Episode Twelve: Betrayal Begins

Wuraola had known that having her personal errand boy for special duties was necessary, and Alani had proven her right. In less than an hour of working with her, he had already arranged a secret meeting with Chief Otun. 

Seeing Otun, or any man, before the initial thirty days of deep mourning was over, was an abomination, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Thankfully, Otun was loyal to her husband, enough for him to agree to the secret meeting, and she had assured him that she would face the wall the entire time.

“Do you people really think I killed my husband?” Wuraola asked desperately. She had to take the attention away from her, and Otun was her best bet. Swearing would reveal that she did not kill the King, yet she was afraid to swear. She had borne evil for the monarchy, and some of the questions that would be asked may include if she wished that evil befell her late husband, and there was no way she would be innocent of that.

“Rara ooo. Nobody is saying that you killed the King,” Otun replied, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, wishing that he was not there with her.

“Then why do I need to swear?” she asked, and he sighed. “Why have I been reduced to this show of shame?”

“I am not happy about this as well, but what can I do?”

At Otun’s tone of powerlessness over the situation, Wuraola almost turned to look at him, but she stopped herself, trying not to look too desperate and guilty in the process. “You are a good man with integrity. Do your part. Don’t agree to this! The late King was your close friend. You can’t let his wife be ridiculed.” 

Otun sighed again, he was not going to give her what she wanted. “I am too small in the grand scheme of things to make a difference. It was hard getting them to look away from Adeyeri.”

Wuraola gasped. Adeyeri, the beloved, was almost Adeyeri, the accused. The news made her happy, but she tried to hide it from her voice and focus on her own issues.

“They think Adeyeri killed his father?” The question was phrased like an accusation, and Otun refused to give her a reply. He rose, determined to leave before the palace was alerted of his presence in her mourning chamber.

Wuraola’s voice broke. She didn’t have to fake tears today because she knew that nothing good could come out of her swearing. “A killer is on the loose, yet my family is being witch hunted.” 

Her tears compelled Otun to offer reassurances. If he meant them was another matter entirely. “If it is the last thing I do, I will get justice for Adeyanju,” he declared.

“Thank you. You are the only one I can trust.” 

Otun had no words for her last statement. He simply walked out, and Wuraola wiped her tears quickly. She needed another plan. As if reading her mind, Alani walked in. He’d hidden for the meeting and had come out as soon as he saw Otun exit the chamber.

“Do you need me, my Queen?” he asked, and she nodded, glad for his quick thinking.

“Take that message right now, and set off to the place we discussed.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” he said in a shaky voice.

“What is wrong with you?” she asked, irritated.

“The Prince is back, and will need me.”

Wuraola hissed. “You now have two masters. Find a way to please both,” she said, and waved him away.

Now that Adeyeri had gone back to the palace to begin the investigations and make himself available to the Chiefs for coronation, it was Banji’s duty to return Tade to her Aunt’s place. He wasn’t looking forward to it, and was already thinking of the lie to tell Shade, who he had told the day before that he did not know where Tade was. However, he was glad that Adeyeri was finally doing the right thing, and was willing to pay a small price to help him.

“Where are we going?” Tade asked wearily. The walk so far had been tiring, and a part of her wondered where Adeyeri was, but didn’t want to ask.

“We?” Banji looked back at her and laughed. “We are not going anywhere. I am going home. You are going home too.”

Tade stopped and leaned on the closest tree, partly because she was tired and weary from the wound, and partly because she did not want to go home. 

“You don’t want to go home?” Banji asked, sensing her hesitation

Tade stared at him briefly, refusing to answer. She knew that he blamed her for something, but couldn’t place it. “Where is Adeyeri?”

Banji scoffed, awaiting another prophecy. He was getting tired of being with a woman he considered a witch. “The Prince is in his own home, the palace.”

Tade sighed, looking sad and helpless. “He shouldn’t be…” she started to say, but Banji did not let her finish.

“Please, don’t say it. Your prophecies of doom have caused commotion ever since we saw you.”

Tade leaned forward and began to walk away from Banji. “I am not the problem.”

“Just a part of it,” he retorted, following her, a bit concerned about her wounds, hoping she wouldn’t faint on him. She saved the Prince’s life after all.

“Adeyeri needs to…” Banji again refused to let her finish. Instead, he double-crossed her.

“Are you not hearing me? Don’t say anything about him. And he is Prince Adeyeri to you, soon to be King. His name is bigger than your small mouth.”

Tade looked Banji straight in the eye until he looked away uncomfortably. “Just say the real thing that is on your mind,” she challenged, and Banji didn’t waste time telling her.

“I don’t like you.”

“That’s a good start,” she replied, hands akimbo. “Go on!”

“And I want you to stay far away from the Prince,” he added.

“Is that all?” she asked, thinking of a way to get rid of him so that she could sit down briefly. She was feeling very weary, but her determination to look strong to him kept her standing straight.

“That’s not all. I want Prince Adeyeri to become King. It’s his destiny and for that to happen, he needs to focus on crown politics, not on the words of a witch.”

Tade stared at him blankly for a few moments then began to walk away. Banji followed her, but halted when she stopped, pointing to the other side of the road.

“Use that way to your house, don’t walk with me,” she declared.

“But you may need my help,” he protested.

“I don’t need your help.” she returned, emphatic.

Banji sighed, wondering if he had been too hard on her, but determined not to regret it. The truth had to be said. “You know, I really wanted to like you, maybe even get a chance to know you for myself. You are a very beautiful woman, but…”

This time, Tade interrupted him. “Can you please go and leave me alone?”

Banji looked unsure. “Do you promise to leave the Prince alone?”

“I am not with the Prince now, am I?” Tade replied sarcastically and walked away, while Banji watched her go.

When Shade sent a message to Iyalode that she needed to see her that day, she had assumed that the woman would turn down the invitation, but after waiting for ten minutes on Alamu’s farm, Iyalode showed up. It was obvious that she was angry to have been summoned by a common palm wine seller, but curiosity had gotten the better out of her. The messenger had said that the meeting would reveal something that would help the coronation.

“Woman, what is it that you want to tell me that could not have been sent through your messenger?” she asked without even waiting for Shade to greet her. 

Shade was fine with this. She wasn’t there for small talk either, and wouldn’t want to be seen with Iyalode. “It is top secret,” she said, moving closer.

Iyalode moved back, uncomfortable with Shade’s proximity, yet unable to walk away “Really?” she asked, the animosity on her face reducing.

“Yes!” she said, glad she had finally gotten Iyalode’s attention.

“Out with it then! I don’t have all day.”

“You have to promise me that the information will be well used.”

“I will make no promises to you,” Iyalode returned, looking at Shade in a condescending manner. As far as she was concerned, Shade was beneath her on all levels.

Shade smiled, knowing what must be passing through Iyalode’s mind, but fully resolved not to speak without a promise. She turned to leave. 

Shocked at her audacity, but now apprised to the fact that Shade was not going to compromise, Iyalode pulled her back. “How dare you want to walk out on me? What is wrong with you?”

Shade maintained a blank expression. “Iyalode, I mean no insult, but even though I am a nobody, I am also a very busy woman, so if you don’t want the very important information I have for you, then it’s best I leave to go and face the business that pays my bills. If you want to hear anything from me, you have to promise.”

Iyalode wished that she wasn’t so curious, but she was. The information was beginning to feel like it could change everything, and she wanted to be the one wielding it.

“Okay, I promise. The information will be well used, and I will make sure it doesn’t come back to you. Now, out with it. I can’t be found gossipping in the bush.”

Tade was walking through the bush path, trying to find her way home when she suddenly heard Aunty Shade’s voice and that of another woman. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but she also didn’t want her Aunty to see her before she had thought about a good story to explain her absence and her wounds, so she sat behind a tree to rest.

“Do you know where Prince Adeyeri’s Abobaku is?” Aunty Shade asked the woman, and Tade couldn’t help but wonder what her business was with the Abobaku matter. Iyalode too was wondering the same thing as she looked at Shade weirdly. “Do you?” Shade asked again.

“Yes, we do. She was raised with Nnewi people.”

Tade looked confused at the mention of Nnewi people since she was raised in their land.

“True. But she is no longer with them.”

Iyalode laughed irritatedly, wondering if this was not a waste of her time. “She is. The guards have just been sent to bring her back.”

“They will keep searching because she is not there,” Aunty Shade said.

“What do you mean? If you know something, say it now and stop wasting my time.”

“I know where she is.” 

Iyalode stared at her for a moment, confused. “Where is she?”

Shade smiled. This was the part she had been waiting for. She had purposely whet Iyalode’s appetite to measure how much she wanted the information. “How much is the information worth to you?”

“What do you mean?” Iyalode asked, knowing what Shade meant, but fully determined to pretend that she didn’t. 

Shade looked around to see if anyone else could hear her. “This information is valuable, and you will pay to get it. I am risking a lot by coming out to you like this. It must be worth something. You can change the King if politics and customs require it, but you cannot change the Abobaku as long as she lives.”

“It is our right to know.”

“Well, I am the only person in this world, currently breathing, who can give you that right.”

From her hiding place, Tade gasped, unable to hide her shock at the realisation and implication of what Shade was saying.

Could she be the Abobaku?

Was that the reason Aunty Shade was trying to hide her?

How come Aunty Shade was going to reveal this to this woman?

“Who is that?” Shade muttered, looking around the bush anxiously. “Who is that?” she screamed. She had heard the gasp.

Tade stilled behind the tree she hid, hoping she would not be found. Thankfully, Shade gave up.

“This is not a good place for this conversation. Once I get the money, I will find you,” she said, and Iyalode nodded. If she planned to dance to Shade’s tune, it was undecided.

As she watched the two women depart, one thing became clear to Tade. She needed to find Adeyeri. He might be the only one she could trust right now. She thought he needed her, but it seemed she might need him too.