The Nameless

Chapter Twenty Two

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*** Anyanwu ...

"...then you give him the horn to drink from."

I turn to the princess, was she speaking to me this entire time? She frowns at me.

"Nameless?" I force a smile.

"Yes." Still watching me cautiously, she turns back to her maids. I turn to the girl painting my body.

"Don't mind her, your highness, she is pondering on how her night would go." One of the maids say, the others laughing.

"Speaking of which, is it different on white people?" Another asks.

"Aka is one of the maids that helps the healer treat him, she said she peeks when he is being cleaned even though she's not meant to." Another says.

"And?" The other maids lean in. The maid chuckles, enjoying the attention.

"It is like their skin but covered in hair-"

"We figured that, we're asking about..." I glance towards them to see the maid hold out her hands in gesture of a size. As a response, the maid raises her fist, wrapping her other hand around the elbow. Everyone bursts into laughter, even the princess is chuckling. I frown as I look away, what could they mean?

The sun continues to fall as I'm being prepared. After my body is painted and my hair is braided, the princess leads me into the hut to help me put on my clothes.

"Take that off." I do so as she fetches the rapa. "Now, I didn't say this in front of everyone, but this is something you need to know. After the ceremony, the Oracle's eyes, along with anyone shameless enough, will follow you back to your hut and wait till the marriage is consummated."

"Consummated?" She begins to wrap the fabric around me, a long one like the one married women wear.

"Your husband should know." I frown, when we're married and he's my husband, he'd know. Would it be the same thing the prince was considering doing to me before we married or after? With a knife. And his teeth.

Is the husband to eat a piece of the wife?

"Is..." I clear my throat, "...will it hurt?" She chuckles as she secures the rapa.

"My first few nights, I cried so much the whole village could hear me." Her gaze meets mine, "But my husband was an evil man who only wanted to watch me cry. Your white man isn't like that." She touches my face. "So don't worry, he'll take care of you."

When she leads me back outside, the sun has begun to set. Two guards stand, waiting. The princess and I follow them to the king's hut where Elias already is. He has a bamboo stick to aid him but he looks beautiful in his traditional marriage attire. A black skirt and chest cloth, with a red sash across his chest and a tiger cap on his head. He smiles when he sees me, I move to stand by his side.

"Hello." He mutters. I smile at him, he's in a lot of pain. The Oracle has us kneel down for the prayers to begin.

Normally this takes longer when it involves more people, they start at dawn and end at night but ours is different. Clearly. Before long, a horn filled with palm wine is handed to me. I take a sip then the Oracle asks me to find the man I want to marry and let him have the rest. At a normal wedding, the bride would dance around, looking for the man hidden within the crowd of people. She would pretend to give to the wrong person and everyone would laugh and clap, but then finally, she gives it to the right person, claiming the man as hers.