THE ANCIENT HUNT

THE QUEEN SPOT

The queen woke up to series of noise in the palace and asked her maids who were trooping in with the morning water for her to wash her face, she yawned loudly as she stretched herself on the bed before sitting properly

"What's happening? why is there so much noise in the palace?" she asked rubbing her eyes

"The officials have a meeting with the King and the maids are trying to put together their snacks to entertain them since they were informed within such a short period of time" Morgan explained from the side of the room

"What are they discussing? they sure talk a lot" she remarked as she motioned for the ladies to come closer and carry out whatever they had come to do

They mopped her face clean with treated water, applied lotions and massaged her face, washed her legs and also massaged them till they were soft before packing up their bowls and left the room

"Gather as much information as you can, I want to know what they are discussing" the queen commanded Morgan

"I will make sure to do that ma'am" she replied with a bow before leaving the room

She marched to the hall as the officials settled down on their chairs to start the meeting they had come for. Argan came in after some minutes and they all rose to acknowledge his presence before resuming their seats.

"What has called for this urgent meeting?" Argan asked clearing his throat

One of the ministers stood up confidently and turned to Argan so they can lay down their concerns that brought about the meeting.

"My King, we have noticed that you haven't talked about holding the ceremony for naming your wife as the queen, we know she is your wife but you have to hold the ceremony of her being the appointed as the queen because the moment she gives birth in her current state, she will no longer be fit for the position, only a woman appointed appropriately can bear the heir to the throne" the minister laid out their concern before sitting down to hear the King's reply

Argan was quiet for sometimes before he sighed and adjusted his position to give a reply to the complaint they just tendered

"I understand your concerns and also how you are trying to make sure everything is in place but I don't have the plan to hold the ceremony soon because I want it to be for the best person" he replied making them all murmur at what he just stated

"What do you mean wanting it for the best person My King? isn't she your wife already? you even call her your queen, all you need is to get her officially inaugurated and nothing more" another official countered

"This is politics no matter how I think about it, for the land to be prosperous, I have to put the best person in that spot, someone who is influential enough to ensure that even my own spot is protected when the days of trouble arises, I cannot just act based on some love" he explained and the murmur was flooding the room at higher rate at that point

"So do you mean you will open possibilities for young maidens to contest for the queen position?" an official asked from the far end of the hall

"That is exactly what I intend to do so if you have anyone suitable for the position, don't hesitate to recommend them to me" he replied before the maids came in with the snacks following the lead of Morgan who was already present at the hall from the beginning to carry out the command of Lebby.

She served all the officials and supervised all the servings before going back outside with the maids, she stood there longer for a while to see if they would still discuss anything about the queen but when she saw that they have moved to other topics, she left for the queen's chamber to deliver the news about the meeting

As soon as she delivered the news to Lebby, she could hear the teacup Lebby was holding shattered against the wall, she shuddered at the suddenness but quickly composed herself

"is he trying to test me? he should understand that I don't have that much patience, he shouldn't play with me this way" Lebby cackled with an evil laughter before fuming up and down the room

She didn't act upon the information even when Argan declared it officially, she didn't tackle him or confront him about why made such a decision, instead she waited for the nominees to enter the palace at the given date and called Morgan to begin her actions

"Now you have to prove to me that you will be useful to me like you have promised" Lebby said to Morgan as soon as she entered her room

"I'm always at your service my queen" she replied with a bow

"You will have to assign your own girls to the tasks, I will deal with everyone who has come in to the palace as a nominee for the position that belongs to only me" she growled

Morgan formed the team of some ladies she instructed will be serving the contestants and made sure to inform them that the mission they are signing for means they will have to carry out any command no matter what it is but they will be rewarded handsomely. They readily agreed and assured her that they will do everything she has commanded as long as they are rewarded as promised.

The contestants were ushered in to their residence and they were each given a room, their personal maids and every other things they needed. The first night they were welcomed by the head maid who told them that they are free to ask for whatever they want in the palace and she will do her best to provide it for them under the command of the King. They were all called in to visit Lebby the next day and pay homage to her but they all came at their own convenient time, not the time she assigned for them

"They really are testing my patience, who told them that I am someone to be ridiculed?" she fumed as she saw no one at the time she called for them and head for the king's quarters in anger

"Why have you chosen to look for trouble?" she asked Argan who was reading a book at his desk

"You rarely come to visit me, what do you have for me today?" he asked slowly lifting his gaze from the book he was reading

"Did you order the contestants not to listen to me? I called for them so I can meet them but they all refused to show up at the appointed time" she said closing the gap between them

"I guess they did that because you all are contestants, you shouldn't bother them too, you are all competing for that spot" he replied coldly which made her stunned but she soon recovered from the shock and burst into a long laugh

"Oh No King Argan! you are making a grave mistake here, the moment I did all I did for you, I became the owner of that spot, I never told you not to get as many concubines you want to have but why are you making me contest for the position I'm already in?" she asked with her hands in akimbo

"I never said the place was yours, you only tried your best to take it and did everything you could even though they worked in my favor" he said and she bit her lips in anger

"I will show you that no queen will ever make it to that spot except I, you think you can discard me? oh no! I am like a fish bone on your throat, you can't swallow me and you can't vomit me anymore. You will never win against me in this fight" she threatened him and he just smiled

"You should prove yourself first, I am ready to acknowledge you as the queen if you win" he answered with a shrug and she bent over the table to move closer to him

"Argan, I will show you" she stated and left the room angrily

Her crew ran behind her to meet her fast paces which was due to the anger she was feeling inside of her, all that was passing through her head was how to deal with everyone, the king, officials and even the said contestants who looked down on her when she gave the instruction of them coming to see her. They walked far from the king's quarters and was about to get to her own chambers when she stopped on her track, she turned back to see Morgan who was closely behind her and gave an evil smile

"Why not let's start our own game?" she asked smiling sheepishly

"Always at your service my Queen" Morgan replied immediately