The Sultan and I

Chapter 10

The Sultan and I
Chapter 10

I've always despised the thought of greed. I grew up resenting anything about it.

For years, I watched as greed divided lands and brothers who shared the same blood took each other's lives. Greed has taken a great toll on life and caused the downfall of many empires.

So when I witnessed our father, the late Sultan, lovingly feeding my older brother for the first time on his lap, all I could do was stand silently in the shadows and stare at those adoring gazes that my father had never spared for me.

When the late Sultan died and the remaining officials chose my older brother to take his place on the throne instead of me, the designated vali ahad, I did nothing but quietly step back and offer the crown that was supposed to be mine.

And when the woman I originally loved was offered marriage, I hardened my heart and stood there silently watching her take her wedding vows in front of my elder brother.

I've mastered how to hold my heart whenever it was possible for me, so long as the peace in the empire could be retained as my father wishes.

My mother and the rest of my family begged me to assume the throne and reclaim everything that had been taken from me, placing all of their hopes on my shoulders. But I choose to close my ears and continue living under the assumption that greed for anything will lead to nothing.

I've had restless nights and had nightmares as a result of the pressure and heartaches I've been through throughout the years. To escape these unpleasant feelings, I agreed to be my brother's sword in conquering nations, despite the fact that this would put my life in jeopardy.

But the nightmares did not stop.

The sleepless nights have only been prolonged.

Being in horrific wars and losing all the people I've cared about in the process have worsen it.

It was painful.

It was dark.

It was killing me.

Before I knew it, I was suffocating and I was desperate on holding to every little bit of life that was still left on me.

I realized that I never had the chance to escape from any of these feelings, not even in the slightest.

It was until I met her.

One night on our journey back to the capital, I accidentally heard her singing a sweet lullaby while everyone else was fast asleep. Because I was used to not sleeping even a wink, I quietly sat behind a tree and listened as she continued to sing.

"Close your eyes quietly
Reach out your frozen hands..."

It is the sweet sound of her voice.

"Hide your innocent heart..."

Without even realizing it, I had my first restful sleep in so many years. She effortlessly gave me everything I was desperately longing to have.

"Sleep in silence like time,
this world is an abyss with no ground..."

Tranquility.

"Before your soft heart fades away..."

Inner peace.

"Before life holds against you..."