Bon Bao - Lifted One Arm

Bon Bao lifted one arm into morning sunlight. The shadows around his muscles were as magnificent as ever, but something was still wrong. The light was warm and bright. Sunlight should struggle to get through the window panes in his room. Bon Bao rested his hand on the wall by his bed. Its lacquer paintings were too faded to decipher. Something here was off as well. Bon Bao thought he should be able to reach through the wall and grab the bony butt of a starving student in the room next door. 

How could he reach through a wall?

Still, his hand had the muscle memory of grabbing.

Bon Bao looked over at Ri Ran and Pin Fun. They were wrapped up in one another's limbs. Bon Bao felt as if he had, on occasion, grabbed boney butts on the other side of that wall, too. He stood up and flexed. Something was definitely different. As magnificent as he had always been, that morning's light made all his muscular contours pop.

He examined the wooden lattices covering his windows. They looked fine. The glass looked fine. The windows tilted open easily. All that felt wrong. The world outside smelled as bad as ever, however, so Bon Bao closed the windows and turned his attention to his sliding door. The panels looked sturdy. He walked over and slid one. It rolled smoothly and quietly. That was not right. Bon Bao's movements roused Pin Fun. Bon Bao looked back at him. Pin Fun started kissing Ri Ran's nearly invisible nipples. The mousy rascal whimpered. Bon Bao turned back to close the sliding door and give them a little privacy.

A little girl who had not been there a few seconds earlier looked up at him and blinked. Bon Bao jumped back with a cry, lost his balance, and landed on his magnificent glutes.

Those magnificent glutes absorbed the impact –but could not shield his pride.

The little girl with big eyes put her hands on her hips. The motion reminded Bon Bao of his royal twink. The little girl was short and a bit chubby, with cute hair and doll-like clothes.

"Oh my gosh!" she said. "Do you always open your door naked?"

"This is a boy's dormitory!" said Bon Bao.

The girl advanced, stopped within the gap between Bon Bao's feet, and put her hands on her hips.

"What difference does that make?" she asked.

"Who are you?" asked Bon Bao. "How did you get here?"

The girl advanced further, then reached out to rest a hand on top of Bon Bao's knee. He manifested a turtle shell of force. Some instinct inside him recognized this was no ordinary girl. Proving that instinct correct, the girl's palm passed through his force shell as if it were a soap bubble. When the girl's palm made contact with his knee, it felt like nothing more than a small hand. Bon Bao's turtle shell distorted around the girl's wrist as she rocked his leg back and forth.

"You're the one who called me here," she said. "You big silly."

In a blink, Pin Fun knelt humbly beside Bon Bao.

"This unworthy servant greets Princess Iba Algi," he said.

Princess Iba Algi looked at him and sighed.

"Is every boy in this dormitory naked?" she asked.

Ri Ran wrapped himself with a sheet.

"We weren't expecting Your Highness," said Pin Fun.

"You don't have to call me Your Highness," said Iba Algi. "'Princess' is fine."

"We weren't expecting the Princess," said Little Pin.

"If you weren't expecting me then why did you call?"

"We are unworthy," said Pin Fun.

"If we are unworthy," said Bon Bao, "then why is she here at all?"

"Don't argue," insisted Pin Fun.

"Who are they?" asked Ri Ran.

The mousy rascal pointed at two spaces beside the princess. Bon Bao saw nothing.

"Oh my gosh!" said Iba Algi. "You can see both of them?"

"Maybe," said Ri Ran. "That one is… fuzzy."

"Harlecuin Sols is shy," agreed Iba Algi. "This is Nin. You're living in her house."

"Hello!" said Nin.

Everyone in the room, and those who had assembled on the balcony outside, thought they heard a tiny voice. Bon Bao couldn't see any trace of Harlecuin Sols or Nin, but he could feel things through his magnificent muscles that other people could not. Concentrating, he became aware of at least one presence beside the princess – and possibly two. He also became aware of a mighty figure approaching. The boards under his butt vibrated and shook.

Bon Bao scooted backward, stood, and wrapped a sheet around himself.

Moments later, Lady Wu appeared in the doorway. There was something off about her, too. Though always tall, broad, and powerful, Lady Wu looked more regal than expected.

Lady Wu thumped the butt of her sacred bronze staff on the floor.

Iba Algi turned to look up at her.

"It's okay, Nin," the princess whispered. "The Ogre Queen won't hurt you."

The Ogre Queen spoke several sacred syllables. A pulse of light expanded from her staff – only to be dispelled by a wave of Princess Iba Algi's hand. Bon Bao turned his head so that Lady Wu couldn't see his face and smiled. It wasn't just his mhoddim interface the Princess disregarded on a whim.

Lady Wu stepped back.

"There's no need for exorcisms," said Iba Algi, "We've broken the chains holding souls in this place. They won't trouble you anymore."

"I don't think I caused any trouble," said Nin. "I didn't mean to if I did."

"You were very nice to everyone," Iba Algi assured her, "and no trouble at all."

"Thank you, Iba Algi!" said Nin.

"Are you the one who made the boy's locker room paradise?" Bon Bao asked the Princess.

"I don't know about paradise," said Iba Algi. "But I did cast a warm bath spell."

"Forgive this unworthy servant for asking," said Pin Fun. "I'm often slow to understand. What does the Princess want from us?"

All this time, Pin fun had remained on the floor. His little butt was covered in sparkling beads of sweat. Iba Algi walked over to him and urged him to stand up.

"You thought I might pay full price for the little master's paintings," she said.

"You really do know everything," said Bon Bao.

"No," said Iba Algi. "But for any one thing it might look that way. Unfortunately, you've made a political miscalculation, Cute Boy. The Emperor worries that I am going to restore the Lechun Dynasty. Consequently, if I discover a painter who has mastered the Lechun style, he will assume it is part of the conspiracy and send assassins – or maybe Moonlight Chamber – to kill you all."