He drew nearer though sluggishly due to his huge size. Both his hands also happened to be up in the air, waving almost wildly. Zelunjo sighed through her nose, clearly irritated at the unwelcome visitor. "Shall I turn him away for you, Gegbe? Or will you face the chief today?"

"I think I might have to face him and put this madness to rest, once and for all."

"Hm." She grunted a sound that communicated how satisfied she was by the answer Ugegbe had given. "That is good."

"Zelu, talking to him might take a lot of time. It would be better if you be on your way now, especially as Daa Agughalam will be expecting us before sunset."

"But—"

"I know." Ugegbe cut in, fully aware that she was about to protest. "I know we said we would part at the next bend. Truly, I want you to be here and to support me while I end this chase. But there is no time. If you want to see them today, you must hurry."

From her point of view, Ugegbe deemed the scenario where she let Zelunjo remain by her side instead of freeing her to do what she needed to, one that should not be allowed to happen. It would be the purest form of selfishness if she stole this opportunity from her for such a trivial matter.

Zelunjo deserved to spend time with her siblings, to take care of and be with them. The children no longer had a mother, and their father was a drunkard who spent his days as well as nights sleeping on paths leading to farmlands, staying rooted in deep slumbers in foul, muddy gutters regardless of whether it rained or not, and even throwing up on the doorsteps of random houses he came across in his drunken haze.

There was not a single person in the village who had not once come across him in his stupor. The older Njeze was addicted to fermented palm-wine, ingesting the drink more than he did actual food. His actions had flung his family into poverty, and he'd since failed to pull them out. The responsibility, therefore, had fallen on his daughter's shoulders.

If not for the endless mountains of debt, Zelunjo would never have become a slave. Yet, though she'd been a servant for quite some years before Ugegbe became one, she still had a long period of servitude left before she could pay off the debts her father had left piled up for his children to undertake.

Nevertheless, the fact that she had been physically yoked to the royal house for such a long time meant that she was permitted more strikes with the stewardess and given extra benefits. One of them was the authorisation to visit her family on rare occasions, such as today, where a member of the royal family intervened with their influence which, of course, superceded that of all under the palace's employment, whatever their position was.

Ugegbe could have chosen to escape to her father's house, using the opening the prince's acquaintanceship had indirectly given her. But she did not. Mostly because she had a good estimate of the chaos that would ensue.

Nothing ever escaped Daa Agughalam, not even the happenings that were outside her jurisdiction in the palace. She had eyes everywhere, and Ugegbe was more certain of this than before when she caught two guards, whom she'd countlessly seen escorting the head-stewardess, watching her keenly at the river.

There was no doubt that if she dared break out of the character expected of her and went home, Agughalam would find out that she did not go to the meetings the white men hosted as she had claimed to and would wreak havoc on her life.

She could not let that happen. Not when she was slowly drawing near to the end of her servantship. At most, she would need less than seven months to finally pay up what her father owed Mmeremikwu. The initial capital that was borrowed for the farmlands had already been cleared off. All that remained to be paid was the interest the devilish chief tied on the money he'd loaned, which often made the debts seem as if they were endless.

A single mistake could cause her to start over from scratch as Daa Agughalam could refuse to let her go back home when the appointed time came after the dues she owed were given back to their owner. Apart from her naturally peaceful character, she'd made the efforts to maintain a neutral relationship with the woman as she did not want to hear of any mishaps on the day she was to be freed. Unlike Zelunjo, she could not afford to take any risks.

"Alright then." Her friend gave in reluctantly. "Will you be alright alone?"

"Yes, I will." Ugegbe nodded firmly, her resolve set, in spite of the weariness that had suddenly overtaken her.

"Then I will meet you at the quarters. Take care, Gegbe."

"And you too, Zelu. Send my regards to the little ones."

"They will hear from you." She beamed at Ugegbe, a smile that displayed all teeth and gums and could make anyone grin in return.

Ugegbe watched her leave, and an invisible fist suddenly gripped her heart tightly. It was almost as if her entire body had been seized with an unrooted fear, and she had no hint of why she was having such a terrible feeling. She did her best to banish it by ignoring its ominousness.

Moreover, she had a matter to attend to. "Are you...free to talk to me...Ugegbe, my love?" The question came from a short man, with a rounded belly the size of a drum, who was wheezing terribly like his lungs were incapable of doing their jobs. Then again, maybe they were. With his bulbous form that barely fit his statue, such a conclusion would not be such a farfetched guess. It was exactly why it'd taken him decades to run over to her.

"I am free to talk to you now. But I am not your love. I would appreciate it if you took note of that."

"Come, come now, beautiful woman." Ugegbe could not help the tiny shudder that shook her at the title that should probably have been pleasing to her hearing but made her not ever want to addressed by it again. At least not when it was from Chief Chaba's lips. Not ever from him.

"You should stop with your advances, Chief Chaba." She held up a hand to halt him when he made to say something in his defence. "I will never accept you as my husband."

"But why? What do you have against me? I have enough money to take care of you and many more women. What have I done to deserve this treatment from you?"

"Chief Chaba, do you even listen to yourself when you speak? Do you try to think with the brain you have been given? You have three wives at home, yet, you want me to accept your proposal and become your fourth wife. Judge this yourself, is your proposition sensible, chief?" Ugegbe was inching dreadfully close to the clean-cut border of a mere commoner being insolent to a lord. But she could not help herself.

The arrogant man forced her to lose control of her temper whenever he broached the subject of marrying her. What did he take women as? Possessions to be owned? Sympathy welled up inside of her for his poor wives abandoned at home while he chased after other women. She hoped that at least they were content with the money he apparently was so quick to spend.

"Watch your tone, Ugegbe! You will accord me the respect that I deserve! Remember that you are only a slave now. It does not matter that your father is the cousin of the king. That makes no difference now. Your great father has been reduced to a mere pauper." Ugegbe gritted her teeth in anger. Of course, he'd taken to insulting her because she turned him down and spoke the truth. Some men were pitiful creatures.

"What difference does that make at this moment, Chief Chaba?" She ground out painfully. There was so much more she wanted to say to put the man in his place, but she no longer held the power of the esteemed relative of the king or even of a typical citizen living in Osisi. She was a slave, and she wasn't more special than any other in thrall.

"It is upon you whether or not to discover the difference my words are making in this situation. All I am saying is that there is nothing special about you, sweetest Ugegbe. You are only beautiful. In the end, one man will take your price from you; he might do so by force or maybe not, if you willingly submit to him. Do not forget your place in this world. No matter what you do, you are just a simple woman who will, someday, be taken over by and subjugate to a man."

"Thank you for your unsolicited words of advice, chief. As you have made your point known, please do not ever speak to me again from today onwards. Your advances make me sick, and they will never be accepted. And about my future relations with a man, you should leave that to me. I do not need your worries or concerns." She let out in one breath, ready to turn around and leave in that very instant as his presence practically suffocated her. "Goodbye."

Her pace was steady and quick as she headed for the second queen's palace. She wanted to be back in the tiny room she shared with Zelunjo as soon as possible. A little rest before sunset wouldn't hurt. In fact, it would probably make her feel better as Chaba had ruined the rest of her day.

While she forged forward, she constrained the anger that was still heating up in her chest and did her best to forget the chief's meaningless words. She hated the fact that she'd been affected by his utterances despite her will to pay them no mind. Maybe it was because she knew that though his statements had been coated with the venom of a snake, underneath the uncountable layers of malignity, lay the truths that she could not change no matter how hard she tried.

She hated how her position made her small, fearful, and powerless before those of nobility. If not that she'd promised herself not to cry unnecessarily and most especially not for things beyond her control, she would have opened the gates holding back the waters and let them out, giving them the freedom they'd been craving.

No. She thought as she furiously stamped out the momentum of a lone tear that had rushed down her face. There was no time or energy for weeping. She would save the tears for a future juncture when she would not be able to hold back, and then she would let all her bitter emotions go. Not now.

Moreover, today was supposed to be a happy day for her. Her baptism was a momentous event that deserved to be rejoiced about and celebrated, at least, throughout a single day. She should be glad instead of sad. Therefore, she figured it would be best if she forgot the negatives and focused on the bright sides of her life.

Her mind capered to pictures of the amazing woman she had as her friend, to the actuality that she had food to eat and water to drink daily, and to the reality that she had a roof over her head every night. Those were enough for her to be happy. She had an extra reason to be so as well, and it was the most important of all: she'd been accepted by a God who loved and was willing to protect her. She felt lucky.

Ugegbe smiled as her worries melted away. She did not have to make herself miserable because of one miserly man. He was not worth her suffering; she was positive no one was. As she bounded to the female quarters, she promised herself to never let anyone maltreat her, specifically so, when the basis for doing so was her gender. She would make sure to put such people in their places.

Lost deep in thoughts, Ugegbe did not notice when she was snuck upon and only snapped out of her fantasy when she was tapped on the shoulders. "Aaarghh!" She gave a yell, additionally jumping out of reach of the wrongdoer.

"Ha!" Throaty laughter reached her ears as she turned to behold the one who had the audacity to scare her almost senseless.

"My prince? What are you—"she began to ask but remembered her manners and bent to greet him first.

"Rise, Gegbe. How have you fared?"

"Very well, my lord." Her eyes narrowed at the walking stick the prince had underneath his right arm for support. "Why are you outside and so far away from your palace, my lord?" She demanded, not impressed by Uzochi's stubbornness. He had left the fortresses of the main palace, where he could be protected easily if there arose a need, and strayed as far as the queen's mansion.

Condoning the delivery of trapped rabbits to her quarter had not been difficult to do as the prince did not come to the servant's division, but she did not share the same ease for this situation. Besides, she did not expect him to be here as he was a member of the royal family, and most, as she knew, would hate to be that close to those they considered eons below their status. Except, if she were honest, Prince Uzochi was nothing like most nobles.

"Do you worry about me, Gegbe, my dearest?" He stepped forward, a bit too close for her comfort, and his tall, strong statue hulked over her. Ugegbe gasped, recalling how close they'd been the day they'd returned to the palace, and cast her sight from him as red-hot shame dealt her a merciless blow.

"My lord. I worried about your health for I knew how badly you were injured by the assailants."

"Is that all, Gegbe? Is that really all?"

"Yes, my lord." She bit on her bottom lip, already regretting what she needed to do. One man had already been turned down, and one more would be heartbroken soon. It made her feel so inconsiderate. But, then again, there was no other choice. She had to be honest.

"Ah," he sighed in frustration. "I thought you would have opened up to me by now, Gegbe. Why haven't you done so?"

"Do you love me, my lord?"

"Yes, of course, I do, Gegbe. I do love you."

"Really, my lord?"

"Indeed I do, dearest, very deeply."

"Do you intend on marrying me?" Her tough gaze was intentional, as she held his eyes and dared him to speak anything but the truth. "Did you ever plan on marrying me, my lord?"
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A/N: Thank you for reading, lovelies! Please don't forget to vote on this chapter and the previous ones, if you missed them💛