Chapter Text
Kai pressed his back against the cool, stone wall of the castle and peeked around the corner, waiting for the pair of guards to pass him. Their chatter fading away as they rounded the corner. Now was his chance.
He dashed to the stone wall surrounding the palace. According to Nya, he only had a few minutes to make his escape. He stared up at the top of the wall, wiping his sweaty palms on his scratchy, worn tunic, which he’d borrowed from drying laundry earlier that day.
Kai grabbed protruding stones and heaved himself up. His foot slipped from beneath him, and his heart stopped. He began to flail around, looking for another protruding stone to rest his weight on. When he finally found a foothold, his chest heaved, and the sweat crawled down his back.
Kai began his crawl up the wall, his heart pounding in his chest as the ground grew smaller beneath him. He had never been this high up before. He forced his eyes back to the top of the wall. Looking down wouldn’t do any good. Ignoring his drumming heart, he pushed himself to finish his climb to the top of the wall.
With one final push, he heaved himself onto the top of the wall and collapsed onto the stone walkway, grateful for the feel of the cool stone against his skin. Before his rapidly beating heart could calm, he heard the chattering of guards approaching him. He’d made it this far and refused to get caught and lectured. At the very least, he wanted to be yelled at for doing something cool.
He leapt down to the other side of the wall, landing on the grass with an oomph, and he quickly retreated into the line of trees, where the dark would cloak him from the guards’ vision.
Kai stood up and dusted himself off. From his pocket, he pulled out a map Nya had drawn out for him, her little scribbles just barely legible on the paper. His eyes followed the line she had drawn, which directed him from the castle to the center of town. His heart fluttered with excitement.
Kai had never been into town before, especially not at night nor on his own. He’d heard stories of the nightly activities they’d hosted during the summer with delicious foods, fun games, jovial music, and once he’d caught wind of what town was like, he’d immediately made plans to set out and experience it himself.
Having memorized the directions, he immediately set out for his destination. The warm breeze ruffled Kai’s chestnut hair as he strolled through the moonlit grove of trees. The peaceful silence combined with the sound of the rustling trees above him brought a calm smile to his face. It was nice being outside of the castle, away from its hustle and bustle, away from his responsibilities as Crown Prince, and away from his stifling parents.
As Kai neared the edge of the trees, light began to leak through them. He could hear low chatter. He quickened his pace, excited to reach his destination.
He emerged from the trees and ducked between two buildings to scan the street and its crowd. Much to his dismay, the streets were dimly lit and only a few people littered the street. He opened his map, studying at it in confusion. According the diagram, he should be at the entrance of the night market, but in the dim street, all he heard was the barking of dogs and quiet chatter from the few who lingered.
A hand grabbed his shoulder, and Kai jumped. He turned around to see a man, who reeked a sickly sweet stench, his cheeks red and eyes lidded. When did he get there?
”What are you doing all the way out here, kid?” He leaned in towards Kai, his stench growing stronger, causing Kai’s stomach to curl in on itself. He slowly inched away from the man, his heart thudding in his chest.
Kai tore the man’s hand off his shoulder and made a run for it, looking over his shoulder to make sure the man wouldn’t follow. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he needed to get away from that man.
He ran into something soft and fell to the cobblestone street on his backside.
"Hey! Watch out!" an annoyed voice called out. Kai looked up, his eyes rimmed with tears, to see a boy around his age with large amber eyes and dark shaggy hair. His narrowed eyes instantly softened upon the sight of Kai’s worried grimace and heaving chest.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice gentle.
”Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you,” he bowed his head apologetically. “I got lost, and there was this man—"
“Don’t worry about it.” The boy reached out his hand and Kai took it, pulling himself up from the ground. “Where are you trying to go? I know this town like the back of my hand."
He looked proud, puffing his chest and turning his nose to the air with a confident smirk.
“Someone told me there was a place I could go to with games and food and stuff." Kai scratched the back of his head. "I think I may have gotten lost."
”Oh, you mean the night market? I was just headed there!” the boy said excitedly. “Come on — we can go together!”
Kai nodded happily, and he bit back a smile. “What’s your name, by the way?”
"I’m Cole.” He stuck out his hand in greeting.
”Nice to meet you, Cole. I’m Kai.” He took Cole’s hand and eagerly shook it, buzzing with excitement. Maybe this could be his first real friend.
Being trapped in the castle never gave him an opportunity to make real friends besides Nya. He often met other princes and princesses from other kingdoms, but he never really cared for them, given they were usually bratty, boring, or both. He had tried to talk to some of the other teens he’d seen around the castle, but they were all castle employees who were too focused on their job and their status difference to want to be friends with him. More than anything, he wanted to make friends with someone who enjoyed hanging out with him simply because they liked him and his company.
”Well, Kai, we should head over now before they run out of the good stuff,” Cole said with a wide smile.
He led them through the quiet, cobblestone streets, rambling on about all the fun games and the delicious food, which is when Kai quickly learned about Cole’s unending love for cake.
”Ooh, and you need to try the dandan noodles here. They’re the absolute best,” Cole hummed dreamily, patting his stomach.
”You really love food, huh?” Kai teased.
”Well duh, who doesn’t?” Cole retorted. Maybe next time Kai could bring him something from the palace.
As Cole led them through a series of twists and turns, the distant sound of chatter and music gradually growing louder. They passed by a few families with younger children, who were excitedly yammering to their parents about the games and sweets they’d had at the night market.
“We’re here!” Cole announced, sweeping his arms wide open.
Kai’s eyes widened, and his jaw fell slack as soft yellow light flooded his vision. The lantern-lit plaza was crowded with friends and family, selling goods, playing games, or simply enjoying each others’ company. Joyous chatter and the delicate music of stringed instruments danced around them, and the fragrant smell of food wafted through the air, causing Kai’s stomach to grumble loudly. His cheeks warmed, and Cole giggled.
“Come on — I’ll take you to those noodles I was telling you about.”
Cole grabbed Kai’s arm and expertly weaved them through the crowd. As they passed through, they passed a group eating mouthwatering skewers, dumplings, and tanghulu, catching Kai’s eye. Cole tugged on his arm as Kai’s pace slowed.
“You’ll get to try everything soon. Let’s go!”
Cole came to an abrupt stop, and Kai crashed into him again.
“Ow,” Kai muttered as he rubbed his nose, aiming to ease the aching pain.
“Sorry,” Cole said bashfully as he rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re here, though!”
Kai looked up to find a large wooden stall simply labeled ‘Dandan noodles’. He sniffed, a nutty, smokey scent filling his nose, and his mouth instantly watered. He walked up to the stand, mesmerized.
Behind the counter stood an old man with a long beard, a bamboo hat, and a kind, tired smile.
“Cole, I see you’ve brought a new friend with you today,” he observed. He leaned down, examining Kai, who began to nervously sweat, worried that the old man might recognize him. “What is your name?”
“I’m Kai,” he responded warily, wishing he’d thought to come up with a fake name earlier. Although many people knew his name, they had rarely seen him, so he hoped that anyone who might hear his name would merely shrug it off as a coincidence. The man merely hummed and stroked his beard. If he recognized Kai, he made no mention of it.
“Nice to meet you, Kai. I’m Wu. Welcome to my shop. Now, two bowls?” he asked as he and a younger blonde boy behind him prepared their noodles.
“Yes, please!” Cole chirped. Without hesitating, Kai pulled out a handful of pristine gold coins from his pocket, and next to him, Cole’s eyes widened. “Woah, are you rich or something?”
Kai froze. How could he reasonably explain a fourteen year old boy walking around with a pouch of gold coins?
“I - uhm,” Kai stammered. Wu held his hand out.
“One will be plenty. I will give you your change.” He pushed two sets of chopsticks atop steaming bowls of mouthwatering noodles towards them.
Cole turned to the bowls, his eyes gleaming with delight as he excitedly rubbed his hands together. Kai let out a relieved sigh, grateful for the distraction.
They exchanged the coins, and the two boys hastily made their way to a set of open tables nearby, the hot bowls beginning to burn the tips of their fingers.
They plopped down on the wooden bench and quickly dropped the bowls on the table. Unceremoniously, Cole grabbed his chopsticks and hastily stirred the noodles, paying no mind to the sauce spilling off the sides.
Hesitantly, Kai grabbed his chopsticks and followed suit, slowly mixing the noodles with the sauce and toppings. Cole looked up, an eyebrow raised.
“Have you had these before?”
“I haven’t,” Kai replied with a nervous laugh, worried he might try to pry into his background, but Cole merely shrugged.
”Just stir them till everything’s mixed together, and eat!” he exclaimed with a wide grin. Without waiting for Kai, he started to shovel the noodles into his mouth, unceremoniously slurping. Kai bit back a laugh at Cole’s gusto. It was nice to be around other people who weren’t so worried about maintaining the proper, royal mannerisms.
After stirring the ingredients together, Kai lifted a small, steaming bite of noodles, meat and veggies and took a bite. Instantly he melted. The smoky flavor covered his tongue, and then, the spicy numbness took over. Still chewing, Kai closed his eyes and hummed happily.
“Good, right?” Cole asked triumphantly, clearly proud that Kai liked his recommendation. Without saying anything, Kai nodded and continued to shove the noodles in his mouth. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Kai paused. He gulped thickly and set his half-finished bowl on the table, his heart racing. If someone found out about him already, it would mean serious trouble for him. His parents warned him that if he were to ever fall into the wrong hands, they would try to harm him or hold him for ransom.
"What do you mean?" he asked meekly, avoiding Cole's hard gaze.
"Well, you have a ton of money, more than anyone in this town could afford to have, especially with how much the king taxes us," Cole remarked bitterly, and his knuckles turned white as his grip tightened around his chopsticks. "They're the reason why it's been so hard for us to buy medicine for my mom."
Oh. He'd never put any thought into how his family could afford such luxurious clothing, food, and jewelry, but now it was all beginning to make sense.
"I just moved here and this is everything my family has. Probably not a good idea to carry it with me, huh?" He let out a hollow laugh and scratched the back of his neck. There was no way he'd believe his lie. Cole's gaze softened, and his grip on his chopsticks loosened.
"Probably not," Cole chuckled lightly, any sign of anger gone. They continued to slurp down their noodles. When he finally finished his bowl, Kai slammed the bowl down on the table with a contented sigh.
"That was amazing.” Kai pushed the leftover green onions around in the bowl and frowned. “But I’m kinda hungry still."
“Don’t worry, there’s a bunch of other foods we still need to try,” Cole smirked.
The duo returned the emptied bowls to Wu and continued on their quest for more food, scanning the various stalls for their next snack.
As they continued on, they talked about their lives. Although Kai couldn't say much, he talked to Cole about his sister and parents. In return, Cole told him about his family, and Kai quickly learned that Cole was an only child and was much closer to his mother, who had been growing sick.
"I think she'll feel better soon," Cole said optimistically. "Some days are better than others, but with the new doctor in town, I think things will change for the better."
They passed by a stall, smoke and sizzling rising from the grill. Cole tugged on Kai's sleeve.
"Did you still want skewers? I saw you looking at them earlier."
"Yes, please." Kai nodded eagerly, pleased that Cole had noticed his lingering glances earlier that evening. Ever since he'd passed by them earlier, the smell had been haunting him. They quickly ordered 2 chicken thigh skewers, and before Kai could reach for his pouch, Cole rushed to take out his coins to pay for the snacks.
"I'll pay for this one." Cole exchanged his coins for the skewers and handed one to Kai, the freshly grilled meat gleaming and steaming. Kai took a bite and let out a satisfied hum as the juicy, umami chicken exploded on his tongue.
Kai had plenty of great food in the castle since everything was typically some kind of high-end delicacy prepared by talented chefs that grew boring after a while, but something about eating so casually with someone only made the food taste that much better.
They finished their skewers and tossed out the sticks.
"Cake?" Cole suggested, a hopeful lilt in his voice.
Kai looked around to see that the crowd was beginning to dwindle.
"I should probably get going home soon," Kai said glumly. Cole's shoulders sank, and Kai was immediately hit with a pang of regret. "I can come back tomorrow, though — if you'll be here?"
Cole perked up at Kai's suggestion. "Yeah, I can be here tomorrow night. Same time?"
"I can do that," Kai nodded, equally eager to hang out again.
They bid each other goodnight, and Kai retraced their steps through the emptying streets. He gazed up at the stars above, a wide smile on his face as he buzzed with happiness. He'd made his first friend, and they were going to hang out again tomorrow. He jumped up and let out a victorious shout.
He couldn't wait to tell Nya all about it.