Mimo's eyelids slowly opened up and the first thing he saw was the night sky. He saw the stars twinkling and the crescent shaped moon glowing. He groaned in pain, he was also unable to move from his position. He was laying on the hard bare ground.
He tried to force himself to move but then his eyes began to get heavy and his body numb. He tried to fight it but he was too weak. His eyes closed again and he drifted off. When he awoke for the second time, he felt a little bit better. But he was still very weak.
He was no longer laying on the floor, It was now a comfortable bed with a piece of clothing under the bed that served as a pillow. He could see a little bit of light seeping through the thatched roof of the small hut he was in.
"Where am I?!" He muttered to himself.
Mimo was able to lift up his head only a little bit. He saw how small the interior of the hut was. Inside the hut were a bag, likely containing clothes, A couple of clothes hung up on the wall, And of course, the bed Mimo was on.
The hut had a familiar scent, like that of the incense his mother used to put in his room. Mimo made an attempt to sit up but he felt a sharp sting on his stomach, causing him to groan in pain. He looked at his body and noticed that he was shirtless.
Pain radiated from his abdomen as if he had been stabbed with a knife. His entire stomach region was tied up with a piece of clothing. It must have been covering up some kind of injury, Mimo thought. Mimo heard the sound of the wooden door creaking as it opened.
Two people walked in, a young boy and girl. They looked about the same age as Mimo. Mimo knew exactly who these two people were. They were his friends whom he had not seen in almost two years.
The boy was a little skinnier than Mimo but taller And he had a mini afro while Mimo had a buzz cut.
"You're awake!" The boy said excitedly the moment he walked into the hut.
"How far. How are you feeling?"
"Glad you're back with us. How was life in the world of the dead?" The girl said at once.
"Tasha!" The boy said to the girl.
"Sorry, Jafa." She replied.
Tasha was almost as skinny as Jafa. She had a short afro which she tied up in a bun.
"Guys, it's good to see you again but…" Mimo looked around, "how did I get here and why am I so weak?"
"Well," Jafa started, "we know exactly how you got here, to this hut, but we don't know how you got to where we found you."
"In the forest!" Mimo said as his eyes widened.
He had gotten little flashes, like memories. He saw visions of himself battling someone, running away, And the last thing he saw was the night sky as he passed out in the forest.
"That's where we found you." Tasha said.
Mimo was finally able to sit up.
"Why can't I remember anything?" He asked himself.
Jafa, who was always known by his friends as the smartest one in the room, assumed that Mimo must have lost part of his memory from hitting his head. He looked at the left side of Mimo's forehead and saw that there was a small injury.
Jafa deduced that maybe Mimo had gotten a concussion from a fall or something. Mimo tried to stand but halfway through, his body gave up. Before he could land, Jafa and Tasha rushed to either side of him and helped him stand up, barely.
"I don't really think you should be standing right now." Tasha said.
"I just want to see where we are, just for a second." Mimo said.
Jafa thought about it for a second.
"Alright," Jafa said, "just don't push yourself too hard, you're still not strong enough to be walking right now."
"Stop worrying, I'll be fine."
Mimo put on a shirt that Jafa gave him, then he slowly walked out of the hut, holding on to his abdomen. Tasha was holding onto his other arm as they slowly stepped out. Jafa stepped out of the hut as well and followed them closely. Tasha kept scolding Mimo anytime he would walk too fast. She was scared that he might accidentally fall and make his injury worse.
"Easy! Take it easy!" She said.
"We're already outside. Relax." Mimo replied.
"I'm relaxed. I just don't want you to faint on me. I'm not carrying you back inside if you do."
Mimo found himself in some sort of community - a village. Aria must be three times the size of this village if it's not already part of Aria, Mimo thought. There were multiple other huts, kids running around and playing, and adults going about their business. Mimo wasn't sure what time of the day it was.
"I've never seen this part of the Kingdom before!" Mimo said.
"That's because we're not in Aria." Jafa replied.
"We're in… well, I guess you can call it a community." Tasha said. "A small one but still, a community - right outside Aria."
In the 16 years of his life, Mimo had never heard of a village that was on the outskirts of Aria before.
"It's not exactly a palace," Tasha continued, "but it's very - er - manageable. I guess?" she shrugged.
At that moment, it dawned on Mimo that his friends had been living in such a poor environment. He always just assumed that they moved to a different kingdom or something.
"How long has this village existed, and who else knows about it?" Mimo asked.
"Point of correction," Tasha said, "it's a community."
"We don't know how long it's been here but we moved here a few years ago when the kingdom started becoming too expensive to live in." Jafa said.
Mimo was sad and angry, he knew that the Kingdom had favoured the rich over the middle class and poor for years but he had never seen the impact it had. He was always either in school or at the palace, he was never allowed to leave the kingdom's upper region.
"Before we forget, there's something we have to tell you." Jafa said, he and Tasha looked at Mimo with an expression that was concerning.
"While you were unconscious," Tasha said, "some guy who went into the kingdom to trade, returned and told everyone that the King announced…" she paused.
"Announced what?!" Mimo was frightened of what she was about to say.
"Let's just say, the whole kingdom thinks you're dead."
Mimo's eyes widened, he was no longer concerned with the pain he was feeling in his abdomen, he felt a new pain in his chest. He put both hands on his head in disbelief.
"I can't believe this, this is so wrong!"
"Mimo, your injury!" Jafa said, concerned.
So many thoughts ran through Mimo's mind, should he return and show that he was still alive or should he remain there until he found out who tried to kill him? As he thought, he began to see different images in his head again, this time he saw someone.
"My uncle!" He croaked.
"What?" Jafa and Tasha were confused.
"I still can't remember much but I just remembered seeing my uncle talking about killing me, he must be the reason I was attacked and injured."
"You mean your uncle, the king? No way!" Jafa said.
"Sure Jafa, no way the man who once had innocent people imprisoned for disobeying his wicked commands is evil." Tasha said sarcastically. "And no way the man who is basically a dictator would want the heir to the throne dead."
"Fine, I see your point!" Jafa retorted.
"But are you sure he was the one who attacked you?"
"I don't think he did but he must have hired some sort of assassin."
As they talked, Mimo looked around and saw some of the villagers eyeing him curiously. Mimo wasn't sure what they were thinking but if he had to make an educated guess, he'd assume they were probably thinking that they were looking at a ghost. They probably thought it was either a lookalike or his spirit coming back for… some reason.
Mimo began walking in an attempt to take the eyes away from him, Jafa and Tasha hurried to catch up with him.
"Where are you going?" Jafa asked.
"I just want to stretch my legs."
The eyes didn't stop. Everywhere Mimo went, it was like he was made out of gold. Mimo was both sad and intrigued by what he saw. He had never stayed more than 5 minutes in a place without large buildings, guards and wealthy people before. He had not even walked on the sandy floor in a long time. The village was clearly poor, with a few people wearing worn-out clothes and working extra hard to survive.
"By the way," Mimo said, "what do you guys call this place?"
Jafa and Tasha were short of words. That was the first time anyone had asked them that question in a while.
"From what I can remember, I think we call it - uh - I'm actually not sure what it's called." Tasha said.
"It doesn't matter, let's just call it something like Mini Aria." Jafa said.
"Yeah," Tasha chuckled, "more like a Mini lower region. This place isn't even as big as that, we can't compare it to the middle or upper region, and definitely not the whole Kingdom combined."
The three friends finally stop walking when they get to the village square, an area filled with different shops and businesses, like a market. Tasha pointed to the villagers, trying to explain something. Her tone was more serious than it usually was. She was upset.
"This is where people end up when they can't afford to live in the great kingdom of Aria. Look around Mimo, these people are survivors, just like you and me, and of course Jafa."
Just then, Mimo remembered that it was the night before his birthday that he was attacked.
"Of course!" He exclaimed. "That wicked man that calls himself my uncle knew that I would be able to take the throne when I became sixteen years old. That's why he had someone kill me, or at least try to."
Jafa and Tasha were even angrier knowing that their friend was almost killed just so that the dictator would keep the throne.
Mimo heard a voice whisper his name. He looked around and saw two boys, not much younger than him, murmuring to one another.
"Isn't that the prince?" He heard one of the boys say.
"It can't be, he's supposed to be dead." He heard the other boy say.
Mimo decided to ignore them. He was still angry at the realization of what the King had done.
"So what do we do now?" Tasha asked.
"Well, you clearly can't go back to the kingdom now or the King will have you assassinated again." Jafa said.
The two of them look at Mimo to know what he planned to do. Mimo was lost, he had never been put in such a position before.
"My whole kingdom thinks I'm dead... But I'm not dead. I'm alive and that means I have a chance to fight and save them."
"And we are going to be right by your side." Jafa said confidently.
"We are?" Tasha asked.
Jafa gave her a stern look and she grinned at him.
"I'm just joking, of course we are!"
Tasha gave Mimo a light punch on the arm, still grinning. Tasha was trying to lighten the mood, though the tension was still there, they didn't have a plan but they knew they wanted to save Aria, even if it meant Mimo would have to duel the King.
"So how do we proceed?" Jafa asked again.
Mimo looked at his friends and said "I don't know how but we'll figure it out. We always did when we were kids."