GBENGBELEKU: The Fire That Cannot Be Quenched

The War Inside Me

Chapter 2: The War Inside Me

I was in the market when the news broke.

Messengers from Abati town had come to King Adegbolahan’s palace.

King Adegbolahan, father of Princess Adesewa.

Their warning was clear.

No one in Ayedatiwa was to pay taxes to King Gbolahan again.

From that day, all taxes belonged to King Isola, the Alabati of Abati.

If we refused, he said he would come.

He would invade Ayedatiwa and kill everyone.

My chest tightened. I could already see the smoke, the blood.

I heard how the king called his chiefs. How fear filled the room.

King Isola had a massive army. Even our own warriors begged the king to make peace.

"Do not fight him, my king," one of them cried. "We will all die."

But I could not bow. Not while Adesewa’s face was in my mind.

I went to the palace and stood before King Adegbolahan.

"Do not bow to the king of Abati," I told him, my voice steady.

"Give me the chance. I will fight this battle."

Months later, King Isola came with his army.

I met them in the middle of the road.

Out of seven hundred soldiers, only thirty-seven escaped my sword.

The village sang my name that night.

But my enemies did not sing.

Especially not the ones who hated that Princess Adesewa had fallen in love with me.

The night after the battle, the air in Ayedatiwa smelled different.

Like iron. Like rain. Like victory.

My armor was heavy on my shoulders, but heavier was the silence in my chest.

Seven hundred came. Only thirty-seven crawled back to Abati.

I told myself it was for the kingdom. For the king.

But truthfully? It was for her.

My hands would not stop shaking, not from fear, but from the weight of all the lives I had ended.

I could still see their eyes when the sword came down.

When I walked into the palace courtyard, the drums started.

Women threw petals. Men raised their cutlasses and shouted my name.

"Gbengbeleku! Gbengbeleku!"

King Adegbolahan stood on the steps, his face tired but proud.

"Today, you saved us," he said. "Ask for anything."

I should have asked for gold. For land. For a title.

Instead, my eyes found her.

Princess Adesewa stood behind the pillar, watching me.

Her lips parted, and in a voice only I could hear, she whispered:

"Did you get hurt because of me?"

And just like that, the cheers faded.

Because the war outside was over.

The war inside me had just begun.

Three days later, the peace didn’t last.

Chief Olowolayemo walked into the palace with his son Adio behind him.

Chest out. Chin up. Like he owned the throne room.

The chief and King Adegbolahan grew up together. They hunted together. Bled together.

So when he spoke, everyone listened.

"My king," Olowolayemo bowed, but his voice was steel. "It is time we joined our houses.

Let Adesewa marry my son Adio. That was the promise made when we were boys."

My stomach dropped. The air left the room.

Adio stood there smiling, like the crown was already his.

But then I heard it.

Soft. Steady. Unshakable.

Adesewa stepped forward from behind the curtains.

Every chief turned. Even the guards stopped breathing.

She did not look at her father. She looked at me.

And my heart cracked open right there.

"I will not marry Adio," she said, her voice clear across the hall.

"My choice is Gbengbeleku, the man who stood when everyone else bowed."

Silence.

Then Chief Olowolayemo’s face went dark.

Because this wasn’t just about marriage anymore.

It was war.

Later that evening, I wasn’t supposed to be near the veranda.

But my feet carried me there anyway.

King Adegbolahan and Adesewa sat in silence.

The lamps were low. The night crickets were loud.

Two cups of palm wine sat untouched between them.

I hid behind the pillar, because a warrior learns when to watch.

"My daughter," the king started, his voice heavy. "Olowolayemo and I are blood.

If you marry Adio, both our houses become one. It is the wise path."

Adesewa didn’t flinch.

She set her cup down carefully, like she was afraid it would shatter.

"I cannot, Baba," she said. "I do not love Adio.

And I will not pretend that I do."

The words hit the king like a slap.

His jaw tightened. His hands gripped the arm of his chair until his knuckles went white.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then he stood up so fast the chair scraped the floor.

He didn’t yell. He didn’t shout.

He just looked at her, and walked away, fury burning in every step.

And I felt it in my chest.

Because of me, the princess had just started a war with her own father.

She found me by the river that night.

No guards. No lanterns. Only moonlight cutting across the water.

Adesewa looked smaller than I had ever seen her.

Her wrapper clung to her legs, damp from running. Her eyes were red.

She told me everything in a rush.

How her father begged. How he threatened. How he said my head would roll if I came near her again.

My throat went dry.

Because I knew what that meant. The king could end me with one word.

"Please," I said, and hated how weak it sounded. "Adesewa, listen to your father.

Marry Adio. It’s safer. For you. For the village."

She stepped closer. So close I could smell rain on her skin.

Then she took my hand like she wasn’t scared of anything in this world.

"I will not," she whispered. "For better or worse, my choice is you, Gbengbeleku.

I will marry you."

And just like that, my fear burned away.

If she was ready to burn with me, then I was ready for anything.

I was sharpening my sword when the door burst open.

Adesewa.

Barefoot. Breathing hard. Two wrappers clutched in her hands like she had run all the way here without stopping.

"They are coming for you," she gasped. "Tonight. At midnight."

My blood went cold.

I pulled her inside and shut the door.

She told me everything. The hidden room. The locked door.

The king, five chiefs, and Chief Olowolayemo whispering in the dark.

Olowolayemo’s voice was the clearest.

"If we do nothing, Gbengbeleku will grow stronger. He will take the throne from you, my king. He will kill you."

"Send the black assassins," he hissed. "Kill him before the moon is high."

My chest tightened. Not from fear of death. But from the thought of them touching her.

Because this was my fault.

I grabbed her hand.

"We have to go. Now."

She nodded once.

And together we slipped out the back of my house and ran into the bush, leaving Ayedatiwa behind.

The chapter of my life as a palace hero was over.

The chapter as a fugitive had just begun.

We had barely made it past the village farms when I heard it.

Footsteps on the dirt path. Then a voice.

Someone saw us.

Adesewa grabbed my arm, eyes wide. "Gbengbeleku"

I pulled her into the tall grass by the stream and covered her mouth with my hand.

From the path, I heard Baba Tunde’s voice. That old palm-wine drinker.

"My king! I saw them! The warrior boy and the princess! They’re running east, toward the bush!"

My stomach dropped.

We were still too close.

From far off, carried by the night wind, came the king’s voice. Cold. Final.

"Take my guards. Go after them. Kill Gbengbeleku. Bring my daughter back to me. Alive."

I looked down at Adesewa. She was shaking in my arms.

And my heart broke, because hiding was no longer enough.

I leaned down and whispered in her ear, so only she could hear.

"Don’t be afraid. If they want you, they’ll have to go through me first."

The drums of pursuit had started.

And we were running out of time.