Heir to the throne

Chapter 22

Adhi

He eyed the fish swimming near his feet with patience. He waited, beads of water running down his back. With caution, he angled himself. Each moment was as important as time itself. The fish had to be in the perfect spot to get snapped up between his hands.

He waited as the fish stopped to nibble at a plant. It swam closer, dodging the rocks in the river bed and leaving a trail of fine sand in its threaded path.

With the swiftness of a frog's tongue snapping up an insect, he grabbed the fish between his hands and lifted it from the clear water. Instantly, the sensation of its wriggling and slimy skin made his blood crawl.

"Oi, oi, oi!" he cried as he stomped out of the water toward the bank. "Ek! Eww. Oi, disgusting." He stumbled on a rock protruding from the damp ground and fell forward, but he held on for dear life as the fish violently thrashed about in his hands. It had taken him a while to catch this thing, and he would not surrender it without a fight.

"I'm sorry, I am sorry. Please forgive me, my fish friend, but my Zyaan is very sick and needs to eat when he finally wakes up," he said to the fish.

He used his core strength to push himself up and climb to his legs. He sprinted to the old wooden bucket he had set a few steps away and dropped the fish in. He was relieved to be free of it and started wiping his hands on his clothes. It thrashed about, rocking the old wooden vessel with such force that Adhi thought it might topple over.

"I am sorry, my fish friend. Do not curse me," he said before he used his dagger to end the suffering of the fish. He breathed a breath of relief, picked up the bucket, and headed back to the dilapidated hut he had stumbled upon while trudging through the forest, carrying Zyaan on his back.

Adhi had no idea where he was or why this hut was there. He had not ventured out until now. His body was mangled, covered in cuts and bruises. His bones ached, and the exhaustion had resulted in him sleeping throughout the night in a strange place instead of watching over Zyaan.

Whistling, he trekked through the quiet forest and toward the old hut. Inside, he had found clothes and other helpful items. He had never worn such uncomfortable robes in all his life but was grateful that they were clean and dry.

He ducked under the thatched roof of the small lean-to. He imagined that Zyaan could fit under here with ease. Adhi would not hit his head if he straightened up, but being so close to the ceiling unnerved him. He filled an iron pot with water that he had brought from the river earlier. He had no idea how to cook but decided it could not be that difficult. He needed the nourishment, and so did Zyaan if he ever woke up. Maybe when Zyaan finally woke up, Adhi could hunt for some small animal in the forest that Zyaan could cook. He was a good cook. The eggs he had fried that day tasted like they were the food of gods. Everything Zyaan did was perfect in his eyes. He was perfect. A gift from the heavens.

He smiled to himself as he prepared to clean the now motionless fish. He scratched his head, his momentary happiness becoming replaced by confusion. He knew whenever he ate fish, there were no entrails, so Adhi supposed that this was what he must do.

"Sorry, my friend," he said as he reached down and picked up the fish. "I hope you will be tasty. I am not a cook. I have never even brewed tea for myself. You may not know me, but I am Prince Adhi of the Akai empire. My father is an extraordinarily mighty man, so naturally, his son is also mighty. But I do not care about such things. I do not look forward to ruling over my kingdom. I want to be a warrior. The greatest that there ever was. I want to help people..."

He made a slit down the underside of the belly and squirmed.

"Eww...forgive me. Do not curse me, or I will never be able to help people. I study medicine. One day, I want to open a lot of hospitals around Lokya so that sick people can get help. There are a lot of good medicinal herbs from the lands north and west of here. Neem is a good one, I have read. I searched this morning to find a plant to make medicine for Zyaan. I am unsure what effects a musket wound would have on the body. This morning, Zyaan had a fever. So I found a few herbs in the forest and made him a medicinal tea. It wasn't easy feeding him. Even unconscious, Zyaan is stubborn. I removed the musket ball and cleaned up the wound. I hope that the musket ball did not damage his nerves and muscles. But that will be fine. Maybe he will finally submit and let me take care of him." He washed the now gutted fish in a bowl of water. "Zyaan is not helpless, but he is so precious. I don't ever want anything bad to happen to him. There is something strange about Zyaan. There's an air of something..." He searched his mind for the correct words to describe his sentiment to the fish. "...something divine, like he isn't just some random peasant roaming the streets. He is cultured and reserved, like someone of royal blood. Maybe royal blood flows through his veins, and he does not know."

He started cutting the bitter gourd and turnips he had found in the forest. He stopped and chuckled to himself as a thought suddenly rose in his mind. "Or maybe he knows and is playing me for a fool." The thought echoed in his mind for a moment. There was something sincere in it that disturbed him.

When the soup finished cooking, the smell wasn't too bad. Adhi removed the pot from the wood stove and took it inside the hut. His fish friend was now in pieces. He set the pot down on the short, rickety table and paused to look at Zyaan sleeping beneath a mountain of fur blankets that Adhi had found in a chest with the clothes he now wore. Zyaan seemed thinner and paler. Adhi was worried that he might never wake. He shuddered as he imagined the moment when he would take his last breath. Adhi's stomach knotted, and fear stole his breath as tears stung his eyes.

He sat on the bamboo mat and folded his legs beneath him. The memory of seeing Zyaan for the first played in his head, amusing him. So pretty and fragile, like an angel from heaven but with the tongue of a viper and the demeanor of one too. The wrong move would result in being bitten. Still, Zyaan had a soft heart, and Adhi knew this because Zyaan had attempted to make peace when Adhi was mad at him. He would never let himself forget that.

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As the sun settled, the sound of night insects rose with the darkness. He lit a fire to warm the hut and provide light. There were lamps in the house, but he could find no oil to ignite them. He set the small teapot over the fire and threw in the remainder of the herbs he had gathered from the forest. Zyaan's fever was back, and the worry that he may slip away was growing in Adhi's heart.

He had cried for a while to alleviate the pain in his chest, but nothing stopped it. Adhi did not want to part from Zyaan, and he had wondered for a while if he should decide to join him in the afterlife. He debated if they would ever find each other there or if he would lose Zyaan forever.

The tea started to bubble as he contemplated. He removed it from the fire and set it aside to steep. The concoction must be potent for it to work. He touched the blade of his dagger and decided that if Zyaan slipped away, he would slit his throat and join him.

He leaned back against the wooden wall of the hut and started replaying memories in his head. He had become a man on the verge of suicide; that was the madness that falling in love caused. He could not bear to be apart from the one who had become his life. For Zyaan, Adhi could honestly do anything, even die. Was this love, or was it a punishment? He laughed as tears blinded him. He tried to remember the silly things he did as a child, tried to remember his parents and his sisters, but his mind refused to let go of the memories of Zyaan. It was as if Adhi had only begun to live when they met. Before that, life had no meaning.

A sound stirred him from his emotional stupor. He pushed himself off the wall and looked where Zyaan was sleeping. The Olin was motionless, his breathing still shallow. Maybe Adhi had conjured the sound out of desperation.

"Zyaan!" he called.

He waited, not allowing himself to breathe. Zyaan did not move, but Adhi was sure he had heard him groan in pain.

He got up and walked over to investigate. His own body felt broken, but that was not important to him.

His heart skipped a beat as Zyaan's eyes suddenly opened a crack. He looked up at Adhi with a lost gaze. Adhi started to laugh, relief washing over him, though he knew Zyaan's condition was still dire.

He stooped and started stroking his hair to comfort him. "It's alright, I am here with you. Do not try to get up. You have to rest to regain your strength. You lost a lot of blood." He touched his hand. "Are you in a lot of pain? Did you groan just now?"

There was no response. Zyaan stared at him with vacuous eyes that made Adhi wonder if there was a soul in his body.

"Zyaan?"

With his signature eye roll, he looked away, his eyes staring out at the hut for a fleeting moment before they closed, and he fell back to sleep.

Adhi's heart sank in his chest. He squeezed Zyaan's hand and allowed himself to give in to the sadness that wanted to devour him. Adhi lay next to him on the bamboo mat. Staring intensely at his face, Adhi began to pray. He wanted to give his life in exchange for Zyaan if death would be so kind. Life without him would be too unbearable for Adhi to bear, but he was sure that Zyaan would forget him in no time if he were to die instead.