The Legend Of Dayo…

AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN

THE LEGEND OF DAYO

SEASON 3: THE RIVALRY

CHAPTER 13

The Ambition Of A Rose

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The Author

“Such fury, such hatred!” Temidayo said despairingly. “Why, Rose? What did I ever do to you?”

“You’re a usurper!” she cried angrily. “We’re facing a great crisis, and we have been preparing for many years now to save Dayo! Daniel Godwin has exhibited great bravery and skill, and he is a born leader, a man’s man! And then you come along with your beautiful baby face to destroy everything we’ve ever worked for…simply because you want to be king of Dayo!”

Temi looked at her and felt his own anger being kindled, but he struggled to keep it down.

“Oh, you think I’m here because I want to be king?” he asked calmly. “How can I be king over a land that is crippled in strife? Believe me, lady, first I want Dayo to be free. Afterward, the customs and laws will hold sway.”

She stopped and glared at him with much hatred.

“You don’t deserve to be here!” she said coldly. “You’re still a baby, weak and full of crap! You can barely wipe your own ass! I heard from Mickey King about how you slept with someone’s wife! A king indeed! You’re not strong, you cannot even look after your own self! How then, do you expect to rule over a kingdom like the Dayo Empire?”

Temi’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

“Quite interesting,” he said softly. “You’re in love with Daniel Godwin, aren’t you? You had ambitions to be by his side as he saved Dayo, and then he would become the King, and you the Queen. Is that why you’re so sore, Rose?”

She screamed and raised her hand as if to strike him across the face, but then she stayed her hand and pushed him savagely in the chest instead, almost making him totter backward alarmingly and almost fall.

“This is not the time for love,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “For now, we’re on the battleground, training and preparing to save Dayo. But yes, if everything is finally done, Daniel Godwin deserves to be King, and if he indeed asks me to be his Queen, as I believe he would, then yes, I shall be proud to serve at his side in that capacity.”

“Aha,” Temi said softly. “I now understand your irrational hatred and quite childish tantrums. You have ambitions, and now I am the threat to that ambition. Don’t worry, Rose. I have no urge to be King of Dayo. When this is done, I’ll gladly step aside for your Daniel Godwin. Who knows, I might not even qualify to be a part of this war.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” she said spitefully and spat on the ground. “You’re nothing but a pathetic pretty-faced baby! Leave the men to do the work of men! If you have any sense in that pretty head of yours, you’ll gently step aside and allow Daniel to do what the Creator has called him to do, Prince whatever the fuck your name is!”

She turned on her heel and walked away angrily.

Temidayo stared after her, and he was quite taken aback by the pain he felt deep inside because this girl had absolutely no respect for him, and considered him a total idiot of sorts.

It really hurt Temi in a way he had not expected it to.

He sighed heavily and followed her at a slower pace, not wishing to have anything more to say to her.

***

The room Temi entered was cool and looked very comfortable.

The seats were stuffed and covered with leather. There was a round table, covered with leather around which were Ayaka Nsugbe, Ogu Samuel, Prosper Freeman and a beautiful elderly lady with a golden silky scarf covering her hair.

Also present was a grim-looking Daniel Godwin. Roselyn Amaefule quickly walked over to Daniel Godwin and slid into a chair beside Daniel.

They smiled at each other, and Daniel Godwin briefly covered her hand with one of his.

“Please, Prince Temi, have a seat,” Ayaka Nsugbe said, and Temi sat on an empty seat beside Prosper Freeman.

The room was illuminated by fluorescent lights in the ceiling, and a strange white unit on the wall hummed silently and filled the room with pleasant cool air.

Temi marvelled at the level of technology of these people. They were supposed to be in a village of sorts, but their technology seemed very advanced indeed.

“I welcome all of you here to this very short meeting,” Ayaka Nsugbe said with a strained smile. “What happened earlier today was very unfortunate, and we’ve spared no words on Daniel for hitting you, Prince. Indeed, before we go any further, we’ll require him to apologize to you for attacking you.”

All eyes turned to Daniel Godwin, who looked bleakly at Temi.

Temidayo leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms across his chest.

“I don’t think an apology from him is necessary at this time,” he said quietly. “He’ll be rendering an apology only because you asked him to, and not necessarily because he is genuinely sorry. Sage Agu has healed me, and so we can move on from there. I’m cool with it.”

“We’re all in the same boat here!” Prosper said bleakly. “We need to work in unison, united for a common purpose. I won’t allow any grudges here! Both of you are important because we still don’t know whom we would be rallying behind! So you two brothers will make up now, and we’ll move on in peace!”

“He ain’t no brother of mine!” Daniel Godwin said harshly.

Temidayo nodded.

“Feeling is mutual,” he said.

“Stop it, both of you!” the elderly woman chipped in for the first time. “Stop your squabbling! This is bigger than any of you! The Creator can do away with both of you and bring someone new, bear that in mind! The destiny of Dayo and the world lies right here between the two of you! You will apologize, Godwin, and you will accept his apology, Temi, or by Jove, I’ll leave here right now and never have anything to do with either of you again!”

There was an uneasy silence in the room. Temi and Daniel glared at each other, and then Rose dug an elbow gently into Daniel’s side.

The huge man sighed, and then with a grunt he got to his feet and went around the table to stand beside Temi.

“I was wrong to hit you,” he said tightly. “I couldn’t control my anger. For that, I’m sorry, and seek your forgiveness.”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Temi said and held out his hand.

Daniel Godwin stared at Temi’s hand for a long time, as if he loathed to touch it, and then he quickly shook Temi’s hand and went back to his seat.

Temi’s eyes met those of Rose, and again she glared at him with bland hatred as she reached out and took Daniel’s left hand. Again, Temi felt that strange bout of pain in his heart at her blatant dislike of him.

He stopped breathing when he saw Daniel taking a napkin and rubbing it three times across his right palm as if brushing the effect of Temi’s touch off his skin, and Temi knew that his older half-brother still hated him.

“Now that is better,” Ayaka Nsugbe said. “Let’s move on in peace now. Prince Temi, we want to bring you in on what we plan to do to liberate Dayo and the world. Whatever you hear here is only known by the people in this room right now. Under no circumstance, what so ever, should you breath even a single syllable of what you’re about to hear now to anybody else.”

Temi nodded once.

“I can respect that,” he said.

“Good,” Ayaka said. “Commander, please brief him.”

“There’s not much to add, really,” Prosper Freeman began calmly. “Prince Temi, you were shown how Temitayo Anubi, with the help of Leke Olugbade Bally, murdered your father and took over the palace. You also know that he imprisoned your mother in the dungeons and your sister in a tower. Furthermore, our Grand Oracle was imprisoned in the Rock of Redemption inside the Dayo Square by Leke Bally.

King Demi threw the Royal DayoSword, and it is hanging over the Rock of Redemption. Also, an olive tree is growing on top of the rock, and shedding leaves constantly. When the last leaf falls, Dayo will be destroyed! Meanwhile, Temitayo is waiting until Princess Uvbi Akenzua turns twenty-four years, and then he will marry her, and the moment he lies down with her, he will become pure blood, and he can take the DayoSword. Have you followed so far?”

“Yes, I do know all that,” Temi said quietly.

“Alright,” Prosper continued. “Now, Leke Olugbade Bally is a fiendish entity from the deep, and he feeds on the souls of innocent people to survive! He is powerful, and nothing can kill him except the Royal DayoSword in the Dayo Square! That Square is now under heavy and constant guard, and nobody can penetrate the warriors to get the sword! If Temitayo gains access to the sword, he can open a portal that will release Leke Olugbade Bally into the world, and that evil bastard will definitely kill all the humans in the world to make himself immortal. We cannot allow that to happen!”

“That is indeed awful to envisage,” Temi said, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

“Indeed, it is,” Prosper Freeman said. “Now, the only way to stop this calamity is to kill both Temitayo and Leke Bally with the DayoSword before they gain access to it.”

“And yet you said the sword is under such great guard that it will be well-nigh impossible to get it,” Temi said carefully.