Queen of queens episode 25 – 26

Queen of Queens

Episode 25
‘Abasi! I was almost exposed’ she took off her crown and her royal dress. She needed to appear as an ordinary maiden as she would sneak out of the palace to meet Ono.

‘Come and make love to me’ she parted her legs and wiggled her wa-ist slowly and sed-ctively.
He drew a deep breath and knew deep down that it was an invitation he was too weak to turn down; but what about the princess? He couldn’t continue hurting her.

‘Afia…’ he called her name as he sat at the edge of the bed.
‘Yes, my love’ she sensed his hesitation. Something had changed in her prince.
‘Wear your clothes and leave’ his tone was commanding and very much princely.
‘I don’t understand, have I done something wrong’? She was startled, she had never seen him this way.
‘No, I want you to leave’ he replied and moved towards the door.

The clothes she now wore would make her unnoticeable as she slightly veiled her face, so no one would recognize her.
She noticed that the Prince had forgotten his royal horn, a horn of a cow which most heirs carried along with them. How could he forget something this important?

She decided she would drop it with the warriors that she found by his chambers but to her surprise, she found no one by his door and had assumed that he had gone out for a walk and so she decided to drop it in his room.
“Why are you doing this”? She heard a female voice.

Tears welled up in her eyes as the princess realized that Afiama was right; the prince was not a faithful lover; he had promised to be with her forever just like her father had married only her mother.
“I love Obot, I cannot jeopardize our relationsh¡p, we are getting married soon Afia, you must understand this” the prince replied.

‘Afiama’? The princess thought she had heard wrong, she almost pushed the door open but she held herself.
“I thought what we shared was important, I love you Iboro, please don’t leave me” Afiama replied in a broken voice. She had planned her wh0le life to be a queen; he couldn’t ruin her plans now.
“I am sorry, my mind has been made up” Iboro replied.
She quickly wiped the tear that slipped from her eyes as she realized she was about losing the prince forever if she did not tell him about Afiama.”‘I accept your rejection but promise you’ll grant me this last request” she asked.
The gravity of his rejection had not hit her yet as she had another mission for the night; a very special mission that would secure her place in the kingdom. Her father had sanctioned this new plan of hers; though she hated it at first, she would still go ahead with their new plan.

“Tell it to me” he urged her on.
“Meet me by the edge of the forest at midnight; I have something important that I must show you”.
“Why do you want me to meet you by midnight”? Was she trying to lure him back to her?
“I don’t want to sed-ce you at all, rest your mind. I want you to see something that would help you find the princess’ attackers” she lied knowing this would get the prince to come.

“Okay then, we shall meet by the edge of the forest at midnight”.
Tears rolled down Obot’s cheeks as she let the words she had just heard sink into her wh0le being; she felt greatly betrayed; trust shattered into a thousand pieces before her and she felt helpless.
So Afiama had been sleeping with the prince all this while? She was the enemy and yet she couldn’t see it?
The Princess wiped her face and quickly rushed towards her chambers to absorb the shocking revelation.
‘May the gods punish me if I ever listen to you’ she tore the clothes she wore and fell into her bed crying as she imagined Iboro making love to her best friend.

All the love she had for him fled; all the feelings of infatuation she had with Ono vanished; was this why Afiama was supportive? It was all making sense now as to why her friend would encourage her to cheat on the prince.
She had planned to use it against her. What had she done to deserve this hatred and betrayal?

She suddenly stopped crying as she remembered Afiama’s last words to the prince,
What if she was behind the men that had attacked her? But it didn’t make sense as they had attacked Afiama too. But why had they pierced her ankle with an arrow and not Afiama’?
She suddenly stopped crying and rose to her feet, she knew what she needed to do; Afiama would pay for this unforgivable betrayal.
‘Where are you going brother? Please tell me a story about “Ekpe” (lion) and “Ikud”(Tortoise)’ Onoifiok stared at his elder brother with weak eyes.
His heart flared as he stared at the pale and rail structure that was once his buoyant and vigorous younger brother.

‘I shall be back soon and I would tell you a story’ Ono assured the boy.
‘Where are you going? It is almost midnight, the evil birds have started their song’ his father said.
‘I want to get the cowries for Onoifiok’s treatment’ he replied and fetched a machete.
He still couldn’t understand why the princess had chosen this ungodly hour for a meeting.
‘Where’? The old man asked with concern evident in his voice. He had almost lost his younger son, he couldn’t lose Ono too.

‘The palace’ Ono lied, knowing quite well that if his father knew the truth, he wouldn’t approve of it.
‘I take it she agreed to help you’? He referred to the princess.
‘Yes. She promises a bag of two hundred cowries’ he replied with a bold voice.
‘May the gods go with you son’ the old man replied and fed his eyes on the mat where Onoifiok lay. He didn’t know why, but he felt uneasy as he watched his son walk away.
‘Are you alright father’? Onoifiok asked.
‘Yes little one, would you like me to tell you a story’?
‘Yes, very much’ the little boy grinned and so his father begun: ‘Once upon a time…’

The sky was unclad and blue; stars dotted her beautiful body and the moon sat upon her like a crown; midnight had arrived.
He went through the events of his day as he approached the edge of the forest where he was to meet the princess.
He suddenly felt guilty for the way he had treated Mma; he was ashamed of himself as a man; no man full of dignity and honor could hit a woman.
He had no right to slap her even though she had cheated on him by being with another man; he had no right to hit her and call her names.
He was still in love with her; he felt jealous and that was the reason he had lashed out at her.
He made a choice as he stared at the moon which reminded him of the beautiful moon goddess which Mmaffiong was named after; he would find her and apologize when morning came. Even though she was with the prince now, he still cherished her and wanted them to end things on a positive note.

He felt more relaxed now he had reconciled with Mma in his heart. What bothered him now was the princess; he had seen the desire for him clearly in her eyes; what if she planned to sed-ce him under the moonlight?
‘I would never do such an evil thing in the eyes of the gods’ he muttered to himself as he approached the edge of the forest.

If the Princess planned to sed-ce him for the cowries, he would forget about helping his brother as he wasn’t the type of man that sold himself to a woman.

As he reached the edge of the forest, he gently dropped his machete and moved closer to the wild plants to urinate.
Unknown to him, he was being watched by unseen eyes.

Episode 26

As he reached the edge of the forest, he gently dropped his machete and moved closer to the wild plants to urinate.
Unknown to him, he was being watched by unseen eyes.

He was cleaning the s₱0t where Ono had hit her; he dipped a piece of cloth into a calabash filled with hot water and pressed it against her skin.
All her life, she had heard stories of how pride and cruel princes and princesses were but Udo had changed her perspective; he was very down to earth and kind.

She wondered if he did this to everyone that he saw or he did it because of something else.
‘Tell me about your lover’? The Prince asked, he knew she was uncomfortable talking about the man that hit her, but maybe she would open up to him if she focused on the positive side of the man.
She licked her l-ips nervously and stared at the bright sky, they had not yet entered his tent.

A smile covered her face, one that could not be easily hidden in the dark as all the good memories of her and Ono flashed through her mind and she had no option but to gush about the only man that had ever loved her.
‘He made me feel so special; when my stepmother would maltreat and starve me, he was the one that usually gave me food and drinks; he loves me so much and I feel the same for him…’ she stopped and rose to her feet.
She was deeply in love with Ono and it would take a long time to heal from his rejection.

‘Mma….’ He walked up to her, he sensed the love she and her lover shared was very strong and nothing could separate them.
‘What did you do to upset him’? The prince asked.
‘Nothing…he suspected I was cheating on him; she stuttered and quickly dried her w-t face with the back of her palm.
‘That’s ridiculous, why would he say such a thing’? The Prince had not known her for long, but he was confident she wouldn’t do something like that.
‘He must have seen us together’ she said.

She remembered she had been holding hands with the Prince when they had gone to see Nkoyo and Ekpo.
‘My prince’ Emana interrupted the conversation.
The prince quickly tore his eyes away from her and faced Emana.
‘Is the prisoner ready to talk yet’? Udo asked.
‘No. This is not about the prisoner, your brother sent word from the palace; he wants you to hide in the bushes and wait for him at midnight; the Nkuku cult may attack again tonight’.
‘How did he know this’? Prince Udo wondered.

‘He wouldn’t say, I have delivered his message’ Emana bowed his head.
‘Kill the prisoner, we have no need for him’ Udo ordered Emana in a gruff voice as he was assured they would finally bring to an end the activity of the Nkuku cult.
‘I am coming with you’ Mma said to the prince, she had heard everything that was being discussed.
‘No, it would be too dangerous’ he dismissed her request quickly.
‘Please, they killed my sister; I want to witness their deaths, besides when all the men are gone, and who would be left here with me’? She asked.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and realized how smart she was.

‘Fine, you shall come’ he replied and was rewarded by that smile that she had offered him earlier; that smile that could bring the world to a pause.
Regret filled his heart as he stared into her face; her heart yearned for someone else, her heart belonged to someone else and he could never own it.
‘Mmaffiong’ he called her gently.
‘My Prince’ she wondered what it was that bothered him.

‘If Ono was really prepared by the gods for you, you shall have him’ he replied and left for his tent to fetch his weapons.

It was going to be a long night.
His words meant everything to her, and for the first time she questioned the gods.
Was Ono meant for her? Or was there someone else?
He could tell by the retreat of the moon back into the skies that time had passed yet the princess had not showed up.
He was greatly troubled as he leaned slightly on the African Oil bean tree that stood proudly at the edge of the forest.

Where was she? His heart raced as he imagined that something had happened to her.

The wind rustled the leaves of the enormous tree; it car-ssed it and caused the branches to dance in unison. It was going to rain.
Thunder clapped and sang in a loud voice; lightning twinkled and blinked occasionally.

This was it, he would return home; maybe the princess had changed her mind. He struggled to his feet as he was immensely tired, he felt like he needed to get some sleep and so he straightened his entire body and gave a loud yawn but suddenly stopped as he noticed a movement behind the bush.

Maybe he had not see well, maybe the night was playing tricks on him and that was why he had started to see double.
He quickly fetched his machete and attacked it underneath his arm while heading back home.
Out of the darkness arose three hefty figures.
He was afraid at first, why had they showed up at this dark hour? Where they human or spirit?
But his fears were quickly dismissed as he recognized one of the faces; it was familiar and he realized where he had seen the men.
Had the princess set him up? Had she lured him into a trap? His heart was a whirl of thoughts as he did not know what to make out of this.
‘Stand right there’ Ekpo said in a stern voice.

‘Where is the princess’? He stared at the man who had killed their former leader and disrupted their first mission, which was to kill the princess. He recognized him instantly.
‘I have no time for your kind, get out of my way’ Ono snapped at him. He scanned their faces and realized fighting them wouldn’t be a problem; there were just three men.

‘I guess she is not coming after all, get on your knees’ Ekpo commanded.
A feeling of shock overwhelmed Ono as the words came from his attacker; how had they known he would be meeting with the princess at that very hour? His heart raced as he thought about the princess, he hoped she was okay.
‘I would never bow to you or anyone else, now get out of my way before I cut your head off’ Ono drew his machete from the scabbard and raised it upwards.
‘You think you can scare us this time? You are human and no spirit and tonight shall be your end’ Ono reached for his spear.
He knew how important his mission was to Afiama but vengeance for their leader was more important, besides he wasn’t answerable to her as he had pay her debts.

Ono moved closer to the men, he launched his machete at the first man but he dodged successfully.
‘Surrender now you still have the chance else we will kill you like a dog’ Ekpo rained down curses upon him.
‘You curse your mother and your wh0le generation’ Ono replied and launched his machete closer, it almost landed on Ekpo’s chest but he dodged.
Ekpo’s eyes scanned Ono briefly and noticed his ankle was an easy target. He plunged himself closer to him and directed his spear towards Ono but he noticed his plan and moved backward.
For some moments, the men battled; hitting their machetes together; dodging, breathing and gro-ning but no one was killed.
‘Run like you did the first time and I shall spare your pathetic lives’ Ono said in a confident voice as he retreated backward.

‘I guess you prefer dying like a dog’ a mischievous smile appeared on Ekpo’s face as he stared at Ono.
Ono noticed his smile, even the moon was afraid of it; he quickly turned around and found two men behind him.
He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he realized he had been surrounded? How would he get out of this alive?
Without hesitation, one of the men raised his machete and plunge it into Ono.

The pain he felt was immense; he was in agony as he felt his own blood flowing to the earth.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of Mmaffiong and how he had hit her; was this the way he would depart from the world without making peace with her.

‘My blood shall haunt you’ he whispered and fell on his knees.
‘Your blood shall not haunt anyone’ Ekpo came up from behind and struck the base of his kneck with the spear; Ono fell on the ground but not before scre-ming with everything that was left in him.
‘What next master? Okon has not returned from bringing, Nkwaette’s body, what should we do next’? One of the men asked Ekpo after they had successfully conquered Ono.
‘We disperse, tomorrow we shall find him’ he replied.

The prince and his warriors were almost at the edge of the forest when a loud scre-m filtered towards them and had everyone halting.
‘My prince, are you sure about this, there’s still time for us to turn back’ Emana moved towards the prince. He wasn’t sure of what was ahead and his job, foremost, was to see that the prince was unharmed.
Mma clutched tightly to the prince, she felt afraid as she heard the loud scre-m; the hairs on the base of her neck tingled as she stared into his face.

‘We continue, we must get rid of these cultists, once and for all’ he grabbed Mma’s hand firmly and they both continued walking.
He loved the feel of her soft palms; he loved the way she held unto him like he meant everything in the world to her; a sad feeling creased his chest as he stared down into her beautiful face.
She was truly a moon goddess, for her dark beauty was further enhanced by the light of the moon.

She could sense his eyes over her; her skin tingled just like the way Ono made her feel. Slowly, her eyes traveled up to meet his. They stared at each other for some moments and then looked away briefly; each to their own thought.

To be continued….