Noon had come and passed by quickly and Onochie felt even more depressed than ever. He had thought he would be able to manage the affairs of his kingdom and contribute to the proceedings by paying heed to the needed overviews. He however could not explain the cause for his fatigue and bore.

When he was supposed to be making useful contributions to the matters at hand, his body instead itched greatly for her, missing her fair-skinned and plump body that never seemed to tire him. In fact, he could watch her forever while she twirled and writhed to please him with barely enough covering, leaving him to fuel his imagination with the picture of bare skin upon skin.

Sometimes, it was almost too much for him to take. He was up and over her, naked, hard from her antics and poised to push through her centre before he remembered the reality that he had not yet made her his wife. She sometimes did not stop him, but he held back himself.

He was fully aware that he could not marry a maiden who was dis-virgined–no matter who did the honour–when she had not gone through the rites and traditions needed to become a queen, regardless of how much he loved her. And he did love Ozioma. But his mother had given him the knowledge she knew he needed to hold onto and he had no plans of straying away from her wise words.

"A true queen will be a queen till the end. Make no mistake in choosing her." The queen would say to him gently yet firmly while he leaned his head on her shoulder and listened to her heart beating softly. This was when her malady had not yet befallen her.

More than anything, he knew he loved the granddaughter of former chief Nkeji, but he also knew he had to wait. Waiting would not hurt anyone especially since he was certain she was the right one. A queen had to be a virgin at the time of her coronation. It was a tradition that had been for ages and it protected the king's bloodline by making sure any child sired was his and his alone.

It soothed Onochie's mind that they had both made plans to meet when darkness settled over the plain at the 'Lovers' Lair' which was the name they had given the grooves of tall, large trees under which they whispered sweet, soft words while they loved themselves each day that came. He however wished he could have her in his arms whenever he wanted, like now.

"My king, the number of the poor in the kingdom as of now has catapulted into numbers like never seen before since the days of Eze Onwuamaeze. Those were the days of war your majesty. Orphans uncared for litter every corner of the streets and market squares. It truly is a disgusting sight with all the scramblings for crumbs of food and everything they can find. What shall we do about them my king?"

What shall we do? Onochie thought in alarm. How would he know? As a king concerned, he had little clue about how the court or the kingdom or even things in general ran. All he knew to do was hold a woman sensuously and touch her in the right places that made her cry out in pleasure.

Until Ozioma, all he had done was run after court ladies–which was allowed since they had been rendered impotent by drinking an extract of the Vile flower–even though he was still at a tender age. The only place he had succeeded in showing dominion over was the region underneath a woman's wrapper. It was by pure luck that he passed the tests to formally become an Eze. 

Now that Ozioma was in his life, everything had changed. Even though he still lusted after other women in his secret times of weakness, he would not dare go for any one of them when he had the most beautiful woman in Zoro by his side. Moreover, he knew Ozioma to be wickedly jealous. The fatality that would befall any woman who tried to take her place would be brutal.

"My king!" Onochie turned angrily to the chief who had startled him. What was his name again?

"What is your name?" He demanded.

"My name? Ah my name is Chief Iwegbuna. I am the head chief, Your Majesty." The man answered incredulously as if shocked by the king not being aware of who he was.

"Now tell me what you felt you needed to say so urgently." Onochie glared at him.

"Your Majesty! May you live long! May your reign be longer than that of the heavens and earth! May your riches be as countless and abundant as the grains of sand on the banks of the great river. Please do not release your wrath on your loyal subject. I plead for your mercy Your Majesty."

"Have mercy Your Majesty!" The whole court knelt before Onochie and he sighed depressingly. Sometimes he did hate being a king. The picture of people trembling before him whenever he raised his voice only an octave higher than normal just never sat right with him.

Was it too much to ask for a single day where he was treated like the normal, average man? Even Ozioma despite the long times they had been together still treated him like a great, mighty ruler when she was with him, and not just the man who loved her.

"Rise you all." He commanded and the crowd of bowed heads arose immediately. "We shall go on with the assembly. Now tell me Chief Iwegbuna, what did you suggest be done about the poor orphans and the rise of poverty in Zoro?"

"Nothing can be done for the now Your Majesty. But I must say that if your richer subjects would acquire more wealth through means you make provision for, the riches will certainly trickle down to the poor."

"I see." Onochie nodded, pretending to be thoughtful when on the inside his blood boiled with fury.

He wondered what the chiefs took him for; a young, foolish and naive king who could not think for himself? With the looks they all wore on their faces, he was sure they had all connived to have the head chief tender their greedy desires under the umbrella of bettering the lives of the people of Zoro.

They wanted an increase in what they earned which in turn meant additions to the lands they had received from the king and more rights to tax the people. Funny enough, if there was one thing Onochie had learnt from living in the palace among wealthy and influential people; it was that a simple cowrie never fell from the pockets of the rich.

Giving in to their demands would not bring a change, it would instead enrich their already fattened safe-boxes and this Onochie knew.

"Yes my king. This will alleviate the sufferings among your people."

"Now, how many times has this wealth exuded down to the poor in the past Chief Iwegbuna?"

"Your Majesty?"

"My point is since you were able to tell me exactly when Zoro had last experienced such a state of penury in the past, I also desire to hear when last the inhabitants of this land were shown flourished by this plan you suggest of enriching your filthy coffers."

"Your Majesty, your words confuse my cretinous mind. I cannot help but wonder when I have angered my king by speaking of the destitution of your subjects for fulfilling my personal desires and covetousness."

"Do you say I lie?" Onochie growled under his breath.

"No, not at all Your Majesty." The chief fell to the ground for the second time in one meeting and Onochie had to look away and slowly take in heavy breaths of air in order to quell the urge he had to kick the hideous man in the face. It was a surprise to him that the chief ever found a woman to marry, but then again it wasn't overly shocking. Women would do anything for money. Onochie had experienced their avarice first hand and it was an ugly sight indeed. Even Ozioma, his beloved, at times strayed into the covens of the greedy. But he loved her so much and more than enough that he could ignore her little misdemeanours.

"The royal treasury has not been at its finest for a while Iwegbuna, and so the plan you all have presented for approval will not be given assent for now. I shall however think over the possibilities of its retention."

"Your Majesty. If you do not mind, may I be given permission to make another suggestion?" One of the chiefs with a stocky build asked.

"Go ahead." Onochie flicked his wrist tiredly at him. In his opinion since he had listened to absolute rubbish from the head chief, he might as well hear the rest loads of garbage from the others too. Who knew? Maybe he would pass out in the middle of the meeting and end the pain of having to sit through it all.

"Thank you, my king. My idea is that we should open the borders of Zoro and trade with our neighbouring kingdoms." At this, the whole courtroom erupted in chaos. There were talkings from all angles at the same time leading to a great deal of noise. Everyone voiced their opinion, but no one was heard. It was a case of babbling and utter pandemonium.

"Silence!" Onochie thundered. "You will all be quiet while he speaks unless you want your heads on a spear in the market square by sunset." He threatened though he was sure he would not have the stomach to order the execution of such a terrible sin.

"Please forgive us Your Majesty." Iwegbuna pleaded still on his knees.

"He shall continue without another voice speaking out against him."

"Thank you Your Majesty." Beads of sweat dribbled down the forehead of the chief whom Onochie did not know his name either. "As I was saying, there are quite a few things lacking in our great land as beautiful and blessed as she is. This is a perfect way we could change the direction of the winds of poverty blowing our way. My king, this will prosper our kingdom and lead to greater revenue for the palace and enough sustenance for your subjects."

The king's eyes swept across the throng of officials in his palace and he was suddenly and overly fed up. "I shall sleep on your words my chiefs. This meeting is now dismissed."

"Long live the Eze!" They all hailed and bowed before they turned to leave.

Onochie sighed for the umpteenth time in the now waning day as he rested his head on the soft royal chair padded with the true furs of a leopard—a sign of regality.

He really could not wait to be with her.
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