N'Chalo's Challenge

Chapter 2

All of a sudden she woke up, continuing to scream. She looked around and the butterflies in her stomach disappeared as she took in the familiar surroundings of her bedroom. That nightmare again! It was only five days until her challenge, this was bad, true warriors didn't have nightmares. She reached for her journal and began to write.

I could fight anything of the mighty one's choice - a Sandhawk, a Groundhopper, a Defiler, anything but a Deserthound. No matter how hard I try, I'll never forget the day my brother died on his challenge. I sat up and cried as I remembered.

N'Dali was heir to the throne, they said he was destined to be a strong leader like Papa.
Commoners, knights and nobles were there as the ceremony began, loud cheers as Papa escorted him from the city to the desert. He had the whole tribe behind him, everybody was certain he'd grace the challenge.

We waited hours until sunset. Why hadn't he returned? He should have already completed his challenge by then.

When Papa came back, our worst thoughts were confirmed. He carried my brother's corpse and broken pieces of his spear. N'Dali had fought a long, hard battle with a Deserthound.

Thinking about it made her cry. The thought of facing a Deserthound on her own challenge plagued her mind.

When Papa served breakfast, N'Chalo took a seat at the table, butterflies in place of her appetite. She sat next to Ma (Mesi), Papa's consort and most faithful companion. Ma advised Papa on numerous occasions throughout his reign and it was from her N'Chalo inherited her look. Papa could tell something was troubling N'Chalo.
'You've had another of those dreams haven't you?' he glanced at her, a shot of anger in his eyes, 'You must control your mind N'Chalo, don't give in to weak thoughts.'
'Now isn't the time,' Ma told her husband, trying her best to keep things calm. She was used to Papa's short temper and was often the only one who could calm him.
'Yes I have, Papa,' N'Chalo answered, anything to stop him glancing, 'there's one creature...'
Papa gave an exasperated laugh, 'But you're the future Queen! You should be saying "I'm afraid of nothing, I'll take on anything the Mighty One gives me!"'
N'Chalo wanted to remain calm but Papa made her feel angry inside, 'But what if I come against a Deserthound?' She asked as Papa raised his cup.
He spat out his drink and erupted. A look of worry on Ma's face. He looked her dead in the eye and shouted, 'When I'm gone N'Chalo, you'll take my throne and the Ofusa will seek your protection, you must show your courage!'
N'Chalo burst into tears.
'Yokaxa please!' Ma urged as she saw her daughter cry but Papa only grew angrier.
'I will not have my own princess succumb to anything!' He glanced at his consort and thumped the table before turning to N'Chalo, 'Your brother may be dead, N'Chalo, but he died in glory! No one in our family has forfeited, I hope it stays that way!'
It was too much for N'Chalo to hear and she retreated to her bedroom for the next hour as she sat on her bed and cried, listening to her parents' conversation downstairs. Papa continued to rage and Ma tried to calm him but her attempts were no good.
'She will face her challenge in five days! For all these years I have worked tirelessly with her...'
'Yokaxa, getting angry won't help her,' Ma interjected. She tried one last time, 'Perhaps you can go through some more training with her.'
'I'm a busy man, Mesi, I shall hire a trainer. She must train hard and cover everything over the next few days, this is serious!'
NO! I already know how to fight, is this what Papa really thinks about me? N'Chalo tried listening to the rest of the conversation but her parents had lowered their voices.

In the afternoon N'Chalo left the palace to meet her friends in the city by a statue of N'Gwata I the "founder queen". The statue was surrounded by legend, everyone knew the foundation story of the Ofusa nation. The Mighty One taught the ancestors how to fight and told them deeds they needed to fulfill to earn his protection, they agreed thus the Mighty One's will was formed and then he named them the Ofusas and N'Gwata was chosen to be the first queen. There were different accounts of the story and there was much debate over which version was true.
One told of the ancestors who dwelled in a large cavern and wanted to escape the rule of their villainous king. The Mighty One told N'Gwata the location of an oasis and it was there she led the ancestors, the will was agreed and the construction of the city began. Walls were built around the oasis then an island was constructed and lastly buildings and a temple were constructed.
Another told of the ancestors being banished into the desert and living as nomads, struggling with the beasts and the harsh conditions. They embarked on numerous searches, looking far and wide for a new home but they'd be deemed unwelcome by the inhabitants of the lands they'd find. The Mighty One taught the ancestors how to survive in the desert and using their new skills they staged a siege to take what became the Ofusa city.
Within a few minutes Kwende, a boy the same age as N'Chalo arrived along with Alile, a girl who overcame her challenge almost a year ago and they began to venture through the markets. The place was lively with lots of people queuing for different things at the stalls. Men and women were eager to sell their products to the princess.
Whilst looking around, a conversation about challenges was started by Kwende who was due to face his own on the same day N'Chalo was to face hers.
'I was frightened at first,' Alile told them, 'but after you get it over with, it makes you stronger.'
They passed by a stable which was home to Sandhawks, tall featherless birds with grey skin and tiny wings, and Kralls, four legged creatures with fur made of long pieces of hair and three humps on their backs. Sandhawks and Kralls were both creatures that the Mighty One chose as challenges and were very aggressive unless selectively bred.
The creatures were kept for the Knights to ride and in front of the stable was a small space for them to roam around. Alile was reminded of her challenge when a Krall charged in circles - that was the very creature she had faced.
She told them about the Krall she faced as her challenge and how it had managed to break her spear in half.
Kwende was fascinated and eager to hear more, 'You must have thought your fate was sealed. Did you?'
'At first I did but then came the moment I became the woman I am today - quick thinking and never surrendering.'
Kwende laughed, 'So what happened next?'
'When the Krall charged at me, I got onto a rock, jumped and grabbed hold of it's hump then I climbed and strangled it.'
'Amazing!' was Kwende's response.
N'Chalo didn't want to hear any more, she had come to the city to take her mind off everything that was troubling her.
N'Chalo and Alile handed money to Kwende and he lined up in front of a large stall selling skewers with pieces of Sandhawk meat, eggs and peppers glazed in a sweet tasting sauce. The queue was long as the skewers were very popular with Ofusas. The skewers were strong in flavour and N'Chalo and her friends were always sure to buy one whenever they came to the market district.
Whilst Kwende waited, N'Chalo and Alile looked around other stalls, men and women tried encouraging them to buy their products. A portly man ran a large stall which was connected to a tent. Alile was fascinated by the crafts and jewellery which were displayed on the counter. There were circlets made from tiny pieces of gold. It was beautiful, Alile wanted to buy one.
Whilst Alile looked, N'Chalo noticed a man, woman and child in ragged robes sat in front of a wall, collecting beads in a basket. N'Chalo pitied them, she approached and gave them enough beads for a meal each.
'How much for a circlet?' Alile inquired as she approached the man.
'Eighty beads,' the man responded.
That's a lot of money for a circlet but it would look good around my head, Alile thought. She stared at it for a moment, trying to make up her mind on whether to buy it.
By the time N'Chalo had rejoined her, Alile began to look at the many accessories crafted from Sandhawk bones, these included claw bracelets, beak necklaces and a hawkskin cap - a hat made from a Sandhawk's head with a cowl made from its feathers.
'Are you buying or not?' the man asked irritably.
'I think I'll leave it,' Alile's mind was made up after the man's unpleasant tone. She waited as N'Chalo continued to look.
'Are you buying anything?' The man asked as he turned to N'Chalo.
N'Chalo didn't speak, the man knew this meant "no".
'Then move aside!' the man groaned, indicating there was now a queue of people waiting. He was shocked when he realised he had just spoken to a princess, 'Sorry, I didn't recognise you, your highness,' he spoke in a nicer tone.
How rude!, N'Chalo thought as she stepped back with Alile to allow the man to serve the people. His items seemed to be popular, the counter was quickly cleared and the man went into the tent to gather more items but they too were sold quickly. N'Chalo wasn't interested in the jewellery but she was impressed with the Sandhawk accessories and she considered whether to buy a beak necklace. More people came and eventually the man struggled to find more items in the tent and the people grew impatient and walked away. The man looked behind his shoulder and N'Chalo overheard him say, 'Work faster, I can't sell if I keep people waiting.'
N'Chalo inspected the stall and inside the tent she saw a pair of slaves working under pressure to craft more items, broken claws were all over the floor and they dropped bits of gold as they rushed to make more circlets. The slaves were naked and their bodies were covered entirely with grey paint resembling volcanic ash. They were both extremely thin, so much that N'Chalo could see their rib cages. A slave's status was their punishment for failing to overcome their challenge or in some cases, they were born slaves as part of their mothers' punishment.
'I'm here,' Kwende spoke as he came back with the skewers, he handed N'Chalo and Alile theirs. Kwende and Alile began to eat, whilst N'Chalo went to the back of the tent and crawled through. Kwende bit off multiple pieces of food whilst Alile removed each piece and ate them.
The man reacted as soon as he found N'Chalo inside the tent, 'Get out!' he shot at her. The slaves who were so focused on what they were doing they hadn't noticed until hearing their master shout.
N'Chalo ignored the man then she handed an egg to a slave and a piece of meat to the other, they were very grateful.
'What are you d...?!' the man changed his tone as again he realised he was talking to the princess, 'Your highness, you aren't supposed to.'
'Why not?' she shot back, 'They look like they haven't eaten in days, is this how they deserve to be treated?'
'Your highness, they failed to overcome their challenges, they dishonoured the Mighty One, they are serving their punishment.' He was surprised to be telling this to a royal. And I thought the King would have picked the best education for his princess, he thought to himself.
'You're talking to me, the heir to the throne,' N'Chalo shot back, 'and I can assure you they deserve better!' she stared at him for a moment before she crawled out of the tent, back to her friends.
The man turned back to Kwende and spoke gruffly, 'Yes? What d'ya want?'
'I'd like to buy one of those circlets,' he reached into his pocket to take out his purse and just as he was about to exchange his beads, N'Chalo grabbed his wrist and lowered it away. The man frowned at them.
'Come on,' N'Chalo spoke so Alile could hear too. She began to walk away from the stall but her friends stood there, confused. N'Chalo pulled them by their wrists and at once they moved away, the man grunted as they left the market district.
N'Chalo and Kwende followed Alile as she led them along a busy road to get to her house, eating their skewers along the way.
Alile's house was nothing like the palace, it had only one floor with a kitchen, a living room and two bedrooms. Alile often told N'Chalo about how much she envied her for the large amount of space in the palace but to N'Chalo her house had a pleasant interior and she liked the simplicity of it.
The three sat down on Alile's bed and N'Chalo opened her journal and wrote.