Episode Three – Dance, My Love

The dance floor was full of women shaking their bodies rhythmically to the sound of the drums, doing their best to outshine the person next to them. It was as though they were competing for an ultimate prize. Except for a few married couples that were dancing with their spouses, there was no man on the dance floor.

“Kabiyesi, you need to join them,” Osi whispered into King Adeyeri’s ears, smiling knowingly. Adeyeri’s eyes had been roaming, and it pleased him to see that the King was not immune to the charm of the ladies on display.

“There shall be no dancing for me tonight. My wife is not coming,” Adeyeri replied casually, his eyes still on the dance floor.

Osi scooted closer to the King and whispered in his ears, determined to have his way. “It was a wise decision to keep her away. It would give you a good chance to carefully select the woman that catches your eye; a woman who can be Queen,” he said, and Adeyeri shooed him away, refusing to respond to his suggestion, but Osi was adamant. He moved away as instructed, but signalled Balogun to back him up.

“Kabiyesi, Osi is right. Apart from the opportunity that dancing will provide in your quest to find a Queen, it is also a requirement that a King, who is not royally attached to any woman, serenades the ladies on the dance floor at every folklore night. After the dance, you will select your best three women to go and know them intimately, and you can then decide who your Queen will be.” 

Osi gave Balogun a wink for his detailed explanation, but Adeyeri was still not having it.

“Who creates all these stupid rules? It doesn’t interest me to dance with any woman tonight, and I will not hear of it again. Allow me to enjoy the night in peace,” Adeyeri said, suppressing his anger, and only because he would need their approval soon, when he requested that they put the laws of the land aside and crown Tade as his Queen.

“These are the finest women in the land. I am so impressed by their dance,” Osi said to no one in particular, but it was obvious he was trying hard to get Adeyeri to change his mind.

“Look at the one with the big buttocks. Oh! I would give anything to be young again, reckless enough to pick another wife,” Balogun opined, pointing in the direction of the girl that he was referring to. In excitement, the girl moved forward, twisting her body even more vigorously, thinking that she had caught the King’s attention.

“Stop this, Balogun. You have three wives already, who may kill one another soon with how much they fight. Don’t add that young girl to your conquests,” Iyalode rebuked, but Balogun simply hissed.

“What do you know? A man can take as many wives as he wants as long as he can feed them,” Osi retorted, in support of Balogun.

“A man can also patiently choose a woman of wisdom, strength, and character, one whose beauty catches his attention, to marry. I believe things would be more peaceful in his home, and such a man would live longer than his peers,” Adeyeri stated, joining the conversation.

The Chiefs were thinking of a polite way to comment on the King’s statement when a woman walked into the dancing floor, adorned so beautifully that even the girls who were previously focused on their own dance, paused to give her room to pass. She was dressed in Iro and Buba Aso-Oke, the colour of a peacock, and her gele was higher than anyone present. Her face was covered with a transparent veil that made it impossible to know whose face was behind it, and her stomach was protruding, but perfectly round in the manner it was wrapped.

Is that the King’s wife? 

Different people whispered, passing comments about her beauty, but when she started dancing, not a single person could speak or even dance, dazed by the spectacle. 

She rolled her body like an expert, twisting to the sound of the drums in ways that no one had ever done in Iludoyin. She danced like a professional who did this for a living. Where a pregnant stomach would have slowed down a dancer, it was as though the baby in her gave her ammunition.

“That is my wife!” Adeyeri said excitedly, getting over his shock. He had not wanted her to come tonight so as to spare her pain, but seeing her there improved his mood greatly. “I am going to dance with her,” he said, dropping his staff and rising. Osi shook his head to express his disapproval. “Just a moment ago, you were eager to have me join the dance floor,” Adeyeri said in response to Osi’s disapproving look. “Now that my wife is here, you expect me to remain seated and treat her as though she is one of these girls, when she is in fact, the love of my life?”

“A King should not fall in love. It never ends well,” Balogun murmured, but Adeyeri ignored him.

Osi rose to join the King on his feet. “Kabiyesi I am not saying that you shouldn’t dance with her, it is just that you have a duty to pick a Queen, and we were hoping you would do so tonight from one of these girls on the dance floor. They are the best options we have in Iludoyin Kingdom, and the earlier we crown a woman to be your Queen, the better for everyone.”

Adeyeri nodded in understanding, and for a few seconds, he looked back and forth from Tade to the Chiefs then smiled, pointing towards Tade. “She is going to be my Queen,” he said, then abandoned the shocked and speechless Chiefs to go and dance with her.

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To the onlookers, Tade was making a fantastic show with her dance, but deep down, she was holding on to her last thread of courage. She had been determined not to come out for this folklore night, but the Holy Spirit had not let her rest concerning the matter, and He had used Atoyebi to enforce His will.

Go and be with your husband!

Go and be with your king!

Go and be with Adeyeri!

Mark your territory!

God’s stand on the issue was clear, but Tade didn’t want to come here tonight, a part of her, disappointed in Adeyeri for uninviting her. It would serve her ego to give him a silent treatment and just stay in her space where it seemed everyone wanted her to be, but she couldn’t stop hearing clearly in her spirit that there was a time for peace and a time for war. This was not the time for war, she had to choose peace.

Go and be with your husband!

Go and be with your king!

Go and be with Adeyeri!

Mark your Territory!

So, Tade had prayed for God’s help because she didn’t even know how to show up. As though her prayers summoned him, Atoyebi brought a woman to her chambers.

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with the King?” Tade had asked, wondering why he had come back again to the chamber she shared with Adeyeri.

“I don’t know why I am doing this, but I cannot help myself. This is my wife, Asake! She will help you with everything you need, Ayaba. Can she go in with you now? The folklore night affairs have begun, and I need to go back before the King misses me.”

Tade nodded in sceptical appreciation, waved Atoyebi away, and motioned for Asake to follow her inside.

Atoyebi had been right. The person who taught his wife how to dress royalty must have been a genius. She also had access to some of the clothes she had made for the former Queen, which were now abandoned with her because the Queen was dead, and no one had come to claim them. To wear such clothes as a commoner would definitely be regarded with suspicious eyes, and so Asake had kept them away until now. The clothes wouldn’t have fit her usual body size, and would have required adjustment, but with her pregnancy body, they fitted perfectly.

“You are very beautiful, Ayaba. Everyone will be looking at you tonight,” Asake had said joyfully when she finished dressing Tade, and so Tade had shown her excitement and thanked the woman for her service, giving her cowries for her time. 

However, standing before half of the people of Iludoyin, she was so nervous, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. She had stood in the shadows, under one of the trees in the village square, looking at the dancing women. One thing became clear to her as she watched them move; these women were not there to enjoy themselves and listen to folklore, they were there for her husband. 

What did they want with her man? 

Whatever it was, Tade decided that she couldn’t let them win. Even if the law of the land permitted a man to marry as many wives as he desired, she was not ready to share her husband with anyone. This was why she decided that if dancing was their strategy, she had to show them that she was better than all of them combined. So, she stepped on the dance floor and unleashed her expertise, and they recognised her prowess instantly. Tade could see it on their faces.

She had thought that she would blend in easily, and maybe even surprise Adeyeri who wasn’t expecting her, but that wasn’t the case. Everyone was looking at her as though she was an angel that had fallen from heaven. She was embarrassed to be the only dancer on the floor until Adeyeri rose from his throne and walked towards her. She looked away, hiding her blush, so that he wouldn’t see how happy she was to be in his presence again.

“You are the most beautiful girl in the world,” he said into her ears then planted his lips on her forehead in a kiss.

“Yet you didn’t want me to come here tonight. What are you trying to hide, Adeyeri?”

“My love, I am not hiding anything. I just didn’t want you to be here, around this drama. It would have been too much for you.”

Tade took Adeyeri’s arm and twirled him around sensually in a three-sixty degrees move, while balancing her leg to ensure that he didn’t fall.

“What are you doing?” Adeyeri asked, but moved with her, grinning from ear to ear, excited. 

In that moment, they were not the King and his wife, parents in the making or husband and wife. They were simply two soulmates who wanted nothing more than to love each other without external intrusion.

“I am marking my territory. If you didn’t want to give them a show, you shouldn’t have joined me,” she said, smiling into his eyes as she caressed his cheeks with her palm. 

Adeyeri held her hand and kissed it. “I am feeling hypnotised right now, and I don’t mind what you are doing. I think these people need to know who I belong to,” he said, then shocked her by carrying and twirling her around. 

One could easily assume that their dance and moves were rehearsed because the drummers were going with the flow of their dance, making melody, and entertaining the villagers, who were cheering loudly and applauding. 

“You belong to the people of Iludoyin,” Tade said when Adeyeri dropped her back on her feet, and she started yet another dance. 

Adeyeri made a show of checking her out, earning the couple even more applause than before as he responded. “Wrong! I belong to God Almighty, and I belong to you. The people of Iludoyin Kingdom have whatever is left of me.” Still dancing, Tade put her hands on his lips to stop him from saying more of such things when someone could easily hear and misunderstand, but Adeyeri wrapped his hands around her waist to begin a slower dance. “You need to take it easy. You are pregnant!”

“I am a professional, I know my limit,” she argued, but was enjoying being in his arms, so she didn’t mind the slow dance.

“I know I have been far from you. I am sorry,” he apologised.

“It’s not your fault. The demands of the throne have been daunting.”

“It hasn’t been just that! I want something from the Chiefs, and I was trying my best to get it.”

“What is that?” Tade asked curiously, but Adeyeri simply turned her back to him and rubbed her belly.

“When the time is right, I will let you know. Trust me!” he said, then raised his voice to address his people. “Tonight is beautiful, let us enjoy it to the fullest. I will pay for every drop of palm wine you drink tonight in honour of my wife’s glorious dance for me. Let’s not stop you from your dance; so please, continue the celebrations.”

The people cheered loudly, professing their love for the royal couple as they gradually filled the dance floor, joining their King and his wife. Although some of the girls who had been previously dancing for Adeyeri continued their dance, a number of them, including Abike, could no longer continue. They walked out of the dance floor, clearly upset.

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“Our King has made his first official veto decision. He has refused to take another wife to be his Queen,” the Chief Priest said coldly, his anger brewing.

“We must not allow him,” Osi said, his eyes on his niece, Omolewa, who was walking away from the dance floor dejectedly.

“Not allow him?” Iyalode interjected. “He is King,  and can do whatever he deems fit.”

“We are his Chiefs; our role is to ensure that the King does not commit an abomination.”

“If this was an abomination, we should have suffered consequences by now. Yet, no evil has befallen our land since Adeyeri has become King. The rain falls and stops, giving our plants just what it needs, no bandits have invaded our farms to steal our crops, and not a single person has died. If that is not a sign that the gods approve of Adeyeri and his reign, I don’t know what else is,” Iyalode opined, and walked away, showing that she didn’t want to be part of the plot of the Chiefs to crown another woman as the Queen of Iludoyin.

“Iyalode may be right. We benefit much from a happy King, and I think that woman makes King Adeyeri happy,” Balogun said, irritating his peers. The Chief Priest hissed while Osi scowled.

“This was her plan all along. We cannot allow her to divide us,” Osi quipped.

“That woman is a witch, and has stolen the heart of our King. When was the last time you heard about a King in love? Isn’t it even strange for a ruling King to stand in the village square, allowing a woman to visibly wrap him around her fingers?” The Chief Priest asked no one in particular, but Osi nodded in agreement, then motioned the other Chiefs to move closer.

“If the King proves stubborn, we can give him a Queen the age-long way!”

Balogun raised a brow, unsure of Osi’s point, but the Chief Priest understood immediately.

“Pregnancy! We will choose a girl of our liking to be Queen, but first, she has to lure the King into bed and get pregnant. Once this is done, the King will have no choice,” he said, and Osi nodded in excitement, but Balogun shook his head in disagreement.

“I don’t like this plan at all. With all due respect, there is no sense in it. What is the guarantee that she will get pregnant after sleeping with the King once? Only a constant coupling in an affair can guarantee that, and I don’t see King Adeyeri taking on a mistress anytime soon. Besides, his wife is pregnant. What difference will a pregnant girl make to qualify her to be Queen?” Balogun argued.

“Of course, for this plan to work, there can only be one pregnant woman in the palace!” the Chief Priest declared.

“Ahhhhhh!!!” Balogun exclaimed.

“I know a girl that will do a fantastic job. My niece, Omolewa, will be perfect! The good thing is that I believe she was even friends with the King when he was still a Prince, so it won’t be difficult at all,” Osi said, liking the idea a lot.

“We need more than one girl to try. Whoever wins the King’s attention and gets pregnant will become Queen to displace the witch in the palace. I will also find a girl to try her luck, someone who can be discreet. Your niece is also a good option, we can make her swear to secrecy. Balogun, what about you? Are you nominating one of your daughters?” the Chief Priest asked, knowing that the best way to get Balogun’s vote on the matter was to include him, and he was right. 

Balogun smiled and scratched his head. “My first daughter is married, but I believe my second daughter, the first child of my third wife, would be more than happy to try her luck,” he said, and Osi nodded, trying to suppress his irritation. He didn’t want Omolewa to have competition, but at this point, he knew he had no choice. For them to succeed, they all needed to be in this together.

“We will take an oath! To succeed, no one can betray us,” The Chief Priest said, and they all nodded their heads in approval.

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Two Hours Later

Adeyeri put a pillow behind Tade to prop her up on the bed, then he took a pea size quantity of ointment and robbed it on her leg. She moaned in pain.

“Adeyeri, be gentle. You are literally grinding my leg,” Tade complained, but instead of reducing his tenacity, he rubbed it in more, laughing at her.

“You are such a baby. How is it going to work if I don’t do it well? When you were dancing like a honeybee, you should have counted the cost.”

Tade was going to respond when they heard a knock on the door, and Adeyeri asked the person to come in.

“Are we expecting anyone?”

“It is Atoyebi. I asked him to bring some hot water.”

Atoyebi entered and put the bowl of hot water on the table then paused in shock. “Ah, Kabiyesi!! What are you doing? Please, let me get one of the servant girls to help you. They should have been on stand-by to serve Ayaba. I am sorry on their behalf,” he said, visibly shaken, and rushing off to go and get a female maid servant.

Adeyeri laughed, while Tade simply smiled. If the inhabitants of the palace and the people of Iludoyin knew the kind of relationship Adeyeri and Tade shared, they would be shocked beyond words.

“Please, don’t bother coming back, Atoyebi. You will only be interrupting our privacy. I may be King, but in this room and wherever my wife is, I am a loyal subject, happy to serve,” Adeyeri called out, and Atoyebi nodded in understanding, but the shock remained visible as he left.

Tade raised her leg and placed it on Adeyeri’s shoulder. “My dear loyal subject, can you please get me a bowl of water?” Tade teased, and Adeyeri rose to get the water. Midway, she added, “I also need another pillow for my back, as well as the sleeping robe on the slab over there.”

“I think you may need that servant girl after all,” Adeyeri replied, but to her utmost surprise, went to do all that she had requested. Adeyeri may be a caring husband, but he had been a spoiled Prince. Serving anyone was not something he did easily.

“You are very agreeable tonight. What is the catch?” Tade observed him closely, especially because the smile on his face deepened.

“You already know, my love! You are the catch.”

“Me?”

“Did you think you would dance like that in the village square and not dance for me in the room?” he asked, already removing her wrapper, and tickling her sides.

“Adeyeri, my leg is aching me ooo. Let’s do this dance tomorrow,” she requested, yet she was snuggling closer to her husband.

“Why did you think I was rubbing that ointment vigorously on your leg earlier?”

“And I thought you were caring for me.”

“Always, my love! I am always caring for you,” Adeyeri said as he scooped her closer into his arms, determined to enjoy his own version of a great dance tonight. 

He knew that his statement before walking out on the Chiefs to be with Tade at the folklore night would trigger a move from them to counter his decision, and so the coming days would test his spirit and require his wit, but tonight, in the arms of the woman he loved, he just wanted to dance under the sheets.

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King Adeyeri and his wife, Tadeyeri’s love is truly beautiful to experience. Were you giggling as you read the concluding part of this episode? Are you worried about the plans of Osi and the other chiefs? Please share your thoughts as you anticipate the coming episodes.