Page 9 of Wrath of the Oracle

The pounding stopped, and Sholei opened her eyes to Musembi’s troubled look, an empty bottle in her hand. She fell into the arms of her mentor, and Musembi gaveher the sour tonic. The palace messenger leaned behind Musembi’s shoulder, and peered down at her, his gaze curious.

Great, more rumors about me will spread.In the palace of all places, Sholei thought. Could that day get any worse?

“Sholei…” Musembi snapped her fingers before her face. “Rush to Prince Gane’s residence. Once you’re done, go back to the yard.” Through the fog in her head, she heard Musembi’s urgent voice. “Don’t wander around.”

As the court servant led Musembi away to the court, a female servant from the prince’s residence approached her. The young girl, dressed in light blue cotton robes, bowed before Sholei and helped her with her bag.

“If you follow me, I will take you to meet Prince Gane.”

Before she left, Sholei looked over her shoulder at Lord Keita’s statue and wondered how an ornate object’s piercing gaze was connected to her splitting headaches.

Sholei followed the servant to Prince Gane’s quarters. She was left to wait in his garden as her presence was announced. Sholei walked around the bloom-filled garden. Gane loved flowers and kept a variety of them in his orchard: periwinkle, carnations, geraniums, and bougainvillea. As far as Sholei could see, the flowers ranged from pale pink to deep red. Gane had a strange obsession with the color crimson.

“Make yourself comfortable as I fetch the prince.” The servant appeared with roasted peanuts and set them on the table before Sholei.

Sholei’s mouth salivated when she saw the snacks. She hardly had lunch, still brooding from Musembi’s slap. Her last meal was in the forest when she had taken the Dembe soldier’s dried meat. Thoughts ofthe infuriating man made her furious. By now, he must have left the boundaries of Mukuru’s capital, but that wouldn’t stop her from telling on him. She had the chance to inform Gane about him. Sholei thought gleefully at the possibility of the prize money.

She stretched and picked up a handful of the roasted nuts, ready to pop them into her mouth, but a slight cough from behind caught her off guard. Sholei returned the nuts to the plate and stood.

“Sholei, it’s a pleasant surprise to see you.” Prince Gane’s smooth voice caused her to turn around, and she was once again taken by his handsome looks.

He walked into the gazebo, similar to the others that dotted the whole palace. They were made of black wood and had high beamed roofs, used for hot afternoons and nights. They were in the middle of his courtyard, surrounded by a collection of houses painted bright orange. Since the first time she came to the palace, Sholei marveled at the beauty of Gane’s residence.

“Greetings, Prince Gane, son of King Gusiwaju, great King of Mukuru Kingdom.” As custom dictated, she descended to her knees to greet the nobility, her eyes downcast.

“Enough pleasantries. We are over that.” His voice carried the easy smile known to cause girls to fight whenever his name cropped up. He approached her and helped her rise. His limp had improved, and he moved easily, but not with his usual purposeful gait.

Prince Gane was dressed in a long, loose, golden silk robe that stretched from his lean waist to his sandaled feet. Another piece wrapped around his left shoulderand hungon his right arm. He was dressed for court and looked distinguished. He must be attending the court meeting, too.

”You are yet to heal.” Sholei forced her gaze from Gane’s fine chest and focused on the bandaged wound on his side.

Most people hid their wounds from sight, but Gane wore his like a badge; after all, it wasn’t every day one fought vicious bandits and survived. Looking at Gane’s injury assured her that her medicine worked well. In the back of her mind, she remembered dealing with another arrogant individual earlier that morning. For once, she wished for her patient not to heal; the Dembe soldier deserved it.

“I like that you worry about me, but you don’t have to. We’ll leave that to my mother and the servants.” He winked, and her heart went into a frenzy.

Gane was tall with lean limbs. He carried himself with an air of confidence despite his playful talk. He was intelligent, and from a young age, he led his father’s troops to guard the borders. He also led trade caravans through different cities in the region. Everyone said he would be the next one to inherit the throne of the great Mukuru Kingdom, and Sholei could see it happening. Despite having senior brothers, Gane was the only one who showed great potential in leadership capabilities. He didn’t indulge in the frivolities of the royals and rarely visited the pleasure houses in the capital, a characteristic that made him venerable among the female population. The court was yet to announce his marriage, but it wouldn’t be long; many girls’ hearts would be broken when the time came.

“Have some snacks.” He pushed the plate to her side as Sholei returned to her seat. Sholei recalled Musembi’s warning to keep her distance from Gane; the young prince wasn’t as simple as Sholei took him to be. After delivering the potion, Sholei was to leave.

”I just had my lunch.” She shook her head even though her mouth watered.

He pushed her down on the seat by the shoulders, his touch light. Sholei changed from her loose pants to a beautiful cotton tunic. It was green with a flowery pattern, knee length, and secured by heavy, colorful waist beads on her midsection. Tula, her best friend, had bought the waist beads for her.

To attend to royalty, you must dress the part, Tula insisted when Sholei was reluctant to take the gift. A golden head scarf lay on her head and complemented the dress. Would he react like the people on the street? She wondered.

“You saved my life. I can never repay you enough.” Sholei looked up as he smiled down at her. “Apart from the potion, I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

Sholei raised her eyes at his serious tone as he walked back to his seat and arranged his court attire around him. The laughter disappeared from his face, and he grew serious.

“Don’t mention to anyone else about the weapon used to stab me.” He leaned forward and placed a heavy golden pouch on the table. His calculating eyes bore into her. Sholei knew that her dream would be achieved with the gold inside that pouch. She might join the physicians at Faye Island sooner than she thought. Her heart skipped.

She was never to reveal the secret behind his injuries. Why would Gane be wounded by the same weapon he wielded? If not self-harm, how come the bandits had access to the weapons issued by the Mukuru army? Sholei wondered but Gane pushed the pouch close to her. The weight of the gold inside made the pouch groan against the wooden table, the sound carrying to her heart.

“It’s Musembi who did the most. I didn’t help much.” She tried to resist the urge to take the money, she fisted her hands to her sides. Musembi would have her head if she chose to be part of Gane’s schemes.

“Who will tell her?” Gane whispered and leaned closer. “There is more where this came from if you know where to base your loyalties.”

Sholei ditched her last efforts to resist and grabbed the pouch from the table. She tucked it inside her medicine basket. She cast a glance around; no one else was about. No one to report her to Musembi.

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