Secrets in the Shadows

      Hidden in the seemingly endless shadows that perpetually engulfed the area behind my brother’s private chambers, through the slits in my lightly embroidered pink veil, I watched my brother and my father, deeply engaged in a discussion concerning the possible administrative reforms that could be made in the empire. I leaned back against the cool marble pillar feeling the intricate carvings that enhanced its beauty pressing into the soft flesh of my skin. A patron of art, I would have loved to examine the designs and critique them but today the designs on the pillar seemed insignificant to me as I was very nervous about the meeting that was taking place before my eyes, and I had several reason to be scared…

      I am Aliya. My father holds the prestigious title of being the emperor, of the expansive territory of Bharat. I have one brother,Aditya. He was born three summers before I and hence was considered to be more mature then I was. He was the rightful and only heir to my father’s throne. My brother, however, had a lot to live up to. My father was spoken of as being the greatest emperor India had ever witnessed. He was always more concerned with the welfare and happiness of the people rather than territorial expanse of the province. His experienced, warm eyes always overflowed with love, kindness and generosity. People respected him for this. He held the people's admiration, far and wide they spoke of his greatness. My brother had always been my father’s favourite.  He was, however far too ambitious. In his cold, dark eyes were always a glint of mirth. He was always scheming, plotting and contriving, even for the smallest of matters. My brother’s cunning and over ambitious nature painted an ugly picture of him in front of the masses. And I didn’t blame them. He was my blood brother, but I had always stayed wary of him. I had always been scared of him. Word was now my brother was tired of staying under my ageing fathers thumb and wanted to take the matters of the empire into his own hands.

    Today my fear of him had been taken to a new level; one that I did not even know existed. My heart beat accelerated when my father got up, signifying the end of the meeting. My brother stepped forward to embrace him, in the fraction of a second I saw the sharp gleam of a knife, the next thing I saw was red blood, pure red blood pouring out of the gaping wound on my stumbling fathers back. Paralysed with shock, I could not react. A wave of pain, sorrow and absolute disgust swept through every part of me. A tear rolled down my cheek, I did not even have the strength to lift my hand and brush it away. I do not know for how long I stood there, looking at my father’s lifeless body and the pool of red blood that had gathered near him. I didn’t see my brother swiftly leave the room; I didn’t hear the sound of his footsteps behind me.

    I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder; I spun around and was shocked to meet my brother’s cold eyes. As my dilated pupils looked into his, I saw in his eyes a fanatic determination. He would stop at nothing. His greed for power had driven him to this extent. The air smelt musty, the silence was deafening. My heart was in my mouth, I was absolutely terrified.  My brother stepped forward and then with the bloody knife still in his hand, he embraced me. The cold edge of the blade of his knife against my back was the last thing i ever felt.