9: THE TALK

It wasn't all that bad, Abike thought to herself as she followed Fatima down the hall towards the Prince's room.

She had discovered that if she was assigned general services like cooking or gardening, it was easy to steal some moments for herself as there were hundreds of servants in the Palace and if she disappeared for a while, no one would notice.

So when Fatima had asked this morning that Abike accompany her to the General's room instead of slaving away at the garden, Abike had immediately accepted. Although it was a dangerous offer, it was also mouthwatering.

She preferred to sit in the Prince's room all through the morning and just read one of his books, instead of working in the garden. But...but what if he comes back early?

"What if he comes back early?" Abike voiced out her major concern as she and Fatima arrived at the door.

"Hardly. It has never happened since I have been working." Fatima pushed the door open.

"Oh My God, did a tsunami happen in here?" She gasped in shock.

For the first time, the Prince's room was turned upside down. Completely disorganized. The bed was made, but that was the only normal thing in the room.

"Careful." Fatima held Abike back as she made to move farther into the room. "There are glass shards on the floor."

"What happened in here?" Abike frowned.

His clothes were strewn about the room, books carelessly on the floor, one of the table's legs was broken and water was spilled on the floor.

"Well..." Abike tiptoed to the only couch in the room and sat down. "This is all on you." She picked one of the books, checked the title, and settled down to read.

"It's okay." Fatima was laughing. "I am just glad for your company." She picked up all the other books and rearranged them on the shelf, before turning to critically measure the damage.

"You think the Prince did this?" She asked her friend as she began to pick up the Prince's clothes, separating the dry ones from the ones soaked with the water that was spilled.

Abike looked up at her. "Why would he?"

"Why would he?" Fatima whirled to look at her. "Weren't you present in the Great Throne Room yesterday? He was mad angry when he left."

"True." Abike nodded. "He is always angry."

"I don't like him." Fatima began to hang his dry clothes in the wardrobe. "But he is so beautiful."

She giggled and Abike laughed with her.

"I know."

"Do you know he has a harem?" Fatima kept talking. "Fifty beautiful girls just lying in wait for the Prince to come for them."

"I think that's stupid," Abike answered hastily, suddenly jealous.

"Extremely." Fatima nodded. "I mean, why would you agree to be a part of that circus? But I admit the benefits are nice. You need to see their wing, Abike. It's huge"

"You have been there?" Abike asked curiously, snapping the book shut.

"Everyone has been there." Fatima turned to look at her friend. "Well, maybe except you. It's a nice place." She turned back to her work.

"They don't sleep on bunks like us. They have huge Queen beds. And you should see their Queen Bee, her name is Awelewa"

Abike groaned. The name seemed to follow her around like a bad cloud. "I met her already. In the garden."

"She is so beautiful." Fatima closed the wardrobe and picked up the broom.

"Right?"

"Are you okay?" Fatima asked her and Abike nodded.

"Sure."

"Do I mop up this water first or do I sweep first?" Fatima looked at the dirty floor in confusion.

"That's your problem," Abike said with a laugh and Fatima groaned.

Without warning, the door burst open and suddenly the Prince was standing in the doorway; a camo bag slung over his shoulders and a frown on his face. Abike shot to her feet, the book dropping to the floor in a thud.

He walked into the room and flung the bag on the bed. His friend came in behind him, eyed the mess, and disappeared immediately.

"My room is now a play hall." He eyed the two servants. "The cripple." His eyes landed on Fatima. "And the virgin." his eyes traveled to Abike.

"I am happy to see you are so comfortable." He looked pointedly to the book at Abike's feet and she kicked it away, her eyes downcast.

"Hand over the broom to her and get out," he ordered Fatima.

The girl hesitated and her mouth fell open to explain. "I...I..I..." She snapped her mouth shut when the Prince narrowed his eyes.

"I...I...I...didn't ask you anything," he mocked. "Shut up and hand over the broom."

Fatima dropped the broom and zoomed out without sparing Abike another glance.

The Prince disappeared into the bathroom and Abike picked up the broom, cursing her bad luck.

He had caught her and Fatima, so why was she the only one being punished?

Now she was faced with the same dilemma. Should she mop up the water or sweep first?

It was a hard decision to make, but she decided to mop up the water first. She dashed out of the room to get a mop.

When she returned, the Prince was standing by the bookshelf checking out the books, sweatpants hanging low on his waist. He was shirtless, his muscles bulging with every slight movement.

Abike walked slowly toward the mess, the mop poised in her hands.

"What book were you reading?" He asked suddenly and Abike looked up to see him leafing through a book.

"Pride and Prejudice," she answered immediately. "I am sorry I was sitting on your couch. I had the day off and decided to keep Fatima company."

"Hmmm." He nodded his head and stretched out the book he was holding. "Read this."

She took it from him and skimmed the cover, realizing it was the one she read the first time she worked here. "I already read this," she blurted and he turned to eye her up and down before taking it and handing out another.

Abike took it. The title was 'Purple Hibiscus'.

She stood with the book in her hands awkwardly, while he returned to the bed with a book of his own.

"Sit. And read it." He stretched on the bed, his head resting on the pillow behind him.

"I have to sweep and —"

"Don't make me say it again."

She dropped the broom and sat stiffly on the couch, the book on her lap. She skimmed through the introductory pages and looked up to find the Prince engrossed in his book. It made her feel relaxed and she curled her legs under her, burrowing into the soft cushions to make herself more comfortable.

In a short while, she got so engrossed in the story of the Reverend and his little family that she kept reading and flipping through the pages at record speed; feeling the joy and sadness of Kambili, her brother Jaja and their docile mother.

"Why are you frowning?"

She looked up to see the Prince watching her from across the room, one arm folded beneath his head.

"This book is so emotional," Abike said animatedly, forgetting for a moment that it was the Prince she was talking to. "Mr. Eugene is a fanatic and he is dragging his family into it."

"I like Kambili," he said, leaning back against the headboard and dropping his book on the bed.

"You do?"

He nodded. "The story was narrated through her eyes and she pays attention to detail. That's a very attractive trait," he said softly.

Abike watched him explain, thinking he looked like a completely different person. "I didn't know you liked to read," she said suddenly.

"I didn't know you knew how to read," he countered.

She looked away from him and tried to return to her book, but she couldn't focus because he kept watching her. "What book are you reading?" She asked shyly and it made her wonder where it came from. She was never shy.

"Joys of Motherhood." His eyes suddenly looked sad. "Such an irony because the heroine didn't feel any joy at all."

"Why?"

He tilted his head and studied her for a few seconds. "Come here," he said quietly.

As if in a trance, Abike stood from the chair and moved towards the bed. He patted the space beside him and she sat slowly, her feet hanging off the side of the bed. He grabbed her thigh and pulled until her leg was stretched on the bed beside him.

He studied her again, his eyes marred with emotion and for one brief moment, Abike thought he was going to scream at her.

"The woman couldn't have children at first..." he said softly, to her surprise. "Then she did have children, but they didn't take good care of her."

"Does the book make you sad?"

"Yes."

"Who taught you to read?" For every question she asked, Abike felt she was pushing the limit. She braved herself for the moment he would realize who he was talking to and send her out of his room.

"My Grandfather. He taught me everything I know."

Abike thought about how it was always the old man who had some form of control over him in the Great Throne Room. "That's why you respect him so much," she said and he remained quiet.

The silence lingered and Abike grew uncomfortable. She felt an intense need to exonerate it. "Did you do all this because you were angry about yesterday?" She asked, referring to the messy room.

"What do you think?" He threw back at her.

"I don't think you did it," she said quietly, scared to say what she thought.

"Try again," he replied. "The truth this time."

With his gaze still on hers, Abike remained quiet.

Someone knocked and she swiftly jumped down the bed to pick up the broom. The door slid open at the Prince's command to reveal Mrs. Jamila holding a white envelope. The woman ignored Abike and walked straight to the Prince.

"Good afternoon, My Prince. This is a message from the King." She handed the envelope to him with both hands.

Abike watched the exchange surreptitiously. The Prince tore the envelope open and looked back up at the beaming woman in front of him.

"Why are you still standing here?" He asked coldly, a far cry from the calm man who was talking to her just moments ago. Mrs. Jamila took several steps back. "My King told me to come back with a reply."

The Prince scanned through the letter, folded it, and put it back into the torn envelope. "Tell him I said no." He handed it over and returned to his book.

Abike noticed the woman's steps were slow as she walked back out the door. The Prince didn't look up from his book, even several minutes after the woman had left.

She missed his gaze, and his soft voice as he spoke to her. She longed to sit close to him again, and feel the soft wool of his sweat pants rub against her bare legs.

But he didn't say anything and the room remained silent, except for the occasional ruffle of the page as he leafed through the book or the clonk of the mop as it hit the floor.

Abike stole several glances at the Prince, but he wasn't looking at her. He seemed to have even forgotten she was present.

The mop fell from her hands for the hundredth time and she winced as the wooden handle hit the tiles loudly. 

"I am trying to read," the Prince said and Abike looked up eagerly. She was, however, disappointed to see he didn't bother glancing up from his book. Her heart sank and his next words dropped her heart even further. "Work quietly or get out."

Just like that, her fairytale was over even before it began. She hurried through the work, unable to bear standing in the same room with him any longer.

She finished in minutes and as she crept out, she stole another backward glance at him. Her disappointment heightened because he still wasn't looking at her. Annoyed, she banged the door shut.

                                        ***

She didn't see him again till the week ended and as she lay on her bed on Saturday night, her body vibrated with excitement at the thought of seeing him tomorrow.

She got the best news yesterday when she was assigned to serve the Prince again for the week.

Her heart began to beat rapidly at the thought of seeing him, and she flattened her palm against her chest. "Be still," she muttered and forced her eyes close.

If she kept this up, she wouldn't know how to act when she saw him tomorrow and she couldn't have that. Soon, Abike managed to relax and fall into a fitful sleep.