13: DON’T TOUCH HER(2)

"I don't think you should overexert yourself today because you didn't come out to train yesterday," Jamal said from his position on the bench in the clearing. "It doesn't work like that."

They already finished the general training session hours ago and were almost done with their private session. It was already a few minutes to eleven a.m. and Jamal was wondering why Murewa was going on and on like he wanted to kill himself.

As expected, Murewa didn't respond, he did the last set of push-ups and jumped to his feet. "Pack up and let's go."

"Pack up and let's go?" Jamal echoed in surprise. "Are you a machine? You need to rest."

"Pack up and let's go," Murewa repeated and began to walk up the path leading back to the Palace.

They walked in silence, and Jamal parted ways with Murewa just before they turned into the Prince's quarters. Murewa walked the remaining distance to his door and slipped into the room.

His tray of food was there but Abike was annoyingly absent. He didn't want to think too deeply about why her absence angered him, so he quickly took his bath and wolfed down his food.

The meeting at the Great Throne Room already started a few minutes ago, and since he was already late, there was no harm in taking his time. Murewa decided to relax for a few more minutes.

                                   ***

Abike stood pensively behind the empty chair. This was the first time she would be serving the Prince in the Great Throne Room and he chose today to be absent.

She didn't think he was coming since he was already an hour late. No one in the meeting had mentioned his name but she could feel it hanging like a cloud.

She was grateful she wasn't serving Minister Jolayemi today. He seemed to be in a touchy mood and was giving his assigned server a very hard time. It was probably his broken leg that was hurting and making him so aggressive.

Abike tapped the smooth edge of the empty chair impatiently, wishing this meeting would be over so she could go check up on him. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since yesterday. The way he had looked at her, the gentle way he had spoken to her. She was convinced that although he acted like an ass, he wanted her.

The door swung open and from across the table, she saw Minister Jolayemi and all the Minister freeze for a second, before hurriedly continuing their food.

She knew it was him. She could feel his energy, his virility —alive and breathing, tugging at her.

She turned in his direction and their gazes clashed. "Good afternoon, My Prince," she greeted and got no reply.

He sat at the suddenly too quiet table, oblivious to the tension his entry brought into the room. Maybe he wasn't oblivious and just didn't care.

"You are late, Balogun," the Grandfather said finally. The Prince didn't respond.

"Minister Adesogo, can you update the Prince on the mining process of the new gold site?" The Grandfather implored, spooning food into his mouth.

The Minister dropped his spoon and dabbed at his mouth with a napkin before turning to the Prince.

"I was just saying in a few weeks, the miners would be done with their work and we can finally distribute the gold bars. The good news is that the mine contains more than we expected and would be able to sustain us for a few years." Minister Adesogo finished. The Prince acknowledged him with a nod.

"Balogun..." the Grandfather called. "Maybe we would go check it out later?" The Prince nodded again.

"Open the tray, let the Prince eat his food," the King ordered and Abike jumped forward to uncover the dish. Murewa shook his head slightly and pushed the tray away. Abike wondered why he was being exceedingly quiet today as she replaced the cover on the tray.

No one said anything.

"Lest I forget..." the King started. "Let's all put it in mind that the annual Palace ball is next week and we want all hands to be on deck. I already met with Adekoya — Minister of Culture, earlier in the week...Adekoya, where is the plan you said you would draw?"

Minister Adekoya jumped to his feet, withdrawing a piece of paper from his pocket. He unfolded the piece of paper and drew back his chair so he could go hand it to the King.

"No, no, read it out for all to hear." The King

waved his hand.

The Minister cleared his throat. "Before I start calling out the list of all we need and all we have to do, I want to use this medium to say thank you, my King, for this opportunity. I will forever be grateful, and try my best to make sure this year's ball surpasses last year's..."

"Would that be possible? Last year's ball was excellent!" A man Abike knew as Minister Jibola, said with a smile and everyone in the room murmured in agreement.

Of all the Ministers, she liked Minister Jibola and Minister Adeolu, they were always so quiet and agreeable, unlike the others who always wanted to talk and argue. Minister Adekoya blossomed under the compliment, his smile going from ear to ear.

"Don't worry." He waved dismissively. "I have added a few more actions to this year's ball and I promise you all a good time. I am working closely with Minister Jolayemi to make this occasion a really special one."

Minister Jolayemi grabbed his cane and hefted himself up to his feet, leaning heavily on his good leg.

"What happened to your leg, Jolayemi?" the Grandfather asked with concern. It seemed he was just noticing the man's condition.

"I fell from my horse, Grandfather," Jolayemi said quickly.

"I wish you a quick recovery. I hope this isn't something that is making its rounds because when we came in, I noticed Minister Adeolu had a cane too and he said he broke his leg from a fall."

The whole room burst into laughter, Adeolu and Jolayemi laughing the loudest. Murewa seemed to be removed from the whole thing. Abike couldn't see his face, but his back was ramrod straight.

"My broken leg would not deter me from doing my job, Grandfather," Minister Jolayemi chuckled.

"As Adekoya said, we would both work together to make this a reality and would need all hands on deck to assist us. Like we did last year, all the beautiful, eligible girls in the dynasty would be paraded. Maybe our Prince would see a young girl he likes..." he paused and the whole room went up in laughter again.

Abike's heart slammed into her ribcage. What in the name of god...? Thankfully, Murewa did not comment.

"We would also be working closely with Jamila —the Head Servant, and the kitchen chefs in terms of labor and food. We don't want to divulge too much now as we want most of it to be a surprise, but we might also need the Ore army for a parade..." 

The room went silent and everyone, including Jolayemi, glanced at Murewa. The Prince did not comment.

"A parade?" The King probed.

"Yes. Like a royal march or a ceremonial presentation from our army to impress the Kings and every other dignitary that would be in attendance," Jolayemi explained.

Everyone turned to Murewa again, but the Prince didn't even move a muscle. 

"It's alright. What about the beauty parade?" Minister Adeolu asked, his eyes shining with excitement. It was obvious that was the bit he was looking forward to.

"I have spoken to the Queen," Minister Adekoya answered. "And she is very excited about it. As usual, she would handle that aspect."

Soon the whole room began to bubble with excitement as they talked about the annual ball. Murewa remained frozen in his seat.

"Silence!" the King ordered after a while.

"Let's eat our food and evacuate the room. I would like to rest." Everyone resumed eating.

"Pour the Prince a cup of water," the King ordered and Abike jumped forward again.

Murewa rolled his eyes and decided to take the cup of water. Abike stepped beside him, her gown ruffling as she picked up the large jug of water sitting at the center of the table. 

Her face looked tight and her mouth was pressed in a thin line, he wondered if she was okay. Her hands shook as she lifted the heavy jug to pour the water into a mug and Murewa found himself almost standing to help her.

He wasn't shocked by what he was about to do because he was beginning to come to terms with the fact that he acted strange where she was concerned. But in public? He didn't want the Ministers or his Grandfather to find out he had a soft spot for a servant girl. It wouldn't go down well with them. It wasn't going down well with him either.

He realized too late that the jug was too heavy for Abike. It slipped from her shaky hands and crashed with a loud thud, splashing water onto his pants as it shattered. The whole room went quiet again as all eyes rested on her.

He knew what would happen next and he had never felt so out of control in his life. In the Great Throne Room, all the servants were punished for whatever slight mistake, be it splashing water on a member of the cabinet or breaking an expensive jug. Abike just did both.

In the past, he had always been indifferent about it and he knew if he said anything now...

"Don't worry, My Prince. It would be taken care of." Iroko appeared out of nowhere and slapped the girl to the ground with his beefy hand. Murewa felt all the muscles in his body contract in reaction to the girl lying crumpled on the floor.

"Are you okay, Prince Murewa?" He heard someone ask in faux concern. It was just water, how could he be hurt?

Iroko raised his burly arms again to strike the girl who was already struggling to sit up. She raised her arms over her petite body to ward off the blow and without thinking Murewa's arm shot out to grip the giant's.

The giant turned to him in shock, and Murewa also felt every eye in the room boring into the back of his neck. He flung the sweaty arm away and looked down at Abike with a frown.

"Don't hit her. Take her to the cell." Iroko dragged the girl up by her arms and led her out of the room.

Murewa couldn't concentrate throughout the remainder of the meeting. He had told the big fool not to hit her, but he wasn't too sure he would comply. His main job was to hit the servants as a form of discipline. The lives of servants in these parts were so trivial.

Another servant appeared beside him. As she bent to sweep up the broken shards, her hands mistakenly touched his and he reared back, shying away from the contact. She apologized profusely.

He was getting increasingly uncomfortable as each second passed and with every tick, he knew he was closer to combustion. Only God could help him now.

                                     ***

Abike shook with tears and shame. She felt like a criminal, alone in the dark room.

She was crouched in one corner, her head buried in her lap, refusing to look around her. She had taken one long look at the place earlier and had seen what looked like gallows erected in the far corner with handcuffs on the floor.

This was a torture room and she didn't know what she was doing here when the only thing she did was spill water and broke a jug.

She heard heavy footsteps and closed her eyes tighter. Iroko had threatened to come back for her.

The image of her leg being broken like Fatima's floated through her mind and her body began to shake. She forced back the tears. She wouldn't give Iroko that satisfaction, no matter what punishment he meted.

The main gate to the cell opened and she heard him come in. Soon the metal locks snapped and the door was flung open. She folded herself tighter, the tears she was trying so hard to stop threatening to fall.

"Mama, come."

Her head shot up and her quivering mouth fell open to see the Prince standing there, his breadth filling the cell door, his arms outstretched.

"Come." He shook his outstretched arms and still, she sat motionless, unable to comprehend his presence. He dropped the metal lock to the floor and stepped into the cell.

Abike froze as he held her arm and pulled her up. His touch was so gentle that she couldn't hold back her tears anymore. Her body began to shake.

"It's okay, mama. I got you," he whispered and drew her to him, his arms coming around her to envelop her in his warmth.

He smelled like pineapples and she burrowed deeper into his arms as the beautiful scent of him canceled the dingy smell of the room. He let her move within the comfort of his arms, adjusting to fit her whenever she held still.

His arms caressed her back and swept up to hold her head to his chest. She desperately wished she could put her arms around him too, but she didn't want to spoil the moment. She felt...loved.

Her sobs stopped after a while and he held her for a moment after, before holding her at arms' length so he could stare at her face. She looked down, unable to hold his gaze.

"You are okay." His voice was low. She nodded.

"Now go up to my room. Go!" He pulled her out of the cell and pushed her gently towards the door.

Abike went up the stairs on shaky legs. She exited the cell and turned into the hallway that snaked through the forgotten corners of the Palace, finding the connecting stairway that led her back to the hall on the middle floor. She finally slipped into the Prince's room and went straight to the couch.

The bed was too neatly made, too clean for her to sit on. Besides, what would the Prince think if he came in and saw her sitting on his bed? She pushed back and rested her head on the arm of the chair, deciding to close her eyes for a brief moment.

The room was dark when she woke up and fear gripped her for one confused moment as she tried to figure out where she was. The Prince's room! She jumped down from the couch, sleep clearing from her eyes immediately. Her vision adjusted to the dark room and she saw the clock read nine forty-five.

She dashed out of the empty room and up the hallway leading to the servants' lodge. Fortunately, Iroko wasn't by the door and she quickly ran into the room without coming in contact with anyone.

The room was semi-dark as it was almost ten and almost all the lights were turned off. The girls were sleeping, except for a handful of them who were sitting together in clusters, whispering among themselves.

She kept her face down and moved to her bed, only to meet Fatima dozing off with her back against the wall.

"Fatima..." Abike tapped her impatiently. She had no time to entertain anyone this night.

The girl's eyes snapped open and filled with concern immediately. "Oh, Abike, are you alright?" The girl jumped down to stand beside her.

Abike nodded. "I am fine."

"I heard what happened, that wicked Prince again. What did he do to you?"

Abike felt her anger spike at Fatima's comments. "He didn't do anything to me. I am okay for real."

Fatima was silent for a few seconds.

"It's alright. I just wanted to make sure you are fine. We would talk tomorrow." She smiled and melted into the darkness.

Abike stripped her clothes and reached for her towel. As she made for the bathroom, she realized the Prince didn't return to the room. Or had he returned to find her asleep? The room was empty when she woke up, so where did he go?

She washed her body thoroughly to rid herself of the dingy smell of the cell and as she drifted off to sleep later, she found herself dreaming of him.