??Beautiful??
(Ifeoma)
Written by Rejoice Jeremiah. C?
EPISODE 17?
?His Chosen Bride?
?Ifeoma?
“Do you think the maidens are going to leave? Hmm I don’t think so,” Ozioma said.
“I think the Prince will be in trouble with the people if the maidens leave the palace without him picking a bride,” Chinaza said.
“Ahn ahn Two guards are coming to the maids quarter, why?” Uju said, staring at the window.
“What are they coming here to do?” Ozioma quesrioned.
A knock sounded on the door.
I sensed trouble.
“I will answer them,” Chinaza said and went to the door.
“What is it?” she asked them on opening the door.
“The King ordered Ifeoma to be brought to him,” they said.
I raised my brows.
The King?
“Ifeoma, the King?” Uju asked me.
I exhaled. “It’s fine Uju. I’m sure it’s nothing serious, I’ll be back,” I said, got up and left with the two guards
But on my way, I met both the Prince and Princess Ola.
“Leave here. I will take her to the King,” Prince Eric said to the guards.
“Yes My Prince,” they said and left.
Now it was just I, The Prince and the Princess.
He took a step closer. “Ifeoma, are you okay?”
“Yes My Prince. I should go answer the King. He seeks for my presence,” I said.
“Do you feel anything?” he asked me.
“Yes. I feel there’s trouble for me. Did something happen?” I asked him.
“Yes. The demon in Ola accused you wrongly. My father want to know the truth and you have to tell him the truth,” he said.
I glanced at Princess Ola, saw her smiling and sighed.
“About my power?” I asked him.
“Yes, Ola lied that you have evil powers. You must make him believe that you have no ev!l power.. Tell him the truth,” he said.
“Of course I’m going to tell the truth,” I said.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let him hurt you. I need you on this,” he said.
“Thank you my Prince,” I said.
“Go now,” he said.
In a minute I was in the King’s study chamber.
“Your majesty,” I greeted with a curtsy.
“You are the Ifeoma right?” he asked.
“Yes your Majesty,” I answered.
“Now who are you?” he asked.
I inhaled.
“Your majesty, I’m Ifeoma Okeke, the daughter of Nze Okeke, a hunter from Eziala village. I’m the personal maid to the Prince,” I answered respectfully.
“What are you?” he asked.
I exhaled.
“I possess a hereditary power which does no harm to people but good. I’ve never used my power to hurt anyone nor do I plan to,” I said.
“Then who tried to kill the Princess and also a maid?” he asked.
“A dem0n is controlling the Princess and he is the one who wants to kill not just the Princess, but mainly you, my King and the Prince,” I said.
“And you know of this dem0n?” he asked.
“No my King, I don’t but there’s a bracelet she wears and she got possessed through it.” I said.
I waited for him to talk but when he didn’t, I went on.
“…The main target is the Prince. I had several nightmares of the Princess trying to kill the Prince. If the demon isn’t defeated soonest, I’m afraid things would turn out very bad,” I said.
“You are having a secret affair with the Prince, right?” he asked.
I widened my eyes. “Never your Majesty. I can never do such. I’m only his personal maid. I can’t do such your majesty,” I said.
‘This has gotten out of hand. Accusing me of having an affair with the Prince. What!?’
“”””””””””””””””
(Minutes later?)
I was pushed into the palace cell and got locked inside with four guards surrounding me.
I had no reason to drop a tear but I was worried for the Prince and everyone in the palace.
I wonder how long I’m going to be in here.
It’s six hours is gone out of the twenty four hours.
Suddenly I heard someone coming.
“My Prince you can’t be here..” The guards said.
I rushed to the cell door.
‘He’s here’
He got to the door and we shared eyes contact.
“Open the door, I wanna talk to her,” he told the guards.
“But my Prince, the King…”
“Open the door I said!”
“Yes my prince,”
The door got opened.
“Leave us alone. I don’t need anyone close,” he told them.
“My Prince…”
“Do as I say!”
“Yes my Prince,” they said and walked far away.
“My Prince”
“I will get you out of here okay?” he said.
I nodded.
“I…I’m sorry about the accusation…” he said.
“No, you don’t have to apologize… It’s not your fault that I was accused. I only need to find whoever is behind all these,” I said.
“That ev!l thing is supposed to be coming for me, not you,” he said.
“He has to come for me too because I’m an obstacle to his mission. I guess he’s doing all this to weaken my power before the twenty hours comes to an end,” I said.
“Twenty four hours?” he asked.
“Yes, he gave me twenty four hours to prepare myself for a fight with him. If he defeats me, then he will have access to you,” I said.
“He won’t defeat you Ifeoma, listen to me,” he said and took my hand.
I glanced out the door and pulled my hand off his hold.
“Is that a hobby of yours?” he asked.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“To always take your hand off at first? You did that earlier, in the morning..” he said.
“You can’t hold my hand..” I told him.
“Well I want to, I don’t see anything wrong with that, people hold hands even in churches,” he said.
“This isn’t a church. This is the palace and you are the Prince, I’m a maid. You can’t be seen holding my hand. It would make them believe we are really having an affair,” I said.
“And what if we are?” he asked, shocking me.
I raised my brows. “What?”
“I like you Ifeoma and I’ll make you my bride,” he said.
He said like it was so simple and easy for him to get off his mouth.
I gasped and looked around, making sure that none of the guards were close and heard him say that.
“Why are you so startled… Anyone can hear it if they want. It’s gonna happen, I’ll marry you Ifeoma.”
“No! Please don’t repeat that again. Please I beg you. There are no history in this kingdom that the previous Princes or Kings married a maid. It can’t happen. It’s going to ever happen. I don’t like you in that way and I reject your proposal.” I said even though my heart was racing.
“What? You don’t want it? You don’t want to marry me and let’s rule this kingdom together?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, there are ten maidens who are worth this proposal, not me. Not Ifeoma. No one would approve of this, so please don’t repeat it..” I said.
He took a step closer and I stepped backward.
He took another step and I did too.
“But I like you. What do you want me to do. The likeness came so sudden and I don’t want to stop…liking you Ifeoma. Never” he said.
“Please don’t step any closer my Prince.” I said and took few steps back.
He breathed out..
“What if I wasn’t the crown Prince, will you accept to marry me?” he asked.
I was speechless, not knowing what to answer.
I should say no but I couldn’t find myself saying it.
“You like me too, right? When did it start?” he asked and took another step close.
“I told you not to come close. I don’t like you. I mean in that way.. I just like you as the Prince of this kingdom and no, I won’t marry you even if you weren’t the crown Prince,” I said.
“Ifeoma, I don’t wanna know what you say in this. You deserve the crown of a queen. You’ll look really gorgeous in it,” he said.
I sighed. “We should be bothered about the Princess right now, how to defeat this demon and not talking about any other thing.”
“I feel a connection between us Ifeoma. From the very first day you i met you at that lonely path.. I felt a sudden interest for you..” he said.
I faced away. “Please stop saying all these. I don’t want to hear them.”
“I’ve gotten so interested in only three things in this world ever since I was born.. First was a scarf with shinning stars emboldened on it, it was really a beautiful scarf but somehow I lost one of the stars twenty years ago. I wept about it for days… second was a particular dream of I’ve always had but suddenly I stopped having them on returning to the palace and the third, is you..” he said.
‘He wept about if for days?’
“If I may ask, the scarf from twenty years ago, is it still with you?” I asked him.
“Sure. I couldn’t let it go. I felt like I should keep it forever. It was given to me by my late grandmother, the late queen mother,” he said.
I sighed.
Suddenly he grabbed my hand really tight and pulled me close to him.
I stared into his eyes and he was staring back.
“Ifeoma, I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me from now. But this little time I’ve got, I want it to be special with you,” he said.
“Nothing is going to happen to you my Prince,” I said.
“Yes I know but that’s not gonna make me refrain from doing this,” he said.
“Doing what?”
“Kssing you,” he said and grabbed my two hands, and in a moment I was against the cell wall but my face was away from his face.
“No, you can’t. I cant let you.. We can’t do this,” I said.
“I want to,” he said.
“I feel someone coming…he’s really close…” I said.
“Stop it Ifeoma. You are my chosen bride,” he said, then he let go of my hands and stepped backwards.
“I’ll get you out of here, just give me a moment,” he said and left.
I leaned my back on the wall to catch my breath.
‘His chosen bride? He can’t be serious…no he can’t’
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””
?Prince Eric?
I walked in on my Father and my mother arguing over Ifeoma’s accusation.
My mother want her to be harshly interrogated but father
doesn’t think she deserve it.
“You have no right to punish someone without a valuable proof of the wrong he or she committed. Besides she also says that the princess is being controlled which can also be true. There is nowhere written that only a particular type of people say the truth. You can’t be sure that the Princess is being truthful so also the maid,” My father said.
“Then are you saying that your daughter is not saying the truth? How can you compare our daughter to a maid, a wretched maid?” Mother asked.
“I hate to hear that word ‘wretched’ don’t repeat it. You have no right to mock anybody’s living condition just because you are doing better or because you rule them.” Father said.
“I have every right to say whatever I want. That girl is not going to get out of this for accusing my daughter, The princess. How are dare she!”
“Your daughter accused her too.. Besides she wasn’t only the one who said that about Ola, The Prince also said the same thing. So are you going to punish the Prince too?” Father asked.
“I don’t care what Eric said but not that girl…” Mother said.
“Mother,” I called.
“Yes, what is it?” she snapped.
“Please I want to talk to father, alone,” I said.
“I’m going nowhere,” she said.
“Please leave us,” The King told her.
“””””””””””””””””””””””
?Ifeoma?
Hours later, around 6 o’clock in the evening, the guards unlocked the cell and told me to go back to the maids quarter but I wasn’t allowed to go to the upper floor or see the Prince.
I stayed awake, thinking of all that he said to me in the cell and how he tried to kss me but I didn’t let him.
I opened my palm and looked at the shinning star on it.
“He need this back,” I mumbled.
Suddenly, I sensed a danger which has to do with the Prince.
I got up and without thinking twice, I left the room.
Getting outside, I used my power in so many ways in making the guards not to get me.
I passed the guards outside, got into the house and made it to the upper floor and to the Prince’s door and in order not to cause a noise by knocking, I used my power in unlocking the door.
I went in and closed the door.
The Prince wasn’t sleeping.
He was sitting at his study desk.
“My Prince,” I called and he turned.
“Ifeoma, how did you get here?” he asked.
I smiled. “I had to, in my own way.”
He got up and walked to me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I…sensed a danger so…I came to know if you are fine?” I said.
“Yeah I am…” he said.
We stood close to each other, staring into each other’s eyes.
“You are truly a magician to get in here without getting caught,” he said.
I smiled. “I couldn’t sleep. I had to bring you this..”
“What?” he asked.
“This..” I said and opened my palm.
His eyes widened at the sight of the shinning green star.
“My shinning star?”
“Yes, from twenty years ago. I was the one who stole it,” I said.
“You stole it?” he asked.
“Yeah, I stole it from the floor.. That day there was a ceremony at the palace and I came with my mother but I sneaked off without her notice and saw myself at a lonely corner of the palace and there you were playing with the scarf. You didn’t see me but I kept watching you. Suddenly a maid came and carried you but while you were struggling to get down, the star fell off and I picked it and it’s been with me since then,” I said.
He bursted into a chuckle. “Really? Wow!”
He took the star and smiled. “Thank you Ifeoma for keeping it safe,” he said.
“Will you forgive me for stealing your star?” I asked.
“I have already.” he said and before I knew what was coming, he kssed me.
I stood there, perplexed.
“Stay for awhile with me tonight,” he said and before I could say j.erk, he kssed me again. This time, not breaking the kss.
‘Now I get it.
I felt no danger earlier.
I just needed a reason to come to him.
To get this kss and to have this moment.
Not just to give him back his star?’
I wrapped my hand around him and let him kss me.
‘Don’t blame me.
I don’t know if I should kss back?
I’ve never been kssed before nor have I kssed anyone.
Okay, I should just try to…’
But just as I was about to try kssing back, he withdrew the kss and smiled.
“Will you be my queen Ifeoma?” he asked.
I couldn’t answer.
He smiled. “I take the silence as a ‘yes” he said
I sighed. “No, it’s not. I would have to leave now,” I said.
“No, not now… You are gonna help me, let’s gum back the star to the scarf,” he said with a smile.
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