Genii's Princess

When he felt far enough from the village not to be seen he began to relax and enjoy the un-trodden earth beneath his sandaled paws. This was where he felt at home the most. This was where he felt free. After a long walk of never ending overgrown forest that would be a maze to anyone else, Genii reached his intended destination. The ruins of whoever or whatever lived in the area thousands of years ago. Carved tribal figures with missing arms and noses sprung from the ground like sinking ships. Most were moss covered and home to the small creatures of the forest.

Trees broke through old stone steps and their roots dug deep into an ancient language which adorned every brick and stone that made up this monument. Genii ran his hand across the familiar chiselled words as he made his way into the centre of three stone pillars. These, unlike the rest of the ruins, seemed to be intact. Genii enjoyed looking at the characters calved into them. They were strange rabbit-like creatures dressed in fine royal-looking clothes and wearing elaborately decorated crowns. Their eyes were blank, without pupils, so Genii had no issues with the judging stares he was so used to.

It was very quiet here, compared to the rest of the forest where the chirping of the birds and insects could be deafening at times. Genii approached one of the pillars, the one he enjoyed looking at the most. Carved into it was a beautiful rabbit creature, he assumed was a princess of some sort because her ornaments were very intricate and the artist had blessed her with lots of extra details. He put a hand to her cold face which felt brittle and worn. Many of the jewels on her crown had been dug out (possibly to adorn the chiefs’ palace), but she still wore one sparkling amber necklace which glinted in the dieing rays of sunlight. Genii smiled at her, completely unaware that he was being watched.

A drawing from my (heavily) illustrated novel, Genii - The Legend of the God Stones.

Enjoy all the juicy Maya/Egyptian/Indian/African tribally goodness that is the guise of the Aamami (rabbit folks).

Story and artwork © Jennifer Bryan 2008.