Deities of Deceit

Chapter Forty-six

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PART TWO
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Nimah Eze | Forty six
WEDDING SEASON
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The shrine of Ogun called out to me. It was one thing to visit another deity's temple once in a very blue moon and another to frequently visit.

As each day came and went, I struggled to stay away. Some days I swore to myself I was only visiting the worship floor for Ala, and I did. I spent a good number of hours in her temple, but soon found myself back in the temple of Ogun, watching the oracles pray, reading the tale over and over again, sometimes, attempting to lose myself in the prayers and see if I could hear those voices again, see those eyes. This never happened.

There was a sin to it, it was known to burn offerings in the name of Ala was to burn offerings to no other deity. But even my presence in the temple of Ogun felt like a transgression, there was no reason to keep returning, but as the weeks came and went, it almost became a daily habit, as with most things that felt sinful to me, it brought me guilt.

Our wedding day now lingered at arm's length, and the entire palace came alive for it.

On every floor, through every hall, the banners of the royal household were hung. Palm fronds and sage were tied across every window, an old tradition to ward away evil spirits and bad luck during weddings. The walls were polished with lavender oil for the welcoming of good luck and the floors scrubbed and polished with a mixture of tea tree oil and alcohol for shine. New clothes were sewn for every servant of every ranking and merry had already begun amongst the concubines and royal guests. The mountain palace dazzled in high spirits.

Marriage was regarded as the most precious of unions, one that symbolized new beginnings and blessings. Arjana had been starved of royal weddings for centuries too long and I was on a mission to make it a memorable one, keeping as busy as possible meant less time in the temple of Ogun until I no longer felt the need to visit.

I always knew I would be bound by the holy vows of marriage someday, to honor, protect, and serve another soul. But I was always supposed to be the one carrying the torch. I was always supposed to work, earn, and provide. It had been that way my whole life. But next to Her Majesty, there was nothing to work and toil for. At every inconvenience, there was a servant to remedy it. My family had been granted salaries to match their new titles as members of the royal family, even the slightest bit of purpose I had before: providing the crown with heirs was now diminished. I felt like a wanderer in the mountain palace.

There was a gap I ached to feel, a craving to earn my place. The General had the military and enforcers, the Queen ran the kingdom. Walking around the palace in expensive clothing felt sinful and unjust. As though I was just a pretty ornament hanging around the palace to be polished and shined for all to admire, gossip, or gawk at. This incessant craving was what implored me to seek out more responsibilities.

A great deal of Arjanians tended to the home while their life partners tended to work. The palace was eighty-five floors of responsibility that needed tending to, it bustled with things to do in preparation for the wedding, many of which, neither Her Majesty nor General Yarima had time or interest in.

The wedding committee sat on their hands at every turn waiting for Her Majesty to approve food menus, color schemes, flower arrangements, and such, it slowed down their progress and brought a great of frustration. Each time I dropped by to see Her Majesty at her office, they'd be lined up in front of her office, waiting for this or that.

"Can I take over the wedding plans?" I asked on one of the few mornings they had enough time to have breakfast with me.

"It is a bore, Nimah. Let the wedding committee handle it," Her Majesty replied, slicing through her breakfast of honey beans and smoked fish.