Queen of Queens episode 7 – 8

Queen of Queens

Episode 7

‘Are you alright, father’? She rushed into the hut. Her mother was late and all she had left was him, so she was always scared anytime he felt weak or complained of the slightest headache.

‘I am fine, just a little belly ache, how are you child’? The elder straightened on his bamboo bed, he opened his snuff box and threw the tobacco into his mouth.
‘Not fine’ she wiggled her nose at the sharp smell of the tobacco.
‘Why are you not? How did it go with the prince’? The elder asked.
‘Not good. He still doesn’t share my feelings, I love him so much father and I would die if he isn’t mine’ her voice was shaky.

‘Enough of the stupid talk! You are more focused on your feelings with Iboro instead of all the power you could hoard from becoming his wife; we are not talking about love here, maybe that is why you keep failing’ the man snapped at her.
He wasn’t a weak man and he had not expected her to sound so weak and chicken minded.
‘Why would you say that I have failed? I should be saying that to you’ she hissed angrily and jumped to her feet.
‘And why would you call me a failure’? His eyes were angry, his forehead creased as he focused on her, trying to see what demon had possessed her to address her father that way.
‘The Princess is still alive’ she replied.

‘Abasi! That is not possible, those men assured me they would kill her, what happened’? He dropped his snuff box.
‘Everything fell in place as planned, I encouraged her to come to the forest with me but a man came from the forests and butchered one of the men thereby aborting the mission. I was so disappointed they will give up so easily’ she relayed her experience to her father.
‘I can hærdly believe this, does the princess suspect you’? He asked eagerly, he needed to cover their tracks.
‘Not a chance but the king would investigate, I hope the men would not be found’ she replied.
‘No, most of them came from far away, now we must create a new plan. Before the Prince comes for a visit, we need to work together and bring up a well crafted plan that would lure him to you’ he rubbed his hands greedily.
All his life, he had wanted the throne of Ajop, but since he couldn’t get it, he would use his daughter to get the throne of Obodom, he yearned for power and control.

‘No father, you called me a failure once, I would not want a repetition of that, I have my own plans and I swear to you, the prince shall be mine’ she was confident this would happen.
‘And how do you plan to achieve that’? The elder asked.
‘If I tell you, it would cease to be a plan. May the day break father’ she bowed her head and stepped out of his hut.
She needed to rest her head after his thorough lovemaking; it was going to be a long night of rest and planning.
Her hands were bound and so were her feet, her wrapper had almost been taken off but the King’s guards had stopped the people from tearing her clothes.
Her face was hot with burning tears; was she born to suffer a cruel fate?
Her mother had died the day she was born; her father and step mother hated and maltreated her, everything and everyone was against her and now she was being framed for something she did not do.

She cried as she remembered the conspiracy by her family against her; she cried as she remembered the betrayal, even those villagers she had thought liked her turned their back against her.
They had thrown stones and sticks against her and called her names.
It was over for her, her reputation was over. Death was approaching.
She closed her eyes and let the water drip from her eyes as she thought of Onoitem, it hurt her that all the money he had saved for their marriage had been taken away. Would he ever forgive her?
Would he stand up for her?
Time passed in the cell where she was being locked; it had no meaning to her, only the crowing c*ck assured her of the break of day which propelled her into uncertainty, would she live or would she die?

A rue smile crossed her face at the thought of death, well, even if she died, she had one reason to be happy while she lived: Ono, the love of her life.
The petals of insomnia vanished before her eyes and sleep started to cajole her; she had only shut her left eye when she heard heavy thuds approaching her cell.
‘Get up’ a fierce looking warrior opened the cell where she was being locked.
‘Asierie, Good morning’ she bowed her head hoping to curry some sympathy but he ignored her gesture and turned his back towards her without looking back.
‘Come with me, the King wants to see you’ he replied.

Her heart raced, her hands trembled, was it time for her death? How could she die without seeing Ono’s face, just once, even for the last time?
She followed the lead of the warrior, her hands were still bound and so her feet; they passed a number of huts still within the palace till the King’s throne house, which was a separate mud house was in view.
Mma scanned the large hut where the King received both subjects and nobles briefly; from where she stood, she could see some chiefs, the Queen, the Princess.
She took a deep breath and released it as she saw the other face seated amongst them, he came! He came for her! Her heart stopped.
‘Mmafiong’! Ono rose to his feet as he s₱0tted her close to the throne house but recollected himself briefly as he remembered he stood before the king.
The Princess saw the pain that flashed in his eyes as he called the accused maiden. She felt a sharp pain in her heart as she stared at him. He was in love with her.

‘You ask a difficult thing of me’ The King cleared his throat.
He had asked his warriors to find the man that had rescued his daughter from her attackers, but that was no longer necessary as the man already showed up to claim what was rightfully his; only that his request was difficult to grant.
‘Please my king, let your pardon be my reward. Mma is not a thief, the cowries they found in her hut are the cowries I gave to her; I have been saving them for marriage’ Ono fell on his knees.
The Princess was greatly touched by his show of love and the words he spoke; it made her respect him the more.
When he had come to the palace, her father had sent her guards to rouse her from sleep so she could identify the man; how could she forget his handsome face?

‘But the little boy called her a thief, he was absolutely confident’ the Queen ch¡pped in.
The news had travelled like wild fire.
‘Father, please, he saved my life and my respect. Without his help, I would’ve been dead by now. He s-cked the poison right out of my bones; he was ready to die for me at that moment, please grant him this request’ the princess rose to her feet.

Episode 8

He s-cked the poison right out of my bones; he was ready to die for me at that moment, please grant him this request’ the princess rose to her feet.
She couldn’t bear to see him that desperate, though she felt jealous of the way he cared for the girl, he seemed to be truthful and honest and she wanted her father to see him in this light too.
‘Obot…she was accused of theft, that is a serious offense. What kind of king would I be should I let her go without a trial’? The King was adamant.
“You must let her go if you do not want to incur the wrath of the gods” a loud voice sounded.
‘Wise one’ the King acknowledged the entrance of the priest and so did the other people present.
‘You heard me, King, she is innocent, the gods revealed it to me’ the priest repeated.

‘Are you saying she was being framed’? The King’s beady eyes shot up.
‘I only said what the gods asked of me. Release her, in due time, those who seat on the throne of wickedness shall be exposed’ the priest stamped his staff on the floor; bowed three times before the King and stormed out of the palace.
‘May you live long great King’ Ono who had been rendered speechless by the entrance of the priest suddenly found his voice.
He rushed out of the throne house and scooped Mma up in his arms.
‘You came for me’ she cried and clung to him.

‘Yes. I love you and I will never abandon you no matter what happens’ he sealed his promise with a light peck on her face and then carried her out of the palace and begun to shout “She has been vindicated”!

‘How do you feel now Princess’? The Queen stared at her daughter but Obot wasn’t paying attention to her mother, she watched with jealousy the two lovers that had just left the palace.
‘Fine’ she replied abruptly and walked out of the throne house, feeling confused and overwhelmed by the growing attraction that she had for the stranger.
Obodom was larger and richer than Ajop Kingdom in natural resources and manpower.
Their rivers were w¡der and out of them came a lot of fish, crayfish, periwinkle and oysters.
The palm trees blossomed with fruit and in season, oil flowed in the land.
Edidem Okopisong, the ruler of this great Kingdom was a ruthless and ambitious man; hence he had a lot of enemies.

‘It is important that we seal your marriage with Obot before someone else takes her away from you’ the King said to his son who had just joined him in his throne house.
‘How so? All other Kingdoms know she is my betroth, who would dare to rise against us’? Prince Iboro settled in his throne that was beside his father’s.
‘The Kingdom of Ajop remains our strongest ally and we must seal that marriage. Our enemies grow as the trees in the woods, we must be watchful and we must be careful that is why we would be leaving for Ajop in seven days time, we are going to take her hand in marriage’ the king said to his son.
‘I totally agree with you father. We need a powerful Kingdom like Ajop to strengthen us’ Iboro agreed with his father.

‘Yes, once the King of Ajop dies, the kingdom would fall under his daughter, as she is the only child of the king and that automatically makes you the King. Tell me, who would dare stop a King who has two powerful Kingdoms under his rule’?
The Edidem’s face glowed with pride and expectation; he had not been a fool to enter into an agreement with the King of Ajop concerning his only child.
‘I have to go now, I want to train with Udo’ Prince Iboro bowed his head and left to meet his younger brother, Prince Udo.
He and his brother’s had faced a lot of battles that motivated them to train the more.

‘Do you remember when the Nkuku cult group attacked us on the way to the Mkpa Eyong Kingdom’? Udo asked his elder brother.
‘How could I forget’? Prince Iboro scoffed.
The Nkuku cult was a secret cult group that was paid by nobles to haunt or kill other nobles; they were utilized to wreck havoc for a heavy fee.
‘One of the reasons we must train hærd should we ever face them again’ Udo said in a determined voice.
Iboro wasn’t paying much attention to his brother; he was more focused on the princess whom he will marry soon.
His heart was gladdened as he thought about her beautiful face; her sparkling green eyes and her attractive l-ips. He couldn’t wait to make love to her finally after years of not touching her, after years of waiting.

‘Long live your highness’ one of the palace guards bowed prostrated before him as he moved towards the area of the Palace that was meant for training.
‘Where is Udo’? The Prince asked after his younger brother.
‘He left to bring some weapons from the war room’ the guard replied.
‘Very well then’ Iboro replied and lowered himself upon an ancient stool on the training ground.
‘What took you so long’? Prince Udo came along with two machetes and two wooden spears.

‘I was with father…’Iboro replied and stared at his younger brother who resembled him all around except that his voice lacked the baritone that he was known for.
‘You look excited about something; tell me, are you finally getting married to your sweetheart? To the most beautiful woman on earth’? Udo winked and launched a spear at his brother.
‘Exactly, how did you guess’ Iboro dodged the spear and jumped to his feet.
‘I eavesdropped’ Udo replied.
‘Bad manners’ Iboro fetched his spear and launched the sharp edge at Udo but he missed it.

‘I am happy for you brother, you would be the envy of other princes for Obot’s beauty is not to be compared. She truly stands out’ Udo advanced towards him.
‘What can I say? I am a lucky man’ Iboro chased after his brother.
‘Yes, indeed you are, for the gods spared your lover’s life. She was almost raped and killed at the forest yesterday’ Udo dropped his spear and surrendered as Iboro’s spear found his chest.

‘What are you talking about’? Iboro threw his spear on the ground and called out to the servants for water.
‘When father called you into the throne house, I assumed that was the message he had wanted to relay’ Udo was surprised his brother had not learned of the news.
‘But how could she not tell me? I asked after the princess last night’? Iboro bit his lip and crossed his hands together. He had been with Afiama her friend and he had inquired about her.
‘Don’t tell me you’re still sleeping with that wh-re’ Udo rose to his feet angrily.
He was the only one that knew about his brother’s affair with the daughter of Elder Nkwo, a noble man of Ajop, who was also their King’s adviser.
‘I can’t help it, would you rather I sleep with the servants? A King must have honor, or would you want me to take a concubine? We both know the Princess would hate me for that’ Iboro sighed.
‘But sleeping with her friend is not acceptable, you promised you would end things with Afiama’ Udo felt disappointed as he realized his brother was still having an affair with the Princess’ best friend.

To be continued….