Sanaki

After Ryan left his father's grave, he had finally noticed that the sun had already fallen. He conjured up some fire magic to light his path and started walking towards his old home. He had grown powerful enough to use multiple elements of magic, however wind was his strongest attribute and the one that he had grown most accustomed to.

It only took a couple of minutes before he was able to spot the old farm. It was completely abandoned and looked rundown, it was obvious that no one had lived in it for years. It made some sense as if was pretty far away from civilization, Dale and Thera wanted their family to be completely self-sustainable.

Ryan: "I'm still surprised that no one chose to settle down here. I mean, even though it is a bit far from the next village, someone should have still came here before. It probably has something to do with that family."

Of course, the family he was talking about was Thera's parents'. Although he was biologically their grandson, he saw the group as completely different from his.

Ryan walked to the front door, and with a deep breath, opened it and walked inside. He first saw how there was a bit of a mess inside with the furniture being all around the place and having grown covered in moss. He was able to tell that it had been a long time since Shiharam and his men came through and rummaged through the house searching for Dale. The building had completely become one with nature.

Ryan: "Time really didn't do this place any favors. It'll take alot of gold and manpower to get this farm back to what it was before. Mom and Dad must've spent a fortune building this place."

The first thing Ryan did was go to his room. There was really nothing that stood out in this fairly small room except for the knocked over crib and drawers. He lifted the crib back up and looked in the drawers to find some small clothes and a few small figures. Ryan smiled remembering how his mother liked to edge him on with these toys, only for him to ignore them and concentrate on magic.

Closing the drawer, he stepped out of his room and went inside his parents' room. He walked in to find that it was surprisingly almost the same as his room. The only difference was that they had a bed instead of his crib.

Ryan sighed.

Ryan: "I guess they really weren't materialistic. They probably spent everything they had on the farm. Well then time to go to work."

Even though there was no light out, Ryan had planned to clean the whole house once he got here. While he was holding a fireball in one hand, he used his other hand to blow some wind to let the dust out. He then got to work on the other things like wiping the chairs and tables, padding out the bed, etc.

Since it was a fairly small house, Ryan should have been done after a few hours had passed. But since he needed some light to see, he was only able to use one hand for all the physical work. Eventually he able to finish cleaning the inside before the sun had risen and get some rest.

He lied on his parent's bed covered himself with a blanket. Feeling the cold permeate through his body, he curled into a fetal position and fell asleep. Probably because he was in his parents' bed, he dreamt of being caressed by two sources of warmth.

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At Sienne, the capital of the Begnion Empire, a little girl could not sleep and was staring at the moon through her bedroom window. She was currently sitting down and dressed in luxurious red upper robe that covered her pure white dress. This little girl was Sanaki, the next person that would be crowned the empress and Apostle of Begnion after the previous Apostle's, Misaha, passing.

This five year-old girl was the granddaughter of Misaha and thus, was the only candidate for the throne. What reinforced this fact was that her family line had the ability to hear the 'voice of the goddess' and thus gained huge amounts of support from the empire's citizens.

After Apostle Misaha was killed, the Senate had made no attempt to replace her position as the empress, which angered the citizens. They had managed to pacify the people for a couple of years, but after a number of years had reached into the double digits, the citizen could no longer stand the current situation.

Left with no choice, the Senate had to finally concede to the people's will and elect the next Apostle and empress. This is how the current circumstance came to be, Sanaki was going to be given the crown tomorrow and shoulder the future of the empire. She was unable to sleep for this reason.

As she was contemplating about her life and her future, Sanaki her a knock on her door. Curious at who it could be at this hour, she told the person to come in. The person who came through the door was a long haired man dressed in white and purple robes.

Sanaki: "Sephiran! What are you doing awake so late at night?"

Sephiran was a current member of the Senate and the closest person to Sanaki. Due to his support during her times depression, he had become one of her most trusted people who she can share her feelings with.

Sephiran: "I could say the same to you, your majesty."

Sanaki: "Please do not begin with the formalities, I am not the empress yet and we are no strangers to each other."

Sephiran chuckled.

Sephiran: "Very well, young one."

Sanaki: "So what are you here for?"

Sephiran: "I came to see how you are doing. With the coronation tomorrow, I had suspected that you would be unable to sleep."

Sanaki smiled warmly.

Sanaki: "I cannot hide anything from you, can I?"

Sephiran: "Even if you may be the empress and Apostle tomorrow, in my eyes, you are still a little girl with innocence radiating around you."

Sanaki looked down. She had to get rid of her childish ways. She was soon going to be the leader of an empire and she was obligated to work for the people without much care for herself.

Sephiran saw the look on her face. He walked up to her and kneeled to match her eye level.

Sephiran: "Please always remember that you are not alone. I and many others will always be behind you for encouragement. This weight that you bear is not something that you have to carry alone."

Sanaki started to cry and hugged the man in front of her. Although this was quite unbecoming of a person of her status, she was not an Apostle yet and was currently just a afraid five year-old little girl.

Sephiran returned the hug and they stayed like this until Sanaki released her grip.

Sanaki: "Although I may not be the best person to lead this country, please stay by my side and support me for the world's prosperity."

Sephiran smiled and bowed with a hand over his heart.

Sephiran: "Of course, your majesty."

Seeing that the sun was about to rise, Sephiran excused himself and left Sanaki's room. As he was walking down the hall, he was talking to himself.

Sephiran: "You do not have to worry about a thing young miss. Everything I do henceforth is all for the future of this world."