Chapter 163: Side Story 5: Past Mistakes and Karma

It was a bright day. Abu took a deep breath of the outside air, breathing in the smell of various flowers in the palace garden. He was unlike his counterparts who only saw the garden as a symbol. His homeland was barren and although it had a different beauty to it, he loved the rich nature of the east.

"Abu." A soft voice called out from behind and Abu spun around. He gave a polite nod towards Isra and pulled a seat for her before sitting himself. Isra didn’t mind the man who didn’t bow to her. She could see the distasteful eyes of her guard looking at Abu but she knew he was a man who even to this day struggled to bring himself to kneel to others- only doing it when it was necessary.

Despite this, no one would dare fault him. He commanded the second-largest workforce behind Alfred in the Empire and was officially recognized as the Crown Prince’s guard. Whilst some didn’t like it they couldn’t do anything about it even without risking Alfred’s wrath.

"Thank you for meeting me," Abu said politely as he poured a drink of water for the two.

"Think nothing of it. An opportunity to come to my garden is always welcomed." Isra said with a slight chuckle. "That being said I wonder why you have called me and not my husband."

"It’s nothing too serious. It’s just something I want to talk about with you both separately. You’re both Edwards’s parents and it would be wrong to only speak to Alfred about it." Isra raised an eyebrow at his words and waited for him. "As we both know, his Highness will go to the academy when he is older. I don’t know if you know but his betrothed will also be attending. I’m wondering how you want me to handle this."

Isra let out an ’ah’ as she nodded. "Yes. Alfred did mention this to me." He could tell she was annoyed by the whole situation. "Sorry, can you clarify what you mean?"

"Of course. Whilst we don’t know how long Edward is going for, if it’s for a while he will definitely hit the age where he starts having feelings for others. I’m wondering do you want me to keep these things in check or is he allowed to experience them."

Isra sighed as she took a sip of water. It was something she knew that couldn’t be avoided. She hoped in that time the two could build a good relationship, but Abu’s concerns were valid. She knew that people couldn’t control what they felt.

"Let them bloom, but don’t let it go out of control. Whilst he can experience the joys of his youth, he has responsibilities, and no matter how much I dislike them, he must follow them." Isra stopped. She looked down at her hands as she gently touched the ring on her finger. "I only fear that he may come to resent his wife if they grow too strong and he is not allowed to pursue them."

"I understand. I just needed to know what you felt." Abu smiled as he finished and the two sat in silence basking in the sun. Isra looked at him, her eyes analyzing his face.

"Abu. I hope it means no offense but what are the markings on your face? It has been something I have always been curious about." To her words, Abu gave a bitter smile as he dragged his finger along the red dots on him.

"In the past, you know I was a lord." he chuckled saying those words. "God it was embarrassing what type of man I was." He stopped and shook his head. "After my family fell to ruin, I went on the run. I got away for a while but there was only so much I could do at my age and eventually, I was caught. I had a choice. Death or slavery."

Abu played with his fingers. In the pause, he looked towards the palace with a strange look in his eyes. "I was never strong before. Sure I had done basic training with my father to one day take over our lands, but it was never something I thought I would have to pursue. I saw my father. Despite being a trained soldier he never once went onto the field, I believed the same for myself. Despite this, after I chose slavery, I was bought by a pit owner."

He could see Isra was confused and gave a small chuckle. "Fighting pit. A horrid place. I had lived so many years in a desperate fight for my survival. It was all I came to know. All Gods and beliefs I held were shattered, only the drive to survive remained. At that time I was broken. So when I came to these pits I knew I had another choice. Survive or die."

"I arrived as a small brat who could barely hold a sword at the time, but not wishing to see his investment be lost, the pit owner made me fight the sick and dying slaves first. I tried to use a sword at first, but I was so weak at the time that I couldn’t even lift one properly. So I used my hands. For weeks, I had to beat men to death with my bare hands just so I could eat that night. The greater the crowd cheered the more I could eat."

Abu paused once more. Isra saw the shame and sadness in his eyes as he recalled the memory and reached and grabbed his hand. Whilst she wanted to say she understood, she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t talk about her past life, no matter how much she trusted the man in front of her. All she could offer was silent support.

"Before, when I still had power, I used to play with the lives of my servants for fun. It was something I never bat an eye at before, but in those pits, I realized what scum I used to be. The eyes that watched me for nothing but enjoyment as scars built on my body; as I beat other men and boys to death just so I could eat."

"I was lucky. There was an older man who knew his time was coming. I don’t know if it was pity or what, but he trained me. Showed me the way to build my body. Eventually, I reached a stage where I could do the special fights. They called it champion battles but it was an empty title for the winner. With each win, we were marked." He pointed to the red dot on his face before clenching his fist. "It’s a curse but also a lesson for me now. Every time I see my reflection I’m reminded of that time, but it also keeps me in check. To never return to my old self."

"Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore. The repeated cycle of killing men just to eat. So I escaped. It is funny. They let these men become people who do nothing but fight and expect us to always be underneath them. They want a good fight for their champions and so we got more privileges for the sole purpose of making ourselves stronger. Three years I spent building myself up just so I could leave. And I did. I tore my way through the guards and ran as far as I could."

"It was short-lived. I had no money and only knew how to fight. I became a mercenary and joined a war only to get captured by the Inquisition and here I am now." Abu smiled at his final words. Isra however saw it was a smile free of all the bitterness from before. She smiled seeing that Abu had finally found some peace.

"I’m sorry." It was all she could say but Abu shook his head.

"Don’t be. It was my punishment for my past self and a time for me to grow. But it does make me worry about His Majesty. If anything I learnt was everything comes back round. All the bad deeds one commits, all the good. Eventually, it catches up. I’m grateful to His Majesty for giving me a second chance to use power for good, but when I see him sometimes, I wonder if he will suffer like I have. Its times when I hope his God is real and that he truly is following his will."

Isra gave a soft smile to his words. Alfred’s path was something he chose and was always a cause for worry. Whilst he claimed it was for ’Little Alfred’ Isra knew better. She could see the desire of the two had at one point merged and become a twisted desire for both. The need for conquest for the sake of glory wasn’t his, but the desire to conquer to have him and those cared about be safe was. It was a paradox to her. Raven’s death came because he took land from others, but Alfred believed it was because he lost control of the situation.

’As long as Edward is safe.’It was all she could tell herself to stay sane. She knew kings and Emporers would always be at war, it was the way of the world, but as long as his ambition and desires never threatened her son, she would allow it.