MELAMINA THE QUEEN

CHAPTER 25

KUHLEKONKE ZULU

Finding out that my brother wanted to take Zisanele for himself worried me at first because I thought he was taking the heat off me but he has convinced me otherwise. Which is why I find myself outside the Elangeni Palace to negotiate with the king. I am pretty sure he thinks I am here to speak on behalf of myself. Mkhululi and Simingezwi decided to accompany me. I couldn’t bring Nqaba because that would have been a bit disrespect to the king. This time around, the queen, Nokwanda Mhlongo, is the one who welcomes us at the door with the widest smile I have ever seen. It also seems fake.

“Bo Ndabezitha. Welcome to our humble home. Please feel free. Whatever you need, don’t be afraid to ask. Did you have a safe journey?” her hands are moving too fast, like she is doing a PowerPoint presentation. The moment we settle at the lounge, helpers crowd us with drinks and finger foods. “My husband will be with you in a second.” She smiles again before she dashes off.
“That one is too much. I don’t know when the last time our mothers behaved like that around visitors was. Even MaMolefe doesn’t bow like that to anyone’s feet.” Simi murmurs as he eats the cupcake before him. He is a foodie and never says no when given food.
“Our mothers are too prideful to do this sucking up shit.” Mkhululi sips the water before him and then sits back. My brothers are savage. The king walks in after a few moments followed by three of his brothers.

“Bo Mageba. It is such a pleasure to see you once again. I hope our encounter ends with both families happy and possibly a wedding date.” He cuts straight to the chase as he shakes our hands. I guess we also won’t do any small talks. Just jump to the topic that brought us here. “These are my brothers, Mandla, Ntokozo and Malusi.” His brothers also shake hands with us.

“Makhedama, we know that you thought your little girl, Princess Zisanele, was going to be my second wife, but there has been a change of plans. We apologize for whoever that gave you the impression that I was looking for a second wife, a royal wife at that.” I start off and he frowns.
“Are you here to insult me, Nkosana?” he asks, leaning a bit closer from his chair. I hope I will be able to extinguish this fire.
“That’s not the case, Bhebhe.” Mkhululi interjects. “Our brother, Kuhle, is not looking for a royal wife. But our other brother, Nqabayomuzi has taken a huge liking to the princess. He might not be the crowned prince but he is still a Zulu prince and he loves your daughter. If you give Zisanele to Nqabayomuzi, he is going to love her, treat her with the utmost respect and prioritize her above anything else. She is going to be the able of his eye, his one and only love. He will give her undivided love and as your daughter, don’t you think she deserves that? Someone who will live her unconditionally than someone who will treat her like a second best and never be there for her when she needs him the most. Think about it, Khulamini.” When did Mkhululi grow up to be this well-spoken man?

“We know this may come as a shock, Njomane, but it is true. Nqabayomuzi loves Zisanele and he is going to take care of her. We came here to inform you this personally and hopefully ask for a possible date when our family can come and start lobola negotiations on behalf of our brother, Nqaba.” Simingezwi adds. Hebana. Why am I even here when both these kids can handle this matter? I guess accompanying dad to most meetings has finally paid off.

“We are not asking you to make a decision right now. Just think of it and get back to us when you can.” I state.
“Maybe you can step outside and give us a few moments to discuss this revelation, Bo Mjokwane ka Ndaba.” Malusi is the first to speak up and we get up immediately. We head over to the patio, bumping into Zisanele on the way. She smiles and bows her head a bit.
“Nina Bangasenhla.” She greets. “It is such a great pleasure to meet you again.”

Mkhululi returns the smile. “We are happy to see you again, Khulamini. If all goes well here, you might be Ndabezitha before Good Friday.” Zisanele just blushes and clears her throat. She is really young, shame. Her cuteness makes me think of Lisa or Amahle. Someone I would love and protect like an older brother or even daughter.

“Don’t hesitate to shout if you need anything. I will be at the kitchen.” She announces before walking away.
“Yena umile.” Mkhululi comments as soon as she is out of our sight and we just laugh.
“You guys could have handled the meeting without me. Why did I have to leave my wife and kids for this?” I ask and they chuckle.

“Ukhakhayi luqinile bafo. (We are matured). Dad is not getting any younger. Soon you are going to be king and we are going to rule by your side. We need to be able to handle matters without you. This was just a demonstration of what we are capable of.” Simingezwi states and I am just impressed. I always thought my younger brothers only cared about booze, girls and fame, but they have proved me wrong. Even though I hadn’t had to bail them out of any shit, I didn’t think they were this matured.

“Well, I am proud of you guys. You should know that. I know dad will also be proud.” I compliment and they just smile at me. A few moments later, one of the helpers summon us back to the lounge. We sit down and the king clears his throat.

“You were right. This came as a shock to us. Not so long ago, as in an hour ago, we thought the crowned prince will marry Zisanele. But we were never made aware that the crowned prince was not in need of a second or royal wife. I love my daughter and like any other father out there, I want her to be loved and treated like the only girl in the world. I don’t know Nqabayomuzi much but I would like to have dinner with him before I can consider giving my daughter to him. After our dinner, maybe we can come up with a conclusion that will benefit everyone. I will also speak to my daughter since I hadn’t consulted her and actually found out how she felt about all this.” I thought as much. A king like Inguga only dictates and commands. He doesn’t consult unless it is with his inyanga.

“We are grateful that you are willing to consider this, Wena ka Mgabhi. We hope to be one united family soon.” I mutter and he smiles. “We will be on our way. Thank you for your hospitality.”

…

NARRATED

As soon as the Zulu princes left, Nokwanda and Zisanele rushed to the lounge to hear what the men had discussed. Nokwanda was too excited. She could finally see her daughter being the Zulu Queen that everyone would bow to. A dream come true for any royal mother out there. Wedding your daughter to the only king that matters in the Nguni tribe.

“So, what did they say, Njomane? When can we start preparing for the festivities?” she asked as she sat on the armchair next to her husband.
He just ignored her and look at his daughter. “Zisanele, do you know Nqabayomuzi Zulu?”
Zisanele nodded. “Yes baba, I do. He is one of the Zulu princes.”

“Apparently he is the only prince that is romantically interested in you and wants to make you his wife as soon as possible. How do you feel about that?” he asked and Nokwanda gasped.

“Aibo baba. What is happening? Zisanele is going to marry Kuhle not this Nqabayomuzi you are referring to. She can’t marry a second hand prince. Never. I won’t allow it.” Nokwanda exclaimed and the king just looked at her with a bored expression on his face.

“Nokwanda, this is our daughter, our baby girl. She deserves to marry someone who is almost her age and who adores her. According to his brothers, this Nqaba is head over heels in love with our daughter and after I have met with him, I will decide whether he is worthy of her or not. What I won’t do is force my daughter to some man who doesn’t seem to care about her. You want our daughter to suffer just because of a title and some hidden agenda I don’t know about? She is going to marry a Zulu prince. That should make you smile somehow.”

Nokwanda scoffed and turned to Zisanele. “Tell your father that you don’t want this Nqabayomuzi that they wanna give you. You don’t want some consolidation prize. But the real deal.”

Zisanele looked at her father and cleared her throat. “Prince Kuhle is very old and he is obsessed with his wife. I wouldn’t want to get myself entangled in that. Maybe give Prince Nqaba a chance to court me and I will determine whether he is suitable for me or not.” It was the first time she ever went against her mother and it terrified her but at the same time, she felt liberated. It felt good to stand up for herself. But also, it felt great when her father was willing to consider her opinion.

Nokwanda scoffed and stood up. “This is all madness. Just utter madness.” She walked away mumbling shit to herself.