I
After leaving his court, Raviex gave no hints as to where he would be as a precaution to prevent any disturbance and interruption during his private moments. If he did not wish to be found, not even the Royal Guards would be able to keep on his tracks. It was natural as he knew the
Right then, he was standing alone, leaning on the rampart securing
How long will my kingdom last?
Raviex’s thoughts sank deeper. He allowed the evening wind to embrace him, soothing his troubled mind. It had been hours since the Imperial Army had left for the
Yet, it all felt so wrong. There were those who dreamt to be a ruler but he, a king-to-be, wanted nothing more than to have a taste of a normal life. He craved to roam the Blessed Land, walk among the people without the identity of the Prince and definitely, without the presence of his overprotective bodyguards. Most of all, he just wanted the privilege of doing things without always having to think so much about duties and responsibilities.
Is it too much of me to ask for?
“My son, one day, my throne will be yours. However, until then, you must learn to fulfil your responsibilities as a prince,” spoke a father’s stern voice to his son.
“Responsibilities…” Twelve-year old Raviex sighed. “Father, what if I do not desire to be king?”
Abruptly, King Levon stood up from his throne chair in fury. Young Raviex who was standing before him knew that he had angered his father with his words but he had to get the message across. He only yearned for his father to understand. For an instant, the father and son fixed their similarly blue eyes on one another.
“You are my only son. Who else could rightly be my successor if it is not you, my flesh and blood, a direct descendant of King Leo Katelion? What of the people who need you when I am gone? Do not let your stubbornness hinder your growth as a wise king!” The King’s voice rose steadily. Queen Seraphina went to her husband from her throne chair to calm him down.
“Please, my King, our child is still young. He does not know of what he speaks of,” she comforted, placing a hand on his arm. She tried to mend the situation before it got worse. She was worried for their relationship. Raviex rarely had the opportunity to spend time with his father as the King himself was mostly occupied by work. Certainly, their bond was fragile. The Prince was more accustomed to his mother for she had brought him up and gave him the care and love a child deserved. Nevertheless, her love was not enough to replace a father’s love.
“Raviex is twelve. He will be stepping into early adulthood next year. I will not tolerate anymore of his childish behaviours, Seraphina,” answered King Levon softly, his temper cooling down slightly at the words of his Queen. He laid his eyes on Raviex again, addressing him.
“I do not want your professors entering my throne room reporting that you have missed classes without permission after this meeting. I want to hear that you have a hundred percent attendance for all your classes and that you have passed the Royal Examinations with flying colours, especially in your sword-fighting exam. You barely passed the last time! You will do well to set a good example for the Kingdom’s children and you will learn to be a selfless king, Raviex, a king who is willing to sacrifice for his people,” demanded King Levon firmly.
Raviex looked up at his father, a man he regarded with high respect, in disbelief. “Sacrifice even his family?” he questioned quietly. He turned around, leaving the King speechless. He left the throne room before his father could stop him.
Suddenly, his anger evaporated as King Levon painfully realized his mistakes. Raviex’s words weighed heavily in his chest, as if judgement was passed on him as a father. He had completely neglected his son after the early years of his birth. He was too occupied imposing on Raviex to be the perfect successor but had forgotten that he was also his son. He had always spoken to Raviex as a king, but never as the father Raviex thought he had.
“What have I done, Seraphina?”
Raviex never really understood the reason why his father loved the people to the extent of putting his family second in his priorities. Perhaps he was beginning to see things from his father’s point of view. Then again, it could only be because he was alone, without a family. As much as he was the Prince of Kingdom Katelion, he was nothing else more than an orphan.
You never ask, father, what of your son who needs you when you are gone…
II
“Brother, I’m home!” called out a girl, sixteen years of age with attractive brownish-red hair tied up into a loose bun. Her sharp and intense chestnut eyes swept across the living room of her brother’s home and saw that it was empty. A mouth-watering aroma, nonetheless, filled the air. She immediately concluded that her sister-in-law was cooking at the back of the cottage.
“Christine, honey, Keith’s still in his lab,” an older female voice answered her call. “I’m in the kitchen. Dinner’s almost ready. Could you go get your brother home on time?”
“I’m on it!” She turned on her heels and stepped back into the open. Her ears caught the evening chatter just as she went outside again. It was loud and buzzing all around.
It was the time when men returned from work and did some exchanging of the day’s experience with one another for self-pleasure. Women were gossiping, talking in shrill voices and hands were waved animatedly. Children were laughing and chasing each other in a game of tag. She loved the villagers of
Christine brushed some dirt off her hunting gloves before taking them off as she walked towards her brother’s laboratory which was only a few minutes walk away. She easily inserted her them into the pouch hanging from her waist belt. Just before coming to the door, she let down her hair from her bun, which fell above her waist. She then resumed tying her long auburn hair into a high ponytail, just the way she liked it with her blue satin ribbon.
Knocking on the door, she allowed herself to enter and found Keith watching a screen attentively, absolutely ignorant to the knockings. Like every other buildings in
Christine stood over Keith’s shoulder to take a look at what he was so enthralled about. Her eyes flickered in curiosity. The video taken from a satellite angle revealed a huge army of airborne fighters and war crafts leaving the
“Are they having a drill?” asked Christine sceptically, raising an eyebrow.
“Oddly, no, the army left seven hours ago, give or take, and never returned. You don’t need to be a soldier to know that a drill won’t take that long,” Keith disagreed, shaking his head. Greetings between the siblings were well forgotten.
The girl hit the pause button and peered closely at the screen. She typed in the command for a hundred times zoom-in on a specific part of the frozen picture. There, displayed before her, was a red flag with the code of arms which has a golden lion as its focus.
“That’s the crest for the Imperial Army!” exclaimed Christine. “What are they doing leaving
“Well, that’s the troubling part. There’s nothing up north, yet, apparently, that’s where the Army is heading,” said Keith. He cleared his throat and continued, “The strangest fact for the day, believe it or not, is that the satellites were locked from the Kingdom. We’re lucky we tapped into the satellites through a different source or we wouldn’t be analyzing these videos too.”
“Are you telling me the Kingdom denied all access for the usage of the satellites?” she blurted incredulously. “But that would be ridiculous. They’re jeopardizing the Kingdom’s security on a very serious term.”
He gave her a quick amused glance. “Oh, trust me. The guys on the
Christine knew he was proud of himself for having to be able to manipulate the satellites when no one could. Keith was a brilliant man; even the smartest man on the
Keith stared at the screen now with a worried and uneasy expression on his face. “Christine, I know you’ve just returned with your hunting squad but… I need you to prepare a fresh squad for patrol tonight. I have a feeling something is hiding behind the shadows of confusion.”
Her mood quickly altered. She resented what she was asked to carry out. She became silent and refused to respond to his order. Keith was not upset by Christine’s abrupt coldness towards him for he understood clearly of her actions. He took her hand into his as he ran through his mind for words to calm her.
“Christine…” he started but was cut off by his younger sister without warning as she let out her fume.
“Brother, you promised that we won’t interfere in any business that concerns the Kingdom, especially one that involves the
The elder sibling gave a small chuckle and patted her hand softly. The patting gesture reminded Christine a lot of their late father who, too, used to do the similar action to comfort and assure her when she was either afraid or simply being stubborn. Keith had picked up the habit since their father’s death. At times, she felt fortunate to have such a responsible brother like him. Not only did he take up the role as a brother, he had to compensate for the loss of their parents by acting as her guardian.
“My dear Christine, I am protecting Mabluku this way. We must ensure that throughout the night, nothing could endanger the villagers. My instincts might be wrong but prevention is always better than the cure itself. I do not ask you to fight for the Kingdom herself. All I ask of you is to keep us save,” he explained. Keith took another look at the screen and then at her. “You are chosen by the god of Righteousness, Calith, himself. You are a protector, a Yamist.”
Christine’s eyes saddened and portrayed deep sorrow and despair at his last few words.
“I… am a protector, a Yamist.”
The girl stirred as she felt a thick material brushed against her skin. She tugged lightly on it until it came into her mind that someone had placed it over her. A gush of hope and anticipation blew her awake.
“Raviex!” she gasped, opening her eyes only to find a Cerulean-haired guy half-kneeling before her, surprised and embarrassed by her jolt of movement. She winced at her mistake and apologized to him for it. The other merely smiled sheepishly. “What are you doing here, Erik?” she added.
“You’re not the only one who’s worried about Raviex, Kairalina. Were you not here to wait on him?” Erik asked the obvious, trying to keep the conversation going, also to escape an awkward feeling growing in him.
Kairalina nodded twice. There was a distant look in her hazel eyes as her thoughts wandered off to Raviex. Earlier in the day, she had given full effort to trail him but she was unable to keep up. He was someone whom she held special feelings for. However, it was undeniable that every time he disappeared into nowhere, she was frustrated. Not to mention the feeling of disappointment and hurt she experienced. They were in a special relationship for two years already. Still, somehow, she sensed that he had not wholly submitted to her.
She breathed out purposefully, defeated. “Both of us know how stubborn Raviex can be. I guess it’s pointless of me waiting here.” Kairalina let the blanket slip off her, exposing her bare shoulders, as she came to her feet. Her long cherry-blossom pink dress fell right above her sandals; the dress carefully outlined her curvaceous body. “He will return only when he wishes to,” she continued, heading for the bed chamber’s pair of doors.
Erik blinked absent-mindedly and chided himself for zoning out, mesmerized by her feminine beauty, which, in his opinion, was as close to perfection as he could possibly imagine, like how the stars were described as the closest to the heavens. He went ahead of her and courteously opened the doors for her. “May I have the honour of walking this fair lady home?” he requested teasingly, slightly bowing while disguising his voice in a deep tone with a thick accent.
The eighteen-year-old girl giggled and accepted his chivalry lightly. She walked out of the bedchamber with him by her side. As they disappeared round the corner of the hallway, a new pair of footsteps was heard. It stopped in front of the doors leading to the Prince’s private chamber.
Raviex opened the doors and took a stepped in. his eyes instantly caught the sight of a milky-coloured cotton blanket, half fallen off the day-bed. “Kairalina,” he muttered knowingly to himself. She was here. His chamber was filled with her sweet, indulging scent. Though perhaps, it was better that she was gone. Company was not what he needed right then.
Exhaustion caught up with him. He waved Kairalina out of his mind, resting his tired body on his illogically huge bed. He did not bother to have a change of clothes, nor pull the drapes of curtains around his bed. A good night sleep was all he needed, and a piece of thought that tomorrow would be a brighter day.
The time was 2117 hours.
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