Emptiness

Chapter 11

Vabaaga country

Densta State:

Lehan…..

Lehan Raaga…

The eldest son of Hagen Raaga.

If it were any other royal family, he wouldn’t have to worry about his position as usually, the eldest gets the Crown.

Being born as the eldest was a boon in any royal family.

But it was a curse in the Raagas family.

The eldest of Raagas always has to worry about whether they will get the Crown in the future.

Eighty percent of the time, the eldest of the Raagas were crowned since they always end up with strong World Synch if one bothered to look about the history of the Raagas family.

But the twenty percent where siblings of the eldest ruled were what bothered Lehan.

People of other countries don’t understand how the World Synch works, so they would find it odd that the eldest didn’t get crowned.

They will see how Lehan wasn’t capable if he didn’t get the title of the Crown Prince in the future, which was what it was going to be if things went like how they are now.

He had gone to Prince Nolen Ura’s Crown Prince ceremony last month.

It was grand and beautiful, the way people of Zeta adored their Crown Prince and the way they chanted his name. The people of Zeta believed in their Prince Nolen Ura.

.It was amazing to see the way the people of Zeta respected their Crown Prince Nolen Ura, and Lehan knew Prince Nolen worked hard for it. They weren’t close friends, but that doesn’t mean Prince Nolen and Lehan weren’t good acquaintances.

Lehan knew how much Nolen’s father, Sian Ura’s death weighed on Prince Nolen.

Prince Nolen worked harder than many of them since he knew the responsibility on his shoulders.

Lehan had personally seen how Prince Nolen had helped the villages that got flooded during rainy seasons in Zeta.

So, the admiration was well deserved toward Prince Nolen Ura.

Prince Nolen was officially crowned as the Crown Prince earlier. Usually, the crown Prince ceremony only happens when the heir reaches the age of sixteen or eighteen. But Prince Nolen was crowned young as they were in desperate need of authority. That was why he was crowned officially earlier than usual.

Lehan can see that Prince Nolen was being forced to grow up.

That was why Lehan was friendly towards Prince Nolen and hoped that he would understand how it felt like to be the eldest, but Prince Nolen didn’t want to be closer friends with Lehan.

Lehan didn’t mind it, though, since he wasn’t obsessed with Prince Nolen Ura like his sister, Amy Raaga.

Lehan chuckled, remembering his sister Amy trying hard to be a perfect girl for her mother yet, sometimes she cannot control the way her expression changes, like how her eyes sparkle whenever Lehan buys her things from the places he visits. He tries to be kind to her even though Amy’s Egav is weak.

Lehan knew Amy was his step-sister, yet he never hated his half-siblings.

There was a cold war going on between their mothers, but Lehan had never cared as the children of Hagen Raaga grew in the same Harem palace and tried to look out for each other.

So, Amy was his sister no matter if they had different mothers.

Lehan’s best friend was Hedek Raaga, though.

Lehan and Hedek’s mothers were twins and had married the same man, their father, Hagen Raaga.

So, Lehan and Hedek grew up together and were best of friends since they were both born in the same month, just a few days apart.

Lehan liked Hedek, as he had a very calming presence to him, unlike other people in Lehan’s life. Even the Queen of Vabaaga, Lehan’s mother, was tiring to be around.

Hedek and Zed Raaga were the only people he loved to be around.

Lehan’s mother, the Queen, had a son just a year after Lehan was born, and that was his brother Zed.

The three of them were inseparable and looked out for each other, more than his other siblings.

They did things together most of the time, from practicing their Egav to learning how to swim.

Lehan’s life would have been easy if only his third younger brother weren’t born in Vabeo.

The person Lehan hates above everyone.

Lehan liked every half-sibling of his as they all are a family together and always looked out for each of them, except the fourth child of their father, Ziyou Raaga.

Ziyou Raaga….

He hated him.

Lehan hated Ziyou very much.

Ziyou always made things difficult for Lehan.

Lehan spends half the day training and half the day, taking over many tasks and responsibilities to please his father so that he would notice Lehan.

But it is not enough.

It is never enough…

No matter what Lehan does, no matter how much time he spends with World Synch, he always was nothing compared to Ziyou in his father’s eyes.

Father doesn’t know that Lehan has already taken over the Crown Prince’s duties and looked over everything from the economy to the training of the soldiers in the castle.

Lehan accompanies the minister in charge and the General of Vabaaga most of the time to look and learn the responsibilities. He spends a lot of time in learning the duties of a Prince and trying to aid the ministers in any way possible so that at least the ministers will support him when it comes to picking the Crown Prince in a few years.

Hedek and Zed sometimes tag along with him, but they don’t dedicate themselves to the responsibilities as Lehan does.

What all Lehan does!

Yet, Lehan never gets appreciated by his father or his mother.

His father was too busy with his duties of a King and Ziyou, while his mother only finds fault in Lehan as he could not get the attention of the King.

Mother wants him to be the future King of Vabbaga. And for that, he has to be the Crown Prince of Vabbaga first.

Lehan knew his World Synch was stronger than his other siblings, even Hedek and Zed. But it was nowhere compared to the World Synch of Ziyou.

Lehan hated that he was being pushed away just because his World Synch wasn’t enough.

None appreciated him, not even his mother. All she cared about was Lehan getting approved by Hagen Raaga. And his father favored Ziyou above all, even Lehan, his father’s firstborn.

But, look at what Ziyou does!

Ziyou never gets involved with politics, and he never trains as hard as Lehan does. Ziyou never interacts with the ministers, nor does he care about what happens in the castle. All he does is wander around the villages nearby and do his own things in his own way, taking advantage of their father’s favor.

Ziyou even gets to skip the classes, Lehan tries very hard to excel at, yet Ziyou comes first in everything, and their father only wants results, not anything else.

Lehan sighed, thinking about how hard and competitive life has become even at the age of thirteen.

He didn’t know when life would become good for him, and he wondered whether life would even become good at one point in the future.

Lehan closed his eyes, praying for a good future in which he becomes the King and being loved and appreciated by his parents.

Lehan opened his eyes and bowed low at his ancestor’s statue.

It was a small temple in the village near the forbidden forest, where not many ventured in since it was very close to the forbidden forest. It was forbidden to enter the forest as there were many dangerous creatures lurking in.

The forest is miles away from the village, so Lehan visited it, wanting to visit his ancestor’s statue, where the people treated it like a temple. Lehan heard about it during his travels and the sad state of it, so he had decided to visit the temple. He had ordered the servants to clean the temple yesterday, seeing the state it was in.

Today, after finishing breakfast, he decided to visit the temple and pay his respects before he began the journey to the capital city of Vabaaga.

Lehan hadn’t been feeling well in the capital city and had decided to take a tour all over the country where people would get used to his presence and notice him that he was the eldest Raaga. It was his mother’s idea since Ziyou’s popularity was reaching to a new level.

It had been evident during the crowning ceremony.

Lehan’s blood boiled, remembering the way the ceremony went.

The chants of Snake Prince were deafening.

Lehan knew it had startled even his father, Hagen Raaga, of how much the Vabaaga’s people admired and loved Ziyou.

And, the snakes….

God! Nothing went simple whenever Ziyou was present.

Why?

Why do things only go Ziyou’s way?

What is it Ziyou has that Lehan doesn’t?

Even the Crown of the ancestor Lehan respects a lot went to Ziyou when they were letting a crown pick them in the crown room.

Bayron Raaga...

The one person Lehan admired a lot, more than his father.

The one who developed the World Synch to a new level.

The greatest of the Raagas.

The one who found the Vabaaga country as it is now.

Lehan wanted to be like him one day, where he would be respected by Vabaaga’s people and his name forever etched in history.

Lehan had been envious and disappointed that even the Crown of the person he admires chose Ziyou of all people.

And the nerve of Ziyou to ignore the crown and choose some simple snake design. If the crown had chosen Lehan, he would have worn it, for it was the most honorable thing.

But, Ziyou never does know how to respect things, yet people favor him so much.

Lehan had grown to hate the snakes with how they too favor Ziyou of all people.

That was why Lehan had ignored the Goddess of snake, Uruni temple and had come to pay his respect to Bayron Raaga’s statue.

He bowed one last time, closing his eyes and wishing for his ancestor to bless him.

The air against his hair felt like a blessing to him, and he opened his eyes, exiting the small temple where his Knights and guards waited outside for him.

He moved towards his carriage nearby, wondering why the temple had been abandoned like this.

Things weren’t like these years before.

What had changed?

Bayron Raaga was an ancestor whom the people of Vabaaga worshiped enough that they had built many temples all over the Vabaaga for him.

He climbed into the carriage and sat, ordering the guards to move towards the Governor of Densta’s Mansion where he had been staying for the past few days, trying to visit the towns and villages of Densta.

He leaned against the seat while pondering on the reason behind it.

There wasn’t just this temple that was abandoned. All over Vabaaga, the temples of Bayron Raaga were growing less popular and instead, Goddess Uruni’s temples were gaining popularity.

People were beginning to pray for the Goddess Uruni, the snake goddess who was long forgotten years before.

Lehan’s eyes widened, realizing the reason behind it.

Ziyou Raaga….

Ziyou ever visited only one temple willingly.

Goddess Uruni.

Did the people visit Goddess Uruni’s temple just because Ziyou visits it?

It can’t be….

Were people this influenced by Ziyou?

No…

It was just a theory. Lehan fooled himself and opened the window of the carriage, and looked outside, trying to distract himself.

Densta state was amazing to see as it was full of forests and greeneries. Not much development happened in this area as the state had forbidden forest within it, and not many were fond of the forbidden forest as those who entered never returned back.

Even though Densta state was near the capital state of Vabaaga, Berca, where capital city Varog is, this Densta state wasn’t preferred by many.

It was forbidden by the law even to enter it. So, people avoid this state of Vabaaga.

That was why he had decided to visit different states, other than the state, Berca, where their capital city Varog and castle is since all the people in the central part of Vabaaga cared about was Ziyou Raaga.

Like always, his mind went back to Ziyou again.

But he cannot fault his mind.

Lehan thought he would create people dedicated to him if he ventured to where not many officials visit.

But imagine his surprise where the people in Densta state, even the ones who were in the villages, knew about Ziyou Raaga and spoke highly of him.

Lehan had gritted his teeth and politely smiled at the people who crowded near his carriage, only to ask about his brother, Ziyou.

Ziyou…

Ziyou…

Ziyou…

Lehan hated him…

All he heard anywhere nowadays was Ziyou Raaga and how great he was.

He had asked the Governor of the Densta state about Ziyou since how the people here got familiarized with Ziyou.

The Governor had looked at him in surprise and asked why Lehan didn’t know that Prince Ziyou visits Densta state a lot.

It had been a surprise for Lehan to know how brother Ziyou didn’t just wander around, ignoring his duties in the capital city. Ziyou had thought of things earlier and had already created a base for himself in here.

Ziyou stays only a few days in the castle and disappears to God knows where or that was what they had been thinking. They didn’t know why Ziyou hated the castle life. Their father, too, let him since Ziyou has greater Egav and higher World Synch even without classes.

Ziyou goes to the military town often, and Densta was very near the military town of Vabaaga. None knew that Ziyou had been visiting Densta state and the villages nearby.

The Governor had said that Densta state often met with snake problems, and it was Ziyou Raaga that had solved the issue by guiding the snakes to the forbidden forest with his Egav. Ziyou Raaas didn’t harm any of the snakes, and he also saved many of the people’s lives in the Densta state, earning everyone’s respect.

Lehan hadn’t known anything about it.

Lehan always thought Ziyou was ignorant of the politics but looking at his actions dictated something else.

Ziyou has created a place for himself in the hearts of the Vabaaga people, even famous in the border villages, which were all far away from the capital state Berca.

He was friends with Prince Nolen Ura of Zeta country, the greatest ally of Vabaaga, just like other Raaga siblings.

But, Prince Nolen favored Ziyou above all. In fact, if Ziyou were present, Prince Nolen wouldn’t look at any other Raaga’s children. Ziyou had connections even at this age.

He had already gone to Jour’s Harkon country, another ally of Vabaaga when he was seven and had learnt the basics of the fire element. He was friendly with the Jour royal family that ruled Harkon.

Ziyou had most of the things in his hand when Lehan had been too busy in the castle.

He had been ignorant about the rate at which Ziyou’s name was growing in Vabaaga.

Ziyou was growing into a force that no one could ignore in the future.

Lehan was first born, Ziyou was the fourth Prince. If it were any other country, Lehan would obviously become the Crown Prince, but it was Vabaaga, and they were Raagas. The World Synch ruled the Vabaaga.

To top it all of Lehan’s problems, his father, Hagen Raaga, was thinking of giving Lehan a post in the military so he would get to experience the soldier’s life and be capable of leading the army in future.

No...

Lehan didn’t want to know how to lead the army, as there were captains and General who were present for that purpose only. He wanted to stay in the castle and rule the entire Vabaaga. His father’s decision had been worrying to Lehan.

Things were getting out of hand. If he left the castle for a few years to train in the army town, who knows what Ziyou would do in the future. There would be no one to stop what Ziyou was doing if Lehan also left the castle. Even with people trying to bring him down, Ziyou had sown seeds in people’s hearts that will soon turn into trees in the future.

At that rate, Ziyou Raaga will become the Crown Prince Vabaaga, and none can stop him from becoming the future King of Vabaaga.

No….

Lehan wouldn’t let things go on like this.

He refused to let things continue the way they were going.

He had to do something.

He cannot go to the military village and spend years with the army, nor can he let Ziyou become even more popular.

Lehan had to do something.

It was already discussed with his mother anyway.

If Lehan cannot earn his father, Hagen Raaga’s attention and approval, then the only way to become the Crown Prince is to destroy Ziyou or ruin Ziyou’s reputation.

His mother had tried many ways to poison Ziyou even though Lehan had asked her not to try to kill him. Despite many attempts from bribing the servants assigned for Ziyou to hire an assassin to kill Ziyou, he had escaped every attempt on his life.

Something always went wrong during the assassination attempts on Ziyou, as if the entire Vabeo was guarding him.

Lehan had hated Ziyou but never wanted to kill him or something since he was a child just as much as Lehan was.

But, things had changed now.

Mother must have known that going on a tour around Vabaaga must open Lehan’s eyes to the level of threat Ziyou had become.

Lehan was ready to ruin his half-brother, Ziyou Raaga if it meant he would become the Crown Prince of Vabaaga.

~~~~

Do you see how beautiful the roses are now? But, it would be nothing in front of you.

You will never lose me, Rose.

Look at our son, and he is the greatest gift to me.

How did I get this lucky, Rose? I don’t know how it was possible for me to be this fortunate that I’ve got you in my life.

How do you manage to be this beautiful?

I’ve never looked at anyone in my life other than you.

I promise you that I won’t leave you.

I love you, Rose. I always will.

Rose felt the prickling of thorns, and it pulled her mind from depressing thoughts.

You have to be careful, Rose. Just because your name is Rose doesn’t mean the thorns won’t hurt you.

Rose pulled her hands from the rose plant she had been tending to.

How many times I’ve told you to take care of yourself? You never listen to me, Rose.

Rose healed the cut from the thorns with her Egav, straining her core.

It would have been nothing years before as her Egav wasn’t weak like this. She didn’t have a strong Egav, but she had never been this much weak in her entire life.

She didn’t fault her core, for she knew how much her heart was grieving over her husband’s death.

Why?

Why did the cruel death take her husband away, leaving her all alone in this world?

There were five hundred and thirty days in a year.

Fourteen months of a year…

Not a single day goes by without thinking about her husband.

She didn’t know how to live the rest of the days.

It has been four years and some months since her husband died.

Yet, Rose cannot forget him, nor can she let go of her memories of him, which plagued her mind day and night.

Come here, Rose. Smell these flowers. They are amazing. I would like you to make a perfume from this for me.

Rose looked at the flower her husband wanted to make a perfume out of.

Don’t be like this, Rose. You're perfect the way you are.

Rose Miran….

She had been Rose Miran before marriage, belonged to Miran family that had risen in power a few years back, and Rose’s father became the Governor of one of the states in Harkon country, ruled by Jours.

She was the second and last child of her father.

She lived a quiet and happy life in her maiden home.

She was the apple of her father’s eyes.

Her father had adored her and protected her from every threat even though there was none who bothered her.

She had been an average girl, found peace in healing people and gardening flowers.

Her Egav leaned over healing, and she was quite comfortable with it. She went to the villages in search of new flowers and plants, accompanied, of course, by her father’s guards and treated the poor who were not healthy or injured in some way during her travels.

She had earned the nickname of Flower Angel, which was quite ridiculous even now if she thought about it.

This indeed had made her father even more protective of her, and the few suitors she got ran away in fear of her father.

A man in his twenties came to ask for her hand, enduring everything her father put through, to get the chance to court her.

They went on a few dates with chaperones, even though he had hidden his identity to her, daring her to find his real identity, making a game out of it.

She had fallen for that charming man.

She had few crushes as a girl, but she had never gone through such intense range of emotions that he evoked in her heart whenever he came to visit her.

He was daring, straightforward and handsome.

Rose had been puzzled why such a man of his qualities wanted to court a plain girl like her.

Rose had guessed with his long-absent days they didn’t meet that he must be someone in a higher position. So, she was worried whether he had been toying with her even though she had started to fall for him.

He had been angry when she shared her doubts with him when they were in their courting period. Not because she doubted him but because she thought of herself as a plain girl.

She was touched beyond words with his attention and the desire along with the overwhelming love he had in his eyes for her.

It was not real…

It couldn’t be. That was what ran through her mind whenever he met her before their marriage.

And when finally, he asked her whether she would marry him even if he were very poor, she had gathered all her courage, not because of the probability of him being a poor man but because to confess her love.

Rose had said that she didn’t care who he was or how rich or poor he was and had finally confessed her love to him, and the very next second, he had grabbed her nape and kissed her lips, sucked her lower lip, taking advantage of her surprised gasp, inserted his tongue in her mouth, conquering every part of her mouth just like how he conquered her heart.

Rose remembered every second of that day. How breathless he made her and how the guards of his father had pulled him away from her, taking him straight to her father.

Rose would have chuckled if she had the strength, remembering how she had begged her father to let him go since she loved him and wanted to marry him.

Imagine her surprise when he laughed aloud, even when restricted by her father’s guards, announcing proudly that he was Sian Ura, the Crown Prince of Zeta.

Rose couldn’t accept him since she didn’t deserve him.

Prince Sian had tried to convince her a lot, but Rose couldn’t, for she was just a plain girl, and she didn’t have it in her to be the future Queen of Zeta.

She didn’t have strong Egav to give him heirs with strong Egav. She wasn’t a princess to provide him with political connections. She was in no way suitable for him.

When he was fed up with her rejecting to meet him, he had sent her a letter saying if she didn’t come and meet him, he would never again visit her, nor would he marry any woman other than her in his life.

She had gone to meet him after that, knowing she could never live without him despite the difference in their statuses.

They married, and in a few months, he was crowned as a King, and she became the Queen of Zeta.

He had swept her off in a fantasy of fairytale love for eight years….

Eight years of bliss and wonderful days filled with so much love that she got scared sometimes of whether she might lose all this, lose him one day and thanked Gods and Godesses every day of making her lucky enough to get a husband like Sian Ura..

Rose Ura was accepted by the people of Zeta for her kind nature and helping tendency by healing the poor. They had even nicknamed her as Queen of Roses, and her husband loved that title, teased her with it most of the time.

Her husband had been thoughtful, like always and had created a space for her near their quarters where she could garden whatever plants she wanted. He had encouraged her to do the things she loved.

Rose and her husband spent most of their free time in this very private garden she was standing in now.

When she didn’t get pregnant for two years, he hadn’t once asked her, nor did he even look for another wife or concubines.

Then came their miracle in the form of Nolen Ura….

Their firstborn, whom Sian adored just as much as their second child, Anaika.

Life couldn’t get any happier…

And in came war…

Her husband died, leaving her and her children all alone.

She was sick in bed, just like her husband’s mother.

Her husband, Sian’s mother, was old, so it was no wonder for her to be sick as soon as she heard about the news of Sian’s death.

Sian’s mother was recovering now, though.

But hers was declining.

She didn’t tell anyone about it, not wanting to worry her children.

Rose knew that her days were numbered, and she couldn’t wait to be united with Sian again.

All that was holding back was the worry of her children.

Nolen and Anaika were in safe hands now. They were too young for her to leave them years back.

They are children even now, and she is worried about them, especially Nolen.

Nolen’s Grandfather was readying Nolen for another war. No matter how much she protested that he was just a child, none heard her, not even Nolen himself.

She didn’t want to lose Nolen too in war.

But no one cared anymore of what she thought or felt.

She was unwanted in this palace, spending all her time cooped in this garden.

Come to me, Rose.

Rose closed her eyes, wanting to give in to her husband’s voice in her head.

Soon, my love.

Very soon.