?Beautiful??
(Ifeoma)
Written by, Rejoice Jeremiah. C?
EPISODE 8
The Shinning Star?
(That same night)
?Ebuka?
Immediately I finished talking with Charles, I made the ‘change of plan’ known to Ola via phone call.
I gave her an hour to announce it to my father, the King and my mother, the Queen which she did then came to talk it face to face with me at the palace clinic.
“What did father say?” I asked her.
“You should know he wasn’t comfortable with the disguise plan anyway so he was happy to hear that you dropped it, mom too.”
“I know. You know thinking about it now, I think I should just show up as the crown Prince. That disguise idea looked immature. Among those ten ladies, I’m actually going to find a good bride,” I said.
She smiled. “Of course you will. The kingdom is really going to be shocked tomorrow when you step out as the prince. How are you feeling about that?” she asked.
“I can’t wait.”
“I wonder how surprised Ifeoma is going to be,” she said.
I smiled. “It’s a good thing. She’s gonna regret calling me a wounded sheep.”
She chucked. “Are you serious?”
“You gotta go now, I need to sleep,” I said.
“Alright… I Can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s going to be really exciting, goodnight and sleep well,” she said.
“Goodnight.”
She stood up and just as she took two steps, she halted, dropped her face and placed her hand on her temple.
“Are you alright Ola?” I asked.
She doesn’t look like she was.
It took her seconds to reply, “yes I’m fine.. I think I might have a headache tonight. I will take some drug,” she said.
“Please do. I don’t want my kid sister getting a headache ,” I said.
“What.. I told you to quit calling me that,” she said.
I smiled. “You should go and have the drug now. Go, go”
She walked out.
I exhaled and smiled.
Immediately my thought went to what Ola said earlier.
**I wonder how surprised Ifeoma is going to be**
‘She’s just a maid. She’s obviously going to kneel and beg me to forgive me for mercy’
I chuckled. “Somehow I’m having the doubt that she would do such thing”
‘I wonder if she’s alright. The injury must hurt a lot. If only she wasn’t given an off, I would have been able to check her hand each day and know if it’s healing fast. Just her hand’
I exhaled.
“”””””””””””””””””””
?Princess Ola?
“Don’t.. Don’t..don’t! Don’t do it! Don’t!!” I screamed and woke up from another nightmare.
My hear pounding fast, frightening goosebumps on my skin.
I scanned my room and realized it was morning but the bedside lamp was off which I know I never switched it off.
“G0sh..I’m going cr@zy” I sighed.
Rolling off the duvet, I came off the bed, slide my feet into a slippers and entered the bathroom.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth as I stared at my reflection on the mirror while my thought wandered back to my nightmare.
‘All of it has to do with my brother, the Prince.
All of it has to do with him turning a monster and killing our father, the King, then our mother too and trying to kill me too.
What kind of nightmare is that?
This nightmare can never be true…it can never happen.
Eric can never do such a thing.
I’m going cr@zy seeing things and now nightmares too.
Immediately, my reflection in the mirror changed.
My father’s throne appeared on the mirror and I was sitting on the throne as a queen and the whole kingdom was bowing and hailing. “Long live the Queen”
There was merriment in the palace with sounds of music and everyone dancing.
My face was shown to me and I was in smiles with the golden crown on my head.
It was as if I was seeing the movie in which I was in.
I stretched forth my hand to touch myself in the mirror but at that instant, everything disappeared and my current reflection in my nightwear and scattered hair appeared back again.
“What was that…” I mumbled as my fingers touched the mirror.
A knock on my door made me withdrew my hand off the mirror.
I finished washing my mouth and walked out of the bathroom to the door.
I knew it wont be Uju.
Uju won’t have knocked that way. She has her own way of knocking just like Ifeoma.
It isn’t the other maids knock either.
‘Could it be one of the maidens?’ I wondered as I opened the door and I was right.
It was one of them.
She smiled immediately I opened the door.
“Hello Good morning my princess, I’m so sorry for coming up here, I know I shouldn’t. Actually, I need a favor from you my princess,” she said.
‘I can’t remember her name’
“What’s your name and what’s the favor you want from me?” I asked.
“My name is Zara. The favour is this. I’m lacking the confidence about my present for the Prince return. I feel it isn’t good enough so I want you to tell me if I should change it or..not” she said.
I exhaled.
“Even if you want to change it, how are you going to do that? No maid or servant is allowed to go an errand outside the palace for you and no family member is allowed to visit so how are you going to do that? You should have thought well about your present for the prince before arriving the palace,” I told her.
“I know.. It’s not like it isn’t a nice present but I’m lacking the confidence since I’m not the only one who’s going to give the Prince a present,” she said.
“Look here Zara, you don’t need to loose confidence on it.. Your presence might turn out to be his most liked. You have to believe in yourself if you want to get what you want,” I told her.
“Thank you my princess”
“You should go and prepare. We are having a dance rehearsal for the Welcome ceremony for the Prince tomorrow,” I said.
“Okay my princess, thank you.”
She went away and I closed the door and walked back to my bed.
A text came on my phone and I smiled when I opened it.
?Good morning my love, how’s my beautiful princess doing this morning ?I know you are busy preparing for your brother’s arrival. I wish him a save return. We can’t wait to welcome him back.
Have a lovely day, I love you?
I smiled.
“””””””””””””””””””
?Ifeoma?
“Papa, what are you looking for?” I asked my father as I came out of my room and saw him searching around the sitting room.
“My phone, I don’t know where I dropped it..I thought it was on this chair, do you have airtime?”
“Eh, let me call your line,” I said and made a call to him with my phone.
It rang, under the chair.
“It’s ringing under the chair, wait let me get it out” I said, and quickly, I bent down and drew it out from under the chair but there was something else I found.
My missing shinning star!
I found it after years of searching.
“Oh…how did it end up under there” dad said as he took the phone.
“Alright daughter, I will be back early today. Take care of yourself and take care of the house inugo?”
“Yes papa, I will” I said.
“Bye”
“Bye Papa”
Papa left Papa left and immediately, I bent and took out the little green star.
“So this is where you’ve been.. Look at how dirty you became. I have to clean you,” I said to the star and headed to the backyard with it.
As I cleaned it, this particular memory of twenty years ago came back.
‘You see, I was just five years old then but I was pretty smart and acted like an adult.
There was a ceremony at the palace and My mom took me with her to the ceremony.
Then, the palace wasn’t as beautiful and magnificent as the current palace.
Just a second of my mom being carried away by the celebration, I walked out and headed to God knows where.
I walked on until I got to a place in the palace where I saw a boy like my age. He was facing the other side so I couldn’t see his face but he was holding to a small red scarf with the green shinning stars laced on it.
He was playing with the scarf and I got interested in the scarf and was heading to him when two women who I recognized as the palace maids emerged from nowhere and carried the boy and while he was struggling to get down, the scarf fell off. The other maid who wasn’t carrying him picked the scarf and they went out of sight.
But while she picked it up, one of the stars on the scarf fell off which she didn’t see.
I walked over and picked it up.
It was shinning and pretty.
Just then I heard my name and it was my mom, she scolded me for walking out of her sight.
I took the shining star home and was careful enough not to loose it.
It was too beautiful to loose.
I knew that boy I saw with the scarf was the Prince though I didn’t see his face.
He must be the Prince because of the maids who came for him.’
The shinning star had been cleaned. I stared at it and chuckled.
“Why I’m I still having this thing from twenty years ago? Isn’t it time for me to throw it away?”
‘Actually I was keeping it, hoping to give it back to the owner but I never got the opportunity and now, i can’t think of that.. No…there’s no way I should think of giving him the star when he returns. Why would he need this for anyway? He must have forgotten about the scarf years ago. I’ll just end up disgracing myself in front of him. I’ll just drop it somewhere’
I entered my room, went to my piles of books, opened one of the books and dropped it in there.
“You’ll be safe here” I said.
Just then, I remembered I’m supposed to get a call from Obinna.
I picked my phone.
“Why isn’t here calling? Is it taking so long to get it?” I wondered.
Just then, his call came in and I picked up immediately.
“Hello Obinna”
“Ify, sorry it took me a lot of time to call.” he said.
“It’s fine, so did you get the thing?” I asked.
“Yes… The bracelet is a real gold and it cost about hundred thousand to One hundred and fifty thousand naira.” he said.
“What!!”
“But…why are you asking about it, wait… Are you planning on buying that bracelet?” he asked.
“It…it’s really expensive,” I said.
“Yes it is…but do you want to buy it?” he asked.
“Kind of,” I said.
“Really?”
“Yes…”
“How much do you have?” he asked.
“What?”
“How much do you have now….so I can complete the money and you get the bracelet,” he said.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
‘Should I go on with this? This is a great opportunity to take that bracelet off Princess Ola’s wrist but making Obinna spend his father’s money is what I’ve never dreamt of’
“I know you would be thinking it’s my father’s money. Yes it is but you don’t have to worry about that. If you don’t have any money for it, I don’t mind buying it for you. See I don’t mind spending my life savings on you Ifeoma,” he said.
“What is the payback?” I asked him.
“Payback? Which payback. Yes there’s payback but that would be telling me the truth. I know that the Ifeoma that I know won’t wear a bracelet of one hundred and fifty thousand naira. So tell me the truth,” he said.
‘Ahh… Not like I begged him…tch ‘
“You can just forget about it then” I said.
“No… I know who you want to give it to. The princess right?”
‘Should I say yes?’
“I know it’s the Princess but why?” he asked.
“I promised her a nice gift and that bracelet is what I want to give to her.”
“Really. How would you want to gift the princess a hundred and fifty thousand bracelet. Are you being serious?”
“I’m serious. I will get something more huge in return if I do that,” I said.
“Okay fine.. I will buy the bracelet for you but you have to do something for me” he said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Make my sister, Zara become close to the Princess. In that way she could get closer to the Prince than the other ladies.” he said.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes. If you promise to do it, I will buy it for you,” he said.
‘What….whatever’
“Yes I promise” I said. Whichever way.
“Okay then. Give me only three days,” he said.
“Okay, do I still need to bring my own money?” I asked.
“No, don’t worry. I will take care of everything,” he said.
“Oh my God… thank you so much Obinna,” I said.
“It’s nothing. I’m more thankful for getting a place in your heart,” he said.
‘A place in my heart?’
“””””””””””””””””””””””
?Ebuka?
I knocked on the first door and the door opened to reveal a really beautiful fair skinned and curvy lady..
She was chewing gum and making annoying sounds with it.
“Yes, I don’t need anything,” she said.
“Hello ma, the Princess ordered me to get your names, please your full names” I said
“Oh the Princess. Okay. Who doesn’t know Adaora the beautiful daughter of the King maker,” she said.
“Sorry ma but what’s your surname?” I asked.
She gave me a long glare. “Are you from another kingdom? Are you new to the palace, don’t you know the onowu?” she asked.
“Yes I do but I don’t know his names, please kindly hasten. I need to go to 9 more rooms,” I said.
She rolled her eyes.. “Are you being mannerless to me right now?” she asked.
“Of course not ma. I just need your names and then you sign, that’s all. My apology if I sounded mannerless” I said.
“You better be so you would stay longer in the palace”
Wow…Well, I finished up with Adaora Ekeh, the King maker’s daughter and the next door was Jennifer Orji and the third door was Juliet Orji who I confirmed to be Jennifer’s twin sister.
Wow..both were just rude as Adaora.
The next door was Veronica Amadi, she wasn’t that rude.
Then, Ngozi Ozo was the next door.
“A maid should be the one doing this and not you, just finish up and get lost,” she said to me.
The next person was Zara Mba
Zara signed first, then told me her names and slam the door to my face.
Amarachi Dike was the next. She did same thing Zara did.
Uloma Mmaduka was just as rude as Adaora.
“You have no idea who’s daughter I am. You should greet me in a very respectful manner, you common servant” She had said.
Then last were Regina and Rose.
Those two weren’t rude especially Rose.
“Also the Princess says you should get ready for the Prince is arriving in few hours”
I told each of them
‘””””””””””””””””””””””””””
?Ifeoma?
The Princess was in her long nightwear and held a knife with the bracket on her wrist.
She was slowly walking to the Prince.
As she was getting to him, the lights around began flickering.
The Prince back was on her so he had no idea of what was coming to him….
Finally she got to him and just as she was about to stab him with the knife, he turned and I woke up from my nightmare.
But this time, I saw the Prince face.
It was Ebuka’s face.
How could it be Ebuka’s face?
Why can’t the Prince face be shown to me rather than using someone else face?
My phone began ringing beside me.
I took the phone and realized that the time was getting to six o’clock in the evening.
Ah I must have slept for so long.
Uju was the one calling and I picked up
“Hello Uju”
“Ifeoma you won’t believe the shock” She said.
“What’s the shock?” I asked.
“The Prince is in the palace” she said.
“Of course he should be,” I said.
“What I mean is that the Prince had been in the palace for over a week now” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked
“I’m still in shock Ifeoma. I just woke up from the fainting that i did. You won’t believe it that Ebuka is the crown Prince!” she said.
I chuckled. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
___________
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