LARA: THE god OF HEKO

EPISODE TWELVE

EPISODE TWELVE 

The king's Palace remained vivacious till evening. The men and women in the king's court continued to dine and wine amidst slow music. Lara's entourage were fed with boiled meats and they had leftovers. The horse ate hays and fresh grasses. It was obvious to the animals that something special was in progress. They had been unusually pampered since the festivities began. Lara would be here in the palace for seven days before they all return to the white cave. 

The wedding rites had been thorough. Every activity had been aligned to Bunu cultural wedding as prescribed by Lara. Days before the wedding, a group of young women had risen up at dawn when it was yet dark. They had gone about with drums, moving from house to house, they sang to notify the people about the soon to be expected royal wedding. Their song had illustrated that a daughter had been given to them in marriage. "She is a beautiful daughter", the song said, "she has a big breast and a clean vaginal". When it was daybreak, neighbours had asked one to another "who are the people getting married?". And it had been said to them that it was the king marrying a warrior from the land of humans. 

When the marriage rites began, Lara had been taken into a closet by older women in the king's palace. Her attire of Leopard fur was removed all to Lara's discontentment. Her body was then covered with expensive hand woven garment which was tied against her chest, leaving her shoulders bare. Her foots were painted in red and black tattoos and her face was heavily decorated. Her freshly plated hair had hundreds of silver pins attached to it. On the eve of the wedding, Lara had been asked to carry on her head an earthen pot containing spring water. The women of the city of ghosts followed her with drums as she served the spring water from house to house and everyone who drank from the spring water which was as cold as eyes would experience peace and prosperity. 

As Lara went about in her cultural bridal attire serving spring water from earthen pot, some women cooked pottage yam with palm oil and vegetable. After this, they would make the cake of seven spirits. Those were the cultural foods for the bride. 

On the wedding day, after the payment of bride price, the king and his bride had danced and there had been a parade from street to street amidst wild jubilations. Lara remembered with nostalgic feelings that if the wedding had held in Bunu, Egungun - the spirits of the ancestors from the underworld - would have been invited. They would have danced to entertain; they would prophesy; they would deliver the captives and serve justice to witches, witchcrafts, and evildoers. She felt sullen. She longed to see the Egungun and their theatric display of skills and supernatural powers. And for the first time, Lara missed home. She missed her people. She wished they were here to witness her special moment. There was a rush of emotion but Lara beat it back. Everyone would take care of themselves and be fine - until such a time when they would all be together again - if ever they would. She blinked her eyes and nodded her head in agreement with her thoughts. 

In the evening of the wedding day after the festivities had slowed down, the king suggested a horse ride for himself and his new bride. He had a royal horse which he mounted and Lara walked down to her waiting horse. At her approach, the Lions, cheetahs and the foxes stood alert. They had been eating and resting for the past days and now they had more than enough calories to burn, and they were eager to burn them. But Lara had no need for the canivores. It was going to be a leisurely ride and no one would be hunting for days. If the new Queen was to have a honeymoon, it would have to be exactly that - a honey in the moon - and no one was going to distrupt that with work. Lara waved down the carnivores, untied the horse, mounted it and beckoned to the king of ghommids. The king indicated they were taking a trip to the Sacred Garden.

They rode side by side as they chatted along. The horses moved leisurely. The entrance to the Sacred Garden had a gate, locked and manned by no one. As the couple approached, the gate opened on it's own accord and they rode it. The Sacred Garden was a pack of many mysteries. 

As they sat on their high horses admiring the Sacred Garden, voices came from all directions and yet there were no humans in sight. There were no birds or animals either. Birds and animals were f*******n in the Sacred Garden. The king of ghommids was not surprised by the strange voices. For him, this was a familiar territory. But Lara was a sojourner and hence, a pariah in the garden. Upon close examination, Lara found that every tree in the garden had a mouth to talk. Every herb was talking in familiar languages. Lara was held in awe but with the confidence provided by the presence of the king of ghommids, she held herself together. 

As if to impress their visitors, all trees and herbs in the garden started to advertise their importance. One at a time, they talked about their uses, their healing powers and their mystic abilities. The scent leaf was the first to talk. "I am scent leaf. I smell fine and I make every food tasty and desirable. If you combine me with Ori leaf, and you consume us together and state your wish, we can make a man love you uncontrollably and you will always occupy his thoughts and actions." Water leaf spoke next. "I am water leaf. I am soft. No matter how hard a situation is, if you combine me with ero leaf and you consume us together and then state your request with one mind, we will make the situation soft, simple and resolved." Lara noted each of their statements with rapt attention as she kept samples of each of the leaves and their functions. "I am pepe leaf. I am light and always airborne. If you combine me with the feather of an eagle and you consume us and state your wish without doubting it, we can make you disappear at will and reappear." "I am Owiri leaf. I have the ability to cure blindness." The leaves continued to state their powers. "I am garden egg. My leaf, when boiled and the juice is consumed, will cure all types of kidney diseases." "I am elixir. If a man consume me and state his wish, I can make him cheat death and live forever." "I am cocoe leaf. If a man consume me and repeat some incantations afterwards, I will provide him with antidotes to bullets. My leaf is a shield of protection." "I am guava", came another voice, "my leaf is a cure for all forms of infertility". "I am pawpaw leaf. I can make a fat woman lose weight and become thin", said the pawpaw tree. "I am aji leaf. If you consume me with honey, we will give the power of a retentive memory."

At the center of the Sacred Garden stood this tree, aloof. It was quite majestic and it had many branches. It's fruits were yellow, fresh and desirable. Sitting atop its branches were these luxuriant foliages that spoke of wealth. When Lara had reached the base of it, the tree started to speak: "I am Amarula. I am the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve ate a part of me and they gained knowledge of good and evil. I was created to intoxicate and provide knowledge. If you consume my fruit, you will gain knowledge of good and evil." Lara noted with interest their functions as she kept a sample of each leaf and herb. 

In the end, all the trees and herbs in the Sacred Garden, even the most despised herb in the forest, mentioned their usage and herbal potency. Lara had been engrossed taking notes and collecting samples of the herbs when the king strayed to some other sacred parts of the garden. Calling out to the king of ghommids as it was time to return home, Lara saw the trees walking around. Some were visiting friends and some others were going to market. In the unregulated traffic, two trees collided and a fight ensued. The bigger tree had called the smaller tree a blind bat who was lacking in respect. The smaller tree responded in kind. When they could not find a common ground for reconciliation, might became right. Few minutes afterwards, the bigger tree had beaten the smaller tree dead. In defeat, the tree lost all its leaves and dried up. Lara realized that this was the reason many trees stood in the forest dead and dried. It was a result of bitter conflicts among trees.

The king of ghommids joined Lara and their return journey took effect. Knowing what she had found out from the Sacred Garden, Lara was no ordinary herbalist. She kept each and every detail to heart. Their journey back to the palace progressed in absolute silence.

Back in the palace, the king and his bride headed for the inner chamber. They would take a cold bath for freshness. It was agreed they would go into the bath together unclad as it was the beginning of a sweet honeymoon. And this honeymoon was meant to be what it should: a honey in the moon. 

When the couple emerged from the bath, the room was lit and gay. Some sweet smelling fragrance descended from the smouldering Omir and Lily hung on the windows. The king grabbed his bride by the left hand. His right hand cupped around her breast and the flesh was full. The couple fell intentionally on the spacious royal bed impatiently waiting for their warm bodies and the rest of the night continued in adorable moans, occasional screams and orgasmic reliefs.