by Owen Oakley
“Ow can you tu’n yoa bagk on oa; people? They’we elda’ly and thee’ decision not to move didn’t come fwom a place of stubbo’nness but fwom feaw of something diffa’nt.”
The city of Wam had many elders, all they’ve ever known was a simple lifestyle, and without warning, their leader expected them to conform to change.
Ashanti understood the city of Wam’s way of life because her people had lived a similar way⸺ hidden and governed free from the monarchy. She wanted everyone to be safe regardless of their choices.
“Change my deaw is inevitable. We awe moving fo’wawd and the people ave to be weady fo’ new and betta things; if not, we mozt continue to move fo’wawd without them,” Chipo responded.
Ashanti narrowed her eyes at the woman.
“Change? The same change that you wa’ once against? You neva’ wanted a kingdom, now you speak of change,” Ashanti said.
Taj took a seat and rested her head in the palm of her hands. This had not been the first time Chipo and Ashanti hadn’t seen eye to eye, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Ashanti believed Chipo had other motives. Daily Taj had to keep the peace between them, some days were worse than others.
“Oluchi, please stwess to the outside citizens we will do oa’ best to pwotect them if known danga’s pwesent, but if tha’s a sneak attagk it’s not ca’etain that we will be able to pwotect them,” Taj said.
Oluchi nodded and with pleasure, left the women alone.
The two women went into opposite directions. Luckily Taj didn’t have to give another speech to diffuse the tension.
A hawk perched itself on the windowsill. Ashanti walked over and removed the small piece of paper from its claws.
“A visito’ as wequested to see you, my queen,” she said.
“Who?”
“Bayo.”
⸞⸟⸞
Taj, Ashanti, and Oluchi made their way to the foyer of the palace. She sent word to the guards to allow them to pass. Taj‘s emotions surged out of control.
She didn’t know what Bayo wanted or the news he brought. Even though she felt anxious, she was ready to see him, months had passed, and if she could see one person from home, it would set her mind at ease.
It was no surprise to her that Bayo was the first to discover what she had done, she was only shocked that it had taken him that long.
They watched as Bayo and the two Lark soldiers trailed up the hill. He still looked the same to her.
She couldn’t resist a smile that caught Ashanti’s attention, which made her happy to see genuine emotion for something of her past.
Bayo and Lark’s soldiers entered the palace and Taj greeted them. Bayo was at a loss for words which was rare even for him. They stared at each other, but reflectively the soldiers knelt before her.
She escorted everyone into the dayroom. The sun shined brightly through the massive windows. There was a bar and large sofa in the room’s middle. She motioned for everyone to take a seat.
“May I inta’st you in a glass of wine, a cup of tea, o’ wata’ pa’aps,” Taj offered.
“We’ll take a glass of wine,” Bayo replied.
He cautiously watched the three. Taj walked over to the bar and collected several wine flutes and a bottle of red wine. She smiled to herself when she noticed Bayo’s arched brow.
She poured them each a fine glass and passed them to everyone; she served herself last and settled into a spot on the sofa.
“I’m glad you’we safe Adanya,” Bayo said finally.
Oluchi scowled at the men. “You will addwess ha’ as Queen Taj o’ queen,” he said.
Bayo ignored Oluchi and remained focused on Taj.
“I am safe, no thanks to you and my family,” she said.
Bayo downed his glass of wine and held his glass out for more.
“Yoa fatha is dead,” Bayo said.
He saw no need to placate the matter or be cordial about the situation any longer. Time was running out, and as much as it pained him, it wasn’t just about Adanya anymore. Innocent people were dying daily.
“Excoze me if I don’t weep fo’ im,” Taj replied.
Anger flashed across Bayo’s face.
“Well, who will you weep fo’ Adanya? Yoa motha? Maybe the people of Lawk? Or Imani?”
Taj’s face softened. “What of them?”
Bayo stood to gather his thoughts. He knew once he informed her of the news it wouldn’t go well. He prepared himself for all possible reactions, the most significant two ⸺anger, and blame.
“Yoa motha died fwom an illness befo’ yoa fatha. The people of Lawk suffa’ thwough constant attagks by webels,” he paused. His eyes shifted around the room.
Taj knew he was stalling. She expected her mother’s death; she was sick, and it filled her existence with pain, suffering, and misery. Taj was relieved she wasn’t suffering any longer.
That was least of her concerns at present; he failed to mention Imani. Taj slowly got to her feet, eyes set on Bayo with a sidelong glare, as she moved closer to him.
“What of Imani?” She asked.
He tried his best to avert eye contact with her, but she had a deathful stare that wore into his soul.
“Imani… is dead.”
The room deafened in Taj’s ears. She was unbalanced, and her face felt like it was on fire. She staggered back to fall, but Ashanti caught her before she hit the floor.
“Fetch wata’!” Ashanti shouted.
She lowered Taj onto the sofa and elevated her head.
“Who’s Imani?” Ashanti asked Bayo.
“Ha’ best fwiend. They wa’ pwagtically sistas. Adanya made Imani ha’ andmaid in o’da to move ha’ into the palace and pwotect ha’ fwom the dang’ous village life,” Bayo said.
Ashanti looked at Taj unconscious from the news and draped a cold towel over her forehead. All they could do was wait and keep her comfortable.
Chapter Fourteen
Taj drifted into a dark void. There was no source of lighting just emptiness. She wondered aimlessly with her arms stretched in front, with the hope to feel something ⸺anything. She was never a fan of silence, too much of it was never a good thing.
Time passed slowly with no way to get back to reality; it wasn’t as simple as waking up; she was lost. She walked a few more steps until she stumbled into a wall.
It was large, her hand rubbed across its surface until she found something small, round and twistable. It was a door.
What was on the other side was unknown, but she had no other way to get out of the void. She gently turned the knob and pushed it open. The room with a dim light that beamed in the corner.
A person sat in a chair. She only saw the silhouette of the figure. Instinctively she reached her side, but there was nothing there; no sword or dagger. It was definitely a dream, Taj always carried her weapon.
She cleared her throat as she moved closer to the figure.
“Who’s tha?” Her voice echoed off the walls.
A chill went over her body, the room was cold and lifeless even with her presence.
The figure never turned around to address her.
Taj rushed to the figure and placed her hand on its shoulder.
Just as she jerked the chair around to see who it was the head fell from the body. A scream escaped her lips as her heart pounded against her chest.
In the light she could see the head’s face horrified, it was Imani, eyes wide open with a terrified expression on her face.
Taj gasped for air and sprung forward on the sofa. The wet towel slid from her face.
It was a nightmare one she felt she deserved because she did not protect Imani. Her best friend dead, no goodbye, a lonely death.
“Awe you okay?” The Lark soldier asked.
She shook her head; she kept her mouth closed, conserving her breath; her lungs were on fire.
Taj searched the room and snarled at Bayo.
“Ow did she die?”
“Adanya you ave to undesstand
.”
“Ow!” She shouted.
Her voice carried through the room and into the halls. Bayo dropped his head.
“She was accozed of killing Muto. They executed ha’.”
Taj doubled over and clenched her stomach. It was more than she could process. Once again she found herself devastated at the moment she began to feel normal. She flipped over the coffee table near the sofa.
“You walk in a’ calm, with small talk while you ad info’mation such as this? Who killed my fatha?”
Bayo gave her a knowing look.
“Kofi?”
“That’s who I sozpect, but tha’s no pwoof, and someone as alweady paid fo’ the cwime,” he said.
As quickly as sadness filled her face rage replaced it.
It was the second time Kofi plotted to hide his actions while someone else paid the price. He was a coward and a disgrace to the throne and to the Muto’s name.
“Is tha’ anything else you wish to sha’?”
Bayo looked at the Lark soldiers.
“You no longa’ ave the militia’s loyalty. They awe pledged to King Kofi, and anything e wants,” the soldier said.
Ashanti and Taj exchanged uneasy stares. Her plan revolved around the loyalty of Lark’s soldiers, and if she no longer had it, she had nothing.
“Ow could that be?” Ashanti asked in curiosity.
“Exagtly! Roho and Runako assa’d me I ad thee’ suppo’t,” Taj said as she paced the room.
“Runako twied to keep ev’yone’s ope uplifted.”
“But feaw outweighs loyalty,” Bayo finished.
Taj stopped. “Fear tactics?”
“Not jozt any feaw tactics my queen. E killed a soldia in fwont of us to make an example that weakness won’t be tol’ated going against im is a death sentence,” the soldier said.
Taj’s eyes bounced between the men.
“Afwaid what e speaks is the twuth. I was tha’,” Bayo confirmed.
Taj couldn’t believe her ears, things were far worse than she ever imagined. Her mind worked every ankle it could to devise a plan.
The time to stop hiding and fight had come. Kofi had already taken too much from her, Imani’s death proved he wouldn’t stop.
“What do you want to do?” Ashanti asked.
Before Taj could respond, Bayo interjected.
“You should also know King Omawi is now Kofi’s ally. The battle will be much gweata’.”
Ashanti’s eyes flickered with anger, and she scowled at the mention of King Omari. Bayo didn’t miss her aggressive at his name. The room went quiet, everyone preoccupied with their own thoughts.
The wait was over; she needed to decide and quickly. Either she would continue to hide in the shadows or rise and reclaim her kingdom.
All eyes in the room fell to her for direction.
“Whateva’ you need, I will do,” Bayo said.
“Good, we’ll take im down from the inside, out,” she said.
“What of King Omawi?” Ashanti asked Taj.
Taj placed her hand on Ashanti’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes.
“I will keep my wo’d and elp you get justice fo’ yoa people. Togetha.”
Ashanti led her away from everyone.
“I don’t twozt im. Ow well, do you know this man?”
Taj looked at Ashanti then to Bayo.
“Since I was a young ge’l. E’ was my fatha’s adviso’ fo’ yeaws.”
Ashanti peeped over her shoulder at the Lark men.
“Kofi could ave sent im a’ togatha info’mation.”
Taj trusted Bayo, but she understood her General’s concerns about him. His visit was unexpected, and they offered only bits and pieces of information.
“Ashanti, I know you wo’wy but I twozt im, so twozt me,” Taj said with sincerity.
“You should addwess me with yoa doubts and conca’ens,” Bayo said as he looked towards Ashanti.
Taj sighed. This couldn’t be good; Bayo had no patience for disrespectfulness and Ashanti was a smart mouth who loved to brawl. She took a seat and watched; there was no point stopping whatever occurred next.
Ashanti faced him with slanted eyes and a scowl. Taj was the only royal she cared about everyone else were easily disposable.
“I don’t twozt you. That is my only conca’en,” Ashanti said.
“I fwankly don’t ca’ee. I am a’ fo’ Adanya. Who awe you anyways?”
Taj covered her eyes. She didn’t want to get involved with their dispute.
“Bayo, Ashanti is my Gen’al we met in Tigway,” Taj introduced.
Ashanti lifted her head in the air. He examined her from head to toe.
“Gen’al?⸺ he snorted⸺ Mo like a mouth that will get ev’yone killed.”
“Enough!” Ashanti rushed him with her dagger to his neck. He didn’t move a muscle.
“I am a wawwio of the Asante people. Given oa’ weputation you know I am mo’ than talk.”
As much entertainment as the two was, she couldn’t allow it to continue. Taj developed a headache.
“You both awe dead.”
Oluchi and the two Lark soldiers laughed.
Ashanti, distracted by her own words hadn’t felt Bayo’s dagger resting ever so gently against her pelvic region.
“If you two awe done. You thwee come with me.”
Taj led the men upstairs to their rooms.
⸞⸟⸞
There were only a few moments Taj had alone, so when those times presented themselves, she cherished it.
She sat at her black and gold trimmed vanity dresser and stared into the mirror, for the first time since that night. She forgot her own features.
She saw the mole on her right cheek and turned her head to view the other one on her earlobe that favored an earring. Her face was still heart-shaped, slimmer than she remembered but relatively the same.
Taj let her fingers gently slide down her face, over the scars from that night. When she was a child, she enjoyed the elders’ stories about their history, physical injuries and distinctive traits often were accompanied.
Now she had her own scars that held painful history; lashes that reminded her of the betrayal, bruises that healed but stayed along to be a continuous reminder that evil can exist in your own home.
She closed her eyes, and everything around her ceased to exist. A stillness. Peace.
She replayed a conversation she had with her father as a child.
She imagined her in her father’s lap, happy and safe.
“Daddy, why do some people go thwough mo’ than othas?” The younger version of herself asked her father.
She saw that moment clear as ever; her father smiled at her and held her close in his arms.
“Becoaze God gives is gweatest battles to is stwongest soldias.”
She opened her eyes and smiled.
Chapter Fifteen
The annual royal meeting arrived. It was held in Vertwick, a sanctuary for peaceful common ground. It mandated all royal officials to attend.
If two kingdoms were at war, not only were, they expected to attend but to behave in such a manner that suggested peacetime.
One day out of the year the Royals came together with discussion to better the nation. There were only a few instances when things went awry.
The possibility of losing their kingdom for misconduct as a consequence made it easy to maintain order.
The five kings sat around an old wooden oval table. Each king wore their house colors and could bring with them one guard and their advisor. They sat in clockwise order of first known establishment.
The purple Kingdom of Yico, reigned by King Abayomi was first, next to him was the red and black domain of Lark. Next to Lark sat the emerald green Kingdom of Plipool.
The rose gold Kingdom of Chanta, reigned by King Haji fell in next, along with the royal blue and gold Kingdom of Iyego prevailed by King Salim.
The men did their best to maintain their composure. The tension in the room unsettled ev
eryone; the other kings didn’t like that Lark’s kingdom was out of control.
The others feared it was a matter of time before their citizens took over with riots.
They were anxious enough to solicit their help to resolve Lark’s problem before chaos became an epidemic among them all.
King Abayomi of Yico pointlessly banged the gavel on the table to quiet an already settled room.
“The meeting will commence to o’da,” he said with a frail voice.
King Abayomi was ancient with children well over the age to take the throne. However, he felt, none of them were ready to take on the role.
He told his children the only way they would reign was after his death, which shocked most that he was still alive.
“Who would like to begin?” Abayomi asked.
The men looked around at each other with blank expressions.
A man slowly raised his hand. “I’ll ave a wo’d,” King Haji said.
Everyone turned their attention to him. King Abayomi gave a curt nod for him to proceed.
“Oa’ time is impo’tant, so I will be bwief. We all ave sev’al conca’ens about Lawk and the unpwecedented wiots,” he cleared his throat and took a sip of water.
King Haji despite his daughter Zola’s behavior didn’t reflect him as a man. He was fair and believed in doing things the right way. A passionate person and even better king.
“What awe you doing King Kofi, not jozt to keep the wiots at bay but to cease them?”
Kofi face was flushed, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The men waited patiently for his response.
“Well, I ave⸺.”
“We ave made public examples of all webels caught plotting against Lawk and coazing destwuction in the kingdom,” King Omari stated.
King Salim’s face was filled with confusion, they all whispered among themselves.
“Why do you speak fo’ King Kofi?” Abayomi asked as if he read everyone’s thoughts in the room.
Omari smiled and looked to Kofi.
“We ave an undesstanding, a boziness agweement. Nothing that conca’ns any of you.”
Salim shook his head and whispered something to his advisor that made him chuckle.
King Haji’s brow furrowed with a gloomy expression.
“Does my daughta’ know about this awwangement?” Haji asked Kofi.