It was raining that night. A child was born as earth drenched in the harsh rain. It was a fateful night for the land of Elmor, but no one knew that the man who holds their fate in his hands was born. The child was fed by his mother. She didn't have the heart to give him away. But how will she raise him? She looked at her aunt.
"Can I keep him?"
"If you keep him, that's another mouth to feed," she sneered.
"I will work extra to earn my keep. You need not worry, I will eat less, but please, let me keep him," said Meredith. She was a beauty, one chased by many when she was barely out of her teenage. Being an omega in Elmor is not easy. Especially, if you are a child born out of wedlock to an aristocrat. They all lavished money and lived tightly rooted on their reputation.
A reputation they forgot about when his father had her. She was born to two noble heirs, but her mother was unlucky. She was not the rightful wife. She was a loved, her father promised everything to. Unaware that he is committed, she loved him and gave herself up. All for nothing. In the end that man threw her away like nothing.
The daughter should learn from the mother. Shouldn't she? But she didn't. When a young army man joined their family as guest, she forgot herself. She fell in love. He promised her everything and then he left one fateful night to be deployed. She knew he came back, but he never returned to her house where she just gave birth to their son.
Perhaps it was all these bad experiences that led Meredith to hold her omega boy close and tell him- "Never trust alphas, never trust men, never trust anyone who is not yourself. Don't fall for their sweet words. Love, you should live well. Let no man walk over you. This mother of yours will be thankful, if you can live a good life in future," she said. Her eleven-year-old understood only half of it. After all, he has seen his father from afar. His mother had taken him to see that man who lived in a tower, showed him and said," That's your father, but never go looking for him."
She left him soon after. After all, it was maybe their generational fate to be left alone and in pain. The then twelve-year-old did not understand how to survive. Till he turned thirteen, he was fed at the house. Then, a family had come to stay in the manor for a few days. The parent liked the young silent omega and would speak to him. When the manor lord's wife saw that, he was sent away at the dead of the night. With no clothes or a grain of food. Perhaps it was their fate to be alone and abused.
He begged in streets and fed on waste. He would only clutch a small pouch his mother left behind. He was thrashed away from begging spots by other beggars. He would run and run. He lived on the street for two years till he turned fifteen. An omega cannot stay on street at that age unless he was willing to sell his body. He spent nights wide awake and a knife on his hand.
He would curl up and cry, but no one heard it. Some days he would walk up to his father's big mansion and stand there staring at it. He never went inside. He would never. He promised his mother. He cannot break that promise. He will forever stay away. But sometimes he is too hungry. He doesn't know what to do on these days. He just sits there and one day he even ate sand. It was one such day that he saw a procession. Everyone on street was kicked aside as massive vehicles went past them.
"It is the coronation day. Haven't you heard? The royal family perished in an attack. The crown prince will be made Emperor now," said the beggar next to him. And then he saw the crown prince. He looked tall, regal and had an otherworldly aura around him. Before this day, he has never met such a person. He was shocked as he stared at that untouchable being as the vehicles passed. They were all fed good food that day. That day, he felt with a full stomach and dreams of powerful eyes that met his for a moment. As someone who has seen endless sorrow in his mother's eyes, he could recognise it. It was indeed sorrow that he saw there.
If even the emperor is not free of sorrow, then who will ever be? A nobody like him, can only dream. As everyone watched royal celebrations, he was chased around the street. Someone had pushed him to the ground to have their way with him. And then, he had run with a bleeding hand. What can he do? How far can he run? Not too far. He stopped at the end of the street and fell down. A woman saved him. She smelled like expensive perfume. He could see the river. He had been this close to jumping but then he couldn't. His legs wouldn't carry him that far. He crashed and now someone was helping him.
When he woke up, she was kind. The middle-aged woman was assessing him. She asked him about his family and his life. After listening for a while, she asked if he would like to work for her. He said yes, without another thought.
"It's a brothel. There is no free meal here. But if you can work, you will be fed," said the woman. She introduced herself as Clara.
His mind blanked for a moment. But what was there to think? His life was forfeit anyway. He will be skinned alive if he went out. He can still feel the wounds rotting all over his body. What else is he capable of? Nothing. This body is all the wealth he has. His mother will forgive him. For her, he will live. He will live with a purpose.
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In the palace, the young emperor stood tall at the highest tower of the palace. He waved to the crowd and without waiting turned back and joined what is left of his family. They moved from the old palace to here, this palace because the magnificent palace of Elnor only had blood stained walls now. Wherever he looked, there was blood. He looked at the small beings left in his care and then at his half-brother. They were of the same age. While he was born to the rightful wife, his brother was born to his father's second wife.
Men of power, he never understood his father or his grandfather or anyone in his family. They were never kind. Every day, every moment was about power and power alone. There are five lives depending on the two of them.
"We cannot fight. Not against each other," he said.
"Yes, we cannot. Not anymore," the emperor replied.
They had been pushed down the escape route inside the palace by his step mother. She was bleeding from a stab wound but didn't follow them no matter how much they begged her. She joined the emperor's mother who was already blue and helped carry her body as they watched, preserving what dignity was left of that dignified woman.
"You are both my alpha sons, never treat an omega like we were treated. If you do some day, go to all ends to make up," she said, tearful as she watched them leave. After all, the omegas in the palace were not a priority to anyone. The men of power was where the focus was on.
And who lost? They did. The palace is lonely. It's just them seven and servants. What difference is there between them and the men on streets? They are all orphans. Maybe, it's not a fair comparison. He had money. He has a home to live in. He has his siblings. There are servants who will never left him do a day's worth of chores. He doesn't have to struggle to get food. There was plenty of differences between them.
The emperor was nineteen. Before long, he grew into a strapping young man who every omega in Elmor wanted to marry. Then they heard stories of the ruthless, cold-blooded man who wore the crown. The royals had business. They made their wealth from business at a time when most of the power rested with officials. They heard about the man who killed in cold blood, who solicited with prostitutes. The man who kept Elmor in his tight grip. To the men on streets, he was light. When the most ruthless man ruled, which ruffian dared make trouble on streets?
Then one day the emperor was introduced to a young sex worker from the brothel on the banks of the immortal Aina.
*Aina - perpetual, love etc ...
