A dim light painted the rock's walls, casting long shadows on the floor where Tanaka clenched his knees as he sat near the flames of the fire. He sat on the cave's floor, his head resting on his knees, without thought as the light danced on his brown skin. His eyes hid in the shadows of his hair, but the hollows that had formed under his eyes visibly extended to his cheeks. This hole in a rock they had found offered shelter but no comfort. Outside, gusts of sand grains jumped and danced, obscuring the view any further than the desert in sight. Insects spawned from the apertures and dents in the wall, crawling towards the source of illumination. Some crawled onto Tanaka's face, but he didn't flinch, he didn't blink. Afraid if he did, he'd see their faces. Again. A shadow appeared at the entrance. Tanaka turned his head slightly.
"Gazi," he muttered.
Gazi held a deer over his shoulders and some firewood in his other hand. He leaned forward, letting the body drop to the floor. He grabbed it by the hooves and dragged it across to the fire. Tanaka, still in a fetal position near the fire, tensed up, almost flinching at the sound of Gazi's voice when he finally spoke.
"Roast the meat and eat. We leave in the morning."
That was it. After days of silence, that was all he had to say. He hadn't even offered his condolences yet. Tanaka's voice dropped low,
"Are we going back?" Tanaka lifted his head.
"We are heading to the Yera Shiri village. Your father always said they were great allies," he let out a sigh while using his spear to cut the meat, "they are our best chance of survival right now."
Tanaka stood up, dust rising from his training clothes. The veins on his hand started showing as he curled them into fists, shaking from the intensity.
"Then I'm not going."
Gazi dropped the objects in his hands. "Your Highness..."
The veins on his throat bulged from exertion. "My name is TANAKA!"
"I SAW THE DEAD BODIES OF MY FAMILY... BURNING. RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME." His voice dropped to a high-pitched whisper, "And you want us to do what... run?"
He wiped away a tear from his face.
"No. I'll go back and kill whoever did… whoever did—" he said as he choked mid-sentence. He couldn't finish. Tears fell, uninvited, streaking down his face. Gazi passed the prince by and picked up some sharpened sticks grouped near Tanaka.
"You're not strong enough."
Tanaka's breath sharpened. "And we don't have time for any foolish antics, prince Tanaka. We are leaving in the morning."
" I said—"
"AND I SAID we are leaving in the morning. Listen to me, Tanaka." Gazi's voice was up to Tanaka, for the first time. He was on edge, and Tanaka's defiance was pushing him over that very edge.
"Watch yourself, Guard. I'm still your prince."
Gazi sighed, letting his shoulders fall and took a breath, looking at Tanaka.
"My apologies, but I won't sugarcoat it. You are weak, your majesty. You don't have chipo. You have no influence. You couldn't even floor me in training. And yet whoever did this… they managed to defeat your entire family—including your father. And I can say without the slightest hint of a doubt, the WEAKEST among them was stronger than you."
Tanaka sat back down in silence, fists clenched, twitching. His body vibrating, begging for him to do something, anything. Just seething in anger that was just waiting to be released.
"So what? You want me to leave their deaths unavenged?" He whispered, his head bowed low, letting his brown tip dreadlocked hair fall to his face, "To run from my people when they need me most? You call me prince, right? Well... what kind of prince would do that?"
Gazi sighed. He stood up and walked over to Tanaka, sat beside him, and wrapped his arm around the boy.
"I never said their deaths will go unavenged. You just need to be stronger to do so."
"Right now, you won't win any war with a grieving heart—you'd just be walking towards an open grave. And I won't allow that. I have already failed your family once. I will NOT do it again."
"Then I'll raise an army," Tanaka jumped up, pushing Gazi's arm away. "The Yera Shumba are the pride of Bakea. I will call on our army, and I will have my revenge."
Gazi got up and moved back to the fire. Slowly, he began to mount the cut meat onto the sticks and placed them on the fire.
"And who do you think will follow a child into war?" he said.
"The people, the soldiers, the noble tribes, the three kings. Everyone on our side," Tanaka replied, as if the answer was obvious.
"Everyone on our side, huh?" Gazi let out a tiny breathy laugh.
"What's so funny?" Tanaka frowned as he stared at Gazi with resentment. A bit of wind from outside blew sand towards the fire, dimming the available light in the cave.
"Damn," Gazi muttered. "My apologies, but do you know who's on our side?" He turned from the fire and looked at Tanaka. "The people were terrified when we were attacked. Cowards don't win wars, and no soldier would let his king die whilst he's still breathing—let alone the entire royal family. I would know."
Tanaka softened his glare.
"So most likely our barracks were significantly reduced during that attack," Gazi continued. "The noble tribes under the Yera Shumba most likely despise us, and the few that don't are probably not strong enough to help. You'd just be leading them to their deaths, and they will know it."
"What about the three kings?" Tanaka defended.
"There is no tribe powerful enough to destroy the royal family. King Gris alone could annihilate six tribes on his own easily."
Tanaka's eyes widened. His chest felt as if a needle had been stuck in it. "What are you saying, Guard?"
"Here," Gazi handed him the roasted meat. "Eat up and rest. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."
Tanaka slapped the stick to the cold cave floor. His chest heaving. Giving up was not his way, no matter the cost. He walked past Gazi, heading for the cave entrance.
It's been three days, three. In this grimy cave. Even if I won't win, Tanaka thought. "Losing is better than never trying." Ixris' words rang in Tanaka's head. "I have to try." He looked back, deep into Gazi's eyes.
"Unlike you, I don't have time to pity myself. I am going back."
He moved towards the cave, face filled with determination. He pulled his hand to his face to shield him from the sand. But he did not care about the terrible weather that awaited him if he left the cave. He took a step forward and when his leg touched the edge of the cave's entrance, he felt a light tap on the sides of his neck. White eyes formed as his pupils moved above his eyelids, glazed over. His body slumped forward stomach first as his hair flew in the wind. Gazi stood behind him, towering over his unconscious form. He leaned down and picked Tanaka up by his training clothes.
"I'm sorry, my prince. But if you are the last heir… I will not let you die on my watch."
He carefully threw the prince onto his shoulders.
"Off to the Yera Shiri tribe," he thought. His face darkened, contorting into a contemplative frown. "No noble tribe could be strong enough to defeat the royal family and cause such fear that quickly."
He sighed as he walked into the sand blizzard that awaited them outside the cave. "There's no doubt about it. The one who attacked us....was one of the three kings."