Days later Megera stepped out of the carriage in front of the Aljehni estate. The gates opened and Young Scholar Aljehni met her.

  “Second Lady Majidi, I was just coming to give you my condolences,” he gravely said.

  Megera lifted her head, her face covered with a grey sheer cloth that connected to her hat that covered her head. Mourning.

  “Where is Aminah?” She swallowed the lump in her throat. She had waited three days for Aminah to come to the Majidi estate, to explain what had happened. To help her calm her brother down. Aminah never came. And now with the day of the burning appearing, she made the decision to come and retrieve Aminah herself.

  Havil had bowed out of respect. “Aminah is unable to see anyone at this time.” His golden eyes were red from lack of sleep, dark circles decorated the top of his cheeks.

  Megera studied him with a scrutinizing gaze. “I thought she would come. I need her to come.” Her bottom lip began to tremble. “My brother says that she does not care and has grown heartless. I know that is not true.” Megera picked at the skin of her fingers. “It is not true. Aminah would not just abandon me, she would not make me say goodbye to Istria alone.” The tears she tried to hold stubbornly fell from her eyes.

  Havil stepped back. “Come inside.”

  Megera wiped her tears and motioned for the guards to stay with the carriage and stepped over the threshold of the Aljehni estate. “What is it?” She asked the minute the gate was closed.

  Havil held a finger under his nose for a moment, seeming to be forcing his emotions back. When he was settled he dropped his hand. “Aminah is bedridden. She has not woken up since the day you went to the marketplace.”

  “What?” Megera turned to make her way to the manor but Havil raced to step in front of her.

  “You are unable to come in at this time,” he said, blocking her way.

  Her raised brow and glare would have meant something if not for the worry that could not be hidden from her face. It etched in with her breaths and raced up from her heart to her throat. “Why am I unable to see her?” Megera sidestepped him and continued the path to the manor.

  “Please Megera,” Havil’s voice shook. “I am reaching the end of my rope.”

  Megera turned to Havil on his knees before her.

  “I know not what to do. The physician says she needs rest. Our baby only cries, the-”

  “Baby?” Megera’s horrified whisper cut off Havil’s words. “She gave birth to the baby? I missed it? How? It is so early. She is not due for at least two moons, how could she…” Megera staggered back. the pained expression Aminah made as she stared down at Khastan, the way she was carried away. Bedridden? Baby?

  “Havil I have to see her!” Megera had to hear the story from her. She needed to know everything that had happened. How injured was she? Why did she not speak? Why did she walk away? Her back had looked so cold, so cruel, but was it really aching instead? “Havil I have to see her, please.” She could not lose another sister, that day in the marketplace could not have been the last time the three of them felt happiness together.

  Havil shook his head. “It is too dangerous. The baby, my baby- he does not have enough life energy. He is prone to colds. He can not be exposed. The manor is closed, no one goes in and out without bathing.”

  Megera lifted Havil off the ground. “Stop kneeling to me. What were Aminah’s injuries? Tell me everything?” Then suddenly understanding all of his words, “You have a son? It was a boy? What is his name?”

  “Herom. Aminah named him.” His words carried a soft trace of pride.

  “Hero. It is a beautiful meaning.” She led Havil to a bench outside of the manor. “Tell me what happened, please.”

  Havil cleared his throat. “When Aminah returned that day she only stood for a moment before she collapsed to the floor. She had broken her rib and the bone was affecting her breathing. The physician said to save her we needed to lose the baby.”

  Megera gasped, both hands covering her mouth. “And Nazita? Surely she had another way?”

  “Aminah made me promise to save the baby, but I swore to myself that I would save both.” His fist tightened on his knee. “Nazita, she, she cut the baby out. Aminah was unable to push despite how hard she tried. She was in and out of consciousness but as Herom cried she woke long enough to whisper his name before closing her eyes.”

  “How long did it take?”

  “Thirteen hours.”

  Megera’s hand shook. “And she has not been awake since?”

  “Nazita says that she will wake and heal, I trust in her judgement.” He tiptoed around the question.

  “And the baby? Herom?” Megera stood and looked in the direction of the manor, her gaze falling on the window. “The little life is in such a fragile state, he will need his mother.”

  Havil followed her gaze to the window. “Take care of your brother Megera. If Aminah was able she would be aiding you and Khastan. I am certain she did not wish to add more pain to his heart.”

  Megera bit the inside of her cheek. Khastan only seemed to grow in anger and betrayal the longer Aminah took to see him. His heartache and loss of his wife and child was ripping him apart. She was not sure if even she could alleviate his pain.

  Megera nodded and stared at the window a little longer before turning to Havil. “I will return home, I will tell Khastan what you have told me, hopefully he will find comfort in learning that he has not lost his wife and his friend.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “I pray that is the case.”

  It was not. Khastan refused to hear any word out of Megera’s mouth. Any syllable that started with the same sound as Aminah’s name received a glare and yell of anger.

  “You are not her messenger! If Aminah wishes to explain what happened, if she is truly my friend she will come herself,” he argued, with red pain filled eyes. His hands shook, since he last held Istria in his arms, his hands always shook. He wondered if he would hold a blade again.

  Megera chased after her brother hoping to reach him before he mounted his horse. “Khastan, she is inju-”

  “Enough! One more word about Aminah and I will not speak to you.”

  “Khastan please,” Megera’s voice cracked, “do not threaten to leave me too.”

  Khastan mounted his horse. “If she truly cares she will come and speak up for herself.”

  Three moons passed. Istria’s spirit had long since moved on. Megera no longer wore the grey mourning clothes, and slowly moved to black garments.

  Khastan kept his hair tied in a grey cloth and threw himself into work. He gave up on the sword and moved to the whip, pushing himself further than ever before.

  Aminah never came, and as far as Khastan was concerned she had abandoned him. Thus he was intent on doing the same. Every connection he had with the Medes, and Aljehni family was broken.

  At the Aljehni estate Aminah practiced taking small steps, regaining her strength for her son who refused to part from her. When she opened her eyes and was reunited with her son the moment she embraced him, Herom refused to leave her side. Three steps away and his golden eyes would water, his small mouth opened to release a cry that pulled at her heart. Unable to speak, his fingers wrapped around Aminah’s pinky, refusing to let go.

  Havil had been unable to stay away from court for too long, so his Sun Mother moved into the Aljehni estate.

  Commander Leyahn Medes was a strong woman whose pride had lost the fight against Nazita three moons ago. Thus she refused to lose once more and had told her Moon son that she would be by her daughter’s side whether he liked it or not. If not for Aminah telling her mother that she was worried about the health of her baby, Leyahn would have been holding her grandson as well.

  Nazita Aljehni welcomed her Sun Mother with ease, easily directing her attention away from the constant nagging. Together the two of them moved to the kitchen to create the healthiest meals anyone would avoid. The sight alone made Aminah want to disappear and find peace with the old gods.

  “Nazita, now that I have given birth to the baby and recovered please allow me to eat different,” she poked at the colorful porridge, “meals,” she finished.

  “Aminah, your mother and I worked hard to make this for you. It is filled with nutrients that will only aid your life force. The baby drinks milk your body creates, thus your body must be in perfect condition.”

  Aminah forced herself to smile, the cooing of Herom beside her became the sole reason she picked up the spoon.

  In the king's court Scholar Aljegni and Duke Majidi had been a great team. Together they managed to stop the spread of troops, keeping Commander Medes and his men safe within the borders of the kingdom.

  As they made their way down the steps of the palace, Duke Majidi placed a hand on Havil’s shoulder, halting his steps. “Scholar Aljehni, you have only just begun working in the king’s court. Allow me to grant you words of wisdom.” Duke Majidi, for a man five Red Moons old, his face somehow maintained the youthful looks of his bachelor days. His grey hair was not easily seen.

  Havil bowed. “Duke Majidi, this one always looks forward to your wise words.”

  “You are the high prince’s tutor, and your relationship with the high prince only grows. Remember, too much sun on a path can burn it. The court is a dangerous place for kindness; and deadly for friendship.” He did not wait for Havil’s response and walked off.

  Havil bowed to his retreating figure. “Scholar Aljehni thanks Duke Majidi for his knowledge and countenance.”

  Later it had come as a shock to the entire kingdom when Duke Majidi was pronounced sick the next day. Lord Khastan Majidi was named the temporary duke and the Majidi estate closed its doors once more.

  As Khastan entered the king’s court, he refused to agree with anything Havil said. Thus, the partnership between the Aljehni and Majidi family crumbled. The court broke into two groups, and the partnership between the king and the duke had soon taken the place of the Majidi, Aljehni, one of the past.

  Now that the story of the past was finished Khastan stood, pulling his hand from Megera’s hold.

  “So you see, two Red Moons ago, you did not give me the chance to speak. You refused to hear anything of Aminah.”

  “Aminah almost died?” Khastan murmured, an unnamed feeling settled in his chest. “No. It does not matter. It changes nothing. The actions of the past can not be undone.”

  “Khastan!” Megera called, the action triggered another coughing fit and she gulped down the tea. When the coughing subsided she spoke again. “The actions of the past can not be undone, but you can still alter the present. You do not have to harm Aminah. She is our friend. She used to be our sister. Please.”

  “This is not my fault.” Khastan refused to believe that these pains were the fruits of his own labor. “She still never came! She never spoke of Istria again, she never came,” he gritted.

  “Who told her not to? Was it not you that left her kneeling outside your doors? She begged and pleaded with you to allow her to say goodbye to father. When he passed she came dressed in grey, tear stains on her cheeks, and you,” Megera stopped to cough. “You told her never to return. You said you hated her.”

  “I do!” Khastan gritted out. “I do hate her. With every ounce of my being.”

  Megera shook her head. “That is not true. You protected her. I heard from the king, you refused to arrest her.”

  “The king told you that?” He thought the king did nothing but torture his sister to force him to obey.

  “The king tells me many things. Like how the fall of the Jian family was your doing.” Her tone danced in disappointment, her words whipped at Khastan’s heart. “Tell me it is a lie. The king says many things to me, but my brother, harming an entire family… it must not be true” She locked eyes with him, “Right?”

  “I will do any and everything to keep you safe, Megera. The king will only harm you when I disobey. Do not spend your time worrying about me. Think instead of what we will do when you get out.”

  “Khastan,” she cleared her throat so she could speak clearly, “the Majidi family is one of morals, we stand on the side of justice. Do not sell who we are… who you are for me,” her eyes watered from suppressing her coughs.

  “The Majidi family has long since lost its morals sister.” He caressed her cheek, his finger skimming gently over the bruises. “Whatever I have to do to keep your body void of injuries I will,” he said, wiping the tears that fell from her eyes.

  She turned away from his hand. “If you harm Aminah I will not forgive you,” she weakly threatened.

  Khastan smiled. “Very well. To do that means you live.”