He couldn't hear her, so she screamed even louder, forcing her limbs to work and continue on to the holding the two men were. Her heart pumped blood at an unhealthy pace as she called out to the prince even louder.

"No, no! No! Please, my prince! Please!"

Her words finally captured his attention, and his face lit up with relief. His relief, however, could not be compared to that which flooded the face of the white man who was pinned to the floor with a cutlass to his throat.

The prince let down his weapon, almost immediately lowering it to his side, and a smile slowly surfaced, softening his features. The picture Ugegbe had of him rapidly changed as she watched the cruelty dissolve off him. Now, he no longer seemed like a mad man that could be without a conscience. Now, he was no longer the man who, from the scene that had just played out, seemed to be so quick to hurt another. Now, he was the prince she knew. The one whose smile could cause millions of butterflies to flutter in many bosoms. Not hers, of course... Most definitely not hers.

"Gegbe, my sugar." He stumbled to his feet with the balance of a colt testing its first few steps on earth. Ugegbe winced as he stopped to lean heavily on his cutlass's head, the action which had the blade digging into the ground. She could virtually feel his pain from the sounds of him dry-wheezing. When he coughed violently, the machete clattered to the ground, barely missing his exposed feet.

"No! What is going on?" Ugegbe hurried to his side now that the weapon was no longer being brandished in his hand.

"Here!" The pale man beckoned on her to lead the prince to a spot nearest to the dead fireplace, which was also closest to the edge of the cave and under the assault of the hot sun whose heat was intensifying vehemently by the second. "De sun rill doe him soom goot," was what Ugegbe heard next from him.

She groaned, frustrated, as she could not understand a single word of what he had said. Nevertheless, she could comprehend what he was trying to tell her, and it soothed her that at least that much was not lost on her.

Heaving Prince Uzochi's arm over her shoulders was an exhausting action that threatened to double her over. It was a good thing he was still conscious, as he was fairly capable of holding up most of his weight. She almost tumbled forward when he tripped over his foot, after which he went on to offer her a look which was sheepish as well as apologetic.

Ugegbe glared at the man who was keeping his distance and not helping in any way. It was most probably because of the cutlass which Uzochi now had in his grip again. She frowned deeply, swallowing an exasperated as she certainly did not appreciate all that was going on. She was tired of the prince's silent threats and the fact that the result of them all was her having to bear him up herself.

Their pace was sluggish, way too sluggish even for a limping man and his helper. Indeed, they could be moving faster than they currently were if the prince would just let go of his weapon. Ugegbe, however, was fairly sure he wouldn't. In any case that he would,  she most certainly was not ready to find out by asking him so. At the point that they were, she had bitten more than she could chew, having overstepped her boundaries as a servant severally in less than a day.

"I am sorry for all the troubles I am causing you, Gegbe, my dearest." He squeezed out in between laboured breaths after a while. Ugegbe felt his body tense up, coiling like a spring, right before she began to let him down to the ground.

He groaned, then growled, then spat. Still, he would not let go of the cutlass. Ugegbe was on the verge of tearing the hellish instrument from his hand and tossing it to the bottom of the river. But she didn't. She couldn't as she knew her place. And her place was not to tell the prince what he needed to do, especially when she was not sure of the integrity of their visitor either. The man could be planning some sorts of wickedness, for all she knew.

"It is alright, my lord. I am your servant, after all. I could never be troubled by your needs." She assured him even though she was already a little sick from worrying so much about him and from running around like a headless chicken in her panic the night before.

In short, she felt like she'd aged terribly in the span of two days. If she were one to pay unnecessary attention to the state of her beauty, like she noticed Zelunjo often did, this would have been a time for her to cry buckets full of tears for the wrinkles that should have formed on her face by now.

"You do not need to bring yourself so low in my presence Ugegbe. I do not desire that. Not from you, at least."

"I know my prince. But the truth remains that you are royalty, and I am only a servant. Our ranks can never be close to each other. I should not even be speaking to you as often as I do. Neither should I be as close as I often am." As if she'd suddenly had her senses knocked into her head, she leapt from his side and to momentarily unsteady feet with a start.

He was quicker than her even with his limited mobility, as he clamped down on her wrist before she could hurtle far from him. Her escape was impeded. She glared at him and jerked on her captured limb. In return, he pulled with more force than he should have as she ended up falling right into him.

Ugegbe gasped softly at the perilous position they were in. She was trapped by his side without any room for her to make any movements. His left arm pinned her to the ground and forced her body to remain sandwiched to his. Before she could think of protesting or doing anything, courtesy had her tug on the hem of her wrapper, further elongating it past the skimpy length it was at.

Now, she could object as well as dissent to whatever it was the prince appeared to be bent on doing. "My lord, could you please let me go? I have not a clue as to what is going on now, but I know it does not seem right. So, please. Let me go, my prince."

"No." No? No? Ugegbe was ready to fight her captor. What was the meaning of no? The word should not have a place in their conversation, especially when she was the one held against her will. Prince Uzochi had not a single right to take issue with her request. She was the one who was supposed to say no boldly. "No" to the lack of space between them. 

"Why 'no' my prince?" She questioned gently, despite the actuality that she would have preferred to wrestle off his grasp in a way that made sure she held on to her dignity instead of begging.

Maybe she should. She really wanted to. If she thought of it, the price happened to have only faint bruises on his left side. Most of the deep lacerations he sustained from the fight were on his right. But then again, she knew she wouldn't dare take such a chance. Some wounds could be buried underneath his skin, hidden from a mere skim of his body. How would she forgive herself if she hurt him more than he already was?

"That is because you never let me hold you, Gegbe. I want you here, this close to me all the time. But you never let my wishes come true. So let it be now. Let me hold you as if you are mine." He stopped to cough violently, and Ugegbe's face crumpled in worry, her thoughts of breaking free immediately forgotten. "Let me show you that I love you, Gegbe. And please, love me too."

"It is not so easy, my lord." She murmured, avoiding his solemn gaze. Why did he stare at her that way?

"Why do you look away, Ugegbe? Why do you not love me? Is it that you do not see the extent of my affections?"

"I do, my lord. Of course, I do." She hastily replied, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. Truly, she was being honest. It was indeed clear to see his affections. They were not at all hidden in any form. So what was this hesitance that kept choking the little seedling of feelings growing inside of her heart?

Was it because he expected so much from her? No, that was not it. She decided as she dissected pieces of the plausible reasons in her head. That was not the problem she had with him. When one loved another, they expected to be loved in return. So, it was quite reasonable that he requested she love him too. Then, what was the problem? She, for the love of all things dear to her, could not decipher what it was.

"Why then? Why?" His voice diminuendoed into a hurt whisper. At the same time, she felt his limb of imprisonment fall off her.

Ugegbe rose to her feet with a boulder in her throat. She could not give the prince an answer to his queries, nor did she have an answer to them herself. She was stuck in a trap, which she could not figure out how to free herself. Was this how being loved by someone was supposed to feel? If so, then she hated to be loved. Nothing could make her ask for love when it was so...suffocating. She felt like she was almost choking.

Metaphorically, she needed to breathe, and even more importantly, she needed time to find enough of the needed air, which was the sole thing all of her body currently, and so violently, craved for.

Quietly shuffling away from him, Ugegbe forced clean air down her lungs. Her need to breathe was also severely physical. She silently offered a prayer to the gods that Prince Uzochi was not annoyed by her actions. While she did not exactly reject him, there was little doubt that he thought she already did.

Not wanting to think of the mess that had smeared on her without her permission, she turned her attention to the nature surrounding her. As she watched birds flit from nest to nest, something suddenly dawned on her. The white man was no longer with them.

While she had been dearly considering her emotions, he had made his getaway. "My lord, he is no longer here." She twirled around with a searching gaze that locked on all in her focus

"Who? The white man?"

"Yes!" Ugegbe exclaimed, her tone even more urgent than before. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. The men who hurt the prince could be on their way to their current location on the behest of the pale being, or even worse, a more life-threatening situation could be on the approach. Why else was he not here?

Behind her, the prince grunted, awkwardly pushing himself off the ground. It was clear that he now finally understood why the alarm was raised and what was the cause of the panic stretched firmly through her voice. Ugegbe hastened to his side, hoisting him up. This time, he did not weigh so much as before. It must have been the adrenaline racing through her veins that was giving her such unbelievable strength.

When his appendage was draped across her shoulder and her own wrapped securely around his waist, then they could finally leave. With effort, Ugegbe turned herself and the prince around to face their point of exit.

The inhuman sound met her ears first before the creature appeared in her view. She could scarcely believe her eyes at the magnificence of the beast staring down at her. Its majestic sight was enough for her jaw to drop open in awe.

"How can this be here?"
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A/N: What are your thoughts on this chapter, loves? Hope you all are doing well!💛