A breeze rolled through the tranquil haven of nature that lay amidst the bustle and noise of Tiānshì, carefully placed wards quieting the buzz of the crowds and the sounds of men and women at work. Sénasi Gardens were a beautiful retreat of green grass and pink cherry blossom, peppered with brightly coloured flowers and trickling streams that gave them an almost meditative atmosphere as you progressed further in, away from the busy streets. A few small blossom petals drifted on the wind to settle amidst the lilies on the water of the stream that Mei was standing over, leaning on the red-painted wooden rail of an arched footbridge. Dressed all in pinks and purples, the pretty young woman was almost camouflaged amongst the summery trees of the gardens.
She watched the petals drift slowly out of sight beneath the bridge, carried upon the gentle current, with her chin resting on her palm. It was easy to come close to forgetting you were in a city here, most of the time, with the peaceful quiet. This particular section of the gardens, however, had a pointed reminder of its location: a short distance away, the natural scenery was abruptly interrupted by a sheer stone wall topped with spikes. The wall around the Imperial Palace and the section of the Sénasi Gardens claimed by the royal family.
Mei's eyes wandered over the wall briefly, examining the thick metal gate at the end of the path at its base, passing over the young man perched precariously on its top and down to...
Waaait a second.
The young woman gasped in surprise as she registered the figure on the top of the wall to the palace, straightening and staring up at him with wide eyes. She stepped forwards off the footbridge and approached the wall. "Excuse me! Hey! Get down from there, if the guards see you, you'll be in big trouble!"
In response, the boyish man looked down at her with apparent amusement, laughing. Mei fumed, scowling at him, "I'm serious! They'll have your head for trying to break into the palace, or they'll toss you in jail, or-"
"Calm down!" The boy interrupted, carefully swinging his legs around to dangle them over the edge towards her. "Somehow I don't think they'll mind that much that I'm sitting on my own wall."
Mei blinked up at him with confusion for several long moments as the cogs slowly turned in her head, until finally she gasped in realisation, blushing a furious red. "Oh! I- your majesty, I didn't- I thought-" she stammered.
Grinning, Prince Kenji waved a hand at her dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I don't exactly look the part, I know." And indeed, in contrast to the extravagant traditional garb that the royal family usually wore in public, Kenji's garb was far more basic and practical, though obviously of fine make. He wouldn't have looked out of place just wandering the streets of any old town on the Island. "What's your name?" he asked.
Gathering her etiquette enough to finally slip into a deep bow, Mei took a moment to try and compose herself before speaking. "Cai, my Prince, Cai Mei."
Kenji raised an eyebrow, "Are you Minister Huong's daughter, by any chance?"
"Yes, my Prince. First Minister Cai is my father." Mei replied.
The prince smiled, "I thought so. I've seen you around the palace before, haven't I? When we were younger?"
Mei nodded her head, "Yes, my Prince. There were a few occasions when we interacted as children, that I remember."
"You can call me Kenji, if you want." Kenji said with a grin, "I get enough 'my Prince' from the servants. And do look at me, I'm not going to be offended if you don't stare at the ground."
Taken aback, Mei glanced hurriedly up at the younger man. "I- yes, my P- I mean, yes, Prince Kenji."
Kenji leaned his cheek on his palm, "Close enough, I suppose, but you can drop the honorific. Can I call you Mei?"
"O- of course, P- Kenji."
"There we go, got there in the end. I seem to remember us having this conversation when we were kids, too, and it was equally difficult to persuade you. It must have been something like a dozen years ago, when I was tiny and ridiculous. Now I'm all grown up and ridiculous, instead." Kenji chuckled.
Like a deer in headlights, Mei simply nodded. She did remember playing with the prince when she was eleven and he six, whilst her father conversed with the Emperor of the time and her mother sat with the Empress consort. Back then it had seemed less bizarre, and she had referred to the royal children - she recalled the younger princess being there too - by title only because she had been taught to. But now? Despite her relatively high station, Mei hadn't involved herself enough in hob-knobbing with the social elite to know what to do. The prince was sitting on top of a wall and talking to her like they were old friends, instead of having only met a few times before so many years ago. Mother had never taught her anything she could use here!