Nao-Zai kept the prince's frame in his periphery as he pored over the maps provided for him by the imperial cartographer. How was that even a real job, he wasn't sure. Outside the window veiled by a thin curtain, all kinds of flurry happened just to prepare for the royal tour the prince was expected to go through. Why the Emperor decided the prince was a good representative to send to Dansarun was also something Nao-Zai didn't want to think about. He's here for an assignment. A mission. A job. He shouldn't concern himself with the politics that came with it.

He traced a finger down the parchment's brittle surface, marking the course the organizers told him they would be expected to take. A frown crept to his face. This was going to take a long time and, no doubt, a ton of resources. He glanced at the prince without lifting his head. The prince was seated behind a low, rosewood table, tapping a folded fan against its rim with a passive expression on his face. Well, if it's the Imperial family they're talking about, it looks like resources wouldn't be a problem.

The door had remained unlocked but judging from the shadows of the guards posted at either side, they were supposed to be here longer. The Emperor had suggested they get acquainted before the start of the tour to lessen the stress the journey would bring to the prince but from how it was currently going, Nao-Zai doubted he'd get far without his veins bulging from his forehead.

One look at the prince and Nao-Zai could tell he wasn't ready for the huge expectation and responsibility required of him once he got to Dansarun. Not much was known about the walled city of the gods, with the now-conquered Shencai territories refusing to disclose any accurate information other than rumors, but from those alone, Nao-Zai could tell this tour wasn't going to be a walk in the garden. How was the prince going to navigate an unfamiliar world with unfamiliar people when he couldn't even keep his headdress atop his head straight?

True enough, the symbolic cloth headdress sat like a lopsided tower. The prince must have noticed Nao-Zai's attention because he glanced at his head and set the headdress down on the table. Were the royal family even allowed to do that?

Sheared dark hair fell in thin, straight locks to the prince's eyes. Nao-Zai could have stared further but he wrestled his attention back to the map. It's uncommon for men to cut their hair that short so why in Xuijae would do it? Was it a form of rebellion or something?

If there was anything Nao-Zai hated, it was people who didn't follow the rules, those who think they're above the law, and those who had no inclination to start conforming. He was all about structure and order. Any deviant from that was sure to put a pin into his elbow.

Which was his current state with being stuck with a prince who had sheared hair and lopsided headdresses.

Nao-Zai blew a breath and rolled the map back into a scroll, crinkling it with the action. He set it atop a pile of more rolled parchment no doubt containing records of soldiers, provisions, and servants who would accompany them in the journey. As the head of security, it was also his job to make sure nothing in those records was unusual or could pose a threat to the prince's life, security, and overall satisfaction.

Should he fail, the Emperor would have not just his head but the heads of the soldiers from the Yomaura Fortress. He'd bring disgrace not just to his immediate family but on the whole clans from both his father and mother's side for at least ten generations. That's something he wanted to avoid in his lifetime (leave the disgracing to some unfortunate fellow) and he was determined to not end up as a pike decoration.

So, he swallowed all his apprehension and brought his hands together before turning to the prince fully. "Your Highness," he began, watching the prince's gaze flick towards him at the mention of his title. "Shall I present the guidelines we need to follow in order to make this journey successful and safe?"

The prince's passive expression turned even more passive, if possible. He tapped the fan against the table faster and in an even more unpleasant rhythm. It was an abomination in Nao-Zai's ear with its erratic beats and zero tone. "It's 'Your Grace'," he said, his tone both clipped and flat. " 'Your Highness' is reserved for the Emperor. On a good day, you would be flayed alive upon merely suggesting the Emperor's demise just so you could elevate me to the throne. You don't want that, don't you?"

Nao-Zai swallowed the lump in his throat. "N-no, Your Grace," he cleared his throat. "Now for the guidelines—"

"Nah, I'm kidding," the prince laughed to himself when Nao-Zai blinked with confusion. "Oh, you should have seen your face! Hilarious. Who would have thought the title joke's giong to work on you?"

He laughed some more, oblivious of the blossoming annoyance curling at the base of Nao-Zai's gut. This...brat. How old was he even? He couldn't have been younger than twenty but judging from the glint in his eyes and his unguarded smile, he might as well be stuck at thirteen. Also, what's up with the informal and quite vulgar speech? It was uncharacteristic for a member of the royal family.

"Oh, loosen up, will you?" the prince waved a hand in the air, his wide sleeves flapping along with it. In bright sunlight illuminating the room from the windows and through the thin parchment panes in the doors, the yellow cloth was enough to blind Nao-Zai. "The last thing we need on this trip is a lifeless stick spouting the Winter and Fall Annals or the Jade Peak Doctrines in their sleep."

The prince inclined his head to one side, staring Nao-Zai up and down with his dark eyes. "You're not that person, right?"

"That's not the point of this discussion, Your Grace," Nao-Zai narrowed his eyes at the prince's accusation. He didn't even know how the Jade Peak Doctrines started off. "The foremost rule you have to abide by as soon as we depart is to always stick by my side. You are not allowed to wander off despite your observable inclination to. You are not allowed to talk to anyone outside the delegation. Stay in places any of the guards can easily keep watch. Don't—"

"Your collar's crooked," the prince's voice speared through Nao-Zai's lecture. He glanced at the prince to find him looking out of the window and tracing his fingers on the layer of dust formed on the sill. Had he even heard anything Nao-Zai said?

Still, Nao-Zai reached up to attend to the prince's comment only to realize he was wearing his armor today and that collars were non-existent apart from the traditional fenhai attires worn only during formal events and festivals. He clenched his fingers.

"So, continuing on the guidelines," he said instead, diverting his annoyance to some forgotten part of his mind. He'd wring the life out of something after this. "The path to Dansarun includes going through the old Shencai territory which involves passing through the western, central, and eastern provinces which are now controlled by the gods. When we're there, you are not allowed to mention any references to the bygone empire. You are also not allowed to stop in the towns where the Shencai people are prominent. Your safety won't be guaranteed. That's also why we're taking the long route no matter how inconvenient, time-consuming, and expensive it is."

The prince didn't turn away from the window but he was chuckling to himself. Nao-Zai knitted his eyebrows. "Is something wrong, Your Grace?"

"No," the prince met Nao-Zai's gaze before pointing somewhere outside the window. "Look, one of the ducks got its beak tangled in a mess of vines."

Nao-Zai blew a short gust of wind through his nose. He rubbed his forehead. "Your Grace," he said in a stern tone. The prince stopped giggling to himself. "It is important for you to keep these guidelines in mind considering your life could be in danger once we depart from Xuijae's borders. And not listening isn't going to help both of us."

The prince frowned. It made him look like a petulant child throwing a tantrum more than an authoritative royalty. "You're going to be there so what's the point of knowing those things?" he said. "I know how to take care of myself so you should just focus on your job and, you know, guard me instead of pacing around like my pot-bellied tutors. You're not going to give me an examination, are you?"

"Was this a game to you?" Nao-Zai snapped, his vexation coloring his tone as well as his words. Those simply weren't the ones one should utter in the presence of the Imperial Crown Prince.

Before he could take back what he said, a dry laugh escaped the prince's lips. He sat back down behind the low table and crossed his arms. Then, he grinned at Nao-Zai. "This is as serious as it gets with me," he said. "Deal with it. And while you're at it, why not give me a rundown of the Doctrines of Ethics and of The Book of Proverbs and Poems?"

Insufferable. The prince was an insufferable brat and Nao-Zai must have done something wrong or offended the heavens for him to be stuck in this situation. He couldn't believe he's going to be spending all waking hours with a charge who would be making every minute of it as excruciating as walking over a burning pile of rocks.

What's worse? Nao-Zai's supposed to keep him safe and not give him up to the Shencai devils himself.