As Ajifah's eyes opens again, she sees that she in a small room and as the blurriness in her eyes clears she could see that she's in a small prison room because it has bars instead of door. She begins to wonder how she'd ended up here when the last thing she remember is being in the study room with Mrs. Ene Samuel after the golden trumpet sounded seven times. She gets up quickly and goes to the bars, shaking and hitting it hardly, but nothing happens and looking through the bars, she sees no one and her brow furrow because she can tell that something is wrong.
She feels a painful sensation at the back of her head and her hand goes to touch it and it's a bit swollen and sore to touch and so painful. She withdraws her hands and tries to remember what exactly had happen to cause her to be in so much pain and in most importantly a prison cell.
After a few minutes if thinking and coming up short, "Hai!!!!" She yells, banging her palm against the hard bar, "come out, get me out of here I need an explanation for this!"
A skinny man with bald and thick eye brows approached the bar with a short rod in his hand and he suddenly hit the prison cell bars, causing a loud sound to echo through the cell, but Ajifah does not move. "Little princess needs an explanation because we owe it to her, how about this, you better shut up or I will knock you out again and this time you'll sleep for a week."
At his words the memory rushes back to her, after the trumpet sounded, Rekiya came to her, proposing that they run away, an advice she turned down and instead decided to arm herself and tells Rekiya to do the same. They were barely outside when they were surrounded by the King's guards and they were about to engage in the fight when she was struck and fell to the ground. She isn't surprised that she is now in the prison cell, she is however surprised that she didn't get the chance to fight and defend her friends when they needed her to.
Her teeth grit together furiously, "Where is Rekiya?" She demands, shaking the bars violently "where Ene?"
He angrily glares at her before moving closer to say, "If I were you, I'd stop worrying about those who had seal their own fate and those that has sold you out and start thinking about how to make peace with the gods. They are the only ones that can have pity on you and grant you a better after life."
She stops cold for a moment, trying to understand what the man standing outside her cell just told her. Who had struck her? She wonders to herself because from what the cell keeper said about Rekiya and Ene, one had betrayed her and is the reason why she's in this cell now, while the other is dead. She was with both Ene and Rekiya and one of them is dead. She could bet her life that Rekiya would never betray her and would lay down her life over and over for hers. Ene has been part of her life as her instructor for a while now she was one of those people she could talk to and get advice from and she's very confident she didn't betrayed her either.
Her eyes goes weary for a moment for the fate of one of them, "What did you do to them?" she demands, accusation rich in her voice.
His thick brows rises and his eyes narrow down at her in contempt, "I did nothing to them, but oh I wish I was given the chance to." He smacks the cell bars again, then bursts out in a wicked laughter, "You're one stubborn child! I hope you get what's coming to you."
Instead of flinching to the back scared and afraid, Ajifah grabs hold of the bars with both hands and tightens her hand around it, "I am princess Ajifah and you will not keep me here!"
"The king considers you a threat and so you will be kept here until he says otherwise."
A frown starts between her brows and remains, "My father the king is dead, and he would have never allowed this to happen."
"King Tyosar is who we follow now and his words is law." He says with conviction in his voice.
"You will follow someone who took the throne wrongful and imprison the rightful heir to the throne?" She asks, her brows narrowing in confusion at the man standing in front of her.
He raises his brow at her in a demeaning manner, "You're a girl, you can never rule."
"It's my birth right!"
He bow himself in fake reverencing, "Then rule in your cell my Queen!" He says and spits on the ground in utmost disrespect.
Ajifah is so angry she can only see red literally and she knows if the bars were not a barrier, she would have done something she probably will not be proud of, so instead she chooses to breathe and let it go.
Six days later
As the day is slowly beginning to end, the cell door where Ajifah is kept opens and two guards walk in. They take Ajifah by her hands and lead her out of the cell without uttering a word to her.
After about a few minute of silently walking Ajifah begins to struggle with the guards who happens to be bigger and somewhat stronger than she is, she was uncertain of where they are taking her to and what they are planning to do to her. She fights to break their hold, but their grip on her is too tight to break. She still keeps struggling though, hoping to break free as they carry, more like drag her on with them.
"Where are you taking me? Where am I going?" She decides to speak, but no reply is given to her.
She stops struggling and begins to take note of the surrounding, she realises after a moment of quiet observation that the familiarity of the place is because she is still in the Attah's palace and she now knows she's being taken to the throne room.
Once in the throne room, she sees Tyosar her uncle sitting on the throne with the crown on his head and he has her father's favourite purple apparel on. The golden scepter is in his hands as well, showing that he has not only crowed himself king, he is also ruling and passing judgments as well, which shouldn't happen until the previous king has been properly buried.
There are three guards standing beside him, each holding a spear and Ajifah cannot recall her father having guards beside the throne to guard him all the time she's visited him here in the throne room and just six days after his death Tyosar has taken over and changed everything from how they used to be. She grinds her teeth and clenches both of her hands into a tight fist as her anger begin to rise.
"It is proper to kneel before the King, were you not taught that by your instructors?" Tyosar asks, a displeased look on his ace as well as voice as he looks at her.
She scoffs and raises her brows, "When did you become King? I must have missed the coronation oh no, there was none, only a takeover. Your brother's body was barely cold when you decided to crown yourself king."
He shrugs casually, satisfaction in his eyes, "I didn't crown myself girl, it was the people's decision."
"The peoples decision? The king has an heir!" She doesn't mean to raise her voice, but it looks like she has no other choice anymore, she know people didn't have a say in his coronation because they obviously didn't know about it.
"The heir is a girl!" he thunders in fury, standing up to his feet and his voice echoes through the palace, "A girl child that should have been drowned the day she was born, a girl child that brought nothing but mockery and shame to the Attah's royal name, a girl child that shouldn't have lived this long!" he says in a grave voice as he sits down on the throne, "having a girl child in the Royal home is the same as having no heir, everyone knows that! Your father was too stubborn for his own good. He could have done us all a favour by getting rid of you and banishing you mother immediately he found out you were a girl."
Pain grips her heart once more, and her tears threatens fall, but she blink them back and refuses to crumble like she's expected to. "It is not a crime to be a girl, my father who was once your king knew this and he was and will always be more of a man than you will ever be in this life."
He grits his teeth, trying to control his own anger and not ask for her head immediately, so instead he tries to be reasonable, "I loved my brother, I always have and I always will, but he made bad and terrible mistakes, and you are the worse of them all."
A tear finally rolled down her eye and she laughs even as she speaks, "And I know you are rejoicing now that he is dead, because finally no one gets to stand between you and what you've always wanted, to be king. I bet his body was barely cold before you crowned yourself king."
"Becoming the king is what's best for this kingdom. I have a male sons that will carry on the succession that has been set down for hundreds of years"
She looks away from him. "And I wish you all the best. Now why am I here?" she asks in a much calmer tone.
"Your father along with your mother will return tomorrow and he will be laid to rest, you are under the grace of being his only child, so I'm going to let you be at his funeral tomorrow and once that's done, I'm going to banish you from this kingdom. You're a Royal so I can't break the law and kill you."
"You want to banish me, take me to the fortress, let me confess my sins and if I'm guilty, let the gods have their judgement on me, that way I will know I'm getting what I deserve!"
"I will mot bother the gods with petty judgements as such, I am the King, I am the representative of the gods themselves! What I say is law." He tell Ajifah with so much self confidence.
Ajifah silently stare at him without uttering any response.
"Guards take her to her room and don't let her out for any reason, you're to guard the door day and night." He commands the men who resume their hold on her, "After tomorrow, you will be at the mercy of the gods." This he says to her before she's taken away by the guards from the throne room.
Once in her room, the doors are shut and barricade from the outside as though they were keeping a terrorist locked up. This used to be her home once, her safe haven, and now it's her prison, a place she couldn't wait to get out of.
She walks further into her bedroom and she realises her room although arranged and set in place, seem to have been turned upside down before and she goes to the shelf where she had kept her little knives but they are no longer there. She goes to the wardrobe and those are gone as well she goes over to her bed side and as she's about to lift it up the bed when the door is opened and Ema her friend and handmaid, with brown skinned and big, amber coloured eyes walks out with a bowl in her hand.
"There's no point looking there, they took everything." She says quietly, before taking the bowl to the bathroom.
Ajifah is still in the same position unable to move as Ema walks back to her. She observes that Ema has got a busted lips and bruises on her shoulder and marks on her face which Ajifah notices because she observes closely. Ema being a dark shade among the brown skinned, it made the bruises a little hard to spot, but Ajifah notices it and her heart begins to break.
Ema may have been Ajifah handmaid to everyone, but they had grown up together as children and Ema has always been one in Ajifah's corner whenever she needed encouragement and back up and she always did the best she could to stand by Ajifah. On Ajifah's seventh birthday, the king took her to the town square to see some amazing sites and that was where she saw Ema, a four year old, playing away in the dirt with her sticks. Ajifah was fascinated by how peaceful and happy she was and immediately went to join her and the two played away while the King just watch them in amazement for a few hours that passes. Ajifah took Ema along with her wherever they went in the town square that day, but as the night came, King Kalu wanted to take Ajifah home as well as find Ema's mother, but Ajifah wouldn't leave Ema and the king was compelled by his daughter's fondness of the little girl and agree they take her with them to the palace.
It was discovered months later that Ema's parent's had died few months ago, leaving her all alone and King Kalu had no other choice but to keep her with his daughter. To the rest of the Royals Ema was Ajifah's maiden, but she was more than that, she was her friend and close adviser.
She walks closer to Ema and move around her, taking note of the healing bruise and the fresh bruises, causing Ema to become self-conscious before her and she looks into her eyes and sees the fear in them before asking, "Who did this to you?"
A tear rolled down her face and she bite her lips, "Three days ago the guards wanted know where all your weapons were and I tried to hide some, that wasn't a good idea I guess."
Ajifah's eyes drops, "I'm sorry." she apologises remorsefully, pain showing in her eyes. She had vowed to always protect Ema and she could not keep that promise.
She shakes her head in hope that Ajifah feels better, "You didn't do this, the guards did. I'm an enemy of the throne and I'm being kept here to meet their need and their assault until they have no more use for me again and then they will get rid of me."
Ajifah's takes hold of her hands gently making her look are her, "That's not going to happen Ema, I won't let it."
Ema withdraws her hand from Ajifah's and moves away, "I'm here to draw you a warm bath Princess. Come with me, the water is ready." She tells her walking towards the bathroom and Ajifah follows her quietly. Once in the bathroom, Ajifah takes off her clothes and steps into the large body of warm water in the tub and she realises it's been days since she had a proper bath and she relaxes in the tub and Ema walks to her with the washcloth and soap and begins to undo her hair to properly wash it and once done she proceed to bathing Ajifah, but she stops her.
"Let me," she tries to take the bathing soap, but Ema takes it away from her reach.
"The maids may have been told to not meet your needs, but you're still the princess, you shouldn't do it yourself." Ema protest, shaking her head.
"You are not my maid Ema and there's a possibility that I could dead tomorrow, and being a princess would no longer matter. I would really appreciate if you let me do this for myself."
Knowing she has lost her argument, she let go and let Ajifah bathe herself while she return to the bedroom to arrange her clothes on the bed, which is a black gown.
Once Ajifah is done, she dries herself and returns to the bathroom where Ema helps her put on her black gown and then proceed to helping her with her hair and once that's done, she asks, "Should I bring you dinner?
Ajifah shakes her head, "No, I want nothing."
"Aren't you hungry?"
"I am, but the king plans on exiling me tomorrow after the funeral, for no just reason other than being a a girl." Ajifah explains having heard that from the king himself.
"What will be will be princess, let me bring you some food." She says before leaving the room.
About an hour later, she returns with a bowl of white rice and vegetable soup and a cup of water. She moves to stand back while the princess eat, but Ajifah speaks "Have you had yours?"
"I'll have mine in the kitchen."
"You know I have never allowed you to do that."
"I know, but I am not asking for your permission princess, have you heard from your mother?"
Ajifah shakes her head, "I have not, but uncle says she will be coming with father so I might see her before tomorrow is over."
"She won't be allowed to attend the funeral though, I try to get in touch with her."
"No she won't, I know. Thank you for everything Ema, I will not forget it."
Ema walks to the door before pausing and turning to the princess, "I hope you rule as Queen one day."
"Thank you Ema and whatever you do, take care of yourself." Ema nods before knocking on the door and the door is opened by the guards from outside and Ema leaves and the door closes.