Episode Twenty-One: A Prince On Exile

One Week Later

Tade sighed as she looked at Adeyeri for the umpteenth time, hoping that he would sleep better today than he had in the past seven days. It was as though his enemies continued to torment him from sleeping, yet, she could only speculate because he refused to speak about it. 

When they escaped from the palace, Banji was already waiting with the money they needed for the trip and use in exile. There were no two words for it, Adeyeri’s trip away from his fatherland was exile. He had been forced out. To stay behind was to face death, and even though running away felt like cowardice and it haunted him, he was determined to live to fight another day; to fight for his father’s throne. It was a logical plan, but Adeyeri’s spirit remained broken. Wuraola’s betrayal and deception was like a festering wound that cut deeper and stung more than the ones that were gradually healing on his back.

Banji had gone to wait for the messenger they sent to the next village to see if they would have safe passage as they journeyed to Oyo. They had previously planned to go to the neighbouring village, but the Holy Spirit had warned Tade against it. The town was too close to Iludoyin kingdom. Many would recognise Adeyeri and take the message back to Iludoyin for the gain of a few cowries. Oyo was a modern town, and the biggest city in Yoruba land. They would blend in easily, and nobody would be the wiser, especially since many people were moving to Oyo town for greener pastures. Their King, who was referred to as the Alaafin, allowed foreigners to improve the economy of his land. 

However, they were still too close to Iludoyin to move freely without taking necessary precautions. Alani had also come with them. Banji had found a way to send information to him to bring some of Adeyeri’s clothing and his sacred royal beads. They had almost left him behind when hours after they had passed the city gate, he was still nowhere to be found. They had waited endlessly for him, partly to give Adeyeri time to recover his strength to embark on a long walk because the beatings he’d received had wearied him tremendously. Their patience paid off. Alani had finally arrived with food, milk, water, clothes, and the beads. They had all been shocked to see the Prince’s servant arrive unhurt, and with so many supplies when the town was chaotic.

“How did you get all this out of the palace without others getting suspicious?” Tade asked, suspicious of him herself. She had never trusted the Prince’s servant, and she didn’t feel any different now, but she was forced to accept his answer. He had brought what they needed, and it had to count for something.

“I have been a palace servant all my life. I know my way around the palace more than most, and I have run errands like this more times than I can count. I simply passed routes that no one knew about.”

Banji believed him instantly, grateful for his foresight. “We will leave soon. Take a message to Chief Osi, let him know that…”

Adeyeri didn’t let him finish. “Take a message to no one,” he said grumpily. “Do we even know who to trust at this point? Who knows if you are not betraying me as we speak?” he stated, looking from Tade to Banji.

Adeyeri’s accusation hurt Banji, but he said nothing. It was Tade who took no offence and reached for Adeyeri’s hands immediately.

“We must not allow the seed of discord to be sown amongst us. God has delivered us today, and we must stand together to ensure that we overcome these evil days,” she said, and for a moment Adeyeri had looked at her as though he wanted to believe her, but he’d snatched his hands away, and rose from his sitting position.

“Soon, men will be sent to look for me. Banji, Alani, you can go back to Iludoyin. Our own journey leads us away from here now, but I hope to meet you again.”

Banji’s face creased in anger. “How dare you dismiss me like a fly? Is that all I mean to you?”

Adeyeri looked away. “If you want to live long, the best thing to do is to stay far away from me as much as possible. I value you enough to want you to live. The only person that has no choice but to be with me is Tade because she is my wife and may be carrying my child as we speak, and I will not let her raise a bastard.”

Tade swallowed her retort. Adeyeri was not in a state to be reasoned with, yet it hurt her deeply that the only reason he was not discarding her was because of the possibility of the child she might have conceived.

“You are not just my Prince, you are my brother. I have already sent word to my family not to look for me. I stand with you, Adeyeri. Where you go, I will go, and I swear by the gods that I will fight for your kingdom when the time is right.”

Adeyeri looked at Banji as though touched by his words then averted his gaze. “The gods are dead!”

“I want to come with you too. I am your servant. It is my duty, and you will surely need me,” Alani also pleaded, but Tade’s spirit did not agree with his statement, but since she had no evidence to back her intuition, she couldn’t protest when Adeyeri gave his consent for him to follow.

Adeyeri barely spoke to any of them except when it was necessary. His nights were dark, filled with night terrors and nightmares, and Tade wished he would speak to her, not like one of the entourage, but as his wife. They had had several times alone, times like this when Banji had gone to check out the next village, and Alani had gone to hunt an animal for their food. They were going to be alone all night, but Adeyeri wasn’t even making any attempt to seek comfort from her or confide in her about his fears.

Adeyeri noticed that Tade was watching him. She thought he was sleeping, but he had too much on his mind to sleep. As he covertly observed her, he noticed there was a look of genuine concern and worry on her face, the type he now realized that he had never seen on Wuraola’s face. He didn’t know who to trust, but no matter how hard he tried to be wary of Tade’s care, he couldn’t doubt it. The god she had introduced to him had saved him from the jaws of death without any sacrifice. He had simply called out his name, and from time to time, he wondered if it was just pure luck, or this Jesu was truly powerful and easily came to the rescue of his worshippers. He had questions; questions about Tade’s god! 

He wanted very badly to trust someone, but he couldn’t. His heart was still aching badly from the hurt of betrayal. How then could he be foolish again? Banji was clearly disappointed by his attitude. They had been friends for many years, but then again, Wuraola had been his mother all his life until last week.

“Tade!” Adeyeri whispered her name. 

She always slept beside him even though he had not touched her since the journey began. She must think that he detested her when the truth was that he could only sleep when she was near. He had been struggling with sleep for a few hours now because,

instead of her usual spot beside him, she was sitting under the opposite tree, deep in thought. He wished he could read her mind to know what she was thinking, and he hoped that she was not beginning to get tired of him, or harbouring regret that she married him. In a very shaky world where everything seemed unreal, their marriage was the only thing that felt real.

She was his!

He loved it, and he loved her!

He didn’t know how he had developed affection for her, but the feeling was there, and it was strong. On many occasions, he’d wondered if letting her go and annulling the marriage wasn’t the best thing to do. If he truly loved her, he should set her free, not let her live as a fugitive. He was thinking of not touching her again, so that just in case she was not pregnant with his child, she could start her life afresh. Unfortunately, he didn’t even know who would be willing to marry her when she was no longer a virgin, except maybe Banji. From the day he’d met Tade, he had known that Banji liked her. In fact, if not that Banji thought she was a witch, he would have made a move before they all realised that she was his Abobaku.

“Tade,” he whispered again, and didn’t see how he could ever let her go. Just the feel of her nearness was enough to comfort him. And he wanted her near him.

Tade heard the first time he called her name, but assumed she’d imagined it. This time, she was sure and rushed to sit near where he lay. “I am here,” she responded.

“Why are you not sleeping?” he asked, and for the first time since they embarked on the journey, he held her hands. They both felt the electricity in the contact.

“Nothing,” she replied, trying to hide her reaction to him.

“Why are you not sleeping?” he asked again.

“Nothing,” she replied again, pleasantly surprised that he cared that she was not sleeping by his side as usual.

Adeyeri scooted to the other side and pulled her to lie down beside him. “In that case, sleep. We have a long walk ahead of us tommorow. You will need your strength.”

Tade allowed Adeyeri to pull her down beside him, but when they slept backing each other, she turned to face him. “Why won’t you speak to me, Adeyeri? I am worried!”

“I am speaking to you now,” he replied, turning to face her as well then stunned both of them by caressing her face.

“That’s not what I mean! What I want is for you to share what you are feeling!”

Adeyeri withdrew his hands from her face, and Tade found that she missed it, so she touched his face, and he held her hand to pull it away, but the touch was so comforting, he put his hand over hers instead.

“I am thinking many thoughts; thoughts that will worry you, but the topmost one is wondering if, just in case you are not pregnant, I could annul our marriage and marry you off to a man who can give you a peaceful life.”

Tade rose with a start, not able to take Adeyeri’s statement lying down. “Are you out of your mind?”

Adeyeri rose too. “This is why I did not want to tell you.”

Tade stared at him for a long time then rose to her feet and began to walk away. Adeyeri grabbed her hands and rose to his feet too.

“Where are you going?”

Tade’s eyes were already filling up with tears. “I don’t want to be rude to you or say something I’ll regret, so it’s best I take a walk.”

Adeyeri wiped her tears with the back of his hands. “I didn’t say this to hurt you. I want you. I need you. I…”

Tade didn’t let him finish. “Then why do you want to let me go?”

“I… I…” Adeyeri stuttered. 

He didn’t want to tell her that he loved her. That would give her too much power over him, especially because he didn’t even know if she felt the same way about him. He kept using his hands to wipe her tears, and the contact began to mess with him. He wanted to feel her more despite himself, so he pulled her closer and placed his lips on hers in a kiss. For a while, they both simply stood still, lips locked, and Adeyeri’s hands in her hair, stroking her scalp. It was Tade who finally deepened the kiss, and then no words were necessary anymore as they both used their hands to say the things their mouths couldn’t dare.

They were in love!

They never want to leave each other!

They were all they had in the world!

Wuraola was pacing in front of the palace, wondering if Alani had betrayed her. She needed their plan to work out, or she would lose her place of value with Adeloye. She had promised him that she knew how to find Adeyeri, and that her people were tailing him.

This had pleased the King very much, and so he had agreed to leave her as Queen mother and not turn her into his wife if she delivered his enemy into his hands. 

Alani made it possible for her. The servant had remained surprisingly loyal. He had come straight to her as soon as Banji sent him on the errand, and she had provided all the things he took to the Prince so that he could win their trust. In turn, he would be her emissary in their midst. A part of her had been tempted to simply let Adeloye have Adeyeri that night. His men could have followed Alani to go and arrest him and his wife, but she’d decided to take things slow and steady. Knowing Adeyeri’s plan and location, which was Adeloye’s greatest quest right now, gave her leverage.

The only challenge was that the day Alani was to send word had passed, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Adeyeri had won him over, and he was no longer willing to be her loyal snitch. It couldn’t be. The man disliked Adeyeri for a reason he hadn’t disclosed to her, and she didn’t care, as long as it continued to fuel him to help her cause. Adeyeri was her leverage. He was her sacrifice to win the heart of her son, and she couldn’t let him go.