Go! Go! Go! Go For It, Prince Lee!

TSUCHIGUMO

In the furthest northern reaches of the Kingdom of Starliana, the country was bordered by an extensive mountain range named Heaven's Terrace.

Scaling the peaks was a steady procession of horse-drawn carriages. Huddled in the covered wagons were some of the country's most elite samurai. The hardened warriors were dispatched to the mountains on an investigation of paramount importance. The one deemed cunning and brave enough to lead the charge was none other than the dynasty’s future successor; the crown prince, Lee.

Pbbbbbt. Pibba. Pipipipipi.

The exalted son of the royal family was absentmindedly making unusual noises with his mouth as he buried himself in a book. No one would dare tell off someone of his status, but he was still conscientious as to whether or not he was disturbing the other occupant of his private wagon.

Seated across from him was Captain Elliot; his ever-present and faithful protector. He didn’t give any reaction to the sounds the royal was making to stimulate his bored mind. The chaperone merely just continued to silently stare forward with this look of intense concentration.

Lee always wondered just what he was doing during this trance-like state. Was he keeping alert? Was he silently meditating? The unlikeliest suspicion he had was that the warrior was sleeping with his eyes open. As wild as that was, he could swear to anyone who asked that he caught him doing it once before.

Repeatedly peaking up to check his companion ended with him ultimately resolving to give up on reading. It was only - give or take - the 1,000th time in his life that he perused Caravan Living by Miss Paige, his teacher of 18 summers. There had to bre other ways he could occupy his time, but what? Days into their trip, Lee already read every book and completed all of the schoolwork assigned to him, including supplementary lessons.

Perhaps what he truly needed to focus on was his crew’s overall morale. Yes, he reflected on how everyone was so morose ever since they left the capital.

 It wasn’t as if they were traveling through dangerous wilderness. They stuck to the highway system carved through the whole mountain meant specifically for travelers. It was jealously guarded and immaculately maintained by the monarchy, making it one of the safest roads in the country to travel. Conditions were as fair as they could possibly be with crystal-clear blue skies, warm weather, plenty of food, and the local wildlife staying out of their path.

He concluded to himself that it must’ve been the length of the trip that got everybody so down. There was only one road from the capital to their destination, but it did wind up, down, and around the whole mountain range. Not only that, their steeds could only maintain a slow and steady pace throughout the climb for their own health and the safety of everyone.

With enthusiastic certainty, Lee believed he knew precisely what to do to bolster the spirits of his subjects.

“Captain! Hey Captain!”

The noise caused the armored defender to shudder and stutter at being broken out of his trance.

“Hujibuh, heh, w-what, what happened?”

Aiming a spirited smile his way, Lee energetically declared. “Check this out; I got something fun to show everybody when we next stop to make camp for the night.”

 In his hand was a deck of flower cards. One of the young monarch’s many flights of fancy was performing stage illusions. Card tricks were a particular favorite of his. He searched the deck to present the Full Moon Card to his audience of one.

“Watch this, I’ll take the moon card, and I’ll make it rise to the front of the deck.”

Half-aware, Elliot didn’t know what to make of it, so he only stared blankly. Undeterred, Lee proceeded with the performance. He shuffled the cards and then maneuvered them swiftly about within both hands.  He was just about to end the trick after spreading them out in his fingers when their wagon wheel caught a stone in the road.