His Royal Heart

I am a witness.

Yes. I was his only friend. The Prince of Helic, the firstborn. I was his sole companion in all the adventures. We did hunt. We explored the heart of the forest where no man could draw his footstep. We fought monsters, demons, and worse, men. The King, his highness granted me with the title, 'The Royal Companion". Those were days of glory and gold. I was there. Always by the side of my friend. And I was there when he fell. I celebrated and wept with him. He was a free spirit. He lived with his head in the clouds. Carefree, indomitable, invincible. His bright aura was so strong, I could actually see it. I could feel the pull. He was a magnetic art of the Creator, The Greatest Artist. A heart of gold that he had. And a soul made of love, full of love. He was wild when necessity demanded. He was meek as a lamb when he should be. He was a raging lion when he needed to be. I can still remember his golden locks. His fierce green eyes and his tall, graceful figure. We learned to hold swords against the enemies with the same coach. We learned to pull bows and shoot arrows in the hearts of the demons together. We ran through nights and swam the pool of dangerous waters. I was his brother and friend and the knower of all his secrets.

"Lacun, A man can not ask for a better friend than you", he used to tell often. And drew a bright smile on his face. That smile could make me cost my very life in the blink of an eye.

"It is but my privilege, Your Grace", I always told him in the most grateful voice.

"You leave me too flattered, Lacun. Say no more", he would speak while his face would get a blush.

Herald, the prince of Helic, the beloved and only child of His Majesty Aeshop and Her Majesty Aereol was the hero to the women of the country. He was good at everything. His charming speaking and movements would leave everyone spellbound and so it did until he turned twenty. One cheerful evening, when we were just done with the Archery, he sat by me in the garden and said, “Lacun, my brother”, he directly looked me in the eye and was silent for a moment and added, “I am not happy. I am not.”

My heart skipped a beat and the drums started beating. Whenever there was grave danger, I could hear this drum beating in my heart. Herald’s face was covered with the colour of deep, unspeakable melancholy. I never saw this before.

“Perhaps, it's just time for another ADVENTURE”, I tried to sound jolly.

“No, Lacun. It's not that”, he stood up and slowly walked away without saying another word. I sat there, not knowing what to say, what to do.

The next few days, I did not see Herald for once. I was his companion for all the years and it was the first time I was experiencing this. Her Majesty the Queen called for me. She implored me to talk to Herald and help him to come back to his normal life. I tried. He did not talk to me. For almost ten days I did not see him. His Majesty the King became deeply worried and called for masters. They prescribed herbs and medicines. But nothing seemed to work. The King asked me to talk to Herald and I tried again. This time, he agreed. I sat down beside him and asked him what was going on. He refused to give me a direct answer. His health was broken. His eyes lost the sparkles. He did not smile. I tried to make him speak but he did not talk properly. On the third day, Herald spoke to me.

“Lacun. You are the best friend I have. And the only one. This life, this royalty, this palace, this luxury, this title…Vanity, Lacun! It is…”, he stopped. Suddenly I felt that Herald has become older. His eyes were different, his gaze was distant.

“How do you mean Your Grace? If you so kindly elaborate, I would be so grateful.”

“Being a prince today and a king tomorrow… is not the calling of my life. The rules and the customs, the vanity, and the glitter…So…I am going for sage ritual”, he looked into my eyes and uttered the words of doom. For the next few moments, I felt that the land beneath my feet was crumbling. My ears had a creepy ringing sound and my heart started to beat that drum again. Becoming a sage only meant that a man had to leave everything behind. His titles and creed, identity, and deeds. For the rest of his life, he would have to live in mountains, in the woods, and preach the words of sages if not become a Martyr Sage. To guide the disciples to the light of God. No man can ever come back after the ritual is done. The young sages must fight the deadliest demons and beasts that came from the hell down. Those wars between the demons and sages only ended with the life of a young sage, each year. With the death of a sage, a demon could be killed.

“I will be a Martyr Sage, Lacun. That is my desire. This year, I will kill Kalaus. I will be the young sage who saves his people.”

I found no word to speak.

“I know it will be difficult to earn my parents’ permission. I am relying on you, my friend. Only you can speak to them.”

“Your Grace, I…”, I found no word again.

I had to speak with His and Her Majesties. The King furiously declared that he would never allow such an act. The Queen wept and asked me how I could utter such words of misfortune to her when she was relying on me for the goodness of her only child. Did she not consider me a child of her own? Did she not bless me with the sweet words of motherly love and affection? Did she not protected me with her shadow after my birth mother passed away? I had no answer. I was grateful to her for life.

After another week, Herald called for me in a secret place. He told me that his own father was conspiring to poison him with the water from the River of Oblivion. If Herald was to be a sage, the throne would go to the people of Astroid who were rivals to Helic for generations. As Herald was the only child, there was no pureblood who could be the next king after Aeshop. So, he wanted to destroy Herald’s memory. Though all the cautionary steps were taken to keep it secret, Herald found it all out. He also came to know that his own mother was involved in it. To protect the purity of Royal blood, to protect the throne, the crown, the King and Queen decided that it was a good idea to make their only child a mad man. A king who would be a man without a mind. Just a shell of a man, empty inside.

“Death is certainly better”, his remorse touched my very soul. He sighed. I sighed. I could offer my life to help my beloved friend. But only helplessness remained between him and me. I was silent.

“There is but one way”, his voice was bold as thunder. “And I need your kind favour, Lacun. For the sake of our brotherhood, Lacun...”, Herald’s voice was clearly desperate. He took one of my hands and placed it on his chest and said, “You can help me and I am relying on you, my brother, my friend. Your loyalty is beyond words. You were my companion in all the troubles I ever encountered. In the seas and mounts and the deepest forests, you stood by my side and lent your hand. The love we share, I ask you in the name of that love…”. His voice became heavier and I found my words suddenly.

“Your Grace, I will gladly lay my life down to help you. Name it”, I was unable to breathe.

“Well, my friend, you give me your word…You will not say ‘no’’, he pleaded.

“You have my word!”, I did not think twice to say the words.

“A man cannot be king if he is blind. That is my only escape, Lacun. And I need your help.”

“How do you mean, Your Grace?”, my hand on his chest started to tremble. I could sense that something deadly was about to happen. I could feel the racing heart in his chest.

“I have to be blind to be free from this morbid affair. You need to make me blind. I need a herb. The Blue Flower from the Mamok Island. We fought there together against the cursed muses. Before my father makes me drink the water from the River of Oblivion, I need that herb…”

“No!”, I cried. “NO! NO!! NO!!!”

“You are the only man who can help me Lacun. You gave me your words…”

“I can not…This is such cruel an act…”

Herald placed his logic. If I did not make him a blind man, the king and his people would make him insane and make him sit upon the throne against his will. It was better to be blind by a trusted friend and escape the cruel destiny of being a lifeless and heartless king. He wanted to be a sage. For the first time, a Royal blood was becoming a sage in the history of eight hundred years of Helic Monarchy.

“I choose the darkness of eyes instead of the darkness of the mind. I will not live as a heartless body, a tyrannous king like my fathers and their fathers. I will not let my people be the morsels of the demons.”

“Your Grace…”

“I am not my father, Lacun. My brother, my mate”, his voice was the calmest. “You have to take this responsibility. Once again, lend me your hand. Carry this burden on your shoulders”, he embraced me.

“This death is but a death of glory. If I have a thousand lives, I will choose the death of gallantry. Are you not a man of courage too? Will you choose a meaningless life if you were me? Will you really live such an insignificant life? Just to eat, sleep, breed, and pathetic death of aging? Can you really tolerate this cowardice, Lacun?!”, he placed his hands on my shoulder and shook me. Like the awakening of my conscience depended on that.

I had to give him words. For the sake of love. Friendship. Brotherhood. If I was to leave him in the hands of his king father and his men, he would be a man without a conscience. After the sip of that water, he would become a puppet. It was better to be a sage and lose his sight. I only had a month to find that herbal flower. Herald was prisoned in the palace and I had to start for the voyage.

After a week of a stormy voyage on the ocean, I reached Mamok Island and the Muse Mera greeted me with a warm welcome. She was grateful for we did not kill her after invading her island. She stopped hunting on Merchants that crossed the ocean and cursing them and turning them into whales. She used their soul to preserve her youth. When I looked upon her, I saw an old lady with a kind face. I told her about the herb and reminded her about the promise she made to help us for we spared her life. Muses only could live a hundred years. But Mera and her kins lived more than five hundred years by snatching the soul force out of people from the ships. Now the ritual changed. They accepted natural death. Mera provided me the herb and some precious other gifts. I was in a rush to come back to Herald.

Herald’s plotting was triumphant. The King and the Queen were devastated. He willed that it was me who should be the next king. Only a rightful successor of the throne could will the next king if something was to happen to him. After his blindness, his parents did not dare to oppose him. The people of Helic learned that for the first time in history, a prince was going for the sage ritual voluntarily and willed his friend to be the king.

The war began between Herald and Kalaus. Herald’s brave sword pierced the monster’s heart. But his poisonous claw pierced Herald’s chest too. He laid down as a hero. But in my heart, he is bright as a star. Alive, Immortal. The truest prince. I will carry his legacy till my last day. The children before closing their eyes will hear his name. His story will live forever.