03 // APPOINTMENTS

One thing I admired the most about my mother, Daisy Kunene, it was the fact that she knew when to put up a good fight. She did not bring up the issue of the heart transplant the next morning, she woke up and prepared breakfast for me.

It was nothing fancy, at least not something I would prefer, but as she always said, “Doctor’s orders.” I had to eat ‘healthy,’ the doctor had put me on a strict diet—greens, greens, and greens all the way. But I did not complain, I was used to it by now, and the fun part of it all was that my mother never left me to suffer through this alone. She ate whatever I ate, well, except for the palace food, which by the way I’d forgotten to bring for her last night.

I finished breakfast, grabbed my book, and went to sit in our garden.

Neither of us could ever say it out loud, but our garden was probably the most priced possession in our yard, not even the house measured up to it.

This garden was a memory fountain, it reminded us so much of dad. I remember how he started this, planting every beautiful flower he could possibly think of so that my mother would not have to go a day in her life without receiving flowers.

Every so often I think it was his way of soothing his guilt since he was forever away running errands for the king, he was rarely ever home, but whenever he was, he made sure that it was worthwhile. It was a pity though because his loyalty for the king led him to his early grave.

I inhaled deeply, hoping to exhale all the bitterness and heartache that came with that memory.

Today was one of those warm winter days when a cardigan was safe for an outing, the grass was less frosty and damp, and the trees were more radiant than most days.

“Are the love adventures not so adventurous today?”

I turned on my seat, coming face-to-face with Queen Shekinah in all her glory. My eyes zeroed on the book and I shut it with a soft sigh. I hadn't realised that I was completely zoned out and staring into space.

“It is more of a memoir than a romantic story,” I said, running my hand on the back cover.

“Hmm… what is it about?” The queen asked, making herself home on the chair next to mine.

I smiled sadly and handed her the book. “It's about a woman, or rather, the last few days of her life before she died from cancer.”

“Sounds depressing, and yet so relatable. It's so funny how someone's life could be measured by what she did in her last days, as if she did not live a lifetime. I hope you won't mind lending me once you are finished.” She smiled and returned the book to me. “So, how are you? I heard about what happened last night.”

Personally, Queen Shekinah was the only person in that palace befitting and worthy of being called queen. She was such a gentle soul, humble and thoughtful. She didn't think high of herself like Gladys did, and she treated everyone like they were family.

“I am fine, Your Majesty. How are you?” That was me changing the topic and steering us away from having to talk about my argument with Prince Lincoln.

The queen sighed heavily, her eyes staring into the distance. “Honestly, I have mixed feelings. I am happy that my son is home. But I'm not sure about the state of his return, it has Gladys written all over.”

I could tell that this issue did not sit well with her, she wanted to talk about him and having brought a woman home, but she knew I was the wrong person to be discussing that with.

Queen Shekinah had always treated Lincoln and Samu as her children, while Samu had not warmed up to her because Gladys convinced her that Shekinah was a bad person, Lincoln had been attached to Shekinah from his early days. It was so funny because Prince Lincoln saw Queen Shekinah as his mother more than he did Gladys, and that was the source of her bitterness.

“Shekinah,” my mother said, stepping out through the back door. “I thought I heard your voice, what brings you here?”

History had taught me to never intervene when it came to my mother and Queen Shekinah, the latter had an issue with my mother because she blamed her for bringing Gladys into their lives. And I guess we would never know if my mother regretted that because she never shows remorse.

“Daisy,” the queen said curtly. “I didn't know you were home, I actually stopped by to check on Azania.”

My mother scoffed. “As if you care what happens to her.” I threw her a warning look. “I suppose breakfast was not as pleasant as you had anticipated, and now you are trying to soften my daughter so that she can come back to slave for you,” she spat, folding her arms defiantly.

The queen snickered, and for once, I could tell that she was amused by the turn of events. “On the contrary, no,” she said, her voice doing nothing to hide her happiness. “I wish you could have been there to see how it all went down. I mean, the food was not pleasant, but breakfast was quite entertaining. Gladys had nothing to say for herself, she carried on as if nothing had happened. Azania…” She turned to me. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I actually came to ask you to stay away from the castle for a few days.”

“What?” My mom and I asked simultaneously, sharing a brief look before turning our attention back to the queen.

“Don't get me wrong, I am dying to ask you to come back, and it's not that I don't want you to come back, I miss your food terribly. But it would be unfair for you to suffer the emotional distress because of Gladys and let her get away with it each time.” I did not miss the pleased look on my mother's face. “I want her to eat some humble pie, she has to be the one to ask… no, to beg you to come back.”

My mother laughed. “Now, that I want to see! Your Majesty, I'm preparing lunch, I hope you will join us.” It goes without saying that both the queen and I were surprised. “Give me a few minutes,” she said, and rushed back into the house.

Lunch went better than expected. While the two women were civil towards each other, the queen was only happy to have a nice meal, knowing fully well that the people at the palace were probably going to eat rubbish. My mother, on the other hand, wanted a chance at getting back at Gladys.

Imagine my horror when my mother asked the queen to join us for dinner! Luckily, the queen had to decline this time, she wanted to avoid seeming rude to the king and Lincoln's guest.

She finally left around 4p.m., and I could finally stand up and stretch my body. I did not mind the queen's company, but I was not used to just sitting and doing nothing all day. I actually missed work, but I was grateful for my extended holiday.

♡

“How long is this sulking going to go on for?”

That was my mother finally fed up with talking to herself. I barely caught a word she said in the previous half an hour.

I was bad company. Would you believe me if I told you that I wished our two guests were here? This was the second night and there was no sign of them, and when I asked my mother, she could not care less where they were. I wished they were here so that she could have someone to chat to, that way, she would stop being on my case for drifting off to my own world every now and again.

“Mama, I'm just worried about Lizzy.”

My mother responded with an indignant scoff. “Lizzy is a big girl, she will get over it.”

Accepting Queen Shekinah's offer all of a sudden felt like such a massive betrayal. I had to lie to Lizzy when she called and told her that I was not feeling well. I was convinced that she saw through my lie because the news of my argument with the prince had spread throughout the entire palace.

“Mama, you are just happy because this is your chance to get Gladys on her knees.”

“That's right. But you also heard what Shekinah said. Besides, what's going to happen when you can't work there any more, who is going to cook for them, are they going to hire private chefs?” She had a point. “They will never replace their staff, even though that would probably be the first mission on Gladys' to-do list. They have to find someone to train Lizzy and the others.”

It was not that they couldn't cook, as young maidens, we were taught to cook from a young age. One of the things I longed to escape in this valley was their systematic gender-based stereotypes, which they justified for traditions. In their minds, men were meant to be successful and dominant, while women were meant to be uneducated and submissive.

Be that as it may be, my father raised me to be better, and he always had high hopes for me. His biggest dream was for me to finally leave the valley and go out there, explore, get proper education to empower our youth and let them know that they could be anything they wanted in this world. My father used to tell me that nobody could ever tell me who I am, not even the King.

“Well, Mama, technically, I am that person,” I retorted absent-mindedly.

“To be fair, my sweet darling, they took you for granted.” Of course, she had to have the last say!

My mother was right about one thing though, I wouldn't be here for too long. It was about time someone took over, and if that person was going to be Lizzy, then it was my responsibility to help her out.

I grabbed my notebook and a pen and sat on the couch, and then started writing.

“What are you writing?” Mom asked.

I raised my eyes from the book. “What do you think, mom? I'm writing my last will, obviously.” She threw her head back and barked out in laughter, causing a smile to break on my face.

I hardly paid much attention to the clock, and by the time I finished, my mother was fast asleep. I closed the book and left it on the stand, and then I turned off the lamp and went to bed, setting an alarm for 7a.m. before I passed out from exhaustion.

That was by far the most peaceful sleep I have had in days, unfortunately, I woke up before my alarm went off. My body was already used to waking up at 5a.m., but I was okay with it since I wanted to drop by the palace before going to town.

My mother must be exhausted because she never even opened an eye while I was getting ready, not when I was making cereal. I finished up and left her still sleeping, I even checked her pulse to make sure that she was still a part of our world.

I rushed to the palace because I still had to catch a taxi, and taxis were hard to find around here, especially at this time, I had to walk a distance to catch a taxi to town.

As soon as I arrived outside the palace, I called Lizzy's phone, since I couldn't exactly stand outside the castle gates and yell her name like a maniac.

Her phone rang a few times before she answered. “Azania, why are you calling me so early?” She mumbled in a sleepy voice.

I rolled my eyes with a soft sigh. “It is not too early, how could you still be sleeping at this time? Come out, I'm outside the gates.”

“What?” She sounded more awake now. “Why can't you just come in?”

“I can't, I'm going to town, I have a doctor's appointment. Now, come out before I change my mind about helping you!” I hung up before she could say anything more.

I waited for a good five minutes before Lizzy finally showed herself in her gown. “I hate you!” She grumbled as soon as she saw me.

I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face. “I love you too, idiot.” I chuckled, pulling her into a tight hug

“Why have you forsaken me? Things are not the same around here without you.” She squeezed me tightly, literally sucking the air out of me.

“Lizzy, I can't breathe!”

“That's precisely how I feel without you.” She pulled away, grabbing me by my shoulders. “What is going on?” She asked, the playfulness vanished from her sweet face.

I couldn't lie to her while she was looking at me that way. I sighed, caressing her hand on my shoulder. “It's a long story, I'll tell you about it when I return.”

“Is this about Prince Lincoln?” Her eyes widened in panic when I didn't answer. “Azania, what's going to happen to me if you leave? Queen Gladys is going to dismiss us all unexpectedly."

“I know, but you don't have to worry about that, this is just temporary. And besides, I brought you this.” I skimmed through my bag and pulled out the notebook.

She grabbed it out of my hand. “What is this?” She asked, and it was as if her breath had been knocked out of her lungs as soon as she started paging through it. “Azania…” She shook her head in disbelief. “This is… I don't even know what to say, thank you!” She flung herself at me. “Oh, my goodness! I can't thank you enough for this. Azania, this will be helpful for us all, thank you!” Her voice was breaking as tears poured out of her eyes, and I knew right there that I did not make a mistake by going to bed late last night, every second I spent noting down everything was worth it.

The notebook had every recipe I could think of, from all the family members' favourite foods to different meals of the week. I listed all the ingredients and instructions of when to start replenishing the groceries, the methods to make all the foods as well as the times it took to make all of it.

I went as far as listing the duties that needed to be done in the house since I knew Gladys would forever be on their case about that since we never had a proper schedule. But I knew Lizzy would manage.

“Okay, girl. I'll be on my way now. Freshen up so that you can start preparing breakfast,” I said, trying to lift the mood.

“Where are you off to?”

“Doctor's appointment.”

“Oh! Well, let me not keep you. Thank you again for this, at least I won't have to worry about impressing our guests this morning,” she said.

I frowned. “Why not, did something happen?”

“No. They are eating out, the prince and his woman, that is. Sam is preparing the car as we speak.”

I couldn't care less what they did, to be honest. “Lizzy, I really have to go. Love you, bye!” I kissed her on the cheek and left before she could come up with more royal drama.

One interesting fact about me, if anybody asks, it had to be the fact that I was active. I was used to walking distances, my father had introduced me to hiking, so walking the mile to catch a taxi was nothing. Not to mention that I was dressed for the gravel, a good pair of hiker boots to go with my outfit. It was difficult to dress up in this weather, it was all about dressing warmer than looking good.

I was halfway through the bridge that crossed our river when a car hooter blared up behind me.

To say I was annoyed would be an understatement of the century, I couldn't even hide the scowl on my face when the car pulled up next to me and Sam rolled down the passenger window.

“Hey, Azania, get in,” he said.

“No, thanks, I'm fine.” I continued walking, and he drove slowly next to me.

“Come on, girl. We are both headed to town, it only makes sense for us to ride together. Besides, it will be a while before you find a taxi."

“Sam, can you just drive? She's a big girl, and can get to town without you,” the prince said from behind the driver's seat. The car windows were tinted, so I could not see him or his partner.

“You heard your prince, Sam. Go ahead,” I mocked.

Sam gave me a sad smile and drove away. Before he could even disappear, a loud horn startled me, and I groaned loudly.

“Oh, Lizzy, please tell me you didn't!” I muttered under my breath, but luck was not on my side today.

A blue minivan came from the opposite direction, leaving a storm of dust in its wake.

“Baby girl, Zah.” The driver hollered, loud music blaring from his speakers.

The vehicle was literally busting to the rhythm of the song, and considering how old it was, it looked as if it was going to shatter from the noise.

He did not even have to tell me, I hopped in, and he made a U-turn, going in the direction of the main road.

“Did Lizzy tell you to come and get me?” I asked, lowering the volume of the radio.

He laughed, looking on the sides to see if there was no one on the streets. “People are lazy to go to town in this cold, you know. Anyway, I don't mind, any friend of Lizzy is my friend.”

I shook my head at him. “Nope. That's precisely what got you dumped, thinking that everyone is your friend.”

He was such a carefree guy, always laughing. Maybe that's why people took advantage of him. “But you know, baby girl, Lizzy is the love of my life.”

“Of course, Bonnie. We all know that.”

I was grateful to Lizzy for doing me this favour, the last thing I needed so early in the morning was to be stuck in the front seat of the royal car like a statue.

Bonnie dropped me off at the Mediclinic, and I felt like I was going to break from all the anxiety the moment I stepped through their doors.