The Purple Jade Palace: The Hummingbird's Plan

Dalenia

Teal soon developed a routine to fill his days while he was on the ship. His mornings were spent with Jale where he continued with his studies. In the middle of the day, Teal visited the Emperor and read, all the while trying to maintain his concentration when the Emperor placed an arm around his back or rested a hand on his thigh. He never encroached further on Teal's personal space and for that, Teal was thankful. Their casual sessions were allowing him to become more comfortable in his presence.

Teal also found an informative companion in Nala. She gladly shared her knowledge of medicine, and Teal discussed his mother's oil remedies. He was amazed by Nala's collection of treatments. His mother had only touched on the service of healing. They developed a mutual friendship out of respect for each other's knowledge of the plants and their capabilities to heal, even with the intrusive one-week check-ups that consisted of Jale, Nala, and her assistant analyzing every inch of his body.

The evenings were the hardest to bide his time when everything on the ship slowed down. He set about writing letters to his parents and Cokrin to inform them of his new life. Letters that were hard to write but a necessity to prevent them from worrying.

Out of sheer desperation, there were some evenings when Teal would seek out Delba. Her attitude towards him was complex. On occasions, she was elusive, distant, and fickle. At other times, she would loop her hand under his arm, and they would walk the deck of the ship as if they were lifelong friends while she told him stories of life at the palace.

He didn't trust her.

Then there were the nights that had him on edge no matter how hard he tried to be his normal self. Nights where he accompanied Jale to visit the Emperor, where the stars and the soft glow of lanterns on the deck hinted of a more amorous ambience. Unlike his reading sessions, Teal would sit rigidly on a cushion either next to the Emperor or Jale and listen to their conversations while they played Mocho or some other game that took their fancy.

The only people who he felt truly comfortable around was Jale and Nala. The sailors on the ship kept their distance and watched him through wary eyes. Whether that was down to his new position as potential concubine or his appearance, Teal wasn't too sure. Although, he suspected it had more to do with the way he looked. Sailors were prone to superstitions and wild stories of the ocean.

On the fourth day of sailing, the ship reached the mouth of the river, and the wide-open sea beckoned. The colors of the two different bodies swirled together, earthy fresh water clashing with the clear salty blue, roiling with rips and eddies underneath. Along the river, they had seen many a folk washing, swimming and sailing, but here, no one dared to venture into these waters without a ship and solid experience of the path needed to avoid the additional hazard of the rocks that lay underneath.

After waiting for high tide, the captain wove the ship methodically, confidently making the treacherous journey through the channels that led out to the open sea and then onwards, where they would be able to sail directly to the capital, Dalenia.

Teal watched the land shrink and become smaller and smaller behind him. He had never been so far from home in his entire life. At present, the vast ocean appeared calm without a cloud in sight, and Teal suspected it would make for a long week to the capital.

True enough, after another week of the voyage, despite having kept himself busy, Teal was itching with tension under his skin at the prospect of seeing his new home. Not only was he not used to being so inactive, he was also really bored at only having the flat, blue sea that sparkled under a persistent sun, to look at. It was beautiful and serene, but it made the days dull and blurred as the same.

Ten days later, the horizon was seen once again, and Teal ignored Jale's laughter as he bade him permission to return to the deck to see it.

Dalenia was beyond anything that Teal could have expected. The sheer magnitude and size of the city alone, left him breathless. Small towns and dwellings continued to build in size as the ship sailed up the coast. Anticipation grew inside of him when eventually the farm towns subsided and villages merged into one, and all that could be seen was grey stone buildings as far as the eye could see.