(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/86/Ethan.jpg)<br/><br/>Ethan hated dressing up. Dressing up meant uncomfortable clothes and strange people staring at him. Mater Tai would be there, though, and that made everything worth it. He smirked to himself as he dressed, thinking back.<br/><br/>When he'd first come here he was eight years old, or something close to it. He didn't really know how old he was, or when his birthday was, or his name for that matter. He vaguely remembered being called John once by a pretty blonde woman. He remembered being called Scab on the pirate ship more clearly, and he'd gone through at least threre other names before the Missionary named him Ethan. He'd liked the Missionary, who treated him with stern kindness and didn't beat him, but the unruly pagans he was trying to teach rebelled, killing the Missionary and his wife, taking the children as captive.<br/><br/>It was from this group that the previous ruler, Master Tai's father, bought him. Ethan knew nothing about the country, the customs, or the language, and the other slaves and servants his age took advantage of that fact, bullying and beating him every chance they got. They made sure they left left no marks or bruises in any visible place. The fact that he had been bought specifically for Master Tai as a birthday gift made things worse. Master Tai hadn't even seemed thrilled at the time, so Ethan said nothing about his treatment until, after two weeks of solid torture later, Ethan was too beaten to even walk across the room properly.<br/><br/>Master Tai had been mad at Ethan, at first, thinking he was shirking his duties, until he'd seen the extent of Ethan's injuries. He'd personally cared for him, bringing down punishments on anyone he'd discovered that had caused hurt to Ethan. Ethan had loved him ever since. He wasn't exactly sure when it was he'd fallen<em>in love</em>with him, but that had happened somewhere along the line, and on Master Tai's last birthday, Ethan had given him the gift of his virginity.<br/><br/>It was no secret that Ethan was the favored pet, and that, if they wanted anything, they needed to go through Ethan to get to Tai. They also had to admit that Ethan never took advantage of his position, that he was fair to everyone. On the flip side of the coin, if you weere in trouble, a word from Ethan to Tai could mean the difference between lighter or a heavier punishment.<br/><br/>He sighed, finally finished with dressing, and clipped on the collar he wore for such occasions. He smiled as he set the collar in place. He belonged to Master Tai, and only Master Tai, and he wore his collar with pride. The smile lingered on his lips as he left the room and entered the throne chamber, stopping to the side of the throne and of his Master. He would not interrupt the conversation between Tai and Feng, would wait patiently for the visitor to move before Ethan could take his place, his pillow being on the floor between the Master's legs.<br/><br/>When Master Tai finally looked in his direction, Ethan gave a small nod, even though his head was appropriately bowed. "Does the outfit please my Master?" he asked, his soft voice still holding the lilting accent even after all these years.