BENEATH THE CROWN
(AMANDA’S TALE)
CHAPTER 17
AMANDA’S POV
THE NEXT MORNING
I left the palace early to avoid unnecessary confrontation with the queen. I couldn’t stop thinking about the love and care I received from Chukwuma and his mom yesterday. It was overwhelming. I don’t know why we bonded so quickly; maybe it is because we are both outcasts in our community. I sighed at the thought of how badly our community has treated us without remorse or care. It isn’t even their business if we die of depression. All they want is to see us miserable.
I don’t care about what the community thinks, but I am going to be there for them, my newly found family. I am going to do anything within my power to make their lives better. Since it was planting season, I have decided to make good use of my time and plant some crops to get things off my mind and stop thinking too much.
I made my way to Chukwuma’s house and met him outside sharpening a cutlass and hoe. I smiled; this guy must be really hardworking. Shouldn’t he still be in bed sleeping till he fully recovers?
“Good morning, my queen. How are you doing this beautiful morning? You don’t need to tell me; I can see a radiant smile on your face,” he said with a sharp glint in his eyes. I couldn’t stop the smile that formed on my face; this boy was really good at flattery.
“I can see you have fully recovered; that is really good,” I said. I looked around for Mama but couldn’t find her.
“Where is Mama? Is she alright?” I asked with a concerned tone.
“Oh! She went to buy some goods to stock her shop,” he replied, dropping the cutlass in his hands.
“Yes, I remember she said so; forgive my forgetful memory. Hope she ate before leaving to give her enough. Why didn’t you go with her to help with the goods?” I asked as I sat on the chair beside him. I won’t lie; I admire Mama a lot. She is strong and agile, unlike my biological mother who doesn’t like to stress herself.
“She ate before leaving and insisted that I stay behind to accompany you to the farm when you come around,” he said.
“Okay, no problem. Here, I brought yam and egg sauce for you. I hope you like it,” he smiled as he collected the flask from me.
“Thank you so much; I haven’t eaten this in ages. Let me reserve it for our farm work; I have eaten already,” he replied.
“Okay, let’s head for the farm and see what we can achieve today,” I said as I turned to walk towards the gate. But Chukwuma held my hands and looked at me with a sad expression.
“My queen, I don’t feel good about going to the farm today. I don’t know why, but I feel we should go tomorrow or any other day than today,” he pleaded. I just laughed; I am sure that nothing is going to happen.
“Look, I am sure nothing will happen; besides, I have you with me. What will ever happen with you beside me? Come on, let’s get going; we have a lot of work to do,” I said, not giving room for any arguments.
He shrugged and picked up his hoe and the food flask I gave him, while I picked up the cutlass, and we walked out of the gate. Halfway through the journey, Chukwuma stopped and was busy checking his bag frantically.
“What are you searching?” I asked.
“It seems I forgot the key to the house in the compound; let me quickly get it before someone uses it to steal from us,” he muttered.
“Okay, no problem, just don’t take too long, and let me help you carry these things to the farm,” I said, stretching my hands to collect the flask and hoe from him.
“Where is our farm?” I asked so I won’t be in trouble for entering someone’s farm.
“The farm is easy to recognize because it is the only farm on this route that has a palm tree in front of it. My queen, let me hurry; I will be back in a short time,” he said as he raced toward the house.
I walked for a few minutes and came in front of the farmland. Truly, it was the only one with a palm tree, and fruits were ripe. When Somadimna comes back, I will ask him to cut down the fruit so we can process red oil and cook Ofe Akwu. Hmm, it has been long since I ate the soup, and I really wish to savor the deliciousness of the soup.
I made my way into the farmland and began to notice stares from some village youth passing by. Well, it wasn’t my business; it isn’t a new thing to have people staring at me.
I was busy with my work on the farm when I heard the chants of the village youth. I began to wonder who committed a crime this time and where they were headed. The youth normally gather like this when someone has committed a crime, but my question was why are they headed toward this direction?
I went forward to have a closer look when I noticed they were heading towards my direction. I was confused not until I heard someone shouting:
“THIEF! THIEF!!”
And the person was pointing at – ME!!
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THE PALACE
The king was having a serious conversation with the elders, more like an argument. But both sides seemed to be at loggerheads.
“I refuse to marry another wife; Amanda will remain my only wife and that won’t change,” King Ikenna said angrily. Why can’t these people understand I don’t want a second wife, he thought to himself.
“My king, you have to do this for the betterment of the people and not let this kingdom fall into jeopardy,” Elder Amadi said, stomping his staff on the ground.
“Yes, my king, we have no problem with Amanda remaining your wife, but we won’t accept her as our queen. I am sure this is the opinion of the whole villagers. My fellow elders, am I lying?” Elder Ejike asked.
“NO!” all the elders shouted in unison.
“And we also need Elder Chibuzor to step down from his post; he can’t be an adviser to the king when he can’t train his daughter properly. We call for his immediate replacement.”
“Yes, my son, I support what the elders have said. We must maintain the integrity of the tradition, and anyone who defiles it must be severely punished,” Queen Chiamaka said, earning nods from the elders.
“My king! My king!” one youth ran into their presence, causing the discussion to come to a stop.
“My king, my elders, your attention is needed outside immediately,” the youth said, causing King Ikenna and the elders to stand up quickly. They had confused looks on their faces as they walked to know what was going on.
They walked into the courtyard of the palace and met the youths with angry expressions on their faces.
“What is the problem that would warrant the great youth of Egonna land to appear in the palace?” King Ikenna asked.
“My king, my queen, my elders, I greet you all,” the youth leader Nonso greeted with a slight bow to show his respect.
“My king, we all know that it is a great tabóo to enter another person’s farmland and steal or cultivate it, but today we caught someone who repeatedly has no regards for the tradition of our land but chose to disregard it times without number,” Nonso added with an angry expression.
“Which farmland did this person enter?” Elder Ejike asked.
“It’s Elder Amadi’s farmland, the one with a big palm tree in front of it,” Nonso replied.
“What, my farmland? Who will have the audacity to do such a thing?” Elder Amadi asked with anger written all over his face.
The youths pushed out a petite figure that was in their middle. Dîsgust, háte, and añger were written all over their faces towards this person.
“My king, it is your wife – AMANDA!!!”