The Spy Among Us

A light shower of rain fell from the sky onto the people gathered together to mourn the passing of General Leonidas. Soldiers and their families who knew him were there, slaves he owned paid their respects to their passing master. When he was buried in the ground, the people went to the shores where a boat with the general's sigil flew above. They pushed the boat out to sea and laid flowers with candles lit in its wake. When it was over, King Alexios and Queen Kassandra approached the general's family and spoke to them.

"Are you sure it wasn't natural?" asked Zhen, she and Zhōng were a good distance away from their masters but close enough to be summoned quickly.

"He may have been old, but according to King Alexios, he should have lived longer." replied Zhōng, he was watching what King Alexios was saying and waited to be summoned.

"But who would want to kill the general?" whispered Zhen, she held her breath when she saw Queen Kassandra looking at her as she spoke to the widow. She knew what she was talking about and sighed with relief after seeing King Alexios refusing to allow it.

"If anything, it was a failed attempt, the traitor will strike again very soon." said Zhōng, he wanted to glare hard at the queen but he knew his place for now.

"What do you mean? We have a traitor?" asked Zhen, Zhōng never mentioned anything to her about the general until a week after his death.

Zhōng saw King Alexios nod at him, indicating him to come with him as he walked away. "Keep your eyes peeled on every slave you come by." he ordered Zhen before going to the king's side.

Zhōng followed King Alexios as he marched away from the burial grounds. Behind them were two guards who were armed with spears and shields and a sword around their waist. "Go find the Dual Bladed Ninja, tell him I would like to see him immediately." ordered King Alexios in a low growling voice.

"As you wish, master." acknowledged Zhōng. He quickly turned away and headed deep into the city where a cloak and his Valtryek sword were waiting for him in a secret spot.

"I know General Leonidas was a good friend to you and your father, your majesty." began the servant, it was the same one that delivered the food the night the general died. "It's a tragedy that he passed away so suddenly." King Alexios snorted in acknowledgment, the servant knew his week in prison meant he did something wrong to displease him. They were in King Alexios's study along with four guards and the Dual Bladed Ninja.

"How long have you been a slave for King Alexios, Mr. Spartacus?" growled the Dual Bladed Ninja as his black eyes pierced through the servant's.

"Eight years," stuttered Spartacus. "I worked the fields for three of them but after I tore a muscle in my back. The field master and the master chef decided to move me to tend the exterior decor. I've sometimes helped the interior as well and provided clean and freshly cut flowers in every room." he explained. King Alexios looked over to a pot where a week-old flowers began to decay.

"Answer me honestly, do you have any problems with what's required of you to do?" asked the Dual Bladed Ninja as he got face to face with the servant.

Spartacus stared deeply into the black eyes, he could feel them sucking him inside the dark blue pupils where an inferno of pain and suffering waited for him. "No, I had no issues with my work sir. I am happy with what I am doing and kept my nose clean and honest." he squealed as he tried to pull his head away from the Dual Bladed Ninja.

Zhōng stepped away from him as he pondered by the window, staring out into the rain. "Guards, take him away. Have him returned to his work immediately." he ordered. The guards looked at their king who nodded in agreement. Two of them escorted Spartacus out while the other two stood outside the door to the study.

"I see why you wanted to interrogate him, but how can I be sure I'm not releasing the man responsible for General Leonidas's death?" questioned King Alexios when he was alone with Zhōng.

"He's telling the truth, your servants respect you and those above you. If it weren't so, there would be more groaning from others at his status." replied Zhōng as he stepped away from the window. His cowl was down and his short blonde hair peaked above his head. "Also if anything, that plate General Leonidas ate from was meant for you since there was a mark on it."

King Alexios thought back that night but didn't remember if his plate had the mark or not. If Zhōng noticed and remembered it, then he was supposed to die that night. "Clearly this wasn't your first interrogation you ever did." he commented.

"My first one wouldn't speak till I was about to give the tree whipping. I'm sure you are aware of that torture since it was common in the Old of the Ninja Empire." assumed Zhōng.

"Even I would scream from the pain of my legs whipping through those young branches." stated King Alexios. 

There was a knock at the door and Zhōng threw his cowl back over his head. "It's Dr. Asclepius, your majesty." shouted a guard from the outside.

"Have him entered," called King Alexios, the door opened and the doctor entered his study. He was an older man as his hair was white and he wore spectacles.

"Your majesty," greeted Dr. Asclepius with a bow.

"Have you finished your testing?" asked King Alexios.

"I have, although I felt guilty doing it since it came from your friend." stated Dr. Asclepius as he lowered his head with guilt.

"If I know he died from a health problem, then your work was a waste of your time that I am sorry for." stated King Alexios with a wave of dismissal.

"Well, after doing so many tests, I did find something that I don't recognize as natural." began Dr. Asclepius. He pulled from a bag he carried a vial containing some sort of liquid. "While I don't know what it is, I can confirm it's some kind of poison."

"May I see that more closely?" asked Zhōng. The doctor gave him the vial and he held it up to the brightest spot in the room. He analyzed it for a while as he wanted to make sure it was what he believed it to be.

"Recognize it?" asked King Alexios after watching him staring at it for a while.

Zhōng gave the vial back and turned to look at King Alexios. "I don't believe it but it's a poison created by someone I know very well." he replied.

Tony watched his men train harder, while many left the black market, those who stayed proved they wanted the job. They worked hard and were awarded more, they haven't had a single person caught yet and he was working with the council for punishments and pardons. He turned to see Zhōng and four guards coming towards him. "Dual Bladed Ninja, I wasn't expecting you today." he greeted.

"Take him," ordered Zhōng.

"What?" asked Tony. He soon got his answer as two of the guards grabbed Tony and began dragging him. "Hey, what's going on here? What did I do that made you pissed this time, Dual Bladed Ninja?" he cried.

"Get back to training or do a mission." shouted Zhōng at the men who stopped to see the commotion. All of them immediately left and sprinted to find a job.

"Would you mind telling me what crimes I'm being charged with?" asked Tony after he was pinned to a pillar nearby.

"How did you make it?" growled Zhōng.

"Make what?" asked Tony, he was clueless as to why Zhōng was mad at him.

"Death for a Day, how did you remake that potion?" asked Zhōng as his anger was felt through his voice and his black eyes. He stared hard into Tony's hazel eyes who were confused and scared to look at his.

"Alright, alright, calm down first and have your men let me go." requested Tony. Zhōng nodded at the men to release Tony and stepped away to give him space. "Mind if I told you somewhere private and one on one?" he asked, he watched as Zhōng groaned with his request.

"You shouldn't be able to recreate it, so how did you?" asked Zhōng, he was with Tony in his study just outside the courtyard where they had their battle.

"Well I had ingredients from the Ninja Empire one day, and I pondered what poisons I could make from them. Then it suddenly dawned on me by coincidence that I had everything to make it." replied Tony.

"You passed by the hypnotism word?" questioned Zhōng.

"I didn't bypass that word, I also bypassed your words to trigger my words which would end up triggering you to say, 'No more poisons'." stated Tony.

"Which would have you remember the recipe." concluded Zhōng.

"I'm surprised we never used that phrase." chuckled Tony.

"But you can't have enough to make a supply." said Zhōng.

"You're right, so I searched for ingredients native to the Spartan Empire and recreated it. Don't worry, only I sell it and I keep it locked away so that way no one can monopolize it." explained Tony.

"Do you sell to slaves?" asked Zhōng as he glared at Tony with a cold voice.

"I do but only a drop in a vial. The Spartan version is eight times stronger than the Ninja version. A single drop could put you to sleep for six hours and I don't give more till I get the vial back. The leaders love it because their slaves are well rested after long days and the slaves love it because they feel refreshed every morning." assured Tony.

"How many slaves in King Alexios's possession do you sell to?" asked Zhōng.

"Almost all of them, is there a specific reason why you asked?" asked Tony.

"Do you have a list?" asked Zhōng, he wasn't going to tell till Tony gave him the information he wanted. Tony pulled out a book and handed it to Zhōng, he crossed his arms as Zhōng paged through the book. "How many would you say touches the king's plate before it is served to him?" he asked as he paged through the book.

"At least a hundred from harvest to dine. There are slaves that go buy food from the market, slaves that harvest the crops in his fields, slaves that cook the meal, and slaves that go pass it on like hot potato till he receives the plate." replied Tony. Zhōng passed the book back and Tony saw his old friend thinking about where to begin. "If I were you, I would go to the fields since they are the most frequent to come to me for the potion." he suggested.

"Then don't sell anymore to the slaves under King Alexios, someone is trying to poison him but failed." stated Zhōng as he got back up and turned towards the door.

"Is the reason being that's how General Leonidas died?" asked Tony, pausing Zhōng at the door. "I'll warn you something, while slaves may stick together, if they catch one of their own snooping into their private business, they will shun them till they die."

"It's a good thing King Alexios gave the Dual Bladed Ninja access to investigate anyone as well as Zhōng." stated Zhōng before walking out of the door.

"Well, we can't complain much." stated Jack as John shoveled poop to make fertilizer when Zhōng came to see them. "We worked from sunrise to sunset with breaks for breakfast and lunch, dinner is usually after the sunsets and we get scraps which gives us an idea what the meal was."

"So all you guys do is shovel shit all day for over a month?" summarized Zhōng, he was concerned about why they were feeling great.

"More or less, depends on how many carts break down." huffed John as he tilled the pooped into soil.

"When we first got here, we decided not to listen to you and suffer the consequences. Turns out our punishment is to till this for three months while also repairing any more broken carts. Some days we're busy tilling this all day, others we're busy fixing carts all day, and the rest are a mix." explained Jack.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't listen to me either." said Zhōng. The two boys looked at him, although his cowl was up, they could see he was different than when they first arrived. Gone were the pale, defeated blue eyes as they were replaced with empty, aggressive black eyes.

"Considering this is our first time seeing you, is there a reason why you came?" asked John.

"There's a traitor amongst us, slaves." whispered Zhōng as they huddled together. "Death for a Day is an option the Poisoner gives to us to have a good night's rest. Someone somehow was able to store enough to make it deadly."

"Who is it?" asked Jack.

"Who were they trying to poison?" asked John.

"I can't give you full details but keep your eyes peeled if you see someone with a bottle full of a black-green liquid." said Zhōng, the two boys nodded in understanding. "Don't make it obvious, I don't think you two want to get into more trouble."

"Well if trouble gets us this, then what's worse than this?" asked Jack.

"How about you get the lashes I got that day." suggested John as he nudged Jack.

"Keep your hands clean. I'll tell your sister, John, you said hello." stated Zhōng, he turned and walked away, leaving the boys to get back to work.

"I have to say Dual Bladed Ninja, if one of the slaves here dares to try and poison our king, they'll see hell before they die." declared the master chef. They were in the kitchen as he was giving Zhōng a tour of the kitchen.

"How many under your command take a potion called Death for a Day?" asked Zhōng.

"Less than half, those under my command don't need it unless they're restless sleepers. I hate seeing slaves extremely tired early in the morning." replied the master chef.

"And how many of those cook regularly in the kitchen?" asked Zhōng.

"Maybe a quarter, I also have some to deliver to guests as well as delivering food to Mr. Abdelmalik so he could serve our king." replied the master chef. "If I may ask, Dual Bladed Ninja, is there a certain reason why you're asking me these questions?"

"Whatever King Alexios has told you compared to me is all you need to know. He trusts you with the slaves and I've seen how caring you are as well as disciplined." stated Zhōng.

"Very well, I won't press you any further. Is there anything else you request to know?" said the master chef.

"Who cooked the meal served to King Alexios the night General Leonidas also died?" asked Zhōng.

"Well I do say, if they're responsible for his death, it would be impossible to believe." chuckled master chef.

"It's great to see you again, brother." stated Xing as she hugged Zhōng. They were in the store room along with Hannah, Cortana, Kotori, Silica, and Pina.

"Well, I see slavery hasn't dampened your mood." chuckled Zhōng, his cowl was down as the girls could see his face with his black eyes.

"What's the reason you call for all of us?" asked Hannah.

"Well, I called for the two responsible for cooking the king's meal the night General Leonidas died. I should have known it was you two." stated Zhōng coldly to her.

"Master chef has been very pleased with our cooking, shouldn't you recognize some of the dishes?" asked Xing. She looked over Hannah who slumped a little with a smile assuring she did good.

"Maybe I should have paid more attention than selling my knowledge." proclaimed Zhōng. He looked over at Hannah, he knew Xing wouldn't defy him alone unless she went first. She tried to avoid his eye contact as he sighed. "Just be more careful next time, we are the last ones left besides our uncle, aunt, and brother. I won't be there if you screw up, do I make myself clear?" he asked her.

Hannah looked at Xing who still had a smile on her face, she nodded as if telling her she did good in Zhōng's eyes. "I guess I'll take that as praise and I will be more careful." she promised Zhōng.

"You're still a long way from praises coming from me, but you are getting closer." stated Zhōng, he then turned to the rest of the girls. "Since I know that my sisters are cooking, what have the rest of you been up to?"

"Mostly house chores." answered Cortana.

"Going in every room to make sure not a flake of dust is there." continued Kotori

"It isn't that bad and the better we do, the more priority we get to serve guests." stated Silica.

"But if we're horrible, the last pick isn't the only thing we might get. We've seen the master chef discipline others like us, I could sometimes feel the impacts." said Pina.

"Have you girls noticed any bizarre or unusual movement from the other slaves?" asked Zhōng.

"We sometimes have the external decor slaves come and help us." said Pina.

"They bring flowers and if they are not busy, they help us tidy up." added Silica.

"There are sometimes we notice other slaves helping them if they are finished with their work. Basically, we all help each other with the work." explained Cortana.

"How close would you say you all are?" asked Zhōng.

"Close enough to notice if something is wrong." replied Kotori.

"Well it's a good thing you four kept your noses clean unlike the other four." stated Zhōng, he trusted their words, and the knowledge of his sisters' cooking put his mind at ease. However, whoever did it was still a mystery he needed to solve.

"What did my brother do?" asked Cortana, she saw her brother once since being sold. He was heading back to the fields after getting some bandages wrapped around him.

"You can guess it was a joint effort, but they seemed happy at their new post." assured Zhōng.

"You forget Jack thinks to scheme without assessing the risk." reminded Xing.

"But John does, and he paid for the consequence because he puts his life over his friends and family." stated Cortana.

"Well next time you see him, tell him to have the cart dropped on Jack for payback. Maybe Jack will think better next time before scheming a suicide plan." said Zhōng.

"Maybe he'll come up with a riskier plan than before, it could be a plan that involves you." suggested Pina.

"Then that'll be the day I throw him off a cliff." declared Zhōng, though he was smiling. The girls snickered, they knew he wasn't going to but the thought of Zhōng listening and getting annoyed with Jack's plans could be something to watch. They knew Zhōng would critique the plan and then would look at Jack with an extremely annoyed look before knocking him out. The laughter soon stopped when Zhen entered through the door. They turned around to see her eyes were watery as if they were on the verge of crying. She headed to a barrel and began filling the pitcher she brought with her. "Would you girls leave us?" asked Zhōng, he saw them nod and left through the door Zhen entered.

Zhōng slowly approached behind Zhen, he didn't make a sound and he didn't say a word. His hands slowly shut off the valve to the barrel and grabbed the pitcher before putting it down. When his hands were cleared, Zhen suddenly hugged him and began to cry. "It's okay, I'll save her once we're free." he assured her, he had never seen Zhen this close to crying before and guessed why.

"How long have you known?" wept Zhen as she buried her face into his chest.

"King Alexios told me when we were bought, I didn't want to tell you to bring even more bad news." stated Zhōng as he held her gently.

"I don't blame you, the fact she's being treated like an outdoor dog and I can't do anything about it makes me feel useless." cried Zhen. "She found my weak spot and exposed it as if it wasn't terrible."

"What my brother has done, he will pay." began Zhōng. "But now the queen knows what will take you over, she'll continue to speak negative things about your mother. You have to be strong and brave, your mother won't want you to feel sympathy if you weren't free either." Zhen looked up and saw two black voided eyes staring deep into her, the dark blue pupils stirred around as the monster was ready to release. "Stay strong, your freedom is coming soon." promised Zhōng.

"Okay," acknowledged Zhen, she wiped away her tears and her red eyes flared like fire as hope returned to her. She grabbed the pitcher and left leaving Zhōng to his thoughts of what he was told.

"So you believe it's one of those who were given the plate?" asked King Alexios. Zhōng had returned and given his report to him of what he discovered.

"While Death for a Day spread across your ranks of slaves, the field workers needed it to relieve the pain. They wouldn't dare use it for a different reason unless they wanted to feel sore for weeks. I know my sisters, they're hard workers and seemed very pleased and honored to cook for you and your guests. The only group that could try to poison you is those who passed and tasted the food. That is my theory as to who is responsible." reported Zhōng, he was back in his slave attire but his eyes still glowed black and looked dangerous.

King Alexios took a sip from his wine before swirling his cup in the air. "What about Spartacus? Does he carry a dose of that stuff?" he asked.

"The Poisoner fortunately carries a list of all the slaves that have a bottle. He and I looked through it and discovered he doesn't have one. However, those who carried your food that night all had a bottle except for Spartacus." stated Zhōng.

King Alexios sighed then said, "It's a good thing you were quick to judge him by facts and not assumptions. I could have sent an innocent soul to an early death."

"With all due respect, I know General Leonidas was a great friend to you, you wanted judgment quickly with no evidence to object. I would want that too if I were you, I think he would be grateful knowing after death, you trust the opinions of others even if it's a slave like me." stated Zhōng.

"Don't pat on your back too much, you still haven't earned your freedom." stated King Alexios with a grin. He was glad he bought Zhōng as he finally saw the flames of a legend begin to relit back to life.

"Then may I go and inform the Dual Bladed Ninja to begin investigating all who touched those plates?" suggested Zhōng.

"See to it after you fetch me some more wine." stated King Alexios as he waved his cup in his hand.

Zhōng bowed and went to the door, but before he could open it, Queen Kassandra burst through it dragging Zhen behind her. "Why do you give me such a useless slave?!" she accused.

"My dear, what has the slave done wrong to upset you this much?" asked King Alexios as he stood up behind his desk.

"This slave is clumsy and lacks awareness. I have to tell her to bring me more wine and go see what's taking so long for my food to arrive. She also misses home and I believe she regrets leaving it. I tried to assure her that the Spartan Empire is way better than the Ninja Empire but she breaks down and cries." listed out Queen Kassandra. Zhōng looked down at Zhen who looked at him, her eyes were still burning with hope and determination. He could guess that the queen didn't like the new expression on her face and used it as an excuse to barge in.

King Alexios turned to look at Zhen who felt his stare and looked at him back. He could see she was morally drained from his wife's insults but was able to press on. He looked up at Zhōng who was still waiting at the door. "You can go and get me the wine, take her with you." he ordered.

"Wait just a minute," said Queen Kassandra, she turned to look at Zhōng. "You share the same room with her. Tell me, have you decided to give her the chance to bear your children?"

"With all due respect to your majesties, we haven't as we'll be hoping to be free soon." answered Zhōng.

"Free?" repeated Queen Kassandra. "Free?" she asked King Alexios as she turned back around to face him.

"I've been told by many slaves that they are very hard workers. I've even given mine more freedom and he's proven to be trusted with them." explained King Alexios.

"Really?" questioned Queen Kassandra as she looked down at Zhen. "Then why are you so disappointing when around me?" she asked Zhen.

"Please, I'll be better and try not to disappoint you anymore." pleaded Zhen.

"You should have done that weeks ago." stated Queen Kassandra, she suddenly pulled out a whip and began striking Zhen. "You are by far the worst slave I had in my service. You are useless, helpless, and unwanted when you are around me. But yet, other slaves see your work for a while to have my husband to think about giving you your freedom. Why keep that from me, what makes you work harder around them than when you are with me?" she insulted as she whipped Zhen. Zhen covered her face but the lashes were continuous and began to hurt more. Soon her arms gave up and she looked at the queen's eyes which was ready to slash her face.

Before Queen Kassandra could strike, a hand grabbed hers preventing her from moving. She turned around and saw two violent black eyes staring into hers, they swirled like hurricanes as the dark blue pupils flared at her like flames of a fire. "You won't strike her again." growled the person responsible. He let go and Queen Kassandra stumbled back to King Alexios.

"Who exactly are you?" she stuttered as her heart beat fast from the encounter. Zhen got up and looked at Zhōng who still kept his eyes locked with the queen's. While the blue was gone from them, the aurora and terror were still in them and possibly were even stronger than before.

"My queen, perhaps I should give you the slaves' names in front of us." suggested King Alexios after assessing that Zhōng wasn't going to advance on them. "The boy is Mr. Zhōng, son of Emperor Huo, wielder of the Ninja Sword, codename in their black market: Dual Bladed Ninja and Fallen Prince. The girl is Former Princess Zhen, daughter of Empress Wēi, was in line for the throne of the Ninja Empire." introduced King Alexios.

"Dual Bladed Ninja? Zhōng? You're Emperor Huo's youngest son?" asked Queen Kassandra in disbelief.

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize me since we were once promised to each other. Surely my father has sent you paintings of me since I received yours. Were you expecting someone more naive and happy since that's how I was described?" stated Zhōng, his eyes hadn't backed down as they stared deeper into Queen Kassandra's.

"I never expected you to be so fearful and terrifying." replied Queen Kassandra as she drew closer to King Alexios.

"Zhōng, perhaps you can let go." suggested King Alexios but Zhōng's remained locked causing his wife to tremble. His wife looked at him with fear in her eyes quickly before looking back at Zhōng to continue the stare. "Stand down, Zhōng." ordered King Alexios with a stern voice.

Zhōng blinked and the aurora suddenly disappeared as he looked at King Alexios. "As you wish, your majesty." he said with a bow.

King Alexios turned his attention to Zhen, she holding her arms as there were marks left by Queen Kassandra's lashes. There were even some that went deep enough to have blood bubbled out. "Go see Dr. Asclepius, he should still be here in the palace. Tell him I sent you to be looked at and bandaged appropriately for an unnecessary punishment." he ordered.

"Yes, King Alexios," replied Zhen, she looked at Zhōng who was looking at her. She could tell he wanted to do more to get revenge. She turned and walked out of the door and headed to find Dr. Asclepius.

"Unnecessary?" questioned Queen Kassandra.

"Do you want Zhōng to stare at you again?" growled King Alexios. Queen Kassandra turned and looked at Zhōng who was slowly showing the terrifying aurora again.

"Perhaps he should know his place." stated Queen Kassandra looking back at King Alexios with nervous eyes.

"My place, your majesty, is to make sure Former Princess Zhen is free and safe. Once that happens, you can breathe at ease knowing that I am gone and won't take revenge for you touching sensitive topics to her." growled Zhōng, taking a couple of steps closer to them.

"You seriously want him close to you? If you believe General Leonidas was murdered, which I know you do, then he could be the culprit." stated Queen Kassandra.

"He hasn't known him long enough to do it." stated King Alexios as he sat down and glared at his wife. "He was also on the other side of the room when it happened, if it was him, he couldn't do it alone. I also know that he's been trying to gain their freedom, why risk that to kill my closest friend?"

"Just… Just look at him." stuttered Queen Kassandra. King Alexios turned to look at Zhōng, his eyes were black and terrifying and his body was slowly getting back into shape of running and jumping around for a long time. He cast an invisible mist of fear and terror just standing in one spot. When he wanted to awaken the sleeping beast left inside of him, he never expected to tremble so much in its presence.

"Zhōng, could you take a walk to cool down? I won't need you till dinner and don't worry about the investigation. After searching all day, a little rest would simply reset your mind and help you assess better who it could be." suggested King Alexios.

"As you wish, your majesty," stated Zhōng. He turned and walked out the door, leaving King Alexios and Queen Kassandra to speak in private.

Zhōng was walking back to King Alexios's study room later that evening. He was returning from his walk where he stopped at Dr. Asclepius's door to check on Zhen only to be denied entry. He decided to check on Tony and helped him look through all the records of slaves that made requests for Death for a Day recently. After looking through thousands of names, he realized it was time to walk back. As he headed back he kept thinking of who among them was the traitor and why try to kill King Alexios. He wasn't paying attention when he almost ran into Abdelmalik who carried King Alexios's meal. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." he apologized.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I wasn't either." explained Abdelmalik. He looked exhausted and out of breath, he was not in a presentable state to confront the king.

"Still trying to catch up on late work?" asked Zhōng when he noticed Abdelmalik's condition.

"Indeed, I'm almost finished." answered Abdelmalik, and then an idea popped into his head. "Are you heading back to our king?"

"Yes, his majesty requested me to return to him around now." replied Zhōng, he knew what Abdelmalik was going to ask him next.

"Could you take this to him? It's his dinner, I'm sure he was waiting for a while." said Abdelmalik, confirming Zhōng's guess.

"Sure, he speaks highly of you. I'm sure he'll understand why I came instead of you." stated Zhōng.

"Thank you, Zhōng, I owe you one." stated Abdelmalik, he handed Zhōng the plate and hurried away. 

Zhōng sighed, he could see why King Alexios liked him. He was strict and kind to slaves below him and outside of his chain. He was always busy, checking over things in detail to make sure nothing was wrong from all divisions. Nothing King Alexios hears about Abdelmalik knows about. In Zhōng's opinion, he couldn't be the traitor he was searching for.

Zhōng entered the study room to see King Alexios was still behind the desk with paperwork. He looked up to see Zhōng was standing at the door with his food. "Give me that, then go get me some more wine." he barked, his conversation with his wife put him in a terrible mood.

"Of course, your majesty." complied Zhōng and he approached King Alexios. He set the plate down and removed the top to reveal the dish. The smell of spices rose to the air perfectly, it was a smell he was used to, and guessed his sisters made the meal.

"I take it Abdelmalik is still very busy." guessed King Alexios as he stopped looking at paperwork and grabbed the utensils to eat. His words also stopped Zhōng from heading back to the door to grab some more wine.

"Yes, he also wasn't in a good state to show himself to you. He requested me to go on his stay while he finished up." replied Zhōng.

"Well, then I assume he taste-tested it in front of you. He usually does that when in front of me." pointed out King Alexios as he was about to take a bite of the fish served.

Something sparked Zhōng's mind and he slapped the utensil away from King Alexios. Before the king could object, he saw the realization in the black eyes, and his aurora began to return. "He didn't," said Zhōng and he rushed out of the study. 

Zhōng ran as quickly as he could down the way Abdelmalik was heading. In his mind he felt foolish, even the least likely could be the most likely. His mind was on overdrive for the first time in forever and his body felt heavy. He hadn't run this fast in a long time and he started to pant. As he came around the corner, he spotted Abdelmalik passing two guards. "Stop him by orders of King Alexios." he shouted. The guards, however, took too long to understand as Abdelmalik pushed them down and sprinted away. 

The two ran throughout the palace, they both had good intel of the layout and where the guards were most likely setting up defensive posts to prevent them from escaping. While Zhōng was panting hard, he was keeping pace with Abdelmalik and gaining. Abdelmalik soon took a corner and Zhōng did before he stopped. In Abdelmalik's arms was Zhen who came out after getting looked at when they came around the corner.

"Not another step or she gets cut." threatened Abdelmalik, holding a knife to Zhen's face. He was exhausted and could see Zhōng was as well, it was rather fortunate that Zhen was there at the most perfect time.

Zhen looked at Zhōng, she saw his dark eyes assuring her it was going to be alright as he pulled out his knife. Abdelmalik tensed up seeing the small blade slithering into a throwing position, he was so aware of the blade that he missed a nod Zhōng gave to Zhen. With her elbow, she jabbed into his side while back kicked him in his groin. Before Abdelmalik could recover, Zhen slipped out and away from him as the knife Zhōng held pierced his knife-hand screamed in pain before removing the bloody knife from his hand and he limbed away.

"You alright, princess?" asked Zhōng, he noticed she fell to give a better shot.

"Yeah, nice throw," stated Zhen as she got back up.

"I was aiming for his heart." confessed Zhōng, he looked down the hallway where Abdelmalik ran away. He knew the longer he checked on Zhen, the further he was going to get. "Go get my sword and meet us at the eastern wall. Have any guards you come across herd him towards there." he instructed. Zhen nodded and the two split away as they tried to catch Abdelmalik.

Abdelmalik limped for a while before running at full speed again. He clutched his right hand as it bled from his palm. Everywhere he turned he spotted guards blocking his path, he now had one way to escape but he must hurry. He soon reached the eastern wall of the palace, from there he could jump and land safely to disappear into the city. "Abdelmalik, stop," a voice called to him and he turned around to see Zhōng standing near the door he came out of.

"Don't come any closer." stated Abdelmalik as he approached the ledge of the outer wall.

"Don't jump, not yet, just answer a question, why did you try to kill King Alexios?" asked Zhōng, he put his hands up and stepped back. He may know the palace well, but he was still finding all the secret paths throughout the city; he couldn't risk losing him in the allies.

"Why? Has he ever told you why I'm a slave?" asked Abdelmalik. Zhōng shook his head, he never asked anyone what brought them to the life of a slave. "My great-grandfather bought a vineyard years ago. His grandfather just become king and wanted the taxes for the land my great-grandfather bought. My great-grandfather refused thus being sentenced from him to me being slaves for his family. My father was right with it but my grandfather and I were not as we felt robbed of freedom. I planned to kill him but I needed a potion with no trace, that's when the Poisoner arrived and introduced the potion Death for a Day to our empire." he explained.

"I see, but did you know that you have found favor in King Alexios's eyes that he was going to pardon your sentence?" asked Zhōng calmly. "Come back with me and I can assure you all will be forgiven."

"Forgiven? Favor?" questioned Abdelmalik. "If that's the case, how come I'm not free? No, it's too late for me to be forgiven. I found a new king who's strong and fearful, he has great aspirations and you would definitely meet him and be his."

"Not if King Alexios is still alive." declared Zhōng. Men with spears burst out from behind him and among them was the king.

"You delayed me!" angered Abdelmalik as he prepared to jump.

"Delayed you from this," began Zhōng, tilting his head back to the guards and the king. "And that," he finished as his eyes narrowed and flared like fire.

Abdelmalik was frozen, he couldn't move away from the dark glare. Suddenly he felt pain in both knees as a sword sliced by, not cutting them off but deeply wounding him. He screamed with a high pitch as his balance leaned forward and his grip gave away. But before he could fall, someone grabbed him and heaved him away and down on the inner side of the wall. What felt like forever was nothing more than a mere couple of meters as he plunged feet-first into a mound of poop.

The guards looked down at the slave in pain stuck in the middle of the mound, they turned to see a girl with a sword standing by Zhōng who flung him the other way. "Get him out of that shit, and prepare a cell for him." ordered King Alexios, interrupting the guards' curiosity. He turned to look at them as well as Zhōng was handed back his sword. The young man looked exhausted from the chase but relieved that he succeeded.

"Fool!" screamed Abdelmalik as he was pulled out of the mound. "You think you can protect them from him?" he asked before spitting at King Alexios, fortunately, it fell way short. "They have no rights, no protection, he will get them one way or another. To save this empire from war, they must return or die. I am not alone amongst the people who know you are a weak leader with no aspirations. Long live Emperor Zhēngfú! The king the people do not deserve!" 

"It pains me that you hated me for something I didn't do. It pains me more that you sided with a king who shouldn't sit on that foreign throne. Perhaps you should be the first to hear my declaration before I cut off your head." began King Alexios. "From this day, I've given freedom to these two and their friends that were sold with them. I would also like to announce that this girl is Former Princess Zhen, daughter of Empress Wēi. She has claimed sanctuary in the Spartan Empire. Let the other empires know and respect the vow our ancestors made long ago." he shouted, the entire field echoed and the night workers stopped their work to listen. "Former Princess Zhen, I officially welcome you to the Spartan Empire." he greeted as he looked at Zhen. The Spartan guards kneeled and bowed their heads showing their respect.

Zhen smiled, she was free from serving, free from depression, and free from being caged. "Thank you, King Alexios, for welcoming us to your empire." she thanked.

"Notify the master chef of my decree and have a proper meal made for her and her friends to dine. Have him make sure there are rooms prepared for them and notify him of that slave's treachery." ordered King Alexios, pointing at Abdelmalik for the last part. The guards hurried away to do what they were told, two of them came and escorted Zhen away so she could reunite with her friends. As King Alexios turned back around, he saw that Zhōng had disappeared without a sound during his declaration.

Zhōng was waiting by the docks as a ship was preparing to head to the Ninja Empire. He was no longer in slave clothes as he wore his spartan Dual Bladed Ninja attire with a cowl over his head. "You might want this better," suggested a voice behind him. He turned around and saw Tony holding out cloth neatly folded, but its design and texture were all too familiar to him. "I know how much this meant to you."

"So you kept it for your own personal use." assumed Zhōng, taking the gift.

"More like I just couldn't burn it, and I wasn't talking about the cloak." stated Tony.

"I'm not welcome here, Tony, I'm not welcome anywhere I go. Which is why I must return home and enslave it for her to reclaim." said Zhōng as he wrapped his old cloak on him and raised his cowl. His black eyes glowed with anger but Tony could see his friend was in more pain than ever before.

"It's going to be alright, I will protect her in your stay." promised Tony. Zhōng nodded and hugged Tony, they braced each other for a while longer. "But before you do your own thing, the king has one more assignment for you, Dual Bladed Ninja."

"What assignment?" asked Zhōng, he looked at his friend as if he knew something that he wasn't aware of.

"I'll tell you on the way back." replied Tony and he led them away from the docks and back into the shadows of the city.