Aida had not been able to sleep since the night of the harvest feast.

Her pillows were soaked with angry tears, shed at the thought of Samba's victory. The coronation ceremony was only a day away. Her heart ached thinking that her enemy had been chosen as king instead of her own son. It was a tragedy.

How was she supposed to live in a country ruled by Samba Yacine after everything she did to him?

The woman rose from the bed and found that her husband was sitting wide-awake on the other side. He also seemed to have lost his sleep but that started since the night he cut his son's hand. It gave him constant nightmares and he couldn't rest anymore.

"We must leave." Aida told him, sweat coating her forehead.

Her husband didn't react. He was a lifeless corpse, sitting there with his shoulders slumped.

"Do you hear me? We must gather all our belongings and leave this kingdom at once. Samba will turn our lives into hell when he receives the crown. I am sure he won't be forgiving after what we have done to him. I'm not waiting here for his punishment."

Aida gasped in shock when her husband suddenly turned to her with the most hateful gaze she'd ever seen on a human being, let alone him:

"After everything you have done, madam!" He said in a voice shaking with anger." You are the one who treated him poorly all his life. I am not going anywhere. This is my home and my son is king. I have no reason to run."

Aida laughed bitterly:

"You believe that Samba will forgive you for chopping of his hand and taking his mother's bracelet? You are deeply mistaken, my dear. It doesn't matter that I made you do it. You are now his enemy just as much as I am."

"You don't know my son. He has a good heart, he will forgive me."

"Ah! Then stay, you foolish man! I am going and I am taking my boy with me."

Aida stood up and stomped out of the room. She went immediately to her son's chamber but realized that he wasn't in bed as expected. That was definitely strange because Samba Aida never woke up before twelve, unless someone had gone to fetch him. Maybe he couldn't sleep either and went to sit in the living room?

She was about to go check when she noticed a little note, lying on the bed. Her insides started to coil as she sensed that something awful had happened to her boy. Aida took the note between trembling fingers and read the few words scrambled in her son's handwriting:

Mother, I am taking matters into my own hands. I'm tired of hearing your cries every night and I cannot stand the bitterness in my heart anymore. I cannot let Samba win. I have gone to avenge us but do not worry. Just wait and see. I will be back and you will be proud of me, I promise.

Aida covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes again. "No..."

She returned to her bedroom to inform her husband:

"He is gone! My boy is gone and I fear he did something terrible."

"What happened?" The man asked, his empty eyes now filled with worry.

"I do not know. He left this note and-"

Aida stopped abruptly. She could hear unusual sounds coming from the far distance. She rushed to the window in her bedroom and looked outside. Her husband joined.

They both stared at the group of horses and carriages coming toward their home. Servants and guards walked along, holding flags that proved that they were messengers from the queen herself. Aida whimpered in fear:

"Lord, what did my boy do?"

"...I don't know what this is, dear." Her husband responded. "It doesn't seem like bad news to me. They are beating drums and bearing gifts."

Aida squinted her eyes and noticed that her husband was right. Indeed, the group didn't seem threatening at all. The neighbors were out, chanting with the musicians and joining them to march toward Aida's home. A little smile tugged at the corner of her lips but the confusion was still obvious on her face.

"We must greet them." She said.

When they arrived in the yard, the crowd had gotten considerably bigger with the sea of bystanders. Aida smiled at them as they kept chanting her praises. She searched for her son in the group but couldn't catch a glimpse of him. Instead, she recognized the queen's spokesperson who was marching toward her, wearing gold from head to toe.

"W-welcome to my humble home." Aida greeted her.

"Thank you, madam. We are sorry to intrude so early in the morning." "No please...It is my pleasure."

"I see the tension on your face. Do not worry so much. We are here bearing gifts from her majesty. Now that your son is going to be crowned king, you are part of the royal family as well and must be treated accordingly."

The crowd cheered. Aida's smile grew wider. So it was all about in-laws honoring. She couldn't understand, though. Why would Samba let the queen send gifts? Didn't he tell her about how she treated him? It was all very odd but Aida kept a calm face as young servants lined large baskets on the ground.

"You are free to open them." The spokesperson announced. "It is all yours."

Aida had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She carefully picked up the first basket and opened the lid. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw what was inside.

"G-gold." She said, handing the basket to her husband who was just as surprised. "Lots of gold..."

Some of the neighbors approached to see for themselves with shining eyes. The envy was obvious on their faces.

"Gold! The first gift is gold!" Some of them cried to inform the people who were further away and couldn't see what was going on.

Aida's heart rate increased but now because of excitement and greed. She loved having everyone's envious attention on her. Maybe her husband was right, after all. Maybe Samba was foolish enough to forgive them and let them join the royal family as his parents. She laughed at the irony of it. Maybe this was her son's work. He might have gone to the palace and talked Samba into forgiving them. Of course. What a smart boy he was...

She picked up the second basket with more confidence and discovered that it contained precious stones.

"Diamonds!" The neighbors rejoiced. "Rubies!" "It's too much really..." Aida said with a laugh.

"Nothing is too much for the king's mother." The spokesperson responded.

But, Aida noticed that the woman's smile seemed unnatural. She gritted her teeth together because she also didn't like being referred to as Samba's mother but how could she complain when it brought her so much luxuries? The gifts were each lovelier than the previous ones. Cattle, expensive fabrics, jewelries and foreign sculptures...Aida didn't know what to do with all that. She wondered if they would even fit in her home.

There was only one basket left to open. She approached it, feeling her own excitement and that of the bystanders as well. The last basket was larger than the rest and so she imagined it contained something far more precious. As if she read her mind, the spokesperson said:

"The queen has especially prepared that gift for you, madam. It's the most precious one of the lot."

"Is it?"

"Yes, she made it with her own hands. Surely, you will find it to your liking."

Aida tried picking it up but it was very heavy. "What is in there?" She laughed.

"You shall find out as soon as you open it."

She took the lid off and looked inside. There was a piece of fabric covering whatever was there. Aida started unwrapping it but the more fabric she took out, the more anxious she became. A strange smell was starting to fill the air around her and she wasn't the only one to feel it. It was an iron scent, something oddly similar to blood.

"W-what is this?" She asked again as one or two flies started to gather around the basket.

Aida noted the grim looks on everyone's faces. The music and the chants had stopped long along but only now was she realizing it. She didn't like the silence or the aura surrounding her, charged with negativity and horror. It was as if she woke up from a dream and found herself in a terrible nightmare.

"Open it." The spokesperson said but this time, her voice was sharp and unforgiving.

Aida gathered her courage and took off the last piece of garment. The sight in front of her was worse than death itself. She heard a blood-curdling scream coming from somewhere but quickly realized that the horrified sound had come out of her mouth. Everyone else was silent, their emotions only reflected through pale faces.

Aida didn't need to wonder where her son was anymore. His head lied in the depth of that basket and his lifeless eyes stared at his mother who broke down in tears. Her beautiful son had been murdered and the queen cruelly sent his head to her.

"My boy!" She screamed. "Not my boy, no....Why?! Why did you do this?!"

"This is the punishment he gets, madam." The spokesperson informed. "Your son tried to kill our king."

"No, he would never-!"

"Yet he did, and he paid for his crime with his life. We came here to tell you that despite your son's evil attempt, our future king survived and will be fully able to attend tomorrow's coronation ceremony. This is the message that the queen has sent to you. If you ever try anything to hurt our king again you will be executed, just like your son. Let this be a lesson to you, madam."

The spokesperson's words rung in the air for a minute before she walked away. People silently followed, one after the other. Aida's pained cries were left unheard and not a single soul tried to comfort her, not even her husband. What would be the point anyway? Her son was gone and nothing could bring him back. His head was all she had left of him.

"Why, son, why?!" She cried, looking into his lifeless eyes.

But she knew why. She'd pushed her boy into doing the most evil acts for her sake. He tried to murder his half brother for his mother and in the end, it was all for nothing.

Samba Aida was gone and Samba Yacine lived.

No matter how much she hated it, the wretched stepmother had to admit that it was well deserved. After all, he who sells sand as brown sugar can only expect to receive stones as payment. And that is truth between good and evil. 

THE END.

Thank you for sticking around until the end and I hope you enjoyed this story. I sure did enjoy writing it, lol ;) 

Feel free to check out the other stories on my profile and stay tuned for more !