"I can't believe were actually getting through with this," Esi said as she styled her short thick hair in the mirror. "You know how much those three hate our guts."

A servant was helping Rehema put on her heels, "We have no choice. It's either we get along as a family or scandal and gossip will spread throughout the lands."

Tonight, was the night. They were going to have dinner with their other two sibling's Jatau and Monfia, and their father Keyon Hayslett and end the night giving them their invites to the coronation coming soon. They were just finishing up dressing up for the night before they left their dressing room to go meet them.

Esi was having her makeup applied by a servant, and Rehema was finishing up putting on accessories. "They are lucky you were born the oldest, I would simply tell them and their jack-ass father to kiss my ass," Esi sneered. The servant finished putting on lipstick on her lips and told Esi she was done, moving out of her way, and cleaning up her workspace. Esi got up and admired herself in the mirror.

When Esi yesterday saw Rehema put their names on the invitation list she thought her sister had lost her mind. Those two caused more trouble than anything, and their father was the great mastermind behind all of it. Esi was not going to forget the memories of growing up with them anytime soon.

"Look we need Jatau and Monifa closer to us then further than us," Rehema went on. A male servant was finishing up tying the of the laces of her heels up her leg, while she sat on a stool. "Remember when their father started talking to the press and spreading false rumors about other concubine's. He nearly had Ekon and others sentence to death based on lies of adultery."

Keyon Hayslett was one of the lovers of Tamela Eze who had fell deeply in love with her and never received a high rank position in the harem, even though he was the father to two of her children. Which is something he hates till this day even after the death of his love. So, who did he take the anger out on the most? Rehema and Esi who fathers ranked higher than he ever did and especially Ekon since he was only an adopted father.

Nothing upset that man more that the fact he given the empress two children who he was both the biological father and remained middle ranked in the harem. He didn't even rank high enough to get the Eze last name for himself. He had his two children his daughter Monifa Eze and Tamela's youngest child and only son, Jatau Eze. He raised the two to look at Rehema, and Esi with jealousy and hate instead of a sibling bond of love.

It was when the late empress Tamela Eze found out that he falsely accused concubines of adultery out of jealousy that she completely dismissed him from the harem, slashed his salary, and gave him a low status as punishment. That was when he distanced himself from Rehema and Esi and moved out of the royal palace with his two children. Now that Rehema is the current sitting monarch, she was ready to squash this messy history once and for all.

"I think letting him and Monifa and Jatau live their miserable lives away from us is the best choice but whatever miss peacemaker," Esi said applying a headband to her head.

"They are still royal blood. Eze blood. We can't just throw our sibling's away, especially given how much mother loved all of us." The servant helped Rehema stand up and Rehema admired her light green silk pattern dressed, that stopped at her ankles. The servant put the finishing touches of her outfit by putting on a fur shoulder wrap on her back.

Rehema thanked him, and turned to Esi who had finished her makeup, "Ready to go?" She asked.

Esi nodded and grabbed her purse. Esi was about to light her smoking pipe with a match but Rehema glared at her. Esi stopped midway and groaned putting her smoking pipe away.

They left their dressing room, to meet four guards that took the two sisters to their sedan seats and carried them to the golden family dining room, where they were going to meet with Ekon, and later thier siblings.

When they got to the dining room area, the guards put down their sedan and helped the two girls out. Rehema and Esi thanked them, and they made their way inside. They found Ekon standing with two servants by dining hall area and not inside the room yet. He gave a quick bow to greet Rehema and Esi. Rehema looked around the hall area, "Have Keyon, Jatau and Monifa arrived?"

Ekon shook his head, "Not yet."

Rehema looked at the time at the water clock down the hall. They time the agreed among upon has pasted, so they were officially running late.

Esi rolled her eyes, "I knew they would pull a move like this. Let's just go inside and fill ourselves up while we wait for them."

Rehema agreed, and sighed. They went inside the golden, yellow, and brown hue decorated dining room. There was one long table in the middle of the room, that was covered in brown velvet tabletops, and plates, spoons, and more silverware that shined. Rehema took her seat at the head of the table, with Esi beside her, Ekon sat at the other end of the head of the table, and the remaining three empty seats in the middle of table weren't touched.

Two servants came in and started to the fill their plates with foods of meats, and rice. They also filled up their goblets with wine.

"Well, if they choose to not come, that wouldn't be much of a discouraging thing either," Esi said happily eating her food.

Rehema felt frustrated. Yes, she didn't like Jatau and Monifa at times, and found them to be cold and distant growing up. But she needed them under her watch. To make sure they stayed out of trouble.

It was thirty minutes of dinning and eating when suddenly a male guard wearing a colorful wooden mask and holding a spear rushed in the room. "Your majesty, Sir Keyon Hayslett, and Prince Jatau and Princess Monifa have arrived at the palace gates."

Rehema exchange looks with Ekon and Esi, "Well isn't that nice. They decided to come when we are almost done with dinner," Esi said rolling her eyes.

"Bring them in," Rehema simply stated.

Ekon couldn't help but feel heat rise in him. It had been forever since he last saw Keyon Hayslett's face. A man full of envy and pettiness when he was in the harem with him. Almost ruined many concubine's reputation with lies of adultery.

It was in ten more minutes the three guests arrived. First came in Keyon Hayslett, who just by looking at him ageing had done him no justice. Ekon couldn't help but feel satisfied about it.

He was dressed in a grand dark blue indigo dress and held a walking cane by his side. His two children appeared from behind him the young beauty Monifa and younger handsome Jatau. Monifa's entire outfit and body was covered in the colorful patterned cloat she was wearing, and she wore an expression of disinterest. Jatau in plain black Dashiki with matching plain black bottoms, he had his eyes glued to the floor and at his feet. None of the three of them bothered to give a proper greeting.

Rehema stood up from her seat and motioned them to the table. "Please welcome and sit, we were going to being dessert out soon, but we can still give you a proper dinner."

Keyon went to sit down, with an expression that showed he was not impressed. Monifa and Jatau followed behind him and sat behind him.

There was an awkward silence at first, Rehema had no idea where to start. Keyon, Monifa and Jatau stared blankly at their plates as they started to get filled up with food by servants approaching the table.

Keyon turned to Ekon who was sitting at the other end of the table, "fancy seeing you here Ekon. It has been a while."

"Well, it's not just Ekon anymore Sir Keyon. As emperor dowager I go by, his highness Ekon, now," Ekon responded, and he took a sip of his wine.

"Right," Keyon said slyly. He turned over back to Rehema. "Thank you for allowing us here for dinner, and I want to congratulate you on your upcoming coronation. I'm sure you will make a fine empress for our lands and history, just like you mother did."

Rehema smiled, "Thank you Keyon and speaking of coronation. We have an invite for you." Esi sucked her teeth and played with her fork, not daring to look at Monifa and Jatau. Monifa glared in her direction noticing her passive aggressiveness. Jatau refused to look at his older sisters' direction. He kept his eyes on his plate and kept his distance, trying not to bring attention to himself.

"Well, we received your letter about wanting to visit. Is there anything you want to talk about specifically?" Rehema asked.

Keyon clasped his hand together and held them in front of his chest with his elbows on the table. "Yes, about the letter we do want your permission on something."

"That would be?"

"To move back in the royal palace," Monifa said, speaking for the first time since she has arrived. "To come back home, after all me and Jatau are still royal blood. Eze Blood."

Rehema shared a look with Esi, whose wide eyes told her, 'absolutely not.' Rehema then leered at Ekon at the head of the table who by the look of distrust and worry he gave back to her also said, 'absolutely not.'

Monifa caught on to the sudden discomfort. "You would rather have your siblings, the royal family of the African lands, being around the common people. Separating us from you is going to have the people think we aren't getting along. A broken family."

"We're still a family with or without you in the palace," Esi hissed. "You two were the ones that left with your father, no one forced you too." Esi pointed two fingers at Jatau and Monifa.

Monifa straighten in her seat, "We were not going to leave my father to be ridiculed and left alone in Pangaea, banished from the harem and from the woman he loved."

"Maybe if your father wasn't a drama queen none of that would have happened to begin with," Esi remarked. "That has nothing to do with us."

Keyon and Monifa frowned at Esi. "You're still the same I see," Keyon remarked. 'A despicable brat that should have been drowned,' He thought to himself. "I advise you Princess Esi we are here to settle any past bad disputes. How much longer should one have to be at each other's throat," He went on to say.

Esi crossed her arms, "I don't know. Funny how the one who started the disputes is now tried of them, when they don't benefit his nature."

The room was so deadly quiet only thing that could be heard is the water clock running. Keyon grinded his teeth in frustration, he looked next to him and saw his eldest daughter hands tiglty wrapped around her fork and knife on the table.

"Sorry it's just some of us worry about what is to come when living under the same roof as someone whose pasts ordeals aren't the cleanest. We don't want any corruption in the palace," Ekon said.

Rehema cleared her throat, "And we don't want any corruption outside the palace either. I will think about your proposal." Rehema wanted to build a better relationship with them but letting them move in back in the palace was too soon and too fast. "As for now we have something to give you," Rehema went on changing the subject quickly.

Rehema turned to nod at a servant behind her. The female servant nodded back and rushed to the back of the room. Soon two male servants rushed over the table and placed the invites Chike had designed in front of the three distant family members.

Monifa loosened her grip on her fork and knife. She stared back the colorful, neatly printed invitation. "Your upcoming confrontation?" Monifa questioned.

Rehema nodded with a smile, "Correct. I invite you three to come. With good seats as well."

Monifa was about to say yes to the invitation but her father interrupted her, "We will have to think about it, and see if it fits from our schedule."

Esi leaned over and whispered in Rehema's ear, making sure to now be heard by anyone else, "What else could they possibly be doing."

"Well, when you do please send a confirmation, a lot of planning comes with it, and if its last minute then it might be too late for us to secure seats for you."

Monifa couldn't help but notice the location of the coronation being at the Temple of Ancestors. Jatau didn't even glance or look at his invite the entire time. He simply had been focusing on eating his food and diverting his body away from his separate sisters, and stepfather in the room.

"Well, be sure to teach you then," Monifa then stood up. "Father shall we take our leave; it's getting late."

Keyon nodded getting up and Jatau stood up rather quickly. Like he wanted to do nothing more but leave. Rehema noticed Monifa and Keyon barley ate any food, while Jatau ate all of his.

"We really hope you find the time to come, we all share the same mother, and she would not rest easy in her grave if she knew that as siblings we had hatred for one another," Rehema added.

Monifa nodded, "Off course. All of us in the room love that woman and wouldn't never want to disappoint her beyond her grave." Keyon, Monifa, and Jatau did one more bow on the knee in unison before leaving the room in a single file line. Keyon leading it. Esi couldn't help but to roll eyes, and while Ekon held an expression of hesitant.

When the left the dining room, it was when Rehema had come to realization that Jatau, her younger and only brother had not spoken a word the entire time they were here.