Ring Of Fire

Ring Of Fire 12

The king of Ikotu stood up slowly and said, "you v'e had your game son. Time to take back my throne"

It was the prince's right to choose how the Queen of Bami tried him. And so he made his choice. He was a known fighter and everybody thought Kaka stood no chance of winning him in a single combat that involves no spiritual strength but Kaka was a fighter too. Nobody knew Kaka but he grew up from a village known for fighting. He released the prince and dropped the knife. The Prince equally disarmed himself. The Ikotu soldiers dropped their weapons. The demons backed off. The wizards from Afu stepped aside to watch this combat. The princess walked out of the palace confused on what was going on. Her mother went to embrace her as she asked. "What is about to happen?"

"The law of the royalty" said the Queen

"What does it mean?" Asked the princess.

"Your father's killer who happened to be the war wager against the people of Bami and killed vulnerable soldiers of Bami is the prince who equally had interest on you. Now he demands a trial by combat. This trial will determine our fate; whether we will pardon him and let history record his name as a conqueror or have him beheaded just like he did your father. Kaka is our champion. He fights with him" said the Queen.

The princess looked around, seeing the army of the demons, the soldiers of Ikotu, the wizards from Afu and finally resting her eyes on the wizard who caused the whole tragedy from the very first time. His betrayal revealed many things. It revealed the heartlessness of the prince of Ikotu who held his own father prisoner, killed her father and the vulnerable soldiers of her land. The princess shook her head, approached Kaka where he stood and said to him, "I saw you kick those men to the dirt. Those men that acted like animals and wanted to defile me in that forest. It was easy and I believe in your strength. Right this wrong. Kick the Prince to the dirt and I will give you a priceless gift"

Kaka smiled and nodded before saying aloud, "no spiritual interference in this combat. It is fist to fist"

The wizards from Afu nodded in understanding but in the heart of the wizard who was being held as prisoner by the Queen, he knew he was going to aid the Prince spiritually to defeat Kaka easily even if it meant risk doing that from the midst of the demons who were holding him hostage.

The soldiers of Ikotu, the wizards, the demons, the Queen and the princess all cleared the grand palace to enable the prince and Kaka to have the fight.

The bell was struck and kaka and the Prince began a fight that would be forever remembered in history.

The fight began to last longer than expected. The soldiers of Ikotu were wowed by the moves Kaka was displaying. The prince was slower but stronger while Kaka was faster and cleverer.

The princess was tightly holding her mother's hand as she was wishing the Prince death. Kaka wasn't expecting what became of him. He began to loose strength and honor wouldn't allow him to use magic. He suddenly became slow. The Prince noticed this and started taking advantage of that. Kaka and nobody else would imagine that the wizard being held as prisoner by the demons could be aiding the Prince in the field of combat by weakening Kaka before everybody and in the midst of the fight. He knew that if he didn't use magic the Prince would win and if he won it meant the Queen would drop all charges against the Prince and leave Ikotu with her army, thereby giving the Prince the liberty to celebrate his triumph. The princess was particularly angry with the prince for faking his love for her all these while.

Suddenly the Prince hit Kaka to the dust and the princess was shocked. It took Kaka a lot of time to get up on his feet. The wizards from Afu suspected that something was wrong somewhere. The prince took a glance at the wizard who was aiding him before giving Kaka a kick that some him flat on the ground. The prince had won.

The soldiers of Ikotu shouted in jubilation as they carried their prince up. The princess looked at her mother and her mother looked away before she said, "the prince had won. We lost. We must return home"

"Which home? The one he had laid to waste? We will never be safe in Bami, not after all that happened" the princess said this and went closer to where Kaka was lying and helped him up on a horse, mounted on the horse and while the Queen's attention was on the demons the princess rode away with Kaka.

The Prince approached the Queen and said, "it is an honor that you obeyed the rules of the old by allowing me choose the manner of my trial. Meanwhile, I don't want your princess anymore. Just like my father said; many princesses of this land die to be my wife. I see no reason I should waste my time desiring a princess who has lost her kingdom" the Prince mocked before turning to continue celebrating with his army.

The Queen turned to the wizards from Afu but couldn't find them. She commanded her army out of Ikotu and to Bami. She felt she had a little part to play in the survival of Bami. She knew that killing humans with demons certainly wasn't the best way. Maybe Kaka was right. Maybe he was meant to do something great with her daughter" the Queen thought as she shook her heard.

The wizards from Afu went back to Bami to await the Queen of Bami to arrive. They were amazed to see her returning alone and without her army of demons. She told them she had dismissed them back to their world and she wanted to rebuild her husband's kingdom.

"What about the wizard who is aiding the prince?" One of the wizards from Afu asked the Queen.

"I let him go too. We lost the right to torment anyone in Ikotu immediately Kaka lost to the Prince on that combat" said the Queen.

"What will become the fate of your daughter as she has rode of with the unconscious Kaka?" One of the wizards asked again.

"Let my daughter choose her path. If she believes so much in Kaka that she had to choose him over everything else then I will respect her judgement. It is not my destiny to bring peace to these lands. Kaka was right. We can't continue with wars" said the Queen as she went and sat down on her husband's throne.

"You should be Queen of the people of Bami. We will protect you while you raise a new army from the people and for the people" said one of the wizards.

"The prince will try to come to comb this city. I will count on your protection oh! wizards of Afu" said the Queen as the wizards responded in unison, "we will protect you in the honor of Kaka as we await his healthy return and the heir to Bami!"

The Queen shed tears.

Outside Bami and Ikotu, the princess stopped the horse near a stream, came down and dragged Kaka down from the horse and dragged him to the stream side. There she let him lie beside the still water while she sat beside him and sang sorrowful songs.

After a while she stopped and started talking to herself, "I didn't know who you were. I was led to believe you were mad but I believe now that your love for me wasn't out of madness. It was real. Kaka it was real. We can do this. I will believe in what you believe. Let my sincere love for you heal you, thereby convincing me that love conquers all things"

Kaka opened his eyes immediately and said, "love conquers all things. And hatred destroys all things. The hatred the prince has built will destroy him. We will win"

The princess smiled and kissed him.

In the palace of Ikotu, the prince arrogantly visited the cell where he kept his father prisoner.

"You v'e grown old inside this cell father. And you are sick and dying. Why not sign the papers and let the prime minister crown me the King?"

The father laid there, skinny and hungry. The Prince thought him vulnerable and opened the cell and went inside it. Bent down to touch him but his father quickly opened his eyes and buried a knife in the prince's throat. The prince held his throat, staggered back and fell heavily on the ground. Blood filled his neck and nose as he dies painfully.

The king of Ikotu stood up slowly and said, "you v'e had your game son. Time to take back my throne"

Outside Ikotu and Bami, near the stream, the princess stood as Kaka equally stood. He looked at her for sometime and said, "you kissed me? Was that from your heart?

"I don't know. I didn't want you to die. I guess I was emotional. I'm sorry you misun...

Before she could finish he sealed her lips with a slobbery kiss. " let's go back to Bami. Your mother must be worried by now" said Kaka

The princess smiled and they rode back to Bami.

In Ikotu, the King came out of his cell, looked back at his dead son, shook his head and went outside. The soldiers of Ikotu loved their king but feared his son. That was why they respected the son more than the father. But seeing the king walking out of his cell with his hands tainted with blood the soldiers now realised that the prince had been killed by the King. They dropped their weapons and bowed before him. He said no word but walked back straight to his throne room and said, "we will pay a visit to Bami.

In Bami, the Queen sat on her husband's throne and said, " I can't remain on this throne. My daughter can't sit on it too. Only a man can sit on this throne. Only a real man who becomes her heartthrob will assume this throne"

From outside the gates of the palace of Bami, Kaka and the princess were returning. One of the wizard's said to the Queen, "your daughter comes home with our master"

The Queen was happy. She received them warmly.

The wizards from Afu gathered and announced their return to Afu.

"I would wish you to stay in Bami but you have a duty in Afu. I'm honored by your loyalty" Kaka said and bade them good bye. The wizards from Afu left.

On the dusty roads of Bami, the wizard who abducted the Queen and the princess of Bami was walking. After he was released by the Queen in the presence of the late prince of Ikotu he was moved by the Queen's pardon and the fact that she did not use her army of demons which could have earned her the ruler of the earth. He was sorrowful as he fell on his kneels and cried on the road. He cried and begged no one. He had only one place to go to and that place was the palace of Bami, to meet with the Queen.

Inside the palace of Bami, Kaka visits the chamber of the princess. She stood beside the windows and was looking outside it.

"War is bad" said Kaka, who was now standing beside her. She looked back and smiled. "My ancestors gave you strength. I believe peace is the true meaning of living" she said.

"I want to get married to you but I don't want to be the king of Bami" said Kaka.

"Why? This city needs you. You have to rebuild you. If I'm to be your wife then I will help you do it" said the princess before she hugged him and added, "I know this is hard for you but I believe in us. I believe in what we will build together"

****

The wizard was still on his way to Bami through the dusty road when he began to hear horse nighs behind him. He looked back but couldn't see clearly as horses in their hundreds, carrying the soldiers of Ikotu rounded him up. He knelt dejectedly, making up his mind never to use his powers again. In his heart was a heavy burden of regret.

The king of Ikotu got down from his horse and approached him where he knelt.

"I can remember quite alright that you are the cause of all that have happened in Bami and Ikotu. You are desperate for power" said the king.

"No. I was desperate for love. It wasn't power that I sought. I sought for true love but I sought it wrongly. I'm on my way to Bami. Allow me complete my journey" begged the wizard.

"How come you v'e become soft and remorseful. The Queen of Bami will have your head if she sets her eyes on you" said the King.

"Then I will gladly give her the honor of having my head" said the wizard.

"What if you give me the honor?" Asked the king and before the wizard knew what was happening the King had separated his head from his kneck, picked it with his left hand and said to his soldiers, "I will present this to the Queen of Bami and by so doing I will win her heart and become the king of both Bami and Ikotu" he laughs heartily as they continued their journey as they continued their journey to Bami.

The other two sons of the king of Ikotu returned home after years of absence from the kingdom. They were told that their father had rode to Bami with the largest army of Ikotu to marry the Queen of Bami and become the legitimate ruler of Bami and Ikotu at the same time. The sons were moved with anger. They always hated their fathers selfishness and his false innocence way of going about it. They believed that one has to earn a position to deserve it not inherit it to brag with it. Their traveling out of their father's kingdom in the first place with nothing was because of this idea. The two sons decided to go to Bami.

When the King of Ikotu arrived in Bami he majestically walked into the throne room to meet with Kaka, the princess and the Queen. When he faced the Queen with a smile on his face, he dropped the head of the wizard on her feet. The Queen looked at the head carefully and said, "you killed him?"

"Yes. For you. So that I may deserve my place beside you as your husband and King of your kingdom" said the King.

The Queen looked at kaka and then to the princess before turning to face the King of Ikotu, "the man you beheaded is more honorable than you. He committed crimes out of his real love for me but you, you kill this man out of your lust for my husband's throne. You don't deserve me and you don't deserve the throne of Bami" said the Queen.

"Who else is better deserving of the title of the King of Bami? You lost your kingdom to my son. I have killed that son and I'm here to offer you my help to rebuild what he destroyed" said the King.

"I believe in two people who can rebuild Bami and those people are not you or me. They are Kaka and my daughter when she finally becomes his wife" said the Queen.

This made the king of Ikotu mad and jealous of Kaka. He couldn't bring himself to compete for the throne of Bami with Kaka and he believed he stood a better chance of taking Bami as it was vulnerable. He ordered his soldiers to arrest Kaka at once. Kaka was held by the Ikotu soldiers. The Queen tried to interfere but was arrested too alongside her daughter. They were put in a cell. Kaka still refused to use his powers to destroy.

Outside Ikotu and Bami, near the stream, the princess stood as Kaka equally stood. He looked at her for sometime and said, "you kissed me? Was that from your heart?

"I don't know. I didn't want you to die. I guess I was emotional. I'm sorry you misun...

Before she could finish he sealed her lips with a slobbery kiss. " let's go back to Bami. Your mother must be worried by now" said Kaka

The princess smiled and they rode back to Bami.