"Because you do not have a choice!" A voice said loud and clear. Ada knew that voice. Everything seemed to come to a stand still, the cool breeze, the rising sun, even the sounds of animals and insects.

Absolute silence engulfed the arena as they waited for the speaker to show up, Ada recognized him, he was the murderer she thought was king.

While Okenna had an easygoing, honest, happy aura around him this man gave off an impatient, grumpy and arrogant vibes.

His eyes were hard and dared anyone to counter what he said as he looked down his nose at the girls, the gesture even more defined by the fact that the girls were sitting.

The little hairs at the back of Ada's head stood, images from her dream flashing before her eyes. She sensed he was not a man to cross especially with his earlier demonstration and like Scar it would be best to give him a wide berth, however no one said she was sensible.

"Excuse you!" Nazza beat her to it, Ada couldn't have delivered the words better, even sitting, dirty and tired she sounded regal, delivering the words with just the right amount of venom.

Ada saw fury explode in his eyes like a volcanic eruption after years of building pressure.

Chelu! He kidnapped us yet he gets to be angry, he wasn't the one plucked out of a life and installed into another one with the threat of death looming over his head. He didn't have to receive condescending looks all the time because every time someone looked at you they expected failure.

Ada felt her own anger begin to rise, wrapping itself around her like a boa constrictor, squeezing life out of its prey.

"This is my brother, Prince Obinna." Okenna placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, it looked like a show of affection but Ada saw it for what it was, a warning for his brother to control his emotions.

The sound of Okenna's voice however snapped her out of her anger, something she was grateful for. She still didn't know much about the customs and traditions of this village. The gods forbid she did something in her anger to justify Obinna -she eyed him again- having to inflict punishment on her or worse demand her head, it wasn't like he couldn't do it himself.

"You have to forgive him, our father's illness has taken quite a toll on him." Okenna smiled at the girls in reassurance even as Ada saw the muscles in the hand on his brother's shoulder tighten.

The girls however remained wary of him, more than one girl squirmed under Obinna's gaze.

"We hope you found your accommodation and care to your satisfaction." Ada corked her head and tried to understand his intentions.

He wanted to talk about accommodations now? his brother looked like he was planning their murder and... Wait a minute was he buttering them up? Starting with small talk before he dropped the bomb on them?

The other girls seemed to be thinking along the same lines because no one answered him, he was a Prince they were living in a palace, what could they possibly complain about?

"We—"

"I will be taking you on combat lessons." Obinna interrupted his brother, why did he have to be diplomatic about everything? He didn't owe them any explanation, he was after all a prince and soon to be king- goosebumps rose on skin at the thought. They had the deluxe treatment, they could at least show appreciation by doing this task. Left to him the girls ought to be in the holding rooms, that way they would be more agreeable to his demands.

Ada was sure her whole hair was standing -if not for the beautiful cornrows Nmachi has put her hair in- at his declaration.

Combat?!

She had a feeling Obinna enjoyed pain if the glint in his eye was anything to go by.

"We do not know what you will be up against out there." Okenna explained, Obinna tried his best to not roll his eyes, he settled for an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

"Accounts vary for every time someone has come out the land of the spirits, which so happens to be way too few and too far in between, so you have to be ready for anything and everything." Okenna adjusted his posture so he stood legs shoulder width apart, his hands crossed behind his back, his muscles bulging anytime his moved.

"Women are not built for strength, so we hope to capitalise on speed, if you can't beat it you can at least outrun it, After you training here with my brother, you will meet with Agbarakwe in the evening." He looked around, trying to gauge the girls reaction.

"That will be all for now." His hands found their way to the front of his chest.

Okenna patted his brother twice on the shoulder before leaving, a message of sorts, once his back was turned, Obinna flashed them a face splitting grin. More than one girl swallowed. Ada knew they were about to be introduced to another level of pain.

"Women are weak, useless but to warm a man's bed, bare his children and cater to his needs. Too bad we have such little time, i would love to turn you into warriors. Assuming you survive your training." He rubbed his hands together gleefully.

Ada felt goosebumps rise on her skin, from the corner of her  eye she saw Dera's feature ashen with fear but her eyes shine with determination, Ada felt a corner of her lips twitch as she fought to contain a smile, somehow she knew the other girls had the same looks. Bring it on!

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Ada threw another stone and like the previous ones she had thrown in the last hour, it crossed the line. They girls were taken to an area of the arena they had not taken note of before. They stood in a straight line arm length apart, a guard behind each of them. The guard was to supervise them and correct their form and aim as they threw.

Obinna had led them to this part of the arena with the intention of testing their aim. A line draw in white was five meters away from where they stood, the goal was to throw stones past the line.

A basket of stones was placed beside each of them, the stones were smooth and fairly light.  Exhaustion weighed heavily on Ada, the muscles in her right arm hurt badly but she kept throwing. The sun was shining brightly, it wasn't yet at it's highest but it was hot and coupled with the exercise sweat soaked her wrapper, out the corner of her eye she saw she was not alone in her predicament.

Scar was paired with Dera by design or coincidence she didn't know, he was talking to the small girl, her expression hardening with each word that left his mouth, Ada wished she could hear what he was saying to her. On her other side, Nmachi seemed to be doing better than her, either that or she wore her exhaustion well.

"Again!" The guard behind her said quietly, she looked into her basket, she still had some stones remaining, she prayed they could leave as soon as the basket of stones was empty. She didn't know how much longer before she passed out.

"Your opponent is not going to wait for you to be ready." The voice behind her came again. "Your life is going to depend on your abilities out there, are you going to just get yourself killed because you are tired?"

Ada took a deep breath, picked another stone and hurled it, her frustration rising. He wasn't wrong at least he was offering good advice, she couldn't imagine having Obinna as an instructor. Shivers ran down her spine at the thought as she peeped at another girl who had Obinna standing behind her, his expression clearly one of bliss, at what expense? Ada wondered.

"Keep going, take a deep breath when you throw, release after the throw, it will improve your aim also keep your arm straight"

She threw a stone and another and another, her breaths getting harsher with each throw.

"Enough!" Obinna's voice rang out, loud and harsh. "We continue tomorrow."

Glossary
Chelu : wait