The White Witch and the Stable Boy

There had been a boy, Titi remembered.A boy with a strange fondness for horse dung. She had never learnt his name. A stable boy at the Akinṣọlá Compound. She remembered running up a hill in pursuit of him while he tormented her with his incessant name-calling. “You're too slow, Milk Girl!” “You can't catch me!” Yes. She remembered now. Milk Girl. That was what the boy had called her. And in return, she had bestowed upon him a nickname of her own. “Horse Boy?” Titi's eyes sparkled. Wale's smile was piercing. “Took you a while to remember me, Milk Girl.” Her eyes glittered. “But... but I don't understand. I thought... I thought Horse Boy worked at the stable.” “Quite a rough child I was. My mother scolded me for always leaving my clothes soiled and stained. My ears still ache from the squeezes she gave them.” He laughed. “I never did listen, though. I gave quite a hard time to the servant girls. I don't imagine cleaning dried horse dung to be an easy chore.” Her only true friend in childhood. Uncouth and unkempt, Horse Boy had always dressed in scruffy clothes. His boots were regularly crusted with horse dung, and his hair was ever a rough tangle of tousled dreadlocks. Added to that, he spent so much time in the squalid stables that the horses had practically blessed him with their stench. It was only natural that she had assumed, given his slovenly appearance—so uncharacteristic of nobility—that he worked in the stables. But here he stood before her, almost the antithesis of the boy she remembered. Adewale Akinṣọlá was as polished and refined as a man could be. Graceful and courteous where Horse Boy had been inelegant and unmannered. Suave and handsome where Horse Boy had been dishevelled and grubby. Yet beneath all that stark contrast, one glance at Wale was enough to reveal the glaring similarity. His smile. It was the same smile she remembered from Horse Boy all those years ago. Though he had possessed a few missing teeth back then. A pool began to form in her eyes. “How do you like it up here?” asked Wale, the boy who had once been Horse Boy. He grinned. “Perfect view for a witch, don't you think? You could cast a spell upon the whole district from here.” He gestured towards the city below. “Wale's Mountain offers quite the view, doesn't it?” She stared into the night, brightened by a luminous moon and a million tiny flames. Then she looked at Wale's gentle smile. “It does.” Her gaze moved from the white of his teeth to his eyes. “It's...” She swallowed. “It's beautiful.” “It is, isn't it?” He looked out over the city. “This is my special place. So let it remain between us.” He paused. “Hmm... I suppose that makes it our special place.” Her face became a ripe red tomato. “How did you get yourself a hill?” “Mountain,” Wale corrected. “Yes. Mountain.” “My father is the wealthiest man in the Empire. A little mountain is easily attainable.” That's right. Titi had almost forgotten. This man was no ordinary man. Born into wealth and power, yet immensely humble—so humble that one could mistake him for a mere stable boy. “Like I was saying,” Wale continued, “my family aside, you're the only one I've shown this place to.” He looked at her. “Even as a child, I never allowed anyone up here. I simply made an exception for you, Milk Girl.” _Exception._ The sound of the word made her feel special. “So!” Wale suddenly declared. Titi jumped. “If you tell anyone about this very, very, very special place, I'll... I'll...” He scratched his dreads. “Hmm. No threat seems to come to mind.” Titi giggled. “Oh, I know.” She straightened herself and adopted a stern expression. “If you tell anyone, I'll flay the skin from your back.” She shook her head. “No, too gory.” “I'll smack you in the head.” She frowned. “No. Too soft.” Her giggles bloomed into laughter. “Oh! I got it!” He raised a finger triumphantly. “If you tell anyone about this very special place, I'll cast a spell on you.” He grinned. “I happen to know a little witchcraft myself.” _He's different_, Titi thought Why did he have to be betrothed to her sister?

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