The Gainans: Servant Princess

Chapter 6

Jumu gritted his teeth as he wrapped his fingers around a rope and pulled with all his might. Several other men in Paupers Village were with him and grunted as they tugged at ropes of their own.

"Almost there. Pull!" Jumu called out, droplets of moisture forming on his shiny forehead.

The huge beam they were hoisting finally fell into place, earning a gloomy cheer from the men. Jumu heaved a sigh and flexed his massive shoulders.

"Good job," he told his companions. "Get to work on the sides."

Thanks to Kaana's unreasonable and unnecessary increase in taxes, the population of Paupers Village had doubled almost instantaneously, making their need for more accommodation a priority. Lano's stubborn refusal to emerge from his self-made prison gave Jumu no choice but to take the lead to keep things moving. It was not his desire to step in for the king, but something had to be done. The people needed direction, and until Lano recovered from his deplorable stupor, he would have to do what he could.

Now more than ever, he ruminated on Nola. It was in such conditions that she thrived and gave people hope. He felt inadequate and doubted if he would ever be able to fit in her shoes. He wondered what she would think of his efforts. With the water retainer gone and their fields burnt, they had resumed fetching water from the Dry River. Jumu had trained a youthful group of men to improve on their hunting skills, so the village was able to eat meat from time to time. And though Nola's passing was a blow to them all, he encouraged them to cleave to her legacy, and do their best to live as she exemplified. This they did faithfully despite the difficulties all around them, boosting each other whenever the need arose.

Jumu hoped that Nola would have regarded all this with approval. She'd always believed that he could do anything; he only wished he believed it too, especially after how he had failed to protect her. Nevertheless, he surged on, resolving to take things one day at a time. After all, Nola didn't bring change at the flick of a finger either.

A horn sounded in the distance, capturing their attention. Several grumbles rose from the crowd, for they knew it could only mean one thing.

"It's Kaana!" a disgusted voice announced. "Kaana's headed this way with a troop of warriors!"

The villagers all turned to Jumu in one uniform move. He saw the look on their faces and sighed inwardly. They needed a king for this, not a warrior.

"Kaana knows we have nothing left to give as tax," Jumu said. "So that means he's only coming here to affirm himself as king. Remain calm and do not let his warriors intimidate you."

The people clustered together in a large gathering and waited as the horn blew again, closer this time.

Bratan walked up to Jumu and crossed his arms.

"The ball's in your court," he said.

Jumu's eyes wandered to the rickety house where Lano was holed up. Bratan followed his gaze and snorted.

"With all due respect, Chief Warrior, it's obvious he doesn't want to be king anymore. He just doesn't care."

Jumu's shoulders sagged as he lowered his gaze. He couldn't give up on him. Lano would come through for them. He had to. He looked at Bratan.

"Ask him to come," he directed. "He has to stand with his people sooner or later."

Bratan wrestled with that for a moment before he yielded and strode off to appeal to the disillusioned king. Jumu briefly closed his eyes.

"Don't abandon us now," he mumbled.

He turned and headed to the front of the throng and stood next to Taros. They watched as Kaana rode in with his warriors, ice in all their eyes.