Lost Love

The celebrations of the Crown Prince’s victory had started. It was such a grand one that there was no count of how many pigs, sheep and other animals were slaughtered to satisfy the appetite of the royals. The whole palace was decorated to amuse the eyes of any beholder who entered it. The seven men on the higher grounds of the hall were overlooking the madness of the crowd with amusement. They weren't brothers by blood but were brothers by heart.

All the seven grew up together, each one being a son of the Royal families. All the seven were very strong elementals. But in the case of Noah, he was the only Salemander among the seven. The one and only son of King Seraph Solea. While the others were the King's nephews.

The men were comfortably sitting in their extravagant seats around the table, with various delicacies before them .But there were only six men around the table. Noah, on the other hand, was seated slightly afar from his brothers with a woman on his lap and two others on either side feeding him. It was not a rare scene for the others. They knew the boy from when he had started to crawl. So, they were not at all intrigued by his behaviour.

"I often wonder whether that boy over there is the same Noah, who used to run away from girls like they were poisonous snakes a few years back". Daniel, one of the brothers who is an earth elemental said.

"You just read my mind, Dan" said Liam. "At the moment, I would like to ask him which he is enjoying the most? the food or the special service from the ladies?" said Liam looking at Prince with a playful smirk.

"I am still disappointed that he has taken interest in such a habit. I never raised him to be this" the eldest brother, Aiden said pointing at Noah with disappointment.

"Aiden, stop talking like his mother. If somebody else hears you they might think you are his mother" said Henry, to his fellow air elemental.

"You lot are such a noisy bunch. Just stop talking and start drinking already, you annoying rats" said a bored Finn who is also a water elemental.

"Finn is right!! Let's just drink and stop talking about Noah already" said Alec, the earth elemental.

"Ah.. Alec, I see you have taken a liking for liquor. But don't think I don't know your intentions' ' said Daniel giving Alec a dirty smirk. " We all know that you don't want Noah teasing you for your height again and hence you are avoiding our discussion instead of joining us" Daniel sang which made the others burst into a laughing fit except for Alec who just kept a straight face avoiding any further discussions about his height.

Hearing his brothers laughing heartily got Noah curious. He ordered the girls to move away and to leave him alone for now as headed to his brothers. The six people around the table did not notice the younger male approaching them as they were occupied with teasing Alec.

"Will you please stop it before he hears you and starts with that again!!" Alec pleaded with his brothers. But, he wasn't aware that he had an audience for the conversation, standing right behind him.

"Who will hear what, Alec?" Noah's voice emerged from Alec's back which made him turn his head slowly to the boy. Alec had a wide smile, a fake one which almost made his eyes disappear as he stuttered, "I-Its nothing you should be concerned about. We were just talking about... how well you fought in t-today's fight". Alec's stuttering and delayed choice of words made Noah narrow his eyes in suspicion.

"Are you sure, Sir Alec? I thought you were talking about me starting something" said Noah as he slowly massaged Alec's shoulders which made Alec gulp while the others were putting all their effort into not to burst out laughing.

"So, now you get time to talk to us from your busy life. I would suggest you go back and report to your duties as a Prince as soon as possible" said Finn mockingly as he pointed his glass towards the three girls who stood at the side at the nearest wall. They were the same trio who were entertaining Noah earlier.

Noah left Alec's side followed by a relieved sigh escaping Alec's mouth. Noah went and sat next to Finn and put his arm over Finn’s shoulders.

“You know you guys mean the world to me, right?”. This made Finn smile instinctively to Noah. He received more love and care from his brothers rather than his so-called parents. So, it was easy for them to overlook his recklessness

Noah's vulnerable side made Finn melt in an instant. But being the stubborn and stone hearted man he is, Finn shrugged it off " Alright, alright, I get it. So, stop with the touchy-feely stuff". The elder's words made Noah smile.

While all of them were busy looking at Finn and Noah, one of them gritted their teeth at the sight of the person who entered the hall. His eyes were shooting daggers at newly arrived person at the door in lower grounds. Alec could not control his anger after he saw the one face which made his blood boil. Alec's anger took the best of him and the ground started to shake slightly which took everyone by surprise.

Five of them turned to Daniel which made him raise his hands to say he was not the one behind it. Then everyone's gaze fell on the only other earth elemental among them. He was shaking with anger shooting a death glare at someone. They all turned their heads to the direction where he was looking. All of them had disgust written all over their faces. But, Noah was the first to react. He got up from his seat and went to the railing as he held it with all his might to suppress his anger.

The uninvited guest looked up at the angry Prince with the same rage. Noah almost broke the railing that he held on to, until Finn walked to him and held his shoulder to calm him a little. It did work, since Finn was the only person who had an authoritative effect on him. It was not long ago when Finn had almost killed him by trapping him in a huge water ball when he tried to burn the palace by his rage. It had scared the hell out of Noah.

"He's not worth it Noah. Get yourself together and don't let your anger bring out the worst of you, again" he said to the hot headed Prince. Noah just looked away from that person and turned his gaze to Finn who had a straight face and then he saw Alec who had sadness take over him. How could he stand and just watch his brother break-down? How could he let the person who he hated to the core, just walk around the palace so leniently?

How could he forgive the man who killed his brother's love, just because she had rejected his feelings?

He had betrayed the seven of them in the past. He had fooled them to think that he was a friend while his hidden intentions were similar to that of a foe. He was just a Mayong, a strong one though. At least, he hadn't lied about his name. The name which they felt happy to hear, two years back. The name which made them go wild in a blink of an eye, in the present. The name they all despised at the moment, Kai.

2 years back...

The two of them were actually friends. Both Alec and Kai started a liking for the silent beauty of the town, Talia. They only started to find the girl intriguing because of her kindness to the street-rags. It had started the instant both had laid their eyes on her when Alec was out in the town to know the queries of the people while Kai just tagged along, since he was the son of the general. They tried their best to get her attention.

They were too young to understand the true emotion of love. They were attracted to the girl which made them forget the fact that both of them were already in love with her. Finally, when they revealed their feelings to her, she chose Alec.

It was heartbreaking to Kai. Why was it not him? Was his love not enough for her? What did Alec possess that he didn't have? Was all of what he did for her till now nothing to her eyes? All these questions were killing him. He wanted to scream, shout and somehow let out his agony. But he held his peace. He wanted to strangle Alec to death but did not voice his distress or anger.

He decided not to give up his feelings. He wanted to change her mind, to make her love him instead. For him to achieve this, he had to gain Alec’s trust. He started visiting the palace often saying that he wanted to meet his father. In this way, he gained the trust of all the boys except for one, Finn. Even Henry, who had a great sense of judgement, believed him when he claimed that he was not bothered by the relationship between Alec and Talia. But he did not fool Finn.

He created many situations which could bring misunderstanding between the young couple. But to his disappointment, he failed each time. He couldn't take it any longer. He tried to force himself on her. Unfortunately, being the angel that she was, Talia never told Alec just to make sure that the two did not develop hatred towards each other because of her. She kept it to herself and suffered alone.

She tried to put some sense into Kai's head and make him understand that she was not able to return his feelings but he never understood. He continued his abuse on her as she took it all in silently.

It was one of those sunny days when Finn was strolling in the city and saw Kai entering Talia’s house. At first, he didn't care. But somehow he was suspicious of the unexpected meeting of these two. So, he hid himself near the window of her house.

Finn was waiting for them to speak. He was almost at the edge of losing his patience. But, then what he heard next made his mind freeze in shock. There was the sound of whipping and the sound of Talia pleading to stop. She begged so badly that Finn had to interrupt the inhuman act of that heartless devil. He barged in and his eyes couldn't believe what he saw. Finn was tied to one of the legs of her bed, almost naked as her clothes were half torn due to the harsh beating she had endured.

It was heart-breaking for Finn to look at the girl, who was like his own sister, in a condition as such. His eyes met hers and he was confused to see her shocked rather than being relieved. Finn was not a fool; he instantly understood what she was doing as he rubbed his temple in frustration. His questioning eyes met hers again, asking why she hid such a thing from them. Tears were the only answer she could give.

His gaze then met that of the perpetrator who stood there in shock with a whip in his hand and a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. He froze in his spot since he had realised that there was no escape for him from his wrath now. Finn didn't utter a word. He stomped his feet to the bastard, snatched the whip and punched him in the face. In lightning speed he untied Talia, covered with the covers on the bed and with the very same ropes he tied Kai.

Talia was so tired that her brain could not process all that was going on in front of her. She wanted to stop Finn but did not have the strength in her to even move from her spot. Finn on the other hand tied Kai’s hands and legs up and searched for a fairly big piece of cloth. As soon as found what he was looking for, he went back to the struggling figure on the ground and wrapped up the cloth to his face to hide it; not too tight to the point where he would suffocate.

Then he held the rope that was tied to his hands and dragged him out of the house. He pulled him through the streets like he was an animal. Not a single soul in the street dared to ask the angry elemental as to why he was doing this. They were afraid to get the already angry man angrier which made them hold their peace. He dragged the struggling body all the way to the palace.

Finn was smarter among the seven. He neither went to the king nor went to the general. He straight away went to Henry with a struggling Kai and called out for Daniel and told him to call all the others. As Daniel went searching for the others, Finn explained everything to Henry about what he had heard and seen. Now even Henry was angry. But he decided that they are not going to make the matter worse. So their first priority was Talia's safety. So, both of them waited for the others to arrive.

"What happened? Why are you both so pale? Wait! who is that?" asked an amused Alec who came into the room with slow steps. Finn removed the cloth from the person's face and Alec froze at his spot.

"This bastard here, is the reason why Talia was down for the past few days. He was abusing her, Alec! He was caught red handed today while he was slaughtering her like an animal!" Finn growled. Alec couldn't process what he heard. As soon as he realised what was going on, he snapped his head towards Kai who had barely stood up with great struggle.

Alec's confused eyes made Kai look away. Not in regret but in a way to escape from the truth. Alec tried to charge at him but Daniel and Finn held him back as Noah, Liam and Aiden barged in. They were confused at the sight in front of their eyes. Daniel started to calm Alec while Finn explained everything to the other three.

"Alec, your first concern must be Talia. Go to her this instant. According to Finn, she was injured very badly. Go to her and comfort her. She is all alone on her own in her house" said Henry as he untied Kai's wrists. Alec just ran out of the room to go to Talia. He didn't even bother with a horse. He just ran like a maniac, since his mind was torturing him, giving him images of his dear one's vulnerable state.

Even Henry didn't waste his time. He went to the council searching for one of the ministers. As soon as he found one, he inquired about the current case but was careful not to mention Kai anywhere. He found out that the Victim's statement is important for the council to punish the guilty. Also that if there was even one eye witness for the act, it was enough for them to imprison the criminal. Henry just thanked him and casually walked out of the council not to be too obvious about the situation.

He went to the others who were guarding Kai like hungry hounds. He explained to all of them about what he had heard. First they had to make sure Talia was safe. So, all of them headed to Talia's house on their horses. Kai was tied up to the horse Noah was riding. It had to be Noah, since he was the only one strong enough to withhold Kai from escaping.

They did reach the spot. They entered the shelter but to their disappointment, they were too late. The sight in front of them made them clench their jaws. Alec was on the floor sobbing like a mad man holding the lifeless fragile body of the girl as a rope was knotted around her neck, which only meant one thing.

She had killed herself.