The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

The others really were waiting anxiously outside the doors of the sacred ancestral chambers.

"What happened?" Jules asked worriedly as soon as King Jaren emerged with the two little dragons on his shoulders as usual and Mana and Raven in tow behind him.

"The innate magic of the Emerald Kingdom adores our little Azar and Alya as much as we do, it seems," Mana said to her Big Brother with a grin. "They got a cool present."

Azar and Alya immediately showed off the cool magic circle – they even demonstrated how they could eat it and then store it in their pendant and it would be replenished automatically.

"How lovely!" Bella said, rubbing Alya's head.

Queen Dora was a bit taken aback. "The little ones – they eat magic?" she asked.

King Jaren nodded. "You should check the pockets of Mana and Raven and Jules and Bella. They are forever carrying arrays to feed Azar and Alya. Of course, they eat food as well," he added hurriedly.

"Yummy magic and yummy food," Azar said, agreeing with his Grandpapa.

Everyone else already knew the dietary requirements of the two little dragons anyway.

"So – the innate magic of the Emerald Kingdom reacted because Azar and Alya said they were hungry and gave them magic to eat?" Queen Dora asked, raising an eyebrow.

King Jaren laughed. "Now that you mention it, my dear, it is quite possible that this is exactly what happened," he said.

Everyone laughed.

"I'd like to take little Azar and Alya to visit the sacred ancestral chamber of the Sapphire Kingdom as well, in that case. We don't have royal pendants in the Sapphire Kingdom – but, perhaps, the innate magic of the Sapphire Kingdom could also give our little ones a small present," Queen Carolina spoke up. She smiled awkwardly. "Unfortunately, I can only take in Bella and Jules…"

General Aquila nodded. "That makes sense – it's the same for the Obsidian Kingdom as well – not all of our cultures and traditions are as open and welcoming as the Emerald Kingdom, unfortunately," he said, shaking his head. "I'll speak to Uncle Corvus when we return. We should definitely take the little ones to the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom as well! Raven, you'll have to show Mana and the little ones the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom, too!"

Raven, who had never been taken to the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom himself, was stunned. And a bit sad, as well. How was she supposed to show Mana and Azar and Alya around when he had not even seen the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom himself? He had not been allowed to do so. When he had been the abandoned prince, he didn't even have the right to enter the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom – and when he had tried to sneak in once – he had been caught by the servants and beaten half to death. Even Rook, Enca and Dawe had been allowed to enter the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom only once a year, starting from when they turned three and could walk by themselves. But even if it was only once a year, at least they had been allowed to go in…

Rook, who knew the truth, unlike General Aquila, had an awkward expression on his face. But he chose to remain silent. After all, he didn't want to embarrass his Big Brother Raven or his Father at the moment. Later, he would tell his Father about what had happened back in the Obsidian Kingdom – and Rook had no doubt that Father would be very, very angry when he found out. Rook himself was very ashamed of how he had behaved in the past…

Both the young princes of the Obsidian Kingdom were caught up in their own thoughts – neither of which were pleasant.

Sensing Raven's distress, Mana immediately slipped her hand into his and sent a little strand of her magic into him.

Raven was pulled back from his unhappy thoughts and he flashed a grateful smile at Mana. This time, perhaps, he would be taken to the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom – but now, Raven honestly didn't care whether he got in or not. Before he had come to the Emerald Kingdom, he would have been delighted and thrilled to have been taken to the sacred ancestral chamber of the Obsidian Kingdom – but now, when it was being offered to him, he realised that it no longer held the same value for him anymore.

"I'm all right," Raven whispered softly, so that only Mana would be able to hear him.

Mana smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek again, making him blush. "I'll make sure that you are," she promised. "I'll never let anyone slight to again."

"I know," Raven said, smiling at her.

King Jaren clapped his hands suddenly. "All right, our lunch should be ready by now! Shall we go?" he asked loudly.

No one disagreed with that!

King Jaren led the way (with the two little dragons on his shoulders, as usual), and Queen Dora, Queen Carolina and General Aquila caught up with him. Bella and Jules exchanged a glance, and then Bella started a conversation with Rook and led him away, while Jules hung around with Mana and Raven, dragging his feet until the others were out of sight.

"Are you all right?" Jules asked Raven worriedly.

Raven smiled at him, feeling warm. "I am, thank you, Big Brother. Mana is taking very good care of me," he replied.

Jules glanced at Mana and the two siblings exchanged a meaningful glance. Mana nodded at her big brother.

Jules sighed and patted Raven's head affectionately. "You don't have to worry about other people and what they said to you in the past," Jules said fiercely. "It is not the diamond's fault if people who pick it up are too blind and too stupid to realise its value and treat it as a defective lump of coal, all right? You do understand that, don't you?" he asked the younger boy.

Raven chuckled. "Yes, Big Brother," he said.

"Big Brother is very wise," Mana said sincerely – she couldn't imagine any other sixteen year old being able to spout such wise words. "And Big Brother is absolutely right on this one."

"Yes, I understand," Raven said softly. "Thank you."

Jules poked Raven in the middle of his forehead. "What are you thanking your own Big Brother for?" he demanded.

Raven giggled.

"Come on, then, the little ones will make a fuss if food is served and they are asked to wait to start because we're not there yet," Jules said, patting both Mana and Raven.

The three young royals walked fast and soon caught up with the others. Thankfully, the others had just entered the dining hall, and food was still in the process of being served.

And from the big, glowing eyes of Azar and Alya, it was clear that the two little dragons could barely wait to dig into their meal!

The imperial servants withdrew silently after serving the meal, but their glances (full of affection, shock and respect) towards Queen Dora didn't go unnoticed by the people at the table.

"Queen Dora is well loved at the imperial palace," Queen Carolina said with a smile. "It is wonderful to see how happy your people are to have you back."

Queen Dora smiled in response and took King Jaren's hand. "It is good to be back home," she said.

King Jaren's eyes were full of love as he looked at his long lost wife.

Papa looked younger, more handsome and more dashing today than ever before, Mana thought to herself, feeling quite pleased with how matters had progressed. Now, if only they could identify the forces that were targeting her Papa precisely and get rid of them, or, if they couldn't do that, then at least they could render them unable to cause harm to Papa to the extent possible – all would be well. Papa and Ma had just reunited – and Mana was determined not to let anyone force them to separate again!

Raven, who could easily gauge Mana's thoughts from her face, took her hand under the table and squeezed her fingers in a reassuring manner, promising her silently that he would always be by her side to support her.

Mana smiled at her little fiancé.

Just then, the book 'The Legend of Mars' – which had been lying dormant in Mana's head for quite some time now, suddenly opened up and the pages started fluttering madly, as if someone had place the open book in front of a blow fan.

Mana clutched her head, unable to read the rapidly turning pages, and the process giving rise to a sharp pain in her head.

And because she was so engrossed in the book that had suddenly been activated in her head, Mana didn't realise that her pale face and unresponsive eyes were causing Raven to panic!