It seemed like tradition of sorts that, on their last night in a big city, they’d all go out to see what it had to offer. Natharie and Detu often worked together to get what they’d need for the road. Miho, Ilathy, and Nillie could be seen every now and again darting from one side of the street to the other, striking up conversations. Sometimes they had Miskunn, Theisi, and Mati with them, though sometimes those three and Orith wandered on their own; they often lingered around the craft and fashion stores, talking about past shows or sharing ideas for new ones. Sukeena usually joined Natharie, though this time Umi had offered to walk around with her.
“This was one of the first towns I stopped at while I was traveling,” he mumbled after a while. “There’s plenty of places to see, you’ve just got to know where to look.”
She stepped a bit closer when a chill breeze came and spoke quietly enough that only the two of them would hear. “How long did you stay here?”
“A couple weeks—not really any significant amount of time. Just enough to get an understanding of where I wanted to go and how I was going to get myself there.”
“You never really told me why you left. You haven’t… actually told me anything…”
“Can’t a guy keep some of his secrets?”
“If you want to keep going on these little walks with me, you might want to say a little more than that.” It was only half a threat; she wasn’t as concerned as she was curious, though no matter what she doubted it would change things. “Come on, you know me by now. Whatever you say isn’t going to matter.”
“To you, maybe, but the moment one person knows, everyone does. At that point it’s better to just stay quiet.”
“Not even a little? Just telling me why doesn’t have to be the full story. Your aunt seems really nice and you still write to her. I want to understand what made you decide you’d rather travel the world.”
“She wanted me to.” He shrugged. “Not in a bad way, obviously, but that’s basically what it amounted to.”
“You don’t know why, and you’re not just keeping it from me?”
“I honestly can’t tell you why, exactly. But I’ve got a guess.”
“Oh, now you’ve got to tell me.”
“No, I think I’m going to let you piece together a bit of it. What do you think the exact opposite of Insith would be?”
“A mean, grumpy old guy who talks a lot but doesn’t do anything. Probably hates kids and doesn’t go outside—at all.” She paused. “Wait a minute. I’m describing someone you knew, aren’t I?”
“Don’t worry, you make him sound good with that kind of description. You’ve got the basics of it, though. He’s the kind of guy who only really cares for himself—complains about not having any work to do then gets annoyed when he has to do something. I assume he said something that upset my mom, she told my aunt, and she asked me to go and travel.”
“Yeah, I guess that does all sound pretty bad.”
“That’s not even half of it.”
She looked up at him but he just laughed.
“I wouldn’t be charming and mysterious if you learned all my secrets in one afternoon, now would I?”
“I don’t think it’s your secrets that I like about you. You always work so hard to do your part—to be honest, I don’t know if we’d be able to do this without you.”
“Do you remember what I told you a few years ago? Stop giving me all the credit. You deserve just as much of it—probably more. I’m sure Insith would be proud to see you out there almost every night. You’ve taken something that would shake anyone else and proved that anything could be turned into an opportunity to grow stronger.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“I’m just doing the one thing I know how to do: brighten up the days of the ones that see me perform.”
He grinned, like that was exactly what he was expecting her to say, but he didn’t say anything. They walked together for a while longer, eventually resuming casual banter, until he’d drawn attention to the time. A part of her wondered if they could’ve stayed out a little longer to see the other things he had to show her; but Natharie would get worried if they weren’t back soon and even more skeptical when she realized they were alone together.
She looked suspicious just seeing that they were the last two back at the caravan, though it didn’t look like the others had been far ahead of them. Sukeena partially expected to be pulled aside then, but Natharie must’ve decided to have their group meeting first.
Gesturing everyone a bit closer and pulling out the Qizarn map, she said, “From where we are, we’re at a good spot to travel to any number of larger towns. I, personally, would’ve wanted this figured out by now, but none of you could come to an agreement.”
Detu’s chain of gestures meant, I asked her to talk to all of you again instead of choosing on her own. You’re welcome.
“What were the options, again?” Orith asked, peering over the map. “Huh, you’re not kidding. From around here it’ll take around the same time to get to either Rhodes, Solaris, or Pasha’s capital.” He shrugged. “My vote’s on Pasha. Who’d say no to those relaxing beaches?”
Mati nodded. “I wouldn’t mind going back home again. My parents would probably like to see me.”
“I’d rather go to Rhodes,” Theisi remarked. “They’ve got finer jewelry over there—fine inspiration. Don’t you think, Miskunn?”
“Definitely. Besides, if we’re especially lucky, we might catch sight of one of those mythical dragons.” Miskunn smiled at the thought.
Miho, Ilathy, and Nillie laughed. “You? See a dragon? I think they’d sooner offer their ichor to the first person they saw.”
Detu, before Miskunn could start an argument, offered, “Solaris.” In the gestures that follow, We’ve never been in a town big enough to see what a night bazaar is like.
“For good reason, too,” Umi snapped. “Trust me, you don’t want to get anywhere near Rahasari.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Sukeena said. “Detu’s got a point, we’ve never been to any of the larger Solaris towns—just some ones at the edges of the other regions. It’s about time that we pay them a proper visit.”
“I said it’s a bad idea,” he repeated.
She saw no harm in it and she made that clear. “You’ll be able to see your aunt again. She lives there, too, right? I’d like to meet her.” He seemed no more swayed by it.
“I’m curious to know why you’re so reluctant,” Natharie commented. “The moment someone suggests heading to the Solaris region you’re more and more opposed to the idea. It sounds like another thing that might beg for an explanation.”
Umi looked like he struggled with coming up with an excuse and perhaps realized that he wouldn’t be able to find one that preserved his secrets and satisfied her. “Can we just settle with ‘you’re probably going to regret it?’”
“Not unless you give me a reason why.” Natharie glanced at Miho, Ilathy, and Nillie. “You’re all going to count as one vote, to make it even. Where do you want to go?”
They considered it for all but a second. “We’re not a fan of the heat, but Solaris! We can’t resist this!”
“That settles it,” she observed. “We’re going to Solaris.”
“You’re going to regret this,” Umi warned.
“I don’t see a reason to. The children of Fleyw Bresh are practically overflowing with everything we need to thrive—acceptance, curiosity, and an appreciation for the arts. You have yet to prove to me why Solaris will be more of a risk than, say, northern Seothia, for reasons I don’t think I have to point out.”
Sukeena shrugged, but spoke in a quieter voice so then only Umi and likely Natharie could hear her. “I’m with Natharie here. We’re probably only going to be performing at the capital itself for two or three nights. I doubt anyone’s going to care enough to notice you out there and, if they do, you’ll be sticking with us until the end. I promise.”
Now, they both had an understanding that they probably couldn’t promise something like that. But she was willing to take the risk that they could, even when he still looked completely opposed to the idea. She hoped he could take at least some of her words to heart and at least be willing to try to trust her.
Everyone else seemed to have mixed opinions; each of them could probably, in one way or another, put themselves in the place they assumed he was in. But no one could know the exact circumstances and, perhaps, few pieced together the reason for such desperation. They might put themselves in his place and simply be faced with an awkward situation. But whatever Umi was considering, it was something more than awkwardness that he was afraid of. And Sukeena never knew him to be afraid of anything.
He must’ve realized this on his own and, slowly, nodded. “Fine. I won’t argue anymore—we can go to Solaris.”