THE MAN ON THE CARRIAGE

"You are really not going to let him in?" Serina who was standing behind a grand chair that Zahirr was seating in asked.

"I have made up my mind, and noone can change it," the house master had spoken and noone was willing to defy his words. Even Serina despite being his wife, all she could do is feel pity for the young boy who was being rained outside and not only drenched in it but also in his own tears.

'Poor Ravan,' she said before leaving the old man to be.

The rain continued to fall heavily, creating rivulets of water that flowed along the ground. The grand gate of House Zenith stood as an imposing barrier, its iron bars slick with rain. From within the mansion, Ravan's younger twin brothers, Rhett and Ryker, approached the gate with determined strides.

"Hey, open up!" Rhett demanded, his voice carrying an authoritative tone far beyond his thirteen years.

The guards remained steadfast, blocking the twins' path. "Sorry, young masters. No one is allowed past this point by Lord Zenith's orders."

Ryker scowled, his red hair clinging to his forehead from the rain. "This is ridiculous! We just want to see our brother."

The guards shook their heads, unmoved. "We can't let you through."

Frustration boiled over as Rhett and Ryker exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming with mischief. "Fine, if we can't go in, we'll just have to make sure he hears us," Rhett declared, his voice dripping with contempt.

"Hey, Ravan!" Ryker shouted, his tone mocking. "Still sulking out there? You look pathetic!"

Rhett joined in, his voice equally taunting. "Yeah, what's the matter? Too weak to come inside? Maybe if you weren't such a disappointment, Father wouldn't be so hard on you."

The insults cut through the sound of the rain, each word like a sharp dagger. Ravan, still leaning against the gate, remained motionless. His head was bowed, his wet hair hanging like a curtain over his face. He didn't respond, his silence a stark contrast to the twins' harsh words.

"Look at him, Ryker. He won't even defend himself," Rhett sneered. "It's no wonder Father doesn't trust him with anything important."

"You're just a failure, Ravan," Ryker added, his voice cruel. "Always have been, always will be."

The guards shifted uncomfortably, their eyes flicking between the twins and Ravan. Despite the harshness of the words thrown at him, Ravan didn't move, his face still pointed towards the ground. The rain continued to pour, drenching him further, but he seemed oblivious to the cold and wet.

Seeing that their taunts had no visible effect, Rhett and Ryker eventually grew bored. "Let's go, Rhett. He's not worth our time," Ryker said dismissively.

"Yeah, let him rot out here if he wants, he isn't one of us anymore after all," Rhett agreed, turning away with a final scornful glance.

As the twins retreated back towards the warmth of the mansion, the guards watched them go, their expressions a mix of disapproval and pity. Ravan remained by the gate, a solitary figure in the relentless rain, his silence speaking louder than any words could.

'Those idiots, if it were a year ago their words would've taken a toll on me and I would be angry...but now, the littlest shit they say or do doesn't affect me.'

Ravan's relationship with his younger brothers, Rhett and Ryker, hadn't always been strained and filled with bitterness.

When their mother first brought the twins into the world, Ravan had been overjoyed. As a young boy, he had eagerly taken on the role of the protective older brother, vowing to be their role model and guardian.

He spent countless hours playing with them, teaching them small lessons, and ensuring they were safe and happy. His love for them was deep and genuine, a bond formed in the innocent and hopeful days of their childhood.

'I loved those two...I really did, but they of them all just had to join in and turn against me...'

However, Ravan's life took a drastic turn when he was diagnosed with mana deficiency, a condition that left him with a weak body and unable to wield magic like others in their prestigious family.

This ailment not only hindered his physical capabilities but also shattered his dreams of becoming the strong protector he had promised to be for his brothers.

Despite his limitations, Rhett and Ryker still looked up to him with love and admiration, their young hearts filled with affection for their big brother.

Tragedy struck the household when their mother passed away suddenly.

'I told them I didn't do it, but they wouldn't listen,'Ravan remembered the night his mother was killed by a Valhein as he watched, his body motionless and his eyes not emitting a single sign of life in them.

The entire dynamic of House Zenith shifted with her loss, casting a shadow over the once joyful home. On that fateful day, Ravan had been the only one present with their mother in the mansion.

The circumstances surrounding her death were unclear, but the twins, consumed by grief and influenced by whispers and misunderstandings, began to believe that Ravan was somehow responsible.

They thought he had been jealous of the unconditional love and attention their mother lavished on them, and that this jealousy had driven him to a dark deed.

This belief poisoned the relationship between the brothers. Rhett and Ryker, once full of admiration for Ravan, now viewed him with suspicion and resentment.

Their father, too, grew distant and cold, his grief and anger clouding his judgment and further isolating Ravan. The twins' once loving gaze turned to scorn, their words became taunts, and their playful interactions transformed into hostile confrontations.

Ravan, burdened by his own grief and weakened by his condition, found himself unable to defend against the accusations and hostility. He withdrew further into himself, the weight of his family's mistrust pressing down on him.

The rain-soaked scene at the gate was a stark reflection of the deep chasm that had formed between the brothers—a chasm filled with misunderstandings, pain, and lost love.

The steady drum of the rain was suddenly accompanied by a new sound: the rolling of wheels on marble, echoing through the courtyard. Ravan, his body shivering from the cold and wet, looked up slightly, his curiosity piqued.

Through the curtain of rain, he saw a carriage approaching, its wheels splashing through the growing puddles.

As the carriage drew closer, Ravan could make out the figure of an old man seated within. The man had a mane of black hair streaked with strands of white, a testament to his many years. His beard was pure white, contrasting sharply with the dark hair on his head. The man's cloak was torn and threadbare, drenched by the relentless rain, clinging to his frail frame.

The carriage came to a halt before the gate, and the old man leaned out, his piercing eyes locking onto Ravan.

"Get in the carriage, kid," he commanded, his voice strong despite his age.

Ravan's heart skipped a beat as he recalled his father's words. "This must be who Father said would come to pick me," he murmured to himself, a mix of realization and resignation washing over him.

'Did the old man sell me?'

"Don't stand there in the rain, boy," the old man repeated, his tone brooking no argument.

"Get in the carriage. No questions."

Ravan hesitated for only a moment before nodding, his movements slow and deliberate as he stepped away from the gate and climbed into the carriage. The old man gave a brief nod to the driver, and the carriage lurched forward, beginning its journey away from the mansion.

As the wheels rolled over the marble once more, Ravan turned to look back at the house he had grown up in. The grand structure loomed in the rain, a place that had once been filled with warmth and love but now felt cold and distant.

His eyes lingered on the windows, where the faint outlines of maids and servants could still be seen, their faces a mixture of curiosity and sorrow.

Clenching his fists, Ravan fought back the tears that threatened to fall. The mansion grew smaller in the distance, its imposing walls receding into the rain-soaked landscape.

He was leaving behind everything he had ever known, no longer a part of the life he had once cherished.

The old man watched him with a keen, knowing gaze but said nothing. The silence in the carriage was heavy, filled with unspoken words and shared understanding. Ravan turned his gaze forward, the weight of his new reality settling on his shoulders as the carriage carried him away from his past.