Adaeze

A New King

" Chibuike, I know you are not interested in being the next king. Why not give me the sacred staff and we will tell father that I was the one who found it? " Okenna said trying to convince his brother.

" Stop making things difficult," Okenna said again this time, impatiently.

He was beginning to get pissed off by Chibuike's constant refusal to hand over the sacred staff to him.

'What is wrong with this boy? Could my previous assumptions be right? Has he been fooling me to think that he was not interested in being king when in reality he was my competitor?' Okenna thought silently.

'If you won't give me the staff willingly, I will take it forcefully.' Okenna thought with a smirk.

" Let's get going before the sun sets. You know this is an evil forest with many dangers lurking around, especially at night." Chibuike said and immediately started to trace his way back to the village.

Without turning around, he could tell that Okenna was following him as he heard the rattling of leaves behind him.

He actually felt sorry for Okenna as the sacred staff did not choose him but chose him instead.

He wished that he could switch positions with his brother. But he knew he could not do that.

As the gods of the land choose the next king themselves by allowing the chosen king to see the staff.

Chibuike shook his head at his brother's childish behavior earlier.

How could Okenna ask him to give him the sacred staff and lie to their father that he was the one who found it? Chibuike thought silently as they continued their journey back home.

'Why don't I just kill him and take the sacred staff? I will find a convincing story to tell my father after that.' Okenna thought to himself as a smile made its way to his lips.

Okenna picked up a big log of wood and wanted to strike Chibuike's head but a force held him back.

He could not bring himself to strike Chibuike as his hands refused to obey him.

After trying many times without success, Okenna decided to leave it for another day.

Probably when he would not have the sacred staff with him.

Before now, he had thought that the saying that the sacred staff protected its holder was a myth until he had experienced it.

" What is going on? Why are you raising that log?" Chibuike asked in confusion.

He had been hearing the grunting of his brother and had wondered what was going on.

He was surprised to see Okenna raising a log or more like battling with it. He could not help but asked why.

Okenna laughed awkwardly and gently brought down the log

" I was just exercising. You can never tell the danger ahead." Okenna said while raising the log again to make it seem like he was saying the truth.

Chibuike looked at him skeptically but he could not prove otherwise so he let it slide.

' Fool! You think you have it all now. I bet this won't be for long. I will still be the next king. I just need enough time to come up with a good plan.' Okenna thought silently.

Soon they made it out of Ojiri forest.

" Father, father, I found the sacred staff!" Chibuike screamed excitedly as they got to the palace.

Okenna trailed behind him silently, secretly wishing that he was the one with the sacred staff, not Chibuike.

" May the gods be praised. They have really chosen a good king for the land." King Umueze said while hugging Chibuike.

He had heard Chibuike's excited voice from his chambers and had come running.

He had always known that Chibuike would make a better king compared to his brother.

" Father, are you by any chance implying that I won't be a good king if I had found the sacred staff?" Okenna asked his father in displeasure.

How could his father openly imply that Chibuike was better than him? Okenna thought to himself.

He almost felt like killing both his father and brother right now. But he won't do it now.

" Oh, Okenna. That is not what I meant. I only said that because of the way you behave with our people." King Umueze said trying to explain himself to Okenna who had obviously taken what he had said to heart.

" Don't worry father. I understand your point. You can go and celebrate with your favorite son." Okenna said angrily and quickly left his father's presence.

Soon the news about Chibuike being the next king spread around the village like wildfire.

The villagers could not help but be happy. The gods of the land had heard their cries.

Two weeks later, king Umueze fell ill with an unknown sickness.

The chief priest tried all he could to heal the king but his health kept getting worse by the day.

" It seems your father was poisoned. But there is no cure for the poison used. I have tried all I can to revive him but it all proved abortive."

" I will advise you two to prepare for the worse. Your father may soon join his ancestors. Prepare for his burial." Ojemba, the chief priest said sadly.

Who could have poisoned his father? His father was a kind-hearted king. Who would want him dead? Chibuike asked himself silently.

Okenna secretly smiled to himself. Indeed the poison from Umuagu village was very effective.

The chief priest had told him that the poison was very effective and its antidote could not be found elsewhere except in Umuagu.

'One down, one more to go.' Okenna thought silently.

Three days later, king Umueze was announced dead.

The demise of king Umueze came as a surprise to the people.

Though they had heard of his strange sickness, they had prayed and hope that he would pull through.

A week was declared for the mourning and burial of king Umueze.

After the burial, Chibuike was told to take a wife before he could be crowned king.

Chibuike married Ebubechi, a very beautiful maiden, and was crowned king afterward.

Unknown to Chibuike, his brother Okenna had eyes for Ebubechi.

This added to the hatred in Okenna's heart towards him.

Okenna went back to Umuagu to make sure that his brother Chibuike remained barren.

But as fate would have it, Ebubechi took in after five years of her marriage with Chibuike.

" Wise one, you told me that Ebubechi will never get pregnant as long as she remains married to my brother. But I just saw her this morning with her protruding stomach. She is really pregnant." Okenna told the chief priest of Umuagu in desperation.

" What do you want me to do?" The chief priest asked Okenna.

Okenna grinned evilly.

" I want you to terminate the pregnancy," Okenna said without a second thought.