No.
Enraged was not what Moremi would call it right now.
She was seething in anger. Her blood boiled as if it was going to explode any moment from now.
Never in the history of Mandinga had any woman in the palace been defiled like this in ages. The few nobles or guards who dared to practise such an act were severely punished by her father, the king.
King Jelani was a man of great integrity. He had never once tolerated discrimination towards women, and it showed in all his decisions; Moremi could not deny that.
However, his one undignified decision— bringing uncultured and immoral men into his kingdom and forming an alliance with them to marry their kingdoms together— was what had let to something this terrible.
His one act of compromise had cost her the dignity and honour of a loyal servant, and since Moremi was not someone who joked about the people she cared for, she was not going to let this slide.
She matched into the quarters where the courtroom was located.
The hall was filled with murmurs as King Jelani and King Malawi sat engaged in a discussion.
Yovana, ever the arrogant prince, lounged beside his father, sipping from a goblet of wine as if he had not just ruined a life.
Since there was no serious meeting being held, the windows were not closed, and the clamouring inside could be heard. Moremi could just see him through the windows.
The sight of him, so comfortable, so unbothered, sent her into a blind rage.
She did not wait for permission to enter. She did not care who was present.
"My princess-" A guard attempted to block her way as it was considered disrespectful to barge into the courtroom without the King's consent, but one glare from Moremi sent him moving backwards in shock, giving her way as he wondered what may have provoked the princess to this extent.
With long, furious strides, she stormed into the hall, garnering the attention of everyone in it as they paused their jesting to stare at her.
Ignoring the startled gasps of the guards and the servants, Moremi headed straight for the man who she came for.
And then-CRACK!
The sound of wood against flesh rang out as Moremi swung a heavy staff straight into Yovana's smug face, sending him sprawling onto the floor.
The entire court erupted into chaos.
Gasps and shouts filled the air as servants scrambled backwards.
Jelani shot up from his seat, his face dark with fury, while King Malawi's expression twisted in rage as he stood up.
Vekar rushed to the side of his prince to help him up while also looking utterly confused ith the situation.
"Remi!" Her father's voice thundered in the room. "What is the meaning of this?!" He asked, dropping down from his throne and stepping towards her.
Yovana groaned in pain, clutching his face as he struggled to sit up.
But Moremi was not done.
"You wretched beast!" she roared, her voice filled with venom. "You dare violate my maid and sit here, drinking as if nothing happened?"
Silence.
Every eye in the room turned to Yovana. Even the Azuran servants shifted uneasily.
Vekar helped the prince stand, but when he heard the last statement the Mandingan princess made, he paused to look at her with narrowed eyes.
Violate her maid?
King Malawi's face twisted in fury. "What nonsense is this?" he bellowed. "How dare you accuse my son of such vile acts? In my presence!" He spat as he glared at the young girl.
Moremi whirled on him, her expression thunderous. "Nonsense? You call it nonsense?" She asked. "Go to Maa Kheru and look at the poor girl he has left to bleed! Look at the scars he has marked her with, the life he has stolen from my maid!" Her voice broke mid-way, tears welling up in her eyes. "If I had arrived a moment earlier, she would not have suffered as she did!" She hit her hand on her forehead, a self-blaming thing she did whenever she felt she could have avoided a bad situation.
"Your son is an animal!" She said and everyone gasped again in surprise.
Yovana, still stunned by the attack, wiped the blood from his split lip and shot to his feet. "She lies!" he spat, his voice shaking. "I have done nothing-"
Moremi stretched the staff in her hand again, filling her chest rise in anger but was stopped by Vekar who quickly averted her hand.
Everyone's attention now turned to Yovana and the young prince could feel a sense of judgment in their stares. The disappointment in their looks was evident and it vexed him, making him glare at Moremi.
Left with no defensive words, he clenched his fists in a tight ball before yelling,
"She insulted me!" He cleaned his nose again. "She laughed at a crowned prince and everyone did nothing!" He began to speak recklessly when everyone's eyes fixed on him with a disappointed look.
Malawi and Vekar, who had earlier been in disbelief suddenly had the strong urge to face-palm at this insolent prince when he said those words. The disappointment and embarrassment were evident in their eyes but it was even more disgraceful for the Azuran king.
However, Malawi would be thrown in a lion's den before he accepted such defeat. He was a king to one of the most powerful kingdoms as it was.
Moremi, on hearing him continue speaking, attempted to swing the staff in her hand once more but now, Yovana had turned angry.
He leaned forward, ready to throw a punch in her face but this time, the palace gaurds had intervened and they quickly drew him back.
His eyes blazed with fury as their grip on him tightened. "Let me go!" He spat, trying to wrench his hand free. "How dare you hit a prince?! Who do you think you are?!" He screamed, still wriggling himself out of their hold, about to go feral.
Vekar's expression remained calm but his hand held Moremi's firmly as she too attempted to hit Yovana with the staff.
As much as he would have loved to see her hit the Prince repeatedly for this stupidity he had just displayed, he knew he was still his handyman and could not watch such act happen in his presence.
"Please calm down, Your Highness!" He pleaded when he saw how feral the princess looked right now. She continued to kick when he held her, throwing the staff repeatedly in Yovana's direction.
"Enough! This ends now, Remi!" King Jelani who had been watching the series of drama unfold, stepped forward, his face a mask of authority. His voice thundered, sending her moving back momentarily in shock.
Everywhere turned silent.
Her father's voice was enough to make her step back, dropping the staff to the floor but it was not enough to make her yield.
Meanwhile, King Malawi had had enough.
"This is outrageous!" he roared, turning to King Jelani. "First, your daughter insults my son at dinner. Now she storms in here, weapon in hand, spewing accusations?" He screamed, now turning to Yovana's bleeding head as he blood boiled.
He sent a deadly glare towards Moremi who didn't flinch but if he could, he would have ordered for her head this instant.
"This is the last straw! We will not be disrespected any longer!"
King Jelani felt his jaw tighten as he remained silent.
Moremi could see the war in his eyes.
Did he believe her? Did he not?
It did not matter.
Malawi straightened, his pride bleeding. "This union is over," he declared, his voice final. "Azura does not wed into disgrace."
Gasps rippled through the hall. The elders, having heard the commotion, rushed in just in time to see the Azuran king pick his crown that had fell to the ground amid the commotion, his expression furious.
King Jelani's wives followed, confusion written on their faces, but the sight of Moremi standing over a bleeding prince was enough to tell them.
It was her.
Yovana humiliated beyond words, clenched his fists. His father, however, did not give him a chance to speak.
"We leave at once," Malawi snapped.
"King Malawi..." Jelani tried to calm him down but was interrupted by the raise of his hand.
"No." He said. "I have tolerated enough disrespect from your unbridled daughter, King Jelani. My son will not be marrying her any longer!"
"Let them go, father." Moremi interrupted when her father tried to plead with Malawi again. "I never had the intention of marrying an arrogant rapist like your son, either." She said, this time surprisingly staring directly at King Malawi whose eyes widened at her guts. "Perhaps you should do better teaching your son manners and discipline if you want him married to a respectable woman."
The room again was filled with gasps as now, even Vekar was shocked by the princess' audacity.
King Jelani, torn between standing for integrity and pleasing his guests, stood silently as he gave a warning look at Moremi, apparently tired of shutting her up.
Malawi swallowed the disrespect and with one look at his servants, he began to bolt out of the courtroom with the others following behind him.
"Let us go!" He yelled at Yovana, who was still bleeding, and just like that, the Azuran guests, their servants, and the once-proud prince who had dared defile an innocent girl, were forced to walk out of the Mandingan palace in thorough shame.
Moremi stood tall, watching as they stormed out from the quarters into the open palace.
At once, they mounted their carriages and bridled their horses, their departure a humiliating stain on their pride.
Vekar entered the carriage seat to be by the prince's side, following the other Azurans guards and he noted how King Jelani didn't bother to further plead with them as they left.
It seemed, as they said, that the man was truly of integrity.
Only when the gates closed behind them did Moremi let out a shaky breath.
But she did not feel relief.
Because no matter how much shame she had brought upon Yovana, it would never erase what he had done to Nyala.
She felt her heart clench at the thought.
She scanned the crowd whose eyes were now on her and her gaze met her father's.
She swallowed, seeing the mixture of emotions he held in his expression as if he wanted to rage at her, but the weight of the injustice her maid had experienced stopped him.
"Leave." He finally spoke, his eyes unreadable. "Leave this courtroom immediately, Moremi." He said in the most collected tone he could muster.
Moremi saw the raging turmoil that was surfacing in him. There was no way she would want to provoke him any further at this point as his patience had already run in a thin line.
Deep down, she sighed in relief when she realised she would no longer be marrying that wretch of a prince.
However, since she still had Nyala to take care of, she slightly curtsied to her father before bolting out of the room with the rest still staring at her until she was completely out of sight and then the low murmurs continued.