Obadiah knelt before his king. His knees a few feet away from the head of a dead tiger whose skin now served as a rug before the king’s throne. The weight of his polished armour was beginning to tire him out but he had to be strong. The king wasn’t going to knight a weakling. The king stepped from his throne and approached the knight-to-be. He stopped right at the back of the rug’s head and drew his sword. A 3-foot long silver slab that weighed about six kilograms and also the sharpest because it was polished and sharpened everyday yet it hardly tasted war or a mere practice sword fight. The king pointed it into the tiger skull on the ground and rested his hands on the handle. He took one long hard look at Obadiah and cracked into a tiny smile. Obadiah smiled back. All was well.
The king taped Obadiah’s left shoulder with the tip his sword. And then the right.
"Sois chevalier, au nom de Dieu"
And lifted it to tap his left shoulder again. Obadiah was bowed before his king in silence when the sharpest sword in Kirkhan swept through his neck and brushed his large head clean off his neck. His neck erupted like a fountain and bathed the king in red. The women especially Claressa, screamed in horror at the top of their lungs. The queen watched with her eyes popping out and her mouth covered. The king’s blue gown was all drenched in red. And so was his grey cloak. With that red face he looked like a blood thirsty monster that had just made a huge kill. The headless torso dropped off its kneeling stance after erupting for about ten seconds and went on squirting all over the floor. It convulsed, kicked and punched the air as well as soil itself. The head had dropped and rolled into a corner and ended up luckily sat on the flat neck base. Blood oozed out the base of the neck like a leaking drum. The still warm head opened its mouth and tried to talk but all that came out was the cracky sound of the life seeping out of it. Its eyes rolled in pain and anguish. Slowly but steadily the convulsions stopped and the head grew cold. Obadiah was at rest. His cold eyes stared on as his body continued to leak.
The king dropped his sword and robes right where he decapitated his most respected soldier. A towel was handed to him by one of the servants to wipe his victim’s blood. He stepped closer to the almost life-less body into a pool of blood. The king looked at poor Obadiah, scoffed, spit and walked right over his body. He gave the order not to move the body until the break dawn before continuing to his chambers.
For twelve hours he lay there unmoved with Claressa crying over him until the cock crowed. With the help of a few people she’d managed to clean up his body and wrap it in silk white sheets before transporting it out of the city to their home town for burial. Obadiah was buried two days after his death. He was survived by his wife Claressa and five children;-Phoenix, Feliks, Valeria, Wendy and Gregory. Phoenix being the oldest and the rest younger in that order. Phoenix also known for his arrogance and temper swore to avenge his father at his funeral witnessed by atleast twenty people.
News travelled fast and the king knew of it before bed. He had made very bitter enemies where he used to have best friends. Knowing the magnitude of the bitterness he was sure Phoenix would make a move soon or later. He had to put him in check before he found himself in a position where he couldn’t. King Faray lay in bed unable to sleep. He tossed and turned in worry and sweated profusely. He got up and stepped out onto his bedroom porch to feel the cool night breeze and perhaps think of a deterrent for big Phoenix. Obadiah had been chief of the King’s royal guard. The king’s right hand man. Killing him boldly before everyone meant some of his soldiers could side with Phoenix to avenge their commander. He had to act swiftly. He summoned Jekyll, Obadiah’s successor.
“I want the widow and her children in the cells before I wake up. Alive. I want them alive”
“yes my lord” replied Jekyll as he bowed lightly and then showed himself out
“who was that?” queen Mellisa asked half asleep.
“It’s just Jekyll. Go back to sleep”
"There's no sleep for the wicked you know"
To be continued...