Awaiting Her Beau

5 - Tooni's Story

"Good morning Ara. I hope you had a good night rest?" Dami asked, tying a long and thick rope taut around a piece of wood.

"Yes, thank you. How about you?"

The healer glanced up to look at Ara, the rays of the morning sun entering into her eyes. Quickly, she looked back down. "I did. How is your health? Feel any better?"

"Oh, yes I do. Thank you so much. I have no idea how I can repay you."

Dami smiled, picked up the rope and wood as she stood up and began to walk away. "Just keep being you, dear."

Ara followed her, picking up her pace to match Dami's, for although she stood quite taller than the healer at five feet two, the smaller woman walked fast such that Ara had to double her steps to keep up. "Why are you working on the deck when you're already the crew's healer?"

"Well, we don't have enough hands on deck. So everyone has at least two responsibilities to carry out. For instance, I'm the healer and a deckhand. Tomi over there–" She pointed to a man who lifted an anchor and threw it over the side of the ship into the blue waters below, "He's the second in command after the Prince and he also steers the ship. The Prince himself is the captain and he also steers the ship." She pointed to the raised platform where the Prince stood, steering the ship. However, it was only the top of his head that was visible to them.

Ara nodded, digesting everything Dami was telling her. "What about her?"

"Who?"

Ara pointed to Anike who stood close to the railing, staring at the water.

"Oh, her. She doesn't really do anything. The thing is–" Dami leaned in, "She likes the Prince but he has no similar affections for her. She keeps following him around though, hoping that someday he would look at her and reciprocate her feelings. Meanwhile, His Highness is too kind at heart to order her to stop clinging to him."

Ara scoffed.

Too kind at heart? More like unkind at heart, especially after his behaviour the other day. All she was trying to do was find the person who'd made an attempt on her life, yet he had shut her up as if her opinion didn't matter.
If it was Sewa that experienced the same thing, would he still have reacted the same way? Partiality would be his downfall.

"Ara? Ara?"

Ara shook her head to clear her thoughts as she was jolted back to reality.

"Yes?"

"Is everything okay? You had this blank look on your face just now."

Ara stretched her lips into a smile. "Everything is fine. Thank you."

Although Dami didn't look convinced, she didn't question her. She simply shrugged and went ahead to continue her work while Ara wandered around trying to help.

However, no one paid her any attention, making her invisible. The only people that talked to her were Dami and Tomi but both were so busy that she felt guilty distracting them from their duties.

Finally, she shoved her pride aside and went to join Anike who still stood at the side of the ship, now staring at the sky that stretched for miles on end.

"What do you want?" Anike asked after Ara stood beside her for several minutes without uttering a word.

"Nothing. Just soaking in the sun like you are doing."

"I'm not soaking in the sun. I'm plotting your downfall."

Ara looked at her, taken aback at how brazen she was about her evil intentions. "Pardon?"