Episode 9 – A Game of Deception

Two Weeks Later

If Toriola wasn’t certain about her pregnancy when she had told Oluawo a fortnight ago, she was sure now. There was definitely a baby growing in her, and it wore her out so much that the smell of everything nauseated her, and everything she ate before noon made her vomit. Keeping it from her family was the hardest part, so she pretended she was still working in the palace when instead, she was staying in a shack that Oluawo provided for her.

Today, she was tired of living like a hermit in an abandoned house in the bush, scared to close her eyes at night for fear of being eaten alive by a wild animal. Reverence for the Chief Priest was the only reason she could subject herself to such an experience in the first place. However, the dangers of the bush heightened her anxiety more than facing him, so she decided that she was going to protest his decision to wait for the perfect time to reveal the news to the King.

“What are you doing outside? Didn’t I tell you to always hide inside?” Oluawo shouted his annoyance as soon as he arrived.

“Staying indoors is driving me mad,” Toriola complained.

“Hmm…”

“When can we tell the King? I can’t continue to live like this.”

Oluawo rolled his eyes. “Your generation is so impatient, I don’t know how you ever achieve anything.”

“I need to leave this place, Oluawo. This place is not safe to breed a baby. If anything happens to me, it will affect the child too, and everything we are trying to achieve will come to nothing.”

“The time is not right. The King has a bigger fish to fry.”

“What happened?” Toriola asked curiously.

Oluawo scratched his head in frustration and sat on the bench beside her. “The King is mad. I don’t understand the boy.”

“I thought you liked him.”

“I thought I did, but not anymore. He has completely defied the gods of the land, and from the way he constantly speaks about his new god, I can tell he is looking for converts.”

“How did he find this god? His father was loyal to our gods, and my brother never mentioned any strange god.”

Oluawo hissed. “It is that stupid wife of his. I don’t know where she found a white man who introduced the strange god to her, but she has used the power she got from her evil god to tie the King to her apron strings. She is the one ruling Iludoyin.”

“White man? How do you know this?”

“The white man’s sister came looking for him, and traced him to Iludoyin Kingdom. Apparently, he told her that he was going to find Tade, and now, according to the witch, the evil King Adeloye’s men killed Brother Joseph in a battle.

“This is so strange and confusing.”

“That’s not the worst. Our King has released those men from Nnewi to go back to their Kingdom and take word to the white woman’s husband. Balogun is furious but can do nothing against the King’s instruction.”

“This is sad,” Toriola declared and Oluawo nodded.

“That is why you must be committed to doing  your own part and not cower in the face of a little inconvenience.”

It was on the tip of Toriola’s tongue to say that the inconvenience was not little, and she would rather give up on her quest to be Queen and give her baby his rightful father, but she knew not to push her luck with Oluawo. Instead, she asked, “How long would I be here?”

“I actually came to tell you that you can leave today.”

“Oh! I thought you said it is not a good time to tell the King.”

“Yes, it is not. He will not grant you an audience, and if I arrange a meeting to give him such news, he will tag me as the enemy.”

“So what is the plan?”

“Good question! That your friend, the one that wants to be Queen, that you were trying to help, find her, and tell her that you are pregnant for the King.”

“Haaa! It is Abike, Iyalode’s daughter, and I have been avoiding her. I betrayed her when I cast my sights on the King. If I tell her, the whole village will hear about my betrayal.”

“And that is exactly what we want. If the King will not grant you an audience, we want the rumour to reach the palace so that he can summon you to refute the rumour, and that will be your chance to tell everyone,” Oluawo explained, obviously proud of his plan.

Toriola sighed, confused. “Greatness is not achieved by ease, most times you have to grow courage and face your fears headlong.” Toriola nodded in understanding, Oluawo’s charge getting to her. “Are you still interested in being Queen, or should I find another candidate?” he asked when he noticed Toriola still looked doubtful.

“I want to be Queen,” she said, and found that despite all the inconveniences, she still wanted it very much. Even if she could not be the love of the King’s life, she would be the mother of a toddler King when Oluawo killed Adeyeri and gave the throne to her son. It was these thoughts that kept her calm and motivated.

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“How does it feel to be Queen? I am not sure I understand what it means to be a monarch,” Deborah said as she took a stroll with Tade, walking through the farm behind the palace.

Deborah had wept uncontrollably when Tade summoned the courage to narrate the story of how her brother, Joseph, was killed by the people who wanted to usurp Adeyeri’s throne, but now, they had become like sisters, the love for Joseph binding them together. Deborah had wanted to hate her, and Tade knew it, but a goodness in her, the type that she had noticed in Brother Joseph, made her see reason, and now she was going to stop a war from happening.

Nobody except Tade could relate with Deborah’s pain, so she had been committed to helping the woman heal. Even though Deborah pushed her away at first, Tade held the woman in her arms and cried with her until she succumbed to her ministrations, and for the next fourteen days, they had become close friends, reminiscing about the memories they both shared with Joseph at different times.

Deborah sent word through the men that had been previously arrested with her to tell her husband about what they had found, so that he would know what happened, and stop sending search parties throughout the Yoruba kingdom. She also instructed them to tell him that they were not going to take revenge. Her brother had died in war, but she was determined to ensure that he would rest in peace.

“Joseph had always wanted to be a missionary, convinced that God’s plan for his life was to take the good news of salvation through Jesus to Africans, but now, that dream has died with him, and it pains me so much.”

“He taught me your language. He taught me how to speak and read. He preached Jesus to me. We were friends. Actually, he was my only friend. He found me when I was so lost,” Tade explained to the crying woman in very bad and heavily accented English, also mourning the loss of her friend.

“I begged my husband not to bring him with us when we were assigned to Africa, but for some reason, John defied me. That is why he cannot forgive himself now.”

“I am so sorry,” Tade consoled her, and Deborah tried to shake away her grief.

“You haven’t answered my question on how you feel about being Queen.”

Tade sighed. “It is complicated.”

“I have eyes, and from what I see, the King’s eyes are always on you, but you avoid catching his. Don’t you love him? Were you forced to marry him?”

Tade sighed again, not wanting to go into the conversation. “I love the King. We chose each other.”

“So what is the matter?” Deborah wanted to know.

“I think he cheated on me.”

“Cheating is a serious allegation. Are you sure?”

“I don’t know. I am just hurt. He shouldn’t put himself in a position for me to doubt him.”

Deborah reflected briefly then asked, “I ask this with all due respect; doesn’t your culture permit a man to marry more than one wife? If so, is he really cheating?”

Tade looked away, unable to face Deborah because she was right. “We don’t have that type of relationship. Both of us vowed to be loyal to each other and trust each other no matter the odds.”

“In that case, if he has assured you that he did not cheat, why can’t you trust him?”

Tade blinked back tears, not wanting them to fall.  There had been enough crying in the last two weeks for good reason, and she didn’t want to add her challenge with Adeyeri to the matter.

“If there is no trust in a relationship, you leave room for external access. I recommend that you catch his eyes the next time he looks at you.” Deborah said and smiled, but Tade was so torn apart, she couldn’t build the courage to smile.

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Adeyeri had been praying tirelessly for almost two hours when suddenly, he felt a presence in the room with him, so he opened his eyes and saw Tade. She had sought him out after two weeks of abandonment, and his heart leaped despite feeling very disappointed because she didn’t trust him.

“You are in this room again,” she stated.

“Once my room, always my room,” Adeyeri replied, and rose from his kneeling position to sit. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“Stop being dramatic, Adeyeri. We sleep in the same room.”

“Yet, you haven’t said more than twenty words to me in a fortnight.”

“You have been counting?” she asked, blushing despite herself.

“Of course! What else does an abandoned man do?!”

“I did not abandon you,” she replied then sat beside him. “Why were you here with her? What happened?”

“I already told you what happened. The explanation has not changed.”

Tade put her hand on his thigh, and Adeyeri took a deep breath.

“I have missed you so much,” they said at the same time then laughed. 

Adeyeri took her hands from his thighs to pull her closer to him so that he could kiss her, but she spoke before their lips touched.

“I am sorry for not trusting you. Toriola was convincing.”

“Because I am the King, many accusations will fly around from people who want to profit from the consequences of their deception. You must not believe them. My heart beats for you literally, so you hurt me tremendously when you believe another person’s word over mine,” Adeyeri said and put her hand on his chest so that she could feel it beat against her palm.

“I am sorry for not trusting you,” Tade pleaded.

“Why do you suddenly do?”

“Someone opened my eyes to the truth!”

“Brother Joseph’s sister?” Adeyeri asked, and Tade nodded. “I have been thinking… Do you think we can convince her to set up the children’s group in Iludoyin too?”

“What children’s group?”

“I heard her tell you that they have been sent to build schools for the Igbo people. They will teach them brilliant things that only the white man knows, as well as the words of YAHWEH!”

“You have been eavesdropping,” Tade accused playfully.

“God told me in my prayers that Sister Deborah is the answer to my prayers. Most of the adults of Iludoyin are lost and would be hard to convince, but if we start with the little children through the lesson gathering she mentioned, that could be a chance.”

Tade stared at him like he just grew two horns, and he knew her reservation. The Chiefs, and even the parents in the land, won’t agree to their children lazing around, learning from the white man, especially when talks of another God would be involved.

“I am serious, Tade! I want to obey God by begging Deborah to give us something like that. We can even name it after Brother Joseph.”

Tade put her hands around him, smiling in excitement. “You want to build a school in Iludoyin and name it after Brother Joseph? Deborah will be thrilled.” 

“God will be glorified,” Adeyeri said, pulling her deeper into his arms, savouring the feel of her body against his.

“You are a good man.”

“I know, but I need you to know too,” Adeyeri said then pulled her in for the kiss he had been dreaming about since the last time his lips touched hers.

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Finally! Good things have started to happen… Whoosh!

I literally just let out an air of fresh breath as I wait for Toriola and Oluawo’s devilish plans. How are you feeling right now?