A Warrior's Dance

X – Be a Man

Crimson Palace was built in the heart of a mountain. The striking palace itself was built on top, while the small towns were scattered around. Outside the palace gates were more towns and markets, a small distance from Port City, where merchants meet to exchange trades and services.

The gates had been opened, colorful flags and ribbons lined the top of the wall, displaying symbols of each races. There were musicians and other entertainers at the entrance hall to welcome guests. Maids were busy baking and cooking in the wide kitchen while the other servants made sure the dining hall looked inviting and well lit.

It was a pleasant image for the visitors but on top tower of the castle, the king was furious as he tightened his grip at his sister, Rainlee.

“What makes you think it is okay to talk to them?” he asked, his face an inch apart from the her.

Raiden tensed, seeing his mother to be treated that way sent unsettling emotion inside him. He didn’t like that at all.

“There is no harm in talking to them, my king,” she said calmly.

“We do not welcome those voyagers in our territory!” He gritted his teeth. “How will the councils interpret that news? Is a simple rule too hard for you to follow?”

Rainlee looked taken aback. “It is my duty to keep the peace.”

“You are my sister, Rainlee, and I love you.” King Darius softened his grip on her arm but his expression remained hard. “But the next time you talk to those filthy sailors in front of our people, the councils and our allies might think of us as traitors. If they ask for your pretty head as punishment, I won’t be stopping them.”

Raiden swallowed, his throat went dry.

“Do you understand me?” Darius asked in a dangerously low tone.

Rainlee nodded her head.

As soon as the king and his guards left her room, Raiden closed the door and went over to his mother. The king wasn’t fond of him, even hated him for reasons unknown to him. His mother told him that it was because Darius had trust issues. He didn’t believe her then, and he wouldn’t believe her now, especially after what he had just witnessed.

“Are you okay?”

Rainlee took a deep breath and smiled at her son. “Worry not, my dear boy.”

It was his turn to get frustrated. “You can’t tell me that.” He tried to bit back his anger but he couldn’t just understand why his mother was telling him not to worry. It was like telling him not to care.

Rainlee held the boy’s face, gazing at his eyes. “Do you remember how I found you?”

The change of subject made his frustration heightened. “What is this about?”

“You were just five, maybe too little to remember things. People from Esmo town have an unsettled concern. You see, they reported that there is a witch living on an abandoned house and the witch has a baby on her arm. People were scared and I cannot blame them. Witches can harm innocents, but that was the commoner’s point of view. So I travelled to Esmo town without my brother knowing. It is my task to keep peace with the people, after all.

“I am not afraid of women casting spells and magic. They can smell fear, you know. And as I enter the house, I instantly heard you sneeze. There you are, in a shabby little crib in the corner. Your eyes melt my heart, my son, and I fell in love with you. But before I can even walk further, a white-haired woman appeared, her eyes glowing red. She opened her dark mouth and black smoke emerged from it. Her spell didn’t work on me, though.”

Raiden felt his heart beat faster. He sometimes dreamt being on a far off place, a silver tree with silver leaves shading him from the sun’s heat. Then he felt a burning coldness cut his face as he slowly closed his eyes, his breath fading. That was how his dream ended.

“Why was the spell didn’t work on you?”

Rainlee smiled a little. “The moonstone necklace protected me. It held a certain magic.”

“Who gave you the necklace?”

This time, his mother smiled sadly. “My former lover.”

They both fell silent for a brief moment.

“What I’m trying to say, Raiden, is that there is a reason why I take you inside the palace. The witch is not just a witch. And you are not just a lost baby.”

Confusion started to stir inside his stomach. “Who am I, mother?” That was the first question he always wanted to ask.

Rainlee softly touched his scar, her fingertips tracing the lines. “You’re a valkan by blood, Raiden.”

The boy felt he was struck by lightning. A valkan?

“I taught you their language and tradition not just to widen your knowledge but because you are one of them.”

“And you just decided to spill all this to me now?” He honestly didn’t know how to digest all that. Valkans were great voyagers and conquerors, sure, but their beliefs seemed wrong in his eyes. The palace taught him to hate them and placed their tribe as the top enemy.

“You have a twin brother. Your heads were glued to each other the moment your mother brought you to this world. It’s a bad omen for the valkans to have twins but your father shut them off. They travelled all the way to River Lights to seek help to the heaven fairies. Their power and healing cannot separate you and your brother until they found the mad witch.”

“And I’m guessing the mad witch stole me after she separated me and my brother.”

Rainlee nodded her head. She knew all of that even before Raq spilled the story to her.

“Where is the mad witch?” Raiden asked, suddenly feeling a hole in his heart. “Why did she take me away from my parents?”

“That I cannot answer, Raiden.”

He freed himself from his mother’s hand and put a distance between them. He ran his hand to his hair as he paced around, letting the information sink in.

“The man we saw in the market…” he trailed off as he sought the valkan’s face in his memory. “Is he… Is he my father?”

“Yes.”

He was the Sea King’s son. All of a sudden, he felt out of place. His clothing, a well-designed cloak and trousers, was far from the clothes the valkans wore. But it turned out, that he was a prince, after all.

“Is he looking for me?”

The royal lady nodded. She looked terrified as she blinked back her tears. “This is a crucial time, my son,” she began as she closed their gap. “The king or the councils can see this as betrayal. They’ll think of you as a spy.”

“But I am not!” he said. “I don’t even know I am a-“

“Hush,” she cut him off. “Don’t ever say who you truly are. As far as I know, you are a lost boy and I made you my son.”

The bells rang, announcing that the celebration was about to begin. Rainlee held the boy’s hand firmly.

“You may have a valkan blood but you are more than that, Raiden. I cannot explain everything now but I will tell you soon enough. Just trust me.”

He pushed the lump in his throat. For a moment, he tried to imagine himself as a valkan, with their whisk of arrogance and temper. He wished he could say he belonged to them, that he felt brave knowing his blood is the same as theirs but he would be lying. Because for the first time, he was shaken. Looking at the woman who raised him as her own, he composed himself, feeding off her strength. “I do. I trust you, mother.”

“Your cousin will be marrying the Morcan princess who has a powerful mercenary under their command.” Rainlee took a deep breath, putting her calm façade. “And you, Raiden, need to earn the trust of the commander to get their support when the time comes. You have to be the first rank lieutenant. You have to prove your worth. Build your own army.”

“You have to be sixteen years of age before you get that rank, have you forgotten how it goes?” he muttered the fact.

Rainlee shook her head. “Age has nothing to do with skills. Forget that you’re just a boy.” She looked dead serious. “Be a man.”