, starting to strip.

Yeran almost looked away, but was caught hypnotized by the exposed skin of pure porcelain.

Aki stripped off the layers of his robes, including the silk undershirt, for the risk of peeking through the collars of thin servant's garb. Rather be safe than sorry.

He put on the coarse undershirt and the underrobe, fixing the thin cotton over robe together with the cotton sash.

Though inexpensive, the garb was neat and clean, pleasant to look at but never giving a chance to forget their place.

"Let's go," he took the lead, bundling his previous robes together as if laundry of some or other visiting noble.

"Aki," Yeran croaked.

"Hmm?" Aki turned slightly in response, only to have his collar grabbed and be forcefully dragged down into a fierce kiss.

"Just in case we died tonight," Yeran explained, releasing him.

Aki pressed his lips together. Raising a brow.

"I have so many plans for you, Prince Yeran, let's survive the night first," he said, lashes lowering into the same look he gave just before leaving the throne room, only a few hours before.

Yeran shivered.

"OH I certainly do hope so, dearest husband," he winked.

...

"Ruth?" Zeke's eyes fell on the figure leaning against the far side of the dark cell. Barely visible in the dark.

"Zeke?" His voice was dry, painful even to the ear.

Zeke crossed the room in two steps.

"You, you are hurt," he whispered.

"OH heaven's! Ruth, are you okay?" He asked, putting a hand around Ruth, as his grip on the wall started to slip.

"I hope so," He answered.

"I hope you were not trying to be reassuring," Zeke said, helping him sit down, as gentle as he can.

"Because it's not working,"

He proceeded to take off the bulky armour. He will have to improvise now, original plan scrapped over.

"Take me out to dinner first," Ruth teased.

"Shut up,"

Free of additional weight he leaned down to help Ruth up, pulling his arm over his shoulder to brace most of his weight.

He gripped it and put his free hand around Ruth's waist, to which he flinched and almost broke away, before Zeke shifted his grip to the hip and tightened his hand.

"Not there," he gasped.

Zeke could feel the warm wetness soaking into his own clothes, the slippery blood against his fingers and the scent of copper far too thick to be of comfort.

"I'm sorry, we should have had another plan!" Zeke cursed.

"It worked though, didn't it?" Ruth smiled, lightly, even if it came more out as a grimace.

"Just because it worked didn't mean we couldn't have done better, we knew there was a possibilty of this happening," he frowned.

They tried to make their steps as quiet as possible, even if Ruth had to almost bite through his lip to keep the sounds from escaping.

"I volunteered, remember, " he asked, through laborious breathing.

"Yh, well, look where it got you, dipshit!" Zeke muttered, tightening his grasp on Ruth.

"Should I be worried about you bleeding out?" He only remembered to ask halfway up a staircase, worried as he was to take Ruth out of this place of horror.

"I don't, think so? Probably not,"

"I don't think that's a question you should be asking from me, idiot." He scowled.

"Here, sit down, we should probably check,"

"No no, I'm fine, I won't die just yet, let's keep going" Ruth protested.

"I'm running on adrenalin now, Zeke, if we stopped, you will have to carry me," he warningly added with another small smile.

"I did not thought idioism transmits through genes, you are just like your brother, reckless fuckers!,"

Ruth wheezed out, laughing.

"Why are you cursing so much, I'm the one who got tortured,"

"Well excuse me, my brain to mouth filter doesn't work well around idiots!"

"I think that's the third time you called me an idiot in this few minutes,"

"You can't stand up straight and you are asking about my articulation? Shut up!"

'Is humor a defense mechanism for this idiot?'

...

"I do not know if Yor is as stupid as they come or just a smug bastard, to keep all this intact. If it was me, I would have destroyed them a long time ago," Yeran wondered, leafing through a tax documentation.

"Let's go with stupid, it makes me feel better," Aki muttered, startling a laugh out of Yeran.

He turned to glare at Yeran, who tried his level best to muffle it down.

"I'm sorry, I think my hormones are up, I've never done something this dangerous before," he apologized.

"Your hormones could get us killed! Be quiet!" Aki hissed.

"Sorry, sorry,"

"Did you got everything you need?" Yeran asked.

"I don't know!, you are the strategist!" Aki rolled his eyes.

"Right! I remembered that," Yeran scratched his chin.

"Okay, we have records on tax fraud, proof that there is no legal proceeding of entrusting the throne, oh, right, the seal, without it he cannot enforce any orders further," Yeran reminded.

"I know where it us," Aki said, rounding up the table to where the chair is at.

He bent down, trailing fingers over the golden filigree and groves. A fingertip caught on a raised bump, he pressed and with a slight click, a compartment popped out.

It was small, only wide enough to hold the gold and jade seal. Aki carefully lifted it out under Yeran's curious eyes and wrapped it up in the pile of his robes.

"How did you know that it was there?" Yeran asked.

"Mother told me, before she.." Aki broke off, busying himself with making certain his package is properly secured and pushed in the secret compartment.

"Right," Yeran prevented from further comments.

"Let's go, we shouldn't dwindle, that guards sleeping drug might wear off."

"How much did you give him?"

"I didn't look, probably a little too much than healthy, I was pissed you know, he was a jerk!" Yeran made a face.

Aki smiled, lightly, amused.

"Let's go,"

...

Hey.....

What's this? Another chap? So soon? Author is on a roll my dudes,

We're you surprised? Did your mouths popped open?

Comment! And vote! Seriously, comment and vote, they make my day and make me more enthused to write.

See ya,

Arkhane.

...

Yeran.

P. S. : remember my fellows, yeran is a pretty boy, I never told u otherwise. Don't be disappointed after drawing other conclusions 🤫🤫

Aki

Now this dude, here, is the handsome, tall, knight in shining armour.