-flashback-

"I am so glad to be home" she hugged herself and smiled 

"I mean to be home and to be here...with you" she carried on and then she turned her head and faced me. I raised my hand and caressed her cheek. I knew exactly what she meant, I had missed too just as much as she missed me. We leaned in close and our lips embraced each other. 

We steadily broke our kiss. "You hurt...again" I looked away not being able to stomach her injuries

"It's not that bad...I'll be alright in a week" she attempted to reassure me

"until they call you again and you disappear and come home, hurt again" 

"my love you know that this my job" she became defensive

"it doesn't have to be though does it? we've done enough for the growth for the empire why can we now focus on us? settling down somewhere in a place where we stand a chance of having a family and growing old together?" I questioned

"why are you speaking like this? you we never a man of such sentimental traditional values. And you love the empire like nothing else" she looked concerned

"Yes but my darling that was during a time were I had no meaning in my life, I have found new meaning in you...I want to live for you, for us and our future" I felt foolish for being so vulnerable  so I looked down. She pulled my face to face hers and she become teary 

"That-that means the world to me to hear...fine. I will carry out one last duty so that we can finally settle together" her words made my heart sing and I grabbed her greedily and started to kiss her all over. She would be mine and no obstacle would stand in my way.

She giggled in between our kisses and I shared with her my thoughts of what kind future we could build. How I imagined her to the future mother of my future children.  and so forth. She listened with eyes sparkling, I knew that she imagined it as well.

It could have been a happily ever after but when she left again, she came came back...but in a body bag. I bought our dream estate in the rural outlands where we had planned on settling and buried her underneath the tree we had planted together. I blamed myself for letting her go for not not trying harder to convince her to quit. Nandi oh Nandi why did you have to leave me

                                                                       -END OF FLASHBACK-

SENZANGAKHONA POV

"Nandi...Nandi" he whimpered

"There you go again...calling me a name that is far from my own..." a strangers voice woke Senzangakhona from his restless slumber. He woke up face first, facing...Nandi? through his prison chains 

"Why do you call me that" she carried on despite how she has clearly set Senzangakhona off , he was struggling to breath and regain his senses after remembering something so traumatic and now she's here...this woman that he wasn't so sure if she was her reincarnation. 

The woman looked confused and opened a small awkward looking notebook. She sounded out her words again slower and then Senzangakhona realized that she was using a form of translation book that must have been helped complied by those betrayers. These people are formidable , they managed to strategies and prepare well in advance for their rival, Senzangakhona was impressed and realized despite how long he has been out of the game ,he had to quickly dust of his skills in order to ensure his survival and the survival of his fellow comrades. 

Senzangakhona did not answer her and in fact he gave her a cold hard stare hoping to show endurance that she would not break him. 

"You don't have to answer me but I want you to know that I do not mean any harm though I can't say the same for my father. You are not from here and that interest me, all my life I didn't think there were any other lands other except for our own and I want to learn about what else is out there...through you" Nathi smiled and that was a gunshot to the heart for Senzangakhona because her smile was so beautiful that it hurt. 

"My father will decide your fate tomorrow alongside with your friends. I will try to make him see reason...and oh by the way my name is Nathi not Nandi" She closed her notebook and pulled away and as she did it was like she pulled Senzangakhona's breath with her. She vanished into the shadows and left him cold and alone once again. 

Senzangakhona had struggled to concentrate at her words when the only things that were going through his mind were thoughts of lust, he wanted to pull he in and kiss and it was very difficult to come to terms with reality that woman was not his Nandi, she said herself that she wasn't that she was a Nathi instead. Who he learnt was the daughter of these people leader. 

But Senzangakhona gathered himself and thought first it's most likely that he would be a dead man tomorrow or that Nathi if true to her word might somehow manage to convince her father to spare them.