ADEBIMPE (Episode 7)

Adebimpe (POV)

In the palace, danger rarely announces itself.

It comes smiling.

Her name was Sade.

She had always been there quiet, observant, blending into corners like dust. I noticed her more after my duties changed. She was one of the older maids, not quite powerful, not quite invisible. The kind of woman the palace shaped into patience and bitterness.

One morning, as I washed my hands by the well, she approached me.

“You are working too hard,” she said kindly, handing me a clean cloth. “Rest small. The palace can drain a person.”

I was surprised by her gentleness. “Thank you, Sade.”

She smiled. A soft, harmless smile.

From that day, she began to help me covering my chores when I was late, warning me when Iya Morounkeji was in a bad mood, even adjusting my wrapper once when it loosened.

“Be careful,” she would say. “Eyes are watching you.”

I believed she meant well.

I was wrong.

Sade

She thought I was her friend.

That was the funniest part.

Every time Adebimpe walked past, heads turned. Every time she entered the prince’s corridor, whispers followed. And yet she walked like she didn’t even see it. Like she didn’t know she was standing where others had dreamed of standing for years.

I had served in this palace for eight seasons. Eight. I had cleaned Prince Adewale’s room countless times, and he had never remembered my name.

But her?

Barely weeks, and she was already chosen.

It wasn’t fair.

So I watched her. I learned her habits. I learned when she was nervous, when she was confident, when she was careless.

And then, one afternoon, the opportunity came.

Adebimpe (POV)

That day, I was responsible for cleaning the prince’s chamber before an important council meeting. Everything had to be perfect. The palace buzzed with tension.

Sade met me by the corridor.

“Adebimpe,” she whispered urgently, “the prince’s incense burner—did you clean it yesterday?”

“Yes,” I said. “Why?”

“They are saying the prince’s personal seal is missing,” she said, eyes wide with concern. “If it is found in his room uncleaned, they will blame whoever last entered.”

My heart skipped.

“The seal?” I whispered. “I didn’t see it.”

She leaned closer. “Then you should check again. Quickly. Before they accuse you.”

Fear pushed me forward faster than thought.

Inside the chamber, everything looked normal. I searched carefully, my pulse loud in my ears. Then, beneath the prince’s writing table, I saw it.

The seal.

My breath caught.

Before I could touch it, the door opened.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

I turned sharply.

Prince Adewale stood there. Behind him two guards.

My knees weakened.

“My prince, I .....

His eyes fell to the floor. To the seal.

Silence crashed down.

Continue reading Episode 8