Zola Bakar II
A day and a half had passed since the night Zola and Sadio had their heart to heart discussion in her garden. Since then, things had been as busy as ever. Sadio had spent every moment of his time wrapping up the final arrangements for his trip back to his home and finishing up whatever work he could before the day of their departure came. Princess Zola had not even managed to catch a glance of him since that night and was somewhat irritated at this.
At this point, Zola was very worried about Sadio. She felt that he was simply burying himself in his work as a means of coping with his emotions, in her mind this did neither of them any good. First and foremost, Sadio was her closest and most trusted friend who she loved dearly, more so than anyone else she could ever think of, so her worrying about him was as inevitable as it was natural. He held a very special place in her heart, but at the same time he was her Vice-Chancellor. Sadio was like her right hand, he was her most valued advisor and her second in command. When the time finally came for her to become Empress, she would make him her Chancellor, and he would effectively be the second most powerful person in all of the Askiyan Empire. The reason that Zola had appointed Sadio however, was not out of sheer nepotism, it was for his unparalleled abilities when it came to the crafting of laws and their later implementation. Her father had said that Sadio displayed the most masterful understanding of the intricacies of the governing process that he had ever seen, and Zola was most definitely inclined to agree with him. Sadio had the most brilliant legal and political mind of any person that she had ever met. The fact that he had managed to single-handedly construct the "Strategic Alliance Treaty" was the greatest testament to this. In her mind, and the minds of many others; Sadio was an invaluable national asset.
Therefore, Zola would need Sadio to be at his sharpest at all times if they were to ever accomplish any of the grand plans that she had for the future. In his current state, he would not be able to perform to the best of his ability. For the sake of her best friend and for the sake of the whole Askiyan nation, she needed to get him back on his feet.
When Zola entered the Vice-Chancellor's Tower, she was overcome by the frantic and chaotic mood that seemed to have spread throughout the entire building. As soon as she stepped in, she saw how members of Sadio's personal staff buzzed about like a colony of busy worker bees. They filed in and out of the building, remembering to stop and pay their respects to her as they passed. With them, they carried various papers, scrolls and other documents that she presumed were of significant importance.
Making her way up the staircase, Zola quickly grew annoyed at how long the trip up to the top floor was taking. Why the hell did I put his office all the way up here anyway? She thought, before remembering how on one morning, several years ago during their university days - Zola had by some miracle managed to wake up as early as Sadio did, and saw him sitting by himself quietly on a balcony that was on one of the upper floors. When she had asked him what exactly he was doing, he said that he was "Waiting for the sun to rise." When she asked him why, he simply replied. "Because there is nothing more beautiful that watching the sunrise at dawn. I just love doing it because for some reason, it puts me at peace and it just makes me happy."
It was the first time that Sadio had ever shared that with her, and she made sure to remember it. She gave him an office that would provide him with the best view in all of Gao, because she wanted him to enjoy the sunrise like he always did, she always wanted him to be happy. The only downside was the twenty minute trip up a nearly endless flight of stairs that she had to make whenever she wanted to see him. The price I pay for caring. She thought, a wry smile on her lips as she made her way up to Sadio's office.
As she proceeded up the stairway and past the upper floors, Zola saw the same thing everywhere she went; members of Sadio's staff were scurrying up and down the building, speaking in rapid voices. They all still somehow managed to stop and pay their respects to her along the way. She knew that Sadio liked to run a tight ship, but this was the first time that she had seen the young staff members scramble so frantically in a bid to keep up with the pace of her ever efficient vice-chancellor. When she reached the top floor, she entered the large room that served as the workplace for the staff members who directly answered to Sadio himself. The room was vast but plain. Apart from the banners that hung from the walls displaying the Bakar family sigils, it had no decorations whatsoever, and every staff member present was seated at their own personal desk with their heads down, focused solely on whatever task Sadio had assigned them.
"Princess!!" A voice called from the other end of the room.
Zola looked across to see Kolo, a young man with boyish features and an average build who served as one of Sadio's two personal assistants. The other was Kolo's younger sister; Nia. Like every other member of staff who worked for the vice-chancellor, Kolo was under the age of 25. Sadio preferred to maintain a staff that was filled only with the best and brightest young minds that the Askiyan Empire had to offer, and almost all of them were recruited directly from the universities in Sadio's home city of Tomboctu, the great intellectual and cultural centre of the empire. Kolo and his sister were a prime example of this, they had attended the same university as Sadio and Zola, the prestigious Abdoulay Bakar University and were in the year group below the Princess and her Vice-Chancellor. The university itself was named after the emperor who served as the third ruler of the Askiyan Empire. Emperor Abdoulay was a scholarly man who valued the pursuit of knowledge greatly. He believed that and educated population was vital for national development, and had greatly expanded the powers of the Education Ministry.
Kolo was coming back from the door that led into Sadio's office, he closed it behind him and walked over to properly greet Princess Zola. As he padded across the room with several scrolls rolled up and tucked underneath his right arm, the other staff members became aware of the Princess' presence and rose from their seats to properly greet their future empress.
"Princess!!" They all greeted in unison, bowing their heads as they did so.
Zola smiled at them radiantly."Good day everyone!" she said cheerfully. "I see that you're all hard at work! In that case I'll try not to take up too much of your time. I just wanted to thank all of you for your continued dedication, and the fantastic work that you've done for the empire, for me personally and especially for my dear old friend; the vice-chancellor."
They seemed to be visibly lifted by Zola's praise, and all showed signs of how elated they were. Some grinned brightly, while others gave bashful smiles. One thing was certain though and that was that they were all proud of the fact that they were being openly lauded by the crown princess. Zola gestured for them to return to their work, and they did exactly that.
She then made her way over to meet Kolo at the midway point of the room, between the entrance and the door that led into Sadio's office. "Princess, as always it is a pleasure to see that you are in good health." He said as he bowed his head.
"It's good to see you as well Kolo, is Sadio in his office?" She asked
"Yes Princess."
Like I was expecting a different answer. Well Kolo is a nice lad, so it wouldn't kill me to be polite. "Thank you Kolo, I'll be going to meet him now."
"Of course, Princess." He bowed once more before taking his leave.
When she entered Sadio's office, she saw him walking back to his desk while unfolding a piece of parchment paper that was probably just delivered to him in his rookery.
"Another letter from your brother?" She asked, clearly surprising him.
Sadio looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Princess? I wasn't expecting you today. Kani had told me that you would be attending to important matters with Prince Mamadou, so you would be busy all day."
Zola rolled her eyes before placing her left hand on her hip and casting Sadio an ironic look. "Really Sadio? Did you honestly believe her? As if Mamadou would give me the time of day when his best friend who's been gone for three whole months, finally comes back. He's been following Lieutenant Diakite around like a little overeager puppy that hasn't seen its owner in forever."
"I admit, that was a mistake on my part. I know your brother well enough to know what he'd do" He said, taking a seat behind his desk before continuing to read the parchment paper.
"I'm starting to get the feeling that you've been trying your best to avoid me Sadio." Zola teased.
"I would never do such a thing." He shot back.
"Is that so? Then why did you ask Kani about my schedule rather than coming directly to me?" She asked with a taunting lilt to her voice as she walked over to sit on the right side of his desk.
Sadio stopped reading and looked up at Zola, it was when he did this that she took notice of how red his eyes were, as well as the dark circles that had formed under them "Have I ever been dishonest with you Zola?" He asked in a serious tone of voice.
Zola giggled at his manner. "I'm only teasing Sadio. More importantly though, when was the last time you slept or had something to eat?"
"I'm fine, Princess." He said firmly before turning his attention back to the letter.
"Sadio."
"With all due respect Princess," This time Sadio did not look up at her. "there is no need for you to be so concerned about my wellbeing. If there are any doubts over my ability to effectively perform my duties, I assure you that I'm still fully capable of carrying out my work. I appreciate the concern, but you are my Princess, not my mother. Whether I eat or sleep properly should not bother you. And again, while I appreciate your concern, if you only came up to check on me - then I must say that I have work to do."
Zola let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose . "Damn it Sadio, how cold can you be? Of course all of those things should be my concern! You're my best friend first and foremost, and I care about you, you big idiot!" Zola absolutely hated how Sadio was acting, she wondered why couldn't he just understand how much she loved him and wanted what was best for him.
Sadio looked up when Zola made her emotional outburst, his eyes seemed to be filled with regret. He reached over and placed a hand over one of Zola's before he spoke. "Princess." Zola looked away defiantly with a pout on her lips. "Princess." Sadio continued. "I apologize if I came across as rude, offending you is the last thing that I would ever want to do." He took a deep breath. "It's just that things have been somewhat difficult lately and I......I don't want to be a burden to you. I-"
Zola turned back to look at Sadio with a softened expression. "Sadio." She said, cutting him off "How many times do I have to tell you that no matter what, you'll never be a burden to me?" She held his hand with both of hers and looked him straight in the eye. "It's okay to depend on me once in a while you know, you don't have to go through this by yourself Sadio."
"I know" He said solemnly. "But, for my whole life my father always told me, and only me that I should never become more of a burden to anyone than I already am. Life lessons like that are really hard to forget."
"I don't mind if you're a burden to me."
Sadio looked taken back at Zola's words, clearly he was flushed. He regained some composure and somehow managed to stammer out a sentence afterwards. "I-I......Y-You shouldn't say things like that Princess."
"Why not?" Zola asked, the teasing lilt returning to her voice as she grinned at him."You're my best friend Sadio and you're going through a rough time. You should just let me spoil you~."
Sadio turned his head away from her and refused to make eye contact. "You really are something else Princess." He grumbled, barely loud enough for Zola to hear.
She giggled at how flustered her friend became. Sometimes you can be so adorable Sadio. "Besides all of that Sadio, the reason I came to get you was so that we could go to lunch together. I'm sure you haven't had anything to eat all day, and it would do you some good to stretch those monstrously long legs of yours and get out of your office for once."
He turned back to face her."I'm fine Princess. Once again, I appreciate your concern. I'll make sure to have something to eat by the end of the day, but I have a considerable amou-"
"Oh no you don't! You aren't going to avoid me for two days in a row Mr. Kanoute. You're coming with me whether you like it or not!"
"Is that an order?" Sadio asked in a deadpan voice.
"Yes! Yes it is." Zola replied with a smug grin on her face.
Sadio shot her a withering look. "That, Princess would be a gross abuse of your power."
"Too bad!" She exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at him. Zola then hopped off Sadio's desk and started pulling at his arm playfully."Sadio, please? I made special plans for us today, and I promise you that you'll enjoy yourself!"
"Princess I-" Sadio was cut short by the sound of a loud knock at his office door. "If you would excuse me for a moment, Princess?" Zola nodded in approval "Enter!" He shouted.
In through the door stepped Kolo, carrying even more scrolls under his arm than when Zola last saw him. "Princess, Lord Vice-Chancellor." He greeted in his usual polite tone before walking over to Sadio's desk. "I have retrieved the documents that you requested, My Lord." He said as he placed the scrolls on Sadio's desk.
Sadio nodded at him."Excellent work Kolo, any word from Minister Cisse?"
"Yes My Lord, he approved of your plans for Saleh's new infrastructure budget and construction will proceed as planned."
"Good. Thank you Kolo, that will be-"
"Kolo!" Princess Zola said, stepping into the conversation.
"Yes Princess.?"
"I require your assistance." Her face carried a sly grin and she could see that Sadio was eyeing her warily
"Of course Princess, anything you need."
"Could you help me to convince your big dummy of a boss to take the rest of the day off and come with me for lunch?"
"Princess!" Sadio exclaimed, irritation clear as day upon his face. "I told you already that I'm-"
"I believe the Princess is correct." Kolo interjected before Sadio could finish his sentence. The Vice-Chancellor was getting interrupted quite often that day. Sadio looked at his young assistant with a hurt expression that seemed to ask the question My friend, why have you betrayed me?
Kolo spoke firmly "Lord Vice-Chancellor, it has been not only my concern, but the concern of all those who work under you that you've clearly been overworking yourself. Your father just died My Lord, and while we all admire your strength and determination to continue working despite experiencing such a great personal tragedy - what you are doing now isn't healthy."
Wow Zola thought I can imagine how long Kolo has been holding all this in. I guess getting my approval is what let him off his leash.
"Vice-Chancellor," Kolo said. "I beg of you, take a break, go with the princess, try to relax. We can handle your workload for you." He sighed before continuing. "We all want only what is best for you, and what's best for you right now is to allow the Princess to be there for you and comfort you because right now we're all terribly worried about you! You haven't slept or had anything to eat in nearly two days, you can't keep doing this to yourself, it's not right!!"
Sadio was visibly stunned by Kolo's words, he could only sit and hold his chin in deep contemplation.
"My Lord, please. As your assistant, as your sworn servant, as your junior, as your friend, I want to see you happy and well. So please just stop being such an idiot and go with Princess Zola."
Sadio visibly flinched at Kolo's final remark and even Zola was surprised. Kolo has never spoken like that to Sadio before, he's always usually so polite. Zola knew though that Kolo respected Sadio greatly and only wanted what was best for him, she was glad for that.
Sadio rose to his feet, towering over both Zola and Kolo with his gargantuan six and a half feet of height. "Thank you Kolo." He said. "I really needed that." He gave a weary smile to his assistant.
Zola shot a huge and toothy grin in his direction. "You have my most heartfelt gratitude Kolo."
"I am to have been of service to you. Princess, My Lord." Kolo said as he bowed
Sadio retrieved his cloak before turning to Zola. "So, where are we off to?" he asked as he clasped it into place.
"I'll tell you on the way."
"Lead the way then, My Princess." He said jokingly as he made a gesture with his arm.
The three exited Sadio's office and Zola stopped to address the staff in the general area. "I hope you all don't mind, but I'll be borrowing the Vice-Chancellor for the rest of the day."
"Don't worry we won't miss him!" someone called and the whole room, including Sadio burst into a chorus of laughter
After the laughter had died down, Zola continued "In all seriousness though, I'm sure that like me, most of you feel that he's been overworking himself."
A loud and resounding chorus of "Yes!" rang throughout the room.
"I thought so. Well worry not my faithful subjects, I'm here to take him out and ensure that he gets some proper rest before tomorrow's long trip."
"Well then." Sadio said, stepping forward to address everyone as well "Since the Princess has temporarily managed to forcibly relieve me of my duties. Like on those rare days when I am absent from work, the main conspirator behind my untimely downfall; Kolo. Shall be left in charge."
Another chorus of laughter rang throughout the room before Sadio and Zola made their way down the staircase to begin their long descent down the tower. Kolo and the other members of his staff had sent Sadio messages of good will, condolences and hopes for his safe travelling. After the agonisingly long twenty minute journey down the tower, Sadio and Zola made their way through the palace and towards the fourth gate that was located on the western side of the massive Royal Complex.
There waiting for them was the military escort that Zola had arranged. A cavalry unit consisting of six of Kouyate's men, mounted upon their proud black stallions. They were tasked with protecting the same carriage that had carried Zola back to the palace when she had returned from the world summit.
"You never told me that we were eating out today." Sadio spoke up as he and Zola entered the carriage.
Zola simply gave him one of her devilish smirks in reply "It's part of the surprise. After all, variety is the spice of life."
Sadio rolled his eyes. "Right"
The massive gates opened at the command of one of the officers, and Sadio and Zola were on their way to their destination.
Zola decided to start up a conversation "Well since you're so anxious to find out though, I guess there is no harm in telling you. We're goi-" Zola stopped herself when she realised that as soon as they had started riding, Sadio had drifted off to sleep with his head leaning against the left window. She smiled at how peaceful and content he seemed in his slumber. He really did tire himself out didn't he?.
Zola entertained herself on the journey the same way that she always did, by gazing out the window at the city streets. Today was quite a busy one, and she watched as the citizens bustled about, carrying out their business. What always amazed her, was simply how large Gao was as a city. The inner district that was known as The Citadel, was by itself bigger than the capital cities of most nations in the world. After her travels, she could tell that it was bigger than Khere; Egypt's capital city, as well as the famous Hellenic city of Byzantium. The Citadel was heavily fortified and surrounded on all four sides by 20 foot walls that separated it from the rest of Gao. It acted as the central district of the city and housed the Royal Palace, National Assembly Building and several other important government buildings. Its residents were some of the absolute elite of Askiyan society and its clean streets, magnificent architecture and solid infrastructure served as further symbols of its high status. Zola was overcome with a great sense of nationalistic pride whenever she looked out at her country's capital. It made her proud to be an Askiyan and proud to be a Bakar.
After about half an hour, Sadio jolted awake as they made a sharp turn. He sat up and tried to blink the sleep from his eyes.
"As always, your timing is impeccable Sadio." Zola said as the carriage came to a halt
"Princess?" Sadio's voice was quite hoarse from sleep.
"We're here."
"Where?"
"Come on, I'll show you." Zola took Sadio's hand and they stepped out of the carriage together. Sadio groaned as he stretched out his long legs, normally he would express some amount of discomfort at how 'small' the carriage was and that there wasn't sufficient room for his legs. But this time he was asleep for basically the entire journey. Looking up at his looming figure, Zola mused Sadio's always been this monstrously tall huh?. A fond memory from her childhood soon came to mind. It was from a special dinner that her parents held when she was around eight years old, Zola especially remembered this event for one reason and one reason only; it was the first time that she ever met Sadio. She remembers how even then he stayed back and seemed so shy and withdrawn. The other nobles who had young children had brought them along, but Sadio stayed by himself in a corner of the room. Probably both out of shyness and because the other children were intimidated by him given how tall he was for an eight year old. In her more mature age, she found it somewhat embarrassing that her first words to him were 'Wow! You're tall" especially since she was the first one to work up the courage to approach him that night.
"Princess." Sadio's voice brought her back to reality. "Are we going to stand around or...."
She patted Sadio on his back. "Excited, are we?" He rolled his eyes in response. "Come along now young one, I shall show you the way."
Sadio chuckled at her remark. That made her glad, she always wanted him to be happy.
"So where exactly are we going?" He asked once more.
"This lovely establishment behind me!" Zola pointed at a large building that was behind her, it was built five stories high and its exterior design was not typical of the structures built in Gao. It was sandstone brown like all the others, but it had an exterior veranda supported by two pillars and all of its upper floors had balconies constructed to the front and to the left.
Sadio raised a curious eyebrow."What exactly is this place?"
"This" She grabbed Sadio's arm and pulled him along. Three of the royal guards followed them, they wielded long swords and had their shields slung across their backs. "is the best place that you can ever hope to get proper Lazian food from in all of Gao!"
As they entered the building, they saw how the interior was decorated elaborately to resemble a high class Lazian building. It was complete with marble floors, an assortment of potted plants, replicas of famous Lazian paintings and marble busts depicting important figures in Lazian culture; philosophers, artists, playwrights and several others. Sadio and Zola were greeted near the entrance by a middle aged man who was clearly of Europan heritage. He was slightly taller than Princess Zola, and had blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was clean shaven with his hair kept short and neatly trimmed. He was also garbed in the traditional Lazian robe that Zola for the life of her could never be bothered to remember the name of.
Seeing people of other races in Gao was far from unusual though. Of its population of ten million people, around a quarter of them were comprised of immigrant and minority groups. They were present in great numbers due to the fact that the Askiyan Empire was a nation that gladly welcomed immigrants and embraced multiculturalism. It was a nation built by immigrants and had grown to welcome people from all across the known world as it grew. They came from as nearby as the north of the continent, Europa and the Near East. And they came from lands as far as Maurya and Siam. The Askiyan Empire was diverse and its people had grown to accept and eventually embrace the presence of the other races as time had gone on.
"My Princess." He greeted in a heavily accented voice as he bowed his head.
"It's good to see you again Alair." Zola greeted him back with a small smile.
"And I assume that this tall and handsome gentleman accompanying you is the Lord Vice-Chancellor?"
"You are correct."
He bowed his head once more as he faced Sadio. "It is an honour to meet you, My Lord. I am Alair Alexius and may I say that you are even taller in person."
Sadio allowed a small smile to form on his lips and chuckled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Alair." he said in a polite tone of voice.
Alair gestured towards the stairs at the back of the room. "If you would so kindly follow me, Princess, Lord Vice-Chancellor. We have already prepared your tables in advance of your arrival."
They followed Alair all the way up to the fifth floor. He led them past the indoor eating area and out onto the tables on the balcony. The table that was made ready for them was positioned next to the edge of the balcony and overlooked the busy city streets. The view provided from where they were was quite amazing in Zola's opinion. From where they were, they could see a large part of the Citadel, including its central square. The reason that she chose a seat all the way up on the fifth floor balcony was because she knew how much Sadio enjoyed having a seat that provided a great view, and above all; she wanted Sadio to have a great time today. She knew him, and she knew that he was hurting inside. At this point all Zola wanted to do was help him.
Sadio and Zola took their seats, and the three members of the royal guard that were present formed a wide perimeter around the area that their table was in. They stood vigilantly, ready to protect the Princess and Vice-Chancellor from any potential threat.
When Zola looked around, she saw that the vast majority of the establishment's patrons were members of Gao's Lazian community. Some customers appeared to be of Northern descent, while the rest were Southerners like Sadio and herself. Alair ran a high quality business that had a wonderful reputation and while many of his customers were fellow Lazians or others of Lazian descent, he received more than enough business from the other ethnicities to ensure that his establishment was never left wanting.
"My Princess, Lord Vice-Chancellor. I shall be serving you this afternoon." Alair said after the two had settled in. "Would you like to see a list of our available dishes, or..."
"That won't be necessary Alair" Zola piped "I'll be ordering for the both of us." She then turned to look at Sadio. "Tell me Sadio, have you ever had ostrich before?"
Zola giggled when she saw Sadio's bewildered expression at her question. "N-No Princess." He stammered.
"Well I can tell you that the ostrich they serve here is probably the most wondrous dish you'll ever have."
"I'll take your word for it Princess."
Zola turned back to Alair "Well in that case, we'll take two orders of ostrich fried in olive oil."
"Anything to drink Princess?" He asked
"Honeyed wine."
"Anything else?"
"No, that will be all."
"Very well then. If you would excuse me Princess, your meal will be delivered as soon as possible." Alair then departed to tend to their order.
Zola then looked across and saw Sadio leaning against one of his chair's armrests, gazing outwards at the city. "You were right you know." he said.
"About?"
"Me needing to get out of the office, to take a break, to take time to think."
"Of course I was." She said smugly."I'm always right."
Sadio rolled his eyes. "Says the princess who would have struggled to pass any of her courses in university without my help."
"Th-That's different!"
"Oh really now?"
Zola reached across the table to playfully smack him on the arm and they both laughed. When the laughter ceased, Sadio looked her straight in the eye before he spoke."Zola." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, I know you were just trying to help and I was being stu-"
Zola held up a finger to stop him mid-sentence. "It's alright Sadio, all of that is in the past."
He smiled."I'm glad though, I'm glad that you've been such a great friend to me even though I don't even deserve it most of the time."
"Sadio! How many times have I told you to stop thinking so low of yourself!"
"I'm sorry." He muttered
"Besides, I'll always be here for you, no matter what happens."
The two of them shared a brief and content moment of silence, smiling at each other. Zola soon decided though that a change of conversation topic was needed. "So, earlier. The letter you were reading, who was it from? Was it your brother?"
"No, it was from Sobek." Sadio said nonchalantly
Zola rolled her eyes in annoyance at the mention of the Egyptian Prince's name.
"I don't know why you dislike him so much, he's not a bad character you know." Sadio spoke, trying to defend his friend.
"I don't like him because he constantly tries to usurp my position as your best friend, and not to mention there's the fact that he's constantly trying to convince you to move to Egypt so that you can become his Prime Minister and marry his sister!"
Sadio scratched his cheek. "Well.....I'm still here with you aren't I? And besides, Egypt is our ally Princess, you'll have to learn to get along with him eventually."
"I can just leave dealing with him to you." She grumbled.
Sadio chuckled. "Aren't you the one who said that I worked too much?"
Zola looked away with a pout on her face and Sadio laughed at her childish demeanour. Soon enough Alair, accompanied by two youthful servants; returned with their order. Alair carried a tray that held a tall pitcher of honeyed wine and the two servant girls, one blonde and one red haired, carried the dishes that held the fried ostrich servings.
"I hope that you enjoy your meal. Princess, My Lord." Alair said as he and the servant girls set down the food and drink before departing. Sadio and Zola proceeded to eat their food, and Zola found great amusement in how the ever composed and well mannered Sadio Kanoute tore through his dish as if he were a starving hyena. After they had finished partaking of their food and drink, Zola ordered more honeyed wine and the two sat, and conversed, and drank well into the late afternoon.
Sadio and Zola eventually settled into a comfortable silence, drinking their honeyed wine as the gazed outwards at the city. Zola looked across to see that Sadio wore a solemn expression. "Anything on your mind Sadio?" She asked softly.
He let out a heavy sigh and spoke in a weary voice. "My Father."
"Sadio...."
"It's just that even though I've had time for all of it to sink in, there are a lot of things I still can't understand."
"Like?"
"Am I sad because I loved him and now he's gone? Or am I sad because he died before I could really prove myself to him?" Sadio took a sip of wine from his cup. "He was always so....... harsh, cold, strict. Would you believe that not once in all the twenty four years of my life, did he ever tell me that he loved me?" Sadio took another sip of wine before continuing. "My whole life, my whole life Princess, I've spent chasing hopelessly for his approval, for his recognition, for his love. And he had none to give. He gave everything to Karim. Karim, his first son, his good son, the son whose birth didn't kill his beloved wife." Sadio growled out the last part of his sentence bitterly.
Zola reached under the table and held Sadio's hand. "Is that how you really feel though?" She spoke with clear concern in her voice.
"Yes....no......I don't know. I-I don't even think he really loved me Zola, just by being born - I gave him a reason to hate me. I mean, he was never cruel to me, he never beat me, but he wasn't kind or loving either." Sadio sighed and rubbed his temple. "Before you came to stay with us as our ward, Karim and Lady Mangala were the only ones who gave me anything close to love or affection in that damned and awful place." Sadio took another sip from the cup as he shifted his gaze to look out at the city. "Karim was always good to me though, he always tried to make up for Father's coldness, he tried his best to be there for me, he always reminded me that......that he loved me. The reason he gave me for why he never told me about Father's illness was probably just some bullshit excuse to deflect the blame away from Father and onto himself." He scoffed. "Father probably didn't want to see the 'Son who killed his beloved wife.' before he died. For all I know, he probably passed away cursing me with his last breath."
Sadio. Zola wasn't used to seeing her beloved friend like this. He was in so much pain and she wanted to do whatever she could to help him. If at the moment all she could do was provide a listening ear, then she'd be the best damn listener that she could be. Oh Sadio, how long, how many years have you been holding this all in?
"You know what irks me the most though? It's the fact that I'll have to go back to that place, and go in front of hundreds of people, and lie about how my father was a good man, how he raised me with care, and how he always loved me." Sadio then sighed and it was long and heavy. "Well, I'm used to having to lie anyway. I've lied to myself for years. I even managed to convince myself that our relationship wasn't bad at all, that he wasn't cold to me at all, and that we even shared some sort of mutual respect. I figure it was just my own sad and sick little method of coping. Fooling myself into believing that things weren't as horrible as they really were."
At this point, Zola could feel the tears forming in her eyes. Sadio had just poured his heart out and she felt a great deal of sympathy for him. Sadio himself sat in silence, simply continuing to stare at the city below them. He didn't notice that Zola had gotten up from her seat and made her way behind him until her arms had found their way around him in a hug. Zola felt his body go rigid at the contact at first, but he eventually relaxed into her embrace. "I'm sorry." He murmured.
"For what?"
"I've been here rambling about my problems for the past what....twenty minutes? And I ended up infecting you with my gloominess."
Zola giggled and tightened her hug. "It's okay, I don't mind."
"You're too good for me, you know that?"
"No! I'm not, you only deserve the best and that's why you have me!" Zola chirped.
Sadio laughed and Zola smiled when she saw that her jokes proved to have a consistent effect of lifting his mood.
"Humility was never one of your stronger qualities was it?" He asked jokingly
Zola buried her head in his shoulder and giggled. "When you're as fantastic as I am, there is no need for humility!" She said haughtily.
Sadio burst out into laughter and almost keeled over. "You really are the best Princess." He said as he wiped a tear from his eye.
Zola winked at him then went back to her seat, and the two stayed at their table for another hour, reminiscing on old and humorous stories from the days of their youth. When the sun began to set, Sadio then rose from his chair and stretched his arms. "Ready to leave? Zola asked.
"You have another surprise in store for me?"
Zola grinned up at him mischievously. "I might."
"Well then, let's go. " Sadio gestured with his arm, indicating for Zola to lead the way.
Zola giggled before hooking elbows with Sadio and leading him and their guards back inside. They would stop by Alair to pay for the food before they left, and when they found him, he was standing in the corner of the fifth floor dining hall reading from a scroll.
"Alair." Zola called.
"Ah! Princess, Lord Vice-Chancellor." He bowed his head. "I hope that you both enjoyed your meal and your time here."
Zola grinned. "We did, Alair. Very much so."
"I'm pleased to know that you did."
Zola held her hand out and one of the guards passed her a small pouch. "I believe that this should be enough to cover the expenses for our food." She said, handing it over to Alair.
"I express my sincere gratitude for your continued patronage, Princess." Alair bowed his head once more. "Before you go though, may I interest the two of you in an event taking place later this evening?"
Zola looked up at Sadio, silently asking for his approval. He nodded and she turned back to Alair. "We might be. After all, the Vice Chancellor and I do have some spare time."
Alair smiled, it wasn't one of the large and toothy grins that Sadio and Zola had spent the afternoon trading, it was a small and reserved smile. One that he probably used often when he dealt with high class guests. "Excellent!" He piped. "But first, I must ask if either of you are fond of Hellenic drama?"
"The Vice-Chancellor is quite the devout reader of Hellenic literature." Zola said, looking up at Sadio.
"Well in that case you'll absolutely love what I have to tell you My Lord." Alair said. His excitement was starting to show through the cracks in his usually composed demeanour. "The theatre company of the renowned Hellenic playwright; Anatoli of Byzantium is currently touring the Great Continent before they travel to the Near East. Right now, they are doing performances across the Askiyan Empire, and starting tonight for three nights only, they will be performing at The Amphitheatre here in The Citadel."
Sadio raised an eyebrow when Alair said this. Well he's sure got his attention now. Zola thought.
"They will be performing Anatoli's adaptation of the famous legend; 'Jason and The Argonauts'." Alair said before turning to Sadio. "I'm sure you are quite familiar with the tale My Lord."
"Of course!" Sadio said excitedly "It's one of my absolute favourites!"
Alair chuckled lightly. "You are indeed a man of refined tastes My Lord. Well, in that case I should tell you that it is an epic three part event, and part one is scheduled for tonight at around the nineteenth hour."
"Three parts?" Zola voiced.
"Anatoli of Byzantium is a man who takes no shortcuts in producing his adapted works. I can assure you that its length is only proof of the time and effort he and his company put into making it, and it will be truly epic in every sense of the word." Alair replied.
"It sounds like quite the event." Zola said. "Will you be in attendance as well Alair?"
"Indeed I will Princess. I'm quite the fan of Hellenic drama as well."
"In that case, we look forward to seeing you there Alair." Sadio said.
"And" Zola added "for your wonderful service today, I'd like to invite you to join the Vice-Chancellor and myself in the royal box."
"My Princess!" Alair was clearly surprised at her invitation. "It.....It would be my honour. I give you my most heartfelt gratitude, My Princess, My Lord."
Zola beamed at him. "You are most welcome Alair. The Vice-Chancellor and I will be departing now, we'll see you soon."
"Yes Princess, I just have some business to take care of before I leave, but I look forward to seeing you and the Vice-Chancellor there."
"It was an absolute pleasure meeting you though, Alair." Sadio said. "You can soon expect to count me among your regular patrons, the food was superb."
"Thank you My Lord."
Zola and Sadio then left with the three members of the Royal Guard in tow, as the descended the stairs to make their way back to the carriage Sadio spoke up. "I forgot to ask you Princess, but how exactly did you find this place?"
"Well, you should already know that I like to go through the streets of the capital and observe how the citizens are faring. Sometimes I try to support the local businesses by providing my patronage, and in this case I wanted to show the people of the Lazian community that their princess cares about the resident minority groups and that they do have a place in Askiyan society. Because us Southerners can't be mean and scary all the time you know." She said, giving Sadio a wink as they continued their descent down the stairs. "I just so happened to have randomly chosen Alair's establishment on the day and since then I've been a regular customer. This place has been my little secret, it's where I come whenever I want some time to myself."
"So were you ever going to tell me or anyone else about this place?" Sadio asked.
"Eventually." Zola said, showing him her usual sly grin.
"Is that so?"
"I'm serious! You were even the first person who I planned to carry here. I was originally going to take you here to treat you on your next name day, but I figured that given everything that's happened recently - you would need some extra cheering up."
Sadio smiled at her warmly. "Well I really appreciate that Princess, I doubt I would have been able to find this place otherwise."
"Of course you wouldn't." Zola said teasingly. "You're always locked up in that tower of yours and never bother to come out. It's because of that why you're both the most informed and least aware person in the whole Empire, at the same time!" She nudged Sadio with her elbow and ginned at him deviously.
"Keep that up and I might just take Sobek up on his offer." Sadio said in a deadpan manner.
Zola gasped. "You wouldn't!"
Sadio smirked at her. "Try me."
Zola looked away with a pout on her face. "I'll keep you here by force if I have to you know." She grumbled.
Sadio chuckled. "As if you would do that."
"You're right.........I wouldn't" Zola admitted.
Sadio laughed again and Zola's lips formed a small smile. I'm glad I can get you to laugh like this again Sadio.
"Don't worry though." Sadio said as they finally exited the building and walked towards the carriage. "I know that you need me more than Sobek does, so I'll stick around."
"Good!" Zola chirped brightly. "Because I would have actually gone to war with him to get you back."
Sadio burst out laughing at her remark. "A-Ha! Ha! Ha! Ah!.....Y-You really are too much, Princess!" Sadio said, barely managing to catch his breath after laughing so hard.
He opened the carriage door so that Zola could enter and as she stepped up, she turned back to him before she took her seat and stuck out her tongue before giving him a devilish smile. "Well you still love me anyway!" She said.
They both stepped into the carriage and after the guards had finished mounting their horses, they proceeded through the city and headed to The Amphitheatre. The Amphitheatre was a massive open air structure that was similar in appearance to the many arenas and coliseums that were spread out across the Republic of Lazio. The only difference was that since blood sports such as gladiatorial combat were illegal in the Askiyan Empire, Gao's amphitheatre served the purpose of only hosting events such as plays, dances, musical festivals and other celebrations. Zola had always found it to be a magnificently built structure. It's curves, and arches and pillars were unlike anything found in typical Askiyan architecture. The reason for this was that Zola's grandmother; Empress Leila Bakar, who was her father's direct predecessor, had it constructed to symbolise the Askiyan Empire's acceptance of the cultures of its immigrants and minority races - specifically the members of the Lazian and Hellenic communities.
Sadio and Zola entered The Amphitheatre, escorted by two members of the Royal Guard. They took their seats in the royal box that was located in The Amphitheatre's highest tier. Seeing as they were a few minutes early, Zola chose to survey the crowd and saw that tonight's audience was quite diverse. Given that it was a Hellenic drama, most of the audience was comprised of citizens who were of Lazian and Hellenic descent, but there were also a fair amount of Southerners, Northerners and Near Easterners in the crowd as well. Zola allowed a small grin to grace her features, quite pleased that tonight would also serve as a night of cultural learning and exchange for the Askiyan people.
By the time that Alair had joined them in the royal box, the play was about to begin. Overall it proved to be quite the spectacle, everything about it was amazing; the actors, the costumes, the music, the script. It was a wonderful production and the playwright, Anatoli of Byzantium, had certainly lived up to what Alair had said of him. Zola had found it amusing how Sadio was so captivated by everything that was happening on stage, he was like a wide eyed, eager little ten year old boy. However, he still took time to explain whatever parts of the plot that Zola did not understand to her. Apparently the protagonist of the story; Jason, was tasked with finding something that was known as the 'Golden Fleece' in order to claim the throne that was rightfully his. Part one of the play covered the part of the story where Jason led a famous group of heroes and adventurers who were known as 'The Argonauts' to the island of Lemnos in search of the 'Golden Fleece.'
Once the play had concluded, the audience gave a round of rousing applause. Zola and Sadio had found themselves joining in, standing to applaud the actors and the brilliant playwright as well. They then bid Alair farewell and were escorted back to their carriage by the Royal Guard soldiers.
When they had returned to the palace, it was nearing the first hour of the next day. Sadio and Zola were ready to retire for the night, Sadio to his residence beside the Vice-Chancellor's Tower and Zola to her chambers in the Royal Apartments. Before they parted ways though, Sadio wrapped his arms around Zola, embracing her in a tight hug and told her "Thank you Zola."
She felt her cheeks grow warm and for the second time within three days, she was thankful that her dark skin hid her blushing.
The next morning, Zola rose early. She bathed, and dressed, and had a simple breakfast that consisted of a beef and vegetable stew with a side of fruit juice. She then spent her time making the final arrangements for her trip with Sadio, arranging the detachment of the Royal Guard that would travel with her to Tomboctu before going to bid her parents and her brother farewell.
Zola then made her way to the city docks by carriage to meet Sadio, who in his usual unhuman manner had risen at a ridiculously early time and had been at the docks since the morning's ninth hour to oversee the final preparations for the trip. She was escorted by a squad led by Kouyate and Lieutenant Diakite, who chose to accompany her despite the fact that he had the rest of the week off. When they reached, they saw that all the preparations were complete, and that all that was left was for Sadio, Zola and their guards to board the ship and set sail for Tomboctu.
As Zola exited the carriage, she waved to her best friend. "Sadio!" She greeted as she walked up to him, flanked on either side by Kouyate and Lieutenant Diakite, who had dismounted their horses to walk her to the ship.
"Princess." Sadio replied respectfully, bowing his head as he did so. He then turned to acknowledge Kouyate and Lieutenant Diakite. "Commander, Lieutenant." He said, giving both men curt nods.
"Lord Vice-Chancellor." They said as they snapped to attention when they came to a halt in front of Sadio.
Zola eyed over the ship that she and Sadio would be travelling in. It was a galley of modest size, much smaller than the merchant ships that were used for long distance trade and the war galleys that were used by the navy. It's sails were dyed in the colours of Sadio's family; House Kanoute and displayed their sigils, two golden quills crossed underneath a gold star upon a field of green. Zola had always found the Kanoute family sigil to be interesting because unlike other houses who designed theirs to be symbols of their strength through displaying either strong and fearsome beasts or deadly weapons. The Kanoutes symbolised their dedication to the pursuit, preservation and proliferation of knowledge through their use of quills in their family coat of arms. In her opinion it was an extremely noble gesture.
"Everything is ready then?" Zola said even though she already knew the answer.
Sadio nodded, but he appeared to be stiff and nervous in his movements. Zola reached out to hold his hand and gave him a reassuring look to show that she would be there with him. The two of them turned back to bid Kouyate, the Lieutenant and the others farewell when Sadio glanced around and a look of puzzlement formed on his face. "That's strange." he said, still looking around. "Usually Prince Mamadou would travel with you and see you off. Did something happen?"
Zola giggled "Well, we have Lieutenant Diakite to thank for that." She said while looking over to the man who was both Kouyate's second in command and her brother's dearest friend.
"Why is that?"
"My brother and the Lieutenant engaged in a rather heated sparring session yesterday where the two of them really went at it. As a result, he's quite sore from yesterday's activities and couldn't even get out of bed when I went to see him this morning."
"My sincerest apologies Princess." The Lieutenant said in his usual monotone, though there seemed to be a hint of embarrassment to his voice.
Zola waved him off nonchalantly. "As long as the two of you don't kill each other there shouldn't be anything wrong. Besides, he prefers it when you don't hold back anyway. You should already know that he's a tough boy who can take a good pounding."
The Lieutenant averted his eyes from the Princess and muttered "Y-Yes Princess."
Zola grinned. "Well then, I bid you all farewell, and I hope to return to you safely within three weeks."
Sadio then spoke up. "Farewell men, I thank all of you for your continued service to our nation, and I wish you all the best while we are away."
"Princess! Lord Vice-Chancellor!" The soldiers all exclaimed in unison as they watched Sadio and Zola turn around and board the ship.
Zola looked up at Sadio then reached over to give his hand a firm squeeze when they were aboard the ship. "It's going to be alright Sadio." She said, smiling brightly at him.