Heir to the throne

Chapter 4

City of Mandanaka

Adhi

He was daydreaming again!

In his mind, he had been transported far away from his mundane reality and into the pages of the book that had entertained him since he came to sit in this room. Wooing a beautiful young woman in a picturesque setting. She scented his breath with her floral aroma and hypnotized him with her charm.

The tapping of footsteps on the polished floorboards shattered his tranquil dream. He looked up. His eyes followed the movements of the regal young woman sashaying toward him from the shadowy recesses of the room. She carried herself with her usual confidence, chin held high and an arrogant smirk. He wasn't sure why she needed an entire entourage to escort her to his quarters. Whatever the case was, he wasn't pleased with her interruption of his solitude. 

"Look at you! Sitting here and daydreaming again. Why can't you get up and go outside and do something worthwhile," she hissed at him like a viper.

He grinned and swung his feet off the table. He was a thick-skinned man who wasn't easily rattled; her venom had no effect on him.

"Kalaya my dear sister, what would you have me do then?"

She rolled her eyes as she sat on the cushioned chair in front of him. Reaching down, she picked up a book that was sitting on the low table that separated them. Her eyes scanned the title and she scowled in disgust. She looked at the one that he was holding, mouthing the title as she read it. 

"Poetry. Hah!" She laughed mockingly. "Will it help you become a better emperor? Shouldn't you be reading Father's reports on the invaders that were sent to you?" 

"Perhaps I should." He smiled and she rolled her eyes at him.

They were not very fond of each other. Kalaya believed that she was the rightful heir to the throne. Her mother was the empress while Adhi was the son of a secondary wife, an Olin to make things worse.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" he asked.

"Well actually, I was hoping that since we are both here in Mandanaka then maybe we can go out exploring."

"Ah, so you need an escort?"

"I was trying to be nice!"

Her words struck him like a swift fist to the jaw. He stared at her with suspicion as he wondered if he was about to be killed. In all his life, Kalaya had never tried to be nice to him. She was four years his senior and had never once acted like an older sister. He had three other half-sisters, and none behaved the way she did toward him. They were kind and dotting. They worried when he was sick and cheered him up when he was sad. They would give their lives for him but Kalaya would happily watch him die. 

Life had always been complicated in the Akai palace. When the emperor married his second wife, the empress hid in her quarters for almost a month. When Adhi was born, the entire kingdom celebrated but she was green with envy. She had given birth to four daughters but no sons.

His father grew to love his mother unconditionally. She had given him an heir after all. Adhi could still remember all the fighting and tension between his mother and the empress until the empress fell sick. Now she spent her days confined to her bedroom while Adhi's mother ran the palace and attended all the banquets and galas with the emperor. 

It went without saying that the bitterness between the two women had trickled down into Kalaya and Adhi's relationship. She was the eldest child and he was the only son. They fought and bickered. Like water and oil, they could not mix. He was a warm summer breeze, she was a winter gust. The conflict just kept on building. Neither would back down. They were both stubborn and uncompromising people.