They stared at him in confusion. And maybe even shock. Who would have envisioned in their minds that there would come a time where the king would admit to his subjects that he did not wish to be addressed as a king? Did anyone dare imagine that their monarch would prefer to keep his identity from a stranger who knew nothing of him? It was baffling, mind-boggling, so that no one spoke for a time too long.

Then Bundo broached the subject matter. Among the two, she seemed to be the braver one. "For what reason do you command this of us, my lord?"

Onochie pinned her with a severe stare despite the wavering in him. "It is for my safety."

"Your safety?" She squeaked, a contrast to her usual baritone, and Kamalu backed up the alarm in her query with a more profound toll of his own.

"Yes, indeed." He affirmed. "Cast your worries of me aside and focus on helping the woman. I will explain my meaning when the time is right."

"Of course, Your Majesty." They both chorused their assents, and the herbalist began her job.

Onochie watched keenly as the taller woman presided over the unconscious. She asked for the place the snake had bitten, but she did a lengthy inspection of her own even after being informed. Her hands wandered about the body of the woman, lifting up limbs to probe for extra injuries and harms done.

When she reached delicate parts owned only to females, she stopped, and Kamalu and the king immediately turned their backs on the scene, knowing what was required of them. Looking otherwise would be disrespectful, and Onochie was aware that he had already done enough of that. Any more, and he'd be unfeeling swine.

"I believe it will be best if we leave you to your job and wait outside," he announced after tries of and yet failing to rid the uncomfortableness he felt.

"Aye, it might be best, Your Majesty. Thank you." She curtsied, and Onochie waved her up to continue her workings. Together, he and Kamalu headed out of the room.

"My king..." The guard stopped his master, who appeared to be in a hurry to exit the house. Truth be told, he was. He'd hoped to quickly rush out of the building and leave Kamalu behind so he could avoid the questioning that undoubtedly was coming.

However, his plans had been thwarted as, for one, Kamalu had longer legs than he did and covered the ground he'd done in exceedingly shorter time. Now, he stood in front of him, all imposing and obtruding in his way. It was clear that he could not avoid the discussion.

"Shall I speak with you, Your Majesty?"

He sighed aloud. "Yes, Kamalu. You can."

"I do not understand your decision, my lord. It puzzles me, so allow me to ask what your plan is. I mean no insolence or contempt, my lord. I am but merely curious."

"Ease yourself, Kamalu. I do not deem your curiosity as either. And I did mention that I'd explain what I meant by my order when the moment was suitable. But I shall let you know now."

"Daalụ eze m."

"Let us talk outside." He pointed at the door left ajar and ambled through it into the broad daylight. He did not want to discuss important matters when he was in the shady room. There were too many relics and antiques that seemed like they had ears that could hear and lips that could relay whatever secret was told in their mistress's absence.

Under the beams of light, Onochie found a slab to sit upon. It sufficed as a makeshift stool. Kamalu, on the other hand, remained at attention opposite him, refusing to find relief for his feet. The king gawked up at the azure blue sky, teeming with birds of many sorts and experienced that stifling feeling of not belonging.

Even the birds had their places and belonged. Not him. Though he had a place, he'd never felt content or secure in his position. He wondered if he ever will. Hopefully so. Till then, at least, he was taking each day in strides. Someday, maybe, he would find his place.

"My lord?"

"I have changed, Kamalu."

"How so, Your Majesty?"

"They have changed me."

"Who?" Kamalu wore a perplexed cast like it was thoroughly ingrained in his features. Paying homage to the famous saying, nonetheless, if a fly happened to perch on him, it probably would be. Onochie thought with a hint of amusement. "Who are they that have changed you, Your Majesty?"

"The hands of fate."

"I fail to understand, my lord." He was even more befuddled, speaking of a further puzzlement.

Onochie beheld the grains of sand beneath his feet with interest unmatched. "It is no surprise that you do not, Kamalu. Perhaps, it is better that you never do. This perturbation I hold in endless vials, I would never wish on my worst enemy. It is so that I cannot trust either man or woman."

"Understandably so, Your Majesty. You have been through much that would bring most humans to despair. Yet, you have overcome, and now, you lead your people with love and empathy. I admire your courage and valour, my lord."

Such kind words. Onochie was miffed. Particularly so as he did not deem the compliments his truths. If he was honest, they were more lies than anything else. He wasn't courageous. He wasn't brave. He had no valour to be commended on. It had to be that he possessed not well-seeing eyes to perceive what it was his guard saw in him.

"You sweeten my wine far too much, Kamalu."

"It was not my intention, my king. I stated the truth only."

He allowed Kamalu's statement to marinate in his mind before continuing his explanation. "Back to my reasoning... I do not trust the stranger we have brought into the village. In my view, saving a life and helping someone in need is always the right thing to do. However, it does not mean that I will not take necessary precautions to protect myself."

"Does this mean you are suspicious of her origins, my lord?"

Onochie rose, unable to keep still, sitting. "Very much so. We know her not. Not who she is or her intentions. If she tells no lie, we shall find them out—her roots and motives—in her wake. But we have no guarantee that she will. What if we ask and she deceives us? Then we shall be fooled and have no defences against whatever wiles that are sent our way. That we must avoid."

"Very true, Your Majesty." Kamalu smacked the back of a closed fist against an open one. "Thus, you will keep your identity hidden so as to make sure you are not targeted if that happens to be her reason for showing up at our borders."

"Precisely." Onochie toyed with his bangle. The red beads were all irregular, each different from the next, but he liked them well. "She could be a spy from a neighbouring kingdom or, at the very worst, an assassin sent to take my life. For this reason, we have no choice but to blindsight her, keeping her unknowing and in the dark. The consequences of not doing so might be too heinous for us to bear."

"I completely agree, Your Majesty, and I render my apology for not thinking this deeply or considering the situation to the fullest extent as you have done."

The wind carried the smells of dry ginger and scent-leaves, which Onochie suspected the herbalist was using in making a concoction to treat her patient. He inhaled them, letting their warmth wash over him.

"It is no misgiving of yours, Kamalu. He who will lose a hand in a fight lost will take more care to win. I deliberated on the matter extensively than anyone would have because I was aware I had more to lose if I did not. Trouble not yourself about it. Instead, turn your eyes on keeping me safe if you are so bothered. Then, you might find rest."

"Thank you, my lord."

The door creaked open at that moment, and out lumbered Bundo, sweat dripping down her face and running down her chest in streaks that wiped off her Uli markings. Onochie flung his gaze upwards, ignoring details that were not to be for him.

"What is wrong?" He inquired, drawing closer to the hut. Could there have been some welcome developments? "Has she woken?"

"No, Your Majesty." She grunted as if irritated by the sleeping woman. There was strain to be read on every corner and arch on her face. Her brow was crumpled in a frown, and her lips pointed downward, telling of annoyance. "Rather, she refuses to. I have administered to her my most powerful drug, which should have brought her to her senses by now. Yet, she slumbers. It is almost as if her spirit is not willing to return to the earth."

"By the gods!" He swore audibly, nibbling on his bottom lip as worry shook him to the bones. The fact tag she was no friend or acquaintance of his did not stop him from wallowing in distress as he was unwilling to watch any other person die under his surveillance. It would scar him for life, he knew. He had lasting lesions left from a previous incident as proof. "Will she never wake, then?"

"That, I cannot say, my lord."

"Are you sure you have done all that you can?" He winced at his question, as it entailed that he was in doubt of the herbalist's skills and expertise. It was not what he'd intended, but he had to be sure. If not, his mind would never be put at peace.

"I have done what I can to the best of my ability, Your Majesty. But I suppose there is one more thing I can do. However, I will need the help of your servant, my lord."

Onochie shifted around to face Kamalu, who had an earnestness about him, from his eager nod to his restless legs. "He is at your service. However, do make sure you return him to me in one piece."

She chortled gaily, her mirth most salient. "I shall not take your guard from your sight, Your Majesty. You will see all that I demand of him. We cannot afford to keep our king in the dark."

He found sincerity shining in her eyes behind the humour dancing about. She was an easy-going person; that much was evident. Open-minded also. Onochie had not once caught her secretly directing hateful glances at Kamalu, and he'd made sure to check. None of her words had been offensive either or been along the lines of how the man's birthmark could be a curse. What a better world it would be if more people were like her: less judgemental and wicked to those who bore differences from them.

"That pleases me to hear, Bundo. We should hasten. Go to her, Kamalu." He addressed the guard ultimately.

"Yes, my lord." He bowed before advancing forward to meet the healer. "How shall I help you?"

She jabbed a thumb behind her. "I need help splitting wood for a fire. Ordinarily, I axe the logs myself, but I feel somewhat faint at the moment. I do not think I will manage finely with such as task."

"I would not expect you to. Tearing wood is no job for a woman, regardless of her capacity or health." He stared down at her, with concern clouding his irises.

"Very much agreed." Onochie coincided with his statement wholeheartedly. He recalled his grandmother hurting her back, cleaving lumber. The negative consequences of that incident were ones she lived with till a sickness claimed her at a ripe age. She suffered for years too many. He did not want to mentally visualise another woman languishing in such agony for the rest of her life. Especially one as humane as Bundo.

"I shall split enough wood to serve you for a while." He blazoned, marching to the pile of logs without waiting for a reply.

Bundo appeared thoroughly disturbed. She did not delay in starting after him, seeking to convince him to cease his actions. She only returned to the king after realising that her pleas were not being heeded. "My lord, please tell him to stop. He needs not to do so much for me. I shall feel so sorely indebted."

"I second his decision. You must not let yourself respond in that matter." He tutted at her, disappointed in her efforts to push away the help she was found wanting. "You are helping us. This is the least we can do in extension to your wages, which you have not yet spoken of." She shrank inward under his austere gaze as if she'd been caught in an act not appropriate in association with her.

It dawned on him in that instant. "You never planned on naming a price, did you?" He cocked his head to the side, arresting her attention, goading her into answering.

She held up her chin, unapologetic to the end. "I have no fees for the royal family, Your Majesty. Why shall I charge the man whose providence keeps me well? You might not be aware, my lord, but the gods are pleased with your rule, and so they bless us each year. There have been no famine or plagues upon us in years. Requesting a pay of you would be sheer ungratefulness, Your Majesty."

"Very well," Onochie grinned at her, a strategy formulating in his head. "I appreciate your respect for me, which is why I expect you to receive the gifts that will be sent to you by the break of dawn tomorrow with gratitude."

Bundo gasped, distinctly stunned by the king's ingenuity. Even Onochie was pleased by his spin on the problem. Rarely did he reason so quickly on the spot as he'd done.

"All gifts of the Eze will always be welcome in my home. Thank you, Your Majesty." She bent in greeting before announcing that she would be departing soon. "I must go and build a fire, now, my lord, so I can tend to the woman a final time."

"I pray all our efforts are rewarded." He blessed her, and she hastened away afterward.

The ringing of the chopper against the grain of the wood filled Onochie's ears till his head began to ache. If he was grieving this much from the noise, he wondered how much more Kamalu was going through. This made it all bearable. He sat silently on his seat, keeping watch over the engaged guard and busy woman; Bundo scampered into the house every now and then with a bowl of steaming water and a bunch of leaves in her clutch.

Soon, he began to fall into a sleep from the axe's steady rhythm lulling him into dormancy. He only jerked awake when a frantic cry roused all dwelling about in the vicinity. "What happened?" He sprang to his feet instantly.

"She has woken, my lord! Come quick! Oh, the gods be praised!"

Kamalu forsook all he'd ladened with, and together they charged into the house, feet pounding on the floor, raising up dust from wearing out the mud varnish. They arrived precisely as Bundo posed a question to the maiden.

"What is your name?"

"My name...is...Ezinwanyi." He apprehended before stepping into the room.
•
A/N: Hello, sweets. I'm sorry for the horrible updates. I'm really so glad that you all are still here. School usually keeps me really busy, and writing four books is not the best practice, haha.
As an aside, I write on Radish. I recently decided to try my hand on a fantasy werewolf story, and I'd love to see what you all think about it. I also have another book ongoing too.
My username and name tag did not change on the Radish app—rachyriz5 and Racheal Pius, respectively. A link is also in my Wattpad bio.
P.s. you must download the app to read any stories on Radish.
Thank you all for being here. Cheers!