BENEATH THE CROWN
(AMANDA’S TALE)
CHAPTER 18
The whole courtyard was silent at the sight of Amanda being the thîef. King Ikenna was shocked, but he quickly concealed it and replaced it with a frown.
“Amanda! I don’t know you to be a thief. What is it that you lack in the palace that would warrant you to be a thief, and you didn’t just go to anybody’s land, but an elder’s land, Elder Amadi’s land. Eh! Amanda?” Queen Chiamaka yelled.
Amanda rolled her eyes at the queen but still kept quiet.
“I can’t believe this insôlent child had the audacity to step into my farmland without my permission.” Elder Amadi said as he slammed his staff on the ground.
King Ikenna sighed and looked at Amanda with pity. “What do you have to say for yourself, Amanda?”
“Look up and speak this instance,” the youth said angrily.
Amanda looked up and laughed before staring directly at Elder Amadi without fear. “Elder Amadi, I want to ask you just one question. Are you really the owner of that farmland?”
Elder Amadi nervously retorted. “What is this nonsénse question that you are asking me? What gave you the guts to ask me that question?”
Before Amanda could reply, a voice could be heard screaming for Amanda.
“Amanda! Amanda! My daughter, are you alright? Did they hurt you?” Mama Chukwuma asked with a concerned voice, checking her body for injuries.
“Mama, I am fine. Why are you here? I thought you went to buy some goods,” Amanda said.
Mama sighed with relief and said. “Yes, I returned quickly; I was in the shop when I heard the news of your arrest, making me to rush here immediately.”
“You, this wîtch, don’t you have regard for the king and elders of this land?” Elder Ejike yelled in anger.
Mama turned to face King Ikenna and apologized. “I am sorry, my king and my elders. I was really concerned about my daughter Amanda. Please, my elders, what is my daughter’s offense?”
Nonso turned to Mama and frowned. “Amanda was found trying to cultivate Elder Amadi’s land without permission, which we all know is a taboo in this village. She had the guts to step into farmland, and we caught her.”
“Please, which farmland are you talking about in particular?” Mama asked in confusion.
“The farmland with a big palm tree in the front,” Nonso replied.
“Ah! Elder Amadi! The only piece of land you left for me and my son, is it still that one you are out to claim? What exactly is my offense for you to treat me this way?” Mama asked with tears in her eyes.
Elder Amadi turned grim at her words and cûrsed at her. ”Which son are you talking about? Is it the one that is deád or the one that is lost forever?”
“And who said that there is no surviving son of late Chief Obiora?” a voice said as it approached the courtyard.
Chukwuma stood close to his mother, staring intently at Elder Amadi before turning his gaze to King Ikenna.
“Greetings, my king! I am one of the surviving sons of late Chief Obiora. By tradition, all property of my late father belongs to me and my brother. But my uncle collected all the property and left us with one piece of land, which is the one with the big palm tree in the front. Now my uncle wants to claim it with the assumption I am deád. Uncle, isn’t that callous of you?” Chukwuma asked Elder Amadi, who avoided his gaze.
Chukwuma turned his gaze to the youth and continued. ”My mother was labeled a witch in this village. The villagers treated us as outcasts, but only my queen Amanda didn’t see us as outcasts and treated us as her family, and for that, I am eternally grateful to her.”
Queen Chiamaka’s face turned ugly at his words and immediately rebuked him. “Amanda will never be queen. She defîled the tradition and won’t be accepted as queen.”
Chukwuma sighed and faced the queen. “Ma! I mean no disrespect, but Queen Amanda will always be my queen, and nothing is going to change my mind.”
Queen Chiamaka clenched her fist in ráge and retorted. ”You are one of the youth in this village, and your father was an elder. Don’t you know that Amanda wasn’t defîled by my son, making her unfit to rule?”
Chukwuma only smiled and said, “The real truth of the matter will reveal itself. Do not make hasty decisions that you will end up regretting.”
Clutching the hem of her dress tightly, Queen Chiamaka appeared to be in a state of confusion, wondering what he meant by that statement.
Observing the confusion of the queen, Chukwuma smiled and turned back to Nonso. “I am sure you didn’t bother to ask her why she was on the land or who showed her the land. Just because you convicted her of one crime, you felt she really committed the crime of which you accused her without properly investigating the matter. And you are the youth leader. Sháme.”
Nonso’s face darkened, and he was greatly enraged by Chukwuma’s accusation. He turned to King Ikenna and muttered gently. ”My king, I didn’t know that Chukwuma was still alive, as he had been absent from youth meetings and I got wind of his rumored death…”
“And you didn’t bother to confirm if it is true,” King Ikenna cut in.
Nonso sighed and said, “No, my king, I didn’t bother to confirm if it was true. His friend Ebere was the one who told us of his deáth.”
“Where is Ebere right now?” King Ikenna asked, getting frustrated about the whole issue.
Nonso pointed his hands towards a young man who was busy hiding his face. ”My king! He is the one. EBERE, COME OUT AT ONCE.”
Ebere was pushed out by his fellow youth. He immediately went on his knee. ”My king! I am sorry, but the truth is I went to Chukwuma’s house and met him lying on the floor, and he wasn’t breathing. So I assumed he was deád. I didn’t know he was still alive.”
Chukwuma couldn’t believe his friend since childhood could tell such a lie in his presence. His heart broke as he spoke. “Ebere, you that I begged several times to come to my house after the death of my father, but you declined until my strange illness started. You came once to the house and met me on the ground groaning in pains. I begged you to help me get some drugs and food, but you refused and said you didn’t want to waste your money on someone who is already deád. I pleaded with you, but you were adamant on your decision. That was the last time you came to my house; how can you say that you saw me on the floor not breathing? What did I ever do to you to warrant such wîckedness?”
Ebere ignored the look of pain in Chukwuma’s eyes and said nervously. ”My king, I don’t know what he is talking about; he is lying to you.”
“And you are the one saying the truth? If I were you, I would simply confess now to avoid further problems,” Amanda cut in as she walked towards Chukwuma to console him.
Ebere hissed at her while rolling his eyes. ”I wasn’t talking to you but the king, and for your information, I am not lying. I would rather dîe than lie to the king.”
“Be careful of what you wish for.”
“And I will say it again, I would rather dîe than lie to the king,” Ebere said with so much confidence.
“Your wish will be granted,” Amanda said, not minding the stares she was getting from everyone present.
This caused a lot of whispering among the youth present. Elder Amadi began to feel nervous, wondering what would be the king’s judgment. Will I return all properties of my late brother to this wîtch and her brát? He thought to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted by King Ikenna’s voice. ”Since we know the truth now, Amanda is free from these accusations, and Elder Amadi, kindly return everything you took from your brother’s wife and her children,” shocking Elder Amadi.
“Please, Nonso, next time carry out proper investigations of a matter before bringing it to the palace for judgment, and Ebere, this should be the last time you spread false rumors,” the king said, giving his final judgment.
The judgment brought tears of joy to Mama and Chukwuma’s face as they hugged Amanda tightly.
“Sister, I can’t believe that I will finally get my father’s property back. But sister, why did you put yourself in harm’s way even with the warnings I gave you? What if something different had happened?” Chukwuma asked with a concerned tone.
“You are not the only seer, you know,” Amanda winked, shocking Mama and Chukwuma to the core.
Their happiness and jubilation were cut short by the presence of the doctor in charge of the late king’s health.
“Good day, my king, I have found the cause of the sudden deáth of the late king!”
TBC