"Zarad. Remember, Never trust anyone but yourself."
He would hear his mother say this to him from time to time.
Ever since Zarad could remember, he knew that his mother was hated by the king, the man who was his biological father. And in the same way, he knew, that his mother loathed the king to the point of being disgusted.
After his mother was demoted, the king visited them atleast once a week.
And with every visit came his beatings and abuse.
Sometimes it happened with him being there and sometimes it happened within closed doors where all he could do was stand outside the door, waiting for it to swing open.
Hatred was something he saw while growing up. Greed was something he was surrounded with while growing up.
A certain kind of greed came from his own mother.
"You must become the one to sit on the throne no matter what." She would say this to her, with tears in her eyes.
"I have sacrificed my humane self for this. So Zarad, please respect mommy's wish."
Even though he knew his mother was a bad person, even though he knew that the king's hatred was earned by his own mother, even though he knew that his mother had done terrible things to achieve what she was infatuated with, Zarad could never bring himself to hate her.
Every session when the king abused her, or when the abuse was directed at him, his mother always shielded him from that. The woman who gave birth to him, loved him dearly. There was greed in her eyes but there was also love in them, love, that Zarad received in the fullest form, unconditionally.
Zarad loved his mother in the same way she loved him.
But sometimes her greed for the throne was too much for the young Zarad to handle.
Although he took it as his duty to respect his mother's wishes, he also never forgot to give it a thought of his own.
Whenever his mind needed that peace there was a place where he would escape.
The forest.
This place was where he met his younger brother for the first time.
Zarad noticed his unique blue eyes and his green hair. Those eyes told him that they were related.
The first time he met Satatra, he ignored him.
The second time he went to the forest he was there again. He was so tiny and small. With a tooth missing in his mouth.
Following that, the little kid was there everytime Zarad was in his hidden spot.
There were no exchange of words between them. The two sat down on the ground, with the older one watching the sky and the younger one watching him.
It was a harmonious moment for the two brothers. Perhaps one of the only few to exist between them including the future.
"What does it says?" The little satatra had become so comfortable that he would bring his own study books when he was at the spot with Zarad. Then he used questions as a means of conversation.
"...." At first Zarad would ignore him but by time he began to answer him.
"It says that there is a myth about a godly organization existing in the sun empire."
This was how some of the little conversations they had between them started. It ended the same way as it began.
Before leaving Satatra would give Zarad a wave of goodbye. Then with his little legs he would run away at full speed.
"......." That tiny little kid, it was so hard to dislike him, let alone hate.
That one time, when Zarad fell sick, he was in bed for a few days.
That little guy came to visit him. Through the front door.
How bold of him. He snuck into his room.
"I thought something bad had happened to you. So I came to check on you." Said little satatra as he checked zarad's temperature with his palm.
The little palm radiated a warm feeling just like his mother's.
Cough. Cough. "Hurry and leave before anyone finds out. Mother won't like it." Zarad warned him.
The little guy, tip toeing on his toes looked at him with a piercing gaze. "You....actually don't want to become crown prince do you?"
When he heard that Zarad wanted to spring up and grab him by the collar, yell at him saying that he will become the crown prince. But because of the haziness he had no such strength to deny what he really felt.
So he could only reply with this. "I will have to become the crown prince. I will."
"Really? Really?" Little satatra asked him.
He node his head.
"Zarad, how are you feel....."
Creak.
When the door opened, the temperature in the room dropped.
Zarad got out of his bed, his body still weak. "Mother..." He stammered.
Meanwhile Satatra stared at Hazarat.
A loud shriek was heard with the following sound of a loud slap.
The moment the little kid tumbled to the side of the ground Zarad got up from his bed, tugging at his mother's dress.
"Mo...ther.....cough cough...." When his mother bolted forward to grab Satatra, Zarad held onto her clothes.
The strength of a child was nothing compared to that of an angry adult.
Zarad heard the resounding noise of two slaps before the noise stopped.
His mother came up to him and picked him up in her arms.
"GET OUT!" She yelled.
Satatra stood up on his two legs. His cheeks red and swollen. His eyes were brimming with transparent liquid but theh never fell down his cheeks.
"Sorry for the sudden visit." His voice quivered. "I will visit with a former notice next time."
"This..." Zarad heard his mother's angry voice. So he coughed intentionally to get his mother's attention.
Luckily it worked. He was her priority.
When Zarad got better he went to his hiding spot one more time.
"Sorry. About my mother." Zarad apologised to Satatra when they met next time.
His cheeks were still slightly red. But they weren't swollen anymore. Stretching his hand he touched his cheeks, "It must have been painful. Sorry."
"Its okay. You were not the one who hit me." That response made Zarad feel even more guilty.
His mother was terrible to others but she loved him and he loved her too.
Even though she was a bad person she was his mother, his only family.
The two of them sat down. That day they had their very first proper conversation.
And probably the last too.
Zarad stopped going there too often.
"He is your enemy. If you want the throne, you will have to face him. Zarad, don't befriend your enemy. It will only bring you pain later on, when you will have to face him."
His mother's words were indeed true. If they were to become enemies in the future, he shouldn't meet him in secret like this.
But...
On impulses he would go back to that certain place.
Everytime he went there, that little child was always there waiting for him.
He would then smile at him brightly.
Sometimes that smile would make Zarad feel dirty inside. This little guy over there was just a child like him.
"I will stop coming here. This is the last time we will meet."
"Why?"
Because we will be enemies. And enemies can never become friends.
He didn't reply him. Instead he left with a silence.
That memory was the last that remained of their friendly interactions.
Because....
After his mother's death, Zarad changed.
Zarad changed and so did Satatra.
Their childhood encounter was forgotten, discarded in the lapse of time.