Kadim & Menna

Kadim (kah-DEEM) is heir to the throne of a tiny, overlooked country called Majivana (I combined the Arabic word Ma meaning 'water' and the Hindi word Jivana meaning 'life'. There is a spring which the city is built around that hasn't run dry in two generations) squished between Pakistan and India, just a few miles northeast of the Arabian sea. I've also stolen a lot of the culture from Indian history, with a little Arabic merchant/nomad thrown in.

Kadim is short for his age, and young for prince. He's not the first born, as most heirs should be, but all of his older brothers have married into other, larger dynasties, leaving their home town for good, although they love to drop in and offer military aid and highly opinionated advice to their little brother. Their father, Ojas, a large, broad-chested, round-bellied king was much loved by his subjects, for he always taught his children equity, loyalty, justice, mercy and the duty a king had to his people. Kadim always admired his father, but, of course, he's got big shoes to fill (except kings never wear shoes). Ojas' death is an enigma to the royal physicians, and Kadim's mother is now a widow and only her former station of First Wife and Queen allows her to remain in the palace at all.
Now the kingdom fully rests on Kadim's shoulders, or it would, except the much taller, albeit ancient, advisors to his late father got it first. In Majivana, a Prince can only become King and assume total rule over his country under two conditions. 1) All the old advisors must die, and 2) the prince must first marry.
The former condition was made so that wisdom could be past between generations of rulers. Only when the last Viser has gone the way of all the earth can the prince appoint his own advisors. Kadim dislikes his father's Advisors, who look down their noses at him as still a young child.
Kadim enjoys practicing different fighting techniques with his body guard and good friend, a tall, black-skinned foreigner named Julius who came to Majivana as an indentured servant, earned his freedom through the wars, and became famous for his strength and courage in battle.
Kadim always wanted to travel, but being tied down by a kingdom, and traveling being dangerous, he instead pays great expenses to collect rare flora and fauna from far-away lands and keeps them in the royal menagerie.
Kadim is old-fashioned and believes a woman is a precious jewel to be admired, paid for, polished, and protected. They are, however, worrisome, tiring, and expensive. He can't imagine having one constantly around, let alone several dozen, like his father did and advisors and brothers do. He is very opinionated, and though he's polite and naturally generous, he still believes that royalty are indeed better than those they rule over. That's why they rule over them.

With the latter condition of Kadim's coronation, we meet Menna. Menna is a daughter to an old war hero gone farmer. She lives in a clay hovel with her Father, who still loves to retell the War Years in great detail and splendor; her mother, who is frazzled and aged by the worries of raising four children, along with the usual famine and pestilence; her oldest brother Salim, a tall and burly farmer boy with a broad, easy smile who is very slow to take a offence, but quick to offend--usually on accident; her older sister Sarina, a talkative and strong-willed girl with about eleven boys vying for her hand, but who is more interested in Menna's love life; and her younger brother, Dharma, a stormy boy who starts fights often with the other boys and loses, who Sarina frequently calls "Fool of a Dharma". Menna is the only person he ever opened up to and doesn't want her to get married, because then she'll have to live in her husband's household. Menna has a quiet voice, but is extremely stubborn. She's fairly short, with her thick, black hair halfway to the floor. Too busy for interests, she helps her father in the fields with her brothers instead of in the house and town with her mother and Sarina. Her favorite time of year is semiannual Harvest, when almost everyone has enough food and people smile more. She believes oceans and horses are mythological and hopes to never marry, mostly because she fears widowhood and she doesn't do well with children, probably because she thinks they'll be like Dharma or the boys who beat him up. She's especially close to Salim, who generally helps with keeping the suitors at bay. He thinks no man alive is good enough for his sisters, although he wants to see them looked after.
Menna is a worrier. Her greatest fear is raiders, who could come across the desert and ransack Majivana, like they did in her father's stories. This as grown into a fear of almost all men, except for her father, brothers, and a few cousins. She worries, too, about her mother's failing health and a how hoarse her voice has gotten lately. Lastly, she worries about her own reputation. Girls should not be working in fields. They should be preparing for marriage indoors. They should only work during harvest, when every hand is needed. Her secret wish is to one day meet King Ojas.