frank317:


My guy.... So where have u been?

i've been ghosting around Nairaland o.

Most of my favourite authors went on sabbatical leave. so i decided to be a ghost.

But now that you are back i will reincarnate from ghost mode

Bro carry on.......nice story

frank317:
Hi guys... Its been a while. Due to the tsunami that hit Nairaland last year, I lost my Reincarnation story.

Alright I have decided to repost it. This story is complete, you will finish it of you really want to.

Have a nice day guys.

Welcome back bro.
Being waiting for you ..

I'm happy you are back

frank317:


Single father... Lol, ok, welcome

I thought will stopped at chapter 9
Before those guys from the other world .... you know what I mean

Found ur story ds evening. Loving it big! Thumbs up.

Nyc story give me more

Chapter 3

Frank didn’t allow the depression that weighed him down yesterday to get at him again today. He decided he was going to serve his punishment and ensure Mr. Elisha was well attended to. At least that was the best he could do for the unfortunate man.

After cleaning him up this morning, he had decided to face his inner most discomfort by facing the source of this dilemma. So he took some time out to stare at the patient.

Somehow Frank wished the man would never wake up; he really felt it would be better for him to join his family in the world beyond.

But he took some seconds to wonder why anyone would be interested in such an ordinary man. They said he was just a gentle taxi driver. Perhaps the man had done something to some innocent people in the past and nemesis only just caught up on him.

Was nemesis going to catch up on him too for hurting so many girls? The nurse suddenly thought to himself. If nemesis existed then we deserve every bad thing that happened to us. If nemesis existed then no one was innocent because at a point in time everybody experience bad things. Frank wasn’t really sure if the bad things people experience at one time or the other was as a result of nemesis; he wasn’t sure nemesis existed. He always believed that everything that happened to people, weather good or bad was the after effect of the decision they take conflicting with the decisions others take.

He decided to take a walk around the hospital and chat up with some idle older nurses. As he walked towards two nurses sitting on the table close to the receptionist, he noticed two people walk into the hospital.

It was a man and a woman and they had the Holy Bible in their hands.

Oh these prayer warriors again, he thought even as he wondered why there were just the two of them. Perhaps others were on their way.

Frank watched them approach the receptionist before taking his attention off them. From where he stood, he could easily hear their conversation with the receptionist without making much effort to listen.

“Good morning,” the slim lady said. Frank couldn’t tell her age after noticing she acted like a tomboy. “Please we are evangelists and we will like to pray for some of your patients.”

The taller man was at her back and Frank wondered why such a man should decide to make a living out of evangelism. He looked strong enough to be at work and earn better money. Today was Tuesday and the man was here wasting all the energy in him.

“Alright, you can go to the wards this way,” the receptionist kindly answered and pointed towards her right. They were already used to evangelists especially at weekends.

“Thank you,” the slim lady said and made to walk towards the direction she had been directed to. Then she stopped, “Sorry please, I have just been ministered by the Holy Spirit to pray for unconscious patients this morning. Can you please direct me to the ward or room where I can see unconscious patients? Especially someone in coma.”

Now this got Frank’s attention. Was God trying to help his patient?

Before he could walk up to them, the receptionist was already directing them to him.

He was willing to help.

“You want to pray for unconscious patient?” He asked, with so much interest.

“Yes please, I was told you know someone in coma.”

The lady replied with an air of confidence.

“Yes, I have a patient in coma, but you have to convince the cops who were assigned to watch him before you can see him.” Frank said as he led them towards the room.

“Cops? Is he an important person?” the lady asked, faking an interest.

“No, he was brought in here by the police and we are yet to get to his extended family members since his immediate ones were killed by the people who hurt him.”

“Wow,” the lady exclaimed and looked at the guy.

Frank thought he noticed a queer exchange of glance between them, especially from the guy, but quickly let it go.

“Don’t worry; we will talk to the cops. I believe we are here to see him for a reason, the God we serve did not direct us here in vain.”

They got to the tired looking cops sitting close to the door. There were two of them and Frank already knew that the hospital bored them.

“Good morning sirs, please we will like to pray for the patient in coma.” The lady said before they could say a word.

The men looked at each other and carefully observed the two.

“Alright, just make sure you ask God to wake him up soonest.” One of the policemen said.

Frank couldn’t tell if that was meant to be a joke. He opened the door and entered the room with Bella and Dimka.

*** ***

“I just didn’t trust them.” Frank was speaking with Dozie, “The lady looked too strong to be an evangelist and the man wasn’t just good at faking it.”

Dozie almost laughed out, “What do you mean by ‘too strong to be an evangelist’? God can use whoever he likes, besides, why did you think fake evangelists would come to pray for your patient?”

“I don’t know,” Frank replied. "When I looked into her eyes right after she finished praying, they were cold and emotionless. They were the eyes of a very dangerous person. As for the man, his body language said it all. There was nothing real in the way he acted.”

“I still think the way you have been feeling about that man is still affecting you and you are now overreacting and seeing things. Just take it easy man soon you will finish with your punishment and you will get over this whole thing.” Dozie didn’t want to discuss about the man in coma anymore so he changed the subject.
“Have you called that girl you spent the night with yesterday?”

“What girl?” Frank asked with a genuine look of confusion on his face. He had also easily allowed the change in topic.

They were drinking beer at Classidy Wine Bar, their regular drinking spot. As usual, the bar was bubbling with friends and lovers while pop music wafted from the two big speakers at the two corners of the open space.
The music was not loud enough to disrupt their conversation.

“Tessy, the girl you spent last night with.” Dozie was frustrated with the way his friend was acting.

“Tessy, is that her name? I don’t even have her number.”

“Agnes called me earlier this evening, complaining that we have neglected them because we have gotten what we wanted from them. But I told her that I have been busy all day and you were having emotional problems.”

“Emotional problems? You must be a clown.” The nurse scoffed and remained silent.”

“Hey, what’s eating you up?” Dozie asked. Usually, Frank would jump into such discussions and would start making plans on how to invite the girl again. What was it about this man in coma that was making him act different? Dozie thought to himself.

He waited for Frank to speak up.

“Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking.” Frank thoughtfully said.

“By lately, I guess you mean since yesterday.” Dozie wasn’t asking a question, he was making a declaration.

“Yes… you know, I took some time out this morning and observed that man in coma and then I tried to imagine what he had gone through. What he saw those mean people do to his family must have been too much for him to bear and that was why his whole system shut down.” He stopped and pulled himself closer to Dozie, like he wanted him to listen attentively. “Then I asked myself what he had done to merit such treatment, what if it was nemesis? What if he deserved it? I also thought about the people who killed his whole family and probably made him watch. What kind of people are they? Why did they feel they were justified to carry out such an act? Are they really bad people? Who is bad?”

“What do you intend to achieve with all these questions?” Dozie asked “Do you want to wake him up or something? Are you trying to make yourself crazy?”

“No, I am not trying to make myself crazy; I am trying to understand some things about us humans. You know I have always loved psychology… I always try to be nice to everyone I come across and I have been priding myself to be a friendly easy going person yet I have almost all the young nurses at my work place hating me all because I took their emotions for granted. Perhaps I am as bad as those men who hurt Mr. Elisha and his family. What makes me better than those men?”

Dozie only wondered why his friend liked taking things too far. Frank loved to read meaning into anything that happened to him. Yet, Dozie saw some sense in what he was saying. But as far as he was concerned, life was cruel and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
“Where exactly are you going with all these?”

“All I am trying to say is…maybe they deserve what I did to them but doesn’t that mean I will also pay for what I did to them one way or the other? And who knows in what form my punishment will come?”

“Is this fear I am sensing? Are you afraid that what happened to your patient might happen to you because of some bad things you might have done to somebody in the past?” Dozie asked. He was surprised at this realization.

“Of course I am scared and that is why I want to change for good. I want to seek out pleasure in a way that I will not hurt anyone. No one has to pay for my happiness.”

“Okay and how do you intend to do that?” Dozie asked.

“First of all, I want to be loved and I found out that I can’t get love if I don’t give love and this entails dedication and sacrifice.” Frank said.

“Wow, you thought about all these just between yesterday and today?”

Frank laughed and said, “I have been thinking about my love life in recent times because I realized that I still felt empty and unfulfilled after sleeping with all these women. What happened yesterday only gave me the strength to make a firm decision.”

Now this was getting interesting, Dozie wondered how a dedicated Frank would act like. He had learnt so much about human nature and women from the nurse and was sure he would learn so much about real love from him.

He just hoped that the new Frank wouldn’t be boring; coming to Umuagu City six months had been a huge break from all the hassles of life he had gone through in his home and meeting the ever jovial Frank had been a great relief. The male nurse had opened up a brighter and fun-filled side of life for him.

Umuagu Town had given him nothing but a breath of fresh air.

“So how do you intend to go about this?” he asked.

“I will just…” Frank’s reply was cut short by the sudden vibration of his mobile phone on the table. He stopped speaking and picked it up; it was Linda, he answered the call, “Hello Linda… yes I am free, just come to Classidy Wine Bar.” He stopped and looked at Dozie before continuing with the call, “yes I am here with Dozie what do you expect… alright I will be here.” He cut the call.

“Why did she have to hesitate when you told her I was with you?” Dozie asked.

Frank dropped the phone on the table and signaled to the waiter for more beer, “You noticed? Well, she was deciding if she would come here or not. But she will be here any moment from now.” Frank noticed Dozie shift uncomfortably on his chair, “Relax boy, she is not going to eat you.”

Dozie couldn’t help feeling anxious. The effect Linda had on him was something beyond his control.

Her presence had a way subduing all his years of harsh experience and life of ruthlessness and thuggery. She makes his hardened heart melt whenever she was around him.

She came in sooner that they had expected looking magnificent in a plain red tight and long gown.

Her eyes locked with Dozie’s for a split second and the young man almost fainted. God! She was a real angel. He suddenly began to perspire and he prayed that she wouldn’t notice his discomfort.

Frank noticed it but Linda didn’t.

Dozie quickly ordered for another bottle of drink just to distract himself from thinking about her.

He was glad to see her; she just looked exactly the way she had looked in his dream last night after he had heard she was in town. But he couldn’t say if her presence was a curse or blessing.

It was going to be a long evening.

*** ***

“I was with the Police Commissioner this afternoon and he was trying to find out why we have to keep on funding the medical bills of a man who might die any time from now.” The Assistant Police Superintendent was saying to Inspector Ahmed. He was a very fat man who looked like he shouldn’t have any business with the police force.

Ahmed already suspected that this was why the ASP has asked to see him this evening. He was even more frustrated because the patient was not showing any sign of recovery. He couldn’t understand why Elisha was still in coma up till now given the fact that he didn’t sustain any head injury. “I am very positive that the patient will not die sir, he just fainted because of the terrible things he saw being done to his family sir,”

“You don’t know for certain if he will wake up. You know the police force does not have enough money for this kind of project. At this stage his family members should take his medical bills,” the ASP said and relaxed on his leather seat. His office was a very classy one, such that every policeman dreamt of having.

But Ahmed preferred solving cases and putting criminals away to having expensive office as this. “We have not been able to reach any of his extended family yet… we can’t just pull the plug sir, he is the only one who can give us information about what happened and this may help us get the offenders.”

The big man shook his head in disagreement, “We are not even sure he has the information we need. Besides he could die without waking up and all the money we have spent will be in vain. Why don’t we let him go… he is just a taxi driver and his whole family is gone?”

Ahmed knew that the main reason why the authorities weren’t interested in the case was because the patient was not an important figure in the society. “I am just concerned that the psychos who killed his family could hurt another person if they are not apprehended. It is very important that we do everything possible to find out what actually led them to hurting that family. We can’t just let go of the only lead we have,” Ahmed tried, “okay, can I be given two days?”

The ASP looked at him for some time. “We will pull the plug on Thursday if he does not wake up by then, understand?”

Ahmed knew this was the best he would get, “Yes sir,” he stood up and saluted his boss before leaving.

He knew he would be greatly troubled for a long time if he lost Elisha without hearing from him.

Good nite guys

I am here.

Waoh! Didn't follow this story the first time even with the hype but now i'm just sitting and thinking what a great story i would have missed if you hadn't decided to repost it. Definitely following.

Dunno how I missed this story then, you've a good story telling skills. I salute u bro!

adegwurulez:
Waoh! Didn't follow this story the first time even with the hype but now i'm just sitting and thinking what a great story i would have missed if you hadn't decided to repost it. Definitely following.

Same thing man.. This story is too good to be missed.

Bro u r wc, I rili missed dat story, always checked nl literature section everyday cuz of it

By the time Bella and Dimka came home that evening, Banjo was already calm; his meditation had helped a lot in achieving this state of psychological condition. It had also helped him believe that the outcome of their mission would definitely be helpful.

He almost laughed out when he saw Bella once again looking all holy in her born again attire. Banjo believed that Christians who claim to be born again were confused people who knew nothing about the spirituality they claim they possess. His Bella wasn’t a confused girl.

“He is still in serious coma and the doctor does not know when he will wake up.” Bella explained.

“Yea, the man looks more dead than alive,” Dimka said. He was Banjo’s right hand man. They had met seven months ago on a day he was almost lynched my mob for harassing a lady. Banjo had come to his rescue, claiming to be a cop. Dimka was surprised to find out that the big confident man was nothing near being a cop. He had further been fascinated by the strange man’s attachment to fetishism and other strange concepts.
Somehow Banjo had made him understand that knowledge about spiritual things was the ultimate and there was more to life than just the physical. Banjo also coached him on how to be a real bad boy.

Dimka’s main duty was to help Banjo out source for reliable criminals whenever Banjo needed them. Banjo had no gang of his own, so he usually hired them when there was need for operation.

“How could such a dumb man be the seer? He was supposed to just faint and wake up hours later. How could he be in coma for more than twenty four hours and counting?” Banjo wondered out loud.

“The problem now is that we don’t even have any idea when he will wake up, that is if he eventually does.” Bella complained.

“He will wake up; Prince said he will just as long as we have ignited all that he had repressed in his subconscious with what we did to him.” Banjo recalled the last conversation he had with Prince just hours after the attack on Elisha’s family.

“Do not be worried yet,” the invisible being that had identified itself as Prince had said to him, “You have already sent his soul on a fact finding mission.”

Banjo had remained silent, waiting for the voice to continue.

“While he is unconscious, his spirit being will try to understand why such horrible thing was done to his family. Even if he is going to die, he will surely first of all wake up with whatever he finds out before giving up the ghost. Right now, the choice to stay alive is in his hands.” There was silence, “he is the seer; he will sure tell was he sees.”

Prince had been impressed by the way Banjo had handled Elisha’s family and Banjo was glad that he had impressed the first spiritual being that had contacted him in person.

Banjo never ever considered himself a killer even though, once in a while, he had had to kill virgins or infants for certain rituals. The fact was that he never killed because he enjoyed the act even though he never felt any remorse.

But from the way he had handled the seer and his family, one would think he was a professional killer who usually did it for fun.

They had given the unsuspecting family a surprised visit that morning. It was a rickety two bedroom flat that was situated in low cost area of Umuagu. They had taken the gate man who looked more like a tenant in the small house close to the already fallen gate than a hired worker along with them into the house.

Gladly, the whole family was at home and before they could react to the surprised visit, Banjo and his crew had already held them captive.
Banjo had gone for the operation with Bella, Dimka and two other rogues that were hired by Dimka. Their names were Bulus and Otega. This wasn’t the first time the two were going on a mission with Banjo, but they thought something was different about this operation. Banjo looked very fierce and determined, like he was being control by one of those things he worshiped.

Of course the invisible spirit of Prince was there with them and monitoring the operation.

He had earlier instructed Banjo on what he should do, “Everything about what happened in his past life could be in his conscious or deep in his unconscious mind. You must use whatever means you can to retrieve every information from him. You must never be soft on him, violence or traumatic events could help people remember things they never think they can remember. Sometimes these events surface in disguise in their dreams something it just pops up. If that is his case, the reincarnated seer will not find it difficult to remember his past life,”

Banjo had listened attentively, “What if we try everything we can and he does not remember?” he asked.

“One thing you must have in mind is that the knowledge is there somewhere in the mind. An extreme way of retrieving important past life information is by putting the person in a trance through hypnosis. Now, I don’t think you can do that. This mean we have to go hard on him, hurt his emotions and force him to go into unconscious without hurting his body.”

Banjo had understood and that was why he had raided the family with so much ferocity; he didn’t intend to leave the crime scene without achieving anything.

He had first of all sliced the throat of the house girl and gateman without asking the taxi driver any question. This was to let the man know he meant business.

“Oh please! What do you want from us? We have done nothing wrong, please do not hurt us.” Elisha had cried. He was being held down by Dimka while Bulus and Otega held unto the kids. Bella was pointing a gun at his wife. On the floor, the two wounded people continued to struggle with life as blood gushed out of the openings in their throat.

“I did that so as to ensure you give us what we want, no matter how impossible it might seem.”

The look on Elisha’s face revealed that he was sure there was nothing to offer, and there was no need for them to continue with the violence.

“Something happened in your past life and this was a very long time ago. Right now we want you to remember it and give us very important information.” Banjo carefully said.

Now Elisha was obviously confused. What does this guy mean by past life? Did such thing exist? What exactly was this psycho expecting from him? He looked at his terrified family and wondered if this was all a dream.

“Can you remember anything about you past life… perhaps in dreams or something?”

Elisha shook his head sideways. There was fright written in his eyes.

“You can’t remember having any gift to see the future or to know things about people?” Banjo pressured.

“No!” Elisha cried.

“Too bad, then we have to force you to remember.” To Dimka, “Sit him up and make him watch.

Banjo picked up the children and carefully sliced their throat one by one.

They screamed and called out for their father’s help, but the man just sat captive in Dimka’s strong hands. Hot and painful tears fell from his eyes as he watched his children struggle for life. He was sure the pain he felt inside him was more than whatever his little innocent kids felt. And by the time Banjo stabbed the last child, who was just an infant, Elisha was already turning into vegetable. His body system began to give away.

There was blood all over the floor and the stench was so strong that Elisha felt he was eating his children.
To him, this was just a dream; he would soon wake up.

Banjo walked up to him, there was no sign of remorse on his expressionless face. “Do you remember anything now?” His voice was cold; it was the voice of death.

Elisha did not reply. He just looked into the big muscled man’s eyes as he struggled to breathe. Elisha knew he was crying inside him, but he didn’t understand why there was no sound coming from his lips, instead the lips remained opened as he inhaled a large chunk of air and exhaled seconds later.”

Banjo smiled, “You don’t want to talk,” perhaps the man was going to faint, he thought. He thought it was time they take him deeper into unconscious. “Do his wife.” He commanded Bella.

Elisha’s wife wasn’t crying out loud. She was just sobbing softly. The voice was helpless and painful. The only thing she prayed for at the moment was for death to come and take her away. The desire for death was so strong that it felt like hope.

Bella dragged her closer to her husband. This was the height of excitement for her. She was having the best fun of her life and couldn’t wait to make sweet, passionate and wild love to Banjo once this was over.

Husband and wife looked into each other’s eyes without exchanging any form of communication. But both saw pain.

The whole scene was sickening, even Bulus and Otega wondered what sort of humans they were dealing with. They couldn’t wait to leave the scene.

Bella raised her hand and stabbed her on the tummy. She left the knife in there even as blood covered her hand and gushed down to the floor.
Elisha gave up and lost consciousness before the next action from the girl.

From a distance, the sound of siren was heard.

Banjo wasn’t expecting this. His intention was to carry Elisha along with him once he fainted, but with this interruption, they had to leave the scene in other to avoid further complications.

Now the man was still in coma and no one had any idea when he would be regaining consciousness.

He looked at Bella, “is this all you found out?”

“Well, I remember the nurse mentioning that he hoped God answers our prayers because the authorities of the police force might not keep him under the machine for long, but he didn’t have details on this development.” She said, hoping the information would help her genius lover reason out something.

“Mnnn… I wonder how long they might keep him.” The spiritualist wondered out loud.

“I still suggest we raid the hospital and take the body, the security I saw was not intimidating. We could take a doctor or nurse along with us. We just have to be with him when he wakes up so as to avoid further complications.” Bella re-suggested.

This time around, Banjo thought it was a nice idea. He looked at Dimka, “get me 5men for tomorrow’s operation. We are going to raid the hospital. Make sure that you get a smart driver; I will pay two N250 into each of their accounts once they accept to do the job and a balance of N250 after a successful operation.”

“Alright,” Dimka answered and left the room. He would definitely get interested boys this evening.

“Thank you very much for a job well done,” Banjo said to Bella. “How would you like me to show my appreciation?”

“Just take off your cloths and have rough and passionate sex with me.” She replied

Banjo quickly took off his cloths, revealing an intensely tattooed body. He walked up to Bella and tore off the cloths from her body and then he lifted her up and slammed her on the chair.

** **

Linda opened the door to her self contained apartment and fell on the bed. She was very tired and was glad she wasn’t feeling hungry. The boys had made her eat and drink until she was full.

It had been a fun day with Frank; any day with Frank was fun. He was her best friend in the world for now but was that enough? Was she really happy with just having a fun filled male friend?

She had tried these past weeks to pretend that the kind of friendship she got from Frank was enough but she knew she was just deceiving herself.
She was lonely.

Yes, she knew that this state of affair was partly her fault because she had succeeded in scaring men away from herself by being arrogant.

Earlier in life, she had never thought that she was going to be this sort of person to men. She had always looked forward to being a soft lover and giving all the best life could give into her relationship. But the little experience she had had with men when she was an undergraduate had made her understand that men took soft loving women for granted. Some saw it as a sign of weakness and would want to take advantage of such a lady. They would cheat on her, disrespect her and dump her for a lady they considered tough.

She had learnt the hard way, especially with her last relationship before she graduated. He had been a lazy guy who spent most of his time drinking and doing nothing. She loved him but he used her; made her spent her money on him and got nothing, not even love, in return.

He was her life, so cute and desirable. But she had lost because she was soft and loving. She had cheaply given in to his advances and he had seen her as weak.

Men loved them tough, she had come to believe. And so she toughened up. She became rude and arrogant and surprisingly it was reinforcing. It made her feel powerful and in charge of men that she was used to believing were supposed to be in charge of her. The feeling was good.

But looking at her situation today she was forced to ask herself if it was all worth it.

She had unintentionally learnt how not to allow a man control her or make her do what he wanted her to do. But was she really the kind of person men want? She had unknowingly made herself a lonely person with a loveless life. Now she was alone.

At first she had enjoyed the way she made Dozie feel. Yes, she knew he liked her but he reminded her of her ex. He was lazy and jobless. He probably was waiting to woo an unsuspecting girl so that he could feed on her. Perhaps that was how he got his money.

Of course, most girls would want to have him as their man and Linda was sure most of the stupid ones would not mind parting with their hard earned money so as to have him around them.

Men, they were all the same, full of tricks and deceiving girls with innocent looks. This was exactly what she thought of Dozie.

Yet she wasn’t ready to evaluate her feelings for him. She wasn’t just ready to give that a thought.

She rolled over the bed and wished a man was with her on it, cuddling and making her feel warm. How long will this continue?

Then she remembered Dozie; the way he had looked at her when she entered the bar. Did she see desire?

Oh, this wasn’t the kind of thinking she needed at the moment, she just needed to sleep.

In his room, Dozie, despite the alcohol in his system, was dreaming about her. It was a heavenly dream as she yielded to his touch and leaned on his body. While he continued to enjoy the moment, the dream suddenly changed. Linda had now disappeared and he was all alone; the fear that had haunted him for nights came back. It was the face he had dreaded, the face that meant terror to him. It was the man that had terrorized Obaga City and he was coming towards him with a knife; he was going to cut his head off. Just as he raised his hand to strike, Dozie woke up.
He sat up and looked around his room. He was perspiring and now very sober.

He knew that the reoccurring dream was a reminder that he was not safe from the monster that was determined to take his life. Sadly, he didn’t know how close the monster was in finding him. But he knew time would soon run out; he could feel it in his guts.

Chapter 4

Thursday 20 July, 1860

“Father,” Amarachi called unto her dad, “It’s been three days now since we saw the strange man who called himself the seer.”

The whole family was sitting in front of their large hut and having a late lunch. The food was a well prepared roasted yam with curry leave, fresh pepper and red oil. Nduka had traded meat for yam and oil earlier in the day.

Amarachi had not been able to get the seer out of her mind. She didn’t think it would be of any harm to them to go and hear what he had to say, but she wasn’t sure her father was giving it a second thought, likewise Olamma her mother. She had heard the story and didn’t think the drama was worth looking into. They were new here and didn’t need such unnecessary distractions.

Her younger brothers were separated from them and were playing while they ate.

“I told you to forget about that stranger.” After a second thought, “I hope you are not planning on going there on your own?”

“No father, I just…”

“Let it go child,” her father cut in. he knew the only way to stop Amarachi was by being stern. Amarachi was capable of sneaking out and doing her will.

Olamma observed attentively, hoping her husband’s warning would really stop her daughter from trying anything stupid. She was as beautiful as her daughter but was not capable of doing masculine activities like her daughter.

Amarachi gave it up. If her parents thought seeing the so called seer wasn’t necessary then she was going to let it go.

After eating and washing up the clay dishes, Amarachi felt bored at home. She decided to take a stroll into the village and perhaps make some friends.

“Father, I want to talk a walk around the neighborhood.” She told her father who was almost dozing off on the long seat where he had had his lunch.

“I will not tell you not to go out but you must be very careful. I wouldn’t want you to be unnecessarily adventurous and try going into the bush on your own.”

Amarachi knew he was only interested in stopping her from going to see the seer. She didn’t intend to either.

“I will be careful father.” She answered and quickly walked towards the track road that led to their house.

Her mother quickly came out of the room and called her back.

“Go and cover your breast before going out.”

Amarachi casually obeyed her and left the house.

The whole village was just boring. She had no friends and the citizens were simply lazy. The young boys she had met in the stream in the past two days behaved like women. They had a good king who had a strong army that was protecting them and because of that, they didn’t act like people who could be attacked by rebels any moment from now.

Soon she found herself on the familiar track road that led do the palace. She decided to view the palace and guards; perhaps she might see something interesting around there.

She saw something interesting.

Just outside the palace the prince was training some new recruits. Few people watched them from the trees and fallen tree trunks that surrounded the small field where the training took place.

Amarachi walked closer to enjoy the view. What more was more interesting than watching strong men fight each other?

She spotted the Prince and the way he handled and trained the men caught her interest.

She had never realized he had this much energy in him. She had heard stories of the great warrior king who could kill twenty men all by himself, but she had never thought the prince was also like his father.

He must be the strongest man in the village, Amarachi thought, judging from the way he took down all the men that attacked him with ease.

Amarachi had always liked strong men. She had always imagined that her husband must be a very strong man who would go hunting with her and together they would have a strong family and if possible rule a community. But she didn’t know why she didn’t like the Prince despite his impressive fighting skills. All the same, she relaxed and enjoyed the view.

*** ***

Prince Andaka saw her immediately she entered the scene. He couldn’t miss the distinct lady figure. Her presence seemed to give him more strength and he also suddenly felt the need to impress her, so he asked his trainees to attack him.

He took them all down and was glad she saw it all.

The guard he had asked to find out about her had done a great job. Right now he knew where she lived and how many siblings she had. He even knew where and when she bathed at the stream. He had discreetly watched her take her bath yesterday and the image of her whole naked body had been the only thought in his head competing with the thought of ensuring he became the next king.

He was beginning to grow strong feelings for her, a feeling no lady in Oboagha had been able to elicit from him.

He asked the guards to rest while he walked up to her.

Amarachi didn’t expect this. Why would the prince be walking towards her direction?

He got to her and she continued to observe him, wondering what he wanted to do.

“Amarachi, you came to watch me fight?” the Prince said with a sense of pride.

Amarachi nodded her head, not understanding what he meant by the statement. Why would he think she came here to watch him? She was also surprised that he called her name with such familiarity.

“I hope I didn’t disappoint you?” there was a smile of confidence on his mean face, yet it wasn’t a kind smile.

There was nothing benevolent in the way the prince talked or acted. But nothing about him intimidated her. Mean men didn’t scare her.

“Everybody knows you are a good fighter.” She casually replied.

“Oh, you have heard about my fighting skills too.”

She didn’t think this statement was a question. She also didn’t understand why he thought his fighting skills were of any interest to her.

Prince Andaka didn’t think he was getting the admiration and respect he desired from her. Her body language didn’t make him feel good. Didn’t she think he was a good fighter? Perhaps she had seen more skillful men in her community before coming here.

He remembered she also hunted with her father; he had never seen a girl hunter before. Could this girl be skillful too? He decided he was going to find out. “You look like a lady warrior… perhaps you have some fighting skills.”

“I and my father are great hunters. Sometimes some fighting skills are needed to overcome unforeseen circumstances. You never know what or who you might meet out there in the forest.” She boldly replied.

The Prince liked her the more. “Perhaps you can challenge one of my men.” He suggested.

She looked into his eyes for a moment and her beauty caused his heart beat to stop for a moment. “Alright, let’s do it.”

Andaka, who didn’t expect she would give in to this suggesting without any pressure from him, led her to the middle of the field.

He pointed at one of the guards and signaled to him to come forward.

“This pretty lady wants to show me what fighting skills she’s got. Face it off with her.” He instructed and pulled back.

The guard thought this was the most stupid idea the Prince had ever suggested. How could he ask him to face it off with a lady? He had never seen a lady fight before and the people of Oboagha believed that women were meant to cook and go to streams. The guard thought Prince had gone way beyond his limits; how does he expect him to hit a woman?

Amarachi and the guard were handed a fighting stick and they were left to face each other.

Looking at the way the guard positioned himself; Amarachi knew he was going to be a very easy take, so she dropped her weapon.

This aroused the prince’s interest and the guards were piqued at this action, especially because it was coming from a woman.

The guard allowed her to attack because he meant to go soft on her. But the girl’s movement was fast and very skillful and even though he was quick to dodge her right arm, he had to buckle up for a real fight.

Amarachi’s next strike with her right hand got him on the left rib cage. His weapon was almost useless to her swift skills and before he could react, her right arm was around his neck and with her left arm she lifted him up and threw him on the floor. She stepped back and waited for him to stand up.

Everybody watching was surprised and Prince Andaka felt rage. The stupid guard had disgraced him by allowing a girl to beat him.

The guard looked up at him before standing up and instantly knew he was in trouble with his trainer. So he quickly rushed Amarachi once he got to his feet expecting to take her by surprise.

Amarachi was expecting him and was able to tactfully get the stick out of his hand and hit him with it.

“Stop!” Andaka’s voice shot out. He was angry; his guard had disgraced him.

There was a wry smile on her face when it was finally over; she liked the look of embarrassment on the prince’s face.

The prince couldn’t say a word; he just looked at the defeated guard and motioned to Amarachi to walk with him.

Even though Andaka was furious, he couldn’t help but admire Amarachi the more. He wanted to be with her for now; he would deal with the disgraceful guard later.

“You fight pretty well,” he tried to sound amused despite the embarrassment he felt. “I must confess, I am simply amazed.”

“Thank you.” Amarachi replied.

The prince led her to a quiet and lonely track.

Why was the prince interested in leaving his task and chatting with her? What does he want? Amarachi’s head was filled with questions.
“So where did you learn those skills from?” Andaka asked. He intended to woo her at this moment. Of course she would gladly accept him. Can anybody dare reject the advances of Prince Andaka the son of the great king of Oboagha?

“I grew up hanging around my uncles who were warriors in my community before we were raided. Besides I have always been interested in being as strong as tough warriors. I always involve myself in masculine activities.” She replied. She hoped she wasn’t sounding disrespectful.

Andaka continued to maintain a confident smile, “Are you speaking of the men who couldn’t protect their people when the invaders came?”

Amarachi was a little hurt by this statement but she maintained her composure. “Our warriors did the best they could. Our enemies took us by surprise.”

From the way she talked, Andaka could assume that she must have fought along with them. “You are a very special girl, one who is different from her counterparts yet so pretty, strong and desirable.”

“Thank you.” Was all she could reply.

“I like you. Who knows, I might consider taking you as my wife.” He was very confident of himself.

Amarachi had never given getting married a thought even though her parents were always mentioning it. This was the first time someone was proposing to her and she thought it was weird. Andaka sure wouldn’t be a choice even if she decided to give marriage a thought. She hoped he was joking for his own sake.

Prince wasn’t expecting this awkward silence. Was this girl making him make a fool of himself? Wasn’t she glad he said something like that to her? “Why are you silent? The prince just asked you to be his wife, or do you think I am not serious?” he believed this must be what she was thinking. “I know you will be surprised that I am asking you to be my wife despite the fact that your family is a refugee with a strange blood. Don’t worry; I will change your status.”

What has all these got to do with him marrying her? Why does he think he was doing her a favour? How could she make him understand that she had greater plans for her future rather being married to an arrogant prince? She was going to be a warrior lady that would avenge the death of her relations. “Well, I have not yet given marriage a thought. There are more important things in my mind.”

Andaka couldn’t believe his ears. What rudeness? Did she just say she had more important things? The rage he felt knew no bound, but he tried to keep calm, “You will go home and think about what we just discussed, I will see you tomorrow.” With that, he turned around and headed towards the training ground.

Amarachi watched him walk away from her just like that. Was he angry? Somehow, she was glad he left her. Now what was she going to do about the ultimatum he had given her? She wasn’t afraid of him and wasn’t ready to be intimated by anyone.

She quickly hurried back home, it was getting late.

** **

Following. More updates ooooo.

its a tough one........ keep it coming

coool

Kai Baba Frank i dey feel u..... Am lost of vocabs to describe ya kind of writin.... Just leme say am in love with u #nohomo

Psalmwise, cm share beans to evrybody hia d tori too make sense.
Kenwins, wia av u bn al dz yle?

Oga frank, come update oo.

WOW dis story is just so interesting.. frank i hope we get frequent updates from yhu o

Great build, wonderful story add that to the fact that it speaks of both contempary and acient africa you know that frank is destined for great things in the pen world. Although ur discribtion o f acient africa is a bit cliche. All in all nice work

The Prince’s rage worsened as he got to the training ground and had to face the disgraceful guard.

“You can’t beat a girl? I expected you should have killed yourself before I got here. I can see how shameless you are.” His eyes were blood shot.

“The guard knelt down, “I am sorry my prince. I never expected her to be that skillful. I took her for granted and was taken by surprised. Please my prince…”

“Don’t call me your prince. I can never be a prince to such a disgraceful thing like you.” Andaka interrupted, “How can you call yourself a warrior of Oboagha yet you allow yourself to be taken by surprise by a woman?” then an idea came to his head, “Alright, you have to redeem yourself by challenging me. Just last up to 20seconds and I will let this pass. Now come forward.” He commanded.

The guard picked up his weapon and went up to the prince while he wondered what the prince meant by twenty seconds.

Andaka didn’t give him a chance to think of what next to do. He disarmed the already terrified guard and twisted his neck. All the guards observing heard the sound of the neck bone crack and they saw their colleague fall in death.

Quickly the few people watching began to disperse. It was obvious that the prince was in rage and whenever he was in this mood, anyone could be a victim.

How could the pretty Amarachi not be drooling for him?

She had been all that was in his mind since he saw her few days ago and had thought she would be more than glad that he indicated interest in her.

Was she feeling she was strong enough to challenge him? Did she know he was going to become the next king?

He walked out of the training ground and headed for the palace.

Speaking of becoming the next king, which was another issue that was bothering him; he must forget about Amarachi and focus on how to handle his father.

*** ***

Her father was not at home when she got home.

“Thank God you are back home, I was about to ask your little brothers to go and search for you.” Her mother’s facial expression displayed the fact that she was relieved. “Come over here and help me peel these cassavas.”

Amarachi walked up to her mum.

Her little brothers were played at the other end of the compound. They seemed to have gotten a new friend and were having fun here.

Amarachi was glad her family was settled down. Few days ago had been like hell but looking at them all now, all she could see was peace except for the turmoil in her mind.

Why was the Prince trying to spoil this peace she was enjoying with her family here in Oboagha?

“Where did Papa go?” She asked as she sat close to her mum.

“Your father went to check some of the traps he set in the bush this morning; I believe he will soon be back.” Olamma studied her daughter as she spoke. She was sure that soon men would come asking for her hand in marriage. She was also confident that her pretty daughter would attract rich and good looking men in Oboagha. “You are getting pretty by the day my daughter.”

Amarachi looked up at her in surprise. Then she smiled, her mother obviously couldn’t wait to give her out in marriage. It was the pride of all mothers. Then she remembered her conversation with the prince. “The prince just declared his intention to marry me, but I am not ready, neither do I like him.” she tried to sound casual despite he worries.

Olamma had already heard so much about the ruthless prince. He wasn’t exactly the kind of man she would want to give her daughter out in marriage. She hoped he would take her refusal in good fate.

She was about to inquire from her daughter how she met the prince and what exactly transpired between them when she looked up and saw her husband walking towards home. She would definitely discuss this development with him.

As he drew closer home, Olamma noticed he was looking worried and his eyes were on their daughter.

He sat on a dry tree stem that was very close to them. “The prince angrily killed one of his guards today.” His eyes were on Amarachi even as he spoke. “He was said to have been defeated in a fight by a woman.”

“Amarachi! Why did you have to go and fight with the Prince’s guard?” her alarmed mother asked.

“I was just watching them train when Prince Andaka walked up to me and asked me to fight with one of his men.” Amarachi complained. She couldn’t believe the prince had actually killed him because she defeated him. Was he really that angry because she didn’t give him a positive answer on the marriage issue?

“You should have said no.” Nduka cried.

“I wanted to fight with them and show them all I got. Accepting the challenge was the choice that seemed right at that moment. How would I have known that the prince was going to kill whoever I won in the fight?” Even as she spoke, she felt very guilty for the life of the guard. His blood was in her hands, she thought.

“Did he ask to marry you before the fight or after the fight?” Olamma asked.

Nduka stared in shock. Why were they now talking about marriage?

“It was after the fight mother. I noticed he wasn’t happy I won his guard but he was much angrier when I told him that I wasn’t thinking of marriage yet.”

“The prince wants to marry you?” Nduka asked.

“Yes father.”

Nduka knew that her daughter would never accept to marry Prince Andaka. “Did he just walk away when you told him you weren’t ready for marriage? He must have said something before leaving you, a threat or something.” Nduka felt he had idea of how most warriors like the prince would behave in situations like that. The prince sure wouldn’t leave without a threat.

“He said he was giving me till tomorrow to think about it and that he will be coming here tomorrow before he angrily left me. It was more like a threat.”

“And then he went back to the training ground and killed the guard. He must have been mad.” Nduka said in a whisper tone. What will he do now? If the prince decides to take drastic measures on them as a result of their daughter’s refusal to marry him, they would be in real danger.

Still in confusion, he left his daughter and wife and entered the hut.

That night he thought of the so called seer’s warning for the first time. Should he allow his daughter to go and see the strange young man and hear what he has to say? Well, whatever happens tomorrow will tell, he decided.

** **

When the king of Oboagha heard of the death of the guard, he had to quickly summon his son.

“Why did you have to kill him to prove your point?” King Agudi queried. “How could you be that ruthless?”

Andaka stood in front of his father with a stern face. He was not afraid despite knowing what his father was capable of. “I intend to come up with the best warriors in the history of our time. You must understand my fury when I saw a lady beat up a man I spent most of my time training. He was both dumb and lazy; killing him was the best way to punish him for wasting my time.”

The king was both angry and speechless at his son’s reply. There wasn’t any sign of remorse in the young man’s countenance. Not that this was the first time his son had murdered someone in cold blood; he had been able to defend himself and justify his actions in previous occasions. This time around his action was totally uncalled for.

He must take necessary action this time around. He will not have his son kill his citizens for no reason and destroy the community he had worked very hard to build with his greed and wickedness. “You just rendered that man’s wife a widow yet you claim you want to become their ruler in the nearest future.” He stopped and stared at the unrepentant face, “think hard my son. Do you think you have what it takes to rule this community?”

“I do father, I am strong and fearless. With me, the people can come under no threat come what may, just as long as they obey the rules of the community.”

“No, Andaka. You will be the only threat to your own people if you continue this way and I will be the most wicked king to hand over my community to somebody like you.” Now, he noticed this got the young man’s attention. “You must change and prove to me that you are different, or else you will never be the king as long as I live. You will start by going to that man’s wife and ask her for forgiveness then you will appease the spirit of her late husband.”

Andaka couldn’t believe his ears, “but father, I…”

“Shut your mouth and listen to me,” the great king was furious, “you must learn how to be kind to the people by starting to interact with them as your equals. And until I start hearing rumors that you have actually changed, not only rumors but I must feel it, I will not recognize you as the next king of Oboagha. The people might think you are the crown prince, but I have the final say. So the choice is yours to merit it.”

Andaka was filled with hatred for his father. He wished he could just strangle the old man and get it over with.

King Agudi stared back at his son with equal meanness, “Now leave my chamber,” he said through clenched teeth.

There was no telling that the king was a great man. Andaka could see it. He left the chamber without saying a word.

He walked straight into his room without giving a glance to or noticing anything in his environment. The anger and hatred he felt for his father almost choked him.

He continued to pace up and down, thinking of the possible solution to the issue between him and his father.

The evening had started badly after Amarachi had beaten up his guard. She had disgraced him and still went ahead to reject his proposal for marriage. She had made him look like a fool in both occasions and now his father had worsened it all by asking him to do these things that would dehumanize him.

Never!

Prince Andaka, the future king of Oboagha would never do those things his father had asked him to do. The widow of his late guard can cry blood for all he cared but he would never ask her for forgiveness. Her whole family didn’t deserve his pity!

Pretty Amarachi must be his wife or suffer for it but first he must deal with his father. He had been nursing some thought on how to handle his father since the old man threatened him some days ago, but had been slacking on actually going ahead with the plan. Now he had no choice but to take the next step.

“Who is there!” he called on the guard outside. The same guard who had helped him source out information about Amarachi ran into the room. He was one of Andaka’s trusted guards. Despite the prince’s meanness, this guard was among the few who benefited from him by being loyal.

“Get me two guards you can trust. I am giving you three days to seek out one of the rebel leaders among the numerous rebels out there. Ensure he is strong and daring. Tell him that Prince Andaka wants to meet with him in the next market day, that is a week from now.” He stopped and looked intensely at the guard, “if I hear this from any other person, I will kill you and all your family. Tell the rebel leader that Prince Andaka wants his favour and I will give him a very interesting gift in return.”

“I will do that right away my Prince.” The guard obediently replied and left the hut.

This decision seemed to calm the prince a bit. He was surprised that there was a smile on his face by the time the guard was out of his room. He felt excited for what he was about to do.

Chapter 5

Thursday 27 July, 1860

As he came out of his large hut and stretched his hands, opening his mouth for a wide yawn, Nduka was very sure he had woken up on the wrong side of his mat. He was unnecessarily anxious and this was followed by a strong feeling of emotional discomfort. The way he felt didn’t have anything to do with dull morning weather nor did it have anything to do with the fact that his family was running out of food and he needed to do something about it.

It was because of what happened yesterday. Prince Andaka had paid them a surprised visit.

After confronting his daughter and asking for her hand in marriage a few days ago, Nduka had expected that the prince would come the next day as promised but he didn’t show up even after five days and Nduka was glad, thinking that perhaps the prince had finally decided to let go of their daughter.

Little did he know he was dead wrong; it was only the beginning.

“Papa!” Amarachi had anxiously called out to him when she saw the prince coming towards their house with his guards.

Nduka had quickly rushed out to see what was happening.

The warrior prince had marched towards him with an aura of terror. His eyes were mean and unfriendly, staring angrily at Amarachi as he got closer.

He stopped in front of her and remained silent while his bare chest heaved up and down.

There was silence and father and daughter couldn’t wait for him to speak.

It was a Wednesday afternoon and Olamma had gone to the market with her sons to exchange the last meat they had for processed cassava while father and daughter worked on their tools for tomorrow’s hunting.

As she stared into his eyes, Amarachi felt the fear she had earlier felt for him dwindle away. Bullies didn’t scare her and she now saw him as a bully.

“I deliberately gave you a few days to reconsider your answer to my request. I expected you to let go of your pride and come begging for my forgiveness but you made me come here instead.” The prince’s voice displayed so much anger.

“Forgive me my prince, I had no idea you were still interested in a lowly girl like me.” She politely replied, but he didn’t feel her fear. She was not afraid of him, he knew it.

“When I intimated you of my interest in you, I didn’t care about your status. I actually thought you would be wise to see it as an advantage.” There was silence and as he looked at her he knew he would never be happy if she didn’t accept to become his wife. He wanted to hold her in a masculine hug and let her know he could protect her despite her strength.

The anger he felt while coming here suddenly began to fade away. “I am going to give you one more chance to make things right.” He brought forward his right hand, “I want to make you my wife, take my hand and assure me that you will be mine.”
Amarachi didn’t take his hand. She just stared at it in confusion.

Time stood still for Nduka; he felt his daughter’s dilemma. Wasn’t he supposed to intervene and protect his daughter? Yet he stood still and observed.

“Why did you kill him? You didn’t have to, that was callous and wicked.” She suddenly busted out. She was angry at the thought of the dead guard some days ago. “What gives you the right to think you can just take another life just because you are not happy with him? How exactly do you expect me to marry a man who can kill a helpless individual at will?”

Andaka didn’t expect such a reply from her. At first he was confused and wondered what she was talking about. Why was she bringing up the case of the death of a useless guard and why was she talking to him like that? The girl’s courage was out of this world. “Watch your tongue young lady, besides, I owe you no explanation as to why I killed that lazy man.” He stopped and studied her carefully. “I like you Amarachi, but please don’t bring out the other side of me. Don’t get on my nerves and make me do things I don’t like.”

He was threatening her and even though this got her angry, she knew she had no choice but to be patient with him, “what exactly do you want from me?”

Andaka knew he wouldn’t hesitate to cut her beautiful face into pieces if she continued to frustrate him. Now what sort of question was she asking him? He knew the game she was playing. She was tactically refusing him again even after giving her one week to change her mind.

This was getting annoying, like he was in a child’s play with her. Woe betides her if this feeling eventually turned to hatred.

While he continued to study her, he suddenly began to wonder what was wrong with him. This was definitely unlike him, coming to a lady’s home to beg her to marry him. Yes, he was begging her in the disguise of threatening her. He felt foolish even as he remembered the sleepless nights he had had because of thoughts of her. His desire for her had even caused him to put aside important matters such as his desire for the throne.

The thought was annoying and troubling. If he continued to act like this, he could lose focus and might make himself an object of caricature.
Heads bowed down, the pretty sturdy lady and looked much more desirable than ever.

He needed to stay away from her so as to focus. She was making him lose control of his senses by trying to bring out the soft side of him.
No! He can’t afford to be as weak and soft hearted like his father.

Without another word Prince Andaka walked out of the compound leaving Amarachi and her father utterly amazed.

She turned back and looked at her father displaying an immature worried face.

It was obvious that the way he left signified more threat than spoken words.

Yes, this was the reason why he felt very troubled this dull morning. Even the sun didn’t look happy.

Yesterday’s event had evoked the thought of the seer throughout the night. And for the first time, he felt he had made a terrible mistake by not giving him a listening ear.

This morning, he intended to pass through the area where they had last seen him and see if he would see him again.

Soon Amarachi joined him and together they began to gather their tools for hunting.

“I will like to see that young man that called himself a seer, so we will hunt around that area and even go further to find the sacred bush he was talking about.” Nduka said to his daughter.

Amarachi knew that this suggestion was provoked by the prince’s visitation yesterday. Her father didn’t want her to marry the prince, yet he hoped that this would not result to more problems.

Just like her father, Amarahi had determined that she would make sure she locates the seer today. She was already regretting heeding to her father’s advice. Like her father too, she had woken up on the wrong side of the bed but didn’t feel like hunting this morning.

She sluggishly picked up their hunting tools and tied them together with a twine.

“Hurry up Amarachi, we are already late for hunting,” Nduka said to her, he had noticed that she was not bright this morning and was worried that his daughter was in a greater dilemma than he could imagine. “Brighten up my daughter; I believe things will work out for good. I will talk to the king about the whole situation, just cheer up and remember that we have shortage of food in the house and that is all that matters.”

She picked up their tools and silently walked up to her father.

Her mother came out to watch them get ready and help where necessary.

They looked up and saw one of the king’s guards coming towards their home.

Alarmed, the three continue to watch him as he drew closer.

“Greetings, Mazi Nduka. The king asked that you come to the palace before you leave for hunting.” The guard announced.

“I hope there is no problem?” Nduka asked feeling really uncomfortable with the presence of the guard in his house this morning.

“I am sure that there is no problem. He wants to discuss the training of hunters with you this morning.”

‘Alright,” he was a bit relieved, “I will come with you right away.” He looked at his daughter, “Just wait for me here Amarachi, when I am through with the king, we can then go hunting together.”

“I have to go alone father,” she quickly replied. “We don’t know how long you will stay at the king’s palace and, like you said this morning, we have no food at home and cannot afford to miss hunting today.” She wasn’t really interested in hunting. She just wanted to go and look for the seer.

Nduka hesitated, “Alright, leave tracks around the area we planned to hunt so that I can easily locate you.”
“Yes father.”

Nduka quickly left with the king’s guard while Amarachi quickly left for the bush. She couldn’t wait to see the seer, what he has to say was the bigger problem rather than the fact that there is no food in the house.

** **

King Agudi had been watching his son for the past one week and nothing about the prince’s behavior had suggested that he was remorseful for his action. Andaka hadn’t even bothered to contact the wife of the deceased guard neither had he tried to plead with the king to forgive him.

Agudi was very unhappy with this situation because he knew the young man would be most unhappy if he took necessary action based on the boy’s stubbornness.

But he was sure he wouldn’t allow someone as mean as Andaka to rule over Oboagha once he was gone. The boy was ruthless and mean to his own people.

Again Agudi was worried that his son didn’t have fear or respect for him even as a father or king. Had he spoilt the prince? Perhaps he had been carried away with the desire to have a peaceful and well coordinated kingdom and had neglected his own immediate family.

Yet he couldn’t help wonder what it was that was giving the boy so much courage to walk around his palace with his shoulders so high despite knowing his father was unhappy with him and expected him to be repentant.

Was his son taken him for granted? Has he easily forgotten that he was King Agudi, the greatest warrior of their times?

King Agudi was very sure that no man living could challenge him. He was not afraid of anybody and can even take down twenty men all by himself.

The thought of this allowed a little smile to play on his lips.

He had started training to be a warrior when he was just ten years old and right from then his fighting skills was way above his mates. By the time he was 15years; he was leading battles and instigating fear in the hearts of the warriors of other clans. Stories about him quickly spread beyond the forests, hills and rivers. He became a nightmare to every rebel barbarian group around.

Was his son thinking he had grown old and weak? The boy was filled with pride and foolishness; attributes that would make anyone a very bad ruler.

So while Andaka continued to display arrogance with no sign of remorse, his father made up his mind never to make him the future king of Oboagha.

Without bothering about him, king continued to go about his normal duties as a king but was sure he wouldn’t take it lightly if his son misbehaved again.

For now, he needed to see Nduka the hunter and discuss issues with him. He hoped that his guard would meet him at home this morning and bring him to the palace.

He looked up and was glad to see Nduka come into his palace with the guard and easily smiled, nodding his head approvingly.

“Greeting great king,” Nduka greeted as he bowed in respect to the king.

“Nice of you to come,” his voice was gentle, “I guessed that you might be leaving for the bush very early so I asked my guard to try and beat you to it.”

“Yes my king. But what is it that is worrying you that I have to be summoned so early like this? I hope all it well.”

“There is no problem,” he was unaware of his son’s intention to marry Amarachi. Nduka on the other hand, didn’t see the need to bring it up since he was sure the king would be mad if he finds out that Amarachi was rejecting his son’s proposal.

“So many men have signified interest in learning how to hunt.” The king continued, “Even the hunters we already have are interesting in improving their hunting skills since it is obvious you have better hunting skills than them. However, I sent for you this early so that I can inform you that I will like the training to start today.”

Nduka listened attentively. He was glad that the king found him wordy to discuss issues concerning the development of Oboagha with him.

“As you are well aware, there is shortage of food in our community yet we have excess meat in the bushes around us waiting to be harvested. With your help, we could solve the problem of hunger.”

“Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to be of help to the kind people of Oboagha.” This was a relieve from the thought of the prince’s threat yesterday. If he could find favour in the sight of the king, then handling the prince will be child’s play. “I will ensure I don’t wear out myself this morning so that I will have enough strength for the training this evening,” “Very good. Nice to know you can make yourself available today. And please, do not hesitate to ask me of any favour incase you might need one from me.”

“Thank you very much my king.” he bowed in appreciation, “If that is all, I will like to run along and join my daughter in hunting,”

“Very well, I will send my guard to announce to all the people interested in hunting to prepare for a session with you this evening.”

“Alright,” Nduka left the palace with more hope than before. He decided he would talk to the king about the prince’s interest in his daughter after training this evening.

He hurried off and into the bush leaving the king very impressed with him and he couldn’t wait to meet up with his daughter, finish up with the hunting and go back to the palace to make himself relevant in Oboagha. He didn’t feel he had any reason to be afraid of the prince any longer neither did he think it was necessary to see the seer anymore.

Once he was deep into the bush, trying to locate his daughter, he noticed strange movements some distance ahead of him. This was his hunter’s instinct at play. The movement was strange because they weren’t like that of animals but humans who were being discreet.

Just as he would tactfully follow an unsuspecting animal, he trailed them with the intention to identify them.

They were easy to follow them even though they were more than fifteen in number and were being extremely cautious. He almost jumped out of his skin when he discovered that these were the same barbaric rebel group that massacred his kinsmen not long ago.

Were they planning to attack Oboagha? He thoughtfully asked himself. Perhaps he should lurk around and find out what they were up to.

*** ***