Beyond the Will of Transcendence

CHAPTER 4

Zara sat on her bed, with one leg crossed over the other. She sipped from a golden cup of palm wine that was served to her by a maid who stood by attentively. In silence, she watched as Faruk led a group of imperial guards to present objects wrapped in rolls of leopard skin and lay them at her feet. Her appearance was plain; she had just finished taking a morning bath and was dressed in a set of layered white cotton undergarments.

After dismissing the guards, Faruk knelt down and carefully opened the wrapped items which were revealed to be the arrows from yesterday's attack.

"Are these all of them?"

Faruk nodded.

"I made sure they scoped the entire area. We collected everything we could find, General. Including the ones that injured the First Prince's guards."

"How many?" Zara pointed at the arrows as she asked.

"Eighty-three," Faruk answered.

"Hmmh. Eighty-three arrows..." Zara muttered with a smirk on her lips. "I have to give it to those fools. They were quite tenacious."

Faruk stood up to his feet. He gazed at Zara and she caught the pregnant look on his face when she glanced at him.

She turned to the maid and placed the golden cup on the tray she was holding.

"That would be all. You're dismissed."

Then the young maiden bowed her head and showed herself out of the room.

"Go ahead, Faruk," Zara said almost immediately.

Faruk instantly went down on one knee and bowed his head before her.

"Forgive me if this seems as if I'm questioning your decision, General."

"Is this about why I let the assassins escape yesterday?"

"General..." Faruk continued calmly, with a hint of frustration in his voice. "What happened yesterday was definitely a plot of one of your half-brothers to get rid of you. If we had caught those killers and interrogated them, we would have been able to expose the culprit and at least eliminate one of your royal opponents. So I am confused, General. You knew that it would be of benefit to you, but why didn't you let us investigate?"

The confusion was evident in his facial expression. It made Zara laugh.

"Oh, Faruk..." She said with a light chuckle. "Whatever made you think I'm in some sort of rivalry with my brothers?"

"But General..." Faruk opened his mouth to speak at once. Then he hesitated and paused to select his next words properly.

He continued, "Even though it hasn't been officially assented yet, everyone knows that you are the Emperor's choice for the position of heir to the throne. And we, your supporters, all look forward to having you become the first female ruler of Nairaland. But the fight for the throne among the royal children is a phenomenon that is very much part of the history of this empire. My grandfather once mentioned to me that it has been in existence even before the inception of the empire."

"And what makes you think, that like my brothers, I want to rule this empire?"

The question hit Captain Faruk with a silent bang. As a reflex action, he let out a little gasp, his mouth slightly agape as he held his breath. He was taken aback.

"You... You..." He shook his head vigorously and comported himself before speaking up again.

"I have followed you faithfully for five years, General. And all this time by your side, I have had the honour of joining you to conquer numerous states and tribes for Nairaland, contributing greatly to the glory of this empire. You have helped our nation maintain its prominence, so much that our counterparts don't even dare to challenge us. No one can deny that your exploits across the lands have surpassed those of the founding emperor himself. If you haven't done all of this to earn your chance at the throne, then... Why? What is the reason for all you have done in the past five years? What exactly have we been doing?"