"Could this be real?" The chief priest murmured to himself.
Although the queen pleaded with the chief priest to talk to her, he seemed oblivious to her request. rather, he kept staring at the baby prince, keeping a full, stride-length distance from the child.
The queen finally decided to wait it out and instead, just watch out, for the next event.
"What did you say is wrong with the prince again?"
after a moment of intense stare, the chief priest finally asked.
"He hasn't cried at all, since I gave birth to him today. and he doesn't breathe either." replied, the queen.
"Humph.
Is that all?" The chief priest asked rather casually, still not spending a look at the queen.
He didn't seem surprised, his tone indicated that he was expecting much worse.
"You're not surprised that my son doesn't breathe and has not cried yet?"
The queen was flabbergasted, she was finding the chief priest's behavior extremely odd
"Woman! you should be more concerned about your baby's health, rather than question me unnecessarily." Responding coldly, the chief priest seemed unimpressed with the queen's question.
"What. But, I care about my child. I'm concerned about my baby's health, that is why I asked the questions I'm asking, even now." With her shoulders dropped, and head bowed the queen spoke humbly to the chief priest.
She could've taken any words from anybody but she couldn't accept been told she wasn't caring enough for her child.
The chief priest's words had hurt her.
With dilated pupils, she was almost about to tear up. Her eyes had turned red and watery but she still couldn't understand the abrupt changes to coldness in the attitude of the chief priest.
"I'll be back before the sun sits on the horizon." the chief priest said unperturbed by the queen's red eyes.
He strolled into the distance and soon his figure vanished.
Some moments later, when the sun had become a not too bright, super enormous, yellowish-red disk, kept at the edge of the world. Overlooking the horizon and the orange-red skies.
The only silhouette of moving people, hills, palm trees, and huts scattered about were to be seen, then did the chief priest come back.
"Bring the baby prince here.
Remove the wrapper from his head." With counted words, and holding a palm kernel bunch in his right hand, the chief priest demanded.
The queen and the other women hurried to bring the prince and remove the piece of cloth tied over the baby prince's head, to keep him warm.
"ukhunu debua, Osamudiamen nohin
osita. . ." Chanting some incantations in some strange native language, the chief priest, drew a line through the baby's forehead using white chalk then hit the baby hard on the center of its head with the palm kernel bunch.
"Rah rah rah!"
Just then the baby prince burst into a hot cry. with neck veins popping out and forehead veins bulging, even as a child, its head remained intact and his skin unbroken from the impact with the palm kernel bunch with which it was hit, not even the slightest trace of blood could be seen.
"OGIDIGAN !"
The chief priest said before turning to leave
"Third chief priest, the prince is still not breathing" the queen stepped forward to inform the priest.
"just as the sunrise of its own accord and the wind cannot be commanded not to blow, so can the prince not be compelled to breathe in this life.
In essence, unless he wills it, no force in nature can give it nor deny him his breath, not even me. rest assured, however, that the prince will be perfectly fine." He stopped in his track for a while before speaking, then he continued walking away until his figure disappeared from sight.
the four nurses and a queen were awestruck and flabbergasted, with mouths agape.
"Could it be true?"
one of the nurses finally broke the silence
"Is it true that the prince cannot have breath,
is it truly impossible, even for the great third chief priest to give the prince breath?"
although she asked a couple of questions, no one dared to answer her. as the rest, including the queen was still shock stricken. Not that she was expecting an answer though.
"Rah rah ah!"
the baby prince's cry jolted the queen back to consciousness.
She had been in a daze ever since the chief priest said those last words of his.
"my queen, we have to present the baby prince to the king now that he is still crying. who knows when he'd stop or if he'd ever cry again once he stops.
also,
remember that the first queen is also pregnant, and she might have entered labor today already she may give birth anytime soon.
we shouldn't deny the prince is birthright as heir by wasting time.
my queen."
The old nurse maiden said abruptly in one breath, buttressing her point.
"yes you're right Cynthia! how could I forget something so important.
ok. everyone, hurry up let's go to the king immediately, every other thing can wait." the gingered queen, hollered to her servants and the nurses.
Soon a group of about two hundred people, led by a beautiful black woman tying a red wrapper embroided with beads and gold left for a massive mud palace.
The evening sunlight slowly gave way to the crescent moonlight of dusk as it drew over the sky.Soon it was nighttime. Everybody began into one task or the other. Everyone except the young hero who stayed back and attended to Sonia, keeping her company and ensuring she had proper clothing and conversing with her when he could, though there was not much discussion because she was too depressed to chat.Her beautiful face had become swollen from tears and her eyes, white like a film of porcelain, glinted with a myriad of depressing emotions.Her wet cheeks quivered as she talked in a low murmur to herself. She sat opposite the young hero before a campfire that he had made earlier — covering herself to keep warm with a piece of fabric that was given to her.she stared into the fireplace as vague emotions subtly quelled her. Her eyes reflected the glint of the slow-burning, flickering yellow flame as she cried.If love was all she wan
A scathing silence prevailed. Swirling winds pervaded and perused with soft kisses and chilling breath over the flesh of the group of persons standing as it whistled by in the coolness of the evening. A closer look showed who these people were. Sally, Igbins, and the unknown young hero were at a standoff — They eyed each other with awkward strikes of hateful intents. "Who–who does he think he is! W–w–why did he disturb them!?" A boy squawked tremulously, stuttering and shaking with disbelief. "Wait O!! I think We need to teach this guy a good lesson!..." One person wailed. Others cried and bellyached because of the young hero's move on thwarting all efforts to assault Sonia, "Oh no!" Cried a youth with a bald head. "I was also hoping for a chance to screw her once those other guys were done with her first. Arrrgh!... Why? Why do you always have to interfere...? Such a pig!!!... He deserves to die..." That
There was a split moment thrilling sound that rung out followed by a potent bang, then a brief moment of darkness— slightly longer than a blink of an eye, followed, for igbins. He felt his body soar through the air before a numbing pain crept over his buttocks.Thud!"Aaa!" He wailed, as his eyes shot wide open, he had suffered a shocking crash. The breath rushed out of him, then a spasming pain spread through his body, putting him in agony.Igbins looked about his immediate environment but discovered that he was no longer with the naked Sonia. 'How come?' His mind worked a query that needed no answer. It was a rhetorical question that even he knew the answer to. After all, It's not as if he didn't know he had been displaced. He had felt a force fling him through the air just now, certainly, he would not be in the same spot where he was before.Nevertheless, he still felt the need to ascertain how he managed to involuntarily change his p
"Igbins, You!" She yelped and quickly tried to use her hand to hide her completely naked breast."Humph. What about me?"Igbins grunted, retorting sharply, and got directly in front of her, not intending to give her too much space."Stop now. Please stop." She wailed. And tried to slap Igbins on his chest. However, "ahh—" She squealed in panic when he caught her hands and forcefully took her back against his front. Wrapping his arms around her, to constrain her."Do you think you can blackmail me with guilt?" He said, whispering, with harsh breaths that brushed against her right ear."No, no, leave me alone." She whimpered, struggling to free herself from his hold.However, in the next moment,TRAAAH! A tearing sound rang out.That sharp, sudden, sound pierced her ear and thumped her heart into a discordant beating. She dre
Just thenPah!She slapped Igbins on the face.She had just started to run away, face in palm, from where the prince was standing. When she bumped into Igbins, who was already coming back, along with the others to meet the prince."You! You! You!... " She slapped him in the chest several times, with each 'you', that she said."You murdered your people!How could you be so heartless as to butcher the people from your team? Without even showing the slightest empathy.You're too wicked!" She groaned"Why! why are you so shocked!? Did I not kill Ogen a while ago, why can't I now kill those guys? Tell me, why are you so bothered about them. Humph." Igbins scoffed. Taking hold, of her slapping-hands."It's not as like I even know them! They say we're a team uhn! Humph. Team my foot!" He smirked, disgusted before he co
Thinking about it, he immediately communicated with his Ancestral spirit to return, before he spoke again."My prince." He said in a manner that suggests he was protesting. Although he had already called back his ancestral spirit."I know... Sally. I know that you're angry, but just let it slide this time, for me. Please?" Prince Idubor spoke calmly. "Also, remember she said she would do anything and she has indeed done something." As he spoke, he held Sally's hand briefly, before letting go of it.Then he walked towards the injured Igbins, who was still lying on the ground of yellow soil."You. you're really a strong warrior, you could have beaten Sally, even, if he didn't call out his ancestral spirit to fight you instead." Idubor said to the young warrior, complimenting his strength."What! That invisible human is his spirit power!?" Igbins, who was so shocked by the revel
Sally, who had already reached the peak of his rage, hustled first, to meet Igbins. While Igbins wielded his spear to meet head-on with Sally.Clang! Clang! Clang!The sword and spear clashed several times with the powerful outburst of the blast, and a cascading parade of sparks, which fizzed out and dissipated In the air.Their attacks did not comprise of any special or exotic movement at all. It didn't reflect any masterly skills or practice, it was just a simple swipe and block motion done repeatedly, but with so much power.After a short while, dominated by the shrill cry of weapons, Sally was finally pushed backward. He staggered slightly but quickly found his footing again.Then, he tightened his grip on his sword to quieten its reverberation."Humph!"He sneered before pushing forwards again. Slashing at the body of Igbins.However, it
"Listen. Third prince!" Igbins turned to look at the prince, his tone was reprimanding. "We have not had any issues before. Your people had even helped to save my people not too long ago, so I can't understand why you approve of it, that your people, should steal from us." Igbins said with a raised voice, his heart had started to slow burn with suppressed anger.He had already taken the prince's silence before, as acquiescence to Sally's claim. Meaning, it was The Prince, who gave his team permission to rob others.Although Igbins expression was fry-red from anger, it was also visibly noticeable, that he was doing all his best to manage his emotions.One would doubt if this was the same Igbins who recently killed Ogen, a young warrior just because the hapless youth spoke to him arrogantly.And yet, he was taking worse insults from Sally now. Though he was retaliating the best way he could, by dropping indirect
All eyes trained off, to the direction of the clap, and rested on the figure of a young boy, no older than eleven years old."Awesome!Haha, what a hard man!You know what? You truly deserve to be a leader of your team. If only you did not die today."It was the prince Idubor.He praised and applauded, at the dead body of the young warrior, Ogen, who had already given up all evidence of life."Yes...my prince. He's really solid. Even I thought he would budge. but he didn't.I'm impressed" Sally, as usual quickly added his voice in support."It's just a shame that it ended too soon for him." he finished.Ever since the beginning of the conflict, the prince and his band of warriors had been standing aside. Watching as the events unfold.They didn't even attempt, to create a dist