Less than Eternity (Maiden Rose, Klaus/Taki)

Taki could still hear their whispers echoing through the halls, though the voices that birthed them had long since faded away. Their words were less easily dispelled. Distance did little to quell them and the unrest their foreshadowed weighed heavy on him. Mongrel. Obscene. Impure. The words weren’t directed at him but they stung just the same.

If they knew the truth….

He tried to force the words from his mind but they stuck, nagging like an old grandmother. One day those words would be pointed at him and he would be the reviled one. That day was not today, however, and until his sins were brought to light he must ignore them, ignore everything but his duty, his land, and his people. He concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Some days he regrets bringing Klaus here, to make him his knight. It’s selfish of him, and dangerous. Too late now for regrets though he still feels the sting of shame that he’d let his mask fall, even for a second. The shame, much like the echoed words, would linger with him for a while. His only small consolation was that he’d managed to keep the blush that had been threatening since Klaus had kissed his robes off of his face.

Another pair of footsteps shadowed his own. Their tread was heavier, deeper, more ominous. The way a man walked said a lot about that person. Taki’s gait had been breed into him, as much a part of his lineage as the formal robes he wore and the way he spoke. Soft, gentle, inspiring. All things he knew he wasn’t, deep down inside. The steps that followed him spoke of purpose and danger, of a man who would let nothing stand in his way. Klaus.

The attendant outside his rooms started to bow, then faltered, his gaze settling past Taki’s shoulder. Taki didn’t hesitate, kept moving forward, and the attendant quickly remembered himself and opened the door. Klaus followed.