I had never seen such beauty in all my life. The mansion appeared before me like a palace or more like a presidential villa. it was calm and tranquil. It looked too beautiful to be real. The gates alone, black iron wrapped in golden vines, sang as they opened, pushed by guards whose armor gleamed even under the moonlight.
I walked barefooted, wrapped around the white linen. My ankle still throbbed from the chase. I was led across floors of pure white marble, under ceilings carved with suns and stars, through corridors that smelled of roses and sandalwood. Everything was too clean, too bright. I felt like I was smearing dirt on the air just by breathing it.
Nobody spoke to me, the ladies who walked passed me opened their mouths in shock and hid behind the curtains. The men in large boots and dark uniforms who had captured me, simply brought me here, through the grand doors into the mansion of the Emperor of Zazu, the man they believed was my father.
Walking in, I didn't feel like I entered a home, it was more like I've gotten into paradise, heaven or something unnatural. Chandeliers sparkled like frozen waterfalls. Pillars lined the hallway, sculpted with the faces of warriors, priests, and empresses long gone. Silks hung from the balconies, fluttering with a breeze I couldn't feel. And on the walls were golden and shiny.
I paused. My own face stared back at me in beautiful mirrors. The man that gripped me tightly realised me and my arm hurt so bad.
"Come," a woman's voice said.
I turned. Two women in gold and ruby robes stood waiting. They bowed slightly, and led me into a room where everything glittered. Everything sparkled, it smelt so good. It was different from the smell of dust, and dirts from where I came from. More like a beautiful dream. Curtains of velvet, perfumes of honey and citrus, and garments that shimmered like magic.
They didn't ask for permission. They undressed me gently, washing me with warm, rose-scented water. I didn't resist. I was too stunned. My fingers shook as they clothed me in a gown of deep blue and silver, trimmed with thread so fine it felt like air. They placed rings on my fingers. Bracelets on my wrists. A chain around my waist. They parked my hair in a bun and put shiny stones on it.
"You are ready," one whispered, stepping back with reverence.
"Ready for what?" I asked,but they didn't respond.
I followed them, unsure if my feet were touching the ground or if I had floated into some strange new world. We passed a hall of mirrors. I glimpsed myself again, I no longer looked like Zuri, the street girl, the one who made children smile. The orphan of Kigali's gutters. This girl looked… royal.
The court room opened like a scene from prophecy. White marble stretched before me, ending in a throne of stone and firewood, draped in lion hides and gold banners. Guards lined both sides. Courtiers in silk stared. Servants bowed.
And on the a sovereign seat he sat. Old, frail, yet regal. His skin was the color of aged bronze, his beard silver-white like river mist. His eyes, though tired, burned with recognition.
The Emperor of Zazu. The great Zazu of Kigali.
My legs trembled. I didn't know how to bow. I simply stood, frozen, as he raised a hand.
"Amani Bahati," one of the guards announced. "Sire, your lost daughter."
And then he spoke, voice cracked and slow, but filled with a strange warmth.
"My long-lost daughter," the emperor said.
Gasps echoed around the room.
"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "No, i think there's a mistake. I'm not your daughter. I don't know who told you that, I am just an orphan, my parents are dead."
"Imposter!" A deep voice rang out behind me.
A young man stepped forward in rage. Sharp cheekbones, piercing eyes, golden rings flashing on his fingers. His suit swayed as he stormed toward us.
"Prince Kiongozi," one of the guards announced.
"She's from the street, a lowlife and not a Bahati," Kiongozi shouted. "She must be taken back. She's lying!"
"The seal," a soldier near the emperor said, stepping forward. "She bears the seal of Bahati."
"What nonsense" Kiongozi snarled.
"She didn't come to us sire,we found her in the woods" the commander who captured me answered. "How then could she be an imposter?"
But then another voice softer, yet more commanding, cut through the air.
"Wait."
A woman. Fair like the sun, tall slender and beautiful. Walked closer to me with a statuesque grace. Her eyes glistened with warmth as she stepped down from beside the emperor.
Imani.
The Empress.
She came close, so close I felt her breath on my cheek, and gently turned me around.
"There," she whispered, fingers tracing the back of my shoulder. "Here it is."
Silence.
"She's ours. She's our blood. The seal is here. I bore her."
I turned back to her, eyes wide.
"My long-lost child has returned," the empress declared, raising her hand to the crowd. "The heir of Bahati, our princess and the soon to be empress of Zazu!"
A few people dropped to one knee. And the guards bowed before me.
I couldn't breathe.
Kiongozi's face contorted in fury. He stormed out without a word, his suit snapping behind him like thunder.
"You are one of us," the emperor said, barely above a whisper. "My child…"
I stood, confused, trembling. My fingers clenched the edge of my gown like it might hold some truth. A thousand thoughts raced through me,this couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. How did I go from roaming on the streets to this? How could I belong to them?
But all I could think about was Taji. Where was he? Was he safe? Did they take him too?
"My daughter," the empress said, turning back to the court. "Give her food to eat. She's must be starving."
Her voice rose like a war cry.
"Make a feast! Open the gates! Let people come from far and near! Do anything she commands! Our heir has been found!"
And just like that, the halls erupted in cheers.
I stood in the center of it all.
A crownless girl in a borrowed gown, watching a world I never dreamed of bend around me.
I stepped out of the Emperor's court with the weight of a thousand eyes on me. Drums struck like the beating of hearts, flutes spiraled into the air, and laughter erupted like firecrackers. The people of Zazu were celebrating,not just a new dawn, but me. Their heir, they found me.
They led me to a massive table that curved in a perfect crescent, covered in fine silk and littered with foods I had only seen in dreams. Roasted goat soaked in golden spices, purple fruits that shimmered like gemstones, and pastries dusted with something like snow. The aroma was dizzying, but my stomach turned.
One by one, they came. Dancers, singers, even drummers still caked with dust from the streets of Kigali. They poured into the gates like a flood breaking a dam. Zazu, the beautiful empire, the heart of Kigali, throbbed with life and laughter. I saw men in heavy robes and women in colorful beads. They sang happily forgetting all the inconveniences the search cost them.
But my name wasn't mine.
People whispered around me.
"She has the Emperor's eyes," one said.
"No, the Empress's mouth," another countered.
"She's as radiant as the moon," murmured a maid beside me.
I heard it all. But none of it warmed me.
I sat still, my fingers curled into my lap as I stared at the plates piled high in front of me. The golden cup in my hand trembled slightly, though I tried to keep it still. I couldn't eat. I couldn't drink. I didn't belong here.
My heart was in the streets, in the alleyways of Kigali where Taji and I used to race the wind, jumping over puddles, laughing past hunger. Where was he now? My heart questioned.
"Ma'am?" a soft voice broke my thoughts. A young maid knelt beside me, her head slightly bowed. "Is there a problem? Do you need something?"
She was kind. Nervous. But I couldn't pretend anymore.
I leaned toward her, straightened my back, and said clearly, "Yes. I need someone."
Her brows arched.
"I need to see my friend. Taji Kira. Please let the guards go out immediately, to search the whole of Kigali if they must. Bring him here before sunrise."
I didn't realize how loud I had spoken until people turned. But I didn't care.
The maid blinked. "I-I'll tell the commander," she stammered, then disappeared into the crowd like smoke.
The music played louder to cover the moment. People kept dancing, kept eating, even as they looked at me from the corners of their eyes. The mansion gates stayed open, and more arrived, commoners from places in Kigali I'd never even heard of. All for the new princess.
Princess.
It sounded unreal.
A woman's voice, calm and tender, wrapped around me like silk.
"What do you want to be called, my angel?"
I turned. The Empress Imani stood beside me, her smile gentle, her eyes holding something, hope? Grief?
"Your father and I named you Amani," she continued, brushing a lock of hair from my cheek. "But you could still choose your own name."
A silence stretched between us. I stared ahead at the burning torches, the people cheering, the food untouched before me.
I swallowed. "Zuri," I said. "just Zuri"
She nodded slowly, like it meant something more. Then she turned to the crowd. "Zuri Bahati it is!"
The cheer that followed could have split the sky. "Princess Zuri! Princess Zuri!" They chanted it over and over.
But I wasn't dancing.
My legs ached. My ribs still throbbed from when wetan into the forest. My soul felt like it had been scraped raw.
"I need to sleep," I whispered to a nearby maid.
Moments later, guards cleared the way with polished spears and booming voices. "The princess desires to retire!" they shouted.
All eyes followed me as I was led through polished hallways and up a spiral staircase, into a room that didn't feel real. The ceiling arched like the heavens, and the sheets on the bed glowed with a golden hue. It smelled of myrrh and incense, of royalty and distance.
Paintings of the Emperor and Empress holding a baby lined the walls. One of them… was me?
The maids undressed me gently, cleaned my feet, rubbed fragrant oils into my hair, and dressed me in the softest linen. I said nothing. I let them work like ghosts.
When they left, I lay on the bed but could not close my eyes.
Where was Taji?
Was he safe?
Was he alive?
The night pulled at my chest like a rope. I rose and walked silently out of the room. That was the longest night in my entire life.The halls were endless, dimly lit. My bare feet made no sound on the polished stone.
I wandered until a voice froze me.
"Jabari Kiongozi… she is now their heir."
I pressed myself against the wall, heart in my throat. I peeked through a cracked door.
"There's nothing we can do. All you have to do is win her over. And you'll still rule over great Zazu."
I recognized the voice, it was one of the emperor's family,.
Then another voice: cold, calculated. Jabari. "Don't worry, my child. Everything will work out."
I stepped back, my breath sharp.
Win me over?
I tiptoed back to my room, slipped under the covers, and stared at the ceiling.
Something wasn't right.
And I was now at the center of it all.