Agni awoke with a scream.

His hands were drenched in blood, dark red liquid dripping onto the white sheets. He trembled, throwing aside his blanket and tumbling out of his bed.

Throwing on a sherwani, he fumbled with the doorknob and stormed out onto the corridor. Agni made his way through the palace, stopping when he reached one of the countless pavilions that lined the gardens.

Catching his breath, the servant leaned against a pillar. It was only then that he realized that somebody was already there.

"Agni? Are you alright?"

He jumped. No, he wasn't alone. In fact, next to him sat the prince.

Soma wore a worried look. His hair was tangled, his body barely clothed.

"My prince? W-Why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep," Soma answered.

Indeed, he wore exactly what he'd worn when Agni had put him to bed. Only, that he looked more disheveled. He didn't answer, instead, he sat down next to the prince, running his hands through his short white hair.

"And you?" Soma asked. He didn't sound concerned, more than simply curious.

"I…I had a bad dream," Agni confessed. He had promised himself not to lie to his prince. Ever. Not under any circumstances and especially not for his own sake.

The silence stretched on. They only heard the quiet sounds of birds, who rustled the leaves in the trees and the light breeze that dominated this September night.

"I see." It was a simple sentence. Actually, because Soma didn't really know what he could say in return. "How bad?"

"I dreamed of a past life."

A simple nod was the only answer Soma gave. Turning to look at his khansama, he shot him a smile.

"You know, not that I'm curious, but Meena once told me that it helps to talk about those dreams, when you want to forget them."

Agni really didn't like Meena. There was something about the woman that made his flesh crawl and he really tried to avoid talking about her. But, somehow, what the prince just told him, made him feel a little at ease.

"Yes, you…you could be right, my prince," he admitted, "May I?"

"Would I have proposed this idea if not?"

Well, he was right.

So Agni just sighed, preparing himself for the judgment of his prince. But when he made to start his tale, he found that no words came to him. Instead, it felt like his voice broke and suddenly, tears started streaming down his cheeks.

He brought his hands up to cover his face, hastily wiping away the tears. But to no avail.

He jumped when he felt the prince's hand on his shoulder. Soma started rubbing gentle circles on the taller man's back.

"I mean, you don't have to tell me, if you fear that'll only make it worse. But remember, you said so yourself, those are only hauntings from a past life. Don't worry too much about it."

"But how could I ever forget?" Agni sobbed, shaking terribly. He sounded like he desperately searched for an answer. And Soma really believed that all his butler wanted was to find a way to redeem his actions.

Sighing, Soma took his hand off of Agni's back and instead cradled it in his lap.

"Well…I think you cannot really forget something like that. It can fade perhaps, but it will never actually leave you." Realizing that this didn't have the soothing effect he thought it would have, he quickly added, "But perhaps you can even it out? With good deeds?"

The silence stretched on, now filled with Agni's tears. The butler was still unashamedly sobbing and Soma was really starting to feel uncomfortable. He had no idea how to comfort somebody. Of course, Meena was always there for him when he himself was crying, but never had he comforted somebody else.

And he hadn't thought the first person he'd have to comfort would be his butler.

"My prince, I am so terribly sorry…"

Soma crooked a brow. "Sorry? For what?"

Agni didn't answer.

"You see," Soma finally said, after several further moments of silence, "You admire me, do you not?"

"Of course, my prince!"

Soma smiled. "Then how about you use this hands to do things in my name? Good things, I mean." Still smiling, he took Agni's right hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it, before focusing his gaze on a peacock which crossed the courtyard. Suddenly, he felt how Agni clasped his hands in his. When turning to look at his khansama, he had tears in his eyes. Tears of joy.

"Yes, my prince. Yes, I will."

The silence grew on, until Soma, embarrassed, turned away. He couldn't help the shaking of his shoulders and the laughs that escaped him.

"What are you doing? Don't make it sound like I proposed to you!"

The next morning came, and even though Agni had never been so tired in his entire life, he got up on time and even was early enough to wake up the prince.

Soma was still snoring contentedly when Agni entered his chambers. So Agni made to prepare the wash basin for his prince. He set the basin onto the nightstand, before making to wake his master. "Prince Soma?"

As the purple-haired boy stirred, he opened the curtains, letting in blinding sunlight. This only led to Soma grabbing his blanket and pulling it above his head. "You're cruel, Agni. Real, real cruel," the prince muttered, obviously trying to fall back asleep.

Agni smiled a smile that held all the sympathy in the world for his prince. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid you need to get up now."

"But why-y-y-y," Soma whined, as his khansama pulled away the blanket, "I don't even know who'd want so see me at this early hour."

Agni couldn't help a quiet chuckle. "It's almost time for lunch."

Hesitantly, Soma sat up and rubbed his still sleep-puffy eyes. The butler couldn't help but think that his prince looked adorable. And as soon as the thought had crossed his mind, he couldn't help but chide himself for it.

"Well then," Soma finally said, out-stretching his hands to receive the glass of water that Agni handed him. He drank a big gulp, before setting it down on his nightstand. While his khansama made work of cleaning the prince's tanned skin of sweat, Soma eyed him. "Agni," he finally said and made the man jump.

Startled, the butler looked at his prince. "Yes?"

He found that his prince was smiling. He seemed content – happy, even. But there was something odd about this happy face. It was lifted brow that told Agni that something bothered the prince.

"What happened to your hand?"

This wasn't the question that Agni had expected. It caught him off-guard and actually made him look at his own hand. It was wrapped in a bandage, indeed looking like the butler had hurt himself.

But Agni only smiled. "I decided to use this hand only for my prince. I'll use it to redeem all my bad actions."

Soma still seemed skeptical. "Well, that's good, I guess," he said, while getting up and coming to stand in front of the khansama, so that he could help him undress, "But why the bandage? It makes it look…bad."

Agni did not have to think about this. He'd already spent the past night with those thoughts. "I'd like not to soil it."

Soma chuckled quietly. "Alright. You have it your way. But please don't forget your promise. This hand will only work for me."

To answer this, Agni bowed his head. "Surely."