Zikel leaned against the wall as he waited for the group of princesses to come when they did. He had gathered himself together after his break down. Lotus was right. It was bad to hold in all that pain for a long time. Zikel could not afford to be so careless with his emtions though. If he would have broken down in front of everyone that was out there. It would have been a bad day all around and he will not ruin it for them. He is taken from his thoughts as the door opened. The princesses were lead in by Lotus, who looked directly at Zikel, giving him a look over to see if he was doing better. She smiles warmly to the dragon,he gave one back. As he came off the wall, as did his copies. They all walked over to each table, one awaiting each princess.

"If you would please come and make yourself comfortable. I will get started."

He said in a professional tone of voice. The mares walked up to the tables and paid flat on their stomachs. Luna already seeking out the real one as she laid there. And seeing that her sister was the lucky one, she pouted for a moment but giggles lightly. Zikel's eyes shifted to Luna, as did the copies.

"Lulu...don't you even start..."

She gives him a coy look with an arched brow, but giggles

"I won't say a thing..."

"Good girl."

The others looked between him and Luna as they talked. Each copy and himself climb on the table and straddle over the princsses' bodies, he cracks his knuckles and places his hands on their backs, the copies doing the exact thing he did, same pressure and everything. As he massaged their bodies, they talked about random things. catching up and learning about things from each other they never had time to discuss. They noticed that Zikel was quiet the whole time.This bothered Cadence especially. Did she upset him with her question from earlier? She would be tense, but Zikel's copy was rubbing that right out of her body. She let out a low whimper of delight as he was indeed living up to his nickname. as did the others as well. He places his hands on their backs. the copies following his every move, and a loud crack was heard from all four of the mares' backs. They shuddered and slumped onto the table. Celestia kept her eyes on Zikel, Did she have the real one giving her a massage or was he just a copy. He caught her looking up at him.

"I am not being too rough am I Tia?"

"No...you are my dear..but after we are done here. I would like to talk to you in private. if that is alright with you."

"I don't see why not."

Celestia nodded, smiling to him gently before she laid her head back on her forelegs. suddenly, all the princesses' eyes shot open when he began massaging their wings. letting out sensual moans of delight when he did. This was nothing new to him. He had gotten used to massaging near sensitive spots of many ponies. He just kept doing his work, eyes solely focused on his task. Although he could hear their tails thumping against the tables as him and his clones worked their wings.. After awhile, he finally finished massaging their whole body. He dismounts them and all his copies converge back into just one Zikel. He nods to the princesses as he walks over to his station, getting things all cleaned up.

"I do hope you four enjoyed yourselves. Please, feel free to make an appointment with me anytime." I am sure being royalty can get very stressful."

He said as he turned around and saw....four limp alicorns with goofy grins on their faces. This cheered up Zikela little. He couldn't help but give a little smile.

"By the sun...'Hands Of Divinity' indeed..."

"Yes dear sister.....not even our best at the castle and in the city can compare to this dragon..."

"Zikel...I believe you owe me an apology..you have been staying with me this long and you haven't been giving me any free massages?! Shame on you mister."

"I I have to admit mister Zikel... I wish you fell into the Crystal Empire instead of here..."

"Well, thank you for your compliments ladies. Take your time getting up from the tables. I will be outside the room if you need me."

Zikel walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, the princesses laid their on the tables, feeling heavy and relaxed from his hands. As he walks down the hall. The staff met him with wide eyed stares, anxious for the result.

"They are going to be there for awhile everyone. Apparently my skills have turned them into jello. In other words, they loved it."

They all cheered and celebrated. This was going to boost business and get them even more bits. While everyone was celebrating, he smiles lightly and slips passed them and outside of the building and in the back. he leans against the building and lowers his head in thought. After a few minutes, an orb of light appears in front of him, and out of it appears Celestia. She smiles to him gently and walks up to him, lightly placing a hoof under his chin and lifting it up so their eyes met.

"Zikel I sensed great distress when you left earlier to get things prepared for us. It..had me worried. Would you care to speak with me about it?"

Zikel looked into her beautiful purple eyes. He remembered what the twins had told him. And he knew Celestia enough to be the one he could start opening up to. He reaches up and gently places a hand around her hoof that held his chin.

"Celestia...Cadence knew that something was wrong when she tried to look in my heart. She may be the princess of love, but that doesn't mean she needed to go snooping around for it. The questions that she asked triggered a large amount of emotion I had bottled up inside...I broke down in the back..."

Celestia widen her eyes a bit and frowned, but nodded.

"She was only looking out for her little sister Zikel. You understand that right?"

"Of course I do...but still...I haven't cried that much since I lost my parents. If the twins hadn't come to comfort me...I probably would have left without saying anything."

Celestia suddenly brought her hooves to his chest and leaned against him gently, gazing into his eyes even more

"Zikel, I know you don't want to bother me or Lulu. But when you are in need of a friend who can be there to comfort you when you aren't around the others. I want you to come to the castle and come to us. No more hiding secrets from me and Lulu...please. We have both grown to care for you very deeply. And to know that you have been troubled behind the smile you always bare. It hurts me especially to know you have been suffering."

Zikel arches a brow as she said that.

"Especially? How do you mean Tia?"

A small blush comes across her cheeks as she averts her eyes for a moment, then looks back up to him.

"I have grown more fond of you over the time we have been writing to each other Zikel. I didn't reveal this to Lulu..but I am always so excited when I get a letter from you...I rush to my chambers to read it every day I receive one. And I have seen Lulu do the same as she receives her letters from you. Zikel....you may be having the rulers of Equestria falling head over hooves with you. At least...I know I am. Lulu is hard to read sometimes."

Zikel blinked a bit as he looked into Celestia's eyes again..by the gods....she was serious! This wasn't a tease or anything. She was telling the truth about how she felt about him. Zikel's heart began to pound hard. nearly ready to explode, she frowned at him as he fell silent.

"Did I...saw something I shouldn't have? Did I come on too strong?"

"Tia...you are making a big mistake telling me these things. I cannot give you a proper answer because I am scared to..I care for you and Luna deeply. But if my happiness gets even more out of balance than it is now. I will be dragging you and her into my suffering. And I do believe you don't want that from me when that tragedy happens."

"Zikel...you are safe in this world now. The things that happened back in your world won't happen here. I promise you that. Me and Luna won't ever let you be hurt again. And we will destroy those who do try to hurt you. We consider you a member of our family."

Zikel thinks on it for a moment, then gaze back down at her.

You truly want you and your sister to go down my path with me? It won't be easy when the time comes."

"Yes Zikel, me and Luna have already discussed this before. We want to be there when you need sompony."

Zikel couldn't help but wrap his arms around her tightly and hug her closely. Celestia blinks a few times but closes her eyes and nuzzles into him.

"I can't give you a proper answer right now Celestia...give me a few days to think this over...and I will let you know if I am ready to bare my heart to you."

"Well my dear, maybe this will help you decide..."

She leans up and locks lips with him lovingly, his eyes widened as she did this, but he didn't fight back..that was his very first kiss, given to him by royalty! A common rogue winning the affections of not one, but BOTH rulers of the land?! What in the seven hells was going on around here?! Celestia slowly pulled from the kiss and narrowed her eyes at him with a smile.

"I shall be waiting Zikel..but don't keep me waiting too long. Its not polite to keep a princess waiting.."

She said as she walked away from him and disappeared behind a corner. Zikel slid down the wall and onto his rear, still in a bit of shock.

"What in the name of all shadows just happened...?" Next Chapter: Act 10: Leave Things As They Are...For Now Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 58 Minutes