His shoes echoed in the chamber like the coming of a ghost; a step at a time,, rising Julius and Cyrus' partubation who stared at the entrance bemused. First, they saw his shadow as a result of candle light on the walls. It was huge, having the attire of a great warrior; a solid armor and fighting boots. The head of his sword took the very shape of the shadow when he approached further into the chamber. The crown on his head served as an addendum to his identity through the shadow. Only then did Cyrus have a clue of who came into the book chamber. Everything became clear when they saw king Corbett approaching briskly. Julius swallowed hard while Cyrus bowed for the king. The smoke of marijuana never ceased to escape from his mouth through his bushy grey beards like a smoke of fire from a bush, struggling to burn in the presence of oxygen.
"Julius!" the king surprisingly broke the silence, standing beside the rocky table. "What have you come here for, son of Bruce?" he asked him.
"My lord.." Julius bowed his head too. Meanwhile, Cyrus had raised his own head then replied the king saying, "He was sent by his father to get some herbs then he decided to stop by my chamber, my lord."
"Please, forgive me, my lord." Julius added.
"Nonsense!" The king said, staring at the young boy. "In as much as I'm not in the palace for you to serve me, you can go anywhere you want." he encouraged him.
"Thank you, my lord."
"But you must have known where I went to with the princess before you came out to get the herb."
"Yes.. no.." Julius fumbled, while the king gazed at him as silence became the next ambience of the chamber. "My lord, I inquired from Albat, she said you went for a walk with the princess at the cliff of Ora" he added.
"And you came to the cliff?" the king was still inquisitive.
"No, my lord. I used that opportunity to come get the herbs."
King corbett turned to Cyrus. "What of you, Cyrus son of Loki?"
"I've not left my chamber since the beginning of the day, sir." Cyrus replied. "Is anything the matter, my lord?" he chipped in immediately.
The king didn't say rather gazed at both of them, stretching the silence that had embedded in the sanctum. He really didn't know who to believe but was certain that the truth had been concealed by the two men; they were not sincere. The more he looked at Julius the more he disagreed that he could be the Kadura. Therefore Cyrus was the most suspected, but he didn't also fathom how an old man could be Kadura. He became frustrated and began to leave the chamber without uttering a word. The sound of his shoes, once again began to echo in the sanctum until it faded away from the ears of the two men.
"I need to go back to the royal castle." Julius hurried away from the center table.
"There are more you need to know, Kadura!" Cyrus' voice stopped him. He turned with a glamouring eyes.
"I'll appreciate it if you do not call me that again." he said gravely. "I am no Kadura!" he added unabashedly.
Bemused, Cyrus took away the bone marrow from his mouth and confronted the boy. "This is no game, Julius, son of Bruce. The fate of this kingdom lies in your hands. You can't jeopardize your destiny with whatever you feel for a servant girl!"
"I choose my destiny!" Julius boldly beat his chest and pointed at the exit saying, "That servant girl is my destiny! She is the only one that sings the song my heart understands."
"Is not of he that understands only the beat of the song by a woman, it is of he that understands the meaning of the lyrics of the song. You can't run away from your destiny, Julius! You need to let the servant girl go. Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny."
"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. I decide to be with who I want to be. I decide my destiny!" Julius fired back.
"Sometimes the dreams that come true are the dreams you never even knew you had. Focus on how you are going to present yourself as Kadura to Ukra kingdom to save her from the on-coming plagues and death!" Cyrus took a step closer to the angry boy. "Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors. A word is enough for the wise!"
"Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?" Julius asked cleverly.
"You choose your path, but you quickly forget that someone gave you the legs with which you walk through the path; He who gives you legs must definitely show you the path to walk on. Hence, the Walker does not choose the path, the path chooses the walker as destined for the Walker to walk on the path."
"You're confusing yourself, not me, book wizard. I've made up my mind. I live my life and I be with who I wanna be with. So, I choose my own destiny." Julius began to walk out of the cave while Cyrus watched him speechlessly. The boy's attitude had erased why he called him back; to tell him that the king seek to take his life. He exhaled and popped out a large smoke of marijuana. He sat down, thinking what will become the fate of the kingdom if Julius fails to embrace his destiny.
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The sun had set. Adriana could see it through the window of her room where she stood, reflecting on how she would have died from the cliff of Ora. She wore her normal royal bogus gown which she supported with a hand. Just as she wallowed in thought by the window, the door opened and Julius entered without taking more steps inside the room. "You called me, my princess." he said.
Adriana turned from the window in a way she stared at the young boy. She didn't know where to start but she knew how she felt about him. "You received the candle I gave you the other day?" She stepped away from the window to the center of the royal chamber while Julius remained at the door.
"Yes, my lady. I really appreciate it. Thank you." he bowed his head.
Adriana smiled. "Something happened today at Ora. I nearly met my death if I hadn't been saved." she paused and walked closer to Julius, but not too close. "I never saw who saved me but I felt a presence there. The same presence I felt when I was saved at the forbidden forest."
Julius looked up at her. "I was never there to save you again, my princess." he said.
"I know, but why did I have to feel your presence there? Your presence gives me joy, hope and happiness." She finally walked closer to him, staring into his eyes. "Know that you are a miracle and that you have a unique place in the cosmic plan of my life. I don't know how but I feel it. You are here to be the presence of love. You are here to be the presence of joy. You are here to be the presence of peace." she ran her hand around his cheek as both heartbeat increased.
"My lady...." Julius managed to say but was interrupted.
"Stop the mental chatter about what's wrong and what's not complete. There is a presence of love that is seeking to express itself through you to me." she kept running her hands around his cheek.
Julius swallowed hard. "You're meant to wait for Kadura, my lady." he said drily.
"Waiting does not exist in the experience of those who recognize the presence of love wherever they are. You are the one I love. You are my Kadura." she slowly kissed him as her delicate and tender hand never departed from his cheek. She felt the connection, hoping Julius did so too, but the young boy quit the kiss, breathing hastily.
"I'm sorry, my lady. I have to go now." he clutched the door knob and left instantly while Adriana stood still, thinking about what she did; whether it was wrong or right. Truly she was deeply in love with Julius but the thought of Kadura coming from nowhere to claim her dwindled her emotions.
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Darkness had finally taken over. Julius couldn't sleep. He met his father at his place where he had told him all that happened at the cliff and Cyrus' chamber. He seated on a chair before a table with Bruce as silence lingered.
"I've been thinking, how can Kadura come from my mother's womb. I thought Kadura is from a mystical world, world unknown. How come I am the one?" Julius broke the silence.
"The truth is that you're not...." Bruce swallowed the remaining words when a knock came from the door. Both directed their eyes there to see Albat coming in with a basket of food. She glows with smiles and beauty which eradicated every worries from Julius' head.
"Albat!" He called her happily.
"Here you are." the poor girl placed the basket on the table and greeted Bruce who responded happily and left to his room. Albat assumed his seat in a way she face Julius on the table while the basket rested in between them. "I brought you royal dinner from the royal castle." she began to bring them out.
With a broad smile, Julius helped her to bring them out. "All this for a servant boy?" he jokingly asked.
"You're more to me than a servant boy. Moreover, I'm also a servant girl." she chuckled. "Eat, I'll take the remaining to my mother." she added joyfully.
"Thank you, Albat" Julius began to eat by first taking a banana while the poor girl watched him happily. Silence creeped in between them.
"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, Julius." She began emotionally. "I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more. I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out."
Julius stopped eating and became emotional too. "Albat..."
"Thinking of you keeps me awake. Dreaming of you keeps me asleep. Being with you keeps me alive." she interrupted him. "I need you like a heart needs a beat. When I say I love you more, I don't mean I love you more than you love me. I mean I love you more than the bad days ahead of us, I love you more than any fight we will ever have. I love you more than the distance between us, I love you more than any obstacle that could try and come between us. I love you the most, Julius"
Already, remembering the situation he was into, Julius began to shed tears for he knew that complicated days are ahead for the path he had chosen.
"Why do you shed tears, Julius?" Albat stood up, walked around the table to him and sat on his thighs. She placed her hand on his cheek, pulled his eyes to hers and said, "Is okay." she began to kiss him which he reciprocated passionately, caressing her hair too. He paused and said, "I love you so much, Albat. I love you, I love you, I love..." she broke down in tears while Albat interrupted him with another kiss, feeling tears running down her eyes too, but she couldn't explain why......