Zenzi and the Elephant Throne

Chapter 10

Zenzi woke up to a world of pain. Most of her body was covered in cuts and scrapes. Not to mention the large gashes in her thigh and chest. Thankfully these were covered in linen bandages so she didn't have to see the extent of the damage. A fire burned merrily in the middle of her hut and Tanta sat with his back against the hut wall, watching her. As soon as he noticed her eyes were open he moved quickly to kneel at her side.

'How are you feeling,' he asked her, his eyes watching her intensely.

'Like I just fought an evil, angry elephant,' she said faintly.

He didn't laugh or even smile at her weak joke. What was wrong?

'I'm going to be fine, right?' she asked hesitantly. 'I...I don't even know how I got here,' she said frowning. Last she remembered, she had thrown a spear at the monster. Could she have actually killed it? It did not seem possible.

'Tanta, what's going on,' she asked urgently.

He looked at her. He was clearly fighting with himself, suppressing something he wanted to say.

'I'll go get the chief Cloud Shaper. She can explain what happened.'

He ran out before she could say anything. She closed her eyes, exhausted from even that short interaction. Her rest was short-lived as Tanta returned with the Shaper – a motherly bustling figure. Zenzi struggled to a sitting position as they entered.

'Princess, I'm glad to see you are awake!' the Shaper said. Zenzi could tell that the woman meant it, but she did not have the energy for niceties.

'What happened? Your people fled when the monster arrived. They did not even try to help me,' Zenzi said, trying and failing to keep the resentment out of her voice.

'They were supposed to run princess,' the Shaper said.

Zenzi and Tanta looked perplexed. The Shaper continued.

'Tell me, princess, when you saw that beast. Why did you not run away also?' she asked.

Zenzi thought back to that moment. Of all the thoughts that flashed through her mind the most important one was that she needed to stand and fight or people would die.

'The monster could have gone on to kill so many people. I...needed to protect Tupn,' she said.

The Shaper smiled beatifically, looking from Tanta to Zenzi as if that answer had explained everything. They stared back at her blankly.

'When Onuswe led the first Shapers here, she had to make a great personal sacrifice. Every queen of Tupn must show the same loyalty to the land and its people. She must be willing to do anything, even lay down her life to protect Tupn,' the Shaper said.

'So, the beast...' Zenzi felt her stomach churn just thinking about it. The monsters that roamed the mountains of Tupn were not nearly as dangerous or foul as that thing.

'Well, that's... a bit of a riddle,' the Shaper said. 'The creatures only appear when we open the Path. It has ever been so. When preparing for this time, the priests say a prayer to Mawa to summon them.'

'They prayed to summon a monster that could have killed the princess?' asked Tanta, outraged.

'Yes. She must be tested,' answered the Shaper serenely. She locked eyes with Tanta who looked incensed. They stared at each other for a long moment until Ndara walked in, breaking their silent duel. She brought food for Zenzi with her. The Shaper turned to leave when Zenzi stopped her.

'Wait!' she said. 'You said creatures. What happened to my sisters?'

'Princess Sizi is also recovering. She broke her arm. Princess Sanda...she ran away. She will no longer be walking the Path.' The Shaper bowed and left the tent.