The ride back to Depandes was quiet. Cyrdel stood on the sled's helm, his hand resting on the pommel of the sword by his belt. Xanthy had to stop herself from glancing at him every now and then. That guy in coveralls was actually a royal? Gods, she should not judge people ever again.

Cyrdel turned away from the sky as if sensing Xanthy's attention. He sat down across her on the sled's available benches and smiled at her.

"I feel like we did not get properly acquainted and I really regret that," Cyrdel's Ylanen accent sounded a bit strange now that Xanthy heard him speak in a more formal tone. "I was in a hurry to go back to Depandes because my parents will have my head for dinner if I did not show up on time. Ravalee insisted that we get you from Flaron. I have no choice but to risk it. I am sorry if I acted unaccommodating."

Xanthy pursed her lips. Cyrdel had been the most accommodating person she met so far. Why was he apologizing?

He extended his hand. "My name is Cyrdel Sonasson, Crown Prince of the Alkaran throne," he gestured to Ravalee. "This is Ravalee Vivenca."

Cyrdel nodded at Xanthy after they shook hands. Her throat dried up as words died in her head. "Uh, I am Xanthiene," she took her hand back and clenched her fists on her lap. "Xanthiene Vivenca."

He scratched his chin. "Hmm. That poses a problem," he shook his head and crossed his arms. "I guess I shall call you Miss Vivenca."

"Please," Xanthy looked down to her hands. "Just 'Xanthy' is fine."

Cyrdel turned to Nyxis and leaned back. Against the sled's walls. The wood gave a little creak. The human cleared his throat. "Nyxis Helgase."

"How about you?" Cyrdel raised his eyebrows at June.

Xanthy stole a glance at June. He was paler than usual. Was this the moment she would learn of his family name?

"I'm June," he said with the beginnings of a frown on his lips.

Cyrdel raised his eyebrows, expectant. June's face darkened. "It's just 'June'."

"Okay," Cyrdel nodded. "Just June."

June was about to protest when Cyrdel whistled sharply and the birds banked a hard right. Xanthy's side slammed into the sled's walls, eliciting a yelp from her lips. The birds descended sharply and Xanthy left her stomach in the sky. Her nails dug into the sled's wood as she clenched her jaw to avoid screaming.

The birds' claws touched the ground, stirring dirt as they flapped their wings shut. Xanthy's world sped back to her. Her knees shook as she crept out of the sled. Her feet slapped beige cobblestones. They were back in the open courtyard in the fancy estate.

So...was this the Alkaran Palace?

A chorus of twittering tore Xanthy's attention to Cyrdel tossing something to the birds. Orange and yellow feathers bristled in delight as the birds snapped their food (that looked a lot like an animal's leg) with joy. Ravalee whizzed past all of them and hurried inside, her hair already a loose mat at her back, the ribbon tied at her wrist.

Cyrdel shrugged. "Ravalee hates dressing up."

Don't we all. Xanthy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The Alkaran prince made towards where Ravalee disappeared to.

Xanthy turned to June to find him with his arms crossed with an annoyed look on his face. " 'Just June', " he scoffed. "He thinks I'm a fool!"

Xanthy chuckled and patted his arm. "He's kidding."

June frowned. "Doesn't seem like it though," he narrowed his eyes as he leaned closer towards Xanthy. "Are you taking his side?"

Xanthy opened her mouth to reply but was cut short when Cyrdel blew a note through his strange whistle again. The birds took off, stirring a huge gust of wind yet again. Xanthy inclined her head up to watch the birds grow smaller in the sky as seconds crawled by.

June's accusing question burned in her thoughts like the manwaris' fiery plumage. Why did she have to take sides all the time?

Cyrdel propped his hands on his hips. He jerked his chin towards something to his left. "We should all go in. After dinner, I will be heading to the square. There will be a craft-duel and my friend is slated to compete. You could join me if you want."

With that, he strode into the direction Ravalee had gone. Xanthy exchanged glances with Nyxis and June. They all gave small shrugs before dashing to follow the Alkaran prince.

The basement courtyard gave way to a pair of tall doors that swung inside when Cyrdel pushed them. Immediately, a set of carpeted stairs greeted her. To her right, a corridor leading to a darker room stood. Cyrdel picked his way up the stairs.

Soon, Cyrdel grunted as he pushed a trapdoor above them. He disappeared through it. Xanthy glanced at her friends behind her and they both gave her an affirmative nod. Okay, then.

Various trinkets placed inside glass cases greeted her as soon as she poked her head out of the trapdoor. Whoa. She pulled her feet off the stairs and stepped into the hall, her eyes flitting everywhere. She spotted a small shredder propped on a pedestal. Twice, timetellers on three wheels whizzed by her, bustling and cackling in their strange, mechanical whirrs.

The floor was just simple, russet wood which creaked under the weight of her footsteps. The walls were occasionally tapered with canvases depicting trees and animals but most of it was plastered with elaborate plans drawn in intricate lines on thin sheets of paper.

From the ceiling, gears, rods, springs, and other mechanisms arranged themselves in an elaborate painting. They're functional too with their clicks and tings a constant melody in the air.

Corridor went after corridor, Xanthy lost count of how much lefts and rights they took. They passed several locked doors, each Xanthy guessed to be leading to another room or corridors. How does one not get lost here?

It reminded her of Vikara's textile estate in the Commons and how she would get lost every day before she went to work that June resorted to picking her up from her room from then on. A smile crept to her lips.

Gods, that seemed long ago.

Just then, her amusement died as her memory slid to the grittier details of her time in Cardina. She shook her head. Cardina was not a place to be cherished, if she would be honest.

Their parade stopped when Cyrdel halted in front of a pair of huge, white doors. He twisted the knob, swung them open and stepped through. Xanthy loitered at the entrance, poking her head at the room.

"Come in," Cyrdel invited.

Once she did, her jaw dropped.

The room's entire ceiling was a projection of Umazure's skies at this time of day. White beads, resembling the position of stars, littered the landscape. Xanthy may not know their names but just the sight of it left her wanting to study the Umazuran sky.

Her boots stepped on a single rug in the center of the room. Around her, the sides of the rug were littered with the most random of things — cans of paint, brushes, canvases, inventing tools, a wad of towel, a tower made from various-shaped versallis stacked on top of another, a deck of cards, and several wooden instruments. The window boasted a view of the elaborate gardens apparently behind the center structure.

An arch stood to her left, giving way to another room. Xanthy craned her neck to see another window, a taupe wooden closet, a made-up bed, a strange, mirrored table, and another patterned rug.

All thoughts flitted out of Xanthy's mind. These people spent all their lives surrounded by things Xanthy never could have dreamed of having because she didn't know they existed. Yet, items were scattered around like they weren't important and sights were dismissed like a petulant flower-child. What should Xanthy feel about that?

She ground her teeth. It's not her place to feel insulted. Eventually, she would have to swallow her envy. Focus on the future and not on her crappy past. Still, like sphy on ajilte, negative emotions gnawed on her stomach.

Then, her eyes glazed over a familiar shape lying on a corner to her left. It was hidden among a pile of other musical instruments that Xanthy couldn't name. Was that a dushim? Yeah, it was. She may lose her eyesight but she would never forget what a dushim's fretboard looked like.

She glanced at June as she strode towards the dushim. Fretboards did bring back amusing memories. When she pulled the dushim out of its miserable pile, tears pricked at her eyes as she stared at the polished hull and the tight strings. Oh, simply beautiful.

Her fingers slid over the smooth, sienna hull until she straddled the dushim like it was the most natural thing to do. She ran her hands over the strings, strumming a chord. She played a few arrangements she learned from Old Jude the Bard back in the Disfavoreds.

She paused. Did it just get quiet? She looked up from the dushim to find June, Nyxis, and Cyrdel staring at her with frozen awe.

"You have some skill with that lute," Cyrdel jerked his chin in Xanthy's direction.

Xanthy's face heated up. She shrugged. "I know a few songs."

Cyrdel chuckled. "I could never play that thing since I was a child," he leaned forward and brought his hands together. "Play something for us."

"Um..." Xanthy's mind totally blanked on all the songs she knew to play. "Right now?"

"Take your time," Cyrdel plopped down on the floor and crossed his legs. June and Nyxis followed.

Right. Xanthy sank down on the carpet beside Cyrdel. Should she play one of the simplest songs? She sighed. Okay, she had it. It's one of the earliest songs she learned from the old bard before he passed. May his soul find peace in the Afterlife.

"I am out of practice, so this bit is called rusty playing," she prefaced before dropping her head to position her hands on the dushim's strings. She strummed the first chord and the rest followed suit.

Then it was time to sing. Her throat hitched. No one heard her sing until this moment. She might have spent some days with the bard but she never truly sang for anyone until now. Certainly never in front of an audience, even if there's just three. No, four. Ravalee sauntered in, back into her staunch dress and boots. She raised an eyebrow before settling to an empty spot in between Cyrdel and June.

Xanthy cleared her throat free from any nervous lumps that might have formed. "All right, here goes."

She strummed a chord and launched into the song.

Down the fall, up the stream, follow mine love to thee
Rafaline, mine love, the one I shall forever long to see

Her voice rang through the room, bouncing along walls before reflecting back to her. It's not bad but it bothered her to hear her singing voice even for just a small bit.

It's a good thing the chords just looped. Xanthy raised her eyes for a bit and saw June looking at her with an amused grin. Nyxis swayed along with the melody and hummed as he slapped his knee to the tune. Ravalee and Cyrdel snapped their fingers along.

Soon, Xanthy felt her voice grow strong. The tightness in her fingers disappeared. She stood straighter, cradling the lute more tightly. She moved through the verses in easy speed, barely thinking about the words.

Her fingers started to hurt, forcing her to start skipping verses with this lengthy song. She finished another verse before moving to the last one.

Cheer, shout, in the blood song's tragic death, thou shalt find
Up below, down above, in the skull's grave, I left traces kind
Darling, even though in this life, you failed saving mine heart
Remember me in the next, a piece of mine soul time had taken apart

The last strum resonated to a fade as she flicked her wrist the final time. No one spoke for a while. Then, June clapped and the rest followed.

Xanthy stood and placed the dushim back from where she found it. Was this why people wanted to be entertainers? The sound of applause was intoxicating.

Before she could drown in their adoration, the door to Cyrdel's room burst open again and a woman stepped through. A gasp died in Xanthy's throat with a hitch when her eyes laid on the woman's red-gold locks. A memory flashed into her mind. Someone familiar.

Then, the woman spoke. "Xanthiene, what are you doing here?"