Flowers, vines and moss scaled up the brick walls of the tower. The architecture was intricately designed, impossibly beautiful, and the guards that brought Jay there muttered that it was a shame no one would be able to appreciate such a glorious piece of art.
Jay certainly didn't appreciate it. Beauty, design and structure in engineering and architecture was something that he admired to the highest degree, but in no way did he admire the concept of his tower.
The tower was dark and full of terrors. Jay tried not to let them consume him.
Pixal had told Jay she wouldn't save him, but in a way, she did. Although she had worked out the exact position of the tower, instead of riding out to meet him herself, she would send a small robotic falcon, that would relay to him any letters or drawing Pixal sent to him, and would relay back any things Jay wanted to send back in return. Although Jay was sick of the restriction of his freedom of movement, and how he was confided to a place without people, the constant exchange of letters and drawings to Pixal did make him feel better. The tower-imprisonment hadn't scared the prince because of how he was forced into a natural environment or how he couldn't run and frolic anywhere, but how he couldn't talk to anyone about his ideas – and Pixal fixed all of that for him through some complex machinery.
How on earth did you come up with such an intricate piece of technology?, he had asked in one of his letters. Magic? Or just programming?
Isn't magic simply an extension of science? she had replied.
If the falcon weren't the only way Jay could have talked to Pixal, he would have taken the bird apart on the spot. The engineering was gorgeous, paralleling the beautiful gold and bronze mechanical nightingale Jay had been rambling about to Pixal weeks before.
Eventually, Pixal revealed that she borrowed some blueprints of the King of the Island, and based her falcon off the intricate nightingale he had built. You mentioned that you were fond of his bird, she wrote. I was, as well, so I had to make a similar one.
She wrote letters, so often that sometimes Jay would have the falcon fly in five times a week. Her scrolls of paper piled up in Jay's tower, covering the interior of his enclose like wallpaper and littering the floor to the point where he forgot its colour.
Two months into his imprisonment, and the letters stopped coming. The falcon returned to visit him, the bird acted as if it had a mind of its own, but it never carried any messages from Pixal. The prince began to worry, what if something happened to her? He couldn't bear to touch the Falcon, much less see it, and everyday when it came by the window to visit, the prince would turn away, burying his head amongst cushions and discarded sketches of escape routes.
Where was Pixal, and why wasn't she saving him from himself?
The loneliness hurt. Jay tried to distract himself with building small inventions out of anything he could find, or reading the few books around the towers. But he couldn't escape with gliders that flew too fast towards the ground and crashed into splinters, neither could he escape through reading – the trashy romance books he enjoyed so much were only fun to read the first few dozen times around, and rereading Pixal's letters felt like nostalgia punching him.
Jay stopped reading. He tried to write as much as he could but his ideas ran dry and so did his motivation. He spent his days lying around – sleeping, daydreaming, doing nothing. His boredom stretched on, like metal being pulled into wires. And like the wires, the prince grew thin, not bothering to eat anymore.
"I'm going to miss you when you're gone," Pixal had said, wistfully, before she had left.
Who knew it would be Jay, with pain in his gut, sprawled out on the floor, missing his friend instead?
The only comfort Jay got were the birds. Sometimes they would perch on his tower window and talk to him. Back home, Jay talked to birds as much as he frolicked in flowers, even though all birds near his house tended to simply make bad puns and dry jokes. These birds tried to rally to him news from the outside world, but it would just be lot of the babble of bird noises. Despite that, Jay appreciated them.
"Listen, how are we going to find the position of the prince?" Cole had asked. "He's in a dense forest. That could be anywhere in this country."
"We could talk to the sun, of course," Nya said, in a tone that suggested speaking to celestial objects was completely normal. "Of course, the position of the sun is unfortunately rather difficult to find exactly, so instead, we'll have to talk to something similar." No sooner had she spoken her words, she raised her head to find a dove, perching on a branch above them.
Cole frowned, his thick eyebrows knitting together. Talking to birds wasn't an uncommon occurrence. In fact, it was a gift that many had, and currently, one very easy to pick up. But, how on earth would a bird know where a simple prince was located? He would have to talk to hundreds, if not thousands, of them.
Nya turned to him. "So, can you speak to birds?"
"Yes."
She asked again. "Then, would you like to speak to them?"
There was no immediate response from her travelling partner. Nya frowned in worry. She hadn't wanted to embarrass him, or put him in a situation he didn't want to be in. "Look, Cole, if you're uncomf–"
Cole took in an intake of breath, breathing slowly. "Sorry," he said. "A lot of people asked me if I could something, but no one's asked me if I wanted to. Your question just threw me off a little." He sighed. "I'll do it. I haven't bothered talking to birds in a while."
The young man walked up towards the dove. It turned its head slightly, as if it were acknowledging him. "Hi," he said. "Would you happen to know whether Prince Jay resides in this forest?"
The dove twittered, hopping from its branch to a much lower one. Opening its mouth, it sang:
You seek the prince dancing with flowers,
Concealed by bricks and vines he cowers.
Kywitt, kywitt, beautiful travellers, follow me:
A gift for those who asked the lords of the trees.
"Well then," said Nya. "What are we waiting for?"
The bird hovered into the air in front of the two, before sharply turning left, gesturing with a wing for the duo to follow.
They followed, leaping over tree roots and keeping the dove well in sight. It fluttered through trees like a dart, turning corners and dodging branches. The two travellers attempted to do the same. The dove flew into a clearing, and let out a loud screech. If Cole hadn't known better, he would have called it a mating call, but the screech was more than that. It was a battle cry.
Birds from all directions fluttered in. It was breathtaking – a cyclone of colour. The birds twittered and sang in union. "The prince is one of us," they chattered. "He is our blue Jay. Our precious little bluebird."
The dove fluttered amongst these birds, before resting firmly on Cole's shoulder. "Thank you for asking us," it said. "There are hardly those who appreciate the lives and knowledge of birds in this world."
Asking birds was like asking the messengers of the Sun and the Moon, Nya noted. Perhaps, they might also know where Kai went. She made a quick mental note to ask them about a magical nightingale.
"There two are here to rescue Prince Jay," said the dove to the other birds. "So many others in this forest have tried and all of them were not worthy."
"They do not appreciate the true lords of the forest," chorused the birds.
Nya frowned, wondering. "Did they not think to say you for help?"
"Well, no," said the dove. "Some asked for help, but we saw littering and lots of dishonesty and other things us birds disapprove of. You've seemed nothing but compassionate since we saw you."
If only that was truly the case, thought Cole.
The dove dug its claws further into Cole's shoulder. "We will show you where the prince is located. But it's your job to actually break him free."
"Let us come with you," said the birds. "We want to wish our dearest prince farewell."
"It would be an honour," Cole said, stroking the dove still resting on his shoulder.
Like before, Nya and Cole weaved between tree branches and roots, accompanied by a battalion of birds.
"Only birds reach the tower," said the dove, perching precariously on Cole's shoulder as he leapt over various parts of trees. "We can carry you to the opening in the tower, but I doubt we have enough birds to carry the prince down as well."
"I say Nya should rescue him," Cole gestured to his partner. Nya was well-build, with defined muscles, but Cole knew that dancers often weighed more and had more muscle than the kinds of athletes Nya would be. "I doubt you birds could carry me."
"Are you calling us weak?" twittered a woodpecker.
A sparrow fluttered along with the woodpecker. "Rude."
Cole's eyes widened in shock. "I didn't intend to offend, plea–"
"Don't worry, we're just jesting. We all think you're lovely, right guys?" interrupted the dove, turning his head to his fellow birds, who all chirped enthusiastically. "Oh look, we're here. Good luck."
Cole saw the tower, and he gasped instantly.
It was gorgeous. The architecture was of a style he had never seen before. It was odd, but refreshingly interesting. The man approached the tower, looking over at the vines that spiraled around it, and the sharp-thorned flowers that followed these vines.
That was when he spied a strange contraption in the bottom.
"A convenient loudspeaker, huh?" said Cole, recognising it. His voice reverberated into the large cone.
Jay had been lying in bed, rereading "The Knight's Guard" for the upteemth time, before he immediately pulled himself up. The loudspeaker. Someone was here, outside, speaking to him. The prince skipped over to the window, pushing back his messy auburn locks to get a clear view of the bottom of the tower.
"What?" he said, shouting down below. He saw people – a girl with a face framed by dark hair, clutching onto a katana, a muscular guy with equally dark hair, and his birdy friends. "What's going on? What's happening?"
"My name is Nya," said the girl. She swung her sword with masterful grace. "I'm here to save you."
Jay gasped. Someone else managed to find him, nested in the dense forest. Not to mention this princess, heroine, whatever, she was gorgeous. Sure, she looked a little plain, but her strong face was turned up into an ambitious grin, and the way she moved – wow. Although he was twenty feet above ground, he could felt her confident radiating. It was contagious.
"That's amazing!" he shouted back. "You're amazing!"
She laughed. "Why all this praise? I haven't done anything yet."
Jay pulled back from the window. It was so exciting – someone actually cared about him enough to find him!
"Just watch," he had heard her say, as birds flocked around Nya, who was tugging on a long piece of fabric. The birds brought her up in the air, rising slowly for her to reach the window.
She floated gracefully with the birds, like a phoenix, until she was up to the height of the tower's window. Jay saw her clearly, and found that her grin was more infectious up close.
He smiled, a shy blush on his cheeks. "I didn't think anyone would alliance with the birds," Jay said, once Nya leapt through the window, crashing down onto the concrete floor of his cell.
"They were very helpful," she said, inspecting her surroundings. Lots of letters and scribbles on paper, Nya noted. A few furious ink splashes and tally marks etched into the walls. Many boxes of untouched food. Trashy teenage romance novels that Nya had enough dignity not to read, looking very well thumbed.
The prince nervously watched her continue inspecting the cell. Nya stalked around the cell, pacing it slowly and steadily, before pausing on a corner.
Nya bent down until she was eye-level with the bottom of the wall. It seemed a little bit discoloured from the rest of the wall. It felt awkward and wrong, and Nya thought something might be interesting about it.
She pushed apart piles of letters that covered the discoloured part of the wall. More boxes of food? Nya frowned. How much food did this guy have, and why was so much of it untouched? Pushing the food apart, she found something, and gasped.
"A lock," observed Nya, as she pulled the last box away. She slid her sword back into her sheath (and was slightly surprised she held onto it for so long), and pulled out her dragger instead. Upon closer inspection, it was a simple lock. They were easily picked, and Nya would have scoffed at one back at her village. She dug the tip of the blade in.
The lock fell apart, revealing a crude number pad. Nya frowned, studying it carefully. There were still marks from the oils left by the previous user, and they rested upon the first fourth numbers exactly. Nya punched in 1234, and the wall of the tower swung open, revealing a stairway.
"That was way too easy," she muttered. "You sure it isn't a trap?"
Jay's mouth fell open. Escaping the tower, it was so simple. He could have done it ages ago. The thing was – even if he had known how to escape, the prince knew that he would have chosen to stay. It was weird to admit, but he wanted to be saved. Jay knew he wasn't the kind of hero the bards sang of, and didn't want to step out of line by trying to be that kind of hero.
"No, I'm sure not," he said. "Tower security is designed to be simple enough for princes to crack, I suppose."
Nya laughed. This kid had a lot of sass, even against his own demographic. "Well spoken, but wouldn't you like to get out of here?"
Jay nodded at Nya's question, too busy grabbing a few letters and doodles to bring with him. He looked across at the mountain of letters he had exchanged from Pixal, and the even bigger mountain of doodles. He briefly wondered if he could take all of them… but thought better not too. They reminded him too much of his imprisonment, and Jay would rather put that incident behind him.
Once he got the things he wanted to take with him, the prince raised a hand awkwardly. "Look, I've always wanted my rescuer to carry me bridal style, so if you're willing…" Jay stammered.
Nya shrugged, leaning down to hit the back of his knees with her left arm, causing the prince to tumble into her right. "This alright with you?" she asked.
A beam crossed the prince's face. "This is exactly how I pictured my rescue."
Down the stairs, the two went, with Nya holding Jay carefully in her arms. Jay took a brief moment to marvel at the intense architecture of the building, and wondered why someone would put so much effort into something that no one would see. Nya didn't bother to look at any intricate details in the towers. She admired weapons and upper torsos, not buildings designed by people from the other side of the world.
"One question: how did you find me?" the prince wrapped his arms around Nya, as she carried him down. "Apparently so many people tried and failed!"
Nya carried Jay gracefully. He hardly seemed to weigh anything at all, feeling like feathers in her arms. "First of all, we've never been the failing types."
A frown crossed Jay's face. "We?"
"Cole and I. He's kinda like my brother. Listen, I'll explain later."
The two reached the bottom of the steps, met by Cole and a whole congregation of birds of a kaleidoscope of different colours, different breeds, and different sizes. There was a huge clamour – birds singing, squawking, twittering. The sound polluted the air, and you2 could hardly hear oneself think.
Jay gasped at the sight of them, swinging out of Nya's arms to run towards the birds. They flocked towards him, landing around his body and on his arms. "Sorry," he said to the duo with a sheepish grin. "I'm really fond of these guys. When you're stuck in a forest in a tower, you end up picking up birdspeak."
Nya laughed. The prince's energy and youth was adorably infectious.
"And this guy is Cole, I'm guessing?" asked Jay, as he skipped over to her travelling partner, arms still covered with birdies. "From what Nya said, you sound almost-as-equally cool!"
Cole shot Nya a look of confusion, and another look of help-save-me-I'm-suffocating as Jay threw his arms around Cole.
"You two!" said the prince. Although energetic, his voice was strained, as if he hadn't spoken in days. "You're both great! I haven't seen a person in months, much less two people! This is wonderful!"
"You're wonderful," Nya said. "Look, we're going to get you out of here."
She reached for his hand, and Jay gladly accepted, smiling shyly. Taking yet another glance at his surroundings, he realised something. Protected by birds or not, the trio were still stuck in a forest. How were they supposed to get out?
Cole walked up beside Jay, towering over his small build. "We're walking. I hope you don't mind."
"Are you kidding?" Jay said, almost jumping up and down. "I haven't been outside in ages! I would be honoured to walk with you two."
"In that case," Nya said, still clinging to Jay's hand. "Let's begin our journey to get you back."