She wasn't allowed to enjoy the after glow of the letter as she soon heard Omowumi calling for her. She stood up and walked towards the voice.
What now? She wondered.
"Arike is missing. We have to find her. We have to find my niece." Omowumi said on the verge of tears.
"Calm down. I'll help you." Apeke pulled her into her arms.
"Yes,we will."Alani said.
"How do you know she's missing? Where did she say she was going?"
"We both went to the market. One minute she was holding on to my hand,the next she was simply gone ..just like that."
"Let's try to go back to the scene of the crime."
Adunni chuckled as she watched them without their knowledge. They soon left to find their neice.
Adunni had thought of the perfect distraction for Omowumi so she could get the plant once again ,when she eventually decided to distract Arike and keep her busy for a while,thus making it seem like she had gone missing.
"Mission accomplished."
..
"Here it is." Adunni said to Jumoke. She was quiet surprised at how fast that was. It only took her a day?
"How did you get it?"
"A little distraction."Adunni smirked.
"It was you, wasn't it? "Jumoke said making Adunni confused.
"You kidnapped a little girl? How heartless?" She accused.
"I didn't kidnap her! I simply made her a little disoriented so she'd be lost for a while. I'm sure she will be found soon." Adunni was upset that Jumoke would even suggest that. She wasn't a monster. Why would she do that? No matter how much she disliked the child's annoying mouth she would never do something like that.
"Are you sure She is going to be found?"
"Yes,as much as I'd hate to admit it Apeke is quite smart and so is Alani and Omowumi, they'll find her." She tried to assure herself.
"What if someone else grabs her before then. There are quiet a few sacrifices going on now with little innocent children. You know how needy the devil is." Jumoke said and walked away.
So, easy. She thought to herself, referring to how easy it was to get into Adunni's head. She couldn't bring herself to care about the missing girl,she has gotten what she wanted and that's all that matters.
Adunni couldn't help but feel guilty. What had she done? She thought. What if something horrible happens to the poor girl? It would be all her fault. Was a narrow chance of being the future Queen worth her humanity? Definitely not,she would help find Arike,she had to make this right.
..
The king sat on his throne. He couldn't get the words that low life had said out of his head. Was there a storm coming that he couldn't see?
"Worrying about tomorrow 's problems again I see. "
The king didn't bother checking who it was as he knew only Adelaja would talk to him so audaciously without so much as a greeting.
"I am because if I can solve the problems today,then they don't have to be tomorrow's reality." The King said.
"What has brought you to my throne room?"
"Can't a man simply want to meet his father?" Laja chucked.
"Yes, but not for you. There's always a reason. So what's this one?"
Adelaja didn't bother beating around the bush or giving long explanations. He simply said,"I can't marry Jumoke."
The king sighed. He has seen this coming,he had noticed the changes in her as well.
"Why?"
"I'm not going to give you answers to a question you're already familiar with. You know why."
"I guess I do. This will create a lot of trouble. It might even lead to war. The Kingdom of Majekodunmi has been our ally for a long time,this will be a strong blow and not everyone will agree."
"I don't care,father. I can't see myself with her anymore."
"Fine. What now? What is your plan? Who is going to be your bride?"
"I'm not sure,father. I would have considered Apeke but she's hellbent on sticking to her lover. I need someone that's not just blinded by wealth. Someone that would make a good leader." Adelaja sighed.
"Don't worry,son. It will all work out." His father reassured.
He hoped so.
..
"Your highness,the woman you have requested for is here."A maid said to the head Queen.
"She may come in." She replied.
"My Queen."Fabumi knelt down as a sign of respect.
"Stand up,my friend. I have good news, you'll surely want to hear. "
"Oh. What is it my Queen?"
"The prince is no longer interested in getting married Jumoke."
"Ok?"Fabumi said,not really understanding how that was good news. It meant nothing to her that he had changed his mind.
"You don't get it. Do you? I'll explain. My son only wants to get married to one woman. It's one of the reasons he didn't want to marry Apeke but now that he isn't interested in his betroth,we can convince him to choose Apeke." The Queen said with a smug smile.
"How are we going to do that?"
"He seems to like her already but she still isn't agreeing to marry my son. Why is that? Does she think she's better than my son?"She frowned.
"That's not the case at all,your highness. She's simply blinded by what she thinks is love. She has no idea what she's doing. I'll make her see reason." Fabumi said feeling nervous.
"Are you sure you can do that or do you need some help?" She smirked.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Only a few things."
..
Adunni was filled with guilt as she was busy looking for Arike.
"You should go to her now. Don't you think she's been punished enough? The guilt is literally eating her out." Asake said, surprising
poor Arike.
"What's it to you?" She was surprised someone has found her at her hiding spot. She could see Adunni looking for her from there but she didn't want to come out as she wanted her to suffer a little more for tricking her.
She had been holding on to Asake one minute the next she heard someone who looked like her mother. She dressed like her and looked like her. She followed her out of curiosity and maybe a little bit of hope but as she followed her into the middle of nowhere she realized she has been tricked especially when she heard Adunni laughing.
She clenched her fists. How dare she make a sensitive subject a joke. She tried to make her way out of the forest she had ended up in. She was a little lost for a while but she was a smart girl,she found her way out. She tried to go back to the market place. She was surprised to see the person who has got her in this mess looking for her. At first she thought she was pretending bit there was no one watching her. She decided to observe her from afar for a while and she did. She surprisingly found it quiet entertaining. She eventually realized that Adunni was genuinely conserned about her safety. The guilt must be killing her. Little Arike thought.
"You should go home now."Asake said.
"You're right. My family is probably worried sick about me." Arike said. She glanced at Adunni and said,"She can suffer a little more."
She went on her own way with a smug smile.
Arike soon found her way to her worried family. Omowumi had already began to feel like she was going crazy when she felt someone hug her from behind.
"I'm sorry for getting you worried." Arike said. Omowumi bent to her height and hugged her tightly. She burst into tears of happiness and relief.
..
A few weeks later,Micheal journeyed down Ilu-Ile with a sweet smile as he couldn't wait to see his beloved. The last few weeks without her had been torture without her. He was somewhat happy for the separation but not for the reason behind it. He was happy that he was separated from her for a while as it helped him learn just how important to him she had become.
He learnt that he was truly and hopeless in love with Apeke.
He couldn't wait to have his lover back in his arms. He had told his mother about her and she had gave him her blessings. This time he was determined to marry her as be didn't wish to spend anytime away from him. At the very least,not without making her his.
The moment Michael got into the Kingdom of Ilu-Ile he began to feel like he was being followed but he was so happy that he put little thought into it.
A few minutes after he came into the Kingdom,he was ambushed. He fought well but be was outnumbered. What hurt him the most was the fact that he wouldn't be meeting Apeke that day as he had promised in his letter.