00 // SWEET 16

  The party was in full swing as the guests mingled at every corner of the hall. It was such a massive occasion for the kingdom, their prince was celebrating his eighteenth birthday a day earlier before his coming of age ceremony tomorrow.

  But it was more than that. 

 I used to think that sharing a birthday with Lincoln was a blessing, we had celebrated every single birthday together in the last sixteen years. My mother once told me that Queen Gladys grew to hate her the day I was born, on her son’s second birthday. She relived that the queen had said that such precision was a bad omen and went as far as accusing her of witchcraft.

  It was no wonder she hated me, and the hatred did not show any hints of floundering when she realized how inseparable Lincoln and I had grown to be. Lincoln always said that the biggest gift the Zion forefathers had ever granted him was me, and his life was meaningless before I came along. I laughed at him every time he alluded to it, and reminded him that he was only two on the day I was born.

  We never needed gifts for our birthday as long as we had each other. It was our tradition every year to meet on the eve of our birthday. As usual, the weather wasn’t kind on that one evening, it was rainy and stormy.

  I used to think that the weather was coincidental because our birthday unlocked the rainy season on our island, which was spring, but that day I was proven wrong.

  Lincoln thought it was a good idea to leave the estate in such a terrible weather condition. The skies were covered in thick blankets of grey clouds, flashes of white light threatening to tear through them.

  It was a cold night, and I was dressed in a long white halter dress, which I tried to use as an excuse not to step outside the castle doors. Unfortunately, Lincoln kindly offered his overcoat, draping it over my shoulder before dragging me into the rain before anyone could spot us.

  We had done this so many times before, but that night felt different, maybe because we were both entering different phases in our lives, I was finally turning sixteen, my future was undecided. It was different with Lincoln, it always was. His fate was sealed before he was even born, he was the crown prince of Zion, he was turning eighteen tomorrow, he was finally a man as his father would refer to him. 

 Tomorrow marked a new beginning for him, the ceremony they were having for him was to officiate things, he was next in line to be the king of Zion. He would have to spend all his time from now on learning the ropes from his father until the day the king chooses to hand over the crown. That was the heavy price he had to pay for the throne. 

 I could already feel the distance between us growing, he was a man now, he would soon take a wife; I’m sure his parents would prefer that he married a princess.

  We ran past the fountain and hopped into his flashy sports car.

  “You are crazy!” I gasped as he reversed out of the gates.

  His boisterous laughter filled the car, drowning out the rumbling of the skies. “You only live once, my Eva!” He shouted over the noise, his bright smile never leaving his face.

  My heart filled with an intense emotion by just staring at him, and I comforted myself by looking out the window. I didn't understand why this felt like the last adventure we would ever share together.

  We were driving away from the palace, and I knew exactly the place we were going to, one of our favourite spots, if not the most favourite. It was a cliff that overlooked our kingdom, we could see the entirety of Zion from atop. 

 The rocky ground was slippery due to the rain, and I had to hold on to Lincoln for support so that I wouldn’t fall as we paved our way through the thin woods on the steep side. We came to a stop at the flat top, where a huge oak tree stood strongly between the rocks. I was starting to think oak trees were our thing, but then again, they were a thing in Zion.

  “Don’t you know that one shouldn’t stand under trees during a storm,” I countered, holding the coat close around my body even though it did nothing to stop the rain from sipping under my dress.

  “Come on, that’s just a myth,” He said, draping his hand over my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.

  Now I understood why the hairstyle on my head was called cornrows, it literally made way for rain to flow down my face through the open rows.

  The lights brightening up Zion looked blurry because of the rain, it felt like watching cars pass by through the window during a rainy night, but it was beautiful.

  “It is ten minutes to 00:00a.m.,” Lincoln said, the apprehension in his voice unmistakable. “I know this feels like the end, but it is only the beginning, my Eva. It is scary not knowing what the future holds for you, knowing what is waiting for me tomorrow…” He exhaled loudly.

  My eyes raked over the homes below, landing on the castle that stood proudly on the other end. “Some years from now you will be ruling over this kingdom, I have no doubt that you will make a great king.”

  The rain pouring filled the silence that followed before he spoke, his voice was firm, and I knew he meant every word. “But what if I would rather not be the next king?” He asked, glancing sideways, his towering figure looking down at me with desperate determination. “I don’t want to be a king. I’d rather go somewhere with you and live happily ever after, that’s what being a blue-blooded means, right? Having the freedom and will to do anything and get away with it.”

  I smiled against my will. “Being a royal doesn’t entail living happily ever after, it means working tirelessly; blood, sweat, tears, and everything in between to serve and bring your kingdom to prosperity. It is a lifetime job.”

  He nudged me playfully, his smile returning at full length. “It wouldn’t be such a bad job if I had such a beautiful, amazing, and wise queen ruling next to me.”

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “Can I tell you a secret?” I asked, and he replied with a nod. “I don’t want to be a queen either.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Jeez, no wonder you have no girlfriends in the kingdom, you are not ambitious!”

  “I am ambitious, my ambitions just don’t align with theirs,” I admitted. “They want to find a rich husband and settle down, and somewhere deep in their hearts there’s a tiny voice that’s praying to get hitched to you and become the next queen of Zion.”

  “And yours?”

  I shrugged, a dreamy sigh escaping my lips as I swept over Zion like I had done for all these years. “I don’t want to accept that my life is over when it hasn’t even begun yet. I want to live, I intend to get out of this hellhole, go into the world and find my purpose, I don’t want to be caged just because I am a woman; I wish to be free.”

  “Spoken like the true daughter of Richard Kunene.”

  I was my father’s daughter, even from beyond the grave he still influenced my choices because he taught me to always stand up for what I believe in. One way or another, I would find my way out of Zion and possibly out of Azania.

  “Lincoln, is it me or is the weather starting to change drastically?” 

  The rain was starting to spray due to the wind, and it was not slowing down. At the rate it was pouring the ground was bound to be even more slippery, there was no way we could get down the cliff safely without someone breaking a bone.

  We were officially trapped, and I doubt that fact occurred to Lincoln yet, he had worried lines on his head as he skimmed all around us as if searching for something.

  “This doesn’t feel right,” he finally said, pulling me closer as if expecting something to jump out of the rain. “Come on, let’s stand under the tree until the rain subsides.”

  I pried myself from him. “No, why don’t we sit behind the rock instead?”

  “Azania…”

  I shook my head. “Standing under these branches is already a huge problem for me,” I protested.

  Lincoln growled. “Eva, don’t tell me you are thinking about some stupid old wives’ tale right now. This is not the time to be childish!”

  “Childish? Says the person busy throwing a tantrum!”

  He pursed his lips, clearly not happy with my words. “You know what? Go ahead and stay with your rock, I’ll stand under the tree.” He turned around and marched towards the trunk of the tree, while I huffed and stepped out from under the foliage.

  Guess I wasn’t going to have my kiss-in-the-rain romantic moment tonight. Wouldn’t it have been romantic if we wished each other a birthday with a passionate kiss?

  I’m positive it was already a few minutes past midnight, there was never a definitive moment that said it was our birthday, but that night we knew.

  The heavens rumbled like an angry beast, flashes of lightning painting the skies before tearing out into deadly grunts and blasts. Both Lincoln and I were on alert, and we wanted to get to each other, but it was as if our feet were rooted to the ground.

  I looked at Lincoln, feeling my soul slowly leaving my body, before seeing my life flash right before my eyes in the form of lighting. The last thing I heard was a loud call of my name, drowned out by the explosive thunder that paralysed my body before my soul left my flesh.

  A chest-tearing scream tore from my throat as I bolted up from a deep sleep, my entire body drenched in sweat. I could not stop the sobs that followed as my mother rushed into my room and engulfed me in a hug as I wailed my soul out.

  Why was this happening now? Why was I dreaming about that night after so many years?