Our brother, the king

     A White Ixi in fine black clothes walked through the empty halls quite early in the morning, punctual as he always was. He knocked on a door - it was the king's study.

     "King Jazan?", he called. He knocked again, but didn't get a response. He sighed, and took out a key that was in his pocket. "Not again", he mumbled under his breath. He slowly opened the door, and found the king sleeping on top of a pile of scrolls that was on his desk. The Ixi sighed once more. "Didn't catch any rest last night, it seems", he said in a low voice, trying not to wake the king abruptly. "Again." He approached, touched the Kyrii's shoulder, and rose his voice higher, "Jazan?"

     The king shuddered at being awoken. He glanced at the Ixi. "Oh, it's just you, Yasin."

     "Who else were you expecting?"

     "I was hoping it would be Nabile, not you."

     "Rude...", chuckled Yasin.

     "Did I fall asleep again...?"

     "Yes. On top of your documents for the summit." Jazan sighed profusely, whilst sliding his hands on his face. "My king", continued Yasin, "As one of your advisors, I have advised you to rest..."

     "... and I'm not heeding your advice. I know. Thanks for reminding me, Yasin."

     "Always."

     Jazan yawned, and got up. "I'm going to get coffee. You?"

     "Already drank one before talking to you."

     "Rude...", chuckled Jazan.

     Both men entered the kitchen, and found a Pink Kyrii cooking. She glanced at them, and jested, "Oh, not you two. Shoo."

     "'Shoo'?! How dare you 'shoo' us?", replied Yasin.

     "I'm your older sister, Yasin. I can shoo you and whomever I want whenever I want."

     "Yeah, but respect your- our oldest brother, the king!"

     "Bleh. Our oldest brother the king cheated playing Cheat! the other day, the cheater. So he also deserves a shoo."

     "That's preposterous. I did not!", protested Jazan.

     "You did."

     "I did not!"

     "Fine, you did not.... cheater... Here, have some coffee, you need it."

     "Thank you, Ramiza, dear", he said whilst taking the cup from her hand, and kissed her forehead.

     "And? No coffee or kiss for me?", teased Yasin.

     "Shoo."

     "Shoo?!"

     Ramiza stuck out her tongue at Yasin, whilst giving him coffee.

     Yasin whined childishly, "Jazi, Rami is being rude again."

     Jazan shrugged and drank his coffee nonchalantly. "Oh no, I'm so sorry."

     "Here, you baby, take some cookies too", she said.

     "Thank you", he said while munching on a cookie.

     "You're very welcome, little brother."

     "What a wonderful family we all are", said another voice sarcastically. It was a Fire Kyrii, that came inside with a fire Kougra.

     "Ew, it's Sol and Qadir", said Yasin while sipping his coffee. "Go away, we don't want you here. After all, aren't you two supposed to be working?"

     "Aren't you, Yasin?", asked Qadir.

     "My reason for working is overslept and is drinking coffee", he said, referring to Jazan.

     "Overslept? Again?", asked another voice. It was a Spotted Kyrii that came inside with Royal Girl Wocky twins. "That's rather concerning, if you ask me".

     "Ew, Tahir, Fakira, Ashira, leave."

     "We don't take orders from you, Yasin", said Fakira, the older twin, with shorter hair.

     "Yeah", said Ashira.

     Tahir continued, "As I was saying... before I got interrupted by that person whom we don't take orders from..."

     "Hey!"

     "It's rather concerning, to me, at least, that Jazan is oversleeping."

     "It's concerning to all of us, mind you, Tahir", replied Yasin. "Why do you think I called all of you- well, nearly all of us who are Jazi's siblings, because the other two are at school, here?"

     "You didn't call me, Yasin...?", said Ramiza.

     "Because I know you're always here at this time of day, dearest."

     The Pink Kyrii shrugged. "Fair."

     "Proceed, Tahir."

     Tahir grumbled, "I already said what I had to say, Yasin..."

     "Alright then." The White Ixi turned to the Kyrii king. "What's on your mind, dear brother? Why are you unable to rest?"

     "I... You know what, Yasin."

     "The summit?"

     Jazan rolled his eyes. "Yes... You know I get a tad anxious whenever I have to attend one."

     "Oh? You admit to that so easily?"

     "Do I have any other choices with you?", snapped Jazan angrily.

     Yasin flinched. "... w-well, you could've denied it. You're allowed to do so, after all, my king."

     Jazan sighed. "Alright. Meeting over, everyone. I have work to do." He stormed out of the room, and called out to Yasin, who had stayed in, "Are you coming, brother?"

     "Y-yes", stuttered Yasin, and followed the Kyrii, leaving the others behind.

     The king's other siblings remained in awkward silence, until Tahir broke it by saying softly, "Oh, dear."

     "I knew this wasn't going to work", said Sol.

     "Sol, why do you always have to be such a pessimist?", complained Ashira.

     "I prefer the term 'realist', Ashi."

     "Sol is right, this wasn't going to work", added Fakira. "Jazi isn't the kind to discuss his feelings easily, since it makes him feel vulnerable... He's more of an action man than a man of words... And, we all know our brother, he's as stubborn as an untamed Apis."

     "True", continued Tahir. "But what are we to do? He's not willing to discuss his grief over his mentor's passing a few months ago."

     "Grief isn't an easy thing to discuss", said Qadir. "You, as a medic, should know that more than we do."

     "I do, but he should open about it sometime... Or else, I fear it's going to consume him... And Lail wouldn't have wanted that for him."

     "No, he wouldn't have. But... let's try and be patient, for his sake, please?", said Ramiza. "Besides, surrounding him and inquiring of his feelings is not the way to help someone like him. Yasin learned that the hard way. And I don't judge him; he's a dork, but he is a dork trying to help, and that's very noble of him to do. Just... eh... didn't choose the right approach."

     "He messed up big time, you mean", Sol said.

     "I wouldn't say 'big time', Sol. But, yeah, Jazan is now angry at us and will be less willing to discuss his feelings, at least for a while."

     "It's like when you poke a Turtmid's head, its first instinct is to hide..."

     Everyone turned around at this familiar voice - it was a yellow Lupe, their cousin, sitting on a chair not too far from them.

     "Khalid, how long have you been there?"

     "Uh, like, five minutes, but I gathered enough of what's going on with Jazi. Not like I didn't notice - he's been grouchier than usual, and his kohl barely manages to hide the bags under his eyelids."

     "Like you don't have those, Khalid?", said Sol.

     "Yeah, so? I'm an artist, we are always tired", yawned the Lupe.

     "Any suggestions as to how we should approach the situation?", asked Tahir.

     Khalid blinked. "You're asking me?"

     "We know he opens up more to you than to the rest of us, with the exception of Nabile."

     "Well, first of all, don't do what Yasin did today."

     "That's good", chuckled Tahir.

     "I say... let him be, at least for today. Tomorrow will be different."

     "That's it?", asked Sol.

     "Yup. Give him space if you don't want him giving you the glare of death."

     "Khalid is right", admitted Ramiza. "Let's let him be. He'll be fine... we hope."

     That night, Qadir rose up from his bed, left his quarters, and walked around the palace grounds, as he couldn't sleep. He leaned on a balcony and sighed.

     He then felt someone tug his sleep robes. He turned to see, and saw his young daughter, a Kougra. "Abigail, what are you doing awake at this time?"

     "I couldn't sleep, Daddy... I saw you walk to here, and I followed you."

     He sighed, and picked her up. "Children like you should try and sleep... you need it."

     "Don't you, Daddy?"

     "I do, but, today, I just can't."

     "Why?"

     "Because...". He sighed. He couldn't explain what was going on with her uncle. She was five years old, and very smart, yes; but it was best for her not to know about her uncle's bad emotional state. But...

     "Is it because of Uncle Jazi?"

     ... oh, she did notice.

     "Huh?"

     "He's been very sad lately, and not like himself, daddy."

     Qadir sighed. "Yes, my dear, that's true, and that's what concerns me. All of us."

     "Oh, I see, Daddy... I'm... concerned about Uncle Jazi too. How can we help him?", she asked innocently. Qadir smiled, and kissed her forehead. "We will find a way, of that I'm sure, dear. Now, I'm taking you back to sleep, okay?"

     "Okay..."

     So the big fire Kougra took the little baby Kougra to her bedroom, tucked her in, and returned to where he was. But there was someone else there now - it was Jazan. He was leaning on the balcony, his hands covering his face, and looked despondent. Qadir approached him stealthily, and asked, "Jazan?". But he didn't get a response. He still insisted, "Jazan, are you alright?"

     "No." The Kyrii sobbed quietly, and then turned around to look at the Kougra. "What are you doing awake at this time?"

     "I couldn't sleep, as I was thinking about you."

     Jazan sighed, and snorted. "I'm sorry you were thinking of me."

     "Don't be sorry. You're my brother, and I care about you."

     Jazan cried, "After all I did to you when we were younger? I'm the reason you have those scars on your back... Why do you care so much? Why does anyone care about me, anyway?" His voice cracked. "I-I did horrible things, I don't deserve to be king. I don't. I don't. I don't", he sobbed, and fell down to his knees, trembling and weeping.

     Qadir crouched down to his height, and sat down on the floor. He allowed him to weep as loud as he could. It wasn't the first time he was in this mental state - and it wasn't going to be the last, since he, after all, suffered from depression, and his best friend's and mentor's death had triggered an episode of great sadness in the Kyrii king. At least, this balcony was far from most quarters, so they weren't going to be interrupted by any nosy noble.

     "Jazan? Jazan, listen to me...", said Qadir. Jazan kept sobbing, but Qadir managed to drag him close into an embrace. He tried to comfort his older brother as best as he could. He whispered, "Jazan... you do deserve to be our king. You are good, you are kind, you are not our father. Lail knew that. He always believed you deserved to be king. He loved you very much, like you loved him, and like we love you... And he wouldn't want you to be like this."

     "I know", sobbed Jazan. "I-I'm just too weak-"

     "You are not weak, Jazan. You're very strong. You're just depressed. And there's no shame in asking for help, if you need it, alright?" Jazan nodded.

     Qadir continued, "Do you want me to tell Yasin to ask Zerah to represent us at the summit instead of you? Because with you in this state, Nabile wouldn't want to leave you alone, I'm sure of that. And, to be honest, I don't think you should go anyway."

     "I..." Jazan couldn't talk because it was too painful for him at the moment, so he nodded hesitantly. "Yes?", asked Qadir, to which Jazan nodded again, this time with a little more energy. "Alright. I'll tell him when the sun rises."

     Morning rose over the sandstone palace.

     Qadir was talking to his younger brother in the kitchen, telling him about what had happened that same day at twilight.

     Yasin only sighed. "I'll tell Zerah, then. Jazi needs lots of rest. Do you know anything about him?"

     "He went to sleep not long after that. I checked on him this morning. Nabile told me he's not in the mood to get up... at least, he wasn't two hours ago."

     "Right...", Yasin said. "I'll go check on him. I couldn't sleep much either. I'm tired, and need more coffee." Ramiza served him a cup. "Oh, thank you, Rami."

     "No worries. You two aren't the only insomniacs of the family."

     Then, a pirate Eyrie and a Yellow Kyrii came inside.

     "Oh, hi, Amil, hi, Lina."

     "Hi, Ramiza, Qadir, Yasin", said the Eyrie. "Have any of you talked with Jazan today?" The three of them shook their heads. "Oh... Yeah, because Mom is with him right now, but he refuses to speak at all. Dad's at work, we don't have classes today, so... We came here."

     "That's alright, dears. Do you want coffee?"

     Both siblings agreed, and drank coffee. Then, a Desert Kyrii walked in. "Mom?", asked Lina. "What are you doing here?"

     "I need two cups of coffee. Ramiza, dear, please, if you may?"

     "Of course, Lady Nida."

     She served the older Kyrii two cups of coffee, to which the Kyrii thanked her, and left the room. She then returned without them.

     "I take it those two cups were for Jazan and Nabile?", asked Ramiza, to which Nida nodded. "How is Jazi?"

     "Not well. But we all know that by now", said the Kyrii sadly. She sighed, "Lail's death crushed him like a pile of bricks. It's only logical for him to feel that way. I know what losing someone dear to me is. Like when I lost my brother... because of... Jazan's father... he..." she trailed off. "Well, you know what."

     "Because he died, trying to save you from him", continued Qadir.

     "Yes... And Lail was also very dear to me. But not like he was to my Jazi. He was the father figure he so desperately needed."

     "Lucky for him...", mumbled Yasin.

     "What was that?", asked Ramiza.

     "Nothing", said Yasin. "So", continued the Ixi, "Lady Nida, do you believe Jazan is getting up any soon?"

     "Perhaps. Perhaps not", replied Nida. "We'll need lots of patience. But it's necessary if we want to help him..."

     After a moment of silence, Yasin said "Well, I have work to do. I have to help our prime minister prepare for the summit. Excuse me". He then walked out of the room.

     "I have to go out too. I promised my wife we would go out today, so, see you later, everyone", said Qadir, then he left as well.

     Nida stayed with her other two children and Ramiza. She sat down to drink her own cup of coffee, silently gazing at nothing in front of her. So Ramiza asked, "Lady Nida... anything on your mind aside from Jazan?"

     Nida blinked, and sighed. "No. Only him. I'm very worried. I can't help it. He's my eldest son, after all."

     "Of course..."

     Amil and Lina sat each at both sides of their mother and hugged her.

     "Mom, he'll be alright", said Amil softly. "You know that, right? He's not alone. He has us."

     "I know, dearie. Thank you for reminding me", she said, wiping a tear that started rolling down her cheek, and sighed. "I just don't like seeing him suffer so much."

     "Nobody does, Mom", said Lina. "But he always pulls through. He'll always do, because he loves us more than anything else!"

     Nida smiled. "Yes, I know, dear... He does."

     A couple of weeks later, Yasin was once again walking down the hallways of the sandstone palace, like he always did early in the mornings. But this time, he heard a sound. Sound of the light strumming of harpstrings, and coming from Jazan's quarters, no less.

     He walked towards it, and opened up to find Jazan playing the harp with his two sons, Hakim, a Desert Ixi, and Jabir, an Orange Kyrii.

     "Oh, good morning, Uncle Yasin", greeted the younger Ixi. "How are you?"

     "Good morning, Hakim... I'm... doing well."

     "Glad to hear!", beamed the Ixi.

     "Jazi, you're playing the harp again!", exclaimed Yasin, surprised. "It's been a while since I last saw you."

     "Yes, Hakim and Jabir motivated me to", explained the king. "I was teaching them before... well, you know what, and they missed it. They convinced me to do it again... they were very persistent, just like their mother", he smiled.

     "It's nice. I'm so happy about that, Jazi", said Yasin sincerely. "How are you feeling today?"

     "Well, what can I say? Today is one of my better days", explained Jazan. "Tahir explained to me there's something called the "stages" of grief, but that they don't really follow a specific order... and a lot of other things, with complicated medical terms I couldn't quite understand, especially since I hadn't taken my first cup of coffee", he chuckled. "What I know is, I have my better days and my not so good days. My life's been that way for a while now, and will be, since my condition doesn't really have a cure. I've come to accept that."

     Yasin smiled. He then suggested, "Want another cup of coffee?".

     "Of course."

     So the four Neopets walked towards the kitchen... which was once again full with all of Jazan's younger siblings and some of his cousins.

     "Oh, dear, was this your doing again?", asked Jazan.

     "No...?", said Yasin, confused.

     "It was mine", said Tahir.

     Yasin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Ah! I see you didn't follow Khalid's suggestion, dear brother."

     "Nope, he seldom does", said Khalid, who was munching on a cookie. "I don't follow my own sometimes, either. Also, I know Jazi is feeling a little better, that's why I agreed to everyone coming here." He rose up and hugged the Kyrii king, and both laughed. "I'm so happy to see you!".

     "Me too", said Jazan.

     "So, Jazi", continued Tahir, "How are you?"

     "I'm well, thank you for asking, Tahi."

     "I'm glad to hear that!"

     "And I'm glad to have all of you", said the king sincerely, with a smile. "I don't know what I would do without you, dear siblings, as well as cousins."

     "Nor us without you!", exclaimed Yasin. "After all, we all love our endearingly frustrating oldest brother, cousin and king! Right, everyone?"

     "Uh, "endearingly frustrating?", chuckled Khalid. "That's one way to put it."

     "Rude...", smiled Jazan.

     So they all laughed and spent some time together, like one big happy family.

     The End.