The castle was small for a building that housed royalty, but it was larger than any house Sol could remember living in.

A staircase in the center of the room led to a set of double doors and four smaller doors. Sol guessed that the large doors led to a throne room or the sort, but how he knew, he wasn't sure. Several hallways branched off of the main room, and a set of doors identical to the ones on the second floor sat just to the right of the staircase.

Tilkis led Jay to the smallest of the doors upstairs and followed him inside before shutting the door behind them, leaving Sol to stare in awe at the fuzzy whiteness that must have been an amazing castle. After a while, when the light glimmering from the marble pillars and walls became too much, he pulled his headband over his eyes and leaned back against the wall with a sigh.

What does that Tilkis man want with me, anyway? He thought idly, reaching up to twirl a lock of his white, uneven ponytail. He obviously wants more than to show me around this creepy town. He obviously knows something that I don't...but what? I don't trust him. I need to find Yuri before—

The sound of a door opening pulled Sol from his thoughts and back to the real world. He opened his mouth to call out to Tilkis, then closed it again. There were two sets of footsteps echoing through the great room, to be sure, but they weren't Jay and Tilkis'; one set seemed swift and concise enough to be the prince's, and the other was all but a perfect match, but the first set moved too slowly and carefully to belong to the reckless swordsman, and neither one matched the graceful but loud trot of Jay's sneakers on the ground.

The albino lifted his blindfold carefully to squint across the room. There were two men—probably servants or butlers or the like—standing by the stairs; the first was an old man with overgrown, greying hair in a ponytail and blackish-purple robes. The other looked just older than Tilkis, who Sol figured was no older than himself, and had messy blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore an orange vest and black jeans, as well as a crooked green belt and a cat collar of a similar color. Both were staring back at him with either confusion or curiosity—from where Sol stood, though, he couldn't tell which.

"Ah, um," he stammered out awkwardly, suddenly feeling beads of sweat roll down his neck and his cheeks heating up shyly. He gave the collar of his jacket a nervous tug, then undid the top button of the garment, swallowed, and tried to keep his mouth from drying out.

"Does Tilkis know you're here?" the blonde asked, and Sol was sure he heard a smirk behind the other's words. The man had a smooth sounding voice, like Yuri's, only deeper, and for a second Sol was almost jealous that none of his acquaintances shared his effeminate rasp.

Not even Tilkis, or even Jay, and they're younger than me...

"Does he know you're here?" the man repeated, snapping Sol out of his fit of rage.

"Ah, um..." Sol managed again, mentally hitting himself. "He...er...he knows. H-he told me to wait here, so..."

"The prince did?" the blonde asked, sounding surprised. He exchanged a glance with the other servant, who shrugged. A silence passed between the two, until Sol practically saw lightbulbs over both of their heads.

"Sol, is it?" the older of the two asked.

Even his voice is better than mine, and he's old.

"U-um...yeah..."

"There was a young man looking for you." he continued, ignoring the boy's uncertainty. "Yuri Lowell, I believe it was."

"Yuri was here?" Sol asked, forgetting his own anxiety. "He was looking for me?"

"Yeah." the blonde replied in a laid-back tone, and for the first time, Sol noticed the swords at the two men's belts. He pawed absently at his own weapons, shivering at the coldness of the metal under his fingertips.

"Where is he now, then? Please!"

"Right here."

Sol looked up, and his eyes narrowed in annoyance and half-masked surprise. Tilkis had returned from his room, followed by Jay, and lastly, Yuri. The younger of the three had his arms folded across his chest and was biting the inside of his cheek. Tilkis had the same uncaring visage as before he had disappeared, and Yuri appeared bothered by something.

"Tilkis? Yuri? Jay?" Sol wasn't sure which name he was supposed to say first. The two sword-wielding servants lowered their heads at Tilkis, who waved a hand dismissively at the respectful gesture.

"Change of plans." The noble said simply to Sol.

"Huh?"

"Tilkis here has some information on where that friend of mine might be." Yuri explained, shooting Tilkis a look.

"Jay was the one who found the lead." Tilkis corrected, but Yuri seemed to ignore him.

"These two are accompanying us until we reach the next town." he continued on. He paused to take a breath and brush a strand of rebellious hair from his eyes, but Sol didn't let him finish.

Anger burned in the pit of his stomach like acid at the commanding tone of Yuri's words. He curled his fists and instinctively reached into his pocket to grab the slip knot of his yo-yo.

"Says who?" he exploded, his voice echoing loudly off the walls. "Why do you get to make all the decisions? I should have a say in things, too, Yuri! You aren't the leader. You think that just because you're a huma—ah, ah, older than me, you get to decide?"

Yuri blinked calmly, but didn't speak. His eyes said enough.

"Never mind! Forget I said anything."

"Well then," Tilkis sighed, "now that that's sorted out—"

"Wait, you're really going, Lord Tilkis?" the blonde cut in. The old man by his side threw him a warning glance, but didn't say anything beyond that.

"Hm? Oh, Guy." Tilkis hummed, looking the servant in the eye.

That's strange...why would a prince act so casual around a servant? And why would he know him by name? Doesn't he have more important things to do than meddle with commoners?

"Bring one of us with you." the servant pleaded, and Sol looked up curiously.

"Fine by me. You'll come, right?"

A hush fell over the group.

Did he just...did he seriously do that?

"M-me?" Guy sounded equally as surprised. "Why not Forest? He never leaves your side; shouldn't he go?"

"You know full well why I can't ask him to accompany me. Now return to your quarters and pack; we're leaving for Natick."

Smooth, Tilkis. Real smooth.

The sun was setting by the time the group set out.

"I still don't see why we couldn't have rested and left in the morning." Jay grumbled from behind Sol, where he was trailing back from the rest of the party and dragging his feet in the dirt.

"It's cooler, we won't get caught, and I can actually see." Sol reminded him laconically.

"It's not like Tilkis hasn't left the castle before..." the boy complained, ignoring the first and third points.

"Yeah, don't you have a country to rule, Prince?" Sol inquired, tilting his head to one side.

"Like I said," Tilkis murmured with something that sounded to be self-loathing, "I'm not important. My older brothers are in charge of Paeonia. I'm just the ambassador. Completely disposable, if Meguro ever decides to kill me."

Don't talk like that. Of course you're important. Someone whispered in Sol's head. When he repeated the words aloud, Tilkis snorted.

"Sure, of course. I'll cut it out." he promised, but he didn't sound convinced.

—Skit No. 005: Awkward First Impressions—

"S-so..." Sol started. "Er, Guy, right? And Jay the Unseen?"

"That's us." Jay deadpanned.

"Oh...er, I'm Sol."

"I already know that." Jay interrupted. "You're Sol El Idnus, and you were raised in the Neutral Crescent with a member of the Panamko Military."

"How did—"

"Jay's an information dealer." Guy explained. "He makes it a point to know everything. That's why Lord Tilkis trusts him to gather leads on criminals and rival nations."

"He's a cunning kid." Tilkis added fondly with what Sol guessed was pride or praise.

"Right..." Sol chuckled nervously.

Jay smirked.

—End Skit—