During one of their meetings, the princess challenged the prince to start thinking about the way forward so that they could compare notes at their next meeting. Though they were head over heels in love, theirs was a forbidden love. They needed to strategise on how to get their parents to approve the deep feelings they had developed for each other and their plans to get married. After two or so meetings, the prince could not come up with anything. Then, the princess told him that she had come up with an idea.
"I think the only way out is for me to fake a strange sickness," she began.
The prince leaned forward from where he sat and wondered what purpose feigning sickness would serve in their plan.
"I am bringing a bird from the sack and you are asking about its colour. Just be patient and listen to me," she said.
She explained that she would feign a mysterious ailment which could only be cured by bathing with water from a river that emptied itself into a whirlpool. The whirlpool was located in one of the remote territories in the Diaspa Empire. There was a primordial belief about the river that no one could fetch the water with just any container. Only natural receptacles like calabash or gourd were allowed.
That was besides the danger of getting pulled away by the fast-flowing river, which ferried the victims into the whirlpool. It also had a strange force that could suck in anyone attempting to scoop water from it. Another mystery was that the river expanded in the morning hours and shrank by sunset. It was also not safe to swim in or across the river. The risk of being swept away into the whirlpool was very high.
The chief maidservant of the princess was the niece of the local priest who had power to protect anyone from being harmed by the river. When the princess came up with the idea of the phony ailment, it was the maid that suggested how to go about it. The princess, the chief maiden and three of her guards had paid the priest a visit and discussed her plans with him with a promise to make him very rich afterwards. The priest gave her his word. He explained that whoever would come to fetch water from the river would go through fortification rituals. Thereafter, a special gourd would be provided with which to fetch the water.
All the plans had been worked out before the meeting with the prince who was shocked by the extent to which the princess had gone. Another meeting was held between the prince and the princess at their secret location. Their discussion centred on fine-tuning the plans. She assured the prince that she would act out her part convincingly. They both agreed on a day she would come down with the sickness. As part of the plans, the princess suggested that the prince should arrange a vacation trip to one of his uncles living in a distant territory. He had not enjoyed any rest from his busy schedule for a very long time.
To avoid any curiosity especially on the part of the empress, it was thought that the announcement of the strange ailment should be made by Emperor Jeliani some days after the prince had departed for his vacation. For the first time, the princess opened up to the prince that her father was making efforts to get her a noble future consort since she was the first child of the royal couple. She believed that her father's choice would also be among those that would go for the water.
"If he or anyone is able to get the water before you, I will continue to feign the sickness until you show up with it," she assured the prince who planted a prolonged kiss on her forehead, prompting the princess to jokingly ask if he wanted to suck her brains out. They both dissolved in laughter and departed.
The entire Diaspa Empire was rattled by the news of the strange sickness that hit their beloved princess and future empress. The chief royal physician subjected her to a thorough medical examination but he could not place his finger on the cause of the sickness. After about a week of trial and error with her condition getting worse, the emperor lost faith in science and decided to consult some notable spiritualists. A handful of them visited the palace but could not find any solutions to the ailment.
The chief maiden who was a collaborator then suggested that her uncle be contacted. The emperor immediately sent the chief maiden, accompanied by three guards to go and bring the priest. He was expecting the visitors. Without much ado, he hopped into the carriage and they all rode back to the palace where he met the princess gasping for breath which was the major part of the acting.
After a brief consultation and examination of his patient, the priest began to act his own script. He told the emperor that the strange ailment afflicting the princess could only be cured by the water from a river named Bottomless which empties itself into a whirlpool. The water had to be fetched and poured on her before she could recover. To further place the royal family on tenterhooks, he said that from what he had seen in the spirit realm, the ailing princess had just seven days to live. He further told the emperor that whoever succeeded in fetching the water must be rewarded with marriage to the princess; otherwise, the princess would still die.
Upon hearing the priest's declaration, the emperor immediately promulgated a decree requesting young men in the empire to brace up to the task. A handful of them summoned up courage and accepted the challenge. The prospect of becoming a future consort pushed the risk the mission entailed to the background.
Prince Ariasa had spent three days with his uncle before the announcement was made. The news of Princess Salfina's mysterious ailment had also spread to Rambasi. Emperor Selasto could not be bothered. As far as he was concerned, the mysterious ailment could be a way of punishing them for the fraud they committed. The empress least suspected that Prince Ariasa would toy with the idea of trying to save a dying princess let alone contemplate undertaking any risky adventure. Nevertheless, she sent four guards to visit him at the vacation venue. That was on the eve of his departure to the mysterious river. The guards came back with a report that the prince was enjoying his well-deserved vacation, a feedback that gladdened her heart.
Three days had eaten into the deadline set for the water to be procured to cure the sickness afflicting the princess. Prince Ariasa told his host uncle that he would like to visit a friend in the neighbouring territory with a promise to be back after two or so days. He had to go for the task in company of two of his aides. The chief maidservant had made an arrangement for the prince and his aides to be joined by two trusted bodyguards of the princess at a pre-arranged location from where they led him to the priest's home for the fortification exercise. They all spent the night with the priest and set out the next morning to the river.
It took about two hours of horse riding before they arrived at the eerie location. When they were getting close to the river, the priest and aides had to stay out of sight. The priest could not afford to be seen by anyone who was not part of the arrangement. On arriving at the river bank, the prince became a bit scared. The apprehension was heightened when he saw two young men being swept away by the river to be swallowed by the whirlpool. He turned back to look in the direction of the priest who gave him an assurance with a nod.
It was obvious that the corpses he saw were those who also came to fetch the water to cure the princess. Two more cadavers soon rolled along and many more followed.
"One of the floating bodies could be the consort that Emperor Jeliani was packaging for the princess," the prince had reasoned within himself. He gathered enough courage, sank on his knees by the edge of the river and with trembling hands, dipped the gourd inside the water. At first, he felt that a force was trying to pull his hands along with the high current.
After filling up the gourd, he heaved himself up and headed back to where the priest and his aides had hidden. The prince thanked the priest and departed to his uncle's place accompanied by his aides to wait for the appropriate moment to show up with the water which was three days away. He needed to heighten the anxiety in the palace. It was part of the plot. He should not make the whole exercise look too easy. There must be an element of suspense. He also needed to process what consequences would follow his action when his parents got to know that he had betrayed them and the empire.
Prince Ariasa waited till the last day before showing up at the palace of his father's number one enemy. On arrival at the gate, the guards at the palace could not see through his disguise. They demanded to know the purpose of his visit. He held out the gourd and told them he had come with the water to cure the princess of her mysterious ailment. They were rooted to the ground. This was because the prospects of getting the water were fast dwindling to a point of hopelessness when he manifested at the palace gate.
When they finally recovered from the shock, they struggled among themselves as to who would reach the emperor first to break the pleasant tidings to him. Indeed, Emperor Jeliani and his empress were already on the wings of despair when the talebearers stumbled over one another to announce the presence of a man with the water. The royal couple could not believe their ears.
There was excitement in the palace, prompting the maidservant of the princess to rush to where she was supposed to be lying on her deathbed. It was a huge relief to her that everything had gone as planned. She had gone with one meal daily for the period she had been sick. Consequently, she had shed some weight. It was the price she had to pay to lend credence to her make-believe ailment.
In line with the instruction of the priest, the carrier of the water should be the one to empty the content on the princess. She was supported to her bathroom by the chief maidservant and the prince poured the liquid all over her. A brilliant actress that she was, she twitched all over as the liquid cascaded from her head down to her feet.
The twitching and cringing ceased and calmness began to return to her body. Her chief maidservant led her to her room where she was cleaned up. She had told the princess that the prince's mission was successful, allaying her fears about the strange looks of the bearer of the water. Disguising to the palace was an afterthought by the prince. He had to do it to conceal his identity because of the enmity between the two empires.
Having been tormented by hunger for the few days that the drama lasted, the first thing she asked for was food. Her parents were full of admiration for the purveyor of the mysterious water, praising him for being kind and courageous enough to put his life at risk to save the princess.
While the princess was being attended to, Emperor Jeliani engaged the prince in a dialogue, demanding his identity. He responded by gradually taking down his disguise items which included a bushy moustache and unusually large eyebrows. The royal couple cringed when the true picture of the prince began to manifest.
"Prince Ariasa?!" the emperor exclaimed in utter shock.
He turned to look at the empress whose face consternation had also suffused.
Confusion gripped the palace, a new twist that relegated the joy of the recovery of the princess to the backstage.
"Do you know the repercussion of what you have done? By saving the life of our daughter, you have just pronounced a death sentence on yourself," the emperor said with a trembling voice.
"Are you also aware that if you don't marry the princess, she too would not survive?" Empress Kotina blurted out.
The prince told the royal couple that he knew the far-reaching consequences of his action.
"I have no regrets saving the life of the princess. In life, we must take some risks. Who knows, my action may change the course of history positively."
Still in a confused state, Emperor Jeliani asked: "How did you even manage to get the water?"
"Your Majesty, I managed to get it because I love the princess," the prince answered.
"But this particular love is forbidden and you know it! It cannot be! I truly appreciate what you have done, and I shall reward you with many gifts instead of you marrying the princess," the emperor said.
At that point, the empress cut in: "Your Majesty, don't forget what the priest said, which you went ahead to announce as a promise to all the eligible bachelors in the empire. If you refuse to let him marry her, the princess is doomed to die still."
The emperor bowed his head in perplexity. He did not know what step to take. The thought of approaching Emperor Selasto for reconciliation sickened him.
"Should I allow my firstborn to die because of hatred?" he finally asked his empress after ruminating on the dilemma.
"The love Prince Ariasa has for our princess before undertaking such a dangerous adventure which no one in this empire could succeed in doing is obviously very deep. And that is on one hand. On the other hand is the profound hatred you and his father harbour for each other. What you have to do now is to go to his father and ask for forgiveness. It is high time you reconciled with him. I am really hoping he will forgive us and allow this marriage to happen, for the survival of our daughter," the empress advised.
The emperor then turned to the prince and asked: "Did your father know about this?"
"No, he did not, and he does not know yet."
"This makes things very difficult. But I must go and see him. I have to save my daughter's life. And what about the decree you promulgated that nobody should marry or even go into a relationship with my people from your empire?"
"Well, I signed the decree on behalf of my father and I have gone against it. But I must marry the princess even if it costs me my life. I am hoping, however, that it will not come to that. I have a feeling that my father will not kill his only child whom he loves so much for any reason. But if it turns out that I am wrong, then I will accept the consequences as my destiny," the prince said.
The royal couple thanked Prince Ariasa for his kindness, and commended his bravery, which they noted was exceptional. He was told to go home and that a message would be sent to his father to seek audience with him for possible reconciliatory talks. The emperor said he would write a letter to the father of the prince, expressing his profound appreciation to his son for saving his daughter's life and requesting an urgent meeting with him. It would be the first time that any such personal communication would come from one of the feuding duo.
Prince Ariasa pleaded with the emperor to keep the lid on the new development for two days. He needed time to prepare ground for the consequences of his action.
Immediately after Prince Ariasa departed from the palace, Emperor Jeliani issued a non-disclosure order amidst the pall of palpable apprehension that hung over the palace. No one could tell how Emperor Selasto would react to the action of his son that was in contravention of the decree he signed.
Prince Ariasa got back home and pretended as if he was just returning from his uncle. No one could have suspected anything.
On the day agreed for the letter to be delivered to Emperor Selasto, Prince Ariasa ensured he was with his father in the palace. The bearer of the message, accompanied by two guards, rode on their horses to the Rambasi Palace. When they announced their presence at the gate, explaining their mission, it was only the bearer of the message that was allowed into the palace. The accompanying guards were asked to wait behind. The messenger was led to Emperor Selasto's chief security guard. He handed over the letter to him and departed.
When the letter was given to the emperor, he refused to open it upon hearing where it came from. He flared up as expected and attempted to shred it. Prince Ariasa, who was already aware of the content of the letter, stopped the emperor from doing so and encouraged him to go through the message first before deciding what to do with it.
The expression on the face of the emperor began to change as he went through the message. At a point, he took his eyes away from the letter and fixed them on the prince. Then, he continued with the reading. He struggled to rein in the rage that was attempting to consume him. Done with the letter, he turned to the prince and thundered a barrage of questions: "What have you just done? Did the fraudsters not say they believed only in science? Why did they go spiritual to save their princess? And why did you get yourself involved?"
Before the prince could utter a word, the emperor roared: "Ariasa! You have sabotaged my empire. You have violated the decree you signed on my behalf. You know you are the only child I have on this earth. How could you do this to me?"
"I am very sorry, father. I did not mean to hurt you like this. But I love her so much," the prince explained with remorse.
"Is she the only beautiful girl you have seen?" the emperor asked furiously. "There are many pretty girls in this empire. Your mother even brought Princess Tesla to you. Is she not worthy of being your future empress?"
The prince was silent. Just then, the empress walked into the office.
"What is going on here?" she sought to know. "Your voice was rather loud. Is everything okay?"
"Your son has just stupidly thrown away his life on the altar of blind love," Emperor Selasto said and threw the letter to her face.
The empress read the letter and asked her son: "So, that was the mission you undertook, using the vacation trip to your uncle as an alibi?"
The emperor was already trembling with uncontrolled rage. He collected the letter from the empress, tore it into pieces and vowed that the reconciliation his sworn enemy was asking for would be over his dead body. He brushed the empress aside when she tried to calm him down and made for his room. The empress and the prince followed him. When he got to the door, he ordered them to back off. Momentarily, they obeyed his order. Although none of them suspected the tragedy that was to follow the order, the prince pushed the door open only to see his father removing his sword of authority from the sheath.
He rushed towards him, followed by the empress, and they both shouted: "Noooo, Your Majesty!"
The prince's attempt to stop the emperor from putting himself to the sword was too late. He drove the blade into his own torso and slumped. The empress immediately went into a shock. The prince raised an alarm that attracted the palace guards. The royal chief physician was quickly sent for. He battled to save the emperor's life but it was a futile attempt.
The prince leaned over his dying father, weeping uncontrollably. Then, the emperor made some comments that were quite emotional and unexpected: "I am pleased that you are going to settle what has been impossible to resolve even before you were born. It was my intention to see that you marry in my lifetime but the step you took is too complicated for me to handle. Take care of your princess and …." He never completed the last sentence before giving up the ghost.
Prince Ariasa became very sad. He did not envisage that his father would go to the unthinkable extreme of committing suicide. He knew his action would upset his parents, but he never thought his father would make good his vow of reconciling with Emperor Jeliani over his dead body. The empress later slipped into a coma but regained consciousness five days later.
"I am so sorry, mother. I'm happy that you have regained consciousness. It would have been more tragic for me to lose both my parents in one day," the prince told his mother, feeling sober.
He explained that it was not his intention to put his parents in such precarious situation.
"After our discussion on Princess Salfina, I later discovered that I love her profoundly. I did not want to subject Princess Tesla to a loveless marriage. She does not deserve that. And there is no way I would be able to love her when I am already in love with someone else. That was why I decided to go for Princess Salfina. Besides, I wanted to end the long-drawn-out hatred between her father and mine. I did not mean to hurt you and father to this extent," he told the empress.
In her weak state, the empress gently held the prince's hand and said: "I felt very hurt by the action you took without taking me into confidence. Nevertheless, it is pointless crying over spilt milk. If this is what it would take to end the deep-seated animosity between the two emperors, then so be it. I forgive you for causing the death of your father."
"Thank you, mother, for your understanding," the prince replied.
With the empress out of danger, Crown Prince Ariasa saw the need to immediately abrogate the draconian decree forbidding any relations between citizens of the two empires.