Tabari was brought up on his family’s expectations in the same lessons where he learned to read and write. A bird in a gilded cage, taught to be happy with the scraps he was given when he followed rules he could never fully figure out. Tabari was a prince who had no hopes to climb up the ranks, engaged to a princess that would put him far above his family in every possible way, given an education that was not normally afforded to his kind, and everything he could ever want was provided to him.
But he couldn’t find it in himself to be happy, not when everything was one whole elaborate lie that gnawed at the pit in his stomach, turning every family gathering into a minefield where he was the only one close to stepping on a bomb. One wrong step and it would all come tumbling out, the truth that rested against his lips, begging to see the light of day. His father was a murderer, someone who put power over his family. So desperate for even a hint of it, he’d kill his own brother for a tiny taste.
Reth Aberra, the single handedly most hated man in all of Sajia. And Tabari was his son. He shoved the journal with a little too much force into his dufflebag, smushing an unsuspecting notebook in the process. How long had they expected to keep this from him? When he still held onto faint memories of his life before, of rusty-golden fur and green eyes that hedged just on the hint of too wild. He was named for his memory, for the way he seemed to notice every little detail.
But what good was a name when the memories he wanted to keep seemed so faded, left too long in the sun for him to recall the fine details. Did he have the same eyes, the same laugh, as his father? Or did he look more like his mother, soft curls and a sharp tongue. He didn’t know, would never know. The chance to learn about those memories were gone the moment he did his first shift.
The back door of the truck slammed shut with a thud, Aziz rubbed his back as the last suitcase was stuffed into place, forehead beaded with sweat. It was always warm in this part of Sajia, warmer than the cities near the center of the kingdom at least, but today was absolutely sweltering. Tabari tightened the knot at the base of his bandana, the stray loose curls still managing to stick to his forehead despite his best efforts to stop them.
“That’s the last of it, right?” Aziz asked, wiping the back of his arm across his face. “I’m dying out here.”
“I can’t believe we had to stay up all night for this shit.” Safiri scoffed, pulling her shirt off, sweat stains soaking into the edges of her tank top. “I mean, how do two people need all this stuff?”
“It’s a boarding school, not a regular high school like the one you and Az go to where you get to come back every night.” Tabari rolled his eyes. “Besides, we can’t stay nocturnal for school, we would never attend any classes.”
“You’re a prince.” Safiri rolled her eyes, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. “You don’t even have to go if you don’t want to.”
“You know that if I don’t play along, Baba will take me right back under his wing. And then where would we be?” Tabari snorted, pressing his face against the top of her head, one of her ears flicking against his chin. He could feel the purr rumbling up her chest before it fizzled out as her head whipped to the side. Something walked along the edge of the horizon, shimmering like waves in the heat.
“It’s just a rogue, let them pass.” Jabari answered, wrapping an arm around Aziz’s waist, his black twists were wrapped up in a scarf to ward off the sun, golden yellow tail wrapping itself up Aziz’s calf. “They never stray close enough for us to have a reason to get rid of them.”
“They haven’t yet.” Safiri corrected, pressing into Tabari’s side. “But one day they will, we need to be alert everywhere. Not just outside our hunting grounds.”
“I am always alert.” Jabari replied. “I also know that we outnumber them four to one. They won’t take that kind of fight.”
“I know but our job-” Safiri started, tail whipping back and forth as she bared her teeth at Jabari, who growled back.
“My lord, my lord!” Kina came sprinting around the corner, dust kicking up behind her heels, spotted tawny fur sprouting up in bunches up and down her arms. “I just saw a-”
“It’s fine, Kina.” Tabari held up a hand, biting back a grin. “They were just passing by, nothing of note.”
“You sure? Because I thought they were getting really close.” Kina’s chest was heaving, the heat combined with her running a few hundred feet from wherever the hell she had been hiding wasn’t any good for her breathing. “What if they were sent to get rid of you or-”
“No one is going to risk a fight with us.” Aziz replied, pulling Kina into a side hug. “Even if Tabari wasn’t a prince, he can handle himself. Besides, rogues never go near royals.”
“I know but-” Kina cut herself off, looking at Tabari with wide eyes. “What if this time they did?”
“They won’t, not when I’m surrounded by you.” Tabari ruffled her hair, bleached coils cut close to her scalp. “You were chosen to be a part of my guard for a reason, remember that.”
“We can’t protect you when you aren’t even within the borders of the damn kingdom.” Safiri hissed. “You don’t need to go, Tabari. You could just stay for once and not have to uproot your whole life for nine months of the year.”
“It’s either I go and play along with their bullshit rules for a few months or my parents lose the betrothal contract and the Allards finally decide they want to take over Sajia like they did Quintilin and Majid.” Tabari shrugged, leaning against the back of the trunk. “I’m not going to give them a reason just because you don’t think Jabari can handle himself.”
“It’s not that I don’t think Jabari can handle outside threats, it’s the inside ones that matter.” Safiri gave Jabari a cursory glance, “I’ve seen him in our court, he can barely handle himself there.”
“I am the leader,” Jabari said slowly, pulling away from Aziz to glare at her, “not you. And I am the one with the royal connection.”
“We both have connections-” Safiri backed off at his growl, head lowering as she stared at the ground under their feet. “Don’t do that, Jabari.”
“Then don’t question my fucking rank.” Jabari hissed, snapping his teeth at one of her ears. “Do your job and trust I’ll do mine.”
“Speaking of jobs,” Tabari slung an arm over Jabari’s shoulders, “I need to stop by the capital before we start driving to Areos. Adia forgot something.”
“Tabs, we barely have room for our things.” Jabari made a face. “We can’t take anything else.”
“It’s a notebook, we’ll be fine.” Tabari shrugged, blinking at the sun. “Not like we’re hiding a body.”
“Fine.” Jabari rolled his eyes. “But you’re driving.”
“Deal.” Tabari grinned, spinning the keys around his finger. “But I also get to control the music.”
Adia didn’t actually need him to pick anything up, everything she asked for was sent directly to the school because it was easier that way. Tabari needed to grab some papers, which would involve sneaking into Akili’s study and rifling through his drawers. Jabari wouldn’t have minded, but he didn’t like visiting the castle if he could help it. It was too enclosed for his tastes, too buried in the mountain to see much sun.
It was perfect for sneaking around though.
Sajia didn’t really have a use for a royal family besides to use as a figurehead, so there was no castle like there would be in Eucelia, where it seemed every family was connected in some way or another by marriage or blood. Families in Sajia were made of choices, spawned from interconnected groups never leaving each other, by the shape of their ears and color of their fur. There was no use for a castle, but they needed one to appease their neighbors.
So centuries ago, someone had the bright idea to build a front on the side of a mountain. Put in enough rooms to satisfy expectations and leave the tunnels alone. Tabari could get lost if he really tried, follow one set of tunnels until he either died from lack of oxygen or found some backway out into the open. Maybe he’d be able to explore more confidently if he had been able to grow up traveling them, and had the chance to memorize the stone under his palm.
For now, he settled for tracking Akili’s footsteps to his wing, passing the bedroom and Ramala’s study in favor of his shared study. The one he used to spend hours in with his brother, before power beat blood ties and lines were drawn in the sand. Tabari traced a fingertip over one of the wooden desks, before kneeling down and pulling open one of the bottom drawers to rifle through, searching for any buried documents related to Reth.
“I didn’t realize you were home, Tabby.” Zuri’s voice echoed through the mostly empty room, her footsteps dragging across the floor. “Normally there’s more fanfare than you sneaking in through the side entrance.”
“I’m not staying long. Just needed to grab some paperwork for a school project.” Tabari wrapped his tail around his ankle to hide his nervousness. Zuri could sniff out lies like a blood hound hunting for a rabbit.
“In our uncle’s desk?” She raised an eyebrow, sliding to sit on the floor next to him, pale yellow sundress spreading out in a halo. “What could he possibly have that you need?”
