°•○Wars are created by people too old to fight for those too young to die.°•○

It had been three weeks since Makhosi’s departure and we had heard no news from the battle against the Tonga, the thought was not only nerve-racking but frustrating along with the growing threats from the Zezuru tribe and also the rebels who were inching closer to our border with each passing day.

“What do we do? The Zezuru tribe is threatening to invade our eastern border and those rebels are literally two days away from our northern border.” One of the elders interjected another member.           

“The Zezuru tribe can be swayed; it’s those rebels we should be really worried about.” Another member shouted.

“We should just engage in a war with them, we have enough warriors to displace the two threats.”

“They believe that because a woman is in charge they can attack us.”

Each member of the council was talking they were too many voices, and invalid opinions that caused a dull ache to spread throughout my head. I hated people who weren’t orderly, even though I was aware of the possibilities of things going wrong I was careful enough to think. I was not irrational like these men who acted on impulse, war was game of smarts and not brute strength; I learnt that from my fallen father he was a primary example of that lesson.

I raised my hand silently, I was requesting for silence. They’re bickering began to quiet down until silence engulfed the room. Their heated gazes fell on me as I rested my head against Makhosi’s chair, I could feel the hatred and absolute distaste leaking into the already tense atmosphere. The council didn’t want to have a woman in charge, they saw me as nothing but a child bearer of royal descent; it was as if they wanted to run the kingdom themselves.

“We will double the number of warriors in the north and increase the number of patrols. I will send a messenger to the Zezuru tribe and another to Zithaka, we do not need another war right now, we have enough battles as it is. War is not an option.” I informed them of my plan, their opinions were not valid, and it seemed all they could think of was engaging into another war when we were already at war.

They seemed to be satisfied with my plan, which seemed good enough for me. The dull ache had now grown into a throbbing pain as I departed from the meeting with Vikali beside me. Over the past few weeks I had come to know more about him, he wasn’t just Azile’s worst heart-break, he was a loyal friend who was always willing to lend an ear. In some ways he reminded me of Azile, they shared similar traits, both were very observant when it came to mood detection as well as keeping me in good company; in actual fact he wasn’t so bad, he was far from it. He was just another man who could do nothing but love the woman of his dreams from the distant shadows, hindered by the ancestors from pursing he’s heart.

“My queen, you seem exhausted. Are you ill?” He asked me as worry crippled the features of his face.

“No Vikali, I am not ill.” I pursed my lips into a thin line as cool air cuddled my small frame; my thoughts immediately ran back to Makhosi, I missed him so much and everyday that passed without me receiving any message from him caused my anxiety to grow, I was scared. A deep sigh escaped my lips as the pain in my head continued to spread across my left side, perhaps it was just a side effect of my constant worrying.

“But Vikali I am troubled, will Makhosi live?” I could feel the hope drain from my eyes, pain piercing through the four walls of my heart causing my chest to squeeze in response.

“My queen, the king will live, he never breaks his promises. I can assure you that.”  He assured me; his eyes held comfort as his words cultivated my growing hope. I couldn’t help but think that maybe Vikali was right and all I needed to do was have faith.

“And what of the ever growing threats that this tribe is facing, what if my decisions cause more casualties. The council disagrees with me already; they barely listen to anything I say.” I confided in him, he was the only one other than Azile that I could trust; he was also very good at giving advice.

“My queen, I have seen you lead and I have no doubt you will make the right decisions. The king trusts your judgement and so do I; not because the king said to but because your judgement and decisions stem from reason.” His tenor voice reasoned his words were drenched in encouragement which made my decisions seem like an ideal solution to our problem and I could do nothing but just hope we were both right.

“I can only hope so, Vikali, I can only hope that we are both right.” I said; that was the only thing we could do, we could only hope for the best. I could feel my body begin to weaken; the throbbing pain in my head began to pound loudly causing my ears to ring; the pain spread to both sides of my head cracking through my head like lightning through a dark storm.

“My queen, you do not look so well, do you feel ill?” Vikali had begun whilst desperately trying to find out what was wrong with me. Black dots clouded my vision as my world began spinning; a wave of fatigue flooded my body, it drained all the energy from every living fibre in me, sucking it dry and leaving my body to crumble to the floor like a wet anthill.

Vikali’s arms caught me before I could hit the ground, his warm muscular arms wrapped around my small body before hoisting me up to his chest; my breath was lodge in my throat refusing to enter my lungs, the sound of crunching leaves, the howling wind and the ringing sound drowned my ears along with Vikali’s quick breaths.

“Azile, Azile!” He frantically called out to her; I believe we were approaching the royal quarters’ the cluster of hut dedicated to those who served the king and queen, my vision was still clouded and every other sense remained paralyzed except my hearing.

“Vikali, what is it that you want, how many times must I tell you that – Oh my ancestors! What happened?” I could hear the worry dripping from Azile’s soft voice, she was confused.

Their next words sounded like incoherent mumbles, I couldn’t decipher them. My mind was drifting further off into the darkness; I could only hope that I wasn’t dead.

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