Hold My Hand

Prologue

The families in the magnificent township in Oakdale were busy getting ready for dinner or for their evening activities. The silence was pleasant, until it wasn't. Gunshots could be heard and they saw unfamiliar vehicles rush through their roads. The fishermen busy at work in the ever-giving river Minas froze when they saw the boats passing by them, its occupants firing shots at each other. Estevan pulled the curtains down. He checked on his sons. His oldest was too busy with his headphones to have heard anything. His youngest was fast asleep.

The insolent older one raised an eyebrow in askance. Estevan shook his head and stepped out. He heard a knock on the door. His son seemed to have heard it too. The child was looking at him. They have made a secure life here. It can't be any of their neighbors. They all sure as hell heard the gunshots and wouldn't step out. Estevan checked the camera. He could see the silhouette of a man leaning against the wall, clutching himself. His first instinct was to not open.

"He is injured," said Myles.

"Go and stay with your brother," said Estevan.

"What about you?" asked Myles.

Estevan fixed his son with a stare and that was enough to send him off, rather petulantly too.

He then opened the door.  Estevan was in for a surprise when he saw who it was.

"Your highness," he said pulling the door open and letting the emperor in. His guards who were observing the perimeter in the shadows pressed a kit into Estevan's hand. They closed the door and left to guard the house. The emperor was valiantly trying to stay awake. The reason Estevan decided to stay in Oakdale was because this area close to the palace is very peaceful and under the emperor's direct ruling.

"Thank you," the emperor managed to say before he lost consciousness. Estevan knew his way around an injury. He carried the emperor to his room, the only place with a vacant bed and laid him down. He gently removed the shirt. The emperor is an omega but now is not the time for modesty. He slowly peeled off the shirt and saw the large cut on his arm. The bullet proof jacket he had been wearing saved him from the bullets for sure. But the cut was deep and he was losing blood rapidly. He took his time stitching it and dressing it. Then he gave the IV fluid. There was another knock and he went over to open the door.

"I am Desmond, the emperor's secretary. How is he? Medical team will arrive soon," said the man.

"He is fine. I would appreciate it if you can shift him. My children shouldn't be seeing this," said Estevan.

"I understand your concern. I will make sure that he is moved to a safer location soon," said the man who looked to be in his 60s.

Estevan nodded and led the man to the room and stayed in the hall after that. He checked on his kids once and saw both fast asleep tightly wound around each other. He tucked them in and stepped out. The medical team rushed the emperor out soon after with cops flooding the region.

"It's the Marino gangs," Desmond was telling the cop in charge who was rather competent and way too young. They left with the emperor not long after that. Next day, it was the talk of the town.

Estevan runs a café in the neighborhood. A rather large café which is often packed. He employs ten people who are all from the neighborhood. Next morning, the only thing people were talking about was the attack on the emperor the other night. Apparently, his highness was visiting the river project underway in the upper region of the river which is close to Oakdale. The emperor is recovering at the royal hospital according to news reports.

The buzz went down when the next hot topic came up- two actors eloping without family's blessings. Estevan had his children to take care of and very little time to linger on the emperor. However, his 15 -year- old is a curious one. Its perhaps an after effect of his age. Myles was keeping track and his seven- year- old was equally invested in the story. He had been very disappointed that he couldn't meet the emperor.

It was almost a month later that he got a courier. He never gets any post, so Estevan was surprised. He saw the royal emblem in it and opened it. Inside was a box. He opened the box. It had two packages and a letter. He opened the first package which was evidently for the children. Chocolates and an invite to visit the palace.

He opened the second package. It had three recipe books- rare recipe books directly from palace vaults. He opened the letter, not holding it off any longer.

I would like to express my gratitude for aiding me at a time I needed it the most. Thank you for opening your door for me. Thank you for stitching up my wounds. Thank you for letting me stay. If you ever need a help I can offer, do reach out to Desmond. I will attach a card with the package.

Hector Accardi

He will have to put his foot down on the palace visit but he won't keep the offer from his children. He had vowed to always be honest about everything possible with them when they came into his care.

As expected, the decision to not accept the invite didn't sit well. Both were up in arms.

"You are always like this. We maybe humble by origin but your inferiority complex knows no bounds," snapped Myles, always the angry one.

"We are not going, means we are not going," said Estevan.

Myles stormed out.

"Are you sure Baba?" asked his seven- year- old Elio, scrunching his nose, clearly appealing.

"Yes, I am sure. Off you go," he said. It was not that he didn't want his children to have the opportunity. He didn't want unnecessary spotlight for the kids. Myles will calm down.