Karsh got up. It was in the middle of the night, but he couldn't sleep. Actually he didn't know what the time was exactly, the hidden room in the back of the "Dragon's Tail" bar in Termina did not have a window. He looked at the pile of blankets he had been lying on. Not exactly a comfortable place to rest, but this was all they had.

He sighed. He hated it. To be hiding like this... but after the late events, this was the only choice for him and Zoah. Lady Riddel was still in Viper Manor. And Viper Manor was full of Porre military. They needed to get her out of there, but how? Right now, all they could do was hide in here and try to think of a plan to safe her.

"Damn it," he muttered quietly.

He glanced around the small room. Nothing fancy - a table and a chair, a stool and a few boxes that served as stools, and some blankets, plus a pile of boxes and some barrels beside the two of the walls. There were swords in one of the boxes, but what use does a sword have if there's no-one to wield it? Karsh shook his head. The hidden headquarters of the Acacia Dragoons... It was actually a storage room of some kind. But now... Tara, the woman who owned "the Dragon's tail", was helping them by letting them hide in here. She brought them food and water... and information. She delivered them messages from the few knights hiding around Termina. So far, only two of them had been able to come here to talk to the Devas. Karsh glanced behind him. Zoah was asleep.

He just hated it. In this situation, there was nothing he could do. He hoped Lord Viper and Marcy were alright... They were on a small island northeast of here, in a place called "The Hermit's hideout", where a former Deva, Radius, lived. Lord Viper was seriously injured. Hopefully, he would recover... After what had happened in Fort Dragonia...

That kid, Serge. He had come there, with that blonde thief girl. And Glenn, one of the Dragoons... Dario's younger brother. But that was not all. Lynx... Lord Viper, the Devas and the Dragoons... They had been searching for the Frozen flame. Knowing that the Porre military was up to something, they had gone to Fort Dragonia... Well, that was Lynx's idea.

He was supposed to be ally, not an enemy. But... That bastard had stabbed Lord Viper. The three Devas had been too late, they had arrived only to see... that boy, Serge, leave with the thief girl, using some magic trick. The room was in a bad shape, Lord Viper injured, and Lynx was nowhere to be seen. Lynx... Well. Actually... Lynx was not Lynx.

It was Serge. Junior, as Karsh called him. The real Lynx had... taken his body? Switched bodies with him. Lord Viper had seen all this, although seriously wounded. Karsh knew this because Lord Viper talked asleep. It was all too hard to understand, but it had happened.

"Lynx. Damn... Karsh, you're so blind," he said to himself. "You should've seen through it..."

He sat by the wall, and stared at the floor. He had no idea where the kid was now. In Lynx's body, of course. And he had no idea what Lynx was up to. In the boy's body... Right now, he was around here somewhere, causing trouble. Karsh had heard that he commanded an army of monsters.

And then, the other problem, the more serious one. When he and Zoah had returned to the main island, they were told that the Porre military was here. They had the control over the island. There were soldiers in Viper Manor, in Termina, everywhere around the main island of El Nido archipelago. They had come here while Lord Viper, the Devas and most of the Dragoons were away in Fort Dragonia, and while Viper Manor was mostly empty.

The Porre military... They were too strong. The Dragoons had no leader, so they were afraid to fight. Right now, the soldiers were investigating the area. Looking for information about the Frozen flame. And Lord Viper and the Acacia Dragoons... Karsh hoped that the Dragoons were safe. He had no idea where most of them were, only the few knights who were hiding around Termina. He knew about the ones who were helping him and Zoah. And those knights knew why the two Devas were here.

But then again... Karsh he had no idea where Glenn was. He had been with Serge in Fort Dragonia, but now no-one knew where he was. He had vanished. Lynx had probably used some magic thing to get him out of there. Well, Glenn was most likely safe. He could take care of himself, and hide from the Porre soldiers. Karsh felt guilty. He didn't know where Dario's brother was. He had vanished without a trace. Just like Serge... or was it Lynx? And he only prayed that Lady Riddel was safe.

A few minutes passed. Karsh finally raised his head. He needed something to drink. He had been awake for hours now. He was quite sure he hadn't slept a minute in the whole night. He got up and walked to one of the barrels. It was empty. He sighed. Just great. Now what? It was in the middle of the night... He had to go wake up Tara, or go get the water himself.

Karsh wrapped a cloak around him, and covered most of his face with it. He didn't want to be caught by the Porre soldiers. The soldiers had closed the bar for the time being, but the possibility that one of them was checking the bar still remained.

He left the room quietly, making sure there was no-one on the other side of the entrance. He opened the door that led to the bar. The door was open; he glanced around nervously. Tara usually kept it locked.

The bar was not empty. Someone was sitting in the table in next to the wall near the main entrance. Karsh hid behind the counter and took a better look at the room.

The man sitting in the table had white clothes, and a long, braided white hair. He was reading a book. A mage's staff hovered in the air behind him.

Karsh got up, went through the door and walked to him.

"Guile?"

Guile, not raising his head from the book, said, "Sir Karsh."

Karsh sat in a chair next to Guile. "What are you doing in here?"

"It's late after midnight. Sun will rise in a couple of hours... Tara is asleep."

"So?" Karsh replied, and thought "Ah, so I've really been awake half the damn night already?"

Guile turned the page of his book and continued reading.

"Still didn't answer my question," Karsh finally said.

"Ah, what am I doing here? Reading."

"I can see that."

Guile raised his head. "Is something wrong?"

"No... I was just... have to go get some water."

Guile closed the book. "I'll do it. Go back, we can't risk them seeing you around. The Porre guards will stop and question anyone outside during the night."

"Well... alright..."

Karsh got up and returned to the hidden room. Zoah was still sleeping. Well, there had to be more noise to wake the other Deva up. It was only Karsh moving around the room. He smiled to himself. He could probably start practising here right now, and Zoah would keep snoring. He threw the cloak on the floor and sat down where he had been sitting previously.

Damn it. The Porre soldiers... They were threatening people. All the shops, bars and such were closed, except for the Element shop. And they gave rewards for captured Dragoons. They still had no idea where the three Devas were. Or Lord Viper, for that matter. And Karsh knew for sure that they wanted to know. But none of the Dragoons would ever tell them. Mostly because they didn't know where their leaders were.

The Porre soldiers were probably threatening his parents by now, too. That was useless, they didn't even know he was here in Termina. The other reason his parents would be threatened for... His father was a blacksmith. He made weapons. Well, Karsh was sure they were safe. He only wished his father wouldn't start fighting with the soldiers.

Now he had to think of a way to surprise them. To get inside Viper Manor and save Lade Riddel. And what about Lynx? The real Lynx, of course. And then junior... Karsh was hoping he would show up. Well, he was in Lynx's body, but... That could be an advantage. Karsh so wished that Dario was still alive. The Porre military had feared him. If his friend, the 14th Acacia Dragoon Grandmaster, was alive, this all probably had not happened. And if it had, they would surely have saved Lady Riddel from Viper Manor already.

Dario... He had been stronger than Karsh. Much stronger, and calmer. And smarter. An excellent fighter... More like a real knight. Karsh missed him. Dario, his best friend since early childhood... His training partner. His rival, and his lover... No. He was not supposed to think about that. He didn't want to. Dario had loved Lady Riddel. Karsh had loved her, too. Had Dario loved him...? Of course not. It was something he should never even think about. It was all in the past. Dario was dead. Dead because...

Someone entered the room. In a blink of an eye, Karsh jumped up, turned around and lifted his axe. It was Guile.

"Damn! Watch it. I could've..." Karsh lowered his axe.

"You shouldn't be so nervous. You knew I was going to come here."

"Yeah... right."

Karsh sat down again, and let the axe drop on the floor. A few more days in here, and he would probably go crazy or something. He had to think of a plan... but nothing seemed good enough. He and Zoah had been thinking for days already, but there were too many Porre soldiers around. Just the two of them... They were not enough.

"Sir Karsh?"

"What?"

"The water. I brought some soup, too. It's cold, but I though you might be hungry."

"Oh... right. Thanks." Karsh got up. He took what was offered to him, sat in the only real chair by the table and started to eat the soup. It was cold alright, but it tasted good.

Guile stood by the wall. He watched Karsh's every move. He took a deep breath. "Holy Dragon God, he's gorgeous..." he thought, admiring Karsh half-naked body. He had long silver hair, a bit darker than Guile's. In daylight, it looked a bit bluish. Right now, dark gray. But the way it ran down Karsh's bare back...

"Guile?" Karsh finished the soup and stood up.

Guile took another deep breath. He's so... beautiful, he thought.

Karsh walked in front of Guile. Amused, he raised an eyebrow.

"Guile. Are you staring at me?"

"What? I was..." Guile suddenly realized Karsh was standing in front of him.

"What were ya staring at?"

"Nothing." The mage turned away, and thought, Oh great, he noticed.

"C'mon, I wanna know."

Guile turned slowly. "Nothing. All right?"

"Really. Nothing, eh." Karsh looked up in the mage's green eyes.

"Sir Karsh. I did not..."

Karsh walked to the table. "The hell with it. Well, get lost, I can't think when you're around."

"Is something bothering you? It's after midnight, you really should get some sleep."

"None of your business. Go read your book."

"Alright then..." Guile turned to leave.

Karsh looked at him. "A question?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you up so late, anyway? You were reading... But in the bar? Why? You owe Tara something?"

Guile smiled. "Just lost a little bet. So, she wished me to stay here during the nights. You never know about those Porre soldiers."

"Right. So shouldn't ya go back then?"

"My staff is still in there. I'll know if anyone enters." Guile took a few steps and stopped next to Karsh. "Sir Karsh, why do you look so worried?"

"Considering the situation... shouldn't I?"

"Well, yes."

Karsh shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He sat in the chair again, rested his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands.

Guile moved behind him, and put his hands down on Karsh's shoulders. His muscles were tense.

"Hey... Ouch." Karsh raised his head and turned to look at him.

"You work too hard. Lie down, I'll give you a massage."

"Yeah, right."

"No, I mean it."

Karsh got up. He sighed. "You gotta be kidding..."

"I am not. Lie down."

Karsh shrugged. He took one of the blankets, spread it on the floor and lay down. Guile sat on the floor next to him. He put his hands on Karsh's back, and moved them up his shoulders firmly.

"Ow."

Guile smiled. "Did that hurt? You need to relax."

"Guess so..."

Guile touched his shoulders softly. Karsh relaxed a little. Guile started massaging him.

After some time, Karsh raised his head a little.

"Guile...?"

"What?"

"Where did you learn to do this?"

"Magic. Alright, maybe you could just call it 'natural talent'." Guile smiled. "This is actually one of the reasons Tara likes to keep me around. I do this to her from time to time. She works way too much."

"You're right about that..."

"She's a strong woman. Better be, there are more than enough customers in the bar every day."

"You should know, you're there daily. When it's open, that is. And during the nights when it's not..."

"I sure am. But, there's one thing I don't do to Tara when I give her a massage."

"Oh, what?"

"This." Guile bent down and kissed Karsh's neck.

"Guile..." Karsh turned to his back. "Tara would surely slap you if ya did that."

Guile smiled again. "But you won't."

"You sure?"

"Hmm. Are you betting on it?"

Karsh laughed. "No! I'd lose."

"Well that's completely up to you. All you need to do is slap me."

Karsh got up. "But why would I do that... When... I can do this."

He knelt beside the mage and kissed him.

"How did ya like that?" He touched Guile's face gently.

"Mmm. What was that for, Sir Karsh?"

"For the water?"

"Ah, that." Guile got up. "Well, I'd... better go back to the bar."

Karsh grinned. "Yeah, your mage staff is probably starting to feel lonely."

"Think so?"

"Maybe, but it'll have to wait for a one short moment..." Karsh pulled Guile close to him and gave him a passionate kiss.

Guile took a deep breath. "Well, that was something I didn't expect..."

Karsh looked at his green eyes and smiled. He let the mage go. Guile turned his head and looked at Zoah's direction.

"Is Sir Zoah still asleep?"

"Ha! You really worried about that? Zoah wouldn't wake up even if a dozen of dragons ran by. I could make love to you right here, and he'd be sleeping the whole time."

Guile looked at him. "Really. And I should believe that?"

"Well, wanna try?" Karsh touched his cheek teasingly.

Guile looked him in the eyes. "No, I think I'm going to believe you this time. After all, you know him better than I do..."

Karsh was still smiling. "Another time then. Well, I'm gonna get some sleep now. Good night."

"Good night."

Karsh lay down, covered himself with a blanket and closed his eyes.

Guile looked at him. Another time...? he thought, smiling. He stayed there for a little longer, then left the room silently.

Author's notes:

((There were no original author's notes here. Looking at this now, in March 2007, I can safely say this is one of my worst fics ever. Admitted, it was also the first yaoi-ish fic, but that's barely an excuse for the suckiness. I've definitely come a long way since then. ))

- Elmina (January, 2001)