And Open Your Eyes (3)

She turned to Oyoyovwi, taunting, “You are beautiful, Yoyovwi, but there are many more beauties in the palace strutting before Sovereign Brother while you maintain yourself in solitary decorum. You can blame no one if a palace Maiden happens to capture his heart.”

The girls looked appalled, but Princess Ada shrugged indifferently. “Our Sovereign Mother may have arranged your betrothal, but that was when Sovereign Brother lacked firm footing at court. Now, he might very well toss you aside to embrace a willing Maiden—and are they not all willing?”

The girls looked to Oyoyovwi with concern and sympathy.

“Oh, Yoyovwi, it is true!” Asa cried. “You have been betrothed for two years, yet Ovye has made no mention of marriage!”

Oyoyovwi fought to maintain a pleasant expression but looked a bit crestfallen. “That. . . is because he has been working to take command of the court.”

“No, you are too naïve,” Ufuoma said. “Orodje Otaroghene was often ill, but that did nothing to curtail his affections for Honored Lunar Petal Grand Royal Consort Dowager Chovwe, and she was an Aya!”

Princess Ada nodded. “Indeed. Though she bore Sovereign Father no children, it was evident he favored the Grand Royal Consort. He even built her Comfort’s Haven, her seaside palace in the Jomafu Province, where she continues to enjoy the amenities of a Grand Royal Consort till this day.” Princess Ada looked pitifully at Oyoyovwi. “It would be a shame for such beauty to share the same lonely fate as my Sovereign Mother.”

“But surely you would support her in such a case!” Asa proclaimed.

Princess Ada affected a look of sympathy, placing a hand to her heart. “Truly, Yoyovwi, you are like a sister to me. I could not bear to see you heartbroken.” She broke in a wide grin. “But who am I to interfere with passion, especially that between an Orodje and his beloved?”

Ewoma gasped. “Do not tell me you secretly support such an illicit affair!”

Princess Ada simply offered a mischievous smile and rose. “Good day, ladies, I have an appointment at the Bureau of Court Affairs.”

Rising as well, the other ladies looked baffled.

“You make it a point to steer clear of dreary court matters. What business could you possibly have at the Bureau of Court Affairs?” Ufuoma questioned.

“I must meet someone on Sovereign Brother’s behalf.” She turned to Oyoyovwi. “It might interest you to come along.”

Oyoyovwi looked perplexed. “I am the host of this Meeting. It would not do for me to desert my guests.”

Princess Ada laughed as she made her way from the table. “Suit yourself. But know that I have given you ample warning.”

****

Emeravwe and Mudiaga sat beneath a pergola outside a restaurant in Joyovwi Market. It was early evening, and the market still bustled. Street-runners lit lamps at corners, and people streamed into the restaurant sector for an evening meal with family and friends. The smells of suya, meat pies, samosas, and jollof rice wafted through the air.

“He’ll be passing by soon,” Mudiaga said as he rose from the table and walked to the edge of the pergola.

Emeravwe nodded, following his lead. She stayed close to his side, looking around the market until she spotted the other officers.

Upon reviewing the information gathered from the interviews, the Bureau of Investigations devised a list of Okémeh’s possible next targets and assigned officers to keep surveillance over them. Emeravwe and Mudiaga were part of a group who kept watch over the son of the director of palace courtyards and gardens. While the officers were tasked with apprehending Okémeh if they appeared, Emeravwe was to record the events that transpired during their surveillance.

They had kept vigilance over the official for the past three days, but saw no threats. On this day, too, as his sedan chair was carried through the market, Emeravwe and the officers trailed him home. The trip was uneventful, and they returned to the palace.

When they arrived, Emeravwe and Mudiaga found the Bureau of Court Affairs in a flurry of disarray. Maidens, Eunuchs, and officials scurried about the halls, voices raised in excited gossip. In their office, too, they found Eunuch Otase and Aye Chioma briskly calling out instructions while the rest of the team rifled through papers or hurriedly scribbled away.

“What devil passed through here?” Mudiaga asked in wonder.

Aye Chioma turned from the long table where she bent over documents with Agaenaye Ugonma and Eunuch Akpome, and exclaimed in relief, “Indeed, Oghene meets all needs and well met! You may report on your assignment later. We are behind on the new protocols to be used in this quarter’s Inspection of Quarters, so take up brushes and help us finish the copies!”

As Emeravwe and Mudiaga moved to take their places at the long table, Mudiaga questioned, “Did the Orodje come to conduct another surprise inspection? The bureau hasn’t been this scattered since his last.”

Emeravwe’s heart leapt. Since she entered the Bureau of Court Affairs the king had made no appearances, though she anxiously waited. His visits were rare, so if he had come while she was away, she did not know when she would ever get a chance to see him again.

Aye Chioma answered, “No, but it does seem the royal family has taken quite an interest in the bureau. It was Princess Ada who visited this time.”

“What?” Emeravwe and Mudiaga exclaimed in shock. For as long as she had lived in the palace, Emeravwe had never even heard of Princess Ada stepping a foot in the Outer Palace.

“We were unable to work because she requested a tour and insisted on seeing every office,” Agaenaye Ugonma complained.

Mudiaga shot to his feet and slammed his hands on the table, bursting, “You mean you got to see the princess while I was being deep fried by the sun? Damn it! Well, how was she? As beautiful as they say, with lustrous bronze skin and eyes more dazzling than stars?” He ducked suddenly as a book flew past his head.

“Vile peasant! How dare you address the princess so crudely!” Eunuch Otase, who had thrown the book, reviled.

Grinning, Mudiaga sat back down, but looked to Agaenaye Ugonma, prodding.

Agaenaye Ugonma whispered, “Even more beautiful.”