Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality. ~ Bruce Lee
"We enjoy your lies," Prince Rogba laughed out. "Guards!! Take him," he ordered.
"My prince, my king, I swear with my life, I swear by the God of Iron and the Goddess of War. I am a farmer, and I must not swear by the God of Iron; it's vain, my king, please," the man pleaded.
"Leave him. He has sworn by the God of Iron; he is an Iron user. Your town has a duke, but the duke should be the one to report this, not you," Prince Rogba said.
"My apologies, my prince. I went to him, but I was unable to enter his palace. We have been suffering in this kingdom. Our duke has been careless about the commoners' warfare. I plead with the king to look into this matter since we're still commoners of this kingdom," the man said with courage.
"You can leave. We'll return your clothes to you and reward you. Then, we'll look into the matter," the king said, and the man hurriedly left after paying his respects.
"I wonder how many tricks the elder prince has under his sleeve to make an innocent commoner look scared and confused," the third prince said.
"He is not yet declared innocent. Hey! You, follow him and investigate his background and every detail about him," Prince Rogba commanded one of the king's guards.
"You'll be a great ruler, son," the king said, tapping his shoulder.
"Father, I never want to be a ruler. I want to be protector," he said, and the third prince's eyes glowed in happiness after hearing this. He paid his respects and left.
"Father... what he said is nothing but the truth. The general's elder son, the commander of the west border, also reported this," the prince said.
"What? How did it happen when he was on duty?" the king asked.
"I think he's not on duty; I guess he dared not play with his duty," the prince said, looking straight into his father's eyes.
"And I want you to investigate the spiritual water. I noticed the day I captured the soldier in the beast's captivity. He said some strange words, and his emotions were balanced, but he looked like someone confused. However, after drinking the water, he ran mad. Father, something is wrong," Prince Rogba reported.
"Don't worry; I'll take it seriously. The advisory council will soon be here. But, about the spiritual water, it's our custom and it'll remain unchanged... Son, it's in the customs and traditions of Fadaka's kingdom, the owner of the silver throne," the king said.
"Father, don't you think we need a way to save anyone manipulated by the beast instead of killing them? Let the system change. We need to save our people, not kill them. But if you don't mind, I will investigate the spiritual water on your behalf," the prince said, sounding annoyed, and the king looked down with worries.
"Here comes the King's Advisory Council," the palace attendant announced
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"Greetings to the Royal Majesty of the Silver Throne and the Heir of the Crown," they all said at once, and the king acknowledged them with a nod.
"You may all have your seats... It's strange to have my honorable chief, the head of Ida's clan, instead of his wife, our honorable prophetess," the king said as he noticed the head of the Ida's clan.
"Your Majesty, as the sword of the Silver Throne's clan, please accept my wife's apology. She is with our sick daughter, so I am here on her behalf," he said, removing his cap as an act of respect.
"We heard that the heiress of the Ida's clan has been changed. I didn't know Ida's clan heiress could change like the chameleon changes its skin," the archduke replied, mocking the clan.
"Archduke, you are the head of the dukes in north of this Fadaka's kingdom, but it's a shame you don't have an heir and you are not capable of your position. Stop looking into other clan's matters," the head of Ida's clan said angrily, and the archduke wanted to attack him, but guards from each side ran in to defend their masters. The two kingmakers rushed to separate them.
"Stop this; it's so disrespectful," one of the kingmakers said.
"What a shame on all the advisory council members. I didn't expect this from you," the king said angrily as he rose from his throne. They all knelt in fear.
"The King of the Silver Throne accepts our apology," they all begged, and the tension eased. The palace attendant then announced, "Here comes the Royal Special Subject."
"Greetings to the Royal Majesty of the Silver
" here comes the royal special subject" the palace attendant announced
" greetings to royal majesty of the silver throne and the heir of the crown" they greats "at once rise!…"the king said as he tried to calm down they'll both rises
" I didn't sent for you my special subject" the king said looking into their eyes
" you didn't but I do my king" the archduke announced
" I did this because we have to discuss about the Ida's clan" the archduke said showing hatred towards the clan
" but I didn't call you for that and if the archduke says anything without my permission he might lose his head" the king said coldly the entire throne room went silent immediately
" I called the advisory council for a meeting on my new decision I am giving a decrees on akijon beast's tribe hunting and General should make the arrangements while the priest will ask the gods the better day of hunting as one of my special subject what is your decision " the king ask
" your majesty as the one of advisory council I think is a bad idea for new hunting because the loss of the last hunting, at of two hundred soldiers only seventy return and what about the budget and their family are still mourning" one the kingmaker suggest
" I the general of the kingdom support this hunting out of thousands of our soldiers, we will implement and strategize the hunt and it will be successful " the general replies
" if it's funding and resources for our soldiers we have enough resources to feds us for years and we must boost the morale of people of our kingdom my throwing a feast" the king's right hand as the special subject support the general
" I kola support the king's advisory council " the other Kingmaker support them.
" let the priest asked the gods" the head of Ida's clan said
" the gods as spoken we can start the hunting three days to this time and you must not set out until the moon is out" the priest announced
" before the meeting is called off your majesty the Ida's clan has a new heiress according to the custom their heiress must be their first daughter your majesty look into this" kola as the kingmaker suggest
" explain your self Atanda" the king said to the head of Ida's clan
" my apologies for being foolish: it's true but our first daughter is weak her power is to much for her body as the future prophetess but transfer her power to her second sister without our knowledge we find out in few days" he said in fear
" how can we know she is powerful as her elder sister" the priest asked
" we'll meet here by new week bring her here to prove her power and my left hand Chief oladapo and right hand Chief come together all how to boost the people morale before the hunting you can all leave" the king said as he gulp up his wine they'll leave immediately after paying their respect
" father you didn't ask anything about the general elder son and the beast" the prince says " I have sign to both the priest and the general we'll have a private meeting" the king said " just now?" the prince asked surprised
" and the elder son of the general he has something to tell similar to commoner's report" the prince said
" that's the reason we must start the hunting" the king said as he leaves to his chamber
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" the high authority must be taken away from Ida's clan" the archduke said as he hop on his horse
kola the kingmaker nodded positively as he hop also " did you have a plan" kola ask " don't worry about that am a powerful man... hahahahaha.." the archduke laugh wickedly
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