"Is there anything you need now?" Mbaku asked in a very lowered voice.
"No" I replied.
"Then tell him, you don't have any wish now. You'd like to use it in the future" Mbaku said.
I nodded, stood up from my seat, bowed to the King three times and said;
"May you live forever, Your Majesty. Your mercies are endless and your grace lasts long. As it stands now, I do not have any wish. I would like to depend on Your Majesty's grace and mercy in the future if I want a wish to be fulfilled"
"Don't hesitate to let me know if you finally settle on a wish you want to be fulfilled" the King said.
"Thank you, Your majesty. Your mercies are endless" I said and sat down.
Mbaku sat quietly beside me and watched Ndaka and the princes play and joke. He gazed fiercely at Ndaka and gripped his own clothes tightly. I held his hand, he turned to look at me and I shook my head. He gradually loosened his grip on his cloth and looked away. Suddenly all the princes came to surround Mbaku and I, chanting happily. it was a moment even Mbaku couldn't help but smile. Everyone smiled broadly as they saw the brothers chanting happily. Zima handed a calabash to Mbaku. Jabari looked terrified as Mbaku took the calabash. All eyes were on Mbaku, so I signaled Jabari to come over. He rushed to my side and I asked him;
"Jabari, why are scared?"
"My Lady, Your Highness has a low drinking capacity" he replied.
"Is they anything I can do to help him?"
"No, not now My Lady. Maybe after he is drunk"
"Ok".
I watched Mbaku as he drunk the calabash of palm wine smiling. 'If only he could smile like this all the time' I thought and smiled shyly. After two drinking two calashes of palm wine, Mbaku was drunk but the princes kept pouring him more wine. A few minutes later, the King and Queen left the feast which was held in honor of our marriage. The princes left Mbaku after the King left. Mbaku placed his head on the table after the princes left him. Lady Shui walked to me and said;
"He's drunk more wine than his body can handle. I don't think you have to leave his side this evening"
"Why, mama?" I asked.
"Mbaku gets nightmares after drinking heavily. He's been through a lot since childhood. He is likely to get a fever"
I nodded calmly and looked helplessly at the man whose wife I was.
"Make sure to take very good care of him," Lady Shui said.
"Yes, mama. You can count on me" I said with a smile.
An hour later after the King and Queen have left, our carriage arrived. Jabari and another guard helped Mbaku to get into the carriage. Jabari helped me to get into the carriage and we set off. When we got to Mbaku's manor, the carriage stopped. Jabari helped me to get off. Another guard and Jabari took Mbaku to his hut. I entered Mbaku's hut later with a towel and a bowl of cold water. I told Jabari I wanted to take care of Mbaku for the rest of the night and he left with a smile on his face. Jabari smiled often, but not Mbaku. I kept wondering how they're able to cope with each other. Suddenly Mbaku began to talk but he was not awake nor sober. I realized he had started to have nightmares.
"No, not now! Not now!! Don't kill him. It's my fault. Kill me instead" Mbaku said desperately. I held his hand and he gripped my hand tightly and was not willing to let go.
"Mbaku, leave my hand," I said trying to free my hand from his grip but he held on too tight. He continued to talk in his dream, I did everything I could to calm him but I couldn't. He began to sweat profusely and I couldn't help but look helplessly at him.
"No, don't leave me here" he begged still asleep. I drew closer to him and patted him my free hand.
"Don't worry, I am here. I won't leave you" I said. Then the grip on my hand began to loosen up.
"You won't leave me behind, will you?" he murmured in his sleep.
"No, I won't" I replied with a reassuring voice.
I realized his body temperature kept rising, so I decided to sit by him and take of him till daybreak. I changed his clothes and placed a wet towel on his forehead. I did it until his temperature went down. I took care of him throughout the night and even sang songs for him to relax. The next morning, Mbaku woke up to find me sitting beside him. He looked surprisingly at me and asked;
"Have you been here the whole night?"
"Yes, Your Highness" I replied.
He tried to sit up but suddenly held his head and asked for water. I rushed to the pot in his room and fetched him some to drink. He then turned to look at me and said;
"You must be very tired from taking care of me"
"Mmmm" I murmured and nodded at the same time.
"You should go and get some rest" Mbaku said.
"How are you now? You had a fever at night. Are you ok now?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, I am fine. Thank you for taking care of me" he replied with softened features.
"I will make you some tea for.."
"No, there are maids here. They'll take of that. Go and get some sleep".
I nodded and took the bowl containing water and the towel and tried to walk out of his hut.
"Wait, you didn't change my clothes. Did you?" he asked.
I left his room at once without turning to look at him or answering him. I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to vanish. I walked to the kitchen to leave the bowl there. I was so embarrassed that I didn't even notice he was right behind me. As I turned to leave the kitchen, I ran into a strong human wall. The collision was so strong that I almost fell but Mbaku caught me on time to prevent me from falling. He looked sternly at me and asked;
"Who changed my clothes?"
I covered my face with both hands and tried to prevent his gaze. The maids in the kitchen looked quietly at us and pretended they didn't hear what he said.
"I want to go and rest now," I said. "I am very tired. I couldn't even wink the whole night"
"Let's go, I'll help you rest," Mbaku said.
I looked up and stared at him in confusion. What did he mean by that?
"No, I can rest on my own" I replied and sneaked into my room as fast as I could. I sighed heavily and closed my door. I got startled when I suddenly heard a knock on my door.