The Legend Of Dayo…
AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN
THE LEGEND OF DAYO
SEASON 4: THE FATHER
CHAPTER 23
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The Author
Rose Amaefule leaned against the railings in front of the female barracks and watched the giant figure of Daniel Godwin approaching, and behind him, like some sickened form of shadow, was the new Army Commander, Ziloux Escobar Adeyeye, who had modified his military uniform into a brighter green with many more braids, insignia and stripes.
Rose sighed and almost stepped back into her quarters, but Daniel held up a hand, stopping her. She watched them warily and sighed deeply, and soon they stopped near her. She was aware of some of the warriors watching them, and when she looked across the plain in the last orange glows of the sun, her face was worried.
“What is going on, my love?” Daniel Godwin asked, his voice a little cold as he looked at Rose. “Should I be worried? You’ve been absent for two continuous days at the training grounds. What is going on?”
Rose turned and gazed at him with worried eyes.
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“I have not been feeling well, Danny,” she whispered tightly. “But the animosity is also killing me. There is too much tension here, my love! The ranks of the warriors are divided, the Keepers are divided, and it is so painful! Shemen Persis was like a mother to all of us, and we all loved Sage Agu Samuel. To have them thrown behind bars has brought so much tension to the Haven!”
Daniel took her in his arms and kissed her lightly.
“Stop worrying your pretty head, my darling,” he said with a small smile. “Yes, you’re right, the tension is bad. But it is necessary! Those two broke the law, and indeed they should be punished!”
“But if you’re going to be the king, you can unite us. I really want you to unite us!” Rose said desperately. “Your word of pardon will be final, and so you can pardon them, and free them. That will make everybody happy!”
“And I suppose you would also be happy if Prosper Freeman is reinstated as the Army Commander, no doubt!” Escobar said coldly.
Rose stepped out of the embrace of Daniel and glared furiously at Escobar.
“Yes, Ziloux, yes, yes, yes!” she cried fiercely. “All the warriors love Commander Freeman! He was the soul and backbone of the army! With him gone, the moral is also down! Look around you, Ziloux! You don’t have the same control, charisma and respect that Commander Freeman had!”
“And I’ll teach them to come around!” Ziloux cried coldly. “I’ll discipline them and show them the true ways of the warrior!”
“Respect is not forced, Ziloux!” Rose cried. “It is earned! Now all the veterans have left! Walexman, Mickey, Prosper, Zani, oh Danny, my love, do something about this! Prosper is so cold toward me now, especially after…”
Her voice trailed off miserably.
She had been about to say especially after Temi’s death, but she realized they were not alone, and she stopped on a sob.
Daniel Godwin took her and smiled at her reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, my love,” he said gently. “Don’t worry your pretty head at all! Everything has been taken care of. Now there seems to be confusion and chaos, and everything going in different directions. But, in less than two weeks, I shall officially be declared the leader, and the only heir to the Dayan throne. I’ll go out there and vanquish Temitayo Anubi and Leke Olugbade Bally. And then, everything will be in its proper place once I’m victorious and crowned as King of Dayo, with you by my side as my Queen, Rose.”
Rose sighed tremulously and nodded.
“Come, dearest, let’s go eat some dinner,” Daniel said tenderly.
Rose nodded again.
“Yes, let me change into something more comfortable,” she said, intentionally keeping her eyes off the angry face of Ziloux.
She entered her quarters, shut the door and leaned against it as her lips trembled badly. She shut her eyes, but she could not stop the tears that seeped slowly underneath her eyelids!
Because, as was recurring often nowadays, she kept seeing the face of Temidayo as he lay on the ground with Daniel’s knife in his heart. She kept seeing his shattered expression, not accusing, but simply shocked and horrified.
He had been so innocent, so young, so trusting, like a little child!
She had played on that innocence through her own resolve to get rid of him to achieve the higher picture. She had felt strongly that she was doing the right thing. It had been her conviction, yes, and she had been determined to see it through.
But what about now?
She was beginning to see it as it really was: the cold-blooded murder of an innocent prince! A boy who had been so out of his element, so ill-equipped for the role of a leader, too trusting and so gullible!
A young innocent prince who had nothing to offer but his innocence and trust, and the fullness of his love!
And yet, in a way, his tenacity had never been in doubt, and neither had been his bravery. He had spoken with the audacity and conviction of a true Dayan king, and yes, that boy had been regal and so much of a king than Daniel would ever be.
His eyes, goodness, his wonderful, loving eyes! Eyes that had looked at her and worshipped her, adored her even! And his kisses had been fierce and tender, and yes, she had enjoyed them, and been aroused in a way Daniel had never been able to achieve.
“Oh, Temi!” she whispered painfully as her tears fell. “I’m so sorry. So very sorry! Please forgive me!”
***
It was dark, and the White Kombas had come foraging.
Nneka Okez sidled closer to Temi with terror. She could hear them very near the door, making their ferocious and horrifying sounds. Tonight they sounded especially agitated, going around the house as if they wanted to come inside by any means.
Terrified, Nneka shivered, causing the White Kombas to become even more agitated as they shrieked and roared, feeding on her fear.
Her trembling woke up Temi, who had been sleeping, and he curled an arm around her and pulled her closer.
“Don’t be scared of them, Nek,” Temi said calmly. “I will never let anything harm you as long as I draw breath.”.
It was a calm statement, delivered with firm conviction, and Nneka breathed with sublime surprise when the White Kombas fell silent for a brief moment, and then they let out a cacophony of ear-splitting growls and howls as if daring Temi to come out.
Temi simply yawned and ran his hand gently down Nneka’s quivering back. A moment later, the White Kombas began to move on, their shrieks becoming less and less audible as they retreated.
Nneka ran her left hand up Temi’s thighs, across his belly and finally to the right side of his chest, the soft light of the lantern illuminating the shock on her face.
“I still can’t believe this happened, Temi,” she whispered wonderingly. “What happened? How did your horrendous wounds disappear? You were screaming so much that I fled the room. Oh, Temi, I thought you were dying! I just can’t wrap my mind around this impossible healing!”
“I met my fathers, Nek, and I was reborn,” he said, and there was an odd note in his voice. “That is all I can tell you, I’m afraid.”
“And those wonderful short swords I saw?” she persisted, still intrigued.
“Gifts from the first Dayan king,” Temi said shortly, and again she heard that odd note in his voice.
She raised herself up on an elbow and looked down at him.
“What is it, Temi?” she asked gently. “You sound worried.”
He looked at her with grave eyes, and indeed his handsome face looked really worried.
“I killed three men, Nek,” he said, so horrified that he shut his eyes. “I took three lives. I’m scared, Nek, so scared! I don’t want to kill anyone! I don’t want to take lives! But alas, it seems it is my destiny to take lives as and when necessary. It is a most thorny path I tread, Nek.”
Without knowing what she was doing she raised her hand and put it gently against his right cheek.
“Those people were not men, Temi,” she said painfully. “They were beasts, monsters! I was told they raped some poor women today in town! You were only defending yourself because they would have killed you!”
“You don’t understand!” he said, deeply agitated. “I killed them, Nek, in a brutal, beastly manner! I could’ve easily disarmed them…but I killed them! I didn’t want to! I wanted to stop, but it was like I couldn’t, like those damn fathers that passed through me…something just took over! I don’t want to become a murderer, and yet I am, and definitely will be again and again as long as this head of mine is destined to wear the Dayan crown!”
“Stop it, Temi!” she said hastily. “You are going to be king, and you’re going to make tough decisions about death! But look, you didn’t kill Chinua, Temi! You left him alive! Now have you wondered why you killed three men but left Chinua alive?”
He looked at her calmly.
“Yes, Nek, because it was like…I can’t explain it, but I just knew I had to let him live“, that I shouldn’t kill him.”
She nodded in the soft glow of the light.
“That man terrified me, Temi, and he took my life, even the breath out of me,” she said gently. “I lived in terror of him, and do you know something, Temi? If you had killed Chinua, I still would’ve been afraid of him, afraid of my own shadow, afraid even to lie next to you like this!”
He scowled, and it made his face even more handsome.
“But you feel differently now?” he asked with some confusion.
“I feel alive, Temi,” she said softly, and for a moment her lips trembled. “So, this is what I think. A moment ago you spoke about some fathers passing through you.”
“I did?” he asked with a scowl, and she giggled beautifully and nodded.
“Yes, you did,” she said gently. “I think that whatever abilities you have inherited is a kind of intuitive power. You will do what you have to do, and it will always guide you to know what to do, in a strange kind of way, like it did today. You don’t have to be afraid of it. Yes, you have to embrace it, Temi, and learn from it.”
“You think so, Nek?”
“I believe so, Prince Temidayo.”
She saw the scowl clearing from his face, and for a moment he looked deep in thought, and then he reached up suddenly and brushed the hair from her face, and looked at her intently.
“You’re a strange one, Nek,” he said softly. “You always seem to know how to make my fears go away, you witch.”
It struck her suddenly, his words, and the setting, and her surroundings. She breathed faster, and she suddenly fell on the bed again and tried to move away, but his arm went around her and drew her closer.
Suddenly alarmed, she tried to change the subject and make the atmosphere lighter again.
“Would you tell me now who tried to kill you up on the hills by stabbing you and breaking your legs?”
For a moment he stiffened, and then he relaxed.
“It is of no import, Nek,” he said softly. “They’re not important anymore.”
They were quiet for a long time.
“Now you’re healed, and you’re strong, and you’re so changed,” she said, and her voice was not quite steady. “I believe you will return to wherever you came from.”
“Well, that was the plan,” he said carefully. “But it will depend on you, witch.”
It was her turn to stiffen, and she jerked away from him suddenly.
“What?” she asked, alarmed. “What are you talking about?”
He spoke without looking at her.
“I’ll go only if you go with me,” he replied.
“No!” she exclaimed with alarm and bounded off the bed and then moved quickly to the window. “I’m not going anywhere with you, Prince Temi! This is my home, and my husband is here! My place is with him!”
Now he turned his head and looked at her.
“Moshood was a wonderful man, Nek, and he loved you with a passion I’m envious of,” he said gently. “He has taught me that there is a love that exists where you need only one person. I never knew that. He sacrificed everything for you. Moshood wants you to be happy, and he doesn’t want you to be a prisoner, Nek. You’ve mourned him for five years. It is time to leave this prison and live again.”
“Stop it, stop it, you bastard!” she screamed, clamping her hands to her ears as tears fell down her face. “Go away, Temi! Go and live your destiny! Save Dayo if you must, as we’ve heard over and over that one day someone will come! But leave me alone! Temi, leave me alone, please! Don’t come and turn my world upside down with your beauty and allure and with honey dripping from your lips, I beg of you!”
Temi rolled off the bed and approached her.
“Don’t touch me!” she screamed. “Please, don’t dare come here, Temi!”
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