Queen of Queens episode 3 – 4

Queen of Queens

Episode 3

He heard it clearer now, it was the voice of a woman, and she was wailing and scre-ming for help.
‘Or two women’ he paused; he followed the direction of the voices till he found them.
He saw five hefty looking men whose faces were painted with charcoal, his eyes travelled to the females and his heart stopped as he beheld the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
‘This must be the Princess’ he said to himself, for he saw the crown on her head and had heard tales of her great beauty.
“Take off your clothes, I would not repeat myself” the leader of the gang moved towards the Princess.
“Please don’t do this wicked thing, ask me of anything, I promise I would give it to you” Obot cried and tried to move backwards but her leg was badly hurt.
‘Get away from the princess’ Ono jumped out from his hiding place. He had weighed the men carefully and he knew how to defeat them.
At the appearance of the strange man, Obot and Afiama turned towards his direction.
‘Where is this dog coming from’? The head of the gang chuckled as he scanned Ono.
He was a tall man but lanky and couldn’t be compared to their hefty and muscled structure.
‘Who are you and what do you want’? Another member of the gang asked.
‘That is inconsequential, I warn you for the last time, step aside’ anger bubbled in,side of him as he stared at the men.

What kind of man would force himself on a woman? It was abominable and wicked; and what made them think they would get away with their evil action?
He was not scared of their size, he was going to defeat them, one way or the other.
His confidence did not pass the Princess and her friend; they were both awed by the braveness in his voice.
‘Is either you are really stupid to challenge us or you are not human? Tell us, are you a spirit’? The leader of the gang mocked.
‘I am half man and half spirit’ Ono replied coolly and without warning launched his machete on the leader of the gang.
‘Arrh’! A scre-m escaped the princess as she watched the man’s head roll.
‘Who next’? Ono asked, killing the man came easily, he had fought wild animals on his farm more than once and he wasn’t terrified of anything.
He had killed a huge boa snake that had swallowed his goat and a leopard that terrified his younger brother when he left to fetch firewood.
He could see the shock and fear written across the other men; their hands were shaky as they stared at him with trembling.
‘What if he is the god of war in human form? He killed our leader before our very eyes, what makes you think we will be spared’? One of the gang members whispered to the rest.
‘I think we should run this man is not human’ another whispered.
‘Who next’? Ono took calculated steps towards the men.
‘Who do you think you are’? One of them wouldn’t cower. As he approached Ono, the rest of the men fled from him and when he realized he was standing alone, he dropped his club and dashed off.
A triumphant smile curved his handsome face as he watched the men scurry like little squirrels running from a trap.
‘Fools’ he cursed and then turned towards the princess and her friend.
‘Please don’t harm us’ the princess had to side with her attackers, what if he wasn’t human?
‘I am sorry they did this to you Princess, I promise not to hurt you. I am a human being’ Ono smiled kindly and reached for her wounded ankle.
‘Thanks so much, you saved our lives and our reputation’ Afiama released the breath she had been holding for a long time.
‘You need to hold your friend, the arrow cut deep through her ankle and from the look of it, these men must have poisoned it, I would remove it and s-ck the poison from her blood.
‘That wouldn’t be a problem, please hold still Obot’ Afiama moved to her left hand side and pressed her down.
Ono tore the wrapper from the dead man and slid it into pieces, he wrapped the first piece on Obot’s ankle to prevent more bad blood from circulating through her system.
Obot was awed by his kind gesture. She stared at her savior with adoring eyes and she suddenly realized why those men had thought him a god, he was a very handsome man.
He was tall and lanky; his dark skin was covered with weeds of hairs; his brows were bushy and serious; it was his gentle eyes that caught her attention and his sed-cing l-ips.
She watched his hærd arms as they tied the rope firmly to her ankle.
‘I promise you will be fine’ Ono suddenly looked up and found the princess staring at him.
Her eyes were green, the rarest shade he had ever seen; Obot was really a living goddess. She was a mermaid.
‘Thank you’ she offered him a smile.
He was a bit lost as she parted her red l-ips and revealed a set of well arranged teeth, but he quickly recovered himself and focused on the matter at hand.
‘Take a deep breath’ he commanded and firmly he reached for the edge of the arrow and pulled it out.
Tears ran down Obot’s cheeks as pain shot through her; no blade had ever scarred her and neither had any flame scourged her. This pain was novel and she couldn’t handle it.
‘Do not cry, it is over’ he found himself patting her shoulder, even to the surprise of Afiama.
Didn’t he know she was the Princess and betroth of Prince Iboro? Jealousy shot through her as she watched him pour all his attention on the princess.
What about her? Why didn’t he ask after her well being?
‘I have to s-ck the poison out’ he lowered his l-ips on her ankle and dipped into her blood.
A warm s-nsation filled her as his l-ips met with her skin; she had never felt this way before, she liked the s-nsation he drove into her.
When he was done, he spat into the bush and helped the Princess to her feet.
‘You must take her to the healer immediately and report this case to the King’ Ono advised.
He stared at the skies briefly as it was about to rain; he suddenly remembered Mma in the bush.
‘I have to go now, take care of you Princess’ he waved at her, fetched his machete and made for the bush.
‘Wait! At least tell me your name; you deserve a great reward for saving I and my friend’ Princess Obot called after him.
‘I didn’t do it for any great reward, my Princess; I did it because those men were wrong to attack you or your friend; you have to go now, it would rain soon’ he lifted his eyes to the thick black clouds that had gathered.
‘At least let me thank you properly’ Obot fiddle with her hands, she felt shy as she stared at him and this surprised her, she had never felt nervous or anxious around any man, not even her husband to be, the prince.
‘No, I saved your life for free. I need to go now’ he bowed before her and disappeared.

Episode 4

‘No, I saved your life for free. I need to go now’ he bowed before her and disappeared.
‘We have to head back to the palace, Obot’ Afiama said to the princess but Obot was too lost in thought as she stared after the man that had saved her life.
‘He is so handsome’ the princess smiled as she watched his back. His legs were firm and hairy and she yearned to have a feel of them.
‘Princess, we have to go now’ Afiama repeated.
‘I am truly sorry for what happened, I put us in danger by leaving the palace without my guards’ Obot apologized to her friend.
‘You don’t need to, we have to report this incident to your father, the men must be found and brought to book’ Afiama suggested.
Obot agreed with her friend but there was something odd about the men, their Annang dialect was different from that of the Kingdom of Ajop.
‘I agree with you friend, but I don’t think those men are from our Kingdom’ the princess replied.
‘What took you so long my love’? Mma had grown a little worried but she had not taken his advice, she decided to wait for him.
‘It’s a long story, we must hurry now, before the rain traps us in the forest’ Ono quickly gathered the wrapper and the calabashes into his raffia bag.
‘I really enjoyed your soup, thank you very much’ she smiled and touched his shoulder.
‘I am glad you liked it, now hurry, we must go’ he pressed her cheeks with his hands.
He decided in his heart to tell her about the event with the Princess and her attackers when next they met; he didn’t want to terrify her by telling her he had killed a man.
Once they reached the entrance of the forest, they k-ssed each other and decided to part ways.
‘When shall I see you again my love’? She smiled at him.
‘When the moon shines on the morrow, I would come and take you away’ Ono returned her smile.
They gazed at each other, reluctant to part ways, but they needed to.
‘I’ll miss you’ she gave his hands a squeeze.

‘I love you my darling’ he k-ssed her hand and walked away abruptly.
All the pain that her step mother had inflicted on her returned as she neared home; now Ono, the light in her dark world had left her, she was left again with the pain of reality.
She engaged herself in a song he had thought her, a song he told her to sing whenever she felt sad.
As she neared her father’s compound, she noticed a lot of people were gathered, her heart raced, had something bad happened to her father? Had something happened to her step siblings?
She quickened her pace till she reached the large compound.
Immediately she stepped into the compound, all the people that gathered turned on her, she could see hate and grave judgment in their eyes, what was happening?
‘There she is! There is the shame, you call daughter’ her step mother jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at her.
Mma’s heart raced, had they discovered her relationsh¡p with Ono? What was really happening?
Her eyes strayed to her step siblings, Eka and Ekpo, but they avoided her gaze.
‘Good evening father’ she bent her knee.
Her father ignored her and snapped his hands at a little boy ‘come forward Unwana’.
‘Is this the maiden that stole from you’? Her father asked the boy.
‘Yes. On my way to the market, she beat me up and seized the cowries that I was given by my mother’ the little boy replied.
‘I said it! I knew she was a thief, but not this big a thief’ her step mother hissed angrily and dropped a clay pot she had found in Mma’s room, filled with cowries.
‘You are such a disgrace Mma, from this moment, you cease to be my daughter’ her father released a myriad of curses upon her.
‘No! Father please, hear me out, I am innocent, I can explain where the cowries came from’ she sobbed and rolled on the ground.
‘Explain? Oh, you cannot even deny it’ her step mother drew nearer to her and launched her a resounding slap.
Mma quickly jumped to her feet, dazed by the pain that stung her cheeks, even more confused by the accusation; how could they accuse her of theft?
‘Unwana, please tell them the truth, I did not steal from you, why are you lying’? Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the little boy.
‘Shut up! You cursed child, you stole from my son, now I must have my cowries back’ the boy’s mother came to his defense.
How could she explain to them that the cowries belonged to Ono? He had dropped every penny he had saved for their marriage with her and she had kept it in her little hut?
She scanned the faces of the men and women that had gathered and she saw that none was willing to vindicate her; she had no one to speak for her.
She wished Ono was here, maybe he could say something to absolve her of this accusation.
Fear gripped her as she stared at her father’s merciless eyes, she knew the punishment for theft; thieves were always buried alive or left in the evil forest to die off.
If her own father could abandon her, then there wasn’t any hope for her.
‘If you are not a thief, where did you get the cowries from’? Her step mother asked.
She couldn’t tell them, they wouldn’t believe her; her response was silent gro-ning and a river of tears that splashed down her cheeks.
“She is guilty and must be reported to the King for judgment”! One of the men cried in an angry voice.
“Yes! All thieves must be brought to book, last night, my farmland was raided and all the tubers of yam were uprooted, no thief should be shown mercy” another added.
‘Very well then, take her to the King’s palace, I renounce her as my blood, you’re free to do to her whatsoever that you please’ her father rose to his feet and retreated into his hut.
‘Father please! I am innocent! Please have mercy’ Mma cried but it was too late, the people dragged her and attached leaves to her wrapper.
‘Please’! Tears poured down her face as she stared at her step mother and siblings.
“Thief! Thief’! The people chanted and dragged her towards the king’s palace.
‘Mother, are you sure we are doing the right thing’? Eka moved closer to her mother.
‘Yes. Now she is out of the way, you both can inherit all your father’s vast lands and properties’ a mischievous smile crept on her l-ips.
‘And the boy? How sure are you that he wouldn’t spill our secret’? Eka asked.
‘I’ll take care of him’ Ekpo struggled to his feet.
‘You seem hurt, are you okay’? His mother noticed her son was limping.
‘No, I hurt myself while working on the farm, I really have to sleep now’ Ekpo yawned and left for his hut.

To be continued….