Maame Water: The Legend Of The Fish Queen

The Oracle

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I know I am always apologising for taking long breaks, but please bear with me. This semester was really stressful but I still managed to update some of my other books. This was the only one I could not find time for; but now that I am on vacation.... I have all the time in the world! Until I start internship that is. In the meantime...ENJOY!!

Young prince, little king
So young, so naïve
A kind ruler, the prince will be
To his detriment, he shall see.
Brave and strong stays his heart
Inspiring loyalty from realms apart.
The War of Riches shall he win
Defeating the Giants and all of their kin
The Elder's niece, the king must wed
To save himself from laying dead...
***

The King and his men stood atop the mountain, facing the mouth of the foreboding cave. They had hiked for a greater part of the morning and were all bathed in sweat. Three of his men had not survived the treacherous climb, and the King himself had thought himself doomed when the anaesthetic the medicine man had given him began to wane and the jagged wound across the King's torso started to throb.
But through sheer willpower and the unquenchable fear of his sister, the King had persevered; yet now that he had reached the summit, now that he had reached the mouth of the cave, the King hesitated to enter.

He tore his gaze from the cave and looked around at what was left of his loyal entourage. Ten warriors, made up of Kabu and Adotey's kin had accompanied him on this quest but now only seven remained of which all but two were injured.

The last time I entered a cave, forty of my best warriors met their doom.

How many more will the King have to sacrifice to defeat his sister?

Many more. Many, many more. But no one must die today.

"Sire?" Kabu's elder brother, Kabutey, questioned. " Do we have leave to enter?"

The King stood a few seconds in silence, the chilly breeze circling his beard.

"You do not," the King whispered, his voice almost inaudible.

"But Sire!" Kabutey screamed in outrage. "We have journeyed too long and lost too much to give up now! We must find out how to avenge my brother! We must enter the cave or-,"

"Not we," the King cut in. " I."

Kabutey's eyes widened in realisation.
"Surely, Sire, you do not mean-."

But the King was already headed towards the cave.
"I will consort with her on my own. You are not follow to me."

Kabutey took a step forward.
"We are meant to be your shield and sword! We cannot watch you doom yourself by braving that cave alone."

The other six men joined Kabu's brother.

The King merely smiled.
"All the more reason why you cannot follow me."

"I-I do not understand, Sire."

The King unstrapped his scabbard and the seven men watched in confusion as his sword fell to the ground.

"Sire?"

"You see, I do not need swords or shields where I am going, so I would have no need of you."

With that the King dropped his shield, which fell to the ground with a clang.

The seven men simultaneously rushed forward.

"Follow me," the King whispered, his back turned to his men, " and I will slay you with my bare hands."

The men stopped dead.