The Star Who Loves Me

The Royal Family of Leij

It was a rainy afternoon, but that didn't stop the people from coming and going.

Ralph stares gloomily at the view outside the car. There was a traffic jam. But that's not the reason for his sadness. It's because in just a little while he'll be coming home again.

Home? For him it feels more like hell. Living inside that palace is a torture. Everyday he sees his father, the King, who treats him like a plague. Then there's the crown prince Aric, who's only interested in inheriting the kingship.

The second eldest, Prince Mair and the third born and only Princess, Cayle are the only ones who treat him as a human being. But they don't interact much because they have royal tasks to do.

Since the King only sees him as an excess in the family, he only ordered him to study well and graduate with flying colors.

Half an hour passed and the cars finally moved.

Still looking outside, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. She was happily walking while holding a box of pizza.

Because of the car's slow pace, he was able to stare at her directly and carefully.

She has stunning blue hair with a few blonde streaks and side bangs. Surprisingly, her hair color looks natural like an anime character.

She also has a pair of dazzling blue eyes that matched her hair. In fact, her eyes are so radiant, it feels like they glow. Her lips are small and delicate and she got the contagious kind of smile. With her petite body, she almost looked like a high school student.

Meanwhile, his driver and personal butler has been sneaking glances to his master from the rearview mirror and was astonished to see Ralph's genuine, amused smile which he had never seen for years. He secretly followed the direction of where his master is looking and saw the simple, beautiful girl who was already far away.

"Third prince, we're here.", the butler softly announced.

"Yes, thank you.", he replied courteously then he silently got out of the car.

Upon arriving, he casted a glance at the palace where he's residing.

It was nothing but a place of grandeur and power. The palace is located in the middle of a picturesque mountainous region. It was surrounded with highly trained, armed guards wearing suits like that of the movies.

The exterior of the palace is white and gold, with a careful combination of classic and modern design making it more splendid.

From a far, this palace is breathtakingly beautiful. It is 30 meters high with five floors and 797 rooms, it is indeed one of the biggest palaces in the world.

There are stairs with thirty steps before entering the main doors and were carpeted with purple wool. Originally, it was red, but to honor the late Queen's favorite color, it was changed into purple.

The lawn is filled with lavender on both sides of the lawn with a long but narrow rectangular water feature in the center.

Looking at the lavenders in full bloom, he felt lonely. These flowers remind him of his mother, Queen Merneith. They were her favorite flowers.

'Mom, I terribly miss you... ', he sadly said in his mind.

'And sorry because I failed to save you."

"Third prince, please.", the butler said, still waiting for him to enter.

He looked away at the flowers and headed towards the main door.

Upon entering, he met Cayle. The one and only princess of Leij.

"Hi there, youngest.", she greeted him with a smile.

"Hey... ", he replied with a hesitant smile. He's always like this towards his older siblings, uneasy and full of guilt.

"How's your day?"

"Pretty fine.", he said, avoiding his sister's gaze.

"Have you eaten? Come join me for a snack.", she dragged her brother towards the dining table when a female palace staff interrupted them.

"First princess, the King has ordered me to call you to see him.", she respectfully said.

"Is it urgent?", she worriedly asked. She doesn't want to spoil her snack with Ralph. It was a rare moment.

"It should be. The King also asked you to dress appropriately for the Prince of Nevae."

"Oh. Alright.", she replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. Her cheerfulness earlier is gone.

The staff left.

"I'm sorry I won't be joining you today. There's something that I have to attend to.", she said to her brother with a forced smile.

He nodded once. "Okay, I understand."

She stood and left with a deep sigh.

She trotted dejectedly on the way to her room. She opened the door and looked inside. Her room was grand, her things manifest luxury. She got everything most women can only dream on getting.

But in exchange of this lavish life, she must sacrifice herself, her freedom and her happiness to someone whom her father, King Yoff thinks is a good match for her.

Royal duties...

She smiled bitterly. She doesn't want to be in a royal family to begin with. But what can she do? She's already here so she must accomplish her purpose as a princess - key to alliances and a tool for strengthening the kingdom's power through marriage.

She sat on the queen-sized bed, reached a pillow and hugged it sorrowfully.

"Oh mom... What am I going to do? I'm scared... "

At first, she blamed Ralph for her unfortunate fate. If he only just called for help right away, then their mother would be saved. And her mother will be here to protect her from being matched with whoever her father wishes. Their mom could have stopped the King from using her. But now she could only cry silently as she accepts her unjust responsibility.

She has hated her brother for years because of this. But after witnessing her brother's gradual change, she felt guilty.

The tragedy that happened to their mom was not his fault. He shouldn't be blamed. In fact, he was also a victim. However, instead of helping him cope with the trauma of seeing their mother die, they threw the blame on him. They detached him from their family, giving him the cold shoulder, tormenting him every single day, forcing him to repent for the sin he did not commit.

She wanted to patch things up with his brother. But she's having a hard time doing this because Ralph is already elusive. He's avoiding everyone and rarely speaks.

She could only hope it's not too late. They have already lost their mother. She can't afford to lose another loved one.

With that, she finally stood and wiped her tears. It's time to get ready. She sighed as she choose a long, purple, chiffon, A-line dress with see-through sleeves.

He is currently studying inside his room when the butler knocked from the outside.

"Third prince, the King is asking you to prepare. He needs your presence for tonight's dinner."

"Okay. I'll be there in a while."

He pondered for a moment. Is this dinner related to Cayle's "duties"?

"Probably...", he said to himself then got up to take a shower.

***

In a small apartment, a few kilometers away from the royal palace, a lovely melody can be heard playing. A girl is waving a stick in her hand with eyes closed. She's having the time of her life roleplaying as an orchestra conductor when the music in her phone stopped playing.

She also stopped to take a look at her phone's notification.

Patrol time, the reminder said.

"Oh, okay.", she said while looking at her phone.

"Antonin Dvorak, let's end our Cello Concerto rehearsal here. I've got to go somewhere.", she added and looked at the speakers that she imagined as the composer of the said melody.

She went to the mirror and tied her hair. After checking everything, she went outside, locked the door and vanished.

***

There were 5 people eating in the royal dining room with a lot of servants and guards standing nearby but only the sound of spoons and forks touching the plates are heard.

King Yoff decided to break the silence by clearing his throat before speaking.

"So prince Frederick, how's the food? Does it suit your taste?", he asked with a fully scripted smile.

"It's good... But there's something more delectable that I'm looking forward to eating.", the 40-year old prince replied then shot a meaningful glance at Princess Cayle who's having trouble swallowing her food.

At the left side of the table, Ralph lowered his hands and clenched his fists. His appetite ceased upon hearing the prince's filthy statement.

The nerve of this man to humiliate his sister in front of everybody like she's just a tool for s****l gratification! It was simply unforgivable.

The King on the other hand, pretended to not understand any of the prince of Nevae's inappropriate words.

"Well, it's nice to hear that you're enjoying the dinner. If you want some more, just ask our staff.", he said, still smiling.

Prince Frederick just let out a soft chuckle and didn't answer.

After a few minutes, they started to discuss the main purpose of Prince Frederick's visitation and that is to marry Cayle.

When this happens, not only these two kingdoms will be stronger, it will also unify their people amd make them more powerful and wealthier.

Ralph wanted to object. Seeing his sister just quietly nodding her head to everything they say pierces his heart.

She just turned twenty-two last month and now their father can't wait to throw her only daughter into the pig's den. Yes, in his eyes, this prince is just a pig, unworthy of royalty and prestige.

Sadly, however, his opinions don't matter. He is not allowed to give suggestions so objecting against his father's wishes are just like throwing punches in the air.

He looked at his eldest brother Aric. He seems very pleased with the arrangement, not caring about how their sister feels.

He then gazed at the second prince, Mair who, like him is upset about Cayle and Frederick's arranged marriage but is powerless to do anything to stop her incoming doom.

After dinner, he went straight to his room. Unable to sleep because of his sister's situation, he got up and went to Cayle's. Though hesitant, he gently knocked.

No one answered. He knocked again, a bit louder this time.

Realizing the door isn't locked, he entered. His heart ached as he saw her sister lying face down on her bed, weeping.

He came closer and sat on the bed, startling Cayle.

"Oh, it's you... Ugh.. Wait... Wh-what are you... Why are you here? Is... Is there a problem?", Cayle sat up and quickly wiped her tears as she desperately tried hiding her sorrow.

His heart hurt more upon seeing his sister's reaction. Without saying anything, he pulled her to his embrace.

"I... I'm sorry...", he said with voice a bit shaky.

He bit his lower lip to control his emotion and stop the tears that are about to fall.

"I put you into this situation. I... I'm so sorry. It's because of me-", he said guiltily.

Cayle loosened her embrace and looked at her brother's eyes.

"No.", she replied while shaking her head.

"It was not your fault. It was never your fault so stop blaming yourself for everything huh?", and she embraced him again.

"We all know that this was bound to happen. We knew what a princess' role was, right?", she said, pertaining to the matchmaking that's been arranged just a couple of hours ago.

"Still, father shouldn't have done that. I can't believe he even ignored the way that prince disrespected you. He could have defended you-", his words were interrupted by the voice coming from the most powerful person in Leij.

"Oh, you have the audacity to question why I didn't defend your sister earlier when you could have done something to defend your mother but you just stood and watched as those criminals kill her?!", king Yoff said with contempt.

The two, especially Ralph, fell in silence and lowered their heads to avoid their father's mocking gaze.

"Listen carefully, you are not qualified to question any of my decisions because you know nothing. Like how you knew nothing on how to save your mom!", he said aloud and coldly.

"Father please, what happened to mom, it's not his fault.", Cayle courageously said.

"And you... ", he pointed at his daughter, ignoring her statement.

"Don't tell me you wanted to go back on your nods of agreement in the dining hall?", her father fiercely asked.

"I'm not.", she replied hoarsely.

"Then stop crying like a little girl who lost a doll! It's useless, for it won't change anything.

What you should be doing right now is to groom yourself to become perfect in Frederick's eyes so that he remains attracted to you!"

Ralph could not bear it any longer, he stepped forward and faced his father.

"Is that what's important to you?! Is that what you only care about? Didn't it occur to you even once how will her life be in that prince's hands? He disrespected her a while ago like it's nothing!", he yelled for the first time.

It felt good to finally release some emotions but that feeling quickly faded when a loud and hard slap has landed on his right cheek.

He froze and just looked at his father.

Seeing the mark on Ralph's face, Cayle cried louder, feeling guilty and at the same time grateful for his little brother who stood up for her.

"It seems you forget easily. Well then, I'll say it again, you are not allowed to question any of my decisions let alone raise your voice when you're talking to me!", the king roared.

"Why? Because of what happened to mom?! When are you going to stop hating me for that?!", he said, yelling.

King Yoff's expression changed from furious to cold.

"Don't ask... 'cause I would never."

His little hope for forgiveness has reached its end. His father has decided. He'll never forgive him for the rest of his life. So what's the point of staying?

With that thought, he stormed off.

"Ralph! Don't go!", Cayle said in between her sobs.

He can hear her sister's attempt to stop him but he ignored it. He went on his room to grab his phone and hoodie then got outside and went for the main door.

He met Mair on his way.

"Hey, where are you going?", the 2nd prince asked but is ignored.

He just passed his brother and walked swiftly, not knowing where exactly to go.

Even the guards and the butler were not able to stop him from leaving the palace.

'Bullshit, this is all bullshit!", is what's going on in his mind.

He kicks everything in his path with tears rolling down his face.

He's getting tired with his life. Everyday carrying the blame of his mother's death and being out casted by everyone.

After an hour of wandering, he stopped walking and glanced at his surrounding. It's dark and wet because of the rain earlier, with just a few street lights to illuminate the area. It's dead silent and cold.

If he isn't lonely and hurt, he might have gotten scared but the spooky environment has no effect on him right now.

After wiping his tears using the back of his palm, he continued walking in the middle of a seemingly abandoned road.

Still filled with thoughts, he didn't notice the delivery truck moving straight towards him.