Levi mulled the notion over in his mind as he stared at the sleeping form of Hani across a patch of stubbly grass under a bending desert tree.

He had managed to convince Hani to leave the city immediately at least. Levi wouldn't have been happy until he had put Nigeb firmly behind him. The boy had turned out to already have all of his belongings with him and gave the impression that he was probably wanted in the town for some business with unpaid rent.

Levi figured whatever the crime was, it probably wasn't serious enough to warrant anyone actually coming after them. So after they had managed to put two hours walk between them and the beige planes of the desert city, Levi had suggested that they make camp.

After Levi had detailed his first and only meeting with Hani's sister Muna, the boy had fallen silent. Levi wasn't entirely convinced that the word 'Alack' even meant anything to Hani, judging by the kid's somewhat puzzled and frustrated frown for the rest of the trek.

It had been a shame Levi hadn't been able to score any sand ponies or horses to speed things up a bit, but they had left in somewhat of a rush with the pressing necessity for being inconspicuous.

Hani hadn't even said a word as they had settled down for the evening. He had merely laid down a noticeable way away from Levi before rolling over.

Levi shivered as darkness began to fall; he shuffled closer to the fire. Desert nights were notoriously cold, a sharp contrast to the stifling heat of the day. He narrowed his eyes over at Hani. The kid hadn’t even got a blanket with him, or seemingly any thicker layers to wear. If he continued to stay so stubbornly far away from Levi, and subsequently the fire, he would surely wake up sick.

Levi tried to push his niggling concerns away from his mind for the time being. After all if the kid died perhaps he would be released from his promise?

Levi flinched as whispered words filtered through his skull, as if the speaker were sitting only inches away from him,

"You will ensure he arrives in the city safely. You will protect him at all costs and you will honour this deal with your life."

"Damn," Levi huffed, rising up off the rounded rock he had been perched on, before crossing as quietly as he could over to the sleeping boy. He gingerly slid his hands underneath Hani's body before rolling him into the crooks of his elbows and lifting him up and over closer towards the warmth of the fire.

Levi was glad of his decision after a particularly biting and chilly wind passed through the makeshift camp. He managed to deposit Hani back on relatively soft grass without causing him to stir. He had never seen a street orphan sleep so soundly before. Levi half wondered if Hani had never really had to look out for himself what with his strong-willed sister standing guard over him at night?

Then again, Hani certainly had his own fire within him; his attack on Levi had proven that. Levi shuddered as he rubbed the still smarting skin of his throat.

Levi's calloused and thick fingers found their way down to his aching shoulders, massaging them tenderly as he craned his neck and caught sight of one of his own tattoos. The dark swirling calligraphic script was the same one that Muna had taken particular notice of.

Not surprising really, considering the tattoo was written in Alackai, the ancestral language of the Kaiaya people whose capital city was of course, Alack.

"Alack," Levi stated out loud just to hear how ridiculous it sounded even to his own ears.

"You know where it is," Muna had hissed at him with passionately glinting eyes.

No he fucking didn't.

In short, Levi was now royally screwed. I mean - of course he had said he would take her brother to the mysterious lost city after he had realised that Muna was actually serious about being his champion at the Trials.

But the truth was, Levi honestly had found his tattooed Alackai proverb in some dusty old book, he had gotten it etched permanently on his skin as the message had seemed worthwhile at the time. Then again, that had been a long time ago.

He hadn't even really expected Muna to win against the sorcerers. They were trained sorcerers for crying out loud. Obviously he had underestimated the power of dark magic. Levi peered across at Hani's gently slumbering form, wondering if the small boy had just as much potential power in him?

Hani's features were still somewhat red and swollen from crying, as much as he had tried to hide it from Levi on the trek out of Nigeb. However, it was still obvious to any fool that the kid was beautiful. Hani's skin was milky brown; his dark eyelashes were thick and fanned across his cheeks in sleep. His lips were set in a permanent pout that seemed to refuse to part, even in slumber.

Levi shook his head, this might be a child of the desert but he was going to have a hard time actually keeping Hani safe in it. Inner desert towns were notoriously rough and dangerous, no place for a boy who looked like Hani.

Levi wondered how Muna had managed to keep her brother safe, before remembering her evident tenacity, even in the few short moments he had known her.

No, the real problem would be trying to figure out a problem like Alack.

Levi knew where Muna had got the mistaken idea that he had been there - fucking Ahmed.