Chapter 12 - I'll protect you.

For the first two days of King Jaren's stay at the summer palace, he clung to Jules like a lost puppy. From the moment Jules woke up till he went to sleep, King Jaren observed every single action of his with full attention – what he ate, what he learnt, what he liked, what he didn't like, and when Jules went to sleep, King Jaren pulled up a chair next to his bed and watched him sleep.

Jules didn't really seem to mind…initially. On the third morning, when he woke up, he was scared by the dark bags under his father's red-rimmed eyes.

"Papa! Didn't you sleep at all, again?" Jules asked, concerned.

"Let me look at you, my dear child…" King Jaren murmured. "I haven't seen you for nearly sixteen years…"

"Well, you've found me now, and it's not like I'm going to run away," Jules pointed out. "You need to get some rest, too."

King Jaren shook his head stubbornly.

Jules sighed. "Now I know why little Mana is so stubborn," he muttered. He shifted to one side of the bed and patted the bedding. "Come on, sleep for a while. I'll be right here."

King Jaren stared at his son for a long moment. "You have Dora's gentleness," he whispered. Then he climbed in, hugged his son and fell asleep before Jules could say a single word in response.

Jules watched his father's tired face for a while, fascinated. King Jaren's features were really similar to his own…and Jules finally knew why Mana and Physician Kale, who were close to King Jaren, had reacted the way they did when they saw Jules for the first time. Jules poked his father's beard and then touched his own chin, wondering if he should try to convince King Jaren to shave it off. He giggled at the thought.

He could barely believe that he had found his father after all these years, let alone the fact that his father was the king of his country and was even fond of him! Even though Mana had kept telling him that King Jaren would love him…Jules had dared not believe it. A secret part of him had wondered why the almighty king had not tried to look for him, even though his rational mind knew that this was how his mother had arranged things to keep him safe. Still, he remembered how he had always envied other children with loving parents and wished that he, too, had a father who would cherish him.

And now his wish had come true. He had gained a lovely little sister and a father whose eyes bore witness to his aching affection for his long-lost son.

After some time, Jules tried to gently extract himself from his father's arms, but King Jaren let out a small whine of distress. Jules smiled helplessly. It really was quite unbecoming for the king of an entire nation to be so clingy towards his son – but well, you couldn't really blame him. Jules decided that it didn't matter if he missed a few lessons and went back to sleep.

On the other side of the summer palace, Naver just finished his swordsmanship class and found Mana waiting for him.

"Where's Jules?" he asked. "Isn't he coming for his lessons today?"

Mana giggled. "I think Big Brother finally managed to put our silly Papa to sleep and fell asleep himself in the process."

Naver shot her a strange look. "You seem quite happy about this."

"I am," Mana confessed easily. "Look at Jules – who wouldn't want a Big Brother like that? I can't wait for him to be officially made the Crown Prince. Everyone's going to love him!"

"True," Naver said wistfully.

Mana frowned at him. "Something bothering you?" she asked.

Naver hesitated.

"Come on, you know you can tell me anything," Mana cajoled.

Naver smiled slightly. "Aren't you jealous…?" he asked in a hushed voice. "Your father only has eyes for Big Brother these days…"

Mana blinked, as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Why should I be jealous? Isn't it natural for Papa to act like this? I mean, I've had Papa's affection for over ten years now…but Big Brother and Papa – they didn't even know each other until now. Papa has to make up for almost sixteen years of lost affection." She smiled. "Besides, it's not like Papa loves me any less if he loved Big Brother; his love isn't like a limited quantity of cake where a big slice for me means there's going to be less left for you."

"You're very wise," Naver muttered.

"My wisdom is three times greater than my age," Mana boasted.

"Indeed," Naver agreed immediately.

"Papa must be feeling awfully happy but awfully guilty as well about Big Brother," Mana elaborated. "My Papa is a deeply emotional man who cares very much for his children. Everyone says he's a good king – but as an insider, I can tell you that he's an even better father. Look at this Princess Mana whose mother died giving birth to her and whose aunt, the queen, doesn't like her at all…but whose Papa never made her feel for a single moment that she wasn't loved. And that's exactly why Papa is so great. For someone who loved his wife as much as Papa loved my mother…it would be easy to blame the child for her mother's death and hate her. But Papa never did that."

Naver was silent for a long time. Then he said quietly, "I envy you."

Mana giggled. "Well, you're welcome to join my family. Then my Papa will love you as much as he loves us."

Naver's face was full of longing. "I wish I could," he whispered.

Mana's heart ached. How could this little kid be the evil emperor? All he wanted was a little bit of affection…which, despite being so extraordinary, was never granted to him. His royal identity complicated things…if he'd simply been Naver, the poison expert, she would have easily convinced Papa to let him stay with her. An idea suddenly occurred to her.

"Do you have to go back to your father or your mother?" she asked, grabbing his hand.

"To my father, no," Naver replied bitterly. "And to my mother…I don't know. Depends on my grandfather."

Mana narrowed her eyes. "Were you sent to the Emerald Kingdom by your grandfather?"

Naver chuckled. "I was wondering when you'd be able to figure it out," he said. "He had me dropped off at the border of the Pearl Kingdom and Emerald Kingdom within a few hours of receiving your father's letter and told me to find my way to the capital city and help the younger princess if I could."

"Oh," Mana said. "That's why you were surprised to hear that Papa had actually written to King Corvus."

He shook his head ruefully. "No one knows I'm Naver – so I assumed it was an excuse made up to get rid of me. I was wandering around aimlessly until Jules found me and took me under his wing." The corner of his lips titled upwards. "He really is a natural Big Brother."

Mana laughed. "That he is," she agreed whole heartedly, suppressing the rage that built up in her gut at the poor treatment meted out to this young boy. "But your grandfather…wouldn't he at least inform Papa?" she asked instead.

Naver nodded. "I'm sure my grandfather would have sent a response to King Jaren's letter as well, but knowing him, that would have been sent using non-magical means."

Mana frowned. "So the reply would take several weeks to reach Papa," she muttered.

"At the very least," Naver replied.

Mana tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So…effectively, you are under no obligation to return to either the Pearl Kingdom or the Obsidian Kingdom, right?"

There was a desolate look in Naver's eyes. "Actually, I can't go back to the Obsidian Kingdom even if I wanted to. My dark magic is incomplete, so I can't enter the barrier by myself. Unless grandfather or mother send someone to pick me up and take me back home, I'm stuck outside."

Mana couldn't resist giving him a hug. "Then there's nothing stopping you from staying with us even after the Shadow Poison is sorted out, right?" she asked softly.

Naver stiffened. "I suppose not," he said finally.

"Then stay," Mana told him. "Please."

Naver fell silent.

"Do you want to stay with us?" Mana asked after a while.

"Yes," Naver replied immediately. "But…I'm afraid I might bring you trouble. It's better if you remember me fondly rather than you coming to hate me."

Mana huffed. "Who cares about trouble?" she demanded. "We want you to stay and you want to stay – so you'll stay and that's final!" She stamped her foot impatiently to emphasise her point.

Naver smiled fondly. "All right," he said.

"Good," Mana said, satisfied. "And if someone comes to find trouble with you, I'll protect you!" she promised. "I'll kick them how I kicked Liam – even if it's your grandfather!"

Naver suddenly had a mental image of his stern and sombre grandfather clutching his unmentionables and howling in pain.

In the Obsidian Kingdom far, far away, King Corvus suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.