Ugegbe was in the queen mother's chambers. She'd been here before, but this was the first time she was visiting with such uneasy foreboding in a grey cloud hanging overhead.

"Your Majesty," she knelt as the older woman planted herself on the magnificent chair decked and finished with the fur of a lion. The tusks of an elephant adorned the frame of the seat, and Ugegbe had marvelled at the riches on such a simple furniture as if she'd not seen it before—at least in passing.

There were no servants in the room, as the queen dowager had dismissed them as soon as they entered the room. "Ezinwanyi, rise!"

"Thank you, Queen Mother!" Ugegbe did as she was told and found her feet gracefully. "May you continue to live long, Your Majesty!"

A wistful smile took shape on the dowager queen's lips. "I am already more than halfway through my life. There is not much living I can do anymore."

"Please do not say that, Your Majesty—"

"Silence!" The queen mother cut her off with a wave of her hand. "I know what I said, and I do not need you or anyone to contend it. Is that clear?"

Ugegbe bowed, showing her remorse. "Yes, Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive, but there will be if you speak out against me again. Take note of that."

Still in a subservient mode, Ugegbe nodded. "Understood, Your Majesty."

"I trust those who work under me, Ezinwanyi. Yet, I sent them away when I invited you into my presence. Do you know why, Ezinwanyi?"

Ugegbe's tongue was heavy, as if it'd sponged up more water than it could carry. Ironically, she'd not had a sip of water since the morning. "No, Your Majesty. I am afraid I do not."

"Good." The dowager queen toyed with a string of cowries as she spoke. "The reason is that I wanted you to feel at ease."

"At ease, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, my dear. Look up at me." Ugegbe did and caught the exact moment the queen mother pulled the staff out of a ceremonial case. "Do you know what this is, Ezinwanyi?"

Ugegbe's mouth was opened so wide that a fly might have flown in if she were outside. The dowager queen was not impressed by her silence as she repeated the question more impatiently.

"It is the Ofo staff, Your Majesty."

"Do you know the significance of the Ofo, Ezinwanyi?"

Ugegbe shuddered before answering truthfully. She had no other choice but to do so. "Yes, Your Majesty. I am well familiar with the importance of the staff."

The queen mother beamed, exposing her yellowed teeth and dark gums. "I am pleased that you do, Ezinwanyi, for this staff will be a witness to our meeting today."

The sound of Ugegbe's gulp was as rolling thunder to her ears. She suppressed the urge to shiver again upon studying the spherical head of the staff. Like many children raised in Osisi, she'd been told many stories about the Ofo before.

Initially, it was in a bid to instil fear in tender minds about the consequences of lying. Eventually, it became more of a reality check in keeping a tally of those who had lost their lives because of their stupidity.

One or two persons had been foolish enough to attempt to trick the Ofo. The general consensus in response to these deaths had always been that they should have known better. There wasn't a single man or woman in the kingdom, unaware that if you lied before the Ofo, you had to be prepared to pay the price.

The Ofo was as unforgiving as the gods.

"Hence, I need not repeat that only honest words are demanded while the Ofo watches. Though I will not force you to swear an oath, I hope you are cognisant that it does not mean the defaulter will be spared. As it stands, neither you nor I are permitted the delight of speaking lies today."

Ugegbe's gaze darted to the royal, confusion shining through her expression. "You also, Your Majesty?"

"Indeed, Ezinwanyi." The queen mother's smile was wistful. "It is only fair that I am bound to the same rules that you are, my dear."

"You are too gracious, Your Majesty," Ugegbe commented, feeling her pulse slow its debilitating pace at the queen dowager's pledge. Still, she had to be sure. "Does this mean you will permit me to ask you a few questions, Queen Mother?"

Eyes wisened with age narrowed at Ugegbe. "I can choose whether or not I wish to give you a response. After all, I am the queen dowager, not you."

"Of course, Your Majesty. I would not dare imagine otherwise." Ugegbe concealed a grin at the older woman's retort.

Her humour was shared by the queen dowager, who chuckled lightly. "Good. Now, let's start from the beginning. What family do you descend from? Your last name, Maduka, is most peculiar... I have my doubts, but I want to hear from you before making any assumptions. I want to hear everything about your lineage."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ugegbe conceded, and with a wary glare at the Ofo's gleaming bald head, she opened her mouth to spill the truth for the first time in a long while.

"My great-grandfather was the blood brother of the former king of Osisi. His name was Ikemakolam; Ikemba was the king's appellation. My father told me they were as close as any siblings could be. As the then crown prince, His Majesty, Ikemba was like any other man, taking up tools to work on his father's farm and supporting those in the palace with menial duties. He was a friend to all and became well-loved by his people.

"However, things took a different turn when the crown prince fell in love with a maidservant."

"The palace was in an uproar, were they not?"

Ugegbe agreed and regarded the dowager queen with curiosity. There'd been a hint of sadness in her tone when she spoke. Could that be a personal experience she related to?

Despite the nosy spirit of inquiry burning bright within, Ugegbe decided not to pry. It was not up to her to ask. If the queen mother wanted to share a past experience, she would do so without a prompt from anyone.

"None of the chiefs wanted the crown prince to marry the woman he had fallen for, but the king was adamant. She was the only woman he wanted to be his wife." Ugegbe relayed, her voice tiny, sounding far-off than it actually was.

She felt strange talking about her ancestor, telling their stories as if she knew them. She didn't, of course. She never met them. Not even her grandfather—who had met them as a youngling and had relayed the tales of the lives they'd lived to her own father.

Ugegbe wrung her hands together, solemn at this thought. It was most peculiar as she could see herself in the former Queen Asuka. She has also been a slave, as Ugegbe was. While King Ikemba ignored the wishes of his officials and stubbornly married her, his act was not without repercussions.

They lost their home and place in Osisi after he was deposed and had to flee for his life from his cousin, Osei, who forcefully took the throne and became the kingdom's new ruler; it from his bloodline that the reigning King Mgbosidi had descended.

Knowing that Ikemakolam should have been the one to take over since his brother was banished, Osei made Ugegbe's great-grandfather take an oath. In exchange for his life and those of his descendants, he had to swear that he would never challenge the king's dynasty in any manner or form. If he did, then he would be cursed to an untimely death. This oath had to be undertaken by every male child generations after Ikemakolam's death.

It was why Mgbosidi could sit on his royal seat without a worry about the future of his reign, even though a man with even more claim to the throne than he did was alive in Osisi. Ugegbe's father had taken the oath without a second thought. He had no interest in being king.

Yet, Ugegbe had to wonder how much different their life would have been if he'd been a king. How much different her life would have been if she'd been born a princess, and hadn't been punished with the fate of a slave's life? Was it selfish of her to imagine something so impossible and far beyond her reach?

"I was once that maidservant." The dowager queen broke into the ripe silence. "I was once that useless, foolish maiden infatuated with the crown prince."

Ugegbe was short of words at how she'd described herself as if worthy of such insignificance. "Your Majesty..."

"If you are searching for the right thing to say, then do not bother, Ezinwanyi. I do not expect you to contradict my sayings. All I want is for you to listen until I do not need you to."

"Yes, Your Majesty." She bowed dutifully before the king's sole surviving progenitor.

"Afterward, I expect you will tell me the truth about why you moved to Zoro and have pretended to be someone you are not."
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