The gates of the Endless Keep did not open often,
When they did, the entire palace seemed to notice,
Chains moved,
Iron groaned,
And the great doors, tall as towers, slowly parted to allow the outside world to pass through,
Arvail had been waiting since morning,
He stood near the upper balcony overlooking the main courtyard, watching as a line of travelers entered through the gates below,
Merchants,
Messengers,
Wanderers from distant lands,
Some wore desert robes the color of sand,
Others carried fabrics dyed in deep blues and reds,
A few led horses burdened with goods from places Arvail had only ever seen on maps,
The world had come to him,
And he could not look away,
"Careful, Little Majesty," Bren said from behind him,
"You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that,"
"I want to go down there,"
"I know,"
"I've been waiting all week,"
"I know,"
Arvail turned sharply,
"Then why are you not letting me go?"
Bren sighed,
"Because Majesty told me not to,"
Arvail crossed his arms,
"I'm not a prisoner,"
Bren didn't answer,
And that silence said more than words ever could,
A moment later….
"Let him go,"
Both of them turned,
King Edrion stood at the entrance to the balcony,
Bren straightened immediately,
"My king, I…."
"It's fine,"
Edrion stepped forward, his gaze resting briefly on his son,
"He should see the world, even if it comes to him in pieces,"
Arvail's expression brightened,
"Thank you,"
Edrion nodded once,
"Stay within the courtyard,"
"I will,"
The courtyard felt alive,
Voices filled the air,
Different accents,
Different languages,
Different stories,
Arvail moved slowly through the crowd, absorbing everything,
A merchant bowed slightly as he passed,
"Little Majesty,"
Arvail returned the gesture,
"Where are you from?"
"Solmere, Your Highness,"
"The sea kingdom?"
"Yes,"
Arvail stepped closer,
"What does the, ocean sound like?"
The merchant smiled,
"Umm… Like it's, always trying to tell you something… but never finishes the sentence,"
Arvail's eyes lit up,
He pulled out his notebook immediately,
"Say that again,"
The merchant laughed,
"You wanna write those? Your Highness"
"I don't want to forget them,"
The man repeated the line,
Arvail wrote quickly,
Further ahead, a traveler sat near the fountain, tuning a worn instrument,
Arvail approached,
"Do you play songs from outside Aurelen?"
The man nodded,
"Songs from many roads,"
"Do roads sound different?"
The traveler looked up, surprised,
"That's an unusual question,"
Arvail chuckled,
"I ask a lot of those,"
The man adjusted the strings,
"Yes," he said,
"Every road has its own sound,"
"What does yours, sound like?"
The traveler thought for a moment,
"Like… footsteps that never stops,"
Arvail wrote that down too,
Near the edge of the courtyard, a young girl sat beside a cart filled with small trinkets,
Shells,
Coins,
Feathers,
Tiny carved stones,
Arvail crouched beside her,
"Wow… they look so good"
"My father collects them," she said,
"From different places,"
Arvail picked up a small pale shell,
It shimmered faintly in the sunlight,
"What is this?"
"It's From the sea,"
He turned it in his hand,
"It looks… quiet,"
The girl laughed,
"That's because you're not listening,"
She gestured for him to hold it closer to his ear,
Arvail did,
For a moment, he said nothing,
Then….
"Oh oh… I hear something,"
The girl grinned,
"That's the ocean,"
Arvail stared at the shell in wonder,
"The sky that fell onto the earth…"
He whispered the words to himself,
Then carefully placed the shell back,
"Thank you,"
By the time the sun began to lower, the courtyard slowly emptied,
Travelers moved deeper into the palace or prepared to leave,
The noise faded,
The world retreated again,
Arvail returned to the balcony,
The same one,
The same view,
But something felt different now,
He opened his notebook,
Page after page filled with new lines,
New thoughts,
New pieces of a world he had never seen,
He read quietly:
The sky is strange,
It belongs to everyone…
Then added beneath it:
And the roads below it carry stories the walls can never hold,
He paused,
Looking toward the distant horizon,
The same road stretched across the valley,
But now….
it felt closer,
Behind him, Edrion stood silently for a moment,
"You enjoyed today, didn't you,"
Arvail nodded,
"They've seen everything,"
"Yes,"
"I want to see it too,"
The king looked at the horizon,
His voice was calm,
"Well.. wanting something… does not always mean you should have it,"
Arvail didn't look at him,
"Then why build walls that show me everything… but let me touch nothing?"
Edrion had no answer,
Then he said,
"To let the movement find you itself,"
Boy shook his head,
"Father, you always say confusing stuffs,"
"I'll confuse you more after dinner, let's go"
Both chuckled,
But the wind moved softly across the balcony,
Carrying with it something new,
Not just silence,
Not just distance,
But possibility,
And somewhere far beyond the walls of Aurelen….
on a road that never asked permission to exist….
another story had already begun moving toward him,