The Tale Continues (Saiunkoku Monogatari Fanfiction: Ryuuki x Shuurei lemon)

Chapter 63: At the Training Camp

Jyuusan walked to the purring cat and retrieved Seiran's military sash. The cat immediately ran away. She had been with that cat before she came to bath. Long ago, she had found it wounded the first time they went this forest years ago and nursed it until when it recovered. It always comes to their campsite once she is there.

''What the hell are you doing here anyway?'' Jyuusan checked the fabric.

''I just finished an errand to the town near this mountain and I thought of checking on your campsite since I was told it is here in this forest. I had been looking for hours and decided to leave when I haven't found it after searching for long. But that cat took away my sash when I sat down to drink water. It's what led me here,'' Seiran elaborated.

''You searched for hours? How dumb,'' Jyuusan harshly commented.

Seiran gritted his teeth. ''What are you bathing in a hot spring for? I thought you are training your soldiers.''

''I am. I just came here to bath. What's wrong with that?'' Jyuusan snapped. She showed him where their campsite is. It is quite far from the hot spring. And they had to pass through lush thickets and pass through a cave before reaching it. The opening of the cave itself is concealed by trees and bushes. After walking in the cave for a few minutes, at the end, this clearing would be visible.

''How can I be dumb not to find this? This is totally concealed. Normal people would not find this even after ten days or more of looking around the mountain. Kouyuu would have been lost for a year and will not even get near here,'' Seiran looked around.

''That was actually the first training of every new member of my army who comes along here. They have to remember how to come to this place. I would make them find it one by one after seeing it just once,'' Jyuusan smiled.

''How did you find this place?'' Seiran inquired since it is totally hard to find.

''The cat you saw a while ago. The cave is her home. I saw trails of blood while wandering in this forest and followed it. It is safe here and there's water nearby so I chose it.''

It is already past sunset when they reached the campsite so Jyuusan told him to stay for the night since he would only get lost again if he would try to go back. She snuck him into her tent. She did not want to show him to the soldiers since they would feel uncomfortable and self-conscious when they go and bath in the river. She also did not want him to go out since by this time, many of the ladies would be bathing and cleaning themselves.

Her tent was under another opening which looked like a cave too. But then it was just a shallow opening created by two huge rocks. She really didn't need to put a tent. But perhaps it was so she could sleep in privacy and sleep comfortably.

''Stay here. I'll bring dinner. Don't worry, no one comes near my tent unless I tell them to do so,'' Jyuusan said and went out.

Her tent is far from the others. She did not stay with them in the clearing, she set her tent above them so she could watch everyone.

She returned back in. ''Don't even dare of going out of this tent. The ladies love bathing at this time after getting all dirty in training. I'll see just a strand of your hair outside this tent and I will cut your head off,'' Jyuusan warned.

''I won't.'' Seiran snorted at being treated like a lewd man hungry for women's flesh. 'Are you not?' his inner voice asked him. 'I'm not!' He yelled mentally. Then he recalled how his mind thought when he saw her stark naked. 'Are you still not?' his inner voice asked again. 'I'm not,' he thought with uncertainty as he recalled how her lovely skin looked like.

''I'm not.'' He tried to convince himself. 'Not because I felt that way towards her meant that I feel that way to other women dammit! It's just different when it's her,' he yelled in his mind. He wondered why it is different when it's her. Is it because he had touched her before?

He kept on thinking things as he removed he waited. He checked where she sleeps. 'It's hard,' he thought, thinking about her delicate skin. He wondered if it's not cold here during the night. He kept looking around. 'She did not even think twice of bringing me in here. If I was really lewd, I would be searching for her clothes and other belongings right now,' he thought.

Jyuusan came back with food and he ate alone. She went back to eat with her soldiers and give them instructions.

When it's time for sleep, Seiran just stiffly looked up. Jyuusan felt that he is still awake and turned her head towards him. ''What's wrong Prince? Can't sleep without a soft bed?'' she teased.

''Stop calling me that. I'm just not sleepy yet,'' he muttered. It's always annoying when she is calling him Prince. It always felt like an insult once it is from her mouth. He wondered how she could lay comfortably beside him after knowing that he had seen her naked. He is the one who is nervous.

He could feel every move she makes and the rhythm of her breathing is ringing in his head. If he shut his eyes, he would see her naked body in his mind. And once he open his eyes, he would be fully conscious that she lying so close to him. He could feel her warmth.

''Don't tell me you're aching to sneak to one of my soldiers' tent. Don't even dare. I won't let you touch even just a strand of their hair. Bear with me just for tonight. You can do as you please when you return to the palace,'' Jyuusan said and turned to her side.

Seiran clenched his fist. He would have talked back if she hadn't closed her eyes. He wanted to say, 'how can I sleep beside you? I can't.' After what he had seen and thought that afternoon, he really can't just relax while she is beside him breathing softly. They are sharing a pillow and a blanket.

He noticed that it is cold there at night. But since Jyuusan is beside him, he felt warm. Jyuusan fell asleep and he kept thinking about her for hours. 'How could she sleep so soundly beside a man who just saw her stark naked?' he thought. He was surprised that she easily let go of the subject about him seeing her naked. 'Is she even really a woman?' he thought.

He was annoyed that he is the only one feeling self-conscious about it. It seemed like she already forgot that he saw her nude.

Next Chapter: Dawn