Magnifico

Newborn

King of Alaphas, Jonas had wanted to attack Quinax in early summer. But it seemed to him that General Sun would be a thorn to his success. He considered the General to be very experienced, wise, and unpredictable. He knew any mistake may cost him a lot so he wanted to tread carefully. Summer was three months away so to King Jonas, there was still time to gather intelligence and prepare fully to go to war with them.

Back in Quinax, Amara the wife of General Sun was admitted to see the royal physician because she was due for delivering her baby. Three days had passed, Amara delivered a bouncing baby boy and the General and Regent being Amara’s father were invited to come to see the new baby. While the General and the Regent were there, the king too arrived with some of his subjects. Everyone was happy for the safe delivery as though nothing was bothering everybody. The King said as far as he was a boy, he was going to take up his father’s legacy wherever he will leave it; it made everyone laugh excitedly in the room.

The king had called for a banquet and invited as many people as he could to the party to celebrate the general’s, newborn baby. Everywhere was full of joy, the people of Quinax loved the General so much because he was seen and recognized as a living hero Quinax had witnessed in recent times. It was nighttime and everywhere looked as though it was morning, candle lights, fire, the excitement was everywhere, dancers and performers were invited to perform. Musicians were also invited to sing and magicians also came to do their magic. Wrestlers wrestled each other and money was staked on who may emerge as the winner by the king and other top officials, but by the time they were done wrestling, Zulu lost in the stake but he was super excited. People were presenting their gifts to the general and his wife. The wife of late king munah, Elizabeth also presented her own gift to the general and his wife. She presented rare gemstones, only seen in the far West, and also some baby food. She made a request from the General, she asked the General if she could be staying with Amara since he was always away from home. The General agreed to her request because he knows his wife needs all the help she could get at the moment so, to him, it wasn’t a bad idea. Fireworks were blown, foods, many types of meats were served and wines were shared with everyone that came for the ceremony. The King claimed that he was going to give the little boy a name himself. He named him Grizler and also offered his blessings to the new boy and vowed to make sure he grows up in his father’s footsteps.

The party ended and everyone started going home to their respective places, most people were filled with excitement as they were heading back home. The General felt like carrying the baby the whole day and wouldn’t let go because that was his first child.

“I am so happy Amara, thank you so much. I can’t really explain how happy I am right now” Sun said as he hugged his wife.

“I also gave permission to Elizabeth to come live with us. She asked me if she could stay with you in order to help you do home chores and other things necessary to ease up work for you and I accepted. I hope that’s okay to you, I can tell her not to bother if you don’t like it since I didn’t ask for your permission’’ the General said but Amara was super excited about the idea.

“Of course, I love the idea,” Amara said as she hugs her husband. Amara has always liked Elizabeth ever since she arrived Quinax. From time to time, Elizabeth had gone to Amara to stay with her and helped her out with some cleaning and washing before she gave birth to Grizler.

“They should pack in at once; I have been meaning to tell you this but don’t know how it will go down with you,” Amara said to her husband in excitement. Elizabeth and her daughter packed in that night and they all started staying with the General’s family.

The next day, Lucas had sent for General to come to see him in his office; he wanted to discuss something that seemed urgent. The General was at the field inspecting the training of his soldiers when he got the message and he left the field at once and went to Lucas office to answer the call.

“You summoned me, sir”.

“Yeah I did, please you may sit” Sun sat down on a chair opposite Luca's desk.

“I called you here because I really wanted to know what our next plan of action is and whether we should really be worried or excited. I’m not comfortable celebrating in the midst of danger” Lucas asked inquisitively.

“I am doing all I can to keep our country safe from harm. I have currently reduced the age range requirements of our military from 20years to 18years. This has increased the number of applicants recently and our military has increased greatly in numbers. The newest recruits will be through with their training very soon and they will be made to join the others too” the General said. Lucas was pleased to hear this latest development from the General himself and wondered why he has never thought of it as a strategy to increase the strength of their military. General Sun also told him about his plan of developing an ingenious weapon that would decimate any enemy and cause them pain and confusion. Though this weapon is still under review, Lucas hopes that things are fastened to avoid unnecessary delays.

“You have spoken well General, I am pleased to hear this from you, thanks for coming” Lucas added.

“I must take my leave now sir, I need to get work” the General took his leave and went back to the training ground. Lucas left too and went directly to the king’s chambers to discuss further on the issue that concerns the army of Alaphas and his soldiers.

When Lucas arrived at Zulu’s chambers, the king was not around; he had gone out for hunting in the forest with some of the elite soldiers. Lucas wondered why the king would go hunting when coast was still unclear. He sent out more palace guards to go see how the king is holding up with his hunting. King Zulu was a sharpshooter, he hardly misses targets whenever he is handling a bow. His mastery of the use of crossbow and arrow can only be compared to that of general Sun in the whole Quinax. Hunting was his hobby and he could care less about the dangers that lie therein when he is out hunting in the wild.

“Oh! Give me my arrow and bow. I have seen a big animal and this catch would be mine” Zulu said in a low tone as he sees a gazelle eating grasses in the forest, just opposite him but farther away. The gazelle was just eating grasses without minding the noise.

Without missing his target, Zulu hit the gazelle right in the head and it died at the spot. “We need to ride back home, my wife and I are going to celebrate tonight” Zulu shouted excitedly in the presence of the soldiers that accompanied him to the forest.

Arriving at Quinax, king Zulu rode straight to his chambers. Getting close to the palace, the first person he met was the Regent, Lucas. “I greet you, my King, I was told you went hunting so I had to come around and wait for you to arrive.”

“Yeah, you know I love hunting and I have been staying in the palace for a long time without going vising anywhere. I was sick and tired of staying indoor like a prisoner in my own house. Look; I killed a Gazelle” the king said excitedly.

“Congratulations my king but there is something I must say. We are in a perilous time, so I don’t think going out hunting in the wild is a good idea” Lucas said anxiously.

“Lucas, you worry too much, nothing is going to happen. Besides, nobody should fear their own shadow. I am a king and I understand all the pros and cons that lies therein, this is just who I am, this is my destiny. I don’t think it’s something that would change anytime soon Regent Lucas. Sometimes, we don’t get the opportunity to choose what we want in life or who we want to become but we have to leave with it.” Zulu replied to him.

“But my king, you just need to be careful, we can’t afford to lose you to the cold hands of death at this time we need a king the most. You know anything can happen and nobody can really tell what it maybe”

“Lucas, you worry too much. You are too old for that. I can take care of myself, I am no longer that Zulu you used to know in the past” Zulu said. Lucas couldn’t argue much because he has seen that there was nothing he could do to change the king’s mind but he believed he has done his part by telling the King about his concerns regarding his safety.