OJADILI The Mystery Boy Episode 4 by Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

OJADILI The Mystery Boy Episode 4 by Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

**Royal prison and escape plans**

Living the life of a princess is what Chinonyelum, the daughter of His Royal Highness, Eze Azuamailo of Amachara kingdom considered a big task and a prison where potentials and dreams are caged and barricaded because she wasn’t allowed to do anything or be useful just because his parents had her at their old age; therefore believe that she’d a precious child. She was so pampered that she began to lose her vision towards becoming a healer, an instrumentalist, and a dancer. She always takes pleasure in playing Ubo akwara (Local guitar) and dancing and has a special interest in helping the sick but the life she found herself being subjected to in the palace made it hard for her to harness such talents she admires so much. Her gift as an instrumentalist and dancing is only showcased within the palace walls because her folks believe that the world out there is so dangerous for the precious child.

Most times, Chinonye would try to sneak out of the palace but the hefty guards assigned to protect her would always not allow her, lest, they wouldn’t only lose their jobs but lose their lives as well as that of their family members. It was a strict kingdom filled with many rules; even being impervious to strangers, and for this, they marry each other without anyone being allowed to marry outside the kingdom of Amachara.

There were numerous maidservants and menservants in the palace, making Chinonyelum not to be skilled in handling chores or any domestic work even though she wants to be useful sometimes. The little she learnt was in secret so that her parents wouldn’t see her or execute those who teach her.

King Azuamailo believes that his daughter would learn any skill she wants once she’d married because he’d made plans of sending professionals in different fields to train her when she is married, while everything would be under his auspices.

Chinonyelum (God is with me) is fondly addressed as Chino or Nonyelum by her parents. She is a very pretty young girl that just turned twenty years of age; very fair in completion to have earned her the name, Anyanwu ututu (Morning sunshine). She’s a very intelligent and averagely tall girl with attractive gap teeth and dimpled cheek that accentuate her beauty, making her look ravishing and dashing. Her beauty and the fact that she was a child that was birthed almost twenty years after Onodugo, the heir to the throne was born, made her be so pampered and protected because she’d considered a precious daughter from the moon and stars.

There were lots of musical instruments in the princess’s hut, especially the Ubo-akwara which she addresses as ogwo nnu oria (the healer of varieties of ailment). The sound of the princess’s Ubo is so melodious and endearing to anyone that listens to it. She decided to be entertaining the palace maidens and guards with it since she wasn’t allowed to leave the palace even though her overprotective elder brother who took a leaf from his parents’ strict book would always feel that she belittles herself by being free in her communication with the palace workers he considered lowly and dirty.

That clement night when the firmament was dark as the moon and stars assume their nocturnal duties, Chinonye in her usual manner came out to enjoy the beauty of the full moon and play her Ubo akwara to water the soul of everyone and heal their sicknesses as Ogwo nnu oria she calls it.

Ochomma, Omasiri, and Chizaram, the closest maidservants to the princess accompanied the princess to the playground known as the palace village square because of its size; it could accommodate a large number of people at once. The palace itself is so large as if it’s a village, depicting the magnitude of the affluence of Igwe Azuamailo.

The girls who were on their native animal-skinned short wears embellished with the jigida (waist beads) and leg beads, got to the centre of the palace village square, and positioned their musical instruments.

The princess started playing with her friends and teaching them some new maiden dance steps. As her sweet and sonorous tone watered the night, people far and near heard the sweet sounds from their houses and listened to enjoy the music. Many villagers who couldn’t hear her so well because of the distance of their houses from the palace came close to the palace just to listen to the sweetness of the princess’s voice and Ubo that gets them thrilled with happiness. The sweet sound helps many sick ones to get well even though the princess never believed that she was the one healing the people even without coming close to them. The name she gave the Ubo akwara (the healer of varieties of illnesses) reflects in its characteristics even though the user never knew the extent of her divine healing that makes the people gather to listen to her celestial voice.

As the music was going on, some of the palace guards guarding Onodugo felt that they were already missing out because their boss wouldn’t allow them to go out and enjoy seeing the princess dance or join others to have the fun of the night.

One of the personal guards of Onodugo, Achikolo was always the stubborn one amid risking his chances of being sacked. That night, as the sweet sound irrigated and graced the entire palace and far beyond, Achikolo who was saddled with the responsibility of singing the lullaby to nudge the prince to sleep sneaked out and joined others that were enjoying the melodious voice of the princess as she played the Ubo, sang and danced for them.

Even though king Azuamailo had tried many times to stop the princess from intermingling freely with the palace workers, he knew it was impossible to stop the child. And being that she’d been denied freedom of moving out of the palace, they had to yield to her performance within the palace than allow her to enter Agu-Amahcara (Amarachara forest) to play for the birds and wild animal; a request they considered insane and impossible.

As the music was going on, the king who enjoys the show but never admitted that he enjoys it just to discourage the princess from her mission of going into the forest, got up that night and began to nod according to the melody. Feeling that the humming of the song being sung by the princess could wake the queen-mother, Eze Azuamailo quietly left his chamber and sat by the veranda. He ordered the palace chef, Ugonni; popularly known as Akanri (the hand of food) to set up a campfire and be roasting the Ube na Oka (corn and pear) there. The king also enjoys the heat of the fire to help him calm the coldness of the night.

Ugoeze, the queen turned to feel the presence of her husband in bed but noticed that he wasn’t there. As she groped for his presence, she heard the voice of her precious daughter droning in the air, so she knew that the king was at the veranda again and enjoying roasted corn and pear, the local snacks he uses to keep himself company whenever he enjoys Chinonye’s beautiful songs and instruments.

As the queen came out of the room, she saw her hubby with his wrapper girded on him as he enjoyed the snacks sitting close to the fire. She smiled tearfully as he admired her darling husband. Slowly, tiptoed to meet him so that her entrance would be incognito but never knew that the king is always so smart with heightened senses especially at night, therefore, he knew she was behind him.

The queen remained there for a while as she thought of ways to make her hubby startled but the man whose chin was busy nibbling the grains muttered: “Is that a human or a god that came to startle his king?”

The Queen smiled knowing that she was caught in the act, so she came behind him and held him from the back, smiled, and caressed his bald head.

“My good husband, the beautiful star of my life,” she flattered and collected an ear of corn from the Akanri who supplied the snacks to the king as he roasts, “I know you’re enjoying the music again without me. Why do you always leave me in the room to enjoy your daughter’s music alone?”

Smilingly as he admittedly nods as an acceptance of the accusation, the king continued to nibble the tidbits of the corn and waggling his crossed legs as the music continued to make him remember about the circumstances surrounding the birth of the princess.

“I know you’d pretend that you didn’t hear me,” The queen said and sat at the wooden carved seat. “I love your mood this evening, unlike the days when you’d send the guards to stop my daughter from singing those sorrowful melodies that make you die in the silence of your heart. What’s the secret this time?” she asked feeling the contagiousness of her husband’s mood, making her lips part into a smile.

After a while of those smiles written all of the king’s face, he looked up at the sky, admired the constellation, and said: “The gods made me realise that he still answers prayers but I still found it hard to understand how you got pregnant of this child even when you’ve passed the childbearing age. It’s a mystery that I’m yet to understand it,”

Knowing where the discussion could be leading to, Ugoeze, the queen-mother smiled and pulled her chair closer to her husband, rested her head on his manly arm, and allowed those soft tears of joy to possess her cheek for the moment.

“This mystery is best explained by the gods,” The queen said and looked up at the sky, “I’ve always come out in the moonlight to talk to our Chi to bless me with a female child. Remember that you always scold me whenever I come out late at night to talk to the moon and the stars. I believe strongly in the existence of the supernatural, that’s why I never lost hope until I began to feel strangely inside of me without knowing that I was with child. But what surprised me was that you never married many wives like other royal majesties. I’m still baffled and yet to ask you why you didn’t marry another wife when I could only produce the heir and the gods locked up my womb to childbearing,”

The king smiled and continued munching the corn as the supplier roasts and supplies to them. Igwe Azuamailo isn’t the man of many words but actions. According to him, strong and real men say less than necessary. He’s a very strict king whose promulgations and decrees aren’t just obeyed but feared because of the aftermath that follows the defaulter.

After thinking over the wife’s question as he kept looking absently at the sky, he jested: “In my youth, am I too old to marry as many wives as I want?”

The queen chuckled at this because the king was already old and weak, even though he could marry as many wives as he wants just as he averred.

“Well, I don’t doubt that assertion,” the queen said smilingly, “but the truth is that you may not produce any child anymore because you hardly perform your conjugal duties not to talk of when many women are involved. Or do you wish to join your ancestors so soon while performing below standard,” she added and laughed aloud. “You just made me laugh, my sweet king,”

The king got lost at this time humming the familiar song being chanted by the princess. Even though he heard the queen’s peers at him, he was more engrossed with the thoughts of how the future of the daughter would be. The king’s mood suddenly changed when he remembered that Onodugo never had an offspring even after eight years of being married. The situation always eats deep into him, making him sigh and stand from his sitting position.

“I think it’s time for me to retire to bed,” The king said in a melancholic tone, sending a signal of mental stress to the wife.

The contagiousness of the king’s sad mood transmogrified the smiling face of the queen to frowns, making her be grimaced and dejected forthwith. She felt the depression that overtook the husband. She could always guess the mood of her man, making her feel so bad when she noticed that Onodugo’s case was getting into the marrows of the king again just as it cuts his happiness short all the time.

Whenever the king feels this way, the best way to handle him is to give him some space until he feels better, so the queen decided to take a walk to the playground to have a word or chitchat with the daughter instead of going into the king’s chamber to ask for the details of his mood.

On sighting the queen as she took a solitary walk to the playground, the maidservants assigned to her needs gathered immediately and flanked her as she strode down to the palace village square; even their greetings to the sad queen sunk into their bosoms without getting a reply. They knew that the queen was so depressed, so they all began to sing to lighten her mood but all their efforts ended in futility.

On getting to the location, the entire maids and guards being entertained by the princess dispersed to avoid offending the queen; except Ochomma, Omasiri, and Chizaram who are close aides to the princess, even though the trio gave the royalties some meters’ gap and remained standing in that genuflecting position without raising their heads.

The princess stopped the music and looked into the face of the mom through the dim light being shown from the moon above, making her feel that her mom was beginning to feel hurt again about her indecision about her marriage plans. The princess suddenly knitted her brown into a frown as she braced herself for the mom’s usual words of advice that would always end up making her cry.

When the mom got to her, she sat on the slit drum and tapped on the dwarf sofa beside her; signifying that the princess should sit for a talk.

The princess grudgingly sat but didn’t come closer because she was already unnerved and pouting in sadness as she mistook her mom’s moodiness to be caused by marriage unending perturbation.

After observing her daughter’s restiveness, the queen mother said: “Chino, my daughter,”

“Mom, don’t start again,” she grumbled pre-emptively as she fidgeted in that sitting position.

“Your brother’s marital issue always eats deep into your dad,” The queen said, making the princess know that the subject of discussion wasn’t what she expected.

Hearing that it wasn’t about her marriage issues and blah-blah-blah, made her feel a bit okay and ready to listen. She heaved a sigh of relief even though she felt so sad concerning his brother’s predicament and how it affects the king.

After a while of speechlessness, the princess shrugged. She held the mom by the shoulder to provide that soothing company she needs at the moment.

With the napkin she uses to wipe her sweats as she dances, she wiped the rivery tears of her mom.

“I wish that the king can allow me to have access to the woods to…”

“Stop mentioning that anymore,” The queen warned in a soft but serious tone, “anything concerning leaving this palace, consider the request unacceptable,” she maintained. “If you think that you can solve the issue of childbearing of your elder brother, pray to Amadioha (god) and never think of going into the wild forest in search of a cure,”

The princess had always developed cold feet whenever it involves talking to the parents because they were always shunning her with inevitable disapproval that welcomes gloom into her, making her cry. To avoid that, she always tries not to ask questions or argue with her folks but accepts whatever they say even if she doesn’t support the ideology in question.

“Mom, the problem I have with you and dad is that you’ve locked me in the palace, making me a prisoner in my father’s compound,” The princess expressed with tears but her mom wasn’t moved except for being overtaken with the fears of the worse happening to the king because of Onodugo’s situation.

The most frightening part of the situation causing the excruciating moment was that if Onodugo doesn’t have a child until the death of his dad, he wouldn’t be made king, which was why the situation brought with it, serious fear and mental stress, especially for the king whose high blood pressure resurfaces whenever he thinks a lot about the fate of his son.

“Onodugo’s situation may kill my husband if there is no remedy coming,” The queen complained and began to cry, making Chinonye cuddled her to give her some comfort but that never stopped the tears of sorrow from getting the queen’s cloth bedraggled. Looking up to the sky, the queen supplicated: “Amadioha, if you could listen to my cries and blessed me with the beautiful Anyanwu ututu (early morning sunshine) as a daughter, why not do the same for my son. If this bareness is as a result of the misdemeanour of our son, or even the wife, or even we the parents, please forgive us and hear our cries before it’s too late,”

The princess was moved to pity by that sorrowful petition, making her burst into tears but she still had to control the tears so that she could be her mom’s comforter she’d already assumed the position of.

“Mom, you should stop crying,” Chinonye urged her, offered a piece of cloth to help her dry her tears, “you may wish to stop crying because I may have a solution but you people wouldn’t allow me to take care of my brother and ensure that…”

“Not when it involves leaving the palace, biko (please),” The queen retorted because she hates to hear her daughter mention her dreams of healing the ailment that could have made his elder brother childless.

Seeing that the queen mother wasn’t ready to understand that she has a daughter who could be a healer but kept that power and endowment being subdued, she simply patted the mom’s back gently and stood to leave without uttering a word.

Even though she felt bad to leave her mom in such a mood, she simply had to leave because there was nothing she could suggest to her mom or the dad that could be acceptable. After all, for her to put her healing artistry into a test, she must have to enter into the forest, explore it, and scout for the shrubs according to the revelation of her dreams. It was obvious to her that her voice wouldn’t be heard and wishes not granted, so she always felt so sad thinking that the worse may happen if she doesn’t follow her path that leads to her destiny.

“My princess, you’re crying,” Ochomma, the make-up artist said and tried to stand, to console the princess but Chizaram pulled her back.

“You’re always showing your gossiping talent,” Chizaram whispered and pinched Ochomma, making her feel the pain that made her hit her back furtively so that the queen and princess wouldn’t notice what was going on.

“Chizaram is right,” Omasiri the pretty quiet girl whispered into Ochomma’s ear, “I think we’re even too close to them, so let’s move back a bit and…”

The queen simply began to leave while the maidens all shifted to avoid having body contact with her or incur her wrath in that sad mood she was.

When the queen was gone with her maidservants that accompanied her, the three maidservants quickly rushed to the weeping princess and cuddled her to make her feel comforted.

Chino snuggled into their arms and wept bitterly feeling that her family’s liberation that she believes to be resting on her shoulders wouldn’t be fruition due to her parents’ headstrong attitude towards her request.

“All I seek is just a chance to prove to my parents that I can be useful but all they do is to make life a misery for me,” The princess complained tearfully, “I have the voice, I can play the instruments, and I can understand the shrubs and their medicinal values even when I haven’t seen the shrub before. Isn’t this meant to be a gift being turned to a punishment?”

Most of the princess’s speech returned to her as rhetoric because the maidservants were bereft of suggestions except making her calm down and stop crying. Even Ochomma that was itchy tried to talk to the princess but got a pinch from Chizaram who always stops her from jumping into issues that she shouldn’t partake in.

After a while of that sorrowful moment for the princess, she began to go back into her chamber feeling that the night she started with the joy with her music just got hexed by her mom’s intrusion and interference.

When she got into her hut, she lay on the bed and began to weep again while the maidens retired to their huts.

Even though Ochomma and Chizaram had gone to their huts, Omasiri still felt gravely disturbed, therefore had to sneak into the princess’s room when the guard guarding her door went to use the latrine.

Omasiri was shocked to see the princess still crying in bed, making her feel so piteous for her, so she sat on the bed and gently touched the beautiful princess, and said: “My princess, I think I may have a drastic suggestion that can end my life if you should follow the word of my lips,”

On hearing the utterances of Omasiri, the princess got up from the bed to know the details of what Omasiri wanted to share with her. She looked surprised at the girl under the dim light reflecting from the mpanaka (native lantern)

“You look terrified already,” The princess said observantly and pulled Omasiri closer, “I hope you’re okay. You’re all flushed with fear. So what suggestion do you wish to give to me?” she added with utmost curiosity.

After panting for a while, Omasiri got up and tiptoed to the door. Standing by the threshold, she stuck out her head and looked searchingly around to ensure that no one was eavesdropping on their discussion, and then locked the door behind her, making the princess be filled with confusion amid her eagerness to learn more.

After locking the door, Omasiri came back to the bed and sat. She held the princess by the palm and said: “I think the best way around this issue is to escape by any means possible, even though it wouldn’t be easy to…”

“Not just being hard but it’s impossible,” the princess interjected a clever remark, “You can succeed but it would make you lose your life. That means dying for nothing because I’m not sure I’d succeed with this plan. The guards are all over me and wouldn’t allow me to…”

“Not when I use Ugiri juice mixed with fermented palm wine to get them sedated until you escape,” Omasiri suggested as his mouth trembled uncontrollably making her feel more intense and frightened.

“Did you say Ugiri juice and fermented palm wine?” The princess asked to ensure that she heard her right.

Omasiri nodded, and said: “when the guards are sedated, you can escape,”

“You’re talking about rahugaba (sleep on) potion,” the princess reminded her, “and this can make them die through sleep if it’s too strong. And since you’re the one that serves the drink for the guards, you’d be discovered and you know what it means,”

After giving it a thought concerning the consequences, Omasiri made up her mind and braced herself for the worst that would befall her in case she ends up being caught.

“Once you succeed escaping,” Omasiri said with tears taking possession of her eyes, “my death would be worth it. All I crave is for you to realise the long-awaited dream. It would only be worthless if you didn’t succeed with the escape. I’m ready to die for you if…”

The princess crossed Omasiri’s lips with her finger and pulled her into a warm embrace as she allowed those tears to rain down her cheek.

“I admire your courage and love for me, and I love your resolution,” Chinonye said with tears, sorrows, and admiration, “but my escape, if possible, isn’t worth anybody’s life, let alone the life of someone so dear to me. I admire your bravery and sacrifice but…”

The princess was surprised when Omasiri dug her hand into her dress and brought out the potion. “This is the potion but I’m now afraid since you said it could make them die if not well used in proper proportion,” she said feeling uneasy to show the princess what she’s got.

The princess collected it and sniffed it and smiled. “This is good but I’ll find a way to escape without using it,”

Omasiri looked intently at the princess and said: “How many times have you planned and it failed even before the execution of your plans? Think about it,”

Princess Chinonye thought about the entire plans she had embarked on and never succeeded, making her feel so dispirited.

“I think I’ll adhere to your advice but I will be the one to serve the drinks to them instead of you,” Chino suggested but the suggestion wasn’t acceptable to Omasiri.

“It’s not possible because you haven’t done such before,” Omasiri hinted, “it would even make it look suspicious because they would know that, for you to serve drinks to your subjects, there is something fishy about it but being that I’m always the one to do the serving, they wouldn’t suspect that the drink is poisoned,”

It was a difficult situation for the princess because she needs to escape as soon as she could but didn’t want what will make the maidservant die for being an accomplice. Even though the princess already knew that the guards wouldn’t die but be sedated for just two hours, she still felt uneasy about it due to fact that the punishment that would be meted out on the poor girl would be so severe that she would likely lose her life because it would be considered treason.

“Okay let me tell you one secret,” Princess Chino whispered into her ear, making Omasiri attentive and eager to hear her out.

“What’s the secret?” the maidservant asked being attentive to the door to know if the guard on duty was listening too.

“I know a leaf that could be used to make even the entire palace go into a deep slumber but how to find it is hard except I enter the woods,” Chinonye clued making Omasiri so surprised.

“Wow, that’s great, but how do you know all these?” the confused and perplexed girl asked inquisitively, “You’ve not gone outside the walls of this royal prison but you’ve known everything even when you haven’t seen or touched them before. What are you, my princess? You’re the anyanwu ututu of Amachara kingdom,”

“I just know them without studying about them but my parents wouldn’t allow me to use that gift from our Chi,” she said feeling both sad and flattered.

“That’s why we have to use the available one since you won’t even be allowed to leave the palace let alone being granted access to the shrubs in the woods. You already know the kind of parents you have, so it’s either you take my suggestion or you remain in the palace and be entertaining us as with your music,”

Omasiri collected the potion back from the princess because she’d already being discouraged concerning the effect it could have on the consumers.

“I don’t understand you because… you…you. Uhmm,” The princess faltered, “You suggested that I should use the potion but at the same time avoiding handing it over to me. You’re so confused,” she added and thrust her hand to collect the potion from Omasiri, “Give me the potion. I must escape and find my way to meet my destiny,”

As Omasiri was about to hand over the potion to her, she changed her mind and began to develop cold feed about it. She hid her hands behind her back to avoid handing it over to the princess.

The princess was surprised that Omasiri suddenly began to be uneasy about the decision, making her try to collect it forcefully from her but Omasiri held tenaciously to it as her hands remained veiled behind her.

“My princess,” Omasiri said monotonously, “I was so short-sighted to only think of your escape without thinking of what will become of the great princess of Amachara when she finally ends in the forest. You never tasted any life outside the palace, so how will you survive in such an unpredictable world out there. Who will cook for you or do the dishes, or even wash your body and take care of you as we all do here? Except we all are going with you into the forest,”

The princess knew that Omasiri in her caring nature was coming to that, so she smiled and said: “My mind is made up, so relax and hand over the potion to me let me seek away out of this palace to seek for not just my freedom but to answer the call of the supernatural,”

“But my princess…”

“No buts,” The princess cut in, “I will survive, and I know that for sure. I have been learning too, so don’t think I’m as naive as you all believe,”

After saying this, the princess forcefully collected the potion from Omasiri, and then ordered her to leave her alone; to strategise on how to find her away out of the palace without being hindered or stopped.

Omasiri remained stuck and numb but seeing that the last utterance of the princess was an order, she had to obey and leave immediately; shivering and feeling that she may have just succeeded putting the life of the princess in danger. At this point, she wasn’t thinking of what will become of her fate anymore because it would be grave and capital for giving the rahugaba (sleep on) potion to the princess but she was afraid and concerned about how the princess would survive in the forest without having her maids and guards to take care of her.

#OpraDre

To be continued…