Chapter 19

"Lebo, Letho, Sana", the head-maid called sternly.

They all found it hard to breath for some reason, including Buhle. The three girls shut their eyes, quietly hoping that they do not get fired for what they did to Buhle.

"Do you know what you have done?" the head-maid questioned.

The three girls gave no response.

"Ok", the head-maid said. "It seems you would rather pretend not to know. It is ok. It is fine. It quite alright."

The three girls exchanged looks. Seeing this, Buhle was beginning to wonder what the three had done. It slowly dawning on her that she was not in any trouble at all.

"While you continue pretending, I will go have a word with the chief of staff for The Prince's workers. And you know that she is not friendly at all."

Immediately, the three girls started pleading. They kept apologizing but, were not specific on what they were sorry about. They were still doubtful that the head-maid was speaking about them letting Buhle work. And they did not want to expose themselves to the head-maid in case the head-maid did not know.

"Why is it that Buhle was working today?" asked the head-maid, showing them that she knew exactly what they hoped she did not.

The girls did not know what to say. Buhle was getting confused. And the confusion showed on pretty face.

"You did not tell her that she was off today. Why?" head-maid Kamva wanted to know.

The girls were silent.

"And speaking of which, did you let her work yesterday too?"

The girls avoided letting the head-maid see their faces, lest she reads the truth off of them.

The head-maid scoffed; their silence gave it away. She said to Buhle;

"Buhle, go see The Prince tomorrow. In the afternoon."

With that, the head-maid left.

The afternoon of the following day came. Buhle contemplated about going to see The Prince; he was the one who hired her after all, for her absence at his bride selection day. Buhle eventually went. She knew she could not disobey the royal family anymore than she already has.

She was ushered to a seat in the Prince's palace. Which was different; in the Queen and in the King's palace, one must kneel on both knees unless they are told to be in a standing position. The Prince allowed people to sit when they came to him. He was rather uncomfortable with his princely position.

"We meet again", Prince Abasi said to the familiar face.

Buhle kept her head bowed.

Prince Abasi remembered Buhle from the fields when they farmed together. And he had given her flowers, which she tossed away into the waters.

"You are the maiden that refused to show at my bride selection day… Do you know that by now I would have been married? If it was not for you to get in the way?"

"My understanding is that Prince Abasi does not want to get married", answered the brave Buhle.

One of the guards that had been standing by, swung his machete at her. The Prince raised his hand and shouted;

"Do not harm her!"

The man stopped. The man explained that it was to scare her, not exactly to harm her.

"It does not matter. No life is going to be threatened in my sight" Prince Abasi stated.

He looked at Buhle and noticed she was shaking. He tried to calm her down. The young man went and sat beside her. Although the distance could fit one other person between them, Buhle was still taken aback. The Prince was too close. He looked at her with warm, loving eyes that had a bit concern and asked her;

"Are you ok?"

Silence.

"You almost got harmed, it was my fault", The Prince said.

That got Buhle shocked; she did not expect it those words from him. A person of royalty never admits being at fault to a commoner unless it was something that actually resulted to a death.

"I am sorry," said The Prince.

That apology bewildered Buhle even more; The Prince had actually apologized. She was dazed by the humbleness of The Prince. So much so that she looked up, her eyes met The Prince's. For a moment, they both stayed like that. Each dazed by the other's stare. The Prince's eyes and his stare seemed safe, homely and attractive. Buhle felt that the Prince was truly harmless. And in those minutes, she saw him as a boy, not an important person with a huge scary title. She saw Abasi.

Lwani cleared his throat, trying to attract their attention and pull them away from each other. He felt that they were looking into each other's eyes for too long.

The two split up at the sound of Lwani. Each one did not know where to look next. They were both abashed and shy. The Prince got up and returned to his princely throne.

"You are serving your sentence for not presenting yourself at the bride selection day. Are you aware of that?", The Prince asked.

"Yes, Prince Abasi", Buhle responded.

"Why did not present yourself on that day?"

Buhle gave no answer.

"You were not under the impression that The Prince is a monster, were you not?", questioned The Prince.

Buhle looked up to see The Prince's facial expression so that she could gouge his mood. The young Prince looked at her. It was clear to her, she was safe; he not in a negative mood at all.

"Am I really that unpleasant to marry?", The Prince asked softly.

Buhle stole a look again. And again, The Prince smiled gently.

"I am sorry", she finally said.

The Prince's smile got larger and brighter, and his teeth showed. "I did not say you should apologize", he spoke through his smile.

Although Buhle kept her sight to the ground, she could tell by the sound of The Prince's voice that he was happy. She could not help it; she smiled a little.

"You should tell me if there is something wrong with me. Is it my face, is it my outfits or perhaps it is my hair?", said The Prince, with a gentle smile.

"No. You are perfect", said Buhle.

There was a sudden silence in the room. Prince Abasi was taken aback and so was Lwani. He and Lwani shared a short eyes contact. The short silence made Buhle look up to see what the silence was about. The Prince looked back at her, this time with a poker face. She diffused the situation by adding, hesitantly;

"…My Prince."

The Prince laughed it off. He then told her that his bride selection was cancelled. The Prince explained that the prophecy declared that the next Queen ought to be from within the kingdom. He also added that he would appreciate it if she presents herself if there would be a second attempt.

"The consequence of not showing up is immediate death. I only managed to convince The Queen and King not to proceed with the death penalty by asking them to help me honour a certain family that saved my life."

The Prince paused for a moment before he continued;

"I have not told anyone who that family was; that family wanted me not to tell. So, I am honouring their request. It is hard though. I want them to gain recognition and every award that goes with it. This is not a favour; it is the law" The Prince explained.

Buhle listened on.

"Anyway, if you get chosen, you can dispute the marriage afterwards. I have no problem marrying the one my heart feels attracted to. But if you, after being chosen, refuse, I will respect that", the young Prince said.

He then let Buhle return to her affairs.

Buhle returned to her post. She kept dozing off, she was exhausted. She had been working for 8 days straight without a day off. That was due to her roommates not telling her about the two-day off period. The kitchen supervisor saw Buhle dozing off and gave her a harsh scolding. She did not even leave room for Buhle to explain herself. Unfortunately for Buhle's roommates, they were not there to see all that.