Original King Series

Child's Play

5 years later, 1875.

The morning's sun shined through the white curtains at the open windows. Ai'sha had left to continue her job as a handmaiden to Daikichi's wife, leaving her son alone in the room. Today was a day where the boy didn't have any classes with the scholars on subjects such as writing and reading in Arabic. The boy lied in bed, covered in the soft blankets which made him feel peaceful. His eyes flickered open and he sat up, looking around the room. His room was small yet extravagant. His mother slept in the room next door, and both rooms lead to a common area where they had breakfast. One thing the boy never understood was why he was not allowed to eat the same food as his mother. He knew that he was a half breed, but he also knew that he was capable of eating human food as well as eating the food his father gave him. He didn't even know what kind of food he was being given, and so did Ai'sha.

The boy got up and walked over to the window. The curtains were blowing into the room, letting the light seep through. He pulled back the curtain to see the view of the large city and the oasis that lies just below the horizon. It was a beautiful sight to wake up to in the morning.

He walked out of his small room and entered a common area. There was a plate of food for him. Yet again, like always, he had to eat the mystery meat. It was raw, with a red gooey substance on it. Whenever he put a piece into his mouth, his left eye would transform from its brown state to having the iris be red and the rest being black. He had veins down his face from the eye, and he hated it.

The boy was self-conscious about his eye. He wanted to look like his mother, he wanted to be a human. But he wasn't, thanks to his father. He was a half breed between a human and a ghoul. He could never be both, nor just one.

Once the boy finished the meal, he put the metallic plate on the table and went back into the bedroom. He walked over to the wooden desk and sat down in the old chair, then removed pieces of paper from the drawer. This was how he spent the day while waiting for his mother to return, by drawing. He was very artistic and talented. The boy took out a pencil and began to sketch. He normally made art of things that came to his mind. Whether that be of people, landscapes, whatever, no one could deny that this boy had a talent for the subject.

Then, the boy heard a tap from his window. He put down the pencil and looked out to see his two siblings, Kesai and Eisuke. Kesai was in her normal dress, as well as her headscarf loosely wrapped around her head. Eisuke meanwhile was in a tan shirt and brown pants, with a similar brown belt wrapped around. Eisuke was only a few years older than his brother, while Kesai was just a year younger, being of the age of 4. "Hey, we were gonna go play in the courtyard, let's go." Eisuke said to his brother. The boy smiled and put down his stuff, following his siblings to the opened area.

The palace has magnificent. The boy some days would find himself lost in it if he wandered too far. That's why he doesn't prefer travelling alone, and when he does, it's mostly with the two siblings who accompanied him now. Out of all of his siblings, these were the two he got along with well. Was it because they were so close in age, or that they shared the same interests, he didn't know. All he knew is that he loved being with them.

Once they arrived in the courtyard, the boy looked around at the magnificent walls and the luxurious fountain. Then he felt something smack his back. He turned around to see a wooden sword at his feet, and then Eisuke charging at him with his sword. The boy quickly picked it up and deflected his brother's attack, creating a loud crack between the two wooden surfaces. The boy managed to move Eisuke's sword away and went to strike his feet, but his brother jumped and moved back. The boy followed his brother, battling him as if he was a great Ottoman warrior under the guidance of Suleiman the Magnificent.

But, maybe he wasn't as great as he hoped he would be, since Eisuke managed to kick his brother from behind, making him fall onto the ground. The boy landed with his face hitting the soft white rock below, making, in turn, his brother laugh behind him. But, the laughter died down when he noticed who was standing above the boy. He looked up from the ground to see who was lumbering above him. The Sultan. It took a minute for the boy to register his thoughts before he quickly rose to his feet, dusting himself off then bowing towards the man, Eisuke and Kesai quickly followed as well, lowering their bodies until the superior told them to rise. "I see you three are enjoying this fine day." He spoke in his deep and lumbering voice. "Yes sir, we are." Eisuke spoke, appearing beside his brother. Kesai came up as well, standing to the boy's other side.

The Sultan nodded, looking at the three of them. His glance then turned to the middle child, the boy. He noticed the boy's dirtied face thanks to the dirt he fell into. "My my, how much you have grown child. It is not common I see you around the palace." The Sultan said. This was when all of the training his father taught him was most needed. 'You are not your mother's son when speaking to him, you are me and my wife's.' Daikichi's voice lingered in his head. "My father prefers it if I focus on my studies..." He spoke in a quiet voice. He didn't look the Sultan in the eyes; instead, he focused on the details of his formal dress wear. The Sultan let out a low laugh, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "That he does."

The boy and his two siblings did have their similarities. They had the same skin tone, same nose structure, and same lip shape. Hell, he and Eisuke both had similar facial structures. But, they also differed tremendously. Most importantly, their hair and eye colour. Eisuke and Kesai had jet black hair with regular brown eyes, but the boy, his hair was blond, and his eyes gave off this light red colour, similar to his mother's. This difference was noticeable to the Sultan, who opened his mouth to comment on it, only to be interrupted by someone from behind. "Your Majesty, we must get going to the meeting." A male voice said.

The three children looked to see either older brother, Yoshiu, standing there. He was a 16-year-old man who resembled their father greatly. He was now being trained by the Sultan and their father, hopefully to one day take his place as the Vizier. The Sultan nodded and turned his attention back to the children. "Please return to what you were doing children," he said, looking at them, but then turning to look down at the boy, "and enjoy it."

The Sultan turned and left, leaving with the oldest Washuu. The boy felt tremendous fear inside of him. Did the Sultan know? Was he catching onto him? What would happen to him and mother if he found out? These thoughts ran rapidly through his head as his siblings went off to play once more. He turned his head to watch them, seeing them duke it out with the swords that he was once using. Then he turned his head to where the Sultan once stood. How long was he going to be able to keep this secret for? Could it kill him, or do something much, much worse?