8 - The prince challange

Chapter 8 (The Prince challenge.)

M’boguku’s head rose like that of a lizard. He was shocked! Unless he heard wrongly! He glanced back quickly only to spot his father walking in to the center of the shelter with three of his bodyguards. Immediately the Prince slowly got to his feet and stepped out to stand in front of the boy with his arms behind is back. Everyone was silent for such a long moment. The Prince asked Tsote to step forward away from N’dwoku. The boy hesitated thinking N’dwoku would say something to stop whatever other embarrassment might come from singling himself out.

“Brother… I hear?” Mozia O’mondo spoke once more. This time with a thick tone filled with all the meanness M’boguku had. They shared this and he could tell both were bullies. He steps forwards. He starts around him slowly sniffling his back at such a close range...

“You smell of fear and weakness beyond measure… and-” Prince Mozia O’mondo spoke into his ear with a sneer of hard breath. He stopped in front of his and looked deep into his eyes as if he wished for a challenge. The moment he glanced a side, Thalko frowned. Still dared to utter. “And your care taker here has trained me the last ten years, never mentioning your existence even a single day.”

“Why the hijack today…?” He spoke directing this question to Thalko. 

“Direct that question to your father… I answer only to him.”

“Mmmm, I think you know this is a very strong matter because our custom don’t accept even the king to raise more than two male children…”

“Only your father has the answers you need. Allow me depart now your highness. M’boguku?” he concluded looking direct at his son. And after a pause motioned him to lead the way out. “Time to go.”

 “Not yet done here…!” the prince sneered. Thalko stopped half turned away. The Prince was getting on his nerves but he swore to respect. The prince drew near and said.

 “Besides, I have burdening report about your daughter, future queen of Sambura.” The Prince began when the commander slowly glanced towards his son M’boguku. Makita was his sister! “-and I’m worried you have not ensured the best for her.”

“What did you tell him…?” Thalko asked his son but looked puzzled about the prince’s last statement. 

“I believe the boy can speak for himself…!” The prince cut the commander out turning to stand in front of Tsote!  If the prince wished to make a fuss about Tsote, it would not be good! What exactly did Tsote have to do with the Prince’s betroth to Makita his daughter? This was very wrong!

“Makita has been raised and trained as she aught be! And as far as the betroth is concerned, nothing stand between these arrangements.” Thalko spoke instead of Tsote.

“The boy has got a tongue commander!” M’boguku sneered at the commander while turning back to Tsote. “Tell me Tsote!” he began. “What have you done?”

“Done...?” Tsote asked his heart pounding heavily. He does not remember doing anything wrong!

“What have you been told about…?”

“Silence commander! I need to hear from him.” the prince interrupted quickly continuing with a step towards Tsote. “What do you think about Makita?”

“Enough your highness!” Thalko spoke with a very deep voice. “Ask him no more…but your father.”

Thereafter, Thalko reached a side and grabbed Tsote’s hand.

“M’boguku…?” he motioned towards his son. And motioned him to get up immediately but when M’boguku stood up, the prince held up a finger for a moment. There was deep silence.

“M’boguku will stay.”

Thalko looked back at the two questioningly before the prince added. “I choose him as my training partner until the Kurotandi games.” Thalko looked challenged. He tries to insist that his son comes home with him when the Prince’s Kurota manifested in a wave across his face and arms. His fury burned… And when the commander saw this, he drew from the challenge.

He turned away with Tsote. N’dwoku followed. Renso was at the entrance waiting on them. Thalko led him to Renso and told him to return him home, to Marakusha as fast as he could. He gave Tsote four Yakunko wildebeest riders who would escort them. 

Makita was seated at the banks of River Ulewo when she spotted them crossing the bridge. She sprung up and ran towards them. Tsote saw her. He was happy however when she asked about her brother, he was quite.

“Tell me…” 

“Your brother won’t be back to Marakusha any soon…” Renso told her.

“What do you mean?” she asked again directing the question to Tsote.

“Your bully brother disobeyed commander Thalko… and.” He told her blankly.

“Prince Mozia O’mondo needed him for a training partner and we don’t know if all his past training partners, he has killed by mistake as he claims.”

“What do you mean…”

“I did not know they were close friends until…,” Tsote replied in a tired way.

“Well, your brother most have planned to stay, most probably… which he did not think about twice.” Renso stated.

“But he promised to…” Makita stammered in confusion and then paused in thought as if she just remembered something they did not know. 

“OH Makita, you know your brother better...” Renso stated with a rolling tone. “What else can it be… he manipulated the Prince to utter exactly what he wished knowing very well, the Commander can never stand between a prince and his wish by due respect unless…”

Makita was silent for a long while just when they spotted another caravan of travelers approaching the village from the Northern road. There was music in the air. The beautiful sound a flute producing a tune very familiar to the two. Tsote’s head perked up. Followed by Makita whose face brightened up as though she forgot about her brother in an instant. 

“Mama Erusa…!” She said and jumped down from the litter! The sun was already falling back over the western jungles when they spotted the storyteller’s caravan appearing over a little slope two yards away. 

“She is back…!” came Tsote Jumping down after her and leading the way back to the little junction. They were appearing over a slope close to the junction and so it did not take long. They rushed up, climbed up Mama Erusa’s elephant using the hanging ropes, and embraced her. She was very kind and friendly to every child even though she could not see any. Tsote did not dare to get near the storyteller. He always kept his distance for some reasons. He had rules given him by Thalko direct. Had to obey them even though he knew no reason why.

Children were running and jubilating for the return of the storyteller. They swarmed around her elephant. However, the moment she stepped down, her face changed. Something occurred to her that moment and even her flute fell to the ground! The moment the flute touched the ground, the elephant sensed her discomfort and hooted so loudly. It thumped its feet against the ground in her defense.

The children were asked to pull back. She buckled to her knees looking at the sky and immediately picked up her flute. Everyone became silent just when she started to draw symbols across the ground and her ears perking like she was listening to something in the winds. Many claimed she spoke to the wind! Tsote did not believe it.

She did not speak but listened to the winds. This is how dreams came to her. 

“The road has been long and rough but still Untu brought me to the end of my search. He is alive and the air smells of the struggle of gifts.” They heard her whispering. “But the best I can say is. Here, in Marakusha, a place I least suspected…, but your most beloved is safe, warn and alive. May our friendship never die?” 

Tsote watched. Unlike all the others, he could hear everything she uttered and though she spoke to him through the winds. Whatever she was talking about, he believed everyone was hearing.

“The boy… yes the boy!” She whispered to herself while listening and looking heard into the unknown darkness she alone saw. Her fingers wrote in symbolic language. Yet the symbols reads a name many read so clearly as Tsote. Everyone glanced towards him. He looked puzzled. No one heard everything she uttered but Tsote heard one thing. “Naruba.”

Hardly had she said anything more, when three of her maidens rushed forwards and collected her to her feet and leading her off before everyone. They took guided her to Thalko’s shelter where she stayed until dark.

Makita stood next to Tsote and she saw what Mama Erusa just wrote. She led him around and pointed. Nevertheless, the word was gone the incident they looked away! This was strange now! The fires were lit and everyone anxious to hear about her most recent dream chase stories. 

Makita escorted Tsote to his shelter. They talked and he was able to narrate to her what happened during his trip to the king’s city. He did not exhaust it all but spoke selectively about what interested him most. They ate their evening meal just when they heard the flute again.

This time a lot clearer than before. The owl hooted as though it could hear the sound of the flute across the night sky. The wind blew through the entrance. Some confused cricket hoped out of the darkness on one side of the entrance towards the other just when the wind hit it into the shelter. It fell three feet away from the fire but at sensing the heat, it leaped again only to be hit again by the wind, this time into the fire. It went ablaze without any yelling. The two stood up and hurried towards the center of the Village.

Mama Erusa was there on one side of the fire and children were collecting around the fire starting from her side. However, she sat on her mat alone. And pressed against her lips was her flute producing such beautiful tone though the air. They listened quietly.

“Children,”

“Yes Mama Erusa…”

“I glad to be back home once again. When I left Marakusha at the beginning of the rainy season, we headed down south far away from Marakusha. The lands in the south are twice rougher than the northern. The people are good and friendly. While crossing the Kinkwa plains, Yakunko chiefs and warriors in none Yakunko communities are growing harsh due to fear.”

“Fear about what…?” Sosoi, a friend of M’boguku quickly asked her.

“They are worried about the spread of the rumor about the failure of the king to get the approval of his fore fathers as new Yakunko King.”

“That’s not new…” Came the voice of a girl closest to Mama Erusa’s on the left. “Even other kings encountered challenges to be approved or accepted by the past kings.”

“The difference here is one…” came the storyteller. “-that it took the other kings not more than three years to receive the favor of the past king where as King O’mondo has not been favored after fourteen years of trial!”

“Does it matter that much…” Makita asked.

“It starts to matter when Yakunko communities start experiencing fear of the none Yakunko like never before...” She spoke.

“Why won’t the kings of the past accept him as the next king when he is the only one meant to sit on the throne…?”

“Someone can tell us. Someone…” she spoke turning her head this and that way as though waiting for a response from a specific child. “Any male without his Kurota…”

Tsote’s heard her final statement and a lump grew in his throat immediately! He glanced around. He looked puzzled. She obviously meant him and everyone turned to glance at him.

“Come on… I know you are around.” she said sweetly with a smile but unsure where he sat around the fire. He felt insulted when she referred to him as the one without his Kurota. Nevertheless, with everyone looking towards him, he just opened his mouth and told them.

“I don’t know anything…”

Mama Erusa heard and smiled. She did not push him to say more that he was not comfortable with saying.

“I understand…”

‘What do you mean…?’ was the expression everyone wore across their face until she added.

“A Yakunko king must have one male child. It one of the very few traditions Yakunko kings have honored from the first kings of men. When a king dies, the royal elders must guide the son on how to rule until he passes the Inka challenge.” Mama Erusa explained. “This means, the heir must keep performing the I’nka ritual at the end of every year until he is accepted he is deemed worthy to join the linage of Yakunko kings…”

“But the I’nka seed isn’t real…!”

“So have you been taught…!” Mama Erusa responded with a little smile looking slightly off course from who just made the compliment. As if, she saw with her ears while listened with her eyes.

“Unfortunately our king has not yet been deemed worthy because of his mistakes in the past… he now suffers from consequences not even the past kings can save him from.” She said as her smile faded. 

A tear rolled down her cheek and the sky rumbled. The coldness and night’s dew was starting to fall. Many of the children had a cloth to cover themselves with! The fire was burning low with red embers. 

“What did he do Mama…?”

‘Hush, I’ll tell you…,” she said drawing her hand out of some leather bag on her side. She cast some black dust into the fire setting it out for seconds and then the fire returned but this time in strange shapes and its smoke turning into colorful fireflies. The fireflies would rise until she ended her story! Whatever story she was going to start on, had no connection with what she did to finish last time! It was annoying but she always began her stores with a completely new style! 

There fireflies went around the fire palace in all magical forms and in different splendid colors! The moment the fire burnt out, one of her maidens started blowing through her flute. So silently. Another just across from where Mama Erusa sat stated drumming. Both did this very quietly. Just then, she broke the silence once more. 

“Before any one of you were born, a powerful and very intelligent king called D’jabonu ruled the Yakunko Empire. He was a very beloved king to our people. His reign was long and fruitful because he respected the customs of his ancestors. Not until the Goche tribe returned to the astern seashores on strange boats. The first tribe of the four that sailed away very many years ago was back. Who knew how long it would take before the other three returned too?”

“The Goche did not refer to themselves by their old name no longer. Whatever they had become, the gods know best but their agenda was not as secret. They were back home and would need land for settlement, one of the reasons why we called them Home seekers!”