MY DESTINED ZULU BRIDE

A seer's tale*(3)

My father began his story after he had placed his spear next to the bench.

" Your great grandma , was named Nandi , but was often referred to as 'the great witch' by our people" he sighed and looked up at the setting sun.

" Her life in the village was not very good , at first she lived peacefully as she had not known she had a gift , she came from a poor family so she was usually too busy working to know about it" .

I was amazed to find out that my great grandma had a poor background.

" The first time she found out about it was when she saved a boy that turned to be the King's eldest son , the moment she touched him his future was revealed to her ".

I was a bit pleased to know she could read people's futures like me. 

"His future revealed that he would fight against the throne with his brothers and the possibility of winning was very slim , she warned him that he should let his second brother have the throne as he was the chosen king of the Zulu tribe".

My father sighed as if he was actually there which I knew he was not.

" The eldest son was outraged by what my grandma ,said that he slapped her and walked away not even a word of gratitude for saving his life" .

I was truly angry hearing that , that man was ridiculous, how dare he lay his hand on a woman.

" Like your great grandma said , a battle for the throne began and at the same time my grandma , was struggling with her new found gift " . When I heard that I thought , she was just like me .

" She told her family about it and unlike us they did not accept her , they denounced and humiliated her , soon the whole village knew about her gift and she became the village outcast".

Truly a pitiful human , just like myself. "Meanwhile all of this was happening the battle for the throne turned bloody , the first son, would not accept anyone but himself to sit of the throne.

The king desperate for a solution consulted the most powerful witchdoctor in our village, the man brought a solution .

He told the king that the first son was the one who was supposed to inherit the throne.

The king hearing that believed it was true so he went and told the entire village that a coronation to crown the first prince will be held in a week .

The news reached your great grandma's ears and she was torn apart by the situation. She was conflicted and did not know what to do .

The spirits of the land urged her to accept her gift and save her people. She refused and as it neared the day of the coronation she began to have dreams.

Dreams of pain and death . It was impossible to sleep as she was frightened . She knew at that moment that if the first son sat on that throne it would be the end of our village.

The green grass of our land will be bathed In blood so she went to the king and asked for a private audience with the king and surprisingly the king accepted.

She told the king everything that was revealed to her by the spirits , she told him about her gift . The king looked at her for awhile but refused to believe her .

The queen on the other hand did , she knew there was something wrong with her first son so she tried to persuade the king to change his mind.

The king refused to adhere to reason til he was visited by his mother in a dream. The woman rebuked him for trying to go against Destiny.

After the scolding from his dead mother the king listened and decided to crown the second son much to the displeasure of the first son .

He truly believed the throne was supposed to be his as he was the first son of the king . The second son accepted the throne after meeting your grandma.

He also took fancy to her and decided to make her his bride . The first son refused to hear reason so he attempted to murder the second son.

Grandma , got there in time and rescued her future husband. After showing her full power to the village they began to fear her and because of that they began to call her 'the great witch' .

The first son was killed by her hand and she was not happy she had taken a life . The second son consoled her and the spirits told her it was what had to be done to free the village.

From then on instead of fearing and loathing her gift , she accepted and embraced it ".

I looked at my father quite shocked by the story he had told me . I had no problems with the throne  since I knew it was mine.  If it belonged to my brother though I would give it up.

" Now Gift , you see how important your gift is and why you should always accept it?" My father , asked .

" Yes papa " I replied yet I was not sure if I could accept it just yet  .

" What are you two talking about?" My mother asked as he walked closer to the two of us with a smile .

" I was telling Gift , about grandma" my mother looked at me .

" Gift , your great  grandma will visit you tonight do not be surprised , and you two dinner is ready " we both nodded and my mother turned to father .

" Sthe , you need to help me talk to Mariam , I swear she's going to turn my little sky, Into a bad woman".

my father smiled fondly as he listened to my mother whine on about aunty Mariam .

I wished I could have that too . Their love made me very envious.

That night I sat on my bed without a word just lost in thought. That was until someone spoke to me.

" Hello Gift , I'm your great grandma Nandi , I presume your parents told you about me ?" She asked with a sweet smile . I just nodded .

" Well I'm here to give you a gift , always keep it with you "after she said that a bead bracelet appeared out of thin air .

" You must be wondering why I gave you a bead bracelet instead of a necklace" I nodded in confirmation.

She smiled even more warmly ." That Is because you are meant to be king , only the royal queens receive a bead necklace for protection" .

I looked at her in deep thought then nodded . " Good child and before I leave I have a warning for you , be weary of that young woman Nosipho , she is connected to your mother's worst enemy" .

After she said that she vanished. I was startled and had even more questions than before , I knew Nosipho , was a bad woman , but how bad was she ? I asked myself .

Another problem , who was my mother's worst enemy?

Those questions plagued my mind and that night I fell into a restless sleep .

_______________________________________hey everyone here's an update hope you enjoy it 😘