Chapter Three

"Stop it! Stop protecting her! She is an adult. Not your youngest sister anymore. So you better just hurry up and tell me what you knew about this."

Buhle blinked his eyes still clouded with some sleep. "What will you do?" He licked his lips. "You won't hurt my sister now will you?"

"I am not that kind of a person."

Buhle wasn't calmed down by those words though. "But your brothers won't let this go. Hell!" He wiped at his still sleep deprived eyes. "Portia made a mistake. I'm going to talk to her and she's gonna fix that mistake. You just wait here and I'll go get her."

Nama shook his head as he also got out of bed. "It's too late. She has said what she had to. I won't listen to anything else."

"Please." Buhle begged. "You can't just do this. I asked you once. I asked you how much you loved my sister. I asked you and you told me that you love her more than you love anything. So why do this then?! Give her a bloody second chance. Okay?" He started to walk out of the room. Racing his sisters' bedroom. " Portia!" He yelled knocking at the door.

While Nama went to stand next to him opening the door revealing that there was no one inside. "Your sisters are not here Buhle. It's just you and me. For once talk about yourself and not them. You are my main focus now. Did you or didn't you know?"

"If I say I didn't you'll have my sister hanged by tomorrow morning. And if I say yes I did you'll have my sister hanged by tomorrow morning. There is no answer that can save my sister. So I'd rather not."

"So innocent." Nama nodded. "I thought you were but I couldn't be sure because well I thought I knew your sister as well and she did this to me."

"Prince don't hurt my sister. Please. Kill me instead. Let my sisters live in peace alright?"

"I told you I'm not that kind of person!"

"Yeah but I'm not talking about you. I'm actually talking about your brothers that will be blood thirsty hounds if they find out about this. You know that they disapproved of this relationship even before you even tried courting my sister." Buhle placed his hands on his head. "I won't able to sit back and watch my sister being killed and my other sister being hunted down by the villagers."

"What about you? Where do you fit in? Why can't you think about your fucking self for once?! I've been listening to you and you haven't said anything at all about you! You'll be in trouble as well. Have you thought about that?"

"I do not care about myself. Only my sisters. Prince Buhlanti I'm begging you to help me here. Tell me what to do. I will do anything. Just forget about this betrayal. Please."

"Impossible. Even if I do forget Buhle you do know that my brothers will search for the truth until they find it right? Like you they can't see me sad. I am sorry but even I can't protect your sister from my brothers' fury.

"Oh please!" Buhle fell on his knees, his hands together. "I will do anything. Anything at all! Just don't let your brothers know. Please. We are still outsiders here. Your brothers and the villagers won't spare my sisters."

"What am I supposed to do huh? Pretend like I was the one who broke up with her?"

Buhle's face rose at that. "Please."

"Why should I do it? What would be my reasons anyway?"

Buhle licked his bottom lip again. "A lot of things could be your reasons. You could say you aren't compatible. Or that you just didn't like her. Anything but the truth okay?"

"Mhm" Buhlanti went down to level up with Buhle. He saw the stray tear that must have fallen off from Buhle's eye to his cheek. He softly wiped it off. "What lie should I make up then?"

Buhle rested his hand on top of Buhlanti's on his face. "Anything."

Buhlanti's laugh loud and broke out from his mouth unexpected. "Tell me what this 'anything' means."

Buhle didn't say anything anymore. His hand was still holding onto Buhlanti's which was on his cheek. He gave Buhlanti a pleading mixed with desperation glance.

Buhlanti's sigh came after a long while of him looking at Buhle who still did not say anything. "Fine." He said removing his hand from Buhle's face. "I will do something to save your sister but for this to happen you and I will have to work together to achieve it."

Buhle jumped up to standing position. "Anything! Just say it and I will do it my prince."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! Are you doubting me prince?"

"It is not you I doubt it is the matter at hand that I think you will have a problem with. My solution to this joined problem we have might not come easy for you to swallow. But I promise it is the best I can do for the both of us."

"Say it then"

Buhlanti cleared his throat in a fake cough before he said what was on his mind. "The only way to save your sister would be I telling my family, the elders and the entire kingdom that someone else caught my eye. That your sister was indeed good and great but someone else better made me forget about her."

Buhle nodded seeing the sense in what the prince was saying. "But this is exactly what I was saying to you my prince. Exactly it. You just have to say that and Portia will be safe." He placed a hand on his chest. "Not just her. I and my other sister will be safe as well."

"Ewe. But you forget one thing warrior." The prince pointed out pacing a little in the room.

Buhle frowned confused. "Ndilibalantoni nkosana?"

"You are forgetting the fact that I have to have this better lover to present to my family and kingdom."

Buhle's eyes went around the room thinking. "So what are you to do prince? Get another?"

"And be betrayed again?!"

Buhlanti scoffed loudly. He laughed like a mad man. "Never. I say never! I'd rather die."

"Prince what will you do then?"

"The solution is here Buhle. We are looking at it."

Buhle looked around the room and he didn't see anything out of the ordninary. "What do you mean?"

"I mean to say we are each other's solutions. " He got closer to Buhle who did not move away nor did he stop Buhlanti from taking ahold his hand. "Buhle you might be an outsider when it comes to many things in this kingdom but I hope you know this. At least I think even if you were not taught about it like we were you must have heard about it from friends."

Buhlanti raised Buhle's right hand slipping into it's middle finger a blue ruby ring that he had removed from his own finger.

"I understand" Buhle said as he kept his eyes on the ring and Buhlanti's hand that was still caressing his own. "And I accept this ring as well as you. Just please know why I am. Don't make me regret saying yes."

"I am the prince of this kingdom Buhle whatever I do I must make sure I do it with honour. I can't promise you something today and then tomorrow break that promise."

Buhle slightly bent his head down at that. "Then my prince what do you promise me today?"

"Well other than the safety of your sisters I promise you the word outsider will be forgotten when you are mentioned because after today you will be fully part of us. Part of this great kingdom and me. You will be fully one of the sons of Awam. Does that sound good to you or should I add more promises?"

Buhle licked his bottom lip. Bowing his head. "I am not a greedy person prince. I don't want more than I have been given. So no that is enough for me."

The prince smiled gently at Buhle now letting go of the hand he had placed the sign of royalty on. "Good,good then it is done."

He was about walking out of the room when Buhle's quick hands found his waist. Holding him back. "Where are you going prince?"

"To the palace obviously. Let me go tell my brothers about what has happened today."

"And you hope to die on the way I suppose prince?"

With a chuckle prince Buhlanti glanced back at Buhle. "Why would I die?"

"Prince like you said I might have not learnt anything from this kingdom like you and so many others have but I listen. And I have listened to the rules of marriage according to Awam. So I know as much as you do how wrong and dangerous what you just tried here was if I had not just stopped you. "

The prince freed himself from Buhle's unsecure hold on him. "Good,good. So you listen."

"I do. So please do not try to kill yourself so young prince."

The prince still had an amused look in his face. "Let me not test your knowledge any further then." He raised his hand for Buhle who placed his on top of it immediately.

They both walked back to the bed. Where Buhle sat first on the bed , the prince followed after him and gently pushed him down on the bed. So he could lie on top of him.

Buhle closed his eyes and placed both his hands on top of the pillows above his head on the bed. While Buhlanti leaned in for a kiss.

Buhlanti's cold lips made contact with Buhle's warm and inviting ones. The mere touch of their lips felt like an electric shock.

-+ -+ -+ -+

Buhle opened his eyes the blinding light coming from his bedroom window being the first thing to attack his eyesight. "Ugh" he yawned as he covered his eyes with his hands and rubbing at them at the sametime. For a while everything was all well to him still he sat up on bed and that was when he felt the heavy ring on his finger. And he started to recall the night before.

His eyes still remained shut and covered by his hands as he knew he had now lost.

"Oh Awam." His bare back hit his nightboard contact with the coldness of it. Something that was not unfamiliar to him but today after last night even this felt foreign to him.

A stray tear landed on his hand. "Oh my. Mom is this what love for one's sister really causes? I thought I could do anything for my two flowers but never in my life did I think it would come to this." He wiped away the tear as he saw it fit for him to open his eyes and face the day head on. "No matter what is done." He kissed the red ruby ring and got up from bed to start the day. Not as the person he was yesterday morning but a brand new person entirely.