“We were on Earth for a month, I think? We’ve spent a lot of time there. It was nice.”
The next hour or so went by as Florian described their Japan trip to Miyuki in as much detail as he could muster. Kade watched in amusement, occasionally adding details of his own. But by the time Florian had described all the places they went and the things they did, there was still no sign of any courier coming for them, so he asked Miyuki,
“So what can you tell us about the dragon kingdom? Obviously, we’ve never been here. I’m not sure what to expect. What’s the rest of the city like?”
Miyuki brightened at the question.
“It’s nice!” she answered. “Everyone knows each other, so you’re probably going to get a lot of weird looks wherever you go, to be honest. But not everyone is as rude. I think you’ll get a lot of people who want to say hello, too. If you’re going to be around, check out old Sato’s restaurant on the hill closest to the palace. He makes the best noodles.”
She paused, thinking. “Even the royal family comes around every so often. I’d imagine it gets pretty boring up in the palace with nothing to do. I think the king will probably let you come speak to him, but even if he doesn’t for some reason, you can probably find where other members of the royal family like to visit and wait for them there.”
Florian smiled nervously. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that—he had no idea where they would stay, or what any of the royal family looked like, or their names, or even how many of them there were. It was a decent backup plan, but it would still slow them down a lot.
“What is the king like?” Kade asked before Florian could respond. Miyuki hummed with thought, tapping her finger to her lips as she seemed to consider the question.
“He’s very stern,” she finally settled on. “He takes things seriously. But he’s nice enough, I guess. I don’t see him often, but he’s come in here a few times. He makes a point to visit with every family at least once a year, to see how they’re doing. He cares a lot about the people, so I would be surprised if he refuses to see you.” She paused again, glancing at Florian. “I know he isn’t exactly fond of the fae, but since he’s never met you, I think he’d be willing to at least hear you out. He stopped seeing King Jerah a long time ago, but he’s never said anything about any other fae.”
Florian nodded weakly. “That’s good. What about the rest of the family?”
“Queen Natsuko is his wife, but she’s a little less, well, hands-on, I suppose you’d say. We don’t see her as often. They have five children. Two boys and three girls. Prince Daichi is the eldest, then Prince Koji. Then the three princesses—Haruko, Megumi, and Suzume. Daichi is much older than the others. I think Koji would be about your age—at least, how you look, but I know fae live a little longer than shifters, so pardon me if I’m assuming anything. Then the princesses are all still children, although Haruko is probably going to have her first shift soon. There’ll be a festival for her when it happens. Do wolf shifters do that, too?”
“The first shift is when you’re considered an adult, more or less,” Kade replied. “No festival, though.”
“Really?” Florian said, surprised. “Didn’t your little brother just have his first shift? Isn’t he only twelve?”
Kade chuckled, glancing at him warmly. “Yeah, twelve. More or less an adult... mostly less.”
Florian and Miyuki laughed.
“It sounds like we do something similar, then,” Miyuki said. “That’s neat, I think. Maybe all shifters used to do that, before.”
Florian’s laughter tapered out, and the three of them were silent for a moment.
“Sorry,” Miyuki finally blurted out, running a hand through her dark hair with obvious anxiety. “Didn’t mean to drop the mood there.”
“No worries,” Florian said quickly. “I understand.”
The door of the teahouse swung open; the familiar sound of a sword rattling against someone’s hip made Florian look up. A different guard stood in the doorway, scanning the room until he saw Florian and Kade. He stepped toward their table and lowered his head before speaking in a hushed voice,
“King Florian, Prince Kade. King Tetsuo will see you in the palace. If you’d come with me, please.”
Miyuki’s eyes were wide. “King...?”
Florian gave her a chagrined smile. “Thanks for sitting with us.”
“I—I mean—well, you’re welcome,” she stammered, half-laughing nervously as she spoke. “Come back any time.”
“Thank you,” Kade repeated. They both stood and followed the guard out of the tea house; Florian spared one last glance back at Miyuki, who was watching them go with a look of disbelief still on her face.
The guard led them through the city, heading ever upwards toward the palace on the highest peak. The surrounding streets were wide and paved with large, smooth stones. They passed shops and food carts and restaurants and even other teahouses; some streets were quiet and calm, while others were noisily teeming with life. Florian could feel countless eyes following them the entire way, though, as the citizens of the dragon kingdom caught sight of their unknown visitors. But the guard continued to lead them, his face as neutral as if he had made this exact trip a thousand times before.
Soon they reached the base of the highest peak, where a long, wide set of stone steps led up to the palace at the top.
“More stairs,” Florian groaned. For a moment, he stood there looking up at the stairs and feeling sorry for himself, then begrudgingly followed the guard up toward the palace. Behind him, he could hear Kade chuckle.
“More stairs,” he agreed softly. “Just think of going back down.”
When they arrived in the palace, they were first shown to a guest room, which took Florian by surprise. The guard told them to rest and freshen up; an attendant would give them more information shortly. It had been the last thing Florian expected—he would have been less surprised if they were brought straight to some throne room and made to speak with the king then and there, if only to hurry them back out of the kingdom—but he was grateful for the chance to rinse off after their hike.
