Erb II
Do you love music enough to die for it?
That was how Erb found himself in the personal employment of the prince of Libre. The arrogant and impolite prince. The reason for his employment never left him. It followed him like a heavy cloud of impending doom, it rang in his head like the hook of his favourite afrobeat jam — Kosher wanted to kill his father, the king. It was such a heavy secret to carry. It was wearing Erb down, so much that he began to stress eat and have a little belly pooch. Whenever he went into the king’s chambers to take measurements for new garments and clothing, or make adjustments on existing ones, he was filled with trepidation and a little bit of fear that he would unknowingly let Kosher’s plan slip.
In the fifth month since Kosher’s visit to Erb’s quarters, Erb was summoned by the prince into his inner chamber. No one ever went into a royal’s inner chamber except blood relatives (strictly the nuclear family) , spouses (for not even a betrothed was trusted that much), or the royal’s lifebound servant.
The lifebound servant was selected at random, any child born in the kingdom, on the same day and of the same gender, within 12 hours of the birth of a royal. The child will be tied to the royal by a blood covenant for as long as he/she lived, after which he/she had the liberty to be an estate owner, only if it has been proven that they had no hand in the death of the royal. No one survives this proving process.
Every single servant in the palace murmured and wondered why Kosher trusted Erb so much. Going to the prince’s inner chamber became a norm for Erb and it raised more questions. Many presumed a lot of unpleasant things, since the prince had always turned down every single match the king made for him, the perverse tales were gobbled down with relish. We know how humans are, so willing to demonize what they do not understand. Erb was the first human the prince had ever seemed so preoccupied with, that is if you do not count the prince himself. For everyone knew that he was quite self absorbed. In all this, Kosher never regretted trusting Erb. He was a brilliant soul, eager to learn but never afraid to say the truth.
On one cold, misty morning, Wena told Kosher that Erb was his friend, in response, he laughed so hard he peed a little.
“Wena, I don’t do friends or attachments”
“I’m telling you the truth Sher, Erb is your friend. Your first friend.”
“You are my first friend” Kosher said with a big smile,
“No, I am your first love. First and last love” She said, trying to snuggle closer to him as they laid on the forest floor.
“That you are Wena, That you are” Kosher whispered as he used his index finger to beep her broad nose. Taking a deep breath he said “since you trust Erb enough to call him my friend, here is an idea he pitched to me. But you must promise not to respond until I am done”
Leaning on her right side so she could look into his eyes, she chuckled “Okay Mr prince. What serious matter could you have to discuss with a shameless peasant huntress like myself” she said in mockery.
“I’m serious Wena, this is important. And it can actually solve our problems”. With a slight pause, he said.
“Erb wants to style you into an exotic princess from a minor tribe. He has contacts that can pose as your entourage, I will fund everything from the royal treasury since the king has more wealth than my great grand children’s grandchildren can use anyway. Then we can present you to my father as a match for a political marriage. I will handle all the details, I just need your cooperation. That way, we can get his blessing and it will reduce suspicion when it is time to do what needs to be done” He rushed quickly, casting his eyes down on the last part of the sentence.
Wena sat up and said in a somber voice “Kosher, you know how I feel about your plan. Yes, the king is not such a great guy, but he is still your father”
“My father, the one that has slowly starved the kingdom of music for 20 years.” He said quietly. “Such a not so great guy.” he chuckled cynically. “Wena people are dying. Does that not bother you? Children born now have such a low immune response, that only 10 out of 20 last the first 7 months of their lives. The physicians keep finding new symptoms of music deprivation and starvation every day. Every day! Being bald is normal in this kingdom! There is nothing not great about what my father has done. It is criminal. An entire generation born without music, that is wrong. How do you justify the dead infants, the sickness, the poverty, the famine? Your music, Erb’s and a couple of defiants are probably the only reason why our kingdom still stands. Nothing is working Wena.” His voice breaks on the sound of her name as a stray tear slips down his left cheek.
“Okay Kosher, I will do this. Only because I know just how much you love this kingdom, though you would rather not lead her. I know that taking your father out of office is a matter of state security. I understand that my love, so I am ready whenever Erb is. And I hope to the God who made music that he pulls this off. For all our sakes.”
After that, Erb worked tirelessly day and night for 2 months to get Wena and her entourage ready. He was designing, cutting, measuring, stitching, sewing, and making adjustments at a neck breaking pace. Thankfully, Kosher’s lifebound servant, Dill liked him a lot, and helped him secure trustworthy tailors in the kingdom who needed both the money and something to do, so he had extra hands. Little by little, the plan started coming together, one thread at a time, until Erb rightfully transformed Wena the huntress into Weena the princess of the Gwak tribe. A people rich in shea butter, fonio and moringa, with a clan of teeming warriors they were said to be. They were found some 18 days journey from Libre, deep in the thick forest that marked the entry into their mountainous land. Many kingdoms heard of their fame, but they rarely ventured out of their land for anything. Their herald reached the king’s palace a week to their supposed “arrival”, saying they were enamoured by his skin collection and were keen on seeing it firsthand. The king was so delighted, he ordered that only the finest of dining be made available. His greedy heart had been set on milking the moringa farms in the east, and now they came to him on a platter of gold. Oh what luck he had, he thought to himself. If only he knew.
The day arrived, and everything went according to plan. Everyone played their roles perfectly, (surely the artists and performers of Libre were the best in the entire universe). They fooled everyone. But Wena almost ruined it at dinner, when Kosher made a biting remark to his father, and she shushed him. She of course quickly saved it with a false sneeze and a feigned allergy to cocoyams. After dinner, Kosher expected the summon and was not surprised when the king gave him a monologue in his courts. He went on and on about the bloodline and how it needed to be kept going.
“Son, you have played around long enough. Now is your last chance, else I will find another heir. Marry the princess Weena or I disown you. You don’t even know how rare a privilege this is. I won’t have you trying to kill our family line because of childish grudges you can not get over. ” The king threatened
“But father! I should have a choice in this. After all, I ought to spend the rest of my miserable life with this wife I choose” he protested
“You don’t get to choose you fool! You lost that privilege when you splashed the queen of Ekiti with akamu at breakfast three years ago! The king boomed. “You will marry this Weena girl and that is final!” Kosher walked out of the king’s throne room so furious all the servants scurried out of his way. But they did not know what a great actor he was. He schooled his features into one of misery and displeasure throughout the length of the conjugal preparations, until they were joined, from then he couldn’t hide it. To others in the kingdom, it was a beautiful love story. The maidens cooed over how Weena charmed him and won his heart with true love, the young men laughed at how the arrogant man had been turned to wet clay in the hands of a woman.
In Kosher’s inner chambers, Erb, Wena and the prince were sitted on the ottoman, writing new songs. they were all enjoying the bliss of the wedding, and no one was eager to talk about the second phase of the plan. No one, except Kosher.
“I think poison will work fine. It will leave him without a trace. We can do that right, Wena? You have made some potent concoctions to hunt in the past, I think it’s safe and effective.”He started
“But what if his food tester eats it instead” countered Erb
“Then we make sure it is in his drink. He loves the keg too much to let any tester come close to it anyway” replied Kosher
“What if he chooses to give a tester that day? Hian, we know that the king is erratic and can not be predicted. You know this my prince sir” Erb said in a low voice
“So you want me to just sit and look abi?” Kosher said, his voice rising by a note
“Sher, calm down” said Wena “He is just making sure you see all angles”
“I don’t want to see all angles, I just want the old man dead. Or have the both of you changed your minds? You want to back out? Because short of defending Erb at every turn, you haven’t made much contributions either” Kosher retorted. Sensing a brewing conflict, Erb got up and dipped his head, “Permission to excuse the inner chambers and retire your highnesses?”
Kosher ignored him, while Wena gave him an understanding nod. He went out swiftly, paying no heed to what or who was around him, until he got to his quarters. He opened the door and walked in, slamming it behind him. Then he drove his left fist through the wall of his fabric art. So many emotions rushing through him had him breathing heavily and in immense pain, he reached into his closet and pulled out the last letter he had received from his mother. His throbbing hand opening the letter clumsily for possibly the fiftieth time since he got it, he scanned through again, as though the letters and characters would have rearranged themselves to say a different message. He could not believe anything she said until he saw her face to face. But he had to stay put, the prince was too obsessed with his plotting and too paranoid to let him out of his sight. He would have to invite her over, maybe they would talk in the forest at night. He desperately needed her to say all she wrote was a prank. He wrote her a short note. Composing himself and placing a polite smile on his face, he stepped out of his living are to send her a message in their hamlet. Erb had given the messenger the package and some instructions, turning to his right, to get back to his quarters, he met a wall of two huge chests. One hairy and broad, the other smooth and very dark. He looked up and their expressions told him he was in trouble. Misbau and Caulif were the king’s henchmen. He didn’t need any extra convincing, he knew what it was all about. His already weary shoulders slumping further, he followed in defeat and fear. Wondering, who had betrayed them? Did Kosher attempt foolishly and fail? Did Wena let her empathy for the king override her sound judgement? Who told the king? Somehow, he’d felt it in him that it would always come to this. He tried not to let resentment kick in, he was just willing himself to live through it long enough to find out the truth he desperately sought.
In the throne room was the king, too gleeful for such an occasion, Kosher and Wena on their knees in front of him, on the king’s right hand side. He looked up and said “ah! You are here. My boy, we have been waiting for you”
Instantly, Kosher got up and was charging towards Erb with murder in his eyes ”you idiot! I trusted you with my life! I will kill you with my bare hands so help me God who made music!Shey na me you wan run streets! I will waste you” He was held back by two palace guards, but his fury was like an electrical field around him, it hummed and made his eyes red and bulgy. He already thought the worst about Erb. Erb walked with his head down, till he went down on his knees, to the king’s left, a good distance from Kosher and Wena. The throne room was wide but twice as long, lined with 10 guards on each side, placed 10 meters apart, and the king’s throne at the end with two concubines sited on small stools on either side. His throne was wrapped in cured alligator and hippo skin, though it was made out of ivory and mahogany.
All their heads bowed down, they waited to hear what the king had to say. With a dramatic clearing of his throat, the king said “I hear that you three have become a band. Making music in my kingdom against my strict orders. Ehn? What shall I do with you lot now?” he asked with a sinister look in his eyes. “It has been a long time since anyone broke the rules, most people are busy trying to ward off famine or diseases to think of doing such vain things, but here you are. I think I crave some drama. Don’t you?” he asked his henchmen with a chuckle
“Given that Kosher is my son, newly wedded and without an heir, I think it would be wise of me to hold off his own punishment abi? Ah! Erb boy, you don enter o. Because though I like you, you have to be our scapegoat. Shey you understand? He asked with disturbing calmness
Erb nodded and he continued “you should have thought it through before frolicking with my foolish son ehn, now you will suffer the pain of an open laryngectomy and a life sentence of hard labour tsk tsk tsk ”
Wena was already sobbing quite audibly, and Kosher’s anger at Erb had evidently simmered to a sober apology. It was his fault, he thought. Erb seemed so at home in their company, he forgot to protect him, and now his friend was going to pay the price of his negligence. If he intervened, he might miss his opportunity to eliminate the king. He could not take the blame, not when he was so close to achieving their aim. He wondered if Erb would blame him for his inability to keep his end of the bargain. He didn’t know that Erb was ready to die for music. He had always been. That was why he kept playing. Long before he met Kosher. Erb played to get close to the father he never met.
I did not want to spill into III but it was getting too long. Please hang with me💖
Click here for the final part.
