"No, it's a vow. Just marry me and I'll visit your family in a grand way."
"And where is it done like that? In which part of this world do men marry their wife before visiting
her family?"
"The truth is that," he found himself lost in his words, he was rubbing his forehead before he could say more words, "I don't want you to go back to him, Ifenna. I'm so fond of you that I can't let you go for even a moment." he said solemnly.
Uju chuckled wildly and sardonically, not like there was anything new to what she was already aware of.
"And the best thing for you to do is to keep her away and lock her as your prisoner. Well, your father, before he died, would have executed me, so it will look more fulfilled if you complete your father's agenda, instead of forcing me into a failed-on-arrival marriage."
Aneke was heart-broken and helpless, and to Uju's lifetime greatest surprise, she saw the new king kneel before her. She was so shocked and tried hard to stop him, but his knees were already on the ground.
"Aneke, please I beg in the name of the gods, don't do this," he was still adamant and would want to even prostrate.
What madness! She was now sweating profusely even in the cool ambience of the palace.
"Please, Uju, please agree to my offer, I can do worse than this only to win your love," he went further to bow his head to the dust. Uju could not stand this any longer, watching a king prostrate before her, like she is what? A goddess?
"See I'm leaving, I can't stand this anymore. You think you're doing me any good? No. You're embarrassing me and yourself. Imagine what your guards will say and the gossips that will spread round the neighbourhood." she left immediately to the room that she'd been accommodated in.
Aneke stood up from the ground shameful of what he'd done. He turned about to make his way straight to the palace, and shock took the better part of him when he saw his sister, Olieze and her personal maid standing in total disbelief.
Aneke couldn't look at them to the face even when talking to them, his robe was stocked in dust.
What could be going on in Olieze's mind now, that was the question he was asking himself, only if he could get answers.
"Aneke, I'm sick and tired of your new mental sickness, its too much." that's all Olieze could say. It looks like she was dumbfounded and had also lost her words to shock, and she could only retort that word, even if it was less than what she had in mind.
She turned around and left him in his shame.
It was a stormy night in Umudioga, and everyone had been indoor since the evening because of the cold.
Uju had been insomniac almost all through the night, and was sensitive to hear whenever footsteps or other random noises were made. Her head was filled with the thought of Ifenna and Aneke. She'd not been opportuned to see Ifenna for a while, no thanks to Aneke's lust for her.
No matter what, could it be that bad? The pressure on her was very much and she could compromise if care was not taken.
Talking about compromising, it was really absurd to her, turning to marry someone whose father killed her sister. She wondered what could have made her think about that "devil on the rise" called Aneke.
Suddenly, she saw from nowhere something or maybe somebody, because the object was making some body movement. The wind grew fiercer as the night grew deeper. Uju was cold in feet and numbness almost struck her nerves.
She thought it was one of the horror scenes where spirits came to put terror on the mind of people. Or maybe there was an atrocity in the land, and the gods were out to avenge.
Now she couldn't understand what was really happening, and why smoke kept oozing out from all the door entrances like there was inferno that engulfed the building, looking for a way to break in.
"UJU!" a voice sounded and she saw besides her a woman, supposedly an octogenarian. And then she transformed to a pretty pentogenarian, visible in a way that was decipherable to Uju.
"Must you come in such fearful manner, before you could speak to someone?" Uju said angrily, she seemed to be familiar to her. This was the same woman that had been ubiquitous in her dream world.
"How do you expect a mother to feel when her child from her womb can't recognize her?"
"If that's a question I must answer, then I will say it is not possible for a child who fed from its mother's brëasts to not recognize her, unless the baby is pretending."
"Very wise answer." the woman praised.
"But the heart of the mother should also be probed, babies are not fools." Uju snapped, she saw a look of amazement on the face of the woman, she didn't know why she'd been mute. She had to initiate a conversation by asking a question.
"Nee Ajuka, you didn't come here void of message, did you?"
"I've never seen any mortal that stun immortals by their ineffable wisdom." Uju smiled sheepishly while she continued,
"I've come to tell you to listen to your suitor's voice."
"I don't understand you," she said perplexed.
"Marry Aneke!"
Uju's eyes was wild open in surprise and fury. On a normal stance, she would have feign ignorant of her statement. But this statement was too deep to neglect, so she asked with shaky lips.
"Then what about Ifenna?"
"Ifenna's heart belongs to someone else, you have a king prostrating before you to accept him. Marry him. He's the right person for you and noone else."
"You lie!" Uju retorted, hitting her fists against her bed, "that won't happen."
"Don't be a stubborn goat, Ifenna is Akwanwa's destiny and are made for each other." as if each word she mentioned was a piercing spear, Uju was sobbing profusely, her tears wasn't hidden.
"I'll never listen to you again, you can kill me if you want."
"I won't kill you because your death will be of no benefit to me," she didn't finish speaking before Uju cut in,
"Then go and look for someone else to deceive because your attempt to deceive me is dead on arrival." Uju made for the door and was about to close behind her.
"I can make you repulsive to him!" she said sternly.
Uju was still adamant but instead banged the door harder and went past the immortal.
While Uju came out, Olieze was the first person Uju ran into, and running into her, she was been looked down on with strong disdain. Olieze rolled her eyes past her like she was a pig carcass.
"Please, Olieze stop frowning at me, we can talk this out." Uju pleaded.
"Talk what? What do you want us to talk? Eh? Your marriage arrangement with my brother?"
"NO! Very far from that. I never loved your brother and never wanted to marry him. He has been been pressurizing me to do so, but I rejected every offer of his. I've been looking for way to go back to my people but to no avail."
"And how does your whole tales concern me," she retorted.
"I just need your help to get out of this palace and be free from your brother's approach, thats all."
"That I should help you? Why should I?"
"Don't you want me to go out of this palace again?"
"And you want to do it by using me as a working tool to achieve your evil aim?" Uju blew red hot in fury, but she tried hard to curb it and be calm, while she continued talking,
"Count me out of this, you hear me?"
"Olieze, I don't understand you at all. You don't want me in here, and you don't want me out either. Is there anything I did to you to deserve such hatred?"
Olieze was silent for a moment, maybe she was coming to realise what she'd done was mean. She called Uju back who was trying to leave.
"Uju!"
She turned gracefully in response to her name anticipating what would be her next word.
"I'm sorry for my mean approach towards you." Uju was surprised that the misanthrope could apologise, she didn't see things coming that way.
"There's no problem." Uju replied.
"If you have the right intention to actually leave as you have promised and not come back to torment my brother, I'll be glad to help you."
This girl could be disrespectful sometimes in her approach, Uju thought. She must be a spoilt child from birth, but Uju had to play along like something like that never happened.
"Thank you. So how are we going to do that?"
"That's not a issue to sleep over on, the guards as well are at my disposal as well as under my brother, the king."
"Thank you very much." Uju spread her arms calling for her embrace. And for the first time since they met, they embraced themselves jovially.
The sun had gone down, and night was fast approaching. Sounds of revelry buzzed the ambience of surrounding villages, of which emanated from Umudioga. It was indeed a day of mirth and ecstasy, of which its memories wouldn't be forgotten in a jiffy.
What they celebrated, was unknown to the neighbouring villages, except for Ozalla people who bore the misconception that it was a celebration of the king's death. They might be partially right, because in the festival, which was held at the village playground, Ifenna was however the protagonist and host of the event. He addressed the people as their ruler, of which he delivered his speech aplomb.
"I want to thank all of you today for gathering at this arena to witness this great feast. The gods had a reason for keeping us alive to witness the day despite the war that ravaged our land in time past, which swallowed many of our loved ones, including my father and mother, the king and queen respectively. But let us not add sorrowful memories to our joyous celebration. There are a lot to eat and drink, suit yourselves."
There was cheering from all corners, meanwhile some people were jostling for palm wine and pepper soup. Many people though, still didn't know what was the main aim of the party, hence there was high expectations.
Ibe, Ifenna's friend, was almost unconscious with palmwine, as he kept on emptying jars upon jars of palmwine into his belly. He was really addicted to drinking palmwine. His fondness for the drink emanated from his childhood days. Following the footsteps of his father, who was also a palmwine tapper and also a drunkard, he had love for palmwine but he was more responsible than his father.
The revelry was still on and the suspense was still on, noone knew what would happen next.
Soon Ifenna stood up to call on the onowu 's attention, he was becoming impatient over his delay. People where feeling tired and sleepy and still the reason for the festival haven't yet been accomplished.
Liveliness was soon restored as Ochendo, the mouthpiece of the gods, popularly known as onowu , arrived.
His face looked like that of someone carrying a bad news.
"Say something onowu , our ears are itching," Ifenna voiced out impatiently. Ochendo looked depressed and only a sensitive person could read that expression on his face.
There was grave silence that overtook the ambience for a moment, before Ochendo finally broke the silence.
"Unfortunately, there will be no coronation today," there was murmuring from all angles, following the disappointment. The day had already been designated as the coronation day, after being without a king for several days.
There were too many voices speaking that no single voice could be heard. Ifenna, however, beckoned on the onowu to go with him to an isolated place. He didn't know how or where to start talking to him, his mouth couldn't avoid stammering either.
It was one of his usual way of behaviour whenever he comes across men of age, and one which had the status of onowu for that matter.
The old man could notice some diffident slur he made, and it made him angry that he lost his patience on him. He then scolded even if he was soon going to be king.
"Say something, and stop shaking like a little child that have seen a beast," he scolded, "are you going to behave like this when you ascend the throne?"
Ifenna wanted to play the brave man after been scolded. He mustered stale courage to speak to the old man, he hated it when he was likened to a woman or child, it gave the impression that he was incapable of ruling a kingdom.
"What are you talking about?" he charged, "you mean I, the son of the great Kalu, the ever living tree of the Ezumezu forest."
The old man weighed him with his eyes, and gave him a sardonic smile. Ifenna tried as much as he can to conceal his face which was winced in embarrassment. What was actually the problem with this man, he thought. Could he be antagonizing his kingship even before ascension?
He found his voice in the midst of the silence,
"Why did you cancel the coronation that was scheduled for today, as against the original plan?"
"Umudioga is not ready for this." he said as he shook his head.
"Did you mean to say that I'm not capable to rule this kingdom?" Ifenna said furiously, "when Aneke and his cohorts are dividing the plunder of my father's palace, or you think I'm not capable of reclaiming what is ours?"
"The gods of our land are of one voice, that we're inch away from our doom as a kingdom going by your choice of who you are presenting to us as a wife." he said precisely.
Ifenna dilated his eyes in shock. So it had been all about his wife he wants to marry. Now his guess was correct.
He had sensed antagonization right from the begining of their conversation. But he still kept wondering who else he had in mind to install as the new king, since he has been acting this cold. Definitely, he won't take this at all, he would quickly go back to where the party was going on and handle matters in his own way.
To him, Onowu Ochendo wished he was dead, so that he would install himself as the king. If his father had died and, the gods forbid, he himself, follows suit, seeing that there was noone left of their lineage, the sceptre would go to Ichie Ararume who was the second-in-command to the king. But unfortunately, the Ichie was no longer alive, and his son too. Which means the antagonist would bring false message and term it 'a message from the gods', and he would crown himself. Thanks to the gods, he was still alive, and he would be careful not to tread in the path of the monster.
He bit his lips in fury, and made a chest beating not to concede the throne to the old 'monster'.
He turned his back and went back to the place where the celebration was holding. But more surprises awaited him.
TBC AT 9:30PM
