Chapter 9

Buhle cleverly decided to go to Mini's house. She pretended that that was her home. The Prince only left when he saw her get in; he was trying to further ensure her safety.

Upon his return to grandpa's house, he found grandpa cooking at the back. Grandpa heard the young man's footsteps. The young man sat with him.

"Has Buhle not arrived?" the young man wanted to know.

Grandpa responded; "No, did you not find her at the farm?"

"No, I did not. Will she be safe?", asked The Prince with a bit of concern.

"Yes, she will be fine. She may not be physically strong but she is very clever", grandpa responded.

Shortly after, Buhle showed up.

"Buhle! You are back", The Prince exclaimed.

Buhle pretended; "Were you looking for me?"

"Well, I had gone out for the day. I just wanted to pass by and say 'hi'."

The Prince recognized her because Buhle had already transformed into her 'goddess' self. The three people sat down together and had their evening meal. To The Prince, the meal felt warm and homely. A certain sadness fell on him as he ate. Tears started streaming down him face. Grandpa and Buhle saw that, they looked at each other and went back to eating their food. The Prince's tears kept streaming down his cheeks as he ate.

"Is it that good?" Buhle decided to ask.

The Prince looked up and saw Buhle staring at him. He then realized that his eyes had been tearing up. He wiped them. She said;

"It must be good if it makes you that emotional. I must have some more then."

She scooped up a spoon full of beans and poured them on her plate. The Prince smiled.

"I am just happy I got to cook and partake in the meal that I am eating. It was thrilling", said Prince Abasi.

After the meal, the three people chilled outside for a while and enjoyed gazing at the stars above.

"Grandpa", The Prince called to a grandpa that was surprised. Grandpa did ever expect to hear the Prince of the land called him that.

"Can I call you grandpa?", asked The Prince.

Delighted, grandpa smiled. He nodded; it was an honour for him hear those words.

"Thank you taking care of me. Both of you. Although I cannot exactly remember, I believe that it was you, Buhle, who saved me in the jungle and then brought me here. I appreciate that", said the young Prince.

The young man paused for a moment.

"The both of you nursed me back to health. You preserved my dying life. And for that I shall return to the palace and tell them all about it", Prince Abasi said.

Grandpa and Buhle gasped. The Prince stopped talking and looked at the them, wondering what they were gasping about. Buhle looked at grandpa, passing on the responsibility to him.

"There is no need for that", grandpa said.

"Oh, but I need to. You will be compensated greatly for your selfless act", said The Prince.

"My Prince, we could get executed for our act. We should have taken you to the palace when we found you, but we did not."

"Speaking that, why, by the way, did you not take me to the palace?", The Prince wanted to know.

"Well", grandpa hesitantly said, looking at Buhle, hoping she could save them both.

Buhle looked away. She did not want to speak.

"Well, we could not. That is all the reason I have My Prince", grandpa said.

The young man wanted to hear more, but was aware that the two were unwilling to tell. So, he let it slide.

"Well, anyway. I will be returning to the palace tomorrow. I should at least thank you in some way."

"Please do not", Buhle finally spoke with a sternness in her tone.

A short silence fell on them.

"I met a certain girl at the farm, by the way", The Prince mentioned.

Buhle knew he was talking about her. She asked; "Who was she?"

"I do not know her name."

"How did she look like?", Buhle was curious to hear his reply.

"She was strange."

That did not sit well with Buhle. Not noticing Buhle's change of mood, The Prince proceeded;

"She was strange. She had scales on the sides of her face and her arms. Her eyes were peculiar as well."

Although Buhle had already interpreted The Prince calling her strange as negative, she still wanted to know more about how he felt about her, and so did grandpa, so she asked;

"How do feel about seeing a person like that?"

He replied; "Lucky… I feel lucky. It is not every day you get to see people that are different from those you are used to."

The Prince smiled to himself and thought aloud; "She was adorable."

Grandpa and Buhle stared at each other, each one not knowing what to say. What shocked them the most was that he was being sincere.

And indeed, the next morning, The Prince returned home. Everyone was happy to see him alive and well. The royal parents were alerted of The Prince's arrival. They ambushed the young Prince with questions upon questions. Yet the young Prince, as if exhausted, stumbled away to his room. He closed the door on their faces.

"At least he is back, right?" said the King to his Queen.

Standing beside him in front of The Prince's door, she responded as she nodded; "Yes. And did you see his little attitude? He must be alright. If he acts with that little attitude, he really is alright."

"I agree. Let us give him some space. I will get the cook to make him his favourite meal", said the King.

"No, I will get the cook to make him his favourite meal", The Queen disputed.

"You want him to favour you?", argued The King.

"No, you want to win his favour even though we already know that I am his favourite", The Queen argued back.

And so, the royal couple quibbled as they raced with each other to the royal chef.