Nandi | EDITING ✔

One.

Nandi

I'd honestly missed South Africa. It had to be one of my favourite places to be in the summer. It was morning time as we drove through the big gates of my home and off the main road and onto the gravel. As a child, I'd always start singing that Lion King song-- The Circle of Life-- whenever we got onto the bumpy, dusty road which led the way to the palace. The road was lined with Marula trees, thorn trees... it was a taste of a safari and it always made me realise how lucky I was to have the privilege of living in two types of environments.

Once Paul parked the car in our driveway, the royal Butler, Zachary, came to open my door for me while Paul got my luggage.

It was a sunny day and I looked forward to more good weather so I could hit the water one of these days.

"Welcome home, princess Nandi." Zachary said to me as I took off the sunglasses I had on.

"Thank you, Zachary." I smiled.

As Paul took my belongings inside, some palace girls came out with baskets of rose petals to shower me with, to welcome me back home, and I kept my smile on my face to be polite.

"My baby." My mother soon walked out of the palace with my father.

Both looked really happy to see me.

"Hi, mother." I genuinely smiled.

I missed her so much. Of all the people in the world, she got me (most times). She was wise and kind and loved me no matter what, just like a mother should. My father, on the other hand... He was a king before anything else and that was disappointing to me.

"Welcome home, Nandi." My father said.

"Thank you, father."

"Are you hungry? I want to hear all about your flight back home and your time abroad." My mother wrapped her arm around me and we all headed inside.

Visitors had given our palace the name Sun City because we were lucky to have sunny weather almost all the time. It was humid most days (which I hated because my makeup and hair would be against it) but we had a man-made beach and it made it all worth while.

I liked to visit the other cities though, to stay as far from royalty as I could. My best friend Nina was my escape, always, and I planned to use her as my scapegoat soon, once again.

"My flight was alright. The usual. Nothing interesting happened." I said to my mother.

"You must be tired. We have a big dinner planned for you later, to welcome you back."

"It wasn't necessary, mother."

"But it is. You're our only daughter and next in line to rule this Kingdom and you've been gone for almost a year straight."

I sighed.

"Can I go take a nap? I'm tired." I said.

"Of course. I'll have the maidens run your bath--"

"I'll do it myself, mother. Thank you." I cut her off.

I kissed both my parents' cheeks then  hurried up the large double staircase to my room.

Without much effort, I threw myself onto my large bed as soon as I made it through the double doors of my bedroom. I nuzzled my face into my soft pillow and closed my eyes with hopes that I'd wake up away from here.

I hated it here: 'Princess Nandi, your dress is ready', 'Princess Nandi, would you like anything to eat or drink?', 'rose petals, rose petals, rose petals', 'Princess Nandi, let me fix your pillows and run your bath, I'll scrub your back too if you wish', 'Princess Nandi, blah blah blah'. I just wanted to be a normal 20 year old girl, to wear trousers or jeans without my father throwing a tantrum, show a bit of skin-- a bit of tummy or a bit of chest. I wanted to hang out with people my age and do what they did. Couldn't I just be me?