Chapter 16

In the evening, the servants did as usual; they rushed around trying to shower before the next person. They, the day time servants, were preparing for sleep. Buhle managed to shower before her transformation. She then went and hid behind a huge tree. She transformed. Lebo, Letho and Sana were already in their room, room 112. They saw Buhle walk in; it was the same stranger claiming to be Buhle. Lebo and Sana looked at Letho expecting an explanation. That was because she had promised earlier that she would ask Buhle about what had happened the previous night. And where Buhle was the previous night.

Letho whispered to them explaining that she could not find Buhle in the afternoon. She told them that she had looked for her, but Buhle was not there; thus, she could not ask the questions they all had.

Buhle could hear the conversation carried out through whispers among the girls. She just ignored them. She tidied her place up for the evening inspection. The head-maid always conducted evening inspections. These were done to ensure that all servants were present in the rooms that she was responsible for. The inspections were also done to ensure that the rooms were kept clean and tidy. And with the inspection, the head-maid maintained and reinforced her authoritative position among the maids.

"You are back again?" remarked Lebo.

Buhle said nothing.

"Yeyi! I am talking to you!" she yelled at Buhle for ignoring her.

Sana heard the head-maid's footsteps outside. The head-maid had just come out of a neighboring maid house of four girls. Sana warned;

"Hush, the head-maid is here!"

The head-maid stepped into room 112. Each of the maids stood at the feet of their beds, leaving a path for the head-maid to walk in the middle of the room. There were two girls on either side. The head-maid looked at Buhle who had already transformed and said to the girls; "All of you. Stay like that."

She left the room.

The girls wondered what was going on.

"She is probably going to kick you out", Lebo retorted to Buhle.

"I doubt that", Letho refuted. "The Queen said to let her be, remember?"

"Whose side are you on?" Lebo questioned with a bit of an attitude.

Letho squirmed.

Moments later, the head-maid returned with The Queen. The girls bowed.

"Let me see your face, Buhle", The Queen commanded.

Buhle lifted her face for The Queen to see. The other girls and Buhle herself wondered why The Queen had such an interest in Buhle's face.

'Could she already know?', Buhle wondered to herself.

"Right after your shift tomorrow, come and see me. Not a moment later", said the stern Queen.

When Buhle did not respond, the head-maid reprimanded her. Buhle was wondering what The Queen wanted with her.

'What will I do if I transform in front of her?', she thought to herself.

The head-maid reprimanded her again; this time much stricter; "The Queen is speaking, respond."

"Yes, My Queen", Buhle responded.

The Queen left. And so did her company. The head-maid gave the maids one last stern look and moved on to the next room.

"Wish the head-maid a restful night", Lebo commanded as part of her routine as the room's prefect.

The girls simultaneously bowed and recited; "Rest well, head-maid Kamva!"

The next day…

The Prince wandered around the palace, admiring the beautiful landscape filled with colourful flowers. He happened to see Buhle. She was in her ugly, peculiar form. He looked closer, but she was not there anymore.

In fact, Buhle had been sent to pick flowers and bring them to the kitchen. She picked the flowers and retuned. She did not see The Prince at all.

After losing sight of Buhle, The Prince wondered if he was seeing things. He brushed it off and returned to his stroll.

Grandpa and Mini worked the farm. As usual, they worked and chatted at the same time. They seemed worry free.

"Grandpa?"

"Yes, my child", grandpa responded.

"Do you think The Prince knows who Buhle is? Do you think that he has already figured out that the girl that saved him then took him to her home and the 'Missing maiden' are one and the same?"

"When he left here, he did not know. I doubt that he has figured it out yet. If he did, he would have released Buhle from her punishment by now. That, I believe, would be his act of kindness and appreciation." grandpa answered.

Mini smiled and nodded.

"But then, grandpa, why do you not come clean now? The Prince has regained his ability to speak. I believe he will defend you and say that you did not cause his accident. And also, you could get rewarded? Do you not want the rewards?"

Grandpa smiled; "I do! But we will be punished for not returning The Prince to the palace immediately after he was found. Even if we explain our reasons, The Queen and King will dismiss them. And they might use them against us."

Mini sighed; "We will never get that money. Will we?"

Grandpa laughed; "I guess we never will. Sometimes I think; 'Gosh, we would have been nobles'. But oh well."

"Grandpa I have heard a rumour that you were once a noble. Is it true?"

"Yes."

"Then what happened? How did you get here?" Mini wanted to know.

"It was my punishment. I could stop my daughter from falling in love with the witch's son", grandpa sighed. "I should have done better… But I must say, life here is much more fun. It is simple and freeing."

Mini retorted; "It may be fun for you. But it is not fun for me… I have been saving, someday, I will leave this kingdom and come back again. and I will tell you all about it."

An evening had come when Buhle had to go see The Queen as per order. When her shift was approaching an end, Buhle contemplated seeing The Queen. She swept the yard as she thought;

"I will just come with an excuse. I will say that I had forgotten… No, I might be found guilty of undermining The Queen by forgetting her command. I think I will say that I fell sick… No, that excuse is cliché, I bet every person in the world has used it. Uh … What am I going to do?"

The head-maid, who was just passing by, saw Buhle. She was seemingly sweeping slowly, and it was deliberate. The head-maid was unpleased by this, so she went to give Buhle a word of advice. Buhle was still in thoughts;

"I know! I will just sweep slowly. That way, by the time I finish my shift, I will have transformed. And The Queen will not punish me if I finish my shift late; I will go to her right after I finish my shift. After all, she did not say that I should finish my shift early. She said that I should come to her right after my shift."

Buhle smiled to herself.

"I am a genius."

The head-maid stood beside Buhle and began to speak;

"Choosing to finish your shift late because you think that you will not be punished is… foolish. The Queen knows you should be finished in the next 3 minutes. If you are late, for whatever reasons, you will pay."

The head-maid paused a little.

"Your thinking is not smart. You are no genius."

Buhle stood there wondering if the head-maid could hear her thoughts. She stood looking shook. The head-maid sighed and said;

"And no. I cannot hear your thoughts."

She gave Buhle a stern look.

"Now, wrap this up and get going", instructed the head-maid.

Minutes later, Buhle made it to the palace. She was on time. The Queen's maids blew their fans at The Queen, while she sat looking at Buhle. It was if she was studying Buhle.

"You came on time… I thought you would dare have the audacity to defy me."

Those words drove shivers down Buhle's body. The Queen added; "It would have been a grave mistake… You made the right decision."

The Queen wanted to witness Buhle transform. But seeing that Buhle had not transformed yet, made her realize that she would have to wait. Buhle was getting nervous; her transformation was drawing nearer. She remained seated on her legs as she knelt before The Queen. And not even once did she raise her head to look at her Majesty. In her mind, she kept thinking of tricks to get out of there;

"I should ask to go to the toilet. But then, how do I come back? I will have transformed. Should I fake a bellyache? But if her Majesty realizes that I am lying, there is not telling what is to come. I am about to transform. What do I do?!"