I blinked and glanced over, only to find those matchless blue eyes staring straight through me. The spiky-haired boy likewise shot his lord a look of surprise.
The boy quietly went on, “Your ability is a rare one indeed. But, you see, I have a girl I’m determined to win someday, and her whole family possesses a rare gift similar to yours. That said...”
The boy called Chris turned his gaze on the Master of Luwak Street. By voicing his disagreement with the Master’s point of view, he probably hoped to convince himself of his own resolve.
“What I want isn’t her skills. All I desire is a life where she can read her books in peace by my side—a world where she never has to use her gift. I’m going to make that a reality. Would you care to help me, Alan?”
My eyes went wide, and my mouth fell open in time to the beat pulsing from my heart. I cleared my throat, then asked, just to be certain, “You really don’t want me for my gift?”
The boy gave a firm nod, his eyes still fixed on the Master. He assured me otherwise, only to add, “However, I’ll use all the tools at my disposal when the situation calls for it.”
I exclaimed that he was no better than the Master, which drew a light laugh from the woman in question. She remarked, “You have quite the way with words. I’d heard that a man of high status was performing an inspection of the region, and I figured he’d be making his way to these parts soon...but for all the talk I’d heard of your brilliance, you’re awfully wet behind the ears. Gossip is best taken with a pinch of salt, I suppose.”
The boy named Chris snorted and shot back, “Might as well embrace naivete while I’m the right age for it. And if I may add, Master of Luwak Street, didn’t you sit back and let me interfere because, deep down, you were just as angry? Despite constantly forcing their dirty work onto you, the mayor and union president have always intended to cut you off at the drop of a hat. Their recent foray into selling orphans abroad finally crossed a line for you, seeing as you hail from a similar background.”
This series of shocking reveals left me gawking at the Master. The harbor was filled with orphans. It was a year-round port of call for foreign merchant ships; there was no shortage of women providing men physical comfort. It wasn’t unusual to come across children who didn’t know their fathers, or even babies left on orphanage steps.
Said orphanages provided a decent environment, thanks to the regional lord’s preoccupation with appearances. Still, the children who came out of them rarely got ahead in life—especially in this city. One’s birth, upbringing, family circumstances, and lineage all dictated how others viewed them. Any attempts to rise to the top would be thwarted by forces above.
For the first time, irritation seeped into the Master’s tone. It was a more emotional version of her natural voice. “Do you mean to preach from on high, O Exalted One, that a person’s upbringing doesn’t determine their life? Or are you planning to adopt all the orphans in town? Hah! If you intend to rule our kingdom with such naive idealism, our downfall can’t be far off.” She scoffed that she’d better make arrangements to flee the country, but the boy wasn’t fazed.
He replied, “A person’s upbringing does determine their life.” Despite the anger burning in the Master’s eyes, he nonchalantly—and as haughtily as ever—went on, “There’s no point in denying that I was born into privilege and that you were born clawing your way through the mud. Those are the facts. I am the most desired, venerated, and blessed person in the kingdom, who was brought up with the utmost love and care and never once wanted for anything. Tough luck.”
Everyone was taken aback by his shameless boasting about his heritage and upbringing. That went for me, the Master, and the spiky-haired boy alike.
The next snort he gave was not one of complacency or contempt, but one that held a glimpse of a true ruler in it. “Master of Luwak Street. Alan. The reason you two and I are standing face-to-face, negotiating, lies in your own gifts and the skills you have cultivated. What other explanation is there?”
It was because I’d worked hard to survive that I was standing here now. It was because the Master had risen in the ranks despite her upbringing that she was standing here now. Our own efforts were what had brought us to this man.
I couldn’t hold back an explosion of laughter.
In the end, it was the same sentiment phrased a different way. Either a person’s upbringing didn’t determine their life, or it did. One could change their stance, but it would only lead them round and round in circles. Ultimately, it all came back to the same root: how did you see the other person?
As I laughed, I remembered an old story I’d heard—about a sound that no one had ever heard before. Its nature varied from person to person, but it would become clear upon meeting the one it belonged to. It was a compass. Even this man had a sound that reverberated from his heart. For some, it was a rousing battle hymn. For others, it was a strong, furtive rhythm that pulsed from the silent depths of the earth. Sometimes, it could even sound like the roar of a raging sea.
And as for the sound I’d heard inside myself...
Gramps, I thought as I wiped away the tears that had started to fall for reasons I didn’t understand. He was the old man on the boat, the only one there who had ever cared about me. I hadn’t meant to drag him into my revenge. I’m sorry, gramps. All I wanted was to be free. I wanted to see the wider world you’d told me about in the stories.
Plus, I’d wanted to meet that one special person—my heart’s compass. The one who played the beat I was willing to stake my life on.
After wiping my cheeks, I turned to look at Prince Chris and the spiky-haired boy standing in front of him. I put my feelings of heartfelt acceptance into words. “‘Who does he think he is?’ You said it.”
His goal wasn’t to lecture us and impose his ideals upon us, but to step out of his own world and confront us head-on. He subscribed to the belief that he could change the world around him by taking action. That was why he’d set his sights on the Master and offered her a deal—not the mayor of the town, who worked under the duke, and not the Maritime Merchants’ Guild, which only cared about turning a profit.
I couldn’t stop the delight welling up in my breast. I trusted this man. Even orphans like us would be safe in his hands. It was possible to change the world through his methods. If I stayed with him, my life would no doubt be filled with all the excitement and swashbuckling of a stormy sea—but it would definitely be fun.
“Lord Chris. I, Alan, hereby vow to follow you. I don’t mind being collared if you’re the one placing it around my neck. I’m sure it would be lighter and more liberating than anything anyone else could put on me. I leave my gift—my all—in your hands.”
Chris grinned at my declaration, while the Master softly sighed. Her voice held the note of consent that came with a full acceptance of the circumstances, signifying that the matter was settled. In the midst of the action unfolding around me, I threw myself into a brand new world, accompanied only by the lute I’d refused to relinquish.
The next day was the Boat Festival. In the presence of the mayor and the president of the Maritime Merchants’ Guild, Randy and I watched from the edge of the VIP seats as a myriad of ships took to the seas all at once. The owner of those clear blue eyes no longer wore a disguise, his dazzling golden hair revealed for all to see.
He was the future king of our kingdom—Christopher, His Highness the Crown Prince. And I was present as one of his attendants.
With an entity as dazzling as the big blue ocean in my sights, I silently murmured, I found him, gramps. My own personal compass. A sound that echoes across an endless clear blue sky—one that even I don’t know if I could play. My one and only master.