CHAPTER THREE (KING IZALA)

When the elders saw how adamant Izala was about her decision, they held her coronating ceremony.

The entire women of the Kugama kingdom came in blue attires, an attire worn only for weddings of royalties but today they wore the attire in honor of the first woman to become king, they were so proud and many were envious of her.

She sat on the throne with her son by her side while she addressed her people after the crown had been placed on her head and the rituals done.

"I King Izala promise to bring back the head of my late husband's killer even if it means that I will also be brought back dead like my husband."

The people watched quietly as she spoke, only sighing in response to her words. They couldn't understand why Izala would want to waste her life like that instead of enjoying the throne.

Growing old and being remembered by generations after them as the first woman king.

After she finished addressing them, she declared that they were allowed to celebrate all through the night, drinking, eating, and dancing as they pleased until they got tired.

They all shouted with joy. The strong abled drummers started banding their drums as the musicians started singing. This went on until late in the night in honor of their new king.

Izala received more gifts than she would ever have received even by being a warrior. The small room in her chamber was filled to the brim with gifts, some brought the best and latest types of Ankara wrappers, others brought beads, and some who were rich and wanted to show off brought expensive newly drugged gold jewelry.

Those who couldn't afford to buy all this brought the best of their livestock to the palace and others brought food items, so many that even the kitchen staff complained of excess food and space to keep them.

They were sure that no king had ever received such an enormous amount of gifts before, Izala was indeed lucky.

The next day, one of the royal guards came to inform her of her parent's visit to the palace.

"Where are they?" Izala asked very happy that she would meet her mom after so long and was a bit angry that her father decided to come along.

But when she saw him she felt sorry for him.

Her father had come to the palace frail and sick to beg for his daughter's forgiveness.

Her poor mother who looked pale and a bit sick as well also joined her father in asking for her forgiveness and therefore she couldn't even do what she intended to do to her father before coming out to meet them. She wanted to lock him up in prison for at least two days to relieve the hatred she had in her heart for him.

"I never knew that even a daughter could bring so much honor to her family and so I treated you badly like you were a nobody, for that I am sorry." He apologized laying on the floor before the new king.

Izala forgave him, she asked her mother as well as her brothers who used to bully her for being born a girl to come and live with her in the palace. And she also made her brother's palace warriors.

Izala's mother didn't care about all the luxuries her daughter wanted to shower on her or about living in the palace, she only cared about meeting her grandson whom she never met since he was born because her husband forbade her from visiting her daughter, her dear Izala.

Years after years, months after months Izala trained her son on her own.

All of his fighting skills and combat training were something he learned from only his mother.

She was very tough on him, she never gave him a break. She just could not allow him to be weak even though she still wanted him to be compassionate towards his people.

"The first rule of training is never to see your enemy as a weak person because of how they look. Weaker enemies are the most dangerous types of foes."

They trained day and night and even in the rain, she never allowed him to rest.

And every time she trained him she always remembered her beloved husband.

King Jaja would sometimes join in the training just to get close to her and when those memories came to mind, bitter tears always fell out of her eyes.

Izala did achieve her aim of becoming the king after several years and attempts at battle. She brought back the head of her late husband's killer but little Bajju had to go through the immense pain of losing his mother as well.

Izala fell to her knees before her people and her son after bleeding back with the head in her hands. With a smile on her face, she said her goodbyes and breathed her last.

Bajju was crowned king at age nineteen.

Mother!!! King Bajju called with happiness as he ran into his mother's arms, she was also crying.

"My dear son. How are you?" She asked as she looked at his face and wiped his tears off.

She was wearing the clothes with which she was buried but she looked the same as if it were yesterday when she asked Bajju to go and play with the other kids for the very first time and came back dead.

He could tell, he was right there as his mother entered the ground and was covered.

"My son, you dared to come into the Saro. Do you want to save your people despite the heavy price you will have to pay for it to happen?" She asked King Bajju.

"Her Highness is right. No man can get anything from the Izagi without giving anything in return, it is a must." Kadu said.