Part III: The Engagement
Fourteen years had passed since the odd messengers. The emperor was growing older while Kaya Maka matured like a tree. The early military training had immensely paid off. Known for being the youngest elite army officer, his exceptional handling of weapons and mastery of the geo-political spectrum were unparalleled across the land. The lifelong preparation was geared towards the inculked aptitude to acclimatize to any and all circumstances.
On his sixteenth birthday the emperor summoned Kaya Maga to the throne room. The court was unusually empty, noticed Kaya Maga, as he calmly walked in with Sembema by his side. On Mansa Moussa’s left, sat empress Sina. The empty room highlighted the presence of two other individuals standing by the steps. One of them he recognised, it was his father’s chief of military Samory Koulibaly, the second person with a slimmer yet cylindrical frame seemed unfamiliar. The covered face did not facilitate matters. Kaya Maga had rarely seen women other than his mother and palace servants. Inexplicably, he felt attracted to the mysterious figure and could not take his eyes off her the entire time. The emperor with a humoristic gander engaged into a quick discourse with his son.
“ Do you know why have called you?”
With frowned eye lids, back straighten, legsfairly parallel to shoulders and crossed fingers Kaya Magaswiftly responded.
“No, father”
Amused by the facial expression Mansa Moussa could barely refrain from bursting into a laughter. However, the emperor has learnt to control urges and contain excitement at times like these. Old age has affected his reflexes and rib cage quality, laughing would be unwise. Therefore, he soon resumed the conversation by saying with a delicate voice:
“Today you have become a man”
“That means, soon you will need to builda family of your own”
“For that you require a woman to be by your side, as your mother has been by mine all these years”
“One day soon, I will not be here and so you will have to take your rightful place as emperor of great Mali”
“I have tried to teach everything I know of warfare, respect, love, family and most of all duty to the people.”
“This particular obligation is one of great importance.”
“Just like me, your time will come to relinquish power.”
“That day you will need a family to sustain your legacy.”
“Preferably a son”
“But whatever happens never lose sight of family it is the building block of our complex society.”
Clearing his gullet and sipping from a goblet full of sweet camel milk sitting beside the throne. His eyes shown darker. The light that once burnt so bright was dimming with old age. Leaning back to repose his frail body while inhaling a strong breath of air before continuing once more.
“To that aspect, your mother and I have made careful arrangements.”
“You know my military chief SamoryKoulibaly”
“He is a trusted advisor and my most loyal friend”
“Standing next to him is his daughter Aminata Koulibaly”
“We have heard exquisite things about her and your mother and I believe you will be most lucky to have such an empress.”
“When you will come of age, we hope to see you two get married.”
“Your mother and I will have further discussions to decide when the wedding will be held.”
“For now go back to your training and we shall revisit the subject”
Kaya Maga muddled by the scope of the situation nodded and serenely intervened to free his mind.
“I am your son, so if you believe this to be for the best I shall never go against your will.”
“My purpose is to serve our people and I will do anything for them.”
Once again the young man glanced towards his betrothed but could not see her face. He turned around and said:
“Let’s go Sembema, we have work to do”
Unlike his father, Kaya Maga was a man of few words. His upbringing privileged action above all else. Sembema who had personally overseen his military preparation understood the young man’s predisposition for calm responses. Outside the throne room he decided to break the code of silence by asking Kaya Maga what he thought of the situation.
Without stopping in his trail and with a slight smirk the future emperor replied.
“I am not certain what to think”
“Father’s always had his ways, and I can trust him to do the right thing”
“Although, I wish I could have seen her face!”
“What if she looks like a golem?”
“Well, no matter I can’t stop thinking about her frame and positively intoxicating smell of white ginger blossoms and spicy yiang flowers.”
“The smell of the perfume took me back to my childhood”
“I am looking forward to seeing her again”
With such hopeful words, Kaya Maga continued marching towards the training room across the yard for his daily practice.
