Folktails✔️

7•

F O L K T A I L S
•Royalty•
She was the daughter of the late Chief Akalezi and his deceased wife who had died more than seventeen years ago. The death of the chief and his wife had been seen as strange to the village as they both died suddenly after the birth of their daughter. They were found lying on their faces seven days after the new life had graced the world with her appearance.

It was indeed almost like a life had been created at the cost of two lives and this was a conclusion everyone had come to. They avoided the baby like a plaque and she was left to grow up alone with her faithful maid.

Ikenna was awed at the startlingly beautiful woman she had turned out to be; one that made him flare with raw passion and desire. It surprised him that he didn't recognise the baby whose cries had once caused Zoro to tremble in terror. In the moment she was making him tremble, but not in terror. It was more like burning in ardour.

Even now, all his brain could decipher was how her body was like that of a goddess from behind. Well at least that was what he thought. It wasn't like he had ever been favoured enough by his ancestors to catch a glimpse of a goddess. Yet, somehow he knew in his heart that if a goddess were to take the form of a human female, she would be one like she was.

As he trudged ahead, Ikenna couldn't help but wonder if her gorgeousness had taken note of him. In plain honesty, he found it hard to believe that she hadn't noticed him tailing her since they left the Eze's palace. It made him worry for her safety. He could have been someone else–anybody–wanting to hurt her.

As Ikenna trailed after her, he couldn't help but wrap his mind around the scenario that would play out when she found out about his creepy chase after her. He should have at least felt ashamed that he was making himself seem so desperate, but surprisingly he didn't.

He wasn't even embarrassed when requesting information about her background had earned him weird stares. It was almost like every guise of shame vanished into throbbing desire when it came to her.

The path underneath Ikenna's feet turned sharper and he realised they were headed towards a part of the village that he had never been before.

For him, this was shocking as he knew every nook and cranny of Zoro. If one were to need a guide around the overly fertile grounds of the land blessed by the gods, Ikenna was the right man for the job. Yet he was at a loss as to where he was.

Should I turn back? Ikenna had begun to contemplate taking this option when suddenly; she turned around. 

"My Lord." She deep curtsied traditionally by bending her knees and his eyes rested on her full bosom. Overly mature, that she is. He thought.

"You endow me with the title of a lord, yet I am but a humble farmer your highness. You are the one who is of royal bloodline."

She smiled at him, a slow sweet smile that revealed straight, perfect teeth. Ikenna coughed then drew in long, deep breaths forcing himself to stay alive as his lungs had somehow forgotten how to do their job.

How could a smile be so harmless yet seductive at the same time?

"Royalty lies not in the title but in the heart, and you my Lord have shown to be more than deserving of royalty."

"How do you seem to know much of me when I have no clue of you?"

"Everyone knows you my Lord." She paused as she looked him over. Her eyes stopped to feast on every inch of him, drinking to the full in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable.

Was she a maiden? He wasn't sure. Maidens did not have that look in their eyes; one that suggested knowledge. She knew too much. Surprisingly, it didn't scare Ikenna like it should had.

"I know you." She added before Ikenna could tender any questions in reply.

Ikenna filled his view with her face and all of her. The sun had started to dim overhead and it's exhausted arms stretched over her head, turning her dark hair brown, her perfect face a tanning yellow and her skin a golden, hazel hue.

"You know I had inquired of you, do you not my lady?"

"I may have overhead some news." She replied while Ikenna frowned slightly at her. It didn't exactly thrill him to know that what he thought to be a secret was not one anymore or even worse, it had never been one.

"You were aware of me following you, weren't you my lady?"

"You have quite heavy footsteps my Lord." She said and Ikenna groaned. Could he sink any lower? "And I appreciate the company for I have no guards with me."

"Yes I noticed. But I caught sight of you at the Eze's mansion with a few servants. Where are they my lady?"

"They were guards my Lord and they were his majesty's. They had come to my abode in order to summon me to the King, and would had escorted me back home if not that I stole my way out alone and secretly." She explained and Ikenna nodded his head at this, now remembering details of how discrete she had been while she left the palace. He shuddered impulsively in embarrassment at his negligence.

"Why do you live so far away from the centre of the village my lady?"

A small shadow crossed her face and Ikenna couldn't help but wonder the reason for it. "What do you think?" Her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I do not have a penchant for guesses my lady."

"Tell you I will then. Your village..." She said spitefully like she wasn't of the land she was born in. "...they pushed me away calling me a witch and isolating me because of my parents."

"I am sorry." Ikenna murmured at a loss of words fit for the occasion.

"Do not be. I survived. I have been on my own for years, yet I have lived the best life one could ever have."

"Do you miss your parents?"

"I cannot miss humans. My parents made their choice and they paid for it. It was not my fault for I was never meant to stay."

"What exactly do you mean?" Ikenna raised an eyebrow at her.

Her darker demeanour dissolved back into her sunny character and her white teeth shone as she gave herself into another smile. "I mean what I said my Lord. But no more on the matter. I believe it is time you headed home, don't you think? It's a long way back to the heart of Zoro."

Ikenna nodded and turned around to view his surroundings. They were disconcertingly unfamiliar. "How do I find my way back your highness?"

"You will go where your heart yearns to be. Be on your way now. I must leave quickly." She said as she hurried down the slope of the path.

And she was gone.

"What if my heart is lost?"
•
A/N: Thank you so much for reading loves. Don't forget to vote and comment.