The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

King Jaren sent off everyone to bed after that, reminding them that they had to go back to the Sapphire Kingdom the next morning, and then they would have to go to the Amber Kingdom.

The two little dragons went off with their beloved Grandpapa, of course.

Mana dragged Raven to her room and bundled him into bed right away, much to the latter's amusement.

But Raven didn't dare to protest. After all, he knew that he had been in the wrong this time, and that Mana's fear and anger was completely justified. If Mana had tried to pull off something like this, Raven knew that he was going to be really mad, too. It was already a blessing that Mana was willing to still be with him after all this.

"Are you really feeling all right?" Mana asked anxiously, peering at Raven's pale face, her emerald eyes filled with concern. "Do you want something to eat?"

Raven shook his head. "I'm all right," he murmured. "Thank you, Mana. And – and I'm sorry."

Mana sighed heavily, then she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Raven's forehead. "I need you to be all right, Raven," she said softly. "Please, please don't endanger yourself like that again. My heart can't take it." Her voice was small and defeated.

Raven blinked rapidly to stem the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm really, really sorry. I won't do it again, I promise."

Mana nodded tearfully.

The two children cuddled for a while, and fell asleep without noticing it. After all, they were exhausted. It had been a long, harrowing day, full of strange events, and both of them had been through a lot.

The next morning, it was almost noon by the time Mana and Raven woke up.

"Oh no, we are going to be late!" Mana cried, looking at the clock.

Raven shook his head fondly. He was sure that someone would have come to wake them up if they really were getting late. The fact that the two of them had been allowed to sleep in was probably decided by King Jaren.

And it was a good thing, for both Mana and Raven felt much better now. The two of them washed up quickly and then went to find the others.

They found their Big Brother Jules and Big Sister Bella sitting in the dining hall with generously laden plates of food.

Mana and Raven greeted the older couple as they entered.

"Our little sleepyheads are finally awake, it seems," Jules commented with a grin when he spotted Mana and Raven.

Bella rolled her eyes and pushed a huge plate of sandwiches towards the two empty chairs that Mana and Raven were walking towards.

"Come on, eat up," Bella said. "You two must be hungry by now; you missed breakfast after all."

Mana and Raven dug in without preamble.

"Where are Papa and Father Aqi and Rook and Azar and Alya?" Mana asked curiously.

"Uncle Aqi trained us in the morning and then Papa decided to take Uncle Aqi and Rook on a tour of the new land he has purchased for Azar and Alya," Jules informed her. "The two little ones are naturally sticking to their beloved Grandpapa as usual."

Mana and Raven and Jules and Bella exchanged a worried glance at that.

"Any clue about what to do with Ma?" Jules asked nervously.

Mana shook her head. "Not yet," she said.

Raven hesitated, and that got everyone's attention.

"Have you found something, Raven?" Bella asked.

"Is it dangerous for you?" Jules asked right after.

Raven glanced at Mana. "It's not exactly dangerous," he murmured. "And I don't know yet if it will work…"

Mana glared at her young fiancé. "You are forbidden from trying anything without discussing it with me first," she said fiercely.

"Yes, Mana," Raven replied obediently.

When Raven fell silent after that, Mana frowned at him. "So what is this idea of yours?" she demanded.

Raven bit his lips nervously. "It's not exactly dangerous, as I said – it – it just involves a bit of soul magic..." he said quietly.

"No," Mana and Jules said at the same time.

"Jules and Mana are right," Bella added. "If it involves soul magic, it is too dangerous, Raven. Not to mention that your soul isn't even related to Ma's, and it would be very difficult for you to resonate with her soul and bring her out of the spiritual possession."

Mana nodded approvingly and threw Bella a grateful glance.

"But my soul will resonate with Ma's, right?" Jules murmured. "I could try it."

"No!" Raven said immediately. "You don't know anything about soul magic and you have never performed it, Big Brother, so it would be too dangerous for you!"

Jules narrowed his eyes at Raven. "And when did you perform soul magic?" he demanded. "Other than the soul searching spell that you did for Mana yesterday."

Raven flushed. "I dabbled with it for a bit earlier as well," he murmured.

Mana glared at him fiercely and Raven winced.

"It was some time ago," Raven added hastily. "And it was only a few minor spells. I haven't put myself in danger at all!"

"The lad doth protest too much, me thinks," Mana said sarcastically, borrowing words from a famous classic of her earlier world.

Raven flushed. "I wasn't doing dangerous stuff, really," he said in a pleading voice. "Believe me, Mana. You trust me, don't you?" he asked pitifully, his rainbow eyes filled with distress.

"Of course I trust you," Mana said softly, reaching out her hand and caressing Raven's fair cheeks with her slim fingers. "But that trust comes with a qualification, unfortunately. I trust you with everything except your own welfare, Raven."

Raven, who had brightened initially, deflated like a balloon.

"And it is suspicious that you think it isn't dangerous for you but it is dangerous for Jules," Bella pitched in, narrowing her eyes at the young boy. "I'm afraid you have lost all your credibility with us on this matter, Raven."

Raven sighed. "I suppose so," he murmured in a quiet voice. "I admit that I have been rather stupid."

"Yes, and now you have to rectify that," Bella told him. "Jules and Mana care about you too much to allow you to harm yourself – especially Mana. So you have to protect yourself well and earn back their complete trust, don't you?"

Raven nodded.

"What is this soul magic that you are talking about?" Mana asked. "Is it related to necromancy or something Zed said, or does it come from the legacy left to you by Ned?"

If it was the former, Mana wouldn't let Raven try his hand at even the smallest spell of that nature, but if it was the latter, then Mana could still consider it somewhat, provided, of course, that adequate precautions were taken, and she would be helping Raven perform the soul magic and supplementing his magic with her own. There was no way Mana was going to let the boy do as he pleased any more until she was satisfied that he was capable of taking care of himself and not jumping into harm's way all the time like a stupid hero.

And why was the so called evil emperor turning out to be such a saintly person anyway, Mana complained in her heart of hearts. Why couldn't Raven develop an ounce of selfishness and try putting himself first, for once? Wasn't this just too unreliable for an evil emperor?

But then, if this gentle and kind Raven was supposed to be the evil emperor, then Mana didn't know what a good person would look like. In her eyes, Raven was hands down the best person that she had ever met, and she intended to keep it that way. She very much admired how he had risen up from his miserable life earlier and bloomed beautifully under the love and care of the royal family of the Emerald Kingdom.

They had really found themselves a treasure.

"Mana? What's wrong?" Raven asked, seeing that she was in a daze.

Mana shook her head and smiled at him. "I am very glad that we found you, Raven," she said. "You really are the blessing from the heavens to our family."

Raven flushed. "I should be the one saying that, Mana," he said quietly. "Without you and without Big Brother – I would be dead many times over by now."

Mana shook her head. "You are much stronger than what you think, Raven," she said seriously. "And you are much more important than you think, as well, both for us and for this world. In fact, you could probably say that the fate of this world rests in your hands, even. And this is exactly why you must not recklessly throw yourself into danger all the time.. You have to understand that you are absolutely essential for us – and as for me, I am here because of you and for you."