Episode Twenty-Two: Choosing A New God

Alani walked into the camp with the rabbit he had caught with his trap. He had thought it would take all night before he found anything to bring back, but he’d been lucky, and had rushed back in excitement to start roasting it. He desperately wanted to catch some sleep before they continued again the following day on this journey that he hated so much, more so because he didn’t even know where they were going. When he took on the assignment to spy on Adeyeri as he went into exile, he had thought that they were going to one of the neighbouring villages that were allies to Iludoyin, but alas, the Prince and his wife had a different plan.

Now, they were further away from Iludoyin than he’d expected. Yet, he had no information for the Queen, who must be panicking right now, especially being at the mercy of the new horrible King. However, Wuraola’s plight was not his motivation for wanting to send the information as quickly as possible. He not only needed this wretched journey to end, but also badly wanted Adeyeri arrested. This was his chance to finally get revenge. He had been suppressing his hatred for Adeyeri because he thought it was impossible to punish a monarch, but not anymore. Revenge was at the tip of his fingers.

When Adeyeri turned eighteen years old, most of the girls in the village began to fall in love with him. He was a catch. He had money, was a Prince, and was the most handsome man in all the seven kingdoms combined. Every now and then, his friends would organise a woman for him; girls who thought the Prince was in love with them, and they stood a chance to marry him, but all Adeyeri did was simply have them in his bed for one night. Alani’s sister was one of those women. She had willingly walked into the Prince’s den to be his entertainment. 

Even though she claimed that she had simply danced for Adeyeri because he wasn’t in the mood for her, and she didn’t catch his fancy, Alani still felt humiliated. Who was Adeyeri to be able to pick women like clothes? Till today, his sister still carried a torch for the Prince, and had refused to marry anyone else. Alani had vowed to destroy the Prince, but never thought it would be possible to act on it until Wuraola reached out to him. Tonight, he had to find some information to send to the Queen before they were too far from Iludoyin for anything to be done successfully. 

When he walked into the camp, he paused at the entrance because the silent Prince, who wasn’t speaking to anyone prior, seemed to be taking his pleasure from his wife. 

“Hypocrite,” Alani said under his breath, wondering if this was what the couple always got to as soon as he and Banji left the camp, pretending not to be speaking to each other.

He positioned himself behind a tree so that they wouldn’t see him as he watched them, hoping to hear them divulge a secret that would be helpful to his cause.

Tade nestled her body in Adeyeri’s arms, her head resting on his chest, while he stroked her shoulders, both of them clearly relaxed and enjoying each other.

“Promise me that you won’t go back to being silent in the morning. I can’t stand it anymore.” she said, rising slightly to look Adeyeri in the eyes, but he simply kissed her forehead and gently pulled her back into his arms, saying nothing. “Don’t clam up. We are on the same team, and you can trust us. If you keep silent and close up, it can take you on a sad journey of depression. I don’t want that for you,” she continued, and Adeyeri simply sighed. “Won’t you say anything?” she asked, attempting to raise her head to look into his eyes again, but before she could, Adeyeri placed his lips on hers and kissed her into silence.

Silence might have been his goal, but with his lips on hers, he decided to lose himself in her softness, pulling her closer into his arms, and putting her arms around his neck so that she could press deeper to his length. He loved her so much, the feeling overwhelmed him. She was simply perfect. Tade was the best woman he could have ever married, and he knew it. Her intelligence, courage and beauty were second to none. She was everything he wanted in his Queen, but now, he didn’t even know if he could ever be King. What could he really say when he did not even know what his future held? He had never been in this position where he had to think and plan about the future. His life had been figured out even before he was born, but in the last few weeks, he had watched his father murdered, his servant die for him, his mother declared not to be his mother, his father’s best friend try to steal his throne, an unknown brother crowned as King, and his heritage stolen. Tade in his arms, in this moment, was the only tangible thing in his life; his woman, his own, his everything. Without her at his side right now, he didn’t know if he would even have the courage to keep going.

Tade pressed deeper into Adeyeri’s arms then broke the kiss so she could speak. “I like your choice of distraction, but we need to talk,” she said, and finally he indulged her. 

Pulling out of her arms, he sat up. “I don’t know what to tell you that you don’t already know. My heart is still broken, I am trying to process the betrayal, but I will be fine. I owe it to my father to get his throne back, but for now, let’s just focus on going to Oyo, where we can start a trade, and maybe induct men to join our cause and fight with me when the time is right.”

Tade sat up properly, shocked! “That is your plan? To find men to fight?”

Adeyeri was confused by her question. “What else is there to do? How can I take back my throne without fighting men? Isn’t that what worked for Adeloye? That was how he took the kingdom.”

Tade sighed. “So you want to fight this battle with men when you have the Almighty God and the army of heaven on your side? You want to choose the option that leads to shedding blood and men dying.”

Adeyeri scoffed. “Your god may be powerful, but he cannot fight a battle by himself, or is that what you are saying? Because if he could win a war without men, we wouldn’t be running for our lives right now.”

Tade took a deep breath. “Adeyeri, the fact that we left with our lives is a sign that the Lord is on our side. He is with us, and will help us. We just need to ask for His help. You need to give your life to him. He needs to be our strategy.”

Adeyeri stared at her for a few seconds and sighed. “You are a woman. I am not sure you understand war and what is at stake here, so forget about it, and trust me,” he stated and tried to pull her back into his arms. They had just enjoyed a deeply satisfying time together, and he didn’t want to ruin it with a fight, but Tade refused to be  pulled in. Instead, she stood up.

“I am going for a walk,” she said, and began to walk away, but Adeyeri held her hands before she could go far.

“Do you honestly think that I will let you leave my sight?” 

“I am not your prisoner, Adeyeri.”

“But you are my wife, and I decide how best to protect you. If I say you will not leave my sight, then that is how it would be.”

“Adeyeri, don’t be ridiculous. I need some time away to think clearly and to pray.”

Adeyeri pulled her closer, and held her waist, holding her gaze. “I am not trying to stop you out of cruelty. I just need you to be by my side. I don’t want to be alone, and I don’t want you to be alone. I will be lost if you…” 

Adeyeri’s voice broke. He could not finish the words he planned to say, but Tade seemed to understand as she threw herself into his arms.

Shade smiled as she rolled over to the other side of the bed, watching as the King slept, satisfied by the way she had handled him on the bed some moments ago.

In just a few days, her fate had changed!

The herbalist she had consulted had told her not to worry about the threat from Iyalode’s man because her fate was going to change in a few days, but she didn’t know it was going to be this fast. Last week, four guards had strolled into her shop and broken down the doors, which was closed because nobody was doing business in Iludoyin this period. Everyone was hiding and trying to stay safe so as not to fall victim to the new King’s whims. He was killing for entertainment, and picking women randomly for his relaxation.

The day the guards broke down her shop, they had carted away all her palm wine stock and did not pay a dime. She had just stocked up with most of the money she had, so she threw caution to the wind and followed them to see the King. Looking back, she didn’t know where she found the courage to come and ask him for her money. The King had liked her courage, but more importantly, he had taken a liking to her. Her excess bosom was a complete turn on for him, so from that day, he had told her to come and see him often. She obeyed, and so everyday, he brought her into his room and had his way with her. Or maybe she was the one that had her way with him, because it seemed he was growing addicted to her. She had that effect on men; almost all the men she had ever been with had not been able to let her go.

Except for Tadeyanju; who picked his daughter over her.

Where was he now, she wondered, but dared not ask the King, who must never know about her past relationship with him. The King was already promising to make her the first of the five Queens he would marry in a few days. To be the wife of a King would change her life forever: and this King, with his unconventional ways, would make her acceptable to his Chiefs. In the throes of passion the previous day, she had told him about her son, not wanting to keep a secret that would ruin her chance at the last minute. He didn’t seem to care. Indeed, her fate had changed like the herbalist predicted, and if she could, she would bottle up the good luck charm he sold to her to resell to others, and make a fortune.

The King wanted her.. 

She wanted Tadeyanju!

But being with the King was the better option. The palace had still not recovered from Tadeyanju’s invasion, and it riled Adeloye to bits that the battle made it possible for Adeyeri and his wife to escape.

Tade married the Prince!

The marriage was still a mystery to Shade, but she had always been indifferent about Tadeyanju’s child. It was Tadeyanju himself she wanted information about. Did he escape? Was he killed? No one was saying anything about him, and she was scared because despite herself and her proud position as the King’s mistress, she still loved him. 

Banji strolled into the camp to find Alani perched behind a tree, the animal he hunted laying at his feet, while it seemed as though he was leaning forward to eavesdrop.

“What are you doing?” he asked loud enough to be heard by Alani, but not enough for Adeyeri and Tade. He couldn’t risk alerting Adeyeri to this if he was wrong. The Prince was already extremely distrustful.

“Oh! I had just finished easing myself,” Alani defended himself.

Banji gave him a wary look, clearly not believing him, but he didn’t have enough evidence to accuse Alani further, so he dropped the subject. “Don’t stand there, easing yourself forever. Clean that animal and roast it before it starts succumbing.”

“Oh yes!” Alani said, picking up the rabbit and walking into the camp as though he just arrived with Banji.

The sight of Tade leaning against Adeyeri, her head on his chest while he sat, backing a tree, warmed Banji’s heart, but he said nothing so as not to jinx it. 

“You are welcome back. Is it okay to travel through? I want us to continue tomorrow,” Adeyeri said. 

Banji sat near his friend without answering his question. “You seem to be in a better mood. What did the witch do to you?” he teased, half expecting him not to respond, but he smiled.

“She is not a witch!” he said lightheartedly, glancing at his wife, who seemed to have fallen asleep.

“She definitely has the magic touch! Something is different about you today.”

“Stop speculating, Banji. Let’s plan our next move!”

Alani wasn’t too far away, picking sticks to make a fire, so Banji didn’t want to speak about their plans yet. The servant was not like the last one. He hadn’t proven himself as one that deserved trust. The situation was dire, and even if Alani was a good man, Banji still felt like he needed to be careful. Adeyeri could not survive another betrayal.

“Which god are we serving because we haven’t made any spiritual consultation since we started this journey,” he said, changing the topic. “I hear your wife praying to a god that we don’t know.”

“Let’s get to know her god, and then make our consultation with him. Her god is easier to serve, doesn’t require human or even animal sacrifice, allows his people to speak to him at all times, and he listens.”

“You think it was him who rescued you from Iludoyin?”

“I am certain it was him,” Adeyeri declared, and Banji sighed.

“So this is the god you choose?”

“I think Tade’s god chose me. I can’t explain it, but I want to understand him better. Then we will worship him, and he will lead us. Do you want to join me?” Adeyeri asked his friend.

“Do you trust me now?” Banji replied, and Adeyeri nodded slowly.

“I am sorry to have doubted you. It’s just really hard not to do so when…”

Banji didn’t let him finish as he went on his knees. “I understand you, my Prince. Say no more. Your god will be my god, where you go, I will follow, and if it comes to it, I will die for you, for you to take your rightful place as King in Iludoyin“

“Do you think that is still possible?”

“With the right strategy and implementation, nothing will be impossible.”

From sleep, Tade scooted closer into Adeyeri’s arms, and as though she heard everything they had just said, murmured, “With God, nothing shall be impossible.”

Adeyeri stroked her face with his palm and placed a kiss on her cheeks. “With her by my side, I am finding strength to try again. As much as you want me to be King, I want her to be Queen. She will be good at it.”

“In that case, I will lay down my life for her too. Both of you will get the throne back,” Banji said.

“You are a friend that is sticking to me closer than any brother could. Thank you,” Adeyeri replied, touched by the depth of Banji’s loyalty.

Alani watched the exchange from afar, and rolled his eyes. They were simply building castles in the air because he was determined to destroy their plans. Now that he knew that Oyo was the final destination, he could send word to Wuraola, and soon, men will come to ruin the lofty dreams of these three fools.