Nao-Zai couldn't thank the gods enough that he was there when Kai-Se collapsed. Later, he gleaned from the servants that the prince was known to have a limited amount of energy and would tend to shut down when he overexerted himself. Today was a fine example.

Now that Nao-Zai was on it, Kai-Se didn't sound like he was sleeping well either. Nao-Zai could get a few hours here and there especially when Kai-Se was just in his rooms where he could leave the guarding to Wen-Shao or anyone for a short while. But Kai-Se...

Apart from nodding off in the carriage when he was supposed to be studying everything about Dansarun, the prince had juggled attending political meetings and being a piper on the streets over the course of the journey. He would often go back inside when the sun was already beginning to rise and would then prepare for the meetings and traveling on hand.

So, yeah. Kai-Se wasn't taking care of himself as he should.

As much as Nao-Zai didn't care about the prince, he couldn't brush this aside because if the prince kicked it somewhere in this tour, Nao-Zai would still be paying with his head. That's something he should avoid at all costs.

The room they were stashed in was in the same pagoda the trade meeting took place but only a few floors down. Nao-Zai had given up trying to count the total number of floors or measure the tower's total height. All he knew was that it's high.

Cold wind blew through the open balcony, bringing a wave of fog with it. The sound of tree leaves rustling was loud as thousands, or maybe even millions, went along with every direction the wind was going. Up ahead, the sky had changed from a brilliant blue, first, to a pinkish sunset to, finally, a deep shade of purple.

Kai-Se should be getting dinner now.

As if on cue, a servant dressed in beige layers came trotting up the steps, a whole lot of men in muted colors and women in skirts trotting behind him. Porcelain utensils clanked against the wooden tray with every step the servants took in rounding the pagoda's circumference before stopping in front of the door to Kai-Se's room where Nao-Zai stood.

It's the custom Nao-Zai had come to get used to. He learned he was supposed to ask the servant if the food had been tested for any assassination attempts and when he did, the servant nodded his shaved head vigorously before bowing two more times in the past one minute. He still found it odd that servants were bowing to him, a lowly soldier, but he was in a foreign country, after all.

Nao-Zai bowed back and slid the door open to let the servants in. They're just going to drop off the food and scamper away to wherever they came from. And when they did, Nao-Zai ducked into the room to find Kai-Se sitting in front of a mirror, staring at himself without moving or blinking.

"Your Highness?" Nao-Zai called. Kai-Se flinched and turned to look at him. He gestured at the trays of food laid by the door. "You should eat."

Kai-Se turned back to the mirror. "No appetite."

"You just collapsed after overexerting yourself in the trade meeting," Nao-Zai prodded. Why was he even bothering in the first place? "You should eat."

A sigh rang from the prince's scrawny frame. "That's because my energy ran out," he said. "I slept and now, I'm fine."

Nao-Zai raised an eyebrow. He doubted the prince could see his expression with his back turned anyway. "And food will give you that energy back and more, don't you think?"

Kai-Se whipped to him, opening his mouth to say something. That's when the pendant on his necklace glowed pink and orange. Before Nao-Zai's eyes, An-Ri materialized to reveal a girl in a fenhai whose skirt was cut just above the knees, showing the world her pale, slender legs. Purple eyes trained on Kai-Se as An-Ri began hovering a few inches off the ground, the tips of her pronged sandals barely brushing the weaved mats spread over the floor.

"For once, the soldier has a point," An-Ri said, flicking her white hair over her shoulder. "I didn't crawl out of Shaoryeong just to watch you shrivel up and die on my watch."

Kai-Se's lips flapped open and close but no words came out. Finally, he mussed his hair and trudged towards the food trays. He picked up the metal chopsticks and began picking at the bowl of noodles and rolled fish. From what Nao-Zai observed from the rows and rows of plated meals Kai-Se uncovered, it seemed Dansarun prepared a feast.

There were plates filled with strips of steamed salmon meat no doubt caught on Shencai's territorial waters, thin slices of fruit whose smell could only belong to sunfruits, and steamed buns and dumplings no doubt containing the finest meat in Dansarun.

Still, Kai-Se shoved noodles in his mouth.

After a while, Kai-Se jerked his chin at Nao-Zai. "There's no way I could finish all this. Those gods seemed to think I'm an elephant or something," he patted an empty spot beside him. "Let's share."

Nao-Zai arched his eyebrows. "But...eating with a royal is...forbidden."

Kai-Se chuckled. "You know how I am with that word," he waved a hand over the feast before him. "Oh, perhaps Wen-Shao and the other soldiers want some too? I could send some over to the servants as well. Perhaps Go-Ro could facilitate...make sure everyone gets some."

It didn't even occur to Nao-Zai that the head servant's name was Go-Ro. It seemed like he underestimated Kai-Se and lumped him with the snob nobles and ruling clans just because he belonged to one. "So?" Kai-Se's voice brought Nao-Zai back to reality. "Come on."

Well...if he insisted.

Nao-Zai dropped into the spot beside Kai-Se and got his fill from one of the spare bowls provided in case the guest had an unfortunate accident. "An-Ri's fine since she doesn't need to eat with her eternal magic thingy going on," Kai-Se explained to no one as he continued to slurp his noodles. "Oh, try the dumplings. I heard they're good around these parts."

"Don't you want to try it?" Nao-Zai asked as he brought one to his bowl and finally to his mouth. The flavors blended well in his mouth as he chewed. "Are you fine with just the noodles?"

"Are you kidding me? I love noodles," Kai-Se rolled his eyes but he didn't sound like he meant it. What's stopping him from trying it himself? "If I could eat only one thing for the rest of my life, I'd choose noodles."

A shadow fell over Nao-Zai and he looked up to see An-Ri produce a pair of chopsticks out of thin air, reach over to the tray of dumplings, and dump one into Kai-Se's bowl. Before the prince could protest, the spirit stared him down with a stern look. "The soldier says you eat," she said in a flat tone. "Don't make me add a strip of salmon."

Kai-Se muttered under his breath as he shoved the dumpling into his mouth and started chewing. Before he could spear the noodles for another bite, An-Ri dumped another piece into his bowl. "An-Ri!" the prince cried almost like a petulant child throwing a tantrum. "I swear, I'm already full!"

Nao-Zai felt a small smile creeping into his lips and he dared to let it out. Soon, he was watching Kai-Se and An-Ri bicker about eating more and being full. For a full minute, he thought An-Ri was acting more like Kai-Se's mother more than a guardian spirit. Weren't they supposed to be in a servant-master relationship if the old annals were to be consulted? If what he's seeing was really how Kai-Se and An-Ri treated each other, then it would seem like the annals were wrong just like how Nao-Zai was wrong about the prince.

Sometimes, one wouldn't know the truth to something unless having seen it up close.

Finally, An-Ri gave up trying to force the prince to eat more. Kai-Se drained his bowl of the last drop of the noodle's soup and set it down on the tray. "Nao-Zai, kindly share this with the rest," he said. "I'll head out now."

"To where?" Nao-Zai asked.

Kai-Se rolled his shoulders. An-Ri ran her hand down her hair and changed it from white to black. "Out," the prince said as he moved to shrug his overcoat off to reveal his piper's outfit underneath. Had he been always wearing that under all his royal layers? No wonder he always complained about his clothes being too heavy. "I'll see you around."

"Wait," Nao-Zai shot up. "I'm coming with you. I need to be sure you're safe."

Kai-Se smiled, albeit a little sadness creeping into his eyes. "I have An-Ri with me," he said. "She could level entire plains if I need her to."

Nao-Zai pursed his lips. "It's alright if you think you're compelled to come with me because it's your duty," Kai-Se continued. "After we go home, I'll make sure you get your compensation and more, don't worry. You get to keep your perfect track-record as well. I'll even recommend you to other ruling clans. They are missing out on how much of a good soldier you are."

Before Nao-Zai could correct the prince about his intentions, Kai-Se nodded to An-Ri and the spirit waved her hands. A swirl of magic wrapped around both of them and they winked out of existence like they weren't even there in the first place, leaving Nao-Zai standing in the room that never felt so empty.

So, he did what Kai-Se requested and gave the rest of the feast for Wen-Shao to disseminate. Then, Nao-Zai headed out to search for wherever Kai-Se and An-Ri went to tell stories.

He found them just behind one of the lesser pagodas surrounding the central one. There, Kai-Se was surrounded by children dressed in beige layers much like the servants who Nao-Zai had seen around the city. As usual, Kai-Se was casting his magic by making sheets of dyed parchment fold in and out various shapes in an inhuman speed and accuracy. An-Ri was an ever-present wall behind the prince, her eyes scanning the horizon in all directions.

Nao-Zai got to the edge of the crowd as soon as Kai-Se was starting another story, having let all the parchments slide back to their flat states. When the prince opened his mouth, the story poured forth.

As Nao-Zai listened, he watched the children's expression change from awe to fear and back to awe in just relaying the events of the story. It was of two lovers adopting disguises to run away from their families in order to elope. Along the way, they always missed each other in every city they went to because they couldn't recognize each other in their disguises. Finally, heartbroken and thinking that maybe their lover abandoned them for another partner, they killed themselves just a few inns away from each other in the last city they ended up in.

"So, the moral of the story is to stand up to the forces telling you something's impossible," Kai-Se finished. From underneath his mask, Nao-Zai could only suspect the prince was grinning for another successful story. "Go to the root of the circumstance and don't spend your life wishing for a better life. You have to act on it."

The sounds of sniffling and crying could be heard from the children. Some were wiping their eyes with the backs of their hands while others were just sobbing into their skirts or sleeves. Nao-Zai could sympathize to a fault. It was really a tragic tale.

Kai-Se stood up and bowed to the crowd as a servant would to his master. If these children realized he was the representative from Xuijae, they would flip. Still, with the prince dressed in simple clothes, it was impossible to tell he was from a royal lineage if one wasn't looking for any specific signs. Nao-Zai understood why Kai-Se was drawn to this kind of life. It did look...freeing.

"So, kids," Kai-Se continued. "Don't let anyone tell you what you can and cannot be. Write your own future for the good of the many."

The children cheered and one even threw his arms around Kai-Se's legs. Then, they scattered away and disappeared back to the servant's quarters inside the smaller pagoda. After a while, Kai-Se still hasn't moved from his place, staring after the child who hugged him. An-Ri chuckled and disappeared back into Kai-Se's necklace.

Nao-Zai reached out and clapped Kai-Se on the back. "Good job," he said in the most casual tone he could manage when talking to a prince. "Piper."