Women Of Steel | ✔

XXIII

Hey, happy friday, how was everyone's weekend? Mine was busy.
this chapter is kinda long, and Demilade finally gets to meet the forest king! And I have a new book out, called the orion project, it's all cool and mysterious. I'd like if you guys checked it out, I think you'll love it.

***

Six horses await by the beach and I don't dare look back at the shed.

The Prince's quick transformation from royalty to slave is astonishing, I almost cannot stop staring at him as he hovers behind me to lead me to the forest king's men. Sade is the same way, submissive and quivering but I am certain it is not an act like the Prince's. Sade is genuinely frightened.

The prince, Tobi bows his head and adopts an air of quietness. He almost has me fooled. I grow suspicious at his behavior, either he is a very good actor or he has done this before. His behavior only fuels my distrust.

I clench my flimsy gown and bow my head as we approach the scantily dressed men in skirts made of grass. I am surprised to find that an equally scanty woman stands among them, gripping a wooden staff. We know nothing about the forest people, but I feel a surge of glee. I might actually like tricking them.

Their leader -a short man with the biggest nose I have ever glimpsed - atop the biggest horse shouts something to the other men and woman. A thin man pulls me roughly and directs Sade and the Prince to another horse.

The leader speaks in the common language, again my mouth almost drops in surprise. The forest people have always been an isolated, seemingly illiterate people and the fact that they can speak Ede is surprising. I was worried the communication barrier would be a problem.

"Mount the horse woman, we don't have all night." He speaks fluently and quietly, like the docile bride I am supposed to be, I mount a brown mare with the reluctant help of the thin man. Even though I want nothing more than to rip out tongues.

Tobi stares at me with barely concealed relief, as if he was afraid I would not comply and ruin our disguise. I risk a veiled glance at him, willing him to take care of Sade who clings to him atop their own weaker and smaller horse.
My cheerful friend is no where to be found and a frightened girl has taken her place. She and the prince are dressed in similar clothes, plain white cotton materials made into the traditional attire. Her full chest sticks out like a sore thumb in the tight buba. Some of the men leer openly at it.

I force the anger that threatens to spill in waves, I take in deep breaths and think about the happiest thing I can muster.

The rest of the minions mount their horses and low conversations start among them. We do not ride yet, waiting for the leader's orders. I take one last look of longing through my veil at my surroundings and wish I were anywhere but here, selling my soul to the devil.

The leader glares balefully at me and barks out an order to the woman riding besides him, her lips are turned downwards in a permanent grimace and a look of boredom settles in the dull of her eyes.

"Put a blindfold on our new queen."

His sour smile is the last thing I see before my sight is taken away from me too.

***

I have no inkling of time, no idea of how long I've been blindfolded and forced to follow the hooves of other horses. I have no idea if we have been riding for days or hours, sometimes the burly leader calls for a stop and I'm fed strange fruits blindfolded and forced to gulp water.
But he never stops long enough for rest, only for food and to answer nature calls, even then I am always escorted for their fear of me taking off the blindfold.

My lack of freedom makes me fume, only Kosoko's strict warning and my mission keeps me sane.

The sound of occasional laughter and conversation only feeds my fury, the horsemen chatter in their language, a language I cannot understand. The manner in which they fire quick words in that strange drawl is irritating to my ears.
The only indication of time I have is the sun during the day and the quiet and cool during the night.

My being blindfolded sharpens my other senses, my ears help to determine the seriousness of the chatter around me, sometimes I hear the strain of anger in an unknown voice and that alone tells me that either I or my former husband is the topic of conversation.

Most times, the conversations are the baseless and foolish talks of men. But not once do I hear the female voice of the only other woman apart from Sade and I.

I pass the time thinking about everything and nothing, my mind never dwells on one thing for long before drifting away to something else.

Nothing interesting happens, not until the leader excuses himself, my ears follow the sound of his fading horse hooves and all attention turns to me, I feel their eyes boring mercilessly judging and assessing me. I school my expression into something emotionless.

"Our king will have so much fun with this one." A malicious but familiar voice sneers. He is one of the voices that I have had to endure for however long it has been.  It is a nasal drawl that distinctly sounds like a pig snort.

His words strokes my anger and I clench the horse reins tighter. I make a show of ducking my head like a coward.

Laughter echoes loudly.

"Our new queen doesn't look like much, look at those fat thighs." Another echoes.

The laughter continues. To my horror somebody reaches out to slap a hand on my behind. I cannot stop my teeth from baring themselves in anger. It doesn't stop the mockery, it only makes them even more excited.

A hand pokes at my chest and I flinch.

"Oh, the whore queen has got a temper on her!" Says the nasal voice again.

"Long live the queen!" Says another.

Soon all of them chant the mockery and shame and anger blooms in my chest. I feel my eyes water in unconcealed embarrassment and my fists clench at my side.

A cold female voice suddenly cuts into the sick merriment.

"She is no queen. Neither is she a whore. Next time you want to shame a woman's body then make sure you don't have a stomach the size of basket and legs like cockroach." She snaps and mutters a last word in that same strange language.

I feel no gratefulness towards this woman, only anger and disgust for myself for allowing such men to walk over me like dust. Soon, I console myself, soon I will grind their bones like pepper.

The ridicule dies down to low grumbles and murmurs that soon fades away at the sound of approaching hooves. I soon realize that the horse leader does not arrive alone but someone rides besides him, someone powerful enough to command such graveyard silence.

Their king.

I catch the scent of royal power even before my blindfold is removed, I can feel others quaking in their clothes, my own disposition changes, bowing my head like a shy, blushing bride and toying with the reins of my mare.

The King's voice alone sends shivers down my spine, a quiet, calm baritone. "Kelechi, why is my new bride blindfolded?" He addresses the leader, I presume.

The snout nose bastard stutters over his own words before offering a stupid apology to his master. If it were Tadenikawo, this man's head would have been rolling on the floor but the forest king does no such thing, instead he mutters something I cannot hear to Kelechi.

"Take her blindfold off." The king commands in that quiet voice.
A moment later I am helped off my horse and the cloth looses and falls in my laps.

I blink twice, swiftly taking in the evening sun, the shrubs and trees, the sound of rushing water a nearby lake and the incredulous, dumbfounded faces of the men around me.

To my relief, Sade is well, her face sickly pale but well and free of bruises. The prince is in equal shape.

Then finally, my eyes snap to the towering figure of the King, up close he looks far intimidating that I first thought he was. Handsome but face marred with small scars from war.

He does the last thing I expect him to do, he sinks to his knees and calls me his queen.