FIRST BOOK OF THE PIPER OF MIRCHAEK TRILOGY
When the walled city of the gods, Dansarun, opens its doors for trade, Xuijae's ruling clan sends its perfect representatives: the troublesome prince, Kai-Se, who wants nothing to do with palace life, and...
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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.
