Chapter 11

A season for fishing was upon the kingdom. Maidens and lads visited the rivers and everywhere else that they could find fish. During that time of the year, the most delicious and colourful, fleshy fishes filled water bodies across the kingdom.

Buhle and her friend definitely did not miss out on the fishing season. Each one's woven basket was half full. The kingdom's beauty came to the river. Alongside her, she had her two minions. These were her friends. They followed her everywhere she went and agreed to everything she said. She was richest girl in the kingdom after all. And, besides the Goddess of the night, this village beauty was prettiest girl in Simunye. Her name was Nisa. And she was quite mean on most occasions.

"Step aside, your Queen is here", she daintily ordered a boy, who was seated on a big rock.

The boy put up no protest, he simply left the spot. Nisa's friends laid out a cloth on the rock for her to sit on. She gracefully descended onto her seat. Nisa then proceeded to look at everyone's basket of fishes. Those fishes belonged to other youngsters who had gotten there earlier than her to get to catch the biggest, fleshiest fishes.

She pointed. "Bring me that one."

One of her minions obliged. She went and took someone else's basket and poured the fishes into Nisa's, which was empty. Next, Nisa looked over at Buhle's basket; it was fuller than the one she had just emptied. She wanted it. She gracefully tossed her head, signalling her minion to go for it. And indeed, the minion did just that. That minion poured Buhle's fishes into Nisa's basket. And again, returned the empty basket where she found it.

Buhle saw this. And she was not pleased at all.

"Nisa! What is the meaning of this?", she yelled.

Nonchalant, Nisa responded;

"I wanted it."

Buhle scoffed; "Do you have to be like that?! This year too?"

Still maintaining the same energy, Nisa responded;

"Do you have to persist speaking to me like that? Do you not know that I am your future Queen? It has been time ages ago for you to start addressing me as such."

"You are not the future Queen! The Prince has not chosen yet", another girl screamed.

Nisa's energy changed, she became fierce and it showed in her responses;

"You see, the difference between myself and you lot is that you wait for someone to tell the direction of your life. And me? I just take."

Speechless, Buhle scoffed. To which Nisa continued;

"I decide my own fate. And I speak my own fate. Get it?"

Everyone at the river glared at her, even her crushes glared. Nisa could not be bothered, she proceeded with a young man's basket.

Daintily again, as if trying to calm everyone down, she said;

"Just get back to fishing."

That young man's basket was fuller than everyone else's. It was filled to the brim. That young man had arrived earlier than all of them. After he filled his basket, he had decided not to take the fishes home immediately. He wanted to play first.

That boy's basket of fishes was filled into Nisa's second basket. Some of the girls just could not take it anymore. They neared her, trying to confront her and others were trying to retrieve the taken fishes. Nisa's two minions blocked them.

Her fierceness came back again;

"You rally up because it is a boy. I took two girls' baskets and that passion you have in your eyes now did not exist then… Are you alright?"

The girls stood there not knowing what to say. They realized that she was making sense.

"And might I add that he is the same boy who compares me to you and reminds you all that I am superior to all of you? Again… are you quite alright?"

The girls retreated back to their fishing. Mini, who had been quiet the whole time, went and emptied her fishing bowl, filled with water, onto Nisa's head.

Nisa gasped. That was unexpected. She and her minions did not see her coming. She screamed. And Mini smirked.

"You will regret this when I am Queen!" Nisa said and left. Her minions picked up her full baskets and rushed after her.

Mini looked to her friend and said;

"Buhle, you should not let her get away with things like this anymore. You have been too easy on her since we were kids."

It had been a few days since The Prince returned to the palace.

The Queen and her husband were confident that The Prince had gotten enough rest. They handed him back his princely duties. On that day, his duty was to read through cases and give a judgment and a remedy.

He sat at his desk and worked. He read;

"I have reason to suspect my neighbour is stealing my crops and chickens. I believe he sends his children to steal from me. And then he feeds his guests. My reasons are…"

The Prince read though the entire case and set a date for the neighbours to appear before him. He read another case;

"Because of the heavy rainfall in the recent nights, there is a flood on my property. The flood has killed 1 metre 2 worth of my vegetation and 15 of my chickens. I have an order of 20 chickens but I only have 9 chickens left."

With that case, The Prince ordered his people to go drain the flood at the person's property. The Prince also declared that the person should be borrowed 21 chickens. And that he should also be borrowed 200 grams of seeds of every type of vegetation the person had prior to the flooding. The Prince charged an interest of 7 chickens and 10 grams for every 50 grams of seeds. That entire principal and interest debt was set to be paid over a period of 4 months.

He moved on to the next case. It was the case of the 'Missing maiden'.

"During the Prince's bride selection day, a maiden chose not to present herself to the Prince. The penalty should be death for that alone. However, the maiden was given a second chance in which she was to have an audience with The Queen, but the maiden refused. For that, the maiden's death should not be an easy, quick one. She should die through torture. What torture should she endure?"

The Prince judged that the maiden should not die. He decided that she should instead come work at the palace without pay for 4 months.

Meanwhile, back at Buhle's house, Buhle laid on her bed. She was in thought. Her thoughts took her to Nisa confidently saying that she will be the future Queen.

"You see, the difference between myself and you lot is that you wait for someone to tell the direction of your life. And me? I just take."

Speechless, Buhle scoffed. To which Nisa continued;

"I decide my own fate. And I speak my own fate. Get it?"

That thought was quickly followed by a series of thoughts of Mini convincing Buhle that she and The Prince belong together.

"I think you should just tell him. I mean, you are pretty at night. So, he will not mock you. Most especially because you possess a beauty like no other."

"I would rather not", said the pessimist.

"Oh, you stupid child! Do you understand that not showing up at The Prince's bride selection is enough to get you killed? You are only lucky the royal family has not sent out daggers at you yet."

Buhle glared at her friend, Mini, who was scolding her. The friend squirmed.

Another memory…

"If you do not want him, and he does not choose me, best believe that Nisa girl is going to have all her claws all over him. And you know that pretty, mean girls always win."

Buhle paid her friend no mind. She continued working.

"And because she is not only pretty, but unlike us, she is also from a very wealthy family. The Prince is totally going to fall for her. And her effortless charm, charisma and elegance… Come to think of it, they do make a good match. Both rich, both beautiful."

That thought ruined Buhle's mood a little. She did not want Nisa to take Prince Abasi. She then drifted into another thought;

"It seems, locking The Prince in your house has led to some attraction. Is it not?"

And then another…

"I mean… it was obvious The Prince loved your personality. That is why he came all the way here. Let me tell you something; your personality stays the same even after you have transformed."

Buhle gave off a deep sigh. The young lady slipped into yet another thought.

"Do you really not know where Buhle is?"

Buhle finally responded; she shook her head. The Prince took his flowers and said;

"I am sorry to do this to you; I had bought these flowers for her. But she is not here. And I want to show my appreciating to you for letting me partake in farming and for bringing me to this beautiful place."

The young lady smiled sweetly. Although she was in her room, alone, she felt extremely embarrassed at herself smiling about a moment with The Prince. She buried her face in her blanket.

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

...

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

Buhle wanted to know 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."

Buhle's sweet smile grew even larger. And she became even more embarrassed. Tingles went wild in her stomach. She definitely felt that nothing romantic would come out between herself and The Prince, but she agreed with herself that there was no harm in dreaming. And oh my, she dreamt.