At the royal palace, the queen was pacing up and down. She had given birth to a future king, and no one would stand in the way of her biggest desire, especially not a commoner.

The spy entered the room and bowed down. “I come bearing news, your highness.”

The queen sat, clicking her fingers to indicate that the spy might start talking.

“It is true, and she is not only a commoner, but she comes from one of the poorest families in the kingdom.” With his head still bowed he continued, “The girl’s name is Palesa. Her father denied her when she was born and relocated, so she was raised by a single mother. Palesa is the breadwinner because her mother is too old to work in the fields.”

The queen took a deep breath, stood up and stormed out of the room.

Once alone in the bedroom, the queen started thinking. It would be best if the king did not find out about this: as much as Mohale was the heir, he could lose that spot to his younger brother from the king’s second wife. She was terrified of what her son would choose if push came to shove, and he had to pick between love and the throne.

She called in the messenger and gave him his orders, then went to the throne room to talk to the king.

“Your Majesty, can we talk?”

The king was a man of very few words but when he did talk, the words were final. “I am
all ears…”

The queen cleared her throat and began, “My king, I think it is time for us to contact the Mokwena family. We all agreed that at some stage, our son would marry their princess and I think the time has come. The princess has grown to be a very beautiful young lady with good manners, so someone else might make a better offer to her father and just like that, our kingdom will lose a good queen.”

The king gently stroked his beard and remained silent for a few seconds before replying quietly, “I hear you dear wife, but why does it look like you are hiding something from me?”

The queen stepped closer to the king. She looked him in the eye and said, “I am always thinking about what is best for this kingdom and we both know that a woman’s intuition is very powerful. I ask you to put your faith in me as you always have. Let us not waste precious time. Mohale is no longer a boy; he is a man. Remember that you and I were way younger when our families fixed this alliance.”

“Very well then, I shall think about it.”