Chapter Text
I knelt down in front of the pedestal, my chest pressed to my thigh. the underground room was cold, and I shivered, goosebumps rising along my bare arms.
"Enitan." Imamu started, moving towards me. he reached down, urging me to get up. I obeyed, staring at the cold silver mask that the old man wore. "I have a new set of orders for you."
I listened intently, my adoptive fathers words cool like fresh water.
"We have news that the youngest prince will become king once his father dies, not the oldest. It is very important that you find him, and you kill him." Another shiver ran down my spine as he was given the order.
'such an important task! for me?' I thought as he nodded. "I won't let you down sir."
Following the cold, winding metal tunnels I climbed up an old ladder into a large, partially underground cave. The sounds of different children laughing and shouting as water splashed around me. I inched around the puddles, entering the second set of tunnels, walking the short distance before appearing into the slums. Chatter around me as I felt the cool air washing over my skin.
As I entered the market, I felt my pocket where I stored my coins, wooden circles with engravings for different values. Yes, I had enough for a simple Murata. Walking to the familiar stall, the salesman looked up, a smile blooming across his face as he recognized Enitan's face.
"Well I'll be! Enitan! how've you been kid?" He asked as he started the order. I always got the same thing, and I was glad the man remembered what I liked.
"I've been great! How 'bout you?" I replied, cocking my head as I shifted my weight to one foot. "I suspect not much has changed?"
"Not much at all! Haven't seen you in.....why, how long's it been?" Kihende asked, placing the meat on the grill, adding a fresh handful of tinder to the to the fire.
"I think it's been almost a month? a long one at that." we both broke into laughter, Kihende sighing.
"Ah man kid, you sure know how to make an old man's afternoon." He sighed, resting his elbows on the cart. "A long year it's been." Kihende remarked, sighing.
"Aw come on! It hasn't been that long of a year man!" I laughed, waving my hand, shifting my weight again. "You just gotta lighten up." I said, rolling my eyes, smirking. I sniffed the air as the sun boiled the market, sighing as the aroma of food swirled around me. "I always did love the smell of the market in the afternoon. Everyone's back from work and the kids are out playing. Gives a nice community eques feeling."
Kihende nodded, checking over the murata, humming. "you're right about that. always miss how it feels when its harvest season." They both sighed, the meat on the grill sizzling loudly. "You hear about the hanging recently?" Kihende asked, looking around nervously.
"No, i haven't. who died?”
"They say it was a rebel." Kihende hissed, trying to sound discrete, even though his voice had never been discrete. "A new kid, she was hung trying to steal keys off of a guard. Heard a rumor that they had been holding her sister in the dungeons."
I nodded, listening intently. "Did she know if this guard worked in the dungeons?"
"We don't know, no. She just heard him talking about his shift and tried to pickpocket him.”
We both fell into silence again, My gaze casting gaze downwards.
"Was it clean?"
"No."
I nodded, sighing. "May the gods bless her spirit." I mumbled, straightening his posture.
"Anyways, your food is ready!" Kihende said cheerfully, using his tongs to pick up the delicious looking murata onto a plate, handing it over to him as I took out my coins, counting out the payment before trading.
"Thanks, you always make the best murata ever!" I acknowledged, grinning at him.
Kihende blushed, looking away. "You don't need to say that...it's not the freshest meat in the market." He tried to make an excuse, making me laugh.
They both bid goodbye, and I walked off, dipping my head down to eat the food, trailing through the back alleys of the city Mji Wa Wema. After finishing my meal I climbed up onto the roofs of the city, the thatched roofs slippery underfoot. I walked along the tops of the city, listening to the chatter and bustle of the afternoon rush, mind drifting.
I didn't want to remember anything, I spent all my time trying to forget. That's what I always did, try to forget. I didn't have the spare change to drown myself in gut rot liquor like the working men, but distracting myself with fighting did the trick. Sighing, I hopped down into an alley and crouched, swiping my hand at the dirt before I uncovered a shiny....thing. I had seen it glinting yesterday but hadn't had the time to pick it up. As I turned it over in the light, I studied it, a silver and gold droplet, like it had been part of an earring. It would make good money in the market, I thought, if I could find someone with enough money.
As the sun dipped down into the afternoon, I clambered up the falling apart tower, panting before hauling my body over the broken ledge and rolling onto my back at the top of the short tower, out of breath.
I stared up at the sun making its final stretches across the sun, its light disappearing as it went past the ground, leaving me in the darkness of the stars. sighing, I stood and walked over to my small collection of belongings. A head wrap my mother had used before she was hung, the earrings a man had gifted my sister when she gave him a free bag of spices, and my fathers brass knuckles. they weren't actually brass, but instead were crafted from traders in the west, a metal that wasn't in their language. I stared down at the items, the only things of real value was the brass knuckles and the earrings, but even if I was dying of hunger I wouldn't be able to sell them without Okrun punishing me in his underground kingdom.
I picked up the weapon, slipping them onto my hands and flexing my fists, staring at them as I sat down, leaning my back against the wall with a groan, putting my head in my hands.