We finally reached the great forest just as day broke and allowed the sun to peek at us from behind the sky's silver drapes.
Riley had spent the trip answering every ridiculous and over-excited question that Samuel tossed onto her lap. Even Melissa got annoyed with her brother's constant pestering and repeatedly tried to silence him. But Samuel's curiosity was as boundless as the twin oceans and not even his beloved twin could negotiate his silence.
The road trip distractions could only last for so long. Eventually, we pulled into the driveway of reality and walked up to my former home. I told the others to leave the luggage in the house until I announced ourselves to the Chief. Although, he was without a doubt expecting us at his door any minute due to the fact that his patrolling warriors had allowed us to enter their territory.
I could feel my throat constrict and push hot air into my already barren mouth as I looked at the chestnut double doors to the Mpande manner. I could barely identify a single through as they stampeded through my mind. It was too much, and I turned around to face the forest. Surprisingly, Riley's voice interrupted my failed attempt to inhale oxygen.
"It's going to be okay," she said in a voice that made me travel back in time. I remembered how I used to follow the younger girl around the forest as a girl and try to keep up with her reckless antiques in the trees.
"They hate me," I said simply. There was no point denying the obvious. She chuckled softly. That only earned her my glare which made her roll her eyes.
"They don't hate you. They just hate how things turned out. We all do," her voice was hollow as she trailed off at the end of the sentence. She wasn't wrong.
"Let's go," I decided.
Knysna is no place for the weak.
I took a final deep breath and walked up to the double doors. They were opened before I had the chance to knock. I placed my clammy hands behind my back and dried them on my leather pants. A sculpted pillar, clad in a bulletproof vest, stood before me. He motioned with his cement arm to walk into the house. I looked behind me once more. I offered the twins a soft lipped nod of encouragement.
The house was just as I remembered. Although, the new echo of silence made me feel like an alien in my childhood home. I knew that the pride was probably ordered to stay out of sight until the chief had his audience with me, but the offsetting atmosphere created by their absence was difficult to stomach as I walked further into the mansion.
I tried to distract myself by focusing on the familiar interior of the house. The taupe walls were decorated with proud and loud paintings depicting our heritage. The marble floors were complimented with refined wooden furniture and staircases. I followed the guard into a room I had been summoned to countless times in my youth.
The guard cleared his sandpaper throat before pushing the door slightly ajar and standing at attention. Here goes everything.
"Enter, child," I subconsciously bowed my head as I entered the room. It was quite quaint given its significance to the kingdom, but the lack of space seemed to create a dense air of authority that suited the Chief all too well.
"Seven years." He spoke simply with the weight of the African continent shifting underfoot with each syllable he produced. I swallowed the fear in my throat. I slowly craned my neck upwards to meet his bronze eyes. I was fighting the tremble in my knees and I maintained eye contact.
"So, you are the guardian that the ancestors have chosen for my baby girl?" He asked from his diaphragm.
"Yes, chief," I replied concisely.
"Where is my daughter?"
"She is still is inside, Chief. I left her with-" he swiftly interrupted me.
"With?" I almost crumbled under the force of his narrowed eyes.
"You left my baby girl under the protection of ghosts?!" His voice shot out of the way one of my father's bolts shot from the sky. My head instinctively bowed.
"They helped me save her life," I managed to say under my breath.
"Yes, I heard that you let my only daughter get kidnapped." I stared a hole through the tiles. I fought the flames biting at my fingertips. The Chief was right to reprimand my poor protection of the princess.
"You allowed your ward to get kidnapped by unknown people and then outsourced her retrieval to ghosts. Have I understood this correctly, child?" He asked in a disapproving tone.
"No, Chief," I said in a forcefully tamed voice.
"Which part do you disagree with, girl?" He asked in a taunting voice.
"They are the reason that your daughter is alive," I said in a slightly louder voice. His growl brewed behind his fangs. I was struggling to keep my keep soul cool.
"What of the men that took my daughter?" he asked in a slightly smooth voice. I couldn't keep the smirk off my face as I looked up and met his eyes once more.
"They are with their ancestors now," I said with a crooked smile. There it was – the infamous Junaid Mpande chuckle. He had a way of filling the room with his full boisterous full-body laugh. I finally released the breath I had been holding since I entered the room. He walked up to me and wrapped his log around my shoulder.
"Welcome home, my girl," he said in a booming voice. This was the man I missed most days. The man of steel with the heart of a baby elephant. I walked with him towards the family room. I expect he sent his guards out to fetch my patient trio in the foyer.
Finally, the suffocating silence had evaporated and the house was as alive as it was in my memories. Voices bounced and crawled as they skinnered and stood shocked in the crooks of the large Mpande Manor. A faint smile broke onto my face.
I'm home.
Before I could blink the room had erupted into whistles, cheers and musical joy. The princess was home.
A tall woman with voluptuous red curls swooped Riley into her arms and cried out in glee: "Riley, baby, you're here! I can't believe you're here! Junaid! Junaid? Come see - our baby's home! Junaid?"
"Yerri, woman! I'm here. I'm here! Princess? Is that you?" The Chief swiftly abandoned my side and gravitated towards his beloved daughter. This was a moment I was secretly hoped for when I decided to return here. We had gone through hell in the last few years but at least we had a home to return to.
There was a slight moment of warm that was instantly extinguished when I caught sight of the love of my life and my best friend being dragged into the living room by eagle clawed guards wearing mugs of disgust.
I had one of the guards by his throat and the other was choking on the sole of my shoe. The entirety of the Mpande Pride was now on guard and ready to tear me to shreds.
Riley was flanking my side and Sam had already circumnavigated the room with the droplets from an unattended glass.
"Stop, Nix!" Riley pled from within her father's embrace. She realised that she misspoke when I stabbed her with my eyes. I would not stand down. They disrespected my family.
"Nikola Achebe. Get off my nephew's neck." Lucinda instructed. Her volcanic red curls seemed to elevate as she spoke. I had to look away as she stared me down. I never enjoyed disobeying her but today was not her day to command. Today was my day to defend the only family who hadn't abandoned me yet.
"I'm sorry, aunty, but I won't release him until everyone in this room swears to keep their hands to themselves and away from my family," as soon as uttered the "f" word, the room erupted again. This time into shook and condemnation.
How dare I side with a ghost over them – my people?
What gives me the right to put my love before my loyalty to Africa?
What they don't know is that when I was alone and bleeding in an abandoned building in the dead of winter it wasn't an African who bandaged my wounds. That was Melissa. It wasn't an African that hunted for my food. Sammy did that. The only Africans who seemed to care about me on the day I thought would be my last are no longer in this world. They are the only Africans I would ever consider putting above the family that these self-righteous Africans call ghosts.
Riley tried and subsequently failed to break free from her fathers hold. The rest of the room was still brewing and rumbling with a thirst for conflict. I knew all I had to do was let my inner flame taste the air and the those I love would be laid to waste. I looked to my side at Sam's fury-creased face. The Norseman was ready for war. His sister was equally prepared to follow me into battle but a soft and persistent voice at the back of my head kept repeating the same mantra.
"Breathe, Nix. Just breathe." I closed my eyes for a second and allowed the voice to grow as it echoed behind my eyes. It grew louder and more soothing as it swallowed and digested every other sound in the room.
I finally willed myself to listen to the sage words dancing with my conscience. I inhaled deeply and opened my eyed as I exhaled all of my anger and hostility. My freshly blossomed sight connected with the hazel eyes of the woman I had sworn to protect. She looked trapped between concern and frustration. I understood that feeling.
I slowly raised my foot and watched released the second guards from my talons. They were quick to their feet but no soon than they could retaliate, the Chief's voice radiated through the room once again.
"That is the last of this! There will be no fighting under my roof. Now, get cleaned up for dinner. We are going to celebrate the return of my wonderful daughter …," he paused to make eye contact with anyone who dared to think a defiant thought before continuing, "Anyone who disrespects our guest will answer to me."
The members of the Pride left without so much as peeking in our direction. The Chief made sure of it. He and his reunited family were the last to vacate the room.
"Intense guy. The Chief," Sam said awkwardly once we were alone. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to lighten the mood.
"Are you okay?" I asked Melissa while examining her body and face for any bruises. She smiled into my palm and kissed my lips gently.
"I'm sorry for bringing you here. It's the only place I could think of coming where we'd all be safe," I explained in a deflated voice.
"Yeah, I must say. I was quite touched by their concern for our safety," Sam sarcastically remarked. I rolled my eyes, but Lissa conveyed both of our annoyance with her brother with a singular whack to the upside of her skull. He was visibly annoyed with the fact that his attackers were left unchecked.
"Nik, wherever you go we follow." She said simply. She stared down my blonde best friend until he eventually relented and waved his arm in acceptance.
"Let's just go eat. I hope they made good food. The gods know you can't cook to save your life," he said with a huff. I actually let a small chuckle slip before intertwining my fingers with Lissa's. Food is one thing my people knew how to do well.