"Please ask him again, he sure doesn't know what he is doing."
Ja's voice broke into confetti as tears swelled in his throat. He would be so glad if he was woken up and told that all was just a dream. Because that was all it seemed to him. He couldn't make a sane meaning out of it.
He was tied to a pillar outside the palace. Two warriors were standing before him. He had been beaten to pulp firstly and one of the warriors with a spear in hand was wearing him out with an odd ogle.
"I know deep down, you do not want to do this. I'm as helpless as you are."
He paused. He was panting, there were shots of blood in the swells all around his face. There were tracks of blood all over his body too. The robe he was putting did less in holding the pain back.
He continued,
"Come to think of it."
He was struggling
Few days later. The Kingdom of Ikpala. "How long more?" The lady's face flushed to match up the words. She was all bossy and meant the tone to be inflected too. She was dressed in a casual blue gown, with a little hit and bits of embroidery. Her eyes were elegant, illuminating the rage of her beauty. She was seated on the throne and by her side were two female guards. Or say, attendants. She seemed to have her own taste of governance. To some extent, she was audacious, but you could tell by her distinct ingenuity, that she always had quite the numbers of thing up her sleeves. Which were always hidden from those who were around her. She loved riding solo. "Just three more scrubs." The man by her feet muttered, his rough face folding into a sheet of frown. But he was wise enough t
Havila. "Whooshh!!" The signal sent by the clapping waves collided with the whooshing winds and all met on the lone hut. The hut beaten by the wiles of nature had all its wooden covering faded. But twas still very much intact. There was no loophole, even for a snake to crawl in. If there was anything as such by the shore. There was a wooden bench before the hut, few metres away from its creaking door. The fact that the door looked like what would fall at the slightest push, didn't give its content away. Surrounding the hut were several roots and leaves you couldn't be sure where they came from. A thought might toss to you the idea of the waves sweeping them by, but the position of the hut was very much far away from the wings of the waves. Only if the borders of the sea were broken would the waves swallow the hut up.&
Havila. "Go further to the right then take a turn." The old man in a wierd cloak said to him. He didn't care whether or not the man looked tattered or haggard. All that mattered to him was getting an information. He even forgot to say his gratitude to the man. That was prolly the third day and he was almost at the peak of his intentions. In no time he got to the end of that road and took a turn. There was no much in sight. Twas just a barren path which obviously was more throdden. There were trees with scanty leaves scattered by the right and left of the road. Up ahead of him, he could see some activities he couldn't discern and some sort of gate. He had asked the old man about the road which led to the palace. Well going by the instruction, he should be on the right course. B
The pit. Havila. "It should be of great benefit to you if you pay attention to what I'm about to say." The Emperor's voice was firm but you could that his face was a contradiction of his stare. He had been at odds with Jim all along though Tzu had been trying to set things right but Jim really didn't bite off the cake. "And why should we take after you or believe what you have to say?" Jim shot at the emperor. He was seated by Tzu while the Emperor was seated opposite them. They were seated on the floor in the pit. "You have no idea who you're talking to. If not for the odds, you should still be a cleaner by now." The chief seated by the Emperor hurled at Jim. The chief was opposite Jim. Jim felt like grabbing the nape of the chiefs and crashing it against the pit.  
An open space. A great feast. Havila. "How do we take out the guards?" Tzu asked looking through the three people. The emperor had been quiet since a while as usual while the chief did more of the comments. "The emperor holds an answer to that." The chief gave up his position. He obviously didn't have an answer to that. They were all following the instructions of the emperor. Whatever he said to them was the dough. Jim had been unusually quiet. The emperor had cast a spell on him. Not such spell that made a fool of someone. But such spell which would make him do whatever the emperor bade him. Tzu didn't have a contention with that. Having Jim charmed was even a ease of things for Tzu. Jim only stared at the three of them, picking each person at a time. The four of them ha
The feast. Havila. "It's quite a wonder that you thought you had it all planned but you forgot to watch your back." Aojen watched in surprise as his brother stood towering over him. He couldn't explain how it had all happened, but there was he was spitting blood and foaming, lying helplessly on the floor. He wished he could explain but he lost track of words. "What did you think of us in the first place? That we are dumb and do not know how to make a choice? That you were the only one blessed with power. It's a wonder how you could be so forgetful of what we were sent to do. Even if you would be mad, was it to the Emperor? The emperor we all held our lives to." The third warrior of the group preached. He had one of his feet on Aojen's face, squeezing his jaws with the hard sole of his sandal. "Brother... You too?"
In a scanty forest. Havila. "What did you remember?" Lailah asked the seemingly broken man who was beginning to gain his life gradually. Ja Lia. Ja wasn't sure if he did remember his identity. When he tried to make meaning of things, he was always lost in the labyrinth of the complexity of it all. He was something close to a walking dead. He dumbed the thought. He was bare-chested and had only a brown furry skirt on. He was barefooted too but his eyes were sharp and his void sense of reasoning resounding. If only his skull could hit the dough. "I remember you changing from a raven to a lady almost every passing day. Since like the past few days." She grabbed him suddenly by the neck and pushed him to one of the trees by the path. She pressed his back to the hard bark of the tree. Her hold on him was very strong and
The King's Castle. Havila. "What are the tidings you brought from Poseidon?" The Emperor's authoritative voice flooded the throne hall. Everyone seated was hit by its wave. Every new time he spoke seemed to canvass another level of the mystery in his voice. Probably it could be owed to another token of black magic. Pretty hard to judge. He had addressed the question to the brother of Aojen and the third warrior. Both seemed to cherish the implication of their names so much that they wouldn't let it out. The two were seated opposite each other. The emperor was seated at the edge of the table to the North. Jim and Tzu were opposite too, next to the two warriors respectively. While the remaining seats were occupied by the chiefs. They were having a royal lunch amidst which the emperor had birthed a wave of discussion.&nbs
2 Weeks later. By the Sea. "What's the beauty of being a king if the queen is nowhere to be found?" Ja shot without looking at her. His face was glued to the hankering horizon and the lapping waves up ahead of him. He could hear the whimpering of the coral reefs and the wandering winds. Probably he was hallucinating. "I won't be gone forever, Ja. I couldn't possibly forget about you. I just have some scores to settle with Poseidon and I'll be back into the warmth of your trained arms. I tell you, it'll only be like a night sleep before I'll be back." Her arms were tucked into each other, folded over her ample bosom. She was also looking towards the sea, probably counting the strokes of the waves. "How about if you failed and that dickhead gains his control on you? What if he subjects you again and then locks
Inside a tree. "Oh well, there. Look who we have here. The king of Havila spending his last day in the tree." She said and closed in the space between the two of them. She was all over him at that moment. Then at once, she hugged him tightly. Like a bone crushing hug. Such hug he'd never received in his entire life. The consequence of such hug was the fact that, those two bounty boobs were pressed tightly on his chest and her nipples were about to slit his chest. He tried to put one of his legs on the bed like the lady so he could assume the right position. He did. He held her tighter than she held him. He was dragging her closer. He wanted his cock to fight its way into her pussy. But he couldn't achieve that. She felt warm under his touch. Her scent was glorious and the urge
The palace. Havila. "I know that several of you are bitter and sad because this stranger had been crowned as your king." Lailah started, pointing at Ja Lia as a reference to the word 'stranger' she had mentioned. Ja didn't bat an eye. He knew he could trust her on such stance. He just stood beside her. His eyes occasionally leaving the converged citizens for Lailah. "But there are few things you do not know that I'm very willing to let you know before I leave your midst for as long as possible." She continued, avoiding Ja Lia's gaze. Ja had shot an ogle at her because of the last phrase she had referenced. She hadn't told him that she would be leaving Havila, though he remembered her making some allusions several days back. Plus twould be quite illogical of her to leave Havila after he had just been recently crow
In the Palace. Havila. "We'll be asking you three questions." One of the chiefs threw at Ja. The chief's expression was betraying and by extension demeaning. Probably his own way of threatening Ja to give up before the time. Ja looked at Lailah who was seated by him. In only her face did he find his comfort. Several other faces betrayed his guts. His will to survive was always shallow whenever he gave them such stare. Or vice versa. Lailah nodded at him and he looked back at the chief and nodded. Not that he couldn't make decisions of his own but... whatever. What was the point of explanation? "Shall we get started?" Another of the chiefs asked him. That was the same question he was asked yesterday before everything went rogue and some of the conspirators broke into the square to ruin him. He didn't want to bring back th
The coronation. Havila. "I'm not ready for this." Ja whispered into Lailah's ear. He wished he could whisper into her mind and heart and every other parts of her body that would make her take him seriously. She's just too playful and daring. Those should be cute and sweet qualities, but not at that moment. Not on a day, which was called his coronation day. "Are you really sure about this?" She asked to his dismay. He looked at her. He wanted to dismiss the urge to listen to her but he was moved instead. Was she really being considerate? Unusual as it seemed. He stuttered, "Yes. I'm not ready for it. Not today, maybe some other day. I appreciate your effort but I don't have the resources from their tests. Even though I'm yet to know what they are." She smiled and replied, peace splattered on
Inside a tree. Havila. "What were you thinking?" Ja Lia was eating her up with an odd ogle. He wished he could do more than that. If twere possible to scold someone with looks, he would had done exactly that. But she only sat on the bed smiling, probably making a joke of him. He wasn't vexed. He was acquainted with her nuances. "You could had gotten the both of us killed. I'm sure you knew that." He shot. He saw seated on the chair opposite the bed. The room was illuminated with blue rays that day. He sure didn't know how she came up with the tricks. "It's a slap in my face that you still fear whenever you're around me." Her countenance had fallen. Well, you might think she was sad or something close to that, but in no time she could burst out laughing again. Such was her art. 
Before the palace. Havila. "Citizens of Havila." Lailah said for the hundredth time, trying to fight her way around words. Yet the vociferation of the lots kept outweighing her voice, swelling in size and number. All she kept hearing was, "Fuck off bitch!" "We deserve justice!" "Lailah must die!" "All the strangers must go." Lailah at a point was forced to resort to her dark magic but she didn't want to. She wanted everyone to have a shot. A chance of lending his or her voice. The days of anarchy and coercion were gone. But the only thing which could steer the beast in her was if anyone lay their hands on Ja. She might set the fellow on fire. "Die, Lailah, Die!" One of the men hurled stone at h
The Palace. Havila. "This is just ridiculous." Jim gave up on trying to get to Lailah. He didn't know why Ja was so protective of her. The bitch who had caused all of them such great harm. He wished he could just hold her in his hand, that her blood may be dried. "Let her be." Tzu called at him, but he shot him an odd ogle. He couldn't hold back the cuss, "Have you ever had a choice? You're just being turned about and tossed around as though you don't have brains. Or probably they don't work." Tzu stood up at that. He wouldn't take such insult from his insolent younger brother. "Now let's trade fist. You think you're now a man and can say whatever you want?" Tzu was walking closer to Jim with such long face assorted with determination. &nbs
Before a tree. Havila. "How soothing it is to feel the caresses of the cruel nature again." Ja praised, his face washed by the bellowing breeze sent by the wandering winds. He had his left hand in Lailah's right. Both of them were standing before that tree. "You never left the comfort of nature. You only travelled through channels." She corrected, squeezing his palm gently. She looked at him and he brought his face close. He kissed her. Quite the brief one. "Comes the time to know of few of my arts when I was gone from the tree. Your cherished question." She said. He felt excited at that. But soon, concern splattered across his face. He didn't leave her wondering, "What of the people of Havila? They sure know the both of us and wouldn't be pleased seeing us together." She smiled