The Chief's Wife, Jones M [ebook reader with android os .TXT] 📗

Chapter Fifteen

Mwamba was still infuriated with what he had discovered, and he still could not believe it. Mkanyika had faked her kidnapping, and she had done it with her father's help. 

That was something he could not understand. Mwanyumba had looked all set, ready and proud of having his daughter wed him a couple of weeks ago. It was all to be done in order to unite the villages and to have more access to the lands in use. It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience for both villages. Mwamba could not understand what had propelled the chief to change his mind.

So on that morning, after having a decent meal in days, he was set on meeting up with the chief of the village. The sun was up, and the people were already occupied with their activities.

Mwamba shivered as he got out of his temporary hut, remembering once again that the village climate was much colder than that of his home's. In fact, there was a fog that had encompassed the higher sides of the hill when the sun was rising.

It had not even rained on the previous night.

He turned his attention back to his surroundings. There were other huts positioned closeby. At least the ground he was walking along was flat, unlike the rest of the hill. 

Mwamba walked towards the people nearby, asking for directions to the chief's hut. After receiving the replies, he made his way towards a large hut.

"Do come in, Mwamba," Mwanyumba called out before he had even entered the structure. "We have a lot to talk about, especially when you will be returning to your village soon."

"Good morning to you, too," Mwamba said as he walked into the hut. He soon remembered that he couldn't allow himself to get too comfortable in Mwanyumba's village, more so after finding out that Mkanyika was not in danger. There was nothing keeping him there unless the chief decided to imprison Mwamba for fear of him exposing what he had been told on the previous night.

Mwamba made his way to the chief and sat down on a bench opposite him. A couple of warriors were in the hut as well, ready to strike if anything were to go wrong.

'Are they going to kill me?' Mwamba thought with dread.

"As you know," Mwanyumba started, "my daughter's kidnapping was faked. She is safe here, so there is nothing for you to worry about. I do apologize for all the trouble we have caused you and the men who were sent to look for her."

"Why did you agree to it?" Mwamba asked, wanting to know. "I still do not understand. You were ready and willing to hand your daughter to me for marriage. Why did you change your mind about it?"

"So we are going to discuss this issue after all," Mwanyumba stated, mostly to himself. "Okay. I had a couple of men ask your warriors about you. They told me you were a good fellow; a good man who could take care of my daughter. However, I heard that you were not really accepting towards being forced into the union."

Mwamba felt embarrassed. He momentarily wished he knew who had ratted him out to the chief, but then he realized it did not matter.

"Most people who are being forced to wed strangers would act like that. You know about this, your Grace. I don't think that is what pushed you to have your daughter kidnapped from my village."

"Mwamba, I adore your father and I respect him. I too am a man, and at times, we all have weaknesses."

Mwanyumba shifted closer towards Mwamba before saying, "I missed her."

"What?" said a shocked Mwamba.

"Could you blame me?" the chief added. "I am very fond of my children, and seeing them moved to places where I couldn't easily reach them will break my heart. I could barely handle giving my daughter to you on the day we arrived at your village. I love them so much."

Mwamba was surprised by the chief's honest revelation. That was not something he was expecting when he was approaching Mwanyumba's hut. Either way, he admired the chief for confessing how he loved his children.

"Besides, my daughter had already fallen in love with one of my guards."

That shocked him more.

"Wait. Was the guard in the room--?"

"Yes," Mwanyumba confirmed. "The two of them have been friends since childhood. They have been inseparable since then, and they fell in love. Mkanyika was not willing to have any other man but him wed her, and I hate the thought of her hating me for taking that away from her."

It all made sense. Mkanyika was truly not in love with him. Mwamba was expecting to feel something at the information, but he felt nothing.

"I am sorry for all the time you have wasted in the search for my daughter," Mwanyumba repeated. 

Mwamba was at a loss of words on how to answer. Fortunately for him, the chief changed the subject.

"I know there were agreements made if you were to marry my daughter. The marriage may not carry on, but I would still want to keep them."

Mwamba was surprised by what he had heard. He went to speak, but the chief went on:

"I would still allow the people from your village to use the land on this side of the hill."

"Are you serious?" Mwadime's son was shocked.

"I am serious. In fact, I was thinking of going down there to have this discussion further with your father."

Mwamba could not believe what he was hearing.

"That would be wonderful," he replied with a smile. He was surprised by what was happening.

The chief nodded before saying, "I believe that is all. You may leave."

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Hours passed. It was another afternoon, and Mwamba found himself walking along the path he had used to enter the village. Njumwa was also present to accompany him.

"So it all worked out?" Njumwa asked, looking as shocked as Mwamba was.

"I know, right? I'm still thinking this is a dream. Well, I am still angry about what Mkanyika and her father had done. But then I don't feel that pissed off at all."

"Do you think you wasted your time?" Njumwa inquired.

"No," Mwamba replied, and he was shocked when he realized he was telling the truth. "I don't think I did. In spite of all that has happened, I believed it was necessary for me to make myself aware of places away from the village.  I have learned to fend for myself if I were alone."

"Have you really?" Njumwa doubted.

"...No, but I know enough to survive in the wild."

Njumwa smiled.

"Well, at least I got the chance to meet and return you back to your village," Mwamba commented.

The two went quiet, enjoying the comfortable silence as they looked at the surroundings around them.

"Will you start heading back to your home tomorrow?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Mwamba replied. "I don't want to make my people worry more about me. More so, I don't want them to think I'm dead."

Njumwa laughed, and that caused Mwamba to look at him in confusion.

"What?"

"You do look like the type who could die in a forest," Njumwa stated.

"Shut up," Mwamba replied, causing more laughter to erupt from the boy.

Even though he had known the boy for a short time, there was no doubt he was going to miss him. He hoped that he would get to see him again in the near future.

 

Chapter Sixteen

A.N This is the final chapter.

 

 

It was another cloudy morning in the village of Mwadime. The people were already awake, and they were busying themselves with the activities they had to do for the day.

"Look! I see someone coming!" a villager yelled. Everyone dropped whatever they were doing to head towards the person who had shouted. 

Indeed, a person's figure was spotted heading towards the village. 

"Wait. There are more than one," someone corrected, spotting a couple of other figures behind the first one.

"Is that--?"

"Mwamba!" someone yelled, and that had everyone erupting in cheers.

Some people quickly went to Mwadime's hut. He was with a couple of the village elders.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Your Grace, your son is coming right now."

Mwadime ended the meeting and headed towards the group that was forming at the side of the village. He pushed his way through until he was at the front of the crowd.

He saw it for himself. It was not a dream; his son was coming home. He then broke into a smile as he sighed in relief.

However, that smile shifted slightly when he saw who was heading into the village with Mwamba.

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"My son!" Mwadime was not ashamed to welcome his son with a clap on his back. Mwamba welcomed the greeting with a grin.

"I have missed you too, father. It is good to be back home," he replied.

"Mwamba!" a villager called out, and that had Mwamba turning his attention towards the person. He went to walk towards them, leaving Mwadime with the known visitors. 

The chief quickly turned to face Mwanyumba. He had been accompanied by some of his warriors and his village elders. 

Mwadime had to deal with the important visitors, even though he wanted to immediately spend time with his son.

"Mwanyumba! What a surprise," he greeted the other chief. His presence was unexpected, and Mwadime felt slightly worried.

"We have to talk," Mwanyumba told him. Mwadime nodded, and the two headed into the main hut. Some of their warriors followed them, and Mwamba's father sent others to call the village elders.

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"WHAT?" Mwadime boomed once he was told of what had happened with Mkanyika. He had been planning to ask about her, but he did not like what he had heard. He was about to yell in anger at the other chief, but Mwanyumba cut him off before starting to speak of why he had come to the village.

Mwadime's elders advised him to listen to what Mwanyumba had to say. The other chief spoke, and Mwadime found himself reluctantly liking what he was hearing.

Do not get him wrong; he was still pissed that people were sent to look for a person who had faked a kidnapping. Mwanyumba and his people had brought onto themselves an air of distrust. However, that didn't stop Mwadime from negotiating with him.

Mwanyumba had requested the use of both of their lands. Mwadime's people could use Mwanyumba's side of the hill to plant crops whereas Mwanyumba would use Mwadime's side for everything related to cattle keeping.

The two came to agree a while later with the elders and guards present. With that settled, they relaxed to bowls of chapatis and boiled meat.

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It was finally evening. The whole village had been bustling with Mwamba's return all day. Once they were done talking and listening to what he had gone through, they went back to their lives.

Mwamba felt a sudden sense of freedom. He loved the villagers, but he had wanted some time alone. Talking to them had increased the exhaustion he had felt after arriving at