Victory is here!

It was happening again. The nightmare she had endured that sent her miles away from her home. Asha thought as she breathed heavily while the guards tossed her into a prison cell. 

How did they know she was here in Maribah? Had someone betrayed her again? No, Nemere couldn't have done it again. She was sure of it.

Did they know about Elim? What if they knew he was here in Maribah? She sank to the floor, knowing that all is lost. 

"We finally brought you home only to lead you to your death. Forgive us!" She heard a voice from the queenly figure sitting on a stool in the corner of the prisoner. She looked like she had been weeping and there was a sign of imprinted fingers on her face and neck. 

Asha didn't know what to say to the queen of Maribah. She was the mother of Elim! The poor woman had suffered a lot. Rushing to her, she sat beside you. 

"We have failed yiu. I thought today would be a day of victory but atlas he's about to win again!" She said in a sad voice

"It's okay. We tried. But how much does the king know and how did he find out?"

"My son! My very own son told him about our plan and it was Odmudo's mission before he died. Denna simply completed it for him."

"But who told Odmudo the plan in details?" Asha asked

"Details? They know nothing of the details but it doesn't make us any more safe!"

"You two look so good together. The king's biggest foe! My wife and the daughter of my most trusted man! This is so great!" The king clapped in mockery. 

"It was you! The stomach troubles! It was yiu! I should have known you would one day want to retaliate against me for your husband's murder. So, tell me what else is part of your plan?" He paused, staring at both women with great anger etched on his face. 

"Your death!" Asha stated courageously 

"I see! The brave daughter of Japthan has come to kill the king! How great hat story would be! But tonight your blood will be spilled during the festival and no one can save you. As for my queen… you and Japthan belong in this prison cells!"

He smiled a mischievous smile and walked away with a flip of his royal robe. 

Asha curled herself in a ball. She was going to die! She shook in fear while the Queen's warm hands gave her hope. The king didn't know about Elim! He may suspect that she has other people working with her but he had no idea who some of them were. 

————

It was up to Elim to make everything work. He knew it was his destiny to take the life of his father's murderer and save Maribah from his tyrannical rule. 

Fire crackled in the distance as he made his way into Maribah that late evening. He had his guard uniform on and all he needed was the black and red paint to disguise himself. 

"Who are you?" A drunk guard asked him at the entrance into Maribah. He needed no attention, so he wasted no time in neutraliszinf the guard by hitting him with the butt of his Sword. 

The paint on the guard's face was still wet, so he used some to paint his own face, but it was not enough to disguise him. Hiding behind a big tree, he studied Maribah as servants walked around serving the noble families drinks while they discussed and laughed. But he noticed that the security around was tight. 

From where he hid, he saw a guard stepping out of where his face had been painted. He must find his way there! He kept his face plain and walked briskly to the room and walked in without any suspicion. 

He joined the other three guards to rub some blood and charcoal on his face. 

"Here! You should have some drinks! The king's enemies have been defeated!"

He shook his head

"Enemies in Maribah?" He asked to keep conversation going. 

"Yes! And guess who it is… the queen! His very own wife! And that little brat Asha that got away! She's back in prison let's celebrate!" The man laughed but Elim's heart skipped a beat. 

Asha had been captured by the king! 

"And she's going to be executed this very night during the festival. If you ask me, I think it's a savage thing to do. She just a girl!"

"Who tried to kill the king!" Another guard added, with a disapproving look on his face. 

"She deserves it indeed. I'm sure he kept them in a special prison!" Elim asked

"Yes, the very one where Japthan was kept… if you ask me it is too clean a prison for the kind of evil they have done!"

"I wish I could see them and spit in their faces. I hate the nobles! And I will like to torture the queen for a while!"

"Me too! But only the head guard has the key to the prison behind the palace and he stands with the king now as we speak!"

He had gotten all the information he needed. Now, he must find that guar and get the key to where Asha was being kept. 

"I figure you might need some help. You know Asha has been captured by the king again!" Elim heard the troubled voice of Asha's sister. She stood far from him so no one would know they were having a conversation. 

"I know! And I will have the king's head for that!"

"For neutralizing any obstacle!" She handed him a cup of wine. "It's for the guards just like the queen had planned" she paused as passersby moved around the area. "It won't kill them but make them weak."

Elim nodded and headed towards the guard who was standing next to the king. It was already getting darker and the fire around the large compound in front of the palace burned brightly. The king looked happy with himself as he discussed with some of his chiefs and it annoyed Elim greatly. But it wasn't easy to decipher the anger on his face or his true identity because of his paint. 

"Here! My brother! Yiu need something to quench your taste!" He handed the drugged wine to the head guard. 

The guard looked really happy as he muttered his appreciation and gulped the drink. Elim moved away a bit, waiting for the trick of the medicine. Soon, the guard was holding his stomach while it rumbled. As he staggered out after the king had waved him away, Elim barged into him and slipped the key out of his robe. 

Hurriedly he met his way to the prison where he found just one guard sitting and looking tired. 

"My brother!" He punched the guy in the face, knocking him out. 

He walked directly to the prison to find Asha clinging to the bars while his mother sat on a stool like a forlorn figure.

"Elim?" Asha asked in a small voice as she studied his eyes. The Queen stood quickly to go to the prison. 

"I must get you both out!" He said with anger 

"No! You must play along his plan! If you get out us now he will know you are. Kill him now and we will be free!" The queen said while Elim watched her. His mother? After all those years, they finally get to speak…

He didn't know what to say to her as she observed him with kind eyes and he had to turn his attention to Asha. 

"I haven't forgotten my promise to you. I will kill the king and find who betrayed you!"

"I don't believe anyone betrayed her. It was my son Denna who told the king I was plotting against him. Odmudo put that in place before he died!" His mother said with so much strength that Elim could hardly believe she was the same woman who had cried so much when the king wanted her. 

He nodded as he held Asha's slender, warm hands. "I shall bring us victory!" He handed them the keys and they knew what to do with it. 

———

"Your useless sister is about to die for real this time! Tell me did you know of this?" Mayo threatened Zeep as he squeezed her jaw in front of everyone. 

There was a defiant look in Zeep's eyes and he slapped her hard to humble her. 

"Watch your sister die!" He said menacingly as the guards led Asha to the center of the festival where she was to be executed. 

Asha wasn't afraid like the first time because she was certain Elim wouldn't let her die. Lamps of fire burned around her, making it easy for her to see the faces of the king and his sons, and every other person just as they saw her. Even though she knew Elim would save her, her heart still pounded in fear that everything would go wrong. Amidst the painted faces of the guards and other people, she couldn't tell which was Elim. 

"Here! The little girl who plotted to have her own king killed! Here! She will be an example that no one should ever cross me! When I'm done with her, I will have her family imprisoned. Tell me, where is the man who saved you the first time? Where? He can't save you this time?" The king shouted in mockery and it was easy to see he was under the influence of wine. 

Elim used that moment the king was acting foolish by questioning Asha to stand behind his throne as a substitute guard. Mayo noticed him and felt something odd about him but Zeep poured wine on his feet then to draw his attention back to her. 

"You are so clumsy! Tonight I will teach a lesson in bed!" He grunted in her face as he cleaned his legs with her dress. 

"So, here's the moment I have dreamed about for many days! The moment your head rolls out of your neck" he laughed out loud as he walked back to his seat. 

"I made your father the greatest man in Maribah and he repaid me with your treachery! It's the end for you!"

"No, it's your end!" Elim stabbed the king through his heart from behind. 

The king fell into his seat and Mayo realized too late what was happening. Blood seeped rom the king's royal robe and when Mayo turned to look at his father, he noticed he was dead. 

"The king! Someone has murdered the king! Seize her!" Mayo screamed but Elim was already at the center of the festival, his sword at the neck of the man who was to execute Asha. 

"You don't want to die for the king! Do you? He has oppressed you for so many years! You don't want to die for such a man!" Elim shouted as he noticed that guards were closing in on him. 

"But he was your king! He brought you freedom and this land and that man just killed bin him in cold blood! Arrest him!" 

Before Mayo could finish, Zeep's knife had sunk into his shoulder. He screamed as he fell to the ground, kneeling before in pain while she smirked wickedly at him. 

"You have to die like your wicked father!" She dragged the knife and was about to stab him again when a guard seized her. 

"What are you all waiting for? I am the king's son and I say we kill them all! Arrest her too!" He grunted in pain while his younger brother Denna looked confused. 

Nemere and Nena watched as the guards encircled Elim and Asha and she knew they had forgotten to think of his part of the plan. Even the chiefs were staring angrily at Elim for killing the king because they knew I his death meant they had no power. 

But Elim resolved not to go down without a fight. He brandished his sword as he waited for the guards to come close to Asha. He had sworn to protect her and he would do that with all his heart. He noticed then that few of the guards had their hands on their stomach as it rumbled and they ran to relieve themselves. 

But that wasn't enough to stop the other guards. They were still great in number. 

"What are you waiting for? Seize them! Denna make sure they listen to you for I am wounded" Mayo said while his brother stood there confused, looking weak. 

"Stand down! I said stand down! In the absence of the king, I hold the power in Maribah and I command you all to stand down now!" The Queen emerged from the shadows and the men slowly backed away. 

"What are you doing? I said seize them!" Mayo screamed

"Arrest him now and his brother. They must learn how to be men my own way!" His mother said and Mayo was shocked to hear that. 

"Mother, what are you doing?"

"Being a mother to you and your brother Elim! I must repair Maribah and all of those whom the king broke under his evil reign" she caressed his cheeks before the guards dragged him away.