Ugegbe shut her sore eyes, then pressed her palms against them. The day had been a long one. She lay motionless and listened to the cry of an angry gale.

It had stopped raining. A day ago and she would have deemed rain pelting the earth by this close to the end of the year near impossible. But a lot had changed. She had changed. She would be marrying Onochie soon. She would be queen soon.

She could not pretend to rest. Ugegbe tore herself out of the soft feather-filled bed she'd been lying on. Since it was established that she would be marrying the king, she'd been treated like royalty.

They'd moved her to another room, right in the king's compound. She could no longer inhabit the place the queen mother had initially gifted her. It was unspoken but as clear as day: she was not the dowager queen's ward anymore. Instead, she now belonged to the king.

The verandah of the hut was without a living soul. Ugegbe grabbed a lit torch and wandered to the exit that led into the greater area of the king's home. By chance, maybe she would run into Kamalu and would not have to wait till the morning to receive news from him. She was anxious to hear what the woman's response had been.

Ugegbe's bare feet echoed loudly until she closed the hut's door behind her. There were guards stationed outside, and they bowed before her as soon as she was in sight. Ugegbe felt inclined to return the gesture but held herself back in time to maintain her straight posture. She would have to get used to such respects eventually.

"I shall return soon. Do not worry about me." She alerted one of the guards, whose gaze was steady on her. He looked friendly enough and smiled at her amicably.

"Of course, Your Majesty. You are free to go wherever you wish to. One of us will follow you at a distance. Unless"- he cocked his head at an angle, posing a question with a strong brow-"you might prefer your privacy?"

Ugegbe heard the inquisitiveness in his question, but was not to be shaken. She would not explain herself if she did not need to do so. "I do prefer my privacy. If I have need of a guard, then I will send for one."

"That is no problem, Your Majesty." He bowed slowly. Head still bent, he cautioned her. "But please know that I can only allow you to visit where you please without interference because you remain within the bounds of the king's home. My duty would not permit me otherwise if you were to wander far out of the palace."

Ugegbe nodded to show understanding. "That is quite fine. Thank you." She would figure something out when that time came. If she needed to sneak out of the palace to see to her business without a third eye, then she would.

There was no time to overthink. Ugegbe decided to act before contemplating. She headed for the main palace, where the king's home was.

Now, she had knowledge of why Kamalu had always been so protective of Onochie from the first day she met them. He was a good guard who had been diligently protecting his king. If one leaned on how they were linked, it was only expected that they were as close as brothers.

Ugegbe suspected that if she headed far in the direction of the king, then she would find Kamalu. For the two were almost as lovers: seldom apart. She found it endearing. Kamalu was an honourable man, one that could be trusted completely. Ugegbe had seen evidence of this firsthand.

For one, he'd kept her secret. And she would keep his too.

As if spawned into existence by the mere thinking of him, Kamalu turned down one of the passages carved into the wall of the palace. His eyes widened upon sighting her, but he hastily recovered and sketched a shaky bow. "Your Majesty,"

"Oh, please." Ugegbe waved him up to his feet. "I am not even queen yet; you all greet me with such reverence."

Kamalu's lips wavered into a crooked smile. "It is only right that we acknowledge your sovereignty over us, Your Majesty. By dusk tomorrow, you shall be crowned as our queen."

"But it is still in the future, is it not?"

His slight smile bloomed into a huge grin. "Not so far away, Your Majesty."

Ugegbe groaned under her breath. She would not be changing his stance any soon. "Are you well?"

"Yes, I am. Can you say the same, Your Majesty?"

"I suppose so," she said firmly, but an uncertainty had crept into her voice.

The quality must not have missed Kamalu, as he frowned lightly. "Are you sure, Your Majesty?"

"No," she admitted. "No, I am not."

Kamalu slanted a brittle stare over the top of her head. "We should go on a walk, Your Majesty."

Ugegbe followed the direction of his gaze, twirling on her feet to see behind her. Nothing caught her attention or struck her as odd. However, she mused that Kamalu probably was better at perceiving what was out of the ordinary than she was. To her naive eyes, there could be nothing to note even when there painfully was.

They both strolled leisurely across the palace grounds. Ugegbe was pleased by the levelness of the brown, clay ground beneath her feet. Though wet, it was not lumpy as the path from her abode had been. The graded work had to have been done years ago to give time for weather and stiff legs to mash it down to be this compact. Rarely had she seen such elegant yield.

"The ground is nice under one's feet." She remarked.

"Indeed, it is." Kamalu peered at the ground, lowering his torch as if to inspect it further. "You are adept at making observations, Your Majesty."

Ugegbe smiled to herself at the compliment. A lone breeze flashed by, and her light guttered and trembled but regained itself afterward. Ugegbe sighed in relief. She did not want her torch to go off before she was safely in her room. It was already dark, and night was when evil spirits roamed.

Kamalu led them to a clove of trees behind a row of small houses. Ugegbe wondered if those were the huts that would belong to the king's wife-or wives if he married more.

"I did as you told me." Kamalu declared, and the invisible fist clenched around Ugegbe's heart released its grasp.

"The children..."

"They are safe, Your Majesty. Bundo has agreed to house them, but she said to send word that her home is too small and will not be adequate for the children."

Ugegbe concurred without speaking. She recollected Bundo's house. On the outside, it was almost as dark as soot. But it wasn't so ominous within. It had been a practically delightful place to gather her strength. Nevertheless, it wasn't well-suited for as many as three children. She would have to come up with another course of action.

"I shall think of something. But they are well?"

"Very much so, Your Majesty."

More relief flooded Ugegbe. "I am glad to hear that. You must extend my gratitude to Bundo. Please tell her that I am ever indebted to her."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

"What about the other matter?" She asked, hoping he had good news despite it being impossible that there'd be a noteworthy development in a mere day.

"I have recruited three men that I trust, Your Majesty. By tomorrow, they will be on their way to Osisi."

"Do they know that the man..." Ugegbe cleared her throat, bombarded with emotions from every direction. "Do your men know that the man they are to search for is my father?"

Kamalu's voice was softer, with empathy in the very sound. "No, Your Majesty. They have no clue who requested the journey of them. They believe it is on my authority that they are to make the voyage. Please set your heart at ease. I trust those men with my life."

"Thank you, Kamalu. Thank you for being such a great friend." She gushed, so grateful for him. A nerve in the chief guard's jaw ticked, and Ugegbe caught him swallow hard. Because that was his secret. Kamalu's secret was that he was in love with Ezinwanyi-the king's woman.

"It is but my pleasure, Your Majesty." He inclined himself at the waist. When he rose, determination was etched into the hills of his features. "I promise to bring your father back to you, Your Majesty. I will do everything in my might to ensure that he is safe."

Tears blotted Ugegbe's sight as she nodded fervently. "Thank you, Kamalu. Thank you so much." His assurance was balm, healing her wounds, giving her strength to dream of a better tomorrow where she could go to her father and rest in his embrace. She missed him so dearly.

Silence reigned supreme for too long. Ugegbe stared at the pitch-black canvas overhead, stuffed with glittery stars and a round piece of yam. The moon was fair and bright after the rain, reminding her of her blissful childhood. She recalled goggling the night sky while her father regaled her with folktales.

"Let me escort you back to your quarters, Your Majesty."

Ugegbe forced herself to stop reminiscing about times so far beyond that she could not reach them anymore. "That would be perfect. Thank you, Kamalu."

Kamalu walked with her back to the hut and bid her a hearty farewell before leaving. The guards bowed again as she headed in through the entrance. But there had to be a mistake because a man was waiting at the door leading into her chambers. Was it one of the guards? Did they have something they wanted to speak to her about?

At the sight of her approaching, the hulking figure strode toward her. Ugegbe shrank backward, torn between running for the exit and confronting who it was lurking about her resting place.

"Ezinwanyi," the voice called, and all doubts immediately were dispelled.

Ugegbe did not waste a beat before curtsying. "Good evening, Your Majesty."

༄༄༄

Onochie had to hold back from touching her. Just the sight of her sent heat spiking his blood. He could scarcely breathe at being so near to her. There was a feverish burning where want had seeded within him, taking home amid the lust swirling with the might of a cyclone. Yet, he had to restrain his wanton desires. He was here for a reason, and that was all he would pay heed to. He would not let his selfish wants override his logic. Not tonight. Not ever.

"To what do I owe you the pleasure of your visit, Your Majesty?" Ezinwanyi queried politely, still suspended in her curtsy.

Onochie shook his head, ridding the fog in his head. "Rise, now." He said, hoping he sounded less stiff than he felt with her unnerving stare fixed on him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," there was no warmth in her voice. It hurt, but Onochie accepted the fate he'd been dealt. For he had no hold on this beautiful woman and had to understand they he never would.

"I wished to speak to you about our union."

Her words dropped as silently as the mist of dew in the morning. "What about it would you like to discuss, Your Majesty?" She seemed to be daring him to say something. What it was, he wasn't sure.

"I-I am promised to another woman..."

"Lady Ozioma?" She arched an eyebrow in a smooth motion. "I already know that, Your Majesty. I have met her, and I know she desperately hoped to be queen."

Onochie rubbed the nape of his neck, momentarily stunned, speechless at her directness. "Well, yes..." he cleared his throat to dispel the awkwardness between them. It remained. "She is in love with me." He said, then cringed at how conceited he sounded.

Ezinwanyi regarded him with wary. She really had no trust in his words, Onochie thought miserably. "As you are with her, I suppose." She supplied for him.

Not anymore. "She is a good woman. An honest one." He said, remembering how her body was a canvas of wet clay that revealed the stroke of every brush and smudge encountered.

"It is unfortunate that the gods called for something different from what you had expected." She said and actually seemed morose. "I am sorry for Lady Ozioma. I never meant to take what was hers."

"You have not taken any—" he interjected passionately but ceased his protest when he realised how suspicious his objection would be to her. He had no reason to contradict her as a man who was supposedly faithful to his lover. Because in many ways, she was ultimately right.

Although it was not Ezinawanyi's fault nor of her doing that she would be queen, the truth remained that she had claimed the position that Ozioma had wished for herself from the beginning. Being his wife. Ruling by his side.

Those had been Ozioma's expectations from the day they fell in love with each other. And now the ground had been swiped clean from underneath her feet. Onochie did not want to comprehend how she felt. He would want to take the hurt from her, to bring everything to right. After all, he had once loved her. And even now, he cared deeply for her.

The only problem was his blasted heart had rendered itself to another woman. He had nothing to offer Ozioma apart from false pretences and white lies. Ezinwanyi had taken him, soul and body.

Onochie stared at the woman who had upturned his world, thrown it into upheaval. She seemed so innocent, so small compared to him, so oblivious to the turmoil within him. How could one so clueless of her power over him be capable of this much damage?

"Ezinwanyi..."

"Yes, Your Majesty?" She answered impassively. Onochie registered that she refused to reference him by 'my lord'. All she stubbornly called him was 'Your Majesty,' and it was most uncomfortable with her blankly inscrutable expression. Onochie wondered if he would ever feel at ease by her side ever again.

Deciding it did not matter how he felt, he apologised to the striking woman before him. "I am sorry." His voice was thick with unbridled emotions as he raised his volume a notch higher. "I am sorry that I did not reveal who I was from the day I introduced myself to you. I am sorry that I kept it a secret. Initially, I did so to protect myself. You showed on the borders of my kingdom without any notice. I was wary. Perhaps you were a spy or a trained assassin." He suggested, and Ezinwanyi scoffed aloud.

"If I were, I surely would have known you were the king at least, Your Majesty, no?"

Onochie coughed, choking on the silkiness of her voice and the logic she'd thrown his way. "I presume so. But I wanted to take the necessary measures to ensure I did not make a mistake."

Ezinwanyi tucked her lips in, mulling over his words. "That is understandable, Your Majesty. However, I cannot comprehend why you never revealed the truth. Surely you must have realised that I posed no threat to you eventually."

"I did." Onochie bobbed his head in a nod. "But I was already addicted to the deceits I'd concocted. I loved how you regarded me as you would any other man. You did not hide your genuine sentiments from me. It was all too refreshing.

"Being with you and thinking of you became a physiological need. I could not let my falsehoods go. I instead craved more. I did not want your view of me to change because of the blood I carried in my veins, so I postponed every chance I had to tell the truth. I was too afraid of the change that would indubitably come."

"It is unfortunate that you did not extend the same trust to me as I did to you, Your Majesty."

Onochie felt the lash of her comment against his bare flesh. It stung. "I trusted you, Ezinwanyi. I trust you. There is no doubt that I was wrong. But you must admit the truth. You also do not trust me as you have claimed to. It is why you still guard the secrets of your past zealously."

A bolt of anger streaked across Ezinwanyi's face, and Onochie knew he had made a grave error. "I have told you enough about who I am, Your Majesty. I do not have to bare my heart to you nor resurrect every memory of my past for you to hear. We both are entitled to our secrets. The only difference is I do not deliberately throw dust in the eyes of another. Whatever secrets I keep are to ensure that I am safe here in this land where I do not have kin or family. So, forgive me for not wanting to empty myself and expose my soul upon your request, Your Majesty!"

Silence spread its noiseless wings over them both as Onochie regarded her with awe, and she did him with exasperation. She was most beautiful, with her face fixed with such moving resolve. Her lips were parted, and small puffs of air snuck through in tiny gasps. Oh, how he wished to kiss her and steal her breath away as she'd done him.

"Forgive me, Ezinwanyi." He settled for apologising instead. "Forgive me because your fate will be tied to mine even though you never wished for it. Forgive me because I have interfered in your life, and now, you must stay by my side. I am sorry that the oracle has made it so that we do not have a choice but to obey. I never planned to take away your freedom. It hurts me that it was not of your will. I-I wish..." he trailed off, words failing him upon noting the pain that had dug into her beauty, sharpening it by the edges.

"It is neither of our faults." She said so faintly his ears nearly missed her assertion.

Onochie's mouth was desert-dry. She was right. But it would be his shame if he did not try to fix this issue the only way he could. "I know, Ezinwanyi. I know. Yet... I must free you from this burden." He had to. It was the least the king of Zoro could do for the woman he loved.
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