the kiah

chapter 11: the misunderstanding between brothers

aziel returned to the palace with the box full of baked sweets and a content grin plastered over his face, taking the attention of the guards and maids working.

quickly the visit of the second prince to zosia state became a well-discussed topic. rumours regarding the war general and ailith began circulating. the concubines in the royal harem began praising the queen congratulating her for having her son make the cold yet elegant young lady zosia bake sweets for him.

the queen also accepted the praises and did not miss the chance to boast about her son.

on the other hand, the empress's chambers were in gloom. the second prince managed to gain the favor of Lady Ailith had become a common rumor, making the crown prince who was the best candidate to marry her become a laughingstock of the society.

the empress was angry at her own son, the crown prince. he not only refused to meet her but even went and had tea with his rival the second prince!

no one knew what was going on in the crown prince's head, but they all were waiting for the two princes to end their little chat to know of the latest gossip.

...........

in the second prince's chambers...

the two princes were having tea silently. both kept staring at each other without uttering a word, the area filled with sparks making the servants shiver in fear.

"dismissed" The crown prince glanced toward the servants and uttered a word in a cold harsh tone.

the servants quickly bowed to the two princes before leaving them alone. 

given the two princes' nature they were bound to have a fight, probably involving the destruction of the chambers and the cutlery.

to save their lives it was best to leave and prepare for the new furniture and tea sets.

inside the chambers axelle and aziel finally placed their teacup down.

"prince aziel, is it true that you went to visit lady zosia?" axelle asked grimly eyeing the baked sweets on a platter in front of the war general.

aziel had the audacity to pick up one of the sweets and take a bite grinning instead of answering his question right away.

axelle clenched his fists in anger, not wanting to draw his sword just yet on his brother; though the said brother was focused on stealing his everything and watching him fall.

"lady ailith zosia is not only an elegant lady but also an excellent rider and an artistic chef" aziel pushed the baked sweet platter towards axelle, making it clear that he had indeed visited Lady ailith and also had those baked sweets. he also gave new information that stated that the two had even had a stroll on a horse.

axelle felt his chest tighten, even though he had already been rejected by lady ailith.

he did not want to see her with any other men. he wanted her for himself.

axelle picked up his cup to hide his anger and glared at the baked goods. they looked and smelled tempting, but ailith baked them for his brother and not him.

he wondered why would she reject him and accept his brother? they both had equal rights to the throne given their status, though he had the advantage of being the crown prince but that could change at any given moment.

ailith marrying aziel being one such reason.

the person ailith would marry would have enough power to rival any duchy in the empire. if any prince married her then they would have a seventy per cent chance of becoming the next emperor.

axelle was trained for the throne since he was an infant. he knew nothing else but how to win and gain favour of the ministers and concubines. to make deals with neighbouring kingdoms and expand his own empire.

but that wasn't what he wanted. he had only followed his mother and father in those tasks, inside he never knew what he should do to get what he truly desired. he wanted to experience true love, from his father, mother and his siblings; and most of all have a loving partner.

after meeting ailith, he knew he wanted to be with her, but not at the expanse of the empire, not at the expanse of his family.

he felt like a curious kid with overwhelming power and wealth but no love. he felt that if he could win ailith he would get that love, those people he desired.

it was one of the reasons he proposed to her, but she rejected him. saying that he would tie her down with responsibilities, and bind her to the duties of the empress. she wanted freedom, to do as she pleased in an era where women had no rights.

even his father's decision to allow lady ailith to choose her partner was in a way against the law!

"your highness, prince axelle, are you going to glare at those sweets or are you going to have a bite? i assure you they taste as divine as they visualize and smell" aziel grinned at axelle who was pulled out of his thoughts.

being suddenly interrupted he unconsciously picked a muffin and took a bite.

in that moment, he felt his anger vanish. in his mind, only the taste of the sweet remained along with a hint of rose flavour. 

axelle closed his eyes as he savoured the taste and tried to keep a moan from escaping. after two bites he was suddenly pulled back to reality when he found his hand empty and a burst of laughter coming from the prince in front of him.

embarrassed, axelle glared at the second prince.

he was even more sure of having ailith to himself after tasting her baked sweets. 

"you always speak of being my brother and staying at my side, then why did you try to woo lady ailith? when you know that i-" axelle paused in his sentence because aziel had stuffed his mouth with another sweet.

still grinning at him.

"i did not woo her, i went there to ask her to give a chance to your relationship through a competition. who knew i would lose!" aziel sighed smiling lightly at the memory.

"and contrary to the rumours, those sweets were not baked for me. i get them as a compensation gift for losing." aziel picked a cookie and took a bite before speaking again

"i brought them back thinking maybe you would enjoy eating them together"

axelle observed aziel. as always he could not understand if aziel was speaking the truth or was just putting up an act. whichever it was axelle knew he had to woo ailith quickly.

axelle wanted to leave right away and go to zosia state, but not before finishing a task

axelle glared at aziel across the table as he continued finishing those sweets silently together.

none of them spoke again but rather enjoyed their tea time without a fight. for the first time, the two brothers choose to eat instead of fighting it out using swords. 

Though Axelle left after the sweets were finished, aziel knew axelle enough to know that there might still be a chance of having their bond reforged and strengthened.