About a year and a half after the coronation, Emperor Selasto and Empress Alsia, who just got married before the breakup, were blessed with their first son named Ariasa. Indeed, a crown prince had been born and his birth was celebrated across the length and breadth of the empire.
Crown Prince Ariasa turned out to be the only surviving child of the royal couple. They later had another son who died in his infancy.
About three years after the birth of Prince Ariasa, Emperor Jeliani and Empress Kotina also welcomed their first child who was named Salfina. Princess Salfina had two siblings.
The Caprico Emperors' Forum was a platform that provided the rulers in the region the opportunity to meet to discuss issues of common interests in their domains. The meetings were held biannually except in emergency cases. It was only at such occasions that the two sworn foes, Emperor Selasto and Emperor Jeliani, usually met. The noticeable things about the two emperors were the sparks of rage in their eyes whenever they met at such meetings. The animosity between them was so intense that it could ignite any combustible substances close to them!
Crown Prince Ariasa was in his mid-20s when his father felt he should begin to assign some royal responsibilities to him as his only son and the future ruler of the Rambasi Empire. It was a tradition handed down by his forebears.
On a few occasions, he had proudly represented the emperor at various functions outside the domain. The exposure had also made him a recognisable face in the region and his parents were very proud of him. He learnt the ropes quite fast. Though he was very young, his level of wisdom belied his age. By virtue of being the Crown Prince, he was a member of the Council of Advisers, having attained adulthood.
Close to three decades had rolled by since the Diaspa Empire broke up. But the bad blood between Emperor Selasto and Emperor Jeliani could not be washed away even by the passage of time. Any attempt at the meetings of the Emperors' Forum to broker peace between them was always resisted by the duo, with each of them swearing: "Over my dead body!"
The chairmanship of the Forum was rotated among the emperors and kings in the region. The host monarch was usually the chairman of the meeting. Prince Ariasa and Princess Salfina were always on the delegations of their fathers when attending the meetings not hosted by their parents. But whenever it was the turn of Emperor Jeliani to chair the meeting, his sworn adversary would send a representative. Crown Prince Ariasa had always been the choice of his father to lead a delegation made up of some members of the Council of Advisers and key officials to the meeting. In retaliation, Princess Salfina was chosen by her father to lead the delegation to any such meeting presided over by Emperor Selasto.
To further widen the gulf between the two empires, Emperor Selasto promulgated a decree signed by the Crown Prince that forbade any contacts, relationships or marriages between citizens of the two empires. Any contravention of the decree was punishable by hanging.
During one of the meetings, the two feuding emperors chose to stay away. After the occasion, Prince Ariasa and Princess Salfina had cause to sit opposite each other during the royal banquet. It was an unusual closeness that their parents would never have allowed if they were present. The princess was particularly carried away by the good looks of the prince whom she had been seeing only from afar at the previous meetings. Crown Prince Ariasa fitted into the description of a prince charming. The princess herself was a paragon of beauty. No hegumen would allow her to pass by his monastery!
For the better part of the dining and wining, the captivated princess struggled to keep her eyes off the prince. The latter took no notice of the admiration radiating on the face of the daughter of his father's sworn enemy. It was difficult for anyone at the dinner to notice her admiration because her eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark goggles. Desperate to send a message across, Princess Salfina decided to play a smart one. She carefully stretched her right leg forward with the intention of playing footsie with the prince.
The prince first thought he had stretched his own legs a bit too forward beneath the table; so, he pulled them back and courteously apologised to the princess. Moments later, she pushed her leg forward again, lowered her dark goggles slightly, perhaps for the prince to see her eyes, and gave him a wink. The prince's heart must have skipped upon comprehending her daring antics. He withdrew his legs and gave her a warning frown. But to his utter amazement, all he got as a response was another wink.
After the banquet which stretched into the evening, all the royal guests retired to the chalets in the palace of King Tospal of Tosifa Kingdom who hosted the meeting. They were to spend the night and depart the following day. Members of the Rambasi delegation had all departed to the wing of the palace different from where the emperors and kings were quartered for the night. Either by design or by coincidence, the breathtaking chalets occupied by Prince Ariasa and Princess Salfina were just a whistling distance apart.
After taking a warm bath, the prince stepped out to relax for a while before retiring to bed. He dismissed his bodyguards and was on the verge of going back to his chalet when Princess Salfina manifested a few metres away, accompanied by her two trusted bodyguards and a maiden. The prince froze in his tracks when she quietly drew his attention.
"Good evening, Crown Prince Ariasa," she greeted after waving her companions to a stop while she inched forward.
The prince did not know how to react to the unexpected accostment immediately.
"Good evening, Princess Salfina. To what do I owe this approach? You know you are not supposed to come anywhere close to me," the prince blurted out.
"Shhhhhh…", she let out a sound with her right index finger planted vertically on her lips.
Then, she quickly added: "The winds also have ears. I mean no harm. Our fathers may be sworn enemies, but there is always a silver lining in every dark cloud."
"Exactly what is your mission?" the prince queried. "There can be no fellowship between light and darkness because the two do not sight each other."
"I never knew you to be a philosopher," she said as she pressed forward.
The prince reacted by backpedaling towards the entrance of his chalet and ordered her to back off. She obeyed but left him with a parting shot: "Our fathers may represent light and darkness, but don't you think we can cause the sun not to set so as to keep darkness away?"
On that philosophical note, she made a U-turn and went back to her chalet. Princess Salfina had left the prince with a food for thought… something to ruminate on for the night!
After the princess departed, Prince Ariasa was rooted to the spot until she melted out of his sight. He freed his feet from the ground and finally retired to bed. The princess had murdered his sleep as her food for thought kept him awake for the better part of the night.
The next morning, the prince deliberately avoided the princess. He waited until she departed with her team because they were to follow the same route back home. Throughout his return trip, the encounter with the princess kept playing back in his mind. In spite of his unfriendly behaviour towards her, he found her to be very bold, confident and intelligent… someone he would ordinarily like to relate with.
However, he perished the thought because of the deep-seated rancour that rendered the two empires asunder. Besides, there was an imperial decree that forbade any contacts, relationships or marriages between the empires that his father made him sign on his behalf. The consequence of contravention was scary enough to knock any silly ideas off his mind.