Heir Apparent: A Nigerian Story.

VII

They all sat in the car dreading every moment.
After years they're leaving the city and back to their kingdoms.

The car stops and the door opens for them.
One by one they step out wearing their royal robes.

Uncle Awwal like the first time they met was outside waiting, smiling widely. It felt like the very day they arrived, at that time 7years seemed like forever but it's been 14 and it has come to an end.

"What's with the frowns? It's a happy day" Uncle Awwal says.
"I wish it was" Najib murmurs.

He smiles "Don't worry, everything will be fine and things will be okay eventually"
"Eventually?" Huda asks horrified.

"Let's go in"

They all walked in being escorted by maids and security.
"Oh" he turns around abruptly "Raudah I need you to go check something for me"

They all looked at him questionably "It's nothing dangerous, a maid can escort you. I need four scrolls that you'll find on my office table, I need you to get them"

She nods "The maid will guide me?"
He nods.

"Okay, I'll hurry"
She walks away as one of the maids escorted her.

He smiles "Let me take you to a room, we'll wait for her to come back and also the arrival of the Emperor there"

They nod.

Raudah enters the office and finds a man seated there with a book in his hands. She couldn't spot any scrolls on the table. She closes the door and walked towards the man.

"Excuse me?"
He raises his head and for a moment her breath hitched, he was gorgeous, like very gorgeous to look at.

"Yes?" He smiles sweetly, she didn't even noticed that she'd been staring.

Before she could utter a word her mouth hangs in awe. She could read the title of the book but the fact that the man was reading it was confusing and intriguing.

"Isn't that The Disentanglement Of The Old Testament, Prophecy and Traditions?" She asks wide eyed.

He nods "You seem to know your books but it's not the exact thing, this book explains The Disentanglement Of The Old Testament, Prophecy and Traditions: The Quell Of A Tyranny"

She was shocked "Such a book exists?"
"Well yes but it's a secret, I didn't know anyone would barge in if not I would have hid it"

"Barge in? It's not your office"
"Then whose is it?"

"It's Uncle Awwal's"
He smirks "No darling, Awwal's office is the next one"

The fact that he called Uncle Awwal by his first name means he's someone with power and she couldn't risk getting caught asking for the book but she also wanted it desperately.

"Who are you?" She asks curiously.
He groans "The other Vassal asked the same question too"

She froze, someone else was trying to get the book "Who? A guy?"
He nods "Yeah, I met him playing basketball the other day, he asked about this" he wriggles the book in his hands "Too"

Najib. She knew he wanted to beat her but she didn't think he'd get this desperate and cheat but if he's playing that game she was willing to too.

"Can I get a copy of it?" She asks.
He looks at her amused but internally disappointed she fell for the ruse.

He stands "I'll contact you" before she could say a word he walks out.

::

"Are you serious? She asked for a copy?" Awwal asks Hafiz.

He sat down with his legs crossed on the couch going through a notepad "Yes, clearly"
He huffs "I can't believe she fell for it"
"I don't think it's that shocking honestly, she'd do anything to beat them"

"But she doesn't even know about the Emperor's plans yet, why would she go so far?"
He shakes his head "Desperation? Anyway, I have a lot of things to do and now that I'm done here I'll be taking my leave"

He huffs and smiles sadly "Thank you for taking the time out to do this, you're the only person I could trust with having the book"

He nods "It's all good, so what are you going to do now?"
"Well this is a test I tried out before the real ones begin and she failed, I just hope things get better"

"Will it? It's not a fight for the throne, it's just training and she's this competitive, what do you think she'd do when it really starts?"

He shakes his head "We'll just have to wait and see now, won't we?"

"Okay then but I advice you keep a keen eye on them especially Huda"
He looks at him confused "Why Huda? Not Raudah?"

"People pay no heed to her and think she's weak because she's emotional but let's not forget how far we take things because of emotions, just a friendly reminder ".

::

They walk inside the hall, all eyes on them.
There were thousands of people present and to their surprise even their parents too.

They were all a lot more nervous when they noticed them. Finally they were standing right before the Emperor, he was smiling proudly.

"Well well, here we are again after 14years. It's been such a long time and the children are completely grown, our future generation"

Everyone claps.
"We are all thrilled to have you here, to take the next step in a big decision. You have been away from home a little too long and finally you can return but only for a while, the training is not done just yet and I have a big announcement when you four return"

"Thank you" they chorused all feeling drained just by staring at their parents.

"Take your time, I have things to attend to" he stands.
Everyone bows.

The moment he leaves everyone starts conversing.
The four turned around looking at each other.
"This is it" Huda says with tears in her eyes.

"Don't overreact" Raudah says her voice shaking.
Masoud raises his head and sees his father gesture for him to go over "Well he's calling"

Huda hugs them all at once "Don't try to act strong when we all know we don't want to be separated"

Najib smiles "We know"
She pulls away "I can see your mother gawking at us" Raudah tells her.

"We should go before they force us" she adds.
None of them wanted to leave but it wasn't a choice.

They all walk their separate ways.

::