Neema stopped his flame wheel. He flipped the spear into both his hands. He slid one foot back and the other forward. He bent his knees. His upper body partly turned. The fiery noble seemed to not be swayed by the prince’s words. “This is your last chance, your highness. Move aside.”

Busara grabbed a hold of her own trembling arm in front of her. “You are the worst type of person. I do not get along with my brother either, but I would never try to kill him and to attack the prince as well.”

Neema narrowed his eyes. “I will not harm the prince, just disarm. Then I will take care of the sore spot in my family.”

“If you believe that you really are stupid, Neema.” Kovu pointed his axe straight at the spear wielder. “Do you not understand the pain Bakari has gone through, letting one of his brothers rot like this. Killing this boy will destroy Bakari, because he failed in every way as the eldest, allowing one brother to kill the other.”

“No, it will-”

“It would destroy your brother and you know it, Neema. With eyes like yours you should know what your actions will really do to your family.”

Neema’s eyes trembled with uncertainty. He looked at the ragged boy who had the same eyes he had, the same hair of his clan. The boy looked as if he would die soon on his own. He did not know what anything was not even love or comfort. This boy was his brother.

“He’s…” He could not finish, he couldn’t muster up the courage to say the word. “Woman, how long will everyone remain asleep?”

Busara glared back at him. “My name is Busara not woman and since it is the first time they heard my song they will remain asleep for half a day.”

“Then in that case I suggest you use the kitchen to get that boy something to eat. He will not make it in his current condition,” Neema spoke completely detach of the situation.

“Thank you, Neema,” Kovu replied.

“Do not get the wrong idea, your highness. I am not doing this for you or that boy. I just want to help my big brother. So I suggest you never let me see him again because if that happens I will carry out my father’s will whatever it may be.” Every word Neema spoke was forced.

“I suggest you also clean him up. Right now he looks like a newly own slave that would go against the image you are trying to create for yourself,” Neema continued.

Kovu nodded. “Fine.” He lifted the boy back onto his feet and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. He guided the boy into the hall with Neema reluctantly following. The two took the nameless boy to the kitchen.

Neema pulled a few apples from a bin as the prince lowered the jailed noble against a cabinet. Neema brought the apples directly in front of the boy’s face. The boy’s fiery eyes rang hollow at the sight as if he had never seen food before. “Come on, eat it.”

“He does not seem to know anything, let alone speech,” the prince informed him.

“Then how are we going to get him to eat?”

Kovu squatted down beside Neema. “He can understand through example.” He shifted his eyes over to the apples in the noble’s hand. He took a bite out of the one closet to him.

Neema had been taken aback by the sudden action. “Your, your highness.”

Gazing at the prince’s movements the boy seemed to understand. He took a bit out of the other apple in Neema’s hand. As soon as he began to chew his eyes lit up. He reached out and took the apple. He took bite after bite until there was nothing left.

“Hey, you are not suppose to eat the stem, you idiot.” Neema glared at the boy. He was already more annoying than Yafeu.

The boy took the other apple and devoured it too.

“Hey listen!” Neema shouted.

The boy covered his ears and shut his eyes at Neema’s yelling. His body started trembling.

Kovu rested his hand on Neema’s shoulder. “Easy, he needs to learn.”

“Yeah, but…” Neema looked at the frighten youth. He let out a sigh and scratched behind his ear. “Seriously, having one younger brother was more than enough for me.” He gently patted the boy’s head like he was a frighten puppy. “It is fine. Do not be scared.”

The frighten boy stopped trembling. He opened his eyes before he removed his hands from his ears. He blinked a couple of times. He looked up at Neema innocently.

Neema got up and fetched a cup of water from a jar. He helped the young phoenix drink it. He turned his attention to the prince. “We should get him a bath before he stinks up the entire hall.”

Kovu nodded in agreement. The prince had been trying his best to ignore the boy’s smell, but even he was ready to vomit at the scent. The two quickly hurried the boy to the bathes. Kovu stripped him of the rags which clung to his body as Neema finished removing the shackles.

They both tossed him into the bath with a splash. The boy swung his arms around and grunted not realizing he could simply sit up. Water shot in every direction that smacked against the two nobles’ clothes.

Kovu and Neema turned away and crossed their arms in a vain attempt to block the assault. “Easy,” Kovu said.

“Knock it off,” Neema shouted.

The two had no other choice but to strip down themselves in order to save their clothes from becoming completely drenched. They entered the bath to tag time the wild boy. They scrubbed every inch of the boy’s dirty flesh and hair.

The boy kept grunting and tried to escape from the bath the entire time. The dirt slowly came off him into the water which Neema would need to clean up before everyone else awakened. Neema scrubbed the boy’s hair until it had become crimson like the other male phoenixes. Kovu at last got to the peach skin under all the grim.

Neema left the bath first and redressed in his room with some dry clothes. As the prince waited for his clothes to dry he used male perfume on the boy to mask any of the remaining smell.

Neema returned with a set of clothes in hand. “These should fit him. I took them from Yafeu’s room.” He handed them to Kovu and they both dressed him in the red and gold. Kovu also wrapped a light blue fabric around the boy’s waist and another he crisscrossed it over his chest.

Neema strapped on the sandals and placed a bandage over the boy’s cut nose. He slid on stylish wrist cuffs to hide the wounds of the boy’s former shackles. Neema then looked at the boy’s rather long hair. It would just weight down his fragile form.

Neema took his spear and grabbed a large lock of the red mane, though he had never cut hair before he did have his skills as a warrior and phoenix-sight to rely on. He began to slice away at the hair as Kovu kept the boy clam during the processes. Once it had been cut short enough Neema got a sack to stuff it all in, he used his Phoenix-sight to make sure he got every last hair.

All of this had been done in just a few hours before all three got back to Busara and the still asleep Dayo. “Why have you not gotten Prince Dayo on his horse yet, woman?”

Busara glared at the noble. “He is too heavy.”

“Too heavy? So much for women being equal,” Neema teased. He walked up to the two and lifted the sleeping prince onto the horse.

Prince Kovu placed the boy on top of his horse. He looked back to Neema. “You know what to do.”

“Yeah.” Neema lifted up the sack of hair. “Spread this around the city to create false trails. Just get out of here. This already has been a complete pain.”

“Before we go what do you think of naming your brother?”

Neema was taken aback. “Name him?” The noble shook his head. “No way, you do that I do not want anything more to do with this.” He pointed an accusing finger at the prince.

“Neema.”

Neema crossed his arms and looked away. “Name him Elewa for all I care.”

“Elewa?” Kovu thought about the name for a moment and smiled. “Sounds good to me. His name will be Elewa. Let us go, Busara.” The two got up on separate horses and headed out.

Kovu and Busara ran the horses as hard and fast as they could out of the city. Since Busara had no training in horseback riding Kovu guided it for her. They took no breaks or rest while taking Dayo and Elewa for the ride. It was only when they reached the next town, Raziel did they at last stop. There they found an abandon house to lodge in.

However, once Dayo awoken and learned of the events that transpired the night before-

Dayo stared directly into the eyes of Elewa who sat against the back wall of the single room home. Dayo held a squat position. “So this is who you thought was worth ruining our relationship with the Phoenix-angels for?”

Kovu stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. “What else would you expect of me? I could not leave him there to die.”

Dayo turned his head back at his brother. “You could have simply demanded for his release.”

“We have no authority right now, Dayo.”

Dayo stood up. He marched over to Kovu. “Who cares, everyone knows once the year is over we hold our former status. Someone would have to be a complete idiot not to listen to us. Instead you only make things harder with your arrogance.”

Kovu harden his eyes. “Watch your tongue, Dayo.”

“It is no wonder mother named you Kovu.” Dayo poked at his brother’s chest.

Kovu let out a roar. He snapped, tackling his brother to the floor. The two princes rolled across the ground as both of them try to get the upper hand. Their fists slammed against the other’s face. Their hands slammed the other down.

Busara who sat on a box for a chair unfolded her arms. “Both of you stop it. You’re acting like children.”

Elewa who sat beside her, looked up to see the woman’s rather large chest. He reached up to it as if it were a pair of apples and grabbed, before trying to put it in his mouth.

Busara’s screams filled the room. “YOU IDIOT!”