Princess Shyra's life has only extended till planet Ziya and she doesn't know how to look beyond helping her people. As far as she's concerned, she's being trained to rule her entire life, and it's the only goal she's ever known.
Cue the handsome pr...
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Shyra watched her go with a huge sigh and collapsed on her bed once she was alone. Even then, thoughts of the Asteroid Path consumed her mind and pushed her toward her model of Pranali. She stood over the Pranali that was carved with delicate hands and pushed the model Asteroid Paths around.
She'd done this many times by now, trying out various directions the Path could be pushed in to line it with Ziya once again. But every single time she'd succeeded in finding an easy way to align the Path, her excitement was doused by the fact that she didn't have any funding to complete the RePathing.
Like all the previous times, she ended up running her hand through her hair and kicking a wall with her toes. This planning was of no use until they had enough money. And in an effort to raise funds for the RePathing, she'd humiliated herself enough by pleading with the Governance.
No, the only way was the reward money that she would receive after winning the Games, and even that was out of the picture for what seemed like a long, long time.
"Poring over the Asteroid Path again?" a soft voice spoke up behind her. Shyra smiled, though with her back turned to the speaker, she doubted it would be visible.
"You know it, Uttara. I wanted to win the Games and start the RePathing with that money. I'd even begun intense practice sessions since the date was nearing. But now... ugh! This stupid war has once again ruined everything!" she said and slammed her hand on the wall. Uttara winced at the loud sound that came from the impact, and gently guided her friend to her bed.
"I'm fine Uttara. You don't need to give me that look, nor do you need to babysit me," Shyra said in response to the sorrowful look Uttara was giving her. "I can't afford to rest; I have so many things to do. I need to discuss the samiti's reports with father, attend my daily training, see to the..."
"Alright, Princess I'm-so-busy," Uttara laughed. "We all know how much work you have every day. But your workload doesn't mean you can't relax once in a while. Let's do one thing. The streets seem quite busy and alluring today. Shall we walk around for sometime?" she asked, getting off the bed and stretching her hand to Shyra.
Shyra glanced at her outstretched hand, and before her inner voices could speak again, took the offer. Uttara pulled her out of bed and both of them snuck out of her rooms.
Before they left the Castel, she made a quick trip to her wardrobe, pulled out her black cloth, and covered her face with it, so only her eyes were visible. There was no need to do this, but Shyra loved the anonymity and sense of belonging in the working class, which was why she always disguised herself.
Once they snuck out through a small, secret door only they knew of, they slipped into the streets and made their way through the busy town surrounding the Castel.
This part of town always managed to delight Shyra with its air of busyness and charm. The street was lined with shops on either side, with shopkeepers calling out their wares over each other.
She heard snatches of conversation between customers as well, talking about their children, husbands and wives, neighbors, and at times about the Ziyan royalty and their administrations. These snippets were the best ones in her opinion, and she tried to listen to all their pleas and demands and fulfill them later.
The lingering scents in the air weren't bad, either. There were various sweet and savory dishes baking in the crisp air, and dozens of perfumes scented the air with their nostalgic and heady fragrances.
They stumbled through the crowded streets and giggled together, pointing out various artifacts and reminiscing over shared embarrassing memories.
"Oh look! That's the place we first met!" Uttara cried out, pointing to a narrow alleyway. Shyra groaned and shook her head frantically, knowing what was coming, but Uttara grinned and continued her rendition of their first meet.
"It was your first march, right? I still can't believe how unprepared you were for it," she giggled. "There was a huge crowd gathered to protest against the rising taxes, and someone had told you that your presence would help the movement. So you came all alone, without any experience."
"Hey! I did do my research, you know? Those movements weren't supposed to get that aggressive!" Shyra protested, but Uttara waved her off, as she always did.
"Yeah, yeah. But in the end, you did get scared by the agitated mob, right? If it wasn't for a common street girl like me, you would've got scarred forever and wouldn't have blossomed into the brave woman you are today," Uttara bragged with her chest puffed up. "I pulled you to that alleyway and protected you from the crowd so that you could safely return to the Castel and live to tell the tale."
"It wasn't that bad, you know?" Shyra mumbled with reddened cheeks.
Uttara chuckled and threw an arm around Shyra. "It's okay, Princess. Everyone has times when they need someone's help, even royal princesses like you."
Shyra laughed as well. After all, friendly teasing was a part of every relationship.
Meanwhile, she took full advantage of her time on the streets, and delightedly explored the shops lined on either side of the street. There were unbelievable varieties of food being sold, and their tantalizing aromas made Shyra buy an armful of snacks for the way.
"Remember that one time you thought you saw a Maya who'd set up a shop that sold magical trinkets?" Uttara whispered, glancing at a shady woman huddled in a corner. "I've never mentioned this to anyone, but I still look for that woman sometimes, to witness magic with my own eyes at least once."
"Uttara," Shyra hissed, covering her mouth with her palm. "Are you crazy? Don't you know that you shouldn't even utter the word 'magic'? Those Mayas are dangerous people, my dear, and the magic they practice has had disastrous consequences on humanity."
"I know, I know," Uttara muttered, removing Shyra's hand. "That's why nobody has seen them since then. Though I've heard that they still live among us, watching and manipulating lives..."
"Hush. We will speak no more of this." Shyra said and strode past her friend, effectively ending the discussion.
There was still time for her to return to the Castel, and they were looking around for something interesting.
Just when Shyra was about to consider eavesdropping on her people to find out their thoughts, Uttara pulled her towards a corner of the street they were in and pointed something out to her. Shyra's eyes widened to see a glowing board hanging above a curtained, enclosed stall.
'Storytelling session of our histories'
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Pranali: Hindi term for system. The official translation for solar system is surya pranali, so I've named the term 'system' here as pranali
Maya: A term used for magicians/wizards. Basically, users of magic
