«We’ve never been so far from the castle.» said Whir, looking up to the sky.

«At least, not that I remember» I answered while I was finishing to stack dinner’s plates.

«Right, I always forget that you come from another reign… Do you remember something from when you were a baby?»

«Not much, some sensations, emotions… Nothing nice… I prefer to bury them under new memories.»

«You know, my mother loved to travel, at least that’s what everyone says. She always wanted to take me to visit other reigns but then the disease took over… Father was always busy, even before you arrived, and he never had time to travel, unless it was for an “Official King Duty”. So I never left Rangi.»

«Master Whiriwhiri and master Athuna, please, don’t stay up late. We have a long journey ahead and you will need all the energy you can get.» said Tuhinga getting ready to go to  bed in his tent.

«You worry too much! WE are still young, we have lots of energy!» said Whir jokingly.

I saw the old man shaking his head, he did that often, but how could I blame him? Whir had a lot of fun teasing him, joking about his age. Tuhinga was an amazing warlord, the King talked a lot about his incredible accomplishments. He led the army for years, since he was young, when Whir’s grandfather, the old king, was still on the throne. And now he has given way to young people, becoming the prince’s guard. In his mind this was probably a “well-deserved retirement”, the time in his life to finally “rest”. But the truth is that he spent his days running after my brother, solving all the troubles he caused. Despite that, they probably loved each other.

«What do you think about the Oldman?» asked Whir.

«I’m glad he came with us. The King trusts his judgment, perhaps more than he trusts that of his children. How to blame him?»  I said glaring at Whir. Then I continued «Say what you want brother, but we couldn’t have started this journey by ourselves. Anyway, he’s not the one who worries me. Is our other companion, the coachman, that worries me. I don’t like him at all. He gives me chills and I still haven’t seen his face! He’s always wearing that hood up to his eyes… I don’t trust him…»

«You don’t trust him?» said the prince turning around to get a good look at our guide. He was sitting on an old stump next to the horses. It seemed like he was talking to them. He was always wearing a long coat, covering him from head to toes. I always wondered what he had to hide. And he almost never talked, only to give orders to the horses or to warn us it was time to leave. Yet there was something hypnotic in his voice. I’m sure that whatever he asked we would have satisfied him. At least I would have, he was more intimidating than the King when he was furious with us.

«A weird guy, don’ t you think?» went on to my brother «I saw him talking with Father before we left. I think they know each other. Don’t know how. Father doesn't know anyone but his advisers, the guards and the emissaries from other kingdoms. I think there is much more than what our eyes show to us. I’m curious to discover who he really is.»

«Not me! What I see is more than enough to convince me that I don’t want to have anything to do with that guy…»

Whir had already lost interest in what we were talking about and he went back to look at the sky. I saw him lost in the stars above us. That look was incredible, it seemed like he could go beyond what there was to see. Like he was able to catch an invisible force in everything he looked at, like he was able to read what was really essential in what he was observing. This relaxed me, I knew that if he was not worried neither should I.

«What do you see?» I asked.

«Why? Don’t you see it too?»

«Only the sky»

«”Only” the sky? That’s much more, little brother» said Whir firmly «We still are in Rawhiti but every step gets us far and far away from home, more than we ever had been. We will visit new cities, we will travel through forests, mountains, rivers, we will meet people from every place of Whenua. We will discover new scents, esotic flavors and we will listen to music that our ears can’t even imagine yet. Nevertheless…»

«Nevertheless?»

«Nevertheless the sky will still be the sky. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, how far from home or what you’re feeling at that moment. If you raise your eyes to the stars, the sky will be there, always the same. It covers and gathers us like if we are always together. He connects us all. I feel like every time I’m feeling nostalgic, I can always look up and I will be there, Home, with Father… and Mother.»

«...»

«Huna»

«yes?»

«What do you expect from this journey?»

«I don’t know…»

«I want to meet new people from other reigns. I’m curious to know how different we are from each other, but even more I want to know how similar we are.»

«Do you think that we will meet… someone from my country?»

«Sure»

«I don’t know if I want to meet them… what if I discover they’re just horrible people? What if I discover that evil and cruel people's blood runs in my veins?»

«Only your blood runs through your veins, no one else’s»

«...»

«Don’t worry little brother, if they’re something like you they will not be so bad… maybe a little bit ugly and smelly, but I’m used to it now!»

«Ha… Ha... Ha... You should be a jester not a prince…»

«It’s late, I’m going to bed» I said to Whir while, yawning, I got up walking toward the tent.

«Ok, I’ll be there in a second» he said. And he kept watching the stars.