Ishkhandar - Part 5

Leiyu trailed after Prince Thallios and the two guards through flights of winding stairs dimly lit by torches flickering against the walls. The shadows danced as they walked past. Their footsteps echoed eerily.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and passed through a small, arched door that led them to a long corridor. More wall torches illuminated the pathway. Every now and then, one of the guards would turn around and give him a death glare. Leiyu lowered his head and stared at the floor tiles. He wasn’t really sure whether he should keep following them, but he also could not just walk away without risking the guards’ wrath. In any case, he had no idea how he was going to find his way back to the guest quarters. Perhaps he should have just retired for the night when he was there with the merchants and not insisted on finding a place to do his nightly meditation.

They finally reached the end of the corridor. A pair of wooden doors with ornate carvings stood before them. There were designs of flowers, phoenixes, and swirling vines with curlicue ends. The prince placed his hands on the doors and pushed forward, revealing the starry night sky.

The rooftop garden had neatly planted rows of flowering trees and the faint scent of lavender. At the center was a tabletop fire pit flanked by two divans. The floor was lined with stone tiles.

Prince Thallios turned to his guards and addressed them in Heliglossan. “You may be dismissed.”

The guards looked at each other in shock and then back at the prince. “Your Highness? The stranger…”

“I’ll be fine,” the prince replied. “You can stand outside the doors, and I will call if I need you.”

Leiyu had no idea what the three were saying since he did not speak their language, although given the awkward looks that the guards were casting in his direction, he figured they were saying something about him. He hoped that he would not need to fight them. Although he could probably win easily even without using wind magic, he did not want to cause an incident and be branded an enemy.

Which made it all the more surprising when the guards finally sighed and walked past him. They went out the doorway and closed it slowly. The wind picked up, sending breeze through the garden that scattered the flower petals and leaves. The tabletop fire pit hissed and crackled. Leiyu turned to look at the prince, who had already made his way to the parapet. The prince’s long auburn hair was bathed in the soft light of the moon. Leiyu approached him slowly. When he reached the parapet, the prince turned towards him.

“I know the guards are just doing their duty, but I prefer they not hover over me all the time, especially here,” the prince said in Sargeshi. Leiyu was not sure how to respond. The prince smiled and continued. “This is the highest point in the palace. You can see the whole city from here.”

Leiyu looked out at the cityscape. There were silhouettes of buildings and patches of light where the bazaars and plazas were. He thought it interesting how he and the merchants had just traversed those streets several hours ago, and now he was looking down on them from a bird’s eye view. There was still a faint hubbub, but it was in hushed tones that mixed with the whistling wind. He narrowed his eyes and thought he could make out pinpricks of light that were probably individual wall torches or lampposts. It looked like a sea of starlight.

“Wow,” Leiyu said in Sargeshi. “It’s…” He looked at the prince’s gentle smiling face. “Beautiful…”