chapter 6

When the queen left the king's chambers, she went straight to prince Sepo's premises.

He was outside the quarters, behind his chamber, on a sandy ring, wrestling his best friend, the son of​ the chief worrior, Lonki.

Both of them had on loin clothes​ and they where glistering with sweat. Despite his heart problems, he was a strong young man and he earned respect from the worriors in that regard.

Lonki had married the previous month.Although they where both the same age, prince Sepo was yet to marry. He was getting frustrated with this but he was not showing it. His younger brothers had already picked concubines...he blamed his father's injustices​ and frivolous thinking as a young man.

Everyone but the king and queen thought the only reason he hasn't married was because he didn't like women near him. His rightful wife from Seke was still too young for him to marry, but he would have already had numerous concubines like other princes his age. He had known very early on about his inability to perform and wasted no time for himself or the countless unfortunate women who threw themselves at him.

When the queen walked on them wrestling, Prince Sepo was on Lonki's back and he was twisting his leg and yelling, commanding him to surrender. She immediately turned around and the handmaidens followed suit.

Her son wasn't young anymore​, he was a man now and she needed not see how manly he was had become, which was very visible in the loin cloth he had on.

He grabbed a chitenge and wrapped it round his waist.

"You can turn around now, my Queen"

"Can we talk in private" she said looking at Lonki, who offered obeisance and left , so did the handmaidens after taking a hint.

He lead her to a table on the veranda, with three chairs and they sat down.

"I have already talked to your father about your marriage to princess Zae, he will soon send messengers with a proposal for the engagement soon"

"Isn't Princess Zae barely 10 years old, my Queen? I can wait till she is twelve years at least"

"You can get engaged and marry her at twelve years, there is no harm." Prince Sepo looked like he would disagree but kept quiet instead.

"I came here to tell you so that you can prepare yourself mentally," the Queen continued briskly.

Prince Sepo stood up then. He walked to the other end of the veranda, hands clasped behind his back. Queen Maliwa following him and stood Infront of him.

"You will be fine my prince, I'll do anything to see you fine and happy, ANYTHING" she emphasised. Her emphasis did catch Prince Sepo's attention but he didn't pay much attention to the words. He heard the disappointment and the frustration of this mother because he too was frustrated with his situation.

"Well as long as it doesn't harm anyone, am fine with your​ decision, my Queen."

To prince Sepo, a woman shedding a little blood on her first sexual encounter was inevitable, so if that was the only blood needed to be shed, it was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact wasn't it "happy" blood? He blushed just thinking about it. Lonki had told him a lot of things in that department, some scary, some just plain stupid and some he too wanted​ to try out.

That night, prince Sepo spent the whole​ night making a bangle out of the ivory given to the palace as tribute. He was excited about meeting little Princess Zae, he had heard about her beauty, wisdom and intelligence at such a young age, that he couldn't wait to meet and marry her later. He sat near a night fire made for him, on a brazier with firewood to keep the room warm.

"If you give me just this one woman, who will accept me with the enormities I come with, I make a promise to you Nyambe my demiurge, that, I'll love only her. Even if i don't get healed from the pain that wrecks me everyday, I'll take only her until my demise. I prince Sepo, son of king Chani here on seals this promise with my blood​"

He cut his wrist and collected some blood in a wooden cup before placing it on a fire that consumed everything .

* Present day*

He heard the people's murmurs but still refused to put me down, the priestess, seeing that my father the king was coming down towards us, begged him.

"Put her down my prince,it is an abomination for you to touch an unmarried maiden/ girl child here in Seke, not to talk of a royal Princess, you can be branded as a perverse prince and unfit to marry our princess"

Understanding what the​ priestess meant and not wanting to put any obstacles between me and him, he relectantly put me down carefully​ and knelt beside me, the moment he put that bangle on my wrist, he'd marked his territory, be it platonic or sexually, I was his... married or not.

When the Queen and king reached where we were, Queen mother came almost running, she was helped by Queen Maliwa to keep her from falling on the steps.

"She is fine, my king, it's the same thing that happened six nights ago, she will be fine"

My​ father nodded in agreement and looked​ at prince Sepo.

Because, holding me at the time seemed plausible, my father did not reprimand Prince Sepo but he wasn't happy either.

Nanny came forward and carried me back to my quarters and lay me on my wooden bed.

"The celebration continues, eat and jubilate, everything is ok." The king said before returning to his seat.

The drums where beaten again, songs where sung, people danced and the celebration went on through the night.

I woke up to kneeling before the wrinkly old woman who would now be addressed as "the great one" and Kuku again.

"This wasn't supposed to happen, it's too early for her to concert to such ambiguities"

"I know but if she did, we have to find out why her abilities manifested this early"

"She needs to want to take on the pain of someone for it to happen, it can only happen involuntarily if that person is the antidote"

"But that's​ impossible, no one of us has ever found or met an antidote before, and certainly not when she is this young".

They had been talking amongst themselves and only looked at me at that point dumbfounded.

"I'll have to ask around in the realm of the dead" the old woman said.

"Yes great one"

"You have to help her now because you don't have much time either, since you have already surrendered and passed on mantle."

"Yes great one". Kuku answered after a long silence.