The palace was grand and beautiful; it was unlike any place Omifunke had ever seen. The mountain where they lived in the forest was beautiful, with fresh water following from it. But, she could not compare the beauty of the caves to that of the palace, if the caves were beautiful, then the palace was paradise. The king and members of the inner court were already waiting for them in the courtroom.
“Kabiesi o” they all chanted as they went on their knees to pay homage to the king. The king waived his horsetail and asked them to rise.
“What brings her holiness to the palace on such a short notice?” the king asked, Omifunke could barely take her eyes of the king. For a man in his fifties; he was very handsome.
“Your majesty, the golden calabash has disappeared.” The high priestess responded without mincing words. The members of the inner court were shocked and they began murmuring amongst themselves, the golden calabash was the protector of the kingdom, given to them by the Omi goddess herself. This happened when the first queen of the kingdom offered herself as sacrifice to the goddess to protect the land. The goddess did not take her life, but she was moved by the selfless act of the queen, that she gave them the golden calabash and ordered that the calabash should be taken care of by pure and chaste women. That was how the priestesses came to be.
“What do you mean the calabash is gone? Is it not your duty to protect the calabash?” Someone asked rudely. The high priestess turned to face the speaker and gave him her coldest smile, the one she used when she was insulted but had to be respectful.
“You must be Prince Adedayo, the crown prince.” She said “I am very sure that her majesty the queen, instilled good manners into you. So you should know better than speaking out of turn.” She added, giving a mock bow. Omifunke forced herself to look away from the king and to look at the prince who stood behind his father; he was even more handsome than the king. But, she could tell just by looking at him that he was very arrogant and spoilt.
“Do not be offended your holiness, he is only a child. Tell me, why did this happen?” The king asked.
“I should be asking you that question, your majesty”
“How dare you speak to his majesty in that manner? You might be the high priestess, but the king is second in command to the gods.” Oluwo said angrily.
“He might be second in command to the gods, but, he is not a god. This means, he has obligations to perform to the gods and he has failed to do so.” The high priestess could no longer contain her anger has she faced the chief priest. “Tell me, as the chief priest, why did you stop the king from performing the annual festival to worship the goddess and thank her for her mercies?”
“It had become too expensive and the kingdom’s finances are very low” The priest answered trying to hide his surprise that the priestesses found out.
The high priestess shook her head and turned to face the king “your majesty, you need better advisors. Your people are suffering, yet the palace is dazzling. You abandon religion because it is expensive, yet you adorn yourselves in the most expensive clothes, throw excessive parties and build unnecessary structures, at the expense of your people and the gods. Your people may take it because they have no choice, but the gods will not remain silent. And when the wrath of the gods comes, both the guilty and innocent will pay for it. You stopped worshipping the goddess and she has taken her gift away from us. Now, our enemies will be able to conquer us, there will be famine and hunger, there will be war, and the kingdom will seize to exist.”
“What is the way out?” the king asked.
“Should the calabash ever disappear, only the noble and the pure may go to the dark lands to retrieve the Golden Calabash?” The high priestess said the prophecy that has been handed down to her by generations of priestesses.
“By noble, you mean….”
“She means royalty, your majesty. The crown prince must go on this journey.” The chief priest said. The court room was thrown into pandemonium, no one ever returns from the dark lands.

Please visit the links below for the first the previous episodes of the Golden Calabash. Thanks

https://aminatawastories./2015/10/11/the-golden-calabashthe-calabash-is-gone/

https://aminatawastories./2015/10/18/the-golden-calabash-the-visit/

https://aminatawastories./2015/10/25/the-golden-calabash-the-prince/

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