Way of The Pride

15| The Plan

His plan had been ruined.

Iweobi cursed as he watched the rain through his window. For some days now it had been threatening to fall but the pregnant clouds remained stagnant, till today. Why did it have to fall now!

The rain was heavy and unrelenting, showing no signs of stopping. Iweobi grew worried. He was supposed to meet with Onochie at the crack of dawn. The meeting point was at the great mango tree on the outskirts of Esu Village. Knowing his friend he must have already been waiting for him.

He hated to keep anyone waiting but his hands were tied. There was nothing he could do. No one in their right senses would brave such a harsh weather. He would draw suspicion on himself if he stepped out of the palace now.

A clash of thunder and lightning danced across the skies as he glanced up in frustration. The weather was dark and unfriendly, casting a shadow of gloom over the palace. Apart from the roar of the rain everywhere was deathly silent, not a soul in sight.

Cursing profusely, he locked the window when the cold started to fill his hut.

He began pacing to pass time as he waited for the rain to stop. After a while passed he started to grow worried seeing that the rain was not letting up. Onochie would be drenched by now and shivering. Should he just risk it and go meet him?

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. It was loud with a tone of urgency. Who could it be? In this rain?

Mma?

The eagerness that fell upon him came as a surprise. He quickly rushed to open the door. A familiar crooked grin greeted him. The devil himself had arrived at his doorstep dripping wet and huddling under the canopy of plantain leaf.

"By the goddess, Onochie!" Alarmed at his drenched state he led him inside.

"If I did not know better I would have said you were not happy to see me."

Shivering like a man on death's door Onochie brushed past him and ran towards the flaming hearth. He sighed in obvious relief as the heat from the crackling flames warmed his body. Iweobi searched around for the thickest cloak he could find in his closet and gave him to dry himself.

"Why am I not surprised that your hut looks like a pauper's?"

He glanced around the spacious hut. A pile of fur rested upon a long slab of moulded clay which served as his bed. A sturdy stick connected both ends of the hut used for hanging his armor. A small hearth nestled the right side of the hut and on the left laid his water pots and weapons.

The simplicity was to his liking and he preferred it that way. He was not in any way poor but he just did not feel the need to decorate his hut with trivial things. He shook his head, how predictable of Onochie to dwell on his lack of taste.

"How did you manage to evade the watch guards at the gates?" He asked, settling down beside him.

The watch post was erected over the palace gates as a first line of defense. Anyone coming from a mile away would be sighted by the watch guards. Their meeting was supposed to be secret so he knew Onochie had enough sense not to be seen.

"I never passed through the gates."

"Then how did you get in?"

"The cooking hut."

His eyes widened in realization.

"You used the secret passage! The maids quarters is close by what if someone saw you?"

The mischievous gleam in his eyes made Iweobi want to knock some sense into him. He looked ridiculous buried under layers of cloak with only his shining head sticking out.