THE ARCHAIC SKY

CHAPTER: THE UNCROWNED PRINCE OF THE HIRAI

Alone in the compartment with an older boy, Amara gathered the courage to talk to him. he looked very much like he's from Jinsei. His hair was long and some were tied into a ponytail under the hat he wore that matched with his suit. He looked more man than a boy. "excuse me"

He glanced at her with his cold eyes that looked away from the view of the train platform. "do you know where the Kazemai Estate is?" his eyebrows raised slightly as if he was interested.

"what's a little girl like you going to a noble's estate?" he asked her, his gaze falling back into the view. He smirked, "are you part of their clan?"

"yes" Amara replied as she looked him in the eyes. His light brown eyes matched the color of honeycomb.

"hah, of course, you are..." He told her he was part of the Hirai clan, she wondered if the weird sigil on the earing was the emblem of that family. He wasn't close to the Kazemai clan, being from opposite kingdoms, but he knew them. he ranted on and on about all the nobility in all of Jinsei and her capital, Fumetsuhi. From his rants, she could only make out that the Kazemai estate was in Shinrin, a large city in Tomenmai, the kingdom of the east. "Kazemai... hm... the Mai clan administrators of the sha- er- yashiro commission... I've only met one of your cousins once and I can already tell we won't get along"

"ah... it was Hayaru wasn't it? don't worry, I don't like him either... reminds me too much of my other cousin, Athoren" Amara lied through her teeth. her hand itching to reach to the pocketwatch she bought.

"... the araceli young master?" his eyes died again causing her to flinch ever so slightly as the air went still. forests and mountains passed were slowly touched by the relentless morning light.

every blade of grass, branch of leaves and morning dew that was shrouded in the cool night's shade was soon touched by the soft glow of the sun. undying and eternal, just like how it is meant to be under the will of the solar archon. since, unlike the three moons, the sun has never died it is a perfect embodiment of immortality.

would it really be okay, for a daughter of the immerabendreich, the land ruled by the lord of change to enter a nation of eternity? isn't there some sort of rule that forbid her from going to a country with ideals opposite to the ones of her home?

the relaxing view of the warm mountain stone and bits of snow along with the stretching meadows under the bluing sky was washed away as a forest zoomed past. logs of brown peeking between the pine and sacramento green foliage. "you've met him?" A feeling of guilt washed over her along with strings of foaming anger.

he pushed her out a window.

some Araceli he is.

"hm... not long ago... a few days before the festival then the speech the night before it... he's quite diligent and seems to enjoy banter... but honestly... he seems quite stressed when he drops the facade and places a sullen look" The hirai noticed her look and smiled. "you should try and cheer him up every once and a while, miss"

"ah..." she tries her best to keep up her unstable smile. her hands turning to fists as she held her dress between her fingers so tightly that they began to feel numb. "i... definitely will, then I'll be his favourite cousin"

"hm, you're a funny girl"

The train ride to the harbor was as long as it could get. But the young man in front of her made it oddly calming. That is until two strange men shared the compartment with them, with the excuse that there were nowhere else to sit.

The two didn't seem to come from the same place. They looked like they hardly knew each other, it was proven more when the two didn't even talk. One had clothes that looked like he was from the military. Though the other did too, his looked less rigid, freer yet seemingly more menacing.