For three days, they stuck to the more wild parts of southern Switang until the rains came. Their scenic path was unexpectedly swept away by a flash flood, forcing them to return to the main road. Drenched by the cold downpour, they sought shelter. Taeyang's maps indicated an old inn a mile out of their way. With their spirits nearly washed away, they unanimously agreed to find it.

Either The Sacred Hole was closer than they'd expected, or they'd already been off course. No one could be sure, though Taeyang and Chaleek argued about it long after accounts were settled and their four rooms were paid for. Goda and Ryo shared a room, of course. Rocio assumed Jieun would bunk with her until Jieun blurted out she would feel more comfortable with Chaleek. That left her with Taeyang, because Candle-Eyes' room had only one bed.

The staff of The Sacred Hole were all old women with the kind and wise expressions of tree sloths. One such woman offered laundry service for a few extra coin and encouraged the troupe to utilize the inn's indoor hot springs. Like the rooms, Taeyang paid for the service and ordered everyone to meet at the springs in ten minutes.

Chaleek and Jieun stared at one another from across their rented room. Both held towels and slippers provided by the kindly old woman who showed them in.

"I'll... I'll see you down there."

Jieun left the room in a hurry and rushed downstairs. She ran to the first smiling old woman she saw.

"Are the springs co-ed?" She hoped beyond hope, they weren't.

"Why yes, our beloved springs are divided into three sections. One for women, one for mixed groups, and a private spring." The old woman grinned, her teeth large and gapped. "Your friends are already in the shared space.

Jieun bowed.

"You seem like a modest young woman. Try not to let your loose Bawikyan friend lead you astray. Those people have very strange ideas about nudity and sexuality."

Jieun blushed and the old woman grinned harder.

"The three sections are clearly marked."

Jieun walked down the hall, each step leaden as she contemplated what she should do. The Prince had always wished to experience a hot spring, but the opportunity never arose during his time sequestered in Castle Hwipalam. Jieun was desperate to dive in, but, unless she could slip under the waters unnoticed, there would be no way to conceal her secrets from any onlooker.

By the time she reached the doorways, marked in blockish Switang characters, she could hear Taeyang telling one of his tales. The man seemed to never run out of stories.

Jieun took a deep breath, stepped forward, and was snatched off balance by Rocio. Wrapped in a towel barely long enough to maintain any level of modesty, the taller woman dragged her through the doorway to the women's spring. There was a room cut into the natural rocks with a long bench and cubbies for belongings. Shoving Jieun towards a cubby, Rocio sat.

"What are you doing–"

Jieun's eyes bulged out of their sockets and her cheeks grew red-hot at the sight of Rocio, the woman's leg propped up in a very unladylike manner.

"That," Rocio answered, shaking her head. "Taeyang is in rare form tonight, and you're so innocent it would be ridiculous to expect him to be a gentleman."

"I'm not innocent," Jieun responded, voice high and shrill. "Will you cover up, please."

Rocio furrowed her brow in confusion, then glanced down at her exposed lower half and laughed wickedly.

"This is what I'm talking about." She slapped her inner thigh, making Jieun flinch. "I have nothing you haven't seen before, though I've got slightly more in the chest area than you. You're so pure, the lechers probably fall all over themselves to get to you."

"I'm not pure!" Jieun crossed the room, eyes glued to the ceiling, and tossed her towel across Rocio's lap. "It's just, where I'm from, women make more of an effort to be modest."

"Where I'm from, our mother's sisters make sure we understand what makes us different from men early." Rocio threw the towel into Jieun's face, but lowered her leg. "The beautiful parts of a woman are not enough to set our cheeks on fire. Neither are the ugly parts of a man."

Rocio stood and squeezed Jieun's cheeks.

"Come sit in the springs with me. I'll teach you a few of the lessons we teach little girls back home."

She sauntered around a corner and out of sight. Jieun released a breath she hadn't realized she held and tried to shake the image of Rocio's nakedness out of her head. She shut her eyes tight until she could no longer see the woman's copper-colored clef and curly hairs. She stared in the direction the woman had gone for a long moment then bolted from the room.

She ran out of the woman's spring and right into Taeyang.

"Hey, hey, princess. There you are." He looked around. "Where's our little nugget? He doesn't talk much, but I really like that guy."

"Prince... princess?"

"Too much? I've been trying to figure out an appropriate nickname." Taeyang pulled her closer and she caught a whiff of the soju on his breath. "You remind me of a noble woman I met while serving in the elite guard. She was a beautiful specimen of womanhood, but also a complete prude."

"I'm not a prude!" Jieun slipped out of his arms. "I'm not innocent, I'm not pure, and I'm not a princess!"

"Good for you. Good for you." Taeyang burped. "This place has great wine," he whispered. "Come soak with me and the guys. I want to talk to you about something."

He waggled his brow at her and turned away. Jieun shuddered. She didn't wish to miss an opportunity to experience a natural hot spring, but she didn't dare sit in the waters with Taeyang or Rocio. The two were insane. Looking up at the sign marking the private spring, Jieun realized all wasn't lost. This was the only entrance with a door. She knocked twice and one of the old women answered. She smiled her friendly tree sloth smile and ushered Jieun inside.

"The locked sections are occupied, dear. Respect everyone's privacy." Offering a fresh towel, the woman retreated to an alcove.

Jieun waited and listened until she was sure she was alone. Slowly, she disrobed. With each layer, she revealed more of Prince Jun Kkachi's body. Naked, he allowed himself a moment to relax. Years of playing Jieun to explore Castle Hwipalam unimpeded had taught him how to slip into character for hours at a time, to tuck away the noble prince and allow himself to fully become the common girl. He'd never tried for days. It was a pleasant surprise that it could be done, but a small part of him feared he'd forget which was his true self.

He ran his hand down his abdomen until his fingers hung just over his manhood.

"Is this the only thing that separates Kkachi from Jieun?" he whispered to himself. "Is this where The Prince hides while we travel these backroads?"

He held his hair up in the fashion popular among Switang's noblemen and sighed. There was an inherent freedom in being no one, but he had a duty to his people that he could only ignore for so long.

"Jieun, my lovely princess. Where are you?" Taeyang's song came from just outside the entrance.

Snatching the towel, Kkachi ran deeper into the private hot springs. The earthen corridor descended into a dimly lit and humid secondary passage. He was beneath the inn proper, down where the underground springs must have been originally found. As Taeyang's voice followed, Kkachi checked the first and then second privacy door. Both were locked. He tried the third and after the slightest resistance, the door swung open.

"Princess, I know you're down here!" Taeyang's voice was so close, Kkachi imagined he could feel it on his neck.

He slammed the door and locked it to the sound of approaching footsteps.

"This room is occupied!" Chaleek shouted, his voice high pitched and full of annoyance.

Jumping back from the door, Kkachi spun around, noticing too late that his towel was snagged in the door. Wrenched out of the cloth, he stumbled forward.

"Winds, help me!" Kkachi croaked before pitching headlong into the hot waters.

Mouth full of brackish water, he sputtered into a standing position.

"How did you get in here?" Chaleek moved towards his towel where the slightest glint of steel winked.

Having seen Chaleek in action, Kkachi inched towards the towel too.

"I'm so sorry. The door wasn't... locked."

Eyes stinging from the mineral rich water, he studied Chaleek though his mind was slow to process what laid before him.

The diminutive warrior was completely nude with dreadlocks tied up into a crown atop his head. Old scars criss-crossed his handsome mahogany skin. One arm across small round breasts, the other covering the hairs of a pelvic region devoid of root or stem. Chaleek may have presented himself to the world as a young man, but his body was that of a toned woman.

"I locked that door," Chaleek snarled. "I don't know what game you're playing," hard eyes flicked to the towel and the blade, "but you've chosen the wrong playmate, cur."

Chaleek feinted to Kkachi's left, away from the towel, then rushed toward it as his attention was drawn in the wrong direction. He realized his mistake too late, but still made for the weapon.

"Wait. Wait a moment. Wait!"

The Ngun-Mwari warrior grabbed for the blade as The Prince snatched the towel, sending the weapon splashing into the water. Chaleek spun and kicked Kkachi in the stomach, doubling him over and dunking his head in the water. He came up with a gasp as Chaleek readied his fists and circled in the direction of the lost blade.

"Chaleek, please," in sputtering panic, Kkachi's voice slipped.

Recognition danced through Chaleek's eyes and he froze. Squinting, he studied first The Prince's face and then the rest of him. Kkachi watched confusion spread across his face and couldn't blame him. In truth, The Prince didn't know what to say either. He followed Chaleek's gaze and was suddenly reminded that he too was nude.

"Chaleek! I can explain. I— you— By The Winds!" He took in his subtle brown curves, remembering how those small but strong hands felt. "You're... the door wasn't locked."

"It was, I swear it!" Chaleek's eyes darted to the towel that had somehow managed to stay out of the water. Giving Kkachi a wide berth, he moved towards it.

As Chaleek reached for it, someone tried the knob and the lock fell open. He swore and darted towards the door. The Prince was only a moment behind and the two reached it at the same time. Chaleek held the door closed as Kkachi slid the lock back in place. Whoever was on the opposite side tried the knob again then walked away. Breathing heavily, the pair leaned against the door staring at one another.

"I think this lock needs to be replaced," Kkachi finally said.

"You're probably right." Chaleek's eyes studied his own. "You're a man." It somehow came out as question and statement.

"And you're not."

Chaleek's cheeks darkened then he darted over to the forgotten towel and covered himself.

Kkachi thought back to their first encounter, then further to the night they'd escaped the castle. His mind went over their many conversations and the time they'd spent together, but kept returning to the pendant Chaleek always wore around his neck.

"Jelani."

Chaleek looked up, guilt in his eyes.

"You're Princess Jelani."

Even as he said the words, he knew they were true. She stared at him as if waiting for his reaction. He studied her for a moment, taking her in as if for the first time. Then he burst into a fit of laughter. Still laughing, he slid down the door until he rested on his knees and bowed his head to the warm stones. The way he was taught to greet visiting royals.

He stifled his mirth long enough to speak formally. "Your highness, I am Jun Kkachi. It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

"J... Jun Kkachi? Prince Jun Kkachi?"

She didn't try to hide her shock. Wide-eyed, she crossed her arms and bowed deeply. The two stayed like that for some time, both unsure of what to say. After what felt like an eternity, Jelani sighed and stood. The look of stunned surprise on her face had become one of rebellion.

"I ran away to avoid having to meet you," she said.

"I jumped out of a window so my Lord Father couldn't force me to marry a woman I'd never met."

She smirked. "The oracle was right. We have similar spirits. Come over here so I can get a better look at you." She dropped her towel and stepped into the spring, moving out into the deep end until she was covered from the neck down. "Come on, we've already seen the important bits and you've slept in my bed twice."

"Actually, you slept in my bed both times." He stood and joined her in the hot waters. "Did you say something about oracles? I've ... never had... the opportunity to... meet... an actual oracle."

He stammered as she took hold of his face, turning him left and right.

"Yes, oracles. Before a member of the Ngun-Mwar royal family leaves for foreign soil, we always see one of the oracles of the deep woods." She turned his face so that she could study his profile. "I was told: your betrothed is as beautiful as the most alluring woman, with the features of the first Switang empress. He will disarm you with his comeliness and you will be drawn into him, his desires and yours becoming intertwined."

"That sounds terrible."

"I felt the same way. I didn't want to be slave to some foreign prince."

He strained against her grip so that he could see her face. "When my Lord Parents told me of our engagement I was insane with the need to get away. The idea of being forced to marry, especially some mystery girl, was unbearable."

The look in her eyes said she completely understood. There was no need for words.

"Yet here we are, and I'm following you around like some pet." She sighed. "I thought myself the next Sheba the Great."

"Don't look at me like that. This wasn't a ruse."

"Wasn't it though?" She scowled. "All this talk of adventure and saving Princess Durumi... it was all a trick to disarm me."

"No. Never! I wouldn't lie to you–" His words caught in his throat at the ice in her gaze. "Yes, I lied about who I was, but so did you! I had no idea. I thought you were a Ngun-Mwari warrior."

"And I thought you a beautiful woman on a mission." It was impossible to miss the bitterness in her words.

"Well– Wait. Are you angry that I'm a Jun Family prince or that I'm not a woman in need of your protection."

"Both!" she snapped.

Kkachi broke into laughter once more. She shoved him and he nearly lost his footing on the silty bottom of the pool.

She chuckled at his startled expression. "You're no better. I'm sure you're just as upset about me."

"Honestly, part of me is relieved. I'd never really had feelings one way or another in regards to gender until I met Chaleek. With him– you, I felt things awaken inside me."

He met her eyes, willing her to understand the feelings bubbling within, feelings he couldn't put into words.

"Things awakened inside– don't do that!" She looked away, her mahogany cheeks darkening. "Stop trying to capture me with your beauty."

"You... You still find me beautiful?"

"How could I not?"

He reached out and found her hand in the water. Jelani tensed but didn't pull away.

"You haven't changed in my eyes either. You're still handsome and brave, and you still make my heart flutter." He closed the distance so that he could place her hand upon his chest. "I'm starting to think you've captured me."

"Now I know you're trying to bewitch me." She rose up on tiptoes, her small breast coming out of the water, and planted a chaste kiss on his lower lip. "Stop it."

He sputtered, barely able to think beyond the feel of her soft peck, let alone make coherent sentences. His head swam, it was like his first kiss with Taeyang, but intensified. From fingers to toes, his body yearned for more. She pulled away and waded over to the edge of the pool. After the sensation of her body pressed against his, it felt as if a part of him had slipped away, wrapped in powerful brown muscle. Unable to tear his eyes from her, he followed the small figure.

Jelani leaned back against the edge. As she looked up into his eyes, Kkachi thought his heart would thunder out of his chest. He found it hard to believe she couldn't hear it. He leaned forward, eager for a second kiss, but her hand on his chest kept him just out of range. With a sigh, he pressed his forehead against hers. They were quiet for a long moment then she whispered up at him.

"What are we going to do, my prince?"

"Save my sister, my princess."