Chapter Five: The King’s Change of Heart

The moon hung low in the sky, casting a pale, ethereal glow over the city of Iru-Oba. Damilola and Chike walked, hand in hand, away from the palace gates, their hearts beating in time with the fading echo of the king’s wrath. Each step they took felt like a defiance against everything the world had told them was impossible. They were leaving behind the life Damilola had known—the comfort, the wealth, the title—for a life of uncertainty and struggle. But it didn’t matter. Not when they had each other.

For a few minutes, there was nothing but the sound of their footsteps and the rustling of the wind through the trees. Neither of them spoke. The weight of the king’s words, and the consequences of their defiance, hung heavily in the air. But then, Damilola stopped.

“Chike…” Her voice trembled slightly. “Do you think we made the right decision? What if… what if my father is right? What if—”

“Don’t,” Chike said, turning to face her. His eyes softened. “We made the only decision we could. We’re following our hearts, Damilola. That’s all that matters.”

She looked up at him, her gaze filled with love and doubt, a princess torn between the life she was born into and the love she had chosen. “But it’s not just about us, is it? What if this destroys everything for you? What if the king—”

Before she could finish, a voice rang out from behind them.

“Stop right there!”

Chike’s heart leapt into his throat. His body tensed instinctively, his hand reaching for Damilola’s, as the sound of hoofbeats approached. The royal guards had found them.

But then, just as quickly, the figure atop the horse reined in, and the rider dismounted with surprising grace. It was Adebayo.

The moment he approached, Damilola rushed to him, her eyes wide with confusion and a flash of hope. “Adebayo? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Father…”

“I couldn’t stand by and watch you leave, Damilola.” Adebayo’s voice was thick with emotion. “I have made my choice. I will stand by you, no matter what.”

Chike stood back, watching the siblings. He had never imagined Adebayo—Prince Adebayo, the one person who had always seemed to embody the strength of their father’s royal bloodline—would go against the king so publicly. But there was something in Adebayo’s eyes now that told him this wasn’t about family duty. It was about something deeper.

“Adebayo, you don’t have to do this,” Damilola whispered, her voice trembling. “You know what Father will do if he finds out you helped us.”

Adebayo took her hand in his, looking at her with a calm resolve. “I’ve already made my peace with that. Father may have the power to command armies, but he doesn’t control my heart. And neither does he control yours. I’ll face whatever consequences come. I will stand with you, Damilola.”

At that moment, the silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken words. Chike’s mind was racing. Adebayo was risking everything—his status, his future—to help them. And yet, in the light of everything they had fought for, it didn’t seem like enough.

“Adebayo…” Chike finally spoke, his voice tight. “Are you sure about this? The king—he may—”

“I know what he may do,” Adebayo interrupted, his voice steady. “But I also know that sometimes, the right thing to do is the hardest. And this—this is the right thing. You and Damilola deserve your happiness. So, if I must pay the price for my loyalty to both of you, then so be it.”

The sincerity in Adebayo’s eyes made Chike’s throat close with emotion. He had not expected this—a prince of the bloodline, heir to a powerful kingdom, would choose love over duty. For the first time, Chike realised that love could be a force strong enough to change everything.

But even as he felt a flicker of hope, the sound of distant hoofbeats reached their ears again. This time, it wasn’t just Adebayo.

Chike’s heart sank. He knew what it meant.

A few moments later, a procession of royal riders appeared. At the front, the familiar, imposing figure of King Adeyemi himself rode toward them, his regal cloak fluttering in the wind, his eyes narrowed with cold judgment. The guards stopped at a distance, leaving the king alone to face them.

“You think you can just leave?” King Adeyemi’s voice rang through the night, harsh and biting. “You think that by defying me, you will find happiness? You, a princess, who has lived under the protection of this kingdom? You think I will let you ruin my legacy for a commoner, a shoe-shiner?”

Damilola stood her ground, her chin high, her hand still tightly clasped in Chike’s. She didn’t speak immediately, her heart pounding in her chest, but finally, after a long silence, she said softly, yet with unwavering determination: “Father, I am no longer asking for your approval. I am asking for your understanding. Chike and I love each other. And no kingdom, no title, no wealth can take that away.”

The king’s eyes flickered for a moment, a flash of something—perhaps pain, perhaps regret—crossing his face. For the first time, there was a hesitation in his gaze.

Adebayo stepped forward, his voice firm. “Father, what are you so afraid of? Damilola and Chike are not the ones breaking the kingdom. It is you who are breaking it—by refusing to see what truly matters. The love of a daughter for a man who has nothing but his heart to give. You have built this kingdom on tradition and bloodlines, but I ask you now, where is the love in that?”

King Adeyemi’s gaze shifted between his son and his daughter. The weight of the moment hung thick in the air.

“Enough.” The king’s voice was quieter now, softer, but still commanding. He dismounted from his horse and approached them, his gaze never leaving Damilola’s. “I see the fire in you, Damilola. I always have. You were always meant for something greater. Perhaps I have spent too long believing that my kingdom was my only legacy.”

He paused, taking a deep breath. The silence stretched for what seemed like an eternity, before he finally spoke again. “You have shown me what is truly important. And while it may take me time to understand it, I will no longer stand in the way of your happiness.”

Damilola’s breath caught in her throat as her father’s words sunk in. She turned to Chike, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Father… you mean…”

“Yes,” the king said with a sigh, the weight of years of tradition lifting from his shoulders. “You have your freedom. You may marry Chike, if that is what you truly want.”

Tears sprang to Damilola’s eyes as she ran to her father and hugged him tightly, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. “Thank you, Father,” she whispered.

The king embraced her, his own voice thick with emotion. “Just remember, my daughter—love is a powerful thing. It can change worlds. It has changed mine.”

Chike stood back, feeling as if the ground beneath him had shifted. He had not expected this, not in a thousand years.

And then, in the light of the king’s concession, Adebayo spoke up again, his voice full of warmth. “You both deserve to be happy. Now, let us all return to the palace. There is much to prepare. A wedding… is in the air, I think.”

Damilola laughed, tears still in her eyes. “A wedding, yes… but I think we have all earned this moment.”

The king gave a small smile, the first he had offered in what felt like years.

As the family walked back to the palace together, with the royal riders trailing behind them, Chike and Damilola exchanged a look of pure joy. In that moment, they knew that love had truly won the day.

And the kingdom, with all its traditions and rules, had just been forever changed.

The End.

The Princess And The Shoemaker (Chapter 1: The Impossible Love)

(Written by AI With Big input from Femi Soewu)