While they were admiring the night view, Leiyu stole a glance at Prince Thallios’ right hand, which was inches away from his own left hand on the cool stone parapet.  The prince’s hand was petite and around his index finger was a silver ring that was attached to a bracelet by a thin chain.  He also noticed that the prince was half a head shorter than him.

“The Summer Festival is coming up in a couple of days, “ said the prince as his face was illuminated by the moonlight.  “The city will look even more beautiful then.”

“I see,” Leiyu replied.

Prince Thallios turned and walked toward the center of the garden, where there was a tabletop fire pit surrounded on either side by divans.  He sat down on one of the divans and leaned his right arm against the armrest.  Leiyu took this as a cue to follow suit, and he settled into the divan opposite of the prince’s.  The fire crackled in the pit as they glanced at each other.

“So,” the prince said as he rested the fingers of his left hand on his right arm, just above his bracelet.  “What’s your story?”

“Story?”

“Where you’re from…” the prince said as he leaned his head against his hands.  “Your travels…”

“Oh!  Well…I am originally from the Eastern Region.”

“Is that so?  I’ve never met anyone from the other regions.  How did you end up here, so far away from home?” 

“I left the Eastern Region a few years ago and began traveling.  I lived in the Northern Region with the nomads for about a year.”

The prince’s eyes lit up.  “Oh, that sounds interesting!  What was it like?”

“They were quite welcoming.  I learned some of their language and they taught me archery.”

“Ah, I see.  But…you didn’t end up staying with them?”

“No, although they were more than friendly and would have let me stay as long as I wanted.  But I wanted to keep going westward, so I took off again.  I wandered the desert alone for a while…until I encountered a trade caravan that was being attacked by a group of bandits.”

The prince’s eyes widened.  He looked at Leiyu, as if imploring him to tell more.

***

Smoke curled from the tabletop fire pit as Leiyu finished telling his story to Prince Thallios.  The prince had not budged from the divan during the entire time and was wide-eyed with wonder.

“Wow!” he exclaimed.  “You can use wind magic?  That’s amazing!”

Leiyu smiled.  He was not used to being flattered, especially by someone with higher social status.  “Eh, it’s nothing.  Anyway, we eventually ended up here, delivering the full shipment of silk and porcelain.”

“I had no idea how much effort it took.  Or how dangerous it was.”

“The trade caravan will remain here for a while, then return eastward with glassware and gemstones.”

“Ah yes, Ishkhandar is known for those.”

Leiyu glanced at Prince Thallios and noticed all the gemstones that were on him.  In the twilight, the prince’s ruby forehead jewelry, earrings, and necklace glistened.  Even the silver ring on his right index finger seemed to sparkle.  He continued to stare, somewhat mesmerized.

“Will you continue traveling?” Prince Thallios asked, bringing Leiyu’s mind back to the present.

“I’d like to,” Leiyu replied.  “I still haven’t visited the Southern Region.”

“I’d like to travel someday.  I’ve never been outside of this palace.”

“What?  Never?!”

The prince shifted in the divan and sighed.  “In all my twenty-one years, I have not set foot outside of these palace walls.”

He’s twenty-one? Leiyu thought.  Just a year younger than me. “But, isn’t a prince supposed to go out and become familiar with the land that he will someday rule?”

“Yes, it’s a bit unusual, isn’t it?” Prince Thallios lowered his eyes solemnly.  “Ever since my mother passed away, my father has been overprotective and just wants me to stay in the palace.” 

“Oh…” Leiyu had not expected the conversation to take this turn. “I am sorry…about your mother…”

Prince Thallios was silent.  

“It’s all right,” he finally said.  “It has been over ten years already.”  He looked upwards at Leiyu.  “What about your parents?”

“Oh…I don’t have any…”  

The prince glanced at him, confused.

“I’m an orphan.  I don’t remember who my parents were.”  

“Oh…I’m sorry.”

Leiyu shrugged.  They both stared at the fire.  The crackling flame sounded unusually loud, contrasting with their awkward silence.

Prince Thallios finally glanced over at him.  “Did…anyone look after you?  Like a relative?”

Leiyu looked up slowly.  Strangers usually did not ask about his life like this.  However, this was the prince, so he felt like he should answer.  He took a deep breath.  “I just know that when I was a small child, I was found on the streets during a large thunderstorm.  That’s actually what my name means.  Lei (雷) means thunder and yu (雨) means rain.   I don’t know my real birth name or if I even have one.”

In all honesty, Leiyu did not even know if he was really twenty-two years old.  He only guessed that based on his first memory of winter, which he assumed was around the age of three, and adding the nineteen winters that he experienced since then.  It was easy to remember winters since he had to find shelter from the bitter cold when he was a child living on the streets.

Leiyu’s mind went back to the day in his childhood that his life changed dramatically.  He remembered being curled up with his back against the wall of a building.  The heavy rains fell on the awning above him.  He shivered in his threadbare clothes.  Sensing the presence of another, he looked up and saw an elderly man holding an umbrella with one hand.  The man had snowy white hair tied up in a simple bun held together by a wooden hairpin.  He had a flowing beard and a kind expression.  His robes were plain and he held a parcel with his other hand.

“Shifu, an old martial arts master, found me and took me in,” said Leiyu.  “Shifu had other disciples.  I was raised alongside them.  He trained us in different styles of martial arts.”

“Ah, that’s where you learned it,” Prince Thallios remarked.  “Where is Shifu now?”

Leiyu was silent.  

“He passed away a few years ago,” he finally replied.

“Oh!” Prince Thallios lowered his voice.  “I’m sorry…”

“It’s all right.  He was old and his health was deteriorating.”

Prince Thallios gave him a sympathetic look.

“It was after he passed away that I started traveling,” said Leiyu.  “That’s how I ended up here.”

The corners of the prince’s mouth turned slightly upward.  He shifted his head so that it was resting on his arm.  Leiyu noticed that the prince’s eyes were starting to droop.  It was getting late.  Perhaps he wanted to sleep.

“Your Highness, should I go?” Leiyu asked.  “They told us that we could stay in the guest quarters.”

Prince Thallios shook his head.  “Mm, you can stay a little longer.  It’s nice having someone to talk to…”

Leiyu looked at him.  Was the prince lonely?  Prince Thallios grew up in an extravagant palace surrounded by luxuries that Leiyu could not have even imagined when he was a child living on the streets.  Yet, beneath that smiling face, Leiyu sensed melancholy.  Losing his mother at a young age must have affected him deeply.  Leiyu could not remember his own mother or father, so he could not quite relate, although he remembered feeling sad when Shifu passed away.

He noticed that the prince’s eyes were already closed.  I should probably go.  He looked up at the night sky.  The crescent moon hung overhead and the stars twinkled.  It had been a long day, and he had not rested much since the caravan arrived in Ishkhandar.  He laid down on the divan.

I’ll go in a little bit, he thought.  After I rest for a few minutes…