N'Chalo's Challenge

Chapter 7

The ringing filled her ears again, N'Chalo groaned as she opened her eyes and sat up. There she was lying on her bed. This was not good, she knew she had failed her challenge and the nurse had tended to her - the pain in her wound had lessened. Ma waited by the bed, weeping.
'Ma?' N'Chalo spoke weakly.
Happiness filled Ma's sad eyes, 'N'Chalo!' she was relieved her daughter was safe.
'Where's Papa?'
Ma wept even more and N'Chalo feared the worst.
'Is... Is he safe?' Her voice trembled.
Ma couldn't speak. N'Chalo sprang up and ran to Papa's room — 'Papa?'
'N'Chalo?' Papa groaned, he sounded weak as if he was very old.
'Are you going to be alright?'
'It's too late.'
N'Chalo's heart sank as he told her the bad news.
'A hound's poison is most deadly, N'Chalo. You're lucky the knights found you, the nurse had just enough time to heal you.'
'But if I'm alright aren't you going to be?'
'Since I was struck before you, there was more time for the poison to spread through me.'
Tears began to well in N'Chalo's eyes.
'I must know,' Papa spoke, 'Did you kill it? Did you kill the hound?'
Oh no! N'Chalo didn't know how she could explain to him. If this was going to be her last moment with Papa she didn't want him to be angry with her.
'I did.' She lied.
Papa coughed, it was apparent these were going to be his last seconds.
'You've been very brave and...' he coughed again, 'You've proven yourself to be a worthy Queen.'
'Thanks Papa,' Her voice broken.
Papa coughed once more, it was painful, he then groaned before he sighed deeply.
'But Papa... Papa? Papa!' N'Chalo collapsed to the floor as she broke down and cried.

The Palace had a sombre atmosphere when on the next day the Ofusa Lord sat with N'Chalo and Ma at the table. A large presence was missing with Papa's absence.
'Your majesty and your highness,' sorrow in the Lord's voice, 'I express my sincerest sorrow. He was a great man, one of the greatest rulers of all time.'
It didn't seem real to N'Chalo that she was to become the Queen or was she really since she failed her challenge? It had to be a matter of time before the Mighty One told the Ofusa Lord.
'I will speak with the priests and the funeral will take place before your daughter's coronation,' The Lord finished.
'Thank you, your lordship, you've been a great servant to my husband,' said Ma.
'Thank you,' said N'Chalo.
The Lord stood up to leave before he had one more thing to say, 'He will be known as "Yokaxa the Great",' he looked at Ma, 'You will be granted "Queen Mother" after your daughter's coronation,' He turned to N'Chalo and said, 'Your highness, you fought a battle of great honour, the Mighty One will rejoice your victory.'

Nobody knew what really happened in the desert, some believed N'Chalo had won a long, hard battle reminiscent of N'Dali's but many hadn't given it much thought for her victory was overshadowed by Papa's death. The nation mourned, adults took the day off work (except for the slaves) and children took the day off school for it was a day of remembrance.
A priestess came to the palace congratulating N'Chalo before she cut N'Chalo's bracelets and drew her royal white paint over her body. N'Chalo wondered if anyone had ever lied about succeeding their challenge and what was the punishment. She was disturbed by the thought of her people knowing her failure and being taken by the knights to be painted grey and auctioned into slavery on the streets. Perhaps this was enough for her to be sacrificed, or what if she had committed such a great crime that the Mighty One would have to create a brand new punishment for her.
In the evening the vagabonds in the temple district were cleared away and the slaves looking after the temple were made to work faster before N'Chalo, Ma, the clergy, diplomats, nobles and good friends of Papa had gathered to remember the former king.
They all watched as the Ofusa Lord read his speech before Papa's body was lowered into his coffin, in a graveyard where the former members of the royal family had been laid to rest. Papa was buried alongside N'Dali, the next gravestones along were of: his father Umkaxa and mother N'Zuri who had been buried together, N'Gwata VII and her husband Li'Chombo.

After the funeral civilians gathered in the city centre and the Ofusa Lord addressed them from the pavilion. N'Chalo and the clergy stood behind him and knights protected the platform. A low drum beat was played by a priest as the Lord spoke.
'Never would we stand as the strong nation we are. Guided by his courage, we reigned victorious in the Great War and expanded our nation into the south of the desert.
'His reign may have come to an end but his legacy will last for eternity. I request we use this moment in silence, to remember King Yokaxa the Great, one of the greatest rulers who ever lived.'
As he finished the drumming stopped and everybody remained silent. The Ofusa Lord closed his eyes to think about his old ruler and friend. Not a sound other than the gentle blow of the wind.
The victory over the Great War of the desert was known to all, whether they lived through it or not, as Papa's greatest achievement. At such a young age he had transformed a nation on the brink of falling into a strong and feared nation. Parents told their children that if it weren't for him then the Ofusa may not be the free people they were.
The Lord opened his eyes and the people knew he was about to make an announcement. 'Let's embrace the dawn of a new era,' he said, 'please welcome Queen N'Chalo.'
The priest played a quick drum beat as N'Chalo came to the front of the platform.
'Your majesty,' the Lord spoke, 'I will present you with the crown, worn by your forebears. They will be with you throughout your reign, wear it to honour them.'
N'Chalo knelt and a priestess came forth, carefully holding the crown (it was still Papa's crown to N'Chalo) and she passed it to the Lord. He placed it onto N'Chalo's head and the crowd cheered as a new era had truly begun.
'My people,' she nervously addressed the crowd, 'it is an honour to become your Queen and...' she paused awkwardly, this was not the sign of a strong Queen, much of the crowd thought. The elder most in the crowd felt empathy, however, they thought that living up to such a great ruler would amount to a lot of pressure for N'Chalo at such a young age.
N'Chalo spoke again, trying unsuccessfully to hide her nerves:
'My father was a great man, I will honour him by continuing all his good deeds. I will create a fair and optimistic society, everybody will be valued for who they really are, not what others tell them to be. I will abolish slavery and put an end to all challenges.'
She was met with gasps from the crowd. Put an end to all challenges? That was most unthinkable. The crowd murmured, they were dismayed, even the eldermost, Is this really our Queen?
'But you can't!' a man called out, 'We must keep our traditions!'
'But many die each year,' she responded instantly, 'I lost my brother, do any of you know how it feels? Banishing those who fail, all those we have sacrificed - these are the most unjust acts of our society.'
Another man came forth, she recognised him as the man she confronted over the treatment of his slaves in the market district, she wasn't surprised to see him. 'But many of us work extremely hard,' he spoke, 'without slaves there's so much we couldn't achieve! And he's right, we mustn't break the Mighty One's will!'
The pressure was mounting on N'Chalo but she knew she would never convince her people if she backed down to them. She spoke again, 'We have achieved so much by working as a society, I believe we could achieve much more if we ended our cold, barbaric ways.'
'FOOLISH MORTAL!' The voice of the mighty one resonated throughout the city, causing the ground to vibrate and buildings and stalls to shake.
The Ofusa were fearful, no king or queen had angered the Mighty One like this.
'Listen!' The Mighty One continued, 'A life without slavery, are you willing to betray your people?'
'I swear to my people, whatever I do, I will grant them a better life.' N'Chalo felt she unlocked something inside her, was she really standing up to her god like this?
'She's insane!' another man shouted.
'Settle down!' the Ofusa Lord demanded, 'We must respect her majesty!'
'Never!' the man shouted back as he charged towards the platform. Many others joined him whilst the rest walked away from the scene.
Knights stood tall to cover the pavilion, they warned everyone to keep back but people began to push at them. The knights resorted to taking out their spears and thrusting at anyone who dared to touch them. Numerous brawls broke out between the knights and civilians. Soon the knights began to be overwhelmed, groups of people targeting single knights and trying to climb onto the stage. N'Chalo and the Ofusa Lord looked to get away but they were afraid of being attacked.
N'Chalo was appalled, knights had to kill many civilians after resisting orders to stop fighting, many knights were injured and some had been killed after civilians had taken their spears off them. N'Chalo could never have imagined her reign beginning in chaos. Members of the crowd forced themselves past the knights and climbed onto the stage.
'Your majesty!' The Ofusa Lord put out his hand and N'Chalo took it, as a pair of knights fought a group of civilians, there was a gap which he targeted as they ran. The civilians they ran past were too busy fighting the knights to notice the pair. Other civilians tried to chase them but the knights grouped together, blocking their path and allowing the Princess and the Lord to get away safely.