Keep a closer eye on His Highness, Lady Elena. Don't let him get out of your sight again, like last time or else. Don't consider cutting his hair, we don't want him upset even though we wish he was a girl. Don't let him wear a dress though, cause we don't know what we want yet. Lady Elena watched little Malik play in one of the smaller palace gardens, frowning as she thought about the mayhem over the young boy. He didn't act like he noticed but one could only assume having people lament about the bad fortune of having no daughter to inherit the crown.

Malik followed her rules and stayed within sight. He had played with the gardener's tools for a while, enteretained by the play use of the servants tools. He smiled when handling a mini water bucket that wasn't meant for outdoor use then tossed it aside to crouch down and start hopping. His focus became a little frog that rested on the edge of the path and although Malik kept hopping near it, the frog didn't move.

Watching him made her wonder; maybe the Queen would recover from her illness, have a girl and then she could take Malik away. They could have a happy life tending gardens out in a village far away from the royal family. She would never treat him like a girl or lament that he would never possess the powers of his mother. And he would love her.

"No."

The boy's voice interrupted her fantasy and the rattling noise that followed made her freeze in terror. On the other side of the bush, wrapped in a coil, a thing tail shook. A snake prepared to attack and yet she couldn't move. She hoped the snake would strike the frog instead of Malik, since she did nothing but watch.

"Bad." Malik pointed at the snake.

A loud popping sound replaced the hissing noise and in a matter of seconds nothing existed in the snake's spot.

Malik retunred to his hopping and for one hop, the frog joined him.