THE ROYAL SISTERS

Gratuitous meanness.

EPISODE 05

- Then you must be having an affair with her.

- My princess, says the guard with a very deep inspiration, but the princess cuts off his speech instantly:

- Quiet! Now listen to me! I will not tolerate sharing my body with a low life who consult with an ordinary maid. Is that clear?

- My princess!

- My body longs for you tonight but we can longer meet in my room as you can see now, so I will find a new place. For you, said the princess, giving him a gift. But the guard declines her offer.

- My princess I can no longer receive gifts from you.

- I do not remember asking if you could. Now you have it. And remember who helped your life. You ingrate.

She gives him the gift and then leaves. The guard will then return to his post. A few minutes later, the queen was just leaving the palace to reach the court when the portal opens and a car enters the royal courtyard. A guard and a maid get out of the car. The guard who is at the same time the driver opens the door. A female figure descends from the kitty to head towards the queen. Arriving at her height, she presents her civilities to her:

- Greetings my queen.

- How dare you set your foot in Agbomey kingdom, after my king has banned your family?

- I mean no disrespect your majesty. It was my understanding that the embargo was only for my father and the prince.

- What do you want?

- I seek my brother.

- I do not understand.

- Your highness! The prince of Hôgbonou is missing.

- And what has that got to do with Agbomey kingdom? Questions the king, who comes out of the palace, on the defensive, followed by his bodyguard.

- I greet you your highness, politely said the envoy of the kingdom of Hôgbonou to the king of Agbomey.

- I am unaware of any truce between your father and i to warrant your visit.

- Please forgive my audacity your highness. I only came to inquire if my brother, the prince of Hôgbonou is here.

- As a prisoner I suppose.

- Your highness, is he?

- Your brother proved himself to be a big fool, but I doubt if he will be foolish enough to dare step his foot here again.

- I am not one to visit the iniquities of the parents on their children. So, I forgive your stupide intrusion. Now leave immediately! Get out!

The kingdom of Hôgbonou, prince Adeleke is missing after their return to their kingdom following the incident last time. Worried, king Adetutu sent her daughter, princess Djêhami, to the kingdom of Agbomey to find out if he was there. But she was very undesirable once in the kingdom.

After princess Djêhami’s dismissal, the queen and the king became anxious again. A bad omen is probably on the horizon. The queen calls Dossou, the guard she had instructed to lead the sword-wounded prince Adeleke, clandestinely into his kingdom on the day he was stabbed by the werewolf princess. She would like to understand how it is that king Adetutu is still sending his daughter to look for the prince. Her concern is very great, because the king Agboliagbo never learned that the prince had returned to the kingdom until he was stabbed. She therefore feared that the king would discover the situation that she had taken care to veil him. She asks him:

- You dumped prince Adeleke alive at Hôgbonou, as I instructed did not you?

- I am sorry your highness! He gave up the ghost before we could make it to Hôgbonou.

- You? You did not bother to inform me? Worries the queen as she widens here yes.

- My understanding was that the issue was no longer subject for further discussion, my queen.

- And the body?

- Buried. I thought, that was what you would want me to do.

- Damn it, regrets the queen… You should have dumped the body in Hôgbonou, just as I instructed, the queen said to him, on her way to sit down.

- I am sorry your highness.

- You are sorry? Did I hear you say sorry? Do you know the implication of what you did?

- I did not kill prince Adeleke, my queen, defends the guard.

- Just pray that this does not explode on our faces.

- If only you know what is about to explode on your face, my queen!

- Did I read a threat or blackmail?

- I speak only of injustice, my queen.

- Get out! Get out!

The queen is more than very preoccupied with the information she has just learned. She is well aware of what this affair could cost her if it breaks out and her husband, the king learns that she is somehow being conducted to the affair.

On the royal court, there is an unusual man. When princess Agossi descends into the courtyard, she falls on him and seems to recognize him:

- Gbêwêdô ! I am very glad that you are well now.

- Thank you, but I am not here to see you.

- My apologize! Who are you here to see?

- (Smiling): The princess.

- Agôyi?

- That must be her name. My beautiful princess.

The strange man barely finishes talking and as if she were listening at the door, princess Agôyi comes out of the palace and arrogantly questions him:

- You are here to see who? You regrettable blunder of the gods.

- My love, I am glad you are here. I went through a lot coming here to find you. My princess, you are beautiful.

- Guards, shouts the princess. Who let this thing into this palace? Who?

The other guards run, as do the maids to see what is happening. One of the guards raises his voice to answer her:

- I have no idea my princess.

- See my princess, I am a prince. I have my own kingdom. I am here to marry you. I am a prince, says the strange man (smiling).

- Slap him! Slap him, orders princess Agôyi.

One the guards, the one who spoke earlier, raised his hand and hit him on the head. But princess Agôyi, dissatisfied, still screams:

- Slap him!

- How dare you? How dare you talk to the princess?

- I am un prince, says the strange man.

At one point, the strange man almost touched her, but she pushes back quickly so that he does not touch her. Faced this attitude towards the strange man, princess Agossi, her sister, shocked, tell her:

- Agôyi! You know you cannot be treating people as if they are less than a human being.

- If you open your stinking mouth at me again and I will show you that you are less than a human being. How dare you?

- Assuka? Said princess Agossi.

- I am a prince, keep saying the strange man!

- Assuka? Said princess Agossi, without the guard listening to her.

- Take him out of here, orders princess Agôyi to Assuka, who executes by pulling the strange man out of the palace by force.

- Assuka! I said let him go.

- I am a prince, keep saying the strange man!

- Mother? Said princess Agôyi by hastening the steps inside the palace to alert the queen.

She rushes like a madwoman furious to her mother to complain and vilify her sister, princess Agossi:

- Mother! Mother! Mother!

- What?

- You better come and see this yourself. Come!

The queen rises spontaneously to follow her. Even before she got up, the princess had already pre-empted her to reach the royal court at the speed of a high-speed train. While the two royal women are on their way, on the courtyard, princess Agossi continues to call the guard:

- Assuka!

Despite princess Agossi’s best efforts, Assuka does not listen to her. He throws the strange man out of the palace according to the orders of princess Agôyi. He then returned to his post. The queen and princess Agôyi arrive in the courtyard at the same time. The queen then interrogates them:

- What is going on here?

- It is Agossi, princess Agôyi responds promptly, to the queen’s surprise at the promptness of the answer. She brought in an imbecile into this palace to ask for my hand in marriage.

- What? Shouts the queen.

- Mother! I did not do such, princess Agossi calmly retorts.

- You curse of a child.

In front of all the palace employees, the queen defends princess Agôyi against her little sister, princess Agossi. She treats her with all the names. Despite the cruelty of the queen’s words, princess Agossi remains calm, docile and smiling.

- How much more insult will you bring on your sister and this royal household? I warned you, but it is obvious you did not understand me when i said i would consign you to the life of s*****y.

- Mother? Dare to say princess Agossi.

- Shut up! Agôyi?

- Yes mother!

- She is your young sister. Deal with her as you wish.

-After throwing her own daughter into the she-wolf’s mouth, she returns to her room. Princess Agôyi then begins to pull her little sister by the hand with force to punish her:

- Come on!

- Let me down!

- Come here!

- Let me down Agôyi!

- Shut up your mouth!

- Let me down!

- Assuka?

- Yes my princess!

- Get me a whip.

- Okay.

Two guards come to take princess Agossi into the hands of her older sister. They drive her out of the palace, near a tree trunk where they tie her up.

- Tie her up, orders princess Agôyi. Whip her!

One of the guards takes care of whipping princess Agossi well. Under the blow of the whips, she emits cries of agony. Guard Assuka remained standing to observe this scene of humiliation, but disagreed. The expression of his face reflects his disagreement, only that he has no decision-making power. Princess Agôyi finally tells him:

- And you! Assuka?

- Yes my princess!

- Go and fetch that imbecile! Bring him here now!

He executes. He will bring back the fool of which the princess spoke. Meanwhile, princess Agôyi mocks her little sister, already weakened by the lashes, in these terms:

- Pigs are meant to rub on each other, and I bet you are feeling at home now. Whip her! Harder!

Assuka returns a moment later empty-handed, without the fool and tells to princess Agôyi:

- My princess! I have searched him the entire place, but the imbecile is nowhere to be found.

- You are a fool. You cannot even accomplish a simple assignment.

- My princess! I have combed the entire kingdom. I have searched everywhere. I have ransacked the whole place, but he is nowhere to be found.

- You are very stupid. You know what? Join her.

- Hein?

- Yes! For denying me the pleasure of seeing them both. Join her. Lie down.

Meanwhile in the palace of Agbomey, the king withdrew from the inside of the palace to enjoy the natural fresh air flow from outside. This will be allowed him to better think about finding solutions to his many problems. He was there when a with Mercedes enters the yard, followed by a black Highlander. As soon as the occupants of the two vehicles have got off and he seems them, he moves forward to move towards them. All the guards and maids in the courtyard become worried about what might happen again. They all look at each other’s role oddly enough. When the king and visitors are close to one another, the king greets them with these words:

- You ask for war by invading my territory with your presence Adetutu.

Yes! This is a royal visit. The delegation is composed of the king of Hôgbonou’s kingdom himself, his wife, his daughter Dôhami and some royal guards.

- King Adetutu, rectifies the king of the kingdom of Hôgbonou!

The queen of Hôgbonou touches her husband to calm him down, because of the tone of the discussions.

- There is only one king in Agbomey Kingdom.

- I have not yet considered you an enemy, but you are few inches away from staining that status.

- Father! Please calm down. I beg you, the princess Dôhami replies. Great king of Agbomey, Hôgbonou will never disrespect your kingdom, said princess Dôhami, all smiling. We have only come to ask for favor, which we believe is in your hands only to help.

- Hôgbonou lost every claim to favor from this kingdom the day your prince brother defiled his royalty in this palace.

- Could that have been the reason for his a*******n?

- What?

- My father meant to say that you would help us with information to the whereabout of my brother.

- Your sister already informed that your brother, the prince is not in this kingdom.

- True your majesty! My sister was here. But that information we believed was prompted hastily by anger. We ask the king to help us make proper inquiries from his subjects.

They were in the middle of a discussion when one of the maids, Adjoa, came to the feet of king Agboliagbo to beg him to come to the rescue:

- My king, please help the princess. Princess Agôyi will kill her sister…