The Broken Destiny

by Carlyle Labuschagne

  His finger shot out like a needle and poked me in the chest. “It would seem that my sister has escaped.”

  Relief washed over me. She wasn’t one of them. The witchdoctor pushed down harder into my chest. The patch of skin where he was touching me was on fire, and the longer he kept his finger to my skin, the more I felt his rottenness shoot through my veins – like a dark acid fire penetrating into my chest. He, too, noticed this and pulled back, his panic almost visible in the tight set of his mouth.

  “You will find her for me.” His voice was filled with fury.

  I didn’t quite understand what he meant. He read the confusion on my face.

  “You do not know how to harness your cognitive powers yet?” He seemed amused. “The warlock is a fool. Trust him to procrastinate and leave you to your own devices.” He snorted. “Well, leave it up to me. I will show you the way.” His evil chuckle cut through the air, rippling cold sweats swept through my entire body.

  “Father, no.” Enoch was at his side. “You promised I would be the first. She is my future queen. I should be the one to break her innocence.”

  My innocence? Break it? Oh, no. They are talking about my virginity!

  “It’s too late,” I said quickly and loudly, forcing the confidence into my tone.

  “You lie.” Enoch took a step toward me. He glared at me, cold and fierce.

  I had to block my mind. If a single thought to the contrary were to cross it, he would instantly know the truth. Technically, my virginity was still intact, because when I had been raped, I had been sodomized. I can’t let him know. I have to block it out. I began thinking in a language he didn’t understand – Afrikaans.

  “How would you know? We never slept together.”

  He continued to stare at me.

  I shrugged. “I do have taste.” This was said with a hint of a smile in my voice, just to make it believable.

  Enoch leaned in closer, his frown deepening. “We have ways of finding out the truth.”

  He was completely unruffled. I had never seen him so calm and it was troubling.

  The witchdoctor laughed. “Look at you, son! You think you have what it takes to break this young woman, the White Divine!” He laughed again. “You are my only son, but your mother was a Minoan.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if you have it in you, boy.”

  “Let me prove it, father,” Enoch said with conviction.

  He pressed his body against mine. I backed up as his glacier eyes tried to cut through me.

  “I will break her.” His mouth twitched.

  A cold, dark, hollow fear swelled inside me, subduing any rage that once fueled me.

  When we arrived in ‘my’ chambers, I was shocked. It wasn’t at all what I had expected. It was fit for a queen, the large stone room luxurious, complete with animal skins, vibrant pots of clay in every color, shape and size. A plethora of animal furs covered the four-poster ivory bed. In the far corner of the room beside a gigantic fire place, a large copper bath stood on golden stilts. I stared into the green flames crackling and bursting with scorching heat. I wondered when my ‘family’ and friends would come for me. The fire had heated the room so severely; I had to take off Enoch’s jacket almost immediately. I turned to see the guards close the door behind me. I dropped the jacket to the floor, moved my wet muddy boots over to the bed. I sat with my wet dress and soaked, dripping hair on top of the black and white sheets trying not to cry. There was a soft knock at the door. I stood covering my bust with my arms.

  “Princess?” a young female voice enquired.

  The large, wooden door slowly creaked open. It was the young queen. Her eyes had returned to their normal golden brown. She bowed.

  I walked up to her and took her hand.

  “Please, help me,” I begged, as a string of young maids entered with an array of colored bottles, soaps and perfume, freshly cut flowers, bowls of rose petals, branches of jasmine, lavender and tea tree oils. While they filled the bathtub, I walked over to the large glassless window. My body ached with each step I took. In the distance, past the scorched land, tiny fires burned outside the round huts. I wondered how the Zulus could have populated their nation in such a short time since arriving on Poseidon. As far as I knew, it had only been Nomsa, her brother, and her father from the Zulu nation that had arrived with the rest of our colony. But, then again, anything was possible at that point. I turned to watch the girls move around the room. Although I wasn’t alone in the room, I had never felt so alone and so isolated in my entire life. I felt myself beginning to crumble. I bit down on the pain. Four guards entered, followed by Enoch, all dressed in traditional Zulu attire. Skirts made up of animal skins, twisted into thick dreads that hung down to their knees, leopard print tails tied around their heads that acted as a crown symbolizing the royal guards. Again, I wondered where on our planet they could have hunted and killed animals that didn’t exist, but then I remembered that the Isithunzi had stolen the traveling mirror from Kronan. Enoch stood before me with his Minoan bow in one hand, blue and purple feathers dangling from the tip of what was now a spear. I stiffened as my heart started to pound against my chest so hard that I struggled to breathe. The mere sight of him sent mixed feelings warring inside me. His lengthy legs enabled him to cross the room in three long strides where he had come to a standstill inches away from me, stroking my face. I pulled away immediately, but he grabbed my wrist and drew me closer into his naked chest.

  “I hate you.” I spoke through clenched teeth.

  “Good,” he smirked. “Hate is a passionate emotion.” He said, pulling his face into an all-knowing scowl.

  He was condescendingly calm. Somehow, he sensed I was scared even though I was constantly thinking in Afrikaans. He knew me by now. We had many a night alone, talking – amongst other things. I shivered with disgust at that thought. He was a stranger to me now. I swallowed the pain once more. I didn’t know how much more heartache I could take at that point. I snorted and turned away from him, but his fingers twisted my chin back toward him.

  “We were once beautiful together, we can be again.”

  “Nothing about you is beautiful,” I spat, my chin still clenched in his palm.

  “You will learn to love me and respect me in time.” He kept his glare fixed on my face.

  “Ha!” I spat. “Love? You don’t know the true meaning of love.” I, too, kept my eyes on his.

  I saw the ice in his eyes melt.

  “I could,” he said.

  “Obsession,” I mocked.

  His glare intensified “You will love me.”

  My smirk gave way, his magic was not working on me anymore, and he couldn’t force ideas into my head any longer.

  I can get to this prince. The Prince of Lies, I thought to myself. He summoned the maids as he let go of me. They pulled me to the tub. The sickly sweet scent of all the flowers mixed with the steam made my stomach ill. I crossed my arms and motioned with my head for Enoch to leave the room. His smirk widened, his eyes trailed over my body. I recoiled from the girls, but the warriors closed in on me. Enoch slowly sat down on a well-worn, brown, leather armchair just a few paces away from the tub. The warriors cut the dress from me, the soft material falling to the floor like scattered leaves from a tree in mourning. Still, I refused to cry. Enoch’s gaze fell on my underwear, and for a moment, the thump of my heart was all I could hear.

  “Enoch, no. Please?” I begged, swallowing hard against flaming tears that burned my throat and shook my voice.

  He nodded toward the girls; quickly they surrounded me, wrapping a thin, white cloth around my body, pulling my underwear off as they dragged me into the tub. With a flick of his hand, he commanded the guards to wait outside as the girls removed the cloth. A tear escaped. I was humiliated. Enoch stood up. Leaning into the tub, he swirled the water around with his hand. I tried to cover myself up as much as I could. His smirk lighted up his entire face.

  With an eyebrow raised he said, “You’re already breaking.”


  Troy’s face flashed before me and something within snapped. I shot to my feet, water pouring from my body and punched him in the face. He turned back toward me – smiling!

  “Soon my love, soon,” he said.

  I tried to punch him again, but he caught my hand and kissed it. I pulled away from him and just stood there. His eyes searched my naked body.

  I pulled a face, like one would when you smell something rotten. “Take a good look asshole!” I spat. “You might have this body, but you’ll never have my heart.”

  “I only need your soul, princess,” he muttered and left the room.

  I stood there staring at the girls. I had never expected what just had happened. They looked away. I slumped back into the water, staring blankly ahead as the girls bathed me. Their eyes never met mine, not even once. I will NOT be raped. Never again will I let that happen to me. My heart raced so much; I could hardly stand the pain.

  “Why are you letting him do this to you?” I asked furiously. “You deserve more than this.”

  The young queen’s eyes finally fell on mine. “We have no choice, princess.”

  “Stop calling me that!” I said heatedly. “They will not break me. I don’t belong here.” I stared each one of them down. “Let me help you. We can defeat this Isithunzi.”

  “His magic is too strong, my lady,” she said softly.

  “That might be true, but his magic also makes him weak. The more he uses, the weaker he becomes.”

  I saw a plan beginning to form in her eyes.

  Later that evening, I heard the beating of drums echo over the lands. Walking over to the window, I stood and welcomed the chilly breeze. Ugly, brown welts of smoke stained the purple night sky, scarring the faces of the three moons. The rains had seized the distant stars visible through the little cloud cover. I looked down at the traditional decorative cloth that replaced my dress, held together only by strings of golden beads, my hands and feet dressed in red beads. I wanted to rip the clothes from my body, but was not prepared to go naked. The wire of remorse wrapped around my body like a wounded animal, and to me, those clothes represented every wrong decision I had ever made to get to that point. I promised myself that I would never, ever, give Enoch what he wanted. I would rather die a hundred times over than let that happen. Enoch was dead to me and he was responsible for the death of the one I loved, the one I was meant to have been with all along. I could finally see that. Being near Troy, made a part of me that I’d never known existed, come alive. I wanted to be more like that girl and more like him. I could see clearly at last, but it was too late. I would never be able to tell him that. I would never be able to tell him that I was changing because of him. I wanted to blame Enoch for distracting me from my purpose, but I couldn’t blame him. I knew that it was all on me, all my own fault. I had let him deceive me. I tortured myself with the thought that, Troy was right. It is entirely my fault. The pain and loathing that surged inside me built up to a crescendo as warm tears silently escaped. Emotion spilled from every corner of my mind, overwhelming my heart. I stumbled over to the open window. Cold air and rotten smoke blew past me. It felt like I was going to explode with hatred. I forced myself to snap out of it. I will use this. I will use it well. That foreign, wicked smile crept across my face. I refused to give Enoch another thought. He didn’t deserve it. That was the exact moment that I became able to voluntarily block him from reading my mind.

  “I would rather be naked than wear the colors of my enemy,” I said out loud to the walls in the room as if they were spies.

  I ripped the strings of beads and watched them burst all over the floor. Next, I tore the robes from my body, walked over to the enormous bed and wrapped myself in the animal skins. The tiny hairs of what I thought must be a goat’s pelt, were prickly against my silky skin. One by one, I pulled all the skins from the walls and couches.

  “The time has come, my people!” The witchdoctor’s voice boomed from afar.

  I froze.

  “The cleansing ceremony will begin tonight.”

  The door swung open and I scurried to the far corner. I swore under my breath as I melted into the shadows – there was nowhere else to go.

  “Princess?” someone whispered softly.

  The young queen came creeping into the room. Two young men stood behind her.

  “We have to hurry. He’ll notice my absence soon.”

  I allowed myself to be seen. Her eyes fell on my chosen attire. She laughed and handed me a bundle of old clothes. Untangling it, I discovered a pair of jeans and a light blue sweater.

  “Where did you get these?”

  “Hurry, there’s no time.”

  I pulled the pair of jeans over my quivering legs and then the sweater, both too big for me. I rolled the jeans up and did the same with the sweater’s sleeves. It was then that I recognized the sweater.

  “Sage!” I said out loud. “You have to take me to her!”

  “Princess, we don’t have time.”

  “Please. I can’t leave her here. She is still alive, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, but she’s not the girl you remember.”

  “I don’t care. Take me to her,” I insisted.

  She nodded.

  I held onto the waist of the jeans with one hand as we left. The soft sweater clung to the curves of my breasts. There was no time to fuss; I needed to get to Sage. I knew she had changed, just like me. There would be no other reason she would be there. We slipped out of the room and paused at the end of the narrow, dimly lighted corridor, and satisfied we were in the clear, entered what looked like a kitchen and proceeded through the dark room until we came to a colossal oven. The young queen softly nudged me into the out-of-use oven. She led the way and I slid into the darkness behind her, the two young Zulu boys following close behind. The tunnel grew darker, like a black wall rising before us. The air was stale and stifling as we headed in. I slowed down as I was confused about the layout of the low, slanted tunnel. The young boys behind me kept coming and pushed me onward into the darkness. I grabbed onto one of their arms to steady myself. The boy’s skin was warm and smooth in contrast to the coarse walls I continuously kept scraping my hands and feet against. Finally, a glow signaled the end of the tunnel. The coarse sandstone sides of the tunnel began scraping against the sweater as it narrowed even further. My toes were the first to feel the cold air. The young queen grabbed my hand as we popped out the other end.

  “We made it!” I said, blowing out a huge sigh of relief.

  My words came crashing down on me as I saw Enoch standing just outside the tunnel, his arms crossed over his chest, and a huge feathered crown matching the colors of his eyes sat atop his head. He grinned so wickedly, I felt like killing him then and there. But my lack of training left me less than confident in my abilities.

  “Leaving so soon?” he enquired plainly.

  I turned to see that the boys had receded back into the darkness of the tunnel. I felt relieved as their identities would be hidden, but the young queen, however, knelt at Enoch’s feet in despair. Her betrayal was now evident. As my eyes fell on her, the pain I had swallowed before came back up into my chest, threatening to tear through me. His eyes followed mine.

  “Oh, trust me; she will be made an example of.”

  “Enoch, please. I forced her to help me. It’s my fault.”

  His face was scraped clean of any human traits.

  “It is your fault, entirely. Her blood will be on your hands.”

  He picked her up and threw her to the guards. My blood started to boil. I can’t let them hurt her. She’s been so kind to me. I can’t let anything happen to her. I refuse to have another death on my conscience.

  “Okay, Enoch. Let’s do this.” I smiled.

  Something foreign, something strong, something that came as naturally as breathing forced its way through me. I felt a calmness wash over me – I breathed in the sweet smell of revenge. The supernova of hatred was building within me.

  I tas
ted the darkness on my lips.

  I welcomed it.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Revelations

  Change everything you are.

  Change everything you were.

  Change everything you will be.

  The second I let everything slip away, the sensation of my heart shattering into a million pieces shot through me like a blade to my wrist. The slow burn of pain threatened to take over, but it was replaced by a white rage so pure in its strength, it left me dizzy. I was furious at myself for allowing these devastating events to happen and I blamed myself for everything bad that was happening. The anger and disgust I felt was the same anger and disgust I had experienced the day after I was raped. I knew those feelings would never go away. Nothing I could think of would ever heal the bad choices I had made. The things I had allowed to happen to me, to my friends… Nothing in the universe could ever make it all go away. I am a disaster, I pronounced to myself. I clenched my fists at my sides as we headed back toward the chambers, my knuckles turning white against my body. A troop of guards escorted us up a spiral staircase made from the same ivory as the four-poster bed. Skulls hung from the clay brick hallways, strings of multicolored spears decorated the roof, their sharp blades threatening to come down on me at any minute. We entered a doorway and my eyes fell on a massive lion’s head stuck to the wall – we were about to enter the Royal chamber. A golden mane gave way to a soft, fair face and in its eyes, hollowness and death was evident. My heart ached at the way its beauty and majesticness had been defiled at the hands of this world. Realization of how I was going to beat my enemy sank in hard and fast. I almost felt sick at the thought that I was to become what I had hated for so long in order to save myself, to get to Troy’s body in time, to save the villagers, the young queen and eventually save everything I loved. My pulse raced at the idea. Why did it have to come down to this? I knew no other way. I wished something would come to me soon. It was the only way I could think of. I had to become what I hated – and very fast. As the doors opened, Enoch gripped my arm and pulled me into the room. I drew in all the fear; let it wash away any compassion and insecurities I owned. I wanted to rip everything inside me to shreds so I could get to that dark place edging toward my consciousness. I needed to get to it immediately. The doors closed behind us and I turned to see death all around me. The eyes of dozens of animals displayed as trophies, called to me from the very walls they hung from. I wanted to smash the walls in, to destroy everything in my path with my fists, because the broken bones would distract me from the pain I felt inside. I buried myself, and the darkness in my heart came alive as Enoch grinned at me. Shuddering, I filled myself with the unknown. Whatever I had taken from the Isithunzi when he had touched me was now the bridge between my heart and the darkness welling up inside me. I was scared yet empowered by it. A flicker of sadness washed over me for what I was about to do, but I quickly suppressed it. Troy would hate this. That sadness and pain become my trigger – I welcomed it – I owned it. If only for this night, I could revel in the beauty of the darkness. The poison would fuel me, scrape at the edges of my soul and scar me, but I would not let it break me. Bouquets of flowers filled the corners of the room, and a tall fire burned a strange electric green in a colossal fireplace that was draped with skins and skulls. Rose petals were scattered across the floor and on the bed.