Salaien's Heart

In The Hard Hands Of Fate

A reign was ending. With the decaying body of the Emperor a dynasty was rotting and I could feel the dread of anticipation ringing in my bones. My slow measured steps could feel the thick tension in the air. I closed my eyes only for a fraction and exhaled in utter deflation.

In these walls, I wouldn’t even trust the mother who fed me her blood in her womb and milk in her lap. The rattling footsteps behind me told me my entourage was following me. My only kith I have known since I took my first polluted breath, the very one who wouldn’t blink to wring my neck given the right price or motivation. I hold my facade of calm as I walk down the embellishing marble polished floor of the hallways.

I neared the gold embedded doors sized for a giant and stood facing the guards who kept their eyes fixated on the wall opposite me like mannequins as if looking me in the eye would plague them. My lips twitched looking at their lifeless corpse-still posture. Puppets… Moral-less, conscienceless, resolve-less puppets of the crown made of bones. I sneered inwardly in contempt.

The servants and slaves tried to keep their distance from me.

I pulled a practiced soft smile on my once stone-hard features and raised my hand waving off the guards to open the gilded doors for me.

They bowed their heads without once glancing in my direction and routinely heeded to my command without paying me mind. If I couldn't see their slightly shaking armour clad hands, I would say they were disregarding me.

I sealed all my emotions and wits with the first step I took in the Hall. The bright embedded chandelier was the first to have my attention and then an array of separate seating with tables, each in wide distance to the other where my brothers sat in sick repletion. Then I lowered my eyes to the polished rosewood floor that shone with my reflection.

What I wouldn't give to see it stain with their blood...

Only my handmaid took the step with me. I wasn’t privileged enough for any more escorts past that door. Nobody acknowledged my presence, not even with the turn of a head. They are all seated on higher dominating platforms positioned with their prowess in the court.

With a quick sweep of my eye, I locate my kin I share blood with and their escorts. All strangers to me that I have evaluated better than their shadows. My fleeting stare set on my eldest brother—Durhen, the only living son of the deceased Queen—a dangerous man to offend and a vicious man to befriend, such man should be avoided at any cost. His influence in the court is undisputable. He holds the assembly with birthright so I buckle my knee and courtesy low for him in greeting.

“Princess Senori Arhyena, daughter of Evenere, greets your Grace.” Only Evenere, my mother was a rank-less slave of the King in his Harem that he seemed to have spent a drunken passionate night with. I keep my soft expression intact and my eyes bowed low. In my peripheral view, he squints his eyes as if trying to place me in his memory before flippantly waving his hand off in a dismissing gesture.

The assembly was for the Royals so I was called by default. I am sure he thought I was dead or worse... married.

“Greetings, Sister.”

I am not offended or bothered by his indifference, I am relieved. I have unfortunately never set foot out of the Grand Palace officially— I have had a couple of escapades. All of my Brothers either have their own palaces or their own Wings so it’s no surprise they haven’t seen me for years.

Being in eyes would have been a death sentence.

From the woman who birthed me, if one thing I have learned it is to stay subdued like a dead fish unless it's your time to strike. The taller you are, the more resistance you offer the storms. Those prideful tall trees are the first up-rooted by the furious winds. Insignificant small bushes survive it. So this is what I will choose. Survival.

I turn my head to my second eldest brother and greet him then with respect to their titles all the other and perform courtesy. My eyes then drift to my seating and a scowl almost protruded on my face before I schooled my features immediately. Unlike my Brothers my seating was just an inch above the floor, clearly meant to elaborate my status.

Stay calm... You don't want a rukus!

My eyes do a quick sweep of all the other divans graced by my brothers and then the fluffed cushion placed for me. I fisted my hand and swallowed my pride. I take my place on the last seating placed on the left beside Henesius— who by his years is younger than me by two and mentally younger than me by twelve. He gave me a look of disgust before shifting his gaze to something interesting on my maid bust that caught his interest enough for leering.

My hand slide to the scarf on my head and my temper only flare. I hated being the only one that was forced to this.

I could feel the inquisitive stares on me. They remember the rumors...

No, it wasn't that! After all, I was the only woman sitting when all my other sisters were either married in foreign courts to form alliances or ambitious enough to be dead.

When you have as many siblings rooting for a position expressing your interest in the throne isn’t the wisest thing to do, apparently...

I had come of age two years ago but my unfortunate brave forty-year-old Husband-to-be from Passia nation kicked the bucket with a heavy liver; so-close-to-eighteen-years-me was still single as a sea horse.

The server came to my seating and my maid arranged the refreshments for me on a silver set of utensils. I ran my eyes over the sumptuous sweets and had the urge to snort. I was pretending to be dead not actually planning to be dead. Poisoning is the oldest trick in the book.

With a sweep of my eye, I gave a once-over look to all other sets of untouched culinary in front of my siblings. Tasters weren't allowed in, as it was an insult to the host. So.

I had seventeen siblings six years prior when first our King health detrained and now only six remained to attend the Meeting of Royals. All died of ‘fateful unfortunate accident’ or assassinated by our ‘enemies’ while I have kept my head by keeping it ducked.

Beside me, Durhen, as cunning as a chicken—Henesius, Beintes, Fluer and Maxiwelll are the only Royalty that breathed excluding our almost dead father, of course. Fluer was a year elder than me and Maxiwell, five years. Fluer was a weakling since his birth, didn’t excel in anything physical because of his weak body but his brains ran a hundred miles per second on the other hand Maxiwell is as much a striving snake as they come.

Durhen cleared his throat and began, “As all of my beloved siblings have graced us with their presence I would like to initiate the discussion—”

Before he could finish, he is cut off, “Hardly a discussion when we have nothing of common interest.” All eyes turned to Beintes— The second oldest and the most lecherous and cunning but with his extraordinary manipulation and strategic tactics he has earned the favor of the Royal Army. His mother was a Princess from Passia. He smirked and shook his head in amusement while picking at his nails leisurely, “It astounds me, Brother: that you have called an assembly with the royals of Axeinda to chatter concerning a baseless folklore presenting a stone that doesn’t exist!”

Hats Off For Beintes: He just lowkey, very skillfully, called Durhen a moron. I took a sip of water to conceal my growing grin.

Durhen jaw visibly clenched and you could see him turning red with restrained rage as he scowled, “I am certain when the Beasts have their hands on the Heart of Salaien you won’t say the same. “

Maxiwell snickered in disbelief as he placed his silver wine glass down with a 'THUD' drawing attention and ridiculed, “We are conferring about a stone that ‘may’ exist and apocalypse that ‘might’ occur when we have dwindling Royal treasure, our Borders breached on daily basis by intruders we can’t name, our father on his death bed and not to forget unpunished deaths of our siblings.” Ironic, when he himself might be responsible for half their accidents.

I felt a hard stare on me and turned my head to see Beintes' eyes lingering on me as if he was assessing me. Feeling my gaze, he looked up and gave me a lewd half-smirk and turned his head to Fluer who was speaking. I visibly cringed but held the urge to bolt out of there. I shook my head. Imagination! It is my imagination!

Though Beintes was a contemptible ribald bastard: It was my imagination. I turned my head back to the argument.

“Brother, your practical approach in a world filled with possibility is worth applauding.” Fluer tsked offhandedly as if disappointed by his thought process, “Our father spent years searching for the stone. Fifteen years of wealth and resources wouldn’t have been wasted on a myth our father had no proof existed. Our father was a wise man.” Clever and greedy was the word he was actually referring to.

Beintes raised a brow at the testimony and snorted with a bark of a forced mocking laugh, “With all due respect our father believed that the possessor of the stone would be granted an eternal youthful life and untamed power. Our father is in his old age; without a doubt, our father has had the quality of life many envies thus his drive for immortality might have blurred the reality for him—“

Durhen side-smirked finally having a leverage and argued deliriously, “What I see is you blurring the reality just to get the upper hand in the argument. Above all, the stone might be the rock-bottom of all our crises. The beasts may be infiltrating our borders and causing mishaps just to get closer to the stone but if we find the stone before the beasts... We all know the tales surrounding the stone.”

“Tales, Brother. Tales!” Maxiwell jerked his head in annoyance at the irony of his statement, “The tales that say that thousands of years ago a ‘human’ from our ancestry defeated a beast in a duel and won the stone. That sounds absurd on its own right! Our trained commanding Team of 12 can hardly subdue one and that too with our advanced weaponry and extensive training of years! The tale further even claims the stone resides in the Palace of Axeinda, which I haven’t seen in my whole existence. What we need is an alliance, treaty, or a conspiracy worth detaining their lowly existence, not some f*cking stone that might already have perished—if it existed at all!”

Fluer gives him a disapproving glance and narrowed his grey eyes in displeasure, “Yes, because it’s stolen—” He was cut off by Beintes who had another argument to offer.

I take another sip of my drink and half-smirk behind the rim of the glass at Henesius who was now ogling a woman twice his age in Durhen entourage. Such a jolly fella! Though all the rest of us survived with our brains he survived with the lack of it.

In my personal opinion, the stone is a bogus myth made by peasants in the olden era to have something to affront the beast about and to have something to flatter their King with. It was no secret that Beasts were powerful enough to wipe out humanity but with the risk of extinction as humans weren’t that helpless anymore.

Though they were blessed in strength, they weren’t this fortunate when it came to numbers. Humans populated eighty-five percent of the intellectual population—estimated and Axeinda was one of the largest Kingdom with Passia second to it in population but then again population did less to define the prosperity of a place instead it compromised it.

The Beasts had the area of both nations combined twice but no one knew what was in there for sure.

Moreover, these weren’t days where humans fought with spears now we knew titanium breached their scales and skin, and had exceptional weapons to fight such outbreaks.

I looked up from my thoughts and my breath hitched at all the leering eyes that were on me. What had I missed in a minute that I tuned them out?!

Maxiwell gave me a once-over and smirked lasciviously with a nod of approval, “An alliance sure would sort all our differences with the Beasts.”

“Alliance?” The exclamation breached my lips before I had time to rein in my emotions. My eyes drifted from one brother to another looking for any clue that would deny my incredulous assumption.

“Marriage alliance, Sister.” Durhen affirmed with a snort sinking my heart. Looks like it wasn't only me who was displeased with the garbage they were spitting out. “Our father is on his sickbed and as your elder brothers, it is our responsibility to marry you off and the Malyra Kingdom is our best bet.”

My blood turned cold and all my calm composure faded away as the dread of the implication sunk in. They were throwing me in the death pit where monsters could eat away my rotting flesh!

With a shudder, I pleaded my case while stuttering, “The Beasts! Brother, th…they would–“

Durhen face turned hard, he raised his hand and halted my feeble protest, “Enough! Escort Senori to her chamber.” He directed at my maid, Verna.

My pleading look seized with one of blankness. My maid held my forearm with a tight grip and I snatched it away giving one unrestrained glare to my brothers. I stood with all the grace my pride was worthy of.

I fisted my hand in wrapped up rage. Being played for a pawn was acceptable but these contemptible scoundrels were using me as bait!

Gliding to the center, I ruffled my dress and did a hurried rude courtesy. I felt betrayed. Though there wasn’t any love lost between us siblings but they were my brothers.

I gave one last hard stare and uttered coarsely, “Good Evening, Brothers. It was indeed a pleasure to know you would dump me to rot in the pit you won’t fear piss in the direction of.” I see the hysteria that covers my brothers’ faces and the gasps that leaves the slaves and pay no mind to them and leave the Hall with stomping heavy feet.

My stunt would have consequences but I didn’t bother hiding my distaste. It was just a delight our old man wasn’t dead yet and by law, none can come for my head except him.

They were literally sending me to the gallows, my outburst was valid. I feel my heart constrict with fear and my eyes sting as I try hard to maintain my composure.

I wouldn’t accept a fate that was to be slaughtered! I vowed parading the hallways sleekly.