Page 107 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
Namir let out a half laugh. “What is?”
“Your journey to where you are,” Zahra explained. “You have had to endure many things: your sickness, the death of your cousin and your father.”
Namir looked down and traced his finger in the dirt. “I suppose that’s true. I honestly barely knew my father. Since we visited your people’s homes, I have wondered why he did what he did when your people came to Aur. But he and I barely spoke until I was sixteen. Since I became King, I have asked my mother about him, but she finds him hard to talk about. My uncle, too.” He sighed, drawing a shape in the dirt. “I know that he was a good king. He did much good for my people and increased trade and made peace with other countries that wished to war with us. I know resources were limited when your people arrived. We had been experiencing a year of famine, but I don’t know why he divided your people as he did. It… It still does not sit right with me.” He brushed the dirt over, making it smooth once more. “I have tried to be a king he would be proud of, but it’s hard to do.”
“You have been doing great,” Zahra encouraged with a smile. “You have already built new ports. You will do so much more.”
Namir let out a breathy laugh. “Nubia did all that. My parents trainedherto be Pharaoh. She is good at it.”
“But you have done things she hasn’t,” Zahra insisted. “You have protected my people. You have fought assassins. I think your father was wise to choose you.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “I—I am glad you think so.” He rubbed his arm. “I… I was not sure if I should tell you this…”
Zahra tilted her head. “Tell me what?”
Namir hesitated. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands in front of him. “Have you ever heard of Ionian Fever?”
The name struck a chord in her. “Yes.”
Ionian Fever was a disease rumored to be brought to Aur by her people. Zahra had heard of people having an intense fever that brought them close to death, but she had never known anyone who had had it. During the first few years of Ionians living in Aur, her people were barred from many places because of the rumors, until the Pharaoh King and Queen put the rumors to rest to ease the tensions between the people.
Zahra had heard that the Pharaoh King had died of a sickness, but the royal family had never announced which one.
“He had been tired for some time.” Namir’s curls fell in front of his face, shielding his eyes from her sight. “When the fever hit, my mother did all she could to heal him, but it took him from us with such suddenness that all of her efforts went to waste.”
“I am sorry. It is an awful sickness.”
“I did not tell you for your sympathy,” Namir explained, looking at her. “I know how his actions affected you. I wished you to know why my mother and uncle are the way they are. They blame your people for his death, even though my sister and I do not.”
Zahra was quiet before she said, “Thank you for telling me.”
Namir smiled, then turned to the sky. The sun had set, and the fires from the village’s celebrations lit up the night.
Zahra turned her attention to Namir, tilting her head as she considered him. When she first met him, she would have never thought that he suffered from sickness as a child or that he had lost the people he had. Now, she could understand why he was so strong, and why he tried so hard to be the best he could be.
Zahra leaned back on her hands. “You remind me of Alkaois.”
Namir’s brow furrowed. “Who?”
“He is a hero from my people’s stories.”
Namir stuffed some of the bread in his mouth, raising his eyebrows as if prompting her to continue.
She grinned and looked out at the sky, beginning the tale of a fallen hero and the twelve challenges he faced. As she spoke, she moved her hands, telling the story as she remembered her mother would. Her mother’s scarf sat on her shoulders, and Zahra lit up with each scary battle.
Namir set his plate aside, leaning forward as she described a man who was cursed to lose everything, but who became a legend through his efforts to make things right.
“He is said to have gone on to dwell with thetheos,” she finished, pointing to the constellation. The sky was just dark enough to make out the stars.
Namir considered her story with a furrowed brow. “I thought you said that he was a hero.”
“He was,” Zahra said, “but that does not mean he did not have flaws.”
Namir tilted his head. “Why would your Athene want to glorify a man who committed such a horrible crime?”
“Because he did not remain that way.” Zahra turned to Namir. “Alkaois became legend not because of the great many things he did—good and bad—but because he never stopped trying to be a good person. He became a hero to many, even if he felt as the opposite himself. He is remembered for his bravery, honesty, and perseverance through not only his twelve labors but also through his own flaws and perception of himself.”
Namir was quiet, his face contemplative. “Why do you think I am like him?”
