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When Harlowe first told me that Nila wished to spend her birthday in the castle this year, I had said that she should come then.
A few days later Nila arrived as the carriage came through the main gates. She had often visited the castle in the past and was always eager to see her grandfather, who happened to be my prime regent, and her uncle Roden, who happened to be both my friend and the captain of my guard. I noticed that she looked very happy when she left the carriage.
She would be eight next week. She had grown closer to me since the day I had saved her life from those Avenian thieves who raided her home in the countryside. When she had lost her parents two years ago, I had brought her to Harlowe as had been her mother's dying wish to me. Although she was young she had seen far too much death for someone her age.
I could not help thinking how her birthday might remind her of what she had lost. I wondered if the day reminded her of her parents who would never again celebrate her birthday with her.
Harlowe had initially planned to be with his granddaughter on her birthday, but he was called back to Libeth three days before the date. The town was still recovering from the war last year, and the people there needed him.
Before leaving, Harlowe asked me and Roden to take care of Nila in his absence though he promised he would try to return by the evening on her birthday.
On the morning of her birthday, Nila wanted me to show her around Drylliad. I agreed to do that, and Roden came along with us because Nila insisted on spending the day with both of us.
I was glad to be outside for a while. Lately I had been buried under meetings and paperwork, and Mott and Kerwyn rarely allowed me to leave the castle on my own. As king, going into the city usually required formal announcements, guards, and a lecture from Mott on what should and should not be done in public. I have never liked being paraded through my own city. When I was a prince, I had solved this problem by sneaking out whenever I could. The habit hadn't entirely changed even now.
Today, to my surprise, Mott and Kerwyn agreed to let me go out without any protest. Perhaps it was because it was Nila’s birthday. Then again, perhaps it was because Roden was with us for they did not insist me on taking additional guards. That was how the three of us found ourselves beyond the castle walls. After a very long time, it felt almost like an ordinary day today.
Nila walked between Roden and me, her hand clasped in mine. The streets of Drylliad were alive with sound and color, and she took it all in with open wonder. She wore a pastel yellow colored dress that caught the light when she moved with us. Her light blond hair fell halfway down her back, and the sides were tied with a blue ribbon, finished off with a neat bow. Amarinda’s work, I assumed.
“Is this really part of the city?” Nila asked me, looking up at the stone archway ahead of us.
I smiled at her. “It is. This street is older than the castle itself. I used to come here long before anyone thought I should not.”
Nila giggled at that. “Did you get into trouble here?”
“Frequently,” I replied. “That is how you know it was worth visiting.”
Roden groaned beside me. “Why am I not surprised?”
Nila laughed again and tugged gently at my hand. “Show me your favorite place.”
I considered that for a moment. “Very well,” I said. “But you must promise not to tell Mott where it is.” I didn't wish Mott to know where to look for me whenever I sneaked out of the castle.
She nodded. “I promise.”
That afternoon, I showed her the old fountain in the city where musicians gathered in the evenings and pointed toward the bookseller who always pretended not to recognize me, and the stone steps where I used to sit when I was younger. After some time we passed through the narrow streets where the buildings leaned toward one another.
“Is this really one of your favorite places?” Nila asked.
“It is,” I said. “Mostly because no one expects a king to like it.”
Roden laughed at that. “That is exactly why he likes it”
Later I took Nila to the market square. “This is my favorite square. When I was younger, I used to come here whenever I could escape my tutors.”
Roden raised a corner of his mouth. “I am sure you mean whenever you could escape everyone.”
Nila tilted her head. “Did you really escape a lot, Jaron?”
“Yes. More times than I could count,” I grinned.
We stopped at a small food stall near the corner of the market square where steam rose from the pans and the scent alone was enough to make me realize how long it had been since I had eaten anything not prepared within castle walls. I ordered meat pies and pasties, for all three of us.
As it turned out the food was excellent. Better than what we ate in the castle everyday. The castle cooks always overcooked the meat. I had changed cooks more times than I cared to admit, and still the problem persisted.
“This is good,” I said. “Better than anything we have had at the castle.”
The seller's smile widened. “I am glad that you liked it, Your Majesty.”
Roden tasted his dish. “You are right Jaron. This tastes good.” Then he turned back to the seller. “I will have another portion, please.”
Nila beamed at the man behind the stall. “This is so delicious,” she said. “You are very good at this. You really have outdone yourself.”
The seller laughed, clearly pleased, and inclined his head toward her. “Well, that's a high praise from a young lady, Thank you.”
His gaze shifted toward me and Roden. He straightened and bowed his head. “Your Majesty and Captain, I am honored that the food meets your approval.”
I nodded at the seller while Roden asked for another serving.
After we left the stall, we walked down the streets of Drylliad. Music drifted across the street. The fair was impossible to miss. Bright banners hung between wooden poles, and the sound of laughter carried over the street like music. I paused and looked down at Nila.
“There is a fair today,” I said, glancing down at Nila. “Would you like to see it?”
He eyes widened with excitement. “Yes.”
The fair was crowded but Nila stayed close to us. Though her attention was pulled in every direction at the same time. There were all kinds of stalls here - stalls of sweetbread and spiced nuts, stalls of painted trinkets and stalls selling ribbons and carved wooden animals. Nila stopped abruptly in front of a small games stall, the sort that promised prizes in exchange for skill and a little luck. There, wooden targets hung from strings, and rings lay piled on a worn table.
“Uncle Roden,” she said, tugging at Roden’s sleeve. “Will you play that game with me?”
I smiled at the word uncle and looked at Roden, raising my eyebrows. “Uncle?” It amused me because Roden and I were the same age, only sixteen.
Roden glared at me in warning. “Jaron.”
“What?” I grinned.
He let it go and turned to Nila. “Of course,” he said. “We will play Nila.”
“I will win,” Nila declared.
Roden smiled confidently. “Oh that won't happen. I will be the one to win.”
I folded my arms. “She is a child, Roden. Are you planning to cheat in order to win against her?”
Roden scoffed. “You are the one who cheats.”
“I always win Roden. I don't need to cheat,” I argued.
He muttered something unkind under his breath that partly sounded like a curse and took Nila’s hand, guiding her toward the stall. “Come on, then. Let us see who wins.”
I watched with interest while they played. Nila’s aim wasn't bad and to Roden’s visible shock, she won. She clapped her hands, delighted. "I won!!"
Roden stared at the board. “How did I lose? That is not fair.”
From behind him, I said. “I expected it, actually.”
Roden turned back at me and scowled. “Well, Nila is a good player. If it were you, I wouldn’t have lost.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course you would. I never lose. I said that before didn't I?”
He snorted. “Should I remind you that you were about to lose the last time we fought Jaron?”
“Should I remind you that you lost to a one legged opponent who, might I add, was mostly unconscious by the end?”
Roden’s jaw tightened. “I would have won Jaron. I lost because I could not… never mind. Truth is you were about to lose back then as well.”
“That is not true.”
“It absolutely is Jaron.”
“No it is not.”
The argument might have continued indefinitely had Nila not suddenly stepped between us, with her shoulders thrown back and fists clenched.
“That’s it. Stop it, both of you!” she said firmly. “Be friends again.”
We both froze and stared down at her. She looked up at us, serious now. "You are arguing like how my parents used to. Though whenever they fought in the end, they always fixed it and became good again."
Roden's double take came faster than mine. “We are not your parents, Nila.”
“I know,” she said softly. “But you are friends. My parents were friends too. So will you stop fighting and be friends again now?”
For some reason I smiled despite myself. Roden hesitated, then sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “Fine. We are friends again.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the fair. Roden bought Nila a doll with carefully stitched clothes and painted eyes. She hugged it at once. I chose a simple bracelet strung with blue beads to match her ribbon and gifted it to her. She wore the bracelet in her hand and told me it would be her lucky charm. Then she started walking again, carrying the doll, along with her prized old toy tucked safely under her arm.
That was when a shout rose near the edge of the fair.
A crowd gathered quickly, voices overlapping with fear and anger. A person near us, said that a group of criminals had been caught threatening a family member to force their escape.
Roden and I exchanged a glance. There had been reports of shady figures moving through the city. We both knew it as one of my officers had informed us of it, a few days ago.
We drew our swords and stepped forward together.
“That's enough,” Roden commanded.
The men at the center of the stood their ground until they recognized us which caused them to falter as fear instantly took hold of them.
“Your Majesty,” one whispered to himself when he saw me.
The culprits surrendered quickly after that. One of them dropped his knife and another one raised his hands.
But one of them darted away.
“He is running away,” Nila cried.
“Give me that,” she said suddenly, reaching for a ring from the games stall.
She was about to throw it but Roden caught her wrist mid motion, adjusted her aim with a quick, practiced movement, before she released it. The ring struck the man as he stumbled, and the guards who arrived then, surged in to seize him.
Roden gave orders to his men to arrest the criminals. It was then, a realization came to me. Earlier, when we were at the games stall, Roden had intentionally let Nila win that game. Despite everything he had said to her. I smiled to myself. I supposed Roden always had that softer side.
The crowd slowly dispersed after the culprits were taken away. As the sun dipped low, we walked back toward the castle. Nila was quieter now.
Finally she said. “I had a lot of fun.”
“I am glad you did,” I told her.
After a pause, she spoke again, softer. “I miss my parents. I did not think my birthday would be good this year.”
She looked at me. “But you look a little like my father. And you are like him too, even though you are a lot younger than he was. Which was why I wanted to spend the day with you.” After a beat, she added. “Back then… seeing you and Uncle Roden argue reminded me of my parents. But I am all right now.”
I had often been told I looked somewhat like Mathis, Harlowe’s elder son. So it didn't surprise me when Nila said the same. I also knew what it was like to miss one’s parents on their birthday. I had missed mine even when they were alive and I had been Sage. I missed them even more now.
After a while I said. “You will always miss them. That never really goes away. But it does not mean you cannot be happy too. Some days will carry joy alongside the pain. Both can exist together.”
She nodded and leaned closer to me.
Roden, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke to Nila. “They would be happy to know that you laughed today. And you are not alone, Nila. You never will be.”
She smiled, and in that moment, I thought that perhaps this birthday had given her something lasting after all.