The cafe was Ishaan's idea. Of course it was.
From there, the four of them settled in, ordering something, the initial awkwardness melting.
"So if you don't mind me asking, what were you two doing in that sketch alley?" Ishaan asked as he sipped his vanilla strawberry milkshake.
"Like it's difficult to think you were lost? Like you are locals, and I doubt you just had an impulse to go into that kind of alley."
"Well, the truth was we were trying to locate a cafe supposedly our late grandmother used to visit whenever she wanted to escape from everything." Isabella started with a tint of sadness.
"True, she told us about that place, and as kids, we once visited it, but it had been a long time, so we decided to revisit it. Nothing special, but then we got ambushed and well, Estella saying this with a nervous giggle.
"Ahhhh.. I see," said Ishaan.
…
"Well, besides your misadventures, if you don't mind, I was curious about something and thought you guys might be able to help ?" Aaron stepped in before the situation got a bit awkward.
Isabella was caught off guard, "Do tell"
"So this Reveal festival. I am curious, as it seems to be a big occasion around here, so I was just curious about what it is?" Aaron asked in a calm, even demeanour, sipping his hot chocolate as if he were in a client meeting.
"To put it into simple words, I assume you are aware that we are the last monarchies to exist, right ?" Isabella asked curiously.
"Yes"
"Well, it is like an age-old tradition that the identity of the heir/heirs to the throne be hidden from the public?" Estella added.
"Why hide the identity?" Ishaan asked curiously
"Well, to say the princess till the age of 14 supposedly are taught in the palace before they undergo the trial of rites?" Estella added
"Ohhh?? Seems fancy, what is it about?" Aaron asked, with a tint of curiosity about how she said that.
"It is common knowledge here, you see, when the heir turns 14, they live among the commoners till they turn 17", Isabella added, matching Aaron's gaze.
"Why, though? Is it just for them to enjoy life as commoners?" Ishaan asked with a puzzled look as he stuffed himself with a pattie.
"Yes... and no, it basically is believed here that for a ruler to rule his people, he must experience their plight first hand," Estella added, chuckling at Ishaan's stuffed face.
"Interesting… so I suppose the reveal is when they turn 17. So this entire reveal festival ?" Aaron remarked.
"Yes, but it's a highly domestic matter; only the citizens, foreign dignitaries, and very few rare guests get to enjoy this opportunity", replied Isabella as she sipped her coffee.
"It's a two-day-long festival, one day for the heir/heirs to enjoy their last festival before they assume the throne", Estella chimed in.
"But well, I am confused, if it's supposed to stay within the domestic territory, then why invite guests, or even if you invite some, will they click pictures, so doesn't that put this whole thing off base?" Ishaan asks with genuine concern.
"Well, it's no bother, you see, we have a country-wide signal launched during that time which blocks all electronic devices, making them invalid, and the foreigners have to swear an oath of secrecy before they leave. And about the visitors, it's because…" Estella was cut mid-sentence.
"It is not known why it is done, supposedly a secret rule or something", Isabella finished it.
Aaron and Ishaan found this abrupt pause a bit out of the ordinary but decided to overlook it.
As they proceeded with their conversations, the sun started to set, and the group decided to walk through the marketplace before they departed.
"Hey," Aaron said quietly as they walked, "the way they speak — have you noticed?"
"Noticed what?"
"Nothing. Forget it."
"ISHAAANNN COME LOOK AT THIS", Estella shouted down a few stalls
"COMING", Ishaan ran.
Aaron watched Ishaan go and felt something that might have been relief.
"They seemed to have quite close, don't they?" Isabella hushed near Aaron.
Aaron was caught off guard, "Don't scare me like that, geez"
"Sorry, but you were so lost in thought that I just had to." Isabella giggled as Aaron jumped off like a grasshopper.
"Anyways, I noticed you don't talk a lot?"
"Well, call it social anxiety." Aaron stumbled as he spoke. "It's not that I don't want to talk, but I just can't seem to find the right words and tend to come into awkward pauses"
"Ahh, I see, but I did notice you observing us closely? Maybe a habit from your drawing," Isabella nonchalantly spoke
"Ahh..sorry about tha…wait, how did you know I draw?"Aaron asked out of curiosity.
"You are not the only one with keen eyes, you know", Isabella pointed out at his hand, in which he worked a hand glove worn by those who do graphite sketching.
"Ohh.. I see"
"So, I was curious what you two were doing alone on the streets, like you must have come with parents ?" Isabella curiously asked
"Well, yes, but they got travel sick and will take a few days to recover", Aaron replied.
"May even take them till the festivities to recover, so we were just looking around"
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Down the market, Estella had dragged Ishaan into what appeared to be a haggling war with a vendor over something neither of them probably needed. Ishaan was gesturing wildly. The vendor looked simultaneously exhausted and entertained. Estella looked like she was winning.
"He's always like that?" Isabella asked.
"Since birth, I think," Aaron said. "The doctors were concerned."
Isabella laughed — not the polite kind. The real kind slightly surprised her. Aaron looked at the ground like he hadn't meant to be funny.
They watched Ishaan hold up whatever he'd bought with the pride of someone who had just won a war. Estella applauded. An elderly woman nearby also applauded, apparently just caught up in the moment.
"She's always like that, too," Isabella said quietly. Almost to herself.
Aaron glanced at her. There was something in her voice — not sad exactly. Just the specific kind of fond that comes with having watched someone you love be completely, unapologetically themselves for years and being grateful for it.
He understood that feeling. He just didn't say so.
"Your parents," Isabella said, turning back to him. "Will they be alright?"
"They'll be fine. Just need a few days horizontal." Aaron paused. "It happens every time we travel. My mother insists on coming anyway. My father insists on pretending he's fine until he isn't."
"Sounds familiar," Isabella said, with a small smile that suggested a story she wasn't telling.
Aaron noticed. Filed it away next to the polished speech and the cut-off sentence about the visitors. Said nothing.
The market hummed around them. Somewhere ahead, Ishaan's voice rose above the crowd — "BRO AARON LOOK AT THIS" — and then apparently thought better of interrupting because it didn't come again.
"So you have a few days," Isabella said. "Before the festival starts."
"A few days, yes."
"And no one to show you around."
"Our usual strategy is to get lost and call it exploration," Aaron said. "Ishaan finds it charming. I find it exhausting."
Isabella considered this for a moment. Then —
"We could."
Aaron looked at her.
"Show you around," she clarified. "If you wanted. It's — you helped us today. And you're new. It seems like the least we could do."
Before Aaron could answer — and he genuinely hadn't decided what the answer was — Ishaan materialised from nowhere with Estella in tow, both of them slightly out of breath and carrying something wrapped in paper that smelled extraordinary.
"Okay, so first of all," Ishaan announced, "I found the best thing in this entire city." He held up the paper parcel. "Second of all, are we doing a tour or what? Because Estella just offered and I said obviously yes, and I'm realising I maybe should have checked with you first, but also it's clearly the right call."
Aaron looked at Ishaan. Then at Isabella. Then Estella, who was watching him with the expression of someone who had already decided and was waiting for him to catch up.
"I—" he started.
"Great," Ishaan said. "Settled."
"I hadn't finished."
"You were going to say yes."
Aaron opened his mouth. Closed it.
"...You have no idea what I was going to say."
"Aaron."
"What?"
"Were you going to say no?"
A pause.
"...No."
Ishaan pointed at him. "See."
Isabella was looking at the ground. Her shoulders were shaking slightly. Estella had given up entirely and was just laughing openly.
"Tomorrow morning?" Isabella managed.
"Tomorrow morning," Ishaan confirmed, already eating whatever was in the paper. "This is amazing, by the way, what is this called?"
And just like that, what started as the worst possible detour on an afternoon walk turned into something else entirely.
Neither pair had a word for it yet.
They would, eventually.