Chapter 4 & 5

"Such audacity! Who is there?" the yelling grandpa asked after hearing a racket outside his door.

"Come out!", arrogantly commanded Lwani.

Grandpa came out, he was furious.

"We are sent by The Queen", said the man and paused as he looked at Buhle, who had just come out of the house.

When grandpa saw the young men dressed in palace guard attire, he calmed down a little. He was still not pleased about the noise though. Grandpa understood that the men were there in connection to The Prince's bridal selection day. It was clear to grandpa that he and Buhle were in trouble for Buhle not attending.

"At this early hour of the morning? Could you not come at a much later hour?", the grumpy grandpa asked.

The men gave no response.

Grandpa turned to Buhle and told her to bring some chairs.

"Bother yourself not", Lwani firmly said. "We have not come to sit and chat. You have insulted the kingdom's tradition."

Ashamed, grandpa and his granddaughter had no explanation for themselves. They were caught. Thus, they stood there like children getting scolded.

"Sir, it was your responsibility to ensure your granddaughter shows herself to The Prince", said Lwani, affirmatively so.

Lwani paused and turned to Buhle before he continued;

"Lady… you were supposed to be among the other maidens yesterday. Are you trying to get executed? The Queen demands some answers", Lwani declared.

The grandpa and granddaughter duo stood there, and did not utter a single word.

"Our patience is running out", prompted Lwani.

"Only a beauty gets chosen. I am not a beauty", Buhle defended herself.

"But you are a maiden. Are you not?", Lwani expected a response.

People from the palace were always well respected across the kingdom. That included even the servants in the lowest ranks, with the least amount of income.

Hesitantly, Buhle replied; "Right."

"Good", said the proud Lwani with a smirk, he was happy he made his point.

He looked at grandpa and said; "Sir, you allowed your granddaughter to not take part. Why?"

The arrogant young man was getting on grandpa's nerve, but grandpa tried controlling his temper.

"Young man, would you force your only family – your granddaughter to give herself to a man she does not know?" grandpa asked.

There was silence. It seemed grandpa had made his powerful point.

"Of course, not… I thought so. Even though he is The Prince, we still cannot escape the fact that he is still a stranger to my granddaughter", concluded the proud grandpa.

"Your granddaughter needs to come with us. Queen's order", said Lwani, deflecting from a potential argument.

Buhle refused, she explained that she was not intending on marrying The Prince. And remained adamant on not heeding The Queen's order.

The servants set back to the palace.

The village's most wiseman, the Sangoma, was clearing his consultation chamber when The Queen and King's messenger entered. Without turning to the royal messenger, the Sangoma spoke;

"You already know the answer to your questions. Custom must be followed, unless otherwise stated. It is only then that The Prince shall marry. And if things do not go accordingly, The Prince will die."

The Sangoma could prophesy, heal the living and speak to the dead. He then began whistling a tune as he continued the cleaning. The royal messenger stood up and left.

In the afternoon, Buhle was alone in the jungle. Grandpa had decided that farming would not be done on that day. Buhle was sitting high up in a tree, wiggling a twig, seemingly deep in thought. A sudden cry startled the girl. She paused to hear another cry. Buhle heard the cry again; it was expressing pain. She immediately got off the tree and ran to the direction of the cry. She stopped when she saw a young man stuck under a huge fallen tree.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!", Buhle panted as she called out.

She had arrived at home, carrying the young man on a wheelbarrow.

The grandfather got out of the house in a hurry. He picked up urgency from Buhle's voice. Right at first glance, he saw a young man covered in blood, seemingly near death. The shocked grandfather neared; he checked the boy's breathing.

"He is about to die", grandpa said and started examining the boy much farther. "Who is he?", grandpa asked, but Buhle too had no idea.

Upon examining, grandpa spotted some beads on his waist and got startled. Buhle looked, curiously. She was unaware about what had grandpa shocked.

Grandpa explained; "Only a royal son can wear these types of beads. Could he be The Prince?"

He sat behind her, and gave her a back hug. The King was gentle in nature. That was a side he only let his wife, The Queen, to see.

Grandpa and his granddaughter took turn waking up to watch over the young man. They hoped that he would make it through the night. The young man's condition kept them on their toes; his temperature kept fluctuating.

Grandpa and Buhle needed him to live. Returning a dead Prince's body would lead them to a harsh death sentence by vicious land animals or vile sea creatures.

At some point in the night, the young man gained minimal consciousness. His vision was blurry though. And although grandpa and Buhle would have been happy to see that; he slipped back into unconsciousness. They did not catch that wonderful sight. However, they were at least aware that his temperature had returned to normal. That left grandpa and Buhle with a bit ease, and a lifted burden of anxiety.

The next day began with the royal couple discussing whether to alert the public about the missing Prince or not. The Queen explained that it would be better to leave the public in its utter oblivion. Upon hearing the news, chaos could break out. Chancers may ask for ransoms from the palace. And she added that neighbouring kingdoms may see that as an opportunity to conquer the kingdom of Simunye.

Simunye had survived multiple attempts of enemy invasion in the past. It was the wealthiest kingdom across the land after all. And its people were known to be the most artistic individuals. Even the Sangomas and the witches were famed to be the most powerful. Thus, conquering the kingdom of Simunye was on nearly every neighbouring kingdom's bucket list.

Although The Prince was merely a young man, his spectacular battle skills were well praised and recognized within the kingdom and beyond. He took on two personas; one was an elegant, graceful flower and the other; a masculine, ferocious fighter, capable of destroying an army of a thousand soldiers, single handed. The news of him being 'gone' could bring the mice to play.

Although the kingdom had many enemies, it also had devoted support from some kingdoms. There were some kingdoms that truly respected Simunye and willingly pledged their loyalty to it. Even with that, The Queen still wanted a strategy that prevented the onset of a combat.

Meanwhile, in the commoners' home, The Prince fluttered his eyes. He was waking up. He started moaning as he took notice of the pain. Buhle, sitting right next to the young man, heard the moaning. She woke up. He was fully conscious. The young lady quickly turned away and then alerted her grandfather. Grandpa examined the young man. He pressed his pressure points and checked his breathing.

He sighed and stated;

"He will live."

Relieved, Buhle smiled.

"Young man, tell me your name", grandpa instructed.

The young attempted to respond but he could not talk. He could not even properly open his mouth. His vocal muscles seemed paralysed.

"Aah, worry not. This will only last a few days. Worry not, young man", grandpa assured him.

Buhle swiftly got up and wrapped her body with a blanket, not wanting The Prince to see her face or her arms that were covered in scales. While turned away, she mentioned to her grandfather that she was heading to the farm.

"We should stay home today. We have been up all night trying to see the young man through; we are exhausted", grandpa said.

Buhle disputed; "We do not want to raise suspicion. We should continue with our daily lives as usual. You stay, I'll go."

The young woman stepped out.