An hour or two passed before someone came to get Song Haoran. He had dozed off but slept light so he heard the knock on the door. “Yes?” “Sir, the feast is about to begin.” “Alright, thank you for letting me know.” He sat up and rubbed his face before slipping on his inner robes and closing the window. Then with gentle care, he put his outer robes on and smoothed the front panels. After a quick look in the mirror, he walked out of his room, returning to the terrace where he had last seen the two princes. Though some time passed, he hoped they would still be there, talking to each other.

Sure enough, there sat the crown prince Rajendra Chola II and prince Rajasekaran Chola. Haoran walked lightly as he approached where they were sitting but the prince noticed him right away. “Song Haoran! There you are, we were waiting to walk to the hall with you.” He smiled while the crown prince gave him an unreadable look. “Annan, let’s go, I’m hungry.” They both stood up and walked through the palace to where the feast would be held. When they arrived in the hall, the crown prince called an attendant over and whispered something in his ear. The attendant’s eyes widened slightly before he ran off, probably going to the kitchen to fetch something.

They were seated and many others walked in minutes later. The setup was simple, everyone sat on the floor as beautiful maids walked in, serving delicious foods that looked nothing like anything Haoran had ever seen. By the time all the food was served, everyone was excited to eat. Haoran looked around himself to get social ques when he realized there were no utensils. The people around him, the princes, and others ate with their right hands and mixed the foods as they pleased. He looked at the food in front of him then watched how the prince ate. Of course, he was beautifully graceful but it was the shape of his hand and how he kept his fingers together for the most part that transformed his hand into a utensil. Haoran turned back to his food and tried to shape his hand like the prince’s, flipping his hand to pick up food. With one deep breath, he picked up some rice and one of the chicken curries to taste.

There was a flavor explosion in his mouth of different flavors he had never experienced before but liked immediately. He sighed happily with the first bite before enjoying the food. At some point during the meal, someone had brought him a drink that smelled fermented and herbal. No one else had been given another beverage so he assumed it was special because he was a guest. But something was off, any time he moved towards the cup, the prince watched him with a nervous look as if he was hoping Haoran wouldn’t drink it. That’s weird.

He went to take a sip but when he picked up the drink, the prince got up and walked to him. He came behind him and lowered the metal cup, placing his hand over it when it hit a flat surface. He looked at his brother with such a distasteful expression before taking a deep breath. “You said you would wait! Brother, the Crown Prince, what happened to give them a chance?!” said the prince in an angry voice that was loud and clear. The crown prince just sat back and just smirked. Haoran just sat there confused and slightly worried because the prince had spoken in Tamil to keep him out of the loop. “Little brother, what’s wrong? I just wanted to give our guest a special drink as a good host.” “Annan, I know this is the way you got rid of Aadheeran AnNa.” A look of surprise flashed across the crown prince’s eyes before he chuckled and sent a servant to get the goblet of mysterious liquid.

The prince looked back at Haoran and they made eye contact. He looked away before saying “Poison” quiet enough so that Haoran was the only one who heard him. His eyes widen slightly as he looked at the prince and then down at his plate. Because the mood was wrecked by the prince’s outburst, the crown prince called it off and everyone was let but the prince. The doors closed and the prince walked forward, towards where the crown prince was, glaring at him the entire way. His brother just laughed before standing up and walking towards him. “What did you think you were doing just now? This was my chance to get rid of him.” “I was trying to s-” The prince was cut off by a slap to his cheek. He kneeled on the floor and looked down.“That was your first mistake Thambi. I have a plan and I won’t let anyone stand in the way of it. I’m fine with however you want to dress or act or who you want to be around but Thambi, stay out of this. If it really came to it, I would not hesitate to eliminate you to get my way here.” He bent down and rubbed his little brother’s cheek, where he had slapped him a minute earlier. “You know how much I care about you, right Sekaran?”

…

“Thambi?” Even though there was a knock on his door, Sekaran still shivered before looking at the door. “Acca?” She walked in with a soft smile that left her face almost immediately. She swiftly made her way over and put her cool hand against his left cheek, her eyes worried. He sighed into her touch before moving her hand away and turning away from her. His sister was very attuned to her emotions and others so she just sat where she was and breathed in the silence around them for a minute. Then she moved closer and rubbed his back, making little circles all over. His eyes teared a little but she couldn’t see them. He took a deep breath and they stayed like this for a while.

It had been about six years since either of them had seen their mother and that was very hard for Sekaran. He grew up as your standard mama’s boy, always around her. She lived in the main capital where the king had lived when he was still around. He died in battle and so his other older brother became king and lived with their mother in that palace. Before their father had died, he had sent Sekaran and Yazhini to live on Serendib because there were a few problems and they had an unused palace. It was hard for those two and their mother to part but the decision was made for them and within a month, they arrived at the palace, meant to live like adults as youths who were not ready yet.

This was why Yazhini had taken on a more nurturing role rather than a friendly one. Though she wasn’t ready to leave, she was his older sister. So she pushed her own feelings down to raise him as a strong man for the future of their family and kingdom.