hello fam!!
for a long time I've not been consistent and i want to make it up with this new story.

This story is purely fictional and based on the authors imagination, any resemblance, names, locations are just coincidence.
no part of this work should be copied, reproduced and pasted on other sites without proper permission from the author.







BETROTHED TO DEATH (FICTION)

Chapter One
Sorrow, agony, pains, depression, despair; this has become the second name of the great and mighty AWETA kingdom; the kingdom Known for its tremendous wealth, a land with milk and honey. Now look at what it has become. “Oh! How the mighty has fallen”.
Tear drops as heavy and thick as the morning pap could be seen falling from the red colored eyes of both men, women and children; the elders of the village were quietly seated waiting for the king’s arrival.
“Oh dear king! The handmade of the gods we welcome your presence”. At this announcement, everyone seated stood to their feet and bowed as the king made his way to the throne room, behind him was his wife and Daughter, the princess. The princess took after her mother in all ramifications, fair in complexion, average height with an hour glass shape; a gap toothed being with pretty dimples. But the look on her face betrayed her beauty.
Immediately the king sat on the throne, everyone stood upright.
“Great people of AWETA kingdom, at times I wonder if the gods has forsaken us and left us at the mercy of our enemies, although I believe it’s a test and this test requires patience. Let’s wait patiently for the chief priestess for her to let us know the way forward”. The king said with much sadness in his voice which sent cold feelings to everyone present.
There was murmuring among the people and then sudden silence when the chief priestess entered the palace in an unusual manner which sent shivers to everyone. She was dressed in an all black attire, her face stained with blood and eyes as dark as the land beneath the sea at the early hours of the day; hair standing straight as though it was that of an angry dog. With all these ugly attires, she was still very pretty.
“Priestess of the sea, we have been waiting for you, please tell us, what are we to do this time? We’ve sacrificed so many animals already, those that we are supposed to eat and keep us strong but yet, we are not heading anywhere; rather things are going wrong. What are our ancestors saying and in what way have we failed?” King Wuda asked with all sincerity.
The priestess gave a weird laugh which made everyone wonder if she really heard what the king said or could she have gone crazy?
“Oh great King, the cure to this disaster is here, but we will need men who will be willing to make sacrifices and not just sacrifices but committed ones. These young men will be selected specially by the gods and they will have to win a war after which our land will be cleansed. This is the message of good news I have brought. In four days time, the men will be selected.” Chief priestess said with a tone of finality and left the throne room.
There was mixed reactions, some were extremely happy while the news didn’t go down really well with some of the youths.



King Wuda sat quietly on the elder’s chair staring at the throne. Since the reign of his ancestors, they have not experienced anything of such, so why should this happen now? He kept asking himself.
What could be this war the chief priestess talked about; war meant for just four men, how is that possible.
After the last war with UFELE kingdom, King Wuda thought everything will go back to normal but things kept getting worse till it got to this point.

AT THE KING’S PALACE
The priestess walked in, heavily guarded by four men who their faces doesn’t really look familiar, the king was seated alongside the elders. At least those are the people the chief priestess wanted to be around being afraid her plans could get ruined if the whole community had gathered.
“Great king and elders of AWETA, I present to you faithful servants of ileta(gods of the land); they have been selected specially for this war. They will go to UFIKWU and spend 5days, if any of them comes back alive, the land will be cleansed and the person will sit beside you (king) as an adopted son and heir to the throne of AWETA kingdom .l will give you all from now till day break to think about this.” The chief priestess said.
The king and elders were shocked to their bones and couldn’t comprehend the weight of what she just said. He is still trying so hard to get a male child that will take over the kingdom and here she is dictating things to him; he haven’t recovered fully from the shock that came with the death of his son, the crowned prince.
“But priestess is this not too much?” Elder Ikpetu asked breaking the silence and bringing everyone back to reality.
Elder Ikpetu is one man known to have possess so much wisdom, and his wisdom severally have saved the kingdom of great loss; but this time around he is not saying anything to help and this increased the faithlessness of the people.
Back to the discussion at the palace
“Priestess of the sea, I am so happy that at least the answer to our agony is here; but what is the possibility of these men going to UFIKWU and coming back alive? AWETA and UFIKWU are sworn enemies even from the days of our forefathers. Several warriors and great fighters lost their lives during the time of war between these two great kingdoms and now how do we expect only four men to go into this heavily guarded kingdom and bring solution to our problems?” king Wuda asked with his eyes fixed on the young men, trying to figure out one of the face that looks like someone he knows.
The chief priestess took a glance at the four heavily built young men and fixed her gaze on the king and began “ dear king and Elders of AWETA, can you all drop the fear of what might happen and what might not happen or you prefer sitting here and watch every person in this land die of hunger and pains? Ileta have spoken and it is final, go and get your maids to prepare the prince’s room for the new heir that will return in victory. And if more than one of these men returns, the people will have to choose the one they want.” she signaled the young men when she was done talking and they left the palace leaving the king and elders dumb folded.
“ what are we to say now, I think it is better we believe in what the chief priestess has said and start preparing for a feast, at least AWETA will regain its lost glory” Elder Fiza said grinning from ear to ear
“as much as it will be a nice thing to celebrate this victory, it will still be a very great loss to our king; the linage of royalty will be shifted and my fear here is that the queen is pregnant already and if this child is given birth to, and eventually it turns out to be a boy, then we automatically have an heir to the throne of AWETA” Elder Eko stated with mixed feelings.
Shock swept across the faces of the rest elders, they can’t believe the queen is pregnant and yet the king didn’t mention it to any of them, not even to elder Ikpetu but Eko the one believed to be the most corrupt among them.
“elders, yes it is true the queen is pregnant and we are praying and hoping so hard that the child becomes the heir to the throne, but with this present development, I can’t really tell what will happen now, I will make time and speak to the priestess if there is any other way of rewarding these young men if they come out victorious” King Wuda said and stood up immediately from the throne. The Elders hailed him and he went inside.
King Wuda became so restless after leaving the throne room, he was shocked on how Eko came to know about the queen’s Pregnancy and what the Priestess reaction is going to be if she happens to find out. King Wuda was still in deep thought when a knock interrupted him.

Chapter Two
“If only you saw the shock in his eyes when he realized what he thought has been a secret is out for everyone to see. He thinks he is smart, he doesn’t know smartness runs in my family.” The familiar voice said and laughed. The laughter stopped when he realized the person he was talking with didn’t show any sign of happiness. Then suddenly an evil laughter erupted from her mouth which sent fears to his mind.” How can a person be so unpredictable” he thought.


“Your highness, the queen is here to see you” The guard announced.
King Wuda tried to calm his panic as though nothing is going to go wrong but his acting skills failed him the moment he saw his wife walking inside, this is the woman he really loves and wants her son to be king after him; she is not just a wife but a mother to him, his advisor. Memories start flooding his head, the very day his father introduced her as his wife to be, he fell in love with her immediately, although he didn’t show it and he pretended to be very angry, she is beauty personified, as blinding as the ray of the sun walking into a dark room. Here she is with him, so many people advised him to get a second wife since a son wasn’t forth coming after the death of his first son; thank God for the princess.
“ when you are back from your dream land, let me know; for now I will just sit and watch you” her sweet and melodious voice interrupted his thoughts and sent some cold shivers to his spine, even at this age she has so much effect on him.
He walked towards her and enveloped her in his hug; she let herself rest in the comfort of his warm arm, feelings rushing back so strong, display of emotions, love, happiness, sadness, despair.
Tears could be seen dropping from her eyes; she remembered the day her father told her she was going to get married to the prince of AWETA, she felt bad because she has someone who she already loves and cares for, but her father wouldn’t even take that from her. When she got married to King Wuda, she was strong headed at first but later realized what she felt for her first lover was mere infatuation. Now she is so much in love with Wuda and can’t afford to see him hurt, she has promised herself to fight and stand by him all the days of her life and that is what she is going to do.
King Wuda broke the hug and used his thumb to wipe the tears now flowing from her eyes, he moved her to sit on the bed made of bamboo tree covered with beautifully made mat. He was trying to figure out the best way to tell her what the Priestess said and that the elders are already aware that she is pregnant.
“ Don’t worry about telling me what you discussed with the elders and priestess, I’m aware already” she took a pause and cupped her husband’s face in her palms, looking straight into his eyes, she continued “ everything is going to be fine, nobody will take this throne from your son.” She left his face and gently rubbed her hands on her stomach. This made King Wuda smile; For a moment he was relieve and another, he knew for sure that nobody could be trusted, the queen is not suppose to hear whatever was discussed except he tells her himself; but here she is, she already knows.

Kwita was sitting quietly outside the priestess’s shrine, he wanted to revenge his parent’s death at all cost and that was why he agreed and decided to join in this deadly game; Kimba was his childhood friend and they have sacrificed so much for each other, they were more like brothers and this made him more willing and prepared for this war; the only part of this game he doesn’t really like is the fact that kimba is sleeping with the Chief priestess. He kept thinking what if the gods decides to forsake them?
“ Kwita, let’s go inside and get ready, at the break of dawn, we shall be heading to UFIKWU and from there, victory will begin” Kimba said grinning interrupting Kwita’s thoughts.

The king and elders were present at the shrine; incantations were made and the young men were willing to go and bring back victory as everyone thought except few. King Wuda blessed them and wished them well. After leaving the shrine, the princess Hoka met her father, King Wuda sitting all alone in the throne room and she knew all wasn’t well.
King Wuda was sure things won’t be normal after these men returns from UFIKWU, he suspects something really bad but he couldn’t pin point anything. He kept asking himself how Elder Eko got to know about the pregnancy and where those young men came from, although being a king doesn’t mean he would be able to know everyone in the kingdoms.
“Father, I have been calling you but it seems like only your body is here and heart somewhere else” Princess Hoka said jerking King Wuda back to reality.
He forced a smile to his lips but didn’t last long before it disappeared. His daughter and wife have been his only source of happiness and joy since this curse came upon the land and claimed his son’s life. His little princess have grown up to become a replica of her mum, so beautiful and elegant, her smile will make any young man fall to his knees.
“Father, are you still here?” princess Hoka asked waving her hand in front of her father and this made King Wuda laugh.
King Wuda held Hoka’s hand and drew her close to himself; he looked into her eyes and saw a young, desperate, innocent young lady having many sleepless nights.
“Father, I have been thinking lately, if the gods really wants to help us, why take so much from us? If these young men I heard that went to UFIKWU comes out victorious, we have lost the throne then, I haven’t heard about this happening before” Princess Hoka said looking at her father’s eyes searching for an answer.



Chapter Three
UFIKWU
“He mustn’t run away, catch him and bring him here, if he proves stubborn, chop off his head and bring to me” King tumba said to the guards in full rage and stood angrily from the throne.
“ calm down King tumba, he cannot get away, the exit and entrance to Ufikwu is highly secured except he takes the path of the mulula forest and we all know what will happen to him if he mistakenly enters there, that will be his death” Chief Uta said and this pleased King Tumba.
Chief Uta is the king crowner of the Ufikwu Kingdom and he happens to be King Tumba’s uncle; he was angry when his younger brother King Tumba’s father was crowned King instead of him who is the eldest son. His father betrayed him and he has vowed to take revenge on his brother and his entire house hold.


Zilla ran as fast as his leg could take him, it wasn’t easy finding an escape route in the palace; he doesn’t understand why his punishment was harsher than the rest captives. He continued running until the angry sun began to fade giving way for the ever smiling moonlight and its warm night weather. He couldn’t really tell where he was heading to but he was sure he will not be going back to the palace again; it will be better he dies an honorable death here.
The darkness thickened, silent whispers from the dark night and this frightened Zilla; he wanted running but at that moment, it was better he just look for a place to lay his head. He sat under a tree which he inspected the area very well with the aid of the moonlight.
“Hey get up, get up, quickly follow me” the creature said pulling Zilla by the hand.
Zilla thought he was dreaming and slapped the creature’s hand off his; this got the creature very angry and quickly carried Zilla on his shoulder and silenced him.

“we gave him a hot chase that he had no option than to jump into mulula forest; and great king, we know that will be his end” the chief guard explained with smiles all over his face.
King Tumba was pleased with the report he got and that came with satisfaction.

The chief guard was glad that their plans didn’t fail but he can’t really predict what might happen next. He was instructed by the chief to kill anyone that was linked in any way to their plan and that is exactly what he was going to do.

AWETA
King wuda couldn’t sleep, he was so worried; thoughts of his linage loosing the throne. He feels threatened each time he remembers that the elders are aware of his wife’s pregnancy. How elder Eko got to know about it still amazes him. He was walking up and down in the room when the queen and Princess walked in; he was so carried away in his thoughts that he didn’t feel their presence.
“Father, please don’t let this get you so worried, we are family and we know they are hard times. We will stick together” Princess Hoka said rushing towards her dad and hugged him closely.
King Wuda was brought back to reality and hugged Princess Hoka back; the queen joined in the hug and it was more like a family hug of reassurance.


The chief Priestess was patiently waiting for Kimba and kwita, the two that were suppose to return that day for them to completely execute their plan. King Yula saved her life not once or twice. When King Wuda wanted engaging in the war with Ufele which was King Yula’s Kingdom, she had warned him to avert the war and settle things as a wise king but no, King Wuda insisted on going to war.
At that point, she wanted standing by King Yula and betraying Wuda but King Yula stopped her and insisted she be with Wuda and asked her to take his son, prince Kwita and his friend’s son Kimba. He knew they were going to lose the war because Aweta had an upper hand.
When the news on King Yula’s death was brought to her, she wept so bitterly and hated King Wuda and his entire family and vowed to take them all out and make King Yula’s son king of Aweta; and until that is done, she won’t die. King Wuda’s throne will be taken before his very eyes, his death has come.

The people of Awta kingdom were all gathered at the King’s palace awaiting the arrival of the survivor. Murmurings, panic, impatience were the characters displayed while waiting for the survivors.
The chief Priestess and two young men looking exhausted entered the palace and the whole place lightened up with rejoicing, screams, happiness, hope brought back alive. King Wuda couldn’t say a word, he was just looking; some of the elders were actually happy while some even if they were, didn’t show it.
King Wuda waved his hand and everywhere became dead silent.
“Priestess, I can see we are finally going to become great again” King Wuda said and this triggered the people to clap and shout again.
“King Wuda, I am pleased to announce to you that the war was won and these young men here brought back our glory” the chief Priestess said point at Kimba and Kwita; her expressions couldn’t be read.
King Wuda left his throne and embraced Kimba and Kwita, the elders did same, the queen and princess shook them.
When the princess shook kwita, she felt something strange but Kwita didn’t react, he stood adamant. Kimba looked at the princess lustfully, he had strategized so many things in his head already when he becomes the king.
“Great People of Aweta, before the commencement of this Journey which has brought back our glory, a commitment was made and as a responsible king, I am going to be fair even though it hurts” King Wuda said and dropped his head down.
The people became weaken by this act; they love their King so much and felt bad seeing him that way, but they don’t really know what this commitment could be so they stayed patiently to hear what he was going to say next.
“ four young men left this kingdom for Ufikwu to fight a war after which our glory would be restored, any of them that would come out victorious will become the crown prince of Aweta” King Wuda said and murmurings erupted and it grew louder and could be clearly heard, some were against it and believed it shouldn’t be so while some were confused, their glory and wealth or King Wuda’s feelings.
“Well, here we are, we’ve got two survivors so the people will make their choice an…..” king Wuda was saying before he was interrupted by a voice.

your comments will really be appreciated.