The Bloom At Royal Harem's
24. Bright Point
Dark, one word that can describe the state of a room occupied by a woman who sits curled up to her feet. His state was very messy, his eyes were blackened due to the blur of eye-liner, the lipstick that had been disheveled. And his legs were full of wounds due to broken glass when he was about to drink.
The sheer and cold dress of the night was indifferent. His mind was stifled, as he recalled his encounter with the figure of the man he so longed for. The person who became his love and his first enemy. The figure of the man who taught him about his wounds and pain was left behind. The figure he really wants to meet at once he wants to avoid. A father figure that should have existed but never existed.
"Why should it be now? Why?" The mess.
He is Vio. Vio is at the height of his nightmare after the meeting he is so looking forward to.
Before long the door of the room opened, featuring a woman with a candle in her hand. The woman walked over to Vio, the woman sat down equalizing her position with Vio. Slowly, his hand pulled Vio, hugged and held him tightly, making Vio cry for a moment channeling his sorrow that he had been holding back.
"Cry, Brother. Let your heart be calm" said the woman.
"Chella, why? Why is he present now? Why is he seeing me now?" Vio asked from behind Nachella's back.
Vio looked fragile, his body was shaking violently. Anyone who sees it feels pain.
Nachella tightened her arms.
"Sister, I know you're mad at him. But I also know that you miss him a lot. Don't let your hatred get you further away from the person you're missing" Nachella said.
"Be angry with him, but do not let the distance between you widen. Ask for an explanation from her and it will make you understand each other" continued Nachella again who is now gradually loosening her arms.
Now, Vio and Nachella's gazes meet. Nachella smiled faintly closing her sadness at the situation of her foster sister who looked sad. Nachella's hand slowly stretched out toward Vio's leg which was filled with wounds.
"Savior Heretic" he said memorizing the spell, until a white light shone along with the wound on Vio's leg.
"Sister, meet your father. I want you to resolve your misunderstanding" Nachella said with a big smile.
Vio is still tight-lipped. His brain was still thinking hard about Nachella's words that were not half wrong. Emperor Andrew was his father. The person he expected his presence to be.
"All right, I'll see him tomorrow. But, I want you to come" said Vio.
"All right"
⚜⚜
In another corner of the Visilion Empire. Seen a pulabaya man who was busy struggling at his work desk. In front of him there was a newly completed imperial edict he stamped, as proof if the decree was official status.
A knock on the door distracts him. Slowly a woman came along carrying a tray of soup that was still hot.
"My husband, I brought lotus seed soup. Drink while hot to warm your body" said Rova who immediately put the bowl of soup in front of Andreas.
At first glance, a smile full of charisma emanated from Andreas' face which began to put a spoonful of soup into his mouth. But his gaze became sad as he recalled the incident some time ago while in the Kingdom of Courlage.
"I know what you're thinking. What if we tell the guards to let our Princess Vio and Princess Nachella in?" Advice Rova.
Andreas looked at him. He saw the sweet smile that emanated from the face of Rova who still looked young at the age of almost 40 years.
"You're right, my wife" Andreas confirmed the suggestion of his wife, Rova.
"Akash!"
Before long, a man in a knight uniform came in to face him.
"Greetings Your Majesty the Emperor, Greetings Your Majesty the Empress. You called me?" Ask after greeting.
"Yes, tell all the guards and servants to let Princess Vionnary and Princess Nachella in, without needing my approval again!" Andreas' orders were directly supported by Akash.
"All right, Your Majesty. Then I say retreat" said Akash who then walked backwards before disappearing from behind the door.
After Akash died, Andreas smiled bitterly at Rova.
"Will he forgive me, Rova? Will Vio be back?" Ask Andreas himself.
"Of course, I'm sure she'll be back" Rova said, carrying Andreas' head against her shoulder.
⚜⚜
Birds welcome the morning. This morning, the cold atmosphere covered with clean snow enveloped the city that seemed deserted without activity.
Until a horse carriage passed, leaving a wheel trail on the snow that was spread beautifully like a rug.
Inside, there were two women with thick coats wrapped around their bodies. A crown was also attached to the top of their heads in an oat-colored sheath dress that contrasted with the snow.
"Sister" called a woman with a hand that held the right hand of the woman in front of her who looked nervous with her hand that gripped tightly against the coat she was wearing.
"Ah, yes Chella. What's up?" Shocked Vio.
"There is no brother. I just want to tell my sister that the scenery is so beautiful" Nachella said as she opened the curtain of a horse carriage to see a clear white snow that enveloped the city like a giant blanket. The roofs of the houses in the snow-covered and the trees that turned white were a sight they could encounter along the way.
For Nachella, this incident was a happy thing. Especially in his old world he had never felt this kind of thing. But there is one main thing behind it all, namely he can play snow anytime and anywhere without feeling cold. Even this time the dress was only coated in velvet cloth which was very different from Vio who wore a thick coat of fox fur.
"You're right, Chella. The view is beautiful" said Vio.
Before long, the carriage stopped right in front of a large gate guarded by many people.
"Who's inside?" Ask guards.
Soon Nachella opened her curtain, smiling she threw a smile that was unconsciously reciprocated by the guards who saw her.
"Princess Nachella and Princess Vionnary of the Kingdom of Courlage"
"Greetings Your Highness Princess Nachella and Princess Vionnary, you are welcome to enter" the guard said as he greeted the crowd.
"OPEN GATE!" The guard's orders.
Soon opened a large gate that now displays an empty labyrinth lined with large walls on the right and left. Until you see rows of tall buildings that look shiny black.
The carriage continued to accelerate slowly, before finally stopping right in front of a medium-sized fountain that was also greeted by the servants like guests of honor.
"Please, Princess. Your Majesty has been waiting for you in the Garden of Vedora. Let me show you" said one of the servants who immediately showed me the way.
⚜⚜
Long enough for Vio and Nachella to circle the palace until it did not feel finally they both arrived in front of an entrance made of a series of plants that form a medium-sized archway.
"Your Majesty, please come in. I want to resign" said the waiter.
"Thank you" said Vio.
Vio and Nachella slowly walked into the archway. Until a very large and beautiful garden. Surrounded by a stretch of colorful flowers, even butterflies are seen flying freely around one flower to another. Right in the middle of the park, there is a medium-sized gazebo that has been occupied by a man. The man is seen waiting for someone while accompanied by the chirping of a seagull flying freely above him.
"Sister, go. I'll wait outside" Nachella said as she pushed slowly on Vio's back. Letting him talk to the man while he goes out, circling the kingdom that looks beautiful on the inside but looks creepy from the outside.
"alright. Be careful" said Vio who immediately stepped over to the man earlier.
The POV END
⚜⚜
The Vio POV
"Greetings Your Majesty Emperor Andreas" I said shortly after arriving at the threshold of the gazebo.
"Sit down, my daughter" said Emperor Andrew, who was none other than my father. I wasn't ready to call him Dad, especially after the many things that happened between me and him.
"Dad thought you wouldn't want to see dad. Thank you" said Emperor Andreas.
I could see, dark circles in his eyes, his lips were pale as well. Even the temples appear to be sweating, even though the weather is cold. I don't know what happened to him. Yesterday he looked very healthy, but what is this? Is he sick?
"You know very well yourself, Your Majesty. I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for Princess Nachella forcing me. So thank him and you should be able to go straight to the core of the problem because I also know if you are very busy to clearly look big dark circles in your eyes" I said.
I saw him smile a little.
Did he take the wrong medicine this morning?, I thought.
"Yes, I will thank Princess Nachella later and it seems that you are very attentive to this father, Princess Vionna"
"Don't divert the preaching, Your Majesty" I said.
I saw him return with a faint look before staring at the sky which was dropping more and more snowflakes.
"alright. I'll explain to you I hope you don't cut it" he said.
~~
17 Years ago. In the fighting arena
The jails have been fighting each other, hitting anyone who is ready to defend a crime. But the weapon is not a real sword but a wooden stick that is used as a training tool.
"Your Majesty, is that just your strength?" Asked the woman in a mocking tone of a man.
The man who was his opponent had been filled with sweat on his body. While the woman still looked beautiful with the long black hair she had stowed, not a single drop of sweat drenched her. Even his smile still remained glistening, as the match went on.
"Ugh, you're too proud, Anne. I'm sure, this time you will lose" said the man who had either said the umpteenth time, but again and again the man still lost. Even now his body has been filled with reddish bruises.
"justified? Let's prove it, Your Majesty"
Soon, the match began again. Until a stick is thrown into the air along with the sound of the two objects colliding with each other makes anyone who saw it instantly grimace made.
A DUG!
"I won Your Majesty" said the woman.
"Well, what are you asking for?" Ask the man.
Yes, as expected, again the man lost and he was hit right on his back after the woman threw the stick he was holding into the air.
"I asked for.."
But not yet finished the woman said her request, a man in knight clothes approached the two and immediately whispered something to the man who made the man leave immediately without leaving a word.
--
The setting changed into a royal meeting hall.
There was a man with a great outfit. His body stood upright, with his head slightly looking up.
"What's Vincent?" Asked a man who had come from the doorway to his throne seat.
Yes, the man was Andreas who was originally enjoying his free time with Consort Anne who was then disturbed by the presence of his half-brother, Vincent Noel Eiderlands.
"Greetings Your Majesty Emperor Andreas, May Goddess Anocia protect you" greetings man named Vincent.
"Let's get the point!"
"I think I'm bothering you two, huh, my brother?" Said Vincent with a smile that was hard to decipher.
Fed up, one word that represents Andreas's current thinking sees his sister's always haughty behavior.
"Say, what do you want?" Andreas asked, beginning to lose his patience.
"Well, you know not about the border issues. Don't you want to find out who's behind the problem?" Ask Vincent.
Instantly Andreas recalls a series of problems that continue to arise at the border. From the constraints of irrigation to the revolts around warm clothing that the empire used to share when winter came. But true as Vincent said, until now he did not know the mastermind behind the series of problems.
"What do you mean?"
"Consort, Anne. He and his father are the mastermind behind this incident" said Vincent who immediately got the hooked sword Andreas.
"What do you mean, Vincent? You know Anne is not my concubine and her father is my confidant!" Jerk Andreas.
"And you know also Andreas, if Richard is the commander-in-chief and Anne is even able to defeat you in the sword and for that reason you always use a wooden stick when training with him" it is clear that Vincent was right.
"No. I know it's all wrong. I don't believe that"
"Believe doesn't believe that's the reality, Andreas and you have to accept that fact" explained Vincent who walked out of the meeting hall with a thin smirk.
On the other hand, without the knowledge of both. A woman hid behind a curtain hanging from a window that was right next to the door of the meeting hall.
All the conversations of the two men had reached his ears without any gaps. Like lightning during the day, he immediately ran to his room packing his clothes and took his 3-year-old daughter away from the residence.
--
"Vio, I brought you some chocolate" Andreas said half-runningly to a room that looked deserted.
The room was cold, as if there were no living creatures in it. Andreas is getting in, his feet are stepping down every corner of the room looking for the existence of 2 women who are very meaningful in his life.
"Vionna, I brought you some chocolate. Are you playing hide-and-seek with dad?" Ask. But once again there is no truth, only the wind that blows the pelas wagging its silver mane.
"Vionna! Anne!" Call her.
"Anne!"
"Vionna!"
Now that his mind was in turmoil, there was a sense of concern about the whereabouts of the two women. He stepped out of the room in a hurry to approach some servants who were busy cleaning the palace courtyard.
"Greetings Your Majesty"
"Did you see Consort Anne and Princess Vionna?" Andreas asked firmly.
"Answer, Your Majesty. I don't see Consort Anne and Princess Vionna"
"You?"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty I didn't see Consort Anne and Princess Vionna either"
Andreas' mind is getting messed up. He ran towards the main palace. Thinking that Consort Anne and her daughter were with Empress Rova for a chat. But once again, he did not find the existence of the two even Empress Rova also did not know the existence of Consort Anne who was his only friend in the palace.
"Where are you?" Andreas Said.
--
The seasons had changed, cold air burst out to spread throughout the corner of the Visilion Empire area. The light of the lantern, illuminating the path filled with snow fog that increasingly felt piercing.
At the end of the road, a man in a fox-white robe was limping along with a stack of paper painted with a human face. His wrinkled hands picked up the adhesive which he then placed on the sheets of paper which he attached to the walls of stalls and snow-filled trees.
For a long time he had done so, hoping for a miracle to bring him back to the two women he was looking for. But it seems like fate has not been on his side. Even after his return from the battlefield, he never met his wife and child who he so longed for.
Until a call distracts him.
"Your Majesty, Prince Alcarax has been found" said a man with a hood covering his face.
"Catch and cut him. Throw his body into the forest" said the man called 'Your Majesty.
After the man died, the man stared at the painting of the woman attached to the tree trunk. Implied longing from his eyes until unconsciously a clear drop burst out of his eye fertilizers.
"Hurry back, Anne" he said.
~~
Unknowingly, Vio cried to hear the story of Andreas which seemed to bring him to remember the good and dark times both.
"I'm sorry, Vionna. I didn't mean to leave you and your mother. I love you and I don't know if your mother Anne overheard a conversation between your father and your uncle Alcarax" either"
"But I swear, I never trusted the words of Alcarax who was a master deceiver. Father has even sentenced the man to death" Andreas continued.
Without Andreas guessing, Vio ran over hugging him with a weeping rushing from his eye cuffs.
"I believe dad, I believe. Forgive me" said Vio who could no longer hold back his tears.
Andreas immediately returned the hug of his son. His hand moved rubbing Vio's silver mane with a smile that he forcibly pulled trying to incline Vio.
"Thank you for trusting your father, Vionna" said Andreas who immediately got a nod Vio.
"So will you go back to this palace, Vionna?"
"May I be with Nachella until her debut?" Asked Vio who was slowly loosening his embrace with Andreas.
"Didn't you miss your father?"
"I miss you, but Nachella I already think of as my own sister"
"Are you serious, Vionna?"
"I'm serious, dad"
"Well, if that's what you want. I will agree to it by force" Andreas said, a rude sigh sounded from him with a smile he forcefully pulled.
Vio who heard that, immediately smiled widely. He hugged the man he missed. There was great relief in his heart. Especially after he learned the fact that had been raging in his heart.
Thank you, Goddess, Vio said in his heart.
⚜⚜
TB
