He smiled, he may not need to use his boon after all. He had one last question for the boy since his eyes were already heavy with sleep. "Would you like a vacation from your ivory tower? I'll offer my blood that no one will kill you so long as I am around." He held up his already punctured thumb.

He looked at the young man. His haughty attitude was driving him banana's. Ree felt like the young man had no right to claim something that was offered to him. He shook his head, his mother would expect him to play a decent host. “The bed is yours tonight.” He said sliding from its edge to recurl himself up on his spot on the floor.

A small boy turned and looked at Yianni, lying on the bed. He gave him a measuring gaze before answering. “Chopping wood....” He said before turning back to his own duties.

Ree did not hear the soft foot steps over the loud cracking of wood. His mind was on estimating how long their stores would last before he would have to forage for more wood. A loud cracking snap echoed through the small yard. He assumed that the person approaching was a child. “The wood for the stove is in that pile, I will heat the furnace, tell every one the water shall be hot with in a hour.” He wiped the early morning sweat off his brow before raising his rusted axe again.

When he wasn't responded with his usual yes sir, Ree paused and turned to make sure it wasn't the mute boy. Instead he was completely surprised to see the royal disappearing back inside the house. He blinked returning to his chopping. Once he was finished he gathered a hearty pile of wood into his arms and made his way to the basement, to the furnace that controlled all of the heat in the house. While the older kids could maintain it, he was the only one who could start it. He rose from the basement and joined the other in the kitchen. He paused at the door listening to his mother, and a few older girls ushering the little ones on what small reading lessons they could, other children scrambled for the tub getting the hot water while it was fresh. Ree found a dry rag, and cleansed his face of sweat. He reached out taking a slice of bread from the table. “Thank you... for helping.” The words felt strange coming out of his mouth, especially towards Yianni.

He did not understand the nobles since, he merely took it as him being true to his word on silence. He laughed. “What is ours is yours, you are our guest until, I get you home.” He slid a plate with butter towards the other. “One of our girls is a nurse at a small farm. They pay her in goods so there is enough to share until winter season.” He took another bite of his bread and thought no more of the others silence. “I will find you some more clothing, once you are ready we will bathe.” He rose from the table taking another slice of bread with him and disappeared into the hive of children.

He escaped the clamor of the children and once again disappeared into the house. He found his mothers scrap pile of clothes. He found a decent shirt, breeches and an extra towels. He came back to the find the other munching on breakfast. Ree gestured for the other to follow him and made his way through another maze to the small bathroom with a large tub, it still had a reserve of water in the bottom. Since the little ones were bathing all the house, he ran what hot water he could into the washer tub and started to shred himself of his clothing, setting it on a shelf and pulling a wash cloth and spare soap. He tested the water before getting in.

Ree did not watch the other nor look at him until he was fully submerged shrouded by the steamy murky water. He started washing himself. There were still many patches of soot over his body from the previous days explosion. The question caught him off guard. It was the first time he noticed the other was not cleaning himself. Ree plucked a rag up and rubbed it against the bar of soap and then lightly messaged the boys knee cap with a sigh, the other would not have to learn his life style, he thought. He lifted the leg and started to shrub the under side of the pale leg. “Its not something you should worry about.” He said gruffly..

To that he laughed as he rinsed the rag out and switched legs. “Do you think one woman could breed this much? You must have no concept of the world at all. No a lot of them, their parents could not afford another mouth to feed so they were turned out, or they were abandoned at birth, beaten, bruised, street children who would have picked up the trade of crime. You would be surprised how warm food, clothes and a safe place to sleep can change the mind of a child. It gives them hope. Usually the ones that are too broken do not come to my mothers arms.” He gently set the foot down back into the tub. “I need you to turn around and come closer so that I can wash the rest of you.”

Tenderly, Ree touched the muscles on the others back scrubbing in small circles. The answer to Yianni's next question lay stuck in his throat. His fingers climbed up his spine. “She is our mother.” He wished the other would just let them bathe in silence. He felt strange, like he was being inquired by police.

Ree did as the other requested controlling his touch so that the cloth graced the delicate skin with a slight touch. The information about his mother while strange that he shared, not wholly unexpected. “What is it like to have others do things for you and to live in such a big space you can not fill it?”

Ree flinched back at the sudden movements dropping the cloth. .His long leg moved out of the way and arched its self over the boys giving him more room to sprawl out. “Surely you have other royal friends, a court... some one you can talk to... an adviser?” He picked up the cloth again reaching out to take the others arm. He lifted it into the air giving him access to the nobles pale chest. He let the idle hand fall to his shoulder so that he could steady himself, curling his fingers around the edge of the bin. Ree reached forward giving him access to the full curve of Yianni's chest. He paused. “... what is your name?”

He hesitated, wondering how much he should let the royal know about him. “ReeazuhKuss” He said like some one reading out a for the first time. It was always how he learned to say his name even though he recognized the letters he could never write it out in spelling. He smiled “....Kaiiorotha... Yexiall...you are clean.”

Ree nodded opening his mouth until he saw the strange gesture. The space inside the tub was too small. He tried to look any where but at the young man that was now looming over him. The darken flesh flushed red inside the water. “I prefer to be called Ree. It helps me remain anonymous.” he swiped at his abandoned cloth and started to wash himself. “There are clothes on the shelf and a towel.” He said gruffly hiding what he could with his cloth and the small attempt to clean himself.

He studied the other and it felt like something dropped in the pit of stomach. His face reminded him of when a new brother gets blamed for doing something wrong. He sprang out of the tub dropping his cloth that hid him. “Kais... whats wrong?”

He tipped over the tub trying to chase after the other. He tackled him before he could make it back into the main area of the house. “No.. you... you will scare the children.” He whispered harshly.

He grabbed the other by the ankle not letting go. He pulled the body back towards him causing it to fall again. Once Kais was down he scrambled to pin him again. He breathed heavily. "Stop trying to run away."

The noble was just adding to what already existed. Ree waited out every punch until the other was breathing heavily beneath him.He focused on the grey eyes. "Kais, listen... mother is blind she has good hearing do not yell." He preferred not to show up at the castle with the prince as a sleeping log. As soon as his hand rose from the others mouth, he heard the hushed demands to be let up from the ground and a surly rebuttal against being called a whore. "Only if you put on all of your clothes." He said back suddenly realizing bath time and normal conversation was an illusion.

He did as commanded but not before his fingers got their revenge by smacking his hand back. Once back in the washing room, Ree tossed his clothes at the other and climbed into the now cold water. He cleaned the evidence of their scuffle off his legs before draining the tub. He dressed quickly and led the other back into the house. Before leaving again, Ree took a few silver, but then gave the rest to Mother promising her it was enough to pay the taxes and by a small store of grain and wood. She was surprised at the weight of the bag, and Ree cut off any question she had. He stuffed his hair into the hat again, before running into Kais. "Lets get you out of my hair." He said leading the other out of the ramshackle and into the streets. Some part of Rees brain recalled that the royal rarely visited the city. "Would you like a tour... see the city for your self before you have to go back to your ivory tower?"

The boy didn't answer, and Ree did not think any more of it, instead he was given a list of things that the hovel needed by one of the elder girls. Many of the little ones were getting sick, and he had to negotiate a labor apprenticeship for one of the kids. Ree grabbed yet another slice of bread before leaving and gestured to his other task that had found himself a quiet place among the hive to hide. He headed towards the harbor, hoping to catch the ships captain before he set sail.