The Sultans Heirs

{A Kingdom Swept In Misery}

Malik

I sighed in frustration for what felt like the millionth time. My siblings and I were currently sitting in the royal garden. Zado and Moe were playfully fighting and being as loud and annoying as usual while Jellal and I sat on the grass watching them.

Nabella was busy collecting flowers from the garden, ignoring our brothers commotion.

We were supposed to be practicing our entrance for Adam's coronation, but he wasn't here 

when we woke. We were told he went hunting with our uncle, so now we had no choice but to wait for him to return so we could get this practice entrance over with.

I'm surprised they went hunting together after what happened last night. It's expected of Adam since he's the type to forgive and forget easily, but my uncle is not. He and my other two uncles are the type to hold a grudge, or at least that's what my mother has told me.

"Aren't they taking a little too long?" Jellal yawned from beside me.

I lay back down onto the soft green grass and looked up at the wide blue sky. For some odd reason, I had this eerie feeling. This bad feeling had been lurking since I woke up this morning.

"Yeah. They are taking longer than usual. If they don't return in a little while, we'll send a few guards to look for them. They most likely lost track of time and got distracted with hunting."

Jellal nodded but still didn't look convinced. It seemed as if he was having the same feeling I was. I didn't want to dwell on it, so I focused on Zado and Moe, who were still wrestling.They continued to deflect or dodge each other's attacks before Zado swiftly and easily overpowered Moe and pinned him to the ground.

Zado laughed at Moe's struggling state before letting him go and standing up to dust off his clothes. Moe stood up right after and angrily shrugged off his jacket. 

"That was not fair. You cheated." Zado laughed once more and crossed his arms, "Oh yeah? Please indulge me on how I cheated."

"You tripped me." He accused as he pointed down to his feet. Zado rolled his eyes. "No one tripped you. You fell on your own. Ask Malik and Jellal. They were watching the whole thing." I nodded while Jellal said, "You fell on your own."

Zado smirked and looked back at our younger brother. "See? They saw the whole thing. I was nowhere close to your feet. That was all you."

Moe hesitated before coming up with a reply. "Well, that was because the sun was in my eyes." "The sun wasn't even in your direction. Besides, clouds are covering the sky." Nabella answered, coming up behind them and carrying a bouquet of different types of flowers.

Moe glared at her and then turned to glare at Jellal and me. "Why are you always siding with him?" Zado scoffed and shook his head. "You're still just a boy. You have many things to learn."

It was now Moe's turn to scoff and cross his arms. "I'm not a boy. I'm a man now." He looked almost proud as he said that; he even puffed out his chest slightly.

"A man knows when to admit defeat." Jellal answered with a grin, annoying Moe even more.

Moe snarled at Jellal. "I already told you I was not defeated. I was just distracted." Nabella lowly scoffs and walks past him towards the palace. "Whatever helps soothe your little boy's feelings."

Her small remark caused Jellal, Zado, and me to laugh while Moe sulked and demanded a rematch. After witnessing Zado quickly bring down Moe again, we decided to follow Nabella into the palace.

Once in the palace, we went up to the main hall with an open view of the front of the palace. Nabella was already there, looking out into the distance. Her eyes were clouded with worry. 

"How do you think things will be when Adam takes over?" She suddenly asked as she turned around to face me.

I leaned against the large balcony wall and looked up at the sky, thinking for a moment, "I don't know, but I'm sure nothing major is going to change."

She looked like she wanted to say something but was interrupted by our brothers following us into the balcony. They were still bickering amongst themselves. "You know you have no chance of beating me."

Moe scoffed. "You know that not everything is about physical strength, right?" Jellal chuckled and slung his arm around Moe's shoulder. "Why are you speaking as if you are some kind of genius?"

"Why are you speaking as if I'm not a genius?" he countered, but you could see how annoyed he was starting to get.

Zado rolled his eyes. "That's because you have the mindset of an-" "They're back!" Nabella shouted, interrupting Zado's comeback.

We all turned to look out in the distance, right ahead of the gate. We could see them approaching. I realized that Adam wasn't with them when they got close enough to recognize their figures.

My uncle was in the front, and behind him were a few of his guards, but Adam was nowhere in sight. "Where is Adam?" Zado asked the same question that had been circling in my head.

Once they passed through the palace gates' entrance, we all hurried down to the palace's front field. The servants and guards were already gathered in front of my uncle and his knights. They quickly made way for us as we approached until we stood in front of my uncle.

I quickly noticed some of his knights looked injured, and he looked like he was about to start sobbing. Just like that, the eerie feeling I had earlier returned, but a thousand times stronger. "What happened? Where is my brother?"

We all watched them cautiously, awaiting his answer. He jumped off his horse and looked at me, then down to the floor, a tear sliding down his face.

My heart suddenly clenched, and tears started welling up in my eyes. "Did you not hear him? He asked you where our brother is" Jellal shouted.

I looked at the knights. I was hoping for someone to explain what had happened to me, but none of them met my eyes. All of them looked down as if they were ashamed to be in front of me right now. I turned to look at my brothers and sister, and they had the same horrified expressions on their faces.

"Adam insisted on going deeper into the woods to find better hunting locations, and after we found one, we got too distracted with hunting to notice there were mountain lions. They attacked us, and we ended up separating. We lost a few knights, and when I went to search for Adam, it was already too late. He didn't make it."

I heard what he said, yet I couldn't react; it was almost as if I was frozen. I felt my tears shedding, yet I still couldn't comprehend the situation. I could hear screaming and wailing in the background, and I knew it was coming from siblings.

"No!" Moe screamed. The servants' and my siblings' shouting continued to get louder and louder. Yet I could barely make out what they were saying. I felt as if I was underwater.

My uncle pulled out something from his horse's pouch, unwrapped the scarf, then slowly handed it to me. It was Adam's sword, drenched in blood. "I'm so sorry." My uncle said as tears were running down his face.

I just stared at the sword with silent tears dripping onto it. That's when every sickening and twisted emotion rushed into me at once, and it quickly dawned on me. My brother is dead.

Something in me snapped at that moment, and the most gut-retching wail left my lips.