The field was filled with a lot of people.

They were dressed in very bright colours!

Delegations from other villages were present.

There was drumming and singing! Cultural troupes danced, and strong men stood and danced on tall stilts.

There was a food tent, and a variety of foods were being served, and people were eating and having a lot of fun!

They had connected power to a sound system and it was blasting loud music!

The Opanyin Amoah household was announced by the Royal Announcer.

The King, sitting on a beautiful golden throne with his wife on his left and his son and daughter on his right, smiled broadly, and waved his right hand in a beckoning gesture when Opanyin Amoah was announced.

“The Osagyefo, Our Lord, the Omnipotent and Powerful King Kuntu Obodai of Densua requests Opanyin Nana Amoah and his visitor, Onua Zack Larbi, to come and grace the Royal Stand!”

There was a loud cheer as Opanyin Amoah, looking worried, took Zack’s arm and led him towards the tenth of the king.

“Hey!” Zack whispered fiercely. “What are you doing?”

“You heard the Announcer,” the Medicine Man whispered fiercely. “We have been given the honour to sit with the Royals!”

“I don’t wanna sit with royals!” Zack whispered fiercely. “I just want to sit with Kuks!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” the Medicine Man said fiercely. “You don’t know what you’re saying. Nobody disobeys the king! Come with me!”

Kuukuwaa smiled nervously and released Zack’s hand.

Zack and Opanyin Amoah approached the King.

They bowed low, although Zack’s face was dark with anger, and then a Royal Usher showed them to a seat behind the Royal Family. A few people had also been given that respect, and were seated behind the king.

Zack sat down, and his face was filled with tension and worry.

It was a very festive occasion.

Dignitaries from other villages paid homage; they were introduced, and they presented their gifts.

There were games and healthy competitions. There were drumming, singing and dancing. The Fetish Priest danced to purify the occasion and asked the gods to bless the prince.

It was all so beautiful that Zack started enjoying himself and thinking that he had been wrong in fearing what was going to happen.

Eventually, he was introduced by King Obodai himself.

The King stood on the beautiful platform and called Zack to stand by his side.

“The gods were kind, and they brought this young man to my village!” King Kuntu Obodai said with a huge smile as he put an arm across the shoulders of Zack. “He’s a son to me! The gods denied me a second son, but this man came here, and he has done wonderful things for Densua, and today I now proclaim him Dignified Son of the Stool of Densua! His name, we know, got lost, but now it is found. His name from another town is Zack Larbi. Today, he becomes Zack Larbi Obodai, Royal Prince of Densua!”

The king should have let the Okyeame do this introduction, but the fact that he did it himself showed just how important Zack was to him.

There was a deafening roar of approval from the crowd, and suddenly some elderly women approached and sprayed white talcum powder on Zack, rendering his face white with talc.

“And because he has become a member of the Royal Family of Densua, his people also become my Royal Family. Please, join me, Opanyin Nana Amoah and his wife and his children!”

Looking increasingly nervous, Opanyin Amoah and his wife Obaapa Basiwaa joined Zack and the King on the platform. Kobby also joined them, smiling tightly to himself.

Kuukuwaa licked her lips with mounting horror as she looked at the smug-looking prince.

“Kuukuwaa, my daughter, please join us!” the King shouted, and after a moment Kuukuwaa stood up amidst rapturous applause from the crowd.

She cut a very beautiful figure indeed as she walked toward the platform. She climbed up, and deliberately went to stand beside Zack. Looking at the prince’s face, she reached out and held Zack’s hand.

Zack’s fingers curled around hers, and he looked down into her face lovingly.

Opanyin Amoah looked on stonily, sick to his stomach. He still hadn’t had the chance to speak to the king about Zack and Kuukuwaa, and now he saw how dark the prince’s face became when he beheld Kuukuwaa holding Zack’s hand.

The Queen Mother, Serwaa Akoto Bomframa, Princess Yaa Pomaa Obodai and Prince Kwame Obodai stood up, and joined the people on the platform.

The applause increased, and suddenly Prince Obodai held up his hands.

He smiled broadly and faced his father.

Silence reigned, and Kuukuwaa’s heart raced uncontrollably.

“I’m happy you’ve made this family a Royal one, my wise father!” Prince Obodai said. “I’m happy you chose today, my special day, to give me two brothers, my wise father! You’re indeed the greatest king that ever walked the land. However, my father, I cannot accept that pretty woman from this family as a sister! She is far more valuable than that! Perhaps, she will make a great and wise Queen of Densua in future!”

There was a huge roar of approval from the crowd, and the applause and shouting went so high and loud that nothing else could be heard for a long spell of time.

The drums beat fiercely, and the crowd screamed shrilly!

There was pandemonium everywhere!

“Oh, no…Lord, no!” Kuukuwaa whispered, almost collapsing with the shock that passed through her.

“Dearest gods!” Obaapa Basiwaa whispered, aghast. “This can’t be happening! Do something, my Lord! Please do something!”

“It’s too late now,” Opanyin Amoah said bleakly. “It is now in the hands of the gods! This is bad! This is so bad!”

Smiling broadly, Prince Obodai removed one of the gold studded bead chains around his neck and approached Kuukuwaa with it.

“Oh, shit!” Kobby, standing beside Zack, whispered.

“What now?” Zack asked hollowly as the pain of what was happening hit his heart so fiercely that he was finding it difficult breathing.

“What now?” Zack asked.

“That’s the Proposal Chain,” Kobby said gloomily. “If the Prince puts it around Kuuku’s neck, then it’s over. Nothing can stop them from marrying!”

The King, smiling, also turned to look at Kuukuwaa, and his kind face suddenly became grim when he saw the look of sheer horror on the beautiful girl’s face, and the tears rolling down her cheeks.

This didn’t deter Prince Obodai, who approached her relentlessly with his proposal chain held high. He paused in front of them, his cruel eyes glinting as they bored into Kuukuwaa, disregarding her horror and the tears falling down her cheeks.

“Bow your head, fair Kuukuwaa, and let me put my Proposal Chain around your neck!” the Prince said in an elated voice.

“You bastard!” Zack whispered fiercely.

The prince smiled at him triumphantly and took a step forward with the intention of slipping the chain around Kuukuwaa’s neck.

Kuukuwaa let out a little sob of sheer pain and rushed past the prince, who turned around to stare at her, perplexed.

Kuukuwaa had just rejected the Prince of Densua’s proposal chain!