Interlude VII – A New Year

Joseph

So far, Joseph and his faction had had a hell of a year just keeping their new kingdom together.

To start with, Domenic’s old territory was barely loyal to him, and had in fact turned against him at the end. And while those people immediately swore themselves to Joseph afterwards, it was clear they were only paying lip service. They bowed to him for protection from the other God-Kings in the area, but if he treated them like Domenic, then he’d go the way of Domenic.

Then there were the people who were actually loyal to Domenic. His core city and some die-hard fanatics, who had been causing trouble ever since the former King’s fall. It was mostly isolated to angry protests and (constant) attempts to break him out of prison. But the angry grumblings weren’t something he could ignore, and he spent probably more time soothing those people then he did with the people who overthrew him.

Then there were Meixiu’s people who, while not actively rebelling against them, had been disillusioned by Meixiu’s series of defeats.

Basically, at this point he was an empire on paper only. If anyone even remotely dangerous tried to attack him, he’d fold in an instant. Luckily though, the illusion of power he gave off was enough to keep his neighbors at bay.

Speaking of neighbors, he’d been getting acquainted with the local politics of the region now that everything had settled. He was the largest state in the area, but there were several alliances and even other kingdoms which were able to rival him. The two biggest being the Starfell Kingdom to his south, and the Wustenreich to his far north.

In dealing with other kingdoms, Joseph and Meixiu had discovered that they actually made a pretty good team. Joseph, who acted as the reasonable and calm presence, would act as the ‘good cop’ to Meixiu’s more aggressive ‘bad cop.’ She’d been put in charge of organizing the army, while Joseph was in charge of organizing logistics and development of the kingdom. Meixiu would tell Joseph that she felt the state on their southern border was getting ready to attack, so he would order a new watchtower built over there, and then she’d bring a large chunk of the army over there to run drills to scare their enemy off. Or Joseph would try to sign a trade deal with their northern neighbor, and when they took too long hemming and hawing over the little details he’d ask Meixiu to jump in and strongarm them into accepting the deal.

What had ended up happening was that after the first few months of constant conflict, things had settled down into a series of somewhat stable states, whose web of alliances stopped people from attacking someone else for fear of being ganged up on by the surrounding kingdoms. Now, an uneasy peace had settled over the desert river, one that Joseph worried would soon be broken.

--

But that was a worry for another day. Instead, Joseph had a much more pressing task to deal with today.

“You want me to do what?” Meixiu asked incredulously.

“I need you to help organize a party,” he repeated calmly. “Or a festival, if you prefer to call it that.”

The two of them were sitting in Joseph’s new ‘throne room.’ It was one of many new buildings that had been built outside the walls of the city—which had since expanded rapidly. Unlike the other buildings, which were completely enclosed boxes, the throne room was much more open. It was more like a plaza, with a series of columns along the edges which held up a roof to protect from the sun. Large ferns and other plants had been planted along the edges to allow for a bit of privacy, and a large table sat in the center which people would come to in order to talk with the King about whatever issues they might have.

“Why? We just had the Equinox festival last week—and we’re going to have a harvest festival by the end of the month! Why do we need another one?”

“I know that it’s a little much right now,” he conceded. “It’s just… do you know what next week is?”

That caused her to draw a blank. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry, but is it something important?”

“I don’t know the exact date,” he told her. “But if I’ve been keeping track right, then sometime next week is the one year anniversary of our arrival in this world. Sometime by the end of next week, we’ll have been ruling for over a year.”

Meixiu blinked, her eyes widening in realization. “Oh…” she trailed off. “I… I didn’t realize. It’s been so long that I… it just feels like normal now. Huh…”

“I know,” Joseph grimaced. “I get it. That’s part of the reason I want to throw a party, to celebrate the anniversary of our rule. This… it wouldn’t be for our people. It would be for us. A reminder that we haven’t always lived here. We had another life, once upon a time. And I want to make sure that we remember it.”

Meixiu was quiet. “…Alright, Pharoah. I’ll see what I can do.”

Joseph smiled at her. “That’s all I ask, Meixiu.”

--

Three days later saw the beginning of the ‘New Year’s Festival,’ which celebrated the anniversary of the God-King’s arrival in the new world.

Unlike the other festivals, which had been local, public affairs, this one was a Kingdom-wide event. It would take place on a large barge they’d strung together, which would bring the Pharaoh and his vassals all up and down the river to each of the cities in his domain. He’d bring with him food, musicians, and other luxuries and throw a party each night in a different city, before moving on to the next one in the morning.

In terms of scale, he doubted that there had ever been a party like it before in this world’s history. Which made it all the more important to get it right.

“Hey, Kaiden, you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked, coming over to the teenager—actually, he was a young man now, wasn’t he? An adult, at least in the eyes of their previous world.

“Yeah, I’ve been learning a lot from Neferati,” he hummed, tapping the drum in front of him. It was an odd thing, large and painted. It looked completely different from the ones he was used to. “It’s not the same as the ones I used before, but I think I’ve got this all figured out.”

Joseph bit back a remark about how little that reassured him. He had other things to worry about, and there was no reason to bother Kaiden with his own paranoia.

“Hsekiu, how’s the food coming along?” he asked instead, walking up to his mortal servant.

“Good, good,” he hummed, inspecting a barrel. “We had one batch go bad, but the rest should be fine.”

“Should be?” the King asked, suddenly worried.

“Well, things happen,” Hsekiu shrugged, looking somehow unconcerned about that. “I expect we’ll lose another barrel or two once we’ve set off. We’ll just have to make due with that in mind.”

Joseph bit his lip, eyes widening. “Are you sure there’s nothing you can—”

“Pharaoh!”

Joseph turned away, blinking at the sight of Meixiu walking up to him. “Um, yes? Can it wait a moment, I have to talk with Hsekiu about—”

“Not important,” she waved his objections away, grabbing him and dragging him off. “What are you doing, messing around with everyone? They need to focus on what they’re doing, not on your own panicking imagination!”

“But what if—!”

“Don’t what if me!” she cut him off, and for once he was annoyed that she was of high enough rank to talk to him like that. “You’re acting like a crappy micromanaging boss the night before a charity ball! And I should know, I was one of those! Just chill out, for five minutes!”

“I am chill!” he snapped back. “But this is important! We’re going to be visiting the whole kingdom for the first time in months! Our rule might be on the line with this party! We can not allow anything to go wrong!”

“Nothing’s going to go wrong,” she rolled her eyes. “We’ve been planning this for weeks! It’ll be fine, just stop worrying!”

“You don’t know that—!”

“Lord Pharaoh, Lady Meixiu,” Hsekiu walked up to them, incidentally cutting him off. “The rest of the preparations have been completed. We’re just waiting on the Pharaoh’s orders and we’ll be ready to set sail.”

“Excellent,” she smiled at him. “We’ll be right over.”

Joseph was quiet for a moment, before turning back to Meixiu. “You were just keeping me occupied with the arguing, weren’t you?”

She scoffed, starting to make her way towards the boat. “Of course I was. Really, Joseph, you’re a good man. One of the better ones around, really, but you’re very easy to manipulate. You should probably work on that.”

“Sure I am,” he rolled his eyes, following her. “I’d rather think it was because you just constantly manipulate everyone around you.”

“I do not!”

“Yes, you do.”

The two of them continued to argue as they got on the boat, but without any heat to it now. Around them the rest of the crew finishing setting up, and with a thumbs up from Joseph, they pulled up the anchor and set sail.

And with that, the party boat was off.

--

Juliette

The last few months since being conquered by the Red King had been slow going. Her original plan of developing metalworking was trundling along, but without a steady supply of iron, copper, or any other metal she could only do so much. She’d managed to put together a proper furnace, but the resources ro properly use them were still out of her reach.

Otherwise, she could sometimes forget that she was another King’s vassal. Her people still called her Queen, and she rarely interacted with the men he’d sent to watch her, who only glared menacingly at her from afar. Uncomfortable, sure, but it wasn’t like they could afford to do anything worse.

Still, sometimes she was suddenly, jarringly reminded that she was beholden to another power. Case in point, she’d just been invited to a party being held in the Red Capital, which was apparently to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their rule in this world.

Juliette, personally, didn’t really care for it. (Actually, she’d been trying to ignore the constant march of time and the reminders that it’s been months since she’d last seen her friends and family or even just had something as simple as a chocolate bar—). Unfortunately, it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. So, with a heavy heart, she got together as many of her people that wanted to come and sailed downriver to the Capital.

The Red King greeted her on the docks, his smile turning sour when he saw the amount of people she’d brought.

“Duchess Juliette!” he greeted her. She reached out to shake his hand, only for him to grab it and plant a kiss on the back. She barely managed to hide her grimace. “You finally made it! I was worried you might be late. And you’ve certainly brought… quite the party with you.”

“Oh, them?” she asked, the picture of innocence. “They are my most loyal retainers. It should be a no-brainer to bring them with me to such a grand festival?”

“Ah, yes,” Billy-boy was nowhere near as good at hiding his grimace. “I suppose so. Well, if you follow me, I’ll show you to your quarters. The rest of your party can… we’ll figure something out.”

Following the King through the city, she craned her head back and forth, taking in the festivities. People had begun setting up stalls, piling them high with food and drink, while others danced in large groups. At the center of the city a massive bonfire blazed, its flickering lights dancing along the walls of the stone fortress behind it.

It reminded her of one morning back home, back in the before. When an Easter festival was being set up throughout the city, and her mother had dragged her and her friends along to help set up. She remembered it being hot and sweaty work, and how she and her friends would sneak away every so often to slack off. Of course, her mother would find them eventually, and drag them back over to do their ‘civic duty,’ as she called it. Pheh. But they got gelato afterwards, and the cool ice cream on the warm spring day had almost made up for it.

Funny, how time made all those past memories seem so much brighter.

She shook her head, banishing the thought. She needed to be in top shape, today. After all, she had to deal with Billy-boy for the next week, at least. Ugh.

“Follow me in here,” he gestured, pulling her into a new room. She tensed for a moment, but relaxed marginally on seeing Saanvi and two servants in there as well. The shorter Indian woman smiled at them as they entered, bouncing on her heels.

The room itself wasn’t too big, with only a table in the middle and a single window at the back. Despite being what she was pretty sure was a new addition, it was already musty, and she could see mold growing in the corners. If she weren’t immortal, she’d be worried for her health. Stacked along the edges were a series of rolled up canvases, probably made of leather.

The servants bowed to their king, offering both of them a mug filled with some sort of unidentifiable liquid. Bowing once more, they exited the room.

Once the door closed behind them, the King grabbed one of the canvases and pulled them over to the center, draping it over the table. Looking at it, she was surprised to see that it was a map.

“We have an issue,” he told them with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. “I’ve recently learned that our neighbors to the south,” he pointed at the large lake below their own kingdom, “have unified into a large alliance. This is pretty bad, especially considering that the other large kingdom to our north seems to be growing larger.”

“You’re worried they’ll attack us?” Juliette asked, frowning. If that were true, then no matter what that posed a serious problem. Getting hemmed in by enemies from all sides was horrible.

“Only if they want to die!” he scoffed at her. “No, no, I’m worried they’ll take all the easy pickings around here! A war with big guys like them would be… difficult, but I don’t want them to be swooping in and stealing our future territory right from under our noses!”

“Ah, of course,” Juliette resisted the urge to facepalm. “How foolish of me. How could I have missed that.”

“Welp, that’s why you’re the King, Kingy!” Saanvi chirped, before chugging her beer(?). Same girl, same.

“Of course!” he smirked, taking a sip of his own mug, quietly gagging at the taste. “But enough about work. We’re throwing a party! You all ready for it?”

“You bet’cha!”

“Maybe,” the only sane woman in the room frowned. “Is there anything I have to do besides stand around and look pretty?”

“Hm…” the King rubbed his chin. God above, how much thought has he given to this, exactly? “Well, if you want to, I’m sure I could set something up for you. Just make sure it’s super radical!”

She fought back a cringe. “…Yes. I’ll make sure it is very, um, radical.”

“Great!” William cheered, raising his mug. “To us, and another year of successes!”

The two Duchesses glanced at each other, before him raised their own. “Yes,” Juliette nodded solemly. “To us, and another year of prosperity.”

--

Fatima

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Of course,” Fatima waved off her assistant, Nadia. “Everyone loves a party!”

“I wasn’t talking about the party. I was talking about you hosting the party.”

“You wound me, my most beloved Nadia!” Fatima clutched at her heart, swooning in false agony. “Such cruel words born from such cruel lips! Why, however will I recover from this?”

“You’ll recover by finishing up our preparations for tonight. We still haven’t gotten back from half of them on how many people are coming, you know,” Nadia sighed, putting her hands on her hips.

“Are you worried we won’t have enough food prepared? I told them to bring their own, you know.”

“Which was unimaginably rude! The guest should never have to bring their own food to someone else’s party!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Fatima waved her off. “They understand that we don’t have a surplus necessary by ourselves. Honestly, I’m pretty sure they’re all just happy I decided to host the party. Could you even imagine Avery hosting something like this?”

“I’d rather not,” the secretary grunted, before sighing. “Fine. I don’t like it, but fine. I do have another issue that I need to bring up, though.”

“Oh goody, more problems!”

“My Queen.”

“Sorry, sorry, I’ll let you continue.”

“Right,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead. “It’s about the newest member of our alliance. This, Isabella.”

“Hm? What’s wrong with her?”

“What isn’t,” Nadia muttered to herself.

“I heard that~”

“It’s not that—I mean, she seems polite enough. It’s just, she’s very…”

“Enthusiastic?”

“Yes, that’s a polite word for it. I was going to call her crazy.”

“Nadia! That’s so rude! I mean, apparently she thinks her kid is the second coming or something, so yeah, she is, but that doesn’t mean you should say it out loud!”

“Well, it’s something that needs to be said,” she grunted, rubbing her forehead. “I just… do you think it’s a good idea to ally with someone like that? To invite her here, to the heart of your domain?”

“Look, I understand where you’re coming from, but she’s not that bad. I know her type, so long as we don’t set her off she’ll be fine.”

“You aren’t filling me with confidence, my Queen.”

“We’re inviting her for a party, Nadia! Even the Sea King wouldn’t cause trouble at something like this.”

“I think our definition of trouble and hers are two very different things. You did see how she sent you a couple of sticks as an introductory gift, right?”

“Those were actually crosses. They’re very important for her faith—they hung the body of their prophet on one of them.”

“And that makes it better!?”

“Don’t worry, he got better a couple days later!” she waved her hands, trying to get Nadia to relax. “I know, I know, it’s not ideal. But think of it this way—would you rather her be our ally, or our enemy?”

“Do you want my honest answer?”

“See, I knew we’d agree on this!”

Nadia sighed.

--

“You really invited her!?” Avery scowled at her. “What were you thinking!?”

“Wait, hang on,” Fatima held up a hand. “It was your idea to bring her into our alliance in the first place! You can’t turn around and tell me not to invite her—and only her—to our party!”

As host of the festival, Fatima had originally wanted to host it outdoors. Unfortunately, the weather began getting significantly colder recently, causing her to be forced to move it inside. Instead, she’d built a series of five feasting halls on the outskirts of her village and set up a buffet in each. People could move between them as they wanted, and once this was all over they could be reused as housing or whatever else she needed them as.

“I know that, I just,” Avery sighed. “I don’t like her. I know it’s more personal than anything, but women like her—the ones who think their faith allows them to get away with whatever they want—they’re bad news. Trust me.”

“Look,” Fatima dragged a hand down her face. “We’ll see about this. We can decide what to do after this party’s over, okay?”

“My Kings and my Queens!” Isabella yelled as she slammed open the doors to the feast hall. “I would like to make an announcement!”

Avery gave her a look that Fatima pointedly ignored.

“One month ago, this holy mother granted the world a gift!” she smiled at everyone. “I gave birth to a son, who’s glorious life shall herald in the second coming!”

“Oh, you gave birth?” Fatima cheered, smiling at the other woman, ignoring Avery’s frantic gestures to stop talking. “How wonderful! What’s his name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Of course not!” she smiled beautifully. “His name is Jesus, of course!”

“A beautiful name for what I’m sure is a beautiful baby boy!” Fatima smiled. “Would you care to join us in this hall for the festivities?”

“Perhaps later, Queen Fatima,” she continued shouting for some reason. “I have to announce this wonderful news to the rest of the people! Goodbye for now!”

With that she left, the doors slamming behind her.

The people in the hall, having stopped to stare at the shouting woman, slowly turned back to each other, resuming conversation and quickly forgetting the whole thing that just happened.

“Is this the part where I say I told you so?”

“She’d just happy she has a son,” Fatima countered, grabbing another pig’s foot from the buffet. “Just because she’s a little too enthusiastic about it doesn’t mean we should ostracize her for it.”

Avery sighed. “So you say, Fatima. So you say.”

“Hey, uh…” Issei cut in, holding up a mug at them sheepishly. “Is this… beer?”

“Actually, I think its whiskey,” Fatima replied. “I don’t know enough about alcohol to tell the difference, though.”

Issei glanced down at the mug, before smiling with the look of a teenager who’d just been handed free alcohol by an adult. “Sweet.”

And then he downed half of it in one go. And immediately choked in disgust.

He didn’t drink another drop.

--

Jamal

After months, and months, and months, of being lost in the mountains, Jamal and his three friends Fei, Yue, and Ishi, had finally made it out of the mountain range.

It had been a long, trying process, filled with close calls ranging from starvation to wild animal attacks to the occasional hostile settlement. All in all, it was actually pretty fun. Jamal had seen things he’d never managed to see before in his life, from misty secluded valleys to snowy mountain tops.

That all being said, if he never saw another mountain again it would be too soon.

They’d set up camp along a small river, one which they’d probably follow for a while until they reached… wherever they decided to leave, really. It was nice, sometimes, to just be able to go wherever the heck you wanted, without having to worry about silly things like borders or private property. They could stop when they wanted, eat when they wanted, and go wherever they wanted.

It was pleasant. In a way he could barely describe. It was just nice.

They decided to set up camp earlier than usual today, to acclimatize themselves to the new area. Yue and Fei had bagged them a fox and a basket of berries, while Ishi had left to go get firewood, leaving Jamal to set up the tents this time.

It was late in the afternoon when Ishi returned to their camp bearing news.

“I found a settlement nearby,” he told them, dropping off his firewood. “A big one, too. I saw it from across a valley, and it was just… massive. It sprawled all over the hill!”

“A settlement,” Yue asked, frowning. “And a big one. How close are they? Do you think they might be hostile?”

“Eh, maybe? That’s always a toss-up. I could go check, if you want?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

“And get your ass murdered by a buncha angry savages?” Fei scoffed, lying on his bedroll. “No thanks."

“Fei,” Jamal frowned at him. “They aren’t savages. They’re just different from us. But I agree that they’re probably hostile—if that city is as big as you say, then there’s no way that development is natural. Another God-King is probably streamlining their development.”

“Hm,” Yue nodded. “So we should ignore them, then?”

“That sounds like a smart idea.”

“I…” Ishi began. “Um, no. Nevermind.”

“Ishi? Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing,” he assured them half-heartedly.

“Ishi,” Jamal frowned softly. “If you have a problem with something, you can tell me. I’m not your king—I’m your friend.”

“It’s just…” Ishi trailed off, before sighing. “Look, I like you all. I really do. But I like… I like meeting new people. Talking with them, trading ideas and stories. It’s fun. But we’ve barely talked to anyone outside of the three of us for the past years, and sometimes it can get a little… taxing.”

Jamal and Yue looked at each other, considering his words. Because while Jamal loved his friends and would die for them at a moments notice, that didn’t mean he couldn’t see where Ishi was coming from. There had been a lot of… tension running amok recently.

It wasn’t big things, or anything truly frustrating, but after a while, the little things just started to add up. And with no way to distance themselves from each other, those things built and built and built. Jamal loved his friends, but… maybe Ishi was right. Maybe they could take a bit of time off from each other. Talk to some new people. They were far enough from their homeland at this point that there’s not a chance anyone would recognize them. So, it should be fine, right?

Right?

“Oh, come on!” Fei groaned, getting up from his bedroll. “Let’s just go already. I’m tired of acting like a fugitive anyway—let’s go see what this big city’s all about. Hey Ishi, I’d better be impressed with this shit, yah hear me!?”

Ishi blinked, before smiled gratefully. “Don’t worry, Fei. You won’t be disappointed.”

--

Jamal was already regretting coming to the city the moment they arrived.

Ishi hadn’t been exaggerating when he said that this was the biggest city he’d ever seen. Granted, that made it a small town for Jamal’s standards, but it was still bigger than anything he’d seen in this new world yet. It sat on top of a hill, overlooking the surrounding valleys with several simple dirt roads leading up to it. The houses of the city were simple but effective, most being made of mudbrick and painted with red, black, and yellow paints. The city had walls, but it had already outgrown them, a thin layer of buildings sidling up to the walls as if mere proximity could protect them.

The outer walls loomed over them as they approached. For some reason, the village outside them felt… empty. It wasn’t just because the sun had almost set, either. It just felt like there was nobody here. Like they were walking through a ghost town.

“Halt!” someone shouted from above. “Who goes there?”

Looking up, he saw two guards standing on top of the wall looking down at them, spears at the ready.

His heart suddenly started palpitating, certain that they were about to be captured and tortured and killed and oh god why had they come here!? This was a horrible idea!

“We’re travelers from a far-off land!” Yue shouted back. “We saw your city and were impressed by its splendor! We wished to see it, if you would let us? If not, we will turn around and leave peacefully.”

The two guards looked at each other, whispering too quietly for the rest of them to hear. Then, finally, they turned back down to them.

“The King is currently celebrating his one-year anniversary since being crowned,” the guard who stopped them said. “It is a massive festival, with people from all over the kingdom showing up. It’s meant to go on for seven days and seven nights, and already hundreds of people have shown up to celebrate.” The guard then smiled. “I suppose the King won’t mind a couple more.”

And with that, he let them in.

Damn. Those were some shitty guards right there.

The city inside was much different from the city outside. It seemed to be on a grid system, based around a large cross which met at the center of the city, where a large square opened up.

That square was where they found the party, a loud, boisterous gathering that they could hear the moment they stepped into the walls. There were so many people it spilled onto the streets, people drunk and laughing and dancing. Amateur musicians played beat songs out on drums accompanied by the singing of men and women of questionable competence, while in the alleys between houses there were people doing things that drunk and happy people tended to do at parties.

It was the biggest gathering of people he’d seen in at least a year, and for some reason it filled him with a painful sense of nostalgia.

The nature and the trees and the untouched world were beautiful and breathtaking, but they lacked… something. Something that could only be discovered in the heart of a city, filled with people from all over just being people, creating some sort of beautiful unspoken tapestry of life that nothing else could replace.

A deep, painful pang hit him at that moment, and more than ever Jamal missed his old life.

But he had already entered the city, and soon—against his better judgement—he got dragged into the party as well. He danced with random strangers, ate food of questionable quality, and laughed at jokes he didn’t really understand. At some point he lost Yue and Fei and Ishi in the crowds, and he found that at that moment he didn’t really care.

For the first time in a year, he felt… alive. Content, but in a different way than he’d ever considered before.

Huh. Maybe Ishi was right. Maybe they really did need more people to talk to.

Jamal found himself in the center of the crowd, chatting with someone whose name he didn’t know about events he didn’t know anything about, when the crowd began to go silent. It happened suddenly, as though a spell had fallen over the city, grabbing everyone’s attention at once.

Blinking in confusion, turning his head to try and figure out what was going on, before one of the people he’d been talking to pointed at the stage in the center of the square.

The reason everyone had gone silent was because the King stood on the stage, preparing the give a speech.

“My people,” he began, chuckling at the scattered cheers that rang out. “Now now, let me finish first. My people! Today marks the beginning of the next stage in our history! The next stanza in a poem, the next song or story! A new year dawns, accompanied by good harvests and greater prosperity! Dozens of healthy children were born this year! Our flocks have grown large, and our lives are better than ever! The influence of our kingdom has spread across the known world, an unparalleled, prospering kingdom!

Another cheer roared from the crowd, causing the King to smile indulgently.

“I know, I know!” he cheered with them. “There’s so much to celebrate! Then he sighed. “It’s too bad an intruder has snuck their way into our party.”

The crowd turned silent.

Slowly, the King stepped down from the stage, the crowd parting for him like the Red Sea. Step by step, he walked through the crowd, getting closer to the intruder.

Getting closer to Jamal.

‘Oh fuck oh fuck I knew we shouldn’t have come here oh god oh god he’s going to kill me I have to run but there’s nowhere to go and I’m surrounded andhe’sgettingcloser—!’

And then the King was in front of him.

“So,” the King began. “Another King has intruded upon my Kingdom’s territory. Tell me, for what reason have you come here? Did you think to spy on me, believing yourself able to hide in the crowd? Or do you mean to assassinate me, stabbing me in the back during my moment of triumph?”

Jamal wet his lips, his heart running a mile a minute. “I… I assure you, I didn’t come here with ill intentions. I am… I am no longer a King. I’ve abandoned that title. I’m only here for the party, I swear.”

The King looked at him for a long moment. “A King is a King, traveler,” he told him softly. “We can not abandon our rule so easily. One day, no matter what, we will come to blows, for that is the very nature of Kings.”

Then he sighed, before smiling lightly. “However, I am not so crass as to harm a guest during my own party. For how can there be an intruder, if you’ve invited everyone!” he chuckled at his own joke. “I will grant you this, Wandering King. Tonight, my people party and sing. We laugh and dance. And you, you are welcome to join us in our merriment. However, the part ends once dawn arrives. And should you still be here once the sun returns to the sky, then, well, I don’t have to say anything, do I?”

Jamal swallowed, some (but not all) of the tension leaving his body. “No, King, you do not.”

“Please,” he chuckled. “My name is Youssef. You are a peer, after all—you and you alone may speak my name to me. Now,” he raised his own mug. “Would you care to drink with me?”

Jamal nodded slowly. “I will, King Youssef.”

And with that he brought his own mug to bear, locking arms with the other King. He smiled, and Jamal tried to return it, and then they drank deeply, their mugs swiftly drained.

The people cheered, and they returned to their revelry.

The party continued well into the night, full of laughing and drinking and shouting, stories and songs and dancing. Soon enough, the moon began its decent from the heavens, making way for the sun to rise once again.

And, by the time the sun had broken the horizon, the three travelers and their King were long gone.

--

Heng

Weeks passed since the wedding, and things slowly began to return to normal.

The tribe had decided to hold off on electing a new Elder for now. It wasn’t due to any lingering worries about another bad leader—they’d gone through those before—but rather that it allowed the ‘Elder Council’ to go back to its original 5 members—that being the remaining four Elders plus Heng—which allowed majority votes to be used again.

He’d also been getting closer to Wachiwi, his new wife. Things had been generally a bit awkward between them, especially since her breakdown on their wedding night, but at this point he felt safe in calling her his friend. If only that didn’t come with the caveat of her dragging him with her to hang out with all of her friends too.

It was between those two reasons, Heng had been dragged into the tribe’s politics whether he wanted to or not.

Well, it wasn’t that bad. He had friends for the first time in a long while, with Wachiwi and Ehawee and even Šóta. And the people seemed to like him a lot more than they used to—nobody even complained about Mohu anymore!

And, despite himself, he couldn’t find it within himself to throw that away. He’d spent so long in social isolation since coming here that he… well, even an introvert like him had started to feel it.

It had been months since he’d arrived, after all. And he’d spent most of that time alone, with only a mammoth for company.

He wondered if it had been a year already? He’d stopped counting after a while, but it was early Autumn again. Maybe they’d already hit the one-year mark?

Suddenly, at that moment, a strange feeling came over him. For some reason, he felt like he was being left out of something. Like he’d just missed some big news story, or a new meme dropped without his knowledge.

Eh, whatever.

With a shrug, he put it out of his head, going to search for Mohu. It was time for her daily grooming.

End of Arc II