The Falling Of Queens #1 Fallen Royalty Series

one

Garri, my brother, had a smug smile plastered on his face. "Atleast now you will be a real woman."

I scowled and lunged for him, tackling him to the ground. "You fool." I scratched his face with my pinkie claw, adding one more scar to his collection. "Say that again, I dare you." Leaving one nail to grow came in handy at times like these.

His lanky figure made it easier for me to attack him. My twin brother was not a man of strength. In fact, he hated physical activity. The only reason he attracted girls was because he inherited my parents' good looks, and because he was mixed. He had short, curly black hair that lay in a mess on his scalp and a huge nose. We looked nothing alike. I was much darker than him, with more of my mother's features.

"Arewa! Stop this madness at once!" My father roared. "Get off your brother."

Insanity is what I would use to describe the mental state of my parents. How could they subject their own daughter to a lifetime of slavery to a man? Did they birth me to be whored out to the highest seller?

I got up on my father's command, but only after kicking Garri one last time. My mother closed her eyes because her 'poor heart' could not bear to watch me be so 'unladylike'. Instead of being proud of having raised a phenomenal woman, she was ashamed of me because I didn't agree with society's standards of women.

"I do not see what the big issue is. All the pretty girls are going to be there. You should be proud that you are considered worthy," My brother said, hiding cowardly behind my father.

Think of the future of our family. Royalty will bring respect to our name.

"This will work in your favour. You will have a grander lifestyle than the one we are able to give you," My father reiterated.

"If I lose, I would have to sleep with a disgusting old man whenever he pleases. If I win, I would be married to a disgusting old man, and I would still have to sleep with him. Forgive me, father, but I don't see how this is in my favour. I am not going to do it," I said, crossing my arms.

"Arewa!" My mother exclaimed, horror filling her peculiar face at having a daughter with such a lose tongue. Her thin eyebrows were raised so high, they might as well have been part of the hair on her head.

"You are my daughter, and I know how stubborn you are. It is a mistake on our part because your mother and I have entertained your attitude for far too long. We brought you into this world and we will decide what you do with the life we gave you. My decision is final. You are going to be part of this," My father said.

"I. Will. Not," I said through gritted teeth. My lips were pressed together firmly in a thin line to show my determination. 

My father laughed and responded calmly, "I don't think you understand me, Arewa. You have no choice in the matter."

I walked away from them without being dismissed. After slamming the door to my room behind me, my legs gave away under my suddenly heavy weight and I crashed to the ground. It felt like I had the world's burdens on my shoulders. I couldn't stop the tears rushing down my face. 

I stared at my face in the mirror, the curse I've had to live with. My long eyelashes, my thin eyebrows, my dark charcoal skin and my pink lips. My face was so womanly, and it was the reason I was being forced into this. My long, curly, 4C hair only crowned my supposed beauty.

I spotted my scissors hanging off a nail on my cupboard and without thinking, I took it. I cut my hair until each strand was less than half a centimetre. I would love to see how much His Majesty will like a bald woman. I hated the idea changing myself to escape my predicament but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

I knelt to gather my fallen hair from the ground and heard my mother's voice and resulting knocks on my door. She walked in when I didn't respond.

"What have you done?" She asked with a gasp, when she saw the scissors on the stand and my hair on the floor. "Why did you do this, Arewa?"

I did not respond to her question. I stood bold and unshaken until she grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me several times. "Why did you do this, Arewa? Have we done wrong to you?" She said, raising her voice a little.

"I told you I did not want to join the ceremony and you refused to listen to me. I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands. If I look ugly, then surely the King will reject me," I said and shrugged, trying to remove myself from her tight grip.

"You ungrateful child!" She yelled and slapped me.

My father and brother, presumably alerted by the noise, rushed into my room. Shocked by my hair and my mother's actions, they did not dare to say anything. Well, they did not have the time to.

I touched my hot cheek in an attempt to cool it down and pushed past them to get out of the house. As I grew more and more distant from the house, I heard the faint sounds of my father calling my name.

The wind welcomed me, pushing me away from the house and to the direction of the trees. It was actually more enjoyable with my newly-exposed scalp.  I ran until I got to the lake. There I settled and began my favourite activity.

The Sigges lake was beautiful. Silver-ore painted rocks lined the lake, and white lilies floated upon it. Lake frogs lived in the water but people hardly ever saw them because they could not stay quiet long enough to witness the hopping beings. These frogs are cautious animals and they hide when they hear noises. I have seen them several times, on days when I sit in silence and admire their olive-green skin with dark spots and listen to their voice. But not today.

I love coming here to think. What started off as an occasional distraction eventually  became a ritual for me to visit the lake whenever I needed to clear my thoughts. After every breakthrough thought, I get to throw a stone into the lake and watch the water ripple in waves. It always calms me down and I have never left feeling anything but refreshed.

I lost track of time and soon the only light seeping through the trees came from the moon and the stars. Getting up to leave, I threw one last stone into the lake and watched as the waves moved in circles and the stone sank. 

All the stones I threw today sank like they were my dignity. I snickered at my comment, and walked back home, kicking the sand upwards with my feet with each step. They would still be waiting up for me because they never learn. Privacy and space are non-existent theories in my house.

When I saw the house coming into view, my steps became closer to each other and I started walking slower. It didn't help because I would still have to go in and face them either way but atleast it prolonged time.

Eventually I opened the door and went in. They were all seated at the dining table, which was open-planned with the lounge. I halted midway and watched them without saying a word. I awaited scolding but none came.

"Go wash your hands and come eat dinner," My father said quietly, avoiding looking at me.

On a normal day, I would have said, "I'm not hungry."  But Garri slightly shaking his head warned me that things could not withstand any comment from me.

For the first time today, I did as I was told and sat at the small table for four. My mother had prepared boiled potatoes, with some tomato gravy and a little bit of chakalaka. It was one of my most enjoyed meals but I had no appetite. Everyone else seemed to have the same problem.

I ignored my mother until dinner was over and surprisingly, they let me go to bed without any scolding.