The Gainans: Servant Princess

Chapter 2

Gaina was not what it used to be. The once animated streets were now cold and dull, all life having left to be replaced by fear and uncertainty. The people no longer smiled, and parents no longer allowed their children to freely roam or play outside. There was a heaviness that cloaked the entire kingdom, and though nobody spoke of it, they all knew the reason.

Kaana.

The man was a terrible king; not just for his ruthlessness, but for his unexpected incompetence in running a kingdom. For all his big talk, he was a horrible decision-maker whose choices depended entirely on his mood and emotions. He cared nothing for law and order. His primary concern was that the people feared and revered him. Kingship had done him a disservice by bringing out the child in him, revealing his true nature, to the dismay of the people. It made no sense, especially since he had been in charge of the kingdom's finance for years. Granted he was a thief, but at least the wealth hadn't collapsed...unlike how the kingdom was collapsing now under his rule.

As a result of his poor leadership, things rapidly spun out of control. Taxes increased for everybody, leading to a lot of unrest among the people, even the wealthy. To control this, Kaana unleashed the wrath of the warriors on the kingdom, giving them a free hand to do whatever they saw fit to maintain law and order, except death, of course. Thus, the warriors became bullies; stealing, harassing, and extorting people at whim.

All this Jumu thought about as he sat at what used to be Paupers Village's water retainer. Now it was only a pile of rubble, a sore reminder of better days. Determined to make their lives as miserable as possible, Kaana had ordered for all the progress made in the village be destroyed. The warriors burned everything; the fields and the water retainer. They left nothing to salvage.

The Chief Warrior stared at the bejeweled band that hung from his neck. It was a constant reminder of all that he had, and all that he had lost. Nola. The passage of months had served only to dull the ache in his heart, not eradicate it.

Sometimes he found it hard to believe that she was truly gone, and other times it was all too real. He saw her everywhere he went: he saw her under the tree with Taros, ranting about this or that; he saw her at the back of the village playing with the children in her clumsy manner; he saw her bounding down the dusty street with a grin on her face. Each sighting was a cold stab in his heart. An image of her having a mud fight with the villagers filled his mind, and he wanly smiled at the memory. She had been so happy, so free, and the village had been teeming with life and spirit. Not so now. Everything changed with her death. He wondered if he could ever hope to bring some restoration.

A shuffle caught his attention and he turned his head. It was Don, standing a few feet away from him. The young woman's face was drawn, her eyes haunted and sad. Jumu gave her a tiny smile though his eyes didn't match. She was only a shadow of the cheerful woman she used to be. She shouldn't have witnessed what happened to Nola. She shouldn't have seen it. It had greatly affected her to date, and he wondered if she'd ever return to herself.

He'd always taken a liking to the woman, finding her innocent and sweet, like a little sister at times even. But that feeling grew the moment he joined the village. One sight of her drastic change, and an overwhelming sense of protection came over him, compelling him to watch over her, and care for her in any way he could. She was not just Nola's friend, after all. She was his.

"Everything alright, Don?" he asked, hoping for a verbal answer this time.

But it was not to be. The woman mutely beckoned him with her hand and waited for him to get up. Jumu sighed and rose to his feet. Without a word, she turned and strode into the village. Jumu fell in step with her and gave her a sidelong glance. At least this was an improvement from her former catatonic state. Though he longed for the day they would hear her voice again, he was grateful for this small mercy.

He followed Don through the streets and ended up in Taros' house. The old man sat waiting, with Bratan by his side. Don quietly took a seat in the corner on a rickety chair, having perfected the art of balancing her weight on it. Taros dipped his shaggy head at her.

"Thank you, Don." Then he turned to Jumu. "Chief Warrior, it's time."

Jumu groaned and shook his head.

"He's not ready."

"It's been two months!" Bratan exclaimed. "It's time for him to move on...if at all he even grieves."

"Believe me, I have tried, but he just isn't ready," Jumu insisted.

"We're not asking him to stage an uprising," Taros said. "We just need to know that he's with us."

"The people need hope, Chief Warrior; more hope than you can give them," Bratan declared bluntly. "Is he going to step up or no?"

Jumu was silent for a moment. This was not going to be easy.

"Alright," he finally gave in. "I'll talk to him again."

***

There was an upside to Jumu being the only one allowed to enter the lone shack in the corner of the village. It was that he was the only one who knew how bad things had become. He picked his way through the clutter and stopped in the centre of the stuffy room, warded off by the several wafts that attacked his nostrils. For a second, he was tempted to go back and open the door to let in some fresh air. But the memories of what happened the last time he tried that restrained him. He still had reminders in form of bruises.

He looked at the spindly figure that lay on the bed by the bolted window, its back turned to him, and shook his head. So it was one of the brooding days.

"Your Majesty," Jumu called out.

The figure shook slightly as a scornful snort sounded.

"What majesty?" the figure replied. "There is no majesty here. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"You are the rightful king of Gaina."

"According to who? The people that rejected me? Or perhaps according to my dead daughter."

Jumu swallowed, taking the time to calm himself lest he lost his temper.

"She wouldn't want you to wallow," he said.

"She wouldn't want a lot of things, yet here we are."

"The people need you!" Jumu pleaded as he strode forward. "Don't you remember who you are?"

"Of course I do." The figure only slightly turned its head. "I'm a murderer."

Jumu took a step back at that.

"Your Majesty-"

"If you care about the people that much, you lead them."