The doors to the Royal Quarters swung open; the rest of the
Royal family stared as their king whom they were waiting for, entered with
Debrah draped over his shoulder. They all let out an exasperated sigh as the
two entered the quarters.
“You two really have to stop showing up to meetings like
this.” Akose complained with a stern look on her face. She was pissed; everyone
in the room knew better than to piss Akose off.
“Really sorry… We thought there was more time.” Nana
chuckled nervously as he explained to Akose.
“You really have to think of our safety too; you might
survive her wrath, but the rest of us just might end up… not existing on this
plane.” Dziedzorm said adjusting his glasses. He was busy fidgeting with a
handheld console. Nana just chuckled nervously in response.
“I’m guessing everyone is present then.” Nana looked around
the common area of the Royal Quarters.
“Yes.” One of the Royals responded. His hair was neatly
braided and covered his ears. His eyes were covered with a bandage.
“Alright then.” Nana stared at Akose and nodded at her.
“Call the meeting to a start.”
The room was shaped like a rectangle; in the centre of the
room was a marble floor with a map of the Red Hills depicted on it. On either
sides of the map, three seats were found and what looked like a throne stood at
the end of the map. The Royals took their seats; Akose and Dziedzorm’s seats
were closest to the throne. After their seat was Debrah’s seat and on the other
side, the seat of the bandaged Royal.
The final seats were occupied by another female Royal with a Mohawk and
a male royal who looked very tense and young in comparison. He barely moved in
his seat.
“Before this meeting shall begin; the Royals must identify
themselves, to be recognized and acknowledged by the house.” Akose announced.
“DASEBR3! MESSENGER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY!” The Royal at the
far end shouted, causing the other Royals to wince. Debrah who was struggling
to stay conscious sat up startled by the outburst. Nana chuckled lightly.
“Dasebr3, this is your second meeting since you became part
of the Royal House, there is no need to be nervous. You can relax. It is a
family after all, remember that.” Nana said trying to calm down his nerves.
“YES NANA. I’M SORRY NANA! THANK YOU NANA!” Dasebr3 responded
loudly.
“He has a long way to go.” Dziedzorm teased, his eyes still
glued to the screen of the console. Akose then signalled for them to move on.
“Enyonam, the War Monger of the Red Hills.” The girl with
the Mohawk said. She looked calm and intimidating at the same time.
“R.T, The Red Hills’ Guide.” His voice was deep and
soothing. His braided hair only added to his commanding presence.
“Debrah, Protector of The Red Hills.” Debrah said from where
he sat.
“Akose, Advisor to the Royal House and the King.”
“Dziedzorm, Strategist.” He continued barely looking up from
his console. The rest of the Royals sighed as they had gotten used to Dziedzorm’s
nonchalant behaviour. They had come to realize why he was personally appointed
by the king; he was the most reliable out of them all, when the need called for
it.
“Nana Okai, King of the Red Hills.”
The Adinkra Symbols imprinted on the backs of all the seats
glowed in response.
“Am I the only one who isn’t comfortable with my ass being
warmed by these seats whenever we are acknowledged by the Hills?” Dziedorm
complained, squatting on the seat.
“BRA PANYIN DZIEDZORM YOU CAN’T SAY THAT!” Dasebr3 protested
as politely as he could; still a nervous wreck.
“Oh… Dasebr3, did you just question my authority? It seems
you are ready to fight me for my seat.” Dziedzorm taunted as he raised his eyes
from the console and stared at Dasebr3, causing Daasebr3 to tremble violently.
“THA- THA- THAT’S NOT WHAT I WAS DOING BRA PA-” He
stuttered.
“Dziedzorm, stop teasing the kid. You are making his
condition worse than it already is.” R.T said in Dasebr3’s defence.
“R.T… you too?” Dziedzorm shifted his attention to R.T
“I will stop supplying you with games if you don’t apol-”
“Sorry Dasebr3, you know I was just joking right?” Dziedzorm
apologized with a bright smile.
“This is just too sad to watch.” Enyonam complained.
“Alright, enough with the goofing around, let’s get down to
business.” Akose said sternly, sending chills down the spine of everyone
gathered there.
“Easy Akose; try to remain calm.” Nana added cheerfully, his
voice riddled with nervousness.
“Are you trying to say I am not calm?” She asked with a too
perfect smile. “I am very calm, right guys?” She turned to face the other
Royals, a chill ran through the room. They suddenly felt their skin crawl;
their face beaded with cold sweat.
“Of course.”
“Very calm”
“The coolest”
“Who even said anything about not being calm?”
“Don’t listen to the King, he’s just starved.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t even know what he is saying.”
They chorused trying to get Akose back to normal. There was
something about Akose they all feared, and at the same time respected. They
were mostly reminded of the fear part however.
“Exactly.” She replied cheerfully with a radiant smile. They
all let out a sigh of relief; that was way too close. “Reports.”
“ALL VISITING SPECIAL ARENAS HAVE ARRIVED AND HAVE ALL BEEN
SHOWN TO THEIR VARIOUS QUARTERS!” Dasebr3 said loudly. Not as before, but still
loud.
“All seven of them?” Akose asked.
“YES!” He confirmed.
“Enyonam.”
“Apart from The Zebras who challenged a candidate from the
Red Hills, without going through proper procedure, no form of challenge has
been made by us or any visiting Arena. However, we have been asked to pay a
fine by the Arena Supervisors for a Royal accepting an unsupervised and illegal
challenge. And it’s a huge fine.” Enyonam added. Dziedzorm sighed loudly with
frustration.
“I am sorry about that guys.” Debrah tried to apologize. R.T
nodded acceptance, Dziedzorm complained about Debrah costing him the new released
video game, Dasebr3 tried to cheer up Debrah and Enyonam slapped the back of
his head.
“Alright, we shall get the money ready by tomorrow and we
will have Daseebr3 submit it.” Nana said from where he sat.
“I think it’s best you go instead-” Before she could end her
words a double edged axe rested beneath her neck. The atmosphere in the room
had shifted. Murderous aura filled the room as the Royals all stared at Enyonam
with deadly expressions. Even Dziedzorm had paused his game.
“Easy guys, let her finish what she is saying.” Nana tried
to reason with them.
“No King, just because democracy is being practiced under
your rule doesn’t mean we can allow insubordination to fester in the Royal
House. We can’t allow you to be challenged.” R.T said, still in a calm voice,
his axe unmoving from where it was.
“R.T you should learn to relax a little, Enyonam only-”
“He’s right King, I shouldn’t have spoken the way I did. It
was wrong. It wasn’t my intention to challenge your authority. I apologize to
the house.” Enyonam said boldly, accepting her reprimand.
“The house accepts your apology.” Akose said. R.T withdrew
his axe and the atmosphere returned to normal.
“Please thread cautiously next time.” R.T added. Enyonam
nodded in response.
“As you were saying?” Nana asked.
“I think the Supervisors would like to speak you King. They
didn’t say about what, but they insisted you visit the peak of the Hills as
soon as you can. Hence, my suggestion, which I should have worded properly.”
She explained.
“Don’t worry about it.” Nana smiled at her. “I wonder what
they want to talk about this time.” He added wearily. He yawned without even
realising.
“King.”
“Yes?”
“May I ask when was the last time you slept?” R.T asked
still in a calm tone.
“Well, if today is really the arrival of the seven
Specialized Arenas then I guess it’s been three days.” Nana said with a goofy
smile. His Royal family all stared at him with a blank expression. Did their
king have a death wish or something? Who in their right mind trains nonstop for
three days?
“If I may suggest, I think you need to find something to eat
and rest properly.” R.T expressed his concern in the most mechanical way. He
was the most principled of the bunch; which was the more reason why no one
understood why he seemed to get along best with Dzeidzorm. “The two weeks ahead
us are going to be hectic, and judging from what Enyonam relayed Dzeidzorm’s
prediction is right; they wouldn’t summon you otherwise. Something big is
coming; we need you prepared for it.”
“I second. I’m always right after all.” Dzeidzorm called
from behind the screen of his console.
“So do I.” Debrah added.
“I second too.” Enyonam added.
“I SECOND TOO! SORRY KING!” Dasebr3 shouted with his hand
raised.
“Will he ever not be extra.” Enyonam scoffed.
“They are right King; you need to regain your strength.”
Akose said to Nana. “We have a busy week ahead of us.”
Nana wanted to protest, but the smile on Akose’s face and
the pleading looks his Royals were giving him for fear of what Akose might do,
made it clear to him that he wasn’t supposed to say no to Akose.
“Fine. What about the meeting?” He asked.
“I can take it from here.” Akose replied.
Nana knew better than to protest. He got up from his seat
and headed out of the room.
“Wait- one last thing… Is she here too?” Nana asked. The
question caught Debrah’s attention, he knew who Nana was referring to.
“Yes she is.” Akose responded.
“You hear that Debrah?” Nana asked with a smile. “Things are
about to get interesting.”
“Who is he talking about?” Dasebr3 managed to whisper for
the first time since the meeting started.
“His sister.” Enyonam whispered back to him.
“His sister?”
The meeting had come to a successful end. Debrah was taken
to the infirmary by Akose and Enyonam. Enyonam’s healing abilities made her a
valuable asset to the Royal Family. R.T, Dziedzorm and Dasebr3 walked back to
their rooms in silence, except for the sounds from Dziedzorm’s console.
“What would have happened if Enyonam had truly wanted to
challenge Nana for his seat as King, what would we have done?” Dasebr3 asked
breaking the silence.
“Our jobs.” R.T responded without hesitation.
“I know that, but what if we were not there? I know Nana is
strong to be able to be King, but they say Enyonam is the strongest War Monger
out of all the Specialized Arenas in the kingdom. Wouldn’t that be a problem
for the King?” Dasebr3 asked in a nervous tone.
“What do you think I meant by our jobs?” R.T asked not
stopping for a second.
“Umm… Protect the King?”
“Oh… kid, you have so much to learn. When Nana became King,
our number one job as members of the Royal House changed.” Dziedzorm said,
hitting the pause button on his console.
“Changed? To what?” Daseebr3 asked, trying to keep up.
“After seeing what our King was capable of, we changed our
number one job as the Royal Family, with his approval of course.” R.T explained
still walking.
“To what exactly Bra Panyin?” Dasebr3 asked anxiety evident
in his voice.
“Our number one job as the Royal Family is to protect anyone
who dared to challenge the King, from the King.” Dziedzorm said with a snicker.
“R.T putting his axe under her throat wasn’t to threaten her, but to remind her
that.”
Dasebr3 couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew the
King was strong and had even defeated Debrah a number of times, but was he that
powerful.
“No, he is not that powerful.” R.T added as though reading
Dasebr3’s thoughts. “He is more powerful than that.”
“But how can you be so sure?” Dasebr3 asked. He had stopped
walking now. The other two stopped walking too.
“We’ve fought him before, and each of us lost miserably.”
R.T responded and walked off.
No way! If R.T was saying that…
“Oh he forgot to add one thing; he’s always been embarrassed
about it.” Dziedzorm sang from behind Dasebr3.
“Forgot to add what?”
“Each of us lost miserably after we took him on at the same
time.” Dziedzorm said with a sinister smile. “Whatever training he puts himself
through is not for show; no one in our Royal House will be foolish enough to
challenge the current King for his seat.”
He gave a peace sign and walked off resuming his video game.
He fought the Royal Family all
at once… and they lost? How was that possible?! It didn’t even make sense. At
that moment, Dasebr3 understood why they all respected the King that much.
AJ had tried exploring the Red Hills, but even with her
ability it proved a daunting task. The place was bigger than she ever imagined.
The place was pretty at night; where she was barely had any light. Where the
hell was she? She had tried sleeping; but it was a fruitless endeavour. How
could she after what Akose had told her? She knew he had potential, but could
he have changed that much in four years? To the extent of being compared to Red
Hills Kings of the glory days? She had to confirm this herself. However, from
what she had seen, he really had grown strong. Was he now stronger than Ato?
Her? She slapped both her cheeks to snap out of her thoughts.
“You do know I can sense you right?” She said out loud.
Someone had disrupted the static surrounding her. She caught a flash of red
light from the corner of her eye; as fast as ever! She quickly jumped sideways
avoiding a fatal blow. She watched as the tree which had been behind her sliced
into two and blow up into many smaller pieces. What kind of kick was that?!
She looked up in time to see a kick headed straight for her.
It suddenly felt like time had slowed, the static in the atmosphere thickened
becoming almost solid. An electrical halo formed around AJ’s head, taking the
form of a crown. She disappeared in a flash of lightning and appeared a few
feet away from her attacker.
“Is that anyway to say hello to a friend?” AJ complained.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack, you loli.”
“I had to see whether you had gotten lazy… and stop
exaggerating, I was barely trying.” Esi replied stepping into the light. “You
know how much I hate being called a loli.”
To be continued…
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Friend?? What the hell happened four years ago?!...
I AM TIRED!!!! I really have no idea how the professionals
pull it off but this is hard. Today I shall lament small… my soul is weary!
Okay… enough of that, Hello readers, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I really
appreciate the support, and I am more than happy to provide more content (It is
so hard!). I hope I have made up for being out of touch for so long. Another
chapter I have enjoyed and I hope you enjoy as much too. Something big is
coming… Something big… Let’s hope our characters will be prepared for it…
Because even I’m not! That’s all I will say for now! Winging it!...
Yours Faithfully,
everydayGladiator
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