*
QOPHELO
*
"What do you mean?"
Themba: She avoided talking about her father. She said her father did things to her and after that she didn't mention him, instead she chose to tell us about that stupid prince. Qophelo something is wrong and she is unknowingly blocking me from seeing anything about her and I know you can't read her as well. Find a way to tell what happened with her father.
"What is wrong with her parents? Was selling her not enough? I will never understand."
Themba: I am going to help her unlock her powers and we need to do that as soon as possible. Qophelo there is war coming, physical and spiritual. Mbuyiselo and I, we'll perform a protection for the Kingdom tonight and a cleansing ceremony. You also need to deal with Bheki. He is being a nuisance.
"Mxolisi is handling Bheki." He looks at me with eyes wide open.
Themba: You know your brother will not hesitate to kill him.
"After everything my uncle has done, I don't really care what happens to him. How can he be so desperate of being in power to a point where he is willing to lose everything. I gave Mxolisi Carte Blanche regarding our uncle and yes the Queen Mother knows."
Themba: Remind me never to get on your wrong side. I have to go and prepare for tonight with Mbuyiselo. Do not doubt your capabilities, you are a wonderful King. The only thing that has changed is your title from Prince to King. You are still the same the person except now you have responsibilities as King and you are not alone.
"After saying that, he doesn't give me a chance to respond, he walks away with a smile. I will always be grate for our Seer. He has always been like a second father to us. It always baffled me how he always knew what I was thinking and always had the right things to say. Sometimes I wish I could read his mind. I don't understand why people think the can do as they please in my Kingdom just because my father is dead. Where do they get the audacity, am I invisible."
Guard: My King, you have an unannounced guest at the gate. She says she is Princess Nompumelelo of the Ngwenya Kingdom. Should we let her in. "I look contemplating and I give him a nod and he passes the message on to the guards at the gate. Let me here what this girl wants. This should be interesting. I walk towards the lounge that we use for guests and there sitting on the couch like she owns the place and what I assume is her guard standing not too far from her and just the Mxolisi walks in."
Mxolisi: My apologies Your Highness for being late. "This one is full of jokes. I thought he was still busy with our uncle."
"Are you done with the other project?"
Mxolisi: No, he wants to see you.
"Fine. Let's deal with this first. Princess Nompumelelo, I wasn't expecting you. What can I do for you?"
Nompumelelo: I didn't get a chance to congratulate you at your coronation, so I thought why not come and do it personally.
Mxolisi: How did you get here? If you don't mind me asking. "It's as if Mxolisi read my mind because I have the same question. Everyone who comes here has to be escorted here. We always have driver to pick up and bring them here. No can come here without someone from here to guide them. No one can find this Kingdom without being guided here. Now, how did she really find us. There are no drivers out today since we have no scheduled visits."
Nompumelelo: I remember the drive from the last time I was here.
"I look at Mxolisi, who looks at me with a raised eyebrow."
"Oh I see. Thank you for coming. But since your visit was not scheduled and we were not aware of it and you caught us at the wrong time. We are very busy right now and I really don't have the time to entertain your right now."
Nompumelelo: Oh I see. I guess I'll leave then.
Mxolisi: Next time please make sure you notify us in advance, so that we can make the necessary arrangement to making sure that we are available for you. Oh, Princess before I forget, whatever it is that you and your father are up to, stop it now. We have never had problems with the Ngwenya Kingdom, we have a peaceful alliance for years now. Don't ruin that just because my father is no more. Guard, please escort to the Princess out and please make sure they are escorted out the kingdom. Thank you.
"Honestly, what was she doing here? She has never come here without an invitation or her father. What is this?" I ask Mxolisi as we walk towards the office.
Mxolisi: Brother you know I was supposed to have left already but I postponed my trip for this weekend. I don't know what is going on here but she is up to something. Are you sure you are going to be fine without me for the next three months? Who are you going to take as your personal guard, you should take Zolani.
"I'm going to be fine Mxo. Baba Themba and Mbuyiselo are performing a protection ritual tonight for the Kingdom tonight. I was actually thinking of using mom's personal guard Sthembiso. He already knows and understands my workings and I need Zolani where he is especially all these people lurking around uninvited. Now, tell me why the uncle wants to see me."
Mxolisi: Let's go to him. Just keep your cool. "With that statement I know I am not going to like whatever it is that my uncle has to say to me.
*
BUSI
*
I haven't seen Bheki since after the coronation. He just disappeared into thin air, no one has seen him. I don't understand what is going on. It is not like him to just disappear just like that. His kids are not even bothered by his disappearance, they are carrying on with like as if their father is not missing. "Mom, dad is old, he knows his way home." That's all they could say to me when I told them that their hasn't been home for two days and I don't know where he is. I don't understand why they don't understand that we are doing all that we are doing for them. Why is it so difficult to understand. The sacrifices we have made for them so that one of them can sit on the throne, only for them to throw that back in our faces by telling us they don't want the throne.
Who doesn't want to be King, who doesn't want to be in a position that powerful? Bheki has always wanted the throne especially since the King and Queen were not supposed to have kids. He was supposed to be next in line but now, now his nephew is King and all our plans are falling apart. The deal we had with Edwaleni is going to fall through obviously since it was based on Bheki becoming King. I don't even know how we got here. The ringing of my interrupts me from my thoughts.
"Hello Nkosinathi."
Nkosinathi: Where is your husband Busi? Why is that boy the one crowned King? What happened? I thought the two of you had this under control.
"We did. The Queen refused to marry Bheki and that was the way he could be King. We can't kill him."
Nkosinathi: You killed his father, didn't you?
"Hey, stop saying that. What, do you want the whole kingdom to know that we killed the King. You need to keep yourself in check. If it gets out that the King was killed, it's just that will be losing. You stand to lose a lot more than we do. Be careful what you say. I don't know where my husband is. He hasn't been since after the coronation. I have people looking for him."
Nkosinathi: Fine. I need that girl back here. Find a way to make sure she leaves your palace and comes back to us. The whole deal is not complete if we do not have the Manzini Kingdom. Those people that they are at the brink bankruptcy and we cannot afford them thinking otherwise and I do not want that Kingdom to be associated with your Kingdom. We need the girl. Make it happen.
"Just like that he hangs up on me. This thinks the son rises and sets on his ass. Could that be Qophelo's chosen one. I need to find out because if she is, then we have a problem. Her being here that means whatever they did to control her can be undone. Themba is that good, the power of this Kingdom is that good and it means that the bonding process between the two has begun and if that is the case, Edwaleni can forget about having her as their Princess. I need to know what the story is about her."
*
NOMPUMELELO
*
"Why did it not work? I thought it was suppose to work."
Madubela: It was supposed to work but I also told yo it might not work. The boy is protected. You can't just walk up to him and think you can whatever you want. The seer has seen what you are, what you carry with you. He is going to do everything in this power to protect them.
"I don't understand. I thought you said this would work."
Madubela: I don't know. I have given all the power that I can give. That seer is strong. Him and his son. They see things, they can feel them from afar. Whatever you do now, they will see it coming. Your uncle was here. Your father is missing and the Seer doesn't know where he is. He claims to not see him. He says he is being blocked by the ancestors.
"Everything is just falling apart. This was not supposed to happen. Now we won't be able to control my father. Why can't you find him?"
Madubela: I have been trying but I come up with nothing.
"I scoff and just walk out on him. I need to breath. This can't be happening. I am supposed to be the one that marries Qophelo not that little prick. I need to do something. I need Madubela to do something. I can't lose like this. Ntabentle Kingdom is a beautiful and rich Kingdom. I'll be the perfect Queen for them. Iyana cannot get Qophelo, not while I still breath, it just cannot happen.