THIN BLOOD: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

Chapter 8

Back at the palace, Silviah was left mad at the Prince for assuming her and talking rudely to her. Since she knew that the king could never brace such a relationship, she could not keep her mouth shut. She went ahead and told king Matumu of this new discovery.

Surely, king Matumu could never tolerate Gatamu marrying any other woman but Silviah. This was not for the love they had, or, should it be, love they had not nor Matumu’s interest in her as his daughter-in-law but all for power. Her father was a very influential person in the town and therefore, Mamiti was crucial in his position.

Matumu only wanted this daughter for his son because of his political ambitions. Were it not for this fact, he could also not support his son into marrying someone he does not love. Silviah did not have a clue though that her relationship was not for love but politics. According to her, Gatamu loved her like no other woman. She was his queen of the heart. After all, she was proud enough that nothing could stop her from marrying the Prince due to her father’s affluence.

“My daughter, why are you this moody today? What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Where is the Prince?” Matumu asked.

“Good day your highness; I am fine thank you. About the Prince, he just walked out and left me to myself.”

“Why had he to leave you behind? Silviah, do not lie to me. You say you are fine but your face says otherwise. Did you fight with him again?”

“Your highness, we fought not by the hand but by the mouth. It seems your son has the guts to use me and dump me as he pleases.”

“Come on Silviah, how could you say such of Gatamu? He is my son and could never do such a shameful thing. He only has an eye for you my dear. Relax. Maybe he is having a bad day. I know my son.”

“As much as you say that your highness; I choose to differ. I have been with him long enough to know when things are not right. Ever since he visited this town, he hardly has time for me. He assumes me not as I have seen before. I am sure of what I say your majesty. Your son has another girl and to make matters even worse, she is from that town.”

“No my daughter, as much as you choose to differ, my son can never get a woman from the town. He is the Prince remember? He cannot dishonor me in such a manner. Just come down. I will talk to him when he returns.”

“You had better do so your highness. I hope you know how this will sound in the ears of my father. My patience is running out.”

“Okay my daughter. Tell not your father any of this. Let me first talk to my son. Good day.”

After Silviah had this talk with the king, she did not hesitate in the compound. She left for her uncle’s home immediately. Meanwhile, she was not ready to tell her father about their fight with Gatamu. She too knew very well that it would not go well for her. Be this as it may, Silviah could not just sit and wait for the king to talk to the Prince. She had to do something on her own.

After Prince Gatamu left the doctor’s house, he surely thought about what Kirimi had told him. He realized that it was the only way out and that he had to do it. He did not go anywhere else but back to the palace to look for Silviah. He also had a feeling that she might have told his father about their fight.

While he was on his way to look for her, she too was on her way to her uncle’s house to get some answers. Since Kirimi was Gatamu’s friend, she knew that if there is anybody Gatamu could have told about their fight was him and why they had to fight. She had the impression that if Gatamu had told her uncle about there being another woman in her place, he could not hide it from her.

Ooh unto her though, Kirimi was not the kind of friend that could betray the Prince. Although he was her uncle, that was not reason enough to disclose such information to her. A secret shared between men remain between them and no more. He could not deny the visit from Gatamu though. He knew that the best lies are those that are close to the truth.

“Welcome my niece. I must say, it is long since you visited last. Anyway, it’s good of you to remember me.”

“It’s just that I have been busy lately, I meant no offense. Thank you for the welcome. I already feel at home.”

“Never mind, tell me, to what do I owe this visit or to whom my dear?”

“Well uncle, I am sorry to have come here for this but I had to. I really need your help uncle.”

“Anything for my niece will do me no harm. I hope it’s nothing serious though because I hate when bad things happen to my niece.”

“Well, I cannot say it’s not serious because it is a matter of the heart.”

“Well, my ears are all yours. Speak my daughter.”

“My heart bleeds. Has Gatamu visited you lately?”

“Of course my dear, he was here just a moment ago. In fact, you have missed each other by just minutes. What’s cooking?”

“Well, I know that he must have told you that we are not in good terms or should I say, he considers me his queen no more? He has another woman for my place. He is dumping me uncle. What did I ever do to him? All I did was to give him my heart and my love.”

“Come on Silviah; do not rush into conclusions yet. It is early for you to say this. You two have been together long enough to just dump you like that. Who told you about this woman anyway?”

“I know he is your friend and you are covering for him. He cannot do this to me. I will find out eventually.”

“Come down niece. You are too quick to judge. If you must know, he did mention about your fight. He had come for the same reason as well. He regrets it to the bottom of his heart and as we speak, he is headed for the palace in search of you.”

“What does he want? He did not talk rude to me just to find me again.”

“No, it’s not like that. He is just looking to apologize for what he did this morning. You do mean the world to him too. He can hardly spend a minute without you. I wish you saw his face when he came. Terrible!”

“Are you sure of what you are saying uncle? Then, what could have made him be like that?”

“Can I lie to my own niece, no. That’s how it is. It’s just that he is under so much pressure from the project in the town. It’s not easy to handle many people and especially those from the town.”

“Why couldn’t he just tell me that? We did not have to fight if he did.”

“Do not worry about that now. He has already realized his mistake and is ready to apologize. I think you should worry more about listening to him. He really needs your ears.”

“Where do I even start, I also got angry and said things that are not good. It’s the emotions, you know. I…”

“Save it my niece. He too understands that. If you listen to him, why should he not listen to you too? After all, nobody is ever perfect my dear. We are made of mistakes and what matters is how we handle them.”

“Thank you very much uncle. I surely made the right choice. I will be waiting for him. I had better leave right now. Have a good day.”

“Very well my niece. Go to him, and all the best. Get back together soon. He needs you by his side the most at this time. You should not fight over such issues.”

“I will do my very best uncle. I really miss him too, you know. See you.”

“…and Silviah, just go easy on him. Don’t be so tough though, aah?” He said to her as she left.

Silviah left as soon as this talk with the uncle was over. As much as she was eager to find out about this woman, she heard some good news at last. Hearing that Gatamu was looking for her was music to her ears. She really loved him and did not want their relationship to end. She could not bear the thought of losing him to the arms of another woman.

Although deep inside she did have some doubts that her uncle could be covering Gatamu, she just had to wait for this apology. Meanwhile, she had to ensure that Gatamu remains hers in the future. She thought of convincing him to take her with him to every trip to this town.