HIRAYA: The Call for Blood (Untold Stories 2)

28

RAN

One sword struck me but it felt like there were thousands more. I was in bed for almost a month. A bandage wrapped my abdomen and nurses would come to see me every two hours or such just to change or dress my wound. 

Father said that I was stabbed by an assassin while I tried to save him. They thought I wouldn't make it since the exit wound made it look possible. War was almost made to exist by the assassins from different states on the west side of the globe but we had the best soldiers, though that's still in confusion with the standards of Japan.

The moment I was out of the infirmary, I wandered the walls of the palace. There were tons of people roaming the hall each day. Servants, soldiers even slaves. Yes, they recognize me and I recognized them. Gazil, Aiden, yes, they're feeling great to see me well.

But there's this one girl. A lass whom Aiden said was one of the children we saved as we skirted the seas when the plague was still new and irresistibly rampant. My eyes blinked at the sunshine that paved the glass windows and the warmth of the sun caressed my freezing skin.

Everything was fine. There were no more assassinations, no plot of murder and plague. My life went back to how it is after that awful incident. As the soldiers sweep off the careful mountains of snow that covered the huts, I was assigned by my father to finally lead them.

Ruling and managing the kingdom was the king's duty. As a prince, some may say I can only wait until my father passes on and that's when I can use my voice. I can still remember the plans I ought to have in my mind before the incident, the determination that once burned inside me, it was all planned well. But now, I can only see the entirety of my bare reliance on my Father's skin.

I followed his words. Like every other minister said, I cannot do the things I want not unless I sit on the throne. Yes, I'm born royalty and pledged but there's nothing I can do but follow my father's orders just like what everyone else is doing.

'Train with the soldiers so that when someone plots for my end, it'll be you who'll finish them.'

'Keep the sword at your side for all times, it won't be me who's going to protect you.'

'Do not think of coveting the throne from me, son. Nothing will go through your way if you betray the one who has protected you all these years.'

'You wasted your time skirting the seas with your men.'

'If you wish to be the King, then prepare yourself physically. A king can never depend on a prince.'

Such words of horror yet all viewed as born from wisdom. Each time I wield my sword and clash it with someone else's, I have thought of the things I had in my mind that were in line for the betterment of the kingdom.

I ask myself, 'where was the determination that burned inside me?'

By the time I woke up after being stabbed, it felt like countless encounters have came my way but nothing was to remember. Gazil and the other soldiers finished with assassins and burned them to the ground. 

I started to believe that in order to become favored by a favored son, making an impression will never be enough. I followed my father's words and kept silent while training and polishing myself for the near future.