FORBIDDEN
The wheels of a chariot rotated through a stony path, pulled by two horses and controlled by a charioteer, a knight with red cape and armor. The chariot itself was covered with golden fabric. Anyone who sees it would understand that it was from a royal family. Of course, Adriana, the only daughter of king Corbett was inside the chariot with her maid, Albat. They were on a journey to Uzeh, a suppose river the princess has to bath once in a season.
Adriana occasionally flipped the golden fabric open to behold the lovely view of vegetation, distant mountains and valleys, to perceive natural air other than royal air that filled the castle. Albat observed the excitement in her, so she smiled and said, "I know you love it when you leave the royal castle, my princess."
Adriana turned to her. "You have no idea, Albat. People wish to be a princess. I wonder why?! Princesses do not have the freedom to go anywhere they want, see or be with whosoever they want."
"But you have everything you need and want. You always get the best just like..." Albat swallowed hard and lowered her voice. "Just like Kadura."
"Please, spare me that, Albat. I don't even know how this Kadura will be like. I heard he's already in our kingdom. Why don't he show his face?" Adriana wondered.
"But come to think of it, my lady, we have only one entrance to the kingdom and the entrance is guided by knights and guards. If truly Kadura came into the kingdom, wouldn't the guards see him pass through the gate?"
That was a clever observation that left Adriana woozy. It was really an eye opener, so the princess said, "You have a point, Albat, there are even other secret pathways I know which Kadura doesn't know. So this simply means that Kadura is someone that is already living in the kingdom!" she gasped with a hand covering her mouth. "My father needs to hear this!" she shrieked, but suddenly twisted her face.
"What is it, my lady?" Albat showed concern.
"But I thought Kadura must come from a mystical world. So how come he has been in Ukra all along?." Adriana asked cleverly.
Albat shrugged. "You can't question the gods."
Silence creeped in as both tried to put together the confusing analysis to arrive to a conclusion, dangling to the movement of the chariot on the stony ground. Just then, the speed increased drastically as if the horses had lost control of their pace. The charioteer tried to minimize the speed, yet the horses galloped more than ever. Albat brought out her head through the door of the chariot.
"What's going on?!!" she shouted to the hearing of the charioteer.
"I do not know, my lady." the man replied. Instantly, the chariot hit a large rock. The charioteer flung out by the force. Unfortunately, he landed with his chest on a sharp strong stick which pierced into his heart. He died instantly.
After hitting the large rock, the chariot somersaulted and the girls screamed! The same force flew Adriana out. It kept flying her to a near by forest, a forbidden forest of Ukra where evil dominates. It is believed that no man whose leg touches the ground of the forest comes out alive. Hence, the princess will not live to see Kadura if her body lands on the forest. However, Albat fell on the road where she sustained injury and watched her princess flying to the forest....
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On the other hand, at the residence of the physician, Bruce tried to avoid Julius in the living room based on his question to him. Both stared at each other.
"Father?" Julius called. "What did you mean when you said that I will never find myself if I lost in someone else after you discovered I was talking about Albat not the princess? What is it that you're not telling me?" he repeated the question.
Bruce exhaled. "Julius, does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?" he asked him.
Julius stepped closer to him. "I still don't understand."
"There's nothing to understand, Julius. Do you understand Albat's song?"
"What song?"
Bruce smiled. "You don't love someone because of their looks or their clothes. You love them because they sing a song only your heart can understand." he walked into his room, living the boy woozy. After a few seconds, he came back to the living room to see Julius vanished. Yes, he had to vanish because if actually he walked out of the house or entered into his room, Bruce must had heard the rusty sound of any of the doors, so he became very surprise.
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Nevertheless, Adriana landed in the forest but her fit never touched the ground because she landed in the arms of Julius who had no idea how he got there or what was happening. Already, the princess had lost consciousness even before the force of gravity pulled her down.
Notwithstanding, Julius never stepped a foot as the sixteenth year old beauty rested in his arms in the forbidden forest. The light of the forest faded immediately, turning into a strange dark and quiet place, the sounds have all but vanished. The smell of animal or beast hangs in a still air, no flowers seem to help the uneasy odor. In the dim light one could see shadows dart about, you barely hear the sound of things moving, and you feel as if everything is watching you. The black and brown thorns wrap around the forest, almost like teeth waiting to tear you. The trees seem to close in, choking out the light and letting the fog roll around like a breath. Sharp shadows, darker than the deepest forest slink about just out of sight, while unseen creatures move branches and, you swear, even a tree. Very horrible!
Julius should be dead but since he didn't see himself at that state, he began to walk out of the forbidden forest with the princess in his arms. On his way, Adriana began to gain consciousness gradually. She saw the blur image of the person carrying her, therefore she never saw his face. Only the red colour of a fabric Julius tied around his neck was blurry visible.
Stepping out of the forest, Albat saw them and ran with the remaining strength in her. One could see blood on her face as she ran towards them. "Adriana!" she shouted, but stopped when she saw her princess in the arms of her crush. "Julius?" she called him.
"Get the horse! We need to take her to my father!" Julius instructed her.
Albat didn't move an inch. She glanced at the forbidden forest through which they came out and looked at Julius again. First, she didn't understand how Julius got there neither did she believe what her eyes were seeing; someone leaving the forbidden forest alive. Truly, even Julius didn't know what was happening.
"Albat, quit staring and get the horse!!" he startled the young girl who came back to her senses and ran to get one of the horses that was possessed which brought about the accident. Quickly, Julius handed Adriana over on the horse and said, "Run, I'm behind you with the other horse."
Albat kept staring at him strangely.
"Go!" Julius shouted at her for the second time.
She moved her hands forward above the horse's wither, and squeezed her legs gently into its body. "Trot." she whispered softly to the horse. With a great speed, the horse galloped away. Julius looked behind to see the forest, he also looked at himself and his hands wondering how he got there at the right time and came out alive! With that thought, he whistled to the next horse, jumped on it and galloped away too without knowing that there was a man who saw everything that happened, hiding behind a tree.
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Seeing the princess on ordinary horse with her maid, a knight on a tower shouted, "Open the gate!! Open the gate!!" The large heavy metal gate rolled opened and Albat sped inside. People began to cluster around. King Corbett sighted them from a window and rushed down to the gate.
"What happened to my daughter!?" he roared like a lion.
"We had an ancient, my King." Albat bowed her head.
"Bruce! Bruce!!" The king called with a loud voice. "Take her to Bruce." he commanded.
One of the knights carried Adriana to the very domain of the physician while Albat kept glancing at the gate to know if Julius was coming, but he never showed up.
She cleared a table in Bruce's chamber where Adriana was laid. The old man examined her. First he wetted a towel and began to apply it on her forehead while Albat watched him. It was only both of them in the chamber.
"Come hold this towel while I prepare medicine for her." he instructed the young maid. "You are also bleeding." he added.
"No, I'm fine. Just treat my princess." Albat replied beside the table.
"She isn't hurt. She's only frightened and lost consciousness. I'll give her something to calm her down." Bruce explained.
Silence took over except the rattling of bottles Bruce located on his table. Just then, Julius rushed inside, breathing heavily.
"How did you leave the house, Julius? It was as if you vanished out of think air. Where did you go to?" Bruce said without looking at him.
"Albat looked up and said, "He was actually the..."
"I was actually the one at the gate when the maid brought in the princess." Julius interrupted her, with a sign for her to keep her mouth shut. Albat grabbed the joke immediately, but would need answers later which Julius himself wouldn't have. They kept glancing at each other until the princess received her medication and was taken to her chamber in the royal castle where Albat watched her.
Quickly, Julius dragged Bruce into his room and locked the door.
"Julius, do you realize you're dragging an old man? What's the matter?" Bruce asked him.
"After I was with you in the living room, I found myself in the forbidden forest." Julius hastily replied. He looked worried and unease. "Not only that, I saw the princess in my arms. It was like I was meant to be there to save her! First, I don't know how I got there. Secondly, why didn't I die after stepping a foot on the ground of the forest? What is happening to me?!"
Bruce remained quiet for some moments, but said afterwards, "Who else saw you coming out of the forest?"
"Albat. And I saw the look on her face. trust me, she was confused and had a lot of question on her."
"You need to make sure she doesn't say any of this to anyone."
"I'm so scared. Why did this happen? It was like a dream!"
Bruce exhaled and said as an afterthought, "If you believe in destiny, then you know that you have a purpose. You know things happen for a reason, and that you should find out how to live up to that essence of what you're supposed to do and which direction you are determined to take."
Julius gazed at him. "You've been sounding strange, father. I know you know something so stop beating around the bush!"
"Your instinct is what saved Adriana. Destiny is the push of our instinct to the pull of our purpose. Your life isn't an accident. You have a destiny, one that only you can find and complete. The quality of our thoughts determine our actions and our actions develop our habit. Our habit create our character and our character forges our destiny." Bruce began to walk away. "I need to talk to Albat" He added. Surprisingly, Julius ran to him, held him by the hand.
"I'm not letting you leave untill you tell me the destiny you talk about, father!" he angrily raised his voice.
"Julius, I think you're Kadura. And you also need to understand that I'm not your father." Brunce finally let the cat out of the bag.
The statement was so heavy for the young boy that he had to distance himself from Brunce and fell back to the walls of his room with tears rolling from his eyes. He just couldn't believe his ears especially the part that said Bruce wasn't his biological father. His lips quivered as the tears never seized to pour with heavy breath.
"I'm sorry, lad." Bruce regrated ever telling him. If only he knew the king's plan, he would have continued living with the secrets.
Some things are left unsaid otherwise triggers another's emotions or even leads to death. Bruce never knew that revealing to Julius that he was the awaited Kadura would bring a tremendous psychological unrest to him. So he watched the little boy fall on the floor of his room with the tears still in his eyes. Julius began to burn up like a typhoid patient. Not only was he burning up, he was also vibrating like an epileptic patient. Fear gripped Bruce!
"Julius?" he called and held him steadily on the ground. He saw the boy perplexing, excreting sweat from his face. He managed to carry him up to his bed, rushed out to the living room where he quickly picked some drugs and returned to the room. Yet, Julius kept quivering....
However, a horse galloped from a road outside the kingdom. The speed of the horse could tell that someone's life was at stake. The rider covered himself from head to toe with a white fabric. In one of his hands lies his staff while the other hand controlled the horse. Even the trees and grasses seemed to be in motion to ascertain the level of speed attained by the horse. It's hooves did not only give violent sound but also triggered dust from every path it galloped. He was heading to Ukra kingdom city. Luckily, the gate was opened when he rode into the kingdom then slowed down. He jumped down from the horse, uncovered his head and supported his weight with the staff. He was full of long grey beards and hair. That was Cyrus.
He pushed open the very door of Bruce to see him seated on a chair thoughtfully. The sound of the door did not only startle him, Cyrus's presence also pulled him up from the chair astonishingly.
"Cyrus, thank goodness you're here." Bruce said.
"Yes, because it's very bad!" Cyrus replied without making a move from the door.
"What is bad?"
"Wait, why are you thanking goodness?" Cyrus returned the question.
"It's Julius." Bruce led the way to the boy's room followed by Cyrus who saw him lying hopelessly on the bed still perplexing. He glanced at Bruce in a way that shows: what happened? Bruce explained from the time the princess was miraculously saved by Julius to the time he told him his true identity. Cyrus shook his head bitterly, gazing at his old friend.
Bemused, Bruce asked him. "What is it, Cyrus?"
"I warned you to allow him discover who he really is by himself!" he shouted with a deep angry voice.
"He was so inquisitive. I couldn't withstand his questions especially when he didn't know how he found himself in the forbidden forest."
"No medicine can cure him. He was put in this state for a reason, probably to wipe away the memory of him being the Kadura."
"Are you saying he won't remember hearing such a thing from me?" Bruce asked surprisingly.
"Yes, you must never reveal that to him again, even his biography. I told you that he is meant to be under your roof for a reason which is why I came." Cyrus walked towards the window through which he saw nothing but people going about their businesses. He, at the same time brought out his bone marrow, stuffed up with dry marijuana. He lit it and began to smoke. He turned to Bruce again who kept staring at him to continue. "King Corbett wants Kadura dead." he finally let the cat out of the bag.
"What?!" Bruce exclaimed. "How did you know?"
"I had what you had. It was more like a vision not a dream. Bruce, I guess we're meant to protect the little boy." he looked at Julius pitifully. "Now is clear to me why the gods chose to make Kadura dwell among us, so that the king will never find out who he is until the right time."
"Why does the king want him dead?"
"I do not know. This is more reason why no one must know about him or the strange appearance of him in the forbidden Forest."
Bruce lowered his head.
"What is it?" Cyrus asked him quickly.
"The princess' maid, Albat, knows about the aspect of the forbidden Forest and will be very inquisitive about it." he replied.
Cyrus thought for some moments, sliding his long beards critically with silent groans like a snoring lion. "Call the young girl and leave the rest for me." he instructed. Briskly, Bruce left to call Albat.
Little did Julius' room gradually opened as Cyrus fed his eyes through the window. He turned at the sound of the door to see Albat on a brown gown, looking very innocent and harmless. When the girl saw Julius lying flat on the bed like one whose soul had left his body, she curiously looked at Bruce with a panting heart while Cyrus observed her attitude.
"Nothing much happened to him, he'll be fine." Bruce satisfied her curiosity.
"You're Albat." Cyrus interfered thereby drawing attention to himself. "Do you know who I am?" he asked, blowing off a smoke of marijuana.
"You are Cyrus, the great keeper of books and the book wizard." Albat replied, bowing down.
"What you witnessed today was by my doing not Julius' doing. The princess would have kicked the bucket if not that I sophisticated Julius at the moment the accident happened to save the princess in the forbidden forest. Unfortunately, I didn't equip him much which is what put him in this condition." he glanced at Julius.
"Is he going to be okay?" Albat asked enthusiastically.
"We hope so." Cyrus popped out another smoke of marijuana. "Now, you must keep what you saw a secret to yourself alone. You must not mention it to anyone not even the princess. If you do, I'll turn you into a bird." he widened his eyes scarily.
"Yes, sir." Albat bowed again with a smile.
"You may now go." Cyrus released her. She kept glancing at Julius until she left the room.
Bruce turned to Cyrus and said, "She has a thing for Julius."
"I know, I saw it in her eyes." Cyrus turned to the window.
"Julius also confessed his love for her earlier. I'm scared what will happen when he finally knows that he's meant to marry the princess as Kadura. Things will fall apart and he will leave this young girl heartbroken." Bruce explained.
Cyrus didn't say anything rather had the smoke of marijuana saturate his mouth. Just then, Julius coughed awake. Cyrus turned swiftly, taking the bone marrow off his mouth. The old men watched Julius sit up from the bed, looking healthier than ever. The stare from them got Julius worried, so he asked, "When did I turn into a thing of stare for old men like you both to entertain yourselves with?"
The old men smiled broadly especially Bruce.
"When did you come, Cyrus the book wizard?" Julius lowered his two legs from the bed.
"It's not bad for a book wizard to visit an old friend, is it, Julius?" Cyrus reply with a question tag.
"No, except you don't turn us into birds." Julius chuckled, stood up and embraced the old book wizard. "I'm happy to see you again, Cyrus. It's been long" he said on his chest as his ears rested there, listening to his heartbeat. Cyrus smiled broadly and patted his back.
"What's the last thing you remember, Julius?" Bruce's voice disengaged the young boy from Cyrus. He remained mute for a moment, trying to access his memory. Suddenly, he looked up at Bruce and said, "The princess, how's she and Albat?"
"Both are okay?" Bruce replied.
"But i still don't understand how I got there, father."
"I caused it, lad" Cyrus chipped in. "I foresaw lady Adriana's death then turned you into a bird to fly and save her." he saw Julius gazing at him with much disbelief. "The power of a wizard." he concluded with his hands spread.
"Unbelievable!" Julius exclaimed.
"Yes, but you must keep your mouth shut about it."
"Don't you remember any other thing?" Bruce was still inquisitive.
"No, father. Is there anything you want me to remember?" Julius asked.
The old man shook his head and exchange eye contact with Cyrus.
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Once again, the night grew weary and silent. One could see Albat and Julius seated on a rock in the center of the kingdom, staring at the stars. They could hear the chirping of crickets and could feel the evening cold and developing what they feel for each other.
"What Cyrus did through you was brave." Albat broke the silence. "The kingdom would have been mourning the princess by now."
"Yes." Julius replied. The red fabric was still resting around his neck.
"I wonder why Kadura had remained mute. He's making things difficult for us all. The plague can start at anytime. What if i become a victim of a deadly plague and die?"
Julius turned her neck by placing four fingers on her jaw in a way he looked straight into her eyes. "Nothing will happen to you, not when I'm still the son of the kingdom physician. Trust me."
Albat smiled.
"You're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Julius added. He was moved to kiss her; he slid her side hair gently and planted a kiss on her lips which lasted for not less than five seconds then withdrew his head. Albat kept staring at him. She ran her hand behind his neck, brought his head closer to hers and also planted a kiss on his lips which lasted longer than Julius'.
"I love you too, Julius." she said as both eyes never averted.
However, Adriana had woke up from her bed trying to remember the accident. On her night-gown, she walked to the window through which she saw Albat and Julius at the center of the kingdom. Though it was dark, but moonlight made them visible. Seeing the red fabric around Julius' neck, she remember being in the arms of a man with blur image of such fabric tied on his neck. Quickly, she walked out of the room...