Thoughts raced through Nagisa's mind like the puffs from a dandelion scattered to the wind. He couldn't catch onto any one of them and he didn't know what to do. He kept his face smooth as the surface of a lake, a trick he had learned during his training, to hide his feeling from his new master.

Once they had gotten onto the street the tall man paused, he was shrouded in black, hiding his face all but two piercing eyes that felt to Nagisa like knives in his chest. The man slowly removed the black scarf from his face and watched as the boy's eyes widened in recognition. It was the Sultan's firstborn son!

The man put his finger to his lips before Nagisa could make a sound and whispered harshly, "If you don't want to make trouble for yourself you'll not utter a word."

Nagisa fumbled for a moment in the man's piercing gaze before remembering his manners. He bowed and lowered his eyes, "It is the greatest honour to service you, Daulatlu Najabatlu Vali Ahad-i-Sultanat Rin Matsuoka Effendi Hazlatlari."

Rin waved his hand at the formal title, "That sounds disgusting coming from your mouth, just call me Sahip."

"Of course… Sahip." Nagisa kept his eyes lowered and he felt a flush rising in his cheeks, "it would be my utmost privilege…" The boy suddenly felt completely disgusted with himself; though he found this was often the case with men he was trying to please. It was all part of his façade and he wasn't sure how much longer he could put up with himself, honestly it might not even be worth clinging to life if one had such a pitiful existence.

"Now, there is no more reason for me to be talking to trash like you, so just follow me in silence." Rin walked on ahead while Nagisa followed; eyes on the ground and head reeling.

The Sultan's palace was the most beautiful thing Nagisa had ever seen, just pausing at the gate for a moment his eyes widened and he had to clamp his teeth shut to keep his jaw from dropping open. A guard at the gate caught his eye, he looked vaguely familiar for some reason but his mind was in such a whirlwind that he let the thought go.

Upon entering the grounds some servants had appeared at once and after a few orders from Rin they had taken Nagisa away from the grand entrance and around the back of the palace. There stood the Seraglio, home of the Imperial Harem.

To Nagisa even this building was incredible; it was behind the largest stone gateway the boy had ever seen, in the main hall the pillars and floor were made of marble. They washed themselves in a little basin beside the doorway before entering. Once inside there were more beautiful women than Nagisa could count but he was quickly moved down an elaborate hallway.

When they stopped at the end they were in a room with a large pool in the centre where some young boys, köçek by the look of them, were bathing. They looked up when the trio entered and finally came to a halt. The older servant turned to Nagisa.

"This is the royal Seraglio of the Imperial Harem, Daulatlu Najabatlu Vali Ahad-i-Sultanat Rin Matsuoka Effendi Hazlatlari has requested you join the ranks of the palace köçekler, the boys can take you from here," and with a nod the servants left.

Nagisa took a deep breath, he would have time to think about things later, for now it seemed like a better idea to just listen and learn, and right now he needed to focus.

It had been an hour or so since Rei had seen that very same girl from the night before walk into the gates of the palace. She had looked even prettier in daylight and when their eyes met for a second he felt electrified. He couldn't stop think about her, her slender waist, covered by a white blouse, her golden hair covered by an ornate headdress.

He tried to calculate the distance she had been from him and the degree of her eyes as she looked at him. Each time however, he was distracted by thoughts of her lovely face and couldn't make the calculations. He felt hot and adjusted his hat several times.

Finally he made up his mind that he would see her. Now that she was at the palace the only place for a beautiful girl like that was in the Sultan's harem and he felt a twinge of jealously which he stifled immediately. It was ridiculous to feel jealous of the Sultan, and even more ridiculous to be in love with a girl he'd never spoken to.

He sighed, defeated, but secretly a hope blossomed in him that the girl was thinking of him at that very moment.

Makoto had finished work early though not without reason, one of the customers had dropped a hint that a köçek from the village meyhane had been sold and Makoto, unable to shake the uneasy feeling he had about it, had gone to the meyhane to investigate the rumor.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom, the room was full of rowdy men drinking and talking in loud voices. Nagisa was nowhere to be seen, nor did Makoto see any other köçek, frowning he turned to the man at the counter serving drinks.

Steeling his resolves he asked, "is there a boy named Nagisa here?" The man smiled in a very unpleasant way.

"There was a few hours ago, some dolt came a long and bought him! A thousand gold, can you believe it?" But Makoto had stopped listening after the word 'bought.' He froze and it took a minute before he could make any sound.

"Please, who was the man… that… that…" He couldn't force the word out of his mouth. Fortunately the man understood.

"He never gave his name, and he was wearing all black with a scarf wrapped around his head, couldn't see nothin' but his eyes. I have no idea who he was." Makoto paled, gulped and thanked the man in a broken whisper before taking his leave.

Out on the street again he felt completely lost, his best friend? Sold off to a random stranger? He could see Nagisa now, crying and pleading like on the day they met, his heart felt as though it was being pulled from his chest and burned in the fires of hell. He gasped for air and leaned heavily against the side of the building.

No, this was no time to be weak! He needed to be strong for his friend, he would find Nagisa, and he would save him!

Cultural/Translation notes

*The long title Nagisa and the servant use when addressing Rin is essentially the equivalent of: Your/His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Rin Matsuoka (I know it looks dumb but the Turkish were really fond of long titles)

*Sahip means, master, owner, lord, possessor, those sorts of things

*Seraglio is the name for the building where the members of the Sultan's harem live