On a rainy day, Prince Meeka, son of Emperor Belenus van Elod, made his way through the dark underground passages of the palace.
He liked these desolate, dark hallways more than the grand halls and white rooms of the actual castle. Too many people ran around there, and it was too crowded for his taste- especially on a day like today, when all the people forced themselves inside instead of staying in the luxurious gardens and courtyards outside. All in the fear of possibly ruining their expensive garments, elaborate hairstyles, or getting a drop of water into their shoes.
Meeka didn't get their fears, he enjoyed the cool rain drenching his clothes and touching his skin. To him, it felt better than being in some damp room of the palace. Since this sentiment came from someone whose affinity belonged to the demesne of fire, the opposite of water, this meant that all the other people were yellow-bellies, who all behaved like they were made of sugar.
Then again, Meeka couldn't be surprised. All the people in the palace, even the servants, were nobles or at least had a lot of money. And rich people were overly sensitive. They thought the world revolved around them and probably even thought the weather had to obey their wishes.
Meeka could only roll his eyes at such nonsense. Like many times before, Meeka vowed never to become like them. Maybe out of that fear or simply because they annoyed him, he tried to avoid the people at court as much as possible.
A good objection would be why he didn't just move away, if the people here and the court life bother him that much.
The answer to it was simple; it would be a drastic action and would garner too much attention. People would talk about it, theorize about it- was it because he had fallen out with his father or with another family member, or did he perhaps have a mission?
So many eyes would be placed on him- Meeka already shuddered by just imagining it. Outside of the palace, as a royal prince, he would be the most powerful person. Naturally, people would make sure he was in the spotlight and that everything would go as he wished.
In the palace, however, Meeka lived comfortably in the shadow of greater people, like his father and his siblings, who had all made their names known in one way or another.
Surrounded by famous people, he drowned in the mass. Especially since he had his chambers underground and performed his duties from there.
To Meeka's disappointment, not everything could be done in one place. Today was such a day that duty commanded Meeka to leave his comfort zone and socialize- even if it was just with one of his siblings.
By now, the prince had reached the staircase, leading upstairs. Naturally, the voices of the people at court had greeted him long before that. The prince took a deep breath before stepping onto the first step of the staircase.
Then he quickly made his way up to the ground floor.
As soon as he entered the reception hall, the biggest room besides his father's throne room, guards swept around him, protecting him from all sides, while all the servants, or other people who were close enough to see and recognize him, fell to their knees and bowed. A royal prince had made his appearance, so everyone had to show their respect.
Meeka hated it. Instead of feeling respected, he felt awkward, which in turn reinforced his hatred for getting 'above the surface'.
While others would appreciate such reverence (Meeka knew everyone else in the family did), he didn't because of two reasons:
First, he understood that they didn't pay respect to his person, but rather to his family, his bloodline, and his ancestors.
Second, because they didn't bow out of their own will or out of appreciation for him, Prince Meeka. No, they prostrated themselves because it was the rule, and if you didn't follow the order, you would get murdered.
Meeka hated it, but he was in no position to change anything. Maybe somewhere far away, at the edges of the empire or even beyond, where his father's influence was minor, things could be different, but definitely not here, where his father reigned supreme. Everything else was meaningless compared to Emperor Belenus' beliefs.
So all Meeka could do was ignore the people around him- their postrating, their praising, their wellwishes- he tried to blend them all out. Luckily, those who served him regularly, like his deputy and guards, knew of the prince's preferences. They kept silent and ensured no one came too close to Meeka as they followed the prince in silence and kept a certain distance from Meeka, just like he wished.
Meeka tried to take the shortest route while keeping away from human gatherings.
Still, there were places Meeka couldn't avoid. Or rather, he could, but he didn't want to because it would only take him longer to reach his destination. And yet, when he walked along a spacious hallway, he turned left and went outside into a small garden.
"My-my prince", the uncertain voice of his deputy sounded behind him, "where are you heading?"
Meeka waited until all members of his part had stepped through the small side door and closed it behind them, before he looked around.
It appeared they were alone here, since he saw and heard nothing.
"Come on, my prince, we're getting our clothes wet! You have a meeting! All those nice garments-"
"We're getting our clothes wet regardless, we still have to go through a few gardens, after all," Meeka commented unbothered.
"But this one is not necessary. It leads nowhere!"
"Right, but it was the favorite place of my father's late wife. I hope you haven't forgotten today is her day of death."
His deputy hurriedly shook his head.
"So I came here to show my respect. After all, father has erected a golden statue in her honor."
Again, Meeka looked around the garden. "I'm surprised father isn't here personally."
This statement earned him a shocked look from his deputy.
"My prince, surely you must be joking! It's raining! Surely the emperor has more important things to do than wetting his royal garments. He can come here after the rain has stopped, after all."
Meeka only shrugged his shoulders and said seemingly nonchalantly: "He was here last year, and the year before."
No matter the weather, always around the same time, he added mentally. Arian's mother had been his favorite woman after all. Probably the only one he truly loved.
Meeka ignored the disapproving gaze of his deputy and walked further into the garden until he stood in front of said golden statue. He kneeled down, fully aware that the wet floor would leave green stains on his white clothes.
He fumbled around in the pockets of his layered garment until he found what he was looking for. Meeka pulled out a red rose and placed it infront of the statue.
The woman depicted was beautiful, her face looked just as perfect and angelic as Arian's.
Or at least when Meeka last saw Arian's face, it looked just like the statue's.
But that had been over ten years ago, when they were still children. At some point, Arian, just like all his other siblings, had started to realize they were political enemies and that at one point in the future, one had to kill the other, since only one person could become the divine ruler of the empire.
From that point onwards, Arian had refused to remove the veil in Meeka's presence. So the prince couldn't tell how his older brother looked.
Especially after the incident, Meeka wondered if there was still this light of mischievousness and determination in Arian's eyes, that he, as a little child, had so admired.
Or maybe Arian had lost that long before he turned paraplegic. Probably the latter, Meeka figured. His brother had started early with accumulating power. And the pursuit of power destroyed even the best.
Meeka shook his head in dejection. How he wished he could turn back time, or better- how he wished their relationship had stayed as it was. What if they were still friends and still trusted each other?
Meeka wondered how his brother was faring right now, in exile. But this was not the time to think about it.
I will get my answers later, now I have to visit Einar.
He got up and signaled for his party to follow, continuing their journey through the palace.
In the end, they walked for half an hour. Even though Meeka chose shortcuts, such as walking through the gardens, it took them quite a while to reach the private chambers of his older brother, Prince Einar.
In his mind, Meeka cursed his brother for having his chambers on the twentieth floor. All those staircases could have been avoided, he grumbled, before facing the personal guards of his brother.
"Prince Einar has requested Prince Meeka's presence," Meeka's deputy announced, to which one of Einar's guards answered that Prince Einar wished for a private meeting between brothers, therefore, Meeka's party should wait outside.
So he wants to discuss something very serious, if he even commands my deputy to stay outside, Meeka thought and wondered what his brother wanted from him.
After all, Meeka didn't participate in the political game like all the other nobles. Unlike those who spent their entire lives seeking even more power than they already had, he knew how to enjoy his life with what he got, no matter the situation.
He knew power wouldn't make him happier, just like he knew it didn't make all those who wanted it happier. His father sought it for all his life, even going so far as to tame the strongest beast ever known to mankind. And yet, it wasn't enough. Now he wanted for him and his phoenix to undergo transformation and to reach the rumored eighth rank.
No matter the cost, in his pursuit, his father had become more ruthless than ever, being willing to cross even more lines and accept even more casualties after each failing attempt.
The same went for Arian, he had gotten everything. A powerful beast, good friends, and a powerful faction that supported his political rise. And yet he had wanted more. During his pursuit of power, he had failed to realize how he became more ruthless and how he started to neglect those who were closest to him, until they betrayed him.
And now, Arian had to live with the consequences. For his brother's sake, Meeka hoped, Arian had realized his pursuit of power had ultimately been his downfall.
Meeka knew his father and Arian were only examples of people pursuing power over everything else. But he knew they all had the same problem: they couldn't get enough.
Meeka was proud of being someone who avoided this pit altogether.
And yet, he had the suspicion his brother Einar wanted to pull him into said pit today.
What a shitshow, Meeka cursed in his mind, before he signaled to his guards to wait outside.
It wasn't the first time someone tried to use Meeka in their political affairs. And it won't be the last.
All Meeka had to do was stay out of it, while offending no one.
He had done it before, so today would surely be no different.