The Dancing Princess
Episode Four
Queen Adaeze could not sleep that night. "What if the goddess gives me a bad child?"
she asked herself. Then, suddenly realizing she was talking about the goddess, she thought, "Don’t say that about her; she appeared to me as a very peaceful and beautiful woman.
I just wish my daughter is that beautiful if it happens to be a girl," the Queen said, smiling to herself, not noticing when her maid stood close to the door of her chamber to see her laughing.
"Why has the queen been so happy lately? Well, maybe she is trying to use that to cover up whatever is bothering her.
I really pity her; soon, the king will marry another wife, and who knows what will happen?" the maid said, shaking her head and then heading to her duty post.
While the Queen walked to her room, she shut the door.
It was just a week to the dance festival that is always done twice a year; it was supposed to be the first one in the year, and everyone was preparing tirelessly for it, including the members of the royal house.
It was always fun, as the young maidens would dance and dance to their satisfaction, some would find suitors there and also get married to them.
Visitors from the neighboring village would never miss the occasion, as they would come to witness the wrestling between the neighboring villages, dances, and everything a person could think of.
Queen Adaeze saw it as an opportunity to go back to Ala’s stream and offer a sacrifice, even when she knew her prayers were answered. It was her way of thanking the goddess in anticipation of what was to come and pleading that she would be given a good gift.
She prepared a dazzling outfit she would wear, and in line with the tradition, the Queen would also have to dance for the celebration to be complete.
She had to select an outfit that would enable her to dance well. Queen Adaeze had been a dancer before she married the king, whenever she heard the sound of the ogene, she will leave whatever she was doing and dance to it.
It got to a point that her father said she was possėssed and took her to the village square for cleansing.
It was after she agreed to marry him that he strippėd her of many things she used to do. She was the head of the maidens in the kingdom and would stay in the front row to dance whenever there was a festival.
Her dance caught the attention of the king, and he chose her as his wife, but he had to stop her from dancing so that other men would not have eyes on her.
It was the day of the festival, and everything was set in the village square.
The villagers gathered to witness the festival. King Ikenna and other members of the royal house arrived late, even after knowing that the festival would not commence without the king sitting on his throne with his wife by his side.
The queen excused herself to stay back in the palace and adorn herself so that she would appear in her full glory before the people. The king granted her permission, but he asked one of the guards to keep an eye on her.
"I don’t know what she is up to; just keep an eye on her and report to me if she leaves this palace," the king said, and the guard nodded.
He knew just what to do. He hid somewhere and watched the queen as she packed something inside a bag and looked to the left and right. There was no one. She left the palace, following the path to Ala’s stream.
She started climbing up the hill like she normally did.
Then she finally got to the top of the hill, with the guard following her from behind and hiding whenever she turned. She went and dropped the items for the sacrifice close to the stream, and then she walked back straight to the village square, checking again and making sure no one could see her.
The guard took another path and reported to the king, who acted like there was nothing wrong, at least so that the people would not notice.
“Are you sure about what you are telling me?" he asked the guard again to confirm, and the guard responded with a smile to confuse the people.
"If I find out that you are lying to me, I will cūt your hėad off", the king said finally asking the guard to go.
Shortly, the queen arrived at the market square; she looked beautiful and was glowing, as if Ala had added more beauty to her. As the villagers sighted her, they all stood up and clapped while she walked to sit with the king.
The king did not ask about anything he heard, at least not yet.
The festival began fully upon the queen's arrival, and she was asked to dance. The queen started dancing, and it looked as if something was contrōlling her.
All of a sudden, she fell to the ground and fāinted.
Everyone rushed to pick her up, and she was taken to the palace.
As soon as the native doctor touched her, he looked up to the sky and said, "My king, your wife is pregnant, but this child I can’t see clearly; the child might be a cūrse to this village or a blessing."
Thessycute Ekene
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