* * *
“I don’t understand why you never leave Ntebe,” Albert whined during an unexpected visit. “You never come around to see how you can help your man. Don’t you see that I’m going through so much?”
With everything he had been going through, he had become a mere shadow of his former self. He barely even looked me in the eye as he spoke. It was as though he was trying desperately to hide something behind that crooked heart of his. I knew what it was. It was his shame. If only he knew how much I hated him. I was sure he had brought his problems onto himself, yet, I still felt sorry for him.
“Don’t you see what I’m going through?” he repeated. He had become jittery when I didn’t respond fast enough.
“I do see what you’re going through, but I’m not sure how I can change the situation or make things better.”
“You can take my side. That is your rightful position. That is what you’ve been trained to do all these months. Can you come over tomorrow?”
My grandmother shook her head fervently after Albert uttered those last words. Albert’s back was facing her, so he hadn’t noticed her reaction. My grandmother had seemed so engrossed in the program she was watching on the television that I was surprised she had overheard our conversation. In light of the current circumstances, her gesture, a demand for me to reject Albert’s request, didn’t surprise me. She always seemed to take his side in the past, but things were different now.
“I c—can’t,” I finally mustered the courage to say.
“Hmm! Why not? I need you now!” He said with pleading eyes.
“Is it safe for me to be running around Ide at a time like this?”
“What do you mean by is it safe? Nothing will happen to you. I can pick you up and bring you back before the curfew.”
“What about the rumors?”
“What rumors?”
“The headhunters.”
“That’s nonsense.”
He became angry, violent almost. Judging by the scowl on his face, I feared he may have forgotten for a moment that my grandmother was sitting right behind him. As though he’d read my mind, he calmed down immediately.
“As the future Queen, no one can touch you. You’re guarded round the clock. I’ve also had your security tightened. But, I understand why you don’t feel like moving around at this time. No worries. I’ll be doing the visiting until things calm down, okay?”
“Okay, thank you.” I was hoping things wouldn’t calm down for a while. The old normal didn’t work for me. I was craving a new normal—one that didn’t include Albert.
After he left, I sat in a corner and glued my eyes to the television, but I could feel my grandmother watching me from the corner of her eye.
“Is everything alright?” she asked.
“Yes,” I lied.
“Don’t worry. Albert should understand that it’s not safe out there right now. You can resume your marriage plans after he’s overcome the insurmountable hurdles he’s facing.”
I was tempted to tell her the whole truth right there and then. Of recent, I had begun to fear for my life and wondered if I was doing the right thing keeping her in the dark. The coronation, the boundary clashes, and my role as Albert’s future wife made me extremely anxious. I opened my mouth to speak, but something stopped me. It would put her life in danger if I confided in her. The thought of how she might react scared me. She may try something drastic and end up endangering our lives. The fact that my security had been tightened did not help matters. Though it was meant for my protection, it stifled the progress of my mission. Once Albert is crowned, I was expected to marry him in a quick ceremony. An escape was even more dangerous now. I started to doubt the possibility of one and even began to consider resigning to my fate.
Chapter Fifteen
I KNEW SOMETHING more dangerous was looming when the peaceful demonstrations began. My instincts were correct because in no time history repeated itself.
A full-blown clash occurred within one week of Albert’s visit. Ide’s youth gathered with guns and machetes, and a war for land ensued with Ntebe. Their King was dead, and the Crown Prince was having difficulty occupying the throne. This created room for anarchy, and since no one had enough authority to call them to caution, the different factions sought to show bravado and courage to lay claim to as much land as possible. It was merely a fight for power to defeat one’s opponent through intimidation. Saboteurs arose within Ide. They sought to possess masses of land that were previously allocated to Ntebe. Their plan was to dominate the region and claim the throne for their kinsman. The resulting battle was more turbulent than any that had ever been recorded in the history of the two towns. Armed policemen and soldiers were sent from the federal headquarters to calm the clashes. The warring factions shot at the policemen with sophisticated weapons and the federal troops fought back with extreme force.
After the fighting had gone on for days, the elders from both Ide and Ntebe decided to meet, albeit late. Thirty people had died, and hundreds were injured. Many businesses had been destroyed. Surviving ones remained closed for weeks as people hid indoors until they were sure calm had returned to the streets. The elders agreed to seek help outside of the leadership of the two towns to gain objectivity in resolving the boundary issues.
Within a few weeks, the regional government set up an administrative panel to review the cause of the recent clash. The panel spent weeks going over contracts, details, maps, and invoices to determine the root causes so they could resolve them once and for all. Following an exhaustive inquiry, they arrived at a consensus about the issue. The towns agreed to get things
