TKU Chapter 8: Love

Chapter 8: Love

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: UA

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside the sewing room. Barred made a gesture. The two guards threw Anes in the corner, gently drew out their machetes and waited by the door.

Anes lay on the ground, blocked by tables and piles of cloth. When he heard a loud noise, the wooden door split apart, smoke filled the room, and the sound of weapons continued. He couldn’t get up and curled up in the corner.

He heard the muffled sound of sharp weapons penetrating the human body, as well as the screams and groans, and the voice of blood blocking throats. At last, he heard heavy footfalls, and a man coming towards him in military shin-boots wrapped in iron, walking on silk and flax everywhere.

He was picked up from the ground and followed the man out of the clothing store. His eyes were so full of tears that he couldn’t see clearly at all. He felt that he had been held around several corners and entered a carriage.

The hijacker closed the door, sat in front of the car, and drove the horses easily with just a whistle. Anes was still tied and gagged. He lay in the car for a long time without moving, so nervous that his heart almost stopped. He recognized that it was Sarin, his lion Hamza, who saved him.

When he was picked up from the ground, Anes recognized Hamza. He remembered the strong and gentle arms and the feeling of leaning his head against the man’s chest.

The carriage went at full speed for a long time, sometimes smooth, sometimes bumpy, and then slowed down..

Anes’s eyes had been restored. He looked at the furnishings in the carriage and found that it was not a common passenger carriage, but a completely enclosed prison wagon. There were iron bars inside and outside the car, with no windows or seats. There were shackles on the walls of the car, it could probably fit several prisoners. No wonder he felt very spacious in it. Now, with a thick blanket on the floor and a layer of silk at the top, Hamza was apparently ready to save him.

After a while, the carriage finally stopped. When the door opened and the warm light came in, Anes realized that it had been so long that it was dusk.

Hamza comes in, pulls the handkerchief out of Anes’ mouth, cuts the rope with a dagger, and hugs him tightly in his arms without saying a word. After holding him for a long time, Hamza held his face again and gave him a few kisses. It was only then that he remembered to help him release his numb hands and feet.

Anes looked at Hamza with a thousand words in his heart, but he couldn’t say anything.

Hamza was dressed in the clothes of the royal guards, with a slightly wet black cloth around his neck, which was probably used to cover his face just now. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was disordered, and his smile was particularly brilliant.

For a moment, Anes felt that the smile was strange. In his memory, Hamza never laughed like this in the month they lived together.

When they both calmed down, Anes asked, “Where are we?”

“In a safe place,” Hamza said, hugging him, “we’re out of town, free.”

That’s not the answer Anes wants. “Where are we?” he asked again.

Hamza replied, “Outside Bola.”

“It’s not safe outside Bola. The suburbs are full of Privy Council sentries and guards.”

“It’s a different place. No one comes here. You have to believe me, Anes. I wouldn’t have saved you unless I understood the situation.” Hamza sat, looking down at Anes on the cushion. “Are you hurt? Don’t move. I’ll take a look at it for you.”

Anes laid down. Hamza gently took his hand and stroked his body, frowning even at the slightest scratch.

“Sarin, weren’t you caught?” Anes asked.

“Yes. Later, the Privy Council wanted to take me elsewhere, and I took the opportunity to escape. “

“Sarin, it’s not so easy to escape from the Privy chamber.”

Hamza leans down and kisses him on the forehead, “It was really hard, but I had to escape. With the help of the gods, I have done it.”

“Sarin, I was in the Privy chamber. They don’t take prisoners away.” Even if it’s an execution, they do it in the prison. The execution room and the interrogation room of the black cell are close together. When the prisoner is whipped, he can hear the sound of the axe falling from next door.

Hamza frowns at him, trying to interrupt the conversation with a kiss. Anes reaches out his finger and presses it against Hamza’s lips.

“Sarin, how did you escape? How do you know where it is safe outside the city?”

Hamza was lying next to Anes, silent for a long time.

He slowly undid the rope, found Anes’s hand, clasped their fingers, looking at the dark forest outside the prison cart.

After lying side by side for a long time, Hamza took Anes’ hand and put it to his mouth to kiss it slowly. As he kisses each knuckle of his lover, he whispers with his eyes closed, “In short, we are indeed safe now. My experience is a long story. Anes, I’ll tell you slowly tomorrow, okay? Believe me, I will protect you.”

“If we want to stay away from Bola, we might as well go all night,” Anes said.

“No, it’s not safe. Please believe me, Anes, I’m with you tonight and everything will be fine tomorrow.”

Anes sat up and broke away from Hamza’s hand, and Hamza immediately grabbed his arm and told him not to leave. Anes said he wanted to go out for a pee, and Hamza went out with him.

After that, Anes said that the prison car was oppressive and wanted to rest outside. Hamza agreed, but kept close to him.

The afterglow of the sunset had already faded, and the night mist rose in the forest. Anes sat on a large stone, dazed at the prison cart, and Hamza sits behind him as a cushion.

Suddenly, they heard a strange sound. After listening carefully, it was Anes’s belly rumbling. Anes shakes his head and smiles. Hamza pinches his shoulders and tells him to wait a moment, he goes to the prison car and takes out the water bag and the biscuits that soldiers always have.

As Hamza jumps out of the van, Anes disappears into the night fog. In the white clothes of a believer, Anes should have stood out in the night, but tonight it was cloudy and foggy in the forest, and his back melted into the shadowy trees.

Hamza swore in a low voice and ran after him. He didn’t run very fast, even his steps were cautious. After searching for a moment, a cry came from the front-left in the fog.

He went up and found Anes.

Anes had fallen onto the ground, his left ankle caught in a trap. He was huddled up and shaking, trying to break the iron clip from his foot.

Hamza crouched down beside him, stroking his back, “I’ll help you. You’re not doing it right. It’s going to get tighter and tighter.” He went to the side and touched the mechanism, and the trap was released immediately. There was no time for Anes to hold him up.

“Don’t run around. It’s dangerous.” He walked back to the cart with Anes in his arms, without triggering any more traps along the way.

Anes stares at him and his voice starts to tremble, “Sarin, who are you…”

Hamza put him back on the cushions in the car, held his feet, and carefully bandaged him, “The clip has been modified, it’s not a real trap. Originally, it can only cause a little skin injury, but because you moved around, the method of struggling is too rough, so… Let me see. Your wound is deeper than I thought. Fortunately, it didn’t hurt the bone.”

Anes didn’t move again. Hamza wrapped up his wound and asked him how he felt, and he didn’t answer.

Hamza frowned, feeling bullied, he pinched Anes’s chin and began to close his eyes and kiss him. The kiss began as a gentle caress, and gradually turned into a passionate occupation. Hamza let go of his lips, sucking affectionately on his throat and clavicle, then pulled his robe to his mouth, kissing and biting every scar on his body.

Anes lay on the cushions, eyes open, staring at the ceiling of the van. The warrior caressed him eagerly, and it felt so familiar, as if they were on their first night together.

“Sarin,” Anes whispered, “you’ve been lying to me?”

Hamza answered in his ear, “We lied to each other, but I don’t care. I love you, Anes.”

No matter what Anes asked again, Hamza did not answer.

Hamza was very familiar with Anes’ body, which was taught by Anes himself. They used to fit, but today Anes was shaking. Hamza’s body is very hot, but Anes could only feel the chill through his bones.

He thought of the day when he had first experienced it many years ago.

At that time, it was also late at night. He was also in a carriage. He was afraid and in pain, but he did not dare to resist or shout.

He awkwardly pretended to be happy and obedient, but his body’s reaction could not be pretended. The other party was very tired of his tears and fake smiles. After a few slaps, his eyes turned black and the sky whirled. The man pressed his head and buried his swollen cheek in the cushion.

He cried in silence and his body was getting colder and colder. A woman in the pub said it would make the body warm, but he didn’t feel any warmth. He just felt cold. His skin was cut by the cold wind, his body was buried by the blizzard, and the ice spread from his heart to his limbs, freezing him into a stone figure.

Between breaths, Hamza is kissing him again. No, it’s not a kiss. Hamza puts something into his mouth with his tongue and feeds him water.

He lay in Hamza’s arms, his consciousness becoming more and more blurred.

Before he fell asleep, he heard Hamza say, “Sleep, love. I will always protect you.”