The loops of breath
"When would he take my hands in marriage, father?"
She said, kneeling before her father. He was seated on the throne with several chiefs before him. She was kinda the interval between the Duke and the chiefs.
She would occasionally look at the pacing tiger. Not because she was scared. It had been her pet since she was a child. Twas given to her by a sorcerer.
The cat had been said to be her guardian spirit.
When she had noticed that Loe did have some odds with the cat, since then had she known that there was something odd about him.
But she was quite glad that he didn't hide it from her. She appreciated but that was rather not enough.
She could hear after the question she had asked that some of the chiefs were grunting. That wasn't hard to be held to being displeased.
She didn't have to deal with them. She only had a business with her father.
"How could you be so shallow in thoughts, Mara."
The Duke of Ikpala shot at her. She bowed her head. Giving herself away as though she was scared or timid. Such impression she had been giving her father since the day of her discerning.
"Sorry, I yelled at you. Come here."
The Duke said again, seeing that she was about to start crying. She stood up and walked to him, wearing the smothered face.
She got to him and knelt before him. He began to stroke her hair in pet.
She buried her face in his right lap and swelled to the jazz of her plot.
"There's more than enough happening around her. You might have no idea because I simply wouldn't bother you with the business of the throne. I've always put you first because I wouldn't take any harm reaching for you."
He stopped talking for a while and raised her head. He traced his right thumb across her face and rubbed the track of the tears off.
"As we speak, The treacherous Duke of Kula is at war with Haojo and the kingdom next to it. We have no idea who next is up for him. We should prepare for the worst and not talk about a marriage alliance."
He pushed a strand of hair loitering at the eyelids and dropped his hand,
"Go and rest. See the prince as often as possible till things would be fine."
Mara stood up and began to walk towards her chamber. The tiger hurried to catch up with her. Herself and the chat disappeared into the height of her closet.
The Duke then turned to the Chiefs,
"How many men of war are at our disposal?"
One of the chiefs answered,
"Eleven thousands at the moment, but many are being recruited."
The Duke looked away for a while. The look he was wearing said all on his mind. He said, turning to the chief who had spoken,
"That's like a silhouette of the 100000 of warriors of Kula. And we all know that the spoils and men of war from Haojo and Hubrim he would make would be added to this list."
One of the chiefs stood up and tried to brush off the worries lingering on the face of the Duke.
"Do not be moved, your highness. It is not about the numbers but the willingness. All our warriors had been taught to fight with their lives. Victory is all their argument is, their lives could melt before their eyes and they wouldn't even blink. Take my words, your highness, and be at peace."
The fellow sat down. The Duke seemed pleased for the meantime.
One of the attendants rushed into the palace and hurried to the throne. He bowed until he was told to stand up.
He handed a scroll to one of the two attendants by the throne. He bowed his way out.
The fellow attendant handed it over to the Duke who passed it to the other attendant to his right.
The other took it and opened it. He read it to himself then looked at the king for an order before reading it out.
The Duke held him up as he noticed some down talk going on amongst the chiefs.
"Someone willing to let me in with some gist."
He shot as the chiefs stopped talking. He looked sternly at the supposed leader of the gist.
Then abruptly, one of the chiefs stood up and said,
"Nothing of great interest, your majesty."
He was scarcely seated when another chief stood up and hurled,
"Let his majesty be the judge of that. "
The Duke looked away from the first chief to the one who had just spoken.
He pushed his head forward still expecting one of them to say something. Then the supposed leader of the gist took his turn.
"According to one of the greatest sages of our land, Uma Lai Ti Fieta, two heads over an idea gives a life. And since majority of us thinks this right, it'll be an honor for your majesty to take it quite with the reverence."
The fellow said, reeling over words. The Duke shot at him,
"Get to the point, Dirlah."
The chief bowed and stole a sheepish gaze at his cohort. He didn't want to be the only one to be held odd.
"We all think --"
"Still have a doubt."
One of the chiefs opted out, but the standing chief continued,
"We all think that there's something odd about that prince of Havila. You know, it's hard to tell if he's a -- or not. He acts it. You should understand, your majesty."
He stopped talking and sat. He feared false accusations.
"You mean he's a surrogate?"
The King asked, rather shocked. The chief shot back,
"We mean. "
Looking at the remaining chiefs. The Duke took a deep breath and nodded his head.
He didn't know what to think, he looked at the attendant with the scroll and nudged him to speak,
"The Duke of Havila pays this great kingdom of Ikpala a visit in two-days. The Duke comes with his new Queen to meet his son and make a double alliance. "
The attendant stopped reading. One of the chiefs jumped up,
"Queen? Duke of Havila has a new Queen?"
The chief said, more of a rhetoric, looking at the chiefs as though they had answers.
"At such moment?"
The Duke muttered. He didn't know what to think. He stood up as the chiefs stood immediately too in respect.
He stomped off into his chamber, while he left the chiefs an audience to stage their gist.
Twas hard to tell if he was annoyed or worried. Much to process.