Episode 1

"Papa!", I greeted as I spotted my father in front of the cottage. He was squatted down over the fire where I assumed water was boiling.

"Hadiya", he greeted back with a wide smile after spotting me as well as I neared him, my 5th round firewood in both my hands which I just picked from the forest. 

I made my way to the left side of our hut and arranged the firewood orderly. We can make use of them for maybe 3 days. I nodded satisfied with the amount before heading back to see my father. 

He was now grinding something which was probably for his tea, his tea hopefully not mine, I didn't want to be forced to take that concoction again. 

I dusted my hand at the back of my dress and went over to him, sitting next to him on the bench. 

"Papa let me do it", I said, already collecting the wooden grinder before he could protest. 

I heard him chuckle to himself, making me smile. 

Having only one parent had its dark days but I was thankful to the gods that the parent I had remaining was pure gold. 

"You know the maidens of the kingdom have gone to the stream to clean up and bathe themselves with sweet scents so they will be more appealing to the prince tomorrow", Papa started ready to lecture me for the 8th time. Again. I exhaled loudly, tired of hearing the same thing. 

For two crescent moons the whole kingdom has been talking about the prince. About how he will have to pick a wife tomorrow. How the prettiest girl in the kingdom will be hand picked by the queen mother or the royal family, to be the Prince's bride. It was getting annoying really. 

Why would anybody want to marry a man they don't know? Nobody knows the prince. 

Nobody from outside the palace has seen the man's face, he was as mysterious as the evil spirits of the forest, he might as well be one of them. 

I couldn't care about him. Getting the attention of the prince just wasn't in my agenda. If I wanted to marry I would prefer to be married like how papa and mama married. Because of love, not because of obligation. 

Whomever will marry the prince has no say in it. She will be obligated to, she will have no say. Me? I would like to have a say on who I marry. 

"Papa, I smell fine", I responded to him. 

"The kingdom said each maiden must look her best, Hadiya. You must go to the stream and have a wash then tomorrow I will give you one of your mother's best dresses so you could wear one. It is your obligation to go to the event tomorrow. That is final Hadiya", he said pointedly, making sure his point went across to me very well. 

He made a point, it was his obligation, if I do not go papa will be questioned and arrested and if I look too disinterested he will still be questioned and arrested. 

"I will go to the stream by sundown when there are not many people there", I finally said, giving up. 

Papa nodded in agreement and stood to his feet. 

"Grind that, then you know what to do after. You will drink it with me before going to the stream. Let me get those dresses out of the chests. dusted and ready for you", with that he disappeared into the hut, probably looking for the perfect thing to give me to wear for this puerile event. 

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The dreaded dusk finally came and I was close enough to the stream to hear the quiet yet audible sounds of the wind moving the calm waters. 

It's not like I don't like to bathe in a stream. It was more because of the purpose of getting scented for a spoiled royal.

I stopped in my tracks and listened closer. Silence. no sound of other girls in the kingdom bathing and babbling to one another about their plans tomorrow. 

I took a deep breath in relief then continued to move towards my destination. 

Finally I arrived at the stream. There was just something about this stream at night, when the moon shone like that on it and the shadows the trees that surrounded the stream created? Not to mention how much more calm and beautiful the stream looked without other people in it. 

I smiled to myself feeling so at peace. I dropped the basket beside me before I stripped down, ready to dive into the stream and allow the water to do it's magic. 

"Spirits allow me to use your water tonight". I said. It wasn't like it was something you had to do before you entered the stream, it was just something I had gotten used to doing, my mother used to say it anytime we would come here for a wash, it was funny then. 

I moved in closer to the stream and dragged the basket to the shore of the stream, so I could have easy access to it when I needed it. 

I slowly took my time dipping into the stream, walking in, allowing the water to swallow me stage by stage. 

I was finally deep enough that the water reached my shoulders, the water felt good on my skin, this was a well needed wash. 

I closed my eyes ready to be totally sunk into the serene environment. 

The water was cool. Although my body accustomed to the feeling quickly, it felt warm soon after. I moved around the water a bit, taking my time to bask in the moment of my wash. 

I dipped myself completely in the water, allowing it to drench my thick dark forest like hair. Oh the feeling was heavenly. 

I came out of the water, walking closer to the shore where the water only reached my waist. 

My hair fell in its natural curls down to my waist. I blamed my late mother for that. She never trimmed my hair ever since I was born, she only washed them and blessed them with oils so they shine and never break. When she passed away I was so angry I cut some of my hair. But I realized it meant so much to her. She took so much pride in my hair. 

I smiled to myself remembering her. When she first left us I was sure I couldn't breathe. I was in so much pain. Me and papa, we were so broken. 

But time heals things and although we always remember her, we can carry on without being so broken. 

I neared the shore just enough to drag the basket into stream, allowing it to float. 

I grabbed the soil from the basket and began to scrub my wet body starting from up then making my way down. I continued the process taking my time, making sure I felt completely clean. 

This prince couldn't possibly be worth the soil I got from up the mountains. 

After scrubbing my entire body and feeling squeaky clean, I relaxed a bit floating around the stream. 

Then I went back to the basket. I took another soil from basket, a very wet soil which looked just as dark as my hair. The soil was already mixed with coconut water. After all I wasn't a troll, I knew just how to take care of myself, my mother made sure of that. 

I started to scrub my hair with the soil, not too harshly, giving myself a well deserving scalp massage. 

I could already hear myself start to moan at the scalp massage I was giving myself. After the scrub I dipped my hair into the water, rinsing it and guiding my hair so it could get the proper wash and not still have some soils in my hair.

I dipped myself into the water completely. I came right back for air and used my hand to guide my hair backwards. 

I reached into the basket and got my share butter, I began to walk some in my wet hair, making sure it reached all the roots. 

After that I was ready to comb it. After a long process of combing, I wrapped my nightmare of hair up so I could go back to the rest of my body. 

By the time I was done and ready to head out, I was already madly in love with myself. I smelled wonderful and my skin definitely hadn't felt this way in a long time. 

I guess that is the only thing to thank the royal family for. With the way I smelt and the way my skin glowed, if I don't find love at first sight tomorrow it would definitely be that all men in the kingdom are blind and can't smell either.