Ryle ushed back into the room and snatched the weapons he had previously put away.Just as he was about to turn away from the table and storm out of the room, his skepticism got the bed of him.Who on earth sent him this talisman and why not to Syin?Maybe its Syin who sent it but that makes the most minimal sense.He shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave the room.He navigated through the hallways of the rest quarters until he was by the door.He burst out but quickly stoppedand he started to look unceremoniously everywhere.Where on earth is he going to go?

******

"Father, can you please lend me a minute of your time. I understand you're busy but please hear me out",pleaded Yevana.

She was kneeling on the floor of the meeting area meanwhile the king was writing on a few papers.She raised her head to look at her father who seemed undisturbed by her presence.He simply continued writing on the papers as if she didn't exist.Yevana just looked at her father in sorrow and speechlessness. Her father is unapproachable man on a daily basis but in these past days he has been brutally against eveyone. Yevana probably doesn't recall the last time she heard her father s voice in this mouth.At first she thought he was sick.She even went as much as ordering the chef to go to the herb house on consecutive days.Despite her efforts, the king refused to drink those concoctions for no reason.He simply just whisked the chef away when he came with the tea pot.The chef was shocked as to why on earth he would simply just whisk him away despite this being a remedy recommended by his beloved daughter.

Anyway he had also adopted the habit of dismissing emperial meetings, he just wrote a notice that whoever has something to say he should have it written down.Thus all proposals have been written down or else they are invalid.

Similar to five days ago, the cabinet had plead annoyingly for a physical meeting with the king.Close to seven letters had been sent to the king to beg him to find time for a meeting.Under those circumstances on the day of the meeting, the king did not say anything at all.He had the least amount of enthusiasm imaginable, that much was obvious.He even appointed a coordinator just so he doesn't talk through the meeting.All he did through the entire meeting was shift his eyes and successively the coordinator knew what to do.For example when the minister of health was still presenting,the king shifted his eyes from him and looked to the minister of finance.The coordinator signaled with his hand that the minister should halt his words and sit down even though he had not finished his statement.And simultaneously the coordinator signaled for the finance minister to stand up and while he too was jumbling up his words as he was not prepared to say anything, the king shifted his eyes from him and the minister quickly sat down without being told to do so.The king picked out a wooden plank and tossed it on the floor.Just ten minutes into the meeting, he already declared it as over and not once did he say anything.

"Your highness but..", just as the diplomatic minister was about to query, the king stood up and just walked away from the room.The meeting preparation that took neatly two days to prepare and he just spent less than ten minutes.There was no objective communicated whatsoever. There has never been a greater display of arrogance surpassing this one.The following day a royal messenger was sent around the departments delivering a carbon-copied letter .The letter detailed that the king had made declarations regarding the meeting and the contents of the letter should be implemented with immediate effect.Every of the minister s mouth dropped as they were confused and felt threatened.The king just decided on the whole proceedings all alone, does that mean he is saying the ministers are not effective.Is that why he doesn't talk to them or invite them for meetings.The letter was so formal and so authoritative not to mention dictative.. Actually all letters from the palace are but this one had a scary aura written all over it or maybe they are just overreacting.What's going to be next? dismissal letters?This just skyrocketed their insecurities.

That being the case the ministers started to try and cajole the king, however that was not working out, considering the fact that he doesn't want to talk to anyone.He just avoided all confrontations.All that was left was just a board written 'no talking allowed'..

This was trully dissettling, especially for Yevana.

She was so worried about her father.But there is nothing she could do as he just shuts her out like everyone else.At one point she asked Reed to try to talk to him.This was probably the worst favour that she could ask of him especially considering that Reed is not handling this change in the kings personality well.

Reed at that time had just dismissed her but truth is he too was curious and it was a little comforting to know that all these changes are not in his head but also Yevana had noticed it..He had reharsed the conversation in his head so many times but finally mastered up the courage to confront him but fate was not in his favour because on the day he finalled walked over to the king, a report came to the palace about a murder .Reed had been standing at the entry of the meeting area and was in full view of the king who was as always scribbling things.However he had to go because duty calls.

So two days after this report, here Yevana is practically begging for her father s attention. Honestly sometimes she wishes her mother was alive.She can't say she misses her because she passed away during childbirth.She never knew what a mother s touch was, never felt her mother hands on her skin and probably her mother never saw her beautiful baby face.Maybe if her mother had just held on until Yevana could remember her face then it might have been better.Yes there are times she just stares at the walls and wishes she had a picture of her mother but the king says that she has her mother s lovable features.What does that even mean.. Doesn't he miss her?It was said that they didn't have the fairytale live story because of arranged marriage but with time the kings heart grew softer towards her and her the same.After a year of the king finally opening up to her, she fell pregnant.The king obsessed over everything and that made him fall harder than anything.He could see their life together raising Yevana.He even grew a garden of roses that he took Yevana s mother to look at every two day.They were the most happiest for the first time in their lives.Who knew that this was also their last time.

On the day of Yevana s conception, the king was panicking so much it was like he is the one in labour. The queen was isolated in the room with the midwife.The labour took nearly ten hours and the king could hear her screams behind the door but it is forbidden for men to be in the delivery room during birth.With every scream she let out ,his nerves felt like they were hitting their boiling point.From time to time he place his head in his hands because the anticipation was shattering his humanity.How do they expect him to be calm while his wife sounds like she is being burnt alive.Despite how long he waited, never once qwas he inclined to walk away.Maybe another day, maybe another him but there is no way he is going to leave Marya.After waiting patiently impatient behind the door, the midwife came out of the room to give the king the news of him being a father.She must admit the king looked like a nervous wreck but that's a common sight among new parents.She was just glad to see that he indeed cares enough about Marya to be by her door the whole ten hours, not once going back to work.And even forbade everyone else from entry the entire wing because of this special day..

He sighed with relief and smiled gauntly whilst feeling incredibly teary.He entered the room and walked towards the bed where he saw the queen on the bed with the baby in the carriage by the bed.The queen looked extremely tired but it was justified.He rushed over to her ,knelt next to her and placed a hand over her sweaty forehead.She smiled when she felt the coolness of his hand but however she never opened her eyes.The king just told her to take it easy and he turned around to pick up the baby from the carriage.Little Yevana was so beautiful like dewdrops on rose petals.She indeed had her mother s lovable features

He smiled and his tears fell from his eyes as he held his baby girl for the first time.The tears didn't cease to come and as he turned to acknowledge the mother, he noticed that she was just laying there with her hands gently bon her pelvis.He placed the baby back on the carriage and called her name

"Marya" he called softly.He proceeded to hold her hand and all the heat he had felt from earlier on was got.She was so cold and it scared him

"Marya, wake up.You are so cold," he said whilst beginning to shake her.He didn't get a response.His heart was starting to beat on his throat.He begun to shake her even more agressively and name her name.His voice was becoming hoarse because of the oxygen going into his throat felt heavy beyond reason

"Marya!Marya!!!!" He yelled her name and there was nothing at this point.The tears he had he'd earlier were being replaced by successive streams

"Marya!!" He yelled still shaking her and crying so badly.The midwife and several other maids came rushing into the room when they heard Adrian screaming Marya s name..The midwife rushed towards Marya and checked her vitals.At this moment,the maids held onto the king to stop him fromhaking Marya. The midwife laid Marya s arm down after checking for her pulse.She hung her head low and the other maids understood what it meant.They let go of Adrian who was yelling so much.Adrian went and collapsed onto of Marya and cried wholeheartedly.All his vulnerability was bared for all to see.He placed his head acrosss his wife s corpse and poured his heart out.All the memories of their journey flooded into his shattering heart.All from her scent to her laugh down to her voice.He cried like a small child and all the workers in the room just watched in heartbreak.The pillar of Adrian s heart just crumbled and this will definitely mark a while in his heart, one that not even one thousand pices of jade can compensate.

.She was buried a week later and that was the most painful send of that ecr befell the kingdom.Adrian stiid non a boat with Yevana on one hand was he floated away a lantern onto of the river that water thebrise garden e made for her.As he set the lantern away, Yevana was so silent and her father was balling his eyes out.he hugged onto Yevana s small sleeping body to silence the screams he wanted to utter . Everyone by the coast just watched as the king hugged onto her daughter and cried histerically..He looked to the sky and he just shed more tears..Why could be fate be so unfair? Couldn't it have took him instead?As he thought the last phrase, he cried once more and then proceeded to sit on the boat with his daughter and watched as the lantern floated away..He cried so much until his face was drained of color.

Yevana stood up from where she was kneeling and walked away.The man that used to be her father is not the shadow Infront of her.She was sure ify that and that just cut another wound in her already scared heart..She wanted to cry but she doesn't want her father to think of her as weak.As soon as she turned around, the tears fell down her eyes involuntarily and she fought so hard to chock the muffles in her throat..She felt like she is watching her whole world crumble to pieces and there is nothing she could do.She covered her mouth with her elbow and her steps turned to running as she stormed out of the meeting room.

Adrian raised his eyes and looked at the running angel.He was unaffected to say the least and why should he?

he blinked once and his eyes changed to red!!