Chapter 51:
It was an exhausting evening for king Malik, after a long day, he just returned to his chamber after attending to the proposal from his neighboring communities.
He worked extraordinarily just to shift his mind away from Aurora’s image popping into his head.
Arriving at the chambers, still, undressed, Jaguar entered his chamber to inform him that his brother had arrived from the trades he went for, on behalf of the kingdom.
“My King, Your brother had arrived, he came with many goods this time around, and the horses carried many goods including the goods in the carriages, I’m sure the kingdom will have a lot of profit in this time trading, “Jaguar said with excitement.
“Really,” Malik said, though he was happy concerning the news, yet there was no exciting expression on his face.
“Yes, my king,” Jaguar said, smiling.
“This called for more celebrations. Go and tell Jericho to join me in today’s banquet with the ministers and chiefs of the neighboring community. I want to entertain them since we didn’t hold the wedding ceremony of the queen in the palace”
“Okay, my king,” Jaguar said. He wishes to join the banquet. He knows there will be beautiful maidens at the banquet, but he can’t bring himself to ask the king. He bowed his head and left the king’s chamber.
On his way to the hallway, he met Queen Nneka. He stopped seeing the Queen, this is the second time he will see the Queen closely. He admired the beauty of the queen, but he noticed a cold aura following the Queen.
He shook his head, “The king made another wrong choice” He mumbled under his breath, he bowed slightly to the queen and walked away.
“Who is that?” The Queen asked her maid!
“Is the king right man my queen, the king trusts him more than his brother, he entrusts delicate decisions in his hands” The maid’s response
“You should have notified me before he walked away. He will be useful to me in the palace” Nneka said angrily, she didn’t allow her maid to utter a word, she left her on the spot and walked towards the king’s chamber.
She knocked on the king’s door,”
“Come in”, King Malik’s voice came to her.
“My king,” Nneka greeted the king as soon as she came into the king’s chamber. They admired the chamber. This was the first time she would enter the king’s chamber. It was as gorgeous as the king himself to her.
“You are welcome, my queen, what did I hold this visit for?”
“My king, you refuse to visit my chamber last night, and I thought I should come here to ask the reason since I don’t remember offending you yesterday”
The King stopped what he was about to do, and he moved toward the queen, leaving two steps away from her.
“I will visit your chamber when I’m ready, and I hope you will respect my privacy. I don’t allow my woman to come into my chamber, except I call for them,” Malik said in a low voice, yet his authoritative tone.
“My king, I’m not just any woman, I am the queen mother of this community and the mother that will bore the community heir,” Nneka said in a humble tone, though she was boiling inside, she hid the anger and expressed a good wife expression.
“I’m to decide when I am ready to father my heir,” King Malik said harshly.
“Okay my king, but I would like to take charge of the palace activities being the Queen mother, but Concubine Xena told me to take permission from you”
“You have my permission,” Malik said and signaled the queen to leave his chamber, Nneka wondered as she was about to step outside if she looked ugly, then she scanned herself from head to toe, and she sighed.
“Have always been pretty, princesses!” She encouraged herself and muttered proudly.
“I will find a way to make the king want me,” Nneka thought as she turned to leave his chamber, she felt embarrassed, she has not been disgraced this way in her entire life.
She consoled herself to endure it for the bigger achievement coming on her way, she vowed to make Xena pay for having the king’s heart.
“No one takes what is mine” Nneka mumbled with gritted teeth as she walked towards Morena’s chamber.
“Your Highness,” Aurora greeted her, she met her in Morena’s chamber. Aurora knew the expression on Nneka’s face, she always looked this way whenever someone offended her.
“Is something wrong?” She asked her since she was alone.
She ignored Aurora’s greeting, and asked her about Morena; she was about to reply when Morena entered.
“Your Highness…what can I do for you, my queen?”
“I’m now in charge of the palace activities, so starting from now onward, I want to know how they have been running the palace activities, likewise I want you to start adding infertility herbs to the food, the women in the palace will start eating onward,” Nneka said.
Aurora’s eyes widened, and she looked at Morena, wondering if Nneka is okay, why would she want infertile herbs for the women, even herself? They wondered.
“Your Highness, if I may ask, why would you want it? Moreover, the community wants an heir, and if the women in the palace are infertile, who would give the king an heir “, Morena asked.
“The women in the palace must be infertile, but I must be fertile, you must start giving me regular fertility herbs”, said her point immediately.
“But my queen, the king must approve it before I can do it”
“Is for the betterment of the kingdom, the queen must bore an heir for the kingdom, if the other women bore the king a child before the queen, it will be a problem in the future,” queen Nneka said
Hearing her reason, made the memories Morena fought so hard to erase from her memory displayed again, the memory is a torment to her soul.
As much as she accepted Nneka thought she would rather not do her bidding, she hated her father so much.
After Nneka made sure she had passed her information, she asked Aurora to come to her chamber later in the day.
“Will you do her wish?” Aurora asked Moreno, and the queen exited the room.
“I can’t say, because that herb can affect their fertility forever, ” Morena replied to Aurora.
“Then you should not do it, that is wickedness,” Aurora responded.
To be continued.
Please add it to the library collection.
Thanks.