SULTAN {Preview}

Meant Not To Be #ProjectNigeriaUC2017

"My princess, I don't know what I have done to you, but whatever it may be that I did, please find it in your heart to forgive me."

"You have the guts to ask for my forgiveness after enchanting Yaya? Little wonder he was very fond of you, always standing in for you" I shook my head "And you sit here telling me you know nothing about it, expecting me to believe you, who exactly do you think you're fooling?"

I jerked her up by the collar as she still gave me a blank look. "Tell me what he saw in you to think you worthy of being his wife over me! Have you grown so bold to think you can be my competition? You, a slave, a nobody!

I saw the shock in her eyes as she started crying
"I have never spoken more than a few words to the Prince apart from greetings my Princess. By Allah I know nothing about this" she went on her knees and begged. 

"You bit the finger that fed you Khairi, and for that you have to leave. If I can't have him, neither will you." I wasn't falling for any of her plots. What a hypocrite she is!

"Have mercy on me Your Highness, I have nowhere to go to from here" she pleaded.

"You should have thought of that before skimming your way into the Prince's heart" I harshly replied, not paying any heed to her pleas.

"Do you want me to send in the guards to throw you out?" I threatened, as I saw she had no intention of going.

"There will be no need for that, I will go. But before I leave, I want you to know this." she wiped her tears on her sleeves.

"I have served you to the best of my ability all through the five years I have stayed in this Palace. I put up with all your authoritativeness, you always see fault in whatever I do. Your bed is always unlaid, your food undone, your plates unclean or your fruits unwashed. You never appreciate even though you know I do whatever I ought to do, and well that is.

You always refer to me as a slave, whatever have I done to deserve this hatred from you? Well even if I'm a slave, I didn't make myself one. This is where Allah wants me to be, and I'm forever grateful to Him.

And today you throw me out of your father's house, for a crime I didn't commit, for something I know nothing about. I want you to know that I'm innocent of all your accusations. Also, be that as it may, I forgive you."

I felt remorseful for the hurtful words I uttered and how I have been treating her all this while, for indeed, all she said was true. However, on a second thought, it might be all in her plots of snatching Yaya away from me. No way was I falling for that.

"Just go, and don't take anything along with you, because you didn't come to this Palace with anything" I said sternly, with a wave of my hand.

Outside, the rain was still falling heavily as she made her way out of the Palace, never to return, I thought. I was ready to face the consequences of sending her away...

***
Immediately I entered my room, I flopped down on the bed and cried into my pillow. I wasn't sure what I was crying for anymore, was it because of Yaya's rejection or what Khairi told me?  Whatever it might be, I cried for what almost was.

I was almost drifting into sleep when I heard gentle knocks on the door
"Who is there?" I managed to ask in a croaked voice

" It's me...Can I come in?" came Umma's voice

After awhile I replied "Sure"

One end of the bed went down as Umma sat, gently removed the pillow I laid my head on, and placed my head on her laps, gently stroking my hair.

"Bingel am *my child*." she whispered. Umma rarely spoke Fulani, while everyone spoke to us in Fulani, she spoke Hausa, saying she wanted us to learn her tongue.