Chapter 14: The Den

Mutapa walked into his cave early in the morning after visiting the Bantu again. This time he went with a few herders he had conquered during his adventures. He attacked the Northern side of warriors who were stationed in the mountains and took some of the cattle there.

He gave the herders instructions to go South first to fool the Bantu people of his actual location. After three days they would then change their direction and go to the east where he dwelled.

He walked towards Ruva who looked peaceful as she slept on a goat skin rug. It had been two days since he had abducted her. She had cried countless times but this did not help her.

The cave's entrance was protected by a snake. Whenever she tried to escape, the snake would appear and block the entrance. Sometimes, a lion kept watching her, hence, there was nowhere to run even if there was noone in the cave. She was glad the animals never craved to taste her flesh. When he approached her, he saw that her eyes were wide open.

He sat on a wooden stool as he watched her. "I am not going to marry a man like you, never," Ruva said as she rose and sat properly on the rug.

Their tradition was that if the sun goes down whilst a woman is in the presence of a man, she would become his wife. She had spent two nights in the presence of Mutapa and according to their tradition she was now his wife.

Mutapa laughed for a moment until he was coughing. "What makes you think you are worthy to be married to a man like me?" He asked.

"Because I am the king's daughter-a princess. Royal blood runs within me. I am more than worthy to be married to an evil person like you," Ruva responded.

Mutapa raised an eyebrow and said, "Royal blood? I am the true royal leader. The ancestors chose me to rule over the land. Your father is a fake."

"Then I hate the ancestors because they chose a heartless man like you. A man forcing me to become his wife," Ruva said.

"You see; marriage is for the weak at heart. Women are men's weakness. You should have seen your father when I told him that I was taking you with me. The old begged me not to take. A man does not beg even when the situation is life threatening," Mutapa explained.

"Then why do you need me?" Ruva asked.

"You are just a bait. I know your father is foolish he will send men to come and look for you. When they do, I will be in your kingdom establishing my plan to destroy four kingdoms at once," Mutapa said.

Ruva chuckled and said, "There's no way you can attack four kingdoms at once."

"Do you know what Mutapa means? It means the Lord of Conquering. I was anointed with the power to conquer any kingdom. I can conquer four kingdoms at once...I already did. I alone brought them to their knees. Open your eyes," Mutapa said.

"Yet, there's one mistake in your plan to conquer four kingdoms," Ruva said.

Mutapa kept looking at her waiting for her to finish and she continued saying, "You should have destroyed my father's kingdom first."

"Attack an enemy's rivals and you will get his attention and fear. Makosi will bring you something to eat later," Mutapa said as he stood up.

"Do you know what they do witches and wizards? They are burnt alive. You better hope my father doesn't catch you," Ruva said.

Mutapa just looked at her and smirked. He left the cave and Ruva sat there looking at the little hole on top of the cave which brought a little day light. She wondered how her parents were doing after her capture.

Back in the Bantu kingdom, people from all tribes of the gathered in the king's compound. There was shouting and talking across the compound as people were angry about the loss of their cattle.

The king sat inside his hut as he prepared his heart to meet the angry mob which demanded answers from him. Danda, one of the king's advisors came and sat with him.

"Changamire, tell the people the truth. Don't promise them protection because this man has proved that our kingdom is not protected by capturing the Princess," Danda explained.

Changamire Zama sighed and said, "How much cattle did we lose?" He couldn't walk across the vast kingdom to assess how much they had lost.

"Half of the cattle in the kingdom was taken. He came with an army of predators that made it difficult for our warriors to stop his advances," Danda said.

Changamire Zama nodded and said, "I fear something worse than this is coming. But I can't tell my people to prepare for the worst."

"Changamire, we are in a war. The people should know that," Danda said.

Changamire Zama rose and leaped towards his throne where he addressed his people. When he sat there, everyone quickly went silent. He remained silent and a man raised his hand and the king nodded for him to stand up.

"My king, we are sorry that your daughter was taken captive by our enemy. But we have lost our cattle. You promised that we were safe. But the enemy has penetrated our kingdom twice. We are not safe at all because the next time he comes he might come for us and our children," the man said and sat down as people began to agree with him.

Others began arguing among themselves concerning the matter. A woman stood up and said, "What are going to do to protect us? Is the man unstoppable?"

Then there was shouting and arguing in the king's compound. Changamire Zama sat there for a moment as the people argued and talked amongst themselves. He raised his right hand until everyone went silent.

"We need to be united in times like these. I will tell you this; losing livestock is not painful than losing our loved ones. We are at war and our safety is not guaranteed. What matters now is to protect ourselves," Changamire Zama and people began shouting again.

Changamire Zama remained silent until they went silent on their own. He then said, "I hear your concerns. From tomorrow, no one is allowed to approach the edges of the mountains. You can gather what to eat with your families today. After you gather what to it in the mountains, traps are going to be set around the mountains. Our warriors are going to dwell with you in the villages. Do everything in your power to protect yourselves as well."

After saying this, the king stood up and left the crowd. The people began shouting, complaining and crying for their lives. Some took the time of the day left to gather fruits and hunt meat before the traps were set.

It became clear to them that the war with Mutapa was one which they had to take seriously. The following day, the warriors began setting traps in the mountains.

Meanwhile, Mhare and Mukono were still following the river. They had been separated from Gora for two days. They were sitting on a rock when they heard the cry of a man.

They took their weapons and rushed to where the noise had come from until they found the lifeless body of the archer who boasted about bringing Mutapa's head to the king.

Mukono looked around and saw the figure of a person moving in the trees. He tapped Mhare's shoulder who looked and recognized the figure as Mutapa. He was walking with a couple of hyenas surrounding him.

They ran softly away from him until Mukono decided to climb into a dense tree. Mhare saw a pond of water nearby and took a reed with him. He used the reed to breathe.

Mutapa approached the pond and began washing his face. Mhare crossed his fingures that Mutapa was not going to see him. After Mutapa was done washing his face, he began looking around whilst standing near the pond.

He was actually hunting those who had come to find the Princess. Another warrior who was hiding encountered a snake and began running. Mutapa saw him and charged after the warrior with his animals.

Mhare got out of the pond and motioned for Mukono to follow him. They ran in the opposite direction of Mutapa and his animals. After a long run, they stopped to rest and breathe.

"You saw anyone else?" Mhare asked.

"Just the archer and one warrior who saved us. I believe they were the last ones," Mukono said.

"Why are you so sure?" Mhare asked.

"Because they were strong man. The others were just cowards. You know what else I am sure of?" Mukono said.

Mhare nodded and said, "Yes. We are close to his den."