Chapter Eight

Today was the second day of the three-day fast. Eniola was convinced in her spirit that it was the best time to go and speak with the king, but he was in a meeting with the council of chiefs.

She had prayed tirelessly that the king would invite her, but he hadn’t, so she had resolved to make her move. However, going to see the king in his bedroom was one thing, interrupting his meeting with the chiefs was another.

Yet, her spirit was troubled, so she had summoned one of the palace maids to prepare her, and the girl had done her finest work yet. They were both smiling into the mirror, admiring  her beauty, when Abena entered.

“Where are you going, my queen? The king won’t like to hear that you left the palace without his permission.” Abena said.

Eniola smiled.

 “I am not the king’s prisoner. I am his wife, and if he has refused to see me for three weeks, I will go and see him.”

Abena’s eyes widened in shock.

“You are going to see the king today?”

“Yes, I am.”

Abena fell on her knees.

“Please my queen. You must wait till later tonight. Don’t incur his wrath by showing up unexpectedly.”

“I must do what the Lord wants.”

“The Lord will not want you to be put to shame.”

“You are right. That is why I trust the Lord to help me triumph,” Eniola said, and walked out of the room, leaving Abena and the palace maid staring at each other in fear.

Eniola might have sounded confident, but she did not feel confident.

The king had not summoned her to him for a reason, it was possible he already regretted hastily marrying her, or that her performance on his bed was so woeful that he never wanted to experience it again.

“Oh Lord, help me.” Eniola whispered and then opened the palace door.

Abe saw her first and gasped, alerting the room to the anomaly. The chiefs opened their eyes wide in shock too, the queen had interrupted a council meeting, it had never happened before, so no one knew how to react, except the king.

Azari rose up and held up his staff, smiling at Eniola.

“My beautiful queen honours us with her presence.”

At the king’s positive reaction, everyone rose and bowed to greet the queen.”

Eniola walked up to the king and held his staff, smiling shyly and then knelt before him.

“Why are you here, Eniola?” Azari asked curiously.

Heart beating fast, Eniola asked a question instead of answering the king and hoped that she had not overstepped.

“My king, I heard that we now have security in the land, and we have no more fear of the Ugbaris. How did we achieve this?”

The king mused briefly, then answered; “we are enjoying the bravery of one man, who single-handedly took care of the situation.”

Eniola rose and moved closer to the king, but her voice was loud enough for all the chiefs to hear.

“Then that man deserves to be single-handedly honoured.”

“I have been honoured, my queen,” Chief Halaam said happily, “however, I am open to more”, he continued.

The queen smiled at Halaam, “How do you recommend that such an honour be bestowed?” Eniola asked Halaam.

Halaam smiled shyly, “In a modern kingdom, such a person should be made second in command to the king.”

Other chiefs gasped in shock.

“You are greedy!” Chief Goze shouted, irritated by Halaam’s audacity.

“I am only answering the queen. The power to make it happen is with King Azari” Halaam replied him.

“Abe, bring the history books,” Azari requested.

Abe brought it from a shelf behind the throne and opened it.

“On my wedding night, a man boycotted and arrested two Ugbari assassins. What is his name?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Halaam asked, but was silenced by the king’s scowl.

Abe looked through the books.

“His name is Madeyo Olanrewaju.”

“What was done to honour him?” Azari asked.

Abe looked through the books again.

“Nothing was recorded.”

“Because nothing was done, and I would have owed a debt forever, if not for my beautiful wife.” King Azari said, and Eniola smiled shyly. He continued, “we must follow Halaam’s guidance. Abe, take some guard with you, go and get Madeyo. From today, he will become a council chief, second only to me in authority.”

The council bowed down in acknowledgment to the king’s decree, but the queen burst into tears.

“My king, my people and my uncle, Madeyo and I have been doomed to die. How then can Madeyo be made chief?”

The room grew silent.

“Who dares make such a decision?”

Eniola pointed at Halaam.

“Your chief wants us destroyed, but we mean no harm to the kingdom, and have lived here peacefully for twenty-three years, since my birth.”

Azari fumed, then took a deep breath to control his anger. He pulled Eniola to his side and wiped her tears with his palm.

Halaam lay flat on the floor.

“I am sorry my king, I did not know that they were the queen’s people.”

“Why should innocent people die, even if they were not my people?” Queen Eniola asked.

“It is also my fault, but we will no longer make foolish mistakes because your Uncle Madeyo will be my right-hand man.” Azari said.

Eniola smiled excitedly, and it warmed the king’s heart. Without taking his eyes off the queen, he continued speaking; “Abe, go and get Madeyo, today he will become my chief. Everyone, leave us. I need to be alone with my queen.”

All the chiefs rose to leave, with their caps in the hand they held behind their backs.

“What about Chief Halaam?” Abe whispered to the king.

Azari stared at Halaam.

“Henceforth, Halaam is no longer a Chief, and because we know that he is capable of unimaginable evil, he is hereby banished from Azari kingdom. My father would have killed you, but I am sparing your life. I have heard your whispers that I am a coward, but you are wrong. My bravery today is in letting you know that we are not afraid of any evil plan you may concoct to avenge your loss. However, I hope that you will start out somewhere else and choose a better path.”

Halaam attempted to beg, but the guards dragged him out, while the other chiefs followed.

Azari pulled Eniola into his arms.

“I am so sorry Eniola, this is my fault. I should have been more attentive to the decisions of the land.”

“It’s okay! I am glad you did the right thing today.” Eniola said, and Azari pulled her into his arms.

“For you, I will always do the right thing.”

Eniola pulled back from his hug.

“I am grateful. I was so afraid. I thought you didn’t like me.”

Azari’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Why would you ever think that?”

“You haven’t summoned me for three weeks.”

Azari smiled.

“I was beginning to like you too much, and I heard that’s not good for a king, it makes him weak.”

“I won’t make you weak.” Eniola promised, and Azari cradled her face, smiling into her eyes.

“No, you won’t, and I can’t wait to get to know you better.”

Eniola smiled in excitement.

“Me and my God!”

“Your gods?”

“Not gods. The Almighty God.”

“God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Azari said, and Eniola nodded happily.

“I am glad you remember.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about your Jesus, Eniola. You carry Him with you, it will be impossible to know you without knowing Him.”

Azari’s words were music to Eniola’s ears.

“I guess it is time to know Him then,” Eniola said, and shocked herself by kissing the king.

Wow! We have finally come to the end of the story “To Love A Pagan King”. Were you blessed? Please share your lessons and reviews with us in the comments section.