As he toys with a few loose strands of Guy's braid, Karel finds himself wondering once again why he lets him stay.

It's a beautiful day, almost sickeningly so. The sky is a brilliant shade of blue, bright and clear without a single cloud in sight. The sun is gentle, warming their bodies without blinding or burning them. The grass beneath them is soft and lush and the same radiant shade of green-

Karel shakes his head. Stop thinking about him like that, he chastises himself. Once he becomes strong enough, you will kill him. And that day was drawing nearer than, Karel realizes. Guy has definitely grown within the last year, taller and broader with sinewy muscles, his childishly round face more angular. His strokes are broader, his stance more confident, his movements swift and flawless.

The only thing that hasn't changed is his eyes. When he fights, of course, his gaze is narrow and focused, but any other time it's as wide and innocent and awestruck as when they first met.

You will kill him, Karel reminds himself again, even as he curls his arm more protectively around the younger man's shoulders. Guy stirs slightly, shifting closer in his sleep.

"Mm..."

For a moment he wants to ask why, why he must kill his student simply for being strong, why he killed all those other people, killed his own family. But he knows better than to ask, this is simply the way it's always been and there's no sense in changing it now.

I will kill you. He brushes his fingers along the slope of Guy's cheekbone, almost tenderly.

Just as surely as come winter the brilliant green of the grass will fade to brittle white, someday the fields will be stained crimson with the youth's blood. And neither will regret.