The current was too strong. Ugegbe watched in anguish as the distance between them seemed to enlarge in size. How would she ever get to him? How would she save the only person who had loved her unconditionally? Was it even possible? Tears streamed down her face as she watched him inch toward the flooding river.

"No!" She screamed, knowing what would come next. The trees that had grown at the river's banks did not survive the assuaging deluge. It was impossible to keep the faith that he would not suffer a similar fate to the disintegrated pieces of wood being flung downstream. "No, Papa! Please." She shrieked as he drew dangerously close to the over-swelling line. One more step and he would—

No!

Ugegbe burst to wake with a strangled gasp. Her heart was palpitating, drumming to the beats of war, threatening to tear out of her chest. Her breaths rushed out in puffs as if a masquerade had chased her through a market square. Dread choked her from the inside out as she relived the details of the horrible dream. Though the nightmare had been nothing but a figment of her imagination, she still could not escape the clutches of terror wrapped around her windpipe, sealing the path to her lungs.

With shaky hands, Ugegbe cleaned off the watery evidence of her distress. She did not want to think of the dream, but it was hard not to. Especially since she'd watched him step in that water and be carried away by its roaring wave. It was difficult not to recall the moment her heart had plummeted to her stomach. It was a sinking feeling that she hoped never to experience in reality. She didn't want to imagine losing her father. The very thought was enough to restart the waterworks.

She had to bring him to Osisi. Ugegbe resolved as she wiped her face again. She had to make sure he wouldn't suffer again. It scared her that her dream could be an omen, a sign of things to come. She did not care about how it would happen, but she needed her father with her, well and safe from harm. There was no other outcome she would accept.

Springing out of the bed, Ugegbe nearly planted her foot in the king's face. For Onochie had not yet left the hut. He was curled up on his side, sound asleep. Ugegbe concluded the new position to be the reason why his snores had disappeared. It was a phenomenon she had noted with her father also. Whenever he slept on his back, it became likelier that his snores would be heard outside his room. Oh how she missed her Nna with every possible breath. She couldn't wait to see him again. And she surely would.

With this conviction in her heart, Ugegbe felt strong enough to face the day. She pulled out the first clean wrapper her hands could find then grabbed the pail of water carefully deposited to the side of the hut. She turned once to wave off the guards hurrying to her aid. She was no delicate egg. Years of hard work as a slave had sapped all traces of fragility from her. Ugegbe was willing to bet that there were a many men of her statue who she could wage against and win over in strength. Hardships and tough labour had prepared her for the rough patches of life. Indeed, she was yet to be knocked off her feet. 

Torches still burned brightly in their posts, lighting up the otherwise dark path to the outhouse. Ugegbe worked her way to  the enclosure quickly. She hoped to be done with her bath, readied and on whatever tasks she had as queen before the sun awoke.

Upon finishing her bath, Ugegbe stood in the shed, letting beads of water roll off her skin. In a more typical situation, she would have returned to her hut to dress herself. The only problem was Onochie existed. And not just anywhere. He existed in her space—her chambers. And that meant there was no chance she could render herself vulnerable in his presence.

Barely dry, Ugegbe tied her two-piece over her chest and on her waist. She sighed in relief as the ink on her stomach and hands were still vivid. For all she knew, there could be the rule that she would have to redraw them herself if they got wiped off too early. That was no event she looked forward to, knowing that her Uli skills were subpar. The art could well turn out to be a thing of terror in the eyes of others. She certainly was not ready for any additional rumours this early in her marriage to the king.

There were already a few gossips about her background in the palace. She'd caught wind of them while she was in service to the Queen mother. Fortunately she remained the single soul who knew her true identity, and Ugegbe was indebted to her for keeping her secret from waiting ears.

There were many who would revel in unearthing who she truly was. What words they would use... A foreigner. A slave. A nobody. They already believed she did not deserve their king. What would they do if they found out that indeed she was nothing like the kind of woman who married kings. How soon would they turn on her and force her out of Zoro? How soon would she become the target of wicked plots? How soon would her life be under threat?

Even now, Ugegbe was restricted by the fact that she was no indigene of the land. Her words carried less weight compared to others. Compared to someone like Ozioma, who was the village's most favoured maiden. It was why she was in such a dilemma over who to tell about Ozioma's unfaithfulness.

She certainly could not tell Onochie. At least not yet. Without proof, she would only be accused of being a jealous witch. And if she were to empty the contents of her heart, a bigger reason would be that she did not wish for Onochie to get hurt. If staying in a bubble of ignorance would keep him happy, then she didn't want to tear into it just yet. She did not want him to be miserable married to her. Neither did she want to be blamed for the pain he would have to suffer through. She was already doomed to a life without the warmth of his love. Her pitiful heart would not be able to take the brunt of his hatred.

With a loud exhale, Ugegbe pushed her way out of the outhouse. There, a familiar face awaited her with a basket filled with provisions. "Good morning to you, Your Majesty," she curtsied with a shy smile on her face.

"And to you, Nneka," Ugegbe replied cheerily, pleased to see the young maiden who had helped her the day before. "Will you have the time to breakfast with me today?"

Nneka giggled. She seemed to be more at ease with Ugegbe than before. "Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty, but I have been informed that you will be having your first meal with Her Majesty, the queen mother."

Ugegbe tilted her head, watching the girl more closely than before. "Is that so?"

"Yes, Your Majesty.

The thought of spending her morning with the dowager queen wasn't at all a terrible idea. There was no denying she was a kind, fair woman. However, Ugegbe still felt apprehensive. She wondered if this was simply tradition or if there was an issue Her Majesty wished to discuss with her. She could only hope it wasn't the latter. She hadn't done anything wrong of recent. Except maybe marrying the king. But even that was decided by fate. She'd had no say whatsoever in how it was decided.

"I suppose we should get to it then." She broke the silence, and they both began the walk back to her hut.

But then, everything came to a screeching halt. "Is anything the problem, Your Majesty?" Nneka asked. Ugegbe felt awful as she'd been right behind her. Such an abrupt stop would have caused anyone to scramble so to not lose their footing and plow into whoever was ahead of them.

"The King...my chambers..."

Nneka was terribly confused. "I am sorry, Your—"

"The king is in my chambers."

"But how is that possible, Your Majesty?"

Ugegbe opened her mouth to explain, but closed it again as she wasn't sure what to say exactly. "I would say...it has something to do with...I do not know..." she mumbled, then growing tired of beating around the bushes, deadpanned, "The king visited me last night. Is that not expected of wedded couples in Zoro?" She asked, swallowing her discomfort over speaking of such intimate matters. But it was necessary, she reminded herself. It was necessary that she understood the customs of the land that had now become hers. She would be recognised as its ruler and be responsible for birthing the heir to the throne. That was if Ozioma did not beat her to it.

Frankly, Ugegbe could not figure out Ozioma no matter how hard she tried. Initially, she'd deemed her a bold, attractive woman who clearly was intelligent albeit tart in dealing sensibly with both royalty and those she thought beneath her class. But since finding out about her lies and cheating, she'd become befuddled. Her qualities did not match her actions, and it made Ugegbe wonder if all her judgements had been wrong all along. Except she'd also met Ifediaso, and she knew him to be the incarnate of the foulest of spirits.

Listening to how they'd conversed witch each other in the passageway, it was evident that Ifediaso did not care for Ozioma. Ugegbe was bewildered that she could not see for herself how horribly he treated her. She knew Ifediaso's type, and they brought nothing but trouble to those associated with them, which made her wonder what terrible thing he was putting Ozioma up to.

Ugegbe still was reluctant to brand Ozioma as wicked. It was much more plausible that Ifediaso was manipulating her. She only could not understand why she would give him such power over herself. What did he have to offer that no other man could give to her? Being as rotten as he was, Ugegbe could find no redeeming trait in him. She only wished Ozioma could see the truth. Onochie was a thousand times the man Ifediaso could ever dream of being.

"Your Majesty!"

"Oh—" Ugegbe exclaimed at the rough jerk out of her reverie. "What is it?"

Nneka was immediately regretful for startling her by raising her voice. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I am sorry."

Ugegbe took a second to compose herself. "It is alright. Do not worry yourself over such a trivial matter."

Nneka curtsied, relief settling in, slowly unknotting her brows. "Thank you, Your majesty. What I hoped to say was you have your chambers, my queen. The one the king visited you in would be the ceremonial rooms. After your first night, you would not have to live there—unless you wish to, that is. There is a bigger palace for you at the end of the king's land, though it is farther from the main palace."

Ugegbe's nose wrinkled in confusion. This was an arrangement different from what she was used to in Osisi. "Is there a reason why the queen would be placed so far from the king?"

"I am not so sure, Your Majesty. It is simply how it has been since the beginning of time. It has always been a sensible layout since the queen has no say in political matters and such diplomatic affairs that the king would have to tend to."

"Of course." Ugegbe said drily. Of course, the reason would be rooted in the false belief that women did not have the right to be involved in important issues that concerned the kingdom. She had long forgotten how infuriating such customs were. Fortunately, this served her just right as it would be much easier for her to visit the children without rousing suspicions. "Please show me to my new abode, Nneka."

"As you wish, my queen,"

They had not covered more than a few paces when a guttural voice stopped them in their tracks. "Greetings to the Queen of Zoro!" Ugegbe spun around to face a kneeling Kamalu, his frame cowered before her. "Greetings to the lioness of the chosen kingdom of the great realms! To the right hand of the ruler of our empire. Greetings to the one who brings blessings upon Zoro! Whose beauty rivals that of goddesses. Greetings to you, my queen."

"Kamalu!" Ugegbe searched about for stray eyes and ears before yanking the chief guard to his feet, hoping to lead him away from the open. With a few words, she dismissed Nneka and returned to dragging the culprit farther away from the central zone of the palace.

Though she knew Kamalu meant no ill will with his actions, it did not stop her from being thoroughly mortified. She did not want any praises when she had done nothing. And she had already opened her mouth to let Kamalu know of her displeasure until she caught glimpsed his smile. All of her disapproval instantly melted into nothing.

He was...happy. Ugegbe was had not seen him smile this way before. It was a most beautiful expression on him. Teeth the colour of pearls were stark against his dark complexion, and she found herself without words. It likely had much to do with the fact that there one of the most lethal men in Zoro stood, ready to bear the reproach of a woman whose concern he could have easily shrug off, appearing ridiculously similar to an adorably silly puppy.

Ugegbe could not take it. How could a grown man be as adorable as Kamalu was? If he was much smaller, she certainly would have picked him off the ground to carry around in her arms. In her defence, she'd always found adorable children irresistible. "Stop pretending to be so innocent, Kamalu," she finally said with a huff.

"Me?" Kamalu pressed an index to his chest and laughed aloud. "I would never commit such a heinous crime, Your Majesty,"

That was all it took to make her crack a smile. "Oh, you sly man," she grumbled then laughed aloud when he gave her a knowing look. Kamalu was the kind of man one was lucky to meet because once he stretched his hand to you, you had no other option but to be friends with him for a lifetime. Ugegbe hoped dearly that would be the case for them.

"So, how is Her Majesty this beautiful morning?"

Ugegbe hid a smile before answering. "She is as fit as she has ever been."

"I am glad to hear such good news," the corners of his eyes crinkled, tugging on the grey sheet that was his birthmark in such a way that reminded her of how she'd never received anything but sincerity from him. And she felt a rush of gratitude at that realisation.

"Why?" Ugegbe teased. "Are you not one of those who wish that the king's bride was another?"

Kamalu's expression seemed to sour all at once. "No, I am not." He said gruffly. Her poor attempt at a joke clearly had not been received as she'd hoped. His dark, deep-set eyes brimmed with intensity as he pointed out, "The king is lucky to have you, Your Majesty. Anyone would be."

Ugegbe felt weirdly pleased by his comment. But, at the same time, she did not believe she deserved his praise. Especially knowing that he'd bore for her what a man would for his intended. She did not want to take advantage of his vulnerability. And so, she tried to downplay the issue at hand.

In a jesting tone, she griped, "You should not fill my head with such thoughts, Kamalu. Do you not fear that I might grow too arrogant?"

The tension in the air seemed to crack at that. Ugegbe watched as worry lines morphed into telltales of laughter on Kamalu."Ha!" He guffawed, a sound louder than the sound of his hand smacking his thigh in amusement. "I would like to see that Your Majesty. It certainly would be a sight." Ugegbe had no choice but to adopt his sense of humour, laughing not nearly half as raucously as he had.

And so they were both in high spirits, ribs still smarting from lively laughter, when Kamalu broke the news he'd owed her from the night before: their plan had not gone as well as they'd hoped.