"Poison!" Was the outcry aloud after examination of the woman whose looks rivalled a goddess's. "She has poison in her." Fingers gently pushed the braids of her hair aside to view tightly shut eyes. Fortunately, her eyelids still had colour in their stretched skin.

Kamalu's shadow abruptly loomed over the woman, and Onochie stirred protectively, poised for impending danger. "Forgive me, my lord. I did not mean to startle you." He peered down at her, concern fanning over his face. "From whence does she come?"

"That is of no consequence now." Onochie dismissed the course in which the conversation was drifting. If he let it go astray, they would lose sight of what needed be focused on, which was saving the woman.

Shoving two leather bags aside that decidedly belonged to her, his eyes roamed about her legs and ankles. His search was for the markings of a fang or two. He found it soon enough; two spots on two fingers.

The region affected was purplish, and he immediately placed the identity of the assailing reptile. It was the purple snake; known not for its skin's colour but for the hue of the pigments deposited from its fangs on its victims. Though its bites weren't the most lethal, it was capable of sickening and putting its victims to a deep sleep from which those who were weak would not wake.

"Call for help." He ordered but stopped to recall his forgone thoughts. She appeared to be dying, though now that he'd inspected her condition more, it wasn't as dire as he initially concluded.

Nonetheless, the poison probably had travelled further than was safe in her body. Consequently, he reasoned it would not have much effect if they moved her around. It was the best choice of action for them as the woman's physique spoke of frailness.

She wasn't so tiny, but she was extremely slight. Thinner than he knew most women to be. Clearly, her statue was not one he judged to be of assurance. She needed assistance as soon as possible or, he feared, worse damage would be done than he suspected had already been inflicted.

"Shall I go to request for the herbalist, or do you have a distinct order for me, Your Majesty?"

"There will not be time enough for you to go and return. No horse loiters about that we can borrow for a quick use either. The best is we move her to the herbalist ourselves.

A long silence ensued. Onochie could tell his previous reaction had put Kamalu on edge. The guard was likely unsure whether he had the green light to do what usually would have been apparent for him.

He tentatively posed his question. "Shall I bear her up then, my lord?"

"Yes, you should." Onochie swallowed, feeling a hint of guilt nip at him for putting his friend in a state of unease. It had not been his intent, but he'd failed at battling the urge that overcame him to take the reigns of the situation.

He'd resented being in the position of a young, being told to stand aside while the adults dealt with the problem at hand. He supposed that was the kind of king he'd been in the past. But it would be to his own detriment if he continued accordingly, unmotivated to change his ways.

Even now, he was apprehensive of Kamalu being the one to bring the woman to safety, and it churned his stomach wrongly. He felt unduly indebted to her as if he was meant to make certain of her safety when he did not even know her.

It had to be his abandoned womanising traits tearing up their head again. The woman was too lovely. It about wrenched his heart to gaze on her. He was fairly positive that no other more gorgeous female walked the earth in the same period she did. If there was, then he hoped she collected cowries for men to look upon her.

Bow lips, arched eyebrows, regal cheekbones and a complexion to match the elegant brown of coconut shells. Her skin was smooth and glossy despite her delicateness. It was truly inconceivable that she was healthy in that manner. Most persons he knew to own that sort of frame were usually haggard. It was merely the results that came of hard work without reward.

He studied her again. The shape of her eyes was attractive so that he could not help but wish that she'd wake soon. He wanted to see the colour her irises would hold. Would they be dark to match the shade of the mango tree's back? Or would they be a lighter brown similar to a walnut?

Her body was average with curves where they should be and no more to spare. The covering she wore was a two-piece with the lower half stopping at a length that left much to the imagination. It was considerably short and somewhat tired-looking. However, it suited the gentle slope of her outline. He wondered if she had any beauty marks under her layers and how many so in case she did. In fact, he was desperate to know.

His desperation stunned him, and he adopted a sheen of shame. Was he reverting to his old ways before Ozioma? Here he was lusting after a woman less than a matured turn of  time's hand after he'd missed another. Was there much more sinful? He hated that he felt this way. That he could not deny the spine-chilling attraction he had to her.

Till now, he supposed he hadn't learnt the act of propriety and keeping one's mind in the right place. He could barely exercise control in the presence of a beautiful woman.

It was even more distasteful that he continuously compared her to his lover. They were different in many ways. Compared to Ozioma, who was fair-skinned, the stranger was darker. Ozioma was taller, curvier, with more to fill a man's hands. But the new woman was more graceful in her figure, simpler in her quiet physique.

Onochie knew of how former Chief Nkeji's granddaughter  could be spotted miles away. He'd fallen in love with her being at first meet. Her suppleness could not be kept a secret, even if it was concealed in a bag. To say the very least, both women could catch the eye of any fellow.

He just could not understand why his mind was so fixated on the one he knew nothing of. She'd stirred up what he could not interpret and hardened him above and below. She'd awakened the demon he'd only managed to put to sleep so far. The things he imagined...

Stop this madness! He screamed at himself mentally. If only he could be more like other men who did not have a streak of being cheaters and liars—men like Kamalu who knew how to be respectful to females in all regards. They were morally upright among the batches of rotten-minded individuals who could not get to tapering off their sexual desires.

Onochie glanced at Kamalu, who was making steady progress by him with the woman draped over his arms and her possessions wedged between them both like a wall of protection. A thick vein ticked at the side of his head like he was exerting immense pressure or restraining himself. It had to be latter as there stood no chance that the woman was heavier than most items the guard carried with ease.

Could it be that he was also attracted to her? Would he be surprised if he was? He reasoned that he wouldn't be. In fact, he'd be concerned if Kamalu did not find her a heart-throbber. Maybe even worried if he'd not shown a reaction. It soothed him to note that he was not the only one stuck in a quandary because of her.

"She is a beauty, is she not?" He prompted, interested in hearing how much Kamalu would reveal. The man was usually secretive about his feelings. Only once had he been importuned to witness him open up, and it had been in a heart-to-heart talk about what he wanted in a partner.

"I cannot deny that she is pleasing to the eyes, my lord. Incredibly so."

Ah, he was honest. Onochie patted him on the back, chuckling softly. He agreed with the confession more than he could admit to. Kamalu would not hear of his inner sentiments, but they were there nonetheless, and he was not so much of a sinner that he could not recognise their infelicitousness. He could choose to ignore the signs of caution, but it did not change right or wrong. It only meant he deceived himself willingly.

"We shall head down this road, my lord." The man, who still strutted like there was a spring under his soles despite the extra load he'd undertaken, jutted his chin at the twisting bend they were approaching.

"It will lead us to the woman faster?" Onochie frowned at the unfamiliar footpath. It wasn't so much of a surprise that there was a crosscut that he'd not promenaded on as most of his days were spent administering to his people from the comfort of his palace. Still, the unfamiliarity placed a sense of foreboding in him, one whose seeds had been planted since the poison debacle.

What would he give to not have had that incident happen to him? Since that day, dread and apprehensiveness kept him fretful. He could not shrug off the disquietude despite his best efforts or wash it off with the countless times he'd bathed. It stuck to him like a second skin, and it was to his dismay that it had no intent on leaving; it was content making his mind its abode.

"Permit me to note that there is no cause for alarm by merely taking this path, Your Majesty. It is not one trespassed upon by ordinary people but rather the soldiers or ordinary guards from the palace. It is advantageous to us as it leads directly to the herbalist without any interruptions, which often is a requirement when one of the men was hurt."

"Do not mind my misgiving against it, Kamalu. It is not something that will suddenly disappear today. I have it against all things that have not yet gained my trust, and I fear it is now a part of my life." He reflected, melancholy dulling the edges and shine of his words. Kamalu clearly had his eyes on him, watching observantly. Onochie could feel the magnitude of his stare on his profile.

"There is nothing I can say to change the situation of things. Neither is there much I can speak to relieve your worries. All I can do is repledge my loyalty over to you again, my lord."

"Kamalu..." he finally met the sad gaze of his righthand man, sombre and downcast.

"I will always lay down my life for you, my king. I will protect you with all that is in me till the day I breathe my last and beyond. You saved me, and I will serve you forever."

It was not what they discussed. Ever. It was a matter best kept in the past. He knew Kamalu meant well by referencing it, but it was not what Onochie was in the mood to think of. His haunted dreams usually made up for all the sins he'd committed in the past. Considering how many they were, it was no wonder that his nights were the perfect grounds for sinister pestilences and plagues.

Wearily, he replied: "you also saved me, Kamalu."

"Maybe. But all you did was for my sick sister and me. She was eternally grateful to you till the moment she departed, my lord. So will I."

"Then I shall let you and be forever grateful to you for your loyalty, my friend."

Onochie caught the guard's bottom lip quiver, and an emotion that only a brother could rise in him blossomed. "It is I who should be grateful, my lord."

They trotted in comfortable silence until a shack rose in the distance. It was dark and stood out from all the houses they'd bypassed. "Do we draw near?" He squinted to focus on the rickety hut. It seemed to be out of shape with how it was crooked and favoured its right side.

"Indeed, Your Majesty. The house in our view is it."

Twenty steps later, which Onochie diligently counted for lack of anything better to do, they were outside the hut. The king wondered why any man or woman, for that matter, would choose to bathe their habitat in the unsightly tint of coal. It was most ill-suited and somewhat even improper. He mused that it plausibly brought a bad omen to the household and thus, tarried behind the guard.

"My lord?" Kamalu veered from his position right in front of the door to behold Onochie enduring miles away from him. "Why do you stand so far away?"

Onochie slapped a hand against his thigh, pressing the bronze cuff melded to his leg, and shook his head like he could not believe himself either. He was scared of a house. Was that not the absurdest of concepts? It was, which was why he had no plans to clue Kamalu into his private thoughts.

Hauling in a profound breath, he closed the space between them, realising he was the only one who could knock on the door since the other man had his hands occupied with plenty. His knuckles rasped against the wood gently, and the door immediately swung open.

"Welcome!" a huge voice boomed, giving Onochie a fright. His right hand clutched his chest as he grimaced, waiting for the owner of the place to appear. She did at last.

A tall woman with high hair nearly grazing the roof appeared inches from the door frame. Her dark, woolly mane was perfectly adorned with green foliage. Amongst the leaves and twisted twines, a string of coral beads dangled gracefully. When she smiled, it seemed strained. At the action, creases emerged on the corners of her lips and the grooves that lined her face elongated, ageing her even past the middle-aged years she seemed to be of.

Onochie watched, mesmerised as he'd never seen a woman that towering or fascinating, if you didn't count the native doctor, of course. The eye of the gods would perpetually rank top on his account of people who captivated him. Whether it was in a bad or good way, now, that, he could not say.

He was so transfixed by her that he did not heed her greeting or querying of what they were there for. "Your Majesty, she asks for what we came," Kamalu whispered to him.

The cue snapped him back to his senses, and he focused on the present, not letting his eyes gravitate to her buxom bosom. Though she'd drawn on Uli designs, their contours were open to him and his consequent interpretations. There was no skepticism that they would produce good food for children if she had or chose to have any. Shutting his eyes, he forced his heed to digress. By the gods, there had been too many temptations in one day.

"We need help. She was bitten by the purple snake. It has been a while since it happened, but we brought her to you as promptly as we could."

"Bring her in, and I shall treat her."

"What shall your wages be?" Onochie inquired as Kamalu headed into the house.

She laughed, long and heartily. Being roughly a head shorter than her, he had to stare up at her when she spoke. He judged that her teeth were brown, likely from snuff, but he could not find any missing. "Allow me to save the woman's life first, my lord, and then we can discuss compensation."

"As you wish." Her smile lingered as he entered the house. He advanced into the dim room, his breath a knob in his throat.

"Help me lay her on the bed in the inner room." She beckoned on the guard, directing him through a door that led into another space. It was impressive to Onochie that a house so small could possess another compartment.

However, it did hold some sense that there was a section sealed from the outside world. And he had good cause to peg it as her personal chambers. So when Kamalu vanished into it, he hung back in the darker, stark room.

"My lord, you are free to come in if you like." She had his mind changed with the single permit.

"Thank you. Do not mind that I will." He was pleased to be included without requesting to be so and awarded her a brilliant smile. "How do they call you?"

"Bundo is my name, Your Majesty."

"Bundo..." he balanced the name on his tongue and deemed it one unusual to him. It was not a terrible sound, nonetheless. "Will she be alright?" He asked as he made his entry into the enclosure. The woman was on a bed made with a white sheet. She stood out crisply from the pale, grayness of the setting she'd been placed on, with her skin healthy and brown.

"I do not know yet. Though, I will do my best to help her. But first, I would like to know who this is, Your Majesty. I have never seen her before, and I pride myself on having wonderful relationships with the people of this land. Her clothes also are unlike any I have viewed in Zoro. Their prints are most peculiar."

"Yes," Onochie murmured, a funny sensation tingling down his backbone. Was he scared? No, he couldn't be. It wasn't like he'd acted wickedly. All he'd done was dictate that a foreigner be brought into the village and insist that she be treated of her ill. That was not wrong. Or was it?

"Where did you find her, my lord?"

"I shall tell you everything if you will make a promise to me." He looked from the herbalist to Kamalu. "This is to you also, Kamalu."

"State whatever you want from me, Your Majesty." She asserted while Kamalu merely nodded.

"I want you both to keep my identity as king a secret from the maiden until I command otherwise."
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