A Magical Spell ~ Ramayan | @TheLadyAesthetic

2. The Crown Prince

The palace hallways were unusually empty, bereft of the normally pleasant and lively atmosphere, now replaced with silence, a deathlike ominous silence that tugged at the eldest prince's heart strings as he walked steadily through the maze of palatial corridors.

His armored feet clanked heavily against the polished marbel floors with every step, adding to the increasing gloom of the royal palace.

The sun had begun its gradual descent toward the western horizon and Rama quickened his pace. Worry gnawed at every fragment of his being. Was all well with his family? Lakshman was injured, but why did the atmosphere suggest something more extreme? Like someone's-

Rama shook his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose. His head throbbed with a burdensome pain, and his overthinking wasn't helping it in anyway.

The prince halted in front of the two large wooden doors leading to the older twin's chamber. Sighing in preparation for come what may, and concealing his apprehension, Kaushalya's son gently pushed the heavy door and stepped in.

The chamber was dark, with a minimal amount of light emanating from the dimly lit lamps. The large laticed windows looked as they too were mourning, hesitantly allowing the remaining daylight to pass through their barriers.

Rama's eyes trained on Lakshman's sleeping figure on the bed. His head was securely placed amid several cushions, his chest invisibly rising and falling, adding to the illusion. To Rama, the prince seemed to be resting peacefully, in a deep sleep, though the reality was something else.

The eldest prince tore his gaze from Lakshman and found Bharat conversing with the royal doctor animatedly in the shadows, a few feet away from the bed. A conversation Rama could not hear, and he was in no mood to lip read now. Not now of all times. Shatrughna stood next to the Bharat, arms crossed across his chest, listening distantly, yet attentively.

The youngest prince seemed to be lost in the subconscious world of his own thoughts, his poised expression suggested. The gentle yet steady breeze flowing in through the windows, lashed his deep brown hair against his face, and surprisingly yet not so surprisingly at the same time, the prince known for always being careful about his looks did not even bother.

Rama sighed and quietly strode forward, slowly yet steadily, as if measuring each step, toward the unconscious prince and settled beside him on the bed. The wound on his chest had been bandaged securely, a solacing sight to Rama who had witnessed the wound in actuality.

The prince's eyes travelled to where the extracted weapon lay abandoned yet secured on a nearby shelf. Rama retracted his gaze abruptly. Afterall, that weapon was one of the reasons behind his brother's condition, active or not.

The prince ran his hand over Lakshman's face, feeling his temperature, which had only increased since the last time he'd checked. As much as he was relieved at it being high and not low, worry etched across his face. He could now faintly hear the conversation between the doctor and Bharat, though it was still pretty much inaudible.

Rama's fingers absent-mindedly traced Lakshman's cheek, as his mind drifted back to the battle.

He winced as images of his brother falling on being hit by the weapon flashed in front of his eyes, and then the external suffering he had gone through. That was a kind of torture to Rama in itself. To see him in a relaxed state now was a soothing sight indeed, though one never knew how bad the internal affliction could be.

Tears eventually did well up in Rama's eyes, the ones he had been holding in for so long now. It was not easy at all. No it was not. To the world, Rama could be both emotionally and physically the strongest, most reserved man of all time, who would not display a great deal of emotions for anything. Yes, that was true to some extent, with some exceptions of course, but his brothers were more than just exceptions. They were his entire world. And if your entire world is reduced to a state of battling between life and death, right in front of your eyes, especially if it's Laksh...