His Queen

Chapter Twenty-one - A Trip To The Royal River

  Ajinke's POV;

I am walking with the prince on our way to the royal river, and I feel naked, to say the least.

It's been such a long time since I braided my hair. When my grandma was still alive, she always made sure to take proper care of my hair. But after her death, I just had no interest in taking proper care of myself. Including my hair.

I lived like a boy, and did things the way I wanted to do them. I enjoyed being myself and being scattered because I lived for no one and no one lived for me. But now my hair is properly braided and for the first time in a long time, my scalp and the Akomojo sun are greeting each other, like long, lost friends.

I look beautiful, but I feel very uncomfortable.

So many eyes get glued to me as the prince and I walk through the village, and I shudder at how much attention I am getting. I never liked being the center of attention and right now, that's exactly what I am.

Did I mention that I have no idea why the prince is taking me to the Royal river?
Does he want to take me back to the place we first met to punish me?

That's ridiculous. Why would someone who has saved me from that horrible chief, Abiodun, want to punish me?

We keep walking in silence, until we finally approach the river.

The prince sits on a stone by the river, and his guards take different positions.

“Sit. “The prince says to me while looking up at me, and I gulp.

Me?

Sit?

Next to the prince?

He raises a brow at me, and I quickly obey, as I do not want to appear as disobedient or daring.

“Maid, can't you see the prince is sweating? “A guard suddenly barks at me, and I jump close to the prince in fright.

I quickly move away from the prince when I realize how much I had minimized the space between us.

The prince smiles at me, and my heart explodes. Being so close to the prince and having such a clear view of him…

I never took out time to access the prince. He looks… Heavenly.

He clears his throat, and I quickly blink and look away. I dip my hand into the woven, cross-shoulder bag one of the maids who dressed me, gave to me.

She told me that since I'd be going out with the prince, most of the things I could need to tend to him would be inside, and she was right. There are even rich, ripe fruits in here.

I pull out a piece of cloth and lower my eyes as I give it out to the prince. After about a second of him not taking it from me, I look up at him and find that he has raised a brow at me.

Third Person's Narrative;

The prince had expected Ajinke to jump at the opportunity of wiping his sweat off as other maids did, but here she was stretching the cloth at him.

Normally, he would rudely snatch the piece of cloth out of the hands of the maid trying to get close to him.

But this simple act of Ajinke has intrigued him, and now he wants her to come close to him. He wonders why she isn't trying to seize the opportunities to get close to him.

The same ones other girls would have jumped at, at first sight. Is she just being scared, or is she severely naive? The prince wondered.

“You want me to do your work? “The prince questions, and Ajinke's heart explodes in fear. Her eyes widen in disbelief as she looks up at the prince.

“Sir? “She questions and the prince gives her a straight face.

“Do you have issues with taking orders? “He questions, and she gulps.

“I'm… I'm sorry, my prince. “She apologizes, and for some reason, Adebiyi's heart flutters on hearing her call him her prince for the very first time.

He stares closely at her as she bends beside him, and once again, he's taken by Ajinke's innocent, beauty.

“Privacy. “The prince orders, and the guards nod and give them tangible space, while Ajinke begins to shake, fearing the unknown.

The prince observes her closely as she wipes off his sweat. In her beautiful brown eyes, he sees a lot of things.

For years, the prince has learned to keep to himself.

Before coming of age to take over the throne, he dedicated his life to observing and studying people.

Unlike other children who played in the rain during the day, and played games at night, he would rather stay indoors panting during the day, and listen to stories from his grandma of blessed memories, under the moonlight.

The years he stayed, studying people, helped him see deep into Ajinke's eyes.

Yes, she's an energetic fireball who can burn through anything, but there's so much about herself that she hasn't discovered.

There's something about her that's just so majestic, although she isn't from the royal family.

“I'm done, your highness… “She says before bowing her head, and the prince catches a glimpse of her eyes.

Deep in those eyes, the prince could see and feel how alone and lonely she felt. He could understand that she felt deserted in the world, and was truly unhappy deep down.

From what he saw, it's clear that she misses her family, and craves for someone to care for her. Heaven alone knows what she was facing in the village before he found her. He thought to himself.

“That day… When we first met. What did Mr. Adigun mean when he called you a girl with bad luck? “ The prince finally questions, and Ajinke's heart nearly fails her.