Queen Eleaza knew what this meant, she quickly went to sit beside him and gently rubbed his arm and reassured him that all was well and that the fete was going to be a success as she guaranteed that everyone would pull together.
She managed to divert his attention towards getting him fitted up for his gallantry regalia for the summer festival. The king retorted, “I don’t want any fuss, I have plenty of old clothes to wear, is it not just a costume dress I need, nothing special, is it?”
Leona jumped in to say, “Yeah, but you are the king and should wear something special, especially when Mum and I will be looking our best, we don’t want you to show us up, do we, Mum?” Queen Eleaza shook her head and didn’t say a word.
At this point, Tamura looked at the king and said to him, “Dear King, you will look amazing if you were to wear a kingly outfit with all the trimmings, shimmering materials with rich tapestry will look grand on you and your authority will surely be felt by many.”
The king looked at him intently taking it all in. Tamura added, “Especially with foreigners who don’t know you, they will surely be compelled to have high regard of you and great respect for you.”
The king patted Tamura on the shoulder and said to him, “You know what, son, you are right. You not only have good looks, but you are very clever too.”
The king looked at his wife and said, “Get measuring, my darling, and let’s see you put those magic fingers of yours to good use, but can you do it in two weeks remaining before the big day, it’s a hell of a lot of work to do?”
Queen Eleaza responded, “Don’t worry yourself, my dear King, like you said, I have magic fingers and a lot of hands to help me if need be, come with me to the bedroom, for a precision measuring session.”
Tamura and Leona looked at each other and giggled, especially Tamura who was trying to keep his laughter under wraps, but when the royal couple left the room, he fell into a fit of laughter, making sure his voice was muffled into a cushion in case they would hear him laugh.
Leona was amused by seeing tears rolling out of Tamura’s eyes as he laughed hysterically and she joined him on the floor to carry on laughing until it hurt. They stopped laughing but remained on the floor facing each other.
Leona said, “So you have good looks and brains, hah?”
Tamura responded cheekily, “Haven’t you noticed, did the king have to confirm it to you first before you noticed it?”
Leona smiled and said, “No, of course not, I knew already, just teasing you that’s all.”
Tamura smiled and said, “Of course I know you are just teasing me, but it’s no joke when I say you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my whole life, apart from me, of course.”
“Hey!” Leona protested and the two embraced and started rolling on the floor, cuddling, tickling and mucking around. After some time, exhausted from all that laughing and playing, they just lay there gazing into each other’s eyes without saying a word.
They heard the king and queen approaching and they quickly stood up and straightened themselves up and quickly engaged in conversation about the fete. The royal couple walked in and the king said, “You are not still talking about the fete, are you? Your mother is turning my brain into mash about the subject.”
He continued dismissively, “I am hungry and need some food if that’s all right with you, woman.” At that point, Tamura bid them goodnight to go and find his siblings.
The king said, “Come and find me tomorrow so we can discuss the proceedings for the event, I don’t think I can take any more of it today.”
Tamura said, “Yes, dear King, first thing tomorrow I will be here.” Leona gave him a meaningful glance and said goodnight. Tamura went in search of Baka and Mara who he knew exactly where to find. Baka was with Tyza talking in hushed voices about something more of a secret in the clearing between the subjects’ compound and the field.
The boys had become very good friends and spent a lot of time together, almost inseparable. Mara was with her friend Shula playing mums to their dolls at the back of Shula’s home in a makeshift ‘house’ they made with leaves and tree branches as a playhouse.
Tamura collected the two kids, who were protesting and trying to make him see that they were very busy. He took them home against their wishes and made them to have a bath while he cooked dinner.
They all sat down to eat after blessing the food as was their custom taught to them by their parents many years ago. They talked about the day’s events afterwards while sitting with their big brother, whom they looked up to not only as their big brother but as a father too.
They talked about school uniforms, books, the fete, the dolls and the latest insects and birds that fall victim to the caged life among a host of other things.
Tamura had to pay undivided attention to both of them and kept his own thoughts about his new life and the love of his life Leona to himself. He devoted his time to his siblings and serving the king and left his love for Leona to ponder on uninterrupted well into the night when he went to bed until sleep rescued him.
He felt that he was finally getting somewhere with the children and his own life as the oldest of the three. He was looking forward to staying in Goza and getting the children into
