Chapter 37
She must have wanted to see how Prince Sepo would react, to see where he stood with the Letuyako.
She looked sternly at him, for any changes in his facial expressions but there was non. Disappointment is an understatement because I think I heard her hyperventilating.
When I felt the grip of Prince Sepo lossen and he stood up, I saw the glistering knife still in my hands, I looked for Princess Mokomena's eyes in the now dim lit room, I stabbed myself hard in the stomach.
I heard her cry out in pain, she held the wall for balance and another hand clenching her stomach. With the blood odour slightly taking over the room, I knew it had work.
There was no blood on me only an intense pain that quickly subsided. I raised the knife again to stab myself the second time but Prince Sepo held my hands mid air and slapped the crazy out of me sending me whimpering on the floor.
He bent down and carried me out of the room.
" Call the royal healers and herbalists." He shouted to the maidservants who stood along the corridor.
" Let me kill her, I'll kill you...I swear." I screamed shrilly.
He took me to my chamber, where the smell of blood was even more pungent than the one we left in Princess Mokomena's room.
" What did you do? Who is this?" he demanded walking to the corpse
" An intruder" I answered him rolling my eyes in the dimly lit room.
" Who did you kill Zae?" He asked going to the corpse.
"Just Princess Mokomena's handmaiden, nothing much." killing one person and attempting to kill another had vanished all the fear I had.
There was a dead woman on my floor but I didn't bat an eye...I was so calm that one would think, a body in my chamber was daily occurrence.
Prince Sepo was speechless.
" Anyway, you cannot sleep here, can you? call someone to clean this up he told Namakau who was standing outside my door."
" I can sleep here peacefully because, I didn't do anything wrong, I did what a normal person would do if someone tried to kill them... kill THEM first!
" Ok, you did great, but you still can't sleep here."
" If you say so." I said non committal.
" You look a mess, was she a hard kill?"
" No, It was easier than I thought before today, I didn't even have to use Oracle powers, just me, an arrow and a knife."
" That's my wife." He said pinching my cheeks.
I took a bath and went to Prince Sepo's chamber...We lay on his bed trying to sleep.
" I was thinking when I was bathing, I want to go to war with you and your worriors."
" That's out of the question, killing one woman is not the same as killing well trained worriors. Even the one person you have killed today won't let you sleep tonight. Am speaking from experience. You will see her everywhere, hear her screaming all the time.
War is not child's play Zae, you will die before you even raise a spear to defend your self."
" First of all, no man can kill me... and I use a bow and arrows not a spear."
" You think what you use is the problem here?"
" Than what is?"
" My wife wanting to go to war with me is ludicrous."
" Am not just your wife, am an Oracle too, and you need an Oracle when you go to that war, why can't it be me?"
He was quietly thinking on my words
" It not just me, Wina too won't allow you going to the battlefield"
" Once my husband allows me, I don't have to get any permission from Wina."
His eyes light up, he was surprised that I held him in such high esteem.
He should be.
"Why do you want to do this Zae?"
" Because it will give me experience to fight for my brother's throne back in Seke." My voice was hoarse but determined. Prince Sepo sighed. He did not not know whether it was my determination that Imbued him or the need to keep the promise of avenging my father that made him agree to my request.
" It is truly such as they say ' a King who loves too well is indeed a vulnerable King, only am a prince but I can understand the feeling all too well."
" Do you love me that much?"
" Don't you see me doting on you?" he grimaced. His look quizzical.
" All I know is that, you and I get on so well together. Yet to answer your question, I see it and I love it too."
Prince Sepo had discovered that being intimate with me somehow released the stress of being Prince regent and a Sekeletu worrior. He lay with me with motives of either working to get me pregnant or release his pent up stress. The physical fulfillment and the sensations always ever so gentle.
He reached for me in silence,his body thrilling. I was always content to give him what he wanted even if I didn't necessarily get anything in return.
Acts of giving had become a part of me , My body a vessel for the gods and my husband.
When it was over, he lay apart from me, I knew today was for the stress alleviation. We lay there with our sweat strewn nakedness, saying nothing just breathing heavily.
"We leave tomorrow, although our force of five hundred have proceeded first to scout the area and set camp", he finally said almost whispering.
Completely gone was the warm man, whose feelings I had stimulated a few minutes ago. His gaze on the inner roof of the room.
His implacable tone that said he would do anything to not fight for a useless cause as this war with the Kanjis. I could feel him tense even though he wasn't touching me.
"Our plan is to kill the chief worrior and the worriors the Kanjis hold dear to, and only the well trained men.
There is no reason to wipe the whole army because some of them are just civilians with no cause to go to war but to fulfill a royal order. The cause is useless but I can't seem to pin point the reason, I feel that there is more to this than we anticipated." The words emerged a harsh whisper.
"I guess we will find out tomorrow" I said.
" If I may, can I ask for a favour?"
" There is nothing you can not ask from me my Princess. "
" I don't trust Princess Mokomena and the trail of handmaidens she came with, so if you can lock them up and keep guards on her door and windows, I won't worry when we are away."
" That was already arranged."
