Chapter 44: 44. Local Customs

“What did I even do? That was terrifying!”

 

I wasn’t sure how much of that they understood seeing as I was face down in my pillow, but I felt Breale pat my back regardless.

 

“You’re a bigger dummy than even Breale sometimes.” Auro said. “I didn’t realise you were that sheltered.”

 

“You practically called him a little girl in front of his whole family. By the Star, I’ve always wanted to see that happen in real life!” Breale sighed. “But I’m glad he didn’t take it worse. He was well within rights to punish you for that.”

 

“He knew it was a mistake.” Auro said. “He’d never be so cruel.”

 

“How?!” I cried. “I just thought he might want to do the politics thing with me too! I’m a prince of Summark, goddamn it!”

 

“A ‘prince’? The ‘politics thing’?” Breale snorted. “You know, it’s probably better for Summark that you weren’t able to.”

 

I kicked her, drawing a yelp.

 

“By offering to join in, you implied that he couldn’t handle it himself, and that a woman, well, a girl really, could.” Auro explained. “As well as trying to emasculate him by performing diplomatic talks with you.”

 

I rolled over just enough to look at Auro. 

 

“But that’s stupid! Just completely stupid! Isn’t a quarter of the senate women? And what about Andril’s fiancé? He listened to her!”

 

“Both the women in the senate and Lady Allarv are connected to their husbands for their power. And though Lady Allarv isn’t officially married yet, it probably still counts.” Auro said. “As well, they are all women. You’ve only been of age for three years now.”

 

“Wait, how old is Andril’s fiancé?” Breale picked herself off the floor and sat up. 

 

“Twenty-six I think.” Auro’s eyes went wide in panic. “I didn’t mean to say she was old! Just older than Saphry!”

 

“Wait, I thought princesses were supposed to marry older men, not the other way around?” Breale chuckled to herself. “It seems Andril has a specific taste!”

 

“Don’t be gross.” Auro said. “It’s a political marriage, I doubt Andril had any say in it.”

 

“But we are to be educated.” I hissed. “What kind of society educates the fairer sex but doesn’t give them any respect? That’s completely backwards!”

 

I couldn’t remember exactly how it happened back on Earth, but that seemed horribly messed up to me. After all, if we were allowed to think with the best of them, why couldn’t we rule with the best of them?

 

“We can thank politics for that one.” Breale glanced at Auro. “Was it the Brepolese Separation or the Stockpile Rebellion?”

 

“I believe it was the Brepolese.” Auro said. “When King Elceni only had daughters. He eventually had a son, but the education standards stayed.”

 

“And yet he thinks it emasculates him to listen to us?” I rolled my eyes.

 

What kind of patriarchal bullshit was that? Seriously, was this man’s penis the size of a… You know, perhaps this was getting to me a bit too much.

 

Breale shrugged. 

 

“You get used to it.”

 

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” Auro said. “If Father didn’t punish you then you’re not in hot water.”

 

“Do you think he just picked up on her personality?” Breale suddenly asked. “Maybe you felt just enough like a man for him to overlook it!”

 

“What?” I scoffed. “No one would mistake me-”

 

“No, she’s right. You give off the most boyish vibe of any girl I’ve ever met.” Auro said. “Especially with how you present yourself.”

 

“Bullshit. Breale is literally sitting right here.”

 

Auro tilted her head.

 

“How is Breale not girly?”

 

I raised my hands in disgust as Breale cackled beside her.

 

Somehow, that accusation actually struck a chord with me, and I couldn’t tell exactly why. Was it because of the failing in my acting skills? I really needed to act girlier then. But was that possible without Gideon making fun of me? Because these memories would last way longer after we got back home.

 

“How does one act… ah… ‘girlier’ then?” I asked. “Because Breale curses more than I do. And has a sword glued to her hip.”

 

“Stop wearing pants.” Auro said immediately.

 

“Work on your hair?” Breale added.

 

“Feign an interest in popular literature?” Auro said.

 

“And don’t look so disgusted when I bring up boys.” Breale continued.

 

I raised my hands defensively. 

 

“[Jesus Christ], I get it, I get it! And I do read!”

 

“Oh? Which authors?” Auro pressed. “Classical or popular?”

 

“I…” Upon remembering the types of books that made up Saphry’s bookshelf, I felt my face turn a little red. “Actually I'll take that back. I’m illiterate.”

 

“Come on!”

 

I looked away, thinking back over the court again in an effort to distract myself.

 

“And what about Andril’s fiancé then? Where’s she from? You mentioned a political marriage?”

 

Andril hadn’t spoken too much about his fiancé whenever it’d come up. Actually, if I thought about it, I wouldn’t have known about her at all if it wasn’t for his brother mentioning her, would I? That seemed awfully sad for someone you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with.

 

Breale smiled at my effort to dodge the question, but she didn’t press any further.

 

“She’s a princess of Mistre.” She said. “Even stands to inherit if her uncle dies.”

 

I raised an eyebrow.

 

“Really? So then…” I did some simple mental leaps. “Wait, Andril will own both Mistre and Verol?”

 

“No.” Auro said immediately. “The title of Mistre will go to Lady Allarv, not her husband. Their kids will though.”

 

“Kids…” 

 

Knowing Andril, that felt a little far out. I couldn’t imagine someone like him messing around with his friends, let alone children.

 

“It will reunite the two kingdoms though.” Breale confirmed. “Now that Prince Elendri’s dead, Andril will stay in Verol and forge the two together. Well, if the senate doesn’t execute him that is. It all depends on what all the men decide to do next.”

 

She said the last part snidely, but I ignored that in favour of the lightbulbs now going off in my head.

 

“Ah, so that’s why so many nobles we’ve met support him.” I said. “Because he can do that.”

 

Good ol’ fashioned imperialism was a much more practical reason than Andril’s ‘charisma’ and ties to the church, and it was one I could see all too tempting for the nobles who regretted the collapse of the old Lmeri Empire.

 

“Exactly.” Auro confirmed. “If Andril takes the throne then Verol will be one step closer to restoring the Empire. Though officially it never died.”

 

“And Mistre is happy with this?” I asked. 

 

I couldn’t imagine that a country that had separated just a few centuries ago would feel too happy about rejoining the exact same polity. That was more than enough time for an identity to form for the people there.

 

Well, at least it would be if nationalism was actually a thing here yet. I wasn’t really sure if such a concept had taken hold in this world yet. Certainly nation-states didn’t, for the most part.

 

“I have no idea.” Auro admitted. “I’m sure Amelia wouldn’t be out here if they weren’t, but without going to Mistre I’m not sure.”

 

“If we weren’t thrown out of that meeting we could ask her.” I pointed out. “Maybe Fredrick can tell us later.”

 

“It is kind of screwed up that they took Brother but not me.” Breale frowned. “I wish they’d let me stand beside him.”

 

“I mean, is there really a reason for us to know what happens?” Auro asked. “It’s not like we could do anything about a company of soldiers.”

 

“Neither can Fredrick.” Breale started down the path again, and Auro and I followed after. “He has the exact same training as I do. And I should know, I’ve wrestled for every scrap of that training.”

 

“But they said they already had it handled.” Auro shrugged. “And Fredrick can just bring you up to speed later if you want, no?”

 

“It’s the spirit of the thing!” Breale cried. “Why is little miss Mistren allowed to attend meetings of state, but the Duke’s ‘valued Summarkan friends’ not? They even kicked out Saphry, and she’s a princess too!”

 

Ah, so she was angry about it after all. 

 

“Yeah, why does everyone keep clowning on Summarkan royalty?” I agreed.

 

“It’s just the way of things.” Auro said. “And it’s not like we can just march back down and barge into a security meeting like that.”

 

“I mean…” I started.

 

Stop.

 

“No, she’s right.” Breale looked up at the path ahead and sighed depressively, her true feelings about the matter now coming out. “It’s just our lot in life it seems. There’s no real point in fighting against it.”

 

Really, Breale? You can’t just drop a flag like that and not expect me to jump in! 

 

“Actually, why don’t we explore the city a little?” I swept my arm towards the city below, where hundreds of denizens plodded about despite the late hour. “It’d help cheer us up.”

 

Saphry!

 

I shot a look that said ‘Just go with it’ towards the drake, and thankfully he shut up.

 

Wait, did he just call me Saphry?

 

“What?” Auro’s voice tore me back to the present. “But it’s so…”

 

“Why?” Breale interrupted.

 

“Well, you’re sad because Fredrick gets to be somewhere you can’t, right?”

 

“What? No, it’s the…”

 

“So why don’t we just go somewhere without him then?” I continued. “You’re never going to surpass someone by tying yourself to them, so you might as well enjoy the chances we have. And I have a feeling that probably won’t get too many chances to explore the city once we get into the academy.”

 

They’d spoken of the academy’s security a thousand times by now, in any case, so I couldn’t imagine they just let students walk the streets of Minua unsupervised. And I was incredibly curious at what so many people were doing in the middle of the night.

 

Breale stared out at the city for a few moments before a wry grin tugged at the corners of her mouth.

 

“Fredrick probably won’t have any chance to explore, will he?”

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“The trade-off for being important, I’m afraid.” I said.

 

“Guys, I don’t know about this…” Auro said. 

 

I had to suppress an urge to smack some sense into the girl. It was obvious from the way she was looking towards the main castle that she was afraid of her father’s disapproval, but that was also the man who’d just sent her out to bed. And really, he’d never said that we had to sleep, just for Auro to show us our rooms.

 

I crossed my arms.

 

“What, are you scared that we won’t like the city? I thought Minua was the grandest place on Elys? Why would you not want us to see it?”

 

“No, it is! It’s just that we have to…”

 

“What a shame.” Breale shook her head as she joined in. “I was sure you’d want to show us around. We’ll just have to go by ourselves.”

 

“I hope we don’t walk anywhere bad.” I said.

 

“Just imagine how dangerous it might be without a guide.” Breale added.

 

“Minua isn’t dangerous!” Auro cried. “It’s the city of Celrion! The Second Star! Nobody would dare commit a crime in such a holy city!”

 

Both of us broke into laughter at that ridiculous statement. Even Gideon couldn’t take it, and his draconic chuckles cut clearly through the night as I doubled over.

 

“Wouldn’t dare?” I wiped a tear away. “Good lord, that sounds like a challenge!”

 

“I bet I could commit more crimes than you.” Breale joked.

 

“Impossible. I’m committing treason just standing here.”

 

“Guys, I’m serious!”

 

“And so are we!” I said. “Come on, we’ll be back before midnight, and you can blame me for everything.”

 

“But what about the acad-”

 

“Isn’t one of Celrion’s spheres that of hospitality? '' Breale asked. “Don’t you follow the hearthstar of your own city?”

 

“I wonder what it says about the city if their own nobles don’t follow Celrion.” I said.

 

Auro narrowed her eyes, looking as close to bursting as I had ever seen the girl. Apparently attacking her faith had finally broken the last link.

 

“Fine! You want to see Minua? I’ll show you Minua! You’ll be begging for citizenship by the end of the night!”

 

As she stomped off towards the nearest end of the bridge, Breale and I shared a grin.

…

“Cloudfish? Like a bird or something?” Breale asked sceptically.

 

Breale and I eyed the fried meat and bread in our hands with a healthy amount of cynicism, off put by the strange aroma wafting off of it. 

 

It didn’t look bad, per say, having the appearance of a fried scallop cube the size of a golf ball with more than its fair share of spices layered on top, but I knew better than most how much you could trust the health standards on streetside food carts, and this world hadn’t even invented germ theory yet, let alone food safety. 

 

“Awemosht” Auro said as she chewed on her own. “Have you heard of gelatins?”

 

“Yea- Wait, you eat SLIMES?” Breale cried.

 

“They only look like slimes.” Auro said, not noticing the look of disgust Breale gave her. “It tastes more like fish than bone gelatin though.”

 

“That’s vile.”

 

Unlike Breale, Saphry was no stranger to the Minuan delicacy, and from what I could remember it was actually one of her favourite foods, especially when served with some kind of spicy mayo-like sauce. Corto, Marcolo, the Markee, and even her late mother had all loved it, the Markee even going so far as to set up their own cloudfish hatcheries in the mountains above Andorlin. There literally were ‘clouds’ of the ‘delicious little meat cubes’ as Saphry had christened them flying around, hence their name.

 

Still, I hadn’t quite inherited all of Saphry’s tastes so far, and Breale was right in that it sounded kind of gross. I had never been a seafood kind of person back on Earth, and I wasn’t sure that was to change here.

 

I leaned back in my seat as Breale began to nibble at the treat, taking in the sights and sounds of the city around us.

 

Minua was just as busy on the streets as it had appeared from the bridges above, if not more so. People crowded every street, buying and selling and dancing and talking as if it were the middle of the day of a Middle Eastern bazaar. The snapping of firecrackers and whistling whirls tore through the air, accompanied by the laughter of a city that did not give a care for the three hundred soldiers outside her gates. According to Auro, we’d happened to arrive in the middle of some kind of week-long festival towards one of the stars, which lended a reason as to why the streets were packed so late at night, though Auro claimed it was always like this.

 

The plaza we’d wandered into now was neat and clean, or as neat and clean as a public plaza could be. Food carts and peddlers decorated the walls, each with their own take on Minuan cuisine or with products sourced from the hinterlands for sale. Above our heads, families sat on second story balconies to enjoy the vibe while the young and spritely moved like rivers through the streets. Each group seemed to hold a new brand of merrymaking about it, and such were the crowds that I could only wonder how Minua could possibly have less people than the capital.

 

It wasn’t just the normal festival shops that were open, either. Apothecaries, grocers, and blacksmiths all advertised along the roads with apparently warm shops, and Gideon had already abandoned us to go searching for odd fruits and citrus substitutes in the vain hope that we’d find a suitable transmutation catalyst for our lemon.

 

In many ways, Minua truly was the ‘Neverending City’. 

 

“By the Star, it’s not half bad!”

 

Breale held her hand in front of her mouth, eyebrows raised in a stunned satisfaction.

 

“Of course it’s good! What about you, Saphry?”

 

I gave one more look at the fried ball before I plopped it into my mouth.

 

Dear God.

 

An avalanche of juicy spices exploded into my mouth, carried on a bed of melting brilliance. It was everything I liked in a fried food, warm and buttery and soft like I was biting into a fried cloud given flesh.

 

How had I lived before today? Before this taste? And how could I go on without it? Would I even want to?

 

Auro smiled smugly as she watched us eat.

 

“Ha! What did I tell-”

 

“I would like citizenship, please.” I said between bites.

 

“Wait, we haven’t even seen half the city yet!”

 

“Doesn’t matter.” I shoved another into my mouth. “I don’t need more convincing.”

 

“I’ve heard tales of the Markee’s lunacy towards this, but I never would’ve realised it was actually valid.” Breale shook her head. “You probably should’ve saved this for last, Auro.”

 

“I didn’t expect cloudfish would get a bigger reaction than the castle.”

 

“The fastest way to a man’s heart is his stomach, you know.” I nodded sagely as I chewed. “Or a girl’s, I suppose.”

 

“Didn’t he put some alcohol in these?” Breale asked. “Maybe you shouldn’t eat too many, Saps.”

 

“They have a thimble, there’s no way…” Auro frowned. “Well, maybe you should slow down Sap-.”

 

“I am not that much of a lightweight.” I interrupted. “And if you get between me and these things I don’t think you’ll like it.”

…

“I wisp for more…more cloudfish.” I hiccuped as I threw the carved stick, missing the fire two feet in front of me.

 

Auro scooped it up to throw it in the fire, and it crackled and snapped as it turned into white smoke. Left behind was only a small silver thread glowing in the heat. To my right, Breale sighed.

 

“Of course that’s the one that gets silver.” Breale complained. “I’ve thrown in four legitmate ones and I only get smoke.”

 

“I told you, it’s bad luck to buy more than one.” Auro said.

 

We’d spent almost two hours wandering the streets looking at attractions and buildings. Every once and a while, Auro had steered us over to an interesting location, but for the most part we’d gone where we’d fancied, eventually winding up buying fortunes from a friendly looking priest.

 

You know, I really love Minua. Coming here was the… the best decision I’ve ever made. If I could live in any place on the planet, it’d be Minua. If I could die in any place on the planet, it’d be Minua. If I had to choose between heaven and Minua, it’d be a trick question, because obviously heaven WAS Minua.

 

“You know, I luv you Auro.” I leaned over and nuzzled my cheek into her shoulder. “Best friends!”

 

“I’m amazed every day.” Breale winced and peeled my head off of her. “Ow! Pitching hell that tiara is pointy.”

 

“You’re going to have to stop cursing, you know.” Auro scolded. “The headmistress is fairly strict.”

 

“Cursing?” I laughed into Breale’s sleeve. “That’s nothing! You want to hear cursing? I can [fucking] curse! [God damn bastard coc-] oof.”

 

I tumbled off the bench as something heavy slammed into me. Looking behind me, I found a familiar dragon sitting on my back. In his front claw was a small orange fruit.

 

“Hey Silst.” Auro said.

 

I really can’t leave your side, can I? Gideon rubbed his forehead with the orange-thing. By the Star, you know Saphry can’t handle liquor.

 

“I haven’t drank a drop!” I protested.

 

Why did they keep saying I was drunk? I hadn’t drunk anything!

 

“We should probably be heading back soon.” Breale said. “We do have to get up at some point before noon tomorrow.”

 

“Aww, already? There’s still the clocktower, the flute halls, the magic performances, the-” Auro held up a finger for each event as she rambled, and I found myself beginning to nod off.

 

“Any longer and we’ll have to carry Saps up those stacks.” Breale said.

 

“Ah, I suppose.” Auro looked down, disappointed, only to brighten up as she remembered something. “But wait, I still haven’t done my own fortune!”

 

We watched as she approached the fire and drew her carved stick from her pocket. Small birds of prey were etched all around the pen sized chunk of wood, as well as mountains for them to roost upon.

 

“I wish that we’ll always remain friends!”

 

She dropped the stick in, and we all watched closely as it dissolved to leave behind a silver string.

 

“How cliché.” I said from the ground.

 

“Great. Now we’ve wasted all our luck on cloudfish and a foregone conclusion.” Breale sighed. “How fickle the stars are.”

 

“The good ending.” I agreed.

 

After all, more cloudfish couldn’t possibly be a bad thing.

 

“Well I thought it was a good wish…” Auro muttered.

 

“It was a great wish!” Breale said. “It’s just that we have a bit more control over that than a wish like ‘world peace’ or ‘give me godly strength’.”

 

“The Star doesn’t do big wishes like that unless it’s important.” Auro chuckled. “Overwise all of Minua would be covered in Rknoreoses and Harkizes.”

 

“Then, if you can pardon my Burgund, the Star can be a stick in the mud sometimes.” Breale got up and dusted off her skirt. “Now let's go see how many steps we can get Saps up before she collapses.”