As beautiful as the Moon

"Your Majesty, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”  

A royal guard interrupted the royal council when its members were discussing current security matters. Emperor Narendra gazed at the entrance of the great hall as he heard the news. 

“Let him in.” The Emperor ordered.

Danyel, the 21-year-old Crown Prince of the Hesmian Empire, had finally returned after spending more than eight years in the Elville Mountains; preparing both physically and mentally to be the next monarch. The Emperor stood up from the throne and walked forward to welcome his son. It was rare that he stood up to welcome someone.

The prince was dressed in his best ceremonial clothes; just to make sure that he would make a great first impression when showing up after a fairly long period of time. Not one in the empire had seen him as a grown-up. 

“Your Majesty!” The Prince said as he knelt.

“How small you were when you left! What a handsome young man you have grown into!” The Emperor uttered in wonder. The prince stood up.

“I am much obliged, father. It’s all about time.” 

“I assume that you’ve been trained very well by the great teachers, my son. Not everyone returns home after completing those tasks. You have shown that you’re suitable to be the heir presumptive, with all the strengths and abilities. I feel very proud of you."

“Not every father sends his children into such deadly places and never visits. Not once.” Danyel thought inside while maintaining the fake smile towards the Emperor. 

“From now on, I expect to hand over my duties to you, one by one.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, let me remind you that the security problem at the boundaries needs an urgent solution.” A member of the council reminded.

“Oh! Thank you, Treawdott. Duty comes first. Alright, let’s save something for tomorrow. Now you must rest. Off you go.” 

“Yes, father.” 

The prince left the great hall thinking,

“After all these years, he still hasn’t changed. Never considers what I’ve got to say, that man.”

*********************************

Prince Danyel truly needed a rest. Though he had become a skilled and a stronger man lately, he always missed the comfort he enjoyed in the palace. Especially, learning to do things on his own was a pretty hard thing itself; not to mention those no-taste foods.

Lying on the large bed in his royal chamber, the prince recalled all the tough years he worked restlessly.

Danyel had to master swordsmanship, archery, horse riding, chariot driving, and many other skills under the supervision of brilliant educators from all over the world. He practiced meditation too. To teach him about the stuff like decision making and enduring, the educators instructed the Crown Prince to complete several very-hard-level tasks, some of which nearly killed him.

The Elville Mountains were always crowded with warrior trainees, as almost all the rulers sent their heirs to sharpen their skills and to make them prepared for future roles. Even some aristocrats were able to join the practices.

As the emperor mentioned, some men were unable to finish the training. Some were killed, including the two elder brothers of Emperor Narendra, which caused the crown to land on his head. Only one woman had ever gotten permission to enter the training process which she succeeded with distinctions; Princess Tierra of Sesiil who later became its queen. 

Most of the trainees hated there, while some reckoned that being with peers was better than being prisoners at palaces with overwhelming royal duties as teenagers. Danyel’s thoughts were swinging between them. 

All of a sudden, the prince was brought back to the present by a voice; a beautiful, yet calming female voice with perfect pitching. Danyel got up from the bed to see where it came from. He opened the window expecting to see a singer from a distance. 

Much to his wonder, there was no one except the guards. There were no signs of a singer. The prince wished to get closer to the singer because he did not hear the lyrics clearly, but he was too tired. Therefore, he went to sleep listening to the voice as if it was a lullaby.

********************************

The next day, the crown prince woke up and recalled the pleasant dream he had last night. The only thing he saw in the dream was the full moon. The perfect full moon anyone could ever imagine. Danyel had heard that dreams might be signs about the future. He wondered 

what it meant. 

After wearing his ‘crown prince robe’, Danyel went to see his father. On the way, he met the royal astrologer.

“Good morning, your imperial highness!” The astrologer greeted.

“Oh, good morning! I meant to meet you. I’ve got something to ask. What does it mean if I dreamt about the full moon?”

“It varies, sir. Were there any dark clouds?”

“Um… no, uh wait, I think… there were.”

“Oh! Still, there are different meanings, your imperial highness. But, for a man of your age, it might be a sign of love, a girl. Along with the love she brings, she might bring chaos as well.”

“Whoa! Maybe my father is searching for a girl for me. Nah, a suitable girl to be the next empress.” The prince said, laughing.

Danyel always believed that he would never get to choose a girl for himself because that choice would affect not only his life but also the empire. So, Danyel never tried to date a girl. In fact, he had never met anyone who could win his heart. 

After listening to endless introductions at the royal council, the crown prince laid on his bed, wishing to have a proper sleep. But it was interrupted by that voice again. Still, he was tired. But on the third day, the prince could not resist.

Wearing a black robe; which unknowingly made him look more handsome, Danyel left his chamber and walked through the corridors and gardens to find the mysterious singer.

The prince finally found the singer, near the chambers of emperor Narendra’s youngest concubine- Lady Arya who was only two years older than Danyel. 

As the girl was facing towards the chambers, prince Danyel could not see her face first. But he was already charmed by the voice of that girl who was wearing a uniform of palace’s water maids. Her voice went along very well with the flute and the harp which gave Danyel the exact relaxation he always needed. 

Being lost in the girl’s voice, the crown prince did not notice that he had been standing there for more than half an hour. After the singing was finished, he got to see the girl’s face as she turned around to pack things up. Danyel saw how gorgeous she was. He felt that her 

irresistible beauty has hypnotized him. 

At that very moment…prince Danyel fell in love. 

He fell in love at first sight. That maid was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He wanted to have her immediately. In his mind, Danyel made thousands of imaginations of him…living with her. 

Anyhow, he managed to come to the present moment and went near the singing crew. 

Except for the old harp-player lady, others did not realize who he was until the old lady knelt and screamed,

 “Forgive me, your imperial highness, these idiots did not recognize you.This is the crown prince! Kneel!” 

Then everyone knelt immediately, fearing that they would be punished for not recognizing the prince. From years of experience, they knew how the royals acted; especially in terms of respect.

“Oh that’s fine, stand up please!” Danyel said, smiling. 

“You heard that? He said ‘please’.” The flute player whispered into the singer’s ear.

“But they disrespected you, sire. They shall be punished.” The harp player screamed again.

“There’s no need to overreact. They just did not recognize me because I wasn’t here for a long time. But screaming at midnight, I find that one a punishable deed.” 

“O lord behead me if you wish!” the old woman shouted again, much louder.

“Oh stop it, please. I came here because I found your performance quite amazing. Introduce yourselves, I’d like to know.”

“I am Miranda, your imperial highness. I play the harp. I am very grateful for meeting you sire.’’ 

“I’m called Din, my lord. I play the flute.”

“I see. How about this beautiful young lady?” The prince asked impatiently. 

The girl blushed immediately. Obviously, she did not expect that praise; not from the future emperor. 

“I… I am Yasvie, your imperial highness.” She said shyly. 

“Wow, a name as beautiful as the owner.” Danyel thought.

“Well, it is great to meet you. For the past two days, I was able to sleep properly because of your performance. But why didn’t I meet any singers near other chambers?” 

“Lady Arya was interested in our works and asked his majesty the emperor to let us perform here every night during her pregnancy,” Din answered. 

“I didn’t know that. I’m about to have a sibling again? Fine.” Danyel said in disgust.

“Your imperial highness, I remember playing the harp for your mother when she was pregnant with you. Her majesty was friendly with us, just like you. It was such a bad thing that her majesty was executed.” Miranda said. Both Miranda’s and Danyel’s eyes were filling with tears.

Before any of his emotions pulled out, Danyel left after saying,

“Let’s not talk about it. Good night."

After walking a few steps away from them, Danyel turned around and smiled with Yasvie. She was still too shy to smile with him, so she bowed instead. 

On the way to his chamber, the crown prince stopped for a while and looked up at the sky. He saw the full moon. It reminded him of that strange dream he saw lately. As for that moment, he knew what it exactly meant.

Soon after he entered his chamber, Danyel wrote a poem; pouring all his emotions into the paper and using his brilliant skills at poetry.

~ Why does it feel like raining?

 While I still see stars,

Is this my heart who’s singing? 

 The beat was never so fast,

What was it she did to my mind?

 I feel the emotions dance,

 Thousands of answers to find,

 But I won’t lose this chance,

 Obvious- that I love her,

 But isn’t all these too soon?

 I’d live to eternity with her,

 Who is as beautiful as the moon~