Mutsu burst with color when they arrived at the city proper.

As soon as they cleared the valley between two foggy peaks, a huge crowd greeted them, waving ribbons of red and yellow—Xuijae's royal colors—and cheering. Loud fanfare started from the lip of the city, where cobble stones kissed upturned earth, and continued all the way until the delegation reached an open square where the rest of the crowd trickled into.

Oddly, Shencai's original residents, the creatures of lore, were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the crowd was composed of people who looked exactly like humans—two feet, two arms, a face with the same number of holes and organs—but all resemblances ended there. Even from his place inside the carriage, Nao-Zai could feel waves of foreign power rippling off the gathered people. Even with smiles on their faces and a seemingly positive outlook on their neighboring empire's representatives, he couldn't suppress the shiver going down his spine and freezing his limbs into their tense state.

Should these people decide the humans weren't welcome, they could trample Xuijae in a matter of minutes. He needed to increase vigilance.

Houses made from stone and bamboo much like the ones Nao-Zai was familiar with back home loomed in the background, the roads winding around them. Paper lanterns were bright orange with respect to the old Shencai's royal colors but only some houses had them hanging from their awnings. As Nao-Zai's gaze took in all the details in the parade, he noted that the prevalent color of the lanterns the crowd carried were teal—Dansarun's symbolic color.

It was supposed to resemble the waves of the sea up to its symbolic strength and might and its ability to last forever. And conducting a parade and pasting all of Dansarun's symbols in the empire they conquered was almost like the gods were sending a message: Defy us and Xuijae could end up like Shencai.

Nao-Zai wasn't an expert on politics but maybe the prince could offer more insight into this. He glanced to the prince's direction only to find him staring dully at the crowd with a kind of lifeless eyes which reminded Nao-Zai of the pair he once saw on a prisoner serving his fifteenth year in jail.

Kai-Se watched the parade with his chin on his hand, his fingers tapping absently against the carriage window's sill. His eyes flitted here and there, the sunlight streaming from between the gaps in the gray clouds overhead turning his pupils a warm shade of chestnut. Nao-Zai didn't even know such a color was possible.

At least the prince had stopped humming that infernal song.

The parade cleared the open square and even more people trickled into the crowd, making it thicker and more...cluttered. Nao-Zai's mind whirred with a plan to arrange them orderly. Have them fall in line. Maybe that'll solve the problem.

From the corner of his eye, he saw something dash from the shadows. He drew closer to the window from the other side of the carriage, earning a curious glance from the prince. He peeled back the thin curtain to have a clearer view of the crowd and kept his eyes at the pairs of legs clad in beige trousers and skin-tight dresses. True enough, someone—rather, something—wove through the fray, earning whispered curses from the owners of the legs.

Nao-Zai narrowed his eyes to catch a glimpse of the creature. It was running on all fours, each of its legs decorated with ivory claws. Scales covered every inch of its body, shimmering against the sun in a gradient of olive, blue, and violet. Tufts of thin red hair framed its head resembling the dragon statues Nao-Zai only saw in temples back in Xuijae. Bright red eyes glinted as it ran, almost leaving a trail of light where it had been.

Whatever that creature was, it brought a small smile to Nao-Zai's lips. Seeing one of Shencai's people seemed more welcome than this extravagant parade he had to endure with the prince. Interestingly enough, Kai-Se had looked away from his own window and had caught a glimpse of the creature before it disappeared through more masses of legs. Some of the spark in the prince's eyes returned in that brief moment.

Then, as fast as it shone, it was snuffed when the prince's gaze landed on wide, teal gates coming up in the distance. The Western Governor's palace. As the frontal cavalry made it past the gray, granite walls, most of the crowd had peeled off and went back to where they came from. When the carriage made it inside the palace, the gates began closing. Nao-Zai leaned against his seat. The rear cavalry was in charge of protecting the gates until the prince was inside the palace.

The building itself was a stately pagoda resembling the rectangular palaces in the Xuijae compound back in Dangrao. The only difference was that there was a huge moat separating the main road and the block of rock where the palace was built upon. Nao-Zai spied several curving bridges peeling off the main road and connecting to the pagoda. Trees with blue leaves and purple flowers rustled with the occasional breeze. Some of the petals and blades broke free from dark brown branches and fluttered to the ground in a calming shower.

The entourage stopped by the second bridge they had passed and a gangly man dressed in violet robes matching the storm of petals and flowers around him approached the carriage before tucking his hands inside his wide sleeves and folding his upper body in a bow. When he straightened, he spoke. "The Governor welcomes Xuijae's delegation to Mutsu," his voice was high. Reedy. "We would like to extend our hospitality by inviting His Highness to a ceremony in the Goverenor's Provincial Villa."

Kai-Se gave Nao-Zai a brief nod. Nao-Zai cranked the carriage door's handle open and swung the door open. When Kai-Se stepped out, something about the prince's demeanor changed. Gone was the air of lightness around his frame.

"Please extend my sincerest thanks to Governor Hanse," Kai-Se said. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes nor lit up his eyes. As Nao-Zai fell into place behind the prince as the principal security personnel, he realized that that smile was just a placeholder, a default expression, during highly tense situations like this.

The prince met Nao-Zai's eyes and nodded in understanding. He turned to the guards and the servants who accompanied them into the Western Province. "You all can rest for the rest of the day. Only Nao-Zai is to accompany me to the villa."

A storm of salutes washed across the sea of soldiers clad in red and black. Then, with a quick bow and a wave of dismissal from the prince, the entire crew retreated towards where the servants wearing the Western Province's symbol by their arms directed them.

Kai-Se tucked his hands inside his wide sleeves, his Imperial attire making him taller and more prominent. If only the Governor knew how much Kai-Se complained about wearing it before they arrived in Mutsu last night, he wouldn't have smiled at the prince like he was doing now from the other side of the bridge.

They crossed the bridge, with Nao-Zai's attention focused on the prince's back and on the occasional leaf or petal that would kiss the water's surface and float there for a long time. The Governor's palace was smaller than Xuijae's royal compound but it's big enough to house almost as many servants, guests, and the Governor's family up to the great-grandchildren if need be.

Nao-Zai craned his neck up at a tall structure that was supposed to be the Governor's villa. An open gazebo composed the first floor, giving way to a view of more of the moat and beyond it, the rest of the gardens in the compound. The fog present since they entered the old Shencai territory was ever-present and, if possible, thicker. The air was also colder and sent sharp prickles into his skin whenever a stray breeze blew the wrong way.

When they cleared the bridge, a man dressed in the same violet robe stepped forward. A white overcoat with even wider sleeves sat on his shoulders. He spread his arms with a big grin. "I'm very honored to receive the famed Imperial Crown Prince of Xuijae in my own home," he turned and began ushering the prince inside the gazebo. "Come, come. I'll have the tea prepared immediately."

At the mention of tea, Nao-Zai's ears perked up. He loved tea.

He followed the prince into the wide space and noted how smooth the waxed tiles were against the soles of his boots. Should he need to run, it might pose trouble. Guards dressed in blue-plated armor stood at every entrance the gazebo had, each carrying spears whose tips glinted in the scant sunlight making its way past the trees. They should also pose a problem should Nao-Zai be cornered into drawing his sword and fighting their way out of this room. Spears weren't his specialty.

More servants flitted into the room, each bearing trays upon trays of delicacies placed daintily on small saucers. They set it on a low, square table where two cushions were already set up. Nao-Zai took the spot a few paces behind the cushion Kai-Se chose while tracking the movement of the Governor as he dropped into his seat.

"Please, allow me," the Governor waved off a servant who attempted to pour steaming tea into Kai-Se's cup. Just the smell of it was enough to soothe Nao-Zai's travel-frayed nerves. "This food is already tested on the way here but to prove that you are safe as long as you are in my residence, I, myself, will taste any food you'd like to try first."

Kai-Se chuckled. Even that sound had never sounded so fake in Nao-Zai's ears. "I believe in your goodwill, Governor," he said. "Shall we carry on with the zhunxi while there's still light?"

"Ah, yes. A grand idea, Your Highness," the Governor said, pouring tea into the prince's cup while holding his wide sleeves back with the other hand. "What better way to celebrate the feast of friendship than greeting the twilight together?"

Kai-Se smiled. "Poetess Cui-San, right? I adore her style and the way she could say so much more in just a few words," he said. Nao-Zai resisted raising an eyebrow. Didn't the prince hate poetry and considered it a lecture just a few days ago?

The Governor, however, drank it all up. The grin on his face burned brighter. "Your Highness is well-versed in the texts," he said before gesturing at the small cups of tea beside them. "Shall we?"

Both of them picked their cups after Kai-Se nodded. Then, they raised it to the air, their sleeves fluttering with the chill breeze. "Heavens and spirits of ancient," the Governor chanted the familiar verses to start the ritualistic zhunxi—the tea ceremony for guests and diplomats—and raised his eyes to the ceiling to prove his point. "We celebrate the bond formed through the drinking of the tears of Atamesu and the sacred blood of the celestial spirits. With the forging of this alliance, may we remain in each of our good graces and, through it, foster a fruitful season of giving, of sacrifice, and of kindness."

"I concur," Kai-Se replied, saying the most usual response to tea ceremonies. "May the blessings of the spirits find their way over our heads and prosper this allegiance made in their presence."

Then, they clinked their cups against each other before pressing their cups to their lips, tipping their heads back, and downing the tea. As soon as Kai-Se set his cup down, it was immediately refilled to the brim by a servant waiting on the side of the table. "You have a good brew in these parts," Kai-Se said, looking here and there as if to prove a point. "If possible, I'd like to enjoy Mutsu's blue jasmine tea back in Xuijae."

The Governor smacked his lips. "That's what His Highness is in Dansarun for, correct?"

Nao-Zai didn't miss the blatant labeling of Shencai as the gods' empire. Still, it's not his place to say or do anything about it. Down on the floor, Kai-Se nodded and downed another cup of tea. "Yes," he said, wiping the edge of his lips with the back of his mouth. "That is what I am here for."

Governor Hanse laughed openly and the feast lasted until the absence of the sun turned the gray sky a deeper shade of blue and purple. Kai-Se was there, laughing at everything the Governor said and even adding his own respectful jokes. As Nao-Zai watched his charge, he couldn't miss the mask of sadness shining beneath the prince's eyes, carefully tucked and sealed so it wouldn't leak into his demeanor at the most uncomfortable of times.

In a way, despite the wealth Nao-Zai envied the royals for having, he realized that they were no better than the prisoners serving their sentences back home. But when he pondered on it more, he realized that not only the ruling family were like prisoners, they actually had it worse.

And with that line of reasoning, he couldn't blame the prince for choosing to shear his hair despite the norm and for wearing his headdresses lopsided or even being late on an official summon. People would do everything in their power to fight the forces that be for a taste of a little freedom.

If Nao-Zai was in the prince's shoes, he's sure to have done the same...if not more.