Episode Six: Through The Prince’s Window

To Adeyeri, the Chiefs had always been older people who worked with his father; people he never thought he would have business with till they died. Some of them were even older than King Adeyanju, and he had never thought that he would lose his father before any of them. Even though he had an amicable relationship with the Chiefs, he was close to only Chief Otun because he was his late father’s best friend, and visited a lot outside the general cabinet meetings. To be responsible for decisions, and contributing to conversations in a meaningful way in a meeting with these people was the hardest thing Adeyeri had ever found himself doing in all his twenty-five years. Yet, he knew that he had to step up. He did not want the Chiefs to bury his father immediately. He wanted answers to questions about who killed his father, but because he wasn’t King yet, no one was taking his word as law. They were going to go ahead with the burial because they believed that it was necessary to save the land. He needed advice. He needed guidance on how to handle the situation, so he went to see his mother.

Wuraola hated the show of weakness that was necessary at a time like this. She would rather be with the cabinet, making decisions about how and where to bury the King, but she was confined to her room to cry. She did not wish Kabiyesi dead yet, and would have preferred he lived for some more years so that her plan would be iron-clad, but apparently, she was not the only one who did not care for her husband’s administration. Whoever this person was, she wanted to find them and destroy them, or make them allies, but nothing was going to come against her plan; not even the King’s son, Adeyeri.

Adeyeri was not her son, and only a few people knew this. Adeyeri himself did not know, and she planned to keep it that way till the time was right, and she got everything she deserved. She remembered the night that the King’s young wife had arrived from Aleri village many years ago. Unwilling to share her title as Queen with anyone, Wuraola had poisoned her with the intention of killing both her and the baby in her protruding belly. The poison had worked on the mother, but she had remained alive for another two months, dying slowly in the King’s room till she delivered her son. The Baba Alawo that Wuraola consulted had told her that the boy was powerful and could not be easily killed, so Wuraola had decided to adopt him as hers, caring for him and becoming his mother. This made her win back the King’s favour, and all was well with them as it could possibly be until seven years ago when she found out that her own son, whom the gods had condemned to the evil forest, was alive.

King Adeyanju had caught her in bed with Chief Balogun, her lover, but love was not enough for her to sacrifice her place on the throne as Queen. She had immediately burst into tears, claiming that Balogun had forced himself on her. Blinded with rage, the King had believed her and ordered that Balogun be hanged immediately. A full moon after the occurrence, Wuraola had found out that she was pregnant. Since it was impossible to confirm the paternity of the child to determine whether it was Balogun or King Adeyanju’s baby, her son had been condemned to the evil forest since birth. Overcome with guilt about the fate of the innocent child, Kabiyesi could no longer couple with Wuraola and had gone to marry another woman from the neighbouring village. 

When Wuraola killed the woman, the King still did not touch her, but he did not marry another woman either. Rather, he poured all his love on Adeyeri, his heir, and for a while, she was content. When she discovered that her son was alive, she began to hatch a plan, biding her time. Now, she was ready to unleash her wrath and give her son what was rightfully his from the beginning. Kabiyesi’s death would hasten her plans, but it would not destroy them. Adeloye was going to be the next King, or she would die trying.

When Adeyeri approached his mother’s chambers, Wuraola was swimming in a pool of tears, drenched in her own grief, and surrounded by mourners, but as soon as she saw Adeyeri, she asked them to excuse her. She needed to speak with her son. She managed a weak smile as Adeyeri held her hand after the room had emptied out. It was a painful smile, an acknowledgement of  a painful loss, but the only loss Wuraola was mourning was the fact that she did not raise her own son in the affluence of palace life.

Watching his mother’s grief was too much for Adeyeri. He held her hands comfortingly. “Don’t worry, I am here for you. No harm will come to you, and if anyone wants you to do any barbaric thing in the name of tradition, they will have to come through me,” he said reassuringly, and pulled her into his arms as the tears began to fall from her eyes. “We only have each other now.”

“You have the village, Adeyeri, I am the one who is alone. You will be King, while I will be relegated to the back and become an ‘has been.’”

“Not on my watch. You are Queen, nothing will change that.”

“Are you saying that you will not marry?”

“Do not let us worry about that yet. Let us focus on Kabiyesi’s death and the decision of the Chiefs to bury him tonight.”

Wuraola turned away in a show of pain at the mention of Kabiyesi’s burial when in truth, she couldn’t be bothered, and would rather speak about what the King’s death meant with respect to the role she played in the palace. To her knowledge, Adeyeri had no woman in his life, but now more than ever, girls would flock around him, and soon, one of them would win.

“Give the Chiefs what they want,” she managed to say, and Adeyeri released her from his arms.

“Someone killed Kabiyesi!. Is that not what we should be discussing? Why should we rush his burial?”

“They say it is for the peace of the land, and you know that the longest they can wait for is three days. Kabiyesi needs to be buried now that his body is still decent,” Wuraola said, and broke into tears.

Adeyeri rushed back to her side and hugged her, sorry that he was causing her distress. She was the only person he had in the world now, and he was adding to her sorrow. 

“I am sorry, mother. I will think about your point of view and make a decision.”

“Don’t think too much about it, just do what they want,” Wuraola insisted amidst sobs, appealing to Adeyeri’s soft side. She couldn’t be bothered how they chose to bury the King, but it was important to her that people knew the level of influence she wielded over Adeyeri. She wanted them to know that her advice carried weight, and that she was a worthy ally to have. Now, more than ever, she needed to assert her influence to gain the kind of power that it would take to bring Adeloye back, and give him the throne.

When Adeyeri got to his room, he almost fainted on his mattress, dropping like a log of wood. He was weary and exhausted from lack of food, sleep, and grief. Yet, he couldn’t summon the courage to drink water. Beyond the pain of grief was also the fear of death. The killer could try again at any moment, and he didn’t know who to trust. 

Suddenly, he heard a light tap on his window. If he hadn’t been perfectly still, he would have missed it. He sat up straight on the mattress, fear gripping his heart. No one could come in from that side of his room because outside the window, there was a narrow footpath that led to Kabiyesi’s room while a river separated them from the other side. No one passed there except Adeyeri, and that was in his younger days when he needed to sneak out for fun. Even then, he had to jump into the river and swim to the other side where his friends were always waiting for him with fresh clothes. The thought of his friends calmed his strayed nerves a bit as he realised it had to be Banji. He was the only one outside the palace who knew the window that led to his room, and how to get there.

Adeyeri was grateful and touched, knowing the length his friend must have gone to, to gain access to him. He rose quickly to open the window without even asking who it was, only to find Tadeyeri with a basket on her head, looking like this was the norm, and she visited him daily.

“How did you get here, woman?” he asked, completely shocked to see her, but already opening his window wide to help her climb up into his room. As soon as she landed properly on her feet, he quickly went to the door and slid the dead bolt to lock them in. “Do you have a death wish? I thought I told you to stay away. Why are you here?”

Tadeyeri stood for a minute, taking in his room, and asking herself the same question.

Why was she here? 

The answer was simple. She couldn’t stay away. She was drawn to him in a way she would never be able to explain. His pain called her name, begging her to unravel and heal it, but she couldn’t tell him this. He would find it weird.

“This is not allowed, it is wrong. And you shouldn’t have come. Give me a good reason why I should not call the guards right now to arrest you for trespassing,” he said to her, still shocked that she was really in his room.

“You need help. I am ‘help’. I am here for you; to help you.”

Her words didn’t make sense. How could anyone help him deal with the pain and confusion he was going through right now. “How did you get here? How did you know my room?”

“I prayed about it, and the Holy Spirit guided me.”

“I forgot you are a witch. I shouldn’t have asked, but I am curious, does this spirit follow you everywhere?”

“The Holy Spirit is in me,” Tade said, and began to unpack the basket she brought.

“I see. So… That is what you are possessed by – the Holy Spirit of your Jesu!”

Tade smiled despite herself. He was almost accurate. “God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; three in one. They are all here to help you.”

Adeyeri smiled and sat on a chair, motioning Tade to sit too. Despite his pain, he couldn’t help acknowledging that the girl’s audacity was endearing. She brought out a small keg of water, a small keg of palm wine, two wraps of moi-moi, and a big chunk of roasted bush meat. The smile on Adeyeri’s lip froze.

“You risked your life to come here to feed me?” Tade nodded. Adeyeri rose. “Who are you? What is your motive? Who sent you?”

“You already know about my God. He directs my path!”

“And that path led you to me? Are you saying it is as simple as that?”

Tade nodded, but It was not simple at all. Even though she did not understand everything she was doing, she had learned not to lean on her own understanding.

“Prince, don’t worry too much. I am here to feed you. You haven’t eaten since yesterday, and that is a good thing. You really don’t know who to trust, but…”

“But I can trust you?” Adeyeri asked, fighting the need to trust someone right now.

“Yes, you can trust me. Caring for you is an assignment, and I am committed to it, so don’t worry. Don’t be afraid, God will help you.”

Adeyeri stared at her, watching her quietly, wondering what her god wanted from him, and why he was subjecting such a beautiful girl to this impossible assignment; an assignment that had murder stains over it, and could have her thrown in the dungeon.

Adeyeri cradled her face with his palm, lifting it up. Tade didn’t struggle. She simply watched as he opened the bottle of water and poured it down her throat. Tade swallowed it and smiled. He doubted her. It was understandable, but she did not expect his next reaction.

“I am so sorry,” he said, and one tear escaped his eyes.

“You are carrying a very heavy burden. Release it! Allow yourself to mourn properly.”

“I need to be strong,” he responded and drank all the water in the bottle.

Tade was surprised by how thirsty he was. He had probably not drank water since the chaos in the palace.

“Nobody is capable of being strong all the time. Sometimes, you need to just let out your fears, cry it out if you need to, and then you can clearly plan how to tackle your issues.”

Adeyeri pulled a piece of the meat and stuffed it in his mouth. “I expect such advice from a woman.”

“Grief does not know man or woman.”

“So, what will you have me do? Mope around like a weakling when the Council of Chiefs are planning my father’s burial and speaking about a possible coronation?”

Tade couldn’t pretend to understand his burden. “Let me pray with you,” she said, pleadingly.

“And defy our gods? Not happening!” Adeyeri said and drank some palm wine, pulling more meat to eat. “What I need is a plan to find who killed my father, and to ensure that I learn the secret he wanted to tell me before he died so that our lineage will not be ruined. I also need to find a good woman, a strong woman that can bear me a heir so that if I…” He trailed off when he saw the look on her face. “You don’t approve of my plan?” he asked, as though her opinion could change his mind.

“It sounds as though you are looking for a good cow, and not a wife.”

Adeyeri almost laughed. The way she said it was funny, but he couldn’t muster the courage to be happy. “Thank you for the food and for choosing to be my guardian angel, but you have to go now. If anyone catches you here, you will be ruined. Also, the timing is not appropriate for guests, so…”

“I get it. My work here is done,” Tade said, and removed another bottle of water from the basket to place on the table. “You may need this later,“ she said, and proceeded to the window.

Adeyeri watched as she was about to climb the window, and for the life of him, he couldn’t let her go. He was afraid for her. It was dark, and there was a killer on the loose who may be studying him closely so that he could strike again. She would not be safe from such a fellow.

“What is your name?” he asked, realising at that moment that he did not even know it. 

“Tade,” she replied and he nodded.

“Tade, I cannot let you go yet. It won’t be safe. I can feel it.”

Tade smiled. “Thank you for your concern, but don’t worry about me. I am safe.”

Adeyeri scoffed. “I am guessing you think your Jesu will protect you, right?”

Tade smiled. “You guessed correctly.”

Adeyeri moved closer to her and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close to him, and shutting the window. “Don’t leave! Stay!”

“Here?” she queried. His close proximity was getting to her. Every time she was near him, she wanted to be nearer, hoping that he would brush against her and they would have some form of contact. This had to stop. She couldn’t let him get into her head.

Lord, help me get over this attraction that is building up. I only want to help him.

Adeyeri was still debating how to get her out of his room without drawing any attention, when someone knocked on his door.

“There is no choice in the matter! I knew the risk when I came here. Don’t worry about me. I will be fine,” she said, and went back to the window.

With someone bearing down on his door, Adeyeri knew she was right,  so he did not try to stop her. She was a special woman, and he would hate for any harm to come to her because of her strange attachment to helping him, but right now, he didn’t have a choice than to let her go. 

The knock on the door intensified. “My Prince!” A palace guard called out, and Adeyeri finally opened the door. “It is time. I have been asked to come and help you prepare for the ceremony.”

Adeyeri didn’t need to be told what ceremony it was. It was obvious that the majority had gone with the plan of burying his father tonight. He wished he hadn’t told Banji to go home. Tonight was going to be hard, but it was only the beginning, and he knew it. The days ahead would be much harder, and he would have no one to transfer the burden to, but even as the thought formed, his mind wandered to Tade, the brave woman who had sneaked into a fully guarded palace just to feed a helpless Prince.

Maybe I am not alone afterall, he thought. Some god somewhere had chosen to give him attention. If only that attention translated into a force that kept the evil nightmare he was living away.

It shall be well with you.

The thought dropped in his mind from nowhere and it sounded like something the witch would say. Adeyeri scoffed and shook his head. The woman was beginning to take too much space in his thoughts, and he hated it. Yet, he wished she was still with him, holding his hand through the mess of a night that he was about to go through.