The ride from Til'amin to Armath was long and bumpy but for Leya it was an incredible experience nonetheless. Seeing horizons he never thought he'd see. Long, bright green seagrass waving in the wind like the tides along the shores of Angkar. Elain, huge beasts of burden with downward curling horns and thick black fur, ending their yearly migration through the Ta'kal pass. And sprawling fields of crimson wheat buds being harvested by farmers. But most comforting was the warmth of Akila's back as he rested his cheek upon it. Likewise, Akila noticed an unfamiliar flutter in her belly at the feeling of his hands clasp tightly around her waist. Leya asks question after question about Armath and Akila answers them all, proud to boast of her home city and it's wonder. Describing how you can look in all directions from the top of the Silver Palace spires and not see the end of it. What the Viridian Gardens look like at night when, lit by enchanted lantern lights, floating lemon blossoms fall from the treetops and glow like falling stars. The smells and colors of the great markets food stands filled with spices, fresh fruits and vegetables from all corners of Sumanita and beyond. Leya closes his eyes and tries to picture it all in his mind.
Likewise, Akila asks Leya about himself and he tells her about his favorite place to spend time as a child.
"There was a stream leading to a waterwheel outside of town that powered an old mill. The village used to grow grain, it was much bigger than it is now. But the soil turned sour and most of the peasant farmers had to leave to find work elsewhere so the old grain mill was abandoned. I used to sit by the creek next to it and listen to the teabirds sing to each other. I would try to imagine what kind of song they were singing. Sometimes they would sound melancholy and sad, other times it sounded like a sonnet, or even a ballad about a legendary teabird hero!"
Akila snorts in amusement.
"Every so often the shival stags would join in from the woods, and it would be like a choir. The teabirds would be the tenors and the shival would take up the baritone."
"You certainly have a creative mind Leya, that's for sure." Akila says as she raises her canteen to her lips.
Leya smiles proudly. "Thank you... I'm no Akila Solamin though." Leya puffs his chest out and declares grandly. "Champion of Sumanita! Conqueror of the White Plains! Heir to the Cracked Throne! And Slayer of Kaeden I-...Yeel?... El?..."
"Ylian." Akila helps him. "Are you about done now? I think I liked you better when you were were too timid to make fun of me." Leya laughs and hugs Akila tightly. "Yes, I'm done."
"When I was at the orphanage the gaurdians would all say that just because you don't have a mother or a father doesn't mean you aren't loved, because Sumanita loves you. The Sumanitan earth is your mother, we sow our fields in her soil and she feeds us. We make our homes from her trees and she shelters us. We burn her wood in furnaces made of her clay and are warmed by her." Akila begins reciting the rest of the parable;
"And the Sumanitan sky is our father constantly teaching us lessons. His angry storms teach us to be strong during unexpected adversity and his harsh winters teach us to prepare for what hardships may come in the future. The sun is his fatherly love, smiling down on us giving us life and light. I know it well, Leya. Almost all sumanitans are told that story by their parents growing up."
"Not mine, I don't even remember my parents. I was only a baby when they left me, maybe a year old. Even though all I've ever known is Sumanita, whenever they would tell us that story, I knew I was the exception." Leya squeezes Akila tightly and presses his cheek into her back.
"You are the only person to ever make me feel like I wasn't." Akila reaches her hand behind her and places it on Leyas thigh. Rubbing it comfortingly.
"I'm glad I make you feel that way, Leya."
"How did you get your name anyways?" Akila asks, curiously. "Your parents couldn't have given it to you if they left you so young, and I doubt a Sumanitian gave it to you."
"The gaurdians at the orphanage told me it was written on the side of a crate I was found in, they thought it was as good a name as any, so that's what they called me. I guess it must have been a box of Leya flowers?"
"Tea." Akila corrects him. "The Leya flower makes a highly sought after tea."
"Really?"
"I've never had it so I can't speak to its quality but it's apparently very good. I do know it's hard to acquire though. It only grows in one place in the world so that makes it rare, and that place is in Caelyrion so that made it illicit. Those two qualities made it very profitable to sell to nobles and enthusiasts with more money than sense."
"People buy illegal Caelyrion goods? Isn't that..." Leyas voices drops to a whisper. "... Treasonous?"
"Don't tell Asair that!" Akila laughs and Leya gasps in surprise.
"Emperor Asair buys illegal Caelyrion goods?!" He says in a hurried and hushed voice as if an eavesdropper might overhear them on their lonely trail.
"Just the tea, It's his favorite. He always used to say 'Sumanitians brew it better but the Caelyrions grow it better'. I think more Caelyrion tea shipments might have been his ulterior motive for the entire treaty. If nobody had noticed you in that crate you may have been shipped straight to the Silver Palace itself!"
Leya chuckles at the idea and his smile grows wide thinking of the scandelous royal gossip he's being let in on.
"I didn't know the Emperor liked tea that much."
"Emperor Asair is a very spiritual man and tea is at the heart of his spirituality. He believes that when you brew tea you are not just distilling the flavor but the qualities of the plant itself; It's resilience to cold or drought, it's strength, it's beauty. They become a part of you in some way or another when you imbibe it. I never really understood what the old man was on about."
"The old man?" Leya inquires.
"That's what I call Asair."
"And he lets you?!" Leya exclaims in shock, prompting Akila to laugh.
"He doesn't have a choice! I told him I'd stop calling him old man when he stops calling me young lady. Neither of us have relented, stubborn old fool. I think he secretly likes it."
The reality of what's happening hits Leya for the first time as he listens to Akila describe her relationship with Emperor Asair. He's being escorted by Akila Solamin herself to the great city of Armath - to the Silver Palace no less! He almost doesn't believe it's happening, it must be some dream. He looks around, trying to find something unreal, something that would give away this hallucination. That's when he sees it, a wonderous vision in the distance. The walls of Armath rising over the horizon like a mountain from the earth. It's too stunning and magnificent a sight to have come from his imagination, the surreal solidifies reality.
It's something Leya never thought he would see in his life and it strikes him with awe. Giant blocks of whitestone layered in staggered patterns stretch up into the sky for what must be near one hundred meters. The whitestone gleams brightly against the morning sun, vines and moss creep down from the top and up from bottom, like lovers reaching out for each other from a great distance. The huge iron gates are plated in platinum and shine like a mirror, reflecting the rising sun and horizon behind them. It's unquestionably a wonder of the world, the whole city, in fact, is a thing of magnificence.
As they approach the gates a tall valkyrie guard steps up to them. She's wearing a polished iron breastplate and intricately ornate chainmail. All valkyries have their armor fitted precisely to their bodies.
"Who goes? Please present any identification or travelling papers and state your reason for visiting Armath."
Akila flips her hood off and shakes out her hair.
"Oh! Empress Akila!"
"I'm not empress yet, soldier. You're too eager for the old man to die."
"No! of course not! May emperor Asair live forever!" the overly enthused valkrie declares, saluting with brimming patriotism.
"Oh, so you never want me to become empress then, I suppose?"
"N-No my Patra! I- uh, I only meant that, um, I-" Akila laughs boisterously at the flustered Valkyrie.
"Just open the gates, soldier."
"Yes, of course my Patra. Right this way." She gestures to follow her and shouts "Open the Gates!", leading the pair through them into the bustling city of Armath.
Rows of fit, tall Valkyrie soldiers salute them as they trot past.
"You really like to tease people don't you, Akila."
"Yes. But I like to tease you the most." She reaches back and squeezes Leyas butt playfully.
"Akila.... someone will see." Leya nuzzles his face under Akilas arm, hiding it from view.
"You keep poking me in the back with that little thing between your legs and they'll see something a lot more explicit than me squeezing your bottom."
".... Sh-shut up...." Leya says, red-faced and extremely embarrassed.
The city is nothing Leya could ever have imagined. All around him are bustling merchants bringing goods in and out of the city. Domed buildings with stone gargoyles hanging off them looking out over the city and its inhabitants. Spiraling columns and ornate architecture decorated with masterful reliefs of ancient battles and legendary Sumanitian figures. Even the road tiles are carved with intricate patterns.
They trot up the city streets until they reach their destination. The Silver Palace. It's beauty and glory is otherworldly. Like it was transported from some ethereal land to the center of this great and vast city. White spires hundreds of feet tall plated in platinum, silver and gold twist into the sky like a lance thrust into the very heart of the heavens themselves.
At the gates of the palace Akila hops off the horse and takes leya by the hand, directing him to swing his leg over until he is sitting side saddle. She reaches under his legs with one arm and behind his back with the other and lifts him up off the horse. She holds him for a moment in her arms and they look into each other's eyes until Leya notices the rows of gaurds all around them watching intently and looks away. Akila places him down and he winces and rubs his bottom.
"My butt is sore. That was a really long ride"
Akila takes a step forward, pressing her hips and flaccid package up against him and reaches behind to grab a handful of his buttocks.
"Oh Leya.... You have no idea how sore your butt can get." She insinuates as her fingers squeeze firmly. Leya feels a surge of blood rush to his loins and he clasps his hands over his crotch to hide the meagre bulge. As Leya makes his characteristic pout Akila notices that he has a swollen lip, she pulls his bottom lip down with her thumb to inspect it closer.
"What happened here?" She asks.
"Oh, I bit my lip on the ride here. It was a little bumpy. It's not a big deal."
"Let's see if I can make it feel better..." Akila leans in and kisses him softly.
"Better?"
Leyas lips curl into a coy smile.
"Much." He responds.
"Miss Solamin!" A stern voice calls out from the palace gates interrupting their moment and a man makes his way down the palace steps. He is a lean sinewy man, tall and dark. He floats down the steps like a spectre. His black robes trailing behind him. His face is wisened and austere, his eyes are piercing and resolved. He has a thin, long nose which adds to the sense that he is looking down it at everybody around him.
"A'peris! You're looking glum, as usual."
"I have good reason to be." He looks down at leya, as if noticing him for the first time and lets out a quiet sigh.
"And who is your... guest here, today?" He asks snidely.
