The Empress Who Meant To Kill

The night the British soldiers came, Nyanta was 10 years old.she hid in her mother's closet whilst her mother's voice went silent in the living room and her father's shout cut off mid-breath.smoke choked the air. when dawn broke the sky was high and the village of Ghana was in ashes and the bodies of Nyanta's parents were in the shapes of white cloths. she did not cry.. not then, the old priestess brought her out of the closet and gave her a dagger. "grief is fire" , Anokyewaa said, " either it warms you or burns you to ashes , choose". Nyanta chose. For ten years she trained, the art of handling weapons and killing with zero regrets became her daily dose. in the port city of capecoast she sold salt and listened to mercenaries talk about generals. which ones drank a lot, which ones beat their slaves and which ones took bribes. she carved the imperial sigil into the inside of her wrist and burned over it with hot iron so she never forgets the sign of the crest of the armours of those who tore her world apart. Revenge became her religion, every pain was endured, every scar and every coin earned became a prayer. She would reach the capital and her her sword would slice Emperor Ababio's throat. that was the plan. The plan failed at the city gates. she arrived during the festival of homowo where Accra celebrated with so much enthusiasm like it was not built on the bones of innocent slaves. A boy no older than five darted in front of a carriage. The guards were too slow and the crowd was too drunk. Nyanta rolled , picked up the boy and rolled. she took the axle of the wheel to her rib. pain was familiar to her. she kept the boy alive till his guardian found them. When Nyanta looked up she saw a woman in gold. not a noble but a shaper. Eyes like a hawk which seems to look past every lie. " you fight like you have nothing to lose" she stated plainly. "Dangerously useful" , the old woman thought. That was how Nyanta met Asantewaa, the Empress dowager, Emperor Ababio's mother. The last person she ever wanted to meet. Asantewaa did not send her to the palace but to the slums, where children starved looking miserable and dirty. "look" she urged Nyanta. "this is what my son rules, not an empire but a wound." Asantewaa said. "good" Nyanta spat ." let it fester" . Asantewaa's smile was thin. " And when he dies who takes over, his foreign generals who thinks everything has a price, or his cousin Nsiah who would sell the empire for wine !??". Asantewaa said. "this empire would burn and all the orphans in hiding would die just like your family need". Asantewaa knew she had hit a spot but she was glad for that was the intention. Perhaps Asantewaa had already seen her pain in her eyes and gathered that such pain can only be seen in the eyes of orphan who lost loved ones due to her son's stupid decisions. Nyanta almost killed her then, her hand was on her dagger but Asantewaa didn't flinch. "revenge is a cup of water in a desert" , Asantewaa said. "it seems like everything untill you have tasted and still feel thirsty and longing." She adds and presses a ring in Nyanta's bloodied palm. "my son won't listen to me but she might listen to a girl who saved a little boy's life in the streets, get close to him, understand him or change him. I don't care but please don't let this empire die with him." That night Nyanta couldn't sleep. she stood on a rooftop as she stared at the mark on her wrist. And the dowager's ring in her hand. she could find Emperor Ababio in his bed and kill him, walk away or... Another choice to be made.