No!

Abeni refused to let the female ẹda die.

And she refused to let the curse take over her thoughts.

She wouldn’t observe any longer.

The white-haired girl took a deep breath. She wiped her leaking eyes with resolve in her mind, kneeled down on the smooth stone floor and made an attempt to lift the female ẹda’s body up, trying to wake her up with words and stupid taunts to no avail.

Looked like she’d have to lift her.

The female ẹda was just as heavy, no, heavier than Abeni so this might be difficult. But she wouldn’t make any more excuses, because at the end of the day, she wanted to move her. No, Abeni would move the female ẹda so that she could peacefully rest while Abeni figured out what was wrong once and for all.

One, two, three, lift! No, that was too weak. One, two, three, lift! Still too weak. Lift! Not yet. Lift! The white-haired girl kept trying until, on her fifth try, she managed to carry the female ẹda’s body on her back. And though Abeni stumbled into walls and almost accidentally released her, the only time she truly let the other being go was when dropping her onto the bed which had yet to be put back properly into its normal position since the discovery of her parent’s stash a few days ago.

Looking down at the unconscious female ẹda from this angle, Abeni realised that now was the first time that the other being had ever slept in this bed. They had a brief conversation about it when she first rolled up here, about how the female ẹda didn’t want to sleep on it out of respect and Abeni wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of her sleeping here either.

But now Abeni didn’t care that this bed was a sentimental place. She didn’t have the same opinions as she initially did when the female ẹda turned up at her door. Now...just the thought of letting the female ẹda grow sicker and sicker lying on the cold floor and dying right under her nose was unacceptable.

Armed with her purse filled with nickels, Abeni thought it was best to find a doctor. Ideally, the same doctor she met on her first day back here four weeks ago or even one of the ones who treated her when she was younger.

But even though Abeni asked to be let in, pleading that she simply needed to ask questions about what she was pretending were her own symptoms. The doctor’s office workers insisted that she needed to bring Uncle Ibrahim, who dubbed himself her guardian, to make an appointment.

Guardian...“That’s ridiculous,” Abeni scoffed to herself as she left the premises with a sneer.

It had been four weeks and, in that time, the only thing he did was hit her, ask about what her parents left behind and leave her to her own devices. To starve for all he cared. He never helped her, never offered genuine words of care and couldn’t even attend the funeral or come another day to pay respects. Her parents were right about him. When had he ever guarded her? When had he ever helped her—?

But…this wasn’t about her...this was about the female ẹda.

Abeni shook her head, clenched her jaw tight and sucked it up.

It was time to see Uncle Ibrahim.

Instead of dragging things out, she used the quickest route she knew to get right behind his stone hut. One that Martin once told her about –some converging tunnels created from a recent water flood during that food shortage period – that led to many interesting hidden nooks in the village that the female ẹda had used to get around. This being the most useful destination.

Abeni climbed out, brushing the dirt off of her only clean outfit, an adire patterned tank top and a long white wrap skirt with a straight face. Mentally preparing herself. She was about to walk around to the front of the hut to knock on the wooden door as she had done countless times with her parents by her side when she heard a familiar, deep voice reverberating through the stone wall at the back of the hut.

“Banquet…let…finish.”

“My apologies, chief!”

That sounded like…the village chief and Uncle Ibrahim's voices. What were they doing here together so early? Abeni wanted to know, she really wanted to know, but she couldn’t hear them very well from here. So, Abeni peered to the side of her stone hut, where one of the male attendants stood. She peered to the other side, no guard.

Unluckily for her, the light from the nearby torches were still very bright due to it being daytime so sneaking up to a window on the side without the attendant wouldn’t work. The male one could walk to the other side at any point.

However, luckily for her, the attendant seemed to be staying near the front of the hut. That meant that as long as she remained behind his stone hut without making any noises, she wouldn’t get caught prematurely.

Abeni pressed her ear on the wall until she found a good place to listen in. Maybe it was because of the way the hut was built, but soon she could hear them pretty clearly from her spot. Talking.

“So, non-manipulators including the guards and merchants will pay double what they paid prior to their little protest. So ungrateful. I would have gotten rid of them, but those merchants are what kept these restless villagers from going elsewhere. Rest assured, when the time comes for me to launch my attacks, they will serve as my shields.”

Abeni’s eyes widened dramatically at that. Attacks? Shields? What was going on?

“Yes, that sounds like a great idea, chief! They are all novices, but they should be able to do at least something to hold our enemies off.”

“It’s good to hear that we are on the same page. Fodder like them must be put in their place. Leave them to fester and they will ruin everything,” the chief paused. “On that topic, I have been informed that the child you are monitoring has now managed to get a job. I believed you had been taking care of watching over the girl to make sure she stayed just as she was…” He lowered his tone and slowed his speech. “Have you been deceiving me?”

Her? Why were they talking about her all of a sudden?

Uncle Ibrahim's voice panicked, subservient. “No! No, chief! I was...It’s just…she doesn’t trust me anymore. So, she’s searching for information on her own. I know because I’ve been following her. Please believe me.”

Following her? When? Abeni hadn’t seen him since she asked him to come to the funeral weeks ago. Which he missed. What exactly had he seen?

“Why would she need to do that?”

“Well, it seemed her parents kept the way the village works away from her, chief. Perhaps she wishes to escape.”

“The village?”

“The underworld, chief.”

That made him burst out into laughter, guffawing and guffawing until he couldn’t anymore, but Abeni didn’t care what he thought. Especially when he had no idea what he was laughing about. She wanted to adjust, not escape. “Escape is only an option for those with power. What an imprudent little girl,” he stopped for a short time, doing something Abeni couldn’t see or sense before continuing. “As long as she stays in her place, we’ll be able to use her.”

“We will, chief. When I last spoke to her parents…they said she hadn’t awakened yet, chief. The doctor report I showed you shows that she is far from physically exceptional also. Though, I’ve noticed she has recently taken to jogging.”

Of course, uncle Ibrahim had showed the village chief her medical records. Abeni clenched her jaw again. What an absolute...

“Oh, I am aware of that girl’s uselessness. But what she has…is information from her father…And potential. Her mother…oh, Tiwa was a sneaky little wench…she even sold my crown to a man from the settlement. I know she must’ve left something behind for her as well. Whether that be physical…or in that little girl’s brain.”

“I understand, chief.”

“So, find out what it is so that the hunt will go as smoothly as possible, it’s the first step.”

This was a lot to take in. The first step? Why was the chief intrusting Uncle Ibrahim with this? Who was he really? A secret attendant? A guard…no, they were talking so much crap about weak people before, he couldn’t be just some random novice. He, Baba, Iya and Martin’s Mum must have all been hunters, juniors, under the chief’s direct command at some point. That must be how they know each other and her so well. Hated them so much.

If they had a hand at her parents’ deaths Abeni didn’t know what she’d do.

“Yes! Er…the only thing I am aware of as of now is a farmer near where she lives er…informed me that she visited him. Asking about his life and such.”

“Hm,” the chief started. “So, you believe that she was telling the—?”

“What are you doing!” Abeni suddenly heard, feeling a hand grab the flesh of her arm and twist…hard.

“Argh…” Abeni slowly looked up at the blonde hair and those familiar icy eyes. Caterina. White pencil skirt, gold-white short sword and all. Wanting so badly to command her to let go with her ability, but the wooden door had already opened and she couldn’t…she wouldn’t expose herself like that. Yet.

She’d just have to deal with this without her ability.

“You…” Caterina snarled, squeezing even tighter before dragging Abeni to the front of the hut where the male attendant stood in front of the extravagantly dressed chief and her uncle who had exited the hut at the sound of the commotion. Slamming her down onto the ground, the folds of her knee splitting open at the hard impact.

“Ow, ow…” Abeni muttered, looking up to see four pairs of eyes pointed down at her as if ready to eat her alive.

This situation could not get any worse.

“Hello, chief,” she tried with a tight-lipped smile, attempting to seem as innocent as possible. “I just had some questions for my uncle, b-but I can see he’s busy right now.”

Yeah, busy giving the village chief private information about her. Busy pretending to care about her. Busy stalking her like a creep, busy looking at her with shock as if he never thought he would get caught.

Abeni should’ve listened to what her parents said about him straight away. Even the hug she gave him when she returned felt like it had tainted her now.

The chief tilted his head, momentarily jostling the gold fabric crown that rested on his crispy black curls before raising an eyebrow at her uncle and her. Instead of taking that as a cue to be honest for once, Uncle Ibrahim walked up to her, offering a hand with a smile so wide and fake that she almost wanted to vomit in his face. Just staring down his stupid nose. It didn’t help that the female ẹda had been throwing up all week.

“Abeni, what the hell are you saying? I’m never too busy for you. Now that your parents are gone, I’m here for you. You should know that. So, what’s up?”

Absolute nonsense. Abeni stood up by herself, albeit with a little limp in her step, ignoring his retreating hand as she looked at him with an equally fake smile. She could still rectify this. “I wanted you to take me to the doctor’s office.”

“…Why?” Uncle Ibrahim frowned down at her, surprised. This actually looked real.

“I need medication, but I’m not sure which one…? Could you take me?”

But just after Abeni asked that she noticed Caterina pull away from the chief’s ear only for a grin to spread across his face as he pointed to her with a long finger and a mocking tone. Using his other hand to grab Caterina’s waist and pull her close.

“Confine her to her hut.”

“What?” Like clockwork, the guard and Uncle Ibrahim immediately held her arms still without hesitation, she tried and fails to get out of their grip. “Chief, I—!”

“Due to spying on the village chief, you will be sentenced to two week’s house arrest.”

“Huh?”

“You will not be able to leave for any reason and there will be a…” The chief turned to look at Uncle Ibrahim who bowed his head. “Your uncle will visit you every day to check that you have not disobeyed my orders.”

No...No. No! “Wait! I was not spying.”

But nothing Abeni said would get through to him as the chief began to walk away with a chuckle with Caterina in toe. This was bad. This was so very bad. Not only would the female ẹda die if she couldn’t come up with some medication soon, but she would also run out of resources, especially water if she wasn’t able to leave and refill her buckets. Not to mention her job. With how annoyed Yousef had been with her recently, there’s no way he wouldn’t fine her for missing.

And was it a crime to be caught like this? Was it a crime to disobey his orders? What if her confinement was only the start of her punishment? What if she would end up kicked out of the village like those foreigners if she disobeyed? Panicking wouldn’t help, she could get out of this if they just listened! But Abeni couldn’t resist their hold! She glared up at Uncle Ibrahim who avoided her gaze and then back at Caterina and the village chief’s slowly retreating backs.

“I need medicine! What about my job? And what if I run out of water! What about food?” No! She couldn’t stay home for two weeks with no one else to help her or the vulnerable female eda.

But Caterina turned around in the chief’s hold to look at her before the smallest of smirks appeared on her face and finally broke any hopes Abeni had of getting out of this.

“Then starve.”

 

[Current Total Beings In ‘Abeni’s Army’ – 1]