HIS ROYAL BRIDE

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 26

‘There’s a lot that needs to be discussed, hence this meeting was called’ Albert voices and gravely passes his eyes across everybody seated at the table.
‘Number one on the agenda: Fanisa. We all know what happened but we have no idea why it happened. My sister has been accused of witchcraft and burnt without being given the chance to account. I am still trying to get to the bottom of this’
Fikani glances at Kurhula.
‘She is still hospitalized due to third degree burns and I am not going to lie, it is not looking good’
Sympathetic mumbles from deep manly voices vibrate around the table, expressing pity.
‘Whoever did this will be found and dealt with decisively’ Solomon states – with his threat-filled eyes transfixed on Kurhula.
‘You mean to tell me that you are all prepared to pretend as though you did not know that Fanisa is indeed a witch?’ Wiseman asks and eyes start too roam guiltily.
‘Wiseman, can you please just—’
He raises his arm, refusing to be quietened.
‘What I will not allow is further interaction with Fanisa because it’ll seem as though we’re in solidarity with her in this whole thing. Fanisa needs to be banished and that’s final. What’s second on the agenda?’
Almost everyone looks at Solomon for his opinion in favour of his friend.
‘Min’ languta yin? Why are you looking at me like I have a hand in Fanisa’s shenanigans?’
Kurhula sits back and laughs internally but his smile snitches on his thoughts.
‘Number two: the mourning period is almost over and this king issue is still unresolved. As the senior advisor, I took it upon myself to go consult’
‘And?’
‘It’s tricky but we will deal with it. Fikani is apparently older so we all know what this means. The goat has been bought and the welcoming ceremony will be done in the morning. Due to the nature of circumstances, it is not going to be anything extravagant. I don’t need to explain why’
Silence.
‘An issue I am facing right now is that I cannot find Xongi on the phone. I have been trying to reach her to no avail’
‘I am pretty certain that Singi knows the tree where the placenta was buried. If Xongi doesn’t show up, we will consult her sister wife. Life cannot stop because she decided to disappear’ Wiseman suggests. Everybody nods.

…

[KULANI]

‘Mandilakhe…’
This is why I couldn’t stop burping. He’s here. I kinda expected him because the first thing to hit my nostrils when I woke up was that tobacco smell. I can’t see him though. I can only hear his voice. It’s a strange feeling. It somehow feels like I’m perceiving it through my ears whereas it’s in my head. I feel like it’s in my head. It’s confusing but one thing I’m certain of is that nobody else can hear it except for me.
‘You are angering your people and by this, you’re putting our child at a very great risk’ he says. My heart sinks. I thought they heard my cries when I was negotiating with them last night – with candles, snuff, water, and all. I was convinced they did because that watery discharge stopped for a while. What they are requesting of me is going to crush my father’s house into fine pieces. If there’s one thing he despises than the rest, it’s lies. He always feels like it’s one outwardly undermining his intelligence.
‘Do the right thing before you lose this baby. We asked for you nicely. What you are doing is causing a rift between us because we want this child to live whereas they are prepared to punish you for you disobedience. We did not put him in your womb for no reason. DO THE RIGHT THING!’
My skin instantly horripilates when he raises his voice at me. Kurhula walks in and finds me sitting on the bed. He’s looking at me with suspicion as he walks towards me. I shrug.
‘What happened?’ he asks.
‘Nothing. I’m just not feeling well’
He gets me to stand up and supports me in his arms.
‘I can see that. You were tossing and turning last night. What’s wrong? Talk to your husband’
I did not want to worry him but the anxiety is crippling my mental health.
‘Something is happening and I am scared’ I confess. He is not going to take this well. The reason I decided to keep this between me and my guides is because Kurhula is irrational. Once there’s a trigger he only sees red.
‘Does this something have an existing term, maybe?’
‘Remember Mabontle? The doctor?’ I ask. I’m still in his arms. He nods.
‘That time when we were with her… I lied and said I can’t see anything. The truth is, she happens to be my sister and I can’t tell my dad because I’m afraid of how he will react’
‘Wait. She happens to be your sister how?’
‘Her mother and my father were once a couple. Now her mother wants to right her wrongs and reunite her with her father’
He’s confused.
‘She’s dead. Her mother died’
Now he noticeably gets it.
‘Tell him, nana. I think I would want to know if I had a child roaming somewhere out there. Your parents are old and they wouldn’t break up over such a thing, trust me when I say it happens all the time’
‘You had better not have kids roaming out there only to reveal them to me forty years down the line’ I warn and he laughs.
‘I wouldn’t dare’ he swears. I sigh when the laughter between us dissipates.
‘The thing is… my mother is the reason why Mabontle mom left’
‘Okay that’s a bit tricky. How so?’
‘According to what I was told, when Dad arrived home with Mhan’ Yvette, she was already pregnant with their first child. She lost that pregnancy a week after being in the yard. When Mabontle was conceived, my mother told her before she even knew that there’s a baby in her tummy. She then threatened her to leave and never look back if she wanted to keep that pregnancy. Yvette chose her child over my dad because well… she wasn’t one to fight and all of that’
The longer I speak, the more I realize that I am surrounded by witches. It makes sense why my mother never liked me much. While growing up, I thought I was exaggerating and that it was just her personality, even though she was completely different with Rhandzu. Kurhula sits on the bed and gets me to sit on his lap.
‘I don’t know. I still feel like your father deserves to know’
I nod in agreement. I keep the information about the discharge and my mother’s threat to myself because he’s definitely gonna lose it. I tried to keep my evil mother’s house intact but I failed. I am not going to do it at the expense of mine.
‘Let me go speak to him’
‘I’ll take you’ he promptly offers. The first thing I do when I get to the car is to adjust my seat so I can sleep. I sleep a whole lot more these days and I’m okay with it. Sleep is my getaway from overthinking. I would choose vivid dreams over depressive thoughts any day. Whoever said it gets better after you open your third eye lied. It gets worse.
He gently shakes me and asks if I don’t want anything to eat. I smile and shake my head. I have no appetite and I am pretty certain I will have none until this whole thing blows over. In my next life, these people better keep their paranormal abilities and let me be. I am truly jealous of people who just live their lives freely without any spiritual obligations. I believe we all have gifts but having a calling is the pits. Half a star rating, do not recommend. He continues driving until we get to my father’s yard.
‘I think it’s best if I walk in by myself’ I quickly say when he unbuckles his belt – preparing to step out. He holds my hand and squeezes it.
‘You sure?’
I nod to assure him. I don’t know how he does it to be honest because personally, I wouldn’t be with someone of my nature. Okay, I am getting worked up all over again and I need to calm down. I tend to get quite blasphemous when I’m in this state so I need to nip in the bud as of now. I am not prepared to deal with the guilt that follows.
‘Can I have a kiss?’ I ask and I see that smile I love with my whole heart.
‘Of course you can’ he says while approaching my lips. I make it brief and step out. On my way inside the house, my mother appears from the direction of the kitchen.
‘What are you doing here?’ she sneers and looks back to see if anybody is approaching.
‘Please, I am not in the mood to fight with you today’
There’s this spirit of bravery fitting over me today. I am not as afraid of her as I usually am. I am just sick and tired of her behaviour.
‘When are you going to start behaving like a proper married woman?’
I almost roll my eyes. If I have to hear her say ‘married woman’ one more time from here, I am going to lose it. For her, it’s the ultimate achievement and nothing can ever top it. I take a few steps and she jumps in front of me.
‘Can I go speak to my father, please?’
‘Over my dead body’ she speaks through locked teeth and starts wresting me. I wrestle back.
‘Leave me alone. What is wrong with you???’ I ask. She continues trying to push against me and I do the same. I defeat her and she falls together with her long vase. It breaks next to her and the soil surrounding the roots of her plant crumbles down against the floor. What are those? My father appears at the same time with a guard from outside. He orders him to go away immediately. He never wants people from outside witnessing the stuff that happens in the house. My mother is holding onto her back. I may have broken a few things, including her vertebral column. She will have to forgive me because her marriage is soon to follow.
‘What are those?’ I ask and point to the two soiled red cloths that came from the pot. They are tied so I’m guessing they have something in them. She instantly looks alarmed when she realizes that they are out in the open. My father steps on her palm when she tries to reach for those fastened peculiar things. I wouldn’t want that shoe on my hand.
‘A question was asked. Answer it please’ he says. Mom clears her throat and shakes her head.
‘I… I have no idea what those are’ she lies.
‘Do you still want to live in this house?’ his voice is stern. She drops her eyes.
‘I did not come here to cause chaos but your secrets are wrecking my life. Tell him what you did to Mabontle’s mom’
My dad frowns at my statement. ‘Who is Mabontle?’
This wasn’t supposed to go this way but I couldn’t keep it in any longer. And the fact that she continues to lie with evidence right in front of us is infuriating. I’m searching for what those things could be but I am too upset to connect.
‘Who is Mabontle, Kulani?!’
My silence is taxing his patience.
‘Your daughter. You have—’
‘Hey, shut up!’ mom bites before I could finish talking and dad orders her to get up. She doesn’t protest. Instead, she follows him up the stairs and I am left standing there.
‘I can explain. I would rather you hear this from me’
‘You refused to speak’ he calmly refuses to hear her side of the story and they continue walking. They continue arguing until I can no longer hear what their conversation entails. He comes back minutes later, pulls his pants and takes a seat. He then commands me to sit down.
‘Speak’
I swallow. I know my dad’s serious and intimidating side but this is taking it up a notch.
‘First, what did you do with her?’ I have to ask.
‘I locked her inside our room. Speak Kulani man’
‘Okay. Do you remember Mhan Yvette?’ I cautiously ask. His heart just dropped. His face gives everything away. He truly did love this woman.
‘I could never forget her. Please don’t tell me that this Mabontle you speak of is her daughter?’
His voice has softened. I slowly nod.
‘I looked for her everywhere until I gave up. I even went back to Lesotho although we weren’t on good terms with her family but she wasn’t there. What happened to her? Were you speaking to her?’
I was but not in the manner that he hopes. I don’t want to dim that hopeful sparkle in his eyes. I sit a bit closer to him.
‘Dad… Mhan’ Yvette is… she has passed on’ I sneeze after uttering these words. He puts his hands on his knees and looks to the floor.
‘What happened before she left?’
‘She fell sick and one day when I came home, she was gone without a trace’
‘Were you already married when you brought her here?’
‘To her, no but I was planning to. She knew I wanted to marry her but she still left without saying a word’
‘Where did you meet my mother?’
He glances at me before wiping his moustache.
‘Your mother was arranged for me. My father was still alive then but he knew he was dying soon so everything just happened too fast. The thing about being a man from a royal household is that…’ – he takes a moment to breathe – ‘We don’t have a lot of options when coming to first wives. Not everybody is royalty so elders don’t have a choice. We need heirs and we can’t have heirs with diluted blood. Not that I regret any of you but in my case, it didn’t help because I had to get married again since your mother couldn’t give me a boy’
Men should start accepting that the fault lies with them in this case but I am not about to have that argument with him right now.
‘Do you love her? Have you ever loved her at any point?’
‘You learn how to live with your fate, my child. Back to Yvette, where does your mother feature in her disappearance?’
‘I will only tell you if you promise to remain calm’
He sighs with vexation. I wait in silence. He eventually nods.
‘Throughout?’
He nods again.
‘Do you know that she was pregnant when she first arrived here?’
‘Yes. I was aware. We lost that baby’
‘You didn’t just lose it. I was shown mom sprinkling some stuff in her shoes. That’s the reason why she had a miscarriage’
He sharply frowns.
‘What did you just say?’
‘Calm…’ I repeat. He forces himself to breathe.
‘Okay. And then what happened?’
‘She fell pregnant again and mom threatened her. She decided to leave so she could carry her baby to full term. Her intention was to come back but she claims she saw it best to stay away’
‘Best???’
‘Well, if mom could get rid of her pregnancy what could’ve possibly stopped her from killing Mabontle?’
‘Makes sense I guess’
He’s boiling and trying hard to contain it.
‘Where is she?’
He’s referring to his daughter. Now it starts. I cannot believe I was given the huge task of reuniting a man and his daughter. Kurhula texts and asks if I am okay. I text him back and guarantee him that I’m fine.

…

[MABONTLE]

I have decided. Masedi is off to boarding school. I cannot handle this any longer. Her behaviour is getting out of control and I am not equipped to deal with a temperamental adolescent. She literally makes me hate the idea of having kids. I want one, with my whole heart but with each and every stunt that she pulls, the idea slowly fades. I have always imagined myself as a single mom who has her own bag with a spoilt kid. I never aspire to a stable relationship because I am a heterosexual woman living in South Africa. The dating pool is full of used tampons, piss, and green vomit. All the schools I have called so far refuse to take her and I am not quite fond of the other ones. I want her to go to a good school because I want it to serve as rehabilitation for her delinquent self. I feel like I am getting rid of my mother’s baby but I am emotionally exhausted. I tried and I hope she sees that I have tried. Her shoes are just too big to fill. If I don’t do this, she is going to drive me straight to a mental institution at full speed. Right now, I have no idea where she is and I don’t want to think about it. The police no longer take me seriously because she always comes back. I am worried about her safety. The streets are not kind and she’s roaming them freely like she’s in charge of them. A call from Fikani comes through and I look at my phone ring. I want to answer it. I do. He’s comforting to speak to but I feel like this is going to spill out of hand if I don’t put a leash on it right now. I am not crazy and I am not reading too much into his actions. It rings again. I’m tempted to answer but the voice in my head shouts that this man is married. No. Fikani is a no-go area. I switch off my phone and get off from the couch. As I walk, I remember that my baby sister is not here and it’s a few minutes past eleven at night. I need to keep my phone on at all times. I switch it back on and walk into my bathroom. After catching a glance of myself on the full-length mirror, I realize that I have lost weight and I hate that. I watch myself even more and I fail to restrict the smile that insists on growing on my face. When women’s genetics were busy negotiating with that of the father’s side, my mom was like ‘Not today and never that’. That girl literally said copy and paste without a pinch of shame. Hair? Copy and paste. Eyes together with her lashes? Copy and paste. Buttery skin? Copy and paste. The thickness? Control+v. I am laughing because she did not leave out the round stomach and love handles. I always get compliments on my full legs but that’s not where my confidence comes from. It is bred straight from home because YV made sure in that department. Growing up, there were people who insisted on trying to make feel bad about how I look, with some calling me sdudla and the likes. My mother made sure I knew I was pretty and it wasn’t just for the sake of it. I am drop dead gorgeous. That woman genuinely said ‘I am recreating myself here and nobody should tell me otherwise’. I could never complain, not when I come from such magic. My phone rings once again. Fikani must leave me alone. Men in general need to relocate and find a planet of their own.