Abeke and Adunni saw Arike playing when they arrived at Omowumi's house.
"Go call your wretched aunt over here."Abeke said.
"I don't have a wretched aunt."The little girl replied.
"Don't try to act smart with me. Get her over here!" Abeke barked.
"I'm not trying to act smart, I just naturally am but you wouldn't understand that because you are the opposite of smart."Arike said.
"How dare you? Get over here to spoilt brat!"Abeke yelled. Arike was already running away while giggling. She liked making fun of mean people. It was a good punishment and who better than her was there to give it? She couldn't be hated more than she already was just for being illegitimate.
...
Adunni had slipped away from her mother's side. She was here on a mission. She had told her mother Alani was here because she needed an excuse to go there. She wasn't even sure Alani was there.
She didn't care about him and she didn't feel guilty. After all,he was her enemy now,as well. It was obvious he wasn't on her side.
She walked as silently as she could. She couldn't afford to get caught. No,she couldn't. She had to perform her task or else everything would fall apart and all her plans would fail and she would have to settle for less. Never! She would either have the crown prince or noone else.
She kept walking around the little garden in Omowumi's compound. She couldn't find the plant she was asked to bring. She could have sworn she had seen it here when they were kids. What if it had been uprooted? It had after all been years since she saw it.
She had seen it when she and Apeke were still close. They didn't always used to be like this. They weren't always sworn enemies. Now,it seemed like they were at war but there was a time when life was easier. They were only kids,then. They didn't have to worry. They didn't understand a lot of things then. She hadn't understood what betrayal meant until Apeke taught her. She would never forget that day. It remained fresh in her memory.
It was easier then,to be friends with her. They were still innocent . If she had known ,she would have listened to her mother,she would have never trusted her.
Despite her mother's warnings about Apeke she had remained friends with her. If only she could go back in time ,then her heart wouldn't hurt as much as it did now.
She couldn't indulge in thoughts like that. It was distracting her from her goal. She had to consetrate on the task at hand. She couldn't let her win this time too.
She eventually found what she was looking for after what felt like centuries .
She had it in her hands when she left the garden. She thought she had accomplished her goal without any mishaps but her happiness was cut short when she bumped into Omowumi's father.
"Who are you?"He asked.
"It's Adunni, don't you remember?"She replied.
"Oh it's you. It's been a while since I've seen you. Are you okay? You look scared."He said.
"No, I'm not."
"It's okay. You can go."He moved out of her way and she bolted. She sighed when she was finally out of arms way.
"They always run away now." He smiled sadly to himself.
...
Alani and Omowumi were lost in their own world. Omowumi blushed as he leaned in . Was he going to kiss her? Omowumi wondered what his lips would taste like. She looked at his lips and wondered what it would feel like to have them on hers.
Alani was going to kiss her but now he hesitated. What if she didn't want him to kiss him? Would she hate him if he tried to kiss her? He couldn't have that. He would rather not kiss her at all,than kiss her just to loose her.
Alani was surprised to see Omowumi leaning in as well. She wanted him to kiss her. He realized.
Omowumi wondered if he didn't want to kiss her and she was just being forward. She shifted backwards but Alani pulled her towards him and kissed her...
She froze. She didn't know what to do. She didn't have to, though. Alani didn't have a problem with teaching her. Their beautiful moment was interrupted by the sound of something falling.
They reluctantly pulled away from each other.
Omowumi really hated whoever it was that interrupted her special moment. One she had been waiting for for quite some time now.