DANUSHIKI

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Two major things occupied Darjer’s mind whenever he watched Daushiki (Jnr.) grow; the prophecy in the sacred grove concerning Danushiki, and the stranger he’d stopped Ziali from killing. Watching Danushiki (Jnr.) eat, sleep, and play were the only periods his mind could be whisked away from these two troubling thoughts. From the first day he’d stepped his foot in Cobra Land, he’d learned to be fearless no matter the situation, and to be merciless with Shaingwa’s enemies.

He’d also resolved to embrace death whenever it came, no matter how painful it might be. He only prayed it’d not be extended to the little boy who now sat on his left thigh. Out of impulse two weeks ago, he’d paid the High Chief, a visit, and advised him concerning Shaingwa’s external security. He advised him to order Shaingwa’s current warriors to patrol the island’s waters on a daily basis. When the High Chief Sharkoti asked him the reason for his suggestion, he simply told him to ensure it was done.

Darjer soon thought about Danushiki Snr. as he stroked his son’s hair. It’d been two years and six months since he left for Cobra Land, and he couldn’t wait for him to return. He’d desperately wanted to show him his son who was a carbon copy of his father.

He smiled as he thought of Mhonse, and how she treated the little boy with more affection than his own mother. His two younger daughters: Gohryo and Makiya had gotten married, and he anticipated his son’s return. This was to enable the completion of the final marriage rites. Thereafter, Sarme could be seen and regarded by people of the island as a bonafide Shaingwan wife and mother.

Although this was yet to happen, Sarme had already begun to dress like every Shaingwan wife due to her motherhood status. She wore a long length of woven cloth tied firmly around her chest to her heels. Her hair was packed into a bundle, and fastened with a long piece of cloth, while white coral bracelets and necklaces adorned her wrists and neck. 

Sarme loved and adored her son as if her life depended on him. It wasn’t surprising to anyone since Shaingwns had long come to a conclusion on that particular ‘trait’. They all believed that anyone who possessed the type of ‘character’ exhibited by Mhonse and her daughters made the best mothers. No prophecy ever made by the gods and goddesses in the sacred grove had ever gone unfulfilled as Darjer resigned himself to fate and prepared for the worst.

General Whyte sat in a military carriage that fateful morning, while poring over the draft of his speech. He’d earlier instructed the young soldier who controlled the four horses pulling the carriage to ensure it moved slowly for two reasons. First, it would ensure that ‘enough’ anxiety was built in the venue where he was to deliver his ‘Forever’ speech. Secondly, he wanted the royal hall to be filled to capacity before he began.

The royal hall had a seating capacity for more than a thousand five hundred people. It also had several chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, while dainty looking candle holders adorned very table. Stern looking guards holding spears and wearing sheathed swords stood at all the entrance, exits and passages inside the hall. The whispering and chattering reduced slightly when General Kenneth stepped in with his personal guards and entourage. He had a small black leather pouch in his left hand, while the other held the handle of his sheathed sword. He spent almost thirty minutes greeting, shaking and acknowledging greetings from the male nobles, royalties and aristocrats. Thereafter, he switched to the ladies to commence a session of flattery, hugs and planting of countless kisses on the top of their right palms. He made sure he held their bodies tightly, and their hands gingerly when he hugged them and kissed the top of their palms. For the elderly ladies he took his time to either brush his cheeks with theirs while embracing them or kiss both cheeks.

He knew from the depth of his heart that none of the people in the large hall cared for a damned General like him. They were only enthusiastic about what his proposed quest-c*m-voyage involved, and ‘what’ would come out of it. Word had gone out every nook and cranny of the Empire about the land of diamonds. Nobles and royalties in the Empire chatted non-stop about the island of diamonds. They believed the said island had diamonds everywhere, which were buried barely two feet below the ground. They also believed and imagined that these diamonds were stacked and worshipped by the inhabitants of the island.

General Whyte soon left them and proceeded to the bar in front of the rows of seats on the right side of the magnificent throne. There was a lone seat and a writing table in front of the throne. Anyone seated at this table would have a clear view of the entire hall and the bronze framed portraits that adorned the walls. The next moment, everyone in the large hall stood to their feet at the sound of a trumpet which heralded the arrival of Her Majesty’s carriage. The entire hullabaloo soon died down the moment the Queen’s buttocks touched the rich purple upholstery on the golden coloured throne.

Two hefty male guards with stern faces stood on both sides of the throne. They wore white wigs on their heads and had their faces powdered. Four dozen guards from the royal division took strategic positions outside the royal hall, while a handful of female assistants could be seen. A male courtier stood about three meters away from where General Whyte sat excitedly, and tilted his decorated hat every moment, before calling for order.

He said some unnecessary things about the Queen’s power, influence, affluence, and wisdom in her administrative pattern, before flattering her about her beauty. He hailed the General repeatedly while he pulled out the speech from his black leather pouch and took a deep breath.

“…I now call on General Kenneth Whyte to the podium.” The courtier’s voice boomed as he looked in the General’s direction and began to clap his hands. There was a thunderous round of applause in the hall as several retired army and naval officers even stood up while he walked majestically to the podium. General Whyte had a broad smile on his well-chiseled smooth-shaven face. He cleared his throat and carefully placed his speech on the beautifully crafted pulpit. He turned and greeted the Queen, followed by a quick wink, which was seen only by Her Majesty, which she acknowledged with a smile. He began to commend the beautiful dresses the women wore in the large hall, before another round of applause began again.

When it died down he put on a sober appearance, sniffed deeply and cast a slow pitiful look at the Queen and the royalties seated in a special section.

“Do I really need this?” he asked, flinging the speech away, tilting his hat and walking down the podium.

“This great Empire is ruled by a great and divine Queen and lies here like a sleeping ogre. It lies here unconcerned, lies here in ignorance, while a vast treasure lies some miles away just for our taking. Look at your necks, fingers, ears, wrists…do you think it’s enough…no, it’s not enough because it is nothing”. There was silence in the large hall as the guards in the royal hall looked at the awed audience in amusement.

“Imagine a cave, ten, twenty times the size of this hall stacked with diamonds on every side. Imagine waking up in the morning and wishing you didn’t, because all your robes are covered or made with diamonds. Imagine when you died, and your corpse lay in the center of a cathedral at midnight while people paid their last respects. Nobody groped, stumbled or looked for a candle stick…why, because your coffin and the robes adorning your corpse were…in fact only your face was bare without diamonds”. The sound of jingling bangles could be heard ten meters away outside the hall’s entrance, while the guards thought of General Whyte’s last comment with scorn.

“One piece of diamond your Majesty…” he turned to face the ‘hypnotized’ Queen. At that moment, she resembled someone who was ready to agree with anything that came out of General Whyte’s mouth.

“One little piece of diamond, like one-third of your smallest finger. If given in place of taxes by my nephew Colonel Anderson for the rest of his life…would it suffice my Queen?” The poor chubby woman looked highly embarrassed didn’t realize when she started examining smallest finger on her right hand. A royal assistant walked up to her to get an answer, while the other occupants of the large hall (excluding the guards), were now in deep suspense.

“It would suffice”, she whispered to young man.

The royal assistant relayed her message back to the General and the audience which soon led to an excited uproar in the hall. Breathing in and out like an exhausted sprinter, the Queen suddenly stood up like one in frenzy and clenched both fists. The guards beside her tried to adjust her gown when she got to her feet. The next second, she shouted with all the anger and seriousness she could muster: “It would suffice…” A young female assistant rushed to her and helped her sit down, before fanning her.

There was a round of applause even before she sat down, while the women in the hall were already on their feet with smiles on their faces. It seemed the Queen’s most recent action was what they’d been waiting for all along. She soon took her seat and began to sip some tea from a white teacup.

“Is it too much to ask, my fellow countrymen and women?” the General continued.

“Is it too much to demand for just fifteen extra-large naval ships… three thousand soldiers, a royal earth specialist, guns with bayonets attached to each of them, a hundred horses, swords and full military uniforms for the soldiers…is it too much?”

The Queen screamed ‘no’ as the teacup in her hand fell, broke into tiny pieces on the floor and spilled its contents. Nobody in the royal hall heard the teacup break as they thundered ‘no’ in unison.

“Oh I forget, enough gunpowder, axes, cannons, cannonballs and other necessary supplies would be needed too…

He had barely finished the last sentence when they all stood on their feet and continued to chant ‘no’, until the General begged them to sit down. He breathed deeply and pulled out his late Uncle’s map from inside his jacket before raising it up for all to see. He began to walk around the royal hall with it while the Queen strained her neck look in his direction. This was to be his first object of conviction in the event that some doubting Thomases decided to question the veracity of his claims.

“Lloyd Herbert Lyttleton”, he shouted at the audience. “May his soul rest in perfect peace… Lyttleton gave me this map when I was much younger, and it shows how to carefully navigate from the Empire’s ports to the land of diamonds”.

The captivated audience were unable to conceal their greed as many strained their old necks to have a glimpse of the map. When he was sure he’d achieved his desired aim, he walked up to the podium for the last part of his speech. He kept looking at several faces in the hall until he reached the pulpit and placed both hands at the opposite edges. He waited for a few minutes before walking to where the Queen sat, with his hands interlocked in earnest plea, he made a final remark. 

“Don’t you wish you could be the Empress of the whole world? Don’t you wish you were the greatest Queen the Empire ever had? Don’t you wish your wealth and power could be second to that only possessed by God?