Balogun

HATE

"You are a bastard. You seek justification for your acts so bad. Own up to your shit."
- Abike

xXx

"Have you seen your Father since the last meeting?" Jamal asked as they walked back to the Palace after their morning training.

Murewa threw him a confused glance. "My Father? What business do I have with him? I only see him during meetings."

"Well, Queen Habibah is sick, very sick. He is with her in her room and they haven't left the premises since the last meeting."

Murewa shrugged indifferently as they jogged up the stairs.
"I wish her swift recovery," he managed to say and Jamal shook his head.

"You need to go see them."

"Need? Why?" Murewa glanced at him again and Jamal huffed.

"Because they are your family. No matter how much you try to fight it. You can't change it."

"Bullshit." They turned into the hallway leading to Murewa's room.

"And you need to settle things with Abike, you have been in a foul mood since that day." Jamal followed Murewa into his room.
"And I don't think it's fair that you told Abike to stay away from you, while you take out the aggression on the rest of us. If you want to take it out on anyone, it should be on her."

Murewa laughed and turned to Jamal.
"I am not taking out aggression on you or anybody. This is who I am, normally. I got sidetracked by her for a moment, but I am good now. She is gone."

"You are deceiving yourself, Murewa."

"And who do you think you are talking to?" Murewa's smile cleared immediately. "Do I need to remind you, Jamal? Or have you taken leave of your senses?"

Jamal remained quiet.

"If you think I am taking out aggression on you, then stay away from me too," he snapped. "And if this is about how I am training the recruits, then you need to fall back. I am still the Chief of this army and I lead, you follow."

Jamal nodded.

"I let Abike distract me for a while and left you to train them, but look how poorly you did. It's been more than a month and they can't even shoot arrows properly. They fight all the time, flout rules and one of them tried to poison me!"

Jamal wasn't mad or hurt by anything the Prince said. He had been so irrational and unreasonable since his separation from Abike and it was beginning to wear everyone else down.

The recruits were suffering, the level twos to fours were also suffering it, while Abike was tucked neatly away from all the anger.

Maybe she was also suffering, who knew?
But something had to be done soon.

"What about Muyiwa?" He asked as Murewa stripped off his sweaty cloths and tied a towel around his waist.

"What about him?"

"Are we going to go see him now? Or..?"

"Later." Murewa walked towards the bathroom.
"I am not in a patient mood right now and I would kill that boy if I see him now. Let him stew in there and think about what he did. We would go later."

Jamal nodded and turned to leave the room as Murewa entered the bathroom.

                                       xXx

Abike had been working non stop since eight o' clock this morning.
How one person could make so much mess overnight baffled her. But the room was upside down.