chapter 17: Heir to my Kingdom

3 years later

Kian's POV

"King, we're here." A voice brings me out of my sleep and I open my eyes before nodding at the guard who was waking me up.

Sitting up, I rub my eyes of sleep and get down the carriage. My legs feel stiff, same as my body. I just want to lie down on the bed and sleep for days. The journey from my kingdom to here was so long that we had to stop at several places to rest before continuing our journey.

Stretching my hands and legs, I then start walking into the palace. It's all dark as the night covered the place in it's embrace. No one is here to receive me but that's fine with me. I don't really have time or the patience to greet and talk if anyone appears in front of me. I know this place like the back of my palm and I can go the room which is reserved for me without anyone's guidance.

The hallways are empty apart from the guards who are guarding the place. Everyone bows at me when I walk past them and I nod, acknowledging their respect. I'm not new here and all people knows me, so no one is suspicious of me or are against me from entering the palace. Walking to my reserved room, I could just say it's room for when I visit this place, I enter inside and directly march to the bed. Removing my overcoat, I jump on the bed and sleep not even bothering to get fresh. Bathe can wait but sleep can't.

When I wake up, all I see is darkness. It's same as the time I slept. Did I wake up within few hours or I slept for so long? I wonder and sit up on the bed. That's when I feel another person's presence in the room, on the bed to be exact. I open my eyes and smile at my cousin, Dean. I could still recognise him in the dark room.

"What time is it?" I ask him, my voice hoarse because of sleep.

"It's past 11 am." He replies before going and turning on the light.

I blink my eyes several times before opening them completely as the light blinds my vision.

"Did I sleep just for an hour?" I doubt as I arrived at 10 here, I checked the time.

"No, stupid. You slept for whole night and whole day. I didn't disturb you because I thought you're tired. But you sleeping for this long made me a little nervous and I finally decided to wake you up." He scolds but I could feel the worry in his voice, my emotionless cousin is worrying about me.

"Sorry, Dean. But don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. The journey was so long that I didn't get proper sleep. So when my head hit the bed, I went into deep sleep." I reason out with a yawn.

"Go and fresh up." He says but I shake my head no and try to lay down back on the bed to sleep.

I have slept for one whole day, as he said, but I still want to sleep more.

"Eat some dinner before you go back to bed." He suggests as he holds my body, not letting me to go back to sleep.

"I'm not hungry, Dean. Let me just sleep." I argue back.

"Atleast drink this milk." I hear other voice that's not Dean's and see Winny walking to us with a glass in his hands.

"Winny, how are you? It's been long since I last saw you." I greet him while sitting properly so that I won't come out as rude.

"I'm fine." He replies and holds his hand out, giving me the glass.

I sigh before taking the glass and drinking the warm milk. While drinking I take a glance or two at them to see Dean hugging his husband on his shoulder as they stand side by side.

They got married an year ago after alot of fighting against my uncle. As I thought before he didn't agree to their marriage and it took two years for Dean to finally convince his father. He was still recluent but his son wouldn't marry if it's not Winny. Having to hear people talking good and bad about Dean and keeping kingdom in mind, he finally agreed to marry his son to Winny. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend their marriage for some personal reasons and I'm glad they understand me instead of getting angry.

Though at first my uncle didn't like Winny, he later slowly understood how good Winny is and now he sees Winny equal to Dean, sometimes even more. He suggested they would adopt or surrogate a child. After thinking and discussing among themselves, they finally decided to surrogate so that they would have a child of their own blood. And now, the lady is six months pregnant. She's well taken care of by king's family and is provided with everything.

It kinda makes me envious of their relationship. My father favoured Archie but my mother was whole different case, if only she thought same like Dean's father, I would still be with Archie now. I brush off those thoughts as soon as I remember them.

Finishing the milk, I place the glass on the table and look at them.

"You can sleep now. We won't disturb you anymore." Winny says while taking the glass and leaving the room after turning the lights off.

I sigh as I lay back on the bed, my sleep totally forgotten. Unwanted memories resurface and now I can't seem to stop thinking about them. Once those thoughts enter my mind, it takes a lot of time to forget. Tossing and turning on the bed, I finally sleep.

The next morning, I wake up and get fresh and go to Dean to discuss our deal. In the past three years, my mining farm has successfully improved alot that it's becoming hard for me to handle it alone. And I thought who would be better partner than my cousin. I discussed this with my father and after considering everything, we both agreed to it. So, I wrote a letter to Dean addressing the same and he agreed to my proposal. He said he would visit me and discuss everything in person but I disagreed. It's my proposal, I've to go to him not the other way around. That's why I'm here now, for the business deal.

I go to his work chamber and explain everything about the mining farm to him. We discuss all conditions before making the agreement and signing it, legalizing the deal.

"Now that the reason you're here is done, what will you do later?" He asks as we walk in the garden.

"I don't know," I answer him, "maybe I can take a look around the market." I say after thinking, this would even help me with work. I can see how much people here are into stones and jewellery.

"Okay, I'll send some guards. Take them along with your guards, just for safety reasons." He states and I nod.

He arranges some guards and we all head to the market. I'm not here just for sightseeing, so I pay attention to each and every shop and what they sell. My tour continues until I see all the shops and finally come to a stop. Nodding at myself, I decide to leave. As I walk to my carriage, my legs bump into something and look down to find a baby.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I apologise while crouching down on my knees to match her level.

"It's okay, mister. It's my fault too." She replies with a smile which I couldn't help but return.

She looks around two-three years. Her skin milky white, her hair is long as the waves reach her shoulders. She has big round eyes, small button nose and red lips. I feel wrong to think this way but she looks exactly like me. I looked the same when I was a baby. I have some paintings of my childhood and we're literally same except that she's a girl while I'm a male.

"What are doing here alone? Where are your parents?" I question while brushing her hair aside that's falling on her face.

"I came here with my mama. But he got lost." She says sadly.

I lift her in my hands and stand up. How can her mother be missing? Shouldn't it be other way around? I also shrug of the pronounce of her addressing her mother as he because she's a child, she doesn't know everything.

"I'll help you to find your mother. Do you know your address?" I query while looking around to see if anyone's searching for a child but I find none.

"I don't know." She pouts and I chuckle at her cuteness.

"It's okay, my cousin is the king. I'll take you to him and ask him to find your mother. So, will you come with me?" I ask before I take the decision on my own.

"Yes, mister. I'll go with you." When she agrees, I walk us to the carriage.

I help her inside and then get on. She insists that she'll sit on me saying it's her first time getting in a carriage and she's feeling scary. I gladly let her sit on my lap, keeping my hands securely around her. She gives of very familiar scent but I choose not to think about it. It was already wrong of me to think she, someone's child, resembles me.

"What's your name?" I ask her.

"Gia." She replies enthusiastically and I smile rolling the word in my mouth.

Gia is such a beautiful name and have great meaning. It means God's gift. This child must mean alot to her parents. Ofcourse any child is a gift to their parents.

"What were doing in the market?" I inquire.

"In two days is my birthday. I came to buy things with my mama." She replies excitedly.

"Mister," she calls a minute of silence later and I hum at her, "you look handsome."

"Thank you, you look pretty too." I compliment her making her smile.

"My mama says I look same like my Papa." She mutters with sad tone.

"Is that bad? Why you look sad?" I query feeling myself sad at her gloomy face.

"No, it's not. I never saw my Papa that's why I'm sad." She replies.

"Don't he live with you? He works outside the kingdom?" I ask as why her father isn't with them. If he works out, I would talk to Dean and tell him to get her father back to the kingdom to make her happy.

"No, my mama left him." Her answer made me think if her father was a bad person.

"He isn't a good person." I mumble myself but she heard it.

"No, my Papa is so good. Mama says he loved him alot. Mama had to leave him." Her words really confuse me.

But I choose to ignore about them and concentrate on getting her back to her mother. As soon as our small conversation finishes, the carriage stops and we reach the palace. I climb down with her in my hands and walk inside. I go the throne room directly thinking Dean would be there but I couldn't find him. So my next stop is his room. Smiling at her, I walk to Dean room and stop at the door. Just as I go to knock and enter, I hear voices from the other side as the door is ajar.

"Don't worry, I'll send my men and bring her to you." Dean's voice could be heard, assuring someone.

"How can I not worry? She's all I have, I can't live if anything happens to her." A very familiar voice cries out with worry.

"Please, calm down." Dean says before he continues, "let's go now. I'll start the seach immediately."

After that I hear hurried footsteps and the next minute the door gets open revealing the person I thought I would never see again. Along with Dean, there is Winny and Archie. Everyone is shocked to see me and I mirror their same expression. My heart stops seeing the one I loved after many years and my body froze. Many things are running in my mind as all our memories reemerge.

"Mama!" Gia screams excitedly putting a stop to my thoughts and I follow her gaze to see her smiling at Archie.

That moment, my hold on her tightens and I turn around, walking away from them. If she's calling Archie as mama, that means I'm her father, right? Her similarities with me and her way of addressing her mother as he, she said father loved her mama but they had to separate, all these makes sense now. Everything points that Gia is my child, the heir to my kingdom.