Maame Water: The Legend Of The Fish Queen

Rise To Power

When the King looked into the Princess's dark eyes that day, he knew that she was serious about castrating Adotey and when he saw the cold look that had been etched onto her face on the day that Adotey had escaped and killed the elder's daughter, he knew that if the Princess ever found Adotey, she would not hesitate to remove his genitals even if it cost the Princess her life. And so when the medicine man revealed to the King that Adotey's genitals had been slashed off on the night that he was killed, the King knew that his sister had something to do with Adotey's murder. The King feared that if he suspected his sister of the crime, the other council members might have similar thoughts, so he had the medicine man keep the information a secret.

No one, except the King knew that Adotey had been castrated.

The Fish-Queen continued speaking, "After I found out that Adotey had escaped and killed the elder's daughter, I knew that I had no choice. I needed to kill Adotey, but to do that I needed power. I sought out the fish-woman and she agreed to make me one of hers."
***

The Princess entered the lair of the fish-woman filled with pain and despair.

She's dead, the Princess thought to herself, it can't be but...

But the Princess saw it herself. She had woken up relatively happy that morning because the Pig was finally going to pay for what his crime when Master Kabu told her about the Adotey's escape.

"My Lady, the King has asked me to inform you of that The Mighty Adotey, Conqueror of Ayiteh the Giant, has escaped from the dungeons," Kabu had said. "I regret to inform you that he killed Elder Neequaye's daughter on his way out, my lady."

The Princess had rushed to the elder's quarters the moment she heard this ignoring the look of satisfaction on Kabu's face. Looking back, the Princess wished she had run him through there and then. Then she would see how well Kabu would smile with a sword embedded in his heart.

The Princess had known before she'd entered her best friend's bed room that Kabu's report had been accurate. She had heard the wailing of the court's women long before she reached the bedroom. She had entered the room to find her brother, the King flanked by the Elder Neequaye, the coward, and the medicine man. The Princess had spotted the Queen sitting on the elder's daughter's bed with tears streaming, unhindered, down her cheeks. Her countenance had been a blend of shock and raw pain and her eyes had been glued to the person lying on the bed.

Sensing a presence, the Queen had turned and locked eyes with the Princess and the Princess had seen the extent of former's pain.
That was when the Princess had braced herself for what she would find on the bed. She had clenched her fist, looked down... and had almost fainted.

Her best friend, had lain lifeless on the bed her throat slit, her eyes wide and her mouth frozen in a soundless scream.

No, the Princess had thought, please no.

She had felt her brother's gaze on her, watching as the emotions flashed across her face; from shock and disbelief to pain to anger and hatred and finally, to... nothing.

Nothing but the burning desire for revenge.

Slowly, she had raised her head to meet her brother's gaze and he had flinched away from the coldness he had seen in her eyes.

'You have failed me brother,' her eyes had told him. 'This is your doing and now, you have left me with no choice. I will kill him, I will slaughter that pig!'

The Princess pushed the memory away with difficulty. The pain in her heart still remained though, as unrelenting as ever. The Pig had taken away her light and the Princess intended to pay him back. That was why the Princess was here, seeking the fish-woman. The Princess needed her power and then she would have the tools she needed to slaughter the 'mighty' swine .