Chapter 9

An emergency court meeting was called by the ministers as soon as the sun was up. The uneasy and agitated king made his way to the Royal court room facing the cherry river in front of the palace. His guards followed closely behind, waiting for his orders to be excused before proceeding to enter the courtroom. As soon as he got to the door, he dismissed them immediately and went in to the Ministers. They all sat in patterned rows like students at a school. The little trays on top of their small wooden tables designed for each of them, oozed of ginger and hibiscus tea with Nutmeg cookies on the side. The presence of the ministers seemed intimidating because of their number. There were about sixty ministers in blue apparels which indicated their position in the Nothern province of Mono and about a hundred ministers in Red which depicted their sitting in the southern province of Mono.

The southern province of mono consisted of more Foreigners and traders than that of the Nothern province and so it's administration was given more political seats as well as a direct law of descendant to the throne from the southern side of mono. After the death of Yan's father who was the only king from the Nothern side of Mono, the New king insisted on an amendment of the constitution in favour of The southern heads in terms of ruling Mono.

With an indifferent look on his face, he sat on his golden throne and looked straight at the numerous ministers who gave a synchronized bow.

"Long live the perfect king of Mono"....They all echoed.

Even though a king was as wicked and cruel as ever, the ministers were still to keep to this greeting without hesitation.

The king ignored their greetings and immediately questioned their reason for calling the court meeting so early in the morning.

A minister with slanted eyebrows and a proud look immediately spoke up. It was Minister Goo vani, the minister in charge of finance and public wealth. His closeness to the king gave him a certain level of authority above the other ministers such that they sometimes needed his help in persuading the king.

"There is great panic in the palace because of the news of the missing princess, The prince of China is returning on the 7th day of this month. What does your highness plan to do about this matter,The ministers are highly uneasy and need answers to turn to"…. He started.

"What rubbish is all this? "…..the king mumbled to himself, feeling disgusted at what the minister had just said.

"Is that the reason you all called for this meeting!"….,

The Ministers could sense that they had already annoyed the king, and in a synchronized bow their voice echoed,

"Do not be angry with your servants, your majesty"…..

After a deep sigh, he fought the words out of his mouth while staring straight at minister goo with a suspicious look on his face.

"My daughter will be back before the 7th day. If she isn't found by then, the prince can take Amia."...

Without waiting for a reply, he rose to his feet and stormed out of the room. At the dismissal of the ministers, Goo vani silently made his way to the king's chambers to clear the doubts he believed the king had of him.

"Minister of finance is here to see you"...The door keepers knocked.

"That's fine. Let him in immediately"...

At once, the doors crept open and the minister walked in. He sat in front of the king's table with a hidden smirk on his face.

"Do you think I'm betraying you?"....he started.

"The ministers only care about the treaty with China. My daughter is yet to be found and that's what matters the most to all of them"…..

"Oh my king, please don't be sentimental. You know that that is the way things are done. Only you can bare the loss of your child. No matter how loyal they are, they will never feel the agony you feel"…..

It was as though the king felt a rush of humility mixed with embarrassment. From the look of Minister Goo's boldness, it seemed as though the king found him intimidating.

The king held his face in frustration while the minister watched him with no bit of sympathy for him.

"What must I do?"...The king finally asked.

"The ministers take me to be their mouth piece but you know I am for you"....

"Yes Minister Goo I know"... He replied without thinking.

"Put out a law, promising ten thousand pieces of silver to anyone who can find her dead or alive."...

The king's face immediately lit up as though it was a very brilliant idea.

Meanwhile on the journey back from Samali, Vernon and Yan took a detour to the temple at Kidron where the priest stayed all day and night, praying for the people and performing burnt offerings and praise rituals. It was a temple made in fine cedar woods and Bamboos covered in bronze and scarlet curtains. It had four sides and four corners joining two walls together. Inside the temple was a throne with two angels sculpted in Gold at each sides of it. The villagers believed that God sat on the throne and because he was invincible, The throne seemed empty. It was a beautiful sight and the villagers were more than happy to travel there just to pray for good business and a better government. The priest alongside his servants, kept watch over the temple and blessed every villager that came to pray. Royal and noble men stayed away from the temple but instead, went to the prophets whenever they needed anything from God.

At the sight of Yan, the priest's face lit up. He rushed and hugged Yan with a bright smile on his face. Yan reciprocated the excitement and hugged him back.

"How have you been my son?"...The priest asked

"I've been good. What about you?"....

"Nothing more than the usual if you must know"...he chuckled, causing Yan to chuckle as well.

"I miss the bush meats you used to bring for me Yan. I often think of you whenever I pass by the forest. I wonder why you stopped coming. Did you grow fond of me too much?"....

Yan immediately felt intimidated and condemned by his words. The priest laughed at Yan's sudden serious look and hugged him again.

"I'm just kidding son. Don't worry"…..

Yan felt relieved but then sighed as he changed the topic.

"Father, the dreams are back again"...He said in a sad tone.

The smile on the priest's face slowly faded into a Downcast frown. He slowly patted Yan's right shoulder and then led him into the inner chambers to further discuss the topic with him.

"Last night, I saw my sister in a pool of blood again and I couldn't help her. I tried all I could but still to no avail. The painful throbbing in my chest increased and it felt like my chest was starting to close up, suddenly I felt like I could not breathe anymore…..like I was being suffocated to death"...

"How did it end?".....the priest asked in a worried tone.

"I don't know. I woke up to my father looking at me the same way you are looking at me right now"…..

After a sigh, the priest blurted out the words it seemed he had been holding back for a long time.

"It's time"…..he said to himself.

"Father what did you say?"...Yan asked with a confused look on his face.

"The Ancestral spirits of promise that follow you because of the great power you yield as the true king of Mono and fellow member of the bloodline of our past kings, have returned to take vengeance for the death of your family"....

Yan seemed totally confused at what the priest had just said. He tried hard to understand within himself what it meant but nothing made sense to him.

"Father I'm totally lost. I don't get it "...

"Look on your left wrist. What do you see?"...

Yan looked down at his left wrist where a small tattoo of a crown was engraved.

"I see a crown"…..he replied.

"when you made that promise 15 years ago on the day your family was destroyed and the throne taken from you, your Ancestors confirmed it and Vowed to fulfill it alongside you. Because you were a child, the oath carried an even greater power and now that you are older you must fulfill what you promised"...

"So you mean, this dreams are like a reminder to avenge my family and get my throne back?"....

"Yes"...the priest answered.

It became more clear to Yan what was happening but something still was missing.

"So why did it stop for four years and then start again?"...he asked the priest.

with a deep sigh, the priest looked back at him and replied,

"That, I do not know"...

When Yan had said his farewells to the priest, he prayed at the temple for a while and came out to meet Vernon who was anxiously waiting for him outside.

"What did he say?"…..Vernon asked.

"I must fulfill my promise to my father, mother and sister and I definitely will"…..

It was like a spirit of Vengeance came upon him as he glared into the clouds, reminded of the hurt his family went through by this yet unknown force.