Side story 10

Side story 10: The lengthy story of the battle of Governor Kola II versus the tiger (Read parts 2,3)
Governor Kola II P.O.V
So at the age of thirty-four, I became the Governor of the province of Okunde and hence replaced my late father in the second most powerful position in the Batang empire.
Though I enjoyed all privileges attached to the function, I was extremely sad to have lost my dad the way I did.
I felt guilty that to remain alive after being mortally injured by the Monster of the forbidden mountain, I had to drink the magic potion that exchanged my life with that of my father who had commanded me to do so without thinking twice.
For my father, the pursuit of the extension of our lineage was more important than anything else, including his life.
And with time, I realized that he was right. I was the eldest son and I was young. I could thus procreate. Whereas my dad was a sexagenarian that had been plagued by disease and my mother was in her fifties and her body had naturally entered the stage of menopause.
Conscious of this reality, it was high time to end my voluntary bachelorhood after the passing of my wife Darah, and our baby during the birth delivery three years ago.
With the help of my junior brother Zola, I made arranged marriage with a very beautiful young woman of the empire who lived in Okala village. Her name was Sofia and she was twenty-two years of age.
I paid her bride price to her family comprising two thousand Batangi, two stout goats, two bags of rice, two baskets of fresh tomatoes, two fabrics for the parents' wedding outfits, and two jars of palm wine.
Very quickly the marriage was celebrated in the front yard of the parents' house without too many formalities.
The ceremony started just before noon and within the next two hours Sofia and I were wed and we immediately left Okala for Okunde.
Before our first night together, I prayed to the ancestors to lay a favorable hand upon our conjugal bed and cast away any spirit of infertility and infant mortality.
The night was torrid and one month afterward, my wife Sofia couldn't see her menstruation. She told me about it and though we knew what it meant, I suggested that we visit a native doctor for higher assurance and eventually for divine protection.
We went to consult with Kaba, a good Witch who dwelt in the forest in the south of Okunde. Her house was a mystical baobab that was standing amidst shorter trees.
To call the Sorceress, there was a ritual that consisted of knocking the trunk of the baobab three times so she appeared.
Though Kaba was a Magician of a good kind, she was scary by the way she looked. She wrapped around her top a dry crocodile skin-made outfit and painted her face with the animal's reddish blood.
At her apparition, she arched her big and dark eyes and laughed intimidatingly before inquiring about the purpose of our visit.
My spouse Sofia who was originally from Okala and was freshly new in Okunde freaked out when the Witch Kaba came out. She pinched me to tell me that we should run away so in a panic she was.
I discreetly whispered to her that she should calm down because Kaba was a nice Witch and the best native doctor in the region.
The Witch Kaba who was sitting on the baobab's roots then asked us what we needed from her.
I looked at my wife Sofia in a way that told her she should talk to the Sorceress and explained what brought us there.
But so impressed she was by Kaba, Sofia couldn't speak. I was hence compelled to take the floor. I explained to the Witch that we believed Sofia was one month or a few weeks pregnant and we needed mystical protection for the baby.
The Witch Kaba scratched the trunk of the baobab and removed a piece of bark that she inserted in her mouth, chewed it for a few seconds before unexpectedly spitting it on us three times while murmuring unclear incantations.
When she was done, she then revealed to us the gender of the child. "It's a boy that your wife is carrying in her womb." She said.
Then the Sorceress added: "On the sixth month of the pregnancy, the devil Edimo, the god of ruin will send one of his creatures to devour the unborn child. So be prepared to defend yourself!"
"Take this strength multiplier potion and always keep it with you! It's a one-shot beverage. Only drink it when the fateful moment comes." The Witch concluded.
She extended her right hand toward me to give me the potion and as I was about to collect it from her, she exclaimed: "Three hundred Batangi, Your Highness!"
I removed the money from my right pocket and dropped it in the basket that was on the ground next to the Magician while making a silent prayer.
She took the payment and without saying goodbye, she vanished instantly. My wife Sofia, who was very nervous throughout the meeting, sighed in relief and her tension went down.
We returned to our home, a brand new villa that my father had finished building just a few months before he swapped his life with mine and died. The mansion was supposed to be its retirement house.
My pregnant spouse and I were living there happily there with our servants: imperial sentinels in charge of our security, maids for the house chores, and my coachman.
In the sixth month of Sofia's pregnancy and as predicted by the Sorceress Kaba, the fateful moment occured while we were both in the backyard of our house.
My wife wanted to please me and was roasting gorilla meat for "the strongest man of the empire after His Majesty," she said.
Knowing her physical condition, I told her that it wasn't necessary but she insisted, giving as a reason that being active helped her deal better with the laziness and tiredness that come with pregnancy.
She was so nice when she made her plea that it was hard to say no to her. But at least, I assisted her in cutting the strong bones of the wild animal before I went to sit down on my wooden chair that was on the left corner of the yard.
I grabbed my jar of hot Chai and poured some of the delicious and minted liquid into a glass and began to sip it while looking at my wife cooking with a sidelong glance.
She seasoned the flesh of the gorilla with a sauce containing pounded garlic and onions with curry and black pepper. Then she put the meat on spits and started the grilling on a charcoal fire.
After some time, I was bored and extremely hungry. So I began to doze off on my chair till suddenly, I heard my wife sobbing. I looked in her direction and there was a massive tiger that was fixing its wicked gaze on her.
I immediately recognized the signs of the fateful moment that the Witch Kaba had warned me about. Hence I took out of my pocket the magic potion that the Sorceress had given to me to multiply my power.
I swiftly drank it up and felt an instant mutation in my body. I was already endowed with the natural strength of an athlete but what was different after inhaling the mystical beverage was that my bones hardened and I was immune from pain.
I was enraged and my fury rose even more when I saw my wife Sofia leak water as the tiger intensified its threat with its vicious eyes laid without blinking on her.
Then the latter slightly inclined on the side and called on me to save our unborn child.
With my painful past in mind, namely the loss of my first and only child along with his mother during birth delivery, I told myself that Edimo the god of ruin would not strike me twice or I must die.
The fabric that was tied around my body untied and fell on the soil. I thereupon raced toward the tiger which seemed to be surprised by my counterattack so focused it was on my wife Sofia.
Certainly, the wildcat was mesmerized by her beauty and she was the perfect prey to satisfy its carnal desires.
With my right hand, I powerfully grabbed the animal by the throat and dragged its enormous body to the opposite corner, and hit its head against the concrete gate.
The tiger was in shock. I possessed strength equal to the might of three elephants.
I then savagely pressed its neck with my fingers and broke its nerves, causing an internal hemorrhage.
The tiger suffocated and died instantly. Though I could see the beast had long gone to the kingdom of pain, I didn't release the pressing right away as if I also wanted to kill it a second time in the tenebrous world.
I was so vindictive, for I had a thought for my first child I had lost at its birth.
Ultimately, I let go of the grip and the tiger carcass landed on the ground. I was now breathing fast and hugely to the extent that anyone could hear my respiration.
And then the imperial sentinels precipitously arrived in the backyard just to realize that I had already handled the situation.
They couldn't believe their eyes that I killed the monster alone and looked at me very scared as I went past them.
I stopped by my wife Sofia and kissed her on the forehead. Then I joked that she could carry on with the grilling of her delicious gorilla meat and if that wasn't enough, she could add the yummier flesh of the tiger that was sleeping behind my back.
Then I went to sit down on my wooden chair and resumed the consumption of the Chai that was no longer hot but was still nice to drink.