BEAUTY IN EXILE

||CHAPTER 7

"Njeri? You have a visitor," Wangui called once they got to the compound.

The lads watched in awe. Two huts in the middle of the thick forest. Both surrounded by a thick fence of flowers. The compound was so clean you'd think it was a normal homestead back in the village. Njeri quickly stepped out of the hut and stood in shock at the door. She couldn't believe that she was seeing Ndegwa standing in front of her in flesh.

"Is he a spirit?" she asked Wangui in panic. She hadn't even realized that he was accompanied by the chief's son.

"No, my friend," Wangui said in a smile.

"Ndegwa?" she called in excitement as tears started flowing down her cheeks.

"Here I am," he responded opening his arms for her.

She laugh-cried as she ran to him and jumped to hug him. She didn't care that her too-short clothes had ridden up high as long as she felt his arms on her. When she hugged him tighter, he winced and shuddered at the pain in his back. Njeri felt it and immediately jerked from his embrace. It earned her a growl. Ndegwa wanted to keep on holding her. He could withstand any amount of pain as long as he had her in his arms.

"Wait, what happened?" she asked in a frown searching him.

When she rounded him, she saw Gitahi and quickly bowed. Though she did not acknowledge him as the chief as per the custom.

"Some guards tried to have their way with me," he told her.

"What are you doing with him?" she whispered into his ears as she took her position in front of him.

"He helped me. He's my new friend. Wicked than you see," he grinned at her. She chuckled understanding him.

Gitahi looked at them in awe and happiness. He was happy for his friend for finding that which he wanted so much. He could only hope that he too would find the same kind of happiness someday. That's if it was not with the fierce beauty next to him.

"Shall we give them some time alone?" he turned to ask a staring Wangui.

She sneered at him and continued watching. It made him chuckle. Truth be told, Wangui wanted to do nothing else but spectate. She loved the way they embraced each other. It was so foreign yet so admirable. Even the way they conversed with each other.

"Come," Gitahi pulled at her wrist.

She wriggled it from his tight grasp. She failed to succeed. He was too strong. She waited patiently as he led her away from them. When she felt him ease up, she yanked it from the grasp. Gitahi muttered something under his breath that made Wangui laugh under her breath. For a while, she let herself forget that he was an enemy. She took him to the visitor's hut. He entered and settled on a stool in a corner. Wangui sat on another far across from him. It was good to keep distance. Though it didn't seem to help. Them being in there alone felt so intimate. So closed it made her start gasping for breath. She needed to think fast otherwise she would suffocate at his intoxicating presence.

"Why are you looking for her?" she asked breaking the torturing silence.

"To take her back to the village," he told her much to her dismay.

"You should know that she can't go back. She is an outcast. And if she enters there, she'll die," she told him.

Gitahi hadn't thought about that. Neither had his friend. It seemed they needed to think of another way.

"Is there a way to rectify that?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe," she answered too quickly. She felt as if he cared about Njeri too much too. An enlightened one would translate that as jealousy. "After we take care of the pesky man-eaters, we shall find our way back."