Chapter 33

She was horrified.

She held her hand to her neck trying to claw away the invisible hand while gasping for air, like Prince Sepo had done previously. I let go and I could hear her greedy take in air to her starving lungs.

" Now leave here" I turned impatiently.

She looked at me and the horrified face turned into a mocking grin. I knew, there was much to Princess Mokomena apart from the witchcraft she practiced. It was as if she was trying to figure me out. She had brought her personal Witch to Prince Sepo's house disguised as a Nanny.  She must be planning Something, something that will literally backfire.

*In the Audience hall*

" We have received a message from the Kanji Kingdom, they are challenging us to a war for our Kingdom if we lose, and theirs if they lose.

" We don't have time or resources to waste on useless wars, We can instead use those resources to challenge the Letuyako." Prince Sepo said.

" But yet we can not refuse a challenge for war, It is unheard of." One of the courtiers said looking at Prince Sepo.

" We have no reason to go to war with the Kanjis but we have one with Letuyako, King Yanga, sovereign of Sekeletu kingdom was foully murdered by the Letuyako, they think we are weak that is why small Kingdoms like Kanji think it right to challenge us."

" So what do you think chief courtier?" The King demanded.

" My King, only you can decree what we must do." Mbau kani observed.

King Chani sat thinking on Prince Sepo's words.

" It is only right that we avenge King Yanga but it is also unlike us to refuse a challenge, our Kingdom thrives on the principals of an " an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life". We accept the Kanjis' challenge and then we will will challenge the Letuyako for the Seke palace they took over.

It is only right.

Prince Sepo smiled at the King , the first genuine smile he had given the King in that court. The King nodded, indicating acknowledgement of his son's proposal.

Shortly after his meeting at the audience hall. Prince Sepo came back to his premises. I was now seated on his veranda waiting for him. My headache was beginning to abate. I saw him come through the garden gate, when he saw me, he came to the side of the veranda I was seated. He turned to stretch and lie on his back on the veranda and closed his eyes.

He looked happy but with a hint of sadness.

It was in my head that as soon as I saw him , Wina's​ whereabouts would be the first question to come out of my mouth.

But no, I had missed him so much that looking at him silently laying on that veranda made me feel more love for him than anger.

" Is it weird that I can see you looking at me even with my eyes closed?"

" Yes it is."  I told him averting my gaze to my hands shyly.

There was an unexplained calmness between us.

A new feeling surged through me. For the first time in my life, I knew I was destined to die by this man's side, be it through a child of his or natural causes.

It was evident to me that he felt the same.

" Zae" he began, " I can make some excuses and say I don't know how or with what reason I behaved like that towards you and that maiden, the other day. But I won't do that."

I felt my heart drop with disappointment because I had hoped, he' d just say sorry and I would speedly run back to him.

" How so?" my voice cracked on the words.

" Because, My apologies won't compensate for what I have done, I feel ashamed and unworthy of you but still hoping you would give me a chance and look at me the same way you did when we first got married...

A tear fell from his eye to the floor. He sprung from the floor of the veranda and wiped his eyes like the tear fell by mistake.

It might have.

It was the first time he had shade a tear for anything at all.

I was lost for words as tears sprang from my own eyes​ and I made no attempt at wipe them.

" I want to be upset with you and yet am not."

" That is what is making me angry with myself, that you are not upset."

" Is it bad that am not upset?"I inquired.

Prince Sepo laughed lowly.

" You are truly a wife Nyambe made for me."

I blushed.

" I want to be with only you, that's how I feel here." I told him earnestly, holding my hand to my chest.

Prince Sepo was moved as never before. He gazed at me and merged into​ me. The foot steps from a maidservant bringing water for him shook us from our trance.

When the maiden left, he looked at me with intense love like it was the first time he'd met me and it just melted my heart.

" You came here to ask about Wina, right?"

" mmmm" I nodded.

" His ok and his safe".

" I want to see him, take me where he is." I asked almost pleading.

He held my arm and whispered," just be patient, am not hiding you from him or him from you.

He suggested that you don't go to see him for now."

" Why, He blames me for our family's death, so he doesn't want to see me?"I said my vision blurry from the warm tears..." Please Prince Sepo take me to Wina".

" No, that's not it" he said wipping tears from my face.

" You can't just say, every thing is ok, when it doesn't feel ok, Why doesn't he want to see me?"

" I can't tell you Zae."

What​ he didn't want to tell me was that, he had taken Wina and his family to Kele's sub palace. A palace where the queen dowager and my aunt Princess Malila, the previous King's concubine resided.

It was located, less than a day's journey north of the Kele palace.

Initially, he wanted to take me there but changed his mind, because that means, him going back and forth, so he decided to keep me with him.

Wina had told him how my father was brutally killed and because he wanted his heir to the throne to atleast live and fight back to get the throne later had told him to run and not fight. So him and his family escaped to the other Seke palace village.

He stayed there for a year and some months, and managed to gather a small number of worriors from the badly defeated Rapo warriors who survived. Prompted by revenge, anger and the will to get his life back, had hastened his plans and had failed miserably, ending up, with the wounds that  he came to Kele with.  He didn't even reach the Seke gate and was defeated by the Letuyako. One thing he knew was that, the Letuyako worriors where no push over, and secondly, their chief worrior was King Muhau's first daughter Princess Mokomena. She was not among the worriors who he fought with, but she was there when King Yanga was murdered.