Be My Princess

Kat was woken up by a gentle knock at her door.

"Come in." She said with a sleepy voice.

Through the transparent drapes of the canopy, Kat saw Jane enter the room and curtsey.

"Walankanyi, Changadim Kat."

"Mwanyi mwa vude, Jane."

"His Highness is waiting for you." The maid announced.

Kat quickly sat up. "Prince Francis is already here?"

"No, no, Changadim Kat! The crown prince is waiting to have breakfast with you."

Kat raised an eyebrow, a little surprised that that cold haughty prince was waiting to have breakfast with her. "Alright. I'll be down in a minute."

She left her bed, prayed, freshened up then passed on her robe, before leaving her bedroom.

Angel was sitting at the dining table, in his nightwear, newspaper in hands, in front of an exquisite breakfast meal. When he saw Kat approaching, the crown prince folded his newspaper and placed it next to him, on the table.

"The queen has requested that we accompany each other at breakfast." He dryly explained.

"Has she now?" Kat replied. "So I supposed that it is a duty for you to comply with her request."

"Yes…" Angel answered smugly. "Yes it is."

The maids looked awkwardly at each other, wondering on what basis the two were already that hostile to each other.

"Well, I will spare you the inconvenience then, Your Highness, and go back to my room."

Angel stood up. "You dare reject a request from the queen?"

"That request was not made to me." Kat retorted, unafraid. "And, if necessary, I can go tell Mwad directly that I find this a bit unfair towards Prince Francis; and also that a pleasant company is favourable to a good appetite."

The maids covered their mouths to hide their laughter while a voice resounded from the entrance door.

"Is that so? In that case, can I remedy to this?"

Also dressed in his nightwear, Francis walked straight to Kat and kissed her hand.

"Walankanyi, fair maiden."

"Mwanyi mwa vude, Prince Francis."

Then he turned towards Angel and bowed. "Your Highness."

"What are you doing here so early?" Angel questioned without courtesy.

Unwavering, Francis smiled and looked back at Kat.

"Well, today is my day with Changadim Kat. So I thought I could come and have breakfast with her." He explained. "And I must say, it's not quite fair play of you to try to interact with her behind my back. Need I remind you that the maiden is staying at the West Wing merely as a lodger? So don't act as if she were already betrothed to you."

Though his expression was playful, Francis' tone still carried a hint of defiance.

"Join us for breakfast then, Prince Francis." Kat proposed. "And tomorrow as well; to make things equal. After that, I will only share breakfast with each of you on his day."

Unwilling to lose face, Angel sat back while a maid brought another set of dishes for Francis.

Kat and Francis entertained an animated conversation throughout the entire meal while Angel silently ate. After they were done, Francis stood up to take his leave.

"Dress up relax, Changadim Kat. I have a fun day in mind for us today." He said as he was going back to his apartment to get ready.

And the day was indeed fun! An hour after breakfast, Francis was back to fetch Kat. He took her in a staff car for a special, incognito, tour of Musumb. Throughout the whole day, they played foreign tourists, visiting every open touristic site of the capital city of Ruund.

At the end of the day, Francis drove up a hill from which they could get an overall view of the city and parked on the best spot from which they could witness the sunset.

"A perfect end to a perfect day." Kat commented, as she admired the orange and purple coloured sunset sky.

"I am glad you enjoyed it." Francis said. "And I dare our dear crown prince to beat that!" He added jokingly.

Kat laughed then asked in a more serious tone: "Why is he so cold?"

"Princes are trained to rein in their emotions at all time in order to always appear strong to their subjects; worthy to be their leader." Francis explained.

"But you are not like this." Kat argued.

"Yes. But I could have been if I was still in line for the throne."

Kat was eager to know more but refrained herself from asking. Fortunately, as if he had heard her silent question, Francis continued.

"My father was the late king's first born. When he died in a car accident, 20 years ago, the pressure of the crown was taken away from me and befell Angel. There's a saying that goes: 'He who wants to wear the crown must bear its weight'; and the crown of authority is one of the heaviest to bear."

Kat nodded then asked: "Are you interested in wearing that crown again?"

Francis smiled enigmatically. His answer was definitely 'yes'. Lady Josephine had well imprinted in his mind that he was the rightful heir to the throne of Ruund since he was a child; so he was determined on getting back his crown by all means possible. However, he did not want Kat to see through his ambition.

"At times…" He answered nonchalantly as he started the car. "Time to go back."

"This is a very beautiful place." Kat commented as Francis drove down. "How did you come to know of it?"

"Tatuku once took Maaku and me here for a picnic. It was not long before he left us… So the place has stayed very dear to me."

Though Francis' last sentence had come out with a bright smile, Kat still sensed an emptiness in his tone that led her to think that the prince was still very much feeling the emptiness created by his father's passing.

When they got back to the West Wing, Francis took Kat's hand and gently kissed it.

"Next Friday seems too far." He lamented.

"True. But since we'll all be busy, it might come faster than we think." Kat replied.

"You have a full schedule; but I don't!" Francis protested with a comical pout. Then he looked left and right, and said in a conspiracy tone: "How about I come to see you after your lessons? It could be a secret between us…"

Kat chuckled. "It would surely be a delight…" She said pensively, raising Francis' hopes. "But, just as it is unfair to you that I share breakfast every day with Prince Angel, it would also be unfair to him that we interact in secret."

Francis' hopeful smile turned back to a pout. "Too righteous." He muttered.

"Uladikanganyi, Prince Francis."

"Mwanyi mwa vude, beautiful damsel."

At the bottom of the staircase, the maids were watching the whole scene, wishing to be in Kat's place. As Kat motioned towards the stairs, they approached her.

"Should we serve dinner, Changadim Kat?" Jane asked.

"No need, I've eaten already." Kat answered.

"Then should we prepare a bath for you, Changadim Kat?" Laure asked.

"I think I'll just take a shower."

"Then, with your permission, we will take our leave." Jane said.

At that moment, Tiana whispered in Jane's ear, and the latter nudged her in response.

"Is there a problem?" Kat asked.

"No, nothing." Jane quickly answered.

Kat scanned the maids' faces. There was definitely something.

"Come on, just tell me." She insisted.

Embarrassed, Jane timidly replied: "Actually… Tiana wanted me to ask you how your date went…"

Kat smiled. "It went very well; thank you for asking. Now, I give you permission to take your leave."

"Uladikanganyi, Changadim Kat." The maids wished in unison.

Kat looked with amusement at the young women walking away and giggling until they left her line of sight, then shook her head and headed for her bedroom.

In all that, no one had noticed the man observing the whole scene from the dim lit sitting space opposite the staircase. Angel looked at Kat climbing up the stairs with mixed emotions. He was feeling relieved at the idea that Francis could spare him the heavy duty to marry her just to honour his grandfather's oath; but, for a reason he completely ignored, he was at the same time feeling irritated at that very idea.

The following morning, Francis was at the West Wing very early so as not to miss breakfast. When Angel finally came down, he was surprised to find his cousin already sitting at the table, waiting for them.

"Top of the morning to you, Your Highness!" Francis greeted while slightly bowing his head.

"What are you doing here so early?" Angel asked.

"You forgot that I received an invitation directly from the maiden to share breakfast with you two this morning?"

"Interesting that you take this matter so seriously." Angel commented.

"And why wouldn't I? It gives me an opportunity to see the maiden again instead of waiting until next Friday."

"Do you want to see her that much?"

"Why are you astonished about that? Don't you want to spend more than just one day with her? Although… you do have her staying here with you; so you might not feel like I do. But don't tell me that you don't like her even a bit."

Surprisingly, Angel's heart leaped in his chest at the idea. He threw a glance at the maids, who were surely eavesdropping, then looked back at his cousin.

"You like that easily?" He asked in response.

"Oh, come on, Angel! You should at least admit that the maiden is… quite… an eye-catching… beauty…"

Puzzled by his cousin dazzled expression, Angel followed Francis' line of sight and froze for a few seconds. Kat was slowly coming down the stairs, dressed in her nightwear; and though she had brushed it back, her dense long hair was still forming a puffy halo around her face that resembled a natural crown.

At that moment, looking at Kat's graceful movements, Angel could only agree with Francis' statement. Even though Kat's appearance could not equate those of the beauties often encountered among Ruund noble young ladies who always worked at having the best figures, Kat was definitely beautiful. There was a perfect complementary between her physical appearance and her personality, character and mannerism that could call one to consider her an outstanding beauty. It was then understandable that people who came to an encounter with her could not help but find themselves attracted to her.

Kat reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled in response to the curtseying maids. When she finally noticed that the princes were looking at her, Angel cleared his throat and looked away while Francis flashed his brightest smile.

"Prince Francis!" Kat exclaimed, returning his smile. "You are already here."

"Of course! I was so excited to be able to see you this morning that I barely slept."

Angel rolled his eyes and slightly shook his head. His cousin was indeed going all out to seduce the maiden.

Both men stood up when Kat got to them, and waited until she had sat down before taking back their seats.

Once again, the breakfast meal was filled with Kat and Francis' animated chatter – this time about her impression of the capital city of the kingdom, while Angel was quietly eating, apparently not interested in joining their conversation.

"So, what do you have planned for today?" Francis abruptly asked his cousin halfway through the meal.

Angel shot a glacial glance at his cousin; and Kat held back a laugh.

"Why? Do you want to come with us?" Angel asked in return.

"Do you always answer questions with questions?" His cousin teased.

"Only when I have no interest answering the questions." Angel retorted in the same teasing tone.

Kat chuckled.

"Funny?" Angel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Your bickering actually reminds me of my brother. We often bicker because he is also the teasing type." Kat explained. "And it's also nice to see that Your Highness is not a complete block of ice."

A 'pff' sound resounded from where the maids were standing and Francis laughed heartily as Angel was momentarily disarmed by Kat's comment.

Angel returned to eating his breakfast in silence; and, seeing that he would not get a clear answer from his cousin, Francis resumed his chatter with Kat.

After breakfast, Kat walked Francis to the entrance door.

Kat laughed; and at that same moment, Angel received a call.

"Yes, Nswann-Mulap Chang?" Angel said when he answered the call. "… How come he is coming today? We were scheduled to meet on Monday…"

"Oh-oh; looks like today's plans will have to be cancelled." Francis commented with a joy that he didn't even bother to hide.

Once Francis had left, Kat turned towards Angel and looked at him with questioning eyes when he had ended the call.

"The Congolese Minister of Tourism…" Angel started. "I was supposed to meet with him on Monday, but apparently there was a brusque change in his schedule and he has requested to meet with me today." He explained.

"Well… duty calls." Kat simply replied.

She understood the situation; yet she couldn't help – very much to her own astonishment – but feel disappointed. Angel kept looking at her for a moment. He seemed to be hesitating on something; so she waited in anticipation of what he would say, but Angel only sighed and headed for his bedroom.

"I'm sorry about that." He quickly said as he climbed the stairs.

Kat imitated Angel and gained her bedroom; but soon after she had closed the door behind her, a knock resounded at it. And when she opened the door, she was surprised to find Angel standing in the doorway.

"Would you like to accompany me?" He asked.

Kat was taken aback. "To an official meeting?"

"Actually, the minister wants to visit the facilities in our natural park. Congolese authorities are struggling a lot with to deal with poaching in their own natural parks, so they wants to know about the security system we have put in place to repulse poachers here so that they can replicate it in their own national parks." Angel explained.

"Are you sure that I am allowed to come?" Kat insisted.

Kat was less worried about political protocol than she was about the motivation behind Angel's invitation. Was he that much stuck on duty fulfilment that he would even drag her to an official meeting in order not to let his parents down; or was he really willing to spend time with her?

The real answer was somehow very close to both assertions. As much as Angel was unwilling to deal with his upset mother if he let that unexpected event stop him from interacting with the maiden, and was even more unwilling to leave Kat at the mercy of his cousin who would not hesitate to take advantage of his impromptu absence, there was an inexorably growing curiosity towards the maiden that made him want to know more about her.

"You don't seem to be willing to come." Angel observed though. "If it's the case…"

"I'll come!" Kat quickly answered.

"Good. We leave in an hour."

And as soon as Angel had entered his room, the maids were at Kat's door, ready to serve.

"Laure, Tiana, go select a nice formal attire for Changadim Kat; I'll take care of her hair." Jane ordered. "I suppose Changadim Kat will prefer a shower to a bath." She said at Kat's address.

Kat nodded, impressed. "It seems as if you guys have cat's hearing." she commented.