The Journey - Part 1

Sunlight crept into the cave. Leiyu opened his eyes. He was lying on the cave floor. Prince Thallios was nearby, curled up in his riding cloak, facing away from him. Bakhat and the prince’s horse were standing near the cave entrance.

Leiyu did not remember when they had finally fallen asleep last night. He had held the grieving prince in his arms for a long time, until the prince’s sobs turned to silence, and he himself had slipped into slumbering oblivion.

He had not eaten since breakfast yesterday, and his stomach was protesting. There was some stale flatbread in his sleeve, but that would not suffice, especially since Prince Thallios’ well-being was now his responsibility. He took one last look at the curled up prince and got up. As he passed by the horses, he fed Bakhat some oats from his sleeve, and also gave some to the prince’s horse. Once the horses were done eating, he went outside for a walk.

Since they had arrived at the cave late in the night, he did not get a good look at their surroundings until now. The cave was surrounded by tall swaying trees and short bushes. Above him was the clear blue sky. How far away were they from Ishkhandar? Was it still under siege or did it succumb to the invaders?

He stopped at the center of a ring of trees, and looked behind him. The mouth of the cave was still visible. He did not want to venture too far.

Did I do the right thing, choosing to protect a prince that I’ve only known for a few days over the merchants who I’ve known for many weeks? he thought. I was the one who rescued the merchants from the bandits in the first place. Why didn’t I choose to save them again?

His head was starting to spin. Because of circumstances. I saved the merchants because I happened to be there. I saved the prince because he was right there. If there is anyone else that comes along and I happen to be right there, will I end up saving that person too? And leave the prince behind?

His blood ran cold. No, I won’t break any more promises.

A rustling sound interrupted his thoughts. He saw a flash of fur between the leaves of a tree branch.

Forgive me, he thought as he reached into his sleeve. The prince needs food. He threw a dagger towards the branch. A moment later, there was a thump as something hit the forest floor and scattered the leaves.

***

Leiyu set down a pile of dried grass and leaves and a bundle of sticks a few paces away from the cave entrance. Not wanting to use up his flame talismans, he dragged the edge of his dagger against a rock, and let the sparks ignite the leaves. He blew on it until the embers bloomed into a tiny flame. He fed the fire, first with tiny twigs, and then with larger sticks. Once he had a crackling fire going, he propped up two sticks of skewered game over the tops of the flames. He rotated them occasionally so that the meat would cook evenly.

Once he was finished, he kicked dirt over the fire to extinguish it. Then he removed the roasted meat from one of the sticks and used a small knife to cut it into pieces. He wrapped the meat with a piece of cloth and carried it into the cave.

Prince Thallios was still curled up under his cloak on the cave floor. His back faced Leiyu.

“Your Highness?” Leiyu asked. “Do you want anything to eat?”

“No…” the prince whispered.

Leiyu frowned. “Your Highness, I’ll just leave some food next to you. You can eat it whenever you want.” He placed the cloth bundle with cut up meat next to the prince. When the prince did not move, Leiyu shrugged and exited the cave.

He returned to the extinguished campfire and removed the meat from the other stick. He didn’t bother to cut it and just bit in. The meat was tender, and the juices ran down his chin. He wiped it away before taking another bite.

I am used to surviving in the wilderness, but what about the prince? Leiyu thought. He barely ate anything when he had a feast in front of him at the palace.

As Leiyu cleared the last of the meat off the bones, he heard a stirring from the cave. He went over to the cave entrance and walked inside.

Prince Thallios was now sitting up. His auburn hair was disheveled, but his ruby and gold hair ornament was still holding up his loose half bun. He had dark circles under his eyes. Leiyu saw that the prince was holding a small piece of roasted meat in his hand.

“What is this?” the prince asked.

“Squirrel,” Leiyu replied.

“Oh,” the prince said, raising an eyebrow. He stared at the piece of roasted squirrel for a moment before placing it in his mouth. After chewing for a while, he swallowed.

“Is it all right, Your Highness?” Leiyu asked. “I apologize if it’s cruder than what you’re used to.”

“Oh no, it’s quite good,” the prince remarked as he reached for another piece. “Thank you. I never knew you could eat squirrel. I used to see them in the palace gardens, scurrying along the branches-” His face suddenly fell.

“Your Highness? Is everything all right?”

“Yes,” the prince lowered his gaze. “It’s still real, isn’t it?”

“Real? What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“Ishkhandar being invaded. Everything going up in flames. I was hoping that I would awaken from a nightmare, and everything would be back to normal.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

Prince Thallios sighed. He slowly ate another piece of squirrel meat as he blinked away tears. He wiped his eyes and looked up at Leiyu. “I’m glad you’re here. I wouldn’t have survived otherwise. I…I’m sorry about the merchants though.”

Leiyu felt his knees weaken, and decided that now was a good time to sit down. “I wish I had been able to do more for them.”

“Were you all good friends?”

“Um…not as much as I should have been.”

Prince Thallios raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I thought you traveled together for weeks.”

“Yes, but I remained very detached. Which I somewhat regret now, since their leader was trying very hard to talk to me. He even invited me to stay in his hometown after we returned East.”

“What about the other two?”

“One was hostile. The other one seemed okay.”

“Hostile, why? Didn’t you save them?”

“I don’t know. He started off okay, but as the weeks wore on, his remarks became more cutting. Especially after the time the leader tried to give me extra food.” Leiyu sighed. “I’ve dealt with people like that before, so it’s nothing new. Maybe some of it is my fault. I only spoke to them if I had to, so I probably came across as unfriendly.”

“That’s surprising to hear. I’ve never felt that you were unfriendly.”

“Well, it’s…a little different with each person I talk to, Your Highness.”

Prince Thallios blinked. Leiyu thought he saw a faint blush on the prince’s cheeks.

The prince looked downward briefly, and then returned his gaze to Leiyu. “Would you happen to have any water?”

“Oh,” Leiyu said. “Of course.” He reached into his sleeve and pulled out his gourd-shaped flask. He offered it to the prince. “Here you go, Your Highness.”

Prince Thallios’ eyes widened. “How were you able to fit that in your sleeve?”

Leiyu grinned. “Magic pocket.” He saw the dumbfounded look on the prince’s face. “In the Eastern Region, we have magical items that are used for storage. Sometimes it’s a ring, sometimes a pouch, or sometimes just a pocket sewn into a sleeve. The item itself might look small, but it can store many things.”

“What else do you have stored in your sleeves?”

“Food. Money. Herbal medicines. Oats for my horse to eat. My bow and arrows.” He saw Prince Thallios’ jaw drop. Smiling, he continued, “It makes it much easier to travel. Don’t need to bring extra bags.”

Prince Thallios stared at the flask. “Does this store an infinite amount of water?”

Leiyu suppressed a laugh. “No, that’s just an ordinary flask. But that’s a good idea actually. I should have bought a magic flask before I left home.”

“You can buy these things at an ordinary market?”

“There are some street vendors that sell them in the markets back home, but those are usually cheaper ones with limited space. I didn’t buy my pocket sleeves at the market. It came with the uniform that everyone from my sect wears once they surpass a certain skill level.”

“A sect? What is that?”

“Oh, sorry Your Highness, I didn’t explain that earlier. It was the people I grew up with after Shifu found me. A sect is a group of people that train in martial arts or magic, or both. Some are family clans and some are just a group with a leader and disciples. Ours was so informal that it’s hard to even call it a sect, since it was just Shifu and us orphans.”

“Are there a lot of sects in the Eastern Region?”

“Oh yes. Some are very strict and demand absolute loyalty. Shifu wasn’t like that. If anyone wanted to leave after reaching adulthood, he’d let them. Some disciples left to get married and start families, some left for other sects. Shifu just wished them well.”

“That sounds nice of him,” Prince Thallios said. He stared at the flask. Finally he uncorked it and took a sip. Afterwards, he handed it back to Leiyu. “Thank you.”

“I can get you another flask, if you’re not comfortable sharing one,” Leiyu said. “I’ll just have to wait until we find another place with a market. Or I could make one.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” the prince said. “I don’t mind sharing yours.” He returned to eating the squirrel meat.

Leiyu rested his head on his palm and his elbow on his knee. He scanned the cave walls before finally returning his gaze to the prince, who was now finished with his food.

The prince looked up at him. “Something wrong?”

Leiyu looked at the ground. “Sorry, Your Highness. It’s just that I never saw you eat much of anything at the palace.”

“Oh, I…I just didn’t have much of an appetite most of the time.” The prince looked up at the cave ceiling. “At least, not since I lost my mother. On some days, I had a hard time eating more than the bare minimum. But some of it was also because I took it for granted that there would always be a next meal.” He looked over at Leiyu. “But I can’t take that for granted anymore, so I’ll eat anything you catch. Thank you, by the way, for preparing this.”

“You’re welcome, Your Highness,” Leiyu said, bowing his head.

Prince Thallios got up and slowly walked over to the cave entrance. He stared into the distance. “My father said the Sword of Ages is in the mountains to the northeast.” He looked back at Leiyu. “Let’s get going.”