Dim morning light filtered through the dirty windows. Leiyu opened his eyes and blinked a few times.  The prince was still in his arms, curled against his chest.  Prince Thallios’ eyes were still closed and his breathing soft and steady.  There was a pleasant warmth between them as they lay huddled on the dirt floor.  But that calm moment only lasted for a minute before Leiyu recollected their conversation from last night.

In a way, Leiyu regretted asking about the rumors.  Gossip was not something he was normally interested in anyways, so he was not sure why he had become so curious.

Royal life does not seem that great after all, he thought.  The nobles have more money, power, and comforts, but that’s about it.  Everything else about their lives is just as messy as the rest of us.

His mind turned to the Northern steppes.  The vast grassy fields that stretched forever.  The wind that never stopped blowing.  The yurts that dotted the landscape like wildflowers amongst the verdant sea.  Empty yet not quite so.

But the nomads also had their politics, so it’s not like their lives were free of complications.  I just wasn’t part of it because I was staying with her.

The ‘her’ in question was the one who taught him wind magic in the first place.

Prince Thallios stirred in his arms and tilted his head.  Leiyu could see his face more clearly now.  Eyes closed, countenance calm like the surface of the stillest lake.

Like the lake outside?  Leiyu thought as he shuddered.  Once the prince was awake, they would leave this eerie place.  As he finished his thought, he saw the prince’s eyes open halfway.

“Oh, hi,” the prince said.  Rose dusted his cheeks.  “I guess we fell asleep like this.  I hope it’s not awkward for you.”

Leiyu shifted his arms so the prince had more space to move around.  “No, not at all, Your Highness.  Actually…” He saw the prince’s face twist in concern.  “I apologize for prying so much yesterday.”

The prince’s amber eyes blinked in confusion.  ”Prying?”

“About the rumors.  I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have asked about such a personal thing, Your Highness.”

“Oh no, it’s all right.  I was the one who brought it up in the first place.  I guess it’s one of those things that has been on the back of my mind, next to the memories of my mother.”

Leiyu frowned.  “Was it strange to have your tutor become…”

Prince Thallios shrugged.  “It is what it is, or it was what it was.  Izel was an intelligent man, so maybe he found a way to reach out to my father in a way no one else could.  It was probably better than having a stepmother.”

“Stepmother?”

“If my father had married again to another woman, like that minister had suggested.  He could have, but he didn’t.  At least no one was there to replace my mother.”

“That’s good then.”

“In fact, my father could have had many other wives.  Kings of the past did.  That’s why all the male servants in the palace are eunuchs.  To eliminate the possibility of, well, you know…”

Now it was Leiyu’s turn to blush.  “Yes, I’m quite aware.  Our emperor in the East has consorts and concubines, and eunuchs to run the palace.  Never seen them in person, but heard plenty of tales from the street storytellers.”

“I guess it’s the same everywhere then,” the prince said with a sigh.  “At least my father only loved my mother when she was still with us.”  He rolled over and sat up.  “Do we have anything for breakfast?”

Leiyu almost fell over.  Such a quick change of topics.  “More stale bread.  If that’s enough for now, we could just eat that and I can catch something fresh later.  Also need to feed the horses too, before we leave.”  He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a dried out piece of flatbread.  Tearing it in half, he handed a portion over to Prince Thallios.  They chewed in silence.

***

After they finished their meager breakfast and went outside to feed the horses, Leiyu decided to take one last look at the lake.  He stepped toward it cautiously, keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword as if he expected a waterborne monster to leap out of the water.  When he got to the water’s edge, he looked down.

Still nothing.  Nothing but the overcast morning sky.  Leiyu frowned.

“Hey Leiyu,” Prince Thallios said as he walked up from behind.  “Why are you staring at the lake for so long?”

“Um…” Leiyu turned to face the prince.  “Actually, I have a question, Your Highness.  What does my reflection in the lake look like to you?”

Prince Thallios walked up next to him and stared downward.  “It looks fine, albeit a bit unclear.  I can see your outline, but the rest of you looks like a shadow.  Maybe the water is very murky.”

Wait, why can he see my reflection, but I can’t?  Leiyu thought.  He looked down again.  Nothing still.  He shifted his eyes over to where the prince’s reflection would be.  Then his heart nearly stopped.

The mirror image of the prince was a figure of raging fire.  A golden outline surrounded by floating embers.  Eyes like coal and a twisted smile like a dagger’s edge.

Dread tore through Leiyu’s heart like a chiseled blade of obsidian.  He took a step back from the lake.

“Leiyu, is everything okay?” Prince Thallios asked.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Yes, Leiyu thought bitterly.  I’ve been hearing and seeing nothing but ghosts since I reached this region.  “I think we should go, Your Highness.  This lake is still giving me strange vibes.”

“Oh, of course,” Prince Thallios said.  They headed back to their horses.

As Leiyu lifted himself up and settled onto Bakhat’s saddle, he felt a sharp pain between his eyes.  And then that cursed word echoed in his mind again.

Despair.

No! he screamed internally.  Enough with the despair!  Why are the ghosts so restless?  What the hell happened in this land so long ago that caused so much misery?

***

They trudged on through the forest on horseback.  Stray branches bent and snapped against Leiyu’s cloak as they passed between the dense grove.  The whisper of the wind through the leaves was punctuated by the cawing of crows.  Dry leaves crunched underfoot.  Lizards and squirrels darted from across the splayed tree roots.

A chaos was brewing in the recesses of Leiyu’s mind.  The sharp needle of pain between his eyes was not helping either.  It was disconcerting, to lose the calm and composure that he had cultivated for so many years.  Why, because of this one prince trailing behind him, blinking amber eyes oblivious to the ghostly entrenchment digging deeper into his slender bones?  Leiyu shook his head.  His thoughts were no longer making any sense.

Who am I really?  And who is he?  Is this quest going to have a positive outcome?  Leiyu squeezed the reins in his hands, fingers digging into this palm.  He turned his head slightly, wanting to catch a glimpse of the prince without making direct eye contact.  

Is his mother a vengeful ghost?  He said she died of illness, but what if it’s more complicated than that?  And what about her prophecy, that I was meant to save the prince?  I’m protecting him, like I promised the king, but what happens after we find that sword?  Is her spirit going to completely overtake him and bring about destruction?  That cursed state with the demon eyes, is it going to be permanent?

Coldness coursed through his limbs as a new thought came up.

What if ‘saving’ him means I have to end him?  So he can be free of this curse and move onto the next life?  Leiyu’s vision began to blur and he blinked a few times to clear away the excess moisture.

No!  I can’t do that!  I won’t…  He took a deep breath but his throat felt constricted.  What if we just abandoned this quest?  Run away to the edge of the world where no enemy soldiers can find him?  Just live in obscurity.  I’ve already been doing that on my own.

But what if he ends my life instead?

“Leiyu?”

Leiyu gasped.  He turned around slowly.  “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Is everything all right?  You’re even quieter than usual.”

Leiyu gazed at the prince and felt ashamed of the thoughts that were swirling in his head.  “Everything’s all right, Your Highness.  I’m just thinking about how to get to the mountains.”