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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Hari jumped from the carriage in a sporadic burst. Simba watched as his sword clashed with the steel of the extra sword that was kept in storage. Hari must has found it.
Hari's face was wild, wrinkled in an angry snarl, with eyes filled with a frantic blue rage.
Simba stumbled backwards, preparing for Hari's next swing that the forest boy executed with remarkable tenacity. It would have taken years to developed those skills. It was as if Simba could see Kay in the flesh after years of being dead to the world.
In a series of angry grunts, Hari swung aggressively at Simba, who did nothing but defend himself with every blow with as much poise as he could. Simba had to admit that Hari's blows were harder to parry and counter than he would have liked. Kay must have been trained expertly in the battlefield when he was a Prince despite never taking part in the War. But it didn't matter if Kay was a master or not; Hari had never used a sword before- and he was sloppy.
Simba quickly rebounded after a sharp pounce from Hari ended in a countered block, and with the simple flick of his wrist, the Prince knocked the sword from Hari's hand and watched it land on the ground, out of reach. Hari stumbled to the dirt in a puff of dust as Simba's sword flashed in the sunset light, pointed directly at Hari's frustrated face.
There was a stillness that acted out as Hari's eyes met with Simba's. Simba could see the fear and the pain in Hari's face masked by a set of unrestrained desperation. Simba's chest ached seeing what he had done to the timid forest boy. Suddenly, Simba remembered the waterfall, and the conversation they shared when they first met under a rainbow. Hari was so lonely. He was so docile, gentle, and curious. Simba made him into a wild animal.
"Well?" Hari hissed, tossing dirt at Simba as he just stared back at him. Simba could hear Hari's voice crack with despair.
"What are you waiting for? Just fucking do it! Just kill me already! You all want to!"
The field was quiet, so only the deafening cracks of Hari's wailing could be heart against the wind.
"I can't fight back. I'm too weak and stupid to beat you and your whole fucking kingdom! I refuse to be your prisoner anymore so just do it! Get it over with!"
Hari had relapsed into a shrill wailing, rasping for air. His face was twisted, and his body looked as though he couldn't hold itself up any longer.
"I'm only alive because Nanna wanted me to be, but she was a liar! The only sliver of truth she told me was that I was disgusting, that I was a monster, and that the world hates me..." Hari croaked.
"I wish I died in that forest like everything else. That was my purpose, and I defied it. I have to be punished for wanting to live. So just do it. Please... finally rid the world of me and get your throne back."
Tears began to fall from Simba's face as Hari writhed in a desperate plea for death. Simba cried not only for this pain he caused, but for what he was going to do next.
Simba knew how he had to fix this.
Before he knew, Simba tossed away his sword and knelt before Hari. He shook knowing he could never come back from what he was going to do.
The boys' tear stained eyes locked and the Prince grabbed Hari's face, watching the cracks and angry wrinkles dissolve at his touch. The angry fire in Hari's eyes were snuffed away like candle wicks, and the soft light Simba grew to admire returned to the boy's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Hari," Simba whispered, whipping away the tears from the forest boy's face. "I... I was wrong to treat you like that. I'm the one who has to pay for what I've done so we can save my people. Together."
"Simba..." Hari murmured in shock, looking down at his hands.
"You're... not..."
"I know,"Simba said solemnly, yet he let a smile roll across his face. "We are a team, and I treated you like an enemy because I didn't understand you. But now this way, I can understand more about you, and more about myself too..."
Hari took Simba's hands in his own, trembling at what Simba had just done.
Simba wasn't wearing his gloves.
"You've Afflicted me," Simba stammered, shaking at the reality of his infection of the disease he dedicated his entire life eradicating. "I want to understand the world the way you do. I want to see life from your eyes. If we don't succeed, we'll both suffer the consequences. Together, we can cure our kingdom."
Simba would never have thought he would be Afflicted with the curse, but he didn't care anymore. The circumstances of one's condition is irrelevant; it is what one does in that condition is what determines societies worth. Simba's family criminalized a disease no one can control having. They ushered in a tax to "save" those in the kingdom from the curse that burned people alive. His citizens turned to crime to make ends meet. Simba abused and hated a stranger simply because he was taught to hate him.
The Kingdom he was going to inherit was shit.
If he was going to make it better, he couldn't just read the book of someone else's life, he had to live the life that book described. His personal library had one more book than it did yesterday. He planned to read it cover to cover.
Simba knew this is what Kurona would have wanted. What his mother would be proud of.
Simba pressed his forehead against Hari's, causing the forest boy to quiver. Hari had never touched anyone before; it was forbidden for as long as he could remember. Simba's face was warm and soft. Hari liked the way his face felt.
"Please..." Simba said through his tears, "I need you to stay with me. I need you to help me save the kingdom. You're the key; my key. Please trust me again... I know you deserved so much better from me and the world. I want to treat you the way you deserve."
Hari slowly took off his gloves. Simba watched as he shakily reached a bare hand out to Simba's face, and let his palm rest on the Prince's cheek.
Tears flooded his eyes again. "Thank you... no one has ever tried to understand me before."
"I forgive you," Hari said, wiping tears from Simba's face. "I trust you. We are in this together now."
Hari looked at Simba with a smirk. "Now lets take your Father down."
The carriage driver looked on from behind the horse, watching the two boys embrace one another in the dying light of day. He let his lips curl into a smile.
"They really are different than those I've known before."
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End of Book 1
Thank you so much for reading Afflicted ! Book 2, Benighted, is currently in development with a conclusion to the Cure to the Curse, the thrilling end to the War of Birds and Lions, and a budding romance between two certain Princes. I hope you like what I have in store!
