Total Wordcount: 10, 905
Percentage: 21.8%
Rakoto attends a ceremony for the dead and Kelyloza returns to the Karazana with news of refugees having entered the Stone Forest. There's a bit of foreshadowing (Dahira and Misokoso are hanging around) but nothing that I probably won't end up editting futher, later.
The freakish lemur from yesterday shows up again today:
The shriek startled them all, stunning the crowd into silence. It was terrible and blood-curdling; filled with so much pain and loathing that fear washed over Rakoto like a monsoon.
A ragged excuse for a lemur crouched on a branch before the parade, her gaze directed towards the Queen.
“You killed them,” she screamed, pointing at the Queen. “You sent them to their death. She's killing them all,” the lemur looked up now and Rakoto recognised her. She was the tortured lemur that had abused him under the tree. Her eyes shone with mad fevour. “She'll take your mates, she'll take your kits. Like she took mine. And why? Why? Because we did not pay our fealty. We could not pay our fealty. Our fields were torched, our antelopes roasted alive. So we could not pay our fealty, and thus she took her taxes in blood and sweat. Sweat and tears.”
“She's no Queen. She's an abomination.”
At that, Ouida lunged for her; at the same moment as the ragged lemur sprang from the tree. She struck the Queen, throwing her into the dirt, jaws snapping. Ouida grabbed her by the throat, heaved her into the air. Tossed her to the ground and planted one large foot on her spine. In less than a minute, the lemur was subdued and dragged away.
For a moment, stunned silence. Then the varimena started plucking his kabosy, the drummers started pounding their instruments and the procession began again.
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