From Enemies to Couple.

Episode 4

The three patrol teams met again at Ogu just as they agreed to meet and they were already exhausted and hungry. One of them by name Lalah who appeared to be leading them was the first to complain bitterly, "Why would the king send us to go and find the prince as if the prince is a baby that failed to find his way home from the camp"

Another of the team members looked at him and sighed, while saying, "You of all people should know better; the king loves his son, the prince, but it is a pity that the prince does not love his father"

An argument broke out amongst them and they nearly fought. It was Lalah who stopped the argument with a loud shout and then held one of them by the chest and shouted to his face, "You ingrate!" The rest became calm and he released the one he was holding and looked at their faces one after the other before he continued, "You morons, have you all lost your minds. Here we are about to loose everything and all you care about is some stupid argument. Listen all of you, we have to keep searching for the prince and as one of the leaders of this teams I say we stop talking nonsense and continue searching for the prince"

He moved and the rest followed him.

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In the land of Okwu, the prince of Gaa had received his dinner from the wife of the fisherman that took him in and was seated on a goatskin with his food placed in between his two spread legs in front of him. The fisherman then stood up and announced that he was about to go hunting. The prince could not believe what he just heard. He needed the man to be around and not leave him with his strangely acting wife and daughter. The daughter of the fisherman was already lying down on the bamboo bed and had refused to take her eyes off the face of prince Sando. The prince stood up immediately he heard the man say he was going to hunt that night but the man told him not to worry or bother himself and that if he needed anything his wife was there to provide for him.

"That is the problem Sir, I do not want what she can provide" said the prince in his language but the man did not understand. He simply patted him on the shoulder and told him to feel at home before he left with his lantern, bow and arrows. The prince looked at the wife of the fisherman and then to the young lady who was already lying on the bed and then retook his seat.

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In the palace of the king of Gaa he went to the cell where the princess of Amor was kept and stood there, looking at her without a word. The princess who was glaring at him as well refused to be the first to speak. The king cleared his throat and then asked the cell keeper to open the door of the cell and the door was opened. The king stepped in and stood before the princess.

"I have heard about you before I came to war with your father. It is said that you are one of those princesses who are very brave and fearless. I see it in you and so I think it was not a rumour after all. What then is the use of a warrior if not to go to the battlefield or to face challenges and defeat them? I want you to know something princess; I love my son just the same way you love your father. I do not know what you discussed with my son but it appears you already know him by the little time you spent with him. You yourself said he was trying to stop the men from having their way at you. He is a good lad. He will make a great king, but how can he make a great king if he is not here to succeed me? You see, I plan to one day leave all of this in his care because the people believe in him, in the king he will become. Princess of Amor, you will help me find my son"

The words at the last of the King's statement triggered shock in the princess as she looked at him abruptly, wondering if she heard him clearly.

"What did you say my lord?" She was forced to ask.

"I meant what I said princess of Amor. You have proven yourself to be a fighter, if you had not you would not be popular. My prince spoke words to you before he departed. If my men find him he might refuse to return with them but with you he will think twice. Think about this and if you make up your mind to do what I have asked you to do then I will spare your father's life and send two of you out of the land of Gaa"

The princess did not say any other thing as she watched the king leave the cell room. She stood up and went to the window of the cell and held onto the window rods, staring through it, into the dark night.

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In the land of Okwu, the people had begun to run out of their huts for strangers had arrived. The children did not laugh or throw things at those strangers for they were carrying swords and wore rough faces; those were the patrol teams from the palace of Gaa. They had just entered into the land of Okwu and were making sure they met no obstacles as they had never seen people like the Okwuans. The Okwuans looked like they were not part of the real world by the way they dressed and talked. They were in search of the prince still and the prince was there in the village of Okwu.

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The next day the fisherman returned and was told that some men had entered the land of Okwu and were going hut by hut in search of a man they called Sando. Some of the villagers whispered in the ears of the fisherman, "Are you sure the man they speak of is not the same stranger you allowed into your hut the other day?" The fisherman then held the third young man that whispered to him and nearly squeezed his neck.

"Your tongue will bring problems upon you if you do not shut your mouth" The fisherman was still holding onto the young man when the patrol teams saw them and began to walk towards them. It was Lalah who could understand the language of the Okwuans that spoke to the fisherman.

"Release him at once" said Lalah. The fisherman was not happy with the fact that strangers had entered their land to intimidate them and the youths of Okwu were doing nothing about it. He faced Lalah.

"This land is known as Okwu and you are not going to come to our land to command us. We have a Chief here. If you have any problem with us take the complaint to our Chief" The fisherman sounded boldly. Lalah then laughed. As he laughed the rest of the teams joined him in laughter. Lalah had to stop laughing abruptly and it was clear he was not happily laughing. He brought his face closer to the face of the fisherman and cursed the Chief of their land in the native language of the Okwuans. Upon saying this the fisherman pushed him on the chest and one of the patrol teams drew his sword and cut the fisherman on his shoulder. The fisherman held his left shoulder and screamed as blood gushed. Another patrol team member kicked him on the stomach and he fell heavily in the dust. Lalah was about to cut him again using his sword when a man sounded a warning from their back. They stopped and turned to see the Prince coming back with the wife of the fisherman and his daughter. The daughter and the wife both ran forward to their father and knelt before him, crying. The fisherman was loosing a lot of blood and one of the villagers was already looking for the village Healer to attend to him. Others carried him away while his wife and daughter refused to leave his side. The Prince walked up to the patrol teams and to the surprise of the people the patrol teams all went down to their knees in greeting. They greeted him accordingly and refused to stand before him. The prince looked at the fearful faces of the people of Okwu land and then rested his eyes on Lalah.

"Really, Lalah, you had to do this to a defenceless man!?" The prince was angrily asking. Lalah remained calm. "Answer me Lalah!!!" The prince was in rage and Lalah knew that his temper was not good and if he was to loose it he could to anything to him and so he immediately began to speak in defence of himself and the teams. He explained why he had to do what he did, noting that they had to use force to interrogate the people in case they were holding the Prince of Gaa against his wish. The patrol teams nodded in agreement with Lalah and the Prince asked them to stand up and go home. Lalah spoke immediately, "My Prince, we can not go home. We were instructed by your father not to come back if we do not return with you. We have been searching for you for two days now because you are important to us and to the people of Gaa and also because we would not want to loose our jobs as patrollers in the palace. We would be so glad if my lord would follow us back to his father, the king"

"Lalah, you are not going to sweet talk me into doing what I'm not destined to do so for the last time go home with the rest" he began to move away but the patrol teams all stood up and Lalah continued, "If my lord refuses to go with us we will have to stay here with my lord because we have nowhere else to go from here. Permit us to stay here until the day you will change your mind or if you do not get to change your mind we can stay here, eat whatever you eat, farm in the land and fetch water from the streams. If my lord have survived here for two days we can survive here for two years"

"Lalah recently you wanted to kill one of their own. You think these people are going to welcome you here? You already unwelcome yourself the moment you struck that man. That man saw me and took me in. It was not a coincidence that you chose to strick him but an indication that I was right to leave home. You Lalah, go home with the rest or find somewhere else to stay. Apart from me and the people of Okwu their Chief would not want to see you here" the Prince walked away from them but the patrol teams refused to leave, instead they found a shade under a mighty tree and sat under it.

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in the palace of Gaa and inside the cell of the princess of Amor she had just realised that she was not going to survive the hunger for too long and just like the king of Gaa spoke about her father she loved him so much and would not want him to meet his end in the hands of the king of Gaa. She then made up her mind to go in search of the Prince of Gaa and bring him back home to his father.

The next day word reached the king of Gaa that the princess had accepted his offer at last.