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Crash!
A neat pile of copper pots cluttered to the ground. Gakane did not glance, and threw back a hurried apology that was lost to the wind.
“Sorry!”
This really wasn’t how Yudrein had expected his first inspection tour as a crown prince to go.
It was a mad chase. The stalls that whizzed past made for a dizzying periphery, and the startled shouts in the deep southern accent filled for the noise. One would almost think that they were chasing someone.
Yudrein couldn’t help but sigh. Not even their mad sprinting could stop him.
“The fireworks won’t start till the sun sets.”
The sun was half-hidden in the desert horizon. The dark starry skies would only come after half an hour. Even if the fireworks were scheduled in fifteen minutes, Yudrein knew he saw the merchants carrying the fireworks a good distance behind them. That, and the fact that the huge fireworks were going to take time to be set up, Yudrein knew that they had enough time to walk there.
“I know!” Gakane’s smile was hidden by the veiling straw hat, but Yudrein could hear it nonetheless. “It’s just- the puddings will turn cold soon-“
The dessert shop gradually came into view, the sparse crowd parting for them. Their feet halted, right in front of its squeezed steps. It was empty, just like last time.
Gakane shouted a word, and a wizened man stepped out of the aged shop, three earthen cups of steaming rice pudding.
“I has told that puddings stay warm for long time in my bowls.” The imperial language was rough, unpracticed on the man’s tongue, yet it did not fail to sound admonishing. “Gakane, impatience is bad.”
Gakane looked chastised, but even that couldn’t stop him from taking the bowls, eagerly handing one to Yudrein. So much for scolding.
“Thank you!”
Yudrein briefly worried for the next chase, but Gakane had thankfully taken a seat at the singular table outside the shop. The pudding cooled to a warm and comfortable temperature now that it was in the earthen vessel, a blessing for the unbearably cold winters of the south. It was truly a mystery how a desert managed to be colder than the Rik mountains in summers, and how the people went by their days with barely any additional layers. Even now, Yudrein was the one who was wrapped in a shawl, not Gakane.
Yudrein took a sip of the pudding. “You’re not cold?”
Gakane thought and shrugged. “Not really. Why?”
“Nothing.”
The next few moments passed without any talk, and Gakane’s lips twitched into a larger smile. He placed the cup down.
“This reminds me of the time when we were tailing Katchian.”
“We are keeping an eye on the goods.” In Yudrein’s opinion, this wasn’t much different from that time. Just that this time they weren’t investigating some criminal.
“There’s a difference.” Gakane hummed, absent minded as he shook the cup a bit, watching the rapidly cooling layer of creamy milk mix into the hot liquid below. “It’s a lot more relaxed, honestly.”
Yudrein had nothing to say to that. The silence now was unsettling. After dealing with attacks left and right, it felt nothing less than a calm before the impending storm.
“Anyways, you have to tell me-“ Gakane gestured at the market. “How’s the festival? Enjoying it yet?”
Yudrein lowered his eyes, then raised it to take a proper glance at the surroundings. Golds, crimsons and bright purples that the Orr empire had taken as its colours were sparse in the shops; dark purples and blues stood stark against the golden edges of the desert, dotted with white blooms of desert lilies and a sharp scent of spices unlike any before wafted in the air. People haggled, children laughed and ran, not taking a single notice of the biting cold.
It seemed like a place that shaped the Gakane he knew.
“…Yes.” Yudrein answered with thought. “It’s nice.”
Gakane looked right at home when he beamed. “I thought so! It’s a shame our visit is for a single day. My family wanted to meet you.”
“There you are.”
Yuder and Gakane looked up, almost not recognising Nathan in his traditional garbs.
“You look good.” Gakane spoke after a moment. Nathan nodded, sitting down at the table.
Nathan kept the strange parcel on the cricking table; Kishiar told him to bring something from the market when he had refused their offer to join them on the trip. “The dance is about to start.”
The third thing Gakane was excited about- the dance of joy. The locals celebrated the sudden drop in the temperature that took place every week in the summers. As the legend goes, the moon goddess graces the earth, cooling the scorched lands of her believers. In return, the various tribes come together to offer their thanks.
That was what the aunty at the weapon stalls told him.
In any case, the dance was important if Nathan mentioned it as soon as he returned. Gakane hurriedly downed the last sips of the pudding, handing Nathan the still-filled one. In contrast, Nathan was relaxed in his actions, trailing behind as Gakane eagerly walked through the crowds.
In the end, Yudrein and Nathan walked slowly through the crowd, taking careful sips. The silence did not bother either of them- the person who spoke the most between the three of them was already getting inside the dance circle.
The drums filled the evening air with a lively beat, rattles ringing clearly with each thump. Ceremonial priests wore masks of mythical monsters, chanting songs along to the beat.
Alongside the people, Gakane had taken to dancing in the circle lined by torches. He could have perfectly blended in the crowd if it were not for his bright hair, yet he fit right in, smiling and singing- all in ways that a stranger could not. The beautiful displays of bright sparks in the sky made it all come together in a harmony that took the breath away.
“He looks really happy.”
That comment came unexpectedly.
Yudrein turned. Nathan could not look away. Yudrein looked back.
“…He does.”
A rose in a summer garden. That was how a poet would describe it. Yudrein was no poet, and could come up with only honest thoughts.
In this bright and colourful place, Gakane looked like he belonged.