The entire layout of the mountain-side city baffled Yu to no end. It seemed completely non-sensical as there appeared to be no order or reason for the placement of any of the establishments or streets. Tall buildings were set up in rows throughout the winding avenues. The buildings were intricately carved from the same stone that made up the palace and at first glance appeared to be a completely separate entity from the mountain. However, every building in Balthae was connected to the stone in which it was settled upon. The First Holding itself was made up of numerous plateaus which were connected by multiple stone walkways or wooden bridges depending on the distance. Whether it be residential, commercial, or recreational, each landing served a different purpose for the city’s development. The entire kingdom was like an engineering miracle for the young Prince. How could anyone accomplish anything this complex without magic? The city itself was on the windward side of the mountain and gusts that were carried over were much stronger than what Yu had anticipated. The air was almost suffocating as all sorts of scents wafted through with the early afternoon breeze. The buildings were situated in a way that the wind could pass through as gently as possible, ensuring a minimum amount of dangerous gusts affected the residents of the city. However, the drawback was that the stench of everything around them would cling to him for days. The smells were a normal presence for the citizens of Balthae and many of them were so accustomed to it that they went unnoticed. For Yu, his nose burned in agony at the confusing blend of aromas that tortured his senses. He would be passing by a bakery and instead of smelling the sweet, yeasty, and tempting fragrance of freshly baked bread, he would be smelling the rotting meats of one of the many butchers on the next plateau. Yu had to hold his sleeve to his nose to keep from gagging, a reaction that did not go unnoticed by Mathias who Yu noted was forcing himself not to laugh at him again.

Even in an enormous mountain city such as the First Holding, it was hard to believe that there were six more cities such as this one stretched across the mountain range. The amount of people who lived in the First Holding was already overwhelming for Yu and, according to Mathias, this city was in fact the smallest out of all of them. His eyes wandered from storefront to storefront, most of the time unsure what the establishments were even trying to sell.

Mathias kept a firm grasp on Yu’s hand as they walked together. Not because he was afraid of the boy running away, but more that the boy’s curiosity would probably lead them to getting separated before he could realize the Yu was gone at all. It was then that he felt a sharp tug as Yu had stopped walking and was idly staring at a vendor’s stall. Mathias gave the young prince a curious look as Yu’s actions and decisions appeared to have no rhyme or reason behind them. He watched as the curious youngster picked up a clear, reddish bauble from the vendor who, from what Mathias could tell, was selling little trinkets that were very fashionable with women nowadays. It was almost amusing how Yu held it up to the sunlight and squinted at it as if looking at it more closely would make something interesting happen.

“What does this do?” He asked rather bluntly as he started to wave the glass bead in the air in seemingly random directions.

The older man sighed heavily and shook his head. The vendor’s hand flew to his mouth to immediately cover the snicker that threatened to escape. If one of his patrons wasn’t wearing the mark of the king’s men on his uniform, the man would have probably burst out laughing.

“It doesn’t do anything.” He replied in as bland a tone as he could, trying not to offend the foreign royal.

The boy gave him a dumbfounded look and then immediately went back to inspecting the trinket. Mathias resigned to the boy’s curiosity for a moment, “I can buy it for you if you want it?”

This pleased the vendor as a deceptive grin creeped onto the man’s face.

“No need,” Yu responded rather quickly but did not drop the bead, “Why does your country allow for the distribution of useless products? Where I come from, the only products that are allowed to be sold are those that advance the development of the Empire,” he said with an almost idiotically proud look on his face as his eyes remained glued to the object in his hand.

Mathias gave the boy a bemused look as Yu continued to play with the object, running his near-white, long fingers over the smooth glass surface in an almost greedy manner. He watched with intrigue and curiosity as the prince continued to play with the object he deemed useless as he could clearly make out the hint of desire in the boy’s eyes. It was almost as if the boy was trying to figure out some hidden purpose behind the bauble. Had the boy really never seen anything like it before? Sighing deeply, Mathias reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Reaching into the purse he produced a random amount of coins that amounted to at least double the worth of the useless ornament. Placing the coins on the man’s stall, he started to pull the boy away by the arm. Strangely, Yu did not protest but he kept staring at the object. Letting out a snicker, Mathias patted the boy on the head,

“If you want to buy something, all you have to do is ask. Zephèl supplied me with enough money that would last most men a few months,” Mathias added absently.

Yu frowned bitterly as he pocked the glass bauble. The two continued on their walking tour of the first holding. It was evident after enough time though that Mathias was being careful as to not stray too far down the mountain. Even though he was free to walk around the city, he still felt the sense of security around him and new Mathias was prepared if he tried anything. Kicking at the dirt under him, Yu’s expression darkened.

Mathias noticed the boy’s tension and agitation as the prince started to play with the ends of his hair, a behavior the prince had yet to exhibit and could only be assumed as a nervous habit, “Something the matter?” He chimed in. It was as good a time to inquire as any as the silence was getting them nowhere.

“Yes, actually. I just noticed something was off about this situation,” Yu seemed oddly focused as he stared directly into Mathias’s face. The man was slightly taken aback but he silently nodded, signaling the young prince should continue, “Why are you allowing me so much freedom? I thought that stupid prince of yours was planning on using me to keep our two lands from destroying each other. I am not an idiot, Mathias, there has to be some ulterior motive to this little outing.”

It took all of his will power to not burst into a fit of laughter on the spot. Biting the inside of his lip, Mathias had to calm himself before answer the boy,

“That was the plan. But why would you say we are scheming something? If I recall, all I have done on this outing is show you around our Kingdom as any generous host would,” Mathias smiled warmly, still forcing down his amusement.

“But why did he ask you to do this? I know you are prepared to try and stop me if I run away. Is this your way of teasing me for my freedom?” Yu stopped walking, planting his feet in the ground, blocking Mathias from continuing.

Instead of falling into Yu’s pace, Mathias held his ground but returned the boy’s temperament with a friendly smile. He avoided patting him on the head or shoulder, as he had been handing him the entire time. Instead, he looked down at the enemy prince who was trying to demand something from him. Passerby’s started to stop as the two were causing quite a spectacle and stopping the flow of the human traffic.

“If you really would like to know, I shall enlighten you. After Zephèl so rightly attacked you and decided to keep you locked in that room, he realized that even if you did escape you would probably end up dead from doing something stupid before you even reached the entrance to the Emerald Sea. You may be a prince, but your lack of experience in diplomatic affairs obviously betrays you. He figured that there would be no point to keeping you in that room forever and asked me to give you a tour of the city as you would most likely be staying here awhile.” His voice was calm and very matter of fact, but he had no reason to sugarcoat the reality.

This clearly did not sit well with the prisoner and people around them had started to whisper. The two were not being discrete in their actions and voice and soon the news of conflict would spread throughout all of the Mountain Cities like a wildfire. Mathias had lost all regard for keeping their diplomatic affairs a secret and Yu could not understand all of the whispering as many of the people were out of his magic’s reach. He looked around the crowd who would immediately back away or avert their gaze when his eyes fell on them. The word Aeastalth was thrown around and the severity of the situation started to dawn on him.

Lowering his head, Yu quieted down and frustratedly clenched his fists closed.

“Does your prince really think so little of me? Am I really just some unfortunate, naïve child to him?”

Mathias gave the boy a grave look and started to usher him out of the crowd,

“It is unfortunate, but he has no intention of helping you nor your kingdom. If he can use you to keep his own people safe, he will do just that. If he decides to have you killed, I will not argue with his decision”

Their conversation did not continue after that and the whispers of the Aeastalth in the kingdom only continued to float around the first holding. Yu already had the exterior appearance of someone from a different land, but pinned as a sinner from the Empire only made the walk back to the Castle much more strenuous than initially planned. Many people stopped to stare at the prince and his guard and it only filled his heart with hatred.