The land of Sanitatum is said to be filled with magic, but it is also plagued by a contagious curse that threatens humanity's survival. It is the purpose of the heir to the throne, Simba Adofo, to inherit his father's crown and find a way to vanquis...
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They traveled for a few hours just to put some ground between them and the city. Thanks to Kaffelle's surprising mercy, it would buy them some time as Kasim wouldn't know of their escape for a while after the boys were long gone. But of course, Kurona would have known that. She was a clever woman after all.
Simba refused to waste what valuable time Kurona and Kaffelle had gifted them. The people of his land didn't know that he was outside the city, and the news of his affliction wouldn't reach outside the city for a few days still. Even if his father's trained ravens were sent to surrounding cities and towns with messages to inform surrounding places of his treachery, the small birds wouldn't make it to their destinations for another few days at least. But of course, Kurona planned all of this. To imagine her in a submissive role under his father made Simba chuckle. What twisted reality would have granted a man like Kasim a royal position while Kurona, a woman of utmost brilliance one of servitude? What a despicable prank.
Simba guided the horse down the trail as Hari rode in the carriage with the mother who now held onto the basket tightly, rocking the giggling child as she glared at the small boy who sat quietly at the other end. She pressed herself against the opposing wall Hari leaned on as if trying to distance herself farther than the physical restraints of the walls. Hari didn't blame her for being mad at him, of course. He did an awful thing, but he did it because he wanted to live. Was that such a bad thing to want?
Her eyes burned into him, her curly hair tumbling down to hide part of her rage. The rest of her vicious glare leaked through where strands of hair failed to cover. It was overwhelming. Hari didn't dare move. There was silence between them broken only by the creaking of the carriage as it was dragged across the bumpy trail.
Darwin flew over from Hari's shoulder onto the basket and the child looked gleefully enthralled by his visit while the mother shrieked and slapped the bird away, scrambling to hold the basket close to her chest.
"Get your familiar away from my daughter!" she growled, her lips curling to expose crooked teeth. Hari didn't know what a familiar was, but he could alleviate her concern about Darwin in one simple sentence.
"He's never touched my skin- he's clean," Hari reassured her while welcoming Darwin back to his own shoulder. "He's well behaved. The little one seems to like his singing."
The woman's snarl faded slowly, relaxing her frantic grip on the basket.
"She only sleeps when I sing to her," she said softly, looking down to check on the small one who seemed as cheerful as ever. "I don't need your kind infecting her with your magical illness. She has a future. She's clean. I'm not going to be fooled by a criminal like you so you can multiply."
Hari paused to look into her face. The insinuation of his active plot to infect as many people as possible combined with that wrinkled face of disgust was now common, but he wished it wasn't. But Hari had acted like a criminal. He shouldn't have expected to be treated like anything else.
