Marks of the New Era

Chapter 1.2

A few months later his father told him some important news: he was getting married again, Tai was in disbelief, he thought it was something really selfish of his father to do since it hadn't even been a year since the death of his mother and to add insult to injury, his father's new wife also had a daughter and that made the heir believe that the king wanted to replace his mother and sister.

When he expressed his discontent his father said "I know how you feel but Genzo need's a queen and you need a mother, it's not my intention to replace neither of them but this is the best for both our family and kingdom".

Tai of course wasn't happy but even if he refused to admit it he knew that his father was right, he really needed a mother to guide him, in the end, it was his father's decision and he decided to respect it.

The day finally came, his father introduced his new wife and queen and although he was still kind of mad at his father, even he had to admit that his step-mother had a nice and relaxing aura and seemed to be very wise despite her age, then his gaze went towards her daughter, a small girl called Takevu, their eyes locked and suddenly she waddled to him and when he kneeled down to her level Takevu hugged him.

Although surprised, Tai was actually quite happy with the affection and in that moment he understood his father's words, Takevu wasn't going to replace Safiya, they were very different people and he realized that with his new sister in his life he had a second chance to make things right so he swore to himself that he would never let something bad happen to her.

He would keep that promise no matter what.

Some years had gone by and the family had grown quite a bit, besides their parents, Tai and Takevu had also been introduced to their siblings, a boy named Hiroshi and a girl named Haru, who they both adored. 

The relationship between them had grown in a way that seemed impossible, Tai kept his promise of protecting her, he always made sure that she wouldn't get hurt and taught her to not get into trouble since she was a stubborn child, Takevu on the other hand, admired her brother so much, she thought he was an awesome person and he was the role-model she wanted to reach.

Despite his new family, Tai never forgot about his twin and mother, every night before going to bed, he gazed outside the window thinking about them and hoping that at least they could be in a better place.

Although his life seemed to be back in place, he tried to not get comfortable, at least not yet, he had the feeling that something was going to happen and his suspicions were confirmed when the queen was diagnosed with a terminal illness and was only given a few months of life.

The king did everything he could to save the life of his wife but it was useless, she had her days numbered, Tai remembered that during those months his father was seen less and less to the point where Tai was the one that took care of his younger siblings.

Days before her death the queen called Tai to her room, there she gave him an envelope and told him "You probably already know what's in here, I want you to have it, it will be your decision if you want to reveal what's inside, if you do, then you must wait until they are old enough to understand, I don't want anything to happen to my children".

After her death he was heartbroken but he tried to be strong because he knew his siblings were suffering a lot more since they had a closer bond with their mother and would look at him for support.

And before he knew it, his father got married again.

He had mixed feelings towards his father's decision, on one hand he was very mad that his father did the same thing again both to him and his siblings and the fact that in such a short time he had a new wife made the prince believe that the king really wanted to replace his mother.

However on the other hand he knew that his siblings, just like him, needed a mother and his father seemed to need a wife... Wait... what?

He hadn't thought about it until now but, a few months is very little time to meet someone and marry them, although his father did love Takevu's mother, Tai didn't see the same spark in his eyes that the king had when he was with his mother, what if his father got married not because of love but as a way of... coping with his beloved loss?, was this his way of healing?

Despite those thoughts he decided to accept the new queen for the sake of his siblings.