The Beta Cancri Queen

5 - The Lost Prince

Still in the middle of the Kalahari desert, they were lost with no sense of direction - only these weird tents in the middle of nowhere were their only hope.

The walk had been hard, but the determined young boy lead them courageously. He remained at the front taking all the cautious steps forward and making sure the group stayed together on their journey down the mountain and across the land.

And they were here now, treading towards the tent, much near it. They were so close that they discovered that it wasn't just one tent but a group of tents gathered together. Alake never said a single word after they left the camel behind - what hurt him the most was how he did not even know if it was still alive. His camel was dying and he could not even stay till the end. He was not there.

Probably dead. Alake thought - and hoped - to himself. What else could he do?

"Apophis. Your brother..." A man looking slightly older than Apophis whispered. Alake's emotional breakdown didn't go unnoticed. "Should we be worried?" he asked him, and signalled towards Alake's direction with his head.

"His camel was a present for him when he was born." Apophis replied, in the same quiet manner. He sighed, like it was tiring having to explain. "Don't worry too much, Sudi. He'll be fine."

"Is that what happens in you tribe?"

"Yes, well... to the royal line."

"You are a royal in your group?", this time Sudi could not help but exclaim this loudly in surprise. The group had not known each other for long. They had met at a 'tent-hotel' in the busy south of the Kalahari region, at the border of the desert, before parting together, since they all had the goal to cross the Kalahari desert and head in the same direction: westwards.

"Not royals exactly, but more like leaders of the group." Alake responded instead, with a straight face and loud voice which surprised and turned everyone's ears towards the conversation. "Apophis is our next leader, and I am just another commoner."

Apophis scoffed. "Are you trying to be funny? You are third in command."

Alake rolled his eyes and then gritted his teeth. "I'm not. This all was supposed to be an excuse and you know it."

Apophis's tone darkened: "If you had to be such a coward from the start, you should not have given false hope to our people. Everyone has faith in you just as they do for me. And me being older does not make me special... We expected a lot from someone smart like you and--"

"Where is it?" A young but strong voice asked Apophis, interrupting his sudden fit of rage. It was the same boy that was leading them, who had now moved to be right next to Apophis, walking.

"What?"

"What is this kingdom that you speak of?"

"Our kingdom sits in the south of this land." Apophis then pointed his finger at him. "Your name, boy."

"Yuu... my name is Yuu."

Alake burst out laughing. "What a ridiculous name! You are not from here, are you?"

Yuu became silent and clenched his fists, from annoyance.

To his content, Apophis immediately lifted his hand and smacked Alake hard in the back of his head, to then explain: "You had a mosquito right there. And if you talk anymore, I think there will be more mosquitoes coming for you." That was clearly a coded warning for a beating, and Alake immediately fell silent as a result of it. Apophis turned again towards the boy and spoke in a calm and gentle manner, "So Yuu, are you from here? What kingdom are you from?"