Destinare: A Destined Tale Of Time

III Maze Garden.

Boredom was loaming like a dark cloud atop the children’s heads. The dinner took a turn for adults to rattle about things they couldn’t even comprehend with their young minds. Azmeralda’s head started to throb when she tried to join in silently in the conversation, but it was soon that she realized she overestimated herself.

Before long, her plate was empty after she welcomed the food to warm up her growling belly. The plates were lifted and desserts were served, her eyes sparkled at the sight of the whipped cream topping her plate. She glanced over the table, and apparently, she wasn’t the only one starting to finally enjoy the evening. Victor and his younger brother were eying each other with glittering eyes before they helped themselves to the sweets before them.

Amid the evening with the Emperors conversing, the younger once found no chance to do the same. All they were able to do is stare at each other from time to time, waiting for the right moment to start their own conversation, however that time never came, even after the dessert was devoured and the plates were removed.

“It was an honor dinning with you, Emperor Julianus,” King Petrus said, rising to his feet.

“The honor is all mine, Your Majesty,” Julianus replied with a hint of a smile, taking Petrus’s hand in a handshake.

As the two kings rose, the others followed after them. Azmeralda jumped off the high chair and fixed her dress, her stormy eyes were fixed on Queen Blandia as she bowed to her father and giggled as she stroked a conversation with him. One glance at her father’s face and she picked up the vexation loaming somewhere underneath the faked smile.

“P-Princess,”

She snapped out of her daze and turned sideways at the sound, to see the two princes approaching her. A joyful smile spread over her face.

“Please, just call me Azmeralda!” she exclaimed, covering the distance between them.

Their ocean eyes dazzled under the chandelier’s light, they resembled each other even in clothing till they almost appeared like twins. *Totally the opposite of Tiberius* she couldn’t help but remember him at a time like this, she wondered if she could ask them about him but thought against it right away.

In the end, she might only ruin the whole evening by not knowing where the 3 brothers stood for each other. 

“Did you enjoy the meal!” they asked in unison.

“We know how hard it is to get a nice meal while traveling!” Romanus exclaimed.

“Yes! We asked the chief to pay attention to this meal!” Victor added.

Azmeralda blinked at the spontaneous speech they both used, finishing each other’s words. She giggled. “Yes! The meal was splendid!” she exclaimed back, she felt her heart lighten in her chest.

Little did she notice how Julianus stopped and was now admiring her in silence from behind. In that half a minute of admiration, Julianus felt his heart clench painfully, for never allowing his daughter – the only one he cared for, to have that bright smile on her lips sooner.

*She is so much like you, my beloved* he said a silent prayer in his heart, a mixture of agony and happiness washing over him. He took a deep breath, forcing his sensations back to the moment.

“Why not look around the palace with the princes, Azmeralda?”

He realized that he said the words after his own voice rang in his eardrums. Azmeralda frowned her pretty brows as she turned to look over her shoulder at her father in doubt.

“You really mean that, Papa?”

He smiled and nodded once. It took a minute for Azmeralda to register the words, before long, a bright grin was spread over her rounded face.

“We will take good care of her, Your Majesty!” two voices came loud from behind her, giving her no time to reply.

“We will give you a tour of the palace!” Victor added.

“And the garden! It’s so beautiful when the sun is down!” Romanus finished.

Each of the princes took one of Azmeralda’s hands, dragging her out of the dining room and away from the adult’s talk. Julianus watched as she got dragged away by the eager boys, a similar joyful smile was plastered on the trio’s face.

“I apologize for the rudeness of the princes, Your Majesty,” Queen Blandia started, holding her down in faked shame.

“There is no need to apologize, Queen Blandia,” he replied, after a long moment of silence. “After all, they are still children.”

“Yes, yes,” Petrus joined in. “Let them have their share of fun, after all, we are all gathered here to have fun.”

Julianus never replied as he gestured to one of the knights forward, “Keep an eye on her,” he ordered.

“Your Majesty Donna!” Petrus scoffed. “You are in my home, there is no need to assign a knight to protect the princess here.”

Julianus stared in silence for a minute before he sighed and motioned the knight back to place. The knight bowed and returned to his initial position in relief, the trip was hard on all of them, Julianus couldn’t blame them if they retired earlier than usual today.

“You can all retire for the day,” Julianus said. “I’ll escort myself to the room.”

The five knights shared a stare before they turned to look back at their king. “We won’t rest until we are certain that you are safe in your chambers, Your Majesty!” they said in unison, their voice echoing in the room.

Julianus stared blankly, killing them slowly with his silence before it cracked with a chuckle. “Suit yourselves,” he muttered.

The knights stood back in attention as Julianus turned to bid goodnight to the hosts.

“You have loyal men around you, Emperor Julianus” Petrus said. “You are a lucky man.”

Julianus halted in his walk and looked over his shoulder.

“They were handpicked by me after all,” he smirked.

~~~~

“This garden was made over time since King Pantera the first founded Makidia,” Victor said, excitement was still present in his tone but at least now he wasn’t dragging Azmeralda after him as they strolled around the garden.

“I have also read that every king adds a new part in it,” Azmeralda recited, her eyes skimming over the greenery that glittered with the dew of the late evening under the bright moonlight of this night.

Romanus let out a shaky breath, “You have read about Makidia?!”

Azmeralda lifted her eyes off the landscape and turned to the younger boy. “Of course, I need to know the country I’m going to stay in for a while,” she said. “Aside from books, it was thought in history lessons.

Romanus was taken aback, he never thought that other empires out there studied Makidia just like he did. “You took Makidia in history lessons!?” he exclaimed.

“Yes,” Azmeralda noted. “Didn’t you also study about Kemet?”

Romanus closed his eyes and reopened them as he connected the dots, Makidia might not be on the same level as Kemet, however, it was a strong empire with great history. It was worth learning.

As the three of them strolled through the night, Azmeralda grew more and more curious about Tiberius. She glanced at the two brothers, she couldn’t see them as the type to hate their own brother, even if he wasn’t from the same mother they still had the same father.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure!” they answered in unison.

“Your brother, Tiberius,” she said. “He wasn’t in dinner earlier.”

Azmeralda noticed the smile disappear from their face as it darkened. She could tell a hateful look when she sees one, and the one that loamed on theirs wasn’t it. Rather, it was sadness, perhaps the whole situation between all of them was different than what she imagined.

“Big brother Tiberius never has a meal with us,” Romanus said, his feet stopping as his head hung low on his neck. “This morning when we came to greet you was the first time we have seen him for two weeks. I think he hates us…”

“NO!” Victor lashed out. “He doesn’t hate us. He is just busy because he is the heir to the throne, after all, Roman! You know it too.”

“I don’t know anymore…” Romanus muttered lowly.

Azmeralda could now see the bigger picture. *They don’t hate him, in fact, they adore him* she thought, a smile cracked on her face through her discerned face. The smile caught the boys by surprise, they glanced at each other and then turned to Azmeralda again.

“I’m sure he loves you both dearly,” she said, though she wasn’t that sure.

“You think so?” they asked together in awe.

“Of course,” she exclaimed. “After all that’s what brothers do!”

The two brothers looked at each other as if silently communicating their thoughts before their faces lit up simultaneously. Azmeralda felt the lump in her thought settle down as she felt she made them feel bad.

“Why don’t you check up on him now?” she thought out loud. “You do miss him don’t you?”

“Won’t mother get mad?” Romanus turned to his brother, who was equally disturbed himself.

“I don’t see a reason why she would get angry,” Victor uttered, scratching the back of his head hesitantly.

Azmeralda started to regret her own words, worried that they might get into trouble because of her big mouth. “If you are worried that you might upset your mother then you can just ask her later,” she suggested.

“Mother hates Tiberius,” Romanus said, his head held low. “Because… he is not her son.”

Azmeralda was taken aback at the forwardness from the boy, but after all, he was barely 8. Victor stared at his brother before he nodded in agreement. She felt that she ruined the splendid day with her big mouth.

“Let’s keep going!” she exclaimed, changing the subject. “I still haven’t seen the whole garden!”

The mood was immediately reverted back to what it was, bright smiles spread on their faces as they took hold of Azmeralda’s hand to show her around. The advantage of being a child, one memory never lasts too long, their moods are easily alternated. Nevertheless, the impact of the events grows inside them and takes part in forging their personalities as they grow up.

Azmeralda figured that they didn’t hate their brother but still, their whole situation wasn’t something to be brought up either. So, for the rest of the stroll, she buried her thoughts to herself and away from both of them.

The moon was high in the sky by the time Azmeralda turned around to find herself surrounded by nothing but green. Apparently, the brothers urged her to follow them as they explored the maze garden, reassuring her that they did it hundreds of times. And now here she was all alone with nothing but tall bushes around her, completely blocking her view of the palace. The only way to look was up at the dark navy sky with the flickering stars embroidered into it.

“Now, how am I going to go back?” she mumbled under her breath, looking around for the way out. “Roman!” she called out loud.

“Roman where are you1?” she repeated. “Victor!”

She soon gave up on calling for them, the back of her throat was turning sore and she was already feeling thirsty. *I’m sure if I kept walking around I’ll find a way out of here* she thought as she sighed.

Thankfully, the sky was clear to light her way and the breeze was cool against her skin. She took her time walking, reserving her energy which was already below the minimum. It wasn’t as if she was going to be lost in here forever. 

The loud silence in the air was broken by the sudden rustling in the bushes around her. Azmeralda jolted to look behind her, fear started creeping up her skin.

Out of the bushes behind her, she saw a child’s silhouette coming out, she sighed in relief. “Victor was in the world were you?”

“I’m not Victor,”