Chapter one: The wedding fire
It was the day that everyone was waiting for, the day when the sounds of the drums fills the venue. As singing, rejoicing and dancing filled the atmosphere. It indeed was a special day for the royal household. The Palace was filled with dignitaries from different phases of life all to grace the wedding ceremony between King Obalola the fifth of zolertine and his beautiful bride her majesty Doctor Adunni Obalola. The young educated king has made a name for himself, to attract such honor from the nationality and population. His marriage to his newest bride was said to bring luck to the community as to them having a medical doctor as part of the royal home was indeed a blessing.
The music suddenly slowed its pace to welcome and flow with the gentle strides of the bride as she walked in. her gracefulness and beauty was immediately drawing the love of all. Her steps ended before the throne as she curtsied before the king and queen Ade the king's beloved queen, the first wife of the king the woman for whom the king had gone to the ends of the world to please. The proud queen stood to draw the new wife to the throne as a show of acceptance into the palace. Holding adunni's arm she whispered 'you have finally succeeded in squeezing your way here, make sure you know your place, you're nothing but a minority' she said as she lifted her up. Adunni stood up smiled and hugged her as the people cheered. She whispered gently to Ade 'I know my place; I'm a wife not a queen, more of a concubine with a wedding to just grace her status. She said as she smiled gently… 'But at least my lord had honored me with a grand wedding and married me before the eyes of all zolertine people. Unlike some of us whose marriage was done in the hidden.' she said as she left her side quickly to meet with the king, her husband leaving Ade to mutter on her mockery. Rites where performed and the wedding celebrations continued.
Congratulations filled the air as the king had his first dance with his newest bride to the amusement of all 'he had never danced with me since the three years of our marriage; he had never smiled so heartily with me except after our daughter was born. Who is this woman and what guts she has to go ahead with this marriage' Ade said as she pounced around the room. 'Your majesty you have to calm down so you can think', arewa the queen's chief maid uttered out 'I thought she had given up on this marriage after your first meeting with her' she asked 'you thought what arewa, are you blind or probably mad obviously she is up to something to still go on with the marriage' 'I'm sorry my queen I was only trying to…' 'to help right?' the queen interrupted with anger burning in your eyes 'yes my queen' arewa answered ' good make yourself useful and get me Philip she commanded taking a sip out of the glass. 'There would be no need for that as I'm here already' replied a tall light-skinned man with dreamy eyes and overpowering aura 'I'm here Ade and you should know why' he said as he sat down beside her taking the glass from her. 'How did you get here philip how did you get past the guards' Ade asked but she was interrupted by the shattering noise of glass on the floor which sent her on her knees 'does that even matter, Ade does it matter' he blurted out. 'please master forgive her ' arewa said on her knees almost crying ' get out !!!!' he screamed as the poor girl rose and exited the room leaving her mistress to her fate with the merciless prince.
The door was shut behind them as they had decided to retire for the day from all the celebrations. The evening was cool, the room well arranged, and the evening breeze graced the atmosphere. The king stood at the side as he watched his bride take off her jewelries and other adornment. She sat by the dressing table as the maids took off her makeup. He was glad to have her back. He thought he had lost her forever but seems fate had brought her back to him. The maids took off her dress and he caught a glimpse of the scar on her back, His mind drifted back to the unclear scene of what may have happened he watched a man hold unto her, and then he dropped the woman. He watched her fall from the top of a building, he ran to her, he held her in her unconscious state and took out that dagger with which the man had stabbed her. Her face was so pale and he felt this pain in the chest. A familiar pain as he stared at the scar on her back. He was brought back to reality by the voices of the servants 'your majesty, are you okay?' 'oh yes I am' he replied 'she is ready your majesty do have a wonderful night' she said almost giggling as she stared at her colleague who was also blushing ear to ear as they walked out of the room leaving the couple behind .. 'I wonder what that was about' the king said as he moved closer to the inner chambers...
He opened the curtains and beheld her, Adunni the fairest of maidens he had ever seen, there seemed to be an instant connection between them the very moment he gazed upon her, it felt strange and familiar the way she called him Obalola like he had known her for ages. The look in her eyes always read a tiny trace of anger whenever she saw him and reason was so blur because she was a lady with unbelievably excellent acting skills. 'so what happened Adunni' he asked 'what do you mean your majesty' she replied as she gently turned around to face him she knew where he was headed and she must avoid such discussions 'I must be at alert the palace is very vulnerable tonight' she thought to herself still staring at the king who was stars truck at her beauty, 'I meant why you changed your mind and consented to the marriage' he said finally finding his voice ..he looked into her eyes and found that look of hatred lurking about or had he said something wrong ' your majesty' she called out after a few minutes of silence ' it's not like I have a choice with the kind of kinsmen I have and besides I profit from this marriage as well' she said pulling him to sit as she took his apparel off 'I don't understand ,what do you mean by profit' the king asked 'I want to be able to assist my people in my own little way' she replied sitting behind him rubbing his back ' very thoughtful of you my adun' the king said as he turned towards her holding her hands softly ' I'll make you part of my council as soon as possible and make your wishes reality' he said lovingly, staring into her eyes ,he couldn't tell her emotions at the moment until she broke the silence with her laughter. He watched her laugh and roll on the bed with one hand on her chest and the other on her stomach , he swore he saw a few tears on her face as she kept on laughing it didn't take long before he joined in the laughter. He had never seen this part of her before .she had never laughed with him and hardly smiled at him, he loved this part of her and gosh she looked so seducing and beautiful as she laughed. He walked up to the bed and sat beside her 'did I say something funny' he asked 'Obalola' she called wiping the tears in her eyes off 'who said anything about joining the council' she said sitting up 'then what is it you want adun I'll make it happen' he replied as he held her in an embrace devouring the scent of her jawline before holding her face and looking into her eyes ' I want you to release me' she said staring back at him 'release you? What do you mean adun' he asked 'I don't want to be an idle housewife obalola I want to work' she said almost pleadingly 'adun I can't allow that you can't be leaving the palace and travelling to the bigger cities to work you are royalty now' he said 'I know, that's why if there was a well-equipped health center in zolertine I won't need to travel' she replied 'and besides only queens are not allowed to work I'm just a wife so I demand my freedom. Think about it your majesty it will also benefit the kingdom'. The king looked at her again wondering which woman will desire such even when she has wealth bowing to her already .who was this woman? She was taking over his mind and body. He drew her close and held her face and rubbed her lips ,arrgh this woman was beautiful he thought to himself he drew his face closer as he devoured her lips savoring every inch of her face. he stopped to catch his breath and stared at her 'give me six months and I will grant you your heart desires' he said watching her draw out the most beautiful smile with every part of him sinking into the glitter of her eyes he swore to keep that smile on her face and protect this damsel his wife, his adun. he drew her closely as the newlyweds fell to the rhythm of their desires.
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Ade's POV:
'with the look of things I must strike now, tonight is just right but how, it all seems impossible' she said as she bent over to pick up the pieces of glass that philip had left behind. she recalled her argument with him and his words earlier 'the throne alone is not enough ade we must take everything that comes with the throne and luckily with my status i have discovered they are all imbedded in a grand book in the palace treasury to which even i have no entry. the night is right ade we must strike now and find a way to make sure the new wife doesn't find her name in it . a split of inheritance will do us no good ade.' he said 'how dare that witch return after all this years' ade thought as she held tightly to the glass in her hands. 'Arewa' she called .the servant came forward to find the bleeding queen with glass pieces in her hands at the moment she looked like a thirsty beast ready to devour her victims . 'your majesty ,your hands' the shocked servant rushed to grab the first aid but was interrupted by the queen 'no time for that arewa we must visit the treasury tonight' she said as she tore the curtains apart 'but his majesty is the only one allowed in there and its his wedding day ,I doubt he would accompany you' she replied 'yes arewa its only the king but then nobody said nothing abt a wedding visitor on a tour' the queen said wrapping her cut hand with the curtain pieces 'forgive me your majesty but whose tour and who are the guests' arewa asked the queen walked up to the fireplace and grabbed a piece of burning wood 'its my tour dear servant and as for my guest, he is going to become the wedding fire' she smirked .