Eyin Ese 👑 #13

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now. But network and a lot of other factors wouldn’t let me. Well, here I am, on a beautiful Sunday evening, sitting on an empty keg near my Landlord’s window because Internet is awfully slow in my room, putting this up for you guys.

I hope you like it. And I hope it fills up the hunger the absence of updates from me might have caused. You know I love you and always will.

Show your love in the comment section too.

Adeola was pacing when Oyekunle found her. On the bed near her sat royal beads, aso oke for her head gear and ipele and her iro and buba for the upcoming wedding.

Three women had come in shortly before, asking to dress her up for her wedding. However, she had sent them on their way after telling them she was not ready yet.

She was not going to be stupid enough to marry the enemy.

Her brother and his army had to be making plans by now. There was no way she was going to spit on her father’s grave by agreeing to marry the man who slaughtered him in his own bed.

She was going to hold on until her brother arrived in Tede. He was going to avenge her father then and she was going to return home safely in the company of the people she could trust.

“I hear you do not want to get ready for the marriage rites just yet.” He said calmly, his eyes glued to hers. Adeola had heard tales of grooms being calm and collected on their wedding nights.

She had heard that brides tend to be more nervous and the grooms usually seemed in control. Yet, this man’s calm – which reminded her of the tranquility of a river on a beautiful morning – was still surprising.

Considering the fact that he was going to be joined together with the enemy; something his family and friends clearly didn’t support.

“You can dialogue with my brother, you know? Marrying his sister is not the way to go. He won’t thank you for that.”

“He won’t thank me for marrying you instead of letting you die painfully and slowly?”

“That’s not what I meant…” she began to say but he cut in quick, a smirk on his lips.

“I never thought much of that brother of yours but I also didn’t think he would prefer pieces of you to be sent to him than to have you married to the enemy.”

“He wouldn’t want you to touch me anyway.”

Oyekunle nodded slowly, a twinkle in his eyes. “Is that what this is about?”

Adeola frowned, “I am confused.”

“You are worried about our first night together; me touching you in all the right places and making you feel like a woman.”

She gasped, he laughed. Placing a hand gently on her arm, he said to her, “I promise to be gentle.”

She slapped his hand away from her arm. “You whore.”

Again he laughed, “I am no whore, I am a man.”

“Said like a typical man. You sleep around with all the women in the land but you will be gentle with your bride because, of course, it has to be her first night and she would be clueless about… about…”

“Sex.” He said, laughing now. “Say it, Adeola.”

“I was going to,” she pouted.

“I don’t think you’re clueless. Surely, you must have tried something with a man before…”

Adeola looked away. She had tried and she didn’t like to relive the tale. It was one horrible night. Not because she lay with a man she really liked, a man her family didn’t want her to be with because his family lacked pedigree. But because it was disastrous and her elder brother had walked in on them just as they wrapped it up.

“I assure you that there is no problem if you decide not to talk about it.”

She shrugged. Her eyes fell on her fingers. “It does not matter.” He noticed she had recently bitten off her finger nails with her teeth. It looked so uneven and so badly done, he wondered if she loathed him so much she couldn’t ask for help.

“Was it bad?” he asked about the topic of discussion.

“It is none of your business.”

Oyekunle knew he had the option of walking away. Yet he stood there, willing to know what her first time had been like and if he could surpass that.

He wanted to be the one she would remember; the one whose memories would linger and whose scent she’d smell even when he was far away.

He wanted to be the one through which she would rate lovemaking. He wanted to be her yardstick.

His hand reached for her, “You do not have to speak of it if it brings you bad memories.” He said gently.

“Stop.” She slapped his hand off her. “Stop trying so hard to be this person who cares about me.”

“But I do.” And even now that he said it, he surprised himself. Because, he hadn’t realized he cared for her that much until the words tumbled off his lips.

Adeola looked at the man before him, his beautiful eyes gazing into hers with so much intensity she could swear he was trying to search her soul.

And that was exactly what she wanted to – she wanted to search him deep inside, to know if he truly cared for her. To know if he felt the way she felt every time she was around him.

“I know this will sound ridiculous considering major plans are underway but if you do not want to marry me today, you can speak now.”

She smiled, “As if that changes anything.”

With a serious look on his face, he said to her “It does. I do not want an unwilling bride. It is bad enough you do not have anyone here to give your hand away in marriage.”

“I do not need to be given away in marriage like a piece of clothing or a horse.”

The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. He loved her stubbornness and her stance on different matters. She was a woman different from all the women he had encountered in his life.

She had her own mind, made her own decisions and did not seem to be interested in seeking approval from a man.

She was ahead of her time.

“You know that is not what I mean.”

She shrugged, her eyes falling on the cloth on the bed now.

“Do you want to marry me, Princess Adeola?”

“You know it is ironic you call me a Princess when your army is trying to snatch the Kingdom back from us.”

“You will forever be a Princess. The same way I remained a Prince whether or not my father sat on the throne. Royalty is in the blood, not just in the name.” he raised her chin with a finger now, “And if this wedding goes through today, you will become a Queen; my Queen.”

For a brief moment, it seemed that the world around them ceased to exist and for the first time, only they mattered in the universe.

His brown eyes fell on her full lips, drew in the beauty of it before leaning forward to draw it into a passionate kiss.

Kissing the enemy suddenly felt more liberating than anything else he had ever done. He felt alive, he felt free and in kissing her, he felt the drive to push for more.

And that unsettled him. What if he was truly being reckless and this marriage was a bad thing? What if things went bad after the marriage? He was trying to save her but what if her brother didn’t react the same way he expected him to?

Yet, as important as those things were, he found himself wanting to be lost in this kiss and more, in this woman.

She drew him closer to her, a hand cupping the back of his head, the other on his chest.

Oyekunle grabbed her waist and pinned her against the wall, pressing her harder to his body and trying hard to ignore the bulge in his pants.

It was becoming increasingly hard to keep his hands off the enemy. It was becoming hard to continually view her as the enemy.

And that was why he pulled away when he did. No matter what, he still needed to think.

He couldn’t afford to get carried away by his budding feelings for this woman and lose an entire war. Because at the end of the day, they were still in the middle of a war and he still wanted to win that war.

“You should get ready,” he said to her and walked out.

When he was gone, Adeola leaned against the wall in a bid to hold herself from falling. Her knees were weak; he had made that possible with that one breathless kiss.

What was she doing? Was she insane? What was this madness?

How was she falling for the enemy and frolicking with him all the while throwing caution to the wind?

And where the heck was her brother? Why was it taking such a long time for him to find her and rescue her?

Or had he forgotten he had a sister?

Frustrated and annoyed at herself for allowing the feelings towards Oyekunle grow, she stormed towards the bed and began to pull the buba over her head.

But she hadn’t gotten far when one of Oyelese’s wives walked in.

“Not so fast,” she said, “You have to scrub, wash and get some things done before you dress.” She pulled the buba off Adeola’s head. “Come with me, the other Iyawos are waiting.”

And with that, she led Adeola out of her room to go begin the first rites of marriage to a man that not only was her family’s enemy for years but that had driven a sword deep into her father’s heart without remorse.

👑👑👑

Aderopo paced restlessly, the horsetail in his hand dangling as he moved back and forth in his makeshift Throne room.

They had been waiting in the closest Town to Tede for two days now, anticipating the safe return of their spies; Spies that were supposed to bring with them information with which they could destroy the enemy.

However, the longer they stayed away, the more disturbed he became.

His sister had been gone for too long and by now, she might as well be with their Ancestors. He had wanted to act immediately he realized she was gone but Ajagun had a better idea, he’d said.

They will expect us to strike angrily. It is the reason they have her. I suggest we have a war tactic they wouldn’t see coming. I suggest we send spies.

Aderopo had dismissed the idea as soon as it was given him but when his sister’s betrothed, Ojediran and some of the trusted men in his Kingdom had leaned towards the same idea, he’d eventually agreed to it.

Yet he could not help but worry.

Adeola was a stubborn one; very heady and sometimes too spontaneous for her own good, yet she was his sister. She was his blood and he was going to tear the enemy’s Kingdom down if they hurt her.

He was going to drive a Sword through that Oyekunle’s heart if he as much as touched a hair on his sister’s head.

“Aderopo, is everything fine with you?”

He turned when he heard the soft feminine voice calling out to him. It was the third woman he had hired to calm his royal nerves. She was beautiful, her oval shape bringing to mind a well carved sculpture by the best Sculptor in town. Her full robust breasts always a welcoming sight and her lips tastier than some of the best wine he’d ever drunk.

He wanted to keep her permanently as his mistress, an idea his mother had frowned upon.

“Whores should come and go. They aren’t to stay.” She had said when he’d told her the reason this particular woman kept coming back was because he enjoyed her company.

Yet, he had taken this same woman with him on this sojourn.

He looked at her now as she approached him quietly, her fingers gently digging into his shoulders. As she massaged his body, he found soothing relief in the actions of her hands.

But unfortunately, unlike the other days since they arrived here, he wanted more.

He wanted information on what was going on with Adeola. And he wanted that information right away or they were going to journey to Tede immediately.

Pushing the woman behind him away, he marched to the entrance of his throne room and headed to Ojediran’s make shift abode.

The moans of a woman being pleasured during sex greeted him first. Slightly irritated and fully shocked that Ojediran would have the nerve to bed a woman when he was betrothed to his captured sister, Aderopo yelled from the entrance.

“Will you throw your whore out and put some clothes on?” he did not look into the space in which Ojediran pounded the woman that made so much noise to know he was fully naked. The man himself had revealed the night before that he was not ‘one of those men’ who bedded women while clothed.

“I strip myself of every single piece of clothing, hold the waist and drive in and out of her wetness while riding her like an experienced horse rider.” He’d said while drunk with palmwine.

“Give me a little time, ‘Deropo.” Ojediran grunted. Aderopo moved away from the scene of his soon to be brother in law’s sexual exploitation. He was not in a great mood and he refused to add the sexual moans of a woman being pleasured by his sister’s betrothed to it.

After a few moments, Ojediran emerged from within, a smile on his face as he tightened the ropes of his sokoto. “That woman is tasty,” he smacked his lips as if he had just tasted a delicious bowl of pepper soup.

“We are here because of my sister; your betrothed, have some respect for the woman who is in danger and whose hand you will take in marriage soonest.” Aderopo spat, unimpressed.

Chuckling, Ojediran hit Aderopo’s hand playfully, “What is with the moral high horse which you now climb? This was never a problem before now.”

“My sister is still a Captive in the hands of the enemy – everything is a problem.”

Ojediran replaced the look of excitement on his face with worry, “Are the Spies back?”

“No. And I think I will make a decision now.” He began to walk away, Ojediran hot on his heels.

“Aderopo, your Sister’s life could be in danger…”

“Which is the reason I am making a decision immediately.”

“Do not do anything rash.”

“I am way beyond the point of reasoning.”

When they reached the entrance of Aderopo’s throne room, Ajagun was waiting for them, a worried look etched on his face.

“What is it?” Aderopo demanded.

“It is the Princess, your highness.”

Fear pushed through Aderopo’s heart, “What about her?”

“She is getting married tonight.”

Aderopo gasped in shock, the shock he felt at the news almost causing him to lose his balance.

“Her betrothed is here, how can she be getting married?” he managed to ask, his voice lost beneath the overwhelming shock he felt.

“I don’t know how to say this to you, your highness…”

“Say it anyhow!” Aderopo snarled

“She’s getting married to Oyekunle.”

What?!

The fury he felt blinded him as he marched to the Stable and roared command after command.

He was not going to be alive while his younger sister was forced into marriage with a man who killed their father in his own kingdom. A man who was meant to be six feet deep and who should never lay a finger on his sister.

“Get the horses, weapons and everything you can fight with, we go to war now!!!” his voice thundered through the compound as he blindly threw weapons about when he branched into the room that housed some of the other warriors.

He was not one to go into battle, however, everything changed when the princess of Oyo was about to be forced into marriage by the enemy.

If he had to brave himself up and cut the head of that swine off, he would.

“Your highness, if I may suggest, I…”

“You may not suggest anything. Get your men, mount your horses. To Tede, we ride!”

TEDE 👑

Esu was sitting on a bench, his legs against a tree when Osun found him. Even while he sat alone, away from every other human in the large compound, he still had a sinister smile on his face.

He sensed her before he saw her.

“Osun, my lovely.” He grinned, glanced at her before returning his gaze to a Cock trying to mate with a Hen some little distance away.

Fury overtook Osun, even though she had tried hard to suppress it. “Do you know what you have done?” she asked, “Now the people of Oyo will come here and start a battle no one can stop. You have thwarted the sole reason I was sent down here!”

Esu leapt up from his seat, glanced around like one peeking on a conversation, before he returned to his bench with a wider grin. Osun thought the smile on his face looked disturbing. But he was Esu, the smile on his face always looked disturbing. In fact, everything about him was disturbing.

“Careful, before they hear you, Osun.” He said, a finger on his lips. “We do not want them to know you’re a goddess now, do we?” he laughed hard as if someone had cracked a good joke.

Irritated, Osun shoved him hard against the tree. The sudden action jolted him but in seconds, he laughed harder than he had the first time. “For someone who is bereft of her powers, you’re still mighty strong, my lovely.” He said to her.

“I am not your lovely.” She spat, removing her hands off him. “Undo the wickedness of your hands, Esu.” She said to him but he shook his head vehemently.

“I will not. A little complication never hurt anyone.”

“This is more than a little complication, this is bloodshed!”

Esu shrugged, “they are humans, they will always find a way to cope.”

Frustrated, Osun let out a loud cry. “Careful, Osun. We do not want to explain to the entire town of Tede why you’re so crabby.”

Taking a seat, Osun buried her face between her hands. She should not have let him divulge the information to the spies. She should have tried harder. Now he had done the one thing he knew how to do well and scattered everything like a chicken will its own food.

“Look on the brighter side, my lovely, there will be merriment tonight and lots of entertainment.”

She ignored him, tears overtaking her. She longed for the powers of which she had been stripped bare in Ode Orun. She wished she could do something about this unwanted companion of hers.

Her eyes up, she spread out her hands towards the Heavens, silently praying that for once her plea would be heard and she would be delivered from this companion for whom she did not ask but who plagued her like a disease.

“What are you doing?” a feminine voice asked

“Yes, what are you doing…” Esu echoed, then paused, “Wait, that was not you talking.”

Osun looked towards the direction Esu now faced, “If it wasn’t you, then who…” he continued to say until they made out someone who had now joined them.

Osun blinked rapidly to be sure this was not one of Esu’s tricks.

“Oba?”

The goddess stood there, dressed like one coming from Ode Orun – heavenly regalia, adorned with a few fishes – she folded her arms firmly beneath her breast.

“What are you doing here?” Osun inquired, puzzled.

Oba shrugged, “You asked for me, didn’t you?”

“I asked for help…”

“And this is Olodumare’s version of help.” Oba flung her bag against the foot of the tree. “Now how may I be of help to you, Iyale mi?” she asked, emphasizing the senior wife title as if she was about to mock Osun with it. Osun remained silent. The Help sent was clearly not interested in things of the world.

“My lovely, is it just me or does Oba seem like she would rather not be here for you?” Esu asked quietly, leaning close to Osun’s ears.

Osun shoved him off, the reality of having an unwilling help and a conniving companion hitting her like the strong winds of harmattan from the North.

If she did not realize before then, she just did. Her work was going to be harder than she had ever imagined and she had no powers to lighten the burden.

–

Oyekunle was tying the ropes of his Sokoto for the third time in a few seconds. All of a sudden, he was nervous about his wedding.

He was a man – a grown man – he was not supposed to be nervous at the thought of settling down with a woman. Yet, his heart increased its pace, thumping fast like it was trying to outdo the beat of a bata drum.

Bent on ignoring the feeling, he picked his dansiki from where he had hung it on the wall.

It was a new one; the dansiki, worked on by the best hands in Tede as quickly as possible for a Prince willing to marry his bride as soon as he could.

A Prince marrying his bride. For a brief moment, he wondered if he could do something about his decision. It had been made alright, and he was not the man who changed his words because of any reason at all. But he also had to be sure he was not making a mistake that would destroy everything.

He was marrying Adeola because she was going to get caught in the battle between two Kingdoms – the battle for the throne of Oyo Kingdom. He was not marrying her because she appealed to his senses and because he wanted to pleasure her until she succumbed to his touch and pleaded to be taken by him.

No, it couldn’t be that. He was marrying her because he wanted to protect her. Because it was not fair on her to be caught up in the whole war, because whatever score he had to settle was between him and her brother’s army.

But if all the reasons he had listed was why he was marrying her, why then did it not feel convincing?

Why did it feel like the real reason was because of how he felt; how he wanted her to be his and nobody else’s?

How he wanted to taste her lips for the rest of his life and feel her heart beat against his while they were both naked in each other’s arms?

“Oyekunle! Oko mi!” he was suddenly jolted out of his reverie by his mother’s worried voice.

He knew from the tone of that voice alone that she had come to talk to him about his upcoming wedding. And as he adjusted the dansiki which he now wore and which fitted him like he was born in it, his heart tore into shreds knowing he was going to disappoint her.

If only she would imagine Adeola was hers and understand his sole reason for doing this – or what he was convincing himself was the sole reason.

“Your betrothed is sick. Adepeju is sick.”

“Maami…”

But she was not listening, grabbing his hand, she pulled him along with her towards a lone hut behind the one he stayed.

“She has been ill for some time now and we were hoping it would go away but it must be the heartbreak from seeing the man she loves trying to marry somebody else.” She continued to say, leaving him no room to escape her firm grip on his hand.

Her feet digging into the sand, she pulled him along with her as they neared where Peju was. Pushing the mat which guided the door aside, they stepped in, the door shutting behind them.

Oyekunle’s eyes fell on Peju who was covered with a heavy coverlet made out of Leopard skin. Her forehead glistened with sweat, her eyes shut.

“Is she okay?” he asked his mother, his voice laden with concern despite himself.

“I don’t think so. But sit by her side, she needs you.”

Oyekunle’s brows furrowed in a deep frown. “Sit by her side, you say? I am the groom of a wedding that should begin anytime from now.”

His mother drew a long hiss, her finger pointing to the invalid before him. “This is the only woman you will be a groom to.” She snapped.

“Mother, we have gone through this many times.”

“Then it is clear I am not entertaining any ridiculousness that is coming from your mouth. Do you not know that you have been bewitched? Your betrothed lies here in this state yet, all you think of is marrying the enemy? The daughter of the man who wickedly shed your father’s blood and took over his throne?” she tied the ipele around her waist tighter, her voice rising, “Sit here.” She said pushing him into a seat near Peju. “This, is where you belong.”

He was about to reply when she stormed out of the hut, slamming the door shut behind her.

Dashing towards her, he made to open the door when he heard Peju’s voice.

“My Prince…” it was soft, “Please come back to me.” With a slur and, was that seduction he heard?

When he whirled around, she was sitting up, the coverlet barely shielding her full breasts, a smile on her lips.

“Don’t go, please.” She said to him.  And that was when it occurred to him what his mother had done; she had set him up in a bid to keep him here.

But for how long?

“This is all a big mistake. I should not be here.” He said, trying to quell the fury that rose within him. But when he pushed the door open, he realized they were locked in.

“My Prince, home is here with me, Adepeju.”

She was standing a few spaces behind him now, stark naked. And before he could blink, her taut nipple, as alert as the Calvary of a great kingdom brushed gently against his arm.

You guys, you know how much I love when we discuss our characters and how you feel about them. It was so much fun when we did it with Squadi. And I know this one isn’t done yet (even though I’m close) but it would be nice if we discussed it anyway. So, are you feeling Oyekunle and Adeola’s love? Who’s your favorite and least favorite character? Sound off in the comment section.