Being one of the biggest and oldest lineages of royalties in this world, the kingdom of Solkara could very well be considered as an empire if it wasn't for their reputation of having corrupt rulers throughout some centuries. The kingdom having to face the constant battle for propriety among their leaders which is what the current king is trying to accomplish after the reigns of four deplorable kings, ranging from his third great-grandfather to his own father whose irresponsibility almost caused the kingdom's glory to end.
With extraordinaire abilities gifted as descendants of fay also comes the consequential conditions for having such power. The greater the power, the harder it is for the individual. The kings and queens don't usually get to live long that is why they are encouraged to have as many children as possible to ensure the thrown. Solkara has a reputable list of mad and ailing rulers so one can imagine both the greatness and pitfalls that this kingdom has which utmost depends on the quality of the next ruler.
Usually, it would take the king to wait up to almost two decades to prove the next heir once they have all come of age or when the king dies. The children's age doesn't usually pose as a problem since their age gaps aren't far, usually five or three years from the eldest to youngest. All children are required to participate. No matter how old they are, they aren't allowed to marry and have children unlike other cultures. They consider this as pathetic for a royal blood that isn't powerful enough to be king to have children.
Figuring out who the next ruler will be is no longer an issue for the current king since he has already found out that it is Drazhan. He is careful to constantly monitor his children's power but with him, there was no need for assurance. Drazhan is the first of their kind born with such immense measure of ability that none in their entire history could ever compare.
After they came back from the trip, Drazhan's life never continued as how it used to. The father and son may act as insouciant as ever in the eyes of the crowd but behind closed doors, their relationship became more earnest. His father now knows of his ability, all he needs to do is to ensure that he is in perfect condition for surviving the thrown. What everyone was made to believe is that the 8th prince is very sickly and therefore has to be constantly monitored by practitioners, his siblings even began to consider that he isn't going to make it very far in life but the continual medical visits were to actually makes sure that he stays healthy. His father even began requesting personal secret lessons with him in his chamber at some nights where he has spare time to personally teach his son.
He was already securing Drazhan's future despite whether he agreed to it or not because once you are the next heir, your fate has already been sealed to be king. Which only makes his life harder for him. Because once his siblings knows about this, they will most likely ensure that he gets killed even before the battle for succession. It's all about their own life or the life of their siblings. After all, Solkara has a very sick tradition. And that is, everyone else has to die in that arena for the next ruler whether they chose to or not. Only one can survive. Some children who were aware of the limit of their abilities were known to be suicidal who didn't even bother to fight for their right and simply died during the tournaments.
Does Drazhan care about all this? He doesn't. He would much rather trade his life as a commoner than being a prince. He is no less than a prisoner in a fancy palace. If he could, there was only one place where he wished to escape to. Back to Lupa.
The night life in the kingdom was as lively as ever celebrating festivities however, the palace was just as peaceful. The soft howling of wolves can be heard from the distant, accompanied by the sound of crickets and the gentle cold breeze of the wind. Luckily, his father was too busy for a private lesson today. The night was the only peace he gets in the palace but having traveled for weeks on end in the desert without a proper bed and its unexpected dangers, Drazhan should finally be able to rest now that he is in the comforts of his own home, but it turned out otherwise. He might have a case of insomnia. Especially now with his newfound responsibilities as secretly being the next king.
"Can't sleep?", a sudden presence interrupts the young prince, his older brother, the 4th prince asked from behind him. Closing up the scuttle door below him as he joined his younger brother in the rooftop lounge of the tower where most of their astronomy classes are held. Drazhan simply gave his brother a soft nod before reverting his attention back to the small pot of dirt in front of him.
The 4th prince couldn't help but sigh as he observed his brother. Guess he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. He was just about to head back to his room after sneaking a late night snack in the pantry room as he himself could also not sleep even after having read many books to condition his rest for the night, that was when he spotted candlelight coming from the observatory tower and discovered Drazhan there.
Alone with a thousand yards stare of gloom into the darkness of the night sky and its stars. Was he observing the moon? It looked like he was deep in his thoughts. Ever since he had come back from joining their father on his small trip, he wasn't the same anymore. He didn't change per say, he is still as calm and quite as ever to others but being the only person close enough to Drazhan, the 4th prince knew the subtle difference about him.
He moved his attention to the pot his brother was dedicating his time unto. There was a seed in it that he was trying to grow into a plant with his element. While the 4th prince's elements are nature and fire, Drazhan only showed capability in the element of nature (to his siblings at least), so maybe that is why he is eagerly practicing his skill to match up with the rest of his siblings who already had their 2 elements but when he saw the plant he was trying to grow expanding and evolving into a fruit within the matter of seconds, his assumption of his brother's efforts became reasoned with something else. A thought came to his brother's mind about how he had become strangely obsessed with peaches as of late.
"Peaches. How curious. So, you are interested in botanical research now?", he teased his brother, breaking his concentration as he sat beside him.
"Why don't we have any peach trees in the palace?"
"Solkara has no peach trees. It's an extremely tedious plant to maintain in this climate", he explained to the little one who seemed even more serious.
"Then I will just have to grow the first one"
The 4th prince marveled at this sight as Drazhan continued on trying to grow a peach tree despite it welting away instantly the moment it grows a certain size. The observatory tower is the furthest away from their quarters and the closest to the garden. It is also only ever used for classes so there was a lot of privacy, it was where his brother spends his time either reading or sleeping other than the library or his room. But now, instead of a place for him to relax, it somehow became someplace where he could be freely frustrated. This is the very first time he has ever seen his brother show frustration instead of his usual poised self. And there can only be one reason for this.
"It is not the peaches that is bothering you. It is her company that you long for", his older brother smiled. Drazhan paused.
"Is that so?"
"Understandably. After all, she is your first friend". Drazhan became silent, a moment passed with only the soft cold breeze of the night amok them as he refined his brother's conclusion.
"Her eyes…", Drazhan softly spoke before turning to his brother.
"I am reminded of them through peaches", he slowly moved his hand to touch the dried welted leaves of the poor plant he kept trying to grow.
"Their color a bright glow of pink and her smile just as sweet", Drazhan smiled in reminisce of his dear friend.
His brother had seen him smile but this one was unlike ever before. He had a certain glint in his eyes that were of pure joy. If there was one thing that he was sure about is that it's the same look of love he had once seen with his father and the late queen. He found it funny that he couldn't help himself and laughed seeing as how his brother had such an expression despite only being a child.
"What's so funny?", Drazhan asked boggled at his brother's reaction.
"It would appear as though she is also your first love", he proudly assumed because if there was ever a name that he had grown sick of hearing, it was Lupa, considering how his younger brother never stopped talking about her since his return.
"Does that mean I am to marry her?", his brother asked, genuinely curious. He paused, he forgot that no matter how mature Drazhan may behave, he is still just a child. He sighed and messed up his brother's hair as he laughed once again.
"We'll see in the future. In the main time, would you like me to read you a bedtime story so you can sleep?"
Drazhan turned to him with a glare.
His older brother forced a defeat and apologized as he tried to ask more about his adventure in Edzhilflare to divert his brother's temper. Although Drazhan is a child, he hated to be treated like one.
To the brothers, the night was still young, and they spent all their time discussing about the news they missed while the other was away until dawn where they had both fallen asleep in the observatory.