Among the several buildings at the back of the palace, one particular, large hut held what during her King Amastan's reign had been the pride and jewel of the palace. The hut was large though it was just one huge room inside. The room was not even filled up with so many comforts and beautifications, just a bed, some boxes, a sitting area of pillows and rugs all over the floor. There were no paintings, drawing, or designs on the walls. King Gwafa saw to that.

She lay face-up on her bed, dressed in a plain white skirt and short tunic which ended halfway down her thighs. Her skirt ended at her knees and the tunic was sleeveless. Her hair was long like her mother's, but it was blonde. It ended just at the base of her back. She wore no jewelry, had been forbidden by her older brother. She wore makeup though, blue-black dot, lines and patterns were painted on her face and arms. Her skin was so white it was almost pale. It was flawless though. She was an albino and a very beautiful one. She had never been under direct sunlight, her father had made sure of that and though her older brother would have it otherwise now, her mother countered his orders to have her move about under the sun.

"Varana!" cried a young female voice from the doorway. There was no door over it, just a curtain. Gwafa said it would be too expensive to fix door.

The albino sat up and looked at the one who'd called her "Aunty" in the Kalarian tongue. It was a pretty little girl of eight years with her long black hair which was done into three, long fat braids and adorned with bangles of gold and silver. A line of blue dots ran down the centre of her, forehead, along her nose and down her chin. She was like her grandmother, the queen, Semitic-Negroid, but her skin was darker than the queen's.

"Safiyya, why are you here?" asked the albino as the little girl ran up to her.

"Varana," said the girl, dropping to one knee before the albino.

"You will get yourself in trouble with your parents, Safiyya," said the woman.

The girl rose up and sat next to the lady with a smile.

"Grandmother says to ignore my parents and do what my heart says and my heart says to spend time with my aunt."

The albino smiled at her. Her name was Princes Lunja, daughter of the late king and only sister to the new one who hated her much for her body's lack of proper pigmentation; a problem she had to suffer and which was beyond her control form the start. She was twenty-five years of age and had only gotten this far because of the way her father had borne her with love and care, like his egg. As her name "Lunja" meant "Fantasy princess" so had her father treated her like one. She was his fantasy daughter and he was glad she was born to him.

"Safiyya, you know I like spending time with you, but your father and I are not exactly on speaking terms."

"Do not try to coat things with me, aunty," said the girl. My father hates you and wants you dead. Say it as it is. I am not a child anymore."

"I was not informed when eight became the new age of maturity," the lady teased and the girl laughed.

The girl grabbed her aunt's hand and admired the flawlessness.

"I wish I had your skin."

"Gods forbid that you do," her aunt countered.

The girl looked at her face.

"But it is beautiful and so clear and your hair is......"

"It is a curse which has brought problems in our family," her aunt cut her off.

"No, my father is the reason behind the problems in our family."

"I don't know where you get these thoughts from, Safiyya, but your father is a good man; to you at least."

"And to you?" the girl.

Lunja smiled.

"I'm different," she admitted.

"No, the color of your skin is just not like that of the rest of us and even though you suffer each day from this, my father treats you wrong."

"And you should not be bothered about me because it will bring punishment from your father on not just me, but you also."

"He would never show me anger," the girl bragged.

"Not unless he heard you saying all these things against him in here."

Safiyya rose to her feet now.

"He put you here." the girl spread her hands to point at the whole room. "There is no door, no security, no maids, no decorations. You live in worst conditions than Kalarian commoners."

"You make these deductions based on what exactly?" Lunja asked, crossing her arms and smiling.

Safiyya stared at her with a confused face.

"What are you smiling for?" she asked. "You are being treated wrong and you smile?"

"Would frowning get me better treatment?"

"It would at least show your discontent."

"And if I don't mind hiding my discontent?"

"Aunt Lunja, it is hard to support you when you won't support yourself."

"I don't need support, Safiyya. Mame is queen and as long as that remains the case, Gwafa cannot reinstate the law against people like me. Mame will not support."

"So it does not hurt you that a man you grew up with hates you so much, aunty?" Safiyya asked, squatting before her.

"Your father and I did not grow up together," Lunja countered. "He was seven when I was born and when he asked what was wrong with my skin and hair, your grandfather explained everything to him and he just hated me since that day; said I did not deserve to live because our ancestors would not have accepted me."

"Our ancestors were retarded," Safiyya stated.

"Don't say that!" Lunja said sharply, slapping the girl's lips hard.

Safiyya rose to her feet and covered her lips with one hand. She looked at her aunt with a stubborn frown and the woman stared back with anger.

"You don't speak against your ancestors. That is not our way. They protect you and guide your actions."

"So they guide my father to do this to you?!" Safiyya snapped.

Lunja rose to her feet.

"As your elder, it is my job to correct you where you go wrong and punish you should you insist on doing wrong."

"If our ancestors are the reason my father treats you like this, then I hate our ancestors!" Safiyya shot.

Lunja raised her right hand to strike the girl. Safiyya covered her face to keep out the slap, but it never came.

The girl lowered one hand and found her aunt just standing there, her hand raised, but suspended.

Lunja slowly lowered her hand.

"Perhaps striking you will not teach you as well as explanations will," she said. "My papa is your ancestor now and I think I am mostly angry when you insult the ancestors because of him." She sat down on the bed once more.

The curtain was pushed aside and a woman walked in. She was of the same skin tone as Safiyya and looked about the same age as Lunja. Lunja was taller than her by one inch though, standing at 5ft 7" This new arrival was just as beautiful as Safiyya and she had the blue-black makeup across her lips and on her cheeks. Her long, white tunic showed the silhouette of her body underneath. Her long hair was held together in three places down her back.

"Lalai," Lunja said, rising to her feet and falling to both knees in respect to the new entrant. The word, "Lalai" being the Kalarian word for "Senior."

"Mame," said Safiyya, turning and kneeling to the woman also.

The lady ignored Lunja's greeting and went straight to Sfiyya, grabbing the girl by her left ear.

"Ai, mame!!" the girl squealed as she was pulled to her feet by her mother.

"What have I told you about coming here?!" the woman snapped.

"Tadla, I offered you greetings as my elder," Lunja called the woman's attention.

The woman ignored her.

"This is the last time I will find you here, Safiyya, do I make myself clear?!" she told the child.

"Yes, mame!"

The woman gave the girl one serious slap on the backside before letting her go.

"I will tell grandmother!" the girl said, starting to cry.

"Don't you dare...." the woman began, but the girl ran out of the hut.

The woman turned to Lunja who was still kneeling.

"You see how my daughter treats me because you?!"

"I offered you greetings and you still leave me on my knees," was the princess' only reply.

"You should be put to death before your curse spreads to everybody else!" the other snapped.

"Tadla, I am still on my knees."

"My husband will have your head soon enough. Your mother cannot protect you forever, wajefa!" With those words, Tadla, wife of King Gwafa, turned around and exited the room.

Lunja was left on her knees. His was her life since her father passed away, driven from her home, shunned by the greater part of the family and treated like an outcast.

"Papa, why did you die?" she murmured as she rose to her feet and lay down on her bed once more. She didn't cry; not today. She'd done that enough.

****

Out in the city, a man made his way through the streets. He used a long cane to support himself as the lower half of his left leg was very thing. It had not formed well during his time in his mother's womb, but that did not hinder his life. He was well dressed, with a head-wrap entwined with rope of gold thread.

The man was at least forty years of age and he walked gladly along one of Tijene's wider roads. At his side, an donkey bore some load and followed him.

A group of young men came walking in the opposite direction. There were six of them and none was more than twenty-two. They were chatting happily as they walked, but the man with the bad leg caught their attention as one pointed at him.

"Wajefa," said one of the young men as they pointed at the man. The word, 'Wajefa' which Princess Tadla had used on Lunja meant 'Cursed one' in Kalrian.

The man was somewhat offended that rather than greet him, these young men chose to use derogatory language instead, but he knew better than to beg a confrontation. He would not be safe from it today though.

The young men stepped in his path and three began searching through his load on the back of the donkey.

"Are you young men practicing stealing now?" the man asked.

"Shut up Wajefa!" one of them snapped, dealing the man a sharp slap.

The man had not expected the boys to hit him thus he had not braced for it and with a bad leg, keeping balance was not easy thus he fell on his back.

One of the young men looked around and suddenly bolted to one side of the road. There were some stones there and he began gathering them. The man watched this and knew this situation was about to escalate fast.

"Please just take everything!" he cried out now.

They were not waiting or his permission as they were already taking the load off his donkey. The others had not noticed their partner who was gathering the stones, but when he came back to the scene and threw the first stone at the man, it struck his bad leg and drew a scream of pain from him. The scream caught the attention of the others.

The other young men looked at the man and their companion who held the stones.

"There are more over there," he said, pointing at the stones at the side of the road.

The other men rushed to get stones and things got very bad fast.

Stones were thrown at the man with such ferocity and callousness. They struck him everywhere and he quickly lay on his stomach in an attempt to keep his stomach and face from betting hit.

"Please, stop!!!" he cried. "Please, I beg of you!!"

The young men didn't care for the man's screams of pain and pleading. They were enjoying what they were doing and nothing else mattered. They continued pelting his back with those stones and it got bloody fast, but they did not see a bleeding man; only a bleeding "Wajefa"

Thus a man going about his life on what seemed asimple day was now being assaulted and possibly murdered for something no onewould ever wish on themselves.