"They look terrified." I told Justin as I looked out of the curtain at all of the people standing around waiting for our arrival. They looked as if they've never seen my kind before. Probably because they honestly haven't.
"Yeah, maybe they think you're going to kill them all for what they tried to do to Uncle Tazo."
I chucked at his nickname for my father. He's called him that for as long as I remember.
"Probably. Who knows? Let's just get this over with so I can go back home to my queen and you to your...."
"Say it and I will push you out of the carriage." Justin warned with a serious yet playful look painted on his face. We both laughed until the carriage came to a complete stop.
"Here we go." He said and I took a deep breath.
"Ready?" He asked. I just nodded and took my first few steps out of the carriage. Everyone that was standing around us backed up a little and looked at me in amazement.
"It's really the king!" Someone shouted. Others fainted. The ones that didn't freak out just stood there in shock, waiting for me to say something.
"Justin!!" A couple of women shouted and he waved to them with a smile on his face. They fainted as well.
"Can you not? I have business to take care of and I don't need you making the people faint." I whispered to him. He just continued to wave and it was like a chain reaction.
"Okay, sorry. Carry on." He coughed and stood behind me.
"My people, I have come from the palace to meet your needs so if you don't mind, I would like you to show me this part of my kingdom. How you all live. What you do to survive in these parts."
A few women batted their lashes at me and I nodded towards them. Chain reaction all over again.
"Now, I need one person to show me around."
Justin cursed to himself. "I should've brought Keena...she knows this part of the kingdom."
"You think?" I glanced at him from the corner of my eye as a woman approached us with her five children holding on to her.
"You know Keena?"
The both of us nodded at her.
"Yes, are you related to her?"
The woman shook her head no but shoved the children in front of us a little. "These are her brothers and sisters. We found them in the shack that their family was staying in."
"What happened to her family?" Justin asked and motioned for the children to come by his side. They obeyed as we waited for an answer.
"Dead. The Kulani's come late at night to destroy what little civilization we have here and they capture people to be apart of their army. Sometimes they just kill our people just to say they've killed your people, King Tazamunda."
Justin covered his face with his hands and tried to contain himself. "You mean to tell me..."
"Majority of this part of the kingdom is dead. What you see here is a portion of what's left of it."
I couldn't believe this.
"My kingdom was falling apart right in front of me and I didn't even know it.."
The woman nodded her head and backed up slowly. "If you still want to see this part then I'll be more than happy to show you, my king. But there's nothing really left of it."
I looked down at the small children standing beside Justin. Four boys and one girl. Just like how my family was.
Each of them had an expression of fear on their faces. They didn't know where their next meal would come from or how they would survive because their parents were gone. Justin looked down at each of them as well. "How old are you all?"
"The eldest is ten." The woman said, pointing to the little boy on his right. "His name is Mashoka."
"Then it's Micca, he's eight. Mushad is six. Kensel is five. Last is the baby, her name is Mashika. She's 2."
This was a lot to take in at one time and I could tell that Justin's head was about to explode. "You'll be okay here with them?" I asked and turned to him. He just nodded. The woman took me by my arm and we bypassed all of the people and started out towards a sandy road. There was nothing there but a couple of trees and sand.
"Alright, what's your name, ma'am?" I asked the older woman. She smiled and bowed down to me. "Sara, I'm the oldest living person here. I know all about the eastern side of the kingdom and about you, Taz."
I was confused. She knew about me? I motioned for her to stand.
"It was long ago when I first moved here. I was about Mashoka's age when my father started working for your father. He was your father's most trusted guard and I took care of your mother. We were very close. Everything was great until your father came barging into the palace one day demanding that all easterners get out immediately. No one knew what was going on or why we were being put out but we soon found out that it was because some people attempted to kill King Tazoma while he was here watching the workers build new homes for all of us. You were just a baby then so of course you wouldn't remember me but I bet you your siblings do. In fact..."
Sara reached into her hair and pulled out a shiny hair clip. It was silver with ruby red crystals shaped into flowers. "It was your mother's hair piece. She saw how much I admired it so she gave it to me days before we had to leave."
"You kept this all this time?" I asked and reached out to touch it. She placed it in my hand and nodded. "Just in case we were ever allowed back into the palace but that day never came."
We continued our walk through the city. What I saw was unacceptable. There were people laying outside in the sand, under bridges,inside vents on the streets. Majority were dying because of the lack of nutrition they were receiving, the others just had a cough. But I was smart enough to know that that cough would soon turn into something more severe.
The houses were just like how Keena described to Justin. Old, run down, and falling apart from the bottom to the top. The only source of water the people had came from the waste stream.
"I've seen enough." I told Sara.
"You're a brave man, Tazamunda. Much stronger than your father. You walked through the entire city and didn't even know it. That's something your father never did and probably never will do."
I nodded. "You said that day never came where you all would be invited to the palace right? Or outside of the eastern part of the kingdom?"
She nodded her head as we began walking back to where Justin and the children were. "Yes, your highness. I've waited 57 years."
The rest of the walk was silent. When we got back to the carriage, Justin was braiding the little girls hair and talking to the boys about the fun things at the palace. "I'm not even going to ask where you learned how to do that." I said and Sara giggled. "Looks like he's a family man."
Justin glared at me but continued to do her hair. "So, what are you planning to do for these nice people?"
I smiled to myself and Justin must have had the same idea as me because he smiled just as wide.
"Well, we can start by allowing them back into the kingdom with the others. Where they belong." Everyone cheered and celebrated but I held my hand up. They silenced immediately.
"With the exception of Miss Sara and the children. They are to be moved into the palace immediately."
Sara cried to herself with her hand covering her mouth.
"Today is that day, ma'am." I took one final bow before her and loaded up the carriage with the children going in first. Then Justin, Sara, and myself last.
